The festivities of the Christmas season were in full swing at both Ilvermorny and Hogwarts. The first dusting of snow had fallen in both Massachusetts and Scotland, and the aroma of gingerbread, peppermint and pine permeated the air at each of the magical schools. Most of the students and staff were in jolly spirits – even the crotchety old Potions Master, Madam L, was once caught nursing a candy cane in the hallway.

With a two-week holiday break to look forward to, the majority of the students had become increasingly giddy, as nearly all of them had plans to return home to be with their families. Each of the four houses' common rooms were fancifully decorated, with brightly-lit Christmas trees, holly wreaths, cinnamon and spruce-scented candles, and even a sprig of mistletoe was prominently displayed near Old Margie.

One Tuesday evening, the Horned Serpents were returning to the Horned Serpent tower after dinner to relax, or get caught up with their classwork. Nova, feeling especially cheeky, told an oblivious Ana to stop for a moment – right underneath the sprig of mistletoe.

"What's up, Nova?" asked Ana, utterly clueless to Nova's intentions.

Nova snickered, and gave Harry a rather rough shove toward Ana. Boof! Harry careened into Ana, nearly causing the poor girl to tumble over on the floor.

"What the hell, Harry?" Ana shrieked angrily.

"It's not my fault," grumbled Harry. "Nova pushed me into you! If you want to get upset at someone, blame her!"

Nova couldn't stop her chortling. "Awww, you two look so cute underneath the mistletoe… you know what that means, right?"

"NOVA!" screeched Harry and Ana.

Nova flashed a diabolical grin. "Oh, you're not getting yourselves out of this one. In fact, I wish I had my magical camera with me…"

"I don't think they have to kiss," pleaded Tallulah. "You forced them under the mistletoe…"

Nova shook her head. "Rules are rules… but hey, it's not like you have to actually snog. Just a quick little peck and you're done…"

Ana let out a frustrated groan. "All right, let's get this over with." She closed her eyes, flicked her head toward Harry's, and gave him the quickest, feather-light peck on the lips. The expression on her face indicated she didn't particularly enjoy that experience, but her scowl only grew as she whirled to address Nova. "As for you, Woodward… Furnunculus!"

In the blink of an eye, she drew her wand, and cast the Pimple Jinx on Nova. Several dark pink and purple splotches and bumps suddenly emerged on her usually-smooth cheeks. Ana, Harry, Othniel and Tallulah doubled over with laughter as Nova screamed as she ran her fingers over her face. "Anastasia Kay Harrison!" Nova roared. "You… you… you… mudblood!" She burst into tears and fled to her dormitory.

Ana shook her head, clearly not offended by the epithet. "This isn't Magical Britain," she murmured. She then offered Harry an apologetic look. "I'm so sorry, Harry."

Harry shrugged. "Why? You've got nothing to apologize for."

Ana's cheeks flushed a bright pink. "I know that had to be as uncomfortable for you as it was for me. I'm going to level with you – that wasn't how I envisioned my first kiss going down."

Harry bit his lip. "For the record, that was my first kiss too… and honestly, I don't know how I feel about it, other than it was, well… weird." He pointed toward the girls' dormitories with his head. "And Nova… will she be all right? I hope that's not permanent…"

"Yeah, I think weird is a pretty accurate way to describe it," replied Ana with a slight nod. She flashed her signature smile. "And Nova will be fine, Harry. It's just the Pimple Jinx. It should clear up on its own soon enough, but I can whip up a Cure for Boils potion for her should they linger."

Othniel scrunched his nose. "What was it that she called you? Mudblood? What's that s'posed to mean, anyway?"

Ana shook her head, still smiling. "It's not a term you see thrown about much in North America, as it's all but lost its meaning over the centuries. However, in Magical Britain, it's an insult used by what are known as 'purebloods', and occasionally by 'halfbloods' to mock a witch or wizard who comes from a non-magical family."

"You know that Nova doesn't buy into that blood supremacy business," said Harry. "It's probably not the term she wanted to use, but after spending most of her childhood being raised by bigoted grandparents, it's what's she's been exposed to… she sort of defaulted to it, even though she knows it's wrong."

"It's not a big deal, Harry," Ana re-iterated. "Now, I've got some schoolwork and Quiz Bowl prepping to do, but if time permits, I can maybe quiz you three sometime before lights-out? You do have a Potions mid-term exam coming up, do you not?"

"Next Tuesday," groaned Othniel. "Don't remind me."

"For someone that gripes about school as much as they do, you're doing all right for yourself," squeaked Tallulah. "Just a sec, y'all." She approached the wall where the bulletin board was displayed; to its right was a roster of each student, sorted by year. She ran her finger down the list, searching for 'Slater, Tallulah J'. She smirked in satisfaction as she saw her current place in her year's academic standings. She then quickly looked up 'Potter, Harry J.' and 'Beckett, Othniel G.' She hummed to herself in quiet approval before returning to her group.

"As it stands, Othniel, you're in ninth place among first-year Horned Serpents, and twenty second overall. That's nothing to sneeze at." She then turned toward Harry. "As for you, Harry, you're third in our house, and fifth overall." Ana turned around gave both boys a congratulatory high-five.

"What about you, 'Lu?" asked Othniel. "You gotta be first overall…"

"I wish," sighed Tallulah. "I'm first in our house, but second overall."

Harry shrugged. "I wonder who's first overall, then?"

Tallulah shook her head. "I couldn't tell you, Harry. It only lists the Horned Serpent students…" She let out a low snicker. "But what I can tell you with a high degree of confidence is that it's not Replogle or his toadies. I can practically guarantee that they're all in the bottom half of our year."

The following Wednesday morning at Hogwarts, Daphne and her housemates were in the midst of quizzing each other for an upcoming Transfiguration exam, when one of the school owls dropped a small, sealed package in front of Daphne's empty porridge bowl. She glowed with delight as she was about to unseal it – she instantly recognized the handwriting as Ana's – but before she could delve into its contents, a small hand clasped her shoulder.

"I know you've been looking forward to Anastasia's reply, Daph," squeaked Hermione, "but this time… it probably should wait a bit. We've got the biggest Transfiguration exam to date coming up right after breakfast!" She offered Daphne a warm smile. "I'm sorry if I'm being a little bossy, but next to the end-of-year exams, this is about as big as it gets! We'll have some time right after our exam, I promise – I'd love to see any photos she's attached!"

Daphne made a resigned-sounding sigh, but nodded at Hermione. "All right. I guess I've waited this long to hear back from her – what's one more hour?" Hermione nodded in approval, and the four Gryffindor witches resumed quizzing each other.

At around ten thirty that morning, all four girls plopped on the plush Gryffindor couches in the common room, relieved that their biggest exam to date was already behind them. "Two more days until we're excused for Christmas break," chirped Parvati. "I've had some fun in the three months I've spent in the castle, but I'm ready to return home for a bit."

"So, what did your friend from Ilvermorny have to say this time?" asked Lavender. "This might be the last one you'll get from her until term starts back up, so you'd better cherish this one."

Daphne reached into her backpack and produced the partially-opened envelope, and pulled out both a letter and a couple of moving photographs. There was no hiding the delight in her eyes as she read the letter:

"9 December 1991

Dear Daphne,

I can't believe it's almost time to return home for Christmas! Yes, I promise I'm going back home to my family in Indiana – though I'll be spending at least a little time each day preparing for the Quiz Bowl – the third one of the term is this coming Friday – the Horned Serpents have won both of them so far, though we've had some close calls!

I have no doubt you'd make a fine addition to your house's Quiz Bowl team someday. Who knows, maybe both you and your friend Hermione (I think she has a wonderful name, by the way) will make it next term! I'd love to see the both of you pull it off.

All three of your roommates are very pretty. I'm one of eleven Horned Serpent girls in my year, but just two of them are my actual roommates, Jillian and Sabrina. One of the attached photos is the three of us in our formal robes near end-of-term from last year (yes, I'm the one with the glasses – but I usually wear contact lenses now). I like my roommates, but I actually spend more time with a crew of spunky firsties – they're also my housemates.

Here's a photo of all of us, taken just a few days ago actually. The girl with the shoulder-length auburn hair and tabby cat in her arms is Tallulah, the boy with the coppery-brown hair and overalls is Othniel, the girl with the dark blonde hair and forest green sweater is Nova, and the boy with the black shaggy hair and glasses is Harry.

Like myself, Tallulah and Othniel are no-maj born, while Harry has a mix of magical and non-magical family members in Canada and Nova grew up in a magical family in Great Britain. She very, very nearly chose Hogwarts, but her father used to teach at Ilvermorny so she was able to select from either school. I do think a small part of her regrets not choosing Hogwarts, but otherwise I think she's very happy with her choice.

I get a genuine thrill reading your letters – they are often the highlights of my day. Send some good vibes my way – I'm getting giddier by the day, thinking of the possibility of meeting you and your lovely friends.

Last but not least, I've attached a little something for you and your friends. It's a few treats from Ilvermorny, which Nova says they don't have at Hogwarts. While I admit it's not much, I did want to send you a little something for Christmas. You don't have to send anything in return – it's okay, I promise – but I figured this would probably be our last correspondence before the holidays and wanted to make it memorable. Please stay warm, and I hope you make some terrific memories with your friends and family back home. I know they love and miss you very much.

With love from Ilvermorny,

Anastasia"

"Looks like she sent you quite a bit more than just a note this time, Daph," giggled Parvati. "What all did you get?"

"Weeeellll," drawled Daphne, "the letter is mine, but the photos and treats she sent are for all four of us."

"Treats?" chirped Lavender. "What kind of treats?"

Daphne plucked two small bags of Toby Tucker's Thousand Spice tortilla chips, a small box containing four puckerberry jelly rolls, and a small Pukwudgie pie. She turned to Hermione and smiled. "You can eat at least some of these, right? I know your parents told you that you're restricted to what you can eat while you're still wearing your braces."

Hermione smiled sweetly and nodded. "That's right, Daphne. Now, my parents are dentists, but they have a very good friend who's an orthodontist – he was the one who put these nasty things on my teeth a few months ago – but they know what I should and should not be eating until they come off." She pointed at the bags of chips. "Those chips look safe, and as long as those jelly rolls and pie aren't super chewy, I can probably have a little bit of those."

Daphne doubled over, giggling. "I'm not sure what the difference is between a dentist and an orthodontist – you'll have to forgive me, they're just not professions we're familiar with in the magical world – but just because I don't always understand, doesn't mean that I don't care. I just want you to get your fair share."

"You've been an angel ever since we got sorted together, Daphne," murmured Hermione. "The transition from the Muggle world to the magical one hasn't always been easy – even for a studious 'know-it-all' like myself. Thank you for being a constant shoulder to lean on… even if your parents were Slytherins, they clearly raised a wonderful girl."

Daphne smiled at Hermione, then reached for one of the bags of chips. "I've never had these before… I guess we can all try one and see what they're all about?" She popped the bag open, and popped one of the chips in her mouth. "Oooh, ooh, oooooh," she said, waving her hand in front of her mouth. "This one's got some kick to it."

She then passed the bag to Hermione, who took a dainty nibble. "I don't know what you're talking about, Daph. They're not much hotter than a banana pepper."

Parvati grabbed a chip, and made a sharp hacking sound. "Merlin, that's got more spice than Grandmother's curry sauce!"

Finally, Lavender took her turn. Her face soon turned beet red, and plumes of smoke emerged from her ears. Even more distressing, a huge orange flame erupted from her mouth the second she parted her lips.

"Oh goodness! Are you okay, Lavender?" Daphne squeaked.

Lavender looked at Daphne like she had just grown a pair of antlers. "What do you bloody think, Daph? I'm not going to be able to taste anything for a month now!" She groaned, while her three roommates burst into laughter.

A few seconds later, Daphne scooped up the photos from the coffee table and giggled. "Oh, this is too cute." She then passed Hermione the picture of Ana from last term, with her roommates Jillian and Sabrina.

"She must be Muggle-born then," surmised Hermione. "I'm guessing she's wearing contacts in her more recent photos."

"Bingo," squeaked Daphne as she looked at the second photo. "Nova must be at least a third-year," she murmured, noting her more developed figure. "Beautiful girl for sure." She then giggled at Tallulah, who placed the 'devil horns' behind Othniel's head, and then her jaw dropped. The other boy with the dark messy hair and glasses and what looked to be a hint of a scar on his forehead seemed so familiar… no, it couldn't be…

"What's that all about, Daphne?" asked Hermione.

"That boy… Harry…" stammered Daphne, keeping her voice low. "I think that's… Harry Potter."