A/N: Merry Christmas one and all! This started as a tiny, miniscule Christmas idea that then blew out to epic proportions that had me writing 10,000 words in one afternoon. I haven't got all of it ready yet, but seeing as it's Christmas where I am right now I thought I'd upload chapter 1.

I've been asked to tell you how excited Spin is about this story. As she's coming over to Auz in Feb, she's keen to see what happens in this!

The world is a little off. Let's assume that something other than Albus' death happened and he came back at the end. We haven't had the epilogue, this is about a year after the end of the war.

I wish you and your families a happy day, whether or not you celebrate. Hope you enjoy the story.

Shout to to Spin, LinK, and Mellie – simply for being awesome!

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The war had ended and as war predictably went, the effects were far-reaching and embedded deep within people's souls. As one third of the Golden Trio, along with Harry Potter and Ron Weasley, we were at the forefront of the public eye, dealing with our grief out in the open for all the world to see. Harry and I coped as well as could be expected, but Ron had lost his brother, and I didn't begrudge the feelings he had. In fact the whole Weasley family was slowly drowning in their grief. Molly had been inconsolable for months but then suddenly one day she was up and about, cooking and cleaning and pretending that there wasn't an empty seat at the dining table, or that there was a hand on their clock that no longer moved.

The worst points were of course Fred and George's birthday and Christmas. The first Christmas was unbearable, the whole week so unbelievably depressing, I nearly lost the feeling completely. Harry and I had, if it was possible after all we'd been through, become even closer in the wake of that – something that didn't really help either of our relationships, but ours was a friendship that would last, so we didn't let it bother us.

It was on one particular night after talking to Harry over dinner that I decided I couldn't face going to The Burrow for Christmas this year. I needed happiness for a change; pure, unadulterated Christmas joy and I knew for a fact that I wouldn't find it at The Burrow. Sighing, I swallowed the rest of my wine and sunk further into the couch, alone.

When the war had ended, I'd had an idea of what life would be like. Ron and I would marry and I would study, get a degree or two and we'd have children, maybe two or three. And I knew that Harry had thought the same thing between him and Ginny. The problem was that the pair of them wouldn't move on from Fred. I didn't blame them, George especially was finding it hard, but there comes a point in the mourning cycle where they would have to let him go, and right now they refused to even consider it.

I picked up a book, groaning as my back popped at the funny angle. My gaze caught the photo frame on the side table and I stopped to look at it, smiling at the joy all three faces radiated. It was me and my parents. I'd sent them off to Australia for their own protection during the war and when Albus and Minerva found them again, not long after the last funeral had taken place, I'd gone there immediately and managed to restore most of their memories back to normal.

To say they were angry was an understatement, but instead of being angry with me for interfering with their minds, it was more because they'd been sent away, and hadn't been there for me when I needed them.

We cried for weeks while we worked out all what we had missed, and what my parents had built for themselves in Australia.

I hummed as an idea started to form in my mind.

Deciding to call it quits I got up, clearing the room with a wave of my wand and trudged up to bed, falling on top of the covers still fully clothed.

"I'm going to enjoy this one," I said to myself as I tried, unsuccessfully to push my jeans off. "Harry will come too, I'm sure he will."

Deciding it was a fabulous plan I curled up against my pillow dreaming of taking Harry Potter with me to enjoy a Christmas in Australia with my parents.

It will be great.