Chapter 14 – This Christmas

My world is filled with cheer and you
This Christmas

And as I look around, your eyes outshine this town, they do
This Christmas

And this Christmas will be a very special Christmas for me

Christmas Day had come at last, and so too had a fresh blanket of snow. Ebony was entranced once more as she watched the flurry of flakes fall around the castle like a dusting of sugar. She didn't know why it fascinated her so, but with the revelation of the blizzard on the day she'd been born, she felt like it was a pull even deeper than she could comprehend on the surface.

Overall, since seeing James in Hogsmeade, she had been in much higher spirits, but Ebony couldn't pretend like she didn't still desperately crave him. And especially then as she met with the rest of her friends in the Great Hall for breakfast.

It still felt like a part of their group was missing—a part of her heart too.

"Merry Christmas, Ebony," Scorpius enthused, enveloping her in a tight hug.

"Merry Christmas, Scorpius," Ebony heard herself saying back. He had already raced from the Dungeons in order to greet Rose first that morning, and now that she was surrounded by couples once more, Ebony felt downcast.

She was always going to come second to anybody's significant other, and it wasn't fair that the one person who mattered most to her couldn't share the magical day with her.

But Ebony took a steadying breath, remembering that James wouldn't want her to mope. He had as good as told her back in Hogsmeade.

"Never forget how strong you are"—it's something that he told her often, but Ebony never felt particularly strong. She knew James worried for her, and she knew how upset he was at the thought that she was wasting her last year in the castle by constantly obsessing over him. Ebony recognised this too, but it didn't make it any easier.

Ebony greeted the others, offering them 'Merry Christmases' all around and hugging her various friends, but she felt like she was only going through the motions.

Once breakfast was over—and it had succeeded in temporarily lifting her spirits—Ebony supposed they would be retiring to the Room of Requirement to open presents and such. She might sneak out, she thought. Just to take a breath of fresh air and feel the snow settle on her skin.

But before Ebony had a chance to do so, Professor Bobbin had rather tentatively approached her, Professor Roberts by her side.

Ebony was not as alarmed as she might have been. She had offered the woman a smile as she'd entered the hall, but they had not yet greeted each other. Ebony felt awkward, unsure what she should do. She had hugged Bobbin in her office the other week, but that had been purely calculated, and she suspected her mum had been well aware. But both of them staring at each other, oddly formal, didn't seem right somehow. It was like they were merely Headmistress and Head Girl rather than mother and daughter, but Ebony supposed she had no one to blame for that but herself.

"Merry Christmas, Ebony," Bobbin said rather breathlessly.

"Merry Christmas," Ebony shyly offered back.

She and Roberts shared a warm grin. Bobbin was being reserved, Ebony knew. She would never be the one to hug her first, to even touch her. But Ebony was not sure she could initiate it herself either, so she made no move to do anything.

"We're all going to open presents together later," Ebony suddenly burst out, hating the prolonged silence that had fallen between them all. "Do you want to join us?"

Bobbin looked startled, and Ebony blushed. Why had she said that? Bobbin didn't want to hang out with Ebony and her group of friends—even if it was Christmas. She would probably rather have spent it with her husband, obviously.

"Oh," Bobbin said with gentle surprise. She shared a look with Roberts, and he seemed to smile back in an encouraging manner. "I—well—only if you're sure…"

Ebony just shrugged, regretting it already. Bobbin was just being polite.

"Where?" Roberts asked kindly, trying to aid the awkwardly struggling women.

Ebony suddenly wasn't sure if Bobbin and Roberts knew about the Room of Requirement, and whether she should be revealing it to them—but what could she do instead? "Oh, err, the Gryffindor Common Room," she made up quickly.

She would just have to tell the others that the plans had changed, sure no one would really mind too much.

"I know we're not supposed to go in there but—"

"It's Christmas," Bobbin interrupted with a kind smile. "I'll allow it."

"Okay." Ebony breathed a mental sigh of relief. "I'll, err, I'll see you later then…"

She made to turn away so she could hurriedly update Scorpius on the change of plans, but something made her stop—something in the way Bobbin was looking at her.

Realising her daughter was staring, Bobbin blushed. "You're wearing the dress," she said simply.

"Oh." Ebony looked down at her own body in surprise, running her hands down the dress Bobbin had bought her for her birthday. Well, the dress Ebony had chosen and Bobbin had paid for. It had been pretty pricey—a decision Ebony had made out of spite at the time—but she supposed she had better make good use of it. It wasn't really a Christmassy affair, but it was very much the kind of thing that appealed to Ebony.

The dress was a skin-tight number of heavy black lace, with a deep V neckline that probably wouldn't have been appropriate if it weren't a day of celebration, and sleeves that flared out at the wrist in a style Bobbin herself often wore. Ebony had never made the connection before and wondered if she realised the similarities herself.

She didn't want to picture her mum wearing a similar number though, Ebony thought with distaste.

Ebony looked back up at Bobbin. "Yeah," she said, unsure once more about what else she could possibly say. Merlin, why was it always so hard?

"Well"—Bobbin cleared her throat—"we'll, err, see you a bit later then."

Ebony just nodded. She offered one final smile to her mother and stepfather, and then she turned on her heel in pursuit of Scorpius to inform him of the change of plans. As she suspected, he was with Rose.

"We have to meet in the Gryffindor Common Room," Ebony said in a hushed voice, not wanting Bobbin to overhear. "Not the Room of Requirement."

"Why?" Scorpius unsurprisingly asked.

Ebony looked sheepish. "Because I invited Bobbin and Roberts," she confessed. "And I don't know if they know about it or not."

Rose looked pleasantly surprised. "You did?"

Ebony did not want a big deal to be made out of it. "Yeah—I thought they might want the company," she said offhandedly.

Rose was looking at Ebony with an uncontained smile, and Ebony did not appreciate the implications, even without Rose outwardly saying anything.

"That's great, Eb," Scorpius praised, and she only hated it further. Why were they acting like it was a big deal? Or like it even meant anything at all? Ebony had only been trying to be polite to their headmistress. It was her Christmas too, after all.

"Yeah, well," Ebony said dismissively, longing to escape. "I'll see you guys later?"

They bade her farewell, and then, finally, Ebony was gone.

The snow did her good, and she found she really didn't mind it at all. She had sought solace on the battlements of the Astronomy Tower, letting the cold flakes settle atop her hair, the cold sensation of the winter's air against her skin making her feel alive. She wondered what James was doing right then—if it was snowing in Devon where he was with his family.

Forcing thoughts of James Potter clear from her mind, Ebony closed her eyes, letting only her sensations guide her. Once she had taken one last breath of crisp, cold air, she prepared to face the day. And it was going to be a good day, Ebony vowed. It was Christmas at Hogwarts with her closest friends. With her family.

The Gryffindor Common Room was already packed full when Ebony arrived. She was surprised—had that many students really stayed behind for the holiday? But she noticed that it wasn't nearly as full with people as she'd initially thought. In fact, most of the space in the room had been occupied by a bizarre-looking contraption with wires and what appeared to be a stage?

"What the—"

"It's Janey's old karaoke machine," Rose sighed wearily, coming over to greet Ebony. "Sam thought it would be a wonderful gesture at Christmas to let her have it back in the common room for a week or so."

Something in Rose's expression let Ebony know that she very much did not share the view that this gesture of goodwill was a well-thought-out one.

"It's only been three days, Ebony," Rose said desperately, her eyes shining with something akin to a plea for help. "Just be grateful she's distracted at the moment—we'll all no doubt be subject to a concert-length performance by the end of the day. She just has so much energy."

Ebony found she couldn't suppress her smile. "That was very sweet of Sam," she said. But in truth, even the harmless Muggle technology was making Ebony think of James. He would have loved it. They had sung together the night of their wedding too. And at Janey's birthday. Ebony never would have been so bold as to do anything of the kind without James by her side.

"You look great by the way, Eb," Rose said kindly.

Ebony subconsciously ran her hands down the front of her dress.

She was about to reply but, just then, a disturbance by the portrait hole alerted them all to the presence of some new arrivals. Ebony's heart fluttered when she realised it was Bobbin and Roberts. They had actually come?

"Hi all," Roberts greeted the students with his usual, kind smile. "Woah, this common room is way bigger than the Hufflepuff one."

"I've never seen it," Janey piped up thoughtfully. "Only the outside."

"You've never been in the Hufflepuff Common Room?" Albus asked without thinking.

Bobbin playfully narrowed her eyes. "Have you?" she asked her Head Boy.

Albus immediately went red. His girlfriend was a Hufflepuff after all. "I—uh—"

"These common room invasions were never a thing when I was at school," Bobbin mused, beaming at her students. "All the houses very much kept to themselves."

"Something I think we should return to," Jinx said with an air of teasing disgust, her hair very festively golden-coloured once more. "I much prefer our common room."

"Bye then," Jinx said sweetly.

Jinx shot her half-sister an irritated look. "You've been a lot more uppity since you rejoined the team, you know?"

Janey looked thrilled by the reminder.

Scorpius suddenly dropped his head into his hands. "Please," he groaned, "let's not talk about the friendly ever again."

"Why not?" Gwen piped up, looking rightfully smug. "Because of how sorely you were crushed by us?"

"I touched the Snitch," Scorpius protested, the same thing he had been insisting on for the past three days.

"You touched the wings," Janey dismissed.

"I still touched it first!"

"Yes," Janey agreed sweetly, "but you didn't catch it."

Scorpius scowled. "You got lucky," he said bitterly.

"You got lucky that Rose is a filthy traitor and warned you about the Bludger—or you'd have been in the Hospital Wing too," Albus couldn't resist pointing out.

Scorpius flashed his girlfriend a grateful smile, but Rose herself was looking coyly embarrassed at the reminder. "It was an impulse," she defended. "You'd have all done the same!"

"Well, we've all chosen to date within our own teams," Jinx pointed out, indicating to herself, Albireo, Janey, and Sam. And then she broke into a teasing grin as she regarded the Gryffindor Quidditch Captain. "And so has Gwen, I hear."

Gwen flushed under their scrutiny. "We're not dating," she insisted. "It was just one kiss."

"One snog," Janey unsubtly coughed.

Amused as she was, Ebony was painfully aware that Bobbin and Roberts were also part of the conversation. "Can we please not talk about snogging in front of my mum?" she asked without thinking.

Every single person in the room, Bobbin included, seemed to look at Ebony with complete and total surprise. Ebony herself felt mortified, turning a red as deeply crimson as the Gryffindor hangings surrounding them. She did not know what to say. She did not know how to fix it.

Our headmistress, is what she should have said. Our headmistress. Why hadn't she said that instead?

"I'm going to open a window," Ebony said, immediately headed for the nearest one. She didn't even know if she could open the ones in the Gryffindor Tower, all she knew was that she needed to escape.

Thankfully, conversation picked up the instant she had walked away, and Ebony was left to engage in some more deep breathing by herself. Taking her by surprise, it was Albus who approached her after a few minutes had passed without her returning to the group. People were starting to exchange presents, she noticed out of the corner of her eye.

"Are you okay, Ebony?" her brother-in-law asked her in a reassuringly kind voice. He looked so much like James in some respects, Ebony thought, and in other ways, he was completely different.

People had been asking her that a lot lately

"I—yeah," she said unconvincingly.

Albus offered a look that suggested he absolutely did not believe her but that he wouldn't push if that's what she was comfortable with.

"Thank you for staying," he said instead. "It means a lot to Scorpius. It means a lot to all of us," he quickly amended, like there might otherwise be some implication that he wasn't also grateful.

"I'm glad I did," Ebony said after a moment's thought. Obviously, she wished that James was there too, but she didn't regret choosing to stay in the castle with all of her friends for their last Christmas.

Albus then broke out into a cheeky grin. "Sorry we absolutely demolished you in the match the other day."

Ebony snorted, grateful for some levity. Albus Potter was smarter than a lot of people realised. "You scored one goal," she reminded him. "I singlehandedly scored six of our nine—I was carrying the entire match!"

"Maybe," Albus conceded, still grinning. "But we still remain undefeated."

Oh, he was so like his brother, Ebony thought. She was tempted to hug him, but like with Bobbin, she wasn't sure they were quite there yet. Instead, she offered him her warmest smile, hoping he realised just how much he also meant to her. Ebony had never had a family before—not like this.

"Anyway, I'll leave you to it," he dismissed himself.

But leave her to what?—Ebony wondered. To just continue staring out the window, watching the snow and missing James?

"Merry Christmas, Ebony," Albus said kindly.

"Merry Christmas, Al."

He had returned to their friends, but Ebony wasn't alone for long, because her mother of all people had approached her. Ebony's stomach dropped. She wasn't sure what she wanted to say to Bobbin—she never did—and she was worried she was fondly drawing attention to the fact that she had, completely casually, referred to her as her mother first and foremost in front of all their friends. Her mother. Not just her headmistress.

It's not that Ebony wasn't fully aware that that's who she was, nor had she refrained from referring to her as such before, it just always took her by surprise when she did it without thinking. Often Ebony had said it with intent—rare sentimentality at her wedding, or as a means to suck up to her—but that time had been an effortless slip of the tongue, and it was new. It felt… conflicting. But it had felt so natural.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Bobbin said wistfully, nodding to the snow as it continued to swirl outside the window.

"Yes," Ebony agreed. "It calms me."

"Me too."

Ebony averted her gaze. She didn't know if Bobbin was trying too hard to force similarities between them or if it was all truly genuine. She wasn't sure which would confuse her more.

"I have something to confess," Bobbin said, choosing her words carefully.

Ebony frowned. A guilty look had appeared in her mother's eyes, and paired with her words, Ebony felt immediately uneasy. She couldn't handle any more secrets—she was still adjusting to the pretty hefty one Bobbin had last dropped.

"What?" she asked suspiciously.

From within her robes, Bobbin withdrew what appeared to be a letter. Several, in fact. Oh, Merlin, had she been intercepting Ebony's post? Is that why James had been writing less and less?

"They're from your father," Bobbin confessed.

Ebony blinked in surprise. Her father? She had as good as adopted Cepheus Roberts as her father, but he wouldn't have been sending her letters. Her previous father—Mr Darkbrow—well, she'd never think of him like that again. And Bobbin would surely not address him as such. Certainly not to Ebony.

"From John," Bobbin clarified, recognising Ebony's confusion.

"Oh." Ebony was completely taken aback. John Snow was Ebony's biological father—Bobbin's first husband. She had lived with him for the first five years of her life, but Ebony barely recalled him. More recently, she had encountered him at Bobbin and Roberts' wedding, which he had not been invited to but had insisted on attending. But they had barely interacted after exchanging some uncomfortable formalities, and she had not heard nor seen from him since.

"He wrote to me?" Ebony asked.

"No," Bobbin denied, clearly worried Ebony was accusing her of stealing her personal letters. "He wrote to me," she clarified. "But… about you."

Ebony was intrigued.

"He wants to see you," Bobbin sheepishly confessed. "If that's something you're interested in. He, ah, he'd like to have an actual relationship with you."

Ebony wasn't sure what to say. It had been so important for her to know where she'd truly come from, and now both of her parents wanted to have a relationship with her? After over a decade of neglect? She knew she should feel bitter about it, and partially, she did, but Ebony also wasn't used to feeling like people actually wanted her. First Bobbin and now her true dad too? It was almost too much…

"You don't have to do anything you're not comfortable with," Bobbin said seriously. "I didn't want to overwhelm you with it when he first wrote—I know you've been feeling pretty emotional since you've come back to Hogwarts—but he's been pretty insistent, and it's only fair that you know. It is completely your own choice," she emphasised.

Ebony considered it. Did she want a relationship with her dad too? She vaguely remembered him, of course, and it wasn't like he had been a bad father—only in the sense that he had ultimately palmed her off to the Darkbrows. But, then again, so had Bobbin, and Merlin knows she was desperately trying to make up for it. Perhaps he did truly love her. Perhaps he would fill another part of her heart she hadn't realised had been missing.

"What do you think I should do?" she asked Bobbin with innocently wide eyes.

What if history only repeated itself and he walked out on her again? What if he didn't like her any better as an eighteen-year-old than the five-year-old he had abandoned?

Bobbin looked pained, but when she spoke it was with calm assurance. "Obviously, John and I never had the best relationship, but that shouldn't taint the one you have with him—should you choose to pursue anything," she added quickly. "He really wants to try, Ebony. And Merlin knows I'd be a hypocrite to say he doesn't deserve a second chance. He is your father," she emphasised, even if it felt like even this pained her to say.

"You know I already consider Cepheus more of a father than anyone else, don't you?" Ebony asked shyly. It was true—her stepfather, in the brief time he had been so, had shown her far more love than the man who had raised her for most of her life. Hell, even Draco Malfoy had.

Bobbin turned a deep crimson colour, apparently more flattered by Ebony's compliments to her husband than she even would be to herself. "That would really mean a lot to him," she said bashfully.

"I think he knows," Ebony said, feeling bashful herself. Maybe it wouldn't kill her to every now and again tell both Bobbin and Roberts how much they meant to her.

"Well," Bobbin said kindly, "the decision is completely yours. You don't need to decide anything now. Take your time."

Ebony appreciated that. She would want to ask James' advice before she decided anything. He knew her best—he would know what she truly wanted in her heart. But she had no doubt that he would encourage her to go for it.

"Okay," Ebony said thoughtfully.

"I got you something for Christmas," Bobbin said quickly, as though worried if she didn't say it soon then she wouldn't have to courage to say it at all.

"Oh." Ebony was surprised. "Really?" She had assumed after how little Bobbin had been invested in her birthday, she wouldn't have bothered with Christmas presents. Merlin knows Ebony hadn't gotten anything for her, and she suddenly felt incredibly guilty.

Bobbin nodded shyly.

"You didn't have to," she said quickly, heart picking up pace within her chest.

"Of course I did," Bobbin said sincerely, looking at Ebony with a sort of pain in her eyes. "You're my daughter."

Ebony had nothing to say to that. She didn't have the heart to be snide and venomous, but she also couldn't conjure any sentimentality. She blushed nonetheless.

Bobbin withdrew a flat box from within her robes. At least it was somewhat small, Ebony thought with a sense of relief. In fact, the package looked a little tatty as Ebony tentatively took it from her.

"It's not much," Bobbin assured her, "but I thought you should have it."

With curiosity, Ebony opened the lid. Inside was an old locket, clearly an antique given that the once gilded metal had somewhat faded to a duller hue, but Ebony stroked a thumb over it in awe. The design on the front contained intricate swirling carvings, all centring, with a flourish, around an unmistakable letter B.

"B?" Ebony said aloud, looking up into her mother's eyes.

"For Bobbin," the Headmistress said quite unnecessarily.

"I don't know how old it is, but it's been passed down to the oldest Bobbin daughter in every generation. My, err, father didn't have any sisters, so he was rather surprised when he inherited it. He gave it to me when I turned seventeen, and now…" Bobbin trailed off, looking hesitant. "Now it's yours," she said. "If you want it."

Bobbin looked at Ebony with hope shining in her eyes.

"Are you sure?" Ebony asked. It seemed like it meant a lot to Bobbin—the locket. Ebony knew both of her maternal grandparents had already passed, and she knew that Bobbin had been closer to her father than her mother. Perhaps it was the one remaining heirloom of his she still possessed.

"Of course," Bobbin breathed. She looked suddenly bashful. "Your grandfather—he passed before you were born, before he even knew I was pregnant—but he would have loved you, Ebony. We look like him," she confessed, and Ebony knew this to be true.

She had remembered Bobbin's sister Emilie, because she had raised Ebony as her own for the first five years of her life alongside John Snow, and she had been fair-haired, like their other sister and their mother.

"He would want you to have it," Bobbin said with certainty.

Ebony looked back down at the locket in awe, stroking it with dainty fingers, tracing the swirling B. "Is there anything inside?"

"Not anymore," Bobbin admitted. "My mother insisted I put a picture of my first husband inside, and I'll admit I was reluctant to wear it. I only discovered it again recently," she explained apologetically, like she felt Ebony should have had it long before. "I removed the picture, but you could put a picture of James in it," she suggested kindly. "Or…."

But Bobbin trailed off, and the unspoken implication hung in the air.

Both women turned red once more.

Ebony distracted herself by letting the antique gold chain run through her fingers like water. "I love it," she said, looking back up at Bobbin, hoping she understood how deeply she meant it. Ebony had never had a family heirloom before. She often collected vintage trinkets—especially things related to Slytherin House—but she'd never had one that actually had sentimental value to herself. To her family, she realised, heart thumping.

Once again, Ebony felt like she should be hugging Bobbin. But she held back, still unsure how best to initiate it. She truly wanted to say more, but the words got caught in her throat. She only hoped Bobbin understood.

And as her mother looked at her with tender eyes, Ebony rather thought that she did.

"Thank you," Ebony breathed.

Bobbin just smiled back. "Cepheus has got you a gift also," she seemed to suddenly remember. "But, ah, I absolutely did not know he had bought it," she said, looking torn between amusement and annoyance.

Even more so intrigued than she had been by Bobbin's own offering, Ebony now looked towards her stepfather.

Catching sight of their stares, he grinned eagerly and bounded over to them. "Is this about your Christmas present?" he asked, looking thrilled by something.

Bobbin rolled her eyes. "I accept no responsibility," she told Ebony cryptically.

Ebony cocked a curious eyebrow, regarding Roberts with suspicion. What on earth had he gotten her?

"I've been housing it with Rose," he explained, looking rather proud of himself. "Because she has one of her own—and I didn't want to spoil the surprise."

Ebony was only more confused.

"Rose!" Roberts rather gleefully called to the redheaded girl. "You can give Ebony her present now."

Looking pleased by her role in all this, Rose rather excitedly ran off to her dorm room to presumably retrieve the present she had been storing on Roberts' behalf. Nothing could have prepared Ebony for what Rose was tenderly cradling in her arms as she made her way back down the stairs.

She had two seemingly living things squirming in her arms, one ginger and rather docile, the other much smaller and jet black in colour.

"A cat?" Ebony asked in complete shock. "Two cats?"

"Oh," Rose laughed. "No—this one is mine," she explained, raising the larger tortoiseshell who seemed quite content to be cradled in her arms. "But Ember's been keeping your kitten company whilst we waited for today. He's gotten rather fond of her."

Ebony ran to meet Rose in the centre of the room, still completely shocked and awed by this reveal. She took the tiny bundle of black fur from Rose with breathless excitement, delighted by how tiny and adorable it was. It felt so warm in her hands, turning its deep green eyes to her with curiosity. She wondered if Roberts had purposefully chosen one that rather resembled her own colouring.

Ebony could not contain her delight. She had never had a pet before—the Darkbrows had not allowed it—and she'd always been jealous of those who did. And a kitten? It was so perfectly adorable. She immediately began to run her fingers through its silky fur, and it mewed with content.

Ebony turned to look at her stepfather with awe-filled gratitude.

"I thought it might help you feel less lonely," he said kindly. "To have a little companion. You could even call it James!" he jokingly suggested.

Ebony just beamed, wondering what her husband would think of it all. She couldn't wait to tell him.

"Well, she's a girl," Rose pointed out.

"Even better to call it James then," Albus said with mischievous glee, not unlike his brother.

Ebony snorted, but she wouldn't be calling it James. She already had a James. She would find a name sooner or later. But she had to admit, she would feel rather less lonely up in her dorm room if she had a little kitten to keep her company.

"Thank you," Ebony once more breathed in delight, this time looking at Roberts. It was just as well that she was cradling the kitten in her arms, because she rather thought she would hug him, and then that wouldn't have been fair on Bobbin.

The woman in question seemed to be observing the entire interaction with pride. "I actually have something else for you," she confessed.

Ebony was startled. "I really don't need anything more," she insisted. Goodness, the vintage locket and a kitten? Even the bonus Hogsmeade trip, and, in a way, the letters from her father—Ebony rather thought Bobbin and Roberts had given her enough for Christmas. Now she really felt guilty for not having gotten either of them anything at all.

"Oh. but you'll like this a lot," Bobbin said knowingly, and the look on Professor Roberts' face only seemed to confirm this.

Ebony looked at her mother expectantly, wondering why she had waited until then if she'd already had another gift to present to her—especially as all her friends were now keenly observing them.

Unable to contain her smile, her eyes twinkling with uncharacteristic mischief, Bobbin strode to the portrait hole, taking them all completely by surprise. It seemed, other than Roberts, nobody knew what to expect.

Ebony certainly hadn't. Her eyes dared not believe, nor her heart as it went into extreme overdrive at what she saw emerge into the common room like it hadn't been even a day since he'd last done so.

"Bloody hell," he said with amused irritation. "Five minutes, you said!" He adopted a high-pitched mocking tone. "'Wait outside for five minutes and then I'll come and get you and you can make a grand entrance—and then you've left me stranded out there, wondering what the hell is going on and—"

He broke off as his eyes fell on Ebony, and the girl truly couldn't believe it was real. His eyes had lit up in much the same way she knew hers had, blood rushing through her body with the furious fire of a phoenix. Ebony could not believe what Bobbin had done—what she had given her. She could never have expected nor wished for anything better.

It was everything she'd been missing from an otherwise perfect Christmas.

It was everything her heart needed to feel truly complete.

It was James.

Author's Note: Title and epigraph inspired by Christina Aguilera's 'This Christmas'