Pax hadn't been sure he would be able to get to sleep. He and his little sister Poppy were curled up in his bed, each of them too excited to fall asleep on their own, and passing the time by singing nursery rhymes. After the fourth of fifth recitation of 'The Sad Little Augrey', Poppy had finally dozed off, mumbling for Pax to wake her up if he saw Santa Claus. Since Poppy was a light sleeper, Pax was less preoccupied with watching for mythical gift-bearers, more preoccupied with not moving around so as not to disturb his sister. Finally, though, he started to slip into unconsciousness...

'Pax!' Their father's voice was a whisper, but an urgent whisper, and it woke Pax from his trance immediately. Automatically, he sat up, causing Poppy to complain in her sleep and curl instinctively around her brother. Stroking the curly black hair back from her round little face protectively, Pax looked at his dad.

'What's wrong?'

'Nothing wrong, kiddo, it's just that your mum's gone into labour.'

'WHAT?!' Pax yelped, and this time, Poppy woke up properly. 'She's having the baby now?'

'Ssh shh,' Perceval said. 'Yes, so I'm going to drive her to the hospital. Grandad's going to floo here and look after the pair of you until I can come home, okay?'

'Okay,' whispered Pax, hoping that the lowered voice would make him sound calmer. All this labour stuff was new to him; when Poppy had been born he'd been out of the house, and the first he'd heard of the childbirth was when his father took him to the hospital's maternity ward to meet his new sister. 'You can go right away, I'll be okay with Poppy 'til Grandad gets here.'

Perceval smiled fondly. 'I'm sure you will Pax, but we're not taking any chances right now. I already got in touch with Grandad, he'll be here any minute.'

Phineas Wintergreen didn't waste any time. Within fifteen minutes, the older wizard was dusting the floo ash off his robes in the Wintergreen family's living room, and Perceval and Vivian were on their way to the hospital.

Pax and Poppy were no longer in bed, but not for lack of trying on their grandfather's part.

'Kids, I'll wake you as soon as the baby arrives. But for now you have to go to sleep. Otherwise you'll spend all of Christmas exhausted.'

'No,' said Poppy. She and Pax were sitting adamantly on the sofa, and Poppy now crossed her little arms for emphasis. 'Not going to sleep 'til little sister gets here.'

'It could be a little brother,' Pax reminded her.

'Nope. It's a girl. It goes boy-girl-girl.'

'No, it's only like that half the time.'

'Pax,' Phineas chipped in. 'If you're going to contradict your sister, at least do it with some degree of mathematical accuracy. The odds against the sequence being boy-girl-girl are actually--'

'Not going to bed!' Poppy cried, presumably frustrated that they were getting away from the point of the conversation.

'Be reasonable. How do you expect Father Christmas to come and deliver your toys if you're not asleep?'

'Don't care about Father Christmas!' Poppy insisted. This warranted raised eyebrows from both Phineas and Pax. 'We can have Christmas another day, today is little sister's birthday.'

Phineas looked from the stubborn face of his four-year-old granddaughter, to the equally stubborn face of his thirteen-year-old grandson, and sighed in a rare display of resignation. 'You know what? Okay. We'll stay up. We'll wait for your dad to floo, or... telephone. Okay?'

'Okay,' said Poppy and Pax in unison, and Phineas went to go and make some hot chocolate.

Three hours later, and Poppy was sound asleep, having dropped off while the three of them were watching Finding Nemo. ('This would all be so much easier if the father just used a locator spell.' 'Fish don't use magic, Grandad.' 'Yeah, well, fish don't talk either.') Phineas had tucked a blanket around her and her head was resting on Pax's lap. Pax and their grandfather, meanwhile, where battling for supremacy in an extended Mario Kart tournament. ('I really don't see the point in this game, Pax.' 'That's because you're losing!') Three of the house cats had decided to take advantage of the warm, stationary bodies and were currently dotted across the sofa, purring or napping contentedly.

It was closing in on 6am when the telephone rang. Pax and Poppy were now curled up together using Phineas as a cushion, (and they had now acquired another two sleeping cats) and all three Wintergreens woke with a start at the shrill sound of the phone.

Phineas got there first, just. Pax hopped impatiently at his elbow, and Poppy shortly followed suit.

'Who is it who is it who is it?' she chanted, full of energy despite her lack of sleep.

Pax shushed her. 'Who do you think? Let Grandad listen.'

Grandad didn't seem to be doing anything but listen. His replies were few and far between, and strictly monosyllabic. Pax kept himself occupied by turning off the electronics that had been left on when he and Phineas had fallen asleep. Poppy occupied herself by attaching herself to Pax's leg, which made things interesting. Finally, Phineas hung up.

'I'll never get used to these things,' he sighed. 'Your grandma always insisted on keeping them in the house as well, but it's so disconcerting hearing someone's voice without--'

'Grandaaaaad,' Pax interjected pleadingly. 'Never mind about the phone, please please please, is Mum okay?'

'Your mother's fine, Paxton. And...' A smile made Phineas's moustache twitch. 'So's your new baby sister.'

'BABY SISTER!' Poppy shrieked, causing the cat she had wandered over to stroke to hare off and hide behind the sofa. 'Pax, I told you! It's a sister!'

Pax broke out in a gleeful grin and rushed over to Poppy to pick her up and spin her around. 'That's right! We have a little sister! You're a big sister now, Poppy!'

'But I'm the same size,' said Poppy.

Pax just set her down again and gave her a big hug. 'Grandad, when do we get to meet her? Can we go to the hospital right away?'

'No need,' the old wizard replied, sinking into an armchair as his exhaustion seemed to catch up with him. 'The delivery went really smoothly. Your father can bring your mother and the baby home later today.'

'I can give her her Christmas present,' Poppy giggled happily.

'Well, I guess it's her Christmas and birthday present,' Pax realised. 'How weird is that?'

Since it would be a little while before the rest of the family arrived home, Phineas half-heartedly suggested getting some sleep, but tired as everyone was, no one felt like it. Neither did they want to start opening presents before the parents and the baby were home. Not even Poppy, who knew for a fact that one of the presents under the tree was the exact size and shape of a Polly Pocket playset she'd been after for months.

They ended up having some more hot chocolate and putting on A Muppet Christmas Carol. They also all ended up nodding off again, only to be awoken by the sound of the car pulling up outside. Well, Poppy, who was the lightest sleeper, heard it, and then bounced on Pax and their grandfather until they were both awake too.

All three of them rushed to open the door, where they found Perceval poised with a house key in his hand and a goofy smile on his face. 'Hey,' he greeted his family softly. 'Ready to meet the baby?'

Pax felt his breath catch in his throat as he saw his new baby sister for the first time, snuggled in a baby blanket in his mother's arms. Vivian looked fatigued, but she also wore the same blissfully happy expression that Pax remembered she had worn when he had first seen her with Poppy. The baby's warm brown skin almost seemed to glow, and her little fingers peeked out from the ends of her babygro, already clenching and unclenching as though she wanted something to hold onto.

Phineas was the first to speak. 'Look at her! Little girl wants a wand already, doesn't she? Here, let me hold my new granddaughter.'

'She's beautiful, Mum,' breathed Pax, as Vivian carefully passed the baby to Phineas.

Vivian was beaming from ear to ear. 'I know.' It was clear, though, that the children's mother needed to sit down, so the family migrated back to the living room, except for Pax, who decided to put himself on hot chocolate duty. When he came through with the hot, foamy drinks, he found everyone squashed up together on the sofa. Poppy sat on Vivian's lap, being helped to cradle the new baby in her arms.

Looking up, she caught her brother's eye. 'Pax, look!' she whispered ecstatically. 'I'm holding her!'

Pax set down the tray of hot chocolates and smiled his lopsided smile. 'Well done, sis.'

Vivian kissed her older daughter on the head and said, 'Yes, well done Poppy. Now, time to let Pax have a go, don't you think?'

Poppy nodded and allowed Perceval to gently pick up the baby. He walked over to Pax and carefully transferred her into the young boy's waiting arms. It had been some time since Pax had held a newborn, but he remembered how to do it. The warmth, the softness, the weight of his new sister all felt so familiar.

'Does she have a name?' he asked.

'Well,' said Vivian, 'we want to keep up the same initials as the rest of you. So, we were thinking Frances and Coral for the middle names, and... Well, depending on what you kids think... We thought Primrose might be nice.'

'Is that a flower?' murmured Poppy, who was busy snuggling into her mum.

'That's right, petal,' said Perceval. 'She'd be a flower, like you.'

Phineas glanced to his grandson. 'What do you think, Paxton?'

'I think it's beautiful. Like her. Primrose Frances Coral Wintergreen.' He ducked his head down to nuzzle hers, and breathed in her new baby smell. Talcum powder and mother's milk and love. 'I think my Amortentia would have new baby smell in it,' he sighed happily. Baby Primrose gazed up at him, then waved her little hands, trying to catch hold of him.

'Careful Pax,' his dad chuckled, 'you sound like you want one of your own.'

'Well, yeah, one day. Of course I do!' He kissed his sister on the forehead. He knew that before long she'd probably start crying for her mum or dad, or a feed, or a nap, or a new nappy. And if he held her much longer, tiny though she was, his arms would start to ache. But for this precise moment, holding Primrose, with the rest of the family all around, everything was perfect.

It was definitely the best Christmas ever.