"Welcome home Mistress Lily." Kreacher said, bowing to Lily as she, James, Albus and Harry entered their house in Godric's Hollow after returning from King's Cross.

"Thank you Kreacher." Lily said as she pulled off her snow boots and heavy coat.

"What about us Kreach?" James asked, a little irked how Kreacher always seemed to show Lily more respect than himself and Albus.

"Yes, yes, it is good to see you home as well, Master James and Master Albus." Kreacher said.

"Kreacher, why don't you take the kids trunks up to their rooms and then get dinner started." Harry said.

"Yes master." Kreacher said, bowing to Harry before using his own magic to levitate the trunks and disapparate with them.


When the kids entered the sitting room, they found their mum using her wand to magically decorate the huge christmas tree by levitating ornaments onto the tree.

"You kids are just in time. James, Albus, do me a favor and start covering the tree with tinsel and Lily, I believe that Kreacher just finished making a round of his famous christmas cookies. You can have one and then you need to come in here and help decorate." Ginny said.

"Why can't we get cookies first to?" Albus asked.

"Because we got all of your midterm marks in the owl post this morning and Lily is the only of you who passed all of her subjects. Honestly James, your O. are in a few months, why aren't you taking them more seriously?" Ginny asked.

"I want to be a quidditch player like you were. Not go into the Ministry like dad. No offense dad." James said.

Harry laughed and said "None taken, but son, your mum is right. You still need to do well on your exams or else you won't graduate from Hogwarts and then there won't be a team in the league that will take you."

"Especially if you can't practice." Ginny said.

"What?" James asked.

"If you don't pass at least 5 of your exams, I'm taking away your broom." Ginny said, making it clear that that was final.

"Yes mum." James grumbled.

"And Albus, you're a smart kid, so why aren't you getting better grades?" Ginny asked, though unlike with James, she actually sounded more concerned than mad.

Albus muttered something under his breath that Ginny couldn't make out.

"What was that?" Ginny asked.

"He said Susan Finnegan. She's a girl in Albus's year." James said as he reached up to put some tinsel on the tree.

Ginny smiled as she watched Albus glare at his brother as his face turned red, since she found it cute that her son had his first crush.

"Albus, it's fine that you have a crush, but you can't let it distract you from your schoolwork." Ginny said.

"I know, but it's just so hard to focus when she sits right next to me." Albus said.

"Try telling Scorpius to smack you every time you focus too much on Susan rather than your lessons." Lily suggested as she reentered the room with a cookie in her hand.

"I like that idea, I'll go send him an owl." James said with a grin.

"Or, Albus could actually just try talking to Susan and see where it leads instead." Harry said, though he had to suppress a laugh, since what Lily had suggested was something his father might've said.

"I'll try." Albus said.

"I suppose that's all we can ask." Ginny said.


"James, did you clean your room? You know your grandmother does inspections on room cleanliness." Ginny said, feeling slightly irked that even though she was a mother of 3 school aged kids, her own mother treated her like a child.

"Yes mum, though I don't understand why Kreacher couldn't just do it like usual?" James asked.

"Your grandmother will accuse me of letting my kids become too lazy to clean up after themselves. She already tries to take over the kitchen from me and Kreacher when she visits." Ginny said.

"Understood." James said, knowing it was pointless to argue, especially when he knew that his mum was right.

"Mum, how do I look?" Lily asked, running down the steps in her gold dress.

"Beautiful Lily." Ginny said with a smile, since Lily was always an angel when her parents came to visit.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door.

"Grandma and Grandpa are here early as usual." Albus said from the living room where he was straightening out the tinsel.

"Lily, go get ready to put your grandma Lily's angel on top of the tree." Ginny said.

"Yes mum." Lily said.

"I'll get the door." James said.

"James." Molly said, hugging her grandson when he opened the door to them.

"Hello Grandma." James said as her grandmother released her.

"Hello James." Arthur said with a smile.

"Grandpa, how's work going?" James asked.

"It's going well." Arthur said with a smile before heading inside to make sure his daughter didn't kill his wife for trying to take over the house.

"Well mum, I take it that the house has lived up to your inspection?" Ginny asked, annoyed that she had to put up with it at all.

"Yes of course, but Ginny, where's your husband?" Molly asked.

"He's out at the cemetery. After all Christmas is a time for family and every year on Christmas Eve he likes to visit his parents' graves and just sort of tell them everything that's happened in the past year. I think it's his way of feeling close to them." Ginny explained.

"That's sweet." Molly said.

Ginny nodded and said "The whole reason we moved to Godric's Hollow in the first place was to be closer to his parents. And also, this was where Harry's parents wanted to raise him, so we thought we'd raise our kids here."

"Have your kids seen the memorial?" Molly asked.

"Yeah, Harry took Lily to see it last Christmas." Ginny said.

Molly smiled and before she could say anything else, Ginny than said "Christmas dinner has already been prepared by me and Kreacher, so there's no need for you to take control of my kitchen."

"I'm sorry Ginny, I didn't realize you had a problem with me helping out in the kitchen." Molly said, right as Lily, who had been listening to their conversation, ran in.

"Grandma, I have so much to tell you about my first term at Hogwarts." Lily said.

Molly smiled at her granddaughter before saying "And I look forward to hearing all about it, but I think that your mother and I have a conversation."

"Okay." Lily said, though her mum smiled at her gratefully for trying to change the subject.

"Look mum, I wouldn't have a problem with you helping out in the kitchen, except that's not what you do. You take control of it and completely kick me out the process. And the way you inspect every room in the house, it makes me feel like you don't have confidence in my skills as a mother." Ginny said, finally letting her frustrations out.

Molly smiled as she placed her hand on her daughter's cheek and said "Ginny, I promise the way I act when I'm here has nothing to do with my confidence in your mother skills. If anything, I am incredibly proud of how well you've done with James, Albus and Lily. I suppose that I just act the way I do because I don't know any other way to live. I mean for years my whole life was taking care of my family and now you're all grown up with families of your own and I just can't help myself when I come over here, since as my only daughter, you really the only one who let's me do any of that."

"So it's not because you don't trust me to run this house and raise my family?" Ginny asked.

"Of course not. Ginny, considering you're the one who keeps Harry Potter from getting himself killed, of course I trust to run your house. I just like to feel needed and taking control just does that for me." Molly said.

"Mum, you are still needed, but as a grandmother, not a mother. I don't mind if you want to help me and Kreacher in the kitchen, just so long as that's all you do." Ginny said.

Molly smiled and said "I think that your daughter is going to explode if she can't tell me and Arthur all about her first term at Hogwarts soon."

Ginny laughed and said "Then let's not keep her waiting any longer. Harry should be back by now and everyone else should be here soon."