XXXIII: Christmas Eve

Chapter XXXIII: Christmas Eve

The Ministry of Magic's Christmas party was a big success. The decorations were lavish and the refreshments both exquisite and highly intoxicating. People were dancing and laughing, flirting and smiling. Many of them wouldn't go home before sunrise the next day. There were, however, some Ministry employees who didn't join the frivolities. Instead, they kept to themselves, talking at one of the tables that were placed away from the dance floor in a quiet corner of the room. Two of those were Charis and Grindling. They had shared a dance or two, but now they were sitting at one of the tables in the corner, far away from anyone else, talking about things as trivial at the weather as well as more serious matters like the prophecy which they had still not deciphered. Grindling looked dashing in his dark blue robes, but Charis could tell that he was tired. Thus, she was quite glad for him when he told her that he was about to leave for Greece.

'Oh, I'd love to go to Greece,' Charis exclaimed. 'I guess they have winter there, too, but it can't be as wet and grey as it is here.'

'I will send you a postcard with a sandy beach and a blazing sun,' Grindling promised, and Charis smiled.

'Please, do! Oh, I wish I could go, too!'

'What will you be doing for the holidays?' Grindling wondered, keen to steer the conversation away from Greece. 'Are you going to Somerset to see your family?'

'Yes, I am, but only for a week or so. Morgana has some days off over New Year's, so I think I'll come back and try to get her to do some girly stuff with me. You know, shopping for clothes and shoes and getting a facial. She'll hate it!'

Charis giggled, and even Grindling's tired features lit up with a smile.

'I am sure she will suffer through it for your sake,' he said. 'You two are best friends, after all.'

Morgana would do anything for her friend, Grindling was quite sure of that. She had almost hexed his face off when she had thought that he had dumped Charis. She was loyal as a Hufflepuff and protected her friend as bravely as any Gryffindor would.

'Are you going to meet up here tonight?' Grindling wondered, slightly craning his neck to see if he could spot Morgana's fiery red locks somewhere in the crowd. He hadn't seen her since the fateful evening at Malfoy Manor. He had not even returned her owl by which she had informed him that she had arrived home safely. He had been in no condition to do so that night. And the next morning, he had not had the strength to even think of her, out of fear that thinking of her would then make him think of Narcissa. But now he had made the decision to leave Britain for good and to settle in Greece, far away from all the heartache, and he would very much have liked to tell her goodbye, even if he would pretend to just be going on holidays, as he had with Charis. He felt like a coward, but he didn't dare tell either of the girls that he was not coming back after the holidays. He didn't want to explain his reasons, and he didn't want to sadden them by telling them that he was leaving for good. Eventually, they would forget him, and he would be able to remember their smiling faces.

Charis checked her watch.

'She should arrive shortly. Of course, that slave driver Moody had her work on Christmas Eve. But she said she'd be here around half ten.'

'That is indeed a shame. I have to take a Portkey to Athens in fifteen minutes.'

He looked seriously at Charis, one hand gripping onto hers as if he were drowning.

'Charis, I know things didn't turn out well for us. But I'll always care for you. I want you to know that.'

Charis looked back in surprise. The way Grindling was talking was like he was going away for years, not just for a pleasant bit of winter sun.

'Oh, Grindling, I care about you too, you know.'

She smiled at him, and once more his weary face lit up.

'I'll send you a postcard,' he promised once more before sweeping Charis into his arms, squeezing her tightly and kissing her hair. 'I'll miss you.'

'I'll miss you, too,' she replied, hugging him back.

'Take care of yourself,' Grindling whispered. 'Find love.'

His last words had been muffled, but before Charis had the chance to verify what she thought she had heard, Grindling let go of her and disappeared into the crowd, leaving her puzzled.

'Someone's in a hurry.'

Charis spun around, coming face to face with her best friend.

'Has he eaten something bad?'

Charis shook her head.

'No! He... He's about to leave for Greece. He has a Portkey to catch.'

'I see,' Morgana said. 'Guess some sun and lazy days at the beach will do him good. Your boss has been looking awfully tired over the last couple of days.'

She tried to sound casual, but there was a knot tightening in Morgana's stomach. Somehow she had the feeling that Grindling was not going to Greece to get a tan. She feared that he was running away. And as much as she could understand his reasons, she wished that he had the courage to stay in London.

'Have I missed anything interesting?' she asked, trying to get her mind off the fair wizard. 'Has anyone jumped anybody's bones on the dance floor? Anyone passed out at the bar?'

Charis grinned broadly.

'Apart from a rather dishevelled Rufus Scrimgeour doing a hurried speech and then rushing off followed by that pompous Percy prat who tripped over his vile dress robes and nearly broke his glasses, no, you haven't missed a thing.'

She paused, looking her best friend up and down.

'You look nice, sweetie.'

An unbidden blush crept over Morgana's cheeks. 'Cheers. Didn't have much time. Moody would have loved to have us work all night.'

'Urgh. I don't know how you put up with him. That eye still gives me the creeps.'

'Believe me, the eye is the most pleasant part of that man. You should see his...' Morgana grinned evilly. 'Never mind.'

Charis giggled, sitting down and reaching for the bottle of wine in order to pour a healthy glass for herself and her best friend.

'Let's have a drink, shall we?'

Morgana raised a disbelieving eyebrow. Grindling may have tried to educate her on the subtleties of wine, but to her, it would always taste like Goblin piss. No matter how expensive. And even the lavish stuff the Ministry was offering would most certainly not be enjoyable.

Morgana's eyebrow of doom did not escape Charis' notice.

'Oh, come on! It's free. It's not like they give us bonuses in this place, so I'm accepting any freebie that comes my way.'

And with that, she took a dainty sip, sticking her little finger out in exaggeration.

Morgana took a sip to please her friend but wrinkled her nose.

'I see why Grindling left now. Guess he has much nicer wine in his cellar,' she said drily.

'I hope he has a good Christmas. It's not been easy for him lately.'

Charis let her finger swirl across the top of her wine glass as she spoke.

'He did seem stressed last time I saw him. In the cafeteria, I think,' Morgana commented vaguely, regretting that she had brought up the topic of Grindling once again. He wasn't just stressed. He was also heartbroken and confused. And Charis didn't know half of it.

'He's still very agitated about the prophecy,' Charis explained in a low tone. 'We Ravenclaws hate leaving loose ends and not being able to solve puzzles. It's driving me potty too.'

'Wish I could help. But as you know, brains are quite scarce in the dungeons,' Morgana said sardonically.

'You seemed to have lucked out there.'

Charis smiled, and Morgana snorted.

'Ha! Cheers!'

The girls raised their glasses for a toast, and the band started to play a cheesy love song which made all the couples on the dance floor move closer to each other and Morgana's nose wrinkle in distaste once more.

'I may vomit. Could we go somewhere else?'

'It's quite stuffy in here isn't it?' Charis agreed. 'Let's go on the balcony. There's great views from there.'

Morgana followed Charis through the French windows that surrounded the hall. She had never been to this part of the Ministry before, and as Charis had promised, the view from the balcony was breathtaking. They were so high up, they could see all across London. It was a cold, clear night, and even through the city's light pollution, many stars and constellations could be seen.

'It's lovely out here,' Charis sighed.

Morgana breathed in the crisp air, her breath fogging in the cool night.

'Reminds me of the Astronomy Tower. Remember last Christmas, when you smuggled up two bottles of Butterbeer and had to drink them both yourself? You tripped and almost broke your leg on the way down the stairs.'

Charis giggled at the memory.

'Yeah, and remember when Jack got you that flowery apron as a joke? I thought you were going to hex his testicles off! Your face was a picture.'

Morgana gave a lopsided grin.

'Poor Jack. I think I was a bit shirty with him that night. Wonder how he's doing. He's in Egypt, right?'

'Yeah! He can't tell me exactly where or what, but there have been some new tombs discovered, and he and the team have to break the ancient curses before they can excavate the tombs. It sounds amazing. He said some of the treasures he's seen are just jaw dropping. He also said some of the curses he's come across are really dark magic – one of his colleague's arm shrivelled and shrunk so it looked like a mummy, and it took them weeks to reverse it.' Charis shuddered at the very thought. 'He's loving it, but then, he would. He was always one for adventure.'

'And we're stuck here at the Ministry of Boredom.' Morgana rolled her eyes theatrically. 'Not how I expected my life to look like a year ago.'

Charis gave her friend a grave look.

'I think you've had more than enough danger this year, Morgana.'

'Maybe I am meant to live on the edge,' Morgana replied, reaching up on her toes and leaning over the baluster.

'Look, no hands!'

Charis pulled her back sharply by her upper arm. 'Don't be stupid!'

'Don't worry. I'll behave,' Morgana said softly, putting her hand over Charis'. Their eyes met, and for a short moment, neither of them spoke or breathed. They were merely looking at each other, sapphires locked on emeralds.

'Your hands are cold!' Morgana finally broke the silence and produced her wand to turn Charis' thin jacket into lush fur.

Charis looked amazed. 'Wow, that is some serious transfiguration! Thank you.'

'Always the tone of surprise,' Morgana replied with a wry smile. 'This is my Christmas present to you. I didn't get around to buying you anything.'

'I have a present for you, too!' Charis exclaimed. She opened her clutch bag and rummaged around inside.

'I hope you didn't spend any money on me!' Morgana said, feeling slightly guilty.

'Well, no.' Charis pulled out a little black velvet box. 'Now, these might look familiar...'

She handed the box to Morgana.

'I hope you don't mind, but I had Silvy smuggle it out.'

Morgana looked into the box and frowned. On a bed of white satin, lay two star pendant necklaces – the very necklaces Charis had made for them in their final year at Hogwarts. They had once worn them every single day, and they had been charmed to glow whenever the friends thought of each other. They had used them as a calling card, a way of arranging to meet without the use of Floo or owls. However, the charms had eventually faded, leaving the pendants as nothing but pretty jewellery.

'Um, well, I had a theory about why the charms I cast on them wore off after a while,' Charis began, looking down nervously. 'I think it's because only I cast the charm. I think to make it permanent, we both need to cast it.'

She fidgeted and only just managed not to start biting her nails.

'Would you like to cast the charm with me?'

She looked a little embarrassed and hesitant at suggesting this. She knew that Morgana was not of the sentimental kind. She might find the thought of renewing the charm silly.

Morgana held the necklaces up.

'Cast the charm with you and then be bound to you forever?' she asked, and Charis' heart sank. She should have known that it was too much to ask. However, just for once, the Ravenclaw had misjudged the Slytherin.

The pendants caught the light of the stars in the sky and sparkled. As did Morgana's eyes.

'Gladly,' she continued softly, smiling shyly at her best friend. She would put her life into Charis' hand. Even her very soul. And she wished she had the words to tell her friend. But she didn't, and the best she could do was wrap her arms tightly around Charis as she was pulled into a bone-crushing hug. Her nostrils filled with the scent of roses, and for some moments, Morgana wished that Charis would never let go of her again.

'Um, what do we need to do to make the charm work?' she asked when they finally broke their embrace.

Charis grinned.

'I've researched magical wedding rings. You know they have permanent charms on them, right? So I adapted my original charm based on that.'

She paused, waiting for Morgana to wrinkle her nose at the thought of casting a charm based on marriage, but once more, the Slytherin did not object.

'I guess the first step would be to put the necklaces on?' Morgana asked, and Charis nodded.

'Come here, then.'

Morgana helped Charis fasten the clasp of the pendant at the base of her neck, and Charis returned the favour to Morgana. Their hands were shaking slightly, but neither of the girls said anything.

'I wrote the spell down,' Charis announced, producing a scrap of parchment from her handbag and reading it aloud.

'Sorores In Aeternum, Sub Astra. It means, "Sisters forever, under the stars".'

Morgana smiled at the blonde Ravenclaw, who gave her a shy smile in return. Charis' charm was beautiful. And so, in Morgana's opinion, was Charis.

'You point your wand at my star, and I do the same to you,' Charis explained. 'And then we say the charm together.'

As the girls chanted the spell, white light emitted from the tip of each of their wands, illuminating the stars at their throats. Then the star at Morgana's throat glowed a brilliant blue whilst the one at Charis' radiated green. After a flash of white light, the necklaces returned to normal, and the charm was complete.

'And now to kiss the bride?' Morgana asked, her sinister eyebrow aloft once more.

Charis giggled. 'Happy Christmas, Star Sister.'

She hugged her friend once again.

'Happy Christmas.'

Morgana inhaled deeply the scent of roses and closed her eyes. Once more, she wished the moment would last forever. She felt safe in Charis' arms. Safer than she had ever felt in Lucius' embrace or even Grindling's or Snape's. But the peace was disturbed when Charis cried out, 'Look! A shooting star! Quick! Make a wish!'

But by the time Morgana had turned around, the star had faded away. Yet she wasn't sad. For she had no wish to make. For the first time in a long time, she felt like everything was in order. She was with her Star Sister, just as she was supposed to be.

'The sky is just perfect tonight,' Charis sighed. 'I mean, usually you can see Canis Major and Polaris on a clear night in London, but tonight you can even see Leo.'

'Which one is Leo?' Morgana asked, a broad smile on her face. She was only asking to be polite as Astronomy had never struck her as an interesting subject. But the way Ravenclaws seemed to be fascinated by the stars was simply adorable. Charis, however, stood dumbstruck, an odd look on her face.

'What is it?' Morgana asked, following Charis' gaze with hers, almost expecting to see a dragon in the sky or one of those flying saucers she had heard Muggles talk about.

'Leo... the lion...,' Charis breathed. 'Leo's brightest star is Regulus!'

Charis spun around, gripping Morgana's arms tightly.

'Oh my god, Morgana! That's it!'

Morgana, however, didn't understand. 'That's what?'

'That's who the prophecy is about! Regulus Black!'

Charis desperately tried to keep her voice down, but she was so excited she felt like squealing.

Morgana frowned. 'The lion born into the house of snakes is Regulus?' She still wasn't following.

'The Lion is Leo. Regulus was named after the brightest star in the constellation. And he was born into the house of snakes, the house of Slytherin. I can't believe I didn't see it before!'

Charis' hands raked through her hair, her mind reeling at the new knowledge. Morgana, however, kept her cool. Now that she understood what Charis was talking about, she was keen to help her friend solve the puzzle.

'Regulus was a Death Eater,' she said slowly. 'Doesn't the prophecy say that he has seen the wrong of his ways? Would that mean...?'

'That he repented somehow?' Charis finished for her. 'That he came over to the good side?'

Morgana nodded.

'What's the next line of the prophecy?' she demanded.

'Something about a creature.' Charis answered. 'The creature that knows his secrets still lives in the darkness,' she quoted, but the tone of her voice suggested she had no idea what that meant.

Morgana's lips, however, curled into a triumphant smile.

'There's no place as dark as the House of Black. I think good old Dumbledore made a mistake transcribing the prophecy. It's not c-r-e-a-t-u-r-e. It's k-r-e-a-c-h-e-r. Kreacher, the house-elf!'

Morgana beamed, surprising herself with her brilliance.

'Remember how he'd always mutter about how Master Regulus was his favourite? Wouldn't surprise me he kept his master's secrets safe long after his death.'

Charis' eyes widened. 'Oh my god, you're amazing! That's it!' She paused, remembering the rest of the prophecy. 'Only the raven that was hatched on the lowest branch of the ancient tree possesses the means to ask the questions... Does that mean I can ask Kreacher about Regulus' secrets?'

'Of course!' Morgana confirmed. 'You're a Black. Kreacher has to obey you! He won't like it, since your great-grandfather was blasted off the family tree. But he'll have no choice. He has to tell you everything he knows. All you have to do is ask the right questions.'

'I can't believe we've solved it! Thank you!' Charis was a little teary with relief. 'I think we need to tell Albus about this,' she said after a moment.

Morgana nodded. She disliked the old wizard but agreed that he needed to be told. After all, he was the head of the Order, the mastermind behind the grand plan to bring Voldemort down. He would know which questions Charis had to ask. Hopefully, he would also know what to do with the answers.

Yet getting hold of Dumbledore turned out to be harder than the girls had anticipated. They decided against sending him an owl. Firstly, because they didn't trust the Ministry birds and secondly, because they didn't know where Dumbledore was spending his Christmas holidays. It could be days until the owl found him and yet another couple of days until it returned. And so, Charis sent her Patronus, the magnificent, graceful black panther, which returned only minutes later, carrying Dumbledore's message: They were not to act on their own, but should meet him at Grimmauld Place on the afternoon of the thirty-first of December.

'This is so frustrating! Why would Dumbledore want us to wait for a whole week?' Charis huffed as they walked down Diagon Alley half an hour later. The Christmas party at the Ministry was still going on, but neither of the girls was in the mood for dancing or drinking any more.

'Guess against all beliefs, he actually has a life,' Morgana said jokingly but grew serious again when she saw Charis annoyed face. 'I bet he wants some time to do some research. You know, read up on the Black family history or go through Regulus' files.'

'He could let us help!' Charis still sounded exasperated.

'I'm sure he has his reasons for letting us wait,' Morgana said calmly, almost unable to believe that she was actually defending the old man.

'I'll be on tenterhooks the whole week!' Charis exclaimed. 'I'll be too nervous to eat mum's Christmas pudding. Maybe I shouldn't go to Somerset at all! Maybe I should stay here, go to the library, do research...'

'Don't be silly!' Morgana interrupted her friend. 'Family's important, especially in a time like this. You will go home, and you will enjoy yourself. Am I making myself clear?'

It took her quite a while to convince Charis that Dumbledore had reasons for making them wait and that there was no point in staying in London, and by the time the two young women bid each other goodnight, their lips were blue from the cold, and it was approaching midnight. Yet still, Morgana didn't return home right away. There was something she had to do. And so she Apparated to a place where she had sworn never to set foot again. Yet it was the only place dark enough for her to ask the question she so desperately craved an answer to.

In the narrow moonlit lane, she sank into the shadows of the neatly manicured hedge, listening with bated breath. But Lucius' hounds weren't barking, and not even the peacocks were making any noises. Had it not been for the lights burning in the second floor windows, Morgana would have guessed the manor was deserted.

In front of the wrought-iron gates, Morgana detached herself from the shadows and came to stand in the middle of the lane, her eyes on the impressive manor house. She was vulnerable there, she knew this, but in no other place would she ever feel a greater need to summon her Patronus. And tonight she needed to see it. She needed to know if her suspicions were right.

Her whispered spell froze to ice in the cold midwinter air, and for a terrifying moment, nothing happened. No light erupted from her wand, not even the tiniest whiff of smoke, and Morgana thought that she had failed. But then the darkness was split into half, and from her wand sprung a majestic black feline, strong and proud like Morgana herself had once been. It held its head high as it walked through the gates and didn't dissolve until it had jumped back into the moonlight. And Morgana Disapparated only moments later with her heart lighter than ever. She was strong again, strong enough to produce a Patronus at the place that represented hell on earth. She had proven to herself that Lucius Malfoy held no power over her anymore and that her heart was free to long for another, the one whose Patronus was a perfect match for hers.