Harry Potter and the Gift of Memories [Harry Potter Fan Fiction]

Chapter XXXVII: Christmas, Part II

Sitting down on the edge of the bed, Daphne began running her hands through Astoria's hair in a fashion that looked more like the affection a mother held for her daughter than a girl had for her sister. She continued along this vein for a good while, simply waiting until her sister woke up naturally. Astoria did not need to wake up at the crack of dawn like she did.

A little past seven, her sister's features began to stir. Drowsy eyelids slowly blinked open to reveal ocean green eyes, another small difference between Daphne and her sister. The younger girl looked over at the eldest daughter of the Greengrass family and gave her a tired smile.

“Mornin', Daphne.”

“Good morning, Stori,” Daphne greeted with her own smile as she leaned over and placed a kiss on her sister's brow. “After you wash up, come down stairs. Emily has made us breakfast, and there are several presents waiting for you to open them.”

Astoria's face lit up in an ecstatic smile, and before Daphne knew what hit her, the girl launched herself from her laying position and hugged her elder sister for all she was worth.

“Thank you.”

She was released a moment later and her sister hopped out of bed and skipped her way into the bathroom.

Daphne made her way downstairs and entered the dining room, where her families house elf had prepared a smorgasbord for breakfast, consisting of all her sister's favorites, just like she had asked it too.

She sat down and waited until Astoria bounced into the room and sat with her before having breakfast.

Breakfast, and mealtimes in general, was not a very lively affair at the Greengrass residence. Their father had made it abundantly clear that there would be no noise while eating at the table. To him, only barbarians spoke loudly and acted with disgrace while eating, not wealthy pureblood's like them.

Daphne wondered quite vindictively what her father would say if he knew Draco Malfoy acted like the worst kind of barbarian at the Slytherin table every time they ate.

After they finished breakfast, and Astoria thanked her sister again with another hug, the two adjourned to the living room where a bundle of presents sat waiting for the youngest of the two Greengrass children. And while her sister went over to the presents and began opening them, Daphne made her way to the couch and sat down to watch her sister.

Nathaniel Greengrass did not show up to celebrate with them. He had long stopped celebrating any of the holidays they had shared in when they were younger and her mother was still alive. This included Christmas.

Of course, her father did not call it Christmas. That was a muggle holiday, and as such was not fit for an upstanding pureblood family like themselves to celebrate. Instead, they celebrated, or had celebrated, yuletide.

Hypocrite. That was what her father was. A damn bloody hypocrite. He refused to even call what they did Christmas simply because he thought it was something beneath a pureblood family to celebrate, yet she knew for a fact that some of his clients, including a few who believed in the pureblood dogma spewed by people like Lucius Malfoy, celebrated Christmas.

Even Lucius Malfoy celebrated Christmas, if his son's boasting of the presents he got every year during Christmas was to be believed.

Daphne Greengrass sat silently, as befitted a woman of her status, and watched as her sister opened her presents. None of them were from their father. Nathaniel had stopped buying them gifts long ago. All those presents were from Daphne, who carefully saved up most of her money each year so she could get her little sister gifts for the holidays and her birthday.