Forever and a Day ~ James Potter

Christmas 1975

Chapter Nineteen

Thursday 25th December 1975 ~ 09:49 ~ waning half moon

Rosie woke up mid-morning to the winter sunlight streaming through the window of her bedroom. She thought for a few seconds that the entire previous night had been a muddled-up dream until she sat up and saw that she was indeed sleeping in one of the spare bedrooms of Potter Manor.

Stretching, she smiled and stood up, walking over to the mirror and looking at herself. Luckily, she had remembered to wash off her makeup before going to sleep – her mother had always reminded her that it would give her spots if she didn't – so her face was fresh and clean. But the scar had made a dramatic return.

She was only wearing her underwear and Marlene's top, so before she went downstairs to greet everybody, she put on a pair of pyjamas that had been left on her bed while she was sleeping. They looked like an old pair of James's, and there was also Monty's Christmas jumper that she'd taken off the night before. She ran a hand through her hair as she creaked open the door, worried that everyone else might be asleep.

She walked down the long, curved stairs and remembered the way to the living room. Thankfully, Effie was sitting alone by the fire with a piece of toast and a mug of tea, reading the latest copy of the Daily Prophet.

"Morning," Rosie waved as cheerfully as possible, catching the woman's attention. She spotted Effie's eyes widen slightly, and her smile faltered as she locked eyes on the scar, but neither of them said anything about it.

"Good morning, dear. I'm afraid the McKinnon's wanted to head off quite early, so it's only us and the boys here for now," she said, standing up and gesturing for Rosie to follow her into the kitchen.

"Don't worry about that, I'm used to only having brothers around anyway," Rosie smiled, hoping her face didn't make the woman uncomfortable. It usually put people off her when she didn't know them very well.

"Lovely," Effie smiled sweetly as they entered the pretty little kitchen to see James, Sirius and Monty eating a big Christmas breakfast. There was an Elf cooking away in the corner; it smelled like it was getting dinner prepared already.

James grinned as he spotted the scar on Rosie's right cheek, thankful she had gone back to normal again. "Morning, Rosie," he and Sirius said while Monty waved warmly from behind another newspaper.

"Good morning," she greeted them, pulling out one of the wooden chairs and perching herself down.

"What is it you want to eat then, darling?" Effie asked the girl, walking over to the old stove where the Elf had left some space. At least it looked like the older woman enjoyed a spot of cooking and didn't make the creature do everything like they did at home.

"Oh, nothing at the minute, thanks. I'll just have a cup of tea if that's alright?"

Effie nodded and clapped her hands together, waving her wand and boiling the kettle, sending a filled-up mug over to Rosie, who thanked her and wrapped her hands around it.

"Well, since no one's eating anymore, I say it's time to open presents!" Monty spoke up, standing up and looking at his wife. He looked just as startled as she had for a moment when he caught a glimpse of Rosie's face but again said nothing.

"Yes, I think so too... I've managed to get your presents here as well. They're under the tree," she said, looking at Sirius and Rosie.

The two nodded gratefully as they stood up and followed James through to the smaller living room, where the presents had been placed under the tree. James grinned and ran towards his pile while Rosie and Sirius looked at each other hesitantly.