Victoire took Teddy's hand firmly and tugged him along the street. Despite it being seven o'clock, people crowded Diagon Alley, enjoying the first day of the show. High above them, a thousand fireworks exploded in a shower of bright sparks; however, they did not fade into the sky. A charm froze each and every one as they reached their widest expanse. They mapped the sky with trails of crimson and green and gold, bathing the witches and wizards below in rainbow hues. Dozens of vendors wandered from person to person, pushing a cart of pies or hot drinks. The Lupins carefully dodged the carts, heading for the other end of the street.

"One day, they're going to invent something more efficient," Victoire said, gripping her son's pram tightly. In order to get to Diagon Alley, they'd been forced to take the Knight Bus, which, firstly, took a rather roundabout route to get to the Alley (picking up people from Kent and Cambridge and even Manchester before heading to London), and secondly, did not agree with a five-month-old. Victoire and Teddy's small son Eames generally faced challenges head-on, but the Bus proved too much for him. He screamed and cried the whole way there. Now, he rested soundly in the pram, blond head lolling to one side. Victoire peeked in to check on him.

"It can't come too soon," Teddy agreed, stifling a yawn. "I'm not having another kid until they've figured it out."

"Hear, hear," said Victoire.

They made it to Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. Teddy knocked on the door. Victoire fixed her mess of a ponytail. Teddy rubbed his eyes. Footsteps padded across the shop floor, and Angelina appeared at the door. She opened it with a jingle.

"You made it," she smiled. "Come on, come in." Victoire hugged her hello while Teddy awkwardly moved the pram into the shop. The young parents stumbled sleepily after Angelina, through the shop to the stairs. Teddy groaned and pulled out his wand.

"Vic, you go up first with him, I'll levitate it up from here," Teddy said. Victoire nodded, and bent down to unclip Eames.

"Let's go, Eames," Victoire murmured, lifting him into her arms. He cooed. Victoire smiled against his temple and kissed him softly.

"How was your trip?" Angelina asked, slowly climbing the stairs with Victoire. She pulled a face.

"I'm looking forward to when we can floo with him," she said. Angelina nodded sympathetically.

"It's a bastard," she agreed. They reached the landing, and looked down on Teddy. He carefully levitated the pram over the stairs, heading up towards them. Angelina stepped around Victoire and grabbed it out of the air. Teddy wiped his brow and stowed away his wand.

"Thank you," he said.

"You're welcome," said Angelina.

The four of them entered George and Angelina's apartment, which was surprisingly clean, for them. A cauldron bubbled on the kitchen sink, the radio blared, and no less than twelve pairs of shoes were strewn in front of the door, but without Victoire's younger cousins, Quidditch gear and magazines and gum wrappers and dirty socks and knitted blankets were conspicuously absent from the floor.

"They're here!" Angelina shouted. The adults – as Victoire still thought of them, though she'd joined their ranks a few years back – stood out on the balcony, marvelling at the view. At Angelina's announcement, a handful rushed inside. Victoire's parents, of course, as well as her Aunt Audrey, Uncle Harry, and brother Louis.

"Look at my 'andsome grandson!" Fleur said, plucking Eames from Victoire's arms without so much as a question. Victoire sat on the edge of George and Angelina's blue sofa.

"Hi, Mama," she said. Fleur bounced Eames in her arms, and he began to cry. Fleur scowled.

"Shush, non, none of that," she said.

"Mama," she repeated. Fleur looked at her.

"Victoire! Was it a difficult trip?" Fleur leaned down, and Victoire kissed her cheek.

"Babies aren't fans of the Knight Bus," she said. Harry embraced Teddy tightly, and grinned at Victoire.

"Hi, Vic," he said. "Is Teddy not up for flying with him yet? I can help install the seat, it's no problem."

"It's me that has the problem," Victoire admitted. "I know it's fine, I just don't like the idea. What if the enchantments fail and he plummets fifty feet? I couldn't stand it if something happened." Bill hugged his daughter and patted Teddy on the back, before checking on Eames.

"How's my little man?" he asked, gently taking Eames from Fleur. Fleur raised her eyebrows and picked up her glass of champagne. "Is he still rubbish with apparition?" Victoire and Teddy exchanged a look. Victoire sighed.

"I had to throw out a new set of robes," she said, rubbing her temple. Fleur, Angelina, and Audrey groaned in sympathy. Harry shook his head.

"When James was little, he did a lot of accidental magic, and he set me on fire about four times," Harry said. "At one point I considered going starkers so I didn't have to buy another set of robes, but Ginny pointed out that he might've just set my chest hair on fire." They all laughed.

"Set me on fire, too," Teddy complained. "Don't you remember? I was trying to teach him how to play Quidditch, and he threw a fit, and boom!" He scrunched his nose and turned his hair flaming red for emphasis. Harry smiled crookedly.

"Wasn't that when you hit him in the face with a Quaffle?" Harry asked. Teddy's hair abruptly settled at its normal brown. He grimaced.

"Don't, I still feel bad about that," he said. Harry and Teddy delved into a long story about James' early Quidditch fanaticism, and Angelina ducked outside to check on the others. Audrey slipped around them and sat down on the couch. Victoire slid down next to her.

"How are you going, love?" Audrey asked quietly. Victoire shrugged.

"Alright, I guess," she said. "I've been a bit rundown lately. Teddy's been really busy at work, and Eames is crawling, and it's just crazy. And my magic's been all wonky." Audrey nodded sympathetically.

"I've been there," she said. "If you need anything, give me a floo, alright? I did a lot with the girls on my own when they were Eames' age." Audrey pushed a strand of greying hair behind her ear. "It feels like you'll never get through it. But you do. And then they're at Hogwarts and you're wondering what you're supposed to do with your time." Audrey pulled her into a hug, and Victoire hugged her back. Louis took Eames from Bill and immediately raised him above his head.

"Be careful!" Victoire said, jumping to her feet. Louis laughed and brought Eames back down.

"He's alright," Louis said. "Just having a looky-loo from up there." Louis dressed well, in spiffy turquoise robes and a matching pillbox hat perched atop his silver-blond hair. Victoire and he kissed each other on the cheek.

"Is Dom here?" Victoire asked. Louis made a face.

"It's a Friday night," he answered. Victoire sighed. Of course Dom would blow them off. She couldn't muster up the energy to be surprised. Eames giggled at Louis, who pulled a series of horrendous faces.

"Come on, the grand finale's soon!" George yelled, from the balcony. Teddy grabbed a beer, and Louis handed Eames back to Victoire. The family went outside, and squished onto the magically-reinforced balcony. Victoire craned her neck to do a head-count; her grandparents were there, as were her parents, and her Uncle Percy and Aunt Audrey, Uncle George and Aunt Angelina (naturally), Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione, and Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny. She ducked her head and pushed through the chaos to her Nanna.

"Victoire!" Molly gushed. "Oh, look at him! How big are you now? Are you growing into a strong little wizard?" Victoire smiled and handed Eames over. Molly cuddled him tight.

"How are you, Nanna?" she asked, leaning into a hug. Molly patted her cheek.

"Well, much better now that you're here!" she said brightly. The lines around her eyes crinkled as she smiled. "I'm knitting, knitting, knitting away, getting ready for Christmas, we put the tree up on Wednesday. I got a letter from Charlie this morning, he says he'll be coming home on the twenty-third, he's paid for the portkey, and he's off until New Year's. So if you want to pop round for a cup of tea, he'll be here – I'm sure Eames will love to hear about those dragons of his." Molly bounced Eames.

"Well, it's good that he's got it all sorted," Victoire said.

"I wish he'd come home," Molly said. "He'll be fifty next year, he's far too old to be running around chasing dragons! He could come home and get a job at the Ministry with no problems at all, but no. Your mother's lucky you're a good girl, Victoire. It's how she keeps herself pretty."

"You forget Dominique," Victoire said lightly. Molly laughed.

"Oh, well, yes, but she didn't have a Dominique and twins," Molly said. Victoire smiled and hoped Nanna wouldn't think too much about what she'd said. She always got down if she thought too hard about Victoire's Uncle Fred.

"Bugger me, we'd better get up there," George said, checking his watch. He and Ron hurried inside, presumably heading for the roof, where the last of the fireworks to primed to go off. Someone draped their arm around Victoire's shoulders; she looked up and saw Teddy. He kissed her softly, and the slightest shade of pink flickered through his hair.

"Should be a good show," Teddy said, pulling her closer. She snaked her arms around his waist, and leaned against him.

"Hope so," she yawned. "I'm ready for bed, and we've only been here ten minutes."

"If that," Teddy said. "You think we could sleep in Fred or Roxanne's rooms?"

"They're not using them," Victoire said simply. "What they don't know can't hurt them."

"Too true."

Below them, the crowds scuttled like beetles, making the most of the late-night shopping. Ginny leaned over the railings, bargain-hunting, and the flash of a camera dazzled her for a moment. Victoire rolled her eyes. The paparazzi flew on broomsticks between the shops, only a few feet away from the balcony.

"Minister! Minister!" one shouted at Hermione. "Are you enjoying yourself tonight? Is it true your marriage is on the rocks? Where's your husband?" The paparazzi pointed their wands at her.

"My husband, Ron, is up on the roof, preparing to give all of us a great show," she said evenly. "I'm very excited to be here with my family." Molly handed Eames to Victoire, and she turned to shield her son from the spray of camera flashes. Teddy hugged them both closer. Harry squatted down and started to crawl towards them. Teddy pressed his lips together, and his shoulders shook as he struggled to keep a straight face.

"Why aren't your children with you? Have they been sent away so they don't hear you fighting?" demanded another. Victoire snorted without thinking. Hermione maintained a calm demeanour.

"My children are studying at Hogwarts," Hermione said. "Term does not finish for another three weeks."

"Move!" George hollered at the paparazzi. They flew away. Victoire stretched her neck to look up at her uncle, who tapped his wand against his chest. "WITCHES AND WIZARDS OF DIAGON ALLEY, PREPARE TO FEAST YOUR EYES!" he announced. "THE THIRD ANNUAL WEASLEYS' WIZARD WHEEZES CHRISTMAS LIGHT SHOW WILL CONCLUDE SHORTLY. HOLD ONTO YOUR WANDS! AND WE ASK THAT YOU DO NOT CAST ANY SPELLS IN THE DIRECTION OF THE SKY, OR US, FOR YOUR OWN SAFETY. BECAUSE MY DEAREST LITTLE BROTHER HERE HELPED DEFEAT YOU-KNOW-WHO AND COULD JUST HEX YOU INTO NEXT WEEK. JOKING! THAT'S WHAT WE'RE ALL ABOUT. AND THE COUNTDOWN!"

Victoire joined the rest of her family in the shouting. "TEN! NINE!" Harry stood up next to them. "EIGHT! SEVEN!"

"Have you done a spell for his ears?" Harry whispered. Victoire's face dropped.

"SIX!"

"Shit," she whispered. "Thanks, Uncle Harry."

"FIVE!"

"I'll do it," Teddy said, whipping his wand out.

"FOUR! THREE! TWO!'

Eames' expression changed. Teddy tucked his wand away. Victoire sighed a breath of relief.

"ONE! MERRY CHRISTMAS!"

At once, the fireworks in the sky broke from their frozen state. The world turned to sparks. Green and red fireworks burst high above the shops. Others snaked through the sky with fiery scarlet trails, curling around crowds and chasing each other down like rogue bludgers. One exploded in the shape of Harry's face. He covered his face with his hands. Ginny laughed. The cameras flashed again, and Victoire covered Eames' face with her hands, grimacing. Her face would be in the background on the front cover of the Daily Prophet in the morning, no doubt about it. A jolly laughing Father Christmas floated through the air, shaped by smoke, and waved at the children.

"Look, Eamy, it's Father Christmas!" Teddy whispered, and held Eames' arm up to wave. Eames giggled.

The fireworks continued for another ten minutes, accompanied by a score of floating candles sweeping through the streets, and the shops randomly glowing bright colours. Percy ducked inside and returned with two glasses of water – one for himself and one for Victoire. She took it gratefully.

"Thank you," she said, taking a sip.

"You're most welcome," he said, before heading for his wife. Victoire's retinas burned as the fireworks sizzled and changed, and when she shut her eyes, she could see the scene vividly against her eyelids. She hated to say it, but she was ready for bed.

"AND THAT'S THAT, LADIES AND GENTS!" George said. 'THANK YOU ALL FOR COMING ALONG! NOW IF I COULD KEEP YOUR ATTENTION FOR A MOMENT, MY GOOD FRIEND LEE JORDAN HAS A SPECIAL SOMETHING HE WANTS TO TELL THE WORLD – COME ON, LEE!" Victoire hadn't even noticed Lee Jordan apparate onto the roof, but there he was, between George and Ron. She gave Teddy a tired look.

"What do you think we start saying our goodbyes?" she whispered. Teddy nodded.

"Please," he said. "I could sleep for a week. And you just know Eames will fuss once we take that ear-protection spell off him." Victoire looked at the happy little boy in her arms, and knew her husband was right.

"Let's go," she agreed, taking his hand.


A/N: Thank you all for reading, following, and favouriting! Your support means the world to me.