"Merlin, George! Hi! Sorry for running into you. How are you?" I greeted, flustered after running into the guy I practically flirted with for a whole night.

"I'm doing good. I'm surprised you're here. Are you okay? You look sort of — well, — angry," he said uneasily.

"Oh, it's just some friends being annoying."

"Blaise and Pansy?"

"Yeah, we went to the game and they complained the whole time and then I was going to take them to the Christmas tree lighting but I had to get some air first."

"Well take me to them," George excitedly requested.

"Oh, no that's okay. They will just annoy you and Draco doesn't even know you and it would be such a hassle. Not to mention the —"

I became interrupted. "Draco?"

"Yeah, he is my other friend, we decided to stay with him over the break instead of Blaise," I explained.

"I want to meet him."

"Draco? He's a git, you really don't want to meet him. I'm glad I got to see you again, George, but I should probably get back before they come looking for me."

"No, allow me to follow. I have nothing better to do, my friends are all busy and I just came here to walk around," he begged.

"Well, I suppose you could come. It could be fun."

"Great, lead the way."

I gripped his wrist and pulled him through the crowd to make sure he didn't leave my sight like Draco had before. Once I arrived outside the library I took a deep breath before actually going in.

"Are you sure you want to go in?" I uneasily asked.

"Yes come on!" he urged, now pulling me closer to the glass doors.

I obeyed and opened the glass door. Blaise and Pansy sat on a bench while Draco leaned against a shelf and looked intently into a Muggle book.

"Hey guys!" George exclaimed after seeing Blaise and Pansy.

"George? Is that really you?" Blaise jumped up and greeted George in a hand shake and back pat which forced me to let go of George's wrist.

"How have you guys been?" George asked, nodding at Pansy after pulling away from Blaise.

"We've been great!" Pansy responded while smiling at him and turning to smirk at me.

"Malfoy, this is George. We talked about him, do you remember?" I asked from behind George, ultimately ignoring Pansy's you-should-flirt-with-him-again faces that she shot at me every few seconds.

Draco glanced up from his book and scoped out the brunette boy standing in front of him.

"Afternoon," he shortly replied, glancing back down at his book.

George gave Draco a weak smile and turned back to me.

"Is he okay?" George whispered.

"Probably, just don't take it personally; he doesn't like anyone," I answered.

"Right."

"Any plans for the rest of the day?" George turned back to the three of them.

Draco lightly scoffed and it was almost unnoticeable, but Blaise eagerly replied.

"No, in fact, we were just told there is a surprise tonight and I suppose we are killing time until then."

"I am taking you to a Christmas tree lighting later," I spoiled the surprise.

Pansy smiled and Blaise glanced at the tree outside.

"With that big thing?" Blaise pointed at the large tree.

"Mhm."

"We could go have lunch?" George suggested.

"We just ate," Draco shot at him as if it were obvious we were all stuffed.

"Would you like to walk around the city then?"

"Walk around the crowd and get trampled? Great idea," Draco sarcastically spoke.

I raised my eyebrows at him and he shot a annoyed glance my way before returning to his book. What was wrong with him?

"Oh — alright. How about we go to the free museum down the block?" George said.

"That sounds good," I replied.

Draco slammed his book shut and placed it on the shelf.

"Well? Are you going to walk?" he demanded while swishing his hands towards the door in an attempt to tell us to start moving.

George, Pansy, and Blaise all walked side by side out of the library door and into the busy streets. I strayed behind to confront Draco but he sped up and walked next to George. I scurried up next to Pansy on the other side and us five broke up other friend groups as we walked down the streets.

"Here it is," George observed as we gained ground on a tall, beautifully constructed building.

"It's so pretty," I whispered, astonished.

"Not as much as you," George teased,

which earned him a disgusted look from Draco and one uncomfortable grimace from Blaise. On the other hand, Pansy giggled and shot me a that's-cute-but-also-odd look.

I slightly blushed and turned my head back to the carved detail on the white building.

"Shall we?" Blaise asked, referring to walking inside the tall, detailed door.

I nodded excitedly while Pansy and Blaise walked in together. George walked beside me while going in and Draco lagged behind us.

As we entered, we were greeted with a light academia vibe radiating from the beige walls and pale flowers in the glass vases sat upon small tables. Portraits were hung and there was a long gate that lead you in a curved line through to the end of the museum.

The building was ginormous and it looked like it would take hours to get through. Blaise and Pansy continued walking, hand in hand, and stopped every couple of seconds to read the explanations of paintings and sculptures that were placed beyond the glass.

"That's interesting," I heard Blaise say while glancing at a portrait.

He continued slowly walking and George and I stopped where he had.

"Wow," I gasped, glancing at the painting of a man flying on a broom in the clear sky.

"That would have to be some serious magic." George chuckled.

I forced a laugh out and continued walking side by side with him, glancing at both sides of the rail surrounding us to capture the full effect of the museum.

Draco continued through the museum quietly and randomly grunted or muttered something inaudible under his breath. I chose to ignore him and we all proceeded to walk and admire the vast skill it took to create these masterpieces of art.

After awhile of walking, it felt as if hours on end had past and little did we know, the sky was slowly, growing darker.

We eventually exited the museum the same way we walked through. The wind slightly picked up and my hair gently blew over my face.

"That was fun," I said, breaking the silence.

"Pretty boring if you ask me," Draco spoke unnecessarily.

"Well it's a good thing we didn't ask you."

I bit my tongue before going off on him even further and completely ruining the remainder of the night.

"I've actually got to go now," George finally spoke sadly.

"What? Why?" I asked.

"I have an early appointment tomorrow and my mum wants me home." He sighed.

"Well it's not likely, but I hope to see you around again."

After a moment of sad silence, Blaise decided to give him a short hug and I gave a slight smile at them. He waved to Pansy and set off to leave. Before he left ,I grabbed his wrist and pulled him into a hug. He wrapped his arms around my neck and we rocked back and forth for a couple seconds, the awkward tension of his departure evaporating.

"Are you sure I can't get your address to write letters?" he questioned, pulling away from the hug and looking desperate.

"I'm sorry," I said, feeling like I got a little too attached to a Muggle who I would possibly never see again.

I stepped away from him and whispered a goodbye. Everybody suddenly went silent and we decided to get seats around the large Christmas tree very early while George took off the other way, waving hopelessly and continuously glancing back as if I would change my mind about my address.

We rushed through the smaller crowd and got front row seats in front of the tree. I sat in between Pansy and Blaise while Draco was next to Blaise on the edge.

"What a stupid bloke," Draco finally said.

"Not the time, mate," Blaise remorsefully spoke.

Draco glanced over at me and his expression only slightly changed. He never said anything else, just turned his head and stared at the Christmas tree in front of us. Pansy rubbed my back and told me everything was going to be okay.

Of course I knew that everything was going to be okay but at the moment, it sure didn't feel like it. My heart felt slightly crushed this time, unlike the last. When we parted the first time I felt okay leaving him. This time, it felt like it was fate bringing us a second chance. The issue was that he was a Muggle and I could do magic. The secret was far to hard to keep, and I wasn't willing to try.

After a few hours of glancing around the city, talking about random things that teens talk about, and grabbing snacks from a close stand, the tree lighting was finally beginning.

Over the last few hours, my conversing with Draco was to a minimum. I would randomly address something he said but ultimately turned my glance away once he responded to me.

"I'm sorry for being rude today," I blurted out. "To all of you."

"It's no big deal," Blaise assured.

"No, it is a huge deal. I was just upset and I had no right to lash out on you guys."

"You know you can tell us what was upsetting you," Draco said.

"Later," I replied, pointing to the workers congregating around the tree to bring joy about the hundreds of people impatiently waiting around us.

"Here we go!" Pansy squealed.

I smiled as the worker started counting down from 10.

"10... 9... 8... 7... 6... 5... 4... 3... 2... 1!" The crowd recited.

Thousands of lights brightly shone from the Christmas tree and reflected off the faces of the gathered families lurking about. Colors bursted from the tree and smiles overtook most faces in the vicinity. I looked over at my friends to see their reactions: Blaise looked as though he was fascinated with the structure of the tree; Pansy exhilarated by the blinding lights; Draco blankly staring at the tree before turning to look at my expression. I turned my head violently to avoid eye contact and smiled at the small children jumping with joy around me, wishing to be that youthful and happy again.

"That's all," I said, after a few seconds of the exhilaration calming down, now becoming content.

"We should leave," Blaise suggested.

Draco nodded and we dodged through the dwindling crowd. The bustling streets were now practically dead but merry with Christmas spirit lingering in the cool air.

The scarlet telephone booth came into sight quickly. We all slipped into it, breathing on one another once again, and Draco dialed a sequence of numbers to get back to the wizarding world. The telephone booth escalated upwards and a ding sounded loudly, allowing us to exit.

We filed out and trailed behind Draco, who was leading us back to the manor. Stars sparkled in the sky and I had a strange urge to drop down on the sidewalk and stargaze. However, I did not act upon this urge. I continued following my friends back to the manor while glancing around nervously when rustling occurred in the woods next to us. I ignored the small noises and noticed that I was lagging behind. I jogged back up to them and stumbled slightly as I couldn't see clearly in the dark.

Draco grabbed my arm to keep me from falling and I mumbled a "thanks."

He nodded and let go of my wrist as my balance came back.

After a few short steps, we arrived into the manor grounds. As we walked, the leftover snow reverberated from under our shoes.

We zoomed through the garden and suddenly, I realized that we were already at the doorstep.

"Ring the doorbell, Y/n," Pansy whispered.

"Oh right," I said, zoning back into reality and clicking the rectangular doorbell that played a small jingle.

Narcissa opened the door and welcomed us back into her home after our day of travels.

"Did you have fun?" she asked us while creaking the door open so we could pile in, one after another.

"Loads of fun." Draco then sighed.

"Thanks for asking, we had a great time. We went to a stadium, walked through a museum, and then watched a tree lighting," I said genuinely before narrowing my eyes at Draco, who gave a unreasonably vague response.

"That's sounds wonderful. However, it is getting late and tomorrow is Christmas so I suggest you get some sleep," she advised.

"No problem," Blaise replied while smirking at Pansy.

I internally gagged at Blaise and waved goodbye as we all took off for our rooms.

"Goodnight," Blaise and Pansy called while shutting their bedroom door quickly.

"Night," I uneasily responded.

"Come here," Draco shortly said while pointing for me to walk in his room with him.

I reluctantly walked into the neat room and sat down on his bed while he leaned against his dresser facing me.

"Why did you bring George to hang out with us?" he interrogated.

"He insisted on coming to hang with us again and I couldn't do anything about it. Why is it so important to you anyways?"

"It seems like you've grown fond of him and I'm worried that you have gotten attached. You know you can't date a Muggle?"

"How do you think half-bloods come along? Muggles, Malfoy! And I didn't need you to try and protect me while being rude to George all the while. Frankly, I wracked my brain for a long time trying to think ways for him to escape my mind. This isn't my fault at all and for you to say otherwise —"

"I never said it was your fault, I'm just looking out for you."

"Malfoy, where is this need to protect me coming from? Why now?"

"You're my friend, I'm just looking out for you," he repeated.

"You can be worried about me but you don't have to be an overprotective dad about it," I said, calming down to match his energy.

"I just wanted to help."

"I appreciate it, but tone it down. Regardless of this, I'm exhausted and I would like some sleep. Goodnight, Malfoy."

"Night," he blankly spoke while grabbing his toothbrush from the bathroom.

After wiping off my makeup, brushing my teeth, and changing my clothes, I crawled into bed and calmly drifted off. A true Christmas miracle occurred overnight — my sister was nowhere to be seen.

Although I did awake in the middle of the night, deprived of thirst. I sluggishly pulled the covers off of me and attempted to moisten my dry throat with my tongue. As it was unsuccessful, I tiptoed through my room and put on some slippers to muffle my footsteps against the hard, wooden floor that creaked terribly.

Once I placed the slippers on my feet, I slowly made my way out of my room, carefully, making sure the door didn't drastically squeak as I opened it.

After sneaking down the hallway, I made it to the top of the stairs. Each step took longer than necessary in an attempt to avoid creaks that would awake the other members in the house.

The stress subsided and I was successfully at the bottom of the stairs. I, more quickly, made my way to the kitchens to grab a glass of water.

"Hi." A small house elf appeared the the kitchen doorway.

"Hi," I whispered. "Can I have a glass of water?"

"Absolutely," the house elf said, whipping his wand to grab a glass out of the tall cabinet and using a simple "aguamenti" spell.

The elf carefully handed me the glass and I thanked him. I gripped the cup with two hands and hurriedly made my way back up the stairs and down the hall. The obstacles were easier this time and my arrival to my bedroom came quicker than expected. I entered and took a couple sips of the water to dampen my throat and tongue.

It was very early in the morning so I decided it would be best if I got more sleep. I laid down and almost instantly drifted off into the uneasy abyss of possible nightmares.

"Y/n," somebody whispered. "Y/n!"

My eyes fluttered awake and I realized that Blaise was standing above me and shaking my sleepy body.

"Happy Christmas," he said.

"Happy Christmas, Blaise," I groggily spoke.

"We all got gifts. We were just waiting for you and then we will open them together in Draco's room." He was so eager and I felt guilty.

"You didn't have to wait for me," I sincerely answered.

"We aren't for very much longer. Get up!" he urged, forcing me in an upright position by pulling my wrists.

I groaned and jumped out of bed. Blaise pointed at the items wrapped and bagged at the end of my bed. I grabbed the gifts and was pushed all the way to Draco's room with only a couple of verbal complaints making their way out of my mouth.

They all sat on the ground in a circle and I mimicked them, sitting right next to Draco.

"Happy Christmas." Draco chuckled at my tiredness.

"Merry Christmas," Pansy said afterwards.

I groaned at both of them and Blaise told us to unwrap one at a time. While they chatted for a few seconds, I rubbed my eyes and yawned to attempt waking up further.

"Pansy, go ahead," Blaise ordered.

Pansy unwrapped a first gift from Draco and it was a bottle of green perfume.

"Merlin! This is wonderful. Thank you Draco!" she happily stated.

She began unwrapping the next gift from me and she revealed a emerald necklace with a P written on it.

"I love it!" And she already put it on.

She then opened her last gift from the three of us and Blaise got her a new pack of lipstick and a stuffed bear.

She kissed him and we moved on to Blaise's gifts. Blaise received a pair of new black shoes from Draco, his signature cologne from me, and a picture of Pansy and Blaise at the fair in a picture frame, given by Pansy herself.

He hugged her tightly and it was finally my turn to open my gifts. I had more motivation then a few minutes ago and decided to open Pansy's gift first. I unwrapped the purple paper and held up a mint-scented candle.

"Thank you, Pansy!" I smiled.

I set the candle to the side and pulled out a small black purse.

"I love it, Blaise. It'll be perfect if we're walking around Muggle cities."

I set the purse back inside the bag and grabbed the gift given by Draco. I unwrapped the soft gift and uncovered a green hoodie with Slytherin Quidditch written across the front. I gasped and turned to him.

"Draco, it's wonderful."

"I am the best gift giver," he attempted to brag.

"Just shut up and open your gifts."

Draco slid a bag over from Blaise and held up a tie and some chocolate frogs. He thanked Blaise and unwrapped Pansy's gift. She also got him a new bottle of mint and forest cologne. He finally got to my gift and began to pull the contents out of the bag.

He first pulled out a bag of cotton candy and grinned. He looked in the bag and gripped the last thing given by me.

It was a small jewelry box with an assortment of rings inside. There was a snake ring, an M ring, and a couple others that I thought he would like.

"This must've been expensive," he guessed, examining the diamonds on each ring.

"It was a bit pricy but it's no big deal," I assured. "Do they fit?"

"Thanks," he whispered while placing a couple of the rings on his fingers. "Yeah, they fit."

I smiled, pleased.

"Well, we can open the rest now," Blaise spoke.

"Right," I muttered while smirking at Draco's fondness of the rings.

I received a gift from Harry, Ron, and Hermione which consisted of candy, socks, and a bottle of purple hair dye.

"Ron knows me well." I chuckled, holding up the hair color.