A Christmas Surprise.. Is Not Always Good.

[Larissa Sedgwick]

The term had just ended and Larissa had finished packing her bags.
She didn't see Hoshi or Adira and so she simply packed her bags, convinced Ted to get in his cage- "We've changed address.. You wont know where to go." The raven reluctantly accepted this and hopped into his cage, fluttering up to the perch.
Larissa gave him a chick head which he munched happily. She then walked from the empty dormitory, through the common room and up to the Entrance Hall.
She was not 100% looking forwards to being back home and so the journey to Brightstone Station felt like it was taking years.
Larissa grumbled as she waited for the train. Ted squawked, demanding another chick.

The train drew up at the station and Larissa wandered in, making a point to sit in an empty compartment.
She was not in the mood for being social and she pushed all her luggage- Barring Ted's cage- onto the overhead rack.
Larissa sat back in her chair with Ted's cage beside her. Her eyes drifted to the window.. Who was meeting her at the station?
She honestly had no idea but she hoped it wasn't her mother.. Not after what she'd done.

---

It had been some time Larissa had sat alone in the compartment and before she knew it, the train pulled in at the station.
Her eyes moved along the platform, scanning for him.. Where was he?
Larissa tugged her luggage along with her and hauled Ted's cage off the train and onto the platform.
She stood in the center, staring around..
So much noise, so much light, so many people.. Everything was moving so fast.
She still couldn't see him but as Larissa began to feel faint, she felt a comforting hand upon her shoulder:
The hand took her luggage and Ted's cage, carrying it outside and to a vehicle.
A car.
Larissa groaned.
Grakul didn't know how to drive but her muggle-loving mother did.

The luggage was pushed into the boot and Larissa had to sit in the back next to Ted.
This was fine with her- She did not want to talk to her mother or face her.
Her mother was a traitor to all Larissa believed.
She sat in silence through the journey, nobody making conversation.
It was a very long journey and Larissa felt her eyelids drop.
She always felt younger around family..

 

[Grakul Gellantara]

Once at the house, Grakul made to haul the heavy luggage from the boot- But his wife felt otherwise.
She carried the luggage in- and Ted's cage- all by herself, leaving Grakul to carry the sleepy figure of Larissa.
He scooped her up as though she was made of nothing more than paper and carried her inside, up the staircase and to her new room.
She looked so beautiful sleeping and almost angelic- Much unlike the Larissa he knew.

Grakul proceeded down the stairs and to the lounge where his wife was waiting for him, sitting on the sofa and looking annoyed.
He sat beside her and took her hand.
"Darling.." He said softly, gently turning her head to face his.. But she resisted.
"Please, Larissa, just for the holidays- Let's not fight.. Little Larissa doesn't need that; by her letters she's had a hard enough time as it is."
He was wearing a short sleeved shirt but he had a bandage covering the place where his mark was.
He now removed this bandage.
"You said it was alright- You said you loved me."

 

[Larissa Gellantara]

Larissa felt Grakul's hand on hers. She felt him attempt to turn her head but she resisted.
She was not interested in what he had to say.. They had not been forced to see each other for a month as work had become hectic but now that little Larissa was at home, things were.. Well.. She had agreed to be there for her daughters sake but now she had changed her mind.
"I am not fighting with you," Larissa said simply, refusing to face her husband, "And you think that Larissa has been having a hard time?"
She turned to Grakul, fire burning in her eyes.
She was fierce and angry.
"I did love you, Grakul, I did once upon a time but I don't anymore."
Her eyes refrained from looking at his mark- the mark which had caused so much pain and misery.
There were a few minutes of silence. The floorboards of the room above them creaked. Larissa had woken up.

Larissa looked to her husband.
"I've spoken to someone and made the arrangements.. A divorce, Grakul. That is what I want."
She turned away from him once more. The silence was explosive.

 

[Grakul Gellantara]

Grakul's heart sank.
His wife was keeping her anger in. It was making everything worse.
He didn't want them to break up over a stupid mark but then..
How dare you call it stupid! he told himself, You chose that mark, you chose that life and now you must face the consequences.
It was his turn to speak and Grakul stood up.
"I do not want a divorce." he said simply. "I will not give up what I have chosen," He walked to the door. He could see his wife's thoughts like a book.
"And I'm going to check on Larissa." He said sternly, stepping from the room and firmly closing the door.

---

 

[Larissa Sedgwick]

Larissa could hear the faint voices of her mother and step-father below her room.
She clambered out of bed and looked about; the place was baron apart from the bed, the dusty floor and wall and a single window overlooking the front of the house.
She moved to this window, looking out at the street below:
Two neighbors were chatting animatedly on a lawn.
Mostly though, the street was silent.

Larissa knew how bad things were with her parents. She just didn't realize what her mother was capable of..

Larissa and Grakul had a chat in her room, they played a game of exploding snap and they discussed Quidditch..
As the evening drew in and once Grakul had left, Larissa sat on her wooden bed. Staring.
Her mother wanted a divorce. She knew about what Grakul was and she wanted a divorce.
Larissa had originally sworn, stamped her feet and kicked the door.. But now the anger subsided and the pain of the situation hit her:
She had already lost one dad and she really didn't want to lose another.
That was when Larissa considered a new plan..

---

 

[Grakul Gellantara]

"Run away?" Grakul said, an expression mixed between surprise and mild amusement etched across his face.
It was the morning after Larissa had arrived back home and she had summoned her step-father to her room.
"Larissa-" He began but paused to hush her and she started to wind up. "Larissa, honey, please.."
He looked into her blue eyes. They were beautiful just like her mother's.
"I know you don't want this to happen but sometimes.." He gave a deep sigh, "Sometimes people fall out of love.. And your mother feels very strongly about the elimination of the dark arts and.. well, I think it hurts her too to have to do this but.. You understand that it wouldn't work out, right? Me and your mother.. we fell in love but like me, she believes strongly that what she is doing is right and she.." Grakul did not want to say it. He did not feel it was true. He loved Larissa, he really did and he loved her mother but it seemed the mother-daughter love did not exist in that family.
"She's only doing what she feels is best for you."
If she had been his daughter, Grakul would have taken Larissa with him and left. He wished she was his.. But she wasn't.

Grakul felt numb. He left Larissa's room in silence and walked down the stairs to the kitchen.
His wife was in there. They exchanged looks. They both loved each other but they both felt more devoted to their separate beliefs.
Larissa left the room and Grakul stood over the sink, swimming in thoughts.

---

 

[Larissa Sedgwick]

Larissa spent the next few days mostly in her room, only coming downstairs for meals.
She had been re-decorating her bedroom and now it was much more her style;
Her room was starting to look a bit more like one found at Hogwarts.
Larissa had begun writing a diary of the days as she had little to do apart from wait in her room for the time when she could go back to Hogwarts.. The diaries of the days up until Christmas went a little like this:

Dear Diary,
Mum and dad.. yes, I do call him that.. he's not but Grakul is like a father to me.. Anyway, I heard them fighting again.
They were on the day I arrived back from Hogwarts.
Mum wants a divorce. Dad doesn't but she knows what he is and.. well, yeah..
I've re-decorated my room to feel a bit more like the one at Hogwarts.. I miss Hoshi and Adira.. But it wont be too long until I see them again.. Should be alright.
Ted has been eating a lot of chick heads and I've told him he'll get ill but he just wont listen.

-Larissa x

Dear Diary,
Ted was sick in my shoes yesterday. Too many chick heads.
I have been decorating again.. Put up a poster of the Weird Sisters and spent the afternoon dancing away to their music.
It sucks that I can't do magic outside of school.. I'd love to have a duel with Grakul- He knows some awesome spells.. Probably illegal but they sound amusing.
Anyway, I have to go and see if my shoes are dry- Raven vomit doesn't wash out easily.

-Larissa x

Dear Diary,
I keep forgetting to write. Sorry.
The past few days have been a little dull.. I helped decorate the tree and Grakul has charmed a couple of baubles to sing!
Mum's not best pleased. She says that if she has any of the muggle neighbors over then they might think it a bit odd.
I'm just about to decorate my room now.. Looks like it'll take a while..
I wonder if I can fit a tree by the window..

-Larissa x

Dear Diary,
Woo! Almost Christmas! That means closer to going back to Hogwarts.
Grakul has been absent most of the day.. I don't know where and mum wont tell me, says he's organizing a surprise.. FOR ME!!!
I love dad. He's so much fun.
I wonder what I'll get for Christmas.. Maybe a new broom.. Hah! I wish..
Nah, I have my Nimbus 2001.. In fact..
Yeah, I'll write again, don't know when but right now I have to fly my broom round my bedroom!
Woo yeah!

-Larissa x

---

Christmas morning started with a thump.
Well, several thumps.
Those unaware of Larissa's Christmas 'moments' would be calling for a healer..
She didn't know why she did it but Larissa, stumbling out of bed in her Slytherin pajamas, walked wobbly-legged to the bedroom door, opened it and chucked herself down the stairs.
She lay upside-down at the bottom of the stairs, smiling at the face above her.
Grakul had opened the door to call Larissa down for some breakfast and had been.. Well, a little surprised to find her at the foot of the staircase.
But she was grinning.
"Happy Christmas." Larissa smiled, allowing Grakul to help her up and walking to the lounge.
There was a stack of neatly wrapped presents beneath the fir tree.
The baubles, having noticed her, began singing wizarding carols.

Larissa raced to the tree and skidded along the carpet.
She may have had a dark heart but she was still young.. Young enough to enjoy Christmas.
A heavy present was her first choice.. She opened it;
A stack of books were inside. Obviously her mother's choice as none of them were about the dark arts.
Next, Larissa opened a little present; A small silver chained locket lay in a box and a little black hematite heart sat in the center.
She smiled and lifted it carefully, placing it around her neck and looking inside:
One picture was of her and Davmorn, the other was Grakul and her mother.
She shut the locket, smiling at Grakul. It was from him.
She moved onto more presents which were from various relatives she couldn't remember.

---

 

[Larissa Gellantara]

Larissa was serving the dinner and the three of them sat around the table.
The baubles, to Larissa's annoyance, were still singing. Her daughter and husband seemed to thoroughly enjoy this and were humming along, their paper crown wobbling on their heads.
She wondered if the letter had got there yet.. Surely it must have.
Larissa cleaned the table once they were all done and was in the kitchen cleaning the dishes when she heard a knock at the door.
She went to answer it..

 

[Grakul Gellantara]

Grakul watched his wife leave.
There was still a cold air between them and so he did not follow her.
Instead, Grakul walked to the fireplace.
"Larissa," he smiled, "You may have been wondering where I've been the last few days.. Well.." He pushed at the back of the fireplace.
It slid aside.
He smiled and crawled through.
The room inside was decorated with floods of silver tinsel, gleaming red baubles and of course another tree with presents underneath it.
"They're yours." He said, helping Larissa through and walking down the marble steps.
He watched her pounce on them.
"I'm going to get us some pudding." he grinned, crawling back through to the other side of the fireplace and shifting the fire into its usual position.
He began walking to the kitchen but noticed his wife at the front door and joined her.

 

[Larissa Sedgwick]

Larissa pounced on the presents.
This Christmas had to be the best but then..
She could hear speech.
The baubles had stopped singing and she listened hard.
There was someone at the front door and it sounded as though.. "NO!" Larissa shouted, suddenly running up the marble steps and to the fireplace. She was pushing it aside when through the crack she saw her mother.
A spell flew her way and smashed into the fireplace.
Larissa tried to shift it but now it was stuck hard.
"STOP! HELP! PLEASE!" Larissa cried desperately.
She was aware of what was happening- Her mother had contacted the Ministry and now an auror had turned up and was taking Grakul away. They knew he was a Death Eater.
"GRAKUL!" Larissa screamed, kicking desperately at the fireplace, putting in a tiny dent, "DADDY!"

The words had surprised Larissa. She fell silent in shock.
She could hear her mother shutting the front door and Larissa desperately tried to wrench open the fireplace.
She wanted to kill her mother. The only person ever to truly understand her was now off for a trial.
"You sick twisted woman!" Larissa screamed, managing to slide the fireplace aside a little. "You evil beast! You foul creature! You absolute troll!"
Larissa then screamed out a few choice swear words before turning round and smashing everything she could in the room.
Baubles shattered, tinsel was shredded, the tree bent in the middle and cards strewn across the floor.
She could never forgive her mother for this. Never.</COLOR>

---

After an hour or two, Larissa heard a noise and looked up from the table she sat at;
the fireplace was open once more. Her mum must have believed her to be calmer and was releasing her.
Larissa practically flew out of the gap where the fireplace should be, glared at her mother and raced to her room.
She began frantically packing.
"Sick.. Freak.. Troll.. Face.." Larissa muttered under her breath as many insults as she could as she pushed clothes and books and so forth into a large wheeled suitcase.
She tucked her wand in her trouser pocket, wrote a note and a letter, strapped the letter to Ted and sent him off and took the cage with her.
Larissa ran back downstairs to the front door, yanked it open and stormed out, moving fast down the street.

---

Spoiler: The Note

<COLOR color="#000">MUM,
YOU ARE EVIL. I'VE RUN AWAY.
I NEVER WANT TO SEE YOU AGAIN.

-LARISSA

Spoiler: The Letter

Grandma,
I'm coming to stay with you a few days.
Will explain later.

-Larissa