Have Yourself A Foxy Little Christmas

[Tessa Van Patten]

The brothel had been open five days already and business was promising, even with the day being Christmas and thus supposed to be sacred. Ha! Tessa anticipated a fair few well-to-do gentleman escaping to The Painted Lady from the suffocating holiday that called itself Christmas. She couldn't blame them wanting to escape from excitable children and nagging wives and for those without families, what better way to spend their evening than with tasteful company?

Of course, being only midday, business was not exactly bustling but she was confident there would be plenty of custom later on. Ordinarily, had circumstances been different, Tessa would have been in very good spirits but she wasn't. Her clothes didn't fit right, things hurt that usually didn't, she was exhausted to the point of acting like a zombie by the time she collapsed into bed and she couldn't transform. With Lorna she hadn't even been an animagus and hadn't had to consider it but now it was a cause for concern; what if she attempted to change and ended up in a situation similar to splinching? The prospect had kept her consistently human, not wanting to test out that theory unless she got solid proof it wouldn't happen.

It was perhaps this situation (and the fact that she hadn't gotten Lorna a single thing for Christmas) that gave her the idea. Lorna hadn't got a pet to take to Hogwarts and while Tessa didn't feel the girl needed indulging in every whim, she had immediately liked the idea once she had had it. What better than to get her daughter a little fox? It even came with such positives as being able to communicate with it once she could transform again and find out if Lorna had been up to mischief she wouldn't approve of.

Finding one had not been easy, not when she couldn't transform but having the mind of a fox meant she at least had an advantage over the average human. The particular specimen she had found was very young and surprisingly out in the open which lead Tessa to believe some misfortune had separated it from it's mother. The creature provoked a disturbing amount of maternal feeling towards it. Ick. The little furball had spent the night curled under her sheets, much to Tessa's annoyance, and now lay wrapped up in a cloth while Tessa went to find Lorna in her room. She gave a brief knock before she let herself in. "There you are!" she announced, realizing suddenly that presenting her with a Christmas gift so voluntarily was rather embarrassing and she might get the impression that her mother actually cared about her. It might be true but Tessa didn't care to let Lorna know that.

Table by Lola

[Lorna Van Patten]

• It was Christmas day, and Lorna was keeping out of everyone's way. Even at the workhouse Christmas had been a little special, and so she had deigned not to run any errands, even if the brothel had only been open a few days and there was always still plenty to do.
  
  Holding no other expectation for the day, she had simply snuck a snack from the the back of the tea shop side of the establishment and retreated to the floor of her room to munch on the mince pie and draw pictures on a scrap piece of parchment. She had already wrapped up a pair of gloves she had bought - well, she'd borrowed a little money from the Painted Lady to buy them, because that, at least, wasn't exactly stealing (though she might have cared less about morals if she had been able to walk out with the gloves themselves unnoticed) - and had planned to leave on her mother's desk at some point that day, but had not anticipated anything much else to occur.
  
  There was barely time to react to the knock on the door when her mother entered, so Lorna merely dropped the bent quill and looked up. She didn't immediately stand up, because although it seemed her mother had been searching for her, it didn't sound like she was in trouble today. And if she was, for any of the many reasons she might be, she would do her best to keep off the topic. With that in mind, Lorna smiled her sweetest smile. "Merry Christmas," she greeted, eyeing her mother for some signs of a bad mood.
  

  

[Tessa Van Patten]

Tessa cringed slightly at the festive greeting. "Yes, yes, Merry Christmas and all that," she replied with a roll of her eyes. She peered curiously toward the paper Lorna had been scrawling on and then decided she wasn't interested anymore. "Why aren't you helping out with... things?" she asked, waving a hand dismissively on 'things'. There was always something to be done, Lorna wasn't doing OWLs yet either, she didn't need to study that hard. That being said she better study hard all the same.

She dithered then about how to present the little ball of fur to her without making the moment too... mother-daughter-y. Blech. A little yip from behind her told her she probably ought to hurry up before Lorna caught on, she at least wanted it to be a surprise, that much she could indulge in. "So, I was thinking..." This already felt awkward. "If I didn't get you a gift for Christmas then you might not work as hard so I uh..." How was this so embarrassing? She cleared her throat and removed her hands from behind her back, holding out to her a small moving lump covered in a cloth. "You wanted a pet but pets are expensive and messy. I didn't get you an owl or a cat. Toads are a disgusting nuisance so those were out of the question." She looked away, feeling uncharacteristically embarrassed.

Table by Lola

[Lorna Van Patten]

• Lorna didn't even bothering answering the question about why she wasn't helping, because it was obviously not why her mother had sought her out. She wasn't a real maid, she didn't have to do too many chores; and it was the holidays, the holidays weren't for doing schoolwork every day. Given this, she narrowed her eyes as she looked up, trying to figure out what was going on.
  
  Considering her mother's dismissal of Christmas greetings just a moment ago, Lorna had not expected the next topic broached to be Christmas gifts, of all things. But her mother was holding something behind her back and was this a present, really, a real present? She scrambled to her feet as her mother continued to speak, a little lacking in her usual no-nonsense tone. A pet. Lorna had wanted a pet, because pets were allowed at school and she'd never had the chance to have one, and who wouldn't want a pet? Her mother had said she'd think about it, but after daydreaming about whether she would want an owl or a cat - maybe not a toad, though - Lorna had forgotten the idea. Until now.
  
  Lorna gaped, her jaw having fallen open at Tessa's words (how unladylike, anyone would have said, and the etiquette professor might have shrieked) but her mother was getting her a pet. But what animal? Hardly breathing with excitement, Lorna reached out for the squirming lump, pulling off the cloth in delight. This time her gasp was audible. At first sight, she thought it might've been a cat still, or perhaps a dog - but no, she noticed the too-large ears and the colour of the fur and then came to her conclusion. And it was practically a baby, too. She cooed aloud, and not taking her eyes off it, she exclaimed, "It's a fox? Is it a baby one? And from the wild? Where did you find it?"
  
  (sorry it's a little rubbish and super belated!)
  
  

  

[Tessa Van Patten]

Did all parents find giving gifts to their children this awkward? It grew more awkward still as she observed the gleeful reaction, struggling to fight the weird urge to crack a smile - as a result her lips were pursed rather tightly though there was a slight upward turn at the corners of her mouth even still.

Tessa cleared her throat and straightened her face properly. "I don't care for many animals but foxes I admittedly have a soft spot for. They're not exactly on the list of allowed pets at Hogwarts but I'm sure if you claim it's a slightly mutant cat no one will bother disputing that." She still felt awkward and strangely pleased that Lorna appreciated the little creature. "I found it wailing in the street, it was likely abandoned by it's mother." She cleared her throat again and fell silent.

Table by Lola

[Lorna Van Patten]

• She had hardly glanced at her mother since she'd laid eyes on the little fox cub. But it was just so sweet. It didn't really have the whole look of a fox yet, being young and small and a little mangy, its fur not fully darkened red and its legs a little stubby, but it was awfully sweet all the same. Her jaw eventually closed of its own accord, but only to spread into a smile.
  
  Her mother began to answer her questions, and Lorna, a hand venturing to scratch the fox gently by its ears. She did manage to tear her eyes from it, if only briefly, but in that time she confronted her mother with a toothy smile. She hardly cared about the rules, and was sure that passing it off as a cat of some kind would work - she'd take good care, she would - and she was, to put it mildly, over the moon.
  
  Found in the street, likely abandoned by its mother... she felt a little burst of sympathy for it, then was struck by a little pang of her own abandonment, if the same word could be used in Lorna's case. She realised she had been biting her lip down at the little creature, but she could hardly feel resentment for the past when her mother had just given her a baby fox, after all!
  
  "I'll look after it!" She exclaimed proudly. "Is it a boy or a girl, do you know? What shall I name it?" She mused, in between more cooing, forgetting to thank her mother once again.
  
  
  

  

[Tessa Van Patten]

It was no wonder the girl had landed herself in Gryffindor, she smiled too much for a Slytherin. Had she been as disturbingly chipper as child too? She couldn't recall being terribly excited about anything but going off to Hogwarts as a child, her home life hadn't been luxurious or particularly loving and she wasn't very good at looking on the bright side of things when she felt there was no bright side to find.

"Judging by it's underside I'd say it's a boy," she replied with a slight smirk of amusement. "Whatever you choose, make sure it's not something like Furry or Fluffy." Her sympathy for foxes extended just far enough that she couldn't quite see the creature landed with an undignified name.

Table by Lola

[Lorna Van Patten]

• She'd never had a pet of her own! Well, she'd caught a moth once in the workhouse, but she'd had nothing to put it in, and besides the last thing she'd felt like doing was keeping something cooped up with her, even something as small as a moth. And she'd never got to choose a name of her own!
  
  Her mother advised against a name or two - and they were a little silly - but Lorna made a thoughtful face, peering at the fox. She wanted to give it a real name, a person name, but there weren't many people to pick from to name it after. Well... "He can be Bertie, then." She decided as though she had plucked the name out of thin air, and not because every-flavour beans were a magical sweet she'd taken a liking to - well, most of the time, but she did like the surprise of it!- since she'd come to Hogsmeade. Lorna might've awaited a judgement from her mother (although even if it was a disapproving opinion, Lorna had already decided that the fox was Bertie, so there) but once she managed to take her eyes off the foxcub, she remembered just how delighted she was.
  
  "But thaaaaank youuuuu for finding him," she squealed - a little obnoxiously - the wariness she occasionally had in her mother's presence having disappeared completely in her glee at getting a christmas gift, a pet. She approached her mother unthinkingly, hoping to engulf her in an enthusiastic hug before Tessa could protest. After all, she'd managed it before, and even if her mother didn't much enjoy it, Lorna - much like a small, affectionate creature - got some satisfaction from it.
  
  

  

[Tessa Van Patten]

Bertie. A not unpleasant name, not one she'd likely choose herself but it was inoffensive and she supposed if Lorna liked it and it wasn't something ridiculous, then that was fine. She'd met a fair few Berties in her line of work as well but if the girl was going to choose a male human name, chances are she could relate them to some fellow or another she'd taken a tumble or two with. As long as she wasn't naming it after someone particularly memorable. She'd have a few objecting words to say if she tried to name is something like Tavish, that was just weird and he'd probably find it far too funny if he found out.

Before she could get another word in, however, she was being harassed into a hug. It was even more uncomfortable in her current state than the few times it had occurred before. One might think someone who used to sell their body for a living - and voluntarily so - would be accustomed to and not mind close contact with another human being but there was a difference between lustful gestures and genuinely affectionate ones, the latter were more or less alien to her. "You're welcome," she grunted awkwardly, her arms dangling awkwardly either side of her, reluctant to wrap them around the girl and give in to the gesture of appreciation.

Table by Lola

[Lorna Van Patten]

• (welp I totally didn't know the beans didn't exist yet >.> /the fox can be named after an old workhouse dude then bahaha)
  
  The hug very much prevented her mother from offering any opinion's on the fox's new name, and her mother seemed to be silently holding in her discomfort on the hug, too. Lorna didn't suppose Tessa would be anything other than uncomfortable - though she was her mother, she was not one to usually initiate these things - but Lorna, now that she had a mother, had every intention of catching up on all the familial gestures she may have missed out on for ten years as far as she could get away with them. Her mother had, however, surpassed Lorna's expectations of generosity. She had grumbled about everything, but Lorna had so far gotten near everything she wanted, whether or not it was a lot she asked for. A new home, a permanent one! Hogwarts! Even a pet! And how else was she supposed to show her appreciation?
  
  Oh! Lorna released her mother from the tight hug - she assumed it would be a relief - and, with a sly little grin, she turned away, resisting the temptation to do more than give the little foxcub a fleeting scratch of its nose whilst she passed. Rummaging in a drawer of clothes, Lorna retrieved the small package she'd wrapped and presented it to her mother, a little shyly. "I got something for you, too," she explained, "it's not as good as a pet though." She wrinkled her nose a little, wondering whether her mother would even like the pair of gloves she'd - well, not really - bought.

  

[Tessa Van Patten]

Tessa couldn't quite hold back a short sigh of relief as the awkward (for her at least) embrace ended. One hug from her daughter per year was enough for her, unfortunately Lorna's birthday didn't fall on Christmas or during the school year, if she got her anything then she was likely in for a repeat offense. Good thing that was a long way away.

Just when she thought it couldn't get any worse, the girl was presenting her with a retaliation gift. Oh Merlin, what was it? What could it possibly be? Taking the package, she tentatively went about unwrapping it, not sure she wanted to see what was inside. What she found, was less disturbing than what she expected, at least initially. They were nice gloves, not the kind someone gave away for free or very cheaply. Either Lorna had stolen them from wherever they came from or stolen the money to buy them. "How sweet of you, I have yet to replenish my stock of gloves since the fire." She decided to refrain from asking her outright how she had procured the gloves, she'd ask her later when she wasn't expecting it so she was less likely to have a cover story prepared.

Table by Lola

[Lorna Van Patten]

She didn't watch as her mother opened the gift, remarkably less thoughtful than the pet foxcub, but nothing was ever going to match up to that ever again, and besides Lorna hadn't exactly had much gift-giving practice in which to hone her skills. "Y'welcome," she murmured, deciding not to chance inviting any enquiries about how she had procured the present, but not fully able to resist a quick peek at her mother's face. Well, her expression did not look especially angry, so that was one thing.

Before her own face could slip into more of a grin, she plopped herself back down on the floor, scratching little Bert's furry tummy again. This was the best year. Whoever wanted trees or turkey or snow or jinglebells or whatever else was supposed to come with Christmas? She had her very own pet.