Chapter 13

If there was any good that came out of Christmas Eve, it was that I now felt relieved. All my troubles seemed to have disappeared that day. After all, it was Christmas Eve. All day, Rachel, Amanda, Fred, George, Ron, Harry and I spent time together in the Common Room. Most everyone had gone home for the holidays, which meant more fun for us. Also, Percy "Big Head" Head Boy Weasley was out with his girlfriend, Penelope Clearwater, most of the time, which meant we could get away with so much more trouble. We lit Filibuster Fireworks, played loud music and did everything that would have got us in trouble if Percy were around. Once the day was done, we headed down to the Great Hall and enjoyed the feast. My face dropped when I saw Malfoy sitting at the Slytherin table. "What is HE doing here?" I asked.

"Didn't you hear? Malfoy's father is under heavy scrutiny from the Ministry because of last year. Malfoy's parents didn't want him around during that," explained Rachel.

I turned and looked at her in confusion. "How do YOU know that?"

But Rachel didn't answer. Once the feast was over, we retreated to the Common Room. Rachel, Amanda, Fred and George decided to go to bed early while Harry, Ron and I sat by the fire, watching the Marauder's Map. It was quite amusing to see Lupin and Snape's bubbles in Lupin's office. No doubt they were in a heated discussion. Those two never got along ever since the first day. The night dwindled on until we were all falling asleep. After I closed the map, I bid the boys goodnight and headed to my four post. As much as my dream was pleasant, it reminded me of what I would never have. Harry and I were running down the stairs of our home and saw Mum and Dad holding presents for us. I ran to Dad and he said to me, "Merry Christmas, Elliot."

I woke up with a pain in my gut. Sirius Black took that away from us and I was going to make sure he paid for it. As I got out of bed and headed down the stairs, I saw I was the first one up. The common room was full of presents, but what caught my eye were two large packages badly wrapped in brown paper leaning against the wall. As I approached them, I saw Harry and my names on them. I was about to unwrap it when everyone came downstairs. "You're up early," stated Harry.

I was about to pick up the large package and open it, but Fred and George pulled me away and Fred said, "You know the rules."

"One at a time," finished George.

Before I could protest, a package was thrown on my lap from the Weasleys. Sure enough, it was another Weasley sweater. Mine was blue again while Rachel's was green, Amanda's bright red, Ron's maroon, Ginny's purple, Fred and George light blue, Percy's yellow and Harry's scarlet, each with our first initial embroidered in white. By the end of the present opening, I had a new prankster kit from Zonkos from the twins, a bag of assorted treats from Honeydukes from Rachel, a book called Prankster's Guide to Magical Mayhem from Amanda, another book from Hermione called Study Tips for the Unwilling, a picture of me after the first Quidditch match from Colin Creevy (he never left us alone), a picture of Harry, Ron and I receiving the Special Services to the School Award from Dumbledore last year from Ron and new Quidditch gloves from Harry. The only thing left was the two large packages. Fred and George handed them to us, stating, "They're heavy!"

Quickly, we opened the gifts and I couldn't believe what was sitting on my lap. We both got a Firebolt! The newest, fastest broom in the world! On each handled were our names embroidered in gold. "THOSE ARE A FIREBOLT!" stated Ron in disbelief.

"Who sent them?" asked Amanda.

I looked around for the card. "No idea."

"Who cares? I can't wait to see the look on Malfoy's face when he sees you two riding Firebolts. Can I have a go, Elliot?" asked Ron.

Before I could do anything, Amanda came over and pulled the broom from my hand and Rachel pulled Harry's from his. "Elliot, think about it. Don't you think it's a bit weird that you two get the most expensive brooms in the world with your names engraved on it?" stated Amanda.

"Maybe we're really loved," I smiled.

"Sirius Black could have bought these brooms and jinxed them!" replied Rachel.

"Right, Black is going to buy two perfectly good brooms and send them to us so it could kill us," laughed Harry.

"The day that happens is the day Scabbers reveals some magical secret," I muttered.

"Still, I don't think you should ride them," said Amanda.

"What are you going to do? Tell McGonagall? She won't do anything! She wants us to win the cup!" I laughed.

For the rest of the day, Amanda and Rachel tried to drill the idea that Sirius Black was out for us and that he could have sent the brooms. I found it ridiculous at best. For the rest of the break, I tried to sneak out and get on the broom, but Amanda and Rachel would stop me and berate me on how I wasn't careful enough. However, the worst came when the holidays ended and Hermione caught wind of the two anonymous brooms. "You want to ride those? Black could have jinxed them!" she said.

I was going to find Amanda and Rachel and…I don't know what, but I'll do something to it. But that wasn't the worst. The worst was our first day of classes and we were all sitting at breakfast. McGonagall came strolling over to us and said in her high voice, "Mr. and Miss Potter, I've heard you two received brooms from an anonymous person."

"Yeah, so?" I asked.

"I am going to confiscate them and have them checked over for any possible jinx and or curse. They will be returned to you once the inspection is done."

I couldn't believe what I had heard. Neither could Ron, Harry and the twins. "But, professor…we need those to win the tournament," I stuttered.

"I know, Miss Potter, but it is for your own safety."

Once she walked away, all our eyes turned to Rachel, Amanda and Hermione who glanced away and suddenly found their food more interesting then what was going on. Actions speak for themselves.

TBC…

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