ELEVEN

I SUSTAIN MYSELF WITH
THE LOVE OF FAMILY
MAYA ANGELOU

TIME PASSED rather slowly without Alessia around to keep her company, and yet still, miraculously, the Christmas holidays arrived before Aspen could even wrap her head around it. She had, of course, spent most of her time at the shop, surrounded by the ever-growing piles of stock that was coming in for Christmastime. Much to her dismay, the customers were beginning to outnumber the workers astronomically, and the four of them (and inevitably, a fifth holiday temp to help out) were absolutely run off of their feet.

On the final Saturday before Christmas, - the twenty-first - Aspen prepared for Alessia's arrival. She'd carted in an absurdly expensive fir tree that barely fit underneath her seven-foot ceiling, and had dragged down the two overflowing boxes of Christmas decorations from the attic for them to put up together that evening. It was normally her little sister's favourite part of the holidays, beating even Christmas Day itself, and she couldn't wait to be together again, enjoying cookies and listening to shitty muggle music as they danced around the tree.

She'd arrived at Platform Nine-and-Three-Quarters with more than enough time to spare, as the twins had let her out of work early. "You're no help when you're this excited anyway, Andrews," George had teased, and sticking her middle finger up at him over her shoulder, she had dashed out of the door, not even giving him the chance to retract the statement. By the time she had got to the station she should only just have been finishing her shift, having hailed a cab as soon as she was past The Leaky Cauldron and safely back into muggle London. As a result, she was excessively early, and stopped at a muggle chain brand - Pret a Manger, although she had no clue how to pronounce it - to grab a coffee that would undoubtedly only make her giddier.

She stepped through the wall between platforms nine and ten with about ten minutes to spare, and she could barely stop fidgeting as she waited impatiently for the scarlet train to pull into the station. There were little sprigs of mistletoe hovering around the place, and tacky chains of shocking red tinsel across the brick walls, but it only served to cheer Aspen up even more. In fact, with the joviality of the Christmas season so fresh at the front of her mind, she hadn't had a spare second to worry or overthink the chaos of the Wizarding World even once.

The train chugged in just on time, and Aspen found herself bouncing eagerly on the tips of her toes, looking over the crowds of parents and friends that had come to collect their children. As the Hogwarts Express came to a distinct halt, steam still emitting from overhead, the carriage doors sprung open, and the bright sound of excited children filled the air. Almost immediately, the crowd seemed to expand as students peeled out of the train, running along the platform to greet their family with smiles on their faces. Aspen purposely looked around the middle of the train, as she remembered that this was where Alessia usually found herself situated.

Correct in her assumption, it only took another minute or two for Alessia to come tumbling off of the train in a whirlwind of big black curls and cheery smiles. Aspen dashed forwards, hoping to catch onto her sister and hurry her home, but attached to her hip was the petite ginger girl she'd seen with her in the carriage only three or so months prior. It was evident to her as soon as she saw her face that it was Ginny Weasley, the younger sister of her employers.

"ASPEN!" Alessia's screech came out so loudly that she received glares from passersby, but she couldn't have cared less as she launched herself onto her older sister.

Aspen laughed, squeezing her sister so tight she worried she might have broken her. Over her shoulder, she could see Ginny watching awkwardly, looking a little uncomfortable to be invading on their reunion. Quickly, Aspen detached, deciding there was plenty of time over the Christmas period to hang out with just her sister.

"Ginny, hi! Nice to see you again," Aspen said, offering her a smile.

"Aspen, we have a question! Please say yes," Alessia squealed from her side, her excitement making her sound far too juvenile to be a fifteen year old. "Can I stay at the Weasley's for Christmas?"

Aspen tried not to let her face fall in front of Ginny. She'd been so looking forward for some time with her sister, and that was the last thing she'd ever expected her to ask. Awkwardly, she hesitated, thinking over what would be the easiest way to let her sister down.

"Ooh, well... I mean, we haven't checked it's okay with Molly and Arth-"

"Mum says it's okay!" Ginny cut in, looking a lot older than Aspen remembered her from meeting her when she was much younger in Alessia's second or third year. "You're of course welcome as well! We know you're em... friends with Fred. And George!"

Aspen tried not to blush at Ginny's implication, and she immediately began to wonder if the news of Fred's possible crush had passed through the entire bloody Weasley clan. While she was still doubtful, she couldn't deny that the thought of a big family Christmas was appealing. They'd never had a large family, and as much as she loved spending it with Alessia alone, it did sound awfully fun to be able to celebrate the holidays with lots of their friends.

"Is your mum here, Ginny? Just so I can check it's okay," Aspen asked, chewing thoughtfully on her bottom lip. "Not that I don't believe you! I sound really boring right now, don't I?"

The two younger girls laughed at Aspen's visible distress, and she picked up Thelonious' box so that she had something to do with her hands other than fidget. Ginny scanned the crowd, standing on her tiptoes in search of the usual crowd of redheads that infiltrated the station yearly. After only a few moments, she quickly pointed towards the end of the platform, where Molly was standing with Ron, and Harry by the looks of it. She was beginning to look irritable, and as a result, Aspen hurried the two girls across the platform in fear of pissing her off more, heaving the heavy trunks behind them as they went.

"Ginny! You've taken your time, haven't you- ooh! Alessia, darling!" Molly exclaimed, her face softening as she laid eyes on Alessia and drew her into a tight hug. Behind them, Aspen laughed as Ginny grumbled something like "nice to see you too, Mum," and she could immediately tell she had much the same sarcastic humour as the twins did.

"Aspen! How are you doing?" Molly asked, pulling her into a tight hug that surprised her and most probably bruised her organs from the pressure.

"I'm great, thanks," Aspen answered, and the two watched the kids dissolve into conversations of their own. "I just wanted to ask about Alessia - and I, I suppose - staying over Christmas. The girls have asked me, but I don't want to seem terribly intrusive and-."

"Not at all! The more the merrier, we always say," Molly spoke so brightly that it made Aspen almost seem foolish for asking. "As long as you both don't mind a squeeze. We've not a lot of space, but lots of spirit, if that's alright. I'm sure Fred would love for you to come, dearie."

Aspen turned a brighter shade of red than the Weasleys' hair, and had to try very hard to not let her jaw fall slack with shock. She could see the amusement simmering in Molly's face, and it looked almost as though she was trying desperately not to chuckle, but Aspen swallowed her mortification and nodded hurriedly.

"Well, that'd be lovely. As long as you really don't mind! We could be over tonight?" Aspen asked, staring at Molly with wide eyes that still hadn't recovered from the cheeky statement about Fred.

"Perfect! I am sure Ginny can send along the address to Floo to. Can't wait to see you!" She called before turning to the three teenagers under her supervision and barking instructions. With a wave, they were off in a hurry towards the wall, and she swore she could hear Molly barking something about having to knit two new sweaters.

Alessia looked over at her older sister, hands clasped together tightly, as if she were praying for a positive response. Rolling her eyes, a simple nod of Aspen's head resulted in an otherworldly screech from her younger sister, so loud and high-pitched that they received a disgruntled "SHH!" from the mother beside them. As she herded her children away from the sisters, they both burst into laughter, finding the humour in Alessia's excitement.

"C'mon you. We'd better get home now if I'm to sort presents for the bloody Weasleys," she said, almost as if she were complaining.

Still, as they dragged the trunks back out of the station to catch another cab, Alessia could see the slight buzz of delight in her sister's eyes, and she knew exactly why. The holidays spent with Fred Weasley would make for the best Christmas of Aspen's life so far.