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─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
Eleanor couldn't help but notice how Cedric, Alex and Laurence all had their eyes intently fixed on Tawny as she soared through the great hall with the other owls. She knew why - grasped in Tawny's sharp claws was a box of treats sent from her mother.
Purposely trying to make as mush disaster as she could, Tawny didn't stick to a clean delivery like all the other owls. Instead the bird decided to spill over Eleanor's half drunk cup of coffee and plant the box in front of Laurence. Before the boy could pounce into the baked goods, Eleanor snatched it away. "Dumb owl," she muttered, her eyes throwing daggers at the animal.
"Sharing is caring, El-Amore," Laurence said in a sing-song voice.
"Be patient and maybe I'll let you have one," Eleanor replied, opening the ribbon-sealed box to release a sweet aroma of cinnamon and ginger. It smelt like Christmas in a box, spicy and sweet. She reached for the roll of parchment on top of a plethora of gingerbread men and recognised her mothers neat, cursive handwriting.
My little dove, I hope you're as excited for Christmas as I! I baked gingerbread men just for the occasion, you'll find them in the box. Be a good girl and share them with your friends - and thank Alex for the hearty compliments for the last batch of treats I sent you all! I must ask you this, and I don't mind the answer so don't feel bad if you say no. Are you coming home for christmas or staying at Hogwarts? Of course, I would love for you to come home, but I can understand if you wish to stay at school. It's always very pretty there around this time of year. If it may help persuade you to come home, Cedric has already wrote to Caroline and said he will be coming home. The Diggory's are coming to ours for Christmas dinner, just like every other year. You two come as a pair, so I imagine wherever he goes you'll follow and likewise. I wouldn't be surprised if you've already decided together. Enjoy the cookies, honey. All my love, Mum.
Eleanor didn't get homesick easily, but sometimes it was hard to deny the guilt she felt for leaving her mother when school came around. Diana had nobody at home except the silence of their house. Caroline and Amos Diggory saw her all the time, at least twice a week as they were such good friends, but it wasn't the same as having a husband there to keep her company. Sometimes Eleanor would remember this at the most random of times and suddenly feel the urge to run home and wrap her Mother in a warm, loving embrace. She couldn't leave her mother alone for Christmas - she never had. "I'm going home for Christmas," Eleanor told Cedric after reading the letter.
"That's nice, I am too," Cedric said, stroking the Tawny. His eyes were fixated on the box in front of Eleanor, though, and he was enticed by the heavenly scent. "Did Diana make gingerbread men?"
