BY fates design

A dance?

Thump. Cassiopeia jerked awake when a body slammed into hers. Her eyes shot open, one hand reached for her wand while the other went to shield the body beside her before she relaxed as she heard the giggles of a girl. "Merry Yule!" She exclaimed, sitting up on her torso.

"Merry Yule Toria, Lulu." Cassiopeia smiled at the two girls. They were both in their pyjamas, hair messy and tangled from sleep, she could faintly see the stains of drool on their chins.

Pandora smiled at her daughter who sat beside her, she was glad that even though she was not there to raise her, she was still a good and happy child.

"Come on, get up! We want to open our presents before the ball! Come on, come on, come on!" Astoria and Luna took one of her arms each, pulling her out of the bed. Cassiopeia giggled at their antics and allowed herself to be dragged to the lounge, Delilah staggering behind her with her hand in Luna's, where the rest of the house's residents were already waiting.

No one had bothered to dress or brush their hair, Annabeth and Kira still had their bonnets on their head, Ginny was sat between them with her eyes barely open. "Merry Yule." Cassiopeia said as she sat down in the last open space. It just so happened to be both beside Percy and the furthest possible seat from her father.

Fleamont and Euphemia shared a look, shaking their heads. To say they were disappointed was an understatement. First the behaviour of their bastard grandson and now their own son. It was appallingly to see how far the Potter name would fall if left to the boys of the house.

A chorus of greetings met her ears. Jake and Alex were sat on the floor by the tree, handing out the presents to their rightful owners. Gradually piles of gifts formed next to each person.

Taking it in turns they opened their presents, giving their gratitude for each one as they went. There was no haste to their actions, it was still early and the ball wasn't going to start until 6:00 that evening.

A spike of envy shot through Draco, they looked so happy, so warm. Yule at his home was always a cold day, he would open the gifts he got alone before disappearing back to his room till he had to leave for whatever ball they would be attending. At times his mother would be there but she usually had other issues to attend to and his father wasn't an option for such family business.

While Cassiopeia adored all of her gifts she held one particularly close. It was a sketchbook from Percy, she had mentioned in passing that hers was running out of pages. It was simple, a brown leather bound book, however, written on the inside cover, in Percy's handwriting, was the words, 'greet the world with open arms'.

It was a reference to a conversation she had had with him while painting part of her Narcissus portrait. She had told him that the world felt far too hostile at times, that perhaps people needed to have a gentler outlook on life. To greet others with a smile and a kindness that was lost in the world as of late.

"That is a beautiful way to look at life." Andromeda said. From her side Narcissa expressed her agreement though Bellatrix appeared more hesitant to the idea. After all, why should she be kind to a life that did not offer her the same kindness in return?

She held it close to her, her ring clad fingers clutching it tightly. Her gaze was settled on his face, her eyes traced each feature patiently, inspecting every aspect of him. In his hands was a beautiful box, his fingers traced each detail of it.

She recognised it in an instant, after all she had given it to him. Within the confines of the cube was a charm, she had got it to go on his camp necklace with his beads. It was simple enough, a trident between the two points of a crescent moon. She had seen it and thought of him immediately, buying without hesitation.