CW: Christmas, new relationships, mentions of food and alcohol

:FORTY-SEVEN:

Christmastime was a rather loud, busy affair. Remus' prediction had been correct - the Weasley boys had nearly cleaned out Kreacher's stock pile of butter cookies in one afternoon visit. The flat rang with laughter and carols as people came by with their Christmas wishes. Hermione's family was the first to stop by, as they planned to take Hermione on a holiday afterwards. She had dark circles around her eyes, but seemed very happy to see Remus and Sirius.

After her came Neville, who would be expected to remain home for his family's celebrations that year. He gave them each their own Moly plant, which he'd been working on with Professor Sprout outside of class. It was normally left until 6th year, but she had taken Neville under her wing early on that year. Moly was good for potion work, and would help counteract enchantments gone wrong, but it was also rather pretty.

But the Weasleys came and went with the same ease as Harry and Dudley, showing up whenever they wanted and leaving only when they absolutely had to. Kreacher pretended to be annoyed by the mess and the noise, but he was secretly pleased to see the troop of red-heads, as they always appreciated his cooking. He had come rather a long way from the bitter elf he used to be. Being away from 12 Grimmauld Place had changed him for the better.

"Master Weasleys." Kreacher nodded his large head. "Try these - I have made a new recipe."

The Weasleys each took one to try - they would have anyway, but Kreacher's glare made it obvious that they didn't have much choice in the matter. And it turned out that they were excellent besides.

"Delicious, Kreacher." Fred grinned, his mouth full of cookies.

"Yes," George nodded. "Really excellent cookies."

Kreacher nodded in a self-satisfied sort of way. "Yes, I know."

The twins smirked as the little elf tittered away with his tray of treats.

"Now," Fred turned back over to Sirius. "This prank of yours, how did you manage it?"

Sirius smiled, throwing an arm around the two of them. "Let's talk logistics."

Harry, who was busy being thoroughly trounced at chess with Ron, looked up and sighed. The twins had been pulling off a string of particularly complex pranks on their newest DADA teacher. She was, in a word, unextraordinary. But that was good - Harry liked having a professor who didn't want to kill him or acted like something they were not. And it made him feel better that he'd told Remus not to take the position, because the class was taken care of and his family was safe.

"Alright," Remus broke up the trio with a laugh. "That's enough plotting for one night. We'll see you all tomorrow?"

"Oh, yeah," Ron said, getting up and stretching. "Mum wants you all to stop by tomorrow for lunch."

The Weasley crew piled into the Floo in turns, vanishing in the green flames until their living room was once again empty and quiet.

"Right," Remus stretched his arms over his head. "We've got to get cleaned up, you two. Petunia wants to take us all out tonight."

"Oh, yeah," Harry yawned. "I forgot about that. Where are we going?"

"Borough Market!" Sirius said, rubbing his hands together. "Best treat market in London - she knows us boys too well."

They got ready, dressing warmly for the chilly air outside. They didn't dare eat supper, knowing there would be a large variety of goods to try at the market. By the time they'd finished bundling up in scarves, hats, and gloves, Petunia was calling them to meet her. She'd had work, so she'd be meeting them all there and asked that they bring Dudley as well.

When they were all in Remus' car, Dudley explained to them what was about to happen.

"Mum's been seeing this new guy." He said bluntly. "And she wants to get your unfiltered opinion on him, so it's meant to be a surprise."

"Oh," Sirius remarked from the passenger seat. "Well, you wrecked the surprise bit there, Dudley."

"What's he like?" Remus asked, ignoring Sirius' smirk. "Now we know, we might as well be prepared."

Dudley shrugged. "He's not a tosser like dad. I dunno, he's alright I guess."

"Very detailed description there, Duds." Harry rolled his eyes.

Dudley shoved Harry in the back seat. "I don't know, he's not a creep. And he doesn't act all weird around me or try to act like my dad, which is cool."

"Right," Sirius nodded, relaxing into his seat. "I can work with that. 'Not a creep' is better than most, unfortunately."

They got to the market, pulling into the parking area where Petunia said she would meet them. She was standing nervously next to a rather tall, well-dressed man. He looked confident, if a bit apprehensive underneath. He was holding her hand though, and smiling as he caught sight of Dudley.

"Hey, Dudley!" He called out.

Dudley smiled, giving him a small wave as they approached.

"Hi," Remus said, feigning surprise. "Petunia, who is this?"

"This is Noah Williams," She glanced up at him and then back to them all, smiling hesitantly. "I met him a few weeks ago and we decided it was time for him to meet everyone."

"It's nice to meet you." Noah said, extending his hand to shake. "Remus, right? Petunia talks about you guys all the time."

His hand was firm, steady, and warm. Remus had a good feeling about this guy. Sirius also seemed on board as he introduced himself and Harry. Which was saying something, as Sirius could be very stand-offish with new people. Harry seemed pretty neutral about the whole thing, only looking for confirmation from Dudley before shaking Noah's hand.

"Right," Sirius clapped his hands together. "Let's check out the market!"

Remus was actually quite impressed by Petunia's plan. The market was bright and casual, perfect for meeting someone new without any pressure. Plus, this market in particular was decked out with Dudley's second favorite thing besides carpentry - food. And it seemed that Noah was also a foodie as he talked enthusiastically about the different vendors they needed to check out.

"I like him." Remus said to Petunia, walking arm-in-arm with her as they looked for mulled wine.

"Really?" Petunia head darted up to look at Remus. "I'm really glad to hear that - I was so nervous about today."

"Well, you needn't have been." Remus assured her. "Noah seems like a decent guy."

"He really is!" Petunia beamed. "We met at work, our company hired an independent contractor for some greenery around the office, and they sent him. We got to talking, and he said he really liked my name. And then he just…"

She blushed slightly, but continued.

"He started giving me petunias, along with little notes, every day he worked. And then, on his last day there, he asked me out."

Remus smirked - so that explained her latest project at home. She'd been pressing flowers for a large picture frame she purchased last week. All different colors of petunias, which she pressed delicately in between parchment paper in one of Remus' large books.

Petunia blushed further, looking away from Remus to the other vendors.

"Oh, look! There's the mulled wine you wanted." She pulled him over to the shopfront, where they each purchased a nice mug of steaming wine to sip on.

"Well," Remus said casually. "I'm very happy for you, Petunia."

She smiled, nodding as she took another sip of her wine.

"Remus, love!" Sirius yelled, running over to the pair of them with Harry right behind him. "They've got these amazing gingerbread houses - Kreacher would go mad if he saw them!"

Harry nodded bemusedly behind Sirius. "They are pretty amazing, Remus. And the gingerbread itself tastes really good."

By the time they were ready to go home, it had been unanimously decided that they all liked Noah. But what really sealed the deal was when Noah was saying goodbye to them. Remus and Sirius had long ago decided not to hide their relationship, but they had expected Noah to be put off or ask something eventually.

"So, Petunia tells me you're getting married soon." Noah asked Remus as he shook his hand.

Here we go. Remus nodded his head, bracing for the worst.

"I'd love to help you pick out the flowers! I don't know if Petunia told you, but I happen to be a bit of an expert." He smiled proudly. "Just stop by with Sirius sometime and we can go over different options."

Remus beamed, shaking Noah's hand once more. "I'd really like that!"

"Great!" Noah smiled, waving goodbye again to everyone else in the car.

He and Petunia would be driving back to Surrey together, where she'd drop Noah off at home before returning to the flat. Remus got into the passenger seat, grinning like a fool.

"What's that smile for?" Sirius grinned, pulling out of the parking area.

"Noah wants to help us pick out flowers," Remus replied. "For the wedding."

Sirius and Remus shared a look, understanding and appreciating what Noah had really said in the gesture.

"Right, well," Harry said from the backseat. "I like him now. What say you, Duds?"

Dudley shrugged. "At least he proved he wasn't a tosser tonight. We'll see."

Notes:

I wrote almost half a chapter, then realized it wasn't right and deleted it all. But we're here now.

Happy Reading!