Title:This Christmas

Category: Romance

Summary: Sequel to 'It's Christmas'. The Fates of our six couples are revealed on Christmas Days years after the ending of 'It's Christmas'.

DISCLAIMER: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

Author notes: It is BEST if you read It's Christmas first but I don't think it will be mandatory. I'm actually planning to do a one-shot for every couple (even those who DID NOT get the girl) in It's Christmas. It's going be like a homage to the original story. The Theme of this Series of One-shots is my favorite Christmas music; every one-shot will be named for one of my favorite Christmas songs!

This Christmas:

Installment 4: "Christmas Time"

+ December 25 +
Here it was again, her favorite season, complete with her favorite day. The gray clouds, the white snow, the decorations, the jingle in everyone's tone, the joy of giving and receiving, the family, the noise, and the memories of Christmas' long gone. It never failed to amaze her, the moment England began to slip into its holiday frenzy it seemed that nothing could pull her from her optimistic haze, it had always been like that. Well, except for that time Harry had the bright idea of stringing lights, like those on Muggle Houses, and almost broke his neck. And then there was that year her first born, Noah, had eaten an entire box of Chocolate Frogs and spent the holidays with an awful stomach ache. Oh, and there was the year her youngest, Emily, had received that cursed Music Box from her nefarious uncles – that year reminded her strongly of her years at Hogwarts – and boy how she and Harry had made them pay for that mistake. Honestly, in retrospect, her Holiday seasons had not been the same since before she married Harry but she had known that from the moment she said 'I Do' her life would never be the same.

And suddenly she was pulled from her reverie by two rising voices. "You are such a selfish cow! You can't even fit the bloody jumper so why should I let a perfectly good piece of clothing go to waste on the likes of you?"

Ginny rolled her eyes before quickly searching the yard for her husband, only he could interject in these confrontations between their daughters without having to yell. Sometimes she wondered had she secretly been impregnated by a Slytherin, with her oldest daughter exhibiting quite a few traits from that side of the spectrum, it had shocked her entire family when Lily, her second child, had been sorted into Slytherin House; yet, the Sorting Hat's decision was no longer questioned after a few displays of Lily's infamous temper. Lily, at sixteen-years-old, was the most compassionate, intelligent, and charming girl until she was slighted, it would be then that her Slytherin traits would manifest themselves. Ginny always joked that Lily was the product of Harry's many intimate encounters with Voldemort, there was truly no precedent for Lily in her family; nevertheless, the tall, slender, brunette, was the apple of her father's eye, and the only person with Weasley heritage to be in Slytherin House.

"Cow? Ha," the Potter's youngest daughter, Emily, laughed, "it's not my looking glass that suggests a diet every morning! You wearing my jumper is like old cousin Dudley fitting into a bikini, fat chance, fat arse!"

Somewhere, deep inside, she longed to scream at both girls for using such language but after years of these run-ins she knew it was better for her to let the argument run its course or let Harry interfere, she would rather not become irritated as well. She moved from her windowsill to the foot of the stairs just in time to see her twelve-year-old yanking a beige jumper from her sister's dainty hands before turning and stalking back toward her room, indignantly. And just before Emily slammed her door, as her mother knew she would, Ginny decided that just for the sake of motherhood she would say something. "Girls! I'm warning you, I will not have this behavior at your grandmother's house, I suggest you two solve this before I come up there!"

"But Mum," Lily retorted, running the top of the stairs her long brown hair flowing behind her, Ginny could see her green eyes blazing from where she stood, "she –"

"No buts," Ginny interjected, her voice stern and her bright brown eyes challenging her daughter to contradict her, "your father and Lucas aren't back yet and I won't listen to it another moment. So I suggest you find another jumper and leave Emily to hers."

"But Mum," Lily tried again, this time her eyes softening, trying to use that charm that always worked on her father, "she can't fit it and she hasn't worn it since you bought it!"

"That's neither hear nor there," Ginny replied, now highly irritated, as she glanced over at the onslaught of snow outside her window, "you can and you will wear something else."

"Yes, mother," Lily grumbled, as she turned from the top of the steps and made her way back to her room, barely managing not to slam the door.

Ginny rolled her eyes as she turned away from the steps and leaned against the adjacent wall with a weary sigh. It was surely Christmas Day once again but it was nothing at all like the Christmas days that had once brought tears to her eyes. She was pressing fifty and the strain of having teenagers was wearing on her, she chuckled to herself, thinking of what her mother had said when she struggled to tell a four-year-old Noah about his upcoming sibling. No one told you two children to wait so long to have a family, this is entirely your doing. And it was, having three teenagers at this age was all her fault, she could not fathom the idea of giving up her sacred holiday with her sacred love to anyone. Christmas was their time, had always been, their wedding day had pushed so close to Christmas that Molly had to threaten her in order for them to schedule it a week before, in order to accommodate their friends and family. There is no need to intrude upon everyone else's holiday with your silliness, Ginerva. Her mother had fussed and fussed and nagged until Ginny finally set December 18th as the day and even with Molly's interference the season's hold became stronger.

"Mum!" called a breathless tenor, as her front door opened and closed, sending a gust of wind and particles of snow into the foyer.

Ginny smiled at the sound and quickly made her way out into the foyer to see her first child, her first son, her first real accomplishment, standing in front of the door looking more handsome than she had ever realized. Noah Potter was tall, even for Harry's son, his short strawberry blond hair was cut perfectly, with that wayward piece that always reminded people whose son he was, and he had this brilliant pair of brown eyes, it was a brown that Ginny still had a hard time describing. He was another reason she loved this season, he was two and a half years into his Mediwizard training and could only come home for few a days at the end of term, he was partially the reason she counted the days until Christmas.

The moment he saw her he pulled her into a gentle embrace, Ginny tightened her hold for a moment, simply trying to hold onto the precious child he once was. He brought joy to her heart today but only a few years ago the former Gryffindor Chaser would have been part of the havoc in her home. He and Lily could start some trouble when they got together; however, unlike his sister, Lily, he adored Emily and did everything in his power to appease her. Noah pulled away from his mother with a smile, he had always had something of a connection with his mother, something that Ginny relished.

"How's Christmas coming along? Are we ready for grandmum's yet?" Noah asked, knowing that his mother was quickly falling into her memories again.

"You look good, Noa," Ginny whispered, just a little bit sad, as she turned away from her son just quickly enough to force back the impending tears. "And Christmas around here never changes, the girls are about to kill each other, your father and Lucas left three hours ago to go leave a gift at his Aunt's Nursing home and I have exhausted my efforts to wait patiently for them."

"So everything is good here?" he replied with a chuckle, pushing his bag into a corner, as he always did even though later, as they flooed home, his mother would have his head for it.

"It's perfect," she answered, making her way back toward the living area. "I see you didn't bring your girlfriend with you?"

"Ex girlfriend, mother, ex, "Noah corrected, pulling off his robes to reveal a fitted jumper and muggle Jeans, Ginny had never noticed how much he had filled out, "she is now shagging someone else, as she had a habit of doing while we were together."

"Well, then you are well rid of her," Ginny said, her distaste for the young witch shining through, "it was the best Christmas gift she could have given you."

"Mum," Noah chuckled, inhaling a scent that he had always associated with his mother, this mix of pumpkins and chocolate, scents of his childhood, "you aren't disguising your motherly bias very well."

"Did you expect me to?" Ginny asked, as they entered the kitchen and she pulled down a saucer, preparing to serve him a piece of her Pumpkin pie. "You know I have always thought that you and Sienna would make a darling couple."

"Mum," he groaned, before taking a big bite of pie, his mother always brought up Sienna, "me and Aunt Hermione's daughter, that's just . . . weird. Plus, last I saw her she was dating some bloke by the last name of MacMillian, he just graduated from St. Mungo's Mediwizard program."

Ginny laughed softly to herself, shaking her head as she handed her son a napkin. "If this MacMillian is anything like his father, he will never be man enough to hold on to any woman that has Zabini and Granger blood. It just is not possible."

Noah did nothing more than shoot her a look as he finished his piece of pie. Pumpkin pie had been the first thing she had watched her son love throughout the twenty years of his life, she had noticed his affinity for her pie when he was just two precious years old. Ginny saw the man in him now, he stood up with such ease before he placed his saucer in the sink, he leaned down and kissed her cheek with sincerity, not tradition, and laughed a laugh that stirred an urge to cry within her.

"Ah," Noah sighed, looking around the kitchen he had seen expand as their family expanded, "there is nothing like being home."

Ginny smiled, she reached up and brushed an invisible piece of dust from his shoulder, saying, "There is nothing like you being home."

"Lil and Em still up there pouting, eh?" he asked, looking toward the stairs as the sound of something closing loudly made its way downstairs.

"Now what made you think they wouldn't be?" Ginny retorted, before turning to mutter a cleaning spell on the saucer.

"Well, I'm going to go up and see them," he announced, like she wasn't expecting him to go visit the two women who loved him just as fiercely as she did, "you okay by yourself?"

"Please go bring some noise back into my home," she ordered, looking back only to see the slight smile on his face, oddly enough, at that moment, he looked like the father people always said he looked nothing like.

"Count it done," Noah replied laughingly, before he took off running up the stairs he called to her, "I love you, Mum."

"I love you, too, Noah," Ginny replied, with a sigh as he ran up the stairs two at a time. This was the reason she loved this season more and more every year, her family never ceased to enhance the magic of Christmas.

No sooner had she placed the saucer back in the cabinet came a familiar yet warming sound. "Happy Christmas, dear."

She smiled as she slightly turned her head toward her husband and his look alike, fourteen-year-old, Lucas Potter, as they entered the kitchen door after their three and a half hour visit to Petunia Dursley's Nursing home. "Happy Christmas, darling, how was your visit this year?"

"Better," Harry replied, making his way over to kiss his wife, before moving over to the table to have a piece of pie, "she actually saw us this year. It went better than I had expected."

"Mum!" Lucas whined, as she made her way over to her youngest son, took the edge his chin and kissed his rosy cheek.

"I love you too, Lucas," Ginny chuckled, before she moved to pouring him a glass of hot cider as he went and sat at the table with his father. It was one of his many idiosyncracies, when everyone else was drinking Hot Chocolate, Warm Butterbeer, or Eggnog her youngest son wanted warm cider.

Lucas Potter was physically everything that his father was at fourteen, right down to the glasses, excluding the scar, but beyond that he had an outward confidence that had taken his father far more years to cultivate, Ginny had always attributed that to the Weasley in him. Lucas was everything his father wanted him to be, almost his shadow, which sometimes worried Ginny. She had always prayed that Harry never be disappointed in his youngest son, simply because all Lucas wanted was his father's approval and as long as he had it he was happy.

She loved Lucas for his hero worship, she saw it the very moment the Mediwizard had allowed Harry to hold his second son. Lucas had a bond with his father that no one could explain. Christmas was their day as well, it was the one day that Lucas and Harry could spend together without any other children, he was the only one of her kids that ever went to see their great-aunt Petunia, it had been like that since Lucas learned to walk. Going to see Petunia Dursley was simply an act of conviction on the part of her husband and Lucas went because if his father felt strongly about it then he would back him up. It was a subject that had spurned many discussions in the Potter household once Petunia was placed in the Nursing home after Vernon had died. She could remember the first Christmas when Harry had said:my Mum would never forgive me if I left her sister in that place to rot alone. I have to do this for my mum, she'd want me to do this. And when he brought up the subject of his parents Ginny was sure to let it slide, for she could never have imagined life without her own parents.

"Don't spoil her, Noa, she is already the most annoying person –" Lily was saying as she entered the kitchen and stopped as she spotted her father. "Daddy, you're back! So can we leave now?"

"We'll leave in a little while," Harry smiled, a loving yet knowing smile, she may have been the apple of his eye but he knew who she was, as his oldest daughter came and sat on the opposite side of Lucas at the table, "have a bit of pie to hold you over."

"How is Aunt Petunia getting along?" Lily asked, as her dad cut her a piece of pie, she didn't care much for her surly muggle Aunt but she never failed to ask her father how she was doing.

"Fine, just as spiteful as always but it is obvious that she misses having a real Christmas," Harry replied honestly before looking at his oldest son, who had just sat next to youngest daughter. "Noah, how are you studies going?"

"Afternoon, Dad," Noah said, Noah and Harry had the most professional of relationships but the outward appearance hid the fondness that each held for the other, "they're going well, only two more years to go."

"I know," replied Harry, as he picked up his mug, "I was talking to Hermione and she was telling me that you and Sienna were top of the class."

"Yes, sir, you know Sienna Zabini would be at no other place," Noah answered, flippantly, as he passed Emily the pie so she could cut a piece.

"Well, I'm glad you're up there with her, Noa," Harry retorted, giving a respectful nod to his son, "I'm proud of you."

"Thanks, Da," he replied, a slight blush rising up his neck. It was not the first time Harry had told his son that but it always achieved the same result, Noah always seemed to be a tab bit embarrassed by the exchange. A reaction Hermione attributed to their father being who he is, Hermione always said that their father's word could begin or end a war and to hear the man that the entire world worshiped adore them individually was something of an extraordinary experience for the children. The psychologist in Hermione always said that Harry helped her children become some of the most well rounded that Britain would ever see.

Ginny watched the scene with a light heart, this was why Christmas was so special to her, this is what made Christmas so magical, her very own family. She looked over to the shortest head at the table and noticed her brown eyes watching the scene just as she was. Emily Potter saw the same magic in the setting as she did; although, she was only twelve Emily had an insight that many adults did not have. She was the most Hufflepuff – just, fiercely loyal, and very empathetic -- of all of her children but there was one trait that had her destined to be a Gryffindor, Emily was entirely too courageous, nothing scared the girl. Somehow the reckless part of her had reached out to Noah's need to protect and bound the two together for all eternity. Ginny chuckled to herself at the thought of Emily dating, any man dumb enough to try it would be the talk of many dinner discussions because if Harry didn't scare him off Noah would.

"Mum," Emily called, turning around to face her mother with a smile that confirmed that she had been thinking along the same lines as Ginny, "you don't want a piece?"

"No thanks, Em. I made that just for all of you, I don't feel much like Pumpkin pie right now," Ginny answered with a gentle smile, running her fingers over her youngest daughter's strawberry blond hair.

No sooner had she said that than her husband made it over to where she stood, wrapping his arm around her waist, in an attempt to support her. His eyes searched hers for something she wasn't saying and when they found nothing he asked, "Are you okay?"

Ginny gazed up into the green eyes she had known to love the moment she saw them, she whispered, with a smile, "I'm fine. I just want to sit back and marvel at the gift that Christmastime has brought for us."

"Thank you, Dear," Harry said, as the noise at the table behind them began to escalate, he turned and pulled her closer as both his hands rested on the small of her back.

"For what?" she asked, her head tilting to one side, her silky red hair, now laced with gray, moving as her head moved.

"For giving me a Christmas that was just as special to me as it was to you," he answered, just as she leaned forward, wrapping her arms around his back, laying her head on his chest. "Now I know why you love this season so."

"I love it for the same reason I love you," Ginny whispered, her eyes closed, "it has brought me nothing but joy, year after year."