Disclaimer: I still do not own Harry Potter or anything associated in JK Rowling's books. I just write about them. Annabelle is mine, as is Lace, and now Melanie.
Christmas in the Castle
Over the next two and a half weeks, Lace struggled to bring the life that was crashing around her together once more. Dumbledore had not been seen around the castle since the attack, and this made Lace anxious for their next meeting. The note he left with Sirius simple read
I know this has been a difficult day for you and for that I am truly sorry. The death of you mother has reopened many questions I have shelved in the back of my mind some time ago. By the time you receive this, I will have left in search of some answers. My plans will take me away for a few weeks, but I shall never be out of reach. At a time like this, it is important to remain close to family. For this reason, I am leaving Fawkes in my office for you. If you need to get in touch with me for any reason, go to him and he will find me. When I return, we must enjoy some fresh lilac pops.
She did not read it until two days later, when she remembered she had not yet opened it. She took the advice of Sirius to heart, and kept her friends close. There were times when she felt the need to be alone, but she never pushed them away. They understood what she was dealing with in her mind. Remus understood more than the others.
One thought that terrified Lace was Christmas. She had planned to return home for the holiday, but, now, there was no home to return to. She would be staying at Hogwarts, of that she was sure, but she wondered if she would spend it with her grandfather there as well. He told her he would be gone for a few weeks, but the more days that passed, the more she worried he would not return by then.
Remus was sitting in the Owlry with an open letter, reading it carefully. His father was sending word that Remus would need to remain at Hogwarts for the holiday. This was no news, as Remus often spent his vacations in the castle with Sirius. But this year, Sirius was spending the holiday with James in the mountains and Peter was going home as well. He sighed and folded up the letter as he heard footsteps outside the door.
Annabelle walked in with a letter in her hand, closely followed by Lace. "I told mum I'd send her this as soon as I new what I needed for the trip. This'll only take a second. Hey, Remus." Annabelle said alerting Lace to his presence.
"Hey, you two. Ready for the holiday?" He asked, looking between the girls. "You can use my owl if you like, A-belle." He said extending Loops to her.
"Thank you so much." Annabelle told him and tied the letter to his leg.
While, she gave the owl instructions, Remus walked over to where Lace was staring out over the grounds. "Only two more days left of term. Are you happy it's finally over?"
"Hmmm? Well, I'm happy for the break from class, but not for the empty time. This was her favorite time of year." Lace continued to look over the grounds as silent tears began to roll down her cheeks.
"It still is, Lace. As long as you remember that, it will always be her favorite. Just because she isn't here right now, that doesn't mean you have to forget it." He gently put his hand on her shoulder. She quickly turned into him and buried her head in his chest.
As he rubbed his hand up and down her back in a soothing motion, Annabelle walked over to them. "Do you want breakfast?" She asked to no one in particular, but to both of them at the same time. Lace nodded her head against Remus' robes and pulled away. Quietly, they all walked to the Great Hall and sat next to James, Sirius, and Peter.
At the head table, McGonagall sat close to Dumbledore in an animated conversation. Lace broke into a smile as she saw him sitting here. She resisted the urge to run up to him, but he sensed her presence and looked out over the hall. His conversation stopped momentarily aa he quickly spotted her. As their eyes met, Lace knew that he found some answers to share with her.
After her last class of the term, Patrick Dilby approached Lace with another note. "I really hope these aren't detentions I keep delivering to you all the time." He said as he thrust out the note and walked away.
"Hey, Dilby!" Annabelle called out to him, causing the rest of the first years around them to halt slightly. She approached him quickly and in a hushed tone, only the two of them could hear, said, "Have a little respect for the girl whose parents were just murdered by Death Eaters." She turned on her heel and walked back to Lace. Arm in arm, they returned to the common room, leaving Dilby with a confused look on his face.
"What did you tell him?" Lace asked, glancing back over her shoulder. "Oh no, Belle! What did you say?" She asked again, a little more worried that she said something to give away her secret.
"Don't worry. I didn't spill the beans. I just told him to have a little more respect for someone who just lost both of her parents. I mean seriously, what a prick!" Annabelle told her as they reached the portrait hole. "Just where have you two been?" She asked James and Sirius as they snuck around the corner.
"Shhh! Quick, get inside and we'll tell you." James ushered them in first. Once they were seated at their usual table by the window, he continued. "We overheard Slughorn telling McG that if Dumbledore didn't tell him soon where he'd been that he'd let it slip to the other teachers about a certain granddaughter in attendance here. But don't worry, McG took care of that. She threatened to hex him into next term if he butted into family affairs."
"It was great. You should have seen the look on his face. Pure horror!" Sirius chimed in.
"What does that have to do with…did they see you?" Annabelle asked. Everyone knew better than to eavesdrop on the teachers.
"No, we don't think so, but we did run into Peeves on our way back around the corridor. He saw us. We were just making sure he didn't alert either one of them." James explained. "I doubt McG would mind as much as Slughorn."
"Man, he sure hates us." Sirius said as he leaned back in his chair and propped up his feet. Suddenly, the portrait hole swung open and McGonagall walked in. Sirius landed with a thud on all four legs of his chair. "Err…hey..Pro…Professor!" He said nervously as she approached them.
"I know what the two of you are up too. Peeves has a mighty big mouth. Rest assured, that since I did not catch you and you did not hear anything you weren't already aware of, I will not punish you. But I will not tolerate eavesdropping any more. This is your one free chance. Don't cross me, or I will be forced to ruin the start of next term. For all of you." She quickly added as Remus and Peter walked up, pointing to all six of them.
"What does the note say?" Annabelle asked on their way to dinner that evening. Normally, they would be walking with the Marauders, but they stayed behind to talk about some plan they had. Neither girl liked the idea of getting into trouble, so they immediately went ahead without them.
"Nothing big. You can read it." Lace handed her the folded letter.
I can imagine that there are many things you would like to ask me, but since this is your last night with your friends before the holiday, we will meet tomorrow morning. Tell the boys to have a splendid vacation and to do try and stay out of trouble. As for Miss Potter, we anxiously await her return back to us. I can see that the two of you have become quite the pair. Enjoy the feast, my dear.
"Aww. I want your grandfather. Mine just smells like old moth balls and keeps sending me the same scarf and chocolates every holiday." Annabelle sighed as they took their seats. "Lily, can you pass the pumpkin juice?" She tapped the girl next to her.
"Sure." Lily Evans turned to hand her the pitcher. "Do you have big plans for the holiday?" She asked politely.
"I'm…well, I'm staying here." Lace shifted uncomfortably in her seat. Lily had found out about her parents that evening after they returned to the common room from class. Dilby was still feeling guilty about what he said and told Lily about it. She had immediately gone to Lace to tell her how sorry she was.
"My family's going to the mountains. My father loves to ski. Me, not so much." Annabelle added to the topic. "What about you?" She directed to Lily and Melanie Prewitt.
"Yea, my family's having a big party at our house. That should be fun." Lily said sarcastically. "My sister's taken to running from the room whenever I enter. Some people are so small-minded."
"I told you, Lils. You are more than welcome to come with me." Melanie offered her comfortingly. "We're going to Spain to see my brother. His wife just had twins."
"I will have to pass on that fun." Lily said with a laugh. Twin newborns? Who was Mel kidding? That sounded like a nightmare. "I'll have to learn to live with Petunia one day. Might as well try Christmas." Lily's face turned sour as she looked behind Lace.
"You guys didn't have to save us seats." James said sitting next to Annabelle with a grin. "But I did tell you, Evans. I knew you'd come around."
Lily looked to Melanie for some kind of help, but she was too preoccupied with Sirius to notice. Lace and Remus sat separating Sirius from her. Despite Lily's adamant protest, Melanie could not help the crush she had on him. "Melanie!" Lily hissed, snapping her from her thoughts. "A little help would be nice every once in a while."
"Aw, come on, Evans. You don't need saving. I keep telling you. I know you want me. Just agree to go out with me already." Lace tried failingly to stifle her giggle, and immediately turned to join Sirius and Remus' conversation.
"If I've told you once, I've told you ten thousand times. I WON'T GO OUT WITH YOU!" The students sitting nearest to them quickly turned their heads to see what was happening. "Come on Mel, let's sit somewhere else." She quickly stood, and Melanie joined her regrettably. "Have a good holiday, girls." She said to Annabelle and Lace before walking away.
"She loves…"
But before James could finish, five voices joined in. "You. We know!"
"Maybe you should just lay off for a bit." Annabelle looked at him. "Maybe she will change her mind, if you quit annoying her so much."
James put his arm around her shoulder and picked up his goblet. "Can't do it, cuz. Just can't." Raising his glass, he continued to the group, "Here's to a Happy Christmas."
A chorus of "Happy Christmas!" rang from around the table as other students joined in.
Once the end of term feast was over and Dumbledore had given his small farewell, the Great Hall began to empty slowly as friends remained to talk. "Don't leave just yet." James said looking over at the Slytherin table. Severus Snape was sitting alone, a few seats down from Sirius' cousin, Bellatrix Black, and her friends. "We don't want to miss this." Remus didn't say anything as Sirius turned in his seat and Peter looked on wantonly.
Suddenly, there was a small explosion next to Bellatrix and soon, she and Snape were both covered in leftover pie and pudding. "The look on her face was worth the price of admission." Sirius turned back to face James. "She looks like she might ream him." He quickly glanced back to see Bellatrix round on Snape.
"What the hell was that?" She yelled at him, now on her feet. "Look at me! I'm covered in food!" She was about to draw her wand when Rudolphus Lestrange interrupted and directed her attention to the Gryffindor table. She reached for her wand, closely followed by her group of friends, but quickly replaced them as several professors walked by. "They'll pay for that!" She said loudly enough for the Gryffindors to hear as they stomped out the Great Hall.
"I love seeing her like that. Makes me miss home." Sirius said, gazing into space.
"Really?" Peter asked. "Because I thought you hated—."
"He was joking, Peter." Annabelle said from across James. "Don't you know him at all?" She shook her head in exasperation.
"Let's get out of here." James said, as a change of subject. Everyone rose from the table and headed back to the common room.
A/N: Thanks for still reading! And thanks to XxlilyxX for the great comments! Please don't forget to comment and let me know how you feel about it. I feel like I never have time to write now with work. It's so sad!
Coming up: The first holiday of the rest of her life.