Arriving at the Hogsmeade train station I woke up Anya and we got off the train. Anya's father was waiting for her on the other side of the barrier. He couldn't get through without a magical person with him. We hugged her and promised to see her in a week for our Christmas dinner. She went through the barrier and I looked around for any sight of my family. I caught a glimpse of bright pink and I grabbed Ginny's hand and pulled her towards it. She wheeled our luggage behind her on a trolley. We caught up to the bright pink blur and it was an animal on a woman's shoulder. I let out a sigh and turned us around. The station was packed full of students and parents. Only a select few stayed behind at Hogwarts.
I frantically looked around and spotted someone with curly brown hair, I headed towards her. As Ginny and I neared her I was able to make out her facial features, it wasn't Andy. I stood on my tiptoes and searched for any clue of them. The platform was beginning to empty now that families had found each other. I was looking around and couldn't spot anything familiar. Just as I was starting to panic, I felt someone's hands on my shoulders and I let out a startled scream. Whipping around I came face to face with a woman I had never met. Her dirty blonde hair and green eyes were unrecognizable. Until she morphed her hair into a bright pink bubblegum. She winked at me and grabbed our trolley from us.
"Ginny, meet my insane cousin Nymphadora." She whipped around so fast I was afraid she gave herself whiplash. He face morphed back into her face and her hair turned blazing red.
"Don't call me Nymphadora!" She breathed out before stocking off towards the barrier. I gave Ginny a look and we had to run to catch up to her.
"Fine." I puffed. "Ginny, this is Nymphie." I smirk and Nymphie glanced back at me and rolled her eyes. I stuck my tongue out at her. We walked through the barrier and into the parking lot. Andy and Ted weren't here, but Nymphie had Andy's car. Nymphie threw our trunks in the back and Ginny climbed in next to them. I sat in the front and Ginny explained to Nymphie that her dad had a car so she knew what they were. Ginny turned bright red when Nymphie mentioned the article of Ginny's dad that came out at the beginning of the year. It was about the car being flown by Potter and Little Weasley. How some muggles saw them and it was a huge incident. I quickly changed the subject to Andy and Ted.
"Mum and Dad are pulling out our Christmas decorations. We get to decorate the entire house when we get back." Nymphie explained. Ginny and I nodded, not too fazed. Then Nymphie continued, "The Muggle way. No magic allowed from anyone." Ginny and I groaned and she smirked. It would take us ages to set everything up without magic. We finally reached the house and Ginny said it looked whimsical, like a fairy tail cottage. I agreed, that was what I thought too.
Getting out Nymphie levitated our bags and sent them inside. There were a few boxes sitting on the porch outside. I glanced inside of them and they had Christmas decorations in them. We even had to decorate outside too? Walking in the living room it was stuffed full of boxes, packed with decorations. This would take us all week long. We might not even get this all up before we have to return to Hogwarts!
Ted was wearing an Ugly Christmas sweater. It was a big, poofy, and bright red with Santa's face right in the middle. The back had the reindeer's faces. Andy's sweater, thankfully was just a simple dark blue with twinkling stars all over. Her hair was pulled back into a messy bun and they both greeted us as we walked in. Ted pulled me into a bone-crushing hug saying how much he missed me. I clung to him, not realizing how much I really needed a hug. How much I missed him. Andy finally pried me away and gave me a loving hug. She tucked my hair behind my ear and asked me how I was feeling.
"Starving." We laughed and she started walking back towards the kitchen. Ted walked over and greeted Ginny, "Welcome to the family!" He beamed at her and Andy waved us into the kitchen. The counters were lined with dough, all kinds of sauces, cheeses, and a variety of toppings. "Homemade Pizza" There was enough dough for everyone to have their own pizza. Pizza was not in the Wizarding World so we had to explain it to Ginny as best we could. That was one of the first things Ted did for me when I arrived, made me try all sorts of Pizzas. I was obsessed. I made one of my favorite kinds of pizza. A Supreme pizza with extra marinara and drenched in cheese. Ginny made a simple pepperoni as Ted suggested. We all promised her one slice from each of our Pizza's so she could try everything.
While the pizzas were cooking Ginny and I brought our trunks to my room. My bed was magically split into two and was laying in the same spot. I put my trunk down in front of the farthest one and Ginny took the other. We quickly changed into pajamas and went downstairs. Andy, Ted, and Nymphie had also changed and were sitting in the living room. They had pulled out a stack of board games.
The night was filled with laughter as Ginny was a natural at board games, we had to teach her what they were, but she picked them up impossibly fast. Nymphie and Ginny were having a competition to see who could win more games, their competitiveness was making the rest of us howl with laughter. We crawled into bed at dawn and we all slept in late. The next two days were fun, Ginny and I explored the fields around the house, we messed with Nymphie (we hid all of her left shoes), played board games, and went to the Cinema with Ted (Ginny was astounded), and we had a snowball fight.
It took us a couple of days, but we finally managed to get up all the decorations by Christmas Eve. The outside was adorned with tinsel and fairy lights, while the inside was barfed on by Father Christmas himself, as Nymphie described it. "You girls better go to bed early or else Father Christmas won't visit. You'll just get coal in your stockings." Nymphie teased.
I rolled my eyes, Ginny and I shared a look. "We know that Father Christmas died ages ago and parents just use him as a way to get their children to behave." Ginny shared.
"Besides even if he was alive he would still have to visit the naughty kids, even if it is to put coal in their stockings. So saying he won't visit is a lie, no matter what a kids behavior he would still have to visit." I supplied. Ginny and I both shrugged and went back to playing a card game. Nymphie looked at us incredulous before sighing that we were too smart for our own good. She had no clue. Ginny and I decided to turn in early since we were eager for Christmas tomorrow. Ted had let us get some gifts for people when we went to the Cinema. Ginny had thanked him over and over continuously for days. She finally had stopped when I mentioned that her and her family would had done the exact same thing if they could. Anya wrote to us to let us know that her dad has some work thing come up and they wouldn't make it for Christmas. She was hoping to come visit at some point during break.
Christmas morning, Andromeda woke us all up early in the morning. Going downstairs the Christmas tree was filled with presents under it. Ginny and I sat next to Nymphie on the couch and Andy joined Ted in the arm chair. We were handed some delicious hot cocoa and chocolate chip cookies. "Our family has cocoa and cookies for breakfast and then we each grab a random present from the tree. You are not allowed to look at the name until you sit back down. Once you sit down you read the name of the person it goes to and hand it to them. If it is yours you get to open it. So without further ado, eldest first." He clapped his hands and winked. Andy rolled her eyes and walked over to the tree grabbing a green present from the middle.
"Teddy Bear", she said with a smirk. Ted turn a bit red and beamed at her before taking the present. Unwrapping it he found a book, 'The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1' it was a worn copy and he confusingly looked at Andy before she encouraged him to open it. He flipped it open and nearly squealed. "It's signed. It's signed by Miranda Goshawk! This must be a one of a kind book. How did you find it?" Ted eagerly hugged Andy and she just kissed him in response. He gingerly put it up on one of the bookshelves before grabbing a bright blue present from the back of the pile.
"Ginny". He smiled at her and handed her her present. She looked shocked and I gestured for her to open it. Masking her shock she opened it up to find a book. However this book was brand new and was very big. "'A Holyhead Harpies Holiday Edition'. A complete guide to all things Holyhead Harpies: Interviews, Biographies, Statistics, and a never before seen look into the founding of the Holyhead Harpies." Ginny really did squeal and launched herself at me. She hugged me tightly while thanking me over and over. I figured she would treasure it.
Nymphie went next and picked one from the front of the pile, it was wrapped in bright pink wrapping paper. "I wonder whose this could be?" She asked sarcastically, before pretending to look shocked at the name. "Me! Who would have guessed?" She eagerly ripped into the paper and I had to hide my amusement. It, just like the other's before her was a book, we were definitely a book reading family. Hers was different though, it was huge and brown leather bound with a gold clasp on it. The front had a square cut into it and in the square was a picture of Nymphie when she was little being swung between Andy and Ted. She sat down and unclasped the book, flipping it open it had pictures of her as a baby and each page had her a bit older. There were pictures of Andy and Ted, Ted's parents, and Nymphie's friends. There was even a few pictures of us together that Andy had taken. The book was barely halfway full, she would have room to put more pictures in it. She was speechless and I nudged her to turn it over. Wordlessly she flipped it to the book where in gold lettering, was engraved 'Quand tout va en enfer, les gens qui se tiennent près de vous sans reculer; Ils sont votre famille'.
"It's French for, 'When in hell, the people who stand by you without flinching; they are your family.'" I stated. She threw one arm around me while running a finger over a picture of her grandparents. They were slow dancing together in what looked like this living room. The decor was different, but it still looked the same. I could see the love they had for each other and it was only a picture. I squeezed her and rested my head on her shoulder. We took a few minutes to go over all of the pictures before we decided to get back to present opening.
Anya had gotten me a Beach Boys Record, Ginny gave me a gold chain bracelet with one charm on it - a red lion. Nymphie winked at me when I asked Ginny when she had gotten it since we were together the whole time, I thanked them both and Ginny promised that the bracelet would be full before we left Hogwarts. Andy got me a host of Beach Boys merchandise and some records from different artists. Ted got me my very own gardening kit for beginners. "I even cleared a space for you in the garden. I figured we could start it this summer." The family got Ginny a whole bunch of Muggle things; books, clothes, sweets, music, and games. I had ironically also gotten Anya a Beach Boys Record and matching Beach Boys shirts. After we finished opening presents we all sat in the living room enjoying each others presence and our presents.
The rest of break passed quickly, Ginny and I spent as much time as possible with the family. We played games, went to the Cinema once more and spent a lot of time in front of the fireplace talking. We barely even thought about Hogwarts or anything going on there. Anya came to stay with us three days before break ended. Her dad, Jeremy Quester, was a muggle auror and had to travel for work. He didn't understand any of the Magical world but was so grateful when Ted offered to have him over and explain some things to him. After all this was the world his daughter was going to be in for the rest of her life. He wanted to know everything possible.
Andy ended up putting my bed back together, but enlarged it a bit so we could all pile comfortably on it for thee next three days. Andy and Anya bonded right away, both of them being Slytherins and not following Slytherin propaganda. On the last night we stayed up late and played games and told stories to each other. Waking up the next day was horrible. I was able to get up reasonable early to take a shower and get in my robes. Ginny and Anya were sprawled out on the bed, Ginny's foot was in Anya's face and Anya's elbow was in Ginny's back. They were quite a sight. Shaking my head I headed downstairs, letting them sleep a bit longer. Andy was awake and there was a mountain of food laid out on the table. I helped myself to some eggs, waffles, bacon, and a bit of raspberry oatmeal. Andy smirked at my plate and finished eating her breakfast sandwich.
We ate in silence until Andy decided to break it. "Which ones do you want?" I grimanced and swallowed my food.
"Neither?" I tried.
Laughing she said, "either you pick or I will."
Shuddering and making my way upstairs. I grumbled my response to her and she groaned. I walked upstairs to wake up two people, the ones I chose. I went to Ted first and grabbed a tub of warm water. I put it on his nightstand and dunked his hand in it before leaving him like that. I went to my room and hesitated briefly before walking over to the brunette. I grabbed the pillow out from under Ginny's head and used it to whack Anya in the face. She sat up abruptly and glared at me. I smiled at her innocently, "there is chocolate chip waffles downstairs."
"You could have just said so." She grumbled and got up. She grabbed her robes from the top of her trunk and headed to the bathroom, I followed behind her. Before we could leave the bedroom door way we heard a shriek coming from Ted and Andy's room. All of sudden a blonde shaped blur ran past us shrieking something about wetness. Anya and I looked at each other before we bust out laughing. She put her robes on the back of my vanity chair, "He sounds like he may be a moment." Anya laughed and we headed downstairs.
I sat down and started finishing the rest of my breakfast while Anya loaded up her plate. Andy looked at both of us, then the stairs, then us again. I gave her an innocent smile and said "Your turn." She growled at me, grabbed a dollop of whipped cream and smeared it on my nose. I stuck my tongue at her and grabbed a napkin. She headed upstairs and I didn't know who I was more worried about, Andy or Ginny and Nymphie. Anya got up and grabbed us some juice before quickly sitting down. She smiled at me and I looked at her quizzically.
Ted came down though and I didn't have the chance to ask, he looked like he just got out of the shower. He glared at me and grabbed the mug of tea on the counter Andy left for him. He took a sip and quickly spit it out, showering the counter with his spit. Thankfully, most of the food was spared the atrocity. "Salt! Blegh! Which one of you did it?" He asked accusingly. We both shrugged our shoulders and smiled at him. "Just one morning. I would like one morning with just my tea, a book, and complete silence. Is it too much to ask for?!" He grabbed a cream filled doughnut and went into the office. He didn't even close the door all the way before he screamed out again. He came out and bits of doughnut were all over him. He threw the bit in his hand away before he rinsed out his mouth. I looked over at Anya and she glanced at me, we both suddenly shook our heads. None of us did it. "Okay! Who did it?! Who put toothpaste in my doughnut?" Why would a person do that to a perfectly good doughnut! Why is always me?!"
"Because you are an easy target my love." Andy said from right behind us. Anya and I jumped and whipped around to face her. Ginny was right behind her and she looked like she had been pulled from bed, but didn't go without a fight. He hair was all over and she looked disgruntled. "Morning Anya. Nice touch with the salt."
"Thank you, I like to think it was my cunningness that made it possible. Even Gemma didn't see me do it."
"Aha! I knew it!" Ted exclaimed, we rolled our eyes at him. "You, Ginny. Did you happen to prank me today?"
"Uh no." She mumbled.
"See! Someone knows how to act!" He walked over to her and gave her a side hug, "You are now my favorite daughter. The only one in the family who doesn't prank me!"
"Does that mean I can go back to bed?" She said hopefully.
"No." Ted deadpanned.
"What's the point then?" She moaned and sat the table next to me. She laid her head down and blindly reached for some food. I handed her a piece of toast and she nibbled on it.
"I feel like I created a monster." I stated glancing at Ginny worriedly. Everyday during the holidays Ginny and I slept in, her longer than me, and we would stay up. She told me that she was never able to sleep in because of her noisy brothers. Now she won't wake up early.
"Takes one to know one." She hissed at me. I flicked her forehead and she growled at me.
"I was right, she is definitely some kind of monster. Maybe I should go get my copy of Fantastic Beast and Where to find them." I teased.
"Okay ladies, enough. All of you upstairs, get ready and recheck your trunks. I do not want to have to owl anyone their things." Andy took charge and gestured us for leave. Ginny grabbed a handful of food before heading upstairs with us. I went around my room and grabbed anything I might need and threw it on the very top of my trunk. Anya and Ginny had already changed, they were rummaging through their trunks and double checking them.
Once we were done we went back down stairs with our trunks. Nymphie was finally up and sitting on the kitchen counter, to Andy's displeasure, drinking tea. "Good morning!" She chirped.
"Someone's in a good mood," I remarked.
"Yeah," Ginny asked suspiciously, "Why?"
"Obviously because you are leaving and I won't have to see you for months." Nymphie laughed.
I mockingly put my hand over my heart "You wound me." I deadpanned, before walking off.
Andy gathered all of us in the living room. "We will be apparating there. Nymphie will be taking Gemma, Ginny with Ted, and Anya with me." We all walked over to our person. Ted jokingly stated how he glad to be paired with Ginny, since she had yet to prank him today. Until she reminded about how she turned all his clothes pink, then he wasn't as enthusiastic. "Is it your first time traveling by apparation?" She asked Anya and Ginny. Ginny said no, but Anya said yes. Andy went into the specifications of apparation with her. Ted, Nymphie, Ginny, and I apparated first. Ted and I landed first and we quickly exited the apparation point. Nymphie and Ginny came out next. Anya and Andy came out a few minutes later, Anya looking extremely green.
We all said our goodbyes to the adults and boarded the train. With so many kids going home for the holidays the train was packed. We ended up sharing a carriage with Neville. It was fun, Neville could be very quiet but he seemed to open up as more time went on. He thanked me for apologizing earlier in the year and hoped we could start talking more. I readily agreed, I told him about the Herbology kit my Uncle got me and he eagerly dived into herbology with me. While I didn't understand everything he said, the way his face lit up when he was talking was enough reason to not change the subject. Maybe he might teach something about Herbology.
The train arrived into the station around dinner time and we all fled to the Great Hall for supper. Anya said good-bye and headed to her table. Ginny and I sat next to Neville and we dug into dinner. Once we were all done everyone headed up to the dorm rooms and something reminded me of everything I had almost successfully forgotten; the attacks. Hermione was nowhere to be found. She was not at the feast, not in the common room, not the dorms, nowhere. People started gossiping that she must've been attacked too. I quickly found Ginny who must have heard the news too. Neither of us had had a blackout, so we didn't attack her. I promised her I would go and see if she was really petrified or not. If neither of us set the monster loose then either someone else did, or it is now acting on it's own.
Two whole weeks went by before we found out that she wasn't attacked, just had a bad reaction to a potion. Many students had tried to sneak into the Hospital to see, but Madam Pomfrey had the Wing under lock and key. I did my best to take notes in all the classes and at the end of each day I brought them to Madam Pomfrey to give Hermione. I didn't know if she even used them or not, but I know she would hate the fact that she is missing classes.
Even though we knew that the Hermione hadn't been attacked by the monster, we both hated having the diary near. Ginny and I debated long and hard about it. I finally convinced her to get rid of it before I did. She finally did, one day before classes she took it and disposed of it. She refused to tell me what she did with it, but that was fine. As long as no one would ever get to it again our lives could go back to normal.