Chapter 8- DJ's First Christmas.

Christmas Eve

"Come on, Drina, can't you tell us where you've been?" Headmistress Eve Falson asked patiently. She had brought in one of London's best psychologists, and he was standing to the side of the desk, notebook in hand. "Did someone hurt you? Is that why you don't want to talk about it?"

Eve tried to touch DJ's arm, but DJ jerked it away before she could do so. They had been in here for the past half an hour, usually the time she was given up on the previous five days, so why would today be any different. "We're trying to help you," Dr. Krouss said. DJ didn't like the way his nose seemed to take over his entire face, though he wasn't a completely horrible person to look at. "We just need you to tell us where you've been all this time. It's a simple question, and if you answer it we'll leave you alone."

"Until when?" DJ asked.

This was the first time she had talked at the orphanage, besides yelling at the Russell girl. Dr. Krouss made sure his tape player was on record. "What do you mean by that Drina?"

"I mean until when? When's the next time you're going to want answers?" DJ had been glaring at him, but turned back to staring at a spot on the floor.

"We won't bother you again until you're ready, but we just need to know where you were. Do you understand why?" Dr. Krouss waited for a reply, but it didn't come. "We need to make sure you are all right, and that none of what you've been through has hurt you in any way."

DJ allowed a scoff. No, I'm not hurt by anything, Drina thought sarcastically, wanting to say it out loud, but knew that would be giving them just what they wanted. She looked at the clock again: 35 minutes had passed.

"Why can't you tell us where you were?" Dr. Krouss asked.

Because you wouldn't believe me, Drina thought. She found answering the questions to herself was the best way to keep from saying them out loud.

"Can you look at me," Eve asked. She was a woman in her late forties, but wouldn't have been able to tell by her looks. Eve had never been married and looked at each child in the orphanage as one of her own. She wasn't around when Drina had left, but it had been a focus in the news, to help find this poor little eight year old, out in the big world alone. "Let me just see those pretty eyes," she attempted to coax.

DJ didn't look at her, and Eve instead kneeled down right in front of DJ. You'll never understand, you couldn't understand.

"Why won't you talk? We know you can," Eve said calmly and softly.

As hard as DJ tried to avoid it, guilt was flooding through her, but it still wasn't overshadowed by the fear of them knowing, or the guilt of everything else. "You know a lot of the girls think it was brave of you to stick up for little Kathy like you did, and so do I," Eve said changing the subject. DJ still held her tongue. "I've never gotten Mary to stop her bullying, even with detention and such, but you did. You're going to do extraordinary things some day, and we want to help you do those."

You just want me to talk, DJ retorted in her mind.

"Well, I have another appointment," Dr. Krouss said, looking at his watch. "Perhaps we can make another date?"

Headmistress Falson sighed and nodded her head. "It's time for crafts anyway. You can go on Drina, they're making ornaments for the tree today," she suggested, smiling. The doctor left first and Drina walked out after the door was shut on him.

As she walked down the hallway, there was a woman with layered brunette hair, the top pinned up in perfection. She was wearing a suit, very neat looking and professional. She had sunglasses on, but tipped them down just as they were passing. "Wotcher, DJ," she said, with a wink.

Dennis had spent the last few days doing things with Colin. They would play games, go outside and practice Quidditch. They even pulled off some great pranks on a couple of third year Slytherins that gave Dennis a hard time. Dennis was able to act normal for the most part, but every time someone entered the room, he would check and see if it was DJ. It never was, but McGonagall had come in the day before and told him that they knew where DJ was and that she was safe.

Colin had come up with the idea to send her Christmas presents with one of the school owls in the middle of the night, so that it would hopefully get there when no one else would notice. They got the name of the orphanage from Professor McGonagall and asked Harry to use his invisibility cloak. "What for?" Harry asked.

"Uh, just have to send an owl tonight," Colin said.

"I guess, just don't lose it," Harry said. He went up the stairs and brought it down, handing it over to Colin.

"Thanks Harry," Colin said, thinking what a great guy Harry was.

"Yeah, sure," Harry said, walking away.

When one o'clock in the morning came around, Colin left his room, where only one other boy stayed for Christmas this year, and met up with Dennis on the staircase. "What are you doing up here?" Colin asked in a whisper. "We were supposed to meet in the common room."

"Ron was giving Hermione an early Christmas gift," Dennis said, and though he couldn't see it, Colin's eyes went wide.

"How bad," Colin asked.

"They have their clothes on, but I didn't want to just stand down there," Dennis said.

"All right, so let's put it on right here," Colin suggested.

Once they had it on the both of them, they carefully walked down the stairs, and past the slurping couple and out the portrait hole. They were going up the stairs when Mrs. Norris passed. "Move, move," Colin urged. They continued in a rush, not knowing if Filch would soon be around. If Filch did come, he was too late.

They got to the Owlery, threw off the cloak, and started laughing. "I saw my life flash in front of my eyes," Colin said.

"And how much of it was spent snogging Julia?" Dennis asked, still laughing.

"Oh, come off it, I don't spend that much time with her," Colin defended himself, then stopped in his tracks, "do I?"

"Until this week? Yeah," Dennis said honestly while looking for just the right owl.

"I'm sorry," Colin said. "I didn't realize-"

"Don't worry about it," Dennis said, then tried calling to a tawny owl that he liked to use.

"No, really, Dennis," Colin said, stopping him. "I'll try to spend more time with you."

"You already have been," Dennis pointed out. "Besides, she is your girlfriend, I guess," he added mumbling.

"I don't know, she's kind of been getting on my nerves lately," Colin said.

"Lately?" Dennis said, raising an eyebrow.

Colin sat down on the window ledge as Dennis attached his package to the owl's leg. "I really like her, and I don't want to hurt her feelings, but she's just," Colin stopped trying to find the right word.

"Snooty? Rude? Obnoxious?" Dennis assisted.

"Why didn't you tell me you didn't like her," Colin asked.

"You couldn't tell?"

"No," Colin said lamely.

Dennis let his owl out the window. "You better get an owl," Dennis said.

He did so and let it go out the window. "Think we should be getting back?"

"Guess so," Dennis said, shrugging and looking at the owl on it's way somewhere.

"You miss her, don't you?"

"Yeah," Dennis said. "I've never really had a best friend, you know?"

"Hey what about me?"

Dennis looked back at his brother, resisted to smile and shrugged his shoulders, "eh," he added.

"Oh that does it," Colin said, grabbing Dennis's arm and twisted it behind his back. Dennis struggled trying to get out of it. "Say Uncle," he said.

"I'm not going to-" Dennis started to say when Colin pulled up harder. "All right! All right! Uncle! Uncle! Uncle Eddy who moved to Italy!"

Colin let go and Dennis rubbed his shoulder. "Good, now that you remember that you're smaller than me, let's get going," Colin stated starting to walk out of the Owlery. When he was far enough out of the door, Dennis ran after him and jumped on his back, making him fall onto the first landing.

They started to wrestle around. "Come off it," Colin said through laughter.

"Smaller huh? I'll show you smaller," Dennis said, trying to pin his brother.

"You two," a voice said that startled the two brothers to stop where they were. "What is the meaning of this?"

Dennis stood up, and Colin slowly did the same. They stood frozen in front of Professor McGonagall. She was wearing a night cap and a robe around her pajamas. "Uh, we were, uh, just," Colin attempted.

"Mr. Filch said that there were students about, but I would have never expected the two of you," McGonagall said, and the two brothers hung their heads.

"We were sending some things to DJ," Dennis explained.

McGonagall's expression softened, but she quickly made it sterner. "I understand you both miss Drina, but that does not mean you can go running around the school at all hours of the night," she reprimanded.

"Yes ma'am," the Creevey brothers said in unison.

"Now I'm going to take you back to your common room, and I don't want to see either of you out again, is that understood?"

"Aren't we going to- ouch!" Dennis started to say until Colin stepped on his foot.

"Yes, Professor McGonagall," Colin said.

McGonagall then turned around and the boys followed her toward the portrait hole. "Good evening Professor," a drunken Fat Lady said, with a cup of eggnog in her right hand.

"Good evening," McGonagall said. "Tinker Bell," she stated the password.

"Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!" The Fat Lady bellowed as she dramatically swung open.

McGonagall led the way into the Common Room, but stopped abruptly. "MR. WEASLEY! MS. GRANGER!"

Christmas Day

DJ woke up, but just stared at the ceiling thinking about what had been plaguing her since Saturday. I was so close, she thought. The last time DJ had seen David was when she had run away the first time.

DJ had been caught that afternoon looking into a file cabinet, though she already had what she wanted: the address of the family that David had been adopted into. She ran from the office, one of the orphanage's teachers at her heals. They had never been able to understand her either, but had been a little less patient with her silence. DJ ran until she got to the fencing that kept her from the outside world. She wasn't sure how, but she ended up on the other side of it.

It took her a few hours to get to the home, and by that point her name was all over the Muggle news. David's caretakers—at least that's what DJ preferred to consider them, since the title of 'parent' didn't exactly fit in her mind—invited her in and she went into the play room with her five year old little brother.

DJ couldn't have been happier. David was showing her his extensive collection of Ninja action figures. DJ didn't remember what ninjas they were, but she had etched David's expression of happiness into her mind. "I'll be right back," she told him, and went tentatively into the kitchen to ask for a drink of water. That's when she heard Trent Phillips, David's male caretaker, on the phone with the Headmistress of her original orphanage. Unfortunately she had missed a very important part of that conversation.

DJ froze and knew she couldn't go back, so instead she ran, and ran for a long time. She spent the next couple of years wandering around until she found an abandoned shelter. DJ would later learn the name of the town, but at the time she didn't really care.

Her mind was brought back to reality when an owl started pecking at her arm. "Oww, stop that," she said. DJ looked over her shoulder and saw another one sitting on her bed post. DJ thought she was hallucinating when she looked at the foot of her bed and saw a pile of presents. She knew that the orphanage had presents donated for them every year, but never had she expected this.

DJ went quietly to the desk she shared with the girl in the next bed, got a piece of paper, a pen, and wrote a quick message to send back with one of the owls.

I'll be back soon. DJ

DJ carefully went to the edge of her bed after sending off the owls, half expecting it to no longer be there. She could see names of some of the younger girls' handwriting on some of the packages. She picked up the first one, poorly wrapped, but it had a card on top.

Happy Christmas! Colin

Though it was a bit messy, she carefully pulled the tape off, and unfolded the sides. When she had completely removed the wrapping there was a leather camera case with four rolls of film in the back part of the case. In the front was a note scrawled on a piece of parchment.

DJ,

I thought you could use something a bit more convenient than your book bag. Now if anyone asks you who your inspiration for photography was, you can mention me, right?

DJ rolled her eyes, and looked at the other features of the case. She put it aside and picked up the next one. It was wrapped with the same paper, but a little better this time. There was no card on the outside, but DJ could have guessed who it was from. She took as much, if not more, care with the paper on this one.

It was a wood box, cherry by the scent and look of it, with DJ engraved on the top in a beautiful design. She opened it up carefully. There was a note inside, but before she got to it she was distracted.

Stay awake, don't rest your head,
Don't lie down upon your bed,
While the moon drifts in the sky,
Stay awake don't close your eyes…

A voice came from inside it somewhere, and DJ's eyes started tearing up, she took the parchment out and shut the box, stopping the music.

DJ,

I hope everything is going okay, and that you'll be back to school soon. The lady at the shop in Hogsmeade said the charm for the box won't fade. I wasn't sure if you'd like this or not…you don't do you? Oh well, just understand that I tried, and I'll get you something better if you don't like it. Happy Christmas, and I hope to see you soon.

Dennis

DJ put down the note, and opened the little box again.

Though the world is fast asleep,
Though your pillow's soft and deep,
You're not sleepy as you seem,
Stay awake, don't nod and dream,
Stay awake, don't nod and dream.

For the first time in almost six years DJ allowed herself to cry.

Colin had ended up sleeping in Dennis's room, since all of his dormmates were gone for the holiday and to escape the wrath of McGonagall quickly before getting caught up in the rushing of Ron up to his room. They had sat in there the night before laughing over the look on McGonagall's face, and how lucky they were to not lose points or get detention.

Colin was the first to wake up. "Look Dennis, DJ got me an owl," he said, having the medium-sized brown owl perched on his arm.

Dennis sat up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. "Neat," he said looking at the creature.

"He had to have some help delivering yours apparently," Colin said, pointing to the foot of Dennis's bed.

Dennis crawled to the end, and saw a Martin guitar case. He stopped in shock. "No way," he said. Dennis sat down on the ground and flipped all of the clasps open. "Wicked," he stated as he pulled the guitar out of its case.

"Wow," Colin said. "That's pretty cool."

"Yeah," Dennis said, looking in the bottom of the case where there was book on how to play, an extra set of strings, and a small bag with several picks in it.

Colin had gone onto his other thing. "Look! Dad got me a new zoom lens!"

"Cool," Dennis said, placing the guitar back in its place and joining Colin in the usual Christmas morning routine.

A/N: I know this chapter was SOOOO long, but give me a break: It's 11:00 on Sunday night, other than the three hours of church I've been by myself, not to mention the hours yesterday on my own… anyway, I would really like some more feedback on this one =) Please? Pretty please? Pretty please with a Jelly Slug on top???

Thank you:

Leoking: Answers...okay, here we go.

1)Don't you think with any runaway they would be posting pics EVERYWHERE and trying to find them, and even though she has aged they would have experts on drawing pictures that would depict how she would look at twelve and thirteen. So, perhaps that waitress just paid attention to those pics. Maybe if DJ had had a different server she wouldn't have been caught, but it's all for the progression of the story right?

2)She allowed the potion to ware off so that perhaps her brother would recognize her. As I said, it was an aging potion and there would be a complete difference in recognizing a girl who looks like his sister and is around the same age, and recognizing a woman that looked similar to his sister but was apparently years old, which to a Muggle mindset would make it impossible to be the same person.

3)With the family thing, perhaps things were to the point with the orphanage that they could solve it magically. If you look at it, they would have had to destroy records in several buildings, modify the memories of not only those directly in her care, but of anyone dealing with that case (including police that may have investigated the death of her father) and the children that knew her, or knew of her. As was stated, her grandmother tried to get her back, but also passed before it was possible. Her aunts and uncles, I'm not so sure about. Perhaps they weren't close to their syblings, or maybe their circumstances (as suggested) don't allow for them to care for her. Just let the story be a story and go with it, because your logic is just too good for me! The only thing you need to know is that she has been a ward of Hogwarts, though that is untraditional, I think Dumbledore would make an exception. Oh yeah, and they didn't LET her live in the Shrieking Shack, she just kind of found it to be a good shelter and they later found her there. After that her home became Hogwarts.

4)Julia isn't stupid, I just think she's jealous. I think she's seen (just like Dennis has) the way Colin would gawk, and didn't like it at all. She is shallow and all, but I don't think it extends to her being stupid (she is a Ravenclaw after all). Imagine Parvati and Padma, and I think you've got the image of what Julia would be like.

5)Dumbledore's going a somewhat traditional route for this one (let's see if you know what it is- muahahaha) although he's going to have to pull some strings when it comes down to it. As I'm sure you've figured out, DJ did not return for Christmas, but I'm sure they'll have their time together.

Conclusion to this response: I hope that I've answered all of your questions (which were many... I'm thinking you waited to review just so that you could torture me!) I think some of them are answered in this chapter, but as always, if you need more questions answered, I'm happy to oblige! Hope you're doing well and I'll talk to you soon...probably.

Josephine Sawyer: I think Colin is finally getting his head out of his...hem. The brothers are starting to solve the problems, because Colin is finally willing to recognize that they're there. It's like the phrase 'you can't change what you won't acknowledge'. Read review above for reason that they wouldn't really be able to 'storm the orphanage' to get back the kids. I'm not sure where that hole you mentioned is, so I think I'll go ahead and look for it, because if it's stated that way, it's probably a typo. Thank you for you review and I hope you like this chapter as well!

JamieBell: I bet you're guessing by now how they're going to get her out. I know you don't think she's a Mary-Sue, so don't worry. I think it's all a very sad situation as well, and the bond is that between a Veela and their mate (if the mate TRUELY loves them, and isn't just lusting as most men would do in that situation.) I hope that explains that question... Here's your update so I'll ask you to Review Soon!!! =)