Chapter 14

A Christmas Party

The school was soon piling up with snow, as the winter season swiftly approached, and another month went by. November had proved to be much more enjoyable, for Frankie at least. She no longer had childish magical pranks being pulled her every other day. Although, Tom was particularly vague about it in his letter, she'd figured out their intentions for herself and knew she ought to stay away from them now. Well, technically, Peter Vogel had told her the day after Halloween why they despised her and promptly walked away. It had been their first and only conversation, but at least someone had given her a warning. Later, when she tried to talk to Tom about it, he acted completely oblivious to the fact he had three girls already so ridiculously enamored with him that they would do such horrible things. He simply told her not to worry and that he was 'dealing with it'. As someone who knows far too well of what Tom Riddle is capable of, Frankie had to make him feverously promise he wouldn't retaliate, and he was forced to comply. However, angry glares and harsh comments were thankfully enough to keep them at bay, for now.

It was the night before winter vacation and the castle was preparing itself for the joyful holidays ahead. After a giant feast, most students rushed back to their dorms to pack their bags and journey home to see their families. However, if you didn't have a family and weren't particularly hungry that evening, you'd be like Frankie. She was sitting in the warm glow of the lamp light, reading, A Guide to Medieval Sorcery, long before the rest of her house returned. Eventually, the other four girls sifted in to start vigorously packing for the trip back home.

"Do you mind giving this back to Quin? Daphne inquired. She had appeared at Frankie's side holding a telescope that she'd almost packed away. "He let me borrow this last week after Lyra shattered mine."

"Alright. Do you know where I might find him?" Frankie had only been at supper for a short while, but she had not seen Quin while she was there. It wouldn't have concerned her, but it had been the same story for weeks now. She'd asked him about it several times and he always laughed far too loudly and claimed he'd been sitting at the other end of the table.

"I think I saw him going into Slughorn's class earlier. I wouldn't be surprised if he was being forced to take some remedial lessons before the break." Daphne explained, with a slight scoff, as she threw a few garments into her rucksack.

"Honestly, after all the help Tom and I have given him." Frankie sighed, shutting the book and tossing it aside. She searched under her bed, until she found her Potions textbook and started to search it for helpful hints that she could give Quin before he left for the vacation.

Everyone's things were eventually packed in smaller traveling bags for the couple weeks of Christmas break they were given, except Frankie's things. All her roommates were going home to their families, but she and Tom, having no families to return too, had agreed they'd rather stay here then go back to the orphanage for Christmas.

"Why do you all have to leave?" Frankie groaned, as she took a brief pause from the book.

"I'd stay if I could, but my parents want me to come home." Daphne replied. The other girls nodded in agreement. Although, Frankie knew that it was just an excuse to make her feel better. In reality, they actually missed their parents and wanted to return home. They would get to sleep in their own rooms and eat home-cooked meals. This was their first time away from mom and dad, surely, they all felt a little homesick by now.

"I know. It can't be helped..." she sighed. Frankie didn't like feeling like this. She wanted to be happy for them, but the whole thing highlighted the fact she had no one out there. There was no one eagerly waiting to hear all her day-to-day stories about the school and new friends. "I just really wanted to spend Christmas with all of you."

"Well, at least it's on Sunday…" Daphne smiled, giving her a wink. Frankie looked at her confused for a moment before getting what Daphne was referring too. Naturally, Sunday walks couldn't be kept a secret from the other girls. "I hope it snows for you two."

"Oh, it's not like snow is uncommon. It's practically been snowing all month." Frankie claimed, with slight redness on her cheeks. It was true. It was even snowing as they spoke. It's not like it would be some special thing if it were snowing on Christmas, like it was often thought. She soon got tired of pretending to read and ignore the obvious insinuations. She decided to just go down to the common room to see if any of the boys were down there procrastinating on packing. The odds were in her favor that they would be. She grabbed Quin's telescope and rushed for the door.

"Good evening, Frankie. Doing a little stargazing?"

A voice greeted her from the couch, as she walked down the last few steps. It was Castor, surprisingly enough. It was rather odd for him to recognize her presence. The two weren't necessarily friends. However, they weren't complete enemies either. Ever since Halloween, he was strangely polite to her, going against the rumors he was a pompous ass to everyone. Sometimes he reminded her of Tom. They were very alike in manor and appearance. Perhaps, that was what didn't make her is friend. He wasn't allowed to be mean to her. Frankie already had enough people to tease her for the rest of her days. What else would he have to do with her, if he not be the cruel twat in her life? So, they merely just spoke as civilized colleagues and fellow Gryffindors.

"No, I just needed to return this to Quin. Have you seen him?" Frankie smiled, acknowledging his polite greeting.

"I was just upstairs, and I didn't see him. Monty is also missing. It's almost past curfew, they should be here by now." he answered. Just then, the portrait hole slid open and Quin and Monty stumbled through, both looked quite pleased with themselves. Monty hugged a long, old cloak in his arms, while Quin had a few Fizzing Whizzbees in his.

"Quin! Monty! Where have you been?" Frankie inquired, like a stern mother about to give them hell. They both jumped, unaware of her presence before that moment. They stared at her and Castor over by the couch and then back at each other.

"None of your business, that's where." Quin answered, quickly.

"I was only wondering because Daphne said she saw you going to Slughorn's class." she frowned, taken aback a bit by his rudeness. He wasn't usually this mean to her.

"I did! I went for help—and then I found Monty on his way back from the library." he explained, still being quick and jumpy.

"Alright. You could've just said so in the first place." Frankie answered, as she turned to leave up the girl's dormitory steps. She had the slightest feeling he was lying to her, considering the literal armful of evidence. But she decided not to question it. Frankie shoved the telescope into his arms and some of the Fizzing Whizzbees fell to the floor with the impact. Completely forgetting her motive for coming down, she turned back for the stairs, "I'm off to bed, then. I'll see you all after the holiday."

Frankie woke up the next morning to a harsh glare of blinding white light and a room full of empty beds. It was only eight-thirty, but the Gryffindors were already gone. She sat on her bed and pondered what she could do with her solitary time. There wasn't really much she could do but practice a few spells and possibly read a book or two. Then, suddenly, she realized there was breakfast still going on. She leaped out of bed and got her dressed in her uniform. Frankie found Tom waiting in front of the Great Hall and they sat together at Gryffindor table, since they didn't have to stay in house tables and Tom preferred that she not sit at Slytherin table.

"Thank goodness Lyra is gone. She'd be exploding with rage if she saw us sitting together." Frankie laughed, jokingly. However, it was anything but a joke. Knowing Lyra, she'd quite literally be exploding with rage over at Slytherin table right now. However, thankfully, she and the rest of the Slytherins went home for vacation as well.

"I'd like to see her explode with rage. It sounds like quality entertainment." Tom smirked, as he probably imagined her head being blown to pieces.

"It sounds scary to me." she gulped.

"Of course, it'd be scary for you. She wants to kill you," he responded, frankly. He was speaking quite literally, actually. The trio all wanted to kill her. They thought as Frankie as a threat, for some idiotic reason. What exactly she was threatening, Tom liked to pretend he didn't know. "If her head explodes, she'll make sure you're standing right next to her."

"I don't see why she's become so taken with you. You don't really talk at all." Frankie stated, suddenly, as she slowly munched on her daily morning toast. She was clearly unaware of all the other girls in school who seemed to take some kind of a liking to him. It would seem he was far more popular here than he had ever been at the orphanage. Marie Clearwater often would try to talk to him on his way to Transfiguration even though she was supposed to be on her way to History of Magic. Rosalind Tidwell had already tried asking him on a study date in the library. Naturally, like Lyra and the rest of the trio, he saw all their motives immediately. All the girls here seemed to find his cold manor charming and, considering they had magic as well, the whole 'cursing' thing wasn't a problem. It was a rather irritating situation for him. Tom didn't care about love and he didn't want any sort of romance with any of the girls here. All he came here to do was perfect his magic and make something of himself in this world. Love was just an unwanted distraction.

"Girls are stupid." Tom remarked, in all seriousness. He had forgotten, until he had actually said it, but he was actually talking to a girl that very moment. The only girl he somewhat enjoyed talking to, since she didn't have a motive with him other than being his friend.

"I'm a girl, you know." she added, with a hint of sarcasm.

"But you're different. You aren't like those girls." he replied back. She half-smiled at him, probably feeling a little bit better about the comment now that she knew it didn't include her.

Suddenly, from out of nowhere, an older boy with shaggy brown-blonde hair and different colored eyes wrapped one of his arms around Frankie's neck. Tom quickly stood up, with a slightly panicked expression upon seeing Frankie locked in a headlock. The boy took his other arm that was not holding her head in place and made a fist. Tom was about to stop him; however, the boy merely rubbed his fist into her hair, reducing it to a curly, tangled fuzz ball.

"Day! Let go of me!" Frankie yelled, trying to break free from his grip.

"Hello, squirt and—who is that?" the boy she had referred to as 'Day' asked her.

"This is my friend Tom Riddle." Tom gave a small wave out of respect, but the boy just stared at him, blankly.

"Since when have you been friends with a Slytherin boy, squirt?" the boy inquired, turning his attention back to Frankie. "You'll start a riot, if they see you fraternizing with the enemy, ya' know—"

"We've been friends since before school started." Tom answered for her. He glared at this strange boy. Who did he think he was? He acted like Monty, like he'd known Frankie forever. He was putting his arms around her and giving her a ridiculous nickname. Why Tom had known her for two years and hadn't barely touched her, let alone call her something else besides 'Frankie', or sometimes the occasional 'idiot' if you could call that a nickname. "Who are you?"

"I'm Rodger Day, this girl's Prefect and mentor." he replied, finally deciding to introduce himself.

"What? When have you ever mentored me in anything?" Frankie argued. It was an absurd lie. Rodger was possibly the worst possible Prefect let alone 'mentor'. He had barely told her where the girl's lavatory was let alone teach her anything. She had to go to Alice for pretty much any questions she had.

"I mentor you all the time."

"You liar!"

"I'd better be going back to my common room now." Tom stated, standing up to leave. He was feeling more and more out of place by the second and Rodger Day was starting to give him a bit of a headache.

"I'll see you tomorrow though, right?" Frankie inquired, hastily.

"Of course, you'll see me. Tomorrow is Sunday after all." he answered back, with what almost looked like a miniscule smile. She waved goodbye and he left for the Slytherin dorms.

"Oh look what you've done, Day! You scared him away. " Frankie shouted as soon as Tom had exited out of the Great Hall doors.

"I didn't do anything." Rodger claimed. Though it was obvious Tom left because of Rodger. He definitely would have stayed if the prefect had not shown up.

"I can't believe I'm stuck here with you all Christmas vacation." she groaned.

"Lucky you," Rodger grinned, charismatically. Suddenly, a third-year girl sitting behind them at the Hufflepuff table dropped one of her textbooks while she was getting up and the buckle that was on it slipped off. It started growling and chomping its newly free jaws, as the girl shrieked and jumped up onto the bench. "My parents wanted me to go home and see my _. But I'd rather stay here at school with you then see that girl."

"Your what?" Frankie asked. She was unable to hear him over the screams of panic and more people hopping up on the table benches, so the book didn't bite their legs off.

"It's nothing, squirt. Don't worry your pretty little head about it." Rodger replied, suddenly standing up on the bench as well. He picked her up along with him, to make sure she was safe, and when the book came around, he leaped on top of it. Rodger gestured for the Hufflepuff girl to hand him the buckle as he wrestled to keep it shut, and she got up off the bench, retrieved the buckle from the floor and handed it to him, quickly. There was a mild applause as he buckled it and handed it back to her. Rodger gave Frankie one of his goofiest grins and lifted her up off the bench. "Come along, then! We should head back to our common room too."

The next morning was Christmas at last. Frankie had woken up extra early and went down to the common room immediately. She sat next to the lush, sweet smelling tree and stared at the glittering lights and the brightly wrapped gifts. She'd brought all the gifts she received at the foot of her bed down to open them authentically. No one else was there though. Frankie heard footsteps coming from the girl's dorms and turned excitedly around to see who regardless to the fact she knew no one out of her year. It turned out to be a slightly older girl, most likely a second year. However, the way she carried herself she might as well have been fifty, with her dark black hair wrapped up into a tight bun and straight posture. Her bright forest green eyes noticed Frankie sitting on the ground alone.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know there was anyone down here this early. I thought all the first years went back home." she apologized. The girl started to walk back up the stairs, when she noticed Frankie's rather grim expression on what was supposed to be a very joyful day. "Is there something wrong?"

"Everyone in my year has gone back home for Christmas. I'm alone."

"Even though no one in your year is gone, it doesn't mean you're the only one here." the girl barked, a bit more strictly then she should have. Yet, Frankie still smiled and nodded. The girl was right. Soon the rest of the Gryffindors that stayed behind would be down, not to mention she still had Tom standing by, waiting to spend the rest of the day with her. She was just being selfish. She was not actually alone. "I'm here."

"You're right." Frankie beamed, holding out her hand. "My name is Frankie Dickson. I'm a first year."

"I am Minerva McGonagall and I'm in the second-year class. It's a pleasure to meet you." she answered, taking Frankie's hand and shaking it. They heard footsteps coming from the boy's stairs. Frankie prayed to god that it wouldn't be Rodger Day. She just met someone new and was finally feeling better about the holiday. Thankfully it was the tall, blonde, lanky boy she knew from her year, Ethan Hawkins.

"Ethan! Merry Christmas!" Frankie shouted, waving at him from the other side of the tree. She felt bad. She had completely forgotten about him. He would've gone back to home with Daphne, Monty and Quin, but his parents had disappeared again.

Most kids would've been a panicked mess, if they'd gotten the notice their parents had vanished. However, Ethan was quite used to it. His parents were part of a special task force of Ministry wizards who went back in time to fix time anomalies and persecute the witch or wizard responsible. They were given special Time Turners that would instantly send them back if a wizard started a time anomaly. Sometimes they were around and sometimes they weren't. They had absolutely no control. He must've gotten the notice they'd gone off again and decided to stick around school for the holidays.

"Merry Christmas to you too, Frankie!" Ethan smiled, waving back at her. "Are we the only ones here?"

"It appears that way for now. I know Rodger will be down soon, though." Frankie reported, getting up and pulling him over to Minerva by the tree.

They began chatting and having Christmas festivities at once. Minerva told them some of the things they were currently teaching in the second-year classes. Soon they sat down to open their presents. Frankie opened all her presents from her friends in Gryffindor. She had thought she had opened them all, but in another search, she found there was a tiny box hiding in at the bottom. Frankie opened the box to find a little bottle filled with a pale blue liquid and a label that read,

"Drink me."

She stared at it in curiosity. It didn't say anything else. No further explanations or instructions, just to drink it. The bottle reminded her of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Curiously, she tipped back the tiny bottle and drained the entire contents. It tasted horrendous, like most potions did and, before she even had time to regret her decision, the effects of the potion began. Suddenly, her back felt hot, and she saw Minerva an Ethan duck out of the way as if something had almost hit them. Frankie saw feathers on the ground around her. She had grown huge wings like a snowy owl.

"Wow…" she gaped, in shock and awe. Weirdly, she wasn't frightened or freaking out about fact that suddenly she was a bird mutant, nor was she really grasping the fact she now had wings. She flapped the wings almost hitting Ethan and Minerva again.

"Frankie, are you alright?" Minerva asked, trying to speak without almost getting smacked. Frankie nodded silently, but it was clear her mind was busy forming other ideas. Then, suddenly, she made a break for the girl's dormitory stairs. Minerva quickly caught her train of thought and ran after her, pulling Ethan along with her, thinking she could use the anti-boy spell to her advantage. Although, the stairs transformed, they did not bring Frankie down with them. She continued walking, using the wings as support against the walls, since the passage was not big enough for them to fly. If they could fly. That's what Frankie wanted to know. When Minerva finally reached the first-year girl's room, Frankie was already standing on the sill of the open window.

"Don't you dare!" Minerva yelled. She was only a year older, but her authority was on par with a good Prefect. Frankie almost listened to her. However, she was too late.

Frankie jumped from the window, like she was dainty paper crane, and, just like one of her cranes, she was flying off to see a certain Slytherin.