WARNING: DEATH AND TRAUMA

Monday, December 21st:

She stared up at the moonlit sky, fascinated by how the stars sparkled against the darkness that surrounded them.

The stars always comforted her.

That was until she heard a loud crunch that came from behind her, she didn't bother to turn around, she started to run.

The ground shook with the heavy footsteps that grew nearer.

She kept on running; her heart felt like it was beating out of her chest, she didn't care where she was going as long as she didn't look back.

In her haste to escape whatever was causing the heavy footsteps rushing behind her, her heart was akin to that of a battle drum as it pounded in her ears, eyes welling with tears in the darkness that provided her with no comfort.

In the forest, where she was unable to see her escape route due to the shroud of blackness that enveloped her, something reached out to grab her ankles, swiping the ground from underneath her as her tiny body toppled over what felt like a lump of rocks covered with soft fabrics.

She groaned and quickly turned her head around, no longer hearing anything, but her view was blocked by a body.

The body of a man.

The body of Her father.

He was lying there motionless, his eyes wide open, staring up at the moonlight sky.

The Body was surrounded by the insects that lived in the forest, they were eating away at his corpse, having a feast on his flesh.

She immediately closed her eyes, shaking her head hoping that the image would leave her psyche.

She prayed to Merlin that it wasn't real.

Her eyes fluttered open, her vision was no longer blinded by the frosty weather, the snow continued to fall freely; not being controlled by the winds that were once unsympathetic and vicious.

Nothing was in her path.

The decaying body was no longer in her way.

She let go of the breath that she wasn't aware that she was holding.

She shakily got up from the ground, content that her heart was trying not to burst from its cage.

She was about to make her way back home when a hand harshly gripped her, turning her around.

Instead of seeing her father, she saw a hooded figure stand in front of her, skin as pale as the snow she stood on.

It towered over her, taunting her with its size.

No features cover its face...

None except a mouth.

Tears flooded her eyes as its pale face crept towards hers.

"You could've stopped this."

She let out a piercing scream...

Artemis gasped awake, Her cheeks were wet with tears as she blubbered out her mother's name, desperate for someone to save her from her subconscious.

She was lying in her bed at Hogwarts.

Daphne stood beside her, with a concerned expression on her face.

Artemis jumped back, when she felt a hand on her arm, "Missy..."

She harshly wiped her tears away from her face, shaking her head and giving her friend a forced smile, "I'm okay." her voice was raspy, causing her to wince at the pressure she put on her vocal cords.

The blonde witch frowned at her tone, her eyes started to water at her friend's frantic state, "Missy, you kept screaming in your sleep, I couldn't wake you up." Daphne choked back a sob and hugged her friend, she felt the Seramore witch shake, which only caused her to sob more.

"I'm okay," Artemis repeated, even though it hurt.

Daphne pulled away, tears still making their way down her face, "But-"

Artemis cleared her throat, trying to reduce the pain she felt, "I'm okay daph." she avoided the blue eyes that were in front of her, not liking the worry that appeared in them.

"B-"

"Stop," she yelled hoarsely, causing her friend to flinch and move back. She instantly felt bad for making the girl, so she reached forward and linked their pinkies together, "I'm okay Daph, please stop worrying."

Daphne rolled her eyes and wiped her tears away, "How can I stop worrying, you look like you were in pain, I was so scared for you Missy."

She never saw anything like it.

Sure, she had the occasional nightmare, but when she saw her friend, shaking and yelling in her sleep she had never felt so terrified in her life...

And she once lost a pair of diamond earrings in the ocean.

Artemis waved her off and scoffed, "Don't be." She needed water, but first, she needed to calm down her solicitous friend.

She was starting to wish she had just gone home for Christmas instead. The only person to know about her nightmares was her house-elf; Binky.

Artemis knew that Binky wouldn't tell a soul. She trusted Daphne, but she didn't want her pity, she felt bad enough that she woke up her friend, she didn't want the blonde to look at her differently.

Daphne grew frustrated, "Stop telling me to stop worrying about you, you're my friend, best friend and I won't stop worrying about you."

She couldn't if she tried.

The seramore witch gave her a sad smile and looked away, "I don't want to burden you" her voice broke more.

Daphne attempted to hold back her tears, she didn't like to see her closest friend this way, she wanted to make her feel better, but she didn't know-how. "Your problems won't be a burden to me."

Artemis huffed, "They aren't problems." she spoke sternly.

She liked to view herself as a problem who didn't have anything wrong with her.

She was aware that she did, she just tried to ignore them.

But they followed her into her dreams, which led her to despise sleeping even though it usually brought her a lot of peace.

She found it easier to deal with other people's issues instead of her own, which is why she loved keeping her brain busy and distracted, so she didn't have to be alone with her thoughts.

The blonde witch narrowed her eyes, "I woke up to you screaming like a banshee, I would confidently say that's a problem."

The sound was worse than an alarm clock, that's for sure.

"It won't happen again okay, well maybe for a couple of days and then it stops until next year." The brown-skinned girl mentally face palmed, realizing that she had just revealed to her friend that her nightmare was a recurring thing.

Daphne's jaw dropped, "Wait, so you're saying this happens every year," her ocean eyes bulged out of her head, causing Artemis to shuffle back, "because today is...the anniversary of..."

The Seramore witch sighed, "My father's death, yes."

"Oh Missy, I'm sorry." Daphne felt like crying all over again.

The curly-haired girl shrugged, attempting to seem unbothered, even though the pang in her chest had spread around her body, hitting every nerve, "Honestly, I'm used to it now."

"But it's torturing you, following you into ur sleep..."

"I know Daph was there." The Greengrass witch pursed her lips at the sarcastic smile on her friend's face,

"Drop the attitude."

Artemis raised her hands mockingly, "My bad."

Daphne ignored the girl's apathetic behavior, "Is there anything I can do? Is there anything that you usually do after you have the dream?"

Artemis thought for a while, "Well I burn sage but-

"Why didn't you do that before you went to sleep?" the blonde spoke in disbelief, cutting her off,

"I didn't want to be a burden."

"You aren't Missy, you won't ever be a burden to me, okay?"

"But-"

"Okay?" Daphne spoke sternly, she was not going to take no for an answer.

"Okay." Artemis begrudgingly agreed, she felt tired and wanted to sleep, despite the demons that awaited her there.

She saw the time through her peripheral, it was around 5 am, and she wanted to jump out of the window.

Daphne raised her pinky, "Pinky promise that you won't hide serious stuff from me again."

"But-"

"promise", Artemis' eyes widened at her friend's bossiness, she thought that her cousin needed to man up and date the girl before she did.

"I promise," they linked pinkies and kissed their hands. Daphne offered the vulnerable witch a comforting smile.

Daphne jumped up from the bed and grinned, "Let's burn some sage."

Artemis chuckled, "Let's burn some sage."

***

Wednesday, December 23rd:

HALLWAY:

Artemis had felt more anxious than usual.

Her dreams for the last couple of days had felt more vivid.

So was terrified of her own mind and couldn't do anything to stop it.

but of course, she did what she usually did to cope, she compartmentalized.

But that didn't mean that Daphne wasn't worried about her, she had never seen her friend so frightened, her vulnerable state had frightened her as well.

Usually, she was the emotional one, but the way Artemis behaved towards her that night had made her look at her friend differently.

She felt like she had gotten Artemis to open up. 

The two pureblood witches had felt spiritually closer and Artemis was grateful to have a compassionate friend like Daphne.

The boys knew what was wrong with Artemis since it marked the 5th year since her father's abrupt death, they had been more wary of the girl, trying their best to be there for her.

So the last two days they spent cooped up in Mente Striae, playing games and having fun. Artemis put on a fake smile and forced herself to get involved so they didn't question her mental state.

She didn't want to feel like a burden, but they knew she was not okay.

She huffed as she walked through the courtyard, the air was as cold as the ice.

Luckily she was covered head to toe, her hair was done, her curls were beginning to reach beneath her ribs.

Being cooped up in Mente Striae, somehow caused her to grow more.

She was about to turn the corner, but a certain muggle-born stood in front of her, she put on a faux smile, "Granger, what can I do for you today?"

She was not in the mood, thankfully her period was coming to an end, but that didn't mean her attitude would leave her system any time soon.

Also, the Gryffindor witch rubbed her the wrong way.

Hermoine gulped and composed herself, "I just wanted to ask you a few questions."

"I never knew you wanted to be a journalist, Granger." Artemis mused.

"I don't but-" she was cut off by the pureblood.

"I'm surprised you're alone." Artemis tilted her head, her smile was still prominent on her face, it made the muggle-born uneasy.

"Why?" Hermoine asked cautiously.

"Because something terrible is to get your kind." Artemis pointed out, she raked her eyes over the girl's body, purposefully trying to make the witch feel uncomfortable.

Hermoine glared at her, "And what kind would that be?"

"Muggle-borns," Artemis said with an obvious tone, she noticed the surprised look the Gryffindor gave her, "what do you expect me to call you something else?"

Just because she is a pureblood, it doesn't mean she would throw that slur around.

"Well you're friends with Malfoy so....," Hermoine trailed off, she felt bad for assuming.

Artemis let out a humorless laugh, "And your friends with Ronald but you aren't as foolish as him," she shrugged innocently as the muggle-born avoided her gaze, "so what do you want?"

"Do you know who the heir of Slytherin is?"

"Nope," Artemis spoke without hesitation.

She had already had this conversation with her group many times, they didn't know who the heir was.

She had thought it was Harry briefly and the fact that the boy could've been placed into Slytherin, almost convinced her but she knew that Salazar's blood could never run through someone so mediocre.

Hermoine shook her head, "I don't believe you."

The pureblood witch shrugged, "Then don't believe me."

She didn't care enough to try and convince the girl.

"But you must know." Hermoine insisted, she thought that the Seramore witch had to know some vital information, which is why she had chosen to take the time to ask her.

A sly grin appeared on Artemis' face, "Oh really, why?"

"Because of your a Seramore," Hermoine said it like it was obvious.

Artemis pressed her tongue to the side of her mouth, she loved her family's reputation but sometimes she just didn't know anything, "I'm flattered but no, I don't know, and even if I did I wouldn't tell you." she said scrunching up her face.

Whatever is Slytherin's business, stays Slytherins business.

She isn't a snitch, a grass, or a rat.

She is a snake.

And that is how it will always be.

Slytherins kept their secrets to themselves, which is why there isn't much information on Salazar or the chamber because he knew how to keep his mouth shut.

And so did Artemis.

"But if you know, that means you are just letting muggle-borns die." Hermoine looked at her in disgust.

"You're wrong." the pureblood's face showed no emotion, which only irritated muggle-born more.

"No, I'm not."

Artemis sighed deeply, frustrated that she chose to walk this way in the first place, "Your beloved headmaster is the one letting muggle-borns get hurt not me."

Hermoine instantly shook her head in disbelief, "He's protecting us." she couldn't believe that the girl would try and blame Dumbledore.

Maybe it's the Slytherin in her, the Granger witch concluded.

Artemis stepped closer to Gryffindor girl, "If he wanted your kind to be safe, he would shut the school Granger and is he doing that? No, so perhaps he knows who is doing this, and maybe he just doesn't want to stop them because he wants you all to die." her voice was low and ominous.

Hermoine took a step back, "He wouldn't."

Artemis scoffed at the girl's confident tone, "How can you be sure, oh wait, you can't, because you don't know Dumbledore."

To Artemis, her headmaster was more of an idea, a concept, a joke, than a person.

"I know more than you." Hermoine sneered but regretted her tone when the Seramore's face contorted into a sickening smile.

"We both know that isn't true." She spoke condescendingly. Her smile grew when she noticed the disheartening expression on bushy-haired girls' faces.

The granger witch cleared her throat, ignoring the hurt that spread through her chest, "Well I know that you could be the heir of Slytherin."

"Really why?"

"Because you are an aggressive girl."Hermoine blurted out, causing Artemis to raise her brow, she wasn't expecting that.

"Do you have proof of me being aggressive or are you just intimated by me?"

"Well you beat up your own housemate" Hermoine pointed out and the pureblood witch tried her best to hold back her laugh.

Artemis gave her a deadpanned look, "And according to Longbottom you used a paralysis spell on him when he was trying to stand up for himself." she pouted and the Gryffindor girl looked away, guilt began creeping through her body.

"How do you know about that?" The Seramore witch cringed at the girl's squeaky voice.

I would rather listen to Myrtle's.

Would I?

Nope.

"Well, you just told me Hermoine," she giggled and shook her head disapprovingly,  "Poor Neville, he gained some confidence, just for you to take it away from him, what a shame."

"I was only doing it to help my friends."

Artemis cocked her head to the side, "But isn't Neville your friend?"

"Y-yes." she stammered, causing the Slytherin girl to grin widely.

"Friends don't hurt friends Hermoine."

"What, like you hurt Pansy?" Hermoine deflect, not liking how the conversation was going.

Eww, like I would be friends with her.

"I didn't touch the girl, it was a wild bludger." The Seramore witch recited and crossed her arms, the action caused the muggle-born to flinch.

"You don't expect me to believe that do you," Hermoine pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes at the pureblood.

"I don't care what you believe." her nonchalant attitude irked Hermoine.

The bushy-haired girl tried to compose herself, "You only used that bludger as an excuse, I believe you beat her up because she said something that hurt you."

"Oh really?"

"Something about your father." Hermoine cowered back, almost hitting the wall. The glare on Artemis' face made her body shudder.

The seramore witch walked closer to the girl, making her back hit the wall. "I don't like people talking about my family, the same way you don't like people talking about yours." her chocolate eyes burned into Hermoine's. They didn't waver or blink.

"What if dumbledore found out what you did?"

"As I said, I didn't touch the girl."

"I could just tell him that you did." she winced at the laugh that erupted from the Seramore's mouth.

"I believe you need to take your head out of Potter's arse." Artemis reached out, tucking a piece of the muggleborn's hair behind her ear, smiling as Hermoine continue to flinch, "Seems to me you've got your thoughts all scrambled. Very silly if you ask me, because if you spread a lie like that, you want to have to worry about being petrified Granger."

The muggleborn shrunk back in fear.

She attempted to speak but Artemis continued, "If you spent half of the time you did investigate me than u did on ur work, you would be the top of the class, now run along before you get hurt."

She watched as the know-it-all quickly walked away.

"fanciful la mia vita," She muttered angrily.

She made her way back to her room, avoiding all of the boy's concerned looks.

She opened her dorm door, it revealed her angry friend and her little sister, "Hey Daph, hey Astoria."

Artemis lay against her bed, Daphne smiled at her, while her sister gasped in shock and excitement.

The Greengrass brunette slowly moved closer to the second year, ignoring the glares she received from her sibling, "Hi Artemis, could you please teach me how to fight someone, because there is this annoying Gryffindor boy he keeps irritating me-"

Daphne cut off her sister, while the Sermore witch chuckled at the girl's enthusiasm, "Tori get out and stop bothering my friend." she spoke sternly.

"But-"

"Bye."

The younger sister huffed and glared at her sister, her brown eyes then met a darker pair,  "Bye Artemis." She weakly waved before slamming their door.

"Bye mini Greengrass," she shouted and laughed at the sour expression on the blonde's face.

She playfully glared at the brown-skinned witch, "What is it that you're always saying in Italian?"

She had kept hearing the cousins mutter a phrase every time they were met with an inconvenience.

Artemis furrowed her brows, "fanciful la mia vita?"

Daphne absentmindedly nodded, "Yeah that, fanciful la mia vita."

They both laughed at her terrible pronunciation, "You're getting there Daph."

"Yeah yeah, shut up Missy."

***

Friday, December 25th

SLYTHERIN COMMON ROOM:

It was Christmas day and Artemis felt much better.

Since she and Daphne had been intensely burning sage in their room for the last couple of days, she had felt lighter and less anxious.

Her nightmares turned to dreams, which meant she could sleep peacefully, but that didn't stop the Greengrass witch from leaving a glass of water and a box of tissues near her friend's bed, just in case.

After their huge feast, Theo, Blaise, and Daphne had snuck away to Mente Striae.

There was still a lot of tension between the Malfoy and Nott wizard, but they had put aside their issues for the day.

Professor Snape had got a hold of Artemis after their Christmas dinner. He wanted to congratulate her for her work this year and also tell her to thank her mother for the personalized robe that he received.

The young Seramore witch even caught the brief smile that appeared on his stoic face, before she had disappeared into the hallways of the school.

She made her way towards the common room because she knew her best friend would be there.

She heard his slightly deeper voice as she saw him with his two goons sitting on the leather couches.

She rolled her eyes and approached them, his scowl turned to a beaming smile when she neared them.

He stood up and embraced her,

"Joyeux Noël princesse Arty," She blushed at his french accent. He had already said the festive phrase 3 times today, but he felt the need to see it every time he saw her.

"Joyeux Noël prince,"She teased, as they pull away and sat back onto the couches. He slung his arm around her, bringing her closer.

He was always more protective of her around this time of year.

The death of Ezekiel Seramore didn't just affect her, but Draco missed his godfather deeply.

He knew that he should be grateful that he had a father that was amongst the living, but Lucius' cold exterior mimicked someone who was no longer alive.

"You're getting better." he smiled and looked down at her, eyes trailing over her perfect features.

She's so beautiful.

My Arty.

His thoughts ran wild, and he didn't stop them.

She playfully rolled her eyes, "I know I know." Draco had been speaking to her more frequently in his mother tongue, he wanted another way to communicate with her, as well as help her expand her knowledge.

Artemis turned to look at the other purebloods that sat opposite her, noticing how anxious they looked.

She narrowed her eyes at them as Draco picked up the Daily Prophet.

Was it just me?

Do they normally act like this?

Bloody goons.

She plastered on her fake smile, "Crabbe, Goyle." her eyes darted between the two.

Vincent slowly nodded in her direction, looking like he was trying to conceal a sneer, "Hi." she noticed the change in Gregory's voice, it was lighter than before.

Like his balls retracted into his body.

She thought it was very odd.

Artemis grabbed her best friend's hand and started to play with their matching rings, he tensed momentarily, trying to act unbothered as he began to read the article.

"Listen to this.... Arthur Weasley, Head of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office, was today fined fifty Galleons for bewitching a Muggle car. 'Weasley has brought the Ministry into disrepute,' said Lucius Malfoy, a governor of Hogwarts." Artemis rolled her eyes at her godfather's dramatics. "'He is clearly unfit to draw up our laws and his ridiculous Muggle Protection Act should be scrapped immediately.' Arthur Weasley loves Muggle so much he should snap his wand in half and go join them."

Artemis knew she liked muggle things, the rest of her pureblood friends knew they did too.

But due to their reputations, they had to act like they didn't especially in front of people they didn't trust.

Today the Seramore witch and Zabini wizard were gifted a television by Septrim.

The pureblood 5 had to move it quickly to Mente Striae before anyone could see it.

They were captivated by the large box.

They were already used to moving portraits, so having the large box tell a story, mesmerized them.

The Seramore patriarch had given them many famous mobster films:

Goodfellas. The Godfather. Pulp fiction. And the best one of them all was,

Scarface.

Yes, Septrim was irresponsible to let a bunch of 12-13-year-olds watch these graphic and violent films...but he felt like he was only preparing them for how life could be for them.    
They were already born during a wizarding war, So watching films about criminals going to war with other criminals wasn't that far away from their reality.

Draco's voice broke Artemis from her thoughts, "You'd never know the Weasleys were purebloods, the way they behave. Embarrassment to the wizarding world. All of them."

Artemis made a noise of disagreement, causing everyone's gaze to snap towards her, "Ronald definitely," her best friend laughed, "but his brothers are cool I guess." she noticed Crabbe's eyes grow darker.

That's suspicious. Crabbe hates the Weasleys, right?

Draco noticed his odd behavior as well, "What's up with you, Crabbe?" He brought the Seramore witch closer to his side, he smiled down at her as she continued to play with their rings.

"Stomach ache."

Artemis' face scrunched up in disgust, "Well, go to the hospital wing because if you vomit in front of me, I'll hex you." the stubby boy laughed nervously, causing her to lean forward, "does it look like I'm kidding?" she cocked her head to the side, making the two goons shrink back into the couch.

Draco snickered and pulled her back towards him, "Pas de meurtre à noël."

She shrugged, reveling in their fearful faces, before turning towards the platinum-haired boy, "Très bien Je le ferai demain alors," He snorted, but he detected the malice in her tone, knowing there was a possibility she was being serious.

His smile dropped when he turned back to his odd-looking followers, " You know, I'm surprised The Daily Prophet hasn't reported all these attacks yet."

"I'm not," Artemis said, looking straight ahead.

"I suppose Dumbledore's trying to hush it all up. He'll be sacked if it doesn't stop soon. Father always said Dumbledore's the worst thing that's ever happened to this place." The witch nodded in agreement.

"You're wrong!" The best friends glared at Goyle, not liking his defensive tone. They shared a look before looking back at the Slytherin goons.

She nodded at Draco, he jumped up and approached the other wizards, causing them to shy away as he began interrogating, "What? Did you say that I was wrong? You think there's someone here who's worse than Dumbledore?"

Ronald Weasley, Artemis thought

"Harry Potter." Goyle squeaked out.

He sounds like a wuss. I'm glad my mother didn't have a son. Artemis cringed at the thought.

"Well..." Artemis trailed off. Although she didn't agree, she thought Harry's mediocrity leveled Dumbledore's uselessness.

Draco was silent for a moment before nodding in agreement, "Good one, Goyle. You're absolutely right. Saint Potter." Artemis snorted at how aggressive he said Harry's Last name. He went back to sit next to the pureblood witch, he scooped up her legs and placed them on his lap. This action didn't go unnoticed by the other wizards, they missed how Goyle's shoulders slumped and looked away, "He's another one with no proper wizard feeling, or he wouldn't go around with that Mudblood Granger. And people actually think he's the Heir of Slytherin."

Artemis went to slap the back of his head, at the use of the slur, but he caught her hand and interlocked their fingers. She rolled her eyes and bit back a smile at the action.

"Then you must have some idea who's behind it all?" Goyle asked cautiously, while Crabbe nodded along.

"You know I haven't, Goyle. How many times do I have to tell you? But my father did say this much: It's been fifty years since the Chamber was opened. He wouldn't tell me who opened it - only that they were expelled - but I know this: the last time the Chamber of Secrets was opened, a Mudblood died. So it's only a matter of time before one of them's killed this time. As for me... I hope it's Granger." he wore a sickly smile.

Artemis smacked the back of his head with her other hand, he groaned in pain.

Crabbe went to lunge at Draco, but Goyle held him back. Artemis grabbed her wand and pointed it at the two, they stumbled back.

"What's the matter with you two? You're acting very. Odd." he gripped Artemis' hand and put it down, he noticed her scowl, "Arty, behave." he whispered to her, causing the hairs at the back of her neck to stand up.

She turned her head, so he didn't see the blush creeping up onto her face,  "Get your boys D before I get them for you."

Suddenly the two ran out of the room, trying to conceal their faces.

"Hey! Where are you going?" Draco called out, as they watched their retrieving figures, he wanted to see the damage his best friend would do to them.

Artemis got up from the couch, looking down at Malfoy boy, ''Ugh, can we leave now?" he nodded, liking how their hands were still entwined. She squealed in excitement as they made their way towards her family room.

He chuckled at her behavior, a few moments ago she seemed like she was about to commit murder and now she was acting like a child. But he was also very excited to watch scarface. He just hoped that their friends hadn't already started watching the film without them.

They walked through the castle, engrossed in their conversion, unaware of the envious looks that they were receiving.

Many students already thought the two purebloods were a couple.

They usually held hands, whispered in each other's ears, told secrets, and play fighting.

It wasn't that big of a conclusion to make.

They made it to the astronomy room, luckily no one was around, so many people were in their rooms, or the great hall, still eating their food.

Artemis placed her available hand up to the huge wall, "Piccoli guerrieri," She whispered, making a door appear and open up.

They walked through, "I'm telling you I saw that Henrietta girl looking like a cat." Theo tried speaking through his laughter.

The bean bag chairs were spread out around their new device.

The television was at least 30 inches wide, it took up a lot of space, so they moved one of the tables to the side, so it could fit in the homely room.

Daphne sat next to Blaise, while Theo was on the other side of her, digging through his sweets.

Daphne shook her head, a smile was present on her face, as she continued eating her sweet popcorn, "Liar."

"I'm not lying, she's in the infirmary." Theo stuffed his face, so did Blaise, they tried not to choke as they continued to laugh.

Artemis spoke, making their heads snap towards her, "What happened?" She fist-bumped them all and took a seat next to Theo; he winked at her, she stuck her tongue out at him, he laughed.

Draco held back a groan as he watched the two, he flicked Daphne's and Blaise's heads, ignoring Theo, and sat next to his favorite witch.

"Theo is saying that Hermoine is in the hospital because she turned herself into a cat." Blaise laughed looking at the grey-eyed boy.

Artemis snickered, "Bloody hell." She started to wish that she did that to the muggle-born witch.

Maybe if Hermoine didn't interrogate her, she would have felt sympathy, but she really couldn't care less.

"Stupid mud-muggle-born." Draco immediately corrected himself when he saw the glares his friends sent him. He raised his hands in defense and then reached out to grab the bowls of popcorn that were pre-made for him and Artemis. He handed the Seramore witch her bowl, giving her a shy smile.

She returned the expression, "Merci."

"De rien."

Theo fake gagged and shifted towards the blonde witch, "You guys are disgusting."

Daphne nodded along, despite seeing how cute the two were, "Very."

Blaise groaned and tossed his head back, "Can we play the film?"

Artemis and Draco started to throw popcorn at the other three, causing a mini food fight.

The food ended up in all the wrong places

Hair, shirts, Daphne's bra, Theo's eye, Some of the plants and Artemis' sock.

Shockingly Blaise and Draco looked the cleanest out of them all.

The Zabini wizard quickly dodged a chocolate frog, coming for his face,  "Okay okay, stop, because I'm not cleaning this up."

Artemis shared a look with her best friend, before turning to look at her cousin, "Like you've cleaned a thing a day in your life."

He flipped her off, "Zitto Arty."

"Zitta Arty." She mocked the boy.

Theo groaned, "Start the film." he huffed, he just wanted to see the moving pictures.

He had already watched 3 films today and he was obsessed. He needed to see more.

Daphne grabbed the remote before another fight started, and pressed play.

"Yes." the brown-eyed boy grinned as the credits appeared on the television.

"I can't wait to see the fashion." The Greengrass witch muttered, Blaise nodded in agreement.

"I need to see the weapons they use," Draco added, placing his arm around the brown-eyed girl, she rested her head on his shoulder.

"I need some to see someone die." Artemis exclaimed, receiving odd looks from them all, "what? It's a mob film?"

Theo eyed his close friend and then hesitantly nodded, "She's not wrong." they all shrugged and turned back to the screen.

"Merry Christmas guys," Daphne spoke up before she could be shushed.

"Buon Natale," The cousins spoke in unison.

"Joyeux Noël," Draco spoke quite low, Artemis shivered at his tone.

They all looked towards Theo, waiting for him to speak. He sighed deeply, just wanting to watch the film, "Merry bloody Christmas." he muttered reluctantly.

They cheered, smiling at the boy, before shutting up, immediately becoming entranced by the 80's classic.

Thank Merlin for Septrim Seramore.

***

a/n:

leighton meester as 𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗮 𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘀𝘀

probably one of the shortest chapters in this act...I think

I was originally going to have the nightmare scene, be a moment between Draco and Arty,  but I wanted another Dartemis moment.

Artemis is just soo tired of everyone.

What do you think is going through little Arty's head?

What is your fave flavor of popcorn?