The next morning, Rose woke with a jolt when her floo roared to life. Grumpily, she cracked open one eye and peered into the green flames to see a disembodied ginger head smiling knowingly at her.
"Aunt Ginny? What's going on?" Rose said.
"Just reminding you that you should arrive in the burrow in twenty minutes for Christmas breakfast. Your mother will go spare if you're late again this year. I volunteered to give you a floo-call instead of your dad. We knew Scorpius was heading over your place last night and I figured it was just too early for your dad to have a heart attack if he caught the two of you together."
Rose flushed as she correctly interpreted her Aunt's insinuation. "Aunt Ginny, it's not like that at all. He's one of my best friends. Besides, he went home to the Manor last night."
Rose frowned as she recalled his rushed departure. She hoped that she would still see Scorpius that afternoon. That boy was prone to sulking and self-induced isolation when he got into a funk. Some Christmas frivolity was just what he needed to brighten his mood.
"Rose, Rose, Earth to Rose?" Rose's attention snapped back to her aunt. "Lost you for a moment there," Ginny smiled indulgently. "Well, I'll get out of your hair so you can get ready. See you in a few."
Rose watched as a fire faded from green to its usual hue. She stood up and stretched out her long limbs. She had inherited her father's tall frame and coloration, but her features were all her mother's. Rose padded over to her bathroom and scowled at her reflection in the mirror.
Her very curly, auburn hair was smooshed to one side from sleeping on the couch making it appear as if she wore a dented clown wig on her head. Thank Merlin that Uncle Harry had discovered that his grandfather had been the creator of Sleekeazy's Hair Potion. She liberally applied a large dollop of the miracle elixir to her tresses and pointed her wand at her head to perform a detangling charm. Instantly, her hair transformed into smooth waves that cascaded down her back. Rose was grateful that she never had to deal with her mop of hair the muggle way. Her mother had shared horror stories of bruised scalps and broken brushes from her pre-Hogwarts days.
After brushing her teeth, Rose hurried to her closet and quickly changed into a pair of black jeans and a dark green, long-sleeve shirt. She wanted something comfortable for the quidditch match that afternoon. Weasley family matches were legendary for being a bit brutal; they were a competitive lot. Rose slipped her feet into her favorite pair of grey suede boots and zipped them up. With a quick glance in the mirror, Rose concluded that her appearance was acceptable.
She grabbed a small handful of floo powder, stepped into the fireplace and carefully enunciated "The Burrow."
A second later, Rose collided with a solid mass and tumbled out of the hearth into her grandparents' living room. She took a minute to disentangle herself from the pile of limbs on the ground. She accepted the hand that appeared in front of her face and felt herself being pulled up from the floor. Rose looked around and took inventory of the sea of red. Uncle Percy was sitting across the room and by the looks of it he was being thoroughly trounced in a game of Exploding Snap by her brother, Hugo, and cousins Fred, Louis, and Molly. Lily was chugging coffee like her life depended on it while trying to keep up with the rapid fire speech of Lucy. Beautiful, ethereal Victoire was lounging on the sofa while caressing her rounded stomach. Only a few more weeks until the Weasley family expanded once more, Rose thought fondly.
Teddy Lupin smiled down at Rose and pulled her in for a hug. "Merry Christmas, Rosie-Posie."
Rose playfully growled at the nickname, "Merry Christmas Teddy Bear." She dropped her voice to a whisper "How's Vic?"
"She's exhausted and ready for the baby to come already. We can only stay for a few hours, but she wouldn't hear of skipping the day all together," Teddy looked over at his pregnant wife with pure affection.
"Oy, what am I, chopped liver?" moaned the mass still on the ground.
"Uncle Charlie?!" cries erupted from around the room. The tall, muscular Weasley stood up and dusted himself off.
"What are you doing here? Wasn't Roxie staying with you in Romania for the holidays? Wait, is she here too?" Rose asked.
"Ha!" Charlie barked. "Yeah, she's coming. She flooed directly over to her folks' place this morning. She's got a little surprise for everyone later on."
A gasp sounded from the doorway. There stood Molly Weasley, the family matriarch. Rose noted that her grandma had tears glistening in the corners of her eyes. "Oh Charlie, you're here! I saw the clock change but I didn't believe it. You're finally home."
Charlie wrapped his arms around his trembling mother. "I'm just here for the day Mum."
"Well, we'll just have to make the most of it then," Molly said. "Now that everyone is here, lets tuck into some breakfast and we'll open presents."
At the mention of food, her family flew into motion. Like a stampede, they crushed into the magically enlarged kitchen, plunked down at the long table, and filled their plates. Molly had cooked enough food to feed a small army, which Rose supposed was an accurate description of her family. Every member of the older generations had been a soldier in the Second Great Wizarding War. Rose glanced at the chair next to her Uncle George that always remained empty in memory of her Uncle Fred who had fallen in the Battle of Hogwarts. Rose knew that his absence would always be felt, but the Weasleys chose to remember the joy that was Fred and not the pain of his loss.
Rose spied her parents down the end of the table. The Golden Trio was united as usual. Her grandfather was animatedly talking with her mother and Uncle Harry while her father stuffed his face full of fried potatoes. Despite the entire family's ability to pack away the food, no one had quite as voracious of an appetite as her father. However, with a glance down the table Rose found that she was mistaken on that front. Victoire's plate was piled even higher than Ron's. Everyone had learned months ago not to comment on the pregnant woman's eating habits after she jinxed James's mouth shut when he dared to point out that she had taken a fourth piece of cake at Hermione's birthday party.
Rose finally spotted Roxanne sitting next to her mother, Angelina. Roxanne stood up and called for attention. "You all know that I've been spending a lot of time in Romania visiting Uncle Charlie. To be honest, Charlie and the dragons weren't what was bringing me back there. Ummm," Roxanne tried to find the words. "I met someone over there. Well not over there. I did know him before, but I got to know him better and . . . and well shit, I'm getting married!" Roxanne squealed and stuck her left hand out. Upon here fourth finger sat a ring with a sparkling yellow stone.
The family erupted. "Congratulations!", "Who?!", "What the fuck?!" The last comment came from James who received a smack on the back of the head from Aunt Ginny.
"He's waiting outside," Roxanne grinned. "You can come in now, hun."
Dozens of heads whipped around to see Lysander Scamander standing in the door frame. He smiled sheepishly and walked over to Roxanne's side.
"I KNEW IT!" Rose exclaimed. "I knew you had a thing for him in Hogwarts." Rose gloated. The family laughed. Rose had a reputation for being a know-it-all like her mother and loved to point out when she figured things out before the others.
"Yeah, well it took us a little while to figure it out," Lysander admitted. He kissed Roxie's forehead. "We're getting married at the end of February."
"So soon? How can we plan a wedding that quickly?" Grandma Molly was already making mental lists of everything to do and couldn't fathom how to complete it in a mere two months.
"We don't want a big wedding; just family and a few friends. Rose and Lily will be my bridesmaids, won't you?" Roxanne asked.
"Of course we will," Lily answered for both of them.
"I've decided I'm moving to Romania permanently to work on the dragon reserve. We wanted to have the wedding before I move," Roxanne said.
"I won't lie and say I didn't see this move coming, but you better visit more often than your Uncle Charlie does," Molly said with a sad smile.
"I promise I'll visit all the time Grandma! I'd miss you all too much." Roxanne sniffled.
"Well, I propose a toast to the future bride and groom," Arthur said. "Everyone raise a glass to Roxanne and Lysander!"
A variety of mugs and glasses ascended into the air. "Roxanne and Lysander!"
Hours later, the family was spread out around the burrow. Presents had been opened and everyone was now wearing their Weasley sweaters. Rose's sweater was a deep amethyst color this year. She was sitting at the kitchen table with Roxie and Lily discussing the upcoming nuptials. Lysander had flooed to his own family's home but would be returning that evening.
"I can't believe you're getting married. And moving to Romania!" Lily said. "It's crazy."
"I know, right? It's all moving so fast but I know I'm doing the right thing. I've wanted to study dragons forever, but now with Lysander? Everything fell into place. It's like this was fated to be. He's been in Romania working researching dragons for his great grandfather. We met up at the reserve a few months ago and got to know each other again. He's so soft spoken, but he's got so much passion just bubbling under the surface. Let me tell you, sex with him is as hot as a Chinese Fireball's flame." Roxanne gloated.
Rose blushed. "I do not need to know about that!"
"Well, I do!" Lily laughed. "Not all of us are prudes like you."
"I am not a prude!" Rose was indignant. "I just don't think that sex should be something you discuss so freely."
"That's pretty much the definition of being a prude," Roxanne laughed. "It's just because the only guy you've been with was Daniel McLaggen. Why you dated him for so long is beyond me. He was way too selfish to be any good in bed. It's no wonder you shy away from the subject. I bet he was a two pump chump. Have you ever even had an orgasm?"
"Hhhmmhmm" a throat cleared from the doorway. The three girls turned to see Scorpius Malfoy. Rose blushed from the tips of her ears to her toes and prayed to a higher power that Scorpius hadn't heard Roxanne's last comment.
"I'm glad I'm not that only one who thought Rose was way too good for the likes of McLaggen," Scorpius smirked and took away what little hope Rose had that he hadn't heard their embarrassing conversation. "Dad's outside with the rest of your family who are chomping at the bit to get this quidditch match underway. What do you say we head out?"
Roxanne, Lily, and Rose stood and followed Scorpius outside. He slung his arm across Rose's shoulders. "Merry Christmas Rose."
"Merry Christmas Scorp. Are you OK? You left so quickly last night." Rose asked.
"I'm fine. I was just really jetlagged and wanted to sleep in my own bed for the first time in years. I just woke up an hour ago," Scorpius claimed. Rose recognized a partial truth in his words but noted that his eyes were hiding more. She decided not to push today.
"Took you all long enough!" her dad yelled from the family's makeshift pitch. "Since Charlie and Roxanne showed up unexpectedly, we've got too many players. Two people are going to have to sit out."
"I'll take a pass guys," Lily said. "I probably shouldn't be up on a broom right now. I only got about three hours of sleep in the on call room at St. Mungo's last night." She sat on the porch swing beside Victoire.
"I'm going to sit this one out too," Scorpius said. "It's been too many years since I've played and I know you folks are vicious in these matches. How about I ref it?"
Teams were quickly decided. Harry and Draco resurrected their school rivalry as the two seekers. Ron joined Harry as keeper with Fred and James as beaters. Rose, Teddy, and Bill rounded out the team as chasers. Draco's team consisted of Louis keeping, George and Albus as beaters, and Charlie, Ginny, and Roxanne chasing.
The players mounted their brooms and Scorpius released the snitch and bludgers. With a toss of the quaffle into the air, the match began.
Hours later, the score had crept up to 470 to 410 and the snitch had yet to make an appearance. Harry and Draco were lazily circling the pitch while searching for the elusive golden ball. When they passed within earshot of Rose, she was entertained to hear their jovial smack talk.
Rose received a pass from Bill and sped down the pitch towards the rings. She dodged around Roxanne and took aim.
"ROSE! Look out!" she heard a mere instant before she felt a blinding pain at her temple and her world went black.