On Christmas Eve, I was both insanely excited and incredibly nervous.
I had always enjoyed Christmas time, loved the feeling in the air and the food and the music. But this year was completely different. For one, I wasn't with my family. Not that our Christmas celebrations had been overly exciting over the past few years, but it was still nice to be at home. This year instead I got a cold castle filled with hostile professors and students, the constant threat of discovery and death, and, as I had found out earlier today, a shortened amount of time with my boyfriend.
Death Eater meetings were incredibly inconveinent, that was an opinion both Draco and I shared, and we were both fairly disappointed when he told me that, instead of all day, we wouldn't be able to meet until five. He made sure that I understood he was very apologetic about it, but it still didn't leave me with a gaping hole in my plans.
"I wish they had opened Hogsmeade or something. At least then we'd have something to do." Lavender hummed as she filed her nails. I grunted lightly in response, rolling over onto my stomach. I looked up at my friend with a sigh, resting my chin on my palms. Since Ginny's departure, I had found myself with a serious lack of female friends. Lavender seemed more than happy with my company though, and hers, while a little loud, was actually quite pleasant once you know what to expect.
"You're not wrong." I said after a moment. "I've not gotten any Christmas shopping done at all. I feel terrible."
"It's not as though you're the only one. It's likely everyone will be having a gift-less Christmas this year." She pointed out, not unkindly. I grimaced before nodding, having to admit she was right. I let out a quiet groan, letting my head hang off the side of the bed.
"Still though. I miss Christmas when I was little." I sighed softly, closing my eyes and thinking of days spent drinking eggnog by a fireplace. When I opened my eyes again Lavender was smiling at me sympathetically, rising from her spot on the bed.
"Well, don't get too down about it. Come now- Put on some decent clothes, and come down to the Great Hall with me. Rumor has it McGonagall's got the house elves serving hot cocoa." She said, brushing her fingers through her curls. I scowled slightly at her.
"Do I have to change?"
"You're in a sweatpants and a t-shirt. Surely you would not consider that Christmas Eve attire?" Lavender raised an eyebrow. With a heavy sigh I rose from the bed, moving to my trunk and propping it open. I rifled through the clothes for a moment, pushing past the more muted colors at Lavender's urging and isntead finding the more colorful pieces at the bottom. Since I had arrived, broken hearted at the time and under the Carrow's rule, I had slipped into the habbit of wearing gray, black and brown, with the exception of house colors.
Lavender seemed determine to change that now.
"Ooh, that cream top-" She said, reaching past me and grabbing the sweater Ginny had given to me some days before. "And that skirt. The black one. Do you have flats? And I can give you a hair bow-"
"I don't think that's completely nessescary, Lavender," I said with a faint grimace as the placed the objects in my arms. But Lavender frowned at me when I protested, and with a sigh I changed quickly as Lavender went to the bathroom to searh for her hair bow. It ended up being red, and with a smidge of red lipstick Lavender finally seemed appeased with my Christmas appearance, despite my obvious discomfort. I wonder if she had purposefully placed in a white sweater so I couldn't rub the lipstick off.
"There we go." She chirped happily. "Now we can go."
And so we did. I let Lavender link her arm with mine, walking me all the way down past the common room and to the Great Hall. It was slightly more crowded than usual, but Lavender and I were able to elbow our way through to the center where the hot chocolate was being given out. The house elves were visible enough, filling mugs for students and handing them out. Making my way forward I managed to snag a mug for myself, then another one for Lavender.
I held my mug close to my chest, enjoying the feeling of warmth it set in me as we moved to sit at the Gryffindor table.
"I really hope they do this more often." Lavender hummed as she sipped from her mug, closing her eyes and looking as though she had found her little slice of heaven inside the cup. I smiled amusedly, rolling my eyes as I surveyed the other people who had found themselves in the Great Hall. At the Ravenclaw table I caught sight of Michael Corner, the Patil twins, and Ernie Macmillian. At the Hufflepuff table, I noticed with a grin, was Neville with Hannah, the two talking quietly over mugs of hot chocolate. I moved, wanting to point it out to Lavender with a sly grin when I noticed another group of people.
Blaise Zabini, Theodore Nott and Pansy Parkinson sat together, the first two looking rather displeased with whatever the black-haired girl was saying to them. I eyed the conversation for a moment before pulling my eyes away, turning back to Lavender and forcing my smile back into place.
"Neville's sitting with Hannah." I said with a faint grin. Lavender opened her eyes to look over, a faint smile making her lips quirk up.
"How cute."
"That's what I thought." I hummed, making a mental note to ask him about it later.
_
I was lucky the next morning that I had managed to take my polyjuice potion before Lavender had whipped my drapes open, her smile wide. For a person who loved their sleep, she seemed rather spry this morning. It took a few binks and a confused 'Hmm?' before I remembered.
It was Christmas.
I was seeing Draco today.
Instantly my mood lifted and I smiled at her happy laughing as she woke Parvati up, the latter girl groaning with annoyance as she rose from her bed. Lavender looked unapologetic as I slid from my bed, pulling a jacket over the black shirt I wore. A quick glance out the window told me everything I needed to know about why it was colder than it had before- Everything was covered in a thick layer of snow, and not a moment too soon.
I grinned sleepily at the sight before me, turning away from the window just as Lavender was saying something about breakfast. Apparently the Carrows had shut down McGonagall and her hot chocolate, and as bitter punishment had done away with a promising breakfast of cinnomon rolls and oatmeal and had replaced them with bread.
"But that's just fine- Let boggarts be boggarts, I always say."
"It's 'let bygones be bygones', Lavender." I corrected with a tired hum. Lavender waved me off though, obviously unbothered by this information.
"Whatever. Everyone is meeting in the common room for breakfast- And Neville is waiting for you, I'm sure."
"Hm. Wonderful. Tell him I'll be right down." I said with a yawn, pulling my sweatpants off in favor for something a little nicer. It was Christmas, after all. Perhaps if I was feeling the proper motivation, I might even wear a skirt later, instead of the dark jeans I was currently sliding onto my legs.
"Will do." Lavender chirped, saying something else to Parvati before flitting downstairs. I followed by only a minute or two, welcomed by the warmth of the common room. It was filled with people from all different houses, and it took me a minute or so to actually locate my friends. But eventually I managed to elbow my way past a crowd and spotted Neville, sitting on the ground by the fireplace.
"Neville!" I called happily as I approached, and Neville looked up, smiling with food-stuffed cheeks. He swallowed before he greeted me though, lifting his hand up and letting me take it when I held out my hand to him.
"Happy Christmas, Alecia." Neville said, and I looked at him with a grin.
"Same to you, cousin." I replied as I let his hand slip from mine. "Where's the food?"
"At the table, in the back- Eggs and toast. Not much for Christmas, but we were lucky to convince the house elves of giving us anything. Apparently the Carrows were pretty rough on them."
"I've not doubt. Alright, I'll be right back." I said, turning to head towards the direction area. It only took a few moments to fill plate, and afterwards I returned to my friends, squeezing myself in between Neville and Seamus.
"So, what's the topic of conversation?"
"Oh, the Carrows- Apparently Alecto caught a fourth year Hufflepuff out of bed after curfew- Not even a minute out of curfew, mind you. Spooked her real bad, made a pretty bad mark on her cheek- It'll heal fine, but I dunno about scarring." Neville said grimly. I scowled as I chewed my eggs, pondering this new information.
"What's her name?"
"Holly. She's with Nigel and Colin, if you want to speak to her. You could look at her cheek too- See if there's anything that can be done to keep it from scarring." Neville said. I nodded, setting my plate down without much of a thought. I wasn't that hungry anyway.
"Yeah, sure- Thanks, Neville. Watch my food. Don't let Seamus eat it." I said as I rose from the spot on the ground, turning my head around and searching for the two Gryffindor boys. They were on the further side of the room, a small girl with dark skin and hair sat between them. Her head rested on Colin's shoulder, and even from here I could see the mark that made it's way down her face. Inwardly I cringed.
"Hey guys." I approached the two sixth year boys with a smile. I hadn't gotten to know either of them too well, but we had had our conversations. I had been weary of approaching Colin again after having berated him for coming to the school at all- He was a muggle born, and though somehow he had managed to keep a low profile(And lie about blood status when directly asked), I knew it wasn't safe for him to be here. He had argued that it wasn't safe for anyone to be here. I couldn't disagree.
"Hello, Alecia." Nigel spoke first, regarding me quietly. I smiled weakly.
"Would it be okay if I spoke with Holly for a moment? I want to check on her cheek." I tapped my own in a quick gesture. The boys exchanged glances, then turned to Holly, whose only sign of approval was a brief nod. They both rose then, saying they were off to get more food before leaving me with the Hufflepuff girl.
"So, this happened last night?" I asked as I took Colin's previous spot. Holly nodded quietly, lifting her hand up to her cheek and cover the mark.
"I was hurrying back to my common room- I was almost there, I swear it- but then Alecto saw me. She yelled at me, and then-" She shrugged helplessly. I frowned lightly, biting my lip. It was true, the mark seemed bad, and it would be awhile before it went away.
"It's not forever," I said honestly, gently putting my hand on her shouler. When she didn't move away from it I took it as a good sign. "Can I look at it real fast? I want to see if there's any way I can help."
"One of the olders in my house already did a healing spell. I don't see anything else anyone could do." Holly said with a sigh, but removed her hand so I could have a better look. Upon inspection, I felt better about the cut. It wasn't as deep as it had seemed from a distance, and it would definitely heal with time.
"Well, you're in luck. It's not so bad after all." I said as I pulled away, smiling encouragingly. "I bet you it'll be gone completely in a few months. That's better than permanent."
"But it's still horrible. I can't control it, I can't get rid of it, can't cover it up even- It's just there." Holly said morosely. I frowned lightly, not entirely sure how to soothe that subject. I wouldn't lie to her and tell her it wasn't horrible, because scars sucked. I couldn't even count how many I had on my own body.
"Scars suck. But it'll fade soon. You don't need to worry too much, okay?" I said, then glanced back at the two sixth year boys who were very obviously watching us from where they stood by the food table. "But if you do worry, do it in front of the boys, because they'll both be more than happy to help."
Holly's eyebrows raised now, and she followed my gaze before she smiled. "Yeah. You're right there."
The laugh I let out was quiet but genuine. "See? You've got things completely under control."
_
Around two hours later I was walking down the halls, refreshed and actually dressed properly. Lavender had managed to wrangle me back into a skirt, and at her instistance my red bow had been switched out for a gold one. The air was cold against my legs as I walked, but I was too focused on the promise of warmth to mind it too much. Rumor had it the house elves were back at their hot-chocolate-giving schemes, and I wanted to get some before the Carrows found out again.
My mood lifted though when I saw a figure making their way around the corner, dark hair mussed about and expression unreadable. I raised an eyebrow, lifting a hand in a small 'hello' gesture. It seemed to take a moment for Thatcher to see me, but when he did his eyes widened and I barely was able to get a word out before he had reached out, grabbing my wrist and pulling me to him.
"Whoa- Hey. Hey." I said warily, not sure what to make of the expression he wore. He was closed to me, and it was incredibly frustrating. His grip was tight on my wrist though, his other hand coming up to cup my face gently, thumb stroking my cheek in surprisingly gentle gesture.
"Hey, it's okay- You need to go. They're coming- The Carrows, and a few others. You need to go, right now. I'll see you later." His voice was a whisper, and I only managed a small nod, mind moving quickly as he let me go. I only glanced back once before I hurried down the hall. If Death Eaters were in the school- Well, more Death Eaters than usual- then people needed to know to stay clear.
I moved quickly, making my way to some of the more crowded areas. I reached out to the first shoulder beside me, the younger-looking Ravenclaw boy looking up at me with confusion.
"What is it?"
"Death Eaters are coming- A whole group of them. Take your friends, get out of the hallway, go back to your common rooms. Tell anyone you see on your way." I said shortly. The boy nodded once, turning back to the group he stood with- Then with relief as they moved quickly, tapping others on the shoulders and letting them know as they made their way down the hallway. That was easy enough.
I hurried down the halls myself, just as eager to get back to the safety of my common room as anyone else. I halted though when someone grabbed me, the hand grasping my arm roughly.
"Get to my office. Hide yourself. Now." Severus's voice commanded before he moved back down the hall. I only had a moment to be stunned before I groaned and shifted paths, hurrying up to the Headmaster's office. Damnit, Severus.
Climbing up the staircase, I cracked the door open before stepping inside, relieved to see that I had made it to the room before the Death Eaters. Shutting the door behind me, I swiftly moved up the staircase- The room was full of dark corners and spots, but if I was going to hide in a room filled with Death Eaters... Well. Just any old spot wouldn't suffice.
What I wouldn't give for Harry's invisibility cloak right now.
Last minute I grabbed onto one of Severus's cloaks, pulling it over myself before stepping back into a slit between a pillar and a bookshelf. It was a tight squeeze, one I couldn't possibly have fit in in my own body. But in Alecia Longbottom's, I was just small enough.
I held my breath as the door swung open, a group of Death Eater's piling into the room. I peered from behind the cloak with curiosity, careful to keep it over most of my face as I watched the group form. Most I didn't recognize- Severus lead them in, followed by Alecto and Amycus. I could see only see Thatcher when the door shut, lounging in the back next to a pillar.
"I still fail to see why so many of you have been sent." Severus's voice said, obviously bringing up a previous conversation. One of the Death Eaters scowled.
"Perhaps the Dark Lord thought a larger group would get a simple task done with efficiency, Snape."
"I have not failed at any requests he has given me." Severus said boredly, standing behind his desk as he addressed the others. "If you believe you can sort through the students without interference from professors, you wil find you are sorely mistaken. My methods are cleaner and draw less attention. Surely there is not a problem with that?"
"If you don't hurry up, we're going to go through no matter what the other professors's say. This school- Despite it's apparent cleansing of mudbloods- Is still mostly unbending to the Dark Lord's ways. We've heard of the students rebelling, of the writing on the wall- Cute you may think it is, Snape, but we don't need them stirring up any trouble amongst other students. We'll do away with entire houses if we must."
"You think a genocide of Gryffindor house would really solve this problem?" Though his back was turned to me, I could almost hear the skeptical eyebrow raise in Severus's voice. I would've been amused had I not been terrified. The idea of them wiping out entire houses... Of wiping out my house was almost too horrible to imagine.
"It's not all Gryffindors. Ravenclaw, Hufflepuffs- They're all bothered." Thatcher spoke from the back now, his tone mocking. "Really, Yaxley, get your facts straight. Though I'm not sure why you're here at all. Isn't the Dark Lord still cross with you for letting Potter escape at the Ministry in September?"
"He has graciously forgiven me-"
"Well I haven't."
"Now listen here, boy-"
"You will not refer to me as boy." Thatcher sneered, scowling at the older Death Eater. "Not when I rank higher above you. Not when I've gained more favor. I advise you shut your mouth and sit down- Merlin knows listening to you talk is like eating lead."
"How dare you!"
"Thatcher is right, Yaxley. Do sit down." Severus sneered. Yaxley scowled at him but did so, falling into the seat I normally took in front of Severus's desk. But Yaxley's spot at the front of the crowd was quickly taken by Alecto, her beady eyes narrowed to slits.
"Yaxley isn't wrong, Snape. You're taking too long. Just let us at them- Any professor that gets in our way will be dealt with."
"You're eagerness to harm them makes me wonder if you care for the purebloods of our school at all. Do you have any compassion, Alecto?" Snape said snidely, obviously unimpressed. "The school is my charge. I will deal with it how I see fit. If you see a problem, you may bring it up to me, but should you invite any more people into our meetings I will see that the Dark Lord removes you from the school and into a more suitable position. Perhaps you can be Greyback's new caretaker. I heard he ate his last one."
Alecto scowled at him but looked significantly less confident as she stuttered out a reply. "Y-You have no decision of that! But we'll leave you be, Snape, as long as the job gets done. Weed out the scum and mudblood lovers and we'll be just fine."
"You have my word it will be done. Now, if you'd be so kind to leave my office- Thatcher will escort you out." Snape said dryly. Thatcher nodded once, looking rather grim as he moved from his spot by the pillar and exited the room, the group of black-robed people taking their leave. It was only after the door was shut, and even a few seconds after that, that Severus looked around, his expression tired.
"Wherever you are, you may come out."
"Thank Merlin, too. I was starting to get claustrophobic." I said sourly, briefly remembering the short time I spent in a coffin. Yuck.
"I'm very sure. You heard everything?"
"Of course. They really think they can just wipe out houses?"
"It's not just a meager thought, you must understand. If they are really so determined, they could, with the Dark Lord's permission. I would be useless in stopping them."
"Well, fantastic. How do we have that not happen?" I said, moving down the steps to the main floor. I almost moved to take my usual seat, but then remembered that Yaxley had been sitting there not three minutes ago. Scrunching my nose up I moved to lean against the back of it. Severus sighed, sitting down at his desk.
"I am not sure."
"Could you really fire Alecto?" I asked hopefully after a moment. Severus glanced up at me, his tired expression briefly turning to amusement.
"No. But she doesn't need to be made aware of that just yet."
"Well, great. Now that I've taken in this horribly depressing news, I'm going to go out and try and enjoy the rest of my Christmas. Is that okay. or do you have something else terrible to make me aware of?" I asked, eyebrows raised. Severus seemed slightly amused by my crossness, but with a sigh he waved me away.
"I suppose there will be no attempt to find sense in you now. Off with you- Enjoy your holiday."
"Merry Christmas to you too, Sev." I rolled my eyes, managing to grin at him before I slipped through the door. I was almost down the stairs when familiar figure appeared, heading up the stairs in the opposite direction.
"Interesting meeting?" I asked as Thatcher sighed, reaching out and taking my hand when I extended it. I leant back against the wall, pulling him with me. His smile was tired as he came close, his hand gently reaching up to touch my face, brushing the hair out of it.
"You would know. Are we still on for five?"
I smilled brightly. "Of course."
"Room of Requirement, then. I have to go- Snape'll be waiting for me." He said, sounding mildly annoyed. His tone softened when he spoke to me again though, leaning down and pressing his lips to my forehead. "I'll see you later."
"See you." I said contentedly, getting one last tired smile from him before he continued up the steps and I made my way back down, managing to feel somewhat cheery despite the constant whirling of 'danger, danger' going on in my head. The Carrows needed to be stopped.
I just had no idea how.
_
"If you're not telling me why you're dressing up, I don't see why I should give you my opinion." Lavender was saying shrewdly, watching me through narrowed eyes as I stood in front of her. I scowled lightly, crossing my arms.
"I'm not dressing up. I'm just trying to look nice." I said, tugging slightly on the sleeves of my white sweater. In just the sweater and blue jeans, I actually felt more casual than anything. I was more used to being in skirts. But it was cold out in the halls, and my legs would be covered in goosebumps if I wore a skirt. Not to mention they were too restricting to allow many comfortable positions. Jeans, at least, let my criss-cross my legs.
Lavender sighed then, letting her head roll on her shoulders before she looked over at me, more appraisingly than she had the first time. "Very well. Leave your hair down- I'll curl it for you, Parvati never lets me curl hers. And switch out your top. The white is too... Bright. Do you still have that cream colored one? That you wore yesterday?"
I nodded impatiently.
"Wear that, then. And your black flats again. And may I do your makeup? Really lightly, I promise." Lavender added when she saw my dark look. But with a sigh I gave in. It was only Christmas once. Though I wasn't sure the make up would stay on me when the polyjuice faded away.
"Sure thing, Lavender."
My friend grinned brightly. "Excellent! Change, then, into your cream sweater- Then meet me in the bathroom." She instructed before disppearing through the bathroom doors. Amusedly I rolled my eyes but did as she asked, pulling the white one off of my body and switching it out for the cream one Ginny had given me. Catching a glimpse in the mirror, I figured Lavender was right- The cream was more flattering in both fit and color. Pulling myself away from the mirror I shortly followed Lavender into the bathroom, where I found her standing behind a stool, lying all her make up out on the counter. I grimaced.
"You said light make up, Lavender.." I hummed, eyeing the black eyeshadow approachfully. Lavender waved me away, instead patting down the stool in front of her.
"Sit down and let me do my magic. I promise it'll be subtle. It'll blow Thatcher off his feet."
"I never said I was going to see Thatcher." I scowled at her as I marched over, sitting down on the stool. I could hear Lavender hum amusedly as she ran her fingers through my long hair, using her wand to curl it expertly. She worked in silence, leaving me to fidgit impatiently as I waited for her to be done with my hair. The wand was much quicker than any muggle curling contraption, and in record time my hair was bouncy and curled to near perfection. I didn't get to admire it much though as Lavender quickly pulled my stool away from the mirror.
"Now close your eyes and prepare to be amazed."
"If you go super heavy on anything I'm gonna be pissed, Lavender. I know your makeup takes forever to get off."
"Oh, hush and let me work!" Lavender said, and the swab of whatever she was putting on my lips was enough to make me stay quiet. I could feel the brushes touching my face, but her touch was deceptively light and I could never tell what she was putting on me, and to what degree.
It was fairly easy to feel ridiculous while Lavender did my makeup. I had just been told the Death Eaters wanted to wipe out entire houses, yet here I sat, letting my friend put something that felt somewhat creamy onto my eyelid. Perhaps I was being shallow. I decided to think of it as procrastinating. They surely wouldn't becoming back tonight, and it would do no good to run into the common room yelling about it now. I'd save that for tomorrow.
It was at least twenty minutes later before I felt the last brush leave my face and Lavender let me open my eyes and turn the mirror. Adimittedly, I was surprised. Alecia Longbottom's face looked pretty and sophisticated, with dark eyelids and long lashes that I knew I did not have naturally.
"Lavender, this is amazing- And what did you put on my lips? They're so soft.." I hummed, reaching up and touching them involuntary. Lavender grinned from where she stood behind me, obviously pleased with her work.
"It's one of the WonderWitch products- The Weasley twins- You do know the Weasleys, don't you? Well they came up with this whole line. For two boys, they certainly know their ladies' products." Lavender said, and for a moment a surge of guilt went through me. The twins. Merlin, I missed them. But I didn't get to dwell on them long, my thoughts pulled away from me as Lavender spoke again.
"Anyway, the lip softner should last for twenty-four hours. Feel free to borrow it any time, I have bunches of it. Everything else wears off normally so, mind your activities. You don't want any mascara coming off on a pillow or something."
"Lavender!" I gaped, the other girl laughing gleefully at the blush that filled my cheeks. "Shut your mouth!"
"I'm sorry, you're too easy to tease." She said, patting my shoulder fondly. "Expect it often. With or without good reason."
"I hate you." I groaned lightly, hiding my face in my hands. Lavender batted my fingers away from my face quickly though.
"No, no- You don't want to smudge anything. Now, it's nearly four. Let's head down to the common room, shall we?" Lavender asked, raising an eyebrow. I nodded once, rising so quickly from the stool that my head rushed.
"Sure. I just have to do something- I'll meet you down."
"If I see you've messed with anything, I'll be angry." Lavender informed me before leaving the bathroom, leaving me alone. With a deep breath I looked down at the ring on my finger, still glinting with the last message I had received my Sirius. I raised it to my lips, concentrating on my choice words.
'I love you, I miss you, Happy Christmas to everyone'
Then I lowered the ring from my mouth, sliding it back onto my finger. I knew everyone would be scattered now, most in hiding. But I hoped that Sirius wasn't alone this Christmas, that he was with Remus and Tonks, or even Kingsley. Just someone. I hoped Caiden was happy with Remus, and that Tonks was having a relatively easy pregnancy, and that she was happy as well. I hoped the Weasleys were okay, with George and Fred and Ginny. I knew they would be okay. I would make sure they would be.
That was my job, after all.
With a deep breath I straightened my shoulders and walked back downstairs, into the cheeriness and warmth of the Gryffindor common room, and let myself sink into the arms of both my friends and the holiday spirit.
We would be okay, I thought as sat next to Neville, sipping from my glass of eggnog and waiting eagerly for five o'clock to arrive. I wasn't sure if I was lying to myself or not as I thought it, but I thought it none the less.
We would be just fine.
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Hey hey!
I apologize for the late update. I know some of you have been SUPER patient, and I appreciate it! 5385 words this chapter! I've been crazy busy this week with trips and homework(So much homework... ick). So being that I'm currently balancing five different stories, my time is a bit stretched! I've already got part of the next chapter written though, so never fear. It'll be up in record time!
Also, good news: The Girl Marauder will begin it's republishing in October! I'm hoping for October third, so we'll see how it goes. It's gonna be a really great series(A trilogy), and I know anyone who loves Potter is going to love it just as much!
Anyway, please fan, vote, and comment. I always love to hear what you have to think!
Luv ya,
-Lily