𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐃𝐎𝐖𝐍𝐒𝐈𝐃𝐄𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝐈𝐑𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐁𝐋𝐄 [𝐣.𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫]

21: 𝔠𝔥𝔢𝔰𝔰 𝔤𝔞𝔪𝔢𝔰 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔞 𝔠𝔯𝔦𝔱𝔦𝔠𝔞𝔩𝔩𝔶 𝔞𝔠𝔠𝔩𝔞𝔦𝔪𝔢𝔡 𝔤𝔦𝔣𝔱 𝔢𝔵𝔠𝔥𝔞𝔫𝔤𝔢

Hey y'all! Remember what I said about this chapter being about Emma & Lily? Disregard that, I changed the plan up a little bit, we're taking a small break from that because I'm writing in the car rn and I don't have my Nightstand-Lingering Notebook of Midnight Chapters and Emergency Ideas (no wonder I'm an insomniac) and I almost have the chapter done (it's pretty short).

I can't really copy the og chapter down and edit (my nighttime writing is incomprehensible by anyone other than yours truly and contains like 27494 grammatical errors) cuz I'm like a gazillion miles from home.

Anyway, coming up next: Winter holidays stuff! I tried to be inclusive cuz not everyone celebrates Christmas, but it is still pretty Christmas-based, unfortunately.

Next chapter: Drunken Christmas kisses ;)

The air was alive with sugar-spun delights as the holidays veered closer. Mingling with it was the thick, viscous warmth that spread from the physically icy tips of your fingers to the very depths of your heart.

There was something about winter that made you want to curl up with a mug of hot cocoa and hug the ones you held dearest to you. In previous years, Brigitte found herself scoffing as her classmates wore their permanent grins, the anticipation for winter holidays reaching its climax by the end of the long day.

Now, she understood its appeal. She wasn't trapped between the swathes of silk and extravagant ball gowns she might've enjoyed under completely different circumstances. Icy glares cold enough to freeze even the softest of hearts, and predatorial lust sticking to the air like an irksome fly throughout her own house.

She felt content to gnaw on frozen holiday cookies James and Sirius concocted with the House Elves, possibly even ignore the impending doom as she bit into an eggshell, and laze around watching Dave (almost every day turned out to be an off day) chase bubbles that sprouted out of Mary's wand.

Despite the violent weather that had taken hold of the castle, Brigitte could safely say she'd never been warmer.

Marlene had managed to convince her that it was not worth doing extra maths to determine precisely how many calories a cookie contained, especially not the undissected mystery monstrosities James and Sirius created for her and the others to judge. Sustenance was sustenance, and whether it came in the form of vegan casseroles or unorthodox and frankly repulsing pastries, it didn't quite matter.

Brigitte determined that this would the only acceptable form of peer pressure she'd allow herself to succumb to, and ate the fucking cookie.

To say that the others were pleased would be an understatement.

Even teachers could be spotted chatting animatedly amongst each other over their warmed shepherd's pie. Professor Slughorn had even taken to donning a festive mistletoe bow tie, which Sirius and Remus snickered at on several accounts, though Remus also happened to be a hopelessly good suck up, leaving their poor professor none the wiser.

Most surprising of all was Minerva McGonagall, who could be spotted humming Christmas carols under her breath. Her stern facade remained set, but her assigned workload had lessened ever so slightly...

Astonishingly enough (though, Brigitte began suspecting this was the exact generosity he would be guilty of), James had given up his Christmas with his parents to stay with the other marauders. Peter had owled his parents separately (they weren't as disappointed as he'd hoped), Remus had tried as gently as possible to let down his mother (his father didn't care much for his return, nor his wellbeing), and Sirius, being Sirius, had pounced on the first opportunity to sign his name on the parchment as soon as it came out.