Wonder // Draco Malfoy

12. Christmas Day

Martin paws on my face to wake me up, probably hungry because it's been more than 15 minutes since he last ate. I smile at my chubby orange cat and scratch his forehead. "Merry Christmas to you, too," I say. I kiss his forehead and get out of bed, the floor cold against my bare feet. I grab the small bag next to my bed and find Martin's food bowl. He purrs against my leg as I take out the expensive can of wet food, my Christmas present to him, and empty it on the dish. Martin finds more interest in other student's animals than toys so I stopped trying, but I know he will always want to eat.

I pull on some wooly purple socks and wake Rue up. Only one other Hufflepuff stayed, but he stayed because his Ravenclaw girlfriend is here, too, so we have barely seen him. "Rue, wake up, it's Christmas!" I know it sounds childish, but I've always loved Christmas. Especially with the scares we've had this year, I cannot afford to lose out on Christmas, too. Rue wakes up and smiles at me, rubbing her eyes and sitting up. She bids me a Merry Christmas and tells me she will see me in the common room after she freshens up. I head to the bathroom myself to brush my teeth and pull my hair back into a low ponytail. Rue is most likely still in bed, so I descend the staircase to the common room, Martin jogging next to me, to sit next to the tree to wait for her. My father's present to me arrived yesterday, but I decided to wait until today to open it.

Rue accompanies me after a few minutes wearing our matching Christmas sweater we bought last year. She sits next to me and we begin with each others present first. I bought her a perfume set with her favorite scents. She prefers citrus scents, which I think match her personality perfectly. She squeals and throws her arms around me, exclaiming how much she loves it. I open my present from her and gasp. It's a limited edition book on care of magical creatures by my favorite author, signed on the inside. It even has the fresh book smell and every picture has a moving animal within it and pages about each one. "I love it!"

She opens her gift from Marcus. It's a beautiful necklace with purple gems on it - Rue's favorite color. She blushes and holds it close to her. "I can't believe he would buy this for me! It's gorgeous," she whispers. Gorgeous is an understatement. The jewels are on a silver chain, each gem getting bigger until the largest one dangles in the middle. They're cut smoothly and they reflect in the light; small hints of purple move across Rue's face as she examines it. I help her put it on and it's just lovely - a perfect gift for the perfect couple. She continues to hold onto it while I open the gift my father sent me. It's a Muggle book series I've been eyeing for a while now but haven't bought because it cost too much. I explain the overall plot and examine each book's cover. My father chose the best ones. "Marcus left a gift for you, too!" Rue says. She hands me a box with the same wrapping paper as her gift. It's an expensive-looking glass perfume bottle that smells like fresh flowers. A small note is folded over it.

For your dates with Malfoy ;)

"Wait, there's one more present."

I follow Rue's gaze and she climbs underneath the tree to grab the last box. "It has your name on it," she says, handing me the box. It's unfamiliar handwriting and has a wrap that was different than the rest. Hermione or Seamus may have given it to the other Hufflepuff boy to put under the tree, but I should recognize their handwriting.

I open the box and find an emerald green scarf, practically identical to the color of Slytherin house. When I pick it up from the box, a note and something else fall into my lap. I pick up the item that fell - cinnamon-scented lipgloss. I open the note and see more of the unfamiliar writing.

Wear these.

-

There are only a few students sitting with the professors for Christmas dinner. It shouldn't have surprised me, but it was hard to not notice the awkward atmosphere. Rue is on my right and Hermione is opposite of me, with Ron and Harry on either side of her. She looks worried, but her face is down to hide it from her friends. "What did you guys get for Christmas?" Rue asks, trying to break the tension. Professor McGonagall and Professor Trelawney bickered at the beginning of the meal and it was difficult to recover for a few moments. Harry's face illuminates at her question.

"Someone sent me a Firebolt!" He exclaims, his voice in a hushed tone so the professors don't hear. Harry and Ron begin to describe just how amazing the broom is and how Slytherin now stands no chance against them in Quidditch. "Since the dementor attack, I have been dreading using one of the schools brooms. Especially since Malfoy-"

He stops speaking as our eyes meet and he awkwardly clears his throat. "Wait, you said someone sent it. You don't know who?" Rue asks. Hermione gives an I-told-you look to Harry as he tries to defend himself. "Isn't that suspicious since Sirius Black broke in? You can't see it as a coincidence."

"That's what I said!" Hermione exclaims, leaning closer to us. "They refuse to listen to me. I think it's cursed," she confides. Harry and Ron are quick to argue with her, stating it could be from one of the professors instead. I shake my head at their defensive arguments. Rue's right - it can't be a coincidence that Harry has a brand-new, expensive broom not long after Sirius Black managed to break into Hogwarts. He's a known follower of You-Know-Who, and I can understand why he would try to harm Harry in this way. It isn't a secret that Harry is who Sirius Black is after. There are too many whispers and the professors seem to hover over him more now than ever.

After we finish desert, we bid a good night to the professors and other students and make our way back to our respective common rooms. Hermione says she needs to speak to Professor McGonagall about something, so we head upstairs without her. "You don't think it's cursed, do you, Valentine? Isn't it possible for it to be a professor that wants to see Gryffindor obliterate the snarky looks off of Slytherin's faces?" Ron asks.

"Sorry, Ron, but I agree with Hermione. Harry's already been hurt enough, we shouldn't risk a cursed broom being his demise."

"Don't worry about me!" Harry laughs. "Professor Lupin is going to teach me a spell to cast away dementors. Besides, I'm not the one snogging with a Malfoy." Ron and Harry snicker, and Rue and I smack the backs of their heads. "Sorry, Valentine," Harry apologizes. I know he didn't mean it in a harmful way, but I can't help but to roll my eyes at him. "I just have a feeling you'll be seeing more than just dementors if you decide to stick around."

We've reached the outside of the Gryffindor common room. The knight in the portrait is shouting about Rue and I being intruders, but we ignore him as we continue our conversation. "Then you should teach me that spell."

Ron scoffs. "Hardly likely! He's barely told me a thing about these lessons. Just learned about them!" He crosses his arms and looks at Harry, who is obviously contemplating listening to me. "Are you mad? You can't seriously be considering this!"

Harry sighs. "Come on, Ron, you can't deny that Valentine might need it when she comes to her senses and escapes Malfoy!" Harry defends. I hate when people talk about my feelings for Draco in that way. I've already come to my senses. I like Draco and I don't think I'm going anywhere soon. "I'll have to discuss it with Professor Lupin first. Goodnight, girls."

We say goodnight and leave the arguing friends behind as back to the Hufflepuff common room. Hopefully Harry will take me up on that offer, but not in the hopes that I'll leave Malfoy alone.