Confident | Fred Weasley

Chapter 77 | Festive

The first of December arrived quickly, bringing with it a new festive appearance to Diagon Alley and its many shops. There was tinsel and lights hanging in the windows, holly wreaths, beautifully decorated evergreen trees, and fake snow charms cast in doorways.

Weasley Wizard Wheezes quite literally outshone all the shops. The lights were brighter and flicked a variety of colours. There were piles of snow outside the shop, so it seemed as if you'd stepped into a winter wonderland when approaching. Inside the shop, there was tinsel hung from the handrails of the staircase and lights dangling like curtains from the roof. The thing that drew one's eye the most was the massive Christmas tree in the middle of the shop. The tree was practically buried in WWW's Christmas decoration line. There were baubles that changed colours hanging from branches, tinsel that tied you up if you touched it, little wizards that would whizz around the tree on festive brooms and lights that re-arranged themselves to spell inappropriate words. The star on the top of the tree, the Christmas best seller, would explode on Christmas day at noon in a shower of beautiful sparkles.

Sarah would've stuck around to stare at the decorations longer, but she still wasn't supposed to be seen there. It was especially busy on the first of December, reminiscent of the footfall the shop experienced during the summer.

Sarah briefly oggled at the decorations before hurrying back upstairs. A variety of Christmas decorations were waiting to be sorted through. Some had been purchased, and some were taken from the WWW line. That evening, once the shop closed and Capri finished work, the group intended to decorate the flat.

Sarah was quite excited for their first Christmas living together. It was something nice to look forward to, especially considering life had been rather stressful as of late. Sarah shuddered at the reminder of the album release party and all the sleepless nights.

Sarah stepped into the flat, which was far too chilly for her liking. With a flick of her wand, the fireplace was lit. Sarah headed to the kitchen to prepare some mulled wine and hot chocolate, must-haves for decorating at Christmas.

As she took out some pots and pans from the cupboard, the thought that maybe she was doing too much struck her. Then again, she'd never got to decorate for Christmas before. Her foster home was never decorated for Christmas because decorations like tinsel and glass baubles were dangerous for children. Sarah also thought that the Carter's were a bit stingy and didn't want to waste money or time on purchasing decorations. Then, the house-elves did the decorations at Hogwarts overnight, so when you woke up, it seemed as if the castle had become festive like magic.

So, no, Sarah felt like it was her right to overdo decorating for Christmas. She'd heard from other people that this was a significant Christmas season tradition, and now that she had some sort of odd family, it was only fair that she got to take part.

As she began to peel some oranges for the mulled wine, someone knocked on the flat door. Sarah was quick to draw her wand and hurry to open it.

Stood on the other side was Sirius, buried in a winter cloak and hat, holding a stack of letters. The tip of his nose and cheeks were still rosy from the cold outside.

"Sirius!" Sarah pointed her wand at him. "What's your animagus form?"

"A black dog." Sirius answered.

With that, Sarah smiled and let him in.

"What are you doing here? Do you want tea or coffee, or something?" Sarah asked, ushering Sirius into a seat at the dining table.

"No, no. I'm fine, thanks. I can't be here for long. I have some letters to deliver," Sirius answered, placing his hat on the table.

Sarah sat down opposite him, "You're doing the Human Owl service now?"