Home, Christmas Break, 29th December 2018

Hjørdis smiled softly at the scenery that lay before her as she leaned against the door frame. She carried a tray in her hand, carefully balancing it in a way to avoid spillage. Her mind and eyes, however, had drifted from the tea she was holding to the sight in front of her. It was perhaps one of her favourite things to see in the morning. If she could start every morning in this way, she would. Sadly, with work, that was not always an option. Work meant early mornings and a routine that she had to adhere to. Things were different during the school breaks, however. The Head of House was free to do whatever she wanted, without the responsibility of being the Head of anything. It was nice, that odd sense of freedom that she had started to forget about.

Her light blue eyes gazed in front of her, the smile never once faltering from her face. The scenery warmed her heart, bringing a sense of content that she could not quite describe. Pushing herself off the door frame after some time, she entered the room and gently placed the tray on the bedside table as she sat down on the edge of the bed. She ran her hand through her long silver hair that hung loose over her shoulders, pushing it to the other side of her head so it did not tickle as she leaned over.

In front of her lay her favourite person in the world. Placing her hand onto the man's shoulder, she gently rocked him, "Kjæreste?" She whispered near his ear as she leaned down to nuzzle his face a little, "It's time to get up... I made tea..." She was hoping to get his attention with something that she said to force the man to get out of bed. The truth was, however, she did not want to wake him up. He looked so much more peaceful now when he was sound asleep and she could not help but find herself smiling a little at how incredibly cute he looked.

It had been a long time since she could be here and not worry about what would happen tomorrow. His peaceful face brought a sense of peace and content to her heart that she did not know she had longed for. But she was not sure it would last. The day was going to be stressful, there was no doubt about it and whilst she did not want to wake him, she knew she had to. She wished she could just protect him, let him sleep but she knew there was nothing she could do. Despite this, she was going to try her best to make him happy. She did not say that out aloud. She did not need to. He knew. He always knew. Hjørdis kept the smile on her face, hiding her concerns and worries deep within as she placed a few gentle kisses onto his cheek, "Good morning," She continued as she nuzzled his cheek a little more, gently shaking him awake.

Christmastime.

Anton, for the life of him, couldn't understand the appeal. For the majority of the people who celebrated the holiday, it was filled with festivities, merriment and happiness. For those who didn't celebrate it, it was simply another day they had to work - or relax if they had the day off. For a small majority of people, the season brought sadness and long forgotten memories to the surface. For Anton Nagal, resident alchemist and potion professor at his once attended school of Hogwarts, Christmas was a time of loneliness and self-reflection through the year. It had been that way for many years now.

Honestly, the last few days had been spent doing other things. There was a visit to the graveyard - a silent journey alongside another sad soul. There was a few jobs he had to finish over the course of the week. There were a few students who had sought out his extra help during the Christmas holiday, and he had dealt with that. But this? Anton had stirred himself awake as the other body slipped from the warmth of sheets and comfort of bed. This would be the longest part of the holiday season, although he knew it would only last... a few hours.

He had reached out to his mother, a non-descript owl that arrived a few weeks prior. He hadn't expected such a timely reply when he asked for her genealogy. She had asked several questions, but he wasn't quite ready to breach that information via an owl. It was definitely something that he wanted to speak about in person. He felt rather disconnected to his whole tree, and after his cousin's death, he felt like he wasn't apart of either side anymore. The Felds had basically disowned him, and his father... that was a whole secondary issue. He sighed as he let his eyes close again.

He wasn't asleep. He was somewhere in the warmth of lingering body heat and where the day would start. He heard the shuffling of quiet footsteps; felt the dip of the bed as his companion returned to the bed. He was laying on his back, one arm tucked up and underneath his head and pillow, the other along his chest. He could feel her body sitting on top of his. He allowed one of his bright, blue eyes to pry itself open as he stared up at her. He smiled. She was too gorgeous; too perfect. He wrapped an arm around her and pulled her down if she'd let him, but regardless, would sneak in a quick kiss on her lips as she nuzzled his face. "How about we skip the tea and lay here for a few more minutes?" he said effortlessly.

Honestly, he may have been trying to avoid the day. Days meeting with his mother was hard. He knew she loved him, being her only child and everything, but she... she didn't do anything to keep in touch after his father's flip out. It took quite a long time for them to even return to such a state they were now. It still felt awkward. He breathed out and shifted so he was at least sitting up, back up against the headboard of his bed. He patted the spot she laid in before and gave a sleepy smile.

"How'd you sleep, love?" he asked quietly, hoping she'd retrieve her tea and settle in for a few minutes more of snuggles or cuddles with him. Working together was hard, but not having such quality time was even harder. Anton wanted as much of this as he could before his day turned for the worst.

He knew it would; it was just a matter of time.

Hjørdis felt his arm wrapping around, pulling her back down to the bed. She smiled softly at his words, though she could definitely suspect a good reason for this behaviour. "Oh? My tea isn't good enough for you?" She joked, as he commented about skipping the tea. Teasing him and light attempts at a bit of humour might be the only thing that would get them through this day. She hated it. There was absolutely nothing she could do to make Anton feel better about it. The whole situation sucked. It was strange how they both disliked Christmas now - but for entirely different reasons. Until this year, Christmas was her favourite time of the year. It changed very quickly with the passing of her grandparents, who she spent every Christmas with.

Despite his words, her companion sat up in the bed. He indicated her for her to sit back down too and she sighed softly, before pouring out two cups of tea. Hers was in a cauldron shaped mug that her father had gifted her many years ago. She left them both on the tray before crawling back into the bed. Once she had herself positioned upright against the headboard, she reached back over and picked up her own mug, placing it on the bedside table next to her instead. He could get his from there, if he wanted it.

Hjørdis sighed softly, a hint of sadness in her eyes as she heard his question. She would have loved to pretend that everything was fine, that he had nothing to worry about and focus on being positive. But sadly, they both knew that would be a lie. Christmas was difficult.

It had only been a few days since the couple had visited the graveyard, to see her grandparents. Hjørdis still could not accept that this was the first Christmas without them. She did not get the same sense of joy that she would have gotten last year. Her eyes did not sparkle as she stared at a beautifully decorated Christmas tree. They were full of sadness, and perhaps guilt. She missed them, more than she could ever verbalise.

She had managed to distract herself with various tasks in the past few days, however. Today's visit had certainly been one of the things on her mind, trying to figure out how to make it as easy as possible for Anton to get through this day. Hjørdis took a sip of her tea before returning it to the table, to avoid spilling it everywhere. She rested her head on his shoulder, snuggling into the bed a little. "Better." She replied honestly. They both knew that she had not been able to sleep well but last night was definitely better than it had been a few days ago... "Definitely better, if nothing else." She continued before looking up at him, "And how are you feeling?"

Hjørdis asked the dreaded question, though she could probably hazard a guess as to what his answer might have been. She reached for his hand, taking it in hers. She did not say anything else but it was a sign that she was there for him. At least, this time, he did not have to go through everything alone.