Equanimity

0.5

Part One; Chapter Five

—A Christmas to Remember

Halloween had come and gone far more quick than Natalie cared to admit and Christmas was only a day away. Halloween itself had been extremely eventful and terrifying for the poor Potter woman who had gone with the rest of the teachers to find the troll that had somehow gained access to the castle, only to find her daughter and Harry along with Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger having taken it down.

The incident had involved lots of cursing and crying (Natalie) and countless apologies (Harry and Carina). Eventually Natalie had calmed down enough to bring the two into a tight hug and vowing to make their lives hell if they ever tried anything of the sort again.

With that incident out of the way, it brought on a new set of problems. She had reluctantly wrapped Carina's present. At first, she had been against the idea, but she thought the girl deserved something of her father's. It would have been wrong of her to not give her daughter something to know her father by. For Harry, she had duplicated her photo album, knowing the boy would enjoy it.

With that taken care of, she made her way to Dumbledore's office, talking to the man for a few minutes before using his fireplace to floo to her home where a sickly Remus was waiting. The two made quick work of going to Potter manor where wards had been set up to keep anything from getting outside the grounds and keep anything else from getting in.

The full moon itself had been fairly easy, seeing as she had convinced Severus to brew Wolfsbane. It was always hard though and Natalie made sure to heal any new scratches that Remus had obtained before she brought the two of them back to their home.

She stayed with Remus for a few hours, trading off their presents. She had gotten Remus more chocolate to add to his 'secret' stash, along with some new books and sweaters. Remus had gotten her a self grading quill that she was far too excited about, along with a broom polishing kit seeing as she had finally finished off her last.

With the gifts exchanged she flooed to Dumbledore's office, exchanged a few pleasantries, before walking tiredly to her room. She arched a brow in surprise though at the sight of the three Gryffindors waiting for her. "Happy Christmas," she said with a smile, pushing all tiredness aside as she embraced her daughter and nephew before giving a polite hello to the other.

"Happy Christmas, mum," Carina said softly, curling into her mother's side. She was donned in the present she had opened up early that morning, knowing her mother would be too exhausted to chat with them for too long.

Natalie couldn't help but look over the leather jacket, smiling softly at the way it was far too big for her daughter, the sleeves pushed up slightly to where her hands were only just visible. She kissed her daughter's head again before looking at the group. "How about some tea and biscuits?" she asked, laughing at the eager nod Ron gave.

"Thank you," he said kindly, the back of his neck and ears a light pink.

The four sat and talked for a little bit before Carina made the excuse that she wanted to go outside and play in the snow, seeing how her mother had begun to nod off. She and Harry placed a quick kiss to Natalie's cheek before the three rushed out to go outside, leaving Natalie to stand and stumble to her room before collapsing on the bed.

~~~~~~~

A few hours later brought a rather irritable Natalie to the Great Hall. She blindly reached for her seat, flipping into it with a slightly perturbed huff. A snort from her left brought her eyes to a rather amused Severus, though he was clearly trying to hide it behind his goblet.

"And here I thought you had finally tamed that nest of yours," he said simply, smirking at the woman who had immediately begun glaring at him.

"Oh, shut up, you git," the woman growled out, reaching out to the food. The clear of a throat stopped her and she looked to her right to Dumbledore.

"Perhaps you would like to sit with your daughter and Harry?" the old man questioned with a small smile, eyes twinkling behind his half-moon spectacles. "It is Christmas after all."

Natalie smiled at Dumbledore, bidding the staff a quick farewell before walking to the Gryffindor table. She eyed a small parcel next to her daughter curiously. "And just what is that?" she questioned curiously.

Carina just smiled at her mother. "It's for Uncle Sev," she said simply, bouncing in her seat.

"Oh go on then," Natalie huffed in mock annoyance. "I'm sure he'll be glad for the interruption from Dumbledore's chatter."

Carina wasted no time after that, leaping from her seat and running to Severus with the parcel in hand. Natalie watched in amusement as the scowl on Severus's face immediately turned into a smile reserved just for the girl. She turned back to Harry and Ron who watched with wide eyes.

"How the bloody hell did she get Snape to like her?" Ron questioned, completely gob smacked by the scene of Severus giving Carina a quick kiss on the head before she came running back.

"Professor Snape," Natalie gently corrected, chuckling in amusement when Ron only flushed in embarrassment. "And he happens to be her uncle."

"We are related to him?" Harry asked incredulously, nose wrinkled in distaste. Natalie couldn't help but laugh at how much he looked like James in that moment.

"Oh no," she said, doing her best to control her laughter as her daughter sat back down at the table, immediately tucking into her food. "He's been a good friend since school though and he helped out a lot while I was pregnant with this little devil."

She grinned when Carina only scowled at her, muttering under her breath. "He's one of my best friends actually." Her grin widened at the doubtful look on the boys' faces. She rolled her eyes and began piling her plate with food. "Now, tell me all about your Christmas."

The rest of the evening was filled with the wild laughter of the Gryffindors. She kept everyone well entertained. Fred, George, and Cassidy had even joined them eventually and were far too invested in the mischief she and her friends had gotten up to back when they were in school. She should have immediately known something to be up by all of the questions, but truth be told, she was far too interested to see what kind of trouble the three older Gryffindors could cause.

Near curfew, she bid all of them a good night, retreating back to her own room. The door was shut firmly behind her, the click being the only sound to break the stillness. Her lips turned down from the smile that had been gracing her features all night as the heaviness began to take root once more. She shook her head, willing the darker thoughts to disappear. Hesitant steps brought her to the small bookshelf that was nestled snugly in the corner, and she plucked the familiar, thick leather-bound book from the shelves. She didn't open it right away though. Only when she had pulled on one of her brother's old quidditch jumpers and she was snuggled into her nest of blankets and pillows did she finally crack open the book.

The smile once more appeared at the boyish grin that decorated her brother's face. "Happy Christmas, Jamie," she whispered softly. As a soft breeze gently pushed her hair away from her face, she closed her eyes, imagining her brother's hand pushing back her bangs.