Chapter 64
Christmas Eve

Bill jumped up so quickly that his chair tipped over, landing with a loud crash against the wall. He swore rather loudly and Fleur stood up saying something loud in French. Both of them had orange pumpkin juice down their fronts. Ron put his hands up in apology and the table was suddenly full of people talking, some yelling at Bill, some telling them to stop yelling, some apologizing to the company for the mess, some telling Ron he needed to learn how to eat without spilling like Tonks always did, Remus saying that everyone needed to calm down because a simple cleaning charm should take care of everything. It took about 15 minutes for calm to be restored around the table. Cleaning charms took care of the pumpkin juice on the clothes, table, and floor. Arthur repaired the chair which had actually cracked where it had hit and Molly reassured Bill that the dent on the wall and the paint would be easily repaired but she would worry about it later. Fleur's robes were clean, but she still looked disgruntled as she sat back down. She said something in French to Bill again. Cassie understood enough French to understand that although her tone was grouchy, like she was mad at him for daring to spoil her robes, she actually was telling him that he had done a good job and it was quick thinking. Bill understood what she was doing and answered her. "First of all, speak English, Fleur. It's rude when no one else understands you. Second of all, your robes are as good as new so stop fussing. Third of all, it was hardly my fault. The juice hit you before it hit me, so don't blame me for splashing on you." Cassie glanced at her mum and dad, who were both sitting wide-eyed as the spells were flying around the table. The boys were not as quiet, oohing and aahing with each wave of the wands and exclaiming with amazement as the pumpkin juice was cleaned off the table. Cassie was a little nervous that someone would think it was odd that they acted like they had never seen magic before, but no one commented, so maybe they just put it down to childish enthusiasm.

"Come on, everyone, go ahead and start eating again or the food won't be fit for human consumption," Molly said. "And Ron, dear, no one blames you for spilling. You can't really help it, after all." Cassie thought that Ron was being a good sport about things to take the blame for spilling, when she knew full well that Bill had spilled the juice on himself on purpose. And the ruse worked because everyone started talking about completely different subjects and the conversation about the Acting Minister and the "Muggle" girl was never revisited. As they ate dinner, though, Cassie saw that the outward appearance of nonchalance was a front. Ginny looked decidedly pale while Harry's color was high. Professor Dumbledore looked thoughtful and Professor McGonagall's movements were jerky and disconnected. George's jaw was clenched tight and he hardly said a word for the rest of dinner. Molly was almost overly bright, making up for the strained quiet from some people at the table.

Cassie ate mechanically after that, not really tasting anything she put in her mouth. She couldn't get the idea of Nicholas Nightscall being in that meeting out of her head. He had told Arthur repeatedly that he didn't know anything about the arrest warrants, but that had obviously been a lie. And the fact that Percy had been encouraged to come to his parents' home for Christmas made a lot more sense. He was probably hoping to get some more information about the Weasleys by pumping Percy for it afterward. She thought of Saffron and dreaded the inevitable time when her father would be arrested. No wonder Ginny looked upset. She had known Saffron for only a little more than a week and their relationship had been rather strained. But Ginny had known her and been her friend for more than five years and it must be dreadful for her to know what Saffron would have to go through soon. And she also had to consider the possibility that she would have to go back to school in a few days and room with her again, unless Cassie could get this solved before then. Well, and even then it was likely Saffron would be there. Cassie could only imagine that the tension between the two girls would be thick in almost any circumstances. She wondered if Rhiannon and Elspeth would take Ginny's side or Saffron's in the war of nerves. Ginny was certainly on the right side of the issue, but that didn't necessarily mean that the other two girls would agree with her. Elspeth, most likely, but it was hard to predict Rhiannon.

After everyone had eaten their fill, the table was still loaded with food. Molly accepted the compliments on the dinner with beaming grace and everyone stood up to go back into the living room. Cassie and Ginny volunteered to stay behind and help clean up after dinner. "No, dear. I really appreciate the offer, but Ginny and I will do it very quickly. Your parents are only here for a short while. Go and visit."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course." Professor Dumbledore stepped back into the kitchen before Cassie actually left.

"Molly! Thank you so much for a wonderful Christmas dinner. Everything was marvelous." His words, however, belied the look on his face. He laid his hand on Cassie's shoulder and spoke in a low voice. "Are you all right, Miss Spencer?" Cassie nodded briefly. "Minerva has volunteered to go back to Hogwarts and retrieve some pictures for me. Would you mind looking at a few tonight?"

"No. If it would help."

"Well, I can't promise anything but it's worth a try." He spoke loudly again to Molly about something and Cassie took the opportunity to slip into the living room. Everyone was there, the incident at dinner either forgotten or ignored because they all looked fairly relaxed. Ron's expression was slightly pained but he was sitting right next to Mr. Granger and Cassie could understand his nervousness. George was standing by Fred and both her brothers were hanging off their hands and robes.

"Let's go up and play! Come on!" Cassie stepped up to them.

"Could you two give it a rest? I'm going to stun you if you don't quiet down!" George smiled at her and pried a hand out of Matthew's so that he could put an arm around her.

"They're just fine, really. Remind me quite a bit of us as youngsters." Fred grinned.

"They do, don't they? If you two get married, remind me never to babysit your kids - between your two sets of genes, they'll be hellions!" Angelina barked a laugh out in response.

"Look who's talking. Come on, Fred! Everyone knows you're the worse troublemaker of the two of you!"

"Hey! I resent that! Come on, boys! Let's go show your aunt Angelina a few new tricks! And I've got some chocolates you're going to love." All four of them headed into the kitchen and it was only after she had heard footsteps on the stairs that the import of that last statement sunk in to Cassie's rather befuddled brain.

"George! They're going to-"

"Pia, George." Cassie's father stood up from the couch and walked over to them. "Come sit down. We would love to visit with you." George blanched but smiled politely and Cassie was inwardly amused. He looked even more worried than Ron did.

"Sure, Dad. Are you two having a good time?"

"Yes, it's lovely. It was a wonderful dinner, too." Rebecca sighed. "The best part, of course, is that I didn't have to cook or clean up. I do feel bad leaving Molly in there all alone, though."

"Ginny's with her. They can clean up pretty fast."

Professor Dumbledore appeared behind George and smiled kindly down at Cassie's parents. "Mr. and Mrs. Spencer. So good to have you here this evening. It has been a great pleasure getting to meet you."

"Thank you, Professor." Her parents looked rather bemused and Cassie thought that must be everyone's first impression of him. He was tall and imposing looking, his long silver beard and hair making him look much different than one might expect a headmaster to look. His wizard robes were decorated with moons and stars. But his eyes twinkled with such friendliness that it was hard to be frightened, even if you were aware of the fact that he could quite literally kill you in a split second if he got it in his mind to do so. Now that Cassie thought about it, she wondered why he dressed the way he did. The other professors at Hogwarts wore plain black robes and she actually had never even seen dress robes that had patterns on them. And every other professor she had at school was cleanshaven except for Professor Flitwick. Well, and Hagrid. She didn't have a chance to pursue her train of thought for very long, though, because her parents were speaking with the Headmaster, who had "drawn up a chair" and sat down in their little circle.

"Your daughter is quite amazing. I'm not sure that you can really appreciate how much she has been through this last three weeks."

"We know how amazing she is. We miss her a great deal." Professor Dumbledore spoke with them for quite a long while, purposely keeping the discussion on a casual level. Cassie really didn't listen to them; instead she turned to George and mouthed at him, "I'm sorry about this." He smiled back and they both sat there nervously as the professor finished his visit with them. When he stood and vanished the chair with a quick wand movement, George swallowed hard and plastered a smile on his face.

"So, George. Tell us a bit about yourself." Andrew looked serious and Cassie hoped George didn't mind the interrogation that she was sure was coming. George opened his mouth to reply but Harry came over to say hello and George looked relieved at the interruption. "Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Spencer. Did you enjoy dinner?"

"Yes, Harry. Molly's a marvelous cook. And for so many people!"

"I think she's been keeping Pia, Hermione, and Ginny busy for several days." After a few more minutes of casual conversation, Harry was called over by Hermione and it was just the four of them again. They all looked at each other, Cassie flushing pink as George took her hand. Her dad looked pointedly at their entwined fingers and cleared his throat.

"Actually, George, um, I'm glad that we have this chance to -"

"Mum! Mum! This is the neatest thing ever!" Matthew and John came barreling out of the kitchen at top speed and everyone in the room was shocked into total silence. Cassie closed her eyes and her groan was answered by her mother's gasp. Rebecca stood up and stared at her sons. They were standing there, eyes bright with excitement, practically trembling in enthusiasm. The bright red noses on each grinning face and the downy antlers crowning each head were what caused Cassie to want to curse Fred. George's hand gripped hers tighter.

"What . . . are those? They can't be real!" She put her hand tentatively out to touch the antlers on John's head. "They feel so . . . solid."

"They're real, actually Mrs. Spencer . . . It's-"

"Fred gave them to us! You eat this chocolate, which is really good, and then you wait just a minute and then before you even know what's happening, all of a sudden your head feels heavy and then you start seeing this red light in front of your eyes and it's your nose and you're like, wow! What's happening to me? And then you look in a mirror and you can't believe it, but it's true! I'm Rudolph!"

"They're real!?" Her voice ended on a squeak and she pulled her hand back from John's head as though the antlers had suddenly gotten hot. "I- How long?" But before she could even put into words her concern, the antlers shrunk back into the boys' heads again and the noses faded to become that rather shocking pink color Cassie was getting used to. The twins would really need to work on that. She forced a smile on her face and turned to her parents.

"It's a Weasley Wizard Wheeze, you see. A joke chocolate. You give them to someone who doesn't expect it and suddenly they're Rudolph. It's only temporary."

"I . . . see." Rebecca seemed incapable of speaking and it was Andrew who patted their heads to reassure himself that the antlers were completely gone. "That's quite a trick."

"They've got some that turn you different colors and one of their really popular ones is a Canary Creme. That turns you into a bird, of course. We wanted to try those, but Fred doesn't have any of those here. I wanted to try a Puking Pastille, too, but Angelina said no." Matthew's narrative was more easily followed than John, who still didn't believe in breathing when he was very excited about something.

"Puking Pastille?" Andrew tried to look politely curious, but instead he just looked faintly ill. "What does that do?"

"Never mind, Dad. I'll . . . make sure they don't try anything else like that." She looked at George. "Can you . . . do something about this, please?" George shrugged but started toward the kitchen.

"It's not hurting them. Fred's just trying to keep them entertained." But before he had taken five steps, Fred and Angelina came through the doorway, a big box of chocolates held in front of them.

"We've brought you all down some Rudolphos! They're great, if you haven't tried them already. They've been very popular in the store this season."

The "Spencers" and the Grangers all looked a little hesitant, but they did eventually help themselves to one of the chocolates after everyone else had one. Fleur even had one although it took a stern look from Bill before she actually bit into it. Percy looked vaguely disapproving but in some sort of bid for family conformity, he had one, too. It was actually a wonderful way to spend 20 minutes, with lots of loud laughter, as people looked at each others' antlers and flashing noses. By the time everyone's antlers had disappeared again, Molly and Ginny had emerged from the kitchen. Molly looked apoplectic that Fred had given the boys some of their "special" chocolates but Fred ignored her lecture and soon her voice trailed off when she realized no one was listening. Molly shook her head and sat down on a nearby chair. Cassie leaned her head back against the couch and sighed. This was hardly the stress-free meeting she had pictured between her family and George. She had hoped that they would be impressed with his entrepreneurial spirit, pleased that he made a good income, and amazed at how handy having someone who could do magic in the family would actually be. Somehow, she got the idea that these were not the feelings they were having this afternoon.

"Well," Percy announced. "Penny's expecting me fairly soon. I really must be going."

"You can't go until you've opened your presents!" Molly exclaimed as she hurried over to the Christmas tree, picked up several packages and handed them to Percy. "And how about some dessert?"

"I think I'll just open the presents tomorrow morning, if that's all the same to you, Mum."

"I . . . I was hoping you would open them here."

"If I do that, I won't have anything for tomorrow,. And my time is gone, I'm afraid, so I'll also have to pass on dessert. Thank you for a marvelous dinner, though. And it was so good to see all of you." He nodded vaguely in the direction of his mother and father and went into the kitchen. Molly looked after him with a crestfallen expression.

"He could have at least opened his presents."

"I need to be going, too. I think. My parents have something major planned for tonight. Sorry." Angelina stood up and Fred stood up also.

"That's all right. Thank you for coming, dear. It's lovely to see you again. Would you have some dessert before you go?"

Angelina shook her head. "I'm still very full from that huge dinner. I'm really sorry because those pies looked wonderful."

Molly smiled at her. "At least give my best to your parents and your sister. How is she liking Hogwarts, by the way?"

"She's enjoying it a lot. She's in Gryffindor, too, you know."

"Yes. She plays Quidditch, right?"

"Of course. She's a Chaser - and a good one, if I can say so without sounding too prejudiced."

"Does she ride a broom and everything?" Matthew asked. He seemed the most distraught at the thought of losing one of his play companions.

"Yes, she does. Someday, maybe Pia can take you up on hers."

"Oh, yeah. Maybe." Matthew was old enough to realize this was part of the game they were playing today, so he just shrugged. "That would be neat."

John didn't follow this complex of logic, though, and spoke up quickly. "Pia can't fly." Angelina smiled indulgently at the young boy.

"Yes, she can. I've seen her. Don't sell your sister short."

Angelina and Fred went into the kitchen and Cassie and George were once again the subject of her parents' attention while the rest of the people in the room laughed and visited. "Like I was saying, George, I'm pleased to meet you. Rebecca and I were hoping we would have a chance to visit with you a little while this afternoon."

Cassie heard the quiet pop of someone apparating and assumed it was Angelina leaving. She knew that Fred was going to go visit with her family the next day, but he would be spending the night here and opening presents with them in the morning. But she heard a screech of surprise and then Professor McGonagall's voice carried through the kitchen door. "Mr. Weasley! Miss Johnson! I really -"

"Sorry, Professor. Just saying goodnight!"

"Well, I . . .I would take points from Gryffindor if I could! Do your parents know that . . . really!" An extremely flustered Professor McGonagall came through the door a moment later, her cheeks pink, and Cassie didn't think it was from the excitement of apparating. George gave a sort of strangled half-laugh but bit it back. Cassie closed her eyes. Yet another black mark on George's book. If Fred was doing embarrassing things in the kitchen with his girlfriend, then they would naturally assume that George would do the same with her, even though their two relationships were completely different. But if she protested this assumption, they would naturally assume she was lying or had something embarrassing to hide. So, she just kept her mouth shut.

Arthur had heard what Professor McGonagall said and, taking one look at her face, stalked into the kitchen, where quite a lot of noise could be heard for the next few minutes. Cassie couldn't understand what they were yelling, but she heard heavy footsteps on the stairs and Arthur emerged from the kitchen. Her parents were staring with some surprise at him. Cassie was grateful for the diversion as once again it delayed the conversation with George, although she wished it had been for a different reason. Rebecca and Andrew focused their attention back on Cassie and the nervous wizard sitting by her side.

"George, Pia, we would really like to have a chance to speak to the two of you. You know your mother and I, Pia, have been worried about you. We want-"

"Excuse me, Rebecca, Andrew, I'm sorry to interrupt your time with Pia, but Minerva has brought the pictures back and I feel that the sooner we can have her look at them, the better."

"Of course, Professor." Cassie stood up happily, grateful for another reprieve from her parents' version of the Inquisition but as she walked into the kitchen with Dumbledore, she realized that she was leaving George sitting there, his eyes wide as he watched her walk away from him.

"I'll hurry as quickly as I can, Mum and Dad."

"No rush, dear. Take your time." Cassie would have sworn her mother was practically salivating, but she hoped she was just imagining things.

"Do you need any help, Pia?"

"No. No. You just stay and visit with my parents. They're anxious to get to know you better."

Professor Dumbledore did a remarkable job of not laughing as he laid the pictures out in front of her. "I would say, Miss Robinson, that Mr. Weasley looks a little nervous." His eyes twinkled brightly, and Cassie knew that it was not just because of the firelight reflecting off his half-moon glasses.

"I think my parents are going to give him the third degree."

"Yes. I cannot say I would not do the same thing if I were they."

Cassie stared at the Headmaster. Her heart sunk a little bit. She had thought (for some reason that she could not immediately identify) that he approved of the two of them together. The thought that he might not approve upset her. "You . . . you don't like George?"

"How I feel about Mr. Weasley is unimportant. You like him. That's the important thing."

"I'd really like to know, Professor. What are you thinking?" There was a long silence as Cassie forced her eyes down to the pictures on the table. She looked at the pictures, but she didn't say anything because she really couldn't absorb any of the faces. She was so nervous about what Professor Dumbledore was thinking that every thought in her head was only about him for the moment.

"I would say that it would take someone special to put up with either Fred or George Weasley. I think that you have the nerve to do it. Now look at these pictures and get back out there before he gets eaten alive." Cassie felt her heart lift. She looked over the pictures quickly.

"Who are these people?"

"I've been thinking, ever since Percy made his announcement, that Nightscall must be making a bid for power. Nothing else makes sense. So, these are people whom he would need to maintain power once it was actually in his grasp. The bureaucrats who could make or break any administration. They have put up with Cornelius for years, but none of them are mourning his departure."

"Who's Cornelius?"

"Fudge."

"Ah." Cassie looked them over. "No, sorry. I don't recognize any of them. This has never worked."

"That's all right. I'm not surprised. These are the sort of men who would be more comfortable being told what to do rather than helping to organize any sort of rebellion. You've identified six of the eight men you said were there. And my potion is almost ready. If the last two aren't identified within a week, we will move ahead with that plan." He sighed softly. "You can return to your parents."

"Professor, what has happened to the men I've already identified? I mean, what's going to happen to Saffron's dad?"

"We're not doing anything to them at the moment. We're just keeping an eye on them. We don't have the authority to arrest them. Once we are sure all of them are identified, we will try to get them together for questioning. We're hoping that when they realize they have been exposed, one of them will confess."

"Oh." Cassie didn't admit it, but she didn't think this sounded like much of a plan. Get them all together and hope they confessed? It sounded a bit like a cheap plot device in an old B mystery movie. She walked out of the kitchen, feeling a bit more depressed now than she had 10 minutes before when she went in. But the sight of George made her laugh. He shot her such a look of desperate pleading that she walked quickly over to him. Her parents were looking happy, though, so Cassie took that as a good sign. As she sat down, she noticed that George looked highly agitated, and there was actually a sheen of sweat on his forehead. "Hi, Mum, Dad, George. Did you miss me?"

"We've been having a nice talk. George has been telling us all about his business." Her dad smiled warmly. "I would like to see it. I like a man who takes control of his own destiny." Cassie blinked. That was the last thing she had expected him to say. "He says that they make a tidy profit. He also said that you suggested some gift certificates this year and that they turned into a big money maker." Cassie nodded, still wondering if she had walked into an alternate universe. "That was good thinking." Cassie pinched herself discreetly but decided she was definitely awake. "I was just telling your young man here that he should consider-"

Bill and Fleur stood up from the couch and the room feel silent. "Mum. Fleur and I really need to be going."

"Oh, all right, dear. You're coming back on Sunday?"

"Yes."

"I'm very nervous about your going. Are you sure you'll be all right?"

"Yes. Fleur's parents have assured me that the ministry's arrest warrants will not be honored there."

"You do not need to worry. My parents have strengthened ze wards. No one will even know he ees zare."

"Okay. Well, I'm still not . . . well, of course. You've got to go. Could you at least open your presents before you go?" So everyone watched as Bill and Fleur opened their few gifts. Bill got one of the infamous Weasley sweaters but to her obvious surprise, so did Fleur. Molly had done a wonderful job with it and Fleur seemed impressed by the skill that had gone into it. The wool looked light and soft, and Cassie was sure that if she could touch it, it would feel like cashmere under her hand. But she didn't have a chance, because they kissed everyone goodbye and disapparated out of the kitchen quickly. Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall took advantage of the lull in the conversation and also left after wishing everyone a Happy Christmas.

After such a large crowd, the group now gathered in the living room seemed almost cozily small, although as Cassie glanced around, she knew there were still a lot of people in the house. George slipped an arm around her shoulders and bent toward her ear. "That was pleasant. I can't believe you deserted me."

"My dad seems to like you now."

"Maybe. But I don't think your mum was too impressed with me."

"Don't worry. She'll come around."

"I hope-"

"Rebecca, Andrew? May we join you?" Cassie's parents looked up in surprise at the Grangers, who were standing next to them, looking anxious.

"Of course, yes. Please sit down."

"Hermione and Ron are going in to help Molly with dessert. But we wanted to talk to you. It's so nice to speak to other parents who are dealing with the same thing we are."

"The same thing?"

"It's quite amazing really. Both our daughters are witches and they are both in love with Weasley boys, or should I say men? Anyway, you know what I'm saying."

"I . . . well. Yes, it is quite surprising. I agree." Both couples looked at each other for a minute, her parents obviously uncomfortable about speaking first. The Grangers just beamed at them.

"So, tell me when you first saw her do magic?"

Cassie laughed. She had heard what happened with Muggle-borns and knew what to say. "I was 7. Mum was trying to force me to eat Brussel sprouts and I didn't want to. I looked down at my plate after I promised myself that no matter what I wouldn't eat them, and they were gone." The Grangers laughed and laughed at that. "I thought a fairy godmother had come down and taken them. But I just pretended I'd eaten them all."

"Actually, I wanted to ask you . . . does it make you nervous to have a wizard as a son-in-law? What are you going to do about their children, assuming Hermione actually marries Ron. How do you introduce him to the rest of your family?" Cassie's mother was brimming with questions and George and Cassie decided to leave them to their discussion. Mr. and Mrs. Granger had looked thoughtful at her questions and Cassie decided that the four of them didn't need supervision.

"Come on, George. Let's leave them alone to talk."

"Are you sure?"

"It'll be fine. My mum and dad will feel more comfortable opening up if we aren't there. And maybe Hermione's parents will, too." They got into the kitchen just in time to help finish serving dessert and helped hand it around to the various people in the living room. After dessert, the Grangers said that they had to leave.

"Thank you so much for having us. It's been wonderful." Hermione and her parents exchanged gifts before Charlie escorted them home with a portkey. As Cassie sat back down by her parents, she knew the evening was coming to an end. It was almost 8 and the boys were starting to get grouchy. Although they had been rambunctious that day, they had been well-behaved and pleasant to all of the new people. Now, however, they were starting to snipe at each other and Cassie knew it wouldn't be very long before her parents had to declare it a night and go home.

"Arthur, I would really like to see your shed."

"Oh, Andrew - it's dark and cold out there."

"Don't forget- Arthur is a wizard. We don't have to worry about those sorts of things with him around. Come on, boys, let's go see what Arthur has in his shed!" It wound up being a bit of a testosterone-driven outing because John insisted that both Fred (who had reluctantly emerged from the upstairs room when dessert was served) and George come out with them. Ron had wanted to show Harry something and so they had both gone out as well. Remus decided he didn't want to be the only male left behind, so he too had reluctantly donned his cloak and headed out into the winter's night.

"I had an interesting talk with Mrs. Granger."

"Yeah, I sort of noticed, Mum. What . . . did she say?"

"She's as pleased as can be about Hermione and Ron. She said that although it's been difficult to deal with Hermione's being a witch, they've adjusted. She said that it's obvious from looking how much they love each other and whether your child is magical or not, that's what you want for them."

"Oh."

"Of course, she thinks you're a witch and you're not. So that's a bit of a difference, there."

Molly delicately cleared her throat. "I hope you don't mind, Rebecca, but I would like to speak to you a bit about George and Cassie. And now that it's just us again, I think we should call her by her real name, don't you? Anyway, I think we really do need to discuss this." Cassie groaned to herself. She knew that Molly did not approve of their relationship, so this would undoubtedly only add fuel to her mother's fire. She wanted to scream in frustration. "I have to admit that I was not in favor of this when I first learned about it. There are a lot of reasons why they don't belong together. For one thing, they're very young."

"Yes - Cassie won't be 17 until April."

"And Cassie's going through some trauma right now, so she may not be thinking clearly and not in a fit state to make big decisions."

"That's true - plus, of course the rebound factor."

"The rebound factor?" Molly looked confused and Cassie buried her face in her hands.

"She dated Harry, you know, before."

"Oh. Well, I . . "

"I'm not on the rebound, Mum. Or Molly. Harry and I had been broken up for 2-3 months before George and I even . . . considered being more than friends. And yes, Ginny knows, Molly. We've talked about it a few times."

"Okay, so there's the rebound factor. And we can't overlook the fact that she is not a witch." Molly rubbed her face with her hand as she said this.

"No. We can't."

"But, I have to say, that . . . George is a better person when he's with Cassie, and although I am not sure about the long-term potential for the, uh, relationship, I don't see anything wrong with their dating. And I know Arthur feels the same way."

"I appreciate your honesty, Molly. I'm not sure Andrew and I are quite as ready to accept it, but we may not have any choice. After all, we really don't know when she'll be back under our roof."

"I hope that won't be the only thing that allows you to accept this."

"No. That didn't really come out the way it was supposed to. I . . . I'm pleased that she's found someone. She's grown up a great deal while she's been away and it might still be a while before she comes back home. So, perhaps I'm wrong to think of her as still a child."

"Cassie has certainly been very mature in all the time I've known her. She's done everything she has needed to, and some things that she hasn't, just because she knows it's right. Maybe you do need to realize that she's growing up." As though some consensus had been reached, they settled back comfortably and moved on to different subjects, spending quite a bit of time talking about Harry, as well as Ginny and Ron. The men returned finally, and Cassie could tell by looking at her brothers that the time had come for them to go home.

"Mum, Dad. I've got presents for you."

"Oh, wonderful, sweetheart. And we brought some things as well." Cassie brought down the small stack of packages and her parents handed her the pile they had brought, although they handed one package to Molly and another to Arthur. "I hope you enjoy these."

The boys were very excited about the lollipops, but were absolutely ecstatic about the Weasley Wizard Wheezes' fireworks. Rebecca looked slightly less enthusiastic about the fireworks, but she smiled nonetheless. Andrew also was pleased with the fireworks which made Cassie happy. He was even more pleased, though, with Cassie's gift of a book on Wizarding government and the entire family watched the pictures move for a minute. Rebecca smiled broadly as she unwrapped the large box of chocolates. "These aren't going to do anything to me, are they?" she asked before she bit into one.

"No. Those are Honeyduke's chocolates. They're very good and they do not turn you into animals," Molly explained. "It's just my sons' idea of humor to have that happen." Rebecca bit into a piece and groaned as the sweet hit her tongue.

"Oh, that's really wonderful. Thank you, dear."

Cassie, in her turn, got a few clothes that she was desperate for. "Oh, thank you, Mum! I have been getting sick of the same outfits. These are all so beautiful."

"You're welcome! They should all fit."

Arthur opened his present first and grinned broadly as he withdrew a battery-powered remote control airplane out of its box. "Oh, this is marvelous. Thank you! I'll have to try it out tomorrow."

Molly then opened the small box Rebecca handed her and looked with some wonder at the pendant inside. "It's a mother's pendant. Each of the stones is the birth stone for one of your children. And I hope you don't mind, but Cassie suggested including one for Harry and Hermione. And more can be added as you wish. Just let me know, and I'll be happy to order them."

"Oh, how lovely. Thank you very much. This was so thoughtful."

A few minutes later, all the goodbyes had been said and Cassie was hugging her mother tightly. "I don't know when I'll see you again, Mum. I don't want to let go."

"I know, Cassie-girl. I know. We all miss you so much. But be brave, behave yourself, and we'll see you as soon as possible."

"I'll try. I really will."

"I know." Her dad wrapped his arms around her and Cassie even hugged her little brothers. She missed them more than she would have imagined possible.

"I love you all. Have a Happy Christmas." And then, the portkey activated and they were gone. Cassie smiled faintly at George, determined that she would not cry.

"Come on. You're exhausted. And I know you'll want to be well-rested for tomorrow. Why don't you girls head on up to bed?" Cassie nodded. She knew they needed to talk but she was too tired tonight to even think about it. All she wanted to do right now was curl up in bed and sleep. Cassie strongly suspected that Ginny and Hermione would be venturing downstairs again later to spend some time with Ron and Harry but she was grateful for their company, so she allowed them to escort her up to bed and help her into her nightshirt.

"This is the first Christmas I've been without them." Ginny smiled.

"It'll be great. After all, you'll have George to snog all day long."

"Ginny!" Hermione tried to sound scandalized.

"It's true. Besides, even though she's homesick now, I bet she'll be happier to be here with George tomorrow than she would have been if she had managed to get home before now." Cassie had to smile at that.

"You're probably right, Ginny."

"Of course I am. Now, you sleep and tomorrow we'll have a wonderful Christmas. I know I got you a great present and I can't wait to see what George bought you!" Cassie realized that Ginny was most certainly right, because the thought of being home with her parents tomorrow morning but without George, was not a happy one. So Cassie's last thought before succumbing to sleep 20 minutes later was that tomorrow was going to be the best Christmas ever.