It's been a few months and Christmas eve was just around the corner. Kids we're packing up their luggage and getting ready to head home for the holidays. Once he was done he was done packing he headed to the female side of the dorms to look for Merula. He came up to a group of girls who were chatting while sitting on their luggage

"Uhm excuse me." (Y/N) said grabbing their attention

"Yeah?" One of the girls responded

"Have you seen Merula, messy hair, purple eyes, really rude but nice when she gets to know you." He describes her

"Oh yeah we know who." The second girl admits

"Yeah you had us at messy hair. But yeah she left not that long ago." The girl responded

"How do you get along with her. I mean she's thinks she's so much better than everyone else all because she took down a stupid troll." The third girl said

"I know, a Hufflepuff could do that. She's not that special." The second girl said

"I'd appreciate it if you didn't talk about my friend in such a bad manner right in front of me." (Y/N) says calmly

"Why do you care what people say about her?"

"Yeah it's not like she has any friends!"

"The strongest witch, more like the loneliest witch!"

"What a loser!"

The girls laugh at Merula as (Y/N) just watched. He already had his answer of where she was so he left the girls so themselves. Although he decided to put a small charm on the girls, nothing that'll harm them of course

"Cantis!" He whispers

The girls started singing loudly, every word the spoke they sang it. Everyone in the dormitory were looking at the three of them as if they were crazy. They tried asking for someone to help them but they would always sing causing anyone who heard them to start laughing at them. All the while (Y/N) had a mischievous smile on his face, nothing out of the usual for a Slytherin

Walking through the halls of the school seemed different than usual. The halls were nearly empty only a few students talking and saying their goodbyes. So when someone bumped into him it completely caught him by surprise. The sound of luggage dropping to the floor were particularly loud in the halls, echoing all the way down. Looking up at the person he bumped into he sees a Griffindor girl-the one who got cornered by a troll in the bathroom-to be precise. He didn't really catch her name or has tried talking to her ever since but he has seen her around Harry a lot

"Sorry about that, didn't see you." He says as he helps picking up her luggage

"Never thought a Slytherin would apologize to anyone, based on how all the ones I've seen don't think about anyone except for themselves." She replies

"Yeah well my mom always said I acted more like a Hufflepuff but I always have the tendencies of a Slytherin. I'm just good at not letting it get the best of me." (Y/N) says

"You don't say. Hermione Granger." She says putting her hand out

"(Y/N) Goodwill, pleasure." He says taking her hand

"I don't see your friend around, you two are usually next to each other." She comments

"I was actually on my way to say bye, going home for the holidays, I should probably apologize for her actions. Throwing you under the bus like that." He says

"I'll admit it was smart but arguing would've most likely made it worse. But I did owe her for taking down the troll, she's strong for a first year." She admits

"I'm guessing you're going home too?" He wonders

"Yes, it's quite obvious." She says rather obnoxiously, but didn't seem to notice

"Right. Well I'll see you around, wouldn't want to miss the train, right? Plus I still need to finish packing before I leave." He says

"Yes I suppose you are correct. Maybe we can talk again, you seem nicer than most of the Slytherin I've had the displeasure of talking to. No offense!" She reassures

"None taken. Well I still need to go say my goodbyes, it was nice talking to you. Maybe we can talk again once the break ends." He says as he walks away

As he walks down the hall he fails to notice the small smile that crept it's way onto Hermiones face. She seems to have possibly made a new friend

Walking through the halls of the school (Y/N) seemed to have gotten himself turned around and lost. The castle was ginormous and seeing as he was still in his first semester, and hasn't explored a good majority of the castle yet, getting lost was only a matter of time. After a couple minutes of walking through the halls he decides to head back and finish packing. And as he turns back to a hall, one he already checked, and sees Merula coming out of the room

"Huh?! Where did you come from? I checked this hallway already." He says a bit confused

"I told you how the room works, I'm not explaining it to you again!" She says annoyingly

"It's fine. I was just looking for you anyway." He says

"What for?" She asks, not as annoyingly

"I wanted to say bye. I'm heading home for the break." He informs her

"Oh." She says with a hint of disappointment. "Well bye then. I'll see you when you get back." She says while attempting to leave

As she walks away (Y/N) runs up and grabs her shoulder

"Are you okay? Did I say someone wrong?" He asks concerned, thinking he said some to offend his only friend

"It's nothing, just enjoy your break!" She says loudly, but not loud enough to be considered a shout

She once again furiously walks away from the panicking boy.

"You wanna come with." He shouts to her quickly

She stops in her tracks, just as she was about to turn the corner, and turns to face him. She had an unsure look on her face, she wasn't expecting such an offer that it took her by genuine surprise. After a minute of unbearable silence she smiled, although it seemed unnatural

"You'd be lucky to have such an astounding guest in your house. The strongest witch coming over to your home, fine, think of it as your Christmas gift." She says with her childish perstine attitude. "Let me go pack my things." She says quickly turning away

"Cool, I'll see you at the train then?" He asks

"Yeah, see you there." She confirms

She walks ahead of the relieved boy, him staying behind to calm himself down, and makes her way back to her dorm. When she arrives at the female dorm she walks past a trio of girls singing everything they say. She couldn't help but smile at the sight, she really didn't like those pompous girls

As quickly as she arrived to her dorm she had packed just as quickly. She made her way past the trio, who were still singing, and quickly moved to the train station. Before getting to the train she had to calm herself down, because she wasn't going to spend her Christmas alone, and keep her ideal social status. When she arrives she sees (Y/N) standing at the station staring at the clock tick

"You seem fascinated by that clock." She says with a snarky attitude, although a bit more upbeat

"Just killing time." He responded "We should get in the train already, it's about to take off. Plus we should hurry and get a compartment before they're all taken." He suggests

They thankfully found a compartment before they were all taken so the ride home was more than bearable. When they arrived the station was crowded with families waiting to pick up their kids. Amongst the crowd stood Natasha, (Y/N) mum, looking for her son in the crowd of kids. Then she spotted him coming out of the train and immediately goes to embrace him in a mumma bear hug

"Ponyboy!!!" She yells as she embraces the kid in front of her. She smothers the child in front of her as they try to pry themselves off her. The muffled screams yelling at her to let go but she just ignored them. "I haven't seen you in a few months just let this happen!" She exclaims

"Uh hi mum." (Y/N) says

Natasha looks to her left and sees (Y/N), her son, standing right next to her. She then looks down at the child she was hugging and saw a messy hair girl with an orange patch. Merula was regretting coming with (Y/N) to his home

"Oh my goodness, I am so sorry!!" She yells embarrassed

"W-what is wrong with you! Do you go and hug every random child you see in public!?" Merula chastised

"I'm so sorry!" She exclaims

"Mum relax, please. You're making a scene." (Y/N) says. "This is my friend, I invited her over for the break." He explains

"I'm so sorry! Please let me make it up to you, I coul-" She tries saying but is cut off

"Mum Please calm down! Just be normal please." He reassures her

Merula looked at the woman with spite as she looked down in shame.

After a very awkward car ride home they finally made it home. Their house was surprisingly big, bigger than Merula expected. It was a two story house that was rather large than your normal house, like a small mansion, although a lack of Christian decorations is noticeable. Walking into the house Merula sees an amazing living room and wonders what exactly does (Y/N) mom do for a living?!?!?

"Your house is very...... big." She says trying to hide her awe

"Really? It's rather small compared to our vacation home." She says nonchalance

"She works for the Minister of Magic." (Y/N) says nonchalantly

Merula was shocked to say the least. She didn't expect his family to work for Minister of Magic. It's not something any wizard could do, she either had to be smart or a strong wizard. Maybe both.

"Let me show you to your room." Natasha says

She grabs her luggage and leads her up the stairs. As she walks up the stairs she can't help but notice the picture frames along the wall. It had (Y/N), Natasha, and another man. (Y/N) dad, she assumed.

As they make it to the top she leads her into a room at the furthest back wall. Walking into the room she sees a twin bed, a couple drawers, a mirror, and a walk in closet. She had to admit it was a nice room, especially for a guest room

"This is the guest room, thank God for magic am I right?! Otherwise this room would be dusty as hell." Natasha says a bit sleepy. Feel free to make to make yourself at home, and get some sleep soon. Wouldn't want Santa to catch you awake!" She says with a goofy smile as she creeps out the room.

"How old does she think I am?" Merula says to herself quietly. As she gets ready to go to bed she hears a knock at the door and goes to open it. And, as she expected, (Y/N) was on the other side

"Aren't you supposed to be asleep?" Merula chastised

"I am, in a bit, but I was just making sure you were okay before head to bed. Need any water, a midnight snack?" He asks politely

"No, I'm fine and I'd like to go to sleep now." She replies, a bit harshly

"O-oh okay. Don't hesitate to head to the kitchen if you get thirsty. It's down and past the stairs." He informs her, ignoring her harsh tone

After this little incident Merula tried getting some sleep but found herself tossing and turning. She's never slept over at someone else's house and, whether she'd like to admit or not, she was feeling home sick. She now sits in the guest room staring at the ceiling, counting the hours away

'I'm thirsty.' She thought to herself

She gets up from the bed and puts on some slippers, provided by Natasha. She walked down and past the stairs into the kitchen. Much to her surprise she found Natasha in the kitchen as well, although she noticed how horrible she looked. Next to her was a bottle of wine, half empty, and glass of wine in her hand.

She was drunk.

Her eyes were red, as if she was crying, and she looked drowsy, probably from the amount she's been drinking. Merula tried leaving but Natasha could already tell she was there and called her out.

"There's no point in acting like you're not there." She says not even turning around. "You couldn't sleep either?" She asks finally turning around.

"No, just thought I'd get a glass of water to help." She replied

"If you want I can hit you with a stupify." She says waving her wand while giggling. "Kidding, sorta." She assured placing her wand down

"I'm just gonna go back to be." She says trying to leave the awkward situation.

"Oh but your water! Here let me get it for you." She says as she quickly stumbles forward.

"No its okay I'll get it myself." Merula reassures. She runs ahead of her and grabs a glass and fills it up with tap water.

"Such a nice girl." Natasha says as she sits back down. "Why don't you have a seat, let's talk for a bit." She says as Merula sits down with her. She pours herself another drink while Merula awkwardly drinks her water.

'How can I get back into the room without being rude.' Merula thinks to herself. She looks around the room and spots a picture frame on the wall of (Y/N), Natasha, and what she could only assume was his dad.

"So where's (Y/N) dad, did the ministry not give him the vacation days?" She asks trying to break the ice but Natasha responds by laughing sadly

"If only that were the case." She exclaims sadly. "Samuel is dead." She says nonchalantly

"Oh!" To say she was shocked would be an understatement. 'How can she be so nonchalance?!' She thinks to herself. "Sorry to bring it up." She says apologetically

"Don't worry about it sweetheart, there's no way you could have know." She reassures while taking another sip. "And if he were here he would rather quit the Ministry than miss a day with his family. That's just who he was, he would do anything for us. Even if it gets him killed." She says while staring at her glass.

Merula tried saying something but found herself chocked up. She couldn't think of what to say, in front of her a vulnerable woman who's just talking without thinking.

"I miss him a lot, as any wife would. I went as far as trying to make a spell, hex, anything! Just to see him again." She says.

"But testing magic on the dead is against ministry rules!" Merula says a bit too loudly.

"You'd be surprised what heartbreak would make someone do. It can push you to do things that you wouldn't believe you were capable of." She says as her hands begin to shake. "I still feel the sensation, that tingling feeling in my heart. Once you feel it you know you'll want to spend the rest of your life with that person—." She stops suddenly. She looks at Merula and sees how uncomfortable she has gotten. She couldn't help but chuckle at the whole ordeal. "I forgot I was talking to a child. I can really ramble on for hours when talking about him." She finishes off as she finishes her wine, at the same time grabbing her wand. "Sorry about all that, you're too young to understand." She says as she points her wand at Merula

Next thing she knew she woke up in her bed. She looked around in a panic spotting nothing but a glass of water next to her

"What just happened?" She asks herself very confused

As she got lost in her thoughts a knock at the door brings her back to reality. She gets up and opens it and sees (Y/N) at the door, with a genuine smile on his face

"Merry Christmas, Merula!" He exclaims happily

"Merry Christmas." She replies not as expected

"Come downstairs there's presents waiting for us!" He shouts before running downstairs

'Us?!' She thinks to herself a little excited

With all that in mind she rushes downstairs past all the Christmas decorations that had appeared overnight. Once she made it into the living room she sees the tree along with some presents under it. And, from the kitchen, Natasha walked in with a tray of cookies and milk floating past her and onto the small table in the middle of the living room

"Good morning and Merry Christmas!!" Natasha says gleefully.

"Merry Christmas!" (Y/N) responded with an equal amount of happiness.

"M-merry Christmas." Merula responds a bit awkwardly. She wasn't used to this much.... interactions... with people like (Y/N) and his mom. It was nice but awkward.

"What are you waiting for? Open your gifts." Natasha tells them

(Y/N) quickly unwrapped his present with a big smile on his face. It was wierd to Merula. She wasn't used to (Y/N) actually acting like someone his age. She was used to his gloomy and self pity self, it wasn't a bad thing but it'll take a while to get used to.

He opens the box and inside the box was a cylinder. He unwrapping it and immediately wrapped it again. His red face immediately gave Merula the impression that it was something embarrassing.

"What is it?" Merula asked

"It's nothing!" He shouts as he puts it away, far from the rest of them

"Come on, it can't be that bad." She says as she reaches over to it only for (Y/N) to get in front of it.

"Nope!" He retorts

"Fine, keep your secrets." She says with a smile creeping onto her face.

"Why don't you just open your present?!" (Y/N) says, trying to get her attention away from his gift.

"I don't have a-" She stops as she sees a small gift floating towards her. It lands on her, shaking, hands with a face of disbelief. She slowly unwrapped her present and reveals a rather fancy looking box. She looks over at Natasha who just smiled at her

Opens the box, she reaches in and grabs something shaped like a ball. Pulling it out she slowly opened her palm to reveal a golden snitch.

"That was my husband's." Natasha says. "It think it'll be better in your hands than catching dust on a shelf." She says with soft smile on her face.

"I can't!" Merula tries declining. But Natasha just pulls her into a warm hug

"Don't worry about it, think of it as a thank you and an apology for last night." She whispers and releases her soon after

Merula looks over at (Y/N) and sees the forced smile on his face. He clearly didn't like his mom giving away his dad's stuff but he didn't mention it, just kept it inside.

"Please take care of it." Was all he said

She could only nod as she looked at him then back down at the snitch. She would be lying if she said she didn't like it but it already felt like she shouldn't have it. But at the same time she hasn't had a good Christmas in a long while. She clenched the snitch as she genuinely smiles.