AfterTaste - Fred Weasley

The Truth Comes Out

"Happy Christmas, Dawsen." Ron smiled as he pulled her in for a hug. Dawsen lightly smiled back as she hugged him, wrapping his arms around his neck.

The group had caught on to Dawsen's dampened mood on the holidays last year, so they had expected her not to be her normal, excited self.

For some reason, Dawsen had never grown to love the holidays. As a child, they meant nothing to her, nor her family. Her mother would never decorate or celebrate, and Dawsen had never even known the full myth of Santa Clause until some kids had mentioned it at school.

Not receiving the presents or feeling the pure joy of the glistening lights and the daydreaming about Santa Clause would most certainly have a negative effect on a child, and Dawsen was walking proof of it.

However, she had tried her best to hide it. The past few years had been much better with her new family that had actually treated her as if she was one of their own, but she had been so conditioned to being so distraught during holidays it was difficult to hide.

She appreciated her friends more than they'd know, they had made these things that usually swallowed her whole seem only like a little pill that she could swallow whole.

Everyone was gathered around the common room, besides Lee, Lavender, and Angelina. They had awakened much earlier than everyone else, so neither of the groups would impose on the others' holiday.  They had already opened their family gifts, and were now in the Great Hall.

The group in the common room had no gifts to open, but they didn't really care. Without even having to tell each other, everyone had been wearing their home-made sweaters from Molly.

George smiled as Dawsen approached him, "Hi, Dawsen." He removed himself from the couch as he embraced her in a hug, "Happy Christmas." He mumbled as he rested his head on hers as she wrapped her arms around him.

Dawsen loved how tall George had been, especially when it came to hugging him. When she hugged him, she felt as if she were being consumed by a whole gigantic teady bear.

She pulled away as she smiled, both of them sitting down on the couch at the same time as everyone else gathered around.

"It's weird," Harry said, "I'm used to not waking up with presents, but it feels weird not having a sweater to open." He expressed, furrowed brows barely visible through the frame of his glasses.

Ginny agreed as she lay her head in his lap, "I don't like the feeling. I just... I cant believe what happened happened." She said as she looked up at the ceiling.

Hermione spoke up from her position across the room, sitting down at a table as she wrote to her parents, "Maybe we should send something to them, to make them feel better." She paused as everyone looked over at her, "I'm sure they're not feeling any better. The majority of their family could've just been killed."

Everyone looked around at each other, no one opposing the idea. They all acted is if they had forgotten they could've been possibly killed.

Fred spoke up from the singular arm chair, it was the first time Dawsen had even noticed him that morning, "I'll go grab some parchment." He rose out of his seat and walked away, descending up the steps to his dorms.

"Can we have one of the girls write it?" Ron asked from his sitting position on the couch next to Harry and Ginny, "I don't think we have the best writing."

Dawsen quickly responded, "If you're lazy just say it," she laughed, "I'll gladly write it, despite you being an arse."

Ron's face turned red as Hermione laughed from across the room, "She's right, you know." She continued to giggle as everyone in the room agreed by displaying their laughs.