ᵇᵉᵃᵗⁱᶠⁱᶜ ; ˢᵘˢᵃⁿ ᵃⁿᵈ ᶠʳᵃⁿᵏ

\\ 𝐜𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐦𝐚𝐬 //

Year: 1966, West Country, England
Setting: Godric's Hollow

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Snow rests upon the park bench as if it were a feather cushion, soft and warm. It covers the rich, deep wood in perfect white. The snow is a gift-wrap only spring will open, revealing the engrained beauty that lives safely below, protected these long winter months.

Seven year old Susan creeped up behind the clothing store of the cottage village, seeing a coat from the inside resting on the living room table. She took one glance at her shivering brother and nodded in approval to herself, knowing this was the only option if they wanted to survive the night.

She had to ask herself why did Evelyn and Alfie want to toss her out every Christmas. And this time they chose to toss her brother out as well. The young girl had no intentions of allowing the boy to wander the streets like she did; getting ignored by older adults and their families as she starved and stole thick clothing from stores to find warmth.

Most would think December was Susan's favorite month. Her birthday, December 12th, was in it. December was considered the time of joy and love. You went shopping to show love for those you cared about; you feast with those you love; you have a beautiful sight of snow and hot chocolate keeping you warm... but not for them. Not for Susan.

If Susan kept her mouth shut they wouldn't be in this predicament; he wouldn't be in this predicament. Why couldn't she just listen? Why couldn't she just do as they said? She causes what happens to her and cry when the aftermath hits.

But then Evelyn voice rings in the back of her head. She hears what she's always told her about crying:

"People who cry demonstrate a vulnerable state of weakness. And you want to know what I think of worthless whores like you who cry? I think you deserve the fucking butcher. Now GET OUT OF MY ROOM!" ~Evelyn Longbottom after Susan started to cry during her punishment

Frank wrapped his arms around Susan, he could feel the hairs on his arm raised and the bite of the wind had left its mark in the form of small bumps that were tingling on his arms, but its bite was more than flesh deep.

"Okay, Frank, come," said the young girl, pulling the six year old along as she quietly stepped across magic barrier she was observing earlier.

"A-a-n-an-ane, I-I-I-I d-don't w-w-wa-want t-t-to ge-get c-caught..." his teeth chattered, only making her heart sink even more. She hated seeing him suffer. This was all her fault.

"You won't, I promise. Keep it down, Frank, please..." Susan didn't want him to know she learned to this regularly. If she needed to find food for him; this is how she did it. If she needed to find galleons for him; this is how she did it. If she needed to find toys for him; this is how she did it.

Evelyn and Alfie provided her with no funds, no survival accessories, no real clothing, nothing. Susan resulted to the thing the village people would spit on for doing.

But they weren't in her shoes. They didn't need to find areas to lay their heads for the night. They needed to find scraps of food to toss away after seeing it wasn't eatable. They didn't need to find dog blankets to wrap up in to avoid catching a fever. She's caught pneumonia before and after dealing with that, she's swore to avoid all cases of sicknesses.

Susan lifted up a magical rope surrounding the square outline of the building, watching as the brick "patch" as she called it fell like one flat pizza. Frank anxiously fiddled with his hands, frowning at what just happened but being too scared to ask questions.

All he wanted was to get out of the cold. And he knew his sister was doing the best she could to grant him that.

Susan peeked her head inside, checking to see if a clerk was around. When the coat was clear she crawled in first in case they did get caught and Frank would get to run.

"Give me your hand,"

Frank stuck his hand through the pizza hole and gave his older sister assistance to pulling him in.

The shop had a temperature carrying on with a blush of autumn time, and as it ebbed appeared to welcome in the sweet breath of spring.

Susan wasted no time snatching a coat and putting it on him, checking around them just in case a clerk wanted to make a pop up appearance.

"Isn't this plundering, Anne?" whispered the young boy, his once chattering being replaced with warmth and a feeling of the autumn breeze - normally felt in his birth month; September.

Susan said nothing for a second, walking around in hopes of finding some snacks on the counter as her brother wrapped his arms around her.

"No... this is, um, what I like to call playing a surviving game. Except the people you're playing against doesn't know they're in it - making it more of a... hmm... one of those games where you find out you've been playing at the end and you laugh it off. And we win the game if we can return the item before we get caught by guards - Guard Evelyn and Guard Alfie. You see the guards know these aren't ours... unless we hide the items, which wouldn't go well because of Lanky.."

She tried coming up with an answer on the spot. Even she was aware of how idotic that sounded. 'Great, Susan. You're such a twit.'

"Oh... sounds like this game needs a smarter plot.." he replied, flinching in confusion at the offended stare she sent him.

Susan sighed in defeat realizing there was nothing to eat in here - thinking about it, it made sense - and ushered her brother to come along as she tried finding a hiding spot in the back to stay in.

With the temperature dropping and more snow pushing in, there was no way they'd be able to go back out there. Susan figured as he slept she'd stay up and keep watch. Adults were so weird to her. Instead of helping needy kids, they either made fun of them, shunned them, or even going as far to being the cause of the situation they're in.

"I hate this," she heard Frank say to himself as he crawled behind the boxes she led him to.

'Yeah, Frank, I hate it too.'

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