Alexandra Dursley {Golden Trio}

Chapter 110 - A Weasley Jumper

I wish it was Christmas right now...I want a fat roast dinner. Happy reading :)

 Al returned to the living room to find that there wasn't much room left on either of the two sofas, as Bill and Fleur had moved up to make room for Remus, so she elected to sit on the floor next to George instead, holding his hand as Mrs Weasley tuned the wooden wireless to play a singer called Celestina Warbeck.

 Fleur kept making sarcastic comments to Bill while Harry chatted to Mr Weasley and Remus, and Fred and Ginny began a game of exploding snap, with Ron shooting glares at her every now and then, for what reason Al didn't care to think. "This is horrific," George mumbled in her ear, making her giggle.

 "It's not that bad," Al lied with a smile, trying to soak up the Christmas atmosphere while it lasted. Grimmauld Place had seemed oddly temporary last year and hadn't quite had the same warm, homely effect that the Burrow did. Al swallowed a lump in her throat. If she had known that that would be Sirius's last Christmas...

 "Maybe it would be better if we danced to it?" Al suggested quietly, standing up and offering her hand.

 "I'm not dancing," George said, smiling at her from his seat with his eyebrows raised.

 "It'll be just like the Yule Ball," she said, pulling him up and grabbing his hands. Aware that everyone was watching, but not caring one bit, she held his right hand in her left, and put his other hand on her waist and her other hand on his shoulder, before leaning into his chest and swaying to the music. After a moments hesitation, George rested his cheek on the top of her head, and Al smiled, closing her eyes as the warmth of the fire prickled and glowed at her legs.

 George moved his hand to her back, holding her there and Al felt intensely safe. She inhaled deeply, and caught a faint whiff of soap and gunpowder, rocking and turning and not wanting to do anything more. Al didn't want to go back to Hogwarts. She wanted to stay here, where Remus was safe, and Harry was happy, and she and George were together.

*****

 Al awoke earlier than Fleur on Christmas day, so instead of opening her presents she grabbed some jeans and a turtle neck and nipped upstairs to get changed in the bathroom. She then crept back into Percy's room, grabbed her pile of presents, and went downstairs to the living room, where there was only one occupant.

 "Morning, Remus," Al said cheerily and quietly, sleepiness still dominating her face, "Happy Christmas. Cup of tea?"

 "I'm all set, thanks," Remus said, raising a mug, "Happy Christmas to you too." Al busied herself in the kitchen making a cup of tea before going back to the living room and settling down next to her pile of presents.

 "Got anything nice for Christmas?" Al asked Remus, who remained the only one in the room.

 "A few bits and bobs," he said dismissively, indicating the red jumper he wore with a gold 'R'. "A jumper from Molly. Let's see what you've got."

 The first was a navy blue, hand-knitted jumper from Mrs Weasley with a big, white letter 'A' on it that Al lovingly threw on over her top, smiling down at it. She hadn't got a Weasley jumper last year, so she felt really honoured that she'd been included this year. The next was a Transfiguration theory book from Harry which had a note in it saying he'd got the same thing for Hermione so they could discuss it with each other.

 Next up was a box from George, about the size of a shoe box, and she was delighted to see that it contained a camera and a few rolls of film so she could take wizard photographs with it. She was going to take so many pictures with it. Her final present was unmarked, and Remus watched her open it with interest, and she found another book. This one looked expensive, as it had a blue, quilted, leather cover and a gold embossed title that read: Advanced Duelling by Michael Roanoke.

 She flipped the book open to the inside cover, where a message was carefully written in neat print. Happy Christmas, Al - I hope you can make good use of this book. It was one of Sirius's favourites and I think he got most of the spells he used from this. Lots of love, Remus.

 By the time Al had finished reading, her eyes had welled up with tears and she looked over at Remus who was smiling to himself, pleased that she liked it. "Thank you, Remus!" Al said, rushing over and giving him a big hug. "Here, I got you something too."

 She scurried towards the tree where his present lay, but before she could get there she skidded on an exploding snap card (that thankfully did not explode) and flew backwards. There was a clunk of ceramics on carpet and a pair of hands caught her under her shoulders moments before she hit her head on the nearby table.

 Al moved her eyes up and saw an upside down Remus, looking panicked and relieved at the same time. She grinned at him, and he lowered her down gently, waving his wand to clear up the spilled tea. "Nice save," Harry said, standing in the doorway with a scowling Ron behind him, both wearing knitted jumpers.

 "Happy Christmas!" Al said excitedly, jumping up to give him a hug. "Thank you for my book! Did you like your present?"

 "Yeah," Harry said, sitting in an armchair, "I needed new seekers gloves, thanks."

 Al turned back to the tree, burrowing around underneath it. "Right, Remus, your present is...here." She emerged triumphantly, holding a floppy package.

 "You didn't need to-" Remus began, accepting it and smiling more than Al had ever seen him.

 "Don't be silly! Just open it!" Al said, more excited than she'd ever been on Christmas. Remus gave a mock-fearful look towards Harry, who laughed, and unwrapped it to reveal a pair of fur lined woolly gloves and a matching scarf. "D'you like it?" Al asked eagerly, unable to contain her childish excitement.

 Remus nodded, "That was very thoughtful of you, Al. Thank you." She grinned happily and gave him another hug.

 "Morning, Love," George's voice said from the doorway, and Al turned to see him with a Weasley jumper that matched her own but with a 'G' instead. On his head was a band of ribbon with a miniature fishing rod sticking out of it, and dangling from the string was a single piece of mistletoe.

 "Who got you that?" Al asked, smirking as she walked over to him. "I owe them a thank you."

 "Fred," was all George could get out before Al was kissing him. Goosebumps prickled down her neck and she wouldn't have been surprised if fireworks went off around them as her hands found their way around his neck and his snaked down to the small of her back.

 A comical retching sound came from next to them as Ginny made her way past, followed by an overly jolly and extremely awkward, "Morning everyone," that sounded like Mr Weasley.

 Al and George broke apart, grinning, and chorused, "Morning," before joining everyone else in the living room. Al swiped the accessory from his head and held it behind her back playfully. "You can have it back later," she promised with a wink.

 George's ears turned scarlet and he mumbled, "Alright, then," before taking a seat next to Al and putting his arm around her. "Thanks for my book," he said, "Three Thousand Alternative Uses for Common Potions. It'll be great to develop new lines at the shop."

 "That's what I'm worried about," Al said with a laugh, as she stared into his big brown eyes, her heart full of complete adoration.