24 Dec: Be My Holiday, My Dream: Holyhead, Wales (Doc)

[Hestia Jones]

Friday, 24 December 1976

“Look Rhi, hold out your hand,” Hestia said with a laugh, pulling her wand out of the pocket of her coat. Giving it a swirl, a colorful bauble appeared in the younger girls hand, and Hestia nodded toward the nearest tree. “Go on then.” The annual Christmas Eve festival in Holyhead was in full swing, with children gathering around the trees on the street to help decorate them with shining lights. The towns Quidditch team was flying through the air, gathering hoots of appreciation from the street below as they tossed snowballs at each other and at unsuspecting people below.

“This has got to be better than a party at Cardiff,” she teased her counterpart in tonight’s adventure, intertwining her fingers in his as she pulled him down the street. Her parents were wrapped up in conversations with his, an endless supply of questions about the muggle world keeping the four of them occupied. “You think my parents would give yours a minute to take it all in, but there they go with the questions.”

Dodging a snowball from one of the ladies flying by, she laughed as she tugged Doc down the street, stopping in front of the taffy shop that was crowded with witches and wizards waiting to get some. “It’s always so crowded in here of course, but the taffy really is fantastic.”

[Doc Dearborn]

While Doc didn't pin himself down to any particular religion, finding that they all had their interests and faults, he could still appreciate the festive spirit in the air during the winter holiday season. Having a sizable time off from school was beneficial as well, of course, but Christmas seemed to put most of his compatriots into better moods that he was happy to feed off of. Tonight, the fifth year had plenty of holiday cheer to soak up. They were keeping up with the Joneses, as it were, joining Hestia's family in Holyhead for Christmas Eve. The muggleborn had heard of the event from his friend for eons, and was elated that his parents had agreed to take him and Rhi to the wizarding village for the night. They were shellshocked, his parents, and Doc believed that they were relieved, in a way, to stick with Mr. and Mrs. Jones and answer questions rather than fully take in the experience that he could hardly get enough of.

The Harpies were in the sky, keeping everyone on the ground on their toes; twinkling lights from baubles and fairies were lighting up the night; kids were laughing as they played in the softly falling snow; the scent of hot mulled wine drifted out from stands...Doc beamed as Hestia sent his little sister off on a mission, happily taking up her hand in his gloved one as she came closer to tease him. "It's definitely different than Cardiff," he remarked fairly, laughing as he was hit in the shoulder by a snowball. The bloke shook it off, turning to look back at their dawdling parental units. "It's better for them to be occupied, honestly - don't think they could appreciate all of this if they tried." His strictly academic parents hadn't ever let loose like this community embraced, or so it seemed to him, and so it was with no thought at all that he ran off along the snowy street with his housemate. She'd never led him astray on one of their adventures, and here in her hometown? He had all the trust in the world that Hestia would bring them nowhere but wonderful spots. Doc eyed her as she stopped them in front of a bustling confectionery, all grins as he started to gently shoulder them through the crowd. "We can't miss out, then," he said simply, glad for his recent growth spurt.

Once inside, it was directly to the samples. Taffy was hardly something that he was an expert in, but although he couldn't say anything - in part because of the taffy's stickiness, in part because of the overall volume of the delighted patrons - he made enough faces of appreciation for his partner to know his feelings, he was sure. "We've got to get some of this for Rhi," he said after a time, bending to speak into her ear. "What's your favorite?"

[Hestia Jones]

Hestia didn’t have anything against Cardiff, particularly due to the fun it was to explore the muggle university with Doc. They were just so fascinating, doing everything in their lives without magic. That was the hardest part for her, as she’d been used to doing simple magic with her parents around for most of her life. It had just been another example of how out of touch she was with the world she lived in. The magic of Holyhead was always around, with fairies drifting about and people whizzing about on brooms.

But it wasn’t as cool to her as the muggle world was, not since she’d gotten a real glimpse of it through her friendship with Doc. Cars were her favorite, although the idea of learning to drive one was something she didn’t like all that much. It just sounded complicated, and much more inconvenient than Apparition. Following his gaze, as he glanced back to their parents, she was glad to see that the Dearborns didn’t look too overwhelmed. At least not at the moment. “Well Mum and Dad certainly won’t run out of questions anytime soon.”

They were soon edging their way into the taffy store, and she ducked under arms as she followed. The samples were divine as always, and she grinned up at him as she did her best to slowly the sticky candy. “Strawberry, but I’ll get a few. Wait here,” she offered before she pushed through the crowd. It took a few minutes and a bit of crowding, but Hestia made her way back with an assortment of the soft chews in a bag, intertwining her fingers in his as they headed out of the crowded shop.

Back on the cold street, she peered about, their parents and Rhi having made their way past the store in the time it had taken them. It wasn’t as if the town was too large to easily find them, and she turned to Doc with a smirk. “Mistletoe,” she laughed with a finger pointing above his head, pointing to the Harpie who was floating above them.

[Doc Dearborn]

There was such beauty in the world, and under this snowy and starry sky, Doc was privy to a soon-to-be favorite sight. He smiled, quietly taking her in, as they left their families for their own adventure. For was there anything lovelier than Hestia Jones in her hometown on Christmas Eve? The brunette's porcelain skin was simply aglow under the delicate fairy lights, her eyes alight with joy, an overall joyous comfortability oozing out of her easy motion. This was home, this was Hestia, and Doc was grateful, eternally, that his parents had been coerced into this night of magical frivolity. For as many questions as the Joneses were asking them, the badger hoped the professors were letting their curiosities out to play too. Otherwise he'd have to answer them all in the coming days, but…that wouldn't be all bad, not really. His parents had the world they knew, and trusted the other one enough to ship their children away into it, but hadn't extensively explored it. This trip to an all-wizarding town was something else, and Doc hoped they'd be game for more such excursions. See what happens when you leave the university?

He followed his friend without qualms, although he nearly lost her in the crowded sweets shop. While he'd spent the last months growing into his previously oversized feet and ears, his diminutive counterpart seemed likely to stay that way, and he began gorging on samples as he leisurely waited for her to come back to him. Doc was met with a successful Hestia, and he used his shoulders and smile to ease their exit, happily noting her little hand in his. He took in the fresh air with an exaggerated gulp, freed of the sticky sweetness of the taffy shop's interior. Doc was about to suggest they find a quiet place to snack or find his sister to join them, when he felt her eyes on him.

A slow smile spread across the fifth year's face as he raised his eyes to see the mistletoe-laden Harpy above them. Mistletoe demanded that they kiss, although for the life of him he couldn't recall the why of it, and Doc was hardly complaining at the luck. This girl had bits of his heart, of his memories, that no one else did. An opportunity like this? On a night like this? He smiled down at her, free hand finding gentle purchase under her hair, on the back of her warm neck. "Nadolig Llawen,*" he whispered, before leaning in to meet her lips. The intuition of their kisses was something he took for granted, but did appreciate - the ease of them, paired with the excitement he always got from her, was otherworldly. He pulled back just a breath, hand moving to cup her cheek, thumbing a little feeling back into the chill of it as he met her eye. "Thank you for asking me here, this is the most beautiful night. Made all the more so by you - we must get fairies to the Common Room, I wish you could see yourself under their light."

*Merry Christmas

[Hestia Jones]

All it took were a few simple words and a damn good kiss, and here she was smiling up at Doc like a total fool. “Nadolig Llawen,” she whispered back, sure that her face was flushed. “We’ll write a letter to Dumbledore, get all our friends to sign it. Hufflepuff house demands fairies! I can’t see any flaws with this plan.” There were house-elves at the school - although they were beings and not creatures, but there couldn’t be much harm in having magical creatures in their common room. Rumor was that the Slytherin’s could see the merpeople in the lake, so it was only fair. It wasn’t like they’d be asking for pixies or nifflers! The Harpy above them was speeding off with the mistletoe, and Hestia let herself laugh as she watched for a few moments before she unlatched her arms, taking up Doc’s hand with ease once more. She had long ago lost sight of her parents in the crowded town, but they’d catch up to them eventually. For now, Hestia was enjoying Doc’s company.

You know, there’s no harm in wanting this. No harm in a crush.

        Oh come off it, hearing a no would hurt you.

The ever-present nagging voices in her head were frustrating, and she chewed on her lip as they walked, pausing to look into some of the shops. Things were simple with her and Doc, and merlin forbid things went south between them if they did try and make something more out of what they had. He was one of her closest friends, the only other person who knew her better was Ana, as she’d practically lived through everything with Hestia since they were small kids. She couldn't just ruin that. “You know, they're going to start asking about career stuff next year. Given any thought to what you want to do after school?”

[Doc Dearborn]

"No flaws at all - they'd thank us for giving them the attention," Doc chuckled, giving a wave to the Harpy as she flew off, warm inside from the excuse she'd given them to kiss. Not that he and Hestia needed much encouragement these days, but he was glad for it nonetheless. It was one of those priceless holiday traditions, and he did wonder what other surprises lay in store for their evening in Holyhead. They proceeded along quietly, hand-in-hand, through the cozy village, and Doc was content. 

"Career stuff." He groaned playfully, pulling their joined hands up to his lips to plant a kiss on the back of hers before letting them swing back down. It was kind of her to inquire, to check in on him in this way, to help him start to answer the questions that Sprout would soon be asking them. But, as usual, he had nothing definitive to say, and hoped that that wouldn't disappoint Hestia. Did she have something solid in mind already? "The professors - " A not-so-playful nickname for the parents. " - want me to come home and study at the university. I think they've accepted that I won't be joining either of their departments, especially as our school doesn't exactly give us a technical background in what they do, but that's the track they see for me and Rhi. I think they may..." Hope seemed too optimistic...Doc chewed on his words for a few moments before continuing. "I think they may anticipate that the end of Hogwarts will somehow mark the end of our wizardry. Not that I know what I want after it myself, but I do know that I don't want to be limited to what life was like before."

Before, he'd been himself as much as he could, but he didn't fit. He hadn't been understood, he'd had to hide his magic and struggle with it rather than let it live freely, he hadn't known what awaited him on the other side of the brick wall at the back of the Leaky. He couldn't go back to that, to being squished into a mold that hadn't fit then and surely wouldn't fit now. Doc couldn't deny his magic, although he could control it better these days, and go back to a world without it. There had be some middle ground. A foot in each world, with more opportunity to be part of his parents' lives and include them in his...Surely, people found a way to do that. "I like the idea of continuing to learn, but in a way where it balances with life, not having it be the sole focus and commitment. We've got time to sort it out, though. Have you been thinking much about it?"