Chapter 44: It's not Christmas without you

Besides constant practice with Flitwick, Lupin and Snape as well as the dancing classes, Kiba found little chance to escape. Luckily from the twenty-second through to the Twenty-seventh he would be spared from it all. But the first two days were spent catching up on classes with Hermione's help. It was towards the late afternoon of the twenty-fourth that Kiba finally found the freedom he needed. He got dressed in a blue button down shirt that had little Santa clauses on it and some casual yet nice looking pants. He grabbed his coat and prepared to disapparate. The long days of practice had payed off as he found himself at Kings Cross station back in London just moments later. He checked the address Faye had given him in case he was late and took a Cab to the location.

Faye was standing on the stage of her schools assembly hall, she peeked through the curtains on one side to get a view of the crowd. It was filled with friends and family, scattered across looking for their seats, but Faye wasn't looking for her parents, or her brother.. no she was looking for an outcast among them, a single boy looking to find the seat she had saved for him in the third row. Her two best friends had saved seats for their boyfriend on either side of the seat she had marked with Kiba's name and both were sitting already, making the empty spot between them even more apparent.

"You need to get that imaginary boy out of your head, Faye" Ashley said carefully as she peeked out too

"it's getting a little embarrassing now.." Beatrice added "all those days, screaming at us that he's real"

"He is" Faye shot back turning to face her friend "you'll see, by the time we're singing the final song, there'll be a Boy right there"

"you know I want you to be happy, Faye. But until I see him with my own eyes I'm gonna recommend you look for an actual boy" Ashley said again

"what about Tony?" Beatrice asked "I'm sure he's into you"

"No, there's no one I'd rather be with, then Kiba" Faye said. The murmuring in the crowd stopped and the lights dimmed as the principal walked out to give his speech.

"-and I wish you all a Very, Merry Christmas" Kiba snuck into the hall and saw a large man on stage holding a speech with a bright smile. He quietly made his way to the third row and spotted the empty seat just as Faye had said. He shuffled through, apologizing quietly and sat down. The two boys on either side of him leaned back to give each other a look of surprise before they looked back towards the front. "And first, we have a beautiful version of 'Sh-Boom' performed by Alex A. Alex U., Jack and Marco"

"'cuse me, mate" the boy to Kiba's right tapped on his shoulder, he looked to be a year or two older then Kiba and the other boy "this seat saved for you?"

"It was," Kiba replied "unless you know someone else named Scamander?"

"nah, we don't" the other boy chimed in quietly "he just can't believe your real"

"'course he's real, he's right here innit?" the older one shot back

"Kiba, right?" The younger one said holding out a hand which Kiba shook "the names Tyler, My girlfriend's a friend of Faye. The Rude one is Simon, my older brother, he's Beatrice's boyfriend"

"She's also a friend of Faye?" Kiba asked as the boys on stage began singing

"yeah, Faye told us all about you, none of us believed her. But I can't deny it now that you're here" Tyler replied "they'll be on at the end, afterwards we're allowed backstage" he added. They sat quietly through all the performances until finally it was Faye's turn.

"and now, to send you all off into the night here's a Song written by Ashley, Beatrice and Faye, 'it's not Christmas without you'"

The curtains opened and in the middle was a skinny, brown haired girl with very tight, red and white striped shorts, a red top with glitter all over and a big red and white scarf along a Christmas Hat and knee-high black boots with high heels. A very jolly melody began playing on some saxophones just before she began singing into her microphone which was attached to her ear via a small plastic piece. "Carolers singing, Sleigh bells are ringing, it's that time of year. Everyone's toasting, chestnuts are roasting Christmas time is near" as the girl began her next verse the two others came in from either side of the stage. Kiba first looked to the girl on the right. She was smaller then the others and had long blonde hair, she wore a tight red dress with a white rim at the top above her chest and another at the end of the short skirt and the dress was covered in Christmas decorations like pine trees and stars, instead of a hat she bared reindeer antlers on her head. She was wearing regular red high heels. From the left Kiba spotted Faye, her black curls fell out of a Christmas head turning red at the tip as he has seen it in her picture. She was wearing red knee-high boots with high heels and a red Christmas dress with a thick, double layered skirt. The dress had a fake button up and bow-tie, along with a black belt tied around her waist. The top edge and the bottom edge of both skirts were covered with a white wollen rim. "but something's missing and I'm wishing, wishing that you knew. How much it would mean to spend this-" the two girls on either side had slowly drawn closer to the center girl before taking their spots on either side of her opposite to the side they entered from, meaning Faye was now on the far right of the three as they all finished the verse.

"Christmas time with you!" they all dipped down and placed their hands on their knees as they sung and brought them slowly up their legs stopping at their waist, they placed there left hand on their sides and slowly pointed forward at waist level towards the three boys. Kiba could hear Faye's voice clearest out of the three and felt it sounded the best, maybe he was being prejudiced.

"So if you feel it coming," Faye sang as they all did a choreographed shoulder roll.

"on this special day" the blonde girl sang as the they did a synchronized hip rotation of sorts

"just trust your heart, don't let your head get in the way" the three sang in unison. "'cause it's Christmas!" they all did a quick feet shuffle and twist which created a nice effect on Faye thanks to her double layered skirts.

"and a start of something new" they continued the dance with crossing over arms and taking small steps here and there.

"Well, it's Christmas!" they sang in unison again as they moved in a figure eight ending up with Faye left and the blonde right and the brown haired girl still in the middle.

"and I hope you feel it too" she sang. "candy canes and mistletoe, Jack frost nipping at your nose. But all of it means nothing," Faye and the blonde traded positions again as they all put their right foot forward as their right hand moved to the sky

"Without you!" they moved their hands down in front of them and pointed at their boyfriends again. The blonde did a little jump and a 180 degree turn interlocking her fingers and pushing down before bopping her hips towards the crowd in synch with the music as the brown haired girl did the same in the next tone and Faye again on the last.

"just for a minute, you get a feeling. Look up in the sky" the three pointed up from their chest towards the sky "Santa's here so get in the spirit, just give it a try" they extended their right hands with their left hand on their waist and moved the right slowly from left to right in a semicircle as they moved their shoulders up and down. "Children beaming and I'm dreaming, hoping that its true." Faye and the blonde moved towards the left of the stage where Kiba was sitting while the brown haired one moved to the right "'cause it would mean so much to spend this-"

"Christmas time with you!" they repeated the same movement they had done before during the same verse

"so if you feel it coming," Faye sang in a different tone and pitch then before

"On the special day" the blonde sang also in a different style then before

"just trust your heart 'cause I can't wait to hear you say" the two sang together. Faye gave Kiba a quick wink before they returned to the center to do their dance again

"that it's Christmas!"

"and the start of something new" the brunette sang

"Well it's Christmas!"

"and I hope you'll feel it too" the brunette sang again slightly changing the pitch as she drew out the last word.

"everyone together sing. Silver bells and golden Rings. But all of it means nothing.." Faye sang as the blonde ran over to her to join in

"without you!" they sang drawing the word out long

"no, no, no" the brunette vocalized

"it's not Christmas without you, you, you. it's not Christmas without you, you, you. it's not Christmas without you, you, you." The three of them sang, everyone vocalizing and improvising as they moved across the stage finally ending up together in their starting position next to each other "It's not Christmas.. without.. you" the held the last note and let it slowly quiet down before the crowd gave a standing ovation with massive applause.

"Come, Mate" Tyler said "we'll show you the way backstage" Kiba followed the two boys through a door to the left of the Hall that lead to a small set of steps which were followed by a corridor with sets of doors on either side. The blonde that was on stage before came out of one of the left doors. Still wearing her dress, but the antlers and heels were gone.

"Hey babe, how'd you like it?" she asked as she ran to Hug Tyler

"it was great, I love the song" Tyler replied

"yeah, you've really got something brewing there" Simon added

"no way- is that?" She suddenly asked looking at Kiba

"Yup, apparently he's Faye's not so imaginary Boyfriend" Tyler replied "Ashley, meet Kiba"

"A pleasure" Ashley said, "how do you guys feel about karaoke?"

"yeah, where?" Tyler asked

"My dad bought a Karaoke bar just a couple weeks ago, he's letting teenagers in as well" The brown haired girl said coming out of the door, Kiba assumed that she was Beatrice as she walked over to Simon and kissed him. She was still in her entire outfit and just behind her Faye came dashing out if the door, having heard Kiba's voice. She tackled him with het signature attack-hug, Kiba managed to remain standing and hugged the girl back tightly.

"I've missed you" she whispered as she pulled her head away to see his face

"me too," he didn't think anything in that moment, except wanting to kiss her, and so he did. Moving forward to her their lips meet for just a moment before they pulled apart with smiles on their faces.

"right, introductions.." Faye said releasing the hug and turning to her friends "Ashley, Tyler, Beatrice, Simon. This is Kiba Scamander, my Childhood friend and Boyfriend"

"how's your singing?" Beatrice asked

"not nearly as good as you guys'" he replied

"you'll do fine. We'll just go by my parents real quick, meet you by the car?" Faye asked

"We'll get changed" Ashley said returning into the left door with Beatrice. Faye dragged Kiba back into the hall to look for her parents, keeping their fingers intertwined and his arm close to her.

"if you hadn't showed up, they would've never believed you're real, y'know" Faye whispered as they weaved through the crowd, they spotted her parents leaving the hall and Faye stopped Kiba just by the door "listen, my friends.. they don't know that I'm, that-"

"that you're an orphan?" Kiba asked quietly, she nodded as her hand squeezed his lightly. "they won't hear it from me, trust me"

"it's not about trust with this, Kiba. Its about honesty" Faye replied "not that I don't trust you, I mean, I do trust you. But I also know your honest, sometimes brutally honest, so I just need you to go along with this Lie, just this one"

"I understand, Faye" Kiba said giving her a quick peck on the lips again, 'if only I could be honest with you..' they finally walked over to the Kenway's and were greeted with allot of joy.

"Faye, darling that was spectacular!" Edward said hugging her tightly.

"that dress however," her mother, Anne, said "it did leave very little too the imagination,"

"and Kiba, correct?" Edward stuck out his hand to the boy

"oh, yes sir. That's me" he grabbed it tightly and shook it doing his best not to let the man rip his arm off.

"Faye said you would come and spend the night with us?" he asked

"That's the plan, but we were going to head out with my friends for a bit. They're all dieing to meet Kiba" Faye said

"very well, but you know the rules young lady" Anne replied "Home-"

"Home before midnight, I got it"

"Well, do enjoy yourself while your out. Maybe Kiba and I can have a little chat in the morning then" Edward added

"don't think that's necessary, Dad" Faye said "come on Kiba, they're waiting for us" before anything further could be says the two made their way to the parking lot where the other four were waiting already. It was just about a quarter past Eight when they arrived at the Karaoke bar to have some fun. They spent a few hours in the bar drinking Sodas and taking turns signing songs. It was about quarter past eleven when they got back into the car and drove to Westminster palace where Faye and Kiba got out.

"Well, mate. It was good to finally meet you" Tyler said offering Kiba a handshake which he accepted.

"Same here" Simon added doing the same

"Pleasure to meet you guys as well" Kiba replied "have a nice night" the four drove off leaving the two young lovers behind. "so, we're going up there again?"

"y'know, we were. But… let's just walk home" Faye replied wearing herself around Kiba's left arm.

"sure," he replied. They began walking in silence but Kiba's mind told him to say something.. anything "your friends are really nice" he said

"I'm glad you like them.." Faye responded with a heavy look. "you really have to go back tomorrow?"

"yeah, I'm sorry" Kiba said "it's for this stupid ball"

"Like a dance?"

"Yes, as a participating Champion I have to attend.. for some reason"

"it's okay.. you don't have to apologize" she replied softly "it's just- we get to spend so little time together throughout the year that.. that I-"

"Yes?"

"I feel like- i- I don't know how to say it" she stammered stopping in her tracks. Kiba sure aswell and walked back to her, realizing that she seemed cold he took off his coat and hung it over her shoulders.

"take your time, find the right words" he said but Faye changed the subject, quickly turning their conversation over to a happier vibe until they arrived at the manor. They walked in quietly and headed over to Faye's room where they talked more, remaining quiet to not wake her parents.

Faye returned from a quick trip to the bathroom with a worrisome look on her face a she sat down on her bed by Kiba's legs. "Kiba.." she said catching his attention, the boy sat upright "I need you to be honest with me" she began slowly "'cause I've been going crazy"

"what is it?"

"you remember that picture I took of you, with your camera?" she asked. The question hit the young Wizard like a brick, in the ecstasy of the day he had forgotten about the most important thing, the picture. That blasted, moving photograph.

"I do.." he replied "I took one of you as well" He put his hand on her shoulder but she got up and walked over to get desk.

"I have a collage which is constantly expanding" she said turning on her desk light to illuminate a wall of pictures growing across the wall "here in the middle is me-" she other to a few pictures of her as a baby and more recently "on the right is my family, it everyone I consider. Top and bottom are friends and left, well- left is you" she paused, Kiba saw a blank spot among the pictures of him, a single one. She stepped back over to him and handed the boy a box. He carefully opened it and grabbed the picture inside. He saw himself, sitting on the cold floor with his Glas, he raised it with a wink and took a swig before returning to his smile. It was exactly like that night, but how could he have been so ignorant…

"Faye-"

"I need you to explain this" she said "I know you've always been honest with me. But- of you haven't, you better have a damn good reason"

"It's.. listen I-" he stammered his eyes fixed on the picture

"who are you?" the girl asked as she got down in her knees to look into the eyes of the boy.

"I'm sorry, Faye" he said looking back at her "i- can't"

"can't, or won't?" She asked grabbing one of his hands, practically begging him to talk "don't say you're protecting me, from the truth or whatever" a little smirk etched into Kiba's face

"you wouldn't believe me if I told you" He replied. Faye squeezed his hand and just stared at the boy "Fine.." he said getting up to pace stone the room "my Name is Kiba Rolf Scamander, I'm a Wizard. Both of my parents were Wizards, my father is now a murdering dark lord trying to Kill my friend. And by telling you this I risk my chance of ever getting a job at the ministry of magic"

"stop fucking with me, Kiba. I'm serious"

"I can fly a Broom, I can talk to animals. I have a pet dragon and I'm going off to a hidden school to study spells, potions and transfiguration"

"you're kidding… aren't you?" she asked second guessing herself. Kiba grabbed his bag and pulled out his wand to wave it in the air producing sparkling stars. Faye looked up in awe, it was as if her ceiling had opened up to reveal the night sky. Kiba flicked his wand again to turn off her room lights. He looked back to her fully expecting her to be scared, maybe even terrified.. but she wasn't, she was smiling brighter then ever as she reached a hand to ceiling grabbing at the stars.

"Faye, I'm sorry" Kiba said walking back over to her. Her head moved to face him but her eyes lagged behind, staying fixed I in the stars a little longer. Her smile faded slightly as she looked at the young Wizard. "I wanted to tell you, believe me. But we're not supposed to"

"Heh, I always knew there was something special about you" she replied "should've known when your messages came with an Owl"

"aren't you surprised?" he asked in surprise himself, bewildered by how calm the girl was

"well, yeah. But this is incredible. What else can you do?" she asked jumping like a giddy child.

"loads of things, allot of it dangerous.. in fact I've nearly died every year of school…" he says thoughtfully

"wait, the tournament your in-"

"They call it, the Teen Wizard Tournament" Kiba replied as Faye turned her gaze back to the sky above them.

"You know, I didn't actually think you were hiding something.." Faye said with a giggle as she looked back to the boy again. "I just wanted to.."

"I should've known" Kiba sighed as he held up his left hand. Faye did the same with her right and intertwined their fingers, they passed their foreheads together with closed eyes.

"Kiba, what- what is our love to you?" she asked after a moment if silence.

"what do you mean?" Kiba asked as their heads moved apart so they could scan each other's eyes.

"What does love mean to you?" she asked

"well, we've been together for fifteen years.. weather we considered ourselves a couple or not.. that's allot longer then most couples have been together. I mean, sister Crawford told me, when we were born we used to take walks in our strollers together around the block. When we were two, we were my best friend, I knew everything about you. I knew your favorite color, your favorite food" Kiba grabbed Faye by the waist as she laid her arms over his shoulders crossing them behind his head. "These last few years we've fallen out a bit, we had some lost days, but that's okay our lives were changing. But then you dragged me to that rooftop, and you Kissed me. I mean you- you gave me my first kiss. You taught me how to sing, you taught me how to dance. And you were always talking about these crazy things, and I never understood a word you said- all I understood was, you are the girl that I sit up every night thinking about. And- and when I'm with you, I'm genuinely happy. I feel like I could do anything, even show you all this" he stepped back from her and held out his palm revealing the small dragon. She looked at it as Hotaru flapped her wings and flew over to her landing in her palm instead. "So that's what I think love is, Faye. When I'm better because you're here"

Faye's eyes became watery as she quickly dashed towards Kiba, Hotaru flew away to not get squished as Faye smacked her lips against Kiba's almost painfully. They both abandoned reason for instincts as their Kiss grew more passionate. Kiba lifted Faye up and carried her over to her bed dropping then both on it to continue. Slowly they began undressing each other as their hands seemingly moved in their own, until there was nothing between them. Neither knew exactly what they were doing or why, but it felt right and they didn't want to stop. From that night on, Faye was no longer that child-hood girl that Kiba liked. She was now the young woman he fell in love with, and he was no longer the boy with the strange name, he was the Man she couldn't live without.

Faye stopped Kiba before they could solidify their bond, she grabbed a small package and rolled a sort of rubber balloon over his manhood before the two fully embraced each other.

Knock Knock* "Faye?"

Knock Knock* "sweetie, are you up?"

Kiba's eyes opened, for a moment he has forgotten where he was. But the comfortable sheets and the warmth of Faye's body wrapped around his brought him back to last night. The black locks that covered his chest moved as Faye, who was snuggled into his shoulder lifted her head. "yes, mum?"

"breakfast is almost ready, I was wondering if you'd join us?" the woman on the other side of the door asked

"yeah, sure. We'll be down in a minute" Faye replied looking up to see if Kiba was awake as well. They smiled without saying a word and simply kissed each other before getting up and getting dressed. They spent the early morning having delicious breakfast and talking to Anne and Edward before heading out for a stroll where Kiba explained more about his life and what it means to be a Wizard whilst constantly reminding her to keep it a secret. They reached their favorite spot at the rooftop of the Westminster palace.

"I'm sorry I couldn't stay longer.." Kiba said.

"it's alright" Faye replied carefully scratching Hotaru's chin "oh right, I almost forgot" she said handing him a small box quickly.

"right, Presents. I complete-"

"shush, you are my present" Faye said "open it, go on" he opened the box and inside was a shimmering Rose-gold bracelet, he admired it and added it to his left arm where his Zouwu bracelet was as well.

"I don't know what to say-" Kiba stammered

"then don't talk, and give me a kiss instead" Faye replied with a smirk to which Kiba happily obliged. "you said the dance is tonight, right?" Faye asked "are you going to get back in time?"

"I can go from here to there in the blink of an eye" he replied, but the dance starts early and I still have some school-work to do.. besides the tournament I haven't had allot of time to study"

"well, then you should go."

"right, we'll see each other soon, okay?" Kiba says as he got to his feet, he helped Faye up as well as they hugged

"I love you," she says quietly "I really do" Kiba kissed her again, much longer this time. He waited for Hotaru to snuggle into his chest pocket and looked to Faye one more time.

"bye" he said as she waved before in a twisted spiral he vanished, leaving her alone on the roof. Kiba caught his balance just in time to not fall over. He had apparated to the safest place, Myrtle's bathroom. Gathering himself before walking out like nothing had happened, making his way over to the common room to finish some school-work and get ready for the Celestial Ball.

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