Chapter Fourteen

A/N: Thank you to ThatHufflepuff, ClaireBear1982 and lunalovegood564 for reviewing the last chapter.

The clouds had darkened in the skies, and for a little while, the spirits of the children had dropped. But when the heavens opened, releasing not rain, but pure white flakes of snow, the petulant sadness that they had felt was lifted, and they merely stared out of the windows in wonder, the very magic tingling in the air.

"Children, dinner!" came a shout from across the building, and each of the children sprinted downstairs to the dining table, brought from their magical reverie by the promise of the Christmas dinner that Mrs. Weasley, their grandmother, had spent the majority of the day preparing, as she had insisted on doing so without aid, feeling that her daughter and daughters in law would simply get under her feet.

Ten minutes had passed, and the large family was seated around the table, one which held an equally substantial dinner, groaning under the weight, which was lessened with each moment that passed, as the children and adults ate their fill of the food. The atmosphere was that of a perfect Christmas, as jokes were told, crackers were pulled, and casual chatter filled the air, permeated with laughter and carol singing. It seemed to be the perfect moment, and Lily prayed that it would remain that way, that nothing would ever take her family away, so that they could enjoy this type of family Christmas for the rest of their lives.

"Are you alright, Lil?" Teddy questioned, resting a hand on the youngest redhead's arm. It then became evident to the girl that she had been daydreaming for a while, as her mother and father also seemed to have noticed. Flashing them a quick smile to prove that she was fine, she turned to the young man, reiterating what she had convinced her parents of in words.

"I'm fine, Teddy. I'm just thinking, that's all. About how I always want it to be like this." The moment she had explained this to the man, whose hair had been styled a festive mixture of green and red, his features changed from an arrangement of confusion to one of complete understanding. It was clear that he agreed with her wish from the slight nod of his head, and Lily found herself a little relieved that he did not think her foolish for saying such a thing, even more so when she had realised he felt the same, as it gave her cause to believe that the remainder of the family would also feel in a similar position.

"I've had the best Christmases of my life with this family." Teddy pointed out to her, something that had shocked her girl a little, and so he had elaborated. "Of course, I love spending the holiday with my Grandma, she's a really fantastic person and she tries so hard… but there's something about Christmas here that makes me feel a real part of something. Part of a family."

Immediately, the young girl felt a wave of sympathy move over her, as she thought of her friend's family, particularly thinking of the reason that he refused to stay with his own relatives over the day of the holiday. There would always be, for them, two empty seats that should have been filled, had the Second Wizarding War not taken them from them. Perhaps Christmas with the Weasleys was a way for him to escape the horrible memories that Voldemort had left for him, when he had been hardly a month old.

"You are part of the family, Teddy." Lily insisted, laying a hand on her fellow Hufflepuff's shoulder to add sincerity to her statement. "You probably have been for longer than I've been alive! Your family is Andromeda, biologically, and I know that you love her so much, but if you ever want somewhere else to belong, then you know where we are. We're here for you, Teddy, all of us. And if you just want a great dinner, then Grandma will be more than happy to oblige at any time!"

"That's good to know!" Teddy responded, with a slight hint of a laugh, before the pair of them returned to their food, aware of the fact that they had drawn a couple of eyes around the room, most notably the constant gaze of her grandfather, Arthur Weasley, who flashed the girl a brief smile before continuing to eat. Lily joined with the laughter when the eldest man complimented his wife very affectionately on her cooking of the Yorkshire puddings, much to the amusement an of all of their children, besides Ron, who was too absorbed in tasting each morsel of the spread to notice the change in atmosphere, though he did notice and contribute to the giggles, causing himself a brief choking fit in the process. This event had drawn even more laughs, bar from his wife, Hermione, who was forced to hit the man full force on the back, and whose features became that of disgust at the morsel of turkey that flew across the room when she was eventually successful.

Once their meal had been finished, the group moved to the tree, where each person's presents had magically sorted themselves into piles. Within just a couple of minutes, and between thirteen children, the floor was soon covered with wrapping paper, and between the sheets, sometimes even hidden beneath, was the odd present that had been concealed by it a few minutes earlier. The ensuing chaos of sheets of wrapping paper being thrown around was quite amusing to view, and enthralling to partake in for the children.

Night had just begun to fall when the snow began to do the same again, swirling around the garden in a beautiful flurry of white dusting, coating the trees in a beautiful sheet of purity. The family, every one of them, gathered by the large window in silence. But this was not a pregnant silence, rather one of bliss.

For the first time since before they could remember, life was truly perfect for the Weasleys. But was it to last?

A/N: Please review!