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It had taken Aurora almost two full hours to pick out clothing, accessories, and makeup to pack for Christmas in Paris with Theo. After admitting to Ginny that she didn't think she loved Theo she had waited for her best friend to leave before she pulled out a tin full of marijuana. She had almost forgotten she had this and with her anxiety at an all-time high – she needed it. There was snow on the ground, but her bedroom window was wide open as she slumped against the windowsill and the joint hung from her plump lips as smoke filtered out of the opening between them.

What was she going to do? Christmas Eve was two days away. She had promised Theo that she was feeling ok with taking the Floo network to their hotel in Wizarding Paris but the more she thought about it, the more she was wishing she hadn't agreed to go with him. Even after everything that happened with George, Aurora would miss spending Christmas with The Weasley's. They were her family.

After all, she had not heard from her parents in over sixteen months... but who's counting?

"Fucking hell..." She found herself muttering to herself, a shiver running from the base of her skull down to the top of her tailbone. She slipped the joint between her fingers after taking a long and deep hit. Pulling it from her mouth, she felt her head fall back and blew the smoke out slowly.

There was this internal war raging on inside of her. Should she still go to Paris? Should she give Theo a real chance? Ginny was no help of course – she was bias about her older brother being the one for her. Was he, though? Aurora found herself daydreaming about a life with George Weasley as she closed the window and extinguished the joint before tucking what was remaining back into the tin and hiding it away in her underwear drawer.

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December 24, 2002

After taking the Floo to the hotel in Paris, Aurora found herself hiding away in the extravagant en suite that was attached to the even more extravagant bedroom. She told Theo that she was not feeling well after being sucked through a dirty, yet still somehow posh, fireplace. And that wasn't really far from the truth. Aurora found her stomach tied in knots, pressure building within her causing her to lean over the toilet bowl and expel whatever was left in her stomach – which was not much.

When she made the decision to give up her magic and lock away her wand, Aurora never thought in a million years that she would ever feel that tingle in her fingertips again. With George, she felt just that. Her magic coming to life inside of her. But Theo? It was still muted. Incredibly so.

Sure, they had fun together. But having fun did not always equate to experiencing happiness. Was she happy?

"Rory?" Theo called from the other side of the door. "Are you alright in there?"

Sighing, Aurora flushed the toilet, getting rid of the evidence she had puked her guts up in there – though she was certain that Theo had heard her retching echoing from the toilet bowl.

"I'm ok." She called, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand before standing and moving to the sink. Washing her hands and then splashing her face with cool water, Aurora pat her skin dry and opened the door to find Theo standing there looking concerned.

"Are you sure? Was it the floo? I'm sorry... I know you've taken it before so I thought you would be ok."

Forcing a smile on her lips, Aurora shook her head. "Don't apologize." She leaned forward and pecked his cheek softly before walking past him and heading to the balcony doors. She peered out from behind the curtains, "It's beautiful here. I was expecting snow like it was back home." She turned on her heel and let her eyes follow Theo as he moved to stand behind her, his hands finding their place on her hips to hold her back against him.

"There's still time." Theo chuckled, kissing the side of her neck softly. "Maybe we'll wake up to snow on Christmas morning." He whispered, his arms now wrapping around her and holding her close to him.

Aurora smiled softly. Her eyes fluttered shut as Theo had wrapped his arms around her waist and she wasn't sure if it was because her stomach was still in knots, or what, but she felt nauseous. Was it his touch? With his hands on her body all she could think of was George.

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December 25, 2002

Stepping out of his parents' fireplace, George dusted the soot off himself from his floo travels. "Happy Christmas, Mum!" George called, a grin appearing on his lips as he wrapped his arms around his Mum from behind in a tight squeeze.

Molly whipped around quickly and wrapped her arms around George's middle.

"Oh Georgie! I'm so happy that you came. Happy Christmas, dear."

"Yes, we're happy to have you here." Arthur had chimed in.

Surprisingly, George had been the first sibling to arrive – other than Ron who was still living at home. He had already cracked open a new bottle of firewhiskey when Bill, Fleur and little Victoire entered the front door.

The little girl giggled loudly and clapped her hands together at the sight of George. This had completely melted the ice growing back around his heart.

"Uh oh, I think we know who her favorite is." Bill groaned, shaking his head as he watched his younger brother scoop up his daughter and run off to the living room with her. "If she turns out to be a menace just like Fred and George were, Merlin help us all." He shook his head again, kissing Fleur's cheek as she sauntered off to help Molly in the kitchen.

It had not taken long for the Burrow to fill up with the rest of the family – Hermione appeared alongside Harry and Ginny, Percy and Penelope followed soon after. Charlie even made an appearance, having been able to take off a few days from the sanctuary.

This was exactly what Molly had wanted. Her family was all together – albeit missing Fred, of course. But George had a smile on his face. That was all she could have hoped for.

"Everything looks great, Mum." Ginny smiled as she passed the bowl of greens to her brother beside her. Her eyes met George's as she did so, giving him a nod – almost a silent check in of sorts.

George nodded back, giving her a wink. He was doing ok. He had only thought about Aurora maybe once or twice. In all honesty, he just wanted her to be happy. He wanted her to live a good life and experience all the things she had her heart set on. If magic was going to hold her back, he did not want to be the one to blame.

Dinner went by slowly. The entire Weasley clan demolished almost everything – that was edible – from the table. Molly sat at the head of the table in joyful silence. Her heart was so full – this Christmas was all she could have asked for and more.

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"Oh..." Aurora stood in silence, her hands wringing together in front of her stomach as she stared down at Theo. On one knee. A black velvet box sprung open in his hand as he peered up at the brunette with a hopeful look in his eye.

"Well?" He cleared his throat. He had just given her this five-minute-long speech about not wanting to wait any longer to settle down. He knew that they were young – but everyone in his inner circle were starting to settle down and a part of him did not want to be left out of those experiences. He wanted to marry her. He wanted her to have his babies and he wanted to grow old with her.

But was that what she had truly wanted?

"Theo...I... I'm sorry."

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George had been lounging in the armchair by the fireplace with Victoire sleeping in his arms when he felt a warmth spread out across his upper thigh. At first, he almost jumped up and yelled at Bill about his daughter having soaked through her diaper, but he soon realized that was not what the warmth was coming from. He lifted himself off the chair, handed the sleeping child off to her father before reaching into his front pocket to pull out his wand. It was warm to the touch. And that could only mean one thing.

The wards he had put up around the shop had been crossed.