a/n- pretty long chapter, but totally worth it <3

'Gemma, someone's here to see you!' Her dad called. Gemma groaned and buried her head in her pillow. She sat up groggily, and was about to get out of bed when she decided not to. She slumped back down onto her pillow.

She got ten minutes of peace until someone entered her room, wrenched the pillow from under her head and started hitting her with it. Hard. 

'Okay okay!' She yelped, sitting up hastily. 

'Good,' Iz said, standing up straight. Ted stood behind her in the doorway, looking rather bashful. It had been over ten days since she'd seen him. She'd owled him for Christmas Eve yesterday, but he hadn't responded. His eye was swollen a bit purple, and she winced at the sight. He grinned.

'Nasty, right?' He said. 'You should've seen his face though, when I swore at him really loudly.' Gemma stared at him. 

'Swore at him?' She repeated. 'At who? Your dad?'

'Yes. Oh don't look alarmed, he hits me all the time. The point is, this time I didn't run away from it,' he declared proudly.

'That's great Ted,' she said. 'What did you do after?'

'I ran away to Iz's house,' he said, slightly crestfallen.

'Damn,' Gemma said. 'Dude are you okay?'

'Never better,' he responded, his grin widening. 'Freedom is mine!'  They laughed and Iz rolled her eyes.

'I'm bored,' she whined. 

'That's because we aren't talking about you,' Gemma said. 

'Ex-act-ly. Now, I have the day all planned out.' She pulled out a piece of paper from her pocket and laid it down on Gemma's bed. 

'Oh great,' Gemma grumbled. 'More planning. When have we ever actually stuck to these plans?'

'Never,' Iz conceded. 'But maybe today we shall break that tradition.'

'Anything for you,' Ted agreed, nodding his head. Gemma rolled her eyes and hit him round the head.

'Man you are whipped,' She said incredulously. 

'I don't know what that means but we are losing focus here,' Iz snapped. 'Now. Part one, we all go to Diagon Alley and buy each other Christmas presents because Ted hasn't really had time, Gemma you are always unprepared and I just couldn't be bothered until now.'

'Wow,' Gemma breathed. 'Buying each other Christmas presents on Christmas day? We really are great friends to each other.'

'I always buy you guys presents a week before,' Ted defended. 'I just couldn't this time.'

'What would you guys want, anyway?' Gemma asked.

'Nothing gold, I hate gold,' Iz said. 'Anyway, afterwards, we shall go to Florean Fortescue's and give each other our presents.. We will be back by nightfall to spend Christmas with your father because Ted and I hate ours.' 

'Well?' Ted looked at Gemma. 'You gonna get changed, or are you going in unicorn pyjamas?' She rolled her eyes and crossed the room to her wardrobe. Ted left, but Iz stayed, rambling about how excited she was. 

Gemma pulled off her t-shirt, and Iz grinned.

'You know, half the girls in Hogwarts would swap bodies to have abs and muscles like you,' She said matter- of- factly. 'So would half the Boys actually.'

'And you?' Gemma teased. Iz snorted.

'They're nice and all, but I wouldn't trade this ass for anything.' They both giggled, and feeling slightly more encouraged, she wore a pair of flared jeans (which she'd drawn all over with a black marker), and her dads old sweater, which frayed at the edges. 

'You dress like a homeless man,' Iz declared. Gemma laughed, and together they left the room.

They stood on the driveway, while Iz fumbled with what looked like a map of muggle London. In the end she got frustrated, and scrunched it up and stuffed it in her pocket. She huffed.

'Oh great plan- maker, how exactly are we supposed to get to Diagon Alley?' Gemma grumbled.

'Just wait for a few more minutes,' she snapped. Ted and Gemma hugged each other, trying to stay warm, despite the fact that they were wearing coats and scarves. Iz however stood unaffected, in heels, a skirt with very thin tights and low-neck shirt. 

'Whyyy,' Ted whined. 'I'm cooold.' Iz was about to say something- probably a deadly curse- when Luke fell from the sky. Literally. He landed with a thud on his back. He groaned as Iz helped him up, and Gemma and Ted stared in shock. 

'Huh?' Ted said. Gemma agreed. Luke began dusting himself off.

'Portkey,' Luke said, wincing. 'Not pleasant if you aren't experienced.' 

Now that he wasn't lying on the floor, Iz remembered her anger. She pulled out the map and threw it at his head.

'Ow,' he said, more confused than hurt. 

'This map is faulty,' she seethed. 'Like when I move here, it doesn't move with me!' 

Luke and Gemma stared at her.

'Um, Iz?' Gemma said. 'That's a muggle map. It isn't supposed to move with you.'

'That- that is ridiculous!' She spluttered. 'Muggles are so useless!'

'I heard that!' Gemma's dad yelled from the kitchen window. 

'Stop listening in to our conversations!' Gemma and Iz yelled simultaneously. Luke bent down and picked up the map. He unfolded it, and gathered his bearings.

'Come on,' he said. He began walking, and they all followed him.

.•*•.•*•.•*•.•*•.•*•.•*•.

Regulus was lonely. For the first time in a very long time, he felt truly alone.

It wasn't an unfamiliar feeling. He'd felt it every night before he went to bed, every day before he left for Hogwarts, every morning since Sirius had abandoned him. 

But it hadn't been so unpleasant back then. That's because he hadn't known what it felt like to have friends. To have a sister, who helped him with his homework, and comforted him when he cried. 

He stared into the fire in the Slytherin common room. He wondered what Elladora would be doing right now. Probably having fun with her new friends, he was happy for her. Then his mind wandered to Gemma, and a more bitter feeling settled in his stomach like a stone. Come with me, she'd said. And he could have said yes- he should have said yes. If he wasn't so damn scared all the time. 

.•*•.•*•.•*•.•*•.•*•.•*•.

'This is where the map ends,' Ted said confusedly. Their walk had been about half an hour long, and he'd taken over from Luke a while ago. They were outside a dingy muggle pub in a dingy muggle street.

'It's a disguise for the muggles,' Gemma explained. She led them inside the pub. As they walked, a gruff man held out his arm so they couldn't get past.

'No kids in 'ere!' Gruffy sneered. 'Clear off or I'll 'ave  my lads shove yer 'eads up yer arses.'

'Oh shut up you foolish man,' Iz said dismissively. Gruffy stood, eyes bulging with rage. He was tall, much taller than any of them, and he towered above her. 'We're trying to get to Diagon Alley, but you'd know that if you had two brain cells to rub together.'

'What're yer sayin!' He shouted. 'What're yer sayin!' 

'Let's go,' Luke hissed.

'Oh dear,' she said. 'I see what I've done.. I've gone and aggravated the situation, haven't I? Really, Mr Gruffy... Can I call you Gruffy? Gruffy, I'm just here to have a lovely day out with my lovely friends, and really we aren't looking for any trouble.'

'Well you've found it,' he sneered. Two men called Tawlly McTawllface and Shorty McShortface appeared behind him.

'Found what?' Iz said, looking confused. 

'Trou-'

'Ah yes, trouble! Sorry. In my defence, you are a frightfully boring person, so can you blame me for losing focus?'

Gruffy went red. Really red.

'Your face has gone really red,' Ted observed. Gruffy slammed his fist on the table, in an attempt to intimidate them. It didn't work. 

'It's gone even redder,' Gemma added. As the song changed on the radio, Gruffy lunged at her.

'Oh hell,' Luke muttered. 

As Tawlly tackled Ted to the ground, Shorty took a swing at Luke. With one swift and graceful movement, he dodged, and punched him on the back of the head, sending him sprawling. 

Music loud and women warm, I've been kicked around since I was born the radio garbled.

Gemma blocked a blow from Gruffy, but gasped as he trapped her in a headlock. Panic began settling in, but she pushed it away and drove her knee into his groin. He grunted and loosened his grip, and she was able to slip out of it. 

Whether your a brother or whether your a mother your stayin' alive, stayin' alive

She gasped for air, not noticing as Gruffy came back for round two. But before he could strike, Iz drove her heel into his back, and he slumped to the floor, where he lay groaning. 

Well now, I get low and I get high, and if I can't get either I really try

People were chanting now, and shouting; bar fights were clearly very popular. Gemma saw Ted being choked by Tawlly, and she picked up an empty beer mug and smashed it against his head as hard as she could. Needless to say, he released Ted, and he stood gasping for air. 

Whether your a brother or whether your a mother your stayin' alive, stayin' alive

'Break it up!' The bartender roared, and the crowd began to disperse.

'Let's go!' Luke hissed, and they all slipped away, leaving Gruffy and his lads winded on the floor. 

'That was awesome,' Ted panted, while Gemma tapped the bricks on the wall. Adrenaline coursed through all of them, temporarily blocking out any pain, but as the wall moved to allow them through, their limbs began to ache. 

'Next time you start a bar fight, you'll have to deal with it yourself,' Luke warned Iz. She just rolled her eyes at him. 

'Yes yes whatever,' she said dismissively. 'Now. You all have one hour and then you need to be outside Florean Fort-'

'The ice cream parlour?' Luke said incredulously. 'Ice cream in winter? On top of three inches of snow? Are you for real?'

'Where's your spirit Luke?' Ted teased. 'Live a little!'

'They do more than just ice cream,' Gemma interrupted. 'And we don't have very much time, so don't waste it.' They all agreed, and headed off in their different directions.

.•*•.•*•.•*•.•*•.•*•.•*•.

They all sat at a bench inside the little Parlour. The man serving didn't for the life of him know what a latte was, so she'd had to just settle for a gillywater instead. Luke took a brownie, and Iz and Ted both took ice cream, mint and cotton candy respectively. 

They'd all put their presents on the table with the person's name on it, not saying who it was from. In turn they went round, opening them. She'd gotten Iz a beige trench coat, and she'd squealed with excitement when opening it. For Luke she'd bought a book titled Moste Potent Potions and he'd seemed relatively pleased. Then for Ted she'd bought a new broomstick polishing kit, and he too was overjoyed.

Gemma appreciated the fact that they liked their presents. The truth was she had a lot less money to spend than they did, especially Ted and Iz. Every time she mentioned it however, they would tell her to shut up, or start telling her off for being silly.

Now, finally it was her turn to unwrap hers. She picked up the first present; it was an envelope. She opened it to reveal a poster of Darren Horne, a Montrose Magpies beater. In the corner of the poster, in black ink, a little message was scrolled.

To Gemma, 
Darren Horne

'No way,' she breathed. 'Fucking hell this is, like-'

'Amazing? Spectacular? A dream come true? Nothing less than you'd expect from the best friend ever?' Ted said. 

'Yes!' She said. She hugged him tightly, and he made a strangled sort of noise.

'Alright alright I can't breathe,' he protested. She let go. 

The next one was a small box, which she opened to reveal a slender silver ring in the shape of a snake. Attached was a complete sketch of her, looking out of the window. She knew who that one was from. 

'If you want my hand in marriage, you could just ask,' she teased. Luke smiled, and rolled his eyes.

'I thought you'd be more likely to say yes this way.'

'Okay do mine!' Iz complained. And so Gemma picked up the final box on the table. It was the largest one there.

She unwrapped it to reveal a brown wicker basket. In the basket sat a large ginger cat.

'What the hell is this?' Gemma said in surprise. 

'Well, since me- not- me killed your owl, I got you a new pet!' Iz said, sounding pleased with herself. 

'Iz, I am not responsible enough for a pet!' Gemma protested. 

'Sure you are,' Iz replied dismissively. 'And Ted will probably get super attached so you won't be seeing much of it anyway.'

'That is true,' he admitted. 

Gemma sighed and petted the orange cat. It closed its yellow eyes contentedly.

.•*•.•*•.•*•.•*•.•*•.•*•.

As they walked home, the snow storm picked up, making it almost difficult to see. Gemma had decided to name the cat Geraldine, and held it in her arms. She'd taken her arms out of her coat so she could wrap it around the both of them.

As they got to the front door, she fumbled a little to find the key in her pocket, fingers numb. When she finally got it out, she unlocked the door, and they all stumbled through with relief. 

'Dad, we're here!' She yelled, pulling off her gloves and letting Geraldine down onto the floor. 

No answer came. 

Frowning, she left the hallway and entered the kitchen. It was empty, with a turkey still cooking in the oven. 

'Maybe he took a break,' Ted suggested. She followed him into the living room, and the sight made her heart jump into her throat.

Dan sat, unmoving, on the recliner. His flesh was burned and disfigured, where his eyes had once been there were only empty black sockets, his fists- charred, scorched- were clenched in agony. He had been burned alive. 

She stumbled out of the room, and threw up.