The Kind Hufflepuff

Chapter 18: Grimmauld Place

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The Kind Hufflepuff - First Year
Chapter Eighteen: Grimmauld Place
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The break had passed in an eerie fashion, the entire Higgs household crept around Grimmauld Place in an agonizing silence. The Christmas holidays had felt like the days leading up to a funeral and Cali couldn't understand why they were still there when it was clear that her own mother could not sleep through the cries of pain that came from the eldest Black child.

It was during these nights when the screams could be heard that Cali always seemed to find Regulus Black knocking on her bedroom door, curling into the bed beside her as they tried to talk through the screams. Many of these nights were spent in silence, both of their consciences eating them alive as they wished they could walk down the stairs to save somebody they both cared for despite the consequences.

Once the screams would come to a silence, Cali would get out of the bed and make attempts to convince Regulus to join her to no avail. He always claimed that he did not want to intrude but Cali figured that a large part of him likely blamed himself for everything that was going on. Regardless, she would find herself inside Sirius' room for most of the night. Each visit would last longer and longer as they would do anything to keep their minds off of their dreadful Christmas break. Sometimes the pair would talk about classes or magical creatures, sometimes Cali would try to convince the older boy to try cutting out animal products, and sometimes they would simply play wizard's chess in silence.

A topic that the two were sure to always avoid was that of her own parents as Cali was having a hard time accepting her parent's reaction and was terrified to hear anything he had to say. She admitted once that her biggest fear was that they were simply watching it happen, that they watched as he cried out in pain and yet refused to do anything but Cali also did not want to talk about exactly what was causing the screams anyways. 

With all of the gloomy days that were passing, Cali almost entirely forgot that this was supposed to be a time of cheer until one morning when Bertie had burst into her room, shouting about the fact that it was Christmas. She had woken up suddenly, thankful that Regulus had not stayed in the room like he usually did as she met the excited eyes of her brother and attempted to muster up the same level of excitement. Without another word, he turned around and slammed the door behind him as he ran through the house shouting about it being Christmas. Now that she was awake, she was faintly aware of the smell of cinnamon that was wafting throughout the entire house as she slowly got out of the bed.

She opened her door slowly, her eyes widening to see that the house was decorated for the festive holiday. She looked around the hallway for a moment, her eyes brightening when she saw Regulus exit his bedroom in silk pajamas and stopped once he reached her door. "Happy Christmas," Her eyes were lit in excitement, finally embracing the jovial holidays as she heard her mother laughing from downstairs.

"Happy Christmas," He gave her a soft smile before offering an elbow that she gladly took. They walked together, down the stairs and into the kitchen where they were greeted with the persistent scent of bacon and cinnamon. Cali tried to hide her disdain for the smell of bacon, her nose wrinkling for a moment as she sat down to see that her mother had made vegan versions of everything on the table and smiled brightly.

"This looks amazing," Cali muttered, picking up tongs and serving spoons to fill her plate with the Christmas festivities that the house elves clearly spent the entire morning working on. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched as a house elf stood by the doorway, watching her mother as she took a bite of everything with hopeful eyes. She followed suit, smiling kindly towards the elf.

"When are we opening presents?" Bertie interrupted as he shoveled the food down his throat, not caring that he sprayed food as he talked.

"Once we have finished eating," Ethel promised her eldest child, a grimace when she noticed her son's behavior. Sirius came down the stairs, stopping at the edge as he took in the presence of what appeared to be a perfectly happy family, his own being nowhere in sight beyond his younger brother. Cali watched this, his grey eyes scanning the room as the plates of foods that screamed Christmas cheer. There appeared to be an internal conflict in his eyes as she watched his hands wring themselves out, pulling his fingers apart as he stood still.