Cedric had warned his friends before they arrived at his home that his mother tended to go overboard with the holidays, and it was clear by the amount of effort Anne put into decorating the home that she shared a deep love for Christmas. Of course, while Anne had been quite understanding not using magic for everything in the household, the excitement of the holidays must have caused a small lapse of judgement as the house was rearranging itself throughout the morning.

When Margaret awoke and headed downstairs, she could already feel her heart pounding in her chest as furniture seemed to be moving around all on its own. However, despite the fear she felt, she couldn't help but noticed Eleanor sitting in the kitchen by herself with a cup of tea in front of her. She was looking around the window, watching as Cedric and his father were tending to something outside. And more than likely, Marnie was somewhere attempting to avoid her parents, leaving her alone for the time being.

It was hard to believe that Eleanor would be turning sixteen soon enough when it only felt like yesterday when Eleanor was only turning a year old. Although Margaret would admit to herself that Eleanor's birthdays had never been anything that a child would consider memorable. So often, her birthdays were like any other day with the exception of a homemade cake and a couple of gifts. Once the cake was cut and the presents were open, Eleanor would simply return to her room and remain there.

And while Eleanor grew as any other child would with every passing year, she was unaware of how much she came to resemble her father. It was every time that Eleanor smile, Margaret was reminded of the stranger that had given her a daughter. A charming man with soft smile, who was one day there and gone the next. At the time, Margaret hadn't anticipated a relationship, they were both attempting to seek a temporary comfort, but when Margaret discovered she was pregnant, he was long gone, and she had no idea what to do.

Her parents blamed everything on her and her "inability to keep her legs closed" when she was an unmarried woman. And even when she tried to search for the man, there was nothing that came up under his name, making it seem like he didn't exist at all. More than likely, he had given her a false name.

Looking around at the wizarding folk in her presence, Margaret always wondered the same thing that Eleanor did, was her child's father a wizard? And if he was, what could he have offered to make their lives easier? She was certain their lives would be easier if he understood magic, at least, Eleanor would have someone to turn to that would be able to understand fully. But some days as Margaret thought about the man, she thought of the possibility of him showing back up in their lives, and wondered if he did come back, would she welcome him into Eleanor's life?

Wizard or not, he had caused the mother and daughter plenty of grief.

"Mum?"

Eleanor's voice dragged Margaret out of her thoughts, bringing her to focus on the scene before her.

"Yes, sweetheart?"

"I'm sorry about last night," Eleanor apologised to her quietly, looking down at the mug in her hands. "I didn't mean to lash out at you like that. I know you were raised thinking that magic is evil, but it says a lot that you even said yes to coming here for the holidays. I know that's a big step and I shouldn't have pushed you to- "

"Ellie, stop," Margaret sighed, taking the seat across from her, "you shouldn't be apologising at all. Everything I said last night was just a series of poor excuses. My parents might have raised me to believe one thing, but you're my daughter and you've shown me a different side to magic. I should have never mentioned the devil or anything of the sort. It was in poor taste. I should be trying harder to be there for you. I want to be there for you, Eleanor. I just need to get over this fear. So, you had every right to lash out at me last night. I want to know how you feel."

There was a moment of passing silence as Eleanor appeared unsure of what to say, maybe because she was unsure if she should tell her mother anything, in fear of Margaret having a negative reaction like all the times before.

"Well," she began, "I'll admit I've been a little stressed since the start of term."

"About what?"

"This is the year that we take our O.W.L.s and I just want to make sure that I do well on them."

"You're taking your what?"

"O.W.L.s, Mum. They are the exams that fifth years take and depending on how you do, it depends on what classes you're able to take next year. Our professors are supposed to talk to us about what careers we're looking to go into and let us know which classes we need to focus on."

Margaret's eyes widened a bit. It was one thing to come to terms that Eleanor was a teenager, it was another to listen to her discuss that she had to start looking at career options.

"I only have two more years before I leave Hogwarts, "Eleanor explained after noting her mother's expression, "and then that's it. I don't have the slightest idea of what I want to do either."

"Are...are you going to pursue a career in the magical world?"

Margaret pretty much anticipated the answer to be yes, why wouldn't it be? Eleanor had not spent years studying magic to start working a nine to five job where she wasn't going to use it. As Eleanor nodded her head, Margaret took a deep breath and sat up in her chair, trying to appear curious.

"Well, what jobs are there in the wizarding world?"

It made her heart flutter with happiness to see Eleanor's eyes light up after she asked.

"All sorts of jobs, Mum!"

For the next hour or so, Margaret listened as Eleanor began explaining to her all the different kinds of wizarding professions. From Healers to working for the Ministry of Magic, the list went on. Halfway through, Margaret wasn't even sure what they were talking about as Eleanor was using terminology she didn't understand, but she didn't dare stop her, seeing just how enthusiastic Eleanor was, as rambled on.

It made Margaret think back to the day where Professor McGonagall had arrived at their door, revealing that Eleanor was a witch. It should have come as a relief to actually know the cause behind the strange happenings in the home, but Margaret had failed to be supportive quite early on. Initially, she couldn't believe that her daughter was a witch, simply because she wasn't one herself.

However, McGonagall explained that magic could skip multiple generations. And Marnie's family was a clear example that one didn't have to come from a pureblood or half-blood family to possess magic. There were witches and wizards known as Muggleborns and they came from muggle families. So, it was possible that Eleanor's biological father wasn't a wizard himself, but they would never know.

It was nice to share in a real conversation where it wasn't just a one-worded answer or an argument, but it was cut off when an owl arrived suddenly, crashing into the window. Both mother and daughter jumped, and while Margaret attempted to gather her breath, Eleanor opened the window to check on the poor owl. Only, she was given the small letter it carried before it flew off and nearly crashed into a nearby tree.

"That poor owl," she said, "probably works for the Post Office, they get a lot of extra work during the holidays. I wish it would have stayed to rest for a bit."

Eleanor turned the envelope over to see who the letter was for, thinking she had to find one of the Diggory's to hand it over, only to see that it was addressed to her. Her brows knitted together tightly in slight confusion before she tore open the top of the envelope and unfolded the letter inside.

To our favourite Hufflepuff,

How are the holidays treating you so far?

Sincerely,

The Better Listener

Margaret remained a witness to how red her daughter became in the face as Eleanor read over the short letter. Shortly after, she broke into a smile until she realised, she was, in fact, in the presence of her mother.

"Who is the letter from?" Margaret asked.

"Oh, it's just from a boy at school," Eleanor replied in a casual tone. "He and his brother started talking to me more this year. They helped me pick out a gift for Cedric, they play Quidditch like him, so I thought they would know what to get. One of them just wanted to see if I was having a good start to the holidays."

"Uh-huh," Margaret nodded, "and this boy, does he have a name?"

"Er, Fred," Eleanor told her, "and his twin is George."

"And you said they started talking to you more this year? Why is that?"

Eleanor felt her heart rate escalating, even though her mother was only asking a few simple questions.

"Um, well, they pull a few pranks in the castle here and there, and I was around when they happened. Some of them were funny and...you know what? I'm going to go check on that owl, make sure it actually made it instead of getting stuck in that tree. I'll talk to you later, Mum!"

The perfect excuse for Eleanor to slip away and respond to the letter before anyone else learned of it.

To (maybe) the Better Listener,

The holidays are going a lot better than I expected. Must be something of a Christmas miracle. How are the holidays treating you?

Sincerely,

Your Favourite Hufflepuff

The letters between the two remained short and simple as they went back and forth. Eleanor almost felt guilty making the owls work only to carry such short messages, but most of the guilt was buried under the joy she got out of getting a new letter. In none of the letters, did Fred bother to ask her what her "secret" was when it came to dodging the twins' pranks, he only asked how she was doing or what she was up to at the time?

But, of course, with owls going in and out, someone was bound to notice.

"And what do we have here?" Cedric questioned after another owl had departed from the home.

He hadn't said anything initially when Eleanor seemed to be getting a few owls over the past couple of days. But he had to remember that while Eleanor was extremely friendly, she still didn't have a lot of friends, or at least, ones close enough that would be sending her so many owls. Besides, he and Marnie were around her the majority of the time, unless they were spending time with their own parents, or in Marnie's case, practically being kept a hostage at her mother's side.

When he picked up the letter that was resting on Eleanor's bed, she practically leapt for it, only to fall off the bed onto the floor. Thankfully, Marnie was in the shower or she would have had to fight both of them off.

"Wait, Cedric, don't-"

"To our favourite Hufflepuff?" Cedric read before his eyes widened and he looked down at her. "Miss Ross, you've been in my house, sending love letters?!"

"What? No, they're not love letters!" Eleanor said, pushing herself up and snatching the letter from his hand. She quickly made her way over to the bedroom door and closed it over. " They're just letters!"

"To who?" Cedric grinned.

"No one."

Folding his arms over his chest, Cedric gave her a look that he did not believe what she said for a second. "You mean to tell me you're sending and receiving letters from no one? Do we need to make a visit to St Mungo's, Ellie?"

She glared in his direction before stealing a glance at the door. With a roll of her eyes, she walked closer to him to keep things hushed.

"Look, they're not love letters as I said. I've just been writing back and forth to....the twins. It's been very casual. The whole favourite Hufflepuff thing is an inside joke, that's all."

"So why are you being so secretive about it?"

"Because you love to gossip, and I don't want everyone blowing this out of proportion. That's all."

Cedric didn't seem all that convinced as he sat down on her bed and smiled at her. "So, what kind of things have you all been talking about?"

"To be honest, not a lot," Eleanor admitted, "it's just been back and forth, what are you up to and how are you doing? But, um, the last couple of letters, we started talking about my mum and my dad, or rather lack of him. And Fr...they think I should talk to my mum again, you know, ask her again about him. I know she's told me know in the past, but maybe now that I'm older, she might tell me something. She's been coming around a lot more these last couple of days. She's been asking me questions about magic, she's not screaming and jumping every two seconds, maybe this is the chance I have to ask her about my father."

"Well, last I saw, your mum was sitting outside with a cup of hot chocolate, all by herself. This might be the best time to go talk to her."

Eleanor looked at the letter in hand where Fred had basically told her the same thing, it was time for her to ask. She offered a small smile to Cedric before kissing his cheek and then made her way out of the room to find Margaret.

And just as Cedric had said, Margaret was sitting outside on the steps with a mug of hot chocolate, seemingly enjoying the quiet scenery around the home.

"Mum?"

Margaret looked over her shoulder and smiled before patting the spot next to her. " I was wondering what you were up to. Figured you found a quiet corner to knit it or settled down for a nap."

"Surprisingly, I haven't really knitted anything since we've been here," Eleanor said as she sat down, "I was upstairs responding to a letter and-"

"Another one from those Weasel Boys?"

Eleanor pressed her lips to keep herself from laughing, only picturing the offended look on the twins' faces if they had heard her mother refer to them as Weasels.

"Weasley, Mum," she corrected, " yes, I was responding to him...them...but that's not what I wanted to talk about it."

"Well, what is it that you wanted to talk about?"

"My father. I want you to tell me about him."