Christmas time at the Potter's! Christmas time will be at least three chapters long. SO many ideas so little time. I want to apologize for my way of writing. I'm so use to writing in first person but for this story I'm trying to write in third like the actual books. I'm sorry if my writing seems werid at some point. I hope you like this chapter as much as I liked writing it. Till next time -Aislynn
"James Sirius Potter!" a voice yelled from the kitchen. "When I get my hands on you, you'll wish you had never been born!" Albus opened his eyes reluctantly and sighed. Home Sweet Home. Albus thought to himself. He stood up and stretched his arms. "A typical morning at the Potter house." Albus said to himself.
It had been three days since vacation had started and the house was back to its regular routine. James often played pranks on his siblings, just as much as always. Lily was at first mad about sharing her room but when she found out Willow wasn't magical; she made it her job to teach her everything about the magical world. Lily always loved sharing what she knew with others. She had a couple of close calls when she was a kid telling Muggles about the Wizarding World.
As for Albus, he often listened to his father's stories and would write to Scorpius whenever he could. Scorpius had written about being left alone after the first day. His parents went back to their regular routine of leaving at sunrise and not returning till sunset. Albus didn't know what to do. He would invite him to dinner at his house but he knew his family would…..well they would act as most families act around the Malfoy's. They'd call them pure blood lunatics and Death Eater supporters. Albus knew better but most adults didn't.
He sat up in his bed and looked around his room. It was the same as he had left it. His Qudditch posters were hung loosely on their hooks. His collection of Chocolate Frog Cards was collecting dust on his shelf. He got out of bed and walked to his half open closet. His mother must have taken the time to clean his closet while he was gone. His clothes were usually a mess on the ground but now they were hung neatly on his clothes rack.
He grabbed a clean shirt and a clean pair of jeans. After getting dressed he opened he headed downstairs to see what James had done this time. Albus walked into the kitchen and ducked as a plate flew over his head. It actually flew over his head. Somehow all the plates in the kitchen and grown wings and were now flying around the kitchen. Lily ran past to go get the plate.
"Albus close the door!" His mother yelled. Albus closed the door immediately and pressed his back against the door. Albus' mother was waving her wand around trying to get rid of the wings. Willow was running around catching the plates that lost their wings before they smashed against the ground. "Albus, could you use the broom next to you to get some plates?"
Albus nodded and grabbed the broom. He began to swing the broom around but was careful enough not to break the dishes. It took the three of them ten minutes to catch all the plates. Albus' mum was mumbling under her breath as she placed the plates back on the kitchen table. "That boy." She said. "I'll need to talk to his uncle about those new gadgets he's been giving him."
"Where did James go?" Albus asked as he sat down at the table. His mother came over and kissed his forehead, he usual morning greeting.
"Your father is having a talk with him." She said with a huff in her voice. She placed some pancakes on his plates. She went to the kitchen door and opened it. "Lily! Breakfast is ready!"
"Hold on!" Albus heard his sister yell from far in the house. "I've almost got the plate!" Albus' mother closed the door and set a place down for Lily. Willow ate her pancakes and looked around the kitchen with curious eyes. Ginny saw this and smiled warmly at Willow. "How do you like your pancakes, Willow?"
"They are very good. Thank you Mrs. Potter." Willow said in a very polite voice.
"At least someone appreciates my cooking." Mrs. Potter said giving Albus a look.
Albus swallowed the food in his mouth. "Thank you Mum." Ginny patted him on the head and gave him another pancake. Lily skipped into the room with a plate in her hand. She gave it to her mother and took her place next to Albus. James walked into the room with his head down. Harry followed in after him. James walked up to his mother, who had her hands on her hips, and stared down, at his feet.
"I'm sorry I made the plates fly around the room." He mumbled under his breath.
"What was that?" Ginny asked with a smirk on her face. James sighed and looked his mother in the eye. "I'm sorry I made the plates fly around the room."
Ginny smiled. "You are forgiven. But you only get one pancake for breakfast and no flying your broom till after New Years."
"No broom?!" James yelled in shock.
Harry placed his hand on James shoulder. "Don't make it any worse." He whispered in his ear. James looked at his father and sighed. "Alright." James took his pancakes and sat down at the table as well. Harry and Ginny smiled at each other and began to talk all lovey dovey. Albus hated when they were like this, especially in public. Albus loved the thought of his parents being in love but not when he was around.
Harry leaned against the counter and drank his coffee. "After breakfast we'll we going to visit Grandma and Grandpa Weasley." The three children looked at each other and rolled their eyes. Willow looked at the three in confusion. "Grandma Weasley said that she has a surprise for all of you."
"Presents?" Lily said with excitement.
"No something even better." Ginny said with a little laugh.
"It's not another sweater is it?" James said.
"That's not till Christmas." Harry said. Willow looked at the family and she frowned. Ginny said this and looked down at her. "You're invited to come along as well Willow. I believe Rose will be there as well."
"And Hugo?" Lily asked happily. Harry ruffled her hair. "Yes Hugo will be there too." Lily cheered and began to eat even faster.
The family finished breakfast quickly and cleaned up the kitchen. "No pranks at Grandma Weasley's house, James. She had to raise your uncles so she knows all their tricks and yours." James nodded his head but Albus saw him cross his fingers behind his back. After cleaning up the kitchen, the family headed into the living room. There house was a simple house but filled with some magical properties. The people in the photos smile and moved around like regular people. In the living room was an old fashioned chimney but no fire was burning in it. Ginny opened a cabinet and pulled out a jar of Floo Powder. She grabbed a handful and placed it in Harry's hands. The fireplace grew in size so that Harry could step in. He turned around and raised his hand. "The Burrow!" Harry yelled as he threw the powder down. He erupted into green flame and disappeared.
Ginny handed the next handful to James. As James stepped into the fireplace, Willow walked up to Ginny. "How will I get there? I'm not magical." Willow asked.
"You'll come with me. Just hold my hand and don't let go till we get there." After James had left Ginny handed the next handful to Albus. He walked into the fireplace and faced his family. "The Burrow!" Albus yelled and threw down the Floo Powder. His vision was filled with green flames. The flames quickly died down and Albus found himself at The Burrow. He stepped out of the fireplace and was immediately pulled into a warm hug.
"Hello there my little Albus." Grandma Weasley said. She hugged him tightly and pushed his hair out of his eyes. "You've grown taller since I have last seen you." Albus saw a flash of green light and stepped aside. "Lily darling!"
Grandpa Weasley hugged Albus. "Hello my boy. I heard you got into Gryffindor. We are all very proud. Take a look at this." He pulled out a small, sliming looking device. It had a sticker of a bitten apple on the back. "They call it and iPhone. Apparently they are like those 'computers' but you can also call people from this device. Fascinating."
"How did you get an iPhone?" Albus asked.
"Some Muggle just threw it in the trash." Grandpa Weasley exclaimed. "Just like Muggle's to throw such amazing treasures away."
Another flash of green Albus turned and saw his mother and Willow standing in fireplace. Ginny hugged her mother. "Oh Ginny it's so good to see you." Grandma Weasley said.
"It's been three days mother." Ginny replied.
"Three days too long." Grandma Weasley patted Ginny's stomach. "You're getting too skinny my dear. You need to eat some more food." Grandma Weasley hurried over to the kitchen and began to prepare food.
Ginny rolled her eyes. "Mother." She complained.
"Oh hush. I was preparing lunch anyway." Grandma Weasley maneuvered around pots and pans that helped her prepare the food.
Grandpa walked up to Willow, who looked around the house in awe. "So you're Hagrid's daughter?" He asked curiously. Willow nodded and looked up at the man. Grandpa smiled and pulled out the iPhone. "Do you know what this is dear?"
Willow stared at the strange device. "I've never seen this before. What is it?" Grandpa's eyes lit up as he began to explain the device to Willow. Willow's eyes held the same spark of interest as he explained it. "Fascinating." Willow said.
Grandpa laughed loudly. "You're one of the few people I have met that is as fascinated with Muggle items as I am. I have a whole collection in the living room if you would like to see it."
Willow smiled widely and nodded her head. As Grandpa led Willow into the living room, Albus wandered around the house. The house was full of knickknacks and pictures of the family through the years. On one wall sat all the pictures of the Weasley weddings. On the wall opposite sat all the pictures of the grandchildren. Albus saw all of his cousins smiling and laughing back at him.
Albus walked to a bookcase and pulled out a photo album. He always liked looking through all the old photos. He saw news clippings of his family's success. On one page was an old article of the Weasley's trip to Egypt. A few pages later was a wedding announcement for Uncle Bill and Aunt Fluer. When he hit the halfway point he stared at one particular news article. It read:
Voldemort Defeated!
In the picture stood all the people who had participated in the battle, and survived, in front of Hogwarts. Albus' father was right in front. It was like looking into a mirror. Albus had been told many times that he looked like his father and he never denied it. Albus stared at the photo for a long time. He recognized a few faces but most he did not. He wondered how their futures were affected by Voldemort. Why weren't their stories told?
An explosion came from the living room. The whole house shook. Albus jumped up and ran toward the living room. When he entered he saw a giant cloud of black smoke. From the kitchen a large wind came and swept the smoke out through the window. With the smoke gone, Albus could see what caused it.
Willow and Grandpa were covered in black soot. On the table lay the iPhone, now broken into a million pieces. They coughed out black soot as they stood up. Grandma Weasley came over and helped Grandpa up. "Arthur Weasley! What do you think you were doing?"
"I was curious as to how the iPhone would react to magic. Apparently it doesn't agree to well with it." Grandpa said as he wiped some soot off his face. Ginny had brought a towel and was helping Willow wipe the black soot off her face.
"What have I told you about playing with Muggle things in the house?" Grandma scolded to Grandpa.
"I'm sorry, love." He said giving her a black kiss on the cheek.
"Found them!" a voice said from upstairs. James and Lily came pounding down the stairscase. James threw Albus a decorated box, similar to the two that they each held in their hands.
"I told you it was presents." Lily said cheerfully as she shook her present slightly. "Can we open them?"
Grandma folded her arms and shook her head. "Not until your cousins get here." James and Lily groaned while Albu placed his present on the only clean surface in the room. After cleaning off Grandpa as much as she could, Grandma went off and took a good look at Willow. "Those stains will never come out unless I wash them now. Come with me dear I think I have some hand-me-down clothes in Ginny's old room." Grandma took Willow by the hand and led her up the old creeky stairs.
A knock came to the front door of the house. Dad went to go and answer the door. Albus heard it open and a cheer of greetings commenced. "Ron! Hermione!" Albus heard his father yell. Soon the Weasley came laughing into the still dirty living room.
"Was Dad playing with more Muggle toys again?" Uncle Ron asked as he entered the room. Dad nodded his head.
"It seems he got his hands on an iPhone."
Hermione shook her head. "It's no surprise he did. They made so many of those blasted things that the first one is practically a dinosaur." Hugo and Lily ran to each other and talked amiably to one another.
Rose walked over to Albus and looked around. "Where is Willow?" she asked him.
Albus pointed up the stairs. "She got involved in Grandpa's accident. Grandma went to go find her new clothes." Just as Albus had spoken he heard the two coming down the stairs. Grandma was the first down the stairs. She went to hug the newcomers. When Willow came down the stairs, Albus felt his heart skip a beat.
She wore a long blue dress that made her eyes seem brighter. Her hair was clean of the black soot and braided into a low braid. Albus shook his head and looked down at the ground. Rose ran up to Willow and gave her a big hug.
"Oh Willow you look so pretty in your dress." Rose said with a big smile. She then turned to Albus and gave him a wicked grin. "Doesn't she look so pretty Albus?"
Albus hated his cousin at this moment. She knew whenever he was embaressed about something and, depending on the situation, would love to make it even worse. He looked at Willow, who looked at him with curiosity in her eyes. He nodded his head and said. "Yeah she looks pretty I guess."
Willow blushed slightly and smiled. "Thank you." Grandma came over to Rose and placed a gift in her hand. Then she turned to Willow and placed one in her hand. Willow looked up to her in surprise. "I wouldn't forget about you, Willow." Grandma smiled then turned to the rest of the family. "You can all open your presents now."
Wrapping paper was flown into the air as the children ripped their presents open. After opening the lid Albus looked curiously into the box. He pulled out a wool hat. He recognized the work as his Gramdmother's own work. On the hat was a giant letter 'A'. Albus looked around and saw his other cousins have the same present just with their own letter. Each had had a different design on it.
On Albus' hat had a snitch on the back of it. Rose placed hers on her head. On the back was an owl, representing her knowledge. Willow examined hers for a long time. Albus could guess his grandmother had finished it the night before, but it still looked well done. On the back of Willow's was a blue butterfly which seemed to match her personality. Albus had no idea how his grandmother would know that but he knew he may not want to know.
"You can all use these hats when we go to the winter celebration the day after Christmas." She explained. The children all thanked Grandmother in unison and she smiled proudly. A tapping came to the window. Everyone turned and saw an elegant looking owl flew in. The owl sat on the table next to Albus and stuck a leg out toward him. Albus took the letter from the owl, under the watchful eyes of the adults.
"Who is it from Albus?" Grandma asked. Albus shrugged his shoulders pretending not to know. He knew the owl was Scorpius' but he could tell his family. He read the letter and nearly dropped it. His eyes widened as he looked around the room. All the adults stared at him. "What is it Albus?" His father asked.
Albus gulped and gave the letter to his father. His father took the letter and read over it carefully. "Well that's a surprise." He commented.
Albus' mother came over and looked at the letter. "What is it Harry?"
Harry cleared his throat. "Dear Albus, I have decided to tell my father about our friendship. I have been bored out of my mind just staying at home with the house elves. He did not take it too well but mother calmed him down. I have convinced him to invite you and your family to our Christmas Eve Party. I understand if you do not wish to come but I believe having your family there will liven the party. The invitation is attached. Please respond as soon as you can. Sincerely Scorpius."
The whole room looked at Albus. Albus' father pulled the invite from the letter. "It seems they have invited Mr. and Mrs. Harry Potter and children, Mr. and Mrs. Ronald Weasley and children, and Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Weasley."
Uncle Ron looked over at Rose. "So your friends with a Malfoy, huh?" He asked her.
Rose stood up straight. "Yes I am."
Uncle Ron gave her a look. "Didn't I warn you about being friends with a Malfoy? It brings nothing but trouble."
Rose's face turned red. "Malfoy…..Scorpius isn't that bad. He may be a Malfoy but to me he is a rival in only academics. He has done nothing to not let me trust him."
Ron shook his head. "I still don't trust those Malfoy's."
Hermione looked up at Harry. "Should we go to the party?"
Harry shrugged his shoulders. "I don't see why not. What about you Mrs. Weasley?"
Grandmum crossed her arms. "As long as those Malfoy's remain civil we will, right boys?' She looked at Arthur and Ron. They both huffed but nodded their heads. Harry wrote done a quick reply and attached it to the owl. As the owl flew away Harry turned to the rest of the family. "Looks like we will be spending Christmas with the Malfoy's."