Chapter 5: Winter Wonderland
Alright, here we are while I spill more holiday confessions. I've had too much eggnog again, so it should be interesting. I do hope you're sharing in the spirit with a good festive drink, or at least a hot one. I hope you're cozy and warm beside a fire or snuggled into a warm fuzzy blanket.
Not because I care about you, for that would be ridiculous! Though you now know quite a bit about me, you're a complete bloody stranger! It's just that I seek to create an ambiance here, so the least you can do is to share in it by getting yourself festive, warm and cozy. So if you aren't, take a moment to do that and come back so that we can be on the same wave length as it were, for I am most definitely warm and cozy. It's quite cold outside with snow on the ground and frost on the windows, but inside it's warm, and the air smells fittingly of pine and nutmeg.
This next confession deals with love and my hate hate relationship with it before Gel. Before Gel I took a hard pass on being told I love you by anyone I planned to shag, was in the midst of shagging, or had shagged.
Game-changer isn't the word. Try game-killer. I certainly didn't share the sentiment so having that put on me was oppressive at best, and outright disturbing at worst. I don't find it useful or productive at all having someone for whom I feel nothing, dumping that much feeling on me whether they feel it or only believe they do. Though many would find it flattering, I think highly enough of myself not to need my brilliant amazing self validated by others.
That being said, it may or may not be a surprise to you that when Gel murmured, "I love you," into my shoulder after some most excellent shagging Christmas Eve morning, my heart sang. I had him! He loved me, and he was mine. Mine forever and longer than forever, please.
"I love you too," I replied without hesitation. It was even true! "Have you ever said that before to anyone who wasn't family," I couldn't help but ask.
Gel shook his head. "There is no reason to toss verbal commitments around that I don't mean."
I smiled. Of course that was just one more out of the many many things we found that we had in common. Even to this day, my heart always warms at each discovery of a commonality that we share. It's as if each somehow brings us even closer.
"Same here," I said, before kissing him.
We were late for breakfast.
Every year my family spends Christmas Eve in Italy, and the morning of Christmas day. Then we go to my mum's family in London for the rest of Christmas day, including Christmas dinner that night. It may seem that we spend more time with the Italian side of the family, but we live in London with my mum's side so we see them far more frequently.
After Christmas Eve dinner, which yes, was the pizza for which we had many fond memories, it was time for one of my favorite holiday traditions. As I expected it to be, it was even more wonderful and magical with Gellert at my side.
As we do every year, my family got into a large flying carriage with disillusionment cast upon it, and flew over the city looking at Christmas lights. Yes I'm aware that I only mention being in Italy and not in which city, but it's none of your business. I never give out private information, because perhaps my parents raised me to be a bit paranoid, and perhaps they are right. If I gave out my family's city, insane Muggles and wizards alike would stalk the place looking for a glimpse of me and Gel.
The carriage soared high into the winter sky, a few snowflakes drifting past the windows. We had a warm blanket spread over our laps, and Gellert and I clasped hands under it as we stared ahead at the beautiful Christmas lights. My Grandmother began singing a Christmas carol, and we all chimed in.
We stayed out enjoying the city lights for nearly two hours, before returning to my grandparents for hot ginger tea spiked with rum. More than once during these enjoyable festivities, I found myself contemplating the fact that Gellert loved me, and I him. We were...in this state of love that neither had expected to ever be a thing we would wish to experience. It was a warm and joyous surprise, and it had me on...forget cloud nine I think I was on cloud fifteen or something!
The next morning my Italian cousins, aunts and uncles arrived for breakfast, and they were all excited to meet Gellert. For his part, he was rather sleepy, as we'd gotten to sleep late even though we'd gone to bed rather early if you get my meaning. I was sleepy as well, but he was the one everyone was trying to talk to, poor Gel.
At least most of them spoke English or German so I didn't have to translate as much. We exchanged gifts after breakfast, and thanks to some very strong coffee Gel and I were more awake by then. Gel and I gave my parents matching spiderweb rings that we'd made for them.
They had the same enchantments as my and Gel's web and Hallows pendants. With the rings, my parents could always get to one another no matter what. Both put the rings on at once, while announcing to anyone who would listen that Gellert and I were going to do great things. Of course this made us both grin from ear to ear. We knew we would do great things, but when the parents say so it always feels rewarding.
They got us a set of enchanted journals. When a person writes in one, it shows up right away in the other, so they can talk back and forth as rapidly as they can write. Ours were enchanted to only work for us so that no one else could read what we wrote. A quill was attached to each with a ribbon, and it was the sort that was enchanted to never run out of ink.
The fact the gift was a set for us to share touched my dark heart, and I impulsively embraced my parents in thanks as did Gel. My grandparents gave Gel an enchanted knife that had belonged to my father and his father before him. It could cut through certain spells, plus if thrown at a target, even a moving one, it never missed its mark.
Gellert was moved, embracing them both as he blinked back tears. The fact that my family took him in the way they did meant the world to me, more than I can express. My grandparents gifted me with a fine bottle of holiday spiced rum and a set of four ornate golden goblets. Grinning I promised to share with my parents. The fact I'd been gifted with my first set of dishes made me feel suddenly grown up. I had half a year left at Hogwarts and was of age, but somehow the goblets were, thus far, the biggest impact of my adulthood. I now owned fancy cups!
Gel and I gave my grandparents a set of blankets that we'd enchanted for them. They would keep the bed toasty warm at all times, plus promote a good sound night's sleep. The grandparents were tickled pink as they say.
When parents and grandparents say they love a gift when you make it with your own two hands, in most cases they're probably lying. Such gifts are frequently rubbish, let's be honest. When Gel and I make something, it's something brilliant that came from our own genius minds, and it's always something people want! Gellert and I working together on enchanted objects goes so much faster than when we work alone.
It's just another level of our chemistry. The Christmas gifts would never have been completed in time if I'd been working on my own. It was that thought that made me realize that I could never go back to a life before Gellert. It would be lacking. It would be harder. With him, everything was easier. Everything was better. I looked forward to every day because he made it interesting and fun. I would like to say that this stopped scaring the hell out of me, but I must confess that it did not.
With breakfast and gift exchanges done, we returned to London, to spend the rest of the day with my Mum's parents. They're more formal, but still kind, loyal, and loving in their way. Like my Italian grandparents, they were thrilled to meet Gellert. The day consisted of many fascinating political and historical discussions.
Snow was thick on the ground, so while we waited for all the aunts, uncles and cousins to arrive for Christmas dinner, Gel suggested he and I go on a walk. We wrapped ourselves in our new warm winter cloaks, promising my mother that we'd keep our hoods up and our faces hidden in the name of wise paranoia.
Here's another confession. Gel brings out my fun silly side. You know, the one I never had before him. I like it. I like the way he makes me laugh at the insanely hilarious observations he makes. I like the wild crazy ideas that we have together like shagging under the Christmas tree or on the pizza or...Building a snowman behind my grandparents manor. Yes we did that. We'd walked up and down the block, approaching the manor from the back, when we noticed a deep snowdrift. It looked so soft that we ended up falling into it intentionally for a good winter snog. It may be silly but it just seemed romantic to have a good snog or five in a big fluffy snowdrift.
Did I say yet that Gellert looks beautiful in the snow? The way the fluffy flakes catch in his blonde curls makes it hard for me to breathe sometimes, it's that beautiful. Our hoods fell back during the snogging, don't tell my Mum. Fortunately she didn't notice the snow in his hair when we went back inside.
Before that, though, we built a snowman. It was Gellert's idea. He said he'd never built one before and neither had I. It was exciting to share yet another first together. We crafted the snowman himself out of large snowballs, just as everyone else does without magic. The magic came in later when we crafted his broom and hat, sculpting the snow with wandless magic. We gave Mr. Snowman glowing eyes too, just for fun. Then my cousins arrived, and knocked him down like little prats. Just picture their shock when they discovered that they'd knocked down the snowman made, in part, by none other than Gellert Grindelwald.