Pure Love {Cedric Diggory}

15. CHRISTMAS MORNING

| CHAPTER FIFTEEN |

CHRISTMAS MORNING.

MOST FAMILIES WOULD WAKE UP together on Christmas Day. Spend all day together, opening presents, watching cheesy Christmas movies and stuffing their faces with the most delicious Christmas dinner and large quantities of chocolate. Not the Fields/Barnes though. 

Natasha Fields woke up in a empty mansion. The only sound was her own breathing. After spending far too long in her comfy bed; wishing it could just swallow her up, she made the effort to go downstairs to grab some breakfast. Throwing on her fluffy dressing gown and matching slippers; a gift from herself to herself for Christmas. She walked down the many stairs, her eyes glancing around the house. It hadn't been decorated at all; no surprise there. Not even a small Santa Claus had been placed on any surface. No tinsel. No snowflakes stuck to the walls. Nothing. It looked exactly how it always did. 

Walking into the kitchen, Nat spotted an envelop sitting against the coffee maker, her name written in fancy cursive handwriting. Instantly, she knew it was from her father. Ripping the envelope open, a frown took over her face as she pulled the plainest card she had ever laid eyes upon out. It was simply red with nothing else on the front. Opening it up it really didn't take long to read the message; especially since it was already printed out in the card with the only writing being 'To Natasha...From Bruce Barnes', how thoughtful. She pocketed the money that fell out of it before placing the card back into the envelope.

Walking over to the fridge, she spotted another envelope with her name on it. The writing on this one seemed even more fancy. Much to her surprise, her mother's card actually looked Christmassy. It had a gold Christmas tree on the front of it, one that sparkled when the winter sun came through the window. However, the message on the inside seems almost as impersonal as the one from her father, and of course, the only thing she received was more money. Pocketing that, she finally opened the fridge, taking out all the things she needed for her breakfast.

As she sat in the dead silence of the kitchen, munching away on her eggs and toast, she couldn't help but think about a certain Hufflepuff boy. No, not because she fancied him or anything (gross) but because of the present he had given her. She hadn't opened it yet, storing it away in her bedside drawer until after breakfast. But she couldn't help but wander if her present will get to him in time. Since she didn't realise they were going to exchange presents that year, she had to do some very last minute shopping before borrowing Rosie's owl to sent it over to him. She didn't have her own because her mother wanted things to be as normal as physically possible back home. Meaning nothing magical could step foot inside (apart from Natasha, of course). 

Finishing her food, she threw the plate into the dishwasher before slowly trudging back upstairs. Her belly full but her heart feeling even more empty than before. Jumping onto her bed, she stared up at the over-the-top chandelier hanging in the middle of her bedroom. Wishing she could be back at Hogwarts, looking up at ceiling of her four post bed instead. 

Rolling onto her side, Natasha opened the bedside drawer, her ocean blue eyes instantly landed on the small box. Fishing it out, she observed the messy paper that was wrapped around it. Most people didn't like messy things, but she did, it meant that Cedric actually took the time to wrap it himself without any use of magic (unless he was just extremely bad at that spell, but she preferred to think the first thought). 

Tearing the paper off, Natasha kept her eyes focused purely on the box. There was a small note taped to it, picking it up she felt herself smiling as she read it, 'Merry Christmas Nat. I truly hope you have a wonderfully jolly day. Yours, Cedric', it wasn't a full essay (she was glad about that) but it seemed to hold more emotion to it than any of the cards her parents had ever written her.

She couldn't wipe the smile off of her face as she placed the note down onto her bedside table, before finally opening up the small box. She could've sworn her heart skipped a beat as her eyes widening ever so slightly. Inside was a beautiful silvery-yellow bracelet with three charms hanging off of it. One was of a badger, the other was of a small broomstick and the last was a crown. Between each charm, there were small yellow and silver diamond beads that made up the entire bracelet. He had really outdone himself. 

Natasha ignored the strange feeling in her stomach (maybe she had eaten too fast) as she clasped the bracelet around her left wrist. Her eyes wouldn't stop gawking at it. It was truly the most beautiful piece of jewellery she had owned; which was really saying something since her mother practically showered her in necklaces, rings and bracelets since she was a young girl. Yet none of them made her feel as happy and giddy as that bracelet did.