Silence is Deafening

Chapter 16

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley's home was more than spectacular, in my honest opinion. It looked like there were multiple houses stacked on top of one another, and the entire place teetered a little. The garden surrounding it was covered with gnomes who sneered at us anytime we passed them.

Inside, the living room in which we sat was quaint and cozy. Voices filled the room when everyone was home, making it hard to hear people's individual conversations. I sat, marveling around the room in silence next to Ginny.

"A bit small, but it's home." Ginny said, shrugging.

"It's amazing Ginny. Absolutely incredible." I said, continuing to notice everything.

It was Christmas morning, and packages were being passed around the room like popcorn. People's names were being called out by Mrs. Weasley, who served as present bearer to all of the children. I smiled, not expecting anything to be passed my way. All around me, paper was being torn and thrown onto the floor in haste as people opened up their gifts.

"Lizzie, dear!" Molly called, and I looked up in shock. She was holding a present out to me, shaking it a bit to get my attention. I took it from her, smiling in thanks.

"Oh, that's from Mum and Dad. I think I know what it is. Go on!" Ginny said, nudging me with her elbow. I ripped the paper off quickly and opened the box.

There, nestled inside of it, was a deep forest green sweater. It felt knitted from the softest fabric I think I had ever felt. On the front of it, a gleaming silver E was knitted with the fabric.

"Mrs. Weasley, I love it. Thank you. Mr. Weasley," I called, holding up the sweater. Mr. Weasley gave me a small wave as Mrs. Weasley beamed with pride.

"It's Slytherin colours. I hope I got them right!" She said, and I shot her a thumbs up.

Next gift I received was from Remus. It was a small grey bag, no more than the size of a wallet. When I opened it, I looked inside to find that it stretched on past what I could see.

"Oh, I have one of those! It's really useful. You can fit as much as you want in there, though I do seem to have trouble finding things." Hermione said, examining the bag. As a test, I dropped my quill inside of it and realized it was now a foot below the clasp of the bag.

The last present I received was from Tonks. It was a small book titled Noble Slytherins Through the Ages. When I flipped through the book, I noticed that each page had a biography on a witch or wizard who was in Slytherin, and a list of all of their accomplishments. I held the book close to me and smiled. Tonks always seemed to get it.

As the morning fell into afternoon, there was a knock at the door. Harry exchanged a look with Mrs. Weasley, who nodded enthusiastically.

"Er- Lizzie. I think that's for you." Harry announced, and everyone fell silent.

I hadn't the faintest clue who would be calling for me at the Burrow. Hardly anyone knew I was here. It couldn't possibly be Bonnie or Astoria. It was Christmas day, no doubt they would be spending it with their families. I was completely sure I wouldn't be seeing Draco Malfoy. I think he would rather drown himself than show up on Ron Weasley's doorstep on Christmas. Who else could it be?

The door opened, and my godfather stepped in from the cold.

The scream that left me was so shrill and piercing, both Fred and George clapped their hands over their ears. I raced forward, jumping quickly over Ron who was sitting on the floor, and landed in Remus' embrace.

I took a deep breath, smelling his smokey smell and smiled. It felt as if all of the stress and confusion of the past term had just melted away from me. Remus was squeezing me, rocking me back and forth. My feet were off of the ground by a few inches until he finally put me down. I didn't let go of him, just turned my face upward and beamed at him.