Unofficial Portkey Archive

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter; it belongs to JK Rowling, etc etc.

Authors Note: Okay, I'm a liar. I had a whole other section to go with this chapter, but the more I tried to write it in, the more forced it felt. In the end, I realised it just wasn't going to work, so I scrapped it. Thus we have another short chapter. I'm going to stop promising longer chapters now. You get what you get and that's that. Either way, I like how this chapter ended up. I hope you guys do as well. Also, just to clear up something. No, it was NOT the Elder Wand that Dumbledore gave to Harry. The Deathly Hollows do not exist in my version of the Harry Potter world. And yes, I do introduce an author created character here. I hope you like her. Thanks.

The Christmas holidays saw Hogwarts all but abandoned. The usually busy halls echoed emptily, the ghosts of Hogwarts silently gliding along and only adding to the air of barrenness that had invaded the castle. Only a few students remained.

Neville Longbottom was one of them.

Oh, he had received many invites. His grandmother obviously wanted him to go home and see her, but in his current state, he just could not be bothered. Even awakening her famous ire didn't faze him. He just didn't feel like being Christmassy, and he didn't want to bring anyone down. That was one of the reasons he had turned down the invite from Harry and Hermione to join them at the Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix. The other reason was Draco Malfoy and Ginny Weasley, but you didn't need me to tell you that, did you?

So instead he stayed behind, one of the few. It seemed fitting.

It was Christmas Eve and currently he sat alone at the Gryffindor table as its sole occupant. He stared bleakly down into his soup, stirring apathetically with his head resting roughly on his palm. He was brought out of reverie by the feel of someone invading his personal brooding space. He turned his head slowly to face the person, who turned out to be a brightly smiling blonde haired girl.

'Hi,' she said cheerily.

At Grimmauld Place things where surprisingly cheerful, given the circumstances which surrounded the lives of the core members of the household. However, if anyone ever said that Sirius Black didn't know how to throw a party, you call them a liar. He was the epitome of cheerful, even in the face of such dire times.

The black family dinning room had been refurbished with the help of Molly Weasley and it now sparkled brilliantly. Festoons of tinsel hung from the rooms many chandeliers, magical balloons floated through the air above them, a giant tree sparkled in the corner, and the large table was piled high with Molly's cooking expertise.

Sirius led the festivities from his seat at the head of the table. On his left, Harry sat next to Hermione and across from them, Ginny sat with Draco - the golden couples of Hogwarts. Sirius teased them all endlessly about it.

Next to Hermione was Remus Lupin who sat with Nymphadora Tonks, who kept grabbing the werewolf's hand under the table, no matter how many times he shied away. When he turned to give her a pointed look, she simple stuck out her tongue. He couldn't help but smile, whether he liked it or not.

Ron sat next to Ginny. The rest of the Weasley family followed, beginning with Molly, then the twins, and even Percy, Bill and Charlie, right on the end. Ron glanced under the table, reading something in his hand. It was a Christmas card form Luna Lovegood. He smiled to himself as he read the little note inside:

It was night that no one wanted to end. As the feasting came to an end, the dancing began, and the party really got started. Tonks dragged a protesting Remus onto the dance floor to a chorus of Sirius' laughter. Hermione buried her head into Harry's shoulder as they gently swayed to the music. Draco smirked at the uncomfortable Harry, but quickly blanched when Ginny dragged him up as well. Ron was sandwiched between the twins, who had somehow gotten hold of the Christmas card from Luna, and they held it over his head as George read aloud. Ron was red in the face, but he accepting the ribbing with a little smile, used to it by now.

Neville found out that her name was Seraphina Labelle, but she insisted he call her Sera. She was a muggleborn witch in the year below him and a member of the Hufflepuff house. Her family was originally from France, but they had moved to Scotland when she was only little. She loved it at Hogwarts, no matter what anyone said about it no longer being safe. All this he learnt as she talked into his ear, smiling that bright dazzling smile the whole time, never once letting up, or giving him a chance to do anything other than nod.

Her blonde hair was meticulously pilled on top of her head and arranged in a very odd way with lots of twirling curls. She had even somehow managed to pin a red flower he did now know the name of to the side of her head, just above her left ear. When he managed to ask her about it, she said it was a rare flower that grew only in the French countryside where she grew up and that her parents had named her after it - Seraphina, derived from the biblical word seraphim, which meant "fiery ones".

She talked to him for going on one hour and in that time he couldn't help but come to admire her. He studied her intently as she told him all about her childhood, watching her naturally red lips open and close as she talked, the way her tongue peeked out to wet them every now and then. The way she gesticulated with her hands and the way her eyes seemed to shine with some inner light - she was a fiery one indeed. Her freckles trailed across her nose and dotted her cheeks lightly, only serving to make her even more adorable than he already found her.

Indeed, since she had started talking to him, he hadn't once thought of Ginny Weasley or that manipulative ass Draco Malfoy. Seraphina had completed taken over his world in just a few short minutes. They talked for over an hour as Neville began to open up and take a more active role in the conversation.

As the night was coming to an end, Seraphina said, 'Neville, can I ask you a question?'

'Sure,' Neville replied easily.

'Why are you sitting here all alone on Christmas Eve?'

Neville opened his mouth, but she cut him off before he could speak. It seemed to be a habit for her; one that he also found adorable, even though he knew it would probably be annoying if anyone else did it.

'I was sitting there just watching you and I knew something must have been wrong and everyone always says that I can't just leave people to be when I know they are hurting and its in my nature to want to help so I thought I would come over and try and cheer you up but I really want to know what has upset you so much that you can't even bring yourself to smile on Christmas Eve.'

Neville smiled as she finished her rambling with a pant for breath. She smiled herself and asked, 'what?'

'Nothing,' he said, shaking his head and laughing a little. 'Really, it's nothing. It really doesn't matter anymore.'

Seraphina studied him with a small smile, which widened a little before she said, 'you sure don't seem to be unhappy anymore.'

'I'm not,' Neville said. 'I'm really not.'

Seraphina reached under the table and gently placed her hand on top of his. 'It's late. Will you walk me back to my room?'

'Yeah,' Neville croaked nervously, his hand tingling where she touched him. 'Sure.'

'Cool,' Seraphina said, pulling him up and starting towards the door.

Mandy Brocklehurst watched them go from the Ravenclaw table, a weird little smile on her face as she studied them.

They danced to a few songs by the Weird Sisters before Draco quietly took Ginny's hand and led her out of the party room. Ginny went to ask him what was going on when he put a finger to her lips and gestured up the stairs. She followed him, intrigued. He led her down the hall to his room and opened the door for her.

Once inside the room, Draco shut the door behind him and kissed her. She returned the kiss hungrily and started backing up towards the bed. So that was what this was about. She should have known. Smiling into the kiss, she reached down to his belt. He pulled away, looking a little dazed by the kiss. 'Wait,' he said, stopping her hand on his buckle.

'What's wrong?' Ginny asked, confused now.

'Nothing,' Draco said, taking hold of her waist gently, 'but this isn't what I brought you up here for, believe it or not.'

'Then why did you bring me up here?' Ginny asked, leaning up to give him a kiss on his jaw. 'To your room.' She kissed him again, moving along to the nape of his neck. 'While everyone is down there.' She bit lightly. 'All distracted.'

Draco groaned and pushed her away. 'I'm being serious Ginny,' he said. 'I have something to give you.'

'What?' Ginny was interested now. He wanted to give her a present today? 'A present? It's Christmas Eve, dummy. You get presents on Christmas Day.'

'I know,' he growled, picking her up and dumping her on the bed. She gave a little shriek of excitement. He pinned her down for only a moment before getting back up and crossing to his bedroom cabinet. She leant up on her elbows and watched him as he rummaged around. When he turned to face her, he was holding a rectangular shaped box.

'Is that my Christmas present?' she asked.

'Yeah,' he said, crossing the room to again stand before her.

'Well, if you're going to give it to me early, gimme-gimme,' she said, holding her hands out and beaming.

He gave her the box. She opened it with a snap and examined the contents. Inside was a silver chain link necklace with pendant. The pendant was in the form of a roaring Gryffindor with a Snake entwined around it. She traced a finger down the necklace and across the silver pendant.

'It's not just a stupid necklace,' Draco said, kneeling in front of her and taking the box. 'It's been charmed, you see. If you ever need me, even if it's just to talk, all you have to do is take the pendant in your hand and say my name. I'll know that way, and we can meet at a pre-arranged place, or if you're in trouble, I'll know.'

'How?' Ginny asked as Draco took the necklace from the box and placed it around her neck.

'Because I have its twin,' he said, reaching into his shirt and pulling out a matching pendant, although his was hanging from a black piece of thread. 'It will start to glow and burn against my chest when you activate yours. The same for yours so wear it against your skin. If you want to see me, just activate it for a few seconds, but if you're in trouble, keep hold of the pendant and it will continue to burn. That way I'll know.'

Ginny nodded. 'Thank you,' she said, touching the pendant.

'You like it?' he asked.

'I love it,' she replied, leaning forward to kiss him. When they pulled away, she went on to say, 'it's not fair that I get my present now and you have to wait for yours.'

'So, go get it,' he said, giving her a smirk, 'I don't mind.'

'Okay,' she said, pushing him back so she could get up. She crossed to the door and looked back over her shoulder. 'Sit on the bed and wait for me. I'll be back in a second.'

Draco sat down on the bed and waited for more than a second. Ginny was gone for a whole five minutes before she returned. She opened his door and slipped in. He frowned when he noticed that she had changed clothes. She was wearing a long black robe that fell to her ankles and a pair of black high-heeled shoes.

'Ginny, what…?' She stopped him with a finger on his lips, much like he had stopped her earlier. She smiled at him sultrily and backed up a few steps, before removing the robe and letting it fall to pool at her feet. Draco let out a low groan. Underneath she had on a lacy black basque with matching g-string and stockings - and nothing else.

'What do you think?' Ginny asked, hand on her hip, the very embodiment of sexy.

'That's my present?' Draco said. He was trying very hard to seem composed, despite the fact he was blown away by his awesome girlfriend.

'Part of it.'

'Part of it?'

Ginny smiled cheekily and started to sway her hips a little as she approached him. She leant forward and kissed him again, then asked, mere millimetres away from his lips, 'are you ready for your lap dance?'

Draco groaned with arousal once more.