Back in the field from yesterday, Tonks and Remus, walking hand in hand, lead Fred and George through the snow. George is carrying a hand saw to cut down the tree.
"Are we there yet?" whines George.
"I'm the one with the back pain!" Tonks retorts. "You have little reason to complain."
Remus looks concerned. "Are you feeling alright? Maybe we should turn around."
Tonks smiles. "I'm FINE. I'm just teasing poor George."
"Well, do speak up if you start feeling under the weather." Remus says. Tonks kisses his cheek in reply, finally turning his worried frown to a smile.
"Look, here we are!" Fred says.
"So we are. Time to find the best tree!" Tonks says. The group scatters through the copse to judge the firs.
"How big of a tree are we looking for?" asks Remus.
"The bigger, the better!" George replies, looking at a 10 foot tall tree.
"Well," Tonks says, "Not toooo big. The space near the fireplace isn't terribly large. A tall tree would be fine but we don't want one too wide for the spot. I think this would work nicely," she adds, pointing at a modest tree about 6 feet tall.
Seeing Tonks' choice, Fred laughs. "That one's shrimpy, Tonks! Gosh. We need a bigger tree than THAT."
"What have you got, then?!" she asks, winking at Remus, who appears bewildered - as is usual around Tonks and the Weasley twins. In response, Fred shakes the snow off a slightly taller, wider tree. "Oh Fred, it's perfect. Really truly perfect!"
"Thought you might think so," Fred replies, satisfied.
George appears out of nowhere and hands the saw to a still-bewildered Remus. "Time to chop it down then, eh Remus?"
"Me? Why have I got to do it?"
"I did it last year," Fred replies-
"And I did it the year before," George finishes. "So now it's your turn since you've never done it."
"But my coat! It's wool. I'll get pine sap and needles all over it." Remus protests.
"Darling, I'm sure Molly will magic it all out for you. It'll be good as new. Besides, if you cut the tree down, it'll have to be Fred's turn to drag it back to the house. Isn't that right, Fred?"
"Why me? I chose the tree, isn't that enough?"
"Well, if Remus cuts down the tree, and George carried the saw here - and will carry it back" she adds with a sharp glance at George, "then surely the only job left is to drag the tree back. You wouldn't want a pregnant woman to do that now, would you?"
"Well, since you played that card. I suppose I have no choice."
"Jolly good. Now how do I go about chopping this down, then?" Remus asks.
George replies, "Just get down and saw the trunk at the bottom until it falls onto you!"
"Oh dear."
