By Christmas Eve, the Manor seemed darker still.
A tree stood in the drawing room because tradition demanded one.
Silver ornaments.
White candles.
Perfectly arranged presents.
Nothing about it felt warm.
Calli found herself thinking about Hogwarts instead.
The Great Hall covered in decorations.
Lucy laughing.
Stella rolling her eyes.
George causing problems simply because silence offended him.
Fred chasing her around the Room of Requirement with mistletoe.
She opened his music box before bed.
The tiny Thestral slowly turned.
The instrumental melody filled her bedroom so quietly that nobody outside would hear.
Calli lay against her pillows listening until it finished.
Then she closed the lid.
Tomorrow was Christmas.
She had never wanted one to end before it had even begun.
Christmas morning arrived beneath heavy snowfall.
Calli woke to silence.
No shouting down corridors.
No doors banging.
No Fred and George undoubtedly setting something on fire before breakfast.
Just the faint ticking of the clock beside her bed.
She stared at the ceiling.
"Merry Christmas." She muttered.
Nothing answered.
Calli pulled herself upright.
And froze.
Warmth spread around her wrist.
For half a second she thought she'd imagined it.
Then it happened again.
Her bracelet.
Calli threw back the covers.
She stared at the seemingly ordinary friendship bracelet Lucy had given her on the train.
Warm.
The signal.
Stella.
Her exhaustion vanished instantly.
Arthur was well enough for visitors.
Which meant Fred was there.
George.
The Weasleys.
Calli's heart hammered.
Then footsteps sounded outside her bedroom.
Calli stared at it.
Christmas had finally given her something she wanted.
Now she only had to figure out how to get out of Nott Manor.
A knock sounded at her bedroom door.
"Come in."
The door opened.
Theo stood on the other side.
He didn't enter.
"Father sent word."
YOU ARE READING
Callidora ☆ Fred Weasley
FanfictionCallidora Nott has always known exactly what is expected of her. As the daughter of one of Britain's oldest pure-blood families, her future has already been carefully planned; alliances, power, and a life shaped by tradition she never chose. At home...
