Chapter 17

Christmas Morning

"God rest ye merry hippogriffs, let nothing ye dismay…" Harry's voice rings up the stairs, singing at the top of his lungs. "Wake up, you lot! Breakfast is ready."

I hear groaning coming from the entire room as the girls begin to stir and wake up. Lucy (or is it Molly?) Cursing under her breath as she attempts to sit up in bed. "It's too bloody early," she sighs.

Lily is the only person who seems chipper to be awake. "Lighten up," she chirps as she surveys the pile of gifts at the foot of her bed.

I fight a smile as all of the cousins throw their pillows at Lily. Sitting up, I examine my own gifts. At the top of the pile is a miniature version of my own Weasley jumper. Butter yellow, but with no initial. I feel my breath catch as I look down at it. As I'm having my own quiet moment amidst the now busy room, we hear a pounding on the door.

"Oi! We're all waiting for you," comes Scorpius's irritated voice. "Granny'll have kittens if you don't get downstairs."

Everybody stands quickly, gabbering as they exit the room, but I walk slowly behind them, clutching the tiny jumper tightly to my chest. As we enter the tiny kitchen, I head straight for Granny Weasley, hugging her tightly. "Thank you," I saw quietly. "The jumper. It's amazing. I couldn't…" I have to stop speaking because my eyes are filling up with tears.

"Oh, don't mention it, dear," Granny Weasley says sweetly, patting my cheek affectionately.

I feel an arm wind around my swollen waistline and turn to see James. He leans over me, kissing Granny on the cheek. "Happy Christmas, Granny."

The elderly woman beams. "Happy Christmas, Jamie," she says, reaching up to ruffle his already messy hair before turning to bark orders at Victoire, who is helplessly fussing with a pot on the stove.

James leans down, kissing me firmly on the mouth. "And a Happy Christmas to you, Lizie," he grins at me, frowning slightly as he notices my tear filled eyes. "What's the matter?"

I hold up the tiny jumper as tears roll down my face. "Y-your family is s-so wonderful," I gasp out before burying my face into his chest.

He strokes my hair comfortingly. "What's the matter with her," I hear Teddy ask.

I feel James shrug. "I have absolutely no idea."

Damn these hormones.

...

After a truly spectacular breakfast, we headed into the tiny sitting room once again to open gifts. This time, I opted out of my comfortable sofa seat to join my fellow teenagers on the floor. I sat in James' lap and we all grinned and laughed with the rest of the family as gifts were exchanged. The whole ordeal took hours on account of the ungodly size of the family, but it seemed to fly by in minutes as we basked in each other's happy company.

After the gift exchange, James and I headed into the kitchen. "Mum? Is there anything we could be doing to help?"

Ginny turns to look at us as the Aunties bustle around the kitchen. "Eliza can sit down at the table and fold napkins. It's not good to be on your feet for too long, dear. James…" Ginny lowers her voice. "Go and help your Aunt 'Mione chop onions. She's an absolute wreck in the kitchen."

James laughs and makes his way over to Hermione, who eagerly accepts his help. I feel myself grin as I watch them chatter away and chop. James is a shockingly good help around the house. Fleur sits beside me, grabbing a stack of napkins herself. "'Ow are you doing in zis busy 'ouse, Eliza?" She asks pleasantly.

I chuckle. "I love it. It's a good distraction from my discomfort, I think. Although, I'm impressed to see how many people The Burrow can manage at a time! The house is fit to burst… But I like it."

Fleur smiles. "Eet is only going to get worse," she says. "Wiz all ze people we 'ave invited for dinner tonight. Your parents, Dean Thomas's family, ze Finnigans…"

I feel myself go white. "The… The Finnigans? D-do they usually come to Christmas dinner?"

Fleur nods with a grin. "Every year."

I stand up quickly. "I erm… I need to use the loo," I blurt, running from the kitchen into the small sitting room where Louis and Al are engaged in a particularly intense game of exploding snap. "I need help," I demand.

"Eh?" Albus asks distractedly. "With wha-"

It all happens at once. The cards explode, the fireplace suddenly turns emerald green and I'm knocked to the ground by a very solid something.

Cursing under my breath, I look up to see what burst out of the fireplace to knock me over. My eyes settle on a very handsome head of dark hair. "Eliza!" I'm looking into the face of a grinning Colin Finnigan.

"Oh…" Albus says nervously. "Help with that."

Oh, shit.

Author's Note:

WOAH. It's been over a year since I updated?! How did that happen? I lost Eliza's voice for a good amount of time there… But after re-reading my story, I think I got her back. This chapter was super difficult, but also a joy to write, and I'm SUPER excited to share the drama with you! Sorry it was so short. Promise the next one is longer. Follow and Review to let me know you're still around! XOXOXO