December, 1944
𝐖𝐇𝐈𝐋𝐄 𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐄𝐄 girls didn't know it, each one of them continued and could not stop thinking about the dance. Daisy couldn't stop thinking about what Fleamont had said about Tom, and whether it was true. Anika couldn't stop worrying about Julian's true feelings about her. And Gabriela, Gabriela was the most confused of all of them. She could not sort out her traitorous emotions regarding Cora.
The dance had happened 1 week ago, today being the first day of winter break, and the trio was still not glued back together. Anika and Gabriela had still not spoken.
However, it had been decided a month ago that they would spent Christmas and New Years at Anika's house, and so they would have to speak to each other.
"So, Anika," Daisy spoke up, filling the silent train compartment with her voice. "What's your mom cooking for us?"
As mentioned before, Anika was a girl who absolutely loved food. Cold food, sweet food, salty food, spicy food, soup food, anything really. And it stemmed from her mom, who was the best cook her two friends had ever encountered.
Daisy and Gabriela had been introduced to the wondrous world of Indian food. Daisy was extremely proud of her spice tolerance, while poor tough Gabriela refused to show the tears in her eyes when she had something a little too flavourful.
And every time the girls spent time at Anika's house, they left 3 kilos heavier. It truly was a problem. But a delicious problem.
"She's making tandoori chicken," Anika started, which elicited even excitement in Gabriela's eyes. "And Dahl, and aloo sag."
"What's the last dish?" Daisy questioned.
"It translates to potato spinach. I know it sounds kind of weird, but it's really good and healthy!" Anika reassured, pleased at her friends' anticipation.
"I'm really looking forward to it," Gabriela spoke quietly, looking timidly at Anika. "I really love your mom's food so much, and don't appreciate it enough. Your mom's food always makes me happier, and I definitely don't deserve it. I'm really sorry. I should have said it earlier."
Anika and Daisy's eyes narrowed at her strange words, but then widened again when her meaning became apparent. Gabriela was a very prideful witch, and hated owning up to her mistakes. But for her friends she snuck in a strange apology here and there.
"It's okay," Anika replied softly, taking hold of one of Gabriela's hands. "She knows how much you love the food, and she forgives you. Let's put this whole thing past us."
Both girls smiled at each other, and Daisy felt her shoulders relax as the friends were now at peace again. The idea of drama was always exciting, but was never great when it was between the people closest to you.
"Okay, so who wants to join me in doing some jumping jacks right now so I can feel better about myself after this trip?" Gabriela suggested, and the girls laughed, but got up to participate.
˗ˏˋ ★ ˎˊ˗
Anika spotted her mom waiting for them after they exited the 9 3/4 station. She raced towards the older woman and they both embraced each other deeply.
"How are you, beti?" Diya Patel greeted, addressing her daughter. "What have these people been feeding you, eh? You're getting thin!"
"Mama relax," Anika chuckled. "Trust me, I'm not starving myself like all these white girls do these days."
"White girls," her mom nodded. "Odd behaviours they have, hmm."
Daisy and Gabriela hugged the older woman afterwards, and almost lost their access to oxygen due to Diya's surprisingly strong grip.
They followed the Patel duo outside of the train station and to the car. The girls all dumped their trunks into the back of the car and settled into the seats.
"This would be so much easier if we were allowed to do magic outside of school. We could just apparate!" Gabriela groaned, since she got carsick easily.
"It's only a 45 minute car ride," Anika rolled her eyes playfully. "Plus, who doesn't love a road trip? Daisy, want to choose the radio channel?"
"I wish they had a channel for songs from musicals and movies," Daisy pouted. "But let's play the R&B station."
"What's that?" Gabriela questioned, not listening to music often.
"Oh, it's this new genre of music that's just beginning to become popular. It's heard a lot in black communities," Daisy informed. "I discovered the channel on the shit radio in the orphanage and really liked it."
Both girls looked interested and chose that channel. The girls moved their heads in the back of the car, looking like a trio of dense bobble-heads, but thankfully no one was watching.
"So, girls," Anika's mom spoke up, turning down the radio. "I want to know everything that's happened so far in your first term! Spare me no details, I want to know about teachers, classes, problems, boys."
"Mama," Anika groaned, but relented nonetheless, filling in her mother about the gossip.
Once she finished with everything, it was clear she had left one topic behind. Each one of their love lives was complicated right now, and including Diya in their thoughts would cause chaos, due to her being a very opinionated and meddlesome woman.
But Gabriela just couldn't help but cause some trouble. "You know, Ms Patel," she began deviously. "Daisy is basically in a love triangle right now.""
"WHAT?" Daisy exploded and twisted her head around to glare at her friend, then laughed nervously. "She's over exaggerating. I don't even have feelings for one of them."
"Yeah...let me know when you're not in denial about that," Gabriela hummed snottily.
"Daisy, Daisy!" Diya exclaimed gleefully. "Tell me more."
"Okay, well, the two guys Gab is talking about, I only like one of them. He's this Gryffindor boy who's my Potion's partner, and I went to the dance with him. And the other guy is a friend from my childhood, but I don't like him! And even if I did, he literally has the emotional range of a toothpick."
"Yeah, but he's hot," Gabriela protested. "Like in a I'll-murder-you-in-your-sleep and I-look-good-covered-in-blood way."
"Gabriela!" Diya scolded. "I truly hope you're not being serious. You deserve a nice boy who wants to take care of you!"
"Yeah, like Fleamont!" Daisy shot towards Gabriela.
"Oh dear, poor boy, having a name like that," Diya muttered, and the girls looked at each other in bemusement.
"You know what? Let's talk about Anika's love life instead," Daisy threw her other friend under the bus.
"Hey!" Anika hissed. "I wasn't even the one who brought this subject up!"
"Yeah, but I couldn't target Gabriela because she doesn't even have a love life to begin with," the blonde drawled, and her and Anika oohed and aahed viciously.
"I could!" the other witch crossed her arms indignantly, shocked at the possible person that popped up in her mind.
"Mhmmm," both girls sassed, Anika saying, "We both know that you don't date, you have flings."
"Well, at some point you'll need to have a long-lasting relationship," Anika's mother butted in. "How else are you going to start a family."
"Mama!" Anika groaned again.
"And don't think I haven't forgotten about you, Anika," Diya warned. "Tell me about this boy now, hmm? Is this serious?"
"I don't know yet," Anika replied in an exasperated tone. "I don't think we're even officially dated yet. We've just had a few moments and I went to the dance with him."
"Is he a white boy?"
"Ma! Practically everyone in Hogwarts is white!" Anika protested. "So, yes, he is."
Diya harrumphed to herself.
"We'll chat more about this later, because we're home now," she said firmly, pulling the car into her garage.
The girls climbed out of the car and tugged their luggage out of the back. They rolled their suitcases up to the front door, and Daisy spotted something she hadn't noticed when she had come here 3 years ago.
There was a small shed in the garden that looked like it was made out of the same material as a suit of armour was. The walls were so thick it looked like it could withstand practically anything. She assumed it was because of the waging war the muggles were facing currently, where bombs could fall out of the sky at any moment.
"All right, I hope you girls are hungry because I have quite a feast prepared for you all!" Anika's mom smiled at their delighted expressions, as if they hadn't expected that.
"I haven't eaten anything all day just for this Ms Patel," Gabriela told her earnestly, bounding in front of her two friends to get into the doorway first.
˗ˏˋ ★ ˎˊ˗
The evening came quick, the expression time flies when you're having fun never being truer until that night. The girls had finished stuffing their bodies with wonderful food, had then flounced on the couches while Anika introduced them to different Bollywood movies. They had watched only 1, but the movie was 3 hours long.
"Why do they get so close to each other all the time, but never kiss!" Daisy had laughed at another scene where the two lovers on the screen were practically sniffing each others necks mid-song.
"The anticipation is better than the real thing!" Gabriela had argued. "I kinda like it. Also, the songs are so good! I would kill to get my hands on that clothing."
"Well, I can show you the traditional Indian clothes I have upstairs," Anika had offered, and all three girls raced to her room next.
Now the trio of girls had somehow all squashed on Anika's queen-sized bed, huddled together for warmth. Gabriela and Anika were already asleep half an hour ago, rhythmic breaths filling the silent room while Daisy lay staring at the ceiling.
She was always so grateful for a holiday that she could spend with others, friends that were as close as family, so that she felt like she belonged somewhere. She hadn't spent Christmas at the orphanage in 3 years, and it had lifted a weight off of her heart.
But now thoughts of Tom refused to leave her mind. He was most likely in the orphanage, spending Christmas alone with other children who hated him.
And while she knew why the children didn't like him, and that he probably didn't even care for the merry celebration, she knew it still had an impact on him. And she knew that she was the only person who knew it.
It made her regret her failed friendship with him even more. While it was him who had pushed her away, she should have pushed back harder. Perhaps she was partly at fault for the person he had become today. Perhaps she could have slowed it down, reversed it.
Tom had always been a boy unable to share his feelings, unable to show vulnerability, unable to communicate what he truly tell people what he desired.
She remembered the second Christmas they spent together, in which they had been friends with each other for nearly 1 and a half years, but the first time Tom expressed something truly profound.
"I wish I could have belonged to a different family" he had whispered in the dark, both of them lying in his bed in the same position Daisy was in now. "I wish I could have had a happy childhood. One that could bring me joy to reminisce about now."
She had looked at him, into his dark eyes that were shining with palpable sadness. She had taken his hand and squeezed firmly onto it.
"I hope that in the future you can reminisce about our friendship to bring you joy," she had told him.
"Daisy," he mumbled shyly, almost afraid to say the next words. "You'll make sure I don't end up like my parents, right? You make me want to be the best version of myself."
He was only 12 at the time, nearly 13, but his words held a quality of a man that was much older, who as trying to live a life without regrets. And Daisy had solemnly swore that she would always be there for him, steering him in the right direction to her full capacity.
Now, Daisy stared at the ceiling with a bitter emptiness, guilt blooming deep in her abdomen. Maybe Tom had been acting so strange these past couple of weeks because he was trying to reach out again. And she had shot him down without a second thought.
Daisy made a new swear.
She swore when she returned to Hogwarts in 2 weeks, she would take Tom's olive branch and embrace it. She would try with all her might to give him one last push in the right direction. And she would shield her heart with armour, to protect herself if he hurt her again.
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A/N: Hey you guys :) If you're liking the story so far, it would make me so so happy if could vote on each chapter. It helps to raise the story's popularity and ensure more people read it.
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