Thanks a bunch to emc14 for providing me with the art and CrazySue05 for editing this baby!
Disclaimer: I'm a college student, not a man in a yellow cap or a lady who secretly wrote a crime story. So, no I don't own this.
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December 10, 2004
Blaine was supremely upset. He had wanted to go home and sing Christmas carols with his family and all the relatives who usually came over. But Phil, one of his first cousins twice removed had passed away and there was a big ceremony of Christmas not being celebrated this time. His parents were going to take care of Phil's wife, who was about sixty and had trouble handling all the documentation that usually turned up. So Maggie had owled Blaine, telling him that he'd have to stay at Hogwarts for the vacation as well as over Easter break. It was even worse that his two close friends, Harry and Ron, were going home. Yes, his two friends were named after the hallowed Heroes of Hogwarts. He was just happy there was no Hermione, otherwise they'd have to be friends just to prove a point.
He knew that all Ravenclaws were stereotypically supposed to be scholars who loved to regurgitate their textbooks. However, there was one thing about him that no one knew except Cooper and his parents. He loved to… SING! It wasn't something that he was embarrassed about, but it was something that was definitely frowned upon in Hogwarts, seeing how the only songs they knew where from choir or the Weird Sisters. Trying to get them to listen to the zillion genres of music would be like telling them to go and do magic in front of Muggles. That was the main reason why he hummed the songs he loved in the showers or when he was truly alone. Now that he knew he was staying over for the holidays, he walked to Professor Pillsbury's office and knocked on the door twice. He knew better than to knock four times, now knowing that it was a secret knock for her to talk sexy to Professor Howell. He was pretty much scarred that day and had run away.
As she opened the door, she gave a small smile and politely asked, "What happened, Blaine?" He caught his breath for two seconds, seeing how he had run up her staircase, "I know you wrote down the list of students last week who'll be staying over from Ravenclaw and I'd like to add my name to the list." She opened the door wider and rested her hip against the doorway, asking, "Is there some problem at home? Do you want to talk about it?" Miss Pillsbury was not only the Muggle Studies teacher, but also the Head of House Ravenclaw. She usually helped out stressed and burnt out students giving their OWLs or NEWTs, but Blaine was an exceptional case.
He hurriedly shook his head and said, "Some extended family has passed away. I didn't know him that well, so Dad and Mum are happy to keep me out of all the depressing speeches." She giggled a bit, and then summoned her pad from inside. She spoke aloud as she wrote, "Blaine Anderson for the Holidays, check." He then gave her a hopeful look as he inquired, "Can I know who else is staying over?" As she read the list of names, his hopeful look became sad as he realized that no one he knew was staying over for Christmas. He nodded resolutely and walked back to his dorms. On the way back, he almost tripped over a girl who shouted at him, "Watch where you're going, 'Fro!" He carefully put a hand on his head to see that his curls hadn't escaped. He had wanted to gel them down, but Mum had told him that she would cut his hair if he attempted to do anything like that.
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It was Christmas evening and about only twenty children had not gone home. He wouldn't have bet on that because the Hogwarts Christmas Dinner was so scrumptious he thought people would miss going home just to dig into this. Plus, the probability of only this many staying back wasn't something he had expected. He ate his portion of the roast chicken with lots of gusto, but using his napkin at the same time. He saw the girl who had shouted at him talk quietly to one of her friends, or maybe her acquaintance. They were talking really seriously, and Blaine tried to look away, but not before she gave him a scathing look.
He hurriedly looked back into his food, and it was good that he did, as he found a knut in his pudding that he would have definitely missed if he was just enjoying the taste of such a delicious dessert, and not the sight. He also missed Professor Howell giving him an embarrassed look to which Professor Pillsbury nudged him really hard. As they toasted to the New Year, Blaine couldn't stop secretly giggling at the sight of Headmaster Flitwick standing on his chair to give the toast.
When they finished, the children were allowed an hour of roaming about outside the castle before their curfew kicked in. Blaine, who was already dressed up in his heavy cloak and boots walked out, missing his two friends and just kicking at the snow. He looked around him to see no one was there and realized he could sing as loudly as he wanted to. But not too loudly, as it was silent outside and his voice could easily echo. He tapped his hand against his coat as he sang, "This love has taken its toll on me…she said goodbye, too many times before-ore-ore...my heart is breaking in front of me… I have no choice…" He got interrupted by a voice, "'cause I won't say goodbye anymore."
He turned around in surprise to find a red-haired pale girl finishing the song for him. He got back his composure and said, "I didn't know anyone who knew what top 40 signifies over here, much less Maroon 5." She snickered and said, "Well, I like the song, and my sister thinks Adam Levine is hot." Blaine nodded involuntarily, then realized an important thing. He brought out his gloved hand, and said, "My name's Blaine. What's yours?" "Sally's the name. Gryffindor is my House …of fame," she lamely replied and gave his hand a high-five instead. They both laughed at her bad way of rhyming and they started walking again. Blaine asked her, "So why haven't you gone home for Christmas?" She just shrugged and replied, "You know all those stories about how witches love to put babies in hot water and boil them?" At his nod, she said, "That's what my family equates me with after I got my Hogwarts letter. I thought it better not to upset the basket and only go there when I have no other choice. You?" Blaine put his hands in his pockets, stating, "Death in the family. Wasn't close enough for me to go attend the wake or the burial."
Just then, another voice piped up, "Hey ginger! Searching for your soul?" Sally retorted back, "Why should I? I'll just ask you to ask your best friend, the devil!" The voice grew closer as it started laughing and Blaine could see it was the same girl who had shouted at him earlier that evening. She smirked at him and then told Sally, "I see you've made friends with the guy who might have pencil shavings, bits of erasers and paper hidden inside his massive forest of curly hair." Blaine laughed because he was used to hearing stuff like that. That was the start of a new friendship between him, Santana and Sally.