Disclaimer: Need I say it again? Fine. None of this is rightfully mine. I just really like to fantasize and write.

Title: Families and Festivities

Time: December 2021

Dee Collins

Dee was greeted with a squeal as Rose opened her front door.

"Oh, Dee, it's so good to see you!" Rose exclaimed, grabbing Dee's wrist and tugging her into the house before chatting up a storm. "You have no idea how bloody hectic it's been. Mum's beside herself, honestly. You would think after throwing this rubbish Ministry Christmas bash so many times she'd be used to organizing it, but she's gone mental!"

They had entered the kitchen, where it looked like Mrs. Weasley was in a cleaning frenzy. "Oh, and I forgot to mention earlier that my whole family will be here tonight," Rose continued, "so be prepared. They're a handful."

Rose's mum raised her head at the sound of her daughter's voice and smiled when she caught sight of their guest. "You must be Dee!" she warmly exclaimed. "It's wonderful to meet you. Rose, show her where she'll be sleeping so I can finish up in here. And bring Titan with you!"

"Yes, mum," replied Rose, her dusty gray cat already at her heels as she began tugging Dee in the direction of the stairs. Dee followed as they entered Rose's bedroom, which was painted a deep green with a large, wooden, four-poster bed against the wall. The bedroom strongly reminded Dee of a forest. "Mum expanded my bed to fit us both. I hope you don't mind." Rose clapped her hands together and grinned. "So we've got about an hour before guests start arriving," she said. "I think we should start getting changed."

After painting their nails, getting dressed, and curling their hair, they were ready. Dee felt small in comparison to Rose, though she'd never tell her such a thing. While they stood side by side and gazed at their reflections in the mirror, she couldn't help but feel like Rose would inevitably attract so much more attention, relations to the Golden Trio aside. Not that she minded, of course, because Dee was never one to yearn for attention, but on a night like this, she wistfully thought it would be a nice change.

Rose had disappeared with her mum to have a conversation with the Minister of Magic, Kingsley Shacklebolt. In fact, Dee couldn't find any of her friends, though she suspected they were plenty busy. She knew they had duties to fulfill as family members of Dumbledore's Army, and she definitely appreciated being ordinary, but that didn't change the fact that she was still standing alone. Feeling out of place and a little lost, Dee wandered over to the round table covered in different dishes and snacks. She was just reaching for a mince pie when someone called her name. She whirled around, her face lighting up in a bright smile when she caught sight of Albus making his way towards her.

"Glad you could make it!" he said, grinning in the usual way. "Listen, I've finished my rounds," Albus rolled his eyes, "and there's some people you need to meet, so come on." He left in the same direction he came from, turning his head every so often with yet another grin to make sure Dee was following. They stopped at a long row of tables standing end to end, where only three people remained sitting: James Potter, his father, and a man Dee could only assume was one of the many Weasley uncles. They all looked up when Albus approached.

"Who's this?" Harry Potter asked, smiling politely at Dee.

Dee felt like the proper thing to do was to introduce herself, but she was rendered speechless. She couldn't string together coherent thoughts. Al opened his mouth to reply, but James beat him to it. "Dad, this is Dee Collins." He shared a glance with his father before leaning back in his chair and surveying her. Dee thought she noticed a glint in his eyes.

"I've heard plenty about you," Mr. Potter said, standing up and walking towards her and Albus. He placed a hand on Al's shoulder and smiled at her. "It's nice to meet you, Dee."

"It's nice to meet you too, sir," replied Dee quickly, making sure to remember her manners. She was trying to think of something else to say, but just then Rose and her mum joined them.

"Kingsley wants a word, Harry," Mrs. Weasley said.

"Of course," he replied, smiling once more at Dee before leaving with Mrs. Weasley.

"Al," Rose said once they were gone, "Lily and Hugo were looking for us. Said they had something to show us." She left too, followed by Al. Suddenly Dee found herself without her friends once again. She stood quietly, deciding whether to take a seat and hope she wasn't intruding or to go someplace else.

The man at the end of the table waved her over. James' eyes followed Dee as she slowly sat in the seat across from his uncle.

"Charlie Weasley," the man said to Dee, offering a kind smile. "Didn't want you to feel lonely," he continued gruffly.

"Thank you," Dee replied gratefully.

"Dee Collins, right?" he asked. She nodded. "Like Jude and Dorothy Collins?" She nodded again.

"And Lee Collins," James interjected loudly. Dee stared as he picked the empty glass in front of him, stood up grumpily, and left the table.

Charlie chuckled, watching Potter's retreating figure. "Don't mind him," he said dismissively. "Anyways, I've met your parents. Good people. Why aren't they here?"

Dee spent a good hour talking to Charlie Weasley. He was a good listener and in turn told fantastic stories. She could've sat in her chair all night, picturing all that he told her about his job and his travels, and she would've done just that, if Potter hadn't abruptly returned.

James Potter

Sitting alone on a stool, staring at the pattern of the marble counter top, James felt more than a little bored. But he couldn't explain to himself why he didn't just return to the table where his uncle Charlie sat. He couldn't pinpoint exactly why he left his seat in the first place.

Maybe he felt a bit ashamed for insulting Collins. James hadn't meant to hurt her; he just strongly disliked her brother, and forced his hard feelings on her. In fact, he rather liked Dee, having spent a decent amount of time around her because of Albus. She seemed quiet and polite, very mild-mannered. She seemed like good company, which didn't quite ease his guilt.

James swiveled around, resting his elbows on the counter top, and surveyed the celebration unfolding in front of him. He saw his father deep in conversation with the Minister and Aunt Hermione; his mother laughing at something Aunt Angelina was saying; his Aunt Fleur fussing, no doubt in French, over his cousin Louis' hair; and finally Teddy, Uncle Bill, and Granddad Weasley talking in a secluded corner. James snickered to himself when he noticed Teddy's hair faintly yet repeatedly changing color, something that only occurs when he becomes nervous and loses some amount of control over his Metamorphing.

James jumped at the sound of a gruff and slightly slurred, yet familiar voice. "James!" Hagrid boomed, clapping a giant hand on James' shoulder "S'good to see yeh. How's school? Quidditch?"

"Great," replied James. His eyes wandered to the table where Uncle Charlie and Collins sat.

Hagrid followed his gaze. "Charlie! Always liked him," he said, smiling sloppily. "S'that Dee Collins? I didn' see her parents 'round. Always liked her dad, too," added Hagrid, almost as an afterthought. "D'you know 'er?" He didn't leave James room to reply before continuing his train of thought. "Yeh know her brother, I'll bet. Powerful kid. She is too, in 'er own way." Hagrid became silent, his words and his breathing heavy. Then, with a grunt, he stood up from the stool and ambled away.

James let Hagrid's words sink in. Then, before he could change his mind, he grabbed two more glasses of firewhisky and headed to the same table he had recently left. Charlie looked up as he approached, suppressing a smile. James felt heat rush to his face, hoping his ears weren't reddening- a blasted family trait. "I brought some firewhisky," he said, sliding the glasses across the table, one to his uncle and one to Collins.

"Aren't you a little young to be drinking that?" Uncle Charlie asked, motioning to James' glass, while taking a sip of his own.

James rolled his eyes. "I've only got three months."

"But you got Dee one," Charlie pointed out. "She's a year below you."

It was then that James took a proper look at Collins. She sat quietly, staring at the firewhisky. She must have felt his gaze then, because she raised her head and furrowed her brows at him. "Go on," he urged.

She cut her questioning gaze to Uncle Charlie. He shook his head and laughed. "I heard nothing," he called as he stood up, pushed his chair in, and walked away. Turning his head, he winked at Collins, before disappearing in the heart of the party.

James returned his attention to the only other person at the table. Collins was staring at her hands gripping her glass. "I'm sorry," he blurted, though he didn't know why. "You don't have to drink that. I just felt bad," he admitted.

"What for?"

"Well, you're not your brother…" James trailed off, attempting to piece together a proper apology.

Dee laughed. "It's fine, Potter." She ran her finger along the top of her glass. "Besides, I get judged for being Lee's sister all the time. It's not a big deal."

Something in her voice sounded resigned, and James felt awful. "Alright," he said, "drink up. I didn't come back here to feel uncomfortable."

Dee's eyes widened. "But I'm fifteen," she protested.

"And I had my first drink at a victory party in my fourth year. What's your point?"

She frowned, studying the firewhisky. "If I get in trouble, it's on you." She waited for James to agree, and then slowly raised the glass to her lips. She made a face, and James laughed. They struck up a real conversation then, after Dee refused to drink any more. They were eventually joined by some of James' other family members, but by the end of the night, James felt a burning, skittish feeling in his chest that had nothing to do with the firewhisky.

Dee Collins

There was sunlight peeking into the room through Rose's curtains, but Dee didn't want to get out of bed. The night before, she helped the Weasley and Potter families clean up after the party, and when they were finished, Rose wouldn't sleep until she shared her account of the night. Dee was tired, so she squeezed her eyes shut, attempting to block the light. However, Rose soon began lightly snoring, which took away any chance of more sleep.

Dee rubbed her eyes and crept out of the bed, trying to avoid waking Rose up. She padded out of the room, wandering until she found the kitchen, which was already occupied.

"Dee! Good morning!" exclaimed Mrs. Weasley. "I didn't know when you'd wake up! Are you hungry? Would you like breakfast?"

Dee blinked, her eyes adjusting to the bright, morning light filtering through the windows. "Oh, no thank you, Mrs. Weasley. I'm not hungry yet."

"Such nice manners," Ginny Potter sighed, smiling as she took a seat next to Rose's mum.

Dee didn't know how to reply, but she didn't have to. "That shouldn't be a surprise, knowing her parents," Mr. Potter interjected as he entered the kitchen. "Whose turn is it to make breakfast?" he asked Mrs. Weasley, leaning against the counter.

"Ginny's, I think."

Mrs. Potter groaned, resting her head on her hands. Laughing, Mr. Potter said, "I'll take care of it."

"I'll help!" Dee volunteered, jumping from her seat.

Whether it was due to the smell of breakfast wafting through the house or all the noise coming from the kitchen, eventually everyone in the house that morning awoke. The last to meander into the kitchen was Al, closely followed by James, both sporting rumpled hair and sleepy eyes. Albus noticed Dee helping his dad and he elbowed James. Dee looked up just as James saw her. He smiled lazily, and she quickly lowered her gaze to the plate of toast in her hand. She was suddenly self-conscious about the state of her own hair and pyjamas. Why hadn't she thought of this before?

A/N: So I'm kind of rethinking how I'm organizing these updates, because I've found I have less and less to say in the little intro section thingies. As you'll have seen in this update, I'm only adding them where I think some background is needed, which obviously includes the last chapters, as those all covered subjects previously unexplained. But this chapter didn't need much of an introduction or anything along those lines because its subject had been mentioned already. So I guess that's it. Thanks for reading and stuff. I love you. And I'm sorry it took so long.