Tears stung her face as she ran down the familiar path. The wind was cold; she’d be lucky if her tears didn’t freeze, but it didn’t really matter. She only wanted to get away from her home, which used to be so happy and bright. She only wanted to find him and make the hurt stop.

The day had started out innocently enough. Lily rose early, excited to be back in her own room after nearly four months away. She knew going to boarding school would be lonely, but she really had no idea just how much she’d miss her family. All she wanted to do was spend the day with her sister, having fun like they used to.

In the beginning, it seemed like Lily would get her wish. Petunia made no mention of their argument at the train station, and neither did Lily. She was hurt that her sister had called her a freak, but if Petunia was ready to let it go, she was too.

“What do you want to do today, Tuney?� Lily asked, stuffing cereal in her mouth. Even eating at home was extra special. Not sharing a table with a bunch of rowdy Gryffindors was a real treat. Being rid of James Potter was also a bonus.

“Frosty is on T.V.,� she replied, finishing her toast. “You remember that one from last year? I want to watch it again. It was great.�

“Yeah,� Lily agreed. Already she was feeling like her old self. Petunia wasn’t mad at her. She didn’t really think Lily was a freak. Everything was going to be great. Lily could just relax and enjoy her vacation. “I love all the magic. The way the hat brings Frosty to life. Even I’ve never seen anything like that.�

Petunia’s eyes glazed over, and she lowered her milk to the table. “Yeah, you’d like the freak parts,� she muttered. “You have more in common with the snowman than the kids.�

Lily felt like she’d been slapped in the face. Just when she thought Petunia had accepted she was a witch. Her sister was still mad. She still hated Lily for being the special one. Tears came to her eyes. How could her own sister hate her?

“You know, I’ll just watch it by myself,� Petunia muttered, rising from her chair. “You’d ruin it with your freakiness anyway. Sometimes I forget that you’re not normal anymore.�

“I am, too,� Lily yelled, jumping to her feet.

“Only to that dirty little boy down the street,� Petunia snapped. “Why don’t you go hang out with him? You two can play with toads and other gross freak stuff.�

As Petunia left the room, Lily realized one thing she said was true. She could go to Sev. Actually, she wanted to go to him. He knew about her problems with Petunia. He was her friend. Sev would make her feel better. He always made her feel better.

Slamming the door behind her, she ran out of the house and into the woods, following their secret path. Severus had shown it to her when they first meant. The path led to clearing by a large oak tree. The clearing became their special spot. Anytime either of them was upset they would go there. Usually the other one would show up, too. That was just the connection they shared.

The snow was deep and Lily had trouble navigating the path. There was a fresh set of footprints in the snow, and she tried to use them as a guide. Maybe Severus was already there, waiting for her. The thought cheered her as she trudged on, wiping away her tears. The path was still rough. She wanted to use magic, but remembered the warnings about using magic outside of school. She’d have to get to the clearing the Muggle way.

After what seemed like an eternity, she burst into the clearing. Her face was flushed from the cold, and she was out of breath. She didn’t care. She was away from her sister’s cruel remarks. And leaning against the oak tree was her best friend. The hard hike had been worth every second.

“Sev,� she cried out.

He pushed himself away from the tree and came towards her. His greasy hair fell into his eyes as he approached. Still dressed in school robes, he must’ve been avoiding the dreaded smock he’d been forced to wear for years. Severus Snape may have looked disheveled, but he was still the most welcoming sight in the world to her.

“Are you all right?� he asked, taking her arm. “You’ve been crying.�

“Tuney still thinks I’m freak,� she burst out, fresh tears coming to her eyes. “She hates me.�

“Don’t cry,� he said. “Let your sister be a snob. So what? You are so much better than her. You can do things that she couldn’t even dream of. She can’t help but be jealous.�

“I don’t want her to be jealous,� Lily insisted. “She’s my sister. I love her. I don’t care that she can’t do magic.�

“It’s not about you,� Severus replied, pulling her towards the tree, where they both sat down. “She’s a Muggle. Muggles don’t understand magic. They’re scared of it. There’s nothing you can do to change that. Look at my father.�

Lily realized that Severus had arrived at the clearing first for a reason. Of course, he had. He must’ve been upset about something, too.

“Are your parents fighting?� she asked.

“When do they ever stop? He’ll never accept who my mother is—who I am. I’m sorry, but I don’t think you’re sister will ever accept it either.�

“But it started out so well,� Lily went on. “We were going to watch Frosty. It was like old times until I mentioned magic.�

“Forget about her,� Severus said, giving her shoulder a little punch. “She’s not worth your time. Besides, I know something way better than watching Frosty.�

“Oh yeah,� Lily asked, curious. Severus always had the most interesting ideas. “What’s that?�

“We can make our own Frosty,� he replied.

“We can’t,� Lily cried. “We’re not allowed to do magic out of school. You know that.�

“We can’t use our wands outside of school,� he replied with a sly grin. “The ministry can monitor any spells we do with those, but they can’t monitor potions.�

“Really?� she asked, smiling widely. Already her mind was spinning with ingenious ideas. She could show her sister what a freak was. Maybe she could find a toad and feed it an enlarging potion.

“Sure,� he replied. “I made potions all the time before school started. How’d you think I was so good at it? Anyway, I made a potion to use on the Christmas tree. I was going to make it sing and dance around the house, really scare my father.� He smirked at some imagined scene. “But this is more important. We can build a snowman and have our own Frosty Friend.�

“Let’s do it,� Lily said, suddenly excited. It would be great. They could live out their own Christmas Special.

Before Severus could even respond, she was on her feet and making a snowball, rolling it in the snow for the body. After admiring her work for a few minutes, Severus started on the head. The whole process would’ve taken seconds with their wands, but somehow doing it the Muggle way made it more special. It also gave them more time together.

When the snowballs were complete, they slapped them together and stood back admiring their job. The head was placed a little lopsided, but they were still proud of their snowman.

“What about eyes, mouth, and a nose?� Lily asked. “We didn’t bring anything.�

Severus thought for a minute.

“There were some rocks by the oak we could use to make eyes and mouth,� he told her. “I don’t know about a nose. You don’t happen to carry a carrot, do you?�

“’fraid not,� she replied. “Hey, let’s use my wand. I can’t use it for the next few weeks. It would make our snowman extra magical.�

Severus looked doubtful. “What if it gets broken?� he asked.

“It won’t,� she replied.

“How do you know?�

“Cause this is our Christmas present to ourselves,� she said. “A present wouldn’t do something horrible like break my wand.�

Lily could tell he was baffled be her logic. She could also tell that he was not at all convinced. His mind was clearly searching for any other alternative. He just couldn’t stand the idea of harm coming to her wand.

It made sense in a way. Severus’ wand had been a gift from his mother. The one great thing she’d ever given him. It meant more to him than anything else he owned. He didn’t realize that Lily’s was much easier to replace. Not that she really wanted to replace it. After all, it was the very first wand to choose her.

“Let’s just break a branch off the oak then,� she suggested, beginning to feel concerned about her wand. Besides, she didn’t want to upset Severus.

“Yeah,� he replied quickly. “That’s a good idea.�

Lily continued to admire their snowman while Severus gathered the rest of their supplies. When he returned he gave the snowman a face. Lily nearly laughed. The rocks looked fine for eyes and a mouth, but his nose was hilarious. The branch had smaller branches growing out at the end. The snowman looked something like an elephant, but she still loved him. He didn’t have to be perfect to be fun. Besides, she had already forgotten all about her fight with Petunia, and that had been the whole point.

“His nose is almost as long as mine,� Severus muttered, looking at the ground.

“Don’t say that,� she chided him. “There’s nothing wrong with your nose. Honestly, you have the worst self-esteem.�

He ignored her. He always did when she tried to say something nice to him. Some part of him just couldn’t understand any comment made about him unless it was negative. It was sad. He had so much potential, and spent so much of his time hiding away.

“Let’s add the potion,� Severus said, pretending their other conversation had never happened.

Lily knew better than to push him, so she let it go, and nodded for him to go ahead.

Reaching inside his robes, Severus revealed a small vial filled with glittering blue potion. After dumping the potion on the snowman’s head, they both stood back, watching expectantly.

Nothing happened.

“I’m sorry,� he said, throwing the empty vial to the ground. “I was sure it would work.�

“Don’t worry about it.� Lily shrugged, trying to conceal her disappointment. “We’re still learning. Not everything we try is going to work.�

“Yeah,� he agreed, heading towards the path. “I just really thought I had that right. I should go check it, see what I did wrong.�

Lily nodded, knowing Severus would never relax until he’d identified his mistake. “I should get back, too. Mom and Dad are probably awake by now. They’ll be wondering where I am. Petunia probably told them I was flying around town on their vacuum cleaner.�

Just as they reached the path, a voice stopped them.

“Leaving so soon?�

They turned around and gasped. The snowman was smiling back at them. His eyes looked human. His mouth opened and closed. His nose still looked like a deformed branch, but one could only expect so much.

“It worked!� Lily cried, rushing back to the snowman.

Severus’ mouth hung opened and he looked like a gaping fool.

The snowman laughed at them and began dancing around the clearing singing “Jingle Bells.� Lily laughed and joined in. It was amazing. So much better than simply watching the magic on T.V. She wished Petunia could be there with her, enjoying her gift.

At first, Severus stood back, watching Lily dancing and singing with a giant snowman—a snowman he’d created. She was having the time of her life because of him. Why couldn’t he play, too?

Laughing, Lily came over to him and dragged him into the game. Not thinking about appearances, he sang and danced along. For the first time, she saw him just having fun.

The potion lasted for a couple of hours. They enjoyed every minute of it, dancing and playing with their friend. When the snowman ceased to move, they were both tired and gasping for breath.

“That was wonderful, Sev,� Lily cried, wrapping her arms around him.

“It was, wasn’t it?� he replied, smiling widely.

“It was,� she agreed, breaking their embrace. “You really made my day, Sev. Thank you.�

With that being said, she hurried back the path. “I really do have to get home,� she called. “Meet me here, tomorrow? Maybe we can try it again.�

Severus nodded.

Smiling, she rushed back home. Even if Petunia wouldn’t enjoy Christmas with her, there was someone who would. Right then, she vowed that Severus Snape would be her best friend forever.