For the remaining few days of term, the group was unable to break away from their classmates to talk to Moaning Myrtle as they would have liked to. This was, in part, due to the remaining end of term exams, but also due to the stringent rules which were enforced in order to protect the students from whatever was attacking the students.
So, they all decided to leave their mystery of the year until after the Winter Holidays, and instead took it upon themselves to study for the tests as much as possible. Unfortunately, the Room of Requirement was almost entirely impossible to get to very often, as the only two adults they'd shown the Room to were Remus and Severus. Remus was only there for their bi-weekly Defence lessons, and he left straight afterwards, so he couldn't escort them there very often, but Severus was often available straight after breakfast, and he made sure to escort them to wherever they needed to go when they were done.
Finally, the holidays were upon them, and Harry was happy to see his godfather again. Draco also felt himself at peace when he was in Grimmauld Place, so he enjoyed spending time inside with Harry, Pads, and Moony as the small garden became completely covered in a white blanket of snow. It had been organised that both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day would be spent at the Burrow, and so the two days beforehand were spent by the residents of Grimmauld Place in a relative frenzy, shopping for all of the necessary presents in both the Muggle and the Wizarding worlds.
In response to Mr Weasley's love of Muggle things, Harry got him some batteries and a packet of assorted rubber ducks, Remus and Sirius got him a hair-dryer, and Draco settled on a cheap toaster after becoming fascinated with it. Mrs Weasley got some packets of cooking herbs and several Muggle sauces which they were sure she'd never heard of, but would nevertheless hopefully enjoy. Ron would receive some moving figures of the Chudley Cannons from Harry and Draco, and a brand-new Wizarding Chess set from Sirius and Remus. The twins got some Muggle joke shop items, since they'd mentioned they wanted to experiment with them and see if they could make magical versions. Percy was going to be given books on etiquette in both the Muggle and Magical worlds, for he had revealed that he wanted to know about the differences there. Oliver Wood, who'd happily agreed to be Percy's boyfriend two weeks prior, was going to receive overall Quidditch strategy and history books. For Ginny and Luna, the four bought chaser strategy books and magical creature books respectively, and Neville had been promised a Grow-Your-Own-Gillyweed kit. Colin wasn't able to make it to their get-together this year, but an assortment of Wizarding candy and proper photography paper was being owled to him. Blaise, on the other hand, had convinced his mother to let him come on Christmas Day, although she had decided to attend as well, just to make sure Blaise was happy there, so some Muggle make-up was purchased for her so that she could decide whether to include some in her line of beauty products. Narcissa, the Tonks family, and Severus were attending as well, so Narcissa was also going to be given some Muggle make-up, the Tonkses would be given some Wizarding candy, since they weren't really known all that well in their social circle yet, and Severus would be receiving rare Potions ingredients from around the world (This was one of those times when Apparating was so useful). Finally, Madam Longbottom would receive some Muggle high society hats, and Phil Lovegood was due to receive some tickets to London Zoo.
Christmas Eve was relatively relaxed, with the Recruits happily sitting around the fire and roasting marshmallows while whispering about ideas for pranks they could pull off. Their favourite, so far, was to leave some paint-filled balloons out in the open for Peeves to find, along with a note that said it was necessary they be used on Ravenclaw students. They'd chosen Ravenclaw, because Luna had mentioned being teased by those in her house when none of the others were with her. However, their first prank of the term was planned for the first night, at dinner. In order to find out if there were any potential 'Heir of Slytherin' helpers when they infiltrated the Slytherin common room, they needed to know what everyone was feeling, so they'd decided to have a potion find its way into dinner, via Dobby working in the kitchens, which would make everyone's hair act as a mood ring. Fred and George had made a start on the potion as soon as they'd got home, and it would be finished by the middle of next week.
Christmas Day dawned, and the four flooed to the Burrow, arms absolutely overflowing with presents, and made their way to the Christmas tree. That day was completely chaotic for all involved. The sheer amount of wrapping paper involved truly boggled the mind, however Luna took all of it once it had been discarded by the others and said she'd found a Chartavorous Snapping Turtle in a nearby river, and was certain that the wrapping paper would be greatly appreciated. No one was quite certain what to make of that statement, but as with all other things Luna, they had learned not to question what she said, since she was rarely ever wrong.
Harry was most happy with the Bowtruckle Locator from Neville, as it would help him to find eligible wand wood trees, and Draco was ecstatic with the knife he was given from his godfather, which could apparently cut through anything and open every lock. Another thing Harry had discovered, was that he was starting to get little fluttery sensations in his stomach whenever he was particularly close to Draco, which did not help in the slightest when, due to the lack of seats in the Burrow's living room, the two were forced to share a seat as they were opening presents after a wonderful Christmas breakfast, and that was when he noticed how warm Draco's leg was.
*Lucius' Christmas*
In a complete opposite to the comfortable chaos that was the hustle and bustle of the Burrow, the Great Ballroom of Malfoy Manor was filled with stuffy purebloods from Dark families who all wore the latest fashions. In the middle of it all, Lucius Malfoy danced a stiff and uncomfortable waltz with Lady Parkinson. As the night went on, full of thinly-veiled insults and the ever-continuing search for more power, Lucius actually discovered that he somewhat missed his wife and son. Oh, he and Narcissa had never loved one another, and he was constantly disappointed in his son's Gryffindorish tendencies, but there was still some form of companionship formed when he'd spent so much time with them; sardonic expressions to one another across the hall when Lord Burke made a fool of himself in front of the young heiresses present, or those few and fleeting moments when he saw that his son was actually being a proper heir and reminding him of himself.
However, Lucius couldn't fault his decision to disown his son, even if it did lead to his wife leaving him. He had made sure her name was spoken of similarly to her Muggle-lover of a sister in his circle. What he failed to realise, however, was that many of those in the social circle he considered himself a part of, viewed him in distaste, rather than his ex-wife and disowned son, as did the majority of the Wizarding world. Lucius always held himself and those he considered family to an impossible standard, and while that had been a good thing when their Dark Lord had been in power, nowadays most had realised that in order to be viewed as superior to the general public, they had to appear accepting of the Light.
That night, Lucius sat alone in front of the fire, nursing some scotch, while off to the side sat the Christmas tree which had remained barren of presents for the whole day. It was, without a doubt, the most lonely Christmas he'd ever had, and in fact, the most lonely he'd ever felt in his entire life. Unfortunately, he still didn't realise he was the one to blame, preferring instead to yet again push the blame onto the child that was once his son. There would be many more lonely Christmases in his life before he realised the truth.
*Filch's Christmas*
Argus didn't want to get out of bed today.
He just couldn't go about his day, eat food in the Great Hall with over-the-top cheery teachers and students, and pretend everything was fine.
He just felt so alone.
His melancholy attitude was disrupted by the soft pop that signified a house-elf appearing in the room. He rolled over, sniffling, and was suddenly face-to-nose with the intruding elf. "Dobby was told to give this to Mister Filch, sir," the little thing said, holding out a small vial of green liquid. Nonplussed, he took the vial, and the elf popped out of existence again. He looked back down at what he held in his hands, and noticed a small folded piece of parchment attached to the bottle. He opened it and read what was written on it.
Dear Argus,
This vial is full of enough Mandrake Restorative Draught to revive a certain Petrified cat. The only real reason no more than this was made was due to the cost the freshly-picked Mandrake leaves would have cost to make enough for the other Petrified victims. If you don't believe what is written here, take this vial to Madam Pomfrey.
Happy Christmas to you and Mrs Norris,
Harry Potter-Black and friends
For long moments, Argus simply stared at the familiar writing in shock and wonder, then rushed to put on his nearest outfit and hurried out the door, then hurried back when he realised he'd left the miracle cure behind.
He rushed into the Hospital Wing, startling Poppy in the process, and took a moment to catch his breath. "Whatever is the matter, Argus?" asked Poppy.
In answer, he held up the vial in his hand and pushed it into hers. "Mandrake Restorative Draught, from Potter-Black and his friends. Enough for Mrs Norris."
Poppy's eyes opened wide as she looked at the potion. A muttered spell and a swish of her wand later, she confirmed it was, indeed, what Argus had said it was. "The leaves alone must have cost quite a bit... Perhaps they persuaded Severus to brew it once they'd all chipped in on the ingredients? Oh, never mind. However they managed it, it has been made perfectly, and will work almost instantly."
She made her way over to the makeshift cat-bed area she'd set up when Mrs Norris was first Petrified, and carefully poured five drops onto Mrs Norris' furred body, then poured the rest of the potion into the cat's mouth. She gently rubbed at the cat's loosening throat to ensure the decoction was swallowed, and was satisfied when she saw her stirring from her forced slumber.
"Oh my sweet cat!" exclaimed Argus when he saw her movement. "I'm so glad you're back!"