That first year was the best of Taylor’s life up to that point. He might have only been eleven, but he felt the metamorphosis inside of himself as the year progressed. Witches and wizards age differently than Muggles do. For example, they say that Albus Dumbledore—the headmaster before Minerva McGonagall, whom Percy Weasley replaced—lived to be 115, working and fighting until his dying day.  On the other hand, some wizards never truly grow up, and have childlike fascinations and senses of humor their entire lives. Louis described his grandfather, Arthur Weasley, in this manner. 

  Taylor finally got the chance to meet him during the Christmas break of 2019. Louis invited Taylor to come and stay with the Weasley family during break, and Taylor—excitedly—agreed with no hesitation. Arthur Weasley even sent an enchanted car to pick up Christopher and Susan.  They brought Dot, who was full-grown at this point. 

  It was a grand event. Taylor had never been around so many high-caliber witches and wizards in one place. Yes, there were many renowned wizards who taught at Hogwarts, but Christmas was on another level altogether. Every Weasley was there. There was Arthur and Molly—they had each played major roles in both the First and Second Wizarding Wars. It was rumored that Molly Weasley dealt the blow that killed Bellatrix Lestrange, Voldemort’s most loyal of followers.

  There were Bill and Fleur, of course: Louis’ parents. There was Victoire, who made Taylor’s stomach do barrel roll after barrel roll, once again. He was beyond socially awkward in her presence, which was embarrassing because it didn’t affect any of her relatives. 

  For the first time, Taylor learned that Louis and Victoire had another sister: Dominique—she was fourteen—three years younger than Victoire and three years older than Louis. She attended Beauxbatons Academy of Magic in southern France, which was her mother’s alma mater. Though she, too, had a Veela-like affect on Taylor, he managed to ask her why she had opted for a French school instead of Hogwarts.

  Dominique had scoffed at him, as if the question had been one of the most obviously redundant inquiries in the world, “Someone in la famille must carry on the French heritage and Victoire couldn’t do it, being so taken with Teddy Lupin from such a young age… She followed him to Hogwarts, regardless what she tells you.”

 Teddy Lupin? Could it be the Professor Lupin she was referring to? The question answered itself when Professor Lupin showed up; Victoire greeted him with a swooping hug, and he kissed her gently on the head. Bill and Fleur greeted the young man like family. That was when Taylor realized he had seen Professor Lupin winking at Victoire that first day at Hogwarts. It was queer, in his opinion, a teacher and a student dating—even if they were only four years apart.

  Taylor was noticing a trend that many of the Hogwarts teachers were young, as if newly graduated, like Teddy and James Sirius, or students-turned-war-veterans from the Second Wizarding War. He figured this must have been the result of all of the casualties from the war…

  Many more Weasley relatives showed up throughout the holiday. George and Angelina Weasley showed up with their children, Fred and Roxanne Weasley. Fred was nineteen years old and a Hogwarts alum, while Roxanne was sixteen years old and studying abroad for the year at Beauxbatons with her cousin Dominique. 

  Taylor found it hard not to stare at George Weasley. In all the stories he’d heard over the past four months, George Weasley had been some of the greatest comic relief and moral support in the Second War; now, he seemed to be much more somber.  He still made the occasional quip—George loved to make jokes about the ear he lost during the Battle of the Seven Potters. There was sadness in him those that could not be displaced; Taylor knew it was caused by the loss of his brother. He knew the feeling.

  Charlie Weasley, a rugged and stocky man with excited eyes, showed up with a whole nest of dragon’s eggs. Not as gifts, like Fred II kept posing. It was part of his job—not exactly work that should be brought home with you.  He was alone, but good company all the same.

  Ron and Hermione Weasley showed up, adding new life to the festivities. Louis’ uncle Ron was a very colorful and interesting man. Taylor took an immediate liking to him.  They brought their two children, Rose Weasley and Hugo Weasley, which made Taylor and Louis both very happy. This was the longest they had gone apart from Rose since October, and it had only been a few days.

  Headmaster Percy Weasley, himself, showed up at the Weasley Christmas festivities. He brought his wife Audrey and their two children Molly and Lucy. Molly was nineteen and Lucy was eighteen, both Hogwarts graduates. Molly II was in the process of joining the Auror office at the Ministry of Magic, and Lucy was writing a column for the Daily Prophet. 

  Scorpius Malfoy flew over to Shell Cottage, the home of Bill and Fleur Weasley, on his broomstick(, which was a Nimbus 4001, Taylor noted). His father and mother were unwilling to come, however. Scorpius just said they felt uneasy being around such a large crowd, but Louis and Rose knew better. They didn’t hold it against Scorpius, though.

  The last of the party to arrive was the greatest thrill of all to Taylor Paxton: Harry Potter. Harry and Ginny Potter arrived at Shell Cottage in a Muggle car called a Volvo. They were greeted like celebrities by their own relatives upon entering, though more Harry than Ginny. He had on his famous circle-brimmed glasses, and he was still donning the robes of the Auror office, which he was the head of. Taylor couldn’t take his eyes off of the lightning shaped scar that marked the wizard’s forehead. He was in the presence of greatness, the Chosen One, the Boy Who Lived.

  In followed two of Harry and Ginny’s children: Albus Severus and Lily Luna. Albus preferred the company of some of the older witches and wizards, such as his parents and grandparents. Lily, however, found her friends right away. The five were back together again, and it felt so right.  James Sirius was no where to be seen, and no one asked where he was. Perhaps, Professor Potter had other plans. Taylor didn’t care, in all honesty. This was the first holiday in his life where Taylor felt like everything was as it should be—almost everything.

  There was more than one moment when he looked around the room, hoping beyond hope, to catch a glimpse of his mother walking among all of these witches and wizards. Maybe even holding Christopher’s hand as he explained the function of a rubber duck to a rather livid Arthur Weasley. It never happened, though. Robby was never there, either. But that didn’t bother Taylor nearly as badly. Yes, he wanted to see his brother again, too. But for many different reasons than why he wanted to his late mother…

  Taylor was just so grateful to be surrounded by loved ones that he didn’t even think about presents. They came, however. He got one from every faction of the Weasley clan. It was much more than he had been expecting. Granted, the actual Weasley children got much more than he did, but Taylor hadn’t been expecting anything. He could only assume Louis, Rose, and Lily talked about him a lot to their families.

  From Bill and Fleur, Taylor and Louis each got identical wizard chess sets and a book of wizard riddles to help sharpen their minds so they would never get locked out of the common room again. From Arthur and Molly, everyone got hand-knit sweaters of varying shades of color. They were very warm, but rather itchy. Charlie Weasley gave Taylor an enchanted box plated in a rainbow of dragon scales. Charlie told him that the box had never been opened, and once opened by someone, it would only open for that one person forever. Fred and Angelina gave Taylor an array of supplies from Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes, including a Portable Swamp, two trick wands, and a rather expensive Shield Necklace that all of the children got. The Shield Necklace was enchanted with a shield charm that would protect the wearer from a single blast of anything except the strongest of dark magic. This gift made Christopher uneasy for his son. Percy Weasley gave the entire party a large supply of Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans. As Hermione handed out all of the children Remembralls, Ron complained that she wouldn’t allow them to give the kids anything more colorful. This made Taylor smile. And the final gift came from the Potters. Harry Potter handed out a series of rings with different runes inscribed around them.

  Taylor received a very plain, ordinary looking ring—just a ringlet of silver inscribed with letters that he could not read. Potter informed the party that each of these rings possessed a different magical property or, at least, were rumored to.  They had been confiscated from a Dark Arts camp by the Ministry over a hundred years earlier. Sometimes, the ring would send a buzzing sensation through the person’s finger in the presence of dark magic. Sometimes, it would glow when mortal peril was within a certain proximity. It all depended on the ring and who wore it. Sometimes, a witch or wizard could go their whole life without discovering the power their ring possessed or the protection it provided. Of all of the gifts that Taylor received, this one intrigued him the most.