A/N: It's the Christmas chapter! I couldn't wait to write this one, so you're getting a fast update :)

Disclaimer: Not mine.

On the train, the four of us managed to get a compartment to ourselves, thankfully. We had a lot to talk about. The moment we had shut the door, Helen and Lily started raging about Suzy and how she was sure to ruin our Christmas. Swarna, however, just sat quietly a corner. I supposed she had wanted to spend some time with James this holiday without Suzy constantly in the way. The only good thing about this situation was that at least they had forgotten about how Scorpius supposedly liked me. I too tried to push this out of my mind and focus on the daunting prospect of Christmas with both Aaron and Suzy. It seemed preferable.

Helen and Lily's heated rants passed straight over my head. Try as I might, I couldn't stop thinking about what Scorpius had done for me, and what it could possibly mean. I had the uncomfortable feeling that Aaron wouldn't do something like that for me.

Some time later, the noise of the approaching food trolley pulled me out of my reverie. Jumping to my feet, I offered to go into to the corridor and get everyone some food. Helen and Lily paused briefly to thank me, while Swarna nodded distractedly, lost in her thoughts. By the tiny smile on her face, I thought she was probably imagining how happy our Christmas might have been if it wasn't for Suzy's presence.

I headed out into the corridor and paid the witch at the trolley for generous quantities of Bertie Bott's Every Flavoured Beans, Chocolate Frogs, Pumpkin Pasties, Cauldron Cakes, and everything else the trolley had, feeling that we would all need plenty of nourishment to face the next few days. Taking my food, I thanked the witch and turned around, only to bump straight into Scorpius and Lucy, who had apparently also come to buy food.

Cakes, pastries, beans, and everything else I was carrying immediately tumbled to the floor. Face flaming, I bent down, face as red as my traditional Weasley hair. Lucy simply smirked and stepped over me to the trolley, but Scorpius immediately bent down to help me gather the fallen food. He grinned at me, and my returning smile was genuine, which seemed to spur him to speak.

'So where are you going for Christmas?' he asked, sounding genuinely interested.

'Grimmauld Place – where my aunt and uncle live.' I replied. 'The whole extended family is going to be there.'

'That sounds fun – much better than my Christmas!' he responded. 'I'm just going to Malfoy Manor with my parents and grandma – no brothers or sisters or cousins. Luce is coming to stay though.'

Something about the way he said this made me suspect he didn't get on too well with his family. Before I could question this however, Lucy finished buying her food and turned towards us.

'Come on Scorpius, let's go,' she said shortly. She gave me, crouching on the floor next to Scorpius, the onceover, and I suddenly wondered if maybe Suzy wasn't the one Scorpius was with after all.

She must have decided she couldn't completely ignore my presence, because, looking right at me, she said 'What are you still doing here, Weasley? Surely you should be back with your boyfriend? The one who you always look so happy with in public?'

I glared at her with pure hatred. I could tell by her tone of voice that she knew that things between Aaron and I were strained, on my part at least. What if she were to tell Scorpius, or worse, Aaron?

To my amazement, Scorpius looked annoyed. 'Leave her alone, Lucy,' he said angrily. 'She's not doing anything to you.'

Lucy looked amazed that Scorpius could possibly be annoyed with her, then turned and flounced back to her compartment. Scorpius shot me an apologetic look and followed.

***

The rest of the journey passed uneventfully, except for the fact that the four of us made a pact to try and ignore Suzy and enjoy ourselves as much as possible. Finally, the train pulled into Platform 9 and ¾ and we clambered off, dragging our trunks, plus various animals in cages. We were met by both my parents and Lily's, all of whom looked delighted to see us. They took turns to hug us. I hugged both my parents tightly, suddenly very happy to see them. So much had happened during the term that I hadn't thought of home much, but all of a sudden I wanted nothing more than to curl up on a sofa and catch up with my entire family.

Everyone was suddenly talking at once. Uncle Harry and my father wanted to know how our Quidditch was going, while Mum wanted to know if we were up to date on all our work, and Aunt Ginny was asking if I had used her Bat Bogey hex again. It was chaotic, but I loved it, every second.

However, I did notice, as James introduced Suzy to the adults, that both my father and uncle seemed completely stunned by her. I wasn't sure if this was purely because of her looks, or merely because they were amazed James could get a girl who looked like that. Either way, I didn't like it. I also noticed a look between Mum and Aunt Ginny which told me they didn't think too much of her, however, which made me feel much better.

We set off for the car park. I was careful to keep Al and Nigel, who were small enough to keep getting lost in the crowds, in front of me until we reached the magically enlarged cars that would take us to Grimmauld Place. As I climbed in, I felt that surge of excitement again. I couldn't wait to see the rest of my family.

***

As it happened, hardly anyone had arrived yet. The only people at Grimmauld Place were my Grandma and Grandpa Weasley. Grandma squeezed us all so tightly we couldn't breathe, then told us to go and get ready for dinner. I'd no doubt dinner would be huge, but I'd been looking forward to my Grandma's cooking for weeks. Despite the immense amount of food I'd consumed on the train, my stomach growled in anticipation.

'Where are we sleeping, Grandma?' Lily asked, always the sensible one. I'd been prepared to dash off upstairs with no idea where I was supposed to go.

'Oh, let's see,' Grandma replied, tearing her attention away from the stew she had bewitched to stir itself. 'It'll be a bit of a squash, I'm afraid, but there are going to be a lot of people staying this Christmas.'

We all assured her we didn't in the least mind being squashed, and, looking happier, she tried to remember which rooms had been set up for us.

'Hmmm, you three older boys, you're going be sleeping on the third floor, the room on the left when you get up the stairs, 'she said, indicating James, Hugo and Aaron. 'Albus, you and Nigel will be sleeping in the small room opposite. Girls, you're all together, in the big room on the second floor. We managed to cram five beds in, it's very cramped but I'm afraid you'll have to make do.

A hissing noise came from the stove, and looking flustered, she turned to attend to the stew, leaving the five of us girls all looking equally sick. Apparently, Suzy hadn't bargained on sleeping in a room with us either. All I could think was 'So much for our plan to ignore her.'

***

By dinnertime, the house was complete chaos. My uncles George, Bill and Percy were there, along with my aunts, Fleur, Angelina, and Penelope. Uncle Harry's godson, Teddy Lupin, and his wife, my cousin Victoire, were there too, along with their one year old son, Jacob. Victoire was pregnant again, and glowing. I couldn't wait for the birth, Completing the party was Trixie, our completely hyperactive and overexcited house elf, who usually got in the way more than she actually helped. She was so enthusiastic, however, that no one had the heart to tell her this. At my mother's insistence, she was paid two Galleons a week and could take weekends off if she chose.

The only absentee was my Uncle Charlie, who was on his honeymoon in Greece with his new bride, Bridget, after having suffered years of teasing over being the family bachelor. I missed him, but with so many people, it was impossible to be too upset over the loss of one person.

After dinner, which was as amazing as I'd expected, we all settled in the living room. Despite the new sofas which had been bought for the occasion, there were still people sitting in every nook and cranny. I cheered up slightly. Maybe we couldn't ignore Suzy in our room, but it wouldn't exactly be difficult to find someone else to talk to.

Swarna came in last, as she had been talking to Trixie. The elf had a tendancy to talk to anyone who would listen about how amazing Christmas was going to be and how happy she was to have so many people, and it was impossible to get away quickly. She looked around for a place to sit, seeming not to find one. James, seeing her at a loss, shuffled closer to Suzy on the two seater sofa they were sitting on, and waved her over.

'Come on, Swarna,' he called. 'There's room for three on this sofa.'

Swarna just smiled and went to sit down, but I could see in her eyes how happy she was. Suzy, on the other hand, was scowling, but I really didn't care about that. I felt Helen, sitting next to me, nudge me in the ribs, and knew she'd seen the look in Swarna's eyes too.

***

That evening, despite valiant attempts at conversation, everyone was too tired from travelling and stuffed full of food to stay up late. Jacob, exhausted, was fussing loudly, and Victoire spent most of her time gently rocking him from side to side. We all ended up going to bed early. This, of course, sparked a discussion over who would get to use the limited bathroom facilities first. Suzy managed to slip into one, leaving the four of us to go to our room, dress quickly, and flop onto the beds while we waited for her to come out.

'I can't believe we have to share with her!' Lily complained. 'She's going to make it impossible to talk about anything.'

'Yes, but where else is she supposed to stay?' Swarna pointed out sensibly. 'She definitely can't stay with James.'

We all grimaced at this idea, but were interrupted by Suzy returning. Unable to say more, we brushed our teeth as quickly as possible and went to sleep.

***

The next morning, I awoke early. After staring at the ceiling for about ten minutes, I got up and slipped on a sweater and jeans. All four of my roommates were still asleep, most looking peaceful and serene, although Helen appeared to be on the verge of falling off the bed. Grinning to myself, I went down to the kitchen to discover Grandma, Aunt Ginny, Victoire and Mum in the kitchen, starting breakfast.

'Morning, Rose,' they all said in unison.

'Good morning,' I said as cheerfully as I could manage. Still tired from the journey of the day before, I had a headache.

'You look exhausted,' said Mum sympathetically. 'Have a cup of tea.' She waved her wand once, and a tea bag flew off the counter and landed in a cup. The kettle then added boiling water, sugar and milk flew over and added themselves, and the tea bag flew out. The cup then flew off the counter, landing in front of me at the table.

I've always wished I was as good at magic as my mum.

I sipped the tea gratefully. However, it only gave me short relief, as everyone immediately wanted to know the details of my relationship with Aaron.

'He seems nice, Rose,' said Victoire warmly. 'You must be happy with him.'

I was saved answering this by Jake crawling into the kitchen. His hair, which had been blond last night, was now bright green. It appeared he had inherited the family talent of Metamorphosing. He went straight to Victoire, who picked him and took him into the next room to change his clothes.

Mum gave me a shrewd look. I had the feeling she'd noticed my reluctance to answer the question.

'I knew his father, you know, Cormac,' she said, 'We...went out for a bit, in my sixth year.'

I was gobsmacked. No one had ever told me this before.

'What happened?' I demanded.

Before she could reply, however, a loud crash announced the arrival of Al and Nigel, one of whom had tripped over the chair closest to the kitchen door.

After them, a whole rush of other people arrived, and Mum was so busy doling out toast and eggs that she didn't have time to tell me the story. I resolved to ask her for it later. I suddenly really wanted to know.

I managed to pass this new development on to my friends as we sat in our room later that morning, sipping Butterbeer that had been passed around by Trixie. Suzy was nowhere to be seen, so we had some privacy for once. Mum was downstairs surrounded by people, so no chance of asking her at the moment.

All at once, the door flew open, and Aaron rushed in. 'Hey, Rose!' he exclaimed. 'I've been looking all over for you!' He leaned forward to kiss me, but, annoyed, I pushed him away.

'What was that for?' he exclaimed, sounding angry.

'Er, you can't just barge in to other people's rooms,' I said, my tone matching his. 'We were having a private conversation.' Aaron might have gotten nicer lately, but his lack of manners still annoyed me.

'Well, you could just tell me what it's about,' he said. 'I am supposed to be your boyfriend, although I'm not sure if you realise it.'

'What's that supposed to mean?' I shot back, with an uncomfortable feeling that I knew. I had been stupid to think he wouldn't notice my recent lack of enthusiasm in our relationship.

'You know what it means,' he said darkly, and walked out, slamming the door.

Helen, Swarna and Lily just stared at me.

'What are you going to do, Rose?' asked Lily. 'I mean, he kind of...has a point.'

'I know,' I said. 'I don't really want to talk about it.'

***

All three of them had very interested in what Mum had said, and we couldn't wait to find out the full story, but there just wasn't an opportunity. The first few days of the holidays passed quickly, in a rush of catching up on news and spending time with family. We'd all been at Grimmauld Place for nearly a week when it happened.

***

Over the past few days, we'd seen surprisingly little of Suzy. This wouldn't have been surprising at all, but for the fact that James often came downstairs without her. He sat with Swarna a few more times, and talked to her a lot, which made all of us happy, but did nothing whatsoever to explain where she was. James said she was doing holiday homework, but she was never in our room.

Not wanting to complain, however, we didn't pry into this too deeply, especially because every male in the household went out of his way to accommodate Suzy. She was generally given the best seats, and everyone would always get out of her way. It was seriously beginning to sicken me. Just because the girl was pretty, guys seemed unable to see her real personality. Not that she showed it to the adults. With them, she always had perfect manners, and acted sweet and innocent, constantly thanking them for inviting her to stay.

Meanwhile, Aaron and I had made up, but he had stopped trying to constantly stalk me. I only saw him two or three times a day, and all he'd want to do was talk. This was a relief, as I was still planning on ending things once we got back to school, and I was hoping I could do it without hurting him badly. I supposed he was spending time with Hugo, or doing holiday work like Suzy. The sixth year appeared to have been given a lot of work, and it was typical of James not to do any.

Without those two around, I thoroughly enjoyed the holidays, spending time with my friends and my family. James had finally forgiven me, and we were getting on well. On the sixth day of the holidays, however, something happened that shattered the peace.

Helen, Swarna, Lily, James, Hugo and I were sitting in our room playing with Jake and discussing possible pranks we could play on various people in the house, when James suddenly remembered a bag of products from George's store in his room, so we all trooped off to look at it.

On the way up the stairs to the third floor, we heard muffled noises coming from a nearby cupboard.

'What's that?' asked Swarna, stopping. 'Hadn't we better check it, in case Al or Nigel has gotten locked in, or something?'

James laughed, but nevertheless, reached out and tried the cupboard. It was locked. Hugo, who'd recently come of age, reached past and tapped the lock with his wand, muttering 'Alohamora.' The cupboard door came open, to reveal something none of us had thought we'd see.

In the cupboard, furiously kissing, were Aaron...and Suzy.

Please review. Oh, and in the next chapter there will be more of the original characters :)