Ember sat alone in her dormitory, smiling the smallest of smiles as she looked out the window. A mallard named Susan… She slipped out Alex from her trunk.

"About time, Kitty... It's terrible in there. I hate mothballs."

"I'm not 'Kitty'," she groaned. "Unless you want to be Alexis…"

"Well, you're good friend Tobi called you that, so I assumed-"

"She wouldn't listen to me no matter what I said," she pointed out. "I pick my battles."

"And you think you can win against me?"

"I'll go ask if they still have those extra mothballs."

"Point taken."

She smirked. "So, that was the Great Severus Snape? He wasn't at all what they said he was. I guess he's got time to grow into it. A few years with Potter can do that to anyone."

"His hair is still greasy," Alex commented.

"Yes, but it's short and neat, and he doesn't drool over Lily yet… Plus, he's not the nerd they say he is."

"It takes one to know one."

"Is that supposed to be an insult?" she inquired. "Because I'm not insulted. Actually, it's more of a compliment, really."

"Are all humans this insufferable these days?"

"Nope," she replied with a smile. "Some are worse."

"Oh, dear…" Alex responded.

"Most are better," she admitted. "Are you in a good mood now?"

"Why?"

"I want to know how you know Tobi," she replied, cutting straight to the point.

"I've already given you-"

"-the lie that you want me to believe. I want the truth." There was no response. "Alright," she replied, slamming the book shut and tossing it into the trunk. "Don't tell me. Enjoy the must and mothballs."

She looked out the window at the rolling forest, jagged mountains, and pale, icy sky. She hated secrets. No, she took that back. It wasn't secrets themselves that she hated; it was lies.

Krystal impatiently stood by the door. "Please, please, please?" she begged.

"Alright," Madam Pomfrey replied. "You can go."

"Yes!" Krystal exclaimed, flinging open the door and running out the door. She darted out the door and escaped down the hall.

"I'M FREE!" she cried as she barreled into Avery. "Wait, is that a duck?"

"Just- Don't ask." Avery shook her head, helping her up.

"Wow… How is it that I always miss the cool stuff when I'm sick?" Krystal complained.

"You just have a really cool sister," Avery teased, "who's always doing cool things." Krystal groaned and rolled her eyes. "What…?"

"I think you spend too much time with James," Krystal replied.

"I don't hang out with James!" Avery indignantly replied. Krystal responded with a disbelieving smile. "I mean… I tried to be friends with him before… but he's a total git."

"Now you sound like you spend too much time with Lily," Krystal laughed.

"What's wrong with Lily?" Avery demanded.

"Nothing," Krystal replied. "That was just a very Lily comment."

Avery shrugged. "Well, it's the truth."

Krystal giggled, shaking her head. "What all have I missed?" she inquired.

"Um… Gryffindor beat Ravenclaw…" Avery stated.

"What?! You forgot to tell me-?!"

"The Slytherin Seeker got a duck…"

"So that's what the duck was about-"

"Don't touch. Moony had his transformations for the month…"

"Poor Moony-"

"Another one of James and Sirius' plans backfired…"

"Is that why a bunch of Slytherins were in the infirmary that day?" Krystal queried.

"Yep," Avery replied. "If they had just done what I said-"

"AH-HA!" Krystal declared. "You do hang out with James!"

Avery bit her bottom lip. After a moment, she sighed and explained. "You see… he was talking about it during quidditch practice. They were going to make a fool of themselves… I helped them a bit. It doesn't really matter, since they won't give me any credit for it, anyway," she morosely stated. Krystal smirked at her. "Stop it! Gryffindor's pride was at stake here. I couldn't let them make Gryffindor look like idiots."

Krystal giggled. "Well, terrible as this is… I think they did a pretty good job."

Avery's eyes snapped up to meet hers. She stared incredulously at her. "What? Ms. Goody-Two-Shoes actually endorses a prank?"

Krystal pouted, shuffling from foot to foot. "Of course not. But it did give me a little entertainment while I was locked up in that infernal prison."

"It's a sick ward," Avery slowly replied.

"It smells funny in there," Krystal insisted. "And they don't let you do anything. And they make you take this disgusting medicine."

Avery laughed. "You know, most kids would enjoy two weeks off of school to do nothing all day."

Krystal shuddered, as if this was the worst thing in the world. She threw a hasty glare behind her, as if Madam Pomfrey was going to sneak up and steal her back. "I am never going back in there again," Krystal vowed.

Avery laughed again. "Suit yourself," she replied with a shrug.

"HEY, AVERY!" Sirius shouted, tumbling through the hall. "WE'VE GOT THE SOAP!"

"Soap?" Krystal echoed.

Avery frowned, looking uncomfortable. "Um… Yeah. About that-"

"I CAN ALREADY SEE SEVERUS' FACE WHEN HE SEES IT!" he continued, as he bounded toward them like a puppy on caffeine. He stopped short when he noticed Avery's glare. He glanced from Krystal, who had a disapproving look on her face, and back to Avery, who looked like she wanted to strangle him. "Um… It smells really good. Like violets and lavender and stuff. Just like he's wanted all year. He's going to be so happy this Christmas!"

Avery rolled her eyes. "Nice try, git," she groaned.

"You guys need to stop tormenting poor Severus," Krystal reprimanded. "The poor boy has done nothing to you."

"He's a Slytherin for one," Sirius counted off. "And he's a know-it-all. Then, there's the fact that he hangs out with Lily…"

"So, instead of confronting Lily, you take it out on Severus?" Krystal demanded. "Are you scared of her?"

"No," he indignantly replied.

"Then don't prank Severus anymore!" Krystal replied. "I can't believe you're in on this, Avery."

Avery took a step back. "Hey! They were going to do something much worse than this. I'm the one that told them to get him some shampoo again this year. Sure, it will make him angry, but that's better than-" She paused and shut her mouth.

Krystal rolled her eyes, exasperated. "Really, I can't understand what you guys have against him. He's so sweet." She stormed off to their common room.

"Wow…" Sirius finally spoke. "Your sister's touchy."

"Oh, shut up," Avery snapped, punching him in the arm. "It's your fault."

"Wow…" he responded, gingerly rubbing his arm. "Girls are touchy." With that, he ran for his life.

Avery snickered. "Good riddance."

"You know, most people just let me do all the work," she stated, without looking up.

"That would be cheating," Severus replied, also not looking up. "And I wouldn't learn anything from it." He had finally found out the Ravenclaw girl's real name: Catherine. They had been paired together by Professor McGonagall to do a project and had barely spoken to each other since.

"You came to Hogwarts… to learn something?" Catherine replied, staring at him. "A studious Slytherin? That's a first." She went back to scrutinizing her textbook page. He awkwardly stared back at her, unsure of how to reply. "It was a joke," she tiredly clarified. "Those things you tell to make someone laugh."

"I know what a joke is."

"You were still staring at me blankly."

"It wasn't a very good one."

"Granted, but if you knew it was a joke, you should have pretended to laugh at least," Catherine stated. "It's only polite. Hence, I assumed that you didn't know it was a joke. Thus, I gave you the benefit of the doubt."

Severus just stared at her. Was she always like this?

All of the sudden, the library doors flung open. Severus almost fell out of his seat in surprise, to which Catherine snickered.

"Come on, losers! Let's go ice skating," Tobi declared, throwing all of Severus' homework into his bag.

"But the lake isn't frozen…" he protested.

Tobi started at him like he was an idiot. "Magic!" she replied in a condescending tone.

"But-" he started.

"There's no point fighting her," Catherine cut him off. She had already packed her bag and was heading for the door.

He sighed. He hated it when other people were right. Especially girls.

His thoughts were broken as Tobi punched him in the arm. "What?!" he yelped.

"You know what you were thinking, you sexist pig." With that, Tobi bounced out the door, without bothering to check if Severus was coming. She knew he was.

He sighed and picked up his bag.

Severus watched Tobi gracefully glided across the ice. Her choppy white-blonde hair poked out from under her cherry red beanie. Her matching red scarf and her robes trailed behind her. She looked kind of pretty.

Wait. Did he just think that?

He shook his head, making him slip and land firmly on his butt. He was really out of it.

Catherine carefully slid to a stop next to him. She silently offered him her hand, pulling him up. "Thanks," he replied. She shrugged, standing next to him. He sighed. His breath turned into a cloud of ice. "Do you ever wonder how she does these things?" Severus suddenly queried.

Catherine offered him a half-smile, the most she ever seemed to give anyone. He wondered if it was because she liked him or was amused by him. With her, it probably didn't matter much.

She examined him for a moment before replying. "Some things are best never understood." Severus let the idea roll around in his head, unsure of what to say. Her blue-grey eyes bored into him, as if deciding how he would respond. "It's a simple freezing charm."

"What?" he replied.

"It's a freezing charm," she explained, her grim smile back. "It's not too complicated, although it's probably better suited for ice cubes than lakes. It took all three of us to pull it off." She motioned to Tobi and Sebastian.

"Oh," was all Severus could say.

"You could have helped, but you took too long to get down here," she continued. "Now, as to where she found the skates in our sizes, I have no clue… maybe the Room of Requirement."

"Where?"

"The broom closet she likes to hide in."

"Oh." Again, not the smartest thing he could come up with.

"DEMON BOY! We're going to reenact Swan Lake! Now, go!" With that, she flew toward Sebastian and leapt into the air. All Sebastian could do was frown before Tobi barreled into him. Moments before the collision, Tobi landed and gracefully whipped around him, grabbing his shoulder in the process. "Come on!"

Severus laughed. He turned to say something to Catherine, but she was already half way across the lake. She was… different. Not really antisocial, but not very welcoming either. He wondered how she was warm enough. All she had on was her worn out robes that didn't even reach her ankles anymore. He was freezing in the three layers he had on.

"Hey, Severus!" He turned around as Lily called out to him. She ran over to the edge of the ice. "This is so cool. They even got the duck to skate, too."

"Oh, yeah," he replied awkwardly. He gave a hasty glance at Susan, who was wearing a tiny hat and skidding its way across the lake. Severus shook his head and carefully skated over to her. "Want to come out?"

Lily hesitated on the end. "Is it safe?"

He laughed. "I'm on it, aren't I?" he stated, offering her his hand.

"True," she replied. "But I don't have skates."

"I think Tobi had an extra," he responded. With beautiful timing, Tobi poked his back. She thrust the skates into his hands and glided back toward Sebastian and Catherine.

Lily giggled. "Alright." She plopped down and changed into the skates, carefully knotting them into perfect bowties. Then, she stood up and took a tentative step onto the ice. "Promise not to laugh?" she demanded.

"Only if you promise not to laugh at me," he replied, guiding her onto the ice.

"Deal," she answered with a giggle.

Tobi watched with the pair with a sigh from the other side of the lake. "They are perfect for each other. Aren't they, Susan?" Susan quacked in response. He fluttered his wings, propelling him across the lake and to Tobi's feet. Tobi picked him up and began to stroke him.

"I don't think it will last," Catherine finally disagreed.

"But it might," Tobi responded dreamily. Severus glanced over at them. Tobi smirked and made a heart with her hands. Severus replied with a very mortified expression.

"It's a real shame they'll never be together," Tobi suddenly replied. "A real shame. They would be so cute together. Oh, well. It will be beautimus while it is here."

Catherine laughed this time. "Now, all the lovebirds need is-"

"Snow," Tobi replied, sticking out her hand. A fluffy snowflake gentle graced her hand.

"Exactly," Catherine replied, as more flurries filled the air. "Snow." A strange smile spread across her face as she said the word, as if she revered it.

Severus and Lily skated up to them. "Mind if we join?" Lily politely inquired.

"Nope," Tobi replied. "But you've got to keep up!" With that, Tobi dashed across the lake. Sebastian zipped after her, followed by Catherine.

Lily shrugged and took off. "Come on, Severus!" Severus smiled as they raced across the ice, wondering if this was what magic felt like to a Muggleborn.

Ember looked up. "Why don't you go home for Christmas?" she inquired.

Tobi shrugged. "More or less for the same reason you stay."

Ember's list could go on for forever. There was the crowd, the noise, the annoying people, nothing to do, and no magic. That's why she was still here, even after all the other students had left. It was the first day without everyone else, and Ember was enjoying the silence. "Does your brother stay, too?"

"Yeah," Tobi replied. "He's doing something boring, so I went to find you."

"On the assumption that I would be doing something less boring?"

"I was desperate."

Ember laughed. "Well, don't count on it," she stated.

Tobi cocked her head. "Is that a bomb?" she demanded. "Cool!"

"Not quite," Ember replied with a smile. "I think I've almost got it…" She muttered a few words under her breath, tapping her wand against it. Nothing happened.

"I know how to make it work," Tobi answered. She picked it up and slammed it against the table. A blast of sound came out, filling the room. 'Tiny Child' in French took over the empty classroom.

Ember laughed. "If only the solution was always that simple," she remarked, messing with the dials on her mutilated radio. She was rather impressed that it was working at all. "Now to see if it really works. You want to try it out?"

"Sure," Tobi replied, losing interest.

"Choose a song," Ember instructed. "Try to remember the last time you heard it and exactly what it sounded like."

"Okay," Tobi answered.

Ember pushed the 'play' button on the plastic face. Suddenly, an old sounding Iceland song filled the room.

Tobi giggled. "It's the song of my people!"

Professor McGonagall opened the door. "What is going on in here?" she inquired, taking in the scene. Her eyes stopped on the broken radio.

"It's a bomb," Tobi gleefully informed her.

"I already told you, it's not a bomb," Ember moaned. "I'm trying to fix my radio of sorts."

"Then, why'd you take the radio apart?" Tobi queried.

"It was broken before I got it," Ember flatly replied. "Anyway, I'm trying to get it to play Christmas songs, but it's only sort of working. See?" She closed her eyes and pushed the play button again. The contraption started playing 'Feliz Navidad'.

Professor McGonagall stared at it with pursed lips, as if deciding what to do with it.

"There are only three main problems. First, there are all the wires, of course. Second, I can't get it to do anything in English yet." As if to prove her statement, the song hit the end of the Spanish section, but instead of switching to English, it jumped back to the beginning.

"Turn it off," Professor McGonagall finally commanded.

Ember hit the stop button, and the music halted. "That's kind of the third problem. It's not exactly hooked to a power source," she slowly admitted. "I detached that part when I was working on it… but it runs. I think the magic in is fueling it." She paused. "I'm sorry. It's just… they don't have a lot of songs here that they had where I used to live, and I thought I could still maybe listen to them."

Professor McGonagall used her wand to lift the item, unwilling to touch it. "Why don't you two go outside?" she suggested, hinting that they should leave.

"Yes, Ma'am," Tobi replied, and the two left.

"Well, that sucked," Ember flatly replied.

"Are you kidding? The look on her face was amazing!" Tobi answered, laughing. She stopped. "Now, I'm bored again. What will make this better…? DEMON BOY!"

Moments later, Sebastian walked around the corner. "You called, Mistress Tobi?" he inquired.

"Make something interesting happen," Tobi demanded.

"AAAAAAAAH!" someone yelped.

"Sevvy…?"

At that moment, a unicorn dashed into the hall, dragging a very confused Severus behind it.

"I thought you went home for Christmas!" Ember shouted as the unicorn bolted past.

"I thought I did, too," he replied, before slamming into the wall as it turned the corner.

"Bye, Sevvy!" Tobi cheerfully called. She turned to Ember. "See, I told you he was a demon."

"He's not a-" Ember started. Then, she sighed. "Shouldn't we go help Severus?"

"Nah."

"Tobi, I really think he needs help."

"Oh, fine."