Disclaimer: La la la.... Don't own anything!
*~*Chapter 10: The Night Before Christmas*~*
Syaoran tapped his foot impatiently against the ground. Where was she? It had been almost two whole minutes! He sat in the courtyard of Hogwarts, just waiting and waiting for Sakura to show. Syaoran, determined to find something other than Sakura to think about, turned his attention to the people around him.
It was unusually empty in Hogwarts now, but that was because the winter holiday's had just started. Barely anyone remained at Hogwarts. Syaoran found this to be somewhat of a relief. Even more so because even that nasty hentai, Malfoy had gone home for the holidays.
"...really? Oh, that was nice of him!"
Syaoran quickly turned at the sound of her voice. His face lit up in happiness, but was quickly replaced by confusion. Sakura was walking side by side with Nearly Headless Nick, the Griffindor *ghost*. That can't be Sakura....
"Sakura?" he said uneasily. She turned and ran up to him as she said her goodbyes to Nick.
"See you later Nicholas!! Konichi-wa Syaoran!! Been waiting long?" she said in her native tongue. Syaoran didn't answer right away; he was still trying to analyze what he had just seen.
"N-no. No...Umm. Did I just see what I thought I saw?" Sakura blinked clueless.
"Hoe..? What did you think you saw?"
"I thought I saw you walking side-by-side a ghost, and you weren't screaming bloody murder, that's what I saw." She stared for a moment before laughing at him. "What? I should think that you, of all people wouldn't be seen anywhere near a ghost." Sakura's laughter died down as she answered him.
"Syaoran! I don't believe you! You yourself told me that I need to get over my fears sooner or later! Better sooner than later I say! Nicholas is very nice once you get to know him! He's not at all what I thought ghosts were like! He is very kind to me." she said indignantly. Syaoran stared for a moment before shaking his head in an amused way.
"You never fail to amaze me, Sakura."
She smiled sweetly, her blush clearly visible against the falling snow. Syaoran paused as she beckoned him to walk with her around the grounds. This was the first time they had spent together alone like this. It was nice, Syaoran thought. Hogwarts looking pure and clean while blanketed with the snow, Sakura's arm wrapped snugly around his and her bright emerald eyes playfully on his fierce amber ones as she talked about her new life and such. It was nice to finally have some time alone with her. They reached a bench that was covered in a thin carpet of snow to sit down. They sat in silence for a moment, not wanting to spoil this one chance together.
"We never have any time together, do we?" Syaoran said randomly while staring at the school.
"Yah...We really should, you know..." Sakura nodded silently and shivered. Snow was beautiful, but could be dreadfully cold!
Syaoran stared down worriedly at her. "Maybe it's to cold...We should go inside..."
"NO!"
Syaoran stared at Sakura in surprise. She blushed.
"I-I mean...I want to stay here longer...with you..." He stared with wide eyes and then smiled his one-of-a-kind smile and shifted closer to her.
"Alright then...Just a bit longer.."
*~*~*~*
Eriol watched the couple sitting in the falling snow from a distance. He smiled warmly, but his eyes were sad with longing. He too wished to be like Syaoran; sharing company with the girl he loved. He put a hand to his heart, as if in soft pain.
"Tomoyo...." he whispered softly to the falling snow.
*~*~*~*
"Where have you two been?!? Dinner has already started!!" Hermione demanded as the two friends came hurrying in to the Great Hall, still covered in snow.
"Sorry..." Sakura said quietly. Syaoran just looked to the ground as he took a seat beside Sakura. Food had already materialized on the golden platters by the time Sakura and Syaoran had reached them. The two ate in silence, not talking or looking at anyone else as they ate.
"Hey, is something wrong? You two seem quiet today. Where's Eriol?" Sakura looked up.
"I dunno Harry... He goes off on his own sometimes..."
"I see..." No more words were exchanged. Rather annoying. Sakura was always talking about something; no offence, Harry added in his mind.
The golden plates were cleared of any remaining food as the Headmaster rose to speak with the kids gathered in the lone table in the hall.
"Tomorrow is Christmas Eve!" he began cheerfully. Harry's high spirits suddenly dropped. He had nothing to give to either Syaoran or Sakura!
"Oh, man!" Harry sighed to himself as Dumbledore rambled on. "Oh man, oh man, oh man..." He kept mumbling that to himself well after dinner was over.
"Uh, Harry? Are you alright?"
"Gak..Y-yah, Ron. I'm fine, just, ah, thinking..."
What was he going to do? He slumped into an armchair and ran his fingers through his messy hair. Harry didn't know what to do. What could he do?
Harry jumped. He suddenly found himself staring at two wrapped presents. His eyes trailed up to Hermione's face.
"Wh..What's this?" Surprisingly, Hermione smiled.
"You're worried about Sakura and Syaoran's Christmas presents, aren't you?" she asked knowingly.
"How.?"
"These are for you. I got them at our last trip to Hogsmeade." She grinned. "You have a history of forgetfulness," she added, the grin still plastered on her face. Harry was speechless. He suddenly smiled and pulled Hermione into a small hug.
"You know me too well." He pulled out and took the presents from Hermione's hands. "Thanks. You're a great friend, you know that right?"
"That's what I've heard,' Hermione responded with smile. "It's time for us to head up to bed then!" Harry nodded and walked up the dormitory stairs. He bid Hermione good night and proceeded to the dormitory. At least he didn't have to worry about anything tonight.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Harry awoke the next morning to the sound of birds twittering intensely outside his window. Silently cursing the birds, Harry dressed and looked for Ron. He found him down in the common room playing wizard's chess against Syaoran with Sakura watching intently.
"It's not time for breakfast yet?" Harry asked in a groggy voice. Ron nodded his head as one of Syaoran's knights took out his queen.
"We were going to head down just as soon as this game was over," he said, his brow furrowing in frustration. Harry walked over to see, to his surprise, that Syaoran appeared to be winning the game. Astounded that Ron was losing to anyone at Wizard's Chess, he took a seat opposite Sakura at the table.
"Are you two still at it?!" Hermione had just come down the stairs and was staring incredulously at the group.
"Yes Hermione." Ron replied in an annoyed tone. "We are still at it." She sighed and watched as the game continued mercilessly. Finally, Syaoran announced his final move in triumph.
"Rook to E3!"
The black rook slowly moved toward the square and the white king, Ron's king, threw down its crown in defeat. Syaoran smirked victoriously as Ron simply stared at the crown that was lying on the board.
"How.?" he questioned, still staring at his fallen piece. For a split second, Hermione had a worried expression on her face, although it was quickly replaced with an impatient one.
"Alright already! You lost Ron, that's nothing to get so emotional over! I'm hungry and want to go eat, if you don't mind!" Harry stifled a laugh as he rose with Hermione.
"I'm coming with you. You want to come, or stay with him?" Harry asked. Sakura cast a worried look at Ron before rising and started to the portrait hole with Syaoran not far behind.
"Will he be alright?" she asked cautiously. Harry chuckled and nodded.
"He's just acting silly. Don't worry. I'll bring him down," he said. As he watched them proceed through the hole, he roughly shook Ron out of his stunned stupor.
"Come on Ron. We need to eat." Ron didn't respond, but only followed Harry mutely out of the room. Harry noticed that a red blush was coming over Ron's face.
"Are you alright Ron?"
"I can't believe I acted like such an idiot in front of her."
"What?"
" . Nothing. Nothing. "
Harry cast a worried look at his friend, but decided that it was best left alone. They reached the Great Hall with only a few more minutes to spare. Eriol was sitting at the Gryffindor Table, although there was hardly anyone at school. Harry was used to the emptiness of the Hall by now; it was the holidays after all.
Sakura was discussing Christmas in Japan to Hermione who seemed fascinated by it.
"Well, I think it would be like Christmas here; we get a Christmas tree and decorate it with all sorts of things. We exchange presents and that's it!" Hermione nodded and proceeded to shovel some more food into her mouth before quickly getting up and heading out the door.
"That's really smashing, Sakura! Well, must run, stuff to do! Bye everyone! Bye Eriol!" she shouted over her shoulder. Ron shot a nasty and almost jealous look at Eriol as he took his seat. Eriol noticed this and smiled at him.
"Something wrong?" he asked politely. Ron merely growled and grabbed at a biscuit from the basket.
"So, what's on the agenda for today?" Harry asked quickly, breaking the tension.
"Well, what does one do at Hogwarts on Christmas Eve?" asked Syaoran. Harry shrugged.
"Whatever we want, I guess." Ron suddenly stood up and pointed at Syaoran with a mad glint in his eye.
"I want a rematch! I will not be ridiculed by you!" Syaoran smirked and accepted his challenge.
"Oh, good. I thought I might be bored today." Sakura smiled sheepishly and laughed. Harry had never seen Ron get this worked up before. It was just a chess game, right?
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Ron and Syaoran were at it for a while. Both parties were taking this game very seriously. Sakura was still watching them play, even though it was their sixth game already. Harry, having lost interest at about the third game, was finishing the last of the essay Professor Binns had assigned them. Hermione, however, was watching the game over a particularly large library book.
Having lost five straight games to Syaoran already, Ron was showing no mercy. His pieces were valiantly darting across the board, capturing the black pieces one after the other. Syaoran looked completely bored. He lost interest after the fourth game and was merely doing this because all of his homework was already done.
Ron's eyes searched the board for his next move. He took a long time with this move and Syaoran didn't even bother to stifle his long and audible yawn. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Ron's eyes lit up as he announced his move.
"Queen to A6!! Aha! I win!!"
Ron let out a victory cry and paraded around the room, his robes flying victoriously behind him. Hermione stifled a giggle as she watched him while Syaoran just eyed him blearily. Sakura, Harry and a few other Gryffindors managed only a blank stare. Ron seemed to have noticed that everyone in the room was staring at him, including Hermione, and he suddenly became very quiet and quite red.
"Sorry." Harry heard Ron mumble as he flopped into an armchair. Harry shrugged and continued to finish his essay.
After a while, Ron's little outburst was completely forgotten. As the sky grew darker Syaoran could be seen helping Sakura with Herbology in one corner while Harry, Ron and Hermione were next to them in there own little group.
"No, no, no Ron! Venus can't be in Jupiter's orbit path! Your calculations are all wrong. Here." Hermione snatched the piece of parchment from Ron's hands and began to skim though his work. Harry looked over her shoulder and suddenly realized his calculations were off as well. He started to furiously look over his work, hoping to find his error before Hermione scolded him just as she had Ron.
"Syaoran.. What part of the Bloodsucking Veranda is used in that Aging Potion Professor Sprout was talking about?" Sakura was struggling though her notes. Syaoran leaned over, his sharp amber eyes scanning the page.
"It was the bud, not the venom I'm sure. The venom would make it volatile," he said while pointing out the error in her notes.
"That's right. The venom is used as a supplement in the.other - um - thing."
He laughed. "Yes, the other thing. Besides, the property used to cancel out the venom's poison wasn't present. You would have taken a drink of poison!" He laughed again while Sakura was franticly trying to correct the error.
"You think it's funny do you? I might have died and you just sit there laughing your head off." Syaoran immediately started to apologize.
"Sorry, I didn't mean for you feeling to get hurt," he said in a rather small voice. Sakura glared at him for another moment before smiling and laughing herself.
"It's alright. I'm done anyway and it doesn't matter now."
"You're done?"
"Well, done with what I'm doing for now. I'll finish up after Christmas." Syaoran stared at her for a moment. He then pulled her up out of the seat and led her up to the dormitories.
"Come here, I want to show you something," he said as they ascended the staircase. Sakura had a puzzled look as he stopped her outside of the fifth year dormitories. "Wait here," he said. He entered the boy's dormitory and shut the door behind him. Sakura stood there, puzzled as snow drifted lazily by the window. She looked out and stared at the Hogwarts grounds.
"I wish Tomoyo were here to see this."
The loud thunk of the door told her that Syaoran was back. He held a small package in his hands and a slight blush on his cheeks. Sakura looked down at the handsomely wrapped gift.
"What's this.?"
"Ah.." Syaoran turned away and blushed some more. "It's your present.I want you to have it now, Sakura." He placed the gift in her hands and ruffled his hair. Sakura stared at it in awe.
"Can I - can I open it?"
"Sure." Sakura gently tore the light blue paper of the small box until a dark green box was revealed. She carefully lifted the lid and gasped. Under the lid was the cutest necklace you could ever see. It was a heart-shaped pendant with silver wings that was attached to a simple gold chain. It was absolutely perfect.
"Syaoran.I, I don't know what to say." He put a finger to her lips and smiled. He helped Sakura put the small trinket, never taking his eyes off of her face.
"You don't need to say anything Sakura." She suddenly moved away and disappeared into the Girl's Dormitory.
"Hold on," she called to him as she went through the door. "I'll be right out." She came back holding a box wrapped in emerald paper. Syaoran blushed as she handed him the package. He glanced into her green eyes and replied, "You, really don't have to. I just thought you might want mine early, that's all. "
"No, really. It's all right. Open it. It's ok." He glanced at her again, seeing her smiling. He smiled sheepishly back at her and carefully began to remove the wrapping. He lifted an emerald green scarf out of the box and stared at it in amazement. It had his name embroidered on it on one end in silver thread. There were light green tassels on either end of the scarf.
"I. I knitted it myself.Took me forever. I hope you like it," Sakura said timidly. Syaoran wrapped the scarf around his neck and admired the piece of creativity. He looked into her eyes and smiled. Sakura smiled back.
"Merry Christmas Syaoran."
"Merry Christmas Sakura."
They stared into each other's eyes for a few more moments before Syaoran pulled Sakura into a tight embrace. She responded by wrapping her arms around his shoulders. She smiled into the folds of his robes, wishing this moment could last forever. They stood there of a while, neither wanting to let go. The snow drifted past the window as the silver moon appeared from behind the clouds, silhouetting the two against the window. Sooner or later this moment would have to end, but not yet. Not yet.
---*********************--********************--****************--
*Stares with puppy dog eyes* You guys must hate me. I mean. It took me so freakin' long to update!! Ahhh. I'm so disappointed with myself. I hope you could find it in your hearts to forgive this foolish girl. That's only one thing I'm disappointed with. I had meant to finish this fic before the actual Harry Potter 5 book came out. The book came out Friday of last week. I just don't know anymore.
Just because the book came out last week doesn't mean I am threw with this fic.!! I had big plans for it and I an't going to let them die now! I've just been so backed-up with homework and graduation (for those who don't know, I'm graduating from middle school). This time, I an't giving myself a dead-line. If I did, it would just break my reader's hearts when I didn't update on time. So, can't tell you when to expect the next chapter. But, I will tell you this: the atmosphere in Hogwarts is about to get a lot more sinister.
*~*Chapter 10: The Night Before Christmas*~*
Syaoran tapped his foot impatiently against the ground. Where was she? It had been almost two whole minutes! He sat in the courtyard of Hogwarts, just waiting and waiting for Sakura to show. Syaoran, determined to find something other than Sakura to think about, turned his attention to the people around him.
It was unusually empty in Hogwarts now, but that was because the winter holiday's had just started. Barely anyone remained at Hogwarts. Syaoran found this to be somewhat of a relief. Even more so because even that nasty hentai, Malfoy had gone home for the holidays.
"...really? Oh, that was nice of him!"
Syaoran quickly turned at the sound of her voice. His face lit up in happiness, but was quickly replaced by confusion. Sakura was walking side by side with Nearly Headless Nick, the Griffindor *ghost*. That can't be Sakura....
"Sakura?" he said uneasily. She turned and ran up to him as she said her goodbyes to Nick.
"See you later Nicholas!! Konichi-wa Syaoran!! Been waiting long?" she said in her native tongue. Syaoran didn't answer right away; he was still trying to analyze what he had just seen.
"N-no. No...Umm. Did I just see what I thought I saw?" Sakura blinked clueless.
"Hoe..? What did you think you saw?"
"I thought I saw you walking side-by-side a ghost, and you weren't screaming bloody murder, that's what I saw." She stared for a moment before laughing at him. "What? I should think that you, of all people wouldn't be seen anywhere near a ghost." Sakura's laughter died down as she answered him.
"Syaoran! I don't believe you! You yourself told me that I need to get over my fears sooner or later! Better sooner than later I say! Nicholas is very nice once you get to know him! He's not at all what I thought ghosts were like! He is very kind to me." she said indignantly. Syaoran stared for a moment before shaking his head in an amused way.
"You never fail to amaze me, Sakura."
She smiled sweetly, her blush clearly visible against the falling snow. Syaoran paused as she beckoned him to walk with her around the grounds. This was the first time they had spent together alone like this. It was nice, Syaoran thought. Hogwarts looking pure and clean while blanketed with the snow, Sakura's arm wrapped snugly around his and her bright emerald eyes playfully on his fierce amber ones as she talked about her new life and such. It was nice to finally have some time alone with her. They reached a bench that was covered in a thin carpet of snow to sit down. They sat in silence for a moment, not wanting to spoil this one chance together.
"We never have any time together, do we?" Syaoran said randomly while staring at the school.
"Yah...We really should, you know..." Sakura nodded silently and shivered. Snow was beautiful, but could be dreadfully cold!
Syaoran stared down worriedly at her. "Maybe it's to cold...We should go inside..."
"NO!"
Syaoran stared at Sakura in surprise. She blushed.
"I-I mean...I want to stay here longer...with you..." He stared with wide eyes and then smiled his one-of-a-kind smile and shifted closer to her.
"Alright then...Just a bit longer.."
*~*~*~*
Eriol watched the couple sitting in the falling snow from a distance. He smiled warmly, but his eyes were sad with longing. He too wished to be like Syaoran; sharing company with the girl he loved. He put a hand to his heart, as if in soft pain.
"Tomoyo...." he whispered softly to the falling snow.
*~*~*~*
"Where have you two been?!? Dinner has already started!!" Hermione demanded as the two friends came hurrying in to the Great Hall, still covered in snow.
"Sorry..." Sakura said quietly. Syaoran just looked to the ground as he took a seat beside Sakura. Food had already materialized on the golden platters by the time Sakura and Syaoran had reached them. The two ate in silence, not talking or looking at anyone else as they ate.
"Hey, is something wrong? You two seem quiet today. Where's Eriol?" Sakura looked up.
"I dunno Harry... He goes off on his own sometimes..."
"I see..." No more words were exchanged. Rather annoying. Sakura was always talking about something; no offence, Harry added in his mind.
The golden plates were cleared of any remaining food as the Headmaster rose to speak with the kids gathered in the lone table in the hall.
"Tomorrow is Christmas Eve!" he began cheerfully. Harry's high spirits suddenly dropped. He had nothing to give to either Syaoran or Sakura!
"Oh, man!" Harry sighed to himself as Dumbledore rambled on. "Oh man, oh man, oh man..." He kept mumbling that to himself well after dinner was over.
"Uh, Harry? Are you alright?"
"Gak..Y-yah, Ron. I'm fine, just, ah, thinking..."
What was he going to do? He slumped into an armchair and ran his fingers through his messy hair. Harry didn't know what to do. What could he do?
Harry jumped. He suddenly found himself staring at two wrapped presents. His eyes trailed up to Hermione's face.
"Wh..What's this?" Surprisingly, Hermione smiled.
"You're worried about Sakura and Syaoran's Christmas presents, aren't you?" she asked knowingly.
"How.?"
"These are for you. I got them at our last trip to Hogsmeade." She grinned. "You have a history of forgetfulness," she added, the grin still plastered on her face. Harry was speechless. He suddenly smiled and pulled Hermione into a small hug.
"You know me too well." He pulled out and took the presents from Hermione's hands. "Thanks. You're a great friend, you know that right?"
"That's what I've heard,' Hermione responded with smile. "It's time for us to head up to bed then!" Harry nodded and walked up the dormitory stairs. He bid Hermione good night and proceeded to the dormitory. At least he didn't have to worry about anything tonight.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Harry awoke the next morning to the sound of birds twittering intensely outside his window. Silently cursing the birds, Harry dressed and looked for Ron. He found him down in the common room playing wizard's chess against Syaoran with Sakura watching intently.
"It's not time for breakfast yet?" Harry asked in a groggy voice. Ron nodded his head as one of Syaoran's knights took out his queen.
"We were going to head down just as soon as this game was over," he said, his brow furrowing in frustration. Harry walked over to see, to his surprise, that Syaoran appeared to be winning the game. Astounded that Ron was losing to anyone at Wizard's Chess, he took a seat opposite Sakura at the table.
"Are you two still at it?!" Hermione had just come down the stairs and was staring incredulously at the group.
"Yes Hermione." Ron replied in an annoyed tone. "We are still at it." She sighed and watched as the game continued mercilessly. Finally, Syaoran announced his final move in triumph.
"Rook to E3!"
The black rook slowly moved toward the square and the white king, Ron's king, threw down its crown in defeat. Syaoran smirked victoriously as Ron simply stared at the crown that was lying on the board.
"How.?" he questioned, still staring at his fallen piece. For a split second, Hermione had a worried expression on her face, although it was quickly replaced with an impatient one.
"Alright already! You lost Ron, that's nothing to get so emotional over! I'm hungry and want to go eat, if you don't mind!" Harry stifled a laugh as he rose with Hermione.
"I'm coming with you. You want to come, or stay with him?" Harry asked. Sakura cast a worried look at Ron before rising and started to the portrait hole with Syaoran not far behind.
"Will he be alright?" she asked cautiously. Harry chuckled and nodded.
"He's just acting silly. Don't worry. I'll bring him down," he said. As he watched them proceed through the hole, he roughly shook Ron out of his stunned stupor.
"Come on Ron. We need to eat." Ron didn't respond, but only followed Harry mutely out of the room. Harry noticed that a red blush was coming over Ron's face.
"Are you alright Ron?"
"I can't believe I acted like such an idiot in front of her."
"What?"
" . Nothing. Nothing. "
Harry cast a worried look at his friend, but decided that it was best left alone. They reached the Great Hall with only a few more minutes to spare. Eriol was sitting at the Gryffindor Table, although there was hardly anyone at school. Harry was used to the emptiness of the Hall by now; it was the holidays after all.
Sakura was discussing Christmas in Japan to Hermione who seemed fascinated by it.
"Well, I think it would be like Christmas here; we get a Christmas tree and decorate it with all sorts of things. We exchange presents and that's it!" Hermione nodded and proceeded to shovel some more food into her mouth before quickly getting up and heading out the door.
"That's really smashing, Sakura! Well, must run, stuff to do! Bye everyone! Bye Eriol!" she shouted over her shoulder. Ron shot a nasty and almost jealous look at Eriol as he took his seat. Eriol noticed this and smiled at him.
"Something wrong?" he asked politely. Ron merely growled and grabbed at a biscuit from the basket.
"So, what's on the agenda for today?" Harry asked quickly, breaking the tension.
"Well, what does one do at Hogwarts on Christmas Eve?" asked Syaoran. Harry shrugged.
"Whatever we want, I guess." Ron suddenly stood up and pointed at Syaoran with a mad glint in his eye.
"I want a rematch! I will not be ridiculed by you!" Syaoran smirked and accepted his challenge.
"Oh, good. I thought I might be bored today." Sakura smiled sheepishly and laughed. Harry had never seen Ron get this worked up before. It was just a chess game, right?
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Ron and Syaoran were at it for a while. Both parties were taking this game very seriously. Sakura was still watching them play, even though it was their sixth game already. Harry, having lost interest at about the third game, was finishing the last of the essay Professor Binns had assigned them. Hermione, however, was watching the game over a particularly large library book.
Having lost five straight games to Syaoran already, Ron was showing no mercy. His pieces were valiantly darting across the board, capturing the black pieces one after the other. Syaoran looked completely bored. He lost interest after the fourth game and was merely doing this because all of his homework was already done.
Ron's eyes searched the board for his next move. He took a long time with this move and Syaoran didn't even bother to stifle his long and audible yawn. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Ron's eyes lit up as he announced his move.
"Queen to A6!! Aha! I win!!"
Ron let out a victory cry and paraded around the room, his robes flying victoriously behind him. Hermione stifled a giggle as she watched him while Syaoran just eyed him blearily. Sakura, Harry and a few other Gryffindors managed only a blank stare. Ron seemed to have noticed that everyone in the room was staring at him, including Hermione, and he suddenly became very quiet and quite red.
"Sorry." Harry heard Ron mumble as he flopped into an armchair. Harry shrugged and continued to finish his essay.
After a while, Ron's little outburst was completely forgotten. As the sky grew darker Syaoran could be seen helping Sakura with Herbology in one corner while Harry, Ron and Hermione were next to them in there own little group.
"No, no, no Ron! Venus can't be in Jupiter's orbit path! Your calculations are all wrong. Here." Hermione snatched the piece of parchment from Ron's hands and began to skim though his work. Harry looked over her shoulder and suddenly realized his calculations were off as well. He started to furiously look over his work, hoping to find his error before Hermione scolded him just as she had Ron.
"Syaoran.. What part of the Bloodsucking Veranda is used in that Aging Potion Professor Sprout was talking about?" Sakura was struggling though her notes. Syaoran leaned over, his sharp amber eyes scanning the page.
"It was the bud, not the venom I'm sure. The venom would make it volatile," he said while pointing out the error in her notes.
"That's right. The venom is used as a supplement in the.other - um - thing."
He laughed. "Yes, the other thing. Besides, the property used to cancel out the venom's poison wasn't present. You would have taken a drink of poison!" He laughed again while Sakura was franticly trying to correct the error.
"You think it's funny do you? I might have died and you just sit there laughing your head off." Syaoran immediately started to apologize.
"Sorry, I didn't mean for you feeling to get hurt," he said in a rather small voice. Sakura glared at him for another moment before smiling and laughing herself.
"It's alright. I'm done anyway and it doesn't matter now."
"You're done?"
"Well, done with what I'm doing for now. I'll finish up after Christmas." Syaoran stared at her for a moment. He then pulled her up out of the seat and led her up to the dormitories.
"Come here, I want to show you something," he said as they ascended the staircase. Sakura had a puzzled look as he stopped her outside of the fifth year dormitories. "Wait here," he said. He entered the boy's dormitory and shut the door behind him. Sakura stood there, puzzled as snow drifted lazily by the window. She looked out and stared at the Hogwarts grounds.
"I wish Tomoyo were here to see this."
The loud thunk of the door told her that Syaoran was back. He held a small package in his hands and a slight blush on his cheeks. Sakura looked down at the handsomely wrapped gift.
"What's this.?"
"Ah.." Syaoran turned away and blushed some more. "It's your present.I want you to have it now, Sakura." He placed the gift in her hands and ruffled his hair. Sakura stared at it in awe.
"Can I - can I open it?"
"Sure." Sakura gently tore the light blue paper of the small box until a dark green box was revealed. She carefully lifted the lid and gasped. Under the lid was the cutest necklace you could ever see. It was a heart-shaped pendant with silver wings that was attached to a simple gold chain. It was absolutely perfect.
"Syaoran.I, I don't know what to say." He put a finger to her lips and smiled. He helped Sakura put the small trinket, never taking his eyes off of her face.
"You don't need to say anything Sakura." She suddenly moved away and disappeared into the Girl's Dormitory.
"Hold on," she called to him as she went through the door. "I'll be right out." She came back holding a box wrapped in emerald paper. Syaoran blushed as she handed him the package. He glanced into her green eyes and replied, "You, really don't have to. I just thought you might want mine early, that's all. "
"No, really. It's all right. Open it. It's ok." He glanced at her again, seeing her smiling. He smiled sheepishly back at her and carefully began to remove the wrapping. He lifted an emerald green scarf out of the box and stared at it in amazement. It had his name embroidered on it on one end in silver thread. There were light green tassels on either end of the scarf.
"I. I knitted it myself.Took me forever. I hope you like it," Sakura said timidly. Syaoran wrapped the scarf around his neck and admired the piece of creativity. He looked into her eyes and smiled. Sakura smiled back.
"Merry Christmas Syaoran."
"Merry Christmas Sakura."
They stared into each other's eyes for a few more moments before Syaoran pulled Sakura into a tight embrace. She responded by wrapping her arms around his shoulders. She smiled into the folds of his robes, wishing this moment could last forever. They stood there of a while, neither wanting to let go. The snow drifted past the window as the silver moon appeared from behind the clouds, silhouetting the two against the window. Sooner or later this moment would have to end, but not yet. Not yet.
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*Stares with puppy dog eyes* You guys must hate me. I mean. It took me so freakin' long to update!! Ahhh. I'm so disappointed with myself. I hope you could find it in your hearts to forgive this foolish girl. That's only one thing I'm disappointed with. I had meant to finish this fic before the actual Harry Potter 5 book came out. The book came out Friday of last week. I just don't know anymore.
Just because the book came out last week doesn't mean I am threw with this fic.!! I had big plans for it and I an't going to let them die now! I've just been so backed-up with homework and graduation (for those who don't know, I'm graduating from middle school). This time, I an't giving myself a dead-line. If I did, it would just break my reader's hearts when I didn't update on time. So, can't tell you when to expect the next chapter. But, I will tell you this: the atmosphere in Hogwarts is about to get a lot more sinister.