Chapter Text
- Remus -
Remus woke up in one of the the empty year 5 boys Slytherin dorms. His one dorm mate had left for London a week ago. A small potted evergreen tree had been conjured by the door, a small silver star glinting on the top. There was nothing underneath. He got up, made his bed, got dressed and picked up the three books he had borrowed from the library yesterday. He had read them cover to cover. Remus planned to take his usual route, stop by the library first, return the books, maybe get some more, then head to the Great Hall for some porridge.
He left the dorm, and walked into the common room, which was much like his dorm room, empty. Remus thought about going back to bed, waste the day thinking under warm covers. After a minute or so of contemplating, he started the small trek to the library and the Great Hall.
- James -
James loved Christmas. His whole family did. They would spend hours in the days leading up to the 25th baking and decorating.
He launched himself out of his bed, throwing on a dressing gown before running down the hall and jumping down the tinsel covered stairs. He stopped next to the sweet-smelling pine tree, which had been meticulously decorated by him and his mum with lights and baubles.
After being given the go ahead by his mum and the camera had been set up, James jumped on the small mountain of gifts under the tree. This year had been a good haul of Chudley Cannons merchandise, quidditch magazines and a broom care kit. After his parents had unwrapped their gifts, various new home appliances and clothes, including a bright green pair of socks that smelt like apples, they cleaned up the paper and moved onto breakfast.
On the menu was a cooked breakfast of fried eggs, bacon and baked beans on toast. While James ate his mind and eyes wandered out the window, where thick snow blanketed everything. Was it snowing where Sirius was? Was there snow like this at school? Would it still be there when the next term started in a couple days?
He thought of all the snowball fights that could happen, before reminding himself that he is a fifth year now, he has to act more adult … Ha. As if.
- Sirius -
Sirius got up slowly, savouring every last piece of his warm, quiet room. He got dressed, putting on formal pants and a button up shirt. He paused. Now, normally he would opt for a leather jacket, but there was going to be a big gathering of his relatives, and that might be girlbossing too close to the sun. If he wears a green tie, he might be able to get away with a couple curses. Green, while being one of the colours on the house crest, is also associated with Slytherin. Maybe he should go hot pink, just to really fuck with the guests. No, Sirius reminds himself of the tightrope he balances on a daily basis. If he gets kicked out, who knows what he'll do. He could go to James's house, but he is only 15, there is no WAY he could get there without magic or freezing.
Green tie it is.
He walks down the stairs and peers into the kitchen, to see Kreature bustling around, hard at work. He sits down at the kitchen bench, lost in thought. He is so lost in thought, in fact, that he doesn't notice Walberga standing behind him.
"Sirius Orion Black." She started, coldly. "You have missed breakfast. As punishment you will be denied lunch." She snaps her twig-like fingers and points at Kreature. "Hear that?" She turns away. "I hope you aren't planning to wear that inadequate... thing at dinner." She means the leather jacket.
"Yes, Mother" he replies obediently, not meaning it. Today will go smoother if he pretends to be agreeable.
"If you do wear it, you'll be lucky if I let you eat for the next 4 days." She turns back around, her dark eyes staring menacingly into Sirius’s.
He nods.
"Hm." She slinks back into whatever hell hole she came from.
All his thoughts simultaneously agree, fuck this shit.
- Regulus -
Regulus had been awake for hours before 7. He never slept well, anywhere. Not at school, not here. A random holiday with ambiguous origins was not going to be the exception. He picked up the folded clothes he had left on the chair by the door and walked into the bathroom. He washed his face, did his teeth and got dressed before doing his hair. He stared at his reflection in the mirror. Had he always looked so... Hollow? He turned away and walked back into his room, making his bed, folding his pyjamas and putting them under his pillow. After arriving downstairs, he quickly eats, in a desperate attempt to avoid everyone and everything. Everything had already become too much. The lights too bright the sounds too loud and the materials too itchy, he quickly finished his food which felt wrong before retreating back upstairs. After days of reading all of the vaguely interesting material, he has had to resort to his school text books, and even then, at this rate, might have to borrow Sirius's fifth year ones.
In the evening, the Lestranges arrived, 15 minutes early, as usual. Most of the Malfoy's were also early, only by two minutes, which is much more polite in Regulus's opinion. Lucius and Narcissa came a few minutes later, having obviously been snogging. Lucius is an idiot if he thinks he can wipe off bright red lipstick off his pale face. The rest of the Black family had arrived an hour earlier, as is tradition, to discuss more private matters. Regulus had been sitting in one of the armchairs next to the fire, reading a boring passage on the difficulty of small-scale potion brewing from the textbook. Most of the adults had chosen to stay downstairs in the dining room, which had more seats. So, it was just him, Sirius, the two love birds, who were considerate enough to pause their public display of affection and Bellatrix. Somehow the textbook was going to be more comforting than dealing with... THAT, so he continued reading. Sirius had decided that his leather jacket over his three-piece suit was a good fashion choice. Lucius was wearing a well-fitting emerald green waistcoat with embroidered ferns on the collar paired with silver cufflinks on his black dress shirt. Bellatrix, the local goth, was wearing a formal black corseted dress, contrasting to her mop of hair, which had been piled on top of her head.
"So, Reggie, you got a girlfriend yet?" Said Lucius, in that awkwardly deep voice that can only be found in a teenager. Before Regulus could respond, Lucius continued. "I'm only joking, with a face like that, you'll never get friends much less a girlfriend."
Regulus sighed. They hadn't even exchanged pleasantries, but Lucius was determined to be difficult.
"Just knock it off, honestly Lucius." Despite having not said a word in hours, Sirius piped up. "It's Christmas, the least you can do is attempt to be..." He paused, obviously pushing down some select words. "Just try and be nice."
"Oh shut up, Sirius, you act as if you have some authority, but in our minds, you are less than Reggie here, you and your stinking leather jacket." Bellatrix marched over to the couch and fell with a poof of tulle next to Narcissa, whose hands moved into her lap.
It was Sirius's turn to sigh. Narcissa watched on, very uncomfortably. She kept fiddling with the folds of her burgundy petal gown, staring at her shoes. For a couple of minutes, the only words heard were from downstairs, the fire crackled on merrily and outside slowly got darker and darker. Finally a small gong sound was heard, indicating dinner would be served in the next few moments. Sirius got up, loosened his tie, gave Lucius a Look™ and walked down the stairs. The three older kids followed suit, leaving Regulus alone. He sat there for a couple minutes, watching the flames dance in the fireplace. Them he too got up and mentally prepared for the hell that would be the next hour or so.
Despite mentally preparing, or attempting to, nothing could prepare anyone for the scene that unfolded. Sirius, as usual, was the verbal punching bag, scowling into his plate of turkey and cranberry sauce. Bellatrix, a fresh 18-year-old, had graduated up to the adult end of the Black's large dining room table, meaning Lucius and Narcissa could flirt as much as they wanted without being yelled at for making Bella 'feel like a damn third wheel'. Regulus had never wanted the floor to swallow him whole as much as he did now. Occasionally a guest would ask him a question and he would nod or shake his head in response.
His motto for surviving moments like these was 'be so in your thoughts, that the rest of the world can't see you', which had served him well for years, and boy howdy, he was going to abuse the hell out of it. After half an hour of serious talk of politics and wealth, the alcohol set in, and things got a bit more interesting. Luckily, they only really got violent after an hour of drinking, so if he could just excuse himself, he might be free-
"Please excuse me." Sirius stood up pushing his chair in. After catching a cold glare from Walberga, he clarified, "I need to use the restroom." He quickly walked out of the room and up the stairs.
Well, shit. That makes things a little harder, unless Lucius and Narcissa also decide to get up, but considering the knee grabbing under the table, that wasn't going to happen anytime soon. He has no choice but to just sit there, remembering lines from those damn textbooks.
Time crawls on, and finally the conversation has gone complete circle and landed at business again, except this time with violent hand movements and sloppy words. After years of experimenting, now is the second-best time to slip away, and so he does, almost fading from the table and floating like a ghost upstairs.
He stays in his room, watching the clock tick over midnight, until the loud guests had apparated away. Only then does he breathe out for the first time in what felt like hours. Surprisingly, in this quiet dark night, while everyone slept soundly, Regulus felt so totally and completely alone.