Chapter Eighteen

Inside Camping

"Snowed in... in Canada?" Mia repeated.

"You know your dad had to go on a business trip over there?" Harry asked, and Mia nodded. "Well, your mum decided to go with him – fairly last minute. And now they're snowed in. I spoke to your dad briefly this afternoon - they're going to get the first plane home they can, but at the moment nothing's flying."

"So you get to come with us!" Lily said excitedly. "To Grimmauld Place!"

On the one hand, Mia couldn't imagine spending Christmas apart from her parents, but then again, she had always wanted to experience a Weasley Christmas. It looked like she was about to get her wish.

Ginny hugged Mia. "Hopefully they'll make it back in time for Christmas Day," she said. "If they do, we'll invite them to ours so they don't have the stress of trying to organise Christmas at the last minute."

Mia felt slightly better at this. With any luck, she'd get the best of both worlds – Christmas with her parents and at Grimmauld Place.

Ginny hugged Cassie too. "We're so happy to have you, Cassie," she said.

"Let's go!" Lily said. "C'mon, we're the last ones here!"

Ginny waved her wand and everyone's luggage disappeared except for the three owls: Felix, Venus and Jupiter. "We don't want to be carrying all that," she said. "You'd better let the owls out once we get outside so they can fly on ahead."

The six of them walked through the barrier, out of Kings Cross Station and into the December night. Mia and her parents usually caught another train out of King's Cross toward their home in Kent, but she knew that the Weasleys' Christmas home in Grimmauld Place was just a short walk from the station.

"Where's James?" Lily asked, clinging to her dad's arm like she might have done if she was a toddler.

"He and Fred decided to stay home with Vic and Teddy," Harry told her.

"They better not be getting a head-start on five-minute dinner," Lily said. "Because that would be cheating!"

"James and Fred, cooking?" Al scoffed. "As if! D'you remember their last attempt?"

Everyone laughed. James-and-Fred-and-the-exploding-Christmas-Pudding had become lore in the Weasley family.

"What's the five minute dinner?" Mia asked.

"On the first day of the Christmas holidays, we have five minute dinner," Al said, "which you can't start cooking until the last people arrive-"

"Which'll be us," Lily put in.

"-and it has to be ready five minutes later."

"Everyone helps – it's like magic it all coming together," Harry grinned.

It only took about twenty minutes to walk to Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place. It stood on a quiet square full of imposing four-storey terraced houses. Mia knew that in the last war it had been the Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix, and highly advanced magic had ensured that only those specifically invited in could see it. Now though, it was visible to all, owned by Harry, and the holiday home of the entire Potter-Weasley clan.

"We're here!" Lily announced, flinging open the front door. "Let the cooking commence!"

The next five minutes were organised chaos as dinner was prepared. Mia followed the others downstairs into the long basement kitchen where already many hands were at work. Most of the cooking was being done by magic, but Mia could see Molly and Lucy's mum Audrey – the only Muggle present – stirring some kind of sauce by hand, and Mia, Lily, Al and Cassie were soon roped into helping set the table.

Almost exactly five minutes after entering Grimmauld Place, Mia found herself sat between James and a heavily pregnant Victoire, the table before her covered with plenty of food for the twenty-eight people seated around it. Before they ate, Lily's grandmother, Molly, rose to speak.

"Twenty-five years ago, we spent Christmas in the middle of the War," she said. "Most of the people around the table weren't even thought of, and half of the rest were in hiding. I remember wondering if I would ever have my family together again. Although we've faced losses-" her gaze lingered on George, whose twin brother had been killed in the Battle of Hogwarts, and Teddy, whose parents had also both died on that day, when he'd only been a few months old "-we're still here, together, which is something I never could've dreamed of. I never could've dreamed I'd be here, surrounded by my children and grandchildren, and even have a great grandchild on the way-" she smiled at Vic, who rested a hand on her over-sized stomach. "So, before we eat, I'd like to propose a toast. To family!"

Everyone stood and lifted their glasses, echoing: "To family!"

Across the table, Mia could see Cassie who looked a little awkward. Mia too felt a little strange hearing Molly talk about a family she wasn't really part of. It had to be stranger for Cassie, though, who wasn't even related to the Weasleys at all.

As they sat down again, Mia heard Al tell Cassie, "You're part of this family now, Cass."

Dinner was a lively affair, with much laughter and talking, catching up on family and Hogwarts news, and plenty of reminiscing and 'remember when'-s. Mia thought it felt much more like dinner at Hogwarts than a family dinner, since her own family was rather small. She rarely saw her dad's parents, and Christmas was usually spent just the three of them, or with her mum's sister and her husband and children.

After dinner, all the teenagers were packed off to bed. Mia wasn't inclined to protest – she was tired from a long day's travelling and could tell several of the others felt the same way. Roxanne led the way up to the girls' room – a small twin bedroom almost entirely filled with by what appeared to be a two-man tent. Mia knew from previous experience, however, that the tent had been enlarged with an undetectable extension charm, and would have plenty of room for the eight of them inside.

Sure enough, the tent had a large bunk room at the front, which opened up into a living room with a table for eight, complete with a kitchenette. There was also a door at the far end, which Mia later discovered led to the bathroom.

The girls quickly chose bunks, and Mia found herself on a top bunk above Cassie, across from Lily and Roxanne. Just as she was drifting off, Mia heard Lily's cheerful call of 'Goodnight, everyone!' followed by a round of shushes and a thud which sounded suspiciously like a pillow being thrown.

When Mia woke up the following morning, it took her several minutes to figure out where she was. Staring up at the canvas ceiling, it slowly came back to her – her parents were snowed in in Canada, and she was going to have a Weasley Christmas.

It didn't seem like anyone else was up yet, something which Mia quickly confirmed with a whispered question which went unanswered. Quietly, Mia lifted up her bag from where it was hanging from the bedpost, found parchment, quill and ink, and settled down to write a letter to Reuben by wandlight. Although underage witches and wizards weren't allowed to perform magic outside of school, Mia figured that something small like Lumos didn't really matter in a house full of adult witches and wizards where there was no chance of tracing who'd performed the spell.

She told Reuben all about the events of the last twenty-four hours – about her parents being in Canada, about coming to Grimmauld Place, the five minute dinner, and sleeping in a tent. She finished off the letter with the words: 'It's not exactly the Christmas I was expecting, but I think I'm going to enjoy it anyway (especially if my parents make it back in time for the big day)'.

Soon after Mia finished her letter, she heard the sounds of the others waking up – the day was beginning. As she went to sit down for breakfast, Mia found her chair had turned into a giant exercise ball. She looked around for the culprit, and spotted James grinning. "Couldn't resist," he shrugged. "You want your chair back, or are you happy with the ball?"

"I'd like my chair back, thanks," Mia scowled.

"Well, too bad," James said loftily, sauntering off to the other end of the table.

"I'll fix it for you, Mia," Victoire said. "Although this could come in handy for inducing labour, eh, Ted?"

Teddy looked alarmed. "You're only thirty-five weeks – we don't want this baby coming yet!" he said.

"Relax, I was just kidding," Vic said, turning the exercise ball back into a chair.

"I'm gonna get James back for this," Mia said, finally sitting down on her chair next to Lily. "It's not fair that he can use magic and I can't, though."

"I bet we can still think of something good," Lily said. She turned to her dad, who had just sat down opposite her. "What are we doing today, Dad?" she asked.

Harry looked over at Teddy and raised his eyebrows questioningly. Teddy looked around the room which was pretty full – it looked like most people were up – and got to his feet, clearing his throat.

"This afternoon, Vic and I are holding a naming party for our baby," he announced.

"What's one of those, then?" Louis demanded.

"Exactly what it says on the tin, mate," Teddy told him. "We'll be taking suggestions for what we could name this little one. We've decided not to find out if it's a boy or a girl, so come prepared with suggestions for both. And I'm told that some people have plans to turn it into a baby shower of sorts, so I believe there will be food."

"And no one is permitted to enter the drawing room today," Victoire's mother, Fleur, added.

Lily, Mia and Cassie spent most of the day sat at the table in the girls' tent, alternating between homework – Cassie suggested it might be wise to get it out of the way as soon as possible, and Lily and Mia had to agree she had a point – and discussing possible baby names and revenge ideas against James.