-10-

They stood in the tree lot and stared at the different trees available. They had everything from Spruce, Fir and Pine and the smells were absolutely wonderful. Elizabeth giggled like a child as she bolted away from the two of them to look at all the trees.

Ameris shook her head. "Such a child."

"Let her have her fun Ameris. Seeing her parents and aunt must have been a lot on her."

"You're right." She nodded and walked around the lot with him, hand in hand. "Let's get some hot chocolate."

He nodded in agreement and led her to the stand.

As they conversed and ordered their hot chocolate, Elizabeth roamed row after row of trees, searching for the one that called out to her most. She saw one at the edge of the lot and trudged through the snow and mass of people searching for trees to get to it. When she got closer she slipped on ice and knocked into someone.

The man grabbed her as she fell. "Are you alright?" He asked in a gruff voice, miffed that he was bumped into.

"Yes, thank you." She said as she stood up and dusted off the red wool cloak she was wearing. She turned to face him.

He was a tall man, well built with a dark tan complexion. His black hair was slicked back a streak of gray ran through the left side. He looked down at the young woman with coal black eyes as he dusted his own jacket off. He gave her the once over. "Be more careful next time."

As she looked at him she couldn't help the twist she felt in the pit of her stomach. He was quite handsome. He looked like he was at least ten years older than her. "Yes, again, thank you and I'm sorry. I got excited."

He looked up at the tree. "It is a really nice looking tree." He looked at the girl again and offered her a smile. "I can help you take it home."

Red flags started to flare up and she shook her head. "No thank you, I should be fine."

He nodded, slightly disappointed. "My name is Morgan Ellis... by the way."

Dominic came then, holding an extra cup of hot chocolate. "There you are. We were looking for you." He held the cup out to her.

"Oh thanks Dominic." She turned her gaze and looked around her. "Hm." The man was gone. I didn't imagine all that did I? She shook her head and turned back to Dominic with a smile.

"So, is this the one?"

"I think so. It would look really nice in the great room."

Ameris walked up towards them with one of the lot workers. "Elizabeth, is this it?"

She nodded. "Mmhm! I really like this one."

Ameris turned to the young man. "We'll take this one, how much?"

"Twenty-three pound miss."

"Four galleons, twelves sickles and one knut," she mumbled to herself as she reached into her bag to pay him. She turned towards the other two. "C'mon let's get this taken home now."

Between the three of them, they managed to take the eight foot tall spruce down the street and into an alleyway. Once covered by the darkness Ameris called out for Onnory. There was a pop as the house elf appeared.

"Yes Miss Ameris? What can Onnory help you with?"

"Can you please take this home and set it up in the great room? We'll decorate it when we return."

"Yes Miss." He smiled and looked back to the tree. He snapped his fingers and both he and the tree were gone.

Ameris turned to the other two and smiled. "Well who's ready to go shopping!" She latched onto Dominic's arm and squeezed it against her chest, causing his face to go completely red.

Elizabeth laughed at her enthusiasm and followed the two off to the shopping district where they then disappeared into the wall of a nearby pub. Swyno Place was like and unlike Diagon Alley. The shops were a mix of old and new. The main street was wide and the two way street was lined with fresh black asphalt that glittered with magic to keep it pristine and free of snow. Witches, Wizards and surprisingly some muggles walked the strip in pairs, some in groups, conversing and chatting away merrily. The shops were all decorated tastefully with fairy lights and Christmas swag. Each lamp post on the side walk had large red bows on them and were connected by fresh ropes made of pine and cranberries. The smells wafting in the air were absolutely wonderful.

"Why don't you go explore Bethie, we'll meet at Ichabod's Tavern, say around three?" Ameris asked as she still held on to Dominic's arm.

She nodded. "Sure thing Ame." She watched the two go in amusement before she headed off. She had gotten a few things for them while she was at Hogsmeade, but nothing had pulled her attention to it for Scorpius. She hoped she'd have some luck at the shops here. Elizabeth let her eyes trail around the place in hopes that something would catch her eye.

With a sigh, she entered Prichard's, a modern emporium and outfitter of wizarding goods. It was bright inside and used modern electric lights as opposed to the standard gas lighting they were still using at Diagon Alley. Music was being played from inside the walls, it was pleasant, the type of music that made a person want to shop. Her eyes landed on the sight of various grades of cauldrons in different metals and colors. Some were displayed at the window with enchanted mannequins that showcased the style of robes they had to offer. The mannequins were pretending to make a brew to show how the robes moved with the body and allowed a witch or wizard to be able to move easily while wearing them. She couldn't help the chuckle when one of the mannequins bumped into the other and sparked what looked like a fight.

A mousy looking witch came up to her. She was wearing a robe that went from black at the bottom to a deep shade of blue towards the top, her hair was pulled into a french twist and had what looked like a wand running through the middle in it. She sent an angry look in the direction of the two quarreling mannequins, stopping them from fighting. She gave her a smile. "Hello dear! Welcome to Prichard's. How may I assist you today?"

She turned her attention to her, a thoughtful look came to her face. "I'm looking for something for someone special." There was a light dusting on her cheeks as she spoke.

"Ah well we have many items to choose from." She began to take her on a tour of the store. "As you can see we have cauldrons of all different types, potions ingredients, robes for every day, robes for special occasions, our own selection of high quality brooms and many, many other items. It is our policy here that if you don't find what you're looking for in our stores we can either direct you to where you can find it or special order the item for you."

Elizabeth had slightly tuned her out as they walked when she suddenly stopped, something had caught her eye. A smile came to her face as she went to it. In the display were several different wand accessories, but only one spoke to her the most. It was a beautiful, rich black leather wand holster. There was a lion stitched onto it with a brilliant red gem for an eye, the inside was red tinted suede. "Can I take a look at this one?"

The witch had still been walking when she heard Elizabeth speak. She hadn't realized that her tour had been interrupted. She had been far too busy enjoying the sound of her own voice. She quickly went to her side and unlocked the case. "This is a very nice piece." She carefully removed the holster from inside and handed it to her. "It was hand crafted using Hebridean Black leather so it's fairly durable but the leather is enchanted so it will never fade or tear from over use. It's definitely a useful item that can be handed down generation to generation."

She ran her fingers along the leather gently, she could feel the subtle ridges from the hide and the stitching. "I'll take it." Elizabeth said before the sales witch could say another word about it. She didn't care about the cost, she thought it was wonderful.

"Wonderful! Would you like this wrapped?"

"Yes please."

"While I wrap this please, take a look around." She smiled and left Elizabeth to her own devices.

Elizabeth decided to look around the store, although she had a feeling that nothing else would catch her eye here. Eventually she went to the display counter that the other witch was working at.

"Will that be all miss?" She asked with a sugary sweet smile.

She nodded. "Yes, thank you."

"That will be nineteen galleons, twelve sickles and twenty-seven knuts."

Elizabeth had been mentally prepared to pay the price as she reached into her bag and removed the purse where she kept her gold. Was she ever so glad that she and Ameris had made that stop at Gringotts before they left.

When she paid, the witch handed her the bag with a smile. "We look forward to doing business with you again."

Elizabeth took the bag, nodded and left the store. Although she paid a pretty penny, she knew it was worth it. She could only hope that Scorpius would like it. She went off to explore the other shops, surprised to find some muggle shops littered here too, she'd have to ask Ameris about that. She found a branch of Twilfitt and Tatting's in between a muggle electronics shop and ice cream shop. She couldn't help but be amused by the placement.

By three o'clock, Elizabeth had happily finished her shopping and was just entering Ichabod's. She gave a look around the place. Despite it's reputation as a pub, it was a beautiful location, the walls were painted a cream color to offset the darkness of the woods in the place. There were floating candles on the tables and at the booths. It was also pretty crowded. There were wizards showing off to their muggle companions and laughter was abundant in the air. It warmed her to see just harmony in one place. She wondered why it couldn't be like this all the time.

She smiled as she tried to see if there was an empty seat or if she could spot Ameris and Dominic. She sighed when it looked like they weren't around. Ugh... did they get caught up? She found an empty booth and slid in, setting her bags on the seat as she grabbed the nearby menu. Might as well order while I'm waiting. She couldn't deny that the delicious smells of steaks, bacon and pork being cooked in the air were making her feel as though she hadn't eaten at all that morning. She had been so caught up in shopping that she hadn't bothered stopping for lunch or at least a snack.

Ameris and Dominic came in and found her easily just after she had placed her order. Ameris was smiling ear to ear as poor Dominic carried the bags.

"Whoa, what all did you buy?"

"I got a little carried away at a specialty shop." She said with a sheepish look.

Dominic was mumbling something incoherent that neither girl heard as he finally had a chance to set the bags down. He waved his wand and miniaturized all but one bag. He picked up all the little ones and put them in the bigger bag, a look of relief on his face.

Elizabeth only shook her head. "Sure, a little." She said as the waiter returned with Pumpkin fizz. She nodded to him as the waiter turned to the other two.

"Butterbeer for me." Ameris said without looking at him.

"Strongbow for me mate, thanks."

He nodded and left to fill their drink orders. When he returned with the drinks they ordered.

"So what did you guys get?"

"Well I came across a specialty potions shop and bought a new cauldron and bushels of different ingredients."

"When she says bushels she means it." Dominic said with a slightly amused smile on his face.

"I believe you." Elizabeth was glad she hadn't been dragged around by Ameris. She wasn't that bad to shop with, but when she found something that absolutely sparked her interests there was no stopping her. Ameris had told her countless times that her own mother had been the same way, she believed it.

"I didn't see you holding much restraint in that muggle shop." Ameris teased.

He coughed. "A lot of the items in there will be useful to show to my students."

"Is that stereo going to be useful? It's not like there's electricity at Hogwarts."

He huffed at her. Yes, he knew it wouldn't work well enough to pick up signal, or turn on for that matter, but he still felt it was worth a buy. "I can still show it to them."

"Yes, show them a muggle device that can't possibly work without electricity, that's sure to excite them Dominic."

He frowned at her.

Elizabeth sighed. "Dominic, can you work it with batteries?"

"Batteries?" He hadn't thought to look, having been too excited.

"Yes, I've seen that some muggle devices that are battery run work well regardless if there's magic around. They work on a much lower level of frequency then the ones that use electricity."

He immediately reached into his pocket and pulled out a small cube, he tapped it and it grew into a box, a large one that had the things he purchased in them.

Elizabeth blanched at the sight, here he had blatantly complained about Ameris and her shopping, but it looked like he had bought the whole electronics store.

He found the box containing the stereo and pulled it out of the other box. He started to read the back, scanning it quickly. "Runs on both AC/DC and four D batteries." His eyes lit up then, a huge grin spread across his face as a deep chuckle resounded.

Ameris shivered at the sound of it, it had reminded her a little bit of Alphonse. She put a hand on his shoulder. "Calm down."

Dominic went a little red faced and returned it to the box. He then proceeded to shrink the contents, returning it to his pocket.

Their orders came shortly after and they enjoyed a nice lunch. Elizabeth looked very happy to see the steak burger on her plate. It was topped with what looked like a very saucy pulled pork, tomatoes and lettuce, an order of chips and a honey chipotle sauce completed the plate. This certainly made up for the poor excuse for a burger she had at the leaky yesterday. Elizabeth was not doing well to hide the excitement.

Ameris chuckled. "You and your burgers Bethie."

"But burgers are delicious when prepared right!"

"You sound like your father."

Elizabeth only smiled. She had a lot of her mother's habits so hearing that she had something that sounded at least something like her father made her feel warm inside.

Dominic hadn't wasted time on tearing into his own steak, it had a pineapple ring on top and inside was a delicious peppered fried egg. He picked up some of the chips and dipped them into the still soft gooey yolk.

Ameris shook her head as she dug into her own meal of Yorkshire sausage and mashed potatoes.

After their late lunch the trio took their leave and returned to the estate where the smell of fresh pine tree filled the air paired with the scent of a roast being cooked in the kitchens for tonight's dinner. They spent the rest of the afternoon decorating the tree while Dominic took pictures. With the decorating done and pictures taken, Dominic headed off to start getting them developed as the girls worked on cleaning up the mess.

When he was gone, Ameris looked over to Elizabeth. "Did you manage to find something for Scorpius?"

She blushed a bit. "Yes. I found a wand holster made of hebridean leather." She smiled a bit as she stuffed the decoration containers into the bigger box to make life just a little bit easier for the house elves.

"Sounds nice. Where did you get it from?"

"Prichard's. They had a lot of nice stuff but that shop was way too big for my tastes though."

Ameris nodded. "Some times you can get something really good in there." She closed up one of the boxes and looked over at her. "I think... you should send your gift with some of the pictures."

"The ones we just took?"

"Yeah, I'm sure Dominic will make doubles any way."

Elizabeth looked thoughtful. "I guess I could do that." She looked over at Ameris and grinned. "Did you find anything for Dominic?"

The purplette colored a little. "While he was in the muggle store I snuck off to do my own shopping for him. I went to Garnet's while he spent a whole hour in that place. Luckily he didn't notice I was gone."

"Garnet's is that jewelry shop isn't it?"

"Yes." She leaned closer towards her and reached into the pocket of the white dress she was wearing. She pulled out a velvet box. She opened it and showed her the heart shaped red stone that seemed to give off a pleasant aura, it was set in white gold with white roses hugging the oddly shaped stone.

"It's beautiful. What kind of stone is this Ameris?"

"It's made from fossilized dragon bone. It's enchanted so the wearer will be able to feel the giver's feelings. Oddly enough the shop keeper told me it was a twin to another piece that someone had bought earlier today."

"Hm, that is odd."

Ameris heard Dominic starting to come back and quickly stuffed the box back into her pocket.

After they enjoyed a lovely roasted duck with a cranberry and orange marmalade dressing that was stuffed with roasted vegetables, Elizabeth excused herself and left the two alone. She went up to her room. She found some paper and sat down with a quill and ink and thought about what to say. She sighed in frustration, none of the words were coming out right for her. She rubbed her head and turned her attention to her bag. She pushed herself away from the table and went for the bag. Rooting through it, she found what she had bought inside it, and some thing else she had not expected to find.

She set the wrapped parcel on the table and sat back in the chair, where she opened the decorative bag. Inside it was a letter, it was on top of a long box of sweets from Honeydukes, but it felt like something else was under it. Curious she pulled the box out and found a smaller velvet box underneath. She felt her heart skip a beat as she set it down and opened up the letter. She began to read.

My dear Elizabeth,

I hope you're enjoying the break. Know now that I am already missing you terribly and although I am glad for the time out of school I cannot wait for the break to be over so that I will be able to see you again. I hope you enjoy the chocolates from Honeydukes and the other gift, but know now that it will not be the only thing you will receive for Yule as I believe they cannot relay just how much I love you. Yes, I said I love you. I plan on telling my parents about us during break. I hope strongly for their approval, but regardless of it, I will not leave your side.

Although I know we have not been together for long I know my heart resides with yours. Nothing, not our houses nor our positions in the world will change this. If I have to give up my name and take yours I will do it if it means us being together. No matter how far apart we are physically my heart will always be with you.

Truly Yours,

Scorpius

She felt her breath hitch, her face was heated, likely red from the love confession. She fanned her face and set the letter down after reading it once, then twice. Elizabeth reached to the box and opened it. In it was a pair of pearl earrings that was set in small white gold wings encrusted with rubies on it, a smaller pearl dangled from the setting. She put them on immediately and went to the mirror to look at herself. I can't believe he got me something like this. They must have been really costly. They're so beautiful. She sighed happily before returning to the table. She knew now what she had to write.

All was normal at the Malfoy manor on this bright and sunny winter morning. The family of three were seated together eating breakfast when a large bird flew in through the open window, arriving with the post. It landed gracefully on the table and cocked its head to the side as it peered at the three, amusement twinkling in its eyes at the reaction it got. All three Malfoys were staring at the bald eagle standing on their table with gaping mouths. Astoria had nearly fainted the moment he lifted his left talon to reveal a package that had been carefully strapped to it. It sqwaked at Scorpius who nervously reached over and untied the bundle. He set it on the table. Seeing it was from Elizabeth, a smile came to his face. He turned towards the eagle and offered the glorious symbol of American freedom some of his breakfast sausage as a reward.

The bird happily accepted the treat and moved to sit at the table next to him as if he were always a member of the family.

"Who is it from dear?" Astoria asked once her wits returned to her. She was fanning Draco's ghostly pale face in an attempt to snap him out of his stupor.

"It's from Elizabeth." He opened the note that had been attached to the bundle.

Scorpius,

I am so, so sorry for the appearance of Ethon. He was ungodly eager when I entered the owlery to send this package to you. He wouldn't even let me get past him to get to an owl! I had no choice but to indulge him. I guess I can't blame him though. He hasn't been out since my father died. Please take good care of him while he's with you.

Yours,

Elizabeth

"She apologizes for Ethon. Apparently the eagle was eager to spread his wings and wouldn't let her send the package with one of the owls at the place she's staying at."

Draco shook his head furiously and cleared his throat. "So this Elizabeth... has an... eagle."

Scorpius scanned the note. "He belonged to her father." There was a hint of sadness in his voice.

"He must be very import to her then." Astoria said softly before calling a house elf.

The elf appeared with a pop and noticed the eagle, immediately the house elf looked terrified that he would be fed to the eagle before he turned to her. "Y-Yes misses?"

"Fetch us some more meat for our avian guest."

"Y-yes misses." The elf disappeared with a pop only to return mere moments later carrying a plate. He set it on the table. "Is that all misses?"

"Yes that's all, thank you."

With a sigh of relief the house elf disappeared again.

Scorpius reached for the plate and placed it in front of Ethon. His reward for offering him the meal was Ethon's head. Slowly he reached and touch the head of the eagle. He let his hand touch the white feathers gently. A smile came to his face when the eagle gave an appreciative chortle and went on to devour the food.

Draco and Astoria just watched the eagle, partly amused, but mostly terrified. Neither had ever encounter a bird that large and having him this close to them and mostly to their son nearly had them close to having a heart attack, but Scorpius was seemingly calm as he ate his breakfast with the eagle as if he were a strange yet welcomed companion beside him.