**I'M BACK. Sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry for not updating this in months but I have been so busy and genuinely had no time whatsoever to think about what to put in this chapter. I've been working on it since my last update and finally gained some inspiration to finish it. Anyway, hopefully someone is still reading this enough to review, but either way, enjoy!
P. S. If you recognise it, it aint mine.**
As Christmas fell on Hogwarts, so too did a thick blanket of white snow, which coated the trees and glistened in the low winter sun. In the castle, Wallis was up in her dorm, sorting out her trunk. Luna lay on her bed, teasing Lucy with one of Wallis discarded quills. Wallis came across a letter from her dad, sent a week previous, to explain and apologise that she couldn't come home for Christmas.
Wallis,
Your Mum's work has asked her to go to New York over Christmas,
and I'm afraid, what with Sirius Black spottings all over the country,
I'll be working overtime at the office. I heard about the break-in too,
but don't worry, judging by recent sightings, Black is moving away from
Hogwarts and heading South. Have a great Christmas and give Stephen
a Merry Christmas from us.
Sorry,
Dad.
She sighed and carefully placed the letter back in her trunk, closing it swiftly afterwards.
"Shouldn't you be packing, Luna?" She asked.
"I packed last night," She said, placing Lucy down on the duvet. "I should go now, it's almost time to leave." She sighed.
"Alright," Wallis sighed. "Come here." She said, placing her arms around Luna. "Have a good christmas, don't open this until Christmas day." She added, placing a small box into her hands.
"Promise!" She cheered giving her one last smile before skipping out of the room. Wallis and Lucy were left in the room alone, as the only other girl in Wallis' dorm had left for Christmas, along with the majority of Hogwarts students. Most people seemed to be in a hurry to leave after the Hallowe'en break in, leaving a small selection of pupils in the Castle. Wallis picked up her scarf and wrapped it loosely around her neck, fastening her cardigan as she walked over to Lucy who sat resting on the bed. She picked her up carefully, so as not to gain any new scratches, then sit Lucy in her make shift bed beside Wallis'. Lucy meowed and pawed at her little bed, then Wallis made her way out of her dorm and down the stone steps to the common room, where Malcolm was reading by the fire with a small, pink, fluffy creature next to him.
"I didn't see you as a Pygmy Puff kind of guy." She laughed, stopping beside his chair and resting one hand on the back of it. His head turned quickly, his piercing green eyes meeting her and softening slightly. His lips spread into a smile, then he answered:
"I'm full of surprises." He shrugged. "You're not going home?" He asked her, noticing her lack of trunk. Wallis shook her head, her currently dark red hair moving around her back.
"My parents are working." She replied nonchalantly, still feeling a little bit let down.
"Your's dropped the work-bomb on you too, eh?" He sighed, closing his book with one finger still forged between the pages. "At least you've got your friends." He said with a reassuring smile. Wallis looked at him, sitting alone - more or less - by the wide fire and reading a potions book. She felt a pang of sympathy in her gut as she watched his face fall a little when he looked at the pygmy puff, stroking it with his free hand.
"Y'know, I'm going to meet Fred, George and Stephen just now, you can come along if you want." She offered, looking at him sincerely. Malcolm looked up at her with admiration, shaking his head.
"No, I couldn't. I wouldn't want to be a burden. Plus, I don't think your boyfriends too keen on me." He said with a slight smirk.
"You can't stay here yourself!" She cried, gesturing to the grand, empty common room. Malcolm gave a breathy laugh.
"I'm not! I've got Ernie here to keep me compay." He said, looking to the Pygmy Puff that now rested on his knee. Wallis looked at the pink ball of fluff questioningly.
"Ernie?" She asked with raised eyebrows.
"I named him after an author I like..." Malcolm said, his ears reddening ever so slightly.
"Who?" Wallis questioned, wondering whether it would have been someone she knew or another Wizard author like Guilderoy Lockhart.
"Ernest Hemingway." He said shyly, looking at her with a unsure expression. Wallis' face was full of surprise.
"You're kidding! Hemingway is one of my favourites! Second to F. Scott Fitzgerald, of course." She added. Malcolm grinned at her.
"Can't beat a bit of Fitzgerald." He agreed.
"I didn't think a pure-blood like you would ever have heard of Hemingway or Fitzgerald!" Wallis joked, nudging his shoulder slightly. Malcolm laughed.
"Why not? To ignorant for good literature?" He asked in mock arrogance. Wallis' eyes widened as she hastily thought of an apology, her mouth opening to say sorry when Malcolm said "You know, I have some Fitzgerald novels and short stories in my trunk, you could look through them if you want." He offered kindly. Wallis was taken aback by his offer, a smile pulling the corners of her mouth.
"That'd be great." She beamed. Her eyes flitted to the clock near the window and widened. "I need to go!" She gasped. "I'm sorry, I need to run and meet Fred, I'll see you later!" She rushed as she headed for the portrait hole. He waved at her as the portrait closed over and left her in the large, empty and cold corridor which was filled with a cool breeze from the windows. Grabbing her scarf and tightening it, she walked along to the staircases, then quickly travelled down the stairs to the Entrance Hall. She noticed the three ginger boys standing near the Great Hall's oak doors, talking close together in a huddled form. "What are you three conspiring about?" She asked from behind them. The three boys jumped and looked down at her with guilty expressions.
"Nothing." George said, shaking his head.
"Nothing at all." Stephen smirked.
"Where have you been?" Fred asked her. Her currently light green eyes met his blue and she saw a hint of worry in them.
"I was just talking to Malcolm." She said slowly, shrugging it off. Stephen and George sneered, while Fred remained silent.
"What were you talking to that tosspot for?" Stephen asked, a face full of disgust. Wallis rolled her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Well, apart from the obvious answer of being the only prefects that bothered to stay," Wallis retorted. "I was asking him if he wanted to come with us." She finished. The three boys recoiled in disgust.
"Are you having a laugh?" George asked.
"Him? Come with us? You must be joking! We're already risking it bringing you along, nevermind having two prefects!" Stephen cried. Fred said nothing, but was unable to keep himself from nodding whne either of the other two boys said anything he agreed with.
"You're risking it? You're risking it?! I could lose my bloody prefect badge for this!" She cried with a sudden anger. "Besides, Malcolm isn't a bad person! He's a lot nicer than some of the other so-called tosspots!" Fred stepped forward, taking her trembling hand in his.
"Just - calm down, right? All of you. Let's just go and plant these stinkbombs and get lunch." He said, his eyes never leaving hers. Her anger drifted away as he pulled her closer, feeling her relax in his hold. George and Stephen sighed and stalked away, heading out of the large oak doors to the Entrance Courtyard. Fred looked down at Wallis as she pulled away from his chest. "If we get caught, hide. Okay? Look for the nearest alcove and hide in it. I don't want to be the cause of you losing this horrible badge of yours." He said with a mock sneer, holding her blue badge between his fingers.
"Here's a suggestion." She said, looking up at him. Her eyes flickered from bright green to grey as she smiled at him. "Let's just not get caught." She winked, taking his hand as she walked in front of him, pulling him out into the Entrance Courtyard.
"I'm freezing, hurry up would you?!" Wallis called from below the surrounding roof of the courtyard. Her eyes darted around nervously, trying to keep a lookout for Mrs Norris or Filch.
"If we go any faster, we'll fall!" Fred cried, lying on his stomach to peek over the roof to Wallis. Sighing, she rolled her eyes.
"It's not exactly a deadly drop, is it?" She challenged. "Just hurry up." She shivered, clutching her scarf. She groaned as the snow fell heavier, landing in her hair. She heard the boys scramble over the edge of the roof, turning to see Stephen hanging by his hands, then let go and fall the few feet to the ground.
"Happy?" He asked, brushing snow off of his clothes. She heard Fred and George drop to the ground, brushing off their clothes and shaking the snow from their hair. "Can we go and get some lunch now? I missed breakfast."
"We all did, mate." George laughed.
"It's not my fault you three won't study!" Wallis cried as they began making their way inside. "If you would just do some meaningful studying then you wouldn't have to stay up until the early hours of the morning falling asleep on your parchment!"
"But we don't need that many OWLS." Fred reminded Wallis.
"And what if your plan to open a joke shop goes wrong? What if you don't get enough money and you need a job? What will you do then with no OWLS or NEWTS to fall back on?" Wallis quized. George and Stephen remained silent, standing back as Wallis and Fred stared at each other in the middle of the Courtyard.
"You know we've already started with the mail-order service, it's not like we're just watching for money to fall from the sky! Believe it or not we've thought this through!" Fred retorted.
"But you need some form of qualif-"
"Grades aren't everything, Wallis!" Fred cried. Wallis took a step back, watching him as he waited for her to say something. There was anger in his eyes and his jaw was tense as light snow began to fall around them.
"I didn't say that they were." She said in a small voice, somewhat hurt by his proclaimation. Ever since she had been young she had wanted to follow in the family's footsteps; to work for the ministry and work her way up to the highest place in her department, just like her sister, her father and his father. Getting good grades and qualifications meant the world to her. Good grades was all she knew and all she had ever achieved; and to have someone tell her they were meaningless - someone as important to her as Fred - hurt her.
"So, how about that lunch then?" Stephen said, rocking back and foreward on his feet.
"Yeah, lunch." George nodded. "Fred? Wallis? Hel-"
"I'm coming." Fred replied in a sigh, turning away from Wallis. Watching him walk ahead, Wallis looked to George and Stephen, who looked at her expectantly.
"I'm not hungry." She said dryly, tensing her jaw so to swallow the lump forming in her throat.
Turning, she began to make her way to the Entrance Hall, walking past Fred as she walked to the stairs. As she turned into the quiet, cold hallway leading to the Common Room, a tear fell down her cheek. Wiping it with her sleeve, she climbed through the portrait hole and headed for the stairs to her dorm. She grew angry at herself for reacting in such a way, storming up the twisting stairs to the girls dorms. As she placed her hands on the door at the top of the stairs, she heard the door behind her shut, causing her to jump slightly. Turning, she saw Malcolm walking towards her with Ernie balancing on his shoulder. His brow furrowed at he took notice of her hard expression.
"Hey, you alright?" He asked, walking over to her. She shook her head with a smile.
"I'm fine." She said, waving her hand in the air. He straightened his back and crossed his arms.
"There's a black line down your cheek, it doesn't take Sherlock Holmes to figure out that you've been crying." He argued.
"You're an A. C. Doyle fan as well, now?" She asked with a laugh, wiping her cheek. Malcolm said nothing, but smiled proudly. Wallis sighed. "It's nothing, Fred and I had an argument, that's all."
"That's why you're skipping lunch?" He asked. Wallis nodded, looking away. "You don't have to sit with him!" He laughed.
"I'm trying to make a point, though." She replied, laughing as Malcolm rolled his eyes.
"You women and your points." He joked. "Come down and sit with me, don't mope around your dorm starving because you had a tiff." He offered, nudging her ad causing a smile to break onto her face.
"I don't know," She sighed. "No offence, but Fred isn't exactly your biggest fan. I don't think I'll solve anything by walking into the hall all smiles and rainbows next to you."
"Then don't smile, although I know how difficult that can be in my presence." He winked. "Come on, it's only lunch. A completely platonic walk to lunch." He added. Wallis exhaled deeply in a mock sigh. She was hungry.
"Okay, you've twisted my arm." She moaned.
"Great," He nodded. "I looked out those Fitzgerald books I told you about, they're in my dorm. You can look at them after lunch if you want?" He offered. Wallis' smile broadened as a hint of excitement grew inside her.
"That sounds like exactly what I need right now." She smiled at him. Malcolm gestured for her to make her way down the twisted stairs, then following her as they made their way back through the common room and out of the portrait hole on their way to the Great Hall.