For the past 2 days, Gaia had been spending most of her time with Cole, mostly because they were talking about how he'd 'swoon' Rowina (Gaia insisted that he didn't really have to do it since Rowina already liked him), and partly because she was terrified that the moment Cole was left alone, he'd end up being the next victim. At the moment, however, Cole was spending time with Rowina - after much persuasion from Gaia that he had to make a move sooner or later before someone else did.

So because of that, she was left to herself for the day. She hadn't really seen the twins since the start of the winter holidays, so she was starting to question if Ron really knew whether or not his brothers went home. After quite some deliberation, Gaia ended up in the hospital wing on a chair beside Aisha's bed with a book in her hand, wrapped up in a fluffy blue sweater and a pair of gray sweatpants, her hair pulled up into a loose ponytail, with an empty cup of hot chocolate on the table beside the bed.

"Hey."

Fred pulled up a chair beside her and sat down. Gaia's eyes brightened, as did her hair, as she set down the book and pulled him into a hug, which he immediately returned.

"Hey! I haven't seen you since the start of the break. Thought you and George went home," Gaia said, "Speaking of which, where is George?"

"Still asleep," Fred shrugged.

How unusual, Gaia thought. She couldn't even remember a time when she saw two apart.

"I'm surprised you even left the common room without him." Gaia laughed softly.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

Gaia shook her head with a smile, "Nothing. Just that I rarely see either of you without the other."

"Well, sometimes it's a relief to be apart from him," Fred said.

"You? Relieved to be apart from George?" Gaia asked, perplexed.

"It's a very rare sometimes, but yeah," he answered.

Judging from his tone, Gaia could tell that he didn't want to talk about it just yet, so she kept her mouth shut. She turned her head to the window, seeing snow fall lightly.

"Hey, you wanna come with me to Hogsmeade? I still have to do some last minute shopping," Gaia said, standing up from the chair and stretching. She held her hand out to Fred, who looked up and smiled.

"Yeah, sure. I'll have to grab warmer clothes though. I think you need the same." Fred grinned.

"I'll meet you by the entrance in about 10 minutes?" Gaia asked.

"How about 20? Give ourselves a break, will you? Both our common rooms are at the top of towers and you expect to have gone up and back down, not to mention get clothed properly, in a matter of 10 minutes?" Fred mused.

"20 minutes it is." Gaia grinned.

✧✧✧

"George still asleep?" Gaia asked when she saw Fred approach hrt, wrapped up in a green sweater with a big letter 'F' on it underneath a large grey jacket, a cream-colored beanie sitting on top of his head.

"He woke up, but he went right back to sleep" Fred answered, frowning as he tried to fix the gloves on his hands.

Gaia laughed slightly before grabbing his hand and fixing his gloves herself. Focused on the task at hand, she failed to see the shocked expression on his face as he flushed.

"C'mon then?" Gaia asked, noting that his cheeks were starting to turn pink from the cold weather.

"Yeah," Fred muttered.

The two began walking to the small village, passing a student or two who were going the opposite way.

"Hey, why'd you say that it's a relief to be apart from George sometimes?" Gaia asked, shoving her hands into the pockets of her jacket just as they passed the first house in the village.

"It kind of gets tiring when people keep mistaking you for your brother. It's like you don't have your own person," Fred admitted, "George feels the same way. So sometimes, we decide on a day when we spend the whole day apart from each other."

"But I haven't mistaken the two of you yet," Gaia commented.

"Yeah. And we're really grateful for it. And it kind of makes you special to us," Fred said with a smile.

Gaia's mouth fell open slightly before she turned her head to the side, a blush starting to cover her face. She stopped abruptly when her eyes fell upon a stall with jewelry on display. She reached out to Fred's hand blindly and started tugging him towards the stall.

"Lele loves jewelry," Gaia explained when they stopped in front of the stall, her eyes already surveying each piece.

Gaia focused on a thin-banded silver ring with a small, colorless gem on top. She picked it up and examined it.

"It informs you of the wearer's true intentions," the witch that owned the stall remarked.

"I'm sorry, but what do you mean?" Gaia asked curiously.

"The gem changed colors. The normal color depends on the wearer's attitude, but the color can change when they change as well," she explained.

Gaia hummed in reply, twisting it around, "How much for it?" she asked politely.

"7 galleons, dear."

She fished around in her pocket for the right amount before handing the money to the kind seller. The older witch placed the ring in a little, peach-colored box with a pink bow on top.

"Thank you." Gaia smiled and placed the ring in a small bag that her father had enchanted with an extension charm.

"Why didn't you finish your holiday shopping when you were here with Cole?" Fred asked as they walked to other shops.

Because I hoped to do it with you, Gaia thought.

"How'd you even know that I was here with Cole?" Gaia shot back, barely glancing at him.

"George and I saw you two at Three Broomsticks," he answered.

Gaia hummed, pushing open the door to Honeydukes. Fred quickly replaced her hand on the door with his and let her step first into the warm shop. The shop was filled with a good amount of people, some of them being students from Hogwarts.

Gaia walked straight to the sugar quills and picked up some of those for her and Lele. She then grabbed a few chocolate frogs off the shelves for Ron, chocolate wands for Harry, and cauldron cakes for Hermione.

"You aren't going to buy any, Freddie?" Gaia asked the tall ginger beside me who only stood there.

"Not really feeling it," Fred admitted with a shrug. Gaia shook her head and motioned to the candies and treats.

"C'mon Freddie. My treat," I winked at him, walking over to a different shelf for some Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans.

"You're a horrible person Gaia, really."

Gaia turned around and laughed when she saw Fred's arms filled with sweets.

"Not really feeling it, eh?" Gaia teased.

"Well, I'd never say no to free food." Fred grinned.

"I hope some of those are for George," she teased as they went over to the counter to pay for it. She placed the sweets in her bag, telling Fred to remind her to give him theirs- his and George's- later.

"You're still not done?" Fred asked exasperatedly as Gaia pulled him in the direction of Tomes and Scrolls.

"You signed yourself up for this when you agreed to come," she said in a sing-song voice.

Gaia pushed open the door to Tomes and Scrolls and immediately made a beeline towards History books. Hermione would love one of those since she technically grew up with a different history.

"I'll be quick, promise. I know you don't like bookshops. After here, we can go back to the castle if you'd like," Gaia offered, letting go of his hand in favor of running her finger across the covers that stood side-by-side.

"S'alright. Take your time. I did sign myself up for this," Fred grinned, mocking her earlier words.

"Could you do me a favor and grab some ink for me? Just meet me at the counter after," Gaia asked, turning her head slightly towards him.

"Didn't you just buy some a week ago?" Fred raised an eyebrow.

"I spilled it," Gaia said sheepishly. Fred laughed but did as she asked anyway.

Gaia pursed her lips in contemplation before finally pulling out 'Muggle Myths and the Truth' from the shelves. She flipped through the pages and nodded in satisfaction. She headed towards the counter and saw Fred already standing there, in line.

"Thanks, Fred," Gaia smiled at him, taking the ink bottle from him and standing in his place.

"That'll be 2 galleons and a knut," the boy at the cashier said.

Gaia pulled out some money and frowned when she realized that she was short a knut. She opened her mouth to say something but a hand placing some money on the counter stopped her – 2 galleons and a knut. She looked up at Fred and raised an eyebrow.

"And who told you to pay for that?" Gaia asked.

"I did." Fred grinned, taking the bag of items from the boy, "Anyways, come on. We're going back, right?"

"What happened to 'take your time'?" Gaia teased, altering her voice to do an impression of him as a similar shade to the signature Weasley hair seeped into her own hair. He only rolled his eyes and put an arm around her shoulders.

"Well, I've changed my mind. Come on, it's not nice to be alone on Christmas Eve. Why not spend it with George and I?"

✧✧✧

Gaia had forgotten just how comfy the Gryffindor common room was. Of course, nothing could quite beat the level of coziness I felt in the Ravenclaw common room, but it was a close second. Though, Gaia supposed it was a biased opinion since she'd only ever been in two common rooms in her whole Hogwarts life.

When she stepped through the portrait, with a small bag packed with clothes on her shoulder, she felt myself smile as the warm atmosphere of the common room of the lions surrounded her. Just like the Ravenclaw common room, very few students could actually be seen lounging around on the chairs. Most had gone home, just like everyone else.

In the corner of the room, Gaia saw Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Lele discussing something between themselves in whispers. Gaia looked around in hopes of spotting either Fred or George, her eyes passing Rowina Marlowe chatting excitedly with another Gryffindor; Catherin Watson, if Gaia could recall correctly.

"There you are! Come on!" Fred greeted as he took hold of Gaia's hand and pulled her back towards the portrait.

"Woah, hey! Where are we going?" Gaia asked as she stumbled after him.

"D'you really think we're celebrating here? C'mon! George's already waiting for us," Fred answered with a grin, barely looking back at her direction.

"Celebrating?" Gaia questioned.

"Christmas! Merlin, woman. For a Ravenclaw, you really can be a bit dim sometimes," Fred teased, making her slap his arm as she pulled her hand from his grip.

"Watch it Weasley. I might just test your bravery in the Black Lake," Gaia glared.

"Only teasing, Eruditus." he grinned.

Gaia continued to follow him through the torch-lit halls of Hogwarts, turning corners as he did so as well.

"You still haven't told me where we're going. For all I know, you could be kidnapping me," Gaia said as they turned yet another corner.

"If you must know, we're going to Professor Snape's. You know, to leave him a little present," Fred answered.

When they turned another corner, George was there waiting for them.

"Finally! Took you to long enough!" George complained when the pair was close enough.

"Wait, what kind of present? Because if it's the kind that gets you detention, then I don't want to be involved," Gaia said cautiously.

"Relax Gaia." Fred grinned.

"You only get detention if you're caught." George winked at her before opening the door to Snape's office.

"George! What if he's-" Gaia whispered hurriedly.

"He's not in there. He left ages ago," George answered.

The three of them entered the quiet office. It was a somewhat circular room with a circular desk and a chair in the middle. Shelves of different potions and ingredients lined the wall and a single couch was placed in the corner.

Fred pulled out something from his pockets and pointed his wand at it. He whispered something Gaia couldn't quite hear before the object in his hand grew to a little green and red present box. He placed it on the desk while George looked around at the shelves.

"Do I want to know?" Gaia asked. Fred only grinned in response.

"Look at that," George pointed at one of the potions on the shelves. Gaia looked as well and snorted.

"Is that Amortentia?" she giggled.

"Wonder who he's gonna use that on," Fred snickered as he grabbed the bottle off of the shelf and examined it.

"He's coming back. Let's go," George whispered hurriedly as he looked at the map in his hand.

Fred returned the potion on the shelf and the trio rushed out of the room. They hid behind a corner with a perfect view of his office, just as the professor came into view and walked to his office with a scowl on his face.

Next thing Gaia knew, fireworks filled his office along with smoke. When the smoke cleared, she finally saw what had been inside the box. Snape stood in the middle of his office, different colors coating his skin with red ink on his forehead reading 'Happy Holidays!'. Gaia giggled into her hand, bending down slightly as she tried to keep her laughter to a minimum. The twins had to drag her away because she couldn't move from her laughter.

✧✧✧

"Those colors aren't going to wash away for at least a few days," Fred boasted as they sat around a counter in the kitchens, little elves busying themselves around them.

"We made the charm ourselves," George grinned as he took a cup from one of the elves.

"I'm sure you did. You two can be brilliant when you want to." I grinned back as an elf handed her a steaming cup of hot cocoa, "Thank you." Gaia smiled before the small elf popped away.

Some elves were setting down plates in front each of the three, containing biscuits, pastries, desserts, and anything they asked for.

"Thank you," Gaia said after a while.

"What for?" George asked.

"For this. It really distracted me from what's happening. So, thank you." Gaia looked at both of them. The pair looked at each other before smiling at her.

"What'd you expect, Eruditus?" Fred asked with a smirk.

"We're you're best friends. 'Course we're gonna cheer you up," George followed with an identical smirk.

✧✧✧

Edited 09/06/2020