November was ending and the snow was starting to cover the castle grounds. Even the bewitched ceiling in the Great Hall was dropping dazzling crumbs of snowflakes towards the ground, all of which evaporated to nothing as it descended. The illusive snow did not pour into anyone's food, despite the first years getting rather excited and worried about the idea. They were disappointed to find their food safe from frozen liquid.
Lessons had gone by as normal, and everyone had quickly adjusted to the tiring routine of weekly homework, even with another Quidditch match occurring only a week ago. Fortunately for the students, the professor's were competitive enough to be a little lenient with the handing out of essays and after-class tasks. Whenever free, the students made sure to spend as much time with their friends as they could - they had somehow developed separation anxiety for each other in the short period of time they had known each other.
Several small pranks had been performed on classmates, especially Slytherins. But most of them were by the infamous Marauders - who apparently earned the title from Professor McGonagall scolding them in front of other teachers. The prank that earned them their title was very much their own; Remus and Sirius had decided to switch the Slytherin robe colours to match that of Gryffindors' during an evening feast. Their laughter gave them away, since they were louder than most, and since they praised each other aloud. A foolish mistake that lead to them being screamed at by their transfiguration teacher.
Of course, the Zion girls pulled pranks too, but theirs were always smaller and did not strictly target Slytherins. Even Eralia had gathered her friends to prank her cousins, while her cousins were aiming mischief at anyone with a pair of lungs, teachers did not count. And, as usual, James, Sirius, Remus and Peter all got blamed for all the pranks that were conducted, even the ones they were not responsible for. They did not care to correct their professors as it earned them a foolish amount of prestige and recognition across the school as the supposedly official pranksters. Of course, at first they debated about telling on the girls, but they all concluded that the Zion's had their family names that gave them a unique and inevitable reputation, therefore they could safely cling to the title of class clowns.
But there were moments when all the students would avoid each other and tuck themselves away into a quiet corner of the castle, seeking out peace and time. With the Christmas holidays approaching, the children had simultaneously and silently agreed to spend time away from their friends - only for a few hours of the day - as an awkward attempt to adjusting to the possibility of not seeing each other during the festivities.
Anya Zion had sought out a large tree by the lake, one that Peter Pettigrew had welcomed her to. That was originally his little spot to draw in, while his friends disappeared to various corners of the castle. Peter's artistic skills were previously only acknowledged by his best friends, but after he was caught by her, it became something they would talk about. Sometimes, Peter would attempt drawing her hand or any other specific feature of hers to practice, and she would let him. Anya would read as he would draw whatever he desired; his calming personality soothing her soul. Sometimes, he would even bring his chess set to teach her new moves and subtly attempt losing to her hand to boost her own ego and encourage her to keep playing against him - of course, he was very clever in keeping her interested in playing him. They would spend an hour or two together before agreeing to return to their respective social circles.
Sirius Black had caught up to Sahara, who would sit on the Quidditch bleachers, completing any homework she had left or would have to submit after the holidays. He was never helpful and would slow down her progress, but dutifully made sure to keep her company. At least, that was how it started. Eventually, he would bring his music player and finish any incomplete homework with her, making sure to check her work after and taunt her for it. Although Sahara would never get her work wrong, he still loved to mock her for her not-so-calligraphic-but-still-neat handwriting. Trust Black to find any foolish reason to tease his peers, especially when it came to this Zion.
To avoid Sirius, Remus would often hide in whatever empty classroom he could find, to study. Unlike Black, Lupin had to work extra hard to academically succeed and do almost as well as his best friends. Fortunately for him, he enjoyed the work he was taxed with, and loved magic, enough to obsess over his favourite subjects and do his best in them, which resulted with several of his professors admiring his efforts and celebrating his achievements. Of course, he was eventually joined by Phoebe, whom he caught sneaking around the palace and hiding behind the staircases. He invited her to join his study sessions and they would quietly sit side by side as their to-do list was quickly checked off together. But of course, when the full moon was due to soon float above the sky, he would become reluctant and grumpier around everyone, even in her quiet and comfortable presence. Remus had skipped his little study session with her on the full moon, but had warned her ahead of time that he was not feeling well, so she did not think twice of it.
Kylennia and Pandora had grown attached by the hip as they spent most of their free time in the Great Hall, sat on their house table and scribbling away on their parchments. They would sit for hours together, whispering about whatever gossip they had uncovered from the other houses, until their other two roommates would join them. The reunion of the four girls had often led to the conclusion of any work as they quietly planned their next set of pranks or would divulge in the secrets of others. Of course, their new favourite charm had become the sound muffling one.
Inevitably, the Gryffindor girls had resorted to engaging in similar conversations, sneakily hunting for drama to comment on. Lily and Marlene were always together, frequently joined by Dorcas and Mary, whenever they would study in the courtyard. They would all huddle around one bench and table, exchanging notes and finishing all their assignments. Of course, the four girls' determination had left them to be the first group of people to have completed their seasonal homework in the large social group. Their friends, nonetheless, were surprised to find that it was members of the lion house who accomplished such an endeavour, especially since their Ravenclaw friends were also challenged to the same task. Of course, the Marauders had discovered that anyone working alongside a Zion got little to no work done at all, especially since they would sneak around to plan a prank.
Eralia Zion was the one to conduct the most number of pranks, with the help of her friends. The hardworking Hufflepuffs were second to conclude their assignments ahead of their deadlines, which left them with plenty of time to sabotage their classmates. When the girls were studying, they would occupy a large table on the second floor of the library, a space where students could talk, even though they were advised to do so in hushed tones. The large amount of time the girls had spent together meant that they had found a system where each would focus on separate subjects first, before helping each other on the ones they managed to successfully complete. Many would call it cheating and copying friends' answers, except that was technically not the case, since Eralia had ensured that none of their work were plagiarised, and that each argument was presented in a different order. Hufflepuffs were hardworking after all, even if they found cunning ways to ensure it.
Tucked away on the fifth floor of the library, Nahara would settle in the corner, beneath a large window where the late afternoon sunlight would shoot through. The warmth provided was a relief to her and the small number of students that sat on the allying tables under the sunbeams. She had been tucked away in the library for an hour now, presently counting down the seconds to mark her second hour in the quiet room. Originally, she had agreed to hide by the books while her friends huddled together by the icy lake. They were no doubt regretting their decision, but it did not matter, Nahara had homework to finish and promised to meet them for dinner.
"Are you still using that book?" James Potter asked, pointing at the heavy, hard-cover book before her. It was a large book about the history of magic and the wars between magical creatures, often against wizards and witches. He attempted to gently shut the book, only to flinch when it slammed against itself, loudly, thanks to its weight. Both Nahara's and his eyes scanned the almost empty library, they had drawn no attention to themselves and comfortably settled back into their seats. He had made it a habit to join her in the library since the first day he found her alone in there. He had first asked her why she was alone and where her friends were, only to later decide he agreed with her sentiments of slowly withdrawing from their friends as they completed any remaining work before they would return home. He praised the girls for their ingenious plans, which earned him a snide remark about how he was foolish to not have thought of it himself. He laughed at her rhetoric and convinced the Marauders to follow suit, which lead to the boys splitting up across the castle grounds.
"Have you finished the healing potions task?" Nahara asked, rolling her last parchment, feeling accomplished and proud to have finalised yet another essay. James hummed before handing her his answers. In the last couple of weeks that they had both been here, they had grown rather fond of each other's company and aided one another with their assignments. They would make sure they did not copy each other's homework, but they did rely on the other's answers for inspiration and guidance. Occasionally, they would discuss the generic affairs of their friends.
"Has Peter finished his transfiguration essay?" Nahara asked, recalling how eager Potter was to conduct his research before returning to the Gryffindor common room to help his friend.
"Apparently he and Anya spend their free time by the lake together. And yet, neither of them get any work done, they simply lounge in their cosy spot." He tutted as he spoke, disapproving of the way their newfound friendship had blossomed. He was not irritated by their friendship, but by the lack of academic encouragement between the two students. James had taken it upon himself to ensure that each of his friends had completed their assignments, eventually Sirius agreed to do so, while Peter chose to rely on his friends in the evenings after dinner. Potter could not understand why Anya had chosen to do the very opposite of everyone else when so many were using these opportunities to make time for an enjoyable holiday. But he had not spoken to her since their last interaction with only the other, which took place before the the last ten days of November, as she was setting up a prank on Sahara. She had asked James to let her into his common room and helped her complete the conniving prank.
Nahara shrugged, "I heard from Kai that the Ravenclaw girls often study together at night, in their dormitories, just before tucking in."
James raised a brow, "Where did she hear that from?"
"She spoke to Phoebe the other night, just before entering the hall for dinner." James nodded as he pondered on Nahara's response. Zion continued, "Either way, Anya is most likely finishing her homework with her friends, which is probably why Peter is not doing any of his around her."
They said nothing more on the subject as they exchanged their reading books for their next essays, deciding their present one would be the last for the night before they made their way for dinner. Nahara quietly planned to meet with her cousins ahead of their last day of term, before they would all return to their families and resume their former roles as members of the unquestionably-powerful Zion family. She dreaded the large gathering that they were due to have, but she was also excited for it. It would be her and Sahara's first Christmas with their extended relatives, in almost two years; and the first that Eralia and Anya would have experienced in half a decade.