Remember I update by the year but it has multiple parts, so be checking what chapter you're on so you don't lose your place. Please, please , please drop a comment on what you think. Thanks guys!
The next morning I helped Tempy make breakfast for the others who were down in the shop by six. While Hogwarts had been in school since September, a lot of the foreign schools started in January which meant lots of people who wanted famous Ollivander wands from overseas were coming in now. I heard two different languages as I carried down the breakfast sandwiches to their Mom at the front desk, Cad in one of the aisles, and Mr. Mervin in the back workshop. It was a cramped room I wasn't allowed in because of all the half finished wands that could quite literally explode if not handled correctly, but I got a peek as he opened the door and thanked me for the food.
After we finished eating we got back to work in the living room, switching the radio to some music instead of sports for once. Her display was looking quite nice by the time Cad came up to help us make lunch, and he said so as he passed it in the living room.
"Who knew potatoes could look so interesting."
"It's the glitter." Tempy said seriously.
Cad whipped up some macaroni and cheese while I made some pork chops with Tempy. She insisted on taking the food to their parents while Cad and I set the table for us three, and he finally relented when she gave him the signature Mervin look. The door shut behind her and Cad gave me a look.
"She's up to something."
"I think I know what it is."
"What?"
"Like I'm telling you." I rolled my eyes. "You should know better than that."
"Ugh, you two are the worst." he groaned as we sat down.
During lunch we mostly talked about all the people in the shop below us, or how school would be if it started in January instead of autumn. Cad got up to head back downstairs but Tempy tutted like I knew she'd been waiting to.
"Mom said you have to stay upstairs and work on your homework."
"Then who is going to stack all the wands in the hawthorn section?"
"I am."
"Really?"
"I can stack wands, Cad." she chided. "I'll see you at dinner." She headed downstairs without a another word, Cad giving a worried look after her.
"Does she not usually work in the shop with you?"
"Not really. I mean being the youngest my parents don't expect her to do as much, but it just seemed a little cruel to make her work with wands given...everything. She's never shown any interest so they just assumed she didn't want to."
"Seems she's willing to make an exception for your schoolwork." I teased him to lighten the mood.
"Yeah, leave it to her to know the one thing I hate more than organizing wands."
"It won't be that bad. Besides, now you won't have to make any excuses when we go back."
"But I had such good ones already lined up." he chuckled before heading up the stairs to get his bag.
Ancient Runes took up most of the day as we'd been given a rather large Norse obelisk to work on over the break. He took the first half while I took the longer second one, leaving us in blissful silence for a few hours. The shop closed at six so at five we cleared off the table and got a head start on dinner to help his Mom out.
"So why did you take Ancient Runes? No offense, but it doesn't seem like your usual cup of tea."
He shrugged as he chopped veggies to go in with the stew. "Just seemed interesting, and besides all the other classes were boring. Muggle Studies won't do me much good, I'll take Arithmancy the day I die, and Divination is too mystical for me. At least in Ancient Runes we get to learn about famous wizards and stuff."
"At least you like Care of Magical Creatures."
"It's nice to finally be good at something." he gave me a wide smile. "My parents were surprised to hear I actually enjoyed one of my classes."
"They're not all so bad. I mean, p-"
"If the word 'potions' comes out of your mouth after saying that, I'll throw you out this window and see if you have enough time to save yourself." he chuckled as he dramatically shuddered. "Molly made me get lost and forget things for three days last week."
"That's so good! I know she was having trouble with her Confusing Concoction."
"I'm just the idiot she convinced to help her."
"Amelia!" I heard Mrs. Mervin shout up the back staircase. "Your Dad's down here!"
"Coming!" I shouted, wiping my hands on a hand towel before walking down into the shop. I saw my Dad talking to Mr. Mervin in the aisle with the Beech wands, both of them turning to look at me as I walked down.
"Hey Dad."
"Hey." he smiled as I hugged him. "How is the project coming?"
"Pretty good. We worked on it all morning, but I'm helping Cad with his Ancient Runes right now."
"Your Mom said she didn't get an owl from you today."
"I'm sorry, I forgot." I broke eye contact so he wouldn't see the lie. "I can-"
"We were just talking with Temperance a few minutes ago and I asked her to hold off owling you until I had a chance to talk to my wife." Mr. Mervin gave my Dad a smile. "Truth is Caduceus never does his work and having someone next to him to physically force him to do it seems the only way to get it done. We'd love to have her for a few more nights if it's alright with you."
"Amelia?" my Dad asked me.
"I'd like to if it's okay. I'm getting a lot of my work done and it's fun hanging out with Tempy."
My Dad thought for a second, pursing his lips. "Amelia, I can...understand if you want some time away from home right now. It's okay."
"Really?" I looked up to see his torn look.
"I know it can be stressful with everyone around. I think I can convince your Mom to stay for a while longer."
"Thank you!" I hugged him again and he pulled me closer.
"I'll ask your Mom to send some things over."
"It's okay, I packed for a few extra days." I admitted.
"Just make sure you're good, and you don't make any trouble for the Mervin's."
"Oh, she's been great to have around."
"I appreciate you having her over."
"It's no problem." the two men shook hands, and my Dad hugged me once more, before leaving the shop to Apparate home.
Mr. Mervin leaned down. "That went well."
"I don't want to impose on you and your family, sir."
"It's not, I promise. Cad might have mentioned...some things about your brother. I can understand you might want to get away from all that for a few days and it really will be nice to go a week without one of Cad's teachers writing home he's been missing assignments. There's only so much a Howler will do."
"I understand sir."
"Why don't you take Temperance upstairs? Day's almost done with as it is."
"Yes sir. Thank you." I nodded and headed back towards the shop. Tempy followed me into their house and into the kitchen to help Cad.
"So?" he asked, bent over the stew pot slowly stirring with his wand.
"I think I'll be staying a few more days, if that's alright."
"Yay!" Tempy hugged me and jumped up and down. "I knew they'd let you!"
"Your Dad said you mentioned my brother." I gave Cad a look over his sister's head.
"Did I?" he gave a devilish smirk before turning back to the food.
After dinner Tempy and I finished her project, setting it on the kitchen table to dry before she stashed it in her room. Cad was listening to Quidditch on the radio again so Tempy borrowed my Charms book to look through while I worked on a Potion's essay.
The windows had been propped open which let in a cold breeze, but the warm fire on my feet made it cozy instead of drafty. Tempy slumped against my shoulder in a dead sleep not a second longer and I chuckled. Cad looked up to see and smiled as well.
"I told her stacking wands wasn't that easy." He rolled his eyes as he got up and picked her up off the floor, carrying her to her room. After setting her down on her bed and pulling the covers over her, he bade me goodnight before closing the door behind him.
After breakfast we baked cupcakes, going out to the park while they cooled for some fresh air. She took me on a tour of the back streets of Diagon Alley where a lot of residential homes were. Some shops had flats on top like Ollivander's, but a lot of the owners wanted a separate space to call their own. At the park we swung on the swings a little bit before the other kids asked Tempy to play with them. I was too big to play and at first she said no but I urged her to join them. They all seemed to know her and it was nice to see her having some fun. I sat on one of the benches and read for a while before it got too cold and I asked her if she was ready to leave.
Our cupcakes were ready to frost when we walked in, so we rushed to get them done in time for lunch. Cad come up to help us with lunch, and he and Tempy switched places again so that Cad and I could work on our homework some more. My heart wasn't really in my Charms essay and I played with my quill while my mind wandered.
"So Christmas is tomorrow."
"Yup. Are you going to go back home then?"
"I'm not sure." I sighed, finally closing my book. "I want to go home to celebrate, and my brother is getting time off, but I know it won't go over well."
"Maybe just see how it goes? I know my family won't mind having you around for the holidays."
"What do I get them for Christmas?"
"My parents? Nothing. They don't expect you to."
"I know, but I'm still going to. It'd be rude not to."
"Well I don't know. Parent stuff?" he offered helpfully.
"What did you get them?"
"Nothing yet."
"Christmas is tomorrow!"
"You haven't gotten them anything either." he defended.
"Yeah, but they're not my parents, are they?"
"Well then, why don't we go out and look then?" he gestured out the window.
I gave a glance over to my Charms before nodding. "Sounds good."
We bundled up before heading back out onto Diagon Alley. The foot traffic had picked up since I'd been out this morning, and we had to hold hands just to prevent us getting separated in the crowds. I'd done all my shopping for my friends and such, but I wanted to get Cad's parents and Tempy something, and apparently he hadn't done hardly any of his shopping.
I found a book in Obscurus Books about magical creatures and how they interact with Muggles I thought Keeli would like, also picking up a picture book with illustrated plants of all types for Tempy. Janus Galloglass' had an interesting mirror that gave you fashion advice I picked up for Amber on top of the other gifts I'd gotten her, and Pettichap's had a cute dress for Tempy in a soft blue color. Flourish and Blott's had a new selection of precision-cut wooden cover notebooks I just had to get. There was a wide selection but I picked one out for all my friends as well as my sisters. They were pretty pricey but so expertly done I didn't even mind. Cad's parents were the hardest to shop for but I finally settled on a candle that could fill an entire house with 'the scent of the warm vanilla and french lavender', a self-stirring cooking pot that you could supposedly throw everything in in the morning and leave it alone all day to have ready by dinner, and a set of fancy tumblers meant for adult liquors like Firewhiskey with a script 'M' scrawled across them. It wasn't my best gift selection but I'd done my best.
We went home and wrapped up the gifts at the table while the radio played Christmas music. I borrowed his owl to write my sister, asking if she'd send off the rest of the gifts I'd gotten for my friends that were on top of my closet. I must have caught her in a good mood because she agreed, sending Cad's gifts back with her reply which I put under the tree with the new additions.
I was a little somber as we put the gifts under the tree and started dinner, and to his merit Cad was doing his best to cheer me up. He was cracking jokes and coming up with wild things he'd gotten me for Christmas like socks that stank so strong of their own accord no one would care how badly my feet smelled, or hair clips that held on so tightly they would never fall out with the slight side effect of occassionally ripping out all my hair. No matter how crazy they got I couldn't bring myself to do much more than smile and give a fake chuckle.
"Come on, it's Christmas Eve. You're supposed to be happy."
"I'm sorry. It's the first time I haven't wanted to be home for the holidays. I know we spent last year at Hogwarts but this feels different."
"Don't think about it like that. This is the first Christmas you get to be with the Mervin's! We have an awesome Christmas! I'll even break out extra Cockroach Clusters for you at dinner tomorrow."
"I'm flattered." I rolled my eyes.
"And you'll hear my Dad's fantastic rendition of 'God Bless Ye Merry Hippogriffs'." he shuddered and I genuinely chuckled a little bit.
"Sometimes I hear him singing in his workshop when I bring him breakfast."
"Then you know the suffering." he put his hand on my shoulder, dramatically covering his eyes. "That's all he does on our trips for wand wood and cores. He sings. It's pure torture."
"You're such a drama dragon." I shoved him off to take the basket of rolls to the table.
Dinner was ready by the time his parents came upstairs, complete with a stack of cupcakes for dessert. Tempy was going on about all the people who'd come through that day and her parents were likewise chatty. I sensed they were pretty excited about getting a day off and their optimism seeped in, Cad contributing by flicking lima beans at me when his Mom wasn't looking.
After dinner his Mum waved off our offer of helping to clean up, so we all went into the living room once again to read or listen to the radio. His Dad brought down a stack of presents and set them under the tree next to ours. I was writing my Mum but I couldn't seem to find the right words. I crumpled up my third letter and threw it into the rubbish bin, sighing heavily.
"Trouble?"
Cad asked, following the arc of the parchment into the bin.
"Just trying to find what to say to my Mum."
"Just tell her you'll come tomorrow and see how it goes."
"It's not so easy to say 'I'll stay the rest of holiday as long as Mike's not an arse'." I glanced to Mr. Mervin and blushed as I swore. "Oh, uh, sorry, sir."
"I didn't hear anything." he smirked.
"I'm just trying not to make my Mom mad."
"Tell her it's not her persay, just your brother." Cad took the parchment and quill out of my hands, reading as he scribbled quickly. "Mrs. Hales, sorry to inform you but your son is a prat. Best holiday wishes."
"Give me that back." I ripped the quill out of his hand, throwing his scrawled letter into the bin with the others. "You're the worst."
"So they tell me." he reclined on the couch, putting his hands behind his head.
"Just say something like 'I wouldn't want my arguing with Mike to ruin everyone else's holiday'." Tempy offered.
"See, Cad, that's helpful." I wrote it down.
Tempy and I finally finished the letter almost an hour later, sending Cad's owl off with it before it got much later. A few minutes my Mom wrote back saying that it was fine and she looked forward to seeing me in the morning. I felt a little better that I hadn't gotten a Howler saying I was an awful daughter, so it wasn't so bad losing a game of wizard's chess to Tempy while we stayed up later than we probably should.
The fire crackled merrily as Christmas music drifted over the radio, making the setting very serene. I was sitting in front of the couch again with my feet propped on the warm fireplace. Tempy was stretched out on the couch supposedly reading but she was nodding off faster than a candle being blown out. Cad smiled from his chair before getting up to carry her to her room. A few seconds later he returned but instead of sitting in the chair by the radio he sat next to me on the floor, pulling the quilt over both our legs before resting his head against the couch and closing his eyes. After a few minutes his breathing started to even out.
"I'm not carrying you to bed if you fall asleep." I muttered as I flipped the page.
"Bummer."
"My arms are about as big as a Fwooper's legs, I don't think I could carry you up those stairs."
"That's just mean." he pouted.
"You know what I meant." I shoved his shoulder.
The clock chimed midnight and we both looked up at it. I was thinking about the fact I'd have to Floo to my house in a few hours when Cad leaned over and kissed my cheek.
"Happy Christmas, Amelia."
I knew my mouth was probably open, surprised by him, but I did manage to choke out a 'Happy Christmas' in return. He stood up casually and headed out of the living room. "Don't forget to put out the fire when you go to bed."
I just nodded stupidly as he headed upstairs. I touched my cheek but just felt a hot blush. He'd been so casual I could almost convince myself it meant nothing more than a friendly gesture. Almost.
Instead of sitting around all night wondering what it meant I got up and folded the quilt, extinguished the fire with my wand, and headed to Tempys' room as quietly as I could. I laid awake for a while longer, my cheek burning hotly and I wished I could put it out as easily as I could the fireplace.
The next morning I woke up at five sharp to get ready to Floo over to my house. After a few minutes of debating I elected to leave my bag. Worse came to worse I just had Cad bring it to me if I decided to stay, but I wasn't optimistic. Mrs. Mervin was already up starting on Christmas dinner and breakfast. She bade me a quiet goodbye as I grabbed the pot with the Floo powder in it.
My house was also pretty quiet, only my Mom being awake likewise cooking in the kitchen. She stopped and came into the living room when she heard the fireplace roar, crushing me in a hug.
"Happy Christmas, Mom." I said softly, trying not to cry.
"MHappy Christmas Amelia. It's so nice to have you back."
"It's good to see you again. I've missed you."
"We missed you too." she kissed the top of my head before leading me to the kitchen, sitting me at the table with some hot chocolate as she continued cooking.
"How has your break been?"
"Really fun! I've been baking and learning about Muggle school with Tempy, and I've been helping Cad with his homework he never does. It's been interesting living off of Diagon Alley but it made Christmas shopping a lot easier."
"I'm sure. Working at the mail service makes things easier for me too."
We heard a thundering upstairs which could only mean my sisters were awake. They came down the stairs like a mob of nightgowns, crushing me in a hug against the kitchen chair.
"Amelia! We missed you so much!"
"I missed you guys too." I smiled as they each hugged me in turns.
My oldest sister, the Slytherin, seemed a little less genuine but when I gave her a smile she returned it fast enough. I knew a lot of the burden of me leaving would have fallen to her and I felt bad, but there wasn't much that could be done to help it.
Not two minutes after them Mike and his girlfriend came down still in their pajamas as well, Mike narrowing his eyes as he caught sight of me. He sat down at his usual place even though breakfast wasn't being served yet.
"I see you came crawling back."
"I'm here to spend Christmas with my family." I said softly.
"Speaking of Christmas." my younger sister cut in before it could get too heated. "Your friends sent all their gifts. We put them in a bag next to the Christmas tree because we weren't sure if you wanted to open them now or later."
"Thank you. I'll probably hold off for a while. I like to open the family's gifts first."
"I got to wrap the gifts this year." My Hufflepuff sister beamed. "I color coded everybody's. I gave you blue because, well, Ravenclaw."
"I saw them when I came in, they looked really good." I smiled as I took another sip.
My Dad came down last and we sat down to a delicious full breakfast complete with the most amazing sauteed mushrooms. The roast for dinner was already starting to spread it's delicious smell through the house from the back of the stove, and Mike kept his opinions to himself through breakfast which made it a pleasant affair.
The girls rushed through breakfast so it was pretty short, and I offered to clean up the dishes so my Mom could go into the living room with them and open gifts. She was close to putting her foot down that I wouldn't do dishes so soon after being back, but I just hugged her and told her I really wanted to. She was a little flustered as she pulled away, swiping at her eyes before herding my sisters off. I had a warm feeling in my chest for the first time in days, so much so I almost forgot about the other people sitting in the house.
"Go open presents with the others, baby." Mike ordered Candy.
"Of course baby." she pecked his cheek before leaving us alone.
I tried to ignore him, waving my wand to move all the dishes to the sink where they started washing themselves.
"You think you can just manipulate Mom into forgetting what you did?"
"What I did? You mean leave so I didn't curse you? I doubt she'll forget it just because I offered to do the dishes."
"You can't curse me." he scoffed.
"Wouldn't be any harder than cursing a Muggle." I shrugged.
He slammed the table with his hand but I ignored it, not even jumping because I'd been expecting it. "Stop calling me a Muggle!"
"Stop acting like one."
I heard his chair scrape but I didn't give him the satisfaction of turning around.
"I see your time gone hasn't taught you any manners."
"Likewise."
He reached out and grabbed my shoulder, spinning me around. "Look at me when I'm talking to you."
I shrugged out of his grasp, glaring into his eyes. "Say something worth listening to."
"You just don't know when to shut up, do you?" he took a step closer, taking advantage of his height to try and scare me. "I'm still the oldest, you don't get to sass me like that."
I crossed my arms, using the movement to shake my wand into my hand without him seeing it. "Then say what you want to say and leave me alone."
"I think you're a selfish, no good, spoiled, gobby little peice of shite that should have her wand taken from her because she doesn't know how to use it right."
"Glad to get that off your chest now?"
"Why can't you just be in your place like the others?" he growled, reaching up to grab my wrist.
The spell was instant, almost instinctual, and he pulled his hand back quickly as the Stinging Hex bit at his fingers.
"You bit-!"
I'd never wanted a singular thing to stop talking as much as I could possibly want it now, so I took the gamble and pointed my wand straight at his face.
"Silencio."
He gaped his mouth open, steadily getting more red as he tried to scream and yell at me. The silence stretched out as he realized he at least wouldn't be able to do anything about it for a few seconds and lashed out the only way he knew how. His backhand was too quick for me to avoid and I fell back onto the counter. A bowl I'd been drying crashed to the floor and shattered, the talk in the living room ceasing immediately as they realized who was in the kitchen. I looked back at him quickly, narrowing my eyes and refusing to let him see he scared me. His face grew even redder at my reaction and I saw a vein pulse on his forehead. I raised my wand to him again but his hand lashed out to grab my wrist, wrenching my aim away from him. His touch on my skin sent a jolt of anger through me, and a Stinging Hex ran against his fingers. I saw his mouth form a swear as he released me, backing away from the pain. I looked up to see my entire family in the kitchen door with a wide array of facial expressions.
With absolute perfect timing my Silencing Charm wore off after maybe a total of fifteen seconds, unleashing a torrent of swear words out of the oldest of us. His face was fuming as he finally took a breath.
"I told you she was bad news, Mom. She jinxed me!"
"It was a charm, and I wouldn't have had to if you'd just leave me alone."
"I don't listen to you. I'm the oldest, you listen to me."
"I don't have to do anything you tell me to do."
"Amelia, please." my Mom said softly.
"Amelia please? How about Michael please? I'm not the one who started this."
"Can't you just get along? I just want to have a nice Christmas."
"That's not fair." my youngest sister spoke up with a huge frown on her face.
"Can't you just hear your brother out?"
"He'll just berate me for having a brain I can use on my own, instead of letting him make every decision for me." I crossed my arms.
"Come on, you know that's not true." my Mom shook her head. "Michael, why don't you come in here with us?"
"So now I have to take backseat to a little girl?" he spat.
She sighed and looked back to me with pleading eyes which only stoked my anger further.
"You're kidding me."
"Please, Amelia?"
"No."
"Honey." my Dad started to speak up but my brother cut in.
"See what I mean, Mom? She's so ungrateful she won't even exist in the same room as me when you tell her to."
"I'm not going to consent myself to be bullied by you." I said stubbornly.
"You'll do what I say." he growled.
"Make me." I glared.
He jerked forward again but my wand was faster than his hand, landing another pretty good Stinging Hex on his arm.
"AMELIA!" my Mother shouted. "How dare you hex someone!"
"This is what I mean, Mom." I shouted at her, turning to face her satisfied Mike had been put off. "I know you need help around the house, so I do it. I've helped you with the housework since I could reach the counter, and here you are taking the side of someone who we know has threatened me in the past, who threatened me just a few days ago, and who only shows up every few years to boss us around. This is what I mean by I won't stay here while he is."
My sisters had scrambled up and gathered the bag with my friend's presents and the satchel I'd brought with me, handing them to me with a nod as I made for the Floo. I threw the powder onto the fire and remembered to say 'the Mervin household' before disappearing into a green blur. They were all sitting in the living room opening their gifts when I burst into their peaceful scene, and the guilt hit me along with everything else.
"I'm so sorry, I-"
"It's alright dear. You're welcome to join us." Mrs. Mervin gestured to the spot next to her on the couch.
For some reason I felt tears well up in my eyes. I turned my head to try and hide them, steadying my voice. "Actually I think I need some air for a second. I'm sorry to disturb you."
I headed down the back stairs without another word, dumping my things before turning the lock on the front door to step out onto the extremely cold and extremely empty Diagon Alley. I leaned against the brick wall of their shop and tried to steady my breathing but the tears only came faster in the silence. I heard the bell chime next to me and even though tears were blocking my vision I knew who it was.
"Go away Cad."
"Oh be quiet." I felt a warm blanket cover my shoulders before he pulled me into a tight hug.
Instead of shoving him off I leaned into him and let the tears come. "I'm an awful daughter."
"No you're not, and you know it."
"I ruined your family's Christmas."
"Of course you didn't. You think this is the first time we've had someone unceremoniously fling themselves into the middle of Christmas morning? We're the Mervin's, this happens twice a week!"
"That's a lie. I've been here all week and it's not happened once."
"It must have been while we were out yesterday. Just you watch."
"He just- he just makes me so angry. And no matter what he does my Mom just defends him. I hexed him, Cad. I had to."
He tensed as he continued to rub my back. "I'm sorry you had to go through that."
We stood there for a few minutes longer until my tears subsided a little, maybe five minutes, before I finally pulled away.
"Are you okay now?" he gave me a worried glance.
"I think so. I'm sorry."
"Eh, you get a pass. It's not every day someone curses their brother. Just make sure you don't give Tempy any ideas." he shuddered at the thought.
"I appreciate you coming after me."
"Well I couldn't very well let you freeze to death, could I? Then I would have bought all those gifts for nothing." he smiled as he held the shop door open for me.
I stood on my toes and kissed his cheek. "Thanks, Cad." I smiled before stepping into the warm shop.
I avoided his gaze as we walked to the back staircase because I knew I'd start blushing if I did. Walking into his family's apartment I saw them still gathered around in the living room.
"Everything alright?" Mr. Mervin asked.
"Yes sir. I'm sorry I barged in. I didn't expect to be back so soon. My brother and I- well, it went pretty much how I thought it would."
"Of course sweetie. We were just about to open the gifts you got us if you'd like to rejoin us. Cad, would you mind getting her some hot chocolate? I always find it helps me calm down." their Mom smiled.
"I'll do it!" Tempy jumped off and scurried to the kitchen.
I sat next to Mrs. Mervin while they opened their gifts, saying they'd been just what they needed. I knew it was a little overhyped because I was upset but they at least seemed not to hate them. Tempy brought me some hot chocolate before refusing to let me help her with the wrappings that had been strewn around the room. Mr. and Mrs. Mervin bundled up to take a walk once the living room was cleaned up so I curled up next to the radio to think a little. Cad must have known better than to leave me alone with my thoughts, however, because not a minute later he walked up with the sack of presents from my Mom's house.
"Some of these have Louk's illegible writing, and we both know how testy he'll be if he finds out you didn't open his presents."
I returned the small smile as I reached my hand in to pull one out at random. Tempy came over to watch and was looking at the bag so admirantly I asked her if she wanted to help me. She nodded eagerly and between the three of us we had them open in no time.
Amber was first with a gorgeous pair of black heeled boots I'm sure would hurt to no end if I used them around the Hogwarts staircases, then a comfortable pair of trainers to make up for I supposed. Molly had sent me a pack of quills that swore loudly at anyone who wasn't the original owner with a note that 'maybe now you can stop complaining people are stealing your quills' as well as a Quidditch style Ravenclaw ski cap which would come in handy when I had to be dragged down to the pitch every rainy Saturday in spring. Matt had sent a selection of Honeydukes as well as a book on rare plants from Africa. Keeli had gotten me one of those precision cut wooden covered journals from Flourish and Blott's, with a beautiful depiction of an owl. She'd also thrown in a lipgloss set in six different colors and flavors that I knew she'd probably steal every morning. Damian sent me a cute bronze hand chain with a sapphire gem on the wrist and a comfy jumper that had an eagle in watercolor style.
I was a little worried to open Louk's gifts around Cad but I was left little choice as those were one of the first ones Tempy pulled out. His first was a stunning hair clip worked into the shape of my favorite flower, an anemone, out of pearl and some kind of dark gem as the stamen. I knew it was to wear to the party next week but the opulence of it was still something special. Besides the clip there was a box of truffles from around the world, and a black tea sampler from different regions in Russia.
Cad came bearing his gifts in person, one wrapped and one small box with a bow. He was blushing a little as he handed them to me. "I know usually I just get you joke things, but I figured if I got them for you you'd actually use them on Mike. While that might be an improvement, I wanted to get you something that might...distract you in a better way."
"You didn't have to get me anything, Cad."
"I wanted to, and you got me things."
"Well thank you." I tore into the wrapped one first, revealing a beautiful leather book heavily worn called Moste Potente Potions. "Cad! How did you get this?"
"I have my ways. Don't tell my Mum, but I might have had to root around in Knockturn Alley for that one." he beamed as I gently opened the cover.
"These are pretty hard to come by, mostly because they contain what some people consider 'dark' potions." I flipped through the pages and saw why some people might be of that opinion, but to me it was pure poetry. "Thank you so much!"
"I helped him pick out this one!" Tempy pointed to the small box.
I was a gold band chain bracelet with my house name on one side and my birthday in Roman numerals on the other. "Thank you! It's perfect!"
"Really, you like it?" they both asked, but Cad a little more hesitant.
"Of course. It's dressy enough to wear to the party, but still casual enough to wear around school. Thank you." I pulled both of them into a hug.
Cad's smile was back in place when I leaned away. "Well alright then."
"And your gifts were perfect too, Amelia." Tempy stayed glued to my side. "That dress is so pretty, and I can't wait to read that book about magical plants!"
"Well, I know you always read my Herbology books, so now you have one of your own."
"Can I still borrow your Herbology books?"
"Of course." I hugged her again. "Why don't we clean up a little bit before your parents get home? We don't want them coming back to a mess."
"Okay. Cad, you clean the paper and I'll help Amelia take her gifts to my room."
"I always get stuck with clean up." he scrunched his nose as he bent down to start.
Tempy helped me pile the boxes and bags in my arms, gathering what I couldn't fit, and led me to her room. She shut the door with her foot as we walked in before softly setting the gifts on her bed.
"Who was that hair clip from?"
"My friend Louk." I opened his box and took it back out. It really was stunning.
"Why were you trying to hide it from Cad?"
"Him and Louk don't get along for many reasons. I don't want Cad to think I'm picking favorites."
"Is he the one who cursed my brother last year?" a line worked between her eyes.
"Yes, he is."
"But your friends with him?"
"We all are, even Cad. It was wrong and we all made sure he knew it. I made sure he apologized and promised never to do it again. I know that doesn't make it right. Louk's complicated, and I know he makes mistakes, but he does a lot of good too."
"Well alright, I guess he can stick around." she gave a small smile as she rolled her eyes. "Besides, I'm sure Cad could just shove him out a window if he needed to."
I giggled. "Yes he could."
We rejoined Cad in the living room just as his parents walked in, saying it was time for Christmas carols. We all sat in the living room in front of the fireplace roasting marshmallows on sticks singing along to the radio. At noon Mrs. Mervin served a delicious roast with all sorts of sides from potatoes to pigs in blankets. Tempy and I convinced her to let us do the dishes since she'd done all the cooking, after which Cad asked us outside for a snowball fight. It's snowed a good six inches overnight and everything was merrily covered in a thick white powder, just perfect for snowballs. We tugged on coats and boots before heading out to the park where a few others were likewise taking part in the frozen warfare. We joined one of the teams at random and had a good time pelting the other kids, ducking behind trees or benches to stop them from doing the same. It was growing dark by the time we went back home, faces burning from cold, and sat around the fire again to warm up before tea.
The Mervin's let me break out my new tea sampler set so we all had a taste of a different region in Russia. My favorites were the Chinese-bordering areas, as those teas were infused with Chinese spices that really made each sip something special. Mrs. Mervin made some amazing scones and biscuits to go with it, and instead of sitting at the table we stayed around the fireplace just talking. His parents had lots of stories of the crazy things the eleven year olds managed to do as they were trying out wands and most of them were hilarious, including the time Mr. Mervin had his hair turned into a spider which Mrs. Mervin was all too willing to reenact for us.
His parents went to bed just shy of eleven, so the three of us settled down in the living room to read or in Cad's case listen to the radio. Moste Potente Potions was turning into a fascinating read quickly with potions detailed I had never dreamed of. Interestingly enough some of the most intriguing illustrations were of Polyjuice Potion gone wrong, like what happens when you mixed in animal or creature hair. There were three entire chapters dedicated to poisons alone, and six more chapters containing potions I didn't even know existed. One was called a Boosting Brain Tonic that had some pretty extreme ingredients but was said to increase your mental capacity tenfold, at the slight risk of overworking your brain and literally frying it inside of your head. I realized why maybe this book was frowned upon by most potioneers.
I was so wrapped up in my book a light tap on my shoulder made me jump, looking around to see Cad hiding something behind his back.
"Sorry. I called your name but you were too focused."
I glanced over to see Tempy asleep next to me, her book open on her lap. "Yeah, that happens a lot."
"I realized I forgot to give you one of your gifts."
"Oh?" I raised my eyebrow, sensing some signature Cad shenanigans.
He pulled his hand from behind his back, holding out a Gryffindor Quidditch scarf complete with his number. "I remember telling you last year I'd get you a Gryffindor scarf to wear to my games this year."
I rolled my eyes as I took it. "You kno-"
He held up his hand. "You don't have to wear it to the games, it's okay but a promise is a promise."
"Isn't this your scarf?"
He shrugged. "Who knows? They all look the same."
"What will you wear?"
"I have about fifty scarves, I promise you I'll be fine."
"Isn't this the scarf you get when you join the team?" I gestured to his number at the end.
He shrugged, running his hand through his hair. "Who knows? Like I said, they all look the same. I'm going to take Tempy to bed if you wouldn't mind putting out the fireplace."
I thought for a second before letting him get away with the change of topic, nodding to his offer. Tempy's room was dark as I walked in, seeing Cad's shadow pull a blanket over his little sister and placing her book on the nightstand. He walked by me on his way out, quickly reaching out to squeeze my hand before closing the door soundlessly.
