mirrorball

chapter nine

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Clara sat up in bed and let out a painful gasp. Her nightmare had returned, and just as before it had stopped before she could make any sense of it. Her hair fell in front of her eyes as she pulled herself from her bed and began her preparation for Hogsmeade. She and Luna had agreed to make homemade gifts this year, neither of their families were particularly wealthy and the two girls had limited funds themselves. She was supposed to meet Luna at noon, which gave her three hours to get dressed, eat, and figure out what to buy for everyone else. Luckily Hermione had left her a list of everyone's interests, and ideas for gifts. So far she knew she needed to get presents for Ron, Ginny, Harry, her father, Hermione, Mrs. Weasley, Mr. Weasley, Fred, and George. Clara grabbed her bag and hoped she hadn't forgotten anyone. 

Her present for Luna had already been made, although it didn't turn out exactly how she wanted. She had attempted to knit Luna a pair of gloves, but one was missing a finger and the other's thumb was unusually large. Knitting was one of the only things Clara wasn't good at and she had wanted to quit for some time now, but Luna always asked her to make her things so that she would keep going. It was common for Clara to drop things she wasn't immediately good at, and Luna strongly disliked this.

Clara's boots made a soft crunch as she walked to Luna. The crisp air felt cool against Clara's hands as she took them out of her pockets to wrap them around Luna. The girls quickly ran off to the small village and chatted the whole way. After two hours of searching, Clara had finally gotten a present for everyone. 

She waved goodbye to Luna and carried the packages to her dorm. She carefully cut and folded wrapping paper over the presents. There were seven in total, and she was quite proud of herself as she looked over them. There was a Chudley Cannons poster for Ron, a broom cleaning kit for Ginny, prank supplies for George and Fred, a flashlight for Mr. Weasley (who apparently had a fascination with muggle culture), a copy of Recipes For Pro-Cookers for Mrs. Weasley, a new spell book for Hermione, and a new hat for her father. 

Crap. She had forgotten about Harry. She knew she had forgotten someone! Oh well, maybe she could knit him something. It would turn out horrible, but maybe she could say it was a reflection of how he treated her. No, she should try to be nice to him, it would be Christmas after all. The time of cheer and kindness.

Clara strolled down the hall to dinner. To her surprise, the feast was even more exquisite than usual. The tables were filled with wonderful dishes, and Clara wasn't sure where to start. After a while of chowing down on warm rolls, sliced turkey, and all types of pie, owls started flying through the hall. A package dropped in front of Clara and she eagerly opened the attached card. 

My Dearest Clara,

Attached is your Christmas gift. Take care of yourself. I hope you have a wonderful Christmas and I am so sorry we couldn't spend the holiday together. Enjoy your break and make sure you're getting ahead in classes. I was pleased to hear you are getting top marks in Potions, keep it up.

Happy Christmas,

Your Father

Clara smiled and put the card back into its jet black envelope. She was making her dad proud, and hadn't that been her goal this year? After dinner Clara rushed back to her dorm to put her present into her suitcase. She would be leaving tomorrow and she double checked her list to make sure she hadn't forgotten anything. The suitcase shut as she waved her wand and she placed her outfit for tomorrow onto her desk. Clara wasn't exactly nervous to go to the Burrow, but she was definitely on edge. The mirror reflected her image and she inspected herself quickly. Her hair was longer than she liked it, and the bags under her eyes seemed to get darker everyday. Maybe a break was exactly what she needed.