Chapter 8

Holidays were something Jude didn't celebrate. Not by choice. When he lived with Piers, he never got to celebrate his birthday, he never celebrated Christmas or any holiday where he got presents because Piers didn't want to buy him presents. Still, he would've liked to celebrate those holidays with someone.

At Hogwarts, the majority of the students were going home with their families for the holidays. Neville had invited Jude but the boy felt like he wouldn't have been good company just yet. James, unfortunately, was going with his family as well though the boy seemed reluctant to go.

James frowned as he stared at his friend, "Are you sure you don't want to stay with Neville? He's coming over for Christmas anyways."

Jude smiled and shook his head, "No, it's fine. I'm not sure I'll be very good company, honestly." He scratched his head sheepishly, "I've never really celebrated Christmas or my birthday, so I really don't know how to act on those certain occasions."

James smiled sympathetically before nodding, "Alright, mate. I get it." He grinned mischievously at him, "But you're coming next year, you know that right?"

"If I have to," Jude laughed joyfully. "Happy Christmas, James."

"Happy Christmas, Jude," James replied before he walked away.

Jude watched him walk away sadly; how was he going to deal with these next few weeks without James? He sighed lightly and walked back to Great Hall where they were serving breakfast for the kids who didn't leave.

He sat down, grabbing toast and jam with his orange juice. Even his meals were going to be boring without someone there to joke around with. He chewed on his toast, gazing around the Great Hall. He grinned when he noticed a familiar face.

He waved to Emma who smiled at him and scooted down the bench to sit in front of him. "Why didn't you go home?" He asked curiously.

Emma smiled once more, "It's my first year at Hogwarts. I told my parents I want to get to know the place before I go home." She tilted her head, staring at him questioningly, "Why didn't you go home?"

Jude fidgeted with his cup of orange juice, biting his lip, "I don't really know how to react during holidays. When I was with my first guardian after my parents died, he didn't let me celebrate any holidays."

"I'm sorry, Jude," Emma whispered apologetically. "That's very sad."

Jude shrugged and gave her a small smile, "It's okay. Though James isn't here either, I'm sure I can get used to Christmas if I needed to."

Emma smiled back once more, "Well, I'm here if you need me."

Jude's eyes lit up as a grin took over his face when a thought entered his mind, "I got just the thing." He stood up from the table, leaving his toast half eaten on his plate. He ran to the other side of the table, grabbing the startled Emma's hand. "Come on."

He laughed lightly as he pulled her with him as he ran out of the Great Hall; he ignored her protests all the way through. Once he stepped foot outside, he exhaled deeply and watched his breath mist in the cold, harsh air. He tugged off his scarf that he put on for show and wrapped it around the surprised Emma's face.

Emma flushed, panting lightly, "What are you doing? You'll freeze to death."

"I doubt it," Jude chuckled, patting the scarf after he tied it. "The cold doesn't very much bother me. I'm immune to it, I guess."

Emma narrowed her eyes at him, and Jude could see the swirl of blue in her bright green eyes. They looked much different with the reflection of the snow in her eyes. He had seen green eyes before, but her eyes were something much different from any colors he had seen.

He patted her shoulders, grinning lightly, "I hoped we could have a snowball fight," He spoke up a bit hesitantly. "I've never had one before. The last time I threw a snowball my guardian threw me into a snow bank and left me there till the next morning."

Emma looked at him aghast as she heard the blue eyed boy recap his misfortune. She bit her red lips, glancing at him as she contemplated. She huffed before smiling at the boy, "Alright, I'll do it."

"Yes!" Jude cheered happily, pumping his fists. "That's great. Thank you, Emma." He took her gloved hands in his bare ones tightly.

Emma shook her head, chuckling, "You're welcome, but don't be disappointed if I mess up. I've only had a few snowball fights with my dad, so I'm not so good. My dad always let me win."

"That's okay," Jude reassured, running out to where the snow was. He grabbed two handfuls and put them together, trying to form a good snowball. He didn't dare use magic because he wanted this to be a good old fight.

He grunted a bit when he felt a hard blow to the back of his head and the snow flying down past his collar. He turned, grinning at the giggling redhead. "I'll getcha!" He threw the snowball and just barely missed by an inch. He was a seeker, not a chaser.

He dodged another one of Emma's perfectly formed snowball and threw another at her. He actually got her dead on in the stomach. He laughed at her grimace and tried to make more quickly.

The match lasted for a long while. More kids who stayed came out to participate in the laughter and enthusiastic shouts. They formed teams and switched off as time went by.

Jude made a bit more friends, especially in other houses as well. He realized that he could have fun without James, but there was still a large part of him that wished that his best friend was there. It would've been better, there would've been more people, and James would've realized how fun Emma actually was when she laughed with everyone.

Everything would be different when everyone came back, and Jude didn't know how to feel about that. For the time being, though, he liked being able to say he had a proper snowball fight.