User:	spectralstudent
Date:	2009-12-28 23:38 (UTC)
Subject:	(no subject)

Just then, a loud Crack signaled Dobby’s entrance to the party. He wore a tiny Father Christmas hat and some garland for a belt over his Hogwarts tea towel. In his arms were a small stack of cards. He looked around for a moment, giant green eyes going impossibly wider at the party in the making.

Molly walked up to him, leaned down and said, “Why, hello, Dobby. Would you like some cookies, Dear?”

“Oh no, Mrs Molly Weasley. Dobby is only here on an errand for Miss Hermione Granger. Dobby is here to deliver Miss Granger’s Christmas cards and to inform Mr and Mrs Arthur Weasley that Miss Granger will not be able to attend your party,” Dobby said quickly before digging through his letters and handing one to Molly. “For Mrs Molly Weasley,” he announced officially.

“Well, thank you, Dobby,” Molly said with an awkward sort of grin.

Dobby then delivered a card to Tonks, ran off and found Lupin, and came back to the couch with Ron and Mills. “For Mr Ron Weasley,” he squeaked and handed over an envelope. “For Miss Millicent Bullstrode,” he said next.

Mills took the letter with a confused look. She’d never gotten a card from Hermione before.

All of the cards had rather generic holiday wishes except Millicent’s. Inside her card was a neatly written note that took up the better part of the inside:

“Dear Millicent,

Happy Christmas and Joyous New Year. I wanted to take a moment to acknowledge and explain my behaviour in the past few years. I feel I owe it to you. Being dead over five years has taught me a great deal about the difference between the dead and the living. First and foremost of these differences is the change in one’s emotional life. One’s personality and attachments at the time of death linger much longer than they would in life. Consequently, my love for Ron and assumptions about you lingered on longer than they ought to have. The facts remain that Ron has been slandering the Slytherins since I met him, that you physically attacked me in second year, and that you mocked all of my friends throughout school. Because of these facts and my love for Ron, I was rather horrified when you became involved with him. I said quite a few things that I regret now that I have finally been able to shift my feelings. I was appalled and enraged at the very idea of you with Ron. If you didn’t know this previously, I assure you it is only due to my friends being a great deal nicer than I was and not informing you.

So, why inform you now? I want to apologize sincerely and from the bottom of my transparent heart. I was awful and said hateful things out of my inability to let Ron go. I am very sorry. Obviously, the longevity of your relationship is a testimony to how suitable you are for one another. I wish you joy with him. He can be an argumentative prat at times, but I’m sure you know that anyway and love him for it. Please, take care of him and allow him to take care of you. Once again, have a very joyous holiday season, and if possible, forgive my absurd behaviour. I assure you it is in the past.

Sincerely,
Hermione Granger

P.S. If you like, you may show this to Ron.”

Mills read the note, looking a little dumbstruck. At the end, she bit her lip slightly and said “huh” before passing it to Ron. “What do you make of this, Weasle?”

User: ron_tastic Date: 2009-12-31 04:26 (UTC) Subject: (no subject)

Ron glanced over the card and tucked it into his pocket. "I'm glad Hermione is getting along well, then. We can send her a return owl when we get back to the flat." He wrapped his arm around Mills shoulder, and looked about the room. He had no problem telling her whatever she wanted to know about Hermione, though he didn't know he had the answers himself, these days, but now was not the time.

He smiled sheepishly at tonks in relation to the interruption. "I'm surprised how well its been getting on, really. Seems I'm good at all the obliviating. You know better than me that working for the ministry can be bloody tiring, but I like it, overall."

User: potterbynature Date: 2009-12-31 14:39 (UTC) Subject: (no subject)

Harry apparated just in front of the Burrow door and let himself in. Everyone seemed to be momentarily preoccupied with Dobby, so Harry took the opportunity to doff his coat and scarf. Then he grabbed some cookies from the kitchen table and wandered into the living room. He had just enough time to summon a big stack of Christmas presents by the tree before Dobby broke his seeming invisibility.

"Mr Harry Potter," the Elf said as he came up to Harry and handed him a card, "from Miss Hermione Granger."

"Um, thanks Dobby, Happy Christmas," he responded. "Bugger," he thought to himself, "I forgot to send Hermione a card."

User:	mollywobble
Date:	2010-01-02 14:46 (UTC)
Subject:	(no subject)

"Harry dear! So good to see you. You didn't bring Mandy, then? She was welcome to come, you know," Molly said, hugging Harry tightly. "Harry, has she been feeding you? You're rail thin."

Mills nodded in Harry's direction and Tonks gave a wave, not wanting to get in the way of Molly's obsession with Harry's weight. "So, how's the pub?"

"Good, good," Mills said. "Still the same old prats there every night, but my uncle's taken to going on vacations and leaving me in charge. I'm hoping he'll retire soon."

User: potterbynature Date: 2010-01-02 15:01 (UTC) Subject: (no subject)

When Harry was able to refill his lungs with air, he croaked, "Hi, Molly." When he was able to squirm out of her hug, he finished, "Mandy had to go on a family holiday to Paris or something. And I eat fine... I've just been training a lot."

"So, um, where is everybody?" he added, noticing that most of the Weasley family wasn't around nor the usual Order hangers on.

User: ron_tastic Date: 2010-01-02 15:10 (UTC) Subject: (no subject)

Ron leaned back in his chair, content to listen in on the girl's conversation without being involved. He watched Harry be bombarded by Molly, and thought "Poor bastard."

Fred entered from the direction of the kitchen with a cookie in his hand, Hannah bustling along behind him making shooing motions with one hand, and cradling Gina against her bosom. Gina was getting bigger, and Hannah's insistence on carrying the girl looked more ridiculous by the day. Gina was asleep at the moment, but the room full of faces and the twinkling christmas lights saw her eyes slowly open, and once she was officially awake, all her limbs were moving at full speed, and the slurred "Mommymommymommymommymommy" could be heard exiting her mouth at full speed.

User: bubblegum_pink Date: 2010-01-02 15:19 (UTC) Subject: (no subject)

Jenny tottered over to the newcomers and looked up at the chattering Gina with a bit of confusion before raising her arms to the little girl. Tonks watched for a moment, decided that Jenny wasn't being too annoying, and turned back to Ron and Mills. "So, if your uncle retires, it's your pub flat out? Sounds like you'll be busy as Ron soon, but I doubt the hours are the same. Ah well, you can always drink after work, I suppose."

Molly saw Gina and excused herself from Harry with a shoulder pat before bustling over to hug mummy and baby and kissing Fred on the cheek. Jenny made an impatient noise and Molly picked her up to Gina's level.

User: ron_tastic Date: 2010-01-02 15:24 (UTC) Subject: (no subject)

Ron smiled as Tonks wandered away, and smiled at Mills. "I think it will work out fine."

Hannah smiled at Tonks, and handed Gina to Molly. Gina looked up at Molly, then at Jenny. "Mummy and Daddy aparateneded us here! It was very cool. There was a 'POP' and then, yeah." She smiled, waiting for Molly and Jenny to appreciate her tale.

User:	mollywobble
Date:	2010-01-02 15:45 (UTC)
Subject:	(no subject)

Jenny clapped, not for Gina but because babies clapped. Molly smiled and said, "Jenny liked that story. You should tell her some more," before putting them both down inside a play pen in the corner. She loved her grandbabies, but she had to check on dinner.

"Oi, Fred," Tonks said, clapping him on the shoulder, "Where's that twin of yours? Did you leave him watching the shop? Don't you have other employees?"

User: potterbynature Date: 2010-01-02 16:19 (UTC) Subject: (no subject)

Hermione's card was rather basic. He made a mental note to owl her a card before he went to bed. He had some extras in his flat. When Fred and Hannah arrived, he gave them both a polite nod and shook Fred's hand.

Vacating the area to let Tonks and Molly chat with the new arrivals, Harry found an open seat on the couch next to Mills. It wasn't the only open seat in the room, but he sat there anyway. "Happy Christmas, Mills, you too Ron. Staking out a defensive position, I see."

User:	identicalfred
Date:	2010-01-02 18:17 (UTC)
Subject:	(no subject)

Fred laughed lightly. "He is tied up in some experiment, he should be here shortly. Even he can't miss christmas." Fred sat in an old worn armchair, and george tumbled out of the fireplace's green flames, looking dustier even than floo would have made him.

"Hey guys. Fred," He hissed. "Where are the cookies?"

Fred nodded to the kitchen. "Right then." And George vanished into the other room.

User: tending_mills Date: 2010-01-02 18:45 (UTC) Subject: (no subject)

Mills laughed at Harry's comment. "Defensive positions are always best at large gatherings."

Tonks followed George into the kitchen and wrapped her arms around him from behind. "And what's been keeping you from the party, Georgie-kins?"

From the playpen, Jenny started saying, "Up, up," and Molly collected her, bringing her to Tonks.

User: ron_tastic Date: 2010-01-02 19:56 (UTC) Subject: (no subject)

George smiled and took Jenny from his mother, and sammiched her in between his chest and Tonks, then proceeded to hug and kiss Tonks, before freeing Jenny, hugging and kissing hers.

"Just a few pots on the stove at home. Nothing scary or dangerous. Huh Jenny?" He slipped Tonks a small package, and presented Jenny with a large wrapped rectangle. "Wanna put this under the tree to open later?"

User: bubblegum_pink Date: 2010-01-02 20:11 (UTC) Subject: (no subject)

As per usual, the presence of George caused Jenny to sport Weasley-red hair. She took the package from George, looked at it, and then shook it vigorously, laughing and banging it.

"I hope that's not breakable," Tonks said. "She's not so good with following instructions yet."

User: identicalgeorge Date: 2010-01-03 03:46 (UTC) Subject: (no subject)

"As long as she has fun with it when its open too." He grinned, and ruffled Jenny's now red hair. "Come on silly girl." He held her under her armpits, and made flying noises as he moved to the tree. "Okay. There. With all the other presents. Uh huh." He nodded, mimed pointing, then smiled.

User: bubblegum_pink Date: 2010-01-05 11:59 (UTC) Subject: (no subject)

Tonks grinned as she watched George and Jenny. She didn't like to think of herself as a softy, but that was adorable. For a moment, she wondered if George was going to need one of his own someday then reminded herself that someday could wait. There was no sense bringing it up. He would if he felt it neccessary. Instead, she grabbed a couple of cookies and headed back to the livingroom.

Meanwhile, Mills was suppressing a handful of Weasley jokes based on their obcession with children.

Molly bustled in from the kitchen, a bit red faced from being over all the warm food, and said, "Right, you lot, best come in here for dinner while it's hot. Anyone else can just join in as they get here."