They left the train, grabbing their trunks and looking for their parents.
Elisabeth waved hello and Merry Christmas to Ron and to Lavender and the
baby, then she said good-bye to her friends and she and Caroline stood in
the station, waiting for their respective fathers.
Seamus appeared a full five minutes after the last parent had left. "Sorry I'm late. Long day. Elisabeth, you're to come with us, we'll be spending Christmas with you and your dad. He was going to come but he had a practise. Reckon he woulda shoved his broom up Wood's nose and left if there 'ad been no one else to pick you up."
"There must have been very dire consequences for him to entrust his child with you."
"Justin entrusted me with your life and look how you turned out."
"Exactly, look how I turned out."
Seamus rolled his eyes but said nothing. He strutted up to a small booth that Elisabeth hadn't noticed before. "Mrs Figg! Why if I hadn't known that you had no children I would have thought you had been replaced by your daughter."
"You certainly have the gift of blarney young man."
"I try." He turned and winked at the girls.
"Well, what is it you're wanting?"
"Three for the Knight Sail."
"You'll be wanting express?"
"Absolutely."
Mrs Figg nodded and stamped three passes. They left the station and Seamus stuck his wand out. Immediately a triple-decker, violently purple bus appeared. The doors opened and the conductor stepped out Elisabeth was to busy letting her eyes adjust to the horrible purple to pay attention to what he was saying. They climbed up and found seats.
"Why don't you just apparate to where you're going?" Elisabeth asked Seamus.
"You know that's a funny story, we'll save it for a cup of cocoa one day."
"He had his Apparating license revoked ten minutes after the war ended."
"Why?"
Caroline looked at Seamus. "Well you might as well tell her the entire story now."
"He apparated into the prisoner of war camps and killed all the prisoners."
"Seriously? I trust you're talking about the Dark Army camps."
"Trust me, they would have revoked more than my licence for killing people on the right side." He chewed on a pen and stared out the window for a couple of minutes when the bus stopped and a tall, thin black man climbed on. He glanced warily at Seamus for a moment but Seamus just stared at him. The man sat down and Seamus flicked the pen at the back of his head.
"Dad!" Caroline whispered.
The man turned around. "I don't want a fight Seamus."
"There's a first. You should have thought of that before. You should know that now the gloves are always off."
The other man swallowed and his eyes darted around like a frightened rabbit, but the only other person on the bus said nothing to him. "Seamus, please..."
Seamus didn't say anything but he flipped his switchblade open and used it to scrape under his nails. He flicked the dirt at the man who was shaking now. He spoke but he continued to pick at his nails with the knife. "Going home for Christmas Mr Thomas? How do you do that? How do you go home and look your mother in the eye? I'd really like to know, because I myself can't go home and look in my mother's eyes and I'm not a convicted death- eater." He stopped and leaned forward, draping his arms over the seat. "Tell me how you do it. Tell me how you can look at your mother with this on your arm." He lunged forward and grabbed the man's arm, twisting it and thrusting back the sleeve of his robes. The same mark that was on Draco's arm stood out against Mr Thomas' skin. The old woman gasped and hurried to the next floor of the bus. Seamus smirked and leaned back. "Don't you hate when those skeletons come out of the closet?"
"Chorley!" The conductor called. Mr Thomas got up and raced towards the door.
"Happy Christmas Dean! Say hi to your mother for me." Seamus called after him with exaggerated cheeriness.
"So!" Seamus said smiling.
"Dad. Please stop doing that." Caroline said softly.
"That bastard switched to the Dark Side so that he could live."
"I think that ones own life is fairly important."
Seamus raised an eyebrow. "Your father died so we could win the war Caroline. He never once thought about whether his life was more important than the lives of the general population. Think about it."
He went up the stairs to the smoking section and left the two girls sitting alone.
"I hate when he does that. Then he gives ME a lecture and runs off so I can "think about it". It makes me so bloody mad.
"And he always has to throw in Justin. 'Your father..' He's my father, not Justin. He just doesn't get it."
Elisabeth, who had read many a psychiatry book thought back to an article she had read in the Post&Tribune. "He feels that he has to glorify Justin in order to keep you from resenting the fact that he's dead. He also feels that if he keeps Justin on a level superior to himself then he won't be angry with himself for being alive while Justin is dead."
Seamus, who had been standing on the stairwell, eavesdropping, (although he prefered to call it "listening in") agreed with her silently and then continued up the stairs.
"You sound like a psycologist."
"You try living with my father and not sounding like a psychiatrist." Elisabeth replied, smiling.
"Knight Sail Harbour!" the conductor called.
"That's us." Seamus said, reappearing.
The conductor handed them their trunks and they headed straight from the bus to the boat. Seamus handed their tickets to an old man who stamped them a second time and let them pass.
They found their small room and Elisabeth was prepared to be spending at least an hour on the water, however much to her surprise she found that the boat did not actually sail but instead lifted off the ground and flew. It took them perhaps ten minutes to "sail" across the English Channel. They landed and unloaded, Elisabeth grabbed her trunk and they went to find her father.
"Hey my girl!" Harry hugged his daughter and took her trunk. He clapped Seamus on the back and greeted Caroline.
"We're just going to walk back to my place, it's only ten blocks from here."
Seamus nodded. "So who else is coming?"
"Lupin, Sirius, Hannah, Charlie Weasley, Malfoy and Wood."
"What about Malfoy's kid? Vivacia or whatever?"
"Apacia's staying with her grandmother for Christmas."
"Hey dad?"
"Yeah?"
"Did you know Viktor Krum?"
"Yes, he was a groomsman at my wedding actually. Why?"
"You know Vivyann from the Quidditch team?"
"Yeah?"
"He's her dad."
"Oh really? Yeah, I remember Vivyann, she stole the rings from the ring-bearer and I had to chase her through a cow pasture to get them back."
Elisabeth laughed. Happy Christmas, she thought silently.
Seamus appeared a full five minutes after the last parent had left. "Sorry I'm late. Long day. Elisabeth, you're to come with us, we'll be spending Christmas with you and your dad. He was going to come but he had a practise. Reckon he woulda shoved his broom up Wood's nose and left if there 'ad been no one else to pick you up."
"There must have been very dire consequences for him to entrust his child with you."
"Justin entrusted me with your life and look how you turned out."
"Exactly, look how I turned out."
Seamus rolled his eyes but said nothing. He strutted up to a small booth that Elisabeth hadn't noticed before. "Mrs Figg! Why if I hadn't known that you had no children I would have thought you had been replaced by your daughter."
"You certainly have the gift of blarney young man."
"I try." He turned and winked at the girls.
"Well, what is it you're wanting?"
"Three for the Knight Sail."
"You'll be wanting express?"
"Absolutely."
Mrs Figg nodded and stamped three passes. They left the station and Seamus stuck his wand out. Immediately a triple-decker, violently purple bus appeared. The doors opened and the conductor stepped out Elisabeth was to busy letting her eyes adjust to the horrible purple to pay attention to what he was saying. They climbed up and found seats.
"Why don't you just apparate to where you're going?" Elisabeth asked Seamus.
"You know that's a funny story, we'll save it for a cup of cocoa one day."
"He had his Apparating license revoked ten minutes after the war ended."
"Why?"
Caroline looked at Seamus. "Well you might as well tell her the entire story now."
"He apparated into the prisoner of war camps and killed all the prisoners."
"Seriously? I trust you're talking about the Dark Army camps."
"Trust me, they would have revoked more than my licence for killing people on the right side." He chewed on a pen and stared out the window for a couple of minutes when the bus stopped and a tall, thin black man climbed on. He glanced warily at Seamus for a moment but Seamus just stared at him. The man sat down and Seamus flicked the pen at the back of his head.
"Dad!" Caroline whispered.
The man turned around. "I don't want a fight Seamus."
"There's a first. You should have thought of that before. You should know that now the gloves are always off."
The other man swallowed and his eyes darted around like a frightened rabbit, but the only other person on the bus said nothing to him. "Seamus, please..."
Seamus didn't say anything but he flipped his switchblade open and used it to scrape under his nails. He flicked the dirt at the man who was shaking now. He spoke but he continued to pick at his nails with the knife. "Going home for Christmas Mr Thomas? How do you do that? How do you go home and look your mother in the eye? I'd really like to know, because I myself can't go home and look in my mother's eyes and I'm not a convicted death- eater." He stopped and leaned forward, draping his arms over the seat. "Tell me how you do it. Tell me how you can look at your mother with this on your arm." He lunged forward and grabbed the man's arm, twisting it and thrusting back the sleeve of his robes. The same mark that was on Draco's arm stood out against Mr Thomas' skin. The old woman gasped and hurried to the next floor of the bus. Seamus smirked and leaned back. "Don't you hate when those skeletons come out of the closet?"
"Chorley!" The conductor called. Mr Thomas got up and raced towards the door.
"Happy Christmas Dean! Say hi to your mother for me." Seamus called after him with exaggerated cheeriness.
"So!" Seamus said smiling.
"Dad. Please stop doing that." Caroline said softly.
"That bastard switched to the Dark Side so that he could live."
"I think that ones own life is fairly important."
Seamus raised an eyebrow. "Your father died so we could win the war Caroline. He never once thought about whether his life was more important than the lives of the general population. Think about it."
He went up the stairs to the smoking section and left the two girls sitting alone.
"I hate when he does that. Then he gives ME a lecture and runs off so I can "think about it". It makes me so bloody mad.
"And he always has to throw in Justin. 'Your father..' He's my father, not Justin. He just doesn't get it."
Elisabeth, who had read many a psychiatry book thought back to an article she had read in the Post&Tribune. "He feels that he has to glorify Justin in order to keep you from resenting the fact that he's dead. He also feels that if he keeps Justin on a level superior to himself then he won't be angry with himself for being alive while Justin is dead."
Seamus, who had been standing on the stairwell, eavesdropping, (although he prefered to call it "listening in") agreed with her silently and then continued up the stairs.
"You sound like a psycologist."
"You try living with my father and not sounding like a psychiatrist." Elisabeth replied, smiling.
"Knight Sail Harbour!" the conductor called.
"That's us." Seamus said, reappearing.
The conductor handed them their trunks and they headed straight from the bus to the boat. Seamus handed their tickets to an old man who stamped them a second time and let them pass.
They found their small room and Elisabeth was prepared to be spending at least an hour on the water, however much to her surprise she found that the boat did not actually sail but instead lifted off the ground and flew. It took them perhaps ten minutes to "sail" across the English Channel. They landed and unloaded, Elisabeth grabbed her trunk and they went to find her father.
"Hey my girl!" Harry hugged his daughter and took her trunk. He clapped Seamus on the back and greeted Caroline.
"We're just going to walk back to my place, it's only ten blocks from here."
Seamus nodded. "So who else is coming?"
"Lupin, Sirius, Hannah, Charlie Weasley, Malfoy and Wood."
"What about Malfoy's kid? Vivacia or whatever?"
"Apacia's staying with her grandmother for Christmas."
"Hey dad?"
"Yeah?"
"Did you know Viktor Krum?"
"Yes, he was a groomsman at my wedding actually. Why?"
"You know Vivyann from the Quidditch team?"
"Yeah?"
"He's her dad."
"Oh really? Yeah, I remember Vivyann, she stole the rings from the ring-bearer and I had to chase her through a cow pasture to get them back."
Elisabeth laughed. Happy Christmas, she thought silently.