Is winter break lasting forever... maybe. But, hey, its adding necessary character development to both Laura and Noel. Plus, Christmas is in like, two weeks. I'm pretty sure I can keep the holiday content coming till then.

Not Potter and the Stupid Stone

Chapter 13

Laura

The next day, I awoke to my dad calling me downstairs. Hearing, and ignoring, said call, I began to roll over in my bed. A morning person I most certainly was not, and, probably, would never be. Yet, my father seemed to find it necessary to knock and open my door. How important is it to wake up on time over holiday? I do it the whole year; give me a break when I'm literally on break.

"Laura, you've ought to wake up." He said, turning on the lamp, "go get ready; there's much more to do before Christmas, isn't there?"

I glared through sleepy eyes, as I heard footsteps exit my room. Lighter footsteps approached with a meek meow, as I sat up in bed.

"'morning, Maisey," I mumbled.

Though my morning began quite slowly, my afternoon was much more eventful than planned. After breakfast I changed into what I deemed an appropriately festive outfit, a pair of jeans, fuzzy green and red stripped socks, a red jumper with little white reindeer silhouettes jumping across it, and a bracelet of silver jingle bells. Lunchtime approached with a lovely meal, and some unexpected conflict.

"Mum," I asked, sitting down at the table, "am I allowed to go to the shops today? I've ought to find you all some Christmas presents, after all!"

"Sunshine, you can go with your brother later, if he's up for taking you." She replied, placing a sandwich on my plate, along with a bowl that held a small fruit salad.

I sighed, desperate to go out. It had been weeks, months, since I had seen the town I grew up in, and I wouldn't likely see it again in ages. Yet, I shook off the lackluster mood, finishing the meal my mother prepared. I began wash up my dishes, as my brother and father walked down the stairs, rapidly discussing what events had been going on school, prior to break.

"I'm still shocked with the conditions of the dorms," my dad spoke, grabbing his lunch off the counter and sitting at the table. "I wouldn't expect much difference between the houses."

"Well, from what I've heard, the Hufflepuff common room is getting remodeled again over the summer. Maybe the Gryffindor commons just are too ancient for the remodels." He laughed, mocking my Gryffindor alumni father. He laughed back, prepared for a retort, before I interrupted.

"Actually, they just remodeled the common room a few years ago." I chimed, "our Head Boy was talking about it the other day."

My mum laughed, "that's wonderful, but I doubt that does anything on the age of those dorms. Besides, you better not get between this debate – your dad and brother have been at this joking rivalry for years."

I sadly smiled, only wanting to join in on the conversation. Jeff and my dad continued, as I walked back upstairs and into my room. I felt the same way I felt at school, for once. I felt ignored, or at some under importance to those who were already talking. To think of it, I hadn't even gotten to talk much about my new friendships when I first came home. I sighed, hearing a faint meow of sympathy coming from my pillow. A cuddled-up bundle of cat lay there, awaiting my arrival.

"Hi, Maisey," I said, petting her head. "You'd listen to me, right?"

She cuddled next to my leg, purred for a moment, then sat up. Her objective of comforting me had quickly changed, as she leapt to the door, pushing open the slight gap I had left.

Even my own kitten didn't care to listen much. I stared up; vision fixed. I let the feeling pass, as the minutes passed with it. Yet, it didn't go away. I decided to go somewhere else, somewhere different and not where the feeling seemed to reside. I grabbed a piece of paper, scribbled a note to my family, and began my walk towards the front door. I left the note on the coffee table, before walking out into the open road. I felt free, somehow. The fresh air cleansed my thoughts, as I allowed my feet to guide my steps. Where was I going? Well, that, I did not know, until I turned to the gazebo behind the small path at the end of the street. I stood inside, for a moment, appreciating the aged wood. Each dent, each scratch, each engraved initial – all of them told a story, a story I genuinely didn't know. I stared towards one engraving, the only story of the batch I ever had taken part in. An "x" was carved into the wood on the siding of the fifth bench, not visible unless you took the time to look for it. I smiled, as memories crossed my mind. That day, the day that mark was created, was the last day before I left for Hogwarts. The last day I had seen my partner in engraving crime, well, until then. I jumped, hearing words ring out from behind me.

"You're back in town, and the most random thing you choose to do is to stare at that stupid engraving?" The voice rang in the air for a moment, laughter and sarcasm setting the tone.

I spun around at the familiarity of the voice, a smile creeping onto my face.

"THOMAS!"

Noel

I leaned back and looked around at my new room, I think I like it better than my old one. After I had sent Kidget away in favor of putting away my clothes myself, I attempted the act for only a couple of minutes before I came to terms with how truly substantial my closet was and immediately calling her back. She had returned with only a pop, laugh, and shake of head.

"Did you even attempt to start," She smiled, bemusedly

"Well," I shuffled my feet across the floor.

Of course I hadn't, who in their right mind had thought it prudent to buy me twenty different black blouses alone, it would have taken hours without magic. Kidgent seemed to understand this, for she simply snapped her fingers causing all of the clothes to fly through the air and neatly hang or fold themselves away.

"Now," Kidget said firmly, "Is there anything else you be wanting Kidget help with, Noel."

I glanced at the gray wallpaper that was standard for guest rooms, "Could you redo the walls for me Kidget?"

"But of course, miss," Kidget replied, "How do you be wanting them.?"

"Well, to start, I definitely don't want wallpaper." As the remark escaped my lips, Kidget snapped her fingers, causing the wallpaper to peel down and the disappear. I thought about the red curtains of my four poster that I was so used to falling asleep surrounded by. "And I'd like for the walls to be red."

Kidget smiled, seemingly fondly, at my request for red walls, "Would you be wanting this color," she snapped her fingers turning the walls to the same Gryffindor shade of red that I had found so offensive on my first night at Hogwarts, "Or this color," She snapped again, changing the red to a deeper, wine, color.

"The first one."

"Is there anything else you be needing?" She questioned.

I thought for a moment, looking around at the room, only one thing stood out now. "Yes, just one last thing. Could you make the floors natural colored again."

Kidget smiled again before snapping her fingers, causing the black stain to seemingly seep out of the wood then evaporate, leaving them a beautiful cedar color. Then she looked at me and said, "You need only call if you need me," before swiftly turning and apperating away, leaving me alone.

As I regarded my now finished room, an idea popped into my head. I walked over to where my suitcase was set, on top of the chest at the end of my bed, and pulled out the notes I had stuck in there. I watched as the words and doodles danced across the small pieces of parchment, an enchantment Hermione and I were in the process of teaching the others. I walked over to my desk and set them down before opening one of the drawers. I was very pleased to find it already fully stocked, typical Kidget, she really was very sweet. It took me a minute to find a small jar of pushpins, which had been cleverly nestled into the back corner of the top drawer. Pulling them out, I began to arrange and tac the notes to the wall above my bed.

Once I had finished, I took a step back and smiled, it was like a collage of smiles and memories. It grinned to me, a chaotic reminder of my friends at Hogwarts.