Silver Lining

Chapter 12

When I woke up the next morning, it took me a moment to remember why there was a lingering feeling of excitement bubbling in my stomach. At first, I figured it was left over from the night before; I'd had one of the best nights of my life, and just seeing my dress draped over the end of my bed from the night before made my stomach flutter again. Then, I noticed the small pile of red-and-gold-wrapped boxes and remembered what day it was.

Christmas.

I threw the scarlet covers off and swung my legs over the edge of my four-poster bed, almost hitting my head as I stood up. A couple of the others were awake - Alice and Marlene by the looks of it - and were attempting to open a few of their presents as quietly (and unsuccessfully) as possible. I grinned and gave them a wave through the dim light shining through the half-closed curtains. The sun was only just rising. I eyed Lily's sleeping figure mischievously, taking a running leap onto her bed and smothering her.

"Geroff!" she moaned, groping for a pillow and throwing in the general direction of my face.

"Rise and shine, princess!" I laughed, dodging the pillow and trying to yank the covers off her. "It's Christmas!"

"Do I look like I care?" she groaned, grabbing another pillow and pulling it over her face to block out the light. I laughed and scrambled off her bed, taking a moment to throw one of Lily's presents at her head before taking one of my own and flipping over the tag.

To Violet, from Mum and Dad

I smiled to myself and ripped open the small box wrapped in red and gold ribbon. I opened it to reveal a silver band topped with a small amethyst. I slipped it out of the box and held it to the sliver of light crossing my lap, watching it sparkle. I let out a gasp, admiring its beauty when my head jolted to the side. I looked up in annoyance, my glare turning to a smirk as Lily appeared in view; rather dishevelled and wielding a pillow that had just made contact with my face. I scoffed, grabbing my own pillow and chucking it at her. 

"Pathetic, Evans," I smirked before another pillow made contact with my face.

"I'll show you pathetic, Andrews!" Lily shrieked, leaping onto my bed as laughter bubbled out of her mouth. Olivia groaned from under her covers and threw a pillow in our direction, which artfully landed on Lily's face. Lily shouted, "Hey!" and threw a pillow across the room, making contact with Marlene's knee and knocking a few of her presents to the ground.

"Oh, it's on!" The pretty blonde grabbed her own pillow and jumped off her bed to swing it round and hit me in the back of the head. I squealed, grabbing my discarded pillows and joining the war that had broken out in my dormitory.

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Breakfast went by quickly, in a rush of delicious pancakes and warm drinks as snow rained delicately onto our shoulders from the enchanted ceiling. I did my very best to restrain myself, knowing I'd have a feast for Christmas dinner, but I couldn't resist the widest array of breakfast foods I'd ever seen. The trees lining the edges of the hall still glistened as bright as they had the night before, and the Christmassy atmosphere was almost overwhelming. 

By the time we were sitting down again for Christmas dinner, my breakfast had barely settled. Professor Dumbledore gave a quick speech to the large number of students seated in the Hall before the feast appeared on the tables. I let out a gasp; surely the house elves had spent their whole lives preparing for this very feast. Traditional Christmas dishes covered the long tables, as well as extravagantly sculpted foods and plenty of platters I had never seen or heard of. It didn't taken me long to fill my plate, and I shot Lily a satisfied smile as we each took a bite of the roast turkey in front of us.