Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. J.K Rowling has the honour.
-Scarlett-
After Lily went home I was given the chore of wrapping all the presents. When I finished I sent Cirtus' off to Hogwarts. Remus got a small bag of chocolate frogs, courtesy of Lily and Peach got a bag of lollies from the both of us. As roommates we felt obliged to get her something. I also got a little gift for one of my other friends back at school. I smile at the thought of him. When he told me that he was going home I decided that I wasn't going to stick around either.
I smiled as I thought of him. I knew that I was too young, but it just seem natural at Hogwarts. Like age and maturity don't matter.
"Nearly done?" Mum asked from the kitchen.
"Yeah."
"Come help me in here then." I sighed and packed up the paper, sticky tape, and put the presents that weren't sent out under the tree.
Mum was in the kitchen cooking. It was what she always did when it got near to Christmas time. I grabbed an apron and started to bake. Baking was what I always did. I started by baking the Christmas cake. When that was in the oven I set to work on biscuits. They were my favourite thing to bake, but they always came second in mum's mind. Dad seemed to love them though, but that may have just been the parent talking.
When those were cooking I started to clean up the kitchen. Never an easy task when mum and I have both been cooking. When the timer went off I dropped the knife I was washing in the sink and rushed to check the cake. It had cooked perfectly. The biscuits were finished too. I put everything on the bench to cool and went back to washing the dishes.
Feeling around the sink for the knife I found it and grabbed it. It hadn't realised that it was the blade in my hand until I brought it out of the soap to clean it. That was when I screamed.
"It hurts." I cried as dad came into the room. And boy did it hurt. It felt like my fingers had gone.
"Shhh, just relax." Dad was saying. I felt like I just had to move, but every time my hand moved the tiniest bit the pain exploded again.
"Give me your hand." He said as he took his wand out of his pocket. I let him take my hand and carefully pry the knife out of my grip, he then dropped it in the rinse water. That was when mum came in.
"What happened?" She asked.
I looked to dad who was muttering spells and watching my hand.
"I picked up the knife out of the sink by the blade." I said.
"That was silly of you." She said and turned to the cupboard.
"Eat this." She said pressing something into my good hand as dad finished.
In my hand was a jube snake. I bit off the tail and started to suck it while the rest of it disappeared into my pocket.
"Next time look with your eyes, not your hands." Dad said as he finished and started to take over my job of washing the dishes when I had this feeling. I just knew that he would move his hand through the water before he started to wash. That water was where the knife was.
"Stop!" I called.
"What?" He asked, his hand frozen above the water.
"The knife is still in the sink." I pointed out.
"I know." Dad said and moved the soap to find the knife. But I knew that he hadn't been about to do that. He had forgotten about the knife. I think it had some magical influence. And a taste for blood, thanks to me.
I sat with my bandaged hand watching dad finished my jobs around the kitchen. When that was done I moved to my room. My owl hooted in her cage, a reminder that I hadn't sent any letters these holidays. I pulled out a quill and some parchment when I realised that I couldn't write. I put them back and sat down on my bed. Turning on the radio before lying down. The news was delivered in a slow, flat tone. Making me lose focus of where I am.
A tapping at my window woke me up sometime later. The news had stopped and the guy on the station was introducing the next song. The owl that flew into my room was black, but every second primary feather was snow white. I took the letter from its beak and it left again. I smiled when I saw who it was from, but it disappeared under my pillow when mum knocked on my door.
"Are you awake darling. It's nearly dinner time and Aunty Jane and Uncle Zac are here."
"I'm awake." I said as I pushed the door open into mum. I love Uncle Zac, he is one of the funniest people I know.
"Scarlett!" Aunty Jane says as I walk into the lounge room. She's standing up and hugging me before I know it. I'm careful not to choke on the smell of her perfume.
"Where's my niece?" Uncle Zac asks, gently pushing his wife out of the way. She lets me go with a final squeeze and I'm lifted up in my Uncle's bear hug. I squeal when he starts to spin me around, but join with his laughter when he puts me down.
"You've grown!" Aunty Jane said accusingly, looking to where I stood, shoulder height to Uncle Zac.
"Yep!" I say smugly taking a step towards her so that it was more obvious that I was only 5 inches shorter than her.
"Go away!" She said giving me a small shove causing everyone to laugh. "Why did I have to be the short one?" She asked her brother (my dad).
"Just the way it is, sorry about that sis." He said as he put his elbow on his sisters shoulder.
"Well the guest bedroom is for you two, Jane and Zac, dinner will be ready after you're settled."
"I'll go put the bags in the room then. I'm hungry." Uncle Zac said and walked out the car to get the bags.
"How's my little witch in training going at Hogwarts?" Aunty Jane asked as soon as her husband was out of the house. He didn't know about magic yet, aunties application to ministry haddn't come through yet so she can't tell him but while she was here in London she was going to go in and ask about it.
"Good."
"You're in second year I guess." She said and I nodded.
"Dumbledore still there?"
"Yes."
"I don't think he'll ever leave. He was there when my parents were at school, became headmaster not long after they left."
That was when Uncle Zac banged on the door. "Can someone give me a hand. I can't get the door open."
I left Aunty to finish setting the table and ran to the door to open it for him.
"Thank you muchly." He said as he moved so that he could fit through the door with bags in both hands. I escorted him through the house opening doors as needed.
"After all the hard work," He said putting the bags on the end of the bed, "I think I need to eat. Let's go see what your mum has cooked up for us."
