The next page is framed with a festive paper border, sporting sprigs of holly and mistletoe and a jolly little Father Christmas in the corner. Most of the page is taken up by family photographs from Christmas at the Burrow, but in one corner is a handmade card with elegant snowflakes painted on the front. Victoire had made it for him. That had been a holiday to remember, for sure…

"Come on, James, there's your dad!" Teddy tugged on the sleeve of James's jumper. James quickly finished saying good-bye to his school friends and took off running in the direction Teddy had pointed.

Harry had been scanning the platform for Teddy's telltale blue hair (this was the easiest way to pick him out of the crowd, and a method the Potters employed regularly), and didn't see what was coming until there were small arms wrapped around his middle.

"Daddy!" James yelled, before remembering he was too old to say 'daddy' anymore and covering his mouth.

"Hey, whirlwind, I missed you!" Harry bent down a little so he could return James's hug properly. "What do you think of Hogwarts?"

"I've told you, Dad, I've written you a bazillion letters about it! But ooh, it's great and I can turn a quill into an inkstand now, and we learned how to fly 'cept Teddy already taught me to fly a little so Madam Hooch said I'm really good and I wanna play Quidditch next year! And look at my tie, Dad, I've got a Gryffindor tie just like yours and Mummy's, and Brownie almost didn't wanna come home for Christmas cuz she likes it so much in the owlry!" He gestured to the barn owl sleeping in the cage on his trolley.

"That's great, James!" Harry beamed. "Are Teddy and Vicky with you?"

James looked behind him. "I was just with them…look, there!"

Teddy and Victoire were weaving through the crowd to join them with a chorus of 'Hi, Uncle Harry!'s and hugs all around.

"Is Gran here?" asked Teddy.

"She's already at the Burrow." Harry explained. "In fact, almost everyone is. I came to pick all of you up by side-along apparition."

"I can apparate myself now," said Teddy proudly, flashing one of his smiles that always made Victoire blush. "Why don't I take you, Vicky, and Uncle Harry take James?"

"Sounds great," said Harry. "Ready then? On the count of three…"

CRACK!

In an instant, all four were standing in the Weasley's front garden. The front door burst open.

"THEY'RE HOME!" Hugo Weasley announced for anyone in a ten kilometer radius to hear as he tumbled out the door. Albus dashed past him silently and wrapped his big brother in a fierce hug.

"How was it, James? Was it brilliant? Did you really get a detention from McGonagall? Your letter said—"

"It was brilliant," James laughed, ruffling Albus's hair. "And I'll tell you all about detention, it's not as fun as some of Dad's stories make it seem. But it was worth it, just wait til I tell you how me and Lysander got it in the first place…"

*/*/

Everyone agreed that there was nothing quite like the Burrow during the holidays, when everyone was together again. There was a considerable want of space, it was difficult to manuver without bumping into someone and Arthur had to magically enlarge the table so they all could fit around it, but it was absolutely impossible not to be infected with the Christmas spirit.

At supper that night, James was bubbling over with stories about his first year at Hogwarts. On the other side of the table, Ginny was asking Teddy about his studies, and he was just telling her about N.E.W.T-level Transfiguration he heard James blurt out,

"And Teddy and Vicky have been spending an AWFUL lot of time together—"

"What's that supposed to mean?" said Teddy wildly, abandoning his conversation.

"Oh, nothing, he just eats at the Ravenclaw table more often than the Hufflepuff table, and she's always waiting around in the stands after Quidditch practice…"

"So? She's my best friend!"

Harry noticed Teddy's ears and the tips of his hair were turning pink, and couldn't pass up the chance to poke fun. "Smitten, is he? Imagine our Teddy!"

Bill laughed loudly while Victoire suddenly became very interested in the tablecloth just to avoid everyone's eyes. "Regular love birds, aren't they? Even as toddlers we could scarcely keep them apart!"

Teddy didn't mind the teasing – much of it was well-deserved in any case – but his stomach twisted uncomfortably when he realized, Harry and Bill really didn't believe what they were saying. Oh, it was all in good fun, of course, but they had never really believed that Teddy and Victoire could ever possibly fall in love. And…Teddy wasn't sure why that unsettled him. They weren't in love. But…but what?

Ginny's toes found Harry's under the table and pressed down perhaps a bit harder than was necessary. Harry glanced quickly at her and then at Teddy's disconcerted expression, and sobered up immeadiately. Andromeda and Fleur's eyes met for a moment, and they both sighed. They had seen the little smiles and blushes that passed between Teddy and Victoire, perhaps moreso than the children's fathers.

"Oh, my.." whispered Andromeda under her breath.