I kind of see Lydia as either Lucy Hale or Anna Popplewell, just thought I'd tell you. If you see her as anyone else, tell me because I'm curious.
I left George's flat pretty late and used the Floo to go back to the castle. I packed my trunk before bed because I intended to leave for my parents' house tomorrow for the holiday. All my brothers and I spend the week of Christmas there, but I was heading a week or so earlier than the others. Like I mentioned before, there were five of us and we were all pretty close even with me being at Hogwarts sometimes.
When I went to strip down for my shower, I realized my sweater smelled like George. It made warmth fill me and my smile found its home on my lips. We'd only had three or so dates and I was already in so deep with him. Maybe it was because we shared such intimate parts of ourselves with each other so early…
I didn't change out of my pyjamas when I gathered my things to leave the next morning. I pulled my hair into a bun on top of my head and brushed my teeth before floating my trunk down to McGonagall's office to Floo home, beyond thankful she agreed to link the two of them for my convenience.
I wasn't wearing my robes so I scurried through the hallways quickly, sticking to the shadows. It was holiday break and the dress code wasn't strictly required, but it was still frowned upon to not be in your street clothes as a professor. It was still early in the day so there weren't any students, making my trek easier to the office.
"Professor Duke, are you leaving?" Professor McGonagall asked from behind her desk.
I sat my trunk down with my owl's cage on top of it before turning to face her. "Yes, I'm going to my parents' house for the holiday."
"Have fun and be safe," she said, flashing me a knowing smile as I maneuvered my things and myself into the fireplace.
McGonagall waved at me before I was sucked up into the Floo. My parents were amused with anything and everything magical, the Floo included. They heard the sound of it roaring to life and rushed into the room right as I landed. Persephone hooted happily at the familiarity of the house, knowing mum made her treats and spoiled her rotten.
"Poppet!" dad greeted, jolting up and rushing over to help me pull out my trunk. "I missed you so much!"
Once he let me go, mum hurried in and hugged me even tighter than dad. Persephone seemed to get agitated at being ignored and started making annoyed noises. Mum immediately let me go and hurried over to her, reaching into the cage and offering her finger before going to the kitchen. Of course the woman already made her treats, she might love that owl more than she loved all five of her kids and it wasn't even hers!
"Sometimes I think you love that owl more than your own kids, woman!" I shouted after her retreating back, only for her to laugh in return.
"I figured you and I could get started on hanging the some of the lights outside tonight," dad suggested, gesturing to the biscuits on the table beside the tea kettle. "Let's get the proper rations first, then head out. Sound like a plan?"
I nodded and slid off my slippers, curling up on the couch with a knit blanket. "I missed home, you barking out orders and mum spoiling my owl."
He grinned and came over to sit beside me, pouring me a cup of tea with honey just the way I liked. I dunked my biscuit inside and smiled when he mirrored my action, biting into the sweet right as I did. The two of us were in sync more times than not, something that annoyed my mother. She always said one of my father was too many, she didn't sign up for another one.
"I wasn't kidding about helping me decorate the house, poppet," he told me after we finished our snack.
Of course he wasn't.
It was a little after four when we finished hanging all the lights and putting up the decorations outside. My fingers were frozen and I couldn't feel my toes, but dad's wind burnt cheeks and happy smile made everything worth it. Plus I loved the way our house looked when it was decorated, greatly resembling a gingerbread house.
The second we walked back inside, the smell of mum's potato soup filled my nose. I didn't realize how hungry I was until I walked in and my stomach growled viciously. Dad laughed at the sound before directing me toward the kitchen after we stripped out of our layers, leaving our snowy boots at the door.
Mum was a primary school teacher and dad was a carpenter so we never really had much money growing up. Especially with five kids to feed, but they always put food on the table and a roof over our head. This house was as much a part of our family as any of my brothers or either of my parents.
"So, how's work been?" mum asked after we'd all sat down to eat together at the table.
"Oh, it's been wonderful as always. The students are brilliant and I'm sure they're going to do so well on their exams," I told her as I cooled down my soup with a spell and did the same to their bowls. "I even pulled a prank on them with a snow globe, making the classroom basically a blizzard."
"You pulled off a prank?" dad asked in surprise. "No offense, poppet, but you're not exactly the pranking type. That's more John's area…"
John was one of my younger brothers and dad wasn't kidding. Out of the five of us, I was the meekest of them all. Honestly, before I started teaching at Hogwarts, I never really spoke or did anything to make myself stand out. The only people I ever spoke to were in my friend circle, the circle that dropped me after the War.
So, I've kind of skirted around the topic of my friends from Hogwarts. I mentioned my bad experience with my ex-boyfriend, if you could even call him that, but I didn't really talk about my friends –or technically my friend. George mentioned my blonde friend when he was telling me all the things he liked about me the night we had dinner together in his flat, but I didn't tell him her name or about our relationship because it was too painful to talk about.
Her name was Kari Weathers and we used to be best friends. She and I shared a car together our very first trip to Hogwarts and every one after that. I kind of figured our kids would do the same later in life, but fate seemed to have a different idea.
We both came back to fight during the War and were fighting together most of the time. The reason I got the Fiendfyre curse on my back instead of other parts of my body was because the curse was aimed at her, but she ran off before it could hit her. The two of us were back to back so it hit me instead, and she never came to check on me or apologize or anything of the nature. I assumed she was still alive and living a life somewhere, I would just never be part of it.
It wasn't that I was ashamed of it or anything, I just didn't want people to see me as any more wounded than they already did. I mean, whose best friend just leaves them after they take a curse in their place?
"Stranger things have happened, father," I replied with a hopefully convincing smile.
I could tell by both my parents' faces, they picked up on my silence but weren't going to ask any questions. A thought harbored in the back of my mind that they were afraid I'd fall back into my depression if they weren't careful about the things they brought up around me. They never spoke of the War or Kari or anything from that time in my life unless I brought it up first, then they tread very lightly.
"I'm glad you're happy where you are, poppet," he said, going back to his soup after a couple seconds. "I'm also glad you're here to help your mother go shopping for presents tomorrow instead of me!"
He said that in a rush and it made me roll my eyes. Dad loved Christmas as much as me, but he hated shopping with mother for good reason. She became nearly impossible to be around when she was shopping, dead set on finding the perfect gifts for everyone. That wasn't necessarily a bad thing, she just got intense and it was a lot to handle.
"Lydia loves me and deals with my insanity a lot better than you anyway," mum sassed playfully, her eyes twinkling as she looked at my dad.
They were so in love and I'd always loved hearing stories of their lives together. My favorite was hearing how they met, even if I'd heard it a million times. My brothers weren't interested in the slightest, but I couldn't get enough. It was easy to see how in love they were by looking at them, they just carried the love on their faces.
"I love you both," I told them randomly, interrupting their conversation about what to get for my oldest brother Sam.
The surprise on their faces turned into adoration quickly. "We love you, too. And we're glad you're home for the holidays. We miss you while you're away."
"I miss you guys, too, but I love it there," I told them, finishing off my soup. "It's what I needed after everything. It kind of healed me."
Hogwarts did heal me, and I've talked about it before. If I'd never gone to teach muggle studies, I don't think I would be around anymore. Not saying I would've killed myself or anything as crass as that, but I wasn't taking care of my body at all. And there's only so much the body can survive before it gives up.
"And we're so grateful for that," mum told me, taking my hand from across the table and giving it a comforting squeeze.
"So am I."
Like I said, I'd love to hear who you see Lydia as or her mum and dad. I'm a curious Ravenclaw by nature, after all.