Red~A George Weasley Love Story

Chapter 24- Christmas

CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR: CHRISTMAS

 Everything was perfect... Well as perfect as things could be.  Christmas had come much faster than I had anticipated and I was already back in my room at Lupin's house.  Currently, I sat on the duvet covers draped over my bed, I lounged lazily in my animagus form. I had never been in the form before I had come back for Christmas.  I breathed in the homey scent, a slight herbal musk that filled the whole room and seemed to saturate anything that stayed longer than a day.

 Today was Christmas Eve, I was buzzing with excitement simply from the notion that I wouldn't be alone, or with the Malfoys receiving dull articles of clothing or jars of potion ingredients.  I was hoping for a proper Christmas this year. And after what Lupin had proposed earlier in the week it was already the best Christmas yet.

"Iris!" I heard him call from downstairs, his voice reverberating off the long hallways.  I leapt off the bed in one swift motion and went trotting hastily down the hallway until I reached the kitchen, finding Lupin there with a manilla envelope in hand.  Tonks sat at the table with a mug of tea in her hands, her pink hair glistening in the candle light. 

"We got it!" He smiled and held out the opened envelope.  I quickly shifted out of my animagus form and grasped the envelope with trembling hands.

 Remus Lupin,

The MOMA division is proud to present you with an official adoption certificate of the minor, Iris (Formerly) LeStrange (Presently) Lupin. 

The letter went on much farther than that but none of the other papers mattered.  That one crucial sentence was life-changing. I flailed my arms around in pure joy with the letter flapping around as I hugged Lupin and dashed over to engulf Tonks in a hug.

"This is Brilliant!  Fantastic!  Amazing!" I sung, both Tonks and Lupin watching me with pleasant smiles.  I had a family again.  One that I didn't plan on losing.

"There's another thing." Lupin said after a while.  I looked at him, still grinning.

"Yes?"

"The Weasleys have invited you over for boxing day if you are interested."

"Of course I'm interested! But I get to spend Christmas day here?" I inquired gingerly.

"Yes." Lupin said with a warm laugh. 

 "Are you staying, Tonks?" I asked.

"Of course!  I wouldn't want to be anywhere else!" She exclaimed with a smile brighter than her pink hair.  With a final hug from the pair of them, I bounded up the stairs after announcing that I would be writing a letter.  I flung open the door to my room, causing Sherlock to jump and screech with annoyance. 

"Oh, stuff it!" I chortled.  I whisked a sheet of paper from my desk and jotted a note down with a black quill.

 George,

 I can't wait to see you on boxing day! 

 XOXO Iris L.

 

 I had been  signing my name 'Iris L.' for a while now.  I just stared down at my signature, my whole body flowing with ecstasy at the thought that when I wrote 'L' after my name, it didn't mean LeStrange.  It meant Lupin.  I sighed heavily but grinned widely again as I let Sherlock pick the note from my hand, and then I watched his silky form melt away into the night.  I flopped down on my bed, staring at the enchanted ceiling but at the name time I could feel my whole body trembling with joy.  I had changed my last name so many times it made my head spin. I wouldn' t be changing it again for a while unless I got married....