#also featuring the fact that i don’t have an adult!ruth fc

[unfortunate-arrow]

𝒱𝒾𝑔𝓃𝑒𝓉𝓉𝑒𝓈 𝑜𝒻 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒮𝑒𝒶𝓈𝑜𝓃

A/N: For @hp-12monthsofmagic’s December prompt (“Merry and Bright”). Made up of two short scenes. Note the discussions of Hanukkah and Judaism may not be the most accurate, so apologies for any missteps.

One: The O’Donnell-Lee Cottage, County Donegal, Ireland, December 25, 2006

Sara O’Donnell-Lee watched the gentle fall of snow, illuminated in the color of the charmed baubles that floated outside around their cottage. Her eldest son, aged 5, was fast asleep in her lap with her fingers carding through his short red hair. Her eldest daughter, aged 7, was asleep on the floor, clutching the plush moon calf that she had received earlier that day. Sara’s younger two children, aged 2 and 7 months, had been put to bed earlier. The floor was strewn with the remnants of gifts that had been received earlier in the day, the lights on their tree sparkling. A calloused hand ran gently over her shoulder, causing her to look up.

“Happy Christmas, my love,” her husband, Barnaby, said, leaning over to press a kiss onto the top of her head.

“Merry Christmas, Barn,” Sara replied, wrapping her hand tightly around his. 

“Was this Christmas everything that you imagined?” 

“Yeah, I think it was. Dora and Declan were so excited for everything. I don’t think we’ll ever get this Ireland quidditch sweater off Dec.”

Barnaby laughed, fondly looking down at their son. Sara’s brother, Conor, had gifted their eldest boy an Ireland quidditch sweater, which their boy had quickly fallen in love with. The boy had even put the sweater on over his pajamas. 

“It was a good Christmas, Barnaby. Everything about it this year was good. Actually, I’m surprised at how smoothly this all went,” Sara said.

“Yeah. I thought it would be a lot more stressful with four. Brendan’s so laid back though,” Barnaby replied. 

“I hope you liked your gifts.”

“Those gloves are absolutely incredible. They’ll be so helpful in the cold. I love them, Sara. I really do. What about you?”

“The necklace is beautiful, Barn. I don’t know where you thought of the idea, but I absolutely adore it. Same with the little ornament with all six of our names on them.” 

Two: The O’Donnell-Lyman Home, December 24, 2016 

“Momma, why do we light all these candles?” Naomi O’Donnell, aged 7, asked, leaning over the kitchen table, watching as Ruth worked on setting out on the different candles.

“The purple and pink candles are for advent. That’s for the lead-up to Christmas. Dad can explain those better than me. The blue ones and white one are for Hanukkah, which is what my family celebrates,” Ruth explained.

“I like Hanukkah. The food is so fun and good,” Naomi replied.

“Yeah, Hanukkah has good food. We celebrate that because I’m Jewish, just like we have other traditions and holidays than Dad.”

“What’s Daddy, then?”

“Dad’s Catholic, so he has different holidays than I do.”

“Why?”

“Well, we have different beliefs from religions. For Dad, his religion says that Jesus is the son of God and very important. My religion doesn’t believe that. Only God is important, while Jesus isn’t very important and can be seen as hard to understand.”

“What do I believe?” Naomi asked.

“You can believe whatever you want to, Naomi. Dad and I don’t have any one way we want you or your brothers to believe. That’s why we celebrate Hanukkah and Christmas, Passover and Easter. We get to cover the important parts of each culture.” 

“Oh. Is that why we eat certain things sometimes?”

“Yeah, that’s right kiddo.”

The door to the kitchen opened, bringing with it a burst of cold air. Stamping feet immediately followed as Ruth looked up to her husband and two sons. Snow clung to their hair and Conor had taken off his glasses to wipe away the fog. 

“Got the potatoes you asked for,” Conor announced, lifting up a big bag.

“Conor, how many potatoes did you get?” Ruth asked.

A sheepish look appeared on Conor’s face. “Five pounds.”