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THE CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS were a time for dinners with the family and gifts by the fireplace. Work-oriented parents left their desks, and revision-jammed students left their schools, all to come home for celebration.
For Valerie Grindelwald, her Christmas plans involved finding a way to break into the restricted section of the library.
"Are you sure you'll be alright?" Theodore Nott asked as they walked through the hallowed halls, his suitcase dragging itself behind him.
"You can spend the holidays at my house, I'm sure my mother wouldn't mind. You're pure-blood, right? Just—"
"Nott, you're going to miss the train. At this rate, no one's gonna be spending the holidays at your house." Valerie told him, pushing the boy forward as she stayed behind.
"Bye, Blaise. Take care of that one." Valerie pointed toward her friend jokingly as they walked away.
"No promises," Blaise smiled, "See you in two weeks."
Theodore pouted, before waving after her from afar with a wide grin. "Merry Christmas, Valerie!"
The Grindelwald girl shook her head, letting out a low laugh at that as she waved back, "Merry Christmas, Theo."
The two boys disappeared farther away into the distance, and Valerie shoved her chilly hands deep into the pockets of her coat. Winter at Hogwarts was astonishingly beautiful. White snow covered the sandstone grounds, and icicles hung from the branches of the timeless evergreen trees.
The walls were decorated with wreaths of all shapes and sizes, leading her to the Great Hall where teachers hung ornaments on the Christmas trees being towed in by Hagrid.
Valerie froze by the doorframe as she spotted Harry Potter playing a game of Wizard's Chess with Ronald Weasley, the former standing up to approach her. She swivelled around and briskly walked away, heading for the dungeons.
Harry had been trying to talk to her since their last conversation, but she on the other hand, had no intentions of speaking to him just yet.
"Parseltongue." Valerie said loud and clear, the portrait of a serpent swinging open to let her in. The Common Room might not have been the most festively adorned, but they had least furnished a tree in the middle to shelter gifts.
A sigh of relief escaped her lips as she leaned her back against the portrait door, before walking to her supposedly empty dormitory. Valerie was surprised to see Pansy Parkinson sitting at the vanity she'd brought from home herself.
"Aren't you supposed to be on the train?" Valerie queried.
"Aren't you supposed to be minding your own business?" Pansy sneered, using a curling charm on her long, dark hair.
