Harry Potter and the Prince of Slytherin

Chapter 34: Families at Christmas

19 December 1993
The Weasley Burrow
5:00 p.m.

With a flash of green fire, nearly the entire Weasley family spilled out of the Burrow's fireplace, having traveled from Kings Cross to the Leaky Cauldron via the Knight Bus. (Molly absolutely refused to take the bus all the way to Ottery St. Catchpole.) George and Fred were the last to pass through, and they bumped into each other as they did. This led to matching sullen glares, but Percy smoothly stepped between them before their parents noticed (and before another shoving match broke out – the one on the train had been bad enough). The twins quickly separated and moved to opposite sides of the living room.

Only Bill and Charlie were absent, but according to Arthur, both would be home by Christmas Eve. And for the first time that any of them could recall, that Christmas would be celebrated at the Burrow. For years, it had been Molly and Arthur's policy to leave their children at school for the holiday break because the traditional Hogwarts feast was far better than anything they could have provided on Arthur's meager salary. In fact, in years past, those children too young for Hogwarts would be taken to see their Aunt Muriel on Christmas Day, and while the food was good, it did not make up for the company of the bitter old witch who wasn't shy about pointing out every perceived defect in their entire family.

And so it was that the five school-aged Weasley children (plus two older siblings supposedly on the way) were quite surprised when they received word from their parents: this year, the Weasleys would all celebrate Christmas together for the first time in any of their lives. And all five were suitably shocked at the festive decorations which included the largest Christmas tree any of them had ever seen outside of Hogwarts. Ron, as was his nature, ignored the tree and headed over towards the kitchen, attracted as he was by the smell of his mother's cooking.

"Wow!" Ginny exclaimed in wonder at the decorations. Then, her eyes widened even more at the sight of boxes and boxes of presents beneath the tree. "Who are all those for?" she asked.

"Well, they're for you lot, of course!" her father said jovially. She gaped at him in surprise, as Arthur continued.

"You see your mother and I came into a bit of extra cash. Well, mainly your mum to be honest. And we talked it over and decided that since we could finally afford it, we would treat you all to a proper Christmas!"

"Mainly ... Mum?" Percy asked almost suspiciously.

Molly blushed. "Well, it's a funny story. You see ...."

Ron interrupted loudly from the kitchens. "Mum? Why are there five dozen Christmas puddings in the kitchen?"

"Ronald Bilius Weasley! she yelled back. "Do not touch anything in there! Those are for paying customers!"

"You have ... customers?" George asked cautiously.

She sighed. "All of you, come and sit down, and I'll tell you everything."

The whole family crowded onto the living room sofas and looked at her expectantly (except for Arthur who knew the whole story and simply beamed at her in pride).

"Do you all remember," she began, "summer before last when Harry Potter stayed with us for a few days, and he gave me that cookbook as a present?" Everyone nodded.

"Well, after Ginny started schooling, I found that I had a lot of free time, so I started cooking things out of that book. Just experimenting, you understand." She chuckled. "I can't believe how many awful dishes I forced your father to eat while I was getting the hang of it."

"Now, now," Arthur chided. "Nothing was awful. I just ... liked some things better than others."

"Anyway," Molly continued, "that year, I only made something once every month or so. But then, your father got a raise at the end of last summer right after you all went back to school. Not much, but I could afford to buy more ingredients and I really started to feel more confident in my baking. So, this past September, just a few weeks after you all left for school, it was my turn to bring a dessert for the monthly Ottery St. Catchpole Ladies Gardening and Knitting Society. And instead of my usual chocolate brownies that I've made for ages and ages, I decided to be daring and bring a plate of kremówka."