"So, Harry, exactly what are you doing for a living, now?" inquired Charlie, helping himself to another piece of goose.

"Oh, Charlie! It's Christmas Day, for Merlin's sake. Why don't you leave the poor boy alone?" barked Mrs. Weasley.

"Well, mum, I also thought you might want Harry to have a steady job, seeing as he'll be marrying your only daughter in six days," commented George through a mouthful of carrots.

"It's okay, Mrs. Weasley," Harry said quietly and looked at Charlie. "I actually have been involved in a sort of venture with a couple of friends."

"What sort of venture are you talking about?" asked Hermione.

"Real estate," Ginny replied.

There was a murmur of curiosity around the table.

"And what sort of real estate?" Mr. Weasley peered at Harry keenly.

"Housing. We've found a spot in Surrey, just outside a Muggle suburb. There's a large, empty field that we've bought, and we're going to build a Wizard-only housing development."

"Who's 'we'?" asked George.

"Is there any need for non-Muggle establishments like that?" asked Mr. Weasley.

"Where're you getting the capital?" asked Bill.

"When will it be finished?" asked Penelope.

Harry reeled as he tried to process all the questions.

"'We' is myself, Arnold Peasegood, and Luco Donati. I got my third of the initial deposit from my inheritance. The project is open-ended for now, so I have no clue as to when it will be finished. Now, Mr. Weasley, the idea behind the settlement is not to exclude Muggles, but rather to encourage personal freedom for Wizards. We hope that the whole project will promote a community feeling, not further alienate Muggles," Harry finished, breathed deeply, and sighed as the questions started again.

"Are you going to live zere?" asked Fleur.

"Exactly what are you building?" asked Ron.

"Yes, Gin and I will move in to one of the first houses. And to answer your question, Ron, I'm funding the construction of the first fourteen houses; Peasegood is dealing with the Ministry to charm the entrance and perimeter so that Muggles won't stumble in on accident; Donati is in charge of the first two commercial spaces and the school."

"There's a school?" asked Percy.

"Yes. It's a grammar school, and we know nothing about it except that we're building it. The Ministry's been looking for a spot to put one of these, which is probably why they agreed to let us start constructing."

"When you say 'first' fourteen houses…"

"We're only trying to jumpstart a community. There will be many more lots for sale after we've constructed the first buildings, and lots of space. We'll be using about ten percent of the entire land in our total plans, and that includes all those empty lots I was talking about."

"Luco Donati…isn't he that nasty young buck who remodeled the old pub on Diagon Alley? The Gold Lion? Remember what a nice job they did on that one? How did you get to be friends with him, Harry?" Mr. Weasley didn't look at all pleased that Harry was friends with Luco Donati, and he knew exactly why: Donati was a drunk, a womanizer, and a gambler, and somehow, also a very wealthy man.

When all the questions had been asked, everyone seemed rather proud of Harry for doing anything at all with his time. He had been living off his parents' money with no income for almost a year, and had finally decided that, out of respect for them and for any children he might have, he needed to fill up his Gringott's account. Arnold Peasegood had approached him to join the project in September; he had immediately jumped aboard and currently spent several hours a week meeting with Ministry officials and poring over blueprints and figures. He wasn't looking forward to the end of the first phase, because then he would have to earnestly look for a career.

In the late afternoon, everyone moved into the parlor. Fred and Angelina drew some chairs out of the air and made sure everyone was seated. The subject of conversation was now grandchildren. Penelope was pregnant again, which practically sent Mrs. Weasley into a fit of delight when she heard. Percy was excitedly talking about how he'd check in his department and see if anyone knew anything about the new school, because he wanted to start his son as soon as was possible. Julius, propped up on some cushions, smiled around at the assembled family. He was now almost five months old and enjoyed gurgling, smiling, and pooping. Corinthus adored him.

"How are you two holding up?" Ginny was sitting next to Hermione and Julius.

"Ron's been a little cranky. I told him that he was going to have to share more of the feedings. You should have seen the look on his face. 'But…'Mione, I have to work!' It took him an entire day to figure out what he'd said to make me throw a dirty diaper at his head. I mean, really. How could someone possibly forget that their spouse had a job? Where does he think I go during the day? The library? Humph."

"So who've you got looking after Julius?" Ginny asked.

"Didn't you know? Your mum watches him on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. I've cut back on my hours. Oh! We're just waiting on the patent now, by the way. I figured out that all we needed to do to fix the irritability in the test subjects was add a couple drops of Alihotsy extract. It's brilliant. It should be on the market by February."

Hermione was so happy about this that Ginny, too, was soon in excellent spirits, and started singing carols as Corinthus began passing around Christmas gifts.

"Gin, would you mind terribly shutting up?" asked George sweetly, flicking dungbombs at the tree.

"What's got you all shirty?" Fred was looking at George with his brows furrowed and a look of deep concern on his face. Ginny figured it out in a second. George was the odd one out. This was the first holiday that Fred had shown up with a date. Usually, both the twins were there alone, but this year, every other sibling had a significant other with them. George suddenly managed to hit the mantelpiece with one of the dungbombs, and it exploded into a loud of green gas.

"Sorry, Mum," said George lightly and, grabbing Corinthus by the hand, shouted "Let's get out of here, laddy!" They raced up the stairs and presumably into the twins' old room.

Harry whipped out his wand and was about to vanish the evil cloud when Fred yelled, "No, Harry! It's one of ours! Here!" He flicked his own wand at the green mass that was quickly dispersing and it instantly evaporated.

"What did you use?" Harry demanded in disbelief.

"Diffusum Tempastas," said Fred simply.

"I thought you only used that for weather!" Ron argued.

Fred gave him a withering look. "Now see here, we didn't want people instantly vaporizing our valuable wares with a simple vanishing charm, did we?"

"Apparently not," said Mr. Weasley.

Camelia and Bill finished passing out the presents. Every single person had been given a Weasley jumper, each one in a different color.

"Mum! How did you manage all these?" Ginny gasped.

Mrs. Weasley looked very bashful and shrugged her shoulders. Harry knew that she must have put a great deal of effort into these jumpers, and he intended to wear his as often as he could in appreciation of that effort.

At about two o' clock in the morning, Harry, Ginny, Hermione and Ron were, as usual, the last ones up. Julius lay sleeping in an old cradle Mrs. Weasley had found for him. The four spoke softly, trying not to wake the baby.

Ron had put on an air of wisdom and was talking quietly to Harry about what it meant to 'be a husband'. Hermione and Ginny were snickering madly, remembering Dumbledore dancing at Ron and Hermione's wedding party.

"He was (giggle) really quite talented!" whispered Ginny.

Hermione was now shaking with silent laughter with her hand over her mouth while Ron shushed her, pointing at Julius.

Harry was perfectly content at that moment, as he looked around at his best friends in the world joking and playing with each other; the snow falling outside; the firelight dancing off the empty butterbeer bottles covering the coffee table; his little nephew sleeping peacefully in the cradle; and it was evident to him that, contrary to what he had learned throughout his childhood and teenage years, there really was a bounty of love in the world. One only needed to seek it out.