Last year I did a holiday one-shot for The Owl House on a whim. I would have loved to have made it longer, but simply didn't have the time. This story will be what I had wished I could have done with that one. And yes, the sappy title was intentional.

Magic of the Holidays

Disclaimer: I do not own the Owl House and make no profit from this story.

Prologue

The boiling rain came down hard around the Emperor's castle. The guards all rushed to create a shield to cover the large structure, combining their magic together in a singular effort. While the guards were busy with protecting both themselves and the home of their menacing boss, three cloaked figures managed to get past them undetected. The figures ventured into the castle, avoiding the few guards who remained inside. As they infiltrated further, they had to resort to turning themselves invisible by means of using slips of paper with a sequence of circles drawn on them.

Now nearly undetectable, the trio of intruders made their way to a chamber deep within the castle. In the center of the room stood a door. It was in poor shape, looking as though it had been reassembled from pieces. A large, glaring eye with a vertical slit was set into the upper half of the door and the knob was in the middle with an old fashioned keyhole just beneath. As the trio entered the room, the eye fixed on them, the wood of the door creaking as it moved.

Two of the figures stepped closer to the door, the third staying close to the entrance to the chamber. They lowered their hoods, one a teenage girl with tan skin and her short, dark hair in a pixie cut and the other an older, pale woman with a mane of grey locks. The older woman approached the doorway, looking at it with a sorrowful expression on her face.

"The old creep was actually doing it." She said softly. "This entire time, he's been putting it back together… trying to make it work again…"

"Edalyn, now isn't the time." The third figure said, lowering her own hood to reveal a head of long dark hair with a streak of grey. "Take the portal and let's get out of here before we're discovered!"

"I know, Lily! But we need the key too." Eda replied. "Luz, do you see it anywhere?"

"I doubt that Belos would just leave it lying around." Lilith pointed out. "Odds are he keeps it on his person. But if we get the portal then at least the key is useless to him, and we can always make another one."

"But would that new key even work with this portal?" Luz asked, looking at the object in question. "We'd just be back where we started!"

"It's better than letting him have both." Eda said. "But let's still look for the key, because I'd prefer to leave Belos with neither."

"Very well, just be quick about it!" Lilith urged, checking back the way they had entered the room. "We may not have much time!"

Luz and Eda began to search. There wasn't very much in the room to begin with, leaving their options severely limited. Lilith kept watch for any guards which could have been in the area, an ice glyph in her hand, ready for use. Over the next couple of minutes, every little noise that either Luz or Eda made added to Lilith's paranoia. She was finding it very difficult to believe that no one had come to check a location with something so important, or even just pass by on patrol. It was leaving her unsettled.

The search was quick and fruitless. Even though the room was quite large, there were only so many places one would expect to find the key, namely close to the portal itself. But neither Luz nor Eda saw it or even any place where it would be kept secure.

"Darn, can't find that stupid thing anywhere." Eda grumbled. "Maybe Lily is right and Belos keeps it with him."

"Maybe nothing!" Lilith hissed quietly. "Why wouldn't he keep it with him? It makes perfect sense! Now hurry up and get the portal so we can leave! We already wasted enough time with this!"

"Yeah, yeah, I get it. Come on, Luz." Eda said. "We better scram before all of those guards come back into the castle. They may be a bunch of chumps, but they do have numbers on their side."

Luz gave up on looking and rejoined the two older women, looking a bit depressed. Both Eda and Lilith picked up on the teen's mood and exchanged a quick worried look. They knew how high her hopes must've been after finding the reconstructed portal. Not being able to use it was just a slap to the girl's face from the cruel hand of fate.

Eda placed her hand onto Luz's shoulder, unable to find any words at the moment to comfort her. Luz looked up at her briefly before they went to retrieve the portal and then vacate the premises immediately afterwards. The two witches let Luz stand aside while they set to work, not wanting to ask much of the young apprentice at the moment. They stepped up to the portal and began trying to find a way to disconnect it from the structure into which it had been reassembled. But just before they could get started, a disturbing chill filled the room.

"Can I help you ladies with something?" Came a voice.

The three froze, the sound of approaching footsteps echoing throughout the chamber. Emperor Belos stepped out from the shadows, his staff in hand and his mask shining in the torchlight. For a moment none of them moved, the eyes of the three women locked on the masked ruler. Then Belos held up his left hand; in it was the key to the portal.

"Is this what you were searching for?" He asked. "You have excellent timing. I was just able to replenish the blood that was lost from it before it came into my possession. In fact, I was about to test it to make sure it works. A pity that I can't allow you to stay here and watch."

He lunged at them suddenly, swinging his staff and sending out an arc of energy at them. They were able to react in time and evade with no trouble, but none of them had a chance to counterattack before Belos unleashed another surge of magic. Lilith used a combination of ice glyphs to create a thick wall to block it and allow herself a moment to plan her next move.

Eda meanwhile took advantage of the obstruction keeping her out of Belos's line of sight to use another invisibility combo. Luz followed suit and the master and apprentice flanked Belos while he was unaware. Lilith invoked a plant glyph to distract Belos with a massive, thorny vine which lashed out at him. He called forth a barrier, encompassing himself a mere second before Lilith's attack hit.

Belos waited the attack out, looking for a window to retaliate. Lilith used another plant glyph, creating a second vine and making both coil around Belos's shield. The Emperor scoffed and increased the amount of magic he was putting into the shield, making it expand and tear the vines apart. He then flicked his finger in Lilith's direction, enveloping her in red energy and sending her flying backwards.

While Belos was momentarily distracted, Luz reappeared behind him and invoked her own plant glyphs into a combo. Several branches grew out towards Belos, merging together into a larger branch which ended in a clawed hand. The ligneous appendage grabbed for Belos, but he was wise to the attempt and his body melted before he was caught. His fluid form streamed rapidly through the air and he reappeared behind Luz, towering over her.

Before Luz could do anything, Belos ensnared her with a red tendril of magic. She kicked her legs and squirmed to get free, but her efforts were in vain. The tendril constricted around her, beginning to hurt her a little. Luz struggled to get her hands on one of her glyphs, but her arms were both pinned firmly to her sides. She felt herself being lifted up higher and she braced herself for a whatever was to come next.

Suddenly Belos lurched forward as he was struck from behind, hard. Eda, in her harpy form, had appeared from thin air, landing a solid kick to the Emperor's backside. Luz felt the tendril loosen and she slipped from its grasp just before it vanished. She saw Belos's eyes glow right before he abruptly turned to face the Owl Lady. With a single swift motion, he twirled his staff and sent a torrent of fire at Eda who flapped her wings to ascend out of harm's way.

With a window of opportunity before her, Luz used an ice glyph combo to create a set of icy pillars with rounded ends. The pillars grew out and struck Belos in multiple places in his back, making him stagger and lose his footing. Eda then dropped down and tried to grab his staff, using one hand to push his mask down and obscure his vision. Belos roared with rage and jabbed his staff, managing to get Eda in the ribs. Then he pulled his staff from her grip and created a magic bubble around himself which he quickly expanded and burst, knocking back the Owl Lady and her apprentice.

"I have had quite enough from all of you!" He bellowed. "I will not let you hinder my plans!"

"Hinder this, you creep!" Eda retorted, pulling something from her hair and throwing it at his face. "Distraction spell!"

"What that a bag of Hex Mix?" Belos asked in mild disbelief, glancing at the bag that was now on the floor. "Did you just throw a bag of Hex Mix at me?!"

"No, that was my sister's distraction spell."

Belos turned to see Lilith standing very close to his side, a glyph combo in her hands. It held a fire glyph and an ice glyph on opposite points of a circle, with plant glyphs halfway between them on the upper and lower arcs. Lilith invoked the combo, creating a thick mist that sprayed forward. Belos quickly discovered there was something mixed into the mist, something noxious.

Acting instinctively, Belos began backing away from the dispersing cloud. He raised his staff to try and create a shield to hold it off, but something else caught him off guard before he had a chance to do so. Eda's palisman, Owlbert, had swooped in from above and successfully snatched the portal key from Belos while he had been focused on defending himself.

By the time Belos had realized that the key had been stolen from him, Owlbert had already swooped around the cloud and over to Luz. She grabbed the key and ran for the reconstructed door back to her realm. As she reached it, she went to place the key into the keyhole, her hands shaking with anxiety. Luz glanced over her shoulder, seeing both Lilith and Eda still working together to keep Belos from pursuing her.

"Please work." She whispered, her heart hammering as she turned the key.

With a pained groan, the door opened. Luz stared in awe at the familiar sight of the woods that were behind her house. For a moment she was too stunned to move. But then she was overwhelmed with joy, tears appearing in the corners of her eyes. She turned to face the other two women again, but this time saw something that made her blood run cold.

Belos's guards had arrived. No less than a couple dozen of them were swarming in, going to the aid of their Emperor. Luz was about to rush back to help Eda and Lilith before they could be overrun, but a stern glare from Eda made her stop in her tracks.

"Luz, go through the portal NOW!" She ordered. "We can't let Belos have it now that we know it works! Lily and I are going to blow that thing back into bits, so hurry and get your butt back to your world!"

"What?! No!" Luz protested. "I'm not leaving you!"

Eda slugged one of the guards in the gut, making him keel over. She then kicked his side with both legs, giving herself a decent launch in Luz's direction. Lilith kept Belos busy, but couldn't stop some of his guards from rushing after Eda or from attempting to surround her. She brought out a large piece of paper with a light glyph and invoked it, closing her eyes as a massive orb blinded everyone else close to her.

Taking advantage of the distraction, Lilith combined two separate glyph combos, one for plants and the other for fire. The plant combo brought forth a thicket of bushes that formed a semicircle around her, separating her from the Emperor and his guards. Then the fire glyph ignited them all, creating a barrier of intense flames.

The guards who had rushed after Eda were starting to close in on her. Lilith used a set of ice glyphs to create and onslaught of ice spikes that flew rapidly in their direction. Eda, wise to her pursuers, also made use of some ice glyphs to summon forth a solid wall of ice. The guards became trapped between the two separate ice spells, the spikes pinning them to the wall.

With a narrow window to work with, Eda continued flying over to the portal, scooping Luz up along the way. Luz squirmed to escape her grasp, still very much opposed to the idea of leaving her mentor and Lilith alone to face so many foes. She managed to get free, falling onto her butt and scrambling back onto her feet. Eda landed in front of her and firmly planted her hands onto Luz's shoulders, starting to push her towards the portal.

"This is not up for discussion. We may never be able to get you this opportunity again. Now go already!" She ordered, her voice cracking a little.

"But…"

"No buts! Just GO!"

Eda pushed Luz through the portal. She stumbled, barely managing to keep her balance. Luz then turned and tried to go back through, but Eda was already placing several fire glyphs onto the door. Suddenly, Belos was on her, using one hand to grab her by the throat while the other reached for the glyphs she had planted. Eda, despite the grip on her windpipe, managed a devilish smirk and tapped her finger on the nearest glyph.

The fire spread rapidly over the portal, Luz watching in horror. Belos let out an enraged cry as he tried to extinguish it, but quickly learned his efforts were in vain. Eda took the opportunity to slap a glyph onto his mask, a plant one which brought forth a carnivorous blossom that engulfed Belos's head. He released her and she shoved him away before giving Luz one last glance and a soft smile.

"Take care of yourself okay? And don't worry about us. We're going to be fine."

Luz watched Eda invoke another fire glyph combo before she hastily retreated. The portal was consumed in a violent burst of flames, one that made it burn and vanish from sight. In a desperate attempt, Luz ignored the danger and stepped closer to the blaze. But as she got closer, the unmistakable glow of Belos's eyes appeared from within the fire and his ignited form lunged at her.

Luz's eyes snapped open and she sat up in her bed. As the dream faded and her mind registered that she was not in Belos's castle, but in her bedroom, she let out a heavy breath. She laid back down, pulling her covers up again and looked at the window beside her was raining outside, the sky completely grey with clouds. A frown briefly appeared on her face and she moved her gaze away from the window, catching sight of something else in the process.

Someone was peeking up from below the top bunk. Luz saw her own face, or rather the face of her adopted sister Vee, looking at her with concern. Not wanting to be bothered, Luz turned over to face the other direction and closed her eyes again, desperate for just a little more sleep. But she could tell that Vee was still watching her for some reason. She let out a sigh and turned back over, cracking open one eye halfway.

"Did you need something?" She asked, unaware of how grouchy she sounded.

Vee flinched a little at her tone, but she climbed a bit further up the ladder to lean on the mattress. Luz sat up, scootching back a bit as she hugged her knees, allowing Vee more room so she could join her. Another sigh passed through her lips while she waited for Vee to say something to her. Even though they had been sharing a room for nearly two months, Luz found that Vee was still fairly shy around her for some reason. Possibly something to do with how she was still using Luz's appearance all the time.

"Well go on, you wanted to say something, right?" Luz pressed, wanting to try and get back to sleeping.

"You were… talking in your sleep again. I just wanted to see if you were alright." Vee replied. "Was it that dream again? The one you keep having?"

"I don't want to talk about it." Luz told her. "Now if that's all, I want to catch some more shut-eye."

"But it's a school day." Vee pointed out. "You have to get ready soon."

Luz let out a frustrated groan and pulled her blanket up over her head again. Vee climbed down the ladder, sensing Luz needed a minute. She went over to the window and watched the storm. After a short while, Luz reluctantly got out of bed and began looking out the window with her. There was a time when the rain was soothing to her; a blissful white noise she could enjoy when reading or writing a fanfiction. Now it just reminded her of that day she had recently relived in her dream, the bitter memory bubbling back up and souring her already sullen mood.

"I hate the rain." She grumbled.

"Mama says it's almost the time of year when it snows instead." Vee said, sounding a little excited. "I've never seen snow before. Do you think it will happen soon?"

"I dunno. Maybe. It's still early December. Winter starts on the twenty-first, but we could get snow before then if it's cold enough." Luz told her. "I kinda hope it does snow soon. Getting a snow day would be great. I'd love an excuse not to go to school."

"Snow can keep you from going to school?" Vee asked, tilting her head slightly.

"If there's enough of it, yeah." Luz answered, starting to pick out her clothes for the day. "Any chance you could just go to school for me instead?" She asked, giving Vee a quick glance over her shoulder.

Vee frowned a little. "You know that Mom doesn't want us doing that anymore. I don't want to get into trouble!"

Luz let out a sigh. "I figured as much." She mumbled, setting her clothes aside and heading to the bathroom to shower. "Time for another long day of nothing fun or interesting."

To Be Continued