NOTES: Everything I sent were the exact words of the author. I have individually replied your reviews for some of them seem personal and long. I am sorry for those some who did not receive a reply from her. I couldn't go visit her because of my schedule lately and I have already printed out the first batch of reviewers. I hope you understand but I bet she'd be happy when I include your names on the next chapter when I give her the next set of reviews. Below is an author's note dictated by the author herself. No alteration had been made.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: I just wanted to thank you all for reviewing. I had never gotten this much review for my first few chapters before and I'm really grateful for you guys who have been so supportive of me. I also want to thank those who have been very much concerned about me. I was really touched by some of your replies on private Message and I just want to say that you've all been great, not just as reviewers, but as friends. I hope that you continue to enjoy my story and review after you have read it. For those who have placed this story on alerts and favorites, you have all my thanks! I hope you review this one too. Thanks.
Scorpius glanced at the outside the window and saw snow falling. "I think it's Christmas," he said. Rose nodded when she saw a pile of small boxes. The both of them walked into the living room and found the twins sleeping on the rug with a blanket over them. Scorpius looked to his side and saw Bill poking at the fireplace. Percy was reading a book while Charlie looked bored. "Look, it's your dad and Ginny," Scorpius suddenly said when he saw them playing Wizard's Chess.
Rose looked delighted. "Dad's the best a Wizard's Chess!" she squealed. She went to them and sat down to watch the game. "Look here, Scorpius, my Dad's winning," she said happily as she pointed to the chess board. Scorpius peered over at the game. Rose looked at him. "No one can beat my Dad at this. He's got great logic," she said.
"I heard," replied Scorpius. He studied the Weasley children. They were all clothed with the same battered clothes, but none of them seemed to be shivering from the cold. He looked around and saw that the house was still the same Burrow they had been seeing. He looked back at the boys and Ginny and wondered if they were feeling cold. He spotted Ron with seemingly new socks and smiled. His parents must've found a way to get him the socks.
Rose looked calmly at Ron. "Dad's grown an inch, I guess," she observed. "Look at his face. He's beginning to look a lot like Grandpa." She smiled and shifted her eyes back to the game. "Auntie Ginny's dead. Dad's got her. It's going to be checkmate at any rate. No matter what move she makes," she said as she studied to situation.
"Checkmate," said Ron. He looked up and grinned at Ginny who was frowning. "I told you that you still wouldn't get the better of me even if you practice." Ginny frowned even harder. Ron stood up. "You won't be able to beat me at this for ages, Ginny," he bragged and stuck his tongue out at his younger sister whose lower lip started to quiver. "Don't give me that look," said Ron when he was sure that Ginny was about to give him the waterworks.
Charlie looked at them sideways. "Now you've made her cry, Ron," he said. He looked at his toes. "What time will Mum and Dad come home, Bill? We've been waiting for ages! At this rate, we'll freeze to death before we eat our Christmas dinner," he said.
Bill gazed at the fireplace. "Do you think they'll come through the Floo Network?" he asked. Charlie shrugged. Bill turned his attention to the sleeping twins. "At least we don't have to worry about them causing any mischief while Mum and Dad are away. They're like angels when they sleep, silent." Fred turned. George kicked their blanket off of them. Bill looked at Ron and Ginny. "You both ought to be sleeping to, you know," he pointed out.
"No way," Ron answered defiantly. "I'm big enough to wait for Mum and Dad to come back home without sleeping. Ginny's not sleeping either." By now, Ginny had stopped making her sympathetic look about losing. "Let's have another go while we're waiting for Mum and Dad," Ron suggested as he fixed the chess board again.
Percy yawned. "What time is it anyway?" he asked.
Bill looked at his watch. "Nearing eleven." Percy sighed heavily and went back to reading his book. Bill threw his head back and fixed his flaming red hair. "They'll be back soon. I bet they're probably on their way. They always come by later than we expect." He looked at his brothers. "Hey, why not we play a game while they're away?" he asked.
Charlie's face lit up. "What game?" he asked.
Ron stood up. "I'm in for it." He looked at Ginny cheerily. "Come on, Ginny. What game, Bill? What gave did you have in mind?" Ron had always loved games, no matter what it was. Ginny stood up as well. "We should wake up Fred and George. They'd like to be in the game too," he said as he looked at his twin brothers who were still asleep.
"We are not going to wake them up," said Bill firmly so that Ron won't argue about it anymore. "We're going to play a quiet game. How about Hang the Dragon?" he asked. Ron frowned and shook her head. Bill thought for a moment. "How about Tic Tac boom? You've always liked that game," Bill said, looking hopefully at Ron who again shook his head. Bill sighed. "What game do you want to play then?" he asked, trying to be patient.
Instead of Ron answering, Ginny piped up. "Why don't we play hide and seek?" she suggested. She looked playfully at Ron who seemed to like the idea. Bill shook his head. "Why?" Ginny asked, now getting a little irritated.
"We have to run all over the house and we won't spot Mum and Dad comes back," he reasoned. "We have to be here when they come through the door," he glanced back at the fireplace, "or the fireplace," he added. "Charlie, help me think of something," he urged. "Percy?"
Percy shook his head. "Not interested," he simply replied.
"What's happening?" Fred finally woke up. He rubbed his eyes and sat up. He looked to his side and saw George still sleeping. He gave George a playful punch on the arm. "Oi you sleepyhead. It's time to get up," he said. George turned without opening his eyes. He mumbled something, but it was evident that he was still asleep. "Little git," muttered Fred, but he didn't really mean it by the looks of his face.
Ron looked at Fred. "We're trying to think of a game to play while Mum and Dad are gone," he explained. "Mum and Dad aren't hope yet and we don't want to wait for ages doing nothing, do we? Any ideas for the game?"
"Oh no, Fred is not suggesting, is he?" said Percy, looking up from his book. He fixed his glasses at Fred. "If you do, do you mind suggesting a game that won't create too much noise? I'm trying to read, you see," he said.
Fred frowned. "You always do nothing but read," he pointed out. He stood up and pulled Percy from the couch, causing his brother to fall back. Percy stood up angrily. Fred gave him an impish grin. "Come on, Perce! If you want a tamer game, we can play something tame." Percy looked at Fred. He didn't trust Fred's definition of tame at all. "Let's go outside and ride brooms. Isn't that time enough for you?" he asked mischievously.
Ron looked excited. "Yeah, there's an idea. Good go, Fred!" he cheered.
"No we are not going out there," said Bill strictly. He looked at his brothers. "Look at your feet, your clothes. Do you think you'd last a minute in the biting cold out there?" Fred and Ron frowned at the same time. They didn't want to agree with Bill at all, though they both knew that what he said was true. "I told you we ought to stay inside and find a game all of us could agree with." He shifted his eyes to George who was still sleeping. "Aren't you going to wake him up?" Bill asked.
Fred shook his head. "Let him sleep. He's caught a cold," he explained. Ron looked at George thoughtfully. Fred turned back to Bill. "Then what are we ought to do? Wait here and be dull. I shouldn't have woken up," he grumbled.
"Go back to sleep then," Percy countered as he went back to reading his book. A smirk came to his face knowing that Fred wouldn't win over Bill at this point.
Ron thought for a moment. "Want to have a go at the Wizard's Chess?" he asked. Fred nodded for he had nothing else to do anyway. Ron sat back on the ground and arranged the chess board. He looked at Ginny. "You watch me and Fred play. In time, you'll be able to beat me. But I dare tell you it will be in ages," he warned.
Ginny squatted back to the floor and looked at her brothers as they started the game.
Rose looked at George. "He does look ill, doesn't he?" she said. Scorpius nodded as he walked nearer to the sleeping boy. Rose looked back at her father. "Dad's got a cheerful disposition, I think." But she had a feeling that Ron was bitter when he was disallowed to ride the broom outside the house. "Why do you think Grandma and Grandpa are taking so long? It must be midnight by now. She looked behind her and saw the dining room. "They all must be hungry."
Scorpius blinked. Christmas dinner had always been on time in his family, though they never talked as they ate, unlike the Weasleys. Since he had not other brothers or sisters, he hadn't had any Christmas such as this.
Suddenly, there was a loud crack outside. All the Weasley children stood up in attention. The front door swung open and outside stood Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. Ron and Ginny ran to their parents. Bill smiled and so did Charlie and calmly walked over to them. Percy set aside his book and went to them as well. Fred shook George awake. George stirred and looked up. He blinked once before sitting up. He stood when he saw his parents and the twins gave their mother and father a hug last among all the children.
"Are you always like this?" Scorpius asked. "I mean your family."
Rose looked at him. "Hugging?" she asked. Scorpius nodded. Rose smiled. "Why of course. You ought to hug your parents when they come home, don't you?" Scorpius didn't reply. His parents never do hug him whenever they come home. "Why you ask that? Don't you ever embrace your parents?" she asked, raising an eyebrow as she looked at Scorpius.
"No," replied Scorpius quietly.
Arthur carried his daughter into his eyes. "Sorry we're late," he said. Ginny laughed as Arthur tickled her. He looked at his sons. "Now let's have dinner, shall we? You all must be famished by now." All the boys nodded. Arthur laughed. "What are you waiting for then? Let's run off to the dining room," he said as the boys took the lead and raced to their chairs around the table.
"What's for dinner?" asked Fred.
George sniffed. "Mum, I've got a cold."
"I'll hand you a tonic later, George. Percy, do you mind helping your sister with her plate?" said Molly.
Ron looked at his father. "I'm hungry."
"I'm sure you are son," replied Arthur as he passed a plate to Ron.
"Mum, Ginny won't take her plate," Percy complained.
Bill looked sideways. "Oh let her get it herself. She likes to be independent," he pointed out.
Charlie grabbed a piece of the chicken and took a bite. "It tastes great, Mum," he said.
"Thank you, Charlie," said Molly.
Arthur looked at Bill. "I'm sorry I wasn't there to pick you up from the station," he said apologetically. "I'm glad you and Charlie came on time for Christmas dinner. I thought you decided to stay at Hogwarts for dinner this year."
"Never," said Bill, taking a scoop of mash potato and shoving it into his mouth.
Molly smiled at him as she passed the peas to Charlie. "That's good to hear," she said. Charlie took the bowl of peas and passed it to his father. "Everyone takes two scoops of those peas," said Molly as she watched her boys place the peas into their plates. "I saw that George. I said two scoops. Go on, have one half scoop more."
Arthur looked at Bill. "I heard you're doing well. In no time, you'll be made prefect, you'll see," he said. Bill beamed at Arthur. Arthur turned to Charlie. "And congratulations for making it to the Gryffindor team. Your mother and were thrilled when we heard about it." He gave Charlie a thump on the back proudly. "That is the Weasley spirit we're talking about. We have a prefect in the making and a Seeker in the family," he said.
Bill flushed. "I'm not a prefect yet," he reminded his father.
"Oh you'll seen be Bill," said Molly confidently.
"Passhdapeashpeash," said Ron as he chewed his food.
Molly looked at him. "Don't talk when your mouth is full." Ron blinked, but Molly passed him the bowl of peas. "Though I'm happy that you're eating the vegetables tonight. You'll grow up very tall, you'll see," she said as Ron took the bowl from her and poured the rest of its remains onto his plate. "Ginny, eat yours," she said, giving her a warning look.
George came in defending his sister saying, "Cut her some slack, Mum. It's Christmas."
Scorpius looked at the Weasleys as they ate. All of them weren't dressed properly for a cold day and he figured that Bill and Charlie were cold when they came home from the train, but none of them were complaining. All of the happily had dinner and none of them talked about their parents being late and making them wait for so long, not even the twins who looked cheerful as they ate their dinner. He felt his green-eyed monster coming up.
"Scorpius," whispered Rose. Scorpius turned and looked at her. "Are you all right?" Rose asked. Scorpius couldn't say no. He couldn't explain how he can be envious of this family when they had so little. All he could do was nod. Rose smiled at him. "Christmas had always been fun when we gather up for this party. It's like this too," she said and looked back at the table, "but now there are more since all of them are grown and married and they have us."
"It's time to open the gifts"," announced Molly. All the children scrambled to their feet and ran to the living room excitedly. Molly and Arthur exchanged happy looks as the children gathered by the fireplace. "The youngest gets to open their gifts first," she said. "Go on, Ginny. You open yours. Happy Christmas, Dear," she said.
Ginny smiled back at her mother. "Happy Christmas!" She went through the boxes and found one for her. She slowly opened it. She held up a coat, looking very much second-hand. She smiled and ran to her mother. She threw her arms around her. "Mum! You got me this! Thank you!" she exclaimed and embraced her mother tighter.
"But it's an old coat!" Scorpius finally blurted out. Rose looked at him calmly. Scorpius looked sorry. "I didn't mean to, but…" his voice trailed off as he looked at the joy on Ginny's face when she received the coat. "It's just an old coat and…"
Rose's heart warmed at the scene. "All of them have the same hand-me-downs. I looked through Dad's old school things once. He never had anything new. They weren't as well-off as they are now. Most of the time, they had to pass down their clothes once one of them grow out of it. Dad's always been the last to get the clothes which means he usually wears everything his brothers had already worn," she explained. "Even school robes."
"Go on, Ron, it's your turn," said Arthur. He watched as his son looked through the box. Ron found a long on. Arthur looked at Ron cheerfully. "I think you'll like yours very much as Ginny did hers," he said, knowing his son very well.
Ron tore open the package. His eyes widened. "Chudley Cannons' poster!" he shouted excitedly. He looked up at his father. "You're the best, Dad. This is the best gift ever!" His eyes glistened as he looked at the team player fly around the small frame. He clutched it to his chest. "I'm going to put this on my wall, that's for sure," he said.
"Can I see?" said Charlie. Ron handed the poster to his brother. "Whoa, this is the best, Ron." He gave the poster back to Ron.
Fred looked at him with a smile. "Good for you, little bro."
Ron looked at his mother. "I'm going up to pin this, can I? I'll promise to come back down afterwards. I can't wait to pin it upstairs. Please, Mum?" Molly smiled at him and nodded. Ron jumped with excitement. He couldn't help but smile from ear to ear as he tightly held the Christmas gift on his hands. "Thanks, Mum! Happy Christmas! You're the best."
"Happy Christmas," replied Molly. "I love you, Ron."
Ron smiled even wider. "I love you too, all of you."
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Why don't you give love on Christmas day (on Christmas day)
Even the man who has everything
Would be so happy if you could bring
Him love on Christmas day (on Christmas day)
No greater gift is there than love
-Jackson 5-
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Ron danced around the room. Scorpius watched. "But that doesn't cost more than three Knuts, does it? You can find that anywhere around and it isn't anything special," he said as he studied Ron's most delighted face. "I don't really understand this," he muttered. "How could he be so happy with something so…common?" he asked
Rose watched as Ron headed for the stairs. "This one's over," she said. She looked at Scorpius. "That's the magic of Christmas, having your family with you, to know that they love you. That's what makes the moment the happiest and special," she said as everything went blank again.
A/N: Please review this. I might post the next up the last days of the week.
NEXT CHAPTER: Unbreakable Vow