Present for Jack

Chase had one hand on her back, the other on her stomach, her face red. These days it was harder and harder to make it up the stairs to the top of the tower to do anything, classes, send letters, all that jazz. So Chase tended to keep stairs at a minimum, but she had a letter she HAD to mail before she left for the Christmas holidays. The package was wrapped up in pretty paper, decorated with a Dragon, which wrapped around the paper, the head ending at a bow that looked like some of the fire a dragon had blown, and it appeared to be actually burning, as the light hit the special paper and made it shimmer.

Once at the top of the stairs, Chase stopped for a long moment in the drafty tower, owls hooted and looked down at her balefully. A school owl would do for this one, but Chase decided to send Sylvia out. It might make it a bit more sentimental... and Sylvia was sort of out of the job lately, unless she had to send a letter asking a question to Khaat, or other small things, like setting up appointments, but besides that.. Sylvia went unused. It was only a trip up to the Gryffindor tower, or ever just to hold onto it until breakfast the next morning. Of course unless Jack was out for Holiday, then Sylvia would have to find her. Oh Chase hoped she wasn't to far off.

Chase's hand was shaking as she set the package on the ground and slowly sat down, trying to catch her breath. How long had it been? Since Jack had looked at her without that look of wanting to be as far away as possible from her. How long had it been, that they had sat outside of Honeydukes, and ate brownies, then went and battled the Loch Ness Monster. How long had it been, that Chase had even been able to look at Jack in the eye, and say hi without feeling a wave of guilt, and remorse crash down over her body, threatening to cripple her.

Far to long.

Chase stared at the package with a sigh, the light catching the paper and it appeared to glow and crackle with the flame of the dragon. The green eye of the dragon seemed to stare at her, and Chase felt her cheeks burn with embarrassment. Should she have gotten Jack this present? Jack had made it clear she really didn't want anything to do with Chase. When they were in the same room, it was as though Chase didn't exist, and Chase could literally try and talk to Jack, but she'd direct her answer at someone else. It was as though Jack had thrown Chase out of her life, and it made Chase feel very sad.

The last time Jack had actually SAID anything to Chase, she had been yelling. Jack had told Chase that she was selfish, stupid, insane. That she never thought things through.. to stop crying. Chase found herself biting her lower lip, and she closed her eyes, realizing she WAS crying. Sitting all alone in the owlery, a package at her feet, days away from Christmas, a baby in her belly, even if it wasn't visible at the moment. Chase slowly opened her eyes and grabbed the present. Well.. if Jack didn't want anything to do with her, that was fine, but Chase was going to do everything she could, to show Jack just how sorry she was. And if long distance things were the only way.. then so be it. Chase called down Sylvia, and then prepared to put the present in a wrap, so that she could carry it easier.

Inside of the wrappings, were three things:

A book on every single kind of Dragon alive, with moving illustrations, and a log that automatically updated to show what Dragon tamers all across the world were doing at that very moment, complete with Journal entries from the tamers themselves, and play by play reports on their encounters with Dragons, as up to date as encounters happening at the very moment you were reading.

Three Ministry of Magic CDs, with a signed T-shirt and note from them, telling her how happy they were to hear of her. All tied together with string and a ticket to their next concert tied on top.

And last but not least, a moving Hungarian Horntail Miniature. Animated by a few professors, and crafted by Chase herself, it blew fire, flew and came with it's own cage and leash, so that it wouldn't fly away or get lost. It could fit in the palm of your hand, and tended to be a bit temperamental.

Chase had also stuck a note on top of the present, firmly secured by string, Jack's name was written in Chase's curly handwriting on top. Inside the note, it said, still in Chase's own print.

Dear Jack,

I hope this makes it to you alright. Don't worry about feeding the dragon... it doesn't eat. How have you been doing Jack? Not to bad I hope.. Congratulations on becoming Champion, it must be really stressful, Quidditch, and the championship all at once.

I know it's been a while since we've spoken, and I do hope you're doing okay. I know you probably don't want to hear from me.. but.. I thought I might as well send you a present... don't try to read into it to much, I saw these things.. and thought of you.. Do you like Ministry of Magic? I hear they are really good, I think I heard somewhere that you like them... and I won the ticket off the radio.. and I really don't have any use for it.. but I did meet them.. and told them about you, so they signed a t-shirt and said that they would love to meet you one day.. if that's alright... just send them a letter to: (Pretend there is an address here)

Anyway... I know you really don't want to hear it... but I thought I'd tell you first. My baby is a girl.. I found out last night from a muggle doctor in London, who did a few tests.. and well... I thought maybe you should hear first. I'm going to name her Katherine... Katherine Eleanor Moor-Krum. I'm keeping Moor because I'm the last one left... and well, I want to keep the name alive you know?

Jack... I know it's been a while.. but I am sorry, for everything I've done to you... I know you don't want to hear it, I know you're probably angry with me right now anyway.. but I am sorry. I guess I feel safer saying it on paper because well... you can't contradict me here can you? *smudge*

Well, I should let you go.. feel free to write back. And I don't expect anything in return... you've got enough on your plate as it is.

With all my heart,
Chase

Sylvia landed beside Chase, and Chase tore her eyes off of the present for a long moment, staring at the bird on her knee. "Well... once you take this it'll be done, and I can't call it back can I?" She asked lightly, and then shook her head and smiled slightly, tying the heavy package to the bird's leg. A few more owls came down and Chase managed to get the package airborn with their help. "Thank you.." She said lightly, and watched them take off into the dying sun.

Jack strolled the castle the day after Christmas, pausing to watch professors and the caretaker de-jollify the halls, getting dirty looks as she chose to watch rather than help. She was glad to see the other end of the holidays... and her head hurt like a mother. Note to self- next time you get drunk with a Slytherin to celebrate Christmas, nab a headache potion from the nurse.

She continued strolling on, stopping by the kitchens to nick some leftover truffles, which she popped in her mouth as she walked. She almost looked content, but really she was brooding. So bad that she was doing whatever the hell she felt like doing, which a lot of people mistook as being perfectly happy with everything. In fact, she was not perfectly happy, she was perfectly not happy, and was doing whatever she wanted because it was the best form of wallowing in her self pity.

What had she gotten from Elliot for Christmas? Nothing. That was to be expected, though the lack of letter did hurt. Nothing had ever been expected from her parents, so no hard feelings there. From Uncle Chip she had gotten a letter saying he would never be seeing her again and a dress for the Yule Ball... though that was more of an apology than a gift. And from Riley? She received her gift to him back and a letter with the kind words I don't want anything from you. Ouch. That had hurt, definitely.

So she had done what any strong, sophisticated young woman may do in such a situation. She went to the Room of Requirement and got drunk, wallowing in her self pity for awhile. The weird thing was, she had not been alone. She had been with Ariel Greyback who, until yesterday, she had been certain had been disgusted by her. Apparently not, for he had given her Kombolói and she had given him the scarf that had been meant for Riley. And in some sort of weird way, they were friends now. That's what happens when you're drunk though... Things happen that you typically would not allow to. And now she was friends with a cheeky son of a werewolf. Add that to a moody poltergeist, and you had a recipe for an interesting inner circle, if that was what they were.

She finished off the truffles and continued of, deciding to go to the Courtyard that had been decorated beautifully two days ago at the Yule Ball. Then there was that, and the business of her attending with James Wake. She figured they were as good as friends with him as well. He seemed to hate her presence most of the time, but seemed to tolerate her enough to do her a favor and dance with her at the Yule Ball. So... she did have friends... She supposed... It just... did not seem like it. She just didn't feel very loved.

She pulled at the Kombolói from her pocket and began to flip the beads, carefully working on them as she jogged down the Great Staircase and towards the doors that would let her escape the confines of the castle. Here, Christmas trees were being dismantled, charms were wearing off... Way to go, Christmas magic! Forever you'll last in our hearts! Bleh. She pulled her thin jacket around her figure tighter, and pushed the doors of the castle open and slipped outside into the courtyard.

She wandered the cobblestone way for a bit before sitting down at a stone bench and continuing to fiddle with the red and green beads, thoroughly calmed by them. That's when she heard the click. She glanced up and saw the eyes of an owl in a nearby shrub. She jerked her chin at it and returned her attention to the Kombolói but it hooted. She looked up. "What?"

That's when what it was holding caught her attention. Whatever it was, it was on fire! She hopped up and that's when she realized it wasn't really on fire... It had been so magnificently wrapped to appear so. Her mouth tipped open and she walked over to the owl, gently retrieving the package and the letter from it. She looked up, peering into its eyes... It was a familiar owl, but before she could place where she knew it from, it took off.

It had to be for her, but she had no idea who would get her anything. Certainly not Vito.. unless it were wine. James was not too fond of her, and Andrew had disappeared... Had Riley changed his mind? Had Chip been able to send one last gift? Maybe had Michael Tremaine run across some brilliant pranking device and gotten her an extra. She picked it up and returned to her spot, gently slipping the Kombolói into her pocket and tearing the gift open.

A book fell out first and she felt a few books fall into her lap. Great. Was this some quirky way of a professor telling her she had gotten in trouble and now had to read these books and write an essay? Sounds like a Doyle move. She glanced closer and saw a dragon. Perhaps Elldir? But as she began to examine the books, her mouth dropped open. No, this was much better. It seemed to be a book on every type of dragon. She looked at the other one and opened it. There was a handwritten account on some guy who had discovered a nest of Fireballs... And suddenly, it slid down the page and was replaced by another account of another wizard.

She gaped at it and realized there was more in the bag, though she could have read through the books for hours on end right there... She carefully set them aside and continued on. A bundle was tied together by twine. She yanked off the twine and it all came falling apart. 3 CDs fell out. Ministry of Magic! She preferred them over even the Weird Sisters but could never afford their new CDs. She set them on the books and saw a tee shirt... and... signatures!? She gaped and spread it out staring at the signatures. A note of some sort fluttered from the tee shirt and she picked it up...

Oh. My. Gosh.

Someone had told them about her and they wanted to meet her. They had left an address so she could, at the very least, write them. She saw what was attached to the note, something she had never been able to afford... A ticket to their upcoming concert. Her head spun and her mind reeled. She was obviously dreaming. She reluctantly set them aside and looked at the last gift. It was some sort of cage... She held it up and peered inside.

It nearly cost her hey eyebrows.

She pulled away and realized inside was a miniature Hungarian Horntail. Jack felt her legs turn to ice and a look of wonder come on her face. She poked her finger through the bars and it snapped its jaws at her, but she had pulled her fingers away. She shook her head and whispered, "That's bad manners, boy. You're a boy right?" The look he gave her was enough of an answer.

Who had done this for her? This amazing thing that she could never repay, not in a million years. It must have cost more than Jack had ever had, must have been put together by someone who knew more about Jack than Jack had thought anyone had known. Even Elliot did not know how much she loved dragons, Vito had no idea that she thought Ministry of Magic was awesome. Who... who had done this? For her? For the Jack who had only successfully given one gift.

She opened the letter and read it, her entire being frozen. She knew the handwriting. She knew the style of speaking. She knew it... She...

Shit.

She read the entire letter, though it seemed only her eyes were working. Her hung over brain could not comprehend why Chase would do this. Chase should hate her by now... Was supposed to hate her by now. Jack had associated with the man who had killed Chase's family. She had defied Chase's plea to never speak to Vito again. She had chosen him. She had yelled at her, called her insane and stupid, had told her to stop being a baby and stop crying...

Jack tilted her head back and her eyes stung as she stared upwards, swallowing the lump that had formed in her throat. She looked down at the letter and carefully folded it up, slipping it into her pocket. She carefully went about the business of slipping the dragon books and the Ministry of Magic merchandise into her bag, carefully making sure the Horntail was secure. She stuffed the wrappings into her bag and stood.

"Sylvia!"

She exclaimed the name as she remembered it. It was Chase's owl's name! The owl must have been watching her because it fluttered down to her and blinked at her from the same shrub she had snapped at her from. Jack stared at the owl and then, without thinking, reached up to her neck. She took off what hung their and summoned an envelope, pulling parchment and ink out of her bag. She wrote a quick note and slipped the note and the item into the envelope and handed it to Sylvia. "Take it to her. Thank you."

Jack knew it was not enough. Nothing would ever be enough. The golden chess knight had been given to her by Chase in a way anyway... But Jack had worn it to remind her that she had been happy once, that she did have people who cared about her, that no matter what path she had chosen, behind her were people who she loved and who had loved her even when they should never have in the first place. She did not know how, but she knew Chase would feel it too once she out the piece around her neck.

And the note was hardly eloquent or anything worth quoting. In Jack's untidy scrawl were the few words:

I've never been angry with you.
PS. I naming him Nessie.

It would never be enough, but it was truth. Because now, the only thing holding her back was anger and shame... Towards herself. Sylvia flew off, but Jack and her shame, her guilt, remained. It would never be enough.

But for now, it would do.

Day after Christmas, no word from Jack. Sylvia herself hadn't even shown up for a while. Chase was sitting in her bedroom at Khaat's house, staring out the window, one hand on her swollen stomach, which wasn't covered up at all. The other hand gently pulling a brush through her hair, even thought it was mostly brushed out already, her mind was a million miles away. Had Jack gotten the present? Chase had gotten such wonderful stuff, had given stuff in return, and yet.. here she was, sitting alone, day after Christmas, unable to bring herself to go downstairs and get something to eat or even to go work out.

Suddenly Chase saw a speck outside the window, growing larger as it came. Chase narrowed her eyes, and leaned forward, putting the brush on the table in front of her, and going to the window and throwing it open, as Sylvia came to it, and dropped a letter on the floor, shaking her feathers to get the snow off of them, and hopping over to her cage for some water. Chase gave her a treat and put some more owl food into her tray before closing the window and picking up the envelope. It felt like there was something in there that was pretty large, even though she couldn't tell what it was.

Chase went over to her bed and sat down on it carefully, slowly, she tapped the letter with her wand, and the envelope opened and Chase pulled out the piece of paper first. Her eyes flew over the untidy scrawl there, and she slowly closed her eyes, trying not to cry, feeling a lump of relief and pent up emotions pour down her throat so fast she almost chocked, but all that came out was a stifled sob. Chase slowly opened her eyes, and picked up the letter, dumping out the contents on her bed.

It was the chess piece, hanging from a necklace chain. The lump that had just flown down Chase's throat flung back up into it, and Chase stared at it for a long moment, unable to touch it. Jack had made it a necklace.. named the Dragon Nessie, she wasn't angry at her! Chase closed her eyes, unable to stop the happy tears from sliding down her cheeks, before she picked up the necklace. Out of everything she had gotten for Christmas, Chase had to say, this was the one thing that would mean the most to her.

Chase let her fingers run over the smooth figure of the golden chess piece. Jack could have sold it, thrown it away, done SOMETHING, but what had she done? Made it into a necklace, and worn it from the looks of the rubbing on the chain. Chase ran her fingers over the necklace and closed her eyes, holding onto it tighter. Brownies seemed to waft into the room, her hair moved slightly in an imaginary wind, she could smell the lake, hear the swishing of water. See the eye of the Loch Ness Monster as it stared at her, wanting this very chess piece back.

Chase opened her eyes and looked down at the piece, before slowly slipping it over her neck. It was from Jack.. it was proof, proof that someday, they might actually be friends again. Proof that maybe... just maybe, brownies outside Honeydukes.. wasn't that far off of a dream.