Patrick Stump and the Flying Car Brigade

Chapter 29

Chapter 29

Christmas Day had finally arrived, and I could not care less. Pete and I both preferred Halloween over Christmas, but then again, Christmas was a good excuse to relax and watch The Nightmare Before Christmas yet again.

Pete was still staying at my house on Christmas morning, and it was nearly nine in the afternoon when Pete shook me awake. "Trick!" he shouted. "Wake up! Get dressed! Don't pack your things and don't call your friends! It's Christmas!"

I yawned and rolled over in bed. "Is it really morning already?" I mumbled. "When I wake up, I'm willing to take my chances on the hope that you forget that you hate him more than you notice."

"I think those are the lyrics to Grand Theft Autumn, but I can't understand you all that well," Pete said. "Either way, you have a great soul voice. Come on! Wake up!"

I finally got out of bed, and Pete led me into the living room, where the Christmas tree was set up. "I think this one's for me!" Pete exclaimed as he took a gift from underneath the tree. "It's from your parents. It was nice of them to get something for me."

I found a gift from my parents as well, and I opened it. It was a crimson sweater. I smiled and put it on. I looked over at Pete and saw that he had gotten a matching sweater, only in blue. "I definitely prefer hoodies over sweaters for myself, but you look so cuddly," Pete said.

"Thanks Pete," I said. There were several more presents under the tree, and most of them were from our friends. Joe had gotten me a David Bowie album and he had gotten a pizza for Pete "in case he didn't get enough at Pizza Con." Andy, meanwhile, got Pete a new broomstick and I got a set of guitar picks.

"Yule shoot your eye out," Pete said when I opened up the guitar picks.

"How?" I asked. "I've been playing guitar for years."

"I don't know, but I couldn't resist the pun," Pete said. "Get it? Yule shoot your eye out?"

"Very funny, Pete. You should make that a Fall Out Boy song title," I said. No matter how bad they were, I did appreciate Pete's puns. Finally, I opened my gift from Pete, which was yet another fedora. I smiled and put it on over the one that I was wearing, while Pete laughed. "What is it?" I asked him.

"Look in the mirror," he said.

I did so, and I was shocked. My head was gone! I began to panic, but then I realised that Pete had simply given me a Headless Hat. I took off the hat and then said, "You got this from Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, didn't you?"

Pete nodded. "Ron and George are so helpful in choosing gifts for you," he said. He reached for the final gift, and opened it. I had given him a hoodie and some eyeliner. "Thanks Patrick!" he shouted.

"Can we watch The Nightmare Before Christmas now?" I asked.

"Sure, Trick," Pete said. He put on the movie, and the two of us cuddled on the couch for most of the rest of the day, occasionally stopping to enjoy the mistletoe that was hanging directly above us or to play a game of Wizard Chess. "I wish that we had gotten to stay at Pizza Con," Pete complained.

"That would have been nice," I said.

"It's my favorite 'what if,' or maybe my best 'I'll never know,'" Pete said. "I can't decide."

"It's not worth worrying about now," I told Pete. "We don't have a Time Turner, so we can't go back and change it."

"You're right, Sophomore Stump," Pete said. "You're always right."

At that moment, someone knocked on the door. I jumped up and answered it. As I opened the door, I saw that Pete's parents were here. "Hi Patrick," Mr Wentz said.

"Hello Mr and Mr Wentz," I replied. "Come on in. My mum and dad are making dinner."

Both of them entered the house. Mrs Wentz immediately started talking to Pete, while Mr Wentz stared at the portrait of Grogan Stump, my great-great-grandfather, that adorned the corridor in wonder. "How do you make those pictures move?" he asked me.

"There's a spell for it," I told him.

"Fascinating," Mr Wentz said, and I shrugged. It was mundane to me, but even after years of being married to a witch, Mr Wentz still found our world captivating.

As I entered the kitchen, I saw that Christmas dinner was almost ready. Mum finally finished making the turkey and her homemade pumpkin pasties, while Dad prepared the potatoes and the plum pudding. I helped set the table for Pete and his family.

We were all just about to sit down, when we heard some noise coming from the neighbours' house. Gerard, Frank, Ray, and Mikey were all playing a very loud rendition of "All I Want For Christmas Is You," while their friends were dancing around in the snow.

"We should go over there," Pete suggested.

"I think we're okay here," I said, taking a bite of my plum pudding.

"But they're living like washed up celebrities!" Pete complained.

"That's not necessarily a good thing," I said.

"Fine," Pete said. "I'll stay here." He started eating, while his parents got into a discussion with my parents over the Azkaban breakout.

"We live in troubled times," Dad said. "Those Death Eaters could be anywhere."

"Many of my friends still don't believe that all of them escaped," Mrs Wentz said. "Where's the truth in the written word if no one reads it?"

"We can only hope that the Aurors catch them before they cause any trouble," Mum said.

"I hope they get caught too," I said.

"Just stay at Hogwarts, Patrick," Mum said. "That is where you will be safest."

"I will, Mum," I said.

"Chicago is going to be so much better than this," Dad said. "I heard that they don't have problems with blood purity over there."

Dad just had to bring up Chicago again, and I felt like I was going to explode. I was hoping to ignore that fact for the rest of the year, but I couldn't. I couldn't ignore that this would be my last year at Hogwarts, and that I would have to fill out Ilvermorny transfer applications soon. I took a few more bites of my food, and listened to the music coming from outside. Even with Pete by my side, I felt so uncomfortable.

Pete and his family left after dinner, leaving me alone once again. All I knew was that I couldn't wait for school to begin again.