Harry Potter - After the Epilogue

by PotterFanSteve

Continuing the storyline from 'After the War', this book focuses on the Hogwarts years and beyond for Albus and Lily Potter, Rose, and Hugo Weasley, and their family and friends. I hope you will enjoy this imagining of what happens in the Harry Potter universe - After the Epilogue!

89. Perfect Cannons Christmas - Part One

Chapter Eighty-Nine – Perfect Cannons Christmas – Part One

"What's this for?" Gwendolyn asked as she met up with Al in the kitchen area of their main floor Great Room and saw a gift waiting for her in the spot she usually sat at when they just had breakfast for two at the counter that divided the kitchen from the dining room and sitting room areas.

"I thought that you might be feeling left out today while the girls at Hogwarts are getting asked to the school dance today," Al explained; "so while you'll be invited to the GO MagiSports Christmas party anyway; I thought that I'd ask you to go with me too."

Gwendolyn laughed; went to share a hug and kiss with him first; and then sat down and opened her gift while he continued to make their morning meal. "Thank-you," she told him after admiring the new jewelry – holiday themed; and perfect for Christmas parties. "I'd love to go to that party with you too. How do you know that there's to be another Christmas dance?"

"I was pretty sure before getting a mirror message about it. This is Wendy's NEWT year; so I expected that the Weird Witches would be recruited for a dance."

"They may be doing more work with their duo over the holidays this year; since they don't have much time before Christmas for a musical. They could be working New Year's Eve too."

"Well, Susannah and Renee aren't talking about the entertainment she's planning for their various business and charity events; so maybe they've hired one or more of the bands."

"That'd be great, but I doubt that Susannah would do that for sure; since she always tries to keep the costs low so that most money actually gets used for the charity projects," Gwendolyn suggested; and then grinned at him. "Your Animorphmagus shows for the kids are free."

"And fun," Al added; smiling too. "I still don't want to be the joke – or entertainment – at every party, but it is different with the kids."

"Sure – you get more hugs and kisses; your wife lets you get away with them; and you get to play instead of doing any of the work."

"That last part isn't true, since I always seem to manage to do a fair bit of work anyway; and you get a lot of hugs and kisses from those kids too. Speaking of that; we should start keeping our ears open for special Christmas wishes from the kids now that they'll all be thinking about the holidays. We want to make this a special time for the kids we're working with through the charity; and it will help Susannah a lot if we can all do what we can to find out what the kids – and their parents – want and need the most."

"As long as it isn't a pet Animorphmagus of their own; I'm okay with helping out," Gwendolyn teased.

Lily smiled brilliantly as she walked over to Jonah; accepted the gift; and then hugged and kissed him before beginning to enthusiastically open it.

"It's funny that I was awake for quite a while last night after that Catapults' match finally ended thinking about the differences between my brothers and what my future might be like depending on which of them I prove to be most-like; and now you're reminding me of why I'm glad that Al is such a bad influence on you!"

"Should I ask whether that hug and kiss was a 'yes' first before asking what you decided about that?" Jonah teased; and smiled when that question earned a round of laughs; since Lily's usual group of girlfriends had only been a few paces behind her while waiting for them to share their little date-making moment.

"If she turns you down; wouldn't that be an answer to both questions?" Melissa asked.

"Was that a no, Lily?" Denise asked next; grinning at her friend. "If it was; then I want to be first in line to ask Jonah to the dance instead."

"Yes, I'll go to the dance with you, Jonah," Lily answered first. "Denise won't have to worry about going to the dance with anyone; since she's about to spend the month as a Bat-Bogey tree topper; and I don't think that I'll end up like either of my brothers – or at least I hope not!"

"Be careful with that," Kathryn warned. "One of your brothers has a league championship and a Quidditch World Cup – even if he got that one for only playing most of one match; and the other is currently on the only still-undefeated team in the league this season. The alternative to not being like either of them – at least for Quidditch – could be bad for you and the Harpies!"

"I don't really need to be more-specific," Lily decided after joining in on another round of laughs; and then took a moment to thank Jonah for his gift before they all began to walk toward the Great Hall. "Instead of going on about that; let's get back to discussing your potential dance date options."

"If you're going to keep going on about that; I'm glad that I'll be a Bat-Bogey and not need to worry about it!" Denise teased and reminded her.

"Well I might consider getting you a Wizard Bat-Bogey to spend the holidays with," Lily offered. "With the Hufflepuff-Slytherin match coming up on Saturday; I'm sure that they'll at least be a few Wizards deserving of being turned into one."

"None of them would be anyone I'd want to date," Denise pointed out with a shake of her head; and then grinned at Jonah. "Are you really, really sure that you wouldn't rather be like James and either take a bunch of Wizards to the dance or just go to it alone and chase after all of the hottest guys?"

"That was one of the things I was thinking about last night," Lily admitted candidly, "but when I tried to come up with a list of boys that I could do that with; none of those options were better than just going with the Wizard I'm already dating."

"So you think that Jonah is the best Wizard in the school?" Denise asked; and then laughed. "Oh wait – we think that too!"

"Speak for yourself," Kathryn told her; though the grin suggested that she agreed with their friend. "I have plans for the holidays that just won't work out if I'm a Bat Bogey!"

"We should talk about our holiday plans for while we're still here," Melissa suggested. "The school dance isn't the only event on the calendar already; so we should figure out what we'll do for our team party – and when we can have it. Are you going to do another joint party with Ravenclaw?"

"I expect that we'll be deciding on when to have the Prefect party at the meeting this afternoon," Denise advised them. "You might want to wait until that's done before picking the day for your party."

"Our bigger problem will be trying to do a team party that won't look bad compared to what Gwendolyn and Rose did for the past two years," Jonah suggested.

"That's Ryan's problem for your team," Lily reminded him; and Jonah laughed.

"I doubt it, and even if he did take the lead; I'm not sure that I want my cousin to spend a lot of time planning a party with you – especially right after you've talked about staying up late wondering what it would be like to be more like James."

"Now that's a fun direction to take this chat," Kathryn suggested with a grin. "What kind of team party could we have that would be more fun than last year because we add in at least a bit of James-rated fun?"

Christmas was in the air on Sunday – especially when decorating their community was one of the jobs that Al began to work on when he had time between work commitments and some family and friends time. The Cannons had two weeks to get ready for their match against the Arrows; but life got busier for everyone in their community – and Al began to use his time stopper a lot more-often to keep ahead of the work. Gwendolyn went along to help sometimes too, but couldn't do that for the surprises he was working on for Christmas; and wasn't interested in helping out with some of the more-tedious work – like making brooms, uniforms, or other gear. They had Hogwarts' and Harpies' Quidditch booked for Saturday, but no extra family and friends events; so their first work week of December proved to be a great time to get the extra work finished. For Al, one of the extras for work was a meeting after his training day – with the Harpies' managers. He was in a great mood and fired up when he arrived at the Harpies' office in Holyhead; enjoyed the banter with the office staff that razzed him about daring to show up there after helping his team to best theirs; and then Gwenog got teased too when they shared a hug before she led him into Glynnis' office and then sealed the room.

"Okay, we've got him alone and you've warded the room – turn him into a bug," Glynnis joked.

"Wouldn't you like to deal with the broom deal first?" Gwenog asked after laughing. "I'm nearly-positive that he wouldn't be able to keep making brooms as a woodlouse."

"I suppose," Glynnis conceded. "Our owners are a bit put-out with us right now – especially after you and Gwendolyn won your match against us; so we're hoping that if we get a decent deal for your brooms; they'll decide not to sack us at the end of the season. Do you have them ready to show us?"

"I only brought one with me; and have six ready," Al answered. "I'm waiting to find out who will need the seventh broom."

"What do you mean by that?" Glynnis asked after glancing at Gwenog and getting a silent response that Al didn't need to see to sense.

"I don't want to make a broom that you don't need – and don't want to pay for either," he explained. "I've made the six brooms that I sense or foresee that you will need next season; but will need to know who to make the last broom for; and probably meet with her to make sure that I build a broom that will choose her."

"He's politely not telling us that he knows about Leanne – and that Vicky is going to semi-retire," Gwenog advised Glynnis. "That talent can be really annoying; but comes in handy now and then too."

"Leanne doesn't even know she's going to be offered the job," Glynnis said with a shake of her head. "I guess there's no point in going on about it – and it solves that problem for us anyway; since we really didn't want to spend a lot of money on an extra broom that Vicky won't need – even to keep our plans a secret."

"Now we just need to find out whether Al loves us enough to sell us those brooms without bankrupting the team," Gwenog added with a nod of agreement.

"I've been thinking about that for a long time now," Al advised them. "The Hurricane is better than the Lightningstorm – or you wouldn't want them for your team, but they have one drawback that none of the other brooms have."

"They choose the Witch or Wizard," Gwenog stated; nodding again.

"Yes, which is a cost issue – especially if you buy them and one of your players ends up out of the game for whatever reason. That's why I've decided to offer something that's more of a rent-to-own deal."

"What do you have in mind?" Glynnis asked.

"One thousand galleons a year per broom; with two exceptions – Victoire's and Aunt Gabrielle's. I'd make them half that because they're particularly-special; and Victoire's grandmother donated some of her hair specifically for their brooms."

"So six thousand a year – for how long?" Gwenog asked next.

"Ten years," Al answered. "Your players would have the option to keep them after that; and it would be up to you whether to just give them away or recover some of your costs; and if they don't stay in the show for that long; then they'll have the option to pay the balance or return them. I have no idea how long it might take me to find another match for any of my brooms – or whether it would happen at all."

"That isn't what we expected," Glynnis told him seriously; "but the total price is still in the same range as the Lightningstorms."

"We'd also be on the hook for the expense during years when our players might be off for a season," Gwenog added; "and we might need more than seven." She laughed. "Which Chasers did you make those brooms for?" she asked him. "Is there something else that you know about next season that we don't?"

"I have brooms for your current three Chasers; yes; and I'm not telling," Al answered and joked. "As to your extra expense point; I'm okay with making those payments over ten playing years. That way, even if you need extra brooms; it would still be the same annual cost – unless you had players using them on the reserve squad too. As we've talked about before; this would also be an exclusive deal. I won't sell my brooms to any other team to be used next season. I have my own, selfish reasons for that; since I'd like to prove that my brooms aren't just a one-hit wonder with the Cannons, but it will keep our teams years ahead of the other teams even when I do start making deals. Some of us have had our brooms for two years now – or nearly that long; and we're still learning new tricks every day."

"Which brings up the question of whether we'll end up paying for two years up front for that first season," Glynnis said; and Al shrugged.

"I'll leave that up to you. I'd like the first year payment on delivery; but that can be for next season. If your players don't get the extra practice time; they won't be ready to play with them by next August."

"Including Leanne?" Glynnis asked; and Al nodded.

"Yes, though I don't know how you'll work that out with her." He smiled then. "Lily and Jonah might both blast me if Leanne used one of my brooms in her matches against their teams."

"We wouldn't want that surprise to get out either," Gwenog assured him. "That'll be our problem. Is there anything else you'd like to add?"

"Not about the brooms," Al answered. "I'd like you to consider buying the uniforms too. You'd need to design what they'd look like; and then I'd take it from there."

"You want the same sort of deal for the uniforms too?" Gwenog asked; and Al shook his head.

"No – they'd be a normal purchase; though they'll be less-expensive for you than they will be in the future because I'm planning on hiring someone to design them for other teams when I'm ready to do that. I can't promise that you'd be the only other team with them for next season, but that's entirely because I hope that other teams and players will want the better protection they provide for us sooner instead of later. They are still a rather important part of the package when it comes to doing the extreme tricks that can be done with the brooms. Some of our best tricks would be impossible while wearing team robes. I know; since I did try back when we were first learning to use our brooms at Hogwarts."

"Do I want to know how much?" Glynnis asked.

"Five hundred galleons per uniform; and let's say one-thousand if you want to add in two training outfits; since I could probably work out a way to do sets of three or more a bit less-expensively. If I come up with a better way; I would pass those savings on to you – especially since you would be helping me with working out better ways to make them. The only added expense that there will likely be after buying them will be some sort of maintenance cost that I haven't even worked out yet."

"Maintenance for what?" Gwenog asked. "The spells?"

"Yes," Al agreed. "They'll need to be checked every so often and recharged when needed. I hope that'll only be for the protections, depending on how often the suits take hits; but it's possible that the temperature controls will need to be revived every so often too."

"That potentially sounds expensive," Glynnis said; and Al shrugged.

"I hope that it won't be, but it really is something that I'm still working out – and tracking with our own uniforms. I also know that they're much more expensive than current robes and protective gear, but they also have one very large money-making advantage that should make it a great deal for your team."

"Selling the imitation clothing line," Gwenog agreed; and then grinned at him. "Is there any chance you want to share how well that's working out for your team?"

"No, but I can point you in the direction of the company that makes them for us – and gives us a pretty good deal."

"We'll talk about that proposal and get back to you," Glynnis decided; and then turned her attention to Gwenog. "Do we need to discuss the brooms too?"

"Not unless you want to do that," Gwenog answered. "The Hurricanes are going to be the next broom of choice; and I'd rather be first – or second – in line to get them and have the advantage over the other teams – even if that's only for a few years."

Al grinned at them. "Don't forget that every broom is unique," he reminded them. "That's one more potential souvenir for you to market and sell."

"You're not doing that – other than with the brooms that come with your action figures," Gwenog pointed out; and Al laughed.

"Yet," he added. "We will."

"Okay, Al – sold," Glynnis told him. "Have the paperwork drawn up; and we'll pay for the first year – next season – on delivery."

They talked for a few more minutes; and then Al headed for home and a later-than-normal dinner with Gwendolyn that he picked up along the way. After seeing him out; Gwenog returned to Glynnis' office and once-again sealed the room.

"You're happy?" she asked.

"That boy is scary sometimes – and brilliant," Glynnis answered. "He anticipated all of our concerns – and what we hoped to use for leverage to knock the cost down; and we're going to pay as much for those brooms as the Lightningstorms – even if that is over ten or more years."

"True," Gwenog agreed, "but he pointed out things that we hadn't considered – like new revenue from clothing, toy, and souvenir sales – all of those ideas things that we don't currently make money on. We get nothing on toy broom sales now; there are no team robe sales; and we can likely come up with dozens of ideas for new souvenirs linked to the custom brooms – jewelry, collectibles, and Merlin-only-knows what else. We both saw how many of their fans were wearing those team pants, tops, and jackets at our match against them. They must be selling thousands of them – if not tens of thousands for the season so far. Seven – or even fourteen-thousand galleons would be paid for several times over in the first season alone." She shook her head. "That's why he's suggested that we design our own uniforms. I'll guess that when he starts doing it for other teams; that GO MagiSports will get more of the piece of the merchandising prize."

"But he will want a cut for the brooms," Glynnis guessed; and Gwenog shrugged.

"For the rights to use the name and because each broom is his own design. I'm okay with sharing those profits – especially if those brooms take our team to the next level."

"I suppose that's at least a partial trade for losing the best Chaser prospect to come along since Victoire," Glynnis offered; and Gwenog laughed.

"I'm very proud of my little girl, but the best Chaser prospect in a century or more just walked out of your office- and we could have never hired him anyway!"

"I'll guess that your meeting went well," Gwendolyn told Al as she welcomed him with a hug and kiss once he'd put the take-out food down on the counter. "Do you have one or two deals?"

"One; though I'm sure that they'll take the other deal too. It's a small start for the broom business, but then that's what I want to do with it – at least until after the next Quidditch World Cup."

"Are you going to sell a set to the National team – or hope that they only pick players from the Harpies and Cannons?"

"I hope that we get to play that summer, but won't make any predictions. We will be part-time players by then; so I don't know what the Ministry of Magic and league will do about that when considering nominees. Rose, Brandon, and Seth will be the only full-time players next season – assuming that we don't get some playing time for Fred too." He laughed at that; and then smiled ruefully. "Sorry, but I just had a mental picture of Fred taking his turn playing with Uncle George as his Beater partner."

"We'd likely end up forfeiting matches due to illegal use of wheezes," Gwendolyn joked. "Katrina will be seventeen next summer, though; so she could play in the holiday matches with Fred if Rose wanted to do that."

"I like that idea," Al agreed. "We won't need to worry about that until next spring, but if we have Katrina play; we'll need to think about giving Jonah, Hugo, and Alyssa playing time too."

"My first thought on that is wrong; since that is our plan to be sharing our jobs by our third season, but doing that might prove harder than I thought; since we are having such a brilliant time of it so far this season."

"So are Mum and Dad; and they're okay with sharing the Seeker duties. We'll be happy when the time comes too – and then we will still have some seasons where we'll play full-time when needed."

"I know," Gwendolyn agreed, "but still expect it to be hard to make the change – at least for me. Let's talk about our plans for the rest of tonight."

By then, they'd already set the food out and sat down to fill their plates and eat. Their conversation from that point was mostly about work and Christmas fun; and then they moved on to spend the rest of their evening doing some decorating in the atrium; they helped out with Jaimie and Lorie's bedtime; and then wrapped up their day with some hot and playful bedtime fun for two once they were home ahead of their training night curfew. Al worked day and night through the rest of the week; and even their Friday evening included some time-stopped work along with watching the latest episode of The Healer and then going to bed early so that they'd be rested and ready for a busy Quidditch-watching day on Saturday.

Lily and Jonah were with a small gang of teens when they reached the school gates; timed it nearly-perfectly; and then happily welcomed Harry, Ginny, Kirley, Al, Gwendolyn, and the twins when they arrived as a group.

This is an awesome surprise," Lily told Jaimie and Lorie. "We weren't sure that you'd be able to come today; since it is rather cold out."

"We'll make sure that they stay warm – including with lots of cuddle time with you," Ginny assured her. "You have more snow here too; so we'll play a bit too."

"It's not so warm out that we want to stand around out here, though," Kirley told them. "Let's swing past the Hufflepuff locker room; wish our favorite players good luck; and then get to our seats."

"Which section will we be sitting in for this match?" Gwendolyn asked Lily.

"Gryffindor – if we're going to stick together," she answered. "We can't all head for the stadium yet. You have incoming family on the way; and they'll want to visit with Greta and her team mates too."

"Fred and I can stay behind and wait for them," Katrina offered. "I'm not really in any hurry to see Slytherin play today anyway – even though we need to watch both teams to get ready for our matches against each of them."

"We do," Lily agreed, "but you'll still get there in time for the match unless you get lost between here and there on purpose; so we'll thank you for waiting; and go on ahead."

The opening round of hugs and kisses were still going on then, but once that was done; Lily and Jonah led the way to the stadium with about a third of their teens; and Fred and Katrina stayed with the rest – including the teens that were waiting for other guest to arrive. There was some snow play along the way for the twins; the visit with Greta and a few other Hufflepuff friends didn't take long; and then they played outside of the stadium for another ten minutes or so before heading in along with more of the students and visitors that were arriving more-quickly now that it was getting close to game time. They kept busy with more greetings with favorite students sitting near them – and a few autograph seekers; all of the teens, tweens, and visitors that were there to watch the game with them were seated and ready by the time Colin began his pre-game show; and the cold weather didn't keep everyone from being excited and ready for what they all hoped would be a good match – even if that was likely to be too-much to hope for from most of the Slytherin players – even if their Captain and Seeker played nice.

"Have you been hearing anything helpful about the Slytherin team?" Al asked Jonah while Lily was busy with her nieces and the other girls nearest to them. "I'd expect Andrea to have the advantage over Luke at Seeker, but Hufflepuff has a pretty good team."

"We're mostly only hearing the usual trash talk – especially from the Wilkes brothers. Lily gets annoyed with me if I say anything good about Andrea; so I won't do that. I think that Leanne will have the advantage at Keeper if she can keep from getting pounded by the Slytherin guys; the Chasers might be fairly-evenly matched; and we'll have to wait and see which Beaters win the day – even though Ricky and Greta would definitely win a fair contest."

"If you think that the Chasers are closely-matched; then that's likely to Slytherin's advantage," Al suggested.

"We hope so," Jonah half-joked. "Four teams with a win each works better for us than having Hufflepuff with two wins going into the Christmas break."

"I'll get into trouble if I suggest that Hufflepuff is overdue for a better season," Al suggested. "They've had some really good players; but really bad timing for being here with such good players on the other teams."

"If the Cannons keep winning; that's what the players on the other twelve teams will be saying by the end of next May," Jonah offered. "I'll still cheer for Greta and the rest of our friends; but do that quietly. Speaking of quiet – I haven't seen Ray and Cyndia around here yet. Did he borrow your tent and set it up by the gates?"

"No, but we might not see much of them if they can find somewhere to hide and be alone," Al suggested. "I'll offer the tent for the Hogsmeade weekend – though Ray's parents have one that he could borrow."

"I hope that I never have to find out what it's like to spend weeks or months apart from Lily," Jonah told him seriously. "Instead of gossiping about them, though; why don't you tell me about your work week? The news has been relatively-quiet about the Cannons for the past few days."

"We'll enjoy the break while it lasts," Al said as he nodded in agreement. "There's a chance that some of the reporters are just getting tired of looking bad when all of the predictions and opinions are proved wrong match after match."

"Give them time and I'm sure they'll come up with all-new ways to try and tear you and the Cannons down," Jonah predicted.

Al expected that he was right about that, and they continued to chat about home, work, and school as the match got started, but then Al focused more attention on the Quidditch as Hufflepuff and Slytherin began their annual batle in very different game plans. While Andrea Avery was the Slytherin Captain, Al sensed that she was pretty much letting her team mates do whatever they wanted. For the Wilkes' brothers, that meant doing their best to play like the Nott or McClaggen brothers. They were another pair of bullies that didn't care much about the rules; and enjoyed the opportunities to beat up on other Witches and Wizards. Derrick Selwyn started out playing quite well in goals for Slytherin except for his own efforts to bash on the Hufflepuff Chasers – especially if they had the audacity to best him and score a goal! Dan Derrick seemed to be the odd Chaser out with Bethany and Grant Pritchard, and they weren't working very well with their Keeper, but they still managed to play hard against the Hufflepuff Chasers.

For Hufflepuff, Leanne Jordan put on a real show – even as the hits on her began to pile up and Al sensed that she was picking up some uncomfortable, if not-yet-serious injuries. Justine Finch-Fletchley had better Chasers to work with than Bethany did thanks to Drew Summers and Michael Macmillan, but that was off-set a bit by their fair play compared to the cheap shots and fouls they had to deal with just to get to the Slytherin goals. They still managed to outscore Slytherin by four goals to two in the first hour, though, and while that wasn't much of a lead to work with; they managed to keep building on that lead as the morning rolled along.

There were tough moments that Al didn't enjoy watching, but there were some awesome Quidditch moments too – on both sides of the pitch. That's why Al had mixed feelings about leaving before the match ended, but they had a lunch at the Leaky and a Harpies match to get to next; so they were on their way out of the stadium when Andrea ended the match just minutes into the fourth hour. At the time of her catch, Hufflepuff had been in the lead, but only by one-twenty to sixty – so her catch earned the come-from-behind victory; and made Lily a very happy camper even while she tried to be sad for her Hufflepuff friends.

"Why don't you stay for a few minutes and help our favorite Hufflepuffs?" Ginny suggested to Al. "We'll pre-order your food, and if you're too-late; we'll get it to go."

"I can do that," Al agreed – "and it shouldn't take long."

"I'll still walk you out and then come back," Lily suggested. "It's cold, so the post-game fun at center pitch won't likely last very long."

"Probably not," Ginny agreed. "Let's get going. Jaimie and Lorie were fine while bundled up and cuddling with us; but we need to get them fully-warm and fed before we go on to the Harpies' match."

Al didn't need to do a round of hugs – other than a hug and kiss with Gwendolyn; and then he headed for center pitch to offer some Healing help. He started with Leanne, took advantage of the opportunity to get her to test her reaction to touching or handling different woods and cores for her broom by getting all of the Hufflepuff players to do that as he healed each of them – and explaining that he needed more help as he tried to learn more about how he was creating brooms that bonded to one owner. He didn't make any promises about making brooms for any of them, but that didn't keep at least some of them from hoping – particularly Greta and Michael; since they had such close family connections to Gwendolyn and Susannah respectively. That information really did help Al a lot, though; so the Healing effort was more than worth it.

He made it to the Leaky twenty-five minutes after the rest of their game-watching gang; ate quickly; and then moved on to Exmmor stadium. They didn't have a lot of time left before the quaffle toss; so they picked up hot drinks and snacks; a couple of treats for the twins; and then they got to their seats just in time to see the Harpies called out into the stadium. The Quidditch match that was soon underway was quite a bit different than the one they'd watched at Hogwarts, but their team jumped out to an early lead; and Al was happy to settle in and enjoy a Quidditch contest that was played by the rules and a lot more fun to watch!

Al's perspective for the Harpies' matches was changing now that he'd played against most of the other teams in the league; and that had him comparing their own match against the Magpies with the one he was watching. There wasn't quite the same level of fun among the players – starting with the lack of inter-team hugs and kisses at center pitch before the match, but the game play was entertaining and all about skills without any of the problems that came with playing against the teams that didn't mind bending or breaking the rules. Victoire was playing well – and so was Ollie for the Magpies. The Harpies were playing at nearly the same level of scoring advantage as Hufflepuff had earned over Slytherin, but that wasn't bad news for the Harpies because Gabrielle was clearly the better Seeker on the day. It only took her about two and a half hours to prove that with the snitch catch; and the two-twenty to forty score only seemd like a wide margin because of the relatively-short match.

The short match worked for the spectators that were happy to get out of the cold by then; and Al and Gwendolyn were happy to head home and then have some play time with the twins in the atrium – along with a mini-celebration for the Harpies' victory that Kirley was with them for – and then Gwenog came over to have dinner with them too. They were sitting down and enjoying that meal when Al got a mirror chat request come in from Lily.

"Andrea Avery's quit school!" Lily exclaimed excitedly before Al could finish saying – "Hello."

"Do you know why?" Al asked.

"Not officially," Lily answered; "but our guess is that she got an offer from one of the scouts at the game this morning. If anyone in Slytherin knows; they're not saying anything to the rest of us – and you can bet they'd be bragging if they had reason to do that."

"Maybe," Al offered. "She's had some issues with a lot of fellow Slytherin since the problems at the Memorial service; so those haters won't be happy if she's gotten a job offer in the show."

"I suppose," Lily agreed. "If that's what is going on, though, we expect to know for sure soon; since there'd be no point in quitting this close to the Christmas break if she wasn't being asked to play in a match sometime between now and when we'd be home anyway."

"You could be right about that," Al toldher. "Did you just find out about this at dinner?"

"Yes," Lily confirmed. "She was here at lunch – and apparently at least made an appearance at the party in the Slytherin common room; but then she disappeared and her room mates found out that her things were gone when they went to get ready for dinner. I'm not sure whether anyone saw her leave or not."

"Well, at least she didn't try to go out with a major Whizz-bang show," Gwendolyn joked. "Bethany will likely miss her, but how are the guys on the Slytherin team reacting so far?"

"We're not sure," Lily answered. "I wish that Al was here to tell us. Derrick Selwyn is most-likely to take over as Captain, and they do have Jordan Greengrass to take over at Seeker; so they might be happy about this."

"I wouldn't be," Gwendolyn told her. "They won the match today; so if the next Captain loses one or both of their final matches this year; then Andrea will get all of the credit while the rest of the team will get insulted – by their own fellow Slytherin."

Lily shrugged. "I don't know about that, but I'm happy about this; and it helps improve our chance of winning our match against them – and helps Ravenclaw too. Then there's the added bonus that Jonah won't be playing against Andrea this season."

"Does he have a similar issue with you playing against Jordan Greengrass – or Luke Summerby?" Gwendolyn teased.

"No, and I don't have a problem with the better view either – at least from my perspective."

That assertion required a bit of girl chat time; Lily wrapped up that mirror chat a couple of minutes later; and then Al and Gwendolyn discussed the news with their parents. If Lily's guess about Andrea's reason for leaving was accurate, then they were able to speculate on which team might have hired her simply on the basis of which teams had matches ahead of the Christmas holiday. That list was small – for teams with the potential for needing a new Seeker – though there was also a suggestion that her early departure from Hogwarts could also be to allow her time to get ready to fly a Lightningstorm in time for the holiday matches. The news managed to keep them entertained throughout their dinner; and then they moved on to spend a quiet evening with some of their neighbors and other guests until Kirley and Gwenog headed home while Al and Gwendolyn ended up taking Jaimie and Lorie for a sleepover because they were both total softies when it came to hugs, kisses, and dimples from their nieces.

Andrea Avery smiled happily as she sat in a comfortable armchair in the drawing room of her semi-adopted family's home with Lysandra and Scorpius. They were cuddled on one of the sofas; and all three teens were enjoying glasses of wine. It was getting late by then – at least by Hogwarts standards, but still-early for Scorpius and Lysandra; since they were used to being out at parties until the wee hours of pretty much every Friday and Saturday night.

"Thanks for coming home early," Andrea told them with a bright smile. "I might have burst if I'd needed to wait until tomorrow to talk with you – even though I can't talk about any details for my new job."

Lysandra laughed. "We're used to that sort of thing with our own jobs. This was a nice surprise, though, and I was glad to have the excuse to leave that party before James got drunk and started in on the usual inappropriate offers."

"Your Mum said the party was for something to do with your show or that mirror network. Why was James there too?"

Lysandra shrugged. "Because he has no trouble getting invited to the best parties; since there are always Witches happy to have him go with them for the bragging rights. Instead of going there; is there anything you can tell us about why you needed to leave school today instead of waiting until the holidays? You'll miss out on all of the school parties – and they don't do much actual work between now and when you'd have been coming home."

"Not really – other than that I start my job on Monday. Your parents told me that I can stay here as long as needed, and I'd like to stay at least until after the holidays; but I should likely get you to help me out with finding a flat for me to move into by January or February."

Scorpius grinned at her. "Are you looking to do that in any particular town or city?" he asked; and both Witches laughed.

"I was going to ask her if she'd like to look into a flat in that apartment building at the Cannons' practice pitch," Lysandra joked.

"From what I've seen; I'd hate that because it is probably amazing – except for the neighbors," Andrea suggested. "No, I haven't thought much about where I want to live yet; though it might be nice to get a place on or near the water; and I don't think that I want to live in London or one of the other bigger cities."

"I've never thought of you as a cottage-on-the-cliffs sort of Witch," Lysandra told her, "but we'll be happy to help you out with finding a place. Just don't ask James to help too; since he'd likely offer you his spare room and a part-time job as his housekeeper – a job that he offers to Witches he fancies on a regular basis; and has a birthday suit uniform."

Andrea laughed. "That wasn't because I'd be interested in the job – only that it sounds like a good idea for my new place if I could find the right, hot Wizard for the job!"

"You're scaring me just a bit," Lysandra advised her after laughing too. "Scorpius and I each have a bit of work to do tomorrow, but if you need to do some shopping or anything to get ready for work on Monday; we can likely do that in the afternoon."

"I probably should get at least a couple of outfits more-suitable for work instead of just hanging around at school," Andrea decided. "As long as my news doesn't become a story by morning; we can do that, but if it makes the news for some reason; I'll need to do that another time too and stay away from any nosey reporters."

"Do you think that's a worry?" Scorpius asked; and Andrea shrugged.

"Probably not, but you can't be sure about that anymore – not since Rita started recruiting her Hogwarts spies; and now other reporters have done the same hoping to get in on some news scoops too."

"Well, if shopping doesn't work out; you could always do a Quidditch workout with Scorpius," Lysandra suggested. "A bit of time on one of the new brooms would likely help you out on Monday – regardless of which team hired you." She turned her attention toward Scorpius when he laughed.

"Sorry, but that had me half-hoping that the Catapults' owners would be springing a surprise on us – and James – on Monday. That's wrong of me, since he did get me to a league championship already, but he really can be a colossal git whether we win or lose; so having Andrea on the team would likely be more fun."

"They just locked him into an even longer contract," Andrea reminded him. "the Catapults will not be replacing their Seeker anytime soon – or you; if they're smart. You are currently the top Chaser in the league – and James can't make that same claim for top Seeker right now."

"Well, you are currently undefeated," Scorpius joked. "You can take my broom for a spin tomorrow whether you go shopping or not – and that's a good idea. The Lightningstorm takes some getting used to – and some of my team mates still have work to do before they'll be ready to handle them at full-speed."

"I'll need to learn fast; or I won't be undefeated for long," Andrea predicted. "What kind of work do you have for tomorrow?" she asked; directing that question at both of them.

Their answers moved the chat along; Andrea enjoyed spending that time with her two best friends; and she was grateful to be out of Hogwarts and away from all of the drama that had made the past few months such a difficult time for her – despite the fact that she'd played a brilliant Quidditch match and been doing very well in her classes. Lysandra had been right about Hogwarts being a waste of time, and thanks to the job offer that had still managed to surprise her just a bit; she was going to soon be spending her time getting started on a brilliant career in the show and prove that she was one of the best Seekers in the world!

The second week of December was very busy for Al, Gwendolyn, and pretty much everyone closest to them as they got ready for their match on Saturday against the Arrows. On Monday, helping Michael to celebrate his nineteenth birthday added fun to their work day – starting at breakfast; and continuing with a family and friends dinner at the cafe. The Catapults had a Tuesday evening match against the Kestrels that ended up being newsworthy because it only lasted for an hour and a quarter – and that was entirely thanks to James. His post-game explanations included suggesting that Santini should've retired instead of signing up with the second-worst team in the league after getting sacked by the worst one; and an early Christmas gift for the spectators because it was too-cold out to watch a Quidditch match that boring all night. Al was just glad that the Catapults didn't beat up on yet another team all night while running up the score on them. the Kestrels were likely happy to escape Ilkley stadium with the two-ten to naught loss.

Al used his time-stopper liberally all week, but had more time for work on Wednesday with only one after-work interview. Charlie's fifty-second birthday on Thursday wasn't a major part of the work day for Al and Gwendolyn, but they did get in on a breakfast mirror chat with their uncle along with Harry, Ginny, Rose, and Brandon; so that helped to get yet another work day off to a great start. Friday was also the thirteenth of December, and at least a little scary for Al because Professor Slughorn had sent an invitation to his annual Christmas party for the entire Cannons' team; and Rose and Gwendolyn had both insisted that Al would go along – especially since they could only make an appearance to the party when they had a game night curfew. Having that event to not look forward to didn't keep Al from having a fun day with their training – especially since he added in a bit of Friday the Thirteenth meets Christmas entertainment, but he wasn't really glad to be done work for the day when it was time to wrap up; and then get ready for the Christmas party.

"Hoh, Hoh, and Oh-Hoh!" Professor Slughorn exclaimed. "It's a Christmas miracle! Albus Potter – here at one of my parties!"

"Merry Christmas, sir," Al told him while the rest of the members of his group laughed. "You have our team Manager and Captain to thank – or blame; since it is quite a risk inviting not one but two trouble magnets to your Christmas party – especially on a Friday the Thirteenth!"

"From what I've heard; your biggest troubles of late is from litttle kids wanting to take you home as their new pet," Slughorn countered; earning more laughs. "Welcome, all; and thank-you for joining me for our holiday celebration!"

With the entire team and guests to welcome – and introduce a guest of honor that was, this year, and old friend with a new book out in time for the holidays, so Al was happy to get through that first scene without any trouble. Being reunited with Lily, Jonah, and most of their favorite younger teens kept the fun going; and Al was happy that Ray and Cyndia got to spend some time together – especially when Ray's available time for visiting Hogsmeade on Saturday was going to be very limited. Rose and Gwendolyn had promised to keep him out of trouble; and they did that – though there weren't any real issues at all until James, Scorpius, Lysandra, and James' date for the night – Bristol – arrived. They were the last to join the party; and then they were almost-immediately the center of attention as Professor Slughorn advised his guests that their first bit of group entertainment was a slightly-early, special presentation of a special episode of The Healer. Chairs were lined up or conjured; a large mirror had already been set up on one wall and had been showing Christmas music videos to that point; and then there was no extra set-up before the lights in the room were dimmed and the show started.

"Merlin!" Gwendolyn whispered when the opening scene was at a professional Quidditch match – and Scorpius was the Chaser that got the first close-up while on a scoring drive that was successful just moments later as he scored on a brilliant-looking shot. He then intercepted a pass between the opposing Keeper and his Chaser rival; scored another goal; and then got crushed by a combination of cheap shots from the Keeper, Chaser, and one of the opponent Beaters. He crashed to the pitch; and lay there motionless while the other three Wizards celebrated their 'victory' and the injury time-out was called.

"Well, we've talked about Quidditch injuries being worked into the storyline," Al whispered. "This should be fun!"

"Or perfectly-scary for Friday the Thirteenth," Gwendolyn countered.

Al hadn't really thought about that angle while watching that first scene, but then the supposed date of the match actually was set for a Friday the Thirteenth; and the story continued as normal for the show as 'the victim' was brought into the hospital; Lysandra was soon called in; and she needed to try and save the day. It wasn't unusual for there to be several mistakes with diagnosing the true problem, and Scorpius' issues were no exception. What was very different was the Healer-patient relationship as sparks were obvious between Lysandra and Scorpius; and then there was an entire side-show as Scorpius' best mate and the team's star Seeker made a nuisance of himself while adding in some heat and comedy as he spent more time chasing after the hottest Witches in the hospital. His efforts with Lysandra failed miserably, but Bristol's character was just one of his conquests. Each of those scenes were short, but very uncomfortable for Al, since he didn't enjoy public displays of snogging – or more – in the first place; and definitley thought it was weird to watch his brother doing that on a mirror network show.

"It could have been worse," Gwendolyn whispered during the first scene with Bristol while she showed him a lot more than where the gowns and masks were kept. "They could've asked your Dad to guest star instead!"

"Not if there were to be any scenes like that – and not even if Mum was the Witch involved," Al disagreed. "I'll guess that I'm the one with the problem here; since this episode is sure to be a huge hit."

"No doubt," Gwendolyn agreed.

It wasn't just the spiced up scenes and new inter-personal drama that actually did make the episode special. The 'case' was dramatic too; and then they were left with a cliff-hanger when Scorpius' condition worsened; his career – or even his life – hung in the balance; and it was going to be up to Lysandra to save the day – during the next episode when they'd all get to find out whether there would be a Christmas miracle or tragedy! The unexpected party entertainment had one added bonus for Al – it used up most of the time they had available before they'd need to head home again ahead of their game night curfew. The downside was that they didn't get to have as much time with Lily, Jonah, and the rest of their Hogwarts friends. They made a comparatively-quick round of the room that included speaking with most of the guests – except for their favorite haters; there was another ten minutes spent saying goodbye to Professor Slughorn; and then Gwendolyn took Al home after successfully keeping him out of trouble for nearly three hours at a large party!

"Finally – we can take a breath without the stench of Animorphloser in the room!" James declared. He was already well on the way to being drunk; had needed the help to put up with the loser and his dog pack being in the same room with him; and now they could really start partying!

"We knew that he wouldn't stay for long," Bristol offered. "Merlin forbid that anyone on the clown brigade should ever break any rule!"

James snorted. "That's all just an act. The loser ought to have been tossed into Azkaban a hundred times over by now – and left there to rot!"

"That's a cheery thought; though I'm not sure that it would be possible to keep him there – unless it was in an unbreakable jar," Bristol suggested. "We've a party to enjoy, though, and a lot to celebrate; since our show is a huge hit – so let's do that!"

"Do you wish that you had a curfew for an excuse to leave the party early?" Lily asked Jonah. "Your parents are still here – even if mine had to go to bed early."

"I'll be okay for the rest of the night – as long as we don't have any trouble. We might want to think about staying in Hogsmeade for as long as we can tomorrow, though; since it's going to be weird listening to everyone talk about your brother's acting debut."

"Was that acting? I thought he was just there on the set being himself," Lily joked. "Scorpius did pretty well keeping up with Lysandra, so maybe he has some talent for acting too – except for at the beginning when those hits and the crash were more-likely to be something he'd be in on doing than being the victim."

"They sure tried to make those goals look more like something that Al would do – and I'll guess that they shot that episode before Al even played in his first match of the season."

"That is quite a coincidence – except that Al's played like that against Slytherin before," Lily reminded him. "I think that doing a show like that is perfect for James. Maybe he should do that instead of Quidditch."

"You don't want that," Jonah disagreed. "If he quits; you'll never get the chance to beat him – and his team – once you're with the Harpies."

"That's true," Lily conceded. "That'll work out better anyway. He can hate the new real world once I'm in the show too; and then go create his own reality through acting."

"Do you think that he'll get paid well to snog Witches on The Healer?" Jonah joked; and Lily laughed – and then punched him.

"That's just in case you're thinking that the job would be brilliant," she explained; and Jonah laughed too.

"You know that I'd never want a job like that. I'm definitely too much like Al to ever be comfortable with public displays of snogging – let alone doing something like that for a mirror network show."

"I do know that," Lily agreed, "but let's not let facts get in the way of having a bit of fun."

"Let's just get back to enjoying the party – and hope that we won't have anything scarier happen tonight than finding out that someone actually paid your brother to basically be himself on the most-popular mirror network show of the season."

While Professor Slughorn and his guests partied on until the early hours of Saturday morning; Al and Gwendolyn got lots of sleep; and then they missed out on the visit to Hogsmeade while busy with the team. Ray was given time to go and visit with Cyndia again, and Malorie and Harry took Jaimie and Lorie for a visit with Lily and Jonah until they needed to be at the Leaky for the game day lunch, but while they were busy with that; the rest of the Cannons team split their time between game day warm-ups; prep work for the charity Christmas adventures that was going to include going to the game, a Christmas dinner, and party for the kids and families that Susannah was helping through their charity. They had lots of help with getting the atrium and practice pitch ready; and then moved on to Exmmor stadium when it was time for their usual pre-game prep work while getting focused entirely on their jobs.

Harry continued to help Malorie with the twins while they'd had lunch at the Leaky, but when it was time to head to the stadium; Patrick was there to take over and spend the rest of the day with three of the Witches he loved-most; and Harry was free to spend time with all of the sports camp kids and the other children that Susannah had invited to the match, dinner, and party – along with the parents or guardians that could come along too. They didn't have room for everyone in the owners' section of the stadium – even though Exmoor had the largest spaces for that compared to every other stadium except for the World Cup stadium. The kids that did get to join him had been chosen by lottery; and the rest of their guests were in another block of seats around the section of seasons' tickets that their family collectively purchased. While he wasn't in charge of any specific kids, Harry did end up sitting with kids all around him – once they'd picked up drinks, snacks, and lots of souvenirs. There were other adults too, but they were spaced out to make kid control easier.

It was cold out, so they'd timed getting into their seats for just ahead of the team introductions; and Harry wasn't the only spectator to smile as he watched his amazing wife, son, daughter-in-law, and the rest of their team fly a lap around the stadium and then land next to the Arrows' players. He joined in on the laughs too when there were more inter-team hugs and kisses than most of the players on the other teams shared in an entire season. Every Arrows player didn't get in on that, but Eddie was grinning after getting hugs and kisses from all three Witches on the Cannons' team; the greetings between Gwendolyn and her former Ravenclaw team mates was fun; and while Madison was more-reserved about it; she couldn't keep from smiling too as her former friends wished her good luck; and Ginny had a hug for the daughter of long-time friends and former Quidditch rivals.

"Why do they do all of that hugging and kissing?" Gowen asked, but didn't seem to do that to anyone specific. "It's gross!"

"Maybe getting girl germs all over the Wizards on the other team is part of the game plan," Gowen's father, Owen, suggested with a grin for his son. "Do you think it will work?"

"No – and you're just joking," Gowen decided. "That isn't funny."

"It's a little funny," harry disagreed with a grin for Owen – "or at least the girls around us think so."

"We think it's just a joke too," Robin told him – "even if girl germs do work to scare off Gowen and his friends. They don't work on grown-up Wizards. They like all of those hugs and kisses."

"Especially from our favorite little Witches," Owen agreed while leaning close to hug and kiss his daughter. "Is there anything we should know about this match, Harry? The Arrows seem to be on the right track this season, and Madison Whitby is a good addition; but they aren't ending up with more wins – at least not so far compared to last year."

"I'll hope that they'll have one less than normal for them after today," Harry joked before answering the question. "We should have a good match today, but our team – or my team, for those of you who are fans of one of the other teams in the league – will do well against the Arrows. Rose, Gwendolyn, Al, and Ray have played with or against four of the Arrows players – five if you include family scrimmages with Eddie, so they know them pretty well; but most of those players haven't gone up against them on their Hurricane brooms."

"You're predicting a win for the Cannons?" Owen asked.

"Madison is a talented Seeker, so no; I wouldn't do that," Harry answered. "We won't make the mistake of underestimating the Arrows – or any other team."

"Unlike most of your competition so far this year," Owen suggested with a grin. "It'll be interesting to watch and find out whether they'll still do that with your second matches against them during the last half of the season."

"It will be," Harry agreed – "though there will be one difference; since Ginny and I will only play each team once."

"I wasn't thinking about that," Owen admitted. "The other teams should still try to learn from their mistakes."

"Well, let's hope not," Harry joked. "The Arrows have decided to get Lee to take the quaffle toss; so he'll be up against Al."

"Is that the match-up you want today?" Owen asked.

"We'll likely mix it up a bit and switch up the Chaser pairings," Harry answered as they all watched the players get set for take-off. the referee didn't waste time getting the match started; and then the battle was on. "Lee and Susan play very well together; so we'll try to disrupt their playmaking – especially on defense. They're pretty good at being patient and waiting for best scoring opportunities too. They don't waste a lot of effort on low-chance shots on goals."

"What would you do to try and best the Cannons?" Owen asked next; and Harry laughed.

"I'd go with the 'if you can't beat 'em; join 'em' game plan. That's working out pretty well for me so far!"

Lily cuddled with Jonah on a sofa in their usual study and game-watching classroom. The Cannons' match had been going on for about an hour; and Jonah's team – not hers! – was ahead by a modest thirty-to-naught score. While they'd talked about staying in town, cold and some incoming snow convinvced them to head back to the castle after lunch; and now they were all enjoying another really brilliant display of Quidditch that was also, obviously, fun for all of the players on both teams as everyone fought hard and played nice together. Madison was putting on a great show in her Seeker duel, but then so was Ginny; which had Lily thinking a lot about her own future in the show that was now only about a year and a half away – or less; if she could get Gwenog to let her play some holiday matches for the Harpies now that she was seventeen.

Maybe it was the lack of sleep from staying up late on Friday combined with an active, busy morning, but her mind wandered as they watched the match; and she mused about whether she'd be able to have that kind of fun playing against her parents while with the Harpies. That might be possible – if she won those matches, but if the Cannons won; then she could also picture herself being a bit more like James – or maybe like Gwenog. Turning her mother or father into a Bat-Bogey was probably wrong, but she could always just go with rule number one and blast Al instead! Thoughts of Jonah playing for the Cannons – and having that much fun with Madison, Pauline, or some of the other Seekers wasn't much fun for her either – and that thought reminded her of the big Quidditch news of the day that some of their friends were still talking about now – though only a few of them were trying to watch the Tornados' match too.

Andrea Avery was the new Seeker for the Tornados. The story surrounding why their Seeker was demoted and Andrea was offered the job was that their owners bought into James' recovering and weak player act; they were mad that their Seeker hadn't even been able to best a Seeker that was so hindered by his injuries; and Andrea was going to be their hope for the future – along with Rachel, Licentia, and Lacey. Lily didn't try to watch that match – and part of her didn't want to know how well Andrea did, since she'd made a promise to her parents to stay in school through to the end of her NEWT year; and quitting early was no longer an option – even if Gwenog would hire her early. She had her doubts about that – just as she had a strong feeling that she wouldn't be offered the chance to play for the Harpies over the Christmas holidays.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Jonah leaned close and whispered. "You're making your frowny face again."

"What would you like me to say? I'm annoyed that Andrea has gone to play in the show while I'm stuck here; and my brother and your sister are bugging me right now because they're playing brilliantly and way too happy."

"I'm really glad that you didn't quit school after you turned seventeen," Jonah advised her. "Nearly two years without you here would have been really awful to get through." He nodded toward the mirror. "I won't comment on that and risk getting blasted, but it does work out for us not to have Andrea here and playing for Slytherin; and I think she's going to find out that she isn't quite ready for the show yet. I do think that she'll win some matches, Lily," he added when that statement had her looking at him with some surprise. "Would that be enough for you – to just win some games; but get bested by the best Seekers in the league? I don't want to start out like that – and while Andrea could and should win her match today; do you really think that she'll keep that going over the holidays – against your father? That might even be tougher than we think; depending on how she's doing with that new Lightningstorm. I doubt that I could win in that situation – or I'd need some luck."

"That isn't helping; since now you're reminding me that I'd need to use a Lightningstorm to play for the Harpies in their holiday matches this year."

"You want to play for eighty or ninety years," Jonah reminded her. "Is it really such a big deal to start early just because James did? Staying until garduating seems to be working out pretty well for Al and Gwendolyn – and Victoire did pretty well – and certainly had more reason to want to quit school early because of Teddy."

"It actually does matter to me," Lily advised him. "The next Quidditch World Cup is the summer after next. If I don't get more playing time; I'm not going to get noticed by the selection committee. I don't want to wait another four years for my first chance to play!"

Jonah grinned at her. "Well, we're currently living two-thirds of the year in Scotland. Maybe you should look at getting nominated to their National team. The McCormack side of my family would love it if I played for Scotland."

"That's something I hadn't thought about – though we'll be graduating going into that summer; so I don't know if it would be allowed for me – even if you could still play for Scotland because of your family."

"I don't know for sure either," Jonah admitted. "The team selections are done at Easter, though, so maybe that wouldn't matter. There's likely too much competition for us anyway. The good news for you is that you will get lots of chances to play for the National team. I'll be a part-time player; and might never get nominated – let alone picked."

"Gwendolyn won't be happy if that's true for her too," Lily suggested thoughtfully. "You could be right about that too. They're getting to play in every match this season, but next year they'll be sharing the Chaser jobs with Stephanie and Cyndia. None of them will be able to be near the top of the league for scoring or assists when they only play half the time – just as Mum and Dad will only have twelve matches each – or only nine or ten by the time the teams are selected. They might not rank top-five even if they could win every match." She smiled at him. "You should definitely reconsider taking that job with the team before it's too late."

"That would be a downside to the job," Jonah agreed, "but I'll still pick having that much fun – especially now that there's yet one-fewer top-eight team that might have an opening for a Seeker anyway."

They continued to talk quietly; enjoyed the Quidditch; went for a swim break after two hours; and then they were near to needing to make the decision to pack up and go get ready for the Christmas dinner and dance when Ginny finally bested Madison sixteen minutes into the fourth hour. The Cannons had been ahead by one-thirty to twenty, but while they'd still needed another fifty points to get the one-sixty lead; they'd scored five goals during the third hour; and Madison had begun to take some risks to try and win the match before that one-sixty lead could happen. That proved to be a mistake; Ginny took advantage; and picked up a fairly-easy catch for the two-eighty to twenty victory. Madison had still played very well, though; so the post-game action in the air and on the pitch was still a lot of fun for both teams.

Lily and the other girls had to get ready for their dates, though, so they left soon after the end of the match; and left the clean-up to the boys because they didn't need as much time to get ready anyway.

The GO MagiSports Charity Chritmas party began as soon as the kids and their families arrived from the stadium – or elsewhere, for the parents or guardians that hadn't been able to attend the Quidditch entertainment part of their day. Their 'host' team wasn't able to join in on that fun until a bit after six o'clock; so there was a bit of a whirlwind social time and then they sat down for dinner by six-thirty – with at least one player at a table with a group of kids while the other adults got to enjoy their meal with other grown-ups. After a brilliant play afternoon and Quidditch victory; Al loved getting to celebrate the holidays with kids that hadn't been able to have many Merry Christmases before being helped out by Susannah and their charity; and while that culinary adventure ranged from kid favorites to gourmet entrees; they all enjoyed the food and fun.

After dinner, there were games on the practice pitch that was something of a mini-carnival for everyone to enjoy – along with lots of prizes for kids of all ages too. They played there for an hour and a half; the party moved into the atrium so the kids could go for a swim and play while the adults mostly watched and the Quidditch pitch was set up for a dance; and then Al and Gwendolyn were two of the supervisors for thekids that got to wrap up their party with watching the VirtualMirror version of 'Home for the Holidays' in one of the VirtualMirror rooms while the rest of the adults went to a little dance party at the cafe and out onto the pitch for a couple of hours. Going to that show wasn't a first for the kids, since they had been to the VirtualMirror rooms at least once since they'd opened during the summer, but seeing the Christmas show that way was new for them; and a huge hit.

The last activity of the night was a visit from Santa that was especially-entertaining because the jolly old Wizard 'flew' into the practice pitch on a sleigh pulled by a single, Animorphmagus reindeer with the usual Muggle twist on the legend; there were gifts for all and time for each kid to see Santa and pass along their Christmas wishes; and then the pitch roof was opened; Santa flew back to the North Pole; and the party wrapped up with a ten-minute-long Whizz-Bang fireworks show. Al managed to meet up with Gwendolyn by the time that show was finished; they helped three families with getting kids and gifts taken home; and then they helped with the party clean-up before heading for bed by around one o'clock.

"How have our parents managed to keep up with everything we've always done at Christmas?" Gwendolyn asked tiredly once they were snuggled in bed and ready to get some sleep. "That's just our first party of the holidays; and I'm already exhausted!"

"It's our second in two days," Al reminded her – "and we have had a fairly-busy weekend so far. I don't know how your Mum and Dad do this year-after-year; and we only have one Quidditch match over the holidays. The Harpies have two to go along with a lot of the same activities we're doing; and they also have their own work-related events. The good news for us is that if we do start getting too tired; we can always make the time to rest up – or to keep up with all of the work."

"As you've been doing already," Gwendolyn agreed. "How many days have you had in this year? four or five hundred?"

Al laughed quietly. "We only really used that for days during our honeymoon and a day or two here and there; so I doubt that you've hit more than about three hundred and seventy-five days for this year; and I'm likely still under four hundred – though I'd have to think about that a bit to accurately add it up. I'm too tired to do that tonight. This has been a really brilliant day, but a bit too much fun for one day too."

"It has," Gwendolyn agreed, "but we haven't had much you and me play time; so remind me to catch up on that once we're rested and back to full-power again."

Andrea Avery smiled as Scorpius and Lysandra joined her at the Tornados' victory celebration – a party being thrown in her honor because she'd won the day for her team and earned a lot of support from the fans and reporters that loved the change at Seeker from the old and boring to the shiny, exciting, hot, and new face of the Tornados' team. Rachel, Lacey, and Licentia were very happy too, but the Harper brothers were not; and neither was their Keeper; who likely saw the writing on the wall for his upcoming replacement – or demotion to the reserve squad too. Andrea wasn't concerned with team politics or drama – she was just happy that she'd won her first match in the show; and glad to have a couple of friends stop by to share that first success with her – and impress the team owners too; since it helped her to have two of the hottest young talents that everyone wanted to hang out with for best friends.

"Thanks for coming," she told them gratefully while sharing hugs with each of them. "This has been an amazing day, but it's a lot better now that I can share the day with you."

"You're welcome," Lysandra assured her. "You've helped me out again with an excuse to get away from a party that James was taking to the weird level."

"He sends his congratulations," Scorpius added. "I hope you don't mind, but we didn't invite him along – and didn't tell him where this party is located; since we didn't think that you'd want him crashing it in his current condition."

"I can wait to find out what his reaction is to my news and win until he's sober again sometime," Andrea suggested.

"You could have your first league championship to brag about before that happens," Lysandra joked a bit darkly. "Has he been totally sober even once this season, Scorpius?"

"Maybe – while he was in his bed at St. Mungo's," Scorpius answered with a laugh. "This party is about Andrea, though; so let's talk about that match today. I wish you could have told us so that we could be there at the stadium. We caught the last hour or so of your match once we found out about it; and I thought you played brilliantly. You've only had that new broom for a week; and you looked like one of the best players out there. Are you faster than Rachel already?"

"Not most of the time," Andrea answered, "but I do get ahead of her a few times during our flying exercises. She's faster with the technical flying and has some really great tricks. i'm learning a lot from her."

"No doubt," Scorpius agreed. "Since you played today, you must only have one holiday match. Who do you play against? I didn't think to look it up."

"The Cannons," Andrea answered; her expression turning serious. "Let's not talk about that around here," she added in a whisper. "I'll tell you about the mass-delusion later."

"Been there; have the emotional scars," Scorpius whispered back. "The only advice I have for that is to play your very best; and don't worry about what anyone else on your team does."

"Do you think that James could help me?" Andrea asked; and waited while Scorpius thought about that.

"You can ask, but I don't know whether you can trust that he'll give you any accurate information about playing Seeker against his parents. His Mum played today, so you should be up against his father, but I wouldn't believe that'll be easier; since he hasn't lost a match yet either – and he's bested some pretty good Seekers along with the easier matches."

"James hates to admit that he learned a lot about playing Quidditch from his parents," Lysandra offered, "but he must have; so it's possible that some of the things he does is also tricks he learned from them. He's worked with you; so maybe you actually know more about them than you realize."

"That's possible," Andrea agreed. "I'll start worrying about that tomorrow. Let's get some drinks for you; and then I'll show off my best friends I mean introduce you to my new bosses and owners."

James was annoyed as he flopped onto one of the sofas in his sitting room in the wee hours of Sunday morning. He took a long drink from the glass of double-malt; stared at nothing; and fumed in impotent silence. His chosen playmate for the rest of the weekend had gotten mad at him and left before he'd even gotten her into his flat – all because he'd splinched a few inches of her hair after swinging her around dramatically while apparating away from the party – a foot of it at most! He didn't see what the big deal was – especially after he helped her out by growing it out again – with a few extra feet of hair to spare. He'd thought that all of that extra hair was going to be hot, but she'd just been furious with him. She wasn't any happier when her attempts to slap or blast him failed; and then she'd apparated away before he could smooth things over and get her back into the mood to play with him.

In hindsight, he should've talked Scorpius into taking him along to that Tornados' victory party! He could've congratulated Andrea in person, and now that she was over-age; might have helped her to celebrate in ways that she would only ever be able to dream of before hooking up with him. That thought had him wishing that he knew where that party was; since it might not be too-late to crash it anyway, but Scorpius hadn't told him; and he hadn't worried about it at the time when he'd had other, hot and willing entertainment options.

His mind drifted a bit; and he smiled as he thought about the surprise news of the day from the Tornados. He'd suspected that they could be one of the teams that hired Andrea after finding out that she'd quit shcool, so that wasn't a huge surprise; and the best part of the story for him was that it pushed the Cannons' win over the Arrows off the headlines. He was happy for Andrea that she won her first match too, but didn't want her to do too-well; since that might mess up his own first-season legacy and records. Then again, there was a good chance that she was in the show already because of him; since it wasn't likely a coincidence that he'd destroyed the Seeker she replaced while still practically an invalid. In fact, she likely owed her new job entirely to him – and would likely be appropriately-grateful too!

When did he have his second match of the season against the Tornados? He thought it was in February sometime – or maybe March. He was too-comfortable to bother looking it up; so he didn't, but he did think it a good idea to try and make time for some private gratitude with Andrea over the holidays – before their first match against each other in the show. There was a very good chance that she'd be mad at him after that; and uninterested in that kind of play time with him anymore – unless she was the kind of Witch that liked being publicly-humiliated and probably sent to her bed in St. Mungo's.

That thought had him laughing – and imagining a new episode of The Healer – with him helping to nurse Andrea back to health in a seriously-hot sort of way – especially if Lysandra joined in to help him out with doing that in a clothing-optional sort of way!

He passed out; those thoughts became part of his dreams; and he happily replaced his lonely, drunken reality with a much better – and hotter – one that was wholly of his own imagining!

Lily woke up and it took a moment to understand why as she listened to Denise try to get ready for bed in the dark. She didn't know what time it was – other than late – or early; and she smiled as she rolled over toward her friend's bed; the noise causing Denise to stop what she was doing in the hopes that she wasn't waking any of her roommates.

"I'm awake," Lily whispered. "Where have you been, young lady? Do you know what time it is?"

"Better than you do, I'd expect," Denise answered; "and I was still on my date with Max."

"Good for you," Lily said with an approving nod that Denise wouldn't be able to see in the dark. "Is that a best-ever-so-far school dance date?"

"Yes," Denise confirmed. "It probably helped a lot to go with a Wizard that didn't just ask me out because you or one of our other friends were already taken. I'm pretty sure that Max had a big crush on Rose, but he's conceded that Brandon has messed up that dream – just as you've gone and kept Jonah from even noticing that I exist."

"The first part of that is true; and it's too-late for those jokes about Jonah."

"In more than one way," Denise teased. "We had fun tonight, and while I'll wish for more sleep when it's time to get up and going again; I won't regret the snogging time. It's been quite a while for me; and I doubt that I'll get the chance to see Max very often over the holidays."

"If you want to do that; I have a cousin that he's best mates with," Lily reminded her. "We could invite him to our holiday study sessions and practices; and we still have time to take a look at inviting him to one or two of the holiday parties."

"I doubt he'd be interested in the practices," Denise suggested; "but we can talk about the studying and parties."

"I'm going to borrow the Cannons' practice pitch for our workouts," LIly advised her with a grin. "Maxwell might enjoy hanging out with you at the Cannonball Cafe – and then studying with us in the atrium."

Denise laughed. "I might like to come and spend a lot of the holidays with you for chances to swim in that lagoon."

"Well, Hugo has a townhouse with his name on it," Lily reminded her. "Maybe he could invite Max over for a night or three – and I can do the same with you."

"We're not anywhere near that level of dating, Lily, but we can at least talk about your ideas – in the morning after I get some sleep."

Lily was okay with that, but while Denise was soon in her bed and sleeping; it took a while to get back to sleep again. They only had five days left to go before they'd be heading home for the holidays on Friday; and her little chat with Denise had her thinking a lot about her family and friends' plans for while they were home. Sleepovers with Jonah would definitely be fun; they were going to start out with a Christmas party on Friday night; and then they had so much going on this year that she expected to be busy every day between the holiday celebrations, Quidditch matches and training, and everything else from shopping to their holiday revision studies. The chances of actually getting to play for the Harpies didn't look good, but she was going to get an answer on that from Gwenog during their Sunday night mirror chat – though she might do that chat with just Jonah around so that bad news wouldn't end up on the school gossip network.

They still had lots of fun to look forward to during their last four school days – including their joint-team Christmas party and the one for the Prefects; so Lily was happy and looking forward to all of the holiday adventures when she did get back to sleep; and was sure that they were going to have a best-ever Christmas – especially if she got to have a Marry Quidditch Christmas with the Harpies!

Al and Gwendolyn were busy on Sunday, but while they had two interviews; the rest of their day was open; and the busy was thanks to a whirlwind round of chores, a couple of hours of Christmas shopping; and the extra work that they did in time-stops ahead of their last work week before the Hogwarts students would be home for the holidays. They still had a family dinner with both sets of parents; some play time with Jaimie and Lorie; and then a curfew bedtime mirror chat with Lily and Jonah. They weren't actually in bed for that conversation, but they were home for the night; and cuddled on a sofa with their bedtime drinks and treats.

"We thought that you'd look happier with just four school days to go before you come home," Gwendolyn told Lily after exchanging the usual greetings. "Are you having a bad day – or are you just tired after two late nights?"

"I'm disappointed – with your Mum," Lily answered. "I think that it's a brilliant idea for her to give Gabrielle the holidays off to spend with her kids and let me play Seeker instead, but she wouldn't go for it – and won't even let me try training with the team to prove that I could do the job!"

"I agree with Mum – at least for their match on Saturday," Gwendolyn advised her; and then laughed when Lily glowered at her. "Don't shoot the messenger, Lily. You know that the Harpies are playing the Catapults. You haven't even been on a Lightningstorm; can't use your Hurricane; and know that James won't care that you're his sister when playing against you. If anything, he'll try even harder to beat you up and knock you out of the match. You'd be at a huge disadvantage whether you used a Lightningbolt or Lightningstorm – and now that I think about it; you haven't really used a Lightningbolt very often either; since you didn't get one before Al made his broom for you."

"Facts are not required when I want to be mad," Lily advised her. "I want to play; I'm way better than Andrea Avery – or James; and I don't want to wait for another year and a half to play in the show when I'm ready now!" She frowned when Al suddenly laughed. "What?"

"I don't want to tell you," he answered while still grinning. "You'd hate what I was thinking about." His smile widened when Gwendolyn laughed too.

"He's thinking that you could prove you're better than Andrea – if you played in our match against the Tornados," she explained for Lily and Jonah.

"I'm over-age now," Lily reminded her brother. "Hexing you once I'm home is an option. For the gazillionth time – I am going to play for the Harpies!"

"I did say that you'd hate what I was thinking," Al pointed out. "Try to get over being mad about this, Lily. You're putting Gwendolyn's Mum in an uncomfortable position – especially when we all know that Aunt Gabrielle isn't interested in retiring yet."

"Facts are not required," Lily reiterated. "This chat is not helping."

"Then let's change the subject," Gwendolyn suggested. "Tell us all about the dance last night – and all of the latest gossip."

That suggestion diverted Lily, and Gwendolyn helped out a bit with getting Lily to at least put aside her Quidditch problems for a while, but that was only temporary; and Al whished that his sister could get past her competitiveness with James – and with him to a lesser extent; and see how amazing she was in her own, unique way. When they wrapped up that mirror chat; his thoughts about Lily were pretty much exactly what Gwendolyn wanted to talk about with him as they cleaned up from their drinks and snacks and headed up to bed.

"I totally get where Lily's coming from," Gwendolyn told him seriously, "but we have a different perspective now; and I really wish that she'd care as much about Gabrielle as she does about her own dream for playing with the Harpies." She smiled ruefully and shook her head. "I'm a hypocrite, since I hadn't worried about putting Hailey or Amber out of a job – or at least moving them to the reserve squad; and I also had the advantage of knowing for sure that I was a better player."

"Lily's sure she's better than Aunt Gabrielle," Al reminded her. "I don't know if she's there yet, but she's likely right about that for their respective futures – which makes this situation even tougher for your Mum and Glynnis."

"All of that is – or could be – true," Gwendolyn agreed, "but you get my point. We're not talking about a change from a less-talented player to a much better one. Gabrielle is still one of the very best Seekers in the world."

"Well, you did say all along that you'd need to be good-enough to earn a spot on your Mum's team – that she'd never give it to you. Lily might blast me for it, but why does that have to be any different for her? In fact, maybe you should suggest to your Mum that she does let Lily train with them over the holidays – on a Lightningbolt; since they don't have two of the Lightningstorms. It's one thing to win a Seeker duel against Aunt Gabrielle in a teen day play scrimmage; and something else to do it during full-out training to get ready for league matches."

"I can suggest it, but if Mum goes for it; Lily will expect to get her shot to play if she does best Gabrielle with any consistency."

"She wants that anyway – and I've no doubt that she'd do as well or better against Aunt Gabrielle as she's done against Mum and Dad in our workouts. There's one thing that we don't know any details about for this – the business side of things for the Harpies," Al added. "For all we know, the timing for hiring another top Seeker is all wrong for them. We think about that from our perspective for what we're doing; and the Harpies' owners might not be interested in paying a lot to hire Lily – even if she would do well just because she's Mum's daughter; but that isn't a certainty. Gabrielle and Victoire are among the tops in the league for that too; so making a change might not be of any benefit at all from their team owners' perspective."

"Well, they're a bit lower than last year, thanks to us; but that is a good point," Gwendolyn joked; and then smiled at him. "You haven't mentioned even once so far that you think that Lily should play with us instead."

"She's over-age; and I'm afraid," he suggested; earning a laugh and one-armed hug. "I'll miss having the extra play time with Lily over the holidays if she trained with the Harpies instead, and you know that she'd have more fun working with us – and training against Jonah, but I honestly have no idea what she'll end up doing in a year and a half. All I can do is hope that whatever it is; she doesn't end up angry if things don't work out as perfectly as she's dreamed."

"Do you mean that for if she doesn't get a job with the Harpies?" Gwendolyn asked.

"That – or she does; but as Aunt Gabrielle's reserve Seeker," Al answered. "If that doesn't work out for her; I also don't know if she'd try to get on with a different team despite our job offer with the Cannons. She could just get mad and decide to go her own way instead."

"Been there – thought about it," Gwendolyn only half-joked. "Lily might think about that, Al, but I really don't think that she'd walk away from us entirely, and she does want to be successful; so she won't just take a job with any of the other teams out of spite. It feels a bit as though history is repeating. We were dealing with these same issues at Christmas in our sixth year too – or I was."

"That could have something to do with why Lily's so upset," Al said thoughtfully. "She's expecting that your Mum is going to refuse to hire her too."

"I don't think that Mum knows what she'll do; so we can only guess at it. This isn't a case of her trying to do what's best for Lily over what might be best for the team – and in hindsight; I'm not sure whether I'd have been best for the Harpies or not. At the rate we're going with GO MagiSports; there's a very good chance that I'd have been paid less with the Harpies."

"A fact that Lily won't like – or possibly won't want to know," Al predicted. "We do still have time, though; and there may even be other options for Lily too."

"Now you're talking about jobs with other teams if GO MagiSports starts managing them," Gwendolyn deduced; and Al nodded.

"Yes, but I'd still like it best if Lily would pick playing with us over anything else."

"Well, I'll make that suggestion to Mum," Gwendolyn promised; "though I still have no idea what she'd do if Lily trained with the Harpies and won a lot of her Seeker duels with Gabrielle."

"If Lily really could do that, I'd expect that while using a slower broom, then Aunt Gabrielle might actually think about retiring," Al offered seriously. "I don't think that'd happen. Lily's at or near the same level as the top Seekers in the league, but that's not the same as being so much better that she can win most or all of her duels."

They only talked about that for a short while longer; moved on to wrap up their weekend with a bit of mildly-hot rated play time for two; and then they snuggled close and drifted off to sleep.

The work week leading up to the Christmas break for Hogwarts students was busy and fun – whether at school or home. For Al, everything he did was fun – whether that was the daily Quidditch training; the play time with his family and friends; or the work he continued to spend a lot of time doing every day – with lots of extra time that he 'made' so that he could get everything done ahead of Christmas. By Friday afternoon, he was fired up and ready to welcome his favorite students home, but didn't get to go to King's Cross to do that because his parents – and Jaimie and Lorie – got to do that instead while he stayed and worked to help get everything set up for the GO MagiSports Christmas party – this one for all of the employees, some VIP guests, and all of the 'plus one or more' guests. While that didn't require more decorating, there was still a lot of work to get done from the time they wrapped up their team workout an hour early through until the social hour for the party began at five-thirty.

While he got teased about how much work he could do while mad, being fired up and happy motivated him too; so everything was ready for the party with time to spare; and Al was cleaned up, changed, and ready to have fun by the time the first 'guests' began arriving. That included their neighbors, since they lived closest, but many of the GO MagiSports employees that lived in the apartment building the company had bought or elsewhere began arriving too since many of them didn't get to visit the Cannons' practice pitch and offices all that often. Lily and Jonah weren't among the first because they'd wanted to get changed and freshen up after a long travel day, but Al and Gwendolyn welcomed them enthusiastically once they did join the party that spread out from the cafe out onto the practice pitch.

"Welcome home," Al told Lily as they shared a warm, enthusiastic hug. "I've missed you a lot."

"You saw me last weekend," she reminded him.

"Yes, but we didn't get to spend much time together – especially since we watched that show for more than half of the time we were there before team curfew got in the way of the fun for some of us."

"Note to me – get the curfew rules changed once I'm with the Harpies so that it never gets in the way of parties," Lily declared.

"Good luck with that one," Gwendolyn told her as she took a turn to share a hug with Lily after hugging Jonah first. "We are glad that you're home for a couple of weeks – and we do get to party tonight thanks to getting the worst schedule in the league this season."

"That seems to be working out for you so far," Jonah suggested. "The top teams from the previous season always start out with tough matches from opening day, but you got to have your first matches against the other teams at the bottom of the league before playing any of the top-eight teams."

"The Quidditch experts never thought that would matter for us," Gwendolyn reminded him – "and that won't be the case next season – unless you don't think that we can win another match or two between now and the end of the season. Twelve wins might be enough for a top-eight spot this year."

"Or less," Jonah added with a nod. "Making the playoffs with a losing season doesn't happen all that often, but it has happened before; and it's a definite possibility this season."

"Is it?" Lily asked; and Jonah nodded.

"There are four teams heading into the half-way point of the season with between four and six wins; and eighth-place could end up being as low as five wins depending on the results of the twelfth matches for those teams. Use rule number one for that – or blame the Cannons. All of those teams lost one match that they normally win."

"The Lightningstorms are having an impact too," Al reminded them. "The Catapults are the only team with a full set of them; and most of the other top teams have more than one of them while the teams at the other end of the league either only got one for their Seeker or didn't buy one at all."

"Doesn't that apply to the Cannons too?" Lily teased.

"We have better brooms," Gwendolyn answered. "Let's take a little break from Quidditch. How was your trip home?"

That question led to a chat about the Hogwarts Express adventure, but that didn't take long; and then they were all pulled in different directions as they enjoyed the social hour mingling. They didn't get back together for dinner because the Cannons' players were split up so that at least one of them was at tables of twelve for dinner – either with VIP guests or randomly selected GO MagiSports employees from each of the different businesses. Most of their employees were young, but they were allowed to invite families where needed; so there were nearly fifty kids too; and they were particularly-drawn to Al and GWendolyn. He wasn't surprised to be put at a table with two young families; and it was fun for Al and Gwendolyn to help feed and entertain four kids while also enjoying the meal with the six other adults at the table with them – including the kids' parents.

As with the charity Christmas party, there were games and prizes to be played and won after dinner; swimming and more play time in the atrium; and then the kids were sent home with Christmas gifts after another visit from Santa and his Animorphmagus reindeer by eleven o'clock so that the adults could keep the party going with a dance that was again spread out onto the practice pitch next to the cafe patio. By then, after hours of keeping up with the kid control and entertainment followed by his sleigh-pulling fun; al was ready to sit down and take a break with Gwendolyn – and they got to do that with Lily, Jonah, and some of their friends.

"Will you need to go to bed before midnight?" Lily teased after sitting down next to Gwendolyn; directing that question at her brother. "I don't know why you'd be tired. You only had to make one stop and deliver toys for about fifty kids."

"Santa normally has eight – or nine- reindeer pulling his sleigh around the world," Al reminded her – "not to mention that he has a toy factory full of house elf magic to work with. You must be having fun. Have I missed much while I was playing with the kids?"

""You likely still somehow managed to catch the second-half of the Christmas special for The Healer," Lily suggested. "I'm happy because Lysandra helped Scorpius to have a Christmas miracle cure just in time to play in his holiday matches and have a Merry Quidditch Christmas – and there's a very good chance that they'll be seeing more of each other; since the sparks were flying when they had to say goodbye when he was released in time to get to the stadium for his Quidditch match." she paused while still grinning at him. "Oh, and Jonah's Mum has decided to let me train with the Harpies over the holidays and see how I do against Gabrielle – even if she isn't going to let me play in either of the matches. I can't do anything about tomorrow, but if I can win a lot of Seeker duels; maybe I can get her to change her mind about that for the second match."

"Well, either way; you'll help the Harpies to get ready for that match," Al suggested. "I wish you'd be training with us instead, since I'd have liked to spend all of that extra time with you, but we'll try to have fun anyway."

"I'll still spend lots of time with you too," Lily assured him. "The training with the Harpies will be better for me anyway. From what I saw tonight; all you do around here is play reindeer games."

"Maybe, but at least the other reindeer let Al play too," Jonah joked. "I'm glad that you're not playing in the Harpies' match tomorrow, Lily."

"Why?" she asked; and he grinned at her.

"Because you'd be home and in bed by now if you were – and I'd miss having you here with me at the party."

"No, you wouldn't," Lily assured him meaningfully. "This is a better party than I expected. We actually get to have adult beverages; there's a dance; and it seems as though Al might actually manage to stay up past his normal bedtime and join in on the party too."

"True, but there was hot chocolate and cookies for the kids' bedtime snack with Santa," Jonah reminded her; "so it seems that the milk and cookies parties that Al likes best isn't just a joke anymore."

"Are any of those old jokes about the Cannons still jokes at all?" Gwendolyn asked.

"The biggest one is – unless you win that next championship sometime in the next century or so," Lily offered with a grin. "The fact that Al actually has milk and cookies parties with the kids just makes that joke funnier – and that's true for some of the other jokes." She looked over toward where a dozen or more couples were dancing; and smiled. "Rest up if you need to, but I'm ready to party!" She stood up; held out a hand for Jonah; and he stood and went along to join in on the up-tempo dancing.

"We can take a longer break," Gwendolyn assured Al. "I've been going non-stop for hours now too – even if I haven't needed to pull a sleigh and play reindeer games with the kids."

"I'm not too worn out from that," Al assured her. "How do you think we're doing for our first-ever company Christmas party?"

"You must know better than I do from what you're sensing from everyone around us, but if we could have done better; I don't know how. Mum was impressed; and she's helped with setting up a lot of parties for the Harpies over the years."

"I think that we've done brilliantly," Rose advised them as she and Brandon joined them – and sat down on the chairs that Lily and Jonah had just vacated. "It's a bit worrisome that you don't seem to be able to judge that by how much fun you're having, Al."

"My personal opinion of having fun at parties has been questioned – and joked about – so often that I need second and third opinions," Al told her half-seriously. "Isn't that why I was only allowed to help out with planning the entertainment for the kids?"

"Absolutely," Rose agreed, "but you can have fun with the adults now that the kids have gone home; and even stay up late if you want to do that too."

Gwendolyn made sure that Al did both, and while they had lots of cameo chat moments with their friends, neighbors, and co-workers; they also danced; had a few glasses of wine; and even went for an early-morning swim in the lagoon with the couples that decided to do that after the party ended and they pitched in for the clean-up while Rose, Malorie, and the other managers sent the remaining guests away with best Christmas wishes and gifts. They were giving as many of their employees the week of Christmas off as was possible too; so those lucky Witches and Wizards were also getting those holidays off to an amazing start!

By the time they went up to bed and off to sleep, they would have only been able to take a short winter's nap, but 'making' time for more was an option; Al used his time stopper; and made sure that they were both rested and back to full-power by the time they needed to get up and ready for a Christmas shopping and Harpies' Quidditch adventure day. That would have annoyed their family and friends, but Al helped anyone that needed the fatigue-healing help while having breakfast at the cafe – including the cafe managers and staff; and he also helped to keep Jaimie and Lorie entertained until it was time to head for London and a morning of shopping in Diagon Alley. While Al and Gwendolyn had their own Christmas shopping done, they had fun helping some of their favorite Hogwarts students with their gift-buying fun; and Al had the added bonus of getting to do a couple of good deeds for a total of five deserving kids – an effort that went un-noticed by everyone except Gwendolyn.

"Will you submit those receipts to Susannah for the business write-offs?" Gwendolyn teased quietly. "All of those little good deeds you've been doing are adding up to quite a bit of money."

"Not really – and no," Al disagreed and answered. "Those kids need so little to have a happy Christmas for the people they love-most; and I get more out of those gifts than they do."

"I know," Gwendolyn agreed, "but if you're going to make this a regular thing; there's no reason why you can't get Susannah involved and make it part of the charity next year. She could help you to help more kids – and families."

"That's an idea," Al said thoughtfully. "Maybe I will talk to her about that in the New Year."

That little chat was just another cameo moment in a morning filled with little blasts of fun with the changing groups of Witches and Wizards they interacted with while making their way around Diagon Alley in a loop that had them back at the Leaky in time for their game day luncheon. They had that meal with three of their parents, Lily, Jonah, and the twins while Malorie and Patrick had lunch with some of their friends; they moved on to Exmoor stadium after that; and then stayed around the concessions booths until it was nearly game time to keep the kids out of the cold for as long as possible. They were in their seats – either in the Catapults' or Harpies' sections of the stadium – by the time the Harpies were being introduced; the defending champions Catapults were invited out into the stadium next; and then the referee didn't waste any time getting the match started.

Al and Gwendolyn had been given custody of Lorie for the start of the match while Jaimie went with the Catapults' supporters in their split group; and Al really needed the distraction as James, Tiberius, Brock, and Scorpius tried to do their worst to the Harpies' players right from the start. That wasn't a surprise, since James had led the way for the promises to put a 'holiday hurt' on the Harpies and put their players into their beds at St. Mungo's for Christmas, but his favorite Harpies changed up their game play; put the priority on defending themselves first; and only taking scoring opportunities when they had best chances to do that. They still took some hard hits, and couldn't avoid every cheap shot and foul, but the strategy was working; and the Catapults only managed to have a one goal lead when Gabrielle put a somewhat shocking end to the match at just the two-hour and nineteen-minute mark to earn the one-eighty to forty victory for the Harpies!

Al and Gwendolyn were glad to be back in their seats to watch that brilliant play, since they'd gone for a two-hour-mark twin switch and washroom breaks; and they got to have a great view of the catch because Gabrielle was only about twenty yards away and above the Harpies' fans section of the stadium – and then blasted past them just a few paces away from them when she raced for the safety of the pitch and her team mates while James tried to catch up for an attempt at some quality payback. As far as Al was concerned, James only had himself to blame for the loss. He'd set up another attempt at knocking Gabrielle out of the match; she'd escaped the fouls from James and Tiberius – along with the bludger attack from Brock; James had been knocked out of the way by Tiberius and took a glancing hit from the bludger; and that had given her all the time she'd needed to chase down the snitch and earn a well-deserved victory. Al knew that James wasn't going to catch up to Gabrielle until too-late, but then James got caught up in a frigid, unexpected blast of wind that sent him off-course anyway; and by the time he recovered; Gabrielle was landing at center pitch and already had half of her team mates landing and ready to protect her if needed too.

"That was nice timing," Gwendolyn whispered to Al while grinning at him. "I guess that Mother Nature is a Harpies' fan."

"It seems so," Al agreed; grinning too. "Let's hope that the Catapults don't try anything else; or she might decide to send them back to Caerphilly in the middle of a Polar Vortex or something."

"I hope not, since they're usually very large; and we wouldn't want to be in this stadium if it got picked up and tossed all the way to Wales," Gwendolyn suggested; and then nodded toward where Louis and Roman were flying in to head off James, Tiberius, and Brock before they could go after any of the Harpies again. "I'm sure that James will have a lot to say to the reporters, but Louis has apparently had enough of his team mates trying to beat up on his aunt and sister."

That's exactly what Al sensed from Louis – and from Roman and Miya too. The hatred from James was far-stronger, but he was still forced to abandon his attempts at a post-game brawl. Al didn't want to stay for the post-game show once it was clear that there wouldn't be any fights; so he and Gwendolyn packed up; met up with the gang heading home with them; and then they got to spend the rest of the afternoon playing in the atrium. Malorie had a date with Patrick for the Ministry of Magic Christmas party at the Magick Hall, so Al and Gwendolyn had the twins for the night; and Lily and Jonah were going to spend the night with them too. Harry and Ginny stayed and had dinner and the play evening with them, but Kirley was working; and Gwenog went to that Christmas party with him – and the other Weird Sisters' wives. The Potters weren't the only members of their community to stay home for the night, and a few of their neighbors were hosting Christmas activities for their own families or friends, but it was also fairly quiet around the atrium by dinnertime as maybe two-thirds of their friends and neighbors went out to play at that Ministry party or spend the rest of the day at other parties or family holiday events.

Al and gwendolyn had holiday fun plans for their little group, but all of their entertainment was kid-rated-exciting; so everything from baking holiday snacks to the bedtime Christmas shows and cuddle time was meant to make the night special for Jaimie and Lorie. Harry and Ginny went home once the twins were tucked in for the night at a bit after eleven o'clock; and then Al and Gwendolyn got to have some quiet time with Lily and Jonah. They got drinks and snacks; picked one of Lily's favorite Muggle Christmas movies; and cuddled in pairs under magically-warmed blankets.

"Well, I'd suggest that we're well on the way to having a Merry Quidditch Christmas," Lily offered with a grin, "but your team can't win twice with only the one match to play!"

"We can have our teams win up to three times, though," Gwendolyn countered. "I'm actually just glad that the Harpies got out of that match without any serious injuries – though getting the win too is a nice added bonus."

"For my team," Lily agreed. "I'd feel bad for James – if not for the fact that he's been so bad this year that he deserves to have a really bad Quidditch Christmas."

"Is that a song suggestion?" Jonah teased; and Lily laughed.

"Maybe. How would you change the song up for that to work?"

"Have yourself a horrid Quidditch Christmas," Al sang while grinning at his sister. "May your team lose twice! Santa knows you've been naughty instead of nice!"

"Have yourself a horrid Quidditch Christmas," Gwendolyn added; after joining in on the round of laughs. "Don't get a single point, you git! Hope you get what you deserve, you cheating shi... rotter!"

"So have yourself a horrid Quidditch Christmas now," Lily finished with a laugh. "That's brilliant – and you're both a bit scary!"

"In an amazing, funny way," Jonah added. "I predict another holiday hit for next year. "Maybe you should make up and entire album full of awful Christmas songs. It'd likely be a hit – and could be great for the wheezes stores too."

"I think that'd do brilliantly in any store," Gwendolyn suggested. "I don't know whether we'd have time to do that next year, but I do love the idea."

"I don't see the problem," Jonah disagreed. "All you have on your to-do list for next year is to play Quidditch; have fun; and maybe win a championship or two."

"Two?" Lily asked.

"Well, Rose and Al did put getting to play in the Europe Cup on their wish list for the Cannons," he reminded her. "I have no idea whether they'll get an invitation or not, but if they keep winning; they ought to be the only choice from our country."

"You'll be seventeen by then. Maybe you'd like to play if we do get invited," Al suggested; and laughed when Lily scowled at him.

"That is not funny," she insisted. "You're trying to mess with me!"

"I'm not," Al disagreed. "Would you like to play in the Europe Cup if the Harpies get invited? I'd only be messing with you if I suggested that the two of you could take turns with Mum and Dad and play one match each – if we could get through to all four rounds. There are only sixteen teams invited to that competition."

"So now you are messing with me by pretending that you're not," Lily decided. "Keep it up and you could be spending the rest of the weekend as a Bat-Bogey."

"That might make our interview tomorrow morning interesting," Gwendolyn suggested to Al. "We know that you can't turn into magical creatures, but have you ever tried to become a magical creation like a Bat –Bogey?" She smiled at Lily. "Have you ever turned anything or anyone into a Bat-Bogey to find out if you actually can do that?"

"I can't answer that with a 'no' or nobody would be afraid of that threat anymore," Lily answered before looking to Al to see what he'd have to say about the question directed at him.

"I have tried," he answered; "and can't do that in the same way that I do animal changes, but I can create a Transfiguration the same way that we'd change into inanimate objects."

"Is there a difference?" Lily asked. "The results are the same."

"In appearance, yes," Al agreed. "There is a difference in the magic – or everyone would be able to be an Animagus as easily as they can do partial human Transfigurations."

"I suppose," Lily conceded. "Remind me to get you to show me how to actually do that Bat-Bogey Transfiguration."

"You want me to teach you something that you'll then want to use on me. That seems to be a very bad idea," Al told her.

"Maybe, but you love me; and will do it anyway. We've a movie to watch, though, and I'm ready to shut up for a while and do that."

Lily didn't just do that – she had a nap too while cuddling with Jonah. Al, Gwendolyn, and Jonah lasted to the end of the movie; Lily woke long-enough to move on to the guest bedroom she was sharing with Jonah for the night; and Al and Gwendolyn cleaned up and checked in on the twins before heading for bed too – long before the Ministry of Magic Christmas party even began to wind down in the early hours of Sunday morning.

James had a smile pasted onto his face, but he was not happy as he watched Louis and his dog-wife, Deanna, laughing it up with his ex-family's prince and princess. He'd only accepted the invitation to be his date's plus-one because it was the best party going on – and because she was hot-enough and from an appropriately-wealthy family, but hot or not; he was wishing that he had picked going to any other party instead – or just taken the Witch home and played with her all night instead! Louis and Prince Teddy got up and headed toward one of the bars to get drink refills; so he offered to do the same and went to meet up with them in that small line-up.

"Are you having fun hanging out with the enemy, traitor?" James asked Louis quietly while smiling as if he was starting up a pleasant conversation. "Did you hand over our play book to the princess before the match too? Is that how they seemed to know what we were going to do ahead of every play?" He smirked at Teddy. "How's your Mum and Dad, half-ex-bro? What'd they get you for Christmas this year? A holiday estate by the sea and a couple of extra House Elves to care for it?"

"Merry Christmas to you too, James," Teddy offered conversationally. "You're in fine form tonight – this morning. Al will be happy to find out that you're not blaming him for that loss. He was there today, and Aunt Gabrielle was headed his way when she caught the snitch; so we guessed that you'd blame him for messing up that play. Do you actually have a play book for best cheap shots and fouls? Louis wouldn't give that to any of your opponents if you do, but if you really want to know how Aunt Gabrielle dodged those hits; just ask her. She's probably still around here somewhere with Uncle Casey."

"As if I'd believe anything she says – or you," James retorted dismissively. "Tell your princess-cousin to enjoy that win; since I'm going to make sure that the Harpies regret it when we play them next time. By the time we're done with her; she'll wish that she'd stayed at home to take care of your ugly little squib."

"Congratulations, James," Teddy told him. "You've managed to make me angry, but it's Christmastime; so I'll leave you to simmer in your own ridiculous hatred and spite." He shook his head. "You were like a brother to me, James, but it's obvious that the boy you once were is gone now, so unless you can somehow find your way back to the Light; do us both a favor and stay away from me – and my family."

"Coward," James said with a sneer as Teddy walked away without getting his drinks. "How can you..." he began as he turned his attention to Louis.

"...Stand to even talk to you?" Louis interjected and finished. "I can't. There's absolutely nothing that you won't say or do, James. What do you have planned to take all of that hatred to new lows that could be even worse than bashing on innocent babies?"

"Well, I'm thinking about drowning Animorphmagus puppies after the party," James joked darkly. "Would you like to come along and watch?"

Louis shook his head. "Go back to your date and leave me alone, James. I don't even like working with you; and definitely don't want to hang around with you outside of work anymore."

"I'm crushed," James retorted with a sneer. "I should've never recommended you for a job on my team. You're such a spineless fool that you'd rather follow along behind the prince and princess picking up the crumbs and table scraps they leave for you instead of standing up for yourself and demanding what's rightfully yours!"

"How's that working out for you?" Louis asked. "Standing up against those imagined injustices didn't get you a mansion or any of those other gifts from your parents. You disowned your family; and got what out of it?"

"My self-respect and the satisfaction of seeing all of them get what's coming to them."

Louis laughed. "Okay, but I'd say that your ex-parents are doing pretty well for being penniless and destitute. Every poor Wizard and Witch in the world likely wishes that they could have it that bad!"

"Keep shooting your mouth off, and you'll be joining the rest of them when I'm finished destroying them," James hissed under his breath because they were next in line for getting their drinks. "Now be a good little sycophant and get the prince and princess their drinks for them. Get a clue, cousin, before it's too late for you too."

Having Quidditch players on so many different teams now hadn't been the only reason for the Christmas schedules for the various family Christmases, but it was a factor – and why there weren't any family Christmas celebrations for Al and Gwendolyn on of doing that, their day began with an early breakfast; a morning mirror network show interview that proved to be yet another attempt to goad them into salacious quotes; and then they met up with the gang of teens and parents that were going Christmas shopping for the rest of the day. Some of the teens with holiday jobs needed to get most or all of their Christmas shopping done in one day; so they got right to work – starting at their favorite Muggle mall.

Al's perspective on holiday shopping for the Hogwarts students in their families was changing, but that only meant that there were new aspects of their adventures for him to appreciate more now that actually buying gifts wasn't a priority for him. He helped out with the work side of the shopping a lot more; enjoyed the little moments with the people he loved the most as they would spend time together in series of happy scenes that all added up to an awesome day! They had a fast food lunch at the mall; shopped there for another hour or more; and then returned to Diagon Alley for one last blast of shopping for magical gifts. They picked up take-out dinner on the way home; enjoyed that meal at Harry and Ginny's townhouse; and then Al and Gwendolyn eventually went on to their own home so that they could wrap up their weekend with some boring chores – and a bit of much-hotter play time for two once it was time to head for bed in time for their training day curfew.

There were only three more sleeps until Christmas, but with only four training days left to get ready for their match against the Tornados; they also had two busy work days to get through first before getting the extra day off for Christmas; so by Monday morning, Al was ready to get started on that work. That didn't keep him from having fun; and Lily provided the breakfast entertainment as she excitedly chatted about getting to train with the Harpies. Al was happy for her, but still wished that they could have played Quidditch together; and that might have been a factor in his choices for training on Monday too – though he'd planned on making their workouts holiday-themed anyway.

The rest of their teen 'reserve squad' had come out to play with them; so that was another reason for Al to make sure that everything they did was fun. There was the flying fun that included catching Christmas chocolates instead of snitches or quaffles; magic mistletoe would randomly appear and catch couples sharing mid-air kisses; there was a snowball fight – with snowballs that appeared on the pitch despite having the roof closed and the temperature warm-enough to be comfortable while doing their workouts. Add in some team tutoring for holiday revision that was meant to 'train your brains' for the player-tutors and a team swim with more games and prizes; and by the time they wrapped up their day an hour early; everyone was happy and ready for more holiday cheer with their families and friends.

Al wasn't finished his work for the day, though, so after getting cleaned up; he headed over to the Harpies' office to deliver his 'Christmas presents' to Glynnis and Gwenog. He was only surprised when he arrived as he sensed the extra person in Glyniss' office, but since he had to wait ten minutes to be invited in; he was ready when Gwenog led him into the room and he saw Leanne Jordan sitting in one of the chairs across the desk from Glynnis.

"You've been given a best-ever-so-far kind of Christmas gift," he guessed; and Leanne laughed.

"Possibly two, since you're here; and I'm not supposed to talk about this job offer with anyone," Leanne suggested. "Merry Christmas, Al."

"Merry Christmas to you too," he responded with a nod and smile. "Would you like me to just get started – or are we waiting for the others?" he asked Glynnis.

"Let's start now," Glynnis told him; and then turned her attention to Leanne. "You've already guessed at why Al's here too, but to be clear, this information is confidential too; and the deal we've made with Al is to use his brooms starting next season. We're only getting them now because he's sure that any player using his brooms will need months – if not years – to learn how to use everything they can do."

Leanne nodded her understanding, but was watching Al as he was already getting 'her' broom out of the bag he'd brought with him. He then held it horizontally in both hands; and invited her to stand up and take it from him.

"What do I do?" she asked.

"Hold your hand above it; say "UP;" and we'll know right away if it chooses you," Al answered. He smiled and felt the same joy as he did everytime one of his brooms picked its new owner; and then laughed when Leanne hugged him enthusiastically.

"This is brilliant!" she exclaimed. "Thank you!"

"You're welcome,' Glynnis answered; since Leanne had directed that thanks at all three of them. "We need to talk about how you'll be able to train with your new broom without giving away this little team surprise. You won't have the same protections at Hogwarts from reporters as we have during our training with the Harpies."

"Have you ever used the Room of Requirements?" Al asked Leanne.

"No," she answered. "I've never even tried to open it before. I do know where it's supposed to be, though."

"Gwendolyn and I used the Room of Requirements for most of the training we did in sixth and seventh year – especially while I was making my first brooms and then started testing them. It gets used by other students too, but I'm sure that you could find times when you could train with your new broom in there."

"It's that big?" Leanne asked in surprise; and Al shrugged.

"The Room of Requirements can be whatever you need it to be. You need a place to train on your new broom without anyone finding out about it; and the room can be as large as a Quidditch pitch."

"Then that sounds like exactly what you need," Gwenog told Leanne. "Is there anything else she should know about her new broom, Al?"

There were several things he told her – starting with what her broom was made out of and everything it could do and ending with instructions for how to actually open a room in the Room of Requirements. Leanne was sent on her way after that; they had a small delay while six members of the Harpies team arrived; and then Al had fun while his cousin, adopted aunt, and their team mates were each paired with a new broom. He especially enjoyed sensing what happened when Victoire and Gabrielle were matched with their brooms; and those connections were stronger than nearly any other he'd sensed so far because of the family connection to the broom cores. That was a lot of fun too; so Al was in a great mood when he went home again and met up with Gwendolyn to have a quiet dinner for two that was actually in their townhouse for what seemed like the first time in days – though it was still a take-out dinner that he brought home because he hadn't had time to cook and she'd been busy with other work and play time while he'd been away.

"Are you happy about the brooms choosing their new owners – or all of that money?" Gwendolyn joked as they began filling their plates while sitting at one corner of their dining room table.

"The money is just a nice added bonus," Al answered. "That was brilliant; and I learned a bit more today too. Victoire and Aunt Gabrielle are going to be brilliant with their new brooms. I thought that their brooms would work better than most for them, but their connections were even-stronger than I'd hoped."

"Well, that sounds bad – for our team," Gwendolyn joked, "but they're on our favorite team; so that's okay."

"I think that it'll be good for our team too – and bad for the other eleven teams in the league," Al suggested. "The good news for us, though, is that Glynnis isn't mad at me anymore – and the Harpies' owners are much happier now too – even though they have to wait until next season to find out whether this latest investment will pay off or not."

"I'm sure that it will," Gwendolyn assured him. "The timing is good for you. Lily's not happy with you right now – though I'd say that's her own fault instead of yours. It's silly too, since she had fun with the Harpies today; so she's only mad because she thinks that we had more fun."

"That's what she wanted too – and I mean the more-serious training. She's told us all along that we won't succeed without taking our jobs seriously."

"Well, she got serious today," Gwendolyn advised him with a grin. "Gabrielle won their Seeker duels – though she insists that was because she didn't get to use her Hurricane."

"Your Mum took your advice on that too?" Al asked; and Gwendolyn shrugged.

"I don't know if it was because I suggested it – or just that she wanted Gabrielle to compete against Lily on a Lightningbolt because that's the closest she could come to getting ready to play against Pauline."

"Lily might not like that, and I'd rather be training with her here instead, but she could help Aunt Gabrielle to get ready for that match – and maybe, finally win a Seeker duel against Pauline."

"She won their last Seeker duel," Gwendolyn reminded him, "but I know what you mean; since that was a catch for the loss. I'd point that out to Lily, but she's still hoping to prove that Mum should let her play in that match; so we may need to save that up for after the match – if her help does work to get our team to a win over the Prides."

"That might help," Al agreed. "Is Lily still doing a team workout tonight?"

"Yes," Gwendolyn agreed. "Are you hoping to go and play too?"

"We might be able to do that since she's likely going to be short a few reserve players. Do we have anything else going on that came up while I was out?"

"No, and Mum and Dad are busy with the Harpies' Christmas party; so we can do that if you'd like – and Lily wants the help. She might not; since she'd just get even angrier if we play too and she has too much fun."

That might have been a true risk, but their chat moved on from their; they enjoyed the food; and then Lily did eventually let them play as the reserve Chasers for her team workout with Ray as their third; and they had a blast battling against Cyndia, Kathryn, and Melissa while Roxanne offered to 'watch and learn' after doing the earlier parts of the workout with her team. There was another swim in the lagoon after the scrimmage; some bedtime fun with the twins; and then they all headed for their beds ahead of their training day curfew.

Christmas Eve Day was very different from any that Al and Gwendolyn had experienced as children or teens now that they had to work instead of just having a play day. The good news, though, was that their work was getting to play a game that they all loved a lot; and Al had more Christmas-themed fun for his team mates to enjoy. Their morning 'training' included a visit to Diagon Alley for a 'workout' that included dodging the crowds of Witches and Wizards; and doing a Christmas scavenger hunt in the stores for little treats that they then shared for snack time once back at the practice pitch. There was a special luncheon at the cafe; and then Al's favorite part of the work day was getting to take his team on another outing – this time so that he could also give them the Christmas gifts that he'd made for them. He'd needed help for that trip, but that wasn't a problem, since his parents and wife had the magical key to their destination defenses; and could each take a passenger or two with them.

"Merry Christmas!" he called out happily after arriving with Susannah and Seth while the rest of their group joined them – each little group appearing within a few paces of each other.

"We're at the camp!" Susannah exclaimed; and then smiled brilliantly and laughed when she saw the cottage closest to her. "You've already built some of the cottages!"

"One for each team family so far," Al advised her. "The one you're looking at is for the Weasley-Graves-Rivers players and their families. The one at the end of that little path is just beyond that little stand of trees; and is for you, Seth, and your families; the one for my family – and Gwendolyn's is on the path heading the other way; and the one beyond it is for the Wood-Finnegan families."

"I'm crushed," Stephanie advised him; and Al laughed.

"You'll be welcome to use any of these cottages, but there will be others for employees of GO MagiSports to use – and I've added in plans for a small, thirty-two room hotel that's based on the apartment building at home; so you'll have lots of options. I will build another cottage for you if needed in the future."

"We'll be able to share ours with you," Cyndia offered. "It's cold out; so let's go and take a look at them – if that's okay with you, Al?"

"Why don't we split up to do that?" he suggested. "Rose won't want us to take the entire afternoon off to hang out here; and they're each only a bit different in design to take advantage of the views – and so that they wouldn't just be identical. None of them are furnished, but the heating and cooling is magical; so we'll be warm."

He would have liked to share those moments with everyone, but it was still fun going over to 'his' family cottage and sharing that first visit with his parents, Gwendolyn, and Jonah. It would have been more-fun with Lily, but they'd make sure that she'd see it later after she was finished work with the Harpies. The outer size of the cottages was intentionally-deceptive; and they were all wonderfully-spacious inside with a main floor Great Room and between six and eight bedrooms on the one or two floors above – along with up to six bathrooms. They really didn't take a lot of time checking out their new summer homes, and then Al and Gwendolyn were on the receiving end of a lot of hugs and kisses before they headed back to the practice pitch and got back to work again.

There were still more Christmas-themed games and treats, and they were all fired up as they work-played, but then Rose allowed them to finish work early again too, which earned yet one more round of ridicule from their usual group of reporter-haters. That sentiment was hardly in line with having any holiday cheer, but even those reporters were happy to get started on their Christmas Eve plans while also submitting their scathing reports on the Cannons to their mirror network, wireless web, or newspapers in time for the nightly sports news shows or to go to print for morning editions of newspapers.

Once their work was done for the day, the holiday felt a bit more-normal as Al and Gwendolyn met up with their parents, Lily, and Jonah for dinner at Harry and Ginny's house. There were still a lot of differences, since at least half of their neighbors were busy hosting Christmas Eve meals and entertainment for their families too; so the atrium was busy – and became play-central by early evening. That new sense of community just added to the holiday cheer for the Potters and McCormacks; and they joined in on some of the impromptu activities – after enjoying their meal and making a visit to their new family cottage so that Kirley, Gwenog, and Lily could see it too. The Christmas Eve play time in the atrium included a bit of live Christmas music that Al, Gwendolyn, Lily, and Jonah all took turns leading with some sing-alongs and a couple of duets each; a swim in the lagoon; and lots of chat time with their neighbors and friends. They spent time with Jaimie and Lorie; helped Malorie and Patrick to get the girls to sleep at a half-decent time; and then the changes became obvious again when it was time to split up for the night.

"Where do you want Jonah and me to spend the night?" Lily asked as their parents, Al, and Gwendolyn were getting started on the goodnight and Happy Christmas hugs and kisses. "You can't expect us to be the only couple split up for the night."

"You're not the only couple doing that tonight – at least among your friends," Ginny pointed out; and Lily shrugged.

"Their loss – not ours. If you both want a teen-free Christmas Eve; we can stay in Jonah's townhouse; and then we can all meet up for breakfast and gifts at yours – or at the McCormacks' home."

"You'll want to spend time with the twins in the morning too," Kirley pointed out. "We can have Christmas morning here if you'd like – and you can take your pick between staying with your parents, Al and Gwendolyn, or in Jonah's townhouse."

"I'm okay with that too," Ginny agreed.

"Then I'll pick at home," Lily decided. "That way, I won't have to get ready for the day first before waking everyone up and opening gifts!"

"Well, we'll have to leave a note for Santa so he'll send Jonah's gifts to the right place," Kirley joked, "but we've heard that Al is a close personal friend with at least some of his reindeer; so he can probably take care of that for us."

"Just try not to make that wake-up call too-early," Gwenog added. "Some of us are used to having kids that don't mind sleeping in a bit on Christmas mornings – and four of us will need to get ready before coming over."

They worked out a few more details for the morning; three of the couples set up gift deliveries while Lily and Jonah went ahead into the townhouse; and then Al and Gwendolyn were on their own for the rest of the night. He took care of magically sending the gifts they'd need under the tree to a guest bedroom at his parents' townhouse; they got ready for bed; and then spent some quality time making some remember-forever Christmas memories for two that were hot, happy, and only a tiny bit naughty in a really good sort of way!

James silently congratulated himself for having a back-up plan for his Christmas entertainment as he opened the door to his flat and welcomed Patricia inside with a wolfish smile. She was actually his plan 'C' for the night, but still better than most Wizards could ever do more than dream about, and as far as he was concerned; his first two choices for holiday playmates were missing out on the chance for a best-ever Christmas! His first choice had forgotten to mention that she had a husband to go home to after the Christmas Eve dinner party; and then Andrea had turned down his invitation to spend the rest of the night – and Christmas Day – with him too. That hadn't been the first time that she'd turned him down, but he was sure that she was interested; so he just needed some time to convince her that it was perfectly okay to be 'another notch on his broom handle' when getting to be one of the Quidditch King's girls even for one night would be better than she'd ever get with any other Wizard! Patricia knew that; which was why she kept coming back for more!

"Merry Christmas!" he said enthusiastically. "I'm sorry it took so long to get away from that team dinner, but you know how it goes; and I have the day off tomorrow; so staying up late is an option."

Patricia laughed. "I haven't noticed that to be a problem whether you have work the next day or not. I am glad that you want to spend Christmas with me. How was that dinner – and your training today?"

"The food was good and the owners were as stuffy and boring as always," James answered with a shrug. "I'm still only doing light workouts – which means that I'm still flying circles around the rest of my team; and I'm having the same problems as always with the usual trio of losers I'm still stuck with on the team."

"You're still eight and four despite them," Patricia offered; "and you'll manage to win another league championship with or without their help too."

"If I don't decide to sack them first," James amended. "Let's not talk about work. Would you like your usual?"

Patricia grinned at him. "Sure – and a glass of wine would be nice too."

James laughed; took advantage of the opening – and her; and didn't get around to getting that glass of wine until quite a bit later – or early on Christmas morning.

It was great to be King – where even the back-up, back-up plan was still brilliant!

"Merry Christmas!" Al told Gwendolyn quietly while smiling happily at her while holding out a gift. She took it, but then shared a fairly-spectacular hug and kiss with him before settling back onto the bed and opening her first gift of the day.

"You didn't think that a cottage was big-enough for one year?" she teased.

"They are the biggest gifts for this year," Al assured her, "but I hope that you'll like the rest of your gifts too – even if they aren't as great as a holiday home."

Gwendolyn definitely liked the gift he'd picked for her to open first; they'd had fun playing while getting ready to go over to his parents' townhouse; and then they were there just minutes ahead of Kirley and Gwenog. Lily had let them sleep in a bit, but didn't want to wait until after breakfast to open gifts; so they did that next – and she once-again had them open the identical gifts from Al first.

"Is this finally going to be the year that I'm disappointed with your Christmas gifts, Al?" she asked as she lifted the Remembrall out of the box and looked at it with obvious lack of enthusiasm.

"Maybe," Al agreed with a wry smile. "I guess that these Remembralls aren't very exciting, but you are going to love having one."

"Why?" Lily asked.

"They can be linked to any and all of your mirror systems," he answered. "They also have a lot more storage than any other Remembral out there, and then there's also a MirrorApp for the newer mirror systems that let's you keep track of everything you're storing on it."

"That all sounds brilliant," Ginny told him – "and you won't find it boring when you can keep all of your favorite mirror system things in one place."

"Literally," Al added with a grin. "Once you've linked your mirrors; it doesn't need to be anywhere near them. Moving information to and from the Remembrall works the same as it does for the mirror network or wireless web; so you can set it up and leave it anywhere."

"Okay, so it is brilliant; I'll love it; and it's totally boring," Lily decided. "Next!"

Their gift exchange took about an hour; Harry and Al cooked breakfast; and then Malorie and Patrick brought the twins over for another quick round of gift-giving that was alla bout having fun with Jaimie and Lorie. Malorie and Patrick weren't officially dating – or maybe they were, but either way, they needed to go on to his parents' home for a Christmas lunch; the kids went with them; and the Potters headed for the Burrow to help out with the prep work for the family dinner while Kirley and Gwenog went to have Christmas Day visits with some of their family and friends – before joining their kids for the Weasley family dinner. As usual, Al got to do some of the dirtiest jobs; he needed to get cleaned up after that work was done; and then it was time to play for a while once the rest of their family began to arrive by early afternoon.

Six months after his confrontation with Percy and Deanna hadn't helped to mitigate the family stresses, and if anything; they were more-pronounced – even though Al's only contribution to those problems was in having the audacity to be a member of a successful Cannons team instead of failing miserably as had been hoped for by the members of their family that still chose to support Percy – or had their own reasons for wishing the worst for the Cannons' members of their family. Al felt bad for his grandparents, but there was nothing he could do about that – other than try to keep his mouth shut and play nice with everyone despite what he sensed or even what was said to or about him.

That didn't end up being too-difficult, since the Witches and Wizards that didn't want to be around him only stopped in for cameo visits instead of spending the day with their family; and none of them stayed – or timed their visits – for dinner. Some of them were there for the gift exchange while others dropped off and collected gifts before or after that part of the family fun; and then they got to enjoy a really great meal with the members of their family that most wanted to celebrate Christmas together. It was a work night for many, so they had that meal by late-afternoon; the guys took care of the clean-up; and then Al and Gwendolyn helped Malorie and Patrick with getting the twins home – along with their gifts and leftovers packages that Molly made up for all of her 'kids' because she'd ended up with a lot more food than needed thanks to the dinner no-shows.

Even with the family drama, Christmas Day was still really great – at least Al thought so from his perspective. That's why he didn't even talk with Gwendolyn about the not-so-much-fun parts of his afternoon. Then again, making a few more, seriously-hot holiday memories once they were in bed in time for their training day curfew was another reason for why he thought that their first Christmas as a bonded-for-life couple was so amazing!

Their Christmas holiday was – and wasn't – over by the time they went off to sleep. They needed to go back to work in the morning to get ready for their match on Saturday, but they still had another week and a half to spend with their favorite Hogwarts students; the McCormack-Jones families' Christmas on Sunday; and New Year's Eve and Day to look forward to next. Having jobs left them with less personal time to play, so that would continue to be very different for them compared to their childhood, but that hadn't kept them from having an amazing Christmas so far; and Al felt confident that their holiday adventures and entertainment would just keep getting better through the end of the month and into the New Year!