Lily had spent countless hours wandering around Hogsmeade by herself. To those on the outside it perhaps looked a little lonely. Like the head girl had been ditched by her friends, but the truth of the matter was that Lily sometimes liked to be alone. She liked to be left with her thoughts. Especially on such as day as this, where snow blanketed the small village. It was really a sight to behold. Dainty icicles hung from the door frames and windowsills of the shops, there were small patches of snow undisturbed by human footprints, and trees  nearly buckled under the weight of the white blanket covering their branches.
She had been on her own for the better part of half an hour now, having parted from her group of friends once their shopping had been completed. She’d told them that she’d forgotten something in one of the shops, leaving them to continue on to the Hogs Head without her. Of course she felt bad for lying, she usually wasn’t the one to do such a thing, but as much as she loved for friends Lily just felt liked she needed a break. A break from the noise, the constant prodding about her and James’s relationship, and the giggling. What she needed right now was silence.Â
Her little trek had taken her out to the Shrieking Shack, a village tourist attraction she hadn’t visited since first year. Back then she had found it absolutely fascinated, a actual haunted house! Now that she had been part of this magical world for almost seven years she had become desensitised to such things. After all, what was a haunted house compared to a unicorn (she’d seen an actual unicorn!) or a friendly half-giant.Â
When she entered the clearing, eyes dancing over the Christmas card image in front of her, she was surprised to see another body in the landscape. One that seemed oddly familiar to her. “Didn’t know you were a fan of haunted houses.” She teased, coming to a stop beside the person.
