November Snow

t h i r t y - n i n e

"I'll head inside then." He said, stepping backwards and gave me an awkward wave.

"That looks awkward, you know?" I laughed again.

"Thought I could do it better." He shook his head.

"You're such a goof." I smiled "Go, I want to be alone."

"Fine, I'll retreat and give the princess her time alone." He backed away in chuckles.

Seconds later, there was only me left in the garden. I inhaled deeply, feeling the winter air chilling my lungs and looked down at the small red box in my hand. I unwrapped the white ribbon and opened the lid. Inside was a small silver pendant, engraved with a hissing serpent wrapping itself around a blooming, thorny rose. To put it simply, it was beautiful. I never thought Draco Malfoy would give me a present, let alone a gorgeous one like this.

Later that day, when I came back to my shared room which was now all mine since all the girls had left, a received an owl from Hermione and Juliette, both sent me a holiday card and a present. Hermione sent me a scarf and Juliette, knowing well who I was, sent me a box full of chocolate. But none of them could take my mind off the silver pendant someone gave me.

-----

No matter what it is between you and everyone else, you're still a friend of mine and a faithful member of the Order. Christmas is not complete without you, so come back to join us.

Sirius.

I wasn't extremely happy, but here I was, in front of 12 Grimmauld Place. I wasn't supposed to ring the bells, Molly and Sirius warned me about Sirius' dear old mother the moment I stepped into the house months ago. I didn't have to knock either, the Order was expecting me anyway, so as soon as I reached the door, they opened it and welcomed me in.

"Come in, dear, it must be freezing outside." Molly said.

The House of Black now, compared to few months ago, was much more of a place they could call home. It looked brighter, felt warmer and there were less bugs and Boggarts. I remembered that time when I opened the wardrobe in my room and three Boggarts charged at me. It was scary...

I walked past the dining room where the Weasleys, Harry and Hermione were enjoying their Christmas meal. Their smiles dropped the moment they saw me, except for Arthur who was just as happy to see me as Molly. Decided that I shouldn't linger in their sight, I quickly excused myself and went back to my room. Up the stairs, I heard them talking, more like sneering and hissing.

"What is she doing here?"

"Why shouldn't she be here, Ron?" Molly asked "She's a friend and a member of the Order."

Late in the evening, Sirius and Lupin, the only two aware of my little disagreement with the Weasley kids, Harry and Hermione, half-dragged, half-walked me down to the dining room. They locked the door after making sure no one was listening and began their little session on me for not behaving like I used to do.

"What's wrong between all of you?" Sirius asked.

"Does it really matter right now?" I asked and they nodded "Fine. I joined the Inquisitorial Squad with some Slytherins. If I am close enough to Umbridge, I can find out what Fudge is up to. Also, her little Squad is targeting Harry and his friends, I'm technically a spy to buy some time for them to do whatever they have to do. But they had to hate me first so my plan could work. Besides, Harry and Ron think it's favoritism when I get to become a member of the Order."

"And Hermione?"

"She knows." I said "Forget about me. What happened to Arthur?"

"Attacked in the Department of Mysteries." Siriu said "Lucky we found him soon enough."

"Thanks to Harry." Lupin added.

Thankfully enough, they didn't ask me anything about what Harry was up to in school. After exchanging few more words with them, I was soon dismissed and told to go to bed before I had to leave for Hogwarts first thing in the next morning. I walked up the stairs only to be cornered by Fred and George. They looked down at me, beaming.

"What do you want?" I grunted.

George just picked me up and threw me onto his shoulder. I yelped, Fred immediately covered my mouth with his big hand. They carried me into their room and shut the door before throwing me onto one of the beds.

"What do you want?" I repeated.

"So that's what you're trying to do." Fred said.

"Distance us to get information from the enemy." George said.

"Smart." They both said.

"But not too smart." George said.

"We said we know you." Fred crossed his arms.

"We actually do." George kneeled down to face me "So don't think your little act can fool us."

"Fool wh---"

"Extendable Ears." Fred showed me a plastic-looking ear "We heard you talking to them."

"Anything to say?" They ended their confrontation.

I stared at them in disbelief as they continued to beam at me, their eyes twinkled with gladness. I didn't see that coming, I really thought those time they were avoiding me because they hated me. I had never realized they were actually trying to find out the truth, that they knew I was lying. Maybe I should improve my skills in telling lies.

"I'm sorry." I sighed "I shouldn't have--"

"Yes, you shouldn't have." Fred said.

"Apology not accepted." George nodded.

"I'll help you prank Slytherins?" I said, not being so sure.

"Apology accepted."