The twins and Blair arrived at The Burrow bearing many gifts for the family. Blair was glad that it didn't snow in Otter St. Catchpole, otherwise she wouldn't have made it from the fence and through the long grass that surrounded The Burrow. The twins were carrying the heaviest of the presents and were barely making it through the field. They complained about not being able to apparate closer to the house rather than at the fence that took ten minutes to walk from. They gave Blair the smallest bags but they were still heavy for her weak arms that struggled to lift even the Fever Fudge boxes at the shop.

"Why did we get Dad an entire collection of Muggle films again?" George groaned and finally broke through the thick, tall grass that even reached past his and Fred's heads.

"Because he's been asking for them for ages," Blair replied and dropped the bags with a sigh, letting Ginny embrace her excitedly.

"It feels like ages since I've last seen you!" Ginny cheered but then gasped once she pulled back and got a glimpse of Blair's fading bruises. "What happened to your neck?! Oh Merlin, it looks awful!"

"Always the charmer, Ginerva," Fred muttered as he walked past and greeted Bill and Charlie that were on the front porch. Ginny glared over her shoulder at him before turning back to Blair, her expression riddled with concern and worry for the collar of darkness around her neck.

"I'll explain later. It was an Order mission," she dismissed it and forced Ginny back towards the house, dragging the bags along and up the stairs of the porch.

They entered into the first room that just so happened to be living room and were greeted by the rest of the Weasley family. Harry had settled into one of the armchairs and was talking avidly with Arthur, but stood up when he saw the three enter cheerfully. He tried to make it look like he wasn't staring at Blair's gruesome throat and shook hands with the twins. Ron wasn't observant enough to know that most of the family were avoiding mentioning the wounds and dramatically cried,

"Holy Hufflepuff, Blair! Did you get chocked by a giant or something?!"

"Ronald Weasley! I did not raise you to be sorude!" Molly scolded and reared her hand back against her son's shoulder. She lookedtowards Blair with a sympathetic look and rushed over to put her hand gently onher arm. "It's look a lot better, Blair. Don't listen to him."

"Itsfine, Mrs Weasley. I know it looks bad, but it's healing well," Blair reassuredand noticed how many eyes were trained on her throat. "It happened on an Ordermission. Fred had some injuries as well, so it wasn't just me."

"You know what? Let's do some festive things rather than dive into all of our cuts and bruises," Fred butted in, the mentioning of his name being the cue to clear the air and try to change the subject. He could see that Blair was tired of people pointing out the bruises and didn't want a big deal to be made out of the already handled situation (well she thought it was handled, anyway). He could also see that George was getting concerned again and contradicting his previous thoughts of the bruises healing nicely. Fred could tell that George was ready to take Blair upstairs and wrap her up in layers of bandages.

"Freddie's right! We still need a Christmas tree!" Arthur stood up and adjusted his trousers in the classic Dad style. "Charlie, could you come with me to the tree nursery? I think I'll need someone to help carry it."

"Sure thing, Dad," Charlie nodded and it initiatedthe movement from the tense atmosphere and into a much light-hearted one.

Blair looked over at Fred with a look of gratitude and nodded at him. In return, Fred shot an understanding wink before moving into the kitchen where Bill was sorting out bottles of Butterbeer for everyone. Ron shyly sat back in his armchair after pointing obliviously at Blair's neck and went to open his mouth to apologise, but received a punch to the arm from Ginny who plonked on the sofa next to him.

"What was that for?!" he shrieked and soothed the flaming spot that her fist hit.

"Forbeing blinder than Harry without his glasses," Ginny hissed and made sure her blue eyes pierced through Ron's skull. He mumbled something incoherentand looked to Harry for some help, but only received him resisting the urge tolaugh. Ron saw he was cornered and shrunk back into the cushions, his armscrossed and looking like the rest of the Weasleys whenever they chose to pout.

Blair headed upstairs in order to unpack her things and start wrapping presents. She heard the unmistakable sound of footsteps following behind her and didn't need to turn around to know that it was George. The two would be sharing a room (much to Molly's dismay, which was confusing since she was constantly looking for a ring on Blair's finger) in the twins' old room while Fred would be rooming in with Bill and Charlie downstairs.

Opening the door, Blair dropped her bags onto the bed closest to her. She sighed in relief from retracting ache that had started to gather up in her shoulders from carrying the heavy weights, before turning around to see George fiddling with his fingers in the doorway. He was waiting like a child waits for his mother to put down what she was doing so that they could leave for the day's outing. Blair hummed lightly to get his attention and he looked up, seeing that she was listening and waiting for his new round of rambling.

"Ron was just being dramatic, right?" George started and Blair pressed her lips together to hold back a humourless laugh.

"Yes, George. You know that it's getting better. You were there when they were at their worst and you know that they're fading," she gestured to her bruises. "What are you so worried about? I get that you care for me and I appreciate that, but it's getting a little ridiculous. Can't you see that I'm fine?"

Blair watched as he barely moved his head up from his fingers but gazed at her through his ginger eyelashes. He knew that this conversation was coming and he couldn't avoid it any longer. He had been worrying nonstop about what Fred had told him about his father's suspicions. Blair had luckily chosen to stay in the shop and the flat for the week and cancelled her meet ups with her friends. This had eased him slightly since he was able to keep an eye on her for most of the day. But the nagging voice in his head had prevented George from forgetting about the Order mission. It didn't help that Blair's bruises were taking their sweet time to fade completely. Customers had been vocal about their suspicions and asked what had happened to her, but they were quickly settled by Blair's ability to lie. She said that she had been playing Quidditch when she was hit by a rogue bludger. Luckily, customers were content and not nosy enough to question further.

"The mission before... my dad said something about it that's got me worried," George confessed. "I thought it was weird at first too. But I thought that it was just my inexperience with being in the Order. But when Freddie told me what Dad thought, I couldn't help but-"

"George," she stopped him, stepping forward to take his fiddling hands into hers. She looked up at him with the gentlest of eyes. "You're stalling."

"I know..." he sighed and felt the softness from her tiny, thin fingers that laced through his. "Dad thought the attack was fake. They really just wanted you to come so they could find more out about you and your potion. I knew they were watching you heal Remus and Tonks with it and Greyback was making sure that it really was you."

Blair now understood everything. She knew why George had been constantly worried about her. It wasn't all about the bruises around her neck. It was about the returning issue of her safety and the attempted recruitment that the Order had first been worried about. Now that George had mentioned it, the mission at Trafalgar Square had been wrong in many areas. She believed that the Death Eaters had lured her out by the assumption that the Order's heroic nature would ensure their intervention. Blair had been watched that night, and she could currently be one of their main targets.

"I also heard from one of Ron's letters that the new Potions Professor at Hogwarts is in the same position," George continued when he saw Blair's widening eyes and metaphoric gears turning in her head. "He's apparently one of the best Potions masters in the Britain. Apparently, You Know Who has been trying to recruit him for months. You're extremely talented, Blair, and you've got the name that You Know Who's been looking for."

It was three days before Christmas Eve and Blair didn't want to think about any of this. She wanted to be festive and have another Weasley Christmas that she had fantasised about for most of her childhood. It wasn't the time to be discussing the dark topics of recruitment and changing sides that she knew better than to do. They hadn't come to The Burrow just to have another depressing Order meeting about what the world has come to and about all the horrible things that have been happening since You Know Who's return.

"Can we not talk about this? It's Christmas, George, and I just want to relax for a few days," she pleaded, gripping his large hands in hers. "We can talk about it all you want when the 25th is over. Right now, can you forget about it? For me?"

Blair was right. George was worrying too much. Nothing could possibly happen over the Christmas break. Not with The Burrow being the meeting place for the Order and the members being only an apparition away. He wanted her safe, but he also wanted her happy.

"For you," he nodded and watched her lips curl into a sweet smile. She leaned forward and encircled her arms around his middle and laid her head against his chest. George forced away the thoughts of Death Eaters and recruitment and squeezed her back, feeling her warmth and smelling her hair that had engraved itself into her pillow at home. For the holidays, he would be calm and relaxed.

---

The relaxation didn't last very long at all. The night before Christmas Eve, the Weasleys had been sat in the living room with Blair and Harry littered among them. It was cold and the fireplace was lit, keeping the room toasty and warm. Most of them group wore their sweaters that Molly had knitted for them; even Bill and Charlie wore their 'B' and 'C' on the front like medals. Remus and Tonks had come along for dinner and were just getting ready to leave; Molly bidding them goodbye with a send off of leftover pie while Arthur comforted Remus as his monthly transformation would be later that night. Blair had been cuddled up into George's side with her own sweater on, but was pleading to have his instead.

"It's so much bigger than mine. Please?" she pouted up at him and he rolled his eyes, shuffling to start pulling it over his head. She beamed and waited for the material to be free from George's torso and in her hands, when the conversation at the doorway came to a sudden stop. Most of the room looked up to see Molly, Arthur, Remus and Tonks staring at something outside in the field. Blair, George and Bill, them being the ones on the sofa that sat under the window that looked over the front porch, sat up on their knees and searched for what they were ogling at.

In the dark night, the black mists slithered over the field and circled around The Burrow. Flames shot out of the voids of blackness and created a ring of fire around the home. The dry grass caught alight immediately and the heat stretched to at least eight feet above the ground. The night was now alive as cries of shock and horror came from Molly, and urges for Harry to stop sprinting out of the house after Bellatrix Lestrange came from Remus and Arthur

"Everyone out!" Arthur cried, the flames already beginning to seep into the wooden walls of the living room.

Ginny had been the first one out but hadn't stopped from the fear of the fire surrounding them. She jumped right through them and hurried after Harry, the ring closing behind her as if it purposely let her through. Arthur and Remus tried to follow, but were stopped when a sudden flare threatened to singe them. Molly was hysterical and had to be held by Ron as they exited out from their home, leaving it to grow brighter and brighter from the flames.

The Order members of the group used the Aguamenti charm and attempted to put out the aggressive fires. Blair stood in between Fred and George and was aware of the looming eye of her boyfriend that had been constantly on her since exiting The Burrow. As long as she was in view of him, she knew he would be calm and quiet for the time being.