There once were two Hogwarts students who were inseparable. They’d been best friends ever since they were toddlers; they lived on the same street and grew up together. Both of them discovered their magical powers around the same age and went to Hogwarts together, but everything changed one snowy Christmas day.

Like any other Hogwarts Christmas, it was time for their yearly secret Santa tradition. The school always put up this huge mailbox in the courtyard. Students could put their mail in and send letters to their fellow students by choice. As always, the duo would be writing letters to each other, and although they didn’t know it yet, this year would turn out to become their downfall.

The girl had had a crush on her best friend ever since they hit their teenage years, but she never had the guts to tell him. One particularly late night in her dorms, she came up with the idea of admitting her feelings for him in her secret Santa letter. She wrote her heart out, telling him how she felt in the most beautiful and magical way she could and signing it with: “From your Dearest Secret Santa.”

Christmas arrived and the letters got sent out to all the addressees. They met up after school, like they always did, to open up their received letters together. When the bell rang and the classes ended, she nervously waited for him to arrive… but he never came. After waiting for several hours, she couldn’t help but wonder if he opened the letter beforehand and wasn’t happy with what he had read. Deeply disappointed that he didn’t show up, she returned to her dorms and went to bed. Little did she know that the owl who was supposed to send out her letter got lost and never arrived.

The boy was so mad that he didn’t get a letter, after putting so much effort into writing a heartfelt message without getting one in return, that he decided it would be better if he didn’t show up to their meeting place. Little did he know that her confession never arrived.

Days went by without them talking. Days became weeks, weeks became months, and months became several years. They separately grew old, wondering what might have happened if they both received their letters, until something magical happened. They were both were in their sixties when an unexpected event changed their lives for good.

Twenty years later, on Christmas Eve, a letter came in his mail. Quickly going through the rest of the letters, he found himself stunned when he read that one of the letters was sent from Hogwarts. With the date stating twenty years previous, he quickly opened the letter and immediately recognised her handwriting after all those years. The letter had an extra parchment piece pinned to it, saying:

“Found this one along with a lost owl. Figured I’d keep the magic alive and save something magical. Yours sincerely, Dumbledore”

With her address on the back, he knew what he had to do. He took his coat, got in the car and started his drive towards what would end up becoming a lifelong journey by her side.