Chapter 38 – Going home for Christmas

Rose groaned in frustration in front of the mirror in her dorm. Her hair looked like a birds nest and rendered every effort to tame it void. She knew she was out of conditioner when she went to shower this morning, but she never knew the outcome would be this bad. Just good it was the last day at school and they would board the Hogwarts Express on their way home for the winter holidays after breakfast.

"I can't go out like this." Rose moaned and covered her face. "Ian will laugh at me."

"Why didn't you use your hair products?", Mara asked slightly marvelled from behind her. She had never seen Rose's hair this wild and could understand why her friend was frustrated.

"It's empty."

"Want to use my sleekeazy? Might help a bit. Even if I'm sure Ian will think you cute no matter how your hair looks." Mara handed the tin towards Rose, but the girl only shook her head instead of taking it.

"Read the warning on the back.", she instructed and sighed again when she tried to brush her hair. It hurt more than it helped even with the brushing charm she had used.

"Unique results for gingers.", Mara read out loud and looked up in horror. "Sorry Rose, never saw that."

"My cousin Molly once tried it, ask her what happens, but don't be surprised should she start crying." Rose had the creeping horrors just remembering her cousin's cry of fright coming out of the bathroom after she had used it. Up to this day Molly Jr. still blamed her cousin Fred for putting it between her stuff. She had stayed locked in her room at the Burrow for two days afterwards and her grandma Molly had been the only one allowed to see her and bring food.

"That bad? But why didn't you get a new bottle of yours when you saw it was nearly finished?"

"My mom makes it for me.", Rose whispered and both girls looked at each other. Mara wasn't sure what to say, as Rose had never shared with her what happened with her mother. All she knew was that Rose's parents split up and that her friend blamed her mother for it. There was a lot of talk in the newspapers but Mara knew not to put too much trust into reporters. While visiting the Weasley's she had met Mrs. Granger-Weasley more than once and she was a strict but fair lady that could tell you off with just a glare. She was also the one that rolled her eyes whenever her husband read the Daily Prophet out loud and told him to stop believing every made up story they printed for sales figures.

"I'm sure she will give you a bottle if you ask her. Just ask her when you get home this evening." There was a long silence after Mara said it and she was unsure if it had been the right thing to say after she saw the hurt on Rose's face.

"Yes, my mother would, if she was there."

Vexed, Rose searched her makeup bag for a hair tie to wrestle her hair into a ponytail and threw the rest into her packed trunk. Her day wouldn't get better anyway.

XxX

"Welcome home!", Ginny greeted her kids at Platform 9 ¾. Lily ran towards her mother, the first to arrive. She was smiling and obviously happy to be home. Her small girl had grown an inch over the last weeks.

"Hurry James!", she called out to her brother who carried not just his trunk but hers too.

Ginny looked around waiting for her last child to arrive while she hugged Lily and James with a smile of her own. Harry was still at work and would meet them at home in a few hours. She knew how much he wanted to be here now and make sure that his children were fine and knew that their dad loved them.

"See you!", Jason Jordon shouted their way and Ginny turned towards him to see his father Lee greeting her with a nod and smile, she answered the same way. James gave his best friend a thumbs up and grinned.

"New year, new ideas.", James shouted back and she could only shake her head at his antics. She knew the trouble trio was well on their way to follow in her twin brother's footsteps of infamousness. For a moment she wondered where Ralph, the missing third member of their squad was, but the platform was full of students. In her head she sometimes asked herself if James wasn't a little bit too close to the way his namesake had been at that age. She just hoped there was a Lily somewhere out there for him to lash him.

When she finally spotted Albus it wasn't so much because of her son, but because of the tell-tale white blond tuft right beside him. The boys were still inseparable after all this years. While Harry and Draco still had their troubles, their sons were the opposite in every way.

She knew her husband wasn't too happy with the friend his youngest made, but sometimes she wasn't sure if it really had something to do with the Malfoy name, or if something else was going on. She liked Scorpius with his sober and well behaved behaviour even if the both of them always got into trouble together. Waving at the two of them she saw and ignored Albus' sour expression. They stayed back to say goodbye which gave her time to look around for her nephew and niece to make sure Ron was there to get them. She had wanted to offer taking them with her but Ron had never answered her, which made her worry. When Albus finally joined his family she had yet to spot them.

"Have you seen Rose and Hugo?", she asked bothered while trying to increase her height by standing on her tiptoe.

"Uncle Ron already left with them when you greeted Mr. Jordan. Didn't you see him?" Lily asked her mother bewildered, like she couldn't understand. "He stood right at the entrance and apparated with them."

"Yeh, Aunt Hermione stayed back at the castle. I thought she would take the train with us but she never entered. Guess we won't see her at Christmas." James quipped in and raised an eyebrow.

"You are stupid James, why would she. She can apparate from Hogsmeade to wherever she wants." Lily defended their aunt and glared at James for making jokes about a family matter like this.

"Orrrr, she stays there because she isn't as bright as everyone thinks and messed up. Haven't you read all the rumours?" James knew how to rile up his sister and his smile grew even bigger when he saw Lily's hair sizzling in annoyance. She had burned more than one of the Daily Prophets with the rumours on the front page, telling Rose to ignore all the idiots believing it when she had been close to tears at breakfast not too long ago.

"Lily, James, stop fighting. We'll clear this up at home." Ginny's voice carried an undertone both her children took to heart. Some of the parents around them looked their way a tiny bit too interested in their conversation for Ginny's liking.

Hugging Albus to her Ginny finally greeted him too. "Welcome home my darlings." And while Albus made it look like he was embarrassed by his mother's public display of love he hugged her back tightly.

AN:

So we finally have Christmas coming up, yey! Don't mind that it's nearly Whitsun. ;)