LUNAR (A Harry Potter Universe Fanfiction)

Nineteen. Hogsmeade.

Once she was sufficiently bundled in her winter cloak, a navy hat and gloves and a wooly gray scarf, Caiti — sweating a bit under all her layers — headed out of Ravenclaw tower, through the torchlit corridors and past many wreaths and baubles and festively dressed suits of armor. She wound her way down the grand staircase and into the entrance hall, past the great hall, and out into the cold but partly sunny afternoon.

She was glad to be seeing Evelyn again. She hadn't heard all that much from her lately and she had a number of things on her mind she wanted to discuss with her.

But she was also sad that Marlowe couldn't come. It was only two weeks until she would be home for the holidays but that felt like a long time still. She had been really hoping that this time, this close to the holidays he wouldn't have any commitments. It was his off season anyway.

Trekking through last night's snowfall, now beaten down by the number of students that had already headed out, Caiti bowed her head against the wind. It was peculiarly cold that day. Her nose burned and tears leaked out the corners of her eyes, but when the sun peeked out from behind a cloud, it gave her cheeks a little lukewarm relief.

She caught up with Amelia, Miriam, Sophie, and Lila about a minute's walk from the gate. They were arguing about what Amelia might get Bill for Christmas — a matter which had been discussed at length almost every night for the past week and still had not been resolved.

Caiti had so far resisted being dragged into the conversation but Amelia caught sight of her now and hooked her arm through Caiti's, her eyes wide. "You know Bill," she said. "You always talk to him in class. What do you think he would like?"

"If it were me, I'd just get him something from Honeydukes," said Caiti. She took her arm back on the pretext of pushing her hair out of her face where the wind had blown it across.

"That's so basic though. It needs to be something special," said Miriam. She wore a green velvet scrunchie with a bit of holly on it around her curly hair. Caiti had seen this particular accessory advertised in a copy of Teen Witch that she had left laying out on the bed a few weeks back. It had been marketed as carrying around your own personal mistletoe, a.k.a. a constant excuse "for that special someone to kiss you all season long!"

Caiti couldn't judge her too much because she and Marlowe had first kissed under the mistletoe at the Yule Ball last year. Still, it was a little tacky.

"I just think if you don't really know what else he would like, then sweets are always a safe bet. He really likes cauldron cakes I'm pretty sure. And sugar quills. He has those in class sometimes."

Amelia took all this in like she needed to memorize it for NEWTs. They paused to sign their names off the sign out sheet that Professor Poke was holding and then passed through the gate.

"What are you getting Marlowe, though? Do you get him just candy for Christmas?"

"Well no," said Caiti. "But he's been my best friend for years. I know what-" but then she stopped because she had just looked up, and Marlowe was standing there in a heavy green coat, his hands buried in his pockets. She almost could have missed that it was him, could have thought that because Amelia had just said his name she had imagined it, but there he was. He had a particularly mischievous smile on his face, that one dimple more pronounced than ever.

Caiti stared with wide eyes while the surprise sunk in.

"Well," he said. "You gonna get over here, or what?" He pulled his hands out of his pockets and held his arms open for her.

"You are such a liar!" said Caiti, a grin spreading across her face. Ignoring the high probability of falling on the icy ground, she ran towards him and threw her arms around his neck. Marlowe lifted her right off the ground and she wrapped her legs around his waist.