JKR Still owns them. Oh well. There is a bit from Buffy in there too.
Nat is awesome.
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I love all of my reviewers. Please keep it up you guys.
That being said
*****
"HAPPY CHRISTMAS HAPPY CHRISTMAS HAPPY CHRISTMAS HAPPY CHRISTMAS HAPPY CHRISTMAS!" a Weasley twin screeched, tearing down the stairs in the Burrow as fast as he could from Ron's top floor room.
"HAPPY CHRISTMAS HAPPY CHRISTMAS HAPPY CHRISTMAS HAPPY CHRISTMAS HAPPY CHRISTMAS!" the other one shrieked as he thundered down the stairs after his brother. Harry sat up rather ungracefully in his bed.
"Bloody hell," he mumbled, rubbing his eyes. He clumsily reached over for his glasses. His hand closed around something solid.
"They do this every year," Ron provided from the bed next to Harry's. "If you can go back to sleep quickly and you're lucky, you can get 15 more minutes of sleep. And if you're trying to correct your vision, I hardly think putting my toes on your face is going to help." Harry quickly let go of his best friends foot.
"What time is it?" Braeden asked form the other side of the room.
"If I know the twins, it's before the arse crack of dawn. Six if we're lucky." Braeden finally got his watch to light up.
"5:27," he mumbled, falling backwards onto his pillow with a loud thud.
"HAPPY CHRISTMAS!" a third voice squealed.
"Oh no!" Harry mumbled. "They've got Audra in on it too!"
"We'll never get to go back to sleep," Ron moaned.
"You can't tell me your mum will let them wake everyone in the house up," Braeden said from in between his pillows. He had pressed his face between them to try to drown out the twins' shrieks from downstairs.
"She's not been able to stop them yet," Ron replied. "When we were younger, all they had to do was wake up me and then later, Ginny. Once she or I was awake, that was the end, because mum would get up, and she'd insist on waking everyone else up. Looks as though they're using the same principle only with little Audra instead of me or Ginny. I just don't see me or Ginny being nearly as effective as Audra seems to be. Something about being 14 and 15 and not one of the twins just makes it wrong for us to run through the house squealing at Christmas. I for one would like to get another few hours of sleep, but I suppose."
"RON!" Harry cried. "BREATHE!" Ron stopped rambling and glared at his friend. A sharp knock on the door interrupted anything Ron had been planning to say.
"WAKE UP! IT'S CHRISTMAS!" a voice from in the hall cried.
"Yes, we've got to get up," Ron said. He registered the voice as Bill's. "Now that Bill is awake, none of us will be able to go back to sleep." The door flew open.
"INCOMING!" the oldest Weasley son shouted. He dived towards Harry and Ron's beds, red hair flowing behind him. He landed horizontally on top of Harry and Ron.
"Now get up, it's present time!" Bill screeched. He landed a knee in Ron's side and both elbows in Harry's spine.
"OOOOWWWWWWW!" Ron howled. Harry gasped and tried to regain his breath.
"Get up you two!" Bill insisted. He rolled off his little brother and the brother's best friend. "This would be much easier if Charlie were awake."
"We'd be much deader if Charlie were awake," Ron muttered.
"I don't think deader is a word, Ron," Braeden said from his spot in the corner.
"Let the lard arse jump on you and then tell me deader is not a word," Ron muttered, casting a glare towards Braeden that Braeden couldn't see. Wordlessly, Bill jumped to his feet and dived towards Braeden. Braeden saw the shadowy figure of the oldest Weasley. Before Bill could land on Braeden, Braeden rolled towards Harry and Ron. Bill crashed into the wall with a terrific thud.
"FRED OR GEORGE!" came Molly Weasley's shriek form downstairs.
"What mum?" came the shout of one of the twins.
"We're in here!" came the other one.
"GET THEM MUM!" Ginny cried.
"What was that from Ron's room then?" Molly asked.
"BILL!" chorused Ron, Harry and Braeden.
"WILLIAM GRIFFITH WEASLEY!" Molly cried.
"PRESENT TIME!" Bill shouted. He jumped to his feet and scrambled out of the room. The three teenage boys could hear him thundering down the stairs.
"Does he always act like this?" Braeden asked.
"Well," Ron considered the question for a moment. "Yes."
"COME ON!" Bill shouted back towards the stairs.
"I think we should probably go," Harry said. He stumbled to his feet. Braeden stood up next to Harry, but Ron groaned from between his pillows.
"Do we have to?" he asked.
"RON! Get with it man! PRESENTS!" Harry cried.
"And you've been bitten by the same bug that has gotten into everyone else in this house," Ron muttered.
"You had the same problem on Saturday before the Yule Ball," Harry said.
"I could just carry him," Braeden said.
"I've got a better idea," Harry said. He muttered a spell under his breath and caught the stick that flew towards him as a result.
"That's mine," Braeden said, pointing at the wand in Harry's hand. Harry shrugged, handed the wand to Braeden, and held his hand out to Ron.
"Accio Ron!" Harry said. Before Ron even began rising out of the bed, Harry turned and sprinted from the room.
"Get out of the way Braeden!" Harry cried as he ran past. Braeden ducked just in time for Ron to fly through the doorway above him. Harry sprinted down the stairs with Ron flying right on his heels.
"I promise I'll walk!" Ron cried from his spot in the air behind Harry.
"RIGHT!" Harry said. Braeden was a few steps behind Ron. Harry turned the corner and took off down the second flight of stairs. He could hear voices in the Living Room drawing closer.
"Really Harry, this is quite excessive," Ron muttered.
"You're not the one who is taking a sprint five seconds after being woken up way to early," Harry said. He tore around the corner into the living room where he ducked down, stopping dead in his tracks. Ron flew over his head and landed sprawled across the couch, right in the laps of Ginny, Arabella, Hermione and Natalia.
"Well good morning to you too, Ron," Ginny laughed.
"HAPPY CHRISTMAS!" Bill exclaimed. He danced into the room, arms full of presents; red Santa hat perched on equally red hair. His hair was loose around his shoulders; marking the first time many had seen him without it tied back. He tucked a stray strand behind his ear.
"More presents!" Fred cried. He followed Bill into the room; a green elf hat perched in his red hair.
"AND MORE!" George cried. He had a tea cozy pulled tightly over his red hair. Hermione, Ron and Harry laughed when they saw the younger twin.
"GOODY!" Audra squeaked. She jumped up at Bill and tried to remove a particularly large present from the top of the pile in his hands.
"Whoa little Figg," Bill said. He tried to step in front of his niece.
"Audra, come here," Aberdeen commanded.
"But I want to help distribute the presents," Audra cried.
"Audra, honey, I think I can handle this," Bill replied. He placed his presents in the floor and motioned for Fred and George to do the same. The twins immediately headed back towards the kitchen for more presents. Bill pulled his wand out of the pocket of his pajama pants and pointed it at the pile of presents. Fred and then George ducked under Bill's arms and added the remaining presents to the pile. Bill pointed his wand at the pile. He muttered a few words of Latin and immediately the presents started flying around the room. The largest almost knocked little Audra Figg off of her feet.
"William Weasley, what have I told you about using that charm to distribute presents?" Mrs. Weasley asked from her seat next to Mr. Weasley on the love seat.
"Sorry mum," Bill said sheepishly. He picked up his own pile of presents and took a seat at his wife's feet. Fred sat next to him in front of Hermione, while Braeden took the seat in front of Ginny. Natalia looked particularly distraught when she realized Charlie was not there to sit at her feet.
"Don't worry Natalia," George said. "Ron and I will be your foot warmers." He grabbed Ron's hand and pulled him off of the girls on the couch. The two curled up at Natalia's feet.
"So who is first?" Mrs. Weasley asked, looking around the room at the gathered crowd.
"We gotta take turns?" Gus asked, sounding slightly dismayed. "No offense Mrs. Weasley, but there are like 40 people here. I think this is going to take all morning."
"Augustus Ray Figg!" his father scolded. Gus looked over at his father and shrugged.
"I want to go first!" Audra squealed, jumping up and down behind her largest present.
"Go for it Miss Audra," Molly said. "I believe we will go in order from youngest to oldest." Audra didn't need to be told twice. Little fingers sank into red wrapping paper. Quickly the box was void of all wrappings.
"Hey Gus, toss me your wand!" Audra instructed. "I've got to get rid of this tape somehow!" Aberdeen reached over and pulled the offending object from the present. Audra ripped into the top of the box.
"What is it?" Audra asked, peering into the box. A quick flick of bill's wand made the wrappings and the box disappear.
"What is it?" Audra asked again. Looking at the offending piece of brown leather lying on the floor.
"It's a saddle," Aberdeen replied.
"Why do I need a saddle?" Audra asked, looking up at her father through innocent blue eyes.
"For your new pony," Aberdeen replied.
"Pony?" Audra asked, clapping her small hands twice. "You mean as in real live pony that I can ride on?"
Yes sweetie, that's exactly what we mean," Deidre, Audra and Gus's mother replied. She reached over and ruffled her daughter's thick red curls. "Now open your presents from Gus, Aunt Arabella and Uncle Bill and Grandpa. Everyone is waiting on you."
"I want to see my pony!" Audra demanded.
"The rest of your presents," Deidre said, pointing to the pile at her daughter's feet.
"Dee, maybe we should just take her, it is Christmas after all," Aberdeen suggested.
"By all means, take her," Gus chimed in. "I'm next in this present business."
"Come on miss Audra," We'll go for a quick visit to your pony," Aberdeen stood up and held his hands down to his daughter. She jumped into his arms with an ear-splitting shriek.
"Deen, the floo is in the flower pot on the mantle," Mrs. Weasley said.
"Thanks Molly," Aberdeen replied as he carried his daughter from the room.
"My turn!" Gus exclaimed. He pulled out his wand and muttered a quick charm that divested his gifts of all of their wrappings.
"Impressive, " Bill muttered.
"Fast," said George.
"Efficient," Fred agreed.
"It's not quite a pony but Hogwarts; a History will do," Gus said, turning the book around and around in his hands.
"She got a pony, you got a book. Gus I believe the term you're looking for is shafted," Fred stated simply.
"It's a first edition," Gus replied, off-handedly. Only Bella's hands on Bill's shoulders and Fred's arms around Hermione's knees kept the pair of notorious bookworms from diving across the room and attacking poor Gus.
"Thanks for the sweater Mrs. Weasley and I really like these charms books, Aunt Arabella." Gus pretended not to notice the stir his book caused. He quickly set himself to working through the pile of candies and books from his housemates.
"Is it my turn then?" Ginny asked. Gus nodded mutely, mouth full of chocolate frog. Ginny ripped into her first present. A beautiful Gryffindor- red hooded sweater with a kangaroo pocket tumbled from the box.
"Mum, this is fantastic!" Ginny cried as she tugged the sweater on over her head.
"Arabella helped me pick out the pattern," Molly admitted.
"Does this mean no more letters?" George asked Fred.
"I believe it does," Fred replied.
"It's the end of an era!" George gasped. Ginny ripped into her second present. The long thing box suggested jewelry of some sort. Sure enough, she pulled a small gold locket on the end of a golden braided chain from the box. She popped open the locket and stared at it's contents for a moment before leaning over and whispering something to Braeden that made him turn tomato red.
"Thank you Braeden," came her only publicly audible reply. Arabella helped her fasten the gold heart around her slim throat. She tore into the next package.
"Look at the handle, look at the handle!" Bill urged before she had even fully pulled the wrappings off.
"Thanks Bill and Bella," Ginny said, finally turning the beaters bat over and over in her hands.
"No dear, that was all your brother. You'll find your gift from me a little closer to the bottom of the pile," Bella said
"Did you look at the handle?" Bill asked. Bella cuffed him sharply on the back of his head. Ginny looked down at the handle of the bat. She noticed a tiny "Virginia Eirene Weasley," engraved in the bat's surface.
"Wow, it says my name!" Ginny laughed.
"Yes," Bill said, childish grin plastered on his face.
"Thanks Bill!" Ginny said. She placed the bat on the couch next to her leg. "If any of you boys step out of line, I'm using it on your head." She reached for her next present. Under the wrapping lay a plush blue monkey with neon green ears and blaze orange tummy.
"Jae," Ginny explained, noticing the quizzical looks from everyone in the room. "I told her I wanted an ugly stuffed monkey. It looks as though she came through."
"Open mine next," Bella urged. She pointed at a small thin package lying near the bottom of the stack. Ginny pulled the package and stripped off it's wrapping.
"Thanks Bella, but didn't anyone remember to tell you about my fear of journals?" Ginny asked. She looked from the blue, purple and green book in her hands to glare imploringly at her parents and her oldest brother.
"They might have mentioned it," Bella said. "But this isn't just any old journal. It writes back!" Ginny released a shriek that was probably heard in France and threw the book into the middle of the floor, narrowly missing Braeden's head.
"Go Hermione," she muttered. Wordlessly, Hermione tore into her first gift. It produced a slim-fitting plum-purple turtleneck sweater, courtesy of Mrs. Weasley.
"It's absolutely fantastic," Hermione gushed as she peeled the wrapping from her second present. She produced a beater bat identical to Ginny's, only engraved with Hermione L. Granger, Gryffindor Prefect on the handle. The bat was wrapped with a scrap of parchment covered in writing. She quickly read the note.
Hermione,
The rest of your present isn't exactly tangible yet, but you will thank me later. Just remember that green=guilt and in the mean time use this on any troublemakers.
Bill
"Uh, thanks Bill, I think." Hermione said. Bill smiled evilly and released a demonic laugh for the benefit of the whole room.
"William Weasley," Mrs. Weasley scolded.
"Bill mum, Bill," Bill corrected. Hermione picked up her next present. Fittingly enough, she unwrapped a book. A quick scan of the title lead to her cracking Braeden on his shoulder with the book.
"Beauxbatons: A History. Not funny, Braeden, but I still like it," she laughed. Harry and Ron both groaned.
"Thanks man, now we get to hear useless fact about not only Hogwarts, but Beauxbatons too!" Harry cried. Braeden smiled sweetly over at him.
"Will you open my present now?" Fred asked, looking up at his girlfriend.
"Where is it?" Hermione asked, looking over at the pile of presents still next to her.
"It's the square one," Fred said, pointing to a rather small perfectly square package resting near the bottom of the stack. Hermione pulled it out and pulled off the wrapping. She neatly opened the box and extracted a small snow globe. She looked inside for the miniature figures, but found none.
"It's nice Fred, but I think you forgot something," Hermione said as she shook the small glass orb. Glittery snow fell on the solid white bottom.
"Think of something and concentrate on it," Fred instructed. Hermione screwed her eyes tightly shut in concentration. "I'd advise you not to think of anything embarrassing," he quickly added. He looked over his shoulder at the globe in Hermione's hand.
"Okay, now shake the snow globe and look at it." Hermione gave the glass ball a hard shake and looked at it. Right in the middle, tiny figures of herself and Harry and Ron walking arm in arm towards some unknown destination.
"Fred, that's absolutely amazing!" Hermione said. She shook the globe again and a tiny Fred and Hermione lounging on the roof of Gryffindor tower took the place of Hermione, Ron and Harry. The tiny pieces of snow turned into miniature stars and moons and cascaded around the two little people.
"Bella helped me," Fred admitted, turning as red as Ginny's sweater.
"Thank you so much!" She leaned down and threw her arms around his neck, dropping a chaste kiss right above his right temple.
"Can you hurry up?" Harry asked. He cast a joking glare at Hermione from his spot on the floor beside Braeden.
"Shall I open the one from you next?" Hermione asked. She picked up a long, flat rectangular box from the pile.
"Yes, and then I say we amend this rule so we're not here all day," Harry suggested.
"How do you suggest we do that?" Mrs. Weasley asked.
"Let's keep the order but only open one or two presents each. We can get to the others later on our own time," Harry provided.
"Mum, that's a bloody brilliant plan," Fred said.
"Agreed," Mrs. Weasley finally relented. She cast a glare around the room to silence the cheers that had erupted from the mouths of many gathered. Hermione peeled the paper off of the box from Harry. She extracted a beautiful Eagle quill from it.
"Wow Harry, this is really nice," Hermione said, turning the quill over and over in her hands.
"It goes with Astrid's present," Harry announced proudly. "I'll show you how to activate the charms later, but it is stored inside the journal and its charmed to never run out of ink."
"That's really fantastic," Hermione said, slipping the quill back into its box. "And now it's your turn." Harry smiled quickly at his friend before turning back to his pile of presents. He picked up the largest of the lot and slowly picked the tape away from one edge.
"Harry man, you can't do this again!" Ron insisted.
"I can too!" Harry laughed. He carefully pulled the offending piece of tape away from the red snitch-patterned wrapping.
"Harry James Potter!" Ron exclaimed.
"Harry, please, before he has kittens," the ever sensible Hermione pleaded. On cue, little Alroy leapt into the room, attacking a particularly vicious scrap of wrapping paper.
"I already do thank you very much," Ron said, pointing at the small black and white cat.
"Ron, unless there is something you're not telling us, I don't believe you actually had the kittens," Hermione muttered. "And Harry, could you please expedite the process a bit?"
"I could," Harry said, and he shrugged.
"Now I see why he only wanted to open two presents," Fred muttered.
"Harry, if you don't hurry yourself up, I'm going to charm all of your presents unwrapped and make them hide themselves all over the house so you have to look for them," Bill threatened.
"Oh, all right," Harry finally muttered. He quickly ripped the paper from the package, producing an oddly shaped black leather bag.
"What is it?" He asked, looking at the bag folded neatly in his lap.
"Go on, unfold it," Hermione urged. "It's from both of us." She reached over and smacked Ron lightly in the back of his head. Harry straightened out the bag.
"It's a broom carrying case with pockets for your servicing kit, guards, a snitch, a beater bat, and your uniform!" Ron finally exclaimed. Harry flattened the bag out completely. It was long and rectangular with a strap running from the top left corner to the bottom right. It had a large padded compartment for his broom, with smaller pockets attached to the outside for all of the equipment Ron had named.
"Wow guys, this is absolutely fantastic!" Harry exclaimed.
"You've got another present to open. You can drool over your broom bag later," Bill said. Harry absentmindedly reached for the next present in the pile and ripped the paper off of it, not paying attention to what he held in his hands.
"What is it Harry?" Ron asked, when he realized his friend was paying absolutely no attention to anything besides the broom case. Harry glanced to the other present in his hands.
"It's a beater bat, thanks Bill," he muttered.
"Look at the handle," Bill instructed. Harry glanced at the handle of the bat.
"Harry James Potter, nice Bill," he said.
"Look closer, it does not say Harry James Potter," Bill said. Harry tore his eyes off for the bag to momentarily look at the bat. Only then did he realize that the bat was not the same as the bats Ginny and Hermione had. His bat was much older and had definitely seen heavy use in its day. He spun the bat around in his hands until he found a very small, very worn inscription in the handle. Li-y An- E-ns.
"This was my mum's?" Harry asked quietly. Bill nodded solemnly.
"She gave it to me when she graduated because Charlie had become our seeker and I thought maybe I wanted to be a beater." Harry looked back to the bat lying in his hands.
"Wow, thanks Bill," He muttered. "I think this is the best Christmas present anyone has ever given me."
"Would opening my presents now ruin the moment?" Ron asked quietly. Harry reached around Braeden and whacked Ron's shoulder with the Beater's bat.
"I think you already did," Hermione scolded.
"Go ahead, you great git," Harry said. Ron smiled at his friends.
"Are the three of you always like this?" Bella asked. Hermione and Harry nodded while Ron shook his head "no." The twins, Ginny and Braeden threw their support to Hermione and Harry, while Angelina agreed with Ron.
"I got one too!" Ron exclaimed. "Bill, you've got to be the most original person on the face of the planet!" He brandished his beater's bat threateningly at his oldest brother.
"That, I am," Bill said, bowing gracefully.
"HIS NAME IS MEGARA!" a shrill voice screeched from the kitchen as the sound of little feet tore up the hallway.
"HIS name is Megara? Audra, I believe you're a bit confused there," Gus said, patting his little sister on her head as she jumped into his lap.
"His name is Megara," a sheepish Aberdeen said, sinking into a seat on the floor next to his children. "So what have I missed?"
"Bill Weasley is honestly the most original person I've ever met," Arabella laughed. The four teenagers picked up their matching beater bats and waved them at Aberdeen to illustrate Arabella's point. Aberdeen shrugged.
"You married him."
"Maroon!" Ron cried. He looked at the sweater in his hands. "Other than the color, it's a very lovely sweater mum." Fred and George cackled evilly, and Ron didn't notice the bewildered look on his mother's face. Fred and George laughed once more.
"Finite Incantatem," Arabella muttered, flicking her wand at the sweater. The sweater quickly morphed from maroon to a deep heather grey.
"MUM YOU'RE THE GREATEST!" Ron leapt from his seat, across the living room and into his mother's lap. He flung both arms around her neck and dropped a kiss directly on his forehead.
"I love you too, ickle Ronnikins." Molly said, flashing a grin at the twins around her youngest son. The twins rolled with held in laughter.
"My turn!" Braeden happily exclaimed. He picked up a thin package from the very bottom of his pile. Under the paper was a book similar to the one Ginny had tossed in the floor.
"Good choice of a present to open, Braeden," Arabella said. "Now I can explain myself so maybe Ginny will reconsider my gift." Ginny looked warily at her sister-in-law out of the corner of her eye. Arabella ignored the younger girl and plowed on with her explanation. "Those journals, yes, are charmed to write back to whatever you write in them. However, it's not actually the journal writing back." Ginny looked slightly intrigued. "Ginny, what you write in yours will show up in your book and Braeden's. It works the same way for your book, Braeden." Arabella finished her explanation. Braeden reached over and grabbed Hermione's quill.
"Grab your book Gin, let's try this," he instructed. Ron handed the book over his head to his sister. Braeden opened his book and quickly scribbled something with the quill. Ginny opened the front cover of her book and looked at the front page. She released a little squeak and took the quill from Braeden. She furiously scribbled a reply that made both her and Braeden blush bright red. Hermione leaned over Ginny's shoulder and glanced at the messages on the front pages of Ginny's book.
Gin, I'm sick of this not knowing where we stand stuff. Can we just go ahead and make this official?
Hermione gasped at the note and Ginny glared back at her friend.
Yes
"AWWW!" came Hermione's reply.
"Shove it, Hermione," came Braeden and Ginny's statements.
"Will these work from England to France?" Braeden asked as he scribbled another note and passed the quill back to Ginny.
"That's actually why I made them," Arabella replied. "The twins wrote to me saying that the pair of you were killing Argus and asked if I could do anything about it." Ginny scribbled another note in her book and tossed the quill to Braeden.
"Arabella, this is absolutely fantastic," Ginny said.
"And I think we've lost him. Does this mean I get to go now?" Fred asked.
"No," Angelina shot from across the room. "I do believe I'm younger than the pair of you."
"And I'm younger than you anyway," George said. He elbowed his brother sharply in his ribs. Fred scrambled for Hermione's beater bat but she cracked his knuckles with it before he could grab it to use on his brother.
"HARPIES TICKETS!" Angelina screeched. "GEORGE THIS IS FANTASTIC!" George smiled sheepishly at his ex-girlfriend. She calmed down a bit and looked at him with a sad, almost wistful expression on her face. He smiled again at her, and she reached for another of her presents. She pulled the wrapping from a box of chocolate frogs from her little sister.
"My turn!" George said. He quickly pulled out his wand and pointed it at his presents. A few words of Latin later, and all of his presents were not only unwrapped, but out of their boxes and floating in front of his face one by one.
"The rules were only two," Fred scolded his brother as George observed his presents floating by and thanked the giver of each. At Fred's comment, George flicked his wand at the bat from Bill and it started towards Fred. Fred grabbed his own bat shaped present from the pile and fended off the attacks from the floating bat.
"Boys!" Mrs. Weasley scolded.
*****
"Emmy?" Astrid asked softly. She peeked into her younger sister's room through the door connecting the two girls rooms.
"I'm awake," Emma replied. Astrid tore into the room and dived across Emma, landing on the other side of the bed. She pulled out her wand and began summoning her presents from the other room. One by one the packages zoomed through the door and landed neatly at the foot of the bed in a pile next to Emma's.
"Happy Christmas," Astrid said.
"To you too," Emma said. Astrid pulled the covers up to her nose and glanced over at her sister with a girlish laugh.
"Should we start unwrapping those?" Astrid asked, pointing to the presents with the tip of her nose. Even in flannel pajamas, under several thick quilts, the manor was too cold for anything below the nose to be exposed to the air.
"We should," Emma considered the option. "But it's warm here and it's cold there and I simply think the presents can wait on the house elves.
"It still feels empty without someone lying here in between us wiggling her little tail off to get to the presents," Astrid said.
"Yes," Emma agreed, but the rest of her sentence was cut off.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" A tall blond- haired figure launched himself through the door and across the floor with two massive leaps. A yell escaped from his lips, growing louder each time one of his bare feet hit the cold stone floor. He dived across Emma and with a great flip, landed in the bed right between his little sisters. A neat stack of presents levitated itself through the door behind him and positioned itself right at the end of the bed between the first two.
"It's damned cold out there," the boy muttered, shaking longish blonde hair out of his eyes. He rubbed his hands on the opposite arm, trying to return circulation to the bare limbs. He wore only a pair of green and black plaid flannel pajama pants.
"Well Draco," Astrid said, quickly flinging back the covers. "If you would wear clothes and not run around the manor this early in the morning you probably wouldn't be cold. Draco adjusted his glasses on his nose and scrambled under the covers, glaring at his little sister as he did so. Astrid quickly pulled the covers back to her nose.
"So are we going to get to presents?" Draco asked.
"It's too cold out there still. We decided we could wait on the house elves to open the presents." Draco impatiently wiggled around for a moment.
"Can't we open them now please?" he asked.
"Look, you're acting much like the previous occupant of that spot," Astrid said, looking off to the left side of the bed, away from Draco.
"Has Keiran already been in here?" Draco asked, playing dumb to the fact that his sister was talking about Barrett.
"Since when have either of you ever come in here with us girls to open presents?" Emma asked.
"Since, well," Draco considered the question for a moment. "Since this Christmas. Where is our darling little brother anyway?"
"He's only your little brother," Emma corrected.
"Okay, so where is our darling brother anyway?" Draco amended his statement. Astrid and Emma both shrugged, but all three heard the sound of footsteps and someone singing rather off key to the tune of "Jolly Old Saint Nicholas" out in the hall.
"Evil Uncle Voldemort, pet your pretty snake. Torture all your followers, no matter what they say. Christmas Eve is coming soon, now you dear old man, kill some stupid muggles as many as you can!" Keiran sang.
"Isn't he such a wonderful little person!" Draco muttered. Emma and Astrid both rolled their eyes.
"Do we call him in here?" Emma asked.
"No," Astrid and Draco both hissed. Keiran's voice grew louder as his song changed.
"On the twelfth day of Christmas, my dark lord gave to me 12 Weasleys begging." Draco's arm came heavily across Astrid to keep her from leaping out of the bed and attacking their brother.
"Don't. He knows more nasty stuff than either of us can imagine."
"Eleven Aurors bleeding," Keiran continued with his song. "Ten mums a weeping, nine babies screaming, eight shrunken heads, seven puppies whining, six Gladium curses, five GRYFFINDORS!"
"ASTRID!" Draco hissed, quite loudly. Astrid glared over at her older brother.
"Four muggle heads, three mudbloods, two kittens and a voodoo doll of old DUMMY!" Keiran finished his song with an off-key warble of Dumbledore's not to great nickname. His footsteps stopped just outside the door. He paused for a moment before launching into another carol, most familiar as "Hark the Herald Angels Sing." This song, too, had been Keiran-ified.
"Hark the death eaters sing, joyous from muggle killing. Death to old Dumbledore, Dark Mark in the sky once more! Joyful all ye pure bloods rise, as we stifle mudblood cries. With Lord Voldemort proclaim, reign of blood, death and pain. Hark the death eaters sing, glory to Voldemort, their king."
"You know, I think they used the Gladium curse on her," Draco mumbled, looking down at the presents at the foot of the bed. Astrid reached over and touched her brother's forearm lightly. His eyes fluttered closed.
"Mudbloods scream, are ya' list'ning!" Keiran launched into a fourth carol. "In the lane, blood is glistening. A beautiful sight, we're happy tonight, working for the good Lord Voldemort." Draco's eyes were still closed. Astrid jumped up and tore around the bed and towards the door before Draco or Emma could stop her. She burst through the door and jumped on Keiran just before he could start another carol. She fastened her slim hand around Keiran's throat, just under his jaw and pressed his head into the floor. He looked up at his twin sister, surprise in his blue eyes.
"Never," she began. Keiran's fist came out of nowhere and caught Astrid in her left eye. She didn't loosen her grip on his neck. Keiran swung again, but Astrid ducked a bit and ground her knee into his inner thigh. Before she could inflict any more pain on her twin, she felt herself rising off the ground courtesy of a strong grip on the back of her pajamas. She noticed Keiran rising in a similar fashion and swung herself around to glare at her oldest brother. He had come from the room, pausing only to cast a few charms to make the twins a bit lighter and make the floor a bit warmer, and grabbed a twin in each hand. He had them up about 30 centimeters off of the floor, holding each by the back of their pajamas. He swung them so they faced each other.
"Now. It's Christmas Day. Keiran. If I hear one more of those carols out of your mouth, I will personally see to it that. Well. I'll personally see that you get your little ass kicked." Keiran glared stonily at his older brother, but Draco couldn't take the boy seriously, as his pajama shirt had bunched up around his ears, making him look like an elf with an attitude problem.
"What about the traitor?" Keiran croaked. Astrid's choking had caused his voice to somewhat disappear. Draco lowered Keiran to the ground.
"I'll take care of her," Draco said, smirking at his little brother. He carefully lowered Keiran to the ground. "Now go." He kicked his little brother in his butt to emphasize his point. Keiran glared at Draco and started off down the hall. Astrid still dangled from the back of her pajamas in Draco's grasp. Draco looked to the remaining elf with the attitude problem and cracked a small smirk. Astrid glared at him. Draco carried her back into the room and tossed her back onto the bed. He climbed onto the bed next to her. While the pair had been in the hall, Emma had used Astrid's wand to start a fire in the fireplace, so the room was considerably warmer. Emma had even ventured out from under the covers.
"So you're supposed to be taking care of me," Astrid said, smirking at Draco.
"Okay. So you've obviously been hanging out with the Weasel a bit much, but your fighting style screams Malfoy. He punches. You choked. Points for you. You got hit. That takes away points. Next time pin his arms down with your knees; crossing one foot over to the other knee to protect anywhere he could kick. Try to keep your weight on your legs as much as you can because you don't want him to be able to shift his lower body and throw you off of him." He reached over and ruffled the little girl's head.
"Why this sudden change in your attitude towards Keiran and me?" Astrid asked. Draco shook his head and reached for a present. He handed it to Astrid. Astrid took the gift and accepted the fact that her question would go unanswered.
"Who is this from?" she asked.
"Me," Draco replied.
"You got me a present?" Astrid asked. Draco nodded and smiled sheepishly.
"Well sort of," he shrugged. Astrid pulled off the wrapping paper and found a square wooden box with a lighter star inlaid in the top of it. She flipped it open and the notes to a familiar song drifted out.
"Draco!" she squealed. "You fixed it!"
"The way you'd been clinging to that thing, I figured it was sort of important," Draco shrugged. Astrid's face cracked into a bright smile.
"Thank you so much," she said, turning the box around in her hands. Draco had, in fact, completely fixed the music box so that Astrid couldn't even tell where it had been broken.
"Who gave you that?" Emma asked.
"I did, of course," Draco insisted.
"I mean before. The way the pair of you were talking, it had been broken, meaning someone else had given it to her," Emma said, glaring at her older brother.
"Ron," Astrid admitted. Draco looked slightly surprised. Emma's light blue eyes flashed form her brother to her sister and then back to her brother. Draco pretended not to notice and reached for another present. He handed this one to Emma. Emma quickly peeled back the wrapping.
"Thanks Draco," Emma said, looking over the journal in her hands. Draco handed a small package to Astrid. Astrid took the package in her left hand and caught Draco's left hand in her right. She turned his hand and ran her thumb over his knuckles.
"You might want to get mum to check that out," she suggested. Draco winced visibly as her thumb trailed over one of the cuts.
"I'll be alright," Draco countered. He quickly shook Astrid off of his hand and grabbed a package for himself. The package was oddly shaped, small and circular.
"It looks as though you've got one just like this," Draco said, looking from the package in his hand to the packages remaining in Astrid's pile.
"Who are they from?" Astrid asked. Draco quickly checked the tag on the package.
"Keiran," he said. He tossed Astrid her present. "This should be interesting." He began to peel the wrapping from his present. Astrid quickly tore into hers.
"COAL!" Astrid cried, looking at the black rocks lying in her hands.
"What's the bet Lucius put him up to it?"
*****
"GOD BLESS US, EVERYONE!" a female voice shrieked from the kitchen of the Burrow.
"Uh, I think you're a bit wrong on that one," a male voice said.
"HEY GINNY! SOMETHING ABOUT NICK AND PRESENTS!" the girl screeched.
"What about naked presents?" Fred asked. Hermione smacked him sharply on his arm.
"Wouldn't Happy Christmas work just as well?" A different male voice asked.
"It would, only that's not quite as much fun," the girl replied.
"TONKS!" the twins chorused.
"TWINS!" Tonks shouted. She sprinted around the corner into the living room and vaulted towards the couch. She landed on the twins, Hermione and Natalia who were all sitting on the couch. Tonks rolled over and reclined on her back on the four people. Her red, green and gold hair streamed out across one of the arm rests. She rested her elbow on Fred's knee and rested her head in her hand, while crossing her left foot over her right knee.
"Happy Christmas, Tonks," Hermione said, looking down at the girl half lying in her lap.
"To you too, Hermione," Tonks said. She quickly pulled her hands to her face to muffle a large sneeze escaping from her smallish nose. When she pulled her hands away, it looked like she had traded noses with one Severus Snape.
"Wow, I hate it when that happens," she muttered, crossing her eyes to look down at the tip of the nose.
"Just as long as you don't get the greasy hair to go with it," Fred laughed.
"I can change my hair but manufacturing that much grease is physically impossible, even for a metamorphmagus," Tonks laughed.
"Did I hear Nympho Tonks in here screeching like a Banshee?" A very bleary-eyed Charlie Weasley asked from just inside the room.
"Oh shove it," Tonks began.
"Charlie!" Natalia's girlish squeal finished the sentence for Tonks.
"Holy!" Tonks began.
"TONKS!" Fred, George and Hermione chorused, to drown out the string of expletives Tonks spewed as she fell to the floor when Natalia jumped up. Natalia stepped neatly over Tonks and dived into the slightly unsteady arms of her boyfriend.
"Hey mum!" Fred shouted, "Charlie's awake."
"CHARLIE!" Molly shrieked, and everyone heard her quick footsteps pounding down the stairs.
"Sirius, Remus and Harry," Tonks began. "Charlie's awake," Remus supplied. He and Sirius appeared around the corner with Harry close on their heels.
"Charlie's awake?" Ginny asked. She stepped out of the doorway leading to the basement with Braeden just behind her.
"Wow, I feel important. People are literally crawling out of the woodwork because I'm awake," Charlie joked. "How long have I been out anyway?"
"Since the 21st," Hermione supplied. "It's now Christmas day." Charlie shook his head with slight disbelief.
"Weren't Bill and Arabella supposed to be sitting with you?" Molly asked.
"Errr," Charlie hesitated. "Yes." Natalia motioned him to her now empty seat on the couch.
"I oughta," Molly turned towards the stairs.
"You really oughta not go up there," Charlie said. He turned a shade of that infamous Weasley red.
"Oh," Molly said, turning bright red herself.
"So what happened in the days I've been out?" Charlie asked, easing the silent tension in the room.
"Freedom!" Sirius exclaimed.
"Freedom?" Charlie asked.
"Peter Pettigrew is in Azkaban, and I'm officially free now," Sirius said with a broad smile.
"And officially a pain our arses ever since," Tonks muttered. She still lay stretched out on the floor.
"Oh be nice," Molly scolded Tonks. Tonks looked quite sheepish. "And could you please change your nose back?" Tonks closed her eyes, face screwed up in intense concentration. A moment later, the identical twin of Molly Weasley lay in the floor where Tonks had been.
"Is this better?" she asked.
"Not exactly," Molly replied.
"What happened to the rest of the Death Eaters?" Charlie asked. "Was anyone else hurt in the attack?"
"Well, we caught nine of the ones at the wedding, and they're all in Azkaban right now. No one else from the wedding was hurt, but the attack was actually simply a distraction so more Death Eaters could kill a family not too far from London. It kept most of the good Aurors away from the scene," Sirius explained.
"Kill?" Charlie asked.
"Max and Juliet Alexander, along with their daughter Finley and their son Reece were killed in the other attack. Miraculously, however, their two year old daughter Sloane survived," Molly said.
"What about Sloane?" Charlie asked.
"Remus over there actually adopted Sloane since the rest of her family is dead," Sirius said.
"So Remus is a father now," Charlie laughed. Remus and Sirius both nodded.
"And this baby is going to live in a flat with the three of you?" Charlie asked, nodding towards Remus, Sirius and Tonks.
"Either that or we're moving in with Bill and Bella, we haven't quite decided yet," Tonks said.
"Oh my," Charlie said. "Somehow I don't think the five of you should be able to have a baby."
"A baby and me," Harry added.
"You're going to live with Sirius over the holidays?" Hermione asked. Harry nodded.
"I'm going to Harry's house next summer then," Ron declared. He and Angelina straggled through the front door dragging brooms behind them.
"You really want to stay in a house with Sirius, Remus, Tonks, Bill, Bella, Harry and Sloane?" Charlie asked. "Wait. Never mind. I see your point."
"You're awake!" Ron cried, noticing his previously unconscious older brother lounging comfortably on the couch.
"You're slow on the uptake," Charlie countered, with much the same tone of voice. Ron glared at his older brother and brandished his broomstick like a sword.
"Ronnikins, there is no use for that, especially on Christmas day," Charlie scolded in a dead-on imitation of Molly. "Say, speaking of Christmas, don't I get presents?"
*****
"Mum, where are father and Keiran?" Draco asked Narcissa. He stepped into his mother's study and stopped just by the door. Narcissa looked up from her seat on the couch and the book she was reading.
"Your father and brother had a meeting with the Dark Lord," Narcissa replied. Draco nodded, looking down at his feet. Narcissa surveyed her oldest son with a critical eye. He had grown into a well-built young man. She was sure he could have any girl in school that he wanted, only his attitude stood in the way of that goal.
"Is Keiran really going to go through with it?" Draco asked, looking back at his mother with imploring silver eyes.
"Yes, I believe so. He's the son your father always expected you to be." Draco smiled slightly and stared back at his feet.
"That could be me," he said, tucking a strand of white-blonde hair behind his left ear. Only then did Narcissa notice the cuts on the back of her son's hand.
"Shall I heal that then?" she asked, pointing at his hand and ignoring his statement.
"I'd rather you didn't," Draco said. "I got in a nasty fight with a wall yesterday afternoon and I think I'd like to keep the scars." Narcissa nodded. Draco always was the most passionate of her children, prone to mood swings and following wild tangents. He was also the most creative. Keiran was the sly, secretive one, while Astrid was the most stubborn, determined to prove that she was not like her brothers. Emma was the most levelheaded of the lot, while Barrett had been the group comedian, the most free- spirited.
"How do you feel?" Narcissa asked, returning the imploring gaze. Draco shifted his weight between his feet and chewed nervously on the side of his lip.
"That could be me," he repeated.
"Draco, you made the right choice," Narcissa tried to assure her son.
"People have died because of my choice. How can that be the right choice?" Draco asked, glaring directly at his mother. He knew how to use his eyes as his most powerful weapon and indeed, Narcissa almost bent under her son's gaze.
"Do not blame the deaths of the Alexander family on yourself. Your choice had no affect on that situation what so ever, so don't ever think it did," Narcissa replied.
"Don't be so sure. Lucius and I had a discussion the other night about how I shouldn't have gone to the Yule Ball with," Draco paused and swallowed hard. "Her."
"The trouble with Max and Juliet had been brewing before you took Finley to the Yule Ball," Narcissa said. "The Dark Lord doesn't eradicate entire families because a son of one of his followers took their daughter to the Yule Ball."
"Still, Happy Christmas to me," Draco replied softly. He tucked the strand of hair back behind his ear. "Okay, so my choice didn't effect the Alexanders at all, but explain Barrett. And Keiran." Narcissa remained quiet. "If I had chosen the other way, you would have only lost one child, not two." Narcissa was still speechless, wishing she could effectively counter Draco's argument.
"Draco, look at me," Narcissa commanded quietly. Draco brought his silver-grey eyes up to meet his mother's blue's. "You made a choice. I believe you made the right choice. If you had gotten as far into this as Keiran is, your mouth would have gotten you in trouble, and then who knows what the Dark Lord would have done. He may have killed all of us."
"Still, Barrett," Draco began.
"As cliché as this may sound, Barrett is better off where she is now. And you were her hero for her entire life. Imagine how different that would be if you had chosen differently and she had lived."
"She'd be like Astrid and Emma," Draco muttered.
"I think your sisters are a bit smarter than you give them credit for being," Narcissa said. "Or at least they're beginning to see through the façade you put up for yourself at school and when you're around your father and Keiran."
"They weren't there the night Barrett died, they'll never understand," Draco said.
"No, they weren't there," Narcissa agreed. "And they probably won't understand."
"So what do I do about Astrid when I get back to school?" Draco asked.
"Technically things should probably pick back up right where you left off, but if you can't manage that, ignore her. I know that may be hard, but you don't want Keiran or your father to get suspicious," Narcissa instructed. She sat up on the couch and crossed one leg over the other, looking directly at her son.
"Does she know what's going on with Keiran?" Draco asked. He lowered himself into a sitting position on the floor. His arms hugged his legs to his chest, and he rested his chin on his knees.
"She probably feels some of it through the tie and everything, but I'm pretty sure her little stunt with being put in Gryffindor cut her off from any information anyone would have otherwise passed her way," Narcissa explained.
"Would you really expect anything less from Astrid though?" Draco asked.
"In all honesty, I expected a Ravenclaw," Narcissa replied.
"Come on mum, Astrid? She has enough Slytherin blood in her that they'd kick her out of Ravenclaw in less than three seconds," Draco laughed. "I think Gryffindor is actually a fairly good fit for her. I'll expect Ravenclaw from Emma though."
"Yes, I can see that," Narcissa agreed.
"Granger better watch out. Emma Malfoy might very well upset her title as smartest witch in school," Draco said.
"Do you really think Emma will be as showy as you say that Granger girl is?" Narcissa asked.
"Okay no. Maybe if Emma had her intelligence and Astrid's attitude and Barrett's mouth, then she'd take Granger's place, but as she is now, I don't see it happening," Draco laughed. Narcissa smiled down at her son, smoothing her dark red robe over her knees.
"I don't how you think you can talk about Astrid's attitude. I don't know how you manage to fit yours into Hogwarts." Draco blushed a pale pink.
"You know mum, there is going to come a day really soon when I have break the Prince of Slytherin façade. The Jr. Death Eater meetings are getting rather tedious, and if I have to put up with Parkinson for one more second, I think I shall retch."
"Son, deal with it. You are still, after all Lucius Malfoy's son. The implications that come with that may force you to do things more than deal with Pansy Parkinson and attend Jr. Death Eater meetings," Narcissa said. Draco stretched one plaid flannel clad leg out in front of him and arched his back much like a cat.
"Yes. When I was younger, I had very definite plans about my future. I wanted to be a Quidditch player. Or possibly a grocer. But then my father gave me a very tiresome speech about responsibility and sacrifice. I draw the line at groveling and tattooing though. This Malfoy does not grovel," Draco spat. "Well, not unless it's very beneficial to me."
"Draco, just please keep your mouth shut for a little longer," Narcissa said.
"Yes mother," Draco replied, nodding his head dutifully. "After all, I need more time to redeem myself to Astrid and Emma."
"Very good," Narcissa replied.
"Hey mum, is my room still downstairs?" Draco asked.
"Draco, you haven't been there," Narcissa began, surprised at her son's question.
"Since, yes I know how long it's been. But I want to go back. Is it still there?" Draco asked.
"Yes, just remember your charms," Narcissa replied. Draco nodded at his mother.
"Of course I will," Draco replied. He gracefully moved to his feet and slid over to the couch where his mother sat. "Thank you mum." He leaned down and wrapped his arms around his mother's thin shoulders. She quickly returned his hug. He let go of her and left the room.
"I love you Draco," she whispered to his retreating back. She smiled slightly and looked back to the book on her lap, but she didn't pick it up to read. She was thankful her son had come to talk to her again. In the three, almost four years directly following Barrett's death, Draco had become distant, withdrawn, and all together hard to reach. Narcissa had been afraid he would follow in his father's footsteps even after everything he had been through. But then, during his fourth year at school, Narcissa had received a letter from the boy. The majority of the letter was a rant about being bounced off of the ceiling and how he didn't know which side was good if the supposed good guys would do that to someone. Narcissa hadn't gathered from the letter that her son had been in ferret form when the bouncing took place, but she was glad something had made him begin to question. And while Draco still had massive issues with muggles and muggle- born witches and wizards, Narcissa truly felt he was taking steps in the right direction.
%%%%
After leaving his mother's study, Draco took an immediate left, ducked behind a tapestry and ran down the flight of stairs hidden there. He ran back over the conversation with his mother in his mind.
"Confused," he muttered to himself. "That's what I am. Well, confused and crazy, now that I'm talking to myself." While he knew he didn't particularly like muggles or those of muggle parentage, he couldn't keep the image of Barrett lying cold on the floor of her nursery, curls spread about her head like a halo and brown eyes opened towards nothing, dead, out of his mind. While he hadn't seen Finley, he knew of the Gladium curse and knew enough of its effects that he was thankful for not having seen her. He wasn't sure that anyone deserved to meet either of those fates.
He stepped out of a door at the bottom of the long staircase and turned right. He stopped at the third portrait hole on the left and looked at the portrait. He pressed his hand against a point in the frame, and the portrait immediately swung open. Draco crawled inside the room and surveyed its contents. Everything was covered in at least an inch of dust, but was just as he had left it, the night Barrett died some four and a half years earlier. He pulled out his wand and fired a spell to remove the dust, as well as one to silence all sound coming from the room. The portrait swung closed behind him. He walked over and took a seat on the lone bench in the room. He folded back the cover of the keys on the grand piano. Placing his fingers in an all too familiar position, he closed his eyes and tried to digest the feel of his hands on the cool ivories again. He carefully placed a foot on the cold metal pedal and took a deep breath. As he exhaled, he opened his eyes and began to play.
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*****
"HAPPY CHRISTMAS HAPPY CHRISTMAS HAPPY CHRISTMAS HAPPY CHRISTMAS HAPPY CHRISTMAS!" a Weasley twin screeched, tearing down the stairs in the Burrow as fast as he could from Ron's top floor room.
"HAPPY CHRISTMAS HAPPY CHRISTMAS HAPPY CHRISTMAS HAPPY CHRISTMAS HAPPY CHRISTMAS!" the other one shrieked as he thundered down the stairs after his brother. Harry sat up rather ungracefully in his bed.
"Bloody hell," he mumbled, rubbing his eyes. He clumsily reached over for his glasses. His hand closed around something solid.
"They do this every year," Ron provided from the bed next to Harry's. "If you can go back to sleep quickly and you're lucky, you can get 15 more minutes of sleep. And if you're trying to correct your vision, I hardly think putting my toes on your face is going to help." Harry quickly let go of his best friends foot.
"What time is it?" Braeden asked form the other side of the room.
"If I know the twins, it's before the arse crack of dawn. Six if we're lucky." Braeden finally got his watch to light up.
"5:27," he mumbled, falling backwards onto his pillow with a loud thud.
"HAPPY CHRISTMAS!" a third voice squealed.
"Oh no!" Harry mumbled. "They've got Audra in on it too!"
"We'll never get to go back to sleep," Ron moaned.
"You can't tell me your mum will let them wake everyone in the house up," Braeden said from in between his pillows. He had pressed his face between them to try to drown out the twins' shrieks from downstairs.
"She's not been able to stop them yet," Ron replied. "When we were younger, all they had to do was wake up me and then later, Ginny. Once she or I was awake, that was the end, because mum would get up, and she'd insist on waking everyone else up. Looks as though they're using the same principle only with little Audra instead of me or Ginny. I just don't see me or Ginny being nearly as effective as Audra seems to be. Something about being 14 and 15 and not one of the twins just makes it wrong for us to run through the house squealing at Christmas. I for one would like to get another few hours of sleep, but I suppose."
"RON!" Harry cried. "BREATHE!" Ron stopped rambling and glared at his friend. A sharp knock on the door interrupted anything Ron had been planning to say.
"WAKE UP! IT'S CHRISTMAS!" a voice from in the hall cried.
"Yes, we've got to get up," Ron said. He registered the voice as Bill's. "Now that Bill is awake, none of us will be able to go back to sleep." The door flew open.
"INCOMING!" the oldest Weasley son shouted. He dived towards Harry and Ron's beds, red hair flowing behind him. He landed horizontally on top of Harry and Ron.
"Now get up, it's present time!" Bill screeched. He landed a knee in Ron's side and both elbows in Harry's spine.
"OOOOWWWWWWW!" Ron howled. Harry gasped and tried to regain his breath.
"Get up you two!" Bill insisted. He rolled off his little brother and the brother's best friend. "This would be much easier if Charlie were awake."
"We'd be much deader if Charlie were awake," Ron muttered.
"I don't think deader is a word, Ron," Braeden said from his spot in the corner.
"Let the lard arse jump on you and then tell me deader is not a word," Ron muttered, casting a glare towards Braeden that Braeden couldn't see. Wordlessly, Bill jumped to his feet and dived towards Braeden. Braeden saw the shadowy figure of the oldest Weasley. Before Bill could land on Braeden, Braeden rolled towards Harry and Ron. Bill crashed into the wall with a terrific thud.
"FRED OR GEORGE!" came Molly Weasley's shriek form downstairs.
"What mum?" came the shout of one of the twins.
"We're in here!" came the other one.
"GET THEM MUM!" Ginny cried.
"What was that from Ron's room then?" Molly asked.
"BILL!" chorused Ron, Harry and Braeden.
"WILLIAM GRIFFITH WEASLEY!" Molly cried.
"PRESENT TIME!" Bill shouted. He jumped to his feet and scrambled out of the room. The three teenage boys could hear him thundering down the stairs.
"Does he always act like this?" Braeden asked.
"Well," Ron considered the question for a moment. "Yes."
"COME ON!" Bill shouted back towards the stairs.
"I think we should probably go," Harry said. He stumbled to his feet. Braeden stood up next to Harry, but Ron groaned from between his pillows.
"Do we have to?" he asked.
"RON! Get with it man! PRESENTS!" Harry cried.
"And you've been bitten by the same bug that has gotten into everyone else in this house," Ron muttered.
"You had the same problem on Saturday before the Yule Ball," Harry said.
"I could just carry him," Braeden said.
"I've got a better idea," Harry said. He muttered a spell under his breath and caught the stick that flew towards him as a result.
"That's mine," Braeden said, pointing at the wand in Harry's hand. Harry shrugged, handed the wand to Braeden, and held his hand out to Ron.
"Accio Ron!" Harry said. Before Ron even began rising out of the bed, Harry turned and sprinted from the room.
"Get out of the way Braeden!" Harry cried as he ran past. Braeden ducked just in time for Ron to fly through the doorway above him. Harry sprinted down the stairs with Ron flying right on his heels.
"I promise I'll walk!" Ron cried from his spot in the air behind Harry.
"RIGHT!" Harry said. Braeden was a few steps behind Ron. Harry turned the corner and took off down the second flight of stairs. He could hear voices in the Living Room drawing closer.
"Really Harry, this is quite excessive," Ron muttered.
"You're not the one who is taking a sprint five seconds after being woken up way to early," Harry said. He tore around the corner into the living room where he ducked down, stopping dead in his tracks. Ron flew over his head and landed sprawled across the couch, right in the laps of Ginny, Arabella, Hermione and Natalia.
"Well good morning to you too, Ron," Ginny laughed.
"HAPPY CHRISTMAS!" Bill exclaimed. He danced into the room, arms full of presents; red Santa hat perched on equally red hair. His hair was loose around his shoulders; marking the first time many had seen him without it tied back. He tucked a stray strand behind his ear.
"More presents!" Fred cried. He followed Bill into the room; a green elf hat perched in his red hair.
"AND MORE!" George cried. He had a tea cozy pulled tightly over his red hair. Hermione, Ron and Harry laughed when they saw the younger twin.
"GOODY!" Audra squeaked. She jumped up at Bill and tried to remove a particularly large present from the top of the pile in his hands.
"Whoa little Figg," Bill said. He tried to step in front of his niece.
"Audra, come here," Aberdeen commanded.
"But I want to help distribute the presents," Audra cried.
"Audra, honey, I think I can handle this," Bill replied. He placed his presents in the floor and motioned for Fred and George to do the same. The twins immediately headed back towards the kitchen for more presents. Bill pulled his wand out of the pocket of his pajama pants and pointed it at the pile of presents. Fred and then George ducked under Bill's arms and added the remaining presents to the pile. Bill pointed his wand at the pile. He muttered a few words of Latin and immediately the presents started flying around the room. The largest almost knocked little Audra Figg off of her feet.
"William Weasley, what have I told you about using that charm to distribute presents?" Mrs. Weasley asked from her seat next to Mr. Weasley on the love seat.
"Sorry mum," Bill said sheepishly. He picked up his own pile of presents and took a seat at his wife's feet. Fred sat next to him in front of Hermione, while Braeden took the seat in front of Ginny. Natalia looked particularly distraught when she realized Charlie was not there to sit at her feet.
"Don't worry Natalia," George said. "Ron and I will be your foot warmers." He grabbed Ron's hand and pulled him off of the girls on the couch. The two curled up at Natalia's feet.
"So who is first?" Mrs. Weasley asked, looking around the room at the gathered crowd.
"We gotta take turns?" Gus asked, sounding slightly dismayed. "No offense Mrs. Weasley, but there are like 40 people here. I think this is going to take all morning."
"Augustus Ray Figg!" his father scolded. Gus looked over at his father and shrugged.
"I want to go first!" Audra squealed, jumping up and down behind her largest present.
"Go for it Miss Audra," Molly said. "I believe we will go in order from youngest to oldest." Audra didn't need to be told twice. Little fingers sank into red wrapping paper. Quickly the box was void of all wrappings.
"Hey Gus, toss me your wand!" Audra instructed. "I've got to get rid of this tape somehow!" Aberdeen reached over and pulled the offending object from the present. Audra ripped into the top of the box.
"What is it?" Audra asked, peering into the box. A quick flick of bill's wand made the wrappings and the box disappear.
"What is it?" Audra asked again. Looking at the offending piece of brown leather lying on the floor.
"It's a saddle," Aberdeen replied.
"Why do I need a saddle?" Audra asked, looking up at her father through innocent blue eyes.
"For your new pony," Aberdeen replied.
"Pony?" Audra asked, clapping her small hands twice. "You mean as in real live pony that I can ride on?"
Yes sweetie, that's exactly what we mean," Deidre, Audra and Gus's mother replied. She reached over and ruffled her daughter's thick red curls. "Now open your presents from Gus, Aunt Arabella and Uncle Bill and Grandpa. Everyone is waiting on you."
"I want to see my pony!" Audra demanded.
"The rest of your presents," Deidre said, pointing to the pile at her daughter's feet.
"Dee, maybe we should just take her, it is Christmas after all," Aberdeen suggested.
"By all means, take her," Gus chimed in. "I'm next in this present business."
"Come on miss Audra," We'll go for a quick visit to your pony," Aberdeen stood up and held his hands down to his daughter. She jumped into his arms with an ear-splitting shriek.
"Deen, the floo is in the flower pot on the mantle," Mrs. Weasley said.
"Thanks Molly," Aberdeen replied as he carried his daughter from the room.
"My turn!" Gus exclaimed. He pulled out his wand and muttered a quick charm that divested his gifts of all of their wrappings.
"Impressive, " Bill muttered.
"Fast," said George.
"Efficient," Fred agreed.
"It's not quite a pony but Hogwarts; a History will do," Gus said, turning the book around and around in his hands.
"She got a pony, you got a book. Gus I believe the term you're looking for is shafted," Fred stated simply.
"It's a first edition," Gus replied, off-handedly. Only Bella's hands on Bill's shoulders and Fred's arms around Hermione's knees kept the pair of notorious bookworms from diving across the room and attacking poor Gus.
"Thanks for the sweater Mrs. Weasley and I really like these charms books, Aunt Arabella." Gus pretended not to notice the stir his book caused. He quickly set himself to working through the pile of candies and books from his housemates.
"Is it my turn then?" Ginny asked. Gus nodded mutely, mouth full of chocolate frog. Ginny ripped into her first present. A beautiful Gryffindor- red hooded sweater with a kangaroo pocket tumbled from the box.
"Mum, this is fantastic!" Ginny cried as she tugged the sweater on over her head.
"Arabella helped me pick out the pattern," Molly admitted.
"Does this mean no more letters?" George asked Fred.
"I believe it does," Fred replied.
"It's the end of an era!" George gasped. Ginny ripped into her second present. The long thing box suggested jewelry of some sort. Sure enough, she pulled a small gold locket on the end of a golden braided chain from the box. She popped open the locket and stared at it's contents for a moment before leaning over and whispering something to Braeden that made him turn tomato red.
"Thank you Braeden," came her only publicly audible reply. Arabella helped her fasten the gold heart around her slim throat. She tore into the next package.
"Look at the handle, look at the handle!" Bill urged before she had even fully pulled the wrappings off.
"Thanks Bill and Bella," Ginny said, finally turning the beaters bat over and over in her hands.
"No dear, that was all your brother. You'll find your gift from me a little closer to the bottom of the pile," Bella said
"Did you look at the handle?" Bill asked. Bella cuffed him sharply on the back of his head. Ginny looked down at the handle of the bat. She noticed a tiny "Virginia Eirene Weasley," engraved in the bat's surface.
"Wow, it says my name!" Ginny laughed.
"Yes," Bill said, childish grin plastered on his face.
"Thanks Bill!" Ginny said. She placed the bat on the couch next to her leg. "If any of you boys step out of line, I'm using it on your head." She reached for her next present. Under the wrapping lay a plush blue monkey with neon green ears and blaze orange tummy.
"Jae," Ginny explained, noticing the quizzical looks from everyone in the room. "I told her I wanted an ugly stuffed monkey. It looks as though she came through."
"Open mine next," Bella urged. She pointed at a small thin package lying near the bottom of the stack. Ginny pulled the package and stripped off it's wrapping.
"Thanks Bella, but didn't anyone remember to tell you about my fear of journals?" Ginny asked. She looked from the blue, purple and green book in her hands to glare imploringly at her parents and her oldest brother.
"They might have mentioned it," Bella said. "But this isn't just any old journal. It writes back!" Ginny released a shriek that was probably heard in France and threw the book into the middle of the floor, narrowly missing Braeden's head.
"Go Hermione," she muttered. Wordlessly, Hermione tore into her first gift. It produced a slim-fitting plum-purple turtleneck sweater, courtesy of Mrs. Weasley.
"It's absolutely fantastic," Hermione gushed as she peeled the wrapping from her second present. She produced a beater bat identical to Ginny's, only engraved with Hermione L. Granger, Gryffindor Prefect on the handle. The bat was wrapped with a scrap of parchment covered in writing. She quickly read the note.
Hermione,
The rest of your present isn't exactly tangible yet, but you will thank me later. Just remember that green=guilt and in the mean time use this on any troublemakers.
Bill
"Uh, thanks Bill, I think." Hermione said. Bill smiled evilly and released a demonic laugh for the benefit of the whole room.
"William Weasley," Mrs. Weasley scolded.
"Bill mum, Bill," Bill corrected. Hermione picked up her next present. Fittingly enough, she unwrapped a book. A quick scan of the title lead to her cracking Braeden on his shoulder with the book.
"Beauxbatons: A History. Not funny, Braeden, but I still like it," she laughed. Harry and Ron both groaned.
"Thanks man, now we get to hear useless fact about not only Hogwarts, but Beauxbatons too!" Harry cried. Braeden smiled sweetly over at him.
"Will you open my present now?" Fred asked, looking up at his girlfriend.
"Where is it?" Hermione asked, looking over at the pile of presents still next to her.
"It's the square one," Fred said, pointing to a rather small perfectly square package resting near the bottom of the stack. Hermione pulled it out and pulled off the wrapping. She neatly opened the box and extracted a small snow globe. She looked inside for the miniature figures, but found none.
"It's nice Fred, but I think you forgot something," Hermione said as she shook the small glass orb. Glittery snow fell on the solid white bottom.
"Think of something and concentrate on it," Fred instructed. Hermione screwed her eyes tightly shut in concentration. "I'd advise you not to think of anything embarrassing," he quickly added. He looked over his shoulder at the globe in Hermione's hand.
"Okay, now shake the snow globe and look at it." Hermione gave the glass ball a hard shake and looked at it. Right in the middle, tiny figures of herself and Harry and Ron walking arm in arm towards some unknown destination.
"Fred, that's absolutely amazing!" Hermione said. She shook the globe again and a tiny Fred and Hermione lounging on the roof of Gryffindor tower took the place of Hermione, Ron and Harry. The tiny pieces of snow turned into miniature stars and moons and cascaded around the two little people.
"Bella helped me," Fred admitted, turning as red as Ginny's sweater.
"Thank you so much!" She leaned down and threw her arms around his neck, dropping a chaste kiss right above his right temple.
"Can you hurry up?" Harry asked. He cast a joking glare at Hermione from his spot on the floor beside Braeden.
"Shall I open the one from you next?" Hermione asked. She picked up a long, flat rectangular box from the pile.
"Yes, and then I say we amend this rule so we're not here all day," Harry suggested.
"How do you suggest we do that?" Mrs. Weasley asked.
"Let's keep the order but only open one or two presents each. We can get to the others later on our own time," Harry provided.
"Mum, that's a bloody brilliant plan," Fred said.
"Agreed," Mrs. Weasley finally relented. She cast a glare around the room to silence the cheers that had erupted from the mouths of many gathered. Hermione peeled the paper off of the box from Harry. She extracted a beautiful Eagle quill from it.
"Wow Harry, this is really nice," Hermione said, turning the quill over and over in her hands.
"It goes with Astrid's present," Harry announced proudly. "I'll show you how to activate the charms later, but it is stored inside the journal and its charmed to never run out of ink."
"That's really fantastic," Hermione said, slipping the quill back into its box. "And now it's your turn." Harry smiled quickly at his friend before turning back to his pile of presents. He picked up the largest of the lot and slowly picked the tape away from one edge.
"Harry man, you can't do this again!" Ron insisted.
"I can too!" Harry laughed. He carefully pulled the offending piece of tape away from the red snitch-patterned wrapping.
"Harry James Potter!" Ron exclaimed.
"Harry, please, before he has kittens," the ever sensible Hermione pleaded. On cue, little Alroy leapt into the room, attacking a particularly vicious scrap of wrapping paper.
"I already do thank you very much," Ron said, pointing at the small black and white cat.
"Ron, unless there is something you're not telling us, I don't believe you actually had the kittens," Hermione muttered. "And Harry, could you please expedite the process a bit?"
"I could," Harry said, and he shrugged.
"Now I see why he only wanted to open two presents," Fred muttered.
"Harry, if you don't hurry yourself up, I'm going to charm all of your presents unwrapped and make them hide themselves all over the house so you have to look for them," Bill threatened.
"Oh, all right," Harry finally muttered. He quickly ripped the paper from the package, producing an oddly shaped black leather bag.
"What is it?" He asked, looking at the bag folded neatly in his lap.
"Go on, unfold it," Hermione urged. "It's from both of us." She reached over and smacked Ron lightly in the back of his head. Harry straightened out the bag.
"It's a broom carrying case with pockets for your servicing kit, guards, a snitch, a beater bat, and your uniform!" Ron finally exclaimed. Harry flattened the bag out completely. It was long and rectangular with a strap running from the top left corner to the bottom right. It had a large padded compartment for his broom, with smaller pockets attached to the outside for all of the equipment Ron had named.
"Wow guys, this is absolutely fantastic!" Harry exclaimed.
"You've got another present to open. You can drool over your broom bag later," Bill said. Harry absentmindedly reached for the next present in the pile and ripped the paper off of it, not paying attention to what he held in his hands.
"What is it Harry?" Ron asked, when he realized his friend was paying absolutely no attention to anything besides the broom case. Harry glanced to the other present in his hands.
"It's a beater bat, thanks Bill," he muttered.
"Look at the handle," Bill instructed. Harry glanced at the handle of the bat.
"Harry James Potter, nice Bill," he said.
"Look closer, it does not say Harry James Potter," Bill said. Harry tore his eyes off for the bag to momentarily look at the bat. Only then did he realize that the bat was not the same as the bats Ginny and Hermione had. His bat was much older and had definitely seen heavy use in its day. He spun the bat around in his hands until he found a very small, very worn inscription in the handle. Li-y An- E-ns.
"This was my mum's?" Harry asked quietly. Bill nodded solemnly.
"She gave it to me when she graduated because Charlie had become our seeker and I thought maybe I wanted to be a beater." Harry looked back to the bat lying in his hands.
"Wow, thanks Bill," He muttered. "I think this is the best Christmas present anyone has ever given me."
"Would opening my presents now ruin the moment?" Ron asked quietly. Harry reached around Braeden and whacked Ron's shoulder with the Beater's bat.
"I think you already did," Hermione scolded.
"Go ahead, you great git," Harry said. Ron smiled at his friends.
"Are the three of you always like this?" Bella asked. Hermione and Harry nodded while Ron shook his head "no." The twins, Ginny and Braeden threw their support to Hermione and Harry, while Angelina agreed with Ron.
"I got one too!" Ron exclaimed. "Bill, you've got to be the most original person on the face of the planet!" He brandished his beater's bat threateningly at his oldest brother.
"That, I am," Bill said, bowing gracefully.
"HIS NAME IS MEGARA!" a shrill voice screeched from the kitchen as the sound of little feet tore up the hallway.
"HIS name is Megara? Audra, I believe you're a bit confused there," Gus said, patting his little sister on her head as she jumped into his lap.
"His name is Megara," a sheepish Aberdeen said, sinking into a seat on the floor next to his children. "So what have I missed?"
"Bill Weasley is honestly the most original person I've ever met," Arabella laughed. The four teenagers picked up their matching beater bats and waved them at Aberdeen to illustrate Arabella's point. Aberdeen shrugged.
"You married him."
"Maroon!" Ron cried. He looked at the sweater in his hands. "Other than the color, it's a very lovely sweater mum." Fred and George cackled evilly, and Ron didn't notice the bewildered look on his mother's face. Fred and George laughed once more.
"Finite Incantatem," Arabella muttered, flicking her wand at the sweater. The sweater quickly morphed from maroon to a deep heather grey.
"MUM YOU'RE THE GREATEST!" Ron leapt from his seat, across the living room and into his mother's lap. He flung both arms around her neck and dropped a kiss directly on his forehead.
"I love you too, ickle Ronnikins." Molly said, flashing a grin at the twins around her youngest son. The twins rolled with held in laughter.
"My turn!" Braeden happily exclaimed. He picked up a thin package from the very bottom of his pile. Under the paper was a book similar to the one Ginny had tossed in the floor.
"Good choice of a present to open, Braeden," Arabella said. "Now I can explain myself so maybe Ginny will reconsider my gift." Ginny looked warily at her sister-in-law out of the corner of her eye. Arabella ignored the younger girl and plowed on with her explanation. "Those journals, yes, are charmed to write back to whatever you write in them. However, it's not actually the journal writing back." Ginny looked slightly intrigued. "Ginny, what you write in yours will show up in your book and Braeden's. It works the same way for your book, Braeden." Arabella finished her explanation. Braeden reached over and grabbed Hermione's quill.
"Grab your book Gin, let's try this," he instructed. Ron handed the book over his head to his sister. Braeden opened his book and quickly scribbled something with the quill. Ginny opened the front cover of her book and looked at the front page. She released a little squeak and took the quill from Braeden. She furiously scribbled a reply that made both her and Braeden blush bright red. Hermione leaned over Ginny's shoulder and glanced at the messages on the front pages of Ginny's book.
Gin, I'm sick of this not knowing where we stand stuff. Can we just go ahead and make this official?
Hermione gasped at the note and Ginny glared back at her friend.
Yes
"AWWW!" came Hermione's reply.
"Shove it, Hermione," came Braeden and Ginny's statements.
"Will these work from England to France?" Braeden asked as he scribbled another note and passed the quill back to Ginny.
"That's actually why I made them," Arabella replied. "The twins wrote to me saying that the pair of you were killing Argus and asked if I could do anything about it." Ginny scribbled another note in her book and tossed the quill to Braeden.
"Arabella, this is absolutely fantastic," Ginny said.
"And I think we've lost him. Does this mean I get to go now?" Fred asked.
"No," Angelina shot from across the room. "I do believe I'm younger than the pair of you."
"And I'm younger than you anyway," George said. He elbowed his brother sharply in his ribs. Fred scrambled for Hermione's beater bat but she cracked his knuckles with it before he could grab it to use on his brother.
"HARPIES TICKETS!" Angelina screeched. "GEORGE THIS IS FANTASTIC!" George smiled sheepishly at his ex-girlfriend. She calmed down a bit and looked at him with a sad, almost wistful expression on her face. He smiled again at her, and she reached for another of her presents. She pulled the wrapping from a box of chocolate frogs from her little sister.
"My turn!" George said. He quickly pulled out his wand and pointed it at his presents. A few words of Latin later, and all of his presents were not only unwrapped, but out of their boxes and floating in front of his face one by one.
"The rules were only two," Fred scolded his brother as George observed his presents floating by and thanked the giver of each. At Fred's comment, George flicked his wand at the bat from Bill and it started towards Fred. Fred grabbed his own bat shaped present from the pile and fended off the attacks from the floating bat.
"Boys!" Mrs. Weasley scolded.
*****
"Emmy?" Astrid asked softly. She peeked into her younger sister's room through the door connecting the two girls rooms.
"I'm awake," Emma replied. Astrid tore into the room and dived across Emma, landing on the other side of the bed. She pulled out her wand and began summoning her presents from the other room. One by one the packages zoomed through the door and landed neatly at the foot of the bed in a pile next to Emma's.
"Happy Christmas," Astrid said.
"To you too," Emma said. Astrid pulled the covers up to her nose and glanced over at her sister with a girlish laugh.
"Should we start unwrapping those?" Astrid asked, pointing to the presents with the tip of her nose. Even in flannel pajamas, under several thick quilts, the manor was too cold for anything below the nose to be exposed to the air.
"We should," Emma considered the option. "But it's warm here and it's cold there and I simply think the presents can wait on the house elves.
"It still feels empty without someone lying here in between us wiggling her little tail off to get to the presents," Astrid said.
"Yes," Emma agreed, but the rest of her sentence was cut off.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" A tall blond- haired figure launched himself through the door and across the floor with two massive leaps. A yell escaped from his lips, growing louder each time one of his bare feet hit the cold stone floor. He dived across Emma and with a great flip, landed in the bed right between his little sisters. A neat stack of presents levitated itself through the door behind him and positioned itself right at the end of the bed between the first two.
"It's damned cold out there," the boy muttered, shaking longish blonde hair out of his eyes. He rubbed his hands on the opposite arm, trying to return circulation to the bare limbs. He wore only a pair of green and black plaid flannel pajama pants.
"Well Draco," Astrid said, quickly flinging back the covers. "If you would wear clothes and not run around the manor this early in the morning you probably wouldn't be cold. Draco adjusted his glasses on his nose and scrambled under the covers, glaring at his little sister as he did so. Astrid quickly pulled the covers back to her nose.
"So are we going to get to presents?" Draco asked.
"It's too cold out there still. We decided we could wait on the house elves to open the presents." Draco impatiently wiggled around for a moment.
"Can't we open them now please?" he asked.
"Look, you're acting much like the previous occupant of that spot," Astrid said, looking off to the left side of the bed, away from Draco.
"Has Keiran already been in here?" Draco asked, playing dumb to the fact that his sister was talking about Barrett.
"Since when have either of you ever come in here with us girls to open presents?" Emma asked.
"Since, well," Draco considered the question for a moment. "Since this Christmas. Where is our darling little brother anyway?"
"He's only your little brother," Emma corrected.
"Okay, so where is our darling brother anyway?" Draco amended his statement. Astrid and Emma both shrugged, but all three heard the sound of footsteps and someone singing rather off key to the tune of "Jolly Old Saint Nicholas" out in the hall.
"Evil Uncle Voldemort, pet your pretty snake. Torture all your followers, no matter what they say. Christmas Eve is coming soon, now you dear old man, kill some stupid muggles as many as you can!" Keiran sang.
"Isn't he such a wonderful little person!" Draco muttered. Emma and Astrid both rolled their eyes.
"Do we call him in here?" Emma asked.
"No," Astrid and Draco both hissed. Keiran's voice grew louder as his song changed.
"On the twelfth day of Christmas, my dark lord gave to me 12 Weasleys begging." Draco's arm came heavily across Astrid to keep her from leaping out of the bed and attacking their brother.
"Don't. He knows more nasty stuff than either of us can imagine."
"Eleven Aurors bleeding," Keiran continued with his song. "Ten mums a weeping, nine babies screaming, eight shrunken heads, seven puppies whining, six Gladium curses, five GRYFFINDORS!"
"ASTRID!" Draco hissed, quite loudly. Astrid glared over at her older brother.
"Four muggle heads, three mudbloods, two kittens and a voodoo doll of old DUMMY!" Keiran finished his song with an off-key warble of Dumbledore's not to great nickname. His footsteps stopped just outside the door. He paused for a moment before launching into another carol, most familiar as "Hark the Herald Angels Sing." This song, too, had been Keiran-ified.
"Hark the death eaters sing, joyous from muggle killing. Death to old Dumbledore, Dark Mark in the sky once more! Joyful all ye pure bloods rise, as we stifle mudblood cries. With Lord Voldemort proclaim, reign of blood, death and pain. Hark the death eaters sing, glory to Voldemort, their king."
"You know, I think they used the Gladium curse on her," Draco mumbled, looking down at the presents at the foot of the bed. Astrid reached over and touched her brother's forearm lightly. His eyes fluttered closed.
"Mudbloods scream, are ya' list'ning!" Keiran launched into a fourth carol. "In the lane, blood is glistening. A beautiful sight, we're happy tonight, working for the good Lord Voldemort." Draco's eyes were still closed. Astrid jumped up and tore around the bed and towards the door before Draco or Emma could stop her. She burst through the door and jumped on Keiran just before he could start another carol. She fastened her slim hand around Keiran's throat, just under his jaw and pressed his head into the floor. He looked up at his twin sister, surprise in his blue eyes.
"Never," she began. Keiran's fist came out of nowhere and caught Astrid in her left eye. She didn't loosen her grip on his neck. Keiran swung again, but Astrid ducked a bit and ground her knee into his inner thigh. Before she could inflict any more pain on her twin, she felt herself rising off the ground courtesy of a strong grip on the back of her pajamas. She noticed Keiran rising in a similar fashion and swung herself around to glare at her oldest brother. He had come from the room, pausing only to cast a few charms to make the twins a bit lighter and make the floor a bit warmer, and grabbed a twin in each hand. He had them up about 30 centimeters off of the floor, holding each by the back of their pajamas. He swung them so they faced each other.
"Now. It's Christmas Day. Keiran. If I hear one more of those carols out of your mouth, I will personally see to it that. Well. I'll personally see that you get your little ass kicked." Keiran glared stonily at his older brother, but Draco couldn't take the boy seriously, as his pajama shirt had bunched up around his ears, making him look like an elf with an attitude problem.
"What about the traitor?" Keiran croaked. Astrid's choking had caused his voice to somewhat disappear. Draco lowered Keiran to the ground.
"I'll take care of her," Draco said, smirking at his little brother. He carefully lowered Keiran to the ground. "Now go." He kicked his little brother in his butt to emphasize his point. Keiran glared at Draco and started off down the hall. Astrid still dangled from the back of her pajamas in Draco's grasp. Draco looked to the remaining elf with the attitude problem and cracked a small smirk. Astrid glared at him. Draco carried her back into the room and tossed her back onto the bed. He climbed onto the bed next to her. While the pair had been in the hall, Emma had used Astrid's wand to start a fire in the fireplace, so the room was considerably warmer. Emma had even ventured out from under the covers.
"So you're supposed to be taking care of me," Astrid said, smirking at Draco.
"Okay. So you've obviously been hanging out with the Weasel a bit much, but your fighting style screams Malfoy. He punches. You choked. Points for you. You got hit. That takes away points. Next time pin his arms down with your knees; crossing one foot over to the other knee to protect anywhere he could kick. Try to keep your weight on your legs as much as you can because you don't want him to be able to shift his lower body and throw you off of him." He reached over and ruffled the little girl's head.
"Why this sudden change in your attitude towards Keiran and me?" Astrid asked. Draco shook his head and reached for a present. He handed it to Astrid. Astrid took the gift and accepted the fact that her question would go unanswered.
"Who is this from?" she asked.
"Me," Draco replied.
"You got me a present?" Astrid asked. Draco nodded and smiled sheepishly.
"Well sort of," he shrugged. Astrid pulled off the wrapping paper and found a square wooden box with a lighter star inlaid in the top of it. She flipped it open and the notes to a familiar song drifted out.
"Draco!" she squealed. "You fixed it!"
"The way you'd been clinging to that thing, I figured it was sort of important," Draco shrugged. Astrid's face cracked into a bright smile.
"Thank you so much," she said, turning the box around in her hands. Draco had, in fact, completely fixed the music box so that Astrid couldn't even tell where it had been broken.
"Who gave you that?" Emma asked.
"I did, of course," Draco insisted.
"I mean before. The way the pair of you were talking, it had been broken, meaning someone else had given it to her," Emma said, glaring at her older brother.
"Ron," Astrid admitted. Draco looked slightly surprised. Emma's light blue eyes flashed form her brother to her sister and then back to her brother. Draco pretended not to notice and reached for another present. He handed this one to Emma. Emma quickly peeled back the wrapping.
"Thanks Draco," Emma said, looking over the journal in her hands. Draco handed a small package to Astrid. Astrid took the package in her left hand and caught Draco's left hand in her right. She turned his hand and ran her thumb over his knuckles.
"You might want to get mum to check that out," she suggested. Draco winced visibly as her thumb trailed over one of the cuts.
"I'll be alright," Draco countered. He quickly shook Astrid off of his hand and grabbed a package for himself. The package was oddly shaped, small and circular.
"It looks as though you've got one just like this," Draco said, looking from the package in his hand to the packages remaining in Astrid's pile.
"Who are they from?" Astrid asked. Draco quickly checked the tag on the package.
"Keiran," he said. He tossed Astrid her present. "This should be interesting." He began to peel the wrapping from his present. Astrid quickly tore into hers.
"COAL!" Astrid cried, looking at the black rocks lying in her hands.
"What's the bet Lucius put him up to it?"
*****
"GOD BLESS US, EVERYONE!" a female voice shrieked from the kitchen of the Burrow.
"Uh, I think you're a bit wrong on that one," a male voice said.
"HEY GINNY! SOMETHING ABOUT NICK AND PRESENTS!" the girl screeched.
"What about naked presents?" Fred asked. Hermione smacked him sharply on his arm.
"Wouldn't Happy Christmas work just as well?" A different male voice asked.
"It would, only that's not quite as much fun," the girl replied.
"TONKS!" the twins chorused.
"TWINS!" Tonks shouted. She sprinted around the corner into the living room and vaulted towards the couch. She landed on the twins, Hermione and Natalia who were all sitting on the couch. Tonks rolled over and reclined on her back on the four people. Her red, green and gold hair streamed out across one of the arm rests. She rested her elbow on Fred's knee and rested her head in her hand, while crossing her left foot over her right knee.
"Happy Christmas, Tonks," Hermione said, looking down at the girl half lying in her lap.
"To you too, Hermione," Tonks said. She quickly pulled her hands to her face to muffle a large sneeze escaping from her smallish nose. When she pulled her hands away, it looked like she had traded noses with one Severus Snape.
"Wow, I hate it when that happens," she muttered, crossing her eyes to look down at the tip of the nose.
"Just as long as you don't get the greasy hair to go with it," Fred laughed.
"I can change my hair but manufacturing that much grease is physically impossible, even for a metamorphmagus," Tonks laughed.
"Did I hear Nympho Tonks in here screeching like a Banshee?" A very bleary-eyed Charlie Weasley asked from just inside the room.
"Oh shove it," Tonks began.
"Charlie!" Natalia's girlish squeal finished the sentence for Tonks.
"Holy!" Tonks began.
"TONKS!" Fred, George and Hermione chorused, to drown out the string of expletives Tonks spewed as she fell to the floor when Natalia jumped up. Natalia stepped neatly over Tonks and dived into the slightly unsteady arms of her boyfriend.
"Hey mum!" Fred shouted, "Charlie's awake."
"CHARLIE!" Molly shrieked, and everyone heard her quick footsteps pounding down the stairs.
"Sirius, Remus and Harry," Tonks began. "Charlie's awake," Remus supplied. He and Sirius appeared around the corner with Harry close on their heels.
"Charlie's awake?" Ginny asked. She stepped out of the doorway leading to the basement with Braeden just behind her.
"Wow, I feel important. People are literally crawling out of the woodwork because I'm awake," Charlie joked. "How long have I been out anyway?"
"Since the 21st," Hermione supplied. "It's now Christmas day." Charlie shook his head with slight disbelief.
"Weren't Bill and Arabella supposed to be sitting with you?" Molly asked.
"Errr," Charlie hesitated. "Yes." Natalia motioned him to her now empty seat on the couch.
"I oughta," Molly turned towards the stairs.
"You really oughta not go up there," Charlie said. He turned a shade of that infamous Weasley red.
"Oh," Molly said, turning bright red herself.
"So what happened in the days I've been out?" Charlie asked, easing the silent tension in the room.
"Freedom!" Sirius exclaimed.
"Freedom?" Charlie asked.
"Peter Pettigrew is in Azkaban, and I'm officially free now," Sirius said with a broad smile.
"And officially a pain our arses ever since," Tonks muttered. She still lay stretched out on the floor.
"Oh be nice," Molly scolded Tonks. Tonks looked quite sheepish. "And could you please change your nose back?" Tonks closed her eyes, face screwed up in intense concentration. A moment later, the identical twin of Molly Weasley lay in the floor where Tonks had been.
"Is this better?" she asked.
"Not exactly," Molly replied.
"What happened to the rest of the Death Eaters?" Charlie asked. "Was anyone else hurt in the attack?"
"Well, we caught nine of the ones at the wedding, and they're all in Azkaban right now. No one else from the wedding was hurt, but the attack was actually simply a distraction so more Death Eaters could kill a family not too far from London. It kept most of the good Aurors away from the scene," Sirius explained.
"Kill?" Charlie asked.
"Max and Juliet Alexander, along with their daughter Finley and their son Reece were killed in the other attack. Miraculously, however, their two year old daughter Sloane survived," Molly said.
"What about Sloane?" Charlie asked.
"Remus over there actually adopted Sloane since the rest of her family is dead," Sirius said.
"So Remus is a father now," Charlie laughed. Remus and Sirius both nodded.
"And this baby is going to live in a flat with the three of you?" Charlie asked, nodding towards Remus, Sirius and Tonks.
"Either that or we're moving in with Bill and Bella, we haven't quite decided yet," Tonks said.
"Oh my," Charlie said. "Somehow I don't think the five of you should be able to have a baby."
"A baby and me," Harry added.
"You're going to live with Sirius over the holidays?" Hermione asked. Harry nodded.
"I'm going to Harry's house next summer then," Ron declared. He and Angelina straggled through the front door dragging brooms behind them.
"You really want to stay in a house with Sirius, Remus, Tonks, Bill, Bella, Harry and Sloane?" Charlie asked. "Wait. Never mind. I see your point."
"You're awake!" Ron cried, noticing his previously unconscious older brother lounging comfortably on the couch.
"You're slow on the uptake," Charlie countered, with much the same tone of voice. Ron glared at his older brother and brandished his broomstick like a sword.
"Ronnikins, there is no use for that, especially on Christmas day," Charlie scolded in a dead-on imitation of Molly. "Say, speaking of Christmas, don't I get presents?"
*****
"Mum, where are father and Keiran?" Draco asked Narcissa. He stepped into his mother's study and stopped just by the door. Narcissa looked up from her seat on the couch and the book she was reading.
"Your father and brother had a meeting with the Dark Lord," Narcissa replied. Draco nodded, looking down at his feet. Narcissa surveyed her oldest son with a critical eye. He had grown into a well-built young man. She was sure he could have any girl in school that he wanted, only his attitude stood in the way of that goal.
"Is Keiran really going to go through with it?" Draco asked, looking back at his mother with imploring silver eyes.
"Yes, I believe so. He's the son your father always expected you to be." Draco smiled slightly and stared back at his feet.
"That could be me," he said, tucking a strand of white-blonde hair behind his left ear. Only then did Narcissa notice the cuts on the back of her son's hand.
"Shall I heal that then?" she asked, pointing at his hand and ignoring his statement.
"I'd rather you didn't," Draco said. "I got in a nasty fight with a wall yesterday afternoon and I think I'd like to keep the scars." Narcissa nodded. Draco always was the most passionate of her children, prone to mood swings and following wild tangents. He was also the most creative. Keiran was the sly, secretive one, while Astrid was the most stubborn, determined to prove that she was not like her brothers. Emma was the most levelheaded of the lot, while Barrett had been the group comedian, the most free- spirited.
"How do you feel?" Narcissa asked, returning the imploring gaze. Draco shifted his weight between his feet and chewed nervously on the side of his lip.
"That could be me," he repeated.
"Draco, you made the right choice," Narcissa tried to assure her son.
"People have died because of my choice. How can that be the right choice?" Draco asked, glaring directly at his mother. He knew how to use his eyes as his most powerful weapon and indeed, Narcissa almost bent under her son's gaze.
"Do not blame the deaths of the Alexander family on yourself. Your choice had no affect on that situation what so ever, so don't ever think it did," Narcissa replied.
"Don't be so sure. Lucius and I had a discussion the other night about how I shouldn't have gone to the Yule Ball with," Draco paused and swallowed hard. "Her."
"The trouble with Max and Juliet had been brewing before you took Finley to the Yule Ball," Narcissa said. "The Dark Lord doesn't eradicate entire families because a son of one of his followers took their daughter to the Yule Ball."
"Still, Happy Christmas to me," Draco replied softly. He tucked the strand of hair back behind his ear. "Okay, so my choice didn't effect the Alexanders at all, but explain Barrett. And Keiran." Narcissa remained quiet. "If I had chosen the other way, you would have only lost one child, not two." Narcissa was still speechless, wishing she could effectively counter Draco's argument.
"Draco, look at me," Narcissa commanded quietly. Draco brought his silver-grey eyes up to meet his mother's blue's. "You made a choice. I believe you made the right choice. If you had gotten as far into this as Keiran is, your mouth would have gotten you in trouble, and then who knows what the Dark Lord would have done. He may have killed all of us."
"Still, Barrett," Draco began.
"As cliché as this may sound, Barrett is better off where she is now. And you were her hero for her entire life. Imagine how different that would be if you had chosen differently and she had lived."
"She'd be like Astrid and Emma," Draco muttered.
"I think your sisters are a bit smarter than you give them credit for being," Narcissa said. "Or at least they're beginning to see through the façade you put up for yourself at school and when you're around your father and Keiran."
"They weren't there the night Barrett died, they'll never understand," Draco said.
"No, they weren't there," Narcissa agreed. "And they probably won't understand."
"So what do I do about Astrid when I get back to school?" Draco asked.
"Technically things should probably pick back up right where you left off, but if you can't manage that, ignore her. I know that may be hard, but you don't want Keiran or your father to get suspicious," Narcissa instructed. She sat up on the couch and crossed one leg over the other, looking directly at her son.
"Does she know what's going on with Keiran?" Draco asked. He lowered himself into a sitting position on the floor. His arms hugged his legs to his chest, and he rested his chin on his knees.
"She probably feels some of it through the tie and everything, but I'm pretty sure her little stunt with being put in Gryffindor cut her off from any information anyone would have otherwise passed her way," Narcissa explained.
"Would you really expect anything less from Astrid though?" Draco asked.
"In all honesty, I expected a Ravenclaw," Narcissa replied.
"Come on mum, Astrid? She has enough Slytherin blood in her that they'd kick her out of Ravenclaw in less than three seconds," Draco laughed. "I think Gryffindor is actually a fairly good fit for her. I'll expect Ravenclaw from Emma though."
"Yes, I can see that," Narcissa agreed.
"Granger better watch out. Emma Malfoy might very well upset her title as smartest witch in school," Draco said.
"Do you really think Emma will be as showy as you say that Granger girl is?" Narcissa asked.
"Okay no. Maybe if Emma had her intelligence and Astrid's attitude and Barrett's mouth, then she'd take Granger's place, but as she is now, I don't see it happening," Draco laughed. Narcissa smiled down at her son, smoothing her dark red robe over her knees.
"I don't how you think you can talk about Astrid's attitude. I don't know how you manage to fit yours into Hogwarts." Draco blushed a pale pink.
"You know mum, there is going to come a day really soon when I have break the Prince of Slytherin façade. The Jr. Death Eater meetings are getting rather tedious, and if I have to put up with Parkinson for one more second, I think I shall retch."
"Son, deal with it. You are still, after all Lucius Malfoy's son. The implications that come with that may force you to do things more than deal with Pansy Parkinson and attend Jr. Death Eater meetings," Narcissa said. Draco stretched one plaid flannel clad leg out in front of him and arched his back much like a cat.
"Yes. When I was younger, I had very definite plans about my future. I wanted to be a Quidditch player. Or possibly a grocer. But then my father gave me a very tiresome speech about responsibility and sacrifice. I draw the line at groveling and tattooing though. This Malfoy does not grovel," Draco spat. "Well, not unless it's very beneficial to me."
"Draco, just please keep your mouth shut for a little longer," Narcissa said.
"Yes mother," Draco replied, nodding his head dutifully. "After all, I need more time to redeem myself to Astrid and Emma."
"Very good," Narcissa replied.
"Hey mum, is my room still downstairs?" Draco asked.
"Draco, you haven't been there," Narcissa began, surprised at her son's question.
"Since, yes I know how long it's been. But I want to go back. Is it still there?" Draco asked.
"Yes, just remember your charms," Narcissa replied. Draco nodded at his mother.
"Of course I will," Draco replied. He gracefully moved to his feet and slid over to the couch where his mother sat. "Thank you mum." He leaned down and wrapped his arms around his mother's thin shoulders. She quickly returned his hug. He let go of her and left the room.
"I love you Draco," she whispered to his retreating back. She smiled slightly and looked back to the book on her lap, but she didn't pick it up to read. She was thankful her son had come to talk to her again. In the three, almost four years directly following Barrett's death, Draco had become distant, withdrawn, and all together hard to reach. Narcissa had been afraid he would follow in his father's footsteps even after everything he had been through. But then, during his fourth year at school, Narcissa had received a letter from the boy. The majority of the letter was a rant about being bounced off of the ceiling and how he didn't know which side was good if the supposed good guys would do that to someone. Narcissa hadn't gathered from the letter that her son had been in ferret form when the bouncing took place, but she was glad something had made him begin to question. And while Draco still had massive issues with muggles and muggle- born witches and wizards, Narcissa truly felt he was taking steps in the right direction.
%%%%
After leaving his mother's study, Draco took an immediate left, ducked behind a tapestry and ran down the flight of stairs hidden there. He ran back over the conversation with his mother in his mind.
"Confused," he muttered to himself. "That's what I am. Well, confused and crazy, now that I'm talking to myself." While he knew he didn't particularly like muggles or those of muggle parentage, he couldn't keep the image of Barrett lying cold on the floor of her nursery, curls spread about her head like a halo and brown eyes opened towards nothing, dead, out of his mind. While he hadn't seen Finley, he knew of the Gladium curse and knew enough of its effects that he was thankful for not having seen her. He wasn't sure that anyone deserved to meet either of those fates.
He stepped out of a door at the bottom of the long staircase and turned right. He stopped at the third portrait hole on the left and looked at the portrait. He pressed his hand against a point in the frame, and the portrait immediately swung open. Draco crawled inside the room and surveyed its contents. Everything was covered in at least an inch of dust, but was just as he had left it, the night Barrett died some four and a half years earlier. He pulled out his wand and fired a spell to remove the dust, as well as one to silence all sound coming from the room. The portrait swung closed behind him. He walked over and took a seat on the lone bench in the room. He folded back the cover of the keys on the grand piano. Placing his fingers in an all too familiar position, he closed his eyes and tried to digest the feel of his hands on the cool ivories again. He carefully placed a foot on the cold metal pedal and took a deep breath. As he exhaled, he opened his eyes and began to play.