𝗙𝗔𝗩𝗢𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗘 𝗖𝗥𝗜𝗠𝗘

ACT ONE, CHAPTER SIX
merry christmas!

PENELOPE LESTRANGE DEFINITELY could be a stone cold bitch at times, but truth be told, she actually fucking hated the cold.

Now, just because she hated the cold didn't mean she hated Christmas. Hagrid had already brought in the twelve Christmas trees for the Great Hall, garlands of holly and tinsel were wound around the banisters of the stairs, and couples were found kissing under bunches of mistletoe in the corridors (yes, Penelope and Ron were a part of those couples.) And there was also something else to look forward to — Slughorn's Christmas party.

Members of the Slug Club (the fact that she was a part of that still made her confused) were invited to a Christmas party and they were allowed to bring guests. Penelope hadn't found time to ask Ron yet, and it was the day before the party. The two of them had been so busy lately with homework and Quidditch (in Ron's case) that it was hard to try and find time to have long conversations.

But when she saw Lavender Brown trying to pull Ron under the mistletoe with her despite his resistance, that's when she decided she had enough.

"Hi, baby," Penelope greeted, approaching the two of them and holding her hand out.

Ron looked extremely relieved to see her and grabbed onto her hand. "Hey, P."

Brown glared at her. "Excuse me, we were having a conversation."

"Were you?" Penelope countered, her eyebrow raised. "Because it looked a lot to me like you were trying to kiss my boyfriend."

Brown huffed and stalked away to Parvati Patil, who was waiting her a little ways down the corridor. Penelope rolled her eyes.

"She keeps cornering me," Ron complained. "No matter where I go, she's just there. And I've told her multiple times that I have a girlfriend."

Penelope turned back to Ron. "She's definitely persistent. So, I actually wanted to ask you something." She smiled. "Slughorn's Christmas party is tomorrow, and I was wondering if you wanted to go with me."

Ron's face brightened. "For real?"

"Yeah, of course." The two of them began to walk down the corridor. "Sorry it took so long for me to ask you."

Ron shrugged. "I was just getting a little tired of hearing about it. Venus and Harry are going together, and so are Charlie and Neville. I think Hermione's going to ask Elijah — anyways. Yes, P. I'd love to go to Slughorn's party with you."

"Perfect," Penelope responded. She kissed his cheek. "Meet me in the entrance hall at eight tomorrow. I'll coordinate with Charlotte — maybe we can all walk in together or something."

"I'll talk with Harry, Venus, and Hermione as well." Ron leaned down and gave her a proper kiss. "See you tomorrow."

The next day at exactly eight, Penelope stood in the entrance hall next to Charlotte. Penelope had invited Charlotte over to her dormitory to get ready together, and much to her delight, she got along with Tracey and Daphne well. Charlotte looked beautiful in her red sparkly dress (Penelope had an inkling she made the color red because Neville was a Gryffindor, and she obviously liked him.) Penelope, on the other hand, stuck to her Slytherin roots. She wore a dark green velvet dress, her lips were painted red, and the crown necklace that Ron gave her still hung around her neck. Her hands kept smoothing down the skirt of her dress. For some reason, she was a little nervous.

"You're going to be fine, Pen," Charlotte reassured her. "It's just a party. We go in, we eat, we talk, we leave."

"I just feel like something's going to go wrong," Penelope admitted, glancing around the entrance hall for a moment. There was quite a large number of girls milling around, most likely waiting for Harry. "Whatever. I'm being stupid."

"Oh look, there they are."

Penelope looked over. Walking into the entrance hall was Harry, Venus, Hermione, Elijah, Neville, and Ron. Penelope's breath caught in her throat upon noticing Ron in his dress robes. Merlin, he looked good. Their eyes then locked, and Ron slowly approached her, his eyes wide and his face turning red.

"You look . . ." Ron trailed off, swallowing nervously. "You look amazing, Penelope."

She grinned back at him. "You look amazing too, Ron."

"Everyone ready to go?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah," Elijah answered. "Where is it?"

"Slughorn's office. Come on, it's just up the stairs."

The group of eight ascended up the staircase, conversation flowing easily throughout them. As they got closer to Slughorn's office, the sounds of laughter, music, and loud conversation grew louder.

Finally, they made it. Slughorn's office was a lot larger than Penelope expected it to be, whether it had been built that way or because he used magic to make it bigger for the party. The ceiling and walls were draped with emerald, crimson, and gold hangings, which made it look like they were inside a vast tent. Red light was emitting from an ornate golden lamp dangling from the center of the ceiling that had real fairies fluttering around it. Loud singing and mandolins issued from a distant corner of the crowded and stuffy room. A haze of pipe smoke was hanging over a group of elderly warlocks having a conversation. Quite a few House-Elves were moving their way through the forest of people, weighed down by the heavy silver platters of food they were bearing.

"Harry, m'boy!" Slughorn exclaimed as soon as him and Venus squeezed through the door. "Come in, come in, so many people I'd like you to meet!"

Slughorn gripped Harry's arm tightly and led him purposefully into the party. As if it was an instinct, Harry latched onto Venus' hand and dragged her along with him.

"There they go," Penelope commented in amusement. "Should we save them from whatever conversation Slughorn is taking them to?"

Charlotte crossed her arms. "You know, I would, but that food table is calling my name. Want to go get a snack, Nevs?"

"Oh, uh, sure," Neville responded, following after her with blushing cheeks.

Hermione's eyes then widened. "Oh God, Cormac's over there. He won't leave me alone."

Penelope scoffed. "What is up with people and being so persistent nowadays? First Brown, and now McLaggen? They're honestly getting desperate at this point."

Elijah nodded his head in the other direction. "If we go this way, we might be able to hide behind the hangings and escape him seeing us."

Hermione linked her arm through his. "I'm in."

The two of them took off.

"Looks like it's just the two of us now," Ron voiced.

"You know, if Elijah didn't like Ginny so much, him and Hermione would be cute," Penelope admitted.

Ron looked down at her quickly. "Elijah likes my little sister?"

"Oh, you didn't know?" Penelope responded casually, starting to make her way through the crowd. "It's quite obvious. But then again, you're oblivious, so I'm not really that surprised you didn't notice."

"I am not oblivious!" Ron insisted, following his girlfriend closely.

Penelope raised an eyebrow as she took a glass of butterbeer off of the table. "Uh huh. Keep telling yourself that, darling."

"So I came here just to be attacked my girlfriend?" Ron questioned, but his tone was playful.

She placed her hand underneath his chin. "Teasing you is how I show my affection, baby."

He chuckled and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "I know, I know. So—"

Their conversation was cut short by the room going silent. Penelope looked over to see that Filch was dragging Draco into the party by the ear over to Slughorn, Snape, Harry, and Venus. She frowned, suddenly realizing that this was the first time she had seen Draco in weeks. And to be honest, he didn't look that great. He seemed paler than usual to the point where he was looking a little gray, and even from so far away she could tell there were dark circles underneath his eyes.

"Professor Slughorn, I discovered this boy lurking in an upstairs corridor," Filch wheezed, his eyes lit up manically. "He claims to have been invited to your party and to have been delayed in setting out. Did you issue him with an invitation?"

Draco furiously pulled himself free of Filch's grip. "All right, I wasn't invited! I was trying to gatecrash, happy?"

"No, I'm not! You're in trouble, you are! Didn't the headmaster say that nighttime prowling's out, unless you've got permission, didn't he, eh?"

Slughorn waved him off. "That's all right, Argus, that's all right. It's Christmas, and it's not a crime to want to come to a party. Just this once, we'll forget any punishment; you may stay, Draco."

Penelope glanced in between Filch, Draco, and Snape. Filch was obviously outraged and disappointed, but Draco looked equally unhappy as him. Her eyebrows knit in thought. If he was really trying to gatecrash, he would've been more happy. Snape, on the other hand, looked angry.

Filch then turned and shuffled away while muttering under his breath. Draco seemed to completely flip a switch and placed a smile on his face, starting to thank Slughorn for his generosity.

"It's nothing, nothing," Slughorn stated. "I did know your grandfather, after all . . ."

"He always spoke very highly of you, sir," Draco replied. Penelope rolled her eyes — here was the sucking-up. "Said you were the best potion-maker he'd ever known . . ."

"I'd like a word with you, Draco," Snape then interrupted.

Slughorn hiccupped. "Now, Severus, it's Christmas, don't be too hard—"

"I am his Head of House, and I shall decide how hard, or otherwise, to be. Follow me, Draco."

They then left, Snape leading a resentful-looking Draco out of the office. Penelope's frown deepened and she set down her glass of butterbeer.

"You want to talk to him, don't you?" Ron inquired.

Penelope nodded. "Yeah. I do. Something's not right, but we haven't talked in months."

Ron slightly groaned. "Don't tell me you're hopping on Harry's theory, too."

"I'm not. Draco wouldn't do that. But he seems . . . off." She looked up at him and kissed the side of his jaw quickly, which was all she could manage because he was too damn tall. "I'll be back."

Penelope then started to push through the crowd. She made it to the door just in time to see Draco quickly striding down the corridor.

"Draco," Penelope said.

He let out an exasperated breath and stopped walking, turning to face her. "What do you want, Penelope?"

"I just wanted to make sure you're all right," she admitted. "You look really stressed. Has something happened?"

"Nothing has happened."

She raised an eyebrow. "Draco, I know we haven't spoken in a while, but I'm worried about you. I haven't seen you in weeks, you've stopped playing Quidditch . . . is this because of your father's imprisonment? I read about it in the Prophet."

He stared down at the floor. "I don't need you to be worried about me. Just go back inside to your blood traitor boyfriend."

Penelope's face hardened. "Will you give it up? Ron and I have been dating for over a year and you still haven't found it in you to at least be supporting of me. This blood purity shit? It doesn't matter. None of that matters."

Draco was silent for a moment. "Have a good Christmas, Penelope."

And as Penelope stood there in her party dress and red lipstick, Christmas lights glistening behind her as she watched Draco walk away, she knew that something was terribly wrong. Draco wasn't acting like Draco, but she didn't know why.

・゜・。・゜。・。・゜★

CHRISTMAS AT THE Tonks household was always fun. Despite Nymphadora's newfound melancholy — once again, Penelope cannot disclose any information — they still resumed all of their Christmas traditions. Hot chocolate by the fire, opening gifts early in the morning on Christmas day, a huge Christmas feast. Her interaction was Draco was still in the back of her mind, but as she spent more time at home, the more she brushed it off. It was evident he was going through something, but she really couldn't help him unless he let her in, which it looked like he wasn't going to do any time soon.

Penelope went back to school a few days after New Years. While in the Slytherin common room, she ran into Charlotte, who invited her to come see Hagrid with her, Venus, and Hermione. Penelope knew that Tracey and Daphne weren't coming back until late that night, so she accepted.

Their visit with Hagrid was short and quick since it was bitterly cold outside. Penelope and Charlotte decided to join Hermione in walking back to the Gryffindor common room, and once they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady, they saw Harry, Ron, and Ginny standing outside.

Penelope's face broke out into a large grin. Her and Ron's eyes locked from down the corridor, and he smiled back at her, one that made her heart race tremendously. Penelope picked up her pace and soon reached him.

"Hey, you," she greeted, throwing her arms around his neck and pressing a kiss onto his lips — his were warm against her cold ones, and he snaked his arms around her waist to pull her in closer. "How was your Christmas?"

Ron hummed in response and kissed her again, this time for longer, before pulling away. "It was all right. Rufus Scrimgeour came—"

Her eyebrows knit in confusion. "Why was the Minister at your house?"

"Something about Harry and Dumbledore, I don't really know."

Penelope shrugged. "Anyways, happy belated one year anniversary. I sort of combined your Christmas present and anniversary present into one, but we can have a date in the kitchens one of these days to make up for not seeing each other?"

"Sounds good to me," Ron agreed. "Thanks for the new Quidditch gear, I seriously needed some. But the other present . . ."

Penelope blinked. "What other present?"

"What are you talking about? You got me the necklace."

She shook her head slowly. "I didn't get you a necklace."

Ron, looking very confused, let go of her for a moment and rummaged in his pocket. He then pulled out a thick gold chain, one that had the words MY SWEETHEART dangling from it in large gold letters.

Penelope raised an eyebrow. "That is the most God awful thing I have ever seen."

"So, you didn't get me this?" Ron asked.

"Absolutely not."

"But if you didn't get it for me, who did?"

"Oh dear," Hermione then cut in. "It was Lavender. Before we left for Christmas break, I saw her cutting that out of an advertisement in the Prophet."

Venus' eyes then widened. "Oh God, yeah, she was. I asked her who she was going to get it for, but she told me it was none of my business."

Penelope scoffed incredulously. "There's just no way. This bitch has got some fucking nerve."

"Why won't she just leave me alone?" Ron complained. "You know what, I'm over it. Where is she?"

"I assume in the common room," Venus answered.

Penelope looked up at him. "You're gonna yell at her?"

"Yeah, because I'm so tired of this," Ron replied. "Plus, I feel kind of bad that you've had to yell at her all this time and I've said basically nothing."

She smiled gently at him. "I don't care about that, but I'm proud of you. Send her my warmest regards, will you?"

"Definitely." Ron leaned down and kissed her softly as Hermione told the Fat Lady the password so the portrait hole could open. "I'll see you later, P, and I'll let you know what happens. Hopefully she doesn't burn the whole castle down."

"See you," Penelope responded.

She watched him walk through the portrait hole until it closed, an adoring expression on her face. God, she was so in love with him, and that made her so fucking screwed.

☆ 彡

update 2/4 of my four days of updates for my four books!!! next update tomorrow will be love back (my ej caswell book <3)

AND SHE FINALLY ADMITS IT LET'S GOOOO