mirrorball

chapter eleven

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Snow fell onto the thin sidewalk as Clara stared out the long window. It was Christmas Eve, and although she was in a warm house with plenty of company, she felt extremely lonely. She longed to be with her father in their small house on the hillside. Despite this, she tried her best to engage wholeheartedly in the Weasley family traditions. She had played board games, baked pies, and had even let Hermione and Ginny dress her up in one of Hermione's spare dresses. The dark green dress cut off right below her knees, and Ginny had put her hair into some sort of fancy braid. The other girls also pinned up their hair and slipped into pretty dresses, but they only stayed in these outfits for about two hours. Ginny and Hermione had insisted on taking pictures, but they all quickly changed once it was time for dinner.

Mrs. Weasley had spent all day in the kitchen, and it was clear once the odd group walked into the room that she had put everything she had into this meal. The tables were lined with almost as much food as Hogwarts served, and brilliant smells filled Clara's nose. 

Clara sat at the far side of the table next to Mr. Weasley and Ginny. She sat back and watched everyone in the room talk and laugh in unison. they all looked so happy, so connected. It was as if they were a family, even though some of them didn't share blood. Even Sirius and Molly, who usually didn't talk in order to avoid conflict, were conversing with ease. In the middle of the whole scene was Harry Potter, he laughed and talked with, well everyone. He swiftly moved from conversation to conversation, never leaving anyone without his input. Ron began to tell everyone a story about last year's Christmas and the Yule Ball, which caused Hermione to roll her eyes and let out a laugh. Harry laughed along before looking over at Clara and giving her a warm smile. Something inside of her filled with joy and she sent a short smile back before looking down at her plate. 

After dessert was served the girls quickly jumped into their pajamas and brushed their teeth. Clara was just finding a comfortable place on her mattress when two hands shook her. She opened her eyes to reveal the Weasley twins standing over her. She opened her mouth to shout at them but George's hand was quickly placed over it. Fred brought a finger to his lips and gestured to the door. Hermione and Ginny were already standing up and seemed ready to leave the room.

"What the hell?" Clara whispered into George's hand. He removed it and raised his eyebrows.

"You've experienced a lot of Weasley traditions today," he said.

"But we've still got one more." Fred said with a wink.

Clara rolled her eyes and scrambled out of her blanket. She readjusted her shirt and looked at Ginny and Hermione who only wiggled their eyebrows in excitement.

"Meet us in Ron's room." the twins said before apparating out of the room.

Ginny and Hermione let out a quiet squeal and grabbed Clara's hands. The girls tiptoed up the stairs and quietly knocked on Ron's door. They were greeted by the twins who handed each of the girls a purple party hat. Clara fiddled with it in her hands before Fred grabbed it and snapped it on to her head.

"Ow!" Clara said as the string snapped at her chin.

"It's tradition, sorry mate." Ron said, sporting his own hat.

Pillows were set down in a circle and Clara sat down on the only vacant one. Everyone was silent for a few minutes as the twins exchanged whispers.

"Are we going to do drugs or something?" Clara blurted out.

"Oh dearest Clara," Fred said.

"Do you really think that low of us?" George pouted.

Ron rolled his eyes and shoved George's arm.