RP: Weasley Family Christmas

[shh_molly]

Date: 25 December 2004, early evening.
Characters: Molly & the clan.
Location: Molly's tent on the Burrow's property.
Status: Private.
Summary: Weasley Family Christmas Supper!
Completion: Incomplete.

Comments

[shh_gilderoy]

"Oh, come on now," Gilderoy groaned as they turned into the lane leading toward the burros tents. "We're not going to be that late, and you know damn well that Seti won't mind, anyway."

Gilderoy approached the main tent with the small packages for Molly tucked under his arm. He had also included one for Ginger since she had been so kind to him both at the hospital and at his party. At first he thought he should knock, but then since Ginger asked him to just drop by, and they weren't really there to eat.

"Merry Christmas!" He cheered, entering the room. He pulled Julian in after him, holding tightly to the man's hand.

It really was quite the crowd. He scanned it for Ginger or the Lemon Bars lady (what was her name?). There was a girl hiding in the corner, perhaps. "Um, is that you, Gin-" she pulled back sharply, and Gilderoy noticed another girl further in.

Everyone was staring at them. They had all gone from chatting amongst themselves to being completely and utterly silent. "I've... well, we've brought a few things. I'm sorry.

[shh_avery]

Julian had a bad feeling about this visit. It'd been with him all morning long, as Gilderoy urged him to dress in his finest - his Christmas gift from the man, actually - and head out earlier than planned. He was generally one to listen to his intuition as it was usually right, and therefore had been a bit reticent about seeing the 'Lemon Bars Lady'. He kept telling himself it was just a quick drop off of gifts, nothing more. It was Yuletide, everyone was supposedly merry and bright. What could happen in the span of a few minutes?

Julian chose not to think about that whole Department of Mysteries debacle. That was supposed to have been 'just a few minutes' as well.

Looking upon the tent as they approached, Julian asked in almost a whisper, "Who did you say lived here?"

He found out soon enough, as he was yanked inside by Gilderoy without even knocking.

Red, on nearly every head in the place

[shh_ginny]

"Mr. Lockhart!" Ginny looked up quickly at the sound of his voice, giving Jack's hand a squeeze before releasing it to cross the tent to greet the new arrivals. Smiling reassuringly up at the blonde wizard, she said, "You haven't interrupted anything. We're all just getting reacquianted."

Seeing the dark haired man with him who looked vaguely familiar but she couldn't place him, Ginny held out her hand, ignoring her bracelets tight squeeze, "You must be Julian. Thank you for coming. Why don't the two of you come over and say hello to Mum. She'll be delighted to see you, Mr. Lockhart."

Gesturing discretely for the others to be less obvious, she waved her hand toward the other side of the tent where Jack stood, his head bent as he talked with Molly, and indicated they should follow her.

[shh_gilderoy]

"Ow," Julian had nearly crushed his hand as he stood there, dumbfounded as the rest of the crowd.

"Ginger, I'd like you to meet my partner, Julian Avery. I sometimes call him "Marcel," so don't be alarmed if I slip up and call him that around you. Remember how I was telling Mr. Lovegood about someone loving me? Well, that's him." Gilderoy was quite pleased with himself. He could finally introduce Ginger to his lover.

"Oh, and I have something for you, too. It's not much, but we were talking about pillows and blankets and such, and... well, I thought you might like one, yourself. It's both a Christmas gift, and also a thank-you for helping me out so much."

[shh_ron]

Once in the kitchen, Ron pulled a butterbeer from the ice box, opened it and took a long swig. He found a plate of cheese on the counter and nicked a slice, taking large bites in between gulps of butterbeer. As he was on his fourth bite of cheese, his sister strolled into the kitchen. She was wearing a little black dress that showed just how grown up she was.

"Hey, you," he said quietly. "Long time, no see." He held one arm open wide in greeting.

[shh_ginny]

Ginny smiled as Jack crossed the tent to Bill and Fleur before excusing herself from her mum to get a refill on her wine. Entering the kitchen area, she was surprised to see Ron leaning against the counter but smiled fondly when he spoke, holding out his arm.

"Hey stranger." She bit her lip to keep from getting teary eyed as she stepped into his embrace, burying her cheek against his shoulder in a tight hug.

Stepping back alittle, Ginny said. "It's really great to see you, Ron."

[shh_ron]

Ginny came straight over and put her arm round his waist, burying her face in his shoulder as she hugged him tightly. All the years they'd spent away from each other during the war fell away, and Ron felt a prickle behind his eyes as he saw the woman his little sister had become. He knew their dad would be proud of her too.

"Same here," he said, suddenly a bit choked up. "Let's not go another seven years, eh?" He looked down at her carefully. "You're all grown up. Shouldn't be surprised, yeah? Just hadn't seen you, really, in so long. Looks like you turned out okay." He winked and nudged her arm.

[shh_ginny]

Ginny wiped the corner of her eye with her fingertips, flushing slightly as she nudged him back. "I should be saying that to you, eh?"

"Twenty three, I should hope I'm grown up, prat." She laughed, the catch in her voice easing and hardening at the same time. "Seven years and you're surprised? Well, I don't think I got any taller, that's for sure."

"Merlin knows, I've tried, Ron. I'm a Healer, you know. Don't know if mum told you. Don't really know what mum told you. Who'da guessed, yeah? Little sis, a Healer." Ginny smiled faintly.

[shh_hermione]

There was a crowd, but it wasn't too overbearing. Not like Lockhart's party with so many people pressed into such a tight seeming space. That had nearly driven her mad and had forced her outside for most of it. This, though, wasn't so awful.

Hermione watched Ron speak to Ginny, pleased that they were talking, and then watched everyone else. Katie looked rather uncomfortable, George looked rather proud, Fred was deceptively quiet (which she knew required more attention on him), Bill and Fleur were about, Ginny was playing hostess very well and her boy seemed to be adjusting okay to the Weasleys. She liked observing far more than interacting.

It was nice to study people, to know they were over there instead of crowding in around her. One or two people, she could handle. Weasleys en-masse, she couldn't. Harry had wandered off, possibly outside hiding until dinner was served, and she was alone by the wall. Funny how that seemed to be a common theme in her life these days.

[shh_katie]

Katie had slipped away from George while he was chatting with members of his family. Although there was the upside of allowing them a more private reunion, she could also use a bit of a break

[shh_hermione]

As Katie made her way through the tent, Hermione watched her. It was obvious she was seeking privacy, which was understandable when faced with this many Weasleys. She had seen Lockhart arrive with a bloody Death Eater. Reformed, my arse, she thought as she divided her attention between Katie and Avery. She'd not let go of her wand since he'd entered the tent and wondered if she could get away with using a charm to, uh, entice him to leave. It wasn't illegal if it was unknown in this country, after all.

When Katie approached her corner, she cast a charm around the area, protecting it should Avery decide that too much red meant he should return to his murderous ways. Ginny was obviously not as alert as Hermione had assumed, if she was out playing nice and kiss-kiss with someone who had chased them and nearly killed them, all those years ago. Reformed or not, one should always be careful.

"Good evening, Katie," she greeted quietly, watching the other woman carefully. "No, you're not disturbing me. How are you?"

[shh_katie]

"Fine," Katie replied, "just needing a bit of a break." She wasn't going to go into how she was feeling slightly overwhelmed by the whole experience. "And you?" That was a fairly vague question considering she hadn't seen other witch in years.

She leaned slightly against the wall, content to chat with Hermione for a moment. Although the other woman had been paying attention to her, her glance kept flickering over to an older wizard who had entered with Gilderoy Lockhart. She took stock of the man, before realizing that she recognized who it was. "Isn't that Julian Avery?" Katie asked incredulously before Hermione even had a chance to respond to her other question.

It was more than a little bewildering what he was doing here, and with Lockhart no less. He was a bloody Death Eater - had even spent time in Azkaban. She could feel her wand where she had stuck it in her pocket, reassured by it's presence although she resisted the urge to draw it.

[shh_george]

"So this is where you've been hiding," George teased Katie. He looked at her companions and nodded to Hermione. Although it took him a second he quickly recognized Gabrielle as the other girl.

""Hullo Hermione. Hullo Gabrielle. Happy Christmas to you both," he said. "Are you enjoying your holiday?" George wasn't sure what the three had been talking about but they all seemed a bit quiet now.

"I'm not interrupting anything am I?" He asked.

[shh_hermione]

When she noticed George nearing them, Hermione let the topic of conversation drop. It had become far too serious, anyway. It seemed she couldn't attend a party without hiding in a corner or having odd conversations.

"Happy Christmas, George," she greeted with a slight smile. "And, no, you're not interrupting anything. We're just discussing kittens, actually."

[shh_gabrielle]

"I was just leaving, Monsieur Weasley, eet was nice to see you again," Gabrielle said quickly, starting to inwardly panic. Three people around her was three too many, and while she could tolerate Katie and was starting to like Hermione, it was getting a bit crowded, and she was starting to feel claustrophobic.

"'Ermione, Katie," She nodded to both of them and slipped out, breathing a sigh of relief when she was safely out of the tent. The cool night air felt wonderful on her skin, and Gabrielle wound through it, heading towards her flat and resolving to visit Hermione sometime soon about the animal shelter.

[shh_katie]

Gabrielle slipped out quickly once George approached, although from her actions this far that evening Katie wasn't overly surprised to see her go. She turned back to the others, inwardly smiling a little at Hermione's loose description of their topic of conversation, although technically the two had been ingrossed in talking about the animal shelter for the most part.

"Kittens are something you could contribute about," Katie replied with a smile to George, "considering those two little furballs currently living in your flat."

Turning to Hermione, she did have to ask, "Do you have a time frame on the bookstore and such yet?" It was more than a question of idle curiousity, there had been a few topics she was curious about from conversations with others that couldn't be found in muggle stores obviously, and the library appeared to be in ruins.

[shh_charlie]

Charlie hurried to get ready; he'd lost track of time as usual. There was always one more thing to do, and he wasn't one to watch the clock.

This is what he'd been doing since he'd come home, really.

It had been easy to lose himself in the project of fixing up the cider house, and this last week he was working like a dog with Wayne and Oliver, trying to make a good impression, trying to secure his place at the new hotel.

But today was important to him. These family functions, rebuilding his relationship with his mother, this was why he was home.

As he walked briskly up Weasley Lane to where it met Weasley Way, he could hear the sounds of laughter coming from his mother's large tent. Obviously he was far from the first to arrive. He pulled back the flap and ducked inside.

"Happy Christmas, everyone!"

[shh_molly]

Molly nearly dropped her plate of ham at Charlie's boistrous entrance. "Charlie!" she cried, setting the plate down precariously on the edge of the table. She rushed toward him, wrapping him in a firm hug. "Dear! Darling! I'm so terribly happy that you came! I was so worried that you wouldn't, dear, you see. Percy has decided against it, and I thought to myself, well if Charlie doesn't come that will be just absolutely tragic." Finally, pausing for breath, she released him.

"Darling," she said, frowning upon appraising him. "You look absolutely knackered. Haven't you been getting enough sleep?"

[shh_charlie]

His Mum's hug made it obvious he was forgiven for his tardiness.

"Yeah, I'm sorry I've not been around. Or in touch..."

Molly, in her usual fashion, was worried. And now he really did feel badly for giving her reason to be.

"I'm well, Mum. I've just been spending a lot of time at the new job. And when I'm home there's so much still to do on the house...you should come see it. You won't believe how much it's changed."