Dark Pasts { A Harry Potter Story }

Chapter 44 - Christmas at Grimmauld Place

Hermione and I quickly entered Number 12 Grimmauld Place and shut the door, both of us stumbling over our luggage, still slightly dizzy from all the shaking and spinning we had suffered aboard the Knight Bus.

"Oh, girls!" Mrs. Weasley said as she rushed to greet us. "It's wonderful to see you!"

We smiled as she hugged us. "Harry and Ron are upstairs and were just decorating the kitchen!"

We nodded as she took our luggage and placed it out of the way. Hermione turned to look at me. "Do you want to- oh, right..." she sighed. "I'll just go and check on Harry and I'll be right back, promise."

She quickly walked up the stairs, leaving me alone in the narrow corridor. I could hear Sirius singing "God Rest Ye Merry, Hippogriffs" at the top of his lungs in the kitchen and smiled as I walked to greet him.

"Elizabeth!" He said happily as I walked through the door frame. The others all smiled and greeted me happily.

"Sirius!" I said as he hugged me before proceeding to drag me away from the others. "I spoke to your dad..."

"And?" I said curiously.

"He said he might try and be here on Christmas," he said with a smile.

"He won't come, Sirius," I sighed.

"You never know," He squeezed my shoulders gently before placing a box of decorations in my arms and sending me off to decorate the tree.

We all worked hard in the run-up to Christmas Day to make sure that the house was well decorated for the holiday, and by the time Christmas arrived, Grimmauld Place was barely recognizable. It no longer felt like a dark and spooky home that once belonged to a family of dark wizards. It was now warm and cozy, with an almost homey feeling like the one felt at the Burrow.

I awoke on Christmas morning to find a stack of presents at the bottom of my bed. Hermione and I happily began to open them, and I hugged her as I thanked her for the diary she had given me. Ron had given me a few sugar quills, which he knew I was absolutely crazy for while Fred and George had given me fainting fancies which I was certain I would not be so crazy for. I also got a lovely charcoal sweater and some mince pies from Mrs. Weasley, a beautiful quill from Sirius and some chocolate frogs from Lupin. There was one last package on the ground and I slowly picked it up: it was from Harry. I opened it and smiled to myself when I saw the most beautiful edition of Tales and Fantasies by Robert Louis Stevenson.

When Hermione and I walked out of our room, we heard Fred telling Ron and Harry that Mrs. Weasley was crying because Percy had returned his sweater. I frowned at these words and quickly made my way down to the kitchen to wish everyone a Merry Christmas.

"Thank you so much for the sweater and mince pies," I told Mrs. Weasley as I hugged her, "that was too kind."

"Oh, dear," she smiled brightly, "you're too kind."

She went to serve everyone breakfast and I turned to see Harry right beside me.

"Thanks for the book, Liz," he said as he gestured to the copy of Quidditch Teams of Britain and Ireland he was holding.

"My pleasure," I said with a small smile, trying to get rid of the image of him and Cho kissing from my head. "And thanks so much for the book, it's gorgeous and I can't wait to read it."

"Has anyone seen Kreacher lately?" Sirius asked. I took this as my moment to separate myself from Harry and sat down at the table beside Hermione.

"I haven't seen him since you ordered him out of the kitchen," Harry said.

They were still talking about the whereabouts of Kreacher when Mrs. Weasley whispered in my ear. "This came for you this morning, dear," she said as she handed me a small package.