Christmas arrived at Hogwarts quietly at first, like a held breath.
Snow had fallen overnight, thick and pristine, blanketing the grounds until the castle looked as though it had grown straight out of a white dream. Icicles hung from every turret and archway, glittering faintly in the pale winter sun. The Black Lake was rimmed with ice, steam curling lazily from its surface, and the greenhouses stood fogged and glowing like lanterns against the frost.
Students bundled themselves in scarves and gloves, laughter echoing louder in the cold air. Even the professors seemed softer this time of year Professor McGonagall's lips curved more often, Professor Flitwick hummed carols under his breath, and Professor Sprout had decorated the greenhouse doors with enchanted holly that waved cheerfully at passersby.
For some, Hogwarts was home for Christmas.
But not for the Lees.
The Lee and Diggory families had firmly decided that Christmas would be spent together at home. One of the children wasn't even allowed to stay behind independently—otherwise Cassiopeia would march to Hogwarts herself and cause a scene. Maribel and Elowen, however, remained at the castle. Elowen's grandmother was tied up at the Ministry of Magic, where she worked as a Senior Analyst in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, overseeing inter-department coordination during the holiday surge. Maribel's parents were similarly occupied at St. Mungo's Hospital, which was understaffed and overflowing with patients due to potion mishaps and spell-related accidents.
Rowan and Tobias however returned home, although they were happy to go back to meet their family, they were grumbling endlessly about not being allowed to perform magic outside school.
The Hogwarts Express steamed and hissed as it pulled away from the station, snow swirling behind it. The Lees had claimed a compartment for themselves, while the Diggorys shared theirs with Rowan and Tobias—five people squeezed in with barely any elbow room, they were unable to share the same compartment due to limit of five person per compartment
The moment the Lees' compartment door clicked shut and the curtains were drawn, Orion Lee shed his carefully maintained Cold Slytherin Prince persona.
He collapsed dramatically across the seat, tie loosened, shoes kicked off, and hair—usually slicked back and immaculate—now falling messily into his eyes. He let out a long, exaggerated sigh of relief.
"Finally," Orion groaned. "If I had to listen to one more pure-blood monologue about the purity of nonsense, I was going to hex myself. I already told them I'm neutral on blood purity, but they still flock to me like I'm their leader."
"Oh, shut it, Ori," Lyra laughed, tossing a Bertie Bott's Bean on Orion mouth. "You like the attention. Don't pretend you don't."
Orion scoffed, but didn't deny it.
Despite his claimed neutrality, Orion had risen rapidly through Slytherin's social hierarchy. His sharp academic performance and effortless charm made people listen—really listen. And secretly, it gave him hope. If someone like him could influence Slytherin, maybe the House could someday let go of its obsession with blood status.
Around him, Lyra and Vela were buried beneath a mountain of books and half-eaten Chocolate Frogs. Leo sat between them, quietly sketching the scene—Orion sprawled like royalty in exile, Lyra mid-laugh, Vela leaning forward with ink smudged on her fingers. Leo hair was a warm, festive cinnamon-orange, glowing softly in the winter light.
As the train rattled toward London, they began recounting the highlights of what happen during those three months and a half of Hogwarts.
The Great Floating Chair Incident.
Vela animatedly described Lyra's attempt at a silent Levitation Charm in the library. Instead of the book, she'd enchanted the chair of a sleeping fifth-year. The boy floated all the way to the ceiling, snoring loudly, while the twins desperately hurled heavy scrolls at him to weigh the chair down before Madam Pince noticed.
The Slytherin Common Room Prank.
With a rare mischievous smirk, Orion confessed that he and Leo had orchestrated a prank. Leo, using his Metamorphmagus abilities, transformed into a Slytherin student to distract the Prefects while Orion and like-minded Slytherins friend painted the common room bright pink.
"Oh, so it was you two?!" Lyra gasped. "If Mum and Dad hear this, one of your butt cheeks might disappear from spanking to hard"
Both brothers burst out laughing.
"Well," Leo grinned, "I can grow mine back."
They laugh even more with that absurdly comment.
The Transfiguration Rivalry.
Leo proudly recalled turning a teapot into a turtle—with their father's face. Professor McGonagall had been so impressed she hadn't even deducted points when the turtle promptly relieved itself on her desk.
"I think the best part on what happen to Leo," Vela added wickedly, "was professor sprout face when Leo got swallowed by a giant Venomous Tentacula in Herbology. Professor Sprout and the plant were literally in a tug-of-war over who got him first."
Leo flushed scarlet. "H-hey! That was traumatizing! I was in the hospital wing for three days!"
He shot back instantly. "And what about you? Sneaking into the Restricted Section at midnight, got caught at the middle of going back to the dorm panicking and kissing a random Gryffindor that is coincidently was also breaking the rule and when professor McGonagall caught up to you and saw you guys in te middle of it? You convincing her it was a date night just to avoid getting banned from the library?"
Vela froze.
"Lyra!!!," she hissed, mortified. "why did you tell him!!"
Lyra just smiled before getting smacked.
Orion chimed in smoothly, "I heard the kiss was so good the fourth -year Gryffindor you kissed is planning to ask you out after Christmas."
Vela looked like she might combust. "H-how am I supposed to deal with that, and ....we have classes together?"
Laughter filled the compartment, warm and unrestrained.
Hours later, as the train slowed, Orion's voice softened. "Mum will be at the station. Dad's probably cooked enough stew to feed the entire Hufflepuff Quidditch team. We survived the first round."
"And we get to see Carina," Lyra added brightly. "She says she's been practicing her scowl so she can show me how disappointed she is that my letters are always late."
Leo laughed. "She told me she hid your makeup because of that."
As the snowy outskirts of London came into view, the four siblings leaned against one another. A Slytherin, two Ravenclaws, and a Hufflepuff—but as King's Cross emerged ahead, they were simply the Lees.
Orion straightened his tie.
Leo forced his hair back to disciplined black—leaving a tiny streak of gold behind one ear, just for himself.