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booksmarts and broomsticks
act ii , take a breath
chapter twenty-three , a flask of firewhisky

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➖PENNY CLEARWATER➖
december 1992

FOR SOMEONE WHO didn't particularly take well to change, it was almost ironic how much Dria loved the transition between autumn and winter, and how evident the change could be seen from the windows of Gryffindor Tower — which, coincidentally, was where she'd had been cooped up for the last five days with a seasonal cold.

        As the end of November breached into early December, a heavy snowfall fell upon the castle grounds. The trees that were once littered with leaves of amber and red, now stood with their branches bare and coated in snow. A frost had coated the entirety of the expansive grounds, transforming it into a winter wonderland. However, while Dria loved to spectate the change — and was fortunate to do it from her bed over the course of five days, despite the runny nose — she was less than happy with the reminder it came with. Unlike most students at Hogwarts, who were thrilled by the thought of returning home for the holidays, Dria found herself plagued by the idea, ever since her mother had written a letter to her, in which she expressed extreme desire for her three children to spend the holidays with her.

        Dria thought that perhaps she would have been more at peace with the situation had she been able to take her mind of it. But, ever since Madam Pomfrey had detected the slightest of sniffles from her one Monday morning — even after a double dose of self-administered Pepper-Up Potion — Dria had been barred from Hospital Wing ("If you so much as set foot back in here before you stop sneezing, I'll have you scrubbing bedpans for a week!") and virtually any other activity, with the exception of staying tucked up in bed with Figaro at her feet, and her nose stuck in one of Jackie's Muggle books.

        She fully understood why Madam Pomfrey was so insistent upon her isolation; it would be a travesty if a bug started spreading and the Hospital Wing was overrun before the Christmas holidays — especially as the strain of cold, that Dria had caught, seemed to be a rather nasty one that a simple Pepper-Up Potion could do no more than slightly numb the symptoms. But the girl couldn't deny the frustration ruining through her veins after having missed out on so much in the course of five days.

         She'd even missed the final Quidditch match — before the holidays — between Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. Tess was left to recount the events of the match, including extreme detail in which Jackie danced for joy at her house's win and the unusual nonchalance Penny had reacted with upon her house losing.

        While Tess wasn't in the slightest bit discouraged by her friend's sickness, (she had claimed to have endured worse during her shifts at Florean's), she also was known to have the immune system of an alligator — one of Jackie's books had told Dria that the immune systems of alligators were fairly ferocious, so she decided it would only be correct to compare Tess' to it.

        The dark-haired Gryffindor was also revelling in the fact that Dria's airways had been so bunged up as a result of cold that it had left her with a tendency to snore in the night — a fact that caused Tess to squeak in excitement when the noise had first startled her awake.

        However, Tess' nonchalance — and suppressed joy — at Dria's illness could not be said to have been adopted to the two other roommates of their dormitory.

        Hettie, at first, had been rather attentive much to Dria's pleasant surprise and, on more than one occasion, had brought the girl some leftovers from dinner. But when the cold showed no sign of shifting, she politely distanced herself not wanting to catch the cold and have it affect her ability to carry out her prefect duties — Dria swore if she heard the two words uttered together again, she'd deliberately sneeze on the person responsible.

        Isolde was the more intolerable of the two but, of course, that would be no surprise. Dria had always known her bed to be clean and tidy, had just assumed that the girl was simply an organised person, she never thought it would be down to the fact that the girl was a massive germaphobe, which soon became painstakingly clear. At one point, she was even avoiding eye contact with the Lockaby girl which led to Tess comparing her treatment of Dria to the way most of the students had been treating Harry Potter, following the incidents of the Duelling Club — and the two subsequent petrifications that had soon followed.

        Of course, the latter incidents didn't help his case as he was discovered in the corridor with the victims — the Hufflepuff boy from the Duelling Club, Justin Finch-Fletchley, and Nearly Headless Nick, the Gryffindor house ghost — and neither did it help Dria's growing anxiety. However, unlike a large sector of the school, Dria refused to believe that the young boy was the heir of Slytherin and, therefore, responsible for the attacks — and she'd given Tess a good slap on the wrist, once she'd discovered that her friend had been part of the rumour mill circulating such accusations.

        Nonetheless, this piece of news was not the only thing consuming her thoughts, as she lay in bed day after day, her frustration growing at the never-ending presence of her cold, as she was also left to reminisce of the recent antics the early days of December had brought as Hogwarts prepared itself for Christmas.

        While the blonde Lockaby despised the constant reminder of her impending Christmas break, she had found it hard to not feel her heart grow at least three sizes — she'd been reading a lot of Dr Seuss — upon seeing the subtle changes in the castle as the days passed and they sank deeper and deeper into the festive period.

        The school ghosts flew up and down the corridors in groups as they chorused Christmas carols to passing students. December 1st had marked the day that Hagrid had lugged in a great one tree from the Forbidden Forest to stand tall in the Great Hall. Wreaths of holly and pine cones hung upon ever door that Dria had seen and she'd sworn that there seemed to be a permanent smell of gingerbread in the air; how she wished she could just stay there for Christmas.

        Fred and George Weasley had even taken it upon themselves to place mistletoe all over the castle — Dria and Tess decided mutually that their efforts were lacking considerably, at which the twins threatened to trap the two of them under one and were terribly surprised when Tess remarked that if they did, it wouldn't be the first time.

        Although, she did appreciate the stunned look upon the twins' faces at Tess comment, Dria had been very grateful that she yet to fall victim to that particular prank, although the same couldn't be said for a certain Hufflepuff.

        Jackie had very nearly been trapped under the mistletoe with Lorcan Scamander on no less than four occasions. By the fourth attempt he'd given up, after receiving a rather abrupt punch to the face, although Dria could have sworn that the Irish girl wore the slightest of smiles as they walked away, with a faint dusting of pink on her cheeks — but Dria knew better than to bring it up.

        And with the topic of unusual behaviour at the forefront of her mind, Dria had also begun to notice that a change in Tess' and noted how the antics she'd exhibited at the Duelling Club were happening more and more, when the group walked past Savannah and her friends in the corridors.

        Dria was beginning to tire of becoming a human shield after she'd been forced to adopt the role three times in one day. And while she tried to understand just what was going on with her fellow Gryffindor, Tess' strange behaviour persisted with not even the slightest shred of explanation as to why it had been integrated into the girls' daily life.

        If anything that had been the one thing the blonde had been grateful to escape while sick. However, Tess was less than grateful and was adamant that the book-smart Gryffindor had been absent from society for too long.

        So, that was how — after five days had passed (on a Saturday afternoon) and her symptoms had only mildly subsided — Dria found herself being shoved unceremoniously into a carriage set for Hogsmeade.

         The girl grumbled between sniffs as she sank into the soft seats of the carriage, attempting to find warmth that the two layers of jumpers she was bundled up in — as well as her coat, scarf, hat and gloves — were not giving her. A headache had also begin to set in, although Dria was undecided as to whether it was a result of her cold or just being over-exposed to Tess' festive optimism.

        "Come on, Dria, lighten up a bit!"

        The blonde in question simply offered up a meagre groan and she curled up in her seat, pulling her knees to her chest, as the carriage slowly began setting off on the snow-covered trial toward Hogsmeade.

        "I can't." Dria objected, squeezing her eyes shut to try and numb the prickling feeling at the back of her eyes. "I feel like death itself."

"You can't say that near the Threstrals!"

Dria gave another a groan before throwing her hands up in exasperation, her eyes still shut as she responded to Tess' offended tone.

"Sorry, Threstrals!"

The sound of Tess shuffling in her seat could be heard and Dria knew almost immediately that the girl was turning around to look upon the supposedly gothic-looking horse creatures to gauge their reaction.

Although, Dria was fairly sure Threstrals didn't know English. And if they did they certainly wouldn't give a shit about whatever she said. No, Tess would say, they're too majestic for your bullshit.

"They forgive you." Tess actually said in response to the blonde's meagre apology, to which Dria offered her a hearty thumbs up before letting her head rest against the window with a loud clunk.

"Ow."

Dria's injury however seemed to go unnoticed by her fellow companions in the carriage, of which Tess seemed to be speaking the most from where she sat next to Penny, who chuckled at how desperately the Gryffindor girl was trying to lift the mood.

"Just imagine how nice it'll be when we're at the Three Broomsticks, with the open fire and nice glass of Firewhisky." Tess spoke up again with dreamy sigh, after a few minutes of silence in which Dria had finally brought herself to reopen her eyes.

"That's if we get a table."

No response came immediately, but when it did, it came in the form of a woollen glove smacking Dria upside the head.

"If you say one more pessimistic thing, I'll throw you out of this carriage!" Tess threatened, whacking her glove against her friend on every other word.

"Fine!"

Dria found herself letting out a tired sigh, as she edged closer to Jackie and placed her head on the Hufflepuff's shoulder, her eyes still upon her fellow Gryffindor as she tried to muster up a faux positive response that would satisfy her.

"I'm sure it will be positively heavenly." She said, with an arched brow and a light smile on her lips. "Better?"

"Personally, I would have liked it with a bit more conviction." The Hufflepuff added, whose shoulder Dria's head was still happily nuzzled in, as she offered her opinion upon the comment.

"Duly noted, Jackie." Dria sighed, closing her eyes again, before opening one to look back at Tess, a question suddenly running through her mind. "Will they even serve us Firewhisky?"

***

       "I HATE THE COLD. I hate the cold. I hate the cold." Tess incessantly got out between clenched teeth, her arms wrapped tightly around herself.

        "You don't say." Dria chuckled at her fellow Gryffindor, who had been relentlessly repeating the statement for a good minute straight.

The four girls were walking four abreast down the main street of Hogsmeade, having been in the town for a good hour or so, clutching various the purchases they collated from various shops in their gloved hands. The snow had seemed to only fall thicker and faster since their departure from the castle alongside a very sharp wind that sent a fair chill through each of them, though none was so vocal about its effects other than Tess.

        "I told you to bring a scarf." Penny chastised the girl with a roll of her eyes, as they continued towards the Three Broomsticks.

        "Oh I'm so sorry, Mother!" Tess retorted amid slipping on a piece of black ice and letting out a noise that Dria could only compare to a cat being strangled, before grabbing onto the blonde for support.

"Need I remind you it was your idea to brave the snow today?" Dria asked, with a small smile as she helped Tess steady herself and the four continued down the street.

"It's not like I'm known for great ideas." The Robbins girl grumbled, before wrapping her arms around herself and looking around at the three girls beside her. "It's your fault for listening."

        Dria merely rolled her eyes with a light smile on her lips, her bad mood having left her after witnessing Tess' utterly amusing whinging.

        "Here, have my scarf." The blonde chuckled, as she reached up and tugged at the house scarf wrapped around her neck and quickly putting around Tess, who took it gladly.

        "Dria, I love you."

        "Mind you, it's probably infested with germs." Dria told Tess with a grin, at which her fellow Gryffindor elbowed her in the side.

        With sheepish smiles, the four girls bustled through a street choir singing carols as well as in and around other passers by, and had soon settled in the small sheltered area in front of the pub, before Jackie gave a small huff and looked at Penny with a disgruntled expression.

        "Well, I'm freezing my tits off too!" The Hufflepuff cried as she wrapped her arms around herself.

        The Ravenclaw in front of her merely scoffed as she reached forward and gripped the door handle of the Three Broomsticks, before pushing it open with a small grunt and casting a look back at the Irish girl behind her.

        "Damnit Jackie, I can't control the weather!"

With a hearty array of chuckles from Tess and Dria at the horrified expression on Jackie's face, the four girls were hit by a wave of warmth, that made them forget they had ever been cold, as they entered the Three Broomsticks.

The pub was bustling with students, no doubt taking respite from the cold outdoors, and were sat at their tables with tankards of Butterbeer and plates of pub grub — Dria spotted a young Ravenclaw with a bowl of steaming lamb stew that she met a mental note to order.

Penny strode ahead of the three other girls eagerly scouting a table for them to sit at and it didn't take long before the girl had succeeded in her task. She couldn't believe their luck when she saw empty booth right by the fireside, though it had yet to be cleared from the former customers — crumbs were littering the tabletop along with a few dirty dishes — it was easily the best seat in the house.

Upon reaching the table, the Ravenclaw watched with an amused smile as the two Gryffindors settled into the booth with content sighs, while she and Hufflepuff remained standing so they could go and quickly order their drinks.

"Now, is that a bit better?" The Ravenclaw asked with an arched brow, looking upon Tess and Dria who were cuddled up together in the booth soaking up the heat of the fire like two cats.

"Oh, Penny, you've hit the jackpot." Tess exhaled, her eyes closer with a small smile on her lips and she nestled into Dria's shoulder.

"You two just stay there and thaw out." Penny instructed with a chuckle, as she and Jackie began shaking off their coats and other winter garments. "Me and Jackie'll get the drinks."

"Brilliant plan."

"Sounds perfect."

Not even their friends' generosity seemed to be enough to wake the two Gryffindors from their blissful state, much to the amusement of Penny — who held a small lilac purse in her hand, and Jackie — who was rifling through her coat pockets and picking out the odd coin.

"Four Butterbeers, then?" Penny asked, once Jackie had finished rummaging through her coat and Dria and Tess had become slightly more responsive.

"Yeah, right." Jackie scoffed, with her famous shit-eating grin spreading across her lips. "We're getting Firewhisky, that'll warm you right up."

If the two Gryffindors weren't engaged by their friends before, they certainly were now; their ears pricking up at the name of the delectable beverage.

"Jackie, I'm not sure Madam Rosmerta will serve us any—"

But Jackie cut off Penny's opposing argument before it could be completed, with a tut and a small shake of her head, as she threw an arm around the Ravenclaw's shoulders.

"Bold of you to assume, I can't sweet talk my way around her."

"Or just annoy her until she gives in." Tess chimed in with a chuckle, beginning to unwrap Dria's scarf from her neck.

"That's my Plan B." Jackie credited Tess' point with a smirk, all the while Penny chuckled at the girl's determination. "There's nothing I won't do to get my hands on a flask of Firewhisky."

And, with Jackie's arms directing her away, Penny was led from the table and towards the bar, a light smile on her lips as she went with Jackie bouncing up and down in excitement behind her, encouraged by the calls of support coming from the girls sat in the booth they left behind.

"Go, Jackie!"

"We believe in you!"

"Also, get me some stew!"

Whether her friends were too far away or too engrossed in the busy chatter from other customers to hear Dria's food request, she didn't know. But they didn't make another response as they edged their way towards the large queue forming along the bar.

When Tess placed the scarf back in Dria's grasp, the blonde became suddenly aware of her own need to shed a few layers and soon was shaking off her own coat, hat and gloves due to the large open fire beside them doing a sufficient enough job of warming her up. Soon after a server came up to their table and began clearing the crockery that laid upon it as well as wiping down the surface with a small smile which Dria returned.

And soon, ever so slowly, the minutes began to pass. Dria spent the time silently soaking in the atmosphere that surrounded her; the smell in the air that was a strangely complementary combination of roast beef and the varnished oak from the tables; the sight of rosy-cheeked customers happily gulping down their respective beverages with bright smiles as they surveyed their company and, of course, the warmth being emitted from the fireplace.

Dria slowly felt a small smile creep onto her lips and she stifled a small chuckle when she witnessed a Slytherin student, in one of the younger years, nearly choke on his drink at something one of friends had said, leaving the group nearly tears from laughing so much.

"Tess, I—"

As she would always find herself doing, whenever she heard or saw something funny, she turned to Tess. However, this time she was met with the view of the dark-haired girl looking off longingly at another table; or rather another person sat at said table.

Dria eyebrow quirked upon realising that Tess had not heard her and took the opportunity to follow her gaze.

The blonde wasn't too surprised when she recognised the group sat at the table her friend was staring at, as it was the same group who just happened to be walking by whenever Tess used Dria as a human shield. But the sight did help to make it clear just who exactly seemed to causing the adverse effects in Tess.

Savannah was faced away so that the girls' prying eyes could only meet her back upon which cascaded her long dark hair, and the same was case for Simon Fenwick who was also facing away, although it could be gathered that he was smiling based on how his shoulders were shaking. Dria therefore easily concluded that it was neither of those two who had Tess so transfixed.

With two of three people sat at the table striking out, one remained and easily gave Dria the answer she craved.

Una Callahan was sat facing her two friends with a bright smile on her lips, her own gaze oblivious to the two girls casually watching her from across the room. Her fiery red hair had been tamed into a ponytail and her Ravenclaw scarf was still wrapped around her neck. Before her, sat a steaming tankard of Butterbeer that she had her hands cupped around and sipped every so often, leaving a small lining of foam across her upper lip.

Dria allowed her gaze to shift back to Tess whose lips twitched into the slightest of smiles as Una let out a laugh that, from the look on Tess' face, the blonde could easily deduce must have sounded like the most beautiful sound in the world. Dria knew that look very well.

"Savannah isn't who you've been hiding from, is she?" Dria whispered as she shuffled a bit closer to Tess, trying to grasp her attention gently.

Nonetheless, her attempt went amiss and the dark-haired girl was shaken from her state. Her eyes went wide when Dria nodded in the direction at which they'd both been staring seconds prior.

"I've not been hiding—"

"So ducking behind me is just your new hobby?" Dria chuckled, keeping her voice calm and a light laughter on her lips to assure her friend of the lighthearted nature of her enquiry.

Tess gave a relieved huff in response, her shoulders dropping as she relaxed and her attention turned back to the red-head across the room, before replying to her friend in a defensive mutter.

"Well, you did it with Wood."

Dria could only scoff at her friend's excuse; Tess was nothing like Dria when it came to the expression of feelings — in fact, the Lockaby girl was fairly sure that, on more than one occasion, she had deduced Tess' feelings before even she had.

"And now I see how ridiculous that must have been!" Dria retorted with a light chuckle, her gaze following her friend's once more and elbowing her in the side gently. "Why don't you just ask her out? You have no trouble asking the rest of the school."

"I can't!" Tess very quickly objected, her eyes wide again as she ripped her gaze away from the seventh-year and turned to her friend in mild panic. "There's something about her, I get within five feet of her and I freeze up."

"I didn't know you could freeze up." Dria chuckled again, her own eyes widening a little in surprise and allowing her gaze to fall back on the red-head much like her friend's. "She must be something."

"She is." Tess affirmed her fellow Gryffindor's words, before turning back to her with a wry smile. "But she doesn't know I exist."

"What are you two talking about?"

Dria jumped slightly at Jackie's sudden query, having been so transfixed in discovering Tess' crush that she'd fail to notice the Hufflepuff and Penny approaching the table with a tray of drinks.

"I'm in a Lockwood situation." Tess explained as the two girls set the trays upon the table and settled into the opposite booth.

"Ouch, that sucks." Penny tutted, from where she sat opposite Dria, with a sympathetic smile — all the while, the blonde looked on all three of them with confused incredulity.

"Wait, wait, wait." She stopped them before the conversation could progress further. "What the hell is a Lockwood situation?"

"When you're in love with someone who doesn't know you exist." Penny clarified nonchalantly, as she placed each drink before each member of their group.

"We named it after you and Wood. Lockwood, you get it?" Jackie smirked, proudly. "Lockaby, Wood; Lockwood."

"That's very clever, Jackie."

Her less than thrilled reaction at her friends' creativity left them in a soft bout of giggles, and allowed Dria's gaze to shoot down sheepishly and focus on the drink that sat before her, her mood lightening when she finally noticed what it was.

"You got the Firewhisky!" She chuckled in disbelief, as she looked back up to meet Jackie's proud expression that had yet to falter.

"That's why they call me the Owl." She shrugged, lifting her glass and raising her eyebrows. "Because I always deliver."

"No one has ever or will ever call you that." Penny reminded the Hufflepuff, as she swilled her own glass of Firewhisky idly.

"Way to crush a girl's dreams." Jackie said with a fake pout, before outstretching her glass before her in a toast, which her friends mirrored. "Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas!"

Their sentiments were followed by the mandatory clinking of glasses and mild laughter, before each girl took a sip. Dria revelled momentarily as the drink seared her throat in a burning sensation that shot warmth all through her, and dispelled the numbness that had been making itself at home in her mind.

"Una is really lovely, you know."

Penny interrupted their mutual silence as each of the girls sipped their Firewhisky contently.

"Well, of course she is!" Tess cried in exasperation, slouching slightly in her seat. "I wouldn't like her if she was a bitch, would I?"

"My point is if you were to ask her out, there's really nothing to be afraid of." Penny retorted with a roll of her eyes at Tess' harsh response. "She's about as threatening as a Pygmy Puff."

Dria coughed slightly at Penny's words, very nearly choking on her Firewhisky as Tess offered her a harsh slap on the back.

"What the fuck is a Pygmy Puff?"

"I don't know but I heard one of the Ravenclaw first years chatting about them and they sounded fairly non-threatening—"

"So you know her quite well?"

While Dria and Jackie were amicably nodding along to Penny's tale and seemed to be rather interested in learning more of these Pygmy Puff creatures, Tess was less interested and more focused on the sentiments Penny had brought up previously.

"Well, I think her name is Luna—"

"No, not Luna. Una!"

The girls' eyes widened at the sudden increase in volume Tess' voice had taken upon saying the name of the red-head across the pub, and all of their gazes quickly shot in the direction of said girl who was wearing a rather confused smile as her eyes looked in the direction of where her name had been shouted rather loudly, accompanied by the gazes of Savannah and Simon.

         Upon realising that her cry had been heard by the girl in question, Tess let out a strangled gasp before virtually throwing herself under the table, leaving her three friends to meet the confused girl's eyes with a polite smiles and awkward waves.

        "Hi Una!" Penny said cheerily, at which Una waved back with a polite smile although her two friends looked a lot more suspicious than she did.

        Savannah raised an eyebrows in Dria's direction hoping for some clarification, but the blonde just continued to wave until their attention had left them and they returned back into their original conversation.

        With relieved sighs, the three girls slouched back into their seats and watched, with amused expressions upon their faces, as Tess slowly crawled out from under the table and back into her seat with a sheepish smile as she tucked her hair behind her ear and tuck a generous mouthful of Firewhisky.

         "Merlin, Tess, you're worse than Dria was." Jackie exclaimed, her eyes incredulous as she stifled a chuckle at the dark-haired girl's behaviour.

But Tess' jaw only hardened at Jackie's remark, as she narrowed her eyes in the Hufflepuff's direction.

"That's the meanest thing you've ever said to me, Jackie O'Hare."

"What? Being compared to me?" Dria let out a scoff at her friend's words who merely nodded in response, earning an elbow to her side.

Although, Dria did have to grant that seeing Tess in such a bizarre state had somewhat opened her eyes as to just how ridiculous she must have acted around Oliver up until she actually got to know him.

"I would have thought the Troll snoring saga would have annoyed you more—" The blonde began again, with a smug smile as she lifted her drink to her lips, before being silenced by an elbow poking into her side in retaliation.

"Well, it's up there!" Tess cried exasperatedly, glaring at the girls around her who persisted to giggle at Dria's comment, before silencing them as she addressed her Ravenclaw friend. "Penny, you know her, right?"

"Well, I learnt today that I apparently know her well enough to wave to her across a crowded pub." Penny retorted, pursing her lips and stifling a light chuckle.

"So, that's a yes." Tess disregarded Penny's comment and continued to ignore Dria and Jackie's giggles, giving them both a sharp kick under the table. "Could you give me some pointers?"

"I don't know her that well, Tess."

"Well, find some things out!" She all but begged, earning a series of increasingly alarmed looks from her friends — she really was worse than Dria. "Get me something to work with, because my natural allure isn't enough anymore."

"I will, if you promise to never mention your natural allure ever again." Penny agreed with an eager nod, although it was fairly evident she was appeasing the girl's request in order for her stop talking.

"Deal."

        A few more minutes passed of Penny amusing Tess with polite smiles as she listed off dozens of suggestions that the Ravenclaw could use to try and get some information out of the red-headed seventh-year that the Robbins girl was so enamoured with. Yet, it wasn't them that Dria found herself looking at but instead at the Hufflepuff sat diagonally from her, who held her glass to her pursed lips as she surveyed the Ravenclaw at her side.

        "What about you, Pen?" Jackie spoke up once her eyes met Dria's and the blonde immediately understood where she was leading the conversation.

        "What about me?" Penny chuckled, lifting her glass to her own lips with a small smile and taking a rather large gulp — no doubt to relieve the numbing sensation that Tess' interrogation had caused.

        "Anyone taking your fancy?"

        As soon as the question left Jackie's lips, the mouthful of Firewhisky spluttered out of Penny's lips as she choked in surprise, and sprayed Dria in the process.

         The blonde grimaced at the scenario as Penny shot her an apologetic smile while Jackie and Tess howled in utter amusement. Dria gingerly reached for a nearby napkin and began dabbing her face and front down, as Penny turned her attention back to Jackie with a vague attempt to regain some composure.

        "Why do you ask?" She asked with a polite smile, although her eyes screamed in alarm.

        "Well, we've hardly seen you this term." Jackie shrugged, as Dria proceeded to wipe down her sleeves with Tess' help — who had also acquired a napkin and was now dabbing her friend. "Wondered if you've ditched us for someone new?"

        "Of course, not!" Penny gushed rather quickly; too quickly. "You know, I've just been ... busy."

        She looked around the four girls who shot her looks of disbelief, and were slightly disappointed at the fact that, even if she was lying, she could have come up with a better excuse.

        "Prefect duties are much more consuming in sixth year, and if I want a running shot at Head Girl then I need to apply myself and prove myself a good candidate—" Penny let out a large breath, clearly having forgotten to breathe amidst her rambling. She then pressed her lips together and looked around at her three friends, whose expression had not shifted in the slightest. "Um, I'm going to head to the loo."

        And with that, she did, very nearly taking out one of the server's in her haste. Muttering a few apologies to the young man, she bustled away towards the toilets, her eyes the size of dinner plates as her friends gaped after her.

        "You get any of that?"

        Jackie was the first to speak up, although she didn't look at the two Gryffindors she addressed, as all three still had their gazes stuck on the retreating Ravenclaw that had left them.

         "I didn't know she wanted to run for Head Girl." Dria muttered, feeling rather disheartened.

        With their shared aptitude and smarts regarding their lessons and scholarly achievement, Dria thought that she would've known if Penny was interested in running for Head Girl. This instance further reminded the girl that Jackie had not been far wrong in saying that the three girls had barely seen her since term started.

        "We don't know anything anymore." Tess chuckled, wryly, her gaze dropping to her drink before taking a swig of it.

        "I reckon she's seeing someone." Jackie muttered, tearing her gaze away from the girl who had disappeared behind the door of the toilets.

         "Who?"

        Jackie shrugged at the question before lowering her voice to a whisper as all three of them leaned in closer to one another in order to converse.

        "Who knows, but she clearly doesn't want us to know ... so we're contractually obliged, as her friends, to find out who it is." The Hufflepuff concluded at which the blonde that sat diagonally from her nodded in agreement, while Tess let out a light laugh.

        "Whatever happened to privacy?" She asked, with an arched brow, looking between her two friends.

        "Me, I happened." Jackie stated with a smirk, crossing her arms over her front.

        "C'mon, Tess!" Dria chided, casting a glance towards the toilet door, double-checking that Penny wouldn't stumble upon their conspiring. "It is our fundamental right as her friends to stick our big fat noses into her business."

        "I don't know whose nose you're calling big and fat." Tess chuckled, before a smirk settled upon her own features and she shared it with Jackie and Dria. "But I'm not complaining; I'm in."

        "And just who's downfall are you plotting?"

        The three girls froze in their hunched positions over the tabletop as the sound of a Scottish lilt washed over their conversation. Twisting ever so slightly in her seat, Dria could feel her heart pounding before she even laid eyes on the boy she knew was standing at the table's edge.

         As she looked up, her blue eyes reunited with the coffee-coloured orbs they so often collided with. His cheeks were flushed pink, and a few snowflakes were beginning to melt in his hair; Dria gathered he'd only just come in from the cold. Oliver's lips were curved into a humoured smile, and his hands clasped behind his back, as he surveyed the three girls whispering among themselves.

        "Yours." Jackie replied to his query, her lips pursed in a smug smirk as the three girls sank back into the seats.

         "I figured as much." The Gryffindor Keeper chuckled in response, leaning on the back of the booth continuing to address Jackie. "Good win against Ravenclaw, last week."

        "I think you'll find we destroyed them, Wood." Jackie corrected him, lifting her glass in a toast, her smirk never fading. "And you'll be next."

        "That's the Christmas spirit." He commented, as she took a large gulp of the drink, and he turned his attention to the blonde sat nearest to him. "Everything alright?"

        "Yeah, yeah." Dria nodded, folding her arms across her front and she turned to look at him.

        "Haven't seen you in a while." He remarked, his eyebrows arching awaiting an explanation, although Dria took a minute to fully digest his words as she revelled in that fact he'd noticed her slight absence, her hesitation leaving the question open for Tess to answer.

        "She's had the plague—"

        "I've had a cold." Dria corrected Tess with a fake laugh, elbowing her in the side, before turning back to Oliver. "And Madam Pomfrey didn't want me spreading to anyone else. Everything alright with you?"

        "Yeah, just wanted to drop this with you."

        Dria quirked an eyebrow in curiosity at his statement before he brought his hands from behind his back and presented the blonde with a small brown paper parcel.

        "What is it?" She let out a small chuckle as she took the parcel from him, noting its slightly heavy weight.

        "Well, it's obviously a present, isn't it?" Tess interjected, before her side was met with Dria's elbow with which it was becoming very well acquainted.

        "You got me a present?" The blonde asked, her eyebrows furrowing in surprise as she turned back to face the Quidditch Captain.

        "Well, 'tis the season for giving." He shrugged, his cheeks flushing the slightest shade of pink, as he reached to scratch the back of his neck. "And I saw it in the shop and thought of you."

"You really didn't have to, Oliver." Dria replied, the edges of her lips twitching in a small smile at the gesture, yet not fully forming into a full smile as she realised she hadn't got him anything in return.

"Well, I did." He silenced her, his former sheepishness slipping away with a small smirk that crept onto his lips. "So, take it home for Christmas and write me a letter, once you've opened it, telling me how much you love it."

"Okay, I will." She replied, with a small shake of her head at the smirk on his face.

Dria let out a chuckle, allowing her gaze to falter from his as she placed the gift on the tabletop, glaring upon seeing the smug expressions upon her friends' faces. She could feel her face redden ever so slightly at the thought behind the gesture, and looked up to meet his gaze once more, only to find it to have faltered slightly and bore a glint of confusion.

"Oh, you've got a little—?"

Dria eyes widened as he tilted his head a little, his hand gesturing towards her hair and she realised that she hadn't succeeded in fully removing all traces of the Firewhisky that Penny had spluttered over her.

"Firewhisky." She told him with a nervous laugh, reaching across the table for another napkin and using it to dab her hair gently.

"In your hair?"

Another nervous chuckle left Dria's lips, her gaze faltering from his once more as she tried to think of some witty explanation.

"Well, 'tis the season." She replied with a sheepish smile, surprised to see his eyes held no judgement at the predicament, and instead were soft as he let out a light chuckle.

"Merry Christmas, Dria."

"Merry Christmas, Oliver." She nodded, mirroring the small smile he sent her, before his attention turned to the other smirking girls in the blonde's company.

"I'll see you guys later." He called politely, as he began to walk away from their table, casting a few glances behind him.

"See you, Wood!" Jackie called at which he replied with a wave, before he slipped out of the doorway and back out into the cold street.

Dria found her gaze absentmindedly fixed on the place where he'd last stood, her eyes fond and soft before flickering back to the brown paper parcel upon the tabletop, her fingers running across its hard surface.

"Just friends, huh?"

Dria's head shot up at Jackie's sudden comment, only to be met with a smirk and a knowing glint in her hazel eyes that Dria knew meant no good.

"What?" Dria chuckled, trying to shake off the fluttering feeling in her stomach as she shrugged in response to her friend's question. "Friends can't give each other presents?"

"We're just saying maybe there's some ulterior motive." Tess added in, at which Dria gave a hearty scoff, her hand still resting atop of the parcel.

"Oh, really?" She quirked an eyebrow, looking between her two friends with pursed lips. "So you're saying the reason you get me a Christmas present is because you're ... what? Secretly in love with me?"

"Damn, my cover's been blown!" Jackie tutted in a melodramatic fashion, as she let out a forced sigh.

"Thwarted again, damnit!" Tess added to the antics, throwing her hands up while Dria could only rolled her eyes.

Jackie and Tess seemed to be amused enough by their own larking about that they failed to notice Dria sink back in a deep thought, her thumb stroking the top of the parcel once more, before an idea struck her.

"Say, Jackie?"

"Yes, my one true love?" The Irish girl retorted, wiggling her eyebrows and clasping her chest.

"I don't suppose you could get your brother to do me a favour, could you?" Dria asked with pursed lips, satisfied with how Jackie's expression fell at the mention of her brother.

"You've got to be kidding me—!"

But Jackie's objection was cut short, by the smell of stewed lamb and the West Country accent of Madam Rosemerta as she reached their table with a welcoming grin.

"One lamb stew, was it?"

𝖙𝖗𝖎𝖓𝖆 𝖘𝖕𝖊𝖆𝖐𝖘!
i felt super warm
and fuzzy writing
this one, i bloody
love christmas

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