Christmas in the Diggory household was always an extravagant affair. Marion Diggory would charm the muggle reindeer to prance around the grounds every year, without fail, and the house elves always cooked up a feast even better than the last. When she was a child, Mallory McKinnon used to open her presents up, just enough to see what was inside, and then put the paper back together expertly. She’d long since outgrown this habit, though that did little to quell her excitement by the time the holidays rolled around. After all the stress of that Sirius Black business, it was a relief to take a break and come home.
She and Cedric had traded gifts on Christmas Eve, as was their tradition, and she thought he’d been quite pleased with the Broomstick Servicing Kit she’d bought him. She hadn’t opened her own gift yet, but it was suspiciously quaffle-shaped and she had an /inkling/ as to what it was.
On Christmas morning, Mallory woke up bright and early. Though too old for the jump-on-everybody’s-beds excitement Christmas brought her as a child, she was buzzing with anticipation. The house elves always made the best food when Christmas rolled around, and Amos had a habit of spoiling his family when it came to their gifts. Just last year, he’d bought Cedric a new broom, which both siblings had taken turns flying around the pitch.
Scrambling out of bed, Mally threw a jumper on over her pyjamas, as well as a pair of thick socks. She grabbed a scrunchie on her way out the door, pulling her hair up in a loose ponytail that would keep it out of her face. Slip-siding down the halls, she bumped into Cedric, who was leaving the bathroom sleepily. He reached out an arm to steady her, laughing around a yawn and running a hand over his face.
“Mornin’, Mal.” He slurred tiredly, yawning again. Mally beamed at her cousin.
“Morning, Ced. Blimey, didn’t think you’d be up yet.” Cedric shrugged noncommittally.
“S’Christmas. An’,” he yawned again, “Cho’s owl woke me up.” Mally rolled her eyes. It wasn’t that she disliked Cho Chang, exactly, just that the girl was a bit of a swot; most certainly not the sort she wanted her cousin to be involved with.
“Well c’mon. /You/ need some coffee and /I/ need some chocolate.” Cedric snorted, shaking his head at his little cousin.
“Don’t go snooping through your stocking yet, Mals. Mum’ll kill ya.” Mally forced a mock-innocent look on her face, blinking her eyes in a bambi-esque fashion.
“Me, Cedric? Never!” Cedric snorted again, clearly knowing better, but allowed Mally to drag him through the hall and down the stairs.
Now, Diggory Manor was a particularly lovely home. While larger than the average wizarding house, it was cosy and comfortable, and the main living room always had a fire roaring in the hearth. It was to here that Mally dragged Cedric. While her cousin collapsed on the sofa with a groan, slumping to the side and slipping his eyelids shut in a vain hope to regain the sleep he had lost, Mally called out, “Dotty!” quietly. There was a sharp crack, and in front of the brunette a small house elf, clad in a silken pillowcase, stood.
“What can Dotty be doing for miss?” The house elf asked in a squeaky voice, smiling excitedly. Mally smiled kindly.
“Mind getting Ced a mug of coffee? Strong, lots of milk.” Dotty bobbed her head in a nod, beaming, before disappearing with another /crack!/ Mally plopped down on the sofa beside Cedric, nudging him with her elbow. He groaned, lifting his head just barely to glare at her, before burying it in the cushion again. Mally rolled her eyes. “Up, Ced! Where’s your Christmas cheer, you prick?”
He groaned, “Back in bed, without me.” Mally snorted.
“You are such a prat.” Dotty appeared again, mug in hand, and Mally smiled at her. The house elf passed the mug of coffee to Mally, who took a sip and passed it to Cedric, before turning back to the house elf to say, “Thank you.” The house elf beamed, fingers toying with her pillowcase, before she curtsied and disappeared again. “Drink it, Ced, I ain’t having you falling asleep on me while we unwrap.” Cedric rolled his eyes and took a sip at her urging.
“Mu-mum,” he said around another yawn, “and dad aren’t even up yet. We have to wait.” Mally scowled and smacked his arm.
“Killjoy.” She mumbled, shaking her head and standing. “Well, if we can’t unwrap yet, we can at least eat.” She beamed.
Cedric raised an eyebrow. “You’re not gonna make Dotty come back, are you? Because I’m pretty sure that’s abuse of privilege.”
Mally rolled her eyes. “/No/, I’m not. I’m gonna go to the kitchens and make myself some toast. Want some?”
Cedric paused, thoughtful, before shaking his head. “Nope. I’ve seen your cooking, Mals, and I want no part of it.” Mally, in true mature fashion, stuck her tongue out, before she skipped out of the room and down the hall, to the kitchen.
The kitchen itself was rather simple; it had many cupboards and cabinets, as well as a fridge and an oven and a small table in a corner that often served as the table for family dinners. It was where the house elves worked, though Marion often cooked here also, despite the house elves’ protests.
The Diggory family owned just two house elves; Dotty, the youngest and most eager, who was the elf that normally cooked, and Bobbin, who had grown old and weary, and usually cleaned. The latter of these was making his slow way around the kitchen, cleaning the surfaces, while Dotty was working on the turkey, humming happily. Both looked up as Mally entered the kitchen, and smiled. “Was Dotty’s coffee not to Master Cedric’s taste, miss?” Mally frowned in confusion for a moment, before shaking her head.
“No, not at all, Dotty. I just came to make some toast.” Dotty hopped down from the stool on which she stood, making to move towards the bread bin, but Mally shook her head. “It’s alright, Dotty, you go back to the turkey. I can do it.” Dotty frowned, before turning back to the turkey, grabbing a few spices on her way back.
“Good morning, Miss Mallory.” Bobbin croaked in a gravelly voice, smiling warmly at the brunette. She beamed back, reaching into the bread bin for the loaf.
“Good morning, Bobbin. Good sleep?” Bobbin nodded, turning back to the table and wiping it down with his cloth.
“Yes miss.”
“Good.” Mally smiled, listening to Dotty hum as she worked away at the Christmas meal. The brunette popped the bread into the toaster and grabbed a jar of jam from a cupboard, leaning against the counter absently as she thought.
Last night, she’d been going through the attic, looking for an old book about something or other that Marion had asked her to find. She’d stumbled, quite by accident, upon an old photo album. And not just any photo album; her mother’s. It was interesting to look at, and it gave her this sort of warm feeling that she supposed was what it felt like to have a family. It wasn’t that she didn’t love the Diggorys, because she did, but they weren’t her family, not really. They were her cousin, her aunt and her uncle, and though they might try, they would never be her parents or her brother. It was nice, to see these things about a woman she could barely remember but she missed so much. She’d learned a lot of things about her mother; most terrifying of which her association with Sirius Black.
Yeah. /The/ Sirius Black. Notorious mass-murdering, psycho Sirius Black.
His name had come up a lot; he was in many photos with Marlene McKinnon. As was James Potter (she’d have to mention that to Harry, might cheer him up a bit) and, get this, Remus Lupin. As in, her defence professor Remus Lupin.
Her mum had some weird friends.
Mally was disturbed from her thoughts by the popping of the toaster. She blinked sharply, getting up and pulling the toast out. She scowled, wondering just how it was that she managed to /burn/ toast, before putting it on a plate and slapping on as much strawberry jam as she could in an effort to get rid of the burnt taste. She thought about sitting at the table, but Bobbin was still cleaning it and she didn’t want to cause any trouble.
Instead, the young McKinnon made her way back to the living room, plate in hand. Cedric was sitting up when she came in, sipping his coffee with a book in his hand. She raised an eyebrow, reading the cover from where she stood.
“Quidditch Through the Ages, Ced? Really?” Cedric shrugged, taking another sip of his coffee.
“It’s a damn good book, Mal.” He replied after he’d
swallowed. Mally rolled her eyes, plopping down beside him and taking a bite of her toast. He laughed, eyeing the bread in her hand.
“Merlin, Mal, you really do burn anything you cook.” Mally stuck her tongue out at him, taking another bite. She was about to open her mouth to reply, when,
“What time do you call this?” Both Cedric and Mally looked up at Amos, blinking innocently. There was a pause, before Mally replied hesitantly,
“Christmastime?”
Amos eyed her momentarily, before snorting a laugh. “Alrigh’, I’ll give you that.” He nicked Cedric’s coffee out of his hand, taking a sip before grimacing slightly. Mally snorted.
“Too strong?” Amos nodded.
“Too strong.” Marion appeared at her husband’s shoulder, yawing, before raising an eyebrow at her niece and son.
“Bit early, isn’t it?” Cedric shrugged.
“According to Mally here, it’s never too early.” Mally frowned.
“Not true. It’s just never too early on Christmas. It’s always too early on other days.” Marion laughed, shaking her head, before pushing past Amos to the stockings by the fireplace.
“Alright then. Presents, I s’pose, if it means you’ll let us go back to sleep.” Mally beamed, didn’t stop for hours.
By the end of the day, Mally had received a firebolt from Amos (‘since I gave Ced a broom last year’), a quaffle, signed by the Holyhead Harpies from Cedric (she promptly screamed and wouldn’t stop hugging him for ages), a book – Marvius Hartley’s latest – from Aunt Marion, three chocolate frogs from Katie, seven packs of sugar quills from Angelina as well as some new perfume (‘Is she implying that I smell?’ ‘Well, you sorta do, Mal-ouch!’) and, surprisingly enough, an ‘Extendable Ear’, with wishes to use it well, from the Weasley Twins.
She and Cedric had traded gifts on Christmas Eve, as was their tradition, and she thought he’d been quite pleased with the Broomstick Servicing Kit she’d bought him. She hadn’t opened her own gift yet, but it was suspiciously quaffle-shaped and she had an /inkling/ as to what it was.
On Christmas morning, Mallory woke up bright and early. Though too old for the jump-on-everybody’s-beds excitement Christmas brought her as a child, she was buzzing with anticipation. The house elves always made the best food when Christmas rolled around, and Amos had a habit of spoiling his family when it came to their gifts. Just last year, he’d bought Cedric a new broom, which both siblings had taken turns flying around the pitch.
Scrambling out of bed, Mally threw a jumper on over her pyjamas, as well as a pair of thick socks. She grabbed a scrunchie on her way out the door, pulling her hair up in a loose ponytail that would keep it out of her face. Slip-siding down the halls, she bumped into Cedric, who was leaving the bathroom sleepily. He reached out an arm to steady her, laughing around a yawn and running a hand over his face.
“Mornin’, Mal.” He slurred tiredly, yawning again. Mally beamed at her cousin.
“Morning, Ced. Blimey, didn’t think you’d be up yet.” Cedric shrugged noncommittally.
“S’Christmas. An’,” he yawned again, “Cho’s owl woke me up.” Mally rolled her eyes. It wasn’t that she disliked Cho Chang, exactly, just that the girl was a bit of a swot; most certainly not the sort she wanted her cousin to be involved with.
“Well c’mon. /You/ need some coffee and /I/ need some chocolate.” Cedric snorted, shaking his head at his little cousin.
“Don’t go snooping through your stocking yet, Mals. Mum’ll kill ya.” Mally forced a mock-innocent look on her face, blinking her eyes in a bambi-esque fashion.
“Me, Cedric? Never!” Cedric snorted again, clearly knowing better, but allowed Mally to drag him through the hall and down the stairs.
Now, Diggory Manor was a particularly lovely home. While larger than the average wizarding house, it was cosy and comfortable, and the main living room always had a fire roaring in the hearth. It was to here that Mally dragged Cedric. While her cousin collapsed on the sofa with a groan, slumping to the side and slipping his eyelids shut in a vain hope to regain the sleep he had lost, Mally called out, “Dotty!” quietly. There was a sharp crack, and in front of the brunette a small house elf, clad in a silken pillowcase, stood.
“What can Dotty be doing for miss?” The house elf asked in a squeaky voice, smiling excitedly. Mally smiled kindly.
“Mind getting Ced a mug of coffee? Strong, lots of milk.” Dotty bobbed her head in a nod, beaming, before disappearing with another /crack!/ Mally plopped down on the sofa beside Cedric, nudging him with her elbow. He groaned, lifting his head just barely to glare at her, before burying it in the cushion again. Mally rolled her eyes. “Up, Ced! Where’s your Christmas cheer, you prick?”
He groaned, “Back in bed, without me.” Mally snorted.
“You are such a prat.” Dotty appeared again, mug in hand, and Mally smiled at her. The house elf passed the mug of coffee to Mally, who took a sip and passed it to Cedric, before turning back to the house elf to say, “Thank you.” The house elf beamed, fingers toying with her pillowcase, before she curtsied and disappeared again. “Drink it, Ced, I ain’t having you falling asleep on me while we unwrap.” Cedric rolled his eyes and took a sip at her urging.
“Mu-mum,” he said around another yawn, “and dad aren’t even up yet. We have to wait.” Mally scowled and smacked his arm.
“Killjoy.” She mumbled, shaking her head and standing. “Well, if we can’t unwrap yet, we can at least eat.” She beamed.
Cedric raised an eyebrow. “You’re not gonna make Dotty come back, are you? Because I’m pretty sure that’s abuse of privilege.”
Mally rolled her eyes. “/No/, I’m not. I’m gonna go to the kitchens and make myself some toast. Want some?”
Cedric paused, thoughtful, before shaking his head. “Nope. I’ve seen your cooking, Mals, and I want no part of it.” Mally, in true mature fashion, stuck her tongue out, before she skipped out of the room and down the hall, to the kitchen.
The kitchen itself was rather simple; it had many cupboards and cabinets, as well as a fridge and an oven and a small table in a corner that often served as the table for family dinners. It was where the house elves worked, though Marion often cooked here also, despite the house elves’ protests.
The Diggory family owned just two house elves; Dotty, the youngest and most eager, who was the elf that normally cooked, and Bobbin, who had grown old and weary, and usually cleaned. The latter of these was making his slow way around the kitchen, cleaning the surfaces, while Dotty was working on the turkey, humming happily. Both looked up as Mally entered the kitchen, and smiled. “Was Dotty’s coffee not to Master Cedric’s taste, miss?” Mally frowned in confusion for a moment, before shaking her head.
“No, not at all, Dotty. I just came to make some toast.” Dotty hopped down from the stool on which she stood, making to move towards the bread bin, but Mally shook her head. “It’s alright, Dotty, you go back to the turkey. I can do it.” Dotty frowned, before turning back to the turkey, grabbing a few spices on her way back.
“Good morning, Miss Mallory.” Bobbin croaked in a gravelly voice, smiling warmly at the brunette. She beamed back, reaching into the bread bin for the loaf.
“Good morning, Bobbin. Good sleep?” Bobbin nodded, turning back to the table and wiping it down with his cloth.
“Yes miss.”
“Good.” Mally smiled, listening to Dotty hum as she worked away at the Christmas meal. The brunette popped the bread into the toaster and grabbed a jar of jam from a cupboard, leaning against the counter absently as she thought.
Last night, she’d been going through the attic, looking for an old book about something or other that Marion had asked her to find. She’d stumbled, quite by accident, upon an old photo album. And not just any photo album; her mother’s. It was interesting to look at, and it gave her this sort of warm feeling that she supposed was what it felt like to have a family. It wasn’t that she didn’t love the Diggorys, because she did, but they weren’t her family, not really. They were her cousin, her aunt and her uncle, and though they might try, they would never be her parents or her brother. It was nice, to see these things about a woman she could barely remember but she missed so much. She’d learned a lot of things about her mother; most terrifying of which her association with Sirius Black.
Yeah. /The/ Sirius Black. Notorious mass-murdering, psycho Sirius Black.
His name had come up a lot; he was in many photos with Marlene McKinnon. As was James Potter (she’d have to mention that to Harry, might cheer him up a bit) and, get this, Remus Lupin. As in, her defence professor Remus Lupin.
Her mum had some weird friends.
Mally was disturbed from her thoughts by the popping of the toaster. She blinked sharply, getting up and pulling the toast out. She scowled, wondering just how it was that she managed to /burn/ toast, before putting it on a plate and slapping on as much strawberry jam as she could in an effort to get rid of the burnt taste. She thought about sitting at the table, but Bobbin was still cleaning it and she didn’t want to cause any trouble.
Instead, the young McKinnon made her way back to the living room, plate in hand. Cedric was sitting up when she came in, sipping his coffee with a book in his hand. She raised an eyebrow, reading the cover from where she stood.
“Quidditch Through the Ages, Ced? Really?” Cedric shrugged, taking another sip of his coffee.
“It’s a damn good book, Mal.” He replied after he’d
swallowed. Mally rolled her eyes, plopping down beside him and taking a bite of her toast. He laughed, eyeing the bread in her hand.
“Merlin, Mal, you really do burn anything you cook.” Mally stuck her tongue out at him, taking another bite. She was about to open her mouth to reply, when,
“What time do you call this?” Both Cedric and Mally looked up at Amos, blinking innocently. There was a pause, before Mally replied hesitantly,
“Christmastime?”
Amos eyed her momentarily, before snorting a laugh. “Alrigh’, I’ll give you that.” He nicked Cedric’s coffee out of his hand, taking a sip before grimacing slightly. Mally snorted.
“Too strong?” Amos nodded.
“Too strong.” Marion appeared at her husband’s shoulder, yawing, before raising an eyebrow at her niece and son.
“Bit early, isn’t it?” Cedric shrugged.
“According to Mally here, it’s never too early.” Mally frowned.
“Not true. It’s just never too early on Christmas. It’s always too early on other days.” Marion laughed, shaking her head, before pushing past Amos to the stockings by the fireplace.
“Alright then. Presents, I s’pose, if it means you’ll let us go back to sleep.” Mally beamed, didn’t stop for hours.
By the end of the day, Mally had received a firebolt from Amos (‘since I gave Ced a broom last year’), a quaffle, signed by the Holyhead Harpies from Cedric (she promptly screamed and wouldn’t stop hugging him for ages), a book – Marvius Hartley’s latest – from Aunt Marion, three chocolate frogs from Katie, seven packs of sugar quills from Angelina as well as some new perfume (‘Is she implying that I smell?’ ‘Well, you sorta do, Mal-ouch!’) and, surprisingly enough, an ‘Extendable Ear’, with wishes to use it well, from the Weasley Twins.
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