Sorry this chapter's a little short, the next one will be longer I promise!

They unpacked quickly, with smiles on their faces and light hearts. They washed up and then joined the others downstairs, and the entire group of around thirty or forty people sat around the biggest table Rom had ever seen. Food lined the middle, and even though the food was not extravagant, it was some of the best food Rom had eaten in his life. It was warm and had something about it that was hard to describe, perhaps an aura of being homemade. The group was far too large to have a single conversation, so there were seven or eight conversations circling around at once. They effortlessly pulled Rom into the fold, and soon he was laughing and talking with them as though he'd known them for ages.

He felt... included. This was different than anything he had experienced in his home, where it was only him and his parents, even though he had been included there. It was like being a part of a network. He couldn't help but envy Teddy; even though Teddy was an orphan, and not related to any of these people, he was a part of this. He was so loved. He had everything that his parents might have wanted to give him. Rom blushed and pushed the thoughts away; being envious was selfish and rude. He had parents who loved him dearly, and Teddy's first thought had been to include Rom in all of this. And Rom was certainly grateful for that.

By the time the night was through and they retired for the evening, Rom found himself strangely comfortable in this home surrounded by Weasleys and Potters.

"So, what do you think?" Teddy asked, climbing up the stairs to the third floor where their room was.

"I think this is fantastic," Rom answered. "Thank you so much for inviting me."

"Oh, it's no problem," Teddy said. "I'm just glad we don't have to sleep on the floor, they added a couple extra rooms since I was here over the summer."

"They added rooms?" Rom asked, arching his eyebrows.

"Oh, yeah, they do that every now and then," Teddy said. "It's why the house looks so weird from the outside. They just... slap a new one on, I guess, I don't really know how. I think they're up to nine or ten bedrooms, which makes it easier for us. Every couple gets their own room with their littlest kids in it, and then the older boys get a room and the older girls."

"That's so cool," Rom declared.

"I suppose," Teddy agreed as they finally reached their floor. "I've never really thought about it." He opened the door to their room and they went inside, where Fred and Louis were already waiting. The room was small for the four of them, with two bunk beds tucked into the corner, but Rom didn't mind one bit.

"No, I get the top bunk," Fred was saying, crossing his arms. "You're too little, you'd just fall off!"

"No I won't!" Louis said, stamping his foot. "Falling off is for babies."

"You do realize there's two top bunks, right?" Rom asked. The younger boys blinked at him.

"But don't one of you guys get the top bunk?" Fred asked, and Rom just shrugged.

"I don't care one way or the other," Teddy said, rolling his eyes. "Honestly, it's not a big deal."

"Yeah, it's not a big deal," Louis agreed. "See, Fred?"

"Well, I still want a top bunk," Fred said with a scowl.

"Then have one," Rom said with exasperation. "Both of you. Go ahead, up to bed." With that, it was settled; the boys clambered into their bed, still bickering every now and then, but eventually they fell asleep and silence grew. Rom lay for a long while, staring at the underside of Louis's bed over his head, thinking about nothing in particular. The following day was Christmas Eve, and he wasn't sure what it was going to offer. He was more excited than nervous, though. He fell asleep with thoughts of a big Christmas he had never experienced before, and dreamt of feasts and turkeys and delicious cakes.

The following morning, he was awoken by the younger boys bouncing as they scrambled down from their bunks, eager to start the day. There was a knock at their door and Bill Weasley poked his head inside, telling them breakfast was ready and to come downstairs. They got dressed and went downstairs, merging with the other children as they poured into the kitchen to fetch a breakfast of porridge, fruit, bacon and toast. Then they were done, the adults ushered them outside to play in the snow while they straightened up and forced Molly Weasley out of the kitchen.

They built snowmen and snow forts, threw snowballs and even sledded down the driveway. They played snow quidditch and They were cold and wet by the time they came in to a lunch of hot chocolate, soup, and sandwiches. They spent most of the afternoon in the entry room with Molly Weasley by the fire place, reading and telling stories and playing. It was everything Rom had been hoping, with a little of the expected Weasley chaos thrown in. Dinner went much the same as the night before, and they went to bed shortly thereafter with all the children jittering and excited for Christmas the following morning.