Chapter 28: The Farewell List Before the Heavy Snow Seals the Mountain (Patreon)

In mid-December, the first blizzard of the winter fell on the Scottish Highlands.

Feet of snow sealed every windowsill of Hogwarts Castle shut, and a thick crust of ice formed across the surface of the Black Lake.

In the Great Hall, Hagrid, wrapped in his enormous beaver-skin coat, sneezed thunderously and huffed and puffed as he dragged twelve towering Christmas firs into the room.

Professor Flitwick sprayed tiny golden stars from the tip of his wand, dusting the branches until they glittered.

The moment the bell rang to end class, Professor McGonagall strode down the corridor with a parchment board in hand, taking down the names of the students staying at school for Christmas.

At the long table, Harry signed his name on the list without a moment's hesitation.

The Dursleys of Privet Drive would have been delighted if he never came back at all, so for Harry, staying at school was a relief.

Ron signed too. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were planning to use the holiday to visit Charlie in Romania, where he studied dragons, and the twins and Percy had all chosen to stay at Hogwarts as well.

When she reached the Slytherin table, Professor McGonagall's parchment board came to a stop in front of Raven.

Raven pulled out a quill and, perfectly composed, wrote "Raven Capet" in the column for those staying.

Compared with going back to an empty Capet Manor, the Hogwarts library and the castle's ley lines were a far better breeding ground for research. During the holidays there would be no curfew bustle, and Madam Pince would rarely patrol.

Across the table, the silver spoon in Draconia's hand froze.

The young lady's watery gray-blue eyes went wide. She stared hard at the line of ink Raven had just written, and her voice shot up half an octave without her noticing:

"You're staying at school for the holidays?!"

Raven set down the quill, handed it back to Professor McGonagall, and turned to look at her. "What's so shocking about that, Miss Malfoy?"

"Who stays in a freezing ice-box of a place like this for Christmas?!"

Draconia crushed her napkin into a ball, her brow knotted tight. "There isn't a single snowflake in the greenhouses at Malfoy Manor, the fireplaces burn gilded agarwood shipped in from France, and on Christmas Eve there are thirty full courts of dishes! And you… you'd actually rather stay in this wretched castle with nothing but dry bread and pumpkin soup?!"

"Peace and knowledge are a feast of their own," Raven said evenly.

Draconia bit her lip and shifted restlessly in her chair.

Three days ago she had already ordered the house-elves to pack her trunk to bursting, and she had even picked out seven custom-tailored little gowns for the dinners back home.

But somehow, watching the name Raven had written on that list, most of the excitement she'd felt about going home was suddenly swept away by a vague, nameless irritation.

She fiddled absently with the train ticket in her hand, her eyes lingering on Raven's face for a long while. Then she blurted out stiffly, "Hey, if you can't afford to go back to your manor, the Malfoys can lend you a few Galleons…"

"I appreciate the thought, Miss Malfoy." Raven laughed softly. "But I'm staying for one reason only: I want to be here."

Draconia choked on her words. She shot him a furious glare, snatched up her bag, and stormed off.

…

Two days later, in the early morning, fine, feathery snow drifted outside the entrance hall.

Several black carriages, drawn by invisible Thestrals, waited on the drive outside the castle to carry the students heading home to Hogsmeade Station.

Bundled in thick coats and hauling bags large and small, the students said their noisy goodbyes in the entrance hall.

Draconia stood by a pillar near the great doors, wrapped in a luxurious silver-white fox-fur cloak, its thick collar of fur making her pale little face look all the more delicate.

Crabbe and Goyle labored to heave two carved leather trunks onto the carriage, while the young lady stood on the steps above, kicking absently at the snow underfoot, her eyes darting again and again toward the marble staircase.

Just as the coachman blew the first brass whistle for departure, a slender figure in black finally came down from the turn of the stairs, unhurried.

Raven wore only a well-fitted black windproof robe. Hands in his pockets, he walked over through the snow.

Draconia's eyes brightened for the briefest moment, then she promptly lifted her chin and put on her usual coldness. "What are you doing here? Come to watch how Miss Malfoy rides home to the manor in a comfortable carriage?"

"As your ally, seeing Miss Malfoy off shouldn't be too excessive a courtesy." Raven stopped half a step in front of her, exhaling a faint puff of white breath.

He took a slender crystal flask, no bigger than his palm and sealed with silver foil, from his pocket and held it out to Draconia.

Inside was a translucent, pale-gold liquid, and through the crystal wall it gave off a faint, gentle warmth.

Draconia blinked. "What's this?"

"An advanced warming potion I brewed myself," Raven said calmly. "It's windy out, and the train windows don't seal very well. Take a couple of sips and it'll keep the cold off."

Draconia looked at the delicate little bottle, her fingertips twitching on instinct. Slowly she slid a small hand in a thin leather glove out of her thick muff and took the flask.

A wonderfully comfortable warmth spread through her palm at once, chasing away much of the stiffness from standing so long in the wind and snow.

The young lady pressed her lips together. The softest corner of her heart felt as if something had gently bumped against it.

But when she looked up and met Raven's dark eyes, with their not-quite-smile, the girl's defenses flew back up in a flustered rush.

She quickly stuffed the flask into the hidden pocket inside her cloak, thrust her hands back into the muff, and turned her face away in feigned fussiness. "If it tastes too bitter, I'll have an owl send you a whole sack of wormwood when I get home!"

Up front, the coachman snapped the reins impatiently. Draconia stepped up into the carriage by the footboard, but a heartbeat before ducking inside, she stopped, gripped the door, and turned around.

Her platinum hair stirred lightly in the wind and snow, a faint glimmer shining in her watery gray-blue eyes, as she shouted fiercely at the boy on the steps:

"Capet! Don't you dare spill any potions in the dungeons over Christmas! And… when term starts again in January, if somebody else has taken the front row, I'll definitely send you a Howler! Do you hear me?!"

Raven stood in the snow, a warm, easy smile curving his lips, and gave a slight nod. "Safe travels, Draconia."

The carriage door slammed shut. Wheels crunched through ice and snow with a light creak, and the carriage rolled away along the winding mountain road.

The entrance hall slowly fell quiet. As the last of the students heading home departed, the whole of Hogwarts Castle seemed to sink into a long, deep hibernation.

Raven put his hands back in his pockets, turned, and walked back into the warm hall.

Outside the windows the storm howled, and deep in the empty corridors, his own time to explore had finally begun.