A/N: Time for some family fun.

Sorry for the late updates; university's killing me.

Two Very Different Christmases

"Ron, hurry up! They're here!" Hermione was rushing down the stairs, Ollie in tow. Her maternal instinct never failed her; she heard her children scrunching through the snow all the way from upstairs, and of course Hugo and Rose arguing about something. It was unusual to have them arrive so early in the day; Ron and Hermione expected the train to come in the afternoon like it usually did, but they caught them by surprise by showing up first thing in the morning instead.

"'M comin'…'m comin'…how did they get here? Weren't we supposed to pick them up in the afternoon or something?" He grumbled, stepping out of their bedroom with sleep-ridden hair and half open eyes. He rubbed the back of his head and yawned as he dragged himself downstairs.

"That's what I thought, but I guess the train was a little ahead of schedule. At least they made it home safely." Hermione said. Ollie looked up at Ron questionably and meowed in amusement; the red haired man's disheveled appearance entertained him.

"Oh shut up, you know I'm excited to see them." He spat down at the little orange cat, and Ollie hissed in retaliation. Hermione wrenched the door open and met the five beaming faces of her children.

"Mum, Dad!" Rose cried and leaped into Hermione's arms; Mandy and Randy waved excitedly as they wheeled their trunks inside. Ron patted Hugo on the shoulder and ruffled Jane's hair.

"You're really sprouting aren't you, son?" Ron chuckled; Hugo was only fifteen and he was already Hermione's height. The shaggy haired boy flushed and attempted to hide his embarrassment by laughing it off.

"Must've gotten it from you." He smirked, and the rest of the family laughed along with him. Ollie mewed audibly and Jane bent over to pick him up. He purred contently and licked the youngest Granger-Weasley's knuckles.

"It feels so great to be home." Rose breathed once she let go of Hermione.

"And it's great to have you all back for the holidays." Hermione peered over her eldest daughter's shoulder, eyeing the trunks behind her, "Now why don't all of you settle in and I'll make us some breakfast?"

"Breakfast!" Randy and Hugo exclaimed in unison, and immediately began hauling their trunks upstairs. Mandy clamped her eyes shut and pinched the bridge of her nose. Everyone else broke out into laughter once again.

--

Scorpius yawned and stretched the kinks out of his spine as he stepped out of the train compartment. The Hogwarts Express arrived at Platform 9 3/4 a little earlier than expected, so he and Lyra had to find out how to get home. He cringed when he vaguely remembered the fact that his house was in bloody Wiltshire, and not anywhere nearby in London, like most of the kids around here-the Weasleys in particular.

"Why don't you just Apparate like what Albus Potter did? He just did Side-Along Apparition with his sister a few seconds ago!" Lyra protested, and Scorpius glared at her. Albus Potter, who had turned seventeen a couple of months earlier than him, already knew how to Apparate. His ruddy famous father probably taught him; he wondered if he taught Rose how to do it…

But then again her birthday just passed; it was in November, so she probably did not know how.

How the bloody hell do you know Rose Weasley's birthday?

He shook off the odd question and looked around him; the students that were of age were Apparating with their siblings, and some parents somehow found out that the train arrived early, so they were already there, ready to take their children home. He scratched the back of his head, trying to think up of an idea.

"Uh-" He noticed Lyra's temper was growing fast, and he began to grow nervous. He really did not like it when his sister was angry.

"Scorpius, Lyra." That drawling voice, it had to belong to none other than their father. Both of the Malfoy children spun around on their heels to face their parents; Astoria looked slightly relieved at the fact that her children had decided to stay for the holidays. Draco, however, looked as unimpressed as always, his arms crossed and his face laden with a bored expression.

"Mother, Father...how did you-" Lyra started, but Draco interrupted her.

"That's of no importance. Come now, we're leaving." He whirled around, his black coat flapping ominously, and Astoria stared back sympathetically.

"Do you need any help with your luggage, dear? Here, I'll wheel your trunk and you can worry about carrying Sunset." The dark haired woman took hold of Lyra's trunk and began following Draco. Sunset, Lyra's Bengal cat, purred calmly in her owner's arms. Scorpius looked down at his owl cage; his brown owl, Ferdinand, was sitting silently on his perch, staring out into the distance.

"Hurry up, Scorpius! What are you staring at?" Lyra called out, and Scorpius snapped out of his trance and continued dragging his trunk out of the station.

--

The few days that had passed had been very peaceful and relaxing; Rose always loved the time she spent at home. Though the food at Hogwarts was filling nothing could compare to good old homemade food, and no one else knew that better than the grandchildren of Molly Weasley. They visited their grandparents yesterday for dinner with the Potters and George's family. It was good to see Fred again; he secured a job at Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes with his father, and his corny jokes always lightened the mood.

Today Rose was relaxing in her room, sitting on her bed with one of her favourite Muggle books, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, whom her younger sister was named after; Hermione was a big fan of the Muggle writer, and Rose could easily see why, particularly in this story. The storyline sort of reminded her of the story between her parents; Ron and Hermione had recited their story to their children many times, though both of them had different interpretations of it. Sometimes it was hard to choose who to believe.

For some odd reason Rose's eyes began to slowly drift away from her book and onto the shiny package sitting on her desk across the room. A light blush swept over her cheeks and she quickly reverted back to her book.

In the couple of days that had passed since she left for home she had never thought of Scorpius Malfoy until now; she remembered the way he looked when he handed her the small silvery box, all serious and business-like. She remembered how awkward his hair looked, how it always stuck up and out in odd places and how it never seemed to lie flat, and also how it looked almost white when the sun shone on it. She pictured his face, pale and chiseled, and his voice, deep, thick, and always sounding like he was bored or unamused.

And how could she forget about those eyes?

Those eyes, slick as mercury and yet hard as gunmetal, the pair of eyes that could cut through you with just one stare. If looks could kill, he should consider a profession in staring.

Rose felt her cheeks heat up again and she realized what she was doing: she was thinking about Scorpius Malfoy, particularly how he looked, out of all things. Okay, so maybe he was a bit of a treat to look at, but that did not mean anything, right? There had to be tons of girls at school who probably thought the same thing, but then again when did she ever think like the other girls?

A sudden rapping at her door startled her enough to forget about what she was thinking about-or who she was thinking about, that might have been a better way to put it.

"Rose, Rose! You in there?" Hugo's voice was muffled due to the thick wooden door. A little irritated, Rose rolled her eyes and moved to sit on the edge of her bed.

"Yes, why?" She asked, and waited for his answer.

"We're gonna have a snowball fight outside. Wanna join?" He asked. Rose cringed; snowball fights with her siblings were always disastrous. They always ended up in everyone teaming up on her. When she took too long to answer, Hugo spoke up again.

"C'mon, I promise I won't team up on you." She could hear the smile in his voice, and though she hated to admit it, she could not help but feel excited for the upcoming snowball fight.

"Alright, I'm coming. Meet you downstairs." Hugo let out a yelp of praise and she heard his hurried footsteps bounding down the stairs. Shaking her head and smiling at the same time, Rose moved to grab her scarf and her gloves.

--

It was deathly quiet in the Malfoy Manor, which was something to be expected. Scorpius sat at his desk, stroking Ferdinand's dark feathers. His chin was resting in his palm and there was a bored expression on his face. He hated coming home for the holidays, but he really had no choice. All of his friends left Hogwarts for Christmas so if he stayed he probably would have been just as bored. At least there was a plus to staying at home for two weeks: he did not have to deal with Tatia Schultz. It was a boring, but very relieving vacation for him.

He wondered if Rose heeded his words and actually was waiting to open his present on Christmas morning. He admitted that the silence was a little more deafening without her around; arguing with her had been his main source of entertainment these days.

"Scor?" Lyra's shy voice murmured from the other side of his door. Grumbling in frustration, Scorpius figured that she was as bored as he was and had decided to come bother him.

"What do you want?" He asked, and spun around on his chair to face the door, which was still closed.

"I'm bored. Let me in." The girl whined, and Scorpius slapped a hand to his forehead. He really did not have anything to lose, so he agreed. Lyra walked in, her black hair swaying gracefully as she stepped over to sit on the edge of her older brother's bed.

"I hate coming home. There's nothing to do." She said frustratingly, and moved to lie down on her back. She sprawled her limbs out on the bed, looking like an odd starfish. Scorpius snorted and shifted back in his chair to feed Ferdinand.

"Tell me about it." He agreed grimly, and he heard Lyra laugh a little.

"Say, did you ever find a present for that girl?" Her question threw Scorpius off balance. The mention of 'that girl' caused images of Rose to flood into his mind; her dark blue depths were sparkling, and her smile was broad, genuine, and directed towards him...

"Uh, yeah...yeah I did." He replied distractedly, shaking his head in an attempt to get rid of the images. Lyra sat up to stare at her brother questionably.

"You alright? You look like you're having a fever or something. Your face is all red." Lyra smirked; she meant something different behind her words, and Scorpius knew what she was trying to say. He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair as his sister broke out into fits of hysterical laughter.

"You're in love!" She shrieked, falling backwards on the bed from laughing so hard, "Scorpius Malfoy, in love!"

"Shut up, will you? The whole house is going to go deaf." Scorpius hissed, but Lyra continued laughing. She calmed down after a few minutes and sat up again, wiping the tears from her eyes.

'Alright, alright," She flicked her hair behind her shoulder, "who's the lucky girl, hmm?"

Scorpius flushed again and quickly turned his face away from his sister in a feeble attempt to avoid her noticing. Lyra giggled.

"T-that's none of your business." He muttered nearly incoherently, and that only made Lyra laugh louder. She crawled towards the edge of the bed so she could peer into her brother's face with an intimidating stare.

"Oh c'mon, it's not like everyone isn't going to find out."

He cringed; she did have a point there. School had its ways of prying into everybody's social lives, especially for him. Who did not want to know who Scorpius Malfoy was interested in? At least he has not been making it so obvious. If Lyra guessed correctly he would have...what would he do? He did not even know.

"Scorpius…" Lyra whined, and he glared at her. He was not going to cave in; if she wanted to find out so badly she would have to figure it out for herself.

"Get out of my room, Lyra." He said scathingly, and she gave him a contemptuous stare. Grey and grey.

"Fine," She huffed as she hopped off her brother's bed. She smoothed out her skirt and flicked her hair again, "but you do know I'll figure it out eventually."

He smirked and leaned backwards on his chair as she slammed the door shut behind her.

"That's fine with me." He smirked to himself.

--

The Burrow was much too small to hold the entire Weasley clan, so Christmas was to be celebrated in the garden, inside a large tent. It looked like a regular camping tent on the outside, but when Rose clambered inside, it looked like a large dining room, with a long table that looked like it could sit every single one of her aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, and immediate family. The best thing about the tent was that it was magically heated, so no one had to worry about freezing to death while dinner was served. At the very end of the table was a fairly large room, the floor laden with large plush pillows for sitting. A tall, lavish Christmas tree sat at the very end, glittering and glowing with its many ornaments, topped with a shimmering star. The bottom of the tree was flooded with presents wrapped in an array of colours.

"Brilliant." Albus, James, Randy and Hugo breathed in awe.

"Hello boys! Happy Christmas!" Arthur greeted his grandson with a warm smile. Molly was still back in the house preparing the food, with the help of Hermione, Fleur, Angelina, and Audrey.

"Oh, are we late?" Rose spun around and beamed at her cousin-in-law, Teddy Lupin, who was just crawling into the tent. His hair was a flaming red today, probably to reflect today's special occasion. Victoire stepped in soon after him with a blue bundle in her arms. Rose, Lily, and Mandy gasped.

"Henri!" They exclaimed excitedly. Victoire laughed and pretended to look apalled.

"Oh, and you don't even give your own cousin a warm greeting?" She said sarcastically. Rose peered into her older cousin's arms; Henri stared back at her with wide, liquid blue eyes. His short hair was a forest green, contrasting with his father's scorching red and the colours of Christmas. His skin was tinged pink from the cold, but it looked flawless, soft. He looked so perfect. It was probably from his mother's Veela heritage.

"I'm guessing he can change his appearance too." Lily commented, stroking Henri's soft fuzzy hair. Teddy nodded and crossed his arms, a proud smile on his face.

"Yep-when he was just born his hair was a white blond; kinda scared me for a minute 'cause I thought he was a Malfoy-" Everyone except Victoire and Rose laughed, "-but then seconds later it turned into a pure black, then a bright turquoise."

"Just like yours when you were born." James chimed as he approached them. He was beginning to look more like his namesake as he got older, though with chocolate brown eyes instead of hazel. Teddy gave him an odd stare.

"How the bloody hell would you know what I looked like? You weren't even a thought yet!" Everyone burst out into laughter.

Rose, however, was standing very still with a red face. The moment Teddy mentioned 'Malfoy', images of Scorpius flashed into her head and she was having a hard time getting rid of them.

"Rose, are you alright?" Lily asked concernedly, "You look a little flushed."

Mandy snickered and Rose glared at her. She shook her head and put on a small smile.

"I'm fine," She answered calmly, "it's probably just the cold weather outside."

"Alright everyone, take your seats! Dinner's ready!" Molly climbed into the tent just minutes before; the boys hooted in excitement and rushed towards the table to take their chairs; Molly rolled her eyes and left the tent to get the food. Rose laughed and walked with Lily, Mandy, and Victoire to take their seats. Roxanne and Dominique were already there, chatting animatedly about what they thought they were getting for Christmas this year.

Dinner was as eventful as usual; James, Teddy, and Fred, who were supposed to be sophisticated adults by now, were scolded by Molly, Ginny, and Angelina for charming their food to walk across the table; infant Molly Weasley, the daughter of Percy and Audrey, was throwing a temper tantrum and began throwing her carrot bits everywhere; Ron broke out the corniest jokes imaginable, and Harry talked about one of his most interesting Auror stories, which naturally caught everyone's attention.

After dinner, the family gathered in the room with the cushions to hand out presents. Everyone had their arms full with gifts; Albus thanked Merlin he had such a large family. Everyone ripped open the pretty, shiny wrapping paper and undid the nice silk bows to reveal what was hidden underneath; Rose received many nice things this year, including several new books from her parents, the usual knitted lettered jumper from her grandparents, some novelty joke items from her Uncle George and Aunt Angelina, a leather-bound day planner from Harry and Ginny (she always wanted one of these), and a box of Chocolate Frogs from Albus himself.

"Looks like we've got a good haul this year, don'tcha think?" Hugo said excitedly as they approached the front door of their home; the sky was a pitch black now and the full moon hung over them as Ron opened their front door. Rose's siblings stumbled inside, tired from the day's events. She dragged her feet all the way upstairs to her room; when she got there she dropped all of her presents on the floor, leaving it there for her to organize in the morning. She was too tired to be neat and orderly at the moment.

When she turned her bedside lamp on, something glimmered in the corner; Rose's eyes shifted towards her desk, where the silvery square package still sat.

Scorpius, she thought immediately as she scrambled over to grab the shiny package. She stared at it for a few minutes, taking in its simplicity. The silver wrapping was glinting in the dim light, and the blue bow sat there, perfectly knotted. She wondered if he tied it himself.

Just open it, for crying out loud! Her conscience screamed at her as she began untying the bow. Instead of tearing the wrapping apart like what she did with the other presents she received, she plucked off the tape and began to simply just unwrap the present.

Tear it open! Her conscience nagged as she gasped at the black, velvety box that was sitting on her lap. With trembling fingers, she pried it open…

A single, glittering golden ball sat inside. She took it into her hands and examined it closely. All of a sudden, the ball jumped up and a pair of metal, golden wings sprouted out from its sides. It flittered around her head, twitching in all sorts of different directions.

"A Snitch…" She mumbled thoughtfully as it whizzed around; watching it made her dizzy. She expected it to buzz around forever, and she worried about how she was going to catch it, but then it began to slow down; it lowered itself into its velvet box and sat still, its shiny wings fluttering one last time before retreating inside the Snitch.

How did he manage to get a Snitch in Hogsmeade? Then again, he was a Malfoy. He probably had his sources.

She stroked the ball with her index finger, feeling the raised intricate patterns under her skin. This must have cost a bit of money, she figured. She closed the box and placed it on her bedside table. She needed to owe him back somehow.

"Oh, and I didn't get her anything, if you were still thinking about that." His slick voice echoed in her head, and she could not help but blush. Scorpius Malfoy gave her an expensive looking present, and Tatia did not get anything.

It was something worth bragging about, at least.

--

"Pass the gravy, would you Lyra?" Narcissa Malfoy's voice echoed throughout the wide, grey dining room. The Malfoy family was 'enjoying' a nice quiet Christmas dinner. Scorpius swirled his pasta half-heartedly with his fork. He did not even feel hungry.

"So how is school, Scorpius?" Lucius' drawling voice piped up. Scorpius lifted his messy blond head to face his grandfather, who was staring directly at him with his usual unimpressed gaze.

"Er, it's okay I guess. Not much happening." He replied indifferently, shrugging his shoulders. He noticed how his voice sounded just as bored as his grandfather's.

"Is your head feeling better, dear? That was a terrible accident." Narcissa asked as she sliced through her beef with her knife. Scorpius ran his fingers through his hair, mussing it up even more.

"Yeah. It's fine now." He replied politely, and the family elapsed into another awkward silence. The only sound present was the clanking of the silverware against the plates, and the occasional dull thump of a glass being set down on the table.

"I heard Andromeda's grandson just recently became a father." Draco blurted unexpectedly. Narcissa stiffened at the mention of her sister's name; Lucius gave his son a pointed stare for a minute, then his eyes softened at the slightest.

"Ah, so the son of the werewolf has a cub." Lucius sneered, and the entire family broke out in laughter, except for Lyra and Scorpius. They exchanged awkward glances.

Scorpius wanted to stand up and retort that Teddy Lupin was not a werewolf, but he thought of the consequences and stayed silent. He figured Lyra was thinking the same.

They were excused after dinner; Scorpius marched wordlessly up to his room. His family did not have a Christmas tree; a small pile of gifts awaited him on his desk. There was a long package resting by the window, and excitement burst through him; somebody got him a new broom. He decided to open it first; he tore through the wrapping, gasping when he realized it was the newest broom out on the market: The Free Fall. It was the best broom money could buy; only professionals used these. The broom was a slick black all around, except for the logo etched in silver on the handle.

Scorpius checked the tag; it was from his father. He shook his head in disbelief. His father never gave him a present before. He flipped the tag over and over, trying to find his mother's name on it, but it was nowhere to be found.

Shaking it off for now, he decided to open his other presents. He got a box of sweets from Lyra, a pair of black leather Quidditch gloves from his mother (he wondered why his parents decided to get him separate presents this year, but he did not complain about it), and a silver ring from his grandparents. He slid it through his right ring finger with ease; it fit perfectly. It was plain silver with two snakes engraved on it, slithering around the circular piece of jewelry. He vaguely remembered his grandfather talking about how it was a Malfoy tradition to receive a ring when they were of age. Scorpius wondered why he did not just give it to him for his birthday, which made more sense.

He leaned back in his chair, the light shining from the ceiling catching on his new ring. Ferdinand was hooting contently in his cage, and Scorpius tossed a few owl treats inside to shut him up. His thoughts inadvertently drifted over to Rose. He wondered if she opened his gift already. He hoped she liked what he 'got' her. He smirked at the thought of Tatia throwing a tantrum because he did not get her anything. Served her right.

He figured it was not such a bad Christmas after all. He managed to get Rose a present in time, Tatia was probably fuming, and his father surprised him by giving him the best broom in existence. He could not imagine how things could get any worse.

Maybe you shouldn't be so hopeful, his conscience muttered, but he ignored it for now and closed his eyes, taking in what little Christmas spirit he could get in the Malfoy Manor.