"So it's Christmas morning and I'm alone" I said to myself as I got some hot chocolate from our kitchen. Mum and Dad had gone to some social event all day and wouldn't be back until late. They had asked me if I had wanted to come but I would rather be alone than in a place full of phony people. I just hated seeing those fake smiles and hearing those false or backhanded compliments those people said to each other. My parents said okay and left but wished me a merry Christmas before they did.
Alla had gone home to her family along with most of our other servants. My parents had wanted them to stay and keep me company, probably so they would feel better about leaving me alone on Christmas, but I declined their suggestion. It was a nice gesture on their part but I didn't want anyone else to have to be away from their loved ones on such an important day. Christmas was a time for families to be together and enjoy each other's company, and just because mine wasn't going to do that didn't mean I'd be okay depriving others of such a day. Besides there were still enough people who had decided to stay that would make sure I wasn't completely alone so my parents decided that was safe enough.
I had sent letters to all my Hogwarts friends, it helped that there weren't many that I was particularly close to. Along with the letter I gave each of my friends a gift. For Hermione I gave her a copy of a bookI expected she would enjoy reading. To Daphne I gave her a box of chocolates she had told me she loved. For Fred and George I gave them each a mini Black Russian Chocolate Pie that Alla helped me make as well as a Gobstones game set. It was a game for children but honestly those two were practically kids at times. And for Draco I took all the time I'd had alone at home to make him a knitted Slytherin Green jumper. Personally, I think it had turned out very well and Alla thought so too. He'd probably be embarrassed by the gift as it looked a little girly but I knew he'd secretly loved it.
At times I felt bad for Draco. I knew what he had to go through during this time of year. Both our parents could be very selfish at times but we had sort of grown accustomed to it by now. However, I knew it was slightly worse for Draco as, above anything else, he wanted his father's love and acceptance and would do anything for his approval. The thought of this scared me sometimes as I wasn't sure how far Draco would go to get that approval. I didn't care as much for my father's approval but rather dividing myself from him. It wasn't as if I didn't love my father I just wanted to be known for me, not for being his daughter. I wished I was as cold hearted as some of the other Slytherin, I wished I cared less about others, that way I could be happy just caring about me. I sighed and walked into our main living room.
Underneath the big tree that my parents had ordered to be brought in were a large amount of presents of many shapes and sizes waiting to be opened. It looked wonderful with all the different colors and lights but at the same time, it seemed out of place in this big lonely house. I thought it was depressing that so many families would have wished for such a tree, one to laugh around and exchange gifts under, yet it was stuck here with no one to truly appreciate its beauty. It hadn't even been decorated by a family, but rather the workers of one. I had helped them decorate some of it but it wasn't the same. Sometimes they felt more like a family to me than my own parents did.
As I looked through the pile of expensive gifts from my parents I saw that my friends had sent me some things as well. Hermione gave me a bundle of different sweets she knew I'd enjoy. Daphne sent me an enchanted candle that never burned out so I could read my books at night, and it smelled pretty too. The twins' gift was a little more elaborate than those. As soon as I opened their gift an explosion of fireworks flew up above me, all different colors flashing about, and between that spelled out the words "Merry Christmas" in big bold letters. As the fireworks died down I saw there was more to their gift than a pretty light show. Inside their package rested a simple white mug with a knit green sleeve covering it along with a letter.
"Here's something to put all that hot chocolate you drink in. Love, Gred and Forge."
It was a simple gift, not the most perfectly made either, but it was lovely. Draco also got me something he knew I would love, he knew me so well. Inside a well wrapped box, small and shiny, was a thin silver bracelet in the shape of a snake. It was sleek and simple and it wrapped perfectly around my wrist. It was beautiful. I had always found snakes as beautiful but deadly. They were okay as long as it was only a picture or sculpture of one…
After cleaning up all the wrappings, I took all my presents and headed up to my room. Once inside, I wrote all of my friends a thank you letter and as I did I couldn't help but feel a little sad. Everyone always thought my life was so great but here I was, on Christmas day, alone writing letters to the few people who cared enough about me to send me a present; those who weren't in my family anyway. People didn't understand what I went through. They only saw what they wanted to see out of me. They saw a rich girl, spoiled, one who was waited on hand and foot, but that wasn't the real me. I would usually get special treatment or maybe worse, I was treated like an enemy.
This kind of behavior taught me to close myself to other people, making it hard to get close to anyone. I acted nice because I had learned from a young age that sometimes it's better to smile at your enemy than fight them. It caused trouble for my parents too, having such a bad tempered child, it wasn't good for their "image". And as they had enough to worry about I pretended to be nice to those who treated me badly, I pretended for so long that it stuck to my personality. And as for our money, I'd rather have true friends and a family, over money any day. A family was all I had wanted as a child. Someone who would carry me on their back, spin me around, and do so until I got dizzy. Someone who would read me stories night after night. Someone that would take me on trips, just to spend time with me. Or at least someone who would spend a Christmas with me.
I heard a plop and looked down to see a wet dot on the parchment I was writing on. I rubbed my face to find it had been wet. When had I started crying? Either way I stopped, got a different piece, and started my letter over. I didn't want to cry anymore, I had told myself that I didn't want to cry over that any longer. I finished the letters, gave them to Whiskers to take to my friends, and sat on the edge of my bed. My face still a little sticky from the tears so I laid on my bed and wiped face on my pillow. This was one of those times where I wished I cared less about people. The really sad thing was this was one of the happiest Christmases I'd had in a while.