holding on {t.r.}

t w e n t y f o u r

"Happy Christmas," Alexandra grinned, practically jumping down the stairs still dressed in her red pajamas with her hair messily tied up. Tom chuckled, feeling envious toward her excitement. He never understood the thrill of Christmas morning, seeing as he's never experienced one remotely enjoyable. Alexandra's circumstances were the same, but she swore to herself that this year would be different. This year, she and Tom would have a Christmas worth remembering.

"Happy Christmas, love," Tom smiled.

"I might actually be starting to enjoy that," Alexandra told him, sitting beside him on the couch. "Rolls right off the tongue, doesn't it?"

"You're very cheerful this morning," Tom pointed out.

"Because I know that today is going to be a good day," Alexandra smiled. "We deserve at least one good Christmas, yeah?"

"Of course," Tom smiled, humoring her. "What have you got planned, then?"

"Nothing," Alexandra admitted. "When do we ever plan anything?"

"Actually-"

"When do I ever plan anything?" She corrected. Tom chuckled again. "I'm going to go change."

Alexandra ran upstairs, rummaging through her closet full of skirts, dresses and sweaters wishing she could wear a bloody pair of pants more often.

"Oh, good," Slughorn smiled, entering the common room. Tom rolled his eyes before turning to greet him.

"Professor," he smiled. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Is Miss River awake?" The professor asked, ignoring Tom's question.

"Yes, sir, she's just getting ready for the day," Tom smiled. "She should be here shortly."

"Wonderful," Slughorn said, sounding as if he was still catching his breath from the walk over. "I take it that you two have become much closer over the past few months. Good for you, my boy."

"Thank you, sir," Tom stated blandly, already annoyed.

"These are days you will remember for the rest of your lives. Make them worth remembering," Slughorn smiled.

"Professor," Alexandra greeted, entering the room after what felt like hours to Tom.

"Good morning, Miss River. A pleasure, as always," Slughorn grinned, approaching the girl. "On behalf of Hogwarts and the Slytherin house, I would like to wish you both a very Happy Christmas and invite you to join myself as well as the staff and a few other students for breakfast this morning."

"Oh-" Alexandra hesitated, knowing that spending Christmas morning with Slughorn was the last thing she wanted to do. Tom interrupted before she could decline.

"Of course, Professor. We will arrive shortly, if you don't mind we take a few moments to exchange gifts," Tom stated, channeling his perfect student facade.

"Of course," Slughorn smiled, nodding to the pair and winking at Tom before slowly exiting the room.

"I thought we agreed no gifts," Alexandra panicked.

"We did. I lied to get him to leave," Tom smirked. Alexandra let out a sigh of relief.

"Speaking of gifts, though, Melissa left us these photographs. I have my own copies in my dormitory," Alexandra explained, holding out a small pile of black and white photos. "She's getting a new camera for Christmas, so expect more of these throughout the year."

Melissa was quite talented when it came to photography, and used events such as Hogsmeade trips to showcase her talent. She took loads of pictures, ranging from one of Tom and Avery having a conversation by a tree to Tom and Alexandra browsing through the sweet shop. Tom, never having owned a photograph of himself before, smiled at the dozen he now held in his hands. He flipped to one that he vividly remembered Melissa taking before she had left for the holidays.

"I like this one," he smiled, showing Alexandra the picture of the both of them sitting in front of the Christmas tree. They were both looking directly at the camera, smiling with their heads pressed together. At first Tom thought the picture would look ridiculous, but, looking at it now, it made him feel warm.

"That one is my favorite," Alexandra grinned. "You're actually smiling in it."

"I'm going to put these in my dormitory," he told her, leaving the common room for a short moment. Alexandra smiled to herself, feeling her heart flutter. She paced back and forth, recalling a conversation she had with Melissa the night before she left.

"When I'm with him I feel like I want to scream, cry and vomit all at the same time," she explained, wrapping her blanket around her shoulders. Melissa chuckled.

"You love him," she sang.

"I do not," Alexandra defended. "Besides, we've only been dating for a few weeks."

"But you've known each other for months now. I mean really known each other," Melissa exaggerated. "Don't sit around and wait for him to tell you how he feels. He's clueless."

"What if I'm overthinking everything? I've never been in a relationship before. How do I know that what I'm feeling is love and not just some kind of excitement from experiencing all of these new things at once?"

"You'll know when it's love. Trust me."

"What are you thinking about?" Tom asked, tearing her from her thoughts.

"Nothing," she answered quickly. "Let's go, then."

Tom nodded, not fully believing that there was nothing on her mind but deciding today wasn't the best day to pry. She wanted to have a good Christmas, and that's exactly what she was going to do.

"I thought we could take a walk after breakfast. Maybe visit the lake," Tom suggested, thinking of things he's seen other couples do or talk about that he and Alexandra could do. "I know it's cold-"

"I like that idea," Alexandra smiled, happy that things were becoming less awkward between them as time went on. "As long as you don't push me in."

"I couldn't push you in, it's frozen," Tom smirked, holding her hand as they walked. Alexandra couldn't help but blush at the gesture. While nobody was around, she still saw the action as a public display of affection- something she didn't think Tom was comfortable with.

"Happy Christmas," Dumbledore greeted, smiling at the two.

"Happy Christmas, Professor," Tom and Alexandra stated at the same time.  Dumbledore left the conversation at a simple greeting, leaving the young couple to enjoy the holiday as he joined the rest of the professors at their table.

"Maybe he didn't ruin our lives after all," Alexandra stated, looking at Tom. "We wouldn't be here if it weren't for him and his meddling."

"I suppose you're right," Tom agreed, feeling somewhat thankful while still never fully understanding Dumbledore's intentions behind such meddling. "I still hate him."