"Thanks, Professor!" Aly said excitedly as she picked up her books.

Professor Babbling smiled up at Aly. "Congrats."

Aly smiled brightly as she walked out of Professor Babbling's classroom. "Happy Christmas!" she yelled over her shoulder.

"Happy Christmas, Aly!"

Aly smiled to herself and stared down at her paper with jubilee. Her first O on a paper. She'd never felt so proud. She put the paper gently in her bag and shouldered it.

She started walking to the Great Hall, where Char would probably be, stuffing his face. She grinned at the thought of his bulging cheeks.

Then as she turned a corner she spotted Char coming down in the different direction. She stopped. "Hey!" she called.

Char stopped walking and looked down the hallway, grinning. He looked above her head and smiled. He started walking to her, grinning like an idiot. His eyes flashed above her head.

"Guess what?!" Aly squealed as Char walked closer. "I got my first O!" She noticed he was still looking above her head. She looked up and saw the mistletoe he had his eyes on.

"First O? Lovely," Char said quietly as he placed his hands on her waist and proceeded to back her over to the wall. Aly laughed and pushed him away, glancing over his shoulder. "Aw, what?"

"We have company," Aly said quietly as she heard footsteps.

"Boyle and Trevelyan. What ugly children they'll make."

"Jealous prat," Char spat.

Aly groaned with frustration and slid out of Char's arms. She took out her wand. "What d'you want, Malfoy?"

Draco Malfoy stood there, his arms crossed, his face filled with loathing. "Any of you idiots see Crabbe or Goyle?"

"No, and quite frankly, I'd prefer not to."

Malfoy snarled.

"Go look in the Great Hall. They're probably stuffing their faces," Char spat.

Aly smirked at Malfoy as he winced, grasping his left arm.

"Man up, Malfoy," she smirked. Malfoy grimaced and turned in the other direction. Aly waited until he disappeared and then put her wand away, relaxing. Char laughed behind her. "Well handled."

"Thank you," Aly said lightly, turning around. "Let's go to the Great Hall. I want to annoy him some more." She laced his hands through hers and they started walking together. They talked about the paper that they had to write for Ancient Runes. Char heard laughing ahead of them and stopped Aly.

"What?"

"That sounds like..." Char pulled her quietly behind a wall and signaled her to be quiet. He peeked around the corner. Then he pulled back quickly, his eyes widening. "What?" Aly mouthed. Char and Aly peeked around the corner and Aly's eyes widened. Hayden was backing Kylie up against a wall and they were laughing and kissing. Aly gulped as she heard smacking.

"Happy Christmas," she heard Hayden laugh.

"Shouldn't we..." Aly suggested, but Char shook his head. Then he sniggered as Kylie threw her arms around Hayden's neck.

"Please?" Aly hissed. "I'm going to puke!" Char shook with silent laughter. They looked around the corner again and watched as Kylie pulled Hayden down the hallway. He started kissing her neck and then the room was silent. Then Char and Aly froze when they heard a loud smack, their faces turning red.

"Please!" Aly hissed, her face burning up. "I will puke on your shoes this instant if we do not leave!"

"Um...er..." Char muttered, running a hand through his hair. "Um..."

Suddenly they heard a thump and they looked around the corner and saw Hayden and Kylie on the floor. Char burst into laughter as they struggled to untangle their limbs.

"Who's there?" Hayden shouted. Char froze and pulled him and Aly back.

"Now you've done it!" Aly mouthed angrily.

"Who's there?" Hayden called again. Aly panicked and looked around. Char froze as the footsteps came closer. Then Hayden peeked around the corner.

"Hey!" he exclaimed, seeing Aly and Char in the corner. They burst into laughter. Hayden turned red. "That's not funny!"

"It is!" Aly giggled. "Can't even stand up properly during a snog!" Kylie stomped over to them angrily.

"It's not funny! Why were you spying on us?"

"Ask Char," Aly laughed. "It was his idea." Char winked.

"Guilty as charged. What shall be my sentence? Tripping down the stairs too much?" He burst into laughter.

"I'm gonna hex you!" Hayden grinned. Aly squeaked and grabbed Char's hand and they sprinted down the hallway, laughing. "GET BACK HERE!"

--

Char and Aly slipped away quietly to the Great Hall with Amanda and Damien. Hayden and Kylie joined them a few moments later glaring at Aly and Char. They chuckled. Amanda moved closer to Char to make room for Kylie.

"Shut up," Kylie growled, planting herself on the bench.

Aly giggled. "Hayden, you've some lipstick on your collar." Hayden tried brushing it off quickly and Damien burst into laughter.

"I'd like to see you snog without tripping," Kylie snapped, glaring at Damien.

"Oh, we've done it before," Amanda said, winking at Aly.

"Too much information, Mandy," Aly said with disgust.

"Oh, come off it. When you're snogging in the common room I can hear you from the second floor corridor," Amanda smirked. Aly flushed.

"Someone sounds jealous..." Char said quietly, grinning at his friend. Amanda glared at him.

"Amanda looks like she's ready to have a go," Damien teased. "Char?"

Char wrapped an arm around Amanda's waist while the others laughed. "Bring it on," Char smirked, winked.

"Shut up!" Amanda snapped, flushing. Aly raised an eyebrow at her boyfriend and then leaned towards Damien and grabbed his tie, smiling. Damien looked down at her lips, winking.

"I'm in the mood for a good snog," Damien winked. Aly grinned back.

"Hey!" Char exclaimed, turning to them as they stood up. "Quit it! I was joking!" Aly and Damien skipped out of the Great Hall, laughing. Char fumed.

"I was joking," he grumbled. They sat, sniggering at Char for a few minutes and then Aly and Damien came back. Char's mouth dropped when he saw Aly's lips swollen and she was breathing hard. Damien was breathing hard as well, and both had messy hair. Aly sat down next to Char, coughed and attempted to fix herself up, smiling nervously.

"Well?" Char demanded.

"Your girlfriend has lovely lips, mate." Char growled and the others roared with laughter. Aly's tired appearance faded away and she grinned at Char. He glared at her as Aly kissed him on the cheek. Char flushed. Aly laughed again and watched Dumbledore announce the Christmas feast. The plates filled with food and talk began. The Great Hall was in its usual splendor; the Christmas tree, and decorations with red, green and gold.

Kylie sipped her pumpkin juice and looked to her left. She smirked.

"Look at Hermione."

Hermione was sitting across from Harry, her arms crossed, eyes raging with hate as she watched Ron and Lavender laugh.

"I told you she's jealous," Damien winked. "Raging eyes and everything."

"Well, maybe she just doesn't like Lavender," Kylie suggested.

"I never really liked her," Char said indifferently.

"Why would you ever like her when you've got Aly?" Damien asked, playing devil's advocate. Char cast a side-glance at Aly, who was raising her eyebrow.

"I'm just saying that I've never liked her," Char said hastily. "That doesn't mean I did...she's not...I mean...Oh, forget it."

Aly laughed and continued eating. Kylie grinned at her. She leaned forward. "Are you going to Slughorn's party?"

"Oh, no," Aly said, shaking her head. "I'm not 'slug' material."

"I just don't get that man," Kylie added. "He picks the students whose parents he knew back in their school days. I guess the parents were geniuses."

"Why?"

"Well, Hermione is a member, Harry's a member...Ernie Macmillan is a member...They're all geniuses," Kylie explained.

"That's stupid."

They continued eating, laughing and talking, and for once, Aly felt as if the world was normal: Adam wasn't in the center, John wasn't running rampant, and You-Know-Who was dead from the start.

Hey, a girl can dream.