Memory Lane (Shadow and Holly)

"Good team. Old enough." Holly got from these words, "YAY!"
She wrote both hers and Shadow's names on the slip, because wolves can't write, and threw it into the goblet of fire.
"Yay!"

Shadow barked joyfully, and bounced around, tail wagging madly.

Holly danced for half a minute and then stopped due to the looks they were getting.
"You're crazy," she said lovingly to Shadow, and headed out the door to first class.

Shadow nodded and trotted after Holly again, eager for the selections to come round.

**TWENTY SEVEN DAYS LATER**

Holly woke Shadow up by screaming as loudly as she possibly could.

Shadow leapt about five feet in the air and nearly bit Holly before realising who it was and what day it was. She barked happily.

Instead of apologising or doing anything sensible, Holly screamed again and began jumping on her bed.
"SEVENTEEN! SEVENTEEN! SEVENTEEN! CHRISTMAS! CHRISTMAS! CHRISTMAS! CHAMPION SELECTION DAY! CHAMPION SELECTION DAY! CHAMPION SELECTION DAY!"

Shadow crawled under the bed for a few seconds, and crawled back out with a long parcel and a square one. Both were wrapped, impeccably (she had morphed to use her magic. Otherwise her wrapping took hours to undo. She hated her love for puzzles sometimes...), in holly patterened paper.

Again, Holly screamed and collapsed onto her bed, tired from all the unnecessary jumping.
"GOOD MORNING!" she yelled, and hugged the wolf.

Shadow smiled her wolfish smile and deposited the parcels in Holly's lap before sitting back to watch her.

"OH MY GAWD ITS A BOX! THANK YOU!" Holly yelled, grinning at Shadow.
She finally calmed down enough to carefully peel off the holly wrapping paper.
"YOU DIDNT HAVE TO!" she lied.

Shadow's grin seemed to grow wider as Holly opened the brand new broom (Shaeman had connections in the business and this model hadn't actually come out yet) and the snitch signed by Potter (by using her own connections).

Holly just fainted. It had been the word 'Potter' that had done this. Just fainted. No screams, no nonsense stutters. She just fainted. This was an unwilling act of thanks.

Shadow leapt lightly up onto the bed and looked down at Holly with a worried look on her face.

Holly opened her eyes feeling dizzy.
"Well thanks." she said, sitting up.

Shadow woofed quietly in welcome.

"Well you're kinda the bestest friend EVER!"
It was probably comforting to everyone to know that Holly's affection could be bought. But she was being serious.
"You're Christmas present iiiiiiis......."
She put a hand under her pillow and fished out a rectangular package.

Shadow morphed back, and ruffled Holly's hair.
"Merry Christmas."

Holly pulled backwards from this gesture grinning.
"I'm seventeen now though. That makes us equals..."
She poked Shadow once.
"Happy Christmas kiddo."

Shadow laughed her soft howl laugh.
"As much as I wish it, II don't think we'll ever be quite 'equal'."

"Why?" Holly asked, offended, "We will. And are. YAY!"
She clapped her hands and made them tear off the paper from Shadow's Christmas present all in one motion.
"ITS A THING!" she announced, holding up "The Large Guide To Everything There Has Ever Been In The World. Ever."
She then fished under her pillow again and produced a smaller parcel.
"S'a friendship bracelet." she said happily, showing Shadow her own, "I got meself one too. SCORENESS!"

Shadow smiled.
"Thanks Hol." She said, fixing the bracelet around her wrist.

"We match." Holly said proudly, holding her wrist next to Shadow's, "Go us!"
She clapped happily.
"CHAMPION SELECTION SOON!" she yelled.

Shadow smiled and morphed back into a wolf.

"I'm sure if you stayed as yourself they wouldn't throw you out." Holly said reasonably, opening the hangings on her bed, "I miss you talking to me!"