Better - The Marauders

TWENTY-FOUR

- Chapter Twenty-Four -
"Okay this...will get you hypothermia."

The Great Hall was constantly decorated over the course of the next few weeks, it seemed as though when Elladora though that Professor Flitwick had reached his limit, the next day, either the tree was taller, the baubles were bigger, more fake snow was littered around the hall or there had been some icicles made.

Christmas was not a good time for Elladora, her brother had died in December, which brought down her mood entirely, but that wasn't all. Everybody's constant joy made her sick to her stomach, she hated how her ears would pick up every screech of girls voices as they sang carols. She hated how people would gush over who they're going to kiss under the mistletoe.

She hated Christmas.

Yeah, that pretty much sums it up.

When you grow up with a family like Elladora's, you're quite used to your Christmas present being not locked away for the whole day as well an expensive piece of jewelry if your parents think you deserve it, which hers never did. Every December 25th, she would be curled up in her room all day, rereading the same book over and over until dinner, where they would eat in total silence. The only sound was there forks scraping against the china whilst they all sat at separate sides of the long dinner table.

Elladora and Cassiopeia, her mother, at the ends of the table, making it incredibly terrifying if the younger girl were to glance up and meet eyes with her mother at any point. Rodolphus, her father, and Sebastian, her brother, would sit at the long sides, the same awkwardness as the two women had.

Now it was just an empty chair on the right side of the table. Elladora refused to look at it, she refused to even look up whilst eating her dinner. The one thing that kept her sane in that house was Sebastian and he left. She constantly reminds herself that he's in a better place now, that he won't have to ever endure this, but it wasn't comforting as she thought it would be.

As selfish and as horrible as it sounds, she wish they were going this together. She wishes he was still here and that they were going through the same things like they were when he was alive. Even though they weren't, they felt safe with each other because they knew that they were both falling the same way. Falling down into the pits of darkness, having one another as their dim source of light. The light that they both brought for each other formed one huge starry sky, it was peaceful.

Then Sebastian's light was ripped away and the once glimmering night sky was just another dim candle in the center of the dining table. The empty dining table that held no source of comfort, no light and no Sebastian.

No Sebastian to calm her panic attacks, meaning she had to endure them on her own. No Sebastian to let her crawl into his bed at night because she was scared of what the next day would bring. No Sebastian to stroke her hair and tell her it will all be alright when it very clearly wasn't. No Sebastian to be her brother.