I have been gone from here for a long time for various reasons, writers block, not as involved in the fandom, stupid job swallowing my whole life etc. I do have intentions to finish Flirting 101! I really do, but I've been stuck on it for a long time and I've made several attempts at the next chapter that I've never been happy with.

This was a bit of fluff I did for the Skip Beat secret santa, hopefully it'll get me back into the swing of things :) P.S I adapted Ren/Kyoko's ages here so they're both the same age.

Christmas Quidditch

Christmas was a time of excitement and wonder for most Hogwarts students... most.

For Kyoko, as she stood on the bridge and watched the scarlet train disappear around a mountain- the train carrying all of her friends home, it actually felt rather cold and lonely. She admonished herself, for there she was feeling lonely because she'd be on her own for two weeks. A measly two weeks! Before Hogwarts, she'd been lonely her entire life. Here she had friends, she had magic, she had a home.

Really the young Hufflepuff thought, tugging her scarf closer to shield herself from the bitter northern wind, two weeks is nothing to be worried about. I'll be just fine on my own. I can catch up on some homework and I won't feel lonely at all. Not one bit. On Christmas day I'm sure Professor Lory will be kind to me. I won't be alone. I WON'T be alone.

She continued her inner debate all the way back through the front gates and up the stone steps into the entrance hall. The dark haired girl teetered on the balls of her feet, wondering if she should go back to her empty dormitory or head to the great hall to see who else was staying for the holidays. It didn't take her too long to decide, moping in her dorm wouldn't help her mood at all but she seeing all the floating candles and the Christmas decorations again might raise her sprits somewhat. She was also curious as to who else was staying for the holidays.

Gold and silver was the theme of the decorations this year, last year they had been purple and white, the year before that they had an icy blue igloo theme. Kyoko wasn't sure which her favourite was, she just marvelled at how the themes changed every year. There wasn't one recycled bauble or reused wreath in sight. Even three years into her schooling she had to change her poor, muggle-raised mindset of 'they must spend so much money' and remind herself that magic didn't cost anything.

Her eyes scanned the room, hoping that someone she recognised was sitting nearby, knowing all her wishes were to no avail- nobody that she knew was here. Or so she presumed.

"Kyoko?" A deep voice behind her made her start; she wheeled around to see none other than Ren Hizuri, third year Ravenclaw and one of the best keepers the school had ever seen, staring at her in surprise. She frowned. Over the past year, the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs had joint Quidditch practices, which meant that she (as a pretty fierce beater, even if she did say so herself) had spent a lot of time with him recently and they'd become friends, and Kyoko herself had found herself feeling things she promised she'd never feel.

"R-Ren what are you doing here?" She gasped, hating the way her cheeks had gotten so red, and forced herself to avoid his green eyed gaze. Please say you've forgotten something, say you left something behind and flew back here on your broom to get it! Say you're going to grab it and be off in a jiffy the young girl groaned inwardly at her own rotten luck.

"I'm here for the holidays," Ren replied with an infuriating shrug which sent Kyoko even further into her worry-abyss "I am every year. You want some treacle tart?"

"I- err- what?" Kyoko blinked as Ren sidestepped her and head for the tables, which had already been pushed together. A few students loitered around munching on some snacks left out for the kitchen and Kyoko couldn't help but think they were sympathy snacks. Whilst musing on this, Kyoko absent mindedly followed him, noting at how tall he was. Her brain seemed to be working in slow motion but her body was having no trouble reacting.

"I didn't know you were here every Christmas." Kyoko replied sitting at the end of the table. "Why is that?"

Ren glanced at her, mouth already full of aforementioned treacle tart, and for a brief moment she thought she saw a flash of sadness in his eyes but it was gone the instant she thought she saw it.

"My dad's a film star and my mum's a model, they often work around the holidays," He explained in a way that seemed so cold and emotionless, rehearsed even "They'd be home but I never see them anyway at this time of year anyway, so I just prefer to stay here. Professor Lory doesn't mind even if he does try to convince me to go home every year." Kyoko's heart ached in sympathy at his words, knowing all too well what it felt like to hate going home.

"I haven't gone home for Christmas either, for the first two years I went to my friends Kanae Kontonami's house, but she's going on holiday this year so I couldn't go with her this time. My mother told me to spend Christmas here and get practice for the OWLs, so here I am."

Ren looked incredulous, even as he reached for a mini chocolate éclair "Our OWL's are two years away and you've got some of the best test scores in the school."

Kyoko wrinkled her nose. It was true that her test scores were good, to the point where others questioned if she should have been in Ravenclaw, but she would say that she wasn't naturally gifted. She just worked hard, like a true Hufflepuff. "They're not perfect." She mumbled and said no more than that, leaving the conversation hanging in an awkward silence. Kyoko tried to think of an excuse to leave that didn't seem rude as the longer she spent here the longer she felt her heart flutter, her breath catch, felt all the things her mother had told her to never feel because she'd only end up getting hurt and failing school.

Before she had a chance to think of something, Ren noticed something different about her.

"Have...have your eyes changed colour?" He asked, at first thinking he was crazy but when she looked up at him he could distinctly see, her eyes were far more golden than they'd been before.

"Oh yes, sometimes it happens without me knowing. I haven't got full control of it yet." Now it was her turn to sound matter of fact.

"Full control?" Ren frowned, it had taken months for her to open up to him and a bit of crafty (admittedly rather Slytherin-eque) suggestions of joint practice to get closer to the girl who'd caught his eye since first year flying lessons, when they'd both got detention for getting in a flying competition which culminated in a race around the school. It seemed he had even more to learn about her than he thought. Ren fought the urge to sulk.

For Kyoko, she was surprised she hadn't mentioned it to him yet. She supposed what was extraordinary for others, even witches and wizards, was so normal to her that she hadn't considered it worth mentioning. Besides, that would just drawn unwarranted attention and she didn't want to appear interesting to her secret crush in any way. She didn't want any part of that disgusting emotion that had been the cause of her mother's heartbreak and cruelty towards her.

"I'm a metamorphmagus," When that was meant with a blank stare she smiled kindly and explained "I can change my appearance. I don't usually do it though, it sometimes happens on its own."

Ren's own eyes widened in surprise, how had he not known something so important about her before? Had she mentioned it previously? Had he not been listening hard enough? He mentally kicked himself.

"So why don't you normally do it? If I could change my appearance I think I'd probably have darker hair, it's too much of a target to wayward seekers thinking it's the snitch." He said grinning mischievously, what he wasn't expecting was Kyoko's outburst. Without any warning she stood up and leaned over the table towards him, animatedly waving her arms.

"But you have lovely hair!"

It took Kyoko about 6.4 seconds to realise what she had done and, with the speed of a turtle on a slow-movement charm, sank back to her seat, the colour of the Gryffindor banner dashed across her cheeks.

Ren didn't quite know how to react either. Deep down in his chest he felt a glimmer of hope but the silence had once again settled between the pair and he was worried about her running off and them losing all the progress they'd made over the past few glorious months. Before he changed the subject, Kyoko whispered.

"I'd like to change my hair too. I don't really like it, it always gets in the way, especially during practice, but my mother would have a fit if she knew I cut it. I just don't like the attention." She reached up and tugged her inky black locks in a frustrated manner. Ren put his chin on his hand curiously.

"Well...nobody's here except for the professors and a few other students. Your mother isn't here." He said and grabbed for a third chocolate éclair, leaving Kyoko to muse on his words. He was right of course, but her heart still thrilled at the risk of it. Perhaps she could, just this once, it wouldn't hurt would it?

Suddenly, Ren had an idea, a brilliant stroke of Ravenclaw genius. It was perfect, they were both here for Christmas, it was an amazing opportunity to get closer to her.

"I have an idea, how about we meet for one-on-one Quidditch practice tomorrow morning? You can show up how you want to look and I won't judge you for it or tell anyone about it. Nobody would ever know and we can get some much needed practice in. What do you think?"

Kyoko's mind imploded.

"Oh n-no I can't. Absolutely not. No, no, no I have too much work to do and if I get caught then people will start talking about how I'm a metamorphmagus and the whole school will want to see it and word will get back to my mother and she'll be so cross and I-"

"Kyoko," Ren's deep voice interrupted her ramblings. She knew that voice and dreaded to look up and see. He was resting his hand on his chin, smirking slightly; his eyes looked dark and almost seductive. It must've been his father's acting or his mothers modelling rubbing off on him. Either that or he should've been a Slytherin. "It will be fine, I promise."

Kyoko didn't know whether to smile or scream, all she knew to do was nod in agreement.

The next morning Professor Lory chuckled as he strolled through the grounds.

"Something funny, Professor Lory?" asked Professor Sawara who was accompanying him on the early morning walk.

"Oh nothing, I'm just glad the Kotonami's took my advice and went on a much needed holiday this year. It was more beneficial than I think anybody could have anticipated." He grinned, watching an orange haired Hufflepuff and a flabbergasted Ravenclaw gaping after her as she chased a snitch, laughing in a way that he hadn't heard her laugh in three years. "Nobody except me of course."

Hope you all had a Merry Christmas and a happy new year! :D