Ah, December—the month of snow, celebration, cozy fireplaces, and hot chocolate with whipped cream. Different varieties of fruits and vegetables arrived at the market as seasonal specialties. You, as always, went to the market every Tuesday, and today was no different. Fully wrapped up against the cold—winter jacket, scarf, gloves—you browsed each stand, moving on when nothing caught your eye. After two hours of shopping, you decided to head back home to your lovely boyfriend James.

As you entered through the front door, James got up from the couch, leaving behind whatever he was reading—probably a Quidditch magazine. He began talking before looking at you—his usual habit—while you removed your snow-covered shoes in the hallway. The melting snow created puddles on the floor from the stark temperature difference between indoors and out.

"So, bought anything you li—" he stopped mid-sentence, his hazel eyes falling on the plastic see-through bag clutched in your gloved hand. "Is that a bag full of oranges?" he asked, not hiding his mild concern that you'd gone absolutely bonkers.

"Mandarins," you corrected, raising an eyebrow at him. What a fool! He didn't know the precious difference between the joy of life and mere oranges. "And I'm not going insane. It's winter, which means mandarins are mandatory."

"Right... Because those two things have a correlation," he said, his voice tinged with gentle sarcasm.