The holidays ended without incident, something Gwen was highly relieved about. She was still grieving for her mother, and asked Minerva if they might not take a little vacation to see her burial in France. Of course, this was simply out of the question.
The death eaters had made an open attack on Hogsmeade and the atmosphere had decidedly shifted to one of mistrust and fear.
Gwen refused to see the practicality of her godmother and now official guardian. Which raised an interesting question in her mind. Why weren't her Aunt Ann and Uncle George made her custodians? Did her mother hold something against them? She had trusted them with her life once. To tell the truth, she wasn't even sure if they were still alive. Neither her nor her mother had received any news from them in years.
Maybe, she guessed it was because Hogwarts was the safest place to be in the world. While Aunt Ann was a capable witch and Gwen herself had proved resilient, it didn't hurt to have that extra layer of protection only Hogwarts could offer.