Winter Break

"See you soon!" Holly called to the retreating forms of Eleanor, Nyssa, and Olivia. They were all heading home, their trunks already having been transported to the train as mysteriously as they were transported into the dorm at the start of term. Deidra and Holly would be staying the break at school; Holly's parents were going to Siberia to visit family and didn't want Holly to become ill from the cold weather there, though Olivia said they were just trying to stay away from the hyperactive girl for as long as possible, and Deidra had decided at the last minute that she just didn't want to bother with the 'hassle' of going home.

As the three girls walked down the stairs, now having mastered the route from their common room to the Entrance Hall, Olivia groaned, "Mum's going to make such a fuss over me at the train station. It'll be embarrassing!"

"Your dad will be the same, I suspect," replied Eleanor, twirling a piece of her black hair around her right index finger and absentmindedly scratching at a scab on her face. It was a bad habit Eleanor had developed recently, Nyssa noticed, to pick at the scabs left over from her acne, though like the rest of her roommates she chose not to comment. It might upset Eleanor, if she said something about it. And she liked Eleanor, even though they had recently had a fight over time spent in the bathroom and Ambrosia Selwyn – Eleanor had implied Nyssa bullied Ambrosia when one night Nyssa had complained of another argument with the girl and Eleanor said that Ambrosia would leave her alone if she wasn't such a bully towards the girl.

Olivia responded hesitantly to Eleanor's comment, "Yes, he will." She was quiet for the rest of the journey downstairs, staring solemnly at the portraits all along the wall. Olivia's father was dead. Of course, Eleanor did not know this and Nyssa did not correct her comment or tell, because she was not even supposed to know. It had been accidental that she found out. She'd been walking up to the astronomy tower one Friday afternoon with Rose only to find Olivia talking about her dead father with a Hufflepuff boy – Kain Bell, as she later discovered. Olivia told Kain that her dad had died below the astronomy tower, in the Battle of Hogwarts, which Rose told Nyssa all about once they were out by the lake later (Rose's parents fought in the battle as well).

After the unintentional eavesdropping, Nyssa had been careful to avoid the subject of fathers around Olivia. She had also swiftly changed the conversation one night when Holly and Deidra were discussing the battle in ear shot of Olivia, whom was sitting at a table in the common room with Nyssa attempting to write a compelling essay on Ulfric the Oddball.

On the train, Nyssa, Scorpius, Rose, and Albus shared a compartment. Victoire joined them halfway through the journey and introduced her friends Nadia, a tall dark-skinned girl and Mara, a girl with a short pixie cut dyed purple. Mara assured them that purple was her natural hair color, but the four first years knew better and the shared look of exasperation between Nadia and Victoire wiped away any sort of doubt one of the four might have held as to whether Mara was possibly telling the truth.

At the train station, the four walked off together, Victoire and her two friends helping navigate them through the huge crowd of students piling off the train and parents that were rushing to the edge of the platform to reach their children sooner. Scorpius' parents were waiting near the back of the platform, so he waved goodbye to the group, tugging on his heavy trunk as he made his way to the two. Similarly, Nadia and Mara both left to go to their parents – their families were on friendly terms – both sets waiting near fireplaces. There was a dark-haired boy a year or two older than Nyssa already waiting with Mara's parents. He waved to the group, and Victoire told them all over the crowd that he was Mara's brother, Thomas.

Now just a group of four, they waited in a slowly dwindling line to exit through the passage that Nyssa had first taken at the start of term. There was a wizard in uniform directing them all through, shouting loudly several times that they must go through in pairs of twos during intervals of four minutes. Anymore than that and the muggles might become suspicious, Rose informed Nyssa, who had asked why they had to do that when it was taking so long.

When at last they had made it through the barrier, Nyssa was greeted by the smiling faces of several redheads, a few black and blonde-haired people scattered in the group. Rose was standing with her parents, being cooed and fussed over by her mom; her dad throwing his head backwards while laughing. Hugo, Rose's brother, was standing quietly beside his mother, just as he had done in Ollivanders all those months ago. Victoire was hugging a beautiful blonde-haired woman and a man with a scarred face and shoulder length red-hair. Her brother and sister were standing nearby, Dominique playfully messing up Louis' hair, earning herself a frown from the pretty boy. Albus had left her side already – they'd gone through the barrier together – to a red-haired lady and a man she recognized as Harry Potter from the chocolate frog card she'd seen on the train. James was talking animatedly to Harry Potter, his dad, probably telling him all about the recent victory of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, thanks in part to his last minute goal (he'd made Chaser, just as he wanted). The other cousins of Rose and Albus were nowhere to be seen, though Nyssa supposed that she would see them plenty over the break.

"Nyssa?" The bushy-haired lady that was Rose's mom called to her, smiling welcomingly. All of the collected family members quieted when she addressed Nyssa, all directing their attention to the young girl. The attention made Nyssa feel very awkward and she furiously attempted to unknot a tangle in her hair. "Rose has said so much about you in her letters," said girl blushed and let out a muffled 'Mum!', but her mom ignored this, "I feel like I know you already."

"Albus wrote about you too." The red-haired lady standing next to Harry Potter said, patting Albus on the head, only messing up his already impossibly messy hair more. "And James," she added, glancing at the boy.

"Oui," added the extremely beautiful blonde-haired women next to Victoire, "we have all heard of the famous Nyssa."

Nyssa could feel her cheeks getting hotter the more someone mentioned that one of the Weasley or Potter children had written about her. She was not shy, at least not normally, but meeting a group of people that already knew you through letters and had preconceived notions about you that you may not live up to was not normal either. And so, at this moment, she was shy. Her words tumbling from her lips clumsily and slowly, she spoke, "It's nice to meet you all."

It took only a ride back to the Weasley family's home for Nyssa to shake off the shy feelings she'd previously had at the train station. Mrs. Weasley drove, swatting at Mr. Weasley's hand whenever he would reach towards a knob or the steering wheel. The traffic was terrible on the streets of London, not that it hadn't been every day in the last century. They drove out of the large metropolis, out into the country until they reached a small village coated in a thin blanket of snow.

The Weasley's home was a quaint two-story house; it was coated in a dull blue paint and had double windows on the first floor of the home on each side of the front door, two smaller windows on the second. It was not at all like Nyssa's home, which was rather larger and had an air of fore-boding to it. She had grown up in a completely magic community, though her family home was miles from any other. But it seemed that the Weasleys lived in a mostly, if not all but for the Weasleys, muggle community. There were cars in the driveways of each house she was able to see and several children giggling in the middle of the street as they attempted to make good snowballs to throw at one another.

"Come on, I'll show you to my room," Rose motioned for Nyssa to follow her once they'd entered the house. Nyssa had been staring curiously at a clock on the family's living room wall that bore four hands bearing pictures of each family member. Instead of numbers to tell the time, there were words on the clock. Currently, all four hands were pointed at 'Home', though Nyssa was able to read 'Work' and 'School' before Rose drug her off to the stairs.

The two girls climbed the sturdy wooden stairs, Nyssa glancing at each picture they passed. There was one of a baby Rose, smiling and sticking her hand over the camera lens; a younger Albus being poked by James; Hugo and Rose hugging one another; Rose's parents wedding photo, Albus' mom and dad standing on either side of the two.

Rose's room was almost barren. She had no furniture apart from a nightstand, bed, bookcase, and writing desk. There was a poster on the wall above her bed of a group of men flying on broomsticks. One was chasing after a golden snitch, which looked exactly like the toy one Albus often occupied his free time with. The bookcase was filled to the brim with books, some nearly as large as Rose herself. Rose's trunk sat at the foot of her bed and Nyssa's on an opposite wall. Mr. Weasley had sent them flying up after he'd managed to drag them into the house.

"Not much of a decorator, are you?" She asked nonchalantly, plopping down onto Rose's bed and laying back onto the soft, purple bedspread. Her own room was filled to the brim with flashy, expensive décor. She had a silk bedspread, pure white, with lace frills for trimming and her pillows were custom made, filled with only the finest swan feathers. There was an elm cedar chest that sat at the foot of the bed. It contained sentimental items she could not bring herself to do away with: the first outfit she had worn as a newborn, her blue teddy bear with the very practical name 'Teddy', letters from her godmother and godfather, two stuffed dolls – a fairy and wolf, a picture of her parents on their wedding day, the first 'letter' she'd received from her nephew Leif, among other odd knick knacks. She had a walk-in closet with only the finest robes and outfits her daddy's money could buy, a pastel green vanity, standing mirror, and several porcelain dolls. Pictures bedecked her pastel pink walls, the sunlight that would stream in from her windows, and below them she had a cushioned built-in seat with throw pillows that matched her bedspread.

As Nyssa said, Rose was not much of a decorator. She preferred things to be simple and neat. It made it easier to keep things clean and she really did not see the point in spending so much money on a room that you did not spend your entire life in. That was why she planned on owning a very modest home in the future. "Its wasteful to have a pretty room you don't spend much time in."

"I suppose," Nyssa replied, thinking that it probably was, but it made no difference. She still liked knowing that she had such a beautiful room at her house. If only she were allowed to decorate the whole dorm room instead of her little section, it would be the most wondrous one in the castle. "Who are they?" She asked, lazily lifting a hand to point towards the poster above Rose's bed before relaxing it back on top of her stomach.

Rose glanced up from her trunk, which she had been digging through for a good full minute now. "The Chudley Cannons. They're dad's favorite Quidditch team."

"Quidditch? You mean Quodpot?"

"So that's the version of it in the states then," Rose mused, tossing a dirty pair of sneakers behind her. They made a small plop as they hit the floor. Nyssa recognized them as the sneakers Rose was wearing the day that encountered that dreaded Whomping Willow. It had been Rose who'd rescued Nyssa, immobilizing the tree after several attempts at the charm. Then, supporting Nyssa, they'd had to journey through mud as it had started raining on their way back to the castle. They'd entered soaked and muddy to the bemusement of other students that had the chance to glimpse them on the way to the hospital wing, having fallen to the ground a few times.

"Do you like it?"

"Dad played. I wouldn't mind playing, but I'm better suited to studies really. What about you?"

"God, no." Nyssa sat up, wondering just what on earth Rose was wanting from her trunk so much that she was willing to make such a mess of her room. Clothes were now scattered around her and several books had been tossed to the floor, lying open page down. Normally, Rose would have decried such treatment of books. "Do you know how many injuries players receive on a regular basis? My brother Ronan played and he used to come home for the holidays with a broken nose or fractured elbow. I want to avoid getting injured, not offer myself up for it."

Rose's lips curled at the corners. "Lacking a bit of the Gryffindor courage, aren't you?"

"Always," Nyssa replied. "If I were a Ravenclaw, we'd be living in the same dorm. I don't know how I'm going to survive the rest of my school years." She flung herself backwards once again, letting out a dramatic sigh.

"I thought you and Eleanor got on well."

"We do, but I wish she'd stop taking that bratty Ambrosia Selwyn's side." Nyssa turned onto her side, staring at Rose, who was holding a book triumphantly. It looked to be a book on potions making, probably borrowed from Scorpius. He had an endless supply of them and was more than happy to recruit other unfortunate, according to Nyssa, students over to the darkness that was potions. "Can you believe she told me I was a bully to Ambrosia? Me! A bully! Honestly," she grumbled, re-positioning her hand on her cheek so that her cheekbone was not sticking into her palm.

Rose bit her lip, turning from Nyssa so that she wouldn't have to meet her eyes. "Well, I am grateful that you stood up to her for me, but now," she stood up slowly, thinking her words over carefully so as not to upset her friend, "you do sort of just have a go at her for no reason. But only sometimes, really," she assured her, now looking back at Nyssa with a smile.

"Right," Nyssa agreed. She would admit that she did sometimes enjoy being spiteful towards Ambrosia just because she loved the reactions from the girl or to help relieve frustrations of the day. It wasn't as if Ambrosia didn't do the same, following Nyssa and Rose around just to say something nasty or purposely tripping Nyssa in the corridors. "But I'm not a bully."

"Of course not," Rose said quickly, though she wondered if she was only saying so because Nyssa was her friend and if she would think differently were she not. "Did you hear the rumor about Emilia Wright?"

"The half-blood Hufflepuff in Victoire's year? What's the rumor mill say?"

"She fancies Professor Creevey."

"Creepy Creevey? You're joking. What sane person would like him?"

The two girls then delved into the topic of their DADA professor. Nyssa thought that his demeanor was quite odd and called him 'Creep Creevey' outside of his presence, which Rose often reprimanded her for. Her parents knew their professor, apparently, though neither had really spoken to him that much over the years. He'd had a brother, they'd written to Rose, who was an admirer of her Uncle Harry. That was all they said on the subject, abruptly inserting a new topic (Hugo's participation in a school play) into the letter. This aroused curiosity in Rose and Nyssa, once Rose had shown her the letter. Nyssa insisted that they investigate the Creevey brothers, which would explain why they found themselves in Filch's office for being out of bounds that one time they attempted to break into Professor Creevey's classroom after classes had ended for the day. They'd both been about to receive a detention when Filch rushed out of the office, chasing after the annoying poltergeist Peeves for stealing a piece of paper on his desk. Per Nyssa's suggestion, the two girls had ran from the room and continued to keep as far away from Filch as was possible least he try to give out the detention they'd slipped out of.

It was over dinner that night that Rose's mom informed Nyssa of the big family Christmas they would be having. She assured Nyssa that she was more than welcome and would not be a bother when a look of apprehension had appeared on the girl's face. "You're more than welcome, dear. In fact, the rest of the family is eager to meet you. Rose never did manage to make friends at public school, so we're all very grateful she has you now."

This comment made Rose blush scarlet and send a look of exasperation to her mom. She was no doubt embarrassed, but Nyssa did not feel she needed to be. After all, she had not had friends before Rose, unless she counted Scorpius, but that had not known each other much longer than she knew Rose. The other children she went to school with were too frightened of her cousin to befriend her. Lacerta had gone out of her way in their younger years to make Nyssa's life a little less cheery. "Rose is my first friend as well," she said simply, taking another bite of the delicious apple pie. It was made from the recipe Rose's grandmother had given to Mrs. Weasley.

Rose turned to Nyssa, the color of her cheeks returning to normal. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley shared a glance before returning to their dessert. Hugo did not look up. He must have been very shy, Nyssa thought, because he had not spoken once since Nyssa had come through the barrier. Later, she asked Rose about it, who told her that it was unusual to see Hugo so quiet, as he was normally very talkative.


Over the course of the break, Rose decided to spend her time completing the work given by their Professors. She had finished it all before Christmas and spent most of her time chiding Nyssa for being so lazy with her schoolwork. Nyssa had started some of her work, but quickly got bored of it once her thoughts drifted towards more interesting things she could have been doing. Her parents sent their Christmas gift early – a silver chain with a beautiful full moon pendant and two extra cauldrons – and Scorpius wrote four or more letters a week. He complained in each one about how bored he was at home, but each time Nyssa suggested he come to Rose's house for a day or Albus', he declined.

On Christmas morning, Mrs. Weasley woke Nyssa and Rose very early in the morning. It was only five, Rose had protested, but Mrs. Weasley insisted they needed to get up very early so as to have time to get ready and reach Rose's grandparents house in time. They were scheduled to be there at half-past noon, so that they had time to each lunch, though Mr. Weasley had insisted several times that they could arrive whenever. Mrs. Weasley did not relent, stating that she and her husband needed to be there early to help cook and arrange the house for the festivities that would occur in the evening. This was a routine, Rose informed Nyssa, as it happened every year.

Once dressed, Rose and Nyssa started down the stairs. Nyssa fell into the wall once and knocked down a picture of a group of rag-wearing house elves. She apologized for her clumsiness, but Mrs. Weasley guaranteed her there was no need for an apology, quickly putting the picture back in its place with a flick of her wrist. They set the table and waited for Mr. Weasley and Hugo to come tumbling down the stairs so that they could eat breakfast. It took only two loud, irritated shouts from Mrs. Weasley for the two to come rushing down the stairs, Mr. Weasley hopping on one foot while desperately trying to pull his sock onto the other. Still tired and half asleep after breakfast, they helped Mrs. Weasley assort the presents by family, pack some extra food Mrs. Weasley made because you could never have too much, she said, and ran to the store to get some more strawberry jam.

They all traveled to Rose's grandparents by the floo network. Mr. Weasley went first, surrounded by dozens of festively wrapped boxes. Rose and Nyssa went after him, and were followed by Hugo and Mrs. Weasley. The first sight to greet Nyssa once she'd threw the floo powder down while standing in the fireplace and shouted 'The Burrow' was Mr. Wesaley groaning on the floor, surrounded by presents. A plump, red-haired elderly woman was standing over him, saying, "Oh, Ron, you should have asked your father to help you with those. You two haven't gone and spent your entire Christmas bonus on these, have you?"

"No, mum," grumbled Mr. Weasley, sitting up slowly and rubbing his lower back. Rose and Nyssa had moved out of the fireplace so as not to have Hugo and Mrs. Weasley land on top of them, but were still unnoticed by the elderly woman so far. "Hermione wanted to buy more."

At this precise moment, Hugo and Mrs. Weasley appeared in the fireplace. "Oh, Ron!" Mrs. Weasley shouted, rushing towards her husband. It was not him she ended up crooning over, however, but the scattered presents. "I'll have to sort them again now." Rose tugged on Nyssa's arm, pulling her a few feet away from her mom, least the woman turn to the two and request that they help with the sorting once more. "What were you thinking?"

"What was I thinking?" Mr. Weasley bellowed, staring incredulously at his wife. "I didn't plan to drop them, Hermione! But when you're carrying enough present for all of Hogwarts–" He was not able to finish his rant, nor was Mrs. Weasley able to respond, for Rose's grandmother had finally noticed Nyssa and Rose and suddenly squealed in surprise.

"There's my Rosey Posey!" She bustled over to the two girls, grabbing Rose by the shoulders and pulling her into a tight hug. "You haven't come to see me yet, darling! Why not? You could have brought your friend." She said this while looking at Nyssa, smiling at her. From what she could see so far, Rose's grandmother seemed far friendly than hers and more into hugs and kisses than her granny.

Wrangling herself from her grandmother's grasp, Rose took a step back from the woman. "Sorry, gran." She turned to Nyssa, "This is my gran, Molly Weasley." She remembered Rose's grandmother's name. Louis had explained one day at dinner that his bossy prefect cousin Molly was named for their grandmother and couldn't be more opposite than the woman.

"Pleased to meet you, Mrs. Weasley," Nyssa said, feeling a slight degree of that shyness she'd had at the train station the day they'd come from Hogwarts creeping back up. She told herself to not be nervous. The woman in front of her was a very nice woman, according to her grandchildren, not someone to be scared stiff around like her own grandmother.

"You too, dear. Do you call Rose's mum Mrs. Weasley?" Nyssa nodded. "It'd be confusing to call me Mrs. Weasley too, wouldn't it? Call me gran."

=ooo=

And Nyssa did, as the hours ticked by. She and Rose stayed in the kitchen with Mrs. Weasley and gran, mostly sitting at the large kitchen table and talking to each other and occasionally helping to stir or crack open eggs. Mr. Weasley and Hugo had gone outside with Mr. Weasley's dad, a bald man except for the tiny patches of red hair above his ears. He introduced himself as Arthur Weasley and enthusiastically described a strange muggle tool called a 'coffee maker' before Mrs. Weasley ordered him to go lock away all his muggles devices before the rest of the family arrived.

It was Luis and Victoire's family that arrived after Rose's, Victoire's scarred father toting just as many presents as Mr. Weasley had been. Victoire and her mom joined the women in the kitchen, while Victoire's dad went to help set up tables and decorations outside; Dominique and Louis followed him because it was 'boring' inside.

Victoire was wearing a darling knee-length green dress with gold trimmings and a black belt around her mid-section. She had curled her hair and was sporting bright red lipstick on her plump lips. "How's the break been? Have you two finished your schoolwork yet?"

"I have," Rose proclaimed proudly, receiving a grin from her mom.

Nyssa rolled her eyes at the girl, making Rose swat her on the shoulder playfully. "I haven't. There are much better things to do."

"Ron used to say that all the time when he would come home from Hogwarts," Molly said wistfully, staring off at nothing with a spatula in her hand. Remembering her children's younger years always brought on such mixed feelings of joy and sadness. She felt sad that the years had gone by so quickly and they were no longer the babies that she held in her arms each night, but happy at all the wonderful memories she had of their years spent growing up. There were some terribly sad memories too, and they produced a sharp ache in her heart.

"Ron and Harry both were horrible went it came to doing schoolwork," Mrs. Weasley said, stirring something in a bowl that was turning a dark yellow. From her tone, it appeared that she was rather disappointed the two had held this attitude towards schoolwork. "They tried to have me let them copy my papers."

"I wish Rose would let me copy her potions essays," Nyssa remarked, inciting a round of laughter from all the gathered females.

"If you tried a bit harder, you'd do fine on your own. Hagrid said so as well."

Nyssa did not remember Hagrid telling her to try harder. He only said that Teddy Lupin had been miserable at potions in the beginning as well, but got better later on. "He said I reminded him of Teddy. Will he be here this evening?" From all she'd heard about Teddy's relationship with the family, she assumed he would be. But then, Victoire had said he was off doing Auror training and Nyssa did not know if you were confined during that training or allowed to go home from time to time.

"He and Andromeda will come. They always do." Victoire's mom said, using her wand to flip pancakes in a frying pan while she sat at the table flipping through a magazine. It had been titled 'Witchy Woman' and had a scantily dressed winking woman on the cover, Nyssa saw, before Victoire's mom opened it.

"Andromeda?" Nyssa questioned, wondering what her relation was to Teddy. It sounded familiar, the name, but that was probably only because it was a star related name. Her family, at least her grandmother's side of it, had a tradition of naming their children after constellations or stars within constellations. "Is she Teddy's mom?"

A hush fell over the room at Nyssa's question, the only sound being that of a ticking clock and the sizzling frying pan. She had obviously said something wrong, because even Victoire's mom looked up from her magazine, which she seemed to be very interested in. "Andromeda is Teddy's gran. His parents are," Victoire hesitated, biting her lip, "they're dead. They died in the last wizarding war not long after Teddy was born."

"I didn't know," Nyssa apologized, understanding that her innocent question must have brought up some bad memories for the mothers in the room all remained silent.

"It's perfectly alright that you didn't. We don't speak about it much anymore. Not a pleasant topic, really," Mrs. Weasley said. She went back to her stirring, Victoire's mom looked back down to the magazine, and gran turned her attention once again to a boiling pot on the stove. Gran's eyes traveled to an open cookbook on the counter beside the stove.

"Teddy's gran was a Black before she married his granddad. She isn't on your family's tapestry?" Rose was attempting to change the conversation, and had decided to shift it to the topic of Nyssa's family. She had yet to tell her family of Nyssa's blood status or family, though she was positive it would not matter to them. The Weasleys and Potters were related to the Blacks as well.

Nyssa shook her head, feeling the eyes of the other women in the room now upon her once again. "She might be, but I don't remember seeing her on it."

"You are related to the Black family?" Victoire asked. Her barely visible blonde eyebrows rose in surprise.

"My grandmother was a Black before she married my grandfather. They met in the states at Salem Witches' Institute's annual school ball. Grandfather went to Bythovion School of Sorcery and, well, the boys from there go to the ball. It was all very sudden, their meeting and then marriage. They'd only known each other for half a year."

"That is rather sudden," Gran agreed, flipping a page in the cookbook and stirring the contents of the pot sitting on a burner next to the one already boiling. "Arthur and I knew each other at Hogwarts, of course. We started dating in fifth year. He proposed in seventh. My parents were opposed, of course. They didn't want me marrying so young and not to Arthur Weasley. But we were married by the fall."

Rose perked up at this, "Your parents didn't like granddad?" It was new information about Rose's grandparents, it seemed, that even Rose had not heard before. Nyssa felt privileged to be one of the first people to hear it alongside Rose and some of her family members.

"Merlin, no! A Weasley, what would others think? The Prewett girl marrying into the biggest family of blood traitors you could find. How the tongues would wag." She said this with a little laugh in voice, as if she looked back upon the memory of her parent's opposition with fondness. "My parents weren't blood supremacists, but all the same, there was a reputation to upkeep. Arthur persisted though, he always does. My dad gave him a great big bruise above his left eye and that was the end of it." It was going to be interesting, she thought, to see her son's going up against their daughter's future husbands.

"Your dad hit granddad and then allowed you to marry him?"

"So my memory tells me."

"My dad was so mean to Ron when we first went round to visit after he proposed," Mrs. Weasley chimed in, sighing at memory. It had been not long after she completed her final year – Victoire had already been born – though they did not get married until a few years after that. It had been a long engagement, unlike Harry and Ginny's. Harry didn't propose to Ginny until after she and Ron had married. The fiery redhead accepted immediately, of course, having been waiting for ages for him to propose. They were married five months later, though if things had gone Ginny's way, the two would have eloped and been done with it. Instead, they ended up going through the long process of planning and preparing for a large family and friend wedding.

Victoire's mom looked back up from the magazine, flipping her long blonde locks over her shoulder. She was currently reading an article about Amora Snow, a songstress who'd apparently just gone through with her fifth marriage and was having custody issues over her first son with her second husband. It was about to go into her struggle with alcohol over the years and her latest single, which Fleur knew would be another flop. "Papa and Maman adored Bill when they first met him. They asked if I would be happy with him and I told them I would, so they did not object."

Several loud sounds suddenly came from outside the house. CRACK. CRACK. CRACK. CRACK. CRACK. Nyssa recognized it as the sound of someone apparating, and although she'd heard it many times, the noise still made her jump in her seat. Mrs. Weasley did as well, jerking her wand towards the door as if it were a reflex. She quickly put it away once she'd regained her wits, reminding herself that the war was long over and they were all safe now.

The door burst open, a cheery-faced Louis bustling inside, "Everyone's here! Granddad told me to tell you!" That said he turned around, slamming the door behind himself as he headed back outside.

Victoire stood up, walking towards a mirror that hung next to a clock that was very much like the one Nyssa had seen in Rose's home. She ran her fingers through her hair, poking some behind her ears and letting the rest fall around her face. Her mood seemed significantly brighter now and after primping herself she hurried to the door, dashing outside.

"Teddy," Rose whispered in Nyssa's ear, "she's gone to see him." And Nyssa instantly understood why Victoire looked so much happier as she ran out the door than when she had been sitting at the table chatting with them all. It was the same way her mom acted whenever her daddy arrived home from work. She'd stand by the fireplace, waiting for him to come waltzing out so she could hug him, ask how his day had been, remove his jacket, and then offer him a cup of tea.

An elderly woman with long, thick shiny dark brown hair (there were a few wisps of grey among the brown), thin lips, and dark, wide eyes walked into the house next, followed by Albus' flaming red-haired mom, a tall woman with brown eyes and braided black hair, and a thin brown-haired woman that had eyes as blue as the ocean. The tall woman was introduced as Angelina Weasley, Fred and Roxanne's mom, the blue-eyed woman as Audrey Weasley, Molly and Lucy's mom, and the elderly woman as Andromeda Tonks, Teddy's gran.

"You two should head outside now. I'm sure you'll have more fun with the other children instead of us old ladies," Angelina said, winking at the two.

The girls decided that they would head outside as they weren't exactly helping in the kitchen nor were they needed any longer. Nyssa was glad once they'd gone outside, because the women had just got into a conversation about their children growing up and she didn't know if she could sit through such a dull conversation. Outside, Bill, Victoire's dad, and another red-haired man with several burn scars on his arms were battling with chairs against two other red-haired men – one of them was missing an ear and the other wore glasses. Hugo was standing next to a younger red-haired girl, talking excitedly to his granddad and Nyssa just barely managed to catch a few strands of Victoire's blonde hair disappearing around the corner of the house.

"Oi,Valentine!" James shouted, standing not but three feet in front of Nyssa. He was far too close to be shouting, in her opinion. "Having a good time at Rose's house? I bet it's boring. Do you read books all day? That wouldn't be fun."

Nyssa turned to Rose, a grimace now on her face. She found James Potter to be really obnoxious. He was friendly, sure, but he liked to tease people and it often became too much. James also happened to be overly confident and was proficient at telling fibs, often spouting off nonsense about how he'd been flying since he was two months old or could produce a stag patronus. "Happy that you get to tease me over break, Potter?"

"Over the moon," he replied, grinning before he took a few steps backwards. He'd seen Louis and Fred, who were gesturing him over wildly, sneaky expressions on their faces. "Don't wilt without me." And off he went. Upon reaching his two favorite cousins, the group of three huddled together for a few minutes and then took off running towards a shed towards the far corner of the yard.

=ooo=

"At least you haven't spent all break with him," Albus griped to Nyssa and Rose later about James as they were all sitting on the grass, watching the adult men joke around with each other and get berated by their wives for goofing off when they should have been setting up the tables and whatnot.

"Thank Merlin," Nyssa muttered, thinking to herself that she would have either gone crazy or killed James if she had to spend a vast amount of time around him. "Who's that girl with Hugo? No one's mentioned her."

"That's Lily," Rose said, plucking at the petals of a purple flower. It was a weed, she told Nyssa, though Nyssa insisted that even if it were classified as a weed it looked like a flower and should be called one.

"She's my younger sister," Albus added.

"She looks like your mom."

"Everyone says that."

"And you look like your dad."

"I know."

"And James looks and acts like a mixture of Harry's dad and godfather," chimed a voice from behind the three. The voice was sweet and velvety, like chocolate, mesmerizing with each syllable spoken. It was also calming; a sturdy voice that would leave you reassured in a crisis that all would be well. Facing the owner of the voice, Nyssa gasped, shuffling away from the older boy. He had blue hair, strikingly green eyes, and pale skin. He was the blue-haired boy she'd seen entering the train when she was standing on the platform before heading off to Hogwarts.

"Scared you, did I?" The boy asked, staring down at her with mirth shining in his eyes. He was taller than average and of slim build. Victoire stood behind him. "Sorry about that. I'm Teddy Lupin. You're Rose's friend Nyssa, right?" No response. Teddy noticed that Nyssa was staring intently at his blue hair. Smirking, he slowly changed his bright blue hair into the exact shade of brown as Nyssa's and then his eyes into that same odd amber of hers.

This only made Nyssa's eyes widen more and she stood, dusting off her clothes lightly, but never removing her eyes from Teddy. "How did you do that?"

"I'm a metamorphmagus." He declared proudly. It was an ability he'd inherited from his mother, a very rare ability, in fact.

"Goodness, Teddy, I had no idea you had a sister." Ginny, Albus' mom asked jokingly while walking near them, carrying a large platter of chocolate pretzels and truffles to the one of the many tables all pushed against one another. Gran was shouting at the four red-haired men to put the chairs they were having a battle with down.

The playful comment struck caused Nyssa to gaze at Teddy once more. His hair, she confirmed, was indeed now the same shade as her and he was sporting the very same eyes. They even had similar face shapes, though Nyssa doubted she would ever be as tall as the older boy. He really did look like her older brother with this appearance. None of her blood-related siblings resembled her or, perhaps, she did not resemble them, so it was with a small bubble of happiness in her belly that she decided to smile at the remark.

"Gran," Teddy yelled towards the elderly woman setting a large ham on one of the tables. He moved to stand beside Nyssa and pointed towards her when the woman finally looked up after he'd called her for the third time. "I've got a sister. Did you know? You told me you wished you had a granddaughter. You won't love her more than me, will you? I've known you longer."

"How lovely that you've found her, dear. I will surely love her a thousand times more," she replied, issuing laughter from the gathered family members and an indignant cry of 'Gran!' from Teddy. He kept the same hair and eye color for the rest of the night, referring to Nyssa as his 'sister' and protesting the use of the subject potions alongside her when George, Fred's dad, had asked what subject the children thought was least useful. Teddy also told a dramatic story of how Nyssa was actually born before him, but was stolen away right after and kept in a frozen state until her kidnappers thought it was time to let her start growing. When they were unwrapping presents, he handed a box with a tag on it that had her name marked out and written underneath it in shining gold letters was 'To My Sister'. As all the families began to leave one by one, several of the children yawning (Lily was about to topple over for want of sleep), he wiped away fake tears and told her that they would see one another soon.

It was all in good fun and something to laugh over in the months to come, she knew, but as she lay beside an already sleeping Rose that night in bed a tiny part of her could not help wishing that Teddy's far-fetched story of kidnappers and stopped growth were true.


Another chapter! :)

As always, I ask that you do review and tell me your thoughts. On a side note, I am currently re-writing the Prologue, as I think it is just too confusing to have that first bit that does not at all correlate with the next chapter and will not be explained for a while yet.