LOST ↝ G. WEASLEY [1]

19 | Christmas Day

"Alright you two, let's see!" Molly exclaimed as George and Joey each hopped out into the hallway from the guest rooms they'd been changing in, donning sweaters she'd knitted in matching colors for their Christmas gifts.

Both of the sweaters were a deep maroon color, nearly purple, and a golden J adorned the front of Joey's while a G marked the front of George's. Molly clapped her hands together, a proud smile on her face as George slung an arm around Joey's shoulders.

"Look at you two! I always knew this day would come." she said, reaching up to wipe a tear that had fallen from her eye.

"Mum, are you crying?" George asked with an amused smile, shaking his head as he walked over and pulled his mother into a hug.

"I just never thought I'd see the day where a girl would choose to put up with you!" Molly exclaimed, causing the room to erupt with laughter. "Either you or Fred."

"Hey!" Fred exclaimed from where he stood with Ron and Ginny.

"And I'm just so glad it's our Joey," Molly said, ignoring Fred's outburst and pulling the girl in to join the hug.

"Come on, Mum, let's let Joey breathe." Ginny said with a chuckle, noticing how hard Molly had been hugging her. "Fleur and Lissy just finished getting the cookies out of the oven, so let's go have one."

Molly nodded, following her daughter into the kitchen as George looked back at his girlfriend with a grin, pulling her close and kissing her cheek. Joey looked over towards the sitting room where Rowan sat with a proud smirk, raising his glass of pumpkin juice in her direction. She rolled her eyes, the smile never leaving her face as she led George over to where the rest of the kids sat.

"Well isn't this precious?" Rowan asked as the couple sat down before proudly showcasing his own sweater from Molly, a dark yellow color with a black R on the front. "Too bad I got the best looking jumper of all this year."

"Not bloody likely," Nicolette snorted, showing off her own sweater, which was a bright red color.

Christmas Day had passed in a happy blur, full of celebrations as everyone enjoyed the day inside the tiny cottage. Although it had been cold and rainy outside, the inside was filled with warmth and the smell of the cookies that had been baking throughout the day. Molly, Lissy and Fleur had prepared the dinner feast, and everyone attempted to gather into the sitting room since the small table in Bill and Fleur's kitchen was nowhere near able to seat everyone piled into the tiny house. Joey sat on the floor between Fred and George, listening to happy stories being exchanged by everyone, ranging from something that had happened in the past few months to stories about when Molly and Arthur had been at Hogwarts, causing laughter to fill the quaint room.

Joey couldn't help but wonder where Harry and Hermione were that Christmas, and whether or not they were safe. Knowing the journey they were on, it was more likely the latter, but she hoped that wherever they were, they were alright. They believed in everyone, and all Joey and the others could do was believe in them, too.

She also couldn't help but worry about Rowan's father. While his mother was with them for the holidays, Ted had been on the run from Snatchers during the past few months. As a muggleborn, he was wanted by the Ministry of Magic, so one night he had bid goodbye to Andromeda and Disapparated without telling her where he was going, in order to ensure her safety. Every once in a short while he would send her a letter that she would pass on to Tonks before writing Rowan to let him know that he was safe, and they hoped to be reunited with him when the war was all over. Joey hoped that, wherever he was and whomever he was with, he was also safe.

"Well, I think I should be heading to bed." Arthur said as the conversation began to come to a standstill, standing up and dusting off his jeans before kissing his wife on the cheek. "Excellent dinner, ladies," he thanked Molly, Lissy and Fleur, "and I'll see you lot in the morning."

"Yes, we should get going." Tonks said, looking to her husband, her brother and their mother. "We'll be back tomorrow as well."

The group quickly bid goodbye before all joining hands and Disapparating back to Andromeda's house, Arthur and Molly doing the same before walking upstairs to the guest bedroom. One by one, everyone else decided to head to bed, the Black family heading upstairs to the other guest room, Bill and Fleur to their master bedroom and the rest of the kids to grab their sleeping bags from the closet near the front door.

"Come on," George said as Joey laid her sleeping bag down next to his, jerking his head in the direction of the bathroom, holding up a wrapped box. "I still haven't given you your Christmas present yet, and I reckon in there's the only place we can exchange gifts without waking anybody up or being interrupted."

Joey nodded, grabbing the present she had set aside for him and following him into the bathroom, shutting the door behind them. It was a tiny room, barely big enough for George's tall frame alone, so they squeezed in, George shutting the toilet seat and sitting down on top of it while Joey leaned against the sink.

"So who wants to go first?" he asked, holding up the box, and she shrugged before he handed it to her. "Guess I will," he said with a chuckle as she carefully tore into the red wrapping paper. Inside the wrapping paper was a tiny black box, and she slowly pulled off the top to reveal a necklace with a small copper pendant of an old coin.

"It was my grandmother's," George explained as she studied the piece of jewelry, lifting it out of the box carefully. "I've thought about giving it to you for months now, Mum's always said you should have it since you're like a daughter to her. After that night in Hogsmeade, I went back to the Burrow and searched until I could find it. Mum wasn't very happy with me, but I knew I had to find it for you."

"It's perfect," Joey said, handing it to him and turning around so he could put it on for her. She felt his cold hands against the back of her neck as he fiddled with the chain before finally fastening it on and sitting back down. "I love it.

"So your turn..." she trailed off, handing him the box. "not my best wrapping job, I'll admit, but I really did try, I promise." she said with a giggle as he held up the poorly wrapped box.

"So wrapping presents is still not one of the great Josephine Moody's many talents," George joked, unwrapping the paper to reveal a box not unlike the one the necklace had been in, only slightly bigger. He opened it to reveal the watch laying beneath, and Joey couldn't help the tears that sprung to her eyes as he picked it up, examining it.

"It was my father's," she explained in a quiet voice. "I went through some of his things a while back and knew you should be the one to have it. It yells at you if you're running late, which I thought you'd find funny. I know you have the pocket watch from your father from your seventeenth birthday, but I thought you might like this one too."

"It's brilliant," he said, fastening the watch onto his wrist before standing up and pulling her into a hug. "truly, it's brilliant. Merry Christmas, Joey."

"Merry Christmas, George," she said, leaning up to kiss him softly before jerking her head back slightly in the direction of the door. "now come on. It's really cramped in here and I'd like to go to bed."