The Marauderette

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Nineteen : Family Gatherings Give Headaches

"You know, two weeks without me is basically asking for Merlin himself to strike you down."

~ Third Person ~

The week sped by fast. November ended and December finally started and with it came a huge blanket of snow. The four Ravenclaws spent their free time continuously playing in the snow. Whether they were building snowmen or full on having a war with snowballs as their main weapon, the girls all ended up shivering yet cheerful, their noses red with mischief glinting in their eyes. And before they knew it, classes ended for the term and Christmas break came, forcing two out of the four Ravenclaws to pack their belongings for their trip back home. 

It was the morning Y/n and Stacey boarded for the Hogwarts Express, meaning all the girls would have to wish each friend farewell before they departed in Hogsmeade station in an hour. 

Although Tina and Eleanor were staying, the two wanting to keep each other company this Christmas instead of going home like Y/n and Stacey, Y/n wouldn't see them for an entirety of two weeks. She knew for certain she was going to see Stacey at least once during their Christmas break since both their families had been invited to the Yule gala. It still wasn't enough though, especially since Stacey's family could be a bit... controlling and possessive. 

She'd also noticed that Stacey changed a whole lot when around them. Turning from the joyful and bold Stacey to a cold and distant Malfoy. It was quite disturbing how quickly she could change, from lively eyes to dead ones. It was like a switch she needed only to glance at before all her fight turned to hollow resignation. 

Y/n had only seen it happen once, when she had passed by Stacey in Diagon Alley with her family, both the Malfoys and Hales buying school equipment for their children. Y/n remembered twelve year old her jumping with joy at spotting her new friend, waving enthusiastically at Stacey, who only looked down at her. Immediately, shivers had went down Y/n's spine. Seeing her friend's lifeless eyes with no smile or grin on her face had felt like her world had suddenly turned upside down. She'd felt so out of place when her usually energetic friend only nodded her way before turning around again and walking away with the rest of her family, who only gave Y/n suspicious and curious glances. She remembered feeling quite depressed all summer after that, thinking her friend was mad at her or just didn't like her anymore. That was, of course, before she was welcomed with a prank thrown right at her face as she boarded the train. After that, the two had laughed so hard Y/n forgot the whole interaction in Diagon Alley and decided not to mention it when she did. To this day, Y/n still had no idea what happened, but thought it'd be better if she didn't ask, Stacey always got gloomy when she was forced to think about her time spent at Malfoy Manor.

They were all waiting for the half an hour mark to hit so they could leave to walk to Hogsmeade station, early and prepared so they didn't miss the train like they had on a few occasions. They all sat, bored, out of energy and a little gloomy.

Y/n watched from her bed as Stacey lay on her bed, head propped up on her hands as she gazed at Tina, who sat crossed legged on her own bed, doing a crossword puzzle from her muggle magazine that she had bought with her. Eleanor sat on the floor, leaning against Y/n's bed as she stuffed a bunch of chocolate frogs into her mouth. She groaned in annoyance, glaring down at the smiling lady, Helga Hufflepuff, on the card.

"Ugh, stupid Helga," Eleanor muttered, chucking the card. It fell pathetically by her feet.

At the sound of the name, Stacey perked up, breaking from her trance just as Tina tucked in a stray hair behind her ear. Stacey followed the motion curiously before finally turning fully to look at Eleanor and the card she had thrown. She raised a brow before sitting up suddenly, a grin playing on her lips as she looked down at the card.