Christmas break ended three days after the new year, and Athena was glad to have the rest of her friends back.
All of her roommates came back to piles of candy on each bed, but they also had something more personal in each pile.
Yolandi got a Slytherin harness for Chuck, and she got a lot of coconut oil face and hair products that Athena made herself. Yolandi was ecstatic, and gave Athena a delicate golden cuff that wrapped around her ear.
Jennifer got a year's subscription to the muggle magazine Rolling Stone, Jennifer had a very healthy obsession with Muggle rockstars. The magazine would be first delivered to a post office that was "in the know" about the Wizarding world, and then it would be sent to Hogwarts. Jennifer was delighted, and she gave Athena a thick drawing pad, and very expensive looking drawing pencils.
Sierra was tricky, because no one really knew what she liked, but Athena managed to squeeze some details out. She got Sierra a set of lipsticks and nail polishes in over thirty colors, ranging from periwinkle blue, to blossom yellow. Sierra was a freak about matching. She gave Athena a bunch of House Color hair bows, that shot fireworks out if you clapped. Athena was mildly afraid they would light her on fire, but Sierra explained that it was charmed to be harmless. Athena promised to wear them to the first Quidditch game.
The first time she saw Scorpius, she handed him a small bag filled to the brim of his favorite candy, and a box full of steals she had gotten from Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. He shyly gave her a bracelet, that apparently had charms on it from him, James, Rose, and Albus.
One charm was a lions head that would roar quietly when squeezed, from Albus. One was a quidditch broomstick, from James. One was a rose that would open and close periodically, and the last one was a snake that would open it's mouth and compliment her, like "You're fantastic!" or, "You're worth it!" The voices changed every time, so she wouldn't know if it was James, or Rose, or the other two boys telling her it. She actually cried a bit as she placed it on her wrist, hugging him and pressing kisses around his face. He spluttered and pushed her away, blushing and laughing.
The first thing she did with Jennifers gift, was draw a Weasley/Potter family portrait. The papers were big and square, each side at least the length of her arm. She drew their faces the way she saw them, happy and full of love, and after a lot of contemplation, she drew Fred, standing next to George. You could tell it was Fred, because he was younger, and had both ears. They were all smiling, their arms wrapped around eachother. All of the kids were in front, save for little Lily Potter, who was sitting on Harry's shoulders. She also added something she noticed about them, that she refused to leave out. These people knew what pain was. They have loved and lost, and loved again. They knew hell, and she drew that in their eyes. She had to say, her favorite person to draw in the picture was a boy she had learned wasn't exactly biologically in the family, but he was close enough. His name was Teddy, and when she saw him, his hair was red and green, as per festiveness. He did say he loved the colour baby blue, so that was the colour she shaded his hair. She ironically only did everyone's hair in colour, copper where it should go, black where it would go, and a soft brown for Hermione.
She ripped a page in half, and did the thing she was looking most forwards to, which was drawing Bill and Fleur. She drew them facing eachother, the scars upon his face prominent, with Fleur's hand stroking them lovingly, her lips pulled into a small, adoring smile, and his eyes looking at her like she was all seven wonders of the world. She coloured this fully, the copper of Bill's hair a shocking contrast against Fleurs' alabaster skin, her blonde soothing against his sun-tanned.
She borrowed Jennifers Great Grey owl named Twilight, for he seemed to be the only bird large enough to take the large papers.
A week later she got a howler. It landed on her breakfast plate, and everyone gasped, looking apprehensive. It opened, and she was blasted with fifty "Thank you's!" and "IT'S BLOODY FUCKING BRILLIANT" from George, Bill and Fleur both sounding very choked up when they yelled "We love it!", and a very pleased Teddy calling "You're fantastic!"
During the entire ordeal Athena was covering her bright red face, laughing terribly, while Rose, James, and Albus screeched in utter stitches. Fred was there for it, and she was sure that if he were alive, he'd be dead from lack of oxygen, he was laughing so hard.
After the reunion, the next couple of months of school went by uneventfully. It wasn't until April, Athena realized she was really surrounded by people she loved. Her and Jethro were partners in crime, always sneaking out to the kitchens to snack, hanging out in the common room while he strummed the stolen ukele and her humming muggle songs.
Jennifer, Yolandi and Sierra always playfully teasing her, always playing with her hair, and complimenting her at every turn. She drew them each when they asked, and even when they didn't.
She, Albus, Rose, Scorpius and sometimes James would alternate between sitting at her table and theirs. She soon became friends with people across both tables, and even Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs. Leon and Katie would give her exaggerated winks in the hallway that would make her laugh, and she'd get questioning looks from others, that she'd ignore by shoving her face into her journal.
Her journal wasn't often filled with words, but drawings. In the rare moments she was left alone, she would go to the Black Lake and sit by her favorite tree, drawing and watching the people around her. It was her favorite hobby.
There was an almost embarrassing amount of drawings of Delilah, but lets not ponder that.
Easter break was quickly approaching, and when she heard that Jethro would be visiting his grandparents over the break. On the outside, she was very happy for him, but she held back how she'd be terribly bored.
Until Scorpius and Rose offered their houses.
It was agreed that Athena would spend the first week and actual Easter with the Weasleys, and the second week with the Malfoys.
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Hermione, Ron, Harry, and Ginny met them at the station, and Athena politely asked them to wait for her. She had seen Scorpius walk off, and she ran after him. She caught up with him, and grabbed his shoulder.
"Do you think I'd let you go without meeting your folks? I can't just bardge into their house without meeting them!" She giggled, and he nodded, smiling brightly. They walked up to a handsome couple. She looked at Scorpius, a surprised smile upon her face.
The man who Scorpius resembled the most, almost scarily in fact, grabbed his son and pressed a kiss against his forhead. Athena stood back, smiling shyly and waving slightly. Scorpius grabbed her elbow, and she smiled wider.
"This is Athena, Father, Dad. She's the one that'll be staying with us." He seemed proud to have made a friend, and Draco looked at the girl almost accusingly. This was the girl that had made his shy little Scorpius come out of his shell? This girl was a tiny thing, and seemed like she couldn't speak up for herself, much less his son.
"Hello, Athena. I'm Draco Malfoy, and this is my husband, Terrence Higgs." Recognition flashed acroos Athena's face, and her face broke out into a bright smile.
"You're Justin's father! Will he be joining you for Easter?" Draco and Terrence seemed taken aback.
"No, he'll be with his mother for this holiday. How do you know my son?" Justin said, his head tilting to the side curiously.
Athena looked at Scorpius incredulously. "How do they not know? I swear to Merlin, Malfoy, if you don't explain everything to them by the time I visit, I will Bat-Bogey hex you into next week." She said these words in a sisterly-fashion, and it brought small smiles to the fathers' lips.
"He and Marcus Pucey are the first people to welcome me to Slytherin. I had a kind of... Panic attack. Scorp right here will explain everything, won't he?" She said, grinning and patting Scorpius on the back, before she turned an ran.
Draco looked up, and caught the eyes of a one Harry Potter. Harry actually gave him a friendly smile, and Draco nodded at him, wrapping his arm around Scorpiuses shoulder, as the boy explained to them everything that had happened, from Athena offering a spot in her carriage, to her Christmas present.
When Athena finally got to the Weasley's, she grinned. It was a cosy house, and she was greeted by a very rough looking ginger cat. The cat placed its paws on her thighs and meowed at her. She was holding Delilah, and she kneeled down, letting the animals become aquainted. They sniffed eachother, and the cat lay a single lick against the rabbits head. Everyone let out a sigh of relief, and they walked inside.
"That was Crookshanks. He's half-kneazle, so we were kinda using him as a detection service. He can tell frauds or not, so if he had freaked out over you or Delilah, we would've had a few questions..." Hermione explained, and Athena nodded understandably.
Afther everyone was settled in, Rose and Athena retired to Roses room. Athena set up Delilah's litter box in a corner, and she put her bows of food and water by it. Rose snuck downstairs and grabbed a couple of apples, that they split between them. Athena would take a bite of her apple, and then Delilah would take a bite. It was very companionable.
She and Rose talked about what their years had been like so far, and Rose started to prod at Athena about who she liked.
"You first." She said, looking at Rose and crossing her arms.
"M-Me? I... Uh.. I don't like anyone." Roses face said otherwise. Her cheeks were pink and her eyes were averted.
"Liiieeess!" Cried Athena, throwing a pillow at her friend.
"W-Well, Joscelyn Hobbs is really, really pretty..." Rose said, and Athena's eyes lit up.
"A-And so is Logan Martyn.." Rose added, like an afterthought.
Athena told her how she had spent Christmas break with those two very people, and Rose seemed entranced.
"Now it's your turn, Athena! Who do you like?" Rose prodded, and Athena grinned evilly.
"Well, James is pretty hot."
Rose looked at her in shock, and Athena broke down laughing, falling off of her bed and clutching her sides.
Rose was still staring at her when she got back up, wiping a tear from her eye.
"I-I'm kidding, Rose. I swear, oh my gosh, your reaction was priceless. Oh my gosh." She gasped, and Rose cracked a smile, giggling also.
They both went to sleep, smiling. Athena with her headphones in, and Rose with a happy smile on her face.