Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or the characters within this fanfic, but I do own Eileen Pierce and her kneazle Mephistopheles so don't steal them! That is all, you may continue...
Chapter Eleven
The next couple of weeks passed quickly and before everyone knew it, it was the day before Christmas. Most of the students had left by now and were enjoying the holidays with their friends and family but a handful from each house stayed behind to enjoy festivities at Hogwarts. Eileen passed the break from school with visits to the library, reading every book she could get her hands on and becoming quite close to the librarian, Ms. Pince.
It was drawing close to evening and she decided to go for a walk through the school to see the decorations being hung here and there. She heard voices in the great hall and peeked in to see a majority of the teachers putting decorations on the trees as Hagrid set them up, 12 beautiful and towering trees set all around the room and glowing with faerie light. Harry was quite right, she did love this and wanted to help out, deciding to walk over to McGonagall who was working on a tree Hagrid had just brought in.
"Good evening, Professor, can I help?" Eileen looked up curiously, a happy glint in her eyes as she watched the faeries dance and giggle at her.
"Oh, good evening, Miss Pierce. Well, normally we don't let the students handle the ornaments but...you're more than qualified, I think. Here, just arrange them far enough apart so that they don't bicker." She demonstrated and Eileen quickly caught on, using her wand to levitate the faeries to their places and freezing them there.
"Alrigh', Eileen?" Hagrid called as he dragged another tree through the great hall and came to a stop just beyond them.
"Hello, Hagrid! These trees are lovely, you all must have fun decorating them every year." Eileen said, having a ball herself.
"Aye, we do, righ', Professor McGonagall?" Hagrid beamed, setting up the new tree and dusting off his hands.
"Most of the time, unless Peeves decides to do a little decorating of his own." McGonagall sighed, placing a faerie roughly on the tree.
"I saw him making the suits of armor kiss in the hallway." Eileen stated dully and Flitwick hovered over, saying, "That pest, I'll go take care of him."
"No need, he's rubbing his bruised rump upstairs as we speak." Snape came strolling in and Eileen smiled at the sight of him.
"Severus, how nice of you to join us." McGonagall said, nodding in greeting before returning to her lighting.
"I was merely on my way out, actually, I thought I'd stop in to make sure nothing else had been fouled by that creature." Snape commented, glancing at Eileen before looking around the room.
"Have a pleasant trip, professor." Hagrid said, the holiday cheer present in his voice.
Snape didn't seem to take notice as he nodded to them all and swept back out of the great hall. Eileen looked after him for a moment before saying, "Thank you for letting me help, I had a lot of fun. I will see you at dinner tonight, peaceful decorating!"
"Keep warm, dear." McGonagall said as she ran out of the room.
McGonagall smiled as Hagrid said, "Wonder where she's off ter."
"I wonder..." McGonagall muttered, but she had a very good idea.
OoOoOoOo
Snape marched slowly across the buried path to the school gates, trudging through the snow with his cloak pulled tightly around him against the wind. Just as he reached the gate, he heard the entrance doors creak open and turned to see who was following him.
"Master, wait!" He peered through his hood to see the tiny torso of Eileen hopping through the clearing Snape had made and waited patiently until she managed to catch up to him.
"What is it, Miss Pierce? You should be inside." He asked calmly, staring down over the edge of his olive green scarf.
"Where are you going, sir? You're not going away for Christmas, are you?" Eileen looked worried and he reached up to pull the scarf down a little, turning around to face her completely.
"And if I were, why does it concern you?" He asked, sounding curious despite the lack of emotion in his features.
"Well...I had hoped that you would be here for Christmas because..." She toed the ground and muttered, "I wanted to give you something."
"Detention?"
"No, never!" She grinned and said sheepishly, "A...gift."
"Oh?" He cocked an eyebrow.
"Yes, I...I've never actually celebrated Christmas before but Ron, Harry, and Hermione told me all about it."
"I see, never celebrated it?"
"No, sir."
"And you want me there for your first Christmas?"
"It...would be nice but not necessary if you have business elsewhere." She looked down at her damp shoes as the cold began to sting through the meager cloak she wore.
He watched her for a moment before saying, "Do you not own any warm clothes, Miss Pierce?"
"These are my warm clothes, sir." She seemed embarrassed by this but Snape didn't take notice as he pondered this for a moment before pulling his scarf off and draping it around her neck.
She looked up in surprise and he said, "Merry Christmas, Miss Pierce."
Blushing, she touched it tenderly as she whispered, "Th-thank you, sir..."
"I expect that present in the morning now." Snape said in a low rumble, readjusting his hood so that it blocked the wind from his now exposed face. She smiled up at him, her cheeks rosy from the cold as she hurried forward, wrapping her arms around his waist.
He hesitated awkwardly before pulling his cloak around her, locking in his warmth and shielding her from the chill filling the air.
"Can I give it to you myself?" Eileen inquired, picking at a button on his coat.
He gazed around, keeping an eye out for any peeping eyes, whispering, "If you wish to."
"Thank you, sir." She snuggled into his warmth as he rested his hands gently on her back, keeping the cloak closed over her.
They stood in the snow together for what seemed like forever before Snape said, "I need to go now, Miss Pierce."
"Oh, I'm sorry, have I made you late?" She looked worried as she stepped back from him, still inside the cloak but able to see him now.
"No, but you should be getting back inside, it's getting colder and I don't want to be responsible for making you sick." Snape responded.
She nodded and stepped out of the warm and comfort of his traveling cloak, saying quickly before returning to the school, "Have a safe journey, sir! See you tomorrow morning!"
"See you...Eileen." Snape whispered mostly to himself as he watched her return safely to the entranceway before turning and trekking through the gates.
OoOoOoOo
"Oi, Eileen!" Ron came walking toward her from the direction of the Gryffindor dormitory, a broad smile on his face, "Merry Christmas Eve!"
"A merry Christmas Eve to you too, Ron! And you, Harry, how are you both?" Eileen said smiling happily at them as they met at the entrance to the great hall.
"Doing fine," Harry pointed at her new scarf and said, "What is that you're wearing? It looks moldy."
"It was a gift." She said, hugging it to herself, as it was large enough and long enough to wrap around her shoulders several times, the tails trailing behind her like a cape.
"Seriously?" Ron blinked, "Sure it wasn't a practical joke?"
"A practical joke?" Eileen blinked, not understanding.
"Nevermind, who gave it to you?"
"A friend." She smiled, wishing to keep her moment with Snape a secret.
The boys exchanged curious glances as they walked together toward the Gryffindor table. Sitting, they began to talk about the decorations, noting the many displays Peeves had set up behind the teachers' backs.
"I'm glad mum and dad let me stay at Hogwarts this Christmas, I get to enjoy the place without Draco's ugly face lurking around every corner." Ron stretched idly and Eileen smiled.
"That is a pleasant relief." She said and they looked over at her in surprise.
"Well, I'm glad we agree on something." Harry said, "So I guess he hasn't been very nice to you lately?"
"He's never been nice to me, I don't know why...but Professor Snape always tells him off if he catches him at it." Eileen smiled at this.
"No way, I never thought I'd see the day that Snape actually did anything but praise Malfoy!" Ron said, a look of awe on his face.
"Really?" Eileen felt her heart skip a beat, a fluttering sensation filling her stomach as she pondered his actions around and toward her.
"Yeah...hey, speaking of which, where is he?" Harry had glanced up at the staff table and found the absence of the gloomy figure he so loathed.
"Out on business, he said he'd be back by morning." Eileen informed them idly.
"I wonder what he's up to..." Ron mused, imagining Snape out kicking gnomes for jollies as he pranced across a snowy field.
"Probably nothing go-um, nothing that's got to do with us." Harry changed mid-sentence, not wishing to make Eileen angry again.
"He didn't say. Oh, Dumbledore's finally here." They turned their attention to the white wizard as he stepped up to the podium and said, "Welcome to all of you who have joined us this fine Christmas Eve, let us enjoy each others company and get a glorious nights sleep full of fanciful things and dancing candies. Now, tuck in!"
Food appeared on the platters and the hall filled with cheerful conversation as the remaining students began to eat. The meal went surprisingly fast and before she knew it, she was bidding the boys a goodnight before making her way back to the dorms. The common room was nearly empty as most of the Slytherins were away except for a few miserable looking first years and a 5th year who was busily trying to finish homework over the holidays. She smiled at them, despite the cold response she got in return, and hurried up to her room to see Mephistopheles curled up in his basket to keep warm while she was gone.
"Mephi, I've brought you a lovely Christmas Eve dinner, eat up!" Eileen said cheerfully, handing him a napkin full of various meats. He wolfed it down and purred happily as she stroked him and said, "Master gave me his scarf today as a present, isn't he nice? I didn't expect to get anything, I hope my gift will be enough for him. I've been working on it for months but I think I'm happy with it now. Mother always said I was as skilled with my hands as I am with my mind."
She moved his basket onto the bed and opened her trunk, pulling out a bulging brown paper package and gently unwrapping it to give it a once over. Holding it up, she said, "It's lovely, I'm sure he will like it...if not, that's fine, I'll understand."
"Who'll like it?" Her roommate entered and caught a glimpse of the gift before she hid it away in the trunk.
Looking curious, Eileen eyed her for a moment before answering, "A friend."
"I see...so it's a present?" The girl sat down on her bed, kicking off her shoes.
"Yes, it is. It's Beth, right?" Eileen had begun to rummage in her trunk again and produced a small package, walking over to the girl who looked apprehensive.
"Y-yes?" Beth blinked as she held the brown paper lump out to her.
"Merry Christmas. I'm sorry for the way I acted toward you, I had no right to treat you the way I did and I hope you won't hate me forever. I made this for you, I hope you like it." Eileen smiled gently and the girl still seemed wary of her.
"Is this a joke?"
"No, of course not, I want to make it up to you by giving you a gift. You...don't want it, do you?" Eileen looked somewhat sad, lowering her hand to her side, "I don't blame you, you probably think I've jinxed it or something...I guess I could give it to Hermione when she gets back..."
"Why don't you just tell an owl to take it to her?" Beth asked, still looking at the gift curiously.
"An...owl?" Eileen blinked.
"Yeah, they're up in the owlery, at the top of the tower by the Gryffindor dormitory. Haven't you ever used an owl before?"
"I don't have anyone to send something to, and no one to send me things." Eileen looked at the floor as she turned to walk back to her open trunk.
"What about your parents? Oh...are you an orphan?"
"More or less." Eileen sat on her bed and turned the package slowly in her hands.
Beth watched her for a minute before saying cautiously, "I...I'll take it."
"You will?" Looking up, Eileen's sadness melted away and she returned to the girl, handing her the present and watching her open it.
With a look of wonder, Beth pulled out a delicate looking bracelet with beads that shimmered of their own accord, seeming to contain tiny universes within their glass walls.
"It's so...pretty. Where did you get this?" Beth examined each bead with amazement at the detail of the contents.
"I made it, do you like it?" Eileen smiled as an even more shocked expression crossed her face.
"You...you made this? How!" Beth exclaimed.
"Oh, it's a rather tricky bit of charming but you use regular beads and chant a series of spells to create the effect you desire. You can even charm them to look like they have fire inside. See?" Eileen pulled a fragile silver chain from within her cloak and revealed a heart-shaped crystal encasing a dancing flame, "My mother made this one for me when I was 4, she said it was to reflect the fiery spirit inside my own heart. Now I think of it as a part of her that I keep with me always."
"That's very...touching..." Beth looked down at her own charmed bracelet and said, "Why would you give me something so beautiful?"
"Why wouldn't I? Just because we didn't get along doesn't mean I'd hate you enough to forget you at Christmas. You stayed in the room with me all these months and I'm grateful, you've kept me company and didn't abandon me. I don't like being alone..." She smiled sincerely and Beth felt remorse; it wasn't like she hadn't tried to move out, students had to stay in the dorm room of their year by school policy.
"Eileen, I...I can't accept this." Beth said quietly, holding the bracelet out to her.
Looking slightly disappointed, she said, "Is it...is it because the others will tease you if they see you wearing it?"
"No."
"Then...why?"
Beth couldn't find the words to say that she hated being in the room with her, she knew she would be very upset about it.
Eileen seemed to understand and said, "I know you don't like me and I understand that, I'm not trying to win your friendship with that bracelet. I just wanted to thank you putting up with Mephi and I for so long. Please, keep it...you can tell everyone you got it from someone else, I won't mind." Eileen returned to her bed and re-wrapped the gift she had been examining before Beth came in, tenderly setting it inside the trunk and lowering the lid. Moving the basket back onto the trunk, she pulled back the covers and crawled underneath, curling up with her kneazle and saying, "Goodnight, Beth."
Beth sat silently watching the galaxies revolve in the beads, their soft glow barely lighting up her guilty face in the darkness.