Under the Willow Tree | Draco Malfoy

chapter 36: mind or soul

Lorelei Jones | 4th Year

"Hi, dear," Gran said when Lorelei hopped off the train to meet her on Christmas Eve. The older woman tugged Lorelei in for a tight squeeze, and Lorelei gripped her Gran back as firmly as she could.

It had been too long since they had seen each other last, and Lorelei had been feeling especially homesick as the holidays approached. Lorelei was just lucky she had two places she could call home. Her house with Gran and Hogwarts.

After Gran had collected Lorelei's things and effectively loaded her onto their bus home, Lorelei began to unwind her shoulders and gaze out the hazy bus windows at her old neighborhood once more. It was a rather cold Christmas Eve that year, yet not even a flake of snow had survived from their last snowstorm the week prior.

The sun was shining in a subdued way, as if concealing its true power to give the people's attention to the other wonders of the season. It was a beautiful display of selflessness and honor. The sun stepped back to let the rest of the world create its own shine through lovingly decorated Christmas trees and hastily hung string lights.

All of it was wonderful to Lorelei, and her heart swelled more with each lurch forward their rundown bus took. Despite the dirt covered floors and gum stuck under the seats, Lorelei didn't see a filthy bus full of lonely people. Instead, she saw the wonder of how so many could cross paths with one another without ever realizing the magnificence of each chance encounter.

You could be crossing paths with a future lover, friend, employer, enemy, and you'd never know. You would one day know them as the person they became once their actions became significant to you, but you'd likely never put the pieces together of the passing glances you could give this person on the sidewalk or at a bus stop or in the middle of a grocery store soup aisle.

"Sweetheart," Gran said, interrupting Lorelei's thoughts with a gentle hand placed on her arm.

Lorelei looked to her with eyebrows furrowed and eyes searching. She noticed for the first time that Gran had a bit of weariness concealed in the tight lines around the corners of her mouth.

"Oh, I think I understand," Lorelei trailed and stared down at her baby blue painted fingers in her lap. She had already chipped part of the polish on her right pinky nail during the train ride back to London. She still couldn't quite figure out how that had happened.

"I know you probably do... I just hope you'll be alright if you have to spend your Christmas with just your boring, old grandmother," Gran explained and fidgeted with the leathery handle of Lorelei's trunk.

"I think our Christmases are usually better this way," Lorelei said with a genuine smile casted towards her Gran. This seemed to allow the older woman to breathe easier, for her shoulders began to rise and fall in steadier breaths.

"Besides, Gran, I have so much to tell you. We won't even have time to consider her absence."

—

After Lorelei and Gran put their sugar cookies into the oven and finished decorating the Christmas tree, the two of them curled into the couch and put a Christmas movie on quietly in the background. There was a gentle Christmas melody coming from their radio in the kitchen, and the living room was only illuminated by the soft glow of the Christmas lights and the flickering luminance of the television.

In this gentle space, Lorelei tugged her pajama-clad legs to her chest and smiled lopsidedly at Gran. She rested her cheek on the fuzzy fabric covering her knees and watched the peacefulness settle on her Gran's face.

After a moment, Gran took a sip of her tea and mused, "Now, what were you wanting to tell me, dear?"

"Well, it was a lot of little details really, but I...I had mostly hoped to discuss all of this soulmate stuff with you," Lorelei admitted with an innocent grin casted onto her fair skin.