The Gryffindor Malfoy

Chapter 15

Christmas is approaching and, with it, the Christmas atmosphere is gradually increasing in the school environment. Professor Flitwick decorates his classroom with flashing lights, which are actually flying fairies. The students are increasingly excited about their plans for the Christmas holidays. My mood improves when I receive a letter from Mum.

𝑫𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝑪𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒂,

𝑰'𝒗𝒆 𝒈𝒐𝒕 𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕 𝒏𝒆𝒘𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖, 𝑫𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒐 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑺𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒂: 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒉𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒅𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒊𝒅𝒂𝒚𝒔, 𝒊𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒐, 𝒐𝒇 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒆! 𝑰 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒘𝒂𝒔𝒏'𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒂𝒍 𝑪𝒉𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒎𝒂𝒔, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝑰'𝒅 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒖𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒃𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒂𝒔 𝒂 𝒇𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒚.

𝑰'𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒆𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒕 𝑲𝒊𝒏𝒈'𝒔 𝑪𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒔 𝒂𝒔 𝒔𝒐𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒔 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒈𝒆𝒕 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌.

𝑾𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆, 𝑵𝒂𝒓𝒄𝒊𝒔𝒔𝒂

I'm very happy that this time I'll be able to spend Christmas at home, especially as it's getting colder and colder, and there's nothing like being in the comfort of my own home with soft pyjamas, a warm drink and sitting by the fire. 

On Saturday as the students from third year and above go to Hogsmeade, taking advantage of the fact that the school is pretty empty, Stella and I spend the day in the Hufflepuff common room. With the cold winter of December, most of the students stay in the room, but they don't seem to mind me being here, and many are even quite friendly when they see me. 

Stella and I are lying next to the fireplace, on the living room floor on top of the huge, fluffy rug in front of the fireplace. 

"Remember when Theodore was about to tell us which boy he likes? Just before Ginny came into the cabin." says Stella. 

"Yes, I remember, I'm even still curious to find out who it is." I say, giggling. 

"Well, you're going to satisfy your curiosity now." Stella says, turning her head so that the two of us are facing each other. "I'd already suspected it during the Gryffindor match with Hufflepuff, since he's never been much of a Quidditch fan, but he wanted to watch even in all that storm, he was even wearing Hufflepuff colours and..."

When I see Stella start to ramble and get too excited, I interrupt her. 

"Who is it?" I ask, getting straight to the point. 

"Cedric Diggory." she says.

I roll my eyes. "Of course... Why does it seem that all girls, and now Theodore, only have eyes for this boy?"

Stella looks at me with an arched eyebrow.

"And you only have eyes for Hermione." she tries to argue. 

I feel my face heat up slightly. "That's beside the point..."

We are interrupted when Aster, Cedric's sister, enters the common room and joins us. She lies down, just as Stella and I are lying down. 

"What's up? What were you talking about?" she asks.

"About apparently almost all girls at Hogwarts having a crush on your brother." replies Stella. 

Aster sighs and grumbles. "It's annoying, isn't it? Some girls only come talk to me because of him. But I bet he's got the hots for that Cho girl from Ravenclaw..."

Stella suddenly sits up and looks at Aster, who remains lying on the floor with me. "Where were you?" Stella asks.

"You won't believe it! I've finally figured out how to get into the kitchens!" says Aster. "I've just got back from there after being kicked out by one of the elves."

"How did you find out?" I ask, getting up to sit down. "And where are the kitchens?"

"The kitchens are on the way here, behind one of those big paintings." says Stella. "But we've been trying to figure out how to get in for ages."

Stella turns to Aster. "So? How did you find out?"

"I spoke to the two people most likely to know this information: Fred and George, obviously." she replies.

"So, how do you get in?" I ask curiously.

"The painting that gives access to the kitchens has a bowl of fruit, one of which is a pear. Just tickle it and it will turn into a door handle."

We spend a long time chatting, until I realise that it's almost time for the students to return from Hogsmeade, so I say goodbye to the two of them and head towards the Gryffindor common room. I think I'm so lost in thought (perhaps two in particular: meeting Hermione again and letting her tell me about everything in Hogsmeade and my curiosity about the kitchens) that I bump into someone on the way. 

"Oh, I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention..." the girl begins to apologise.

That's when I realise who it is. "Emma?" I say, now paying attention to her. Her face is streaked with tears and her eyes are red and swollen.