CHAPTER 7
THE CHRISTMAS PARTY
Rose woke up a few days later to Hugo bouncing on the edge of her bed. She groaned and threw a pillow at him, which he gleefully dodged while shouting, "IT'S CHRISTMAS! IT'S CHRISTMAS!"
Before she knew it, Rose was being dragged from her bed and out of her room, still in her nightgown, as well as down the stairs, until they reached the living room. The plate of cookies Scorpius had eaten half of, which their mother had grudgingly replaced after scolding a very confused Hugo, sat on the coffee table near the tree, which was now full of presents. Her parents already sat on the couch, drinking tea and looking very tired, along with Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny, and Rose suspected Hugo had just done the same to them. James came downstairs then with Lily pulling him by the sleeve of his robe, looking just as excited as Hugo. Al came stumbling in after them. Hugo immediately ripped into the first one he saw addressed to him, from their grandparents. He made a disgusted face when he saw the contents of the package: one of the infamous Weasley sweaters, marked with a large golden 'H'. Their mother looked at him with an expectant expression.
"What?" Hugo asked.
"You're wearing it."
"Ugh, do I really have to?"
"Do you want to hurt your gran's feelings?"
"...no..." he grumbled, pulling it reluctantly over his head. Rose found hers and put it on, running upstairs to get jeans as well. They continued to open packages, most of them candy, and all the Weasley and Potter children played chess until eleven, when suddenly, James and Al came up behind her and grabbed one arm each. They pulled her to James's room on the top floor and shut the door.
"Look at this!" the older boy exclaimed, pulling out a blank piece of parchment. Rose raised her eyebrows in disbelief.
"A bit of parchment? I got a term's supply of Chocolate Frogs. I win."
"Not just yet," James said, a gleam in his eye. He took out his wand, tapped it, and said, "I solemnly swear I am up to no good." Before her eyes, ink burst forth from inside the paper and made elaborate designs that read,
Mssrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs
Present
The Marauder's Map
"What is it?" Rose asked in a whisper, gaping in awe at the clearly magical gift.
"It's a complete map of Hogwarts. And look!" Al said, as James opened it, pointing to a little moving dot near the south wing.
Rose read aloud, "Minerva McGonagall..." she looked up in surprise. "It shows people, too?"
James nodded excitedly, then said, "Show her your gift, Al."
Al fished in his bag until he pulled out a very dark-looking embroidered cloak and draped it around himself. He suddenly looked annoyed, said, "Oh, wrong side," and flipped it over. Immediately, only his head remained.
"An invisibility cloak?" Rose asked.
"The Invisibility Cloak," James corrected her.
"No way."
"Way."
"Cool!"
There was a timid tap on the door. The three of them looked at the door to see Lily, wearing a green dress decorated with bright orange flowers. She had somehow managed to curl her hair, and she was grinning widely.
James's eyes widened. "Wow, Lil. What happened?"
She glared at him before saying, "Mum says you have to get ready for the party. You too, Rose, your mum asked for you to go downstairs."
"Do we have to dress up that much? Because I'll kill myself if Mum pulls out the dress robes," Al said uneasily.
"No, you don't, trousers and a collared shirt, she said. And, quote, 'Tell them to at least try to tame their hair.' Dad heard that and just laughed, though."
"Then why are you so dolled up?" James asked, raising his eyebrows.
"It's a dress, James," she said quietly. "It's just for... fun."
"Sure it's not just for Lorcan?" The oldest Potter asked her.
Her face grew redder than her hair and she stormed out, muttering about stupid brothers. Rose went down to find her mum thrusting a red jumper and black skirt upon her. After quickly changing, she came into the kitchen to look at the Weasley clock change from home to travelling slowly at every person. The old clock had been 'repaired' by Granddad Weasley and now was large enough to fit everyone in the extended Weasley clan, plus Teddy Lupin. When Min's family's hands all went to travelling the Burrow inhabitants left for Luna's.
They arrived at the Scamander house a few minutes later. Immediately, Rose's mother whispered, "Oh, she didn't."
"A weather bubble," Uncle Harry breathed.
"Aren't those horribly difficult?" Aunt Ginny asked.
"It's Luna," Rose's father said matter-of-factly, as if it explained everything. To be honest, it seemed to be capable of explaining lots.
Rose stared at what apparently was a 'weather bubble'. The snow that was lightly falling did not fall for several feet from Luna's house in every direction. The party seemed to be taking place entirely outside. They walked through what seemed to be the barrier and it suddenly felt like a lovely 70 degrees. Luna ran outside and waved. "Hello, everyone! There are a few people inside but if you'd like to stay out here..."
"Well, actually—" her father said, but her mother cut him off immediately.
"Yes, we'll just stay here," she said quickly, and steered the entire group away from the door. Luna rushed back inside.
"What was that for?" her father asked. Her mother rolled her eyes.
"Did you see her face? She was begging us not to come in."
"Why?"
Rose's mum gestured to the window. Her dad looked through it to see Neville alone in the kitchen apart from Luna. Mistletoe seemed to be a very prominent plant in the kitchen, even for this particular house. Ron nodded knowingly and walked away. Lily spotted Lorcan and Lysander and ran right to them. Rose watched as the little girl spun around and giggled while Lorcan looked extremely bashful. Lysander looked extremely uncomfortable and also a bit bored. Suddenly Rose felt a tap on her shoulder and turned to see Min, who looked like she was about to die. She was panting, looked disheveled, and probably couldn't be more annoyed.
"Er, what happened to you?" Rose asked, half-joking. Min glared at her.
"Cousins." Rose looked confused and she sighed. "Not you. The French ones. Lucas and Charlotte. Both are loud, both won't leave me alone, and both keep babbling about their boyfriends. Whom I don't know, if anyone cares!"
Rose giggled at Min's predicament. Suddenly she was confused. "Both...have boyfriends?"
Min rolled her eyes. "We're part veela, we attract guys and guys only. I'm not sure anyone ever thought otherwise about Lucas."
"Does that mean Louis...?"
"Ah, from the way he acts around Lysander, I'd say probably."
Rose whipped around to see, sure enough, Louis with Lysander looking a great deal like Lily did with the other Scamander. "Oh."
"Anyway."
"Right. Anyway. They'll be going back to France soon, just ignore them."
"No, they won't," Min said almost frantically. "They're moving into Shell Cottage!"
"I didn't hear that part! What?!" Louis, who had at some point wandered over to the two of them, exclaimed.
"Yep, Lucas and Charlotte will always be here! How wonderful!"
"What about our vacations?" Louis said.
"Mum said, 'Oh, we can still go on them!' Likely," Min snorted. She suddenly gave him a sly grin. "At least you can stay here with the Scamander boys... specifically Four-Eyes."
Louis turned beet red, his eyes went wide, and he ran away. Rose sighed. "Go apologize."
"Fine," Min muttered, stomping after the little boy. Rose knew this was going to be one of those nights where she rediscovers just how insane her family is.
"Hi, Rose. Have you seen Victoire?" a voice said from behind her. Rose looked around and saw Teddy Lupin, tonight with green hair.
"Um, she's probably with Charlotte," Rose said. "I think they're still by the garden gate."
"Thanks, Happy Christmas!" he said as he rushed away.
Christmas dinner went on fairly uneventfully, by Weasley standards, but Rose suspected it still slightly frightened the Longbottoms and Scamanders—and you know you're crazy when you can shock Luna and the twins. But later as they were finishing dessert, Uncle Harry suddenly stood up, clutching his head and left the table. Ginny sat up straighter and watched him go, looking concerned. "What happened?" Hermione asked.
"I'm not sure this is what it is, but it looks like... that scar hasn't hurt him in nearly 20 years, and now if that's what it is, if it's hurting—"
"I think I know why," Teddy said, looking extremely grim and staring at a point in the distant sky. The adults gasped and some of the older children did as well when they followed his gaze. "Oh, God," Rose's father said, standing up.
"What is it?" Rose asked. She finally looked in the same direction and gasped. She saw it. She had only heard of it, but she knew what it was.
A shape in the sky, a smoky apparition of a snake weaving through a skull.
The Dark Mark.
