The next few days were rather frantic as many students were preparing to leave to spend Christmas with family and friends. Like when it was Halloween, decorations were placed all round the school and the Christmas spirit was high. As walked into the great hall to see the Weasleys (not including Ron).
"Hey, you guys aren't packed?" As asked.
"Nah, the parents decided to visit Charlie so we're spending Christmas here. Actually so is Lee."
"Aww, no way so I won't see you. Where are Ginny and Katie going then?" As was going home to spend her Christmas with Remmy and she was really looking to seeing him.
"They were going to stay with you and Remus but Mum and Dad changed their minds and they're going to Romania too." Percy informed her.
"Shame, so I won't see any of you over the break then." As said pretending to wipe sweat off her brow. The twins acted doleful and Perce grabbed her beginning to tickle her mercilessly and with a shared wicked look, the twins joined in.
As stood in the snow, it was peaceful outside and she loved it. Standing further back and looking at the pretty picture the girl in the snow made, he took a picture and slipped it into his pocket to be magically developed later. Then he walked up to his cousin and stood beside her but made no effort to speak. After another layer of snow had covered the grounds of Hogwarts, Draco touched her arm, "Come on As, we've got to leave in an hour or so." She made no reply so he simply tugged her inside. Once, when boarding the train Hermione stepped towards As and ignoring the warning look Draco cast in her direction she spoke,
"You know you don't have to sit with the Slytherins. If you wanted to, you could always sit with me." An irritated growl left As' lips,
"You know what Granger if I had wanted to be in your presence I might have spoken to you at school recently. Me ignoring you was in fact an indication that I didn't want to be anywhere near you. And for your information, I do want to sit with my cousin and the other Slytherins, they've been much better friends than you ever have been."
"Granger, I would advise that you leave my cousin alone. I think you've done enough and if you could be so kind as to relay that message to Potty and Weasel too." With a sneer he turned his back on Hermione and followed his cousin to the Slytherin compartment.
The journey back for As was very comfortable and she mentioned to the others how nice it was to be away from all the tension at school.
"You know, I've never thought about it before, because... Well because Slytherins have never really been close to anyone outside of our house, but I'm sure if we asked Snape he'd allow you to come into our common room I mean he likes you as much or more than us." Blaise commented.
"Wonderful idea, Blaise. When we return after the holidays, we'll get Snape's permission and you can just hang round with us when you need a break from them." Draco said pleased.
As smiled, glad to have a solution and have such good support outside her own house. She also knew she could probably go to Snape instead of McGonagall if she needed to.
A few hours later, the train arrived at the station and the Slytherins said goodbye to As on the train so that their parents wouldn't be displeased with them for conferring with a Gryffindor, until they could explain properly, it was best to go unmentioned.
On the platform, As was greeted by a delighted Remmy who picked her up in a hug and swung her round. Both were ecstatic to see each other again. They picked up As' trunk and made their way home. Once As was settled back into her room, she and Remmy ate and talked about everything. She told him of her many friends, her arguments with Harry and about Draco and how well she and the Slytherins got on. Remmy watched her as she spoke animatedly, he sympathised and offered advise. He wasn't sure about how he felt on the Slytherin front.
During the Christmas Holiday period, towards the end it was a full moon and since the Weasleys were away, Remus wasn't sure where As was going to go but they'd sort it out later there was no need to be upset over Christmas. Remus was thinking he could rent a room in the Leaky Cauldron for a night for her. Remmy and As carried out their traditions of decorating the house and read Christmas quotes aloud, played carols and watched Muggle Christmas films on an old TV set Remmy had collected years ago.
On Christmas eve, Remmy and As wrote letters to their friends and relaxed. Almost every year, they both slept in the living room so they could wake up together and exchange gifts. They had their own strange Christmas routine and rules. Firstly, the tree was split and As and Remmy had their own sides on As' side was where all of Remmy's presents where stored mostly from her but from some of his friends too and on Remmy's side As presents from him and some of her friends. Another thing was the sleeping in the living room, in the morning they would exchange presents and Christmas would begin. They stayed up to 12 o'clock like they had several years before and when it was officially Christmas they fell asleep.
Sunlight filtered through a gap in the curtains, awaking both occupants of the living room. Waking up at the same time and rising from the two soft cushioned sofas, As and Remmy sat up and turned to each other and in unison said,
"Merry Christmas." Remmy stood up and walked over to his side of the tree where all As' present had been stored and plucked one from a neat pile, bringing it over to where she was sat cross-legged on a tangle of blankets. Placing it to one side she jumped up with Christmas-morning-energy and ran to her side of the tree and picked up a silver parcel. She passed him his parcel and then they faced each other. Routinely, they carefully felt the shape and shook the wrappings hoping to gain a clue as to what the mystery was, and then with the paper the mystery would unravel. After the present exchange, which went on for several hours, they both got up and made breakfast together. Then they watched more movies, danced and shared many laughs. When it was dinnertime, they got up once more and worked together to create a Christmas-food-masterpiece. When evening fell, they retired to the two armchairs and opened all of their cards before they began writing thank you letters. Once they had composed and sent the thank you letters they read other letters that they had received.
As found an impeccably written letter and smiled fondly at the sight of her cousin's letter. Upon reading it she found an invitation to Malfoy Manor on the night before the full moon and said she was welcome to until the end of the holidays, three days in total and she would be dropped of at Kings Cross with Draco when the Hogwarts Express came to take them back to school.
Dearest Cousin Ascella,
Merry Christmas, I hope you are well.
My parents have invited you to stay at the Manor with us during the full moon. If you are able to visit, you will stay with us until the end of the holiday and accompany me to the Hogwarts Express and the return journey to Hogwarts.
Write soon, Draco.
Excited and relieved that she might not have to stay at the Leaky cauldron, she passed the letter on to Remmy. Remmy was glad she would have somewhere to stay and since As seemed pretty happy at the thought of seeing the Malfoys he supposed he would have to deal with his dislike of them.
"If you're comfortable with this arrangement, then it's fine by me." Remmy said in a light tone.
"Of course, I'll write back now. Thanks, Remmy." As immediately began writing back to her cousin.
Dear Cousin Draco,
Merry Christmas. Thank you profusely for the wonderful invitation. I will see you soon, I cannot wait to exchange gifts.
I look forward to my visit, Ascella.
As called for Blackfeathers and asked him to deliver the letter to Draco Malfoy. When that was done, As stood up and removed two stockings from where they had been hung the previous night on the fireplace. This was another tradition, the stockings contained books which they bought for each other from catalogues, old antique shops and from all different places. With each book a letter would accompany it with a story or dedication to each other informing them of something about where they found the book for example. In the evening of each Christmas they exchanged the stockings and read late into the night.
