Seven o'clock rolled around and the Burrow was stirring with laughter and conversation. Having the family under one roof–plus Remus Lupin, Nymphadora Tonks, and Harry–was a chaotic but happy time.

Mrs. Weasley was running around making sure that food was ready and that there was enough room for everyone to eat at the table. Ginny and Fleur were helping with what they could while everyone else spent time discussing matters at Hogwarts in the living room.

A knock at the door brought Fred and George to their feet.

"We'll get it!" they announced.

Racing each other to the door, George reached it first, swinging it wide open to reveal the three Caxton siblings, each with a pie in hand.

"Hi!" Michael greeted first. George could tell Clara had made him put on something nice for the occasion. Under his coat, he was wearing a collared shirt which looked like it had been tucked in several times already, sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He had dress pants on and his hair was combed, unlike the previous day when it had been a wild mess.

"Hey, Mikey. Glad you could make it." George stepped aside to let the youngest Caxton in, then shaking hands with Roman. "Nice to see you again."

"Likewise." Roman scanned the room to see everyone. He immediately gravitated towards Bill. He talked to the new Weasley brother about dragons and such, also entertaining Arthur and Remus.

Last to walk in the door was Clara. She was wearing a red dress and her hair was pulled up in a ponytail, curls framing her face. She also had a bag in hand that had several wrapped gifts inside, no doubt for the Weasleys.

"Happy Christmas!" she greeted, giving George a hug and handing him the bag. "Thanks so much again for inviting us."

"No problem, we're glad to have you. Fred went with Michael into the kitchen I think. Mum's in there and I'm sure she'll be happy that she doesn't have to worry about dessert."

Clara laughed as she made her way into the kitchen. Fred had laid out a paper on the table for Michael that they were both drawing on.

"And what trouble are you two cooking up already?"

"New product. George and I wanted to run it by the person who suggested it before we started to make a go at it," Fred answered, his gaze not leaving Michael's sketches and notes.

Clara chuckled as she set the pie down next to Michael's on the counter. She walked over to Molly and gave her a large hug.

"So good to see you dear," Molly greeted. "Oh, and this is my daughter, Ginny, and Bill's fiancé, Fleur."

Clara hugged each of them after their introductions, then the four of them proceeded to set the table for the night's feast.

She eventually had to shoo Fred and Michael off of the table so that they could set it. For the first time since she had gotten there, Fred looked at her.

He couldn't help but let his mouth drop open slightly when he saw her. It was the first time he had ever seen Clara wear something so form fitting, the dress hanging off of her curves in just the right ways. Her face was smooth and accented with just enough of a smoke near her eyes and red on her lips. He always appreciated that she never needed any blush to liven her face because she always had a natural hue to her cheeks.

"Fred?" Michael asked after he noticed that he wasn't listening any longer. "Fre-e-ed?"

Clara laughed. "Someone's talking to you, Mr. Weasley."

He immediately snapped out of his trance and faced Michael. "Sorry, Mikey. Let's go to the parlor and finish this up before dinner."

+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+

After dinner, everyone enjoyed plowing through the Caxtons' pies. Remus and Arthur sat with Clara and Roman in the kitchen while everyone else enjoyed talking with Michael in the parlor.

"So you've been working with the twins?" Remus asked, eating another forkful.

"Yeah, and it's been quite fun actually," Clara replied.

Arthur laughed. "Those boys...their hearts are in the right place although this isn't the future we expected for them."

"They're doing just fine, I think," Roman confirmed. "I told them it's good that they have the shop. Charlie told me they were very successful."

"Indeed," Remus informed. "It's been hard trying to get things together now that things are starting to pick up on the other side."

Roman nodded. "Bill was telling me that you're all trying to reorganize the Order."

"You know of it?"

Roman nodded. "Our dad knew the Longbottoms. Hit him kind of hard when he found out what happened to them."

Remus and Arthur both nodded in agreement.

"Well, Remus and I were discussing this before you both got here, and after talking to Fred and George we were going to ask if you two would be interested in joining us."

Clara and Roman looked at one another for a moment before returning their gazes to Remus and Arthur. Clara's traveled a little further past them to see Michael laughing in the parlor. Her family meant a great deal to her, and she supposed she was much more protective of Michael because he was the baby of the family.

"I'd be happy to join the cause," Roman accepted.

"Me too," Clara added, returning her focus to Arthur. "Anything to help protect those we love."

"That settles it then," Remus said with a smile as he leaned back in his chair.

"Although," Clara began, casting Roman a look, "it'd be best if we told you that we do have one other brother."

Roman sighed as he nodded.

"I'm guessing this brother wouldn't be interested in being in the Order as well?" Arthur asked, remembering how Clara had left him out of previous conversations in the past.

"Not exactly. Our brother...he's sort of the black sheep of the family. He went to join You-Know-Who some years ago."

Remus' gaze grew more focused on Clara. "Griffin Caxton...that's where I'd heard your last name before. He's a very powerful Death Eater from what I hear."

"Believe us when we say we have no ties with him anymore," Roman confirmed. "He killed our father and that's the last we ever saw of him."

Clara nodded as she fiddled with the edge of her dress.

"Not to worry," Remus reassured. "You'll be most welcomed and appreciated here with us. As you said, anything to help protect those we love."

Clara smiled warmly at Remus as Fred leaned against the door frame of the kitchen. "Hey Clara, got a minute?"

Clara nodded as she excused herself, joining Fred as he opened the front door for her and walked her outside.

The two walked away from the house, the cool night air nipping at their skin as the breeze drifted in and out of the swaying leaves nearby.

"Thank you, again, for having us. My family really appreciates everything you and your family do."

Fred laughed. "It really is nothing. Michael seems to really enjoy it and Bill likes having Roman around, even if he's scary and intimidating."

Clara laughed. "He does have that quality about him." She rubbed her arms as she looked out over the swamp. "I always appreciate how beautiful it is out here. It's too bad there isn't a full moon out."

Fred lit up his wand as he handed Clara his jacket. "I think you need this more than I do."

Clara accepted his jacket with a smile as he draped it over her shoulders.

"You look nice tonight, by the way."

Clara was ever thankful that the light outside was dim, because her cheeks were flaring up. "Thank you. Do you compliment all of your employees this way?"

"Considering you're the only one, I'd have to say yes," Fred joked.

Clara chuckled as she sat down on a rock that overlooked their surroundings. Fred took up residence next to her.

"Can I ask you something Fred?"

"Sure."

She hesitated, unsure if it was something she really wanted to ask. It had been bothering her for quite some time, though. "All of the things you've done for me – for my brothers – why did you decide to do it?"

Fred sat for a moment, wanting to phrase his answer just right. "Things for Georgie and me...we got lucky. We could have dropped out of school and not been so successful. I guess...I wanted to be able to share that success with someone. Seeing you that day at the shop just seemed to be fate. Who knew that out of it we'd get a best friend, a new pranking mind, and a body guard all in one."

Clara laughed at the last line. "Roman is no body guard. His dragons might be, though."

"Even better then!" Fred cheered.

Clara smirked as she looked up at Fred. His eyes seemed to light up when he talked to her, always shining with hope and happiness. She admired how his smile would always fill her with happiness no matter what kind of mood she was in.

"Well, I don't know how we'll ever repay you and your family for all of the kindness you've showed us, especially now more than ever."

"Just keep making those pies and we'll call it even."

+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+

Christmas morning, Michael jogged down the stairs to see their tree surrounded by many presents. It seemed as if there were more presents than years past. He kneeled down and began to go through them.

Many of them were from Clara and Roman now that they had much steadier incomes. He separated piles for himself, Roman, and Clara. Michael was most excited about the presents he saw from Fred and George. There were several small ones and one large one, and he was definitely going to open that one last.

"Ready to dive in already?" Clara joked, standing at the entrance to the parlor in a t-shirt and shorts.

"I've been waiting ever since we got home last night."

"Well, come have some breakfast first while we wait for Roman to wake up."

"Sleeps like a rock, that one," Michael commented, making his way to the dining room table. As he had been setting up the gifts, Clara had made pancakes – their usual Christmas morning breakfast.

The sweet smell of warm, fluffy cakes and maple syrup had been enough to wake the sleeping giant. Roman's heavy footsteps could be heard as he slowly made his way to the table. Michael was already wolfing down his pancakes while Roman continued to rub the sleep out of his eyes.

"Restful sleep?" Clara asked. She knew that the fire whiskey he shared with Arthur, Remus, and Bill the night before definitely contributed to his slow awakening that morning. She was happy that he had enjoyed himself so much, though. Roman was always so serious and so protective – especially after their father had passed away. He always left the "having fun" part of life to Michael, who always came through. Clara always had to remind Roman that he was 23 and acted like an angry 50 year old. He was entitled to enjoy himself every once in a while.

Roman grunted in response to Clara as he rubbed his temple. She placed a glass of water in front of him as well as a fresh stack of pancakes.

"Well, eat up. Someone's ready to rip through those presents he got."

Sometime later, the three Caxtons were in the parlor going through all of their presents. Michael seemed to be having the time of his life. He had received a lot of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes products courtesy of Fred and George. Some of them hadn't even hit the shelf as they were planned for the spring term to be released. He had received many new trinkets and keepsakes from Romania and other places from Roman. These were things he always enjoyed collecting because each item his brother gave had a story behind it. Clara knew that he enjoyed the stories more than he enjoyed the objects.

After learning about how successful her brother was on the Quidditch team that term, Clara was very relieved as she had bought Michael a new broom. It was his first new broom, as the others he had been practicing with were hand-me-downs from Roman and Griffin who also played Quidditch while at Hogwarts. His eyes had lit up brighter than their Christmas tree and Clara had been immediately tackled with a hug. She could have sworn that he even cried a little.

Roman had received a new pocket watch from Clara that had similar features to the Weasley's grandfather clock. It told the time just fine, but there was another clock behind the first face that showed where Michael, Clara, and their mother were at any given moment. He was so impressed by the gift that for the first time in her life, Clara witnessed Roman being speechless. Michael had given him a pass to watch him play one Quidditch game at the school, for which he was told to only come when they played Slytherin.

Clara had also received a pass from Michael to watch him play, so they both reassured him they'd go to the same game. From Roman, she had received a beautifully framed photograph of the two of them with their father when they were young children. They had been at a park practicing their Quidditch skills with him and they were standing on either side of him, brooms in hand. She remembered that day as if it were yesterday, her eyes welling with tears of appreciation for the gift. She also had two boxes from Fred and George. George's had a recipe book as well as a few new dessert pans, Clara quickly taking the hint and laughing as she pulled out her gifts. There was also an apron at the bottom that had her initials on it, the handiwork looking like Molly's.

Fred's box was much smaller. She pulled off the wrappings to find a white box. Upon lifting the lid, she saw a necklace with the Hufflepuff crest as the pendant. It was a beautiful little reminder of the house she loved so dearly. The more she stared at it, though, the better it became. The small badger moved within the crest. It even hopped out onto her hand as she held it. The gift was so adorable and thoughtful. She immediately put it on, Roman shooting her a look and laughing as he did so.

The three of them received gifts from Molly – Clara had received a scarf with her initials sewn through the middle, Michael had received a sweater with his initials on the chest (which he wore quite proudly around the house), and Roman also received a scarf. She stuck a note into his gift saying that she had bewitched it so that it wouldn't catch fire when he was working with the dragons. It was a trick she had made sure to include with Charlie's gifts whenever she made something for him.

As Clara helped Michael put his things away in his room, Michael was talking to her about how excited he was to try out his broom.

"Well, there's not much room here for you to really test it out, Mikey."

"I know." His voice sounded immediately let down.

Clara paused for a moment, and suddenly came up with an idea.

"Mikey, I have a proposal for you."