Hey everyone,
Yeah, I decided to get back to another story that has been lying dormant for too long.
To be honest, with this one it was my own fault. Not just what I wrote at Bottom AN of the last chapter, but what I had in mind as an opening paragraph for this chapter.
It sounded right, but felt wrong, so I wasn't able to put it on paper.
Still, I solved that problem, so on with the show.
Let's do this,
Venquine1990
Chapter 31
Home For Christmas – Day 01
27th of December 1994
The Diggory Shed, England
Jillian's POV
The Diggory Shed looks, thanks to my two visits to the Burrow, exactly what I expected to look like, and yet at the same time it looks both fancier and better.
In fact as I lay my eyes on the simple, two-story cottage that looks to be made of clay and hay, but is actually build by bricks that are painted to look that way, I can't help myself:
"If nothing else, I'm buying a home like this to go on holiday."
Angelina bursts out laughing, yet Cedric gives me a million Galleon grin.
"I was hoping you would like the place. Though I should've warned you ahead of time. The Shed only looks rustic and rural on the outside. The inside is much bigger and represents our ancient history a lot better.
My great-grandfather decided to build it that way after a huge storm blew most of the magical homes here to the ground. The storm had, somehow, been magical and the wards of the time just hadn't been strong enough to withstand it."
The words at the start do nothing to fight the queasy feeling I still have from my first period, even though the potion Madam Pomfrey gave me does lessen it.
And the history lesson intrigues me so much I feel I can, almost, ignore the way my inner body is going crazy with a natural need to be clean again.
"So how many floors are hidden in there?" Angelina asks with a laugh. Cedric laughs as well, which puts my mind at ease a little.
"Thankfully, it's not like that. We do have a large cellar and attic that are hidden from sight by the outdoor enchantments.
But the cellar is just incase there is another magical storm or if a megalomaniac like – Voldemort – tries to attack the region.
And the attic is designed specifically to entertain if we get snowed in or something. Or if we have to go into hiding.
I know the two sound similar, but the reason behind their designs and the enchantments in the walls of both rooms are quite different.
Unfortunately I can't say anything more on the latter until we're married. Family secrets and all that."
Angelina and I both nod.
Dad and I had agreed that I would start learning about the Potter Family Secrets either next summer or next school year.
For the time being we just decided to focus on the etiquette lessons that, Dad, Cedric and Angelina all felt confident, I would've started at age 12 if I had grown up with either my birth parents or dad.
I won't deny that I'm not curious as to what my family learned, but decided to keep for themselves over the centuries. But at the same time this actually makes me glad that I'm no longer friends with Granger.
Knowing her, I would've never heard the end of it until I turned fifteen. And even then, the fact that I would not be able to share those secrets would've probably ended the friendship anyway.
Then something else distracts me from going in.
"Jillian, dearest. I didn't know that you'd be staying over. Ginny and Ron are still at Hogwarts. And what are you – LET ME IN, AMOS, RIGHT THIS INSTANT!"
All three of us turn around and my eyes widen when I see that Mrs. Weasley seems to be held back by some invisible forcefield.
I turn my head again and just in time to see not Mr. but Mrs. Diggory coming out, a furiously angered look on her face.
For some reason I feel strangely confident that the woman has yet to calm down from the confrontation with her husband's sister the other day.
"No Molly, we will not let you in. We talked about this when it was announced that Sirius would be adopting Jillian.
You are not only stubbornly continuing a tradition that first marked your husband's family as Blood Traitors, you also have the gall to try and install this same mindset in the Heiress of one of the Oldest – if not the oldest – Family in our world.
The wards read your intent the minute you entered their perimeter – ask William – and you were going to talk in on Jillian all Christmas break.
Molly, that is my daughter-in-law you are trying to manipulate and mentally abuse and I will NOT stand for it.
GO HOME, LADY PREWETT!"
The name Prewett seems to do the job. Mrs. Weasley looks so stunned to hear that name – which I am guessing is her maiden name – that she seems to physically deflate.
Yet the fact that she thought she could talk me into following such a horribly insulting mindset angers me as well and I step up to the entrance of the yard.
"Mrs. Weasley, you know just like everyone else how much I love my birth parents. And they honor my grandparents, both the magical ones and the muggle ones. And they in turn honor their ancestors.
So why – and how – could you think I would break with such a tradition when it comes from a source I feel so closely connected to, even if I never knew them?
How could you ignore such a vital aspect of my character?"
Again the woman seems to have no answer.
"Let us have our celebration, Molly. Go home."
The woman sends me one last look then obliges.
"I'm sorry about that, dear. I don't even know how she knew you were going to be here. Her arrival so quickly after yours is definitely something I'll have Amos report to the Aurors."
Yet to this I turn to the woman and ask her: "Can't you wait till after the break? She didn't get the chance to ruin our holiday and I don't want to ruin hers.
She and Mr. Weasley, after all, don't approve of what Ginerva tried and, from what I've heard, really support Ron in his efforts to cure himself."
The woman seems to hesitate and ponder her thoughts before she says: "Alright, but only because they did take good care of you the two times you were staying over with them."
I happily agree with her.
We head towards the cottage. And as soon as we walk through the front door, I get evidence of what Cedric told me earlier.
While the front door might only be a single one, somehow the opening is wide enough to let through Angelina and myself.
And when I turn my head, it looks like double doors, even though only a single door is visible from the other side.
"I love magic."
I think to myself.
I turn my head again and look around. And the inside really doesn't look like anything you would expect when looking at the house from the outside.
The floor might be painted – or enchanted – to look wooden, but the gleaming marble is still able to be seen at various points on the floor and on the walls.
Still, the plant life that is situated at various points throughout the large entrance hall helps add to the rustic sense of the room's interior motive.
And unless I am mistaken, the marble is also a dark brown that is probably meant to resemble a wooden color or something.
Yet what baffles and amazes me the most is that, while the outside makes it look as if there are only a few rooms on each floor – six at max – there are actually four doors on each side of the large entrance hall and three in the back.
Yet when I see the staircase, which looks to be made of old wood that got polished to look brand new or something, I can't help but state:
"That looks perfect."
Mrs. Diggory laughs and tells me that everyone else who ever came to their house said that the staircase looked out of place.
I shake my head and tell her that is perfectly symbolizes what the whole house is trying to represent: how House Diggory is Ancient, but humble at the same time.
"FINALLY!
My father and I have been waiting ages for someone to get that message.
Oh, and don't worry about Molly. I already called the Auror office on her. They'll question her in a few days' time."
I wince at hearing this and Mrs. Diggory says: "Oh Amos, if only you had waited. I just promised Jillian that I wouldn't make the report until after the break.
To honor the good care Molly and Arthur gave her the two summers she stayed over at their place. She didn't feel like Molly had gotten the chance to ruin her holiday, so she didn't want to ruin theirs."
Mr. Diggory winces and rushes back the way he came.
Cedric smiles through his grimace as he tells me that I might as well get used to that, to his dad being impetuous and acting before he thinks.
I shrug and tell him that, over the years, I grew the belief that that's not just something his dad suffers from, but most of Wizarding England.
The other three laugh at my statement.
An Hour Later
Mrs. Diggory had, after hearing the assurance of her husband that the Aurors would wait with questioning the Weasleys until the new year, taken Angelina and me on a tour through the house, though she skipped on the cellar and the attic.
Most of the house really was decorated in the same style as the entrance hall and with each room, the style began to grow on me.
Yet it was Cedric's own room that I appreciated the most. The walls, floor and ceiling were all made of a soft brown wood that was scrubbed to such an extent it actually felt soft to the touch, almost like silk even.
Yet the furniture, while made of smooth marble, has been painted with beautiful motifs depicting the rustic landscape that is visible outside in the countryside.
And the draperies on the windows as well as the curtains around the fourposter bed show a beautiful mountain landscape – one I recognize as the French Alps after a minute.
As we head back downstairs to meet Mr. Diggory in the Family Living Room, I turn my head to Cedric and tell him: "I am so glad I'm engaged to marry you."
And while Cedric and Mrs. Diggory beam at me, Angelina laughs and says: "Same here. And Jill, I'm real sorry, but my family home – as much as I love it – really is a much more - cliché-kind of representation of Old Blood."
I shrug at this and tell her that, as long as the place feels like it is lived in, that's fine by me. The girl laughs again and tells me that that is definitely the case.
For some reason I get the feeling that there is something the girl isn't telling me. Yet, because we have plans to visit Johnson Hall tomorrow, I decide to just wait and see.
"What do you girls think? Do you think you can see yourselves spend some time over summer and winter break here?"
Mr. Diggory asks as we take our seats on nice lounge chaises that are situated around a beautiful looking pine tree that has been decorated almost modestly compared to the ones at Hogwarts.
Angelina nods and I happily tell the man that I can absolutely see myself living in a home decorated similar to Cedric's room.
The man seems temporarily shocked to hear this, yet then he gives me a grin so wide I feel as if I just told him I was already pregnant of his first grandkid or something.
The thought makes my stomach fight against the potion running through my system. I quickly ask Mrs. Diggory if I could have some herbal tea or something.
The woman seems to instantly understand why, yet before she can do more than whiten with concern, a cup appears on the side-table besides my chaise.
"That's faster than I've ever seen one of our House Elves work." Mr. Diggory mutters. I smile and whisper a soft thank you to Dobby.
Mrs. Diggory asks me if I'm alright after a few sips of the delicious brew and I nod.
Mr. Diggory asks if he did something wrong. I shake my head and explain that my hormones are just acting up for the first time.
The man seems to instantly get it.
After a few more minutes of silence, Mrs. Diggory suggests that we move onto presents. All of us happily agree with her.
Again the presents appear with the same incredible speed as the tea did. All of us thank the House Elves in general.
"I hope you girls don't mind. I fell sick just before you met with Amos and he's been really busy with work.
So we decided to just send our House Elves out on shopping for a few dresses and other regular things.
Amos made sure to ask Sirius if that was okay, considering that one rule, and he said that he would prefer the rule to go into effect over summer."
Naturally Angelina and I quickly reassure the woman that we definitely don't mind and I happily voice my agreement with my dad's decision.
Angelina and I also assure the woman that, because the whole thing was such short-notice, we had the same problem and solved it the same way.
As a group the five of us agree that we will strive to make next Yule more personal. I silently make a promise to myself to inform dad about this before I head to Johnson Hill.
The rest of the day is utterly wonderful.
That is House Diggory done.
And yeah, I decided not to cover the gift-giving itself. I felt like adding a little more detail to this visit than I originally hinted at in the bottom AN of the last chapter.
But I haven't really fleshed out the Diggories or the Johnsons yet. So I decided on what is described in the ending of this chapter.
Hope you enjoy,
Venquine1990
