Hollywood and the rest of America had an obsession with the Arrons family. At least, it felt that way to eleven year old Stacy Arrons. Her family was perfect. Ideal. Faultless even. Except for the occasional horrible tabloid article, America loved Stacy's family.
So, why didn't she feel the same way? It wasn't that Stacy hated her parents. She loved them both, but sometimes it was hard for her to understand them. Today was one of those days. She glanced sadly at the letter her owl Ana had delivered for her the day before:
Dear Stacy,
We're glad to hear you are enjoying school. It makes this easier for us to tell you. Your father is filming a movie in Oklahoma. He'll be there through the holidays. I am about to fly to Japan to finish up my latest project. Unfortunately, this leaves you in an awkward position. You are always welcome at home. Honey, please know you are. But, I thought you would rather spend the holidays at school with your friends than at home without us, so I gave our employees the week off. Normally, Grandma would be delighted for you to stay with her, but she has not been feeling well lately and I am afraid it would be too much to ask her for a favor. I hope you do not mind.
Merry Christmas!
Love, Mom and Dad
Stacy really did like school- most of the time. In fact, the year was going by faster than any of her other years of school. But, she was starting to feel homesick. She had never been away from her family, friends, home, and country for so long. She had been looking forward to going back to California for two weeks. She was even beginning to miss the cameras that inevitably followed her mother and sometimes herself everywhere.
Plus, two of her closest friends, Courtney Flowers and Peter Trey were going home. Nearly the entire school was. According to Professor McGonagall, it was only going to be her friend Benjamin Wright, Keith Stewart and herself left in the Gryffindor Tower.
It was a blustery, snowy day when Stacy received the letter from her parents. The castle and its lawns were covered in a thick blanket of snow. Even the lake had frozen over. Madam Hooch and Professor Longbottom were supervising a group of students, including Ben and Peter, who wanted to try ice skating. Inside, it was warm, full of Christmas decorations and trees, and spirits were high. Classes had wrapped up for the year and the students were enjoying their last day at school before the Hogwarts Express would take them home.
The Gryffindor Common Room was nearly empty. Most of her fellow Gryffindors were out skating or in the Great Hall exchanging gifts. Stacy folded her letter and put it back in her robe's pocket. She couldn't let herself be bored now. She was going to have two weeks of nothing but boredom.
Stacy climbed out of the tower and started off in the direction of the library. Courtney was most likely still in there trying to finish her homework before the break started. She was afraid she would need one of the library's books for her assignments and would not have access to it. Stacy slowly opened the door to the library and scanned the room. Sure enough, Courtney was sitting at a table with Mary and Carrie Sarers. Mary was also absorbed by a text, but Carrie was chattering away without noticing they were not listening or seeing Madam Vasta's sharp glares in her direction.
"Stacy!" Jane Martin squealed excitedly.
Stacy couldn't help moaning inside as she made her way to Jane's table. Jane was also in Gryffindor, but she was a second year and Muggle born. She was one of the few people who knew about Stacy's Muggle existence.
"Um, hi Jane!" Stacy whispered as she sat down.
"Are you going to make any movies over the holidays?" Jane paused before answering her own question. "Oh, of course you aren't. You wouldn't have enough time, would you? I hope you make one soon though. You were truly marvelous in "The War". You were! And, I'm not the only one who thought so. That's why you won the Oscar. I was ever so surprised when you won. You were so young! But, you deserved it. Everyone said so. And-"
Stacy stood up abruptly, causing Jane's endless prattling to come to an end. "Um," She said awkwardly. "I-I'll see you later, Jane. I have something I have to take care of."
Jane nodded. "Allright, then." She turned back to her book without another word.
Stacy shot one more look at Courtney before leaving the library. Her friend hadn't even looked up long enough to see her.
It wasn't that Stacy hated Jane. She didn't even dislike her. Jane was nice and very energetic, but she also had a habit of embarrassing Stacy everytime she saw her. She was just a little over-enthusiastic about Stacy's acting career.
Ever since she started at Hogwarts, Stacy had experienced something she had never had before- a feeling of privacy. It was not like she had always been in the national spotlight back in California. Her mother would have wanted it that way, but her father had been careful to shield her from the harsh side of fame. Even the press had respected her right to privacy most of the time. But, growing up she had been hounded by fans nearly everywhere she went. Until "The War", the fans had mainly been interested in learning more about her mother or did not recognize her at all. After her "breakthrough" film, which was actually her eighth one, people suddenly became fascinated by her. Though Stacy had not made any movies since then, not including a TV movie and a cameo in one of her father's films, people still loved her.
Hogwarts meant being around people her age who for the most part did not watch movies or know who she was. Of course, many students came from Muggle families. Most of them either didn't recognize Stacy or didn't care who she was. Jane was the only exception. Until October, Stacy had kept a fairly anonymous existence at school. She mainly stayed around her friends and did not cause a scene or demand attention. But after her accident on her first day of flying lessons, people, including Jane, began to notice her. Everytime she saw her, Jane managed to bring up Hollywood. So far, Stacy had been lucky and it was only when she was alone. She didn't want to tell her friends about her career. She was was afraid they would treat her differently if they knew. She didn't plan on keeping it from them forever. Just for awhile. Stacy wasn't sure, but she thought Ben might already know something was different about her because their fathers were friends. And, if Courtney's father really was a huge movie fan, he would know who she was if Courtney mentioned her. But, until then, Stacy was not going to say anything about it.
Stacy had just left the library when she heard someone shouting her name. She turned around to see her friends Greg Adams and Jana Black hurrying toward her. They were her friends, even though they were Hufflepuffs. Greg was possibly the nicest and most even-tempered person Stacy had ever met. He was everything the Hufflepuff house stood for. Jana was very sweet and the only first year non-Slytherin doing well in Potions. She was also one of the few people shorter than Stacy, which had made them friends instantly.
"We're going to go visit Hagrid," Greg told her. "Do you want to come with us?"
"Sure," Stacy said happily. She was desperate to go outside for a little while, but she didn't feel like making a fool of herself on the lake. "I'll go get my cloak and meet you by the door."
Five minutes later, they were standing outside Hagrid's hut. Hagrid seemed very happy to see them. Apparently, Greg and Jana visted him often.
"Come on in, you three," He exclaimed and held the door open. "I just made some rock cakes."
Stacy sat down on the floor between Greg and Jana. Hagrid offered them each a rock cake, which Greg and Jana politely declined. Stacy quickly wished she had too once she bit into hers.
"What brings yeh down here?" Hagrid asked once he settled down.
"We wanted to see you before we leave tonight," Greg answered.
"And, tell you Merry Christmas," Jana finished. She glanced sympathetically at Stacy, who was rubbing her jaw in pain.
Hagrid looked sad for a moment. "Yeh're the only ones to come see me today. 'Sides Harry- that woul' be Professor Potter to you- and his friends. Those four had some interestin' times when they went here."
"Really?" Stacy said interestingly. "What type of things did they do?"
Hagrid chuckled. "Well, as yeh all know many of Harry's adventures had to do with You-Know-Who." He paused before continuing in a shaking tone. "I mean V-Voldemort. Harry's always tellin' me to say his name. That he isn't gonna come back from the dead and kill me." Hagrid laughed again. "He did most of it with his friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger- that's Professor Granger to yeh."
"Who's the fourth person?" Greg asked curiously.
"Fourth?" Hagrid looked confused.
"You said four people came to see you," Jana reminded him.
"I did, didn' I?" Hagrid mused. "Professor Longbottom came with 'em. He was 'nother friend of Harry's. Those three wer' always into somethin'."
The rest of the afternoon went by quickly as Hagrid described some of the things Harry and other students had done over the years. Finally, just before dinnertime they said goodbye to Hagrid and headed back up to the castle.
The Great Hall was even nosier than usual as they ate what was going to be the last dinner of the year for many students. Stacy tried her hardest to be cheerful during the meal, but all she could think about was the fact that she would wake up alone in her dorm the next day.
"I wish I could stay too," Courtney said cheerfully. "Two weeks at home with Rachel. Ick." She stuck her tongue out to emphasize her point.
Stacy smiled, but knew it was a slight exaggeration. Despite her constant complaints about her sister, Courtney really did love Rachel. They had even started to almost get along lately.
Down the table, Stacy could hear her other room mates Jessica Mullan, Julie Schma, and Christine Gerties discussing their plans. Stacy did not know them very well, but she was starting to wish at least one of them would stay.
"I can't wait to get home," Peter said. "Christmas is always the best at my house!"
Ben took a bite of what seemed like his tenth piece of chicken. "I'm glad I'm staying. My parents are going to be in France. It's better off this way."
"How much are you going to eat?" Courtney asked him in disgust.
Ben shrugged good-naturedly. "I'm a growing boy."
Stacy and Peter exchanged a look of astonishment. Could it be? Ben was actually going to let an insult go.
Courtney looked just as surprised as everyone else and didn't say anything else for the remaining five minutes of dinner- a first for her.
Once everyone was finished eating, Professor Dumbledore said a few words and dismissed them. Stacy followed her friends to the main door to say goodbye before they got into the carriages which would take them back to the Hogwarts Express.
"Bye Stacy! Bye Ben!" Jana called as she hurried out carrying a duffle bag.
"Merry Christmas!" Greg called as he followed Jana out the door.
"Have a good Christmas, Stacy!" Penny Prickle shouted as she was dragged out of the school by her sister Joan.
Finally, Courtney and Peter were the only students left waiting for a carriage.
"We better go," Peter said. The last few carriages were preparing to leave.
Courtney hugged Stacy goodbye and promised to send her several letters. She almost hugged Ben too, but opted to shake his hand instead.
Stacy and Ben said goodbye to their friends and watched as they left in their carriage.
Stacy couldn't help feeling sad as they left. She wished she could be going too, instead of being stuck with only Ben and Keith for two weeks. At least some of her friends from other houses were staying. She knew Greg's friends Wendy Tyson and Steven Smith were still there. So was Justin Taylor and his cousin Brad. They were both Slytherins, but Stacy liked them. Well, she liked Justin and Brad wasn't as bad as Courtney always said Slytherins were. To Stacy's relief, Ryan Arnold, who Stacy felt was the most obnoxious boy she had ever met, had gone home for the holidays.
Keith was sitting in a chair by the fireplace reading when Stacy and Ben entered the Gryffindor Common Room.
"Hello!" He called cheerfully. "So, you two are stuck here too?"
They both nodded and sat down near him.
"Why are you here?" Ben asked him.
Keith smiled. "My parents died when I was a baby. I don't have anywhere to go."
"Oh." Ben said in a surprised tone. He shot a look at Stacy asking her what to do now.
"Kidding!" Keith laughed. "They're away visiting my aunt. I always stay here anyway. It isn't too fun at my house around the holidays."
Ben grimaced. "I know what that's like. My family's very colorful at Christmas."
"That's a bad thing?" Stacy asked.
"It is when you're my family," Ben replied.
Keith turned to Stacy. "You're friends with Rachel's sister, right?" He got such a lovestruck look in his eyes at the mention of Rachel, Stacy was suddenly glad Courtney wasn't there.
"Yeah. Courtney's the best," Stacy answered.
"That depends on your opinion," Ben growled. His face turned bright red though. Stacy couldn't stop a giggle from escaping. Did Ben have a crush on Courtney?
"Rachel doesn't seem to think too highly of her," Keith remarked with a scowl.
"They're sisters," Stacy replied. "They fight a lot, but it doesn't mean anything."
A strange look crossed Keith's face. Then, he faked a yawn and stood up. "I'm going to go to bed. I'll see you in the morning."
"What was that about?" Ben asked once Keith had disappeared into his bedroom.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Stacy!" Ben cried. "Stacy! Wake up! It's Christmas!"
Stacy opened her eyes to see an unusually cheerful Ben jumping up and down on the bed next to hers. Courtney was going to be in a sour mood when returned and she saw the state of her covers.
"What time is it?" She asked as she stood up and pulled her robe on.
Ben shrugged and flopped down on Courtney's bed. "Wow! You got a lot of presents."
Stacy looked in shock at the place he was pointing to. It looked like someone had turned her room into a candy store. There were bags of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Chocolate Frogs, Droobles Best Blowing Gum, and Toothflossing Stringmints in a giant pile next to her bed. A stack of wrapped boxes were next to them.
"Go on!" Ben urged her. "Open them!"
Stacy couldn't help grinning as she read a card from Penny that was attached to a bag of Bertie Bott's. Christmas really was her favorite holiday. It was even better than her birthday because her mother couldn't drag her to any shows or banquets.
Soon, the room was filled with wrapping paper and empty candy wrappers as Stacy tore open her presents and Ben brought his in. Then, Stacy gave him her present. She had painted a portrait of Courtney, Peter, Ben, and herself. Then, using magic, and the assistance of Professor Granger, she had made four copies of the picture. Peter and Courtney had received theirs before they left school.
Besides candies from Penny, Joan, Greg, Jana, Steven, Wendy, Justin, Jane, and even a bag from Rachel Flowers, Stacy got a lot of regular presents as well. Courtney had sent her a long letter complaining about Rachel and a book called 'Hogwarts, A History'. There was also a package with a scarf and gloves from Peter. Ben gave her a poster of the Chudley Cannons, one of his favorite Quidditch teams.
Her mother sent her a copy of her latest memoirs and a makeup kit. Ben laughed hysterically when he saw it, causing Stacy to turn red without the help of Rockin' Raspberry blush. Her father sent her a new journal, three quills, and bottle of ink.
"He must be psychic," Stacy remarked. "I just filled my old diary."
She opened another box to find a lavender scented candle from her friend Mandy Payer, along with a letter. Stacy put it aside to read later.
The second to last package was from her grandmother. In it, Stacy found a homemade tin of cookies and a dozen new hair ribbons. Roxanna had also sent her a very thick book titled, 'Famous Witches and Wizards'. She was disappointed to see her grandmother had not written a letter telling her about whatever was causing her to feel sick.
Stacy laughed as Ben took the ribbons and tried to figure out what to do with them. He tied a yellow one around his neck and asked if it looked right. Finally, he got bored of them and gave them back.
The last package held something very surprising. There was not a note or card attached to it. It was very light and the contents would not impress the average Muggle at first glance. But, Stacy couldn't help gasping loudly when she saw what was inside.
Her invisibility cloak was back.
The Great Hall was only about a quarter full when Ben and Stacy entered for the Christmas feast at noon. Since there were not many students, they were not sitting in their House seats, but were all gathered around the Ravenclaw table. The room looked even more magical than usual. Several hundred candles were floating around the two tables with students and teachers. There were several medium sized Christmas trees spread out around the room. Even the teachers looked better than usual in their dress robes.
Keith was already there when they walked over to the table. They had not seen him around a lot since everyone else left three days earlier. Stacy had spotted him the library once and Wendy said she noticed he spent a lot of time on the Quidditch field practicing. Wendy, Steven, and Justin were gathered at one end of the table, so Ben and Stacy decided to sit there.
Once they had settled down, Professor Dumbledore filled everyone's plates. The food was even better than the first feast of the year. Stacy piled a little bit of everything on her plate. Her mother would have had a heart attack if she saw how much her daughter ate that day.
"This isn't as bad as I thought it would be," Wendy stated. "I thought staying at school over Christmas would be really terrible. But, I actually like it. I might stay again next year, even if my parents decide to stay home."
Steven nodded in agreement. "I like it here. It's different than my house. That's for sure."
"Does he always eat that much?" Wendy whispered to Stacy. She nodded her head to Ben, who was already on his third helping of everything.
"He's being good today," Stacy joked. "Normally he-"
"He's worse than my brother," Wendy interrupted. "Though, Tim's only eight. He'll get worse as he gets older. All boys do. Even the ones that don't eat much growing up. They'll turn into pigs by the time they turn ten."
Stacy giggled. "My father still eats a ton. He's always-"
"The boys are talking about Quidditch again," Wendy remarked. "What a surprise!"
"It does seem to be popular with them," Stacy agreed.
"Steven wants to try out for the team next year. Him and everyone else in our house. There'll be a lot of spots though. All of our good players are graduating this year," Wendy babbled. "I might try out too. I'd like to be Seeker. Greg says I would be good at it. I'm small enough, anyway. You might be a good one too. Of course, you have to wait two years until Keith graduates. Unless, you try to take the position from him next year. But, then everyone would either love you or hate you. It might be too much of a risk. But, let me know if you want to try. I'll help you. I'm really good at training people to play. You grew up in a Muggle household, which could be a disadvantage. We'll see next year though."
Stacy didn't say another word for the rest of the feast. Wendy rambled about Quidditch for a few more minutes, before moving on to classes then to the latest Hufflepuff rumors and finally to the book she was reading. It was enough to make Stacy really miss Courtney. While Courtney could give Wendy some competition for the most out-spoken first year title, at least she was not a gossip.
Steven seemed pretty different from Wendy. He didn't talk much during the meal, except for an occasional remark about the food, Quidditch, or to let everyone know that he had to pass gas.
Neither Wendy or Steven seemed like the stereotypical Hufflepuff. Though, Wendy was very patient and from what Stacy knew about her, she appeared to work hard. Steven was probably what was known as an odd-one-out. He did not fit into any of the other houses, so he was put in Hufflepuff.
After the feast, Ben, Steven, and Justin went outside to watch Keith practice Quidditch. Stacy knew they were secretly hoping he would let them play with him. Wendy wanted to know if Stacy would come with her to the library, but Stacy declined saying she had already finished her homework. That statement was true- for the most part. She had spent Christmas Eve in the library with Ben doing work. She had spent most of the time trying to help Ben without letting him know she was helping him, but had managed to finish almost all of her homework.
It was nice to have the entire Gryffindor Tower to herself for awhile. Stacy spent the afternoon writing and sketching in her new journal. She had filled up nearly thirty pages with drawings before her hand started begging her to stop. Then, she went back up to room and read 'Hogwarts, A History' for awhile. It was a boring afternoon, but also a nice change of pace from her usual schedule. Stacy was used to having a lot of time to herself back at home and had not adjusted to having four room mates right away.
At somepoint in the afternoon, Stacy drifted off to sleep. Her dreams once again focused on the life and death of Eliza Redas. This time, there was a slight variation to her usual nightmare. After Eliza was burned at the stake, Stacy watched as her brother Michael pushed his way through the crowd to the town's jail. Once inside, he took the flask Eliza drank from before she was led to her death and he too drank what remained of it.
Stacy sat up quickly when the dream reached this part. She looked down and saw her whole body was shaking and sweaty. Her head was pounding like it had the day she had fallen off her broom.
It was time. She had been putting this off long enough. She had to do this before it was too late. Stacy tore off a piece of parchment and wrote a letter to her grandmother.
To Be Continued...
A/N:
Ooh.. It's a mystery. Actually, I think it's probably getting to be pretty obvious where I'm going with this story. Oh well. I'll keep writing anyway.
The usual comments: Thanks for reading. Sorry for spelling/grammar mistakes. REVIEW!!!
Ok, I think that's all I have to say this time. The next part might actually come out soon since I'm planning to start it within the hour. I think it's going to be a journal part. I haven't decided yet though.
Any comments, concerns, questions- always welcome. No flames please, but constructive criticism is good. =)
- Hope
So, why didn't she feel the same way? It wasn't that Stacy hated her parents. She loved them both, but sometimes it was hard for her to understand them. Today was one of those days. She glanced sadly at the letter her owl Ana had delivered for her the day before:
Dear Stacy,
We're glad to hear you are enjoying school. It makes this easier for us to tell you. Your father is filming a movie in Oklahoma. He'll be there through the holidays. I am about to fly to Japan to finish up my latest project. Unfortunately, this leaves you in an awkward position. You are always welcome at home. Honey, please know you are. But, I thought you would rather spend the holidays at school with your friends than at home without us, so I gave our employees the week off. Normally, Grandma would be delighted for you to stay with her, but she has not been feeling well lately and I am afraid it would be too much to ask her for a favor. I hope you do not mind.
Merry Christmas!
Love, Mom and Dad
Stacy really did like school- most of the time. In fact, the year was going by faster than any of her other years of school. But, she was starting to feel homesick. She had never been away from her family, friends, home, and country for so long. She had been looking forward to going back to California for two weeks. She was even beginning to miss the cameras that inevitably followed her mother and sometimes herself everywhere.
Plus, two of her closest friends, Courtney Flowers and Peter Trey were going home. Nearly the entire school was. According to Professor McGonagall, it was only going to be her friend Benjamin Wright, Keith Stewart and herself left in the Gryffindor Tower.
It was a blustery, snowy day when Stacy received the letter from her parents. The castle and its lawns were covered in a thick blanket of snow. Even the lake had frozen over. Madam Hooch and Professor Longbottom were supervising a group of students, including Ben and Peter, who wanted to try ice skating. Inside, it was warm, full of Christmas decorations and trees, and spirits were high. Classes had wrapped up for the year and the students were enjoying their last day at school before the Hogwarts Express would take them home.
The Gryffindor Common Room was nearly empty. Most of her fellow Gryffindors were out skating or in the Great Hall exchanging gifts. Stacy folded her letter and put it back in her robe's pocket. She couldn't let herself be bored now. She was going to have two weeks of nothing but boredom.
Stacy climbed out of the tower and started off in the direction of the library. Courtney was most likely still in there trying to finish her homework before the break started. She was afraid she would need one of the library's books for her assignments and would not have access to it. Stacy slowly opened the door to the library and scanned the room. Sure enough, Courtney was sitting at a table with Mary and Carrie Sarers. Mary was also absorbed by a text, but Carrie was chattering away without noticing they were not listening or seeing Madam Vasta's sharp glares in her direction.
"Stacy!" Jane Martin squealed excitedly.
Stacy couldn't help moaning inside as she made her way to Jane's table. Jane was also in Gryffindor, but she was a second year and Muggle born. She was one of the few people who knew about Stacy's Muggle existence.
"Um, hi Jane!" Stacy whispered as she sat down.
"Are you going to make any movies over the holidays?" Jane paused before answering her own question. "Oh, of course you aren't. You wouldn't have enough time, would you? I hope you make one soon though. You were truly marvelous in "The War". You were! And, I'm not the only one who thought so. That's why you won the Oscar. I was ever so surprised when you won. You were so young! But, you deserved it. Everyone said so. And-"
Stacy stood up abruptly, causing Jane's endless prattling to come to an end. "Um," She said awkwardly. "I-I'll see you later, Jane. I have something I have to take care of."
Jane nodded. "Allright, then." She turned back to her book without another word.
Stacy shot one more look at Courtney before leaving the library. Her friend hadn't even looked up long enough to see her.
It wasn't that Stacy hated Jane. She didn't even dislike her. Jane was nice and very energetic, but she also had a habit of embarrassing Stacy everytime she saw her. She was just a little over-enthusiastic about Stacy's acting career.
Ever since she started at Hogwarts, Stacy had experienced something she had never had before- a feeling of privacy. It was not like she had always been in the national spotlight back in California. Her mother would have wanted it that way, but her father had been careful to shield her from the harsh side of fame. Even the press had respected her right to privacy most of the time. But, growing up she had been hounded by fans nearly everywhere she went. Until "The War", the fans had mainly been interested in learning more about her mother or did not recognize her at all. After her "breakthrough" film, which was actually her eighth one, people suddenly became fascinated by her. Though Stacy had not made any movies since then, not including a TV movie and a cameo in one of her father's films, people still loved her.
Hogwarts meant being around people her age who for the most part did not watch movies or know who she was. Of course, many students came from Muggle families. Most of them either didn't recognize Stacy or didn't care who she was. Jane was the only exception. Until October, Stacy had kept a fairly anonymous existence at school. She mainly stayed around her friends and did not cause a scene or demand attention. But after her accident on her first day of flying lessons, people, including Jane, began to notice her. Everytime she saw her, Jane managed to bring up Hollywood. So far, Stacy had been lucky and it was only when she was alone. She didn't want to tell her friends about her career. She was was afraid they would treat her differently if they knew. She didn't plan on keeping it from them forever. Just for awhile. Stacy wasn't sure, but she thought Ben might already know something was different about her because their fathers were friends. And, if Courtney's father really was a huge movie fan, he would know who she was if Courtney mentioned her. But, until then, Stacy was not going to say anything about it.
Stacy had just left the library when she heard someone shouting her name. She turned around to see her friends Greg Adams and Jana Black hurrying toward her. They were her friends, even though they were Hufflepuffs. Greg was possibly the nicest and most even-tempered person Stacy had ever met. He was everything the Hufflepuff house stood for. Jana was very sweet and the only first year non-Slytherin doing well in Potions. She was also one of the few people shorter than Stacy, which had made them friends instantly.
"We're going to go visit Hagrid," Greg told her. "Do you want to come with us?"
"Sure," Stacy said happily. She was desperate to go outside for a little while, but she didn't feel like making a fool of herself on the lake. "I'll go get my cloak and meet you by the door."
Five minutes later, they were standing outside Hagrid's hut. Hagrid seemed very happy to see them. Apparently, Greg and Jana visted him often.
"Come on in, you three," He exclaimed and held the door open. "I just made some rock cakes."
Stacy sat down on the floor between Greg and Jana. Hagrid offered them each a rock cake, which Greg and Jana politely declined. Stacy quickly wished she had too once she bit into hers.
"What brings yeh down here?" Hagrid asked once he settled down.
"We wanted to see you before we leave tonight," Greg answered.
"And, tell you Merry Christmas," Jana finished. She glanced sympathetically at Stacy, who was rubbing her jaw in pain.
Hagrid looked sad for a moment. "Yeh're the only ones to come see me today. 'Sides Harry- that woul' be Professor Potter to you- and his friends. Those four had some interestin' times when they went here."
"Really?" Stacy said interestingly. "What type of things did they do?"
Hagrid chuckled. "Well, as yeh all know many of Harry's adventures had to do with You-Know-Who." He paused before continuing in a shaking tone. "I mean V-Voldemort. Harry's always tellin' me to say his name. That he isn't gonna come back from the dead and kill me." Hagrid laughed again. "He did most of it with his friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger- that's Professor Granger to yeh."
"Who's the fourth person?" Greg asked curiously.
"Fourth?" Hagrid looked confused.
"You said four people came to see you," Jana reminded him.
"I did, didn' I?" Hagrid mused. "Professor Longbottom came with 'em. He was 'nother friend of Harry's. Those three wer' always into somethin'."
The rest of the afternoon went by quickly as Hagrid described some of the things Harry and other students had done over the years. Finally, just before dinnertime they said goodbye to Hagrid and headed back up to the castle.
The Great Hall was even nosier than usual as they ate what was going to be the last dinner of the year for many students. Stacy tried her hardest to be cheerful during the meal, but all she could think about was the fact that she would wake up alone in her dorm the next day.
"I wish I could stay too," Courtney said cheerfully. "Two weeks at home with Rachel. Ick." She stuck her tongue out to emphasize her point.
Stacy smiled, but knew it was a slight exaggeration. Despite her constant complaints about her sister, Courtney really did love Rachel. They had even started to almost get along lately.
Down the table, Stacy could hear her other room mates Jessica Mullan, Julie Schma, and Christine Gerties discussing their plans. Stacy did not know them very well, but she was starting to wish at least one of them would stay.
"I can't wait to get home," Peter said. "Christmas is always the best at my house!"
Ben took a bite of what seemed like his tenth piece of chicken. "I'm glad I'm staying. My parents are going to be in France. It's better off this way."
"How much are you going to eat?" Courtney asked him in disgust.
Ben shrugged good-naturedly. "I'm a growing boy."
Stacy and Peter exchanged a look of astonishment. Could it be? Ben was actually going to let an insult go.
Courtney looked just as surprised as everyone else and didn't say anything else for the remaining five minutes of dinner- a first for her.
Once everyone was finished eating, Professor Dumbledore said a few words and dismissed them. Stacy followed her friends to the main door to say goodbye before they got into the carriages which would take them back to the Hogwarts Express.
"Bye Stacy! Bye Ben!" Jana called as she hurried out carrying a duffle bag.
"Merry Christmas!" Greg called as he followed Jana out the door.
"Have a good Christmas, Stacy!" Penny Prickle shouted as she was dragged out of the school by her sister Joan.
Finally, Courtney and Peter were the only students left waiting for a carriage.
"We better go," Peter said. The last few carriages were preparing to leave.
Courtney hugged Stacy goodbye and promised to send her several letters. She almost hugged Ben too, but opted to shake his hand instead.
Stacy and Ben said goodbye to their friends and watched as they left in their carriage.
Stacy couldn't help feeling sad as they left. She wished she could be going too, instead of being stuck with only Ben and Keith for two weeks. At least some of her friends from other houses were staying. She knew Greg's friends Wendy Tyson and Steven Smith were still there. So was Justin Taylor and his cousin Brad. They were both Slytherins, but Stacy liked them. Well, she liked Justin and Brad wasn't as bad as Courtney always said Slytherins were. To Stacy's relief, Ryan Arnold, who Stacy felt was the most obnoxious boy she had ever met, had gone home for the holidays.
Keith was sitting in a chair by the fireplace reading when Stacy and Ben entered the Gryffindor Common Room.
"Hello!" He called cheerfully. "So, you two are stuck here too?"
They both nodded and sat down near him.
"Why are you here?" Ben asked him.
Keith smiled. "My parents died when I was a baby. I don't have anywhere to go."
"Oh." Ben said in a surprised tone. He shot a look at Stacy asking her what to do now.
"Kidding!" Keith laughed. "They're away visiting my aunt. I always stay here anyway. It isn't too fun at my house around the holidays."
Ben grimaced. "I know what that's like. My family's very colorful at Christmas."
"That's a bad thing?" Stacy asked.
"It is when you're my family," Ben replied.
Keith turned to Stacy. "You're friends with Rachel's sister, right?" He got such a lovestruck look in his eyes at the mention of Rachel, Stacy was suddenly glad Courtney wasn't there.
"Yeah. Courtney's the best," Stacy answered.
"That depends on your opinion," Ben growled. His face turned bright red though. Stacy couldn't stop a giggle from escaping. Did Ben have a crush on Courtney?
"Rachel doesn't seem to think too highly of her," Keith remarked with a scowl.
"They're sisters," Stacy replied. "They fight a lot, but it doesn't mean anything."
A strange look crossed Keith's face. Then, he faked a yawn and stood up. "I'm going to go to bed. I'll see you in the morning."
"What was that about?" Ben asked once Keith had disappeared into his bedroom.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Stacy!" Ben cried. "Stacy! Wake up! It's Christmas!"
Stacy opened her eyes to see an unusually cheerful Ben jumping up and down on the bed next to hers. Courtney was going to be in a sour mood when returned and she saw the state of her covers.
"What time is it?" She asked as she stood up and pulled her robe on.
Ben shrugged and flopped down on Courtney's bed. "Wow! You got a lot of presents."
Stacy looked in shock at the place he was pointing to. It looked like someone had turned her room into a candy store. There were bags of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Chocolate Frogs, Droobles Best Blowing Gum, and Toothflossing Stringmints in a giant pile next to her bed. A stack of wrapped boxes were next to them.
"Go on!" Ben urged her. "Open them!"
Stacy couldn't help grinning as she read a card from Penny that was attached to a bag of Bertie Bott's. Christmas really was her favorite holiday. It was even better than her birthday because her mother couldn't drag her to any shows or banquets.
Soon, the room was filled with wrapping paper and empty candy wrappers as Stacy tore open her presents and Ben brought his in. Then, Stacy gave him her present. She had painted a portrait of Courtney, Peter, Ben, and herself. Then, using magic, and the assistance of Professor Granger, she had made four copies of the picture. Peter and Courtney had received theirs before they left school.
Besides candies from Penny, Joan, Greg, Jana, Steven, Wendy, Justin, Jane, and even a bag from Rachel Flowers, Stacy got a lot of regular presents as well. Courtney had sent her a long letter complaining about Rachel and a book called 'Hogwarts, A History'. There was also a package with a scarf and gloves from Peter. Ben gave her a poster of the Chudley Cannons, one of his favorite Quidditch teams.
Her mother sent her a copy of her latest memoirs and a makeup kit. Ben laughed hysterically when he saw it, causing Stacy to turn red without the help of Rockin' Raspberry blush. Her father sent her a new journal, three quills, and bottle of ink.
"He must be psychic," Stacy remarked. "I just filled my old diary."
She opened another box to find a lavender scented candle from her friend Mandy Payer, along with a letter. Stacy put it aside to read later.
The second to last package was from her grandmother. In it, Stacy found a homemade tin of cookies and a dozen new hair ribbons. Roxanna had also sent her a very thick book titled, 'Famous Witches and Wizards'. She was disappointed to see her grandmother had not written a letter telling her about whatever was causing her to feel sick.
Stacy laughed as Ben took the ribbons and tried to figure out what to do with them. He tied a yellow one around his neck and asked if it looked right. Finally, he got bored of them and gave them back.
The last package held something very surprising. There was not a note or card attached to it. It was very light and the contents would not impress the average Muggle at first glance. But, Stacy couldn't help gasping loudly when she saw what was inside.
Her invisibility cloak was back.
The Great Hall was only about a quarter full when Ben and Stacy entered for the Christmas feast at noon. Since there were not many students, they were not sitting in their House seats, but were all gathered around the Ravenclaw table. The room looked even more magical than usual. Several hundred candles were floating around the two tables with students and teachers. There were several medium sized Christmas trees spread out around the room. Even the teachers looked better than usual in their dress robes.
Keith was already there when they walked over to the table. They had not seen him around a lot since everyone else left three days earlier. Stacy had spotted him the library once and Wendy said she noticed he spent a lot of time on the Quidditch field practicing. Wendy, Steven, and Justin were gathered at one end of the table, so Ben and Stacy decided to sit there.
Once they had settled down, Professor Dumbledore filled everyone's plates. The food was even better than the first feast of the year. Stacy piled a little bit of everything on her plate. Her mother would have had a heart attack if she saw how much her daughter ate that day.
"This isn't as bad as I thought it would be," Wendy stated. "I thought staying at school over Christmas would be really terrible. But, I actually like it. I might stay again next year, even if my parents decide to stay home."
Steven nodded in agreement. "I like it here. It's different than my house. That's for sure."
"Does he always eat that much?" Wendy whispered to Stacy. She nodded her head to Ben, who was already on his third helping of everything.
"He's being good today," Stacy joked. "Normally he-"
"He's worse than my brother," Wendy interrupted. "Though, Tim's only eight. He'll get worse as he gets older. All boys do. Even the ones that don't eat much growing up. They'll turn into pigs by the time they turn ten."
Stacy giggled. "My father still eats a ton. He's always-"
"The boys are talking about Quidditch again," Wendy remarked. "What a surprise!"
"It does seem to be popular with them," Stacy agreed.
"Steven wants to try out for the team next year. Him and everyone else in our house. There'll be a lot of spots though. All of our good players are graduating this year," Wendy babbled. "I might try out too. I'd like to be Seeker. Greg says I would be good at it. I'm small enough, anyway. You might be a good one too. Of course, you have to wait two years until Keith graduates. Unless, you try to take the position from him next year. But, then everyone would either love you or hate you. It might be too much of a risk. But, let me know if you want to try. I'll help you. I'm really good at training people to play. You grew up in a Muggle household, which could be a disadvantage. We'll see next year though."
Stacy didn't say another word for the rest of the feast. Wendy rambled about Quidditch for a few more minutes, before moving on to classes then to the latest Hufflepuff rumors and finally to the book she was reading. It was enough to make Stacy really miss Courtney. While Courtney could give Wendy some competition for the most out-spoken first year title, at least she was not a gossip.
Steven seemed pretty different from Wendy. He didn't talk much during the meal, except for an occasional remark about the food, Quidditch, or to let everyone know that he had to pass gas.
Neither Wendy or Steven seemed like the stereotypical Hufflepuff. Though, Wendy was very patient and from what Stacy knew about her, she appeared to work hard. Steven was probably what was known as an odd-one-out. He did not fit into any of the other houses, so he was put in Hufflepuff.
After the feast, Ben, Steven, and Justin went outside to watch Keith practice Quidditch. Stacy knew they were secretly hoping he would let them play with him. Wendy wanted to know if Stacy would come with her to the library, but Stacy declined saying she had already finished her homework. That statement was true- for the most part. She had spent Christmas Eve in the library with Ben doing work. She had spent most of the time trying to help Ben without letting him know she was helping him, but had managed to finish almost all of her homework.
It was nice to have the entire Gryffindor Tower to herself for awhile. Stacy spent the afternoon writing and sketching in her new journal. She had filled up nearly thirty pages with drawings before her hand started begging her to stop. Then, she went back up to room and read 'Hogwarts, A History' for awhile. It was a boring afternoon, but also a nice change of pace from her usual schedule. Stacy was used to having a lot of time to herself back at home and had not adjusted to having four room mates right away.
At somepoint in the afternoon, Stacy drifted off to sleep. Her dreams once again focused on the life and death of Eliza Redas. This time, there was a slight variation to her usual nightmare. After Eliza was burned at the stake, Stacy watched as her brother Michael pushed his way through the crowd to the town's jail. Once inside, he took the flask Eliza drank from before she was led to her death and he too drank what remained of it.
Stacy sat up quickly when the dream reached this part. She looked down and saw her whole body was shaking and sweaty. Her head was pounding like it had the day she had fallen off her broom.
It was time. She had been putting this off long enough. She had to do this before it was too late. Stacy tore off a piece of parchment and wrote a letter to her grandmother.
To Be Continued...
A/N:
Ooh.. It's a mystery. Actually, I think it's probably getting to be pretty obvious where I'm going with this story. Oh well. I'll keep writing anyway.
The usual comments: Thanks for reading. Sorry for spelling/grammar mistakes. REVIEW!!!
Ok, I think that's all I have to say this time. The next part might actually come out soon since I'm planning to start it within the hour. I think it's going to be a journal part. I haven't decided yet though.
Any comments, concerns, questions- always welcome. No flames please, but constructive criticism is good. =)
- Hope