Emilia huffed out a breath. "Every day, I can't believe it," she said. Anne in her Fourth Year, Ned at the Ministry — all of it felt impossible to her. So she could try to extend their childhoods a little longer, for all that their father's absence had damaged them.

"You really ought to get a wreath," she said. She was still eyeing the Christmas trees; trying to find the best one. "Should I have a wreath and a tree? Is that too much?" Was there such a thing as Too Much Christmas?