Scorpius sighed as he looked out at the never ending drizzle. He turned to Albus, who was sitting at the other end of the window sill, his nose buried in an old book about gnome behaviour patterns.

"I bet it's snowing at Hogwarts," he said. "There's always snow on Christmas at Hogwarts. Do you think it's a spell?"

"I think it's in the north," Albus answered absently.

Scorpius giggled. "Yeah, I know. But it's not that far north..."

"It kind of is..." Albus closed his book and looked up. "Do you know any snowing spells?"

"No..." Scorpius looked out the window again. "But wouldn't it be cool if we did? If we could make it a white Christmas? Just here at the manor?"

Albus grinned and gestured at the library's myriad of shelves. "At least one of those books must say something about making it snow. What are we waiting for?"

Scorpius hesitated. "Some of those books belonged to... to my grandfather. You... We should... We better be careful." He knew they probably shouldn't, but he couldn't resist Albus' smile and was heading for the nearest shelves before even realising he'd stood up.

Albus followed him, giggling. "Surely you know which sections to avoid. I mean, you're not telling me that you haven't already read every book that didn't start biting your fingers."

Snorting, Scorpius held up his left hand, showing a line of small, faint scars. "I even made it halfway through one that did." Then he pointed at the highest shelf. "Better avoid those. And anything with a copper spine."

"Okay!" Albus grabbed a book at random, turned it around in his hands a few times to inspect the cover, and then opened it to read the index.

After picking out as many books as they could carry, they brought them over to the fireplace and settled down to read. This was Scorpius' idea of a perfect holiday! Reading fascinating new spells shoulder to shoulder with his best friend in front of a roaring fire while the rain was drumming on the window.

All they needed was...

"Who wants tea?" his dad asked, pushing the door open with his shoulder while balancing a tray heavily laden with tea, mugs and several plates of biscuits and fudge.

Albus looked up from his book and beamed. "I do! Thank you so much, Mr—I mean, Draco!"

"Can we... can we have it down here?" Scorpius asked, wondering why the warmth from the fire chose this exact moment to reach his cheeks. "While we... while we read?"

Draco frowned. "I can see you have a pretty nice setup there, but some of those books are very old and valuable. I'd prefer you kept food and drink away from them." He carried the tray over to the table. "What are you doing? Catching up on homework?"

"One day away from Christmas? We're not that crazy," Albus said. "At least... I'm not." He grinned at Scorpius.

Scorpius grinned too and shook his head, resolving to never mention the History of Magic essay he was working on every night after going to bed.

"It looks great," he said as he sat down and studied the contents of the tray. "I didn't know you could bake."

"Oh, this isn't me." His father laughed. "Mrs Weasley sent an owl this morning."

"Mrs Weasley?" Albus asked as he joined them. "Which one?"

"Your grandmother," Draco clarified. "I doubt she thought she would ever be sending a packet of Christmas treats to Malfoy Manor, but here we are. You two have chosen each other and I think even your father is starting to accept it. In fact..."

"Cho... Chosen?" Scorpius stammered, almost choking on a biscuit. Why did his father put it like that? They were just friends...

"Well, we did choose to become friends," Albus pointed out. "I mean, we could just have walked out of that compartment, if we'd been as prejudiced as Rose. But we didn't." He took a biscuit, licking his lips. "I'll send gran an owl tonight to thank her. These are my favourites!"

As his father and Albus chatted on, with such ease that it was hard to believe that they had barely spoken three words to each other before the start of the holiday, Scorpius leaned back in his chair, chewing thoughtfully on a particularly tasty piece of fudge.

They really had chosen each other. In a friendship so strong he would have thought it impossible. Especially for someone like him...

He was roused from thought by a squeak and for a moment wondered why he'd made that sound, before he saw Albus' face and realised it came from him.

"They... You... What?!" He was staring at Scorpius' dad in shock.

"Huh? What?" Scorpius gasped, nearly knocking a whole plate of biscuits off the table.

Albus somehow caught the plate without taking his eyes off Draco's face. "They... They haven't agreed to come yet, right? I mean... No offence, but my dad will probably come up with an excuse. I mean, because you didn't get along when you were younger... Right?"

"What...?" Scorpius frowned. "What are we talking about?" Had Albus' family changed their mind? Were they coming to get him? Scorpius looked at his friend, feeling a lump form in his throat.

"I have invited the Potters for dinner," his dad explained. "A couple of days after Christmas. Albus' mother wrote me to ask how he was doing and I sensed that she really missed him. And I figured it was time we put the past behind us. Considering..." He gestured at them both. "I mean, the way things are going, soon we won't have a choice."

"Dad!" Scorpius was sure his cheeks were actually glowing. Why did his father have to look so smug? Did he really think that...? How could he...? Why...?

"But, Mr Malfoy, I'm sorry, but... There was a reason why I didn't want to go home. I don't think you'll want the drama between me and my dad here!" Albus protested.

To Scorpius' surprise, his dad leaned forward and put a hand on Albus' shoulder. "I have already seen my fair share of drama. But meeting him here might actually be an advantage, you know. Being a guest, even your father will behave himself. Your mother will see to that. And you will have Scorpius at your side. I think his adoration is more than a match for any sense of disapproval or disappointment you might get from them."

Certain his brain would begin to boil any second, Scorpius tried to catch his dad's eyes, desperate to make him understand that he was mistaken. That they were just friends.

Albus sounded confused too. "Adoration?"

Draco sighed and looked back and forth between them. "Really? Are you two the only ones who don't know?"

Scorpius reached into his pocket for his wand, wondering if he, if he really really focused, could spontaneously master that human transfiguration spell he'd 'borrowed' from a sixth year Ravenclaw's notes and turn himself into a mouse. Or maybe a flea.

"... Know what?" Albus asked.

"I think my son is figuring it out," Draco said, raising an eyebrow at Scorpius. "Either that or he's coming down with a severe case of Rubicalor."

"I..." Scorpius got to his feet, barely noticing his chair crashing to the floor behind him. "I'm not," he protested. "I'm not figuring anything out!" He forced himself not to look at Albus before turning around and bolting, desperate for the refuge of his own room. For solitude.

Scorpius spent the next several hours in his room, trying to read, write, sleep and even have a conversation with a miniature portrait of his great-granduncle Archon. Anything but think. Finally he had resorted to singing every Christmas song he knew at double speed and then attempting, and failing, to sing them backwards.

He half expected Albus or even his dad to come and try to talk to him, but he was left alone. At six o'clock, his growling stomach insisted that he abandon his original plan of staying hidden in his room until it was time to return to Hogwarts.

The dining room was empty, so he continued on to the kitchen, stopping suddenly when an unexpected gleam of white from the parlour caught his eye.

"Scorpius!" Albus called. "Look! We did it!"

Scorpius took a deep breath and turned to face his friend. His jaw dropped.

The entire room was covered with several inches of snow. Snow that was still falling slowly from... From where? He looked up. It was like a peculiar reversal of the ceiling of the Great Hall. There he had often watched the snow drifting down and then disappearing into thin air. Here it appeared out of nothing and then floated down to settle on the floor, the furniture and the top of Albus' head.

Scorpius laughed. "What...? How...?"

Albus smiled. "Your dad helped. It was a pretty clever spell."

"That was... nice of him..." Scorpius stepped through the door. The snow felt real under his feet.

"He is. Nice. And clever." Albus grinned. "He's your dad after all."

"Huh?" Scorpius shook his head. "Why should being my dad make him particularly nice and clever?" He held out his hand to catch a few of the dancing flakes. They began to melt immediately. "Is this really... really real snow?"

"Want me to prove it?" Albus asked, scooping up a handful and lifting his hand as though he was going to throw it, but as Scorpius ducked he dropped it, smiling shyly. "I hope you like it."

"I love it!" Scorpius picked up some snow too and tried shaping it with his hands. He grinned at Albus. "Should we... should we build a snowman?"

"Would be a waste if we didn't, don't you think?" Albus stooped and started making a large snowball. "Your dad didn't even have to think long to come up with that spell. I think he may have used it before."

"He probably found it when he was dating mum," Scorpius said, starting on one too. "Grandmama told me that there was no end to the things he'd do to make her smile."

"Oh. That would make sense..." For a moment Albus seemed very focused on his snowball. "He's very observant."

Scorpius paused. He was starting to feel the cold of the snow. Especially in his stomach. "What... What do you mean?"

Albus straightened, but only held his eyes for a second before he looked away, blushing. "I like to make you smile a lot, too."

"Oh..." Scorpius felt a familiar tug at the corners of his mouth. "Ehm, I... I like to make you smile... too..."

"Yes." Albus fiddled with the hem of his jumper. "And you manage to make me smile when no one else can."

Scorpius didn't quite know how to respond to that, so he focused on rolling his snowball across the room.

"Your, er, your dad asked me if we were dating." Albus spoke very quickly.

Scorpius almost slipped in the snow and had to grab the table for support. "He… He what!?" he spluttered.

"Yeah. Because we're very close."

Scorpius nodded. He should have known that running away would only make things worse. That his dad would simply direct his teasing at Albus instead. But why? Why ruin what had been on the way to become the best Christmas in years?

"I suppose we are. Close, I mean. And we... I do like you. A lot." He couldn't look at Albus. Would he laugh? Get angry?

"Thank you. I like you a lot, too..." Albus actually sounded very serious.

"You... you do...?" The snow wasn't really that cold. Maybe it was the spell, but Scorpius was almost convinced that he could feel the temperature in the room climbing. He looked at the large snowball he had been rolling. No point in making a snowman, really. "It will only melt."

"What?" Albus took a few steps towards him. "Are you okay? You're all... red..."

"The snowman," Scorpius squeaked. "It will melt. It's so... It's kinda hot in here. Isn't it?" His cheeks were definitely burning.

"Oh. I don't know. It'll last for a bit, I think." Albus bit his lip, looking a little awkward.

"I guess..." Scorpius shuffled his feet a little, looking down at the snow. "Thank you."

"No need to thank me. After all I got what I wanted, too." Albus gave him a small smile. "So... Do you think he was right? That most friends don't... feel like this?"

Scorpius shrugged. "I don't know. I don't know how others feel. But I know how much it hurt when we were separated. I don't think anything else could hurt so badly." He bit his lip and held out a hand to Albus. "What do you... How do you feel?"

Albus entwined their fingers. "Being separate was horrible. And what your dad said... It made me realise that... I'd be jealous if you dated someone. Someone else, I mean." It suddenly struck Scorpius that Albus was looking very red, too.

"Oh..." Slowly he pulled Albus closer. "That is... that feels nice. Hearing that."

"Really? You don't think it makes me a bad friend?"

"Perhaps. But..." Scorpius was afraid his head might start steaming any second. "But it does make you a good... boyfriend?" The last word was barely more than a whisper and Albus probably didn't hear it as Scorpius' dad chose that exact moment to call for them.

"Boys!" his voice sounded from the dining room. "Want to give me a hand with this?"

Albus actually jumped. "Of course!" he called back.

Then he looked at Scorpius again, smiling a little as he squeezed his hand. "Boyfriend?"

Scorpius nodded, giggling. If Albus really did like making Scorpius smile, he must be feeling very very happy as they walked to the dining room together.