Selenophile // Marauders

|34| Guests, Fourth Year

24th of December, 1974

Riley went outside for a walk in the morning. The birds were chirping and the strong wind blew her wavy brown hair all around the place. It was still snowing in town Pine Road. It was a particularly colder place than other neighborhoods considering there are wolves and foxes living in the forest though they were never seen by the residents. 

It was Christmas Eve after all. The town looked magical with the colorful fairy lights hung up on trees and buildings. There were Christmas carolers going around the town at night and the lake was frozen. People played hockey, did ice skating, and had big snowball fights. As per year, the annual snowball fight was not forgotten. It took place the week before Christmas and awards were given to the winners. The whole town joined except for some people. This year's fight was no different than others. Riley had never won it before. Ivy won it once when she was only twelve. Riley was four-years-old at the time. She didn't even remember it clearly, actually, she didn't even remember a moment of it. 

She walked towards the house numbered "23." It wasn't Christmas yet, Ethan and Penny were probably awake and waiting for her anyway. She knocked on the door with a little bag in her hand. The door wasn't answered by anyone but Riley could clearly hear people talking behind it. She knocked once more as the door was opened by Mrs. Humphrey.

"Hi Mrs. Humphrey, I came to give Christmas presents—" she said as she saw a familiar face behind the smiling woman. 

"Oh come in dear, my brother and his family are here to stay for two days! You're like family to us, wouldn't you wanna meet them?" she asked as she closed the door behind Riley. Riley looked at the people gathered in the living room and looked at them each. A man with a mustache and brown hair, just like Mrs. Humphrey. He looked older than her and was wearing a blue shirt and brown pants. He was hugging a very bored Ethan. He looked at Riley as his eyes widened.

'Thank god... I'm dying here," he mouthed as Mrs. Humphrey gave him a stern look. 

There was a little boy who was playing a card game with Penny. He picked his nose as he touched the cards again with the same finger. He had darker hair, almost black. He looked like an average six-year-old, except for the fact that he kept shouting on top of his lungs to get everyone's attention. There was a woman with black hair and pale skin who made him sit on her lap and gave him some food to distract him. Lastly, there was a tall boy who sat next to Mr. Humphrey. He kept fidgeting with his hands as he looked around. He had brown hair like his father and aunt. He was Will Dalton. He looked nervous for some reason, he was quiet. He was never quiet while quidditch practice, he kept ordering people what to do, gave tactics for the next game, and most importantly, swore at the Slytherins...

Ethan escaped the hug from his uncle and rushed next to Riley. 

"Save me from this place!" he whispered as he rolled his eyes. 

"It looks fine, why?"

"This toddler keeps screaming and I will throw myself off the roof tonight!"

"Alright, calm down..." she said as she placed her hands on his shoulders. 

Just after that, Will turned towards the door and saw Riley, who was trying to hide behind Ethan. Will's eyes widened with confusion and he was about to speak. Riley to a deep breath and took a few steps backward. 

"Where the hell do you think you're going?" Ethan asked worriedly.

"Uh— I should go—"

"You just came! Also, you really need to save us from here, do something, please!"