The Little Pureblood [1]

Chapter 25: Christmas at Hogwarts

Everyone was in a frenzy to make it on the train home for break after the double hit with Justin Finch-Fletchley and Nearly Headless Nick. Everyone, including a majority of the Slytherins. Such news was great in it's own way. I had less people to deal with during the holiday. But on the other side, I smaller number of people to sit with during the holidays, like Sam.

Sam and I sat on our four-poster beds turned towards one another the night before the train would leave; the pair of us sharing separate feelings for what was to come while Oliver, my cat, ran around the floor chasing the shadows the water cast from our window.

"I can't believe you are leaving me here to suffer with only my brother and Malfoy for company," I said mournfully to a smirking Sam who was busy folding the last of her clothes into her satchel.

"Oh don't you dare start. We may be close, but not close enough for me to miss my entire vacation home just so you can avoid Malfoy." I puffed and pouted before slamming my face into a pillow and momentarily screaming for a time.

When I resurrected from the goose feathers, I met Sam's expression of concern and Oliver's look of horror.

"It's okay Oliver, go on playing with the shadows," I said quickly causing the cat to give me one final suspicious look before running straight to the window to watch a grindylow flout by in the water.

"At least you have your brother here to keep you company. And your other brother, Damion, wrote about coming to visit at some point next term, right?" I nodded solemnly as my eyes shifted to my nightstand where Damion's opened letter lay among a new box of macarons he gave me for an apology.

"I just don't understand why they won't let Theo and me come home. Mom promised us she would and she almost never breaks her promises."

Sam rolled off her mattress and pulled out a short wooden shoe box she had nestled under her bed and promptly started to rustle through it while Oliver suddenly appeared next to her and peered into the box alongside her.

"He said your parents were both covered with work, right? If that's the case, wouldn't home be a boring place to be for the holidays?"

"In relation to staying at school with Malfoy? I'd rather be home being ignored than always watching my shoulder for Malfoy to come out and threaten me again."

Sam shut the box loudly making Oliver jump back under her bed while she sat up to look at me sternly.

"What exactly can he do to you, Ava? What power does that boy have other than to go tattle to his father about how you dislike him and are homesick for your family?"

It's true, Sam is right that Malfoy does not have much to go on when it comes to blackmailing me, since the letter from Izzy was destroyed. And I doubt Mr. Malfoy would care much about how I was homesick and disliked his son. Why would he care?

But even with those thoughts to comfort me, my gut was telling me otherwise.

"Catch." I looked up just in time to see two chocolate frogs in their wrappers coming my way. They landed on my bed where I was quick to grab on to and smile.

"How many of these things do you have?" I asked in awe, turning to look her way with a wide grin on my face. Sam gave me a kind smile while starting on her own chocolate frog, dismantling its arms and legs and popping them in her mouth one at a time.

"I have a stash. They're my favorite sweet after all. And your Christmas present, by the way." I looked down at my new chocolate and then around me room in search of something to give Sam.

She must have read my mind because she started to laugh while popping the last of the chocolate frog in her mouth.

"You don't have to give me anything. I sprang this on you randomly." I gave her a crazy look before jumping off my bed and rummaging through my boxes in search of something to give her.