A/N: A few people asked me if I had some affinity to gaming, and truth be told, while I do like to play some video games, most of my observations have been from watching my sons, husbands, and friends playing games (like at this very minute, my two oldest sons are playing some sort of war game on the PS3 while my youngest two kids are playing the Wii). This chapter takes us up to the end of chapter 12 in SLP (for those of you who are doing a side by side). Hm… maybe this is going to be longer than SLP…

Disc.: I did not kill Darla, it was the Dragon Pox. I swear.

Christmas the Four

Rose and Hugo arrived shortly after breakfast and before any of us could go up to play video games or anything, we were ushered into Lily's room. I don't know what I expected, but seeing Lily in a night gown with mittens on her hands was comical. Albus and James had practically danced on their way into the room and embraced their young sister. She looked annoyed.

"Should we rub our heads on her belly?" Albus asked grinning. I fought the urge to grin as Lily frowned and pushed her brothers away.

"Get off," Lily growled at them. Albus laughed as Rose and Hugo entered the room all of the way while I hung back at the door, not wanting to go any further.

"Is that all of you?" the healer asked. Rose looked around.

"Where's Taryn?" Rose asked curiously. Lily scowled.

"He went home last night," James said darkly. Rose and Lily looked at each other, bursting into girlish tears. James glanced at me and we both shrugged as Rose threw herself half way to Lily, met by the awaiting arms of Lily. We looked away uncomfortably, as if it was indecent, as the girls cried and hugged, their words unintelligible. Rose pulled away, wiping her eyes.

"I guess that ought to be enough to get all diseased up," Rose laughed as she grabbed a tissue. Hugo rolled his eyes, hugging his younger cousin. She made a face as Hugo laughed, rubbing his cheek against hers. I laughed a little too, though quietly.

"Go on son," the healer said pushing me toward Lily suddenly. I couldn't help but blush slightly and quickly hugged Lily. I pulled away.

"Is that even enough contact?" James snickered. I shot him a dirty look, before I smiled almost cruelly at him.

"Would you rather I kiss her?" I taunted him. James made a face, shaking his head.

"No, not particularly," James said to me. I rolled my eyes.

"Well," I said crossing my arms. I looked to the healer for answers. "Is that contact enough?"

"I'd say perhaps," she said. She grinned. "Except you, son, I'd prefer you have a little more physical contact." She nodded towards Lily.

"Splendid," I said rolling my eyes as the other boys bounced merrily from the room. I felt conflicted, on the one hand I wanted to hug her and be with her, on the other hand I had just learned about Darla's passing not but a few hours before. It was all really confusing. Rose blushed at me, her cheeks bright red and headed to the bathroom. The healer busied herself with something in her bag and I moved a bit closer.

"Might as well get this over with," Lily said as she crawled across her bed, crawling closer to me. "Want to rub my belly?"

"Not particularly," I said as I cracked a smile. I was curious to touch her, but not when I was supposed to be catching a disease from her. Lily laughed and her light hearted laughter drew me in. I touched her face slightly, grinning.

"Awe, c'mon," Lily said pulling away reluctantly. I glanced at the healer.

"Quickly," I whispered. Lily looked and nodded once, giving me permission. I was surprised that she was allowing me so soon after what happened with Taryn. I didn't think about it, I just went for it. I leaned forward, my hand still on her face. My mouth touched her, tongues touching tentatively, and I felt the muscles in the pit of my stomach twist intensely. The more she kissed me back, the more I wanted to kiss her. It was a win-win thing. Lily grinned at me as she pulled back, breathless.

"That should infect you well enough," Lily laughed as she pushed me away with one hand. He hand felt natural on my body, and for a brief moment I didn't want to move away. I did, anyway. I wouldn't push her.

"Indeed," the healer murmured with a twinkle in her eye. I blushed as she shooed me out of the room just as Rose reentered. I headed to the television room to play video games. With Taryn gone, it was if things had suddenly eased and changed. I knew that James and I would never be best friends, especially when he found out that I was madly in love with his sister, but we were civil and even friendly. We played video games for the rest of the day and slowly came down with fevers until we were miserable.

By Christmas Eve, I was donning a set of spelled on mittens and a horrible rash covering me from head to toe, including some rather sensitive spots. It was torture to not be able to itch. Lily was there with us, the five of us miserable while she was mitten free and nearly spot free. She was being mean, refusing to scratch us. She grinned at me as James tried to scratch his arm with his foot.

"I guess we're not going to the annual Slytherin ball," I moaned as I struggled to scratch my arm with the stupid mittens on. She giggled at me.

"I could still go," Lily teased me but she shook her head. She held up a piece of paper. "It was canceled this year because of the out breaks of chicken and dragon pox. Apparently, though, getting chicken pox will keep us pretty safe from getting dragon pox."

"You could be less cheerful about this, you know," James grumbled at her. I turned my head to laugh without him seeing. Lily was less inconspicuous and laughed at him right in the face. She jumped up.

"Juice anyone?" She asked us as she looked at us. I raised my empty glass as did the others and she nodded as she danced around the room, taking our glasses.

"I can't believe Mum and Dad sent us here to get a disease on purpose," Hugo grumbled as he went to chew on his arm. Rose blanched and turned her head.

"At least you'll get over it before Christmas Holiday ends," Lily reminded as she grabbed the last few juice cups. She danced around balancing the stack of glasses. "And maybe the snow will finally fall heavily enough to stick in time for Christmas."

"Ugh, your too damn cheerful," I moaned from his place on the floor. Lily grinned as she reached down and tousled my hair with her free hand.

"You guys were all cheerful when I was the one who had the disease," she giggled as she danced gracefully from the room. Lily fetched a tray of juice and cookies that Grandmother Weasley sent for the kids to enjoy while they were all ailing. Lily skipped back, balancing the tray of juice and cookies that their grandmother, and nearly fell over James' legs.

"Watch out," James growled as he caught the tray second before it crashed onto the table and Lily frowned at him as she nearly stumbled into me.

"What were you doing on the floor?" she asked him as she regained her footing.

"Scratching his back," Albus snickered as he tried to bite his mittens off. I laughed him and Lily laughed as she picked up the game controller.

"Anyone want to play?" Lily asked with feigned innocence. The rest of us in the room groaned. None of us had been able to play the games since we were forced to don mittens to keep from itching. It made going to the bathroom the most exciting times of the day, since the mittens could come off to do the bathroom business and wash up. During bathroom times, I spent more time itching than using the bathroom, and I was happy to do that.

"Sucks," Hugo said crossing his arms. "Figures we'd get the stupid Muggle Pox."

"Chicken pox," Lily reminded him lightly as she flipped the channel to the game and began playing against the system. She was fascinating to watch, so beautiful. She was terribly focused on the game and ignored us as we tried to trip her up. She lost horribly, laughing as her character failed to beat out the computer. "Stupid Turtle Ducks."

"Koopas!" James howled with an indignant glare. "You can't call them 'turtle ducks'. They're Koopas!" I laughed hysterically at James' reaction, and at Lily who had stuck her tongue out at him defiantly. She threw one of the couch pillows at him, missing.

"Fine, fine," Lily laughed as she threw another one of the pillows at him. "Stupid Koopas. Better, Jamesie-poo?"

"Not really," James glared at her. "And don't call me Jamesie-poo."

"I kind of like it," I taunted snickering. James shot me the bird.

"Fine, call me Jamesie-poo, but he's got to have some ridiculously sweet pet name too, like Scorpy-worpy or something," James threatened at me maliciously towards Lily.

"You wouldn't dare, Potter," I threatened back with my eyes on Lily. She bit her bottom lip slightly.

"Oh, wouldn't I?" Lily challenged as a grin spread across her face. It was intense. "Cutesy nicknames for everyone!"

"Get her!" Hugo called in a battle-cry. The five of us sprung into action, ganging up on Lily with our mitten-spelled hands and our strong wills; she had no chance in hell of getting away. We caught her off guard and she wasn't a match for us as we held her down. We tickled her until she released the controller and gasped with laughter. She had tears streaming down her face.

"I surrender! I surrender!" Lily gasped. "No nicknames! I promise! I swear! On all my future children."

"You'd better mean very distance future children," Harry warned lightly as he came into the room to check on the itchy brood of teenagers. We all looked up laughing as he stood there, a smile on his face. I wondered for a minute how he felt with me pinning his daughter, suddenly aware that I was sitting with her legs pinned under me. I climbed free of her quickly, releasing her properly, as had the others started to move off of her.

"Of course, of course," Lily said as she struggled slightly into a sitting position.

"Well, I'm glad that you are all getting along well enough," Harry said. "I just thought that you guys might like to spend some time out in the snow." The electricity increased in the room at the word. Fifteen or not, snow was still exciting!

"Is it sticking?" Lily asked excitedly as she jumped up and ran to the window. We all peered out the large picture window of the television room, jerking the curtains back to see white stuff coming down in torrents. Sure enough a winter wonderland was forming down below just as the street lights were coming on outside.

"It's sticking," Harry confirmed as we hurried to pull their gear on, caring less and less about their fevers and the speckled rashes. Itchy or not, we were going to tear up some snow!

"It's about time," James said and I nodded, pulling my boots on over my shoes.

"It's just not Christmas without snow," Rose confirmed. Lily laughed.

"Scorpius, hey," Harry called to me as we headed out the room. I looked at him and he signaled for me to stay behind.

"Yes?" I asked uncertainly. Surely he didn't know I was in love with his daughter, or that I wanted her. I thought I was doing better about things, hiding my feelings.

"Your dad wanted me to let you know that your grandfather passed away this morning," Harry said with great sympathy. His hand was resting on my shoulder, as if to hold me to this world.

"Lucius died?" I asked in an almost whisper.

"Yes," Harry said quietly. "The Dragon Pox."

"Why didn't my dad come tell me?" I asked. He glanced away for a moment and I swear I thought I saw him suppress a smile for my benefit.

"Your grandmother needed him at home, since she's mending but still a bit on the weak side," Harry said quietly to me. "Plus, he didn't want to risk catching chicken pox and possibly infecting your grandmother. She's not nearly one hundred percent yet."

"Oh," I said numbly. It was confusing, they way I felt. I mean, I should have been more upset about it, about my grandfather's passing, but this was the man who took away my playroom when I was six, beat me when I was bad, and told me to suck it up when my mother died. It was hard to be upset when someone as evil and cruel as Lucius Malfoy died. I could still sometimes feel the torturous twist of my body when he conditioned me against the Cruciatus Curse when I was bad. If my father or mother ever knew…

"I'm sorry for your loss, son," Harry said and for the second time in so many days, he was embracing me as if I were his son.

"I'm more upset about Darla's passing," I confessed without meaning to from his hug. He released me slowly and smiled.

"I can believe that," Harry said simply and he nodded towards the door. "Better get out there before all of the good snow is taken."

"Will do," I said as I started out the door. I turned and looked at him. "Thanks, Harry."

"No problem, Scorpius. You're always welcome," he told me and I smirked. I wondered if that sentiment would remain if he knew how crazy I was about his daughter. I glanced at him one last time, and thought to myself that he would probably be ok with it when we were older.

That night, Albus surrendered his bed to me, which was so nice of him. He shrugged and rolled his eyes, but I knew how much it meant for him to give up his room to a Slytherin. Lily was joyful, cheerful even, dancing around excitedly. It was, after all, Christmas Eve, and she was happy. I wondered when I would tell her about Darla and about my grandfather, though less about the latter. I had mentioned it briefly to James while we were chopping wood and he had been truly sympathetic.

"Dude, seriously, I'm sorry about Darla," James said pausing with the axe in his hand. He wiped the back of his forehead with his still spelled on mitten. "How are you holding up?"

"Decently," I replied. We didn't talk about my grandfather's loss, but of my loss of Darla. My grandfather, though it should have been more heartbreaking, it wasn't.

"What did Lily say?" James asked me curiously. I shook my head.

"I've not had the heart to tell her yet," I confessed. He looked at me and nodded once. "I've not told anyone really yet, aside for those who already know. I just can't bring that sadness into Lily's holiday. Not like this."

"I can understand that. Lily can be a bit emotional, and I imagine she and Darla must have been friends, being dorm mates and all," James said. I nodded once, though I wasn't sure that they were really all that close. I didn't really know how Lily would react. Would she be relieved that there was nothing holding us apart? Would she be mad at herself for being thrilled? I wasn't even sure that Lily liked me as much as she used to, though the infecting kiss had really got my heart racing. My heart was a traitor, and I was glad that she was blissfully unaware.

"We'd better finish up here," I said suddenly. I glanced at him and sighed as he resumed swinging the axe. James and I were getting along, but I knew that we would most likely not continue once we were back at school. I had to admit, away from Gryffindor and Slytherin prejudices, he could be a pretty awesome friend.

Lily looked up at me as I walked in, carrying a load of wood. She was sitting at the table reading a book. I grinned at her and carried my stack to the living room fireplace. I placed it in the wood holder and headed upstairs to my room, Albus' room, to see an owl pecking at the window. I opened the window as large as it would open, the owl soaring in and landing on the foot post of the bed. A cumbersome package was strapped to its' leg. I hurried over, untying the beast and slipping in a few coins into his tip bag before practically launching it out the window.

I was happy that it had come, the perfect gift. On all my trips to Diagon Ally, in the shop window of Mistress Penny's Shoppe, I had always stopped and looked at their trinkets and things. When I was a small boy, before my mother had died, I had actually gone into the shop with her. I couldn't have been more than six years old, just before Lucius took over my education. Back then, life was still light and free and pure. I had wandered around the store, looking at the random baubles and things I had no interest in as a little boy. Mum had promised me a trip to All Quid Quidditch Pro Shop if I could be a good little boy. It was painful, but I would be the best little boy there was to make sure I could go see the new Star Streak broom line.

"Scorpius," my mother had called to me as I was perusing these little hinged boxes. I looked up surprised to see her standing beside me. She knelt down to my level and adjusted my short pants, tying my shoes the muggle way.

"Yes, Mummy?" I had replied. My eyes still held that wide-eyed childhood innocence to them. She tousled my hair.

"What are you looking at?" she asked me curiously as I glanced down at my hands. In it was a wooden box, carved, with a serpent on it. She looked at it and smiled almost wistfully. "Ah, a carved box. One day, I must tell you the story of Jean Malfoy someday."

"Ok," I said looking up at her smile. I placed the box down and found myself playing with a locket. Mistress Penny, a rather ancient looking witch, grinned at me toothlessly and it frightened me a bit.

"Young Mister Malfoy, I see you have grand tastes in treasures like your mother, Infamy," Mistress Penny said as she took the locket in her hand. She leaned close to me, dropping her voice to a very dramatic whisper. "Do you want to know a secret about this locket?"

"A secret?" It was ever boy's dream to know a secret or to hold a treasure in their bare hands.

"A very special secret," she whispered. "You mustn't tell a soul."

"I promise," and I was serious. I even put my pinky out, ready to pinky swear like I had seen some auburn haired kids out in the main drag. She smiled and linked her little finger with mine. Her skin felt like paper.

"This, my son, is more than a locket," she whispered. I watched as she ran her finger along the seam of the locket, almost as if caressing it. It sprung open, a lilting, delicate song springing forth unseen from behind the invisible cogs below the metal work.

"Wow," I had said and she smiled as she snapped it closed. She put her finger to her mouth and nodded once, placing it back on the platform. I looked at the price and swallowed the desire to get it for my mother, the most important woman in my life at the time. Even at six years old, I knew that with as many zeros that followed that first number in galleons there was no chance I'd ever have it.

That had been nearly ten years before, and the objects remained in my mind, reinforced by my mother's story of Jean Malfoy and his love for Simone. A decade, I couldn't expect that Mistress Penny was even alive anymore, or that such a spectacular locket or box would still be there, but I was persistent and I owl-ed the shop, desiring the locket. I held the box in my hand, knowing what it contained. I couldn't even think about the amount of money spent, just that this was, for me, a step in a direction that I was ever increasingly excited about.

I opened the box, checking the locket against my memory. It was still as it had been all those many years before. The box, untouched, felt satiny smooth under my finger tips. I hoped that she liked it, my heart rate increased. Just like Jean's anticipation of Simone's reaction, I was nervous to see how Lily received such a personal part of me. The locket slid silently into the box and I wrapped it easily, having watched it be done many times before. The paper was silvery, mirror like, and I tied a green bow around it, thinking I had done a pretty good job. I took a deep breath and slipped it under my pillow. I knew that Christmas Day, tomorrow, would take forever to come.