Running Year 2

Chapter Seven

Christmas Eve and the manor was alight with joy and chatter and cheer. Narcissa glided through the living room, meeting guests and family and friends, laughing at all the right jokes, asking all the right questions; she'd been trained for this since she was a child, she knew how to be a hostess. But this year, her heart wasn't really in it. She always held these Christmas parties; decorating was a spark of enjoyment for her, a time to spend with her son as they put up the tree, covered it in ornaments and set up the halls and rooms in preparation for the oncoming guests. And her husband insisted on it. It was good for networking. But this year, her son had chosen to stay at Hogwarts, his letter to her had said he was sure his father wouldn't miss him and that he'd see them in the summer.

Lucius was a mediocre father. Sure, he was there, tried to teach his son how to be a future Lord and the importance of social roles and the expectations of a family like theirs, but affection? Empathy? Care? It really wasn't there. This past summer, her husband had been particularly occupied, barely sparing his son a second glance. Now, he barely seemed to notice his only son wasn't home for Christmas. She saw how Draco looked up to his father, following him around like a puppy, copying whichever mannerisms he could, but Lucius dismissed him, often angrily even. He was never outright insulting, but clearly his dismissal had finally gotten to their son.

She sighed as she entered the kitchen. Of course, she wasn't cooking or serving, they'd hired help for such menial tasks, but she needed a breather. It had broken her heart receiving that letter, packaging his presents for him to open away from home. The party felt less alive without her boy. A server entered the kitchen and she fixed her smile, bracing herself for the crowd of guests in her home. This Christmas was absolutely not what she wanted it to be.

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Christmas at Hogwarts was always magical. Though the warmth and familiarity of home could be missed, that feeling was immediately overshadowed by the awe created by the grand decor of the Great Hall and the incredible spread of food provided throughout the day. Ginny bounded down for lunch with her brothers. She'd been feeling somewhat better. Her 'new year, new me' was starting early: she was going to focus on herself and she was going to be happier because of it. She'd been spending more time with the twins and though they spent most of their time with her trying to prank her in one way or another, she was still having fun. As she bounded down to lunch, even Ron, who was now known for having a constant scowl on his face seemed to be in a good mood.

As he made his way through his breakfast, he smiled up at his sister. Since her weepy mood had finally dissipated, she was much more tolerable to be around, and she'd made herself the newest target of the twins pranks, sparing him from their holiday cheer. His winter holidays had been, somewhat boring. He was working on himself, going to the library, actually trying to improve, revisiting old spells from his first year. He wasn't sure what he was going to do with all this. Fight Hermione. Impress Harry. Impress his family. Impress Dumbledore. Finally stand out. Whatever it was, it couldn't hurt. He was overlooked by everyone, he was going to make sure that changed.

As they sat down to eat, the twins dragging Percy along to join them, carrying armloads of presents.

"Here we go everyone," Fred began handing the presents down the table. A sweater for each of them and something new. For once, their dad had sent them each a present too. It was a surprise to all of them. Normally, their dad just claimed to pitch in with whatever their mum sent them. Ginny put a small butterfly clip in her hair, apparently muggle girls really like them, but her dad had charmed hers to flutter slightly. The twins had received a pair of mood rings that muggles claimed changed colour according to how you felt, according to their dad he'd found it didn't actually work but it was a fun gimmick, and they appreciated getting something from him. Percy had received a collection of notebooks, supposedly easier to take notes on than the parchment and ink pots Hogwarts used - Percy wasn't sure how much he believed that muggles could provide better stationary than his Flourish and Blotts premium parchment and ink but he was excited to try it all the same.