Collin Hedgehog got an owl a few days before Christmas asking that he stay at school for the holidays. Apparently, Charles was remodeling their home due to a dragon accidentally crashing into their roof and letting snow fill the area. Collin grimaced, but wrote the reply saying he didn't mind. It was to be his first holidays away from Charles, but he'd live. He went down to the Main Hall and found some of his friends there.

Bill Weasley, a tall red furred weasel looked at Collin with concern. "Are you alright, Collin? You look a bit down…"

Collin grimaced, not really wanting to get into the discussion. "I just miss Professor Snape is all. His insults keep me warm in the cold winter months…" Bill and his younger brother, Charlie both looked at him with surprise. "Heh, I'm joking, Bill." Collin then sighed. "I just miss my Dad, my Uncle Jules, and my Aunt Bernie. This is my first holiday without them since I was adopted."

"I understand. I always miss my brothers and sister as it gets closer to seeing them at Christmas."

Charlie, the younger of the Weasley brothers, rolled his eyes. "I'm right here."

"You know what I mean, Charlie."

Collin then raised a brow. "I'm surprised you both didn't go home for the holidays."

Bill grimaced. "Apparently, Fred and George wrecked the burrow. Mum says it isn't safe to come back until everything is fixed."

Charlie looked amused. "I suppose it's best for them to get it out of their systems before coming to Hogwarts."

"What can we do to cheer you up, Collin?" Bill offered.

Collin was taken aback. "I… don't want to talk about it and ruin everyone else's Christmas. Let's hear about everyone else's plans…" After a bit, the group all realized that they were the only ones likely to be found at the castle that Christmas. "It sounds like we're about the only students who decided to stay at Hogwarts for the Christmas Holidays." This group included Penny Haywood, a young girl who could change her appearance at will who was named Nymphadora Tonks, Rowan Khanna, Collin Hedgehog, the Weasley Brothers, and Merula Snyde, who was sitting at her table on her own.

Tonks, as Nymphadora hated her first name, grinned wickedly. "We have the castle all to ourselves!"

Rowan grinned. "Imagine all the reading we can do!"

Bill grimaced. "I don't know if that will help Collin feel any better…"

"Look, Bill, don't worry about me. I doubt there is anything here that'll make me miss Dad any less…" Collin grimaced.

Tonks still had her mischievous grin. "Maybe not, but we can definitely distract you…"

Tonks then proceeded to drag the lot of them, save for Merula, out to the Training Grounds. Collin felt a little bad for the Slytherin to be left behind, but Tonks insistent pulling kept his mind roaming back to wondering what she was up to.

"Shivering in the snow isn't going to make me feel any better about missing my family, Tonks." Collin rolled his eyes.

"No but having a laugh will."

Collin shook his head. "Can't we laugh inside where it's warm?"

"We could, but then I wouldn't be able to show you how to bewitch snowballs."

Collin blinked. "B…bewitch… snowballs?"

"Just watch, Collin. Then get ready for a magic snowball fight…" After a few minutes, Tonks was satisfied that she had taught Collin how to bewitch snowballs. "I think you've learned how to bewitch snowballs, Collin." Collin nodded and backed up. "Just think about me as your target, and cast the charm…"

Collin did as he was told and successfully managed to magically throw a snowball at Tonks. "Whoops, sorry, Tonks."

Tonks giggled. "Don't be sorry, Collin. Now it's my turn…" Three snowballs pelted the boy, causing him to chuckle as well. "Told you this would be fun! Do you give up, Collin?"

"Not my style!" Collin grinned as he raised his wand. "I won't stop till I'm victorious!" An army of snowballs flew up behind him.

"Then this snowball war will rage for ages!" Tonks laughed as they started to pelt each other with snowballs. After a few hours, Tonks gave in. "All right, Collin. It's too cold outside to wage this war for ages. You win…"

"Thanks… let's head inside and get warm." Collin smirked, his long nose having an icicle hanging from it. He broke it off in one go and winced. "I always hate when that happens."

As they went inside, Penny invited them to the Artefact Room where she was brewing up something. "I'm making just the thing to warm us up."

"A fire potion?" Collin grimaced.

"No, but close… I'm making eggnog!"

Collin frowned as he recalled his uncle at Christmas time when he drank too much. "Um… isn't that an adult drink?" Jules had been embarrassed and "Grounded" for a whole week by Charles and Bernie.

"My mum's recipe is for everyone!"

Tonks grinned. "Now that's my sort of potion."

Penny grinned. "My mum makes it during the Christmas holidays. It's delicious, and perfect for getting rid of any winter chill. Have a look, and I'll teach you her secret recipe…" they worked on the brew for almost an hour, warming up by the fire of the small cauldron. "Here we go. The Eggnog is finished! Give it a try…" She pulled out a few glasses. Collin took the first sip. "How do you like my eggnog, Collin?"

Collin smiled. "It's delicious, Penny. You should make this all year long instead of waiting for the Christmas holidays."

"Thanks, Collin. I'll make sure to share more of my mum's recipes with you."

Collin grimaced as he finished his cup. "Thanks for trying to cheer me up. I think I'll head back to the common room and catch up on my studies." The Eggnog was nice, he didn't lie about that, but it wasn't his favorite drink. He still preferred his apple juice and cookies like when he went to grade school.

"I think I'll drink the rest of this eggnog." Tonks chuckled.

"We'll see you at the Christmas feast, Collin." Penny smiled.

Collin made his way up to the Gryffindor Common Room and found it was decked out for the holidays. Rowan was already there. "I hate to see you feeling down, Collin. Is there anything I can do to cheer you up?"

Collin grimaced. "I don't want everyone going to all the trouble. Thank you, though, Rowan. Tonks and Penny tried, but distractions only work for so long when its these kinds of things. Honestly, I'll be fine. I'm going to catch up on my studies."

"I wish studying made you as happy as it makes me."

Going through the books together, they found some legends of yetis wandering around the grounds at winter time. "A lot of people have claimed to see a yeti around this time of year here at the castle. Aren't they native to Tibet? How could one even get here?"

Rowan chuckled. "Sounds like something Rita Skeeter would write. You don't really think there's a yeti at Hogwarts, do you?"

Collin grinned. 'It's probably just Hagrid they see, but this should be fun for Rowan.' Collin then pretended to think about it. "I've heard they sometimes study yetis in Care of Magical Creatures. Maybe one got loose…"

Rowan grimaced. "I suppose we've seen stranger things… where should we start our investigation?"

"I wouldn't know where to begin… But I know someone who would…" It just so happened that he had spotted the ever-annoying Rita Skeeter earlier that day, stalking the castle.

Collin took Rowan to the corridor he had seen Rita in, and wouldn't you know it, she was still there, the tall jewel beetle with blonde bouncy curly hair, a gaudy purple dress, and her magical quick quill that was likely to lie at everything to make something more interesting.

"Well, well, well… Happy Christmas, Mr. Kintobor… oh, excuse me, Hedgehog." Rita had done a small report on the boy when he was younger, and Charles had adopted him. It wasn't common for a Mobian to adopt a human child, as racism made them nervous to do so. In Knothole though, there wasn't such a problem, but Charles still had to go to London to get the files done properly in the Ministry of Magic. Charles' muggle friend, Mr. Peabody had had worse commotion from the muggle government when adopting his boy, Sherman.

Collin of course, remembered the woman, as his memory only went fuzzy just before he met Charles. He had snippets of memory before that, but it was almost like someone had tried to take his memories from him. "Happy Christmas to you as well, Ms. Rita Skeeter."

Rita then turned to Rowan, surprising him a bit. "A happy Christmas to you as well, Mr. Khanna."

"You make me nervous." Was Rowan's response.

Rita only smiled. "I'll take that as a compliment. I understand that you two are interested in the massive Yeti that terrorizes Hogwarts during the Christmas holidays…" How had she known? They had just found out about it themselves…

Rowan's eyes went wide behind his glasses. "Is it true?"

"I wrote a story about it for the Daily Prophet, so it must be true."

Collin rolled his eyes. "You also said that Charles rescued me from my psychopathic human family when he just found me in the woods one day, all on my own. Pardon me if I don't find you credible."

"What do you know, you were still a toddler." She huffed.

Rowan was looking at Collin with wide eyes and confusion. "Explanation?"

"Later." Collin gave his usual answer to that. He didn't have all the answers himself after all.

Rita shook it off. "If you want information about the yeti, I'll need something in exchange…"

Rowan didn't have anything, but Collin knew all the best rumors from working with Penny. "Well, rumor is that I'm related to the dark lord secretly, and thus actually related to Salazar Slytherin himself, but why don't you try following up the rumors on Snape being a vampire. There's more behind that one anyway." Rowan just kept looking at Collin like he had lost his mind. He hadn't heard that rumor about Collin before. "Snape supposedly sucks the blood out of his students who interrupt his lectures."

Rita was buying it. "I've always wondered why the Potions classroom is so dimly lit… a vampiric professor would make for quite a story…" Then she lowered her gaze. "But, so would a relative of the Dark Lord being a student here…"

Collin rolled his eyes. "You want to go and do some genealogy, go for it, madam. It doesn't seem like your style though. It would take a lot longer to track down the right papers anyway. It's like tracking down his American relative who made the American school for wizards." With all this thrown in her face, Rita decided that it wasn't worth the trouble of checking such bold claims that the boy said were mere rumors anyway.

"I'll need to validate your claim, of course. I can't publish unsubstantiated rumors in the Daily Prophet…" Both boys raised a brow at this. "At any rate, you've held up your end of the bargain, Mr. Hedgehog. I'll tell you everything I know about the yeti who preys on Hogwarts during the Christmas holidays…" Her rumors and knowledge were as much hogswash to Collin as his story about Snape being a vampire. The potions room was always dimly lit because it helped students to focus more, and certain ingredients needed to be kept in that kind of environment. As for the blood, Snape didn't suck out any student's blood. He once used a needle to draw some blood for an example of blood types, but that had been his own, and most of the students had fainted, save for Collin, Merula, and Rowan. After telling them the story, she succeeded in startling Rowan while annoying Collin further. "Let me know if you capture it… or if you see it eat one of your friends… either one would make for a great story… Happy Christmas!" She was now off to bug Snape.

Rowan gulped. "Think she was telling the truth?"

"About what? She just gave us the biggest load of muck I've seen since I got my foot stuck in the mud on my way to the greenhouse for herbology." Collin rolled his eyes. "Look, the only truth we got out of that is that she has no care for either of us. Let's go talk to Hagrid."

Hagrid, as it turns out, was working in the Charms room. The giant was having a bit of a hard time fitting in between the two separate bleachers where students learned, but he managed it.

"Happy Christmas, Hagrid." Collin smiled at the half-giant.

"Happy Christmas, Collin. You too, Rowan. It's always good ter see yeh both."

Rowan smiled back. "You too, Hagrid. Why are you in the Charms room though?"

Hagrid looked a bit upset at that. "I was hopin' teh find Fang. This is one o' the last places I haven' already searched. That pup's always runnin off…"

Collin was also fond of the pup. "Don't worry, Hagrid. I'm sure he'll turn up somewhere."

"I hope yer right, Collin. It's cold out fer a pup. What can I deh fer yeh?"

"We wanted to see what you knew about a yeti that's apparently here during the Christmas holidays." Collin shrugged.

"I've heard the stories, but never seen him meself, unfortunately… If it helps, I can tell yeh everythin' I know about Yetis. I love talkin' about yetis."

Collin smiled patiently. So long as no one was trying to cheer him up, he'd be fine. "That would be great, Hagrid. Anything you can tell us will be helpful…" Besides, he liked learning.

After about twenty minutes on everything Hagrid knew, which was actually a pretty good amount, Hagrid finished up. "…and anything else yeh want ta know, well, yeh could always try professor Kettleburn. I should get back teh lookin' fer Fang."

"Thanks, Hagrid. We'll let you know if we find Fang. He'll turn up soon, I'm sure." Collin nodded as they started off.

"Hope yer right. Happy Christmas teh yeh both."

"Happy Christmas, Hagrid."

Rowan looked at Collin as they left. "We really are going to talk about the stuff you told Rita later… right?"

"When I don't feel like it'll get us both killed, sure." Collin kept quiet as he realized what a gamble that had been.

"Alright… so, what do we do now?"

"Now? Why we see Professor Kettleburn of course. He probably has an idea about the yetis." They went to the courtyard to find Griff so that they could try to track down Kettleburn, only to find the professor himself. "Okay… that's convenient…" Collin raised a brow as they went.

"Happy Christmas!" This rabbit Mobian was more machine in some places than Mobian, as he was missing an arm and a leg. He had a patch over one eye and fluffy white hair on his head. Even one of his ears, which was bent, looked like it had a bite taken out of it. His fur was a creamy color of orange, and his brown eyes were filled with delight.

"Happy Christmas, Professor Kettleburn."

Kettleburn then frowned. "I hope you didn't get me a new leg for Christmas. I've grown quite fond of this one."

Collin grimaced. "Not this year, sir, no. We just wanted to talk about Yetis since one is supposedly running about here."

"Did it eat a student?!"

"I don't think so."

"That's a relief. I feel like I ask that question far too often…" Kettleburn grimaced.

Collin just smiled. "I'd love to become friends with a yeti. I'm sure it's possible…" He chuckled at his own words. 'If it was, maybe they'd help me get rid of this overbearing fear I have… doubt it, but still…'

Kettleburn was excited at the idea. "I'm sure you're right, Mr. Hedgehog." Then, with that same smile, "Of course, it's also possible that it eats you alive… I'll tell you the story of how this particular yeti got loose from Hogwarts…" It wasn't that long of a story. Apparently, it just walked off. There was no fence in the Magical Creatures Class area of the forest.

Collin raised a brow, only somewhat surprised that there might really be a yeti out there. "And where do you think the Yeti is now?"

"I haven't the slightest idea. It could have made a home in the forbidden forest… it could have wandered far away from the castle grounds… it could have opened a cozy little inn in Hogsmeade. It's fifteen feet tall, so wherever it is, it's somewhere with plenty of space."

"Thanks, Professor Kettleburn. That's very helpful."

"You two really shouldn't go searching for that yeti…"

Rowan was quick to agree. "Yes, sir."

"But, if you do, try to get him back to the care of magical creatures enclosure."

This time, Rowan took the lead, and led them to the Training Grounds. Instead of finding a yeti there, they found Fang. "Woof! Woof! Woof!" The dark furred pup barked. He had so many wrinkles on his face, that he looked like he was always pouting.

"Well, we found Fang." Rowan smiled.

Collin looked around, appreciating the open space covered in snow. "Indeed… Kettleburn said the Yeti might be somewhere spacious, and the field here is pretty spacious… huh… well, at least we can tell Hagrid that we found Fang. Let's get him to Hagrid's hut." Fang barked again, trying to get their attention.

"What's he barking at?"

"Maybe he's just c…" Collin's blue eyes widened as he looked up at where Fang was staring. "…"

"It's the Yeti!" Rowan cried out as the beast roared at them. It looked like an enormous gorilla that stood at Hagrid's height and was covered in snow!

"Yeah, I kinda noticed!" Collin stood between Rowan and the fierce creature, as Rowan was petrified.

"Yetis eat people! And dogs, probably!"

"Snap out of it, Rowan! That's not helping!" Collin snapped at his taller friend. Fang was now hiding behind him as well. "Well this doesn't look stupid." He muttered. "And Yeti seems this is how it's going down." Poor puns were a defense Collin was used to using. The yeti came towards them, roaring at them. "Oh, shut up!" He threw a vial of his latest failed potion which ended up exploding at the beast's arm that covered it's face where the vial would have hit.

The yeti was now holding its arm and whimpering. Rowan finally snapped out of his shocked state and ran up to Collin. "You defeated a yeti, Collin! I can't believe it!" Fang barked happily in agreement. The yeti whimpered.

Collin made his way towards the yeti. "I think I might have hurt him a bit too much with that potion… It was far too easy to beat this poor fellow."

"What should we do with the yeti?"

"Well first, I'm going to fix the arm, then I'm going to set him free in the forest… A creature like this shouldn't be kept in captivity, and Kettleburn doesn't really know how to take care of it."

"Are you sure, Collin?" Even Fang was surprised. The Yeti also looked at the boy with shock. This boy was less than a third its height, had defeated the yeti, and now was going to set it free?

"Yes, I'm sure." He poured some of his Wiggenweld potion into a bowl his satchel held for potions. "I'll meet you in the castle so we can get ready for the feast." Rowan took Fang back to Hagrid's, while Collin finished tending to the Yeti. "There we go. Good as new, now, why don't you go on to the forest so that we don't have this happen again, eh? You scared us rather good, and I am sorry that I hurt you, but I didn't want my friends to get hurt." The yeti grunted and did as told, leaving Collin alone in the training grounds. "I seriously thought we were just going to find Hagrid covered in snow, not a full-on yeti, my god! Dad's gonna have a heart attack hearing about this one…" Collin muttered as he brought out his journal and penciled down all that had happened and drew a quick sketch of the yeti.

When Collin got to the Great Hall, Rowan was still talking to the others about how Collin had singlehandedly defeated a yeti! Penny was impressed. "I still can't believe that the yeti exists, much less that you battled it right here at school!"

"It wasn't much of a fight." Collin shrugged as he sat down. "I threw one potion at it, and it cried."

"Are you feeling a bit better after battling a legendary creature, Collin?"

Collin rolled his eyes. "I'm not sure how much the yeti had to do with it, but yes, I'm feeling quite a bit better." Collin smiled softly. "I miss my family, but I'm lucky to have such great friends."

"Don't make me cry, Collin." Rowan sniffed. "It fogs up my glasses."

Penny smiled, the cheerful one of the group. "This is our Hogwarts family. We should do something to make it feel a bit more like a traditional family Christmas back home…"

Rowan grimaced. "I could always pull a muscle trying to chop down a Christmas tree…"

Tonks laughed. "And I could always open everyone's gifts the night before…"

Bill frowned. "And I could pretend to yell at Fred and George for wrecking everything…"

Collin chuckled. "Those all sound fun, but let's come up with more Christmas ideas…"

They talked about it for a while, including making paper crowns, and snow men, but eventually, Collin Hedgehog had the winning idea.

"I think it would be a lot of fun to give each other gifts…"

"That's brilliant. We'll each choose one friend and find them something nice here at Hogwarts. Bill agreed.

Charlie spoke up next. "Who do you want to get a gift for, Collin?"

Collin didn't have to think hard, as Merula Snyde was still on her lonesome, studying books, at her table. She had been there all day too, missing out on all the fun. "I'm going to get Merula something. She's got to be feeling quite lonely there on her one. It's sorta sad, really…"

Merula looked up from her books and glared. "You realize sound carries quite well in this room?"

Collin shrugged. "Why not join us then, eh? No one is here but us, and we wouldn't ruin your reputation of being the school bully if you showed a soft side just once." Merula just glared at him harder before going back to her books.

Rowan rolled his eyes. "If you're getting something for Merula, then I think I'll get something for Penny." He didn't understand why Collin was so nice to Merula, but he accepted it was probably just his way to try and get her to be nice to them… or maybe it was just in Collin's nature to be nice in general? Who really knew.

Penny smiled. "Thanks, Rowan. I'll get you something too!"

Collin stood up. "Let's search the castle for gifts, and meet back here when we're finished…"

Collin was surprised to find that Peeves had stopped him in the hall. "Come with me for more fun Christmas chaos!" He invited. Peeves was a blue poltergeist that was renowned for causing chaos. He wore a jester's hat and could change form at will, often looking like a jester of an Igor.

Collin was curious as to what the spirit was up to, but he wasn't one to deny the poltergeist, as he found him quite amusing, unlike most. Collin followed him to the artefact room. "Alright, Peeves, what do you want?" He asked in his most serious face, knowing that his expression was about to be broken somehow.

"Hmm…" Peeves seemed to be looking the runt of a human over. "A massive niffler made of fireworks that spits fire and kicks Filch and turns everything boring into explosions!" Collin started laughing. "Also, complete chaos!" Collin couldn't stop laughing, this was the funniest thing someone had answered for that question. "Also, a new hat!" Collin took a few minutes to calm down but smiled. He had no clue how to get a spirit a hat, but he'd figure it out one day probably. That was the only thing he could possibly get the poltergeist from that crazy wish list.

"I had meant, why ask for me to come here?"

"I heard Hedgehog is looking for a gift for Snyde, and I have the perfect thing. I like Snyde." Peeves admitted. "She's always causing trouble."

"Hehe, that's quite helpful, Peeves. What is it?"

Peeves then went devious again. "You have to find it yourself!"

"Hehe, of course I do." Collin smiled softly. He knew Peeves liked his games.

"Happy Hallowe'en!"

Collin snorted. "It's Christmas."

"April Fools!"

Collin just kept laughing as he started searching. If anyone had thought to set Peeves on Collin to make him happy, they might have had something there. Peeves kept telling Collin funny things, and Collin started to say equally funny things back to him, the both of them having a laugh. Peeves would sometimes give him hints as to whether he was warm or not in finding the object he was looking for… whatever it was… Collin missed laughing like this. His uncle and father were almost always pulling laughs out of him with their small prank wars, especially Jules, as he didn't know when to quit.

Collin eventually found an out of place object. "Ah, found something." He pulled it out and showed it to Peeves, who was quite happy.

"You found the perfect present for Snyde!"

"A song book for Merula eh?"

Peeves then got in Collin's face like the madman he was. "Trust in Peeves, Hedgehog. He knows things. Also, he is me."

"Heh, alright. I don't really know what she wants, so I suppose it's worth a try. Thank you for your help, Peeves." Collin smiled. "Happy Christmas." Peeves bowed and then disappeared in a pop.

Collin decided to check on the potions room, knowing that Rowan was probably going to go there for something for Penny. He was not disappointed. Rowan spotted Collin coming in and grimaced. "Did Snape go home for the Christmas holidays?"

"Who knows. I can only imagine what his home looks like…" Collin had this saddened feeling when he thought about Snape living alone. No one should be alone for Christmas.

"There's probably lots of shadows." Rowan interrupted his thoughts.

Collin grimaced, "And bat spleens…"

"And Cauldrons…"

"So, you're saying it's this exact same room with a bed in it?" Collin was still in good humor from his time with Peeves. Very few knew that Peeves was good to hang out with as they usually got upset by his pranks. Collin took those pranks in stride however and thought of it like having a family relative who liked playing pranks since they all lived in the castle with Peeves. His own Hedgehog family certainly liked pranks, as he could think of nothing better than waking up on April Fool's day to help his Uncle Jules to prank half of Knothole and then help his dad to clean it all up again while Jules got unstuck from the prank they had set on him.

Rowan nodded. "Do you think you can help me find a gift for Penny? I couldn't think of a better place to look than here."

"Not a problem. I needed help finding my gift too. Let's look around and find the perfect present… and hopefully not get on Snape's naughty list." Collin grimaced. After a bit, the boys had found a few potion ingredients that they thought Penny might need. Rowan picked out a few and the two headed back to the hall.

Collin noticed that Merula was practically asleep at her table. 'Poor thing. I hope I got her something she'll like. She could really use more happiness…' He was a little surprised to see a gift was even set aside for him. "Was everyone able to get their gifts?" He usually preferred making things, but thanks to Peeves, he had something else.

"I found something cool in the Gryffindor Common Room." Bill smiled.

Charlie grinned. "I got something from near the Whomping Willow."

Tonks had that devious smile like always. "I may or may not have found something cool in Filch's office."

Collin smiled. "Well, I think I found the perfect gift for Merula." His voice was softer and quieter so she couldn't hear him. The group started to open up their gifts. Collin walked over to Merula. "Here, Merula. Why not open your gift first."

Merula looked baffled. "You… seriously got me something?" Her purple eyes were filled with confusion and distrust. Collin smirked. "You're such an idiot."

"Hehe, maybe so. Just open your present, Merula." Collin smiled, waiting to see the Slytherin's reaction in full.

She carefully examined the box and then opened it. "You… got me a song book?"

"I know it's sort of strange, but… I…"

"How did you know I wanted a song book?" Merula looked at him accusingly.

Collin grimaced. "I… didn't really, but Peeves told me. Do you like to sing?"

"I…" Collin waited, wanting to learn more about the strange girl for once. Instead, she managed a nice, "Thank you… Hedgehog… Happy Christmas." Collin grinned. The smile on Merula's face was well worth it. She actually looked pretty and nice, like a normal young girl!

"Heh, you're most welcome, Merula. Happy Christmas." They made their way back over to the others.

Rowan was excited. "Open yours, Collin!"

Collin looked his over with confusion and shrugged. "All right…" Everyone seemed happy for him. His blue eyes watered as he saw what it was. "It…it's a photo of all my friends…"

"We took it before everyone else left for the Christmas holidays." Tonks explained.

"The frame is made from an alder tree grown on my parent's farm." Rowan piped up.

Collin wanted to cry, he loved it so much. "Do you like it?" Penny asked.

"Are you kidding? I… I love it. Thank you so much, all of you. I … I don't know what to say…"

Bill smiled. "You don't have to say anything, Collin. Happy Christmas." Bill's smile then faded. "Now Charlie and I just have to find something for Mum and Dad. Our parents are coming for a visit."

Collin smiled. "Don't worry. We'll find a perfect gift for your mum and dad before they get to Hogwarts…"

Just as the group was leaving, Griff, Collin's owl, came and landed on his head. It had a small letter for him.

"I'll be there in a minute." Collin quickly read the letter, smirked, and Griff flew off with a quick reply given by Collin. Apparently, the Weasleys weren't the only ones visiting, though Charles would probably be at the feast a little late. Collin now felt ecstatic.

Collin met up with the Weasley brothers in the artefact room. They were looking for muggle artifacts. "Dad's mad about them." Bill explained as they searched. "Mum, not so much…"

"He's always going on about strange muggle contraptions. Taking them apart, and putting them back together…" Charlie added.

"He'd get along with my dad just great. Dad does repairs on those things for a living."

"Really?" The Weasleys were impressed. "Well our Dad's fascinated by the ways muggles manage to do things without magic."

"He even works in the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office in the Ministry of Magic."

Collin smirked. "Well, I'm always surprised by the things I find in this room… so let's see if we can find him a muggle artifact." It only took an hour for Collin to find something. "Oh, this is going to be good." The midget chuckled. "I found one!"

Bill saw the toaster in Collin's hand and grinned. "It has a plug! Dad absolutely loves plugs."

Charlie had never seen a toaster before. "What do you think it does?"

Collin looked at the two with surprise. "You mean… you've never seen a toaster before?"

"What's a toaster?"

"This is a toaster. You put bread and similar food inside these slots here, push the lever, and when it's ready it'll pop out and you can eat the food then."

"That can't be right." Bill frowned.

"That's more magical than anything we do." Charlie added.

Collin rolled his eyes. "Trust me, I got one at home."

"Alright. We still need a gift for mum." Charlie pointed out.

"What does she like?"

"Mum loves to knit, so if you can find her some sort of colorful wool or something, she'd be happy."

Bill smiled. "She might even knit you something if you're lucky."

Charlie whispered. "Or unlucky, depending on how you look at it."

"Hehe, don't worry. I'll find something special for Mrs. Weasley. I can't wait to meet them at the Christmas feast.

Collin met up with Rowan at the Gryffindor Common Room. Rowan was willing to give what he had left of his wool from his note connecting practices for Mrs. Weasley's gift. It didn't take long for Collin to find some Magenta Light worsted Knitting wool. Collin then had to get something for his dad.

Collin easily got out a painting he had been working on for his dad and had been about to send it with Griff when he had gotten the letter. He placed it in a simple frame that he made out of some sticks he had found during the fall. The painting of the Hedgehog Brothers looked quite impressive. Collin had one last thing to do before the Christmas feast.

He found Merula outside in the courtyard looking up at the sky. She noticed his feet crunching the snow as he came towards her. "What are you doing here, Hedgehog?" She was still in a decent mood from earlier it seemed, and Collin knew as soon as anyone was in earshot, it'd be back to old "Kintobor" for him.

Collin looked at the girl with concern. "I was going to ask you the same thing. Why are you out here in the freezing cold all by yourself?"

"I don't want to talk about it. Especially with you." Good mood gone.

"That's fine." Collin was patient. "I just wanted to see if you wanted to eat with us at the Christmas feast."

"Why?"

"Because I hate seeing people alone on Christmas, and that includes you."

"Well… I hate to see you at all…" She tried.

It didn't faze him. "Come now, Merula… I've heard far worse…"

"I can't go to the Christmas feast until I cast the Snowflake-making spell…" She finally admitted. "It's a … tradition."

Collin's eyes lit up. "Will you teach it to me?"

"Will you leave me alone if I do?" Merula tried again to get him to leave her be.

Collin sighed. "If that's truly what you want…"

"Fine…" Merula conceded. "I suppose I owe you something for getting me that song book…"

Collin smiled. He was very glad none of his friends were nearby or the girl would probably never have been so nice to him. Merula was surprisingly patient with her short pupil.

After a while, Merula figured Collin had it. "I think you have it, Hedgehog. Try casting the Snowflake making charm…" Collin did the movements with the ease Merula had shown, and soon the sky was filled with graceful snowflakes falling. Merula actually had a smile on her face as she looked at it, and then she spotted Collin's face full of wonder at being able to cast such a simple spell. He looked like a tiny kid, full of wonder. "Not bad, Hedgehog, not bad…" She mumbled.

Collin then looked at Merula with concern again, startling her. "Um… pardon me for asking, but… why didn't you go home for the Christmas holidays, Merula?"

Merula didn't answer with any malice for once. "I don't have anything to go home to… My parents are in Azkaban… my house is empty… my life is ruined…" She actually seemed to be breaking. Her hard walls that she had set up were crumbling before the boy she had made into her sworn enemy, or so she thought. "My mum taught me that spell when I was just a little girl, and we'd use it every Christmas. It's the only spell she ever taught me that couldn't be used to hurt someone."

"I'm sorry, Merula. I never even knew my mother, so… I really have nothing to say on that…"

Merula snapped at him. "I don't want your pity, Kintobor. I just want to be left alone…" Her eyes were filled with rage and tears.

Collin didn't flee though. "I wish you'd come with me to the Christmas Feast…"

Merula turned away and tried to regain her composure. "We don't always get what we wish for, Hedgehog…" She was calm again if she was using his adopted name. "Happy Christmas." With that, she walked off, the snow covering her prints.

Collin sighed as he went in, hoping she'd turn up eventually. As he entered the Great Hall, he spotted two weasels with curly red hair that matched the Weasley boys. They were undoubtedly their parents.

Mrs. Molly Weasley was slightly plump in figure and had a doting mother look about her. "Oh, it's so nice to meet you, Collin. We've heard so much about you."

Collin blushed. He never did like being the center of attention. "It's nice to meet you as well, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley."

Arthur Weasley was taller and thinner than his wife, and both of them were wearing knitted clothes, obviously done by Mrs. Weasley. "Tell us all about your adventures with the Cursed Vaults!" He was excited apparently to hear about this. Molly on the other hand noticed Collin's nervousness about it and glared at her husband. Arthur felt the fur on the back of his neck stand up. Collin hadn't even found a vault and already people were thinking he had done stuff. He turned his head to notice his wife's glare, and then corrected himself. "Er, I mean, you certainly shouldn't be messing with those Cursed Vaults… Especially not with our boys…"

Collin grimaced as he sat next to Penny. "Trust me, farthest thing from my mind was going in there. As for your boys, well they lend themselves to the situation to help out their friends. Great quality, but I don't mean to place them in danger. Danger just finds me… sorry." Collin sighed. It was only as he sat down that the Weasleys could see how short he was compared to his friends. "What brings you to Hogwarts?"

Molly smiled. "Well, I wanted to see Charlie and Bill…" Then she got a bit sour. "And if I'm being honest, Fred and George were driving me a bit mad."

Collin smirked as Arthur spoke up. "They always get especially excited around Christmas. And they're already rather… excitable."

"Great Aunt Muriel is at the Burrow watching them, along with Ginny, Percy, and Ronald."

Arthur then grimaced. "Great Aunt Muriel was driving me a bit mad as well."

"Arthur…" Molly scolded.

"Sorry, dear." Arthur only half apologized.

Bill spoke up to try to distract his mother. "We got you gifts!"

Molly went back to her sweet form. "Gifts for your mum and dad? That's very thoughtful, Bill. You had better not make me cry in front of your friends…"

"Yes, well, we couldn't have done it without Collin."

"Well, thank you, Collin." Collin wanted to hide again, as all the attention was on him. He blushed almost as red as his uniform's tie! Molly then turned to her husband. "Open yours first, Arthur…"

"Don't mind if I do…" Bill handed them their gifts. Arthur opened his and was surprised to find the toaster in it. "I can't believe it… Do you know what this is?!" He asked Charlie.

"Not at all…"

"It's a toaster…" Collin repeated from earlier. "It helps muggles prepare food…"

"That's an excellent guess, Collin, but it's actually a genuine muggle Toastit!" Collin raised a brow, wondering what the hey the crazy weasel thought that meant. "Thank you, Collin. I've been wanting one of these for quite a long time."

Molly scoffed a bit. "I don't like encouraging Arthur's obsession with Muggle Artefacts…" Then she softened. "But I do enjoy seeing that smile on his face."

Bill was excited now. "Open your present, mum."

"You boys didn't have to get me anything…"

"Yes, you did…" Arthur muttered to Charlie who just grinned back at his dad.

Molly opened hers to see the magenta wool. "What beautiful wool. This color is perfect for a jumper I've been meaning to knit for Ronald."

Rowan spoke up now. "You can also use it to organize your research."

Molly smiled and chuckled lightly. "I'll keep that in mind, dear. Thank you. Now, let's enjoy our time together…" The group started talking about random things going on while Collin quietly excused himself from the main group. He didn't want to intrude, and he felt still a bit awkward about the entire thing.

Collin took a position near the windows where he could still be seen so no one would think he left and get upset, and he could still answer questions if asked, but he would also be left alone for the most part to think about all of the events of the past couple of days. He had seen a side of Merula Snyde that he liked. It was so peculiar. Not only that, but she had been open to him about a family tradition she did with her own parents before they were put in Azkaban… Now he started to wonder about his families, both human and Mobian. He knew Charles and Jules were troublesome, much like Fred and George from the sounds of it, and he knew his aunt Bernie always had to help them out of a fix. But they were good people all in all. With his human family though… the more Collin thought about it, the more he doubted his memories of them. He had been an infant after all. Surely, he couldn't rely on memories from then if that was the case, right? His mother died in childbirth, that was the only thing he knew other than… other than… Collin grabbed at his clothes, a red sweater with a black jacket. He hugged himself. He knew better than to think about them, but he couldn't help it. Those scars on his back… Dr. Quack, the muggle Doctor in Knothole, along with his dad, Charles, had both been shocked to see them, and said that it looked like someone had tried to use him for a powerful spell. There were runes in his back. All Collin ever got clearly was that the knife had been held by two people, one to set the curse, one to try and change it. He had been freed after the curse had been altered, but… his memories… they were missing… why was he only getting fragments… Collin hadn't realized he had collapsed on the floor, up against the wall. The only ones who had realized what had happened were Rowan, who was trying to figure out how to help his friend without ruining the party's mood, and a dusty blue hedgehog who had just entered the room.

The hedgehog saw Collin and was by his side before anyone could realize he was there. Rowan was startled. The hedgehog didn't mind that, he knew that Collin was sending himself into shock trying to remember the missing pieces. This happened often enough at home that Charles knew the signs and patterns. "Has he done this here before?"

"No, sir." Rowan shook his head, slightly confused about who this hedgehog was. "You're… are you…?"

"I'm his dad, yes. Charles Hedgehog. You're his friend, Rowan Khanna, aren't you?"

"Yes, sir. Is he okay?"

"He was trying to remember something. This happens when he tries to go too far back. Collin remembers a lot of things, things he shouldn't remember, but one of the scariest things is that he remembers a lot of what happened before I found him." Charles sighed. This happened rarely, but at the same time, often enough for him to recognize it. "I've been told his memories from then were probably obliviated, but that never really seemed to hold true for some reason. They shouldn't have even been tampered with at all, he was a toddler when I found him, practically a baby still…" Charles gently touched his son's shoulder, the unmarked one. "Collin. Collin, wake up, son. You're missing the party." Charles calmly talked his boy out of his stupor.

Collin blinked, his mind fast forwarding back to the present. He shook his head and blushed. "OH… um… sorry… must have nodded off…" He didn't remember falling asleep or even thinking about the scars. He merely remembered thinking he wanted Merula to join in and feel welcomed for once, but that was where his memories cut off for some reason. He figured he must have spaced out and seemed to be falling asleep, since he hadn't even noticed Charles entering the scene. "Heh, hey, Dad… when did you get here?"

Rowan was about to say something when Charles took lead. "I just got here a moment ago and noticed you boys over here. You were falling asleep on your friend, here. Must have been a busy day, huh?"

"Like you wouldn't believe… we had a snowball fight, we exchanged simple gifts that were really something, OH, and I learned two new spells today!" Collin was back to the excitable boy that Charles knew, and that Rowan saw when the vaults weren't involved, and no one was in danger. Rowan was relieved, though now he wondered what Charles knew that Collin didn't, and why Collin had these kinds of attacks. Rowan wandered back over to their friends while Charles and Collin sat at a table. Collin was now full of energy since his dad was there for him to talk to. It was the most energized Rowan had seen Collin in a while, but after thinking about it, Rowan realized that to Collin, nothing could go wrong so long as Charles was there for him. So long as Charles was there, nothing bad could happen to Collin, at least, that was what the young boy's mind believed.

Collin's attention was grabbed by Merula finally joining the group. "This party falls somewhere between awkward and dreadful…"

"Hehe, sorry, Merula." Collin smiled as he saw her. Charles just raised a brow in amusement. "It's nice of you to show up though."

Molly then noticed Merula as well. "Just who is this little witch?"

Merula then introduced herself in her usual cocky manner. "Merula Snyde. The most powerful witch at Hogwarts." Charles looked at Collin as though to say he had thought the boy was exaggerating the girl's ego in his letters.

Molly then smirked in her own way. "I wouldn't be so sure about that. Wipe that scowl off your face, and have something to eat, Merula."

"Oh," Collin had a thought as he stood up by Merula. "I've been waiting for the right time for a surprise. Something Merula taught me…"

Merula, much to everyone's surprise, save for Collin, only gave him a slight glare. "Don't make me look bad," She noticed Charles was there. "…Hedgehog."

Collin grinned as he stood up on stage with his wand. He cast the snowflake making charm Merula had taught him a few hours ago. Charles looked at it in awe, as did everyone else. "That's beautiful, son." Charles smiled.

"Absolutely wonderful." Arthur agreed.

Rowan smiled, happy Collin was well again so to speak, and that there was now snow falling in the Great Hall. "Thank you, Collin."

"Happy Christmas." Penny smiled.

Collin couldn't wipe that grin off his face. "Happy Christmas everyone."

Even Merula was smiling at the snow. It was probably the only time these people would see her so happy and cheerful, and no one was in pain. It was certainly a happy Christmas.