A/N: Okay, so we're going to fast-forward ahead to Christmas time. Hope you all enjoy it. Also, I realized that in chapter I accidentally wrote that Lily snogged Lysander in a broom closet. It was actually Lorcan. I've corrected that mistake and a couple others and updated a few chapters. Sorry for the confusion, folks.

Malfoy vs the World

It was the day before Christmas holidays started. I was sitting at the Slytherin table for dinner that night. The Great Hall looked immaculate. There were smaller Christmas trees lining the walls and one very large Christmas tree behind the teachers. The ornaments reflected the flickering candlelight. There were wreaths and lights and tinsel, but my favourite part had always been the snow. As I stared up at the ceiling, the snow seemed to appear out of thin air, fall a few feet and then disappear once again. The illusion combined the best parts of winter; the beauty of nature and the warmth and coziness of the indoors.

I felt someone nudge me on the left. When I looked around, I realized that everyone was looking at me. I must have been daydreaming for a while.

"Huh?"

"I was just asking if you were going home for the holidays," Nick Greengrass chime in from my left. Nick is Scorpius's cousin from his mother's side of the family. He and I became fast friends once he realized that Scorpius and I were becoming close. He didn't seem to care about family names as much as some of the other Slytherin's did. Scorpius one explained to me that the Greengrass family was a very old, pure-blooded family and that Nick's tolerance and open-mindedness was a sort of rebellion against his relatives.

"I kind of have to. There's the annual Weasley Christmas get together."

"So we won't be seeing you at the Manor?" Nick asked.

"The Manor?" I asked as I turned to look at Scorpius.

"You mean you didn't invite Potter to your Christmas party?" Nick asked Scorpius.

"She doesn't want to spend Christmas Eve with you losers," Scorpius replied.

"Yeah she must be tired of seeing Malfoy's face all the time," Dimitri Krum added. I remembered Uncle Ron had told me about Dimitri's father. Apparently, Viktor Krum had visited Hogwarts when he was younger. The details of his visit changed depending on who you asked. All I know is that he was the Triwizard champion for Durmstrang. However, when it came time to send Dimitri to school, he chose Hogwarts. The reasoning behind his decision was speculated about in the tabloids for weeks. No matter what his reasons were, he obviously made the right decision. Dimitri was a star student and an even more impressive Quidditch player.

"Well, what do you think Lily?" Nick asked.

"I think I haven't been properly asked yet," I said with a suggestive look to Scorpius.

"Would you prefer me on one knee?" Scorpius shot back with a teasing look in his eyes.

"If it's not too much trouble," I said, challenging him. This often happened. Scorpius and I would fool around and tease each other until it turned into some sort of challenge. And neither of us would back away from a challenge. So we looked into each other's eyes, daring, teasing, until Scorpius got up from the bench and knelt down on one knee.

As if it wasn't already dramatic enough, he took my hand in his and said, "Lily my beloved—"

"Am I interrupting something?" Oliver asked as he appeared behind me.

"Actually—" Scorpius started.

"Oh hey, Olly! What's going on?" I asked. It was pretty unusual to see one of my friends from Gryffindor on this side of the hall. They sort of all avoided the topic of my friendship with Scorpius.

"We were supposed to meet in the library to study," he replied. A quick glance at the clock told me that there were still 20 minutes before we had planned to meet.

"I'll meet you there, I just have to take care of something first," I said, almost dissolving into giggles at the thought of Scorpius still kneeling on the floor.

"Yeah, do you mind mate?" Scorpius asked almost mockingly. Oliver simply walked away without replying.

"I should probably go after him," I said, turning back to face Scorpius.

"What about my fake proposal?" Scorpius asked with a pout. I'll be honest; with a face like that, it was hard to say no. I spotted the way his eyes shimmered in the candlelight and how his lips looked too soft to be real. It was almost enough to melt my cool and calm exterior, but I pushed away those thoughts and labelled them as typical teenage girl thoughts.

"Don't worry I'll be at your stupid party," I replied, picking up my bag to leave.

I was walking away when I heard him say, "Wear something nice."

"Oh come on! I had this really comfy pair of sweatpants in mind," I replied sarcastically on my way out.

I left the great hall and made my way to the library. There weren't a lot of students walking in the corridors. Most people were either eating dinner or packing for the holidays. I thought I would have caught up to Oliver on the way to the library, but he was nowhere to be seen. I thought back to Oliver's behaviour at dinner. He had seemed tense and irritated. I worried that something might have happened; something that he couldn't say in front of a table full of Slytherins. I thought of all the possible dilemmas as I entered the library. It was as deserted as the corridors. I found him at a table near the forbidden section.

"Hey there," I said as I approached. He didn't even look up to acknowledge my presence. Sensing his bad mood, I sat down in the chair next to him and pulled out my History of Magic textbook. My hope was that if I stayed with him long enough, he would give in and open up about what was bothering him. Sadly, I could only study History of Magic for so long before I got fidgety. I looked over at Oliver. He was quickly scribbling down notes about the Calming Draught. By that point in time, I had been there for half an hour and he still hadn't said anything.

"Olly it's the day before Christmas break. What are we doing sitting in the library?"

"Preparing for the test we have the week we come back?" He replied without looking up from his parchment.

"Let's go have some fun with our friends," I suggested.

"Which friends? Malfoy and Greengrass? I'd rather not, thanks," he replied finally looking at me.

"That was uncalled for. The fact that I choose to talk to them should indicate that they're decent enough blokes," I said, having had enough of his attitude. "Meet me outside if you change your mind." I left the library and went directly to the Gryffindor Common Room.

When I finally got inside, I saw at least a dozen people lounging about. I spotted Lorcan and Charles, sitting on the loveseat closest to the fireplace. The light from the fireplace gave Lorcan's features a warm glow that was undeniably attractive. The two of us always had this sort of tension between us. Last year, all the flirting and teasing lead up to a snogging session in a broom closet. We were in corridors late at night, planning a prank. After hearing Filch's heavy footsteps approaching, we jumped into the nearest broom closet. Even in the darkness, I could his strong jawline and sharp features. I moved closer so that we were an inch apart. I felt one of his hands slip around his waist as the other one lightly touched my neck. Before I knew what was happening, his lips were on mine. Although it was my first kiss, Lorcan made sure I would never forget it. Just the memory of the dark, confined space, Lorcan's hands, his lips, was enough to get me hot and bothered occasionally. However steamy the kiss was, it never manifested into anything more. Lorcan and I's families were incredibly close. If we were to ever break up, it would messy and complicated. So since that day, I never mentioned the kiss and neither did he. Thankfully, we're still friends. So I walked over to the loveseat and asked, "Who's up for a snowball fight?"

"I don't know Lils," Lorcan replied. "It's looking a little cold out there."

"Oh come on! Let's go have some fun! Count me in Lily," Charles replied, before going off to find more people to join.

I replaced Charles on the couch and turned to give Lorcan a pleading look.

"Oi that's not fair! You know I can't say no to that face," Lorcan complained.

"Don't worry, I'll put you on my team," I replied with a wink before getting up from the couch.

"Let's meet in the courtyard in 10 minutes."I yelled across the room before heading up the stairs to my dorms to see if I could find Clara. It felt like we hadn't really talked much this semester. It wasn't like we actively avoided each other. We just never seemed to be in the same place at the same time. Most days, I woke up early for a run and by the time I came back, she was already at breakfast. Whenever I actually sat with Gryffindor, she was the Hufflepuff table with some fifth-year boy. In hindsight, the fact that I didn't even know the name of her new love interest should have been a sign that our friendship was deteriorating. When we had classes together she was too busy paying attention and I was too busy falling asleep. All in all, to say that our relationship was strained was a bit of an understatement. I know that it's naive to think that all your childhood friendships would last forever, but Clara was a genuine, honest person who I was not ready to let go of. So I hoped that this snowball fight would be the first step on the road to recovery.

With that thought in mind, I opened the door to our dormitory. I glanced around the room and found Clara on her bed, folding clothes to pack in her trunk.

"Typical, organized Clara," I thought to myself.

"Hey Clara, there's a snowball fight going on outside and I don't think I can win without you on my team."

"I don't know, Lily. I still have a lot to pack," she replied looking up at me.

"Come one. I need you."

"I'm sure you'll win with Scorpius on your team," she replied, going back to folding.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked, changing the tone of my voice.

"You're a smart girl Lily. Figure it out. Or have you lost a few too many brain cells hanging around that lot?" she replied, clenching her fists.

"Could someone please tell me what Scorpius has done to deserve the hatred of every other Gryffindor?" I asked, raising my voice.

"Frankly I couldn't care less about Scorpius. You're the one who I can't stand."

"Me? Have you lost your marbles? What could I have possibly done?"

"Lily, you've basically abandoned us for the Slytherins."

"What do you mean? I sit with the Gryffindors every other meal. I'm in the common room almost every night. I'm on the bloody Quidditch team for Merlin's sake," I yelled back. Controlling my temper had never been my strong suit.

"Fine, then you've abandoned me!" She screamed. "You're gone before I wake up. We never talk in class. You go to Hogsmeade without me. When you finally come back to our room, you just go straight to bed. I'm sick and tired of never talking to my so-called best friend." An awkward silence descended upon the room. There was no longer an elephant in the room. We had both voiced our complaints and now we had to move on. Whether moving on meant walking away or forgiving one another depended on these next few moments.

I looked up at Clara. Her shoulders were slumped, her eyes glistened, she looked defeated. I was the first to speak up, "It was not my intention to abandon you. However, I agree that I could have made more of an effort to be a good friend and for that I am sorry."

"I know it was not intentional, but somehow that made it worse," she replied, quietly.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean it was so easy for you to forget about me and move on to Scorpius. You didn't even have to think about it. You just faded away without even noticing."

"Trust me, it was not easy not being able to talk to you. And it was even harder getting close to Scorpius," I replied, reassuringly. "That's actually the reason why I came up here. I was tired of us never spending time together and I thought that a snowball fight would be a great way to spend quality time together"

"Oh of course! Nothing says friendship like dodging projectiles in frigid temperatures."

"Hey sod off! I'm trying to be a good friend here!"

"I know you are and I appreciate it, but I think I'll sit this one out," she replied before going back to folding her robes.

Sensing that her mind was made up, I headed to the door. But before I left, Clara called out, "So we're gonna start treating each other better, yeah?"

I turned around, smiling, "Don't worry Clara, you'll be sick of me by the time we graduate."