❝You're not going to take no for an answer, are you?❞
❝You should know the answer to that by now, Harry.❞
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Life has always been a bit disorganized for Novana Lupin. With her father's monthly transformations, the girl often found herself in the comp...
❝Sorry about him, Nova. He still has the mental age of a six-year-old.❞ ❝Hey! I heard that!❞
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CHRISTMAS WAS QUICKLY APPROACHING when one morning in mid-December, Hogwarts woke to find itself covered in several feet of snow.
The lake froze solid, and the Weasley twins were punished for bewitching several snowballs so that they followed Quirrell around, bouncing off the back of his turban. The few owls that managed to battle their way through the stormy sky to deliver post had to be nursed back to health by Hagrid before they could fly off again.
Nova, along with everyone else in the castle, could not wait for the holidays to start. While the Gryffindor common room and the Great Hall had roaring fires, the draughty corridors had become icy and a bitter wind rattled the windows in the classrooms.
Worst of all were Professor Snape's classes down in the dungeons, where their breath rose in a mist before them and they kept as close as possible to their hot cauldrons.
"I do feel so sorry," said Draco one Potions class, "for all those people who have to stay at Hogwarts for Christmas because they're not wanted at home."
He was looking over at Harry as he spoke. Crabbe and Goyle chuckled.
Harry, who was measuring out the powdered spine of lionfish, ignored them. From her spot next to him, Nova sent her messy-haired friend a reassuring grin when she noticed him ignore her cousin. The boy returned the gesture before focusing on his potion.
Draco had been even more unpleasant than usual since the Quidditch match. Disgusted that the Slytherins had lost, he had tried to get everyone laughing at how wide-mouthed tree frogs would be replacing Harry and Nova as Seeker and Chaser next. Though, they found it odd that he was harping on Harry more than Nova.
Then he realized nobody found it funny because they were all so impressed at the way Nova played and how Harry managed to stay on his bucking broomstick. So Draco, jealous and angry, had gone back to taunting Harry about having no proper family and Nova having such a 'ruthless' father.
Nova had always found it odd that Draco never flat-out said anything about her father being a Werewolf. She knew that he knew, so why hadn't he said anything? If he wanted to make her life so miserable, why not tell others about it, knowing what their reaction would be? Not that she was complaining. She was quite thankful that Draco never mentioned it out loud, but she would never admit that aloud.
It was true that Harry wasn't going back to Privet Drive for Christmas. Professor McGonagall had come around the week before, making a list of students who would be staying for the holidays, and Harry had signed up at once. Nova was going home for Christmas along with Hermione, but Ron and his brothers were staying due to Arthur, Molly, and Ginny going to Romania to visit Charlie.
