ACTIVE IMAGINATIONS

Summary: The New Generation, The Famous Trio, and the rest of the Weasleys are engaged in the fiercest of battles at The Burrow.

Disclaimer: Don't own them.

A/N: This has been on my computer for a very long time...

Albus Severus Potter stood hidden behind a large tree, his ears strained for the sound of footsteps crunching over the thick blanket of snow. The battle had commenced only fifteen minutes beforehand, and yet, their side - the only side worth fighting for, in his opinion - had already suffered casualties. Just moments ago, his cousin Victoire had been hit, but there was no time for regret or sadness over the matter. They must keep fighting until the opposing forces, or the cold, overtook them.

He was among the youngest of warriors and was lead by the eldest of their side, Teddy Remus Lupin, a veteran of these wars. Al could only hope for victory, and that he might play a substantial part in it.

"Yes!" called a triumphant voice that broke the silence, and Albus jumped out recklessly from behind the tree to see its source. He saw the back of a man standing in the clearing of the orchard, and had only just recognized him when chaos erupted around him. There were shouts, many of them, incomprehensible and the air was alive with a flurry of activity. He ducked to the ground, tasting snow, and watched as his father was hit by three in quick succession. He couldn't help but smile at the sight of the famous Harry Potter losing his balance and falling rather comically to the ground.

Albus stood again, grabbing snow as he did so. He wondered where Teddy had disappeared to; perhaps he was infiltrating the enemy lines as a spy? Happy laughter reached his ears, but he couldn't determine from which direction it was coming. Suddenly, Al felt something hard hit the back of his left the shoulder. It stung momentarily, but he took no notice as he jumped around to face his attacker.

His own brother stood before him, grinning widely.

"Hey!" exclaimed Albus. "James, no fair! We're supposed to be on the same side!" said the eight year old indignantly.

James just laughed. "Sorry, bro, I couldn't help mys-ouch!" he was cut off as a particularly large snowball pelted him squarely in the back of the head.

A much deeper laugh resonated from a man with bright red hair who had stepped out from behind a tree. "That'll teach you to go against your teammates, Jamey, my boy."

James turned to see him. "Uncle George!" he said, and quickly scooped snow off the ground and threw it towards the freckled man. George merely laughed as he dodged the snowball. "Come on, Al, let's get him!"

Albus shrugged. "Nah. I'm gonna go find Teddy…" he replied, and wandered away from the pair as they continued to throw snow at each other.

He saw others, his cousins and uncles all laughing, and doing their best to clobber each other. Rose and Hugo were making snow angels, and Uncle Ron was watching them with a proud sort of grin on his face.

Albus was particularly amused at the sight of his Uncle Bill and his Uncle Charlie, who were both using their wands to send multiple snowballs at each other at once. It was quite a sight to see them acting so much like their carefree children.

He called to them and they paused briefly. "I thought we were doing adults versus kids, remember? Am I the only one who took the teams we picked out seriously?"

Bill laughed. "Probably. I think we've dropped the idea of teams and now it's every man for himself. " and with that he flicked his wand and sent a single snowball at his nephew.

Albus dodged it easily, for he was small and faster than most kids his age. He departed from this pair too, looking for Teddy everywhere. A few kids ran in front of him, and they were so bundled up that he couldn't recognize them, as he could only see their Weasley red hair - which wasn't at all helpful.

"Heads up, Al!" said a voice and he ducked just in time to avoid being hit.

He looked at her. "Mum! What are you doing out here? You can't play!"

Ginny raised an eyebrow. "Who says I can't?" she asked curiously. She already had another snowball in her hand and was just about to throw it when something hit her on the shoulder. She wiped off the snow and stared with mild surprise at the man running up to join Albus.

"Sorry, Gin, but I couldn't let you throw it at my grandson." said Arthur Weasley with a grin. "Come on, Al, we'll show your mum a thing or two about snowball wars."

Albus smiled. "All right, Granddad!" he replied, and quickly scooped up more snow and began to throw wildly in the direction of his mother.

Ginny smiled, and shook her head. "Never thought I'd see the day when both my own father and son were against me…"

Ginny abandoned the throwing of snowballs and instead charged the pair. Arthur merely stepped aside, but she was able to catch Albus, wrapping her arms tightly around him. "Got you now, Al!" she said and kissed him on the head.

"Mum, come on…you can't kiss during war!" he exclaimed loudly.

Harry had appeared out of nowhere. "You're Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione could argue that point…" he stated with a laugh.

"Someone say my name?" said Hermione, who had just come out from The Burrow and stepped up beside him.

"Yeah, Harry did." said Ginny, who had finally let go of her son. "He was just talking about the time you and Ron started snogging when you were supposed to be fighting Voldemort…"

Al, who had expected his aunt to deny this, was surprised and a little embarrassed to see a small blush creep into her cheeks. She cast around quickly for a change in subject. "Anyway, the dinner's ready, and I'm supposed to be rounding everyone up."

Harry stared around at the scattered groups all running back and forth, dodging snowballs or tackling each other into the soft ground. Sometimes, it still surprised him just how many kids there were in this family. "Good luck with that."

"Harry! You have to help me!" she said desperately.

"Oh, fine."

"I'll take that side, you take the other, and Ginny can try to round up everyone in between."

Harry raised a hand to his mouth and shouted. "Oi, everybody! Stop! It's dinner time!" There was multiple "awws" from several of the kids, and a few said, "Good, I'm starving!"

He watched as some trooped towards the house, but others seemed not to have heard him. He headed towards them, "Guys, come on stop, it's time for dinner!" The rest of the family seemed to head in, and Harry tried to count them mentally, but lost tracked.

He heard Ginny's voice yelling, "Anyone who doesn't come in now probably won't get to eat!"

Harry laughed.

Al had finally found Teddy as the family, which really was the size of a small army, headed into the house. He was grinning, and was carrying Al's little sister on his shoulders. Lily was smiling and telling Teddy excitedly, "Teddy, do green now, please?" she said. Teddy narrowed his eyes in concentration and his turquoise hair suddenly turned bright green. It clashed horribly with his bright blue Weasley sweater. Lily giggled.

"Where were you, Ted?" demanded Albus at once.

"Oh, Lil and I were just trying to take down Victoire. Then I helped her make a very respectable snowman…"

"Some commander you are…" replied Al, rolling his eyes exasperatedly.

Molly Weasley's voice could be heard yelling instructions to the clan of adults and children alike. "No shoving, please, kids. Grab your plates from right there. I am so glad we managed to put that extension on the kitchen and the rest of the house, there's no way we'd be able to fit this many before. I swear there's more of you everyone time I turn around…"

Al laughed. Christmas at The Burrow was always something to remember.

A/N: Reviews greatly appreciated.