Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

Gathering at the Burrow

Pots and pans clanged in the kitchen as Mum acted like a hurricane of productivity. "Are you not finished yet?" She asked as she cleared the table of the breakfast dishes. "Charlie's going to be here any minute". With the wave of her wand, the faucet over the kitchen sink started to run and soap flakes floated into the water. "And you're still in your pajamas", Mum tsked as she walked behind Ron's chair and pulled his plate of half-eaten scrambled eggs out from under his nose.

"Hey!" Ron complained around a mouthful of food. But it wasn't a big travesty. That was his third helping.

"Do you want Charlie to see you dressed like that?" Mum asked as scrapped the food on Ron's plate into the bin before adding it to the dirty dishes pile. It wouldn't be wasted. It'd make a nice meal for the pigs.

Ron shot a miffed expression at Mum's back. "He's my brother. He doesn't care what I look like".

Mum acted like she hadn't heard him. "Go get dressed, please", she told her youngest son. "And while you're at it, clean your room".

Grumbling to himself, Ron stood up from his chair and headed for the stairs. "I've only been home one day and she's already making me do chores", Ron muttered under his breath. But he didn't dare disobey. Cleaning his room wasn't the worst thing Mum could potentially ask him to do when she was in the middle of one of her cleaning frenzies.

With Ron gone, that just left me sitting at the kitchen table. Ginny and Percy had been assigned tasks earlier on. Percy was responsible for the tidiness of the family room and Ginny got the dreaded task of cleaning the bathrooms. Fred and George were still asleep. Or they were staying in their room until they were sure that all the chores had been handed out. I managed to take a sip from the glass of pumpkin juice sitting in front of me before Mum's eyes turned to me. "I already collected the eggs from the chickens. I'll measure out the rest of the ingredients and you can start mixing the dough".

I stood up and drained my glass in one gulp. "Isn't it too early to make cookies?" I asked as I walked over to the sink to add my glass to the pile. "Bill loves decorating cookies for Christmas. Shouldn't we wait for him to come home?"

Mum pulled out her measuring cups from one of the cabinets before crossing the room toward the shelf that contained her mixing bowls. She only uses measuring cups when she has help in the kitchen. On her own, Mum would just eyeball it. "Of course, we're not baking cookies today", she said as if I had just said something funny. "We need bread for sandwiches and I thought we could start on the other holiday baking I have planned". I had to move out of the way so she could get to the containers that hold the flour and sugar. "There's muffins for breakfast, cranberry orange bread, the individual pies your father loves, the rum cake for Great Aunt Muriel, fudge for Ron and…" Mum paused and turned around dramatically with the flour container clutched in her hands. "I thought you might like to learn how to make my yule log cake". Mum smiled.

My heart skipped a beat. "Your famous yule log cake?" I asked with excitement. Mum nodded with enthusiasm. "You've never let me help you with that before. You said I was too young".

Mum walked over to the table and placed her armload down next to the mixing bowls and the measuring cups. She wiped her hands on her apron, even though we hadn't started baking before turning to face me. She took two steps forward with a raised hand to pat my left cheek. "You're ready", she declared. I beamed. This was the best news I've gotten all year. It was like the passing of a torch or a right of passage. "But", Mom said in a more serious manner as she withdrew her hand. "Not until we're finished with the others".

My sleeves were rolled up and my hands were caked in flour. Mum hummed Celestina Warbeck's greatest hits under her breath as she stood over the stove; working on the pie filling. While I applied the rolling pin to the dough for the pie crusts. It felt nice to be back in Mum's domain. Her kitchen was a safe and warm place where evil did not exist and the worst thing that could happen was accidentally burning the bread.

The fireplace flared with green flames as I rubbed more flour on the rolling pin to keep the dough from sticking. Mum dropped her ladle in the pot filled with pie filling. She turned around in anticipation. I was a bit slower. "Charlie!" She greeted as soon as the flames faded revealing her second-born standing in a buckskin jacket and a knapsack hanging off one shoulder.

"Hi Mum", Charlie barely got out before Mum pulled him into a hug. "Mum, you'll get soot on your clothes", Charlie tried to warn her. But it was too late.

Mum wrapped her arms around him, trapping his arms to his sides. She squeezed him hard. If Charlie were a balloon he would have popped. After a few seconds, Mum broke their hug and held Charlie at arm's length. "A bit thin", she stated. "What have you been eating?"

Charlie smiled placatingly. "Nothing that compares to your cooking, Mum".

And as if that was all the prompting she needed, Mum let go of Charlie and turned towards the icebox. "There's some leftover Shepherd's pie from last night. That should tide you over until lunch".

Charlie smiled at her back as he stepped further into the kitchen. He let his bag slip off his shoulder and placed it on the ground next to one of the table's legs. "Hey, Holls", he said; coming up behind me.

I set the rolling pin down and turned around. "Charlie", I greeted as I stood on my tip-toes to hug him. He made no comment about the flour handprints I was making on his jacket. "How're the dragons?" I asked after we separated.

Charlie shrugged in his usual easy-going manner. "Still alive", he answered. "How's school?"

I followed Charlie's example and shrugged. "I haven't died yet".

Mum tutted as she appeared back at Charlie's side with a magically warmed piece of Shepherd's pie on a plate. "You shouldn't joke about such things", Mum lightly scolded me as she handed Charlie the plate. "Now, you take this and take your bag upstairs to your room. You shouldn't leave it on the floor. Someone could trip", she said as she bustled back to the stove and her pie filling. Charlie gave me another shrug, this one with a closed-lipped smile before he grabbed his bag and started for the stairs. "And while you're at it, tell Fred and George to come down", Mum called after him. "I need them to clean the fireplace".

"Bill!" Ginny squealed as she practically threw herself down the stairs to get to him faster. It had taken about a day being back home, but the overly poised and quiet Slytherin first-year had gone on vacation and the Ginny we had all watched grow up came back with vengeance.

Bill took a hurried step forward so he could catch our youngest family member before she fell on her face. "Oomph", Bill vocalized as he wrapped his arms around her as she came in contact with his chest. "Gin! Where's the fire?" Bill asked, trying to express how she shouldn't be moving so fast throughout the house but without taking on a bossy tone. Despite being the eldest of eight, Bill never was one for giving orders. Bossy just didn't fit into his persona.

Ginny acted like she hadn't heard Bill's concern at all. "You're finally here!" She exclaimed. "Now we can play quidditch and race on the brooms. Fred, George, Ron, and Charlie have been flying since Charlie came home. But they wouldn't let me play quidditch with them because then the teams would be uneven since both Percy and Holly refuse to play-"

Bill set Ginny down on her feet as I called out from the kitchen table, "If humans were meant to fly we would've been born with wings". Bill and Ginny ignored me. But from the other side of the table, Percy gave me a look filled with camaraderie. At least one person in my family understood why not every living thing was meant to be airborne. The both of us had sheets of parchments in front of us. There was a quill in each of our hands and we were sharing an inkwell. After asking many many times; to the point that it was becoming very annoying, Mum and Dad finally caved. Well… Dad caved first and then convinced Mum. But they agreed I could go to Adrian's family's New Year's Eve party. And now I get to write a letter to him informing him about the good news. Percy, likewise, was writing to Miss Penelope Clearwater with all the good tidings the season had to offer. And I imagine a bunch of mushy romantic stuff as well.

"That sounds fun, Gin". Bill placated. "But not today. How about tomorrow? I want to unpack and just hang out today".

Ginny frowned but didn't do more than that. She didn't even stomp a foot. Which was an attestment of her maturity compared to the last Christmas we all spent together. "Fine", she said with a huff as she turned to leave the kitchen.

Bill smiled after her before turning to face us. "Hey Perce, Holly", he greeted; walking closer to stand behind Percy's chair. Bill reached out and mussed the hair of our glasses-wearing brother. Percy scowled down at his half-written letter but didn't do anything to stop Bill. Bill, as our eldest brother, was the only one who could get away with such a belittling act; as Percy would describe it. "How are you doing?"

"Very well, thank you", Percy answered a bit stiffly. It would take him probably the rest of the day before he fully warmed up to having Bill home again. It must be hard being the only introvert in a family of extroverts. Wait…. Was I an extrovert? Ambivert maybe. Either way, Percy had the hardest time with our chaotic family. "As expected, I'm finding NEWT classes to be enlightening".

Bill took the overly pompous reply in stride and nodded along with Percy as if he agreed completely. "Good. Good". Bill had to say the word 'good' twice to really express how much he approved. "Holly, how about you?"

I shrugged as I added a period to the last sentence I had written before looking up at my eldest brother. "I'm okay. Glad that we have a break from school. How's Egypt?"

"Hot", came Bill's quick response. And looking closer at him; Bill had developed a nice tan from the last time I had seen him. His complexion kind of reminded me of a browned potato from a pot roast. "But it's cooler inside the pyramids, at least". Bill answered with a shrug. "Where's everyone else?"

"Mum's tending to the chickens and Dad got called into work", Percy answered; but forgot everyone else in our family.

"Fred and George are in their room hiding from Mum", I continued. I had a nightmare last night, so I ended up in Fred and George's room and knew they were working on a new invention Mum wouldn't approve of. Especially since there was some sort of vibrant green gunk currently staining their floor. "And Charlie and Ron are playing chess in the family room".

"And what are you two doing? Writing letters to Father Christmas?" Bill asked teasingly. Santa Claus wasn't really a thing in the wizarding world. At least, not as much as it is in the muggle world. But as inter-magical relationships became more common and wizards were marrying muggles or muggleborns more and more of muggle culture was being introduced to our society. Santa Claus wasn't something we did at the Burrow. Though Dad did try to introduce it one year after he learned about it from a muggleborn co-worker. But it never stuck. Percy had been terrified at the prospect of a strange man climbing down our chimney. Charlie and Bill had been too old to really get behind the magic that is Santa Claus. Fred and George didn't care. And Ginny and Ron had asked for things Mum and Dad couldn't afford. Still, knowing about the muggle Christmas tradition enabled us to make references. Which I appreciated because half the time my references tended to pass by unnoticed.

Percy opened his mouth to respond, but I beat him to it. "Percy's writing sweet nothings to his sweetheart as he confesses his undying devotion", I said in an overdramatic fashion; a way only an embarrassing little sister can pull off. Percy glared at me as he adjusted his glasses indignantly while Bill swallowed a laugh. "And I'm accepting an invitation from…. A friend".

Percy cleared his throat. "A friend she is currently seeing romantically", he corrected. Payback glinted in Percy's eyes as Bill stiffened. Ah, hell.

"And what sort of friend would this be?", Bill asked; using the word 'friend' for lack of a better one.

"Of the Slytherin Variety", Percy answered.

Bill looked at me like he had just caught me pawning off a prized family heirloom. "Oh, come on", I said; shifting in my seat at their scrutiny. "We can't be biased against Slytherins anymore. Ginny's in Slytherin!"

"Ginny's still a Weasley", Bill argued. "That cancels out anything negative about being a Slytherin".

I rolled my eyes. "Adrian's decent. I promise", I said; hoping that would be the end of the conversation.

"Adrian?" Bill asked with a scrunched-up nose. "Adrian… Pucey?" He asked Percy. Percy confirmed with a head nod. "Isn't that the same boy you were potions partners with during your first year?" Bill asked another question; this time directed at me. Bill's seventh year had been Fred's, George's, and my first year. And when Snape first stuck me with Adrian, we acted like it was a catastrophe. Bill probably remembered how we had whined and complained about how painful it was to have one of us sitting apart on the other side of the room.

When I didn't offer an answer to his question, Bill figured he was right. He sighed deeply as if he felt extremely bothered. "Just remember, Holly. It doesn't hurt to keep your options open". With that said, Bill turned to walk outside. Probably to find Mum, tell her that he's home, and get her usual lecture about haircuts over with.

I directed my line of sight to Percy. "How come no one ever gives you a hard time about dating Penelope?"

Percy answered in a voice I found to be far too smug and slightly calculating. "That would be because Penelope is a joy to be around and doesn't associate with questionable company"... I feel like I should be offended.

It was Christmas Eve; post-dinner. Mum made a Turkey with dressing, mashed potatoes, and green beans. Everyone was currently in the family room; sitting around the fireplace and trying to work themselves out of their food comas. I was tempted to join them but saw a golden opportunity and decided to take it. With everyone home, it was hard to get access to the bathroom to have a proper shower. But with everyone content and sitting lethargically in the family room, I knew this was my chance.

Still, I worked fast as I rubbed and rinsed off the soap from all over my body. Mum would probably be serving hot cocoa soon and Bill would start telling us stories about his travels around Egypt as he broke into Pyramids. I didn't want to miss anything. The last thing I did was shampoo my hair. We all tend to use the same shampoo. Something simple that just smells like soap. But I had been given a bottle of shampoo from Alicia before we had gone on break. "It smells like green tea and should help you get some more volume to your hair", she had said. So, I decided to try it. It didn't take me long to lather it into my hair and I enjoyed the feeling of it on my hands. I closed my eyes and stepped directly under the showerhead to rinse it all out. I didn't really care about things like hair volume. At least, not in this life. But who knows? Maybe I would like the effect of the shampoo, if it had any, and use it again before I went to the Puceys' New Year's Eve party.

With that job done, I turned off the water before opening my eyes and stepping out of the tub. Immediately, the chilled floor made me shiver. I wrapped a towel around myself, before throwing my bathrobe on. Stepping up to the bathroom mirror, I raised the sleeve of my bathrobe to wipe it free of steam. I'd braid my hair before I got dressed in my pajamas. That way my hair wouldn't get too tangled during the night. But when I was able to see my reflection, hair braiding was the last thing on my mind. Green. That was the only thing I could think of. Green. Green hair. My hair was green! There wasn't a single strand of hair that had been spared. I was green. My mouth hung open as I stared at my expression; frozen. I looked like the bloody Grinch!

It was that thought that got me moving. "Fred! George!" I yelled as I flung open the bathroom door and charged down the stairs. As soon as I reached the ground floor, I pivoted on my heel to rush into the family room where I knew the culprits would be.

"Holly?" Mum asked as she stood nearby; holding a tray with ten steaming mugs balanced on top. "What on Earth…."

I didn't slow down to tell her what was wrong. Once she got a good look at me, she'd understand. In the family room, Dad lounged in his favorite overstuffed armchair. Percy and Bill were sharing the couch. Mum's rocker was empty; probably waiting for her return. Ginny was perched on the arm of Dad's chair with her arm resting over Dad's shoulders. While Fred, George, and Ron were spread out on the floor. At the sight of me, my family's eyes grew wide. Minus Fred and George; who immediately threw their heads back and laughed. "You dyed my hair green", I stated; just to bring everyone else in the room up to speed. "Why would you dye my hair green?"

Fred took two deep breaths to calm his laughter before he answered me with a grin. "We thought you'd like a festive look for the holidays".

George calmed down as well as he added, "Now you match the Christmas tree".

I shook my head and pinched the bridge of my nose as Mum came up behind me. "Fred, George", she said in a low scolding voice. "That wasn't kind", she tried. But no one is really surprised.

The rest of my family recovered. Bill and Charlie are trying their hardest not to look at me as they cover their mouths with their hands to keep from laughing. Percy is eyeing Fred and George with suspicion. He's probably going to check the rest of the hair products we keep in the house to make sure he doesn't end up with festive hair. While Ron, Dad, and Ginny continued to stare. As if they were afraid that my hair would suddenly come alive and attack them.

"Just think Jolly Holly", Fred started to say, completely ignoring Mum. "We could hang ornaments in your hair and you'll be the fanciest person at Pucey's party".

My eyebrow twitched. Taking two little steps followed by one big step, I was standing in front of my fellow triplets. I dropped down so I was eye level with Fred and George; mindful that I currently only had a towel and bathrobe on. I should have seen this coming or suspected something. It had been a long time since Fred and George pulled a prank on me. They had hardly pulled any pranks this year; what with everything going on with the Angelina competition and Lockhart. "This means I'm going to have to get back at you guys, you know that, right?"

Fred grinned as George said, "We were counting on it".