Christmas came around the corner quickly and as any warmth left in the air departed, as did most of the Hogwarts students. However, the wolf and his sister remained. They had received a letter from their parents about a week prior stating that they wished for their children to spend their holiday at the school.
'Your mother's condition is only worsening and she doesn't wish to dampen your festive moods by having you see her this way.' Their father wrote. 'We both know how you kids are, and all you'll do is worry over her. Please, enjoy your Christmas with your friends. We'll send our gifts by owl. Merry Christmas! All our love, your mother and father.'
Of course, this only made the two's concern for their mother grow, but they tried their best to respect their wishes. Lily and James had plans of their own together for Christmas back at the Potter residence and Peter longed to see his family. But Willow, Evelyn, and Sirius decided to stay behind and provide some company for Elise and Remus. Which, of course, they were very grateful for and made their holiday break much more enjoyable.
The entire group stayed together in the Hufflepuff common room on the night of Christmas Eve, as it was the emptiest out of all of them currently. They piled pillows and blankets all around the open area near the fireplace, deciding to have a little slumber party so that they could all enjoy Christmas morning and open presents together.
"Baaaandittt!" Sirius' voice broke Elise out of her deep sleep, disturbing her comfort in the blanket burrito she'd made herself into on the floor. "Come on! It's Christmas! Wake uuup!"
The rowdy boy then grabbed onto the edge of her blanket and pulled it roughly, causing her to roll all the way out of it and onto the carpet. Elise groaned loudly and grabbed a pillow nearby, throwing it full force at his head. This obviously started an all-out wrestling match between the two.
"Padfoot, El! Not on Christmas morning, damnit!" Remus scolded, but couldn't quite hide his amused smile.
"Christmas?!" Willow shot up from her place on the couch, her curls frizzed up into a large poof atop her head. Her brown eyes stared widely around as if she'd forgotten where she was.
Evelyn was already wide awake and reading a book on an armchair, giggling at both the way Willow looked and the ongoing fight between Elise and Sirius.
Remus walked over to the large tree decorated in Hufflepuff colors, picking up a random gift and shaking it in the air.
"Hm, guess these presents are all mine, then!"
The wrestling pair immediately froze, looked at each other, then pushed away and sprinted over to the tree. Willow clambered clumsily off the couch and followed close behind. Evelyn simply grinned, shut her book, and strolled over.
The teenagers sat around Remus with excited expressions like a bunch of children waiting for storytime. The sight made him chuckle as he began sorting and handing out the presents to their designated recipients.
Once they were all in the hands of their owners, the teens began to furiously rip into the festive paper and open their gifts.
Elise received some new oversized jumpers from her parents, a pair of new combat boots from Sirius, multiple sticks of eyeliner and a dark red lipstick from Lily, a Defense Against the Dark Arts Advanced Spellbook from James, a large bag full of sweets from Peter, a silver necklace with moonstone from Marlene, an updated hardback copy of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them from Remus. And last, but not least, a potted Venus Flytrap plant from Oliver with a note that stated it was charmed to never wilt. Elise smirked at the boy's knowing of her inability to care for plants.
"Hey, Elise, are these from you?" Remus questioned as she finished up opening her presents. She looked up to see him showing a little wooden box filled with vials of Wolfsbane.
Elise's brows pulled together in confusion and she shook her head.
"Huh, that's odd. There wasn't any note saying who it was from..." Remus muttered, checking once again for any indication of the sender.
"Oh, look, this one addressed to Elise has the same wrapping paper." Evelyn pointed out, picking up a plain, black-wrapped box from under the tree that had been overlooked.
Immediately, Elise felt her stomach drop as she was handed the present. The too familiar onyx wrapping paper was enough to giveaway who had sent this, along with the potions to her brother. She eyed the gift warily, but couldn't bring herself to open it. At least not right now.
"What are those potions for, anyway?" Willow asked, her gaze still on a beautiful necklace that Freya had sent her.
Remus quickly tucked the vials back into the box and closed it, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. "Oh, uh, headaches. I get them quite frequently."
"Yeah, about once a month or so..." Sirius murmured low enough for only Remus and Elise to hear. The comment earned him a silmultaneous slap on the back of the head and an elbow to the ribs.
- - -
After a full day of spending festive quality time with her brother and friends, Elise found herself atop the Astronomy Tower. It was a cold night, of course, but she bundled herself up in a fuzzy blanket atop of one of her new jumpers. She just needed some peace and solitude and this was always the place she thought of first to achieve some. However, it was typically avoided as she feared the person she used to come here with would have the same idea.
And tonight, he did.
As she sat on the balcony, staring out at the white-covered grounds and the slow flakes falling down, she heard footsteps coming up the stairs. She turned to look, though a part of her already knew who it would be.
"Er, sorry..." Severus mumbled as he caught sight of her, though he avoided eye-contact. A black coat was on his frame, underneath of it was his usual dark robes. "I can leave..."
"No, no. It's alright." Elise responded without a second thought. "I don't own the place." She added as half-hearted joke to attempt to clear tension.
He nodded once and awkwardly stepped over, taking a seat about a foot away. A few long moments passed by in complete silence. But it somehow wasn't uncomfortable, despite their circumstances.
"Did you, uh, get the Christmas gift?" Severus broke the quiet after a while, side-eyeing her briefly.
"Oh, yeah. I haven't opened it yet, but thank you. And for the Wolfsbane for Remus... you really didn't have to do that."
"It was no trouble, really..." He explained softly, before finally turning his head to fully look at her. But Elise couldn't bring herself to stare back into those endless depths of his.
"How have you been?" Elise asked suddenly, her curiosity and worry over the boy getting the best of her.
Severus seemed taken aback by the question for a second, before looking away once again and clearing his throat.
"I'm alright. My father's alcoholism caught up with him finally; he died about a week ago."
She felt her heart ache for him. Though she knew his father had always been terrible to both his son and his wife, he was still his blood. Finally, she found the strength to look over at Severus, reaching a hand out to place on his knee.
"I'm really sorry, Sev."
"It's fine, really. You know how he was."
"And I'm sorry for that, too. My mother's been really sick lately as well... It isn't looking good."
"Oh... I'm very sorry."
Severus then met her gaze. Elise immediately felt nervous and retracted her hand, but didn't look away.
"So... You and that Oliver guy..." He spoke up cautiously, his eyes flickering between her and the scenery before them.
Elise rolled her eyes. "Just a friend."
Severus nodded, trying to not allow a smirk to cross his features. The two then fell into another silence for a long moment.
"Have you changed your mind yet? About... working for him..." The words left her mouth before she could stop them. She knew the answer, but was still somehow hopeful.
"Elise..." He sighed shakily. Hearing her name in his voice after so long made her shudder lightly. "You know there is no 'changing my mind.' I'm... I'm in too deep..."
His tone had cracked at the end of his sentence and he'd reached his pale slender hand underneath his left sleeve. Hesitating for only a moment before he pulled it up, revealing to her his Dark Mark.
Elise's breath caught in her throat at the sight. She felt her eyes well with tears. This was what her friends had always told her to look out for. A permanent mark on the left forearm of those who swore loyalty to Voldemort.
"Why... Why did you do this..." Her weak voice came out just above a whisper and she moved over to sit right beside him, holding his arm in her grasp as her tears fell onto his inked skin.
"I was doomed from the day I was born, Elise. Can't you see?" Severus' voice was heavy with emotion and though she couldn't see, his own eyes watered. "Born to a poor family with no advantage to get anywhere in life... Everyone telling me I'd do nothing. Be nothing. Malfoy, Mulciber, Rosier, all of them told me they know a way I can make something of myself. A way I can be useful..."
Elise looked up to stare directly into his eyes, determination and sadness flickering in her own.
"Severus, you're one of the most intelligent, talented wizards that I know. You don't need to do this to prove yourself."
He sighed, blinking away his tears the best he could and shaking his head.
"It's too late now..."
"It's never too late." Elise assured before pressing her lips onto his.