CHAPTER 22: CHRISTMAS EVE
The sisters decided to exchange gifts on December 24th, just to be themselves, different. Analese and Ella began the day with a snow war against the twins. The victors were obvious as the girls woke up early and built their fort after their run.
Analese and Ella then enjoyed a visit with Professor Lupin. While there, the discussion managed to travel to the notorious pranksters, the Muses. With knowing smirks behind the man's back as he made a second kettle of tea, the sisters changed the subject when the conversation landed on the Muses' elusive identities.
Now, the two girls sat in the common room, enjoying a game of 'Would You Rather'. The common room had emptied soon after nine due to the Drowsy Draught the two girls had begged the house elves to slip in the Gryffindor table's eggnog, which they had easily avoided.
Suddenly, the clock tower loudly struck eleven, announcing the agreed time for the gift exchange.
"Alright, you get to go first cause I can't wait to see you're face." Ella exclaimed as she presented a good-sized box.
"Oh, shiny," Analese cheered, as she in many was still a little girl at times, tore off the shiny wrapping paper. As she lifted the lid, she discovered a gift bag. Sending a questioning glance at the smirking honorary Gryffindor, the fifth year pulled out the bag and removed it's contents. Inside was another wrapped box. The process continued until the gift bag was only holding a small jewelry box.
"You know I don't wear jewelry, don't you?" Analese inquired.
"Oh, it's not something you can wear." Ella winked.
With a slightly confused expression, the redhead snapped open the velvet case to reveal a, well, unexpected gift. The gift box contained two slips of thick parchment and a letter from the gift-giver. Ella had gotten Analese two tickets to the next Puddlemere United Quidditch match.
The older girl's emerald eyes widened even more, if possible, as she read the note.
'HAPPY CHRISTMAS, EUTERPE! HOPE YOU ENJOY THE MATCH!
BY THE WAY, YOU'RE TAKING OLIVER WOOD! NO EXCUSES!
YOUR LOVING SISTER,
TERPSICHORE'
"That's not all I got you." Ella cried.
"This is more than enough, Teri." Analese argued.
"For how much you've done for me, Pae, this is nothing." the third year reasoned with a grin. When the fifth year caught sight of the large box, she donned a less than eager expression. "Don't worry, it's just one box this time." the younger assured.
The child-like gleam returned to Analese's eyes as she ripped the decorative paper off the package. Lifting the lid, the redhead gasped in amazement.
The gift box held a scarlet red ball, a Quaffle. But unlike the plain, store bought ones, this piece of Quidditch equipment was slightly tattered and signed by Analese's favorite team, the team she would see playing, the current players of Puddlemere United. The sparkle in the redhead's unique green eyes was joined by a glint of admiration.
"It's kind of damaged because it's not just signed by the team, but they also played with it. This is the Quaffle from the first match of the season, which they won spectacularly." the raven-haired girl explained, her voice low due to slight humility.
"Ella, thank you, but this is too much." her sister frowned. Her present paled in comparison to these extravagant gifts.
"I don't care if you got me a pile of hippogriff dung, you're my best friend, Sis, I want to make you happy." Ella was showing nothing but pure honesty in her honey-brown orbs.
"Well, I guess I can still give you this." As soon as the words left her mouth, the flames in the fireplace turned emerald green, matching the speaking girl's emotion-filled eyes.
"Who could be using the Floo network to the common room?" Ella pondered aloud, voicing her thoughts. To answer her question, seven people stumbled into the room, all dressed in robes of orange and black.
"Is Analese Evans in here? We would hate to be late." One of the young men called out in to the seemingly empty room.
"Right here, guys. And no worries, you're right on time. Good to see you again, Kevin." the older girl called from her improvised bed set up on the soft carpet floor.
"You're on a first name basis with one of the Chudley Cannons' Beaters?!" Ella's eyes widened in surprise.
"You will be too." Analese whispered back as she stood. Shaking hands with the six foot, fair-haired man, she introduced everyone to her sister.
"Hey guys, this is my sister, Ella Sinesstra. Ella, this is Alex, Kyle, Taylor, Sam, Kat, Kevin, and last but not least, Zack." she gestured to each in turn.
Ella screeched with delight as the professional athletes all smiled at her.
There was a loud thud and a look at the boys' staircase revealed a passed-out Ron Weasley.
"Should we wake him up?" Zack questioned.
"No, once you leave, we'll wake him and tell him he was sleep-walking again. We'll just slip in that we stopped him before he could end up tap-dancing with imaginary spiders on the Slytherin table in his pajamas, again." Ella replied, causing the room to erupt in laughter.
"A Slytherin with a good sense of humor. Go figure," Sam chuckled at her own joke.
"How do you know I'm in Slytherin?" Ella's confidence had clearly returned.
"Lese told us in her letter. She said you were the 'best anti-stereotypical Slytherin there ever was'." Kat quoted with a grin.
Taylor and Kyle were eyeing the Weasley on the stairs warily.
"Just to be safe, I think we should send him upstairs." Kyle began.
"Yeah, we'll have a warning of him coming down in case he wakes up before we leave. It's more time to hide." Taylor concluded.
"Alright, you guys figure out a day you can come back and I'll take care of 'fainting floozy' here." Analese gestured to Ron as the eight Quidditch players snorted with laughter at her clever name.
Bending down, the fifth year grasped the Weasley's arm and swung him lightly onto her back. The lanky redhead hit his head on the banister as the temporary pack mule turned to scale the stairs, causing the common room to fill with even more poorly stifled laughter.
"We're free the Sunday after next. Would that be alright with you?" Alex asked Ella once he had calmed himself.
"For what?" the third year was confused.
"Teri, your Christmas present is a training session with the Chudley Cannons." Analese announced as she descended the stairs again. The strategically cast volume cloaking charm was a stroke of genius on the older sister's part, not to mention well-timed.
Ella's squeal of sheer joy and delight resounded off the stone walls of the circular room. The thirteen year old sprinted to the Gryffindor chaser and tackled her to the ground with a forceful hug.
"That was the loudest noise I have ever heard in my life, not to mention one coming from a person." Zack muttered with a smirk.
"You didn't seem fazed by it, Lese." Kevin noted aloud.
"Well, you get used to it, I suppose." The red-haired fifteen year old shrugged, smiling. "Especially after hearing the twins try to perform an impression of the Fat Lady singing." At this memory, the two Hogwarts students shuddered visibly, a grimace graced their fire-flushed faces.
"You're talking about the Weasley twins, right?" Kat inquired. She had been a seventh year during Analese's first year. Kat had gotten to know the twins through their brother Charlie, having played on the same house team as him for quite a few years.
"Yep, those two mischief makers won't quit their jokes until they die." Analese began.
"And even then, they'll be laughing in the afterlife. Pulling pranks and telling jokes in the Death Roll Comedy Club." Ella finished for her sister, their grins remarkably similar.
At that moment, pounding footsteps were heard racing down the boys' stairs. The seven professional Quidditch players jumped up from their comfortable positions on the couches and dashed to find hiding spots.
Not a second after Sam's vibrant strawberry-blonde hair disappeared behind a tapestry, Ron darted to the occupied couches.
Disappointment was no where near hidden as the young boy recognized the two girls as the 'Inseparable Sisters', their new nicknames from three of the houses (the Slytherins referred to the pair as the 'Insufferable Sisters').
"Did you two see the Chudley Cannons here earlier?" Ron panted.
"Why would the Chudley Cannons be in the Gryffindor common room, late at night, on Christmas Eve, no less, Ron?" Ella's response was clever and neutral, the perfect kind when dealing with a secret, she had given out no information.
"I don't know, but I could have sworn I saw them by the fireplace." the pajama-clad third year boy pondered aloud. "It was probably a dream or something." Ron continued without waiting for a response.
"Could be, Ron, no one unexpected came here." Analese replied with complete honesty as she had been anticipating the arrival of the Quidditch players.
"Maybe you should lay off the late night candy snacks, mate." the raven-haired thirteen year old suggested.
"It just seemed so realistic." Ron muttered as he headed for the boys' staircase again. "Ow, my head." he added as he rubbed the side of his cranium that had collided with the wooden banister.
"Good night, sleep tight, don't let the Doxies bite." the girls called in unison.
The lanky redhead merely nodded absently in response as his mind raced with dizzying thoughts, confusing him even more to no end.
Once the distinct sound of a door closing was heard, the older girl returned the sound cloaking spell to it's original status. Her timing was impeccable yet again as the seven guests broke out in echoing laughter.
"So, when are you guys coming back here to practice?" Analese inquired once she had regained control of herself.
"Yeah, when are you coming back?" Ella wanted to know herself.
"Well, how does a week from this Sunday?" Kevin questioned.
"That's great for me, I don't have Quidditch practice on Sundays. Flint's too sodding lazy to train like Oliver or Diggory or Davies." Ella grinned as she counted off her fingers.
"Guess we'll see you then." the team called as they headed for the fireplace.
"See you." the sisters chimed with cheery waves.
And with that, the Chudley Cannons Flooed to their homes for Christmas. The siblings sat in a comfortable silence for a while until Ella spoke again.
"Best Christmas gift ever." she sighed happily, still not believing it had really happened.
"Better than Fred-in-a-box?" Analese smirked knowingly at the younger girl, receiving a throw pillow soaring towards her head.
"Just barely, Pae, just barely." Ella's distant voice revealed the fact that she was in a dream-like state. Both girls went to sleep very content in their beds, with dancing sugar Fred's and Oliver's aloft in their heads.
