Chaya grinned.

"There's nothing wrong with small," she said dismissively. East Croydon was London, or near enough, and easy enough to get to. Definitely close enough to visit over the holidays.

"I'd have to ask my parents, of course, but I bet they'd love to have you over for dinner some time - they're always trying to get me to bring friends home. So they can reassure themselves I actually have some, I suppose. And they'd probably love to meet your mum, too, since she's another muggle whose daughter is a witch, and all."

Obderedria was getting her hopes up again. "If your parents are fine with it, s-sure. Mum should get some time free around Christmas. Although I can't remember if her break was going to be before or after the holiday."

Home. Sixteen more days and then she could be back home again. Not that Obderedria ever disliked Hogwarts but going to magic school had also been the first time she had ever been to a boarding school and thus living away from home.

"Well we're definitely free Christmas," Chaya promised. "We don't celebrate, obviously, and everything is shut for the holiday, so there's nothing to do[1]. It can get rather boring, really."

"I'm looking forward to going home," she confided in her new friend. "I've never been away from home for so long before. I mean, we went to Israel in primary school, but that was only for a week, and we could phone our parents every night after dinner." She looked at Drea. "Is this your first time away, too? Hogwarts, I mean, not this year, since you were here last year, too."

1.	do English Jews do the movies-and-Chinese-food thing like we do in America? I'm assuming they don't, or Chaya's family doesn't, until I know for sure

Obderedria blinked. She thought she had snipped off too many leaves from her tree but it looked find. Still, she felt that she had missed something. Or maybe it was from how Chaya had phrased her holiday plans.

"No, well yes, I went home for the holiday last year. I'll be going back this year too.[1] I think I'll just like the time at home. Although I would have to leave my tree her, I don't think it could handle traveling in the cold."

1.	Certain plot-thicky things make it so she actually won't, but I don't have everything settled yet

"I hadn't thought about that," Chaya said. "Dwarf fruit trees usually need careful watering and feeding[1]. Will it be alright here alone all break?"

"I'm bringing my plants home," she continued. "I don't have anything tropical or overtly magical, so travel shouldn't be a problem."

 She frowned at a sudden thought.

"Have you gotten your parents anything for Christmas?" She asked. "Mum and Dad insist I don't need to buy them Chanukah gifts, but I want to, and I should try to find something for Nana, and Bubbe and Zayde Weismann, too." She sighed. "I do wish Chanukah was a bit later this year. I know it's only a minor festival, really, not important or anything, but I would have liked to be home for it."

1.	http://miniatures.about.com/od/livingminiatures/a/dwarfruit.htm

Obderedria nodded to what Chaya said.[1] "Well, there are so many plants kept in the Hufflepuff common room," she said as she looked around. "They must get taken care of somehow if I leave it. I wouldn't want to leave it over the summer break, nothing that long, so winter won't be too bad."

"Parent," Obderedria said in reflex. "Just my mum. Actually, have you heard of Hogsmeade, the village down from the school? We can't go on the trip weekends until third year. But I know the Flumes, they own a candy store called Honeydukes, and I asked them to owl us some chocolates mum might like." All that she had been able to afford, and with the extra not to have the package be delivered by a quiet owl.

1.	Holy crap that is an awesome link! Where was this months ago when I decided to adopt a tree

"We could ask Professor Sandusky who takes care of the common room plants," Chaya suggested. "He'd probably know."

She'd wanted to know the answer herself, but she couldn't possibly approach the professor by herself. Too often her attempts at talking to people went awry, her original purpose lost in the twisting tangents of conversation, or worse, the horrible stuttering and inability to think clearly that so often accompanied actual social interaction. Even when she planned out what she intended to say ahead of time, things so often went wrong.

 If she had Drea with her though...Drea could keep her anchored and on track, do the talking if she suddenly couldn't.

"Maybe it's whoever does our laundry and makes our beds." She shrugged.

"Will you bring the chocolates home and put them under your tree?" She asked. "You have a tree, right? Like on the telly?"

She leaned closer to Drea, eager for answers.[1]

"My mum's sending some of my presents so I can open them during the holiday, since we'll still be here, and keeping the rest to open at the family party after I come home."

She tried to moderate her speed so she wasn't talking to fast, reminding herself to breath in between her subordinate clauses the way Ms. Greenburg had taught her in her special classes.

"We usually give our presents when we light the candles, but it doesn't really matter, since presents don't actually have much to do with Chanukah, but you lot open them all at once on Christmas morning, right?"

1.	Chaya hasn't had a lot of friends before, and the ones she did have were classmates at her Jewish private school. Drea is her first Christian friend, so she has lots of questions. She doesn't realize that her questions might be considered rude or inappropriate.