Hello! Finally, a new chapter! Hope this finds you well and puts you into the spirit of the season.
Disclaimer- I own no cats, no squibs and none of the adorable children, not even their parents! Story used is by Clement Clarke Moore.
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The flurries wound through the blocks of Privet Drive and all of the surrounding areas. As families scuttled around city sidewalks, finding joy to bring tot their families in the forms of presents. Though, a group of families knew that there was something more important than gift exchanges. The parents knew that staying alive in these desperate times were more important than anything that their muggle counterparts were worrying about for the holidays. Yet, before they worried about dying at the hands of Voldemort, they needed to drop of their children at Mrs. Figg's house.
Mrs. Figg's smile grew larger as each of the children arrived at her house, no matter how hard she tried to hide it. Watching them was one of the few pleasures that the lonely cat lady had in life. She greeted all of the parents, wishing them a Happy Christmas along with the hopes of a Happy New Year, given the situation.
When all of the parents had apparated to Order headquarters, Mrs. Figg sat down to a half dozen wizards in training with spells cascading off the walls haphazardly due to all of the excitement that Christmas's spell had on the world.
Her two favorite charges, though she'd never mention it, were racing around her house shrieking with delight at the thought of having time away from their mother to plan and scheme. "Mz. Figg, it's been too long!" George said, becoming the perfect gentlemen and planting a very wet kiss onto the stunned woman. Fred right away came to her other cheek, wishing to outdo his twin, in the end it was a wet and sticky mess, with laughter towards all sides. "If you boys would stop kissing me for a moment I might go get the plans that you were working on that last time you were over. Would you like that?"
The two redheads smiled angelically up at her, it took all of her willpower to not be swayed by the two ginger haired duo. "Now, as long as you don't use your inordinate cuteness on me so that I do something I regret, you get your papers back." The twins eyes glinted, soon, all that knew the Weasley twins would know this look, yet Ms. Figg was one of the first people outside of the family to have seen it since it started when they were only a week old. "So, promise that you'll keep your Mrs. Figgy out of your crazed plans." The twins looked back up to her, the look of mischievous masked by that of innocence.
"We prowmis." George responded.
"'Onest." Fred finished.
Mrs. Figg had to turn on her heel to keep the twins from seeing the mad grin on her face. No one would ever be able to submarine her, unless they had an identical twin to help.
Among the twin's planning, Figg had found some old records with Christmas songs. She set them into her dusty record player and watched as all of the children began to respond to the music. Some of the older children sheepishly shied away from the others as their apparent non-skill for dancing showed. The younger ones were much more fun to watch. The toddlers skipped to the music, trying to drag their older sisters and brothers into the fun while the others galloped madly, knocking into furniture yet someone managing to avoid the sleeping babies. After the little ones were tired out from dancing Mrs. Figg brought down her favorite Christmas book and began to read. Fred and George slithered into her lap as she began-
"'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, in hopes that Saint Nicholas soon would be there." All looked on with expectant gazes, most knew the story though they were all entranced by her retelling and the magic that the words held.
As the story went on, she watched child after child fall asleep, with each hoping that their own Christmas dreams would come true. Her voice turned to whisper when the twins finally nodded off. "Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night."
Settling the twins gently onto the armchair that she'd been sitting on, she walked to the kitchen to make herself a mug of hot chocolate. Outside, the world had turned into a peaceful snowy wonderland, a world that knew no troubles. As she gazed out the window, she hoped that one day her own world would become this serene, with no mass murderers ruining the serenity that used to be so common in her world.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. It turned out to be Dumbledore, who, after being let in, smiled warmly at all of the sleeping children. "Happy Christmas Arabella." He gave her a small present, wrapped in smooth, silvery paper. "I trust you had a good night with the children? The meeting has just gotten out and the parents should be apparating shortly. We can only hope that soon the parents can be as at ease as their children are." He smiled gently and disapparated on the spot.
Mrs. Figg stood, puzzled by the strange appearance by Dumbledore. She unwrapped the paper, which revealed a silver chain, with small tendril-like charms. Of course this was no ordinary charm bracelet. A card, with Dumbledore's spindly writing revealed that if the bracelet was worn, the charms would shudder in the presence of dark magic. Smiling, she put on the bracelet, glad that someone as important as Albus Dumbledore would remember someone as small as herself when he had a whole war to deal with.
Finally, the parents began appearing, one by one picking up their children. Finally the Weasley clan and the Potter boy were all that were left. James, Lily, Molly and Arthur apparated together so Mrs. Figg invited them in for hot chocolate. They all talked together about Christmas and other happy topics, like the news that Molly was again pregnant. Having finished their drinks, they moved from the kitchen into the living room, stopping to enjoy the children so at peace. The children were awoken and then they left with their parents, leaving Arabella all alone, on Christmas Eve.
She sank down into the arm chair that was just recently vacated by the Weasley twins and sighed. She missed the days when her family wasn't covered in fur. She reminisced to the last holiday that her family had spent together. Yet, her family wasn't truly her's. She'd grown up as an orphan in London, never fully knowing what had happened to her parents. Though she felt that having a family full of other children to play with was always more appealing then having parents and perhaps one or two other siblings. Life seemed simpler, before she was thrust out into the real-world and forced to leave the orphanage when she turned eighteen.
Without all of her friends around her, she'd needed a replacement. Thus she turned to cats. In them she found companions that were there, though she couldn't always see them. In them she found her childhood friends, and had never once longed for human contact. Even when she realized that she was a squib, she kept to herself and her cats. It was not until tonight that she realized how much she was missing.
She sighed and curled up into her chair and reached for the book she'd read to the children and gazed longingly into the image of the quiet chimney full of stockings and to the side a tree full of presents. Chuckling, she thought of how many stockings she'd need if she were to need to put up one for each of her cats.
Smiling, she walked up to her bedroom, letting her cats out of the spare room and went to get ready for bed, then went to dream about a family of her own, including a cheeky set of twins.
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Hope you all enjoyed, I loved writing this chapter. HAPPY CHRISTMAS IN JULY! Have a good one and wish for more chapters, for you will get them. Enjoy the holiday!