29 November 2017
November was coming to an end and with that came December and the Christmas holidays. The mood at Hogwarts was actually very calm, the students were more relaxed and looking forward to the holidays. The teachers, as the term was almost over, had also relaxed and had decided not to send homework.
That morning was mail morning so while they were eating breakfast a lot of owls came in through the upstairs windows dropping letters and parcels on the tables in front of the diners.
In front of Albus fell a letter signed by his mother, as it used to be, Craig received one from his mother as well, and Scorpius received a package with a letter accompanying it.
- Open the package, Open the package - Craig started banging on the table in an attempt to get Scorpius to open it. When I opened it, there was a book and a small box - Open the box.
- I can’t.
- Why?
- It has a note telling me to open it alone - Scorpius stuck out his tongue mockingly and turned his attention to the letter.
After that Albus opened his letter and began to read.
Dear Albus:
Hi it's mum, well you know I write to you every week.
We are really looking forward to the holidays to see you and to hear from you about how your year is going. Lily is very nervous and is preparing a present for you. I want you to know that this year we are going to spend Christmas at Grandma's house with all the cousins. After a long time we have all managed to get together again so Grandma is very happy. Isn't it exciting?
Dad sends you his regards, he would write to you but he is very busy with work.
He wants you to know how much he loves you and how proud he is of you.
We look forward to seeing you at the station in a few weeks. We thought we'd have breakfast at that Muggle coffee shop Lily likes so much the day you arrive. What do you think?
See you soon,
Mum
Albus put the letter away, making a mental note to reply later. The last thing he felt like doing right now was going to the Burrow for the holidays. He wasn't looking forward to seeing all his cousins and aunts and uncles. He wasn't looking forward to the questions about how his first year at Hogwarts was going or the comments about his unexpected selection into Slytherin. He didn't want to spend the entire holiday in a house where Rose was. He could stand to be with his brother, but his brother and his cousin? It was something he wasn't prepared for.
- What does your mother say Albus? - Craig closed his letter and began to eat - Mine says Grandma has come to London so she will be spending Christmas with us. It won't be just me and mum.
- I will also spend Christmas with my grandmother.
- Sounds cool - said Scorpius - Spending Christmas with the family and stuff.
- I'm not really looking forward to it. It's not just my grandmother, it's the whole family. My aunts and uncles, my cousins and I don't know if any other friends are invited.
- You have a very big family indeed - Craig began to nod his head.
- I don't know if I like the fact that it is so big.
- That sounds good. Sometimes I wish I had siblings or someone else living in the mansion. It's too big and I'm too lonely - Scorpius began to reflect - Of course, sometimes Aunt Daphne comes, but it's not the same. I have a cousin and she talks about her but she doesn't usually come because she doesn't like it so I don't know anything about her. Dad doesn't have many friends either. We don't usually have visitors.
- Yes, being part of a big family sounds good. Mum and I are also just the two of us and I have a good time with her, but having more people never hurts - Craig agreed with Scorpius as he munched on the toast he was eating.
- I'm not saying it's wrong. I enjoyed it when I was a kid but so many people now it's overwhelming. Surely the topic of conversation this year won't just be something boring about grown-ups or Fred and James' Quidditch practice or Rose's good grades. I dread them saying anything about me. And of course there is all this Rose and James stuff. They both are so angry with me. I fear what is going to happen.
- But it can’t be all bad. It can be? - Scorpius asked.
- Yes. Well no. I mean I don't know. The only letters I have are from my mom and she always says everything at home is ok - Albus starts to get nervous - The only thing I think is going to be ok is Lily and Hugo. The things with them are always so easy. I guess because they are kids and they aren’t into all the stuff they only do their things and don’t care about what the people say.
- So try to focus on that. On the positive. Otherwise you will clearly have a bad time - Scropius said this followed by a smile and continued eating.
Breakfast was over and with that they got up to head off to their classes for the day, hopefully today would be a calm day. First they had Charms with Professor Flitwick, it was a normal class like any other. Today they were practising the Spongify Charm, trying to make a rock more flexible. Then they had History of Magic, which as usual was as boring as expected. Professor Bin went on and on with that monotonous tone and when the class was finally over Craig celebrated because it was time for his favourite time of the day, lunch.
During the meal they continued to talk about the holidays, this time Craig and Scorpius. Craig told how he was planning to go and see a muggle film that his mum loved to watch every Christmas and they watched it every year. Scorpius said that this Christmas he had thought he would try baking biscuits with his mum.
Although Albus wanted to pay attention to what his friends were saying, his thoughts were still on the very uncomfortable Christmas holidays. The good thing was that being at The Burrow would make it easier for him to avoid people because of the size of the house.
- Mum said she has improved, so that's why she is making biscuits. Normally the house elf cooks but I was keen to give it a go and she has been looking at recipes. I can send you some if you want - Scorpius smiled and looked at his friends as he finished his meal.
- I would love to try it. If you send me all of them it would be even better - Craig responded with a huge smile, showing on the spot all the food he was chewing.
- And you Albus?
- What?
- I was talking about sending biscuits for both.
- Oh, yeah yeah. I would love it. Sounds great.
- Still thinking about your family - Craig pointed at Albus with the cutlery with which he was skewering the chips.
- Albus I told you if you think about it too much, you will clearly have a bad time - Scorpius really seemed worried about his friend.
- It's not the real thing. Scorpius if you send me extra biscuits I'd appreciate it, Lily would probably love to try them and I could give them to my other cousins - Albus gave Scorpius a gentle smile.
- No problem. I can do all the ones you wanted. At the end of the day there are only four of us at home.
- Four? You, your mom, your dad and … - Craig started to count with the finger.
- And Tili.
- Tili?
- Yes, our house elf. She is like a friend to me, although she has a hard time relaxing and not doing things around the house.
- She seems nice - added Albus.
- She is.
- Mine is very old. His name is Kreacher. He used to spend the whole day talking about how the old mistress of the house would think we were traitors. It also tells stories about the family that used to live there, the Blacks. It's just that my father inherited the house because his godfather Sirius left it in his will. And it turns out that Kreacher was included in the inheritance - Albus explained this in a complaining tone showing his dissatisfaction with the situation.
- The Blacks’ house? You live in the Blacks’ house! - Scorpius' eyes widened like saucers, displaying that characteristic gleam he got whenever he was excited about something.
Craig and Albus looked at each other quizzically at Scorpius' excitement at this development.
- I am a descendant of the Blacks! My grandmother's maiden name was Black. When I was little she told me stories about her childhood and told me about her cousin and sisters. But I didn't know there was a Sirius Black, she only told me about Regulus.
- That could be because Sirius was inherited, Regulus is Sirius' younger brother.
Albus said this with a heavy sigh, he knew the story very well and more than once went to the room where the tapestry with the family tree containing burnt faces stood.
- That sounds very tragic. I feel sorry for him - Scorpius looked at the plate with a sad look on his face and let out a slight sigh - I guess it was a different time.
- Well, I'm sorry to change the subject drastically but what are we going to do this weekend? I'm going to be a month without seeing you.
Craig cut through the heavy atmosphere that had been created by throwing out ideas on how to spend the weekend. He started talking about organising an explosive Snap tournament with bets to see if they could win some money.
It was now nightfall and the three of them were in their bedroom, Craig was lying on the floor of the room still talking about the gossip of the castle while Scorpius was sitting on his bed reading a new book he had checked out from the library earlier that evening.
Albus was sitting at his desk thinking about what to write to his mother. He wasn't sure whether to express his fears about Christmas or to lie to her. When he finally made up his mind he began to write.
Hi mum:
I'm very nervous about the holidays, but I'm looking forward to it. It's been a long time since we all got together at grandma's house. I really want to see Lily, I miss her so much.
I hope Dad is doing well at work and that all is well at home.
Yes I think it would be fun to go to the coffee shop, it's been a long time since we've been there.
Kind regards,
Albus
Maybe the letter was too short but he didn't know what else to put in it and he didn't want to lie to her, so he put the letter in an envelope and the next morning he would send it.