The Dark Mark (The Girl Who Lived part II)

A Very Unmerry Christmas

I was awoken by the twins. "What are you doing in my room?" I asked them, much too groggy to be the least bit upset with them. I rubbed my eyes, which wanted to remain shut. "Dad's been attacked. Hurry up". I slipped on a pair of flats and threw a cardigan on over my t-shirt. I followed them to Dumbledore's office. Harry, Ron, and Ginny were already there. "Harry. What happened?" I asked him. It seemed as though I was the only one who hadn't been informed of anything. "I had a vision. I've been having these for a while. The one I had tonight was Mr. Weasley being attacked by a serpent. Thank goodness they got to him in time. He's currently being transported to St. Mungo's".

As predicted, that Christmas was a sad one. Although the eve of the holiday may have seemed joyous, there was an underlying saddness to it all. We celebrated it at Grimmauld Place. Mr. Weasley sat at the head of the table. He'd had time to heal, but he still appeared as though he could use a few more days of rest.  He was awfully battered and bruised still. I sat in between Fred and George. Mrs. Weasley handed each of us a gift. I had gotten a sweater, while the twins got identical scarves. Everyone was making an extra effort to be merry.

Percy was being rather rude at the moment. He sent back the sweater that Mrs. Weasley had expeciallu made for him. She beat herself up about it. There was also the matter of Mr. Weasley. "To Harry. If you hadn't had that vision, then I might not be here right now". Mr. Weasley toasted. We all raised our glasses as high in the air as we could. "To Harry". We all said. After dinner, the Weasley family, Harry, and Hermoine dispersed into different areas of the house. I walked around the house distributing the presents that I had prepared in advance. I gave Ginny and Hermoine some hair accessories that were more for keeping the hair out of their eyes than for decorative purposes.

Ron was given a coupon that said I would make him any meal that he desired. I gave Fred and George a coupon that said I would clean up three of the messes that they made. I thought of this idea as I was cleaning the slime off the library walls at Hogwarts. I found Mrs. and Mr. Weasley sitting in the same room. I gave her a box wrapped with much care. "You didn't have to give me a present, Scarlet". She said this as she unwrapped the box with care. She was utterly delighted. "I wanted to, Mrs.Weasley". "You can call me "mom" if you want". She said. It's not that I didn't want to call her "mom". It also wasn't that I didn't see her as a mother figure. This was extremely false. She was as closest to a "mom" that I would get.

But whenever I thought of calling her "mom", the idea seemed like it didn't fit. Like trying to make two puzzle pieces fit together that weren't meant to go together. I knew the reason why it didn't flow as naturally as it should to say that one three letter word. I had already reserved that title for one person. And it would remain reserved for that one person even though she would never be able to claim it. It was the same case for Mr. Weasley. Even though I did and always will view Mr. Weasley as a father figure, he'll never exactly be able to fit those shoes exactly. "How lovely, its a scrapbook". Mrs. Weasley said as she clapped both hands together. "It's a scrapbook of all of the pictures I've taken while at Hogwarts". I said. She pulled me into a tight hug. "Thank you, dear".      

To Mr. Weasley, I gave a rubber duck, duck tape, and a can of WD-40. I assumed he would enjoy this, considering his fascination with muggles. Unlike his wife, he eagerly shredded the paper. "I've read about this, but I've never seen such things". His eyes sparkled. "This is a rubber duck". I pointed to the item. "Excellent! These aren't found in the wizarding world. I've heard stories about these. I've always wanted one. Now, what exactly is the function of the rubber duck?" He examined the duck as if it had some secret meaning or purpose that was not visible to the naked eye. "Bathroom recreation". I answered. "What do these things do?" He asked, focusing on the other items. "Muggles, especially dads much like yourself, use these two items to fix a majority of the things that are broken. Use WD-40 if it doesn't move and it should, and use duct tape if it moves and it shouldn't". Mr. Weasley inspected the items and went off in his own world on how these items would be used in the muggle world.