A/N: Hey guys! I'm back with another chapter! I know it's been a long time, but I was having a bad case of writer's block for this story. But I just binge wrote four chapters, so I have three lined up after this, which I'll post. And now that it's summer, I have a bit more time to contemplate how to finish up this story, so be tuned for more! Thanks for reading, and as always, favs and reviews are deeply appreciated.
Christmas at the Burrow that year was the usual loud and busy affair-messy, chaotic, the house stuffed to the attic rafters with people, and blissfully wonderful. The Burrow started to fill up about a week before. First came Percy's family on Wednesday evening, because they were celebrating Molly's birthday anyway. Throughout the following week, the whole family filtered in.
Teddy, who'd gone to his granny's right after break started to spend some time with her, arrived with Andromeda the night before Christmas Eve. Victoire was ecstatic. When her grandma had told her about Teddy's arrival the evening before, she'd practically been bouncing off the walls. The whole day she'd hung out in the kitchen with the aunts, waiting for Teddy to Floo in.
The fireplace turned green. "Teddy!" shrieked Victoire, as he tumbled in with a trail of soot.
"Hey,Vic," he said, hugging her. Teddy didn't realize just how much he'd missed his childhood playmate until now. "How's my best friend?"
"Good, now that you're here," she replied happily.
Early Christmas morning, the Burrow was already filled with noise as kids tumbled down the stairs in flannel pajamas and yawning adults trudged into the kitchen. The children could hardly sit still, but Molly Weasley refused to let her family do anything unfed, so they wolfed down a scrumptious breakfast before dragging everyone into the living room to open presents. Since the family had expanded, they'd started opening presents together instead of leaving them by the beds. They had each member open their presents in order from oldest to youngest. Teddy had bought everyone candy that year, when his gran had brought him Christmas shopping a few days previously.
When it was Teddy's turn to open presents, Victoire was bouncing on her knees in anticipation. "Open mine first," she ordered, pointing to a bag with a jaunty mistletoe design. 'Love, Victoire,' she'd written on the tag.
All the adults oohed and aahed when he pulled out a soft knitted wolf hat. Teddy hugged Victoire. The gift was perfect. It reminded him of his dad. "I love it," he told her. "Thanks," he added, but this was mostly directed at Bill and Fleur.
Bill laughed. "Don't thank us," said Fleur. "Victoire made it."
Victoire nodded. "Grandma taught me!" she said, "but I did it all by myself."
"Wow," he replied, "thanks." He gave her another hug, a bit guilty that she had put so much thought and effort into his gift, and all he got her was Drooble's.
She told him she loved the gum, and that she was happy he remembered it was her favorite candy.
"That's what best friends are for," he replied, and he tried not to notice the way Vic's face fell when she saw the similar presents the other kids had gotten.