Christmas Time
Albus Potter
December 25th
The Burrow
3 : 00 am
Its Christmas Day.
Since he was a small child, he liked to wake up early on Christmas morning, to be able to have some peace and quiet before the eventual stampede of cousins going down the stairs. “ The calm before the storm, “ He liked to call it.
So slowly he rose out of bed and after careful avoiding waking James, Fred and Louis and Hugo, He closed the door of his Uncle Ron s former bedroom and slowly made his way downstairs, making a beeline for the garden.
He sat down on the porch and stared at the stars. The very early morning was his favorite time of day, since it was pitch black and the stars were in clear sight. There was no one here to tell him what to do, no one to be. He was alone here, sole master of his own little kingdom.
“ .…..Albus ? “ A voice said faintly.
With a start, he turned around and saw Daisy standing in the doorway in her pink unicorn pajamas.
“ Sorry did I wake you up ? “ Albus said softly.
“ Not really “ Daisy answered. And it was true, he noticed, her eyes were wide and alert and not the ones that a person that just woke up. He also noticed that she had one of his grandmother cooking s pots in her hands.
“ What’s that for ? “ He asked, gesturing to the pot
She shamefully averted her eyes.
“ Oh..uh…I thought someone broke into the house.” She said quietly. “ The door creaked and I….uhm…got scared. “
“ You dont have to worry. “ Albus said. “ I dont think anyone will rob the Burrow, much less know its location. We are in the middle of practically nowhere, there is only farmland for miles on end.
“ Mkay. “ But she did not look too convinced. She sat down next to Albus, and they both sit there uncomfortably acutely aware of each others presence.
“ So…uhm….what happened when we came back from the exhibit ? “
Albus suppreses a groan. His parents were furious, and with his outburst the other night, his parents decided that he would have to clean the table after the annual family Christmas dinner AND help his aunts with the laundry.
So in short, while everyone would be done feasting and talking he will be stuck cleaning up after everyone else and listening to his aunts talk while doing the laundry.
Daisy winces. “ Ouch. “ she says “ I can keep you company if you like ? “
“ Nah. I would rather you bond with the other cousins instead of spending your time over there. “
“ Uh okay, if you say so ? “
She does not sound convinced.
“ Do you do this alot ? “ She asks “ You seem to be doing this out of habit. “
Albus raises his face to the heavens and a small breeze brushes his face and rustles his hair.
“ Yeah. “ He admits “ I enjoy this time of day. Its…quiet. “
Daisy nodded, but found nothing else to say. And so the two of them just spent the rest of the time quietly staring into the vast distance.
————————————
Around 5 AM, Albus heard his Uncle Percy reindeer slippers make their way in the kitchen. He seemed unsurprised to see them both there.
“ I can never beat you can’t I ? “ He smiled tiredly. “ Would you two like a cup of hot cocoa ? “
Albus and Daisy chatted about aimless things until the sun came up and the Aunties started to prepare breakfast.
Two hours later, Albus was taking the last sip of his now ( very cold ) hot cocoa, he heard one of his cousins shout “ ITS CHRISTMAS ! “ followed by a stampede of kids running down the stairs.
The Weasley children would often rip into their presents as the adults looked on , often with a cup of coffee in their hands.
He got a box of assorted candies and a book from Scorpius, A advanced potion kit from his parents, the traditional Weasley sweater, a homework planner from his Aunt Hermione, The newest Weasley products from his Uncles Ron and George a miniature dragon figurine from his Uncle Charlie, a bunch of black clothes from Lily and Teddy and finally a Fantastic beasts and where to find them by his Uncle Percy.
As Albus opened his gifts he noticed a medium sized package with his name scrawled out in big loopy letters. Frowning, he unwrapped the gift to reveal a plain looking black book with no title.
“ Breakfast time mes Cheris ! “ his Aunt Fleur called out in her melodious voice.
His family members all rose from the floor and left until it was just him and Daisy left. He noticed that she was already wearing her Weasley sweater. She had a relatively odd look on her face.
“ Why are they so loud ? “ she whispered.
“ There always like that. “ Albus said nonchalantly. “ You get used to it. Now lets go see if we can grab the fluffy chairs before Uncle George or Fred get to them. “
The once quiet house was filled with chatter and sounds of cutlery.
“ Aunt Hermionie, these pancakes are amazing ! “ Daisy says.
“ Thank you Honey “ she says with a warm smile.
James puts his fork down first.
“ Race you all to the Christmas tree.”
He smiles mischievously and he was gone.
“ Hey that’s not fair ! “ Roxanne and Fred said at the same time.
Louis rolled his eyes and walked down the hall.
Harry gently nudged Daisy and she left with Lily.
One by one all the seats were emptied until Albus was left alone with the adults.
Victoire cleared her throat “ I should go and make sure they don’t set the house on fire. “
An awkward silence ensures as the adults notice that their is still one kid in their mist.
“ So….. Al, aren’t you going to go join your cousins ? “ Uncle Bill asks.
“ No thank you.” He stands up abruptly “ I best start doing the dishes. “
“ Albus sweetie, you do know we do the dishes after 10 : 00 right “ Grandmum asks, bright brown eyes shining in concern.
“ Yea, I know, but I-ill start early. “
“ I appreciate your concern, but I think you can start cleaning up at the same time as everybody else, Albus. “ Ginny says.
He was about to object but one look at his mothers face says he should drop the subject.
“ Alright. “
He stands up and slowly makes his way to the room that his cousins are in. James and Fred were busy having a thumb war as Dominique cheered them on, Louis and Hugo were busy having a conversation over their favorite Marvel heroes, Victoire, Molly and Lily were swapping beauty advice, and even Daisy was having a small conversation with Teddy.
They looked like…well a family.The thought made him feel a twinge in his stomach.
“ …Albus ? “ someone asks.
His back straightens and he turns around. Rose was standing behind him, arms crossed.
“ What do you want Rose ? “ he says. Rose flinches at his harsh tone. “ You haven’t talked to me in months. “
Rose swallows and for the first time, Albus notices she looks uneasy.
“ Im sorry for the way I treated you Al. “ She says quietly. “ Do you think we could be friends again ? “
“ You have got to be kidding me Rose. “ he spoke finally. “ When I got sorted into Slytherin, you refused to have anything to do with me.You actively helped Abbot and McLaggen terrorize me and my best friend ! “
Rose tried hard to not look at his face. The cousins had now stopped what they were doing and were now eavesdropping in their conversation.
“ I know Albus and I’m sorry ! “ Rose exclaims. “ I was eleven and I was stupid ! I regret all of that and I want us to be friends again ! “
“ WELL IF YOU WANTED TO BE FRIENDS AGAIN YOU COULD HAVE CAME UP TO ME IN MY SECOND YEAR ! “ Albus roars. “ YOU LEFT ME THERE TO FEND FOR MYSELF ! “
For the first time, since he ever met her, Rose Weasley looked at a loss for words.
Rose begins to sob openly and Molly ran over to comfort her.
“Would it kill you to not be a total douche for one second ! “ she yelled at him accusingly “ She was just trying to apologize to you ! “
Uncle Ron burst through the door “ Whoa , Whoa, what s going on in here ? Rosie are you okay ? “
Albus couldn’t take it anymore. He quickly brushed past Roxanne and ran out into the yard.
————————-
Daisy ? Evans ?
December 25th
The Burrow
3 : 00 pm
I decidedly pushed the door of the kitchen open.
“….Who wants to live for ever ?
A baby I was when you took my hand,
the people all stared but you didn’t understand ,
but you new my name on sight “
He had his back turned to me but I could see his lips move and his feet tap to an invisible beat. He had his eyes closed and his face was relaxed and calm….ive never seen it that way before.
“Oh whatever came of you and me,
America s new bride to be.. “
“…. Albus ? “ I said before I could stop myself.
His green eyes widened and dropped the plate into the sink.
“ Are those….earbuds ? “ I blurted out.
“ I started singing again didn’t I ? “ he muttered more for himself as he picked up the plate and I saw his face mold back into the guarded, reserved expression that he wore so often.
“ What song was that ? “ I asked.
“ Its called Now I’m here by the band Queen “ he muttered, not meeting my eyes.
“ Oh cool, my pare- “
“ Can we not talk about what just happened here “ Albus hissed. Clearly this was a sensitive topic for him.
“ O-Oh alright. “ I said nervously “ Aunty Ginny says that she wants to talk to you. “
“ Ill get there in a minute “ he says gruffly. “ Im almost done with the the dishes ”
“ Alright. “ I stand in the doorway, hesitating if I should ask if I should help.
“ You have a really nice singing voice Albus. “ I say finally as I close the door.