Christmas is for morons

Christmas was for morons that believed in love, happiness and all that fluffy bollocks. The day Ariel fell for someone he’d shove his cane down his throat. He was so sick of hearing the carols and people wrapping their gifts. He was sick of the laughter and the cheerfulness of the whole event. He didn’t understand how anyone could be so chipper. His Christmas wasn’t going to be that bad originally. It got a whole lot worse when ‘mummy’ decided to inform him that his lovely step-father was released for Christmas, but only under police supervision of course. Ariel had told her already that she wasn’t to let him near Penelope or Orion. The next day, what did he receive? Oh yeah, that’s right, letters from both Penny and Orion telling him how great it was to have ‘daddy’ home.

Ariel had no intention of going home for Christmas.

He was hiding out in the Room of Requirement at present. He needed some time to himself. His idiotic best friend had gotten himself dumped before Christmas. Apparently his gift to his girlfriend was going to be his virginity. She was quick to mention that she’d been shacking up with a well-endowed Gryffindor for six months so she had nothing to offer back. According to Ollie they’d promised themselves to each other. Ariel didn’t see what was wrong with just going ahead and shagging her anyway or at least buying her some nice jewellery. Perhaps he’d get her a card to say sorry. Yes, I’m so sorry you’re a cheap whore. Some people just can’t help themselves can they? Merry Christmas. He was sure that would go down well. It was just a shame that silly sod was still besotted with her.

To top everything off though, the Full Moon was on its way. Ariel wanted to curl up and die. He felt awful and no amount of potions was going to change that. So he’d resorted to other methods of comforting himself. He’d bypassed the food, having no real desire to cook for himself or have the House Elves try and cook. Instead he’d gone for alcohol. It was typical and unimaginative but he needed something to take the edge off. At present, Elldir’s Firewhisky was doing the trick even if it wasn’t exactly what Ariel was used to. He preferred gin, or at the very least vodka.

He didn’t know why anyone bothered with Christmas. It was just an opportunity for people to be selfish. He was hurt by his mother’s actions. He knew she’d petitioned for it and he knew she was elated for having won the right to have Christmas with him. Ariel didn’t know why he’d gone to all that trouble to incriminate the man in the first place if his mother was just going to go and muck it up. It was only Christmas though. He’d go back to the cell that was still too good for him after the event. Ariel didn’t want to scheme over the holidays, that would just be wasted time. There were first years lingering back that still believed in Santa. He was going to squash that theory. That would keep him entertained for a while and if he succeeded it would make for a very good present to himself.

Jack was not sure what she had expected. Definitely not this. She did not want anything out of Elliot of course; he could not afford it. But no letter. This was a first. Her mum and dad had long since declared their disapproval of her existence so no present was hardly tear-worthy. The thought of Vito sending her something was about as plausible as the Giant Squid baking her cookies. It did not change anything that Vito was all she had left. And yes, Uncle Chip had told her he was disappearing off the face of the earth but still... the fact that nothing had arrived had made it something real. Something she could not ignore.

But Riley had always been on her side. No matter how tentative or hesitant, he had always eventually sided with her. She had known his toleration with her was waning when she had showed up home smelling like Satan's- which mostly smelt of alcohol and cigarettes- but that did not mean he had completely hated her, just partially given up on her. She had sent him a scarf, like usual, and a bottle of wine, as a joke. She expected either stunning results or a small setback. She had not expected for the gift to arrive, unopened, with a note saying I don't want anything from you.

That was what had hurt most.

She shoved the gift in her bag, as well as the stupid santa hat one of the house elves had set on her bedside, thinking it would cheer everyone up. Funny. And very wrong. She stormed down the castle halls, anger and sorrow building somewhere in her that would filter out the sorrow and leave it to balloon where it hurt most, and leaving only the anger as the only perceivable emotion to the idiots here in Hogwarts.

She made her way to the Room of Requirement, which was probably stupid, seeing as James had found her there the last time she was upset and anyone from Potter's Army knew they may be able to find her there. The only difference was she knew no one would be looking for her. Not today. Not on Christmas when everyone was happy.

"Well, screw you," she muttered as she pushed her way into the room, failing to register the fact that it was already open. She looked up and noticed she had just intruded on someone. "Oh." Ariel. Lovely. Their last meeting had been... fun. So oodles of joy were promised here. She kept herself from rolling her eyes. "I didn't think anyone would be here." She beat him to it. "Guess I thought wrong."

Hanging onto feeble hopes was something that Ariel had tried to do for so long that when it came down to it, they weren’t worth caring about anymore. He’d hung onto the fact that one day his father would come home and they’d be a family. That homecoming resulted in him being turned into a monster. He’d hung onto his conclusion that his mother would wake up and realise that Richard wasn’t good for her, that he wasn’t a nice man and he wasn’t someone she wanted to be with. She hadn’t even entertained the idea. Instead she had two kids with him. Ariel was still clinging to his purpose, whatever whimsical, flighty thing that was. He needed direction. Oddly, though, he had one but it most definitely wasn’t one he wanted to be on the path to. Darkness was embracing him and he was embracing her. What a pair they made.

Perhaps all that was left was for him to drink, eat and plaster a scowl onto his face for everyone else’s benefit. They wouldn’t want the resident bastard to fall to pieces over nothing, would they? He didn’t want to disappoint his adoring populous.

Ariel snorted. Yeah, right. They’d probably all have a party. The teenagers that adored their lovers and fondled themselves and each other as if they’d live forever and not catch disastrous diseases. Ariel’s eyebrows furrowed slightly. What a bizarre train of thought. It wasn’t wrong. It would turn from harmless fun to one big, fat orgy the minute anyone fifth year and below left the party. Wouldn’t want to give the ickle firsties a show that’d potentially scar them.

Oh to be anything but a man trapped in a boy’s body. The man and the monster were the same person in so many ways. They were both trapped. The difference was the man was Ariel’s consciousness. He thanked Merlin everyday for not making it the other way around.

The door of the room opened and Ariel lifted his head. His depthless eyes fell on Jack and his mind drove itself back to her words in the doorway. Lonely he was yet he’d never admit it; to anyone. He didn’t realise it himself but he’d heard truth in her words. It was just so much easier to hold people at arm’s length and to thrust them away when they pressed too close. It was easier on him if he did the pressing. He didn’t mind being thrust away because he didn’t care enough.

“Don’t leave on my account,” he drawled, “Sit...have a drink. You needn’t speak with me if you don’t want to.”

Jack stared at him. He was offering her a drink and to sit. She felt that this situation was all to familiar. All summer long, Vito offering her a drink and nothing more, but it had always led to either a break down and and explosion from one of them. Sometimes there was a combination, sometimes it was just a free for all and they all exploded and broke down, aided by the alcohol.

It was funny the turn of the events. She had been very anti-alcohol at the end of her sixth year. Vito had slipped her some and she had felt the effects. Middle of the summer, he had driven her to a breaking point and she had crawled to the nearest bar, though she thought it was in a moment of weakness. The night of the summer party, she strode into Satan's and requested rum and wine. Anyone who thought they could not change was a fool. She had thought the same.

She knew that alcohol basically was synonymous with self-destruction in her life, but she was okay with that at the moment. It hurt to realize how estranged her family was. It was the one thing she had always used as an exception. I'm alone but I have some of my family. There's always Chip... Elliot... Riley... She had lost that on Christmas.

So she crossed the room and sat next to Ariel, sliding down the wall and letting out a sigh, decided that was all that needed to be said. "I actually came prepared for once." She fished the wine out of her bag and set it between them. "Gag gift gone wrong." She tapped the cork with her wand and it flew out. She seized it by the neck and took a quick gulp before setting it down. She swallowed, squinting slightly and said, "So, having a less than jolly Christmas?" She smirked slightly.

It was all so irksome. Ariel knew somewhere inside of him that his anger was unnecessary, that it was wrong to wish ill on someone. He couldn’t help it though. He hated that man with every fabric of his being. Even the puppy wanted to foam at the mouth when he stood there, rifle in hand, ready to make an accident out of an opportunity. He didn’t understand. Ariel truly couldn’t comprehend how she could love a man that hated her son He’d been her rock, the head of their family. The minute she had news of Richard’s temporary release, Ariel was cast aside. Blood was thicker than water. Well, it was supposed to be. Evidently not.

Ariel cast a look at Jack and gestured for her to sit by him. He couldn’t be bothered to harass her tonight. He couldn’t be bothered to drink anymore either. Elldir’s whisky was foul. Actually no, whisky was foul in general. He wanted a gin and tonic. Ariel put the bottle down beside him after topping the glass once again. He didn’t want to drink it straight because he did intend on putting it back. Well, the bottle any rate.

“Lucky old you,” he deadpanned, sipping the Firewhisky. “I don’t suppose you sent hair dye? I wonder what you’d be like blonde. Or perhaps a real red for house spirit or whatever they call it. Yours is currently quite ginge. Not that that’s a bad thing. If you like it. Curiously enough I don’t think my Christmas could get much worse than it already has. Perhaps I’ll strike gold and convince a sixth year that I am not a bastard trying to take advantage of her and in fact I’m a nice bloke that just wants someone in my bed for Christmas.” He held his Firewhisky up to the light and studied it as he mused. “But I doubt she’d be that silly. Perhaps I am a nice bloke secretly...tired of deception just desperate to rest.”

He pondered for a few moments whether what he was saying was true. Undoubtedly it had a little bit of truth to it. He wasn’t interested in sixteen-year-old harlots. He wasn’t interested in anyone at present. No one complimented him the way he wanted them to anymore so there was no use trying for anything other than instant gratification. Really he found it all a bit tedious. He was seventeen and he was already bored of scouring the masses for a bed partner. It was so much easier just to leave it all be. Writhing underneath someone and moaning wantonly them wasn’t exactly the sort of thing Ariel wanted to partake in. Everyone else could to their hearts content. At times though he wished they knew silencing charms.

“Yeah,” Ariel replied, a sigh leaving his mouth with his words, “Yeah...I’m not having the best of times. Can’t pick your family though.” He shrugged half-heartedly and drank some of the Firewhisky. He ran a hand through his hair, mussing it up slightly. He took his mirror out of his pocket and looked at his reflection. He sighed and chucked the mirror away, not really giving thought to whether it would crack or not. He pushed the sleeve of his shirt back and tapped the inside of his wrist where the elephant tattoo was. “I’m cancelling Christmas. They can wait ‘til next year.”

Jack settled herself next to him, lifting the bottle again because she had a feeling she would need it. Vito had done one really good thing for her. Shown her a way that she could forget all of the crap that seemed to culminate in her life, all of the cluttered pains and tribulations, balling up and morphing into her scowl and the tension in her shoulders... All slowly undone with each sip of alcohol...And this was Vito's favorite brand... Guaranteed to help even the most troubled bastards forget how they became so.

She listened to him ramble on about hair dye and hair color as if she cared what color her hair was. It was red, so she was a redhead. She had never thought of it as a different color, of changing it. She continued on saying, "No the gag gift was to my brother, this wine. He sent it back with a metaphorical middle finger... He didn't really send it, but that was his message.

He continued on, saying Christmas could not get any worse and she nodded, feeling that it was quite true. She had not been expecting much. A letter or two. Not a "sod off" and a returned scarf and bottle of wine. And the scarf was pretty damn nice, too. She had looked hard for such a good scarf and had paid more than she probably should have. She pulled it out of her bag and draped it over her knees, glaring at it as she listened to Ariel's words.

She could not help but smirk at his words. Sarcasm was always the best cure for bitterness... Actually, it was more of a stimulant than a release, but she would not be the one to stop him. When it came down to it, Jack was more of an enabler for sarcasm because she replied with a sarcastic, "Wouldn't that be the life?" even though the thought of trying to seduce someone had never crossed her mind. She swigged more wine.

But she picked up the change in tone and glanced over at him. Perhaps I am a nice bloke secretly...tired of deception just desperate to rest.” She had heard Vito go from kidding to truth to many times to know that he may have been genuinely saying this and for a second she watched him, holding his alcohol to the light. After a second, she said, "Why don't you take a rest then. I won't tell." She offered him a half smile before looking back forward, swigging more wine, tension relieving in her shoulders that had been building for months.

He said you could not pick your family and she chuckled, tilting her bottle towards him. "Amen." That was the problem. "You trust them more than normal reason for some stupid reason, but they are just normal people, and they're bound to screw you over just like everyone else." She shook her head, and sipped from the wine bottle, a little more slowly. She had said a lot more about herself than she would have liked to. He announced he was canceling Christmas and she tried a smile- failed and ended up with a grimace- and said, "Good. Who needs it?"

Family, friends, love affairs...it was all bollocks, the lot of it. It wasn’t worth it, none of it. It was better to be alone. By yourself you had no chance of being let down. You’d just have to live with life’s disappointments. No one would be there to disappoint you. That was a prospect Ariel had always relished. Now more than ever he wished he was alone in the world. He didn’t want to be, not really, but it sure seemed like a better option. The werewolf...alone with his thoughts. Perhaps that’s why his father was such a nutcase, too much time alone with his own mind. Ariel didn’t want that. He never wanted that. No, he couldn’t live with himself if he ended up like Fenrir.

“Charming,” Arial responded with regards to her brother, “Shouldn’t he be looking after you? I assume you’re his little sister?”

The task of looking after your loved ones was arduous but worth it. Despite having no real siblings of his own, Ariel had been blessed with half-ones. He would never admit it but he adored Orion and Penelope. Only Ollie seemed to see that. He was the only one that got to see anything other than the conniving bastard that Ariel pretended to be. Ollie, the plucky Ravenclaw that was just a tad too overemotional. Ariel wouldn’t dare call him a friend, just in case he got the wrong idea. He knew that Ollie considered him a friend, however scathing and cruel he was to him. Ollie was impossible to chase away. Ariel thanked Merlin someone was. In all honesty, the blonde didn’t know what he’d do without his friend.

Sighing, Ariel rested his head back against the wall. He was fatigued by all of this. It was a charade he couldn’t wait to be over and done with. Perhaps he’d send his mother’s Christmas present in the New Year, if he didn’t burn it before then. He looked at Jack and smirked slightly. “You’re hair is longer,” he commented absentmindedly, “only a little bit though. It’s not even worth mentioning.” But of course he’d notice, he always noticed these stupid little things, things women did like to hear. He usually used keen eyes and a good sense of smell to point out the faults in their appearance. He was merely commenting on Jack. He’d taken a swipe at her hair already, he’d think of something for in a minute.

“I can’t rest...no one can rest. We’ve all got to keep up our fun little appearances. It amuses me really but I tire of it. Still...there’s nothing wrong with hoping that one day the world will no longer be full of idiots. It’s a hope in vain though I fear.” Ariel knocked back some more of the Firewhisky. “One can also hope that their Head of House starts buying good Firewhisky.” Ariel made a face, “This is foul.”

He looked at Jack again and the sides of his lips twitched. “You’re cynicism will give you wrinkles,” he commented with a small smile. “Not that you’re wrong mind you. Once you’re an independent thinker, you don’t need them anymore. I suppose that’s a good thing. Then again, you can easily fall apart without them,” He held his drink up to the light again and turned it, watching the dust move around it, “blood is supposedly thicker than water. They’ll still screw you over though. I suppose it’s to be expected. Everyone's the same. People lie."

Jack shrugged when he asked about Riley. "Yeah, he is my older brother but I sort of watch out for him. My parents are foul and I was trying to make sure he didn't end up the same but... Well another thing I can't do. He's sort of done with me now." She swallowed and felt something build in her. No. She swigged more wine, drowning those feelings, pushing them down with the liquid, burning them away. She did not need to be emotional, she did not need to cry or something that would get her nowhere. She was not like Chase. Crying would never help her...

He commented on her hair, saying it was longer. She glanced down and saw that he was right. The one major thing she did to her appearance was keep her hair short, and she had let that slip, even if only a little. She shrugged, figuring she would eventually get around to cutting it, not really caring. As if her hair was her biggest problem. Without changing her expression, she said, "Funny, since you just mentioned it." She took another swig of wine.

She listened to his words and shook her head. Been there, done that. She and Vito had come to his conclusion long ago. she had announced she was done, but it had been ruined. Chase and Andrew had wanted to make things all happy again and every run in with Chase had involved tears... Jack knew she would keep up her tough appearance because no one else in the freaking school would. If she was not strong where would the Chase's and the Adam's of the world get their shoulder to cry on? Where would the Vito's get their rock that anchors them to this life even if it meant self destruction?

"They'll tear you down for who you are, but if you try to act human, they'll shit themselves." She was not sure why she was being so crude, but she was feeling worse by the second. This damned wine was supposed to make her forget! What was it doing? She took another swig, and it burned her throat, making her eyes water but she swallowed and pushed the pain away. He commented on the crappiness of his alcohol and she said, "I know Mudblood lips touched it, but I have more than enough wine." She set it down with a thud between them.

"My cynsicm gives me strength," she said, as though insulted by his words, ut her own response prompted a smirk on her face. "And I never said I needed them. It's just..." She pulled her knees up and glanced across the room, trying to figure out the answer to the question. She wanted them to be different, to be trustworthy. "It would be nice to have someone at default you know you could trust..." She thought about it for a second. "Nice, but unrealistic and stupid." She reached down and swigged from her wine bottle before setting it back down again.

There were so many inane traditions that families had at Christmas. Ariel’s mother had traditions by the bucket load. She’d put the decorations up on the first of December and wouldn’t take them down until January first. Then of course she’d start baking until the whole house smelt of mincemeat and chocolate. Then she’d proceed to sew stockings, new ones every year and she’d embroider their names into the fabric once she was done. That was only thing she could do was bake. She couldn’t cook anything normal for the life of her but she could bake. Ariel would do the Christmas dinner. He’d do the veg and make sure everything was in the oven cooking for the afternoon. Then, after tea, they’d just relax and at sometime around ten Ariel would pry Penny and Orion from their toys and put them to bed.

That was his Christmas and he loved every minute of it. He wasn’t at home when he should have been. He should have been giving that bastard hell for even thinking about coming home. Instead he was sat against a wall next to a Gryffindor that seemed to be in as much shit as him. They were up to their eyes in it. All they could do is drink. Ariel drank some more of the Firewhisky, holding back his desire to spit right back into the glass. It was doing the trick though and was numbing his mind quite nicely. The dog didn’t like it either which was pleasing Ariel to no end. It would be stay out of his head for a while. That was fantabulous news.

Ariel frowned. “What’s funny?” he asked. “It’s not even worth mentioning really...it’s not grown that much. It looks nice though.” He offered awkwardly. Ariel looked at his glass in disgust. Elldir had put something in his Firewhisky. He put the glass down and ran his hands through his hair, purposely putting his cold fingers to his throbbing head.

Her next words didn’t surprise Ariel one bit. She wasn’t a proper lady by any means but the language did shock him ever so slightly. He looked up and smirked at Jack, holding his fallen fringe up out of his eyes. Speaking of haircuts, he sure did need one. “Just keep feeding them that same bullshit that they like to eat, breathe and sleep on and they’ll be as happy as Larry. Whoever the hell he is.” He looked at Jack again and smirked. He took the bottle and lifted it to his lips, drinking some of the sweet wine inside. He handed it back to her and licked his lips. “Not bad,” he commented. “Hey, it doesn’t matter whether you had half-fairy, half-giant or half-Veela blood because I’d have still drunk it. I’m a half-blood anyway so I can’t be snobbish about crap like that. It doesn’t even matter. As long as you can hold a wand and not stick it up your arse in the process of doing a spell then you can definitely be a witch.” He grinned despite himself.

Ariel looked at Jack again and picked up his glass of Firewhisky, determined to drink it. “You’ll always need them because your family are important. I think no matter how damaged the relationships are, as long as something is salvageable within the wreckage, it’s worth it. Then if the shit hits the fan find yourself a row boat and start rowing.” Ariel took his Kombolói from his pocket and began to absentmindedly flip the beads around his fingers as he thought. “Someone trustworthy, eh? You’re not going to find one of them in this lifetime, Jack.”

Jack glanced awkwardly at her hair at the compliment, not really sure what to do with it. To her, longer hair just mean dead ends that needed to be cut and the only reason she knew that was because her mother had always told her to take better care of her hair and grow it out. Jack kept it clean and kept it short. That was the extent of her beauty tips for hair. "Uh, thanks?" She really did not know what to do with compliments.

"That's been my plan of attack," she said, smirking. She glanced at him to see that he was smirking as well. He tried some of the wine and said it tasted pretty good. "Well, this is a personal favorite of a... chum... of mine and he knows what he's doing when it comes to wine." She paused. She never knew how to describe her relationship with Vito. She usually just called him her poltergeist.

Jack let out a mighty laugh at his words about her being a witch, tipping her head back and sloshing some of the wine as she picked it up. "Good to know, then." She had forgotten that he was a Greyback and probably had his own sets of discrimination and prejudices to deal with.

His musings on family got her thinking though. She knew she would never see Chip again. He was never serious, so the fact that his last letter had been solemn and grave, explaining that he had gotten into trouble with some bad people and was erasing his existence from the earth, and severing his connections.

She tried imagining a homecoming where she came home and ran up to her parents, throwing her arms around them and kissing them on the cheeks, tears streaming down their faces... She really could not imagine it. She was fairly sure her parents were born without tear ducts- a defect she shared- and her mother had been without a heart.

But Riley. He had never been warmed up to the fact that she was apart of a world at war, a world where he could not watch out for her. But he had told his parents to lay off her case at least, though he never got directly involved in taking sides, just asking for everyone to be at peace. Perhaps if she explained everything they could mend their relationship.

"Huh," was all she said. He pulled out some weird beaded string thing and began to play with it. At his words she smirked and nodded, lifting the wine bottle to her lips again and sipping it, realizing she was getting thoroughly sloshed. So different from her usual philosophy.. But she was allowed to wallow every now and then. "Now, that I believe." She reached out and flicked the beaded thing. "What is that?"