Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

Question: What do you think will happen when they go in the trapdoor? Will Lilac come with them? I haven't written that part yet, so whoever gives the best ideas, I will put their ideas into the story! REVIEW! (please)

Chapter 14 : Christmas

Lilac

I didn't go home for Christmas, because Penny was going. A lot of people stayed for Christmas this year, and I didn't know why, but I was mainly hanging out with Harry and Ron, as Hermione had gone home as well, after making us promise that we would keep looking for Flamel in the library.

We spent many days by the fire in the Gryffindor Common Room (I hope I was allowed to be in there, but I hadn't been caught yet) roasting marshmallows and plotting ways to get Malfoy expelled, which was fun. The boys kept telling me that all of my plans would work because I was a super genius. Very true. We should've tried them.

We also played lots of wizard chess, in which I kicked the boys' … never mind. Ron was so much better than Harry, but he still lost against me every time. After they got fed up of losing every time, we went to see the Great Hall.

It looked amazing. 11 sparkling Christmas trees lined the walls, and Hagrid was carrying the last one in. Holly and mistletoe hung in bunches from the ceiling. The trees glittered with all sorts of things - live fairies, tiny icicles, thousands of candles, and sparkling purple bubbles. It was beautiful and breathtaking.

On Christmas Eve, Professor Flitwick told us that there would be a dance the next day to celebrate Christmas in the Great Hall. So that explained the many people staying over the holidays! He also said that first years couldn't go to the "big dance" unless they'd been invited by an older student, so we would have our own miniature dance in the East Tower. I couldn't wait for the dance. I asked my mom to send all of my best dresses, because Professor Flitwick said we could wear dress robes or muggle dresses. We should have gotten more notice about this!

There was another problem - getting someone to go with me. That little nagging instinct in the back of my head told me to ask Harry, but I didn't think I had the guts. That's what Gryffindors were for :)

The boys walked past me later that day, and I tiptoed behind them, listening to snippets of their conversation -

"I think I'll ask Lilac - " That was Harry. YESSSSS! I felt a twinge of guilt for listening in.

"Well, then who am I going to go with?"

"I dunno, find someone. Go with Lavender."

"Ew, no!" At least he had some common sense.

"Parvati?" Harry suggested.

Ron sighed. "I wish Hermione were here." Harry chuckled.

I decided this was the time to reveal myself. I ran into the library, which we were conveniently passing. "Hi, guys!" I said brightly, stepping out into the hall.

"Oh, hi Lilac..." said Harry, blushing. He was probably wondering whether I had heard their conversation. Great. Now I felt really guilty.

"I was just looking for Nicolas Flamel, but I think I'm going to take a break for today and tomorrow."

Ron looked relieved. "Good idea!" Then he elbowed Harry and whispered something that I couldn't make out.

"Wha - " Harry started, then, "Ohhh!" He looked at me. "Um... Lilac?"

"Yes?"

"Um... Willyougotothedancewithme?"

I didn't really understand what he said, but at the same time I knew what he had asked. I smiled. "Okay."

His face brightened. "Really?"

I nodded. He smiled. Most awkward moment of my life.

"Now we just need to find someone for me to go with..." Ron said.

"Marietta's sweet on you," I blurted out, then covered my mouth. "Shoot! I wasn't supposed to tell anyone," I half-whispered.

"Really?" Ron asked.

"Yeah. She'd be real happy if you asked her," I said, feeling like a betrayer.

"Cool!" He ran over to the Ravenclaw common room.

"I better go," I muttered to Harry. "He won't be able to figure out the riddle without me..." Harry laughed.

I hurried upstairs to the common room. "Lilac! What the heck does this mean?"

"What happens when you throw a yellow rock into a purple stream?" sang the phoenix.

"Wow, Ron. You couldn't get that one?" I said.

"Aw, can't you just do it for me?"

"I want you to try it," I insisted. "It's one of the easiest ones ever."

"Um... well yellow might be sulfur? So... it bubbles... But if it's a purple stream..."

He puzzled over it for a few minutes while the phoenix cooed assorted things like, "No! Nope! Not at all! Not even close!" and I tapped my toe on the ground. Ron looked at me helplessly.

I sighed and spoke to the phoenix "It makes a splash. Duh."

"Nicely phrased," said the phoenix and the door opened.

Ron had his mouth open, probably silently chiding himself for being so stupid. We walked in.

Suddenly, I was bombarded by the 5 boys from my year. All five of them. "Lilac! Go to the dance with me?"

"No, go with me!"

"No, me!"

I was flattered, but I said, "Sorry, guys, I'm going with Harry." There was a long awkward silence.

"Oh," Terry Boot finally said. They all walked away dejectedly, leaving me and Ron standing in the middle of the circular room. "Ask Cho...?" I suggested weakly.

"Wow," said Ron.

"That just about sums it up," I replied, gesturing to the boys' dorm.

"No, I mean this place."

"Oh!" I realized he had never seen our Common Room before, so I gave him a tour. "...and this here is bookshelf number 143, and here's number 144... Anyways, I'll go get Marietta." I stepped onto a glowing blue disk and was automatically transported up to the dorm. We had put that there instead of the stairs because we had to walk up 6 flights of spiral staircases to get to our dorm. So we put our super brains to work and came up with a transportation device. As I flew upwards, I saw Ron's mouth hanging open.

I put in the code at the top of the stairs. It was a number combination that spelled out "Smile" (this week at least) so the code was "76453".

"Marietta!" I sang.

"Oh, hi Lilac," she said, looking up from her trunk, which she was digging through energetically, looking for dresses.

"Um..." I realized I hadn't planned this conversation. "Ron Weasley's... uh... waiting for you downstairs. He... um, wants to ask you to the dance. Just don't tell him I said that."

She turned red. "Oh, he does?" she squealed. Then she put on a straight face and went back downstairs with me. Her face became tinged with pink again when she saw Ron.

"Oh, um... Marietta, will you come to the dance with me?" he said quickly.

"YES!" she squeaked.

"Yay," he said dryly.

"Okay, bye guys!" Marietta said.

"Bye!" We walked out of the room. "She's not usually like that," I told Ron. "You can tell she likes you."

"Yeah," he said uncomfortably.

We told Harry what had happened after we met up with him in the Gryffindor Common Room. He just said, "Uh... Let's go to dinner." Boys could be so awkward at times. Couldn't they just act NORMAL around girls!?

I went to bed, looking forward to presents, food, and fun the next day.

Penny

I got a letter from Lilac the next day, which was Christmas Eve.

Hey Stormy,
Harry asked me to the dance! How are your holidays going? Hanging out with Draco? ;)
Even though we may not still be good friends, it feels weird not to send you a Christmas Present. So expect one from me tomorrow morning :)
-Starre

I responded with:
Hey Starre,
Nice. Draco actually asked me that earlier today. Like, if Harry would go with you... and I said yes. So yay! I can predict the future. I am hanging out with Draco; in fact, we're having Christmas Dinner with the Malfoys. :) I guess now that you're sending me one, I have to send you a Christmas Present as well... So expect that, too.
-Stormy

I woke up in my room at about 10 in the morning to see two giant green eyes, like tennis balls, staring at me, glowing in the dim light of my room (the windows were closed).. "WHAT THE - " I started, then realized who it was. "Oh, hi Dobby." Dobby was the Malfoys' house elf, and luckily I had already met him, otherwise I might have killed him due to my half-asleep reflexes.

"Dobby has come to give Mistress her Christmas Present from Master Draco," he said, and handed me a small parcel wrapped in green, shiny paper, with a note attached.

I yawned. "At this hour in the morning?"

Dobby smiled. "Master Draco also says 'Wake up, Penny!'"

Thanks, Dobby," I said and yawned again. I took the present.

"Goodbye, Mistress," he said, and Disapparated with a Crack!

I looked at the note first.

Dear Penny,
I don't usually write 'dear', so consider yourself lucky. Happy Christmas! Enclosed is your Christmas present. I hope you enjoy it!
Lov- Sincerely,
Draco Malfoy

I realized that he had almost written 'love'. How sweet! I felt the present. It seemed to be a small box with holes in it. I tore off the paper wrapping, and it was exactly what I had guessed. A box with holes in it. Now I could guess that something living was inside, because those looked like breathing holes. I slowly lifted off the top.

Wow! Inside was a tiny snake, the size of an inchworm, and it was silver with green diamonds along its back. "You're beautiful," I breathed. I stroked him carefully, and he wriggled onto my finger and wrapped around it, like a ring. Also, the box contained some snake food and a mini bed for him to sleep in. He was so cute!

My next present, from my parents, contained a large box of candy, including chocolate frogs, Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, and Lemon Drops (I love those!) I tried some of everything. Sugar high! I jumped on the bed for a few minutes to settle myself down. At least I was awake now.

I got a book from Leo (no surprise, as he's a Ravenclaw) about Quidditch, and Raphael gave me my very own dagger, with a note that said "Use it well." Wow! And it was pure silver, engraved with my name. He was just asking for trouble.

From my various aunts and uncles, I got clothes, jewelry, and candy. The last present I opened was Lilac's.

It was wrapped in green and black paper, with silver snakes on it that she had charmed to slither around. I felt it. It was hard, but too large to be a book (like she usually sent me), and very heavy. Holding my breath, I opened the wrapping.

Shining up at me was a brand new Broomstick Servicing Kit! Wow! It was in a black leather case with silver lettering, and inside were High-Finish Handle Polish, a Tail-Twig Clipper, a Clip-On Compass, and a handbook on do-it-yourself broomcare. I got out my broomstick and started working on it right away, while eating chocolate frogs. Now I knew that I had sent her the right present. They were definitely equal.

We had Christmas Dinner at Malfoy Manor. The place was beautiful. I walked in through a gigantic driveway lined with pine trees, sparkling with icicles, until I came to a huge mahogany door and stepped into the foyer. A crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling, glittering with thousands of lights, and the floor was pure white marble. The dining area was huge (like everything else) with a table that could seat 50 (there used to be Death Eater meetings here). We all bunched together on one side of the table and sat down.

Dobby was really cute (when he wasn't freaking me out with his giant eyes), plus he was an amazing cook. We had five courses, plus dessert, and then had another snowball fight, me and Draco against my brothers (in which we won, but I suspect it was because we charmed our snowballs to never miss). Then we had a light supper, too full to eat anything else. We Flooed home. All in all, it was a great Christmas. I would have another week at home before going back to school.

Lilac

I got a reply from Penny. Why would Draco want to know who I went to the ball with? What a weird question.

When I woke up, no one was in my dormitory. At first, I thought it was a joke, but then I checked the time and realized that it was already ten! I yawned and took a look at my presents.

There was a green one (obviously from Penny) that looked square. A purple one from my sister, a small box of something from my parents, and various other ones that were probably from my friends. Since I had no friends to open them with, I got dressed, picked up my gifts, and headed over to the Gryffindor Common Room, hoping that the boys were still there.

I arrived at the portrait hole and realized that I didn't know the password. "Okay," I muttered. "Um... they're usually Latin..."

"That's right, dearie!" the Fat Lady said happily. "Merry Christmas!"

"Um... Happy Christmas? Felix Nativitatis?" I said.

"You're a Ravenclaw, right?" she asked.

"Yes," I replied unsurely.

"Well, you're very smart!" she said as she swung open. "And I should change the password," she chuckled.

"I get that a lot..." I murmured, grinning. I made my way up to the Boys' Dormitory. Harry and Ron were just waking up. I sat down in the middle of the room. The other boys had already left.

Suddenly Harry sat bolt upright in bed. "Lilac!" he yelled, trying to hide himself with his blanket. He scrambled to put on his clothes.

I backed up and covered my eyes. "Sorry, didn't mean to spook you. Um, Merry Christmas?"

"Merry Christmas to you too," said Ron, rubbing his eyes, "...but why are you here?"

"My friends all went to breakfast. It's already noon."

Ron looked at the floor and yelled, "Presents!" He dragged Harry out of bed, who was staring at his presents like he had never seen presents before. Though, I reminded myself, he probably didn't get many presents from the Dursleys.

"I brought mine, too," I said. I started opening mine. First, I opened the one from my parents. It was a miniature case that could fit as many books as I wanted, but it would never get full (it probably had an Extension Charm on it) and it would stay as light as air. I loved it!

Next, I opened the present from Violet. It was a box full of different small weapons to place at the end of my braid. Useful. A note that came with it said, "One of my 7th year friends told me about that amethyst lilac that you put in your hair, so I thought you would need some more. Love, Violet" Everything was purple, and there were ten attachments in all; a ninja star, a metal ball, a mini bludger and bat, some birds, some flowers, and some other painful-looking metal things. Pretty awesome. The boys were eating candy, and Harry blew on a flute, which I thought sounded like Sapphire (my owl, if you don't remember).

Something told me to open Penny's present last, so instead I opened Hermione's. Inside was a book (no surprise) called Powers You Never Knew You Had and What to Do With Them Now You Have Wised Up. A note attached said,
"Dear Lilac,
I know you've always been wise, but I thought you would enjoy this book. Learn lots of new spells!
Love,
Hermione"

I opened it and immediately started learning new spells. It was very interesting, and it also stated in which year we would learn each spell at Hogwarts. The only ones I didn't know already were the some of the 5th, 6th, and 7th year spells.

I looked at the boys. Harry was holding up a green sweater and eating fudge, and Ron was complaining about his maroon sweater. "Lilac, you probably have one, too," Ron said,

"A sweater?"

"Yeah, my mum knits them every Christmas, she probably sent one to all of my friends... There it is," he said, pointing to a lumpy parcel. Inside was the softest purple sweater I had ever felt, with a white flower on the front, plus some homemade cake. It was chocolate, my favorite. Yum! I put on the sweater and immediately felt nice and toasty.

Harry had given Ron and I each a fifty-pence piece. Ron was utterly fascinated. "Weird! What a shape! This is money?"

"You really don't know much about the Muggle world, do you?" I asked.

"Exactly," Ron replied.

"What about you, Lilac? You're a pure-blood, aren't you?" Harry asked. I muttered something back about not being stupid and being a blood-traitor and continued sorting through my presents.

Finally, it was time to open Penny's present. It was heavy and felt like a box. The weight was unbalanced, and I could swear something was moving inside. I took of the wrapping.

Inside was... a box. With holes in it. I took of the lid and something jumped onto my face. It was fuzzy. Spitting out fur, I wrenched the thing away from me. Instantly, I felt guilty at being mad at it. It was a kitten, so small I could hold it in one hand, and... it was PURPLE! A beautiful lilac color, with bright blue eyes, sleek, straight fur, mixed with a little bit of white, and a tufted tail. She was beautiful! I cuddled her for a while before I noticed that Harry was gone.

"Where is he?" I asked Ron.

"He got an invisibility cloak!" Ron exclaimed. Sure enough, just then Harry appeared from thin air, holding something silvery.

"Wow! I've only ever heard of those!" I said in awe. "Who gave it to you?"

"I don't know," he said. "It was my dad's."

"Wow," I said again.

"Yeah," Ron said, real intelligently. The kitten had jumped onto my head and seemed to think that my hair was a bed, because it wrapped itself in my silky locks and made itself comfortable. Neither of the boys seemed to notice. "Look! A note fell out!" Ron suddenly yelled.

Harry seized the note, and I read over his shoulder:

Your Father Left this in my possession before he died. It is time it was returned to you. A Very Merry Christmas to you.

There was no signature. The handwriting was loopy and neat. Just then, Fred and George walked in, also wearing Weasley sweaters, with a big 'F' and 'G' on them, respectively (at least now I knew who was who!). Harry quickly stuffed the cloak out of sight. "Merry Christmas!" Fred said.

"Look, Harry's got one too. Wow, even Lilac has one!" George said.

"No surprise, Lee and Raphael got them too," Fred replied.

"Wow, she must knit a lot!" I said.

"It's her second favorite thing to do, after cooking," George said. Then they forced Ron to wear his maroon one.

"You haven't got a letter on yours," George observed, looking at Ron's sweater. "I suppose she thinks you don't forget your name. But we're not stupid - we know we're called Gred and Forge." They both stood back and Ron laughed. Apparently I would not be able to tell them apart, because George was wearing Fred's sweater and Fred was wearing George's. Great.

Percy, their older brother, stuck his head through the door. "Why's she in here?" he asked crossly, looking pointedly at me. "This is a boys' dormitory. And she's a Ravenclaw." I did want to be a prefect when I was older, but not as strict as Percy. Plus, there was no security on the boys' dormitory, implying that it was perfectly fine for me to be in here. As for my dorm, we had a number code.

I opened my mouth to argue these points, but was interrupted. "Oh, Percy," Fred sighed dramatically. "It's Christmas! We're all family here! And you're not allowed to take points from anyone today! And put on your sweater!" The twins pulled the sweater over his head, pinning his arms to the sides.

"I - don't - want - " said Percy, trying to fix his glasses, which had been knocked aside while battling his younger brothers.

"And you're not sitting with the prefects today, either," said George. "Christmas is a time for family." They each grabbed one of Percy's arms and marched him to the Great Hall. I burst out laughing.

Christmas dinner was amazing, along with the wizard crackers. I quite enjoyed these party favors. At the end of the feast, I ended up with several purple firecrackers, a book called 'Jinxes That No One Knows About' (that sounded like fun), and a pair of owl earrings (which were no use to me - maybe I would get my ears pierced after all). I watched Dumbledore swap his wizard hat out for a pink, flowered bonnet, while Snape just looked murderous at the very thought and sight of people having fun. Hagrid kept calling for more wine, getting redder and redder in the face, and finally kissed Professor McGonagall on the cheek, who must have been tipsy as well, because she giggled and blushed. Creepy.

We had a happy afternoon having a snowball fight on the grounds. It was Harry, Hermione and I against all of the Weasleys (Ron, Fred, George, and Percy), but the teams were pretty even because although Fred and George were the best, Percy was useless, and Hermione and I charmed the snowballs with the same curse we used to make some bounce off of Quirrell's turban, so they followed Fred and George around. They all started yelling at me because none of them could remember the counter-curse (not even Percy, and he was a 5th year! Ravenclaws Rock).

That was when I remembered: the dance. I ran to Ravenclaw tower, leaving the others very puzzled. My eyes started glowing. Great.

Penny

It felt like summer all over again, when I had been ignoring Lilac. I wasn't really doing anything wrong: it was just that I felt like I was doing something to her that I shouldn't be doing.

I knew she didn't like Draco, but that wasn't my problem. I guess it was just that ever since I had become a Slytherin, even though I had already technically been one since the moment I was born, I had been being really mean to her. Why couldn't I be friends with her and Draco? Maybe her friends weren't so gitty after all. I mean, yeah, Gryffindors, "oh-so-chivalrous" but their description wasn't their fault! Slytherins were almost forced to hate Gryffindors, but that didn't mean they weren't okay people.

"PENNY!" A voice pulled me out of Penny-land.

"Huh? What?" I snapped. Instead of an answer, I was given a potato. "What the heck!" I yelled.

"Peel it!" Mom's voice commanded, coming from nowhere and everywhere.

"Mom?" I asked, puzzled.

"PEEL THE POTATO!" the disembodied voice yelled.

"All right, all right, I'm peeling!" I started peeling the potato with a peeler that had appeared out of nowhere into my hand.

"Now make soup," she said.

"How the heck am I supposed to make soup with a potato and nothing else?" I demanded.

A stalk of rhubarb materialized next to me. "There. Now you have something else. NOW MAKE SOUP!"

I started trying to make soup, but how could I make soup without a pot? Suddenly, a cauldron appeared filled with boiling water (or Veritaserum, how was I supposed to know?). I put the potato in and immediately burned it. Yup, as everyone knows, I'm a horrible chef.

"The mandrakes are coming!" Mom's voice said.

"What the - "

"Hurry! They're coming! The evil chickens too!" I dropped the cauldron as I heard chickens clucking and mandrakes screaming. I looked behind me and a bunch of mandrakes were sitting in pots, yelling at the top of their lungs. About 6 chickens were chasing me with angry expressions on their faces. I ran into a wall and passed straight through. What was going on?

"STOP!" I yelled. Everything froze. Cool.

Suddenly, Draco appeared out of nowhere and threw a bubotuber at me. I dodged. "Bubotuber fight!" he yelled.

I giggled and suddenly a large stack of bubotubers sat in front of me. I grabbed one and chucked it, while dodging all of Draco's bubotubers. He was drenched in bubotuber pus by the time we finished our bubotuber fight. "Bubotuber hug!" he yelled, rushing towards me.

"Oh no!" I screamed, and ran away.

"MITTENS!" Raphael yelled. Where did he come from?

I whipped around, my eyes wide. "Where?"

"Just kidding," he said, chuckling. "Here, take this duct tape."

"What?" I said.

"Penny! Penny, wake up!" Draco's voice invaded my mind.

"Huh?" I opened my eyes and saw Draco's face inches from mine. His blue eyes looked into my green ones, concerned. "OH now I get it! It was a dream!"

Draco backed up, looking puzzled. "What?"

I took a deep breath. "I-dreamed-that-mom-made-me-peel-a-potato-and-made-me-make-soup-out-of-it-with-rhubarb-and-I-burned- it-in-a-cauldron-and-then-the-mandrakes-and-evil-chickens-were-coming-and-then-I-ran-through-a-wall-and- yelled-STOP-and-everything-stopped-and-we-had-a-bubotuber-fight-and-I-won-and-then-you-tried-to-give-me-a-bubotuber-hug-and-I-ran-away-and-Raphael-scared-me-with-fake-mittens-and..." I burst out laughing. It was a dream!

"Penny? Are you sure you're alright?" he asked.

"Yes," I managed to gasp out between laughs. "I'm fi - fine."

"Oooookay," he said uncertainly. I kept laughing for an hour.

Lilac

It was 5:00 PM. The ball, which included dinner, was going to be held in the East tower at 8:00. That meant I only had three hours to get ready!

I dashed up to Ravenclaw tower, my hair whipping around. "Two in a corner, 1 in a room, 0 in a house, but 1 in a shelter. What am I?" the phoenix sang.

My brain wasn't functioning properly (shocker!); I was freaking out too much. "Umm..." I started muttering to myself. "Come on, Lilac, don't let a simple riddle get you! Two in a corner... one in a room... what's not in a house? A restaurant? Oh! The letter r!"

"Correct!" the phoenix said, and the door swung open. I sped into my dormitory.

"Settle down, Lilac!" Cho said, watching me jump up and down.

"Sorry," I said, but only settled down a little bit. Padma was straightening her hair in the bathroom, Marietta was using the mirror to do her makeup, Cho was putting on jewelry, and Lisa was sitting on her bed, reading a book, having already done everything. I rummaged through the hangers in the closet in the corner until I found the three dresses my mom had sent. I calmed down a little bit.

I held the dresses up to my roommates. "Which one?"

"That one," Cho said, pointing to a long, sparkly light purple one.

"No, it's at night... it should be that one," Padma said, pointing to the one in my left hand. It was short on the right, but the cut was diagonal so it was right below my knees on the left. It was midnight purple with a gold belt and gold trimmings.

"Nope," Marietta said, looking up from her makeup. "That blue one." It was long and flowy, like water. The girls started arguing about which dress was the best.

"That one because it's dark and the ball's at night - "

"NO! That one, because it's prettier - "

"No! That one because it's sparkly - "

After about ten minutes of this, I yelled, "QUIET!" They all stared at me. "Okay. I'm going with the dark purple one - "

"YAY!" Padma shrieked.

I took a deep breath. "Because it's dark, it's sparkly, and it's pretty. There, everyone happy?" They went back to their business while Padma started helping me pick out jewelry and do my hair and makeup.

I put the dress on. "That looks beautiful," she breathed. Then she got to work on my hair. Two hours later (7:30) I stood in front of the mirror, admiring myself. I had paired the dress up with a few gold bangles that Padma gave me, gold flats, and a thin golden necklace.

My hair was up in a half-bun. It was like the top part of my hair was in a bun while the back hung down. Since I had so much hair, it still was the same size as a regular bun. I had interlaced it with these little gold beads on a clear string, so it looked like my hair was bejeweled.

Last but not least, I granted Lavender's wishes and... pierced my ears! Yes, I hadn't wanted to, but Padma said that since my hair was pulled back, I needed earrings. I was wearing long earrings that looked like gold droplets. You're probably thinking it was too much gold, but it looked dazzling. I was ready for the ball.