The day after next, Oliver awoke rather early and realized that it was
Christmas morning. He located the small box that he had picked up in Diagon
Alley, which was now wrapped in Christmas paper and a ribbon, and walked
down the hall to Adrianna's rooms in his pajamas. Chip was fast asleep in
front of the fire. He pushed the bedroom door open a crack and peeked in.
The translucent white curtains were still drawn around her four poster bed,
so he assumed that she was still fast asleep. He walked over to the bed and
slowly pulled back the curtains. She looked so angelic while she slept that
Oliver almost felt bad waking her up. He sat down on the edge of the bed
and kissed her softly on the lips, then moved down her cheek to her neck.
She moaned quietly as her eyes fluttered open.
"Happy Christmas, Adrianna," he said gently.
"Mmmm, Merry Christmas," she replied.
"I got you something," he said, handing her the box as she sat up in bed. She untied the ribbon and tore the paper off, then opened up the little box. She gasped when she opened it up.
"Oliver, this is amazing! You really shouldn't have."
He watched with a smile as she removed a golden heart pendant on a gold chain from the box. The pendant was set with alternating aquamarine and peridot stones.
"It's our birthstones," she said softly, examining it closer.
"Yes. That's no ordinary necklace," Oliver said. "I bought it from a magic jeweler. The stones have power in them that will be of use to the owner. The aquamarines give you peace and boost your courage. The peridots protect you from curses and hexes, allow peaceful sleep, and guard you from illness."
Adrianna stared at the necklace in the palm of her hand for a minute. "It's a stunning combination. Can you help me put it on?"
"Certainly." Oliver carefully fastened the necklace around her neck.
"I got you something too," said Adrianna, climbing out of bed. She pulled a small wrapped box out of one of the drawers in her wardrobe and handed it to him. He tore off the paper and opened the box. Inside were two small, rectangular pieces of paper.
"Tickets to see Mirror, Mirror on the Wall in concert, third row! They're my favorite band! But I don't think I ever told you. How'd you know?"
"Lucky guess. I was hoping you'd like them."
"I do. Thank you so much, you're brilliant!" he exclaimed, giving her a bear hug and a passionate kiss.
Oliver and Adrianna were cuddling on the couch later that day when they heard a scratching sound against the window. Oliver looked up and saw Lightning and Sunrise hovering outside, loaded down with packages.
"Ooo, more presents!" exclaimed Adrianna as she got up from the couch and rushed over to the window. Both owls fluttered inside and crash landed on the floor. Both Oliver and Adrianna untied their packages from their owls. Adrianna handed him a small package from the pile that Sunrise had delivered.
"My mom sent you something," she said. They carried their presents over to the coffee table and sat on the floor to open them. Oliver got a set of robes, a new broomstick servicing kit and something that he had never seen before called a pensieve from his parents. There was also a card that said:
Dear Oliver,
Happy Christmas! We hope that everything is going well for you at Hogwarts. We bought you this pensieve just in case your thoughts get to be too much for you. All you have to do is put your thoughts in, and the pensieve will help you organize them so that they make more sense. It would be nice to get a letter from you once in a while, eh? We'd like to know how you're doing.
Love, Mum and Dad
Next Oliver opened the package from Adrianna's mom. It was a bright red, handmade scarf. "Wow, this is really nice! Tell your mum I said thanks," Oliver said to Adrianna. "What did you get?"
Adrianna held up some CDs, a box full of muggle hair care and beauty supplies, and a small jar filled with muggle candy.
"Happy Christmas!" boomed a loud voice above them. Adrianna shrieked and they both looked up.
"Merry Christmas, Sir Nicholas! You startled us," said Adrianna.
"Still in you pajamas, eh? Well get dressed then, quickly now. The teachers and the ghosts are going Christmas caroling to each house's common room together in a few minutes. We're meeting in the staff room."
After they were dressed, Adrianna and Oliver ran down to the staff room and spent the afternoon singing Christmas carols with the ghosts and the other professors. Before they knew it, it was time to go back to their rooms to get ready for the Yule Ball. Oliver spent about an hour getting ready for the Yule Ball. He took a bubble bath in his jacuzzi tub, shaved, and dressed in the bright red dress robes that had been hanging in his closet ever since he'd arrived at Hogwarts. Before he left for Adrianna's rooms, he conjured up a dozen red roses and gathered them into a bunch for her.
He knocked on her door, and his breath caught in his chest when he saw her. He had never seen her look so beautiful. Half of her golden blonde hair was curled and arranged on top of her head, and there were tiny braids interwoven through the curls. The rest was hanging down and curled on the ends. She was wearing just the right amount of makeup to enhance her natural beauty. Her dress robes were the same shade of red as his. Hers had elaborate gold embroidery on the hem of the skirt and sleeves. The sleeves flared from the elbows down, and the skirt had tiny gold embroidered dots all over it. She was also wearing a light cloak of exactly the same shade of red that had the same elegant embroidery on the hem and gold dots all over it. He looked down for a moment to collect his thoughts and noticed that she was wearing gold satin slippers. "You look amazing," he finally said.
"Thanks, so do you," she replied.
Oliver suddenly remembered that he was holding the bouquet of roses when one of the thorns pricked his wrist. "Oh, these are for you," he said, handing them to her.
"You're so sweet! Thank you," she said, giving him a kiss on the cheek. She used her wand to get a vase from the top shelf of her kitchen cupboard and filled it with water, then put the roses in the water.
"Ready to go?" she asked.
"Yeah, whenever you are." He offered her his arm, and after she had taken it they walked down the stairs and stood with the other teachers outside the great hall to welcome the students.
Oliver looked at the other teachers while they waited for the students to arrive. Snape was wearing black robes, as usual. Fleur Delacour wore robes of flowing silver-gray satin that complimented her features beautifully. Eva Hathor wore sand-colored robes that looked very nice with her dark brown hair.
Oliver watched as the students gathered outside the Great Hall and walked through the doors in groups. He saw Isabelle King and Morgan Heard walking in with Crabbe and Goyle, respectively. After that he saw Lauren Sage, the quidditch captain of Hufflepuff, walk in on the arm of Malcolm Baddock, the Slytherin captain. A few minutes later came Natalie MacDonald and Dennis Creevey, followed closely by Ginny Weasley and Colin Creevey. Colin had his trusty camera in one hand, and Oliver was sure that by the end of the night Colin would have enough pictures to fill an entire album. Sofie Grant was one of the last people to arrive with Stuart Ackerley, another member of Ravenclaw's quidditch team.
After the students had all entered the hall, the teachers walked in as a group. They seated themselves at the smaller, candlelit tables that had replaced the usual long house tables. At Oliver's table were Adrianna, Fleur, Eva, Elizabeth Vector, and, to his great annoyance, Sibyl Trelawney. There was a menu at each place setting for them to order from, however, there were no waiters in sight. Oliver had no idea what he was supposed to do. Fleur picked up her menu and looked at it for a few moments, then put down the menu and looked at her plate. "Pork chops," she said clearly to her plate, and a delicious meal materialized in front of her. Oliver and the others at his table followed her example, and soon they were all enjoying their meals.
After everyone in the great hall had finished eating, Professor Dumbledore stood up and asked everyone else to stand as well. With a wave of his wand, Dumbledore cleared all the tables off to one end of the Great hall and raised a platform at the other end. Several musical instruments materialized on the platform.
"And now, it is my pleasure to announce tonight's musical guests: the Weird Sisters!"
The hall erupted in shouts and cheers as the Weird Sisters took the stage. They started the evening off with a slow song, and several couples moved onto the dance floor. Oliver turned to Adrianna.
"Care to dance?" he asked, offering her his hand.
"Of course," she replied.
Oliver led her onto the dance floor and steered them slowly around the room, weaving in and out of the students.
"I must say, that necklace looks absolutely stunning with your dress robes," he whispered, glancing down at the heart necklace that he had given her earlier that day.
"You just like having an excuse to look at my chest," she said with a chuckle.
"That too," he replied with a coy smile.
The next song was much a much faster one. Oliver danced in a group with Adrianna and some of the other younger teachers. They danced for the next four or five songs, until Adrianna stopped dancing and walked over to him.
"Do you want to get something to drink? I'm really thirsty,"
she said. They left the dance floor and got a couple of butterbeers, then sat down at one of the tables at the far end of the Great Hall. They drank their butterbeer and chatted. When they were done Adrianna wanted to go back to the dance floor, but instead Oliver led her outside and down a path lit with live fairies. He noticed that there were students making out behind the rosebushes that lined the paths and pointed this out to Adrianna was they walked. They stopped in front of a tall, gurgling water fountain and sat on a nearby bench. They talked in soft voices for a little while, and then Oliver leaned in and kissed her. They made out on the bench until they were numb from the cold before returning to the Great Hall and hitting the dance floor once again.
Midnight arrived and the Weird Sisters left the stage entirely too soon for Oliver's liking. The students began to file slowly out of the Great Hall, followed by the teachers. Oliver escorted Adrianna back to her rooms. He went back to his own rooms and changed into his pajamas before returning to Adrianna's rooms. She had also changed into her pajamas. They sat on the couch and talked until she began to fall asleep on his shoulder. He kissed her softly on the lips, and the picked her up and carried her to her bed.
"Goodnight Adrianna," he whispered as he tucked the covers in around her. He turned to go, but felt her fingers tighten around his.
"Don't go," she said groggily, trying to pull him toward her even though she was half-asleep. Oliver climbed into bed beside her and pulled the covers up over himself. Adrianna curled up tight against him, and he wrapped his arms around her. He fell asleep to the rhythm of her heart beating against his chest and her deep, even breath on his neck
"Happy Christmas, Adrianna," he said gently.
"Mmmm, Merry Christmas," she replied.
"I got you something," he said, handing her the box as she sat up in bed. She untied the ribbon and tore the paper off, then opened up the little box. She gasped when she opened it up.
"Oliver, this is amazing! You really shouldn't have."
He watched with a smile as she removed a golden heart pendant on a gold chain from the box. The pendant was set with alternating aquamarine and peridot stones.
"It's our birthstones," she said softly, examining it closer.
"Yes. That's no ordinary necklace," Oliver said. "I bought it from a magic jeweler. The stones have power in them that will be of use to the owner. The aquamarines give you peace and boost your courage. The peridots protect you from curses and hexes, allow peaceful sleep, and guard you from illness."
Adrianna stared at the necklace in the palm of her hand for a minute. "It's a stunning combination. Can you help me put it on?"
"Certainly." Oliver carefully fastened the necklace around her neck.
"I got you something too," said Adrianna, climbing out of bed. She pulled a small wrapped box out of one of the drawers in her wardrobe and handed it to him. He tore off the paper and opened the box. Inside were two small, rectangular pieces of paper.
"Tickets to see Mirror, Mirror on the Wall in concert, third row! They're my favorite band! But I don't think I ever told you. How'd you know?"
"Lucky guess. I was hoping you'd like them."
"I do. Thank you so much, you're brilliant!" he exclaimed, giving her a bear hug and a passionate kiss.
Oliver and Adrianna were cuddling on the couch later that day when they heard a scratching sound against the window. Oliver looked up and saw Lightning and Sunrise hovering outside, loaded down with packages.
"Ooo, more presents!" exclaimed Adrianna as she got up from the couch and rushed over to the window. Both owls fluttered inside and crash landed on the floor. Both Oliver and Adrianna untied their packages from their owls. Adrianna handed him a small package from the pile that Sunrise had delivered.
"My mom sent you something," she said. They carried their presents over to the coffee table and sat on the floor to open them. Oliver got a set of robes, a new broomstick servicing kit and something that he had never seen before called a pensieve from his parents. There was also a card that said:
Dear Oliver,
Happy Christmas! We hope that everything is going well for you at Hogwarts. We bought you this pensieve just in case your thoughts get to be too much for you. All you have to do is put your thoughts in, and the pensieve will help you organize them so that they make more sense. It would be nice to get a letter from you once in a while, eh? We'd like to know how you're doing.
Love, Mum and Dad
Next Oliver opened the package from Adrianna's mom. It was a bright red, handmade scarf. "Wow, this is really nice! Tell your mum I said thanks," Oliver said to Adrianna. "What did you get?"
Adrianna held up some CDs, a box full of muggle hair care and beauty supplies, and a small jar filled with muggle candy.
"Happy Christmas!" boomed a loud voice above them. Adrianna shrieked and they both looked up.
"Merry Christmas, Sir Nicholas! You startled us," said Adrianna.
"Still in you pajamas, eh? Well get dressed then, quickly now. The teachers and the ghosts are going Christmas caroling to each house's common room together in a few minutes. We're meeting in the staff room."
After they were dressed, Adrianna and Oliver ran down to the staff room and spent the afternoon singing Christmas carols with the ghosts and the other professors. Before they knew it, it was time to go back to their rooms to get ready for the Yule Ball. Oliver spent about an hour getting ready for the Yule Ball. He took a bubble bath in his jacuzzi tub, shaved, and dressed in the bright red dress robes that had been hanging in his closet ever since he'd arrived at Hogwarts. Before he left for Adrianna's rooms, he conjured up a dozen red roses and gathered them into a bunch for her.
He knocked on her door, and his breath caught in his chest when he saw her. He had never seen her look so beautiful. Half of her golden blonde hair was curled and arranged on top of her head, and there were tiny braids interwoven through the curls. The rest was hanging down and curled on the ends. She was wearing just the right amount of makeup to enhance her natural beauty. Her dress robes were the same shade of red as his. Hers had elaborate gold embroidery on the hem of the skirt and sleeves. The sleeves flared from the elbows down, and the skirt had tiny gold embroidered dots all over it. She was also wearing a light cloak of exactly the same shade of red that had the same elegant embroidery on the hem and gold dots all over it. He looked down for a moment to collect his thoughts and noticed that she was wearing gold satin slippers. "You look amazing," he finally said.
"Thanks, so do you," she replied.
Oliver suddenly remembered that he was holding the bouquet of roses when one of the thorns pricked his wrist. "Oh, these are for you," he said, handing them to her.
"You're so sweet! Thank you," she said, giving him a kiss on the cheek. She used her wand to get a vase from the top shelf of her kitchen cupboard and filled it with water, then put the roses in the water.
"Ready to go?" she asked.
"Yeah, whenever you are." He offered her his arm, and after she had taken it they walked down the stairs and stood with the other teachers outside the great hall to welcome the students.
Oliver looked at the other teachers while they waited for the students to arrive. Snape was wearing black robes, as usual. Fleur Delacour wore robes of flowing silver-gray satin that complimented her features beautifully. Eva Hathor wore sand-colored robes that looked very nice with her dark brown hair.
Oliver watched as the students gathered outside the Great Hall and walked through the doors in groups. He saw Isabelle King and Morgan Heard walking in with Crabbe and Goyle, respectively. After that he saw Lauren Sage, the quidditch captain of Hufflepuff, walk in on the arm of Malcolm Baddock, the Slytherin captain. A few minutes later came Natalie MacDonald and Dennis Creevey, followed closely by Ginny Weasley and Colin Creevey. Colin had his trusty camera in one hand, and Oliver was sure that by the end of the night Colin would have enough pictures to fill an entire album. Sofie Grant was one of the last people to arrive with Stuart Ackerley, another member of Ravenclaw's quidditch team.
After the students had all entered the hall, the teachers walked in as a group. They seated themselves at the smaller, candlelit tables that had replaced the usual long house tables. At Oliver's table were Adrianna, Fleur, Eva, Elizabeth Vector, and, to his great annoyance, Sibyl Trelawney. There was a menu at each place setting for them to order from, however, there were no waiters in sight. Oliver had no idea what he was supposed to do. Fleur picked up her menu and looked at it for a few moments, then put down the menu and looked at her plate. "Pork chops," she said clearly to her plate, and a delicious meal materialized in front of her. Oliver and the others at his table followed her example, and soon they were all enjoying their meals.
After everyone in the great hall had finished eating, Professor Dumbledore stood up and asked everyone else to stand as well. With a wave of his wand, Dumbledore cleared all the tables off to one end of the Great hall and raised a platform at the other end. Several musical instruments materialized on the platform.
"And now, it is my pleasure to announce tonight's musical guests: the Weird Sisters!"
The hall erupted in shouts and cheers as the Weird Sisters took the stage. They started the evening off with a slow song, and several couples moved onto the dance floor. Oliver turned to Adrianna.
"Care to dance?" he asked, offering her his hand.
"Of course," she replied.
Oliver led her onto the dance floor and steered them slowly around the room, weaving in and out of the students.
"I must say, that necklace looks absolutely stunning with your dress robes," he whispered, glancing down at the heart necklace that he had given her earlier that day.
"You just like having an excuse to look at my chest," she said with a chuckle.
"That too," he replied with a coy smile.
The next song was much a much faster one. Oliver danced in a group with Adrianna and some of the other younger teachers. They danced for the next four or five songs, until Adrianna stopped dancing and walked over to him.
"Do you want to get something to drink? I'm really thirsty,"
she said. They left the dance floor and got a couple of butterbeers, then sat down at one of the tables at the far end of the Great Hall. They drank their butterbeer and chatted. When they were done Adrianna wanted to go back to the dance floor, but instead Oliver led her outside and down a path lit with live fairies. He noticed that there were students making out behind the rosebushes that lined the paths and pointed this out to Adrianna was they walked. They stopped in front of a tall, gurgling water fountain and sat on a nearby bench. They talked in soft voices for a little while, and then Oliver leaned in and kissed her. They made out on the bench until they were numb from the cold before returning to the Great Hall and hitting the dance floor once again.
Midnight arrived and the Weird Sisters left the stage entirely too soon for Oliver's liking. The students began to file slowly out of the Great Hall, followed by the teachers. Oliver escorted Adrianna back to her rooms. He went back to his own rooms and changed into his pajamas before returning to Adrianna's rooms. She had also changed into her pajamas. They sat on the couch and talked until she began to fall asleep on his shoulder. He kissed her softly on the lips, and the picked her up and carried her to her bed.
"Goodnight Adrianna," he whispered as he tucked the covers in around her. He turned to go, but felt her fingers tighten around his.
"Don't go," she said groggily, trying to pull him toward her even though she was half-asleep. Oliver climbed into bed beside her and pulled the covers up over himself. Adrianna curled up tight against him, and he wrapped his arms around her. He fell asleep to the rhythm of her heart beating against his chest and her deep, even breath on his neck