The Ghost of Christmas Past
In the upcoming night, Barty has a hard time falling asleep, not only because of his insomnia but also because he can't stop thinking about Evan…
Tomorrow his boyfriend will go alone to France, visiting his family…
France, where a lot of hot, French people live…alone the thought of Evan with someone else makes his jealousy rise. Evan is his, his alone.
Did he make the wrong decision? Should he go with Evan? He loves Evan…he was never able to say it, thought.
No, he is staying here. He has to prove his point.
So after a lot of thinking and restless rolling around in his bed, he falls asleep.....
In the middle of the night, Barty gets startled; he gets shocked out of his sleep. He hears noises coming from his hallway… “Evan?” He calls out; did his boyfriend come back to talk things out? But it doesn't sound like Evan. Loud steps come closer to his door. Barty quickly grabs his wand and turns the light on; who could possibly break into his house?
He hears banging, creaking, and something like… chains?
Before he can think of a realistic explanation for this, a ghost flies into his bedroom—not a random ghost, no. It's his father who died years ago; chains around his body and on the chains are heavy chests. “YOU?!" Barty asks, horrified, This has to be a nightmare, he never wanted to see this man ever again.
"My son....." The ghost of his father starts before he gets interrupted, "I am not your son." Barty always hated this man. His father was too stunned to speak for a moment; he didn't expect a reaction like this, but he starts again, "Bartemius, you need to change… I was cruel my whole life and ended in hell, you're about to ruin your life too! Cha-" before he can finish his sentence, Barty rolls his eyes, "as if I would listen to you." He just turns the light off and lays back down. Such an ass, he thinks, and goes back to sleep. The ghost of his father disappears again.
Barty wakes up again, not even an hour later, due to a familiar singing voice, "Huh?" He tries to understand what's happening, still sleepy from being woken up so cruel. He knows that voice. "Pandora?" he rubs his eyes. Why should his boyfriend's sister be in his bedroom in the middle of the night? He tries to understand what's happening. As he looks around, he sees Pandora. But it's not Pandora. Well, she looks like Pandora; she also sounds like her, but it's a ghost?
"I am not Pandora! I am the ghost of Christmas past," she declares with a wide grin. Barty looks even more confused. "You're the what of the what?"
"Come on, come on, come on!" She pulls him excited up. "Where are we going?" Barty is still tired, he just wants to sleep one night through.
"We go visit your past Christmas! This will be so exciting!" The Ghost pulls Barty into a portal.
As they walk out, they arrive at a beautifully decorated house. Christmas music comes from the kitchen and the smell from freshly baked cookies. Pandora, the ghost, looks happy. "It's beautiful here!... The lights are turned way down low. Let it snow! Let it snow!" She sings along.
Barty takes a deep breath and steps into the kitchen. "... Mum?" In the kitchen is his mum baking with 6-year-old Barty, both look so happy.
Little Barty snacks on some cookie dough, which makes his mum laugh, "Don't eat too much, little bee. We still need some to actually bake cookies," she lovingly pats her son's head. "Yes mum!" Little Barty grins, he stands on a stool to be better able to reach up on the kitchen counter.
It seems like a happy memory—mother and son having a good time, singing and baking. Yes, it's one of Bartys favorite memories, until...
"What did you do to my house?!" His father came home from work...
"Oh, come on, my dear, don't act like the Grinch," his mum says to lighten the mood.
"No! No! No! You put the decoration down! Right now!... And you!" Little Barty was sitting on the kitchen counter, his dad roughly grabbed his arm and pulled the young boy down. "Can't you pay more attention?! Your clothes are covered in flour! Go! Get cleaned!" Little Barty sneaks off to the bathroom, hearing his parents yell from the kitchen.
The now grown-up Barty watches with the ghost of past Christmas, "Can we leave?" He asks quietly. "No, no, no! The next Christmas was better, right?" Pandora tries to stay positive and joyful, so again she pulls him through the portal, it's Christmas two years later, no decoration, no Christmas music, nothing...
They hear voices from Bartys room, so they go upstairs.
Now 8-year-old Barty sits in his room with his mum, she hugs her child. "I'm sorry we can't celebrate Christmas anymore, but we don't want your dad to get mad, do we?" She gently strokes his back. "I hate dad." He mutters, already bitter at such a young age.
"Hey, hey, don't say that...your dad is just a really strict person, alright? He wants the best for you." Little Barty believes his mum, he always would.
"Look, even though we don't celebrate, I have a little gift for you." Little Bartys eyes light up at his mother's words, he takes it and quickly unwraps it—it's a Luke Skywalker action figure, his favorite. "Thank you, Mum! I love it!" He gives his mum a big hug before jumping up and drawing a picture for her.
"Well, not like I expected, but it's still a good memory, right?" Pandora smiles at Barty. "Yes, it was, but we never celebrated the way we used to."
"I'm sorry…" Pandora pats his shoulder, "... Anyway, let's see more!" They went through the next portal, only to land 4 years in the future...
Barty was 12 at that time, laying in his bed in his dark room, crying and holding the action figure he got years ago.
Nothing else happens, Barty cries himself to sleep.
Pandora looks confused, so Barty explains "My mum passed away this year, I never celebrated Christmas again, I hate Christmas." Pandora takes Barty hand to show him, she empathizes "Barty-"
"Take me home now... Just, take me home."
They walk through the portal one last time.
Barty finds himself alone in his room, it feels like he just woke up, was this just a dream? It has to be. He looks over at his nightstand, he still has the little action figure, it's leaning on a framed Pic of him with Evan and Reg back to their Hogwarts time. "I wish I could see you one last time, Mum" he mutters before he tries to fall back asleep.