Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. I only own the plot of this story.
Author's note: This is just a short one-shot I wrote for Christmas. I was thinking about my holiday last night, and it occured to me - my family isn't rich, and I don't get everything I ask for on Christmas. But one thing that is much more important than any gift is spending the holiday with the people you love and the people who make you happy. Without that, I would hardly call that Christmas. I wrote this after I realized how thankful I am for everything I have.
However, this isn't my best writing. I wrote this in about 30 minutes, so it probably needs much editing. I wanted to upload this on Christmas, though, so here we are.
Dobby the house-elf looked up at the grand Christmas tree that stood in the living room of the Malfoy Manor. He had just finished decorating it and, if you asked him, it looked beautiful indeed. The red and gold balls and the silver strings of tinsel shone in the sparkling yellow lights; the diamond-encrusted star which topped the tree nearly touched the high ceiling of the room. Dobby smiled, satisfied with his work, and stepped down from the stool on which he stood.
He bent down and straightened the decorative skirt underneath the tree, smoothing it out beneath the many boxes which already stood in their place. He stared at the beautifully wrapped gifts (which he had also wrapped himself) in red and green paper and golden bows, and he frowned. It was the night before Christmas Eve—too early for the presents to be under the tree.
Dobby's masters, the Malfoys, didn't seem to be very into the traditions of Christmas. In fact, they didn't seem to be very into Christmas at all. Year after year, he would be instructed to decorate the tree and wrap the gifts, and he always willingly obliged. But he knew that this was not how it should be.
He knew that Christmas was a time to be together as a family. Dobby had never had a real family of his own, but he still knew that that was the real meaning of the holiday. At least, he thought, Masters Lucius and Narcissa should want to spend time with their son on December 25th, even though they rarely do so on any other day of the year.
He remembered once, several years ago, when Master Draco came to his parents on Christmas and asked if they were going to spend the day together. His parents had simply looked at each other and said no, they were busy. Master Draco was obviously disappointed, but he didn't say anything more on the subject.
Dobby himself even dared once to suggest that the Malfoys decorate the tree together. But Master Lucius thought he had just been trying to get out of doing his chores and yelled at him to get back to work.
Now, Dobby left the living room sadly, heading to the kitchen to start cooking Christmas dinner. As soon as he turned the corner, he saw Masters Draco and Narcissa standing in the hall, talking. He ducked out of the way, unseen but still listening.
"…and I know you'll be gone on Christmas, so I thought I'd give you your gift now," Master Draco was saying. He held out a small, silver box topped with a green bow out to her, smiling faintly. Dobby had not wrapped that gift.
"Oh, Draco, that's very kind of you," Master Narcissa replied. "Just put it under the tree; I'll open it later." She placed her hand on her son's chin briefly and smiled down at him, then turned away from him and walked off, down the hall.
Dobby bowed as she walked past him; she didn't see him. Dobby looked back down the hall where Master Draco still stood, cradling the present in his two small hands and looking down at it, clearly upset. He looked up suddenly and shook his head, as if shaking off his disappointment. He followed his mother's tracks down the hall, also not noticing the house-elf. Dobby wanted to reach out, to say something to the eleven-year-old wizard that would comfort him, but he knew that it wasn't worth the effort.
Dobby timidly tailed Master Draco, stopping at the corner before turning into the living room. He peered around the wall, watching him. The blonde boy approached the Christmas tree and smiled a tiny smile, but turned so that only his backside was visible to the house-elf. He knelt down and placed his gift under the tree gingerly. He placed his hands in his lap and sat there, staring at the small mountain of presents that awaited his unwrapping. Dobby watched as the little blonde head dropped down sadly.
The elf's huge, brown eyes watered up, and he blinked so as to not drop tears on the white carpet below. It wasn't fair for that poor boy. Sure, he had tons of expensive gifts, and sure, his parents said they loved to have him home for the holidays, but in reality, Draco was all alone.
Alone for Christmas.
Please review. Have an extraordinary, merry Christmas (or Hanukkah, or Kwanzaa, or whatever you celebrate). Hugs and butterfly kisses.