AN: Welcome back everyone! I decided, with the plans that I have for the next chapter, that I would publish this one separate! Everyone needs a bit of Holiday cheer before I crush their souls with plot, right?
Now then, SHOUT OUT TIME!
Shout Outs go to: Divergentprincess, girostritron, and ForeverTeamEdward13! Thank you all so much for reviewing! You all get Skiving Snack Boxes!
Reply time:
Divergentprincess: I'd never abandon it! Arden would kill me in my sleep if I did! It might end up having to go on hiatus every now and again because school does take priority for me (I'm in college, so I need to pass my classes…), but I'll come back again and again until it's finished! I promise!
girostriton: Thanks, Merlin is definitely one of my favorite completed shows! I hated how they ended it, and I hope it gets a sequel some time in the future (but it probably won't...)
ForeverTeamEdward13: Here's that update you asked for!
So, let's get on with the chapter!
December brought with it drafty, icy corridors, bitter winds that rattled the large windows in Ravenclaw Tower, and the rest of the castle, during the day. They often distracted everyone to the point of taking to studying and performing experiments in the Great Hall. Needless to say, everyone bundled up in several layers when walking anywhere but in their respective houses. Arden and the Weasleys (well, everyone except for Percy), were glad for Molly Weasley's annual Christmas sweaters. They kept them warm and cozy between classes, and in Snape's meat-locker of a dungeon, where their breath rose in a mist before them and they kept as close as possible to their hot cauldrons.
"Ah, Hagrid, the last tree - put it in the far corner, would you?" McGonagall requested, focusing on charming the wreaths to be in just the right pattern.
The Great Hall looked spectacular. Festoons of holly and mistletoe hung all around the walls, and no less than twelve towering Christmas trees stood around the room, some sparkling with tiny icicles, some glittering with hundreds of candles.
"How many days you got left until yer holidays?" Hagrid asked, walking to the designated corner with the tree; the Golden Trio tailing behind him.
"Just one," said Hermione, "And that reminds me – Harry, Ron, we've got half an hour before lunch, we should be in the library."
"Oh yeah, you're right," said Ron, tearing his eyes away from Professor Flitwick, who had golden bubbles blossoming out of his wand and was trailing them over the branches of the new tree.
"The library?" said Hagrid, following them out of the hall, "Just before the holidays? Bit keen, aren't yeh?"
"Oh, we're not working," Harry informed the half-giant smugly, "Ever since you mentioned Nicolas Flamel we've been trying to find out who he is."
"You what?" Hagrid looked shocked, "Listen here – I've told yeh – drop it. It's nothin' to you what that dog's guardin'."
"We just want to know who Nicolas Flamel is, that's all," said Hermione.
"Unless you'd like to tell us and save us the trouble?" Harry added, "We must've been through hundreds of books already and we can't find him anywhere – just give us a hint – I know I've read his name somewhere."
"I'm sayin' nothin," said Hagrid flatly.
"Just have to find out for ourselves, then," said Ron, and they left a disgruntled Hagrid and hurried off to the library.
Upon their arrival, Hermione took out a list of subjects and titles she had decided to search while Ron strode off down a row of books and started pulling them off the shelves at random. Harry wandered over to the Restricted Section.
Arden, having left the rattling Ravenclaw Tower, was sitting in the armchair closest to the crackling fireplace whilst working on her Ancient Runes essay. She was to translate and analyze a passage from the early 20th century B.C. relating to some form of early charms work. She had four books open next to her parchment for reference, and an extra two in her bag just in case (one of which might have been a retelling of Sonnets of a Sorcerer; not cursed in the least, and simply analyzed and informed of everything discussed in the book's cursed pages. Dumbledore gave it to her as an early Hanukkah present).
Hermione, clutching her list of books in her hand, saw the third year brunette and stopped in her path. Surely Arden would know something having to do with Nicholas Flamel! She'd likely read through half the library by now! Determined to find out exactly who this Flamel character was, Hermione strode up to the Ravenclaw.
"Afternoon, Arden!" Hermione greeted, standing off to the side of the coffee table Arden had chose to take over.
Arden jumped a bit, being so focused that she simply ignored everything around her and achieved tunnel vision. "Merlin's beard, Hermione, you almost gave me a heart attack!" Arden accused, placing her quill down and facing the first-year.
"Sorry for bothering you, but I need to ask you something," Hermione shifted her weight from one foot to the other, looking nervous. But, Arden knew better.
"What do you need?" She decided to play along and see where this went.
"Do you know of a Nicholas Flamel?"
Ah, so Hagrid spilled the beans, Arden mused. She knew that her Grandpa Albus was good friends with Mr. Flamel, he mentioned the centuries old alchemist and his wife on a multitude of occasions throughout her childhood. So, it was only logical to assume that Hagrid knew as well. "Yes I do, what do you need to know about him?"
The Gryffindor grinned, practically vibrating in excitement, "Who is he, and why does he sound so familiar?" Hermione inquired, "I know I've read something about him somewhere!"
Arden smiled, knowing exactly where and what Hermione read. "I won't tell you everything, but I will tell you where to look."
Hermione's excited expression fell to one of frustration and disappointment, "Why not just tell me?"
"Because then you won't get that amazing feeling of self-satisfaction and excitement when you do finally find your answer," the older witch answered easily. "Now, you'll want to look-"
A few days later, Fred, George, and Arden had just, successfully, pulled off their final prank of the semester. They had caused Madam Pince to go mute for the next several hours. Arden and the twins had come up with a candy that caused the consumer to go silent. After consumption, the effects are gradual, but cause the person to completely lose their voice within a period of one hour. Following the success of testing it out on the twins, they had decided to try it out on the shrillest member of the staff. Madam Pince was, more often than not, the loudest person in the library. Arden and the twins brought her the candy as an "early Christmas present". She immediately consumed it, much to their delight, and they ran for it before she could notice the effects.
Out of breath from sprinting across the castle, Arden made it to the bronze knocker that let her into her House. Unsurprisingly, a small group students, clad in blue and bronze, were stood around the entrance, pondering. Arden sighed, knowing the drill. Sometimes, she hated how one gets into the Tower. It was fun…for the first few hours of first year. But, it got annoying quickly. She'd never heard the same riddle twice, nor had anyone else, to her knowledge. More than once, she'd be stuck outside for hours before someone else came along to help her solve the riddle in question.
"We hurt without moving. We poison without touching. We bear the truth and the lies. We are not to be judged by our size. What are we?" the melodic voice of the Eagle Knocker sung.
She took a step back, as was polite, and really thought about it. Something that poisons, hurts, and tells truth and lies…Size was a factor that she had to disregard. As they spoke truth and lies, she threw out animals, but hurts without moving and poisons without touching…so it had to be something metaphysical….Of course…
She walked back to the knocker and answered, "Words."
The Eagle replied, "Quite right, Milady," and opened the door, allowing everyone entrance.
"Oh, Arden," Cho called from across the common room, "Come over here!" She was sitting at one of the bar-height tables near the windows with Marietta. Their bags packed and surrounding them in the organized chaos that they had grown accustomed to over the past two-and-a-half years. Arden squeezed past their bags and hopped up on one of the chairs. "Marietta and I have been talking. Since you're staying here and both of our families are taking vacations this year, we thought that we'd give you our presents now."
Arden cocked her head in confusion. Marietta explained, "Well, my family is taking a trip to Geneva, and Cho's is visiting family in Asia. So it'd be a bit cruel to have owls fly all that way with packages, you see."
She nodded and hopped off the chair to fetch her roommates their presents.
Arden was awoken with a sneeze, more specifically her own. Mercutio apparently thought that it'd be funny to leave his tail below her nose. She shoved him, gently, off of her chest and stretched, before realizing what day it was. Christmas day had finally arrived, as well as the final day of Hanukkah. Arden decided, since both holidays coincided that year, to save all of her presents for the final day.
She quickly got dressed in her new Weasley sweater (well, not all presents had to wait for the final day…Mrs. Weasley's fudge was too good to let sit for eight days!) and ran over to Gryffindor Tower, where she was met with a rather interesting scene. Fred and George (dressed in each other's Weasley sweaters) were frog-marching Percy from the common room, his arms pinned to his side by his new Weasley sweater.
Arden giggled, "Greetings, Gred and Forge. Morning, Percy." She caught the brothers' attention.
"Arden!" the twins smiled, "Happy Last Day of Hanukkah!"
Percy was pleading to her with his eyes to help him out. She decided to oblige, "Don't I get a holiday morning hug from my friends?"
The twins shook their heads, "Not until we get this one to sit with us at breakfast!" George commented, nudging his older brother with an elbow. "Speaking of…" he trailed off, looking at Fred.
"You should join us, Arden! You're family too!" Fred continued, "Help us get our brother to the Great Hall, will you?"
After breakfast, Arden, Harry, and the Weasleys had a furious snowball fight that definitely rivaled the one from her first year, with Charlie and Lee, for the title of Best Snowball Fight ever. Afterwards, cold, wet, and gasping for breath, the group split, the boys to Gryffindor Tower, Arden to her secret nook, to warm up. Mercutio, the ever protective feline, followed Arden into the room and warmed her feet while she read and completed her History of Magic essay.
While she was in private, she decided to think on her investigation of Harry to the current point in time. All in all, he seemed like a good kid. She trusted the twins judgments of people, and they said that he seemed like a good kid. But, they might be biased because he was friends with their brother. But, from her impression of him, he was still teetering on good and not so good…well she'd call it interesting. He seemed suspicious of Snape, which is valid for someone who is in a house he disliked and carries the surname and features of someone he despised. But, thinking that Snape was evil? Arden thought that maybe he was using that as a cover to his own psyche. Maybe Harry was projecting his own villainous thoughts to Snape's actions? She'd have to look further into it.
Upon the sun finally setting, Arden set up all nine candles in her menorah. The twins insisted on being present, as they had never experienced any other holiday than their own. Word apparently got around and Percy decided to join them. So, as she couldn't bring them into Ravenclaw Tower, and they couldn't let her into Gryffindor Tower, she brought the menorah and candles into the corridor outside of Ravenclaw Tower.
While they looked on, she picked up the Shamash and carefully lit it with a match, lighting the rest of the candles with it from right to left. She sung the prayer as she did so, and concluded by placing the Shamash back in the middle of the menorah.
Arden could confirm that she'd never had a more eventful Christmas/Holiday dinner. A hundred fat, roast turkeys; mountains of roast and boiled potatoes; platters of sausages; tureens of buttered peas, silver boats of thick, rich gravy and cranberry sauce, so many other dishes that Arden could feel the food coma just by looking at them– and stacks of wizard crackers every few feet along the table. Arden looked on as Harry pulled a wizard cracker with Fred and it didn't just bang, it went off with a blast like a cannon and engulfed them all in a cloud of blue smoke, while from the inside exploded a rear admiral's hat and several live, white mice. She pulled one with Percy, much to the older boy's dismay, it went off like a deaf-trumpeter and covered their faces in confetti. It did release a jester hat, complete with rainbow bells, sparkles, and bobbles, and several noise makers. She took great pleasure and sneaking the hat onto Fred when he wasn't looking. Up at the High Table, Dumbledore had swapped his pointed wizard's hat for a lovely flowered bonnet, and was chuckling merrily at a joke Professor Flitwick had just read him.
Flaming Christmas puddings followed the rich dinner. Percy nearly broke his teeth on a silver sickle that George embedded in his slice. While the adults were getting more and more intoxicated, the students all watched Hagrid getting redder and redder in the face as he called for more wine, finally kissing Professor McGonagall on the cheek, who, to everyone's amazement, giggled and blushed, her top hat lopsided. Arden would NEVER let her live that down.
AN:
Well that's the chapter! If you would please leave a review, that'd be absolutely amazing! Every review saves a unicorn from Voldemort. Please review to save them! (Plus every review makes me more likely to update more often. Review for your own sakes or I might just leave y'all on a cliff-hanger.)
Well, see you all in the next chapter!