"On the fifth day of Christmas, my house-elf brought to me... Fiiiiiiiiiiiive broken waaaaaaaaaaaaaands!" Scorpius bellowed as he burst into the Slytherin common room, ignoring the annoyed huffs from its other occupants. His hair was powdered with the season's first snow, his cheeks glowing bright pink and his eyes sparkling. "Only one week left, Albus!" he cried, flopping down in the chair next to the window sill where Albus had been scribbling on a piece of parchment.

"Until we get five broken wands?" Albus asked, raising an eyebrow. "Sounds like something my dad would pick as a gift. Because they remind him of some ghost from his past, blah blah blah."

"Oh Albus..." Scorpius laughed. "It's just a silly song... Why does everything have to be about...?" He stopped himself. "Is something wrong? I thought you and your dad were getting along after the... After what happened?"

Albus huffed. "So did I. And then we started arguing by owl. I mean, seriously..." He gestured at his parchment.

"Oh..." Scorpius' smile melted faster than the last flecks of snow on his shoulder. "I'm sorry. Is it... bad?"

"Well..." Albus shrugged. "You know Lily scored a bunch of points for Gryffindor last week with that Herbology project, right? Which probably had nothing at all to do with mum and dad asking Neville over for Christmas. But dad's been sending letter after letter telling me how proud he is, and, I mean, good for Lily, but Gryffindor points aren't exactly supposed to make me happy, right? And now it turns out that James is bringing his umpteenth girlfriend over during the holidays. So I get all the synonyms for 'proud' all over again. James sees me every day and he hasn't even bothered telling me in person. And dad hasn't asked how I'm doing in weeks because he's too busy gushing over them." He flicked the parchment and his quill onto the nearby table. "Of course I was stupid enough to mention that it bothered me, and now he's telling me off because I should be happy for my siblings. But, you know, I am happy for them. It's all great. It's just that all this shows that they don't need me there, doesn't it? All I do is cause conflicts. So it'll be another Christmas where I'm just sitting there until I can't keep my mouth shut and everything explodes. I think I'll just stay at Hogwarts. At least I'll have good company here." He gave Scorpius a weak smile.

"I... I'm sorry," Scorpius squeaked. "That's horrible... I can understand why you want to stay. But... I'm going home this year. Dad's cleared his schedule so we can... y'know... bond..."

For a long moment Albus just sat staring at him in shock. Then he blinked and quickly schooled his features into something less obviously heartbroken. "Right. Of course. I... I shouldn't have assumed you'd stay. I mean, you two really do need to spend some time together." He cleared his throat and looked away.

"I won't go." Scorpius reached out and took hold of his arm. "I'll stay here. Dad will understand. Probably... Maybe..."

"No. Don't be silly." Albus laid his hand over Scorpius'. "Your dad does need you. You're all he has. I don't want to stand between you. I'm sure I'll find things to do."

"I suppose..." Scorpius looked down at his feet. "I guess you could catch up on some of the homework and stuff you missed when... At the start of the year..."

"You know, that's not the most comforting thing you've ever said," Albus said, giving Scorpius an exasperated look.

Scorpius managed a weak laugh. "Well... knowing me that's not saying much."

…

Avoiding the subject completely, Albus managed to act normal, more or less, for most of the week. But on the morning of the last day of lessons, it was simply impossible to hide how miserable he felt. Scorpius was sitting across from him, but he couldn't look at him or he'd start either crying or shouting. And it wasn't his friend's fault at all. He only had his dad, so of course he wanted to be with him. It had been incredibly selfish of Albus to think otherwise in the first place. But he just felt so alone. If he did stay at Hogwarts, he doubted he'd get out of bed at all during the holiday. And sure, it wasn't too late to go home—but that would feel like giving in and, honestly, he'd probably feel just as lonely when he was surrounded by his perfect cousins and clever sister and awesome brother with his girlfriend. Ugh. So he'd stay at Hogwarts. At least, once Scorpius left, no one would see him cry.

"Eat something," Scorpius said, pushing a plate of buttered toast towards him. "You'll need your strength. Hagrid's promised us a... 'surprise' today."

Swallowing difficultly, Albus stared at the toast. It usually didn't come from the kitchen in buttered state. Scorpius must have done it. Out of guilt. Guilt because his best friend couldn't stand that he'd have a nice time with his dad. What a friend, indeed.

Albus shook his head. "I don't think I can eat."

"At least have some... some tea... Juice?" Scorpius' voice rose so high on the last word that several people turned to stare. A couple of Hufflepuffs giggled and Professor Trelawney raised an eyebrow in their direction.

Scorpius blushed and slouched so far down that his head almost disappeared into his robe.

Somehow, even though it would have seemed impossible mere seconds ago, a weak smile broke through Albus' glum mood. "Fine. I guess I can manage some pumpkin juice."

"Thank you." Scorpius re-emerged somewhat, smiling weakly. He handed Albus a goblet and then gave the plate a small nudge closer.

…

In spite of Scorpius' desperate attempts to cheer him up, Albus felt like the morning dragged on forever. Hagrid's Hoo-hoos managed to distract him for an hour, but at lunch his stomach clenched once again at the mere thought of eating. In fact he was starting to wish the day was over. Sure, he'd be alone, but at least he would no longer have to act like he was alright.

"Clara Cavendish!" Scorpius exclaimed, interrupting his gloomy thoughts.

Albus looked over his shoulder, expecting their classmate to be there. But she wasn't anywhere in sight, so he turned back to his friend with a puzzled look. "Uhm... What?"

Scorpius had gone bright red. "She... well... she's staying too. At Hogwarts. Over Christmas. You could... you know... hang out..."

Albus blinked. "What? We never talk. Why would we start now?"

"She's here and..." Scorpius squirmed in his seat. "She's a... a girl?"

Albus had the feeling he'd have a hard time finding his eyebrows again now that they'd climbed past his hairline. "So?"

"It could be fun?" Scorpius, on the other hand, was retreating into his robe again. "Sorry. Just a suggestion. You seem so... not unhappy but... y'know."

Albus sighed. "Look, I'll... I'll be fine. I'm sorry I can't be all smiles and Christmas cheer with you right now. But... I've no interest in running after some girl who doesn't even want to look at me, let alone talk or... whatever. I mean, it's clear from you and Rose that that's not exactly a great strategy."

"Ouch..." Scorpius' laughter sounded a little forced. "But really... Why don't you go home? I know you and your dad don't always get along but... Don't you miss your mother? And what about your sister?"

"He'll still be there. And it's not like they will miss me."

"Of course they will..." Scorpius put a slightly trembling hand on his shoulder. "You know they will. They were worried sick when we were... y'know."

Albus looked down, biting his lip and taking a deep breath before he could speak. "The only person I really want to spend Christmas with, has to be with someone who needs him more than I do. That's just how it is."

"Excuse me!" Looking rather green, Scorpius jumped to his feet and rushed out of the hall, nearly tripping thrice.

"Scorpius?" Albus stood up, but it was too late to follow his friend. And anyway... Apparently he'd finally managed to scare him off with his whining. He'd better let him go.

…

Albus was relieved that Scorpius took his usual place next to him during their last lessons, and now and then shot him a tight smile. But he was unusually quiet and Albus felt his heart sink. Now he'd done it. Scorpius had been endlessly patient with him, but now Albus had just gone too far. He'd not only be alone during the holidays, but might have lost his only friend too.

As soon as the lessons were over, Scorpius ran off again as fast as he could, and he didn't even show up for dinner. Not that Albus had dinner himself. He just entered the Great Hall, scanned the Slytherin table for his friend so he could at least apologise to him, then returned to their dormitory when he saw that Scorpius wasn't there.

He hid in his bed, closing the curtains so Scorpius wouldn't have to see him when he entered. The other boys living in their dorm came in early, laughing and joking as they packed their stuff. But Albus didn't hear Scorpius' familiar footsteps until midnight. He'd have to pack quickly in the morning in order to catch the train. And Albus would make sure that he wasn't around to spoil his Christmas cheer.