Disclaimer: Thanks to J.K. Rowling for allowing me to take her characters for a lengthy stroll through my imagination.
Thirteen
Christmas at the Burrow
“Dobby, it’s Christmas! You did a wonderful job with the Christmas Eve dinner for my family last night. Now you’re allowed some time off to spend with your friends,” Tonks insisted as she trained her other eye on the children’s last minute preparations.
“Weren’t you going to visit Winky at Hogwarts?” Harry inquired genially, sitting down on the closest chair to be more at eye level with the house-elf.
“Yes, Master…but…all those guests at the Burrow…” Dobby hesitated. “What if Mistress Molly needs another pair of hands and Dobby is with his feet up at the great castle?”
“Molly has dealt with a house full of children for years; a few extra guests are hardly going to put her out,” Remus supplied as he levitated a stack of brightly wrapped gifts towards the slate tiles before the hearth. “Do all house-elves suffer from such a large dose of guilt?”
“It’s not guilt exactly…” Dobby protested. “It’s duty.”
“My mum used to say much the same thing when she felt Dad and I weren’t helping out enough around the kitchen,” Remus joked. “Especially at holiday time.”
“Mine did too, until I burned the Christmas biscuits for the two hundredth time!” Tonks laughed unabashedly at the memory.
“Wish I’d thought of that,” Ginny sighed wistfully.
“Molly would never have accepted you were a hopeless case,” Harry observed snidely. “Whereas Tonks--”
“”had a natural, or should I say unnatural, aptitude!” Remus finished for him.
“Look, it was all Mum’s fault,” Tonks offered in mock defense. “If she’d only let me dance around the kitchen, my clumsy gene would have been lulled into submission!”
“And you wonder why Dobby is concerned?” Remus countered. “You lot just convinced him we would die of our own ineptitude without him!”
“Not die!” Dobby interjected with a smirk. “Just make poor Mistress Ginny do all the work.”
“Oooh, shades of Cinderella,” Ginny echoed with an overly dramatic swoon.
“Actually, I was thinking of a little French maid outfit,” Harry whispered in her ear loudly enough for everyone else to hear.
Despite the blush noticeably creeping up her throat, Ginny was not so easily trumped. “Why me? Remus is the one who speaks the language; let him wear the outfit!”
Amid the hilarity, Remus still managed to deadpan, “I haven’t got the legs for it.” With a wicked grin, he turned to look at Dobby, eyeing the elf carefully up and down. “I wonder….” he muttered as he rubbed his chin between thumb and forefinger.
“You think maybe holiday colors?” Harry suggested with a wide grin.
Caught in the crosshairs, Dobby didn’t hesitate to remind them to take the large hamper of rolls and baked goods to the Weasleys as his gift before he promptly Disapparated.
“If only I could motivate the children that way,” Tonks sighed as she excused herself to go check on their progress.
“I’ll get the snowsuits and boots from the Mud Room so they can frolic outside with the boys,” Ginny volunteered as Harry and Remus hurried to lend a hand.
There was a unique smell to the Burrow at Yuletide. It was more than the perfume of cinnamon and spices wafting from the kitchen or the rich smells of roasting turkey and bubbling gravy. Harry could not quantify it exactly, but somehow it always made him feel safe and secure. Other than Hogwarts, the Burrow had been the only true home he had know throughout his youth.
The fragrance of pine mingled with the woodsy scent of the crackling fire as Harry stumbled through the Floo Connection, bringing up the rear of the Godric’s Hollow brigade. Arthur was there with a steadying hand to help relieve him of the mountain of coats and galoshes. Molly caught him in a fierce hug that practically swung him off his feet, cooing her thanks to Dobby for his superlative skills with dough and yeast. Teddy was recounting to anyone who would listen how he had peeked at millions of different Christmas trees in the other drawing rooms whooshing by, heady with pride that he had been allowed to speak the destination himself. Phoebe practically sprung from Remus’ arms to go in search of Hermione and Eleanor once Molly explained that Victoire and Yvette were visiting their Aunt Gabrielle in London but would be back in time for supper. Ah, sweet chaos!
Remus was already uncorking the day’s first bottle of wine as Ron’s heavy tread was heard on the stairs. “Harry!” he cried as he took advantage of Molly’s inattention to jump over the lowest part of the banister rail. “I thought I heard your voice! Fred and George set up the Quidditch pitch early this morning. We’re all set for a match.”
“Snow rules?” Harry clarified, instantly on alert.
“Absolutely! Mum won’t let us play any other way with the little ones. Claims they’re not as hard-headed as we were at their age.”
Harry suspected Molly meant that figuratively, but saw no reason to correct his life-long pal.
“Where’s the Spook?” Ron swung his head around as he pretended not to notice Teddy who was tugging on his sleeve.
“You’ll give yourself a headache, Ron,” Ginny warned. “That little brain rattling around that thick skull.”
Ron looked like he wanted to retort, but relented at Teddy’s carefree laugher. Making a big production out of turning his back on his sister, he crouched over to be at eye level. “Did you bring the whistle I got you for Christmas?”
Teddy nodded eagerly as he grabbed the shiny whistle hanging from his neck. Harry stopped him before he could demonstrate indoors.
“Remus wants your head for that whistle, mate,” Harry issued out of the corner of his mouth. “Don’t encourage his headache to return or I won’t be responsible.”
“Right.” Ron nodded happily as Fred and George stomped in, showering everyone with ice crystals as they shrugged out of their coats. Harry caught the sharp scent of the snowy landscape before the back door banged shut.
Fred diverted attention by scooping Teddy up and offering to help him get his galoshes and coat buttoned properly.
“Charlie sent us in for a refill,” George breathed in Harry’s ear as he palmed a small flask from his jacket pocket. “Medicinal use, as they say in the Romanian mountains.”
“Would that be vodka?” Remus posed as he squeezed himself into the conversation.
“Nothing as manly as that,” George confessed. “Some nasty licorice stuff that warms you down to your toes.”
“Sounds appealing,” Remus allowed. “I’ll go get my coat and scarf. I’d love to learn the local pronunciation from Charlie.”
“So it’s just an intellectual exercise for you, you’re saying?” Ron commented with a skeptical squint.
“Especially if Tonks or Molly ask,” Remus shot back as he flashed the Marauder’s grin.
“I would have given anything to be in Gryffindor during his reign,” George issued wistfully as Remus went to double-check that Teddy’s cold weather gear passed muster.
“To hear him tell it, Sirius and James were much worse,” Fred amended from the doorway. “Face it, bro, we were born at the wrong time.”
“Considering the ranks of the Marauders have grown mighty thin, you might want to rethink that,” Harry noted dryly.
“He became quite a legend when he took over as Head of Gryffindor House as well,” Ron volunteered.
“Oooh, I’d forgotten about that,” George remarked. “That was in your final year, right?”
“Bet he had eyes in the back of his head like McGonagall did,” Fred added.
“Didn’t need to. Nothing got past him; he’d already seen it all,” Ron attested.
“He would just out-prank us. Nothing will put you in your place quite like that,” Harry agreed as he went to advise Molly they’d be in the meadow.
“Fine, dear.” Molly gazed up at him from where she had a sleeping Eleanor cuddled in her arms. “Just remind everyone there’s hot cocoa and soup on the stove for when they get cold and a whole tray of snacks and sandwiches on the sideboard if they get hungry.”
Harry nodded that he understood. With Bill and Fleur not arriving until dusk, Molly had rescheduled the traditional Christmas feast from mid-day to suppertime to accommodate everyone. Not that it had been her intent to give them the entire expanse of the afternoon to romp in the snow like school children, but it was nice it had worked out that way, Harry thought.
“I wondered if we were having an air raid,” Arthur remarked as he sidled up next to Remus along the fence. “Teddy does seem to like that whistle.”
“Not as much as the twins like to stage outrageous fouls,” Remus shot back.
Arthur chuckled heartily. “We’re all insurgents at heart; what can I say?”
“I’m surprised Ginny isn’t down here showing them how it’s done.”
“She will be as soon as she can extricate herself from the girl talk.”
“I’m surprised Tonks is still with them. She and Charlie were quite close when they were at school.”
“Hermione spent the day with Luna going over wedding plans earlier in the week,” Arthur explained.
“So it’s the review and rehash session.” Remus nodded sagely. “Did you invite Xenophilius? Teddy is quite taken with him.”
“He’s probably still bustling about the kitchen, preparing some exotic delicacy for tonight. After his wife passed away, he discovered he had a real flair for cooking. I suppose it was his way of making Luna feel she was loved that much more.”
“Was she very young when her mother passed?”
“Nine or ten,” Arthur replied solemnly.
“You call that Quidditch?” Ginny yelled from the porch. “You look like a bunch of crows swooping in response to Teddy’s bird calls. There’s no bird seed in Quidditch!”
The addition of Ginny into the mix energized the game and caused Charlie to be pulled from Remus’ language lessons and onto a broomstick to even up the teams. Being on opposite sides just made the twins more determined than ever to foul one another, leaving Phoebe to giggle continuously as she tried to keep track of the goals with lines in the snow like Arthur had shown her. Teddy, on the other hand, was more intent than ever on imposing order to the game and kept up with the whistle “ even though the wetly sounding trills indicated he was laughing along with everyone else.
A silvery beaver scampered upon the nearest fencepost to admonish them in Molly’s voice: “You’re going to wake young Eleanor with all that racket. You’d think we’d relocated the Burrow to the middle of Piccadilly Circus!”
As the Patronus dissolved into the nearest snowdrift, the game was reorganized to give Remus referee duty. When no one was looking, he pocketed Teddy’s whistle with a mumbled imprecation to Ron that had Arthur chortling with a knowing crinkle to his eyes.
Inspired by the earlier comparison to a blitzkrieg, Ginny agreed to mount Phoebe before her on the broomstick as Ron took Teddy. Meanwhile, the twins summoned an old torn net to house the snowball ammunition. As an added precaution, Remus and Harry volunteered to spot the two passengers from the ground in case anyone’s fall needed to be cushioned magically. Charlie created impromptu targets on the ground as Arthur recalled a spell to temporarily dye the snowballs so they could keep score. But it was much more fun to hit the erratic targets the twins supplied as they ran around waving their arms wildly and even Apparating from spot to spot. Each time they got hit, they would obligingly stiffen up and collapse backwards into the snow much to the delight of the young bombardiers.
A small huddled figure caught Remus’ eye as it approached down the snowy lane. A neighbor intent on making a holiday house call? Arthur shook his head that he didn’t know, but whoever it was had not triggered any of the protective charms surrounding the Weasley property so he must have been issued an invitation.
“Probably Percy,” Charlie breathed with a knowing smirk.
“I thought he had plans with his girlfriend,” Remus observed conversationally.
“Precisely,” Arthur commented. “Which is why it’s probably him.”
“Another one bites the dust,” Charlie added. “How many is that this year?”
Arthur shrugged with a crooked grin. “Only Ginny can keep up with the score. All I know is this one’s name was Elspeth.”
“What about Molly?” Remus suggested. “She always knows what’s gong on in every room of the house.”
“That she does!” Arthur chuckled wryly. “Which is precisely why Percy never brings his girlfriends to our gatherings.”
“Not since Penelope Clearwater,” Charlie affirmed in an undertone. “And he was still at Hogwarts then.”
Remus was about to interject that he remembered Penny as being a very adept student, but Percy’s hunched figure was too close to risk him overhearing. Remus clearly recalled how easily affronted Percy had been in class as well.
“Did I miss Christmas dinner?” Percy posed as he looked warily towards the house. “Mum won’t mind me picking through the leftovers, will she?”
“Nothing as dire as that, son,” Arthur supplied, catching Percy up in a one-armed hug. “Bill and family couldn’t make it until later, so your mother has us feasting at supper this year.”
Percy’s face broke into a wide grin. “So you’re all cavorting like savages just to work up an appetite, right?”
“Couldn’t have said it better myself!” Ron announced as he and Teddy skidded to a halt before the others.
Ginny was still spiraling down in tighter and tighter circles that had their hair whipping in the wind amid Phoebe’s gleeful encouragement.
Tonks was a bright bundle of contrasting mittens, hat, and boots as she distributed spice biscuits still warm from the oven. Harry caught Hermione’s eye as she stood gazing at them from the front window. He waved and flashed her a buoyant smile to indicate he’d join her later for some quiet conversation.
Harry looked up from the Muggle board game he was playing as the front door admitted Tonks and her two giggly children. With a firm nod, she sent them up the stairs to change out of their wet clothing.
“I’ll be up in a minute to make sure everything’s hung up in the shower,” she called after the tromping of snow boots. “Where’s Remus?”
Hermione looked up from counting the paper money Harry had just grudgingly handed over to her. “Arthur was mixing up some rum punch; said he had a new recipe from Xeno in order to make it flame invitingly. Remus was muttering various incarnations of the Aguamenti Charm in his wake.”
“Ron and the twins are trying to build a blast-ended skrewt out of snow,” Tonks supplied with a laugh. “The tail keeps melting down to the….er, quick…every time they try to animate it!”
“Flares designed for mountain climbers at high altitudes would probably work,” Hermione put forth. “But I don’t want to ruin their fun by interfering. I’m sure Weasleys Wizard Wheezes has a product which employs the same basic principles.”
She returned her attention to the board laid out on the low table before them after checking Eleanor was still sleeping soundly in the portable cradle at her feet. With a definite gloat in her smile, her dice roll was greeted by a triumphant whoop from Harry who held out his hand in anticipation.
He looked up again to find Ginny stomping her boots on the front porch as she tried in vain to reconfigure a long silk scarf into woolen Gryffindor stripes. Letting herself in, she muttered, “Remus will just have to reverse it himself,” as she draped it over the end of the banister.
“What kind of aerial game has you playing the role of Sybill Trelawney?” Harry posed with amusement.
“Once Percy joined in, we turned it into something called a ‘dogfight’,” Ginny explained as she brushed the last of the snow from her long hair. “I was Snoopy; all I know is he’s an ace. Teddy’s explanation of the game was a bit murky. There was something about a flying camel …” She shook her head in consternation as she started up the stairs to change. “Must be another incomprehensible Muggle custom.”
Hermione turned reproachful eyes towards Harry’s wide smirk. “You could straighten her out,” she chided lowly.
“I could…” Harry whispered back. “But this is much more entertaining. Kind of like a warm-up to Luna.”
“Luna and Neville will be by later. You couldn’t just wait?”
“An aperitif, as Remus would say,” Harry returned mischievously. “Besides, it’s your fault anyway.”
“Moi?” Hermione added her own wry imitation. “I was inside the whole time!”
“I’m sure Remus will agree that you were the instigator,” Tonks announced as she leaned a hip on the armrest. “You brought those Snoopy bed linens back from the States.”
“Perhaps someone needs to explain the back story to Teddy then,” Hermione sniffed airily.
“The grandiose plans he thinks up in his head don’t always convey themselves very artfully in his words,” Tonks acknowledged. “Give him time.”
As Tonks excused herself to teach Arthur the charm to produce a localized avalanche “ just in case”Hermione turned to Harry “There’s going to be hell to pay if you don’t come clean with Ginny.”
Harry nodded as he laughed light-heartedly. “I know. But now that we’re married, even the punishments are fun.”
Percy walked in just then, resplendent in garnet from head to toe. “Does anyone know how to undo this frigging clothing spell? I don’t want to spend the rest of the day looking like Godric Gryffindor’s comic sidekick!”
Hermione burst out laughing at his plight. “Here,” she offered as she returned all but the scarf to its former muted shades. “I must admit you make a rather impressive Baron von Richthofen.”
“He was the only one who could do justice to the Prussian accent,” Ginny supplied sweetly as she danced down the stairs.
Not to mention the stiff posture, Harry thought to himself but wisely kept silent.
“Uncle Xeno! Uncle Xeno!” came the high-pitched calls as Teddy and Phoebe careened down the stairs.
Only Molly’s quick thinking managed to summon the roasting pan from Xenophilius’ hands to hers as he was nearly bowled over by sheer momentum.
“We saw you coming!” Phoebe attested as she pointed her little stubby finer towards the first floor landing.
Considering the loud fabric of his robes, he could probably have been identified by orbiting satellites, Harry chuckled inwardly. Aloud he offered, “Happy Christmas, Xeno! We were just talking about Luna.”
With a broad smile, Xeno promised, “Luna and Neville will be here shortly. Last minute gift-wrapping. I just wanted to bring my masterpiece over while it was still warm.”
“Is that heavenly aroma your renowned roast goose?” Ron intoned from the doorway. “Drew me forth like a hound on the scent.”
Xeno laughed heartily as he clasped Ron’s hand in greeting.
“Curried fig and blackberry dressing?” Molly inquired as she tried to sneak a peek under the lid.
“Don’t forget the smoked filberts!” Xeno intoned happily.
Catching Harry’ dubious expression, Ron leaned over and whispered, “It tastes a lot better than it sounds!”
“Really, Xeno, you didn’t need to go to all the bother,” Arthur supplied in greeting. “We would have welcomed you empty-handed even.”
“Nonsense,” Xeno protested “It was a labor of love, it was. Neville’s gran, Augusta, doesn’t much care for goose so there was no point in making it for Christmas Eve. But that’s no reason to deprive the rest of us!”
Catching on, Hermione politely inquired, “How did it go last night at the Longbottom residence?”
“Grand old house indeed,” Xeno supplied as he took a seat opposite Hermione. “Hasn’t changed much since Neville Chamberlain’s time, though. And that thimbleberry wine…” He screwed up his face humorously, much to the delight of the little ones.
“Perhaps you could help us light the punch then,” Charlie suggested. “The brandy keeps going out--”
“And Molly won’t let me apply the Incendio charm to the grain alcohol Tonks recommended,” Remus finished for him.
“That’s because you’re missing the secret ingredient,” Xeno announced as he held up a bright red bottle from the pocket of his robe. “Imparts the perfect holiday coloring as well.”
“Children’s cough syrup?” Hermione exclaimed as she caught sight of the label.
Xeno gave an insouciant shrug. “Apparently Muggles feel that a bit of intoxication helps to suppress a cough.”
Tonks licked her lips in anticipation. “Did you bring the cherry flavored one?”
“Of course,” Xeno remarked. “Everyone knows that grape’s only for Easter!”
The twins took that very moment to enter through the back door, gaily showering everyone with bits of snow and ice from their hats and gloves. “Got it working finally,” Fred announced. “Pyrotechnic display is set for after supper.”
“All we needed was a bit of our fireworks rated especially for low ambient temperatures,” George explained as he smacked his palm playfully again his forehead.
“Show us!” Phoebe squealed with delight as she tried to outrun Teddy into the kitchen. The sound of the scraping chairs indicated they had climbed onto the sink to peer out the window into the back yard.
“Percy seems in fine spirits,” Harry noted as Ginny cuddled up next to him on the sofa.
Ginny appraised the group on the other side of the room, Percy laughing at the twins’ exploits as he precariously balanced his flaming goblet. “Fred won the wager you know. He had Christmas Day. George was pretty peeved that Dad put in for Christmas Eve so he had to settle for Boxing Day. He was actually considering how to slip Perce a sleeping draught so he’d sleep right through Christmas Day entirely.”
Harry laughed along merrily at their outrageous antics. Only the Weasleys would think to bet on their hapless brother’s failed romances.
“You know Percy’d probably skin you if he knew about it,” Harry whispered.
“Not if Mum caught us first!” Ginny giggled. “That’s one of the major reasons the twins insisted we had to include Dad.”
“Poor Arthur running interference again,” Harry moaned playfully.
“Hardly. If it weren’t for us, Dad would never get to indulge his inner rebel.”
“So what day did you have?”
“Not until after New Years’”that’s when the requisite one month and thirteen days tolled. I prefer a more scientific approach.”
“Why that particular increment?” Harry posed, intrigued by her devious nature and pleased that she never seemed to use it against him.
“Just long enough for him to plumb the shallows of her personality and vice versa, but not long enough for Mum to demand he bring her by for Sunday dinner.”
Harry nodded in homage to her powers of observation. In the past four or five years, Percy had only brought one girl to the Burrow “ and that was only because she had been a classmate of the twins and was anxious to get caught up. “So what was the name of the fallen?” he posed. “Lost my scorecard.”
Ginny tapped her head with a small knowing smirk. “Have to keep all those secrets in the safest vault of all. Elspeth Macabee.”
“He certainly had a cloud over his head when he slouched over to join us in the meadow,” Harry noted. “You suppose Molly tried to give him some advice again?”
Ginny shrugged. “Seems like the cloud lifted after all that flying. Impersonating the Bloody Red Baron must really suit him.”
“He nearly swallowed his scarf when you took a nose dive and didn’t let up until you were parallel with the fence line!” Harry chuckled at the memory. “I was watching through the window.”
“Serves him right for never attending any of my Quidditch matches at Hogwarts. Everyone knows the Wronski Feint.”
“Perhaps so, but very few people can pull if off without having to be carried away in a stretcher,” Harry noted dryly.
“It was pretty stupid on my part, I admit it,” Ginny allowed with a tiny wince that only made her look cuter in Harry’s estimation. “Can’t very well lob snowballs from underneath.”
“Good thing Percy was too busy trying to get the air back into his lungs to empty his whole cache on you. The look in your eyes when you realized that was priceless!”
“And here I thought the lot of them were giggling like loons due to that Romanian firewater Charlie was passing around.”
“So what do you think about Percy?” Harry reminded her with a nod towards the tight group near the punch bowl. “Is he just giddy from the rum?”
Ginny tilted her head in consideration. “You’re recalling the conversation we had about Penelope Clearwater, aren’t you?”
“Um “ hum,” Harry breathed as casually as possible as Percy briefly glanced in their direction.
“I’ll find out before much longer,” Ginny promised. “Just wait ‘til he leaves the room so I can get him on his own.”
“What are you two whispering about?” Molly announced to the whole room at large as she leaned over the back of the sofa.
Harry’s heart made as if to leave his chest as Ginny replied smoothly, “Newlyweds, Mum. Need I say anything else?”
“That excuse won’t work forever, Ginerva,” cautioned Molly, her eyes narrowing in suspicion.
They were saved by Tonks leaning in from the kitchen doorway. “I think it’s time we put those last two pies in the oven,” she advised Molly. “Don’t bother yourself; I’m at least a dozen paces closer to the oven.”
With a hint of panic in her eyes, Molly hustled off to lend a hand as Tonks flashed a saucy wink at Harry and Ginny.
“That’s my cue to finish up the last wedge of pie, mates,” Ron intoned with preternatural hearing as he crept down from the first floor landing.
“There’s at least enough for two,” Percy countered as he followed on his heels.
“Now’s the time,” Ginny whispered in Harry’s ear as she eased herself onto her feet. “I could use another cup of cocoa anyway. Get one for you, too?”
Harry nodded happily as Teddy and Phoebe catapulted onto the other end of the sofa to keep him company.
“I thought you were cozying up with Uncle Xeno?” Harry posed to their flushed faces.
“He wouldn’t let us have any of the fiery drinks,” Teddy complained with a small pout.
“That’s no reason to run you off, though,” Harry considered in return.
“Mum did,” Phoebe asserted solemnly.
Harry leveled his eyes on Teddy for confirmation. “Bad move on your part?”
Teddy hung his head in chagrin. “Everyone was saying I would burn my fringe. But I told Uncle Xeno I wasn’t as clumsy as Mum.”
Harry screwed up his face in displeasure.
“Mum made the same face!” Phoebe squealed.
“Yeah, right before Dad chucked us out into the hall.”
“Not very tactful, Spook,” Harry admonished him with a wide grin. “You can have some of my cocoa when Ginny gets back.”
They both broke into smiles as they held out their hands for Harry to magically summon their mugs.
“So, Percy,” Ginny began casually as she leaned on the kitchen counter.
“Whatever it is, no,” Percy responded instinctively without looking up.
“Is that your holiday spirit?” Ginny countered with an innocent smile.
“Self-preservation,” he asserted through a mouthful of pie. “Sorry, I didn’t get much lunch.”
“Surely the Macabees didn’t indulge in a traditional Christmas food fight?”
Percy laughed sharply. “That’s only a tradition in this household. Most people prefer to air their political views in a more civilized manner.”
“I was a child; what can I say?”
“If you’ve come to convince me you’ve grown up in the meanwhile, I’m going to need some corroborating witnesses,” Percy argued but his wide grin gave him away.
Double-checking that Ron had melted away after retrieving his pie ration, Ginny ventured, “So how’s it going in the Cultural Affairs Department?”
“Office,” he corrected automatically. “It’s a branch of my division. Serpentine bureaucracy.”
“The multi-armed beast as Dad used to call it when we were little.”
“Why do you want to know? Wondering why they put up with a gormless git like me? Mum beat you to the punch hours ago.”
“Did she mention that the totality of your cultural knowledge is encompassed in your little finger?” she added with a wicked smirk.
Percy laughed outright at her audacity. “You’ve been hanging around Remus too much. But no, Mum just stuck to the basics like a broken phonograph record.”
“Sorry to hear about Elspeth. I rather liked her.”
“You met her once in the Ministry Atrium,” Percy corrected.
“She made a lasting impression,” Ginny confirmed with a wry twist to her lips. “Still, I suppose there was no other way…”
“Get to the point, Sis. I’m not susceptible to your wheedling ways.”
“I assume Mum already tried the subtle approach.” She waited for him to snort at her obvious sarcasm. “Penelope Clearwater.”
“What about her?”
“She’s working in your division.”
“So you read the article in the Prophet.”
“Is it the same Penelope Clearwater who was at school with us?”
“What if it is? I would hardly expect you to remember her seeing as how your first year was so traumatic. Such a thing would have never transpired if I had been Head Boy that year.”
“Don’t beat yourself up about it,” she allowed generously. “But you forget that Penny visited the Burrow a number of times after that. Saw you off quite spectacularly on Platform Nine and Three-Quarters “ even if she was about to board the same train herself. Not to mention the other incident that required me to keep silent….”
Percy blushed copiously. “Not one of my most guarded moments. I suppose you’re going to say you didn’t recognize her photo as you only remember the back of her head.”
“Sounds like something Ron would say.”
“It was. More vitriol than imagination. Laughed himself silly when the color drained from my face. Claimed my freckles practically pulsed at him with anger. Like he’s one to talk.”
“Self-delusional, Hermione claims. Filthy hypocrite, I always say.”
“If I admit it’s the same person, then what?” Percy urged as he speared some cheese cubes with his pie fork.
“Have you asked her out yet?”
“Not that it’s any of your business, but yes.”
“So that’s why you had to clear the decks with Elspeth.”
“I wish! It was more like Penelope mopping the deck with me. And all I asked was if she wanted to stop by the pub “ as colleagues, mind you. Said she had responsibilities to her son at home.”
Ginny shook her head in commiseration. “Wrong approach, is all.”
“Really, Ginny, wouldn’t Veritaserum be more efficient?”
Without missing a beat, she shot back, “Mum used up the family’s allotment. Can’t buy any more until after the first of the year.”
“Have Harry bring you some from the Auror Department then!” He relented as he watched her fingering her wand in an all too familiar manner from their childhood. “Look, if you’re here to meddle, I’m just about pathetic and desperate enough to listen.”
With a wide smile, she proposed, “Invite her to dinner at my house.”
“With Harry and Remus and Tonks there as well?” he countered incredulously.
“Don’t forget Rabbit and Spook.”
“How would this be any different from being subjected to Mum’s inquisition?”
“Remus and Tonks will put her at ease and her son will be entertained by Teddy and Phoebe,” Ginny supplied with alacrity. “Remus will still test her, but since she was in Ravenclaw, I’m sure she’ll pass.”
Recalling how fondly Penelope had spoke of Remus’ Dark Arts classes, Percy conceded Ginny might just have hit upon a workable angle. “It’s worth a try,” he mumbled as he toasted her with the last of his Christmas punch.
Bill and family arrived amid a huge cloud of Floo Powder.
Laughing merrily, Bill scolded Victoire, “Now will you believe me when I say only one handful is required?”
“But ‘er ‘air!” Fleur laughed as she noticed the cascade of sparking lime green locks on her daughter’s head. “ ‘ow festive, cherie!”
“Mummy!” young Yvette demanded from where she had scrambled to the floor. “Tonks,” she announced proudly as she pointed to her sister’s hair.
“Yes, indeed,” Molly agreed as she swept Yvette into her arms in greeting. “Your sister looks just like Tonks. But you shouldn’t track Floo Powder all through the house,” she fussed with a wide playful grin.
A quick flick of Arthur’s wand returned Victoire’s hair to its natural blonde shade. “With my luck, Floo Powder will turn out to be flammable,” he muttered.
Instantly, Harry was reminded of the Muggle cartoons he had enjoyed as a small child. As he imagined a long trail of emerald green particles snaking through the living room in his mind’s eye, one of the twins went up in smoke the second he made contact with the gunpowder-like substance while holding a mug of flaming punch. A shared whisper with Hermione soon had her laughing uproariously as well.
“Don’t think such a thing won’t happen in the wizarding world,” Neville warned as he joined in. “My entire first year is living proof of that!”
“Good thing they managed to graduate you anyway,” Luna proclaimed in an ethereal tone as she came up behind him. “Have you two been indulging in Father’s punch already?”
“So there are my little mademoiselles!” Xeno exclaimed as he squatted down to hug Victoire and Yvette, one in each arm. They allowed him the briefest squeeze as they caught sight of Phoebe and Teddy already examining the brightly colored packages under the Weasleys’ giant tree.
“To think we would ever pass out presents like right Muggles,” Molly exclaimed as she quickly dried her hands on her apron. “I was going to wait until after supper, but--”
“Père Nöel, ‘e ‘as visited ze Burrow!” Fleur exclaimed as she joined the children on the carpet to sort through the tags before the paper started to fly in earnest.
The glow of the flaming goblets painted the snow skrewt’s face with a ruddy reflection. Ron had taken a bit of artistic license and added antennae made from long branches of curly willow and spent coals wrapped in shiny gift paper to serve as eyes. To imitate the creature’s exoskeleton, the finished sculpture had been cleverly sprayed with a thin layer of water that had since hardened into an icy shell. The stinging tail arched over its back, shining a deadly shade of blue in the moonlight.
Over the heads of the crowd, Fred and George nodded wordlessly to one another and both directed their wands towards the skrewt. A small sizzle started deep within the hollow tail as the spectators wisely took a few steps back. With a mighty shudder, colored balls of fire shot out, reflected as a moving rainbow upon the sparkling blanket of snow. Once spent, the beast collapsed upon itself in exhaustion as Ron and the twins were hailed with an enthusiastic round of applause.
“Did you really have to take care of such creatures at school?” Teddy asked the twins with wide-eyed delight.
“Trust me, Spook,” Fred admitted with rare candor. “They were a singularly bad mannered lot “ worse than the Slytherins even.”
“Not even Hagrid could really warm up to them and that’s really saying something,” George volunteered.
“Without a doubt, the arctic variety is much tamer,” Harry acknowledged as Molly herded them back inside the warm house.