(1) Lux Brumalis (R. Weasley)

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Pixie avoids. She avoids her friends. She avoids Harry, Ron, and Hermione because she can't talk to them whilst they are blaming a member of her own family for an act of attempted child murder. She just can't wrap her head around it and she refuses to believe that Severus is capable of it. It is difficult because they do have classes together and they are all stuck inside the same castle for a home. Like potions where her and Pansy's table is placed right next to Harry and Ron's. Harry carefully and almost constantly tries to get her to talk to him. It took Pansy snapping at him to leave Pixie alone for Harry to stop and realise that they might just have ruined whatever friendship had started with Pixie. Loyalty, especially family loyalty is a major trait in Slytherin. And it seems Pixie has that in spades. Of course, she would be upset that people that she'd come to see as her friends keep telling her that her loyalty is misplaced in a member of her own family. Even Ron feels terrible and he should, Hermione and Harry keep reminding him that he might have pushed the anti-Snape thing a bit too hard. Pixie shivers a little, sat hunched over her cauldron as she and Pansy work. The dungeons are freezing. Matching the whole winter atmosphere of December. It's been nearly a month since the Quidditch game and for the most part, she has kept to herself and her Slytherin friends. Mostly Pansy, who tries to keep her mood up despite not knowing what's going on. Pixie had already had her letter from Tony and Tatiana assuring her that Christmas will go ahead, as usual, this year. She will come home and she and Tatiana would floo over to Tony's mansion to have Christmas, as they do every year. Hogwarts doesn't change that. Pixie is looking forward to it. Just to get out of the castle for a few weeks. To see her Dad. She's really missed Tony and she could really use his help on this thing she's working on. Her mother would be helpful too actually.

"Did you hear what those Weasley twins got detention for this time?" Pansy asks, Pixie hums a little, acknowledging her but focusing on the task at hand. The cauldron bubbles away slightly as she drops in the next ingredient. "Pelting the back of Quirrell's turban with bewitched snowballs" Pixie lifts her head to look at Pansy who nods. "I'm telling you, idiots, the pair of them, it's no wonder Gryffindor haven't won the house cup in years with those two...."

"Hey!" Ron hisses at her from the table next to them. Pansy shoots him a look and then sticks out her tongue, before then turning back to Pixie who ignores it all. She's really not in the mood to play along or around with them. She just wants to focus on her work. But she knows what Pansy is doing. Tit for tat. Pansy is at least aware that Ron and Harry had been badmouthing Snape to Pixie, and knows that her friend is related to the man.

"Not nice, is it, Weasley?" Pansy sneers under her breath. Pixie gives her a look. "What?" Pansy asks her, Pixie just shakes her head.

"I do feel so sorry," Draco voices, loud enough for most of the class to hear. "For all those people who have to stay at Hogwarts for Christmas because they're not wanted at home." Draco's eyes are on Harry, as if anyone needed confirmation as to who he was commenting on. "What about you, Stark?" Draco asks, Pixie glances at him.

"What?" She counters.

"Christmas" He draws out. "You're going home, right?" She frowns a little, not sure she likes that he's being nice to her.

"Urm..yeah" She answers. "I'm spending Christmas in Malibu, like I do every year, with my dad" She adds as she measures out the powdered spine of lionfish.

"So you have a muggle traditional Christmas?" Draco almost snarls the word muggle. Ah, there it is. He's not asking to be nice, he's asking to get her to embarrass herself regarding muggle and muggle practices. She smirks a little and hums.

"I have a Tony Stark traditional Christmas" She counters. Draco frowns at her. "My Dad's Iron Man, it means that traditional is a lot more....."

"Expensive?" Pansy asks with a smirk. Pixie pauses and then nods because that's true, just not the word she was thinking of.

"Yeah, but I was thinking more...eccentric. He got his traditions tend to be very energetic, just like his mom so..." She stops herself before she realises that Tony actually has some magical traditions because of Maria, but admitting that would be admitting that her dad's a squib.

"Quiet" Snape snaps at the room. "Get back to your potions!" Pixie is silently grateful that he jumped in then when he did. She knows how the wizarding world feels about squibs, and her Slytherin housemates will persecute her if they ever find out about Tony.

......

Once the class is over, and all their equipment has been tidied away, Pixie and Pansy are the first two out of the door, mostly because Pixie wants to avoid Harry trying to get her attention. She doesn't care what they have to say. She doesn't want to hear it. She's leaving tomorrow anyway. She just wants to get through the last day before she is free and she gets to spend some precious time with her parents. Hopefully, with Pepper, Rhodey, and Happy as well, they are always usually around for the holidays. Severus even makes an appearance on the day itself, never for very long, he is not a celebrator of Christmas and he stays at Hogwarts most of the time. Pixie knows that Tatiana and Severus had a difficult childhood and Christmas wasn't a fun time for them, just the same as Tony. But unlike Tony and Tatiana who enjoy it now, surrounded by their friends and their family, Severus shuts himself away from it all.

........

The library is pretty empty, not many students there when there is only one day left of term. They are all off enjoying their time with their friends. Not Pixie. She chooses to finish up the last of her homework before winter break, she doesn't want to get stuck doing it whilst at home, she wants to actually enjoy her time there. Pixie has just finished her homework when she feels someone standing close to her. She looks up to find Hermione is standing there, at the end of the table. She gives Pixie a nervous smile.

"Do you mind if we share?" Hermione asks and motions to a book on the table. "I wanted to get a head start too and there is only one copy of that book in the library" Pixie lets out a breath and clenches her jaw.

"I'm finished anyway" She argues and stands, closing her books before she scoops up her own into her bag, then grabs the library books Hermione isn't after to take them back to their shelves.

"Pix" Hermione starts. Pixie lets out a breath. "I know you're upset, and I really do understand why...." Pixie glances at her. "It's okay that you're mad at us" Hermione assures her. "But it's not forever, right?"

"Depends on how long you think Snape is trying to kill Harry" Pixie points out. "And betray Dumbledore"

"He's not exactly given us a reason not to think that" Hermione argues. "With the bite and the hex..." Pixie shakes her head and then lets out a breath. "Pix, I really wish this wasn't true...." Pixie shakes her head and then turns, walks away. She's not going to argue with them over this anymore. She is standing by her family. She is standing by Snape. Her mother would never forgive her for believing them. She is glad she is going to have the winter break to get over this. She's going to need the space from this all. Hermione picks up the book she wanted and sighs. She just wanted to know that she'll get her friend back at some point whilst allowing her the time to work through her anger at them for blaming Snape in the first place.