Gideon-Macy (With HINNY) Through The Years

Broken Christmas

Fanfiction Inspired by J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series.

Eddie

"Are you going to talk?" I asked, frustrated by my aunt keeping the silence louder than words.

"Talk what?" She answered with the same radiation of her irritation.

"You're quiet. Something's wrong. What is it?"

"Everything's fine, Ed. Go to bed."

"Aunt, what is it?" I dropped my bag by the door.

"I said, everything's fine." Even if I believed her, the point would've been counterpointed by the bottle of firewhiskey she snapped open and started chugging.

"Yeah, that bottle says otherwise." My jaw hardened. Aunt never drank in home. Not in front of me at least. So, this meant that something really had her in a twist.

"My partner's dead."

"Auror Beth?" I dropped on the couch beside her. She nodded, sucking her bottle lip and putting the bottle away on the table. A tear trickled down her cheek and she wiped it clean. I noticed how she wore no make up like she usually did with dark eyes and lip colours, "What happened?"

"We responded to a distress call. A few muggles... they got us."

"I'm so sorry." I wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"It should've been me, Ed." My heart dropped at her words but they seemed all too familiar. Any partner who'd lose their's had the same words playing on their lips after. I learned that from Ginny Weasley. After she lost Darcy Kavanaugh. About a few times after his death, she told me she deserved to be dead until it was proven that he was a traitor.

"No. She wouldn't want you to think that." I moved her back and cleaned her face. Getting up, I brought her a glass of water.

"I was handling the bottom floor. She was to take the top."

"She died fighting. That's all that matters."

"She has a family, Eddie." Aunt spoke heavily, disappointed by my words. What was I supposed to say?

"Did you meet them?"

She nodded.

"And?"

"A husband and a kid."

"Are they alright?"

"No, Eddie. They're not okay. They had to bury her."

"Aunt, Beth saved your life. Only because it was worth saving. You can't do this to yourself. You can't sit and lose hope like this." She sobbed more.

"They took my brother...." She whimpered, "My sister-in-law." She gulped.

"We still have each other!" I was barely holding on now. She looked down at the floor for a bit and then back up at me. She cupped my face and pressed a kiss on the top of my head before squeezing me tight.

"I'm so sorry." She whispered.

"Me too." I tightened my arms around her waist and she stayed that way for a while.

And that was my Christmas. Tears. Pain and darkness spread in the little home that we had.

I still wasn't ready to lose hope. No one said that dark times wouldn't loom upon us. It was just sooner than later. I was still preparing but I would be ready whenever it comes with no matter how much preparations I'll have done. My aunt snored away for the tenth time in the holidays on the couch by the lit fireplace with me sitting on the chair across, just frustrated at the lost light and the last night before the train back home.