On Christmas day, my parents, Dom, Louis, and I headed to the Burrow to celebrate with my abnormally large family.
We entered the house and were greeted by the sound of Celestina Warbeck's voice coming from the large wooden wireless in the living room.
Beside me, Mum gritted her teeth. "Every year," she muttered darkly. "Every damn year we 'ave to listen to zis 'orrid woman—"
"Look who's here!"
Mum stopped midsentence. "Molly, dear!" she said, kissing both my grandma's cheeks. "Merry Christmas!"
Grandma greeted everyone else, smothering them in hugs and kisses. When she got to me, she stared at my stomach for a moment, her expression slightly disapproving, But once I let her feel the baby kick, she seemed to warm up. "Oh, it's going so wonderful to have a baby around again! Can you imagine me, a great-grandmother?
She ushered us into the living room, which my nine-year-old cousin Lily had draped in paper chains. There was a tree in the corner that had the ugliest looking angel I had ever seen on top of it.
When I sat down next to Fred, he leaned over and said, "Like the angel? It's actually a gnome. The little bugger bit me earlier, so I taught him a lesson. I thought the tutu and wings were a nice touch."
Uncle George let out a chuckle from his seat a few feet away. "Your uncle Fred did the same thing one year," he said. "Great minds must think alike."
From across the room, Grandma clapped her hands together. "A Cauldron Full of Hot, Strong Love!" she exclaimed excitedly. "Arthur, dear, do you remember when we danced to this when we were eighteen?"
I watched my mum roll her eyes.
"Grandma, when do we get to eat?" piped up my little cousin Hugo, "I'm starving!"
"Hush, Hugo," scolded his mother, my aunt Hermione.
"He sounds just like his father," laughed my aunt Ginny. "Always thinking about food."
Grandma glanced around. "Well we seem to only be missing Percy and his lot and Andromeda and Teddy. As soon as they get here we'll eat."
Andromeda and Teddy arrived five minutes later. Teddy greeted me with a wink and a smile, before sitting down across the room. Lily and Rose immediately ran over to him, as they were both madly in love with him, and began giggling over his hair, which he had changed to half-green and half-red for the occasion.
Not long after, Uncle Percy and Aunt Audrey arrived, along with their two daughters, Molly and Lucy.
"Finally!" exclaimed Hugo. "I was about to die. Seriously."
Christmas dinner at the Burrow was always a crowded event, with as many tables as possible crammed into the kitchen and dining room. Soon had everyone settled down at them and dug in.
I listened as Rose complained to Teddy about Scorpius Malfoy. "He's awful, Teddy," she said. "I don't think I've ever met anyone more arrogant in my life."
"Oy, Rosie. Watch how you talk about my best mate!" said Albus.
Albus had been sorted into Slytherin that year, much to everyone's surprise. Only Uncle Harry hadn't seemed shocked at all.
Teddy turned to me. "Vic," he said. "You haven't even touched your food."
I wrinkled my nose. "None of it looks appetizing." I turned around. "Daddy," I called to a nearby table, "will you go get some fish and chips for me from town?"
"Oh no," he replied. "You've been sending me out to get the food you've been craving ever since you got home. You're not interrupting my Christmas dinner too."
I turned to Teddy and gave him my best puppy dog eyes.
"Fine," he said, exasperated. He stood up, staring longingly at his plate of food.
"Thanks, Teddy," I said, smiling. "Oh, and change your hair before you go. You don't want to be seen in public like that."
In a flash, his hair was brown and then he turned on his heel and disappeared.
Twenty minutes later he returned, setting the fish and chips in front of me.
The greasy smell made me want to gag. "Was I really craving this?" I asked, disgusted. I pushed it aside. "Turkey sounds much better," I said, picking up my fork and digging in.
Beside me, Teddy sighed heavily.
"Sorry, Teddy," I said, leaning over to kiss his cheek. "But I can't control these cravings, you know."
"It's alright," he replied. "Anybody want some fish and chips?" he asked loudly, looking around.
"I do," said Hugo from the other end of the table. Teddy pulled out his wand and sent the bag zooming down towards him.
I grabbed Teddy's free hand that was dangling under the table with my own. He smiled at me and we stayed like that, fingers entwined, for the rest of the meal.
After dinner, my aunts took it upon themselves to offer me their own advice and personal anecdotes about pregnancy.
"You should definitely breastfeed," Aunt Audrey told me. "None of this bottle-feeding nonsense."
"You know what I hated most about being pregnant?" asked my aunt Angelina. "Not being able to play Quidditch."
"I recommend you read Elaine Nobb's books on pregnancy and parenting," said Aunt Hermione. "I wouldn't have survived pregnancy without them."
I smiled and nodded until I finally was able to excuse myself.
I found my uncle George, laughing about something with my uncle Charlie and my dad.
"Uncle George," I said, sitting down, "I've been meaning to ask you about Bridget. How is she?"
"She's doing great," he replied. She's a born salesperson. I swear she could sell a radio to a deaf man."
I laughed. "I'm glad to hear that," I said. "Who's she spending Christmas with? She's not alone right now is she?"
"No, I asked her if she'd like to come here, but she told me that she had plans."
At that moment, Rox came running over. "Hey Dad," she said. "You don't mind if I steal Vic from you, do you? We've barely seen each other all night."
He shook his head, dismissing us with a wave us his hand. "Course I don't mind. Just try not to get into too much trouble," he added with a wink.
We went upstairs to escape the crowds of people, where we spent the next few hours looking through drawers and closets and laughing at the funny things we found.
"What's this?" I asked, holding up a thick gold chain, from which the words, "My Sweetheart" dangled.
Rox laughed. "That's hideous."
We found a photo album and began looking through it, marveling at how young everyone used to be. We came to a photo that was labeled "Christmas, 1996."
"Your mum's the only one without one of Grandma's sweaters," laughed Rox, pointing at a very sour-faced Fleur Delacour.
"Grandma really hated her back then," I said, grinning.
I examined the picture more closely. "Look," I said, "Teddy's dad." I pointed at a very disheveled looking man sitting next to my dad.
"And Uncle Fred," said Rox, indicating the laughing boy who was sitting next to her father, the two of them nearly impossible to tell apart.
"Uncle Percy isn't in the picture," I observed. "This must have been when he was fighting with the rest of the family."
We were interrupted by Dom, who had come to tell me that we were leaving.
I said goodbye to everyone, saving Teddy for last. We watched as the rest of my family took their turn stepping into the fireplace, shouting "Shell Cottage", and throwing down the handful of floo powder.
"Bye, Vic," said Teddy, after they disappeared.
"Before I go, I need to tell you something," I said.
"What?"
"Ever since I got home, I've been thinking that I should go see Colin."
His eyebrows shot up. "Why?" he asked.
"I just want to know once and for all if he wants to be part of the baby's life," I said.
"I think he made it perfectly clear what he wants when you told him you were pregnant," said Teddy, looking annoyed.
"But he's had time to think about it. Maybe he's changed his mind."
"He's just going to hurt you again," replied Teddy, sounding almost angry. "Don't go."
"It's not your decision. It's mine!" I snapped.
He took a deep breath. "We need to stop arguing," he said.
I sighed. "You're right."
"I'm sorry for trying to tell you what to do," he said. "I'm just looking out for you."
"I know you are."
He smiled.
"I should go," I said.
He gave me a quick kiss, before whispering, "Promise you won't go see Colin," in my ear.
"I promise," I said, crossing my fingers behind my back.
This was a bit of a filler chapter, but I had fun adding in all the references to the books.
I've nearly finished writing the next chapter, so I'll probably update soon.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please review!