Alohomora

9) The Most Magical Time Of The Year

I woke up Christmas morning to the smell of hot chocolate and tapping at the window. Sitting up in bed i stretched then walked over to the window. The garden was covered in a thick blanket of snow, large sparkling icicles hung from the trees. I opened the window and let in a cold rush of air and Dracos owl. He dropped a parcel on the window ledge then flew away. Petal was asleep in her cage. I took the package and made my way downstairs.

In the front room, the fire was roaring, mugs of steaming hot chocolate and sweets were stood on a small table. The tree was glowing and the decorations were dancing from their strings. Under the tree had presents spilling out. I waited for my parents, fighting the urge to open the smallest present whilst they weren't looking. I picked up a hot chocolate and blew on it slightly before taking a sip. Just then my mother walked in, closely followed by my father, both with huge smiles on their faces. "Merry Christmas" said my dad as he too picked a mug of hot chocolate. We all moved so we were sat on the floor by the warmth of the fire to open our presents. This year i had a rather large pile. 

From my parents i got some sweets, some clothes, some books, a necklace with a ruby stone, some Gryffindor decorations such as small flags used for quidditch which they found in a shop in Diagon Alley and some galleons to spend on whatever i wanted. Hermione had bought me a very interesting book about charms and another book about muggle fairy stories. Ron had bought me some chocolate frogs. From Harry, some every flavour beans and from Draco a bracelet with a ruby stone charm, matching the necklace from my parents. 

Once our presents had been opened and hot chocolate drunk, we all went through to the kitchen to prepare the dinner. Every year my mother would cook the roast whilst my dad drank a little too much wine whilst he helped me make some biscuits shaped like snowflakes. We would stay in our pjamas until nearly lunch time when we would go upstairs and change into our best clothes. This year i chose a long red sparkly dress, which i paired with my new jewellery. My mother wore a long green dress which matched her eyes and my father put on his best robes. 

After dressing up we always sat down to the dinner. Mum always cooked too much food which we forced ourselves to eat even though we were already full. My dad would drink more wine. Once we were stuffed, my parents would have a sleep on the sofa whilst i got changed again into warm, comfy clothes and go out to play in the snow. This year, we had a decent amount of snow, it was almost falling into my welly boots when i walked. Petal was fluttering around the garden, landing then flying, landing then flying, trying to keep warm. Then i had an idea. I should make a snow owl! Starting from one end of the garden, i walked to the other, rolling a large ball of snow along with me, it growing in size as i continued. When i reached the middle of the garden i stopped, then started to roll a smaller ball. Struggling, i somehow managed to lift it onto the larger ball to make the head. I pulled a frozen stick off a tree branch, causing freezing snow to fall onto me. I used the stick to carve wings into the side of the giant snow ball. Then i dug under the snow until i found two large stones to use for eyes and a piece of bark for a beak. I was very proud of my work. Soon, my parents came to the doorway. They loved my owl and my mother ran to grab her camera to take a photo. Petal landed on my shoulder and was eyeing the snow owl. 

Then it was time for tea. Even though we were all full from lunch, we had my biscuits and pumpkin pasties, chocolate and sweets, Unhealthy, but it was Christmas. All the excitement had tired me out but i really didn't want to give in just yet.  Dad drank yet more wine, until he was giggly, i knew he would never let Lucius see him like this. He would get me some butterbeer and we would get our pjamas back on and snuggle up around the fire. Then my parents would tell me stories about their childhoods and i would listen eagerly. I loved their stories. 

Because i had been at Hogwarts for the last few months, this Christmas seemed to be extra special. We had all missed each other and even though if you compared the Malfoy's Christmas it didn't seem like much, to me it meant everything. I loved spending time with my family and Christmas memories were always the best, i hope the stories of my christmas would made my children happy in the future. 

That evening i wrote letters to Hermione, Harry, Ron and Draco to say thank you for their gifts and see how their days went. I was interested to hear Hermiones reply and i had no idea how muggles celebrated Christmas. I would send Petal to deliver them the next day. She was sat in her cage eating a mouse she had caught. Once the letters were written and darkness had truely taken over, i would wrap myself up in my bed covers. Tonight i started reading the book of fairy tales Hermione bought me. The first story was called Cinderella. It was about a girl with evil step sisters and a fairy god mother who helped her go to the ball to meet her Prince Charming. 

That night i fell asleep, dreaming about finding my handsome prince, who scarily looked like a certain blonde haired boy i know.