Harry found the rest of the term to go by quickly. He saw Rose very little and they hardly engaged with one another. James was not allowed around the Malfoy children, and lucky for Harry he didn't come near them. Harry still had a hard time with the abuse, but he got letters from his family back home every morning now. Harry loved spending time with his cousins and friends, and with James not allowed near him, he ventured out of the dungeons more often now. Draco had even convinced him one night to sleep on the couch in the dorm room. That had been hard and he only did it the one time, but letters from his uncle, Lucius, told him this behaver of sleeping on the floor under his bed or in the cubered was not to continue.
Right now Harry was sitting on the Hogwarts Express to go home for the winter solstice. Harry had never liked this time of year. It was previously spent with a lot of people coming to the Potter house, and him not allowed to leave his room. All gifts given to him, which were few, were given to Rose... or burned. "Harry, come on. What do you think?"
Harry looked around the compartment to see Draco sitting beside Neville, across from him and Eric. But looking over, he realized the compartment was completely full and the 4 boys were no longer alone. Pansy, Queeny, and Hermione had joined them, as well as the Snape twins. "Sorry, what do I think of what?"
Draco rolled his eyes. "Of inviting everyone to stay with us for part of the break. George and Fred will spend the whole time with us, as they practically live with us. But what do you think of inviting everyone else?"
"Oh. Um… well, I think it's a great idea." Harry said he hoped he answered the right way, but from the looks on the others faces he had.
"See Draco. You know just because Harry is your cousin does not mean you get to keep him all to your self!" Said Pansy, who then stood and walked across the compartment. Realizing the space between Harry and Draco was not big enough for her, she sat on Harry's lap.
Harry was surprised to have the girl on his lap, he'd never had someone sit on him before. Pansy took Harry's face in her hands and looked him right in the eye. "Harry and I just can't be apart, especially for the winter solstice. After all, we are going to get married."
The other two girls smiled and rolled their eyes. The boys looked a little uncertain on what to say now. Harry could only think one thing, 'that escalated fast.' But he could see the mischief dancing in her eyes and Harry could not help but to smile. "Ya… We cant be apart. We should marry as soon as we are out of school! It will be perfect!" The boys all looked now as if they had not heard right and the girls looked like the winter soloist came early!
"Oh, that's so sweet! I can't wait to be in love like that one day!" Squealed the other girls. The boys all looked sick.
The ride continued and they continued to have fun talking to one another. Pansy and Harry, much to the boy's disgust and the girl's delight, started planning the wedding they would have seven years from now.
Pansy had started liking Harry the moment she saw him. Hearing his voice, the way he talked and was so shy at times just made her love him more. When he had been adopted into the Malfoy family only 2 weeks ago, she started making her interest known.
Harry, on the other hand, knew the girl liked him, he was a boy not blind. Considering he grew up with only his mother to rely on and his uncles, Harry knew a lot about girls, mostly thanks to Sirius. But when he realized how much she liked him, and after being adopted, she made it know and he couldn't help but indulge her. He was not really interested in girls yet, something that would change he was told, but he loved the attention she gave him. She had proclaimed they were dating a week ago, causing them to spend a lot of time together. Really she was just like a best friend, one of the guys, she just liked to mother him more and he saw nothing wrong with that.
Getting off the express they each quickly grabbed their things. "MOM!" yelled Harry he ran across the platform to his mother. She had never looked so beautiful. Her hair was mostly up in a pretty bun with some curls hanging out. Her dress reached the floor, it was a vibrant red color with black stitching on it and a black cloak over top. Her eyes were full of happiness. The change in his mother was unbelievable, he could hardly recognize her after only 2 weeks. "Harry, my son. I'm so glad you are finally home."
Harry hugged his mother and kissed her cheek only to do the same to his aunt, he then bowed respectfully to the head of his house. He watched as Draco did the same as did Fred and George only they bowed lower and kissed his mothers and aunt's hand. Harry could see his other friends greeting their families. "Come, we will take our leave"

Once at the Manor house, elves came and took their luggage away. Sitting down in the living room, they were served tea. "It's so nice to have you both home again. So tell us, how did the past two weeks go with Transfiguration?" asked Lucius.
They spent the rest of the night talking about how school was. Draco was more than happy to announce Harry's girlfriend, which the adults all laughed at in amusement. They had a nice meal in the dining room and Severus arrived soon after. The Snapes would be spending the whole winter soloist at the Manor with them.
After the boys were all sent to bed, the adults once again sat in the sitting room together. "I have received a letter from my cousin, Sirius. He asked if he could come spend a couple of days here and bring Remus with him." Said Narcissa as she poured tea for everyone.
"I don't see a problem with that. Why don't you write him back and tell him they are welcome to come for a couple of days. Draco and Harry would like their friends to come stay for a couple of days as well." Said, Lucius, as he took a sip of his tea.
"Fred and George have asked that we let them go stay at the Flints house for a couple of days as well. They will be leaving on the 27th and coming back on the 31st." Said, Severus.
"Well, I will proudly say those two are not my problem." Responded Lucius with a smile. He loved the twins, but they could be a little crazy at times. And their jokes often got out of hand. No one ever got hurt, but if he had to deal with it all the time he would pull his hair out. The adults spent the rest of the night decided when their guests would come and when they would leave. They also had the traditional Malfoy winter solstice party they would be holding on the 24th, only 2 days from now. The would spend the 25th and 26th with Sirius and Remus. The 27th Sirius and Remus would go home and George and Fred would be leaving to go to the Flints. The 28th Draco and Harry's friends would come, meaning Eric, Neville, Hermione, Pansy, Quennie. They would all be staying until the 1st. Then they would all go home. Fred and George would be coming back on the 31st and after everyone left they would have 3 days to themselves. Then on the on the 4th the children would all go back to Hogwarts.
After finally getting everything figured out, Lucius and Narcissa went to bed. As Narcissa left the room, she whispered to Lily. "If you need us during the night, don't hesitate to come." The two women hugged one another.
With the two Malfoys retired to their rooms, that left Severus and Lily alone. Lily smiled at him. "I never got the chance to thank you for saving me and my son."
"There is no need to thank me, Lily. I only did what any decent person would do." Severus replied. The two sat in silence for a moment. It was well into the night, or morning depending on how you looked at it. "Would you like to take a walk with me?" Severus finally asked.
"I thought you would never ask." Replied Lily. Severus stood and offered his hand out to her. Taking it, Lily stood up and the two made their way out into the indoor garden. Walking around the large garden arm and arm, the didn't say a word for a long time.
"Lily, I never got the chance to apologize for 5th year," Severus spoke quietly, but loud enough for Lily to hear.
"Oh Sev, that was so long ago. Why bring it up now? It's over and done with. I forgave you the moment I walked away." A small smile grew on Lily's face. "I just waited for you to forgive yourself, I suppose you never really did," Lily said as she picked up a jug of water and began to water the flowers.
"No, I never did. I felt like I didn't deserve your forgiveness, but I think a part of me knew you had forgiven me." Severus watched Lily work with a smile on his face.
The two once again went quiet, enjoying each other's company. They stayed that way for another hour or so. Severus then walked Lily to her room and they said good night.
Little did they know, two 13-year-old boys had seen it all. "Do you think we will finally get a mother?" Asked one boy.
"He's never gotten this close to a woman before. Let's hope so."
"Besides, if they need a little push…"
"We can always help." The boys then ran off to their room, going to sleep for the night like they should have done hours ago.