RP: Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house...
Date: 24 December 1998
Characters: Susan Bones, Edmund Bones (NPC), Susannah Bones (NPC)
Location: Featherstone, Northumberland
Status: Private
Summary: Susan is restless, and the house is quiet.
Completion: Complete
It was bitterly cold outside, and inside too, really, since it was almost midnight, and Susan was dressed only in her nightgown, with slippers on to protect her feet from the cold stone floors. She padded downstairs, finding her way into the smoking room - where the men would retire after meals to smoke and drink. It was easy to warm up, and it smelt like her grandfather, who had almost whiffed of cigar smoke and firewhiskey. He was long gone, but this smell would continue forever.
She wished, somehow, that she had what she percieved to be a normal family - people who would sit around at dinner with her and ask her how things were. Who were always there to offer love and support. She didn't have that, especially not now her Aunt was dead. His brother had sent an owl, saying that he would be here for a few hours on boxing day, but he was spending Christmas with his fiancee's family. Least surprising about this was that he would not be spending Christmas at home - the fact that he had proposed to a Muggleborn woman was a bolt out of the blue, and Susan could feel him too slipping away from her. If he hadn't written to her to tell her...well...what else didn't she know? They were drifting apart, and in a year's time he would probably be married with babies on the way, and she would be spending more Christmases like this.
Her mother and father were in Antigua, and they had meant to be back at the beginning of the week. Since then they'd sent owls promising to be back each day consecutively. The most recent had said 'I promise you we'll be back tomorrow, darling, xxx'. Even when she was younger, Susan remembered sitting for hours under the Christmas tree to open her presents, until sometimes late afternoon because her parents were sleeping on a different schedule. It wasn't all bad. At least there had always been a Christmas tree. This year, nobody had even put one up. Still, Susan had gotten out her charms and transfiguration textbooks and spent the entire day decorating the dining room, using it as an excuse to practice. She'd had a long bath after that, in an effort to feel sleepy.
In the end she'd gone on a walk about the house, but decided quickly that it was far too cold. The fire she'd lit in the grate had already warmed the cosy smoking room, and Susan had curled up on the sofa, suddenly feeling drowsy. It was as she dozed that the door creaked open, and two faces looked in on her.
"Is that Susan?" Susannah Bones asked, her voice soft as a whisper of wind. "She's gotten so big..."
"It is," replied Edmund, shifting slightly to look at his wife. "Let's not wake her. We'll surprise her in the morning."
"That's probably for the best," Susannah smiled, leaning over to drop her head on her husband's shoulder. "Let's go to bed. I could sleep for England."
The door clicked shut, and Susan slept on quietly, curled up on the smoking room sofa.
Characters: Susan Bones, Edmund Bones (NPC), Susannah Bones (NPC)
Location: Featherstone, Northumberland
Status: Private
Summary: Susan is restless, and the house is quiet.
Completion: Complete
It was bitterly cold outside, and inside too, really, since it was almost midnight, and Susan was dressed only in her nightgown, with slippers on to protect her feet from the cold stone floors. She padded downstairs, finding her way into the smoking room - where the men would retire after meals to smoke and drink. It was easy to warm up, and it smelt like her grandfather, who had almost whiffed of cigar smoke and firewhiskey. He was long gone, but this smell would continue forever.
She wished, somehow, that she had what she percieved to be a normal family - people who would sit around at dinner with her and ask her how things were. Who were always there to offer love and support. She didn't have that, especially not now her Aunt was dead. His brother had sent an owl, saying that he would be here for a few hours on boxing day, but he was spending Christmas with his fiancee's family. Least surprising about this was that he would not be spending Christmas at home - the fact that he had proposed to a Muggleborn woman was a bolt out of the blue, and Susan could feel him too slipping away from her. If he hadn't written to her to tell her...well...what else didn't she know? They were drifting apart, and in a year's time he would probably be married with babies on the way, and she would be spending more Christmases like this.
Her mother and father were in Antigua, and they had meant to be back at the beginning of the week. Since then they'd sent owls promising to be back each day consecutively. The most recent had said 'I promise you we'll be back tomorrow, darling, xxx'. Even when she was younger, Susan remembered sitting for hours under the Christmas tree to open her presents, until sometimes late afternoon because her parents were sleeping on a different schedule. It wasn't all bad. At least there had always been a Christmas tree. This year, nobody had even put one up. Still, Susan had gotten out her charms and transfiguration textbooks and spent the entire day decorating the dining room, using it as an excuse to practice. She'd had a long bath after that, in an effort to feel sleepy.
In the end she'd gone on a walk about the house, but decided quickly that it was far too cold. The fire she'd lit in the grate had already warmed the cosy smoking room, and Susan had curled up on the sofa, suddenly feeling drowsy. It was as she dozed that the door creaked open, and two faces looked in on her.
"Is that Susan?" Susannah Bones asked, her voice soft as a whisper of wind. "She's gotten so big..."
"It is," replied Edmund, shifting slightly to look at his wife. "Let's not wake her. We'll surprise her in the morning."
"That's probably for the best," Susannah smiled, leaning over to drop her head on her husband's shoulder. "Let's go to bed. I could sleep for England."
The door clicked shut, and Susan slept on quietly, curled up on the smoking room sofa.