For the fifth task of this RP, we would like you to write a one shot of your character’s favorite winter holiday memory. It can be about a specific Christmas or New Years, a more general activity they take part in / carry out to celebrate, related to the aforementioned holidays or not. This can be written in the form of a flashback, your character thinking about or preparing for this tradition or actually taking part / carrying out the tradition.
As always, you do not have to do this task for all of your characters if you play more than one but we do encourage you to write for at least one and hopefully more to help with character development. There is no minimum or maximum word limit and please tag the post under #sdhqtask5.
We realize that if a character’s might include another character in the RP and may make god-modding unavoidable for a one shot. If this is the case, what you write must be a flashback so the actions have already happened or your character thinking about what the plans are / preparing for it so minimal actions of another character is involved. Flashbacks must be discussed with mun(s) of other characters and, once written, must be approved before posting to avoid rule-breaking. If this does not happen, please bring it to our attention as soon as possible.
Please like this post once you’ve read it so we know you’ve seen it !!
“Ah James!” Molly Weasley said as he entered the Burrow, “There you are!” She hugged him and he reciprocated, tightly. Christmas was always his favorite time of the year. It was one of several times where the whole family was together in the year. There was no excuse to miss Christmas. You only did at your own risk. But this one was different. Though it had been six months, this was the first Christmas since everyone found out he was adopted. Even his grandparents, aunts and uncles didn’t know in addition to his siblings and cousins.
Still nothing was different. Everyone that was there went to greet him as they always did. Grandma Molly fussed over him looking thin and needing food. I’m just keeping fit for Quidditch, granny. Uncle Ron asked him about Quidditch. We’re totally winning this season. Aunt Fleur asked how Mackenzie was doing. She’s with her dads, she’ll be around later. Uncle George wanted to know if he’d played on pranks on his new teammates yet and if not did he need any supplies. Not just yet, I don’t want them to hate me. Grandpa Arthur finally came up to him and offered him some pumpkin juice which he gratefully accepted when everyone was asking questions. It was different from previous years where he arrived with his parents and siblings. He had come from his own home this time.
They sat and talked for an hour or so and exchanged a gift or two before the big gift exchange after Christmas dinner. Well, everyone except Molly who was fussing over the table settings and food. Some tried to help her but with everything having to be the way she liked it, they all eventually sat down again.
“Smells great mum!” Bill called out to her but she just waved at him dismissively as she passed through the living room and everyone laughed. Soon everyone had arrived and they made their way into the dining room. It was a little cramped with everyone there, even with extensions put on the old building over the years. Still James was never happier than when he was in that cramped, stuffy dining room with all of his family. When food was served onto plates and everyone was starting to eat, he stood and cleared his throat. When most of them didn’t noticed, he clinked his fork against his cup.
“Hey guys, I hate to interrupt dinnerbut I just uhh... had something to say,” James said with a small smile. His family was smiling back at him though some looked confused as to why he appeared to be making a toast. He wasn’t one to do that often but he’d been planning this for a while, “It’s been a while since it came out about my true parentage. You all know that while I was raised by mum and dad,” He glanced at Harry and Ginny, the latter reaching out to take her husband’s hand with a small smile, “I am actually a Dursley but most of you didn’t bat an eyelash. I lied to you guys for nearly seven years but you still didn’t look at me any differently. You treated me like I was still part of the family and I just wanted to thank you for that. So thank you.”
The first person to speak was Lily. She stood up next to him and took his hand, “You’re always family, James. Always have and always will be.”
It was a fairly quiet for a moment as James looked over at her, smiling and squeezing her hand. Then Arthur stood up, glass raised, “To family!” Everyone followed suit and there was a cheer. Then James sat down but didn’t start eating like everyone else. He looked around at them all with the biggest smile on his face. He had had a lot of great Christmases as part of this family but this was the best one yet.
“James, eat you food or it’ll get cold!” Molly called out from across the table and he laughed, picking up his knife and fork and digging in.
Electra winced when she heard the floorboard creak beneath her foot and stopped for a moment. She waited to listen for movement to see if she had to run back to her room or if she’d be safe to continue. After a few long moment, she took another step and then another. Soon enough she was at one of the boys’ room of their foster home She slowly opened the door, only stopping when it groaned from age. Again there was no movement. She only opened it enough to slip inside and fortunately Fletcher wasn’t that far from the door.
“Fletch.” She whispered, shaking him gently and her moaned, “Shh, come up. Get up. Quickly.”
“El?” The young boy asked, rubbing his eyes as he awoke.
“Yeah, it’s me. Come on.”
“Where are we going?”
“You’ll see.”
Fletcher followed and she led him to where her sister was waiting. A small, basically secret room, the door usually half-covered by a bookcase, where the twins would often hide when they wanted to be alone. There was no tree but a house plant that they had brought in and underneath were the presents they had managed to buy or make for each other.
“What’s this?” Fletcher asked.
“It’s Christmas.” Evelyn replied with a bright grin. She had managed to find snacks and also brought some hot chocolate.
“We wanted to celebrate with our new brother.” Electra added, grinning too.
It was a small and quiet celebration, given the time of night and the fact that they were supposed to be in their beds, but it was happy. The happiest Christmas Electra could remember. They opened gifts, whispered, exchanged hugs and laughs - quiet ones that is - and they drank and feasted. At the end, they were all unable to stop grinning.
“I’d like to propose a toast.” El said, raising her mug, “To a misfit Christmas.”
“To a misfit Christmas!” The other two cheered back in a quiet exclamation. After that, they finished their drinks and snuck back to their dorms, pushing the bookcase back over the door as quietly as they could. The next morning, they were inexplicably tired. Well, inexplicably to everyone else. But they still smiled. They didn’t get a lot of presents in the home but they got a big meal and that was fine. They had had their Christmas.
Adeline was not a big fan of Christmas in the Mulciber household. She wanted to stay in Hogwarts or with one of her friends but her parents wanted her home and you didn’t say no to them. They were still hoping to indoctrinate her and, though she had a feeling they were on their last legs, they had yet to give up. They invited all their blood supremacist friends over for a big party. She knew most of them already but she was introduced to a few she didn’t recognize. After a while they stopped bringing her over to talk to people, her behavior angering them. She would pay for that later.
Standing against the wall and trying not to draw attention to herself, Adeline contemplated retiring for the night. Would anyone notice if she just left? She wasn’t sure but she did start for the door of the hall. She got there but then spotted someone at the front door. Someone who was not invited. She rushed to Wesley and pulled him into a room she knew was empty and would probably say empty, “Wes, what are you doing here?!” She exclaimed, looking extremely panicked.
“I wanted to give you your present.” He said.
“I thought we were seeing each other tomorrow.”
“I know but you said you always hated Christmas day and I thought I’d surprise you.” He paused and frowned, “Should I go?”
“You’re here now.” She said and then sighed, pulling him into a hug. Despite the risk of her parents seeing him, she was happy he was there. Suddenly, her Christmas didn’t seem so bad, “Come upstairs. They can’t see you.” She took his hand and lead him up the back stairs so they weren’t spotted and into her room, “I can’t believe you’re here.” Her own house was the last place she ever expected to see him.
“Here.” Wes said, holding out the box to her. She couldn’t help but smile in excitement as she took it from him. She took a moment to unwrap it and then gasped. Inside was a bracelet.
“Wes, you didn’t.” Adeline recognized it as one she had looked at in a shop when they were in Hogsmeade together, “This is too much.”
“It’s nothing.”
“It’s not nothing, it’s perfect.” She blinked a little, realizing she was tearing up a little. She hugged him to hide her tears, “Thank you.”
Adeline then gave him his gift; a wallet with his initials embossed on it. It seemed tame compared to what he had gotten her but he insisted that he loved it. She let him stay a little longer and they talked and laughed and made plans for the rest of the holidays. Eventually, she heard her parents come looking for her and snuck him out before rejoining the party, her new bracelet on. She worried someone might notice but no one did. She spent the rest of the evening admiring it and feeling in a much better mood, a smile on her face until she fell asleep that night.
The tree was magnificent as always. If they didn’t live in such a grand house, it wouldn’t have fit through the door and it was beautiful, even without the decorations. It was followed by a team of decorators and the boxes of decorations that would go on the tree, all pristine and in place and symmetrical and all under the watchful eye of the mistress of the household.
When Octavia saw this, she immediately rushed to her room and found the cardboard box, worn from age, hiding under her bed. She went to her brother’s room and knocked. When she heard him answer, she opened it and held up the box, “The tree is here!”
As per tradition, five minutes later they found themselves around the back of the tree where it was standing. A small section that was never decorated by their mother. Kai and Octavia sat cross-legged on the ground and opened the box. A few decorations that they had bought for each other, had missed the cut for their mother or they had made themselves. They carefully laid them out on the ground, staying quiet so as not to draw attention to themselves.
One of the cooks, who was fond of them both and knew of their tradition, brought them hot chocolate as they decorated. Soon they had each ornament arranged the way they wanted and Kai wrapped his arm around his little sister as they admired it and drank their hot drinks. Eventually their father came looking for him and they were forced to sneak out from behind the tree and pretend they were doing something else so as not to draw attention to their little section of the tree.
It was the only think that made it bearable for Octavia. She was always treated differently from her brother. It was less obvious when they invited people over for Christmas dinner but she could still tell. She was ignored by them, she got one expensive gift to show off to the guests and very few others. She would have to sit there and take and try not to cry. The last time she cried, she’d been sent to her room without dinner. So when no one was paying attention, she’d sneak behind the tree and admire what she and Kai had done and she might cry a little so no one would see. He would always see though. Her big brother was always the one to find her. She didn’t know what she’d do without him.
Only a few more months and and she would be eleven and she would get her Hogwarts letter. Frank was older than her but they’d have a year and she could join the Quidditch team and she could have adventures just like the stories Uncle Harry told them. That was the day she was looking forward to but today was Christmas and that was enough to distract her from her impatience of waiting for Hogwarts.
Alice woke up with a smile on her face and jumped out of bed to rush into her brother’s room and then her parents’ to wake them up. Frank groaned when she jumped on his bed but chuckled when he realized what she was doing. Her father looked startled and her mother, again when they realized what was going on, scolded her as she rushed out of the room, “Don’t run, Alice!”
Not listening, Alice was downstairs in five seconds flat and jumped about as she waited for her family to join her around the Christmas tree. Every now and again she would call out for them to hurry to which her mother scolded her about shouting. She still didn’t listen.
“Alice, for the last time, settle down!” Her mother scolded as she and Neville walked in, followed by a tired looking, bed-headed Frank who was smiling anyway.
“Mum, it’s Christmas!”
“I know what day it is but there’s no need for the jumping about.”
“Han, it is Christmas, leave her be.” Neville said, with a smile and the woman sighed. Then Alice’s father turned to her with a grin, “Which do you want to open first?” He asked.
“My one!” Frank butted in and everyone turned to him as he plopped down on the sofa, “She’s opening my one first.” Alice didn’t think anything of his insistence on her opening his. She was just excited. She moved to the tree and searched the presents for the one that was labelled for her from Frank. When she spotted it, she gasped. It was hiding behind the tree a little, clearly so Alice wouldn’t find it earlier. She picked it up and lifted it into the centre of the room. Though wrapped, she knew what it was.
“You didn’t?!” She all but squealed, looking up at her brother with an expression full of awe.
“Frank, you didn’t.” Their mother repeated but in a completely different tone, “I don’t want her getting any-”
“It’s a broom!” Alice exclaimed who had been tearing the wrapper off as he mother spoke, “It’s a Firebolt! Oh wow, Frankie, thank you so much!” She all but jumped on her brother to hug him tightly, “Thank you, thank you, thank you!” She could have cried. She had always wanted a broom of her own but her mother had always refused. Quidditch was too dangerous. You won’t be joining the team. Alice had never listened as always and apparently neither had Frank.
“Best Christmas ever!” She shouted excitedly and continued to jump around the room, this time with her broom in her hands while her mother continued to scold her and Frank.
He was sitting there, waiting in a cafe and he could tell from the way he was acting it was someone that he was excited to see. Every time the door opened, he was hoping it was her and then eventually it was. Ava. He stood up and moved to greet her with an embrace, a kiss and a grin, “You made it.”
“I almost didn’t,” She explained, “My parents were particularly suspicious about where I was going and didn’t seem to believe the answers I was giving.”
“You weren’t followed though?” He asked, concerned and she shook her head.
Michael nodded and gestured for her to sit down while he got them coffee. He knew her order by heart. Of course he did. She was smiling when he returned and he placed her drink in front of her before sitting in the other seat across the table with his own drink, “How was your Christmas?”
“Dull. Quiet. Very Formal.” She said simply, “And yours?”
“Quiet but probably less dull. Nan always makes the best food.” He paused, “She said I should have invited you on the day. Would you like to come see her later before you go? I think she misses you more than she misses me.” He teased.
Ava smiled and agreed. They had time. They had made plans to spend the whole day together and that was about as detailed as they had made it. They’d probably spend a significant amount of time drinking coffee and talking before going for a walk and to a few of the shops in his small village. But first...
“Oh, can’t forget about this.” He said, and lifted a small, neatly wrapped present out of his pocket and slid it across the table. She raised a brow at him and picked it up, unwrapping it carefully and opening the box inside. She gasped.
“Mikey, it’s beautiful.” She said with a bright smile, as she picked the bracelet out of the box. It was a silver dragon bejewelled with diamonds that wrapped around her wrist without a clasp and emerald eyes, “But this must have been so expensive.”
He waved dismissively, “Don’t worry about that, Ava.” He had dipped into the inheritance he had been left by his mother when she died and by his father that he got when he turned eighteen but he didn’t mention it, “Put it on.” He insisted. Despite her concern for the price, Ava couldn’t help but smile and slip it onto her wrist, “Perfect fit.” He said with a soft smile.
Ava leaned over the table to plant a kiss on his lips before sitting back down and handing his gift from her over. They were laughing about some inside joke that came along with it and it felt like they were laughing for a long time after. The sounds echoed in his head like music.
Michael woke up with a start. He sat up and swung his legs over the bed, face in hands. He didn’t remember that. Well he remembered spending a few days after Christmas with his late girlfriend as was tradition but why would her parents not want her there? Her parents had loved him. He tried to remember the face. He used to be able to remember her face as clear as day but now, like most things, it was blurry. But then the thought his him like a ton of bricks.
Sebastian wasn’t sure he’d had a favorite Christmas before this one. Perhaps the one after he turned twelve, the Christmas after his mother took him away from his father. But that had also been a sad Christmas. They had moved into a small, crappy apartment, much worse than the one they had now, Verity was still in their father’s clutches and though they’d had a good time, it felt kind of lonely. But this one? Despite everything that had happened recently, this was the best Christmas ever.
Standing at the sink and washing the dishes from the meal, Seb looked through the archway into the living room where his mother and Verity were sitting, chatting and laughing. It was not as grand as Christmases at Nott Manor in the sense that the dinner was only for three and it consisted of their own favorite foods rather than the traditional one. There wasn’t a massive tree smothered in carefully placed decorations but rather a smaller one in the corner of their living room with some tinsel, two dozen baubles and some lights that they had decorated together. There were not what seemed like hundreds of presents under it this morning, just about fifteen for the three of them to exchange and some for James and Ariadne from their mother when they stopped by.
However, Seb had never liked Christmases at the Manor. Edgar always invited people he didn’t know, most likely Voldemort supporters, and it made Seb uncomfortable. Present-giving was formal and the meal was quiet. He much preferred the simple occasion they’d had that day. Laughing and telling stories and catching up, eating and drinking until they couldn’t anymore. Now they would probably play a game or something. Though they’d never had a Christmas quite like it, it felt... normal.
He scraped some scraps off the last plate into the trash and started to wash it. His eyes couldn’t help but be drawn to his sister and mother once more. The smile never left his face, in fact it hadn’t the whole day. It was a strange feeling. He had never not enjoyed a Christmas with just him and his mother but usually there was a moment to himself where he was sad, where he didn’t feel whole.
Grabbing a nearby towel, Seb dried the last plate and put it back in the cupboard. The leftovers, now in plastic containers, were put into the fridge for another meal tomorrow. He picked up the beer he’d left on the table while he washed and joined his family, still laughing, in the living room with a grin on his face. It felt... happy.
