Harry, can we please talk?
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Spencer stared at herself through her mirror.
She wore a Christmas sweater, it had snowflakes all over it.
She wondered what Remus was doing, was he alone?
Did he buy gifts?
What did his tree look like?
Andrew knocked on her door, "ready?"
She took another look at herself.
"Yeah" she opened the door. "Are people here yet?"
"No" he shook his head. "I'm kind of nervous" he shrugged.
"It'll be fun" she assured him. "If it's not, tomorrow will be" she nodded.
"Right."
She chuckled, "come, let's take a picture in front of the tree."
As the camera flashed, their doorbell rang.
They went to the door.
"Molly!" Andrew greeted. "Thank you for coming."
"Of course!" she pet his back during their hug.
"Hi darling" Arthur hugged Spencer.
"Hey" she held on tight.
"First ones here?" he asked.
"Yeah, dinner is ready though" she shrugged. "Maybe we'll just wait a bit."
"I love the music" he smiled.
It was Remus' vinyl.
Even though he physically wasn't there, a part of him was.
She wanted him to be.
"Jazz" she nodded. "I thought Fred and George were back?"
"They are, but they said they'll come tomorrow. Apparently they didn't want to come to a "lame dinner party.""
She laughed, "of course" she rolled her eyes. "Where are Harry and Ron?"
"They stayed at the castle, my love" he answered, looking for Molly.
"Oh."
Arthur nodded.
"Have you heard from Harry?"
"Yeah, he's doing alright."
"Right, totally" she nodded.
Five minutes passed before Andrew's parents arrived.
Andrew hugged both of them before giving them a tour of the house.
Then Spencer's dad and grandfather arrived.
She had a huge smiled on her face until she saw a third body.
Her mother behind them.
Her eyes widened, her smile dropped.
"Merry Christmas" her grandfather hugged her.
"Yeah... you too."
"Hi dad" she kissed his cheek. "Mom" she brought her chin down.
Her mother gave her a short smile.
"We brought pie" her dad cut the silence.
"I can take it" she took it to the kitchen.
She heard Andrew tell them to sit down, that they would bring out the food.
Obviously Molly offered help.
Andrew came back into the kitchen laughing at something she said.
"You okay?" he asked her.
"Yeah" she nodded. "Let's bring it out."
She walked past him, the food levitating behind her.
"How are your boys?" Andrew's mom asked Molly. "I know Andrew is very fond of them."
"They're well, thank you for asking" Molly answered. "Sadly they're still in school."
"They repeated?"
"Yes, but hopefully they will pass this year" she nodded.
"They will" Andrew's mom assured her.
"Wine?" Andrew asked Spencer.
"No," she smiled, "sticking to water tonight."
"Lame."
"Andrew, how's the job going?" Arthur asked.
"Job?" his dad asked.
"Yeah, I work at a movie theater. It's going good" he answered. "I have even more muggle friends and get to steal stuff all the time."
"Why are you working? You don't need a job" his dad asked.
"Got bored" he shrugged. "Can't lay around all the time, you know."
"Why didn't you get a magical job?"
"I wanted a muggle one" Andrew answered. "It's fun, I get to see free movies."
His dad nodded, not quite understanding his choice but allowing him to do it anyway.
"And what do you guys do?" Andrew's mother asked Spencer parents.
"I'm a part time lawyer, part time teacher. My wife doesn't work."
"What's a lawyer?" Andrew's dad asked.
"You know how if you go to trial you don't get a defense? Well Matt is the defense. Muggle law is different than ours."
"What do you do at home?" Andrew's mother asked. "I don't work either," she smiled, "I fill my days remodeling and gardening."
"I like cooking" she answered.
"Oh! I never thought of that. Well, that's what the house elf is for" she shrugged.
"House elf?"
"Like a maid" Spencer's dad whispered to his wife.
She nodded.
The conversations went well, Spencer thought.
She found herself listening rather than talking.
She stared for a while, playing with her food.
She wondered where her appetite went.
How long had been since she last spoke?
Did anyone realize? she wondered as she looked down at her plate.
Remus would've realized.
There was this feeling in her chest.
An ache.
She didn't like it.
It was cold and ugly and not at all what she was supposed to be feeling.
"Spencer?" Arthur asked.
"Sorry" she chuckled. "What?"
"How's your job going?"
"Oh" she nodded.
He realized.
"Good. I love it, gets boring sometimes but" she shrugged. "It's nice to be able to do something."
"What is it that you do?" Andrew's mom asked her.
"I work in a bakery, so lots of baking, cleaning, sometimes I cashier when Gracie isn't around."
"Oh Gracie! I love Gracie" Andrew exclaimed. "She's really cool, wants to work in film" he nodded.
His mother smiled at him.
"It's so lovely to see them together, don't you think" his mom looked at Spencer's.
Spencer's mother gave a soft smile before taking a sip of water.
"And the place is truly beautiful you guys, you should be proud of yourself" Molly complimented.
"Yes my love, what made you decide to buy an apartment complex?" his mother asked.
He shrugged, "I didn't want to live alone in the manor, Spencer was looking for a place- and- I don't know I guess it was just easy to buy."
His father laughed, "want to tell us something?"
"What?" Andrew looked at him.
"Pretty girl," he smiled at her, "we're in an apartment that you bought for her. Her parents are here, you insisting we come. Buffers" he pointed at the Weasleys.
For a few moments it was dead silent.
Then Andrew and Spencer started laughing.
"Oh god" she said out loud, wiping a tear that fell. "No disrespect to you or your son but..." she laughed, "no."
"Yeah, no" Andrew shook his head with a smile.
"You are the girl my son took to Italy, correct?"
"Yes" she nodded. "But-"
"And Paris?" he raised a brow.
She took a deep breath.
"It's not like that between us" she shrugged.
"Why?"
She looked over at Andrew.
Then back at his dad.
"It just isn't" she shrugged again. "I love Andrew, he's a very good friend of mine."
"Likewise" he nodded. "And just because we live together doesn't mean we are together."
"I thought you two were Christians?"
Her mother cleared her throat, "Catholic" she answered.
"Oh" she stared at her plate in confusion.
"Did you make the food, love?" her grandfather asked, changing the subject.
"Oh! Yes! Me and Andrew did-"
"Andrew and I" her mother corrected.
Spencer stared at her for a moment.
"Andrew and I made the food" she restated. "We gave Belly the day off but I'm pretty sure she went to help her friends."
"You have to try the pie we made for desert, it's pecan" Andrew nodded.
"I'm allergic" Spencer's mother spoke.
"Don't worry, I made an apple one, but Spencer's tastes way better" he rolled his eyes. "You also brought a pie if mine tastes bad" he chuckled.
"That's because I bake for a living now" she chuckled. "Andrew's is good too guys, don't worry" she encouraged.
"Excuse me" her mother wiped her mouth with a napkin before standing up.
"Bathroom is upstairs, second door to your left" her husband told her.
"I would like to know more about magical currency, is it low? Is that why you guys are working muggle jobs?" her grandfather asked.
"No, apa, I mean- at least for me I just didn't want to be there. I wanted to be a professor, then an auror, that's a police officer, now I guess I don't really know what I want in the first place. So, me working in a bakery is... I don't know, a story I'll tell my kids" she shrugged.
"You want kids?" Andrew's mother looked up happily.
"Mom, for the last time, we're not dating" Andrew muttered.
Spencer giggled.
"I'm just asking" she shrugged.
"Sometime in the far far far future, yes. I want kids" she nodded.
Her father smiled at his plate.
"That's lovely" Andrew's mother nodded.
"By the way honey, this pork is amazing" her grandfather complimented.
"Really? I thought it was a bit dry" she shrugged.
He shook is head, "it's really good."
"Yes, trust" Andrew nodded.
She smiled.
"Thank you, and thank you all for coming and celebrating the holiday season with us" she looked at everyone at the table. "It really means a lot" she told her dad.
He smiled at her.
"What is this?" her mother exclaimed as she walked down from the stairs, a couple of joints and bag of weed in her hands.
"You went through my room?!" Spencer exclaimed.
"This is your doing" Spencer's mother looked at her father.
"Apa didn't do anything!" Spencer stood up.
"What is it?" Andrew's mom asked Arthur.
"It's drugs!"
Spencer rolled her eyes at her mother.
"It's marijuana mom, remember? We were talking about it?" Andrew answered his mother.
"Right, the plant" she nodded.
"You're a disgrace" Spencer's mother threw the joint and bag of weed in her face.
"O-kay" she nodded, laughing at the ridiculousness.
She grabbed a glass and poured herself some wine.
"Matthew, we're leaving."
"Go ahead" Spencer told her mother. "It's not like you wanted to be here anyway."
"Linda" her grandfather tried to speak.
"No- don't try to make her something she isn't" she spoke. "Go ahead mom, embarrass me. It's your passion" she spit out.
"You think I'm embarrassing you."
"Alright, I think we should go" Matt stood up.
"You have no idea what-"
"I don't care! I don't care what anyone thinks- I don't care what you think."
"I'll call you" her father told her before taking his wife and leaving.
She stared at the door as it closed, noticing the absence of her screaming voice.
She grabbed her glass, raising it for a toast.
"Merry Christmas" she said before walking up to her room and shutting her door.