Cigarette Daydreams- ꜱɪʀɪᴜꜱ ʙʟᴀᴄᴋꜱ ᴅᴀᴜɢʜᴛᴇʀ

13.

In Aurora's opinion, the end of term couldn't have come sooner. November was whisked away in a violent gust of wind, and the final month of the year had arrived quicker than anybody could comprehend.

It seemed that the Hogwarts Professors were not holding back in this years decorations; Hagrid had outdone himself in decorating the traditional twelve christmas trees in the Great hall, Flitwick had charmed fairies to light up his classroom, and even Professor McGonagall was sporting her tartan robes a week early. Snape, ever the merry elf, was slouching around like an overgrown dungeon bat - he had become particularly moody, and was now giving out detentions for merely acting like you were enjoying yourself. The dungeon remained the coldest place in the castle; and many students had taken to wearing thick Winter coats and mittens for their potions classes. The Slytherins, of course, were slightly more used to the cold - but even Malfoy and his gang of buffoons had exchanged their expensive robes for slightly cheaper Winter ones.

Aurora, however, was having a fairly easy time of it. The chill didn't affect her - she wasn't as vulnerable to the winter chill as the other students because of her higher blood temperature. Although she hated to admit it, being a werewolf did have it's perks. 

The house elves also seemed to be in an unusually jolly mood - they weren't fussy about the amount of food they were cooking up for each meal, and it seemed that neither were the students. Great platters of roast meat and rich gravy were practically inhaled within minutes, and grand, steaming bowls of soup were served with every meal. The Hufflepuff corridor almost permanently smelt of cinnamon and peppermint; and every time Aurora went to visit Tinky there was nothing short of two hundred stacks of freshly baked ginger-bread figures placed conveniently by the door.

All in all, by the time the final Hogsmeade trip of the year rolled around, spirits were high and the atmosphere was excitable. Aurora wrapped herself up in her second hand scarf and gloves; she was wearing her usual attire - baggy jeans (with thick tights underneath to keep out the cold), her Doc. Martens, a cosy and overly comfortable brown jumper and leather jacket. She left her hair down, the ends curling upwards to kiss her collarbones, and had applied her usual makeup. Her wand was tucked safely into her trouser pockets, and she had a small sack full of galleons she had saved to buy Minnie her Christmas present.

She skidded her way down to Tome's and Scrolls - the bookstore - and gently shook the snow off of her boots before entering. The shop was set up like a library; there were towering shelves of books lined up in neat little columns, divided up into sections based on genre. Naturally, she gravitated towards the back corner of the final row, where all the used muggle books were kept. Normally, she would buy Minnie a notebook or some caramels from Honeydukes, but she had had her eyes on the Deputy head's book shelf during her last detention, and had noticed that the Scottish Woman severely lacked muggle literature. 

The used books were, surprisingly, in a relatively good condition; they weren't ripped and scribbled on like they were back in London, but stacked neatly with their pages intact and the writing unsmudged. Ideally Aurora wanted something within budget - but then she spied a battered copy of Pride and Prejudice stuffed behind one of Shakespeare's plays. It was perfect for Minnie, the pages were worn but not misused, and the spine was cracked, but it felt soft and light - like it had been read. It was also three galleons. 

Aurora only had three galleons. 

Making up her mind, she tugged the novel from where it had been hidden - placing it on the counter, Aurora stood and waited for someone to come and take her money. She played with the coins in her pocket, the soft metallic clanging calming her - reluctantly, as if the paperback she had left on the counter would disappear, Aurora allowed for her mind to wander.