A/N: Hi, all! This was written for Round 13 of the Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition. I, as beater 2 of the Caerphilly Catapults, had to write about a Christmas at Hogwarts featuring Dorcas Meadowes. For judging purposes, the final word count of this story is 1, 148. My optional prompts were:
1. (setting) Hogwarts library;
6. (word) collection; and
11. (word) lamp.
A Morning of a Different Kind
The sun was a bit too bright on the morning of December the 25th, 1976. It glared toward the Hogwarts castle from its place in the sky, reflecting off of the compacted blanket of snow that covered the grounds. Now, you see, this wouldn't have mattered any other day of the week, but on this day, Saturday—the first Saturday of Dorcas Meadowes' Hogwarts career that she had the entire dormitory to herself—Dorcas had, indeed, planned on having a lie in. She had planned on sleeping until eleven and then stumbling down to the Great Hall for a stale pastry and a cool cup of tea. But, as it was, it was seven in the morning, and Dorcas was lying completely awake beneath her covers.
She stared at the wrinkled covering that hung bunched at the corners of her four poster bed for a while, letting the warm air coat her lungs with each breath she took. She felt the comforter tucked beneath the sides of her heels and, after a few moments, shifted her feet in agitation. Finally, with a sudden huff, she sat up, pushed back the covers, and flicked on her bedside lamp, a habitual action that she then shook her head at, seeing as the room was entirely lit.
She bypassed the small pile of gifts at the foot of her bed on her way to the restroom, where she wiped the sleep from her eyes and swapped out her pajamas for a fresh pair of sweatpants and a knit jumper. When she deemed her reflection presentable, she returned to her Christmas morning plunder and tucked them neatly in her school bag. When Dorcas was certain that they were secure, she hung the bag over her shoulder and set off for the Great Hall.
She had barely reached the final staircase when she was met with the crowd of voices floating from the Hall. Dorcas sighed within herself, debated for a moment, and then turned on her heel, heading the opposite direction. On this particular morning, despite the festivities, she didn't quite feel like being social at the moment, and she decided that she would rather open her presents in peace. She allowed her mind to dwell on this thought until she reached the doors of the library and quietly let herself in.
While the door was resoundingly unlocked, Madame Pince was nowhere to be found, and Dorcas helped herself to a corner table near a window. She piled her gifts neatly on the surface, and then, one by one, she began to unwrap them.
From her parents she received three packages: One of new parchment, one of a new quill and colored ink, and the third with Forty-Two Failed Approaches to Modern Wizardry and How to Avoid Making the Same Perilous Mistakes.
Marlene's package contained a large box of chocolate frogs, which Dorcas wasted no time in opening.
Lily's held its own set of colored ink and a beige notebook that Dorcas thumbed through with care.
Finally looking down at her small pile of gifts, Dorcas grinned and sighed in contentment. Her parents had been concerned that their winter holiday would upset Dorcas, that she would feel left out of the celebration and homesick. Dorcas had assured them that she wouldn't. She had told them that school was full of celebrations during the Christmas season, and that she was sure she would find herself in the middle of all of them.
She hadn't had the heart to tell them that she had been waiting for such a moment for her entire life.
It wasn't that she didn't love her family or her dorm mates. She truly did. But as the days grew grim with more and more dark wizards surfacing and with so many editions of the Prophet needing extra pages to cover the latest tragedies, Dorcas was ready to just have some time to herself. She had figured out just a few weeks earlier that she didn't really want to talk about the imminent war. At the moment, she didn't want to think of solutions or ways to fight back. Today, Dorcas wanted to celebrate her Christmas holiday in the corner of the library, overlooking the snow, eating chocolate frogs, and finding the most obscure leisure read that the school had to offer.
So she opened up her new parchment and quill, penned a group of thank yous to her loved ones, and tucked them aside for the afternoon's post. She wandered around the library at random, picking brightly colored books from the shelf and stacking them on her tabletop. When she had a suitable collection, she sat in front of it and flipped through each one until she found a batch of profanity, and when she had, she gathered it up with her box of frogs and moved to the nearest lounge chair and began to read.
Dorcas lost track of how long she spent folded up inside the chair, reading about Viking Trolls that had stormed the walls of some fictional kingdom. All she knew was that when she heard the library door swing open, the sunlight had lessened and her eyes were dry.
"Thought I'd find you in here," a voice chuckled.
Dorcas pulled herself to an upright position and settled the book onto the floor.
"Sorry," she offered as Remus came to settle himself at the foot of the chair. Dorcas nodded to the box of candy, which he readily helped himself to. "There were too many people downstairs."
"I don't blame you there." Remus smiled and leaned back against the end table. "Professor Slughorn is already on his fourth ale. He's telling quite the story, but he hasn't realized that he's already told it twice."
The two shared a laugh before settling into silence. After a moment, Remus lifted Dorcas' discarded book from the floor and opened it. Without another word, he began to read.
Dorcas closed her eyes as Remus' voice drifted over the library. Snow had begun to fall once more outside of the window, and carols were being sung by some first years out on the grounds. Professor Dumbledore was settled back into his seat in the Great Hall as he watched the ornamented tree and snacked on the House Elves' newest treat. The owlery was silent as its residents flew across the grounds, delivering gifts and loving notes. Professor McGonagall sat in the Professor's Lounge with Professors Flitwick and Sprout as they shared tales of Christmas past over cider. And Dorcas and Remus sat shoulder to shoulder in the dimming library as trolls conquered the second kingdom wall. In that moment, Dorcas realized, the world was as small as this day. There was no forthcoming war, no bleak future, and no unforgivable curses to fear.
In that moment, it was just a girl and a boy reading a story on Christmas Day.