🖇·˚ ༘ ┊͙[ chapter sixteen ] ! ˊˎ

╰─▸ letters, lasagne, and annoying little brothers

     THE BUILD-UP TO CHRISTMAS DISAPPEARED IN a whirlwind of decorating trees, cramming homework, and packing the thickest jumpers we could find. And before any of us knew it, it was Christmas break and I was enjoying my last day at school for the year.

     I felt as though the Slytherin common room had a reputation for being all cold floors and void of life. But when the fire blazed in its home, the green lounge had never been so comforting than on a Christmas evening with my fingers intertwined with a mug of hot chocolate.

     Adrian snapped me out of my festive trance when he appeared in my line of view, no longer a fuzzy background character. "Hey, y/n? Someone's at the door for you." He said motioning to the stone wall behind me, before slumping onto the sofa opposite.

     "Any idea who?" I asked, taking one last sip of my drink before placing it on the coffee table and getting up from my seat.

     "Can't say I care enough to have asked," Adrian replied, jumping straight at the chance to take the remainder of my hot chocolate from the table. "Your boyfriend, perhaps?" He teased with one brow arched.

    "Watch it, Pucey. I have plenty of kids lined up who would die for your Chaser position."

     Adrian opted not to say anything else and so I left the warmth of the fireplace, crossing my arms over my chest to keep as much body heat close to me, the chill of the entrance to the common room making everything feel less festive.

     I can't say that I had expected none other than Cedric Diggory to be standing on the other side of the sliding stone wall when I opened it.

     He looked just as cold as I did when he spun hectically around on the spot, looking like a lost puppy and as though he wanted to be anywhere else but right here.

     "Oh great, I thought you wouldn't come for a minute then." His sigh made his shoulders heave and then sag. Then his eyes nervously fell to the floor. "That or I had gotten the wrong place."

     "Nope," I said, my mouth stuck in the awkward position of a straight line. It didn't seem to move and neither did I. "Right place." And perfect timing! Not.

     Cautiously, I stepped out of the doorway, allowing it to close, freeing us from any prying eyes from inside. "So can I help you?" I tried my best not to sound so puzzled.

     A sudden wave of remembrance seemed to hit him as he recalled why he was here. Cedric didn't say a word but simply handed me a small, ripped piece of parchment, of which a few scribbled words resided.

     As I tried to make sense of the words, Cedric gave a little more context upon seeing my furrowed brows. "I didn't know if I was going to see you again before we leave, so I wanted to give you that."

     I clawed my eyes away from the note to look into his. "Your address?" I asked, still slightly in the dark as to whether this was his idea of a Christmas present. Did he want me to send him something? Because I was not prepared to do that. "I don't really do presents if that's what-"

     "Write me, yeah?" Any hint of nervousness from before had vanished and that same classic Cedric Diggory smirk had returned. But before I could even utter another word, I was watching him skip up the steps to the castle's upper ground.

' ੈ˚ ❃

     AS EXPECTED, KINGS CROSS STATION WAS PACKED and I could have sworn I saw tinsel flying over some kid's head. It was strange to think that a whole term had passed, but the chill in the air and the grey December sky confirmed to me that I was right where I was supposed to be.

     After wishing Ava a merry Christmas ─ Spencer was staying at school for winter break as her family was visiting her older brother, Owen, over Christmas ─ I tried my best to peer over the masses of students to look for my own parents, while simultaneously hauling around an enormous trunk, y/o/n perched on top, and squawking too.

     Far too long later, I spotted my mother, Will nowhere to be found, and my father standing next to her. But before I could even so much as smile, my mother was pulling me in for a tight hug that quite literally, took my breath away.

     My mother is quite possibly the sweetest human being ever ─ smart, funny, hardworking and the embodiment of generosity in every language of the world. A Hufflepuff in every cliché way, my brother an almost exact copy; my father, very far from.

     I pride myself on being like my dad. Being of a successful ranking in the Ministry of Magic, my dad is vigilant, blunt and quick thinking. My mum is literally the only person to ever exist that has got him out of his shell. She makes him laugh and he only ever smiles when he's around her. 

     Hardly a compatible pair, but they complement each other and produced kids that personify them.

     Once I got my breath back, I took in my mother's scent and sighed at the feeling of being home. "Hi, mum."

     Her warm hands cupped my face. "y/n, darling. How is it that you grew in four months?"

     Chuckling, and resisting all urges to roll my eyes because she says that every time I come home from Hogwarts, I replied, "Magic."

     She stared into my eyes affectionately for a little while longer before something behind me grabbed her attention. My rotten little brother? Probably.

     "Oh Will!" She cooed, scooping him up as he came into earshot.

     With my mother's attention gone, I turned to greet my father.

     "Dad," I drawled.

     My father stared down at me. It was always in public when he seemed most distant.

     His head tilted down slightly and I knew that was his way of being loving. "y/n. How's school? The team?"

     My dad cares a great deal about my successes. It's why he's always so interested in my exam results and how the matches go. He was the captain of the Slytherin Quidditch team once and apparently the best one we ever had. I won't admit that that may have influenced Snape's decision to give me the captaincy two years ago because that would hurt my ego and only inflame my dad's.

     "Great," I replied, a half-smirk, half-smile comfortable on my features. "No doubt we'll win again this year."

     My dad is quite good at looks of pride. It's sort of like a my kid is better than yours thing. 

     Satisfied with my interrogation, he turned to my brother. And oh how I was excited about this.

     "William." He said in a curt tone. "How is . . .," My dad cleared his throat a little, clearly struggling to get the word out. He tried again. "How is Hufflepuff treating you?"

     "It's disgusting, isn't it?" I looked over at my dad and he quirked his eyebrow just slightly when he met my eye line. I could read his eyes ─ living with him meant you had to learn how he was feeling through his eyes ─ and how he approved of my comment. I think I noticed some agreeable humour in his pupils too.

     "Now, now, you two. I thought we agreed we were both very happy about Will's sorting when his letter came?" My mother lightly hit my dad's chest. "If you can be proud of y/n for being a Slytherin, maybe you could find it in your cold heart to be just as proud of William."

     My mother always joked about my dad's cold heart. Because she was the only one that could make it warm.

     He took a deep breath in, his eyes travelling to the ceiling before he reluctantly said, "I suppose I can live with another badger in the house."

     "I can't, just for the record," I said, causing a chuckle to force its way out of my dad. "Is adoption an option?"

     "For you? Yes," my mother joked, nipping me on my nose.

     "This is favouritism," I gasped. "I won't stand for it."

     My dad then slung his arm over my shoulder, squeezing tightly. "Be quiet, you," he said. "Please can we go home? I'm bloody freezing."

' ੈ˚ ❃

     THE HOUSE WAS DECKED WITH ITS USUAL Christmas decorations and I had never been so glad that I was home. Arrays of holly, tinsel spiralling up the bannister and familiar baubles hanging on the branches of a golden tree.

     Ploughing through the tiredness and fighting off the hunger, I unpacked my trunk, fed y/o/n and uncovered the box of Christmas decorations reserved for my room.

     "I guessed you would I have wanted to decorate your room yourself."

     My mother had appeared in my doorway, a loving smile resting on her features.

     "You guessed right," I chuckled back, my eyes glazing over the mountain of various decorations in the box that was now resting on my desk.

     "This just came for you."

     Looking back over to the hallway, I saw my mother holding out an envelope. Taking it from her, I recognised the handwriting from a note I had received yesterday. And from various Potions essays.

     "And who would that be from, y/n?" My father somehow sprouted next to my mother and I felt them edge closer into my room. It was like a standoff.

     "Probably her boyfriend." My brother's voice did its usual thing of pissing me off. He squeezed in through between my parents and very quickly, all three of them were huddled in the doorframe. 

     I silently prayed for my brother not to say anything else.

     "Cedric."

     Little shit.

     As both my mum and my dad opened their mouths with curious looks, I shut them up with a raised voice. "Okay," I sing-songed loudly, "why is everyone now in my room? What is this? A mother's meeting?"

     "An interrogation, more like," my dad corrected me. He was never one for liking the idea of me engaging in romantic connections ─ as he called them. In fact, he forbade them.

     "Not my boyfriend. Not Cedric. Not your business." I said through gritted teeth, my eyes fixated on Will.

     "Bullshit."

     I think Will was trying to be discreet, but it would be impossible for only me to hear his swearing.

     "William," my father said in a warning tone. My brother scurried off a second later.

     "y/n, that's good to hear. No boyfriends ever. Dinner's ready soon."

     My father is an expert at blunt.

     As quickly as they had come, they left until it was just my mother at the door. "So who's Cedric? Anyone of interest? Is he nice? Handsome?"

     I couldn't ignore the eagerness in my mother's words. She always seemed far too intrigued by my non-existent love life.

     Smiling sarcastically, I slammed the door shut.

     "It's lasagne for dinner by the way," I heard her voice come from directly outside my room. 

     I waited for the retreating footsteps before I sunk onto my bed and read the letter that had gotten me far too much attention.

Dear y/n,

I hope it was okay, I asked Spencer for your address (She's very stubborn I noticed. Quite nosy too). I wasn't sure if you were even going to write to me. Stalkerish, I know. Can't wait for you to take the piss when we get back to school.

No excuse not to write me back now, let this letter be a reminder:)

Hope you got home safe.

Have you and your family have a merry Christmas and a happy new year.

Your stalker, Cedric

     I refuse to admit that I smiled even the slightest bit while reading Cedric's letter. Will might be staring at me through the cracks in the door frame.

     Nonetheless, the possibility of my meddlesome brother watching me was lost on me when I hopped off my bed and started writing my letter back.