Friends by Chance Lovers by Choice

Christmas Eve

I shot up in bed, that same damn nightmare plaguing my dreams once again. This time though I didn't scream. And no one came to comfort me. I had fallen out of bed again and curled up in the same corner as I had before, hoping she would come but knowing no one would.

It took some time but I finally calmed down enough to pick myself up and get back into bed. I glanced at the clock and saw that it read 4:30am. I knew I wouldn't get back to sleep and so I turned on the light and stepped back onto the cold wooden floor.

I made my way down to the kitchen and grabbed a small pot, filling it with a bit of milk and setting it on the stove to warm up. I found some coco powder packets and dumped one of them into the mixture once it was warm, making a nice cup of hot chocolate to calm my nerves.

Once I had finished my drink I made my way to the living room and started up the fireplace before taking a seat on the sofa and wrapping a blanket around my legs. The peaceful crackling of the fire and the snow falling outside soon put me to sleep once more.

I awoke to someone gently shaking my shoulder and bolted upright, startled. "Hey love you're alright. It's just me." I looked into the worried eyes of Narcissa who had apparently found me passed out on the couch. "Why aren't you in your room? Are you alright?" She looked incredibly worried and I felt a bit bad about being the cause of it.

"I'm fine I guess I just fell asleep." I mumbled as I rubbed my eyes and tried to wake up. I was still quite tired after last night.

"Why were you down here though?" She placed her hand on my thigh in a silent act of comfort. "Uh.. just a bad dream. Couldn't go back to sleep." I tried to avoid her gaze but she grabbed my chin and forced me to look at her.

"Was it that one again?" I nodded and swallowed nervously still not used to actually telling anyone my problems. "You should have gotten me my love. I could have given you a dreamless sleep potion or even just a hug since that seemed to do the trick last time." She gave me a half smile which I returned.

"It wasn't a bad one. I didn't want to bother you." Her grip on my chin tightened slightly. "You couldn't bother me if you tried y/n. Please come to me if you need me. If you don't want to actually wake me up, call a house elf. They'll get me." I nodded at her and relaxed a bit.

"Good. Now come here darling." I melted into her embrace and she kissed the top of my head. I began falling asleep once more before I felt movement and the comforting hug being pulled away. "Come on. It's time for breakfast and we're setting up the Christmas Tree today." She stood up and offered me her hand which I gladly accepted.

She pulled me along to the kitchen, only releasing me as we walked through the door to find Draco already scarfing down pancakes. "Hungry this morning dear?" Narcissa laughed, picking up her coffee cup.

"Mhm" Draco mumbled around a mouthful of syrupy pancakes. He looked a bit like a chipmunk with his cheeks stuffed full of food. I raised my eyebrows at him and snorted, making him turn to look at me.

"Oh shove off y/n. You know pancakes are my favorite."

"I didn't say anything ferret face. Just slow down. I really don't want to have to do the heimlich on you again. Although that was fun for the entire Great Hall to see". I laughed as he blushed scarlet red.

"We're not gonna talk about it." Narcissa watched us bicker back and forth, telling one embarrassing story after another until we had finally all finished our food.

After breakfast we all gathered in the main living room to set up the tree. The tree itself had already been brought in by the house elves and was set up in the corner of the room, ready to be decorated. It was massive, the top having just enough room to place a star on it and even that would brush the ceiling.