here not be tigers (or "daddy, you lied") / THEO

[Chloe Nott]

Chloe was sat on the small balcony on the front of the old part of their house, bundled up in about ten layers of clothing, feeling pretty miserable. The garden was definitely looking gorgeous, all covered in snow, and she thought that hers and Seb's snowman was looking very fantastic with his hat set at the perfect rakish elbow and their grandad's old pipe adding the perfect touch (that had been Seb's idea and Chloe loved it). Not even the brilliant snowman could lift her spirits though. Never the most unselfish of girls, Chloe couldn't find it within herself to go and be happy when she still didn't have a tiger.

She'd really thought she'd get one, this year. Her dad had seemed so close to giving in, to finally getting her one... something must have changed his mind, she thought. She knew he only ever did things because he loved her but that didn't make up for the lack of furry carnivorous animal companion.

Adjusting her position to poke her legs through the railings and swing them absently, Chloe sniffed loudly and brushed away the last of her tears and stared up at the sky, white and heavy with snow clouds. She was fiddling with the present she'd got her dad as she sat there, tossing it from hand to hand. She'd already put four presents for him under the tree which he'd opened and seemed pleased with, but this was the special one and she'd been planning to give it to him after he presented her with her tiger but then that hadn't happened so she still had the stupid present and... urgh. Everything sucked.

Her mother and father and brother were still inside, probably opening the last of the presents, no doubt having a fantastic time of it. Even the prospect of a huge Christmas dinner couldn't cheer Chloe up though. To be honest all she wanted was a huge hug from her dad, but since he was the base of her sadness her pride was too much to let her go running to him like normal.

Sniffing loudly again, Chloe gave the snow near her a firm shove and watched it plop to the ground one storey down with less satisfaction than usual.

[Theodore Nott]

Theo was listening to Daphne and Seb’s enthusiastic conversation. Every now and then when they’d ask him a question, Theo nodded, gave a light laugh and then smiled, in that order. Chloe was outside in the cold. He knew the absence of the tiger might have put her in a low mood. He’d been working toward getting the feline but he’d been talking to connections in Africa, and apparently even the most domesticated tigers can still be dangerous. And they went on about some old muggles, Siegfried and Roy. He ignored the babble and went back to thinking through the tiger idea.

By the time Christmas rolled around, there was no tiger and only some few gifs with Chloe’s name on them appeared below the tree. When Chloe left the family, it was advised that she needed time to herself. It worked for about ten minutes but now he was just getting bothered.

He stood up, feeling the eyes of his wife and son on his back. He pulled on a coat and reached into his trouser pockets feeling the small velvet box. “I’m going to check on Chloe,” he said quietly. “Merry Christmas,” he murmured kissing his wife lightly and then ruffling Seb’s hair.

He checked the balcony first. It seemed the place Chloe would go today. There was a clear view of…everything from up there. He was pleased to see that she looked much like an overstuffed marshmallow. At least it stopped snowing. “Your brother was still opening gifts when you left.” He was just stating the fact but it came out more as if she was supposed to feel bad.

Since there was no seat he made himself comfortable next to her on the balcony floor. “I told the other parents in the ministry that my teenagers still do snowmen,” he said nodding over to the one in the garden. “They said I was lucky that they even wanted to come home for the holidays. That theirs only wanted to stay at Hogwarts with their friends.” He thought he’d mention that. It was his own way of saying how lucky he was.

“I think I have an idea why you’re out here.”

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OOC: I haven't gotten him out in a while so he's kinda rusty. sorry bb <3

[Chloe Nott]

Chloe didn't move as her dad sat down next to her, apart from to stuff the gift she'd been holding inside her second coat and pull her zip up to hide it. Yanking her hat down further over her ears, she waited patiently until he was seated comfortably. When he spoke about the other kids, Chloe couldn't hold back the snort of derision.

"The others are stupid," she said firmly, still staring at the garden below, "Home is the best place in the whole world." She wasn't just saying it to try to make up for abandoning the family inside, either - nothing made Chloe happier than being at home surrounded by her parents and brother. She liked school because she was with her friends and Hogwarts was pretty cool, but there was always a relentlessly itching burn beneath her skin that had her longing for home and her parents. She missed being able to run to them for a chat and snuggle down in front of the fire with them on cold evenings and wake up in the middle of the night and know that they were just on the other side of the courtyard.

Chloe felt like suddenly the holidays were starting to be over and she realised how little time she had left with the whole family before school started again, and she felt horribly guilty about setting herself apart from them. Not entirely sure what to do about this, she settled for risking a peek at her dad's face and then scooting closer to him and, with another cautious look at his reaction, lowered her head to rest against his shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Daddy," she said in a small voice, staring out at the garden again, "I don't want to kill Christmas. I just was really hoping for a tiger."

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ooc: omg no he's perfect. asdfjhgklk these two are my absolute favourites, i can barely deal with the feelings!

[Theodore Nott]

Theo’s eyebrows rose in surprise. He had a sneaking suspicion that Chloe was getting bored of the same old traditions the Nott household held for Christmas. “Well I’m glad to hear that. I thought you’d want to spend the holidays with your friends or your boyfriend.” His voice became tighter as he ended satement, more professional, as if he was speaking to a co-worker rather then his own daughter. He was somewhat comfortable about the whole ordeal of it but he tries not to bring it up. Daphne was always better with those things. “You’re still with him right? He’s a nice gentleman.”

He wrapped his arm around Chloe’s shoulder. “I know, I know. You didn’t kill Christmas. You mother and brother are probably enjoying holiday sweets right now.” He frowned. “I know.” He was starting to feel like a record on repeat. “But it just wasn’t going to happen this year. I’m sorry,” he voice was calm and considerate but it had a small tone of finality. But Chloe had never been one to whine for anything. It wasn’t something he and Daphne condoned while raising the twins.

“About sixty-five years ago, when I was a little boy,” he said, hoping some humor would bring up Chloe’s spirit’s a bit, “I asked your grandfather for the same thing every year for Christmas and even my birthday, but I never got it.” He cleared his throat. “I’m telling you this because I don’t want you to feel like you’re the only one who didn’t get the Christmas they wanted. You’re brother didn’t get that muggle car, either, by the way.”

[Chloe Nott]

Chloe snuggled down happily into her dad's side the minute he put his arm around her, delighted that he didn't appear to be cross. Picking absently at the end of her scarf, she replied, "Yes, I'm still going out with Camden. He's a nice boy." Chloe usually could babble for hours about Camden, but she always felt a bit funny talking about it with her father. She felt a bit like she was betraying him by liking a boy so much - but she was pretty sure he knew that he and Seb were always going to be her number one men so she didn't worry about it overly.

Instead of banging on about Camden, she accepted the change of subject happily and, with her usual cheerfulness beginning to flood back now she knew he wasn't cross, she commented, "They won't just be enjoying them, they'll be demolishing them. I wish I wasn't so full so I could go help!" Wistfully, she eyed up the window of the sitting room on the ground floor of the west wing. All she could really see were the twinkling lights on the Christmas tree but that was enough to get her feeling as Christmassy as ever. Pulling back from her dad's arm a bit, she darted up and pressed a daughterly kiss to his cheek and smiled up at him, "It's okay. I understand why. I got loads of other amazing presents so. I still need to open the one from Granddad, actually!" Excited at the prospect, Chloe snuggled back down under her dad's arm and recommenced staring out at the snow-covered garden.

She laughed aloud when he admitted to having wanted a tiger, and said, "Oh my god! I can't believe that! It's obviously a father-daughter thing then. I can't believe you wanted a tiger! What did Granddad say every time you asked? And," she added, looking suddenly serious, "I think it's a good thing Seb didn't get that car or we would be levitating him out of the wreckage by New Year's Eve." Chloe adored her twin, but she wasn't especially optimistic about the sanity of letting him loose on the roads in a car alone.