December 8th
Rose carefully tied a crimson satin ribbon around the boxed present she had just been wrapping. She placed the box next to the countless others she had just spent the last hour wrapping and took a moment to appreciate her hard work. Her hips felt stiff as she hoisted herself off of the hard ground and she took a big stretch to get the blood flowing again. This year Rose managed to save up her money to get all her family members a gift this year.
"Feeling charitable this year, Rose?" Rose's cousin, Lily, remarked from her perch on one of the large maroon couches in front of the roaring fire.
"One more snarky remark and I'm throwing your present in the fire," Rose retorted in a joking manner. Although she was growing a little tired of hearing her cousin poke fun at the many presents she spent a good chunk of time wrapping.
"How many of those are for Malfoy?" she asked with a grin.
"None, because he's a git," Rose snapped.
"Was your boyfriend too naughty this year?" Lily jeered and she was beginning to gain attention from some fellow Gryffindors, who eyed the two girls curiously.
"Lily," Rose said warningly. She could feel her cheeks begin to warm up. "Stop."
"Sorry," Lily responded in a tone that didn't sound sorry at all.
"I don't see you, Albus, or Hugo getting any of your Christmas shopping done. Your mother will be livid if you don't at least get our grandparents something," Rose stated as she walked over to the couch her cousin was sitting on and dropped down beside her.
"There are seventeen shopping days before Christmas. So, there are sixteen days before we begin shopping," Lily said in a nonchalant manner.
Rose chewed the inside of her cheek. Her family members' knack for procrastination always managed to get under her skin. Completing tasks ahead of time was something she had definitely inherited from her mother because her father, on the other hand, definitely waits until the day before as well.
"If you wait until the day before, I'm not helping you," Rose said, even though that was something she found herself saying all the time about various things and she always ended up bailing Lily out.
"Yeah, yeah," Lily replied before changing the subject. "So word going around is that Malfoy is going to try and sneak you into a Slytherin party. You'll have to let me know if Slytherin parties are as fun as they claim they are."
"Sorry to disappoint, but I'm not going anywhere with that prat," Rose snapped and shot straight out of her seat, wanting to get away from any conversation that had to do with Malfoy and Slytherins. It had been the first time she had heard this news and it irritated to her and also reminded her that she still had to undergo twenty-three more days of Scorpius Malfoy's ridiculous attempts to woo her.
"Sorry," Lily responded in a tone, that this time, sounded very, very sorry.