"I don't remember he or Flintwick assigning this much homework for our OWLs, I can barely see straight." Holly continued to muse, completely oblivious to Gideon's plan or intentions.

"Holly Chant," Jerome Edison, having caught just the pretty lilt of her voice as he passed through, stopped, rounded the corner, and hooked an arm around her waist. He shouldered her weight and spun her in a little circle, "And just how is the prettiest mediwitch in the entire school?"

Setting her back on her feet, he winked over his shoulder at Gideon, "Gid. Mind if I accost your girl for a moment in celebration?"

Jerome wasn't the sort to wait for an answer, so pulled a box out of his pocket and offered it to Holly, "Mars said you'd be around, but I didn't expect to run into you so early. Happy birthday; I considered getting you a sparkly, but I thought this might do better."

In the box, Holly would find a writing set, complete with some snow-patterned velum and a pretty white quill, the stem wrapped with criss-crossing blue and white ribbons like a mini maypole. A pot of ink would be set to one side in the box, matching the fine blue color of the ribbons.