Lionheart ~ Harry Potter (Under Heavy Editing)

Chapter Twenty-Two | Christmas

Ariana never celebrated Christmas. Never. To the witch, it was a day of sorrow, mourning and misery. It was on this day many years ago that her brother, Arron, had ben murdered. That day, she had lost her brother, her only living relative... her best friend. Her mood was always rockier than usual around that time, not they she had veer explained why; the witch couldn't bring herself to utter the horrible words. So, instead, she used the excuse that her 'parents' are strictly Jewish.

At Hogwarts, for those who remained behind for the holidays, it was a massive celebration. The hallways were usually decorated with large wreaths, bunches of holly and much more. The Great Hall had icicles hanging from almost every ledge, snow fluttered down from the enchanted ceiling, garlands of holly wound up the walls, and a positively giant decorated evergreen tree stood proudly at the top of the Hall.

Harry, quite like Ariana, always stayed at Hogwarts for the holidays in order to avoid his awful aunt, uncle and cousin. It came as a pleasant surprise to the duo when Ron and Hermione announced that they were not going home to celebrate with their families. Apparently, Ron wished to avoid his pompous brother Percy, and Hermione had a lot of studying to do. Ariana, who was taking exactly the same classes as Hermione, knew they had a lot of studying to do for their subjects, but she knew the real reason she and Ron were staying behind: to  keep herself and Harry company. She appreciated it immensely.

On Christmas morning, Ariana had been awoken by Hermione. The white-haired witch had tossed and turned all night, and when she did fall asleep, nightmares plagued her. Her brothers screams bounced around her skull like a agonising pinball, which did not cease when she woke up.

"Ariana, look," said the brunette gleefully, pointing at the small pile of presents at the end of her bed.

As it turned out, Ariana had recieved a knitted crimson jumper with a lion on it, homemade mince pies, a Christmas cake and a box of nut brittle from Mr and Mrs Weasley; Ron had given her a large box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans. Hagrid had sent up an assortment of sweets from Honeydukes, which Ariana knew would last her months. Harry gave her a book about the history of Potions, and Hermione gifted her a book on Defensive Magic.

As soon as she had disposed of the wrappings, Ariana got dressed into her usual clothing; skinny jeans, a black top and Victorian-inspired black boots. She cast a spell that put gorgeous curls in her hair, falling down her shoulders on a beautiful frozen waterfall of frosty white. She also helped herself to a mince pie or two, letting that tide her over until lunch.

"Thank you for the book, Hermione," she smiled.

"Likewise. I've wanted Spellman's Syllabary for ages!" Hermione grinned, giving Ariana a quick hug.

"Come on, let's go and see Ron and Harry."

The two girls headed down into the Common Room, but their friends had not left their dormitory yet. As everyone had gone home for the holiday, Gryffindor Tower was peacefully quiet. As Crookshanks lay on the hearthrug enjoying the heat of the fire, the girls sat on the sofa. They discussed lunch, since it was nearly time for the meal to be served in the Great Hall.

"Merry Christmas!" Ron exclaimed happily, wearing a maroon jumper with a yellow "R" on it; a gift from his mother.

Ariana stood up to greet them. "Merry Christmas," she smiled, forcing her voice into a merry tune.

They all traded thanks for their gifts. Ariana had got Harry a book about the world's Quidditch teams and Ron a Chudley Cannons (his favourite Quidditch team).

Come 12:30 the quartet headed down for lunch. As soon as Ariana stepped outside of the portrait hole, the delicious smell of cooking hit her like a brick wall. Though it made her stomach rumble, the witch had next to no appetite whatsoever. When the group arrived in the Great Hall, much to their surprise, the house tables were not to be seen. Ariana did, however, spot a single circular table, set for thirteen, in the centre of the room. At the table, Professors Dumbledore, McGonagall, Snape, Sprout and Flitwick (their Charms teacher, who is part-goblin, hence why he is as tall as Ariana's waist) were there, along with Filch, the caretaker. Ariana noticed that he was wearing an old, mouldy tail coat instead of his usual brown coat.