flawless -- victoire weasley

Chapter 16

Soon enough, Victoire found herself back at her grandma's house for Christmas eve. All of the grandkids were arriving with their sleeping bags, as they had a tradition of sleeping in their treehouse on Christmas eve. 

It had started when Victoire, Molly, and Fred had been the only grandkids. Before Teddy had been adopted by Harry and Ginny and before any of the others were born. Their uncle, Charlie, wanted to build something that all three of them would enjoy, so he, with the help of all the aunts and uncles, and even Grandma Molly, built a house for them in the massive oak tree in the backyard. And once more cousins came along, they resized it to fit all of them. Aunt Hermione even cast charms on it to keep it cool in the summer and warm in the winter, so that it was perfect, no matter the season. 

Molly had yet to arrive, so Victoire stayed in the kitchen while Fred, Roxanne, Dominique, and Louis climbed the stairs to the treehouse. 

"Oh, Victoire, there you are," Grandma Molly came bustling into the kitchen and greeted her granddaughter with a kiss on the cheek. "Would you give me a hand with these pies? I need dozens for tomorrow, with everybody and their brother coming for Christmas."

"Of course!" Victoire jumped up from her seat and joined her at the counter where half a dozen recipe books were open to various pies. "Who all is coming?"

"Well, let's see. Of course all your uncles, aunts, and cousins. The Longbottoms, the Scamanders, the Malfoys, and the Jordans. Now, would you peel and dice enough apples for four pies worth?"

Victoire immediately got to work on the apples, and soon after, Molly and Lucy arrived and were also roped in to helping with the cooking. Louis, Lily, and Hugo snuck in, grabbing pieces of apple to eat and running away before Grandma Molly could swat at them.

By the time the apple filling was ready, enough dough was made and rolled out to fill a dozen pie pans, which Teddy and Fred were working on. They each had a fork in their hand and Teddy was showing Fred how to make designs on the rim of the crust. Victoire looked on fondly, before she was rushed into making a different pie.

One by one, the finished pies were taken to the basement refrigerator, since the pies would be baked fresh in the morning. Then they were all shooed out of the house so that the adults could finish wrapping gifts.

The rest of the kids ran ahead to the treehouse while Molly and Victoire lagged behind, choosing to walk through the snow before joining their cousins.

"So, uh. When does your treatment start, again?"

"Next week actually." After a nod and a soft 'wow' from Molly, she continued, "The doctors wanted me to have a normal Christmas. I know that they think it'll be my last. Mum and Dad are trying to keep everything all happy around me, so that I don't see how things really are. but I know."

"I'm sorry, Vic. but hey, at least you get Christmas." they stopped near the Quidditch shed for a minute, digging their feet into a snow bank. "You'll be here next Christmas, I know it. And I know what'll make you feel better.... a snowball fight!" She launched a loosely packed snowball at her cousin and ducked behind the shed.

Victoire squealed as it hit her square in the chest. She gathered up a supply of snowballs and launched them all the second Molly stepped into the open. The cousins were in a full blown snowball fight right as the sun began to set, early since it was December.

"Kids!" A voice called out, and Molly turned to see their Uncle Ron standing in the open back door. He motioned for them to come inside, so she threw her last snowball right through the window of the treehouse, earning the attention of Teddy, Lucy, and James. James' brown hair, Lucy's auburn, and Teddy's blue were barely visible from where Victoire and Molly were but Victoire could see well enough to stick her tongue out in Teddy's direction before scampering into the warm house.

All the kids shucked their hats, gloves, scarves, boots, and coats at the door, creating a mound of damp clothing. Then they joined their parents and grandparents in the living room, where they were all gathered around the fire, engrossed in multiple conversations. Lily and Hugo were eight and nine, so they were still small enough to climb onto their father's laps, which is exactly what they did. Soon, all the seats were taken and the last couple of kids coming in took the floor. 

They all spent hours there, just enjoying each other's company and the happiness of the season.

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Victoire lay awake in her sleeping bag, surrounded by her cousins who were all fast asleep. Molly was snoring softly on her left and Teddy, on her right, had his pillow over his head. She chuckled quietly before sitting up and looking around at all of them. Lily had only begun staying with them on Christmas Eve last Christmas, so Victoire was surprised that she fell asleep so quickly. Then again, she was probably motivated by the thought of Father Christmas visiting them while she slept. 

This was usually the time of night where her thoughts consumed her, filled with dread and disaster, but tonight she was content. Her mind was cancer-free and all she could do was be happy. 

She rolled over to her right side, causing Teddy to stir. She froze, thinking she had woken him up but all he did was throw his hand out to her and grasp her hand. A smile graced her lips, she ran her thumb over his skin and the repetitive motion lulled her to sleep.