Chapter 11 ~ a longer chapter for Christmas! Send reviews - I love them!
Emily looked around at her tidy office. Exams graded, lesson plans, a stack of articles to review for Transfiguration Today… all neatly organized, ready for next term. With everything in order, she felt that she quite deserved a quiet cup of tea back in her sitting room. As she began walking down the hall, she was immediately set upon by Hermione, who visited frequently for some peace and quiet that was never to be found in the Gryffindor common room.
"Emily! I just received an owl from Molly, asking me if you had any plans for the Christmas holidays. I'm sure she means to ask you over - oh please say you'll come!"
Emily's first instinct was to say no. She had been to the Weasley's a few times during the semester - Molly had invited her for tea and it had been lovely. She craved Molly's motherly attentions more than she let on, but Christmas, with the whole family there…
"I don't know Hermione… I wouldn't want to intrude. Plus, I don't know if… I don't know who all will be there."
Hermione gave her a sympathetic glance. "She does say that Charlie is coming in from Romania. But I'm sure he'll mostly be with his brothers, you won't even have to speak to him."
Emily hadn't been very specific about why she and Charlie weren't speaking, but Hermione had become her closest friend and knew quite a bit. They arrived at Emily's rooms and Emily got them both some tea. Hermione continued on.
"Molly might be offended if you didn't come, and I just hate to think of you here by yourself for Christmas. And you don't have to worry about Ron, he's come a long way since the summer."
"Oh all right. But only if we make the trip into a girls' day. We should apparate to Muggle London, do some shopping, and then drive to the Burrow. We've been stuffy academics this whole term, I think we need to treat ourselves." Emily felt like a different person making these plans, but over the course of the semester she had begun to learn the value of spending time with friends. And while she wasn't always a fan of shopping, her wardrobe did need an update that Diagon Alley just could not provide.
"That sounds absolutely lovely. And a drive! I remember going on countryside drives with my parents as a girl. It's definitely something the magical community is missing."
So the plans were made, and the day before Christmas Eve they set out. Hermione, who was usually much too sensible to care about fashion, had a very good eye for clothes. They filled their bags with new outfits, and did some last minute Christmas shopping. Emily preferred shopping for gifts in the Muggle world. Anything bought there could easily be charmed or transfigured into an even better version. She bought Molly a beautiful new teapot, but made plans to add some magical modifications that night. For Arthur, no modifications were needed for his gift, since Emily knew he would much prefer the Muggle version of his video recorder. She sneaked off to buy Hermione some beautiful leather-bound notebooks, and then her shopping was complete. The two friends settled in at their hotel room for the night and got ready for their trip to the Burrow the following day.
"What other tricks should I bewitch this teapot to do? So far I've got self-filling when it reaches less than half full, self-pouring, and self-heating." Emily was determined that this would be the perfect teapot.
"How about a spell to change the tea cozy? You know how Molly loves her tea cozies," Hermione giggled. And she was right - Molly had quite a collection of hand-knit tea accessories.
"Good one." Emily waved her wand a few more times, and her teapot was ready for Christmas. Then, she had an idea.
"Hermione, I've been meaning to ask you about something I came across, and I was wondering if you've ever heard of it. Have you ever heard of two people, a witch and wizard, having some sort of magical connection that results in a warm tingling sensation when they have physical contact?" She was determined to make this an academic conversation, not a personal one.
Hermione frowned for a moment, thinking, then said slowly, "Actually, I think I have read about something like that. I came across it while researching the Department of Mysteries at our Ministry. They have an area there dedicated to studying love. Why?"
"I just… I came across it at some point, but I'd never heard of such a thing. I wondered if it could even be real. But you've given me some direction on it; thank you." Hermione looked at her suspiciously, but thankfully let the subject go. They chatted a bit more before heading to bed.
Emily lay awake, thinking fast. The Department of Mysteries. She had never thought to investigate that angle. She was still confident that she had made the right decision in sending Charlie away (she had heard that he was doing very well at the Dragon Sanctuary) but the mystery of their connection still bugged her. It seemed to push them ever closer; even now she missed the thrill of having his arms around her. She also knew that she could be happy being alone. She put it out of her mind as best she could, but was determined to research further after the holidays.
The next morning, Emily procured a rental car from the Muggle agency. And they were off, driving through the English countryside, headed towards the Burrow. It was perfectly beautiful, as a light snow fell and covered the trees and fields with a blanket of white. When she had been in foster care, she'd had many drives to new homes. There was always a chance, however slim, that her next home would be better. And so she'd always loved car rides, even after she'd joined the magical world. Emily tried to soak it all in and enjoy the quiet, because she knew this day was going to be long and socially draining.
They arrived just in time for lunch, during which Molly was eager for all their news.
"You two look like you need feeding! All that time inside working, I'm sure you don't get enough fresh air. Now Emily, tell me, what on earth possessed you to drive here in a Muggle car?"
Emily laughed. "I have nice memories of car rides as a young girl. Hermione and I were feeling nostalgic. And you know I'm not really fond of apparating."
Molly bustled about with the dishes. "I just don't know about all this Muggle machinery! Arthur of course will be delighted when he sees it. Now catch me up on all your news!"
Hermione and Emily spent the rest of lunch chatting with Molly. Afterwards, Hermione went to see Ron and Harry in the living room while Emily hung behind. She helped Molly clean up, not saying much. Suddenly, Molly put her stack of plates down and embraced Emily in a most motherly way, saying, "Oh Emily, I'm so glad you came to us for Christmas. I wouldn't want you to be anywhere else."
Emily was caught off guard, but felt such a happiness in her heart at Molly's words. The awkwardness with Charlie aside, Molly had become a mother to her this year. She had resisted at first but now she could see that this is what she had been missing for her whole life.
"Thank you for having me, Molly. It means… it means so much to me," and she hugged Molly back with all the love she could.
The afternoon passed quietly. Everyone was absorbed in catching up, as in the case of Hermione and Ron and Ginny and Harry, or in whatever hobby they preferred (Molly was knitting, Arthur was tinkering, and Emily was reading a novel). The rest of the family would be arriving for dinner, which Molly already had quite in hand. Emily thought it smelled amazing, and she was enjoying the Christmas atmosphere of joy that hung over the house.
As dinner approached, more guests arrived. Emily knew most of them now - Percy, Andromeda and Harry's godson Teddy, Bill and Fleur, George with a guest Emily had not met, introduced as Angelina Johnson, but no sign of Charlie. No one mentioned his absence - maybe he wasn't coming until tomorrow. Emily wasn't about to ask. But she did notice that Molly was checking her family clock and looking out the window, frowning. The light snow of earlier was quickly becoming a snowstorm. And Charlie's position on the clock still read, "traveling," Emily noticed.
Finally, Molly announced that they'd better eat, so they could open gifts before little Teddy's bedtime. They settled down to a wonderful meal of turkey, roast potatoes, brussel sprouts, Yorkshire pudding, mince pies and a beautiful Christmas pudding. Emily had just started into her mince pie when suddenly, the door opened and there was Charlie, looking tired but happy to be home. As he stepped into the house, his eyes met Emily's and he stopped short. Molly immediately rushed over to fuss over him and get him settled, while Emily was left to wonder about the look on his face. Was he disappointed to see her there? Had this been a giant mistake?
Fortunately they avoided each other easily enough, and there was plenty to be distracted by with everyone opening their gifts. Hermione loved her notebooks, Molly was enraptured by her new teapot and was testing out all her tea cozies just by tapping her wand, and Arthur was quite overcome when he opened his video recorder. Emily gave herself the task of showing him how to use it.
"Now you must put a new tape in every time, you see? Then you press 'record', and hold it up so you can see what's being recorded. Later you can watch it over again as many times as you want."
Arthur was so enthusiastic he managed to record most of the gift opening. "The things Muggles come up with! And you say it operates on batteries? I have a collection of those in the garage!"
With Arthur content to fiddle with his video recorder, Emily turned her attention to her own gifts. Molly and Arthur had gotten her a beautiful new heron feather quill that she planned to use immediately upon returning to Hogwarts. Hermione must have disappeared into Muggle London to buy Emily's gift, just as Emily had done for Hermione - Hermione had chosen a darling little leather clutch. Emily felt it had a distinctively British academic feel to it, which made her feel all the more welcome as an American Hogwarts professor. She felt her heart glowing; never before had she received such thoughtful gifts.
As Andromeda and Teddy were getting ready to leave, most of the company went outside with them. Little Teddy was watching the snow fall and turning his hair white to match. Everyone seemed lost in their memories of Lupin and Tonks, so Emily hung back in the kitchen. She once again decided to help with the clean up; she didn't do this out of any sense of obligation anymore, but simply because it was an easy way to be alone. As she stood there with her wand, building up a good amount of suds for the dishes, she suddenly felt a presence behind her. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Charlie, awkwardly edging his way toward her.
"Hello," she mumbled.
"Hi," was all she heard him say in return. Then, "I thought about writing to you."
Without looking at him, she replied, "I wasn't expecting you to write."
He began again, "Emily, I-"
"Charlie, nothing has changed. We are in the same exact position that we were in August. You're leaving, and I… I can do just fine on my own."
"I know you can," he said, gently. "I know you can do amazing things. But just because you can be alone, doesn't mean that you have to be."
Emily was not in the mood to argue this. Why did he feel the need to discuss this now, after she'd had a perfect Christmas Eve? She sighed, and then turned around to face him. She could hardly stand to look at him because it filled her heart with longing. She didn't look him in the eye, but walked past him to go up to bed. As she reached the stairs, she stopped, but couldn't think of anything to say. Her thoughts were going in a million different directions and all she knew was that she couldn't reopen this door. Nothing had changed, and she would not be responsible for Charlie's unhappiness. And maybe she was too broken for a relationship anyway. But instead of throwing herself into Charlie's all-too-willing arms and confessing all of these feelings, she simply said, "Goodnight," and left Charlie alone in the kitchen.