I'm dreaming of a white christmas

Classes had just finished and Quelyn didn’t have any idea what to do. She didn’t want to go out until the sun had set scared of what would happen if she spent too much time out there. But, she wanted to feel the breeze on her face and the warmth of the sun. So the first year sat in the shade of a tree in the court yard. She leaned against the tree and had a book propped up in her lap. Though she was not reading the book, instead she was quietly singing a song her mother had once hummed as she cooked or did house work in the winter time. It was a catchy little tune that had stuck with the young girl for her life so far.
“”
She sang

"Finally!"

Auralee wasn't usually one to be so excited that classes were over, but today she was. There so much work being given out that the faster the classes ended the faster she could finish the work. Of course there were like four classes she took so that gave her even less time to do anything besides work. The good thing was that her entire pile of homework wasn't due until the end of the week.

Having this in mind, Aura looked outside the window from the Hufflepuff dungeon and she sighed softly. "Must be nice outside. Even if it is a bit colder than usual." she said to herself before nodding and getting up. She placed her open book on the table and pushed one of the doors open, her fingers barely reaching it. She felt the cold breeze and a shiver went down her spine. The Veela girl shrugged and moved back to the table where her things were. After quickly picking them up, she brought them up to her dorm and put them in her trunk, then went outside wrapped in her jacket with gloves on.

She headed for the Courtyard, not really wanting to go down to the lake and she looked around for anyone she knew. Which weren't many people besides first years. Aura walked for a bit until she spotted Quelyn Werther, one of her only friends and she smiled, walking toward her. "Quelyn!" she called out, running toward the girl.

Finally! Classes were over and Jason could sneak his ferret out for some fresh air. The little relative of a weasel wasn't very happy with the current arrangement of being cooped up in a cage right now. Jason couldn't risk letting him wander; however, as he wasn't supposed to have him here at the castle. His parents went ballistic when they discovered the ferret was gone upon their return home, but had decided to keep quiet on the matter, not wanting to get their son into trouble so soon into his Hogwarts years.

Jason entered the Courtyard, looking around for any professors. He saw some fellow first years, but no teachers, so he lifted his cloak and allowed Slinky to drop to the ground. He would put his trust on the 'rules of the playground' and rely on his fellow first years not to rat him out. Ecstatic at being free at last, Slinky sped happily along the ground, running right over Quelyn's feet.

Those silly classes were finally over, and Sean decided he would wander around for a bit. After spray painting "Fight, for your right, to partay" on a fourth floor wall and running away quickly, he headed out to the courtyard. Not many people were around, and he sighed, ready to head back in, when he saw Quelyn sitting down with a girl running over to her whom he thought was named Auralee.

Walking over, he said, "Hey, Quelyn. What's with the ferret?" Turning to Aura, he said,"Hi, I'm Sean. Nice to meetcha." Smiling at her for a moment, he then turned to Quelyn and sat down next to her.

Quelyn jumped when her name was yelled from across the courtyard. Her eyes locked on the person who called her and she pressed her lips into a thin firm line of silence. "H-hello," She whispered an turned back to her book pretending like she had never been singing. And, the next thing she knew there was a strange rat like animal which she thought was a ferret at her feet. "Why hello there fella, where's your human at?" She asked. Then out of no where she heard Sean's voice. Her eyes lit up and she smiled up at the small boy who made her giggle and blush. He made her feel things she hadn't felt in a long time including happy. "I'm not sure he just appeared randomly."

It seemed like everyone had the same idea of going out to the courtyard. Auralee watched as it seemed like two others appeared out of nowhere. She looked down at the ferret and tilted her head, looking back, sort of like retracting the steps of the ferret before it had gotten to Quelyn's feet. She spotted a boy in her year, she thought his name was Jason and she looked back down at the ferret. "You know we're not supposed to have these kinds of animals..." she called to him.

Aura looked at Sean as he spoke to her and she smiled back at him. "Hi." she said simply, blinking a couple of times before she said her name, "I'm Auralee." and she stood with her side against the tree Quelyn, and now Sean, were sitting under. "So... Wha'cha doing Quelyn?" she asked the other girl.

Jason rolled his eyes at the girl who had called him out on the ferret.

"Of course I know," he replied, walking up to retrieve Slinky, "but I wasn't about to leave my beloved pet at home for an entire year without me."

Jason lifted the ferret to eye-level, smiling at it. He rubbed his nose against the ferret's, obviously in love with the creature.

"Besides, he's much better than a cat, and those are allowed. No reason they should ban ferrets!" he proclaimed as he plopped down next to Quelyn, not bothering to ask whether the seat was taken or whether it was alright to sit next to her.

"I love ferrets..." Sean said with a smile. "I wanted one, but my room is too small to take care of one." He gently took Quelyn's hand and stretched out. "So what is everyone's plans for the after-class time?" he asked with a small smile at everyone. "I was thinking of exploring the grounds a bit before curfew. Would you guys want to join me?" Then, remembering, he held his hand out to the other boy. "Sean. Nice to meet you, whatever your name is. Sorry, I don't remember it." He knew it started with a J, so...Jeffrey? Jared? Jason? Eh, he couldn't remember. He'd just let the boy tell him.

"The Ferret is rather cute," Quelyn whispered and moved closer to Sean not sure what to think about the other two who had scared horribly by screaming her name and running up to her. then Sean asked about their plans. "I was just going to sit here and read. Stay out of the sun," She murmured, "The grounds are nice, but I prefer them at night. Especially when the moon is full. But the nights of the full moon are dangerous when you don't know where you are." She relaxed a bit when Sean took her hand it almost feeling natural though it had only been the second time he had done so. "W-what about you two?" She stuttered tilting her head to the side and giving them a quizzical look.

"It's Jason," Jason replied, shaking Sean's hand with plenty of vigor, "Jason Dorn....and...who are all of you then?"

Jason grinned at Quelyn when she called the ferret cute. Slinky was now meandering around the group of first years, sniffing around for treats. Jason held out a handful of small treats for ferrets towards Quelyn.

"Feed him if you like," he said.