Julia nodded in agreement, taking his hand and going with him. They managed to climb into the last carriage for the evening. She sat down and looked at him,"That was really close." She said, breathing a bit as they had to run to make it

Caelum walked her to the entrance of the Ravenclaw Common Room, because why not? Everyone knows where it is. He'd been trying to hide his panting though as the spiral staircase wasn't easy to climb, at least for him.

"So here we are." he said, peering at the enchanted door knocker behind Julia, pocketing his hands into his robes. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow?" he smiled shyly, his mind drifting to the present hidden inside the trunk by the edge of his bed. He's already made a plan to have a house elf bring his present (together with Frank and Aren's) to Julia's trunk at around 1 AM or whenever the Ravenclaw fell asleep.

Julia smiled and nodded,"Yup. We could meet up for breakfast if you'd want to." She was about to head into the common room when she stopped,"See you tomorrow." She swiftly kissed his cheek before heading into the common room, blushing lightly as she did so.

Caelum froze as he watched Julia enter the common room then turned and slowly made his way down the spiral stairs, a soft smile slowly creeping onto his face. He walked the hallways contentedly, the paintings staring at the Slytherin in disbelief and hoping that it was due to some form of intoxication that the Malfoy was behaving that way.

Now standing before the Slytherin dungeon though, he wiped the elated smile off of his face and upon entering, coldly acknowledged the three first years huddled by the fire place. "It's late. What are three first years doing awake?" he asked.

"Ah, uhm- sir Malfoy, sir, we-" "We're just too excited for Christmas, sir!"

Caelum raised an eyebrow before an understanding smile replaced his cold countenance. "But if you stay awake any longer, it's very probable that you'll sleep in and find that all of your gifts have been stolen once you wake. Peeves is still haunting these halls, you know." The three paled at the mention of Peeves stealing their presents and immediately ran off to their dormitories.

Caelum chuckled to himself before retreating to the room he stayed in and watched the dull shine of moonlight flickering through the Hogwarts Lake and into his dimly lit room. Not forgetting about his plan, he called for a house elf to deliver his present before he shivered and frowned at the cold, being surrounded by stone chambers built underwater and recast the heating charms he placed all around him. He found himself looking forward to tomorrow's breakfast and slowly, and with the familiar sounds of the giant squid and other creatures swimming through the water around them, he was lulled to a sweet dreamless sleep.

Julia had her gifts delivered when they were able to and woke up early the next morning. She planned yo give Caelum his gift when they met for breakfast. She saw his gift among others for her and took it too, wanting to unwrap them together. She changed into clean clothes and headed down for breakfast.

Caelum then decided that today was one of the worst mornings he ever had. He had just stepped out of the common room into the hallway when the ghost of Albus Dumbledore decided to plant a sloppy ghostly kiss on his cheek then pointed to the mistletoe hanging above them as his eyes twinkled in that irritating way. "Merry Christmas to you, Caelum." The professor greeted before phasing through one of the walls.

Caelum shivered and walked away briskly, making it to the great hall in no time where he saw Julia sitting by one of the fireplaces. "I would greet you a good morning, but that phrase in itself is oxymoronic and so I shall greet you a Merry Christmas." He grinned at her as he finished his sentence and sat beside her on the plump sofa with the Ravenclaw scarf around his neck barely hiding his smile.

A few seconds later, a house elf conjured all the presents they both received, surrounding them with parcels covered in a multitude of colors and frills and ribbons.

Julia smiled,"Merry Christmas to you too." She giggled, handing him her gift to him to put with his pile. She was surprised to see all the gifts between the two of them."Wow, this is more than I ever imagined." She said, looking over at him,"Some of these are probably yours too." She said, assuming his parents would spoil him like any parents would.

"I have a hunch that most of these are prank gifts." Caelum replied as he eyed the pile of gifts, carefully twirling the gift that Julia just gave him in his hands. "Thanks." He smiled, happy that he received a gift but also nervous about the one he prepared for her.

As he thought back to their trip to Hogsmeade, he remembered eyeing the antique shop and upon entering it, laid his eyes upon what he supposed was the perfect gift. It was a heart-cut gemstone colored like an aurora that upon shining it under the light, it would give off the illusion of having the northern lights trapped inside a clear crystal. The pendant that was as small as a thumbnail was paired with a silver chain. He bought it immediately but until now was unsure if it was enough.

He nervously eyed the gift he prepared just days ago, a flat rectangular box wrapped in silver and emerald, and hoped that it would be enough. Oh Merlin, he hoped that she liked it.

That was the gift she happened to pick up first to open. She frowned,"Prank gifts?" she asked, ''That's pretty sad to send prank gifts..." She looked over at him,co think there's a spell that can reveal what's in them before they are opened..."

"They're not that bad. "Caelum shrugged before reaching for one of the 'miscellaneous' gifts from his friends. He'd save Julia's gift for last. "Most of the time, it's just a sprinkle of-" he wrestled with the package before accidentally tearing it open, showering him in glittering red and gold confetti. "-confetti." He sighed before reaching into the box and taking out a box of chocolate frogs.

He took another one, thinking it was better to finish with all his friends' gifts before heading to the more ... heartfelt ones. Upon opening it, a chocolate frog jumped out and latched onto his face before climbing over his head and nesting into his confetti-covered hair. "I've come to believe that they really just do not have much to do."