❝ MERLIN'S GHOST! ❞
❝ I MEAN, YOU'RE NOT WRONG. ❞
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
Albany Bronwen was no Chosen One by any means, but being haunted by the ghosts of the greatest sorcerer of all time and a former king had to count for something, right?
❃ in which a lone...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
▬▬▬▬
"OH MY GOD MERRY CHRISTMAS!"
Albany laughed heartily at Carly's outburst as the curly-haired girl launched herself at the group. She was a tiny ball of high energy the next morning, curls all over the place and a light-up knitted Christmas sweater swamping her small figure. Somehow, she'd been the last one to join the rest of her friends that morning, rather than Albany, who was usually late but never on Christmas morning.
Faith had finally returned to the dormitories after nearly a week, though didn't speak a word to anyone, and if she wasn't sleeping, she stayed out of the room. Albany had spent all evening the previous day wrapping the presents she'd bought, and the moment she entered the dorms, Faith promptly left, hiding her face. She didn't return until Albany had gone to bed.
It was a little odd, carrying on as if Faith hadn't tried to kill her, though Albany wasn't actually too bothered, to her own surprise. She had a feeling Faith wouldn't attempt anything else - or at least not while their other roommates were present. Besides, she had bigger concerns; the ball, and George.
The boy in question was also in a bright mood that morning, though didn't involve himself much in conversation. Every now and again, he'd catch Albany's gaze when she glanced his way, and she would have to look away quickly, flustered. She missed the old George.
In fact, everyone was in high spirits for Christmas. Alicia and Angelina were cracking up over Lee's lame Muggle jokes ("Who hides in a bakery at Christmas? A mince spy!"), while the twins were donning matching grins and new matching knitted sweaters (however, it seemed Fred was wearing the one with a G, and George the one with an F). The gang was gathered around the end of the Gryffindor table, a pile of presents stacking up between them, which Carly was now adding to so eagerly she nearly knocked a few off the table.
The Great Hall was all done up, boughs of holly and tinsel strung up around the walls. Twelve huge Christmas trees lined the sides of the hall, each decorated glamorously. A steady stream of students were milling in, not one of them in a sour mood, and even the few staff members awake at the top table were exchanging small gifts. Albany grinned to herself as Snape wrinkled his nose at what looked like a vanity bag he had just unwrapped, complete with shampoo, conditioner and body spray.
"Oh, I know another good one! My uncle told me this last year," Lee was saying gleefully, and Alicia and Angelina leaned in. "What does a snowman ride to get to school?"
"I doubt it's a train, by any chance," Alicia remarked dryly, though she smiled nonetheless.
"An icicle!" Lee exclaimed, laughing louder than anyone else at the punchline. "Get it, like a bicycle-"
"Merlin's beard, Jordan, that was atrocious," Angelina giggled.
Fred was grinning broadly in amusement at the exchange. "Lee, mate, explaining the joke doesn't make it funnier, I've taught you this," he said cheerfully. "Shall we exchange our presents?"
