Lumos

Christmas brought the first bit of cheer to Ulric’s perpetual gloom. Kyne had signed up to stay at Hogwarts over Christmas and Ulric was positively delighted for the alone-time with his mother. During the train ride back to London, he told Felicity all the things he intended to tell his mother about - most of them seemed to be complaints about Kyne.

Felicity listened to Ulric’s excited chatter, but was filled with gloom. As much as she looked forward to seeing her mother and Felix, the prospect of spending the whole holiday with her uncle - and, worse, Sebastian - was quite bleak indeed.

All of the Weasleys were remaining at Hogwarts, so there was nothing to distract Felicity from her inner musings. Soon enough, the train was pulling in at King’s Cross Station and students were bustling to get off the train. Felicity lagged behind, taking longer than necessary to get her trunk and make her way to the nearest exit.

Esther was waiting for her at the end of the train, rather hiding behind the Platform 9¾ sign. When Felicity opened her mouth to say hello, her mother quickly said, “Hello, dear. We’ll talk in a moment, alright?” Then she took Felicity’s trunk in one hand, her little fist in the other, and began to lead her quickly from the platform.

“What about Uncle Markus?” Felicity asked, causing Esther to shush her. They were soon bursting out into the wintry air outside King’s Cross, where Felicity saw Felix standing next to a rented car. Esther threw Felicity’s trunk in the back, then hurriedly hustled the children into the backseat.

“Sissy!” Felix shouted at Felicity.

“‘Lo, Felix,” said Felicity. “Mom, what about Uncle Markus?”

Esther smiled mischievously. “He won’t be joining us this Christmas.”

Felicity’s heart lifted instantly. “Really?”

“Yes. I decided that Christmas this year should be between just the three of us. I’ve even made arrangements for an away-from-home holiday. Ever fancied a visit to Wastwater?”

In fact, Felicity had never heard of Wastwater, but she didn’t care. Anything sounded lovely compared to an entire holiday with Markus and Sebastian.

Wastwater, as it turned out, was a lake in the far north of England, in an area called Wasdale. It took five long hours to arrive there, during which Felix complained loudly about how they could’ve been there much faster if Esther had just brought some Floo Powder.

“A little drive won’t kill you, Felix,” said Esther whenever Felix came up with a new complaint.

During the times when Felix was quiet, Felicity told her mother all about Hogwarts - leaving out a few of the rule-breaking bits. Esther listened with appropriate rapture, seeming to drink in her words. It occured to Felicity that her talk might be too boastful and stopped immediately, changing the topic to how Felix and her mother had gotten on without her.

Felix had thrown exactly twenty-six temper tantrums in the past three months, broken five broomsticks attempting to fly them, and broken fifteen dishes when waving a stick at them didn’t make them levitate. Esther had spent most of her time working - she now had to bring Felix along so he wouldn’t be left home alone.

“I’ll be quite grateful,” Esther told her daughter once Felix had dozed off, “if he gets accepted to Hogwarts, too. Keeping an eye on him is almost more than I can handle.”

They arrived at the Wasdale Inn around dinnertime. Felicity helped her mother with the luggage, as Felix was still only half-awake and proving to be very little help. The inside of the building, much like the outside, was quite shabby, but had an old-timey charm about it. The whole place was decorated in flimsy garland and wilted wreaths.

Their room was on the first floor, at the end of the hall. It had one small bed, a window opposite the drawer, and a single dresser. The bathroom was in the corner, but had nothing but a toilet inside - any bathing would have to be done in the public lavatory.

“It’s not much,” said Esther, “but it’s got a lake view. And the gentleman at the desk said he could probably find us a camp bed.”

Felicity crossed to the window, wrinkling her nose at the slightly musty smell of the place, and looked out at the lake. It shone like a mirror, reflecting gorgeous, snow-capped mountains on its opposite shore. “It’s beautiful.”

“Best view from any inn in the area. It’s the only inn in the area, mind you…”

“It’s perfect,” said Felicity. And, even though it was small and a bit smelly, she meant it. “It wasn’t terribly expensive, was it?”

“Nothing I can’t handle. I’ve been saving for it since you left for school. Now, what say we get something to eat, eh?”


The days in Wasdale seemed to move faster than the days anywhere else. Felicity spent most of her time outside, walking the many paths around Wastwater with her mother and Felix. She and her brother regularly competed to see who dared go out deepest into the frigid water. These escapades usually ended with their mother dragging them back from knee-deep water, muttering about her children’s lack of common sense.

Each evening, they ate dinner in the small dining room of the hotel, which was almost always serving fish. It snowed on the third day - a cold, wet snow that wasn’t pleasant enough to play in - so Felicity and Felix stayed inside, taking turns on the toy broom Uncle Markus had bought for Felix the day they’d been at Diagon Alley. It floated a foot off the ground and the zoomed around the room at intervals, their feet dragging on the carpet as they were much too big for the toddler-sized broom.

Too soon, it was Christmas Eve and Esther was bringing in a stack of elegantly wrapped packages she’d left in the trunk of the car - “Gifts from Markus,” she said flatly as she piled them in the empty corner of the room. “He dropped them at the house ages ago, rambling about all his Christmas plans, and I just knew I couldn’t do it, you know?”

“I know exactly,” said Felicity earnestly.

Esther smiled, kissed Felicity’s head, and went to the camp bed to tuck in Felix, who was already fast asleep.

Christmas morning dawned cold but sunny. Felicity was awoken by the steady tap tap tap of an owl’s beak on the window. Felicity got out of bed - she’d been sharing with her mother - and crossed to the window, unlatching it and allowing the owl to flutter to the floor. To her surprise, four more owls followed the first. Three she recognized as school owls, each bearing a gift and letter. Two were screech owls with similar deliveries, and the last was a large brown owl carrying a medium-sized box tied with twine.

Esther, who had been woken by the sound of the window being opened, sat up and said sleepily, “The weatherman didn’t say nothing about owl showers today.” Felix remained asleep, apparently undisturbed by the chorus of hooting owls, each eager to be the first to deliver their parcel.

Felicity quickly removed all the gifts from the birds. The owls departed at once and Felicity secured the window behind them, eager to shut out the icy air the birds’ arrival had let in.

Eager to start, Felicity sat right down on the floor and pulled the brown owl’s box onto her lap. It was weirdly balanced and had round holes cut in the top - it also seemed to be moving. There was a card attached to the twine.

We have received your order and hope the calico arrives on Christmas Day as ordered. Thank you for your patronage. Happy Christmas from Magical Menagerie.

Remembering exactly what kind of store Magical Menagerie was, Felicity eagerly untied the twine and wrenched open the tightly sealed lid from the box. Inside, looking very ruffled from what must have been a very uncomfortable journey, was an orange-and-black kitten. It looked up at her with curious gray eyes and let out the tiniest meow.

“For me?” Felicity asked excitedly. “Really?”

“Happy Christmas, sweetheart.”

“Thankyouthankyouthankyou!” she exclaimed, throwing herself across the room and into her mother’s arms. Then, still voicing her gratitude, Felicity picked up the fluffy kitten from the box and held it close to her chest. Its over-large ears were tufted with black fur and its paws and belly were snowy white. “Is it a boy or girl?”

“Boy. Shopkeep said that was rare for a calico.”

“So you picked this one out yourself?”

“Oh, yes,” said Esther, standing up and stretching. Stifling a yawn, she continued, “I meant to get you an owl, but I spotted this little beast in the window of the Menagerie and, well, just look at him. How was I supposed to walk away from that face?”

Felicity understood perfectly. As her mother began to search for clothes, Felicity sat on the floor with the kitten nestled contentedly in her lap and reached for her other gifts. Before the holidays, she’d enlisted Neville to help her slip small gifts (little bags each with a chocolate frog, box of Bertie Bott’s, pack of Exploding Snap cards, and a bottle of self-correcting ink) into all her friend’s trunks, but she hadn’t been expecting any gifts herself.

The biggest package was from Ulric, wrapped in odd blue paper with snowmen on it. Tearing it open, Felicity discovered a glass ball the size of a basketball containing a perfect miniature replica of the solar system inside. Next, she opened a medium-sized box that was full of prank items from Fred and George, which they’d undoubtedly bought after sneaking into Hogsmeade.

The next package, clearly a book, wasn’t labeled. Ripping off the paper, Felicity read the title, A Beginner’s Guide to Quidditch. She turned the book upside down and shook it, but no note or card fell out. Shrugging, Felicity picked up her next gift, a small box that, surprisingly, was from Neville. Inside was a Remembrall, identical to the one his Gran had sent him at the beginning of term.

Felicity’s last present, according to the label was To Felicity, From Sebastian. With a sniff, Felicity tossed the package toward her open trunk without opening it.

“I’d no idea you’d gotten so popular,” Esther said with a teasing smile as Felicity stacked up her presents and set them carefully in her trunk, concealing Sebastian’s unopened one. “The cat’s from me and Felix, got it?”

Felicity glanced at Felix doubtfully, knowing that the idea of buying his sister a present had probably never even occurred to him. Smiling, though, Felicity took out her last little gift bag and slipped it under Felix’s pillow. Then, retrieving a tiny box from her trunk, Felicity held out her gift to her mother.

Esther looked curiously at the box, obviously not having expected any presents. She took it and carefully removed the lid, revealing a small silver locket, just big enough for two petite photos. “Oh, Felicity, you shouldn’t have.”

“Happy Christmas,” was Felicity’s simple reply.

After scrawling thank you notes to give her friends, Felicity picked up her new book and told her mother she was taking a walk.

The Christmas morning was icy and Felicity took great care where she stepped as she made her way down to the lake. The sky was starting to cloud over - there was a chance of snow later - but Felicity didn’t mind it as she sat down on a piece of driftwood and cracked open her new Quidditch book. She was surprised to find an inscription on the inside cover, written in neat cursive.

Hey, James, don’t believe everything my brother says about me. I’m actually a pretty nice guy. Don’t let Ulric tame you, okay? Risks are awesome, not to mention FUN. Have a nice holiday. Kyne.

As she sat there, shivering despite her layers of clothing, Felicity found that she missed Hogwarts more than she’d imagined possible. After getting used to the magic and spending endless hours with her friends outside of class, her home life seemed...dull.

Not that she didn’t love seeing her family, but an odd emptiness settled in the pit of her stomach as she thought longingly of her friends. She wondered how they were spending their holidays without her - probably having snowball fights and playing Exploding Snap. If just one week made her miss Hogwarts, how would she fare when the summer holiday started?

The next few days crawled by. Felicity read and reread her book, finished all her holiday homework, spent hours studying her mini-solar system, and helped her brother use up all of their Exploding Snap cards. She sat in the lobby of the inn and watched television several times and, two days before term was to resume, stumbled across a name she liked for her kitten - Baltimore. The kitten, who Felicity carried with her everywhere, mewed happily when Felicity told him the name, and the matter was settled. She packed and repacked her trunk several times - in addition to the gifts from her friends, she’d also received shoes, a dress, necklaces, a fancy mirror, several books, and a ring from Uncle Markus. It made her feel a little guilty for not missing him during the holiday.

Finally, the day before Felicity would board the train back to Hogwarts, Esther loaded the family and all their luggage into the rental car and began the long journey back to London, where they stayed a night at the Leaky Cauldron. This allowed Felicity time to wander around Diagon Alley and stock up on Potion ingredients, quills, and supplies for Baltimore.

When the James’ stepped onto Platform 9¾ the next morning, they found their way blocked by Markus, looking angrier than Felicity had ever seen him. Sebastian stood a short distance away, looking rather uncomfortable.

“How dare you?” Markus glowered. “I spend weeks planning a fun holiday for the kids and you just take off with them without a word to me? I have never met anyone so unappreciative, uncooperative, impolite-”

“You want to talk about impolite,” said Esther coolly, “how about looking at the way you treat people once in awhile, Markus.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” demanded Markus.

“Bye, Mum,” Felicity said then, sensing a huge row about to erupt. Esther said a subdued goodbye and continued to bicker with her brother. Felicity ducked behind a family of four that was headed to the other end of the train, successfully avoiding Sebastian, and quickly sought out Ulric. She found him in a compartment near the front of the train, having just shoved his trunk into the luggage compartment above their heads. Never had Felicity thought she could be so happy to see a single person.

“Hey,” said Ulric, noticing her standing in the doorway. “Did you have a good holi-”

His question was cut off as Felicity threw herself into his arms and squeezed him in what must have been a bone-crushing hug.

“Good to see you, too,” Ulric gasped. Felicity could only laugh.