May this Christmas sparkle and shine PV Verona

English: #008000 Parsel: #008080

@Cassandra Ironwoods as Ronnie

Haley didn't hold it against Ronnie what he had said in response to her comment. She had only meant it as a joke herself and hadn't thought about what it might have been like for someone who hadn't grown up in the Muggle world. With a Muggle father, Haley had grown up without magic for her first few years of life in particular. Especially since her mother had drawn a temporary line with that whole world. But later and soon enough, the young girl came to enjoy both worlds, which one person might have seen as wonderful, but someone else might have seen as a shame. She knew that she was the first Halfblood in her family and by now she also knew that it had caused a lot of drama. But just as she didn't want to be seen as less by others just because she wasn't a pureblood, she didn't want anyone else to feel bad for not knowing something about the Muggle world.

At one point, while the three of them, and later only two, watched the films, they tried to be quiet for Izzy's benefit. But silently the Lovebirds kept exchanging short kisses, hugs and kisses on the head. Haley loved these little attentions from Ronnie. The way he smelled her hair, hugged her tighter or gave her a kiss on the head. They were small attentions, but Haley took in each one and each one was special to her.

Haley knew The Lion King inside out, but never, no matter how old she would be, would she not get emotional at Mufasa's death. If she wasn't so sad about it, she would have laughed at Ronnie's reaction and already he quickly realised she was crying. "It's okay." She finally laughed through her tears. "I'm used to it, this scene makes me cry every time." She giggled and sobbed. She felt childish, but there was nothing she could do about her tears. And so she lay on his lap with wet eyes, laughing at the same time that she was now crying for the hundredth time over this scene. "But really, we have Disney to thank for that, don't we? I mean, that's life. Everything can't always be perfect. And sometimes we have to deal with death, and Disney prepares us for that early." Haley noticed her getting too sentimental about life and the blows of fate and quickly shook off the subject again, "Whatever." She quickly added and turned her attention back to the movie.

"HEEEY!" Haley hit Ronnie with the nearest pillow she could grab. "I AM a great Chaser." She tried to remain serious but started laughing. "You're just too distracting, how am I supposed to concentrate on aiming." She winked at him before popping some popcorn into her mouth and sticking her tongue out at him. She didn't know how it was possible, but she treasured every moment with this boy in his own special way. Whether it was dancing under the stars, watching fireworks, playing football or just fooling around in bed.

After Haley poured her heart out she could see in Ronnie's eyes that her words really meant something to him and it made her that much happier at the same time. She didn't want him to think she was just saying that. Haley had never revealed her heart to anyone like this and never had she felt the need to do so as she did with him. And as he often did, he spoke to her in Portuguese and there was a big question mark in her green eyes. "Luv, I would really like to understand what you are saying. But I can only do that if you speak English to me too."

After she was done with her little kiss attack on his face, his giggle made her laugh, "Oh you just don't know what's good." She teased him and soon they were concentrating on the last film again. Her eyes sparkled as Ronnie jumped up and performed to "A Friend like me". Haley remained seated on the bed and tuned him in at the appropriate parts. To her surprise, he jumped off the bed and as she was instructed, she covered her eyes and turned away. But what awaited her next made her laugh that much louder now. "Oh my God, it's Prince Ali!" She exclaimed excitedly, clapping her hands. His entire performance filled the room and Haley laughed her heart out, cheering on her boyfriend as she petted the two four-legged friends on the bed. When Ronnie bowed to her and winked, Haley theatrically slapped the back of her hand against her forehead and pretended to faint, dropping backwards onto the bed.

The song came to an end, but Ronnie didn't even think of giving up his role again. With happy eyes, Haley looked up at him and took his hand. Haley had already suspected that Ronnie liked the film but she never thought he would be so in love with it. But it was beautiful to watch. It was a wonderful sound when his voice filled the room and he sang in Portuguese, Haley would never get enough of it. After an exhausting performance, he eventually found himself back on the bed with his arms around Haley. She gave him a quick round of applause, "That was excellent! Bravo! Bravo!" She snuggled into his embrace, taking a deep breath of his scent and his words were like music to her ears. He loved her.

The movie went by way too fast, as did the time in general with Ronnie. Haley couldn't believe they had really watched four movies, it was the middle of the night by now and Haley wasn't the least bit tired. She wanted to savour every remaining second she had with this boy. The last few days she kept thinking about her departure and while she had always managed to banish the sad thought, she couldn't this time.

The screen was dark, so was the room and the moon shimmered through the large window, so Haley could still easily make out Ronnie's face. She was anything but tired and she hoped Ronnie felt the same. "mo anamcara" My soul mate, she addressed him for the first time with a nickname he wouldn't understand. "I don't want this time with you to end." She said honestly, looking him in the eye. She didn't want to spoil the mood but she also felt the need to talk to him openly about it. She wouldn't be able to not talk about it. The thought of it almost made her cry again, much more than when Mufasa died.

"The last week has been so amazing and I've enjoyed every minute, every single second of it. It was so so nice to see you again, to meet your family and just be with you. The thought of being away from you again tomorrow for a few months." She stopped short in her sentence, not wanting to be weak. But showing emotion was strong, right? Either way, Haley felt weak. "I'm just going to miss you so much." She finally said, closing her eyes and lowering her gaze. She didn't want Ronnie to see her like this.

She didn't want to bug him or scare him off with her feelings, she didn't know if he felt the same, she just knew that leaving today would tear a small hole in her heart. A hole that could only be filled by Ronnie. "I'm not tired at all." She diverted from the subject a little now, "But if you want to sleep, I can go over to the guest room." She looked at him cautiously now, "Or I promise to be quiet and just stay here?" She bit her lips, after waking up in Ronnie's arms the previous morning, she didn't want to have to miss that again.

𝐒ã𝐨 𝐏𝐚𝐮𝐥𝐨, 𝐁𝐫𝐚𝐳𝐢𝐥

Kisses and laughter that the Duellist shared with his girlfriend in the span of one and a half week were not enough for him. He hated that soon both the students will part ways for their own life and school obligations. Reality had not sunk yet into the Portuguese boy. But as the movie played in the background softly, Ronnie must face the music one way or another.

For the first time, he hated that both he and Haley herself went to a different school and the time differences did not help their case at all. His heart feels heavy and right here, right there, he wanted to cry. The mood in the room changes a little bit when Haley cried over Mufasa's death. The redhead beauty had explained to the Brazilian boy that the movie always made her cry.

When Haley laugh through her tears, Ronnie could not stop himself from smiling ear to ear at how adorable his girlfriend is. Even when she is crying her eyes out, Haley is still beautiful despite the tears that stream down her cheeks. "But really, we have Disney to thank for that, don't we? I mean, that's life. Everything can't always be perfect. And sometimes we have to deal with death, and Disney prepares us for that early"The girl said to him.

The vibe in the room become heavy again but as soon as Haley realize the atmosphere in the air was not as cheery as the previous hours, she dismissed it with a 'whatever' and returned her attention back to the movie again. Ronnie let out a sigh as he pondered what Haley just said to him. He gives the movie half attention than he did earlier in the night.

"Just because life often time fucked us up and screwed us over, that doe not mean there isn't any beauty in it,"The boy replied as he absentmindedly caressed and played with Haley's beautiful yet soft hair. The Duellist rarely swears but he did it from to time when it is necessary. "Yes, life can not always be perfect but I do know one thing that is perfect,"The boy pause a little bit and looked at the girl that is in his arms.

"You are,"He said with certainty and sincerity that shone in his blue-grey eyes. When Haley let out a protest and smacked Ronnie with the nearest pillow, the boy covered his head with his hand. "Oww! I take it back, I take it back,"Ronnie said between his laughter. "Am I now?"The boy let out his smirk when Haley said he was so darn a distraction.

When Haley stick out her tongue at him, Ronnie let out a laugh. "Real mature, love,"Ronnie uttered but then poked Haley's tongue that was sticking out with his finger. The confusion that was etched on Haley's face when he made that small speech in Portuguese was too cute to pass up. Ronnie then leaned in and kissed her lips.

"You are too adorable for your own good. My heart might burst from your cuteness,"The boy kissed his girl again but this time instead of her lips, he kissed her nose and cheek. "What I am trying to say in that long-winded speech of mine is how honored I am that I am your boyfriend and I could call you mine,"Ronnie translates it for his girlfriend.

"And in that speech I said I love you,"Ronnnie smiled from ear to ear. His dimples show on both of his cheeks. No matter how many times the boy had said 'I love you' to his girl, he never get bored by saying that and he always felt the fluttering feeling in his stomach like the first time he said the word to his gorgeous green eyes princess.

Hours had passed by and without the pair realized, they had watched all the movies that they wanted to watch. As the screen went dark and the silence engulfed the room, Ronnie turned to Haley. In his position, he did not say anything to his girlfriend. His eyes searched for the green orbs that he adored so much.

He pulled Haley closer to him and planted a lingering kiss on her forehead. He did not know why but he just had the sense of feeling that he will want to protect this independent yet beautiful girl from all her heartache that she had endured in the past and perhaps in the unforeseeable future. The silence had been broken when Haley called him with a language he did not understand.

Even though he did not understand what the redhead was saying, the language and the words that she uttered sounded beautiful and Ronnie just wanted her to say the same exact word again and again. "Yes, love?"The boy responds to the word that Haley said to him. He can feel Hayley's eyes burning into him and Ronnie could not look away from the girl that he adores and loves so much.

"I don't want this time with you to end" She said honestly. At the tone, Ronnie's heart aches. He also did not want his time with his gorgeous girl ended but they could not always have what they wanted."The last week has been so amazing and I've enjoyed every minute, every single second of it. It was so so nice to see you again, to meet your family, and just be with you. The thought of being away from you again tomorrow for a few months"The Quidditch player said.

"I'm just going to miss you so much"The girl finally said. From where he laying down on the bed, he can feel Haley's sadness. That thought alone put tears in his eyes. He never felt this kind of strong emotion and love towards anyone else before so he got a bit overwhelmed but in a good way. He softly sniffles as he wipes away his tears when Haley said that she going to miss him so much.

The Brazilian boy changed his position from laying down now he seated on his bed. In the darkness of his room, he could see his girlfriend close her eyes and lower her gaze. "Olha pra min, meu amor, look at me, my love"The boy said as he hooked his finger under the girl's chin and slowly lift Haley's chin so her green eyes looked back at his.

"I do not know what going on in that gorgeous mind of yours but I feel like you had been hurt in the past. Do not shove away your emotion, it will eat you up,"The Brazilian said softly. "I got the first-hand experience watching people shoved away their feelings,"Unspokenly he talks about his own cousin who rather bottled up their emotions rather than talked about them.

"You and me, love, we going to get through whatever life throws at us together. I am not going anywhere. I promise,"Ronnie then lifted up his pinky finger. He then waited for Haley to return the gesture. The pair talked until the wee hour and Ronnie could not remember what he said to Haley except to ask her to stay with him.

"Do not let anyone change you. You are beautiful just the way you are. I love you,"Said the sleepy boy, and soon not long after that Ronnie drifted off to his sleep.

𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐲, 𝐉𝐚𝐧𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝟐𝐧𝐝, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟑

----

𝐒ã𝐨 𝐏𝐚𝐮𝐥𝐨, 𝐁𝐫𝐚𝐳𝐢𝐥

As today was the last day Haley stayed at the Ramírez household and the Rose family in Brazil, the Portuguese boy wanted to do something fun and memorable for both of them. After Ronnie has done with his morning run, he opened the front door and saw both his girlfriend and his youngest sister already manning the kitchen.

Ronnie walked up to both girls. He kissed Haley's side of the head and hug his sister. Izzy pushed him away and stated that the Duellist was too gross and sweaty for her hugs. Ronnie let out a small laugh. With a quick step climbing the stairs, he towel-dried his naked torso and put on a grey sleeveless tank.

He walked down again towards the kitchen. "Morning, papá,"The boy greeted his father. Enzo who was seated by the head of the dining table looked at his youngest son from behind the newspaper that he read and nodded to the boy. Last night, Ronnie had promised to make his infamous chewy soft choco chip cookies for Cash, Haley, and her parents.

After he has done preparing all the ingredients and pieces of equipment to be used, he started making the dough for the choco chip. The atmosphere in the air was fun and light until his troublemaker of a brother bounded to the kitchen. He sat on one of the island counter chairs and looked at the pair with mischievousness.

A wicked grin etched on his face. Venice then swiveled his chair to face Enzo who still reading the newspaper. "Did you know these two shared a bed last night?"He stated. Enzo looked at Venice and Ronnie alternated behind the newspaper. "It seems this occurrence not only happened once, right Andréas?"His brother fakes his innocent and smiles sweetly at him.

Ronnie glared at his brother. He hates when Venice put him on a spot. "Is this true, Verona?"The gruff in his father's voice was enough to make him shake. Although Ronnie knows he was secretly his father's favorite son, the fourth-year never defy his father's command until two days ago. Ronnie keeps his mouth shut and lowers his gaze.

"Answer me, Andréas"Enzo's voice was more like a disappointment rather than anger. "Yes, papá,"Squaked Ronnie. From the corner of his eyes, he saw Venice smirking smugly. "There is a guest bedroom for a reason, Andréas. Why in Merlin's name do you do that?"Enquire the single father.

Enzo's gaze then falls on Haley. "Did he pressure you or something?"Question the patriarchal firgure. Ronnie feels aghast that his father thinks that. Enzo's hazel eyes bound from Haley to Ronnie. "You know what, I do not want to know,"Enzo said as he get up and fold the newspaper. "You needed at the restaurant today,"He addressed it to Ronnie.

With that being said, Enzo walked out of the room and prepared for his day. As his father cleared the room, so does Izzy and Venice. Ronnie let out a sigh. "Sorry about that. Usually, he was cool with everything,"Ronnie said as he rubbed the back of his head. The mood in the room changed but it did not stop Ronnie from having fun with Haley while making the choco chip cookies.

Once he was done with all the batches, he took a quick shower and then changed into his work uniform. The Portuguese boy then waited for his redhead princess to pack up so he could escort her back to the hotel where her parents are staying.

English: #008000 Parsel: #008080

@Cassandra Ironwoods as Ronnie

After the two shared their heartbreak, comforted each other and the pain was still there, just a little less for the moment, they both fell asleep. Haley knew the next morning would be the last and she wished the rest of the short night would last FOREVER, but it didn't. After a few hours, Haley blinked her eyes until she got used to the warm rays of the sun. She realised she was alone in bed and turned over one last time, breathing in the smell of Ronnie deeply. One last time before she had to miss him for the next few months.

Reluctantly, the redhead got up, made the bed and scurried into the bathroom. She took a long warm shower before skipping down the stairs to the kitchen. "Good morning Izzy!" the youngest of the family greeted her, "Shall we have some breakfast?" she inquired and they decided to make pancakes together. Haley had remembered almost everything from last time and if she couldn't find something Izzy noticed it immediately and helped her. It didn't take long for the two of them to finish and before they ate anything, they cleaned up the small mess in the kitchen.

"Good morning, Luv." She greeted Ronnie, who had obviously got up so early for a morning run. "If you were showered, there are some delicious pancakes waiting for you here." She bid him goodbye again, laughing at Izzy's reaction when he went to hug his sister. As soon as Ronnie was out of the room Haley looked at her and wrinkled her nose, "You're right, too gross." She joked and laughed.

By now Ronnie's father had also arrived in the kitchen, making himself comfortable at the table with the newspaper. The morning was pleasant and relaxed, but goodbye was also in the air, which Haley and Ronnie ignored as best they could. Together they baked the famous Choco chip cookies that Haley had heard so many good things about but never had the chance to taste. The couple baked together, laughing and fooling around, enjoying their last hours together, and for a moment Haley forgot all the commotion. Until he walked into the room, Venice.

Venice meant nothing good, the Chaser knew that by now. While she ignored him, she didn't manage to do so for long. She bit her lower lip as Venice told his father that Ronnie and Haley had slept in the same bed. Haley was already afraid that Enzo wouldn't be thrilled about it. She didn't dare to turn around and just overheard it until Enzo raised his voice. Haley bit her lip even harder, she knew it would be awkward and they both froze for a moment until Enzo motioned Ronnie to answer him.

"Oh gosh, no! No, no, no." repeated Haley over and over and the question cringed her. Why would Enzo ask if Ronnie made her do anything. "Hell no." She repeated, biting her lip as she realised she had cursed. "Sorry, um, what I meant to say is that of course Ronnie didn't force me or anything. Gosh, I don't think I really need to spell that out. Of course we were just ONLY sleeping." Haley looked at Enzo for a moment before turning around. This moment was so awkward and she couldn't believe she just had to talk about how nothing had happened in front of everyone. They might have been together, but they were still young, she couldn't understand how that thought could even come up.

"No worries, it's not your fault." With those words she glanced at Venice out of the corner of her eye. She could see his satisfied smile and fire boiled up inside her. She didn't understand what his fucking problem was and it made her so angry that he kept trying to ruin her time here. She hadn't done anything to him and yet he hated her. "You know Venice, if you're going to pick a fight, then fight properly. And not like a girl." Haley looked him up and down. She had started MMA, certainly she didn't have enough experience yet but by the next time she could manage to take on Venice with a lot of training. The thought of throwing him over her shoulder made her smile and think of Charles. She had actually sworn off brute force but he would have been so proud of her. She can literally hear him whispering in her ear "And now another punch on the nose. Just like I taught you." Haley tried to suppress her smile and turned her back on Venice again. She just ignored him again and got on with having fun with Ronnie and baking the cookies.

"Mhh. They're GREAT." Haley closed her eyes as she tasted one of the cookies. She could see why they were famous and everyone wanted to taste them. "Next time we see each other, we'll definitely bake these again." There was no question about it, this was really a sweet command from the redhead. After finishing the cookie, she set about packing all her things while Ronnie went to take another shower. She finished faster than he did and she took the moment to take in his room one last time. She was really going to miss being here. She went to Izzy and said goodbye to his little sister and took her in a hug. If Alex was going to be there, she would say goodbye to her too and Venice would just be ignored by her.

As soon as Ronnie was finished they walked together to the hotel, there her parents were already waiting for their daughter outside the door. Haley stopped at the bottom of the steps and turned to her boyfriend. "Tell your dad thanks again for his hospitality and sorry for the trouble this morning." She smiled apologetically at him and sighed. "Well, I guess it's time to say goodbye now." Nervously she bit her cheek, she didn't want any of this. Why did they have to go to separate schools? "mo anamcara (My Soul mate) I will miss you immensely. I am already looking forward to seeing you again and you must write to me! Don't let Venice tease you so much and don't forget about me." Haley wrapped her arms around Ronnie's neck and took him into a tight hug. She placed many small kisses on the side of his head, hair and neck. She didn't want to break that embrace, but she also knew she had to go. "I love you." She whispered into the hollow of his neck as she continued to hug him.