Huffily Puffily || Golden Trio

Dancin' and Prancin' || lx

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The next couple of days were accompanied by a steady snowfall across the castle grounds, as well as a deep chill in the air. Not for the first time, but certainly with the same amount of relief, she was glad Sirius Black had a warm tent in the midst of the worsening weather.

Despite the cold, she would have gladly left the castle to spend more time with her new convict friend. From the one day they spent talking— person-to-person rather than person-to-dog— Lucy decided that she enjoyed Sirius's company. She had been a little wary at first, but she soon found out that Sirius Black was compulsively honest. He obviously had some secrets, like everyone did, but when it came to his opinions, he blurted out whatever came to mind. Lucy never thought she'd meet someone who disliked Slytherins as much as Ron, but alas, Sirius existed. Now, she didn't agree with that, but the fact that he told her knowing she had a few friends in Slytherin gave him a few more points in her mind.

She wanted to visit the tent again, but Anthony advised her against it. He'd never stop her, of course, but she had to concede that he had a strong point on why she shouldn't. She and Anthony disappeared for only a day, and it left the professors with loads of questions. Not only had Professor Lupin asked where they'd gone, but Professor Sprout, McGonagall, and a curious Madam Hooch inquired as well.

"It was too damn quiet," was Madam Hooch's only input.

Ordinarily Lucy would not let a little suspicion from the professors stop her from her adventures, but there was more at stake here than her own boredom. If the professors acted on their concern and searched the castle, only to find them missing— especially considering she'd spoken to Sirius Black face-to-face before— they'd organize a search mission. Lucy could talk herself out of an awful lot but she wasn't sure how well she'd fare if the professors found two of their students lounging deep in the Forbidden Forest.

Anthony left every morning to bring Sirius food, and he wouldn't return until late in the afternoon. Then he'd spend a few hours doing homework, or hanging out with Lucy, before he left again in the evening to deliver the man dinner.

"I won't have any of my ducklings starving," Anthony told her sternly when she commented that he might have brought a little too much food for a malnutritioned man to handle. "'Sides, I made a magic refrigerator, he'll be fine."

"You made a what?"

He didn't elaborate and Lucy was furious she wouldn't find out until later.

Instead of visiting Sirius Black, Lucy had to find other means to keep herself entertained in the agonizing two days until Christmas Eve. She and her friends finished the details on their upcoming blizzard prank in the Great Hall and there wasn't really anything for them to do other than homework and... dear merlin... Wizard's Chess... Lucy was an absolute master at that game, but she hated her skills with a burning passion.

No, not her skills. Her curse. Voldemort had cursed her with amazing chess prowess, and for that she would never forgive him.

The night before Christmas Eve found Lucy wandering through the corridors aimlessly. Now that she knew Sirius wasn't a mass murderer, she felt as though it was safe to roam around. There weren't any crazed Slytheirn stalkers looking to throw her off a staircase... that she knew of, anyway, sometimes Theodore looked tempted whenever she made a pun about his last name... And there was a distinct lack of basilisks slithering through the pipes.

She considered the lack of basilisks a flaw at this point, because come on, that was awesome. Now that she thought about it, she reckoned she could hatch one of her own. It wasn't that hard. She could give it to Harry for Christmas. Wait, no, Harry might kill it, and she loved snakes! She used to think they were gross, but that was before she could speak to them. Although Ford was rather rude. Then again, she was very annoying. And she already got Harry a Christmas gift, a basilisk would just be overkill. She couldn't help all of her Christmas cheer!