Snow fell from the clear blue sky the rest of the week, gracing nearly every chilly surface outside of the great wooden entrance doors - piling up and concealing everything underneath a ten inch layer of cold snow.

Students threw on thick layers of warm clothing and ran out to play every break time, the frosty air turning their noses and ears a brilliant shade of rouge - constructing figures out of the snowflakes or dropping large amounts of it down each-other's backs, only to be smashed in the face with a large soft snowball.

In three days a majority of the school would be returning back to their homes to spend the two week Christmas holidays on twenty-second with their families, celebrating the holiday and informing them on how stressful and interesting the first term of their fifth year in Hogwarts was.

Professor McGonagall had been collecting the names of students who had decided to stay at school during the holidays, and was just making her final rounds - asking and collecting the beige parchment lists that had been placed along the uneven pewter stone walls, names written in different fonts and sizes.

As she read through the names and recorded the necessary things needed for the number she was going to have, her thin sharp eyebrows perked - for once in over four years, there was a name that wasn't written neatly on the very top one of those parchments.

Tom Marvolo Riddle.

---

A dark haired boy walked up to one of the lists the morning they had been put up, quietly sighing as he scolded himself - the thin writing quill that he thought was in his navy blazer pocket non existent, striding back towards the Slytherin dorms to retrieve the writing tool.

Tom couldn't help but to feel slightly irked, usually he'd have something to write with on him - maybe even an unused pencil that he had decide on keeping within his pockets.
He must have done some late night study on the chamber he had discovered, or found something on dark arts and left it somewhere like his black leather satchel.

As he turned at a corner, his chin connected painfully with a forehead for a moment - furrowing his eyebrows in annoyance as he spoke coldly, bringing his hand up to the the point of collision.
"Watch where you're goi- oh, good morning Aidan."

"Five, I carry a lot of things I... don't want to let go of in this name." The brunet said as he rubbed the little rose mark on his forehead, his steel blue eyes gazing into striking forest green ones.
"Right." Tom replied slowly.
"Do you happen to have a...quill or pencil with you at the moment, Five? I have seemed to have misplaced mine."

Five nodded and reached into his navy blazer pocket, fishing out the thin wooden pencil he had been lent three months ago on the train to Hogwarts.
"Keep it, I believe that it is yours." The dark haired boy thanked the other as he took it, beginning to turn by the heel of his polished obsidian shoes and walk back to the nearest empty list.

"Why did you ask?" He stopped mid turn.
"I'm putting my name down in the list for students staying here, as I do every holiday - there is no chance I'm going back to that, to that muggle orphanage." The brunet shrugged as if he were expecting that answer, placing his hands comfortably into his short pockets.

"You know, instead of staying here - you could come back to the academy with me. We've got plenty of room to spare and I'm sure you'd be interested in checking out the library we have as well, dad studied strange topics and has a large portion of the place dedicated purely on reading material, findings and studying. I know that you must have already read the whole school library by now at this point anyways." Five suggested, the prefect raising an eyebrow - the thought of being able to read and study new things running through his mind. Maybe he even had something on snakes that he had never encountered.

"Won't it be a strange, having me in a houseful of biologically enhanced muggles?"  Five gave a wide dimpled grin, shaking his head.

"Oh I'm sure you'll fit in perfectly."

—

Five placed the last of his belongings into his ebony trunk, easily closing it without having to sit on it or struggle greatly like many others did.

His blond friend was attempting to fit in his large stack of homework into his already filled case without wreaking it, the lid refusing to close any further than three inches - other important belongings already occupying it, muttering incoherently under his breath about how stupid it was that he couldn't fit it in.

"Why don't you just put them in your satchel and carry it with you?" Five asked, his closed and packed trunk floating just beside him with the help of wingardium leviosa.

Cicero clicked his fingers, grinning as he spoke with relief - immediately pushing away his neatly folded clothes and pulling out his pecan leather bag, filling it with the homework they were to complete over the two week break.
"Yes, great idea!"

An hour later the two had already bid farewell to Marcus, who would be staying at Hogwarts over the break - most likely to party with some of his other friends, or finish off that horror book he started half a year ago (generally he'd finished within a week, although he had been sidetracked a great deal.) - and boarded the train.

Many of the students had rushed in to claim the empty compartments whilst they still could, making it an increasingly difficult to find any space the two could even squeeze in.
As they walked along the emptying aisle they found that there was a group of girls crowding around the front of the last compartment, peering in to watch whoever or whatever was in it - effectively blocking it from anyone else from entering, or exiting for the time being.

Five smirked knowingly, and without a warning grabbed Cicero by the arm and blinked in - landing on the dull rouge seats within the blocked compartment.

"Hey Tom, how's life." The brunet said casually to the prefect opposite him as his ebony trunk floated up onto the luggage rack, the blond's own soon following suit.

The dark haired replied, looking up from the old looking book in his hands."It's impossible to do anything in peace with those girls constantly whispering and giggling outside, you can't use a silencing charm on this train either." 
As if they had been cued, a loud high pitched giggle rang - emanating from a familiar female blond.

"Lila's got to be the most annoying one out there." Cicero laughed out, having only just composed himself after suddenly blinking with his friend.
The huddle of girls wolf whistled, blowing over exaggerated kisses towards the dark haired boy within.

Five looked out of the window, and sighed - a dimpled sarcastic grin making it's way to his face.
He nonchalantly leaned up against the wooden frame and held up three fingers, silently counting down as the confused group outside furrowed their eyebrows.
The train whistle sounded, shrill and loud - the transportation device jerking as it started, the teens outside screaming as they toppled backwards into a large heap of robes and messed up hair.

"How did you know that was going to happen?" Cicero asked, stifling his laughter as he peered out of the windows - Lila and a honey gold haired girl they didn't know struggling greatly to de-tangle their long wavy hair.

Five held up his wrist without looking at the platinum blond, the matte ebony watch hands ticking silently to a constant tempo.
"Train leaves to platform nine and three-quatres at exactly eleven o'clock." Cicero smiled, nodding as he did so -  pulling off his heavy winter robe and pulling his emerald sweater over the pristine white shirt.

"So," The platinum haired boy started, curious hazel eyes flickering between his friend and the prefect - speaking in an awkward manner, feeling as though that maybe he shouldn't shatter the silence.

"Are you guys dating?"

☂︎

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