Here We Go Again

Chapter 14: Take Cover! It's a Weasley Christmas

POV: Rose

She was sitting on the floor, her knees pulled up to her chest. Her eyes were focused on the crystal ahead of her. She didn't blink, hadn't for a while. It was like her focus was transfixed on whatever it was that she thought was reflecting off the glass. But it was just her: pale skin, blonde hair in waves down to her elbows, and blue eyes painted in shimmer, making them glitter more like true sapphires.

But I knew her. She wasn't seeing herself, wasn't seeing the beauty we all knew she was. After all, she never did see the same thing reflected off that glass that we all saw. What she saw was her flaws, her problems, and everything bad she's ever done. She judged the reflection, judged and didn't forgive or let loose. It was heartbreaking.

"Nia?" I called the blonde, clearing my throat.

Slow and with such effort, my friend blinked away from the conjured mirror to look up at me. The first time she'd met my eyes in over an hour. I suppose it was my fault, however. I should've stayed quiet, I should've not said anything—especially if I knew that all of it was affecting her more than she let on.

But what was I supposed to do? She's my best friend and she's withering away little by little, day by day. I could see it, she couldn't hide it from me like she attempted to hide it from everyone else. She was losing her fiery spark and it was starting to scare me. It was my duty, as a friend, to figure out what it was, right? I couldn't just let her slip away; let her suffer by herself.

Mum always said I tended to meddle. She said I got that from her, and Dad couldn't agree more. Can we be blamed, though? We see people hurting, of course we want to help! That's who we are. So how is this any different? If I said it, if I crossed a line, I did it for her. I did it for Nia.

But maybe I shouldn't have.

"What do you think about this one?" I gestured to the third dress I had tried on that day. "Do you like it?" It was a sheath dress, sleeveless, pale silver and completely sequenced. It molded perfectly onto my body, ending mid-thigh; looking like reflective glitter had been painted on my skin.

I headed to the vanity in my room, bending slightly to pick up the black booties I left on the bench of the elegant station. "It'd go perfect with these, right? Molly got them for me for Christmas; says they're a big muggle trend right now."

I sat on the bench of my vanity, picking up the left heel and unzipping the side of it. I slipped my foot in and quickly did it to the right one. Standing, feeling taller and very feminine, I smiled. "I'm not very experienced with heels, but a simple cushioning charm can make life a lot easier, don't you think?"

"Why did you say that to me?" She wasn't looking at my attire, wasn't even bothered by it. "Why would you say that?"

My smiled died. "Nia," I began, letting out a tired sigh. "Forget it, okay? I crossed a line, I was out of place. I'm sorry."

"Would you lie to me?" She asked, ignoring my signals of dropping the subject and my uncomfortable facial expression.

"Of course not."

"Then, tell me." Her voice was rough now. "What did you mean by what you said?"

I closed my eyes, sighing again. "Nia, please just let it—"

"I'm not going to let it go!" That startled me. "So I'm a doormat then? Have I become one of those girls I've always made fun of in the Common Room, Rose? Have a seriously lost myself to a boy?"

I sat back down on the bench of my vanity. "I never said you were a doormat," I clarified first. "All I said was that you're losing yourself. For goodness sake, Nia, look at you! You're withdrawing into yourself, you're getting quiet, and I know that you cry when you think Emily or I are sleeping. If you were just honest with me—with yourself—you'd be less of a mess."

She swallowed roughly, swallowing her emotions most likely. Her blue eyes hardened a little, just like they usually did when she was brewing something over. She stood from the floor, her bare feet taking her to my bed. "Just with myself?"

"With him too, Nia."

She sat down at the edge of the neat bed. "I don't like this, Rose." It came out as a whisper, blue eyes hiding from me as they looked down at her lap. "I...I don't know what I'm becoming or what I'm doing. It's like...It's like I don't know how this works."

"That's understandable," I muttered, sympathetic and relating.

She shook her head, waves swaying. "I'm not good with relationships, Rose. All I've ever had was Liam and I was okay with that. I only knew how to be myself around him, I knew how to just live and act, but then...then all of you came into my life and it was different." She looked up at me and I wished, for once, that she wouldn't. Her eyes were filled with tears. "How do I love him, Rose? How do I make...How do I make a relationship work when I'm not good at loving people?"

I swallowed a knot of my own. "Nia, I think you're the person among us that loves the most." And it was true. She was fierce as a lion, but she was loyal to the end. She loved and cared blindly for those in her heart and life. "And you make your relationship work by loving him the way that you do. You've learned to adjust, to let him in...It starts there."

"But why do I feel like this?" She asked, sounding so naive and scared. "Why do I feel like Al is breaking my heart? Why do I feel so...Am I missing something, Rose?"

How do you tell your best friend—a girl who's never had a relationship, a girl who's new to the concept of loving someone else, a girl who never lets her guard down—that her relationship has hit a roadblock? And that's really what it was, everyone could see it. Al was slowly withdrawing from her, becoming less affectionate, more rough, more vague, and he suddenly had a new friend that he'd drop Nia for in the moments that he should've been spending with her.

Nia wasn't stupid, she knew something had shifted but had no clue what it all could mean. She was scared—terrified because she didn't know how to fix something that was not visibly broken. She was in the relationship, her heart was invested in it, and so she felt it to the core. And just the same way she was new to love, she was new to insecurities, jealousy, and panic.

I tried talking to Al, to see if I could deduce what it was that had shifted in their relationship, but I came up with nothing. His green eyes glittered at the mention of Nia, just like they did all the previous years that he'd been silently in love with her, and when asked, he would say that he loved her and everything was fine. I would've believed him, but as my cousin, knowing him the way I do, I saw flashes of a mask covering his true thoughts.

He was changing.

"You just need to talk to him," I finally replied, trying to sound sure of myself. "Don't bottle it up, Nia. Talk to Al. I promise things will work out."

She nodded once, exhaling and inhaling. And magically, by default or just because that's how well she's trained herself, the broken emotions that Nia harbored and had previously expressed were gone. Her blue eyes had dried the unshed tears automatically, and her beautiful and flawless face was back to being aloof.

"What's the deal with you and Malfoy, then?" She stood from my bed, heading back to the long mirror that was taking up the center of one of the walls of my room. "Still mad at him?"

A frown instantly took up my face now. "Is he still tutoring Madison Mulciber?"

"Sometimes you just can't take the Malfoy out of a Malfoy, can you? Evil is always going to attract evil." She snorted to herself, but from the reflection she caught my angered expression and dropped the smirk she pulled on. "Sorry."

"Don't be. I'm glad you agree with me and don't think I'm paranoid by thinking that Mulciber is a descendant of the devil."

"I'm not as informed about the muggles' view of God and the Devil as you are, but I'm well aware Mulciber is the spawn of something detestable." Smoothing down the flowing, enthralling, aqua-blue skirt of her two-tone dress, Nia turned to face me looking partially annoyed. "It's been three weeks since Malfoy started tutoring Mulciber and he still thinks she's a fucking bunny? She's brainwashing him, you know that, right, Rose?"

"I know," I groaned in a very unladylike manner. "At first, I was relieved that I managed to shake off tutoring Mulciber myself. I love Scorpius, mind you, but I didn't care that McGonagall had pinned her on him for a couple of days. Scorpius had assured me that the Headmistress was going to find a suitable tutor for the witch, and then he tells me, a week later, that he actually agreed to be her permanent tutor."

Sighing, I stood up from the bench and walked to my bed; needing the pacing as anger started bubbling beneath my skin. "I'm not the jealous type, Nia, I swear it. Scorpius could be friends with whoever he pleases, but Madison Mulciber? I told him she hates my guts, has for years! She made my life a mess with Belinda Rookwood; only difference being Rookwood thrived on public admiration of the horrid things she'd do to others."

"We shouldn't speak ill of the dead, Rose," Nia interjected, sounding serious as she frowned at me. "As evil as the bitch was."

I rolled my eyes. So I didn't particularly like Belinda Rookwood, Scorpius' fellow Slytherin and fling in Fifth Year, but I suppose Nia was right. "The point is I know the truth, Nia. I know that it was Rookwood and Mulciber that were out to get us Gryffindor girls, and Scorpius chooses to ignore my plea to get rid of her. I don't even know if I'm being an overbearing girlfriend or if I'm justified."

Slipping on silver pumps—a gift from my cousin Molly that she really didn't expect to be getting—Nia became the epitome of those fashion models that make the rest of the female gender feel disgusting. "I think you're justified, but I also think—and may my dead grandfather forgive me—that Malfoy's right too. You don't get to choose who he's friends with..." She paused for a moment, blue eyes flickering with sadness, speaking from a personal place, but quickly gathered herself. "Mulciber is harmless, Rose. Yes, she's a two-faced witch, but she doesn't have it in her to do anything. Ever since Rookwood died last year, the girl just walks around by herself or keeps to her Ravenclaws. She won't be a problem."

Breathing out through my nostrils, I looked at my blonde friend intently. "Do you really think so?"

She nodded. "Now, let go of that grudge. You know Malfoy loves you, and this anger between you is not normal."

"—Agreed." Knock. Knock. "Kiss Malfoy under the mistletoe and get over it."

Turning my head to my doorway, petty annoyance crawled up my spine as my brother leaned against the doorframe with a smirk. His dark hair was disheveled, looking exactly the way it did when he woke up, and he was still sporting his flannel pajama pants and bare chest.

"You're supposed to knock before you open the door, Hugo, not after."

My brother shrugged, still smirking casually. "I didn't know if you ladies would hear it over all your girl-talk." He flashed his inherited blue eyes to my friend. "Looking exquisite as ever, Harper. So very grateful that my sister invited you to get ready here before heading over to the party."

I made a disgusted face and Nia scoffed at his flirtatious attitude.

"What do you want, Hugo?"

He glanced back at me and lost his swagger and replaced it with a puppy-dog look. "I need a favor."

"If this is about you forgetting to buy Mum and Dad a Christmas gift you can forget it," I scolded him as my palm went over the giant box on my bed that Nia had helped me wrapped as I showered. "I told you two weeks ago that you were old enough to go to Hogsmeade and take a look around for yourself."

"This isn't about a bloody gift, Rose—though I already got it, thank you very much." From the pocket of his flannel pants, Hugo pulled out a slightly dented and wrinkled envelope.

Frowning, I thought of a nonverbal to summon the card to me. "You could've at least gotten them each a card, Hugo. It's not like they cost more than a knut."

He watched me tug the card into the ribbons of my gift and ignored my comment. "Back to my favor, I need you to distract Mum and Dad from the upper level of the house."

One of my brows went up. "What for?"

"I've got a guest coming through for a few minutes—or however long it takes, really—and I don't want Mum or Dad seeing them crossing the Floo upstairs. It's kind of private."

"However long what takes?" I questioned. "And who are you trying to hide?"

Hugo glanced at Nia, and to my irritation, they both shared a knowing look and chuckled. And I knew perfectly well that they were laughing at me. "Can you do this for me or not, Rose?"

"What's in it for me, then?"

"I leave out the fact that you and Malfoy tend to disappear frequently inside a broom closet on the Fourth Floor when Dad asks for his monthly update on you and your Slytherin."

I felt my cheeks burn and Nia started laughing loudly. "Fine," I brushed off my embarrassment, "but you know Mum always goes into the office to finish grading papers from her university classes before we leave. If I'm going to distract them both it's going to be memorable and slightly traumatizing."

My brother looked intrigued. "Deal, then. I'll continue lying to Dad about you and Malfoy sneaking off, and I promise to forget the fact that Roxy let it slip that she saw you buying lingerie from that exotic shop in Diagon Alley yesterday."

"I—that's—I didn't buy anything!" I really didn't.

"You and Harper each came out with a bag," my brother said, unimpressed with my blurt. "On one hand, Al's a bloody lucky bastard if he gets to see Harper in lingerie. Malfoy...Now, how long will it take Dad to apparate to Malfoy Manor and make sure your boyfriend never has kids and or eyeballs if he finds out?"

Frowning at my brother, I sucked in a deep breath and stomped my way out of my room; shoving him aside as I found courage to head to the living room of our home.

"Mum," I called, taking one for the team.

As I entered the room, Mum raised her head to look at me as she put a pause in the box she was wrapping in gold material. "Rosie, what is it?"

Dad looked up at me too, chewing on a Pumpkin Pasty that I knew belonged in the collection of boxed sweets Mum had gotten as a Christmas gift for Uncle Harry.

"I...erm...I need some help." I looked away from Dad instantly.

"On?"

I groaned internally. "Sex."

Dad spit out the sweet, coughing wildly, and he started turning blue. His eyes were wide and filled with fear.

"I just want to know the type of contraceptive spells there are and what kind of potions are most likely to work," I explained quickly. "I just want to have this information from a reliable source, and I know you two waited years until you had Hugo or I so I know you're the ones with information. I just...It's just so I won't end up pregnant like Dominique."

Dad was choking all over again.

"Of course," Mum replied carefully. She patted the seat next to her on the sofa and I hesitantly walked to her. "Now," she continued as I sat, "are you really just curious because of what happened to your cousin or are you and Scorpius—"

"I'll kill him!"

"No, no!" Dad and I shouted at the same time, but I explained quickly before he did head over to Malfoy Manor and killed my boyfriend. As much as I wanted to aim a hex at Scorpius for the Mulciber thing, I didn't want him handicapped. "This is simply educational, I swear it."

Mum then went on to tell me about methods I was perfectly aware of; all while Dad looked frozen and miserable and traumatized.

Happy Christmas, Hugo. You owe me.

X

"Happy Christmas, Family!"

"Happy Christmas, Uncle George!" As the first one to react when a tall redhead with a giant rucksack hanging off from his shoulder entered the garden of the Potter home with a very loud entrance, as we were all accustomed to, Artie had to be quickly restrained by Uncle Percy when the boy attempted to leave his seat around the massive table.

The same intrigued and hungry look that was on my youngest cousin's face was also reflected off the oldest ones too. Louis, James and Freddie stopped focusing on the things they were before Uncle George walked in, mischievous grins on their faces and trouble-making glints in their eyes.

One who was not as happy to see the man was Grandmum. "George," she began with her shrill, scolding tone as her gaze went to a frown, "how can you be this late? We've already eaten dinner and are now on dessert and tea!"

Always up to get his older, trouble-making and rude brother into trouble, Dad smirked readily. "Yeah, George!" Chunks of his unchewed food flew out of his mouth and Mum frowned at him with deep disapproval. "How can you be this late? Inconsiderate!"

"Chew with your mouth closed, Ronniekins," Uncle George retorted in a merry way, not concerned about Grandmum's scowl. No, he instead focused on the one on my mother's face and grinned. "Terrible manners, you're putting to shame everything 'Mione has tried to teach you since before you got married. What will the guests think?" He nodded over to the Malfoy and Zabini families. "You better not be expecting a very acrobatic Christmas gift when you go to bed tonight, ickle Ronnie. Hermione will withhold sex from you for another month, just watch."

I cringed, disgust at the tip of my tongue, and everyone looked as appalled with Uncle George's comment. Well, all except for Mum and Mister Malfoy. No, the blonde man was smirking into his goblet of Firewhiskey, quite amused, and Mum was glaring more intently than before.

"You told George our business, Ronald?!"

Before Mum could kill Dad with those powerful nonverbal hexes she's famous for, Uncle Harry cleared his throat loudly from the end of the table where he sat. "You missed dinner for whatever is in that sack, George?" Bless his soul. Uncle Harry was still wedging his way between Mum and Dad's fights after all these years. "It must be important, then, if you were willing to risk a scolding from Molly and Angelina."

"Everyone just lay off my dad," Freddie interjected, wedging his own way to prevent his parents from arguing when Aunt Angelina began shaking her head slowly and threateningly at her husband's direction. "As long as there's something wicked inside that rucksack for all of us, what's the point of being mad at him?"

"That's the point, Freddie," Aunt Ginny cut in before anyone else could say anything in or against Uncle George's defense. "Whatever is in that rucksack is surely for you, James, Louis and Artie—nothing good can come of that."

As his mother labeled him a troublemaker, James frowned at the smug looks Lily and Al threw his way. Sure, we all knew Al and Lily had an attitude and maybe a habit of getting into trouble, but nothing compared to the grief James put Aunt Ginny through.

"Come off it, Aunt Ginny—" Louis was right on time to move to the side when his mother's wand went to smack him beside the head for his audacity and tone. Grandmum Molly was frowning too, but Louis, ever the protector of his own skin, made sure Victoire blocked him from view. "We're just mere children," he continued. "We would never do anything devious that'd put shame on the family name."

Snorting, Dominique pushed her plate of untouched dinner towards Mister Zabini's place. He, of course, happily took the offering; ignoring the scowl his wife was giving him for accepting it as he unbuttoned the top button of his trousers. I could see why Lucas said his mother blamed the Weasley/Potter clan for the extra ten pounds her husband had put on since socializing more with us.

"Shame fell upon the family name once you three were conceived," Dominique teased darkly. "You lot should take a lesson from us girls. We've never done anything wrong or degrading." She sent a wide smirk at me and I giggled.

Louis looked unimpressed as he raised a single, blonde brow at his redheaded sister. "Is that so?" He scoffed. "Because I was under the impression that you're currently six months pregnant." Thick silence pierced the Potters' garden when Louis mentioned the unmentionable. "Seventeen, pregnant out of wedlock, and still living at home while the git that got you pregnant is nowhere to be seen most days. Why, yes, Dom, I'd say you're the perfect example of greatness in our family."

All eyes were on Uncle Bill's youngest children, completely focused, tensed, and nervous, that no one seemed to see when Dominique whipped out her wand and pointed it at her brother. Everyone took in a giant gulp of air in unison. "Oppugno."
The fireflies that had been flying silently over our heads—more like magical, tiny, decorative lights instead of a nuisance—suddenly went straight towards Louis' face. He didn't even get a chance to blink when they reacted as darts and they used his face as the board.

"Dominique!" Aunt Fleur shouted, looking so appalled that her daughter would so such a thing.

Louis screamed as he attempted to slap the little things away from him. His chair tipped over in his panic, making him land on his back.

"Say something else, I dare you!" My pregnant cousin shouted.

"I hate you!" Louis roared, still waving his arms about without much luck of getting rid of the fireflies attacking him.

"I hate you more, you fucking twat!"

"Enough!" Standing from his chair, with a great roar that shook up the entire garden, making even the fireflies halt, Uncle Bill faced Dominique with destructible eyes. "Go inside, Dominique, and you wait for me in there."

At the roughness in which her father spoke with, Dominique zipped her lips together. Her green eyes, so alike Uncle Bill's, filled with angry tears, but she didn't dare say anything in response—she never did when it came to him. Instead, she shoved her own chair back, making it tumble, and she stomped her way to the backdoor of the Potters' home without a look back.

"...Someone's a bit sensitive," Roxy muttered to Uncle Harry. "And you do know that when Dom's angry she takes it out on any objects she finds, right, Uncle Harry? She usually tends to start a fire."

Looking away from his niece, Uncle Harry exchanged a knowing look with his wife. Aunt Ginny nodded and sighed. "Fleur, maybe you should go and talk to her instead of Bill. Make her see reason."

"I'm going to kill her—" Louis growled between his teeth, speaking before his mother could respond to our aunt. He accepted Freddie's hand and rose back up from the grassy ground with a blotched, swollen face. "Right after she squeezes out that kid I'm killing her!"

Crash!

Off in a daze for a while, Scorpius finally came back to the now as he jumped on his seat from the sudden commotion.

I patted his thigh and he smiled at me.

Crash!

The family winced as another shattering sound echoed from inside the home. Victoire, however, was the only one to stand. "I'll go," she said as put a hand on Teddy's shoulder.

"Victoire—"

"No, Dad," she interjected at the strict tone her father was already spewing out. "You're not going to calm her, you're just going to upset her more. Besides, I'm practically a Healer. I'll know how to settle her before she upsets the baby."
As my blonde cousin headed to the backdoor of the house, the people still seated at the table began to slowly break the awkward tension left in the air. Aunt Fleur attempted to fix her son's face; Dad went directly to take a slice of pie; Mrs. Malfoy and Aunt Ginny went into a conversation; Uncle Harry was speaking to Uncle Bill now; Mister Malfoy was leering at my mother while she narrowed her eyes at him and whatever he was telling her that caused him much amusement; and Uncle George let Artie and Freddie take a look at what he brought.

"Last year was definitely much safer," Scorpius spoke quietly to me as I felt his fingers lace through mine. He brought our clasped hands on top of the tabletop, smiling sweetly and handsomely at me. "As amusing as you Weasleys are, I'm a little worried for my own face right about now. You're all too violent sometimes, love."

Wasn't that the truth. "It happens," I sighed, rolling my eyes at the accurateness. "Every few years one of the holiday dinners has potential to become a massacre. The last time it was this bad was when Aunt Ginny thought she was pregnant again and Lily couldn't stop crying. She was ten and almost flung herself off the roof when Uncle Harry refused to sell the baby if it were to come."

He looked terrified and his eyes found Aunt Ginny.

"What?" I asked, eyebrow raised.

"Can you imagine someone with unstable, pregnant hormones that can be worse than Dominique?" He continue to eye my aunt. "Mister Potter truly is a hero."

"Then you really have a problem, mate." Scooting his chair closer to us, a huddle started to form with the younger participants of this dinner, James sneered at my boyfriend. "Weasley women are mental. And if you're planning to stick around for life, may Merlin have mercy on your soul if Rose ever pops out a little Malfoy heir."

That image made me nervous, but Scorpius smiled; his fingers squeezing mine.

"Good thing my Emily is a saint." Pulling our American friend off her chair, James guided his girlfriend onto his lap. His arms went to snake around her waist, tightening protectively. "When she and I have kids—"

"Don't put that sick image in my head," my boyfriend snapped. "If there's hope in the world, Emily will realize you're a worthless twat and she'll leave you for someone more agreeable."

James simply gave Scorpius the finger, making Lily and Liam, Al and Nia laugh. "Malfoy, if your life depended on that ridiculous hope you'd be dead. Em and I are in it for the long haul. Marriage and kids are in the tea leaves, mate."

There was another round of chuckles but Emily was not looking amused at all. She shot me a look—it was a scared one. Her emerald eyes filled with panic, her chest started rising a little hectically, and she swallowed roughly.

"You're birthday is approaching, Al." Trying to help, trying to ease my friend's fear, I changed the conversation. All eyes blinked towards the dark-haired, green-eyed boy sitting next to the gorgeous blonde girl in the group. "You've yet to tell us what you have in mind."

My cousin shrugged. "Sixteen is not that important, really," he said casually, throwing an arm around the back of Nia's chair and embracing her by the shoulders. "Besides, I've got everything I want."

Nia tensed.

For goodness sake! Was it put-my-friends-in-an-awkward-situation day or something? How many relationship problems could possibly be going on at the moment, honestly!

"Listen, Nia, I'm going over to the Greengrass' place tomorrow for tea," Liam, also noticing what I noticed, turned to his best friend. Lily raised an eyebrow at him, looking somewhat confused, but she kept her mouth pressed into a tight line as her boyfriend looked at the girl across from them. "I know we're going to end up having a little get-together for Al's birthday in the evening, but I was wondering if you'd want to stop by at my relatives' with me? We can come back to Godric's Hallow together."

Both young Potter siblings frowned at Liam.

"Would I ever leave you alone at the mercy of your despicable relatives?" Nia smiled dimly at her best friend. "Of course I'll go. I've been working on this complex hex anyway, and with your disgusting cousins there's a high chance I can practice on—"

Nia stopped talking suddenly, losing her smile and friendly and supportive gaze when Al's arm released her shoulders. He stood up, a giant grin on his face and, "Ophelia!" Bloody hell. "You made it!"

Cringing, I turned in my seat as Al started hurriedly and excitedly making his way towards the backdoor of his home. Exiting out of it was that new Spaniard student: Ophelia De La Cruz. She wore a slick black dress that pooled around her ankles, a black blazer keeping her from the cold, and chunky silver jewelry. Her lips were painted burgundy and her exotic, dark eyes were rimmed with only mascara.

"Hola, Albus," she greeted, a grand, unknown smile on her face. I didn't like it; didn't like the feel of her. She embraced my cousin, kissing both his cheeks fleetingly. "Feliz Navidad."

"What the actual fuck is she—" I slapped a hand over my boyfriend's mouth, silencing him before he added fuel to a fast-burning fire.

Up ahead, Al took one of the girl's hands into his and he started pulling her. "Come, I'll introduce you to my family."

Slowly, hesitantly, very afraid, one by one we started to turn around in our seats. My eyes glanced to my best friend, a wince already spreading all over my body when I noticed her face. Warning signs should've really been flashing all around the garden right about now.

"What are you doing?" I snapped as Scorpius pulled me up from my seat in a sudden movement.

"Good call, Malfoy," James said fleetingly as he too made Emily stand. He pulled his wand out, pushing Emily behind him when the intruder's laugh echoed around the garden area. "Let's get the hell out of here."

Lily rose an eyebrow at us. "What the hell is wrong with you lot?"

"You see that?" Scorpius pointed a finger at the blonde girl's direction. We all watched as Nia's blue eyes were ablaze, all while focused on the girl hanging about Al and our family in a distance. "That's what war looks like."

Liam frowned at his cousin. "Nia—"

"Shhh!" James hissed at our fellow Gryffindor. "Don't you dare call the monster onto us, Greengrass!"

Emily and I exchanged a worried glance before directing it to our friend. Nia's blue eyes that were usually serene like a calm ocean were now suddenly deep navy; matching the hue of the night sky above us, but far more cloudy and thunderous. Her rosy cheeks were now red, and the grip she had on her goblet of Pumpkin Juice was lethal.

And suddenly, the goblet started making bubbling sounds. Merlin, her magic was reacting without her knowledge.

"She's going to blow!" James shouted, dragging Emily far away from the table. Scorpius pulled me along with them, too.

This really was going to be a very violent Christmas.