I own nothing but Odile and my crap writing. Enjoy!
Christmas came almost too soon. The two had grown closer over the two week period, barely leaving each other's side. In fact once Fred and George had made up (which took about two minutes) she and the twins begun to conspire over the latest pranks and products. But most the time was spent with Fred and Odile getting to know each other better. For example, Odile's favourite colour was forest green, while Fred's was a toss up between sky blue and pastel yellow. Odile was a Sagittarius while Fred was an Aries. And while Odile used to be very introverted, she was becoming a bit more of an ambivert. It was funny how an accidental meeting had changed them both so much, in such little time. In fact, Fred was the one who ran into her room Christmas morning, beaming at the chance to get her up. He closed the door quietly behind him, before jumping on her bed, causing her to grunt at his excitable behaviour.
"Come on, come on, IT'S CHRISTMAS ODILE!" He cried, as she groaned snuggling under the sheets even more, causing Fred to smile and slide in next to her.
"Freeeeeeed, it's like 6 in the morning. I make it a rule not to be up and about until at least 12 o'clock on holidays. I hate you." She complained even though she curled up closer to his side. He smiled at her gently and pulled her closer to him.
"But it's present time love." She felt her heart skip a beat at the word love. She knew in England it was simply a word of endearment, but it felt so different coming from his lips.
"Presents can wait…"
"Noooo, come on Black Swan. Everyone else is already waiting downstairs. And you don't want to get in between Ron and his presents." She sighed but conceded.
"Fine. But I am so stealing a sweater from you."
"You're telling me you didn't bring a jumper?"
"Oh I did. Yours are just nicer." She replied looking down, fumbling with her thumbs. He chuckled at her expression. He leant forward to give her a peck on the forehead, causing her to look up in shock. His eyes bored into hers as he leant towards her mouth when the door flung open again.
"Ron and Harry are getting really impatient guys and-" Ginny burst out stopping all of a sudden when she saw the two curled up in the bed.
"Oh Merlin you two, at least put a sock on the door!"
"Ginny wait-" Odile started but the girl had already run out the room. They looked at each other before Odile started giggling, setting Fred off.
"Oh Godric. Now we have to go before Mum comes upstairs." He groaned, red in the face. She laughed before giving him a playful look.
"I was serious about that sweater Weasley." He smirked before pulling his sweater off, revealing his lean, but Quidditch-toned body.
"Fred!" She squealed, hurrying to cover her eyes. He tossed her the jumper and turned, but not before catching her peeking at him through her fingers.
"I'm going to grab a vest. Hopefully, that'll do alright." She blushed but nodded before he left. After she was sure he had left, she pulled the sweater over towards herself. It had a quaffle ball streaking across the front of it, and his jersey numbers on the back. She sniffed it, almost out of habit, having gotten so used to his smell. It smelt like gunpowder, vanilla, and pine. In other words, it smelt perfect.
"Where have you two been? We've been waiting forever!" Ron whined, sounding nothing like his actual age, and more like an 11 year old.
"Isn't it obvious?" Ginny said slyly, hinting towards Fred's unkempt hair and Odile's new attire.
"Hey Fred, isn't that your jumper?" Sirius asked grinning. Fred and Odile wore matching blushes, avoiding each other's eyes.
"Shut up Sirius." Remus reprimanded giving the young couple a gentle smile, which was greatly appreciated.
"Alright Moony, fine. It was just a bit of teasing." There was an uncomfortable clearing of throats for a moment before Ron clapped his hands.
"So…. presents?"
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They were deep within the unwrapping business when Molly turned to give Odile her gift.
"Here you are dearie. Just a little welcome present." Odile smiled before unwrapping her present to find a light grey, hand knitted sweater folded neatly with a large dark blue "O" in the middle of it.
"Wow, Mrs. Weasley, this is incredible. This- this is-" Everyone looked in shock as the girl started tearing up at the sight of the present. Fred gently wrapped an arm around her as the tears began to flow more freely.
"Sorry," she said wiping furiously at her eyes, "It's just… this is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me in a long time. It reminds me of something my mom would have done before…" She quietened as the gravity of what she meant hit them. Something her mother would have done before her passing. Something only a mother could do.
"Oh, come here." Molly motioned, starting to cry herself, and dragged Odile into a tight embrace. Harry, who knew the pain of losing his family felt especially touched at the display of emotion. Molly Weasley was a truly beautiful woman, who'd always been like a mother to him, ever since she had met him at the station. And to see someone else get to experience her warmth… well, it was quite the spirit lifting occasion. After they both dried their tears they looked up to the bittersweet smiles worn by all the occupants in the room. It was a beautiful moment, but such a terribly sad one at that.
"Right then… enough tears. Let's get on with presents." Odile said, still sniffling slightly. And with that, the room burst back into activity.
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By the end of the afternoon, all their stomachs were full of sweets and Molly's delicious cooking. As Odile looked out over her haul she felt quite satisfied. She hadn't expected anything from anyone, so was quite surprised when she had received a present from all in attendance. Let's see, there was the pepper-up potion from Sirius, (for "endurance" he had said, causing her to go beet red and receiving him a smack from both Remus and Molly Weasley), a book on great wizard poets from Remus, a handful of chocolate frogs from Ron, and an interesting book of architecture from Hermione (at least that was what Hermione told her). There were also assorted sweets from Harry, a new skirt and a scarf from Ginny (who said she was just glad to have finally found someone with a decent fashion sense, much to Hermione's annoyance), an exclusive box of the Weasleys best gags from George, and of course the sweater from Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. Fred had told her that he wanted to give her his gift later, in private. Like that wasn't suspicious.
She later received a card from her father and a gift, which was a surprise itself. The note contained merely a Happy Holidays print, with his intelligible scribble at the bottom, and the gift was a rather heavy sack of galleons. Leave-me-alone-for-the-rest-of-the-year-money she guessed. Not that he really cared about her. She supposed his secretary had gotten the card, and merely made him sign it. Same thing every year.
Once she alone in her room she unpacked the gifts from her extended family. There was a box of instant grits from John David, her favourite cousin, and game of indoor horseshoe toss from her Aunty Sal. There was a wooden carved figurine of a bear holding a shotgun from her Uncle John, a stupid singing fish from Grandpa Joe (which he knew she hated), a pair of polished antlers from cousin Bill, and new wand holster from cousin Mary. There were a great many more southern gifts, including the obligatory Tarheel flag, and redneck bottle opener (no matter how many times she told them that's what wands are for) and a nice bottle of Southern Comfort. But the most special gift was the beautiful silver chain her Grandma Sue had sent, along with a note on how to care for it and a threat of what would happen to her if she lost it. She suddenly felt a wave of sadness and homesickness as she yearned for her family. At least she would get to see them soon enough. She was thinking over logistics when she heard a knock on the door.
"Who is it?"
"Just me. Can I come in?" Fred's muffled voice came from behind the door.
"I don't know. Can you?" She answered playfully. He laughed as he opened it and entered, shutting it behind him.
"Really? I just got grammar lesson from a yank?" He asked with a chuckle. She gasped, pretending to be highly offended.
"How dare you? Southerners are not yanks. And it's not my fault that you, a Brit, can't actually talk." She teased. He broke out in laughter, before taking a seat next to her on the floor, looking over all her gifts.
"Wow, quite a collection you got there." She grinned as he stared at the gifts her family had given her, before taking time to explain what everything was, answering his questions.
"So… what's a Tarheel?" She suddenly stood, surprising him at the fire burning in her eyes.
"I'M A TARHEEL BORN, A TARHEEL BRED, AND WHEN I DIE I'LL BE A TARHEEL DEAD! SO GO TO HELL DUKE!" She cried at the top of her lungs, before settling back down on the floor again.
"Uh… thanks for the chant. You still haven't actually explained what a Tarheel is."
"Oh it's our basketball team."
"Your… what?"
"Oh boy, you're gonna learn today."
A/N: Haha, sorry not sorry to any Duke fans. But I'm a Tarheel girl through and through, can't help it. Blame my dad, he made me into this monster. So, there's a bit more to come, but this next part deserved it's own chapter. And can I just say, totally (not) subjectively, I love the relationship between the Weasley's and Odile? They're just- ugh so sweet.
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EDITED= 09/14/17