Closed Holiday With the Harringtoms Finished

Adam laughed, delighted to be able to finally share some of his favorite parts of the wizard community with his new best friend in the world. "Oh, I've got the perfect one!"

Over the course of the next few days, Adam and Eris played dozens of games together. From suspense-filled rounds of Exploding Snap with Sydney and Dean to hours-long games of Wizard Chess between just the two of them, Adam didn't think they'd ever run out of things to do, and he never wanted to. Eris was a fast learner; after the first day, she started to beat Adam more and more, until she was almost an even match for him and his brother. The night after arriving at the Harringtom household, the family gathered together with Eris to celebrate Dean's seventeenth birthday in an evening full of cake, gifts, and thrilling renditions of nearly every story Sydney had about her boyfriend. The days after that moved quickly, but Adam tried to make every moment enjoyable for his friend. One afternoon, they spent hours outside racing through thick banks of newly-fallen snow, tossing snowballs at each other and laughing when Adam tripped over a hidden root and landed face-first in the cold. They'd most definitely have plenty of stories to tell when they got back to the castle. Right now, though, Adam never wanted to go back.

Before long, it was Christmas Eve. Adam's mother had cooked an impressive dinner that they almost hadn't been able to finish, and soon afterwards the adults had returned to the kitchen to prepare for the rest of the evening. It was a Harringtom house tradition to watch a different movie every Christmas Eve, and this year it was Dean's choice to pick. Adam and Eris were upstairs in Adam's room talking about school and whatever else came across their minds when they heard a shout from the living room.

"Hey, Adam! Raggedy Ann! Movie's starting with or without you!" Dean's voice resounded up the stairs, quickly followed by a chagrin from Sydney to be nicer. Adam grinned at his friend before standing up and reaching out a hand to help Eris to her feet. "Ready?" he asked, and they walked down to the living room together.

Adam was surprised to hear a familiar theme blaring from the TV, a score that he hadn't expected to hear at all during this time of year. Rounding the corner, he sighed and gave his brother an "are you kidding me?" look. "The Avengers, Dean? Really? That's not really a Christmas mo--"

"Hey, Adam? Shut up." Adam's brother glared at him before flinching away from a slap on the shoulder, turning to face Sydney in shock. "What was that for?"

"I told you to be nicer. You know exactly what that was for." Sydney cast him a loving look and moved in closer to Dean, fitting herself into his side to make room for the other kids and smiling as he threw an arm around her shoulder. Kissing Dean on the cheek, she then turned her attention to Eris instead, smiling warmly at the younger girl as everyone found a place. "Eris, have you seen this movie before? It's very exciting."

The adults poured into the room with more desserts and popcorn than one family could possibly need, and Dean started the movie right as Bridgit sat down. As the screen went dark and the opening logos shone on the screen, Adam looked over at Eris apologetically and mouthed an "I'm sorry" in dismay. He knew his family could be weird, and he was still worried that Eris wouldn't want to be friends with him by the time they returned to the castle. She seemed happy enough, though. Maybe this wouldn't turn out as bad as he'd feared after all.

He hoped she liked the movie.

The time at the Harringtom household had passed in a happy blur of perfect moments, and peaceful moments. Eris and Adam had spent the days together, attached at the hip, just like best friends should be. it was impossible to think about the fact that Eris and Adam had just become friends, not even a year ago. Everything seemed better when Eris was with Adam, having a friend to talk too. Well, a friend that wasn't insane like Kaegen, or some of the other students at school.

Eris had never been a fan of muggle board games, but she found herself spending hours lounging on the floor of the Harringtom's living room, aggressively trying to beat Adam and Dean, while Sydney laughed in the background at the theatrics of the young children and the ever eccentric Dean Harringtom.

Then there were the moments spent shoveling her face with food better than anything cooked at Hogwarts, while the sounds of chattering filled the table. Nobody had to raise their voices to talk, even though they did quite a lot. The topic of most nights dinners were Eris and Adam's adventures at Hogwarts, or Dean and Sydney's academics. But some night there were stories about the adults.

And then the snowball fight, in which Adam had fallen and hurt himself. Eris had almost fallen herself, laughing like a maniac. Of course, Adam had pegged her in the face, seeing her being distracted by his clumsiness. The fight hadn't let up for hours after that, as the two best friends flung snowballs at each other like they were worse enemies. But in the end, they had called it a tie and retreated inside to hot cocoa and talking over nothing in particular, content to listen to each other's rambles.

All and all, everything was perfect. Time had flown by, until it was Christmas Eve. Eris felt giddy, the money she had taken out of Gringotts had gone to good use. She had sent owls out, with orders for everyone in the house. She hadn't ever given gifts before, and wanted to do it in style. The owls came back with brightly wrapped packages, and the red-headed girl had detached herself from Adam's company one afternoon to write cards for everyone in the house. Most of them were just thank you cards, but it didn't matter. The Rowle heir was giddy with excitement, just thinking of Christmas morning.

It was Christmas Eve though, and Eris was stuffed. She had eaten more than her fill of dinner that night, and was now lounging on Adam's bed, pillow tucked under her elbows as they talked. Pushing herself up, Eris walked down the stairs with Dean, only to let out a little squeal at the logo and the music blaring on the TV.

Eris giggled at Adam, rolling her eyes mockingly. "Be quiet Adam, Avengers is a work of art." One of the only things her father had liked. Nerd movies and comics. Eris had grown up on marvel.

Leading Adam to a chair, Eris flopped down on the Harringtom's couch next to Sydney. "Of course I've seen this movie before. I'd watch anything with Captain America!" The girl said, not meaning it as a crush. She just really liked Captain America as a superhero.

The adults brought in another small fest, as the screen turned dark, and the famous blue stone panned into view. Unable to help herself from smiling, Eris settled down on the couch.

Eris and Dean had been right. The movie was amazing. Adam had been drawn in by the onscreen battle, and when the end credits had finally rolled -- wait, scratch that, when the screen had finally gone dark, because apparently there was more you had to wait for after the credits rolled -- he'd spent nearly two more hours discussing its intricacies with his friend. It was ten-o'-clock when Adam and Eris were finally sent upstairs to Adam's room under the watchful eye of Mrs. Harringtom. It was Christmas Eve, after all, and everyone knew that staying up too late on Christmas Eve was never a good idea. The two first-years had resumed their conversation upstairs for another half-hour before Adam had felt a wave of exhaustion overtake him, and he'd said goodnight to Eris with a smile on his face.

The next morning, Adam was up way too early for his own liking. Adam enjoyed sleeping in, but for some reason unknown to him, he'd opened his eyes at 6:00 and hadn't been able to drift off again afterwards. Rolling over in his bed, Adam propped up his arms and rested his head in his hands, looking down at Eris on the floor. Adam had offered her his bed, but the girl had refused to accept it, opting to use a sleeping bag and an extra blanket for comfort. He was excited to spend Christmas with Eris, especially since she'd had such a rough last few winters at her own house. Luckily, it hadn't taken Adam's mother much convincing to run out and buy a few last-minute presents for the redhead. He was going to make sure Eris had the best Christmas she could hope for.

It was clear that the young girl loved the movie. Her delight grew and grew, as the movie played. There was a smile on her face, and a handful of popcorn in her clenched fists. Settled next to Sydney, practically curled up against the hufflepuff's side with Adam on her right side, Eris found herself more happy than she had been in a while, just in the company of the Harringtom family and Co. The night seemed like a moment out of a picture perfect movie, and Eris never wanted it to end.

Although Eris enjoyed the movie and the company, towards the end of the movie she found herself thinking of her father, and how he loved the avengers movies. Every time they watched one of the movies, a childlike delight would grow on the red headed man's face, as he would run around the house, claiming that the magic in the movie was unrealistic. She had thought it funny at the time, but now, the girl couldn't help but wonder if her father knew more about magic then he let on. Not that it mattered though. Eris hadn't seen her father in months, and thinking about him on Christmas Eve wasn't going to make the night any better.

Pushing the thoughts away, Eris's face broke out into a smile as Hulk showed up on the screen. Hadn't she called Dorian Gray hulk? Yeah, she had called him Hulk Smash Book. Perhaps the best name to ever call somebody. In Eris's humble opinion. The movie finally shut off, and the family sat in silence as the credits rolled. Honestly, the pangs of exhaustion started to hit, as Eris rolled over, until she was half asleep on Sydney's knee. Normally, she would of worried about embarrassing the other girl, but Eris was too tired to care. But then Adam had started to talk about the movie, and Eris's eyes had opened and she had pulled herself up.

The rest of the night was spend ranting and raving about the avengers--which one they thought was cooler, which one they thought was strongest, and so forth. The conversation was occasionally interrupted by Syd or Dean, but for now, the two friends happily chattered, content in their childish talk about the love of the avengers, and super heroes.

Then Mrs. Harringtom sent the two to bed, and Eris found herself grinning as her and Adam stomped up the stairs to his room. They kept talking for a while, before sleep overcame the two of them, and dreams of presents and Christmas trees kept them from waking up and talking, as they had for the past few nights. It was, after all, a well known fact that being awake on Christmas Eve wasn't a good idea.

The peacefulness of sleep was interrupted half way through the night as Eris remembered her presents to the family. She pulled out her trunk, and grabbed the brightly wrapped presents. Holding them up in her arms, Eris traveled down the stairs and set them down under the brightly colored tree. Nothing was there yet, so without a backwards glance, Eris headed back up the stairs and to bed.

She slept for the rest of the night, until there was a rustling noise. Curling up deeper in her sleeping back, glad for the warmth, Eris opened one eye to see Adam's face peering down at her. Letting out a groan, Eris closed her eyes again and burrowed her face in the pillow. She was not going to wake up so early.

But it was Christmas! With a jolt, Eris looked up from her blanket. "It's Christmas isn't it?" She muttered, staring at Adam with a drowsy expression. Christmas! Slowly clarity returned to her, and Eris pushed herself out of the sleeping bag.

Adam laughed, watching Eris bury herself further in the sleeping bag and ask him what day it was while attempting to fall back asleep. How was she still able to fall asleep? It was Christmas! Nobody sleeps on Christmas! Adam had barely been able to close his eyes last night, for God's sake. He'd gotten four, five hours of sleep, maybe? Peering at his clock, Adam checked the time, and sighed. It was only 5:30. He really should have let his friend get just a few more minutes of rest in before the start of the day. Oh well, too late now!

Flipping the clock on its side so that Eris couldn't see how unreasonably early it was if she looked over, Adam smiled down at her. "No, it's New Year's." Laughing, Adam sat up on the bed and continued. "Yes, it's Christmas! Come on, get up!" Prodding her lightly with his foot, he stood up and stepped over Eris' sleeping bag, holding back a yawn. While he waited for his best friend to get up and get moving, Adam smoothed down his hair and felt himself starting to get impatient. He could wait, couldn't he?

No. That was the simple answer. He couldn't wait. Reminding himself that it was still early in the morning, Adam decided to let Eris sleep for a few hours more like a normal person and walked to his door. If it got too late, he'd just come wake her up again, right? He was sure she wouldn't mind, but it was probably better to tell her just in case. "Hey, Eris, I'm headed downstairs, okay? Feel free to come down whenever you're ready." She might not have heard him, buried in as many blankets as she was, but at least he'd tried.

Moving quickly down the stairs, Adam launched himself around the corner of his living room and stopped in awe. His parents had put up a Christmas tree at the beginning of December, and they'd decorated it earlier that week. It looked even more festive now, all lit up against the shadows of the dark room, especially with the newly-arrived ring of presents surrounding its bottom. In fact, he was so drawn to it that he didn't notice the other person in the room until she spoke up.

"Merry Christmas, Adam!" Sydney called from the couch, standing up to come over and give him a hug. Adam smiled and returned the embrace, happy that there was someone else awake with him in the early morning. Breaking away from the hug, Sydney led him back to the couch and invited him to sit. It was nice to relax and talk to his brother's girlfriend for a while, at least until everyone else woke up.

....He hoped it wouldn't be too long now.

Once Adam had left the room, Eris jolted awake. Rubbing at her tired face, Eris spared a moment to throw on a jacket in the vain hopes of combating the early morning chill before rushing down the stairs towards the living room. How strange this feeling of excitement was. Just last year, her Christmas had been spent alone, but now she was spending it with a picture perfect family with more money then she could of ever dreamed of. Of course, this freedom was more than Eris had ever known, and it was no wonder that she had enjoyed her share of over spending in her haste to give the Harringtom family presents worthy of the kindness they had shown her during her stay at their house.

Even now, she didn't feel that the presents lying under the tree were good enough for the family taht she was staying at. But it was the thought that counted, wasn't it? That was what people always said, but yet, Eris had no doubt that presents were the most important part of Christmas. Who cared about food or watching Christmas movies when you could be playing with new toys? Eris most certainly didn't care about eating roast ham when there were perfectly fine presents to be opened and examined. But naturally, there was no time to dwell on other things to do on Christmas morning, as Eris raced down the stairs, excitement mounting with every step she took.

When she first went down the stairs, Eris broke into a smile, staring at the tree. Even in the morning with faint light shining into the house, it looked lovely. The lights gleamed and glistened, making a merry scene for anyone up to look. And the presents! There were so many of them sitting under the tree, wrapped up and practically begging to be opened by one of the residents of the house.

It took a lot of effort to turn her eyes away from the tree, but Eris did it anyways. Smile growing as she saw Sydney and Adam sitting on the couch, Eris launched herself onto the empty space near the two of them, yawning widely. Even though it was Christmas and she was excited, Eris still felt more tired than anything. The after effects of sleep still hadn't worn out, as Eris rubbed at her eyes.

"Merry Christmas." Eris spoke out loud, sleepy grin on her face, as she turned to look at the two people on the couch with her with the best happy expression an extremely tired 11 year old could muster "Where is everyone else?"

Sydney's face lit up when the first-year girl made her way into the room, and laughed in delighted surprise when she came crashing down onto the cushion between Adam and herself. "Merry Christmas to you, early riser! Everyone else is still sleeping, I'd guess. I only woke up when I did to finish wrapping up some gifts. What brings you two out here with me? It's not even six-o'-clock!" Shrinking back a little bit, Adam laughed sheepishly and smiled an apology to his friend. There was a chance that she was already aware of the time, wasn't there? Or that she wouldn't mind it?

Looking between the two of them and laughing again, quietly, Sydney pushed herself to her feet and stifled a yawn. "Well, if we're all out here, I may as well drag Dean in. Make this thing a real party. Wish me luck!" With a wink, the girl slipped out of the room and left the other two children alone. Turning so that he was facing his friend, Adam's eyes lit up and he gestured towards the stack of gifts sitting under the tree. "Hey, how many of those do you think are for us?" Sliding off of his position on the couch, he made a show of taking exaggeratedly-stealthy steps towards the Christmas tree and winking. "I'll just take one quick peek..."

Before he could find any labeled with either of their names, however, a scream from down the hallway grabbed his attention. It sounded like Sydney's -- she was the only teenage girl in the house, after all. Adam cast Eris a questioning look, wondering if they should inspect the noise more closely. As quickly as the scream had started, though, it cut off suddenly, replaced by the angry voice of Adam's brother. "Adam! Eris! Where the hell are you?"

Eyes widening in nervousness, Adam hesitated for a minute as he tried to decide what to do. He didn't want to get yelled at, especially in front of Eris, and especially by Dean. It might be better just to hang back and pretend that they hadn't heard anything. Dean wouldn't confront them in front of Bridgit or their parents, would he? Not on Christmas. On the other hand, of course, there was a strong possibility that his brother would just keep yelling at them until they showed up, probably getting louder and angrier each time. No one wanted that to happen. Going with the lesser of the two evils, Adam motioned for Eris to follow him and jogged down the hallway to Dean's room.

Sydney stood in front of the door, looking equal parts confused and frightened. Opening his mouth to ask her what was wrong, Adam caught sight of the condition of the room and stopped short, jaw still slightly ajar from shock. He felt Eris bump up against him after the sudden stop, and figured that her expression probably mirrored those of the other two onlookers. From his brother's doorway to the far wall, spiderwebs dominated every surface in sight. They were strung across the walls, the floor, the ceiling, and everything in between. Adam could barely make out Dean's position in the room, straining to see past the silk that obstructed the door frame itself. Suddenly, an angry order came from inside. "Step back. Watch out."

Heeding the older boy's warning, Adam and the girls stood back from the door and listened as he muttered the incantation for the Severing Charm. A few of the webs crumpled against a flash of green light and Dean's face poked through, eyes burning with rage. In a terrifyingly calm voice, he looked at the figures gathered outside of his door and continued, "Hi, Adam. Hi, Eris. Wonderful morning, isn't it? What a lovely Christmas. Hey, before I forget -- mind answering a quick question for me?"

Looking at Dean suspiciously, Adam took a small step back and responded with caution. 'S-sure, Dean. What is it?" Forcing a smile, Dean brushed away one of the cobwebs hanging near his head and answered in the same ordinary voice. "Great! Just a little thing, really: what the f--"

"Dean!" Sydney cried out in horror, cutting him off with a warning glare. He regarded her with an equally angry stare until rolling his eyes and backing down, letting his girlfriend explain. "Eris, Adam, know anything about what happened here?"

Adam caught his friend's eye and discreetly mouthed "Kaegen", hoping she'd understand his meaning. One of his creatures must have somehow stowed away in their luggage, and gotten free in Dean's room. With a sigh, Adam explained the situation to his brother and watched as he worked to cut away the rest of the silk in his room, being the only one present that was legally allowed to use magic at home. Adam made sure to place himself strategically behind Sydney when Dean finally broke free of the traps, but he knew that he wouldn't be able to hide forever. Hopefully, Eris would avoid the brunt of the retaliation. They'd have to be on their guard for the rest of their days around Dean.

It was easy to forget about their troubles, though, when the four of them returned to the living room and found Adam's parents in front of the tree, smiling even if they had been woken prematurely. Adam couldn't contain his excitement, faced with the thrilling prospect of finding out what had been given to him -- and to the rest of the family, of course. Looking down at Eris, he grinned. "Ready to get these presents open?'

Eris yawned again, managing another sleepy smile at the enthusiasm that Sydney was radiating. Even in the early morning, Sydney was still able to be a perfect ray of sunshine, bright hufflepuff demure making the hazy fog of sleep clear away a bit, as Eris rubbed at her eyes with cold hands. Smiling back at Adam, content to stay on the couch with her best friend and the totally awesome older girl, Eris let the warm fuzzy feeling grow inside of her. This was so much better than last years Christmas, which had been dull and miserable for the red head Elcan.

This was amazing, and far from dull.

When Sydney said she was going to get Dean, Eris nodded her head in evident approval at the idea of bringing out the older Harringtom boy, excited at the prospect of having, yet another, person join their early morning party. The adults of the house were still asleep, most likely enjoying the peace of the early morning, before the chaos that ensued as the children ran around the house with their new presents. There would be plenty of time for running around and playing with presents, for now, life was calm, as Eris and Adam watched Sydney go to Dean's room.

Turning to look at Adam and presents, Eris slid off the couch and crawled towards the tree. "I bet-" . Her sentence was stopped at the sudden scream that erupted from the nearby room. In a second, Eris was up on her feet, and staring at Adam with a concerned expression on her tired face.

Following her friend to Dean's room, Eris raised an eyebrow in confusion at the silhouette of Sydney's blonde hair in the doorway. Wedging past the older girl, who looked completely shell shocked and unable to move, staring at something that the shorter girl couldn't see, Eris moved closer to see. Slipping away from Adam and Sydney, Eris peeked her head into the open room and froze with the same shock contorting Sydney and Adam's features.

What the bloody hell?

Spider webs everywhere. They covered the room, the floor, everything in sight. Everywhere she looked, there was the silk of spider webs, so when Dean's voice called out from the white blob of a room, Eris jumped up in the air, before taking a step back towards Sydney and Adam. The sound of another human voice coming from the room, which was covered in the sticky substance, took Eris by surprise.

How had he survived in there? Weird.

Watching the spider webs fade away with a blast of green light, Eris smiled sheepishly at the older boy. It was odd to see him so angry, when Dean was always joking around. Rubbing her neck with an awkward expression, Eris turned to look at Adam and nodded, eyes wide in horror. How the hell did Kaegen's spider things end up at the Harringtom house?

Letting Adam explain, butting in to state something when she felt like it, the smallest person in the hallway occasionally glared at the spider webs with an unrelenting venom, having a deep hatred for the creatures after her midnight escapade with Dorian and Max, and the way the small devils had crawled around.

When the conversation was over, the four tromped over to the Christmas Tree, and Eris's worry dissipated, just staring at the tree and the presents under it. Adam's parents were up too, looking happier than Eris's mum and dad had ever looked this early in the morning. The site of the happy adults brought a smile to Eris's face, as it could only mean one thing.

It was time to open presents.

"Ready as I'll ever be."
Eris grinned at her friend, before turning to look at the pile of parcels again.

The two of them practically dove into the mound of gifts waiting for them, unable to hold back their excitement for any longer. After all, Adam had gotten up early for this very reason -- and now that the...issue...in Dean's room had been resolved, there was nothing to hold him back. Roaming his hands and eyes over all of the boxes in the pile, the boy hunted for his name and set about amassing a small treasure trove behind him. The older crowd behind them waited for the madness to die down before taking a few of the presents left for them, more patient than Adam could imagine being on a day like this.

Dean sat next to Sydney on the floor a few feet from the tree, settling himself not far from Eris and Adam's claimed space. The Harringtom parents occupied the couch, and Bridgit made herself comfortable on an armchair. When everyone had received enough boxes and bags to keep them busy for a while, Adam took a seat and slid the first box onto his lap. It was wrapped uniformly -- most likely, with the help of his mother's wand -- and Adam checked the label on it in anticipation. He had guessed right; the package was from his parents, and they smiled at him expectantly as he tore the gift-paper off.

Contained within the wrapping paper and the box it covered were a collection of tiny figurines, resembling six different species of miniature dragons. Adam held it up excitedly, examining the detail of their scaled bodies and their vicious, yet tiny, teeth. He knew that when released, they would start to fly around his bedroom and make themselves at home. He'd heard of toys like this becoming more popular lately, but the thought of having some for his own hadn't crossed his mind. Smiling brightly, he showed off the dragons to the rest of the room before setting them carefully to the side. "Thanks, Mom and Dad! They're awesome!"

"I'm so glad you like them! I was a little nervous..." his mother admitted, returning his grin. "Just be careful that they don't bite you, okay, Adam?"

"Kristine," cut in Adam's father, and the woman looked at him in shock.

"What, David? I just want him to be safe! They could be dangerous!"

"He's eleven. He can take care of himself. Now, who's next? Miss Elcan?"

The rest of the morning went by in a similar fashion, as the inhabitants of the house took turns opening their Christmas gifts and the number dwindled. Before long, only a few presents remained. Adam was surprised to find Eris' name on the label of the next box. The rest of his family had gotten their share of presents from her, but he had figured that those were more of a "thank-you gift" type thing. She hadn't needed to buy them their own Christmas presents! Beaming at her, he pushed over a box that he had been saving for the end. "Here, this one's from me. Want to open them together?"

Positioning his hands over the parcel, he waited for his friend's answer and wondered what could possibly be inside.

Presents! Was there anything more perfect than presents? The correct, and only, answer was no. There was not anything as beautiful as the growing mound of tissue paper, and the brightly wrapped boxes that enclosed goodies for the lucky owner of whatever lurked in the box. The two children were a little more excited than the rest of the family, rummaging through the presents as if they were starving children being presented with a feast.

Soon, every member of the family had a gift, or a lot of them, sat in front of them and it was finally time to open the loot. There was an air of mounting excitement, mostly coming from the small children sitting on the floor. The older children looked more calm than Eris and Adam. Eris was positively beaming, studying the treasure trove of presents in front of her, looking a lot like a hoarder. After Christmas, it was almost certain she would be sent onto Hoarders, the show. The 11 year old obsessed with her Christmas presents, even without knowing what was in them.

Her eyes widened at Adam's present, eyes instantly locked on the figures of the..moving(!) dragons held up to the light. Awe and shock shining through her eyes, a smile still lingering on her face, Eris almost reached forward to touch the present, before remembering it was Adam's, and that she had manners, she stopped mid-reach. Lowing her hands, and sticking them into the pockets of her Pegasus onesise, that had been randomly given to her one day by a student who claimed it was too small, and had handed it over to the smallest member of Gryffindor, Eris flipped the hood up, letting the white fabric cover her head with a content sigh. It was a funny sight, the horn stuck on top of her head, and the curls of messy red hair peeking out from the hood, but Eris's face was awed and completely unresponsive to the strangeness that was her appearance, eyes focused on the presents with the sharp focus that excitement often honed.

When it was announced that it was her turn, Eris grabbed the largest present that was for her. It was also from the Harringtom parents, and when it was ripped open, the same mini dragons roared from inside of their box, and Eris let out a shout of glee. The dragons, like her, were small and fierce, and she loved them with all her heart, already. She was going to train them, and love them, and they were going to be like pets. Who needed owls when you had little dragons that lived forever? Along with the dragons, an assortment of brightly colored wizard candies spilled out of the parcel as well, their vibrant colored wrappers falling to the floor, as the girl paid them no heed, grinning at the dragons.

Finally, Eris looked at the candy, and grinned even wider, shoving one of the Liquorice wands out of it's wrappings and into her mouth. Sucking on the candy until her teeth and mouth were black, Eris's darkly stained grin was luminous, as she looked back up at the Harringtom family sitting on the couch. "Thank you so much!" Eris finally said, unable to convey in words, just how grateful she was for the gifts from the Harringtom parents.

The rest of the day was spent with the presents, as different members of the family unwrapped different presents. Each present unwrapped meant it was one present closer to her own gifts, which were, messily wrapped, and hidden towards the back of the tree. For Adam, Eris had gotten a new Wizards Chess set, seeing how his was old. For Dean, there was a stack of comics, each from the Fantastic Four universe. The card on the box stated: "to the worst mr. fantastic" in messy handwriting, while Dean's girlfriend had gotten a yellow dress ordered from Madame Malkins. Was it her size? Maybe, maybe not. Eris wasn't really sure what size Sydney was, but she liked the dress all the same, and had sent the woman questions about sizing in her owl to order the dress. Whether or not the dress fit was to be found out. For Bridget, a new handbag had been gifted, and for the Harringtom parents, a sum of money had been written out at Gringotts, and the check was wrapped up in light tissue paper, under the tree with the rest of the presents.

It was Eris's first time gifting presents, and she really had no idea what she was doing. Hopefully it was enough to pay for them letting her into their home. Standing up from the pile of presents, Eris stood up and thrust the boxes into the hands of the family members, face pink and eyes averted. The shyness that rarely showed up in Eris had decided to show it's ugly pink face, so when she finally moved away from the last member of the family, Eris clasped her hands together awkwardly, a vision of a small, shy, Santa. "I brought presents of my own."

Yes, being a rich pureblood heir had it's perks. Maybe someday she would embrace her legacy, but for now, Eris was content to spend her mother's money, and wait for an owl back from her father. For now, it seemed that the family she needed was almost found in the Harringtom home, as she sat back on the floor, done handing out the presents.