"Let's go Weasleys! We've got a three-hour drive to Nan and Pops today! Pack pyjamas, toothbrushes, secret Santa presents!" Mum shouts through the flat. It's Christmas Eve today, and just like every year, we are heading to Nan and Pops a day early.
Freddie has been acting more normal recently, but he and Ophelia have been at each other's throats since we got back home. Not necessarily fighting, fighting. But the silent treatment and death glares across the table are in full effect. I tried asking Leah what happened but she said 'trust me you don't want to know' whatever that means.
"Cassiopeia, get your trunk to the back door please, Dad's waiting for you," Mum says, popping her head into my room.
"Yeah, here it's all packed up." I pick my trunk up and do one last glance around my room to make sure I haven't forgotten anything.
Mum and I walk down the hallway, I pass my trunk to Dad and he sends it down the stairs with a flick of his wand. "One, two, three, four... where's Annie?" Dad says, counting us slowly.
"Wait! Don't leave me! I'm here!" Annie comes running down the hall from the living room by the looks of things. She's got her raggedy stuffed dog under one arm and a bright orange notebook under the other. She runs up to Dad and he scoops her up like an American football which makes her squeal with laughter.
"Dibs on a middle seat." Freddie and I say at the same time.
Ophelia groans as we all head down the stairs and to the van, "I don't wanna sit in the back with these two." She points her finger at Theo and Annie dramatically.
"Rude much," Theo says to her.
Despite Ophelia's groaning she climbs into the very back of the van and situates herself between Annie and Theo. Freddie and I in the middle, and Mum and Dad in the front.
"Music requests anyone?" Mum says, she turns on the radio as Dad drives the van out of the alley and into the muggle world.
"As long as it's not Celestina Warbeck I don't care what you play," Freddie says, making everyone laugh.
"Yeah, we're going to hear enough of that at Nans house," Theo shouts from the back.
Dad laughs really loudly, "Oh come on, Warbeck isn't that bad."
Mum leans over the front console and pecks Dad on the cheek, "Sure she's not darling."
Ophelia starts to sing along to Santa Baby that's playing on the radio, Mum's humming along.
"We've got everyone's brooms right? The Weasley, LeStrange team is in desperate need of a win." Dad says, he looks through the rearview mirror at all of us.
"I made sure we have all of them, Daddy. But I don't wanna fly this year." Annie says. I turn around and look at her, she's writing furiously in her orange notebook, muttering things to her stuffed dog.
"You know the reason your Mum and I had five kids right?" Dad says.
"So that you could have your own quidditch team." We all say at the same time.
Mum and Dad laugh, "I've said that before haven't I?"
"Only like five times a year Dad." Ophelia says, "Cass can't fly for shit I don't know why you're so set on her participating."
Mum spins around in her seat and looks at Leah, "Oi language young lady. And your sister is perfectly capable of flying on a broom."
"She's better than Uncle Percy and Aunt Audrey that's for damn sure." Freddie snaps at Leah. He puts his earphones in and blasts his music to the point where I can hear it before Leah has the opportunity to say something back, and before Mums got the chance to tell him off for saying 'damn'.
Mum and Dad start to play eye spy, Leah is now screaming the lyrics of whatever song that pops in her head, Theo is screaming the lyrics with her even though he doesn't know them, Annabeth is still talking to her dog, Freddie's music is still loud enough to give him hearing damage. Which leaves me, sitting quietly, looking out the window, watching forests and fields fly past us in a blur.
By the time we get to Nan and Pops, Ophelia has lost her voice, Annie is crying cause she broke the nib on her favourite pen, and Theo and Freddie are arguing about whether water is wet or not.
"Alright, everyone out, you're going to kill each other," Dad says, putting the van in park outside of the chicken coop that pops made for nan a few years back. I don't think they've ever had chickens but they've got the coop.
Freddie throws open the door, "Water makes things wet, water in itself is not wet!" He shouts.
Theo climbs over Ophelia who is struggling to undo her seatbelt cause Annie is sitting on the buckle. "If you're in water then you're wet!" Theo screams.
"Annie move your arse!"
"Daddy I need a new pen!"
"You're not wet till you get out of the water! You don't say your wet when you're in the water!"
I open my door and climb out of the van. Mum closes her door and looks at me, "You're my favourite, have I told you that recently?" She says with a smile. Joking of course, but I'm always the one that doesn't cause any trouble.
"Brooms in the broom shed before you even think about going into the house and asking for cookies," Dad says coming out of the van. "Theo that means you."
Each of us pulls out our things from the trunk and bring our brooms to the far pasture where the broom shed is.
The house is full of the smell of pumpkin pie and Nans oatmeal cookies. Mum and Dad are already in the kitchen, Mum's pulling out a pie from the oven and Dad is sitting beside Pops.
"Hiya!" Theo sings as the five of us walk into the kitchen.
Nan turns around and smiles really big, she comes over to us and gives us each one of those hugs that makes it hard to breathe. "Oh look at you all, oh my goodness my darlings." Nan squeezes each of us. "Sit, sit. Cookies are nearly finished."
"Mum don't load them up with sugar, they haven't even had lunch yet," Dad says.
Nan brushes him off, "They may be your children George, but they're my grandbabies and I can spoil them as much as I want."
"You never spoilt us like this," Dad says back to her.
Nan pulls the cookies out of the oven and starts to put them on a plate that Mum passed her. "You didn't do anything to earn being spoilt. The things you and your brother put us through, you're lucky you are even allowed back in this house."
Nan flicks her wand and the dishes start to wash themselves, she turns around and puts the plate of cookies on the table, Theo grabs a stack of four of them, Mum reaches over his shoulder and plucks one out of his hand and takes a big bite.
"Oh, we weren't that bad," Dad says. Both Nan and Pops look at him like he just jumped out of a third-floor window. Nan swats the back of Dad's head and everyone laughs.