A/N: This hasn't been proofread or edited yet, but I hope y'all enjoy this chapter!! :>

"Leigh! Wake up, it's urgent!"

Analeigh awoke with a start, blinking around in confusion. The first thing she saw was Hermione looking down at her with a worried expression.

"Wha — what?" said Analeigh, still half-asleep. She let her eyes adjust to the darkness until they landed on a small beam of light coming from someone's wand — Professor McGonagall's wand. She was dressed in a nightgown and her hair wasn't pulled back into a tight bun like it usually was. Only now realizing that something must be wrong, Analeigh quickly sat up and swung her legs to the side of her four-poster bed to stand up next to Hermione.

"I'm sorry to wake you at this hour, but we have some bad news," McGonagall said gravely. "Arthur Weasley's been attacked."

"Attacked? Where, how?" Hermione struggled for the right words.

"Do Ron and Harry know?" Analeigh asked, fear flooding her veins. McGonagall glanced around the room, noticing that the girls' roommates — Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil — were beginning to stir from their sleep at the commotion they were making. Not wanting them to wake up and overhear the details, McGonagall motioned for Analeigh and Hermione to follow her.

"I'll explain downstairs," she said. Analeigh and Hermione made their way out the door, down the staircase, and into the Gryffindor common room after the woman. Once McGonagall was sure that they were alone, she began explaining just what had happened.

"You see, Mr. Potter had a dream earlier tonight of Arthur getting attacked by a snake," she said in a low voice. "We brought him to Headmaster Dumbledore immediately. We don't know exactly how or why, but everything in that dream was true. Fortunately, the mediwizards and healers arrived to tend to Mr. Weasley on time because of that."

"How is he now, Professor? Will he be alright?" Hermione said. McGonagall pursed her lips for a moment before replying.

"He is in critical condition, Miss Granger. Mr. Potter and the Weasleys left for St. Mungo's around an hour ago, and their belongings have also been transported. You girls and Mr. Diggory will still take the train back to Platform 9 3/4 once the break officially begins — only then will you return to the Order's headquarters."

The next thirty-six hours were filled with nerves and anxiety for them. For a while, there were no updates on Mr. Weasley's condition. Then, Analeigh's father thankfully sent them a letter to update them; he said that Arthur had lost a lot of blood, but he was becoming stable and was expected to make a full recovery. That eased their worries, and they were able to ride the Hogwarts Express back to the station a bit more comfortably on the 20th of December.

Number 12 Grimmauld Place was surprisingly warmer and livelier that time around. Molly Weasley, Grace Heart, and even Mrs. Diggory all made it a point to make it as homey as possible even if it was still the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix. For the first few days, though, the Weasleys were barely around because they were all occupied with visiting and taking care of Mr. Weasley at the hospital. But On Christmas Day, he was discharged and finally allowed to come home.

Of course, Mrs. Weasley didn't want him to return without a celebration. Aside from the Christmas decors scattered throughout the house, she also prepared other party favors and practically cooked an entire feast for the special occasion. Most of the other Order members were either busy with their own families or would be dropping by later on after their respective duties, so it was just Analeigh, Hermione, Cedric, and the Weasley kids gathered around the dining table that day. Harry hadn't come down yet, but they were all hoping he would very soon so that he wouldn't miss out on the festivities. He hadn't been in the best mood recently — actually, he had been pretty moody the entire school year so far, but his scarily accurate vision of Arthur Weasley's attack seemed to have given him even more reason to brood.

An enchanted Santa Claus figurine was zooming throughout the kitchen and chanting, "Ho, ho, ho! Merry Christmas!" when Mr. Weasley was wheeled into the room by his wife. He still had all sorts of bandages all over his body, but he was as jolly as ever.

"Here we go, daddy's back!" Mrs. Weasley declared while everyone clapped and cheered for him. "Sit down, everybody, sit down! That's it. Now, presents!"

She began handing everyone their presents. She didn't forget to give Analeigh and Hermione theirs, and she even made sure to throw in a present for Cedric that year, too.

"And a nice big box for Ron," Mr. Weasley said as his son started opening his gift.

"Big box for you! And, um..." Mrs. Weasley tried giving Fred and George their presents, but she couldn't settle on who was who — it didn't help that they were smiling innocently up at her, waiting to see if she'd get it right. In the end, she gave up and said, "Oh, well, here, Fred and George. Come on, open up! I want to see your faces."

"Yes!"

"Try it on!"

Aside from the traditional Weasley jumpers, the kind woman gave everyone a variety of knitted hats, scarves, and gloves.

"Thanks, Mum! It's perfect," said Ginny. Mrs. Weasley beamed at her before turning to Ron.

"Just what he wanted, actually," she said as Ron lifted up a brown sweater vest. Meanwhile, Fred and George were wrapping their striped scarves around their necks in perfect synchronization.

"Yeah, right," Ron smiled at his mother, though Analeigh could tell that he wasn't pleased with the color of his sweater. "Thanks, Mum."

"What did you get as your first ever present from Mrs. Weasley?" Analeigh asked Cedric who was sitting next to her.

"A pair of very Hufflepuff-looking gloves," Cedric grinned lopsidedly. He handed her the handmade gloves with the color pattern of black, yellow, brown.

"I almost forgot you're the only non-Gryffindor here," Analeigh commented, acting as if it was a bad thing.

"Ah, yes. I'm the superior one at the table right now," Cedric said smugly. Analeigh scoffed and threw the gloves back at him, which he caught with ease. "What did you get?"

"This." Analeigh showed off her newly knitted hat in the colors of maroon and black.

"Let's see it, then." Cedric took the hat into his own hands and fitted it atop Analeigh's head. He laughed at her childlike appearance and patted her head. "You look like a first year."

"I do not —"

"Analeigh! You look adorable," Grace gushed as she entered the kitchen with Altair.

"You look just like you did when you came home from Beauxbatons for Christmas in your first year," Altair added. Analeigh sighed while Cedric sent her a triumphant look.

"Thanks, mum and dad," she grumbled, but they didn't seem to catch her sarcasm.

"Come on, then, everybody. Let's clear this way," Mrs. Weasley urged since more people were coming into the kitchen. At that same moment, Harry walked in with Sirius right behind him. "Oh, Harry, Harry, there you are! Happy Christmas!"

She gave the boy his present before pulling him into a hug. Slightly caught off guard, Harry spluttered out, "Oh, thank you."

"Lovely to have you with us. Now, to dad — yes, pass that to daddy," Mrs. Weasley pointed at yet another wrapped gift at the table that Ginny passed to her father.

"Thank you!" Mr. Weasley said.

"Has everybody got? Fred? George? Hermione? Make sure you..."

"A Christmas toast!" Mr. Weasley suddenly announced, silencing the room. Everyone lifted up their glasses to mimic him. "To Mr. Harry Potter... without whom I would not be here. Harry."

"Harry," everyone chorused.

"Harry," said Sirius, who was leaning by the doorframe. He winked at his godson before taking a sip of his wine.

"That is delicious!" Mr. Weasley after taking a bite of the roast chicken his wife had cooked. "I shall be needing some more of that."

With that, everybody dug into their Christmas feast. Analeigh honestly had her reservations about spending the holidays at Grimmauld Place — after all, her previous Christmases were either spent in the comforts of her own home or at the Hogwarts castle. But at that moment, she was actually grateful to be there. She was surrounded by friends and family alike, and it was more than enough.

Naturally, everyone wanted to know how things were going at Hogwarts. When Mr. and Mrs. Diggory joined the meal, the adults all started questioning their children.

"How's studying for your O.W.L.s going?" Grace asked them.

"It's alright," Analeigh and Hermione replied while Harry and Ron said, "We haven't started."

"Well, I suggest you do," Mrs. Weasley tutted disapprovingly. "It won't do you lot any good if you leave it until the last minute to learn the material."

"Listen to your mother, Ron," Mr. Weasley said.

"Yeah, listen to your mother, Ron!" the twins teased.

"You two didn't even study at all!" Ron retorted.

"Relax. You've still got time," Sirius said easily.

"How about you boys?" Amos looked at his son and the twins. "Doing well in your N.E.W.T. classes?"

"Of course, Mr. Diggory," Fred and George answered, but their mischievous smiles said otherwise.

"Just fine, dad," said Cedric.

"Fine? I'm sure you're doing splendidly, my boy!" Amos chortled, patting his son on the back. Cedric was slightly embarrassed but more than used to his father's boasting at this point.

"What about outside of academics?" Mrs. Diggory cut in. "Surely, there must be other things you've all been up to."

The first thing that popped into their minds was the D.A., which they had all dedicated most of their free time to. The teenagers at the table all tried to act nonchalant, but they weren't very subtle. Harry and Ron coughed awkwardly, Analeigh and Ginny exchanged knowing glances, Cedric and Hermione sat up straighter, and Fred and George snickered.

"You aren't stirring up trouble, are you?" Altair said suspiciously, eyeing each and every one of them.

"Not at all, dad," Analeigh lied.

"Are we really Gred and Forge if we aren't causing mischief, though?" Fred mused to which George nodded in agreement at.

"Well, that's already a given," Mr. Weasley said simply.

"Don't encourage them, Arthur," Mrs. Weasley scolded.

"Right. Sorry, Molly."

★ ★ ★

"I can't understand why you don't want to wear it, Ronald."

"I look like a bloody idiot, that's why."

Hermione and Ron bickered nonstop down the stairs about the latter's knitted jumper. They had just finished putting away their gifts in their rooms and were now heading to the living room. Mrs. Weasley said that she would be preparing warm mugs of Butterbeer by the fire, so they were all on their way there to take advantage of that.

"No more than usual, Ron," Hermione said, making the redhead boy huff in irritation.

"I don't know why..." Ron continued to argue as he and Hermione walked into the living area. On the other hand, Harry turned the corner to another hallway — he had seen Sirius enter a room, one which Analeigh knew held the Black Family Tapestry, so she decided to leave him be. Just as she was about to follow Ron and Hermione, she spotted Cedric walking out of the kitchen. He was clad in a thick jacket, scarf, and the gloves from Mrs. Weasley.

"Where are you going?" Analeigh asked him in confusion, wondering why he was all dressed up.

"To you, actually. I was on my way to ask if you wanted to go for a walk," Cedric said. "It's snowing."

Analeigh's inner child wanted to say yes immediately — who wouldn't want to go outside while it was snowing? But she knew that it wasn't exactly safe to go out unguarded anymore. Nowadays, there was always at least one Order member hovering around them if they ever had to go somewhere that wasn't within the walls of Hogwarts or the headquarters.

"I'd love to," she began. "Although we might have to ask our parents first if we can —"

"Already did," Cedric grinned. "It took a while to convince your dad just a while ago, but he gave in after your mum forced him to. They just told me not to go too far and that we must have our wands on us at all times."

"You better be back before dark!" Altair's voice said distantly from the kitchen, making Analeigh chuckle.

"Well, I guess we're going for that walk, then."

After Analeigh grabbed the necessary clothing items to keep her warm, she and Cedric exited the Black family home. There were kids having snowball fights right outside the door, but they were oblivious to the fact that two people had just walked out of a magical house that they couldn't even see.

The snow was light and powdery as it fell from the sky and onto the residents of the Borough of Islington, London. It stuck to their hair and clothes the longer they stayed outdoors, but Analeigh and Cedric didn't mind. They were too engrossed with the tranquil atmosphere as they strolled down the slippery road hand-in-hand — right then and there, they didn't have to worry about their classes, the D.A., Umbridge, the brewing war, and just everything going on that was making life so stressful recently.

The two had been enveloped in a comfortable silence for a few minutes before Cedric eventually broke it.

"Can you believe the Yule Ball happened a whole year and a day ago today?"

"It honestly feels like it was only a few weeks back," Analeigh admitted. "I can still remember secretly hoping you'd trip during the champions' first dance."

"Luckily, I didn't," Cedric pointed out proudly, causing Analeigh to laugh under her breath. "The day after was quite unforgettable, too."

"That's debatable — I still get lost trying to find my way to that secret room."

"I was referring to what happened there, not how to get there," Cedric rolled his eyes playfully.

"Speaking of which, doesn't that mean it's been a year since we got together?" Analeigh halted in place, her eyes wide in realization. She panicked for a second, wondering if that counted as an anniversary and she quite literally forgot about it.

"Yes and no," said Cedric with a hint of humor, now facing her. "I mean, you did avoid me right after our first kiss."

"I was nervous, okay?" Analeigh said sheepishly, recalling how much time she spent hiding from him because was unsure of how she was supposed to act around him afterwards.

"It's alright. It was fun to cause a scene in the Great Hall a few days later, anyway," Cedric said teasingly.

"I still can't believe you did that. You've always had a flair for the dramatics, haven't you?"

"Of course. Would you like me to refresh your memory?" he said. Using his free hand, he discretely waved his wand. Analeigh wouldn't have noticed he had done magic at all if not for the appearance of a growing branch of mistletoe floating right above their heads.

"Cedric!" Analeigh gasped. She was amused by his antics, but she was also worried that people would notice the magical piece of mistletoe in plain sight. "There are muggles here."

"It's snowing too hard — they won't see it," Cedric reassured, and he was right: the amount of snow had somehow multiplied and was raining down on them harder than before. While it was a bit of a struggle to see clearly with all the falling snowflakes around them, the pair could only focus on each other.

Analeigh suddenly felt as if she was transported back to that very day Cedric was recreating by conjuring that mistletoe — nervous, excited, and most of all, captivated by the boy before her. That was the day she couldn't deny that she had developed strong feelings for the charming Hufflepuff any longer. She wondered just how much those feelings grew since then because they were overwhelming her as she stood there with Cedric in the middle of a very snowy village in London.

Cedric was just as, if not more, enamored with the girl in front of him. From being intrigued by her when they first met to surviving the Triwizard Tournament, they had definitely gone through a lot together. A fond smile found its way to his face as he realized that Analeigh was truly a bright and fearless person that he could just not get enough of. He gently cupped the side of her face and said, "You mean more and more to me with every single day, you know?"

Analeigh wanted to spit out something poetic to tell Cedric how she felt about him as well, but she had never been good at that. She was afraid that her words wouldn't do her thoughts and feelings any justice. She hoped and prayed with all her might that he would understand exactly what she meant when she pulled him down for a shy yet fervent kiss.

Cedric was mildly surprised, but it only took a second for him to respond, parting his lips and tilting his head to deepen the kiss between them. When Analeigh brought a hand up to the back of his neck to draw him in even closer than he already was, he found himself gripping her face a little firmer than earlier, eager to let this go on as long as possible. The winter air surrounding them was cold and harsh, but somehow, the warmth they radiated off of one another was enough to overpower it.

A/N: That gif of Robert Pattinson makes me go 🦋🦋🦋 AHHHHHH