As it happened, Drucy's fears about her mother's reaction at Hogwarts were unfounded.
The next morning, she took a moment to pack her things. The furs, the bedding, and some of her dresses remained in the closet, but she did not want to leave her books and supplies during the long holiday, not with Slytherin students working assiduously to break into other rooms in hopes of an upgrade. Granted, with such a small group, very few were actually seeking to depose each other. Roenna had defeated the school lock on one of the unused upstairs suites a few days previously, with Drucy's help, and had moved herself into comfortable lodgings that she did not have to share. Still, Drucy did not take the risk of someone making a try for the best set of rooms in the House during her long absence and getting into any of her school things. Once she finished packing, she was not sure what to do with her trunk, so she called Topsy. "Can you take it to my bedroom at home?" she asked the elderly house-elf. "Is it too heavy?" Since she realized that Topsy was old enough, perhaps, to 'replace', Drucy had been more mindful of her health than before. Topsy merely shook her head, grinned, took hold of the handle with one hand, laid a finger on the side of her nose with the other hand, and vanished with a crack. Drucy couldn't help but to chuckle. Topsy's mood had lightened considerably since the talk they'd had. She obviously trusted Drucy absolutely. Drucy's smile faded as she realized anew that there was absolutely no way she could let that little house-elf down. She was going to have to speak to her mother about Topsy's fate sooner or later.
Sooner… or later. As Drucy finished her breakfast in the Great Hall, she looked up at a mild commotion to see parents and relatives entering the room, filtering through the tables, finding their students. The momentary dread in her stomach vanished like morning mist as she saw the last person she expected to come and pick her up for the holidays. Her father, Virgo Lestrange - legally, Virgo Bulstrode - caught sight of both of his girls and hurried to meet them, eyes shining.
"Look at you!" he exclaimed, as he finished giving Drucy a big hug and held her at arm's length. "You look good! I can tell you've been eating well. Hogwarts suits you, I think." He gave her sister a big hug. "Oh Esme, I've missed you, I've missed you both. Doing well as usual? I'm going to make the rounds, meet with your teachers, and then we'll be on our way. Mother had some business to settle, but then it'll be a lovely holiday. The house-elves are already working on the food, and I've left the decorations for you to put up…"
True to his word, Virgo took his girls around to all of their teachers. Drucy sat quietly and just watched him as he questioned them about Esme. He was so animated, the way he usually was around the holidays, and he seemed a little more assertive than she had ever seen him before. She was so proud of him, the way he dressed well instead of his usual bedrobe about the house and gardens. She paid only enough attention to learn that her sister was still better at Transfiguration and, of all things, Arithmancy, and not terribly concerned about her lower scores in Charms and Potions. She was a good deal more nervous to hear what the teachers told her father about her, but here she didn't have to worry. Flitwick told her father that her customized remedial work was advancing faster than scheduled, and her father didn't seem to even care that her history grade was mediocre at best. The Transfiguration class meeting was downright dull, as he spent most of his time catching up with Krum, who was polite, but obviously did not remember Virgo as well as he was remembered by Virgo. Esme seemed a little embarrassed. Drucy didn't see the point. What was embarrassing about someone who was so happy, who loved life so much?
When he was satisfied, he took his girls outside, where the family coach waited for them. "We're going Christmas shopping first," he told them, "and then we will meet your mother for dinner. She's stopping at Gringott's on her way back from the Ministry." This sounded wonderful to Drucy, and even Esme cheered outright. Their father rarely went out and about for long enough to go shopping with them, and Drucy knew by the look on her sister's face that they were both thinking the same thing. Daddy might not mind taking them into Weasley's Wizard Wheezes.
Indeed, they were correct. First, however, he took them around to the shops for some Christmas shopping. "You want to buy now," he told them, "to make sure that they are delivered promptly. Esme had very little trouble and needed very little guidance in choosing presents for her friends. Drucy needed a little more help. She knew exactly what would best suit Roenna, and she searched through the entire toad section of Magical Menagerie before picking out just the right animal, a sly creature that intelligently resisted the owner's attempts to show off its intelligence with a simple tapping game. At least, Drucy was pretty sure that was what it was doing.
Her other Hogwarts friend, however… As Esme launched off on her own to buy some extra gifts for the family, Drucy confessed to her father that she didn't know how to give Daniel a present. "He's twitchy about being poor," she said, "and he was offended when he figured out that I was giving the shopkeepers money for his things. I think I know what he wants, but I don't know how to give it to him."
"He's in Gryffindor, and a boy," Virgo noted. "And of small means. He wants his own broomstick. Thing is, Hogwarts doesn't tend to like its First-Years using their own broomsticks."
"Yes, you guessed it," Drucy answered. "Well, that, and he likes chess, but he has one already, an old Muggle set from home that he seems to like better than wizard chess. What's the best broomstick out there? I can't even manage to give him the best kind of broomstick, can I?"
Virgo thought about this for a moment. "Come with me," he told her solemnly. "Keep close to me, and whatever you do, don't tell your mother."
He led her through the last place she ever wanted to go, and she stayed so close to him that he almost tripped over her twice. Three-quarters of the way down Knockturn Alley, they turned to face a dark shop with soot-stained windows, crowded between two others. "Brohagan's Broomstick Bits," her father read from the sign, nodding firmly. "This place is awesome. Come see."
It didn't seem terribly awesome to Drucy, but she could see that her father enjoyed looking through it. The place was filled with oddly-shaped sticks, bundles of twigs, and various odd contraptions. Some were soot-stained, some were partly charred, some had notches etched in them. Drucy watched as her father searched through the crates and came up with a worn stick, badly in need of polish, with the label faded and difficult to read. "I hoped we'd find one here. Silver Arrows are almost impossible to find used, now, but they used to be the best stick in the air. Drucy, want to look over at the twig bundles? Look for streamlined twigs in good shape and maybe we'll get lucky. This stick is going to need a new saddle. How does this boy look? Thin as a rail, huh? Like me. I know what he'll need." Virgo was no less pleased with her choice of bundles as with his choice in saddle. "Looks like a batch from a Cleansweep and a batch from a Firebolt. He should have enough twigs to work with here." He added an instructional book and a couple of kits to the bundle. "There, see? It isn't a broom, it's a project. And it isn't a fancy rich thing, because it's all used. Do you think he'll like it?" She had no idea if Daniel would actually like it, but she couldn't resist her father's enthusiasm, and it was about as good as anything she could think of, so she nodded.
As they exited the store, her father suddenly strode forward so quickly that she had to run to keep up. She looked up to see her sister, nearly to Borgin & Burkes, standing and waiting for them to catch up to her. "What on earth are you doing in here alone?" Virgo demanded.
"I was looking for you guys," Esme answered. "I finished, and you weren't anywhere in Diagon Alley, I checked."
Drucy didn't say anything, but she was thinking about the start of the year, when it looked as if Esme had approached Olivander's by Knockturn Alley. Her father seemed to accept Esme's explanation, though, and led them off to spend the rest of their late afternoon at Weasley Wizarding Wheezes.
The holiday lights had begun sparkling as the daylight faded, by the time the trio headed over to The Leaky Cauldron. "Reservation for Bulstrode," Virgo announced, and a pleasant-faced woman about Milicent's age led them to a private table, set for four, candlelit and near a window where Drucy could look out and see the street. It wasn't long before their mother joined them, looking pleased. "How was your business?" Virgo asked, rising to pull out her chair for her.
"It went well," Millicent answered, settling herself slowly. "Good to see you girls. Did you enjoy your shopping?"
Drucy opened her mouth and closed it. Yes, her parents generally didn't fight. Yes, they were rich and had a good family atmosphere. But this seemed to be almost exaggerated, like a family in a children's book. Esme didn't hesitate to ask what Drucy was thinking. "Yeah. What's going on, Mom? I don't remember the last time Dad was out and about like this, and you're both in a really, really good mood."
"You're right," their mother answered. "We do have news, and something to celebrate as a family, and that's why we set up dinner here tonight.
"You're going to have a little brother or sister, probably during summer break."