Again, sorry for the wait, been on holiday in Norfolk this time. But I've been busy writing and here's the chapter.
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I glanced at my watch as I bumped my way back to my bed, half five. Ow! I was so engrossed in the 'Not waking everyone up and causing an international incident which I would probably not come out of alive or at least with all my limbs intact' that I failed to see the large pile of glossy parcels at the foot of my bed.
I walked straight into it. Something went clang, I swore, stepped back into another heap of parcels, which also went clang. Then, I kid you not, they began to fall, cartoon style, knocking into another pile, then another, then another. Louder than anything I'd heard. Frankly a herd of elephants could have been quieter.
Twenty minutes later when my so called friends had finished beating me around the head with a variety of pillows, duvets and odd socks they finally collapsed onto their respective bed, giggling, and attacked their piles of parcels.
I ripped the brightly coloured paper of on a newest of charcoal pencils (mum and her boyfriend Martin) make up (the dangerous kind (Jazz)) a copy of 1001 magical water species of England and Scotland (Alice) a new Gryffindor Quidditch scarf (Max) a election of Honeyduke's finest (Lizzie) the latest copy of a magical murder mystery series by K. I. Dnapp that I liked (Lily) and an automatic coffee maker that seemed to be able to read my mind for when I desperately needed coffee (Sirius).
I opened a box of Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans and offered them to Jazz. She took one then gagged and dry swallowed a few times.
"Sprouts!" She gasped, after the offending article had been thrown out of the window to land on some poor unsuspecting first year's head.
Lilt burst into tears.
Jazz looked confused. "It wasn't that bad….Well it was but not enough to cry about, actually maybe-"
Max sent her a 'stop talking now and shut your mouth before I shut it for you' look. I walked across to Lily's bed, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and easing the piece of crumbled parchment out of her clenched hands.
It was dated Christmas Eve
Dear Lily It read
How are you darling? Enjoying Christmas? It would have been lovely to see you but I'm sure you would have much preferred to stay at school, being your last year at Hogwarts and all.
As you probably know, (I'm sure you and Tuney are regular correspondents)that she's set the date of her wedding for the 4th of June. I've tried to persuade her to move it back about month so it'll be in your holidays but I'm sure Professor Dumbledore will allow you to come home for a weekend.
Has she asked you to be her maid of honour yet?
Your father and I still think she's very young to be marrying but she does seem very much in love with Vernon and at nineteen she is old enough to make her own decisions.
We're empty nesters now with Tuney getting married and you almost a completely qualified witch.
Has Tuney mentioned-
The rest of the letter was illegible, blurred from her tears and apparently I wasn't the only one to be slightly confused.
"But that's good right?" Max looked discombobulated.
Lily hiccupped and looked up. "I-I haven't h-h-heard from T-Tuney since l-l-l-last summer. I didn't even k-k-know she was engaged.
"She's a bitch!" eloquent as always Jazz.
Lily started to leak again, "She's my sister."
"She's still a bitch!"
"Yeah, witch!" added Max.
"She wishes." I grinned at Lily who gave a watery smile. I levered her to her feet. "Come on, lets go and get some breakfast."
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o
Because of the mandatory ball, every one who was taking Muggle Studies at NEWT level was crowded into the Great Hall for breakfast. However almost everyone who didn't take it had had the sense to decamp off home for the holidays. All the Slytherins (thankfully) had seemed to think it was their duty as blood racists to run off rather than have to stomach anything remotely Muggle related. The only exception here was Snape who was sitting alone, his nose in a book.
Of the Ravenclaws the entire house was there because, frankly, that's what Ravenclaws did. Mainly they were reading the new very heavy books they had just been given for Christmas, playing frightfully complicated games of wizard chess with their new sets or discussing politics, policies that the Minister of Magic had recently brought in to try and protect the wizarding community against U Know Who.
Of the Hufflepuff's around half were seated at their table, laughing and eating.
And of us brave lions we were, alas, sadly depleted, comprising of a single knot of third years, a couple of sixth years. And US
US meaning all the awesome and incredibly good looking, intelligent seventh years.
I looked up as the post came, the usual last minute presents and cards from disorganised friends and family (I was always surprised my mother remembered Christmas at all, she's really really disorganised) when a large school screech owl landed in front of me. I unrolled the piece of parchment and stole some bacon from Sirius's plate (he mock scowled and picked up his plate, hiding it behind his back.)
Darling, it read
Just a quick note as I've only just found out. Well that's not completely true, I've known for about two months now but wanted to be absolutely certain before I wrote to you. You know I skip months here and there such a lot but it turns out...
I'm pregnant!
Martin and I have decided in light of this to move the wedding date forwards to Easter so you can be there. Oh, I'm so happy darling you wouldn't believe. Will you be my maid of honour?
Lily must come of course and any of your other friends are welcome.
Merry Christmas!
A June baby, imagine that!
Lots and lots and lots of love to my favourite and only daughter.
Mum XXXX
"Merlin's PANTS!" I yelled out and promptly fell off the bench I was sitting. Every head in the Hall turned towards me. I flushed pink and waved a hand over my head and said weakly, "Carry on people."
They just stared harder until Lily stood up and shouted "ARE YOU LOT DEAF? CARRY ON PEOPLE!" Immediately everyone turned back to their breakfast. Even the teachers.
Lily wasn't made Head Girl for nothing you know.
She then sat back down and hauled my back onto the bench as my ever so sensitive to the needs of other boyfriend just laughed and laughed and laughed at me.
Jazz raised an eyebrow at me.
"MY MOTHER IS PREGNANT!"
My bellow travelled around the Great Hall again and every one stared at me again. Any one for fried eggs? You could do them on my face
Lily drew her wand, "Do I Have To Tell You AGAIN?" Everyone cowered under her wroth and buried their heads in their kippers or sausages.
"Is that all?" Of course that would be Jazz
"BY MARTIN!" No one dared risk Lily's anger by turning around this time.
"Ok, I take it back. That's big." See, jazz understands the enormity of the situation.
Alice cooed, "When's it due? Girl or boy? Are they getting married? When and-"
Sirius cut in her tirade of questions which I was very thankful about as I couldn't remember the first one. "Who's Martin?"
Lizzie piped in here, "Her Mum's long term boyfriend. The first one since her dad died."
Max had snatched the letter out of my hand, " They're getting married in Easter."
Meanwhile I was worrying about more pressing things, "Maid of Honour? In a dress? And HIGH HEELS? I'm gonna kill myself! How DO YOU WALK IN THOSE THINGS?"
"Twinkle in a dress. That I have to see!"
I stuck my tongue out at him. "The baby's due Jun-ish time."
"June?" I could see even Sirius could add up to nine. What amazing powers of deduction he possessed.
"Apparently she only just found out."
"Errrrm. Right"
"She's a metamorphmagus. What can you expect?"
Sirius looked way out of his league.
"Drop it, " advised Alice, "It's a girl thing."
Sirius, twenty minutes of baby talk later, finally cracked and said, "Fascinating as all this baby stuff is can we please get going? I want to have a snowball fight before lunch."
I kissed him on the cheek (everyone else made pointed look-the-other-way faces or fake vomited.)
"Whatever you want honey, it is Christmas. You've been a good boy all year, you're allowed a treat."
"Thanks." He said sarcastically.
"You're welcome." I said sweetly.
"I meant that sarcastically."
"I know."
00o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o
It's a good thing you're so patient with all the baby talk. I said to Sirius and James as we strolled down into the grounds a few minutes later for the snowball fight.
"Why's that?"
"Because you're both coming to mine over Easter and no-one will be talking of anything else."
Sirius groaned.