"Alright, so what can we do?" Lily, Sophie, and all the other girls who were staying back for break had gathered in Thia's dormitory. The ravens had disappeared around midnight, and the Marauders had already left on the train home.
"Colour their hair with a semipermanent spell?" This came from Dorcas Meadows, a seventh year. Lily scribbled it down on her paper.
"It should be something as annoying as the birds," Vera said, hanging upside down off her bed. The girls all nodded.
"Make everything in the common room just a little bit louder than normal?" Thia asked, one hand stroking Cosette's fur, "James and Sirius are perfectionists, it would drive them crazy."
"If we did that, we should do a flashy prank right after they come back then. So they think that's the only one and don't suspect the noise." Lily nodded, her pen barely skimming the paper.
"Going off Dorcas's idea, if we dyed their hair bright pink and doused them in perfume, they would hate it and think it's the main attack," Gemma Vale suggested. The rest of the girls made noises of agreement.
"Alright then, girls, you have your homework," Lily said, looking up with a glint in her eyes, "First to find a good hair colour spell gets some of my mother's fudge."
The girls perked up at that. Lily's mother's fudge was legendary among the Gryffindor girls. It was a worthy treat.
~
Christmas Eve found Thia curled in her room by the Hospital Wing, Cosette's head resting on her thigh. She knew that Lily and Sophie were probably worried—she hadn't told them where she was going—but she couldn't quite bring herself to care. They knew that Christmases were hard for her, but neither knew why.
"Love? These came today." Madam Pomfrey handed her two envelopes before leaving her in the silence of her room.
It was from Remus.
Dear Thia,
Happy Christmas! l have to keep this short because James doesn't realise I'm not downstairs right now, but I just wanted to tell you that your present is behind the tree in the common room. Also, did you ever write to Professor MacMillian about your Patronus? I completely forgot to remind you.
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Gah, sorry. James and Sirius just came yelling into my room because I'm not downstairs. James'd like me to tell you that the other Marauders have also left gifts for you (and Lily) behind the tree in the common room. And James also wants you to tell Lily that he misses her, although why he can't write her himself, I'll never know.
Take care of yourself, Remus
The letter coaxed a small smile onto her face and she tucked it away into her bedside drawer, turning to the next. This one was from Luna, and she felt a pang of guilt. They hadn't really talked in a while.
Dear Thia,
Happy Christmas! How are you and Cosette? How are the others? Are you excited for Christmas? Is anything exciting happening at Hogwarts?
Things are starting to feel okay again. Well, maybe not okay, but like they're going to be okay again. I'm still upset about it, really I think I always will be, but I think that's okay. At least, that's what my therapist says. That I'm allowed to feel that way since she was pretty much all I had growing up, and now she's left too. To be honest, sometimes I get a little mad at her because of it.
We went and visited her grave today. The flowers are still there, the ones that I made grow. They seem to glow against the snow, bright pink against bright white. It's almost hard to look at.
I hope you have a good Christmas, Luna
~
She woke to a pile of presents at the base of her bed, delivered by the house-elves sometime in the night. From Teddy, a book on herbology. From Luna, a box of sugar quills. Aunt Poppy gave her dog treats for Cosette and a succulent.
Thia put on her prosthetics, then a warm dressing robe, before slipping silently out the door with Cosette behind. They went first down to a the side door so Cosette could go outside, then to the Great Hall. She snagged a muffin and carried Cosette's bowl to the common room.
Lily and Sophie were already up when she came in, sitting around the fire with some of the others who stayed. Thia sat between her friends, setting Cosette's food down in front of her.
Lily set four presents in her lap, in varying arrays of neatness, "We found these behind the tree."
"Thanks," Thia remembered Remus's letter, "James wanted me to tell you he misses you."
"He has made that abundently clear," Lily laughed, colour rising in her cheeks as her hand brushed an emerald necklace, "He's sent me a letter everyday since he left."
Thia laughed, returning her attention to the gifts. She picked one up. It had been hastily wrapped in candy cane paper, with copious amounts of tape. Scrawled in one corner were the words 'To Thia, from James'.
"He's horrid at wrapping, isn't he?" Lily laughed, seeing the scrawl. Thia nodded, tearing the paper. It revealed a jewellry box, which she opened. Nestled in a bed of black was a necklace with a fox pendant. Thia smiled softly, finding a note tucked in the box.
Thia, We've all decided you're now an honorary Marauder (and no, you can't say no). How do you feel about Kit as a code name? -J
She scrunched her nose at the name, rolling her eyes as she moved on to the next. This one was wrapped better than James', although it was still messy. It was from Peter, a box of lemon drops and maple sugar sweets. Thia set one on her tongue, letting it dissolve into a pool of sweetness in her mouth.
Remus had gifted her a star chart and a book on neural pathways. Sophie screwed up her face at that one.
"Why on earth would you want that?"
"I want to study the mind," Thia explained, examining the last present, "How trauma affects it and causes new behaviours." There was no name on it, but she knew it was from Sirius. It was rather large compared to the others, about the size of her head, and wrapped in a scarlet red. Thia tugged at the gold ribbon, feeling it unravel.
She ran her finger under the tape, revealing a wooden box. Inside was a card and something wrapped in tissue paper.
Thia, I thought these might be of use to you.
She lifted away the tissue paper, her eyes widening. They were headphones, white ones that went over her ears. Another card sat in the center.
Musions! Plays any song you can think of or blocks out noise! Perfect for a leisurely fly or for a nice nap!
Thia felt tears in her eyes as she slipped them over her ears. Immediately, the world around her fell quiet.
Maybe, she thought, Sirius isn't so bad.
~
A/N - Hiya, loves! So, I'm going to challenge myself for the end of 2020 - I'm going to attempt to post a chapter a day of Heavenly Bodies AND Sunflowers, and post every 3 days for Forgotten Girl! This is so that I can finish HB and SF before 2021 and start fresh!
