Coral

Hold back the rushing minutes make the wind lie still

Don't let the moonlight shine across the lonely hill

Dry all the raindrops hold back the sun

My world has ended my baby's gone--







--The Christmas Tree--







Christmas week appeared without warning, taking them all slightly by surprise. The Wizarding world loved Christmas, and everywhere a person looked there were trees and candles, and people carrying brightly wrapped gifts.





Eloise in particular seemed to adore the holiday, and like most people with no children of their own, she was generous to a fault when it came to gift giving. The year before, she had lavished several gifts on Amanda, such as gilt picture frames, silver handled hairbrushes, and leather bound books; and for Stella, gifts such as a chair of whipped wicker, a hundred candles of different fragrances, and copper bracelets.





This year she promised everyone she would do even better.



Amanda was not yet allowed to go out, due having developed a series of intermittent fevers that refused to be completely broken. Desperate, she had called on Aunt Eloise to help her with what she considered a dilemma, but Eloise considered an opportunity to display her knowledge of "everything, everyone, and how much it all costs".





Amanda needed help choosing a gift for Edward, and having no experience whatsoever in that department, she turned to the one person who had more than enough. Eloise had the problem solved almost before it was spoken, and with a snap of her fingers, she was away, only to return a few hours later, smug and satisfied. A very exhausted Demogene was in tow, and they both were both burdened with armloads of packages, which they deposited in the middle of Amanda's parlor.





Winter, who had been shopping as well and had happened to meet Amele in Flourish and Blotts, soon arrived. Amele was close behind, her cheeks attractively pinkened by the sharp December air.





Choosing one package in particular from the stack, Eloise tore off the paper to display a tiny palm-sized Christmas tree.





" You simply must have a tree." she said. " Where would you like it? No, don't get up."





Amanda looked skeptically at the diminutive decoration, and indicated the buffet in the corner.





" Stella and Demogene, please move that out of the way. Don't use your wand for that! It's an antique! " Eloise barked as Stella and Demogene began trying to move the heavy furniture.





" Couldn't have been any other corner?" Demogene huffed.





Eloise ignored her, and set the tree on the bared floor. After carefully calculating the height of the ceiling versus the angle of the corner, she enlarged the tree to the perfect size.





" Oh! It is beautiful..." Amanda exclaimed, genuinely surprised. "I had forgotten completely about a tree."





" Where do you keep your head? " Eloise teased gently." What is Christmas without a tree? I bought it from Ingemar Odle...you remember him Winter? He is a genius when it comes to horticulture. He actually grows the trees in miniature. He wanted to sell me one of the 'add-water-to-grow' trees. On these hardwood floors? Wouldn't that be insane?"





Demogene nudged her with another box.





" What? Oh, yes, thank you, I almost forgot. Since it is indecent to have a naked tree in the house, I picked out some wonderful decorations. Of course, you'll collect special ones yourself over the years, but for now, I think these will do nicely." she opened the package and began removing glass ornaments. Some looked no different than ordinary Muggle baubles, but others sang, changed colors, and flashed with multi-colored lights.





Slowly, Amanda rose from the fainting couch, where she had been resting, to hang the first ornament. It was a star, crafted of delicate iridescent blown glass. Inside of the star, another smaller blue star was suspended by thin threads of spidery glass web.





" There. That is my favorite." she said.





Soon, with much wand waving, and a few moments of silliness, mostly between Winter and Stella, the tree was covered in glass decorations, tinsel, candles, candy, nuts, lacquered apples, and strange things like toy noisemakers, bluebirds, cloth butterflies with moving wings and crowns. After the prettiest ornaments were up, they began a contest to see who could turn the homelier ones into the most outrageous trinket.



Amanda found herself egging the others on from her seat;





" Holly leaves!"





" Paint holly leaves on it."





" Fake rubies!"





" Over the eyes. Pink Snowflakes. No...larger!"





At last, the tree could tolerate no more. It was bulging with wonders, and seemed to groan with the weight of it's finery.





The final touch however, and Stella was reluctant to add it for fear of stressing Amanda's nerves; was a very delicate ornament. A child angel, wrought in the purest crystal, kneeling. Though it looked at first as though it should be praying, it was in fact, playing. Its fine crystal hands were playing on a proportionately small toy piano of lacquered black wood. On the ivory sheet music, incredibly miniature letters were hand-painted to spell out;





--In memory of Olivia--





Amanda silently accepted this token, and thanked her mother with a look that spoke more eloquently than any words.





Carefully, she hung the ornament on the most prominent branch of the tree. She could not know then that it would always be hung in just that exact spot for every following Christmas, a tradition that they would come to think of as indispensable for the holiday.





Only after this was ritual was observed did Eloise begin stuffing gifts under the tree. She had found for Amanda to give to Edward, a magnificent chess board that played Wizarding Chess on one side, but when turned over, played a normal game of Muggle Chess as well. The board itself consisted of large squares of polished ebony wood, alternated with pristine squares of the purest white marble. The board was three inches deep, yet was no heavier than a sheet of high quality paper.





Most importantly, at the corners it had carved medallions of some abstract and nouveau design that could not be called flowers, or animals or even definable shapes. At either end there were drawers, lined with black velvet, in which to store the pieces. The pulls were of highly polished brass, pressed in the center with an " O" monogram. Amanda ran her fingers each detail,nodding with approval.





" Very lovely. " she allowed. " It feels lucky, too. Perhaps even I shall win a match! "





They rewrapped it hastily, and placed it among the other packages.





***





When Edward returned home that night, it was to a house transformed. He frowned at the tree, the gifts, the greenery, and the bevy of women seated in the parlor. At all times he was suspicious of change, and had grown into a habit of disliking change at the first; though he might enjoy it at a later time. Christmas had never held any particular fascination for him. He found it was slightly embarrassing to give and receive gifts, especially when people had the tendency to over-dramatize the sentimentality of the moment.





He managed to pull back into the library before any but Amanda noticed him, and when their eyes met, she saw his displeasure and felt slightly disheartened . Excusing herself for a moment, she left Stella, Eloise, and Amele in a debate over the Headmaster of Hogwarts School; and slipped into the library.





She wasn't sure what to say, and simply stood inside the door, waiting. He regarded her closely. She was still quite pale, but the hollow, defeated look had begun to fade, remaining only in the down-turned corners of her soft mouth, and the slope of her shoulders.





Softening somewhat, he gestured towards the parlor with a faint nod.





" It's a very large tree."





" Yes,but it can be made smaller...if you like?"





" No. I do not mind the tree. However, I have no desire to speak to anyone this evening."





It came out a little harsher than he had intended, but Amanda only lowered her head in acquiescence, and turned to leave. He caught her elbow.





" I wasn't referring to you. " he said more congenially. " I meant that I was in no mood for Eloise or...anyone." he sighed.





" Is something the matter?" she asked, frowning at his tone. Though it was not unusual for him to be impatient of glum at times, it was not normal for him to be so blatantly morose.





" I had two unpleasant visits today. One from your cousin Agnes, and that...Umbridge she married. The second was from a Ministry official." He reached up to smooth the line of consternation from between her eyes.





Her first thought was that her illegal use of magic had been discovered, and she was going to be hauled to Azkaban as took out a small envelope, still sealed with the Ministry's emblem in green sealing wax, and placed it in her hand.





She regarded it unhappily, for a moment, asking at length if he knew what it might be. She didn't want to have to read it for herself.





" A reminder of that damned law." he sneered, then apologized for his language.



" It's indiscreet timing, is all...here don't read it."





He took it back and threw it into the fireplace.





" Incendio!"





Amanda was actually relieved that it was only that, thinking, as she watched the wax melt and the envelope curl in the flames, that it could have much worse.

" That's nothing to be so upset about. I thought it might be something more horrible.

What was Agnes' visit about?"





He grimaced.





" Something much more horrible. Don't let's discuss it now, I can't think civilly. " he changed the subject instead." You look better."





" I feel better. The tree, the music, the laughter. It's taken my mind away from...things." she gave a tiny shrug.





In the hallway, the clock struck the half hour, and they could hear Amele as she exclaimed over the time, sayaing she had only meant to stop by on her way home, Jean-Paul would be worried intoapoplexy. There followed the sounds of people stretching,and rustling and making polite noise to let their hostess know they were restless.





" It sounds as though they are ready to leave. I'll go ensure it."





But he retained his grip on her arm.





" I can't let you do that...it would be very unlucky."





" What would?" she asked, confused.





He lifted his eyes upward, and she followed his gaze to a small bundle of mistletoe, tied with a red velvet ribbon. Winter must have placed it there earlier when she was hanging the holly wreaths. Amanda blushed and looked up at him from beneath her lowered lashes.





" They are all still out there..."she said warningly, not attempting to step out of reach.





" But...not in here." he answered, moving suddenly, but gently to wrap an arm about her waist. She allowed herself to be caught, and only protested enough to be sporting. After a long moment, in which he kissed not only her mouth, but her cheeks and forehead, and the tip of her nose, he simply held her loosely, while she played with the bow of his cravat.





" I do believe this house needed a little Christmas cheer." he stated.





" Only the house?" she teased.





He conceded that perhaps his mood had needed lightening as well, as he released her. She knew her own mood had.





" Oh, are you sure you're finished? Or should we send for more mistletoe?" a voice drawled from the corner.





" Grandmother! " Amanda exclaimed, startled to find herself face to face with Winter. " How did you get in here?"





Winter was seated in the corner chair, her lap filled with bunches of greenery she had been arranging into attractive bundles.





" I was in here first."





" You might have spoken." Edward growled.





" I tried to get your attention twice. " she stood, ignoring their guilty expressions. " I'll just leave the rest of this here for you Amanda, you can do with it...whatever you please."





Amanda, inexplicably in higher spirits, began to mock-chase her grandmother from the library, at a pace no faster than a mild walk.





As soon as she stepped into Stella's view, her mother began bombarding her with maternal criticism.





" Mary Amanda! You shouldn't be running! You shouldn't even be standing this long! What have you been doing?" Stella forced her to the lounge. "You look feverish again."





" She does look slightly flushed, doesn't she? " Winter exclaimed, from behind Stella. When Amanda shot her a warning look, she only feigned a look of extreme concern. " Maybe we should give her something cold to drink."





" I'm fine." Amanda assured them.





" Too much excitement." Eloise claimed, making Winter smile.





" Yes, that's probably it." she agreed. " You should be more careful Amanda."

Amanda gave her a cheeky smile.





" Well, Amanda, Winter and I must be going. You'll listen to Polly, won;t you , and rest? And happy Christmas for tomorrow." Eloise kissed her cheek, and Winter embraced her softly.





Amele too said her goodbye, and left with her armload of gifts, leaving behind her good wishes and the fragrance of sandalwood.





Stella remained just long enough to be certain that Amanda wasn't ill again.

Truthfully, the day had been a little too strenuous,and Amanda was beginning to feel weak and achy again. She was envisioning a light dinner, and a warm restful evening on the library sofa, listening to Edward's account of his meeting with Agnes and Umbridge.





Perhaps even a glass of something stronger than tea.





Three hours later, that was exactly what she was doing. She was stretched out on the leather library sofa, propped up on several very soft pillows, with a thick blanket over her knees. She had been mending a tattered cuff on one of his shirts, but had laid it aside to listen to him rant angrily about Adelfried Umbridge's sermon on how to subdue Muggles.





He paced the floor as he spoke, shaking his finger, sometimes even waving his arms. Every time he passed her, he filled her glass again. She had no idea what with. It had started out tasting like bitter acid, then slowly evolved into tasting like smooth acid. It made her warm though, and she felt her self dozing occasionally, when she wasn't trying to focus her eyes.





" ...approval and eventually a patent for potions and pills designed to keep them under the strictest control, he said!" rummaging in his pocket, he pulled out a tiny glass tube with three pills in the bottom.



" He gave me some samples! They have not yet proven them to be perfectly safe, but he said it didn't matter! In large doses they can create convulsions, comas, memory loss...all sorts of pretty symptoms. Yes...he had the audacity to make it sound as though convulsions were a benefit." he slammed the tube down hard to punctuate the word ' benefit.'



Amanda winced.



The vial however, was charmed not to break.



" Well? " he demanded when she said nothing. After two hours of listening to his rant, the least she could do was join him in being scandalized.



" Well what?" she asked, sleepily.



" Isn't that appalling?"



" Yes."



" It's a disgrace."



"It is a disgrace..." she agreed. " And isn't it strange that no matter where a person goes, there are always fanatics. Why does it have to be that way, I wonder?" she mused, trying to stifle a yawn.





He stood, leaned against the mantle and watched her as she dozed completely off to sleep. He thought about waking her, and moving her to her bed, but decided the couch was just as comfortable. Covering her completely with the blanket, he watched her for a long time with a peculiar expression, before turning to charm the fire to a perpetual low blaze.





As he passed the table on his way to the door, he seized up the vial containing Adelfried's pills. Glancing once more at his lovely Muggle wife, he tossed the vial into the fire.





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My baby's gone-Traditional