A/N: Hello Everyone! Did anyone catch the live stream of the premiere for the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Hollywood? I LOVED when John Williams conducted the LA Philharmonic. I can't wait to go one day. May be when the crowds die down I'll probably end up going. Anyways, it's Christmas time in my little story so I thought I would sweeten it up a bit. I was going for an "Awww" factor this time. Haha! Hope you all enjoy!
DISCLAIMER: I do not own anything Harry Potter in here. I'm just happily sitting in the sandbox and letting my imagination run wild!
Chapter 9: Season of Giving
It was finally Christmas Eve, and Auntie Minnie said she had a special session planned for me. It was the perfect distraction. After that incident with Professor Quirrell several days ago, he's been giving me weird looks, but he hasn't talked to me since. Severus has noticed his curious eyes, too, and I could tell he didn't like the way he was looking at me. I don't think anyone would feel comfortable with someone looking at them the way Quirrell did to me. A couple of days ago, Severus told me he confronted Quirrell, and he said he would stop his staring. He hasn't looked at me since, but it was still awkward to be around him still.
I walked past the castle walls and towards the familiar Quidditch pitch. Why would she want to meet out here? Passing through the entrance marked "Quidditch Arena", I saw Auntie Minnie standing in the middle of the field.
"Is our session going to involve me learning how to play?" I joked, hugging her. She chuckled.
"No. Well, not yet. If you wanted to learn you can always observe one of Gryffindor's practices. I'm sure Mr. Wood wouldn't mind." She turned towards her feet and waved her hand. Suddenly, an object in the shape of a broom covered in gift wrap appeared.
"Merry Christmas, Mia. You are learning how to fly today."
I look at her, surprised. Flying? I knelt down and carefully unwrapped the broom. It was made out of a dark brown wood, almost reminded me of mahogany. The bristles on the broom looked like a bunch of twigs spun together, a large gold ring to hold them with the main rod, then a smaller ring to hold the ends together. I picked it up, and it was surprisingly light. I never thought I would be so happy to get a broom as a Christmas present. She motioned for me to set the broom back down.
"I would have asked Madame Hooch to supervise your flying lessons, but she has left the castle for the night, and I didn't want to delay this any further," she said, looking at me apologetically. I didn't mind, though. I would be more comfortable with Auntie Minnie than if it was Madame Hooch teaching me how to fly.
We covered most of the basics. It was hard to be able to command my broom up from the ground to my hand, but I think I got the hang of it after a few tries. Balancing myself while floating was hard. There's not much to sit on, and I had to sit precisely where it would keep the broom balanced, with my hands off the broomstick. I took a few falls, but I was only a few inches off the ground, so it wasn't too bad. She skipped on having me try to fly vertically, at least until I get used to how to properly sit on my broom. Before I knew it, our session was already over. She invited me into her room to have some tea.
"You did very well today. I am impressed you learned flying without having many issues. Some of our first years are still having trouble," Auntie Minnie said, taking a sip of tea.
"Really? I would think that they would have gotten the hang of it better than I did, considering they grew up in a world where flying brooms was normal," I said, wrapping my hands around the tea cup.
Auntie shook her head. "Mr. Longbottom took a nasty fall early on in the term. Madam Hooch had to escort him to the infirmary for his fall. He isn't the first, and certainly won't be the last," she sighed. "Which oddly reminded me, tomorrow we will have a special Christmas dinner with the staff. Albus likes to treat us during the holidays, so make sure you come dressed."
"I always come dressed, Auntie. I don't think people would like to see me naked. Ow!" I was interrupted by Auntie Minnie's hand swatting my arm, followed by her laugh.
"But I will dress nicer for tomorrow night," I finished, rubbing my arm. "I think I'm going to stay in my room for the rest of the day, catch up on some reading." That was a total lie. I needed to wrap some presents before tomorrow night. Auntie Minnie nodded and gave me a peck on the cheek before she let me leave.
"Cocktail hour attire, Mia," she called to me as I walked out. "Albus likes to dance after dinner."
I'm not quite sure why, but I felt like wearing dark colors tonight. Tonight's outfit consisted of a fitted, navy blue dress, my wedges, and some black diamond studded earrings. My only pop of color was my pearl bracelet and my plum colored lipstick. I threw my hair up in a low bun, wanting to show off my earrings.
If this doesn't yell out cocktail hour, I don't know what does. I sprayed my Vera Wang Princess on before picking up my gifts for Auntie Minnie and Severus and clicking my way out of the dungeons.
When I got to the Great Hall, the doors automatically opened. The area where faculty would normally sit was blocked off by a row of Christmas trees. There was a large table in the middle of the room, and on both sides was a long row of tables filled with food. I looked up, and it looked like snow was falling, candles floating all around.
"Mia, you look beautiful," Auntie Minnie said, walking up to me. I hugged her, handing her the truffles I had bought on our shopping day.
"Merry Christmas Auntie. I'm sorry it's not as great as a broom," I said shyly. I can't believe I just got her truffles.
She opened the bag and smiled. "Truffles, my favorite. Thank you dear." She gave me another hug. "May be next year you can get me chocolate covered strawberries," she joked. She noticed the box I was holding in my hand and pointed at it.
"Who is this for?" she asked, ever so curiously. I rolled my eyes.
"I, um, I bought something for Severus. He's helped me out quite a bit, I thought the least I could do is get him a gift for Christmas." I could feel myself getting nervous, doubting if he will like what I got him. I looked around to see if he was already here, but I didn't see the familiar coat and trousers.
"He's not here yet, dear. He had some business he needed to attend to. You can give it to him when he arrives." She motioned for me to take the chair next to hers. I set my gift on my chair and followed her to the buffet table. I was sandwiched between Auntie Minnie and Madame Hooch.
"So, I heard you flew for the first time Mia. Tell me, how did Minerva do?" Madame Hooch asked, playfully eyeing Auntie.
"You shush, Rolanda. Mia did quite well," Auntie said, defending herself. Madame Hooch then eyed me, probably expecting the truth.
"If falling off my broom several times is considered well, then yes. I did well," I said, shrugging. "I think my saving grace is that Auntie is a very patient woman."
"That she is," Madame Hooch agreed. Once we got to the end of the buffet tables, we walked back to our seats. Professor Dumbledore rose to the head of the table to prepare to speak once the rest of the staff have gotten their food. I was chatting with Auntie when I faintly heard the shuffle of the chair next to me. I looked over to see that Severus had sneaked in and he already had a plate of food.
"Glad you could make it," I whispered to him. He huffed. I could tell he wasn't in a good mood.
"Everything okay?" I asked, putting a hand on his knee. I could feel him stiffen, but then relaxed. He sighed, obviously frustrated in something. He laid his hand on top of mine.
"I'm just glad you are here where I can protect you," he said, his voice so low only I could hear. I'm not sure why he said that, but it was sweet nonetheless. I smiled before handing him his Christmas present under the table.
"Merry Christmas, Severus," I said, smiling and returning to my food. I could hear him opening the wrapper, but I couldn't look at him. I was too shy and I'm pretty sure my face was already as red as the ribbon wrapped around the Christmas trees. The tearing of the wrapper finally stopped, and I didn't hear anything besides the chatter of all the faculty and staff. I was laughing at one of Professor Sprout's jokes when I felt a hand on my knee. I looked over to Severus, whose face finally softened. He mouthed a 'Thank you' to me as he squeezed my knee. I patted his hand as he took it back and we returned to eating.
As soon as everyone was done, the table we were eating at vanished, and a large record player appeared in the back corner of the room. Familiar ballroom music started to play, and I could see Auntie Minnie walking my way.
"Care to humor an old lady and dance with her?" she asked me. I looked at Serverus, who had his eyebrow raised, then back at Auntie Minnie. She took my hand before I could answer and whisked me out onto the dance floor.
"Can you lead?" I asked her. I always followed in my ballroom dancing classes. I'm not very much of a leader. She nodded as we got into position and flowed through the dance floor. It was kind of funny, dancing with Auntie Minnie and not a guy, but it was so much fun. She can really lead.
"Since when did you learn how to lead like this? You make it look so easy," I asked, following her steps.
"Well, when you get to my age, dear, you learn quite a bit. Leading in ballroom dancing was one of them. Besides," she said, spinning me around the dance floor. "This gives me time to talk to you about Severus."
"Auntie!" I laughed, blushing. I'm glad we were moving around and no one can really hear our conversation. I told her about our date, but conveniently left out the part where Lucas crashed the end of it. She was pleased to hear he was really a gentleman and knew there was more to life than just brooding and brewing.
"You know, Mia, I haven't seen him like this since he was a student here. There was this one girl he was completely head over heels for – the same way he is for you." Could she be talking about Lily?
"It never worked out for them. Such a shame, but that is why Severus is the way he is. I must admit, I can see some of her in you, which explains why he has such interest in you. With your genius mind to boot, you are irresistible to him." I snorted rather loudly. She had a way with words, I guess.
"Irresistible? What happened to being tolerable?" I asked, remembering when I had asked Severus if I was tolerable for him.
"My dear, I think you are past tolerable. Merlin, the man has taken you out to dinner and he has let you invade his personal space more than he has invaded it himself. I think you are on to something." We came to a stop as Professor Dumbledore came to greet us.
"You ladies seem to be enjoying yourselves," the Headmaster said, smiling. "I didn't know you had a set of feet on you, Mia."
"Ballroom classes will do wonders, Professor," I said, respectfully. I walked back towards where Severus was standing, letting Professor Dumbledore take Auntie Minnie for a spin on the dance floor. I sighed as I stood next to him and he handed me a glass of wine.
"I didn't know you were quite the dancer," Severus said, taking a sip of what looked like firewhiskey.
I shook my head. "I'm a follower, and Auntie Minnie can really lead you. I just knew where to step at the right time." I was mid sip when I saw his hand come to steal my drink away. I pouted, missing my wine.
"Come. Let's take a walk." I took his hand and we walked out of the Great Hall, no one batting an eye at us. I linked my arm around his, standing close so that I could feel his body heat.
"Thank you, again, for the gift. It was very thoughtful of you," he said, looking at me. I shrugged, not really thinking much about it.
"You're my friend, Severus. Friends get their friends gifts for Christmas." I looked at him, and I could tell he was thinking about something. We continued our walk through the halls and corridors. At some point doing our walk, my hand reached his and our fingers intertwined. He didn't seem to mind and I didn't either. It was totally unexpected, but it felt so right. We slowed down when we arrived at the infamous garden. It was nighttime, and it was lit solely by the moonlight. He motioned for me to sit next to him on a bench. Our hands stayed intertwined, laying on his leg.
"You know," I started, raising our intertwined hands at eye level. "This makes us look and feel like we're more than friends. Is friendship seen differently here in the wizarding world?" I knew it meant the same, I sort of meant that as a joke. He laughed, thankfully catching it.
"I assure you, friendship is the same in both the muggle world and the wizarding world. I agree this would hint at something more. We can cease to hold hands, if you wish." I shook my head. Not by a long shot, buddy.
"Are you ready to talk about your relationship with Lucas?" he asked carefully. I froze for a second, not quite sure how to answer. I wasn't expecting him to ask this on Christmas. It made me wonder though: am I ready? I have never really opened up to anyone about the relationship we had, mostly because I didn't know how to describe it. I didn't want Severus to feel me shaking, so I let go of his hand, reluctantly, and shoved both my hands under my thighs.
"In a nutshell, he was abusive. Sometimes he would hurt me because of something I did. Sometimes he would hurt me because of something else, which meant he would take it out on me. On good days he would just slap me in the face a few times. On his worst, I would pass out from the pain, but when I came to he was always there making sure I felt better. That was his game. Pleasure and pain, but more pain than pleasure. I guess you can say it was more like my pain for his pleasure.
"He never really took me out on dates, we just stayed home most days. The only other time we saw each other was work. He was my supervisor, and that was how we met. He put up a nice front until I was so far in I couldn't get out of what we had. When my parents died, that was when he swooped in, and is probably where I screwed up. I let him in too much because I was so distraught still from my parents death.
I finally got the courage to leave him when I got wind of this job from Auntie Minnie. It was my only shot, and if I didn't take it…" I was definitely shaking by now as I was trying to fight back tears.
"If I didn't take it, I would have been dead. Not by him, but by my own hand."
We were both quiet for a few minutes. He seemed to be thinking about everything I had just said.
"Lucas genuinely screwed up my life. I was never like this before I met him. I don't know if I could ever be normal again. And now that he's here, in this world, and he's trying to get me again…"
I looked up at Severus, and he looked at me with eyes that showed compassion, comfort, and anger, all at the same time.
"I can't be saved. Severus… as long as he is around, this is all we will ever be. Friends." He pulled my hand from under my thigh and held onto it again, determination set in his eyes.
"We are making progress, whether you see it or not. I already knew we were more than friends by the time I took you to London. So, unfortunately, Mia, you are wrong. We have grown to be more than friends, and I want to keep growing with you." He held my hand tighter.
"I've almost figured out your situation with Lucas, and I will take care of it when the time is right. I just need you to trust me and listen to me when I need you to. You can be saved, Mia. Despite what you think, you are worth saving." He let go on my hand for a minute to fish something out of his pocket. He held it in his hand for a minute, then held out the box to me. It was a simple, ordinary black box with a silver bow on top. He held it out for me to take.
"Friends get friends gifts, correct?" he asked, mockingly.
"I thought we weren't friends," I said, taking the box and giving him a look. I untied the bow and opened the box.
My eyes couldn't believe what was inside. It was the same necklace I was looking at when Lucas found me. It took me a minute to realize my mouth was open before I closed it. I looked at him, and I could feel butterflies in my stomach.
"Do you like it? I heard from a certain cat that you were eyeing this in a store," he said, trying to gauge my reaction.
"Did Auntie Minnie tell you to buy this? Because you really didn't have to. I would have been fine with a card," I said, taking the necklace out of the box.
"She didn't, actually. I had went to her after I made this purchase, and she – quite excitedly – shared her story of looking at this specific piece of jewelry. She seems to be a firm believer that fate is pulling us together." He took the necklace out of my hand as he stood behind me to put it on. I picked up the pendant as he clipped it on, rubbing my thumb over the green diamonds. He rested his hands on my shoulders as he gently kissed my temple.
"Happy Christmas, love."
