Even if out there, in the so-called "real world", tragedies were happening constantly, Hogwarts's was full of joy, the contrast between the gray sky outside and the enchanted and slightly pinky sky exhibited in the great hall was evidence of the existence of a protected space where childhood and magic in its most beautiful and pure forms prevailed. It was like a light that shone strongly against all the evils of the "adult world", it was hope where hopelessness reigned, where darkness reigned.

It was a place for candies, enchanted pumpkins, giant Christmas trees, and of course… quidditch.

The quidditch matches were taking place so it was common to see students cheering for their respective houses even when they were off the field. Ranirus had been selling small flags and other things with the four house's colors, walking down the aisles while wearing a giant blue and silver hat, a proud Ravenclaw.

Ranirus had called him to help and Albus, not knowing how to refuse right after receiving a Christmas basket full of strawberry and cheery candies from the colleague (the boy had remembered that he didn't like lemon-flavored candies because they're too sour), had ended up accepting, even if Albus thought it was had been some pretext to ask him about James.

The good thing was that he was meeting many people who came to Albus asking for miniature house flags, sales grew each time they had games, Albus took part of the profits so now he had some money to spend on himself or to spend buying someone a Christmas gift, but Ranirus wouldn't stop asking about James' well-being, saying that he wasn't "acting like himself" and asking somewhat personal questions to Albus.

Well, at least, he was now slightly more positively popular, because now had close to some of Ranirus' many friends. There were just too many, from Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, Slytherin, and Gryffindor. According to Ranirus: "discrimination in business is a dumb thing, Al. Well, discrimination, in general, is pretty dumb."

Some veterans seemed surprised with Albus' personality, sometimes calling him "way too shy" and advising him to "loosen up and enjoy", the quidditch players usually tried to make him like quidditch.

"We have a strategic position, being Ravenclaws. It's perfect for selling cool stuff. Hogwarts is the place where I'll start my business empire, after all," he said, smiling, giving him more sweet candies to try, that was another benefit, free candies, "Does it taste good? I tried to mix strawberry with pineapple and watermelon."

"Yes, delicious."

"You said that about all the candies I gave you," he laughed.

"Because all of them were delicious," Albus said simply.

He was spending so much time trying to sell things with Ranirus and his best friend, Carla Solaris (who played in Ravenclaw's quidditch team and had many tattoos), that he sometimes ended up spending little to no time with his other friends and Scorpius.

Meanwhile, Ranirus and Fred Weasley, his cousin, partook in friendly competition when it came to selling items and doing minor harmless pranks, such as giving Solaris a toast enchanted with a dying charm that turned her hair rainbow. Carla ended up loving it and was keeping her hair like this.

"I mean, I just look great, don't I Rani?" She asked, poking the boy's arm gently.

"Astonishing, my friend, you're the most beautiful girl studying at Hogwarts, you know that," he said. Albus didn't know how Ranirus could say those things without blushing, so straightforward. He could never do something like that. But, puzzlingly, the two didn't seem to be in a relationship, even if they continued complementing each other.

Her hair was still short (one side of it shaved) but she said she'd let it grow a bit more before coming up with another "shocking look." Albus was impressing at the girl by apparently not caring at all about what people thought of her, doing and saying whatever she felt like.

One morning, Albus received a miniature blue eagle. Albus had first thought he was being pranked, and that the eagle would start catching fire or something, but in the end, nothing happened, it was simply a gift from his cousin Fred. He immediately went looking for him to say thank you.

"How has the Winged Wizards of Victory's internship?" Asked Albus remembering about him and Roxy sending a letter to the Scottish team.

"Well, it didn't work out. They didn't even answer us!" Criticized Fred, mildly annoyed.

"Uhm… I'm sorry," answered Albus honestly, he knew how much his cousin loved quidditch and he was an excellent player, but the competition was fierce. Albus heard that the one who got the internship had been the son of one of Horton Cirley's friends who studied at Durmstrang.

"How is Molly?" Asked Albus, wanting to know if the girl was now happier, she had been kind of sad.

"It's all the Roschtar-Steles' fault," denounced Fred, "Those two, well, the girl especially, Celes, keep bullying Molly and Roxy. The difference is that Roxy has the whole quidditch team to back her up! We try to help Molly, but she sometimes is too proud to ask for help. The headmaster doesn't do anything, those two pricks hate our family, Al. I know they belong to your house and staying away from them, may be a bit difficult, but I think you should definitely stay away from those two rats," Fred practically spat, annoyed, it was no secret that Molly was simply one of his favorites cousins, plus… the Weasleys-Potters tended to stay united to protect each other. If they messed with one, they'd be messing with them all.

"I know they don't," murmured Albus, receiving an alarmed glance from Fred.

"Are they bullying you, Al?" Asked Fred, with anger with his voice, an anger that wasn't directed to Albus, but to the brothers.

"N-No… I mean, just a bit. I can handle it," said Albus. The image of them both torturing the two guys who had previously been bullying Scorpius passed through his mind, a chill ran down his spine.

"If you told James he'd break their sorry faces," suggested Fred, "Hell, I want to punch them for all the bullying in general."

"It's not that bad, they just… criticize me because of my grades," Albus revealed, "Look, it's fine. Better stay away from," he said. They belonged to the PNM. They were dangerous. We didn't want his family getting involved with them. He had decided not to get involved with them if he could avoid it. He also would not reveal that they were from the PNM to not take too many risks, he wasn't an auror like his father, nor intended to be. He might end up working with Herbology or History of Magic, nothing involving dark wizards and excessive danger. But he was just a student now. He had way too many problems already.

"They have nothing to do with it," said Fred, firmly, "Are you having some difficulties with your classes?"

"N-No. I mean, yes. A bit," admitted Albus.

"I'm not the smartest student in Hogwarts, you know that. But maybe you could ask Rose for some help, she always keeps her notes—"

"Hey, Al!" It was Victoire, his engaged cousin that would be marrying Ted next year. She was simply beautiful, with long blond shiny hair, "Why not come near the Gryffindor common room and spend some time with us?"

"Huh? O-Okay," he agreed. But in reality, he was planning to help Hagrid and Mister Raven with the Christmas decorations, hoping to also invite Scorpius to come with him.

They talked mostly about classes and the difference between Ravenclaw and Gryffindor.

"I'm pretty sure Rose almost ended up in Ravenclaw," said Victoire.

"What are the questions you have to answer to enter the dorm?" Asked Fred, sounding truly curious.

"Can ghosts die again?" Answered Albus remembering the first question.

"Uhm… can they?" Fred seemed confused.

"Yes, there are things we don't know about. What is death in the first place?" Said Albus, vaguely, not really that interested.

"Interesting, but must give people a headache, the door must ask too many questions," said Victoire.

"Every time you enter the room," sighed Albus.

Because of the approaching Christmas, everything seemed more cheerful, although Albus felt that his cousins and cousins still acted as if they "trampled on eggs" near him, being overly kind and even avoiding certain topics… such as quidditch… but Albus had fun that day, though he hadn't seen James, who was apparently ill, laying on his bed.

Molly still seemed sad.

"Is Celes still being mean to you, right?" Albus asked his cousin, discreetly.

"I hate her," she said simply, "I couldn't even think about having to be in the same common room as that little b*," she cursed with a teary face, "I'd like to jinx her myself."

"She mostly leaves me alone… but won't stop bothering Scorpius," revealed Albus.

"Scorpius Malfoy? Why? Well, she doesn't really need a reason, does she? For example, in my case, I never did anything to her."

"Are you still friends with him?" Asked Rose exiting the Gryffindor's common room suddenly to join their little reunion.

"Yes. He's great," said Albus, firmly, drinking the apple juice Fred had snuggled from the kitchen.

Rose sighed, not convinced.

"Well, I guess he's great at playing quidditch," said the cousin.

"He's handsome," Molly said suddenly, Rose spit her juice, laughing.

"What? I just said what some girls think," explained Molly. Albus agreed with her… Scorpius was… handsome, but he wasn't comfortable with other girls thinking that Scorpius was handsome, he felt uncomfortable and even annoyed. Scorpius was his friend.

"But he's a Malfoy." Said Rose, firmly.

Albus sighed, putting more sugar at his already sweety juice. He loved sugar.

"If you tried talking with him, you'd see…" said Albus, not completing the sentence but thinking just to himself you'd see how fun, smart and cool he is.

"I don't know Al. Not really my type."

"He doesn't need to be your type. You can be just friends with him," stated Albus, firmly.

"I know… It's just… he's a Malfoy," she repeated, but less firmly.

"Aren't you friends with Slytherins, Al? That must be why he's able to befriend Scorpius, Rose," said Molly, thoughtful, "I never talk with anyone in Slytherin. What are your friends' names?"

"Yes, I am. They are also great. Emilio and Hector. Don't you think this whole house rivalry is just dumb?" He asked, annoyed.

"Well, maybe you don't get it because you are in Ravenclaw. We, Gryffindors and Slytherins just don't mix well. Sometimes I wish I could be in Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw, then I could be friends with everyone," said Molly, in some kind of monologue, "but then again… Celes is in Ravenclaw, so I guess we can't really generalize, it's just that—"

"Aren't their surnames Parkinson and Carrow, Al?" Asked Rose, a bit shocked, interrupting Molly's monologue.

"Yes," he said, simply.

"Aren't they… dangerous? Slytherin… Parkinson and Carrow?"

"No. They are kids," said Albus, emphatically, a bit annoyed with the way this conversation was going. Victoire was talking with Dom about James absence, he decided to approach them and ask:

"Is he avoiding me?" He said, bluntly, but a bit sadly. Had he done something to his brother? Victoire looked uncomfortable, while Dom laughed.

"He's just being a dramatic toast, that's all. He'll snap out of it by himself, just wait, Al," answered Dom, offering him more juice, but there was only lemon juice left.

Lucy came running with a very tall boy, maybe her boyfriend, they started talking about the Christmas party they would be having at the burrow this year.

"Last year we—" His cousin Rose started somewhat happy but stopped immediately, "I mean, this year's party will be great."

As there were many people talking now, they couldn't keep talking about a sole subject for long time, somehow, they ended up talking about Rose's new collecting of dancing multi-colorful pens with twenty different scents she had brought from Ranirus.

"I mean those pens are great! I was so shocked that they actually worked, you told me that guy was talented, but I never thought he was this talented—" Her talking about him made him want to ask about James again. Ranirus was worried about James too, maybe Albus was a bit worried too. Was the brother having a cold? Was he ill or just faking it?

"Rose, answer me seriously," he said interrupted the girl, "what is wrong with James?" He asked, seriously. Rose seemed uncomfortable.

"He's just a bit under the weather, Al. It's nothing serious, I assure you," she said, avoiding his eyes.

"That's a lie," Albus murmured, Rose simply sighed.

"Sorry Albus, but maybe you should ask James, not even I know why he has been like… like that. He was so fun and happy before. I mean, he loved pranks, got lots of detentions for silly things such as spreading laughing powder in some random classroom, paining the walls yellow ochre... but since last year when he punched a boy and was so violent that the poor bloke ended up in St. Mungus—"

"W-What? Why would he do that?" Asked Albus shocked, his brother never was a violent guy.

"Well, apparently, the boy had said you were… already dead," her voice was low, a dark tone, "people say James simply freaked out and started punching the boy," answered Rose, tense.

Albus kept silent, he didn't really know what to say or how to react to that information, but for some reason he felt his anxiety increasing, his hands were shaking now, he quickly put the cup on the floor and hid his hands on his clothes' pockets.

"I have to," he said, suddenly, hearing his cousins protests he was going so soon.

"I'll help Hagrid and Mister Raven with the decorations," he explained, Rose was going to say something, but Albus completed "and with Scorpius."

Rose crossed her arms, sighed, and said goodbye. Albus didn't understand how someone would not like Scorpius. He was smart, friendly, funny, handsome… Albus ended up blushing with his own thoughts.

But just by thinking about him, Albus felt happier and more relaxed… or maybe it was the extra dose of calming potions he was taking each night before he slept, even without his therapists' consent, to whom he didn't even inform about his decision to increase the doses… Albus was the one who knew what was best for himself anyway.

He became more sleepy and more distracted during the day, but it was better this way. The dreams... no, the nightmares, were getting more and more terrible. Sometimes he felt like he was walking through the castle halls, for real, and felt a compulsion to go into the forest, knowing that something was waiting for him there. At night, a hypnotic and intense call. He had begun to rethink the idea of going there with his friends. It was not worth the risk of hurting his friends. Maybe he should accept that he was alone in this fight and that no one should know about his struggles.

Albus was alone.

But somehow, he had begun to feel okay about the idea.

That way only he would get hurt, right?

He would be, just as Magnus Elliston had been, like some kind of martin. For years, Elliston had fought alone... but, the difference was that he managed to find battle partners and was no longer alone. If everything turned out horribly in the end, Albus could try to join the DPM… at least, he would have some company, even if he disagreed with its methods. At least they didn't torture its members like the PNM, and they actually were progressive and wanted change in society. But now he was simply too young, the DPM only accepted adult wizards.

Stop thinking about such serious things, thought Albus, annoyed with himself.

Christmas is coming, let's think about happy stuff.

He couldn't wait to see Lily again, he had so much to tell his little sister. He really wanted to eat aunt Andromeda's Christmas pie, to see Teddy again, to eat his mother's Christmas turkey, he also wanted his Uncle Ron and his father to tell him stories about aurors' adventures, he liked to hear about the "evil side" always being defeated by the "good side", it gave him hope, although now Albus understood that adults always made the story sound more interesting by telling things that didn't always happen.

After all, Uncle Ron was not able to control any dragon using a magic ukulele, and Albus also doubted a little about the story about his father, uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione having escaped Gringotts while riding a dragon... simply too absurd. It had to be a lie.

He would be meeting his friends from Slytherin and Ravenclaw at the library later, after helping Hagrid and Mister Raven. He was searching for Scorpius now for quite some time. Fortunately, he ended up seeing him when he looked through the window near the lake. His heart jumped in sudden fear and anxiety. What was he doing there? It could be dangerous. He immediately rushed there, worried.

The cold and ominous breeze out there blew against his face the moment he stepped out the stone castle, it was afternoon, but it already dark, because the sun was covered by dark clouds, the wet grass rubbed against his ankles like disgusting and slimy green fingers, dirtying his socks. He could see the frozen lake ahead, the forest seemed to be watching him… maybe he was way too anxious and should calm down.

"Scorpius!" He said loudly, scaring the boy.

"A-Albus, what are you doing here?" He asked, puzzled.

"What are you doing here?" He asked, looking at the forest again, he felt uncomfortable out there. Anxiety, it was just anxiety.

"Just watching the lake," he said, distractedly.

"The frozen lake?" He asked, looking at the opaque, thick, and dark ice that covered the lake.

What is hiding under there? Albus thought with a chill.

"It calms me down. The nature. It makes me realize how small people's problems are. This immensity, unchangeable, unmovable. So beautiful," he said, happily.

For Albus, it didn't seem beautiful. The black mold that had spread was ugly and a sign of decay. Also, he felt that someone or something was watching. He felt a steady gaze fixed on him, a strange colored butterfly came out of the forest and landed on the frozen lake, Albus saw more butterflies of the same color arriving, and suddenly he felt that the forest as a whole was watching him, from various angles.

"Scorpius, let's get out of here," he said, quickly, pulling Scorpius by the hand.

"Why?" Albus quickly invited him to help him decorate, throwing alarmed glances at the butterflies. Those colors… were creepy… didn't seem to belong to this world, it was a strange pink, kind of reddish, with a shade of gray that glowed in a sickly, hypnotic way.

Scorpius, who at first was still a bit wary about approaching Hagrid, thinking the half-giant would hate him for being a Malfoy, ended up accepting.

"Why weren't you with your friends, Scorpius?" Asked Albus.

"Well, you were talking with your cousin," he said. Scorpius didn't seem to have friends in his year…

"Hagrid is cool. You don't have to worry about that, Scor. I swear. Trust me," Albus said, calling him by his nickname with a smile. He felt that Scorpius had been a little sad about something lately... and had made an extensive effort to find out the cause.

Yesterday, they had met in the communal hall late at night, when it was emptier and the two could talk in peace, without being interrupted. The only one who had complained had been Sallinger who said that he had lost his "insomniac partner" to a Malfoy. The two of them ignored the boy and sat by the fireplace fire on the comfortable sofa, where Scorpius talked about some muggle fictional books he had been reading.

"I trust you, Albus, but most people don't like Malfoys, and look… I genuinely can't blame them because—"

"No. You can blame them if they hate you without any reason," said Albus, emphatically, a bit annoyed Scorpius still thought like that after Albus repeatedly telling him that what the boy's family had done in the past had nothing to do with him now. He was just a kid, after all.

"The reason is: I'm a Malfoy," he said, simply. Albus sighed in exasperation but just continued walking with him into the great hall.

"Scor… you've been… kind of sad those days," Albus tried, seriously. But the friend just laughed, a bit uncomfortably, "You were alone near the lake—"

"Are you really talking about me being a bit down?" He said, averting his eyes.

"W-What do you mean by that?" Albus asked, a bit taken aback.

"Nothing. Sorry. You can feel however you want," he said quickly, he seemed stressed.

"I'm okay," Albus said, quickly, "But, are you okay?" He asked awkwardly, blushing a bit because now Scorpius was looking directly at him with a look of disbelief.

"It's just… Everyone loves family celebrations at Christmas but in my case… they are not always fun," said the boy, sadly, "I don't know if I really want to go home and spend some time with my family, it's always so stressing, and last years my grandfather and my father had a nasty fight about me going to Hogwarts or being homeschooled."

"I'm sorry about that. My mom also wanted me to learn at home after I was… kidnapped," he said, a bit tense.

"You don't have to talk about that," emphasized Scorpius, seemingly wanting to change the subject.

"It's okay, Scorpius. I'm not going to break just by talking about it," he sighed, "but that's not about me. Can I do something to help?" Asked Albus, awkwardly, he was horrible at trying to help his friends with personal matters.

"If you could make my grandfather less prejudice, and make my father happier with life in general…," he said, vaguely.

"If you feel sad, you can write me a letter," he suggested, then an idea crossed his mind suddenly, "also, I'm going to give you a Christmas present, something that will make you calm and happy: I'll buy you a Lilium Sirenüs!"

"W-What? You don't need to give me presents; I don't have much now to give you" he said quickly, blushing.

"Scorpius Malfoy," he started seriously, "You are getting a present."

"You don't need to—"

"I want to."

"Thanks," said Scorpius, shyly, accepting the idea finally, "I'll buy you something, what do you want?"

But right at that moment, as they had finally arrived, Hagrid approached them both and hugged Albus. The sudden contact startled him, but he soon managed to pull himself together and smiled at the half-giant who wore a Santa Claus hat, Mr. Raven's guinea pig jumped out of his pocket and ran up to Albus with excited squeals, wearing a red Christmas outfit. Chubbier than before, maybe Mister Raven was feeding him to much, but Albus didn't care. Chubby was cute.

Albus picked him up and stroked his fur, Scorpius smiled, looking a little happier, but he still looked at Hagrid as if expecting some sign of hostility.

"It's Albus and Ravenclaw's quidditch star, heh?" Said Hagrid, schematically, laughing. Albus gave Scorpius a glance as if saying "told you so". Hagrid was a good person in general. He wouldn't hate a 12-year-old kid because of his family's actions.

Scorpius and Hagrid talked a bit about quidditch, but Albus was most focused on making the guinea pig try cuter tiny clothes Mister Raven had knitted, he wanted to make the piggy try a Santa Claus costume that his owner had left laying around on the dining table.

Mister Raven came and handed them Christmas hats and for a brief moment... together with Scorpius, in that Christmas atmosphere, Albus forgot all his problems, and, did feel like a "normal student" just having fun.

"Will you be celebrating Christmas here at Hogwarts, Mister Raven? Some say have made a wonderful turkey," Albus asked, to which the man merely laughed.

"Well, I don't celebrate Christmas, and also don't eat meat, but I guess I'll be enjoying this one company," he said, indicating the guinea pig who now ate a strawberry that was simply way too big for her (or his, Albus didn't remember either it was a female or a male) tiny teeth's.

"Oh, okay!" Said Albus quickly, "Lukas, my friend, also doesn't celebrate Christmas," he remembered Lukas talking about that once, about "not really understanding the meaning of Christmas" (even if he had said that his friends could feel free to send him presents if they wanted to).

Should he buy presents to all of his friends? Maybe. One to Emilio, Hector, Eli, Lukas, Edmond, Yato, and Scorpius. He didn't talk much with George or the twins that always accompanied him. Maybe… he should give one to Sallinger too, even if he was mean sometimes. He reached into his pocket, he had a good reserve of coins and could ask his parents for money too. Should he give something to Mister Raven too? He liked the man, who was always gentle with him, even if a bit enigmatic and mysterious.

"—I'll have to put up with my grandparent and—" murmured Scorpius under his breath, but Mister Raven heard and gave him an unreadable look.

"I don't mean to meddle, young man. But one should value its family, before said family is gone forever," he said, gloomily, but wisely, with a sad smile on his face, going to help Hagrid on the other to hang the star on top of the tree.

"D-Did I offend him?" Asked Scorpius, nervously, "I didn't mean to." Albus just shook his head, calming him down. Mister Raven could say mysterious and even baffling things sometimes. It was just the way he was.

"Does he have family?" Asked Scorpius looking at the old janitor with a look of pity.

"Don't pity him." Said Albus harshly before he could control himself. He simply hated the look of pity on people's eyes, the look that was often directed at him. The look James had many times. It somewhat infuriated him.

"S-Sorry."

"He has his guinea pig… I think he's okay. And me. He has me," he assured, receiving a confused look from Scorpius, he thought for a moment he saw the man looking at him. It must have been just his imagination. "What I mean is… he has us. We'll give him a present," Albus practically ordered. Scorpius now was giving him a funny look.

"Will we?"

"Yes."

"O-Okay," Scorpius said in a laughing tone.

He had the impression of seeing a tiny smile on the janitor's face when they left. For some reason, he received another basket, small, now full with guinea pig-shaped cookies and chocolates from Mister Raven.

"I made it yesterday, this is how we," he pointed at the guinea pig with his mouth dirty with strawberry, "spend Christmas."

"Mister Raven, you don't need to—"

"The best present one can give is hope," he said seriously, "maybe there is hope, maybe there's a possibility of change, huh?" He said, puzzlingly, with an enigmatic smile, his tone vague, like his mind where elsewhere, far away.