SECRET SANTA OPEN MASS THREAD

Secret Santa….. Secret Santa….
For the first time, I hadn’t really concentrated during History of Magic, desperately thinking of what to get my person.
Finally, as the bell went for the end of the lesson, I had a brainwave - it was something I already had in my dorm, from some unknown place.
I ran upstairs, and, when I got there, scrambled in my trunk to try and find it. Finally, I pulled it out, alongside a pen, a piece of plain paper, and some wrapping paper.
I wrapped up the present, hoping I had judged the character of my person correctly, before pulling the piece of paper towards me.
“What should I write…” I whispered.
Eventually, I wrote down: Enjoy.
Simple, but effective, most unlike my present.
I stuck the note onto the wrapped present, and hurried downstairs with it hidden below my cloak, making it a bit of a weird shape, causing some of the people I passed to give me strange looks.
I ran into the classroom I had been told about, placed down my present, before walking back out again.
I tried to keep a neutral facial expression, but as I walked down the stairs towards dinner, I couldn’t help a smile spreading across my face.

Adora found the most perfect, festive wrapping paper for her gift-it was a lovely, deep forest green with with snowflakes and red, metallic bells. Perfect for the fun, Christmas-y event she was preparing her gift for. She had also managed to find a box for her item, and she gently stashed it in the box with some tissue paper. She wrapped the box tightly, her fingers getting tape stuck to them a little too often to be accidental. She found some ribbon, a beautiful golden color that shone in the firelight of the Hufflepuff common room. She neatly draped the now-wrapped box in the ribbon, before tying it together at the top in a pretty four-eared bow. She tied it so elegantly that it seemed as though she did this every year. Which she did. Adora constantly tied the bows on her family's gifts every year. Sometimes even her own presents, fight the urge to peek through giggles as her brother danced to whatever Christmas music her parents had playing. Adora picked up the present and inspected it, checking quickly to make sure that it was wrapped perfectly. She walked through the halls, students wishing her a Merry Christmas the whole way to her destination. She smiled at how festive everybody seemed, how excited they were for the holidays. She, too, wished the students a Merry Christmas as well.
Adora pushed open the door to the classroom, peeking into the room to make sure it was the right one. It most definitely was. The classroom was stunning- fake snow powdered the ground, covering it in a soft, fuzz-like dust. Trees or all sizes adorned the corners, and student talk with each other, every one of them holding a bag or box that held the present they had gotten for someone. Adora walked right in to join them, still admiring the room.

Harumi had just returned to her dorm when she found a wrapped gift near the foot of her bed, all her roommates were in their homes, so she decided to open it now since she's alone.
She sits on her bed and puts the gift box infront of her on the bed, the box seemed to hold something with a cupboard shape, she wondered what's inside, a book perhaps? She wondered what book would it may be, something about potions maybe? She wondered if her secret Santa knew her enough to know what to buy, but Harumi isn't close with anyone right now, maybe they just asked someone who knows her, or just maybe just observed her, like she did with the one she was gifting. She shakes the box a bit, some small things seemed to be hitting each other, also why does it feel like something is talking inside? What could that be?
She finally decides it's time to open it, she slowly unwraps the box, she tried not look so she's more surprised, she removed the wrapper little by little then looked, it's a wizard's chess set! She liked chess, played the muggle version of it with her muggle friend, she wasn't very good at it though, but she can learn! The chess pieces started talking non-stop about different strategies. There's also an enchanted snowball, maybe she can have a snowball fight with her roommates one day, who knows.
Harumi carefully places the chess set beneath her bed, that is favourite place to hide things after all, she lays on the bed and thinks about all the people she could play it with, she ought to make more friends soon.

Word count: 283

Word Count: 386

Zephyr was sitting at one of the long tables in the library with his books and journals. He had his homework spread out in front of him and was trying to focus, but something will distract him most of the time. He was halfway through rewriting a paragraph when something landed on the table beside him.

When he looked up, an owl was waiting for him with a small package tied to its leg. “Oh…uh, hi…” He glanced around to make sure no one else was watching too closely, then he untied the string and the owl took off again.

The package was not big and there was no name on the outside. When he opened and checked what’s inside, there was an old piece of parchment. It was really old based on the yellow at the edges. He saw the ink and the lines moved when he tilted it. Tiny markings appeared and disappeared. His heart started beating faster….

“…No way.” He unfolded it fully, feeling excited now when he realised what it was. It was too unreal for him. Is it really what I think it is? It was a map and not just any map, it was a detailed layout of Hogwarts, corridors, classrooms, staircases, even passages he doesn’t recognize. Then there were the dots. Moving dots and each one had a name. “Is this…?” he whispered. “…the Marauder’s Map?”

He stared at it, stunned. He watched the little names walked through the castle. Some stayed in one place, others moved quickly. He also spotted friends from those names. One of them was in a common room, another was near the Greenhouses. Someone else was pacing near a staircase, and a few names clustered together in a classroom.

It was strange seeing everyone, knowing where they were, what direction they were going. He folded the map back and controlled himself from opening it again or else he willl not be able to finish his homework due to distractions. He just sat there for a moment, trying to process it.

Whoever his Secret Santa was, was really cool! Whoever you are, thank you!! He didn’t expect to receive a marauder’s map!! He put the parchment into his bag, feeling excited, and went back to his homework, though he couldn’t focus on anything else for a long time.