starry
christmas holidays. you have decided to stay. anywhere is better than home, better than the arguments, the yelling, the crying, the hate. your parents don't seem to care if you're there or not. they just care about making the other just as miserable as they feel.
you're not the only one that has decided to stay. sirius is staying, his family's even more messed up than yours. doesn't help that he's in gryffindor and his entire family is slytherin. very slytherin. james and remus have stayed too, they're keeping sirius company like good friends do. no one has stayed for you. well, not strictly true. she is staying over christmas too. her family are going skiing, some sort of muggle sport, but she broke her leg falling off a broom at the weekend, so she has decided to stay behind too.
you're not the only one happy about this. james flirts shamelessly with her and finds it hilariously funny when she rejects him. he will never give up. james is always with her and sirius is always with james so it makes being with her very difficult as sirius goes out of his way to make life difficult for you.
HE'S AN ARSEHOLE.
yes, one that delights in taunting you. you're afraid that she actually finds his insults funny and so you have turned to avoiding them all. plus, there's some boys from slytherin also staying here so you hang out with them instead. they're not her but they'll do.
christmas day. there is quite a large group sitting under the starry sky of the great hall, dumbledore at the foot of the table. the ceiling is clear, with the stars as bright as her smile, and you find yourself pointing out some of the constellations to her which she delights in. you motion to the sagittarian constellation, her star sign.
candles float above the table, casting light on the mountains of food. plates of carved turkey lie next to giant bowls of roasted potatoes, crisp on the outside, piping hot and soft on the inside. layers of gammon, dripping with honey, fight for space with peas and carrots steaming with heat, butter melting on top of them. there are towers of yorkshire puddings, stacks of sweet parsnips, piles of sausages wrapped in bacon and heaps of brussel sprouts. gravy, as thick and rich as velvet, along with redcurrant jelly, are being passed up and down the table.
there is a general sense of warmth in the room, despite the fact you are only two seats down from james and sirius with only her as a barrier. it appears they have taken a day off from bullying you. well, almost. sirius has only made two comments about the size of your nose.
she is wearing the green scarf that you bought for her, a green that is faint in comparison to her sparkling eyes. she tells you a joke and you laugh, unused to the sound of happiness.
you feel strange, you rarely feel like this. you realise you're happy, as happy as you've ever known under the starry sky of the great hall, sitting next to the girl you love.