Jillian cursed Professor Binns as she finished the fourteen inch essay with a three inch title at the top - GIANT PROBLEMS. She giggled and rolled up the parchment.
Noticing that the library was empty, Jillian stood, yawning and stretching. It had been two weeks since her supposed appointment with Professor Kilicus, and everything had been going perfect. Well, Jillian thought, not exactly perfect.
For some reason, Peter had been avoiding her ever since that night, and it was getting annoying when he started going the other way when she was walking toward him with a smile and a ready comment. In fact, it made her want to go over and smack some sense into him.
Jillian sighed. She couldn't do anything right now when he was visiting his parents for Christmas, so she just gathered up her books and left the library.
The reason Jillian wasn't at home - and never went home - for the holidays is because she just didn't want to. This was when her entire family gathered together, and she was always the one off to the side. Her parents didn't seem to mind that she stay at Hogwarts during Christmas, and, frankly, Jillian really hated going home for any reason.
When Jillian reached her blessedly empty common room, she stripped and fell into bed with a sigh. She had finished all her homework already, so there wasn't going to be anything else to do until Peter came back.
Jillian snuggled into the pillows, and suddenly shot up. "Uh-oh."
She hadn't visited Moaning Myrtle for so long, Jillian almost forgot about her. She would have to see her in the morning and apologize. Myrtle got emotional about these kinds of things.
Jillian lay back against the pillows and sighed. Well, now she had something to do.
When Jillian woke up, it was sunny. She glanced out the window with a smile to see all the snow glowing so white, it hurt the eyes. At the bottom of her bed, there was a small pile of presents, and she quickly jumped onto them.
Her mother had gotten her a beautiful silver mirror with her name engraved on it. On the back, it said that it could show "the future, present or past" if asked right. Jillian rolled her eyes, but grinned at her expression. At least the surface area worked.
Kirsten gave her a glove, hat and scarf set that sang Christmas carols until you said the magic word. That was almost annoying, but it was the first present Kirsten had ever gotten for her, so at least she cared.
Amazingly, Peter had given her a present, too - a beautiful golden locket and a note that said:
This should be an interesting present for you. It's said to keep people out of harm's way, but that doesn't mean you should seek it out. I hope you have a Happy Christmas. Peter.
Jillian grinned and immediately put it on. She went downstairs for lunch - she woke up way too late for breakfast - which was always an interesting experience at Christmas, then decided to visit Myrtle.
She grabbed her present from the common room and ran to Myrtle's bathroom. She walked in yelling, "Myrtle, I've come to wish you a Happy Christmas!"
There was a little sob in the corner. "I remember when I used to be able to celebrate Christmas. It wasn't always happy, though, because they would make fun of my presents and my hair, and my clothes, and - "
"Ah, stop complaining. I've brought you a present."
Myrtle flew out of her bathroom with a screech, and for a moment, Jillian thought of running away, but the screech seemed to be one of joy. "You brought me a present?! Well, I guess that should make up for your absence."
"I didn't mean to stay away so long, but the toilet thing kind of scared me."
Myrtle didn't seem to hear. Instead, she grabbed for the present and the wrapping paper was ripped off to reveal a picture of Seinte since Myrtle had once told her that she loved Dragons.
Myrtle stared at it a while and squealed. "Is it real?"
"Yes, it's in a barn to the side of the castle."
"I can see it, right?"
"I don't know, but I guess you might be able to."
Myrlte squealed again and started crooning to the picture. Jillian, thinking it was very weird for her friend to be doing this, slowly stepped out of the bathroom with a smile.
She walked down the hall, happy that she could give Myrtle such a nice Christmas since she had been dead for more than she had been alive.
She walked around for a while before going outside to enjoy the snow. There were a few people having a snowball fight, and Jillian decided to join them. She packed some snow and threw it at the nearest person to her. They turned, looking a little surprise, and Jillian started to laugh. Amazingly, they let her stay, and she had fun throwing snowballs and getting hit so often, she was soaked to the bone.
Afterward, she left them with a wave and skipped down to the Quidditch Field. Jillian loved Christmas, and she always found time to do her favorite sport on her favorite day of the year.
She was flying for a while when she heard a shout below her. She looked down and saw Madame Hooch waving her arms at her below.
She flew down and walked over with a sheepish smile. "Sorry, Madame Hooch. I didn't think it would be against the rules."
She nodded and said, "I've seen you flying out here before. Why don't you just join your Quidditch team?"
Jillian shrugged and mumbled a good-bye before leaving at a run. She was freezing, and she wanted to get warm before the fire before she went down for the Christmas Feast.
She was going upstairs, trying to quiet her squelching shoes in such a quiet hall when she heard whispered voices.
Jillian's eyes widened, and she moved closer to the door.
"Viktor, you know that time is running short. Either you finish what you've started, or we'll have to finish it for you. Do it before February or there will be consequences that not even you can imagine. Remember what happened before Viktor. You don't have enough time to dilly-dally around. Finish it!"
"I know, I know, you keep telling me, and I keep telling you that this takes time. You may not understand what that means, but if you don't do it just right, it won't happen. Patience is the key to this working."
There was a low growl. "Just finish it."
There were footsteps coming toward the door, and Jillian fell back into another classroom with a small gasp. She sat there in the dark, shivering in her wet clothes, for a long time before she got her breathing and heartbeat under control.
She looked out into the corridor and couldn't see anyone. She ran all the way to the common room and sat there shivering and breathing unsteadily.
Something was going to happen. Something bad. She needed to tell Dumbledore. No, she needed to tell Peter. Something was happening, and she didn't know what to do.
Hope you enjoyed the newest chapter. The new Paneki website is now up, so I hope you check it out. Any questions, ask Ezcommo - hope I spelled that right. Well, have a great day.