The ceiling of the Great Hall was covered in holly and mistletoe streamers, with frosted Christmas trees lining the halls.
A few fluffy flakes of enchanted snow drifted down, bringing with it a faint smile on Amisty's face. It was radiating warmth, not a hint of wetness as they fell to the ground.
The four friends took their place at the Gryffindor table, almost empty other than the other Weasleys, with Harry across from Amisty with Ron at his side.
Hermione was next to her, pouring them each a glass of water while they chatted. That's when the barred owl flew in.
It was a graceful landing, wrapping its talons around the top of Amisty's chair and dropping a rectangular package on her lap and then soaring off.
"Um... thank you!" She called after it, looking up and then back down to the gift in her lap. Unwrapping the neat golden paper and holding up the ear cuff within it up to the light.
It was small, elegant, with a gold band that crisscrossed in a simple pattern. She wouldn't have been too shocked with it if she hadn't seen it before.
It had been her mother's.
"What's that, Am?" Harry asked, leaning over to her.
She fought down her grin at the new nickname and handed the jewelry to him.
"It was my mother's, I don't know who's owl that was, though," She replied, her gaze shifting up to where the owl had flown out, wondering who had sent it.
"Maybe a someone found it," Harry offered, giving it back to her with a kind smile.
She nodded.
"It couldn't be a student.... There's no way anyone could get this without breaking the law," Amisty pondered, tapping her chin.
Harry shifted closer to her, getting a better look. He opened his mouth to wonder with her when Ron interrupted him.
"Oi, you two. Look up," He nudged Harry with his elbow, pointing up the ceiling.
Just as their luck would have it, there was a knot of mistletoe hanging right above their heads, white berries seeming to almost glow in mockery.
It was unintelligible who went redder at his find, Amisty or Harry.
Hermione, after giving Amisty an apologetic glance, burst out laughing.
"Oh, go on. It doesn't have to be a proper kiss, you're practically brother and sister anyways," She waved her hand, only slightly pausing in her laughter at Amisty's death glare and then it starting back up again.
"Are you okay with it?" Harry asked gently, his voice hushed so their ridiculous friends couldn't overhear them.
"I mean... I guess," She shrugged discreetly, tucking a strand of hair behind her ears as her blush grew darker. "Are you?"
"As long as you won't be bothered about it. If we get it over with now we won't have to do it ever again," He pointed out, a smile tugging on the edge of his mouth.
"That's true," She nodded, looking up at him.
With a 'get on with it' motion from Ron, Harry leaned forward and pressed a timid kiss to Amisty's forehead.
By now it was very clear that she had won the blushing contest.
When he pulled away the two of them traded embarrassed looks and then turned to their friends.
"Happy?" Harry asked, blind to the obvious and blatant disappointment on Ron's face.
"One word about how it wasn't enough and I'll make sure your wand isn't the only thing that's broken," Amisty warned before he opened his mouth.
He, rather smartly, paled considerably.
"Yes. Definitely. Merry Christmas, you two," He nodded hurriedly, and then busied himself with his breakfast.
Hermione was struggling to breathe.
"I can't believe you actually went through with it," She finally got out. "And your face, Amisty, I'll never forget it."
"Shut up!" She buried her head in her arms, almost knocking her plate to the ground in her attempt to hide her blush.
Hermione just laughed harder, and Amisty groaned in response.
"Is it really that bad for me to kiss you?" Harry asked, feigning hurt.
Her head shot up, eyes wide.
"No! No no, it's not like that at all it's just -- " And then she noticed his joking expression. "ALL OF YOU JUST LOVE TO EMBARRASS ME!"
"I've never seen you go so red," Ron commented, meeting her withering glare with a mischievous grin.
"You didn't even seem to mind it, either," Hermione piped up, nudging her with her elbow teasingly.
"I'm going to revoke all of my gifts to you. Hand them over, right now," She ordered, holding out her hand expectantly.
But by now she was laughing as well even though her face was still burning like no tomorrow.
"Aw, c'mon, Am. You know you don't really want to do that," Harry laughed, ruffling her hair affectionately.
"You're not helping the situation!" She tried, very hard, mind you, to keep from laughing as she swatted his hand away.
And they continued their breakfast in a similar manner, shooting jabs at each other and laughing all the while.
With the help of Hermione, Amisty was able to slip on the ear cuff. Surprisingly, it matched her ring rather well.
Breakfast ended, and Amisty left her friends to go give Madame Pomfrey her gift. She made her way down to the hospital wing, smiling merrily to everyone who passed. When she walked in the nurse was scribbling away on a slip of parchment at her desk, not noticing her entrance.
"Merry Christmas, Madame Pomfrey!" She smiled, dropping her gift in front of the elder witch.
"Oh! Amisty, I wasn't expecting you today," She gasped, looking up with the familiar twinkle in her blue eyes. "Merry Christmas to you as well."
"Open your gift!" Amisty urged excitedly, thrusting the package so it was even more in reach.
"You didn't need to get me anything, my dear. I can't accept this," She shook her head, pushing it away.
"I did, and you can and you will," Amisty argued, her eyes narrowed in challenge as she picked it up and pressed it into her hands.
With one glance at the determined expression on her face, Madame Pomfrey unwrapped the gift. Her eyes brightened from their usual tired blue to a brilliant sapphire at the sight of the decorative bottle.
"Amisty... I can't believe you did this for me," She smiled slightly, holding the bottle up to the light.
The glass shards glinted, sending washed out versions of their colors onto the clean floor of the hospital wing.
"Don't bother thanking me, I'll come by later tonight," Amisty gave a slight bow and started toward the door.
"Wait!" Madame Pomfrey got up and disappeared into her office. Amisty paused in her movements, waiting quite awkwardly for the witch to return. When she came back there was a bundle of stationary in her hands as well as a new quill. "I don't know who it is you're writing, but if you keep tearing up the parchment you're to be using for your schoolwork you'll be out by February."
She handed the bundle to the raven-haired girl warmly and then gestured to the door, "Run along now, you're friends must be waiting for you."
Amisty looked down at the gift in her hands and then back up to the woman who had taken over the role as her mother.
She threw her arms around her waist, squeezing tight.
"I'll never be able to repay you for all of this, Madame Pomfrey," She whispered, inaudible to the nurse, and then turned on her heel and walked out with a small wave.
Her way back to the common room was relatively silent, as most of the students were either outside in the snowy weather or cooped up in their own common rooms with their friends. She crawled through the portrait hole, coming face to face with Hermione.
"Second anonymous delivery of the day," Hermione grinned, holding out a tiny wooden box.
"That's got to be a new record," Amisty joked, taking it from her and surprised to see that it was slightly weighted.
"Heavier than you expected, right?" Hermione asked, getting out of the way so Amisty could walk over to the couches by the fireplace. The boys were already there, Harry immersed in the Quidditch book Ron had gotten him and Ron testing out his new quill.
"It is," Amisty nodded, taking a seat just beside the fireplace, happy to feel the heat drift toward her.
She ran her fingers down the sides of the box, trying to find the opening. It didn't take long for her to find a small button on the side. She pressed her finger against it, shocked to see the box mold itself into a tiny wolf figurine.
A small slip of parchment fell out, landing on the floor just by Amisty's foot. She knew that something was missing, wolf themed gifts.
"That's very impressive magic right there," Hermione leaned forward, a questioning glint in her eyes. "Can I take a look?"
"Be my guest," Amisty handed it to her.
The second the figurine touched her fingertips, it morphed back into the box it had once been.
And when Hermione tried to turn it back using the button, nothing happened.
"It's enchanted so that you're the only one who can see it's true form. It's a hard spell, I would presume I could do it but it would take time," Hermione tossed it back to her.
She caught it deftly, pressing on the button again and taking a longer look at the wolf.
It was glass, with tiny glittering emeralds embedded in its face for the eyes.
The tail was long, smooth spare for a few sections where the glass had been etched upon.
Judging by the thinner build and how the snout was quite narrow, Amisty guessed it was a female wolf.
She wasn't certain, though.
With a quick glance at her friends, Hermione had become absorbed in a book Harry had gifted her, she bent down and picked up the slip of parchment that had fallen from the box.
Familiar green ink gleamed up at her.
Merry Christmas, Amisty! Try throwing her a ball.
~Me PS: This doesn't count as a letter, I'm still safe
She rolled her eyes, fighting down the smile that had spread to her face and tucked the slip into her robes.
At least it was confirmed that the wolf was indeed a she.
That's when she noticed the wolf figurine had started to move.
It was subtle, barely more than a tail wag and an ear twitch, but it was moving.
With wide eyes, she tore off a small piece of parchment, crumpled it into a ball, and threw it across the room.
The wolf's ears perked up and then it was racing toward it, jaws open wide as it picked up the parchment and then scurried back to Amisty, dropping the makeshift ball on the couch next to her.
She tried again and the wolf did the same as before, chasing after the ball and then bringing it back.
Now its tail was wagging much more prominently, a little glass tongue peeking out from its mouth.
"Hermione, look at this!" She exclaimed, poking her friend and throwing the ball once more. Hermione watched with interest, her own eyes widening as the wolf bounded after it, tail wagging a mile a minute.
"Whoever this anonymous sender is, they're incredible at magic," She spoke, her shock evident as the wolf leaped up to the seat where Amisty was and curled up into a ball, tail resting just above her nose.
The emeralds disappeared as if she actually had closed her eyes.
"What're you two doing?" Ron asked, looking up from his scribbling and then noticing the little wolf figurine at her side.
"It's another gift, another anonymous, no less," Amisty replied, tapping the little wolf on the head gently and watching her shift back into the wooden box.
She had a feeling that when she was a box the wolf was resting.
"Impressive. I haven't seen anything like that before," The redhead replied, looking at the box in interest.
"I think it's a rare kind of charm. I've only seen things similar to it in older books," Hermione piped up, her gaze clouding as she thought back.
"I'm going to put her away, knowing me I'll end up losing her," Amisty laughed cheerfully.
She got to her feet, scooped up the little box, and headed off to the girls dormitory.
Echo, surprisingly, was still perched on the bed, but now her head was tucked under her wing.
She was asleep.
Making sure that she moved with care, keeping her footsteps light and her movements minimal in order not to wake the owl, Amisty placed the box on top of her trunk with a muffled thunk as well as the bundle of stationery and quill from Madame Pomfrey.
Her attempts at silence proved unsuccessful, since as soon as she turned away Echo hooted softly, blinking warmly at her with her big, coal black eyes.
"Well, since you're awake I may as well wish a Merry Christmas to our anonymous friend," She smiled, pulling out a pot of ink, the new quill, and a new strip of stationary.
Merry Christmas 'You'! That's some magic that you've used on that box.
~Amisty PS: I believe it still counts as a letter, you owe me a name
Her handwriting wasn't nearly as neat as it usually was, but she couldn't find the will to care.
Waving the paper through the air to speed up the ink drying process, with her other hand she took a stray cord of string from her drawer and held it up to her eyes, making sure it was the correct length.
Tapping her writing gently to check to make sure it had dried completely, she rolled up the paper and then tied it to Echo's leg.
Echo didn't fly off immediately, however, instead just looking up at Amisty with big, innocent eyes.
She got the hint.
Digging through the miniscule pile of charms she had left, she pulled out a simple feather charm with a shard opalescent glass tied to the top.
"Happy?" Amisty asked sarcastically, securing the last minute Christmas gift to the cord that held the note.
Echo just hooted, fluttered her wings to shoo her away, and then soared out of the room, off to find the receiver of the present.
She watched after her with a faint smile and then raced down the steps of the dormitory into the common room. They had a plan to discuss.