"I write her a letter
just a few short lines,
and suffer death
a thousand times."
Asteria O'Connor, sole heir of a prestigious wizarding family,
has other plans when the self-proclaimed Marauders decide to
torment her and her housemates.
It's abo...
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aster
"Come on Aster," Regulus urges from behind me.
"Gimme a minute you impatient jellyfish." I turn back to Lily to find her giving me an amused smile. "As I was saying, try not to miss me too much."
She rolls her green eyes. "How could I? I'm still trying to wash the custard out of my hair from Slughorn's Christmas party."
"I didn't know it was gonna be such a big explosion. Still managed to blame it on Black though. It worked out perfectly after he came with Slinkhard. Who else would've tried to ruin the party? Why only a certain Marauder who declined Slughorn's invitation in the first place."
"You're so evil."
"I try my best."
Around us parents rejoin with children, younger siblings hold onto older ones, owls rattle in cages and pure joy fills Platform 9 3/4. The train home at Christmas has always been joyful. Even if you're going home to an unloving home where Christmas isn't even celebrated, smiles are infectious. Personally I think smiles are villainous things. You could be having the most heated argument with someone about life or death and all of a sudden they break into a smile. They laugh. You laugh. And you hate them for it.
Reggie coughs from behind me.
"You really should get going." She hands me a long rectangular box. "At least wait until Christmas Day for this one. Otherwise you'll have nothing else to open."
I place a hand over my chest. "You wound me, Evans. Making fun of my neglectful home life – that's low."
"So is framing Black for a multitude of pranks simply because you had a falling out with him when you were both eleven."
"Take this ruddy present and be off with you, evil witch," I scold, pressing a horribly wrapped photo album into her chest.
I've added the few photos I have of myself and her, sometimes accompanied by Remus. I made sure to leave out any memories of Severus as it would definitely upset her. It's just to get her started. The idea is that she'll continue it throughout the years, even when I'm not there with her, until she's old and saggy.
"I love you," she whispers, wrapping her arms around my neck.
I pull her in so that I'm nuzzled into her wooly jumper. "Hate you."
"Eternally?"
"Eternally."
The busy streets outside of King's Cross Station look normal enough with the hustle and bustle of inner-city London. To any normal passerby one might simply think it's because of Christmas shopping; people frantically scouring shelves for something each member of their family might enjoy enough to not throw away immediately – at least waiting until a week after New Year.
