Chapter Eleven

Christmas

Christmas was coming. One morning in mid-December, Hogwarts woke up to find itself covered in several feet of snow. The lake was frozen solid, and I learned the Fred and George were in trouble for bewitching several snowballs so that they followed Quirrell around, bouncing off the back of his turban. There were a few owls that managed to battle their way through the stormy sky to deliver mail, and had to be nursed back to health by Hagrid before they could fly again.

We were all excited for the holidays to start, the Great Hall had roaring fires. While my own room had no fires, it was kept pleasantly warm. The corridors were drafty and became icy and bitter wind rattled the windows in the classroom. Probably the worse times were down in the dungeons. Our breath rose in a mist as we all kept as close a safely as possible to the cauldrons. Since the first potions class, Professor Snape hadn't paired me up with anyone and honestly that was fine with me.

"I do feel sorry," said Draco. "For all those people who have to stay at Hogwarts for Christmas because they're not wanted at home."

He was looking over at Harry, and Crabbe and Goyle chuckled. Harry, who had been measuring our powdered spine of lion fish, ignored them. And although the jab was directed at Harry, it still hurt a little. Hogwarts was more of a home to me than where I had been, but I wouldn't know the feeling of a family at Christmas. Not until a new guardian was assigned to me, and that likely would take a while. Any form of government, magical or not, foster care and placement took a long time.

But I wouldn't be the only one staying at Hogwarts for holidays. Professor McGonagall had come around the week before, making a list of students who would be staying. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were going to Romania to visit Charlie, he studied dragons.

It was the end of potions and we found a large fir tree blocking the corridor ahead. Two enormous feet sticking out of the bottom and a loud puffing sound told us it was Hagrid behind it.

"Hello Hagrid," I said cheerfully.

"Want any help?" Ron asked.

"Nah, I'm all right, thanks Ron."

"Would you mind moving out of the way?" came Malfoy's cold drawl from behind us.

I glared at the blonde.

"I thought aristocrats taught manners to their children, maybe not all of them." I hissed.

Malfoy's eyes flashed angrily at me, as he stepped closer, he was taller than I was so I had to look up at him to hold eye contact.

"Careful Evans," he warned.

Crabbe and Goyle stood on either side of him threateningly. Harry gently grabbed my arm and pulled me back. Malfoy rounded his attention on Ron again.

"Are you trying to earn some extra money, Weasley? Hoping to be games keeper yourself when you leave Hogwarts, I suppose – that hut of Hagrid's must seem like a palace compared to what your family's used to."

I felt my mouth drop open in shock, Ron recovered quicker and dove at Malfoy.

"WEASLEY!"

Snape had just come up the stairs, Ron let go of the front of Malfoy's robes.

"He was provoked, Professor Snape," Said Hagrid, sticking his huge hairy face from out behind the tree. "Malfoy was insultin' his family."

"Be that as it may, fighting is against Hogwarts rules, Hagrid." Said Snape silkily. "Five points from Gryffindor, Weasley, and be grateful that it isn't more. Move along, all of you."

Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle pushed roughly past the tree, scattering needles everywhere and smirking.

"Except for you Ms. Evans, please see me in my office."

With a swirl of his cloak he returned to the dungeons.

"And what did you do?" Ron asked looking pale.

I shook my head.

"Search me, maybe he wants to discuss one of the assignments I turned in." I said shrugging and turning back down to the dungeons.

"Good Luck!" Ron called.

I waved back to let him know I heard him, and continued down to Professor Snape's office, whom door was ajar, awaiting my arrival. I had never been IN his office, but we all knew where it was. It was gloomy and dimly lit. The shadowy walls were lined with shelves of large glass jars filled with slimy, revolting things, such as bits of animals and plants floating in potions of various colors. There was a fire in the fireplace allowing some heat in the chilly room. In the corner there was a cupboard revealing various sized potions bottles, I assumed it was his private stock of ingredients. On the wall was a door, currently closed, but I would venture to guess it was his own living quarters. Between the door and in the middle of the room was a round table with one or two squishy chairs. Snape occupied the one with his back to his living quarters a. He looked at me for several moments before gesturing to the empty chair across from him. Nervously I occupied the chair.

"It has come to my attention that you've been tutoring other students, on top of your own studies and extra credit. Why?" He asked softly.

Although he sounded calm, I could hear suspicion underlying.

"They are helping me with History of Magic," I said sheepishly.

His face went blank in surprise, not expecting my answer, it then became smooth and unreadable.

"You're having difficulty in that subject?" he asked.

I nodded.

"Fred and George have good marks, they offered a trade. They would tutor me in History of Magic and in exchange I would help with potions."

"They are third years,"

"We were starting off slow, we're only doing first year work."

"And when you completed that? Going into more advanced brewing is dangerous on your own." He stated.

I nodded.

"We were going to approach you when we got closer to the end."

He didn't say anything for several moments, the only sound was the crackling from the fire. And like the fire, my anxiety rose.

"They have improved,"

Blinking in surprise I looked at the dark haired potions master.

"Their potions, although not 100% correct have improved since their prior attempts. Your tutoring has proven effective." He said.

I felt warmth from the praise. Especially since Snape didn't hand it out too often, even to Slytherin.

"But, I don't want you to burn yourself out from too much work. No more extra credit from me, provide me weekly reports on their progress and hand it in next class. That will be sufficient for extra credit from me."

I smiled gratefully and nodded.

"If anyone can help prevent them from burning a hole in my floor, or exploding potions everywhere, it's you. Please do not make me regret my decision."

"You won't, I promise." I vowed.

He nodded.

"Don't overwork yourself, have a good evening Ms. Evans."

Nodding and thanking the potions master, I exited the dungeons and made my way back up to the castle with hope in my heart.

Once the holidays started the castle became very, very, quiet. It was almost like the summer vacation with the occasional friendly face. Unfortunately, Mr. Filch was still on campus with Mrs. Norris, so there still wasn't much rule breaking. I had finished all my winter holiday assigned homework within two to three days in.

Most days I was found in my reading nook in the library with hot cocoa and Nox on my lap. Other days I was hanging out with Fred and George. I introduced them into some Muggle inventions like Monopoly, checkers, and mancala and they taught me about Wizard Chess, Chocolate Frog's and collecting their cards, and more about Quidditch.

On Christmas Eve I went to bed looking forward to the food from the feast and the fun with the boys. Growing up in the Green household I hadn't gotten any presents since before Felix showed magical signs.

Imagine to my complete surprise when my room bursting into, "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" and two red hair boys jumping up and down on my bed. Grinning and laughing at their antics I caught both boys so that they fell on the bed beside me. Both of them squished me into a hug between the two. The boys were give the verbal password to my room for when I got held up in class or instances like this. Although if we're honest we've had sleepovers on the weekends when the boys didn't have Quidditch practice and we'd do our homework and stay up all hours of the night. Most nights were discussing prank ideas or gossiping.

Once the boys settled down I noticed they were both wearing sweaters over their pajamas. Both were handmade and a very pretty royal blue. Fred's had a gold 'F' stitched to the front and a 'G' for George on his.

"Nice sweaters," I commented, touching both.

"Mom knits us one every year."

"Looks like you may have gotten one too," Fred said nodding to the corner of the room..

Sitting up I noticed all the presents on the floor among the cushiony chairs at my beside. I saw them and my eyes got misty with tears.

"Aw hey, no one is supposed to cry on Christmas!" George chided.

I shook my head.

"They're happy tears," I said trying to wipe them away.

I saw the pair of confused looks on their faces.

"I've not gotten presents since I was six or seven." I admitted sheepishly.

The twins then broke out into broad grins.

"Well then, we're going to make your Christmases,"

"And birthdays,"

"Or any other holidays…"

"Amazing." The said simultaneously.

The boys then began handing me presents for me to open. The first one I opened was from Hagrid. Inside was a wooden figurine of Nox, hand whittled from what I could tell and the eyes were beautifully polished stones. It was gorgeous and I'd have to send him something as a thank you. From Harry – he sent me an assortment of magical and muggle treats.

"We helped with this one, but some of these we've never seen." Fred explained holding up a box of Thin Mints.

I laughed.

"Some of these are Muggle sweet. I'll have to introduce you to some,"

From Hermione, she got me a large box of chocolate frogs and a leather bound journal. The next was a lumpy parcel.

"This is from mum," George explained.

I looked at the twins curiously.

"She gets regular reports from Snape since our marks were so dreadful." Fred added.

"So when our grade improved she want to know how," George continued.

"So we MAY have mentioned you once or twice in our letter," Fred said grinning.

Blushing, I opened the parcel. It revealed a powder blue soft sweater, with a gold 'H' on the front. It was soft to the touch but definitely keep me warm.

"It's so pretty," I said holding it up.

"Mom was pretty excited, she did a fantastic job."

"Excited for me or your grades?" I asked mischievously.

The boys shrugged.

"Both."

I laughed and shook my head. Ron gifted me a box of Bertie Bots Every Flavor Beans. I noticed had overlooked a bag of fudge that Mrs. Weasley made, and I shared some with the twins. I dug into a small parcel.

"Who's that from?" George asked.

I looked around the package but there was no name listed.

"It doesn't have a name,"

Upon opening it was a simple but very pretty present. It fit in the palm of my hand, made of glass. It was a magnolia blossom, tinted in pink and golds. It was almost as if someone had taken a magnolia flower and dipped it into glass to preserve it.

"That's pretty," the boys said.

"It's from Felix," I said quietly looking at the flower in my hand.

"How do you know?"

"A feeling, our mom's name was Magnolia, the flower always has been sentimental for me."

We were all quiet for a moment.

"I wonder how he knew you were here,"

I put the figure on the bedside table, I began to search for a note.

"No note,"

"Maybe he didn't know what to write,"

Part of me was sad there wasn't a note, but I knew without a doubt this was from Felix. The next two parcels were from Fred and George. They insisted on me opening the long thin package first. It was a simple bracelet with silver links. The second parcel was a small chocolate frog charm. It was very detailed and its eyes were red jewels. I always knew they were tight on money and I knew this must have set them back a bit. They knew chocolate frogs were my favorite magical treat. I hugged the boys close.

"Thank you, I love it!"

They smiled and I handed them two packages I had intended to give them. I got them both a new hat and pair of gloves in Gryffindor colors of course. And each of them both got a different book on magical jinx and counter-curses.

"I figured you may be able to use those in your pranks. Most of them are relatively harmless." I said quietly blushing.

Their faces broke up into mega-watt smiled and they both pulled me into a bone-crushing hug. The final parcel was a letter from Albert Green my father. It was rather thick and honestly I didn't want to open it. The boys could tell, and promptly snatched it away.

"Shall we burn it?"

The idea was rather tempting, but I shook my head.

"I'll read it later, I don't want to kill my feel-good buzz."

The twins grumbled but put the letter on my desk.

"Shall we go wake up brother dearest?" Fred asked.

"Yes we shall,"

"Hang on I'll go with,"

Bounding from my spot between the boys, I grabbed my sweater and shucked on a pair on pajama pants beneath my comforter. My pajama bottoms were grey yoga loose pants and my tank top was gold and I pulled the sweater over top. I wrangled my hair into a messy bun and clambered onto Fred's back.

"Comfortable?" George snickered.

I nodded.

"Quite thank you," I said snuggling up to Fred's back.

I felt Fred chuck and looped his arms around the crook of my legs securing my spot on his back. I slipped on fuzzy slippers and we tracked off down to the Gryffindor Common Room. Christmas dinner was without a doubt, amazing. A hundred fat, roast turkeys, mountains of boiled and roasted potatoes; plates of chipolatas, silver boats of thick rich gravy and cranberry sauce – and stacks of wizard crackers every few feet along the table. Up at the High Table, Professor Dumbledore had swapped his wizards hat for a flowered bonnet, and was laughing at a joke Professor Flitwick had just read to him.

Flaming Christmas puddings followed the turkey. Percy nearly broke his teeth on the silver sickle that was embedded in his. I watched from my spot as Hagrid got redder and redder in the face as he called for more wine, finally kissing Professor McGonagall on the cheek, who giggled and blushed, her top hat lopsided. When I finally left the table, I had a bunch of things I had gotten out of the wizard crackers, including a wizard's chess set.

That afternoon I spent with Harry and the Weasley's having a glorious snowball fight. Cold, wet, and gasping for breath I returned to my room for a quick shower and a change of clothes before returning to the Common Room. I sat on the couch between Fred and George as we watched Harry and Ron play wizard's chess. Harry lost, but maybe not if Percy hadn't tried to 'help' so much.

The last event of the evening was watching Percy chase Fred and George around the Gryffindor Tower, because they stole his prefect badge. However as I actually laid down into sleep I found my mind drifting to the package I was sent from Albert. Sitting up from my bed I could see the letter sitting on my desk. Part of me wished I had let the twins burn it, I really didn't want to open it. Sighing I dragged my butt out of bed and sat at my desk. Even looking upon the sent to address the angry handwriting left indents on the paper. Without even opening the letter it set a sour taste in my mouth. Setting the letter down, I pushed myself back from it, part of me was scared to open it. I knew Albert, and if the heavy-handedness of the front of the letter was anything to go by, he was angry. VERY angry. Chickening out I returned to my bed and pulled the comforter over my head, ignoring even the sight of the letter. I would deal with it in the morning.

We had the following next few days off for Christmas and New Year Holiday, and I found myself sitting across from Professor McGonagall in her office. The letter sat on her desk between us. She frowned at the sight of it.

"You were right to bring this to me, Ms. Evans." She began.

She looked me over and saw concern in her eyes.

"Are you feeling well?"

I shook my head and my stomach churned.

"I don't need to open it to know he was angry when it was written,"

She pursed her lips and looked at me.

"Would you like to read it?"

I hesitated.

"I'm not sure. Part of me wished I let Fred and George burn it. The other part doesn't want to be anywhere near it."

I saw her eyebrows raise at the mention of the twins.

"You are conflicted,"

I nodded.

"If you prefer we can keep the letter in your file and you may read it at another time,"

I thought that over, mentally right now I wasn't ready to ready whatever foul words or expletives he wrote to me. Slowly I nodded.

"Very well, we shall keep this save until you are ready,"

With a flick of her wand the letter disappeared without a trace. I felt a weight being lifted. Perhaps I was being cowardly, but I wasn't ready to tackle that yet.