Trouble Awaits| R. Lupin

Chapter twenty-three: Christmas spirit

The image of all her loved ones dead bodies played over and over in her mind as she tried to calm herself down. Even though Charlie slept peacefully in her lap, she couldn't shake the thought that he was in trouble out of her mind.

" Annabeth" whispered Remus

Annabeth looked up at the boy, tears in her eyes. She had been stroking Charlie's hair for over an hour, not saying anything.

" Do you want to talk about it?" questioned the boy

Annabeth thought for a moment. Did she want to? Did she want to tell Remus that she saw his lifeless body?

" It was a combination of things. I saw Sam, my siblings, my nephews, the guys.... you." muttered Annabeth

Remus's face softened, the girl was unaware that he had already seen himself. He had been thinking about what he saw, the pain on the girls face.

" I know, love. Nothing can hurt you or us. It wasn't real" he said as he pulled Annabeth into a hug

Annabeth's tears escaped her eyes and fell onto the boys burgundy sweater. Remus held the girl as close as possible, making sure not to wake Charlie. He cared about her more than he realized, more than she realized. Seeing her in pain had physically hurt him.

" You know, tomorrow is Christmas" said Remus, a smile on his face

Annabeth had almost completely forgotten. The whole reason she had gone up there was for decorations.

" Oh Merlin! We need to decorate the tree.... but I didn't get the decorations" said Annabeth, sadly

" Don't you fret! Gideon and Fabian are here to save the day." yelled Fabian as they ran down the steps

The loud noise woke up Charlie almost instantly.

" Bethy?" asked the boy sleepily

" Shhh, it's okay" smiled Annabeth, looking down at the boy

The twins started unpacking the decorations for the tree and turned on some muggle christmas music. Arthur and Molly came running into the living room with Bill following closely behind.

" Are we decorating now?" cheered Molly

The group nodded and danced around the living room to the music. Remus was spinning Annabeth around as her hair flew out around her. Molly and Arthur were dancing with their boys while the twins had a dance battle.

Their laughter filled the burrow, happiness radiating off of them. As they spun around, it was as if all the problems in the world has disappeared and everything was perfect.

After 30 minutes of dancing, they all started decorating the tree. Molly handled the fragile ornaments while Bill and Charlie placed the plastic ones all over the place. The twins were tangled in tinsel and Arthur was trying to memorize the lyrics to the music. Annabeth and Remus were still dancing and Remus was singing to the girl.

" Have a holly, jolly christmas. It's the best time of the year" belted Remus

Annabeth's smile made her face sore as she beamed at the boy. His voice was much better than she could have ever imagined, everything about him was perfect.

Arthur joined in on the singing once he had the words down. He glided over to the pair and whisked Annabeth away and began dancing with her. The pair waltzed terribly and roared with laughter.

Molly Weasley was overcome with joy as she watched her family enjoying themselves. Even though Remus was new, she considered him family just as much.

" Remus dear, come help me" spoke Molly

Remus skipped over to the woman and felt happiness surge through his body. He had never experienced Christmas this way before, he had never been this loved.

" Do you mind placing the star on the tree?" asked Molly

Remus felt tears prick his eyes.

" Not at all" said the boy with a sheepish smile

Remus lifted the star up to the top of the tree and gently placed it down. The family cheered and clapped as they finished decorating, the Christmas spirit strong.

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Annabeth lay in bed, tracing shapes on the soft hand of Remus Lupin. The cold air leaked into the room, causing the pair to be closer together than ever before.

" Annabeth" spoke Remus quietly

" Hm" she answered in response

" I um, I don't really know how to go about this," laughed Remus awkwardly, " I really enjoy being around you, I mean really enjoy it. I know we haven't know each other for long but I can't imagine not being with you. So"

Remus was cut off by Annabeth's high pitched squeal.

" Yes! Merlin, yes!" shrieked the girl

Remus smiled as she watched the excitement in the girls eyes. Remus pulled her into a kiss and tangled his fingers into her hair.

He had finally asked Annabeth to be his girlfriend.

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Annabeth and Remus woke to the cold air surrounding them.  They were covered in blankets but that didn't save them from the frost that the snow provided.

Annabeth jumped out of bed and ran down the steps, Christmas had always been her favorite. Remus laughed to himself as he followed after the girl.

The rest of the family had already been seated at the table, ready to enjoy Molly's delicious breakfast.

" Finally" groaned Fabian

Annabeth stuck her tongue out at her brother and plopped down into her chair. The table was full of any food you could ever want and boy was she excited.

The family ate quickly as excitement was evident in all of them, especially Remus. Once they finished, they all filed into the living room when Remus was hit with a wave of sadness.

What made him think there'd be present for him?

Molly picked up on the boys sudden change in behavior and placed her hand on his shoulder.

" What's wrong , dearie?" she asked lovingly

Remus shook his head in reply and headed towards the couch, taking a seat next to Annabeth.

" Okay you lot, since Remus is new, we must explain the rules" said Arthur

The Weasley-Prewetts got extremely serious as they all looked at the boy.

" Mr. Lupin, do you solemnly swear that you will abide by our family rules?" asked Gideon

" Uh.. yes?" said Remus, very confused.

The family smiled in response and passed out the gifts. Remus's face was dumbfounded, what was the rule?

" Don't think too much about it" whispered Bill to Remus

Remus smile grew as his attention was drawn to the pile of gifts in front of him.

" This is for me?" asked the boy in disbelief

" Why of course! You're family, of course we got your gifts" laughed Arthur

Remus felt his heart skip a beat as he looked down at the gifts, the first gifts he'd ever gotten that weren't from the Marauders.

Annabeth grabbed the boys hand and kissed it.

" Merry Christmas! Remus and I are dating" shouted the girl.