Roses and Riots | f. weasley

Chapter 40: Mistletoe

A/N: Another chapter for you all today, because it's Valentine's Day and this one is cute ;)

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The Weasleys all went to St Mungo's the following afternoon to visit Mr Weasley, while Emilia, Harry, and Remus opted to stay behind with Sirius to give them all space to spend time with Arthur. They figured having Molly, the twins, Ron and Ginny, as well as Bill and Charlie who were already at the hospital would be quite enough for Arthur to deal with at one time.

The Potters did visit St Mungo's the following day, and while they were there, they met Neville who was visiting his parents.

He tentatively told them about what had happened to his parents during the first Wizarding War, and Emilia pretended not to know this as she listened and glanced over to Frank and Alice Longbottom, who were sitting in their neighbouring beds with slightly vacant stares and wistful smiles while Neville's grandmother replaced the flowers on the table between them.

She knew what Bellatrix Lestrange had done, and that they'd been tortured into insanity rather than give away any information they had against Voldemort and his Death Eaters. 

They were true heroes.

Emilia told Neville as much, and he teared up and gave her an awkward and brief hug, but she knew it was sincere and she hugged him back.

The Weasleys went back again to see Arthur two days before Christmas, and when they came back, they were all beaming. They excitedly shared the news that Arthur would be home for Christmas. Fred practically scooped Emilia off the floor to hug her when he saw her, he was that happy.

He was elated, and his face split in a huge grin, "this is going to be the best Christmas ever."

Emilia smiled up at him when he put her down, "I think so too."

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Arthur Weasley sat at the end of the table with a large purple paper crown on his head and a big smile on his face, which made it hard to focus on all the bruises and bandages. 

He made it clear that he didn't want anyone to make a fuss, and it was clear to anyone that saw him that he was just beyond grateful to be alive, let alone with his family for Christmas.

"Well, Dad, if you get any scars, you'll be told for the rest of your life that you look like a badass," Charlie Weasley said with a grin, brandishing his arms that were scarred with dragon burns.

"Yeah, with a big head to match, apparently," Bill said, and Charlie snorted and elbowed his older brother in the ribs.

Emilia smiled at the familiar antics of the two eldest Weasley children, but she could tell that Percy's absence was felt by his parents. He'd returned his Christmas jumper without opening it, but Fred and George had taken it from the owl and hidden it before Molly could see and get upset.

They exchanged presents after Christmas dinner, and Emilia was delighted with the burgundy scarf she'd gotten from Molly, standing up to give the woman a tight hug and kiss on the cheek.

Ron got a woolly jacket of some sort, and Ginny snickered and glanced across the table to Emilia, "at least it's not dark mustard."

Emilia snorted and waved Fred off when he gave her a bemused look.

Molly brought out a pot of hot mulled wine, and they all served themselves with the sweet smelling drink.

Arthur held up his glass, "to Harry, without whom I would not be here."

They all smiled at Harry who looked embarrassed, and raised their glasses, "Harry."

After dinner, they all retired to the living room that looked liked something from a Christmas storybook. There was wine, Butterbeer, a lovely spread of desserts, and Christmas crackers were strewn across every surface.