Chapter 2

3 Years Later

Mrs. Weasley shuffled around the kitchen in the Burrow, stirring the contents of various pots and checking the clock every few minutes. Arthur was due to be home soon, and the others would be arriving shortly after. It was the first time in almost three months that the whole family would be dining together, and Molly was determined that it would be a wonderful evening. She had pushed three tables together to make room for everyone inside, set the tale with her nicest silverware, and placed a row of decorative candles down the middle of the tables. The late November rain splattered noisily against the windowpanes as two hooded figures sloshed through the mud towards the front door. The sound of the door opening startled Mrs. Weasley and she nearly dropped the pot of tea she was brewing, but her face broke into a large grin as she looked up and saw her youngest son and his wife entering the Burrow.

Hermoine gave Mrs. Weasley a hug over her protruding stomach, and Mrs. Weasley began fussing over her.

"You really ought to stay off of your feet as much as possible in your condition dear," she told her while pouring tea for the three of them.

Hermione giggled and nodded her head, feeling sure that Mrs. Weasley never took it easy during any of her many pregnancies.

Ron took a seat next to his wife just as another person entered the room.

"Oh, good evening, everyone! I'm surprised to see the two of you here so early!" Arthur exclaimed as he closed the door and began to remove his coat and hat.

"Oh, Arthur, you're tracking mud all through the kitchen!" Mrs. Weasley scolded, and she quickly sent one of her enchanted mops to clean up the mess.

"How was your day, dad?" Ron asked as he sipped his tea.

"It was quite interesting as a matter of fact. We got a notice about some bewitched broomsticks bothering some very bewildered muggles. Apparently, any time one of them would try to sweep the floor, the brooms would come to life an begin beating their owner in the behind until they gave up and ran away!"

"That's horrible!" Hermione exclaimed. Ron was nearly doubled over in laughter next to her.

This spiraled the couple into a deep debate over the fine line between pranks and cruelty. However, before they came to an agreement, other members of the family began to arrive, and their conversation was forgotten amidst an assault of hugs and hellos.

Harry was the last to arrive. She entered the Burrow just as dinner was being served, and took a seat across from Bill and Fleur and between George and Hermione.

"Oh, Hello Harry! I'm so very glad you made it! It has been such a long time since we had the whole family together!" Mrs. Weasley said.

"Well, to be fair mom, being the Savior of the wizarding world is no small job. I mean between the photo-shoots and constant interviews about every detail of her life, it's a wonder she gets out of the house at all these days," George joked.

Harry laughed and nodded, "Yeah, you can't expect people to go on without knowing what kind of cereal I eat in the morning."

"Of course not! It's unthinkable!" replied George with feigned outrage.

"I really am sorry for not visiting more the past few months though, Mrs. Weasley. I've just been so busy with work an visiting Teddy almost everyday and—"

"Oh, don't you worry yourself about it dear! And speaking of little Teddy, did you bring more pictures of him like I asked you to?"

"Oh yes, I'd almost forgotten about them!" she said.

Harry pulled a stack of pictures out of her robe pocket and handed them to Mrs. Weasley, who proceeded to ooh and ahh over every picture and pass them around the table for everyone else to see.

After dinner, they all moved into the sitting room to chat and enjoy their after dinner tea and coffee. As Percy and his wife, Audrey, were walking into the room, Percy tripped over an ottoman, in a very Dick van Dyke like fashion, and subsequently spilt tea all over his trousers. This caused Harry, Ron, and George to laugh hysterically, meanwhile Mrs. Weasley rushed over to make sure he wasn't hurt and to clean up the tea he'd spilt.

Once everyone had settled down again, Harry cleared her throat and began to address the entire family.

"Before everyone breaks up into groups to chat, I have a, um, a request, I'd like to make."

No one said anything, but they all looked at her expectantly.

"I… I would like to bring someone with me to Christmas Eve dinner…a date, actually… "

There was long pause. Then suddenly, the room exploded with the sound of question after question being shouted at her from every direction.

"Who is it?"

"Is it a man or a woman?"

"Where'd you meet them?"

"Is it serious?"

"Is it someone we know?"

"How long have you been seeing this person?"

"SHUT IT!" Ginny bellowed.

"Thanks," she said, giving her ex-girlfriend an appreciative nod.

"It's a man. We've known each other for many years, and I'd say we're very serious. That's all I'm going to say for now, but I want you all to promise you will be on your best behavior and be polite and friendly to my date, no matter what."

Harry was met with a chorus of promises to be polite, but the group began to protest at Harry's refusal to reveal her man's identity.

"Hey now, you lot stop buggin' her!" George yelled, "We'll find out who the lucky man is soon enough. And until then, we can get a good betting pool going! I've got ten galleons on Oliver Wood."

"Oh, yeah! I want ten on Anthony Goldstein!" Ginny shouted.

"Twenty on Viktor Krum!" Ron said.

"Fifteen on Terry Boot!" another voice piped up.

Then rest of the evening was taken over by people placing bets and trying to bribe Harry for hints, but she refused to cave. As the clock struck midnight, she excused herself from the party and apparated back to her home.

When she entered the house she found Draco reclining on a sofa in the library, reading a book about healing potions. She knelt down beside the couch and gave him a chaste kiss on the forehead, bringing him back to reality.

"Hey, how was dinner?" he asked, giving her a quick kiss on the lips.

"It was good. I think they're excited to meet you," she said, nodding in an encouraging manner.

"They won't be so excited once they actually see me."

"Maybe not, but we'll worry about that later," she said.

She slid her hand across his chest and up to his neck, playing with the hair at the base of his head. He took the cue to lean in for a kiss. Their lips met for only a few seconds, before she pulled away and got up to leave.

"Where are you going?" Draco protested.

"To shower," she replied while walking away, "are you going to come join me?"

In response, Draco tossed his book aside and began to chase after her.