AN: Thank you to those who are still reading along, we appreciate you all 3
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Georgia was awoken by some licking, she blinked and sighed inwardly when she noticed it was Connie licking at her face and not Fred. Shooing her to her feet she carefully and quietly got up and headed to the bathroom, melting as she heard the dog pad after her "I'll be out soon, promise" she whispered before disappearing into the bathroom.
After using the loo she headed back to her bedroom, still promising Connie that she wouldn't be too long she threw on some clothes, warm but good enough to go for a long walk with a dog. She soon emerged, hair up in a messy bun, she then called Connie over and together they headed downstairs, Georgia grabbed her coat, put her feet into her wellies, took the lead off the peg, attached it to Connie's collar, grabbed the keys and unlocking the door they headed out into the fields.
A couple of hours later Ruby was awoken by a loud tapping on the window, groaning she rolled out of bed and crossed the room to pull the curtains back, blinking as the morning winter sun momentarily blinded her. There on the ledge outside was Ziggy, her brown barn owl, letters perched in his beak. He squawked at the sight of her, rapping his beak against the glass again.
"Okay, okay" she yawned, turning the catch and opening the window to let him back in. "Good morning to you too" she glowered as Ziggy dropped the letters in favour of pecking at her hand from where he'd sat on her arm. Moving him to the perch in his cage she grabbed him a treat from the stash she had in her trunk. Ziggy let out a happy little hoot at being fed before tucking his head under his wing to head to sleep. "Daft bird" Ruby shook her head, grabbing the letters. One was addressed to her and the other to Fred and George. The three of them had written home the previous night to let their parents know they'd arrived safely in Wales.
Turning to the makeshift bed on the floor she prepared to tell Ziggy off again if his impatience had woken Georgia as well but she frowned as she found it empty. Figuring that her friend must have gotten up and already headed to breakfast, that she could smell cooking, Ruby grabbed her things from her trunk and headed to use the bathroom before the boys could have a chance to wake up and steal it. Dressed in fresh clothes she left the bathroom, rubbing her wet hair with her towel, suddenly missing Hogwarts and being able to quickly dry her long hair with magic.
"Morning" George yawned, his red hair sticking out at all angles.
"Morning bed head" Ruby laughed, "Is Fred up? Smells like breakfast will be soon"
"Yeah, he's sulking because he lost the game of Wolf, Dragon, Snake and has to wait to use the bathroom" George smirked and Ruby shook her head at him.
"You're pathetic," she teased.
"Well, how did you and Gia decide?" he asked, moving into the bathroom incase Fred tried to sneak past him and beat him to it.
"We didn't" Ruby shrugged, "She must already be up"
"Damn, doesn't she like ever lay in?"
"Don't think she knows how to, your Mum has written back by the way" Ruby called out as George closed the bathroom door behind him. She barely heard his muffled reply through the wooden door and went to finish getting ready for the day.
Heading down the stairs she greeted Mrs Goshawk who was standing at the stove frying bacon, sausage and egg. "Morning dear, did you sleep okay?"
"Yes thank you" Ruby nodded, "Where's Georgia?" she added not seeing the brunette witch.
"I was hoping that you might know that" Kay looked at her and Ruby shook her head. "She was meant to be up with her Tad this morning, to help feed the animals"
"Haven't seen her since last night" Ruby admitted feeling concerned when Kay let out a sad sigh. "Can I do anything to help?"
"Could you grab the bread for me, so that I can fry it?" Kay nodded her head in the direction of the breadbin, thankful for an extra pair of hands, not used to making so much food in one go. Ruby smiled politely glad of something to do to stop her worrying about her friend, telling herself she couldn't have gone far. "Do you know if the boys are up?" the elder woman asked as she accepted the bread from Ruby who grabbed the cooking tongs to remove the rashers of sizzling bacon from the frying pan before they could get to crispy while Kay juggled between turning the sausages and watching the eggs.
"Yeah, they should be down soon, their stomachs will lead them to us" Ruby grinned and right on cue they bounced into the room, full of energy considering it was first thing in a morning.
"Good morning boys" Kay smiled, "Don't happen to know where Georgia has gotten to do you?" she asked them before requesting that Ruby grab some plates from the cupboard above her head.
"No, sorry Mrs G" Fred shook his head, throwing a questioning look at Ruby who shrugged before going back to helping set up breakfast. "Do we need to go look for her?"
"No, no. Don't worry about that. Lewis is out working on the farm. He's keeping an eye out for Georgia, come sit down" she gestured, pulling two seats out for them. The pair sat down, Ruby quickly joining them as Kay began loading food onto plates and handing them out.
"Mrs G?" said George.
"Yes?"
"I'm sure she's fine wherever she is, Gia likes the peace and quiet sometimes, what with being stuck around us three all the time. She doesn't share our same level of energy or boisterousness and sometimes goes for early morning walks round the castle" he explained, hoping her mother wouldn't worry too much.
Kay gave him a motherly smile, assuming the caring boy must have been Fred after the talk she'd had with Ruby and Georgia the previous night. "Thank you Fred, I've no doubt she will be fine. There's no one round here for miles. But she still knows about wandering off without letting anyone know first"
Fred dropped his head, sniggering when she got them mixed up and George smiled back at Kay, all too used to going by his twins name and Ruby just shook her head at the pair of them, not bothering to correct the woman because she knew how much joy it brought the twins when they were able to confuse people. Seeing their grins she didn't have the heart to burst their bubble just yet. The door opened and they all turned to it hoping it would be Georgia, but it was Lewis. Looking at his wife he shook his head as he headed for the sink to wash his hands. "No sign, I'm going to have breakfast then go back out to milk the cows, hopefully she'll show up"
Joining his daughters three friends at the kitchen table he took in their uncertain looks and quickly reassured them. "Turn those frowns upside down, Connie is missing as well, the dog might be as daft as a brush but she's a good protector. Mmm fried bread" he beamed as Kay placed a plate in front of him. "You three can stay more often! She never lets me have fried bread, you'd think Christmas was coming" he chuckled.
"Lewis" Kay chided him, smacking his arm as she too sat down. "Don't listen to him, he's not that hard done by"
"Mrs G?" Fred looked up from his breakfast and Kay felt a sense of deja vu, not sure she'd ever get used to the two boys who were an identical mirror image of one another, right down to the way they spoke. Thinking she'd figured them out though she answered him.
"Yes George?"
Years of being a practical joker meant Fred had no trouble with schooling his features and hiding the smirk that was tugging at the corners of his mouth as he replied. "Do you have anymore of that lovely juice Gia gave us last night?"
"Of course, glass bottle in the door of the fridge" Kay pointed to the big white box behind him and Fred slowly stood up and moved towards it, throwing Ruby a look that said help.
"Uh, what do I do?" he asked, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.
"Oh!" Kay jumped up, remembering a conversation she'd had with Georgia once about there being no electricity in the Wizarding World and therefore witches and wizards not knowing about the useful appliances that made everyday life so much easier. "I'm sorry"
"S'okay" he mumbled, watching as she put her hand into a small docket and pulled. He stared in awe as she opened it, revealing all the food chilling inside. It was like a cupboard that had been charmed to stay cold. Grabbing the juice Kay handed it over and steered the red head back to the table before his fascination could distract him from his breakfast too long. Placing glasses in the middle of the table she told them to help themselves to the juice. They were all tucking into their food, the conversation light, their thoughts all still on Georgia and where the girl could have got to when the door opened a second time. This time revealing the brunette and the sheepdog that had vanished.
"Cachu" (Shit) Georgia muttered in Welsh as she took in everyone's faces, they were all sitting around the table, her friends looking relieved that she was back but her mum was scowling at her. Having missed being back in Wales she had lost track of time while out walking and hadn't meant to be so long, she'd hoped to have been back before anyone could miss her.
"Ble rydych chi wdi? Rydw i wedi bod yn chwilio amdanoch chi" (Where have you been? I've been looking for you) Lewis replied, and Georgia knew she was in trouble. It was really the only time her parents spoke to her in Welsh, when they were overcome with emotion.
"Doeddwn i ddim hyd yn oed allan cyhyd!" (I wasn't even out for that long!) Georgia defended herself, unclipping Connie from her leash so that she could go get a drink of water. Kay gestured to the table to prove her otherwise, and Georgia spoke again "Yn iawn ond fe ddeffrodd hi fi am chwech o'r gloch ac roedd pawb arall yn cysgu!" (Fine but she woke me up at six o'clock and everyone else was asleep) she pointed at Connie before realising that her best friends had no idea what was going on.
"I'm fine" she reassured them, "Connie woke me before sunrise and I knew none of you would want to be disturbed so I took her out for a walk" she added with a shrug, taking the only empty space at the table which was next to George, stealing a rasher of bacon from his plate.
"Next time let someone know, please?" her mother asked, sounded exasperated and Georgia nodded before grabbing her own plate of breakfast from the counter, offering George her bacon in return. Taking it he shoved it into his mouth before she could change her mind, causing her to shake her head at him.
Several hours later Kay and Lewis had collected the boxes of tree decorations from the attic before lifting the fur tree into the living room and standing it into its pot, then Lewis excused himself to head back out onto the farm, claiming that the farm hands needed his help. As Kay headed for the kitchen to make some hot chocolate Ruby turned to Georgia.
"What's a farm hand?"
A grin spread across the other girls face and she beckoned Ruby to follow her, the two running up the stairs to the top landing. Not wanting to be left out on finding out what it was Fred and George followed. Georgia leant on the sill of the window, locating the three guys that helped her father run the farm.
"See those guys down there?" She pointed at them and Ruby nodded.
"Yeah, who are they?" She asked.
"They're the farm hands. They show up every day to help out round the farm. The tall one, that's Tomos. And that besides him with the dark hair is Gethin." Georgia explained.
"Oooo they're cute!" Ruby giggled and Georgia agreed.
"Yup, I used to have a crush when I was younger" Georgia laughed as Ruby and her shared a look, matching grins on their faces as they both knew who she had eyes for now. Fred scoffed behind them.
"What?" The shorter of the two girls asked, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Nothing," He replied, but she knew he was lying. Both he and George had faces like thunder.
A sudden shrill ringing sound made them all jump and brought them back to reality. Georgia let out a small laugh, feeling silly for being scared of the house phone ringing before leading her friends back down the stairs, wondering if it was a family member calling as she'd very much like to say hello to them after being away for so long.
"...I'll be there as soon as possible" Kay could be heard saying and Georgia sighed, knowing exactly what it meant. As a GP her mother was often on call during the days she wasn't working at the practice and could get called away from family time at any given moment with very little notice. "Children..." she said meeting them at the bottom of the stairs with an apologetic look. "There's a plate of cookies in the kitchen and mugs of hot chocolate, I've got to go out and see to a patient. Promise me you'll behave" she added the last part looking directly at Georgia.
"We will," she nodded.
"Your Tad is just outside, please shout to him if you have any problems"
"We will, just go, we'll be fine" Georgia promised and gave them one last look before running off to grab her coat, bag and car keys. Pressing a kiss to the top of Georgia's head before leaving the house.
"Got any problems Roo? Because I'm sure Tomos would be more than willing to help" Georgia smirked, throwing her friend a wink and George scowled, roughly snapping his cookie in half to dunk into his hot chocolate.
"Sure I could think of something" Ruby giggled ignoring the sulking that both red heads were doing.
"Smile it's Christmas," Georgia told the younger twin.
"Are we decorating the tree or not?" He asked, still looking grumpy.
"Of course, come on. I know exactly what will cheer you both up" moving into the living room she headed for the far side of the room by the fireplace.
"Living on a farm is so much hard work isn't it?" Ruby commented, gazing out the window, hoping to catch one more glimpse of the cute boys.
"Yeah" Georgia nodded, sorting through the stack of cassettes on the shelf by the fireplace, to look for the Christmas songs. "Long hours too, we usually start at the crack of dawn and don't finish until sunset"
"Every day?" Fred looked displeased.
"Every day" she repeated in confirmation. "The animals need feeding, cleaning and tending to, they can't always do things for themselves. Especially when they're being raised for money"
"Do you enjoy it?" George asked, sitting on the edge of the sofa.
"Of course, but I've known nothing different. Before I knew I was a witch I'd always assumed I'd grow up to take over the farm" she shrugged.
"And now?" Ruby questioned her friend, moving to sit by George who let his tense shoulders relax, sensing that wasn't still her plan.
"I don't think I'd like to have a muggle job knowing what I do about the Wizarding World. It's nice to come back here and I love seeing the animals and helping out but I don't want it to be my life forever" Georgia shook her head, before pulling out the cassette she'd been looking for. "Aha!" she beamed holding it up.
"What's that?" Fred asked, moving in for a closer look.
"This Fred Weasley is how we Muggles listen to music, none of your wizarding wireless show slots. This is music available all times of day" sliding the cassette into the music player she pressed play and adjusted the volume as the first Christmas song began playing. "It's not officially Christmas until you've listened to Christmas music while decorating the tree" the smile on her face was contagious.
The mood in the room instantly lifted and the four of them sat on the floor in front of the tree to sort which ornaments would go onto the branches. Georgia having explained that some of the stuff was really old and would be best hidden round the back. Conversation easily flowed back and forth between the group of friends.
"Why do you have one of these?" George asked, looking baffled as he pulled an ornament from the box of decorations. Fred reached out and took it from him, examining the funny looking man in the red suit. "Yeah, why do you?" He added, giving Georgia a funny look. "Dads got several of these placed round the burrow"
"For Christmas?" Georgia questioned.
"No, he keeps them out all year, don't you?"
"He's only for Christmas" Georgia shook her head at him.
"But he keeps the hags away doesn't he?" Fred asked, handing the ornament over. "Because you know, they have a taste for the flesh of children, they've protected us from being found for years" George nodded his agreement to what his twin was saying and Georgia resisted the urge to laugh.
"What do you mean, that's Santa" she frowned, confused at what they were trying to get at.
"Who?" Ruby asked.
"Santa... haven't you heard of him?" The three shook their heads at her and Georgia wondered if they were messing her around. "Father Christmas? Saint Nick?" She tried but was met with blank looks, Georgia let out a deep breath wondering what she'd let herself into introducing them to the Muggle world. "He comes on Christmas Eve once everyone's asleep and delivers gifts to the boys and girls that have been good, you lot will be high on his naughty list" she joked.
"How would he know?" Ruby asked.
"Because he's Santa and he knows everything"
"So he breaks in?" George frowned.
"No silly, he comes down the chimney"
"So he uses floo powder to travel?" Fred tilted his head.
"Not quite"
"You're telling me that this bloke sneaks around people's houses while they're sleeping? He doesn't keep the hags at bay?" George asked, looking shocked.
"Correct" Georgia giggled.
"Can we stay up and see him?" Fred asked excitedly.
"No, because he's not real"
"What do you mean he's not real. You've just said he delivers the presents" the red head argued.
"It's the parents that deliver the presents, Santa is just a made up story to help children believe that the magic of Christmas is real"
"But magic is real"
"Not to the Muggles, it's not" Georgia reminded them, kneeling on the carpet in the middle of the living-room, a big cardboard box in front of her, as she continued to unwrap ornaments from the old tissue they'd been wrapped in to keep them safe, most of the stuff she'd not seen in years having either spent Christmas at Hogwarts with her friends or because her parents would have already decorated before she came home. Placing another bauble on the floor next to her she reached into the box again finding a stack of old handmade paper cards that she'd made as a child, back when she'd not known she was a witch and had attended Muggle school, flipping through them she giggled at her scribbly handwriting and lopsided drawings of candy canes, snowmen and reindeers.
"What's these Gia?" asked George, dropping onto the carpet beside her and snatching the cards from her hands.
"Just an old Muggle tradition" she shrugged "We used to make them every year at school, looks like mam and tad have kept a hold of them" Georgia rolled her eyes at how sentimental her parents were.
"You don't talk much about your muggle life before Hogwarts, tell us more?" Fred joined their conversation from where he was sitting untangling a string of fairy lights with Ruby's help.
"There's not much to tell" Georgia replied not sure what he'd want to know, her life before and outside of Hogwarts wasn't that exciting.
"What was muggle school like?" George asked pulling an old paper angel from the box that had been half coloured with felt tip and half coloured with various shades of glitter that was beginning to drop off "Did you make this?" he asked, holding it up.
"Yeah" she laughed "Probably when I was about 5 or so, my creative skills have come on a long way since then, I promise"
"I think it's cute," Fred grinned, taking it from his twin. "We're definitely putting that on top of the tree, what do you say Georgie?"
"I agree brother of mine"
"No it's hideous!" Georgia protested trying to grab it back but Fred's long arms held it just out of her reach, causing Ruby to giggle at them.
Eventually the four began taking turns hanging the various decorations that they'd sorted into the keep pile onto the tree, Georgia and Ruby taking the lower half of the tree and the twins the higher parts that the two witches were unable to reach. As they worked the music box in the corner of the room played softly in the background, the muggle christmas songs that Georgia had introduced the others to drifting round the room and making them all feel Christmassy, the twins and Ruby were enjoying the newness of the music they'd never heard before and Fred couldn't help but grin at Georgia who was humming quietly along to it.
"Who's up for a round of the alphabet game?" George asked, sounding hopeful.
"You and that game" Fred rolled his eyes playfully, he did secretly enjoy playing it. If only because he was competitive and liked to beat his twin.
"It keeps his brain cells awake" Georgia chimed in nudging Fred with her elbow, personally she loved playing it because depending on the topic it really made her think and she enjoyed the challenge of it.
"Heard that Gia!" George pouted childishly causing the brunette to scrunch her nose at him as she ruffled his hair adorably.
"Fine, I'm in as long as we do a Christmas theme" Ruby reluctantly agreed.
"Sounds good to me" the younger twin grinned "Oldest starts" he added smirking at Fred.
"Angel" He started
"Bells" George said next
"Candy Cane" Georgia continued
"Decorations" said Ruby, lastly before they repeated.
"Eggnog"
"Feast"
"Gingerbread"
"Do you know how to make that?" Fred asked, looking excited.
"Please tell us you do?" George begged.
"I haven't had it in so long" Ruby mused.
"I haven't made it in a while but yeah I can make it, I used to bake it with mam during the holidays all the time" Georgia nodded.
The twins cheered in unison making her smile, "Please tell me we can make some before the end of the holidays?" Fred gave her a pleading look, their game suddenly very much forgotten.
"As long as Mam has everything in to make it we can definitely do some baking" Georgia smiled, and then she gasped happily as the opening notes of The Best Christmas Of Them All drifted through the room. Running towards the music player she turned the volume up slightly and unable to help herself she shook her hips and she began dancing to the beat of the song. Giggling Ruby jumped up and joined in with her, the two grabbing hands and jumping around. Fred and George shared amused looks as they watched their two friends acting so carefree.
"Join us?" Georgia requested, holding one of her hands out to the twins who shook their heads, no.
"But Georgie, it's fun" Ruby pouted, holding her hand out towards him. Not needing to be asked again by the blonde George pushed himself up off the sofa, patting Fred on the knee to encourage him to go with him. But being stubborn he crossed his arms and shook his head, there was no way he was dancing. It would be embarrassing and he still wasn't happy about finding out that Georgia had once liked the boys from the farm, not that he could explain why that piece of information didn't sit right with him. But she was his best friend and he didn't want her led astray by some Muggle. Watching Ruby and George doing crazy dance moves together Georgia decided that Fred's sulking just wouldn't do.
"Please dance with me?" She asked moving closer to Fred.
"No" he huffed, "I don't dance"
"That's a lame excuse" Georgia rolled her eyes at him, not accepting no as an answer. Reaching out she took both of his hands and tugged.
"Gia" he whined.
"Just shut up and dance with me" she grinned.
It was how Lewis found them. Dancing and singing, slightly off key, in the living room. He smiled at the scene in front of him, enjoying seeing his little girl having fun, glad that her friends felt comfortable enough in his home to let their hairs down with her. His presence going unnoticed he was able to grab the camera and snap several photos of them so they'd always have the memories of spending Christmas together in Wales.
