he was definitely offering to help him?"

"if you ask that once more," said elara, "i'm going to stick this sprout —"

"i'm only checking!" said ron.

they were standing at the burrow's kitchen sink, peeling a mountain of sprouts for mrs. weasley. snow was drifting past the window in front of them. elara made a face. there was nothing more she wanted to do then engage in a snowball fight with ginny and aurora.

"yes, snape was offering to help him!" said harry. "he said he'd promised malfoy's mother to protect him, that he'd made an unbreakable oath or something —"

"an unbreakable vow?" said ron, looking stunned. "nah, he can't have. . . . are you sure?"

"yes, i'm sure," said harry. "why, what does it mean?"

"well, you can't break an unbreakable vow. . . ."

"i'd worked that much out for myself, funnily enough. what happens if you break it, then?"

"you die," said elara simply.

"fred and george tried to get me to make one when i was about five. i nearly did too, i was holding hands with fred and everything when dad found us. he went mental," said ron, with a reminiscent gleam in his eyes. "only time i've ever seen dad as angry as mum. fred reckons his left buttock has never been the same since."

"yeah, well, passing over fred's left buttock —"

"i beg your pardon?" said fred's voice as the twins and aurora entered the kitchen. "aaah, george, look at this. they're using knives and everything. bless them."

"congratulations on the engagement, by the way," said harry, and aurora wiggled the hand the ring was on.

"i'll be seventeen in two and a bit months' time," said ron grumpily, "and then i'll be able to do it by magic!"

"but meanwhile," said george, sitting down at the kitchen table and putting his feet up on it, "we can enjoy watching you demonstrate the correct use of a — whoops-a-daisy!"

"you made me do that!" said ron angrily, sucking his cut thumb. "you wait, when i'm seventeen —"

"i'm sure you'll dazzle us all with hitherto unsuspected magicalskills," yawned fred.

"and speaking of hitherto unsuspected skills, ronald," said george, "what is this we hear from ginny about you and a young lady called — unless our information is faulty — lavender brown?"

ron turned a little pink, but did not look displeased as he turned back to the sprouts.

"mind your own business."

"what a snappy retort," said fred. "i really don't know how you think of them. no, what we wanted to know was . . . how did it happen?"

"what d'you mean?"

"did she have an accident or something?"

"what?"

"well, how did she sustain such extensive brain damage? careful, now!"

mrs. weasley entered the room just in time to see ron throw the sprout knife at fred, who had turned it into a paper airplane with one lazy flick of his wand.

"ron!" she said furiously. "don't you ever let me see you throwing knives again!"

"i won't," said ron, "let you see," he added under his breath, as he turned back to the sprout mountain.

"fred, george, i'm sorry, dears, but remus is arriving tonight, so bill will have to squeeze in with you two."

"no problem," said george.

"then, as charlie isn't coming home, that just leaves harry and ron in the attic, and if fleur shares with ginny and lara —"

"— that'll make ginny's christmas —" muttered fred.

"— everyone should be comfortable. well, they'll have a bed, anyway," said mrs. weasley, sounding slightly harassed.

"percy definitely not showing his ugly face, then?" asked fred.

mrs. weasley turned away before she answered.

"no, he's busy, i expect, at the ministry."

"or he's the world's biggest prat," said aurora, as mrs. weasley left the kitchen. "one of the two. well, let's get going, then, george."

"what are you two up to?" asked ron. "can't you help us with these sprouts? you could just use your wand and then we'll be free too!"

"no, i don't think we can do that," said george seriously. "it's very character-building stuff, learning to peel sprouts without magic, makes you appreciate how difficult it is for muggles and squibs —"

"— and if you want people to help you, ron," added fred, throwing the paper airplane at him, "i wouldn't chuck knives at them. just a little hint. we're off to the village, there's a very pretty girl working in the paper shop who thinks my card tricks are something marvelous . . . almost like real magic. . . ."

"gits, the two of them," said ron darkly, watching fred, george, and aurora setting off across the snowy yard. "would've only taken them ten seconds and then we could've gone too."

"lara and i couldn't," said harry. "we promised dumbledore we wouldn't wander off while i'm staying here."

"oh yeah," said ron. he peeled a few more sprouts and thensaid, "are you going to tell dumbledore what you heard snape and malfoy saying to each other?"

"yep," said harry. "i'm going to tell anyone who can put a stop to it, and dumbledore's top of the list. i might have another word with your dad too."

"pity you didn't hear what malfoy's actually doing, though."

"i couldn't have done, could i? that was the whole point, he was refusing to tell snape."

elara hadn't told anyone of her interaction with draco. she was doing what dumbledore said, keeping it a secret and being there for draco.

there was silence for a moment or two, then ron said, " 'course, you know what they'll all say? dad and dumbledore and all of them? they'll say snape isn't really trying to help malfoy, he was just trying to find out what malfoy's up to."

"they didn't hear him," said harry flatly. "no one's that good an actor, not even snape."

"yeah . . . i'm just saying, though," said ron.

harry turned to face him, frowning.

"you two think i'm right, though?"

"yeah," said elara simply.

"yeah, i do!" said ron hastily. "seriously, i do! but they're all convinced snape's in the order, aren't they?"

as she, harry, and ron had left for the burrow early the next day, elara had barely had time to wish hermione a happy christmas. she was not entirely sure that hermione had heard her and harry, though; ron and lavender had been saying a thoroughly nonverbal good-bye just behind them at the time.

the weasleys, the tonks, and their guests were sitting in the living room, which elara and ginny had decorated so lavishly that it was rather like sitting in a paper-chain explosion. fred, george, aurora, elara, harry, and ron were the only ones who knew that the angel on top of the tree was actually a garden gnome that had bitten fred on the ankle as he pulled up carrots for christmas dinner. stupefied, painted gold, stuffed into a miniature tutu and with small wings glued to its back, it glowered down at them all, the ugliest angel elara had ever seen, with a large bald head like a potato and rather hairy feet.

they were all supposed to be listening to a christmas broadcast by mrs. weasley's favorite singer, celestina warbeck, whose voice was warbling out of the large wooden wireless set. fleur, who seemed to find celestina very dull, was talking so loudly in the corner that a scowling mrs. weasley kept pointing her wand at the volume control, so that celestina grew louder and louder. under cover of a particularly jazzy number called "a cauldron full of hot, strong love," fred, george, and aurora started a game of exploding snap with ginny. ron kept shooting bill and fleur covert looks, as though hoping to pick up tips.

meanwhile, remus lupin, who was thinner and more ragged-looking than ever, was sitting beside the fire, staring into its depths as though he could not hear celestina's voice. elara felt slightly resentful towards lupin at this time, seeing as nymphie was in love with him, but "he didn't want to make her an outcast".

oh, come and stir my cauldron,

and if you do it right,

i'll boil you up some hot strong love

to keep you warm tonight.

"we danced to this when we were eighteen!" said mrs. weasley, wiping her eyes on her knitting. "do you remember, arthur?"

"mphf?" said mr. weasley, whose head had been nodding over the satsuma he was peeling.

"oh yes . . . marvelous tune . . ."

elara tried not to laugh. celestina warbeck was terrible, or maybe it was the fact she hated this type of music, she didn't know. harry didn't seem to like it much either, as he was trying discreetly to cover his ears.

she looked over at ted and andromeda, who were cuddling and whispering something seemingly humorous to each other. elara smiled and looked down at her lap, where a plethora of string bracelets were sitting. it's been her main focus for several days, trying to make everyone bracelets. she now knew everyone's favorite colors by heart.

elara had intentionally used the same pattern for nymphie and lupin with the hope that they will get together soon. ginny's was the most intricate by far, seeing as elara was making a bracelet with a broom and quaffle. ron's said 'weasley is our king', aurora's was an enchanted forest, george's was a rough picture of the store, fred's was the words 'mischief managed', and she had only a few more to go.

. . . and now you've torn it quite apart

i'll thank you to give back my heart!

celestina ended her song on a very long, high-pitched note and loud applause issued out of the wireless, which mrs. weasley joined in with enthusiastically.

"eez eet over?" said fleur loudly. "thank goodness, what an 'orrible —"

elara snorted loudly. she quite liked fleur, no matter how much ginny talked about her.

"shall we have a nightcap, then?" asked mr. weasley loudly, leaping to his feet. "who wants eggnog?"

a very familiar song started. andromeda's head whipped over to elara, who was already on her feet.

"may i have this dance, mum?" said elara, extending a hand.

"but of course!" said andromeda, jumping up.

"oh no," whisper-yelled ted, "everyone clear out, they're doing the jitterbug!"

fred was able to snatch up exploding snap as elara and andromeda broke out into a wild and intricate dance, swinging and kicking. the entire time, the mother-daughter pair were laughing loudly as they messed up occasionally.

as the song progressed, andromeda snatched up ted, and they were able to do the dance more precisely than andromeda and elara. elara grabbed a rather reluctant harry and tangled him up into a random dance. george and aurora joined, trying their best to copy andromeda and ted's movements.

elara almost forgot the looming threat of total and inevitable war.

shortly after this, fleur decided to imitate celestina singing "a cauldron full of hot, strong love," which was taken by everyone, once they had glimpsed mrs. weasley's expression, to be the cue to go to bed. she climbed up the stairs with ginny, who was mumbling vehemently about what she'd rather do than share a room with fleur.

when they reached ginny's bedroom, harry pulled elara off to the side.

"i want to give you your present now."

"oh?"

he pulled out a tiny box from his back pocket. elara's eyes widened.

"i — "

"oh!" said harry, realizing what it looked like, "no, i'm not proposing!"

relief flooded elara. she began laughing as harry opened the box sheepishly. there was a gorgeous golden ring inside that had the most intricate carvings on the band. harry took it out of the box and much to elara's surprise, it folded out into an astronomical sphere.

her mouth dropped open.

"do you like it?" said harry nervously.

"i — i love it!" said elara happily, throwing her arms around his neck and hugging him tight.

she pulled away and kissed him in thanks.

"i have something for you too," murmured elara, who also reached into her back pocket.

out slid a cassette tape to which she pressed into harry's hand.

"i'm terrible at saying things out loud," she said quietly, as harry examined the index of songs written in elara's semi-sloppy handwriting on the back, "so i thought i'd give you this. i saw an old cassette player in a shop and bought it on impulse. it's already wrapped and sitting in your room."

harry smiled and looked back up at elara, who was still rambling and shifting her weight nervously.

"i mean, it's no sixteenth century german astronomical ring, but i thought it would be kind of cool, since i suck at words and this way, whenever i'm not near, you have this. it's okay if you don't like it. i've never really heard you mention music, so — "

her repertoire of words was interrupted by harry leaning down and kissing her abruptly to either end her incessant rambling or to show gratitude. either way, she was not complaining. normally she'd hate being shut up, but she was talking herself in anxious circles. harry kissing her just confirmed the fact she was worrying for absolutely no reason.

"i love you," they both said, resting their foreheads together.

elara woke with a start to find a bulging stocking lying over the end of her bed. she rubbed her eyes and looked around; the tiny window was almost completely obscured with snow and, in front of it, ginny was sitting bolt upright in bed and examining her next present. fleur's cot was empty.

"happy christmas, gin."

"happy christmas, lara. you might want to open that present first," she pointed at a rectangular box, "i think it's new combat boots."

that got elara to fully wake up within seconds. the box was indeed new combat boots from nymphie. anya, surprisingly, had gotten elara something. it was a dainty pendant with a note attached that read, 'this grants you extra energy as well as control when you feel like you've lost it.' elara slipped the pendant on over her head. mrs. weasley knitted her a forest green sweater with a vincent van gogh quote stitched in silver. ginny had gifted her socks with kreacher's face on them, which made elara laugh until she cried. andromeda and ted gave her a beautiful sundress, and while elara normally hates dresses with everything holy, she fell in love with this one. ron finally gave elara something she liked, and not just a gift he hoped to receive back. ron's present was a box full of just chocolate.

elara and ginny entered the room to find a horrendous gold chain lying on ron's bed and maggots all over harry's.

"so, ron's a pimp now? and why the hell are there maggots on your bed, harry?" said ginny, sitting on ron's bed, farthest away from the maggot infestation.

"kreacher," said harry and ron simultaneously, as harry worked to sweep the disgusting insects onto the floor.

but ginny wasn't listening. she had picked up the thick gold chain and found there was an even larger gold heart attached to it that bore the words, 'my sweetheart'. ginny tossed the chain to elara and begun roaring with laughter. ron looked thoroughly annoyed when elara began clutching her sides as she doubled over.

"good luck getting out of that relationship," said elara, wiping a tear from her eye, "she won't let you go."

ron looked as if he didn't know how to feel.

everybody was wearing new sweaters when they all sat down for christmas lunch, everyone except fleur (on whom, it appeared, mrs. weasley had not wanted to waste one). elara felt badly and decided to make fleur a bracelet. fleur requested a silvery blue color and a snowy forest design. mrs. weasley was sporting a brand-new midnight blue witch's hat glittering with what looked like tiny starlike diamonds, and a spectacular golden necklace.

"fred and george gave them to me! aren't they beautiful?"

"well, we find we appreciate you more and more, mum, now we're washing our own socks," said george, waving an airy hand.

"molly, i cannot tell you enough how difficult it was shopping with these two," said aurora exasperatedly, "especially since it was for you. seriously, it took hours."

mrs. weasley laughed heartily.

"harry, you've got a maggot in your hair," said elara cheerfully, leaning across the table to pick it out.

" 'ow 'orrible," said fleur, with an affected little shudder.

"yes, isn't it?" said ron. "gravy, fleur?"

in his eagerness to help her, he knocked the gravy boat flying; bill waved his wand and the gravy soared up in the air and returned meekly to the boat.

"you are as bad as zat tonks," said fleur to ron, when she had finished kissing bill in thanks. "she is always knocking —"

"we invited nymphandora to come," said andromeda, looking glum. "but she wouldn't. have you spoken to her lately, remus?"

"no, i haven't been in contact with anybody very much," said lupin. "but tonks has got a lot going on, hasn't she?"

"hmmm," said mrs. weasley. "maybe. i got the impression she was planning to spend christmas alone, actually."

she gave lupin an annoyed look, since it was all his fault she was getting fleur for a daughter-in-law instead of nymphie, but elara, glancing across at fleur, who was now feeding Bill bits of turkey off her own fork, thought that mrs. weasley was fighting along-lost battle.

"tonks's patronus has changed its form," harry told lupin. "snape said so anyway. i didn't know that could happen. why would your patronus change?"