What do you get a teacher whom you barely even know? Katrina walked down the street holding a slip of paper with the word 'Nora' on it. It took her an embarrassing amount of time to figure out that 'Nora' was Professor Jensen. She asked a few random people that gladly didn't know her and they all said the same thing. The Gryffindor didn't even know much about the Professor. Katrina knew she had a cat. That was about all Katrina knew about her.

Katrina looked around the vaguely familiar neighborhood. The sun was high in the sky-- something Katrina didn't see much at Hogwarts. She kicked a stray pebble and turned into a park entrance.

The student grabbed her journal and flopped on a vacant bench under a tree. She took out a quill and began listing options. Maybe a cat toy, but what if the cat isn't much of a player. Or maybe a journal or teacher planner with a few extra quills. What if there is a better, magical way to organize? Maybe Katrina could find out Professor Jensen's favorite candy and give her some... what if that is too general and not important? After all of her brainstorming, Katrina ended up with nothing on her journal page.

Katrina looked at the empty page and frowned. All of that work for nothing? What was she going to give? Too bad she didn't know Jensen that well. She could send an anonymous letter and ask what she wanted. But wouldn't that give away the surprise? She was running out of time. Katrina decided that all of the options were good enough. And, if the Professor didn't like the gifts, then at least she would never know it was Katrina.

Morning the Next Day

Katrina had spent the night in the Leaky Cauldron and was ready to find a gift. She wandered down the streets alone and pulled her navy hoodie closer and braced against the cold. She meandered past a few cafe's, a small grocery store, and a shoe store. She paused by a pet shop and entered; it wouldn't hurt to look.

A dog barked in front of her and Katrina jumped. She wandered down the aisles and looked at her measly 20 dollar bill. A few toys stood out, but many of them were more expensive then she could afford. She found an orange fish shaped catnip toy. It was decent and only $4.99. Katrina bought the toy and stuffed it into her pocket, politely declining a bag. She couldn't just get a toy, hopefully there would be more to come.

Katrina walked past a few more shops debating possibilities. Some ideas might be interesting if Professor was a Pureblood. She stopped by a craft store and walked in. An assortment of fabric, markers, and paints lined the hallways. Katrina stopped by a stationary aisle and peered at it's selection. She pulled out two notebook/planners and debated between them. One was pink floral patterned with the words 'stop and smell the flowers' on it and the other was dark navy blue with turquoise waves down the front. Katrina decided floral didn't seem very "professor-y" and bought the navy one for $6.99.

Katrina still had nine dollars and a half-a-mind to just go with that when she saw a candy store. Was the Professor Pureblood? If she was, some muggle candy might be cool. If she wasn't then it might be too cliché. Katrina pushed her doubts aside and walked in. It took a bit for Katrina to take in the sugar. She looked over an aisle of taffy's and candy bars and walked. Katrina took note of the interesting candies and settled with one. It was a medium sized bag filled with an assortment. It included a few pieces of: taffy, chocolate treats, mini candy bars, mints, and hard candy. She smiled as she read the price at only 4.59.

The Gryffindor smiled as she walked out of the store. She had asked for a bag and the lady at the cashier handed her a brightly colored white, polka dotted bag. Katrina placed the cat-nip toy, planner, and candy in it.

December 21-- Diagon Alley

Katrina held the bag tightly in one fist as she walked into the Leaky Cauldron. It had been an eventful trip and Katrina was a bit excited to owl the present. Her only wish was she could see the Professor's face. A small letter was slipped in the bag which read "Dear Professor, Have a very Merry Christmas. Enjoy your gifts! -Anonymous" Katrina approached the counter.

"Excuse me, sir. Do you happen to have an owl I could use?" Katrina's timid voice barely heard over the din.

"Um, missy, do you have something in exchange?" the burly man asked, almost feeling sorry for asking.

Katrina hadn't thought of that! "I have a few muggle dollars? And maybe a few sickles?"

"The Muggle money is great. Only three dollars is enough." He smiled and held out his hand.

Katrina quickly found the three dollars and placed them in his hand. Following him around back when he beckoned.

"Here, this is Spok." the man gestured to the tawny owl in the corner.

"Can he take this to Hogwarts?" Katrina's timid voice returned as she held up her package.

"Sure! Just tap him when you are done. I need to get back to the counter."

Katrina nodded in thanks and handed the bird her package. She watched as the bird slowly flew out into the dark night. It was going to be a long next few days and Katrina wished that Professor Jensen would appreciate the gifts. Maybe the gifts would be something she liked or needed. Katrina returned to her room and flopped on the dark bed. Maybe if she gave people enough gifts, she would eventually feel better herself. She sighed and looked at the empty journal page from three days prior. She ended getting all the things she decided not to then. It was odd how confidence helped.

Hjørdis sighed softly as she read the newspaper. She was sitting by her kitchen island, a cup of hot chocolate in one hand. Christmas was not really a holiday she enjoyed much anymore. She had as a child. It was something her family loved to celebrate, and thus, she loved it. But she was spending more and more Christmases alone these days. She volunteered to work throughout the holidays, just to give her something to do and had the day off to go visit some relatives. But today, she had little to do.

So she did what she always did. She baked goods and drank hot chocolate. Using one of the recipes that her grandmother taught her, Hjørdis had opted to make a cake. It was a huge cake. There was another two cake pans full of batter actually sitting on the table, waiting to go into the oven. Perhaps she overdid it. Nonetheless, she would donate all of the baked goods she made to the soup kitchen and homeless shelter later. It was not much but hopefully it would help make someone smile a little. Her grandmother would have been proud of that.

The Head of Slytherin turned the page as she took a sip of her hot chocolate. Gosh, Christmas was awfully dull at times. A tapping noise caught her attention. Spotting an owl perched on the ledge outside of the window, Hjørdis quirked an eyebrow. It was holding a package. She could not recall ordering anything but went ahead and opened the window nonetheless. 

She carefully untied the package from the owl. He flew away shortly after she did so. Hjørdis blinked as she opened the package, still trying to recall if she actually ordered anything. Opening the bag, she blinked some more. It took her a few moments to see the letter. 

'Dear Professor,

Have a Merry Christmas. Enjoy your gifts!

- Anonymous'

Hjørdis blinked some more. A student send her some gifts? She searched the letter for more clues as to who sent the gifts but saw nothing. Carefully, the head of Slytherin started to take the other items out of the bag.

A small smile appeared on her usual blank expression. A warmth rarely seen on her face spread across it. It did not actually matter what the items were. It was the thought that counted. Someone had thought of sending the professors a gift and that meant a lot. Pulling out the first item, she found herself holding another bag. It was full of sweets. She decided that she would take them when she went to visit her younger cousins, nieces or nephews. Who didn't want to be the favourite aunt bringing sweets when the parents have said no? 

The second item was a notebook. A beautiful navy coloured one, with turquoise waves down the front. She approved of the choice of pattern. It was calming. Opening the notebook, it looked like a planner mix. Since 2020 was just around the corner, she knew she could use it throughout the year to schedule her daily activities in.

The final item actually made her heart sing a little bit more. It was something for Jeger: an orange fish shaped catnip toy, to be more precise. She smiled some more. As though summoned on queue, Jeger was pawing at her leg, trying to climb up onto her lap. The stool against the kitchen island was rather high. A bit too high for him to easily climb onto yet. Hjørdis swooped him up, lifting him onto her lap, "It looks like this one's for you," She said softly as she stroked his head and gave him the toy. The excitement was easily noticeable. Jeger definitely loved the new toy. Hjørdis could not help but laugh a little at the reaction. It was adorable. 

Gently stroking the bengal with one hand, she picked up one of the sweets with the other and tossed it into her mouth. Her mind started to wonder, curious as to who it was. But with so many students around, she would likely never find out. However, whoever it was, had just made her Christmas, to say the least. She was grateful to them. Not only had they spent their money on her, thinking of her but they also got very thoughtful gifts. 

Whoever you are... Thank you...

[THREAD FINISHED]