As Frisk slipped into the Dumbledore's Army room, the butterflies in her stomach did another flip. Did she really want to give this speech? It wasn't too late to back out. She took a focusing breath, then walked in a bit further. It had been tastefully decorated for Christmas, with only a few red and green baubles here and there, and mistletoe hanging over the entrance door. Most of the others were already there, milling about, talking to each other.

"Okay!" called Harry Potter, bringing the conversation to a halt. "Originally, I'd planned for today to be a review day. I wasn't sure there was really isn't any point in trying to teach anything new when we're about to go on holiday."

A collective groan went through the assembled 'soldiers' of Dumbledore's Army.

"However," said Harry, grinning slightly. "I have been convinced that there's a better Christmas gift. Now, I know this isn't going to sound like it, but Frisk Dreemurr has asked to give a short speech about when to use the defensive charms we've been learning."

There was some curious muttering about that.

"But afterward, we will start learning the Patronus charm. This is the charm that is used to defend against dementors. It's difficult, but... well... dementors." That got people excited, especially among the older students. "Well, Frisk, whenever you're ready."

Frisk took a deep breath, her stomach churning. She had worked on the speech off and on for several weeks. Harry had only told her that morning that this was going to happen today. "We've spent the last few weeks learning hexes and such. But it's important to remember why we're learning them."

Frisk made eye contact with Opal. "It's the threat of the 'Big V', and his supporters. But it's important to realize that not everyone you think is an enemy has to be one. I know some people have heard this story already..." she began, before plunging into a brief story on her experience with Undyne in Waterfall.

"I understand that many of us have rivalries among the other students," she tried, very hard, not to pointedly look at Harry, "but rivalries don't need to expand into actual violence. It's easy to write people off as poisonous, and I'm not saying you need to repeatedly give people chances... but, please, do give people at least one chance. You never know when a single moment of kindness can change a person, for the better."

"That's all I have to say," she finished. "Thank you for listening." There was a brief smattering of applause as she returned to her seat in the group. She hoped she had made an impact.

"You did fine," Chara told her as she sat down. "I remember the underground. I know exactly why you wanted to do that, you know. I know why it's important. I just think people really want to know how to defend against dementors."

When it was put like that, Frisk couldn't take offense. It was something that she wanted to learn too.

"Thank you, Frisk," Harry said. He looked over them, working out what to say next. "And now for the patronus charm. This is a charm that I was taught by Professor Lupin-" there was some appreciative muttering at the name – "It works by focusing a happy memory into a corporeal animal form, that can defend you against the dementors. The professor told me it was among the most difficult spells I would learn. But it's Christmas," he grinned. "Let's give it a try."

He moved to the large open area in the back of the room, drawing his wand from the pocket of his robes. "Expecto patronum!" With those words, a large brilliant white stag burst from his wand, galloping out into the room. After its initial appearance, it slowed down and turned to look at them. The stag extended one leg, bowing down before them.

For a change, there was absolutely no chattering in the group. They were all too transfixed on the amazing animal in front of them. Frisk could even feel the feeling of warmth and comfort that was emanating from the creature... there was something familiar about it that Frisk couldn't quite put her finger on. There was no doubt in her mind that, yes, this could protect against a dementor.

After letting all of them experience the patronus, Harry dismissed it, dispersing it into a thick white mist. "Focus on the happiest memory you can think of," Harry instructed. "You will need a memory to cast your patronus." He went on to demonstrate the wand motion twice, then released them to a certain amount of pandemonium, as everyone wanted to be the first to summon their own.

"Give each other plenty of space," Harry shouted over the din, "As you saw, patronus... patronuses... patronii?" he glanced at Hermione, who simply shrugged back at him. "Patronuses can be quite large, and they do have weight to them."

The room was very quickly filled with puffs of wispy smoke emanating from peoples wands. Frisk's was not among them. Instead, she was trying to focus on a happy memory. There weren't that many to choose from.. There was Toriel baking her a pie, in just her first few hours in the underground. there was spending time with Sans and Papyrus at their home, but really there were only two options. There was when they were all standing on the ledge, taking in the sunrise. But the moment she chose was at the end of her first year of Hogwarts, when both Asgore and Toriel realized Asriel and Chara were coming home.

Frisk tried to remember every detail of that moment, from Asriel's hopeful smile and Chara's almost embarrassed wave to Toriel's wide eyed stare and Asgore's gaping mouth, and everything that happened just after. "Expecto Patronum!"

The smoke that emerged from her wand was not the fully formed creature that Harry had produced, but it wasn't the thin wispy smoke that she saw coming from the other students, either. Frisk had produced a thick cloud of warm silver fog, struggling to coalesce into something recognizable before dispersing into nothingness.

"Asriel," came Chara's voice from behind her. "What was that?"

Frisk looked around to see many people looking excitedly at her brother. Asriel, for his part, was looking positively stunned. There was no sign of a patronus.

"Good start, better than I did," Harry said, grinning at them. "It's not an easy charm. Do you know what it was becoming?"

"It had four legs," Chara said. "And it seemed pretty large."

"Alright, alright," Harry called, waving his hands to spread people out. "Let's go and try again. Only way you're going to find out!"

Frisk raised her wand again, focusing on the moment in time, but only rewarded with a thick cloud of smoke. She tried a third time, and a fourth time... and a fifth. There was another spout of commotion, this time coming from her side. She turned to look to see a fully formed otter swimming through the air, and an immensely exhausted and amazed looking Hermione looking up at it.

Chara started the applause first, and it pretty quickly went around the room.

"You got it more quickly than I did," Harry said, grinning at her. "Why am I not surprised?"

Hermione was too busy staring at her otter to respond right away. "Well... I haven't done it in front of a dementor yet."

"That is a lot harder," Harry admitted. "And, to be fair to Professor Lupin, he taught me with a boggart in the room. They turn into a dementor around me... and those still terrify me. And a lot of others," he suspected as he looked over the room. It did look like everyone who wasn't staring appreciatively at Hermoine's otter, floating happily in the room was busily trying to conjure one of his or her own. "Dismiss it, please, Hermione," Harry told her. "I'd love to see another one before we have to wrap for the holidays!"

Frisk turned to focus again. It wasn't like her wand was trying to obstruct her efforts on this, but it didn't feel like it was inclined to giver her a hand, either. She did her best to picture every detail of that moment and channel it through her wand. And yet, all she managed was another cloud of warm silver smoke.

Maybe she needed a better memory? But if she did, she couldn't think of one. Maybe she wasn't getting the motion just right? She wasn't sure. All that was for it was to give it another go.

And another.

And another.

It was getting late, and Frisk was getting frustrated, when a final cheer went up around. Frisk jumped back as a full grown, fully maned, large lion just sauntered up to her. The lion looked up at her, and then sat, licking its paw, without a care in the world.

"Who's is that? Opal asked, looking around.

"Asriel?" came Chara's voice, small and shocked. "Asriel?"

"A second year?" Frisk heard a few people mutter in astonishment.

Asriel had fallen over in shock, and was just staring up at the lion. The lion, now looking majestically around the room, took notice of this. It started pawing at its summoner, then started rubbing its head against Asriel's hand. Frisk thought it was about to start licking her brother, but Asriel came to before that could happen.

"I'm very impressed!" exclaimed Harry, holding out a hand to help Asriel pull himself back to his feet. "I'll be honest, I'm surp..." he turned to look at the lion, then back at Asriel. "No, actually, that's dumb. Nevermind."

"It's very regal," Ginny said.

"It's amazing," Frisk told her brother. "Congratulations!"

"While I have your attention," Harry called out into the room, "I'm afraid that it really is time to call it for the day. I hope everyone enjoyed themselves, and I hope everyone has a good Christmas." He unrolled a large piece of parchment and consulted it. "We'll start with the Dreemurrs. Ron, can you take them down to the common room?"

They headed out, the lion dispersing into warm smoke. As Frisk was leaving, it really did seem like everyone had enjoyed the 'lesson', everyone was happily discussing either the memory they were using for their focus, or what they thought their patronus might be.

Reality forced itself upon them when they returned to the common room. After all, there was still two days of classes before the winter break. This included a roll of parchment for Professor Snape that really needed to be finished.

When she finally was ready to turn in, she waited for everyone else to fall asleep before retrieving her phone. There was a message from Tony on it, waiting for her. "Guess I can accept that," it read, "Will arrive on the twenty third. See you soon!"
But the last two days actually passed pretty quickly. The professors had apparently given up on teaching anything new, and were content to review a few things they thought needed to be covered, or to play games that practiced their students' skills. Which was good, Frisk was having a hard time thinking about everything except her upcoming plan.

The worst part was feeling that she had to keep her plan from her actual family. She hadn't heard from her mother about Anne, and she was pretty sure she knew what Toriel would think about the risks. And Chara. She knew exactly what Chara would think.

"Frisk?" Opal asked as they found a compartment for the train ride back to King's Cross, "have you seen Ginny over the last few days?"

Frisk was forced to think about that. They hadn't had soul magic club, or a DA meeting, or... "No?" she was forced to conclude. "I don't think I have." She was kind of embarrassed to admit she hadn't noticed.

"I have not seen her either," Luna said. "She has not been in classes."

"Now that I think about it," Frisk said. "I don't think I've seen any of the Weasleys. I wonder why."

They speculated on that as the train lurched into motion. Then talked on what they hoped to get for gifts over the holidays, and what they were planning to get others.

"That reminds me," Opal said. "I got an owl from my parents this morning. Apparently Tony is coming back for Christmas break. I hope your parents don't mind you being away for Christmas. He's apparently really not doing well."

Frisk shrunk back into her chair. He needed to hold on. He had to hold on. Christmas was just a few days away.

The train continued to chug towards London.

As it turned out, although Tony landed on December 23rd, it was late at night. So Frisk had a good weekend with her family before Tony was due into Heathrow. It was a whirlwind of a time, as Toriel wanted to make sure that Frisk had a present for two different full families. So up and down Diagon Alley they went, buying magical presents for Asriel, Chara, her parents, Sans & Papyrus, Undyne and Alphys, the ghost siblings, and everyone else she could think of.

Then it was the harder list, trying to get muggle appropriate presents for Opal, her parents, and especially Tony. Thankfully, the Oxtobys were there to help with that, taking her to places like Hamleys (which was magical enough in its own right). Then there was dinner with both the Oxtobys and the Dreemurrs at Grillby's.

"I just wish to be sure, Frisk," Toriel said after dinner. "Do you still wish to spend Christmas with the Oxtoby's?" she asked.

"Not... not really," Frisk admitted. "But I think this will be my last chance to see Tony. I... I..."
"I understand," Asgore cut in with his deep rumble. "If I remember correctly, he will be here for about a week. We will have plenty of time to see you after the New Year's."

"Thanks," Frisk said, her voice feeling small.

But it meant that, that night, she'd be going home with Opal. At least this time she'd had the chance to set her luggage, and wasn't just stuck with things she'd taken home from school.

December 24th dawned clear and cold. Frisk woke early, before anyone else. She rolled over and tried to go back to sleep, but to no avail. She stared up from her bed in the Oxtoby's house at the ceiling, her mind too active to allow sleep.

Frisk finally allowed herself to get up when she heard Opal beginning to stir. They washed, dressed. Mr. Oxtoby got up to scramble some eggs and make some toast.

"You okay?" Opal asked.

Frisk shook her head, saying nothing.

"It's going to be okay," she said, reaching out to put her hand over Frisk's.

"I hope so," Frisk whispered.

The Macintoshes arrived not long after breakfast. Tony looked even weaker than last time, struggling to look up from his wheelchair. "Hey Frisk," he said, waving lightly at her. "I made it."

Frisk gave a small smile, even as her heart was going a cartwheel in her chest. "I'm glad to see it. I'm glad to see you."

The morning was filled with small talk, most of it feeling unimportant and perfunctory. Tony had just finished the final round of chemotherapy. If this hadn't destroyed his cancer (and they were not holding out much hope)...

"But let's not dwell on that," Mr. Macintosh said. "It's Christmas. We are here to have a good time. And eat... is anyone but me hungry?"

"So," Ms. Oxtoby said as they finished lunch. "We have a treat. We're going to go see a panto – a pantomime."

"A pantomime," Mr. Macintosh said, grinning despite himself. "I haven't seen one since we were stationed here. "That does sound like a lot of fun. What are they putting on?"

"Sleeping Beauty. It's a classic," Mr. Oxtoby said. "I love panto."

So they piled into the two cars, with Frisk joining the Macintoshes, driving the few miles to the theater. They were there early, which was for the best. It made it easy to find their seats, with Tony's wheelchair taking up a "missing" seat on the aisle.

The panto itself was a lot of fun. It was the usual pantomime shtick, and even Frisk was able to forget about her worries, for at least a few hours. Though she swore she'd seen Carabosse somewhere before... maybe on TV or something. And she was very glad that nobody heard Tony call her "Maleficent".

In fact, at one point Carabosse was sneaking through the audience, pausing right by their seats. Frisk was about to take the bait and call out to the stage that she was here, when the woman put a finger to her lips, handing her, Opal, and Tony some Snickers bars.

"Are we supposed to be bribe-able?" Tony whispered to Frisk... she wasn't sure of the answer. It had been a few years since she'd been to panto herself.

Carabosse motioned to catch their attention, and counted down from five on her fingers, then pointed to the stage.

"She's down here!" called the kids.

The heroes looked out into the audience, exaggeratedly putting their hands over their eyes, looking into the seats. "No she isn't!"

Taking the cue for everything it was worth, the entire audience shouted back, "Oh, yes she is!"

This went on for a few minutes, with the evil fairy in a different spot in the audience each time, with laughter getting harder with each repetition.

At the end, after the prince had cut through the very comical brambles to reach the dark fairy's lair, a voice from off stage yelled, "Who Goes There?"

Without missing a beat, the prince yelled back, "Fanny Chemlar."

This caused about half the audience to giggle at the name, and the other half to devolve into absolute hysterics. Sadly nobody in Frisk's group got the apparent 'real' joke, and just glanced at each other, bemused.

When the show was over, they waited for the audience to clear before heading back out themselves. Dinner was simple, since they'd been out most of the day, grilled steak, salads, and baked potatoes. Afterwards, they gathered in the Oxtoby living room to watch "Miracle on 34th Street".

After the movie, the Macintoshes were ready to stand and go, when Frisk finally blurted out, after being quiet most of the day, "Can Tony spend the night here?"

"That... that would be fun. It is Christmas," Tony said.

Mr. and Ms. Oxtoby looked at each other. "If it's okay with Tony's parents, it's okay with us," Mr. Oxtoby finally said. "He can sleep on the couch."

Frisk turned to look at the Macintoshes, trying not to look too pleading. But she needed this, she needed to have Tony spend the night here.

"If it's okay with everyone," Ms. Macintosh said. "It's okay with me. On one condition... you don't open presents without us." She smiled at them. "Deal?"

"Deal," Tony told them.

"Okay. It really is time for us to go, then. Don't stay up too late you two," Mr. Macintosh admonished. "We'll try to be back... oh, about nine o'clock in the morning." They smiled, and headed out to their car.

Mr. Oxtoby went to get some pillows and blankets, and between his and Frisk's help, got Tony set up on the couch for the night. One by one, Ms. Oxtoby, Mr. Oxtoby, and Opal went to bed, each promising to see them in the morning.

As the door to Opal's room clicked shut, Frisk felt her stomach flip. It was time for her plan. Whether she'd still be a student at Hogwarts after it, she didn't know. It would be wrong to say she didn't care... but this was even more important to her. "Let me go get my bag," she told Tony. As quietly as she could, she retrieved her traveling bag, and the two extra things she'd smuggled with them.

The first was her small leather photo-book. "You asked me who the Dreemurrs were, Tony," she began.

"I saw how you reacted when that girl's mother said that name," Tony confirmed. "It was on the adoption form. What is it?"

"The Dreemurr's were the family that actually adopted me. Not the Oxtobys. But they aren't human." She opened up the leather picturebook, showing her, Asriel, Chara, Toriel, and Asgore all waving at the camera. "This is my actual family."

Tony's breath caught, and for a moment, Frisk was afraid he'd fainted. "The 'angel'..." he said, almost breathlessly. "Who are these people?" he asked. "And how are they waving?"

"Let me start with that first question. It's a long story... but we have time," Frisk said. For the first time in a few years, Frisk told the mostly true story about her final loop in the underground, punctuating the story with photos as she went.

"As for how they're waving... these pictures were taken with a magic camera. Sans's camera, mostly. Which brings me to the question I know you're about to ask. Yes, magic is real." Frisk closed her eyes.

This was it. No turning back. She fished around in her bag for the other thing she'd smuggled out of the school. The potion of gnomedraught. "This is a magic sleeping potion," she explained.

"What is it for?" Tony asked her.

"Us. It doesn't take much to overdoes with, and if we do. It will take a magic antidote to wake us again. I'm reasonably sure the Oxtobys don't have one... so they'll have to take us to the magical hospital of St. Mungo's."

Tony stared at her.

Frisk could feel her eyes starting to tear up. She had to get these words out quickly. "Don't you see? They could treat your cancer – your leukemia. They could save your life. You were one of my first friends... my first brother. You came all this way to find me. I have to try..." and her voice cracked.

"I..." Tony said... "I didn't think I was going to go home again. I was supposed to be in the hospital. The doctors didn't even know if I'd survive the flight. Do... do you really think this can work?"

"I don't know. I... just don't know," Frisk sniffled, wiping her eyes. "But what do we have to lose?"

"Nothing," Tony said. "There is nothing to lose."

Frisk stood. She first slipped into Opal's room. She had written a note, detailing exactly what she'd done, and left it on top of Opal's alarm clock. Then it was into the kitchen, and she poured two glasses half-full of orange juice. She then poured half of her potion into each glass, mixing it thoroughly. She took them back out to the living room.

Frisk set the glasses down on a glass table, and held out her arms.

"I'm... not really a hugger, Frisk." He held out a single fist instead. Frisk made one of her own, and they connected them. "Down the hatch, then?" he asked.

Frisk handed a glass to him, and nodded silently. They lifted them to their mouths, and downed them in three swallows each.

And Frisk knew no more.

A/N: Recently, FF.N has turned off everyone's e-mail notifications. Do yourself a favor and turn them back on. This makes me rather angry.