MATILDA - fred weasley

Chapter 15

By the time Christmas came around, Matilda had said a total of fifty seven words. She spent most of the time tucked away in her bedroom, lighting a cigarette as she leaned out the window, looking out at the hill on the other side of the town. Occasionally she'd do some homework or play a bit of Pass the Quaffle with Cedric, but mostly she stayed within the four yellow walls of her room.

Her quietness was not a measure of how exhausted the full moon was making her, but infact the result of Matilda saying one thing and her mother ripping into whatever statement had been made. Just the previous day, Matilda had come down the stairs to ask whether she could hang out with friends before the New Year, but Catherine did not approve.

"What have I told you about keeping your head down? I don't want you mingling with all these people," Catherine had said, shortly. "It only puts you and all of us in danger."

"I can't even see my friends anymore?" Matilda scoffed. "What is this, a prison?"

Catherine was not pleased with her remark, "Your father and I work very hard to put a roof over your head, warm meals — which you don't even eat! — and a pristine education that people like you don't usually get. That could all be taken away by those friends of yours. They would shun you if they knew who you really were, Matilda. I'm only protecting you."

And Matilda had apologised with 'sincerity', but on the inside there was a fire beginning to burn, deep and fierce. She was trapped in this house with no where to go, no one to talk to. Cedric would try and listen, but Matilda knew he was too loyal to his parents to side with her.

She was completely and utterly alone, just how her parents wanted her to be.

So, on Christmas morning, Matilda rolled out of bed with the hopes of simply opening her presents and then retreating back to her room until dinner. She pulled a Christmas sweater over her head and added another pair of socks before heading downstairs.

The four Diggory's gathered around the tree, exchanging presents and gifts with one another. Matilda had given Cedric a biography on one of his favourite Quidditch players, Catherine a new set of gardening tools, and Amos a signed copy of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. They all seemed pleased with their presents and thanked her with hugs and kisses — even her mother.

In return, Matilda had received a new Potions kit from her parents, and Cedric got her a collection of cassette tapes including Mazzy Star, the new Nirvana album and The Cure. She was very grateful for the gifts and was about to leave when her mother surprised her with another.

"We thought you could do with this," Catherine said, passing Matilda a box.

She took it in her hands cautiously, unsure of what she would find. "Alright..." Opening the lid, the smile that had been on Matilda's face faded. Sitting inside the box was an entire set of makeup and beauty products, along with a few books on how to improve your appearance. Matilda looked up at her mum and dad, waiting for one of them to break out of their stoic faces and let her know it was a joke. A sick joke, at that.

"You got me...a beauty set? And books to make me look presentable?"

Oh, Matilda was both humiliated and offended.

Catherine nodded, stepping forward and looking through Matilda's hair, "Yes, though I suppose we should have added a hair-care treatment too..."

Cedric stood up from where he'd been sitting to have a look at the gift, " 'Blemish-Away Cream — made of Moonstone and Boomslang Skin', 'Snail-Goo — for the best sleep of your life!'. Mum, what are these?"

"They'll make Matilda look beautiful," Catherine said, opening the Blemish-Away Cream, scooping some of the white cream onto her finger tips and rubbing it into Matilda's face. Matilda tried to pull out of her mother's reach but Catherine kept her still. "See? You look so much better now. Perhaps someone will finally find you attractive."