Merry Christmas!

Fiona Ellington sat restlessly in her seat at the High Table, awaiting the beginning of yet another holiday feast. She hoped it wouldn’t be like the last one; the Halloween Feast quite literally went off with a bang thanks to Kolby Parry and his dyed smoke. Nothing of particular interest (that she knew of) had happened in the month of December, quite unusually, so she expected some sort of mischief tonight.

“Dear me, I’ve forgotten to change the banners,” she muttered with an eye roll.

She whipped out her wand, and with a flick of it the banners changed to a checkered pattern of all the house colors. Being Christmas, what with half the student body gone and all, house unity was greatly encouraged. There were but two long tables in the center of the hall now, the other two replaced by numerous evergreens decorated with countless sparkling stars. Ellington smirked to herself, remembering how many muggles believed evergreens kept away witches, ghosts, and the like.

“Finally,” she sighed, noticing that the hall was as full as it was going to get. She walked to the podium and amplified her voice. “Happy Christmas, everyone. The dance will be held after the feast is over. Eat, be merry, you know the drill!”

The students cheered as the tables were soon covered with more food than they could all possibly eat, and Ellington hurried to her chair and dug in.

Arya headed eagerly down the stairs to the Great Hall, excited as ever for the Christmas Feast. Although she had been a bit hurt at first when she received the letter from her parents asking her to stay, she understood why they did it. They wanted her to have a real Christmas experience ("fit for kings" as her father would say), rather than a bit of food from the church.

"Over here, Arry," she heard upon entering the hall.

She looked to the table on the left and saw Gavin waving her over. Asher and Finnius sat across from him. Arya took the empty spot next to him and smiled cheerfully. She had always loved Christmas. Nerves would set in eventually, however, when the dance began. A few minutes later, Ellington had finished her "speech" and the lads continued their conversation.

"So, the snowman actually moved?" Finn asked Gavin.

"Not only did it move," he answered with a grin, "It sang and threw snowballs at people."

Arry joined in the laughter while she filled a goblet with spiced pumpkin juice.  Once again, she was in awe. Everything was pure gold, and she was certain this time that she had never seen so much food in her life. Platters of potatoes, goose, vegetables of every kind soaked in butter, fresh baked bread hot from the ovens; there was even roasted swan, which she was especially excited to try, but found it was a bit too rich for her taste.

"Shall we have a snowball fight later?" she asked, digging through the mountain of roasted garlicky potatoes.

"Wouldn't be a proper Christmas if we didn't," Finn responded seriously through a mouthful of bread.

Arya looked to the others for their responses, looking forward to slamming snow at someone.

Adelaine read the parchment one last time before she crumpled it up and threw it in the fire in the Ravenclaw common room. It was a cold inquiry from her parents, an "invitation" to come home for the holidays. No wishes for a happy Christmas should she choose to stay, no "we miss you"; just a short, to-the-point question. She hadn't even bothered to respond.

"You comin', Adie?" Seamus asked, waiting by the door.

"Shouldn't we wait for Marigold? I think she's still getting ready," she said, shivering slightly.

"Nah, she knows 'er way 'round by now, don' ya tink? Plus, Gavin an' ta lads are already down."

With a sigh, she agreed and followed him out the door and to the Great Hall. The place was beautiful. The bewitched ceiling showed the snow falling lightly outside from a clear, blue sky. Thousands of candles floated around, and the evergreen trees literally sparkled. Seamus took a seat on the other side of Gavin, and Adele sat next to Arya (causing a curious look from Seamus). After Ellington's "speech", she fell into a conversation with Asher, which was odd since they hardly ever spoke.

"How's your throat?" she asked anxiously, noticing the faint bruises around his neck.

"Ah, it's a lot better," he said, touching the marks. "Bloody kappa was stronger than he looked."

"Lucky Marigold has a habit of carrying cucumbers around, eh?" Gavin chimed in, getting huge laughs from everyone involved in the cave incident. Arya and Finnius were befuddled, however.

Arya listened vaguely as her friends joked about what sounded like the greatest adventure of all time, that she wasn’t a part of. Why did all the good times happen without her? She decided that the start of the new year would be the start of a new Arya. She was going to sneak out of school, explore the unknown, and get away with it. Perhaps this alliance with Kolby will come in handy, she thought with an inner grin.

“Are you girls nervous about the dance?” she asked, once the boys were in the midst of their own conversation. “I’ve never danced before in my life.”

That wasn’t completely true, however. She and her father went to all the village dances when she was little; but surely the dance of commoners was far from the dance of noble witches and wizards. What Arry was really nervous about, though, was her garb. Seeing Adele's dress, and even Marigold’s, she was increasingly aware of her inferior ensemble. The purple and silver colors were rich and vibrant, but the stitching was plain, and there was no embroidery. And unlike the other girls’ extravagant hairstyles, she opted for a simpler one: hair down in the back, with two long braids in the front.

“Do you suppose anyone will ask us? What if we’re left sitting against the wall?”

Interpretation: What if I’m left sitting against the wall?

Adelaine adjusted the black diamond pin on her gown for the fifth time. Her dress was gorgeous; all black and gold, the colors of House Beaumont, with intricate designs and wisps of gold silk ribbon tied to each sleeve. Her hair, too, was exquisitely done; an organized mess of braids and curls with tiny freshwater pearls weaved through it. Her skill at dancing was, of course, high-standard being the lady that she was. Despite all of these things, Adelaine was as nervous as Arya seemed to be. What if no one asked her to dance?

“Don’t worry, Arry,” she assured her friend, putting on a brave face. “Certainly several boys will ask us all to dance. It will be splendid!”

That didn’t seem to work the magic on Arya that she’d hoped it would, because the Gryffindor still looked tense as ever. Adelaine scanned the room to size up everyone’s gowns. As she expected, the highborn students wore extravagant, almost over-the-top dresses, while commoners tried their best. Arya’s dress was quite lovely really, though plain. The silver brought out the color of her eyes. Marigold’s dress was also really nice. The material looked fit for a lady. Adelaine assumed maybe it was from one of the people Marigold's mother worked for, but it would be rude to ask.

“Have either of you seen Deirdre?” she wondered, peering down the table. “She’s later than usual.”

While observing the students at the other table, Adele’s eyes met Symon’s for half a second. How long had he been looking at her? She blushed furiously and looked down, not wanting anyone to notice.

Deirdre ran into the Great Hall with Mira beside her. They were late but thankfully not too late. She called out to the others as they got close. "Oi, everyone! I 'ave great news te tell ye!"

She grinned as she took a seat beside Peyton, making sure not to snag her skirts or sleeves on the bench. "Ellington and Renoir destroyed the horcruxes and Lady Deirdre is goin' te live out her last days by ta sea."

She could tell the others were relieved, except for those not involved who were very confused. "Well that's good news. Now she can eventually rest in peace." Gavin said. Deirdre nodded and busied herself with filling her plate.

She noticed the gowns her friends were wearing. They were all quite beautiful to say the least. She loved the variety of colors on them all. "You look lovely, Deirdre." She looked up to see Peyton smiling rather shyly at her. She returned the smile. "Thank ye, Peyton."

Deirdre looked down at her plate, still smiling. "You look beautiful, too, Mira." She heard him compliment her housemate and her smile drooped slightly.

Mira followed Deirdre into the elegantly decorated Great Hall, nearly jumping with joy. She would finally get to experience Christmas the way the nobles did. As it was just she and her father at home, they usually spent the day playing in the snow before heading to the church for a small meal.

The oddest thing had happened on their way here; Renoir caught them rushing through the halls and pulled Deirdre aside. Mira wasn't certain what they spoke about, but it was obviously of great importance. It became clear upon sitting at the table that Deirdre and several others had some sort of adventure recently.

"Deirdre?" she asked, befuddled. "Are you speaking of yourself? ...Well certainly not, since you aren't living the rest of your days by the sea. Or are you?"

The boys mumbled about it for a moment, then it seemed that they wanted the discussion to be closed. Mira blushed when Peyton complimented her (her dress was exquisitely made by her father, and she'd borrowed some accessories from Deirdre) and thanked him with a smile. It almost made her sad that he was sitting diagonally from her; she had plopped down next to Seamus on the far end of the table.

"Seamus, hadn't you planned on going home for the holiday?"

“Aye, but I didn’t wan’ te miss all this,” he replied earnestly.

“To be sure, he really didn’t want to miss the dance,” Gavin laughed.

Renard walked into the Great Hall a little nervously, hair combed respectably, and in his nice clothes. He wasn't dressed as nicely as the nobles, but he was dressed far nicer than the peasants. He had on a doublett jacket black with a gold vest underneath and a white shirt below that. His breeches a cream color and shoes a shiny black.

Renard shuffled his feet in the middle of the hallway, wondering whether or not to sit down with the group at the table, and deciding to sit alone, again, but this time fairly close. Maybe he'd be able to talk to one of them tonight, and dance with one of the girls.

He'd seen them around in the halls, always together, and while he'd rather wanted to talk to them, hadn't known how. It was hard to break into any social group when you stood firmly in the middle of the rich and the poor classes. He'd been sorted into Gryffindor, and that meant he was brave, but sometimes he felt like a rabbit. I hope someone talks to me, he thought. And I hope I don't make a fool of myself

Renard listened as the Headmistress spoke, and then began filling his plate. He was never one to turn down food, no matter how nervous and slightly depressed he might become, he couldn't say no to a good meal.

Arya listened to Deirdre tell of another Deirdre and again felt a pang of jealousy at the thought of her friends having adventures without her. Was she just always in the wrong place at the wrong time?

"Who is Deirdre??" she demanded.

She glared around at all of them, waiting for an answer, but her gaze lingered on a student a few seats away from them. He was a fellow Gryffindor, a boy named Renard. She'd seen him in the common room, and a couple classes, but they'd never spoken. Arry could tell he was listening to everything they were saying, and it was obvious he wanted to join them.

"Renard, why don't you sit with us?"

Asher glanced toward him and recognized him as well.

"Yeah, join us, mate," he chimed in with a smile.

Rose rushed into the Great Hall, frantically looking for a familiar face in the crowd. She had missed Ellington's usual feast speech, because she had taken extra care in getting ready for the dance. After gazing around the Great Hall, she finally spotted Mira. Rose sped along past the seats towards Mira with a smile on her face.

"Hi Mira!"Rose greeted her friend. "Do you mind if I sit here?"

"Sure, go right ahead!" Finnius replied happily.

He was sitting across from Seamus and Mira, so she plopped down next to him. The boys were talking about Quidditch, but as she didn't know much about the subject, she turned to Mira to start some conversation.

"So, are you excited about the dance? Do you think that anyone will ask you to dance? Who do you think it will be? "

Renard looked up and around when someone addressed him-he was pretty sure her name was Ayra-and smiled a little when she invited him to sit with them. "Oh, alright. Thank you" He told her earnestly, and picked up his plate and drink and moved to where the others were.

Renard nodded to Asher as well, thankful that at least two people were okay with him joining the group of friends. Renard looked at the girls and then at Ayra again. "You look very pretty. Did you make that cloth, or your family? It's woven fairly fine" The wonders of having a cloth merchant for a father.

He waved a little at the people who came in late and complimented the late girl's dress, who seemed rather pleased. "My name is Renard Greywood, I'm...Gryffindor" He introduced himself to the people he didn't know, a little self-concious. "It's a pleasure to meet you all. Thanks, Arya, Asher, for inviting me over" He smiled widely at them.

((Changed the dress))


When Deirdre told them the news of the other Deirdre, Adele didn’t know what to think. She felt a mixture of emotions hit her, and it was all very confusing. On the one hand, it was wonderful for Deirdre that she would finally have peace; on the other, however, Adelaine realized this meant Deirdre would die. Not soon, as she was technically around 20 years old, but still…

“Perhaps she can sort of…” Adele trailed off as she thought. “Sort of start a new life.”

“Sure she will, she’s got plenty o’ time left,” Seamus assured her, leaning over to see her past Gavin and Arya. “An’ ta sea’s a gran’ place te be.”

Arya seemed to be grimacing next to her, and Adelaine knew it was because this was yet another adventure they’d had without her. She made a mental note to contact her friend before the next one was had, if it was at all possible. Adventures usually don’t leave much time for preparation.

“Marigold, you look quite exhausted lately," she remarked curiously.

((OOC: So I need to write this down, so I can keep track of where we're all sitting. Correct me if I'm wrong. I'm assuming this is the layout))




Asher had scooted aside to give their fellow Gryffindor a place to sit. Arya regarded Renard awkwardly as he complimented her gown. What was he playing at? Maybe nothing at all, perhaps she just wasn’t used to people saying nice things about her..

“You’re quite fond of fabric, huh?” she asked cautiously, not certain whether he was serious.

“Perhaps he’s from a family of weavers like Mira,” Gavin suggested, gesturing toward their Hufflepuff friend. “Where are you from, Renard?”

Arry fidgeted in her seat for a moment, suddenly feeling slightly off. What was wrong with her tonight? She was put out with her friends for doing things without her, and now she couldn’t even have a pleasant conversation with the lads. All she really felt like doing was heading back to the common room and falling asleep in front of the fire. Yet the feast was nowhere near through, and they still had the dance.

“Bloody hell,” she muttered, unaware that it was out loud.

“What was that?” Finnius asked earnestly, turning away from his conversation with Seamus.

“Oh, er, nothing,” Arya said quickly, flushing a bit. “So, Renard, tell us about yourself!”

Mira tugged lightly at the gold ribbon entwined in her hair and took a sip of honeyed wine. Seamus grinned at the coughs that followed; it must have been obvious that she had never tried wine before. Her father never had the coin for it.

“Ye a’right, Mira?” the Irishman laughed, gulping down his own ale.

“Certainly, it just went down the wrong way, is all,” she assured him with a playful eye roll.

The Hufflepuff had been two seconds away from spooning more potatoes onto her plate when she saw another familiar face heading toward the table. Rose was quite late to the feast, but Mira really had no room to talk; after all, she and Deirdre had only arrived about ten minutes ago.

“I hope you like wine, Rose,” she joked as her friend sat across from her.

One of the reasons she and Rose Zermanion got on so well was that they were so very alike. Both Hufflepuff, both overly friendly, both loyal and kind; and, most of all, they both liked to talk. A lot. Seamus and Finn seemed in a daze when Rose spouted out so many questions within seconds of sitting down, but it didn’t faze Mira in the least.

“I’m so excited, I simply love to dance,” Mira began, talking just as quickly and eagerly. “I’d dance with anyone, really, I’ve got no one in mind, but surely one of these fine fellows will ask. Right, you two?”

She looked pointedly to Seamus and Finnius, and the two lads immediately flushed and started speaking gibberish, getting tongue-tied and flustered. Mira grinned at Rose.

Adelaine stared blankly between Marigold and Peyton, growing more curious with each passing second. It was obvious her friend was hiding something, Marigold was not the greatest at deception. What could it be? She almost didn’t want to know; the past month had been nothing but secrets and Adele wasn’t sure she could handle another one. She was tired, and some peace and relaxation would be welcome for once.

“Would you pass the butterbeer, Peyton?” she asked politely.

Peyton very cautiously handed her the jug and then went back to his meal. As smart as he was, her third year friend simply couldn’t comprehend the female species. Most likely, he was afraid she would suddenly snap at him too. Adele began to tell him a joke, when Marigold turned to her. She blanched.

“A book? What book? I don’t know, I’m not reading any books, I don’t know,” she said quickly, and probably suspiciously.

Was Marigold hinting at something? The little black book, perhaps? That moment in the cave had been mortifying, when it seemed everyone was going to turn on her. To her great relief, no one had mentioned it since then; she’d hoped they had forgotten about it.

“I really haven’t had time for books lately, what with the, uh….Could you pass the potatoes?”

Arya stared at her plate while Gavin and Finn went on about the other day’s Quidditch practice; it was a subject that would normally capture her fancy, she would be all ears. Really, what was going on today? She couldn’t focus on anything, she almost felt possessed. Perhaps one of the castle ghosts had taken over..if that was even possible?

“Arya,” Gavin was saying, nudging her, but she hardly heard. “Are you alright, Arya?”

“Maybe she’s had a bit too much to drink,” Finnius joked.

“No, she’s only had pumpkin juice,” Asher muttered, having turned away from his conversation with Marigold and Peyton.

“Arya, you in there?” Gavin was waving a hand in front of her face.

“Maybe she ate some bad potatoes,” Finnius suggested, more concerned now.

“Why potatoes?” Asher asked, raising an eyebrow. He had a plateful of them himself.

“First thing that came to mind, mate,” Finn shrugged.

“Arry, seriously,” Gavin said, staring earnestly into her face.

But Arya was in a daze. She heard everything they were saying, but it was like they were very far away. What was wrong with her? She simply couldn’t snap out of it.

Deirdre sat quietly, eating some of the bread on the platter in front of her. Everyone seemed to be on edge over something. Marigold snapped at the boys and she thought that was curious enough until Adele seemed a bit jumpy when the other girl asked her if she was reading any books.

She took a sip of the wine in her glass, thinking of the dance that they would have after the feast. She hoped it would be Peyton who would ask her to dance, but who knew if anyone would, really?

When she heard the boys' concerned voices, she moved to look past Adele and see what was wrong. "Arya? Are ye alrigh'? Do ye need te see ta nurse?"

((Sorry I haven't been posting.))

((there was an emergency in the family, will post more from now on))

Renard opened his mouth to speak, but thankfully was interrupted by a very pretty girl rushing in and sitting down with them. He gave her a small wave and laughed a little. "Well, if they aren't, I'd gladly dance with you first, if you don't mind. I'm Renard" He glanced over at Ayra and smiled widely. "I also want to dance with you, if you want. I think it'd be fun, and I owe you for inviting me over anyway"

Renard watched the mini drama, feeling quite lost, and it was only when Gavin asked him if he was a weaver again did he start talking again. "Oh, no. My father is a merchant. He used to take me on business trips and show me different qualities and how to tell at a glance if fabric was good or not. Commenting on it is just a habit" He flushed slightly in embarrassment at it. He too frowned at Ayra, a bit concerned for her and tilted his head. "Maybe it's the pumpkin juice, it tasted a little off to me. Do you need to go to the hospital wing?"

Mira and Seamus had just been discussing their plans for Quidditch practice (the top secret practice he and Peyton would hold to teach Mira the game) when their attentions were drawn elsewhere. Everyone was fawning over Arya, waving hands in front of her face, peering into her eyes. What could possibly be wrong?

"Possessed?!" she half-shouted.

"Shhh!" Finn shot her a sharp glance and nodded toward the High Table.

Mira gulped and blushed a deep red, a little embarrassed that her housemate had scolded her. Well, it wasn't scolding, but still..

"So, what should we do?"

Adelaine looked like she was thinking rather hard, so Mira subconsciously directed the question to her.

Adelaine was beside herself with worry. She'd been sitting next to Arya the whole night, how could she not have seen the possession? Or was it visible? It couldn't have been. But surely she would have felt a chill or something, the ghosts of Hogwarts were notoriously cold.

"Arya, if you can hear me, blink," she said firmly, turning her friend's face toward her.

It looked for a moment like Arya wanted to blink. Her eyes squinted slightly, but then went back to that blank stare.

"Mariold's right, she's possessed. I've read up on possession a couple times, but I don't remember much," Adele sighed.

"Surely there's something we can do," Gavin muttered; the usually confident noble looked pale as Arya, almost sick with worry.

"First thing's first, we need to find out who's possessing her," Peyton stated knowledgeably, to everyone's surprise. He was usually so shy. "Finn, you know nearly all the school ghosts."

They all turned to the Hufflepuff lad and waited. Who could it be?