POV of Parvati Patil

I woke up early on the morning of Boxing Day and decided to get dressed and go outside for a bit. When I reached the patio door, I was amazed to see about 15 centimeters of snow that must have fallen during the night. Just yesterday, my family members had been complaining about the lack of snow, and I was sure none of them expected we would still get our white Christmas—albeit a bit late.

I quickly grabbed my winter boots and put them on before carefully opening the door and stepping outside. It was only when I was outside that I realized I had forgotten my jacket, but I didn't want to go back in to get it since I wasn't planning to stay out for too long.

I trudged through the snow and unconsciously made my way to the tree stump where I had sat just two days ago. It was barely recognizable under the blanket of snow, and sitting there didn't seem like a good idea, so I decided to remain standing.

I desperately tried to make sense of my emotional state, which wasn't easy at all. Of course, I was looking forward to seeing my friends in a few hours; I was even quite excited. But somehow, I also felt a strange apprehension when I thought about them. After all, I had distanced myself from them lately and feared they might hold it against me. However, the thought that the Weasleys would also be there somewhat calmed me down.

Lost in thought, I hadn't noticed that I had been nervously pacing around, leaving tracks everywhere in the otherwise untouched snow. I only realized this when a pitch-black cat suddenly appeared in front of me, meowing softly. It was Mina, the cat Padma had received for her birthday. I carefully picked her up and asked what she was doing here. In response, she looked at me reproachfully and snuggled against me.

I believe Mina was more intelligent than one would expect from a cat. She must have found my tracks in the snow, and her attempt to warm me was unmistakable. She was right; I had lost track of time and only now realized how cold I had become.

As I was about to make my way back to the house, Padma approached, smiling when she saw Mina and me.

"So this is where you are! I've been looking for you everywhere!"

"Yes, I was so fascinated by the snow that I wanted to go out for a bit, since I was awake so early anyway," I replied, earning a reproachful look from my sister.

"We should quickly go back inside before our parents see that you're out without a jacket. I don't think they would like that very much. Let's go to the kitchen. I'm sure Wanda would be happy to make us some hot chocolate," she suggested.

And that's exactly what we did.

Three hours later, we sat with our mother in the living room, waiting for our father. I had no idea what was keeping him, but we were supposed to have traveled to the Rivers' via the Floo Network five minutes ago, which made me increasingly restless.

"Rivers Residence," I finally said loudly and clearly, before opening my hand and letting the Floo powder fall into the fireplace. As soon as it touched the ground, all I could see was cold green fire flaring up around me, blinding me so much that I had to close my eyes.

When I opened them again, I found myself in a huge entrance hall. Unlike other wizarding houses I knew, this one looked very modern and bright. Stylistically modern paintings hung on the beige walls, and a large part of the parquet floor was covered by a white carpet embroidered with golden details.

While I was looking around, I hadn't noticed someone entering the room. James' voice made me flinch.

"Merry Christmas, Par!" he almost whispered, standing right next to me. Before I could answer, he hugged me, which I hadn't expected.

"Merry Christmas to you too, James," I replied with a smile after he released me, just as Padma appeared in the fireplace. Inwardly, I was relieved that she only received a brief, perfunctory hug from him and not a real one.

When my parents arrived, James led us into the large dining room, where many guests were already gathered. However, the only thing that mattered to me was seeing Hermione and Ginn, who greeted both me and, to my chagrin, Padma with hugs. Padma and Ginn then sat down with Oliver, while I joined Hermione and James on one of the other sofas.

Hermione recounted the seemingly eventful car ride with her parents. It had apparently been difficult to find the place, as the road wasn't marked on any Muggle map. Fortunately, they had set off much too early anyway. I began to wonder about the location of the residence. Were there Muggle houses nearby? How was it protected from curious Muggle eyes? I made a mental note to ask James later. Perhaps we would go outside again after dinner or something.

We interrupted our conversation when we noticed that a larger group had just arrived in the entrance hall, which we all knew could only be the Weasleys. As soon as we entered, a wild commotion ensued as people embraced each other in greeting. Fred and George were the first to greet me, reminding me of their invitation to visit them at the Burrow during the holidays.

On that occasion, they introduced me to their eldest brothers, Bill and Charlie, who both greeted me warmly and assured me they were looking forward to playing Quidditch together during the holidays.

After everyone had greeted each other, I noticed that Percy was the only one from his family who seemed somewhat more distant. He had merely shaken our hands formally, which was in stark contrast to the warm manner of the rest of his family.

We were about to return to the dining room when Bella stepped out of the fireplace. She seemed a bit flustered but began to smile broadly when she recognized us, greeting us cheerfully. Her mother arrived shortly after. The tall, slender blonde's resemblance to Bella was more than evident.

Now that we were all present, we went into the dining room and sat down at the enormous table, with us students sitting together at one end to avoid being seated among all the adults.

Mrs. Rivers spoke up when everyone had found a seat and thanked us for our attendance. Then two house-elves walked along the table offering drinks to everyone before disappearing, only to return shortly after with the food.

There was roast goose, already sliced, along with various vegetables, potatoes, and gravy. At least, I thought it was goose we were eating. When I tasted the meat, I was somewhat puzzled by the flavor. James, who was sitting to my left and had been observing me eat, informed me that his family followed a vegetarian diet and that it was actually a meat substitute.

I must admit that I had never noticed before that James didn't eat meat. I should have realized this, considering I almost always sat next to him at meals.