A few days later, Wren and Erris awoke on the couches that had now become their designated sleeping spots over the holidays. As the children's eyes began to flutter open as the new day's sun lit the room, their eyes fell to the christmas tree and more importantly, what might be under it.
Wren lept up excitedly as her vision focused on the various coloured wrapping paper . She scrambled over to the tree and began to look for presents with her name tag. Erris sauntered over after her with a slightly more subdued energy. He sat and watched her pulling out present after present from the pile without so much as looking to see if any were his. Noticing this, Wren stopped and looked at the boy quizzically.
'Aren't you going to look for yours?' Wren asked.
'No need. I can see mine from here. They are wrapped in black. My step mothers favourite festive colour.' he replied with a cold sarcasm.
Wren looked at the small number of black wrapped presents and piled them up in front of the boy then with a grin, said, 'let's add a little joy to that colour scheme, shall we.' and she placed four different shaped, brightly wrapped presents on top of the depressing pile. Erris' eyes instantly lit up.
'Who are they all from?' he asked in astonishment.
'Your friends, silly. Oh and one is from my parents. They took a liking to the sound of you in my letters.' Wren shrugged.
Erris smiled broadly as he looked down at his now christmassy looking pile, then to Wren's surprise, picked up one of the black presents. It was evident that Erris had seen the look of dismay on his friend's face as he explained, 'I'll open the black ones first and get the disappointment out of the way and then I will finish on a high with the good presents.'
Wren watched as he tore into his first package to reveal a single pair of very bland, black socks. 'Practical.' Wren noted with a less than enthusiastic tone.
'You can never have enough black socks.' Erris replied in the same less than thrilled tone. 'Thankyou Pamilla.'
Next he picked up a very similar looking package and opened it to reveal yet another pair of identical black socks. 'Well, I am now fully stocked in regards to black socks, thank you Vivian.' he sighed wearily.
'Is this how every christmas has been for you?' Wren asked incredulously.
'Yes, practical and entirely bland gifts to ensure that joy remains a foreigner in the McGrath household.' Erris chuckled with a little contempt.
'Oh lord, have a mince pie.' Wren offered him a plate stacked with the pastry pies as she rolled her eyes, 'I can practically see the Christmas spirit draining out of you.'
'Why don't you open one of your presents, lighten the mood a little.' Erris grinned as he bit into his mince pie.
'Very well.' Wren smiled then pulled out a large, rather squishy package wrapped in a rich green paper with a red ribbon. She tore into it carefully to save the paper, to reveal a rather lovely dark blue, long sleeved dress with a flower embroidered front and cuffs. An excellent day dress for weekends at Hogwarts.
'That's very pretty.' Erris smiled down at the gift that had evidently been chosen with love.
'Thankyou, mum made it. She always makes me the most wonderful clothes. I think I shall wear this today, at Christmas dinner.' she said, holding it up against herself.
Erris opened another present to reveal a book from his father. Wren was rather hopeful that this would be a good gift as Erris loved to read until he read out the title, 'A Gentleman's Guide To Managing The Finances Of His Estate' by Izzard Mullery. Thank you Father. When I am in my thirties and you are dead and buried, I shall dig this volume out and have a read but I think for now I will continue with more childish pursuits.'
Wren couldn't help but laugh at Erris' dry humour. He managed to deliver his appraisals in such a none shallont way that those who did not know him so well took him entirely seriously. But his friends found his rather understated and perfectly delivered lines absolutely hilarious.
'Last package, let me guess what your step mother got you. A hot water bottle, no, too thoughtful. A pair of underpants.' Wren began to guess as Erris tore into the last black package. As the paper fell away, it revealed a potion bottle labelled 'Cough syrup for seasonal colds.'
'I'm not touching that with a barge pole.' Erris exclaimed, eyeing the gloopy brown liquid suspiciously.
'MM, it didn't say whether it would relieve coughs or give you one.' Wren pointed out dubiously.
'I'm betting on the later knowing her. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if it made me cough to death, then my father would most likely proclaim my step sisters as his airs.' He snorted, chucking the bottle into the bin.
Over the course of the next hour, the mood became considerably more joyful as the children began to unwrap the presents that had actually been given with love. Erris had received a wand cleaning kit and feather mister for Sullivan from Rosewaine, a hamper of all the finest sweets honeydukes offered from Rory and a beautiful mother of pearl inlaid chess set from Wren. When he had opened it he couldn't quite believe what he was looking at, he was so overjoyed. Where most eleven year olds may have turned their nose up at chess, Erris adored the game and when he could, he would play silently with other Ravenclaws when the communal sets were available but now he could play whenever he wanted.
Lastly, he opened a very luxurious looking, black leather satchel with flying magpies embossed into the cover. It was evidently a one off design from Wren's mother and where the Novelle logo usually would be placed on the clasp Erris initials EM had been etched instead.
Wren could swear that she saw Erris blink back tears as he composed himself and whispered, 'This is the best Christmas ever.'
'I'm glad to hear it, you deserve it.' Wren beamed at her friend.
Wren herself had been utterly spoiled by her parents, maybe even more so than usual because they missed her. She had received more clothes and toiletries such as perfumes in pretty little bottles from her mother. Several really interesting looking books from her father. Sweats from her younger cousins, some colour changing ink and a fancy quill from zed, a packet of rather interesting seeds from her grandmother and a multitool that turned into a knife, a trowel and many other useful gadgets when out exploring from her aunt and uncle.
She had left her friends presents until last. Rory had given her the same assortment of sweets he had given Erris though on closer inspection she realised that many of the sweets in both the packages where less about enjoyable sweets and more about the odd things that they would do to you such as creating animal sounds or making your tongue become so large that it touched the floor. Wren had the sneaking suspicion that he was planning an evening of sweet themed fun for them all.
From Rosewaine, Wren received a beautiful letter writing set with gold embossed swirling borders on the envelopes and writing paper. The present came with a little note saying 'I could tell you were running low, expecting to see one of these with my name on it,' the message was finished with a little smiley face that made Wren grin. Rosewaine knew her too well.
Lastly, Wren opened Erris' gift to her. It was the smallest out of all of her presents. A black velvet box. When she opened the box she found a silver shell about the size of her palm. It was heavy with small spines along its curve like a miniature conch shell. As she looked down at it, she smiled and thanked the boy. It was a beautiful item. Erris chuckled. 'I didn't just give you a metal shell, Wren.'
'You didn't? I like it,' Wren confirmed her appreciation for it.
'Hold it up to your ear,' he instructed. Wren did as she was told and to her delight the sound of a piano melody reached her ear, clear and beautiful, as if Erris was playing it in the room. But it was not a melody she had heard him play before. Soft and pure, swelling and quelling like waves lapping at a quiet shore or the wind lifting a leaf into the air to sore as a bird. Then the music grew, gaining power. Not harsh or overpowering but strong and free, following the rhythm of a stallion set free for the first time, galloping into its landscape and then the music came home, ending on a peaceful lullaby with tinkling notes that reminded her of rain on a window and the memory of sitting in an armchair with a book as a storm rolled in for the night. The sound of safety and contentedness drifting into silence.
'It's a song I wrote for you, about you I suppose. It's you, or at least how I imagine you would sound if you were music.' Erris explained but as he continued he became more flustered and his cheeks grew blushed.
'I love it.' Wren smiled as her eyes grew watery and she threw her arms around Erris' neck. Erris' body froze like a statue, entirely unused to physical affection but Wren didn't seem to notice as she withdrew, her grin untamed and joyous.
After the pair had placed their gifts in their dorms, they wrapped up warm and made their way down to Chirrup's classroom. They were a little later than usual so they found Chirrup sitting impatiently at the supply cupboard door, chirping away to himself in irritated tones.
Wren made a big fuss over him as Erris made a kitchen run, the portrait entrance having been devolved to him by Rory before he left.
Whilst Wren and Chirrup waited, she scratched him lovingly behind the ears and baby talked to him which he seemed to enjoy tremendously, rolling over and latching on to Wren's fingers like a little baby. He only ever exhibited such behaviour when they were alone, most likely too embarrassed in front of the others.
As soon as he heard Erris approaching, Chirrup righted himself then sat with a proud expression on his face, ignoring Wren as if he had been acting like a 'Big Boy,' the whole time.
Upon entering the room, Erris produced a full pig's leg, rump and all from his robe. 'I hope they didn't need this for Christmas dinner.' He said in a rather sheepish tone.
Chirrup's meat intake had increased rapidly over the weeks and it was quickly becoming a worry. A few stakes going missing every few days could be easily overlooked, especially as the house elves gave them the food so readily but at some point an accountant or person in charge of the house elves was going to realise that entire animals worth of meat were regularly disappearing and they would start looking for the culprit.
Wren hadn't had any replies to her letters so far but she quelled her own nerves by telling herself that most sanctuaries had a lot of mail and that everything shut down over Christmas. Until then, she could manage Chirrup just fine.
Once the children had watched Chirrup eat his meal and begin to gnaw on the bone, Wren ushered the cat out into the great outdoors. 'Come on, leave the bone, you can play with that later. Walkies.'
Chirrup dropped the bone with a sigh then padded after the children into the snow. A fresh layer had fallen during the night leaving the landscape pristine and untouched once more. The children revelled in running around in the snow creating the first footprints.
Erris laughed with carefree abandon as he fell down into the snow. With Wren, it was so easy to act his age and allow himself some freedom and as he stared up into the clear blue sky, he promised himself that he would make the most of this day.
As the boy sat up, he gathered some snow in between his mitts and mashed it into a ball then took a rather well aimed pot shot at Wren's back. The snow exploded on impact, clinging to her near waist length curls. Wren squeaked in surprise then turned to see Erris' cheeky grin and her face changed from surprise to fierce competition.
Ducking down, Wren began to form several snow balls at once then pelted Erris in quick succession as he returned to his feet.
'Hay, no fair. You've evidently had practice at this,' Erris cried out as the snow balls struck him. But as he spoke, he had already gathered a handful of snowballs and began to pelt Wren without mercy.
The children ran about for a good thirty minutes, throwing snow balls that Chirrup often intercepted, launching himself into the air and catching them in his jaws. Eventually the children flopped down into the snow, panting, their cheeks and noses red from the cold and exertion.
'I don't think I have ever had this much fun before,' Erris said through laboured breath as he turned his head to Wren who lay next to him.
'Christmas has that way about it. You forget everything for a day and just enjoy the time you have.' Wren smiled, though her eyes looked a little sad. 'I suppose that is why people wish it could be Christmas everyday.'
'It would definitely make things easier,' Erris pondered quietly.
Suddenly, the children became aware of Chirrup standing over them, looking expectantly for more entertainment. With a sigh, the pair hauled themselves up and began to make a snowman. They rolled balls of snow that at first Chirrup launched himself at and smashed. Only when he realised that that wasn't the game was any real progress made.
When it came to decoration time, they opted for a rather more topical theme than a simple man. Whilst Erris worked on sculpting some rounded ears and a muzzle on the snowman's head, Wren walked around finding sticks and stones to embellish it.
Wren stuck two sticks in both sides of the snowman's body to resemble four arms, then fashioned a feline nose, eyes and whiskers from the other sticks and stones she had collected. Finally, the children stepped back to admire their handiwork.
'Do you like it, Chirrup?' Wren asked.
The large cub looked at the snow sculpture quizzically.
'It's you,' Erris added, 'It's a snow wampus cat.'
Chirrup looked at the snow man again, studying it in more detail, then glanced down at himself and back up at his undeniably bad imitation. The cub shook his head, rejecting the sculpture then pounced on it, knocking it to smithereens and began to roll in it.
'I believe that that was a no from the art critic.' Erris chuckled.
'I'd like to see him do any better,' Wren huffed, trying to keep a straight face as she watched the cub flailing around on its back joyfully. 'You might have six paws but none of them have opposable thumbs.' She taunted the cub playfully.
For that comment, Chirrup batted a large wave of snow towards the girl, catching her in her half opened mouth. Wren fell down laughing and spluttering as the cub ran over and began to nuzzle his head into her chest and stomach.
The children had stayed out with Chirrup a lot longer than usual as the castle was so sparsely populated that there was very little chance of them being found in the grounds. By twelve pm all three of them were really beginning to feel the cold in their bones so they returned to Chirrup's classroom and dried him off and settled him down for a nap then returned to their common room to warm up by the fire and get changed for Christmas Dinner.
Wren donned her new blue dress and admired it in the mirror. As with all the clothes her mother made for, it fit perfectly, which was a little strange as she was sure she had grown a little since she had seen her mother last.
She smoothed out the cotton of her skirt and ran a brush through her locks, detangling her hair to make it look presentable for dinner. Her cheeks were still a little flushed from the cold but it gave a warm glow to her alabaster skin, complimenting the red embroidered flowers on the front of the dress. Once she was entirely happy with her appearance, she skipped down the stairs to meet Erris who had changed into a rather smart dark olive waistcoat over a white buttoned shirt and dress trousers. He looked like quite the distinguished gentleman.
'I like the suit,' Wren smiled.
'Well I couldn't go down looking all scruffy, especially with you dressed for the occasion.' He grinned shyly, then almost without looking, he held out his arm for his Magpie, Sullivan to land apon. 'Do you think people would mind if I brought him to dinner? There are so many shiny things in the castle that it is making him a little mad.'
'I'm sure everyone can oblige the entertainment of a thieving magpie at Christmas,' Wren replied with a chuckle.
When the children and the bird arrived in the great hall they were surprised to find that all the house tables had been pushed to one side leaving one long table in its centre. It was decorated with candelabras interwoven with holly and ivy with place settings layed out with brightly coloured crackers set on each plate. Many of the Professors and students who had stayed for the Christmas break were already sitting and talking amongst themselves, though it was still a rather small gathering with only about fifteen people present.
Professor Dumbledor sat at the head of the table in a rather festive green robe. When he saw the two children arrive he greeted them with a broad smile. 'Welcome, welcome, and to you, also, welcome,' he acknowledged the magpie that sat on Erris' shoulder.
'I hope his presence does not offend, he wishes to see all the shiny things.' Erris explained in an extremely stilted, serious tone as his posture became rather military with a straight back and arms clamped by his side.
'Not at all dear boy. The more the merrier.' The old professor replied with a twinkle in his eye though Wren could see the headmaster scan the young boy's odd mannerisms with a little sadness.
Wren and Erris sat together at the table and once the platters of food had appeared, they began to help themselves to turkey, roast potatoes and all the trimmings. Before everyone began to tuck in however, Professor Dumbledor picked up his cracker and offered one end to Professor Mcgonagall. This prompted everyone else to pick up theirs and within moments there were pops and bangs sounding off all around the table. Sullivan flapped and squawked in surprise but soon settled down when he saw the shiny silver confetti that had showered the table. He began to hop in between the plates collecting the shiny paper in his beak and bringing it back to his master. Within a few minutes, Erris had quite a large pile amounting by his elbow.
When Wren looked inside her cracker, she found a rather fabulous admiral's hat with ostrich feather plumes and a joke. She happily plonked the admiral's hat upon her head and then read the joke to Erris who was still looking inside his cracker. 'What did the wizard say to the twin witches,' she paused as Erris looked at her blankly then delivered the punch line with a grimace, 'Which witch is which'
Erris snorted half amused and half in contempt as he said, 'That is truly awful.'
'What hat did you get in your cracker?' Wren asked curiously.
Erris sighed then begrudgingly withdrew a very sparkly Tiara. 'I would be very happy to swap,' he offered, looking rather longingly at the admiral's hat on Wren's head.
'Now now, that is not the spirit of christmas. The hats are meant to be silly,' Wren explained as she took the tiara and placed it onto Erris' head. ' Very handsome.' She praised as she admired the sparkly crown on the rather disapproving boy.
Once everyone had donned their ridiculous headwear, they all tucked into their meals, first demolishing the christmas dinner then moving onto the Christmas cake, chocolate log and flaming Christmas pudding. By the time everyone was finished, their stomachs were groaning from the amount that they had been overfilled. It wasn't long after the last spoon had hit the plate that people began to saunter off in pursuit of an arm chair by a fire to sleep off the heavy meal.
Wren and Erris returned to their common room where they sat by the fire and set up Erris' new chess set. They lazily played the game until Chirrup's evening feed, talking and occasionally falling asleep between moves. It had been a wonderful day and one that Erris knew he would cherish for a long time. It had been a day of simple joys, playing in the snow, food and good company but he realised that those were the things he craved. Without judging eyes or an image conscious family to adhere to. He wanted a life away from the public eye where days like this could be a regular.