Albus Potter and the Prophesied Year

Ch 24 Christmas Day

Harry looked at his wife as she finished dressing. "Is that a new Christmas dress?" he wondered. Ginny twirled around to show off the dress, briefly losing her balance, before Mitzi appeared at her side.

"Breakfast here at Grimmauld Place?" Harry confirmed Christmas morning as they left their bedroom, making sure that they were having breakfast at Grimmauld Place.

"Yes, with Ron and Hermione and some of the children, in our kitchen," Ginny explained. "This Christmas is really different. We are not gathering at Mum's until a big Christmas dinner at noon. It is going to be us, Albus and Cleo, Lily, Minerva and Ivana, Ron and Hermione with Hugo.

"Rose and Scorpius are at the Malfoy's. I have no idea where James and Erica are going to be eating breakfast. I forgot to ask if they wanted to come over here.

"We are going to have to get James a mobile. We are getting closer to buying the Cannons, and the new General Manager needs to be able to get in touch with him. James and Erica have been at her house clearing out her bedroom, and at Potter's New Burrow setting up their rooms, and I'm not quite sure where else."

Ginny looked with concern at Harry. He was, she thought, stretched thin, like when he had too much to do after The Battle of Hogwarts. Losing those Aurors at Malfoy Manor was hard on him, and she knew he was concerned about the state of the Auror Department. Well, he needed a day off. He needed to connect with family.

Ginny was very grateful that Dennis Creevey was going to be working this Christmas day, giving Harry the day off.

*

Everybody who was going to be eating in the kitchen of Grimmauld Place showed up about eight. They all sat down at the large kitchen table, as Mabel and Winky served the Magi breakfast.

"Do you like your new rooms?" Ginny asked Albus and Cleo.

"What Rose did with the bedroom is really fantastic," Albus smiled. "She has a real gift for making rooms function well and look nice."

"And I don't have to live at Malfoy Manor with, well grandmother is nice but it is not a comfortable place," Cleo added. "I get to sleep with Albus!"

"Is it just the sleeping you like?" Lily kidded.

"Well, I like the other things too," Cleo just beamed, joy and desire all over her being, "but yes, sleeping next to Albus and waking up next to him is ... is ... is just BETTER."

"Scorpius and Rose think it is going to be very important to establish themselves at Malfoy Manor," Hermione told the group. "I feel sorry for her having to establish herself there, though. Narcissa and Druella are nice, but Astoria is awful, and Draco is, I don't know, not good.

"I didn't see them at church last night either."

"I was baptized!" Cleo exclaimed. "Mum and dad said that I was baptized as an infant. Now that I'm living with Albus we can go to church together and learn about how to be good people and all!

Albus reflected, "I think Rose is going to want to come to church. Rose and Scorpius were faithful going to church at Hogwarts. I know both of them want to be good people, but it is hard to love everybody when some of the people in the family are horrid. I've never met Mr. Malfoy who is in prison, but he sounds like just an awful person."

*

"How are your rooms coming?" Narcissa asked Rose at breakfast.

"They are coming," Rose replied. "I spent more time yesterday getting Albus and Cleo's rooms ready, but tomorrow and the rest of the week Scorpius and I have plenty of time to make our rooms our rooms. I think they will be nice."