A/N: If anyone is interested in what Lily's dress looks like, here's a link: /dvtwn6o5oxksly

Christmas with the Malfoy's

It was the 24th of December and I was in the drawing room at the Malfoy Manor. There was a large, marble fireplace at one end of the room with a wreath placed directly above. At the other end, there stood the largest Christmas tree that I had ever seen. It must've taken days to trim that monstrosity of a tree. And yet despite its size, it did not come close to touching the ceiling. Upon taking a closer look, I noticed that the ornaments were beautiful but only decorative. Unlike the tree at my house, there were no hints of sentimentality. No handmade snowflakes nor popcorn garland. The two enormous chandeliers created a lighting that suited the aesthetic of the Manor. Although it was my first time being there, I could tell it was not a warm and inviting place. The guests reflected this mood. From the time I walked into the room, my red hair and freckles was a dead giveaway that I did not belong. I thanked Merlin that I hadn't gone through with pranking Scorpius by showing up in sweats. Instead, I wore a royal blue gown. It was made of layers of tulle and lace appliques on the bodice. I had on silver, strappy heels and I carried a matching clutch to conceal my wand. Although most of the guests did not talk to me, their stares told me all I needed to know. So after grabbing a drink, I made my way to a corner of the room where I could avoid everyone whilst I waited for Scorpius to show up. Only Scorpius would be late to his own party.

"I didn't think you would actually come," someone said from my left.

I turned to face Nick, "I almost didn't. When I asked my parents to come, my mum's face looked like she'd seen a ghost."

"So how did you convince them?"

"I quoted some muggle that my dad admires: 'be the change you want to see in the world'. Or something like that. If he wants other people to be more accepting, he should also be accepting of others, such as the Malfoys."

"And it actually worked?"

"Well I'm here aren't I?" I replied with a smirk. Actually, the truth was that my invitation to this party caused a lot of conflict in the Potter household. My mum kept asking me if I wouldn't prefer to go with them to the Burrow. Then there was James who was convinced that this party was a cover-up for my induction into Slytherin. Dad gave me a thorough lecture on being responsible and behaving properly. He even suggested that Albus accompany me as my chaperone. Although Albus was relatively quiet when I first mentioned the party, he quickly rejected the idea of going to the Manor. This reaction sort of surprised me because Al and Scorpius used to be friends during their first couple of years at Hogwarts. But when I thought about it, I hadn't seen them talk at all since returning to Hogwarts.

"So what are the Potters off doing whilst we corrupt their one and only daughter?" Nick asked.

"The Potters are doing the same thing they do every year; cramming themselves into the Burrow along with all of my relatives."

"Ah yes! The infamous Burrow; home to some of the Second Wizarding War's greatest heroes. I've always wondered how you lot manage to fit so many people into one tiny house. Has old man Weasley placed an extension charm on the place?"

"Ha! I wish! All the kids sort of share the floor on the ground floor and the parents get the bedrooms and the attic."

"Blimey! That sounds…"

"Overwhelming?" I questioned, cutting him off.

"Actually I was going to say miraculous," he replied before laughing at the expression on my face. "If my family had to spend Christmas Eve crammed into a tiny house, I'm not sure anyone would make it out alive." The two of us succumbed to fits of laughter over his last statement.

"Looks like you two are having more fun than anyone here," Scorpius said as he approached us. "Tell me, what's the secret to having a good time at a Malfoy party?"

"Isn't it obvious? My charm and good looks make me the life of any party," I replied whilst giving him a hug. "Thank you for inviting me by the way."

"No thank you, darling, for showing up," he replied, still holding on to my waist. "Nick it's nice to see that you could stand to be with your family long enough to make an appearance," he said, turning to face Nick, one arm still around my waist.

"Well I've had loads of assistance," he whispered pulling out a small bottle of Firewhisky from inside his blazer.

"Nick, you always know how to cheer me up!" Scorpius exclaimed, reaching for the bottle with his left hand.

He took a swig of Firewhisky and passed the bottle back to Nick.

"Want a taste, Lily?" Nick asked.

"Come on mate. She's only a fourth year."

"Yeah and if I remember correctly, we had our first Firewhisky way before our fourth year. Besides, what's the worst that could happen?

"She's not having any," Scorpius said with a serious tone.

"Yeah, she is!"

"How about you take that bottle of yours and shove it up yo-"

"Oi! That's enough! It's not your decision to make now, is it? Thanks for the offer Nick, but I'll stick to Butterbeer for now."

"Suit yourself, Potter," Nick replied, taking another swig from the bottle.

"I see you're enjoying yourself, Nicholas," Astoria Malfoy drawled as she approached the three of us. "Does your mother know that you're planning to make a fool of yourself at my party?"

"I dunno Aunty. Perhaps you should go ask her yourself," Nick replied with an equal amount of venom in his tone.

Mrs. Malfoy seemed to take a deep breath to restore her emotionless facade before turning towards Scorpius, "Nice of you to finally join the party, Scorpius. Could your father and I have a word?"

Scorpius silently walked away with his mother not too far behind.

Scorpius did not return for about 20 minutes. When he finally did, his hands were clenched into fists, his forehead was wrinkled and his eyes were narrowed.

"What's wrong?" I asked, softly.

"It's nothing. I just came to say goodnight. I'm leaving," he replied abrasively, turning to walk away.

I grabbed his arm before he could get too far, "Let me come with you." I knew he would not open up to me in this crowded room where his parents were only a few metres away.

He looked me in the eye for awhile, almost as if he was trying to gauge whether or not I knew what it is was really signing up for. "Alright, go get your cloak."

I retrieved my cloak and when I returned, he was waiting for me outside the doors to the drawing room. "Where to now, Mr. Malfoy?" I asked.

A bittersweet smile appeared on his face. "I'm not quite sure. Any ideas?" he asked, taking a step closer to me.

For some reason, being this close to him made me nervous. Especially as his cologne slowly wrapped its way around my senses. "Well, I'm starving. Your bite-sized hors-d'oeuvres were quite underwhelming," I replied, attempting to lighten the mood.

"Don't let mother hear you say that. She'd have your head." His voice was lacking the playful tone that one would expect to accompany such harsh words. "How about we head to the Leaky Cauldron and see if we can't take care of that monstrous appetite of yours."

I rolled my eyes in response, but he was already walking away. I followed him all the way to another set of heavy oak doors.

"This is father's study. The fireplace here is connected to the floo network."

"And he's alright with us being in here?" I questioned.

"By the time he notices, we'll be long gone."

I looked around the room, waiting for something to jump out from a dark corner. The Malfoy's dark past was common knowledge. I wouldn't be surprised if Draco Malfoy had something to keep people of out of his private office.

"Well, come on then," he urged, handing me some floo powder. "Lady's first."

I took the powder from him and walked over to the fireplace, surrounded by black, mirror-like bricks. I stepped into the small space and turned around to give Scorpius one last look before green flames engulfed my vision. When I arrived at the Leaky Cauldron, I quickly stepped out to make room for Scorpius. By the time I spun around to face the fireplace, he had already appeared.

"Blimey! You nearly landed right on top of me."

"Well, that would have been an early Christmas present to Skeeter. I could see the headline now, 'A Potter and a Malfoy spotted getting close up and personal in the confines of a fireplace.'"

"I actually think she'd explode with joy."

"I don't think 'joy' is the right word. More like exhilaration."

"Yeah whatever Malfoy, let's just find a booth away from the crowd." There was hardly anyone in the restaurant, but I did not want to take chances. So we sat down in a booth far away from the other patrons and ordered some food.

"So what brings us to Diagon Alley on this fine Christmas Eve? Why are we at a pub when we could be at a black tie event?"

"Oh come on Lily. Did you forget who you're talking to? You and I both know that you'd rather be in a dusty old pub than an elegant, high society affair any day."

"Yeah, but you usually fit right in at fancy parties. So what went wrong tonight?" I looked for a clue on Scorpius' face, but as always it was a blank mask.

He leaned back in his seat and looked away. Whatever it was, he really did not want to talk about it. "It seems that my parents have started planning for my future."

"Yeah? Well, welcome to the club. My mum bought me my own Harpies jersey the same day she found out that she was having a girl," I replied teasingly.

"This is different," he said with a tone that made me not want to argue.

"What are you not telling me?"

"My parents have decided that I will marry Peggy."

"Peggy Parkinson?"

"Do you know another Peggy?" he spat out.

"I'm just trying to understand what's going on! This doesn't make any sense."

"Of course not, nothing about my family does."

"Well just say no."

"Are you serious?" he said incredulously.

"Lower your voice," I said as the waiter approached with our food.

He waited until she left before continuing, "As a Malfoy, I am expected to marry well."

"Listen, I know what it's like to be squashed under the weight of expectations, bu—"

"Our families' expectations are not the same," He said, raising his voice again. I knew that this was a hard topic for him, so I let him take it out on me. "You're expected to be a good person. You're expected to be happy, to be successful. I'm expected to maintain status and power. I'm expected to restore the Malfoy name. Our families are worlds apart."

I waited for a moment to make sure that he was done, before replying. "Have I ever told you about my experience with the Sorting hat?"

"What on earth does that have to do with me marrying Peggy?"

"Well after my name was called, I was on my way up to the stool, when I heard a group of Ravenclaws talking about me. One said that there was 'no point in even putting the Sorting Hat on her head'. That I was just 'wasting everyone's time'. Another one said that I should 'just get on with it and head straight to the Gryffindor table'. I had never felt as trapped as I did at that moment. It felt as though no matter what I did, my destiny was already predetermined and there was nothing I could do to change that. I would always be defined as Harry Potter's daughter. I know there are worse things to be called, but sometimes I just want to be Lil, not Lily Potter." I reached for his hands. They were enormous compared to mine, but somehow it was a perfect fit. "The way I see it, we're two sides of the same coin. We're both fighting to make our own destiny. As your friend, I'll always be there to help you fight your battles."

He looked me in the eye, "I really appreciate you saying that Lil and I'll always be there for you too but I ju…"

His words faded away as I got a better look at his hands. The right sleeve of his robes was slightly bunched around his forearm. This revealed his right wrist, where I could see thin, barely noticeable scars. How could I have not considered how all this pressure would lead to him taking it out on himself? My heart flooded with dread as I remembered that fateful night in the forest, last summer. Suddenly, I realized that it was the wrong wrist. Last summer, he had scars on his left wrist, not his right. I felt a knot in my stomach as a realization dawned on me.

"When did you start cutting again?"

"Huh?" He followed my gaze to his wrist before letting go of my hands and pulling down his sleeve.

"Let's not talk about it."

"Why not? Do you remember that promise you made to me?" I asked.

"No," he replied, looking down.

"You promised me that you were going to stop. So what happened Scorpius? What was so bad?" I asked, raising my voice.

He mumbled something to his lap.

"Stop mumbling and look me in the eye!"

"I said, 'I never stopped'!" he shouted, drawing the attention of a couple a few tables down.

"But I thought you sa—" I started.

"I know what I said. But it's not that easy. You don't get it, Lil. The pain of cutting is the only way I can drown out the pain in my mind."

"I don't understand."

"I know you don't and I don't blame you. It's just a way for me to cope."

"But, it's not healthy!"

"Don't you think I know that? I just don't know what else to do. I don't know how else to quiet all the scary thoughts in my mind."

We were silent for a while, whilst I tried to process what he had just said. Then an idea came to me, "What if when a scary thought comes to you, you write it down and then give it to me. Then it's not just stuck on repeat in your mind. It'll be out into the world. It'll be in my head as well. As for the physical pain, next time you need some, we'll go for a run."

"You think you've got this all figured out huh?"

"I know I do." I smiled at him.

"Alright genius, where do you think we should go next?"

"I'm not going to let you change the subject so easily, Scorp."

"I'd rather not sit here and discuss how screwed up my head is."

I did not know how to reply to that statement, so I moved on. "Well once we're done eating, I say we head back home. I've had enough adventure for tonight."

"Yeah, alright."

He left 10 sickles at the table and we got up to leave. We headed towards the fireplace, where Scorpius handed me a heap of powder. I got into the alcove and turned to face Scorpius.

"Are you going home?" I asked.

"What kind of friend would I be if I didn't make sure you got home safely?"

"And who says chivalry is dead?" I replied, my voice dripping with sarcasm. "10 Wisteria Walk!" I shouted as I dropped the powder. As I stepped out of the fireplace at home, I realized that I hadn't told him what my address was. After about 30 seconds, he appeared in the space where I had just been.

"Glad to see I gave you enough time to get out of the way."

"Sorry about that, I completely forgot to give you the address."

"Oh don't worry about it," he said, stepping out of the fireplace. "I've come here often enough to hang out with Albus"

"Oh yeah, I forgot you guys used to be friends," I replied, taking a seat on the loveseat. "What happened to you guys?"

"We're still friends," he said, taking a seat next to me.

"Come on Scorpius, obviously something happened. He doesn't even mention you anymore."

A flash of pain crossed his face before his perfect mask returned. "It's not my place to discuss. You should ask your brother if you really want to know." He turned his head to the side to look me in the eye. "But if I were you, I would leave it alone."

"Seriously?"

"Seriously."

"Well if I were you, I would start heading home. I'm sure your parents are worried sick."

"Actually they're probably still too occupied with their guests to notice that I'm gone."

"That can't be true."

"Either way, they won't be too happy to see me. I sort of walked out on our conversation earlier."

"Well, you've got to face them sooner or later."

"I'd prefer later," he replied with a smile. It was the smile that told me wanted something.

I sighed. "Would you like to spend the night here Scorpius?"

He swallowed me in a bear-like hug. "Thank you so much!"

"Yeah, alright," I said, pushing him away, trying to get some air to breathe. "Knock it off already."

He finally answered my pleas and released me. I turned around to start walking towards the staircase. When I realized he wasn't following me, I stopped to look at him, "Are you coming or not?"

"Well, I just supposed. Well, I t-t-thought that maybe—"

Hearing Scorpius stutter was a once in a lifetime experience and I was thoroughly enjoying it. "Are you blushing?"

"What? Of course not!"

"Whatever, Malfoy. You can either stay here in the living room and risk getting caught by my family or get over yourself and join me upstairs. Your choice either way," I replied, climbing up the stairs.

"I was trying to be polite and respectful," he mumbled as he followed me up the stairs.

"Wow, what a gentleman you've become in the last couple of minutes. You do remember that we've slept together before right?"

"That was completely different."

"Not really. You'll still be on the floor," I replied, attempting to reach the top shelf of our linen closet.

"On second thought, I think I'll take the couch," he said whilst reaching over my head to retrieve the blanket, essentially entrapping me between the shelves and his body.

"On second thought, maybe you should just go home," I suggested, turning around to face him.

"You wouldn't do that to me, would you Lil?" I was suddenly aware of how close he was when I felt his breath fan across my face.

"Let's just go get some sleep," I responded, gently push him away. He followed me to my room, where he made himself comfortable on the floor. I made my way to the bathroom to change into my pyjamas. By the time I returned, he was fast asleep. I climbed into bed, turning to face him.

"Goodnight Scorpius."