Malignant ••• George Weasley

Chapter 64 - Acceptance

Juna felt a chill down her spine as she looked up at the scowling red head descending the stairs of The Burrow. An angry claw mark ran down his face - this must be Bill. The vibes she had picked up as she got introduced to everyone here were mixed. Clearly Molly didn't like her, Ron was iffy but Bill had a clear resentment plastered all over his face. Juna had expected this, after all, she had nearly got Fred killed.

When George had suggested the idea, she had tried to get out of it a million different ways, but George would hear none of it. She suspected it was mostly out of pity and shock that she had never celebrated Christmas before and wanted to give her that experience, despite lingering resentment from his family.

"Bill, this is Juna." George said stiffly, laying a gentle hand on her lower back.

Juna nodded at him and attempted a tight smile which was received with a curl of his upper lip and a strangled greeting as he passed. Thoughts swirled through her mind as she tried to calculate ways to make George's family like her, this was going to be a tough day.

"Don't worry about it, he's an angry prick at the best of times. He'll come round." George whispered into her hair, pressing a subtle kiss above her ear.

Juna nodded and turned to him.
"I have gifts for everyone, should I hand them out now? Or should I wait? Or should I just put them under the Christmas tree? Or should I just forget it-"

George chuckled and cut off her rambling.
"We can hand them out together, what do you say?"

Juna nodded, bile rising in her throat. She had faced dark wizards and witches, nearly died many times, tortured and been tortured, run for her life, taken lives and saved lives. But never in her existence has anything terrified her quite like the family of the boy she was falling for.

Moving slowly, Juna undid the zip of the small bag she had an extension charm on. First they made their way to Ron who received a signed Quidditch Jersey from his favourite team - the Chudley Canons. The joy in his face was overwhelming as he jumped up and down and hugged Juna, all past hesitancy's vanishing.

Next was Ginny, who got a pair of silver laced Quidditch gloves. She squealed with delight and awe at their beauty, pulling them on and pretending to zoom around the dining room on her broom.

Then Charlie who got a Dragon Encyclopaedia signed by the most famous dragon tamer in the world - Artemis Bogle. He shook his hands out with excitement before pouring over the curved signature of his personal hero.

Arthur beamed at the VHS player and video camera combo, charmed to connect to their muggle TV without having to bother with cords.

Percy received a giant, gold tipped quill, his eyes sparkling as he explained how his desk partner at the Ministry would be incredibly jealous.

Fred got the entire vinyl collection of his favourite band - The Bubbling Boarbacks, including the incredibly rare and hard to come by first album. He hugged Juna tightly and pounded her on the back, forgetting his strength in his excitement.

Harry stumbled over his incessant thank you's as he clutched a personalised wand holster, charmed to nudge him when someone is behind him. Handy for Auror missions.

Eventually, the time came to approach the two that Juna knew didn't like her whatsoever - Molly and Bill. Awkwardly, Juna approached Bill. She fished around in her bag before producing a simple looking golden cube. Bill's eyes widened with recognition.

"I did some digging from your days as a Curse-Breaker. I discovered that this was the first object that held the first curse you broke." Bill said nothing, his eyes avoiding hers. "So I bought it. You know that this was a distraction, on your first mission. Something to throw people off the scent of the real treasure. So I had no ill feelings about charming it to become something you could perhaps use in your current job - touring the world speaking on... acceptance." Juna flicked her eyes toward his. "I thought it could bring your two passions together, even if only you know what it is."