"Look, Zephari! Here comes Athen!" Zoë cried happily one morning.
Zephari looked up and smiled to herself. It was not Athen, but Alba. Alba glided down in front of her, a letter tied to her leg. Zephari took it, but decided not to open it in front of her friends. She pocketed it, her friends staring at her as she did so. They dared not ask why, though, so they all returned to their breakfasts.
Moments later, Athen himself landed in front of her. Zephari took his letter, which was from The Burrow.
Dear girls,
I know that you three have probably made friends by now but we're all staying at The Burrow during the holidays. You three are invited to come home as well, but no friends this year. That will come with time. Everyone else has already assured us during the summer holidays that they will be coming home. Send your answer back to us with Athen, he likes it here.
Sincerely,
Charlie
Zoë and Dante leaned over her shoulders to read it. Zoë rolled her eyes. "Obviously we'll be going home for Christmas!" She exclaimed.
Dante nodded and Zephari scribbled a quick note on the back of the letter, attaching it to Athen's leg. "Bring this to The Burrow, alright? Feel free to laze around a bit, too." She told him, smoothing his wings.
He bobbed his head and nipped gently at her finger before leaping into the air, proceeding with a powerful downbeat. She was somewhat envious of him for his ability to be so graceful, yet so menacing. She watched him fly off before noticing Alba circling. She smiled lightly to herself. Alba would come find her when she finished her response to Sirius.
She felt remarkably happier after breakfast, light on her feet as she went to Defence Against the Dark Arts. She sat at her usual spot, last row, with Dante and Zoë on either side. Liam and Xander sat in the row in front of them. Annabelle, Abe and James sat at the row second-nearest to the front. The front was occupied by Natasha and Nathaniel. They always sat in the same places.
"Good morning." Draco Malfoy said, looking them over. "I trust you all finished your essays on werewolves? Yes? Good, put them on my desk now if you please."
Zephari took out her essay, two rolls of parchment as requested. Dante and Zoë did the same, Dante's slightly longer and Zo's largely scrawled. She saw that Xander and Liam's were both just under the limit and that Abe's was horribly short in comparison. "I'll take them." She offered, picking them up from her friends and bringing them up to the professor's desk.
"Thank you, Mrs. Black." He said, nodding.
Zephari grinned impishly before striding away, having left a tightly folded piece of parchment alongside her essay asking him if he and Sirius were staying at The Burrow for the holidays as well. The class went rather well, as it was spent on clearing a few misconceptions about werewolves. She found werewolves intriguing, probably because one had been her great-grandfather's close friend back when he was alive.
It was a double period and the last before the holidays, as they had Friday afternoons off. When the bell rang for lunch, Zephari beamed at her cousins as they gathered their things. She was prepared to follow the babbling Gryffindors out of the room when Draco's voice rang out. "Miss Black, a moment, if you please?" He asked.
Zephari motioned her friend ahead, turning to face him. "I got a letter from Sirius today, but I haven't had time to read it." She said brightly.
"Yes, I gathered as much, due to your note. He explains everything in his letter." Draco informed her with a small smirk.
"He's a good guy, Uncle Draco." She told him with an evil grin, "Too bad he's doomed to be in Slytherin."
"Too bad you're a Gryffindor, you mean." He replied.
"I'd rather be a healthy Gryffindor than a constantly sniffling Slytherin." She countered, "The cold and damp just doesn't agree with me."
He chuckled, "Read your letter, Zephari, then hurry off to lunch." He told her.
Draco swept out of the room with his normal stalking walk. Zephari was happy for his invitation to stay behind and read the letter from his son. It was good that he did not disagree with their correspondence. She took the letter out of her pocket and ripped it open:
Dear Zeph,
Sorry for the long wait for a reply, school has been particularly difficult, dark and gloomy lately. I received a letter from father just now, looking like he was having a fit of apoplexy while he was writing. Apparently, we're spending the holidays at The Burrow. My brother won't come; he hates the Weasleys' place. I find it better than Snape's place, after all. Snape isn't coming, father says that he can't stand spending more than two months a year out of the Slytherin dungeons.
All is well here, though I can't wait to switch over to Hogwarts. Durmstrang's too dark for even my liking. I like dungeons, but those here give anyone who enters them without full winter gear pneumonia. I guess that means I'll be in Slytherin after all. (Don't you smirk so smugly at me.)
Give Zoë and Dante my regards and greetings. (You're smirking again.)
Sincerely,
Sirius
Zephari grinned at the letter. She missed her friend, though she had only known him for a short time. She put the letter back in her pocket and ran down the many steps to the Great Hall. She sat happily between her cousins.
"Did Christmas come early?" Natasha asked, grinning.
"Nah, Zeph hates holidays." Dante replied, "What's up?"
"We've got visitors over the holidays." Zephari said brightly.
"Oh, who?" Zoë asked eagerly.
"Sirius and Draco." Zephari answered, smirking at their expressions of horror.
"And 'Sev'?" Dante asked rather mockingly.
"He refuses to leave his dark, gloomy dungeons for more than two months a year." Zephari said glumly.
Zoë and Dante rolled their eyes at her. "There goes our holiday fun." Dante muttered.
"Ah well, at least 'Sev' won't be there to ruin it even more." Zoë told her.
"True." Dante agreed.
"Worst comes to worst, Zeph will go off with Sirius and we'll be able to cause mayhem with Mandy. We can train her up to replace Zephari in two years." Zoë said with a grin.
Zephari raised an eyebrow. "You can't cause mayhem without me, I make all the plans." She said smugly.
Zoë sighed dramatically, "Too true. How will we survive?" She moaned.
"We won't." Dante said bluntly, "We'll turn into goody-goods like Anna and let the Weasley reputation rot."
Zephari smirked, "Which is why you can't replace me. You also don't need to worry about doing so, as I won't leave you two for Sirius. Best friends and cousins come before boys, always."
Dante grinned broadly, "We made that pact when we were six." She said happily.
"And we still live by it." Zoë agreed, hugging Zephari around the shoulders, "Remember, we know where you live so don't try anything."
"Hurry up, Zoë! We'll miss the train!" Dante called up the stairs.
"No we won't, we've got three hours." Zephari corrected.
Alexis burst into the room. "That's it, Zoë, you're slower than a Bowtruckle so we're going to help you pack!" She announced.
That was all the warning she got before Alexis and Brandy Weasley invaded her room. The two girls packed what they deemed necessary into Zo's bag, ignoring her vehement protests, and lugged it down the stairs. Zoë followed, having turned a rather bright red in embarrassment.
"What took you so long, anyways?" Zephari asked her as they headed down the stairs, each carrying a bag full of their keepsakes.
"I'm a slow packer." Zoë said evasively.
In truth, she had gotten distracted by staring at a few pictures she and her housemates had taken. The smiling faces of Liam, Xander, James, Nate, Nat, Abe and Anna would be greatly missed during the short time she would be away. Nat's wry humour, Anna's quiet agreement, Abe's rowdiness, Nate's quiet presence, James's loyalty, Liam's obvious adoration of Zephari and Xander's quiet acceptance of everything would be seriously lacking. The Weasleys were spunky by nature; the odd few who were not were rule-bound and strict. Chiharu was staying at Hogwarts for the holidays, making her feel rather alone.
"Cheer up, Zoë, everyone will still be here when we get back." Dante told her.
"Yeah, it's not like before." Zephari said quietly, "No one is going to vanish and Christmas with the Weasleys is always fun!"
"I wonder what new tricks Uncles Fred and George have created to test on us." Zoë said, cheering quickly.
The majority of the still school-bound Weasleys and Zoë proceeded to take over the majority of the train. The more raucous few – those whose parents were Fred and George Weasley – managed to keep the lot entertained throughout the long ride. Zoë cheered up steadily on the way back, soon anticipating their arrival along with the rest. It was not every Christmas that she got to spend with Dante and Zephari, who only came every three years or so.
When the train pulled in at King's Cross, Zoë could not help but follow the excited Weasleys to their waiting relatives in a rush. It was amusing to see how many of the Weasley children were still in school. Zoë found herself being pulled into a hug courtesy of Molly Weasley. She grinned and hugged her back.
"Well, let's get a move on, shall we?" Arthur Weasley called jovially, looking over the large group.
"How're we getting home?" Dante asked curiously.
"Granddad managed to get his hands on another Muggle car, and he enchanted this one too." Ralph whispered to the three first years.
"Grandmum forbade him to enchant it to fly, but he didn't listen." Ralph's twin, Scott, added, grinning.
"Of course, now he's got this whole spell on it so that only he can make it fly." Ralph said with a small frown.
"Pity, I say." Scott agreed.
Zoë giggled as they were led out to parking lot, various Muggles staring at the large amount of red-headed people. The car looked plain enough, a blue Ford Anglia, - "Same as the one he had before." Scott told them, - but it managed to fit all of the Weasley children inside it.
"What happened to the last one?" Zoë asked them.
"Uncles Ron and Harry hit the Whomping Willow with it in their second year." Ralph said casually, scooting over so there would be enough room for Spring, Summer, Fern and Willow in the backseat.
"Then it went off to live in the Forbidden Forest." Scott added, scooting over even more so that Alexis, Aleanor and Alexandre could pile in as well.
"Why didn't he just get a minivan?" Alexis grumbled as she closed the door beside her.
"Because he loved that car." Alexandre grunted from where he was shoved between Alexis and Aleanor.
"It's got a nifty spell on it, but it's not nearly big enough for the entire Weasley brood." Spring agreed.
Arthur, however, appeared to be deaf to all this and drove all the way back to The Burrow without hearing their criticism or ideas on how to improve or what to replace his car with. When they arrived home, the children spilled out eagerly, as if ejected by their seats.
"Happy Christmas!" Amanda cried eagerly, running out of the house in a large winter cloak and Alexis's old robes.
"Merry Christmas!" The others chimed in unison before filling up the house.
"Happy belated birthday, Mandy." Zoë said affectionately, giving her cousin a present.
"Too bad you're just a month off the cut-off date." Dante added sympathetically, ruffling her hair.
Amanda's face fell, but Zephari grinned and managed to cheer her up, "C'mon, you can show us all the decorations that have been put up." She urged.
The little girl beamed and ran off singing 'Bless Ye Merry Hippogriffs'.
The Burrow was like nowhere else at Christmas, except perhaps Hogwarts. Zephari stared around at the lavish decorations – never-melting ice sculptures, icicles hanging from shelves and banisters, wreaths and garlands of every colour dangling everywhere – which made it seem as if she were dreaming. She entered the kitchen to find it full of the older Weasleys and two she did not know.
"Ah, there they are!" Uncle Charlie said, standing up, "Zephari, come here for a moment, please? There're two people I want you to meet."
Zephari nodded and walked over, confused as to who these two people were. They looked vaguely familiar and fit in well with the Weasleys. One of them was taller than the other, with short brown hair, vivid brown eyes and a strong, square chin. The other was only a bit shorter, with short red hair, sharp blue eyes and a muscular build. They both had a small dusting of freckles across their noses, the first of which's was slightly larger than average.
"Zeph, these are your Uncles Harry and Albus."
She stared at them in shock. Her two real uncles had finally come to see her? The two crazed Aurors that were so involved with their work that they dared not come see her as she reminded them too much of her mother were sitting there, in front of her, within reach. They would feel no misgivings about speaking of her and, she knew, it would do them good to finally talk about their sister.
"Hullo." She said shyly, blushing slightly.
"Sorry it took us so long to come and see you, Zephari." Albus said calmly, reaching out a large hand for her to shake. "We've been... busy."
"You're here now." She said quietly, taking his hand and shaking it.
"So much like Athen... yet every bit of you is Lily." Harry mused quietly before extending his hand, "I don't see why we spent so long away."
Zephari smirked and hugged them both. She obviously surprised them with this, though Albus was pleased and hugged her back. Harry was slower to accept it and had a slightly pained look at first before returning her display of affection. She looked up at the two of them when they released her, knowing that she rarely looked at anyone with such an expression. She could not explain it... it seemed that family ties were stronger than absence or never meeting.
"I'm told you two are great Aurors." She said, staring up at one then the other. "I heard that you went after those who.... Who killed Mum." She said shakily, "I just wish you hadn't changed so much. She wouldn't have wanted you to spend the rest of your days ignoring family and chasing after Death Eaters."
They looked rather shocked, but she felt Charlie's approving gaze and took heart from that.
"How..." Harry faltered.
"I told you she was every bit like Lily at heart." Charlie said, amusedly.
Harry grimaced slightly, "It's uncanny." He admitted.
"Like having a girl Athen saying what Lily would." Albus added.
"I can act like Dad too." Zephari said stoutly, glaring at them and crossing her arms.
Her two uncles laughed.
"Indeed you can." Albus said with a small smile.
"Harry? Albus?" Elida's voice said incredulously from the other end of the kitchen.
"Who died?" Fern whispered, shocked.
"Nobody did." Harry scowled, "Or are we not allowed visiting The Burrow any-"
He was cut off by his sister barrelling straight into his chest and grabbing him a fierce hug. Albus laughed slightly at his stunned expression. "You can't expect them not to be shocked, Harry, you hole yourself up in your house all the time."
"And you don't?" Harry retorted as Elida released him to hug her eldest brother.
"Of course not, I hole myself up in my office." Albus replied easily, hugging her back.
"What made you two come out of hiding?" Elida asked, sitting down beside Harry.
"Let's just say we owed you all a visit." Albus said evasively, though Zephari noticed that he cut off Harry as he said this.
"A nice Christmas surprise." Charlie added, grinning at his two nephews.
"Ha! I knew Ryan would regret staying at Hogwarts for the holidays!" Thomas cried gleefully.
"Well, he's expected to stay at the school isn't he?" Zoë asked.
"To the contrary, no." Carly said impishly, "He just wanted to stay because he wanted to spend more time with Noelle."
"Noelle?" Harry asked, looking blank.
"Finnigan. She's a Prefect for Ravenclaw. They both decided to use that as an excuse to stay at Hogwarts, away from their siblings." Elida explained, trying to look innocent.
"Ryan's got a girlfriend?" Harry sounded incredulous.
Albus began to chuckle, though his brother remained oblivious to it. Zephari noticed the grins on her other uncles' and aunts' faces as they watched Harry turn a violent shade of magenta.
"He's too young to have a girlfriend!" Harry spluttered.
"He's fifteen, Harry." Albus pointed out mildly.
"So? He should wait until he's at least sixteen before having a girlfriend." Harry raged.
"What a difference." Albus rolled his eyes.
Molly smiled at the two, "Nice to have you back, boys." She told them fondly.
"Thanks, Grandmum." Albus said, smiling back at her while his brother ranted on.
"It's not right to be dating at that age!" Harry finished, slumping into his seat.
"If my memory doesn't fail me, you were the one that was caught kissing Shelly Bottlebrook behind a suit of armour in your fourth year." Albus informed him mildly. "I must say, it was a very odd thing to walk in on: my little brother kissing somebody like that..."
The kitchen filled with laughter as Harry flushed brightly. Albus was obviously amused and had a slightly haughty look as well. Zephari supposed that Harry was reminiscent of her Uncle Ron and that Albus was like her Aunt Hermione. She had never met them, but from the looks on the others' faces, she was right.
"I still say..." Harry trailed off.
"Hate to tell you, Harry, but your wisdom is tainted." Fred said brightly, having walked in just in time to hear his outburst.
"No matter how little women you've kissed since then." George added.
"Though I do remember Shelly as being quite a nice catch back then." Seamus mused, having followed the twins in.
"Too bad she ended up getting married to that ugly bloke." Albus sighed, patting his brother on the shoulder, "He hasn't been the same since."
"Who, the bloke or Harry?" Seamus asked, grinning.
"Both." Albus admitted. "The bloke's gotten uglier and Harry's gotten surlier."
"Women bring nothing but trouble." Fred finished, "Hello dear." He added, kissing his wife Angelina on the cheek.
"Indeed." George agreed, putting an arm around his wife Alicia's waist and planting a kiss on her forehead.
"Yuck." Amanda muttered from behind Zephari, who had been watching the conversation raptly from the corner of the table.
"So, how's business you three?" Molly asked proudly.
"Well, we just launched the Garbling Gases and they've sold like fire." Seamus said happily as the twins were bombarded with children and wives, "It's amazing that the Skiving Snackboxes are still so popular and the Canary Creams' sales have just gone up again."
"My theory is that people like pulling pranks over the holidays as much as we do." Fred said amiably.
"Quite." George agreed, hugging Summer and Spring.
Angelina was glaring at them. "Don't you give the children any ideas." She said firmly.
"Too late." Ralph said with a smirk.
"We've got some new tricks this year." Scott added.
"You two had better not sneak anything into anybody's food this year." Their mother told them.
"Why not?" William, the eldest of hers and Fred's children asked innocently, "The last time they did we children spent a nice evening with our parents giggling madly whenever we said 'the'."
"We've managed to make more varieties of Giggling Goodies, actually." Ralph informed his brother brightly.
"Flavours ranging from chocolate to strawberry to vanilla." Scott explained, "As well as responding to the names of any utensils, plants or pronouns."
"Wonderful!" Fred said brightly, then saw his wife glaring at him, "I mean... boys, you had better not abuse your creativity and magically gifted brains."
Angelina rolled her eyes. "Not quite what I was expecting from you, Fred."
"Ah, well that's all for the better isn't it? I mean, it would be boring if I was predictable." Fred informed her.
Zephari giggled slightly. She liked spending time with the Weasleys. They were all crazy and fun; especially the numerous twins. Now that she had her two eldest real uncles there, she could not be happier. She even joined in when William started singing a Muggle song called 'Celebrate'. She liked the chorus, which said 'Celebrate good times!' often. It suited her mood.