An American at Hogwarts

A Magical Christmas

Christmas day came rather quickly. I spent most of my days with Marie exploring around the villa, which I suppose made the time pass quite quickly. Henry was asking all kinds of questions about my training whenever he got the chance. I could't exactly show him what I had been doing because of the restrictions on underage magic use, but it felt like he was quizzing me on virtually every aspect of practical self defense in an attempt to figure out where exactly I was. He even said that he would try to use his Ministry connections to get to Hogwarts on a weekend to train with me properly. On Christmas morning I woke to a very excited Marie shaking me.

"Y/N! Y/N! Get up! It's Christmas!"

I groggily stood up, still half asleep but excited for what was to come. We rushed down to find Marie's parents already sitting next to their tree on a couch, with four cups of hot chocolate on a nearby table. Jessica smiled warmly at me as she offered me one, which I happily took.

"Happy Christmas Y/N! I hope Marie didn't wake you up too early, you look rather tired."

I shook my head. "Nah, I'm just still exhausted from that hike yesterday. My legs are killing me, we went further than we ever have before."

Henry motioned towards the tree. "Well if you're anything like I was at your age you are practically screaming in your head about wanting to open your presents, so go ahead! Your parents and friends sent theirs over last night, so I think they're all here now."

I nodded with excitement and ran over to the tree, followed closely by Marie. I opened my present from my parents first, which was a set of books on famous duels in history. Marie's parents had gotten me a rather expensive looking pair of gloves, which I thanked them profusely for. Her father said they were "dueling gloves", which I didn't quite understand. They had a grippy bit on the palms and fingers that made it easier to hold my wand tightly, I suppose, but that was really it. They were very nice gloves though, so I didn't exactly care about the dueling aspect. Harry and Ron had gotten me, you guessed it, yet more candy. They weren't all that creative with their presents, but I didn't mind it very much. More candy is always a good thing in my book. Harry had even somehow managed to get his hands on some muggle candy I had mentioned liking, which I made a mental note to ask him about. Hermione got me a book on muggle history, something I had told her  I'd bee missing reading about. That made much more sense than Harry's gift in terms of how she acquired it, since her parents were muggles. Finally, it came time for me and Marie to exchange gifts. She insisted that I open mine first, which I reluctantly agreed to. My eyes went wide as I opened the large box. It was a broomstick. And not just any broomstick, but a Nimbus 2001.

"This isn't even out yet Marie! How'd you get it?"

Marie opened her mouth but her mother interrupted her.

"One of my friends works at the company, she let us buy one a bit early!"

Marie nodded happily.

"You're the best friend ever Marie! You do know I can't bring it back to Hogwarts, though, right? Harry is an exception to that rule, remember?"

"Yeah, but you can ride it for the next few days and then bring it next year! My parents can have it sent over to yours so it'll be there by the time you get home for the summer!"

"Well that sounds good to me! Your turn, now!"

I handed her the box nervously. I was a bit worried she may not like my present. She opened it quickly and gasped as she pulled it out. I had gotten her a custom made wand handle, from the same place that my mom had mine made at. It was made of a dark blue stone that seemed to sparkle like the night sky with little drops of gold littered throughout, and had silver caps on either end. She practically tackled me with a tight hug.

"I LOVE IT Y/N! I LOVE Y..." Her eyes went wide and she cleared her throat. "It's amazing, Y/N!"

I blushed slightly. "Well you said you liked mine so much, I pretty much decided then and there I had to get you one."

She pulled me back into another hug, her parents smiling warmly at me behind her. The rest of the day was just as amazing. Most of the morning we spent inside, eating a very delicious breakfast and sharing stories about our families. Later on, I decided that I would teach Marie how to ice skate on a frozen lake nearby since she had had a bit of trouble back at Hogwarts, and while it didn't go amazingly, she was noticeably better by the end of the afternoon. My legs didn't particularly appreciate yet another workout, though, and were very noticeably complaining near the end as the sun began to set. We went inside and had a dinner that was similar in amazingness to our breakfast, and decided to head out towards the cliff to watch the stars as the night came to an end. Me and her had been sitting on the edge, our legs dangling off, for quite a while, chatting softly while we watched the sky, when I turned and looked into her eyes. I couldn't deny it anymore. I liked this girl. She was just incredible in every way, not to mention absolutely beautiful, especially now, her face illuminated by the full moon. I closed my eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. If there was ever a moment for me to say something, it was now.

"Marie?"

She smiled at me. "Yeah?"

"I'm going to tell you something important. I don't quite know how to say it, so I'm sorry if it's a bit rough."

She frowned slightly, seeming a bit concerned.

"I... I think I like you Marie. Like, like you like you. I'm sorry if you don't feel the same way or whatnot, I just can't keep it in anymore. If you don't feel like that it's ok, I... I just had to say something."

Her frown quickly faded into an expression I couldn't quite place. I was a bit nervous that I had upset her for a moment, but that quickly faded when she pulled me into a hug. The hug felt different from the others though. Warmer, somehow. She also did something new.

She kissed me.

It was short, probably not even more than a second, but it felt like an eternity. My head was spinning in joy and relief as she pulled away, smiling brighter than I had ever seen her smile before.

"That... that I wasn't expecting. You surprised me a bit, Y/N."

I smiled back. "From your reaction I take it that it was a good surprise?"

She laughed slightly. A beautiful, joyous laugh that I could certainly get used to. "Very much so. I've felt the same way for a while, if you'd waited much longer I probably would have done the same thing."

"So are we like, a thing now? Sorry, this is all new to me."

"Of course dummy! I just bloody kissed you, what do you think?"

She suddenly looked around, scanning for something.

"Thank Merlin, my parents aren't outside."

I frowned. "Would... would they not approve? I thought they liked me?"

She chuckled. "Oh they'll approve, don't you worry about that. They'd just tease me to no end about that kiss. It was rather awkward."

I frowned jokingly. "Hey, I thought it was pretty good!"

She smiled and hugged me again. "It's a first kiss, Y/N. They're always awkward."

We sat there for a while longer, chatting as normal. It felt different, though. For one, she was cuddled up closely to me, both out of affection and a desire to stay warm. Secondly, it just felt somehow, well, more. I was with someone that was more than a friend now. Someone even more special. Eventually, we decided to head inside. Marie's parents had seemingly already gone to sleep, so we quietly went off to our rooms, parting with a quick hug and a kiss that seemed slightly less awkward. As I lay down to sleep, I couldn't shake the smile on my face. Today had been a good day.