Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Author's Note: This cookie is a combination belated birthday present for my dear friend, Annibug. She is after all, the inspiration for Lucy Ann. It also turned into a bit of a Christmas gift for all my loyal readers. Thank you all for your support over the last year. It's been a difficult year for me, but with luck, next year will bring better fortunes.
Happy Christmas and Merry New Year to All!
Fifteen Years Cookie - A Very Happy Christmas Indeed
"She's gone, finally," Liam whispered to his baby sister shortly after his Mum and brother had flooed to Diagon Alley for a bit of Christmas shopping. Da had gone to Dublin for a couple of days to supervise Murphy's visit with his parents.
So that meant that he was alone with Rauri. He was completely responsible for her well-being for the entire afternoon. It made him proud to know that his Mum thought him mature enough to handle a five month old baby by himself.
Although he really wished she'd wake up. It was no fun taking care of a sleeping baby. How was he supposed to be the responsible big brother when Rauri insisted on taking a nap after being fed lunch? Didn't she realize that this was his moment to shine?
He reached down and picked her up after a moment's hesitation. She grumbled a bit, but settled back to sleep once she was draped across his shoulder.
"It is no fun that all babies do is sleep," he informed her as he rifled through her closet looking for something more suitable for her to wear. The little pink cotton romper with bunnies on it just wasn't going to work out. By the time he was finished going through her drawers, he'd come up with a forest green velvet dress trimmed with matching tartan and cream lace and a pair of tights with several rows of lace across the bum.
He'd managed to get her in the dress with a minimum of trouble, but she had woken up enough to squirm as he tried to wrestle her little legs into the tights.
"There you are," Lucy Ann announced as she stepped into the bright nursery and shaking her head at the sight before her. "What on earth are you doing to your poor sister?"
"I don't know how Mum does it," he sighed exasperatedly, throwing the little soft black shoes down. "She can dress Rauri in five seconds flat."
"Move over," she ordered, giving him a not so gentle shove with her hip. "Did you wake her up just to change her clothes?"
Liam looked anywhere but at his best friend. "No."
She managed to get the baby's shoes on with a minimum of fuss before she set about tidying up the rest of her clothing. "Honestly Liam, she could have done with the rest of her nap. She'll be grumpy all afternoon now."
He picked his sister up before carefully smoothing down her wayward wisps of red curls. "Bite your tongue, witch. Being grumpy is beneath a Malfoy."
"She wasn't wearing this romper was she?" Lucy Ann helped up the discarded soft pink baby garment.
"Maybe."
"Don't you think she'd be more comfortable in this soft romper rather than a frilly little dress?"
"No, I don't think so. She's a Malfoy princess and is accustomed to looking beautiful all the time." He gave her a pointed stare, daring her to challenge his decree with a raised eyebrow.
She smiled slowly as she reached for Rauri. "You sound just like your father, you know that right?"
Liam's eyes went wide, but he recovered his composure quickly. That was the last thing he expected her to say. Besides what was she doing here meddling in his affairs? "Don't you have Christmas shopping you should be doing?"
"Are you mad? With my mother and Charlotte all afternoon? Besides, I'm all ready finished with my Christmas shopping."
"Is she here for Christmas or just shopping?"
"She's here until after the New Year along with Neil and Hayden," she said followed by a long suffering sigh.
"What? You didn't want to spend a delightful afternoon with perfect ickle little Hayden?" he teased.
"No, why do you think I'm here?"
"To spend the afternoon with the sweetest little witch in all of wizardom?" He made funny faces as he tickled Rauri's sides and earned himself a glower from the sleepy baby.
She rolled her eyes. "I came over to spend the afternoon with my friend. The little princess is just an added bonus. And see, I told you she'd be grumpy."
"She's not grumpy! She's just expressing her displeasure."
"You keep on believing that."
Liam was the perfect picture of innocence. "So, since you've finished your shopping, what did you get me?"
"That's for me to know and you to find out," she said, giving him a smug smile of satisfaction.
Lucy Ann retreated to the upstairs sitting room where the family Christmas tree was located. Only a lucky few got to see the private side of the holidays at Agecroft Hall because Ginny Malfoy tried hard to keep her husband's business life separate from their family life. They did a lot of entertaining, especially during the holidays, but she always wanted her children to have special memories of the holidays like she had from when she was growing up.
A huge live fir tree dominated one corner of the room. It was draped in faerie lights and strings of popcorn and cranberries. Each of the mismatched ornaments that hung from the multitude of limbs told a story about the Malfoy family. There was an ornament marking the first Christmas they were a family, others marking the birth of each of the children, ones made by little hands over the years and others still lovingly chosen by the matriarch for her tree each year. Presents of every shape and size, some exquisitely wrapped in expensive paper and others haphazardly wrapped by the wizards of the household, overflowed out from under the tree. The room was laden with fresh greenery intertwined with velvet ribbon of the deepest red and pewter. It was like Christmas wonderland come to life.
They spent the afternoon discussing their plans for the holiday break - much sleeping, two Quidditch matches and a New Year's ball seemed to be in the offing - all the while trying to keep a very cranky Rauri appeased. Liam broke out his father's new camera, wasting three rolls of film taking pictures of his baby sister in front of the tree, amongst the presents, reclining on the sofa, Lucy Ann holding her, him holding her and on and on. Once they grew tired of posing, Lucy Ann curled up on the sofa next to Liam, holding the baby and rubbing her back soothingly, while he read them The Ugly Duckling.
Lucy Ann followed Liam down to the kitchen to watch him fix a bottle after she'd been thoroughly embarrassed by a hungry baby rooting at her chest. Liam had only laughed and said it happened to his mum all the time. She watched how he lovingly coaxed his sister to take the bottle even though she was none too happy about it then carefully burp her so she didn't spit up everywhere. He didn't even ask for help when he changed her nappy, although he did make a very undignified face when he opened it.
She couldn't help thinking that Liam Malfoy was the epitome of everything a witch would want in a wizard: he was smart and funny, dependable, he was good with small children and it didn't hurt that he was quite handsome as well.
And her heart fluttered every time she got near him.
She knew it was wrong to have such feelings about her best friend, but she couldn't seem to help herself when she got around him. When he joked with her or gave her that half smile of his, the whole world would just melt away for a few moments. Stephie had caught her more than once staring at him from across the common room when she should have been studying. It needed to stop before he caught her. Then she'd be really embarrassed.
"You know Liam, you're going to make some witch giddy in the future," she said lightly as she handed him Rauri's favorite pink blanket. He was trying to put his sister down for a nap in her cot in the sitting room since she dozed off while having her bottle.
He gave her a quizzical look. "What makes you say that?"
"Because you're good with babies."
"And this will make some witch giddy how?"
"You're so bloody thick sometimes," she groaned, playfully slapping his arm. "Because you have enough experience with babies to actually be useful to your future wife!"
"Oh," he said, realization dawning on him. "I suppose she'll have to thank my Mum then."
"Yes, thank your Mum-"
"Bloody hell," Liam hissed, cutting her off.
"What?" she glanced around the room to see what the trouble was. Rauri had finally drifted off to sleep and everything was in its place then she noticed he was looking up, following his line of sight she spied a fresh sprig of mistletoe hanging from the ceiling. "Oh," she whispered.
"Only my mother would hang a spring of mistletoe near the baby cot! As if they needed another reason to snog!"
She put her hand on his arm. "Liam, it's all right. It doesn't mean anything."
"It's bad luck not to kiss under the mistletoe," he said, sounding like someone in dire pain. "I don't need any more bad luck…"
"So what do you propose we do?" she asked, trying not to sound too hopeful.
"I suppose I'll have to kiss you."
Lucy Ann nodded, her eyes drifting closed as he leaned forward to barely brush the corner of her mouth with quick peck. She was glad she hadn't gotten her hopes up.
He stared at the floor. "That was a poor showing wasn't it?"
"It was more of a peck than a kiss," she supplied quickly.
"Probably didn't do much to alleviate the bad luck."
"Probably not."
"Bad luck is bad."
"Yes, very bad."
"Do you mind if I try again?" He looked up at her then, his gray eyes dark and smoldering. "Can't be having bad luck now can I?"
All she could do was shake her head no as her eyes fixated on his mouth, taking in how his bottom lip was slightly fuller than the top lip. His mouth covered hers before she had a chance to react, his lips soft and firm as his arms circled her waist. She wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned into him, trying with all her might to will this moment to last forever.
Liam pulled away when the need for air became an issue. "No bad luck for us now," he said slightly winded.
"Nope, no bad luck," she said. Her heart was racing. Liam Malfoy just kissed her. A real kiss at that. Her first real kiss. Liam Malfoy had just kissed her. Stephie was not going to believe this!
She could die a happy witch now; her life was complete - Liam Malfoy had just kissed her!
"So, uhm, you're coming to the New Year's ball right?" he asked in a decidedly uncomfortable tone. He was looking everywhere but at her and his cheeks was tinged with an alarming shade of pink.
"Yes, I have my dress and everything."
"That's good."
"Uh huh."
His mother discovered them still in her sitting room an hour later sitting in opposite arms chairs in awkward silence, lost in their own thoughts. After checking to make sure her youngest was safe and sound, she sent Liam downstairs to help his brother wrap gifts on the pretense she wanted to speak to Lucy Ann about a couple holiday parties.
"I see the house is still standing," Ginny said with an amused little smile.
Lucy Ann perked up. "Oh, yes ma'am."
"Whose idea was it to change Rauri into her Christmas dress?"
"Liam's. He was almost finished when I arrived."
Ginny chuckled. "He's got this strange idea that she should be dressed like a princess all the time. Liam is more like his father than he cares to admit."
"I told him that," Lucy Ann replied with a giggle.
"He didn't like that very much, did he?"
"No, ma'am."
The Malfoy matriarch pulled several Gaellons from her robe pocket. "So how much do I owe you for keeping an eye on Liam?"
Lucy Ann had completely forgotten about that in the afterglow of the afternoon's events. Mrs. Malfoy had contacted her a few days previous to ask her if she'd mind terribly staying with Liam while she was out for the afternoon with Gareth. It wasn't that she was worried about Rauri's safety as much she was about her son's sanity after a few hours with a five month old baby. She'd even pay handsomely for her time.
"Not a thing," she replied, refusing to accept the handful of gold. Her first kiss from the boy she was totally in love with was payment enough, she just couldn't tell his mum that.
Ginny eyed her suspiciously. "Are you sure? I promised to pay you."
"Quite sure," Lucy Ann said brightly. "Consider it an early Christmas gift."
She gathered the younger witch in a warm hug before giving her a handful of floo powder. "Can we be expecting you on Boxing Day? I know Liam is looking forward to seeing you then."
"I wouldn't miss it for the world."
"Good! Happy Christmas, Lucy Ann," Ginny said as her son's friend stepped in the fireplace.
She returned the holiday greetings just before she disappeared in the green flames that returned to her own home. She couldn't wait to see Liam on Boxing Day. Maybe, just maybe she could maneuver him under another sprig of mistletoe.
Then it would be very Happy Christmas indeed.
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