It was much colder than everyone had initially thought upon waking up in the dungeons. The windows that usually emitted a gentle green glow from the sun light, was much darker today. The sun struggled to send light into the common room and the lake had began frosting.
It wasn't until Pavel Parkinson came into the dungeon very early, snowballs charmed to stay cold hidden away in his pocket, that everyone realised it had snowed heavily that night. Cantankerus had been the first victim to said snowballs being shoved down his back through his shirt.
Sadly, he had still been sleeping at the time and many people woke to a very girlish shriek, and Cantankerus trying to take his shirt off to rid himself of the frozen snow as the Parkinson Heir was on the ground shaking from laughter. Lucius had narrowly avoided the same surprise that morning thanks to the girlish shriek.
The Slytherins were awake well before the three other Houses and were already outside, warming charms being used on everyone, and the cloaks and scarfs all out in use. The courtyard quickly filled up with students throwing snowball at each other while some built forts and snowmen. Even Professor Slughorn had come up from the dungeons to watch them outside.
"Hey Cant!" The messy haired wizard turned around, only to be pelted in the face by bewitched snowballs. Wiping the snow off his tanned skin, the recipients of the snowballs had been Pavel and Lucius. A snowball fight had rapidly began, the first years quickly choosing sides along with the second, third and fourth years. Hermione and Bellatrix took the side of Lucius and Fred, Andromeda finding herself on the other team with Anita Urquhart and a few older students like Pavel and Corban Yaxley.
Once the sun had peaked over the horizon, a group of Hufflepuff students joined the fray and split up into the two teams, hurriedly building stronger walls and more impressive forts to ward off unfriendly snowballs.
Hermione found herself with Annabelle Abbott bombarding the Slytherin Prefect and Alexander Smith trying to hit Fred with snowballs. Hermione even saw the Head Girl, also a Hufflepuff, call out Prefect Yaxley from his hiding spot momentarily to launch a snowman-sized snowball at him with her wand.
Professor Sprout and Professor Slughorn eventually called the students back into the school so they could go and eat a warm breakfast, having done a hard battle in the snow filled courtyard. Entering the Great Hall, the Ravenclaws and Gryffindors watched the Hufflepuffs and Slytherins, all still covered in snow with their cloaks and scarfs around them, avidly talking about a rematch for snowball fight.
Fred and Hermione sat at the end of the table, away from others as they happily sipped their boiling hot cocoa.
"I'm disappointed we didn't get to have fun like that in the Old Present." Hermione said, taking a marshmallow from the center of the table and popping into the steaming cup. "It would have been legendary."
"Just wait. I heard the Head Girl talking to Sprout and Slughorn about organising a match." Fred muttered. "Imagine Slytherin and Gryffindor going head-to-head. Now THAT would be legendary."
"I believe Hufflepuff vs Slytherin would be better." Hermione countered, taking a along sip.
"I think you're a bit delusional."
"And I think you're wrong."
Antonin and Bellatrix came and took seats beside them, Bellatrix having finally unfrozen her curls from their semi-permanent state of an even messier disaster. Hermione remembered what the snow would do to her hair, freezing strands to go in every direction and stay that way for hours. She could only imagine what Bellatrix's hair would do.
"Who's wrong about what?" Antonin asked curiously.
"Oh Frederick here thinks that Gryffindor vs Slytherin in a snowball fight is more exciting than Hufflepuff vs Slytherin." Hermione claimed, sending a look to Fred.
"Hufflepuff and Slytherin? Oh that's a dangerous combination." Antonin agreed with Hermione. "Gryffindor vs Slytherin would never reach that level."
"How do you figure?" Bellatrix challenged the two first years. "Gryffindors are too honour bound to lose against us. Of course, they never could lose against us."
"Hufflepuffs are hard workers. We'd never give up so easily." Bellatrix and Antonin turned and saw the blonde Hufflepuff, Annabelle Abbott, standing there, having interrupted the conversation. "I apologise for intruding."
"Explain your view." Bellatrix gave a pointed view. "Convince me, Puff."
Annabelle smiled and took a seat, earning a few curious glances from other students. "Gladly. Hufflepuffs are hardworking. We value dedication, and between us, we have the better teamwork if you observe the Lions and Badgers closely." To this, everyone nodded in agreement to the hidden diss. "Gryffindors would rather prove their point yes, but their teamwork is too unbalanced. They're known to lack the patience and thought, and jump head straight into battle. We Puffs are patient. We wait for the right time to strike and we don't use cheap methods to do so."
"Well said Puff." Bellatrix nodded, her lips remaining pursed. "You make a very valid point." Everyone looked at the two Purebloods watching each other, one with a kind smile, the other a calculating look. "What's your name."
"Annabelle Abbot." the dark haired witch narrowed her eyes, thinking over many things before promptly nodding.
"Intelligent. I like you."
At that moment, Fred and Hermione had the same thought. 'Did Bellatrix... Just compliment and acknowledge a Hufflepuff?'
"The same to you, Miss Black." Annabelle extended a hand. "Perhaps we can be acquaintances?" Bellatrix looked at her hand for a few seconds before pushing it down with her own.
"Don't get hasty there." She mumbled.
'Ah. There it is.' Hermione immediately thought, stifling her laughing with a piece of toast.
"Alright. I'll see you around." she waved them goodbye before rejoining her own table, the puffs looking at their comrade in shock and surprise as the Slytherins returned to their meals.
Later that night, as the temperature dropped in the dungeons, some of the Slytherin prefects had brought hot cocoa from the kitchens in secret to help warm up the rest of the house.
While he wouldn t admit to it, Yaxley had somehow brought in marshmallows and left them hidden around the common room, eliciting positive reactions from most Halfbloods who found them.
Some of the younger Purebloods had found the gooey white confectionery to be intriguing and imitated those who plopped them into their hot cocoas.
Hermione enjoyed her's near the fire with Andromeda and Anita, each wrapped in their cloaks as they warmed themselves. Another half hour until curfew and they would go to bed. Despite the amount of exercise they did that day in the snow, no one was feeling tired in the least.
One by one, as the curfew approached, student after student went back to their dorms or the bathroom to get ready for bed. Hermione had moved one of the couches closer to the fire to get comfortable instead of sitting on the stony floor.
Feeling the couch dip, she looked over and saw the dark curls of Bellatrix. She was in her pyjamas just like Hermione was. The soft green glow from the windows and the lanterns set a comfortable moods for the remaining snakes in the common room who were either reading or talking in whispers amongst themselves.
"Are you going home for Yule?" she asked.
"Yea. Lucius says he has a surprise for me that he can't bring to Hogwarts." Hermione smiled. "What about you?"
"I suppose. Unless Andromeda or Freddie decide to stay here, I'm going home." Bellatrix never took her eyes off the flames of the fireplace, a frown on her face.
"You don't seem excited to be going home." Hermione said. "Don't want to?"
"Why would I? Father just wants to speak to me about potential marriage arrangements." Hermione pursed her lips at her friend's words. She made a valid point. What 12 year old wanted to hear about that?
"Want to come over for part of the holiday?" offered Hermione. "We could always have more girls over at the manor. It's only ever mother and I with all our male relatives around."
"It's an intriguing offer. Your parents wouldn't mind?"
"I don't think so. As long as I ask beforehand, they're rarely say no. You could always bring over Andromeda and Fred too."
"I'll think about it." Bellatrix told Hermione as she stood up and wrapped her cloak into her arms and left to the dorms.
A few days later, early in the morning, hermione found herself sitting in a compartment with Lucius, Antonin, Cantankerus and Rodolphus, all of them asleep. The Boys were all extremely tired that morning, mostly from celebrating all night and hermione took the opportunity to read quietly next to the window.
Looking up from her textbook, she caught sight of her Hufflepuff friend Alex. He was smiling and waving to follow him. Hermione carefully stood up, cautious as not to wake up Cantankerus, whom was sleeping with his head on her shoulder, and Rodolphus, who had ended up sleeping on the floor, something that was a habit of theirs.
She placed her book on the bench and exit the compartment, following the Hufflepuff back to his. He opened the door and Annabelle was sitting there with a darker boy whom she remembered was in Ravenclaw.
"Hermione, this is Shacklebolt! He's in Ravenclaw!" Annabelle introduced her friend. "He's in our year!"
The boy waved and moved his bag to make some space for Hermione. "I'm Kingsley, you are Miss Hermione Malfoy?" He cocked an eyebrow. Hermione nodded happily.
"A pleasure to meet you, Kingsley."
"Likewise Hermione," as she and the Ravenclaw conversed, Annabelle took out a deck of Exploding Snaps.
"Who wants to play against the Queen of Exploding Snaps?" Annabelle gloated and taunted as she waved the cards teasingly at everyone.
"I'll take the opportunity to dethrone her." Kingsley took out his wand and laid out the cards.
"I'm playing too!" Alex and Hermione both took out their wands as well as Annabelle got ready to begin the game.
"Lucius~ Lulu~ Lucious~ Luce~ Lucy~ Lucyyyy~" Lucius woke up with Cantankerus poking his arm annoyingly, a grin on his face. "Finally."
"What?" Lucius groggily sat up in his seat.
"Where did your sister go?" Lucius looked around and saw her book in the place of where his sister had been sitting before having disappeared.
"She probably went to find the Blacks. Always find her with one of them." He told his friend as they woke up Rodolphus from his deep slumber on the cold wooden floor.
"Frederick hasn't seen her and neither has Bellatrix. They're in the same compartment together." Cantankerus said. "And we're almost at the station."
"Let's go find them then." Lucius stood up and kicked Rodolphus arm. "Get up Ru." Rodolphus groggily lifted his head, his dark black eyes looking tiredly at Lucius and rolling, he stood up and yawned.
"I'll just stay here." He laid down on the free seat and even took Hermione's discarded book as a pillow. "Guard our belongins."
Lucius and Cantankerus nodded their heads and left the compartment, before snickering. "I'd definitely leave my fortune with him."
Cantankerus burst out laughing as they walked along the compartments, looking into the windows to see if the younger Malfoy was anywhere. After a couple dozen, they finally found her with two Hufflepuffs and a Ravenclaw, all concentrating on a game of Exploding Snaps. They stood there for a few seconds, observing the skills.
"They're quite good." Cantankerus commented. "None of them is letting up."
"Not as good as us." Lucius commented back. They both waited until there was no more cards on their table before opening the door, surprising all four of them.
Lucius quickly noted how one of the Hufflepuffs froze and his sister started paling. "Care to introduce me to your friends, Hermione?" he spoke up, looking at the three others with interest.
She cleared her throat and introduced her friends. "This is Kingsley Shacklebolt, Ravenclaw, that is Annabelle Abbott, Hufflepuff and finally, Alexander Smith, Hufflepuff." She said.
"Blood statuses?" The two Hufflepuffs visibly tensed at the words they so hated.
"Pureblood, Pureblood and Muggleborn." She almost whispered when she got to Alex.
"Muggleborn you say?" Cantankerus finally said something. Interesting. He held a straight face as he assessed the male Hufflepuff.
"If you have something to say, then say it Cantankerus." Hermione told him, tearing his eyes away from the Hufflepuff.
"Not from the Elgyn Smiths, are you?" he asked curiously. "Pureblood family after all."
"Um... No, Heir Nott. My parents are Muggles. We're not from Scotland." Alex answered.
"Well, you play Snaps like you've played your whole life." Hermione and Hannah's eyes widened at the compliment. "I challenge thee to a Snaps duel!" Lucius rolled his eyes and sent him a glare. "I mean... A game of Snaps..."
"Oh..." Alex blushed a bit. "Alright!" Everyone quickly made space for the two older Slytherin students, Lucius sitting beside his sister and watching Cantankerus challenge the first year Muggleborn.
Lucius seemed to be observing all the other students, his arms crossed and one leg crossed over the other. Hermione could tell he was simply waiting for Cantankerus, but she knew that he would be waiting for a long time.
The train finally came to a stop in King s Cross and Cantankerus and Alex had to abandon their game. Everyone left their compartments and began exiting the train, parents eagerly hugging the children they hadn't seen since September.
Lucius went to fetch Hermione's luggage, while Hermione was being engulfed in the tightest hug she'd ever been in.
"Welcome home dear!" Her mother exclaimed happily, still hugging her daughter. "We've missed you so much!" Her father simply hummed in agreement.
"Hermione!" Her mother let her go, turning and seeing Fred with his luggage beside his three sisters.
"Is that Heir Black?" Her mother asked her. "Let's go and greet them." Her mother and father followed Hermione to the Blacks. There, was Druella and Cygnus Black with their children. Narcissa was latched onto Fred's side with an excited grin.
"Lord Malfoy, Lady Malfoy," the two Blacks greeted them with a head dip. "How wonderful to see you again."
"Likewise Lord Black and Lady Black." Abraxas smiled faintly. "It seems our children have become friends." He pointed to Fred, Hermione and Bellatrix who were all talking avidly to the side.
"Indeed they have." Cygnus' lips formed a straight line. "Indeed they have..."
"Perhaps we could organise a get-together for the children over break?" Alexandra Malfoy suggested. "We can catch up on and talk of future parties."
"I agree." Druella curtly smiled. "That would be most pleasant."
"Do have a good trip home." Alexandra finished. "Lucius, Hermione, time to go."
"Yes Mother." The two siblings said together, placing the last bag on the trolley their father had fetched for them before getting off the train.
"Don't forget to write us." Narcissa told Hermione as she turned to leave.
"Narcissa. Shh." Druella harshly shushed her youngest. "You're too loud." She quickly apologised but repeated herself in almost a whisper.
"Of course, Miss Black." Hermione winked as she followed her brother and parents.
"Narcissa, come!" Narcissa quickly ran to catch up to her mother and three other siblings who were about to cross the barrier.
"Freddie! Freddie! Who was that?" Narcissa had begun bugging Fred the moment they had arrived back at Grimmauld Place that afternoon. He hadn't even taken off his coat when she began questioning him.
"She's Bella and Andy's roommate," Fred told her, just wanting to flop down on his bed and take a nap. "She's one of my friends, Narcissa."
"Oh alright." Narcissa pouted as she helped Fred lug his baggage up to his room. "Can she be my friend too? She seems nice. If Trixy and Andy like her, then I will too," She beamed. "And you like her so she'll be sure to like me too." Her determination that shone brightly in her gray eyes made Fred chuckle.
"I'm sure she will. Go find a day on the planner and I'll be sure to pass along the message that you want to meet her." Narcissa nodded ecstatically and ran out of the room, most likely off to find a calendar of some sort.
"You could never invite her." Bellatrix stated, coming into the room. "Not unless you want mummy and daddy to have the wrong idea." She began humming and did a little slow spin. "And not unless you want them to hear distant wedding bells!" She laughed.
Fred rolled his eyes at his sister s antics. "I'm allowed to have female friends."
"Of course, and I have no problem with that. My friends are boys too." Bellatrix opened the door. "But I'm not inviting any over, am I? I'll invite Malfoy for you, and you can invite my friends for me. That way, we can avoid marriage talk until later."
"That sounds pretty good. We should do that."
"I don't want to hear any of that until I'm at least in third year."
"Me neither."