"the flower that blooms in adversity is the most rare and beautiful of all."
in which Peony Parkinson falls for Fred Weasley amidst a sea of adversities and finds herself grow stronger in the process
note: this is a slow-paced story taking place fro...
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chapter five
Slowly, the end of Christmas break arrived and the stocking and tree came down, the green tree with all matching silver decorations was gone just days after Christmas.
New Years came and went by with little fanfare. It was never a holiday the Parkinsons took too seriously. For them, life would just continue, nothing would change when a new year came along.
And soon the Parkinson sisters were making their way back to Hogwarts. With Vance and Lamia standing before the fireplace, arms linked as Pansy and Peony made their way down the manor's steps.
Their bags and luggage had been sent the night before by the house elves. All of their new gifts are packed in as well or placed in their rooms.
Peony had received new oil paints, rare and vibrant, imported from France by her father and new silk button up shirts from Lamia.
She had bought her dad a few new ties as he mentioned he was running low, for her stepmother a color wheel for house decor similar to one she used for clothes. And Pansy had received a few bracelets from Peony. Soon after the dinner and gift exchange on Christmas night, the girls would head back up to their rooms and their parents would sometimes visit friends, the Malfoy, Nott, or Greengrass family. At times they would take the girls with them but with the risk of Peony feeling ill and Pansy being so young, they usually left them at home.
For the rest of their break, Peony would find ways to entertain herself, pointedly avoid her most recent drawing and the book sitting on her nightstand, then share breakfast and dinner with the family.
And when the time came they would find themselves in front of the marble fireplace, Peony taking the green powder before stepping towards the flames, "Hogwarts Castle!"
The squeeze of the Floo Network didn't allow her to breath until she was back in McGonagall's fireplace, taking deep breaths that sucked ash into her lungs.
Coughing, she jumped out a fire just as Pansy arrived. "Welcome back girls. If you could head back to your common rooms, lessons begin Monday morning as usual."
"Yes professor." The Parkinson sister called before leaving the office, taking their separate ways as Peony made her way to the Ravenclaw common room, and Pansy to the Slytherin.
Robert was already waiting for her there. Sitting in front of the fireplace with a book in hand. He smiled when she sat beside him, "Nice Christmas?"
Peony fought the wavering of her lips as she smiled back, "Yes, and you?"
"Excellent. We went to the states, where my sister lives and we tried skiing."
She tilted her head to the side and he seemed to understand that she had no idea what that was, "Oh, skiing. It's basically when you're on a hill of snow and you stand on these wooden sticks that help you glide down that hill. It's wicked fun."
