𝐆𝐀𝐌𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐒 [𝐑. 𝐋𝐮𝐩𝐢𝐧]

𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇 𝐑𝐄𝐆𝐀𝐑𝐃𝐒 𝐓𝐎 𝐂𝐔𝐑𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐀𝐅𝐅𝐀𝐈𝐑𝐒

Song:
The adults are talking (The Strokes)
"And then you did something wrong and you said it was great."

Ever since Narcissa had reminded her of the bet, it seemed to haunt her with every step she made.They had played the same exact game before, but never had she felt that guilt deep in her chest every time she saw Remus or thought about him. It had reached the point that she would be tortured by the bet's presence in her dreams and she'd often wake up in a mood grumpier than ever. At least, she thought, Nick's messages hadn't included any bet related shenanigans for some time. Maybe he had forgotten about it and she could continue whatever was going on between her and Remus without the weight of her past decisions on her chest.

"Can we please go inside?" Narcissa insisted, wrapping the thick, black coat around her body. It was very close to Christmas and the weather hadn't been the kindest to them as the snow had been falling for what seemed to be ages. "I'm freezing."

"I'm not." Callisto smugly answered, sticking her tongue out mockingly. Although everyone seemed to feel the cold deep in their bones, she was just fine with wearing only a thin, dark blue t-shirt. She didn't really know when exactly she had grown that resistant to the cold, but it wasn't all fun and games. She would often wake up in the middle of the night, drenched in sweat and desperate for the cooling wind. "Okay, sure..."

Narcissa let out a sigh of relief, walking faster than before closer to the entrance of the Castle. "What are you doing on Christmas?"

"I don't know yet..." Callisto replied, going over her options. Just like every other Christmas she expected to receive the formal invitation to the Lawson's ball, followed by a letter from Nick. After the ball was over and she completed her mandatory stay of four days, she's return back to her aunt's until she had to embark on the train again and return to Hogwarts. Her stay at the Lawsons was always a chore, but she was focused on the bigger picture. Nick and her would have to put on the happy couple facade for a little bit more and then Nick would receive his trust fund. That day seemed like a far away dream but soon enough it would be reality. "Why?"

"Well, the Manor's pretty empty." Narcissa began, dusting the snow off her clothes. "And mother's been wanting to meet you ever since I mentioned you're in Slytherin."

Callisto's eyebrows knit together for a brief moment as she tried to find a valid reason why Narcissa's mother would want to meet her that much. Nonetheless, she pushed the suspicion aside and smiled.

"Sure. I'll just have to write to my aunt first to ask her."

Callisto knew already Elena's reaction. Her aunt was very sceptical about her hanging out with blood supremacist families, as she was afraid that their bad behavior was going to rub off on her. She already felt bad enough for the facade she had to put on every time she was out in the street; she didn't need Callisto being exposed to more prejudice. That was the reason why she was very against hers and Nick's plan in the beginning, but after getting to know the boy a bit more she had decided to not interfere with their ploys unless things got out of hand. So, it was needless to say that she wouldn't be ecstatic about her niece spending her Christmas in a manor full of everthing they stood against.