Chapter Eight

"Christmas"

A/N: John Denver and the Muppets; A Christmas Together is a real television special released in 1979. While it was never released on DVD, video recordings of it still exist and someone was gracious enough to put it on YouTube.

A/N 2: The Christmas cookie recipe in this fic is real and can be used. A cookie press is not mandatory, you can use cookie cutters as well, if you don't have one.

Lizzie walked down the train corridor, looking for an empty compartment. She found one at the end of the train as she walked inside, sat down near the window, and gazed through the glass. The train was now zooming along a white backdrop. The ground completely covered in a thick white blanket of snow, the trees looking like they were covered in white frosting.

Almost at once, Lizzie began to feel really lonely. Hermione was spending Christmas with Harry and Ron back at Grimmauld Place, so she had no one to sit with or talk to.

She reached up into the luggage rack and took down her handbag, rummaged into it as she took her journal and a ballpoint pen and began to write:

December 21

Dear Diary,

Boy, do I have a lot to tell you! Hayden and I for the past month had planned a figure skating routine to perform in front of the entire school and we performed it last night and people loved it! I hadn't told anyone anything about me having figure skating lessons as a kid – I was afraid that people wouldn't believe me, so I kept it a secret. I taught Hayden to skate too, and I think he had a really good time learning and we had an even better time performing it!

So, I found out why the carriages that transport students to and from the school appear to pull themselves – they aren't actually pulling themselves at all. They're pulled by these creatures called thestrals. They're very unique because they can only be seen by people who have seen death, and of course, I saw Raven be put to sleep last year, so naturally, I can see them. I was very surprised to find out that Hayden couldn't see them. I thought he would have been able to…

This first term has ben amazing, it's hard to believe that it began on such a lousy note. I never imagined that I would meet anyone new or make any new friends this year, seeing as most of the students here saw Raven die and for a long while, criticized me for it, but Hayden went out of his way to be friends with me, and I am so grateful! He is so wonderful, sometimes I find myself wondering if it's possible for us to become more than friends. Could he ever really be interested in me? In that way?

I've never had a boyfriend so this would be an interesting situation for me if it does turn out that way for us. I am totally inexperienced with boys, so I don't know what the social rules of dating are. People like to think that people with autism can't be in romantic relationships (or even friendships for that matter) because stereotypically, we have no interest in socializing and can't feel emotions or empathy.

Thankfully, Hayden knows that all of this isn't true. He is far more educated and informed on the subject than anyone else in the school – even Madame Pomfrey who was the one who assessed me twice in my second year.

Hayden is also training me for the big horse show in June, the week after my O.W.L.s and with the ice show out of the way, I can devote more of my time to that. I made the suggestion to Hayden that he compete as well. He told me that he would think about it, but he hasn't given me an answer back….

Her heart ached at the mention of Hayden as she thought of the fact that she wouldn't see him for three weeks. It is said, that when you can't stop thinking of someone, it's a sign that you're falling in love. But what constitutes 'being in love'?

Like Lizzie had written, she had never been in love before, or indeed had been in any sort of romantic relationship with anybody, so how could she be certain of what she was feeling?

She sighed and continued to write:

We began our Dumbledore's Army meetings, and thanks to Dobby the house-elf, we found a place to practice. It's a secret room in the castle called the Room of Requirement. It only appears when a person had a real need for it, and it's always equipped with the seeker's needs. It also serves as dormitory for Hayden and his classmates…

She paused again. She had inadvertently mentioned Hayden again. She smiled as she recalled in her brain how much fun they had during their figure skating show, during rehearsals, how many times the two of them had fallen on the ice, and then laughed about it later, sitting in front of the fire in the Gryffindor common room doing homework, the smell of his cologne, the way he would hug her, like he didn't want to let her go…

Lizzie suddenly became aware that her face had become very hot, even in the drafty compartment, and her heart rate had suddenly increased. My heart isn't beating faster! she thought desperately. My heart isn't beating faster! Come on, Lizzie, get a grip on yourself! You don't like him! You're not good enough for him! You'll never be good enough for him, okay? So, just drop it! Think about something else!

She didn't know what on earth was going on with her. She had only known Hayden for four months. It didn't seem realistic for her to develop such strong feelings for him so quickly. Sure, they spent a lot of time together, and enjoyed each other's company, but she couldn't understand why she felt this way for him when she hadn't felt like this for anyone else – not even Cedric….

And yet it the thought of not being with him felt like physical pain. Lizzie remembered how in episode two of Star Wars how Anakin struggled with his feeling for Padme, and found herself strongly relating to him. She knew what that was like.

Being away from Hayden for three weeks was going to feel like an eternity. But maybe, somehow being apart for a while would bring them closer.

She stared out the window, thinking of Hayden, as the train continued to steam forward towards its final destination.

It was already dark and still quite early when the train pulled to a stop at King's Cross, onto Platform 9 ¾ , as Lizzie got out of her compartment, gathered up her things, and slid open the door of her compartment, as she walked out onto the train corridor. She could see her mother, Emma and their hired help, Tara – who was treated more like family and less like a servant – standing on the platform, waiting anxiously for her.

Gathering her handbag, stuffing her journal inside, she pulled her trunk off the luggage rack above her seat as she struggled to drag it along the corridor unassisted.

She opened the door to the train and hopped out and Tara rushed forward to help her put her trunk onto a trolley.

Lizzie smiled as she hugged her mum. Lizzie was her mother in miniature; same face shape, same complexion, same dark red hair. The only difference was that Emma's eyes were brown. Lizzie's dad had blue eyes.

"Lizzie!" said Emma, rushing forward and embracing her daughter, hugging her tightly as though they hadn't seen each other for many years.

"Hey, Mum," said Lizzie happily, hugging her back. "Oh, I've missed you so much!" said Emma, squeezing Lizzie tighter and Lizzie felt herself struggle to breathe.

"Mum…" Lizzie gasped, her voice stifled. "Choking…..not breathing!" "Sorry!" said Emma quickly, releasing her grip and holding Lizzie's face in her hands. "You're walking so much better now!" she said happily. "I've been practicing," said Lizzie. "I can tell," said Emma, smiling.

Lizzie smiled back as she hugged Tara. Tara had fair skin, and brown curly hair, stood about five foot six and was dressed casually in a pair of jeans and a turtleneck sweater.

She pushed the trolly down the platform and loaded her trunk into the boot of their black limousine that was parked in a handicap-accessible space in the parking lot, a handicapped place card hung from the rearview mirror.

Their chauffeur, Nigel Evans opened the door for Lizzie, tipping his hat to her. "So, how was term?" asked Emma eagerly as they all clambered into the backseat, and the limo pulled out of the parking lot and onto the main road.

"Good!" said Lizzie happily. "I made a new friend!" "Oh, yes! Hayden wasn't it?" asked Emma, looking thoroughly happy for Lizzie.

Lizzie nodded. "He sounds very nice from how you described him in your letters," said Emma. "He is," said Lizzie. "He's agreed to teach me to ride this year, and I taught him how to figure skate. We did a show for the school last night."

"How did that go?" asked Emma. "Good," said Lizzie. "Better than good, actually, It went really well! Hayden's a natural!"

"And how's riding going?" asked Tara in a heavy Irish accent. "Good, really good," said Lizzie. "I'm going to compete in another show in June after my exams," said Lizzie.

"How have you been?" asked Emma.

At first, Lizzie didn't understand the question, the she realized that her mum was asking how she had been since Raven died.

"It's been hard," she admitted. Then she sighed and leaned forward in her seat, gazing up at her mother imploringly. "Please, don't be mad at me," she begged.

Emma frowned at Lizzie, confused. "Why would I be?" she asked. Lizzie rolled up the sleeves of her sweater, revealing the long-healed scars on her arms.

"Lizzie, what have you done?" gasped Emma. "Oh, my God!" Tara cried, seeing the scars on Lizzie's arms, and understanding immediately what she had done.

"I'm sorry," said Lizzie, and she truly did look it. "I…..absolutely hate myself for what I did to cause Raven's death. The guilt was overwhelming, I just couldn't cope with it."

"Lizzie, why didn't you tell me?" asked Emma. "I could have gotten you some help!" "You would have put me in a psych hospital," said Lizzie. "Lizzie," said Emma patiently, reaching across and holding Lizzie's hand in hers. "I'm a nurse, I have access to the best doctors and therapists in London. I would have made sure that you saw someone every single day if I had to, but locking you away would be the last thing I would do!"

Tara looked positively heartbroken at the fact that the girl that she had basically raised was hurting herself. She knew that Lizzie had been depressed after Raven died, but she had never imagined that it was this bad.

"Hayden found out about it, and after I told him what had happened to Raven – what really happened, I promised him I wouldn't do it anymore. He told me I didn't need to keep punishing myself and encouraged me to come and talk to him whenever I needed to," said Lizzie.

Emma smiled, the same smile as Lizzie's. "He must really care for you," she said. "He's a great friend," said Lizzie. "I feel really blessed." She played with the necklace that Hayden gave her around her neck, as she spoke.

"Did he give that to you?" asked Emma. "Yeah, for my birthday," said Lizzie. "Is that a piece of coal from the Titanic?" asked Tara eagerly. "Yeah, it is," said Lizzie. Tara nodded. "The ship was built near me hometown," she said. "Me mam took me to see it when I was about your age."

"Is it still there?" asked Lizzie. "It is," said Tara. "But the Irish government is debating whether to demolish it and turn it into something else, or leave it as a historical landmark."

Lizzie groaned. "Leave it alone!" she moaned. "They can bring up artifacts from the wreck if they want to, but they should leave the shipyard alone!"

Tara smiled. She had been the one to introduce Lizzie to the story of the Titanic by giving her books full of beautiful paintings and photographs and telling her the story.

Half an hour later, the limousine pulled into the circular driveway of Lizzie's stately home that had been elaborately decorated for Christmas. The house itself looked like it belonged on a Christmas card. Every inch of the exterior was festooned with multicolored fairy lights around the doors, windows, and around the edges of the roof.

There were two large fir trees on either side of the front entrance to the house, covered in snow, and decorated with lights, bows, and ornaments. The house itself was stunning. Three stories high in a neoclassical style with eight windows facing each floor on the front of the house, two chimneys, and five windows along the topmost floor.

The steps were made of stone as well as the rail with two double doors made of carved mahogany wood, upon each was set a gilded doorknocker.

Lizzie sighed deeply as Nigel got out of the driver's seat and opened the passenger door for Lizzie as she stepped out onto the driveway and Emma and Tara followed. Nigel unlocked the boot of the car, and began unloading Lizzie's luggage.

Lizzie gazed around at her house. It felt like forever since she had last seen it. "Did you do all the decorating, Tara?" asked Lizzie, looking impressed. Tara nodded "Do you like it?" she asked. "It's beautiful," said Lizzie.

As they walked inside the foyer that was just as elaborately decorated. Garland and white lights were twisted around the railings of the grand double staircase, made of white oak with large red bows at then end of the banisters.

A large crystal chandelier hung from the high ceiling, illuminating the room, the floors were made of pine, polished to such a fine shine that Lizzie could see her reflection as she walked. The walls were painted a light grey color with white enamel paint on the doorframes, and baseboards, and there was crown molding along the ceilings, giving the illusion that the room was much larger than it actually was.

The dining room was located just ahead of the foyer and was an equally spacious and decorated room with a long dining table with seating for ten people.

The library was just outside the dining room on the right. Two stories of walls covering every inch of the room in books with ladders on wheels to reach the upper floors; and a polished grand piano in one corner. Lizzie had never learned to play, but Emma used to, and was well accomplished. Lizzie was suddenly reminded that Hayden could play too…..

There was a large brown leather sofa, coffee table, and armchairs in the middle of the room by the fireplace, and a large bay window looking out into the front garden.

Down the corridor to the right of the foyer was the theatre where one could sit and watch films or television shows, complete with comfortable reclining chairs, popcorn, and soda machines. Long burgundy curtains lined the top and the sides of the theatre screen.

They also had an underground pool, and a spacious back garden with a lake, gazebo, and flower and vegetable gardens.

As Lizzie stood and looked around, she felt like she was seeing it for the first time, and how beautiful it was. "Are you hungry?" asked Tara. "I can make you something and bring it up to you while you unpack?"

Lizzie suddenly became aware of how tired she was after her long train journey as she smiled. "Thanks, Tara," she said. "But I think I just want to unpack and go to bed."

Tara nodded. "Okay, goodnight then," she said, smiling as Lizzie hugged her. "I missed you," she said. "Aww, Lizzie I missed you too," said Tara, hugging her back.

"Well, 'night," said Lizzie as she slowly ascended the grand staircase to her room, which was located at the top of the staircase oof to the right at the end of the corridor.

The doors to her room were white double doors that were gilded with gold Camelot-style door handles. The room itself was quite large with white walls and crown molding. The floors were made of pine like the rest of the house, on which was an ornate woven carpet, a vanity table on the right far side of the room near her door made of red mahogany and finely polished with an oval mirror, her trunk had been brought up and was laying ready and waiting for her at the end of her gold canopy bed upon which hung thin white curtains.

Her bedding was made of soft white sheets, a white and gold embroidered comforter with matching pillows covering the mattress.

Lizzie unlatched her trunk and began unpacking, putting her clothes in her large dresser on the far right side of her room near her window.

When she was finished packing, Lizzie opened her trunk and pulled out her pajamas – the only thing she hadn't bothered to put away – and got dressed before going into her bathroom that was joined inside her room to brush her teeth, just off to the right past her vanity.

After brushing her teeth and washing her face, she took her night guard out of its case and put it in her mouth -preventing her from grinding her teeth while she slept, as she walked back out into her room, removed the decorative pillows from her bed, turned down the bedding on the left side and climbed into bed, covering herself with the blankets as she took off her glasses and set them upside down on her bedside table. She also took off her necklace and gently set it on the table beside her glasses and turning out the light

The sky was inky black now, stars glittering across the sky like millions of tiny little diamonds as Lizzie lied down and fidgeted a bit, gazing out the window as snow fell outside. She was finally home.

It seemed as though Lizzie had barely shut her eyes when she was awoken to a sharp knock on the door as she groaned sleepily and reached over beneath the tangle of blankets and grabbed her glasses as she slowly sat up and put them on.

"Who is it?" she asked groggily. "It's Tara, with your breakfast," came Tara's voice from behind the door.

"Oh!" said Lizzie, throwing back the covers, scrambling out of bed, and rushing to open the door. "You didn't have to do that!" said Lizzie appreciatively. "It's no trouble, your mam mentioned that you may want to sleep in," said Tara as she walked inside, carrying a tray laden with a coffee pot, a cup laid upside down on its saucer, silverware wrapped in a cloth napkin, and a food platter covered with a silver lid. "I have your medication here too – you should take that straightaway," said Tara, setting the tray on Lizzie's vanity – Lizzie hastily moving her laptop from her vanity to a drawer beneath the table, to give Tara room – and removing the lid from her plate.

She had made Lizzie's favorite French toast, lightly dusted with powdered sugar, bacon, eggs, hash browns, a tiny crystal pitcher of maple syrup and a glass of orange juice.

"I'll leave you to it," said Tara as she turned to leave, but Lizzie called her back. "Tara?" she asked. "Yes?" asked Tara, turning back to smile at her. "Erm, you wouldn't happen to have any – any spare decorations would you?" "I think we have some leftover in the attic," said Tara. "I could check for you, if you like?" "That would be great," said Lizzie. "Just whenever. I was thinking about how nice my room would look with fairy lights."

Tara nodded. "Well, you should eat those eggs while they're still warm, and I'll see to those decorations for you." "Thanks, so much," said Lizzie as Tara smiled and nodded as she left the room.

Once she had closed the door behind her, Lizzie sat down at her vanity, unrolled her silverware, and placed the napkin in her lap, upturned her coffee cup on its saucer, and poured herself some coffee before she began to eat.

She had three weeks off before the start of the next term. As she took a bite of hash browns, and a swig of coffee, she wondered what she was going to do to pass the time.

The lake in the back garden froze over almost every Christmas, so she could go out and practice her skating if she wanted to. She could also go swimming in the pool downstairs since it was heated, or maybe read in the library, play in the snow like she did when she was a kid, or maybe help Tara out with chores – despite being born into a wealthy family, Lizzie was raised to help out in any way that she could, share the workload, and work for anything that she wanted. When she wanted a laptop, she had to earn it by keeping her room clean for a month.

Lizzie never minded doing chores with Tara because she would always turn it into a game and make it fun somehow. It had always been that way since she was a kid, and when her mum checked into rehab after her alcohol abuse started to spiral out of control after the death of Lizzie's dad, Lizzie had to help out double. Tara had temporary guardianship of Lizzie during that time, and the two of them were very close.

Tara was in her early thirties, yet she looked like she could pass for her mid-twenties. She had been twenty-one when she first became employed by Lizzie's parents, who were newlyweds at the time.

After Lizzie finished eating, she got dressed and opened her trunk and took out her photo album that contained photos of her and Raven as she sat down on her bed and began flipping through the pages.

She remembered the day she had met Raven. Even though he had been owned by Malfoy at the time, he had shown very little interest in riding or caring for Raven, and would always expect someone else to do the work for him. The truth was Malfoy didn't like horses very much, and for Raven, the feeling was mutual. He didn't trust people. He wouldn't let anyone come near him, lunged at anyone who tried to saddle and bridle him, and even if they did manage to tack him up, he would buck off anyone who tried to ride him..

He would pace in his stall, run wild circles in his paddock, and try to bite or kick anyone to dared to come near him. The only person at Hogwarts that was able to safely handle him was Hagrid.

Raven was so wild, and unpredictable that he became the one horse at Hogwarts that everyone feared.

Everyone except Lizzie.

Raven appeared to sense her vulnerability and how sensitive she was. And for the first time, Raven started to calm down, and actually appeared to like someone other than Hagrid.

Then Lizzie attempted suicide during her third year by slitting her wrists – although the blade was too dull and she sliced the wrong way – Rather than send her to a psychiatric hospital for treatment, Professor Lupin had suggested that in addition to medication to treat her bipolar disorder, Lizzie participate in equine therapy to help give her a distraction, and help her learn coping skills.

After negotiating a lease on Raven with Lucius Malfoy, Lizzie began her riding lessons, and competed in the Regional cross-country championship at the end of that year, and against all odds, she had won it.

Lizzie was then informed that Raven had been signed over to Lizzie. He was no longer Malfoy's horse. He was hers.

Lizzie brushed her hand against a moving picture of herself standing beside Raven, holding a leather lead rope with a chain, Raven's ears were moving back and forth like satellite dishes as Lizzie kissed him, and encouraged him to look at the camera.

Lizzie smiled. "I miss you boy….."

Her nostalgic thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door, making Lizzie jump, and her photo album slide off her lap, falling to the floor cover side up.

"Um, come in!" said Lizzie. The door opened and Tara came in carrying a large brown box. "I um, found those decorations you wanted," she said. "Oh, thanks Tara! Wow! That was fast!" said Lizzie happily. "Where should I put them?" asked Tara. "Anywhere is fine – the room's big enough," said Lizzie.

Tara set down the box near Lizzie's bed and noticed the photo album on the floor. "What's that?" she asked.

"Just some pictures of Raven," said Lizzie. "You know, before he….." Tara nodded sympathetically. "You've never seen him, have you?" asked Lizzie. Tara shook her head. "I've only heard wonderful stories about him from you," she said. Lizzie sat down on her bed and patted the mattress beside her, inviting her to sit with her.

Tara smile widened as she sat down next to Lizzie as they flipped through the album together; pictures of Lizzie's riding, taking care of Raven, photos of cute and sweet moments between them – all of her memories of Raven in one book.

"I miss him," said Lizzie. "I wish I could have known him," said Tara. "He sounds like he was a wonderful horse." "He was," said Lizzie. "I still feel sad about it sometimes, but I've got Flicka now, so it's not so bad. Tara nodded. Lizzie had written about Flicka in many of her letters.

"Well," she said. "I'd better get back to work, is there anything else you need?"
"Just one more thing," said Lizzie. "Do we still have that old copy of A Christmas Carol that you used to read to me when I was a kid?" "I think so," said Tara. "It should be in the library." "Thanks again," said Lizzie. Tara smiled and nodded before leaving the room.

When she had shut the door behind her, Lizzie took a look inside the box of decorations. There was garland, tinsel, baubles, lights, and a bunch of other decorations, including stockings.

Lizzie gazed around the room. The only Christmas decoration that was in her room was a tree in the far left corner of her room near the fireplace.

She decided that the fireplace would be a good place to start as she gathered the garland in her arms and began to lay it across the mantlepiece and around the pillars on either side of the ornate fireplace.

On the mantle lay a framed photograph of Lizzie's father as she stopped to run her hand across the edges of the gold frame.

"Happy Christmas, Dad," said Lizzie softly. "I miss you…." She sniffled as she resumed decorating.

Tara was running the vacuum along the carpet in the foyer when the doorbell rang. She shut it off and leaned it against the wall before going to answer the door.

Standing on the front steps with his navy blue cloak and curly dark blonde hair flecked with snow was Hayden, as he shivered.

"Um, is this Lizzie Brooks' house?" he asked anxiously, his teeth chattering loudly. A look of realization crossed Tara's face. "You must be Hayden!" she said. "Yes, I am," said Hayden as he continued to shiver. "Mrs. Brooks said you were coming! Come in, come in! You must be freezing!" said Tara ushering him inside. Hayden walked forward, tracking snow onto the doormat inside as he scuffed his shoes. "Let me take your cloak – I'm Tara by the way," she said as Hayden pulled off his cloak and handed it to her, somewhat awkwardly as he looked around. "Nice to meet you," he said staring around the room.

Lizzie had never gone into detail with him about her house or what it looked like. All this time he had assumed that she lived in a modest house in a subdivision. Certainly nothing this grand! His jaw dropped slightly as he took in his surroundings. "Lizzie never mentioned that she was well-off!" he said.

"She doesn't like to talk about it," said Tara. "All she has ever wanted was to be accepted. She's always been afraid that if people found out that she was rich….." "They might reject her," said Hayden, nodding. It made sense. "Can I get you something to eat or drink?" Tara offered. "You must have had a long journey….."

"Oh, no, thank you," said Hayden. "I just want to see Lizzie….."

"Hayden, you made it!" said Emma, emerging from the library, and immediately hugging Hayden and kissing him on the cheek. "How was your trip?" "It was uneventful, but pleasant," said Hayden. "I stayed in Hogsmeade last night and caught the train early this morning. At first I was convinced I had the wrong address….." Emma smiled. "Lizzie has told us so much about you, I feel like I know you already!" she said. Hayden smiled. "Likewise," he said.

"You must be eager to see Lizzie," said Emma. "Yes, I am," said Hayden.

"She's in her room – probably decorating," said Tara. "I'll show you…" she walked up the grand staircase as Hayden followed her.

The corridors were lined with red and gold carpets with tables with vases containing fresh flowers between each door. The walls and doors were made of gilded mahogany wood that strongly reminded Hayden of one of the parlor suite rooms on the Titanic. The windows were covered in sheer lace curtains and there was a large table with another floral arrangement on it at the end of the corridor as Tara directed Hayden to the last door on the right.

Without knocking, Hayden quietly opened the door and tiptoed inside. Lizzie was busy stringing lights along the top part of her canopy bed and did even appear to have heard him enter or the door open.

Careful not to make a sound, Hayden quietly approached her, inching close enough to get her attention but not enough to spook her.

"Right side's low," he said.

Lizzie dropped the string of lights she was holding and wheeled around to see Hayden grinning at her. She nearly screamed as she ran forward to hug him. Hayden was grinning as he hugged her back.

"Merry Christmas, Lizzie," he said, still grinning broadly. "Told you you'd see me soon enough."

"But…..what are you…why aren't you…." She couldn't finish the question. "I'm spending the holidays with you!" said Hayden brightly. Lizzie frowned. "But….You said you were going back to Toronto!" said Lizzie, now realizing he had made that up. "If I had told you the truth, it wouldn't have been a surprise," said Hayden. "You should have seen the look on your face," he said as he started to laugh. Lizzie smiled wider still. "You're not mad at me are you?" asked Hayden uncertainly. "I know you mentioned you hate surprises."

This was true, although she was so happy that he was standing here, in front of her that she was willing to forgive him, easy.

"I'm just happy to see you!" said Lizzie happily as she hugged him again. "But….how?" she asked.
"I wrote to your mom, told her who I was, I guess she already knew based on your letters, and we got to writing and eventually talked face to face in the fireplace and she asked me if I wanted to spend the holidays with you," said Hayden.

"And how long did you have this planned?" asked Lizzie. "Few months, at least," said Hayden. "Need an extra hand?" he added, nodding at the string of lights that was still dangling from Lizzie's bed. "Sure," said Lizzie. "Four hands are better than two!"

Hayden smiled as he walked over to Lizzie's bed and helped her to string the remainder of the lights on her bed.

Because neither of them could use magic outside school yet, all of the decorating had to be done by hand.

It took at least a few hours, but when they had finally hung the last bauble, and strung up the last bit of tinsel, Lizzie's room looked just as stunning and festive as the rest of the house.

"I can't get over your house!" said Hayden as they both sat down on Lizzie's bed. "It's…incredible!" Lizzie smiled modestly. "Care for a tour?" asked Lizzie. "Sure," said Hayden. "But first, I got you a present." "Can't it wait for two more days?" asked Lizzie. "You're gonna want to see this," said Hayden as he produced a rolled up copy of the Daily Prophet. "Guess whose figure skating show made the front page?" asked Hayden who was grinning broadly.

"Oh, you're kidding me!" said Lizzie, staring at the front page of the paper. It featured a moving black-and-white photograph of Hayden and Lizzie doing synchronized triple Axel jumps.

It was the review from Rena Crabapple.

December 20, 2005

This past weekend, I had the pleasure of attending one of the most spectacular figure skating performances I have yet seen. This show was carefully planned, choreographed, and performed by two students: Miss Elizabeth Brooks from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and Hayden Chamberlain of the Toronto Institute of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

The show was based on The Nutcracker ballet and featured such spectacular movements such as sit spins, triple rotation jumps, camel spins and even a jaw-dropping execution of the death spiral.

Miss Elizabeth Brooks, in a captivating performance of the Waltz of the Snowflakes, and Waltz of the Flowers, wowed the crowd with her elegance, grace and beauty. Together with Mr. Chamberlain, the two put on a stunning performance that I am sure will be talked about for many Christmases to come.

All in all, I feel that simply giving this performance five stars wouldn't do it justice. I therefore rate this show at ten stars. My only disappointment is that it was only for one night.

Lizzie smiled. "This is really nice," she said. "She was really disappointed that it was only for one night?" she asked, staring at the picture of them. "This was…..really fun to do. Thanks for teaming up with me."

"Anytime," said Hayden, smiling. Lizzie smiled back. She couldn't believe that she was going to be spending the entire three-week holiday with him.

"So," she said, folding the paper and tossing it on her bed. "How about that tour, eh?" she said, taking his hand, and leading him out of her room.

Most of the rooms on the upper floors are guest rooms," said Lizzie, gesturing along the corridors at the doors that lined the walls as they descended the stairs.

They first stopped at the library. "Hermione would lose it if she saw this!" Hayden breathed, gazing around in awe at the shelves upon shelves of books. Then his eyes fell on the grand piano in the corner. "You never said that you could play," said Hayden. "I don't, but my Mum used to," said Lizzie. "She was really good at it too."

"May I?" asked Hayden. "Sure, go right ahead," said Lizzie. Hayden sat down at the bench, and began playing the opening chords to The First Noel.

Lizzie's jaw dropped. She had known that Hayden could play, but she had no idea he could play that well!

She could feel her eyes sting with tears. The First Noel was one of her favorite Christmas songs. "I can play this on the violin," said Lizzie. "It's a nice song," said Hayden as he continued to play. "What kind of violin do you have?"

"A Stradivarius," said Lizzie. Hayden slammed his fingers on the keys and stared at her. Stradivarius violins were some of the most expensive violins out there – costing at least, a couple million dollars.

Hayden had known when he arrived that Lizzie was well-off, but he didn't know she was that well-off!"

"Wanna see the rest of the house?" asked Lizzie. "Sure," said Hayden, getting up from the piano bench, as they walked out of the library into the dining room, the door in the same gilded mahogany style as the rest of the house.

The room itself was long and wide to accommodate the spacious table and chairs. The table was made of dark oak as were the chairs that were high-backed and upholstered with gold silk fabric on the backs, seats, and armrests.

A burgundy and gold rug ran along the floor underneath the table with a matching runner along the tabletop. Crystal candelabras stood right and left in the middle of the table. A beautiful mural was painted on the ceiling, depicting a Victorian-style scene, with a gold and crystal chandelier hanging from the high ceiling.

There were fireplaces on either side of the room with scenic paintings adorning the walls in gilded frames. "Mum painted those," said Lizzie, nodding at the paintings around the room. "All of them?" asked Hayden. "Yep," said Lizzie. "Wow! Now I know where you got your talent from!" said Hayden. "Thanks, that's very sweet," said Lizzie.

Next, she showed Hayden the kitchens that were located behind a swinging door on the far left side of the room near a large china cabinet. Tara was inside, sitting at a large marble island counter, peeling potatoes into a square colander basket in the sink that was lined with paper towel.

Hayden noticed a large iron smoker in the corner near the door leading to the back porch.

"Tara uses that to cook the turkey every year," said Lizzie. "Right, Tara?"

Tara was now cutting the peeled potatoes into large chunks. "Yep," she said, smiling. "I can't wait to try it!" said Hayden happily. "Do you need help, Tara?" he asked kindly. "Oh, no, thank you, Hayden, I've got it," said Tara as Hayden nodded. "By the way, lunch is in an hour, I'll bring it up to you both."

Hayden was reminded that he still had yet to settle in. "Oh, you don't have to…" he began. "Don't worry about it," said Tara brightly. "Thank you," said Hayden. "That's very kind."

"It's no trouble," said Tara, smiling as Hayden and Lizzie left the room.

She showed Hayden the theatre, the basement, which used to be a wine cellar, and had now been converted into a cold cellar, and the pool, just off to the right.

Lizzie would have shown him the grounds, if it weren't for the increasing drop in temperature. A fresh blanket of snow had covered the grounds last night and it was supposed to snow again.

Lizzie and Hayden made their way back up the stairs and into Hayden's room so he could get settled in and unpack. It was similar in decorative style to Lizzie's room. The only difference was that the room had been pre-decorated and looked very festive indeed.

Hayden's luggage which he had brought with him, including his large trunk with the initials H.C. and the Toronto Institute of Witchcraft and Wizardry emblem stamped below it as well as an extra suitcase and backpack had already been brought up for him.

Lizzie smiled at the small pile of luggage at the end of Hayden's bed. "You don't travel light either, I see," she joked as she and Hayden laughed.

Hayden was still glancing around in awe at the opulence of the room. "Will this be okay?" asked Lizzie. "Yeah, this is wonderful," said Hayden. "Thank you." "Don't thank me – I didn't even know you were coming until this morning," "I just meant…." "I know," said Lizzie, smiling. "And you're welcome."

Hayden smiled back.

"Well," said Lizzie after a moment. "I'll give you some privacy so you can get settled in…." Hayden watched her as she left the room, closing the door behind her.

When she was gone, Hayden put his clothes in the chest of drawers and wardrobe before gazing outside the window near his bed. It was so amazing to be spending Christmas with Lizzie. Spending three whole weeks with his best friend…What more could he ask for?

There was a soft knock at the door as Hayden turned around. "Erm – come in," he said as the door opened and Emma appeared in the doorway, carrying an armful of freshly laundered towels. "Settling in?" she asked. "Getting there," said Hayden, smiling. "Brought you some fresh towels," said Emma, setting them down on Hayden's bed. "Thank you," said Hayden. "Thank you for inviting me to stay," said Hayden. Emma smiled, and nodded.

"And thank you for being so wonderful to Lizzie," she said appreciatively. "She's been through a hard time…" "With Raven," said Hayden, nodding. "She told me what happened." "She also said that you helped her to stop hurting herself," said Emma. Hayden frowned. "She told you about that?" asked Hayden. "Yes," said Emma sadly. "When I picked her up from Kings Cross yesterday. What I can't understand though, is why."

"She wanted to punish herself," said Hayden. Emma frowned. "Punish herself?" she repeated. "Why?"

"The way she explained it to me," said Hayden. "Was that she felt responsible for what happened to Raven and what caused him to be put down. Everyone in the school made her feel like she deserved to be punished for her actions, and when that didn't happen, she decided to punish herself. She also said that she felt numb emotionally, and she wanted to feel again. She also said that it made the pain she felt go away so she didn't have to think about it."

Emma looked heartbroken. "My poor, sweet girl…" she said sadly. "But she's not hurting herself anymore, is she?"

"No, not since she began riding again," said Hayden. Emma looked moved by the positive impact that Hayden had on Lizzie as she walked forward and hugged him. "Thank you," she said. Hayden frowned as he hugged her back, somewhat awkwardly. "What for?" he asked. "I haven't done anything." "You were there for her when no one else was. You helped her to get back on the horse and you gave her something to live for. You showed her that she wasn't alone even when she felt it. You're right, she was a mess after Raven died, and now she looks happier and more alive than I've ever seen her!"

Hayden smiled. He had never thought that he had done so much for Lizzie. All this time, he thought he was just being a good friend, but clearly he had done so much more than that.

Then it occurred to him suddenly that he had only gotten Lizzie a Christmas present and had been so preoccupied with his plans to come here, plus, given the fact that he and Lizzie had spent up until the day before yesterday planning and practicing for the ice show, he hadn't had much time to go Christmas shopping. He felt horrible.

"Mrs. Brooks, I-I'm not…I'm not going to be able to give you anything for Christmas this year," said Hayden, sounding thoroughly miserable about it.

"That's okay," said Emma kindly. "I was in such a rush, preparing to come here, and with the figure skating show that Lizzie and I did – I didn't think about getting anything for anyone. I'm sorry."

"Tell you what?" said Emma. "You continue to be a wonderful friend too Lizzie and that will be the best present you could give, okay?" "Okay," said Hayden smiling.

"I'll let you finish getting settled," said Emma as she turned to leave the room. Hayden smiled as the door was closed softly behind him and he finished unpacking.

Half an hour later, Tara stopped by with a tray of food for him. "Thanks," said Hayden. "If you need anything else, just ask," said Tara, smiling. "I will," said Hayden. He wasn't used to being waited on.

When he finished eating, he decided to go check on Lizzie. He wanted to spend as much time with her as he could during the three week break.

He walked out of his room, and down the hall to Lizzie's room and softly knocked on the door. There was movement from inside as the doorknob rattled and Lizzie emerged from behind the door. "Hi, did you get settled in okay?" she asked, stepping aside to let him in. "Yeah, it's really nice," said Hayden. "And Tara brought you your lunch?" asked Lizzie.

"Yeah, it's weird," said Hayden. "I'm not used to this kind of…..er…..hospitality."

Lizzie smiled as she climbed back onto her bed that had been made since that morning as she picked up a book from beside her bed and opened it. The title: A Christmas Carol was embossed on the cover in peeling gold ornate letters, the cover was faded red and the sides of the pages were gilded with gold foil.

"I told Tara I was looking for this," she said, holding it up to show him. "Found it in the library."

Hayden smiled. He hadn't read that book since he was at least, thirteen. Lizzie patted the mattress next to her, inviting him to come and sit next to her.

"Come and read with me," she said. "Okay," said Hayden as he walked over to the left side of her bed and lied down. Lizzie flipped the book to the very beginning and handed it to him.

"You start," said Lizzie. "We can go in paragraphs." Hayden smiled as his eyes wandered to the page. "'Chapter One," he read. "Marley's Ghost. Marley was dead, to begin with. There is no doubt whatever about that. The register of his burial was signed by the clergyman, the clerk, the undertaker, and the chief mourner, Scrooge signed it. And Scrooge's name was good upon 'Change or anything he chose to put his hand to. Old Marley was as dead as a doornail."

"I've always loved that!" said Lizzie. Hayden chuckled and handed the book to her. "Your turn," he said. Lizzie brushed a bit of hair out of her eyes and pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose, cleared her throat, and read, "'Mind! I don't mean to say that I know, of my own knowledge, what there is particularly dead about a doornail. I might have been inclined myself, to regard a coffin-nail as the deadest part of ironmongery in the trade. But the wisdom of our ancestors is in the simile; and my unhallowed hands shall not disturb it..."

Hayden listened intently to every word Lizzie said. He couldn't help but give his undivided attention.

Lizzie finished reading her paragraph and handed the book to Hayden. They repeated this ritual of reading a paragraph each, trading the book back and forth to each other as they read.

"...Oh! But he was a tight-fisted hand at the grindstone, Scrooge!" Hayden read. "A squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner!" Lizzie's smile widened. ""Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire; secret and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster..."

"Sounds like my life when I first came to Hogwarts," said Lizzie. Hayden stared at her. "You were alone?" he asked. "It didn't really matter that much how many new friends I made – I always felt alone," said Lizzie. Hayden stared at her with a mixture of sympathy and a bit of pity.
Lizzie cleared her throat and they continued on. "'Bah, humbug!'" Lizzie read, her eyes scanning back and forth across the aged faded paper. "'Christmas a humbug, uncle' said Scrooge's nephew. 'you don't mean that, I am sure?' 'I do,' said Scrooge. 'Merry Christmas! What right have you to be merry? What reason have you to be merry? You're poor enough.' 'Come then,' returned the nephew gaily. 'What right have you to be so dismal? What right have you to be morose? You're rich enough!'

"'Scrooge having no better answer reading on the spur of the moment, said 'Bah!' again; and followed it up with 'Humbug'!" Hayden read. "'Don't be cross uncle!' said the nephew. 'What else can I be,' returned the uncle, 'when I live in such a world of fools as this? Merry Christmas! Out upon a merry Christmas! What's Christmas time to you but a time for paying bills without money' a time for finding yourself a year older, and not an hour richer; a time for balancing your books and having every item in 'em through a round dozen of months presented dead against you? If I could work my will' said Scrooge indignantly, 'every idiot who goes about with 'Merry Christmas' on his lips, should be boiled with his own pudding, and buried with a stake of holly through his heart. He should'!"

"Harsh!" said Lizzie. Hayden smirked and continued. "'Keep Christmas in your own way and let me keep it in mine!' said Scrooge sternly. 'Keep it!' repeated Scrooge's nephew. 'But you don't keep it.' 'Let me leave it alone, then," said Scrooge. "Much good may it do you! Much good it has ever done you!' 'There are many things from which I might have derived good and have not profited, I daresay,' returned the nephew. 'Christmas among the rest. But I am sure I have always thought of Christmas time, when it has come round – apart from the veneration due to its sacred name and origin, if anything belonging to it can be apart from that – as a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time; the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow-passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys. And therefore, uncle though it has never put a scrap of gold or silver in my pocket, I believe it has done me good and will do me good, and I say, God bless it'"

"Amen!" said Lizzie. Hayden smiled as he passed the book to Lizzie.

They continued to read for several more hours until there was a knock at the door, and Tara's voice could be heard from outside in the corridor. "Lizzie? Hayden?" she called. "Uh, c-come in!" said Lizzie as the door opened and Tara walked in. "I just wanted to let you know that dinner will be ready soon if you and Hayden would like to make your way downstairs," she said. "Sure," said Lizzie. "Just let me wash my hands first," said Hayden. "Liz, can I use your bathroom?" Lizzie nodded.

Lizzie's bathroom was tiled with black and white subway tiles, a walk-in shower, a single bathroom vanity with sink and cupboard, a toilet, and a claw foot tub. The single window was made of stained glass.

A bar of soap lay in a stainless steel dish on the vanity countertop as Hayden ran both taps and scrubbed his hands and dried them with a towel before smoothing his long curly hair and leaving the bathroom.

Once Lizzie had washed and dried her own hands, she exited the bathroom as Hayden offered his arm to her. Lizzie giggled as she took it as they walked down the stairs toward the dining room.

Tara had made Lizzie's favorite; prime rib roast, mashed potatoes, and green beans. "Smells great, Tara," said Lizzie as Hayden pulled out her chair for her as she sat down, and Hayden sat beside her as the four of them held hands to say grace.

After the prayer was said, they piled their plates with as much food as they could and began to eat. It was all delicious, and Lizzie was reminded of how much she had missed Tara's wonderful cooking.

"So what have the two of you been up to all day?" asked Emma, spooning horseradish sauce onto her prime rib.

Lizzie drank a bit of water. "Reading," said Lizzie. "Oh?" asked Tara. "What book?" "A Christmas Carol," said Lizzie. "You found it?" asked Tara. Lizzie nodded. "It was in the library, just as you said," she said.

"Do you remember when I used to have you read that book, then write a report about it for your end of term exams?" asked Emma. Lizzie had been homeschooled up until she started at Hogwarts. "Ehh, vaguely," said Lizzie. "Your reports were always so detailed and well-written,"" said Emma fondly, picking up her knife and cutting a bit of prime rib and putting it in her mouth. "So, Hayden, Lizzie has been telling me what a wonderful equestrian you are!" she added. Hayden smiled modestly. "I'm not that good, ma'am," he said. "He's trying for the Olympics!" Lizzie piped up, her mouth full. "Lizzie," said Emma sternly.

Lizzie swallowed. "Sorry, Mum," said Lizzie sheepishly. "He's riding Prix St. Georges level dressage!"

"Blimey, are you that good?" asked Tara, looking impressed. Hayden laughed, looking tremendously flattered.

"So, what was that newspaper article I saw on your bed about that figure skating show that the two of you did at Hogwarts?" Tara asked Lizzie.

She stared at her, confused. "I found the paper on your bed this morning," said Tara. "It was Hayden's idea to do that," said Lizzie.

"Don't give me all the credit," said Hayden. "You were the one who first brought up the idea of doing the show!" Lizzie pointed out. "But you were the one who got the music together, planned the date of the show, came up with the choreography, set the ticket prices, got the costumes together, and came up with the idea to practice in the Room of Requirement," Hayden indicated.

Lizzie sighed. She couldn't argue with that. "You're embarrassing me," she mumbled, staring at her plate, her face now as red as her hair. "It's the truth," said Hayden. "What's the Room of Requirement?" inquired Tara. "Oh, it's this hidden room in the castle," said Lizzie. "It only appears when a person has a real need for it, and it's always equipped for the seeker's needs,"

"Really?" asked Tara, looking and sounding fascinated.

After dinner, Lizzie helped Tara out with the dishes. When they were done, Lizzie went to find Hayden.

He wasn't in the foyer, or any of the upstairs rooms. Then she heard a strange sound, and after listening for a while, she realized someone was singing and after listening a bit longer, as she stood frozen in the middle of the corridor, she realized that it was Hayden!

Slowly she made her way down the stairs and the singing grew louder and Lizzie was able to identify the song he was singing, in addition to a beautiful piano solo.

It was a song entitled, It's in Every One of Us and Lizzie first heard it as a kid when the Muppets did a Christmas special on the John Denver Show, which Emma had taped off the television on VHS when it first aired back in 1979.

And for Lizzie, it was one of those songs that made her weepy.

She walked into the library and heard Hayden play the opening chords of the song as he began to sing, only for himself, and didn't appear to notice Lizzie walk in.

It's in every one of us

To be wise

Find your heart

Open up both your eyes...

Lizzie approached the piano and began to sing along too.

We can all know everything

Without ever knowing why

It's in every one of us

By and by...

Hayden smiled at her as he played the song one more time as they sang the lyrics together.

It's in every one of us

To be wise

Find your heart

Open up both your eyes

We can all know everything

Without ever knowing why

It's in every one of us

By and by...

By and by...

Hayden played the final notes of the song and smiled at Lizzie. "That was really nice," she said. "I didn't know you could sing!" said Hayden. Lizzie smiled. "It kinda runs in my family," she said. "I could say the same for you too." "I'm not going to get on Canadian Idol anytime soon," Hayden joked. Lizzie chuckled. "I'd vote for you," she said. "Thanks," said Hayden.

"You've seen the John Denver and the Muppets Christmas special?" asked Lizzie. "Yeah, my parents taped it on VHS when it aired on TV. I still have my copy somewhere," said Hayden. "Me too," said Lizzie. "We have the soundtrack too!" "CD or vinyl record?" asked Hayden. "Both," said Lizzie.

"Remember in the beginning when they're singing the Twelve Days of Christmas and Fozzie does the Seven Swans A-Swimming..." Lizzie began. "And he keeps missing his cue?" said Hayden who was laughing now. "Yes!" said Lizzie, laughing too.

"Do you know the song that Kermit sings with John? I think on the soundtrack it's called 'The Christmas Wish'?" she asked after she had stopped laughing. "Yeah, yeah," said Hayden turning back to the piano and playing the opening chords to the song and began to sing

I don't know if you believe in Christmas

Or if you have presents underneath the Christmas tree

But if you believe in love,

That will be more than enough for you to come and celebrate with me....

Hayden played a few notes then Lizzie began to sing.

For I have held the precious gift that love brings.

Even though I have never saw a Christmas star

I know there is a light,

I have felt it burn inside,

And I have seen it shining from afar...

Hayden continued playing as they both sang the first chorus:

Christmas is the time to come together,

The time to put all differences aside...

Hayden sang the next part solo:

And I reach out my hand to the family of man.

To share the joy I feel at Christmas time (Lizzie and Hayden sang this together)

Lizzie sang the next part of the song:

For the truth that binds us all together,

We would like to say a simple prayer...

Hayden sang the next line

That at this special time,

You will have true peace of mind,

And love to last throughout the coming year.

Hayden played a beautiful arrangement of notes before he and Lizzie finished the song.

And if you believe in love,

That will be more than enough

For peace to last throughout the coming year

And peace on earth will last throughout the year.

Hayden finished the song and gracefully dropped his hands from the piano keys onto his lap and turned to smile at Lizzie. "That was beautiful," she said. "So are you," said Hayden. Lizzie laughed.

Feeling the warm fuzzies and bursting with Christmas spirit, Lizzie and Hayden went back to Lizzie's room to continue their reading of A Christmas Carol.

To Lizzie's delight, Tara had left a plate of Christmas cookies and coffee for them.

The book still remained open on Lizzie's bed and the two of them helped themselves to a couple cookies from the plate and poured themselves some coffee before climbing onto the bed and Hayden wrapped his arm around Lizzie's shoulder and hugged her as she snuggled close to him, breathing in the scent of his cologne, and pulled the book up to her eyes.

"'At this festive season of the year, Mr. Scrooge,' said the gentleman taking up a pen. 'It is more than usually desirable that we should make some slight provision for the Poor and destitute, who suffer greatly at the present time. Many thousands are in want of common necessities; hundreds of thousands are in want of common comforts, sir.'" Lizzie read, handing the book to Hayden who read on: "'Are there no prisons?' asked Scrooge" Hayden read. "'Plenty of prisons,' said the gentleman, laying down the pen again. 'And the Union workhouses?' demanded Scrooge. 'Are they still in operation?' 'They are. Still,' returned the gentleman, 'I wish I could say they were not.' 'The Treadmill and the Poor Law in full vigor, then?' said Scrooge. 'Both very busy, sir.'

'Oh! I was afraid from what you said at first that something had occurred to stop them in their useful course,' said Scrooge. 'I'm very glad to hear it.'"

Hayden passed the book to Lizzie as she read on. "'Under the impression that they had scarcely furnish Christian cheer of mind or body to multitude,' returned the gentleman'," Lizzie read. "'a few of us are endeavoring to raise a fund to buy the Poor some meat and drink and means of warmth. We choose this time, because it is a time of all others, when Want is keenly felt, and Abundance rejoices. What shall I put you down for?'

'Nothing,' Scrooge replied. 'Oh,' said the gentleman. 'You wish to remain anonymous?'

'I wish to be left alone,' said Scrooge. 'Since you ask me what I wish, gentlemen, that is my answer. I do not make merry myself at Christmas, and I can't afford to make idle people merry. I help to support the establishments I have mentioned – they cost enough; and those who are badly off must go there' 'Many cannot go there; and many would rather die.' 'If they would rather die,' said Scrooge. 'They had better do it and decrease the surplus population!

Besides – excuse me – I don't know that' Lizzie handed the book to Hayden who read on: 'But you might know it' observed the gentleman. 'It's not my business' Scrooge returned. 'It's enough for a man to understand his own business, and not to interfere with the other people's. Mine occupies me constantly. Good afternoon, gentlemen!'"

Lizzie pursed her lips. It had been a while since she had read the book, and she had forgotten what a foul little git Scrooge was.

They continued to read for the next two hours and had now come upon the moment within the story where Scrooge encounters the ghost of Marley. Starting with seeing his face in his doorknocker, then having a creepy feeling upon entering his household as he lit the lamps. Then dressed in his bedclothes while eating his dinner, strange goings-on begin to happen. Phantom footsteps...the eerie dragging of chains, and finally, the appearance of Marley's ghost.

Hayden handed Lizzie the book as she read: "'How now!" said Scrooge, caustic and cold as ever. 'What do you want with me?' 'Much!' - Marley's voice, no doubt about it. 'Who are you?'

'Ask me who I was.' 'Who were you then,' said Scrooge, raising his voice. 'You're particular for a shade.' He was going to say, 'to a shade,' but substituted this, as more appropriate.

"'In life,'" said Hayden taking the book as Lizzie passed it. "'I was your partner, Jacob Marley.' 'Can you – can you sit down?' asked Scrooge, looking doubtfully at him.

'I can.' 'Do it, then.' Scrooge asked the question because he didn't know whether a ghost so transparent might find himself in a condition to take a chair; and felt that in the event of it being impossible, it might involve the necessity of an embarrassing explanation. But the ghost sat down on the opposite side of the fireplace as if he were quite used to it...

Darkness had fallen outside now, and it had begun to snow harder. Lizzie's eyes ached with tiredness, and she could barely keep them open now.

Hayden, sensing her fatigue, closed the book and went over to the tray that now held an empty plate with only a few crumbs upon it, and two empty teacups. Also on the tray was a small plastic cup that held Lizzie's evening medication. "Thanks," said Lizzie as he emptied the pills into her palm and got her a glass of water.

She just wanted to lie down and go to bed right there, but she still had to brush her teeth, and change into her pajamas, so she groggily got out of bed got out her pajamas out from her trunk and went into the bathroom shutting the door behind her. As she did so, Hayden turned down the blankets for her.

She reappeared minutes later and got back into bed, taking off her glasses and set them on her bedside table and settled down. Hayden covered her shoulders with her comforter, smiling at her. "Sweet dreams," he whispered. "I'll see you in the morning." Lizzie nodded as she shifted under the covers and Hayden turned out her light, the room now only illuminated dully by the lights strung around her bed.

Lizzie woke to sunlight pouring through her window as she blinked hard and rolled over on her back rubbing her eyes. She had the most wonderful dream about Hayden last night, and as she lay in bed, she groaned with disappointment at the prospect of it being only a dream.

It had played out like one of those sappy Hallmark Christmas movies that her mum used to love to watch, and had ended with them kissing passionately under the mistletoe.

It was only now that she realized that she was beginning to like Hayden as more than just a friend. It wasn't the first time she had dreamt about him, but at the time, she had discounted it as nothing. As she lay in bed, she was forced to admit to herself that she had a crush on Hayden. He was handsome, and had a very sweet and kind personality to match. His good looks certainly explained why Lavender and Parvati had been drooling over him since he first arrived at Hogwarts, but on the other hand, it had been Lizzie's experience that students at Hogwarts only cared about the surface which was mostly the reason why she couldn't get a date; she just didn't have the looks, plus there were people that thought that Cerebral Palsy was catching and that she was dumber than a sack of bricks because of her autism diagnosis.

She had never attempted to get her hopes up with Hayden because she felt like she wasn't good enough for him, and Malfoy's opinions, along with everyone else's didn't exactly boost her self esteem. And likewise, she thought Hayden was too good for her. It all came back to the fact that Lizzie was disabled and neurodivergent, and Hayden was able-bodied and neurotypical. In other words, Hayden was normal and she wasn't.

She eventually decided to sit down with her mum and ask her advice on the matter. Hayden hadn't gotten up yet, so Lizzie walked out of her room, and down the hall to Emma's room, and gently knocked on the door. "Come in," came Emma's voice from behind the door as Lizzie opened it and poked her head inside.

"Mum?" asked Lizzie. "Lizzie, I didn't expect you up this early," said Emma. Lizzie frowned as she slowly walked inside. "What time is it?" she asked. She hadn't bothered to check the time when she got up. "Six-thirty," said Emma. "Did I wake you?" asked Lizzie. "No," said Emma. "I was awake already." Lizzie smiled as she clambered into bed beside her mum and hugged her tight. "What's going on?" asked Emma, running her fingers through Lizzie's hair. "You haven't done this since you were seven."

"I need to ask your advice," said Lizzie. "All right, what's going on?" asked Emma. "When you met Dad, how long was it before you started to like him as more than a work colleague? I mean, when did you start to fancy him? And did you ever feel – I dunno – confused, I guess about how you felt? Like – like you couldn't…understand why you felt that….that way?"

"This is about Hayden, isn't it?" she asked. Lizzie was a bit relieved to see that she was smiling. "I mean," said Lizzie. "We've only know each other for four months….." "But you spend a lot of time together, right?" asked Emma. "Well, yeah, we do," said Lizzie. "And you're confused because you've never felt this way about a boy before?" asked Emma.

Lizzie shook her head. She was blushing again.

"Lizzie," said Emma, taking Lizzie's hand and squeezing it. "You're sixteen. It is perfectly, perfectly, perfectly normal for you to be interested in boys at your age. I was."

"Really?" asked Lizzie. It was the first time she had ever visualized her mum as a teenager. Her wisdom, knowledge and maturity seemed to be qualities that only adults possess.

"Of course! I was your age once, I know what it was like. I'll never forget when I was in secondary school, there was this boy in my English class – Jasper Ainsworth, most good-looking boy in the entire school, he was a rugby player, and one day close to the end of second term, just before the summer holidays, he approached me in the library, I was studying for my end-of-term English Literature exam, and he asked me if I wanted to go to prom with him.

"What did you say?" asked Lizzie. "I told him I would love to, but I was a bit confused, because I was a lot like your friend Hermione – just studied and read books all day. He would help me study when I needed a partner, on a couple of occasions, he let me borrow his notes. We were good friends."

"Did you have a good time?" asked Lizzie "At prom?" "We did," said Emma fondly. "He kissed me at the end of the night. It was my first real date, and the first time I fell in love."

"But it obviously didn't last," said Lizzie. "No, but I do remember feeling like how you described. I liked him, but I was so into studying that I hadn't had much experience with boys. I was really shy and awkward so I didn't date much."

"Did you ever tell Grandma and Grandpa about it?" asked Lizzie. "I did," said Emma. "And Mum told me exactly what I'm telling you. You don't have to feel ashamed to tell me you like him. I won't judge you, and I won't ground you either." They both laughed. "I've been writing down my feelings in a journal that Hayden bought me," said Lizzie. "That's good!" said Emma. "Yeah, he even put a spell on it so that if anyone tries reading it, it appears blank," said Lizzie "He went out of his way to protect your privacy," said Emma. "He is so sweet to you."

"I want to tell him I like him, but I'm scared to," said Lizzie. "You're afraid he won't feel the same way, and reject you?" asked Emma. "That," said Lizzie. "Plus, there's the fact that I have challenges and he doesn't. He's normal….."

"Normal's overrated," said Emma. "And we all have challenges, it's not just you…."

"But people in the Wizarding world believe all the myths and stereotypes about autism and Cerebral Palsy, and the prevailing opinion is that neurotypicals and neurodivergents can't have relationships with each other – romantic or otherwise – because people on the spectrum 'can't feel empathy or emotion',"

This misconception about autism was one of the many reasons Lizzie had been denied a diagnosis of autism twenty times, and was also one of the reasons why Madame Pomfrey had initially refused to assess Lizzie during her second year.

"He obviously cares for you very much," said Emma. "But – like that?" asked Lizzie. "From what I've seen, he certainly seems to," "Why hasn't he said anything?" asked Lizzie. "I'm sure he has his reasons, but I don't want you pushing him," said Emma warningly.

"I don't want him to think I'm desperate," said Lizzie. "If he does have feelings for you, he will tell you in his own good time," said Emma.

"What do I do in the meantime?" asked Lizzie. "God is in control," said Emma gently. "And He has a plan for the both of you. Just wait and see what that is." "I hate waiting," said Lizzie. "I know you do, sweetheart," said Emma soothingly. "It'll all be okay. I'm so proud of you."

Lizzie gave her mum a gigantic hug, as her eyes wandered to a large framed portrait of her father hanging above the fireplace. "I wonder if Dad would have liked Hayden," she wondered out loud.

"I'm sure he would have," said Emma. "Though he wouldn't let him be alone with you for two seconds."

They both laughed as the large grandfather clock in the foyer downstairs chimed seven o'clock as Lizzie and Emma got out of bed and Lizzie left the room.

After going back to her room and getting dressed, she met Hayden in the hall as the two of them walked down to breakfast together.

Tara had made pancakes this morning, along with fruit cocktails in champagne saucers, orange juice toast, and coffee.

"How'd you sleep?" asked Hayden, unrolling his silverware and putting his napkin in his lap. "Okay, I guess," said Lizzie. She wasn't about to tell him about the dream she had last night.

"What have you two got planned today?" asked Emma, taking a sip of orange juice. "Er….." Lizzie hadn't thought about it just yet. "I'm going to need help making biscuits later," Tara offered. "Would you two like to help?" By 'biscuits,' she meant 'cookies.'

"Sure," said Lizzie. "Sounds fun," said Hayden. "Wanna go skating later?" asked Lizzie. The lake out back is frozen solid!" "Okay,' said Hayden. "Maybe we can give your mom and Tara a preview of what we performed the other day – that is, if you want to see it?"

"Of course!" said Emma. "That sounds great!" said Tara.

"After breakfast, wanna watch a movie?" asked Lizzie. "Star Wars marathon?" asked Hayden winking at her. Lizzie giggled. "We still have our old VHS of John Denver and the Muppets," Emma suggested. "Oh, mum!" said Lizzie excitedly, dropping her fork onto her plate with a clatter. "Did you know Hayden plays the piano?"

"Really?" asked Emma, looking intrigued. "Yes, ma'am," said Hayden, smiling. "How long?" asked Emma. "Since I was four," said Hayden, turning to Lizzie. "I'd like to hear you play the violin sometime," said Hayden. "You will soon enough," said Lizzie.

After Hayden and Lizzie helped Tara with the breakfast dishes, they wend to the theatre, and started searching the vast shelves on either side of the walls that stretched all the way to the ceiling with VHS tapes and DVDs.

"Hey, found your copy of The Wizard of Oz on Ice you told me about," said Hayden, holding up a worn, VHS tape that was caked in a thick layer of dust. Clearly it hadn't been watched for quite some time. "Amazing I didn't break that thing," said Lizzie as she continued to scan the racks.

After searching for several more minutes, Lizzie found an old VHS tape with handwritten block letters reading: John Denver and the Muppets: A Christmas Together that, like the tape of The Wizard of Oz on Ice, was covered in a layer of dust and had the appearance of a tape that hadn't been viewed for some time.

Lizzie brushed the dust off the tape and held it up to Hayden. "Found it!" she said brightly. Hayden was attempting to figure out the popcorn machine as Lizzie inserted the tape into a worn and outdated, yet still functional VCR.

The screen flickered as a moving picture of John Denver appeared on the screen, and the opening number in the special, The Twelve Days of Christmas began.

Lizzie smiled broadly. She never mentioned it to anyone, but the Muppets had been a source of comfort for her during the summer after Raven died.

Fozzie started to miss his cue after singing 'Seven Swans a-swimming,' and Lizzie and Hayden began to snigger behind their hands and exchanging amused glances. Then there was a scene where Miss Piggy and John Denver have a conversation in Piggy's dressing room, and it was quite possibly the most comical scene ever. Hayden looked over at Lizzie who was biting her fist, her shoulders shaking, and tears streaming down her face. When the scene ended, Lizzie was breathing heavily and dabbing her eyes with the knitted neck of her sweater.

During the song It's in Every One of Us, Lizzie and Hayden sang along, Lizzie had a very beautiful soprano voice. It was beautiful.

The humor started up again with a scene when Kermit is reminiscing about his days in the swamp and how they spent Christmas. He spoke of a tadpole who had always used to leap around saying that everything was as easy as falling off a log – Hayden chuckled at this – then one Christmas, this little tadpole had a horrible accident and fell off a log. "Poor little fella," said Kermit sadly. "He just croaked." "He died?" John exclaimed as Lizzie and Hayden burst out laughing. "No, he croaked," said Kermit. " 'Help, help,' he croaked. We helped him up, and he was okay."

"I forgot how funny this was!" Hayden giggled. "Yep," said Lizzie. Then came the number where Kermit sings The Christmas Wish, as Lizzie and Hayden held hands and sang along together as they had done the previous evening.

Lizzie's favorite part was a musical number called 'Camaraderie' where John and supporting cast members dressed as toy soldiers, which happened to be very catchy, and the choreography was very well done.

Another one of Lizzie's favorites was at the end of the special when John and the Muppets sing Silent Night – first in German – the language the lyrics were originally written in – then in English.

When the special ended, both Lizzie and Hayden broke into applause. "That was really good!" said Hayden. "Come on, let's go to the kitchen and see if Tara has made some headway with those biscuits," said Lizzie, getting to her feet.

"Okay," said Hayden as he followed her out of the theatre, crumpling up an empty bag of popcorn and depositing it in a trashbin as they went.

They went across the dining room, which like the rest of the house had been elaborately decorated with holly, garland, tinsel, and other Christmas decorations. They walked through the swinging door and saw Tara lifting a standing mixer onto the counter. There was a large bag of flour, four sticks of butter, a large bottle of vanilla, and a box of what Hayden discovered upon closer inspection, was vanilla cake mix – he wondered how one would use cake mix to make Christmas cookies – and a canister of iodized salt.

There was a cookie press standing to one end of the large island and beside the electric mixer, a flour sifter, measuring cups and spoons, and nonstick baking sheets.

There was a double oven, allowing them to bake copious batches of cookies all at once, on the far end of the kitchen.

"Hi, Tara! Need a hand?" asked Lizzie. "Of course!" said Tara. She showed Lizzie the little book that she was reading the recipe from:

INGREDENTS:

1 pound butter

2 ¾ cups flour

1 pkg, vanilla cake mix

2 tsp. vanilla

¼ tsp. salt

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Melt butter in microwave for 50 sec (some should be liquid – some solid).

Mix flour & cake mix

Add butter, mix

Roll and cut cookies (For Spritz, put into cookie press).

*If dough is too stiff, add 2 tbsp. eggnog*

Bake for 13-14 minutes.

Hayden stared wide-eyed at the mount of butter that the recipe called for "One pound?" he asked "Yeah," said Lizzie, tying an apron around her waist and pulling her long red hair up into a ponytail. "That'll clog your arteries," Hayden muttered, taking the apron that Lizzie passed him and put it on. "Don't forget to wash your hands before we get started," Tara reminded them as Lizzie washed her hands first, then Hayden. "Where did you find this recipe, Tara?" asked Hayden curiously, drying his hands on a dishtowel. "Me mam gave it to me," said Tara. "She used to make them every Christmas." Hayden smiled. "Go ahead and take the butter out of the wrapping and put them in that measuring cup there," said Tara, pointing to the four sticks of butter that she had put in a Pyrex measuring cup.

Hayden nodded as he began to unwrap the sticks of butter and wedging them into the cup, before referencing the recipe to see how long to microwave it for before turning to put it in the microwave that was located below the countertop and setting the timer for fifty seconds and pressing the start button.

When the timer went off, the butter was the exact consistency described in the recipe; some liquid, some solid.

Lizzie was busying herself with the dry ingredients. Tara had come up with a neat little instrument that looked somewhat like a rake for a Zen garden, except the blade was flat, that could be used to level off the excess flour.

Lizzie measured out the appropriate amount that the recipe called for before packing it down, leveling off the excess, and dumping it into the bowl.

When she had all the dry ingredients combined, Hayden poured the semi-solid melted butter into the stainless steel bowl of the electric mixer, and attached the right mixing implement before turning it on at medium-low speed.

They waited until the butter was creamed enough before adding the vanilla and using a measuring cup, slowly added the dry ingredients, as a soft dough began to form. After a minute, Hayden turned off the mixer and without hesitation, Lizzie stuck her hand in the bowl, pulling out a tiny piece of raw cookie dough and put it in her mouth.

Hayden stared at her. "There's no egg in it!" Lizzie said, shrugging, her mouth full. Hayden shrugged back. "When in Rome," he said, as he copied her, reaching into the bowl and extracting a small amount of cookie dough as he transferred it to his mouth. "How is it?" asked Lizzie. "It's good," said Hayden. "Oh, wow! That's really good!" Lizzie smiled. The cookie press was made of an electric handle onto which attached a cylindrical clear tube to put the cookie dough in, where a lid similar to that of a mason jar with a removable top, screwed onto the top of the exposed end, and there were various metal discs, with a different design that created different shaped cookies.

Hayden and Lizzie chose the most festive, and Christmas-y designs they could find as Tara showed them how to assemble and operate the cookie press.

Hayden tried it first, and right away, discovered that there was a learning curve to it. The cookies came out misshapen, but after a few attempts, he seemed to get the hang of it.

After they created the desired shapes they wanted, Tara brought out a box of sprinkles and colored sugar crystals that they could use to decorate them with.

They were just putting the first batch of cooking into the bottom oven, when Emma poked her head inside the kitchen door. "Sorry, Tara, I know you're busy, but when you can, could you light the fireplaces? It's supposed to snow again, and it's getting colder."

"I can do it now, ma'am," said Tara. "We've just put the first batch in, and they need to bake for a bit. I've got the time!"

"All right," said Emma, nodding. "Thank you," she said as Tara briefly left the room. The door swinging closed behind them.

When they had gone, Hayden turned to Lizzie. "You don't treat her like a servant, I've noticed, he observed. "I've known Tara all my life," said Lizzie, as she pushed more cookie dough into the press. "She's pretty much family to us. She started out as a nanny for me, when mom had to work long hours at the hospital….And well, you know the story of how she met my dad."

"D'you miss him?" asked Hayden. "What, my dad?" asked Lizzie curiously. "Yeah, of course. But….he likes to check up on me sometimes, so in a way, it's like he never really left."

"What do you mean?" asked Hayden curiously. Lizzie said nothing and started sprinkling red and green sugar crystals on a freshly pressed batch of cookies.

The ones in the oven were turning golden brown as the timer went off (Tara had suggested to start with the least amount of time first, and increase it as necessary) signaling it was time to take them out of the oven. "Here," said Lizzie, handing Hayden a pair of oven mittens as he put them on and carefully took the baking sheet out of the oven as Lizzie closed the oven door.

Hayden set the cookie sheet on the flour-covered countertop - a little too hard, and flour was spilled onto Lizzie's sweater – one of her favorites. "Oh!" Lizzie groaned. "Oh, Lizzie, I'm so sorry!" said Hayden, trying to brush the flour off of her. Lizzie reached into the open bag of flour, grabbing a handful, and playfully tossing it at him.

For a moment, Hayden looked stunned as he stared at Lizzie who had begun to giggle.

Smirking, Hayden reached into the flour bag with both hands and throwing it at her, covering her sweater and jeans as she held up her arms to shield herself, but it did little good.

That was when the war began.

Hayden and Lizzie tossed flour back and forth, a cloud of thick dust absorbing the entire room and its surrounding surfaces. It got to the point where the lenses of Lizzie's glasses were so clouded with flour that she could no longer see what she was aiming at. Laughing uncontrollably, both of them collapsed near the double oven, gasping for breath. Hayden's dirty blonde hair was dusted with white like it was covered in snow, along with his face, and the rest of his body.

Lizzie's red turtleneck now looked pink with the exorbitant amount of flour that covered it. Her dark denim jeans had become lighter in color, and her black boots appeared grey. Her long dark red hair was coated in a thick layer of flour.

They continued to laugh as they sat there, trying to catch their breath. They sighed as they gazed at one another. Almost immediately, Hayden started laughing again. "Your – your glasses…"

Hayden laughed, gently removing them from Lizzie's face, leaving two square flour markings around her eyes. "Here…." he said, getting up and walking over to the sink to clean the lenses. Lizzie blinked hard, trying to focus her vision, but everything remained a blurry mess, until Hayden returned with them, the lenses clean and sparkling.

"Thanks," said Lizzie, putting them on her face and Hayden offered his hand to her.

"Truce?" he asked. "Truce?" asked Lizzie, taking his hand and letting him pull her to her feet.

They glanced around at the mess that they had involuntarily created. And they couldn't use magic to clean it up either. "I'll get a mop," said Lizzie, walking over to a large cupboard on the far side of the kitchen and pulling out various cleaning supplies, handing Hayden a broom. Lizzie's mom had always taught her 'you make a mess, you clean it up.'

It took less time than they thought, and when Tara returned, the kitchen was spotless once more, and she could have been none the wiser over what had happened if she hadn't noticed that the only spot that still had flour on it was the two of them.

"What have the two of you been up to in here?" she asked. "We got into a bit of a war with the flour, and it got out of hand," said Lizzie, staring at her feet. "But we cleaned it up! Don't worry!" said Hayden quickly. Tara started laughing as Lizzie and Hayden exchanged bemused glances. Tara chuckled, but didn't say anything as she put the next batch of cookies into the oven. Perhaps she had picked up on the chemistry that had been going on between the two of them since Hayden had arrived.

Once all the cookies had been pressed, decorated, baked, and cooled, Tara insisted that they both try one. Hayden took a tree-shaped cookie from the top of the pile of cookies and bit into one. Lizzie and Tara stared at him with anticipation. "How are they?" asked Lizzie. Hayden held out the remainder of the cookie that he had just bitten into, out to Lizzie as she blushed and opened her mouth, allowing him to feed it to her. She chewed for a moment, before nodding.

"Got any coffee?" Lizzie asked Tara, who chuckled, before walking over to a cupboard above the stove, opened it, and took out two glasses, before grabbing a jug of milk from the fridge and pouring a generous amount into each glass before handing one to Hayden, and the other to Lizzie. They drank, and Hayden sniggered when Lizzie had milk dripping from her upper lip.

She blushed and quickly wiped it away with her flour-covered sleeve.

Lizzie sighed, setting her glass back down on the counter. "I'm gonna go take a shower," she said, brushing some of the flour from her hair. "I could use one too," said Hayden, gazing down at his own flour-covered clothes as he and Lizzie left the kitchen together.

Lizzie dragged her feet slightly, tracking flour on the ground as she slowly climbed the staircase, holding onto the rail with both hands.

When she got to the top, she made a right turn down the hallways toward her room and closed the door behind her as she entered. Smiling, she pulled her jumper over her head and deposited it her hamper, just inside her door, before sitting on her bed and pulling off her boots.

She walked into her bathroom and shut the door before reaching behind her back, unclasping her bra and removing it, unbuttoning her jeans, and pulling them off her legs. She turned to face the shower as she opened the glass door with her left hand and turned on the tap as a cascade of water fell from the showerhead as she waited for it to warm up.

Once it had reached the right temperature – she had to adjust it a little – she removed her clean glasses and set them upside down on her vanity, and took down her long hair before stepping into the warm downpour as the steam clouded the glass.

She sighed deeply, allowing the hot water to run down her face as she ran her hands over her wet hair, her eyes closed.

After such an exciting day with Hayden, a hot shower was welcoming. The flour that had absorbed into her crimson hair was washed away by the water as Lizzie reached down to a shelf on the wall of her shower that held her shampoo and conditioner.

Lizzie pumped the handle of the shampoo bottle three or four times until she had a sufficient amount for her hair length in her hand, as she held her hand under the shower spray, letting the shampoo absorb a bit of water to create a lather, before rubbing it into her hair, beginning at the roots, massaging her scalp with her fingertips, and working her way towards the tips. When her hair was covered in shampoo suds, she stepped backward, allowing the torrent of water to wash it all away.

Then as she turned towards her conditioner bottle and pumped a handful into her hand, before rubbing it into her hair, from the middle and working her way down. She didn't even get it near her eyes, and yet they felt like they were on fire. Blindly, she opened the door to the shower and reached for a hand towel, to rub her eyes with.

Blinking hard as the stinging in her corneas subsided, she turned back toward the shower spray and reached for a loofa that hung on the shower tap, then reaching beside the built-in seat inside the shower where there was another shelf on the right hand side of the wall as she sat down and reached for a bottle of body wash – Bath and Body Works Vanilla Bean Noel – and squirted a liberal amount on the loofa, held it under the shower for a moment, before scrubbing it all over her body.

She took a razor in her hand and stared at it, pondering. Though she was no longer self-harming, she had since developed an aversion to razors – almost as though she were afraid she might relapse.

But she shook her head and shaved her legs and underneath her arms, before putting the razor back on the stone tile shelf near the seat, and rinsing the suds from her loofa, and her body, before rising the conditioner from her hair, running the water through it until it ran clear before shutting off the water and stepping onto the bathmat.

She grabbed two towels from a bar near her shower and wrapped one around her long hair and used the other to dry her body before putting on her bathrobe and walking over to her sink vanity and putting on deodorant and running a brush through her wet hair before exiting the bathroom.

After getting redressed, she put her glasses back on, and hung up her towels and robe before grabbing her violin case out of her trunk, and exiting the room.

Hayden was hanging out by a roaring fire in the library, just staring transfixed into the inferno, apparently lost in thought. His hair was wet, and Lizzie figured he must have taken a shower too. "Hey," said Lizzie, kneeling down beside him. "Hey," he said. He could smell the wonderful fragrance of her body wash and shampoo. Then as if he were slapped in the face, he remembered his first Potions class when they were studying Amortentia – the most powerful love potion in the world, rumored to smell differently to every person according to what attracts them.

When Hayden had gotten close to the simmering cauldron – enough to smell the multicolored vapors wafting from it, he was intoxicated by the seductive fragrance of jasmine and gardenias. He had a feeling that he had smelled it once before then, but couldn't make the connection at the time.

Now as he sat beside Lizzie, breathing in the air, he realized what it had been all along: It was the smell of Lizzie's hair!

"What's that – gardenias and jasmine?" asked Hayden, trying not to make his breathing too loud as he continued to inhale the wonderful aroma.

"Yeah," said Lizzie. "It's nice," said Hayden. "Thanks, it's my favorite," said Lizzie. "Feel better?" asked Hayden. "Much," said Lizzie. "That flour war was fun though!" said Hayden, chuckling. "Yeah, it was," said Lizzie laughing.

"I'm sorry I ruined your sweater," said Hayden apologetically. "You didn't," said Lizzie. "The washer and dryer still work." Hayden smiled. "You did look kinda upset though," said Hayden. "I was just surprised, and a bit disappointed, but not angry," said Lizzie. "No one likes getting food on their clothes."

"True," said Hayden as Lizzie laughed again. "You dumped it all over me!" she said as she began laughing and could stop. Pretty soon, Hayden was laughing along with her.

He sighed as his eyes wandered to the sleek black leather violin case beside Lizzie. "What's that?" he asked. "Oh….." said Lizzie, unzipping the case and lifting the lid to reveal a pristine and polished Stradivarius violin, with what Hayden speculated were new violin strings.

The color was a deep, rich mahogany color and didn't appear to have a single scratch or deformity in the wood. Lizzie obviously took very good care of it.

Hayden's jaw dropped. Lizzie smiled. "Nice, eh?" she asked. "Yeah!" said Hayden. "It's beautiful!" He wanted to say, 'It's beautiful, just like you,' but thought better of it.

Lizzie really had no idea how beautiful she was. The only thing she seemed to focus on when people made fun of her, and told her she walked funny, and called her names because she wore glasses, called her weird for being autistic – and she saw herself as being all of these things. She didn't know how wonderful a person she was, and how much people at Hogwarts loved her – especially Hayden.

"Do you know how to play Nearer My God to Thee?" asked Hayden. "Oh, don't get me started!" said Lizzie. "Which one? The standard American version, or the British version – I know how to play both." "The version they played in the movie," said Hayden. "Ah, then you mean the standard American version," said Lizzie, nodding.

"Did the band really play that during the final moments of the sinking?" asked Hayden. "That's what the legend says," said Lizzie. "It was supposedly the final song."

"It's not?" asked Hayden. "There are eyewitness accounts that say they that people heard it being played at some point during the sinking, but as far as being the final song, isn't exactly clear. I honestly don't think we'll ever know, because all the members of the band went down with the ship," said Lizzie.

Hayden nodded, realizing that Ron had been mistaken and Lizzie was right. She might not be an expert, but she was certainly, very well-read, and had done her research.

There was a long silence between them as they stared into the fire, watching the flames dance merrily in the grate. "What's your worst fear?" asked Lizzie curiously. "What brought this on?" asked Hayden. "I was just – just thinking," said Lizzie. "About this one time during my third year, we were doing boggarts in Defense Against the Dark Arts – you know what boggarts are, right?"

"Yeah, um, we studied them in my third year, too," said Hayden. "What did your boggart turn into?" asked Lizzie curiously. The honest truth was that when the boggart had seen Hayden, it didn't know what to change into and became very confused. Everyone who knew Hayden described him as fearless, so it was no surprise that he wasn't able to face the boggart, through no fault of his own.

"What was yours/" asked Hayden, clearly dodging the question. Lizzie pressed her lips together thinking. "Raven," she said finally. "Dead." Hayden nodded. "Of course," he said. "I should have known, I'm sorry."

"Don't be," said Lizzie. "I miss him, but I'm doing okay." "Good," said Hayden. Lizzie held up her violin. "Care for a private recital?" she asked. "Sure," said Hayden as he helped Lizzie to her feet and he took a seat in the leather sofa in front of the fireplace crossing one leg over the other and folding his hands in his lap, listening intently.

Lizzie smiled as she lifted her violin, resting it under her chin, and holding the neck with her left hand, positioning her fingers on the strings, and raising the bow in her right hand – the words I must not tell lies standing out against her skin – resting it against the strings.

Immediately Lizzie glided the bow across the strings as the play beginning chords to The First Noel. Hayden's jaw dropped, watching Lizzie sway gently back and forth as she played. He did noticed her left hand appeared stiffer as she manipulated the strings on the neck to play the right arrangement of notes.

Regardless, it was beautiful! She played the final note and smiled as she lowered her violin and Hayden broke into applause and Lizzie took a bow. "You put Lindsey Stirling to shame!" he said as Lizzie laughed. "Well, I don't know about that….." she said modestly. "Wanna hear another song?" she asked. "Sure," said Hayden. "Any requests?" asked Lizzie. Hayden thought for a moment. "Oh, I know!" said Lizzie brightly, raising her violin to her chin once more as she began to play.

Hayden recognized the song immediately. It was It's in Every One of Us.

When she was done, Hayden at first, didn't applaud. He seemed shocked that she knew how to play that song.

"Where did you learn to play that?" he asked. "I taught myself," said Lizzie. Hayden raised his eyebrows. "No way!" he gasped. Lizzie smiled. "Way," she said. "I looked high and low for the sheet music, and couldn't find it anywhere." "So, you figured if you want something done right, learn it yourself?" asked Hayden. "Pretty much," said Lizzie. "That's so you," said Hayden, somewhat fondly as he smiled. "I'm impressed."

Lizzie set down her violin inside its case, which she set on the glass coffee table in front of them, the fire continuing to burn in the fireplace, dimly illuminating the room.

Hayden reached out and held Lizzie's hand – the one with the words I must not tell lies faintly visible against her skin.

"How's your hand?" he asked softly. "Better," said Lizzie. "Doesn't seem to hold you back on playing the violin," said Hayden. "That physical therapy Madame Pomfrey made me do has helped a lot. I should never have complained so much," Lizzie admitted. "She told me before the end of term that the chances of me regaining full feeling and range of motion are looking really good."

"That's great, Liz," said Hayden. Lizzie sighed happily. "Gosh! I can't believe tomorrow's Christmas Eve! The time has just – flown by!" "I know right?" asked Hayden. They both laughed as Tara came into the room bearing a tray with a Royal Albert Old Country Rose coffee pot, two teacups turned upside down on their saucers and a plate of the freshly-baked cookies they had made earlier. "I thought the two of you would like some hot chocolate," she said, as Lizzie moved her violin case to the floor so that Tara could set the tray down and turned the cups over on their saucers and poured hot chocolate into them.

Hayden held the cup in his hand and carefully took a sip. It was the most delicious thing he had ever tasted in his entire life! It was better tha butterbeer! Smooth, creamy, and flavorful. He wasn't sure how much chocolate was in it, but it was fabulous!

"This is amazing!" said Hayden, taking another sip. Tara beamed at him appreciatively. "How do you make this?" asked Hayden, setting his cup back down on his saucer. "She's not going to tell you," said Lizzie, taking a sip.

"Why not?" asked Hayden curiously. "It's some kind of secret recipe – I've asked her loads of times and she's never told me."

Hayden shrugged as he set his cup down on the table. "I never thought I'd actually say this, but it is so nice to be away from Hogwarts – even for a little while," said Lizzie. "Mm-hmm," said Hayden.

"At least we're away from that old toad for three weeks," he said as Lizzie laughed, knowing he was talking about Professor Umbridge.

"I wonder how Harry, Ron, and Hermione are doing?" she wondered out loud. "Yeah, where did they go for the holidays?" asked Hayden. Lizzie still hadn't told Hayden anything about Sirius, so thinking quickly, she said, "Spending Christmas with Ron's family," in a very convincing causal way. "Harry told you?" asked Hayden. "Yeah, a few days before term ended," said Lizzie. She sighed, thinking about Jedi and Flicka. Even though Lizzie had stables in her back garden, Hayden had decided to keep Jedi at Hogwarts over the holidays when Hagrid had given him his utmost assurance that he would be well looked after.

"Does your mom know?" asked Hayden, nodding at the scar on the back of Lizzie's hand. "About the detentions and what Umbridge did?" "No way!" Lizzie exclaimed. "She would have a conniption if I told her! And she got upset enough when I told her that I had been cutting myself…"

"She told me that I was there for you when no one else was, and that I gave you something to live for," said Hayden. "You know – with riding and everything…" "To mum, that's her giving you her stamp of approval," said Lizzie.

Hayden smiled, then looked up. Mistletoe was dangling from the ceiling just above their heads. His smile widened. "What?" asked Lizzie. Hayden looked up again, and Lizzie followed his gaze and saw the mistletoe. Her face turned instantly scarlet.

"Probably full of nargles, though," she muttered. Hayden frowned, confused. "What are nargles?" he asked curiously. "No idea," Lizzie admitted. "You'd have to ask Luna."

Hayden smiled as his face slowly drew nearer to hers.

Lizzie felt like she had been hit with a Full-Body Bind Curse. She couldn't move; she just sat there, rooted to the spot as Hayden's face drew nearer…She could see the faint outline of a scar above his left eyebrow, and another scar on his bottom lip…

CRASH!

A large gilded painting of Lizzie's home that hung on the wall above the piano suddenly came flying off the wall, narrowly missing the coffee table and landing at their feet as they abruptly stood up, staring at it.

"Did you…..?" asked Lizzie. "Yeah," said Hayden. "I saw it."

"It was probably my dad," said Lizzie who had become aware of a faint smell of cigar smoke in the air. "Way to ruin the mood!" she said loudly in the direction of the window near the piano.

Hayden looked really confused. "But…..you said that your dad died when you were seven?" he said. Lizzie nodded. "I did," she said.

"Then how can you…" asked Hayden. He stopped abruptly, as a look of realization crossed his face. "Oh, no way!" he gasped as Lizzie smiled. "Can you…..?" "Yeah, I can," said Lizzie, still smiling. "I told you, he likes to check on me sometimes."

Hayden leaned in close to her. "Is he here now?" asked Hayden, lowering his voice. "He's over by the window, near the piano," said Lizzie smiling and looking towards the window.

Indeed he was, though Hayden was unable to see him.

Lizzie's father had been a very handsome man with dark brown hair, standing a bit over six feet, with cerulean blue eyes – Lizzie's eyes…

He was dressed in a white collared shirt, grey waistcoat, grey trousers, and polished shoes. He had a handsome, clean shaven face with his hair neatly parted to one side, clutching a cigar in his hand.

He turned to look at Lizzie and shook his head, somewhat disapprovingly before vanishing.

Lizzie turned to face Hayden again. "He always was protective of me," she said. "I think this is the first time he's seen me bring a boy into the house."

They both laughed. "Was that cigar smoke I smelled?" asked Hayden curiously. "Yeah," said Lizzie, nodding. "You smelled it too?" Hayden nodded. "Dad always liked to smoke cigars during Christmastime – it was one of his traditions. Used to really annoy Mum though. She would always get on his case about smoking them in the house…."

She smiled fondly. "So," she sighed. "Now that the mood was so unceremoniously broken, what now?"

"Hmm," said Hayden thoughtfully. "We could finish reading A Christmas Carol?" he suggested. "Or we could have a Star Wars marathon. There's the new Obi-Wan Kenobi series on Disney+…."

"I've got a better idea," said Lizzie. "Let's go skating! I've got The Nutcracker soundtrack on my phone and a wireless speaker in my trunk!" "Why is it in your trunk?" asked Hayden. "I thought that stuff didn't work at Hogwarts?"

"Still hasn't stopped me from trying to find a way to make it work," said Lizzie.

Hayden shrugged. By now he knew not to question Lizzie's cleverness.

"I'll go grab my skates and I'll meet you out back," said Hayden. "Race you?" asked Lizzie. "Not a good idea, Liz," said Hayden seriously. "I would feel horrible if you fell and got hurt." "Fair enough," said Lizzie. "Plus, Mum doesn't allow running in the house anyway – okay, no race, I'll just meet you back by the kitchens?"

"Sure," said Hayden as Lizzie zipped up her violin case and carried it out of the library and up the stairs to her room before depositing it in her trunk and rummaging through and found her new pair of skates that she had bought and had loosely tied together by their laces.

Lizzie took her cloak out of her closet and wrapped it around her shoulders, along with a pair of gloves and a scarf as she tucked her phone and speaker under her cloak and slung her skates over her shoulder before exiting the room.

She was expecting to meet Hayden in the kitchens, but she met him in the foyer instead; his black skates slung over his shoulder.

"You good?" he asked her as she approached. "Yeah," said Lizzie. "Let's go," said Hayden as they made their way into the dining room and across into the kitchens. Tara was preparing lunch. "Hayden and I are gonna go skating. We'll be back soon, okay?" asked Lizzie. "Lunch is at noon," said Tara. "Okay," said Lizzie.

Tara smiled as she watched Hayden and Lizzie walk out the back door.

A moment later Emma walked in to help Tara. "Those two seem so good for each other," said Tara. "Lizzie told me she fancies him," said Emma. "Really?" asked Tara. "Mm, but she's very confused about how she feels," said Emma. "Everything in its own good time," said Tara.

The cold wind nipped at their faces and whipped the hems of their cloaks as they struggled through several feet of snow. "It's right up ahead here – just a bit farther," said Lizzie, her voice muffled through her scarf.

Finally, Hayden saw what looked like a mirror on the ground that was lightly dusted with snow. The lake itself wasn't nearly as big as the Black Lake, yet it was still a decent size for skating on.

Lizzie brushed snow off a decorative rock on the edge of the lake and sat down, pulling off her boots and putting on her skates as Hayden did the same.

Once both of them had their skates all laced up, Hayden stepped out onto the ice and held out his hand to Lizzie who was fumbling with her phone and speaker. "Give me a second…" she said, pressing a button on the speaker as The Sugarplum Fairy and Cavalier Pas De Deux began to play. She took Hayden's hand as they skated onto the ice, turning, spinning, and twirling as they went.

They skated backward into a crossover as Lizzie let go of Hayden's hand as the two of them simultaneously leapt into the air in synchronized triple Axels and landed gracefully back onto the ice.

Lizzie turned into a layback spin, extending her right leg out to the side while bending it slightly, and at the same time, leaned backward with her arms crossed across her chest as she continued to spin. Hayden knelt down into a sit spin before standing up extending his leg up in front of him in an upright spin.

Then the two of them skated forward, as Hayden skated behind Lizzie, holding her waist, as he tossed her into the air as she spun, and he caught her before gently lowering her back onto the ice.

Little did either of them realize, that the kitchens had a perfect view of the lake, and Emma and Tara were watching with great interest.

"Lizzie taught him well," said Emma. "Yes, I wish they could have recorded their performance," said Tara sadly.

"That sort of thing doesn't work at Hogwarts – Lizzie told me," said Emma.

They watched for several more minutes and were momentarily stunned as they watched Hayden and Lizzie perform a death spiral. "She could have cracked her skull or broken her neck doing that!" said Emma worriedly. "Let her be," said Tara. "Lizzie told me that she and Hayden practiced it several times at various degrees of difficulty before they decided to – in her words – 'go big, or go home'."

Emma smiled and nodded as the two of them continued to watch.

Hayden sat on a rock as he watched Lizzie skate; twirling, turning, spinning, and jumping. He liked skating with her, but he also liked giving her an audience. It really seemed to boost her confidence.

She recreated the Waltz of the Snowflakes for Hayden to great fanfare. When the song ended, Hayden broke into applause, as Lizzie walked of the ice, her teeth chattering madly.

"Wanna go inside and get warm?" Hayden offered. "I don't want you catching a cold again." Lizzie shivered and nodded. "Okay, come on," said Hayden as they both quickly sat down and changed from their skates back to their boots before heading back to the house.

Tara opened the door for them, and they were just about to hang up their cloaks and scarves when Tara told them that lunch was almost ready. Thankfully, due to the cold, Tara had made her famous potato leek soup.

"Did you two have fun skating?" asked Emma as the four of them sat down to eat, and Emma passed around a basket of freshly baked rolls. "Yeah, we did," said Lizzie. "What was that movement where Hayden was holding your hand and you were skating in a circle around him?" asked Emma. "It's called the 'death spiral'," said Lizzie. "Now, I know what you're thinking," she added, noticing the worried look on Emma's face. "No one has actually died performing that movement. It's only called that because it has the potential of being dangerous if not performed properly and safely."

Emma nodded. "After lunch, would you two like to decorate the Christmas tree?" she asked. "I was saving it for when you came home," she added to Lizzie.

"Sure," said Hayden. "Love to!" said Lizzie.

So, after lunch they made their way into the parlor, where a twelve foot fir tree stood in a corner, and large brown boxes were scattered around the room with labels such as LIGHTS, BAUBLES, MISC. ORNAMENTS, ICICLES, TINSEL, & GARLAND.

The lights had already been put on the tree, and were multicolored. Lizzie reached into one of the boxes of ornaments, and unwrapped an ornament of C-3PO that was wrapped in bubble wrap. "I forgot I had this!" said Lizzie, chuckling at 3PO's golden face where over the years, the pain had begun to chip away.

"I kept your entire collection," said Emma, putting garland along the mantelpiece. "I remember seeing Episode IV in the cinema….such a long time ago…."

"I didn't know you were a nerd, Mum," said Lizzie jokingly. "Did you think you got it from your dad?" asked Emma, smiling. Lizzie finished putting an ornament of R2D2 on the tree and suddenly exited the room.

"Always on the run, that girl," said Emma fondly. "Lizzie told me she's autistic," said Hayden. Emma nodded. "Yes, I saw that she had traits long before anyone at Hogwarts did," she said. "She also mentioned that she was assessed twenty times?" asked Hayden. "It was very – very difficult to get her diagnosed," said Emma somewhat sadly.

"Let me guess, they threw out a list of stereotypes and reasons why she wasn't autistic, just to avoid diagnosing her," said Hayden, disgust evident in his voice.

"Mmm," said Emma, who was now putting stocking on the mantel. "On her third evaluation, the psychologist said that she wasn't autistic because she didn't try to lick his desk,"

Hayden dropped the ornament he was holding as he made to put it on the tree. Thankfully it didn't break. "What?" he gasped in utter disbelief. "You're joking!" "No," said Emma sadly. "Then one day I got a letter from Professor McGonagall and she was asking for my permission to have Lizzie assessed. I was hesitant, because she had been denied a diagnosis so many times before. But Professor McGonagall was convinced Lizzie was neurodivergent, and so I said yes, but I wasn't hopeful. Then I got her assessment results, and saw that she was diagnosed as autistic, and I cried. I was just – so grateful to Professor McGonagall for fighting for her, and advocating her."
"I have a friend back in Toronto who's autistic too, and she's a lot like Lizzie," said Hayden.

Emma smiled as she finished putting the last stocking on the mantel. "I've forgotten what a chore all this decorating is – it's a lot of hard work."

Hayden chuckled. "When my husband was alive, he use to insist on decorating for every holiday, every single room in this house. Halloween and Christmas were always a big deal," said Emma fondly. "Then he got sick, and it became more of a chore so I sort of stopped. Haven't done it up until now."

"How long were you married?" asked Hayden. "Nine good years – I only wish it could have been longer," said Emma. Hayden smiled sympathetically. "Lizzie mentioned he died of cancer,"

Emma nodded. "We paid for the most advanced treatments, and he fought very hard, but in the end, it wasn't enough." Emma's tone was somewhat mournful.

"I'm so sorry," said Hayden. Emma smiled. "Thank you," she said. "Lizzie was almost taken away from me after that." Hayden frowned. "Why?" he asked. "Because you were a single mom and they didn't think you could raise her by yourself?"

"Oh, no!" said Emma. "I um, started drinking rather heavily after William died. I never got addicted, but I wasn't…really there for Lizzie when I needed to be….." She sounded incredibly ashamed of this.

"Social services came by one day – apparently the neighbors had called them – and they said they would put Lizzie in foster care if I didn't stop drinking."

"What happened?" asked Hayden. "They were generous enough to offer me an alternative: Tara would be Lizzie's temporary guardian while I underwent grief counseling and a short period in rehab. Then and only then if I successfully completed my treatment, I could have custody of Lizzie again. So I did," she reached into her pocket and pulled out a gold sobriety medallion. "Eight years," she said, before Hayden could ask the question.

"Lizzie never mentioned this," he said. "She doesn't like to talk about it," said Emma.

Hayden nodded as footsteps approached then, and Lizzie reappeared into the parlor, clutching a figurine in her hands. It was the ornament of Raven with angel wings that Luna had given her for her birthday.

"Was beginning to think you left us hanging Liz," said Hayden. Lizzie smiled. "I was jus getting this out of my trunk," she said, holding up the ornament. "Oh, that's lovely!" said Emma. "Where did you get that?" "Luna Lovegood," said Lizzie. "She's a friend of mine, that I met this year, she gave it to me for my birthday."

"That's very thoughtful," said Emma. Lizzie smiled as she walked forward and put it on a branch toward the very top of the tree.

But because Lizzie was only five foot three, it was hard to reach as she attempted to stand on her toes, but she overbalanced as Hayden held onto her waist to keep her from falling.

"Thanks for that," Lizzie muttered, that same jolt of electricity that she felt when around Hayden, shooting up her spine again.

She was still very much confused about her feelings toward Hayden, and wondered if the feeling was mutual, and Hayden had the same feelings for her. She couldn't understand why he would though. Lizzie's self-esteem and self-image was at an all-time low. She despised the way she looked, despite the fact that she was indeed very beautiful, although rather than taking this as a compliment from her friends or others, she wouldn't believe them, and would perceive it as them just paying her these compliments just to make her feel better.

As they finished putting the. last bauble and last bit of tinsel on the tree, neither of them spoke. Lizzie's mind was racing as she kept thinking back to when he had very nearly kissed her and wondering what it would have been like if he had been successful.

She was bombarded with all these different emotions; confusion, denial, longing, frustration….it all became too much for her to take and she felt like she all of a sudden wanted to cry for no reason at all.

Feeling hot tears sting her eyes, she quickly made a move to leave the parlor. "Hey, you okay?" asked Hayden, noticing her quick departure from the room.

"Y-yeah, I'm-I'm fine," said Lizzie, who became aware of the emotion in her voice.

Hayden glanced at Lizzie before walking over to her and hugging her. Even though Lizzie normally didn't like to be touched without warning, she was so emotional and overwhelmed that a hug especially from him was welcoming, as she wrapped her arms around Hayden, just allowing him to hold her.

Nothing mattered now. She felt like the two of them were the only people on the planet….

After several passing minutes, Hayden let her go. "You okay?" he asked again "Yeah," said Lizzie. "Thanks, I needed that."

Hayden smiled at her. Then he reached up and gently brushed a bit of hair out of her face.

Lizzie smiled at him before making her way up the grand staircase and down the corridor into her bedroom. She sat down at her vanity table and took out her journal, took her quill and ink out of her trunk, and sat her inkwell down on the tabletop, unscrewed the cap, took up her quill, dipped the pointed tip into the ink and began to write:

Dear Diary,

I'm feeling really emotional today and I can't figure out why. Perhaps the fact that Hayden almost kissed me earlier today. Yes, I wrote that correctly. Hayden Chamberlain almost kissed me under the mistletoe. I made some kind of joke about it being full of nargles, and he didn't know what those were, and I told him he needed to ask Luna Lovegood, whose a friend of mine.

I really like Hayden. I think he's a really sweet person, and a great listener, but as I've written before, I've never had a boyfriend before – no one in the school has ever been that remotely interested in me, and if they had been, it was to bully me.

This time has just flown by! Since Hayden arrived we've baked Christmas biscuits, went figure skating, read A Christmas Carol, watched films in the theatre, I gave Hayden a private violin recital which he very much enjoyed, and we decorated the tree this afternoon…..

Lizzie paused in the action of writing, thinking. There wasn't a lot to write about. She had pretty much covered it. And yet, simply writing down her feelings didn't abate her desire to burst into tears for no reason. Maybe she was getting close to her period. Yes, that would be it. She would always get moody or emotional the week before and of her period.

Rather than suppressing it, Lizzie closed her diary, walked over to her bed, threw herself on the mattress and cried herself to sleep.

Christmas Eve came and went in quick succession. Tara was busy all day preparing Christmas dinner, which they planned on having that evening so they could have all of Christmas Day to themselves. Lizzie and Hayden helped her peel large quantities of potatoes, snap the green beans for the green bean casserole, peel the sweet potatoes, stuff the turkey, prepare the dressing, and make two very large pumpkin pies.

However, Lizzie did have to take breaks, and actually bit Hayden's head off unintentionally when he bumped into her, nearly knocking her off her feet. She apologized profusely, then admitted to him that she was on the verge of her period and spent the rest of the day in her room, Hayden bringing her aspirin, weighted blankets, heating pads, her favorite 'safe foods,' and anything else she wanted or needed.

Lizzie went to bed that night, eager to spend the next day with Hayden. She stopped by the tree as she was heading upstairs to go to bed and deposited two thin rectangular parcels tied with string with tags bearing Hayden and Emma's names on them below the trees, and giving it one last look. It really was beautiful…..

She was woken abruptly by a sharp rapping on her door as she moaned and pulled her covers over her head. She only emerged when she heard Hayden's voice. "Lizzie!"

Lizzie threw back the covers and walked over to her door and opened it. "Merry Christmas!" said Hayden brightly as he hugged her. "You too," said Lizzie, rubbing her eyes. "Your mom wanted me to tell you that we're having breakfast buffet-style in the parlor, while we open presents,"

"Oh, okay!" said Lizzie happily as she went back to her bed before putting on her slippers and strode out of the room.

They went down the stairs and met Emma and Tara who was serving a large stack of pancakes coffee and orange juice.

Lizzie and Hayden sat down on the floor as Emma helped to divvy out the presents. Lizzie had gotten something from Harry, Hermione, Mrs. Weasley, her mum, and Tara, and surprisingly two presents with Hayden's handwriting on the tag.

As everyone was given food, they began to open presents. Now Hayden was feeling exceptionally guilty now that he was unable to give Emma anything.

"Good haul this year," Lizzie commented. "Thanks for the new oil paint set, Mum! It's great!"

Emma beamed as she opened a rectangular parcel. It was an oil painting of Hogwarts. "Oh, Lizzie, this is lovely!" she said, "You painted this?" "Yeah," said Lizzie, smiling. "Thank you, sweetheart!" said Emma, hugging her. "Happy Christmas Mum," said Lizzie, hugging her tight.

Next Lizzie opened her present from Mrs. Weasley, though she had a feeling what it was. Mrs. Weasley always knitted sweaters for her family. "Yep! Should've known – another sweater from Mrs. Weasley!" said Lizzie brightly, holding it up so everyone could see. It was red with a black horse, and a gold L beneath it. "It's Flicka!" said Lizzie, showing it to Hayden. "See if you've got one!"

Hayden had. His was green with a bay horse knitted on the front with a gold H below it.

"Oh, it's Jedi!" said Hayden showing it to Lizzie, who smiled. "Every year she makes us one," she said. "That's really nice," said Hayden as he pulled his sweater over his head. She had also sent both of them mince pies and homemade fudge.

Ron had sent Lizzie an enormous box of her favorite peanut butter Chocolate Cauldrons, Harry had given her a set of excellent books entitled Practical Defensive Magic and Its Uses Against the Dark Arts, which had superb moving color illustrations of all the counterjinxes and hexes it described. Lizzie flicked eagerly through the first volume eagerly; she could easily see herself using these during D.A. lessons.

"Oh, you're kidding me," Hayden groaned, holding what looked like a diary in his hands as he flipped through it. "What?" asked Lizzie. "Hermione's present – it's a homework planner…"

Lizzie quickly rifled through her diminishing pile of presents and found one with Hermione's name on it. She too had given Lizzie a book that, like Hayden's resembled a diary, except that it said things like "Do it today, or later you'll pay!" every time she opened a page.

With a huge pang in her chest, she was reminded of her homework that was only bound to double once she returned to Hogwarts.

"Oh, Lizzie!" said Hayden as he was unwrapping her present. It was a portrait of Jedi. "This is beautiful!" Lizzie beamed. "But," said Hayden setting down the painting. "You said you didn't have time to paint!" "Not by hand," said Lizzie, continuing to beam at him. A moment later Hayden understood. "You bewitched your paintbrushes to paint it for you?" he asked, looking impressed.

"Mm-hmm," said Lizzie. "I love it," said Hayden. "Open this one first!" he said pointing at a slightly misshapen parcel near Lizzie's left knee. "She's gonna love it!" said Hayden happily to Emma who grinned.

It was a stuffed toy of a black horse, with no white markings and a long mane and tail. Lizzie stared at Hayden open-mouthed. "Oh, Hayden!" she gasped. "Raven?"

Hayden nodded smiling. "Now you can take him with you everywhere. He'll never leave you."

Lizzie felt like crying, though she had felt this way since yesterday. She sniffled and threw her arms around Hayden's neck, hugging him tightly. "I love it, thank you!" she said. Hayden smiled, hugging her back.

"Now, open the other one," he said, gesturing to a smaller parcel. Lizzie untied the string and tore the paper to see a velvet jewelry box – not unlike the one her Titanic coal necklace had come in. Slowly she opened the box to see a beautiful fourteen-karat gold necklace, the pendant in the shape of a figure skate, with little diamonds studded along the blade of the skate.

Lizzie's jaw dropped. She felt like she couldn't speak.

"Do you like it?" asked Hayden. "I love it!" Lizzie sighed. "Is it real?" She was of course wondering if the gold and diamonds were real. "They are," said Hayden, continuing to smile. "Oh, Hayden!" gasped Emma. "That is so kind of you!"

"Here," said Hayden as he took the necklace out of its box and put it around Lizzie's neck. "No one's ever…" said Lizzie. "It must've cost you a fortune!"

Hayden's smile widened. "You're worth it," he said. Lizzie smiled as she gave him another hug.

After opening presents, and after everyone had their fill of pancakes, Lizzie was still cramping so she decided to go up to her room and take a nap.

She remembered to take off her necklace before getting into bed. She fell asleep almost immediately.

The remainder of the holiday went by much quicker than Lizzie would have liked it to, and before she knew it, the day before she was set to return to Hogwarts was upon her and Hayden as he helped her to take down the fairy lights and other Christmas decorations down from around her room. Her period had ended shortly before New Year's, and now she was back to her old self.

"I really wish we didn't have to go back to Hogwarts," said Lizzie glumly, thinking of Umbridge. "At least we have D.A. meetings to look forward to, eh?" asked Hayden as he took the garland down from Lizzie's fireplace.

"I suppose," said Lizzie. She didn't want to go back to Hogwarts, and end up breathing the same air as Umbridge. She just wished that there was some way that Dumbledore could just make that vile old toad disappear forever.

They arrived at Kings Cross at ten till eleven as they walked down the train platform until they came to a solid brick wall with the numbers nine and ten on either side.

"What did you say the platform number was again?" asked Hayden curiously. "Nine and three-quarters," said Lizzie. Hayden raised his eyebrows. Was there really such a platform?

"Erm, Liz, how are we supposed to….get onto the platform?" asked Hayden. "Oh, it's easy!" said Lizzie brightly. "You just walk straight at the wall between platforms nine and ten," she said as if this were as normal as taking a stroll.

Hayden looked taken aback by this. "Walk straight at the wall?" he repeated. "Yeah," said Lizzie. "But it's best to do it at a bit of a run if you're nervous," she added, smiling.

Hayden gazed at her uncertainly. "Here, I'll show you," said Lizzie as she pushed the trolley containing her trunk a distance away from the barrier between the two platforms, sighed deeply and broke into a run.

Hayden stared as he watched Lizzie run. She was going to crash right into the wall and get hurt. He would never forgive himself.

But as she came upon the wall, Lizzie simply vanished. Blinking hard, wondering where she had gone, Hayden pushed his trolley in front of the barrier at a distance and began to run at it, closing his eyes in anticipation, waiting to crash into the wall…..

But the crash never came.

He opened his eyes and saw Lizzie grinning at him near the Hogwarts Express as a porter helped her load her things onto the train.

"That was unexpected," said Hayden as his trunk was loaded onto the train and they both climbed on. The train was more vacant than normal as they easily found a compartment. They stowed their trunks away and sat down as the train jerked into motion.

They weren't as alone as they thought. Several students that had seen them do their figure skating show and were taking the train back to Hogwarts, stopped by their compartment to pay them compliments and ask for autographs.

The lunch trolley arrived around noon as Lizzie paid eleven Sickles and seven Knuts for an assortment of what was available. Hayden was busying himself with a Chocolate Frog and examining the card within. "Nope," he said, tossing it at Lizzie. "Dumbledore again, and I've got at least twenty of him."

"I've got at least ten," said Lizzie. "Pity we have to go back to school, eh?" asked Hayden, biting the head off his Chocolate Frog. "Mm," said Lizzie, who was lovingly stroking the forelock of her plush toy of Raven and hugging him close. Hayden smiled. "I'm glad you like him," he said. "It looks exactly like him," said Lizzie. "Ever thought of getting one for yourself that looks like Jedi?"

"I've thought about it," said Hayden. "I had a really good Christmas with you," said Lizzie. "I'm not mad at you for surprising me, it was nice." Hayden smiled. "I liked spending time with you too," he said.

"So, new year….got any resolutions?" asked Lizzie. "Hmm," said Hayden thoughtfully. "I was thinking I need to work harder and be more diligent with my homework …."

Lizzie nodded. She was only beginning to remember her own exams coming in a few months' time, and her anxiety began to rise again.