Chapter 14 and again my schedule failed. I apologise, like I've been doing for the last few chapters.
So, about my schedule: I'm going on a holiday this Wednesday and I will return eight days later. This means that I probably won't post a new chapter for at least two weeks. I will submit a new chapter as soon as I am back and I've typed it out. My pen, paper and file with all the information about Painting Nimwe will come with me to Spain, so I'm hoping for lots of inspiration and lots of sentences and paragraphs.
Everyone, have a nice summer and please review with your thoughts about this chapter or the story overall!
Chapter 14: Family is all around
The classroom was filled with yellow, white and grey birds and Nimwe was just transfiguring the last whistle into a bird to accompany the others. She looked how he flew up and began to fly in circles above her head. She turned to the two teachers who were sitting in identical poses with their arms crossed and their right ankle lying on their left leg. Professor Longbottom, who was always present at the private lesson, was nodding approvingly and Professor Blevins of Transfiguration wrote something on the long piece of parchment he was holding.
When he was done, he said in his soft, shy voice: "It seems this spell requires some movement on your half, like you are pulling the bird out of the whistle. Now you are on the same page as everyone."
Nimwe nodded. "Sir, does this mean that I have to do it like that more often when the normal process doesn't work?"
Blevins looked shortly at her, almost as if he did not expect her to talk to him and looked back at his notes. "Yes, I think so. It's a logical movement and you have mentioned that it feels right when you do it."
"Good," Longbottom said, standing up. "Nimwe, were there other spells you've encountered that proved to be difficult for you?"
"No," Nimwe said. She paused for a second and then talked about something else "Maeve has written to me and she found out that both men and women can inherit my magic. The father of her grandmother possessed it too. She pointed out something interesting." She walked to her bag, took out a piece of parchment and read from it: "I never thought about it until now. I don't know if the magic follows only one family line or that more children can inherit it. I was an only child, so was my mother and her mother. I do not know about my grandmother's father though.
"It's possible that the magic can't split, maybe as a mean to keep it strong or to keep it unique. It would be interesting to investigate."
Nimwe looked at the professors. Longbottom was nodding thoughtfully, while Blevins said: "Interesting indeed. It would almost be the same questions as with Muggle-borns: how do they get it and how does it spread? Some Muggle-borns have brothers and sisters that are also magical, but some have siblings that remain Muggles. There has been a lot of research and the answer has still not been found. I think this is something to write up and keep a close look at and maybe find the answer along the way."
Blevins looked down again after his explanation of how his view on the matter was. Nimwe was almost speechless that Blevins said this much on a subject that had nothing to do with Transfiguration. Even in class he tried to say as little as possible.
"I agree with professor Blevins," Longbottom said. "It's useful information, but at the moment, we can't use it. Keep asking Maeve for information, talk about your magic with her, exchange more experiences. She could tell you how to do a spell more effectively."
Nimwe nodded understandingly. "I know, we have been writing for two months now and I understand my magic a bit better. Like that just pointing with my finger is for the more specific spell on a specific object, like in Charms and Transfiguration, but that an open hand or two can be more effective in Defence Against the Dark Arts."
"Exactly. We should discuss that more after the Christmas holiday. Try out some spells in different ways and look how it is more effective for you." Professor Longbottom grabbed his bag, asked for the notes from Blevins and then bid his colleague and his student farewell.
Blevins seemed to be stunned for a moment and messed his thin mousy hair, before he seemed to remember that this had been his cue to go. He also got his old teacher's bag, mumbled goodbye to Nimwe and left the classroom to go to his own residence.
The girl chuckled shortly and also left the classroom, looking forward to the next day when she would go home for the holidays.
It was a few days before Christmas and the grounds were covered in ice, as the rain had fallen this night and had frozen over in the low temperatures in the Highlands. Hogwarts had been decorated in green, red, gold, Christmas trees and mistletoe, the latter making many students giggle unless they were the ones that stood underneath the mistletoe with someone they would rather punch than kiss.
It had happened to Cassandra the other day. They had been waiting in front of the temporary classroom of Care for Magical Creatures, when suddenly Fred, who had been just passing by, yelled: "Hey Cassandra! I think you should give Frye a kiss!" Ryan had made the kissing sounds to draw extra attention to the fact that according to the law of mistletoe Cassandra now had to kiss the skinny, annoying Slytherin Allard Frye. Both had looked with disgust at each other and it was clear that none of them would lock lips with the other.
"Shut up, Weasley!" Cassandra yelled after the redhead, who could not stop laughing. "If you want to keep the tradition intact, come over here and kiss Frye yourself!"
Fred stopped, turned around at the same moment as Ryan, both with the same grin and walked back. "Cassandra, Cassandra, don't disregard the mistletoe like that. It's Christmas!"
Cassandra put her hands on her hips. "Like I said, you kiss him then when you find the mistletoe so important."
Frye, still with disgust written all over his bony face, was backing away and left Cassandra alone under the mistletoe.
Fred's eyes lit up and Nimwe recognised it: he had a plan. She just hoped it would not be awful.
"Why don't you kiss me?" Fred suggested and he took another step forward. Now Cassandra and he were under the mistletoe, which Cassandra at the moment was wishing to hell.
Nimwe's mouth fell open and she heard Scorpius, Albus or Niall hiss at the proposal. She could not hear which one it was. There had been some talking going on, but that was now over. The Slytherins were watching Cassandra and Fred with feigned boredom and the Gryffindors were shocked, but interested. Ryan was just laughing at his friend's boldness.
Cassandra's eyes narrowed for a moment, but then took a step forward, throwing her head more into her neck to keep looking Fred into the eye. "Try," was the only word she said, but it was clearly a challenge.
Fred's grin widened for a moment and then, without saying a word, he leaned forward to get the kiss. The two kept looking each other in the eye, both on their edge, expecting something from the other. When just two millimetres apart, their eyes slid shut. There was pause in their lips' journey to each other, but it continued.
Suddenly Fred stopped, his eyes flew open, just after Cassandra's lips moved, and he was blasted backwards. Cassandra stood with her wand in her hand with a triumphant smile under the mistletoe. There was silence, but Nimwe and Albus were the first to start laughing. Tears welled up in Nimwe's eyes and her belly began to hurt, but Fred's face was all worth it. She had seen that Cassandra had carefully slipped her wand out of her pocket into her hand, ready to cast spell.
Fred was still dumbfounded, when Ryan, also laughing, helped him up and said "Bad luck, try another time."
Nimwe had hugged Cassandra and congratulated her on this priceless stunt. "God, I have some story to tell this Christmas! Thank you!"
Cassandra laughed. "You're welcome. The pleasure was all mine."
The Hogwarts Express slowed down after a long journey from Hogwarts to King's Cross Station in London. Nimwe sat with the usual crowd in the compartment. She was sitting in the corner near the compartment door with her socked feet on the bench and a book open against her knees. On the other half of the bench sat Albus, who was looking through the window, together with Scorpius on the other bench. Niall and Cassandra were opposite Nimwe, sitting close and doing games on a piece of parchment. The two were making the noise in the compartment, for which Nimwe was happy, because uncomfortable silences were just… uncomfortable.
Nimwe was reading a fiction story about a girl who had to save her six brothers from staying swans and she was so into the story that Albus had to shake her to get her to know that they were almost at their destination. She blushed as she quickly put on her shoes and put her book away in her shoulder bag. She had already stowed away her school robes in her trunk at the beginning of the journey, so she looked like a Muggle, except for the fact that she had an owl.
Albus sighed with a big smile. "Home," he said and Nimwe understood him completely. She could not wait to see Charlie and the rest of the Weasleys again. Albus caught her eye and both knew that the other was thinking about the Christmas dinner at the Burrow. It would be like the Sunday lunch, but even bigger. Molly would go crazy with the food, they would sit at the table for hours, mostly bringing up good memories, and not go to bed before midnight.
The train stopped and the five stepped out, though the trunks, cages and the many other Hogwarts students made it uneasy for them to do it fast. Finally Nimwe stood on the platform. She walked slowly forward; her eyes were searching the platform for the familiar red hair her godfather owned and she manoeuvred her trunk to a less crowded place. She stationed her trunk and looked around, trying to look over the heads while standing on her toes.
"Nimwe!"
She turned around with a huge smile on her face when she heard the voice that belonged to him.
"Charlie!" She shortened the distance between them running and flew into his arms. Charlie was a little surprised, but hugged her back as fierce as she did.
"Had a good trip?"
"Oh, yes! I am reading this new book I bought in Hogsmeade. I just could not stop reading!" Nimwe let Charlie go and they walked to the abandoned trunk and cage with Gwyndion. "I must have been a bore for the rest, I think."
Charlie laughed. "It sounds just like you. Don't worry, I think they understood."
Nimwe picked up the cage with Gwyndion and Charlie took her trunk. She sighed dramatically. "I am boring."
Charlie put his arm around her shoulders and said teasingly: "I've been trying to tell you that for years!"
She punched him lightly in the stomach and the two left the train station laughing.
"Christmas is all around me and so the feeling grows."
Molly was in the kitchen busy with the preparations for the Christmas. The wireless was on and Celestina Warbeck, Molly's favourite singer, filled the kitchen with her soft voice, which according to Nimwe and most of the family was too annoying to stand hearing.
Arthur was at work dealing with a Christmas tree that strangled Muggle and Nimwe and Charlie were in the living room decorating the tree with decorations in all colours of the rainbow. The garlands were already in the tree and now the ornaments had to be hanged into the tree. The boxes were put on the table set near the tree. There were balls, angels, fairies, hippogriffs and unicorns and they were in different shapes and sizes and collected by the Weasleys through the years. There were antique ornaments, but also self-made sculptures from the grandchildren.
Nimwe took a unicorn and put it in de tree. She smiled: she loved decorating the tree.
Charlie cleared his throat and then asked while hanging a misshaped angel (made by Victoire at age five): "So, how is it going with you and Maeve?"
Nimwe stopped for a moment, before reaching for a blue fairy. This was the first time in the few days she had been home that Charlie had asked about her biological mother and the letters. She had begun to suspect that he was trying to ignore the subject, but understood now that he had just waited for the right moment.
"It's going well, I think," she said. "We have been writing for two months now and it's useful."
"Just useful?" Charlie acted lightly by just continuing what he was doing, but the tone of his voice was serious.
Nimwe blushed slightly. "Well, of course useful because of our magic. But it's nice too. Just strange and it feels uneasy at times."
"That is natural, I think. You don't know each other. You still have to find your method of conversation."
"I know," Nimwe nodded. "It's just…" She thought for a moment. She had not talked about it with her friends, because she did not know how to put it in words. "She can be very harsh in her letters. No, no, not about me," she quickly said when she saw Charlie's expression. "More about the world around her and how she was not allowed to do wandless magic first."
Charlie thought for a moment, hanging a winged horse in the top of the tree. "She sounds bitter."
"Yes, I think that is the right word: bitter. But she's nice too," Nimwe added hastily.
"I'm sure she is. Conor fell in love with her."
Nimwe stepped back to see where she could hang her green fairy in the tree. "Is it strange that I feel that I am just writing to someone I got to know recently and not to my mother?"
Charlie said nothing. Nimwe did not dare to look at him, she almost feared his answer. Maybe there was something wrong with her, not feeling the deeper connection to Maeve.
"It could be that you have to meet her to feel that she is your mother," Charlie said carefully. "However, you have not known her for thirteen years, I think you don't connect like a mother and a daughter after just a few letters."
"She doesn't feel like my mother. I don't think I will ever call her Mum."
Charlie shortly stroked her shoulder in comfort. "You don't have to. You have every right to say Maeve to her. I think she understands. Where do you talk about?"
"Mostly about magic actually. She asks about how I am doing at school and I ask how to do spells that don't work well with me."
Charlie frowned shortly, but hid it by being busy hanging a house-elf in the tree. Something did not feel right about the fact that Maeve would be more interested in Nimwe's magic than in her personal life, present and past. He decided to ignore it and blame it on the awkward situation the two were in.
"So, we only need to put the candles in it," Charlie said when Nimwe had put the star on top of the tree with the use of a stepladder.
Nimwe's eyes lit up like the candles would in a few moments. This was her favourite part of decorating the Christmas tree, because the candles gave the whole room the feeling of cosiness and Christmas. This was the only part of the decorating the tree that would be done with magic. Nimwe took the box with the candles in all colours and placed them on the branches. The candles were already made such that they would stick to the tree and Charlie only had to light them with his wand. They went around the tree and when finished Charlie embraced Nimwe around the shoulders and with a great feeling of satisfaction they viewed their creation.
"Nimwe, I think we did well this year."
"Charlie, I agree. Do you think Molly has baked something?"
He laughed. "Go and take a look in the kitchen. I bet she is waiting for us to have finished the Christmas tree."
Nimwe set off with a big smile and a light jump in her step and Charlie lazily followed her.
The kitchen was filled with the delicious smell of cake, pudding and everything else Molly had already prepared for the dinner tomorrow.
"Hey honey," Molly said, while making the marinade for the chicken. "Is the tree finished?"
"Yes, it is." Nimwe still had this huge smile on her face. Christmas was a happy time and every year she looked forward to it.
"Good. What would Christmas be without a beautiful Christmas tree?"
"Oh, just a Christmas with enough food and family," Charlie said with a teasing smile to his mother.
Molly looked a little stressed again. "Oh, I hope there is enough food! Do you think I should get another chicken or turkey?"
Her son put his hands on her shoulders and said: "Mum, you always have enough food. I'm sure no-one will starve tomorrow."
Molly seemed to be at ease again.
The clock on the wall ticked and the arm with Arthur on it jumped to Travelling and one second later to Home. The kitchen door swung open and revealed a shivering Arthur. His scarf was up to his nose, which was as red as his hair.
Molly immediately jumped into her caring mode: she pushed her husband on a kitchen chair and with a wave of her wand she cooked milk in a saucepan. She pulled off the scarf of Arthur's neck and began to steam him to warm him up.
As soon as the milk was warm enough she poured the milk in four mugs, put some cacao in each of them and handed them out to her family. She took the cake she had baked this morning, sliced off four parts, put them on the plates and gave each a plate. The four sat at the kitchen table talking about little stuff and enjoying their moment together.
Outside snowflakes began to fall, though they did not stay on the ground. Still it gave the inhabitants of the Burrow a greater feeling of Christmas.
The Burrow was filled with chatter, laughter and the chaos the Weasley family was known for. It was Christmas Eve and the family filled the kitchen and the living room. The gifts under the Christmas tree were already unpacked and everyone was walking around in the famous Weasley sweaters. Where Molly found the time to knit all of them, Nimwe did not know, but she was extremely happy with her bright red sweater with a big N on it.
It was not yet time to begin the Christmas meal, so the grandchildren were playing several games. Nimwe was engaged in a game of Exploding Snap with Albus, James and Fred. Albus' left eyebrow had been singed and Fred had a black spot on his cheek.
There was another small explosion and both Nimwe and James were coughing hard due to the smoke. The coughing changed into laughing when they saw that Albus' other eyebrow had also become a victim of the game.
With difficulty James said: "You lost again, Al! Ha! I'm the king of Exploding Snap!"
Nimwe chuckled. "Whatever makes you happy, James."
"Anyone in for Pictionary?" Lucy yelled above the noise of the children.
"Yes!" Everyone gathered around the redheaded girl who had the Muggle game with magical subjects in her hands.
"Okay," Teddy said, smiling and stretching his arms and hands to keep some order. "Let's work with the ropes to see who will be a team.
"But," Molly interjected, "seven teams is a little too much for this game, don't you think?"
Teddy nodded. "Let's make two of four players and two of three and every round one of the four player teams have to sit out, to make it fair"
The children nodded; even if they did not agree, they had great respect for Teddy and it was useless to protest. Teddy conjured four strange ropes out of thin air. Two had four endings and tow had four endings. He took them in his hands, rearranged them to mix them up and now only the endings were invisible. Nobody knew which rope end belonged to which team.
"Okay, get a rope and when I say 'Go!' you pull and then the teams are made."
"Yes, sir!" James and Fred saluted. A few sighed, but everyone soon had a rope in his or her hand. There was one left, which was Teddy's.
"Three, two, one… Go!"
Nimwe stepped one step back and with her eyes she followed the line of the rope, which had now been let go by Teddy. Hers was connected to Rose's and Victoire's. The three gathered with a big smile on their face.
"Great team," Rose said. "We're going to win this."
"Absolutely," Victoire said. "We will be unbeatable!"
Nimwe looked around. Teddy, Roxanne, Lily and Louis seemed to be a team, James, Fred and Molly were standing together and the last team consisted of Lucy, Hugo, Albus and Dominique. Nimwe felt a little sorry for Molly to be in a team with the two most energetic people in the family, however like she told her teammates, it was a team to watch. Fred and James were so used to each other that they formed a great team. Molly could only complement it.
The teams set together armed with pencil and paper and the game begun. Nimwe's team were doing well, but so were James, Fred and Molly. Nimwe's team had the luck of having Nimwe as an excellent drawer and Victoire and Rose were both smart in recognising things. The team faced some problems when it was Rose's turn to draw (it was one of her flaws), but they recovered.
As Nimwe had predicted, James' team profited from James and Fred's bond made as soon as they were born. Molly was confident enough to let herself not left out by the two boys. She proved to be an asset when James had drawn and Fred just could not guess what it was.
They were almost halfway through the game, when Harry came into the living room and announced that dinner was almost going to start.
This was the signal for the children to create room for the table that would be set up in the living room. Teddy and Victoire took the game board and carried it upstairs with a secret smile to each other. James, who was standing next to Nimwe, mumbled: "Could Teddy just do that with magic?" and earned himself a punch from Nimwe with it.
"Git," she whispered back. "Of course they want to escape for a short time."
James head turned with a snap to her, his face showing childish disgust.
"Oh, grow up," Nimwe punched him again lightly and then walked to the kitchen to see what she could take to the table in the living room. Meanwhile Arthur was busy with removing the wall that separated the kitchen from the living room to create one big space. They had made this change last year. They had been saving for it and the construction had lasted it a while, but the result was worth it. The family did not have to split up during a big dinner and on normal days the kitchen was the small and cosy heart of the Burrow.
Nimwe walked back into the living room with plates in her hands, when Teddy and Victoire descended the stairs, both with an almost sickly happy smile on their faces. Nimwe saw that Bill narrowed his eyes a little like an overprotective father and Fred and James immediately went to the kitchen. They still had to get used to the fact that their cousin and Teddy were an item and snogging.
Soon the long table was set for the Weasleys, Teddy, Andromeda (Teddy's grandmother who was present every Christmas and on some Sunday lunches) and Nimwe and everyone had found a place at the table. It was always a struggle, but in the end every couple sat together and the children were divided between them. Nimwe sat between Teddy and Albus and was very happy with those arrangements.
Arthur, who as the patriarch of the family, was seated at the head of the table, stood up and cleared his throat. He waited till he had everyone's full attention, before beginning his small annual speech.
"Dear family," he said in his clear and kind voice, "it's nice to see the whole family again, all about to eat from Molly's delicious meal. I want to cease this opportunity to tell you how grateful I am to have you near me. Christmas is a time for family and although we have a big family, we always come together every year here in the Burrow.
"We have lost important people in our lives and I would like to have a moment of silence remember them." His voice became thick and he was struggling for a moment. "Fred, Remus, Tonks and Conor should have been here celebrating Christmas with us, but their lives were taken too early. Please remember them and remember James and Lily Potter, Dave Johnson and everyone else that are dear to us and have left us too early."
Nimwe bowed her head, struggling with her tears. She did not want to cry, because Christmas is a happy time, but she remembered her father and the Christmases together. Under the table Albus took her hand and leaned towards her to let her know he was there for her. She looked at him with watery eyes and gave him a shaky smile. Her eye also caught Charlie's and she saw the love and concern in them. She let him know that she was doing fine with the same smile she had given Albus.
Some memories flashed before her eyes, mostly from the last year he had been alive. It pained her to think about it, but it also filled her with love. She had given his death a place with help of her paintings and now it was less painful to think about it.
Arthur spoke again. "It has been another good year. Everyone is healthy and doing well and I'm grateful for that. Now, I won't keep you any longer from the food Molly has made." He took his glass with red wine and raised it. "Merry Christmas."
The rest of the family repeated the toast and Arthur sat down again. The Christmas dinner had begun.
Nimwe put a lot on her plate, because she could not decide which dish to eat first. There was turkey, beef, potatoes, salads; just everything you would like to eat was on that table.
After everyone had filled their plates, the stories were told. As there were twenty-eight people there were enough stories to be told and heard, but, there were several stories at the same time told, because it was not possible with the clinking of cutlery and glasses to all listen to one story.
Nimwe leaned sideways and shouldered Teddy lightly.
"Hey, Nimwe," he said.
"Hey. How are you?"
"Good, good. Busy with the Auror training, so sorry I could not write as much as I used to."
Nimwe waved it away with her knife in her hand. Teddy backed away slightly to not be cut. "Doesn't matter. I figured as much. Especially now you and Victoire are together!"
Teddy blushed, which matched well with his turquoise hair.
"When did you two get together?"
Victoire with her straight blonde hair and beautiful smile leaned across her boyfriend to answer. "Since the beginning of July, when I got home from Hogwarts, though I was in love with him since I was fifteen or so."
"Wow," Nimwe said, "that's a long time. What took you so long?" she asked Teddy.
He shrugged in uncomfort. "I didn't know! And if I said something about it and she did not return my feelings it would just have been weird. We've been practically family since she was born."
"At least Dad is happier with him than when I took Nick home."
Teddy huffed and the girls laughed at his reaction.
"Well, I'm glad you're together. But you have to keep writing to me, okay, Teddy?"
Teddy put his arm around her shoulder and gave her a small kiss on her temple. "Of course. We have to stick together, though you know have your mother." Nimwe saw his blue eyes change a little. She could not place it, she thought it was jealousy, but that would not be right.
Nimwe looked in his eyes to see if she was right, but Teddy was looking back at his plate.
"She doesn't feel like my mother, though."
Teddy looked back again and now it was clear to Nimwe he was concerned.
She waved it away again. "It's expected after writing to each other so shortly."
He nodded and there was an uncomfortable silence in which they ate. Albus broke the silence: "Teddy, have you heard what happened to Fred a few days ago under the mistletoe?"
The big grin and twinkle in Albus' eyes grabbed Teddy's attention who shook his head and asked to tell the story.
When Albus finished talking there was some big laughter and Fred soon discovered he was the subject of fun. He became slightly pink, but began boosting around about other girls who gladly wanted him under the mistletoe, which caused more laughter.
Harry, who sat across Teddy and Nimwe, had heard the story too and after he stopped laughing he said: "Talking about mistletoes. Hermione has also had quite an experience with mistletoe." He had obtained the attention from the ones around him and Hermione groaned slightly and buried her face shortly in her husband's shoulder.
"In sixth year the Potions professor held a Christmas party for a select group of students. Hermione and I had been invited, Ron wasn't and because he spent most of his time snogging a girl in our year, he and Hermione were fighting. Again." Harry sighed for the effect, which caused a short laugh. "So who did Hermione invite? Cormac McLaggen, a seventh year Gryffindor who had competed against Ron in the Quidditch try-outs. She regretted as soon as she was at the party. Luna and I came at the party and as soon as we saw Hermione, she told us she had left Cormac," a pause for the suspense, "under the mistletoe."
The people who had listened laughed, Hermione became slightly red from embarrassment and Ron looked absolutely pleased. Nimwe thought for a moment: Cormac McLaggen was a name that rang a bell, McLaggen was the last name of Cassandra, but she did not know her fahter's name. Was it possible that…? She smiled and made a mental note to not forget to ask Cassandra about it.
And so there were more stories about previous Christmases, loves and friends. Bill told about that one time he had chased an Egyptian woman, but decided to stop it when her father demanded ten camels and George remembered with a sad smile the times when he and Fred used to 'test' a girl on how sincere she was. Having an identical twin had been useful.
Charlie recounted one of Nimwe's favourite stories. Charlie and Conor had celebrated Christmas together when they were working in Romania, before Conor met Maeve. They had bought chicken on the market in Romania, but it turned out the market vendor had deceived them: the chicken was all rotten inside. The two had already been drinking some firewhiskey already and not entirely steady on their feet, they had gone to a restaurant. They were having such a good time that they were dancing with the dancers before they had eaten anything. They ended on the street with an empty stomach and mad boyfriends of the dancers chasing them.
When everyone had filled their stomachs and could almost not move anymore Firewhiskey was passed to the adults and the children got some butterbeer. The wireless emitted lazy Christmas songs and everyone was softly talking amongst each other.
Nimwe felt satisfied and happy and she was glad that she had been taken into this family. The Weasley family was big, chaotic, mostly red, but loving, caring and warm. Nimwe could not and would never wish for a better family.
She leaned back in her chair, not really listening to the conversations around her. Her head lay shortly in her neck and she closed her eyes shortly, shutting out the room and the noise to have a moment for herself and her father.
Dad, she thought, Merry Christmas.