Haley stood staring at the Weasley home, smoke rising from the chimney as the snow settled on the rooftops. "Are you sure about this, Weasley?"

Fred nodded and smiled. "It'll be fine. Mum and Dad want to meet you."

Haley sighed and looked at him as he offered her his hand. "That I'm Slytherin won't bother them?"

Fred shook his head and grinned. "They won't care if they like you. Besides, I don't care and I like you."

Haley blushed a bit.

Fred chuckled. "Now come on, everyone's waiting."

Haley took his hand and let him lead her to the house, the strong aroma of fresh baked bread and cookies making her feel more at ease.

"Mum, Dad, we're here!" Fred called as he pushed open the front door.

"Fred, welcome home sweetheart!"

Haley looked at the woman who came waltzing up. 'That must be his mother.' She stepped behind Fred, not realizing they were still holding hands, as more of his family came up to greet him.

"Fred!"

Fred smiled as his youngest sibling, his only sister Ginny, came running up. "Hey, Ginny. You're getting big!"

Ginny beamed up at him, then noticed Haley. "Wow, you're so pretty!"

Haley's cheeks flushed and she offered a small smile. "T-Thank you, little one. You're quite adorable yourself."

Ginny smiled, then looked at the youngest boy as he asked, "Are you his girlfriend?"

Fred and Haley both turned bright red, looking at each other. Fred looked back to his brother and stammered, "W-Where'd you g-get an idea l-like that in your head?"

The young boy pointed at their hands. "You're holding hands."

Haley and Fred looked down at their hands, their blush deepening, and let go of each other's hand.

"Now, Ron, let's not make assumptions dear." the woman said. She looked to Haley and smiled. "You must be Haley."

"Y-Yes, ma'am." Haley said, bowing her head. "I greatly appreciate you allowing me to join you for the holidays."

The woman smiled. "Oh, you're most welcome. And what manners!" She stepped forward and offered her a hug. "I'm Molly Weasley."

Haley accepted the hug and smiled sheepishly. "I'm Haley Rosier, to properly introduce myself."

Molly beamed at her. "Well, this little dear is my daughter Ginny." She said, putting her hand on her shoulder. "George you already know, as you should Percy."

Haley nodded and bowed her head to the two brothers, then looked at the others as Molly continued to name her family.

"This is my youngest son, Ron, and my two eldest boys, Bill and Charlie." Molly said, then pulled her husband forward. "And this is my husband, Arthur."

Haley offered a sheepish smile and bowed her head. "It's a pleasure to meet all of you. I am honoured that you allowed me into your home and thank you for such a warm welcome."

Molly beamed at her and looked to Arthur. "Such manners! And so pretty!"

Arthur smiled and nodded, his smile growing when he saw Haley's blush deepened. "Well now, Haley, welcome to the Burrow!"

Haley smiled. "Thank you, sir."

"Now, Fred why don't you show Haley around, and I'll get started on dinner!" Molly said.

"Can I come too?" Ginny asked.

"I wanna go too!" Ron said.

"The more the merrier!" Fred said, then looked to Haley. "You ready for a tour?"

Haley nodded, then looked down surprised as Ginny and Ron grabbed her hands and started to pull her forward.

"Come on, we'll show you the way!" Ron said, smiling.

Haley looked back as the two children dragged her forward, seeing the happy smiles and hearty laughter of the Weasley family. When she looked to Fred, she felt her heart begin to race as she saw him in a new light. She smiled as he made to follow them, then turned her attention to Ginny and Ron as they started taking her room to room.

As Fred and his two youngest siblings left the room with Haley, Molly smiled and sighed in content. "Well, he seems happier than usual."

George scoffed. "She's nothing special."

Molly looked at him. "George, you shouldn't be so judgemental dear."

"She's Slytherin, Mum, and they're all no good, stuck up, prissy twats."

"George Weasley! That is no way to speak about our guest!" Molly scolded. "She may be Slytherin, but that does not mean she's a bad person!"

George just rolled his eyes and looked away as his mother continued to scold him.

Arthur sighed and put a hand on his son's shoulder. "George, a lot of great wizards come from the Slytherin House and many of them were- are- good people. Don't let the dark wizards who come from that House distort how you see Haley. She seems like a good person, give her some time and get to know her."

George sighed. "Fine." He shrugged off his father's hand and left the room, needing some time alone. As he found his way into the parlor, he stared out of the window. 'Fred does seem happier when she's around...' He glanced at the doorway as Ginny, Ron, and Fred walked by with Haley still in tow. They seemed to be having fun and Fred had a smile that George had never seen before. 'Maybe she isn't so bad after all...'

After a very extensive tour of the entirety of the Burrow, Haley sat in the family room telling stories of Gharina.

"So, you learn magik from creatures?" Ron asked.

"Yes, my village is the only place in the world that I know of who uses this practice." Haley said, smiling. "Each family learns from all of the creatures we live harmoniously with, but they each have their preference."

"What about your family?" Arthur asked, sitting in his armchair.

"My family learns much of our magik from dragons." Haley said, beaming.

"Really?" Charlie asked enthusiastically. "That's incredible!"

Haley blushed a bit and her smile grew. "The dragons we learn from are mostly fire breathers, but we learn from the other dragons too."

"She can summon fire in her palm without a wand, too." Fred said, unaware of how proud he sounded saying that.

Ron looked at Haley in awe. "Can you really?"

Haley nodded. "Would you like to see?"

Ron and Ginny cheered, causing Haley to laugh.

Haley looked to Arthur. "Would it be alright with you, sir?"

Arthur smiled and nodded. "Sure, I'm rather curious myself." He looked up as Molly came into the room. "Molly, dear, Haley is going to show us a bit of magik from her village. Come see!"

Molly came to stand next to Arthur, then noticed how nervous Haley looked. She chuckled. "It's alright, sweetheart. Go ahead."

Haley nodded, then took a deep breath and rubbed her hands together. She produced a small flame between her palms, then presented it to the Weasley family.

"Whoah!" Echoed throughout the room.

"In Gharina, the creatures we learn magik from have different spells just as we do. Instead using a wand to summon magik, theirs is more primal and natural. It's an extension of themselves." Haley explained. "This flame is what we call 'Hatchling's Breath'. It's like the first breath of fire a baby dragon takes." She stood and walked over to George. "George, would you like to hold it?"

George looked at her, confused. "What?"

Haley smiled. "It won't burn you, I promise. It's perfectly safe." She took one of his hands and placed the flame in his palm before stepping back.

"Whoah..." George looked down at the flame as it danced harmlessly in his palm. "It's so warm, but why doesn't it burn?"

Haley's smile grew. "This flame is an extension of my magik, an extension of myself. It does not burn because I do not want it to. However..." She focused on the flame and increased the heat intensity of the flame, then watched as George tossed the flame up in the air and pulled his hand back. "If I choose to, I can make it burn." She caught the flame, then looked at George. "Look at your hand."

George looked down at his hand and saw it was unscathed. "How..?"

Haley smiled. "I have complete control over the flame. If I had wanted to actually hurt you, I could have."

George looked at her impressed. "That's incredible..!"

"Haley, can I try it next?"

Haley looked at Charlie and nodded. "Of course." She handed him the flame.

"This is so cool..." Charlie said, studying the flame.

"You know, Charlie wants to study dragons in Romania ." Molly said, beaming at her son.

Haley looked at Charlie. "Oh?"

"I want to know all about them!" Charlie said enthusiastically. "The different species, how they breed, their environments, everything!"

"Well, there is much that you can learn from the dragons themselves. Perhaps one day you I could show you how."

"Really?!"

Haley laughed at how excited he was. "Only if you think you can handle learning from a dragon."

"I think that'd be a fine idea!" Arthur said, smiling.

"Haley, I wanna go next!" Ron said, raising his hand.

"Me too! Me too!" Ginny chimed in.

Haley smiled, then watched as Charlie brought the flame over to Ginny and Ron, letting them take turns holding the flame. She stood off to the side as the resonance of "ooo" and "ahh" echoed from the two children.

While her children were distracted by the flame, Molly came over to Haley as she stood off to the side alone. "They're certainly enjoying that flame of yours."

Haley looked up at her and smiled. "It was the first spell I learned from the dragon that protects my family, Leneth."

"What kind of dragon is she?"

"An Artic Silverwing."

Molly looked at her, surprised. "I thought they were all extinct."

Haley nodded. "As far as we know, she may be the last. No other Artic Silverwing has been seen in seven hundred years. At least not in Gharina." She sighed, a bit of sadness present. "But, though that may be, my family does our best to protect her and honour her. It's the least that we can do for all that she teaches us."

Molly smiled at that. "You are quite the intriguing young lady, Haley Rosier."

Haley returned her smile, then looked over when she heard Ginny squealing with joy as Bill passed her the flame again- her smile growing.

Molly noticed that same smile that he shared with Haley again appear as they met each other's gazes. Watching her son's attention return to Ginny as she danced over to their father with the flame so that he could have a turn, Molly smiled. "Why don't you come help me in the kitchen, dear."

Haley nodded. "Of course, I'd love to."