Christmas had finally arrived. Hogwarts' ground was coated with white from the snow that poured down last night. The coldness could even be felt by everyone inside the castle. Frankly, Hogwarts wasn't in its usual loud state considering most of the students and some teachers had gone back home to celebrate with their families. And, of course, Jaiden stayed behind.

Ever since Elizabeth's death, Jaiden had never received a proper Christmas. No tree, no present. She didn't celebrate it either. When Christmas came rolling around, Jaiden would go out and watch some families having their fun time together from afar. She always imagined that maybe if her family was complete, she'd get to experience the same fun.

But, since she was at Hogwarts, she finally got a proper Christmas. Even though it wasn't around family, at least her friends were there. Harry and Ron had stayed back, meanwhile, Hermione had gone home.

Harry's uncle had asked him to not return home for the holiday and Harry gladly complied. As for Ron, his parents had decided to pay Ron's older brother, Charlie, a visit. Ron told her that Charlie was in Romania, learning about dragons. That resulted in the Weasleys' siblings being around for the holiday.

As Jaiden was walking down the stairs to the common room, she could make out her friends' voices. She fastened her pace and once she was at the last step, she saw Harry was opening his present while Ron sitting in front of him, eating Bertie Botts. Ron was the first one to notice Jaiden.

"Morning, Jaiden. Happy Christmas." Ron said with a smile. Harry looked up after putting on the sweater he'd received from Ron's mother. He smiled at Jaiden, too.

"Happy Christmas, Jaiden."

"Happy Christmas" She replied with a smile. For some reason, it was weird for those words to come out of Jaiden's mouth. It had been two years since she said those words to someone.

"Here, I got you something. Well, it's from my mom." Ron said while handing her a parcel.

"I've got a present?" She asked, slightly shocked. She wasn't expecting anything but she was grateful to get something.

"Yeah. I think you have the same case as Harry. He never gets presents, too." He said, pointing at Harry who nodded.

"Actually, I've got presents before, but not after my mum died." She shrugged to show that she didn't care. The two boys only gave her a small sad smile in understanding.

She opened the parcel from Mrs Weasley in front of them. It was a knitted jumper. She had a light blue colour with a 'J' initial on the front, just like the one Harry and Ron were wearing. The letter 'J' was knitted in gold colour and it stands for "Jaiden". She immediately put it on. It was comfy and Jaiden was grateful for the warmth the jumper provided.

"It's fit!" She said happily with a smile. "Tell your mum I said thank you, Ron. I love it." Ron smiled. He felt good knowing the small presents made his friends happy.

"I got you guys something, too." Jaiden said suddenly which caught their attention. "Wait here." She said and ran back up to her dorm. When she showed up again, she passed the both of them a bag full of sweets. Ron's eyes went wide.

"Where'd you get all this?" He asked as he dug into the sweets. Jaiden smiled, remembering back to when she had asked Remus for help a few days ago.

"It must cost a lot," Harry said which Ron agreed by nodding. "Where'd you find the time to get all these? Do you stash it in your dorm?" Harry continued asking. Jaiden only smiled.

"No, I bought it three days ago." She stopped and thought for a moment. "Actually, I asked someone to buy them for me." She shrugged and before they could ask her any more questions, Jaiden walked to the Christmas tree near the fireplace. She scanned all the presents under the tree before her eyes landed on a familiar name.

"Hey, Harry?" Jaiden called while picking up a wrapped present. "I think this one is for you. It has your name on it." She said while handing him his present. She sat next to Ron and waited for Harry to open his present.

"It's a cloak." Harry said once he had torn the wrap away.

"Well, put it on, Harry." Ron said while shoving Bertie Botts in his mouth. He put it on and in the blink of an eye, he became a floating head.

"Woah. That is an Invisibility cloak." Jaiden gasped. Ron automatically put his beans away and walked towards Harry. Jaiden took two beans from the box and walked towards her friends.

"I wonder who gave it to you. Is there any note?" Ron asked, looking around.

"I don't know. But, there is a note, it says 'use it well'." Harry read it out loud. The three of them fell silent for a few seconds before Jaiden spoke up.

"You're not going to wander around the castle with that cloak on, are you, Harry?" Jaiden asked. Sure, she hadn't known Harry for a long time, but she had labelled Harry as someone who does things recklessly.

"Uh...," Harry couldn't form any word. He was trying to comprehend how in the world did Jaiden know the exact thing he was thinking. Meanwhile, Jaiden took his hesitation as a "yes".

"If I were you Harry, I'm not going to do that. Even if I'll enjoy it. But, it's already bad enough when you guys told me you nearly got caught by Filch 'cause you all were at the third-floor corridor and nearly got killed by a three-headed dog."

"Well, you got a point there." Harry mumbled.

"But...if you still wish to wander around, make sure you're careful. And, don't be out for so long." She said with a mischievous smirk. Harry smiled and nodded.

"For a second, I thought Hermione was here." Ron said and they all burst out laughing. "Let's get out breakfast. I'm hungry." Ron stated.

"Don't you always." Jaiden replied and they all laughed again.

At breakfast, Ron and Harry filled Jaiden with what they knew about Nicholas Flamel. And, how Hagrid said that, that three-headed dog belonged to him and its name was Fluffy.

"Wait, let me get this straight." Jaiden stopped Harry from explaining. "So, you think that Nicholas Flamel has something to do about this?" The boys nodded their heads.

"Any ideas?" Harry asked.

"Nicholas Flamel sounds familiar to me. Where did I hear it?" She ended up asking herself. Harry's ears perked up and he turned to look at Ron.

"See, Ron. I told you. It sounds familiar." He said. Ron only stared at him.

"I'm not sure where, but I'm certain it's not from any book I read," Ron said quietly.

Just then, they started to give up. Ron pulled out three chocolate frogs and passed one to Harry and Jaiden. They ate their chocolate in silence when suddenly Ron gasped.

"What, what is it?" The other two asked in unison.

"Guys, I think we have the clue now." He looked up at his friends and he had a big smile on his face.

Rewritten- 3/01/2024