"Happy Christmas, all!" Harry waved as he stepped across the threshold at The Burrow.
"Gone barmy, Potter? Christmas isn't until tomorrow!" Fred called out as he spotted him.
Harry rolled his eyes. "And hello to you too, Fred, who will always be more barmy than anyone else I know. Including myself..."
"Happy Christmas, Harry. Ignore my less handsome brother over there..." George grinned at him as he entered the room.
"Where's the rest of you all? It seems rather quiet in here, even with you lot being here..." Harry looked around.
"Dad's still at work, Mum's gone out to do some last minute shopping, Charlie's coming in from Romania later, Bill and Fleur are at their little love shack..." Fred listed off the locations of various family members.
"Love shack?" Harry raised an eyebrow. "Really?"
George continued where his brother left off. "Ginny's at Luna's house, Ron and Hermione are out on a date and Percy's still being Percy, the slimy git..."
"Still hasn't apologised?" Harry frowned slightly.
"Nope. Too stubborn. Even with all the attacks in recent months, he still won't muster up some Gryffindor courage and apologise to his bloody family..." George scowled.
"He was Sorted into the wrong House. I'm sure of it." Fred nodded.
Harry went upstairs to Ron's room, put down his things, released Hedwig and headed back downstairs to find that Ron, Hermione and Mr Weasley had returned.
"Harry! Welcome back to our world!" Ron joked.
"Are you going to say something like that every time I come back from Magix?" Harry rolled his eyes.
"Quite likely, yes." Hermione answered for her boyfriend.
"Glad to have you back, Harry. How long are you staying this time?" Arthur greeted him warmly.
"In ten days or so, when it's time for me to head back to school. I'll be spending Christmas and New Year's with you all for sure but I don't intend on hanging around The Burrow all day. Just so you know." Harry answered. "I'll also pop into Tir Nan Og for a day or so but then I'll be back here."
"Oh?" Arthur raised an eyebrow.
"Voldemort's still out there, you see. Can't forget about him, even though he's been laying low. Research on how to defeat him, practicing my magic too and all of that..." Harry spoke with an air of nonchalance.
Everyone stared at him.
"Well, if you need our help, we'll still be here for you..." Ron said after a while, gesturing to himself and Hermione.
"Glad to hear it," Harry smiled at them.
Mrs Weasley and Ginny entered the room just then and the conversation instantly switched from Voldemort and the Death Eaters, to the upcoming Christmas holiday.
Dropping her groceries on the table, she moved forward to hug Harry tightly, who even though he had grown much more physically strong since he started attending Red Fountain, still felt the force of the woman's strong hug.
"I'm so glad to see you again, Harry! It's lovely to have you visiting more often, even with all the horridness going on these days around us..." Mrs Weasley beamed at him.
"It's always glad to be back. I've had quite the bit of excitement this semester. I've not even told Ron and Hermione the full extent of it all but since there's plenty of time with you all now..." Harry pulled his wand from its holster and Summoned his backpack from upstairs, which came zooming down and would have bowled over Fred if he hadn't ducked in time.
Harry rummaged around inside and pulled out a few copies of newspapers and magazines from Magix and Isis, laying them out on the table.
The Weasleys and Hermione immediately converged on them.
All the newspapers and magazines that Harry had placed down had stories on the De L'Or case.
"Even in another dimension, you still manage to find yourself in these sorts of situations even completely by accident..." Ron said.
"Why do you always find yourself in such dangerous situations?" Mrs Weasley fretted.
"I can't help it, Mrs Weasley." Harry shrugged. "Trouble always finds me even when I'm not looking for it..."
"As your time at Hogwarts has proven all too well..." Ginny looked up from the magazine she had snatched.
"I'm sure the behind-the-scenes story of all of this would be quite the interesting tale..." Fred looked at Harry expectantly.
"Tell you what. I'll let you watch a video on my phone of the press conference I gave- or rather my squad mates and I gave and you can ask me questions afterwards..." Harry pulled his phone out of his pocket and set it on the centre of the table.
Mrs Weasley flicked her wand and all the groceries she had brought and temporarily forgotten all flew to various other places of the kitchen as she took a place at the table.
"Well..." Ginny looked at him impatiently. "What the bloody hell are you waiting for?!"
Harry chuckled, but went ahead and pressed a few buttons on his phone, bringing up a projected recording of the press conference.
When it was over, they looked impressed.
"You held yourself well, Harry. If we didn't know better, we'd think you were used to doing that sort of thing..." Mr Weasley complimented him.
"Thanks, Mr Weasley. A lot of people have been saying so about me..." Harry admitted.
Just then, the Floo flared up and Remus' head appeared in the flames.
"Hello, all. Harry told me he'd be here today. May I step through?" he asked. "I'll be bringing Tonks with me as well..."
"Come on in, Remus. Harry has just been telling us a rather interesting story..." Mr Weasley beckoned him forward.
Seconds later, Remus had stepped through the fire.
A few more seconds after that, Remus was also helping Tonks out, though when Harry saw her, he noticed a stark difference in the Metamorphmagus that he was certain wasn't caused by her special ability.
"You... Tonks... you're pregnant?!" Harry asked in shock.
"Indeed I am!" Tonks grinned at him.
Harry turned to Remus. "Why the bloody hell didn't you tell me?!" he asked accusingly.
"This is the sort of thing you tell the godfather of your child in person." Remus paused. "That is, if you actually want to be the godfather..."
"Remus Lupin, you great, bloody idiot! Of course I want to be godfather!" Harry exclaimed. "Why in Merlin's name wouldn't I want to be?!"
"Told you so." Tonks rolled her eyes.
"When is my little godson or goddaughter due?" Harry asked, eyeing Tonks' belly.
"Somewhere in the first week of April." Tonks said.
Harry smiled. "You know... your baby... my future godchild... this just gives me another reason to keep on fighting, you know?"
"I know, Harry." Remus put a hand on Harry's shoulder. "I feel the same way..."
Everyone else around the room made various noises of agreement.
"No more fighting for me, at least for now. I've been moved to desk duty..." Tonks pouted. "I certainly understand why, but that doesn't mean I have to like it..."
"So, why don't we all catch up and trade stories? Mr Weasley did say that you had an interesting story to tell..." Remus said.
"And I'm sure you can tell me even more about what's been going on in Britain since I was away. And your plans for the little one, of course..." Harry smiled.
With that, all the Weasleys, Harry, Hermione and the Lupins somehow managed to fit around the kitchen table and began catching up and trading tales, enjoying the holiday spirit while they were at it.
"Merry Christmas, Harry." Roxy smiled at Harry over the projection on his phone as he sat alone in Ron's room, donning his newest Weasley sweater (red, with a green H embroidered in the centre).
"And a Happy Christmas to you too..." Harry smiled back. "How's your day been going so far?"
"Unlike you, it's not actually been much of a day yet... Time zones, remember?" Roxy pointed out.
"Oh, I know. I still want to know..." Harry answered.
"It was great. It was just Mom, Dad, Artu and I all day. My aunt didn't stop by, but then again, very few of us Tir Nan Og-ites celebrate the holiday anyway..." Roxy shrugged.
"Any notable gifts?" Harry queried with an innocent expression suddenly appearing on his face.
"Don't even try that one on me, Harry. We've been dating for nearly a year now. I know that you're practically dying to hear what I think of the gift that you gave me before we left Magix..." Roxy rolled her eyes at him.
"Did you like it?" Harry asked.
"Yes. After all those charms you put on it to make sure that I couldn't open the thing before today finally wore off..." Roxy pouted.
Harry chortled. "Hey. Couldn't have you ruining your own surprise, now could I?"
Roxy sighed. "But yes, I really did like your gift. Or gifts, rather. Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them is a great read so far. And those candies in your world are amazing! You have to bring some more with you back to Magix!"
Harry chuckled. "You liked them that much, didn't you?"
"Yes! Even my parents enjoyed a few! Though they were a small bit wary of those Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans after Mom got a vomit flavoured one and Dad got one that according to him, tasted like a pepper from the deepest pits of hell..." Roxy chuckled.
"That's the charm of them!" Harry exclaimed.
"The charm of them he says." Roxy rolled her eyes. "Those weren't charming in the slightest..."
"I did like your gift though. It was actually very-"
Harry was cut off by the sound of an explosion somewhere downstairs, followed by loud bursts of laughter and then the sounds of Mrs Weasley scolding Fred and George.
"What was that?" Roxy asked, startled. "Are you being attacked again?"
"Glad to see that you had to add the word again to that last question," Harry noted wryly. "but apparently it's Fred and George up to their usual antics. Even though they're technically adults, they still act like small children at times..."
Roxy giggled. "They sound like some interesting characters..."
"Believe me, they are..." Harry sighed.
"You'd better go see what they're up to then, before they blow The Burrow sky high." Roxy suggested."With you in it. I'd rather not have you survive Voldemort's clutches, only to be blown apart by a prank gone wrong..."
"I probably should. I'll talk to you later, won't I?" Harry asked.
"Of course!" Roxy smiled.
"Then later it is. Good bye!"
"Bye, Harry!"
The call ended.
As soon as it did, Harry grabbed his wand off the nearby bedside table and ran down the stairs to find what looked like an explosion of cake coating the entire kitchen and all the Weasleys plus Hermione covered in the dessert.
Harry immediately looked to Fred and George, who were grinning as if they were back at Hogwarts and had pulled off a particularly impressive prank.
"What did you do?" Harry asked them.
"Fireworks plus cake make particularly sweet explosions, we find." George answered, pulling a chunk of cake out his hair and eating it casually.
"Very sweet explosions indeed. I think we just came up with another idea for a prank item for the shop..." Fred picked a chunk of cake off his shoulder and ate it.
"What? Exploding food?" Hermione looked at them sceptically, icing dripping off her hair. "Do you actually think that would be a big seller?"
"Why not?" Fred asked.
"We think it might make a huge... explosion on the prank item market..." George said.
Everyone else groaned, not only from the terrible pun, but from the idea that they might never be able to eat in peace again.
"It's a good thing you let me help you cook, Mrs Weasley. I got to make some extra cake, just in case of something like this..." Harry turned to the Weasley matriarch.
"And a wonderful cook you are, Harry." Mrs Weasley smiled at him. "Plus you're such a gentleman, offering to help me clean this mess up, unlike some wizards..." she turned to glare at her twin sons, who looked completely unashamed at what they had done. "...who prefer to cause such havoc in the first place..."
Lord Voldemort was not having a good Christmas.
Not that he ever had a good one or even celebrated it at all, with all its good cheer, generosity and other positive feelings and actions which he despised.
But things hadn't been going well at all for him this year.
First those blasted Trix had dared to turn traitor on him; wreaking havoc and killing/seriously injuring some of his Death Eaters; then those Earth Fairies and their slaughter and damaging of even more of his Death Eaters plus completely destroying a perfectly fine base of operations.
Then of course, there was the matter of the frustrating elusiveness of that bloody pain in the arse, Harry Potter.
Voldemort growled at the very thought of his sworn enemy.
That Potter boy was still somewhere out in Magix, far away from him, studying at some school for alien warriors. It was only three times in the past year and some that he had heard of the Potter boy even being present on the same bloody planet as he was. Those were notable occasions; all marked by attacks he had either participated in or had commanded to be carried out by others.
And yet he could never get hold of the boy.
Or man, rather, since he was now of age.
Though he still considered Potter to be a mere boy compared to him with his years of experience and immense magical knowledge...
The witches and wizards of Britain were still terrified that he would launch more major attacks. They seemed to take his relative silence as his planning of something huge.
While it was in fact, him trying to recoup his losses first, then launch more ferocious attacks to gain hold of Britain.
Voldemort reached for his wand, which rested on a small table next to the chair he was sitting in.
Torturing someone was always fun.
And despite his weakened forces, they still went out on Muggle hunts occasionally...
He grinned a feral grin.
Perhaps a Christmas present to himself was in order, after all.