Stephone had definitely started to notice Rose's disappearances and the knocking, but luckily she hadn't noticed the sword and thus Rose was able to get it back to Sirius who could then get it to James before he left for Christmas break.
James was ecstatic if not a little confused by the gift, and as usual James' excitement seemed to feed the whole group.
"You really wanna be here for Christmas, Thorns? I'm sure I could sneak you home with me, tell the parents I found you out there all alone."
"No, Potter. It may surprise you but I actually want to be alone. Plus a few professors are staying behind as well so if I happen to get incredibly lonely I'll have someone to talk to. Though I doubt I'll get incredibly lonely."
Rose said while sitting by black lake with the boys, minus Peter who had stayed back in their dorm packing.
"I don't think I'd ever be able to get out of going home for Christmas but Easter- I might be able to stay here for Easter break. If we work it out just right all of us could." James said with a spark of excitement.
"We could have this place turned upside down by the time everyone comes back!" He continued.
"I think that'll be a lot harder to do than you think, mate." Remus spoke while picking up a few flat rocks to skip across the water. Something he and Sirius had been doing back and fourth.
"Well, I think at least James and I could do it. I would invite Lily but she'd just say no." Rose said. James' plan to befriend Rose and thus Lily had been failing terribly for months now, but he seemed hopelessly devoted to the cause.
Rose would at least put in a good word for the lad when he came up in conversation.
"I think I'm heading back. Got to give Peter a proper goodbye as well since I decided to spend all day with you three. Have a good Holiday boys." Rose said before standing and waving a goodbye to her friends. It would only be a short amount of time without them but they had become a very miss-able bunch.
"You're gonna miss me beating Moony at rock skipping!" Sirius joked as Rose walked away, she yelled back a quick response. While kicking a few small stones to the boys.
"Like you would beat Remus at anything, Black!"
_______
As expected some professors stayed behind.
Rose spent the first half of her Christmas break alone, writing to Lily back home, exploring, tidying around the dorm, writing a bit in the journal she had tucked under her pillow, and taking extra care of the few plants she had on her beside table as well as taking a multitude of naps. By the time Christmas Eve rolled around Rose had already grown bored of all that and so searched for someone to spend the coming day with.
She checked in with some prefects who had stayed behind but didn't fancy their company and so she searched the greenhouses for her favorite professor and thank Merlin she found her.
Professor Sprout was focused on de-potting some small glowing succulents that emitted a soft hum when Rose entered the greenhouse. Dirt was strewn across the floors and the professor sang softly under her breath. Rose recognized the song as some overplayed muggle Christmas song that had seemingly made it's way into the wizarding world.
"Hello, professor"
Rose quietly spoke as Sprout turned around to met her gaze.
"Hello, Dear! Finally grew tired of sleeping and wandering I see!"
The smallest flush came to Rose's cheeks. There wasn't anything particularly odd about napping or running around Hogwarts alone but knowing Sprout knew that's all Rose had been doing was a tad embarrassing.
"Bring me that mist bottle will you?" The teacher asked.
Rose did as she was told and walked the glass mister up to the woman.
"Did your mint plant ever perk back up?" Sprout asked while taking the bottle from Rose and spritzing the plant in front of her.
"It did, the smell of it by my bed helps me sleep....I've gotten good use of it."
The professor hummed.
"Good, and the magical herbs you asked for help with?"
"Already harvested and dried, though the application of them didn't go as planned. Maybe I'll try again."
"It's good to hear you're improving. Sadly not everyone who appreciates these things are gifted with a green thumb, but with time we can craft you one". The witch smiled.
The two of them continued conversation as Rose joined her in her work, getting covered in a good bit of dirt in the process. As well as struggling to put her hair in a ponytail and putting on a pair of gloves far too big for her to protect her hands. She looked rather silly, all that was missing was professor Sprout's hat and she would have been the spitting image of her.
Rose had mentioned Sirius' complaint at the lack of a Christmas tree in the Slytherin common room and Sprout suggested they grow one for next year, a suggestion that excited Rose. Having her own little project to look forward to.
Later when the sky had darkened and the temperatures dropped Sprout invited Rose into the Hufflepuff common room. They had swept up the mess in the greenhouse and headed straight that way. Once there Sprout had some warm spice wine with raisins and sweet herbs she had pulled from her own pocket and made some mulled cider for Rose. The cup felt warm in her hands and the taste reminded her of apples and cinnamon which brought a smile to her face. She felt comfortable and happy there, so much so she was rather disappointed when she noticed just how late it had gotten, she uncurled herself from her warm chair and said goodnight to the professor across the room who had been tying together a new bundle of herbs.
"Merry Christmas Eve, Miss Evans. You were a fine help today."
"You're welcome, professor. Merry Christmas."
Rose waved happily and without another word slipped through the hallways to her dorm,crawling into bed before grabbing a book she bad been reading, planning to read until she fell asleep, which didn't take long.
She was awakened bright and early the next morning by her owl dropping a gift box on her bed, it was a red box with an emerald green bow, classic. The note attached to the box was simple, it read:
"Both of us"
-Lily
A bit confused by the message Rose rubbed her eyes before putting on her glasses and opening the box. Inside Rose found another smaller box, this one lined with a dark red velvet and silver detailing. She opened it to find a necklace, a short gold chain held a stunning green gem. The jewel glistened in the light from water of black lake that was reflecting from the window. Gold and green. A part of both of their house colors, both of them. Lily was so wonderfully thoughtful. Rose had also sent Lily a gift and it was also something she could wear, a rust colored hat that looked exactly Lily's style and would match well with the girl's ginger hair. She had also made some flowers out of colored paper and filled the hat with them so they would spill out when she opened it.
Rose put the necklace on and decided then to only take it off when absolutely necessary.
Aside from opening presents and eating a good amount of food Rose didn't have much planned for Christmas day, she took a walk by the forest, paying a short visit to Hagrid before venturing back out into the forest again, she had brought the herbs from her first attempt at unicorn catching with her but once again even in the bright of day something about the forest unnerved Rose, especially all on her own.
She returned to the castle to spend the next few days preparing to return to classes, as well as owling Lily daily with thanks for the gift and questions of how her sister's holiday was going along with updates of her own.
On the evening of New Years Eve it was incredibly quiet in the Slytherin common room, only the sound of fire crackling and distance waves could be heard. Rose was wrapped in a blanket and nursing a cup of tea when she heard a soft voice whisper from outside the entrance:
"Pureblood"