Christmas found Harry and Viktor with his dad and godfathers, heading for the Burrow. They had been at Malfoy manor the night before for a Christmas Eve party and were heading for Bulgaria for a few days in the New Year. It would likely become a tradition for both holidays, when they started their own family. They had opened gifts at Grimmauld place and had breakfast together and were now off to the Burrow for Christmas dinner with the rest of the family.

Harry was holding baby Teddy in his arms when he stepped out of the floo network. Molly was of course busy cooking. "Merry Christmas Molly."

Molly came and kissed him as his fiancé came out behind him. "You know you look good with a baby on your hip Harry."

Harry knew what she was hinting at. "I have to get his bloke to make an honest man out of me first. You'll have to settle for your own pending grandbaby."

Severus had come in to hear his son and he laughed. "Give them a break Molly. Sirius and Narcissa last night were on them about houses again."

Harry and Viktor were bombarded with more pictures, most of them properties owned by the Malfoys or the Blacks, or even the Princes as his father had decided to join the party as well. They kept saying the couple needed a home when they got back from their honeymoon. They reminded their family that they would only be going away for two days to a hotel as Harry only had a five day break between games, and would take a proper honeymoon next Christmas. They would be living at school most of the time anyways and it would be some time before they had kids and would want a home on weekends and holidays. That summer his dad said they could stay at Spinner's End if they hadn't chosen a place.

Harry shrugged. "I don't know. I mean the only home I have ever had was Spinner's End. I don't want some grand gothic manor like they keep showing us."

Severus snorted. "Well sorry brat but I am fond of my house and while you're welcome to visit I don't plan on moving. You'll find something you love eventually."

Sirius and Remus came in with Tonks finally and they shared a look with Severus and Molly, a look that did not go unnoticed by Harry or Viktor. It was the same look they gained when they had mentioned that they were not planning on taking off for the two days they had after the wedding.

Harry whispered to his fiancé. "Do you get the feeling again like this morning that these people are keeping secrets from us?"

Viktor nodded. "The same way I feel when we try and tame our wedding plans and they say they will pair them down. I think we just have to go with it."

Harry kissed him. "Thank you for putting up with my insane family. How about we go find my brothers, they tend to be a bit more level headed."

Remus laughed as he picked up his son from Harry. "We really must be driving you insane if you are calling the twins more level headed then us."

Harry mumbled something that sound like you said it not me as he walked out of the room to go into the sitting room where he knew he would find his brothers and their wives and children as well, or husband in the case of Charlie of course.

Angelina looked up. "Well finally the other non official member of the family arrives. Have to get these Weasley men to get us to the altar soon."

Viktor laughed. "I have been trying to talk mine into eloping and if our families don't lay off the heavy handed planning, it might not take much convincing."

Fred grabbed Harry. "Hey no fair teasing us. You two should be lucky we agreed to marry you at all. Besides Angie, we're getting married in two months time."

Angelina and Fred actually had less then two months for they were getting married on Valentine's Day. They had actually managed to convince the families for a very small family ceremony with just immediate families. With Harry and Viktor their threat to elope was empty and the families knew it. When Fred and Angie had threatened to elope if they did not get a small ceremony without even the cousins and that, they were believed. He was succeeding where George, Bill, Charlie and Percy all failed, in getting an intimate wedding. The others had a so called small family wedding but the Weasley family alone with cousins and more made it a massive wedding, without their spouse's family involved.

Harry went over to Rodger who he had not seen since he heard the news from Charlie. "I said it through Charlie, but I say it again, congratulations."

Rodger hugged him. "You know I'm not the only one who you have to congratulate. It seems George has beaten his brother in more then one way."

Alicia nodded and confirmed that she was pregnant and was due in mid August, just after Harry and Viktor's wedding in fact. Molly of course was in heaven for though she had a grandson and granddaughter in the form of Percy's son Arthur and Bill's girl Victoire, she had another two on the way, and two children on their way to the altar. Alicia and George revealed their news had been their Christmas present to Molly which made Harry laugh for his dad had actually said he hoped news of his grandchild would be his gift next year. Harry had given him a beautiful puzzle box to keep special memories in and it had their first photo as father and son, from his fifteenth birthday, and it had led to the talk of his father's idea for Harry's special gift for him the next year.

As they crowded around the table for dinner Molly smiled. "We are running out of room with every passing year but I'd have it no other way."

Arthur raised his glass of wine. "Well on that note how about we toast our wonderful growing family, the blessings of the year and those blessings to come."

Harry smiled and knocked glassed with his fiancé and his dad who sat next to him as well as the others he could reach, and had to admit he hoped he might be sharing his own baby news that time next year, as much as he told the others to stop pressuring them. Every year for one moment they would remember the two people missing from the table, but as always the memory slipped away and they returned to the cheer of the day.

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Two days after Christmas Harry could not believe that he was headed to the apothecary by himself. Though he had been in and out of it hundreds of times with his father even before he had become an apprentice, he usually had his father. His father thought he could handle collecting some supplies for next term, on his own.

Harry went into the apothecary shop his father had frequented mainly and where he had got his beautiful case. "Hello Conrad."

The owner looked up. "Mr Snape. I hope your holidays were good. Your father has not come with you this afternoon?"

Harry shook his head. "No. My father has returned to school and he thought he could trust me to pick up some supplies, or at least you would not let me mess it up."

The man smiled. "You know that man is quite proud of you. He is always talking of your skills when he comes in. You don't give yourself enough credit at all."

Harry was touched to hear that for he knew the apothecary was not simply making nice with one of his customers but actually meant what he was saying. It was the reason his father usually made the trip down to London and to this particular shop. He knew the man was brunt and honest, and always kept the best stock as well.

Harry had a list of what they needed so it wasn't going to be that hard to over see. "Well he trusted my list reading and bag carrying skills at the very least."

The man chuckled. "He always has a list when he comes in as well. You know your father always triple checks his list in case he might forget something himself."

Harry shook his head and laughed as he collected some of the slugs. "Maybe I should forget these. My father seems to think I should start every potion with them."

The man handed him the last of his purchases. "Well they are used in a large percentage of potions your father creates for the school and the hospital as well."

Harry thanked the man and took off with the purchases. He had done the rest of his shopping before he went to the apothecary but they would keep for a few hours so he shrunk the bags and headed for his last stop. He had promised George and Alicia that he would stop by and have lunch with them before he headed back to school. He saw quite a bit of Fred since he lived in Hogsmeade but he hadn't spent a lot of time with George recently and he was excited about the baby news.

Alicia met him at the door of the store and pulled him into a hug. "We're so glad that you could come and have lunch with us before you headed back up to school."

Harry kissed her cheek. "I insist on the two of you letting me treat you to lunch considering the big news you gave on Christmas."

George was seeing to one last customer but he left his assistant in charge of the store and he soon came and joined his wife and brother and the three of them headed off to the Leaky Cauldron so that they could have some lunch together. Though he was happy to have lunch with George, he happened to think there was more to this and when Alicia took off to the bathroom.

George looked up. "I thought you might want to know about Ginny. You can tell me to stop if you don't but after everything, I thought you might."

Harry nodded. "I do. I thought that no one in the family had gone to her trial or heard from her since she was arrested. I was going to ask Moody about it."

George sighed. "She was not put in prison and she needed some where to live till she got work so I agreed to house her in my old flat for three days."

George and Alicia had once lived in the flat over the shop but they had bought a house when they married and while usually the flat was rented out, they had not had a renter at the time. Ginny had been sentenced to 10,000 hours of community service and was on parole. She had not been able to find work in the wizarding world and from what he knew she was working as a maid for some run down hotel in London and living in their employee rooms. She was working on the cleaning crew for Diagon Alley for her community service but at night so there was little chance that Harry would run into her.

George saw his wife coming back. "Alicia didn't know she stayed in the flat and none of the family knows. I don't want to upset any of them."

Harry understood. He knew how much pain Ron and Ginny had put the family through. "I promise I won't tell Alicia or the rest. Thanks for telling me though."

Watching George with his wife and thinking about the baby she carried Harry understood his brother's concern. He was surprised to learn George had been willing to house his sister even for a few days when the rest of the family had cut her off. Harry guessed once a baby sister always a baby sister no matter how upset you were.

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Harry had been putting in extra time with his dad for his hours and to help with their work for he was leaving of course for Bulgaria but New Year 's Eve was of course an exception especially since he and his father had again been invited to Malfoy Manor. His father usually would have said no, but knowing Draco was planning on proposing at midnight, they had both agreed to go.

As Severus stood with him and Viktor at the door Severus groaned. "You know Cissy is going to try and set me up with another woman, like she did at Christmas."

Harry laughed and shook his head. "She isn't any better with Sirius. He said he is starting to wish that he had remained separated from his family."

Severus smirked for it seemed now that her son and nephew were settled or Draco would be tonight hopefully, she had turned to the two bachelors of the family, her cousin Sirius and the man she considered to be a brother as much as her husband did, Severus. She tended to believe that everyone needed to be settled.

Sure enough when they came into the ballroom Narcissa was talking to a woman and shooting glances at Severus. He turned to Harry. "Save me."

Harry laughed. "It is just a woman. I would think you'd have faced scarier dad. Besides I promised I'd help Draco with his little surprise for the evening."

Sure enough he was soon whisked off by Draco who was grateful to Harry for making a stop at the Weasley's shop for a few special items. Draco had decided he wanted to make tonight special even though it was already a holiday and Harry spent most of the rest of the party before midnight, helping arrange the surprise.

A few minutes before midnight Draco took Pansy out into the gardens where she was amazed as she was surrounded by hundreds of tulips. "Draco?"

He smiled. "I know it seems odd in mum's rose gardens but I know how much you love tulips and I wanted to make tonight as special as it could be."

The entire garden was lit with fairy lights like the Yule Ball and there was music playing in the gardens for them, one of Pansy's favourite songs, and just as the clock started counting down till midnight Draco dropped down to one knee and took out the ring that Harry had helped him to choose.

"Pansy we have dated for five years. You make me smile and laugh. After all these years my heart still flutters when I see you. Will you marry me?" Draco managed.

Pansy was in tears and was even worse for managing to get out words but she nodded her head and squeaked out a "Yes."

He slipped the ring on her finger just as midnight hit and as he pulled her into a long kiss, Harry with some help from Viktor set off an amazing set of fireworks which he had Fred design especially for the two. They were all in green and silver and at the end their names appeared in a heart. Harry kissed his own fiancé and was so happy for his brother who he didn't think he had ever seen as happy as he was that night.