Christmas Eve arrived and the whole castle shone with the festivity's decorations.

Mia got up early in order to go help Molly in the Burrow. The Blacks would be spending the day and part of the night in there, so Mia thought it would be nice to help. Darcy would be going as well as her grandparents were celebrating their fiftieth wedding anniversary in a cruise.

She was in the kitchen, packing the cake she had baked with Lulu in the previous night when Sirius came in.

"Good morning my precious wife," he greeted Mia. "Doesn't it feel wonderful to wake up and notice that it is Christmas Eve?"

She turned to him. "Well, aren't we cheerful today?"

"Holiday spirit, love," he told her. "You know what would be nice? You coming back to bed. It is still nine in the morning."

"I'm sorry honey, but I can't. We have to go to the Burrow, remember?" she asked.

He huffed. "Then, what I can I do to please you?"

"You are very gentlemanly this morning," she stated.

"I know. Odd, isn't it?" he asked.

"I could get used to it. Why don't you start by getting dressed while I go wake the kids?" she suggested.

"As you wish, sweetheart," he agreed. "Jeez, you're right. I don't know what's gotten into me to cause all this gallantry."

"Chivalry is not dead, after all," she joked.

Mia left the tower and walked to the Gryffindor common room. She reached the seventh year girls' dorm and came in, in order to wake her daughter.

"Wake up, Mandy, we have to go to the Burrow," she said.

Mandy turned with a very sleepy face. "Can't I sleep one more hour?"

"No. Come on. I'm going to wake Alex now," Mia declared.

That made Mandy wake up completely.

"Er… he's not in the dorm. He spent the night in Will's tower," she said.

Mia raised an eyebrow. "Which is also where Darcy sleeps."

"Er… yeah," she said.

"Mandy, you don't need to cover for your brother. I know perfectly well what my son does with his girlfriend. As long as they are careful, I have no problem with it," her mother declared.

"I'm sure they are," Mandy confirmed.

There was an awkward silence. "Do me a favour," Mia told Mandy. "Wake them up for me. I don't think Alex would be comfortable with me waking him and Darcy."

"Sure," Mandy agreed.

"Tell them to be ready by ten. That also applies to you," she warned her daughter.

--

The knocking on the door woke Alex up. Darcy was also moving in his side, so he guessed she had heard the noise as well.

"Get up, you two! Mum wants us ready by ten. You have half an hour," Mandy said through the door.

"We're awake!" he shouted, so his sister would stop the noise.

"Hum, morning," Darcy murmured and he turned to her on the bed and kissed her softly.

"Good morning," he greeted her. "Are you ready to meet my extended family?"

"Do they even know that I am coming?" she asked.

"They know that Mandy's best friend is coming. Still, they are not aware of our relationship," he said.

"Should I be worried?"

"I don't think so," Alex answered.

"Okay, I'm going to get dressed," Darcy got up and went to the wardrobe. "Half these clothes need to go away. Far away."

"Why?"

"They are too…tidy. It looks like I am going to a job interview."

Alex smiled. She used to wear that all the time when she was not in her school uniform…that was before the real Darcy took over.

"Didn't you bring anything to wear today?" she asked him.

"As a matter of fact I did," he told her.

"Then get dressed, you lazy ass!" she demanded.

"Can't I stay here admiring you, Finn?" he pleaded.

"Later," she promised.

--

When the couple exited the room, they found Mandy and Will snogging in the couch.

"Oh, get a room," Alex said. "Like we did."

Mandy and Will broke apart and stared at Darcy and Alex.

"We were just saying goodbye," Mandy said.

"Yeah, I have to leave in a few minutes," Will informed them. "My parents are waiting for me."

"Have a nice Christmas, man," Alex wished his friend.

"Yeah, you too," he told them. Turning to Mandy, he kissed her again. "I'll write tomorrow."

"You'd better!"

After Will left, she turned to the couple. "Mom knows that you have been shagging."

"What?!" Alex asked, in panic.

"Don't worry; she's okay with it, as long as you're careful. Apparently, our parents are not as daft as we picture them," Mandy stated.

"Oh god! How will I be able to look at her?" Darcy asked.

"Like you always do, Darce. She's been our age before," she said.

"Let's just go. The sooner we face it, the sooner it is over," Alex stated.

--

Molly Weasley was with Valera, Ginny and Hermione in the kitchen.

"I think you're cooking too much food for lunch," Hermione told her mother-in-law.

"I wouldn't be so sure, Hermione," Ginny said. "All the Weasley men eat as much as Ron does. In my opinion, it is highly unlike that we have any leftovers."

"She's right, Hermione," Valera said. "I spend a small fortune just to feed Charlie."

"The painful truth is that the Weasley men eat like bears," Molly said.

"And the good part is that they are always fit," Izzy declared when she arrived to the kitchen. "Please, give me something to do; I can't stay in that sofa anymore."

"Feel free to peel the potatoes," Molly said.

"Thank you!" she said.

"Who has arrived so far?" Ginny asked.

"Andromeda, Teddy, Percy… Most of them are coming after lunch," Izzy said.

Suddenly, there was a scream, coming from the sitting room.

Ginny went there to investigate and found Ron extremely pale looking at the spider that Danny, Fred and James had proudly brought inside the house.

"Kids! You're not supposed to bring bugs to the house!" Harry was telling the boys. "Especially spiders, you know that Uncle Ron has a problem with them."

"But it was alone outside. No one should be alone in Christmas Eve," James said.

Ginny decided it was time to step in. "Well, maybe the spider was going to meet her family. But now that you brought her home, she can't find it." Noticing the boys' alarmed expressions, she decided to make a suggestion. "Why don't you put the spider back outside and let her find her family?"

They immediately nodded, grabbed the spider and ran outside.

"Snap out of it, Ron. The spider is gone," Harry told his friend.

"Sometimes, you're pathetic, Ron," Ginny said. "Probably the spiders are more afraid of you than you are of them."

"Shut up, Ginny," Ron told his sister and left the room, still looking pale.

"You handled it quite well," Harry told his wife.

"I know, I am a genius," she said, leaning to kiss him.

"Three kids later and they still have the fire," Sirius said when he arrived.

"You have a remarkable sense of opportunity, don't you, Padfoot?" Harry asked his godfather in a frustrated tone.

"Well, now that you mention it," he said in a cocky tone.

"Leave them alone, Sirius," Mia ordered her husband. "Hey, Harry, Ginny, where is everyone?"

"All over the house," Ginny said. "Maybe you should start in the kitchen."

"Good idea," she said. She grabbed her husband's arm. "You're coming with me."

"Don't I have a say on that?" he asked, while he was being dragged to the kitchen.

"Nope."

Harry and Ginny stood there, grinning and wondering if they would turn out to be like Sirius and Mia in the future. Ginny went back to the kitchen as well.

"Always the same thing. They lead the way and leave us behind," Mandy was complaining. "Oh, hi Harry, I didn't notice you in there."

"Hi Mandy, how is Christmas Break so far?"

"Eventful," she said. He looked confused. "You'll see what I mean later."

Darcy and Alex arrived moments later.

"It's freezing outside," Alex said.

"You forgot to use a warming charm, didn't you?" Darcy asked.

"Yeah," he confirmed. "How's the Auror department, Harry? Caught a lot of criminals lately?"

"A couple of cons and a few dark lord wannabes. We're thinking of turning to that Muggle cliché in which authority agents spend the whole day eating doughnuts," Harry said, sarcastically. He turned to Darcy. "I don't think we have met personally before. I'm Harry…"

"…Potter," Darcy finished. "Sorry, but basically everyone knows who you are. My name is Darcy Finnigan."

"Right, you're Seamus' sister! He talks a lot about you," Harry told her. "How is he, by the way?"

"Suffering in the hands of his monster-in-law," she joked.

"Poor guy, I already had the displeasure of meeting Lavander's mother," Harry said.

"Good thing we saved Finn from sharing his awful fate, isn't it?" Alex told her.

"I will be eternally grateful," she said.

Alex turned to Harry. "Did I mention that she is my girlfriend?"

"No, you didn't," he stated. "I guess congratulations are in order. Now, excuse me. I have to go make sure that James, Fred and Danny don't bring any more bugs into the house." He dressed his coat and went outside.

Mandy looked at the couple. "Excuse me, but I'm not staying here holding a candle for you two," she told them before turning to the kitchen's direction.

Alex looked mischievously at his girlfriend. "Finally alone. Do you know what would warm me up? A kiss."

"And who would be the one to give you that kiss?" she asked.

"Well, I'd like it to be you," he answered.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him softly. In a matter of moments, the kiss was deepened and that innocent kiss became a full snogging session.

"Holly Merlin's Pants!" they heard someone shouting. They broke the kiss and noticed that Izzy was in the room, looking stunned at them. "This is the world's end. The Apocalypse arrived!"

Alex gulped. He had forgotten to tell Izzy that Darcy and he had gotten together.

"Hi Izzy," he greeted her nervously.

"'Hi Izzy'?! Why the hell are you kissing?" she asked. "I need to sit down," she murmured, before walking to the sofa.

"These days, they snog instead of fighting," Mandy said, arriving from the kitchen after hearing her sister's reaction.

"Mandy!" Darcy said.

"Don't give me that look, I'm not lying."

"We are together now, Izz," Alex informed his sister. "Before you ask, this happened in the morning after the Christmas Ball."

"Couldn't you have told me a little earlier? You know, because I am pregnant and should not receive shocking news like my brother and my sister's best friend, who hate each other, kissing," Izzy told them.

"We never hated each other," Alex said.

"We're sorry for not telling you before, Izzy," Darcy apologised. "You're not the only one to have this kind of reaction. It was quite sudden."

"We were planning to announce this later, but you always seem to show up in the wrong moment," Alex stated.

"Oh, forgive me for wanting to say hi to my siblings," Izzy shot sarcastically. "You are not joking, are you? Because if you are, Alex, I will hurt you. Badly."

"I swear this is not a joke. She's the one," Alex said and Darcy nodded in agreement. "Marauder's word."

"You are not a Marauder, Alex," Izzy stated.

"That's not the point," he told her. "Mandy can confirm."

Izzy looked at her sister. "Do I need to wear a t-shirt saying: 'I confirm that Darcy Finnigan and Alex Black are dating'. It is like the twentieth time I am asked to authenticate that statement."

"Who would ever guess that Darcy Finnigan would turn my brother into an honest guy," Izzy stated. "Well, I'm happy for you two. Now, where are my two youngest siblings?"

"Liv and Evan are outside, playing with Jamie, Fred and Danny," Mandy said.

"Oh, I guess I'll wait for them to come inside, I don't feel like going outside" Izzy murmured. "Now, explain me. How exactly did you two get together?"

"Well, it is complicated," Darcy started.

"What do mean?"

"We liked each other for a long time," Alex stated. "At the ball, Finn got drunk and I had to take her to her bed. When I put her in there, she said she loved and passed out."

"She did what?" Mandy, who was also listening, asked. "You forget to tell me that part."

"It was not one of my most charming moments," Darcy declared.

"Continuing, that declaration gave me courage to confront her in the next day, and we got together," he finished.

"That doesn't seem that complicated," Izzy said.

"Oh, this is the soft-rated part of the story," Mandy stated, receiving dirty looks from her brother and her best-friend. "I'm sure you don't want to know about the rest."

"Yes, I do!" Izzy said. "I'm pregnant, and my husband seems to be dedicated to take all the fun of my life. I need to live through you!"

"Why don't we talk about this later?" Alex suggested. "I really feel like having a snack."

"I suggest you save some space in your stomach, little brother, because tonight we'll have a banquet," Izzy said. "Did I mention that everyone is coming?"

"What do you mean with 'everyone'?" Darcy asked her.

"Let's just say that compared to this, last year's ministry ball will look like a garden party," she declared. "Didn't you see the tent outside?"

"You mean that little thing in the front yard?" Alex asked. "I thought that was a fort for the kids."

"Never judge a tent from what it looks like outside," Izzy told him. "Molly had to borrow half the elves from Hogwarts in order to decorate and work in the party. That should give you a small light about how big tonight's celebration will be."

A/N: First of all, I'd like to kindly ask you to review. It ia always nice to receive some feedback about ou work, you know? And by the way, no, one review cannot cout as two just because you say so. Next week, you will have the second part of this chapter.