Selenophile // Marauders

|74| Christmas - Part II, Sixth Year

25th of December, 1976

Riley wore a simple dress for Christmas dinner. It was very dark blue, it was right above her knees, the straps were thin, and it was very plain. She never really cared about what she wore for special days or normal days which mostly drove her mother crazy.

"Riley!" her mother yelled from downstairs. "Are you ready?"

"Yes! Don't forget the mashed potatoes!" she reminded her mum. She then went downstairs as she grabbed her coat and went next to the door.

"Their cousins are also coming, aren't they?" Madelyn Spade asked. "What was their names again?"

"The older boy is Will and his brother is Walter, I have no idea what their parents are called. Also, Will is a wizard, he was the quidditch captain but he graduated from Hogwarts two years ago or so," Riley informed.

"So Ethan and Penny know about this magical world stuff?" her mum asked confusedly. "No, they don't. They think he went to this boarding school in Scotland just like me, they don't really like him, they find him annoying."

They walked over to their house and knocked on the door. It was quickly opened by Mrs. Humphrey who was wearing a green, long-sleeved dress. She had her hair blonde hair in a tight bun.

"Madelyn! Riley!" she exclaimed. "Welcome! Come in, come in."

"Adelaide!" Ms. Spade said as they hugged and she handed Adelaide Humphrey the mashed potatoes. The two went inside and saw the house decorated with many decorations. The Christmas tree's colorful lights sparkled as the star on the top shone.

"They should be out in the garden, Riley," Mrs. Humphrey added sweetly. Riley's eyes widened as she looked at Penny and Ethan sitting outside in the cold all by themselves.

"Penny and Ethan— outside on a winter day—" she said to herself. "Is the world coming to an end..."

She opened the door to the garden as she saw the twins sitting on the chairs. The weather was almost dark.

"What are you two doing outside?" she asked teasingly. "You hate the cold."

"We are hiding," Penny said quickly.

"Hiding?" Riley asked. "Your mum knows you two are out here."

"She'll make us set the table or somethin'," said Ethan. "But even she's surprised that we are sitting outside so she doesn't want to jinx it or something..."

"You two are so fucking dumb," said Riley with a chuckle. "So they didn't come yet?"

"No, maybe they died in a car crash," said Ethan. "How sad..."

"Don't joke about that!" Riley said sharply with an offended tone. She had lost too many people to take these jokes as normal jokes. Even Ethan then went silent, realizing what he just said.

"I mean— I hope they forgot to come here—" he tried to fix it but it was too late. There was a knock on the door.

The three friends turned quickly to the door and saw the four people enter. Will, Walter, and their parents. Walter looked older now since he was about eight years old, Will was probably nineteen years old. Riley had no idea when his birthday was.

"Nathaniel!" Mrs. Humphrey said cheerfully as she greeted her brother. After an awkward entrance and Ms. Spade meeting the Dalton's, they finally sat down for dinner. Riley had never realized that the dining table was this big for ten people to fit.

Everything looked delicious, the big turkey stood in the middle of the table with the stuffing and gravy around. The red table cloth looked shiny as if someone dipped it in glitter and then put it on the table.