"Think they'll all be too big now?" Arran asked. "Haven't planted anything new in years."

"A fire swept through almost ten years ago. Fires have a way of renewing the land and making new trees sprout up."

It was only a thirty minute drive to get to the property before they turned down a dirt lane covered in snow and had to get out and walk. They trudged through a foot of snow for several minutes before they made it to a stand of large trees that could be cut down for Christmas. As Severus had predicted, there were a dozen smaller trees that would be good for taking home.

"You pick first master Harry," Arran said, and Harry and Severus walked through the stand of trees looking for one that was round and about nine feet tall.

"What about this one?" Harry asked.

Severus nodded and Arran showed Harry how to climb under the tree and how to start sawing it. Harry struggled with the saw in the snow and only made it halfway through before Snape finished and the tree fell into the snow with a soft woosh. A few minutes later Arran picked out a much smaller tree that was about as tall as Arran was and they dragged both trees back through the snow and down to the truck. In short order they had the trees secured and Arran brought out a thermos of hot cocoa and poured Harry a cup.

When they made it back to Bainbridge Arran dropped them and their tree off at their house and then took his own tree home for Mrs. Mayer to decorate.

Severus brought out a box of ornaments and Muggle lights and helped Harry put the tree up and add the lights. Then he made a pot of tea while Harry set to work putting up the ornaments. Harry had always watched his aunt and uncle decorate with his cousin but had never been allowed to participate.

When they were done forty minutes later, they stood back to admire their work. The tree had white lights, silver ornaments, and pinecones that looked as though they had snow on them. There was also a long garland of muted red wood beads on a string that Harry had strung up all over the tree.

"It's perfect," Harry said with a grin.

"Mrs. Mayer will be over in the morning to help decorate the house. Have you confirmed with your friend's parents what time he will arrive tomorrow evening?"

"Five fifteen," Harry said.

"Good. Come to the table for dinner."

* * *

Harry had a good time with Mrs. Mayer the next morning. His father was busy finishing a few fire crystals in his office, but had excused Harry from working that day since there was decorating to be done.

Harry stood on a chair and hung green garlands up where Mrs. Mayer directed him to, helped put together a wreath that they hung outside the front door, and changed out some of the kitchen dishes and hand towels for red, white and green replacements which they would keep out until Christmas was over. The whole house felt festive to Harry and he loved it.

"There's an extra string of lights," Harry said.

"Where would you like to put them?"

"I get to choose?"

Millie nodded.

"Can I put them in my room?"

"I think we can manage that."

A few minutes later and they had the colorful lights strung up around the ceiling in Harry's bedroom. It was still daylight and Harry couldn't wait to see what it would look like at night with his bedroom light turned off.

They baked cranberry oatmeal cookies, and an apple crumble cobbler and Millie let him help put a roast in to cook. By the time five fifteen rolled around the whole house smelled like roast and cookies and looked like Christmas, despite that it was still almost two weeks away.

At five fifteen on the nose, the floo came to life and Ron stepped out, looking wary. Harry was there to greet him though.

"Hey," Harry said brightly.

"Hey." Ron looked around, taking in the large living area and tree.

"Is erm, your dad around?"

"He's in his office. He told us to start on dinner without him."

"Really?" Ron asked. "I'm starving."

Harry took Ron up to his room so he could put his backpack and blanket away and then brought him back down to the kitchen. Harry pulled out the roast and vegetables and set them on the table.

"Wow Harry, he cooked all this?"

Harry laughed. "No, Mrs. Mayer and I did."

"Mum'd flip if she had enough money for a servant."

"She's not a servant," Harry said, cutting some meat off the roast to put onto his plate. "She's family."

"She is?"

"Yeah, her and Mr. Mayer. We went out and got our Christmas trees together yesterday, and she and I cooked all day today and decorated the house."

"They don't live here do they?" Ron asked. Harry had told him as much as he could about his new home while they were at school, but Ron hadn't understood all of it.

"They live down the lane."

Ron was just serving himself seconds when Severus finally came in from his office and sat down at the table to eat. Ron was sitting in the spot he usually occupied at the head of the table, though Severus didn't comment about it. Instead he greeted him with, "Mr. Weasley."

"Sir," Ron said, growing quiet.

"We were just talking about the latest match the Cannons had with the Arrows," Harry said, getting up to retrieve the apple crumble cobbler.

"The Arrows don't have a chance to make the finals this year."

"They dropped the Quaffle sixteen times," Ron said, forgetting to be uncomfortable around his Potions Professor now that the man seemed interested in talking about Quidditch. "It was painful to watch. It wasn't even a challenge for the Cannons."

"You got to go to a match?" Harry asked.

"Dad called in a favor and got us tickets. Even mum went."

"That must have been fun," Harry said. "I want to see the Falcons play the British National team. I think they could both end up top two in the finals this year."

"Only if the Falcons can beat the Harpies first," Ron said.

Severus settled in to eat and listen to the two boys talk. He rarely got to listen to Harry interact with his friends up close. Ron had thirds and then a piece of the cobbler before boy boys disappeared up to Harry's room for the evening. Harry came back down around nine to make popcorn and then Severus didn't see either of them again that night.

"Here," Ron told Harry, and pulled out a few Quidditch magazines. "I brought these to look at, and I brought my chess set."

"Perfect."

The boys settled onto the floor to play chess and after Ron had beat Harry twice, he looked up and spied the many crystal fragments on the shelf above his desk and on his window sill. The Christmas lights around the ceiling glinted off of the crystals in red, green, blue and yellow.

"What are each of those?" Ron asked. Harry spent a long time explaining what they all were and what they were used for before the boys decided to read Quidditch magazines. After midnight Harry took Ron back downstairs, though the house was dark, and showed him all of his books in the bookshelf under the stairs that he, his father and Arran had built.

"All these are yours?" Ron asked.

"Yeah, look at all the Quidditch books."

They picked a few books and went back upstairs. Harry finally fell asleep around one thirty, happy that his friend was having a good time, that he had liked his room and his crystal collection, and that he finally knew what it was like to have a friend over. Each summer Dean and Seamus talked about how they had visited each other over summer holiday, and Hermione told of having a muggle friend over when she was at home. Now Harry could tell his friends about having Ron over, and wouldn't have to sit out of the conversation like he always did.

* * *

"Ron," Harry shook his friend. "Ron, c'mon."

"Wassit?"

"C'mon, get dressed."

"Why? It's not time for class is it?"

Harry laughed and threw a pillow at him, causing Ron to sit up, startled.

"Wait, what are we doing? What time is it?"

"Eight. We gotta hurry so we can go into town for donuts and coffee."

"Donuts? What's that?"

"You'll see."

The two got bundled up and Harry loaned Ron a winter hat and a pair of gloves and they headed downstairs.

"What about breakfast? Where's your dad?"

"We're gonna go into Hawes and get breakfast and bring it back. He's probably in his office or still sleeping. We gotta hurry if we're gonna be back and ready to go by ten."

"We're going somewhere at ten?"

"Dad's taking us Christmas shopping."

"You're allowed to go out on your own without him? Mum won't let me out of the house with Sirius Black on the loose."

"Because we used to own all the land between here and the other side of Hawes, there's protection spells all over. No curses or hexes or binding spells can be used here. So long as no one pops out from the bushes and tries to pin us down we'll be good."

When they neared the Mayer's house the door to Mrs. Allan's house opened and she waved them down. "Master Harry, are you going into town for pastries?"

"Yes maam."

"Would you bring me some if I give you a few pounds?"

"Yes." He went into her yard through the gate and took five pounds from her and a piece of paper with the kind she wanted, and told her he'd be back before ten.

"Harry, who was that?"

"Mrs. Allan."

They made it into Hawes in good time and Harry led Ron to his favorite coffee shop and ordered he and his friend two coffees and let Ron pick out a couple kinds of donuts. He also bought Mrs. Allan's donuts and then they drank their coffee as they went to the next shop.

"What are these anyway?" Ron asked, looking into the bag with the donuts he'd picked.

"Try one."

Ron reached in and pulled out a raspberry jelly donut with powdered sugar on top and took a bite.

"Harry," Ron said, "Mum's gonna have to learn to make these."

Harry laughed. "Good aren't they?"

"What's this other place we're going to?"

"They have more kinds of donuts."

"‘Oom all ‘fer it," Ron said with his mouth full.

Harry bought Ron another donut and then added several more to his bag and they headed back towards Mrs. Allan's house. She thanked Harry when he delivered them to her and then they made their way back home. Snape was in the kitchen drinking coffee when they got there.

"Here," Harry said, "putting the bag of donuts on the table. And here's the change."

"You may keep it with you to use on our trip today."

Harry pocketed the five pounds that was left from what his father had given him to take his friend into town that morning and sat at the table to have his own breakfast as Ron finished off his third donut.

"I can't believe the Muggles have something like this," he said. "If someone learned to make these and opened a shop in Diagon Alley they'd make a killing."

"Perhaps you should learn about running a business then," Snape said. "So you will have something to do after school."

"Yeah, that sounds right," Harry said. "Ron running a sweet shop after graduation."

"I could make pumpkin donuts and butterbeer donuts too," Ron said. "And donuts with bacon on top."

Harry laughed and Severus was glad once again to see the child smiling and feeling comfortable over the holiday. Perhaps he'd have to allow him to have his friend over again over the summer.

At ten Severus apparated both boys to Kendal and took them to a shopping center. Severus had given Harry fifty pounds to spend on his friends, plus the five pounds change he had let him keep from that morning. Harry and Ron found a book about drawing to give to Ginny, and a fancy pen to give to Hermione. Harry told Ron they could put both of their names on the items since Ron had helped him pick out the gifts.

"You can't come in this store with me," he told Ron outside of a sports store.

"Why not?"

"I gotta get your gift. You have to stay with my dad. And when I come out you have to not look at what I have so my dad can shrink it down."

Harry hurried inside and came out with a huge box, which Ron turned around for so he wouldn't see. Severus raised his eyebrows at the gift but shrunk it down and put it into a bag they had other items in without comment. Harry had gotten Ron a lawn chess set. The chess board was actually a blanket that spread out over a large area, and all the pieces were round discs with pictures of the chess piece they represented. It wasn't huge like the giant chess set they had played across at the end of their first year, but it was different than what Ron already had and Harry thought he would have fun playing with it at school when the weather got nicer, or in the common room.

Severus took them to lunch where they got fish and chips, and then took them home. It was three when they returned, and the boys disappeared upstairs to wrap their gifts for Ginny and Hermione, and to play games. After dinner that evening, when Ron was ready to return home, he looked at Harry and said, "Your house is cool Harry. Next time you'll have to visit mine."

"Definitely."

"Maybe you could send some donuts with Hedwig so mum can try one and see if she can figure out how to make them."

"The next time I go into town I'll get some to send to you."

Ron waved and then threw a handful of floo powder into the fireplace, stepped inside, and was gone.

There was still a week and a half until Christmas, and Harry thought that it had already been the best Christmas he had ever had.

He turned and found Severus leaning on the doorframe leading into the entryway.

"Thanks," he said.

"You are welcome."

"I mean-" Harry said, "thanks for letting me have my friend over. But thanks too because this is the best Christmas."

"It is not yet Christmas."

"Yeah, I know, but it's already better than any I've had."

"You may have him over again sometime. The next time I will take the both of you into the mines."

"Really?"

"You were both well-behaved. I see no reason why he cannot return."