Dozens of owls come swooping down from the high windows in the Great Hall, their wings flicking off large flakes of snow as they flew. As each of them stopped at their chosen table, Harry and Ron both find an owl sitting in front of them as well, muddy talons in their oatmeal. The boys take their letters from the owls' beaks and watch them fly off.

"Look, Hermione didn't get a letter," Ron says.

"Think I care?" Hermione retorts, flipping to the next page of the Daily Prophet she had in her lap.

"Well," Ron begins with a superior look on his face. "Who wouldn't want a letter from…mum?"

His face sunk after seeing who the letter was really from.

"Mine is from Hagrid," Harry says. "And it's addressed to all of us. It says: 'Hope you have a Happy Christmas. Enjoy the break and come down for tea sometime: Hagrid'."

Ron was reading through his own letter silently. Upon finishing, he tosses it aside. "I suppose it's the thought that counts, right?"

"What did it say?" Hermione asks.

"She wanted to know if I was coming home for the holidays this year. I never go home over Christmas. Though, she said that you two were welcome to go too."

"It sounds nice," Hermione says. "Your mother is such a kind person. Good cook too."

"Only if she likes you," Ron replies.

"That doesn't matter," Hermione waves it off. "We have a while to think about it anyway. The train going back to London doesn't leave for another three days."

"You really want to go?" Ron asks.

"Sure! What about you, Harry?"

"Sounds fine to me," Harry says. "It'll be like summer vacation again. Except with snow…"

"You mean sleeping in until early afternoon and stuffing your faces?" Hermione glares.

"'Tis the life!" Ron lifts his glass. "However, I could probably do that here."

"I thought we were just thinking about going," Harry ponders aloud.

"Of course we are," Hermione replies.

"Let's think about it later!" Ron suggests. "There's a Hogsmeade trip this afternoon, remember? A Butterbeer sure sounds good."

"A trip to Hogsmeade in general sounds nice. It's always so pretty in the winter season," Hermione says.

The last time they were at Hogsmeade was when Hermione still hadn't recovered completely from her memory loss. Harry slouches in his seat, remembering every detail as if it were yesterday. Since Hermione was cured now, she had some catching up to do. She claims she doesn't recall much of the first half of the year, but now and then she catches herself talking about something that happened during that time. She apologizes, but those moments still have always felt awkward to Harry and Ron. It's like helping a child out of a coma.

"Well, I'm done," Ron says, placing his spoon down in the empty bowl.

Hermione looks down at her watch. "We should get back up to the common room soon to pick up our heavier cloaks."

The three get up from the table and leave the Great Hall. They trek up the long staircases, not saying much, and finally reach the portrait of the Fat Lady. With password and entry, they go into their separate dormitories and retrieve their cloaks as well as scarves and matching gloves. They meet in the common room shortly after and go back down the main entrance.

"This trip is such great timing! I need to pick up some last minute Christmas gifts," Hermione says.

"Um," Ron mutters.

Harry knew he was concerned about gifts, seeing he didn't have much money to spend.

"Hey, look," Harry points towards the large double-doors. "It's Laurel."

Hermione and Ron turn their gaze in the direction of Harry's pointed finger and also find Laurel, standing uneasily as if waiting. She was twisting her head, side to side, making her pony tail swish. She spots the three and a large smile appears on her face.

"Hullo!" Laurel says as she bounds over to them. "It looks like you three are going to Hogsmeade as well."

"Yup."

"Last minute shopping."

"Butterbeer."

"I see," Laurel nods.

"Are you going by yourself?" Harry asks. "You can always join us."

"I would, I would, trust me," Laurel replies. "I was just waiting for Adam and Joel to show up. Unless you all want to go together?"

"I don't mind. Do you?" Harry turns to both Ron and Hermione.

"Not at all!" Hermione smiles.

"Nope."

"I know you guys don't know them too well," Laurel says. "Adam likes to joke a bit. Joel is on the quiet side, but ever since he recovered from that potion dilemma, he's been the perkiest I've seen in a long time. Won't be surprised if he ends up talking my ears off."

"Wouldn't think you'd mind that," Ron says, lifting an eyebrow.

Laurel's cheeks turn a white peach color. "I don't, Ronald. However, he kept on trying to convince Adam and I that some blessed angel was nursing him back to health. We kept on saying that 'it was Madam Pomfrey, you big dolt', but he still denies it. It's the opposite of being a pedophile. I knew guys liked older women, but his perceptions were ridiculous."

Harry felt like he couldn't say anything to that. Ron had a look of confused disgust on his face and Hermione was looking at the ceiling as if trying to think of a new topic.

"Ah, never mind about that," Laurel says. "Why don't we all get down to the gates? I'm sure Adam and Joel will catch up with me."

Laurel turns towards the large oak opening doors and walks away, ponytail swishing with her stride. Harry looks over at Ron and Hermione who looked back, both with the same blank expression on their face.

"She doesn't seem herself this morning, does she?" Harry asks.

"She hasn't since Joel recovered," Ron points out.

"Remind me who Joel is again?" Hermione tries to get into the conversation.

"Friend turned crush, turned almost dead, turned all better, turned still crush," Ron summarizes, in little to no sense.

"Laurel will be okay," Harry says. "She pulls herself back together all the time."

"Yet I feel it's half my business," Ron replies.

"Why?"

"She helped us, we help her," Ron explains to Harry. "But I'm not usually the type of person who does good deeds for others, so I'm holding back a bit. That and considering the hell she put us through."

"Hell that paid off," Harry corrects.

"I suppose," Ron shrugs, but blushes slightly.

Hermione stood next to him, clueless.

"Harry!"

A shout came from the northern staircase and you could see Adam running toward the group, with Joel trailing behind him, face still looking a bit pale. Breathing rather hard, they come to a halt, both holding their blue and sliver scarves and gloves.

"Have you seen Laurel?" Adam asks.

"She was just with us," Harry replies. "She left for the front gate and said she'd wait for you there."

"It's my fault we're late," Joel says. Being the first time Harry and the gang heard his voice, they were taken aback at how smooth it actually was against Joel's baby-like face.

"You need to get your head back on your shoulders yet," Adam rolls his eyes. "Seriously, the kid forgot where all his things were."

"Can you blame him?" Hermione flashes him a kind smile and Joel's ears turn pink, like Ron's do.

Adam laughs. "I blame all the magic they put into him. Affected him like morphine in muggles."

Only Harry and Hermione laughed along. Ron raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"This is the last call for students traveling to Hogsmeade!" Filch calls from the front doors, taking the passes from the children as they walked by.

"We better get moving," Adam says.

The five students run to the doors, give the sulking caretaker their slips and go out into the snowy morning. Large and fluffy flakes fell in scattered clumps, sticking to the kid's wool cloaks. They make their way towards the main gate of the school, hoping to see Laurel still waiting for them. Sure enough, she was leaning against one of the two large brick columns, boar statue on top covered in a cloak of white.

"Always boarding things up, she is," Adam says, mostly to himself.

Harry looked out of the corner of his eye at Adam, catching a slight hint. He could easily guess what was on Laurel's mind, but he wasn't sure if Adam knew. However, from his last statement, it was enough to make Harry curious.

Oh, well. What was the point in worrying about it? Today was about getting away from the professors and bracing your lungs out in the fresh winter air. It was about the spirit of Christmas as it was quickly approaching, probably sooner than most students had hoped. The holidays were more apparent than the snow on the ground, with all the children's faces glowing with excitement. There were plenty of other things brewing besides the potions in the cauldrons.

Laurel's face turned and a bright smile spread across her face when her eyes landed on everyone. "I see you three found my lost boys."

"Lost boys?" Adam practically exclaimed. "You're the lost girl! You were supposed to wait for us."

"I did," Laurel replies. "For a while…"

"What did you expect? I had to get him acquainted with all that his brain let leak out over the past four months!" Adam gently punches Joel in the arm.

"Don't get your knickers in a twist," Laurel waves it off.

She turns to Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

"Let's keep moving, shall we? I'm sure you'll all want to get some shopping done before sitting down for a warm Butterbeer."

"Sounds good to me," Hermione says, but doesn't progress any farther.

"How about we get the Butterbeer first," Harry suggests. "I feel there is a need to do some catching up on more than just shopping."

Ron suddenly chuckles. "Time for the dandy shed treatment, is it?"

Laurel glares at him.

Ron backs up a few steps. "Joshing; just joshing you."

Adam walks up to Laurel and puts his arm around her shoulder. "Come on, Lolly; let's go to that book shop you like so much."

Hermione starting walking down the road merrily at the mention of books, and the rest of the boys had no other choice but to follow.

The first part of the morning was full of nothing but window shopping and "getting lost" in Honeydukes Candy Store. No matter how many times they've been there, it never got old, and probably never would. Around eleven o'clock, the six finally stop in The Three Broomsticks for a nice bottle of Butterbeer. They choose a nice big round table towards the far wall and lean back in their chairs, relaxing.

"Do you three go home for the holidays?" Adam asks Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

"Not usually," Harry answers.

"Maybe this year we might," Ron says, putting his hands around his Butterbeer bottle to warm them up. "Got a special letter from Mum."

"You never seemed to care about her letters before, Ron," Hermione replies.

"Well, I haven't been home for the holidays since I started going here. I was going to first year, but mum and dad had to change plans and go to Romania."

"Do I sense some bitterness, Ronald?" Laurel asks.

"Eh, no, it turned out to be a good Christmas," Ron replies.

"I go home practically ever chance I get," Adam nods his head slowly. "Not that I don't like it here, mind."

"He's just a Mama's boy," Laurel smiles playfully.

"Aw, shut it, Lolly," Adam says with an angry edge.

Laurel simply shakes her head and takes a slow sip from her bottle.

"I'm just looking forward to a vacation," Joel says.

"You deserve one," Adam replies. "A nice long vacation will help you get off this high of yours."

Joel chuckles. "No, I'm looking forward to eating as much as I can in one sitting."

"Sounds like me at the opening banquet after a summer at the Dursley's," Harry says.

"Curse you people with high metabolism," Laurel scowls.

"Now I sense bitterness," Ron says.

Suddenly, a couple of fellow students came up to the table. They appeared to be first year students, with the wide eyes and glow in their cheeks. One was a girl with shoulder length pine-colored hair. After Harry got a good look at her, he wasn't sure she was a first year. Evenly developed; deep hazel eyes with a distinct cat-like angle to them. The student next to her was a boy, arms crossed over his chest and a blank face. Ash hair speckled with flakes of snow that hadn't quite melted yet.

"I swear it, I do!" The girl was saying.

"Come off it, Natalie," The boy signs.

"Can we help you?" Laurel leans over the table a little.

"My brother here doesn't believe me that this boy is actually Harry Potter," Natalie says, pointing to Harry.

Harry felt like hitting his head on the table. It was half-way through the year and he was still getting dumbfounded first years asking to get proof of his identity. Without any further discussion, he quickly pulls back his bangs so the boy and girl could see the scar.

Natalie's jaw drops, eventually evolving into a sly grin. "I told you, Dustin! He really is Harry Potter!"

"Do you get this a lot?" Laurel asks, quite obviously trying to make Natalie and Dustin feel stupid.

Harry nods slightly.

"My older brother has told me loads about you!" Natalie says, ignoring Laurel's comment. "How you saved the Sorcerer's Stone from being taken by You-Know-Who, and how good of a Quidditch player you are! I watched your games and you sure can fly!"

"Er, thank you," Harry replies.

"Who's your elder brother?" Hermione asks.

Natalie looks over at Hermione with a 'there-are-other-people-at-this-table?' expression painted on her face. "Joshua Nelson. He's in his seventh year!"

"Dirty little…," Dustin mumbled.

"Stop it! He's our brother," Natalie protests.

"Half brother, get it right. You look up to him way too much," Dustin replies. "He takes after his mother too much."

Natalie shows her brother her tongue.

"Anyways," Ron clears his throat.

"Yes, where were we?" Adam says.

Joel slides his Butterbeer bottle into the middle of the table after downing the last drop. "How about we head over to the Quidditch store and see if they have any new broom models?"

Everyone pushes their bottles in as well.

"Sounds good."

The six stand up and push in their chairs. Harry glances over at Natalie who was still bickering with Dustin. She quickly looks over her shoulder and notices them leaving and her lip instantly pouts. Harry couldn't help but feel that this girl was more mature than she let off; almost an act.

"Nice meeting you, but we'll be leaving now," Harry says.

Natalie straightens her back to get taller, top of her head almost reaching Harry's nose. "Thank you, anyway."

Ron leans in quickly. "Happy Christmas."

He grabs Harry's scarf and starts dragging him out of the Three Broomsticks. As Harry turned to walk forward, he could have sworn he saw young Natalie and Dustin give each other low high-fives. Oh, what was the point of even thinking about it? They were a couple of first years, just getting into the world of Hogwarts. Probably made bets over who would treat the other to a chocolate frog.

"How can you stand it, Potter?" Adam asked once they were out of the tavern. "I know that every wizard knows your name, but you'd think it would calm down after a decade."

"You'd think that, wouldn't you?" Harry replied. "It's not that, I'm sort of used to it. However, it gets more and more annoying every time someone asks me about it."

"At least it wasn't as bad as that Colin Creevy, remember?" Hermione says. "He was taking pictures of you left and right. Didn't matter what you were doing either."

"Glad he finally quit," Harry nods.

"Looks like you have a new fan to replace him," Ron jokes. "At least it's a girl this time."

"I'd rather have no fans at all," Harry says.

"Well, sorry to be the first to say it, but… you're you," Laurel clasps a hand on Harry's shoulder. "No intensions of being cruel, however, buck up and deal with it."

"She basically means you're screwed until you get plastic surgery," Joel adds.

"Oh, did any of you notice a different taste to the Butterbeer?" Hermione asks out of the blue. "It was runnier than usual."

Ron and Harry glanced at one another, remembering their potion trick. Apparently Hermione remembered it vaguely as well.

Hermione giggles shortly. "I can't tell which batch I liked better."

Laurel spurt a laugh.

"One thing's for sure; I'm done dealing with gits like Malfoy this year," Ron says.

"I couldn't agree more," Harry nods. "And no more 'cans of whoop-ass', Laurel."

"What can I say?" She shrugs. "You two brought out the rebel in me."

"They do bring out the fun of breaking the rules," Hermione says.

"Hear that, Harry?" Ron asks. "We're role models."

Harry rolls his shoulders back. "They can bow to us now."

"Not in your life!" Hermione and Laurel both bellow.

"Eh, it was worth a shot."

"Are you sure about this, Brother?"

"Yes, Natalie. Don't you worry what Dustin says. He's a hypocrite for it… because he's helping whether he likes it or not."

"But what will it prove?"

"Prove? It proves that The Followers may be retreating, but we're only gathering strength for another attack."