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Neville had a pep in his step as he made his way home to the cottage, having just received a Patronus from Pansy.
“Nev, I need to decorate the Christmas tree, can you come home and help me please?”
The holiday season always felt magical to him, even more so this year as he looked forward to spending it with the woman he loved most in their home. It was their first Christmas together since moving into the cottage, and he was excited to get to share his traditions with someone else.
Lights were already strung around Diagon Alley, sparkling in green and red like coloured fairies. Stores had Christmas displays with snow falling, toy trains running on tracks around the small pine trees. People were exiting doors with brightly wrapped parcels in their hands, waiting to get home to put underneath their trees.
Neville had already brought home a fresh pine tree the day before, ready to be strung with tinsel and baubles. There was a box under his bed with all of his decorations that he had inherited over the years. A salt-clay circle from his first Christmas with his footprint embedded in it, a wooden nutcracker that was missing an eye, a reindeer whose red nose was wearing off, and the angel that sat on top each year. It was old and dated, but Neville could remember that first year his mum held him in her arms as she placed it on top.
“The angel goes on top, like a guardian sent to watch over us all,” Alice’s soft voice murmured in his ear.
Neville’s hazel eyes were wide as he watched the angel nestle into the top most branches, like a beacon of hope. She was beautiful, with her sandy blonde curls and white feathered wings, and Neville truly believed she was looking out for him.
Neville had always felt safe with the angel watching guard on the top of the tree, imagining it was the spirit of his mum watching over him. She had the same sandy coloured hair as the angel, and rounded cheeks, so when he was younger he truly believed it was his mum looking after him.
Of course, he was old enough to know better now, but there was still a part of him that believed.
Neville made a beeline for the bedroom when he arrived home to retrieve the shoebox of ornaments from under the bed. He stopped short when he reached the living room, staring at the tree in amazement.
Pansy had already strung it up with white lights, glowing softly in the dimly lit room. Red velvet bows covered the branches, like they were presents to be unwrapped. It was a very impressive looking tree, like something he might see in a magazine.
A large, gold star sat in Pansy’s hand as she looked expectantly at him.
“I managed to charm everything into the right place, but I need your help with the star,” she explained. “It’s a little finicky.”
Neville felt stupid holding his box of old ornaments in front of this designer-looking tree. It wasn’t often he saw the contrasts between his and Pansy’s lives growing up, but this was one of them. Her past Christmases would have been lavish, with elves decorating her family home and a tree that reached the top of the manor ceilings. Neville’s gran had pulled out the same plastic tree each year, until he had become strong enough to cut down his own pine tree and drag it into the living room.
He set his shoebox down on the ground before taking the star from Pansy’s hands. She was beaming as he easily reached the top of the tree, securing the glittering ornament to the top branch.
Pansy clapped gleefully before pulling Neville in for a quick kiss. “My knight in shining armour,” she mused. “How could I have done this without you?”
Neville forced a smile onto his face. “Always happy to be of service, my love.”
He watched her eyes dart to the shoebox on the ground, a small wrinkle appearing between her eyebrows. “What’s in the box?”
“Oh, uh, nothing. Just some tools I need to put away,” Neville lied before quickly picking up the box. “The tree looks stunning, Pans. You’ve outdone yourself, yet again.”
“Thank you, Nev,” Pansy smiled sweetly, a faint hint of blush colouring her cheeks.
He couldn’t disappoint her. She had worked so hard on the Christmas tree, that it almost seemed criminal to add his dilapidated decorations to it.
Once Pansy had busied herself with hanging lights around the windows, Neville excused himself to shove the box of decorations under the bed once again.
Out of sight, out of mind.
The living room soon became Neville’s least favourite room in the house. He hated himself for hating the tree, since Pansy put so much work into it, but he couldn’t help himself. It just felt so… cold. The living room felt like a window display, especially since Pansy had started placing neatly wrapped boxes with giant, satin bows under the pine branches.
“Neville? Is everything okay?” Pansy’s concerned voice broke him out of his thoughts.
“Hmm? Oh, yes, just thinking about what to buy Mum for Christmas this year,” he replied, tearing his gaze away from the tree.
“We bought her a new set of pyjamas and a scented body lotion two weeks ago,” Pansy said slowly. Her gaze turned skeptical. “What’s bothering you?”
“Nothing!” Neville said far too quickly.
Pansy’s eyes narrowed. “There’s something going on, and I’m going to find out what it is.”
Neville sighed, stepping toward her. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders before leaning down to kiss her on the head. “There’s nothing wrong, Pansy, I promise. If there was, I would tell you immediately.”
Okay, so a little white lie had never hurt, especially if it kept Pansy happy. That was all he wanted to do, make her happy, and he had done a pretty good job of it so far.
Her facial expression showed that she didn’t quite believe him.
“I’m going out to finish my Christmas shopping,” she finally said. “When I come back, we’re going to get to the bottom of this.”
Neville couldn’t stop staring wistfully at the tree each morning leading up to Christmas, and before he knew it, it was Christmas Eve and he still hadn’t mentioned his Christmas ornaments to Pansy. After excusing himself to do some last-minute Christmas shopping, he found himself gazing at the window displays in Diagon Alley.
Bright, shiny baubles reflected his morose expression, with twinkling lights bouncing colour onto his skin. There were no ancient decorations here; each star looked as if it had been crafted that very morning.
“Knut for your thoughts?”
He looked down to find Hermione Granger’s pink cheeks smiling up at him, and he couldn’t help the smile that spread across his face.
“Just wondering if all the stores updated their Christmas decorations. I don’t remember them looking this… bright.”
Hermione giggled. “Flourish and Blotts have the same toy train display that I’ve seen every year since I was twelve. A few stores have updated, but most of them are the same. I still hang the ornament my parents made from my first Christmas.” Her expression became wistful, and Neville could see the tears beginning to form in her eyes. “Sometimes you just can’t break a tradition.”
Neville’s heart pulled as he thought about the angel with sandy blonde hair shoved in the box under his bed. She didn’t deserve to be kept hidden away, she should be sitting at the top of the tree, guarding the love of his life as she slept peacefully in their bed.
He quickly turned away, making long strides towards the Leaky Cauldron, only one thing on his mind.
“Huh? Neville! Where are you going?” Hermione shouted after him.
He waved her off flippantly. “Somewhere important, thanks Hermione!”
“Um, you’re welcome, I guess?”
Neville didn’t even bother kicking off his shoes as he arrived home, making a beeline for the bedroom. He could hear Pansy call his name as he got down on all fours, searching under the bed for his shoebox.
“Neville? What on earth are you doing?” Pansy asked incredulously as she appeared in the doorway.
Neville sat back on his heels. “I’m looking for a box. It’s an old shoebox, and it has—“
Pansy gave him a wistful smile. “Why don’t you come out to the living room?”
Neville got off the floor and followed Pansy to the living room, preparing himself to see the garish tree in the corner of the room.
There was something different about it. Something seemed… out of place. Nestled between the bright baubles and ribbons, he could make out a salt-clay circle with a faint footprint, a wooden nutcracker without an eye, and a reindeer with the paint rubbed off the nose.
“I found them under the bed,” Pansy said quietly, “I recognised the box from when I was decorating. Why didn’t you tell me?”
Neville’s heart sank. “You were so pleased with your work, I couldn’t bear to ruin it with my crappy trinkets.”
“Neville, these are part of your family history and tradition. I would have been honoured that you wanted me included in that.”
Neville bit his bottom lip. How he deserved someone like Pansy was beyond him; she had been nothing but amazing to him since they started dating, and she knew him inside and out.
There was still something missing from the tree, however, and he noticed that the shiny star was gone and the top of the tree was bare. He looked to Pansy to find her holding out the angel with the sandy blonde hair.
“I thought we could put her on top together.”
Neville couldn’t stop beaming as he took Pansy’s hand in his, guiding her towards the top of the tree. The tree was for certain not made for the small shape of the angel as she sat lop-sided, but when Neville looked at Pansy, she was grinning as if it were a perfect fit.
“Thank you,” Neville murmured as he pulled Pansy in for a kiss. Her body melted against him seamlessly as she returned his kiss, sighing contentedly as she stared up at the angel.
“She looks like your mum, doesn’t she?”
Neville pulled Pansy tighter to his body, his smile watery as a tear slipped from his eye.
“She does, Pans.”