Disclaimer: I have officially run out of witty disclaimers. Just know JK Rowling owns Harry Potter and that's all there is to it.
A/N: Ok, to make up for that last chapter which I'm not too pleased with I thought I'd churn out a second one to go with it to make up for it. You lucky, lucky people. Unless of course this one comes out badly too, then its like a double slap in the face. If it turns out that that's the case I'm oh so sorry.
This did of course mean that you didn't get a chapter yesterday. Sorry about that, but I held it back deliberately so that it could go up with this one.
Chapter Seven – Christmas Begins…
If the six friends thought that their first half term had passed them by quickly they were incredibly surprised come the end of half term.
Once more they returned to lessons, each slightly more willing to pay attention in classes than they had been before. The days trickled past like running water, lessons early on in the half term becoming a blur in their memories as the term progressed ever onwards, and before they knew what was happening it was the last day of term.
Just one more day until Christmas, that evening the groups of friends would split up for the holiday period. Both Alicia and Lee were returning home on the Hogwarts Express to visit their family, the other four friends were remaining at the castle for the Christmas season. However even the thought of them splitting up couldn't deflate their high spirits.
Alicia had been chattering non-stop about the holidays for about a week. As each and every one of them knew all too well, she was going to spend a nice family Christmas with the muggles. A traditional Christmas, Alicia called it. Fred and George simply called it boring.
Lee on the other hand was to be staying with his grandmother in Wales. He had stayed with her at Christmas for several years now and enjoyed it immensely, or so he told them.
Thus, when the last day came, the two of them emerged from their rooms grinning widely. Alicia had spent the last several nights packing, Lee on the other hand had not had to bother, he had left his belongings stowed scruffily in his trunk at the beginning of the year, as he had advised the girls to do early in the year. Their trunks were set to be taken down to the Entrance Hall for them during the day, so they simply left them in their dormitories as they left to complete their final timetabled day until the New Year.
As usual they all met in the common room before heading down to breakfast in the Great Hall, and once everyone had arrived they set off together.
By now the castle had been lavishly decorated for the festive season by the Hogwarts staff. Professor Flitwick had been seen on several occasions moving around the corridors conjuring decorations to brighten up the castle. As they entered the Great Hall and made their way to the Gryffindor table they had to walk past two gigantic Christmas trees that, rumour had it, Hagrid had single-handedly dragged into the castle.
For the first few days after the decorations had been put up each one of them had been in awe of the sheer scale of them. Not even the twins, who had heard tales of the lavish decorations from their brothers, were prepared for the scale of the decorations. But after several days had passed the awe began to fade, and each of them grew accustomed to the decorations simply being part of the castle.
They breakfasted together, their conversation focusing once more upon the holidays, many exaggerated groans being uttered when Alicia brought up the topic of her 'traditional Christmas' once again.
"I for one will be glad when you finally go on this traditional Christmas." George told her as they rose from the table to head to their first class, Transfiguration.
"It'll mean that we won't have to hear about it again for weeks."
The entire group chuckled aside from Alicia, who punched George hard in the arm.
"Oh and I'm sure we'd all much prefer to hear about your childhood Christmases again George." She scolded.
They left the Great Hall, playfully arguing with each other as they went.
The day passed far too quickly for their liking. Oddly, for the last day of term, they were actually hoping that it would take its time. It was the last time they would all be together for several weeks, they wanted it to last. But time has a habit of going against people's wishes. The day flashed by as fast as ever. Transfiguration, Herbology, Defence Against the Dark Arts, Charms, all flashed by in what seemed like an hour.
They walked out of Charms and took the path down to the Entrance Hall. Alicia and Lee were about to leave; the carriages were waiting outside to take them down to Hogsmeade Station. The others were heading into dinner in the Great Hall, so they walked down as a group.
When they reached the Entrance Hall however they had no choice but to go their separate ways. After Alicia and Lee had found their trunks amidst the large pile of them ready to be taken to the station Angelina and Katie hugged both Alicia and Lee in turn, telling them:
"Enjoy yourself. We'll see you after the holidays."
Fred and George on the other hand, were content with a brisk shake of the hand with a very comical:
"Hope to see you again soon."
"Take care now."
"I'll owl you all your presents." Alicia told them.
"I was planning to leave them, but I don't think Katie would be able to make herself leave it unopened until Christmas day."
Katie pouted.
"Remind me to never mention my impatience to you again."
Alicia giggled.
"I'll see you in a few weeks." she promised.
Then they separated. Alicia and Lee grabbed their trunks from beside them and heaved them down the front steps of the castle, hoisting both the trunks and themselves into one of the many waiting carriages. The moment they were seated it began to move, taking them away from the castle and towards the Hogwarts Express.
When the carriage got to the station it slowed to a halt just besides the platform. The two of them jumped down and dragged their cases out of the carriage behind them, looking around for baggage trolleys. Lee spotted a set of trolleys to the left of their carriage and moved over to grab two whilst Alicia watched the trunks. When he arrived back pushing the two trolleys, the two of them dumped their trunks on top and proceeded to wheel them down the platform.
The Hogwarts Express was sat there waiting for them, just as they remembered it from September. Pushing their trolleys through the throng of students they kept walking until they reached the compartment next to the driver's cabin. It was less busy here and they could see two vacant compartments through the windows. Taking their luggage off the trolleys, together they pulled them one by one onto the train and into one of the empty compartments. When they were done they collapsed into their seats.
"Fancy a few games of Exploding Snap while we wait for the train to leave?" asked Lee.
"Sure." Replied Alicia.
Twenty minutes later, when the train was pulling out of the station, the two friends were sat in that compartment, whooping and groaning as they played a game of Exploding Snap.
Back at the castle four friends trooped out of the Great Hall, their stomach's full of delicious dinner.
"Right then…" said Fred.
"Back to Gryffindor Tower I guess. What shall we do tonight girls, to mark the beginning of the holiday?"
"Exploding Snap, Wizards Chess, Gobstones?" asked George.
"We are NOT playing Gobstones again, not after the last time." Angelina announced.
"What? You're a sore loser?" Fred asked her, grinning.
"I'm a sore loser when losing entails having that disgusting liquid stuff squirted all over me!" She retorted.
"And if I'd lost last time? Would you be standing up for me saying there's no possible way you could let me go through that again?" Fred asked, a little mockingly.
"In your dreams Fred. You'd probably smell better with that stuff all over you anyway."
"Who's to say you didn't?"
The four of them laughed.
"Anyway, being serious for a moment, a concept some of us obviously don't understand…" Angelina said, rolling her eyes at Fred when she spoke.
"We are not playing Gobstones. Lets play something harmless."
"I vote for Wizards Chess." Katie put in.
"I still haven't had that rematch with George after our last game."
"Beating you again sounds good to me." Answered George.
Both of the others agreed too, so it was that when they reached the common room Fred, George, and Angelina dropped down into their favourite armchairs whilst Katie ran upstairs to fetch the board and the pieces. When she got back she carefully laid out the board on the table in front of them.
"Who's playing first?" she asked.
"You have your rematch with George." Fred told her.
"We'll watch for now, I don't much feel like playing yet anyway."
"Alright." Replied Katie.
"I'm black, George you're white."
"Hey! Who said you get to choose?"
Angelina was silent whilst Katie and George argued over who got to play as the black pieces. She was deep in thought. Finally, whilst George sulkily ordered his white pawn to move forwards, she turned to Fred.
"Hey Fred, do you remember last holiday when you, George and Alicia used that map of yours to get into Hogsmeade?"
"The Marauder's Map." Fred corrected her.
"And yeah I remember. What about it?"
"Well I've been thinking," she said, moving so that she fully faced Fred's armchair.
"Could we use that map to get into Hogsmeade again?"
Fred shrugged.
"Dunno. We haven't tried to use it since the last time." He said honestly.
"Its sitting upstairs in my trunk. We could try I suppose, there are other secret passages we didn't try last time. And we could always use the one to Honeydukes again, if the owner didn't find it last time that is. Why?"
"Well I've heard a lot about Hogsmeade." She told him.
"There's meant to be quite a bit there. I was wondering if we could do some of our Christmas shopping there. It'd save us having to order everything from catalogues."
George grinned at her.
"Sure it isn't more to do with you being jealous that we've seen Hogsmeade and you haven't?" he asked casually.
"Of course not." She answered, her cheeks turning slightly red.
"Besides, its not as if you saw the whole of Hogsmeade. You just saw Honeydukes, and it was pitch black aside from your wand light. You can't have had a proper look around."
Fred shrugged again.
"I don't see any reason why we couldn't go." He said.
"If the others agree of course. They might not want to."
Angelina beamed at him.
"Thanks Fred, I know they'll agree. Katie's been dying to see Honeydukes since you brought that load of sweets back last holidays."
Fred nodded.
"We'll discuss it further later. For now…" he pointed back at the chess board.
"We have to watch Katie lose again."
Lee clipped his trunk closed; the components for the several games he and Alicia had played after they grew tired of Exploding Snap were now locked back away. The train jolted lightly.
"We're here." Alicia called to him from by the window.
"Great." Replied Lee, straightening up and grasping hold of one end of his trunk.
"If only underage wizards were permitted to perform hover charms on their luggage." He commented.
Alicia giggled as she rose from her seat and moved over to her trunk.
"It wouldn't really help. Even if they were you'd still be breaking the Statute of Secrecy by hovering it through Kings Cross Station." She told him
"Typical." He replied.
"Here, I'll take you're trunk to the exit. You go and find us some trolleys to dump them off the train onto."
"Ok." Alicia replied, pulling open the compartment door and moving out.
It was fortunate that they'd chosen to use the front carriage, it was almost deserted. Most of the people who had filled it in September were probably staying at Hogwarts. Whether they were or not didn't really matter though. The fact was that everyone had gotten out of their carriage already, so the exits were clear. Therefore they wouldn't be holding up a long line of kids trying to get off the train by leaving their trunks at the exit whilst waiting for trolleys.
She jumped off the train onto the platform, spotting a cluster of free trolleys easily. Whilst Lee heaved both of their trunks out of their compartment and to the train exit she ran over to them, grabbing the nearest two, and pushing them in front of her as she made her way back to the train.
When she got back she helped Lee as he carefully shifted her trunk so that it fell onto one of the trolleys, then she pushed it to one side and turned back to help him with his. Once Lee's trunk was on his trolley they set off together towards the barrier leading back to the muggle train station, pushing their trolleys slowly in front of them. They were almost to the barrier when a voice rang out.
"Lee!"
Both Alicia and Lee turned to see a young boy who looked no older than seven to Alicia, running towards them, a broad grin on his face.
"Heya Jake!" Lee called to him, and a moment later the boy had reached them.
Lee embraced him in a quick hug before pulling away.
"How was it Lee?" the boy asked.
"Did you meet the ghosts? Did you learn anything interesting?"
Lee chuckled and turned to Alicia.
"Alicia this is my kid brother Jake. Jake, this is Alicia. She's my friend from school."
"Can you do magic?" Jake asked her eagerly and she chuckled at the excited expression upon the boy's face.
"Not here I can't." she told him.
"I'd get in trouble with the Ministry. We're not allowed to do magic away from Hogwarts."
Jake's face fell.
"Oh." He said.
"I wanted to see Lee do some magic this Christmas."
Lee cuffed him round the head affectionately.
"Hey, its ok." He told him.
"You can still take a look at all my homework. And if I tell mum what we've learned she can show you the spell."
The kid brightened up again at this.
"You mean I get to read Hogwarts work? Wow, thanks Lee! You're so cool."
At that moment a tall, thin woman arrived behind the boy. She embraced Lee, who looked slightly embarrassed at this.
"Get off mum." He moaned.
"Lee! Its so good to see you!" his mother exclaimed.
"Look how you've grown! Oh your father is dying to see you."
Alicia chuckled and decided to leave them be.
"Hey Lee, I'd better go find my dad on the other side of the barrier." She told him.
"He'll be getting worried."
Lee, glad of the distraction from his mother, turned to face her.
"Alright Alicia." He said.
"Have a great Christmas ok? Meet me back in the same compartment on the way back to Hogwarts, we can exchange stories then."
She smiled at him before uttering one final goodbye to Lee and his family, turning, and pushing her trolley onwards.
It only took her a moment to reach the barrier to King's Cross. Trying to act as casually as possible she walked through it and out into the muggle train station. She pushed her trolley to the right fairly quickly to ensure that no-one else coming through the barrier would come running into her, then she looked around. There was her mum and dad, stood next to the Virgin Express on Platform Nine. They waved as she looked and she waved back, pushing the trolley towards them.
The moment she reached them her mother pulled her into a tight hug. She thought back to Lee's mum hugging him a few moments ago and chuckled silently to herself at the similarity of all mothers.
When her mother pulled away she turned to her father and hugged him next.
"It's great to see you both." She told them, smiling up at them.
"Likewise." Said her father.
"Had a good term love?" her mother asked as they began to move through the station, towards the exit to the car park.
"Yeah, it's been brilliant!" Alicia told them excitedly.
"I can't wait to tell you all about it."
And together the Spinnet family left Kings Cross Station; ready to start on their traditional family Christmas.
A mirror creaked open, the noise it made suggesting that it had not been used in many years. A hand grabbed the edge of it and pulled it fully open, George's head poked into view, his eyes squinting into the dark passage concealed behind it.
"Lumos." He muttered, and then raised his hand holding his wand high in the air so that the light it gave off illuminated the inside of the tunnel.
"Looks safe enough." He commented.
"Similar to the other tunnel."
Fred's head appeared next to him, his arm also holding up a lit wand.
"You're right. All looks ok." He said before turning to the two girls stood eagerly behind them.
"Ready ladies?" he asked.
"Of course we're ready." Replied Katie, rolling her eyes as she did so.
"We aren't standing here watching you for the good of our health you know."
Fred grinned at her.
"Good. Follow us."
One by one they entered the passage hidden behind the mirror, Angelina, being the last one in, closed the mirror again behind them. The girls lit their wands quickly and then the four of them set off down the passage.
For twenty minutes they walked along the straight path before reaching a set of steps.
"Steps." Commented Fred.
"Just like in the other tunnel."
"However hopefully these won't lead to a busy shop." George replied.
They climbed the stone steps slowly. Fred and George noted they were much steeper than the set in the other tunnel, however it was not long before the steps came to an end, leading up to a large stone platform.
"There's a ladder here." George called from the front of the group.
"Looks like the only way up. I'll go first and check the coast is clear."
The others agreed and thus George put out his wand before slipping it into his robe pocket and started up the ladder, moving slowly upwards rung by rung. It was not a particularly tall ladder and it took him less than three minutes to reach the top. When he did so his hand fell upon a large metal wheel in the ceiling. With one hand he turned it, the wheel turning as if it had been well oiled earlier that day, George supposed it must have a charm placed on it to prevent it from rusting over.
He turned and turned the wheel; finally stopping when the metal hatch it was attached to gave a loud click. He pushed upwards with his hand, pushing the hatch open, and shoved it to one side. Then he grabbed hold of the ladder with his second hand once more and climbed up several more steps.
His head poked out of a hole in the ground of a deserted back alley. George took a moment to glance around at his surroundings, seeing that it was a manhole that he was stood in which was located just behind a large shop. He ducked his head back down into the passage and called to the others.
"Come on up. Its safe!"
He heard movement and footfalls from below, taking that to mean that the others were starting up the ladder, then he used all his strength to pull himself up, out of the manhole and onto solid ground once more.
He waited at the top of the hole; helping to pull the others up to ground level as one by one their heads emerged from the hole. When they were finally all out he dragged the manhole cover back into place, hearing it click as it fell back over the hole. One quick tug was enough to ensure that the manhole hadn't locked itself back into place, and then the four of them set out.
They rounded the large shop that they had emerged behind and found themselves at the edge of a small village square. Many shops surrounded the square with houses visible in the distance; Christmas decorations were draped over the many streetlamps in the square and glowing, magical tinsel was draped between the many shops. Their eyes travelled to each shop in turn, taking in both the unique decorations on display and what the shops sold. Naturally Fred and George's eyes locked on Zonko's Joke Shop next to them, that was the shop they had emerged behind, but the girls looked around at each shop in turn in glee.
"Well then, Christmas presents. Where were you ladies thinking of heading?" he asked after a moment.
"I want to go to Honeydukes." Katie told them.
"I know Alicia loved those sweets we had last holidays, I thought I'd get her a mixed package with a little something of everything."
"I need to visit several places." Angelina told them, her eyes still glancing around at the many shops in the square.
"But we can't all go together, we'd spoil any surprises if someone was buying us something. We should all split up and meet back here later. Is everyone alright with that?"
Fred glanced at his watch.
"Looks like it's taken us about forty minutes to get here." He commented.
"If we meet up and leave in about an hour then we should have about half an hour to spare before dinner when we get back."
"Perfect." Said Katie, smiling around at them all.
"That's settled then." Said George.
"Meet back here in an hour. Don't be late."
They each nodded and with a quick 'See you later' they parted ways, each heading towards a different shop.
When they met up again an hour later each of them was laden with several carrier bags filled with presents. As they made their way back to the secret passage and moved along it they chatted about the fascinating things they had seen in Hogsmeade.
"Did you try the butterbeer at the Three Broomsticks? It was delicious! I picked some up for us all to try on Christmas Day, one for each of us and one for both Alicia and Lee when they get back. Its not a Christmas present mind you, just a treat."
"And they had Sugar Quills that were this long! I could have sworn they were real, I wonder if McGonagall would notice if I used one in Transfiguration…"
"The Super-Strength Dungbombs looked so cool! Imagine how we could torment Filch is we had some? He'd never know what hit him."
"…Oh and the Filibuster Fireworks…They had a whole wall full I tell you!"
They chatted about Hogsmeade all the way back to Gryffindor Tower where they deposited their shopping bags in their dormitories along with the Marauder's Map before heading down to dinner.
"That was a great idea of yours Angelina." Fred told her as they walked down into the Entrance Hall.
"Can't remember when I've enjoyed myself more."
Angelina just grinned as the group strode through the Entrance Hall and into the Great Hall where the feast awaited. She was glad she had thought of it now, she'd got some super presents for the others. She couldn't wait until they saw them. How she wished she could see Alicia and Lee's faces when they saw their presents, she hated them being split up.
The four of them dropped down into their usual seats at the Gryffindor table, each picking up a goblet of Pumpkin Juice as they did so.
"Merry Christmas." Fred said to them all as he raised his goblet to his lips.
"Merry Christmas!" they echoed, imitating him, each of them drinking deeply.
"And here's to a great Christmas for Alicia and Lee." George said.
Once more they all drank, Angelina looking at George curiously as she did so. Was she mistaken or was he missing Alicia and Lee more than he let on? She knew he was close to both of them, they were all a very close group of friends, but she hadn't imagined that he missed them so much. There was something about his eyes that showed a distinct look of loss…now it was gone. Had she imagined it?
However the thought was pushed from her mind as the food materialised in front of her upon the empty plates, and all four of them grabbed what they wanted and tucked in.
A/N: Done for now, next chapter I'm hoping to focus on both Christmas Day and the second Gryffindor Quidditch game, nothing cast in iron though. We shall see.
Thanks to all those who continue reviewing, to those who haven't yet, please do so. I look forward to reading your thoughts.