𝙢𝙚𝙚𝙩 𝙢𝙚 𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙤𝙢𝙮 𝙩𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧

chapter 24

it was the first day of christmas break. most of the students had left hogwarts to go home, only a few staying back.

draco and talia were two of those people.

draco felt bad when talia told him she would be staying at the castle for winter break. talia told him she got into a fight with her parents and didn't want to talk about it instead of the real reason. she felt bad for lying to draco, but she also knew he was keeping secrets, too.

talia left the castle that day and went to hogsmede, looking for christmas gifts for her friends. she didn't want to bring draco, knowing she would be buying him a gift and not wanting him to see it yet. plus, he was working on the cabinet all day, and she didn't want to interrupt.

for pansy, talia got her a new pair of earrings she'd been wanting since the beginning of the school year. she got hermione a specially engraved custom bookmark, ron a bunch of sweets from honeydukes, and harry gryffindor pin to put on his quidditch uniform.

draco, on the other hand, was a little bit more difficult to shop for. mainly because talia didn't want to mess it up. she wanted it to be something draco really enjoyed.

first, she wanted to get him cologne. then, she got too nervous on whether he would or wouldn't like the scent. so, she, like harry, wanted to get him a house pin for his quidditch uniform. but she didn't want to copy off of harry's gift.

eventually, talia became inspired by the bracelet her parents got her. she wanted to get draco something similar.

she ended up getting him a black ring with the initials "d.m." engraved into it. it was in his handwriting from the letters he had been writing talia to meet each other in the astronomy tower for lessons. the ring could move from side to side, and it's wearer had the ability to push down on it. then, it would release a happy memory of it's owner into the air for the wearer to watch. it was magic, and definitely something talia wouldn't find in the muggle world.

when tal got back to the castle, she apparated through the fireplace like draco had taught her. she carried several shopping bags through the small fire place with her, trying her best to get them all through in one round.

"need some help with that?" draco asked from the bottom stairs of the boys dormitory. talia looked over and nodded in his direction.

"yes, please. but don't look in the bags. you're christmas present is in here somewhere." she said. draco chuckled and hurried over to help, both of them setting all of the bags down on the common room couches.

"don't tell me these are all christmas presents. there's no way you have this many friends." draco said, putting his hands on his sides. talia gave him a look.

"actually, yes i do and yes they are. no need to be jealous." tal joked. draco rolled his eyes.

"sure. well, don't tell me you have plans for tonight." he said. talia shook her head.

"i don't. why?"

"i looked up american muggle christmas movies because i figured that'd make you feel more at home since you can't visit your parents. apparently there's this one called elf that i've never heard of. would you...want to watch it with me later?" draco nervously asked.

talia's face broke out into a huge smile, which in draco's mind, made it all worth looking up stupid movies for an hour.

"that's so sweet of you. of course i'd want to watch a movie later." tal nodded. draco playfully rolled his eyes again and walked over to where talia was standing. he took both of his hands and brushed her hair behind her ears, looking down at the girl.