The month of November passed fairly uneventfully, and by the first week of December the first snowfall transformed the castle grounds into a winter wonderland. Snow covered the frozen surface of the Great Lake, and the outdoor paths became icy and slick as the temperatures dropped. Soon there was so much snow that Sitwell had to shovel a narrow path to the greenhouses just so the students could get to the Herbology greenhouses.

A feeling of both excitement and anxiety hung in the air as everyone longed for the end of term. Students both dreaded and looked forward to December 23 as both the deadline of final term essays and the annual Christmas Ball were scheduled on that day. Since the last Triwizard Tournament, the staff had decided to hold a Christmas Ball each year for students of all ages as a way to celebrate the end of the fall term.

The weekend before the dance, Yelena and Natasha headed into Hogsmeade to go dress shopping with Melina. Yelena had gotten special permission from Professor May to visit Hogsmeade with her mother and sister, something she was starting to regret as she struggled to walk along the snowy path to the village, the rapid snowfall and strong winds obscuring her vision. After trudging through the thick snow for what felt like hours, they finally arrived at the shop, their clothes soaked and fingers frozen.

Yelena pushed open the door and sighed with relief as she stepped into the warm shop. Natasha hurried in after her, shutting the door quickly as they stamped their feet on the welcome mat in an effort to knock the snow from their boots.

Shivering, Yelena blew on her fingers and looked around to see Melina headed towards them from the other end of the shop.

"Lenochka, Natka, come in!"

Melina ushered them into the shop and dried their clothes with a wave of her wand. Yelena sighed appreciatively and hugged her mother tightly.

"Спасибо, Mama."

Her mother kissed her cheek and smiled before moving over to hug Natasha as well.

The girls removed their coats, hats, and mittens, hanging them on the peg by the door as Melina began to search the racks.

"Come, come! I have found perfect dresses for you."

Holding out a long green dress, Melina beckoned them over.

"Natka, come, try this on."

Sighing, Natasha walked over to take a look.

"Would look good on you!" Melina insisted, handing her the dress.

"I guess I don't have a choice." Natasha said, rolling her eyes and moving towards the dressing rooms.

Melina turned back towards the dresses and pulled a dark blue one from the rack.

"Try this on, Lena."

"Actually, Mama, I was kind of thinking of something different." Yelena said hesitantly.

"You don't like blue?" Melina hung the dress up and reached for a similar dress in red. "This one, maybe?"

"Actually, I was thinking, maybe I could wear pants." Yelena said hesitantly, moving over to another rack where several pantsuits and jumpsuits were displayed. She held up a purple jumpsuit with gold buttons down the back.

"Something like this, maybe?"

Melina took the jumpsuit and held it up in front of Yelena, her head tilted to one side in thought.

"Would also be pretty, yes. You are sure you don't want dress?"

"I'm sure." Yelena said firmly.

Melina sighed but handed her back the jumpsuit.

"Go try it on, then."

Yelena grinned and kissed her mother on the cheek. "Thanks, Mama."

She ran to the dressing rooms to try it on, emerging a few minutes later to join Natasha in front of the shop's full length mirrors.

"I have to admit, I kind of like it." Natasha said, turning to look at the back of the dress. She turned to look at Yelena and smiled.

"You look amazing, сестра."

"Thanks!" Yelena twirled in front of the mirror, grinning widely. "I love this! Look at the pockets!"

Natasha laughed. "I see them."

"You could put so much stuff in here!" Yelena stuck her hands in the pockets to demonstrate.

"They're badass." Her sister agreed, turning back to look at her own reflection.

Melina moved to stand next to them and smiled. "Очень красиво. Both of you."

The Three Broomsticks was crammed full of locals and students seeking refuge from the heavy snows. Pushing their way through the crowd, Melina and Yelena found an unoccupied table near the back of the pub and sat down while Natasha went to the front to order three butterbeers. A few minutes later, she came back with their drinks and a basket of bread and set them down on the table.

Yelena reached eagerly for one of the mugs, wrapping her hands around it with a sigh of relief.

"So, how's everything at home?" Natasha asked as she took a sip from her mug.

"Yes, good, good." Melina shrugged.

"Pigs are healthy, doing well. Have some new piglets, also."

"Piglets?" Yelena asked, her mouth full of bread.

"Lena, please." Melina sighed. "Yes, turns out Alexei-pig was female. She gave birth to six piglets last week. Я думала что он просто толстый."

"Damn. I didn't see that coming." Natasha said, blinking slowly.

"Is Papa crushed about his namesake?" Yelena asked, swallowing another mouthful of bread.

"Honestly, I do not think he has noticed." Melina said. "He is in middle of yard project, it is not going well."

She sighed and took a piece of bread from the basket.

"Lawnmower broke in September, he tried to fix it last week with a spell but instead he burned grass. Muggle neighbors are very confused, we told them it was barbecue fire that got out of hand. Backyard is now very black."

Yelena rolled her eyes. "Sounds like him."

"He burned all the grass? But what about the snow?" Natasha asked, sounding concerned.

Melina waved a hand dismissively. "Snow also melted. I will fix grass with simple spell, we will tell neighbors that we have special fertilizer."

"Okay…" Yelena said slowly as Natasha put her head in her hands.

"We leave for a few months, and you guys almost burn the place down." She said, her voice muffled.

Yelena patted her sister on the shoulder commiseratingly and drank the last of her butterbeer.

"And you're letting Papa stay home by himself?" She asked.

"I told him not to try any complicated spells until I am home." Melina smiled fondly. "I am sure he will not burn down house."

"How sure?" Natasha muttered.

"Anyway, how are classes?" Melina asked.

Natasha sat up with a groan and reached for her mug. "Good, it's going good. I'm working on final term essays."

Yelena nodded. "I've been busy studying."

"Good, good. You are smart girls, you will do well."

Reaching out to take both of their hands, Melina smiled.

"Мои девочки."

The next week passed faster than Yelena would have liked as she rushed to complete her final assignments. By the 23rd, she had finally submitted her final term essay and she was completely exhausted and ready for Christmas break.

She and the twins joined Vision at the Hufflepuff table for a quick dinner before they all headed off to their dormitories to get ready for the Christmas Ball.

Yelena put on her purple jumpsuit and braided her hair into a simple crown braid before helping Wanda curl her hair with a Muggle cordless curling iron. Wanda wore a simple red knee-length dress and used a single hair clip to keep the curls out of her face.

Nebula joined them in the common room dressed in a red jumpsuit, and they met the boys at the entrance to the Great Hall. Pietro and Vision both wore light blue dress robes, and Loki's dress robes were a deep green color.

The Great Hall had been completely transformed for the Ball. Blue and white streamers decorated the walls and intricate glass icicles hung from the ceiling to match the Ball's winter theme. The massive Christmas trees that Professor Jarvis had hauled inside in the beginning of December had been completely redecorated with silver tinsel, small white candles, blue and white ornaments, and a white glass snowflake as the tree topper. Actual snowflakes hung suspended throughout the hall, having been enchanted to stay frozen throughout the duration of the Ball. The floor itself was a translucent, shimmering blue and looked exactly like a sheet of real ice.

For a moment, they all stood speechless at the entrance. Yelena looked around the Great Hall in awe, craning her neck to look at the ceiling, which had been bewitched to show a snowy night sky.

"Wow." Pietro said, his mouth hanging open in shock as he spun around slowly.

"This is amazing." Wanda whispered.

"How did they manage to enchant the snowflakes like that?" Vision wondered, tilting his head as he studied a snowflake drifting in front of him.

"Must have been some really advanced magic." Nebula said, moving towards the food and drinks table. The others followed her, gawking at the decorations. They all poured themselves a cup of punch and grabbed a few snacks before heading to sit down at one of the tables.

The room slowly filled up as they ate their snacks, until most of the tables were occupied. The band in the corner of the room started to play an upbeat tune, and a few bold Ravenclaw boys started to dance awkwardly in a little group. Yelena spotted Natasha sitting with several of her friends a few tables away. She was happy to see that Bruce was part of the group, sitting between Steve and Thor and smiling.

Finishing his last sandwich, Pietro pushed his chair back and stood up.

"I'm going to get some cookies. You guys want some?"

"Definitely." Yelena said as Wanda and Nebula nodded. Loki shrugged, but Vision just handed Pietro his plate.

"Cool." Pietro grinned, taking Vision's plate before disappearing over to the snack tables. He returned a few minutes later, the two plates laden with a huge pile of cookies, more than the six of them could possibly eat.

"Cookie eating contest?"

Yelena grabbed a handful of the cookies and dumped them onto her plate. "You're on, Maximoff."

Loki scoffed haughtily, reaching to take a few. "As if any of you could beat the reigning champion. Last year on his birthday, Thor challenged me to a cake eating competition. I ate a whole half of the cake. He only ate four pieces before he threw up."

Nebula nodded, piling several cookies on her plate. "It's true, I was there."

"Ew." Yelena wrinkled her nose in disgust.

"Anyway." Pietro clapped his hands together. "Cookie eating contest?"

Loki nodded eagerly as the rest shrugged.

"All right. On the count of three! One…two…three!"

As soon as Pietro finished the countdown, they all started eating frantically. For a minute, none of them made a sound as they crammed cookies into their mouths, barely stopping to chew before reaching for another. Yelena kept a mental tally in her head every time she finished one, determined to keep up with Loki. She was ten cookies in when she started to feel a little nauseous, but she persisted, grabbing another cookie from the stack in the middle and eating it in two quick bites.

At fifteen cookies, Wanda groaned and put down her half-eaten cookie. "Guys, I can't anymore. I feel kind of sick."

Vision pushed back his chair and reached for his drink. "Me neither."

Loki snorted derisively and reached for another cookie, the rest of the group following his lead. A few cookies later, however, Pietro and Nebula quit and lay back in their chairs, groaning.

Eighteen cookies, nineteen cookies, twenty cookies…Loki continued to eat, but as Yelena picked up another, her stomach began to churn unhappily. She put it down again and rested her head on the table, moaning.

"You win. I give up. Jesus, Odinson, I don't know how you do it."

"Yes!" Loki held up his arms triumphantly, still chewing his last cookie. "I told you!"

He got up from the table, looking supremely unaffected by the mass amounts of sugar he just consumed.

"Let's go dance!"

The others followed him to the dance floor, groaning and holding their stomachs. Forming a circle, they danced slowly at first, picking up the pace a little with each new song. More students gradually joined the groups of dancers, until almost everybody in the Great Hall was singing along to the lyrics and dancing energetically.

Yelena danced with her friends as the hours passed, stopping only occasionally to grab a drink or a snack, but making sure to stay far away from the cookies.

Finally, as the clock struck one, she stumbled into the Slytherin common room with Wanda and Nebula, so tired she could barely stand.

"Good night." Nebula said, yawning as she headed towards her own dormitory.

Wanda and Yelena retreated to their dormitory, barely managing to change into pajamas before they fell into their beds.

"Good night, Wanda." Yelena mumbled.

"Good night, Lena."

Yelena smiled sleepily, her face buried in the pillow.

"This was the best night ever."