-Present
Jade pulled on her gloves and hat for the wet, cold and slushy weather outside. She was lucky she was a witch so she could apparate but either way, if she was going tree shopping, she was going to get wet anyways. For the past 5 years she had been completely alone. For 5 Christmas's it was absolutely lonely. Her family cut all ties with her and none of them bothered to visit. They were completely against Draco and Jade's relationship and were furious beyond belief when Jade completely disregarded them and went ahead to keep seeing Draco.
It was the breaking point when Jade and Draco came back and told them that they were marrying. Jade was thrown out of the Burrow and her family's hearts for good. For a long time Jade was heartbroken and still was but Draco promised that he would make her so happy that she wouldn't be reminded of her parents.
Now, more than ever, especially for this Christmas, Jade wished that she was with her family and resented Draco for not fulfilling his promise. With a big sigh she apparated.
She apparated in a dirty and wet alley and walked out of it, into a broad street where people bustled back and forth. She carefully watched her step as she walked down the slushy street. This was a muggle shopping center, unlike the beautiful Hogsmeade or Diagon Alley that Jade wished she'd visit. She promised Draco that she wouldn't visit that part of her life but Jade didn't see any value in the promise anymore. He never kept his.
"Hello Miss, are you looking for a Christmas tree?" a round and pink man asked when Jade approached the fence. He reminded her so much of Flitwick, if Flitwick was taller than Jade, yet he was still so adorable.
"Yes I am." Jade nodded. The man opened the door for her and waved her in to follow him towards the variety of trees standing around.
"The weather gets really annoying sometimes but my trees are as beautiful as ever." He said as Jade looked around.
"I know. They're beautiful trees but I don't think they're big enough." Jade said turning to the man who raised his eyebrows.
"Not big enough? These trees aren't big enough?" he asked as Jade shook her head.
"I wanted something taller…but then again I'd be wasting my money and time trying to look for something that won't even be looked at and appreciated except for me. So I guess you are right, I should just get just any tree and call it a day." Jade said mostly to herself. The man stared at her as if she were crazy and she gave him a bright smile.
"I'll take this one." Jade said pointing to a wide and reasonable sized tree next to her.
"Are you sure? You haven't looked around properly. We have more if you want to see-"
"It's just me and my husband. No one else. I'll just settle for this one." Jade said. The man gave her a smile and Jade could see that he was feeling sorry for her.
"Do you have any children Miss?" he asked gently. Jade looked away from him, feeling the pull in her heart grow stronger.
"No…I don't." she said. The man didn't ask her anything else. He simply stood for a moment and then turned around and yelled for someone to take Jade's tree for delivery.
"Where do I pay?" Jade asked politely.
"I'll show you the way." The man said nodding towards the small store near them. Jade followed him into the store and looked around the cramped yet cozy store filled with Christmas decorations and other necessities.
"That would be about…" the man said estimating the cost and punching the register keys. Jade paid him the money and as he gave her, her change, the door opened and two children ran in screaming delightfully.
"Grandpa! Grandpa! Thomas peed on a tree!" the little girl who looked around 5 years old. The boy who was around the same age as the girl shook his head frantically and went to shove her but the man scooped the little girl up and wagged a finger at the little boy.
"You both are always up to some sort of mischief. What did I tell you Thomas? It's bad for you to pee on trees! If you want to go to the bathroom, you should use the loo in the store!" his Grandfather scolded lovingly.
Jade smiled warmly at them and adored them wishing that she had children of her own.
"Now go on…scoot." The man said as the children chased each other around the store.
"My two little grandchildren. Freddie and Chrissie." He told her and Jade nodded smiling.
"You're very lucky. They're absolutely beautiful." Jade said to him. Freddie and Chrissie ran up towards Jade and used her as a shield from each other as their Grandfather gently yelled at them to stop bothering Jade. Jade didn't mind. She bent down and picked up Chrissie who was bright pink from running.
"What's he want from you?" Jade asked smoothing Crissie's long dark hair back.
"He said it's because I told on him! He wasn't supposed to pee on a tree!" Crissie explained.
"Did not!" Freddie retorted. Crissie stuck out her tongue at him and he stuck his tongue out back at her.
"Freddie, Chrissie!" their grandfather warned.
"Go on, Grandmum sent cookies." Their grandfather said. Jade let go of the children and giggled as they sprinted off to find their cookies.
"I should be going. Thank you for everything today." Jade said.
"It was a pleasure to have a customer like you. Thank you for shopping here. Your tree will be delivered tomorrow morning." He said as Jade nodded.
"Happy Christmas." Jade said going to leave.
"Happy Christmas. Miss?" the man asked.
Jade turned around and saw the man hold a finger up to ask her to wait. He disappeared behind the counter and came back with a red box in his hand.
"Happy Christmas. From my family to yours." He said. Jade looked at the box and took it from him when he insisted.
"Can I open it?" Jade asked seeing him nod. She opened the box and pulled out a crystalline angel.
"Oh my goodness. She's beautiful! Are you sure?" Jade asked looking up seeing the man nod.
"My daughter used to make these figurines and before she passed away, she told me that if anyone were to remind me of her that I would give this little angel to her. You and your husband won't be the only ones to spend Christmas together alone." He said.
Jade turned the angel in her hands and looked up to the man. He didn't know how much it meant to her to receive this gift from him. She didn't have anyone except for Draco but his apathy towards her made it seem like she was living all alone.
"Thank you. You don't know how much this means to me." Jade croaked.
"Aw go on sweetheart. Don't cry in front of me, I won't be able to take it." He said shaking his head. Jade smiled and nodded.
"Thank you…so much for this. I…I don't know what to give you." Jade said as he shook his head again.
"The only gift you can give me is to accept this gift as if your own father gave this to you." he said. Jade was silent. This stranger that she had known for the past half an hour had shown the most kindness and acceptance in the last 5 lonely years.
When Jade reached home, she set her groceries on the counter and started immediately on dinner. She often made dinner for two but since Draco came back so late, he always went immediately to sleep. It was rare of him to come home early for dinner. She placed the little angel figurine on the coffee table in her living room.
While she was making dinner, Jade couldn't help but think about how life would have been if she and Draco had children. Was it a good or bad thing that they didn't have children? Would they have brought Draco and Jade closer to each other or would they have set them apart even more? Jade guessed that she would never know.
He didn't want her to have children. He hated them. When she became pregnant with their first child two years into their marriage, she never forgot how upset Draco was when he heard this. He tried coaxing her to leave the baby but Jade refused. They got into a horrible fight and Draco stormed out of the house and didn't come back for three days. In a panic, Jade quickly aborted her child and sent an owl telling him she had gotten rid of their child and Draco came back to her, relieved and thankful that she listened to what he wanted. She never forgot that sacrifice she made for him and they never had a child after that.
When she finished making dinner, Jade cleaned up the kitchen and went straight to the living room and curled up into the sofa in front of the fire, watching the crystal angel glistening in front of the fire. She felt herself come to tears and placed her hands over her face and sobbed. The past couple of weeks, holding everything in, Jade let everything out crying hard and long until she fell asleep.
