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Chapter 3- Snowballs and Stuffing
Upon landing on the ground once more, Molly looked around nervously, wondering where she was now, and what time it was. She was shocked to find that she was in her own home again, and it looked almost exactly how she had left it. There was one discrepancy, though- her entire kitchen was filled with decorations. She knew she hadn't left it like this; she hadn't even bought anything, and some of this definitely looked foreign.
There were new holiday kitchen towels hanging where there were no longer normal ones. Drapes had been hung in vibrant Christmas colors - red, green, white and of course gold. Wreaths adorned the walls.
When Molly looked out the window, she saw that there was a family of snow-people in the front yard. This was a Christmas tradition that had been in her family for years - one snow-person for each member of the family. She hadn't gotten around to arranging it this year, so why were they there?
"See how happy it would be if you got in the Christmas spirit, Mum?" Fred asked, pulling out a bottle of eggnog from the refrigerator. He seemed much happier than he had been when they left George's.
Molly did see, and she was just about to turn to Fred and tell him that when she saw George peek from around a pile of snow. He hurled a snowball over the mound, which hit Ginny square in the face. She loved watching her children have these snowball fights. She didn't know they had had them without her this year.
Harry jumped up from behind another pile of snow near Ginny and flung his snowball George's way. Molly smiled as Harry brushed the snow off Ginny's face and leaned in for a kiss. This didn't make her as sad as George and Angelina's kiss had, but it still made her feel warm and fuzzy inside.
"Yoo hoo!" Fred shouted right behind her, startling her and causing her to practically jump out of her skin. "Earth to Mum!"
"What on Earth are you doing?" Molly was aghast at her son's behavior.
"I asked you if you wanted to go out there," Fred looked taken aback at his mother's reaction. "Maybe we can scare them."
"I thought we couldn't be seen." Molly said, wondering where he was going with this.
"We can't," Fred replied, that mischievous grin spreading across his face once more. "But that doesn't mean they won't feel it when we hit them with snowballs."
Molly smiled and followed her son outside. As soon as she opened the door, her smile broadened as she watched her family enjoying themselves in the freshly fallen snow. They looked like they were having such a grand time. She wondered where she was while all this was going on outside.
Her question was soon answered when she saw herself edge around a gigantic snow drift, snowball in hand. Without looking, she threw it over her shoulder. Molly watched it land right on its target - Percy's face. She chuckled warmly, thinking about her secret strategy that made that possible every time. She watched the delight on her own face, and wondered how she had had the time to pull all of this together.
Again it was as though Fred read her thoughts. "You know, this is what this Christmas will be like, assuming you decide to actually do something."
Molly let those words sink in. Assuming you decide to actually do something.
She wasn't doing much to prepare for Christmas this year. She never let her family touch her decorations, not even Arthur. Something about this nagged at Molly, but she couldn't quite put her finger on what it was. Something was wrong with that picture. But what was it?
She continued to watch as she and her family had their snowball fight, laughing quietly whenever Fred decided to join in. He always got them, since they couldn't see him. They all jumped when a snowball hit them seemingly out of nowhere. The rest of the family laughed openly at them, at least until they themselves were hit with one of Fred's balls.
Molly was confused, not just about this particular snowball fight, but the entire adventure with Fred in general. This shouldn't have been possible; Fred was dead. She had been dealing with the stress of that fact for months now, never completely letting it sink in. Was this entire thing just a really vivid dream? It couldn't be, could it? But Harry had had his dreams before he defeated Voldemort; was this like those dreams?
In the middle of all her thoughts, the Molly she was watching announced that it was time for Christmas dinner. From all kinds of snow banks and piles came her entire family. Arthur emerged from behind the same drift Molly was behind. Bill and Fleur also appeared, followed by Charlie, home for Christmas from Romania.
From Harry and Ginny's snow pile came Percy and Ron, laughing and still collecting snow for one last throw. Molly watched her family go into the house; she and Fred followed after they were all inside. She watched herself wave her wand and she saw all their food appear on the table. There was the enormous turkey, with stuffing and gravy surrounding it. There were mashed potatoes, green beans and rolls of every shape and size. The entire table was filled with delicacies. It looked delicious.
Everybody sat down in their respective chairs, and started piling their plates with food. Molly loved holidays, mostly because their entire family could get together, even Charlie. She watched, wondering how the same things were happening this year even though the war had just ended. The family was able to do everything they normally did without Fred.
"They can do it because it's just one day," Fred informed her, "They'll go back to normal tomorrow, but they know the holidays are something to be celebrated and it can go on without me."
Molly thought about what her son had pointed out. Was this why he had taken her through all of this time? Was he trying to teach her about getting on without him for a day? She still didn't know how it was possible, but this reasoning made sense.
The family ate their dinner and talked about what they had been doing lately, enjoying the holiday. Nobody had had to work that day; nobody was at school. It was almost a normal holiday, as though the war had never happened. The only thing missing was Fred.
Suddenly, Arthur stood up, silencing the room better than a charm would. "I'd like to propose a toast."
The family raised their glasses and waited for Arthur to speak again. "To Fred, our son, brother, and friend. May he rest in peace."
"To Fred!" Everyone drank from their glasses, and Arthur sat down once more.
Now George stood up. "To Mum; we never would have been able to pull all of this together without her."
"To Mum!" Molly watched as her face went red and she hugged George. This was all too much for her. She turned to Fred and saw how her face must look: gratuitous and slightly embarrassed.
The family went back to eating, and soon enough, Molly was seeing herself bring in the pie she had prepared earlier that day for dessert. She cut it into slices for everyone, and they all ate as though they hadn't just had dinner. They were all talking a mile a minute, and really enjoying the holiday.
That was when Molly realized that it would be alright without Fred. He may have been the source of much fun on past holidays, but they could make it without him. They still had the rest of their family, and it was only for one day. One day without worrying. One day without shedding tears over her lost son. This was something she needed, and wanted with all her heart. She needed to let herself have fun.
Fred recognized the understanding on his mother's face, and was overjoyed that she finally got it. He had brought her on all of these trips to tell her what she had finally realized. She needed to take a day out of her mourning to spend time with her family, and not worry about Fred. He had succeeded in his endeavor.
They watched the family for the rest of that day. There were more snowball fights, and Angelina even came over for a while after dinner. George must have realized what Molly had, and spent a lot of time talking to her about days when they were young, interrupted every so often by kissing. He had realized he needed some fun as well. By the end of the night, he had asked her to be his girlfriend; she agreed.
It had been a wonderful day when everyone was finally ready to get to bed. George said goodbye to his new girlfriend, and Apparated back to his apartment. Bill and Fleur left to go back to Shell Cottage, and Harry departed for Grimmauld Place. Ron sent an owl to Hermione, who was in Australia looking for her parents. He quickly received a reply, telling him that she had found them and they would be back tomorrow.
Molly and Fred watched their family settle down for the night, grins on their faces. They had had just as good a time as the rest, enjoying every minute of this Christmas. It had been one of the best yet.
Fred walked over to sit next to his mother on a bench in the garden. "Are you ready to go back home?"
"We are home," Molly pointed out. "What do you mean?"
"Back to the present," Fred replied. "So you can live this day again."
"That would be great," Molly told her son. "How much longer can you stay?"
Fred stood up. "We'll have to find out."
He pulled out his cloak, and threw it over Molly's shoulders one last time. Then he thought of the kitchen the day before, and they disappeared.
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The Christmas Caller by ravenclaw1997
Chapter Notes: The purpose of this chapter is to show the main character what Christmas will be like depending on whether or not they choose to participate.
This chapter is un-beta'd, but I will add in what my beta finds as soon as I get it back.
Chapter Endnotes: Only one more chapter to go! Please leave a review; you know how I love them!