Chapter Seven

"Ice Queen"

No-Stirrup November came and went quickly for both Hayden and Lizzie, and before either of them knew it, December was upon them. Which left them only a few more weeks' practice time until their big Christmas figure skating show.

As the days counting down to the end of term approached, Lizzie became more and more nervous. She kept having horrid visions of falling and the whole school laughing at her, which was when Hayden taught her Neuro-Linguistic Programming or NLP – a psychological technique used to overcome fear and anxiety by changing what you visualize in your head.

"What you need to do," said Hayden one day as they stopped to take a break from skating. Opening night was in two weeks. "Is rather than imagine yourself falling and being laughed at, imagine yourself blowing the minds of everyone in the audience, with the fact that you can do this, and getting a standing ovation at the end!"

"Okay," said Lizzie brightly. "I can do that!" "Good," said Hayden, smiling. "Close your eyes for me." Lizzie closed her eyes. "Can you see yourself skating and performing at your best?" asked Hayden. "Yeah," said Lizzie. She could indeed see herself skating along the Black Lake in her head, with spotlights shining on her as she spun, twirled, and jumped, and didn't fall once. "Now, I want you to blow up that image in your head, so that it's the only thing you see, and there's no room in your brain to think of anything else," said Hayden.

Lizzie envisioned enlarging the moving image of herself skating until it was the only thing she was focusing on. It was just about that one vision, and nothing else.

"Okay, now I want you to lock that image into place so you can't think of anything else, and nothing can distract you," said Hayden.
"Okay," said Lizzie after a moment. "Got it?" asked Hayden. "Mm-hmm," said Lizzie. "Open your eyes," said Hayden as Lizzie opened them. "How do you feel now?" asked Hayden. "Better," said Lizzie.

Hayden smiled. "Good," he said as he held out his hand to her as she took it and they walked onto the ice together.

They rehearsed the Marie's Dream number which they decided for the first quarter of the music, Hayden would skate solo, then as the music built up to the sequence in the ballet when the mice show up and the Christmas tree grows, they would skate together.

After rehearsing that two or three times, Lizzie practiced Waltz of the Snowflakes, Lizzie had come up with the choreography for this number completely by herself, with twizzles, toe steps and loops, sit and camel spins, and during the part of the music where there is a series of beautiful vocalizations, an absolutely stunning spiral.

Lizzie was self conscious about the idea that her leg didn't quite straighten all the way when she performed the spiral, camel and sit spins, but she had the flexibility to make it work, and it still looked great.

"What do you think?" asked Lizzie when the song ended, and she concluded the number with a scratch spin. "I think Oksana Baiul has some competition," said Hayden. Lizzie laughed. Oksana Baiul was her childhood hero, and the reason she had gotten into figure skating in the first place. "I still have my copy of The Wizard of Oz on Ice somewhere – VHS too. It's a miracle I didn't break that thing considering how many times I watched it….."

"By the way, isn't your birthday coming up?" asked Hayden, only just now remembering. "Yeah, Saturday," said Lizzie. "D'you want to do anything special?" asked Hayden. Lizzie bit her lip. Ever since Umbridge had become High Inquisitor, she had cracked down hard on a lot of things that were once allowed at Hogwarts, and she wasn't sure if private parties were allowed anymore.

"Let me think about it," she said. Hayden nodded as they resumed practice, working on their death spiral and the throw jumps.

Lizzie skated forward as Hayden skated up behind her as he gently held onto her waist. "On three, okay?" he said as Lizzie nodded holding onto his hands. "One…..two…..three!"

On three, Hayden tossed Lizzie into the air as she spun three times in midair before checking out of the jump, landing gracefully on her right foot, with her left foot extended behind her.

Time had gotten so away from Hayden that he hadn't realized that Lizzie's birthday was so close and he hadn't gotten her anything – not even a card!

"You'd better get a move on," said Hermione during breakfast on Thursday. "Her birthday is on Saturday." "Yeah, she told me, Hermione, thanks," said Hayden who was looking very stressed as he set down the toast he had only taken a bite of before abandoning it.

"Ugh! What should I get her?" he moaned, pushing his plate away, and slamming his head against the tabletop. "I want it to be special! Something she'll really, really like!"

"Well," said Hermione. "Her top special interest is the Titanic, remember, Hayden?" asked Hermione. "Yeah, but what could I give her that has to do with the Titanic?" asked Hayden. "Heart of the Ocean?" Ron suggested. "I don't think that's very appropriate, Ron," said Hermione seriously. "Why not…?" asked Ron, then he noticed the expression on Hermione's face. Hayden also looked uncomfortable. "Oh….." he sighed, understanding. "Right…."

Hayden groaned. Lizzie's birthday was in two days, and he still had absolutely no idea what he was going to get her. He was running out of time. He cared about Lizzie enough to get her something really special and meaningful. Something she would treasure for a very long time.

But what?

"Okay, forget the Heart of the Ocean," said Ron. "You could still get her jewelry – Lizzie loves jewelry!"

"Yeah, but what?" asked Hayden, sounding more and more desperate.

"You know, Hayden," said Hermione. "They do have these necklaces that have authentic coal from the wreck of the Titanic, why not give Lizzie one of those? I know she would love it – especially if it came from you."

Hayden stared at her for a moment, then a grin spread across his face. "Hermione, you're a lifesaver!" he said, suddenly getting up and walking out of the Great Hall.

With the arrival of December and the Christmas season, came a great flurry of snow, and the Black Lake froze harder – good news for Hayden and Lizzie. All the horses were brought into the stables from their paddocks by Hagrid who bundled them all up in turnout blankets and a Heat Charm was cast by Professor Flitwick on the stables and the arena to ensure that the horses and riders were toasty warm.

There as also a mountain of homework for the fifth years, and Ron, Hermione and Hayden's prefect duties also became more and more onerous as Christmas drew nearer. They were called upon to supervise the decoration of the castle ("You try putting up tinsel while Peeves has got the other end and is trying to strangle you with it," Ron told Hayden), to watch over the first and second years spending their breaktimes inside because of the bitter cold ("And they're cheeky little snotrags, you know, we definitely weren't that rude when we were in first year," said Ron), and to patrol the corridors in shifts with Argus Filch who suspected that the holiday spirit might show itself in an outbreak of wizard duels. ("He's got dung for brains, that one," said Ron furiously).

They were so busy that Hermione had stopped knitting elf hats. She was now fretting that she was down to her last three. "All those poor elves I haven't set free yet, having to stay over during Christmas because there aren't enough hats!"

Lizzie had her own problems to worry about, like making sur that she and Hayden knew all the movements to their skating routines before the show. The only two people that they had told that this was going to happen were Professor McGonagall and Dumbledore, who were both positively delighted at the idea and quite enthused to see both of them perform together.

Due to the cold, Lizzie and Hayden did most of their homework either in the Gryffindor common room or in the library.

With everything going on, Lizzie became more overstimulated and on edge more easily, and began stimming more and more. Hayden was always there to comfort her, and would give people icy stares if they laughed at Lizzie for flapping her hands.

One day on their way to morning lessons, Lizzie had been startled by the final bell. She jumped out of her skin, clapping her hands over her ears, the noise feeling like someone was driving an icepick into her eardrum.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione watched helplessly as Lizzie made her way to the far wall of the corridor and sank to the ground, her hands still over her ears as she rocked back and forth, crying uncontrollably.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione had seen Lizzie have meltdowns before, but Hayden hadn't. Though as they looked at him, he seemed unbothered by it. It was as if he had seen this kind of thing happen before, and knew exactly what was going on.

When most of the crowds in the corridor had died away, Hayden cautiously approached Lizzie and knelt down beside her, not daring to touch her. She was still crying, her hands still clasped over her ears as she rocked back and forth continuously.

Finally, she stopped rocking long enough to look at him, she had taken her hands away from her ears and had begun flapping them.

Hayden began making strange signals and gestures with his hands, apparently trying to communicate with her. He seemed to sense that Lizzie had lost the ability to speak verbally.

A moment later, Hermione gasped, "oh!" "What?" asked Ron. "You know what he saying to her?" asked Harry. "He's talking to her in sign language," said Hermione. "Look!"

Indeed, he was. Hayden signed to Lizzie, Are you okay?
Lizzie stopped flapping her hands and began to sign back, I will be, just give me a moment.

Hayden nodded and signed to her, Take your time. Would you like me to stay with you?

Yes, please, Lizzie signed back.

It took an additional three minutes for Lizzie to be calm enough to stand and then another five before she could speak again. "That was brilliant, Hayden," said Hermione as they walked. "How did you know to do that?"

"You know that friend I told you about? She goes nonverbal during her meltdowns too, and this is how we talk to each other when that happens. I also have another friend who's deaf, so…."

Hermione nodded, looking impressed.

For the first time in her entire school career, Lizzie would be spending the holidays away from Hogwarts back home with her mum. Hayden, likewise, would be spending Christmas with his family in Toronto – at least that was what he had told Lizzie. He had a special surprise planned for her….

Lizzie woke up on the tenth, to snow falling outside her window. Because it was the weekend, she didn't bother to immediately get dressed. She just sat on her bed, and watched the snow fall for several minutes before the door of the dormitory opened and Hermione entered as Lizzie looked up happily.

"Morning, Lizzie," she said. "Hi," said Lizzie. "Got anything planned today?" asked Hermione. "I was thinking of riding Flicka," said Lizzie. "Cool," said Hermione as she grabbed a book out of her trunk and abruptly left the room. Lizzie sighed as she got out of bed to get dressed before leaving the dormitory.

She shivered as she scuffed the snow from her tall riding boots upon entering the stables. Flicka saw her, and immediately gave her usual friendly nicker of greeting. "Good morning, Flicka," said Lizzie pleasantly. "You haven't forgotten that today's my birthday have you?"

Flicka nickered again, and Lizzie laughed. "No, of course you haven't…" she sighed. "I just can't believe everyone else has….."

Flicka's breath could be seen as she blew air through her nose. "Whatever. What d'you say we go and have some fun?" asked Lizzie, petting Flicka's face. "Okay, I'll go get your things," she said, walking down the barn aisle and into the tack room, that had been all decorated for Christmas – garlands of holly and mistletoe were wrapped around the railings to the upper floors of the tack room and festooned around the room.

Fairy lights lit up the room, and there was a large wreath on the door. Red bows decorated the saddle racks below each name plate as Lizzie took Flicka's saddle, bridle, breastplate, brushing and bell boots, and her grooming tote and managed to carry it all back to the cross ties in one trip. Her legs were getting stronger, and her balance was improving dramatically.

After grooming and tacking up Flicka, Lizzie put on her helmet and led Flicka from the cross ties to the arena.

It was only as she climbed the mounting block that she remembered that Hayden normally helped her mount up. She would have to do it by herself this time.

Gathering the reins in her hand after tightening the girth, and letting down the stirrups, she used her other hand to lift her leg to put her foot in the stirrup, lifting herself high enough to swing her leg over.

Sighing heavily and with satisfaction that she had mounted up without help, she gathered the reins in her hands and squeezed Flicka's sides with her legs, clucking at her as Flicka walked on.

Lizzie rose up and down in the saddle as they walked, stretching her legs. "I don't know why everyone has suddenly forgotten it's my birthday, Flicka. They've never forgotten! And it wasn't like I didn't remind them!" said Lizzie, and her breath showed in the cold air, despite the Heat Charm.

"Even Hayden's been acting weird the past few days – He was acting all secretive and – it was almost like he wouldn't talk to me. I haven't…. I haven't turned invisible, have I?"

Flicka snorted and shook her head. Lizzie laughed. "Okay, good," she said as she clucked at Flicka and squeezed with her legs as Flicka picked up her trot. Lizzie rose up and down with every alternate stride of the trot as she steered Flicka down the long side toward the mirrors at the end of the arena.

As she rounded the corner, Lizzie opened her outside rein, while applying her inside leg, urging Flicka to go more in front of the leg and deep into the corner as she sat the trot to gauge the rhythm to make sure it was consistent and even. Once she felt the trot was good enough to transition into canter from, Lizzie put her inside leg on the girth, her outside leg back behind the girth, and weight in her inside seatbone as Flicka transitioned into a canter flawlessly.

Normally, Lizzie would have used her voice to ask for a canter transition, however Hayden, as of late, became insistent that she use her legs and her seat more, and her voice and whip less – especially when the two of them were working on their dressage. Verbal commands were not allowed during dressage, and Hayden wanted to make sure that she developed enough strength in her legs so that when the show came, she could perform at her best.

So, if Lizzie used her voice at all during dressage practice, she had to do five minutes of trotting with no stirrups, and additional minutes would be added depending on how many times she would use her voice during the lesson. It was a system that at first, Lizzie thought was a little harsh, but ultimately, turned out to be very effective. As a result, she almost never used her voice anymore.

Lizzie cantered around the arena, smiling broadly before collecting the canter and increasing the wight in her seat as Flicka slowed to a trot. "Good girl, Flicka," said Lizzie, clucking at her. "Come on, keep going."

Flicka trotted across X from A to C as Lizzie rounded the corner and drove her seat bones into Flicka's back as she extended her trot stride. When she got to the end of the long diagonal near F, Lizzie slowed to a walk.

She wasn't allowed to jump without Hayden in the arena with her, so she just focused on her dressage movements. After all, that was, at least to her, the hardest part of three day Eventing.

They worked more on transitions and flying changes. But without Hayden to instruct or correct whatever she may get wrong, she didn't have a lot to work on. So after another half an hour, she cooled Flicka out before dismounting and leading her out of the arena.

"You did great today," said Lizzie as she clipped Flicka to the cross-ties. "I'm proud of us."

Flicka nickered and snuffled the pockets of Lizzie's jacket. She had stored some horse treats in there, and had totally forgotten.

"Of course," said Lizzie, fishing in her pocket and pulling out three or four horse treats. "How could I forget? Here you go….."

Flicka devoured the treats in her hand as Lizzie unbuckled the girth and tossed the unbuckled end over the seat of the saddle and unbuckled the breastplate from the saddle and girth.

When she had Flicka untacked, she brushed her down before depositing her tack in the tack room on its shelf, and came back, put Flicka back into her stall and sat down on her tack trunk.

She was tired, and it wasn't even lunchtime yet.

She still had a ton of homework to complete, but she wasn't in the mood. Not on her birthday….

She thought about going up to the Room of Requirement to practice her skating even though she knew every movement by heart, as did Hayden, and for that, she was really proud of him, yet she wanted to make sure she really had it down before the big night. But she could hear Hermione's voice in her head, telling her off, and saying that she would never pass her O.W.L.s if she didn't do her homework.

So, she begrudgingly exited the stables and made her way back up to the castle. "Password?" asked the Fat Lady as Lizzie approached. "Mimbulus mimbletonia," said Lizzie clearly.

"No," said the Fat Lady. "What do you mean, 'no'?" Lizzie demanded. "I mean," said the Fat Lady. "The password was changed yesterday." "Well, what is it?" asked Lizzie. "If I told you, it wouldn't be a password, now would it?" asked the Fat Lady.

Lizzie couldn't believe what was happening. The password to Gryffindor Tower had been changed and no one told her? Why hadn't Hermione told her this morning? This was unbelievable, and she could very quickly feel herself becoming overstimulated.

"Lizzie?" said a voice and Lizzie breathed a sigh of relief as she saw the one person she had wanted to see all morning. Hayden was smiling at her, his blue eyes sparkling. But his smile quickly vanished when he saw the overwhelmed look on her face.

"Are you okay?" asked Hayden, putting a hand on her shoulder and he took it as a good sign when she didn't flinch or pull away from him. "The – the password was changed and no one told me," said Lizzie, sounding very embarrassed that she was so overwhelmed over something so trivial.

Hayden smiled sympathetically. "It's 'fairy lights'," he said. "Hermione told me this morning."

Why didn't she tell me, then? Lizzie thought irritably as Hayden stepped forward. "Fairy lights," he said. "Correct," said the Fat Lady as the portrait swung forward to admit both of them.

They both sat down in front of the fire, Lizzie's face was illuminated by the glowing light as it warmed her face.

Hayden smiled at her. She really was, in his opinion, the most beautiful girl in the entire school.

"How was your ride?" he asked softly, reaching over, and brushing a bit of stray hair out of her eyes. "Good," said Lizzie, smiling, though she still failed to meet his gaze.

For a moment, the two of them just sat there, looking into the fire. Hayden hadn't even wished her a 'happy birthday'….Had her suspicions been right all along? Had he really forgotten?

The silence between them had suddenly become awkward and uncomfortable as Lizzie started to get up. "What's up?" asked Hayden. "I-I have homework I need to finish," said Lizzie.

"On a Saturday?" asked Hayden, and Lizzie couldn't quite discern if he was hinting something about this particular Saturday or not. Lizzie would misinterpret things constantly, it was just how her brain worked.

Rather than overthink it, she turned and walked toward her dormitory to retrieve her bag.

She could have easily done her homework in her dorm, but it was her birthday after all, and there was no one else in the dormitory apart from her and she would much rather spent her special day with friends – especially Hayden.

So, after collecting her bag from the end of her four-poster, and exiting the dormitory, Lizzie descended the stairs, and sat back down on the large scarlet sofa in front of the fire where Hayden was still sitting.

"Hey," he said. "I thought you were doing homework?" he asked, not noticing that she had brought down her bag. She held it up for him to see as she unbuckled it and began unpacking her books, parchment, quill, and ink as she spread it all out on the table in front of her.

"You look down," Hayden commented as Lizzie opened One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi "It's nothing," said Lizzie. "Oh, no, don't give me that," said Hayden, wrapping his arm around her shoulder and hugging her close. "Tell me what's going on?"

"It's just – I thought…." Lizzie faltered, choosing her words carefully. "I thought you might have forgotten…." Hayden frowned. "Forgotten what?" he asked. Lizzie felt a large lump in her throat, preventing her from speaking. She just stared into her lap, unsure of what to say. She wanted to tell him what was on her mind; that she had been afraid that he had forgotten her birthday, but she didn't want to sound accusatory at the same time.

But what she didn't even realize was that Hayden hadn't forgotten her birthday at all. He had been planning a surprise for her, however he didn't know that Lizzie hated surprises, and was the kind of person who loved knowing what was going to happen. Surprises made her anxious.

"Come with me," said Hayden, holding both her hands in his and lifting her off the couch to her feet. "Leave that here, I wanna show you something."

Totally confused now, yet powerless to object, Lizzie followed Hayden out of the common room. They walked down the corridor, up to the seventh floor until they stood in front of a bare stretch of wall at the end of the corridor with the familiar tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy nearby as the door appeared in the wall.

Hayden squeezed Lizzie's hand. "Close your eyes," he said. Lizzie laughed. "Why?" she asked. "It's a surprise," said Hayden. "I don't like surprises," said Lizzie. Hayden smiled at her. "All right," sighed Lizzie. "I like surprises after they're surprises, but I don't like the process of being surprised."

"You'll love it," said Hayden. "Trust me."

Perhaps it had something to do with the kind and gentle way he said 'trust me' that made Lizzie powerless to resist or argue back. Hayden just had that effect on her.

Lizzie shrugged and closed her eyes as Hayden led her inside.

"Okay, you can open your eyes now," said Hayden. Lizzie opened her eyes and a huge roar of sound greeted her ears. The Room of Requirement had been elaborately decorated for Christmas, including a festive tree, lights, icicles, and snowflakes.

Everyone from Dumbledore's Army was there, surrounding the room, smiling at her. There was a large table with a cake, food and drink, and another with a pile of presents as everyone continued to grin at her. "Happy birthday, Lizzie!" they all chorused, as Lizzie felt happy tears sting her eyes. In all her time at Hogwarts, no one had ever gone out of their way to put something like this together for her. In school years past, her birthday hadn't even been celebrated with anyone. She had been alone.

"I know you said you hated surprises, but I couldn't resist," said Hayden, shrugging. "I tried to talk him out if it, Lizzie!" Hermione protested. "I tried telling him you hate surprises!"

To everyone's surprise, Lizzie began laughing as she turned to Hayden, smiling happily with tears brimming her eyes. "This is wonderful!" she said, throwing her arms around him, and hugging him.

Everyone in the D.A. exchanged happy and somewhat amused glance, watching this sweet interaction between the two of them. Parvati and Lavender had a mixture of envy and utter disgust on their faces.

"Come and have something to eat, Lizzie," said Fred, grabbing her and leading her to a seat and offering her a butterbeer and some food. "Thanks," said Lizzie, taking a drink. "How long did you have this planned?" she asked Hermione curiously. "At least a week," said Hayden, shrugging. Lizzie laughed, the sadness she felt earlier quickly melting away.

Despite Hermione's objections to house-elves being employed at Hogwarts, Lizzie discovered that she, Fred, and George had taken the liberty of having all of Lizzie's favorite foods specially made for such an occasion as this. Everyone laughed, talked, ate, drank, and joked for several minutes.

Lizzie was even surprised to see Zacharias Smith there too, though he looked like he really did not wish to be, and as though he couldn't understand why people were being so nice to her, and talking to her like she was a normal human being.

"Presents!" said Cho happily, handing Lizzie a present wrapped in gold paper. "This one's from me!" said Cho brightly. "Thanks," said Lizzie as she tore the paper carefully and removed the lid off a small silver box. Inside was a charm of a galloping horse set with a blue topaz stone.

"Is this Raven?" asked Lizzie. "Yeah," said Cho nodding. "It's for your bracelet – the one Cedric gave you last year." Her face fell sadly at the mention of his name.

Lizzie smiled as she hugged Cho. "I love it, thank you," she said. "I miss him too," she whispered as Cho hugged her back.

It seemed rather hard to believe that this time last year, Lizzie and Cho were rivals rather than friends.

Despite nothing ever coming of Lizzie's relationship with Cedric due to the significant age gap – something that the both of them had agreed was not a boundary they were willing to cross – Cho had become convinced that Cedric was cheating on her with Lizzie, which was simply not the case. Cho's jealously of Lizzie had become so out of control that she eventually challenged Lizzie to a cross-country race on their horses with the ultimatum that the loser leaves Cedric alone.

Lizzie proved to be the better rider and beat Cho during the race. It wasn't until after Cedric's death that the two of them called a truce and began to rebuild their relationship based on the fact that both of them had been exceptionally close to Cedric – in different ways, but still close nonetheless - and knew him well.

"My turn!" said Hermione, handing Lizzie a large rectangular, thin parcel. To nobody's surprise, it was two books; one entitled Dressage in Harmony, from Basics to Grand Prix, the other entitled, Titanic; An Illustrated History by Ken Marschall, and Don Lynch – the two historians who worked on the film that Lizzie was so fond of.

"These are brilliant, Hermione, thanks!" said Lizzie, who by this point had read nearly every book ever printed about the Titanic, and she had been wanting this particular book for a while now. It was the only one she didn't have in her extensive library.

Neville gave Lizzie an action figure of Anakin Skywalker from Episode III of Star Wars.

"I've always wanted this one!" said Lizzie, staring at it. "Thanks, Neville!" "Hey!" said Lavender. "It looks just like Hayden!"

Everyone stared at it as Lizzie passed it around so everyone could see, and they all murmured in agreement.

The rest of Lizzie's presents were just as wonderful. Harry got Lizzie a new saddle pad with Flicka's name embroidered on it in shimmering gold thread, Luna gave her an ornament of Raven with gold angel wings. "So he can always watch over you," she said dreamily. Lizzie felt her chest constrict and tears sting her eyes. This was really, really touching.

"Thank you, Luna," said Lizzie. "It's beautiful. I love it." Luna smiled. "Lizzie, these are from Hagrid – he gave them to me last year and I held onto them for you…" said Hermione, handing two parcels to her, one square, the other oval shaped. Both were wrapped in brown paper and tied with string.

Lizzie opened the oval shaped present first. It was a horseshoe. "It's one of Raven's," said Hermione. Lizzie smiled. She had gotten past the initial 'five stages' but she still missed him very much, and thought about him often. When Raven had died, Lizzie only had pictures to remember him by, now she had one of his shoes that he had worn.

"Open the other one!" said Hermione. Lizzie opened the square present and saw a bracelet made of braided black horsehair. Lizzie knew exactly what it was. "Raven's mane?" she asked, smiling as she looked at it. Hermione nodded. "Hagrid made that for you," she said. "Wow!" said Lizzie, slipping it onto her wrist. She made a mental not to herself to thank Hagrid.

Everyone had given her really nice things and she was very grateful. Ron had given her a box of her favorite Chocolate Cauldrons, Fred and George gave Lizzie a complete Skiving Snackbox. "Just in case you ever want to skive off Umbridge's class!" said Fred brightly.

"Thanks, guys, I'll save it for just the right time," said Lizzie, laughing.

When all of her gifts had been opened, the floor of the Room of Requirement was littered with tissue, wrapping paper, bows, string, and tags.

Zacharias Smith by no one's surprise hadn't gotten Lizzie anything and she wasn't complaining. Even if he had gotten her something, she probably would have ended up throwing whatever it was away. She was aware of the level of Zacharias' ableist hatred for her.

"Thanks, everyone," said Lizzie, crumpling up a wad of tissue paper. "This was brilliant!" "Wait!" said Hayden as everyone turned to face him. "There's – one more….." He reached into the inner pocket of his robes and pulled out a square box wrapped in green paper and bound with a red ribbon and handed it to Lizzie, smiling. "Happy birthday, Lizzie," he said.

Lizzie blushed as she took it and slowly ripped back the paper to reveal a velvet bound jewelry box.

Her heart was pounding as she slowly lifted the lid to reveal a beautiful necklace. The pendant was heart shaped and cage-like with a single black stone inside it, strung on a fine gold chain.

"Wow!" breathed Lizzie, taking it out of the box and showing it to everyone. "Wow, that's really pretty!" said Cho. Hayden smiled. "Do you like it?" he asked. "It's beautiful!" Lizzie sighed, examining the little black stone inside the pendant. "What's this?" she asked. Hayden smile widened. "It's a piece of coal from the wreck of the Titanic," he said.

Lizzie's jaw dropped in shock, and she very nearly dropped the necklace. "Are you serious?" she gasped. "Mm-hmm," said Hayden, smiling even wider still. "When did they start bringing the coal up?" asked Lizzie. "Few years ago, I think," said Hayden. "They also brought up these perfume vials, and rumor has it, you can still smell it." "Really?" asked Lizzie. "But it's been almost a hundred years!"

"I'm just as amazed as you," said Hayden. "Here…" he took the necklace out of the box and unclipped the clasp. Lizzie pulled her long red hair over her shoulder as Hayden fastened it around her neck.

"It looks really nice, Liz," said Harry. "Yeah, it does," said Fred, turning to Hayden. "Well done!" he said. "You really outdid yourself, Hayden," said Ron. "You really did," said Hermione, beaming.

Lizzie turned to face him. "Thank you so much," she sid. "This is wonderful."

Hayden smiled at her. "What did I do to deserve something like this?" she asked. "Simply being you is more than enough," said Hayden.

They stared intensely into each other's eyes, and for a moment, it looked as though they might kiss…

But Lizzie became conscious of the fact that the room was full of people and lost her nerve as she shyly backed away. "Thank you," she said.

The awkward moment was forgotten when Hayden lit the candles on Lizzie's cake with his wand – chocolate with buttercream frosting – as Lizzie thought for a moment about what to wish for.

She couldn't wish for Raven to come back – that was impossible. No magic could reawaken the dead, and she was more than aware of this. In the wake of Raven's death, Lizzie had wished over and over that he could just come back to life, but Hermione told her again and again that no magic can reawaken the dead. Eventually Lizzie came to accept this harsh reality.

So, she had to think of something more practical, something that was actually attainable. She could wish that she got to Grand Prix in her riding, or that she passed her O.W.L.s, or for her and Hayden's skating performance to go well…

But there was something else she wanted, though she wasn't quite sure if it was attainable to her, or whether it would actually come true if she dared to try and wish for it.

She eventually decided to try for it anyway, as she nodded once and pulled back her hair and blew out her candles as everyone – except Zacharias Smith – cheered, clapped, and sang for her.

"What did you wish for?" asked Harry, once the cake had been cut, and Lizzie was given the first piece. "It won't come true if I tell," said Lizzie, cutting a piece off with her fork and putting it in her mouth. "Well, will you tell me if it does?" asked Harry.

"Oh, you'll know," said Lizzie, with a sideways glance at Hayden. Harry had an inkling that he knew what Lizzie was talking about. He had watched her and Hayden's relationship progress since day one, and was more than aware that the both of them were teetering on the verge of becoming more than just really good friends, but it was almost as if both of them were afraid of making the first move in that direction.

Hayden had already spoken at length with every Gryffindor boy in Lizzie's year – including his own classmates – about how beautiful – inside and out – he thought Lizzie was and what he loved the most about her. Virtually every single one of them demanded to know why he hadn't asked her out if he liked her so much. To which Hayden was never able to give a straight answer to.

Either Hayden was afraid of getting rejected and hurt, or he was in straight-up denial about how he felt about Lizzie, just as she was about her feelings toward him.

From the perspective of many at Hogwarts and the Wizarding World as a whole, they didn't belong together. They were like Romeo and Juliet.

After the party, Lizzie and Hayden stayed behind after everyone left to work on their figure skating, though it did require them to step out of the room and ask it to turn into the rink for them to practice.

Before Lizzie knew it, the week before the end of term was upon them. They would be having one last D.A. meeting the day before the big skating show. Fliers had been put up all around the school and there was air of excited anticipation in the air. Lizzie had made sure not to put her or Hayden's names on the fliers, so student's didn't know who was going to be performing.

Lizzie and Hayden arrived early in the Room of Requirement to see that Harry was already there, and within five minutes, everyone else had turned up. Lizzie threw a nervous look at Zacharias Smith who glowered at her.

"Okay," said Harry, calling them all to order. "I thought this evening, we should go over the things we've done so far because it's the last meeting before the holidays, and there's no point in starting anything new right before a three-week break…."

"We're not doing anything new?" said Zacharias Smith, in a disgruntled whisper loud enough to carry through the room. "If I'd know that, I wouldn't have come…."

"You'd have done us all a gigantic favor if you hadn't!" said Lizzie. There was a loud "Ooooooh!" throughout the room. Molly Cobb whispered, "Someone call the burn unit!" to one of her friends as they both sniggered. Lizzie caught sight of Harry who gave her a thumbs up, obviously proud of her that she was sticking up for herself. She really had come a long way since the beginning of term.

"We can practice in pairs," said Harry. "We'll start with the Impediment Jinx, just for ten minutes, then we can get out then cushions and try Stunning again."

They all divided up obediently. Because both Hayden and Lizzie's wands had mysteriously malfunctioned when in contact with one another, they didn't pair up with each other this time.

Instead, Lavender pulled Hayden aside by the arm, towards her, though when it came time to practice, neither of them appeared willing to jinx one another. Lavender was blushing furiously as her hand shook as she raised her wand but she wasn't able to say the incantation. Hayden on the other hand, didn't raise his wand at all as he stowed it back into his robes. Being the Canadian gentleman, he simply said to Lavender. "I'm not going to jinx you. I don't want you to get hurt,"

Lavender was tomato red by now as she let out a little squeak in reply as Hayden smiled at her and she scurried off to Parvati, giggling madly.

Lizzie was working with Neville and he had improved dramatically. After Lizzie had unfrozen from Neville's Impediment Jinx three times in a row, Harry called Neville over to join Ron and Hermione.

After ten minutes on the Impediment Jinx, they laid out cushions all over the floor and started Stunning again. This time people were lined up to observe, almost like entertainment.

First up, was Hayden and Zacharias Smith. Hayden's icy blue eyes flickered with determination as he faced down Smith, then unbutton the clasp on his robes, pulled them off his shoulders and tossed them aside.

Several girls, including Parvati and Lavender giggled and swooned. For Hayden, this was much more than just Stunning practice – he had a personal vengeance against Zacharias Smith for jinxing Lizzie during their first meeting as well as all the ableist comments he made toward her. He wanted to send him a message: Never mess with Lizzie again. Ever.

Before Smith could even raise his own wand, Hayden waved his own, no words escaping his mouth as the force of his Stunning spell knocked Smith clean off his feet and backwards as he hit the wall on the opposite end of the room and crumpled in a heap on the floor.

Hayden picked up his robes and put them back on, stowing his wand inside the inner pocket as Parvati and Lavender broke into over-enthusiastic applause and cheering.

"What was that?" asked Harry. "I had to teach him a lesson," replied Hayden simply. "And what was that?" asked Harry. "Never mess with Lizzie again," said Hayden. "Hayden," said Harry sternly. "I'm not going to allow vengeful spellwork here. That's not what this is for."

"I was just trying to prove a point!" said Hayden. "Look," said Harry. "I know you fancy Lizzie, and I know you want to protect her, but…..

"I never said that I had a crush on Lizzie!" Hayden protested. "You didn't have to," said Harry, who was now smiling. "That was a really good Stunning Spell though," he said.

At the end of an hour, Harry called a halt. "You're all getting really good," he said, beaming around at them all. "When we get back from the holidays, we can start working on some of the big stuff – maybe even Patronuses."

There was a murmur of excitement. "So keep practicing on your own as best as you can, and well done, everyone! Great, great work!"

Everyone in the room applauded. "As a matter of interest," said Harry. "Who's coming to the ice show tomorrow night?"

Almost everyone raised their hands enthusiastically. To avoid giving away their secret, Lizzie and Hayden raised their hands too.

"Doesn't it seem a little odd that they won't even tell us who's performing?" asked Zacharias Smith. "Maybe they want it to be a surprise," said Cho.

The room began to clear of people in the usual group of twos and threes; most people wishing Harry, Lizzie, and Hayden a 'Happy Christmas' as they went.

When Harry was the last one to leave, Lizzie and Hayden were the only ones left standing in the middle of the room.

"Big day tomorrow," said Hayden. "Yep," said Lizzie. "By the way, what was with the Jedi Robe Drop thing you did right before Stunning Zacharias Smith?"

Hayden smiled – that one charming smile that Lizzie had become quite fond of – "I was trying to impress you," he said. Lizzie laughed. "Did it work?" asked Hayden. "Yeah, it did," said Lizzie, who wasn't about to tell him what she really thought of it.

"I noticed that Lavender and Parvati were turning themselves inside out when I did that," said Hayden. "Those two have always been boy-crazy," said Lizzie. "You're not the first boy they've gone mad over, and you won't be the last."

"How are you feeling?" asked Hayden. "About tomorrow, I mean." "I'm nervous," Lizzie admitted. "Then I get excited, then I get nervous all over again." "Don't be," said Hayden, putting a hand on her shoulder. "I'll be right there with you." "And please, Hayden, for the love of Merlin, don't let go of my hand during the death spiral!" Lizzie begged.

"I promise," said Hayden, "I'll never let go." Lizzie smiled. He had given her his word. And when it came down to it, she trusted him with her life. Nothing would happen to her, and he would make sure of that.

Lizzie hardly slept a wink, and barely ate anything during breakfast the morning of the last day of term. Something that didn't go unnoticed by any of Lizzie's friends, including Hayden, though he knew what was up. Lizzie looked paler than normal, and seemed anxious, as she flapped her hands under the table, but whenever someone would ask her about it, she just said that she was behind on her homework and abruptly changed the subject.

Her mood was improved by the arrival of the post owls. A large barn owl dropped a very large – and apparently quite heavy, by the way it was dragging the owl down – parcel onto Lizzie's lap as Lizzie laid it on the table, hesitating to open it. She had sent away for two new figure skating dresses and a new pair of skates. If she were to open it at the table, her and Hayden's secret that they had been carrying around since last month would be exposed, and the surprise would be ruined.

"What did you get?" asked Hayden. "Not here," Lizzie whispered. "It's for our thing tonight."
"Oh!" said Hayden as Lizzie got up from her seat, parcel in hand, and walked out of the Great Hall as Hayden followed her.

They made their way up to the seventh floor and Lizzie paced in front of the blank stretch of wall beyond the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy, thinking. Moments later, the door appeared in the wall as they went inside.

As soon as the door closed behind them, Lizzie set her parcel down on a chair, just beyond the door, carefully untied the string that bound it, and tore the paper before opening the box. There was a pair of pristine white Jackson Elle figure skates, the blades polished to a perfect shine, as the reflections danced off the walls, as well as two figure skating dresses – one was a rich wine color that was high-necked with long sheer sleeves with elastic loops at the cuffs to loop around her fingers. The entire dress itself was covered in dozens upon dozens of tiny little rhinestones, starting at the neck, along the shoulders and down the torso, sparkling like diamonds against the candles that lit the room.

There were also rhinestones along the skirt and on the cuffs. It was stunning.

The other one was white with flesh-colored sleeves and was one-shouldered. Like her red dress, was dazzled with thousands of tiny rhinestones. The cuffs were studded with rhinestones as well. The red dress, Lizzie would wear for the first half of the show, and the white one for the second half.

Lizzie's face brightened as she took each item out of the box, looking positively delighted. "Oh, they're perfect!" she said, holding the red dress up and gazing at her reflection in a nearby mirror. Hayden smiled, imagining how beautiful Lizzie would look in them. "You getting excited?" he asked. Lizzie turned back to him, smiling, and still holding up the dress. "I am," she said. "So, is everything in order for tonight?" asked Hayden. "I think so," said Lizzie. "Dumbledore's going to be in charge of lighting the Black Lake – I told him specifically that I wanted colored lights and spotlights – you know like at the Olympics."

Hayden nodded. "And Professor Flitwick is going to be in charge of the music – he is the choir director after all…"

"You should break those in," he said, nodding at Lizzie's brand-new skates. "You don't want your feet hurting too much tonight….." "Good point," said Lizzie as she sat down and put them on. When she had ordered them she requested that the blades be temporarily mounted to the very edge of the left side of the boot.

Because of Lizzie's CP, her feet had a tendency to overpronate, or roll inward, and remounting the blade would help with this issue and help keep her balanced.

"Have you got your costume all sorted, then?" she asked as she laced up her skates. "Yep," said Hayden. "Can't wait!" said Lizzie as she stood up. They felt a little weird for brand new skates; very stiff as she wobbled slightly. "They look nice," Hayden commented. "Do they fit?"

"Yeah, they're great," said Lizzie. "Bit stiff,"

Hayden held her hand as she bent her leg back and removed the guards from the blades and they stepped onto the ice together.

They practiced all day, and barely had time for dinner before the pair of them had to go up to the Room of Requirement to change into their costumes for the show.

Lizzie took a bit of extra time getting ready because she had to do her hair and makeup.

She dressed in her red dress and skates, curled her long dark red hair before pulling it into a half updo and adorning it with many snowflake clips set with Swarovski crystals. She also put on a pair of diamond chandelier earrings, as well as silver eyeshadow, eyeliner, blush, and a rich red lip color that matched her dress.

Hayden wore a white shirt with a ruffled button-down collar with diamond studded buttons, ruffled cuffs with a black jacket studded with rhinestones along the lapels, on the front and the cuffs, with a pair of black pants and black skates. His curly hair had been slicked back and parted to one side. He looked very, very handsome.

Lizzie smiled as she walked out so Hayden could see her as he was fixing his hair in the mirror. He saw Lizzie in the reflection of the mirror and turned. His jaw dropped. She looked stunning.

Lizzie smiled shyly. "Well," she said nervously. "What do you think?"

Hayden wanted to tell her that she looked beautiful, but something in him was keeping him from saying it. Instead he smiled. "I think it's you," he said. "Really?" asked Lizzie. "You like it?" "I love it," said Hayden, smiling at her as he checked his watch. "We should get going," he said. "People are starting to make their way down to the Black Lake."

He offered his arm to Lizzie who took it. "Such a gentleman," she said as she and Hayden laughed. Lizzie sighed. "No turning back now," she said, her nerves returning suddenly.

"Don't tell me now you're getting cold feet?" asked Hayden as they made their way down a secret passageway that led out of the castle and down to the Black Lake so the pair of them weren't seen.

"No, just nerves," said Lizzie. "Take a deep breath, it'll be fine," said Hayden. Lizzie breathed in deeply and thought of herself skating and everyone cheering for her. Almost instantly she felt her anxieties melt away, and was replaced by a feeling of excitement, like she couldn't wait to get on the ice.

"I'm okay now," she said. "Good," said Hayden, smiling. "You ready to do this?" "As ready as I'll ever be," said Lizzie happily as she and Hayden made their way outside.

They could already see the Black Lake lit up by many multicolored light like the Aurora Borealis, and spotlights traveled every which way, lighting up the ice.

Bleachers had been set out and Lizzie recognized them as the bleacher seats that were used during the Third Task of the Triwizard Tournament last year.

Professor McGonagall was standing at the base of the bleachers, handing out programs to passing students as they took their seats.

Lizzie held back behind the bleachers, not wanting to be seen by anyone as Professor McGonagall caught her eye, and walked over to her.

"Mr. Chamberlain will open the show with the Sugarplum and Cavalier number, then you two will perform The Overture. Professor Flitwick has your music set up," she said.

Lizzie looked at the program. It was nice, sleek, and professional-looking with two skater silhouettes in layback spins and a picture of a nutcracker, yet there was no mention that it was the ballet that was being performed. People would discover that when they opened the program:

The Nutcracker Skating Spectacular

Introduction By Professor Dumbledore

Sugarplum Fairy and Cavalier Pas De Deux – Single

Overture – Pairs/Synchronized

March – Pairs/Synchronized

Grandfather Dance – Single

Marie's Dream – Pairs

The Battle – Singles

Nutcracker & Marie Depart for the Pine Forest – Pairs

Intermission – 30 min.

Waltz of the Snowflakes – Single

Tea (Chinese Dance) – Single

Candy Cane – Single

Mother Ginger and her Policinelles – Pair

Finale – Waltz of the Flowers – Single.

Lizzie nodded. She was grateful that the numbers had been labeled as either single or paired routines and that her and Hayden's names weren't added when the programs were printed – she had been adamant and very specific about that.

Hayden glanced at his watch again. It was almost six o'clock – that was the time they had decided that the show would start. "We'd better take our positions – it's almost time for the show to start," he said to Lizzie as she sighed and nodded, trying her best not to let her nerves get the better of her.

Finally, Dumbledore rose from his seat, which was located on the far right shore of the lake, and the talking ceased immediately.

"It is my great pleasure to welcome you al to this very special, very spectacular event that was so carefully crafted, planned and choreographed by two of our students here at Hogwarts. Never before has this school seen or put together such a spectacle of this magnitude, and I encourage you all to enjoy yourselves as we watch these two very talented skaters perform to the iconic music of the much-loved ballet, The Nutcracker!"

There was a great roar of applause and cheering as the beginning harp notes of the Sugarplum Fairy and Cavalier Pas De Deux began to play.

Lizzie looked over at Hayden. He looked nervous, and he was shaking slightly, but Lizzie couldn't tell if that was out of nerves or because of the cold. Nevertheless, Hayden took a great breath, his shoulder rising and falling as he exhaled and stepped out onto the ice as a spotlight shone on him.

He pushed off with his left foot as he spun on both feet, then pushing off again with his left leg, then transferring to the right leg and spinning on one foot.

Harry, Ron, Hermione, and the rest of the student body watched captivated as they watched Hayden skate across the ice, leaning forward slightly as he crossed one leg over the other in long strokes across the ice.

He skated a wide half circle before extending his left leg back behind him horizontally as he spun, his arms on either side of him as he knelt down on his right leg, extending his left leg out in front of him as he continued to spin before standing straight again, pushing off with his left leg, shifting it to the right again, and spinning on one foot.

"I didn't know Hayden could skate like that!" Harry heard Molly Cobb whisper to one of her friends as Hayden rounded the corner, skating backwards, crossing one leg over the other as he gained speed as he stood straight again, continuing to skate backwards as he leapt from the ice, crossing one leg over the other as he spun three times before landing on his right foot, extending his left behind him as everyone applauded.

"I wonder who taught him to skate like that?" asked Hermione as she applauded with the rest of the crowd. Both Ron and Harry shrugged. They knew that Lizzie had mentioned in passing that. Hayden used to be a hockey player but they had no idea he could figure skate too.

Hayden continued to glide gracefully across the ice, performing various spins, turns and jumps as he went as the music continued. As it intensified, Hayden skated backwards once more, turning with his leg extended horizontally behind him. As he continued to spin, Hayden bent his extending leg as he reached back, grabbing the blade of his skate as he bent back so the formation of his torso and bent leg made a perfect O.

"Wow!" Lavender and Parvati sighed dreamily as they applauded vigorously as they watched Hayden spin with one leg bent and the other extended behind him, pivoting on the toe pick of his skate.

Hayden felt the cold night air whip and lash at his face as he skated forward, lifting one leg in front of him as he skated in a half circle before lowering it again, then striking off the ice, forward on an outside edge as he spun three times before landing.

"Why does he keep doing the same jump over and over?" Lizzie heard Hermione say. She smiled to herself. Visually, the Axel, Lutz, and toe loop all looked the same, but in execution, they were all very different.

The song concluded with an epic drumroll as Hayden spun on one leg with the other leg bent as he began to spin faster and faster, and as he did so, wrapped his free leg around the other, as he spun, putting both feet on the ice.

He looked blurry to Lizzie as she watched him spin. It was making her dizzy, until Hayden knelt down on one knee and stopped spinning as the music stopped, holding his arms above his head.

The crowd erupted as everyone got to their feet, applauding, whistling, and cheering. "Whoo! Go, Hayden!" Molly cheered as she clapped.

"Wow! That was brilliant!" said Harry, clapping. "I still wish I knew who taught him!" said Hermione.

Hayden looked over at Lizzie who was lingering in the shadows, applauding, looking very pleased.

He walked off the ice, walked over to her and hugged her. He was wearing that cologne again….

"You ready?" he asked, offering his hand to her as she took it. "Let's do this," she said, smiling at him.

Hayden smiled at her as they stepped onto the ice as the music to The Overture began to play.

Both of them entered the ice, stroking forward, then stepping onto the left foot as the both of them simultaneously jumped off the ice with their right legs scissoring past their left leg. They did this two or three times as Lizzie skated out into a wide circle with Hayden still holding her hand as he knelt down on one knee turning with her as she skated with her left leg extended behind her.

Hayden pulled Lizzie close to him and held her arm above her head and twirled her

"Who's that skating with him?" asked Hermione. "Dunno," said Ron. "But she's really good!"

Harry watched as Hayden and his female companion skated backwards holding hands, crossing one leg over the other.

Hayden skated up behind Lizzie as he held onto her waist as he hoisted her up and spun with one arm around her waist the other holding her left knee, which was bent, before gently lowering her back onto the ice.

Together and in sync as the music built up, Lizzie and Hayden both turned in a circle, stepping on the picks of their skates, before turning and skating backwards, both jumping from the ice as the two of them spun three times before landing and there was cries of awe from the crowd.

"Wait – Is – is that…No, it can't be!" said Hermione. "What?" asked Harry. "I think…..I think that's Lizzie!" said Hermione. "No way!" said Ron. "She's right, Ron," said Harry. Lavender and Parvati were looking equally stunned. "She can't skate!" Lavender protested. "Then how?" asked Parvati.

They weren't the only ones who were beginning to realize that Lizzie was the female skater. "I had no idea!" said Molly. "She's amazing!" sighed Neville.

Indeed she was. The choreography was much like that of a ballroom dance. Hayden and Lizzie glided along gracefully, the cold wind whipping the skirt of her dress and her hair, stinging her face as her breath showed in the chilly air.

Many more students were realizing that Lizzie could skate, though there were very few who wanted to believe what they were seeing.

The song ended with both of them doing a joined camel spin – Lizzie holding onto Hayden's extended leg, him holding onto hers as they spun on the spot and the song concluded with Hayden picking Lizzie up, with her knees bent as he held onto her legs, spinning her once as they faced one another smiling.

Once again, the entire crowd burst into applause. Lizzie smiled up at Hayden as the sound of the crowd rang in her ears. It was a very rewarding feeling knowing that their hard work and practice was paying off so far.

But they barely had time to catch their breath before the next number started. Again, they would be performing this one together.

They stood in the middle of the frozen lake as the music began, as the both of them skated backward into a crossover, gaining speed as Hayden held Lizzie's hand. He released his grip on Lizzie's hand as they both leapt into the air, their legs kicking around in a circle as they both landed kneeling on one leg with the other leg extended as they spun.

Then as they stood, they lifted the leg that had been extended in the sit spin, high above their heads as they continued to spin. Hayden had an easier time of it, and Lizzie couldn't quite straighten her leg all the way. Even on the ice her Cerebral Palsy made her stand out.

They skated backwards once more, this time in the opposite direction and performed a joined camel spin before standing straight again as they glided forward across the ice, Hayden holding onto Lizzie's hand with the other hand around her waist.

As the two gained speed, they both extended their legs up in front of them and out to the side while skating in a wide circle.

This all started to feel like a dream to Lizzie. And she hoped she never woke up from it. Figure skating in front of the entire school with her best friend, what could be better than that?

Much like the previous number, many of the steps choreographed played out to the music like a dance, with many turns, spins, and finally ending with a dual triple axel.

By now Lizzie's nerves were all but gone, and she was actually enjoying herself. McGonagall and Dumbledore seemed to be enjoying themselves too. "She's wonderful, isn't she, Albus?" she asked as they applauded. "They both are exceptionally talented," agreed Dumbledore.

The next number was the Grandfather Dance, performed by Hayden.

The colors of the lights on the lake changed from yellow and pink to a deep cerulean blue as a spotlight shone down on Hayden and the music began with him standing in the middle of the lake.

As the music began, Hayden skated backward, crossing one leg over the other, as he spun clockwise with his right leg pulled up in a figure four position, then skating forward with his right leg extended forward, then using his right leg to turn so he was skating backwards again, and spinning with his left leg lifted and bent slightly.

Lizzie watched from the sidelines, grinning broadly. She felt very proud of him that he had worked so hard for this and how quick he appeared to learn.

She fumbled with the neck of her dress, pulling from beneath it, the Titanic coal necklace Hayden had given her. She smiled fondly as she looked up as she watched Hayden leap from the ice into a triple axel.

Hayden stepped across the ice in a circle, spinning on one foot before the music stopped momentarily and so did Hayden as he held his arms above his head, and everyone applauded as the music resumed.

He skated forward, extending his left leg in front of him, and using his right leg to turn as he crossed one leg over the over as he skated across the ice as he went faster, then jumping from the ice as his legs kicked in a circle and he landed with his left leg extended behind him, grabbing the blade of his skate, and bringing it above his head as he spun.

"Whoa!" said Molly. "I had no idea he could do that! Amazing!"

Everyone else seemed amazed too. And it was still unknow to onlookers who had taught him.

Because the sequence of music was a repeat, Hayden performed a different series of movements for each part until the song ended as Hayden stood in the middle of the ice with his arms above his head, grinning broadly, and looking like he had the time of his life.

The next number was Marie's Dream, and this one was a big one for both Hayden and Lizzie because this was the number where they were going to introduce the death spiral during the musical cue where the Christmas tree begins to grow.

Hayden began the routine, with a bunny hop onto the ice, then spinning with one leg bent and the other extended back as he spun on his toe pick, then skating with his extended forward, then using his left leg to turn backward, extending his left leg out, turning with the right leg, and extending his left leg out again, before spinning on his toe pick with one leg while bending the other, extending it backward.

The music suddenly turned suspenseful as Hayden stopped, spun, and stopped again with his arms raised.

He rounded the corner, skating backwards, before jumping into the air and landing on the ice as he turned in a circle across the ice on his toe picks, moving sideways before kneeling down on one knee, turning, and suddenly stopping as the music stopped with him.

"This is getting really intense!" Hermione whispered to Ron as he nodded. "Shh!" Harry shushed her. "Watch!"

Hayden stood up, skating backwards once more, jumping three or four times his legs kicking out around him before landing with his right leg extended horizontally behind him as he spun.

The music really made Hayden's adrenaline go, as he skated backwards, feeling and hearing the scraping of the ice beneath his skates, the music in his ears, the wind in his face…..

He leapt into the air and did the splits, landed, and spun with his leg in a figure four position. "Whoa! Did you see that?" asked Harry impressively.

Hayden leapt into the air doing another butterfly jump before landing in a sit spin, before standing up and skating forward, then striking off from the ice in a triple Axel.

The crowd applauded vigorously.

The music changed as Lizzie glided onto the ice as Hayden held out his hand to her. She took it as they began to literally dance across the ice, performing various turns and spins until the music built up. Hayden held Lizzie's hand as they performed a synchronized backward crossover as Hayden released Lizzie's hand as they both side by side, leapt from the ice in a triple axel.

Hayden skated up behind Lizzie and felt him hold onto her waist as she held onto his hands. "On three," he whispered. "Okay," Lizzie whispered back. "All right….One…..two…..three!" whispered Hayden.

On 'three,' Hayden picked Lizzie up and tossed her into the air, as Lizzie spun in midair, wrapping one leg around the other as Hayden caught her as gravity pulled her down again.

Then came the moment that Lizzie had secretly been dreading: The death spiral. Even though they had performed various versions of it from basic to advanced – Lizzie insisted at the end that they 'go big or go home' and went with the most advanced version – and Hayden had given her his word that he wouldn't let go of her hand, and the endless times they had practiced, there was still a part of her that was still apprehensive about the whole thing.

But she had already come this far. It was too late to turn back now. She just had to bite the bullet and do it.

Hayden held her hands in his as she extended her leg back and up into a spiral before Hayden began to lower her to the ice as she faced up, the back of her head toward the ice. She could feel blood rushing to her brain and there was an odd noise in her ears. Hayden was kneeling in one spot, pivoting in a circle as Lizzie spun around him. Everything had gone upside-down and blurry as she spun, and all this time, Hayden maintained a firm grip on her hand.

Everyone in the audience gasped with shock and awe as they watched this amazing feat. Harry Ron, Hermione, and everyone else looked awestruck. Hermione had her hands clasped over her mouth, and Harry could hear her muttering, "Oh, God, Hayden! Don't let go of her hand!" she whimpered.

But Hayden showed no signs of losing his grip. After three or four revolutions,, Hayden pulled Lizzie up again as she knelt down on her knees on the ice as Hayden twirled her and Lizzie got to her feet and the two of them glided down the ice in a dual spiral, their legs extended back and up as they went, Hayden holding Lizzie hand and the other arm wrapped around her waist.

The song ended in a dual camel spin.

This number had to have been the most impressive one yet. But Lizzie still had yet to perform on her own without Hayden. Regardless, the crowd stood up and applauded at the end as Hayden and Lizzie held hands and took a bow. "Well done," Lizzie whispered. "I learned from the best," said Hayden. Lizzie giggled.

Lizzie exited the ice so that Hayden could do the next number, which was the Battle Between the Mouse King and the Nutcracker.

Her adrenaline was still surging and her pulse was still racing from the thrill and high of the death spiral. She had thought it was going to be scary, but it was a lot like riding a roller coaster – that thrill of defying death, and knowing you're not going to die.

She could still feel blood pumping in her head as she breathed deeply and watched Hayden skate backwards before leaping from the ice in a triple Lutz and there was a sound like a whip cracking.

He landed skating in a forward crossover, then bringing his right leg up in a figure four position, spun three times clockwise, then spun on two feet clockwise, jumping into the air and did the splits.

This seemed to impress the audience the more times it was performed. Lizzie could do this too, she hadn't shown anyone. But she would soon enough…

Hayden spun in a camel spin before bending his leg back and bending his torso back in a doughnut spin.

"Where did he learn to skate like that?" Ron demanded. "He must have learned from Lizzie," said Hermione as she watched Hayden perform another camel spin, then down into a sit spin.

"More to the point, how did Lizzie learn?" asked Ron.

Applause broke out over the ground as Hayden executed a wide spin on one knee, ending the song as Hayden beamed, pleased with how well the show was going so far. Lizzie, he felt had a lot to be proud of. She was the brains of this outfit after all.

A spotlight shone on Lizzie as she re-entered the ice as she approached Hayden and he held out both hands to her as she took them and he stood up, and twirled her, both skating backwards into a crossover before coming close together in a dual camel spin, then down into a dual sit spin.

Hayden held onto Lizzie's waist with one hand and her hand with the other as they extended their legs to one side as they glided across the ice.

Lizzie let go of Hayden's hand as they both spun with their right legs bent as they skated backward before both of them simultaneously struck off from the ice in a triple Lutz and the crowd broke into applause.

Hayden skated up behind Lizzie, holding onto her waist. This time Lizzie was ready as Hayden tossed her into the air as she spun, and this time landed on her right foot with her left leg extended behind her.

Both of them spun on one foot, as Hayden turned on a wide circle, pivoting on the toe pick of his skate. . Lizzie did the same.

Hayden held Lizzie's hand as he twirled her and they skated forward with their legs extended behind they as they separated, skating backwards as both of them leapt into the air, landing in a camel spin.

Lizzie lowered her leg that had been extended, bending her left one as she turned and pushed off in one long stroke, walking on her toe picks halfway as she walked up to Hayden who swept her off her feet into his arms, one arm under her legs, the other around her waist as he spun across the ice, holding her, finally setting her down as they both did a backward crossover, a triple loop jump, and another death spiral – which proved to be more and more impressive the more it was performed.

The song ended with them facing one another. Lizzie smiled up at him. A strand of hair had worked its way loose from the coat of hairspray that Lizzie had plastered to her hair to keep her 'do' in place, and was hanging in her face.

Hayden smiled broader still, as he gently brushed the strand of hair out of Lizzie's eyes. Lizzie felt her heartbeat quicken and a jolt of electricity run down her spine at his touch.

The crowd erupted in applause once more, everyone was standing on their feet, clapping vigorously. Lizzie looked over to where Dumbledore and McGonagall were sitting and saw them beaming down at her and Hayden as they applauded. Lizzie also noticed someone else was there too: Professor Umbridge who was not applauding, yet she had a look of stunned disbelief on her face as she stared at Lizzie. She also looked very angry.

Hagrid was sitting nearby to Dumbledore, tears pouring down his face, and appeared to be the most enthusiastic.

Lizzie could stop smiling. This whole thing had not only been very fun to learn, but fun to perform as well, and they were only half done!

She smiled at Hayden as he smiled back at her and they left the ice, Lizzie knocking the heels of her skates together to shake off the ice.

Professor McGonagall stood up from her seat, her voice magically magnified.

"That concludes the first half of tonight's performance," she said. "There will be a thirty-minute intermission before the final half. We will offer concessions as well as butterbeer and hot chocolate if you care for some refreshment. Thank you."

"Stay here, and I'll go get you something to drink – you're shaking," said Hayden as Lizzie became aware of how badly she was shivering. Minutes later he came back with two tankards of hot butterbeer. "Thanks," said Lizzie as she took hers and drank. "How do you think the first half went?" asked Hayden. "Good, I think," said Lizzie. "Mm, you were right about that death spiral – did you hear the crowd? I don't think they'd ever seen anything like that before!" said Hayden. "I don't think so either," said Lizzie. "Thanks for not letting go of my hand." "I told you I wouldn't," said Hayden. Lizzie laughed.

A few people shouted words of praise in their direction – both to Hayden and to Lizzie, which was extremely flattering.

Five minutes till the second half, Lizzie bustled off quickly to change her costume, and was back within two as she anxiously awaited the restart of the performance behind the bleachers. The next number was the Waltz of the Snowflakes, and this time, Hayden would not be on the ice with her. She would be performing this one on her own.

Her nerves began to rise again, and they were only stopped when she felt Hayden's hand on her shoulder. "Hey, you're gonna be okay," he whispered in her ear. "Don't worry about Malfoy – don't worry about anything else. You know this routine by heart, just go out there and do what you practiced. And if you do get scared, look for me, I'll be in the crowd okay?" "Okay," said Lizzie.

"Okay, you'll do great," said Hayden. He would have kissed her, but something was holding him back. He couldn't figure out what…

Instead he hugged her as Professor McGonagall's voice reverberated across the grounds. "Ladies and gentlemen, please take your seats for the second half of tonight's performance!" she said. Lizzie sighed deeply, and as she stepped onto the ice, it began to snow.

The music started as she began gliding across the ice, bringing her right foot up and turning with her left foot as she extended her right leg out, then stepping across the ice on her toe picks, twirling like a ballet dancer on toe shoes, moving gracefully across the ice, as she leapt into the air, landing int a camel spin, grabbing her skate and bending her leg back and up over her head as she spun.

Then she lowered her leg back down an across her body in a doughnut spin.

She skipped sideways on her toe picks, one leg crossed over with her right knee bent slightly as she skating across the ice.

She skated backward into a crossover as she gained speed. As she skated in a straight line, she slid down on one knee as she slid across the ice, her foot folded over behind her as she leaned back, her dark red hair brushing the frozen surface of the lake, as she leaned straight again, turning on one knee as she got to her feet.

She stepped onto her left foot, jumping with her right leg scissoring past her left leg. She did this twice, then backwards into a crossover again as she leapt into the air, pulling her arms close to her, and wrapping one leg around the other into a triple Lutz. She did this two more times, then another backward crossover leaping into the air, and landing in a sit spin. As she stood up, extending her right leg to one side and bending it slightly as she leaned back as she spun, crossing her arms over her chest in a layback spin.

She straightened up and continued to spin with her leg extended to one side, she turned and began skating forward, crossing one leg over the other, as Lizzie extended her leg backward and upward behind her – though not quite all the way straight, though she was able to lift it high enough – in an absolutely stunning spiral as she glided across the ice like a snow fairy as the music changed to a series of beautiful vocalizations.

Virtually everyone in the school that knew that Lizzie had physical therapy automatically assumed that all she did was learn how to walk independently. They were totally unaware of the hours of stretching she did for her legs in and out of the hospital wing, which proved to be very helpful – especially when it came to skating.

Everyone in the crowd was awestruck at this incredible display. Even Malfoy appeared shocked as he stared open-mouthed at her and Harry could hear him mutter, "That's impossible!"

Lizzie leapt from the ice into a triple Axel as the crowd applauded. By now Lizzie was smiling. It had been worth it keeping all this a secret, just to see people's reactions. Maybe now, she thought, people would stop making fun of her, now that they knew what she was capable of.

Lizzie skated across the ice into a scratch spin, bringing her right leg up and bending her knee as she started to spin and bringing her leg back down as she got faster, until she slammed her toe pick into the ice stopping her.

She skated backwards once more into a crossover, turning on one foot with her other leg bent as she spun, both in clockwise and counter clockwise directions she leapt from the ice first in an Axel then in a Lutz, gliding across the ice with her right leg facing right and her left foot facing left as she leaned back, letting her arms drop to her sides gracefully.

Hayden stared as Lizzie glided across the ice. He knew that Lizzie had quite a few leg surgeries done and he wasn't aware she was able to move her feet like that.

She spun on one foot clockwise before stopping abruptly as the music momentarily ceased, her arms in the air as the audience applauded.

The music started again as Lizzie twirled and spun on her toe picks across the ice before leaping into the air as she did the splits and landed as the crowd gasped with delight. She twirled on one foot clockwise as she skated forward, as she lifted her leg, extending it in front of her as she skated across the ice.

Hayden sighed happily and shook his head as he watched Lizzie skate backward, and take off into a toe loop, then extending her leg out to one side, crossing her arms over her chest in another layback spin. This was really turning out to be better than he thought. Maybe people would view her differently after seeing that her disability didn't define her.

Lizzie grabbed the blade of her skate and lifted her leg in front of her above her head, then as she released it, wrapped it around her other leg as she knelt down on one knee and bowed her head.

The music became more mellow as she got to her feet and extended her left leg while using her right leg to turn, bending her left leg, as she spun, extending her right leg back behind her.

Lizzie could feel her face going numb from the cold as the snow continued to fall.

She spun on one foot counterclockwise before skating backward, executing a wide turn, then spinning on one foot, coiling one leg around the other as she spun faster and faster, stopping with one foot forward, the other back with her arms above her head as the music ended.

The noise that came from the crowd was positively deafening. Cheering, whistling, and clapping pierced the night as Lizzie stood on the ice, taking it all in, tears of happiness stinging her eyes. There was a part of her that couldn't quite believe what was happening. She had been so afraid of what people would think of her if they knew she could skate, but their reactions had been the opposite of what she had expected. They actually liked it! Maybe even admired her!

She looked over at Hayden who had the biggest smile on his face and was clapping harder than anyone, and Lizzie also noticed that he had tears streaming down his face.

But Lizzie didn't have time to rest, or let her heart rate slow down. She had another number after this. Thankfully, it was relatively short.

As the music started Lizzie turned and began skating backwards as she knelt down into a sit spin, the leaping into the air and landing, grabbing her skate and pulling it back behind her as she leaned back into a doughnut spin.

She spun on one foot, turned with one leg extended to the side as she leapt from the ice into a triple Axel.

The snow fell harder still, and the temperature seemed to drop more as the wind whipped the skirt of Lizzie's dress as she spun on one foot clockwise, then again counterclockwise. The white chiffon of her skirt rippled and whipped up against the wind as she skated backwards, then into a layback spin, and finally a toe loop jump as the song ended.

Harry heard Zacharias Smith clap slowly and mutter "That's it?" "The song wasn't very long," said Hermione coldly.

Lizzie stepped off the ice, her hair was flecked with snow and her teeth were chattering madly. Now she couldn't wait for it to be over so she could get warm.

"You're up," she said, trying not to make it obvious that she was freezing. "You were great," said Hayden. "Thanks," said Lizzie her chin quivering.

Hayden walked onto the ice and stood in the middle. It was the Dance of the Candy Canes.

Immediately, Hayden leapt into the air in a split jump, before skating forward into a crossover, then two triple Axels, and turning on one foot, skating backwards again, striking off into two triple Lutzes, and turning on the horizontal line on his right foot, leaping into the air, landing in a camel spin, and down into a sit spin.

"He's so amazing!" breathed Parvati. "As if he couldn't get any more gorgeous!" sighed Lavender. I'm gonna vomit, thought Lizzie bitterly. As far as she could tell, Hayden didn't appear to have any interest in either of them whatsoever, so why were they continuing to pursue him? You'd think they'd take the hint, Lizzie thought as she continued to watch Hayden.

The song ended with Hayden doing a backward crossover and ending with a triple Axel as he spun on one knee as the music stopped.

They were getting close to the end now as everyone applauded. Just two more to go, Lizzie thought. Part of her was relieved, she could hardly feel her hands anymore now, and there was another part of her that was slightly disappointed.

At least she'd be doing the next number with Hayden.

They both began in a backward crossover, holding hands as they simultaneously, leapt from the ice in a triple axel, as Lizzie spun on one foot clockwise, and Hayden, counterclockwise before he spun with his right leg extended behind him in a camel spin, and Lizzie kneeling down into a sit spin. Then Lizzie stood up and grabbed her skate bending her leg back at the knee as she leaned back her head making contact with the blade of her skate as she spun.

Then, she held her leg straight above her head, continuing to spin, Hayden did the same, their movements synchronized.

They both skated into a forward crossover as Hayden lifted Lizzie up at the waist and tossed her into the air as she spun and he caught her as he skated across the ice.

Hayden twirled her in his arms two or three time before gently setting her down on the ice again as he twirled her as she lifted her leg as she spun.

Hayden skated forward holding Lizzie's hands in his as she skated backward, both of them with their legs extended behind them like they would in a camel spin.

Hayden pulled Lizzie close and twirled her again as they both performed a spiral around the ice.

Then they performed their third death spiral of the night, that, once again, wowed the crowd.

It seemed to get more and more impressive the more they did it.

"That never gets old!" said Ron happily. "It is really cool isn't it?" asked Hermione as Lizzie and Hayden performed a joined sit and camel spin together before separating and doing a one foot spin together as the song ended.

One more to go….

Before Hayden walked off the ice to allow Lizzie to perform the finale, he whispered in her ear, "Go out there and show Malfoy exactly what you're capable of," as he winked at her and walked off the ice.

Lizzie sighed as the lights turned pink and a spotlight shone on her as she bent her left leg slightly where she stood and extended her right leg out to the side, resting her toe pick against the ice as she bowed her head, waiting for the music to start…

She pushed off from the ice, turning and spinning as beautiful harp notes played. She jumped twice her right leg scissoring above her left, before kneeling down on one knee as she turned, lowering her arms gracefully to her side, and bowing her head as there was a pause in the music.

When it resumed, Lizzie stood up and skated backwards, before turning on a wide circle into a camel spin, then extending her left leg out to the side, bending it slightly leaning backward with her arms crossed across her chest in a layback spin, then taking the blade of her left skate and pulling her leg back and up over her head as she continued to spin.

She hopped across the ice, spinning on a circle with her left toe pick embedded in the ice as she pivoted in a circle.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione continued to watch with admiration as Lizzie skated forward into a spiral, then she turned, skating backwards on a circle as she leapt into the air and spun.

"She makes it look so easy!" breathed Hermione. "I wish I could do that!" "Maybe Lizzie will teach you," said Ron as he watched Lizzie kneel into a sit spin.

She did several variations of this movement as well as the layback spin.

Towards the end of the song she skated across the ice in a layback Ina Bauer – with her right foot turned and pointing right, and the left toe pointing left as she slide across the ice on an outside edge, then she twirled on one foot clockwise, then stepping across the ice on her toe picks, like a ballerina on ice, finishing with a two foot spin as the song ended.

Like it had many times during the evening, the entire grounds erupted in applause. Lizzie looked up at where Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall were sitting. Professor McGonagall was crying tears of happiness.

Everyone was on their feet, applauding. Lizzie looked over at Hayden who was smiling as he stepped out onto the ice as they both held hands and took a bow. The snow was falling harder than ever now, flecking their hair. The pair of them had momentarily forgotten how cold it had become.

They left the ice together as the bleachers started to slowly empty. Harry, Ron, and Hermione were the first to reach the bottom to congratulate the pair of them. "Lizzie, Hayden, that was brilliant!" said Hermione, who still had tears in her eyes. "Bloody brilliant!" said Ron. "I'm very proud of you, Lizzie," said Harry. "You both did fantastic!" "How did you guys come up with that?" asked Hermione. "I didn't," said Hayden. "It was all Lizzie's idea."

"No way!" said Hermione, looking stunned. "Mm-hmm," said Lizzie, beaming. "You guys really outdid yourselves, really!" said Harry. "Soon people are going to want this done every year!" "I got no issues with that!" said Lizzie, failing to remember that Hayden was only going to be staying at Hogwarts for one year, and she would graduate in two.

As Lizzie made her way to the concession stand to get a cup of hot cocoa, everyone stopped her and praised her. Even Lavender and Parvati stopped Lizzie as she stood in line and asked her to sign their programs.

"Y-you want me t-to s-sign it?" she stammered, in somewhat disbelief. Lavender nodded eagerly. Hayden handed Lizzie a pen as she signed on each of their programs: I'm so happy you enjoyed the show, and I hope you have a very happy Christmas. Your friend, Lizzie.

Hayden wrote a similar message on their programs as well. Professor McGonagall came over to Lizzie and to her complete astonishment, pulled her into a tight hug. "P-Professor!" Lizzie laughed, not knowing what to do as she awkwardly hugged her back.

"You both did absolutely wonderful!" Professor McGonagall gushed. "Where did you learn to skate like that?" she asked Lizzie. "I learned when I was two," said Lizzie. "I know it sounds counterintuitive that I can't walk by myself and yet I can still skate, but….." "Anything is possible if you've got enough nerve," said Professor McGonagall smiling as she unbuttoned her cloak and wrapped it around Lizzie's shoulders. Lizzie smiled as she pulled it tighter around her and Professor McGonagall handed her a bouquet of roses. Lizzie blushed, not knowing what to say. She felt like she had just won the Winter Olympics.

"Well, congratulations to you both, I daresay that took quite a bit of planning and even more hard work," said Professor McGonagall.

"I couldn't have done it without Lizzie," said Hayden wrapping and arm around Lizzie. "She was the brains behind it."

Lizzie sneezed violently. "Bless you," said Hayden. "You'd better get her up to the hospital wing, Miss Brooks, you've been out in the cold for hours…" said Professor McGonagall.

"I'll take her," said Hayden. "Professor McGonagall!" said Lizzie. "D-do you want your….your…" She sneezed again. "Cloak back?"

"I'll come by the hospital wing later, you just go and get warm!" said Professor McGonagall seriously. "Come on," said Hayden as he started back to the castle with Lizzie.

"Miss Brooks!" said a female voice and a woman with dark red curly hair in magenta robes came bustling toward her with a notepad in hand. "Oh, what now?" Lizzie moaned her voice thick with congestion.

"Miss Brooks," said the witch, walking up to her. "My name is Rena Crabapple, I write for the Daily Prophet…"

Instantly, Lizzie felt anger rise in her chest. "I have nothing to…" she sneezed. "Nothing to say to you…" "Come on, Liz, we don't need this," said Hayden. "Come on, let's get you inside….."

They turned to walk away, but Rena stopped them. "No, no! Miss Brooks, you see, I don't write that stuff! I write reviews for plays, musicals, and the like. I very much enjoyed the show you and your boyfriend put on…"

"Hayden's not my boyfriend," said Lizzie. "We're not together," said Hayden. "Lizzie and I are just friends!" "You're not gonna put that in the review are you?" asked Lizzie, not wanting her personal life put on paper for the entire Wizarding World to see. "If you don't want me to," said Rena. "I don't," said Lizzie firmly. "So, what do you want from me?" "I just need your permission to put your names in the review," said Rena. "And you promise that what you print will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?" aske Lizzie. "Absolutely," Rena promised. "Every word. I'm not like those fake journalists that are printing rubbish about You-Know-Who, I always pursue the truth"

Lizzie glanced at Hayden as though asking for his permission. He nodded. "All right, then," said Lizzie. She wasn't sure she was doing the right thing or not.

"And what is your name?" she asked Hayden.
"Hayden Chamberlain," said Hayden. "And do you go to Hogwarts?" asked Rena, scribbling on her notepad. "No, the Toronto Institute of Witchcraft and Wizardry, actually," said Hayden.

Lizzie sneezed again. Now Hayden was getting worried. He didn't want her getting sick on the last night of term before the holidays.

"Please excuse us," said Hayden. "Of course," said Rena. "Thank you both, and well done. Really, that was incredible. I will be certain to print a positive review."

Lizzie smiled as Rena walked away. "Right," said Hayden. "Let's get you inside," Lizzie nodded. "I had fun, but I'm tired…" "Let's get you to the hospital wing so Madame Pomfrey can give you something, then you can go to bed, okay?" asked Hayden gently. "All right," said Lizzie. "You did wonderful tonight, I'm proud of you."

"I'm proud of us," said Lizzie as she sneezed again.

It seemed like he couldn't get her inside fast enough. Hayden finally carried Lizzie the remaining halfway due to cold and fatigue.

"Merlin's beard! What is it now?" cried Madame Pomfrey as she came out of her office to see Hayden carrying Lizzie. "Don't worry, she's not unconscious," said Hayden, gently lying Lizzie down on a bed, and Madame Pomfrey saw Lizzie dressed in her figure skating clothes.

"End of term figure skating show?" asked Madame Pomfrey. "Yes, ma'am," said Hayden. Madame Pomfrey nodded seriously as she put a hand on Lizzie's forehead, then bustled off into her office, returning moments later with a bottle of some red potion and a goblet. She poured the contents of the bottle into the goblet and handed it to Lizzie. "It's a Pepper-Up potion – it'll make you feel better," she said.

Lizzie knew exactly what it was because she had made it in Potions class last year. It was a potion to cure the common cold.

Sighing, Lizzie took a deep breath and drank the potion down in two large gulps. Instantly she felt a pleasant warm sensation throughout her entire body, clearing her congestion, and she felt better almost instantly as steam emitted from her ears.

When it was clear the potion had done its job, Madame Pomfrey dismissed Lizzie and Hayden, wishing both of them a pleasant holiday.

Hayden dropped Lizzie off outside the portrait of the Fat Lady as she uttered the password, and hugged Hayden goodnight before climbing through the portrait hole.

Hermione was already in bed reading when Lizzie came in. Hermione grinned as she set her book down as Lizzie crossed the room, unlatched her trunk, retrieved her pajamas, and began to undress.

"Feel better?" asked Hermione. "Yeah, Hayden brought me to the hospital wing and Madame Pomfrey gave me a Pepper-Up potion. I feel loads better," said Lizzie, putting her skates in her trunk, and unzipping her skating dress and pulling it off her.

"Hayden really cares for you," said Hermione. "He's a really good friend," Lizzie agreed, pulling her pajama top over her head. "I'm lucky to have met him."

"By the way, who was that I saw you talking to down by the lake after the show?" asked Hermione. "Just a reporter from the Daily Prophet," said Lizzie as she got into bed. "Don't worry, she's not one of those. She writes reviews for plays and things," she added quickly noticing the stunned look on Hermione's face. "She said she had heard about the ice show and really enjoyed it, was really impressed by it, and then she asked me and Hayden's permission to put our names in print, though before I did give it to her, I made absolutely sure that what she wrote was one-hundred percent accurate."

Despite the fact that the Daily Prophet hadn't exactly been known as of late for printing the truth, Lizzie didn't see the harm in letting them print a simple review, because she had only given her name, and no personal information.

Hermione nodded as Lizzie settled into bed. She was absolutely exhausted and fell asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow.

The very next day, Lizzie was up early to finish packing so she could catch the train back to London. Her mum had promised to meet her at King's Cross that evening, seeing as the trip itself would take most of the day.

Hayden helped her bring her trunk down and helped her load it onto one of the thestral drawn carriages. He admitted to Lizzie after a Care of Magical Creatures lesson that he couldn't see them. So Lizzie painted him a picture of one of the thestrals so he could see what they look like.

"Was this what you saw when we were down by the lake that one time?" asked Hayden, gazing at the picture of the thestral that was amazingly detailed. "Yeah," said Lizzie. "Do you like it?" "Yeah, it's nice to finally see what they look like," said Hayden. "Thanks, Liz."

"I'm gonna miss you over the holidays," said Lizzie. "You'll see me soon enough," said Hayden.

Lizzie took that to mean that he would see her after the three-week break. This holiday was going to go on forever.

When they got to Hogsmeade Station, and Hayden helped Lizzie to load her trunk, he gave her an extra long hug before the whistle blew and steam billowed out of the train. Lizzie hastily clambered onto the train, pulling the door shut as it jerked into motion.

She leaned out of the window, waving to Hayden until the train rounded a corner and he vanished from view.