Another 'Weasley family' invite had arrived late Saturday, one that his family was happy to accept. Upon their arrival, however, they realized another family had been invited as well. A blonde quickly ran to the boy-who-lived, excitement in her eyes as he greeted her in return.
"Assorted creature chocolates!"
Harry grinned at her happiness. Apparently, she had enjoyed the gift he had picked out for her. Nearby, both of her parents, Harry being pleasantly surprised to see her mother alive and well, gave James a Lily a nod, albeit a frosty one, in greeting.
"Come on, Ginny is out back."
It was missed by no one that she took ahold of Harry, and only Harry, to pull him towards the area in question, his sisters doing their best to keep up.
Sure enough, a group of redheads, minus the two parents who were with the others, filled the area. It was to the youngest that he was brought, Ginny brightening up even more upon seeing the Potters. The ground still had a layer of snow on it, but a fire had been lit that she was sitting by, along with a large assortment of chairs. Food was being roasted nearby, various meats being most noticeable.
"Hello Ginny." He greeted, earning an excited, if still a bit shy, wave in response.
"Thank you for the chocolates, Harry." She managed to get out, earning herself a grin from the boy.
As time went on the other children, along with the adults joined in the circle forming a large gathering of friends and happy conversation lasting into the night.
****
Monday was, apparently, designated as a 'lazy day', not that Harry was complaining. Harriet and Amaryllis opted to stay in pajamas until the mid-afternoon, spending much of their time going over Christmas gifts. Even their parents opted to indulge in a bit of sloth.
Harry, naturally, joined them and it was in this peaceful relaxation that he, finally, allowed his mind to wander over the past few days. It had been his first true 'family' Christmas, at least the first one he could remember.
And it had been amazing. Seeing his friends had been wonderful, the 'extended family' had been great as always, even if Marie had been acting a bit… odd.
There was even more to look forward to as the week went on. They would be seeing Hermione the next day, and then…
The boy-who-lived paused in thought, careful to avoid any obvious expressions that might alert the other occupants to his line of thought. After talking it over, the decision had been for him to spend the later half of the break with Grace, not just because it would be seen as 'normal' and 'appropriate' but also because it was her birthday as well.
He knew how his sisters felt about it, he also knew what was 'expected'. What he still hadn't quite decided was how he felt about the situation. A year prior would have had him looking for any and every reason to avoid being alone with the woman, now though things were different, things had changed.
She wasn't dangerous, at least no more than any other competent adult, and had shown she could be both humble and kind. Even if there had been any doubts about her deep down in his mind the fact remained that such things would likely have been impossible for someone to fake, especially someone as egomaniacal as Tom Riddle.
As time went on his views continued to shift, continued to change concerning the various inhabitants of the world he now lived in. What was so obvious in his past didn't seem to hold true here.
The dread he once was sure would be linked to anything with the last name 'Riddle' had changed into something else. Intrigue perhaps, or maybe just curiosity. Either way the woman was interesting, not just in her connection to a sociopath but also how different she was from her male self, and how similar she was to his own life.
"Everything okay?"
The question ripped him from his ponderings and Harry noticed attention had been directed at him, perhaps for longer than normal. "Er, yeah sorry just a lot on my mind lately." Various expressions answered him, ranging from concern to the desire to ask more and pry into his life.
Instead, he received comfortable silence and warm smiles, something he was more than grateful for.
****
Harry nearly laughed at the ridiculousness of the situation. James and his two daughters staring with wide-eyed amazement at the various bits of Muggle technology and culture. Lily seemed a bit more comfortable, but even she was glancing about at various 'improved' items.
The family had been invited over by Hermione's parents for dinner, which meant catching up on the holidays. He had already sent the bookworm his gift, a new set of quills that he recalled her raving about from his own universe. Naturally, when she had seen him there had been an almost bone crushing hug from her, followed by an admonishment from her parents.
While the adults caught up, and prepared the meal, the four snuck off to the eldest's room.
Harry Potter had never been to Hermione's home before and had certainly never been in her bedroom. Technically, the only ones he had been in were those of his 'sisters' and even though it had been a short amount of time he had felt rather awkward. The feeling was twice as strong here, despite the other three acting as if the whole thing were natural.
"So, I've been doing some research on what happened at Hogwarts." The bookworm began, before pulling out a notebook from one of the drawers of a small desk. "Bludgers are specifically Charmed to not target the same student for more than a few passes at most, and even then, there are safety precautions setup so that they do not hit anyone who isn't on a broom."
Harriet nodded in agreement with Amy merely soaking up the information, like she did anything and everything involving the sport.
As for the boy, he just attempted to will away the bad feeling building in his gut.
"That leaves Beatrice Haywood."
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