Wallflower
Chapter Ten: A Christmas Special
The next day, they went down to the living room to see that there was now a large Christmas tree in the corner of the room, but it was bare of any lights or ornaments. Adelaide sighed.
"I told the house elves to take a break," she said with a slight smile.
"You have house elves?" James asked with a raised eyebrow. She nodded.
"Yeah, but I really don't have any use for them. Every year I give them vacations around the holidays, but it seems every Christmas they get a tree even though I tell them it's their vacation." She smiled, though, and you could tell that she was thankful for her elves thoughtfulness.
"I'm going to set up my dad," she started again, "and then I'm going to bring down the ornaments from the attic (AKA the fourth floor). I'll be right back." She didn't wait for a response, and it took barely a minute for her to roll her father out into the living room so he could watch as everyone put together the tree. He was smiling the whole time, but appeared to be a bit dazed. She wasted no time in trekking up to the attic and levitating about six boxes of ornaments downstairs, along with two boxes of lights. She gently set them on the floor, before she heard the pitter patter of footsteps as Madeline raced down stairs.
"Were you going to decorate the tree without me?" she demanded, and Adelaide smiled.
"I was just getting ready to get you," she said truthfully. Maddie seemed to accept that, before racing over to the boxes and ripping them open. Adelaide laughed, "Whoa, hold on! We have to put the lights up first!" Maddie frowned and crossed her arms, but sat dutifully beside her dad on the couch. Adelaide quickly opened the boxes, and glared at the tangled mess of lights.
"What kind of lights are we using?" Remus asked in an attempt to maybe make this even less chaotic. Adelaide sighed, and nudged the box with her toe.
"I like white Christmas lights, but Maddie likes-"
"Multicolor!" Maddie interrupted gleefully, "Can we, huh? Huh?" Adelaide bit down on her lip, but nodded reluctantly.
"Fine," she agreed, and Sirius wrapped his arm around her shoulder.
"Look, when you live on your own you can do the tree however you want too," he said, "Let Maddie have her fun." Adelaide smiled thankfully at him, before waving her wand. The multicolor lights sprang ouot of the box and untangled themselves before wrapping around the tree perfectly and plugging themselves on. Adelaide smiled.
"One thing I remember from my mother is one-hundred lights per foot of tree," she said happily, "A bare tree is quite a shame." She turned back to the boxes and pocketed her wand, "This is where we do it the muggle way. Everyone grab an ornament and put one wherever."
"Oh! Can I put on the topper?" Madeline asked. Adelaide smiled, and shook her head.
"Not quite yet," she said, "We save that for the end. But you can put the first ornament on." Maddie accepted this arrangement with no complaints, and studied the box of ornaments carefully, before pulling out what looked to be a star made of popsickle sticks and an overload of red and green glitter. In the center was a picture of Jean, a lot healthier looking, another woman who was almost identical to Adelaide, but with strawberry blond hair and brown eyes that didn't hold as much light in them as one might have hoped. She was smiling softly, and balanced on her hip was a two-year-old Maddie. A ten-year-old Adelaide was standing in front of her dad, his hand resting on her shoulder, and was smiling widely showing off her missing two-front-teach. They didn't move much save for Maddie, who was looking around with wide eyes, and their mother, who would cough into her fist, facing away from her daughters. Jean would pull Elizabeth closer to him, and his happy expression would falter for a brief moment, before returning.
"A wonderful choice," Adelaide complemented with a sad smile, and as Maddie ran off to the tree Adelaide briefly explained to her friends, "that was taken a week before my mother died."
When Maddie returned, Adelaide smiled again and began to pick out ornaments, mostly hand blown glass ornaments. "My favorites," she explained with a smile, before she continued to decorate the tree. By the time they were all finished, there wasn't a spot left on the tree to place one. It was odd to see a clearly expensive ornament next to an obviously home made one. Adelaide smiled, when Maddie tugged on her shirt, a pretty red tree-topper in her hands.
"Can I put it on now?" she asked softly, a pleading look in her eyes. Adelaide smiled brightly, before hoisting her sister onto her shoulders with sudden ease and walking carefully to the tree. Everyone was prepared to catch her if she were to fall, and Maddie was just barely able to reach the top and place the topper firmly on to the top. Adelaide quickly put her back on the ground and was engulfed in a hug from her little sister.
"Thank you," she whispered into her stomach, and Adelaide smiled sadly.
"No problem."
They spent the rest of the day (this time using magic) to set up her other decorations. On top of the mantle over the fireplace was now a rather large Christmas village, with the little figurines walking around, and at night they would return into their houses. Many more of these villages could be found all over the house, including on top of the dressers in all of their rooms, on top of the piano in the dining room, and on the island in the kitchen. Wrapped around the banisters of the stairs was garland entwined with red berries and pinecones. There were poinsettias in each room in someplace or another. There was also some mistletoe hidden through out the house (upon Maddie's request) and luckily Remus informed everyone where it was located.
"That was a lot of work, even with magic," Sirius commented with a grin as he reclined on the couch across from Jean, who had fallen asleep with his head propped on his hand. Adelaide plopped down onto his lap with a grin, and Maddie blushed as she shifted in her seat next to an amused Remus.
"Thanks for all the help," Adelaide said with a smile, and every quickly waved her off.
"It was our pleasure," James said from beside Lily. Adelaide's smile widened.
"Thank you for coming over as well," she continued, "Christmas time can be a bit lonely over here."
No one commented on the tear that had rolled down her cheek.
-
"Addy!!! Wake up!! It's Christmas time!"
Adelaide held back a groan, if only for her sister's sake, and yawned theatrically before raising in her bed. Maddie was standing beside her bed eagerly, slight bags under her eyes being the only sign that she was tired. Her eyes were twinkling in excitement, and she was practically vibrating with pent up energy Adelaide smiled and got out of her bed, just pulling on a robe over her pajamas and following her eager sister downstairs. She was surprised to see that everyone else (save for her father) was already up.
"She left you for last," Lily explained with a smile.
"I can tell," Adelaide responded, before gently pushing Maddie foreword, "I have to go get daddy; I'll be right back."
She quickly left the room and entered her fathers and saw that he was already awake and lying in his bed. He turned as she entered and smiled. Adelaide quickly helped him out of bed and into his chair, before rolling him out into the living room across from the large Christmas tree, close enough so that he could feel like he was apart of the celebration.
"Happy Christmas!" Adelaide cried loudly with a large smile. Underneath the tree were piles of Christmas presents, "I'll be your present distributor for today, so be patient while I dig through everything!" Maddie tugged on her shirt again.
"Can I be your assistant?" she asked eagerly, and Adelaide smiled.
"Of course!" she cried merrily, before conjuring up a Christmas hat and placing it on her head, tossing the white puff out of her face. She wasted no time and soon, everyone else was wearing a Christmas hat of sorts; Remus and James both had reindeer antlers, Lily and Madeline had on 'elf' hats, and Sirius got the only other Santa hat. Jean politely turned down the offer of a sailors hat, and Adelaide kept smiling as she placed it on his head anyways, earning a dazed smile in return.
"OK!" she cried enthusiastically, "The first present is for…" she waited patiently as Maddie scrambled to the tree and pulled a present out at random, before hurrying back over to hand it to Adelaide. She read the tag and smile, "Lily, from her darling parents!" (After Lily informed her parents of her visit with Adelaide, her parents had sent her presents early, and Lily had dutifully waited until Christmas to open them).
"Probably a sweater," Lily said with a smile, and she tore through the wrapping only to find that instead it was a gorgeous bracelet with Midnight Australian Opal inlay on either side of an oval stone, which a card revealed to be Tanzanite. She immediately put it on with a large smile, and snuggled closer to James, who kept his arm wrapped around her in a soothing manner.
"Next!" Adelaide called, and Maddie opted for staying by the tree (sick of setting by her sister while she cuddled with Sirius) and tossed her a random present. Adelaide quickly read the card and smiled, "Maddie! This is for you from Daddy!" she tossed it back, and glanced back at her father with a shocked expression. He was watching with a smile, and Sirius quietly leaned to her ear,
"Did you get this?" he whispered, and Adelaide slowly shook her head.
"No; this is really from him."
"Oh, I love it!" Maddie cried, before running over to Jean and hugging him tightly around his neck. He returned the hug with a smile, and Maddie pulled away to see a crimson colored scarf made of a soft material, with roses sewn into it with black thread; it was clearly a muggle creation.
"It took me two months to find something for you," Jean said softly, with the smile a permanent feature on his face. Maddie returned to the tree with a vibrant smile, her scarf already wrapped around her neck. Maddie quickly tossed her sister another box, and Adelaide quickly read the tag.
"Remus!" she said with a smile, "This is from Maddie!" She chunked it towards his head, and he caught it before it hit him in the head. Maddie was blushing furiously and hiding behind the tree while he opened it. He smiled kindly, and it was revealed to be a single pink rose.
"Thank you, Maddie," he said, and the girl bashfully buried her head further into her scarf.
"Welcome," she murmured softly, and Adelaide fought the urge to laugh.
"What next, Mads?" she cried, and Maddie quickly threw her another box. She read it, and blushed.
"It's for me, from Sirius," she said. She opened it slowly and gasped when she saw it. It was a white-gold necklace with a small rose, with rubies for petals and emeralds for the stem. She wasted no time in throwing herself at Sirius and kissing him, causing his eyes to widen as he tumbled onto his back.
"Oi, get a room!" James chastised playfully, causing Adelaide to pull away with a blush.
"Thank you," she said with a smile, and Sirius coughed into his hand.
"N-No problem," he murmured. Adelaide smiled slightly, before holding out the jewelry.
"Can you help me put it on?" she asked politely, and he nodded. She turned her back to him and lifted her hair so that it would be easier to clasp. When he finished she turned back around and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.
"Addy!" Maddie said loudly, "I got another present to 'stribute!" Adelaide quickly turned her attention back to her sister, who tossed her another box. She read the tag before tossing it at James.
"It's from your parents!" she said as he caught it. He opened it quickly, and took out a broom care kit (his had been running low).
"Sweet," he said with a grin, before setting it beside him.
They continued to open presents until the packaging was all over the floor, and Adelaide quickly moved the trash into a conjured garbage bag, which she placed to the side.
Lily had ended up getting a ring from James that was white gold with tanzanite perched between two strips of opal (he admitted he asked her parents what they got, and he did his best to match them). She also got a book from Adelaide on Greek Mythology, chocolates from Remus and Sirius (boy, did that girl have a sweet tooth), and a picture from Maddie proclaiming her, Lily, and Adelaide to be 'Best Friends Forever' that was accompanied by a charm bracelet with a little heart, the word 'Best' engraved into it. Maddie was excited as she told her that she could get more charms to attach to them.
James had gotten a denim jacket from Lily that he looked particularly good in, a book that contained a record of all Major-League Quidditch games from 1950 to 1965 (including pictures and play-by-plays for each game) from Adelaide, some muggle chocolate from Remus, and some top-of-the-line Quidditch gloves as well as his own golden snitch from Sirius. Maddie had gotten him a cheep locket with a picture of Lily inside (no one knew were she had the time to get any of these things, but Adelaide suspected Nurse Witte had something to do with it).
Remus had gotten a book from Adelaide that contained a large range of information on the Defense Against the Dark Arts that contained information from all Seven years at Hogwarts (she, in fact, had managed to get it put together; it was all information from her notes she had taken from each of her classes) which would adapt with the new things they would learn this year with a simple spell. Lily had given him some chocolates (they shared a laugh at that), Maddie had also given him a hand drawn picture of a stick figure him (which he said he would frame and stick it on his nightstand, to her delight) and an expensive looking robe from Sirius, since he had accidentally set Remus' last expensive robe on fire.
Sirius had gotten a nice leather jacket from Adelaide that looked to be fairly expensive, a pocket knife from James that could unlock doors, a muggle book from Remus called Dracula (which Sirius joked about, thinking it was the name for a dog), some chocolates from Lily, and Maddie had gotten him a yellow-gold bracelet with a strap of gold that read 'Adelaide' in cursive. This caused Adelaide to blush and stutter like a fool, and Sirius put the bracelet on, to Maddie's delight. To his surprise, he also got a gift from Jean. It was a simple ring that was made of titanium, with a strip of onyx through the middle.
Adelaide had ended up getting a simple bracelet from Lily with little dog charms hanging from it (which cause Sirius to laugh, and for some reason so did Adelaide), a charm bracelet from Maddie that was the same as Lily's with 'Friends' carved into it, a cloak from Remus that had white velvet lining inside (he remembered how she liked Sirius' cloak from Halloween) with a hood, and a variety of chocolates from James that she would probably end up sharing with Lily and Maddie. Her father (to her surprise) had gotten her a scarf similar to Maddie's, but was made of blue material with the roses sewn in with white thread.
Maddie was ecstatic to find that she got presents from everyone. While Remus and James both got her chocolates (which she adored), she also got a small stuffed dog with wild black fur and grey eyes, and a ring from Adelaide that was too big for her finger, so it was on a white gold chain. It had a large diamond on a white-gold band, and Adelaide smiled and told he rit had been their mothers wedding ring. Maddie had also gotten herself a charm bracelet to match Lily's and Adelaide's that read 'Forever'. She had also gotten a new jacket from 'Jean' that was really from Adelaide, but no one said anything.
Jean had sat back and watched patiently, and ended up getting a joint gift from Adelaide and Madeline. It was a scrap book, which Maddie had helped decorate, and inside it went from year to year, including pictures from when he met Elizabeth to 1966. It was very large, and Jean had started to tear up when he flipped through the book and spotted a picture of his wife, with a newborn Adelaide in her arms. Everyone politely ignored the tears that rolled down his cheeks as he hugged his daughters tightly.
-
After eating breakfast (they were hungry now that the excitement from opening presents was over) Adelaide rushed everyone to get dressed so they could go outside. She wore her new scarf tightly around her neck, and for kicks she also wore her cloak from Remus. Everyone ended up wearing their new jewelry and jackets, and Adelaide rushed them all out onto her back porch, where snow was lightly falling.
"We're making snowmen!" she declared, "It'll be a contest! And since Maddie's so small,"
"Am not!"
"- I'm going to team up with her while the rest of you fend for yourselves!" she finished. Sirius chuckled.
"You really get into the Christmas spirit, don't you?" he asked, but instead got a face full of snow.
"Shut up and build! No magic allowed!" Adelaide demanded, her cheeks already turning pink. Sirius grumbled, but did as she instructed.
It was a very cold two hours seeing as how after they all got the basic body they decided to use their own clothing to dress them up. While Adelaide refused to let Madeline donate anything to the cause, her snowman ended up wearing her scarf and cape (which to her joy matched) and used some stones for eyes, nose, and a large smile.
Sirius had some trouble trying to get his Jacket to stay on the snowman, but he managed well enough. His snowman had the traditional buttons, also out of pebbles, and his snowman was smirking. He also picked up some pine straw and gave him some hair.
Remus seemed to put the most care into making his, and after placing his robe on the creation he used pebbles for eyes, but instead used his finger to draw a nose and a mouth. He also drew on a vest to the snow mans middle, since he didn't want him to appear like a nudist (he looked pointedly at Adelaide and Maddie when he said that).
James looked rather ridiculous, with his new gloves sticking out from his side making him look as if he had very small arms. He didn't give up his denim jacket (he was too cold) and instead took a leaf from Remus' book and drew on, to everyone's amusement, a rather crude version of six-pack abs. He was proud of his achievement, until Lily hit him in the back of the head with a snowball.
Lily had not used any clothing on hers, and went very traditional and used black rocks for eyes, and rushed inside, found a carrot, and stuck it in his face to give him a nose, and used pebbles for his mouth. She ended up making a quick little headdress from some flowers (after asking Adelaide for permission) and used sticks for arms.
"OK!" Adelaide cried, "Now…who the heck is going to be the judge?"
"Can I be the judge?" Maddie asked with wide, adorable eyes. Adelaide easily gave in, and Maddie made a show of inspecting each and every snowman, from head to bottom (seeing as he lacked toes…). She stepped back with a bashful smile, before announcing.
"Remus wins!"
"What? No fair!" James said mock angrily, "She fancies him! I call foul play!"
"Now, now," a voice said from behind them, "If Maddie thinks that Remus won then Remus won." They turned and saw Nurse Witte standing there with a camera in her hands. She smiled politely at them.
"I hope you don't mind, but I was taking pictures while you made your snowmen," she said. Adelaide's eye lit up.
"Thank you, Ms. Witte!" she said with a smile, "That was a wonderful idea!"
Soon, everyone made their way back inside (after posing for pictures with each others snowmen, James and Sirius being the most ridiculous, and getting their clothes back) and sat down at the dining room table, where Nurse Witte sat out some hot cocoa for everyone.
"I heard that they're playing a movie down in town," Nurse Witte said with a smile, "You might want to go check it out; I hear it's very popular with muggles."
"I love movies!" Lily said with a smile. Adelaide shook her head regretfully.
"I have to look after dad," she began but Nurse Witte quickly shushed her.
"Nonsense, I can look after him," she said.
"But it's Christmas-"
"And I've already celebrated," the Nurse continued, "You go and have your fun; bring Maddie along, it can be quite an experience for her." Adelaide smiled thankfully, and everyone quickly finished their hot cocoa before once again getting dressed, this time in muggle clothing. They all wore jeans and thick sweaters, and in Sirius and James' case, their new jackets, and in Adelaide and Maddie's case, their new scarf's. They quickly walked out of the house and into the cold wind, and jogged down into town, Lily explaining what a movie was while Adelaide supported Maddie on her hip without complaint.
It was fairly easy to get into the movies, since Adelaide made a habit of having muggle money in stock, and found seats in the middle of the theatre.
"What are we seeing again?" Sirius asked from his spot beside Adelaide.
"Rocky Horror Picture Show, I believe," she whispered into his ear, lacing their fingers together. The lights dimmed and silence greeted them. After a few commercials, the movie began with a wedding scene…
When the movie ended, everyone was a bit surprised at how the movie had been, and still giggling insanely with the music stuck in their heads, and quoting the movie every now and then. While Maddie didn't quite understand some of the movie, she did find the humor of some of the situations (though Adelaide slightly regretted taking her to see it).
"Muggles are so odd," Sirius said with a chuckle as they left the theatre and went back into the blistering cold.
"I'm just a sweet transvestite," James was singing to himself, causing Lily to erupt into giggles.
"But did you see how everyone stood up and did the time warp?" Adelaide asked with a smile, "It was bloody hilarious!"
"And that one guy who was in the golden Speedo?" Remus asked as he walked with Maddie, her small hand clinging tightly to his, and everyone shivered at the memory.
"That was very scary," Lily commented, and James, noticing how she kept shivering, tossed his arm over her shoulder.
"This might just have been my favorite Christmas so far," Sirius whispered into Adelaide's ear. She smiled and wrapped her arm around him, kissing his cheek.
"Me too."
-
Disclaimer: Harry Potter and all things concerning belong to J.K. Rowling. I own Adelaide Vicknair, Vanessa Wolfe, Caryn Gree, Elise Barnes, Madeline Vicknair, Annalisa Bertucci, Professor Sicily and Jean Vicknair.
A/N: …I feel bad because it's so happy right now…and chapters' eleven/twelve/thirteen aren't…grrr! I NEED MORE HAPPY!! NOM NOM NOM!!!!
And quick question: for Christmas, does you're family wait until Christmas day to open ALL of the presents, or do they open presents from family on Christmas eve and open Christmas from 'Santa' on Christmas day?
Yours truly,
B.E.N.
