Chapter 27: Empty Pages
The blizzard finally passes, and a day later, there is finally two owls to deliver their Christmas mail. Windsor, Sirius brown barn owl with three letters tied together and a small parcel. And Hooter, Remus' un-cleverly named owl that is quite small for its breed with two letters and one small package tied to its foot.
Peter and Cressida take the mail from the birds who as soon as they are free, are already flying back towards their owners. Cressida watches them go, her fingers running over the three letters from James' owl. Three is an odd number.
Gathering the stomach to look down, she spreads them out in her hand enough to read the names written on each of them. One has her name, in the easily distinguishable lettering of Sirius. The 's's are elongated. The other two have Peter's name. One from James, one from Sirius. The package has Peter's name written on it.
Peter hands her a letter from Remus' owl and the package, and she hands him back the two from Sirius'. Maybe James and Sirius sent her a letter together. Cressida opens Remus' letter first, reading over the gentle and warm words with an unwavering smile. She unwraps the package next which holds a small velvet pouch. Inside it is a thin silver chain bracelet with a single charm on it. A bear's pawprint. She can't help but laugh fondly, running the pad of her thumb over it.
Immediately tying it on her wrist, she moves onto her remaining letter. Like she assumed from the lettering on the envelope, it is most certainly from Sirius. Her present couldn't be carried by an owl, but there is something small taped to the bottom of the parchment. Another charm. A dog's pawprint.
She laughs louder, realising that he must have known what Remus was gifting her. She adds the charm to the bracelet, folding the letters neatly so she could put them in her trunk for safekeeping. Nothing from James.
Cressida watches Peter read his own letters and unravel the packaging from his own gift, finding an assortment on muggle lollies. He's unbothered and content with his late Christmas.
Why hadn't James written to her? Surely he wasn't that upset about her and Peter staying behind. And if that is the case, then why did Peter receive something from him but not her? Could he not even be bothered to send a 'Merry Christmas' with Sirius' letter. Is this because of what happened at their last Quidditch practice? James was a little cold towards her after that, but Cressida understood that she had probably hurt him by snapping as she had. But she thought it would be best to let it be water under the bridge.
Her time of pitying herself is over. Why should she spend her time pining over a boy who won't even write to her on Christmas? One that's spent five years pinning after another girl that continues to reject him.
"Peter," she nearly yells. The poor boy jumps a little in his seat, looking at her with wide eyes. "Do you mind if I go out with Arthur today?"
"McMullen?" he confirms. She nods. "Oh, uh, yeah. Is it a date?"
"Assuming that he thinks it is as well. He did originally ask me."
Peter blubbers for a moment, shaking his head from side to side. "I mean, yeah. Have fun, I suppose. But-" He cuts himself off, eyes squinting as he stares off to the side. "Are you sure you want to go out with him?"
Cressida nods slowly, packing up her belongings. "Why wouldn't I? Is there something wrong with him?"
Peter quickly shakes his head. "No," he affirms. "I thought that maybe you want to wait until after the break."
Cressida tilts her head, not having any clue what her friend is on about. "We're sneaking out to Hogsmeade if you're implying about the location."
"No," he sighs again. "Just-never mind. Enjoy it."
Cressida smiles, keeping her two letters close to her chest. "Thank you, I will. And Arthur even promised to bring you back something from Honeydukes." A smile threatens his lips. Cressida hums knowingly. "I knew that'd turn you around. Why don't you go hang out with Mary? All you have to do is listen to her talk."
He nods with a quiet chuckle. "Will do."
Cressida heads back to the Gryffindor Tower, placing her letters in her trunk safely between two herbology textbooks that she brings solely for that purpose. She heads to the mirror next, fixing her hair into something more presentable. All she has to do now is find Arthur.
Not a hard thing to do when she knows exactly where he is.
Cressida heads straight to the courtyard where Gobstones is often played. He's right into the gambling that Sirius also partakes in sometimes. Cressida has an inkling he's behind running it, or at least learning to for when the current seventh years leave.
Though through the holidays, there isn't much of a scene to be seen, there are still students practicing now that the weather has cleared and there are no classes being held. And standing on one of the stone benches under a tree is Arthur McMullen with folded arms and one leg cocked out.
His chin lifts upon catching her gaze and he jumps down from the bench to stride up and meets her halfway. "You look ready to do something," he smirks. "And you told me to find you."
"You were taking too long," she retorts. "I'm going to Hogsmeade today. You are free to join me if you so wish it."
His head cocks to the side, the longer strands of his dark blonde hair hanging loosely. "An independent woman. Hot."
Cressida half-smirks at the compliment. Barely a compliment. It's not the first time she's been called that, and every other time it was either degrading or by Sirius which is a whole other realm. "Coming?"
He opens his arms as to say, lead the way, so she does. He doesn't stay on her tail for long, already marching at her shoulder before they reach the castle. At some points, he's walking faster than her, despite having no idea where he is going, forcing Cressida to speed up so she can continue being in the lead. By the time they reach the secret tunnel, she can't help but wonder if he even planned to go to Hogsmeade as his feet seemed to be going anywhere but following her. Nevertheless, he's still next to her as they walk through the stone-carved tunnel.
"So this is how you and your friends sneak out," he muses. His voice echoes off the stone.
Cressida hums. "Sometimes. It comes out in Honeydukes so we don't use it if we're sneaking there. It's a bit more noticeable when the customers don't enter or leave a store, especially when its quiet. But it's fine for just getting to Hogsmeade with."
"What other secrete passages are there?"
Cressida laughs, head turning over her shoulder as they walk through the thin passage. "I'm not giving you all our secrets. We worked hard to find them."
Arthur huffs slightly, almost indignantly, but the sly grin doesn't waver. "Just one more?" Cressida shakes her head. No, she's not going to give out her friends hard work to some boy. They've made a reputation for themselves and she will not let their secrecy be dissolved by one boy who she doesn't yet completely trust. This passage they're in now isn't even completely unknown. A few other students have used it as well.
"Wait here," she tells him as they reach the end. He does as she asks, waiting at the bottom of the short ladder. Cressida climbs upwards, her palms pressing to the bottom of the loose stone tile and cracks it open. The storeroom of Honeydukes looks vacant enough. "Alright, come on." Lifting it fully, she hurries the Ravenclaw boy out of the passage and quickly places the stone back into place.
A hand slips into hers as she peeks around the corner, despite not having any intention of holding his hand.
Fuck James.
She grips it back.
Arthur is attractive – albeit not in the way that her eyes can't leave his face, but enough that she wouldn't mind looking at him for hours on end. And hell, he's interested. He asked her. James isn't an option. She's doing what James should have done when Lily first made it clear that she didn't like him back. Move on.
The cellar is dark and a rather gloomy comparison to the brightly coloured upstairs, but not dark enough to hide them in the shadows. Cressida's ear perk at the sound of the shop owner's footsteps thumping down the stairs leading right to their position. Spinning around, her hands immediately find Arthur's chest to push him back towards one of the cupboards but he has other plans. Just as the elderly man's shadow from upstairs merges with the shadowed wall of the cellar, Cressida's back is pushed against the cold wall and a foreign pair of lips engulf her own. Her yelp is muffled, morphing into an odd moan that's she never heard from herself before.
"Oi!" Arthur leans back from her as the shopkeeper storms towards them, a pudgy finger pointing right at them. "Get the bloody hell out of 'ere you two! Snogging right over all my merchandise!"
"Right away sir," Arthur nods with a sly grin, with much more confidence than she would have been able to muster at that moment. His hands leave her hips – which she hadn't realised were there in the first place – and one takes her hand, tugging her along the staircase. The shopkeeper glares at them the entire time, grumbling under his breath.
They reach the top of the stairs but don't stop to gaze over the wondrous treats and jog out the front door, the bell ringing at their departure. Arthur laughs loudly, excited by the thrill of being caught. Maybe he belongs in Gryffindor and not Ravenclaw, she muses silently. "That was exciting, let's go to the Three Broomsticks."
Before she can even give her opinion – which is her desire to go to Madam Puddifoot's – his arm is hooked around hers and she's pulled along to the main road. They trudge through the thick snow, some patrons of shops staring at the youths, well aware that they should not be here and others welcome the extra business of sneaking students. At least she and her friends have a good reputation in the small village. Especially James and Sirius who are well-paying customers. Even better if she, Remus and Peter are there as the two wealthier boys often pay more for their friends'. And Madam Rosmerta always makes their lunch by her own hand (or wand).
They kick the snow off their boots at the entrance to the Three Broomsticks, a shiver starting from her neck and travelling down towards her toes. A seat near a fireplace would be nice. But once again, her voice doesn't come as Arthur leads her towards a comfortable looking booth that is well away from the crowds huddled around the hearths.
"I'll go get us some butterbeer."
Cressida smiles softly, nodding in thanks as the Ravenclaw boy heads off to find a waiter. Her eyes fall on the table, resting her chin in her palm. She hadn't even noticed earlier, but she's brought with her the purse that James' gifted her from France. At first she was hesitant even taking it from the box, but after some deliberation, she realised it would be wasteful to do such a thing and James would appreciate her using it. Her palm drops from under her chin, falling onto the soft pink fabric. Cressida runs her finger of the gold zipper and chain. He would buy her a present for the sake of it, but not even a letter for Christmas? Maybe he forgot to send it?
Glimpsing towards Arthur who is still talking to a barmaid, she hastily pulls the zipper back and delves into the purse. The diary isn't hard to find but the pencil she keeps with it is. Hiding it between her arms, she flips the first page open. There's no message in there, but she's not looking for one yet.
Cressida writes his name with a question mark at the very top of the page. The tip of the pencil presses again underneath on a new line, but her arm doesn't move. What else could she say? Nothing. She has to wait and see if he is going to respond to her first.
Tucking the diary and pencil back in, she does so just in time as Arthur returns with two glasses of butterbeer. "So tell me about you're upcoming pranks," he cheeks.
"Oh," she breathes with a short laugh. Her hands cup the glass, moving it around in a small circle. "We haven't really got any. We've been so caught up with school work and some other stuff that it's sort of flown over our heads."
Arthur huffs slightly, leaning back against his chair, lifting and dropping his own glass constantly. "Tell me if you guys do. I'd love to help out." Cressida nods, smiling over the rim of her drink. The boys would absolutely hate to have him help. That she knows. "How do you find all these secret passages?"
Cressida shrugs. "We sort of just go off rumours and try things out. Mostly hit or miss stuff."
"What about secret rooms in the castle? Is there anything really cool, like, I don't know, a hidden treasure room or something?"
Her mind immediately travels to two places. The Room with the Hidden Door, and the kitchens. "No," she answers. "Nothing that we've found anyways. Mostly just passages and we like to explore around here and the forest." Cressida almost scoffs at her own logic. She'll show a Slytherin who she doesn't particularly like the kitchens when he hadn't even forced or requested her to, but she'll hide it from someone she's on a date with.
Honestly she wishes she was here with Elias. Or even Regulus at this point. Merlin's beard.
The date continues on the same way for another two hours. Sometimes Cressida finds herself enjoying it, others not so much. It seems Hogwarts' new heartthrob is a bit conceited and full of himself.
They end up walking back to Hogwarts; Cressida unwilling to show him any more passages, and their exit through Honeydukes compromised. By the time they reach Hogwarts, she's cold and tired. And her heart nearly cries out at the sight of Peter wandering just past the entrance. Their eyes meet and he reads her silent plea for company and changes his direction to join her.
"Hello," he drawls out, glancing between them. "Mary ran out of things to say."
"Shocking," Cressida laughs, folding her arms to keep them close. "Boring day otherwise?"
Peter nods, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "Yeah. Thought I might go find someone the play chess with."
Cressida sways on her feet. "Well, I think I can join you if you want," she answers in a suggestive tone, licking her lips and peering to the side at her date.
Arthur takes the hint. "You two enjoy yourselves. Just not as much as we did though." Cressida blushes, but not with butterflies. He's the only one to laugh. "I'll see you tomorrow?"
Nodding, she smiles up at him. His hands hold either side of her face, holding it still as he leans down and brings her into a long kiss.
Fuck James.
Cressida leans right back into it, gripping his shoulders tightly. It's only when she's short of air that she manages to pull away from him. Her eyes flutter slightly, her head spinning as a sea of different thoughts try to emerge. Peter stands there silently, his lips pressing together as though he's trying not to laugh.
"Tomorrow," Arthur says once more. She can't help but compare it to a dramatic romance film as sees where Peter's amusement is coming from. The Ravenclaw boy strides off with a confident sway in his step.
Peter clicks his tongue. "So…"
Cressida glares at him, the blush now brighter than ever. "Don't."
While Peter sets up the chessboard in the empty Tower, Cressida draws the diary back from her back and flips it open to the first page. Her writing is still there, but no response yet.
She squints her eyes, pulling the book closer to her face. There, just an inch or so underneath it is two small stains of ink. She hadn't used ink – she used a pencil. James had read it. And chose not to respond.
In one motion, she closes the diary again and tosses it in her bag.