Chapter Three: Family
Finally, two weeks after Fabian and Gideon lived, Victoria received the news she was waiting for. Everyone was up later than normal, drinking a cup of hot chocolate (in Fred, George, Percy and Charlie's case) or chocolate milk in Victoria and Ron's case. Ginny was asleep in her mother's arms, because at only two months old she was still napping regularly though the day and the night (Victoria was hopeful that Ginny would be able to settle through the entire night soon). It was Halloween night, and no one had been able to settle at their bedtimes, so Molly was letting the children stay up and wait for their father.
When Arthur came home with a smile on his face Victoria knew that the events of prophecy had come to pass. Once Arthur had kissed his wife, and greeted each of his children, he told his news. He told them that the Dark Lord was dead. However, he refused to say more about how, simply saying that they should all head to bed. Rather grudgingly, the children finished their drinks and headed off to bed.
The next day, Charlie read the newspaper to the children while their mum was occupied with changing Ginny so that they could know what happened to Voldemort. The information was very distorted but it got a couple of the facts – Voldemort was dead, James and Lily Potter was dead and Harry Potter somehow survived.
Following Halloween night, Victoria snuck the prophet at the end of breakfast up into her room. She had finally mastered the art of climbing the two stories to her bedroom. At the minute it was just her's because Ginny would stay in their parent's rooms until after Christmas. Victoria hid the prophet in a box in the corner, where it would begin her lifelong obsession of reading and analysis everything in the newspaper (she even managed to get back copies going back till 1921).
From the paper Victoria learnt the names of every Death Eater who was sent to Azkaban over the coming months and their crimes. She also learnt the names of the people who got off on a plea of imperious (and it was generally mentioned within a month of that claim that a large donation by the family was given to some cause or another, unless they hadn't been as subtle and donated the morning during the court case/investigation or the day after they got off). She was saddened when she saw Sirius' name, but there was nothing she could do about it because she had no way of explaining her knowledge. And when Peter arrived at their house in mid-November and Percy decided to keep him, Victoria was able to react loudly enough that Arthur and Percy promised to keep it in a cage at all times. Only letting it out when the cage needed cleaning, and even than it was placed in a box. Victoria accepted this condition until she thought of a way of revealing the traitor.
Without the war keeping Arthur at work for insane hours, he started heading in at eight o'clock in the morning which meant he got to say good morning to all his children and not just his stubborn daughter. He was also home by six each night and only working five (and rarely six) days a week so he wasn't always tired. Instead, he had time to play and teach his children.
Fabian and Gideon came around for lunch every Saturday and quickly influenced Fred and George with their prankster ways. Victoria knew that the pranking was going to happen, but with the help of their uncles, it happened earlier then she was expecting. She was hopping she would be safe until Fred and George were five at the earliest, but it wasn't to be.
Only Charlie's and Victoria's room remained safe and prank free. Ginny had been moved from their parent's rooms to hers, and neither set of twins were suicidal enough to risk endangering the 'baby' of the family, nor gaining Molly's wrath by harming her daughters. Charlie's room was safe because he sent a warning to his elder brother, who preceded to send back a very descriptive threat of what would happen if he discovered his bedroom had been so much as touched.
This often led to Victoria seeking refuge in Charlie's room while Molly was cooing over Ginny. In this way, she learnt that Charlie had kept all the letter's they had been sent by Bill since he left for Hogwarts. Victoria spent time bonding over them with the second eldest, as he encouraged her to read by going through all the letters. He also promised to take them with him when he goes to Hogwarts and copy them so she had her own set of the letters. And she could keep all the future letters from him and Bill when they both go the next year.
Victoria was grateful for his thoughtfulness, although she was mildly frustrated with herself with the way she clung to the members of her family when she was so used to being independent. She didn't understand this sudden need of hers to make sure all her family was fine. It was hardest with Bill and her father. Every morning and the moment he returned home; Victoria would hug Arthur just so that she was sure he was fine. If he had to go to work suddenly and didn't inform her, Victoria would be frantic for the rest of the day until he got home, at which point she would attach herself to him. After the first time this happen, Arthur made it a point to always let all his kids know when he was heading into work outside of his normal hours.
Then there was Bill, during his four months at Hogwarts, Victoria found it very difficult to cope at first, but she eventually adjusted to the slight pull on her heart. However, every time Bill's letter was even a little late, she would sit up and watch the window intently. Father sent word to Bill, trying to explain the circumstances to his oldest so that he knew to send his letter's at regular intervals.
When Bills birthday rolled around that November, he was sent an assortment of gifts from the family who were all sad that this was his first birthday away from the family. With the help of Ronald and Ginny, Victoria decorated a card and then got Charlie to write their words in it. Since she was four months short of two at the time, it was the best they could work with. The twins, at three and a half years, were able to do a little more. With the help of Fabian and Gideon they created a photo album of their best pranks on the family and wrote a short passage next to each piece. They wanted to keep their older brother up to date with everything that happened in the family, and they knew their mother didn't write about their pranks since it's not something she encouraged.
Percy sent a homemade three frame picture frame that Arthur charmed to be unbreakable. Charlie sent a homemade letter box, because like Victoria and himself, Bill kept all the letter's he received from the family. From his parents Bill received some homemade scarves from their mom and some new trousers from Arthur, as well as a box of his favourite sweets. Fabian and Gideon sent their eldest nephew a book on careers, a book on runes and a picture of his entire family relaxing and playing around the fireplace in the front room.
With December and Charlie's tenth birthday it was slightly harder to sort out his gift since she couldn't very well ask Charlie for help. To solve this problem, Ginny, Ronald, Victoria and Percy all worked on his gift together. Once again, the three youngest made and decorated the card, while Percy used his steadily improving written skills to write their note. Fred and George also went for something creative. They drew Charlie their best attempt at a fire breathing dragon, which they then had their uncles animate. Mum and Dad gave Charlie some jumpers (since he had put holes in the others) and some sweets. Fabien and Gideon got their nephew a new pair of boots since he had finally outgrown his old pair. Bill sent home an encyclopaedia of dragons that he had somehow managed to save up the money for (the children were given pocket money each week of a sickle).
When Bill came home for the Christmas holidays on the 18th Victoria had jumped on him and refused to be put down for the entire day or the next. She wasn't sure what she was going to do if Bill decided to remain at Hogwarts for his two weeks Easter break, because then that meant she wouldn't be able to see him for going on six and a half months. Just four months had been hard enough. She prayed this attachment would get easier as she grew up, because Charlie would be heading of when Bill entered his third year. The only consolation she had was that she wouldn't have to deal with Percy leaving until she was eight, at which point Bill would have graduated and would be looking for work (and she knew he would be entering curse breaker training, although she didn't know how far away that would take him or for how long) and Charlie would be entering his sixth year.
Victoria loved Christmas with her new family. In her old life, they were rarely together and there was no sense of love and festivity in the home. With her new family, in her new life, Victoria discovered that the Weasley's went all out for Christmas. Although mother and father decorated the house, and the majority of the garden, the tree wasn't decorated until Christmas Eve. Everyone chipped in, although Ginny spent the majority of her 'help' gumming over the directions, while Ron kept rolling them under the tree for Fred and George to find since they were putting the ornaments on the bottom part of the tree. Percy, Charlie and Bill were in charge of the middle of the tree while mum and dad had the top of the tree. Since Victoria had started getting more control over her motor skills this Christmas, she retrieved everything from the boxes and passed them to the decorators.
Once the tree was decorated, the morning was spent playing games together. It wasn't a time to be separate and doing their own thing. Instead, they played games such as magical creature's bingo; capture the baby; charades; hide and seek; hot larva; ghost in the graveyard; lizard, lizard, dragon; giant, elf and toad.
Hodgy podgy and human knot were some of their favourite indoor games. When it snowed, they went outside to have a snow ball fight, make snow angels or snow men (depending on their age and the supervision).
Christmas morning began at six when Bill began the tradition of waking everyone up. He had started the tradition when he was five. He would wake each of the children up, making sure they had their slippers and nightgown on before heading to their parents' room. Since Ginny was too small Bill carried her, while Percy and Charlie helped Victoria and Ron climb the stairs without injury. Arthur had been awake for the last few Christmases when the kids entered their bedroom but he let them have their fun by pretending to be asleep.
Together the children woke their parents by jumping on their parent's bed and shouting: "MERRY CHRISTMAS" or their best approximation of it.
While mother recovered from her shock, dad slipped on his gowned and slippers and grabbed his youngest twins around the waist and chasing his shrieking children down the stairs (Ginny held safely in Bills arms still). It took him only a collection of minutes to have his excitable children each grabbed and plunked on the miss matched sofas and chairs that were arranged around the fireplace and Christmas tree. While father turned on the radio so they could listen to music during the day, mother made it down stairs and went to get her and father's morning cup of tea. Fred and George spent the intervening time trying to sneak some presents out from under the tree without being noticed (badly, since father was keeping a watchful eye on them).
Once everyone was settled father began passing out the presents at random. Ginny was far more interested in the wrapping then the actual gift, and Ron had great fun tearing the wrapping off his gifts, but everyone was grateful and appreciative of what they were given even if it wasn't a lot. Mother and Father were particularly proud and emotional over the gifts they got from their children. They were always handmade and something the children had worked together (or in groups) on.
The rest of Christmas was generally spent listening to father tell stories about his family or great wizards of the past. Mum would be in and out throughout the day as she prepared Christmas dinner. Fabian, Gideon and the rest of their extended family would stop by for a lovely Christmas lunch but only Fabian and Gideon would stay for Christmas dinner. Once they had all eaten their fill – but before they had Christmas pudding – they would sing Christmas songs along with the radio with terrible dancing interspersed. By the time they had eaten Christmas pudding and had their hot chocolate (accompanied by the story of how Arthur and Molly started dating, which was a story they told every Christmas because it was over Christmas they got together), all the children were exhausted, Ron and Ginny had already fallen asleep and Victoria was curled against Bill attempting to stay awake.
This Christmas set the tone for all Christmases at the Burrow, except Ginny and Ron took a more active role as they got older and father could no longer carry the youngest twins down the stairs at the same time. Instead, he would capture either Ginny or Victoria and Bill would grab whichever girl was left in order to 'protect' them from their father.