Christmas
On Christmas Eve, Lara Guishar traveled with her family to Faerydale, which is north-east of Godric’s Hollow and due east from Druid’s Grove. There, they celebrated mass in an ancient stone church. Inside, the Guishars sat on a wooden pew beside a large arch window, lit with floating candles.
There were singing of Christmas carols, and the priest gave an upbeat homily, appropriate for the season. After communion, there was a quiet moment for meditation and prayer. Here, Lara's happy feelings of Christmas – love, family and fellowship – began to fade, replaced by a cold dread.
Why can’t I be happy for once? wondered Lara. Is it wrong to enjoy my holiday?
Her thoughts constantly returned to Reginald Dennison. Though he was still just a boy, Lara thought of him as if he were already a dark lord. Our moment draws nigh, Lord Mahglin. All that we have learned this year will be pitted against each other. Your best effort versus mine, with a life in the balance. Perhaps more than one life.
Alongside this dread, she felt a deep certainty. If love is to triumph, there is still something I must learn. But for once, I won’t be stumbling blindly in the dark. There is someone I know who can help me.
On Christmas Day, the Guishars met at the home of one of Lara’s aunts. The house was full of family members, some who lived close by while others had traveled from afar to be together on Christmas. Lara’s sister Lucida was there with her husband. The older women of the family prodded Lucy with rude questions about when she was going to have a baby. I guess that will be me, soon enough, thought Lara.
No one asked Lara to give them a fortune telling, which was just as well, since her prophetic powers seldom worked for close family. Lucy had declared Lara’s powers to be an attention-getting ruse in order to get herself elected prefect. Only Slytherins are that tactical, thought Lara.
Dinner was delayed an hour by cousin Tatiana, who pulled a Christmas morning shift at St. Mungo’s. Finally, she arrived, still wearing her white robe, and the meal was served.
Lara and Tatiana sat next to one another. Tatiana had bright white hair and deep blue eyes. She was a little taller than Lara. She turned to Lara and said, “Your reputation is growing. Your O.W.L. score opened some eyes at the hospital. They’re eager to take you on this summer as an intern.”
“I would love to do that!”
“Your N.E.W.T. exam is still a ways off. When it’s closer, I’ll give you whatever help I can in your preparation. As of now, is there anything that’s giving you problems?”
“Everything has been pretty intuitive,” said Lara. “I do have a question, but we can save it for later.”
Tatiana regaled Lara with tales from the emergency room – charms gone awry, violent incidents with magical creatures, hapless people stumbling upon a trap or a cursed item in their grandparent’s estate. Meanwhile, they made their way through servings of salad, beef stroganoff, dumplings, and for dessert, thin pancakes with jam.
As soon as the table was cleared, Tatiana and Lara went off to a corner of the house by themselves. “What did you want to ask me?”
Lara’s face became solemn. “I need to know how to perform an exorcism.”
Tatiana laughed. “Demon possession is definitely not on the N.E.W.T.s, Larisa.”
“No, it’s not that. There’s a type of dark magic curse that keeps working after it’s been cast.”
“Yes. Enduring malignant curses. There might be a question about that on the written exam, but you wouldn’t be expected to perform an exorcism on the practical.”
“I need to know how to do it,” said Lara firmly. “Can you teach me?”
“Why don’t I take you back to my place,” said Tatiana. “Tell your mother we’re going.”
Lara was still mastering apparition, but it was easy enough for Tatiana to take her hand and whisk them both to her London flat. The apartment was tiny and had a sad, neglected air. “Sorry about the dust,” said Tatiana. “I’m hardly ever home. It’s just as well that I don’t have a cat. I wouldn’t be around to feed it.”
There was one thing Tatiana had in abundance, and that was bookcases. They lay against every wall in the apartment, and each were full to the brim with books. There were medical books for both magical and ordinary maladies, but also atlases, books of painters and photographers, and stacks of romance novels.
Tatiana went straight to one of her shelves, pulled a book from the top shelf and brought it to the table. Lara swept the table clean with her wand and sent dirty breakfast dishes into the sink, where an enchanted sponge began scrubbing away with hot water and soap.
Holding the book in front of her, Tatiana said in a clear commanding voice, “Enduring malignant curses.” The book opened of its own accord to the right page. The text was handwritten in black ink:
“Enduring malignant curses linger in the body, continuing to cause damage long after the spell is cast. This class of curse, found in collections such as Hell on Earth and Wicked Vengeance …”
Lara jabbed her finger down onto the page. “He has this book.”
“Who?” asked Tatiana, startled.
“Lord Mahglin.”
“A dark lord?”
“Not yet. He’s still a student. But he will become one.”
“Is he a Seventh Year?”
Lara shook her head. “He is younger than I am.”
“Larisa,” said Tatiana patiently, “a young boy isn’t going to be able to cast a spell like this. It takes training and practice. You can’t just wave your arms, say the word and have the spell work. It’s more complicated than that.”
“The book is teaching him,” said Lara.
“He’s reading the book and learning the curses?” asked Tatiana.
“I don’t really understand how it’s happening,” said Lara. “It’s something inside the book that is teaching him the curses. The first curse was bad, but I was able to fight it off. The second one will be worse. I’ll need to do an exorcism.”
“Have you told Gregor and McGonagall about all this?”
“Yes, but we can’t punish someone for something he hasn’t done yet. And, we haven’t caught him with the book yet. The time is coming when he’s going to cast the curse. I need to be ready!”
“Alright, I will teach you a basic exorcism. It would be better if I knew exactly what curse you’ll be facing, but honestly, in medicine, you rarely know. I know a good general purpose charm, and it works on demon possession as well as enduring malignancies. Let’s get started, shall we?”
It was Christmas night in East Barnet. Q had spent the day with her dad’s family. As the day drew on, she became increasingly nervous and agitated. She kept breaking away from her relatives and staring out the window at the cold grey skies. She won’t come. She’ll find some reason to beg off.
Her mother came and put her arm around her. “What’s got you so down, Claire? Aren’t you excited that your friend is coming?”
Q’s icy demeanor had all but melted away. She was on the verge of tears. “What if she can’t make it?”
Her mother smiled and ran her hand along Q’s back. “Didn’t you say your friend was in Hufflepuff?” Q nodded. “Hufflepuffs don’t break dates. They’re loyal to a fault. She’ll come. Don’t worry.”
It was easier said than done. The afternoon dragged on. Finally, they were on their way home. The knot in Q’s stomach was unrelenting. There’ll be an owl. She’s sick, or her grandmother is, and she has to stay and help.
There was no owl post waiting for her at home. The sky grew darker. The Christmas tree lights winked, the coloured lights blinking against the gold and silver balls. Those lights will seem so ordinary to her. She probably has faeries on her tree.
Music was Q’s favourite distraction, but she did not want to miss the knock on the door, so she paced the house for a half hour while her mother waited patiently and her father and brother watched a movie.
Finally, there was a soft rap of knuckles on the door. Q rushed to opened it. There was Stacy and her father.
“Hullo,” said Stacy. “Happy Christmas!”
“You made it!” cried Q, happily. “Come in.”
Q’s mother got up from the sofa and her brother and father came from the other room. Stacy’s father greeted Q’s mother and said, “Hello there! Preston Hind.”
“Marcia Quillan. I remember you from Hogwarts! You were a couple years ahead of me in Ravenclaw. This is my husband Frank and my son Bert.” The men shook hands.
“Did you find your way alright?” asked Frank.
“Yes!” said Preston. “There’s a little doohickey on the car that guides you places. It’s almost magical!” He turned to Marcia and said, “Two years behind me at school? You must know the Pixieburgs.”
“Oh gosh, I haven’t seen Toleda Pixieburg in ages!”
The two Ravenclaw alums continued their reminiscing while Q stood, rigid and trembling, in the entryway. Stacy took her hand and held it.
Bert looked up at Stacy and said, “You go to this fancy school, too, then? I still don’t understand why I can’t go there.”
Stacy knew about Bert, of course, but Q still wanted to stuff her brother under the bed for calling attention to the fact that he was a squib. Preston overheard and said, “That’s the thing with being a parent. Your first instinct may be to treat all your kids the same, but really, you’ve got to meet them where they are and give them what they need.”
To Bert, he said, “Your sister has special abilities, but she’s got to go to go away to school to learn about them properly. You, on the other hand, get to live with mum and dad full time, don’t you?” Bert nodded. “I bet you’ve got some friends among the local boys. Bet you’ve got a great big gang of friends to pal around with every day.”
“Yes!” said Bert.
“Your sister had to give all that up when she went to Hogwarts. I bet it was a difficult decision with everyone.”
“She didn’t want to go at all!” blurted out Bert. “That’s why she went to Slytherfish. Out of spite, they said.”
“Oh, Bert, don’t say such things,” said Marcia.
“Funny how these Slytherfish and Hufflebirds find one another, isn’t it?” said Preston, playing along. “Well, I must be going. What time shall we pick you up tomorrow?”
“Don’t come too early,” said Stacy. “I’m sure we’ll be up late talking. And tomorrow, there’s a football game.”
“Splendid! Haven’t seen a football game in ages. I have a half a mind to come and join you.”
“You’d be welcome,” said Marcia.
Preston put his arm around Stacy. “I’m keeping you from your friend. I’ll be on my way. Send me a message on that Witchter thing you have, and I’ll come and get you.”
“Thanks, Daddy.”
A moment later, the girls were in Q’s room. Q pushed the door closed and then pulled Stacy into a tight embrace. “I was so afraid you wouldn’t come,” she said.
“I came. I’m here. Believe me, even if I got sick, I would find a way. My best friend is a healer. She would’ve fixed me up.”
Q knew Stacy meant Lara Guishar, which made her think of Aiden Thompson and Reginald Dennison. She pushed the thoughts away. “I told my mum you were my girlfriend,” said Q in a whisper, “but I’m not sure she understood exactly what I meant.”
“So, we shouldn’t have sex tonight?” said Stacy, an offhand quip. Q looked wide-eyed back at her.
That sounds like something Tess would say, thought Q. Hufflepuffs aren’t usually this flippant.
“I haven’t seen you in over a week,” said Stacy. “How about we settle for long talks and cuddling.”
“That sounds great.”
For a long while, they talked about family and Christmas. The conversation slowly fell away. They were sitting against the wall on Q’s bed. The two enjoyed an exchange of long slow kisses.
“Oh,” said Stacy, “there was something I wanted to try.”
“What?” asked Q warily.
“I haven’t tried this before, but I think it will work. It won’t hurt, I promise.”
“Okay.”
Stacy put her hand on Q’s thigh. She closed her eyes, and her brow wrinkled with concentration. Suddenly, Q felt a rush of heat and pleasure rush into her core and slowly radiate outward.
“Oh my god, is that ….”
“Looks like it worked,” said Stacy. “That’s Liam Wren’s heat spell. He’s used it on me a few times. I’ve tried to cast it on myself, but it didn’t work. I thought if I tried it on you, it would work better.”
“Mmmm, I’ve heard about that spell. I didn’t think anyone else knew how to cast it.”
“I’ve got it down, but it took some effort. Maybe with practice I can cast it as effortlessly as he does it.”
“Yes, you should practice some more.”
The girls’ conversations (and other things) carried them deep into the night, and they slept late into the morning. After brunch (it was too late to call it breakfast), Q dressed Stacy in a blue shirt with Chelsea’s lion crest on its breast.
Stacy admired herself in the mirror. “I haven’t worn blue since I was ten years old. Blue is Ravenclaw’s colours. Like my dad and your mum, apparently.”
“What about your mother?”
“She was Badger Chaser like me. She flew with Diggory.”
“Who’s that?”
“A Hufflepuff hero. He was killed in the war.”
They settled in front of the television with Q’s dad and brother. Marcia, in true Ravenclaw fashion, went to another room to read a book.
The camera panned across the players as they finished their warmups. Stacy saw the Arsenal logo and said, “Oh! The cannon team! This is the team that Liam and Richie root for.”
“Yes.”
The game started, and for a long while the match was even. Stacy found she could follow the action easily enough, even if she didn’t understand everything perfectly. Arsenal scored just before halftime, but the Quillans were all confident that the Blues could come back.
It was not to be, however, as the Gunners pushed another goal across the line right after half time. By the time Theo Walcott made it 3-0, the mood in the house was grim. Stacy, however, was secretly pleased. As much as she loved the mysterious Claire Quillan, her truest loyalty lay with her House, and with her dear Hufflepuff brother, Liam Wren.
I bet Liam is loving this, she mused. I’ll wait a bit, I think, but I’m getting me one of those red shirts. My new favourite football team is Arsenal.