FINITE | Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire [4]

𝘅𝗹 | 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘆𝘂𝗹𝗲 𝗯𝗮𝗹𝗹

On Christmas morning, Gwen was woken up by two things; Lavender Brown squealing, as she so often did when she was excited, and Orion hooting angrily at her ear at the sound.

  'Whatisit?' she murmured, peeling back her curtains and opening one eye to look around. Lavender was sitting cross legged on the end of her bed, already tearing into her Christmas presents.

  'Presents!' she squealed, grinning at Gwen as she held up a pair of fluffy pink socks decorated printed with white bunny rabbits. Gwen grinned, suddenly awake, and pulled back her bed curtains.

  Parvati and Clara were slowly raising themselves out of bed, and Hermione was already walking around, brushing her teeth and getting ready, her presents unopened at the end of her bed.

  'Happy Christmas,' she said through a mouthful of toothpaste, trying to smile at Gwen; it was rather difficult with her toothbrush in her mouth.

  'And you,' Gwen said, taking some owl treats from her bedside and feeding them to Orion. He hadn't brought a reply for Fred and George with him; she wondered if he had already delivered their letter.

  The girls set about opening their gifts; Lucille had given Gwen a book called Magical Melodies and Music: A Short History, Eddie had sent her a massive bag of her favourite sweets, and Felix a bergamot and vanilla perfume that came in a purple glass bottle and hummed a lullaby when she opened it. Her parents had sent her some new, expensive makeup to use for the Yule Ball (Gwen had gasped when she had seen these), Hermione had gotten her a copy of Flying with the Holyhead Harpies, Ron a bag of Dungbombs, and Harry a Broom Maintenance Kit. Mrs Weasley had sent Gwen and Hermione the usual, a freshly knitted jumper-- Gwen's was beige with a roaring Gryffindor lion, Hermione's blue with a spellbook-- and a box of baked pastries and cakes.

  There was one extra one this year; a small envelope sealed with a wax emblem and a single stem of lily of the valley. She quietly opened it, her heart rate increasing as she did; she recognised the neat, cursive handwriting instantly:

Meet me in the entrance hall tonight. I can't wait to see you.

T.N.

Feeling her face heating up once again, she folded the note carefully and slipped it into the pocket of her dressing gown.

  Once all their presents had been opened, the girls set about hanging up their dresses, all uncharacteristically giggly and excited, twirling around the room with each other to practise their dancing and getting ready for their day.

  When Gwen and Hermione met up with Harry and Ron in the common room, they went down to breakfast together. They spent most of the morning in Gryffindor Tower, where everyone was enjoying their presents, then returned to the Great Hall for a magnificent lunch, which included at least a hundred turkeys and Christmas pudding, and large piles of Wizarding Crackers.