The Raven and the Dragon (Abandoned)

Order of the Phoenix | Year 1 Part 22

 "It was heartache that was once healed by butterflies and the hot rays of a summers sun."

After breakfast, Sal begged Doug to come outside and have a snowball fight. Soon, all the children, even Cassie and Layla were out throwing them, making forts out of piles of snow. (y/n) missed this, childish games they called war, so unlike the real thing you had fun whilst doing it. Nothing about the current war, the real one brewing in the ministry, was fun. Harry had assured her of that. But, now, there was no time to think of that, all the cruelty and sadness sweeping across the wizarding world, for it was Christmas.

One everyone had had enough of the cold, they headed inside, feeling the nip of winter air melt away by the fire. Hot cocoa was passed around and it filled everyone with amenity. 

"I love cocoa." Layla sighed as she sat curled up on the drawing room floor by the fire.

"Me too!" Dominique cheered in her usual child-like manner. (y/n) hoped she never lost that, not completely at least. 

After a bit of banter, Layla and (y/n) went off to the kitchen and sat with their mothers, who were talking mindlessly about anything and everything. The conversation, however, soon turned to Laylas job. 

"Honey," (y/n)s mother said, "Now, which ward are you working in again?" 

"Curses and hexes."

"And you don't have a be a curse breaker?" 

"Well, there are curse breakers working there, too, but healers can deal with a lot of it. We see hexes, mostly. I've only seen two curses, one my trainer could reverse, the other had to be done by a curse breaker." Layla answered.

"Oh, I didn't know that. Thats very impressive, Layla." 

"Well, I haven't broken any of those yet." Layla said with a chuckle, "But I'm good at the hexes."

"I think I would have made an okay healer, although I'm quite squeamish." Everyone laugh a bit.

"Quite, indeed!" Aunt Leona said, "One, when we were little girls, I brought home a frog, you know, one I had caught in a creek. Well, I walk in the house, and I yell 'hey! (m/n), come over here and see this!', so she comes from the kitchen and screams!" Layla and (y/n) laughed along with Aunt Leona "Oh she screamed and screamed. I chased her a bit, of course. Tried to put it on her head. I thought she was going to faint!" 

(m/n) did not look too happy to have this secret fear of frogs told to the two girls.

"We were young, Leona." (m/n) lectured.

"Poppycock! I was about nine, I'd say!"

"That is young!" (m/n) was laughing now too.

"I did get in a lot of trouble. Oh, Ma wasn't too happy about that." Leona said, still smiling.

"I didn't know you were afraid of frogs, Mom." (y/n) said.

"I'm not, not really, anymore." 

"Liar!" Leona barked.

"Well, prove it, go get one!" (y/n) suggested, loving the prospect of scarring her mother a bit.

"Its the winter, (y/n). We aren't going to able to find a frog until April!" Layla said.

"Maybe March." (y/n) shrugged, which made them giggle again. "So, what else are you afraid of?" she asked her mother.

"Nothing, but you should be afraid of me!" She screeched, causing Leona to hold her stomach, laughing, and (y/n) to jerk back a bit.