Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Students ready to go home for a two-week break left the great hall, they had their trunks packed and most were all happily chatting away to their friends. Lina stood off to the side watching all this, students who knew her wished her a Merry Christmas before continuing on their way, she smiled at each of them and hugged the present she had gotten Draco closer to her chest.
Lina watched Hogwarts students leave but she wouldn't be joining them, only yesterday at breakfast she had received a letter from Remus saying she wouldn't be able to go home, all of her friends would be, as well as most of the people in Hufflepuff.
Her eyes darted around the hall looking for either her friends or Draco, then through the crowd, she saw Lucy, followed by Cedric and Danny, Lina frantically waved them over "thought you ran away for a second" Lucy said.
"Where would I go?" Lina asked.
"Knowing you anywhere" Cedric answered, Lina playfully rolled her eyes at him.
"And you sure you're going to be alright all by yourself?" Danny asked for what felt the millionth time since she had received the letter.
"I'll be fine, don't worry about me, just enjoy Christmas" she watched them all leave the castle and bundled into a carriage, she waved them off until Lina could no longer see the carriage that moved by itself.
"Not going home cousin?" Lina was caught off guard by the voice but nevertheless smiled at the sight of her younger cousin.
"No cousin, my uncle is ill and he doesn't want me to end up spending my Christmas break in bed ill as well" Lina lied.
"You'd be welcome at the manor, mother wouldn't mind."
"Thank you Draco but it's alright I don't mind spending Christmas here, it looks magical and Hogwarts is my other home so. But here" she held out the festively wrapped present to Draco "Merry Christmas, it's nothing big just a little something."
"I didn't get you anything," he said.
"It's alright you don't have to, go on take it."
"Thank you, Evangelina"
He too then left down the snowy path, with no one else to wait for Lina headed back to the empty common room, she grabbed her books she would need for her homework and went to the library. This is where she spent the rest of the day, with no surprise Snape had given her the most to do. By the time she had finished all but one essay (why is electricity important to muggles?) the library was being closed for the night, Lina packed her things up and said goodnight to Madam Pince.
The footsteps were the only sound that could be heard as she walked through the empty hallways, the silence that enclosed her like a bubble was broken very suddenly by the two redheads chatting away by the entrance to the common room. "What are you two doing here?" Lina asked, "I thought you were going home."
"Nah mum and dad have gone to see Charlie in Romania" Fred answered.
"But how did you know I was still here?" George patted his pocket in response, Lina knew he meant the map "alright but why are you down here?"
"You really think we're going to let you spend the Christmas break by yourself?" Fred said rhetorically.
"Go and get your stuff and change into these" George threw a set of Gryffindor robes he had borrowed from Angelina Johnson.
Lina's eyes darted between the twins, after three years she knew them as well as each other did "you two are going to sneak me into your common room aren't you?"
"Yep."
"Why not. Now turn around you two."
"Why?" George asked.
"As much as I love you two as friends, and I completely trust you I am not showing you how to get into my common room, it's a calm safe space and I'm sorry but no."
The boys over dramatically sighed but turned around, Lina checked they definitely weren't looking and tapped the correct barrels, she went up the passage past the small group of fifth years sitting by the roaring fire and into her dorm. Demeter was sleeping contently on her pillow, Lina smiled and began putting anything she may need into a bag she had spelt to be bigger in the inside. Once she had changed into the Gryffindor robes, she said goodbye to a still sleeping Demeter and left the common room. The boys were still facing the other way.
The three friends walked up the many, many stairs to the Gryffindor tower, by the time they arrived at the fat lady's portrait Lina was out of breath "ho, how do you d, do tha, that every day!?"
"You get used to it eventually" Fred shrugged.
"Stuff that."
"Eggnog."
Lina watched in bewilderment as the portrait swung upon revealing the common room, it was decorated in reds and golds, a fireplace that was also flickering with flames. Sitting in armchairs closest to the fire was Ron and Harry, by the looks of it Ron was teaching Harry how to play wizard chess.
"Harry won any yet?" Fred asked.
"No" Ron looked up at the three back down to the bored and up again "what the bloody hell is lee doing here?" Harry to then looked up at the three.
"Lina's spending the Christmas break here, she'll be all alone otherwise," George said.
"Oh and don't tell Percy you know he won't stop going on and on about it" Fred added.
The pair nodded but before any of them could say anything else the twins and hooked their arms around Lina's and was dragging Lina up to the boy's dormitory where Lina would be sleeping in lee's bed.
"Thank you both for this" Lina smiled at the pair and settled down on the bed.
