Standard disclaimers apply!

I do not own Harry Potter. I have nothing to do with Scholastic, Warner Bros or Bloomsbury. I'm not JKR and I am certainly not making any profit out of this.

The Burrow

"10 – 9 – 8 – 7 – 6 – 5 – 4 – 3 – 2 – 1

HAPPY NEW YEAR!"

There was kissing and hugging and laughter.

Then there were gasps of delight and awe as everyone stood arm in arm to watch bright sparklers and rockets and whizzers and bangers shower a profusion of stars and squiggles all over her and her garden.

Each person there. Mother and Father. Boyfriend and Girlfriend. Sister and Brother. Husband and Wife. Each and every one of them offered up a silent wish to the universe – she could feel them do it. Let this be a good year. A quiet year and a safe one.

She was still shaking a little on her foundations from the explosions, and she heaved a sigh of relief when they trouped back into her walls. The ghoul clanged on his pipes in celebration and Crookshanks decided it was safe enough to come out of hiding and seek scratches behind his ears.

If she had a voice, she would have been laughing and singing along with them all – especially when George dipped Angelina nearly to the floor in an extravagant kiss. She would have been sobbing with happiness with the rest when Bill and Fleur, beaming, had announced that there would be a new baby in early spring. No matter, the family did it for her.

She needed the love that sunk into her walls, it kept her standing, and it had been so hard to keep from falling apart when the family had to flee. But she'd kept it together, knowing they'd be back in some shape or form. The ghoul had helped, moaning and rattling around to remind her that he, at least, was still there to keep her company.

The floo tickled her, and she knew it was George and Angelina going back to the flat. Then Percy and Audrey, soon followed by Bill and Fleur.

Part of her didn't like that they had left her, even if it was the natural order of things. She knew they had to grow, and she was so proud of them for doing it so well ... she just wished they could do it with her. She had to accept that one day, maybe sooner than she'd be happy with, it would be just her Arthur and Molly again ... but she still knew the feeling of each one whenever they came back to her.

Oh how her shingles had quivered on Christmas morning when she'd felt the shadow of her Fred return! That day had made her stronger than ever, with all the goings on.

Now they were going to bed, so she let the cat out and locked her own doors – they often forgot to lock the doors – and waited patiently for Ron to lose patience with his owl ... and there it was, the silly little animal, shooting out the window and fluttering around her chimney.

Settling down for the night, The Burrow decided to stay awake for a bit, just to watch the fairies play.

A bit twee? :-)