Chapter Eighteen: Christmas in the Valley
My eyes greeted the blinding whiteness of the snow-covered hills and fields with welcome. It had started snowing somewhere in the middle of November, but the thrill only just hit me the moment I stepped out of the train and onto the platform. I was home! Not really, but Pop was standing there, and the concept of it all just made me want to cry out in happiness. I ran into his arms, and hugged him like there was no tomorrow, and as if it were my last embrace from him. His warmth was like I was feeling the sun for the very first time, and I never wanted to go back to school ever again nor did I want to let him go.
The first thing he said was, ¡°My little Corporal, I presume?¡± I kissed his clean-shaven cheek, and loved him for all it mattered.
It was Christmas time. School was out for the holiday, and Pop had sent me numerous letters making sure that I was really coming home. It had been only a few months since I had left, but it had felt like an eternity. It was a huge relief to get back into my house, in its familiar plot of grass in its familiar plot of trees, with my familiar bedroom and a kitchen that you didn¡¯t have to sneak down to for so much as a marshmallow to toast. Pop hadn¡¯t changed much, but he looked younger and less tired. He was stoked that I was back. For that afternoon, we did nothing but lie on the carpet together and snuggle. He asked about school. He asked a million questions about school. I answered yes, no, not all the time, yes history was boring, no, Torque didn¡¯t get along with the owls but we had found a way around that¡he wanted to know all about Jim, and I told him everything I could about my friend. I left out diving around in the lake with him ¨C somehow that¡¯s just not something you could tell your granddad when you¡¯ve just come back from a wizarding school.
He wasn¡¯t too fazed when he heard about Frances. I had told him about the Avery git already but he was curious to know more. He laughed when I described the boy.
¡°Surprising, isn¡¯t it, how he¡¯s so much like his father.¡± ¡°You know him well, Pop?¡± ¡°Know him well? I live next to the guy at the Ministry. Always acting like he knows better. Been in a few disputes with him, your Pop. Avery knows what¡¯s best sometimes, but he doesn¡¯t quite get the gist of how to get it to work.¡±
I said nothing about Snape, our detentions, and the demonstration I had helped him with in that dark Potions class. And Pop wouldn¡¯t have found out if I hadn¡¯t rolled up my sleeves to do the dishes that night after dinner. He came up beside me and playfully launched a tickling attack. I raised my arm to defend myself ¨C he took it firmly and held it up to me in question, suddenly serious and worried at the long, dark scar that stretched from my wrist and up my forearm, almost to my elbow.
¡°Severus Snape did this to you?¡± ¡°Pop, listen, I did say that we were making this Potion ¨C¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care if it was the Clotting Potion, he harmed you and that¡¯s a serious breach of Ministry law!¡± ¡°Then he wouldn¡¯t have done it! But you don¡¯t know Professor Snape, he¡¯s full of logic and reasoning and he knew all sorts of things, Pop ¨C¡± ¡°Kora, I am one of the Heads in the Ministry. I should know what¡¯s wrong and what¡¯s not. Snape may have gotten out of this one, but the next time he harms you I want you to write to me straight away. That¡¯s an order. Don¡¯t you ever hide anything from me, Kora. The detentions I don¡¯t mind, but the thought of an adult taking my little girl and slicing her arm in half ¨C¡± He hugged me for a very long time, and amid my protests he stuck to the fact that I had been mutilated and made me a hot chocolate.
Over the next few days Pop and I played around in the snow surrounding our house. We hiked up the mountains and looked over the valley. He didn¡¯t spend that much time in the Ministry, but there were a few times when he had to go for a few hours. It was in one of those hours when Jim turned up at my door.
¡°Well, hello, Jim. Having a good holiday so far?¡± With my gran, everything¡¯s just as interesting as keeping a pair of goldfish. ¡°You don¡¯t say. Come in.¡±
Jim looked weird bundled up against the cold. With so many sets of clothes on he looked thick and solid, exactly the opposite of what he really was. I made him sit on the couch like a good host, and tried to strike up a conversation. It seemed hard ¨C only a few days and already I was shying up to my friend of several months.
¡°So. How did you find out where I lived?¡± You¡¯re Kora Rastrick. Everybody knows where you live. ¡°Ha ha. What have you been doing?¡± Nothing much. Gran isn¡¯t very active, so I¡¯ve been going around Diagon Alley by myself and trying to stay out of trouble. I¡¯ve seen Frances around a few times but I never exactly went over to say hi, naturally. I threw a snowball at that Slytherin boy Davey Prim once while hiding behind a hedge. I think he knew it was me, though. ¡°Ah. Interesting. You¡¯re in for a beating, that¡¯s for sure. Hey, remember the scar Snape gave me?¡± That bastard. Did your Pop see it? ¡°Yup. And the first thing he thought was that I tried to kill myself. It took me a while to convince him that I did like the school and that it had been Snape and stuff. He was pretty mad, but I got him to do nothing about it.¡± You¡¯re crazy. ¡°I know. Crazy about Snape.¡± You¡¯re crazy.
And so on and so forth. There wasn¡¯t anything worthy to talk about so we went outside and had a snowball fight. As it got wet and messy by the time we got tired of it, we decided not to do it again and sat on the porch steps instead. We said nothing to each other. This was typical of us¡sometimes I wondered why I didn¡¯t just murder ourselves on the spot, we were such boring friends.
A while later, Jim put light on the last detention with Snape. That was worse than having to dust statues and portraits. That smell! I think I¡¯ve got wax and elbow grease stuck up my nose permanently. ¡°Yeah, me too, actually. What do you think the teachers do on their holidays, Jim?¡± Gee, I don¡¯t know, Kora, I don¡¯t exactly know these people. I guess they go off to Jamaica and spend time working on tans or something. ¡°Seriously, Jim.¡± I had an obscene picture of Snape shedding his robes and relaxing by a long, white beach while darkened Muggles ran around with beach balls and volleyball nets. It made me laugh to realize that it was Jim¡¯s representation that I was seeing, and Jim looked a little relieved. ¡°What?¡± I¡¯ve never really heard you laugh before. ¡°Are you serious?¡± Yeah¡you¡¯re too serious most of the time. Too serious! Jim was out of his mind.
Pop came home that night, and fussed about missing Jim earlier. ¡°One day I¡¯ll have to meet him, Kora. I¡¯d like to see the guy who¡¯s put your differences aside. Where does he live?¡± ¡°You know what, Pop? I have no idea.¡± ¡°Strange, this.¡± ¡°Pop, everybody says that our friendship¡¯s strange. Why?¡± ¡°You know what, Kora? I have no idea.¡± I fumed. He tucked me into bed and heaved a great sigh as he sat at my side.
¡°Overall, do you like Hogwarts now?¡± ¡°Yeah¡I guess it¡¯s alright now that Jim¡¯s come along. He makes it all worthwhile.¡± ¡°How about the teachers? Are you content with them? Snape doesn¡¯t cause you much trouble, does he, aside from cutting you for that potion?¡± ¡°They¡¯re all okay, Pop. No one¡¯s a real bully.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good to hear. Now, you sleep tight. Tomorrow I¡¯m going to work again. If Jim comes by, lock him up till I get back. Okay, darl?¡± ¡°Sure thing, Pop. I¡¯ll put the body-bind hex on him.¡± ¡°You¡¯d better not. I wouldn¡¯t want the Ministry wizards to come flocking at this house demanding as to why you, an under-aged witch, used magic outside of school.¡± He bent over me and planted a nice kiss on my forehead, and at that lingering moment I felt, in an instant, Pop¡¯s life sweep past me. This man, who had been through so much and still going so strong, had the ability to feel and act loving towards his tiny, insignificant granddaughter. I owed him so much.
He left the room. Up on my wardrobe, Torque cooed and ruffled her feathers. I looked up at the shadows on the ceiling and wondered how I was going to take it when I entered the school again.