Mischief not so Managed

10: Merry Christmas

George:

"Mum, have you seen my shirt?" Ron yelled over the banister. Christmas morning was never a simple task, with that many kids in one house, someone was always missing a sock, a shirt or a limb.

"you know this is a very serious dark magic fighting HQ" Tonks said leaning out of her bedroom door.

"well, I can't fight dark magic without my shirt" Ron retorted. I was standing at the bottom of the stairs levitating down the boxes upon boxes of presents from the top floor down to the kitchen.

"Mum, how many bloody sweaters did you make?" I asked my mother who was leaning over a countless number of pots and pans on the stove. She was more focused on the spuds clearly.

"do you want help?" Hermione asked, skipping down the last couple of steps.

"I think that's the last of them" I said dropping a large box with Ron's name on it inside the kitchen door.

"right, everyone to the table" Mum said. Fred apparated into the kitchen with a tremendous crack scaring the life out of my mother. Ron and Ginny were next, followed by Tonks and Remus. Mum walked into the sitting room to push Dad in in his wheelchair. He had come home the day before yesterday and in truth, he had seen much much better days. He was lucky, he was so, so lucky. We sat and Mum began to dole out presents. Of course, she mixed me and Fred up, but it had become tradition at this stage.

"Molly" Hermione exclaimed pulling a deep blue scarf from the tissue paper "it's beautiful"

"my pleasure, my dear" my Mum smiled. Ron's jumper looked like something out of a horror movie. "where's Harry?"

"I'm here" he had come in the side kitchen door. He looked tired, like he hadn't slept since the night he got here, probably because he hadn't. My Dad raised his glass to Harry, toasting him. He looked embarrassed. Mum handed him a package and we all sat and ate. Crackers were pulled. Sirius arrived, half a bottle of wine in and it was as if there wasn't a care in the world. When Mum was about to start offering seconds when there was a crack in the hall. Lia Jones appeared in the kitchen door, armed with boxes and presents. A big red coat wrapped around her tied with a massive black sash at the middle.

"Merry Christmas, sorry I'm late". Her eyes glinted with an unusual sadness for a day meant to be so joyous. Mum started to take the packages from her and ushering her to a seat between Ginny and Remus and across from me.

"this is for you dear" My Mum smiled handing her a parcel wrapped in brown paper.

"Molly, you didn't have to" Lia exclaimed, as if she had never seen a present before.

"I wanted to" My mother smiled. Lia put the parcel beside her chair 

"no Hestia?" Tonks asked.

"Not today" she smiled quickly.

"Probably wise" Sirius laughed darkly "We're expected Mad Eye later and I think we could leave the boxing match till tomorrow". Dinner resumed in its merry fashion, laughing and joking. Lia stood when Molly had cleared the plates to give her parcels out. A new set of goggles for Harry for raining Quidditch matches.

"for when we get rid of Umbridge" she winked, he smiled admiring the strap that she had embroidered with his name and number. A set of muggle story books for Hermione, they seemed like books a child would read, it popped into my head for the first time. Lia was a halfblood. Not that it mattered, I just hadn't thought about her Dad before. Hermione gushed over them. A cookery book for my mother and some sort of muggle contraption for my father. "it's a telescope, just not the magical sort" she smiled. My father was enraptured. Wine for Sirius and Remus, a complete copy of "The History of the HollyHead Harpies" for Ginny and a trove of sweets for Ron. "and for trickster one and two" she handed Fred and I a box. It was a muggle joke box. "I'm interested to see what you'll do with that".

Mum put out a serious spread of desert. I spent the whole afternoon trying to grab Lia alone. But the opportunity fell in my lap when she slipped from the kitchen with a glass of wine in her hand. I found her sitting on the stair. She had shed that red coat long ago to reveal a simple black dress. She looked spectacular. "you shouldn't be drinking that". She looked up with a smile.

"legally allowed now" she chuckled, taking a sip of the red liquid. Not even flinching.

"your birthday?"

"yesterday" she said grimly.

"I didn't know" I was mortified that I hadn't known. "we could've have celebrated it today"

"it's okay, I don't particularly like it, if I'm honest" I leaned against the wall across from her.

"do you want to talk about it?" I asked, "we don't have to, but if you'd like to, I'll listen". She swirled the wine in the bottom of the glass.

"my Dad died on Christmas Day" she said without one ounce of emotion.

"I'm sorry"

"it was a long time ago"

"doesn't mean it doesn't still hurt" I said, pushing off the wall to sit beside her. We both stared at the wall.

"I had just turned eight" she said after a long while of silence, I didn't say anything, just waited for her to finish. "he was a muggle teacher, he taught History and English to kids our age. He met Mum just after they had both finished school". She had hardly any make up on, she didn't need it. She was stunning, both in and out. "he loved her so much he didn't care that she was a little all over the place, or that she insisted on trying to do everything the muggle way even though she was useless without a wand" a small laugh escaped her. "he had these violet eyes, really rare, and I got them too. The only thing of his I got, oh, and his soft side. Mum hasn't got one of those"

"the initials on your bag" I said quietly.

"Daniel Jones" she said proudly "my Dad, my middle name is Daniella, another bit of him I have. He got hit by a drunk driver on Christmas Day. He liked to walk in the mornings. It was just outside our door" she choked out; a single tear fell down her cheek. On instinct I put my hand into my pocket and pulled out a handkerchief and handed it to her. She looked down at the white fabric that had purple flowers around the edges. Her eyes went wide and she turned to me for the first time "you kept it"