Lie To Me

Christmas Break

The next day, a lot of students leave for their holidays at home. So are my brother and I, as well as a few of our friends.

Arriving at King's Cross, we separate from our friends with hugs and promises to write letters before we make our way to our parents, who are standing aside, waiting for us.

Hogwarts has been such an amazing place with tonnes of distractions that I didn't even notice how much I missed my family and the relaxing feeling of being at home.

It just hits me the second I walk into the house. The familiar smell and the Christmas decorations we used to hang up together give me a weird nostalgic feeling and almost make me tear up from happiness.

I try to shake it off as I go up into my room, wanting to unpack my bag. I barely took anything with me anyway, mostly just books to do my homework.

As I open up my door, I immediately notice the open owl cage sitting on my desk, in which Mr. Buttons was sleeping peacefully. He must have stayed here after I sent Mum a letter two days ago.

As quietly as I can, I put my bag on my bed and change into some comfortable clothes, ready to enjoy my holidays.

The day before Christmas, my mom was rushing through the whole house, cleaning every corner with a flick of her wand, since my grandparents were about to visit.

My mom's parents have sadly already passed away, but my dad's parents, who were also both muggles, came over to spend Christmas with us. Levi and I love them dearly, so we were happy they stayed with us. The only thing that slightly bothers me is that my Nana can be quite intrusive.

She constantly interrogates us about school and other things. She is always particularly interested in our love lives, or lack thereof. Especially when it came to my brother, since he was older than me, she expected him to have a special interest in someone.

Usually she will continue with her prying for about ten minutes before Gramps tells her to "leave the kids alone." And this time was no different.

On Christmas morning, I wake up excitedly, and I can't help but wake everyone else so we can finally start to exchange presents.

I've got new knitted socks and some muggle money from my grandparents, a new leather calendar from my brother, a few new books, as well as a Gryffindor bookmark from my parents.

The day before, I received an owl with gifts from Nellie and Garreth but held back from opening them right away. After exchanging gifts with my family and having a hearty breakfast, I rush upstairs to finally open them.

Looking at both wrapped presents on my desk, I grab Nellie's first. Despite the wrapping paper, it is obvious that this must be a book. A quite heavy one as well.

I rip the paper open, revealing a brown hardcover book with gold script that reads, "Herbology for Morons: A Guide Throughout Classes 1–7."

I roll my eyes, but I also can't stop laughing about how I probably actually need that book. I put it aside to browse through it later and scan my desk for Garreth's present, which is wrapped in a very small, rectangular box.

Trying to guess what might be in it, I pick it up and shake it gently. There is a small clacking sound which doesn't give me much information about the contents.