It was well into December, and the Hogwarts grounds was already covered in blankets of white as students started dressing warmer for the holidays. That particular morning, however, a strong blizzard hit the area, making it darker than it usually is even though it was still quite early in the day.

Gaia stood in the library of Hogwarts, dressed in a thicker set of Hogwarts robes with a thick Ravenclaw scarf wrapped around her neck, her eyes scanning across the covers of the books placed on the shelves for a book on Arithmancy to help her with the assignment. She grumbled in annoyance when she didn't see the title she was looking for amidst the books.

"Alright, Gaia?" Aisha asked as she walked up beside Ravenclaw, clutching a book on Divination in her arms, "What're you doing in the library? Shouldn't you be in Arithmancy class?"

Aisha was dressed similarly to Gaia, her robes and scarf showing the Hufflepuff colors instead of blue.

"Professor Vector decided to let us have the period to do whatever we want, preferably to do the homework she assigned over the holidays," Gaia explained, her shoulders slumping as she walked away from the shelves in defeat when she still didn't find the book she needed.

"How considerate of her," Aisha hummed, taking note of the scattered students across the library that seemed to be there for the same reason as Gaia.

Gaia plopped down on a table where she left her unfinished essay, a Slytherin student scribbling on her own parchment a few seats away. She picked up her quill and started writing down what she could remember from their lesson. Aisha followed, glancing at the Slytherin cautiously before taking a seat in front of Gaia. Gaia glanced up to see Aisha glancing at the Slytherin.

"Mariah's muggle-born, so you don't need to worry about anything," Gaia informed, watching the tension leave the Hufflepuff's body.

"That's nice to know," Aisha mumbled, "Which reminds me, have you heard about Harry?"

"What about Harry?" Gaia raised an eyebrow, not lifting her eyes from the parchment in front of her.

"The thing during Lockhart's dueling club," Aisha elaborated, opening the Divination textbook and letting her eyes fall on the pages of the book.

"Oh." Gaia looked up from her essay, "You mean the parseltongue thing? How's the kid, by the way. He's a Hufflepuff, isn't he?"

News of Harry Potter supposedly goading a snake to attack Justin Finch-Fletchley spread like wildfire. Nearly everyone in the school knew it before the day was even finished.

"A bit shaken up, but he's fine," Aisha shrugged, glancing up from her book for a split second.

The two went silent after that, each one busy with their own studying. Gaia was snapped out of focus when she heard the familiar voice of Harry. She whipped her head to the side to see him standing at the edge of a table where a group of Hufflepuffs sat. From what she could see, he was telling the something but the Hufflepuffs were visibly trembling. Harry's face showed frustration as his voice got louder and louder, although Gaia still couldn't hear what he was saying, before he stormed away from the table quite noisily, earning himself a glare from Madam Pince.

"You going home for the holidays?" Aisha asked, diverting her attention from Harry, who had already left the library.

"Hm? Oh, no. Mum owled Lele last week saying that she might be busy at St. Mungo's and dad's currently being swamped by work at the ministry so it might be best for us to stay at Hogwarts since they might not be around much. You?" Gaia answered, dipping her now-dry quill into the ink pot and continuing the essay.

"I'm staying as well. I told mum and dad that I wanted to stay," Aisha answered, turning to the next page of her book.

"Aren't you scared, though? With this whole 'enemies of the heir, beware' thing, you'd be safer back at home, being muggle-born and all," Gaia suggested, looking at her concerned.

"Yeah, I realized that yesterday. But dad's already got themselves tickets to America so I couldn't go home even if I wanted to," she sighed.

Gaia set down her quill – she had ran out of ideas – and let the ink on the parchment dry.

"Do you believe the rumors?" Gaia blurted out after a few moments of silence.

"What rumors?" Aisha asked as she glanced down at the page before shutting the book close.

"That Harry's the heir of Slytherin," Gaia continued.

Aisha laughed lightly and shook her head.

"Don't think so. If he really was an heir of Slytherin, I think he would've been in Slytherin no matter wha.t"

✧✧✧

Just 3 days later, Gaia found herself sat in the hospital wing with Malia and Ryker, the latter looking the worst out of the 3. In front of them laid Aisha on a hospital bed, positioned so that her arm was in front of her eyes, slightly above and a terrified expression frozen on her petrified face. Malia had a hand on Ryker's back, rubbing up and down as the boy's body shook with sobs. She had her own tears running down her face, although she was more composed than Ryker. Gaia was staring at Aisha blankly, her hand holding the Hufflepuff's hand that was frozen beside her.

"Are any of you going home?" Madam Pomfrey asked, standing behind the group of 4th years.

"We are," Malia whispered, motioning to her and Ryker but her eyes never left Aisha's frozen state.

"You two best get going. The train's leaving in 10 minutes," Madam Pomfrey explained, patting Ryker on the shoulder and smiling sympathetically.

"Thank you, Madam Pomfrey," Malia answered, starting to stand up. When she started pulling Ryker up with her, the boy's head shot up and he started shaking his head frantically.

"N-no! I have to stay! I can't- Aisha- I-" he stuttered, tugging weakly at Malia's grasp.

"We have to go, Lion," Malia explained weakly as more tears ran down her face seeing the panicked state of the boy.

"I can't leave Aisha!" Ryker argued.

"I'll be here with her," Gaia said softly, her voice cracking slightly at the end as she lifted her eyes towards the two at the other side of Aisha's cot.

"B-but," Ryker protested but he was starting to give in.

"Nothing will happen to her, Madam Pomfrey will make sure of it," Malia comforted, the mediwitch smiling in confirmation.

Ryker continued to tremble but he let Malia pull him away all the same.

"Take care, Birdie. Please, for the love of Merlin, don't do anything stupid," Malia reminded Gaia, a small smile on her face but something told Gaia that she was serious.

"When have I done anything stupid?" Gaia joked weakly, sending a smile of her own.

Malia gave a small nod and continued on their way to the platform, Ryker still clutching weakly to the Slytherin's arm.

"Will you be fine here, Ms. Eruditus? I still have to tend to the other students," Madam Pomfrey asked.

Other than Aisha, there were two other petrified students in the hospital wing: Colin Creevey and Justin Fitch-Fletchley.

"I'll be fine, thank you," Gaia pushed out a reply, returning her gaze to Aisha's terrified face. Then, she was left to the silence of the hospital wing.

"How you holding up?" a voice startled her, accompanied by a hand coming to rest on her shoulder. She jumped slightly and turned to see Cole pulling up a chair beside her. He gave her a sympathetic smile and wrapped an arm around her.

"You should've went home, Cole," Gaia said, leaning into his half-embrace.

"I didn't know you wanted me to leave that badly," Cole joked but she didn't laugh.

"I'm serious. What if you're next? You're muggle-born too," Gaia scolded.

"Was only joking," he answered with a slight chuckle.

"Not funny. I don't want this to happen to anyone else," Gaia said sadly.

e sighed and unwrapped his arm around her. Gaia felt him grip both of her shoulders, causing her to let go of Aisha's hand as he turned her towards him.

"I'll be fine, Ria. I wasn't put into Gryffindor for nothing, alright?" he said, looking her directly in the eye.

Kaleb was right, Gaia thought with a hint of amusement. Cole indeed was an "idiotically brave, typical Gryffindor". She let herself stare a few seconds more before sighing and wrapping her arms around him in a tight hug, one that he returned.

"You better make sure of that," Gaia mumbled into his chest.

"If it makes you feel better, Kaleb went home," Cole said, making her smile a bit.

"It actually does. Thanks Cole."

✧✧✧

Gaia found it weird to wake up to a quiet dorm. Usually, she'd wake up to the sound of Jewel and Desiree's soft chatter as they sat on their beds. All three of them had left to go home for the holidays, leaving Gaia alone in their dorm. It was nice to have complete silence in the dorm, just as she prefer, but having people around for 4 years makes a person familiar with the sound.

She sat on the windowsill to the right of her bed, knees pulled up to her chest as she looked out the window to the white-covered grounds. For a reason she couldn't explain, Gaia always found the Ravenclaw common rooms to feel comfortably cool no matter what season it was. Since it was winter, it was definitely noticeably colder but still, the temperature remained a comfortable cold.

Deciding against wasting the whole day cooped up in the dorm, Gaia stood up to get ready for the day. After a long shower - which was rare if one were to live with 3 other girls in a single dorm - Gaia pulled out the appropriate clothes for the cold weather outside. She had chosen a white, thick, long-sleeved turtleneck topped with a dark blue winter coat, matched with plain black leggings and a pair of brown winter boots. After drying her hair with a quick spell, she bounded down to the common room with her scarf wrapped around her neck.

The only person in the common room was Leola Grouse, a girl in the same year as Gaia, who was curled up on one of the couches with a book in hand. She smiled at Gaia in greeting, which she returned, as she passed her to exit the common room.

Now, the Ravenclaw common room was cold, but it was definitely much colder outside in the halls. Gaia made her way to the Great Hall, her footsteps echoing in the deserted hallway. It really was unusual to see Hogwarts so quiet. It was the first Christmas she'd spent at Hogwarts, so it really was something new to her.

When Gaia entered the Great Hall, her eyes scanned around and found Lele sitting at the Gryffindor table with Harry and the others, bundled up in her own clothes with a bowl of something in front of her.

"Hey, Lele," Gaia greeted, ruffling her younger sister's hair as she stopped in front of the small group.

"Gaia! I hate when you do that," Lele grumbled, swatting Gaia's hand away and fixing her hair.

Gaia rolled her eyes with a smile.

"Relax. It still looks fine. You alright?" Gaia asked.

"I'm fine. I have Harry, Ron, and Hermione to accompany me," Lele answered with a bright smile.

"If you're sure. Hey Harry, Ron, Hermione," Gaia greeted. The three answered in their own ways before she scanned the table. "Hey Ron, did Fred and George stay?"

"Yeah. But they're still upstairs," Ron answered, his mouth full of food.

Hermione scolded the boy making Gaia laugh and shake her head. She sat down beside Lele and grabbed a plate for breakfast.

"I might go to Hogsmeade later, you three want anything?" Gaia asked.

"Sugar quills!" Lele answered, grinning widely.

✧✧✧

"Ria!"

Two hands shook her shoulders from behind, making her squeal in surprise and turn around. Cole stood there containing his laughter as the people in Honeydukes stared at her curiously, whispering slightly when they took notice of Gaia's hair changing back to brown from a violet color.

"Cole!" Gaia said through clenched teeth as she repeatedly slapped his arm.

"Ow! Ow! Hey!" he complained, blocking her hits.

Gaia rolled her eyes playfully and faced back at the register to pay for the sweets she bought. She grabbed the bag and walked out of Honeydukes, Cole following behind.

"You mad?" he asked sheepishly.

"No," Gaia laughed, letting him catch up to her, "What are you doing here?"

"What? I can go to Hogsmeade too, you're not the only one who can," Cole teased, putting an arm around her. Gaia laughed and shook her head.

"I meant at Honeydukes. You hate sweet things," Gaia said, raising an eyebrow. He started leading her towards The Three Broomsticks.

"Well, I was looking for you actually," he answered, opening the door to the cozy pub.

"Me?" Gaia asked with a surprised look on her face.

He didn't answer, instead letting her go and asking for two butterbeers at the counter. He took the two beverages with his hands and gestured for her to follow him to a table near the window. Gaia sat down, taking the butterbeer from Cole's hand and took a sip from it.

"You were looking for me?" Gaia continued to question.

He raised an eyebrow in amusement and took a sip out of his own drink, "Something wrong with that?" he asked.

"I-" Gaia stuttered, slightly choking on her drink. She felt her cheeks start to heat up as she set her mug down on the table, pressing her lips into a thin line, "Cole, I-" she gulped, "I don't like you like that."

Cole stared at her for a while in confusion before bursting out into laughter. He set down his butterbeer and started shaking his head.

"Oh Merlin, no. That's not why I was looking for you!" Cole said in between laughs making her let out a breath, "Besides-" he started, composing himself and grinning at her, "I think Fred would hex me if that were the reason."

Once again, Gaia choked on her drink, this time coughing loudly and making Cole laugh at her expense. Gaia tried to stammer out a reply but Cole beat her to it.

"Anyway, I was actually looking for you because I needed your help," Cole said, a bit more quietly this time.

Gaia narrowed her eyes at him and crossed her arms on the table.

"Cole, I am not willing to assist you in a murder if that's what this is," Gaia joked.

"No!" he laughed, "No, I, uhm," he raised his hand to scratch at his head, "I need help with a girl."

Cole only mumbled the last part, but it was loud enough for Gaia to hear. Her eyes brightened, her roots turning yellow – though it turned back to light brown as fast as it appeared.

"A girl!?" Gaia squealed.

He immediately shushed her as a blush covered his cheeks.

"Yeah, just let the whole world know about it," Cole grumbled, swishing around the butterbeer in his mug.

"Sorry." Gaia giggled, "Who is it?"

He mumbled something and Gaia leaned closer since she couldn't hear him.

"What?"

"Rowina Marlowe," he said, a bit louder this time.

"Really?" Gaia asked excitedly, "Well, what do you need my help for? Pretty sure she likes you already," Gaia said, leaning back into her chair. He sat up straighter and leaned towards her, setting down his mug on the table.

"You think so?" Cole asked hopefully.

"Yeah." Gaia nodded.

"Did she tell you?" he asked skeptically.

"Just a feeling," Gaia answered. He groaned and slumped back.

"Thanks for getting my hopes up for nothing," Cole said, crossing his arms on his chest.

Gaia laughed and shook her head at him. Idiotically brave, yet it was like all of his bravery disappeared when it came to girls.

"Trust me," Gaia grinned, taking another sip of her butterbeer.

The pair spent nearly 3 hours- including lunch time- in Three Broomsticks, more than half of that time filled with Cole gushing about Rowina and asking what he should do to get her attention and such. They made their way back to the castle at around 2:00 since Gaia decided that she wanted to spend the rest of the day reading.

"I think it's tedious to read. It's better to just watch movies," Cole commented as they walked up to the castle.

"What's a movie?" Gaia asked curiously. He looked at her incredulously before shaking his head.

"I forgot that you don't live like a muggle. D'you know what a TV is?" Cole said.

"I think I heard dad talking to one of our neighbors about it but we don't have one," Gaia answered after thinking about it.

The Eruditus family lived among muggles, blending in and pretending they had no magic just like everyone else. Mrs. Eruditus was really the most often to interact with the muggles in their neighborhood, so Gaia still had virtually zero idea about the muggle world.

"Well, movies are like the pictures that we have but they're longer. And they show a lot more," he explained.

Gaia stared blankly ahead, her eyebrows furrowing as she tried to process his explanation. A few seconds later, her face lit up.

"So, it's like a picture, but it shows what happened past a few seconds?" Gaia finally asked.

"Yeah! Exactly!"

✧✧✧

Edited 09/06/2020