"Are you sure about this?" Aurelia asked softly, her forest green eyes interlocking with Regulus' ice blue ones.
"Why wouldn't I be?" he responded, his voice faltering slightly. "They really aren't that bad. Besides, I always have my house elf to keep me company."
Aurelia nodded her head, wrapping her arms around him as a last goodbye. "Remember to owl."
"How could I forget?" he said, trying his hardest to keep a smile on his face. "I'll miss you."
"I'll miss you too."
Regulus spotted his parents a few feet away, who were scowling at all the passersby. Seeing him, they strode their way forward. "We were waiting for you for five minutes!" Walburga yelled. A few people stopped and stared, but Orion shot them a filthy look.
"Sorry about that," Regulus mumbled. "I'll remember next time."
"You better," Orion said in a warning tone, "or they'll be serious consequences."
Regulus gulped but stayed silent; he knew exactly what these 'consequences' were, and he really didn't want to be in the receiving end of any of them. Walburga and Orion took his hand — their own feeling quite cold in contrast. In the blink of an eye they apparated, leaving only a small pop.
Regulus was lucky that he never felt queasy after side-along apparitions. It used to make his brother feel sick to his stomach; something Regulus used to always bring up — much to his annoyance. He then felt a sinking realization. He didn't even know why he still thought of Sirius as his brother; it wasn't like Sirius felt the same way. He left, for good this time — unlike the times when he ran away for a day before coming back just to prove a point. Sirius would never want to set foot in Grimmauld Place again.
Making his way to his room, Regulus took a view calming breaths.
It's just Christmas, everything will be fine.
But were things ever truly fine?
Aurelia, on the other hand, was having a much better time than Regulus. She was munching on a gingerbread cookie; somehow managing to decorate the Christmas tree at the same time. Loud holiday music could be heard blaring in the background while her dad put some ornaments on the fir tree. Once all the decorations and tinsel were situated, he turned on the lights — immediately brighting up the whole place. "You know what we forgot?" he suddenly said in realization.
"What?" Aurelia asked, too busy eating her fifth cookie to notice anything missing.
Clement looked through the box, before taking out a large golden star. He handed it to Aurelia, beckoning her.
"Oh!" Aurelia shoved the rest of the cookie in her mouth before standing on her tiptoes, her arm straining to reach the top. All of a sudden she fell, landing on her butt with a loud thud. She could hear her father snickering, so she shot him a look. "It's not funny!"
"It kind of is," he answered. "Shorty."
"And I am not short!"
"Whatever helps you sleep at night."
Grumbling, she got up, then scavenged the other room for a stool. Spotting one, she took it — before making her way back. Aurelia stepped on the stool and this time successfully put the star on top of the tree.
"It's beautiful," she said, the light reflecting off her eyes.
"I have some ideas for next Christmas too," Clement said.
Aurelia turned her attention towards him, beaming widely. "Really?!"
"Yep," he replied. "You'll see next year though."
"You're no fun," Aurelia complained. "But I can't wait to see what you have planned."