American Holidays

I don't own Girl Meets World or Harry Potter!

The first half of the year had gone by quickly, and Thea was excited for the holidays. She couldn't wait to see her family again. Hogwarts was amazing and she'd made lots of friends, Fred and George were her best friends though without a doubt, but she had bouts of homesickness that made having fun hard.

Professor Dumbledore had offered to get her family's fireplace connected to the floo network so she could get home for the holidays and back to school after. Of course, Thea took him up on that offer.

Fred and George were taking the train back to King's Cross Station to meet their family, so the goodbye happened a little sooner than Thea would have liked.

"Have a great holiday, Thea." Fred hugged her.

"Owl us, we might not survive not hearing from you." George added joining the embrace.

"You mean you won't survive three weeks stuck with Percy." Thea laughed "Relax, you'll be fine. And I'll owl as often as I can."

"We'll miss you." The twins sighed as they released her.

"Bye!" Thea called, waving as they walked down to the gates where some horseless carriages waited to bring them to Hogsmeade Station.

Thea walked up to Professor Dumbledore's office, where Professor McGonagall was waiting outside to let her in. Professor McGonagall and Thea had grown closer during one of Thea's homesick episodes. The teacher had brought her into her office and given her biscuits, and told her stories about her own time at Hogwarts.

"Treacle tart." Professor McGonagall said to the griffin statue outside Dumbledore's office.

The statue leaped aside, revealing a spiral staircase that Thea took up to a large door. She knocked and heard the headmaster call out "Enter." The door swung open and Dumbledore smiled at Thea. Beside the fireplace stood her trunk and Iris's cage.

"Do you know how to use floo powder, Miss Matthews?" Professor Dumbledore asked.

Thea nodded "Professor McGonagall explained it to me."

"Then I will not delay your seeing your family any longer." Dumbledore held out a small pot of what looked like sparkly dust.

Thea reached in and grabbed a handful.

She stepped into the fireplace, dragging her trunk and Iris's cage and called out "Matthews apartment, New York!"

Next thing Thea knew she was spinning violently through what felt like a tunnel. She shut her eyes to keep out the soot and before long she spun out of her fireplace.

"Thea!" Auggie's voice rang through the air as Thea sat up and the air was knocked out of her by the small boy wrapping himself around her middle.

"Auggie!" Thea cried, hugging her little brother back "Oh, my God, I've missed you!"

After a long hug, Thea unwound herself from Auggie and stood up. She was greeted by her parents, rushing down the stairs to hug her too. It didn't take long for them all to start crying.

"Oh, sweetie, we missed you so much." Topanga sighed, finally releasing her daughter "How's school? Are you doing well? What are your classes like?"

"I missed you too, Mom." Thea laughed "School's great. I'm top of the class. Classes are fascinating. I'm learning so much."

"Magic!" Auggie clapped his hands happily.

"You sound different, honey, you've got a little accent." Cory smiled "I guess that's what happens when you spend so long in Britain."

"Yeah," Thea shrugged "Everyone else at school is from Britain, I'm the only American."

"Really? Why is that?" Topanga asked.

"I'm not sure. I tried asking Professor Dumbledore when I first met him, but he just smiled and said 'You'll learn in time.'" Thea mimicked Dumbledore's mysterious, calm voice "Everyone says he's a little crazy. He's absolutely brilliant, but crazy."

Her parents exchanged a look "Crazy?"

"Well, he's, like, around 110 years old. Of course he's not all there." Thea joked "But he's amazing. The most powerful sorcerer in the world. He defeated Grindelwald."

"Who?" Cory asked, confused.

"He was a dark wizard, intent on taking over the world, so on." Thea explained "He's in prison now, and He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is gone so really there's nothing to worry about."

"He-Who...what?"

"Oh, right. His name was Voldemort and he was a very powerful dark wizard." Thea told them "He was defeated about eight or nine years ago."

"The wizarding world sounds very dangerous." Topanga murmured "Are you sure you're safe?"

"Hogwarts is the safest place in the world, thanks to Dumbledore. He's the only one Voldemort was afraid of." Thea sighed "It's perfectly safe. We have Defense Against the Dark Arts lessons so we can protect ourselves."

"Hmm." Topanga hummed "Alright then."

Thea looked around, noticing that her sister was nowhere to be seen "Where's Riley?"

Cory bit his lip "She's hanging out with Maya. She'll be back for dinner."

"She didn't want to see me, did she?"

Her parents shared a sad look.

"I'm so sorry, honey." Topanga reached out and hugged her daughter.

Thea felt the hot wetness of tears prick her eyes but she blinked them away. Her sister hated her and there was nothing she could do.

"Maybe I should have stayed at school." She whispered.

"No!" Auggie stomped his foot "We missed you Thea."

Thea laughed a little at that "I know, buddy, I'm just worried that my being here will cause problems."

"Let's get you cleaned up." Topanga suggested.

Thea looked down, her clothes were covered in soot and ash, she was filthy "Good idea, Mom. I'm gonna go take a shower."

She slipped off her shoes and padded up the stairs in her socks. Thea opened the door to her room and found it exactly as she had left it. Slowly, she stripped off her clothes, grabbed a robe, and made her way to the bathroom where she took a shower. The hot water felt heavenly on her skin as she washed up.

She stepped out of the shower, dried off, put her hair up in the towel, and wrapped her robe around herself. Thea walked back to her room, feeling much more relaxed. She got dressed and dried her hair, without magic, she usually used it at school as it was faster, and put on a little lip gloss. When she felt ready, she walked downstairs, it was dinner time.

Thea immediately spotted Riley and Maya sitting on the couch.

"Um, hi." She offered weakly.

Riley and Maya whipped around.

"Thea, you-you're back." Riley blinked "I didn't know you were here already."

"Yeah, well, I am." Thea shrugged awkwardly "How've you been?"

"What do you care, magic girl?" Maya snapped.

Thea's eyes widened and she stammered "Wha-? How did you find out? You're not supposed to know."

"She was there when we got your first letter." Riley explained timidly "We had to tell her."

"Well, now I have to tell Dumbledore." Thea grimaced.

"Who?" Maya asked.

"My headmaster. Someone needs to inform the Ministry that a muggle is aware of the magical world." Thea sighed.

"What?!" Riley asked angrily "What will they do?"

"My best guess, they'll send in someone from the obliviation squad." Thea rubbed her temples "They'll erase your memory of the magical world and you," Thea pointed to her family "Need to be more careful."

"No!" Riley shouted "I won't let you remove Maya's memories!"

"It will only be her memories of the magical world." Thea tried to explain "It's not like she'll forget you. It's the law. No muggle can know about magic. Since we're related it's a different case, you have a witch in the family, you have to know. But Maya isn't related to us, there's nothing I can do. If I don't tell the Ministry I could get kicked out of Hogwarts."

"Get out!" Riley screamed "Get out! Get out of my house! Get out of my life! I hate you! Get out!"

Thea stumbled back as if she'd been physically slapped "If that's what you want, then fine. You won't have to see me ever again. But this won't change the fact that I have to tell the Ministry."

She stormed up the stairs.

"Riley...I'm so disappointed in you!" Topanga sighed "Thea is your sister. And this is not your house, it's ours. You do not get to tell her to get out just because you're angry with her."

"She was going to make Maya forget!"

"She was going to make Maya forget magic!" Cory corrected "Not you. Maya would still be your friend. Thea is following the laws of the magical world, something we should have done from the beginning. We never should have told Maya, then this wouldn't be happening."

Thea came back downstairs, lugging her trunk and Iris's cage in one hand, in her other hand she held a small pouch.

"Thea!" Auggie cried "Don't go!"

"I have to, buddy. But this isn't goodbye. I promise I'll see you again." Thea set her things down and hugged her brother.

"Thea..." Topanga tried to hold her daughter but Thea stepped away from her open arms.

"Mom, don't. I can't stay here, I won't. So don't try to make me. Please."

"But where will you go?" Topanga whispered.

"Back to Hogwarts. I'll write to Fred and George and see if I can stay with them for the holidays." Thea said "I won't come back this summer either. I can't. I'm sorry."

"Sweetie..." Cory tried.

Thea held up her hand to stop him "No." Her voice cracked "I can't. Please, don't make this harder."

She rushed over to the fireplace and stepped inside. With her things in hand, she reached into the small pouch and pulled out a handful of powder.

"Dumbledore's office!" Thea shouted, throwing the dust down into the fire.

Emerald green flames sprang up, enveloping Thea's body and when they died down, she was gone. The Matthews family and Maya stood there in stunned horror.

"Riley...what have you done?"

Thea tumbled out of Professor Dumbledore's fireplace, tears streaming down her cheeks. The teacher stood up sharply from his desk and hurried over to the crying girl.

"Miss Matthews, what's wrong? What happened?"

Thea hiccuped "My sister essentially told me to get out and never come back." She whispered.

"Fawkes, fetch Professor McGonagall for us, please?" Professor Dumbledore said to a scarlet bird perched next to his desk "Quickly."

The bird vanished in a plume of flames. Thea almost didn't notice as she cried harder.

"I'm sorry, Professor." She finally whispered "I know you're busy, I just couldn't stay there."

"No need to apologize, Miss Matthews." Dumbledore patted her gently on the back "Would you like a lemon drop? I find them to be quite soothing."

"Thank you, yes, please." Thea took a shaky breath "I should tell you, my sister's best friend, Maya Hart, she's a muggle, my family told her about magic. Apparently she was there when they got my first letter. I don't know how to let the Ministry know."

"I'll take care of it, don't worry." Dumbledore insisted.

There was a knock at the door and Professor McGonagall burst in "Miss Matthews! Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Professor." Thea wiped her eyes "Family issues. I couldn't stay there. My-my sister..."

The two teachers shared a look, this reminded them vividly of another student years ago who had returned after a furious shouting match with her sister. Lily Evans had spun out of Dumbledore's fireplace wailing and in tears. She hadn't gone back home after that, she met her parents sometimes, but they were very out of contact, and she spent her holidays at Hogwarts or with Marlene McKinnon or one of her other friends. History repeats itself.

"Would you like to stay here for the holidays, Miss Matthews?" Dumbledore asked kindly.

Thea bit her lip "Fred and George Weasley told me I could come stay with them if things got bad at home. I might owl them and see if the offer still stands."

"No need, Minerva, would you floo Molly and ask her if it's alright?" Dumbledore requested.

"Certainly." McGonagall nodded, she came back a few minutes later "Molly says she'd be happy to have a friend of Fred and George's stay for the holidays. Miss Matthews, would you like to leave now?"

"I think so." Thea nodded "Thank you, Professor. I really appreciate this."

"Nonsense, we are happy to." Professor Dumbledore assured her "Come, the Weasley's home is called the Burrow. You can use my fireplace again."

"Thank you, Professor." Thea nodded "I think I will."

She stood up and wiped the last of her tears away before she stepped into the large fireplace.

"The Burrow!"

Molly Weasley loved her kids. So, when Fred and George told her about their best friend, the top of the class, genius, sweetheart, Thea Matthews, she was thrilled. She hoped this girl would be a good influence on her little troublemakers. Then, not even a day after holiday break had begun, Molly got a message from Professor McGonagall asking if she would be willing to have Thea Matthews stay with her for the winter break.

Of course, Molly said yes right away. She hurried upstairs to let Fred and George know, ignoring the smell of gunpowder that wafted from their room. The twins were thrilled to hear that Thea would be coming but shared a worried look that didn't escape Molly's sharp eye.

"What is it?" Molly asked.

"It's nothing, Mum." Fred shook his head.

"George?"

"It's just...Thea's probably upset." George explained carefully "She doesn't have a great relationship with her younger sister and we told her that if things got bad to owl us and she could stay here."

"She insisted that she wanted to try and have Christmas with her family and that she'd only impose on our holiday as a last resort." Fred sighed "We had a feeling it would happen, it just took less time than we thought."

Molly took a deep breath "That poor girl. She'll be here soon, let's go downstairs. She'll need some friendly faces when she gets here."

They all hurried back downstairs and waited in front of the fireplace. It wasn't long before a girl with long, chocolate colored hair spun out and landed on her knees.

"Oof!" She muttered.

Molly quickly moved forward to help her up and caught a glimpse of the bright blue eyes that shone with unshed tears as she tucked her curtain of hair behind her ear.

"Hello, dear, are you all right?" Molly asked kindly.

Thea bit her lip "Thank you for letting me stay here, Mrs. Weasley. I don't think I could have handled Hogwarts alone for three weeks." She evaded the question.

"It's no trouble, dear." Molly insisted "Please, call me Molly. Would you like a cup of tea or something?"

"Um, if you're sure it's no trouble." Thea blinked "Thank you."

"Thea!" Fred and George rushed forward and hugged her.

"Are you okay?" Fred asked.

"What happened?" George continued.

"Was it your sister?"

"It was your sister, wasn't it?"

"Boys!" Molly scolded "Let her breathe!"

"It's alright, Mrs. Weasley." Thea sighed "Yeah, it was Riley. She told me to get out of her life and that she hates me, I didn't stick around to hear the rest."

Molly stifled a gasp, this girl seemed so sweet, why would her own sister hate her so much? Molly knew she'd gotten a second daughter as soon as the tears started to prick the corners of Thea's eyes.

"You can share a room with Ginny." Mrs. Weasley told Thea kindly "She's our youngest."

"Thank you so much, Mrs. Weasley. But please, don't go to too much trouble. I don't want to be a bother."

"I keep telling you, dear, it's no bother at all." Mrs. Weasley waved her off "And please, call me Molly."

Thea, Fred, and George spent the whole of the week leading up to Christmas laughing, joking, and playing quidditch with Bill (who was visiting from Egypt), Charlie, and Ron, split into teams of three. While Thea had never been on a broom before this year, she had learned she was an exceptional flier. The Weasley brothers often argued over who got Thea on their team. After one particularly memorable match, where Thea and Charlie had teamed up, it was decided that those two should never be allowed on the same team again. They beat the others into the ground.

On Christmas Eve Thea brought down all the beautifully wrapped gifts she'd either bought or made for the Weasleys. After a quick trip to Diagon Alley with Mrs. Weasley, she was very pleased with the presents she had picked out.

For Fred and George, she got them identical pajamas and a large box of Filibuster's Fireworks. For Bill, Thea had made him four different pairs of earrings, as he had just pierced his ears. Charlie was getting a broomstick servicing kit and some muggle soda she'd gotten him to try. Percy was getting a rather large volume on influential wizards and witches from the last two centuries. For Ron, Thea had found he enjoyed the Mad Muggle comic book series and bought him a few of the editions he didn't have and a mountain of sweets. Ginny was receiving a Weird Sisters poster and lots of chocolate. For Mr. Weasley, Thea had gotten a few books and magazines on the billionaire inventor, Tony Stark, who Mr. Weasley was very curious about.

But Thea was especially proud of her gift for Mrs. Weasley. Fred and George had told her about how every year their mother made them all a colorful sweater. Thea had been knitting for a few years and was quite skilled, if she did say so herself, and so, had decided to make Mrs. Weasley her own Weasley sweater. It was pale blue and very soft with a purple heart on the front.

The Weasleys all insisted that she didn't need to give them anything, that having her with them for the holiday was enough, but Thea shook her head and said it was her pleasure.

Thea had also sent gifts to her family back in America. For her parents she'd gotten some drinks from the wizarding world, pumpkin juice, butter beer, and gilly water, that she thought they would enjoy. For Riley she'd sent a few boxes of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, which maybe weren't the nicest candy she could have sent but Thea was capable of being petty. Auggie had gotten a mountain of Chocolate Cauldrons, Cauldron Cakes, Chocolate frogs, Ice Mice, and Fizzing Whizzbees.

The next morning, Christmas Day, the Weasleys and Thea were roused by Ron and Ginny excitedly banging on doors and shaking them awake shouting that it was time to open presents.

Mrs. Weasley cried when she opened Thea's present and wasted no time in wrapping the girl in a hug. Mr. Weasley had to physically pry his sobbing wife off her shoulders. Fred and George rolled their eyes and mouthed that she was a kiss-up but they didn't bother to hide their identical grins. Thea had the special talent of making people happy.

Everyone loved their gifts. Thea wound up with several boxes of chocolates, lots of pranking supplies from the twins, and her favorite gift, her very own Weasley sweater.

That evening as the table groaned under the massive Christmas feast Mrs. Weasley had prepared, there was a sharp tap at the window. Thea's owl, Iris, rapped the glass with her beak again and Percy opened the window to let her in. Iris landed on Thea's shoulder, dropping a letter and a small package in her lap. Everyone stared nervously, Thea recognized the handwriting as Topanga's.

With trembling fingers, Thea opened the letter and pulled out several sheets of paper.

Thea,
I hope this letter gets to you in time for Christmas. We all miss you so much. Honey, I am so sorry about Riley. I don't know what's going on with her, but I want you to know that we love you and wish you could be here. We understand why you didn't want to stay though. What your sister did was unacceptable and we're trying to tell her that. Some people from the American Ministry came by after you left and they erased Maya's memory of magic. Riley threw a fit and nearly hit one with a vase. Honestly we're not sure what to do about her. She's been grounded and lectured so many times, I'm not sure it has any effect anymore. Your headmaster wrote and let us know you were staying with some friends, thank them for us please. I'm glad that if you couldn't be with us you at least had them to go to. Iris showed up a couple days ago, thank goodness for that, we had no idea how to get you your present. I hope you like it, it was my grandmothers'. Merry Christmas sweetheart, we love you so much.
Love,
Mom

Thea unfolded the second piece of paper.

Thea,
My sweet, darling girl, merry Christmas. I'm sure your Mom told you most of what happened after you left in her letter but just to recap, American Ministry, Maya's memory of magic gone, flying vase. I miss you, sweetie. This is the first Christmas without you in so long. Your grandparents asked about you but we told them you had decided to stay at school and study over the break. We would have told them the truth, but we got a letter from your headmaster saying it might be a good idea not to tell anyone else, less chance of the secret getting out, you know. Riley keeps begging us to let her tell Maya again, she's done so without our permission once already but the American Ministry gave us a way to contact them so she doesn't know any more. Auggie really misses you, he's been really down since you left, but he perked up when he got that present you sent, we let him open it early. Why would you give him so much chocolate? He's been on a sugar high for days! He drew you a picture. I hope you like it. We love you so so much sweet girl, have a merry Christmas and a happy new year!
Love,
Dad

Thea blinked hard to hold back her tears and unfolded Auggie's drawing. It was of the two of them and their parents, he'd put names above the stick figures heads. The figure labeled "Thea" had a stick in one hand with sparkles all around her. The figure with Auggie's name was holding stick Thea's other hand. Cory and Topanga, or as Auggie labeled them "Mommy" and "Daddy," stood on either side.

Over in the very bottom left hand corner was a small stick figure that Auggie had titled "Meanie." Thea held back a snort, Auggie had given Riley's figure a dark cloud over her head and what must have been rain falling from it.

"Thea?" Fred asked slowly "Everything okay?"

"Yeah, my parents say thank you for letting me join you for the holidays." Thea nodded.

Slowly, Thea untied the ribbon on the small package and a small black box was revealed as she tore the paper away. Taking a deep breath, Thea opened the box and saw the blue necklace her Mother had worn on occasion for fancy events.

This is the link for the necklace, I really just googled "simple blue necklace" and chose one I liked but I give credit where credit is due. London-Topaz-Necklace-Pendant-Gemstone/dp/B01JLQCUX8

The simple stone seemed to glow and Thea blinked back the tears that threatened to spill down her cheeks. This necklace had belonged to Topanga's grandmother, Thea's Great-Grandmother, and Thea could recall how much she and Riley had loved to sneak into their parent's room when they were young and simply look at the necklace, admiring the way it seemed to hold the promise of beauty and enchantment in it.

"Oh, what a beautiful necklace!" Mrs. Weasley gasped "It's stunning!"

"It was my Great-Grandmother's wedding present from my Great-Grandfather." Thea whispered "I...wasn't expecting a gift like this. It always meant so much to my Mom."

Ron hopped off his chair and looked over Thea's shoulder at the necklace "Wow, Thea, that's pretty." He complimented "Are you gonna put it on?"

"Uh," Thea hesitated "Yeah. Yeah, I will."

Slowly she clasped the necklace behind her throat and let it rest on her collarbone. The Weasley's smiled as she wiped away the tears that threatened to fall.

"I know it must be hard, not being with your family during the holidays," Bill put a hand on the girl he'd come to see as a second little sister's shoulder "But I hope you've still been happy staying with us."

"I have." Thea nodded "You're all wonderful and I'm so thankful that you opened your home to me."

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley glanced at each other "Thea," Mrs. Weasley began "Our home is always open to you. We meant to tell you later tonight, but if you would like to, you're welcome to stay with us during the summers too."

Thea's jaw dropped "Oh, Mrs. Weasley, I couldn't-"

"We want you to." Mr. Weasley stopped her "You are family now and we know you don't want to go back to the States for a while at least. If you want to stay in Britain then we would like for you to stay with us."

"You don't have to answer right away." Mrs. Weasley could see that Thea was at a loss for words "This is a standing offer. Our home is your home."

Word count:4301 words
Sorry this took so long to get written! If you've read "Princess Meets World" or my message board then you probably know that my life's been a little crazy. But the chapter is out and I can probably take a day or so to breathe before I start the next one. Please don't forget to comment, vote, and add to your reading lists! Also stay home, stay healthy, stay safe, wash your hands, wear a mask, and get the vaccine if you can! #BlackLivesMatter #SaveOurChildren
Love,
The Author