Most people preferred Hogwarts during spring; it was a delightful view and for many, the best time to hang out.
However, Damian liked it during winter. It was a breathtaking sight, especially at night; white snow covering the dark figure of the castle glowing as the moon and stars. He had to admit all those times he went out past the curfew, careful not to be seen, just to enjoy the snow when no one saw him. In those night he couldn’t help but smile and his mind enjoying childhood memories at his house.
Rowan sneaked out with him, from time to time, and they told each other what the snow reminded them. For Rowan, snow was so pure, and it reminded him of snow angels he used to do with his sisters. Damian always smiled, agreeing that it was pure, but could never relate to him; his father never let him play in the snow or else he would be punished.
Damian loved winter at Hogwarts, but it made him feel sad; Winter meant Christmas and that meant that his friends would all leave Hogwarts for the holidays, and he’d spend his time alone. Not that at home was different, in a house too big for two people, especially when one couldn’t really leave her bed.
This year, his sixth, he decided to leave for holidays too. His aunt had written him how his mother’s sickness had worsened, that the doctors said it’d be her last Christmas and how he hoped they were wrong. Rowan left him on the platform with a longer hug, that none of their friends understood.
In the end, her doctors were right, it was her last Christmas. Damian lost his mum on the 27th of December 1989; it was the day he finally broke down, crying all the tears he held for years and screaming for her to come back, that he would take better care of her.
He didn’t know for how long he screamed, until he felt familiar arms against him; arms he recognized as his aunt Lara’s. The night went by like that, with him crying and begging for his mother to come back and his aunt holding him.
His friends knew about her death and sickness only when it was published on the Daily Prophet. Damian should have saw it coming, his family was not only a pureblood one, but also one of the Sacred Twenty-eight. He received their owls of course, but never replied. He came back to school later, that year.
Damian officially came back to Hogwarts on the 20th of January, in the evening. He had arrived in the afternoon, soon after lunch, but he spent hours in Dumbledore’s office; he wanted to know how he was doing and who was he staying with, now that none of his parent was at home. He answered all his question with short answers, just wanting to go.
When he entered the Great Hall, the familiar noise stopped, letting silence take over. Damian didn’t look up, didn’t try to make eye-contact with his friends; he took the seat Rowan had left him and sat at the Slytherin table. His best friend’s hand didn’t leave his throughout the dinner.
He didn’t really eat, most of the time he played with food and slowly, the Great Hall was empty, leaving only him, Rowan and all their friends that were gradually gathering around them at their table. Damian didn’t talk, his eyes lost in the void as Rowan took over, telling them about Evelyn’s sickness.
A month went by, Damian still an outstanding student, still a fantastic Quidditch player, but a lot quieter, his friends worrying if he’d be fine again. In February he had another break down; this time no one rocked him back and forth in attempt to calm him down.
Another month went by, his mother’s birthday came sooner that he expected; he hid in Jacob’s study, but this time Penny found him. She hugged him, letting him cry in her robes, whispering loving words until he calmed down. She never let him go from that moment.
Damian started to get better only when he realized how bad his habit to write Evelyn letters had led him; he picked that routine because at first it helped him copy with her death, then it just became an obsession that didn’t allow him to let her go.
He stopped writing when Penny started to distract him during the day, leaving him too tired to write at night. He started sleeping more and soon, despite being quieter than the past years, he talked more. At the end of the year, he seemed to be fine again.
In his seventh year, winter naturally came again. Damian still loved the sight of the castle covered in white, at the same time it made him even sadder than before. It was the 15th of December when Penny noticed his silhouette sitting under a tree; she joined him, of course. As soon as she approached, he smiled at her.
“What does the snow remind you of, Pen?”
“It reminds me of love, as if the sky decided to donate his light to his loved earth”
She slowly wrapped her arms against him, and she felt him too cold, as she couldn’t help but wonder how much time he spent outside.
“How long have you been out, Dam? You’ll catch a cold; you aren’t covered a bit”
“I don’t know. I just felt like going out. Are you going away for Christmas?”
“I’m not leaving you alone this year, love. I’m all yours this year.”
He just smiled, holding her closer.
“Come home with me, then. I don’t want to stay at Hogwarts, but I don’t want to be alone. You think your parents will allow you to come? They can come too, if they feel like it, the more the better”
“I can always ask them, if they say no, we can always sneak there, don’t you think?”
Damian nodded and then got up, holding her bridal style. They headed inside, but instead of the dungeons he led them to the Room of Requirement. They slept there for the rest of the night.
In the end, Penny’s parents allowed her to go at Damian’s for Christmas. Her mouth fell open when she looked at his house, it looked more like a castle.
This time, his Christmas was a happy one, despite some sad moments. They came back together, closer than before and when he sneaked out in January, snow reminded him of his relationship with Penny.
Damian loved winter because it reminded him, well of him. Penny grew to love winter too, because of how it reminded her of their late-night talks.
In the end, he proposed the 25th of December of 1992, in front of their friends and her parents. And when Rowan and Damian sneaked out again, the latter was happy to say that winter didn’t make him sad anymore.