Christmas Mail Solo Finished

Outfit: School robes

Date: December 26, 2021 (Sunday)

The jolly atmosphere in the castle was winding down, which, for some reason, did wonders at improving Liana's mood. Having essentially regifted the most expensive (and useless) present she had ever received to her best friend also played a part in liberating the girl from the oppressing feelings that had haunted her. Not to mention that she felt like she really got back at Father with that one. If only he knew that a lowly half-blood girl raised in the Muggle world was now happily zooming around Hogwarts grounds on the Silver Arrow he had bought. Maybe there really was something to this whole 'season of sharing' thing.

She did not even sleep in on the morning of the Boxing Day, even though she had planned to. Nine hours of sleep seemed more than sufficient to her body, and Liana could not convince it to turn off again, extending the recuperation to twelve or more hours like she would have wanted to. Strangely, in the recent days this prolonged stay in her four-poster was making the redhead feel tired, of all things. Odd. Hence, she got dressed, combed her hair and headed towards the Great Hall. Breakfast was a concept she had forgotten by now - most of the days she either slept through it or just wasn't feeling hungry. Perhaps she could try getting back into the old habits? It was worth a shot.

The Great Hall was mostly empty, only a few early birds pecking at their food. She used to be one of those early birds, but now it just felt weird to be in the scantly-populated hall. The selection at the Slytherin table was wide - porridge, toast, eggs, bacon, and all the other usual breakfast foods. None of it looked particularly appetizing to Liana as she sat down on the bench. She ended up simply filling a cup with unsweetened black tea and sipping on it while her eyes surveyed the merrily decorated dining area without much interest.

A whooshing sound from above made her look up - some owls were flying in to deliver the morning mail. One of them, a brown tawny, headed straight towards Liana. It dropped an envelope into the girl's lap, landed on a jug of water, and began dipping its beak into it, drinking greedily. The poor creature looked exhausted, as if it had flied for long hours. Who could be sending her letters from the other end of the country, if not further?

With a tingle of curiosity, she turned the envelope over in her hand. The name of the sender was markedly absent, although the letter was clearly addressed to Liana Kerr - the owl had not made a mistake in delivering it. Was it meant to be anonymous? She set the tea cup aside and carefully broke the seal. Inside, there were two pieces of parchment. She took the first one out and unfolded it. Her eyes were assaulted by minuscule cursive.

To,

Liana Kerr

Hey there, I know you weren't expecting a letter from me. But hey, it's that time of year. In typical Christmas cheer, I thought it might be a good idea to give you the piece of paper that's with this. I hope you appreciate it - it took quite a bit of snooping - and a few detentions - to be able to find out who your parents are and what their signatures look like.
It's a pass to Hogsmeade! I really think that you might have enjoyed the history and culture of the wizarding village. And the sweets.
This slip should fool most of the authorities, but please don't get caught by a prefect or a teacher who knows you personally. I'd rather not have awkward questions asked about where you got this.

Go out there, and try and have some FUN.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Your new best friend

Baffled and suspicious, she took the other piece of parchment out of the envelope. Indeed, it was a permission for her to visit Hogsmeade, signed by Marcus Kerr. She had not seen such permission forms herself - it was something only third-year-and-older students were sent - but this was how she would have imagined it to look. Even her father's signature looked real. What in Merlin's name..? Who would care enough to find and forge it? How would they even go about doing that? Did someone browse through her mail and read the correspondence coming from Father?

She reread the letter, seeking any clues that could point at the sender. The handwriting was unfamiliar, so it couldn't have been anyone from her immediate circle of friends. The contents were not something an adult would write, so it had to be a peer or someone a bit older - perhaps someone who had access to actual permission slips, so he or she could make a counterfeit one? But then, she barely knew any third-years or older students; or at least she didn't know any well enough to be receiving such strange presents from them. Could this be an attempt to frame her for possessing something forbidden? Names like Matthew Gray, Scarlet Salvatore and Hildegard Schneider came to mind immediately. None of them were really her enemies, but, judging from past experiences, she could see them trying to play such a trick just for their amusement. She looked at the tired owl that was now taking off, probably to rest in the owlery for a while. The bird definitely had to have come a long way, so it wasn't sent from as close at the Hogwarts grounds. Well, that ruled out Schneider at least, because she stayed at school for the holidays. A lot of the people Liana knew had gone home, true. But how many of them lived far away that the trip would cause an owl such fatigue?

The Slytherin inspected the letter yet again, trying to find something else that could tip her off. The sender seemed to be a cheerful, fun-focused type of person. Enrico Gathorne, perhaps? Avery Chen would also have fit the description, but this wasn't his handwriting - the two had studied together enough times for Liana to remember how his scrawl looked. Was this a trap, or was it really just a friendly attempt to get her to break some rules for the excitement of it? She looked over the fake permission again before putting it back into the envelope. There was no way she would risk going to Hogsmeade. While its culture might in fact interest her, most locations of interest would just put her in a needless risk of being spotted. Liana wasn't one to mindlessly obey every single rule, but breaching them without a good reason was not an attractive idea either. A spiteful part of her brain tried pointing out that Father would certainly react to finding out she had used his signature to slip into a village forbidden for first-years. A more rational part retorted that the reaction would probably be along the lines of 'Learn to choose when to fall in line and when to disobey; this was a disappointingly childish decision'. Not the sort of reprimand she cared to receive from him.

Liana casually glanced around, making sure nobody was watching her. Not a single soul in the Great Hall seemed to show interest. She folded both parchment pieces and put them back in the envelope. For some reason, even though merely possessing them was incriminating, and she could not see herself actually using the permission slip, throwing it out didn't feel right.

She rose from the table and made her way out of the hall. It seemed like her Cryptex Lock drawer would finally get to hold something of interest.

Liana has left the thread.