Thursday, December the twenty-third, came quicker than expected. Both Pansy and Belle, who had been putting off their Christmas shopping, needed to visit the stores before they sold out of items that they were hoping to get for their friends and family. They decided that that evening was better than never and forced themselves out of the warm house into the cool, Hogsmeade air. As Pansy only had a day and a half left at the Frenche residence, she was determined to make the most of her time with Belle, Clarice, Collette and the family of creatures that had grown on her before she left to her girlfriend, Ebony's house for the final week of the break.
The sky was a deep, silvery-grey and snow fell heavily down on top of them, lining every outside surface with a blanket of pure white. Dressed in comfortable - and warm - clothes, Belle and Pansy stood outside the Three Broomsticks in Hogsmeade, having just met up from doing their part of the shopping in the village.
Hogsmeade, seeing as it was nearly Christmas, was surprisingly busy. The street that she and Pansy stood on looked like an unfinished painting. The ground was a blank, perfect canvas, simply waiting for someone to appear and paint it with footprints and snow-angels. The air was of course cold, causing Belle to bury down deeper in her warm sweater.
The sweet scent of freshly baked Christmas cake lingered in the air, coming from a nearby bakery in the streets of Hogsmeade. Belle had made a mental note to visit the bakery first as Pansy would probably have her head if she didn't end up going. She was secretly excited to see the pasteries, shaped to look like magical creatures with all sorts of hidden surprises that donned the glass display cases.
A Christmas tree had been erected in the middle of the village, adorned with glistening ornaments and glowing fairy lights draped around it. Younger children threw snowballs at each other in front of the green branches, causing laughter and joy to echo in the air around them. Parents stood nearby, with bags on their arms and smiles on their faces as they watched their children play in the snow around the tree. Belle smiled slightly as she watched witches and wizards and everyone in between, swarming in and out of the bustling stores like packs of bees. Honeydukes was full and bursting with people, all waiting to get a taste of the magnificent sweets that lined the shelves of the store. Zonko's, though considerably quieter since Weasley's Wizard Wheezes had come into play, was still filled with people, laughing and yelping at the magical jokes that were played on them. The jingling sound of bells filled the air and a group of Christmas carollers stood off to one side of the street, singing happily at the passing folks.
The amber light of magical street-lamps spilled onto the stone-paved, snow-covered streets. In turn, the elegantly decorated stores, bubbling with light and joy slowly revealed the wonder that was Hogsmeade in the evening - bright colours, a happy sense in the air and a joy that spilled from the sky, faster than snow.
The festively designed stores, illuminated with blinking Christmas lights, vibrant ornaments and brightly colored signs, were lined up along either side of the street. Windows were thrown open, despite the cold, and allowed the scent of sugar, butterbeer and Christmas cake to linger in the air. Tasty treats, hand-crafted presents and moving greeting cards occupied the passing customers, oohing and aahing and each new wonder they came across.
The warm smiles of the people working in the stores as they tossed freshly roasted, golden brown chestnuts into paper cones or carefully poured creamy hot chocolate into mugs and added generous layers of whipped cream, was returned by the beaming grins of the children who were eagerly waiting to get their mug. The energetic youngsters giggling at their creamy chocolate mustaches were followed soon after. The loud, spirited laughter of adults could be heard over the continuous chatter surrounding the vivacious atmosphere.
Belle couldn't help but allow the corner of her lips to turn up in a smile, as she surveyed the scene. After the war, she had believed that the world would never go back to the way it was. She was right of course, there was no way that any of them would every properly recover from the events of what had happened, but standing in front of the Three Broomsticks, Belle admired the resilience of all the witches and wizards around them, that allowed them to continue on in their lives and enjoy the holiday, even if not all of them celebrated Christmas. There were large parts of Hogsmeade that had been dedicated to other holidays that were just as important as Christmas, such as Hannukkah and Kwanzaa. Belle smiled at the amount of people that were gathered around the areas dedicated to those particular holidays.
Turning back to her friend, Belle noticed how quiet Pansy had been.
"Are you okay?" She asked and Pansy nodded, giving the girl a weak smile. Her eyes darted past Belle and through one of the windows of the Three Broomsticks. Raising an eyebrow, Belle turned to see who she was looking at, only to notice the familiar silver-blond hair of Draco Malfoy and his mother, Narcissa
"That's Draco, isn't it?" Belle asked and Pansy nodded, swallowing thickly.
"I haven't talked to him since sixth year - which was three years ago. He never came back to school in seventh year and I only saw him once during the war."
"You miss him?" Belle stated, though it came out as more of a question. Pansy nodded.
"I do. I - I spent so long pining over him, not realising that he didn't want me and because of that I lost years of friendship. Before Hogwarts, we grew up together and he was my best friend."
"So go say hello," Belle said and Pansy sent her a sharp look.
"What do you mean 'go say hello'? I can't just walk up to him and ask how he's doing!"
"Yes you can. He's been your friend for a long time, he's not just going to completely shut you out," Belle replied and Pansy raised an eyebrow.
"He hasn't sent me a letter in three years."
"Have you sent him one?" She quipped back. At Pansy's lack of response, Belle nodded.
"Look, he probably doesn't know how to approach you after everything happened. He's obviously feeling scared and intimidated by the rest of the world, just like you were when I first talked to you. With his father in prison and the rest of the world shunning him because he was only doing what he had to to save his family, he's going to need a friend," Belle said and Pansy groaned.
"I hate it when you're right. Which is almost always. I really do hate you," Pansy muttered and Belle only patted her shoulder, a small smile on her face.
"No you don't. Look, why don't I head inside and get us a table. You can casually walk past and say hello, or do something sneaky and Slytherin-like. If everything fails, which it won't you can always just come over to me."
"Sometimes I wonder if you should have been put in Slytherin, but then I remember how many bloody animals you have at home and think you should have probably been put in Hufflepuff instead."
"Oh, the Sorting Hat seriously considered both options, but I eventually chose Ravenclaw because the colours looked prettier," Belle said with a slight laugh before she entered the pub. She was immediately met with a blast of warm air and hitched her bags up further on her arms. Heading over to the busy counter, she politely asked for two butterbeers and paid Madam Rosmerta before finding an empty table close behind the Malfoy's.
The pub door opened a few seconds later and Belle watched as Pansy entered, her eyes immediately meeting Belle's. Belle gave her an encouraging nod and she watched as Pansy sucked in a deep breath before heading their way. She looked as though she were about to scrap the plan and go straight towards Belle instead, when Draco's voice stopped her.
"Pansy?" He asked, his voice deeper than Belle remembered it to be. There was a shroud of awkwardness in the air as Pansy stopped, a half-smile on her face.
"Hi, Draco." The blond boy stood up and the two stood, facing each other for a moment before she threw her arms around him. Draco was quick to react, his arms going around her waist as the pair hugged, both relieved that neither one had perished in the war before they got to speak to each other again.
"Are you okay?" Pansy asked once the pair had broken away and Draco gave her a nod, though the bags under his eyes told her otherwise.
"I'm glad to see you're alright."
"It's all thanks to Belle," Pansy admitted, waving over at the brunette. She returned the wave, wiping butterbeer off her top lip. Draco gave her a small smile and she returned it kindly, letting him know through her simple actions that she did not hold any sort of hostility towards him. The two talked quietly for a moment before Pansy turned and gestured for Belle to join them as Draco and Narcissa had just offered. Waving her wand over the bags full of Christmas presents, they disappeared from sight and she picked up the two tankards of butterbeer before walking towards the group of three.
"Draco, this is Belle Frenche. Belle, Draco," Pansy introduced and Draco held his hand out. Belle, setting the tankards down on the table, shook his hand and he nodded at her, though there was a kind thanks in his eyes, something that he owed her. She took care of his friend while no one else was around, and had turned her into someone he never believed she could be. The old Pansy would have never hugged anyone in relief - this new one seemed more than happy to do so and Draco liked that.
"You too. This is my mother, Narcissa Malfoy."
"It's a pleasure, Mrs Malfoy," Belle said, holding her hand out for the woman. Narcissa took it with a small, tired smile and shook it gently.
"Please, just Narcissa is fine. It's nice to see you again, Pansy." Pansy smiled, hurriedly wiping away the tears that had gathered in the corners of her eyes.
"You too, Narcissa."
As Pansy and the two Malfoy's caught up, including Belle in the conversation, Belle found herself relaxing more in the presence of the Malfoy's and truly begun to see just how much the war had affected them. Draco, who had, to put it bluntly, been a brat during his time at Hogwarts towards anyone who wasn't of pureblood descent or Slytherin House, clearly carried that guilt around on his shoulders now. He was polite yet quiet and not once did he ask about the blood-purity of Belle. In fact, when Pansy had brought up the fact that Belle was going to be staying with the Weasley's, Harry and Hermione for the remainder of the Christmas break, he had actually asked how they were coping with the loss of Fred.
From beside Belle, Fred had whispered that Draco had actually attended his funeral but had been right at the back, so no one saw him. She actually had to blink away tears at that, slightly touched by his actions.
When night had fallen and the clock turned seven, Belle knew that there would only be a few hours left until Weasley's Wizard Wheezes was closed and figured that since she was already out, there would be no better time to visit than now.
"Do you want to stay here for a bit longer? I can go visit Diagon Alley and finish off my shopping. I'll meet you back at home when I'm done, if you'd like." Pansy beamed at the girl, eager to continue talking with her friend and Narcissa.
"Are you sure?" She asked and Belle sucked in a breath, noticing the red-head that was watching her closely, hovering just a few millimetres above the ground.
"Of course. There's someone I need to go speak to, anyway."
"Who?" Pansy asked curiously, just as Belle thanked Draco and Narcissa, before bidding them goodbye.
"George Weasley."