Author's Note: Many thanks to my fabulous team for their help, as always.

Written for...

Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition. Team/Position: Holyhead Harpies, Seeker. Task: Inspired by Home Alone.

Hogwarts Assignment #12. Lesson: Muggle Studies. Task 1: Write about someone loyal (Tilly).

A Nice Christmas

1120 words

Christmases at Malfoy Manor had never been like the storybooks Draco's mother used to read to him when he was little. In those books children would sit by a roaring fire and sing carols with their parents, and receive gifts from an old fat man who Floo'd into their homes in the middle of the night. It was a bit traumatizing, honestly.

Malfoy Christmases consisted of a lavish Christmas Eve party in which Draco would make a brief appearance to shake hands with the guests and possibly dance with one or two guests, and then be ushered to his room by an elf, where he would spend the rest of the night alone. Christmas day was rather uneventful. There would be a small exchange of gifts. Mother and Father always got him something expensive that he hadn't asked for. Then they would go off on a two-week holiday somewhere.

It had been this way for as long as Draco could remember, and so he didn't think twice about where his parents were when he woke up on his tenth Christmas morning. He quietly got himself dressed, double-checked that the elves had packed his suitcases, and trotted downstairs for breakfast.

"Master Draco, what are you doing here?" Tilly, Draco's favorite elf, asked the moment he entered the dining room. She was dusting the chandelier

"Am I early for breakfast?" he wondered, glancing at the table. It was clear of any dishes.

Tilly set down the feather duster and scurried over to him. "Master, you must be going. Your parents left some time ago."

Draco chuckled at the elf's bad joke. "Don't be ridiculous. It's Christmas, my parents would never leave me."

He wandered through the downstairs until he came to his father's study. Ordinarily, Lucius Malfoy did not enjoy being disturbed, but it was still early and Draco knew his father would only be reading the paper. But the room, just like the rest of the downstairs, was empty. He walked to the desk, confused by his father's apparently late start. Draco thought perhaps bringing him the newspaper would earn him favor - surely it would save Lucius some time, having to retrieve it from the study - but there was no newspaper waiting on the desk, only a closed envelope with Draco's name written hastily in his mother's handwriting.

My dearest Draco,

I apologize for having to leave you without warning, but your father has been called away to Switzerland for business and he's requested that I join him. We're taking a short holiday while we're there. We'll be home soon, and then we'll all go away somewhere.

Have a lovely Christmas.

Mother

Draco reread the letter twice in confusion before concluding that it had to be some joke. Surely his parents hadn't really left him on one of the few days they were able to spend together.

He rushed from the study and upstairs, to his parents' room. It was just as empty as the rest of the manor, and the small boy had no choice but to admit he'd been wrong about them. He really was alone on Christmas.

Draco wasn't sure how long he sat by his parents' bed, the letter becoming soggy as it soaked up his shed tears. Finally, he felt someone watching him and saw Tilly standing over him with a tray of food.

"Master needs to eat," she said gently, setting the tray down on the floor beside him. He noticed there was a rather large stack of pancakes on the tray and it brought a smile to his face. Mother only allowed him pancakes on his birthday.

"Thank you, Tilly," he said, and he tried for the sake of the elf to eat his breakfast, but he found he wasn't really hungry.

"Master Draco is in charge while his parents are away," the elf informed him. "Whatever Master wants, Tilly will obey."

"I just wanted a nice Christmas," he muttered, bowing his head. He knew it wasn't right for a Malfoy to cry, but he couldn't help it.

"Tilly will do her best."

The elf disappeared with a small pop and suddenly Draco was alone again.

:-:

Draco returned to his room after forcing himself to eat two pancakes. In his suite, with the door closed, he could almost pretend it was any other day. He rarely saw his parents, after all. Lucius was always working, and Narcissa's calendar was filled with countless social events. Sometimes they didn't even eat dinner together.

He spent some time by the window, watching the snow fall over the garden, and even doing the homework his tutor had assigned for over winter break couldn't distract him.

It was almost lunchtime when Tilly arrived with a big smile on her face.

"Tilly has done as Master Draco asked," she announced proudly. Draco cocked his head.

"I… I didn't ask you to do anything."

"Come see," she said, taking his hand and pulling him up from the window seat.

He followed her curiously, until they reached the den. The fireplace, often cold and empty, was alive with a beautiful fire. Garlands and stockings hung from the mantle. The family portrait, painted when Draco was only a year old, had been replaced by a large wreath.

There was a tree in the corner of the room, devoid of decorations. Draco stared at it in awe. He'd never seen a tree indoors before, except in his storybooks. His mother would never allow a plant to leave filth in her house.

"Is that for me?" he asked quietly. Tilly beamed.

"Tilly has found decorations." She motioned to the floor around the tree, which was littered with acorns and pinecones, berries strung together to make garlands, apple peels and cores. They weren't the kind of decorations he expected, but he loved them just the same. With a snap of Tilly's fingers, candles floated around the tree's branches, the flames flickering but magically safe from setting the tree alight.

Draco set to work, covering every branch with an ornament, and directing Tilly to decorate the upper half. When they were finished, they stood together and admired their work.

"It needs a topper," Draco decided.

Tilly nodded and snapped her fingers, summoning an old doll. "This doll has been in attic for years," Tilly explained. The doll was cleaned and her dress sparkling with another snap, and she was sent to float in the uppermost branches.

"It's perfect, Tilly, thank you," Draco said sincerely, overwhelmed with what the small elf had done for him.

"Christmas is not over yet, Master Draco. Tilly has much more to show you."

Draco smiled, coming to the realization that maybe not having his parents around wasn't such a bad thing after all.