The castle was surrounded by echoes of screams and goodbyes and accio charms being thrown about. The Christmas holidays were just beginning, with students worrying about their belongings as they prepared themselves for the final assembly of the term, before leaving to ride the train home. It was the seasonal farewell assembly, to wish a merry Christmas to students and staff, and to share a positive message with the whole school - as per Dumbledore's norms. He had done it long enough that it surprised many pupils that each of his speeches were different, despite how frequently he announced them.
The common rooms were empty, however, they echoed with the drilling noise of rushed footsteps. Students hid in their dormitories as they completed their last-minute packing. It came to no one as a surprise when children were late and slow with gathering their belongings into the luggage. Many children would whine whenever their professors would tell them off for their lacking responsibility, always about how foolish adults were to believe that a group of eleven to seventeen year old children would know better in such a regard. Despite complaining about that, each group of young adults believed that they were mature enough to make their own decisions. Whichever explanation and excuse suited their mood best was the one that was always picked in any argument or conversation had with an adult.
The Slytherin and Ravenclaw common rooms were easily the quietest of the four. The students within had completed most of their packing ahead of their last day. Of course, the Ravenclaw pupils were intelligent enough to manage their time better. Whereas, the Slytherin students were raised by parents who ingrained such habits within them: to always look after their belongings and to always be punctual. They were traits that many pureblood families had, whose children often found themselves in Slytherin. Contrastingly, the house of Helga Hufflepuff had a mixture of students, in terms of their productivity: those who completed their work and tasks on time, and those who waited till the last minute, letting pressure be their drive. Thus, their common room was filled with a mixture of eye rolls from relaxed students, and the faint mumbles of charms to urgently collect their belongings. The house that made the most noise was the Gryffindor house, with its members scattered about the castle and their respective common room. The pupils within the house were known for their boisterous and bold nature, however, it sometimes resulted in their overbearing confidence about getting tasks completed on time. Thus, many children - apart from a select few - would end up packing their belongings at the very last hour they could afford.
"Hurry up, you two, we are going to be late," Peter Pettigrew whined as he waited at the door of their dormitory. The short boy watched as James and Sirius poured themselves over James' luggage, while Remus watched the pair move.
"When are you both going to learn to be better at packing your things on time?" Remus rhetorically asked as he watched Sirius trip over James' pair of jeans, while James threw in his books into his bag. The pair continued to run about the room, hunting for his belongings.
Peter sighed before he commented, "I cannot believe you are not going home this Christmas."
Sirius' head perked up, "First of all, that is a blessing. Second of all, it means I can spend time with Remus in the castle. We will both be staying behind, so, we will have fun. Do not worry, you do not have to feel sad for us."
"Oh, do not worry about that, I am not worried about you both, but for the professors who are staying behind with you," Peter laughed as he spoke. Sirius stuck his tongue out while Remus and James' laughter echoed with Peter's.
"Hurry up, you two!" Remus shouted as he grabbed his robe and threw it on, after noticing Sirius and James sit on James' suitcase to shut it. The pair nodded to each other before running behind their best friends, through the Gryffindor common room, the castle corridors, down the unpredictable moving staircase, and further through more corridors, before finally planting themselves into their seats in the Great Hall. They were not amongst the last pupils to arrive, for they waited upon many of their peers, all of whom rushed through the double doors as well. As the children waited, breakfast was served and they indulged in a hearty meal of hot food.
Remus Lupin had decorated his plate with as many toasts and spread as he could. It was his morning routine, and his favourite way to begin the day. Beside him, Sirius Black was scooping up a heap of scrambled eggs to eat with his toast, baked beans and sausages. Opposite the pair of boys was Peter Pettigrew - who indulged himself in his religious devotion to cereal - and James Potter who enjoyed changing his menu each day.
"I cannot believe you are spending Christmas with the Zion's," Peter mumbled with a mouthful of cereal. During their first year at Hogwarts, the boys disliked when Peter spoke with food in his mouth, even if he covered his mouth with his hand (which he usually did),simply because they could not understand him. However, as time passed, their friendship developed and they now understood their friend, even with his mouth full.
"I am not spending Christmas with them," James replied, staring at Peter. He added, "They will only be staying with us for less than a week, until they return to their home."
"Still," Peter said, "I will not be allowed to visit you while they are there."
"Pete, it is only Anya and her parents that are staying with us. You are friends with her. You can visit to see her," James replied. He was curious to understand what changed between Peter and Anya. They spent more time together than he did with her. Peter knew a lot of Anya's secrets, and more information about her family. He frequently caught them together, laughing and sharing jokes, before she would flee from James Potter, himself. And yet, Peter was avoiding presenting himself to her family while she was still around for the winter breaks.
"Still, she is a Zion. I am not exactly a powerful wizard, James. I will embarrass her before her parents," Peter answered with a sad tone. Sirius and Remus looked up from their plates and carefully listened to the conversation.
James shook his head and smiled a wide grin, "You will not be embarrassing her. Plus, she is a witch who only discovered her magic recently, you have more experience casting spells than she does."
James placed a friendly hand on Peter's shoulder, comforting him as he spoke. The boys understood what James did not say: that Anya's claims to magic was weaker than Peter's. It was a bizarre fact that no one dared to utter and manifest into reality, but it was a known truth for many in the castle. The boys noticed it when many of the professors, especially Professor Flitwick, would treat Anya in a more gentle manner than they did with other pupils. They took great care to ensure that a powerful witch like her was safely and correctly casting her spells.
"You are welcomed to visit any time," James said, smiling as he rubbed the shoulder. He withdrew his hand and continued eating his food when Peter nodded happily.
Sirius played with a spoonful of egg as he spoke, "I have met her parents. Her mother does not care for magic, for she is a muggle. And her father is much too humble to let his powers consume his pride. It almost seems like they do not have any magic to boast about."
"What if they do not in actuality?" Remus questioned, his words fading with curiosity. His singular question forced the group into silence as they pondered the thought. It was true, the magic of the Zion's had never been witnessed by them, particularly Isa Zion's. They wondered if he had any magic at all. It was not impossible for a non-magical child to be born to magical parents, it was simply rare. So, what guaranteed that every Zion was born a magical child, let alone a powerful one at that?
James shook his head and answered the question, "That is not possible."
"Huh?" Peter sounded out, awkwardly.
"In the letter, it said that Anya's father was in London to help my parents at the infirmary. He is expected to teach a new healing method to the doctors and nurses there. So, I doubt he is powerless," James explained. He scratched the side of his head, his golden curls bouncing between his fingers. He spoke more, "I saw Evans read a book on healing from the library not too long ago. She seemed so enthralled in it that I had to know what was in it to seem so thrilling to an individual."
"Let me guess," Sirius cut in, "you found nothing?"
James nodded, "Except that there are very difficult and peculiar techniques to healing. As in, the more dangerous and risky a wound or health concern is, the more complicated its healing methods are. And some of the most difficult ones were discovered and established by the Zion bloodline."
"That tells us nothing," Remus commented.
James looked at Remus with a serious expression, "Healing is not meant for the weak or the powerless to attempt, Moony. It is difficult enough to do on a patient, because it consumes the energy created by one's magic. So, you must, naturally, be a powerful individual in order to heal someone else using magic. That, or you find a sustainable way to amplify your magic or to channel energy from a source with a lot of magic contained within it. And that is just to perform each technique. The trickier and riskier a technique, the more energy you need in the process. And a lot is organically lost to anxiety and stress of trying to heal correctly."
Remus nodded as he listened intently. He enjoyed learning about the history of magic, or its rules, just as he enjoyed learning about anything. Remus developed an interest in reading and discovering more information in whatever topic peaks his interest. He was recently promised, by Sirius, that he would learn about the different types of magic that existed and their rules, and the reasons why not every type of magic was to be used by individuals.
"If a healer chose to create a new technique, then they will need a lot of energy, far more than the average good healer. It is why there are not that many healing techniques, because it is too taxing to perform. Many wizards and witches choose to learn the easiest technique available to use less energy, because it can drain them. Saving a life can result in losing your own - not usually, but it can happen. And to think about creating a technique, you have to theorise it, then attempt and test it and try to perfect it, and then finally practice it often. It is rare to find a healer use their own complex methods, because of how demanding it is on one's mind, body and magic." James nodded as he spoke, filling his best friends' cups with the little wisdom he had.
"You know a lot about this," Remus commented, nodding as he absorbed the information provided.
James smiled proudly, "Of course, my parents are healers, remember? They often talk about magic and healing methods. They want me to learn some techniques from them."
"Do they often talk about the history of magic and its varieties?" Remus asked, his voice sounding innocent with its childlike curiosities. As soon as the words poured from his mouth, Sirius stopped stuffing his face and shoved his elbow into his friend's arm. Remus grunted as he rubbed his limb, not understanding why Sirius behaved the way he just had. James and Peter both stopped eating. Peter stared at Remus with a pale face, while James' eyes drifted to the guilty-looking Sirius Black beside him.