*(A/N)* Alrighty, the final few (it'll probably turn out to be 10 or something) are coming up. I can't believe it, this story is actually going to end....I guess I can't just keep going on and on and on until people eventually get bored now, can I? I've got a steady plot (or so I believe) with a *hopefully* sturdy ending. It'll all come together some how, won't it?
Chloe Patil at Hogwarts: Chapter 21
Chloe sat at the dinner table, eagerly awaiting the turkey that was coming up. Christmas Eve had indeed arrived, presents were under the tree, cards had been sent and received, and inviting aromas had been drifting from the kitchen all afternoon. At last supper had come along, and Chloe found herself wedged between her father and her grandfather, the three at the table with the biggest appetites. Nothing, apparently, held Chloe back from Christmas Dinner.
The meal went by smoothly. Grandma Patil made hints about Sir Nick visiting during the night, (although the sisters had long ago stopped believing in him, they still grinned stupidly to please their grandmother. Even Parvati was playing along.) While their father and grandfather discussed boring things of no importance. When the main course was finished, the puddings and pies were dished out. Padma's complaints of an incredibly full stomach were halted at the sight of dessert.
At last dinner was over. Feeling completely satisfied, Chloe sat contentedly in the living room reading a book, the soft conversations of the adults drifting by every so often. The heat from the fireplace warmed her thoroughly, and the lights on the Christmas tree twinkled softly. A perfcet evening was upon them, and for the first time since the arrival of the girls, no arguing could be heard.
Chloe yawned deeply, almost being ready for bed. She wondered what it was about warmth and having a full stomach that made one that had been so full of energy only hours ago so tired.
"Chloe, my dear," her mother began, checking her watch, "it's nearly 10:30, you can go to bed if you're that tired."
"Yeah, maybe I will." Chloe answered, trying in vain to cover up yet another yawn. She kissed her parents and grandparent goodnight, and headed up to bed.
*~*
Draco sat in the cold and lonely dining room of the magestic manor all by himself. Not that the room itself was cold temperature-like, but in it's decor. It wasn't welcoming, cozily lit with pictures of fruit bowls and flowers, but hard, with stone walls, and an intricately carven fireplace. The room was dark with the exception of the light the fire itself gave off, and the long table with only three spots set made the room seem even more desolate. Christmas, even life, at the Malfoy residence was anything but merry.
Draco sighed, picking at the incredible dinner the servants had worked hard to put together. His father had been called off again, some sort of Death Eater emergency. Draco supposed Holidays meant nothing to the Dark Lord. His mother, after fighting with Lucius about leaving his family on Christmas Eve, had left the room shortly after Mr. Malfoy had gone. Narcissa was going nowhere fast, Draco knew it. She'd taken up a most unladylike habit of drinking hard liquor whenever his father was called away, Draco supposed she was probably passed out in the den, an emptied whiskey bottle at her side.
He pushed himself away from the table, tired of the dreary room, the lonely table, the uneaten food, his family and life in general. Ever since he'd found out about Chloe's involvement in Voldemort's plan, his life had changed drastically. He no longer simply strutted around the manor, looking idly at minor things, he hadn't even thought of going out on his new Quidditch Field. Little had been told to him about the plan, but from what he'd heard, Chloe was going to, unwillingly, serve as a lure for Potter.
He walked through various halls, guiding himself towards the den. A scene similar to what he'd imagined laid before him. He removed the bottle from his mother's hand, placing it behind the bar, beyond the view of anyone looking in. Covering Narcissa with a blanket, Draco tried to imagine that she was just taking a nap after a superb dinner. Yet, try as he might, the scene wouldn't come to mind. He supposed that Christmas had been like that at one point, but right now it was hard to believe.
As he began to leave the room, he took one last glance back, to the amazingly decorated Christmas Tree sitting in the corner. It was quite the sight.
"If there aren't any presents under that tree in the morning, there will be hell to pay." He muttered, leaving the den, and making his way towards his room.
*~*
Christmas Eve had come and gone, and the morning was finally here. Ron woke early, groggy at first, but brightening immediately when he remembered what day it was. He tore open his curtains, ready to shout at his best friend to wake up, when he saw that Harry was already awake, and doing something at his desk.
"Harry, whadda you think yer doing?" Ron asked, confused. To him, Christmas Morning and anything to do with desks just did NOT fit together.
Harry jumped slightly. "Oh, er, nothing..." He responded vaguely.
"Have you even looked at your presents?"
"Well, no." Harry admitted sheepishly.
"What is wrong with you all of a sudden? Stop the letter writing or homework rubbish and enjoy Christmas already! You rushed up here last night to work on something after that owl came. Who was that letter from anyway?"
"Nobody. Hey, look, biggest pile of gifts yet!" Harry exclaimed, gesturing towards the pile at the end of his bed, trying desperately to change the subject.
Ron just shook his head. "Yeah, great." He replied. He'd find out what was on that letter later.
The other boys in the dorm, Seamus and Dean, were beginning to wake. Neville had gone home to celebrate Christmas with his Gran. They poked their heads out of the curtains, sleepy eyed and grinning stupidly. Cheers of Merry Christmas could be heard throughout Gryffindor tower. Ron and Harry began to pick up presents and tear them open vigorously.
"Would you look at this..." Harry said thoughtfully, holding up something small.
"What is it?" Ron asked, squinting to see the object.
"A hairpin from the Dursleys." Harry responded.
"Maybe they figure it'll help you to finally tame your hair." Ron suggested thoughtfully.
"I'll give it to Hermione." Harry grumbled.
The rest of Harry's presents were much more gratifying then that from the Dursleys, but that was the way it always went. He and Ron received their usual package from Mrs. Weasley, Green and Maroon sweaters. Along with them came tins of fudge and homemade candy, which they munched on as they continued opening. At last all the presents had been opened, with just one small one for Harry. When Ron pointed it out, Harry looked at it, surprised. He hadn't even noticed it.
The small box was wrapped with shimmering green paper, it was quite astonishing, really, and Harry wondered how he'd even missed it. He opened it delicately, not wanting to, for some reason, wreck the paper. Underneath was a blue box. Harry opened the lid, Ron peeking over his shoulder to see what the mysterious box contained. In it was a silver chain. Attached to it was something that looked a lot like Neville's Remembrall, only yellow. Harry held it up in awe, watching the yellow ribbons of color swirl around each other.
"Hey, Harry. There's a piece of paper there." Ron pointed out. Harry put the chain and ball on his bed, taking out the bit of paper, eager to find out what exactly this gift did. He read the instructions out loud.
"Watfiv Retriever
For those who are brave at heart and would do anything for a friend. When you know that your friend is in trouble or mortal peril, simply touch the Watfiv Ball and say their name. You will be safely and legally transported immediately to them.
*Warning* Use only in an emergency where you cannot get to your friend quickly enough by any other means.
Instructions: Simply touch the Watviv Ball with your wand and conjure a picture of your friend in your mind. When you feel confident that the image in your head is clear enough, say the name of that person. The Watviv Ball will remember up to 20 people."
"So it's something I can use to get to you guys if you're in trouble..." Harry repeated.
"Yeah, I guess so. Kind of a neat gift." Ron answered.
"Sure." Harry responded, sliding the chain over his head, and tucking it under the sweater he was now wearing.
"Let's go see Hermione," Ron suggested.
"Yeah, ok."
*~*
"Oooh, they're so nice! Aren't they smooth?" Chloe exclaimed with glee. Padma and Parvati nodded in agreement.
The three of them were parading around the living room in new silk bath robes. They were the presents from Grandma and Grandpa Patil. Chloe stroked the green silk once more. They were the colors of the girls' houses, Padma's blue and Parvati's maroon.
The girls had awoken early Christmas morning, but were unable to start opening gifts until their grandmother had removed her curlers and made herself 'presentable.' This process took nearly 45 minutes, pure torture when there are mounds of gifts in front of you just waiting to be opened. Chloe had to sit on her hands to prevent herself from taking out her wand and making all the packages invisible so she could see what was inside.
At last her Grandma was ready, and present opening had begun. Chloe had received a camera, new dressrobes, more clothes, some charms books, "Quidditch Through the Ages", a radio to replace the ancient one that presently sat in her room, and the bathrobe. A few gifts still remained under the tree for her, but she decided to look around at what everyone else was getting.
Chloe watched her grandmother open her gift from Parvati warily. When she pulled out the book "Magical Me" by Gilderoy Lockhart, Chloe had to try very hard not to burst out laughing. Parvati smiled angelically at her grandmother, but, as far as Chloe was concerned, she was anything but an angel. In Diagon Alley she'd seen hundreds of copies of that book in the salesbin at Flourish and Blotts, with pricetags of 5 knuts.
Chloe reached under the tree to open a small present for her that turned out to be a bottle of half used black ink from Roz. She rolled her eyes, and considered it a blessing that Roz had even thought of her. Ashley sent her a dog eared thesaurus, which Chloe quickly tossed to the side. From Ginny she got a big bag of Every Flavour Beans.
The morning went well. Parvati made a face at Chloe's choice of lipgloss for her, but recovered quickly, saying that she'd just take it back. By the afternoon, everybody was scattered throughout the house. Chloe was laying on her stomach, sorting out her jellybeans, and debating on whether she should begin her Potions and Transfiguration homework.
"Nah." She decided out loud.
Life at home was becoming very boring. At least there was only one week left, although Chloe didn't really want to go back to school either. She had a feeling that life after Christmas was going to be very different from life before.
*~*
Jack was too preoccupied to even think about gifts. Today. Today he would be meeting Lord Voldemort. His father gone away last night and had returned with the news that the Lord had requested Jack specifically. He had to go, his father had said, best not get on the bad side of Voldemort.
Jack didn't really want to go, what would he say to the Dark Lord? What would he want from him? Jack wasn't too sure if he'd made the right decision, going to the Dark Side, but he supposed there was no turning back. Besides, Lord Voldemort could protect him, possibly make him stronger. His father had once told him that power was everything, and that being in alliance with someone powerful was very important to achieve it.
"Jack," His father said solemnly, seriously, from the front entrance. "Come on, it's time to go. Better to be early then late, that's for sure."
Jack looked at his father and gulped hard. He stood up, walked towards him and looked him straight in the eyes.
"Let's go."
*(A/N)* Ok, this is short, and I'm sorry. It's just to let you all know that I'm still alive. Exam week is here, I've been studying, playing volleyball, the usual. Excuses, excuses...I have a million. Anyway, 22 *will* be out sooner then this one, I just know it!
Oooh, look at that pretty *blue* box! How nice, a new color! Why don't we try it out, see if it works as good as the green one! Thanksya! *S~B*