Closed A Christmas To Remember pv Lucia Fox

Charles playful smiled a bit at Cassie's reply about being happy or the Juniper being spectator. Before the girl started talking about her voice and joining the choir with friends in which Charles smiled a little as he spoke" right because causing mischief and creating chaos is your thing," Charles playfully smiled at the girl before continuing" I'm not into singing either but before Durmstrang, my grandmother made us take lessons in voice but luckily we don't have to take it anymore besides from Leo." The blonde rubbed his younger cousin's shoulder a bit before resting hand back on his knee.

Charles turned back toward Cassie as the girl started saying the reindeers names and that Santa was obsessed with mince pies. The blonde was quite interested with what the girl was saying probably because he never really has a chance to do those things in his family, everything was based on tradition or learning to become 'proper' or whatever to bring honour to their family. Which is something Charles already failed at apparently and didn't really mind if he followed all the rules now probably why he dedicated his time to broom racing and quidditch instead of studying or that he made a point to have friends in different schools instead of Durmstrang or inviting a muggleborn to his family's Christmas eve tea... however inviting Cassie had nothing or close to nothing to do with his family. The teen enjoyed her company and considered her a friend and a close one at that which is saying something for the boy which those are the reasons behind why he invited her.

"He's Nine, turning ten next year and will be able to see if he's going to Durmstrang or Hogwarts," Charles replied to the girl about his younger cousin's age and secretly hoped that he will be attending Hogwarts since Dumstrang will probably break him. The blonde glanced over at his younger cousin who was rather hesitantly licking the festering off his fingers before eating small bites off of the cake in a slow manner.

"And are family just isn't about that stuff but we still have fun, right Leo," Charles spoke looking over at his younger cousin who just slightly smile as Charles continued" like the gift exchange, every Christmas eve we exchange gifts with someone and that is fun I guess," it was fun for everyone else except Charles he found a new tradition in skipping those things when we could or keeping to himself as to not upset his family since apparently it was rather easy to upset them even if he wasn't trying to.

Charles finished his cake in around 3 or a but more bites before laughing slightly at Cassie's comment and replying" well a predatory dinosaur does rather fit me while-" the blonde eyed the girl before continuing" a phoenix or fire crab fits you, all chaos surrounded by a blaze," grinning a bit until Cassie rose a question toward Leo who merely nodded toward the girl and took a final large bite of his cake before swallowing it completely and saying softly, "T...Thank you Cassie, that was very good."

Charles smiled at his younger cousin before rubbing the back of his head a little as he spoke" I told you that you would like it, Cass may not be able to sing but she's a great baker," giving the girl a smile before turning back to his younger cousin who picked up his book again and seemed to have been getting more comfortable as he spoke" what other Christmas
traditions do you have Cassie? Maybe I could tell you some of ours and show you the tree we have? It's so beautiful and peaceful with all the lights and ornaments, but it's in one of the back rooms so you won't see it from the entrance sadly. "

Charles was glad to see his younger cousin was getting more comfortable around the girl and that they were getting along, the blonde stood up as he spoke" why don't we go look now then Cass you can drop you items off in my room before tea?"

Leo jumped off his seating area to and nodded multiple times as a child like personal took over the small boy as he spoke"Okay! Do you like quidditch Cassie? Maybe we can play a bit after tea? Can you sit next to me during tea Cassie? Can we go to the tree now? I think the house elf's are touching it up now." The young boy looked between the girl and his blond hair cousin with a large child grin on his gave as he held onto his book whole Charles replied" sure, let's go now Leo. Cass?" Charles asked the girl to make sure sue was okay with the plans before anything else.

However the plans would change when a slim avenge height black haired boy entered the library with a dull but annoyed look on his face wearing a dark blue suit with black dress shoes.

The boy was Colin Alluring and may have been only twelve but seemed to have a odd flair around him as he strolled up the group glancing over Cassie once before ignoring her as he spoke" Andrew was right, the misfits are all in the library eating something that doesn't appear to be edible," his voice ringing smoothly through the air with a higher pitch than most expected from the boy and he referred to the cakes.

"What do you want, Colin," Charles asked as Leo moved closer to the blonde allowing Charles to wrap his arm around him whole Colin smirk a little before speaking" mother asked me to come get Leo, apparently she wants to talk to us both. Why she would care to talk to him, I don't have the slightest clue since he's as pathetic as you cousin." Charles gripped his younger cousin shoulder tighter and closer to him as he responded toward Colin, " I'll watch your words, Colin since no one would care if I punch you. Your not destined to be the next head, apparently your nothing to the rest same as me."

Charles watch as Colin's face seem to grow red as he nearly rose his voice when he spoke" I am nothing like you! Your a disgrace and pathetic! Even grandfather agrees, now I rather not speak to you and only came for my little brother. Leo come on, mother is waiting for us," Leo would look up at Charles with puppy dog eyes and would mouth to him "please let me stay" but Charles would give his younger cousin a hug instead as he spoke" I'll see you at tea, alright Leo."

Leo would look over at Cassie and give a small smile as he wave toward her before hesitantly leaving the library with Colin. When both would leave, Charles would turn back toward Cassie as he spoke" I apology about Colin, he can be rather insufferable and obnoxious to. This probably turned out to be a horrible night, I'm sorry Cass. I really did want this to be better for you."

The teen felt awful that everything was getting ruin because of his family. He really did want his friend to have a good time that night but figured he just ruined it for her.

" Shall we go to my room then so you can put your stuff down? Since dinner should be starting soon," the blonde asked and when he wild received a response he would walk out of the library and through the halls making sure that Cassie was besides him at all times.

After a while, when they would start to climb the first set of stairs the blonde would speak" it isn't far now," before giving the girl a light smile as he spoke" and those cakes were really delicious Cass." The blonde then climbed the stairs and walk through the end of the hall before coming to a single door painted dark brown position on the end of the hall as the last door.

Charles would open the door as he spoke" this is my room, sorry about the mess but go ahead and laugh. I won't mind," Charles would hold the door open for the girl before he would go in after her.

The room seemed rather odd for a teenager, everything seemed clean at a sense. The walls were painted white and instead a white or black ceiling, the ceiling was a light brown with a bed that laid in the center. The bed frame was brown leather with sheets and pillow cases designs of the Ballycastle Bats quidditch team logo with a single red pillow also on his bed with the word quidditch. Two white painted nightstands sat on either side of his bed, one has a lamp that had the base of a quaffle and a water glass on it while the other had a single picture of him and his family, he looked around 4 in the picture with three magazines about quidditch in front of it.

Behind his bed, on the wall actually on all four walls were covered with quidditch posters for the wigtown wanders and ballycastle Bats quidditch team so much so that only bit and pieces of the original paint could be seen. A odd and sort of fancy light arrangement hang from the center of the ceiling and to the side opposite of the door held a large window with a bench to look out. The pillows on the bench again showed the logo of the two quidditch teams that he appeared to be a fan of, with a dresser next to it and near the bed. And there was a quidditch schedule on one of the doors of the blue wooden dresser as well as a few other slips of paper, some were signed photos from players and others told when tryouts were for the Dumstrang team.

On the other side of the room, to the left of the door stood a single shelf in a dark blue color that held different quidditch related items and other smaller items including a few books with a banner of the ballycastle bats in front of the shelf keeping something wrapped up. To the right of the door say another blue slightly smaller dress again a few quidditch posters for the two teams were stuck to the sides with a small round mirror sitting onto it with a comb and a bottom of hair gel and black hair dye.

Right in front of his bed was his Dumstrang trunk with the school logo starched out and a black duffle bag on top of it. Then opposite of his bed sat a desk in dark blue with a leather chair. There was a single lamp and a few posters on the wall above it for the two quidditch teams again, then there were a few pens, pencils, quills, parchment, and a jar of ink scatter around the desk with a few letters from Cassie and a couple ones sitting on the desk as well.

"Uh?" Charles asked as he sat down on the bed, watching Cassie before remembering her question as be spoke" probably the wigtown wanders, I saw them play first and been a fan of them first," the blonde teen would love to play for the Wigtown Wanders but the team was a all girl one so he was stuck being a fan only.

Charles shook his head a bit as he chuckled a little watching Cassie organize his desk then her response causing him to reply" thank you although I can't promise it will stay organized later," the blonde smiled over at Cassie and even through their meetings with his elder brother then cousins didn't give that well he still wanted to comment on them.

"That was rather cool how you responded to Colin and Andrew, using words against them," Charles spoke with smile toward the girl who he definitely admired among all others as he stood from his bed before continuing" your comments toward them was incredible, your rather amazing yourself you know Cass," the teen smiled over at Cassie, the boy was glad that she was there and that he could spend that day with her.

Charlie's checked the watch on his right wrist before walking toward the door as he spoke" I'm glad Leo likes you, it's hard for him to meet or make friends," the blonde opened the door to his room, looking out it to check to make sure no one was there as he turned to Cassie and spoke" we should go, the meal will start soon," the blonde then smiled a little at the girl as he spoke" there's someone I want you to meet first."

"Ruddy!" Charles spoke in a loud, polite manner and after a moment a Sam house elf appeared in the middle of him a s Cassie. The blonde smiled at the house elf as he spoke" hello Ruddy, how are you?" The house elf turned to look at Charles as he spoke" rather good today, Charlie with the added workload and punishment with failure," the blonde nodded to the little house elf as he looked up toward Cassie and spoke" Ruddy, this is Cassie a close friend of mine."

Ruddy would run over to Cassie, bowing his head low with his hands over his small chest as he spoke" a pleasure to meet you, Miss Cassie," the house elf took a few steps back, still his head bowed a little as Charles spoke" Cass, this is Ruddy my favorite house elf who helped raise me." Charles smiled a little at the house elf still bowing his head at Cassie as he spoke" you don't have to do that Ruddy and you can take a break in my room if you like?" The house elf jumped a little, around two feet in the air as he turned to face Charles and squeaked out, " apologies Charlie and I can't rest! I must get back to work or someone will be punished!"

The house elf disappeared from the area, Charles looked down at the spot where he was before up at Cassie as he spoke" he's the only one who calls me Charlie and is the nicest to me," the blonde waited a moment dreading what might happened once they go down there but opened up the door stepped outside in the hall before looking back at Cassie as he spoke" Shall we?"

So Sorry for the longggg wait!!

Charles nodded toward Cassie's comment about quidditch, the boy chose not to make a comment which was odd since usually the blonde's favorite topic was quidditch. He could talk about it for hours at a time but that night Charles seemed to be distracted and his mind occupied by something else perhaps relating to that night.

The topic of quidditch changed and Charles heard Cassie speak about insulting and how she had plantly of practice at her school cracking a grin at the girl, imagining Cassie insulting a beauxbaton pureblood would be a sight to see. Usually Charles dealt with people at Dumstrang in a more physical way, that involves punching or throwing something at them but sometimes it involved different ways also like how he loved to mess with two specific Dumstrangs.

However the blonde Lee the conversation pass, looking at the door and back at Cassie as he was still distracted and having a bad feeling about the night ahead. Charles told his father he was inviting a friend but his father passed him off and now had to keep Cassie's blood status a secret from his family while keeping that fact a secret from Cassie... afraid what both sides would do if they found out the latter.

"He's shy but also isn't allow to leave the house or make friends resulting it him reading or doing lessons," Charles replied to Cassie about his younger as he made his way toward the door, opening it and looking out before looking back at Cassie. The blonde cared for his younger cousin above most in his family and if it wasn't for Leo then he would have left his family and manor already.

Charles expected a reaction from Cassie once she saw Ruddy not remembering is beauxbaton had house elfs however the blonde would rush forward when he noticed that she dropped the cake tin and quickly asked" are you alright, Cass?" The blonde was concerned deeply for his friend as he watched Cassie carefully to see if she was injured or fine. Charles didn't say much while Cassie interacted with Ruddy, or wasn't until the elf left that the blonde spoke" Elfs do exist, Ruddy is a house elf and house elf's are creatures that are born to serve wizarding family they can only be freed if their masters or family give them a piece of clothing. Ruddy is kind to me and helped raised me, I tried to give him clothing and free him many times but he keeps refusing them, " something Charles never understood, why the house elf would choose to stay there since Charles would leave the first chance he got if it wasn't for Leo. Maybe Charles did understand the Ruddy's reasoning...

Charles waited for Cassie to get herself in order, considered asking for her to put her coat on to cover up the jumper so she didn't stand out that night but instead choose not to say anything so he didn't upset his friend. Charles peeked inside the tin, looking at the cakes and listening to Cassie's words worried what his family's reaction would be to the cakes.

" Sure," Charles replied thinking his mother would be in the kitchens which mean extra time to keep Cassie away from his father and grandfather. Charles took a breath and walk outside of his room, holding the door open for Cassie als once the girl would leave the room he would close the door.

"This way," Charles spoke as he led the way down the hall to the left then down a flight of stairs to the ground floor then the right past the dining room and another right into the kitchens.

The kitchens looked like a old fashion muggle kitchen, the stove contained numerous pots bubbling with water and the countertops filled with a variety of dishes both hot and cold that one would find on Christmas morning. Some little creatures; House elfs around eight of them was running around the area and getting the food ready for later that night.

"You can set the cakes on one of the tables if you like, Cass," Charles spoke turning his eyes from Cassie to a female, only around two inches or so taller than Charles with bright blonde hair running down her shoulder blades paired with a set of bright blue eyes wearing a long sliver dress.

The women was looking over the house elf's work at the contents bubbling in the pots when Charles approached her, standing tall with his arms by his sides as he softly spoke "mother," the female turned from watching the elf's prepare the meal and her eyes landed on her youngest son as he spoke "Charles, shouldn't be in the dining room?" Charles gave his mother a small smile as he felt her place a hand on his right shoulder and smooth out his hair for a moment.

Charles smiled at his mother as he looked over toward Cassie and spoke" I thought I would introduce you to someone, mum. This is Cassie, one of my friends I told you about, Charles took a step back, feeling his mother leave her hand on his right shoulder as he watch her approach Cassie and hold out her hand speaking" a pleasure to meet you, Cassie. I heard some words about you from Charles during the holidays, I'm Jessica, his mother."

Alluring Manor

"He has his lessons at the manor, we all did," Charles explained the situation of his younger cousin to Cassie. The blonde didn't see the situation as strange, it was the same one that he lived before Dumstrang so to him it seemed normal.

Charles nodded toward the girl, ensuring that she is fine before listening to her comments on house elves. Parts didn't make sense to him as he spoke"it isn't illegal, almost every wizarding family owes a house elf. I heard Hogwarts uses them in their kitchens," the blonde decided not to comment further figuring that he will explain to Cassie later maybe even let Ruddy explain for him.

Entering the kitchen, Charles showed Cassie the path. Careful not to step in the way of the house elfs at their work. Apporching his mother, Charles held his posture a bit better at the touch of his mother's hand on his shoulder.

Jessica listened to the girl, smiling a bit to forced as she spoke"a pleasure, Cassie," a small laugh from the lady at the mention of the manor as he spoke"we mange," then spotting the tin in the girl's hands, " what is in the tin?" Jessica left the side of her son ans approached Cassie. After she would show or tell Jessica what is inside, the lady would take the tin from Cassie as she spoke"I'll hold this and add them to the dessert for you, my dear," a nod toward Cassie before turning toward Charles as she spoke"I suggest you two run along to dinner, it should be starting and you don't want to be late again, Charles."

"Yes, mother," Charles spoke then watched as his mother walked across the room. Walking close to Cassie, the blonde whispered"don't mention your blood status alright?" Then allowed his eyes to flicker to the door leading to the dining room.

"Ready, Cass?"