A/N Sorry it took so long!! Enjoy! Review!JM.

Ah, Christmas! What a wonderful time of the year!

Especially when you're riding in a very small train car with your best friends and boyfriend who hate each other.

No. Scratch that.

Not hate.

Despise.

Abhor.

Loathe.

But I refuse to give up.

I'm stubborn like that, you know.

Neither party took to this Christmas idea very well, of course. When I approached Ron and Harry with my idea later on, they reacted in the exact same way Draco did. Funny how they're so similar, and yet they hate each other. They gave me a death stare worthy of Severus Snape himself. Though I didn't tell them that.

I had already asked Molly via floo, and she said her and Arthur would be happy to have him. (They live in a new, larger home now, so it should be no problem housing all the guests they always have.)

When we boarded the train, Harry and Ron shot me incredulous looks as Draco followed. We sat in silence as the engine hissed into life, and for awhile, the only sounds were those of the train chugging forward to London. 'So…' I started after a few tense moments, but I had nothing to add, so I cleared my throat and looked back out the window, my hand resting defiantly in Draco's.

There was a knock on the compartment door, and a witch not much older than us appeared in the doorway. 'Hi there,' she said in a breathy, chipper voice, 'do you want anything off the food trolley?'

Ron started to stand, but Draco was up first. 'Allow me,' he said, handing the young witch a handful of gold.

'You don't have to pay for us, Malfoy,' Ron hissed at him haughtily. 'If you didn't notice, my father's Minister for Magic now. We don't need charity from the likes of you.'

Draco didn't reply until the compartment door slid closed, and the food trolley had bustled away. 'Two things, Weasley, I would ask you to remember,' he replied in a deathly calm, handing out pumpkin pasties. 'One: I was raised to be polite and appreciative, no matter how snide I may have been to you in our youth. It is polite to repay the favour when one is invited to another's home. Your mother has been gracious enough to invite me to Christmas dinner both last year and this. The least I can do is feed her biological and adoptive sons on the train. Two: despite your opinions on me and my family name, I am, both on my own and as a Malfoy, a highly respected and quite wealthy member of society. I helped your father gain office. If it were not for the likes of me, as you so eloquently worded it, you would still need Potter here to buy you your sweets off the trolley.'

'Why you oily little - !' Ron started, his ears reddening.

'Ronald!' I barked, interrupting what would have been the beginning of a longwinded tirade of insults. 'It's Christmas. Be nice.'

'…he started it…' was his feeble reply as he eyed the pastry he had been handed with distain.

After munching in silence for a few moments, I snapped, 'This is ridiculous!' I turned to each of them in turn, and continued, 'It's not as if you have nothing in common!' Draco, Ron, and Harry all snorted with incredulity at the exact same moment, and then eyed each other distastefully at their likewise reactions. 'You do!' I insisted. 'You all like Quidditch, don't you?' They all shot me mutinous looks, and I added, 'Yeah, see? Ron, aren't you always going on about those… oh what are they called… the Chudley Cannons?'

Before Ron could reply, Draco snorted, 'You support the Star-Crossed Cannons? You do know you won't live to see the day they win, right? … nor will your children.'

'Oh really?' he replied sharply. 'Their lineup is way better this year. Did you hear about their victory over the Falmouth Falcons last week?'

'Of course I did,' Draco told him, smirking. 'The Cannons' seeker was hit in the back of the head by a bludger and he fell on the snitch by accident. Mediwizards had to remove it from his nostril.'

'But they still won, didn't they? Besides, the Falcons are a tough team.'

'Brutal,' Harry added. 'They're infamous all over the world for how rough they are.'

'Puddlemore United've got it in the bag this year, though,' Draco told them.

'Have you seen the Tornados' lineup?' Harry asked, clearly getting into the conversation.

'They've got some moves,' conceded Ron, 'but did you hear about that Woollongong Shimmy the Cannons performed…?'

I stopped fully listening after that, as I didn't have my copy of Quidditch Through the Ages on me, but I was pleased that they were actually having a civilized discussion – and laughing! – together without cursing one another. As I munched on my pasty, I modestly allowed myself the thought, Am I good, or am I good!
A/N 'Woollongong Shimmy: Perfected by the Australian Woollongong Warriors, this is a high-speed zig-zagging movement intended to throw off opposing players.' Quidditch Through the Ages by Kennilworthy Whisp… Oh, and just so you know: those are all... ahem... 'real' Quidditch teams. ;)

Sorry it took so long!! Don't kill me. Yes, I know it's short. But it's a bridge. The next one will go on for AGES I promise. THANK YOU to everyone who reviewed, and don't stop the pattern now! Go! Review! Cheers!! JacintaM.