Glamour

Landscape

Sitting in the small window seat of the gallery, Harry mindlessly sketched on some scraps of parchment. By his feet lay his bag with a crumpled essay flattened on top of it, a small 'EE' scrawled in the top right corner, alongside the word 'adequate' in spiky red letters. Hermione had decided she wanted to spend some time with Ron this weekend, which left Harry free to finally start another of his projects.

The paintings in the gallery had inspired him to try more than just the doodles he currently had adorning every scrap of parchment in his bag and filling the majority of the first of his journals and now he wanted to try drawing an actual piece. The alcove window framed the owlery against the background of the forest and the rugged Scottish highlands, it seemed the perfect inspiration to christen his new journal with.

Picking out the charcoal pencil from his kit, Harry started sketching the outline of the scene, taking care to capture the sharp lines of the Owlery against the rugged softness of the forest behind. Smiling to himself as the drawing came into being, he hummed a tune the wireless in the Gryffindor common room had been playing that week.

The heat from the portable burner on the nearby table warmed the alcove, holding at bay the late November chill. Idly Harry thought that he should probably brew some more of the eye correcting potion as he was running out. He was also curious to try brewing a hair tonic that he had overheard Lavender and Parvati talking about the other day. According to Lavender it was worth the travesty of having to touch flobberworm mucus, which coming from a Gryffindor who had been known to take a fail grade rather than touch anything she didn't like the look of was high praise indeed.

As the sun set, clouding the view I dark shadows, Harry put down his pencil, casting a soft lumos to be able to see his work more clearly. In all it was not a bad attempt. Though he could see definite areas that he was not happy with, Harry was pleased he had made that first attempt.

Turning his thoughts to the approaching christmas holidays – or Yule holidays, he supposed – Harry started the usual list in his mind of what gifts to get his friends. He usually just did as Ron did, raiding Hogsmeade on the last trip before the holidays, buying the first thing he spotted that he thought his friends might like before hurrying to the three broomsticks to warm up with a hot butterbeer.

After reading about the solstice rituals, and the power behind giving a gift with thought and meaning, he wanted to try something different. There were many small shops in Hogsmeade that he had never bothered to enter, one of them must have some Yule appropriate gifts.

Twirling the charcoal between his fingers, Harry turned his thoughts to what appropriate Yule gifts actually were. He had little enough experience in Christmas gifts, usually just copying what Ron brought, or defaulting to a bag of chocolate frogs (or a new quill in Hermione's case). With a sigh, he scrambled to his feet. It was not long until curfew, but he should still have time to get to the Library

A quick search of the towering stacks unearthed three books specifically on Yule celebrations and he tucked himself into a cozy corner of the library to read.

The tradition of gift giving at Yule stems from the offering of gifts to Lady Magic. It Is an offering of hope and renewal as the dark days of winter turn to the lighter days of spring. There are no set days for giving of gifts, with some families choosing a particular day that resonates with their celebrations, and others instead choosing to give small gifts throughout the season as it befits the situation.

With a sigh, Harry closed Solstice Preparations and Rituals turning his mind back to the problem at hand. While he quite liked the idea of finding more personalised gifts for his friends, he knew his budget would not stretch to such things.

A chime announced the closing of the library. With a sigh, Harry took the books to the desk to check out before making his way back to the dormitories, he rummaged in his trunk until he found his coin purse. Shaking the contents onto his bed he shuffled through the small amount. It was just enough for the few sweet-based presents he usually brought for his friends, but no where near enough to purchase anything else. His shopping spree earlier that year had wiped out his usual funds for the year, and there was no way to get to Gringotts to resupply, not unless he was willing to go to Grimmauld Place for the holidays.

Cursing himself, he tucked the small pouch of money back into his trunk and flicked open the second of the three books he had found, a slim book with a bright red cover titled Planning and Preparations for Yule

Choosing gifts for Yule

Many modern wixen choose to spend money on gifts for their loved ones during the Yule season, however the practice originated in the giving of food and drink offerings to Lady magic.

It is still often common for wixen to gift homemade gifts. Indeed for some it is a requirement, showing not only that you know the person well enough to give them a gift, but that you care enough to put both time and effort into the gift you are giving.

But what constitutes a good yule-tide gift. As with any present, there are no real limits to what a person may like or need. Common gifts include baked treats (see chapter 3), charmed items such as jewellery (chapter 5), herb pouches (chapter 7) or candles (chapter 8) can also be welcome, especially as they can often be tailored to a persons situation in life.

The idea of making gifts for his friends sounded amazing, if a bit daunting. There were several ideas in his head already. It was a shame that the elves were so protective of the kitchens. He would have liked to make the ginger biscuits Aunt Petunia used to make him make each Christmas.

Either way, he now had a plan and a month and a half to prepare his gifts for his friends and family. Perhaps he could still find some good in the season, even if he could not bring himself to celebrate at Grimmauld.