Chapter 53 - Christmas Break Ⅱ

The next day with almost tears in Rowan's eyes, she watched the 2nd years and the rest of the years wait in the Great Hall to be carried via carriages to the Hogwarts's Express. On the other hand, the unlucky first years are forced to traverse across the frozen lake in tiny wooden boats. A single icy path has been broken in the ice by Hagrid as the boats lead in a single file.

Everyone intensely shivers from the cold and mist being blown into their faces by the sharp, bitter wind. With blue faces and chattering teeth, Rowan once more stares ominously at the lake. Sputtering with chills, Severus stammers, "What, are you thinking about, Rowan?"

"Do you know that an instant icy death is assured if you fall into sub-zero temperature waters?" Rowan darkly replied. "Before you even start to drown, the icy water is so cold that it feels like millions of stabbing needles as your heavy clothes drag you down to die a slow and painful watery death."

"I shouldn't have asked," Severus grimly thought to himself.

Lily glares at Rowan and stammers from the cold. "We'll, be, fine. Just, like, before!" Terry, the other occupant on the boat merely shakes his head and mutters something about jinxes.

Rowan remains silent the rest of the trip as with great glee their boats dock safely back onto the shore. With firm strides, Hagrid leads them through a snowy cleared path back to the Hogwarts's express. With great glee, despite being frozen stiff, the 1st years all rush inside for warmth as Rowan pauses to neatly wipe her boots first before stepping onto the train.

Rowan finds Lily, Severus, and Terry already sitting down in a nearby compartment as they rub their hands warming themselves. Noticing that Rowan isn't doing so, Severus narrows his eyes and stiffly says, "Why aren't you as frozen as the rest of us?"

Rowan wickedly smiles back and says, "Enchanted hot stones." Rowan reaches into her pocket and pulls out a warm, round stone from her pocket.

Terry lets out a string of curses as Lily smacks her face at the brilliant idea, while Severus glares at Rowan. "And why didn't you share that with us?" Severus growled.

"It just occurred to me, last night," Rowan lied with a straight face.

"Well, at least, we now know how to keep warm for our return trip," Lily exclaimed.

"Ug, on our return trip back," Terry groaned causing them all to shiver with despair.

The rest of the trip is quite nice as the Hogwarts Express chugs through snowy grounds back to Platform 9 ¾s. With a shrill whistle, the Hogwarts Express comes to a stop as they all gather their trunks from the platforms out in front. Terry waves goodbye first as he darts to a man who is just as fragile as Terry and a golden beauty like beauty standing at the man's side, no doubt his wife.

Rowan lets out a whistle and privately mutters, "This branch of the Greenwood family is quite nice to look at. Excellent Genetics!" She subtly gives the Greenwood family two thumbs up. And from what Terry had said, his older married sisters were lookers themselves. Probably, great beauties like their mother.

Having gotten all their things including the two owls, Nibby and Owyn, Lily, Severus, and Rowan make their way to their grandfather, Reginald Prince and the Evans couple. Lily happily goes up to hug her parents as her rather gloomy year older sister, Petunia sullenly glared at them.

Reginald opens his arms wide as Severus embarrassingly is hugged as Reginald whispers, "Welcome back." Severus flushes with emotion and wriggles out of his grandfather's embrace as Rowan patiently waits for her turn before being embraced. Reginald opens his arms wide once more as Rowan leaps into them and squeezes back. "I can tell you've grown," Reginald fondly said as he found that Rowan's head was a little higher up across his chest.

"Mm, I've missed you," Rowan truthfully muttered causing Reginald to beam with delight.

"Well, we better get going before the weather gets worse," the Evans commented as Rowan lets go and Reginald says, "Yes, we should." The Evans couple waved goodbye as did Lily with a sullen figure of Petunia in tow.

"Well, we should also get going," Reginald said as helped the twins head back through the platform and back to their car.

In the backseat, Rowan and Severus carefully buckle down as Reginald places their things into the trunk. Severus even carefully buckles, Owyn's cage as Owyn flutters his wings anxiously as if in remembrance of the terrible drive from before.

"Ready to go?" Reginald cheerfully said causing the twins to pale.

Any semblance of words died down in Severus's throat as he instinctively reaches for Rowan's hand at the same time she does. Clenching their hands tightly together, the twins mutely nod at Reginald, who with a twinkle in his eyes says, "Well, then, and we're off!" Needless to say, if Severus and Rowan could have screamed, they would have, but frankly at some point, they just blanked out from sheer horror. And truth be told, that came as an utter relief to them.

With a screech, Reginald pulls in front of the brightly lit manor. The Prince manor windows are all brightly lit as golden like blossoms have been streamed all around the house tastefully to brighten up the manor from the outside. "C' mon, you two," Reginald said with good cheer as he got out.

Rowan tremblingly opens the door and almost falls to the door as she wheezes trying to not heave the contents of the Hogwarts Express onto the ground. Severus isn't in much better shape as with trembling legs he limps out. Shaking, Severus stumbles to the front door with Owyn's cage in tow. They had survived, thank God!