Holly was overwhelmed from the minute she set foot in the Burrow. She was surrounded by family, which was entirely foreign to her, having grown up only knowing her mum and her mum's parents. Here, she had not only grandparents, but also aunts, uncles, cousins, and one boy with blue hair who didn't have a proper title on the family tree but who Rose had assured her was family all the same.
"Rose, darling, what have you done to your foot?" Molly asked as she ushered Holly and Ron into the house and they were immediately swarmed with hugs.
"She'll be fine, Mum," Ron insisted. "Just won't be playing in the family match."
"We are not repicking teams," Ginny said firmly, wrapping her free arm around Holly as she bounced a dark haired toddler on her other hip.
"I will beat you again, with or without Rosie," Ron retorted, kissing his sister on the cheek and taking the child from her. "Hey, Al. How's my favorite youngest Potter?"
"Oh, nonsense, you two," Molly scoffed. "I'll have you fixed right up, dear, don't you worry about missing the match."
"Oh, Grandma, thank you, but Madam Toussaint said I shouldn't use any magic on it since it's been healing the muggle way."
"Don't be silly, it's only a potion."
Ron frowned, and Holly silently begged him to defend her lie—not that he had any idea it was a lie. "Mum, are you sure? If the school nurse said—"
"That's rubbish," Molly interrupted lightly. "I'll just go get the Skele-gro. Keep an eye on my potatoes." Ron rolled his eyes but obligingly stepped over to the stove and stirred something that Molly had simmering in a pot there as Victoire and Teddy barreled into the kitchen.
"Rose!" Victoire exclaimed, hugging her. "Come with us, I want to hear all about Beauxbatons!"
Holly let herself be escorted into the living room, where more of the family was gathered. She had thought it silly at first, the amount of time she had spent studying Rose's family tree in between revising for her actual exams, but now, surrounded by Weasleys, she was glad to have done it. There were so many of them. Holly took a deep breath, trying to get into Rose's exuberant mindset. It wasn't that she was shy, exactly, she was just much less...loud, than Rose was. Although, in Rose's defense, it had become quickly apparent that if you weren't loud in this house, you wouldn't be heard.
"Anyway, Teddy's mad I got sorted Gryffindor, but honestly, Teddy, were you surprised?" Victoire rattled on as the three of them resumed decorating the tree, an activity that they had been in the midst of when Ron and Holly had arrived.
"Not surprised, and not mad, either. I'm the only Hufflepuff in the family because I'm a lone wolf. Get it?" Teddy nudged Victoire, who groaned.
"Merlin, you and your awful puns. Uncle Charlie, how's the tree-topper coming? We're nearly done over here."
"Just about finished." Across the room, Charlie and George were dressing what appeared to be a real, stunned, garden gnome, and Holly couldn't help herself.
"Is that a gnome?" she blurted incredulously.
Four pairs of eyes looked back at her with a mix of confusion and concern. "Of course it's a gnome," Charlie finally replied. "What else would we put on top of the tree?"
Holly groaned internally. She told Rose that three weeks was not nearly enough time for them to exchange everything that they needed to know about each other's families, but she had definitely gotten the harder job. And she would have thought Rose could have mentioned a tradition as odd as using a real life gnome as decoration.
"Just thought we might have mixed it up this year," she said with a shrug, hoping she sounded more casual than terrified. She had already messed up once with her dad, misremembering his Quidditch position, and now here she had done it again. She had only been in England for a few hours, and she still had the entire Christmas holiday to get through. With so many eyes on her, Holly was going to be busted in no time. And then what was she supposed to do?
"So, Mum, I was thinking about last night," Rose ventured as she followed Hermione through the crowded department store. The two of them were out Christmas shopping with Jean, but Rose had wanted to wait until they were alone to bring this topic up with her mum.
"I've been trying to stop thinking about it," Hermione groaned, but she smiled at Rose. "You've nothing to worry about, love."
"Well, not with that man, but…" Rose hesitated and turned to look at a display table of fancy chocolates. She wondered if it was too soon to ask about Hermione's love life; after all, she had only met her just yesterday. But Holly had assured her that her relationship with their mum was open and communicative, so hopefully the fact that she was Holly right now would give her the freedom to ask what she wanted to know.
"But what?"
"Do you ever think about getting married?" Rose blurted before she could overthink it.
If her mum was put off by the question, she didn't show it. "I don't think it's necessary for a person's happiness that they be married," Hermione mused. "Though try telling that to your grandmother. Not that there's anything wrong with the concept, mind you. But it's not for everyone."
"What about the f-word?"
"The f-word?" Hermione repeated incredulously.
"My father."
"Oh. That f-word," Hermione laughed. "What about him?"
"Did you ever think about marrying him? Before, I mean."
Hermione hesitated before she answered. "I suppose I did. But we were very young, you know. I had barely even finished school when you were born."
"Did you love him?"
Hermione chuckled again, but she looked decidedly more uncomfortable than she had before. "Why the sudden curiosity about your dad?"
"Maybe because he's never mentioned," Rose said with a roll of her eyes. She didn't even have to fake her indignation, because her dad never talked about her mum, either. "And honestly, mum, you can't blame a kid for wondering. At least tell me what he was like."
Hermione was now the one intently studying a display to avoid eye contact, but Rose was hanging on her every word. "He was in Gryffindor, like me. We'd been friends since our first year. He was funny, and charming, and infuriating, and…" She sighed. "And yes, if you must know, I loved him very much. Alright?"
"Alright," Rose agreed with a grin. She spotted her grandmother coming towards them, and knew Hermione wouldn't want to discuss this any further with her mum around. But she had at least opened the door to further conversation. Switching places with Holly was the best idea she had ever had.
