The time of year for holiday festivities was coming around again. There was talk that none other than the Mage himself would give a prize to the most well decorated Christmas tree, there was talk of mistletoe, and there was talk of evil spirits that only left their hiding places at this time of year. Whatever was being discussed, the hallways were buzzing with excitement. The smell of candy canes and hot chocolate was in the air, and first year students marveled at the delicacies available in the wizarding world. Fireplaces glowed with warmth, and there was anticipation for snow.

It was a fine Thursday evening, and Simon was huddled cozily under his blankets. He would have been in the commons, but Agatha and Penelope weren't there. Instead of feeling anxious about tomorrow, he tried to remain calm by becoming absorbed in a book. He had already finished his homework. There was an aura of homeliness about the room, the dim light of the candles illuminating every surface with varying amounts of light. He was just beginning to relax when Baz walked through the door.

At first Simon was doing a fairly good job of ignoring him, but as soon as Baz grabbed his viola and began improvising in a seemingly random manner, Simon couldn't help but be a bit annoyed. When he restarted reading a paragraph for the fifth time, he spoke up.

"Do you mind?"

"Mind what?"

"I'm trying to read."

"You're trying. Sorry you're such a dimwit." Simon's face turned beet red.

"Stop telling me you're sorry when you're really not."

"Sorry," Baz smirked, still playing haunting notes on his viola. Simon's feeling of calmness was officially gone now. Christmas was approaching, yet Simon still could not get a break from Baz.

Isn't it the season to be jolly? Aren't people supposed to spread holiday cheer? Simon thought bitterly to himself. Which gave Simon a bright idea. He could spread holiday cheer! Only a few seconds elapsed before he was out the door and walking briskly through the hallways, determined to bring his morale back up. As soon as Simon stepped outside he was hit by a burst of crisp, cold air. He illuminated his wand tip and made his way to the forest by the edge of the school. By now the deciduous trees had lost their leaves long ago, and looked kind of haunting when their twisted, gnarly branches were exposed. Simon ignored them, focusing his attention on the beautiful evergreens instead, which had lost none of their color. He deliberately cut branches off of the trees, magically growing them back as he went. When he figured he had a sufficient amount of greens, he turned back towards the school.

Many people gave him questioning glances as he walked to his room. Simon couldn't blame them; he was sure he was quite a sight to see. A first year student sinking under the weight of several boughs of pine, fir, and other trees of the sort. Not to mention the fact that he didn't have any way of utilizing magic to carry the branches for him. Though he hated the revelation, his skills in magic were fairly limited.

It was a bit cumbersome to open the door since he had to set his load down in order to free his hands. If he had been skilled enough at casting spells without a wand he would have opened it with magic. In the state he was in, however, he had to use physical means to accomplish the task. It was a bit embarrassing for him, and he hoped that no one had seen. He looked around and noted that Baz was no longer in their room. His viola was set carefully on his bed. Simon couldn't help but wonder what sort of mischief he was making. Carefully, he made his way to his desk, and set the branches in a heap on the floor. Simon took a deep breath. It was time to begin his work.

He clipped the branches into little pieces which he put together to form bundles. Skillfully he began weaving the bundles together. He wasn't sure how he knew how to do this, he just did. As he went, he would periodically seal the greenery together with magic to ensure it didn't fall apart. Just as Simon had settled into the rhythm of wreath making, he heard the door open. He knew it was Baz. Under normal circumstances, he would have ignored him, but since it was that wonderful time of the year, he decided to give Baz a cheerful "Hi." Like usual, Baz ignored him. Simon refrained from sighing. He didn't know why he still tried to be nice. But he didn't see himself stopping any time soon.

Without a word, Baz walked sulkily towards Simon's desk and grabbed one of the branches that was set next to it. Simon peeked out of the corner of his eye to see Baz's baleful look.

"This is stupid," Baz remarked.

"Go away," Simon retorted. He didn't need Baz's pessimistic mindset polluting his Christmas spirit. Baz answered by hurling the branch at him. It hit him square in the face. Simon noted the smell of fresh pine before throwing a branch back at Baz. It seemed like Baz hadn't expected this response, but it was clearly what he had been hoping for since a malicious smirk crossed his face.

"You throw like a girl," he commented. Simon replied with another airborne branch. Baz laughed, completely unfazed. Simon knew he was giving Baz what he wanted. He knew he was simply fueling the fire, but he figured that Baz's anger would turn into a raging inferno no matter what he did. He might as well defend himself. Or attempt to, at the least. Before he could think better of it, he threw another branch. And another. Even though he put all his strength behind his throws, Baz still hit him harder. It became a flurry of flying foliage, Simon attempting to duck to avoid the stinging sensation of being hit, and Baz seeming not to care, laughing at Simon's inadequacy.

Any outsider witnessing the unfolding of this fight would have thought it petty, and that was exactly what the Mage thought of it. It would have been easy for him to intervene, but he thought it best to let things play out the way they would.

Though Baz's laughter was spiteful, laughter is still contagious, and before long Simon was laughing too. His laughter was more light, like bells ringing through a gentle breeze. It grew out of his control, and pretty soon he fell to the floor in a fit of giggles. At first Baz was confused, then angry, and then…. He wasn't sure. Maybe it was numbness, or pity. Maybe it was surprise. Maybe he actually cared. Whatever the reason, Baz didn't strike Simon again. He just observed. There was a slight spark in his heart, but it was quickly gone.

Simon gave Baz a curious look. He didn't know what had caused this change to come about. "There's sap in your hair," he said, bursting into laughter once again. Instead of the usual dark look, or salty remark, Baz simply raised an eyebrow.

"I'll fix it for you," Simon said, and on a spontaneous whim he sprung to his feet and tackled Baz, running his fingers through his hair.

"Get off!" Baz grumbled. Simon kept giggling, clinging resolutely to Baz, who was thrashing about and trying to throw him to the ground. Baz let out a yell of rage, partially because Simon was annoying, and partially because he was finding it difficult to remain annoyed. There was something about Simon's childish behavior which, by some miracle, wasn't aggravating. They fought there for a few minutes as boys usually do, unaware that the Mage had been watching the entire thing, and now had a smile on his face at the way they were getting along. If indeed that was what they were doing.

Finally, Simon gave up and let himself collapse on the floor. The full realization of what he had just done came a few seconds later, accompanied with an expression of pure shock. Baz was infinitely stronger than him, and should have been able to easily throw him off. It was more than a small wonder that he didn't. While Simon silently pondered this, Baz sighed and brushed himself off indignantly. Simon knew he shouldn't try to mess with someone as cold and serious as Baz. He also knew that if he could go back in time and change his actions, he wouldn't. There was something satisfying about annoying that villain, even if Simon would have to pay with his life someday. He would probably pay with his life simply because he was unlucky enough to know Baz. Oh well, he figured. You can't argue with fate.

/

While Simon and Baz were discovering things about themselves, Agatha and Penelope were testing their skills at brewing potions.

"No, no, the toad eye goes in last!" Agatha exclaimed. Penny froze, dangling the toad eye slightly above the boiling cauldron.

"Oh. I thought it… Oh." She put the eye back into the jar that Agatha had stolen from Professor Blooming just a few hours earlier. They had spent the entire week gathering herbs from the gardens and the woods by the school, taking bundles sparingly in order to avoid seeming suspicious. There was the slight possibility that it had all been in vain due to Penny's naturally suspicious demeanor.

Agatha sprinkled a bit of pixie dust into the cauldron and looked to the book for the next ingredient. She kind of wondered at the fact that there would be pixie dust in an underwater breathing potion, but then dismissed the thought. Penny was making herself useful by sorting through all the plants they had picked up while absently stirring the cauldron. Agatha glanced over several times to make sure Penny wasn't messing anything up. She knew that Penny was aware that this was an important business, but it never hurt to be too careful.

"You know, I kind of feel sorry for that toad who had to get slaughtered so that we could brew a potion," Penny remarked. "I ought to start a toad's rights movement." Agatha smiled. Only Penny would think of something like that.

They were already over halfway done with the potion. Agatha was already getting anxious about how events would unfold on Friday (Technically very early on Saturday morning). Penny was also getting butterflies in her stomach, and Penny rarely got nervous about anything. They would have to stay focused and hope for the best.

/

A/N: Hey, so I haven't read Carry On yet, but I plan to after I finish this fanfic since I want to keep my writing and interpretation of the Simon and Baz universe consistent. At the time when I started writing this Carry On hadn't been released yet. Just in case anyone who has read Carry On sees things about this fanfic that don't match up with that book. Also, I'm sorry I don't update very often, but I promise that I will finish this story eventually. I suffer from writer's block nearly all the time, so if anyone has ideas or things that will inspire me to write, I'd love to hear them :)

And yeah, it might be a bit late for a holiday related chapter, but it took me longer to edit than I thought it would, haha.

Thank you all,

Emily