As the Stars Drift By

The Past pt. 2

A/N: Trigger warnings for emotional and physical abuse, fighting between siblings, graphic descriptions of torture, blood and violence, and just general angst

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December 25th 1976 - Fifth Year

Regulus was a genius. Thea had always known this to be a fact, but she was especially reminded of it today. Regulus, in all his cleverness, had found a way for them to both spend Christmas with Sirius -without attracting the ire of their parents.

After Sirius had run away earlier in the summer, their parents had practically forbidden the twins from contacting him or speaking with him. Walburga had blasted Sirius's name off the family tapestry, magicked him out of every portrait and photo in the house, and washed her hands entirely of him. She wanted him gone, completely.

Despite Walburga's wishes, Thea spoke to Sirius as much as possible while at school. Thea figured that her mother really wouldn't know if they talked or not. Hogwarts had protections against scrying and the like, so Thea wasn't worried. Regulus, on the other hand, was, and so he'd pulled away from Sirius. They spoke only in passing and interacted very rarely. Thea knew that Regulus kept away out of fear of their parents. Walburga had many connections, and it was possible that she could've contacted the parents of any number of Slytherin students and asked them to keep an eye on the twins and Sirius. Thea didn't push the subject -she wouldn't force Regulus to interact with Sirius. She thought that the two would eventually repair their relationship as they always had in the past.

But now that Thea was back in contact with Sirius, he'd asked her -as he had two years before- to spend Christmas with him at the Potter's house. Thea wanted nothing more than to go, but she'd had trouble finding a way to go without telling her parents where she was going. She sat on the problem for nearly a month, trying to devise a plan.

Thea had offhandedly mentioned her dilemma to Regulus one evening while they were both studying for their OWLs. She'd thought he hadn't really been paying attention to her words. But then 2 weeks later, he'd told her that he had a solution to her problem.

A false Christmas invitation, from a Slytherin peer of Regulus' -asking him and Thea to come spend the holiday break in Scotland. It was so simple, yet so perfect. Regulus truly was a genius. Their parents would be none the wiser. Thea had been so grateful to Regulus -for solving her problem, yes, but also for being willing to go with her. She knew he probably wouldn't enjoy it as much as she would, but yet he still offered to go with her. She'd do her best to ensure that he had the greatest Christmas possible.

So far, she had succeeded in her goal -or so she hoped. Since they'd arrived at the Potter house, her and Regulus had had nonstop fun and activities to occupy them. James' mum, Euphemia, had been kind enough to let her and Regulus make and decorate cookies with her. Regulus had turned out to be surprisingly good with a piping tool. James' dad had talked quidditch for hours with Reg too - funnily enough they were both fans of the same quidditch league team, the Montrose Magpies. They'd had an all out snowball fight with Sirius and his friends and though they'd been competing against each other on opposite teams, Thea was happy to see Regulus win. Even Sirius and Regulus had started talking more

It was now Christmas day, and Thea had prepared the perfect gift for everyone -including Regulus. Hopefully, it would make him happy and complete her goal of giving him the best Christmas possible. It wasn't often that she got to give gifts so freely, and she may have gone a bit overboard in her preparation, but she was still excited. She'd banished Regulus from the guest room they were sharing last night so she could wrap everything. Mrs. Potter had offered to help Thea with the gift wrapping, but Thea had insisted on doing it herself. Her presents were wrapped rather terribly -after all, she hadn't any previous experience with it and she couldn't use magic for it- but Thea thought the strange folds and creases in the paper gave each present character.