A/N: This is a Christmas one-shot. I'm working on another one, but that one's taking a little longer than expected. I really like this short, fluffy story though :).
Summary: Draco and Harry are auror partners. They are on a stake out where they can't use any magic to stay warm and it's three days before Christmas and the coldest week in a long time. Harry asks Draco to a Christmas party which Draco doesn't quite say yes to going. Harry also asks Draco what he wants for Christmas if he could have anything. Draco doesn't have an answer for that either. Well, one he'll tell Harry about just yet. What does Draco want for Christmas and will Harry get it for him?
Harry stood on the second floor of an abandoned building setting up a muggle video camera. He made sure the record button was on, it was muted, and that tape covered the red signal light. He went back to the eye piece and looked through to make sure that it was set on his target and zoomed in well-enough. Once he was satisfied, he rubbed his hands together, trying to get some warmth in them. He looked out the window and caught the signal from his partner that showed that everything was just as it should be.
He nodded once, even though his partner couldn't see him and walked towards his pack. He opened it and pulled out his camping pad and set it out, pulling out his extra blankets, all three to be exact, and his pillow. He set-up the bed and then pulled out an extra sweater, a hat, and thicker gloves. He was already wearing two long sleeve shirts, long underwear, fleece pants and boots with very thick socks. Once he put his last layers on and got under his blankets he'd be perfectly fine.
Just then, the door to the room he was in opened and his partner walked in, closing the door behind him and locking it muggle style. "Merlin's balls! It is fucking cold out there!" he exclaimed as he walked in making it very obvious that he was freezing.
"It's not much warmer in here," Harry commented.
His partner glared at him slightly. He walked over to his pack and pulled out a few more clothing items and a hat and gloves. "Shacklebolt is a mad man for making us stake this place out two nights in a row especially with Christmas three days away and it being the coldest week in bleeding history," he commented angrily.
Harry rolled his eyes and grabbed one of his extra blankets. "Malfoy, stop complaining, take this extra blanket and take your post. You've got first watch this time," he said in exasperation as he held out one of his blankets.
Draco stalked over and tugged it from his hands. Harry rolled his eyes again. He wasn't any happier about this assignment than his partner, but at least he had the good sense to keep it to himself. Of course, that's how it always was. Harry kept it to himself, and Draco told the world exactly what he thought about everything whether you wanted to hear it or not.
Draco scowled as he wrapped the blanket tightly around himself and settled into the chair that looked out the window and was placed next to the camera. They were staking out a higher up Ministry official that was thought to be having an affair with a rivaled Ministry employee and sharing secrets with them. Their first night of stakeout was meant to videotape the house that the British Ministry employee lived at to find evidence of the affair. The next night they would stake out again and this time arrest him if there was any evidence to suggest the affair.
Unfortunately for Draco and Harry, they weren't allowed to use magic or muggle warming devices to make their stakeout more comfortable. They didn't want to blow their chance of catching the guy and if they ignored that command, they would surely miss their chance. On top of that, they were wearing magical signature nulling devices to prevent the Ministry employee from picking up on their magic. They were completely without the use of magic, unless of course it was warranted as in one of them was in danger and needed to defend themselves.
Harry settled into the bed and sighed in contentment as the warmth of the blankets enveloped him. "This is nice," he commented as he sighed more deeply. He wasn't above rubbing it in that he was by far more comfortable than his partner in that moment.
"Shut it, Potter. What are you going to do when he picks up on our heat signature up here?" Draco questioned.
"Already covered. There is a sheeting over that wall that faces the guy's house and it blocks our heat signature as well," he replied knowingly.
Draco snorted. He had no more arguments at the moment. He glared at the house across the street. He really didn't mind being there with Harry as he actually quite enjoyed working with him and they had worked so long together that they knew what each other was going to do in each passing moment when they were on assignment. Of course, he would never tell that to Harry. He also wouldn't tell Harry that their partnership was rivaled by many aurors in their department, including Harry's best friend. There were a lot of people who wished they had the partnership that Draco and Harry had, but just couldn't make it happen. Draco had tried many times to try and figure out how it was possible that they worked so well together considering they hated each other in school, but he couldn't quite pinpoint it.
He looked over at Harry and saw that he was buried in his blankets and all that he could see was a bit of his dark hair, his closed eyes, and his nose. Draco smiled and blushed. He shook his head as he looked away. He couldn't go down that thought path, even though he found himself going down it multiple times a week.
A couple of hours later, Draco snorted awake, realizing that he had fallen asleep. He looked around remembering where he was and colder than he had been when he fell asleep. He groaned and stood up. He checked the camera to make sure that the battery still had plenty of life. It was only a quarter of the way down and as he glanced at his timepiece, he knew that it would last all night without getting nearly to the point of needing to be charged.
He looked over at Harry and sighed. He looked so unbelievably warm and he was freezing. He was not pleased about that so he decided to do something about it. He grinned wickedly as he walked over and slipped under the covers. Harry stirred slightly. Draco was instantly enveloped in heat just by getting under the blankets. He sighed in contentment as he turned and snuggled up against his partner, wrapping his arms around him. One at his neck and the other over his waist. Harry was so unbelievably warm. He nuzzled into him and sighed again. He was slowly becoming quite warm and was thrilled to have feeling back in his body.
Harry stirred more fully awake as he felt a presence wrapping around him. His eyes flew open as said presence nuzzled his neck. "Malfoy, what are you doing?" he asked in a shaky, disbelieving voice.
"I'm cold," Draco murmured against his neck. His lips moved just so over Harry's neck which caused Harry to shudder.
"So you're cuddling me?" he asked.
"You're soooo warm," he whispered in a voice that went straight to places that Harry wasn't expecting.
He sighed. "We're supposed to be staking out," he replied quietly.
"The camera is recording and the battery has plenty of life. I'm freezing and I'm tired, Potter, please, just let me stay right here," Draco begged.
Harry sighed. Another thing that Harry did, gave in to Draco….a lot. He always told himself that it just made his life easier to do what Draco wanted, which was true, but he also knew that he did it because it made his partner happy and have this smile that Harry loved. "Fine," he muttered in agreement.
He could feel Draco's lips upturn into a smile. Harry grinned himself and rolled his eyes, knowing exactly what he looked like. "You're the best," Draco whispered tiredly.
Harry sighed and said nothing more, but he was wide awake now. He had dreamed about moments just like this where Draco would be wrapped around him in sleep. He had harbored a crush on his partner for years. He had told him once how he felt, but Draco had been completely wasted and never brought it up therefore Harry determined he didn't remember.
"Malfoy, what are your plans for Christmas?" he asked quietly.
"Spending Christmas day at the Manor, but Christmas Eve is sadly open," he replied quietly.
"Come to Mione's Christmas party with me. It will surely provide you with teasing material to last you all of next year," Harry offered.
"Hmmm, I might consider it," he commented quietly. Of course, his heart did a little flip flop at the concept of going to a party with Harry, even if it was with a bunch of Gryffindors. They hung out often outside of work hours, but never with other people, usually just them.
Harry chuckled and nodded. "What do you want for Christmas?" he asked after a moment.
Draco scoffed. "You haven't bought me a present yet?" he demanded, mostly joking.
Harry laughed. "Of course, I have. I'm just curious as to what else you might want say from your parents or your friends or something," he replied.
"I'll get back to you on that," Draco replied, his voice sounding tired.
That was Harry's cue that Draco wanted to sleep so he stopped asking questions and shifted slightly. He went to his back, Draco moving with him. Draco stayed on his side, but moved slightly when Harry wrapped one arm around his shoulder, holding him close. They were both telling themselves that they were just staying warm, but they both knew that was a lie. They had both thought about this very moment and not in the sense of staying warm.
Harry and Draco both drifted off to sleep. Draco was no longer freezing and was quite warm and pleased with where he was. He'd stay there forever if he could. He knew what he wanted for Christmas now. He just had to find the nerve to say it aloud.
XXXX
The next morning, Harry woke feeling like he was burning up. He opened his eyes and blinked several times before finally focusing on where he was. He still had Draco wrapped around him and as he glanced down to see the redness of Draco's cheeks, he too knew that Draco was burning up.
"Malfoy, it's morning," Harry whispered as he nudged his partner.
Draco groaned and squeezed Harry tighter. "That's nice," he muttered.
"Is it nice that I'm roasting right now and surely going to burn up if you don't let me get out from under these blankets?" Harry asked.
Draco gave a dramatic sigh and rolled off of Harry. The cold was instantaneous and Harry found that despite his need for some relief from the heat, he missed having Draco cuddling him. Harry stood up and moved over to the camera. He tried to shake those thoughts away as he knew that Draco would never view him that way. Harry peeked out the window and saw the Ministry employee leaving his house alone. He hoped that they had recorded what they needed and that the night had not been for naught.
"Want to get breakfast and then head back to the Ministry to view the tape?" Harry asked as he turned to look at his partner. His breath caught in his throat as he looked at him. He had taken his hat off so his hair was a disaster, but he still managed to look amazing in the morning. His eyes were bright silver and with his cheeks still colored slightly pink, Harry couldn't help, but admire him. "How do you do that?" he questioned.
Draco scrunched his eyebrows in confusion. "Do what?" he asked.
"Look the way you do in the morning. I always look like a hippogriff ran me over," Harry complained, shaking his head.
Draco snorted and got up from the makeshift bed. He stretched and Harry couldn't look away. "You look as great as you always do, Potter," he teased.
Harry snorted and rolled his eyes. "Sure, okay," he responded
Draco shrugged. If Harry didn't know how beautiful he was, he wouldn't be able to convince him otherwise, at least at this point anyway. "Let's pack up and head back," he said instead. He turned and started folding up the bed materials. Harry took down the camera and removed the heat signature sheet, putting them all into their pack. Since the Ministry employee was long gone now, they were not concerned about being caught.
They left the building and headed for the apparition point. They apparated into an abandoned building across from the Ministry. They made their way to a coffee shop nearby and got breakfast. They saw some of their fellow aurors getting their breakfast and as it usually happened, they watched Draco and Harry as they worked in tandem to prepare their coffee, wordlessly handing what the other needed and exchanging parts of their breakfast sandwiches that the other didn't want.
They left the coffee shop, nodding to their fellow aurors who stared blankly at them. Harry frowned, wondering what exactly their problem was. "Did I miss something?" he asked quietly as they walked out.
"What do you mean?" Draco asked as he looked around as well. As soon as he saw their fellow aurors, he knew what he was referring to. "Oh, that. Yeah, that happens all the time, haven't you noticed?"
"No, I guess not. Why?" he asked.
"Well, would you say we work well together?" Harry nodded. "Would you say that we can almost always predict what the other needs or is going to say?" Harry thought for a moment and then nodded. "Would you say that we know what each other likes?" Harry nodded again. "That's why. We are quite envied by a lot of the aurors in our department because of that. Many of them wish they could have what we have," Draco explained.
Harry felt his cheeks color. He hadn't realized that they were that way. He just thought they clicked in a lot of ways. He grinned. "Well, way to go us, then, eh?"
Draco laughed and nodded. They went inside the Ministry and made their way up to the auror department. They went into their office and Harry went about setting up the camera. They had charms on the muggle equipment to keep it from being interfered with by magic. Harry hit play and settled in next to Draco, eating his breakfast and drinking his coffee.
Two hours later, they finally caught sight of someone coming up to the Ministry employee's door. They noted the time and watched as the camera automatically zoomed in. Draco and Harry's eyes widened. They looked at each other. "Wow, I wasn't expecting that," Draco muttered in surprise. They paused the video and stared at the person in the frame.
"A man and the actual Deputy Minister of Magic of the French Ministry?" Harry said in disbelief.
"Yeah, no doubt about that. We need to show this to Shacklebolt," Draco said as he stood and went to his desk to write a quick correspondence. He sent it on its way and sat down again.
"Do you think he'll come back tonight?" Harry asked after a few minutes.
Draco shrugged. "I hope so for our sake, but maybe later in the video we'll see some more solid evidence." Harry nodded in agreement.
Minutes later, Kingsley walked into their office expectantly. "What did you find?" he asked.
Harry and Draco both gestured up at the screen and Kingsley turned and looked. His eyes widened in surprise. "Well, then. Is there any more on the video?"
"We haven't got that far. We saw this and wanted to let you know immediately," Harry replied.
He nodded. "Finish the video and let me know if there is anything more. We'll need to take him in tonight. Can you two go back tonight and bring him in?" Kingsley asked.
"Yes, sir," Draco replied in surprising respect. Kingsley lifted his brow slightly, but smiled.
"There's a reason you two are my top aurors," Kingsley commented as he left their office.
Draco and Harry exchanged pleased smiles. "It's not every day the Minister of Magic compliments us," Harry commented.
Draco snorted. "He compliments you every chance he gets," he pointed out.
"Ha, whatever. He just now complimented you and me," Harry replied.
Draco grinned and hit play again. They finished watching the video and saw plenty of things going on in the house that made it very obvious that the two were together. There wasn't necessarily proof within the video of them sharing secrets, but they had that evidence elsewhere. This was just to corroborate their theories.
They informed Kingsley of the new information and he sent them home for some rest before staking out again. They weren't going to be able to sleep this time. They had to catch them both.
XXXX
Harry arrived at the abandoned building from the night before again. Draco was already set-up in the room. They were going to immobilize from the window and then apparate down and take the two to the Ministry for questioning. Harry walked in and settled in next to Draco at the window. He handed him a cup of tea which Draco took gratefully.
"Seen anything yet?" he asked.
"He just got home about fifteen minutes ago. Based on the timing for last night, his lover won't be there until about ten. We've got some time yet still," Draco replied.
Harry nodded and focused on the door. "Have you thought about Mione's party tomorrow night?"
"Yeah, of course," he replied. He smiled slightly as Harry let out an annoyed sigh.
"Are you going to come with me?" Harry asked in an annoyed tone.
"I might have to meet you there. I need to do some last minute Christmas shopping," Draco replied.
Harry stared at him, hurt that Draco wouldn't commit to going with him. It was his way of asking him on a date. It just reminded him that Draco would never return his feelings. "Sure, okay, well it's up to you…." he trailed off, looking away from him, a blush coloring his cheeks.
Harry glanced down the street and saw someone walking towards the door. He glanced down at his time piece, noting that the man's lover was showing up earlier than usual. He reached for the omnioculars and focused on the man. It was the Deputy Minister of Magic in France. Draco leaned forward, readying his wand. Harry quietly opened the window enough to shoot out their spells. They couldn't cast them until the other guy opened the door. Harry was to immobilize the French guy and Draco was to immobilize the other one.
The readied their wands and waited. Soon, the front door opened and Harry and Draco quickly cast their charms. Both suspects were immobilized, their eyes wide as they stared at each other in disbelief. Draco and Harry gave each other triumphant grins and apparated down to the two immobile Wizards.
"Deputy Ministers how nice to see you both," Draco drawled as he wrapped them up in ropes. They looked absolutely horrified at being caught.
"I sincerely hope for your two's sake that this isn't what it looks like," Harry commented as he grabbed the French Deputy Minister and started walking away. Draco grabbed the British Deputy Minister and followed after Harry. Eventually they apparated to the Ministry and took the two suspects to the holding cells. Once done, they made their way to the Minister of Magic's office. Kingsley was pleased to see them.
"Everything go well?" he asked as they stood in his office.
"Yes, without a hitch," Draco replied, grinning and glancing sideways at Harry who was grinning as well. Kingsley steepled his fingers as he studied the two. Now it made sense how they worked so well together. They were completely smitten with each other. Kingsley chuckled as it all fell into place. Draco and Harry looked at him in confusion.
"Excellent. Enjoy your Christmas hols. I don't expect you two back here until after New Year's," Kingsley said.
Draco and Harry's eyes widened in surprise. "You're kidding, right?" Harry asked in surprise.
Kingsley shook his head. "I hardly kid, Harry. You guys have earned some time off. Head Auror Smythe agrees with me. Enjoy yourselves," he ordered.
"I don't need to be told twice. Let's go, Potter," Draco said as he turned on his heel and left Kingsley's office.
Harry grinned. "Thank you, sir," he said as he started for the door.
"Happy Christmas, Harry," Kingsley called out.
Harry turned back to look at him. "Happy Christmas, Kingsley," he replied.
XXXX
Harry drank down his second glass of egg nog. Draco hadn't shown up yet and his mood was becoming darker and darker. He shouldn't be surprised though. Draco never hung out with Harry when he was with his friends. Actually, the only time they hung out was when they were alone. He should have known it wouldn't be any different for the Christmas party. He patted his pocket where he had shrunk down Draco's gift that he had planned to give him tonight. He scowled into his drink as he turned to go get more egg nog.
He stopped suddenly as he looked up and saw Draco standing in the archway between the foyer and the living room. Harry felt the air escape him. Draco looked amazing and quite nervous too. Harry walked over to him. "You're here," he said in surprise.
Draco settled on him and looked relieved and pleased albeit still nervous. "I told you I'd meet you here," he replied.
"Yes, well, I thought you decided not to come since it was getting late," Harry replied uncertainly.
Draco sighed and shifted nervously. "Can you come outside with me for a minute?" he asked.
Harry frowned, but nodded. He felt his stomach turn with his anxiety. Something was obviously bothering Draco. He started towards the back of the house where they could go into the garden, Draco following behind him. Hermione had set up fairy lights and had warmers out there in case anyone wanted to step outside for fresh air and not freeze to death.
Once they were outside and standing near a warmer, Draco turned to look at Harry, still looking nervous. "What's the matter?" Harry asked.
"So, I have been thinking about what you asked me a couple of nights ago," he began.
Harry scrunched up his eyes in confusion. "What did I ask you?"
Draco sighed. "You asked me what I wanted for Christmas," he replied sounding slightly exasperated.
Harry nodded knowingly and reached into his pocket and pulled out his gift for Draco. He resized it and handed it to him. "Right, of course, I remember now. Here's the gift I got you although probably not the one you wanted," he said.
Draco took the overly large package and smiled. He walked over to a table and set it down. He opened it up. His eyes widened as he saw a hat, gloves, and a blanket all made with material that looked so warm. His fingers skimmed across them, loving the feel of them.
"They have charms on them that when activated they'll maintain the warmth until you cancel it. I had the gloves and hat before the other night, but went back and got the blanket. Do you like them?" Harry asked uncertainly.
Draco grinned. "Of course. Definitely something that I will use and enjoy immensely, but you're right, that isn't what I wanted for Christmas," he responded quietly.
"Well, yeah, I figured as much. What did you want?" Harry asked, trying not to let his words bother him.
Draco turned to face him. "I want you," he said quietly looking down at him, blinking slowly and blushing deeply.
"Excuse me?" he asked in disbelief.
"I want you for Christmas," he repeated.
"As in?" Harry whispered.
Draco stepped forward; reaching out to grip Harry's hip with one hand and brought his other hand up to cup his face. He brushed his thumb against his cheek and leaned forwards, kissing him tentatively. Harry gasped and his eyes fluttered closed as he returned his kiss. Harry reached out and gripped Draco's hips, pulling him closer to him. He deepened the kiss, thrilled that he had been wrong all along. Draco was capable of having feelings for him.
They broke apart for some much needed air and looked at each other shyly. "Well, that was unexpected," Harry whispered.
"But not unwanted?" Draco replied uncertainly.
"Definitely not. I've been crushing on you for years. I just never had the nerve to tell you," he said quietly.
Draco kissed him again and stepped back from him reluctantly. He reached into his pocket and handed Harry a package. "I've been crushing on your for longer I'm sure," Draco replied.
Harry grinned. "Maybe that's how we work so well together?" he suggested.
Draco laughed. "Probably very accurate. No wonder no one else can have what we have," he replied.
Harry looked up suddenly at the implication of his words. He meant them in a different way, but still, the thought was nice. He blushed and looked down at the present in his hands. He opened it carefully and grinned as he pulled out the gift. It was a wand holster for his forearm. It was made of leather and ridiculously soft. It was dark brown and had his initials sewn onto the cuff.
"It has a charm on it to help repel disarming spells and accio. It gives you more of an opportunity to keep your wand than other holsters. It works pretty well. I bought one a couple of months ago to test it out before getting one for you and it hasn't disappointed me yet. Look underneath," he said, his voice sounding nervous and uncertain at his request.
Harry frowned and flipped it over. 'I love you' was sewn into the holster with Draco's initials underneath. Harry looked up in surprise. "You do?" he asked in disbelief.
Draco nodded. "At first I just realized I loved you like in a friendly way, but then on that assignment where you ended up in St. Mungo's for a week, I realized that I loved you as more than just your friend."
Harry went back to that week. It had been nearly a year ago and he had been horribly injured in a raid. Draco hadn't left his side the entire time he was in the hospital and helped get him back into shape when he was ready to go back to work. "That's when I fell in love with you, well, more deeply anyway," Harry whispered.
"So you love me too?" he asked.
"Yes," Harry replied stepping towards him and reaching out for him. Draco grinned and closed the space between them, kissing Harry passionately. Harry wrapped his arms tightly around Draco's waist as Draco wrapped his arms tightly around Harry's shoulders. He slid his tongue out along Harry's lip, asking for entrance. Harry immediately opened his mouth, their kiss deepening.
"Merlin's balls! Finally!" someone cried, breaking the moment between Draco and Harry. They both jumped in surprise and turned their glares on the offending person.
Ron and Hermione were standing there smirking at them although Hermione was beaming. "What is that supposed to mean?" Draco asked.
They gave them both knowing looks. "Everybody knew, but you two that you were totally in love with each other," Ron replied.
Harry and Draco blushed deeply and glanced at each other. Draco grinned. "Well, now that it's out there, could you excuse us? We were very much in the middle of something," Draco said as he turned back to Harry whose blush had deepened. He leaned forward, ready to kiss Harry again. Hermione squeaked and grabbed Ron, moving back into the house.
They kissed for several more minutes before they finally separated. "Best Christmas ever," Draco whispered.
"Couldn't agree more. Come on. Let's go celebrate," Harry said as he linked their hands together and started to lead Draco inside. Draco flicked his wrist and accioed his present from the table. He shrunk them down and slipped them into his pocket. Harry had already put his holster on and kept glancing at it, knowing what it said underneath.
Before stepping inside, Draco stopped and turned, pulling Harry towards him. He kissed him deeply again, leaving Harry breathless when they broke apart. "Happy Christmas, Harry," Draco whispered, kissing him lightly on the lips.
Harry sighed in contentment. "Happy Christmas, Draco."
THE END