I know this is late! I'm so, so sorry, I don't even have an excuse this time.

Would you believe me if I said all the plot-bunnies in my head wouldn't give me time to write this until I finished writing them? Because that's what happened.

Anyways, without further ado, here's chapter seven for you guys...


AUTUMN

The season of autumn has long been associated with the element of water. Among other things, the element is associated with protection magic and mirror divination. Some of the gemstones associated with this month are aquamarine, pearl and amethyst.

The festival Mabon falls during this season, usually on September 21st. However, the more well festival falling during this time is Samhain (popularly known as Halloween), which marks the end of autumn and the beginning of winter.


"Ello Awy. Uve gop n owb," Ron greeted Harry as he walked into the Great Hall for breakfast.

Giving his best friend an amused look, Harry slowly counted down in his head.

Three, two, one…

"Ronald, that's disgusting! How many times do have to be told to swallow and then talk?" Right on schedule, Hermione started lecturing Ron.

Taking a big gulp, Ron retored, "I said, clear as day, that Harry's got an owl. Are you happy now?"

"No, Ronal –"

Tuning Hermione and Ron's traditional breakfast argument off, Harry turned his attention to Astraeus, who was hovering patiently in front of his plate. If he didn't know better, Harry would have said that the owl looked as amused by his best friends' argument as he was.

The package in Astraeus' claws was much thinner than usual. Harry carefully tore into it, only to find a gleaming Chocolate Frog Card.

Before he could start to wonder what the symbolism behind the gift was, especially as Draco hadn't sent his customary note accompanying the card, he heard Ron start to choke from behind him.

Turning back to check on his best friend in alarm, he found that Ron was gaping at the card he held in his hand.

"Is – is that what I think it is?" Ron asked, the reverence in his tone usually reserved only for the greatest of Quidditch players.

"It's a Chocolate Frog Card," Harry answered, mystified by the look of obsession gracing Ron's face as he looked at the card in Harry's hand.

"That's not just a Chocolate Frog Card, mate," Ron said, his tone still filled with awe, "that's a bloody Galleon Chocolate Frog Card!"

What's that?" Hermione asked, looking just as baffled as Harry felt.

"When the people who make Chocolate Frogs first decided to add collectible cards to their product, they released a couple of Frogs that cost a Galleon – much more than the price of a Frog at that time, which was a single Knut. In those Frogs were the first Chocolate Frog Cards – made with real gold foil. Over time, the originals have become collector's items – serious card collectors pay tens of thousands of Galleons for one of those. And I'm pretty sure you're holding the original Mirabella Plunkett Card, mate."

As Hermione gaped over the money Draco must have spent over the card, Harry turned the card over to read the witch's history.

'Born in 1839, Mirabella Plunkett famously fell in love with a merman in Loch Lomond while on holiday. When her parents forbade her to marry him, she transfigured herself into a haddock and was never seen again.'

Harry quickly turned his attention back to his breakfast to hide the slight moisture in his eyes. After nearly a year of courting, he knew Draco very well. And he knew exactly what Draco was trying to tell him.

It was a reassurance that nobody, not even the family he held so dear, was more important to him than Harry. And it was a promise of what he was willing to do if he ever had to choose between Harry and someone else.


"Hey," Harry said as he walked into the room in the dungeons Draco had claimed as his own.

"Hello, Harry," Draco said, turning back to smile as him. "Did you know that there are about a hundred books on your parents and their friends in the Hogwarts Library alone?"

Harry gaped at Draco. "No, I can't say I did," he replied, sounding both shocked at the number of books on his parents, and confused over the direction of the conversation.

"Most of it is completely false, of course," Draco continued, "but there are a few that have some true information hidden inside them. It took me a long time – and a lot of books – to find out the little piece of information that allowed me to get these made."

"Get what made?" Harry asked, still clueless. "Draco, what are you talking about? Why were you even looking for my parents' history in the first place?"

"Why doesn't matter. It's what I found in there that matters."

"Draco, wh -?"

Draco turned around, a pair of gleaming objects in his hand. When he handed one to Harry, Harry realised that it was a mirror. Combined with what Draco had been saying about his past –

"Draco, are these – are these two-way mirrors?" Harry asked in a hushed tone, awed and slightly shocked at the power that must have gone into them to make them. Hermione had once given him and Ron a lecture on how to go about making the mirrors when they were considering using them during the Horcrux hunt. She had claimed it was practically impossible to make a pair without a quartet of extremely powerful wizards – which was what the Marauders had done. So the fact that Draco had gotten these made for the two of them –

"I thought it would a great way for us to talk whenever we wanted to," Draco said, a hint of nervousness in his voice. "Do you like them?"

Looking up from the mirrors to the precious boy in front of him, Harry quickly walked towards Draco in three long steps.

"I love them," he whispered, wrapping his arms around Draco and pulling him in for a hug. He wanted nothing more than to kiss him properly, instead of that peck all those months ago, but he wasn't going to do anything against Courting protocol. He knew just how much this meant to Draco. So instead, he said the only thing he could that would come near explaining what Draco meant to him.

"I love you," he whispered.


"Harry, you've got an owl," seemed to have become a rather common greeting over the course of the past few months.

Everyone knew that the arrival of Astraeus meant another gift from Draco, and every time it happened in public, Harry was sure to be mobbed by scores of interested Gryffindors.

So when Harry entered the shared Common Room one night to find Astraeus being cooed over by Parvati and Lavender, he knew exactly what was waiting for him.

And sure enough –

"Oi, it's Harry!" Seamus' shout resulted in Harry quickly being surrounded by eager Gryffindor eighth-years, Astraeus being brought over by the two girls.

"Go on, Harry, open it!" Parvati encouraged.

"Guys –" Harry started.

"Don't bother trying, mate," Ron's amused voice came from somewhere in the back. "You know they won't leave you alone until they find out what's in that package."

Parvati shrugged at Ron's words. "It's true," she said. "The faster you open it, the faster you get rid of us."

At the nods that accompanied Parvati's statement, Harry sighed in defeat, reaching for the package Astraeus carried.

"You know Id rather not –" he tried once again.

"You know we're not going to leave, Harry," Lavender said. "You might as well just open it."

Finally giving up, Harry opened the package with nimble fingers. Inside it was a bright blue piece of aquamarine nestled in the strap of a rather expensive looking watch.

As his friends gapped the watch, uttering soft exclamations of awe as it was passed around, Harry gently opened the letter that had accompanied the gift.

Dear Harry,

I know you've been worried a lot lately about your fame. I know you sometimes wonder if some of your friends are your friends because they care about you for who you are, or because they want to be famous by association.

I absolutely hate seeing you like this.

The watch is my solution to your problem.

Oh, don't look so astounded. I promise you I haven't gone insane.

The aquamarine on the watchstrap is something like an emotion detector. It will start glowing when the person you're talking to is feeling rather – exploitative, shall we say.

Basically, if someone wants to use your fame for their own benefit, it will warn you.

It's not perfect – some people can, and most probably will slip through the cracks – but it will help.

Maybe you'll stop worrying so much now.

Love,

Draco.

Harry closed his eyes, trying to prevent himself from breaking out into tears.

The amount of thought and love Draco had obviously put into this gift was something Harry almost couldn't comprehend. For someone who had spent much of his life trying to keep other people safe, the care Draco was taking of him was overwhelming.

He quickly grabbed the watch from Dean and fastened it around his wrist. The rest of his friends would only ever see it as another gift from Draco, but to him, it would be constant reminder of just how much he was loved.


"Are you sure you don't want to come Harry? You can still change your mind, you know. I'm pretty sure you packed your dress robes," Hermione asked him, concern evident on her face.

Harry smiled up at her reassuringly. "I'm sure, Hermione. You go on and have fun with Ron."

"Harry –" she began, chewing on her lip in worry.

"It's okay, Hermione. Even if I did come, I wouldn't dance with anyone but Draco, and we both know that that isn't possible, what with all the rules surrounding the Courtship. Besides, he's not going either. The two of us are planning on having a quiet night of study in the Common Room since it's going to be free of everyone."

"If you're sure –"

"I am."

"Well, okay then," she conceded, starting to move towards the entrance, "but remember, you can still come late to the Ball if you want to."

Harry looked at the empty spot left by Hermione and sighed. He hadn't wanted to tell her the real reason he wasn't going to the Halloween Ball. As much as the situation with Draco had played a part in his decision, his main cause for not going was the fact that the night was too painful for him to celebrate.

After what he had seen in Voldemort's mind during the Horcrux hunt – all the events surrounding his parents' death – Halloween had become an open wound for him, and he wasn't in the mood of going to Ball and pretending to have fun.

When he had told Draco about it, he had simply nodded and helped him formulate a plausible excuse so that Hermione and Ron wouldn't worry.

He let out another sigh, before getting up to collect his things. He hadn't been lying about his planned study session at the least – Draco had insisted that he spend the night finishing his homework instead of wasting it moping.

When he walked into the Common Room, he found Draco already sitting on one of the armchairs by the fire, waiting for him.

"Hey," Harry said as he approached Draco, "how long have you been waiting here?"

"Not long," Draco replied, looking down at his lap.

"What's wrong?" Harry asked, concern evident in his voice.

Draco bit his lip, nerves starting to bleed into his voice. "I just – it's nothing."

"Dray, what's wrong?" Harry asked, all the more worried now. Draco never hid things from him anymore.

Draco sighed heavily. "I've got your last gift of autumn with me, and I don't know if I'm overstepping my boundaries by getting this for you."

Harry sat down on the armchair facing him and took Draco's hand in his. "I don't think you have any boundary with me, Draco," he said gently. "I'm not going to get angry over whatever this is, I promise."

Draco looked at him, still doubtful. He reached behind him and pulled out of cylindrical container. Opening it, he removed a rolled up piece of heavy canvas from it and handed it to Harry.

"Here you go," he said. He made a move to get up from his armchair. At Harry's wounded look, he continued. "I think you need to be alone to look at this. Let me know if you like it."

Before he could move, Harry reached out to grab his arm and pulled him down onto the chair. "I'd rather open this with you."

"Harry –"

"Tell you what, Draco, before I open it, why don't you tell me what it is? It might make you feel better…"

"Harry –"

"I hate seeing you like this, Draco, you know that."

Draco sighed in defeat. "Do you remember when you were telling me about what you saw in the Dark Lord's head?" he began tentatively.

At Harry's nod, he continued. "I dislike seeing you upset, you know that. And, while I can't give your parents back, I thought I could give a piece of them."

"Draco, what are you talking about?"

"The painting you're holding – it's a portrait of them, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin. You can easily change it to a magical portrait in the future if that's what you wanted. I thought – I thought you'd like the option of being able to speak with your parents, godfather and Professor Lupin again someday."

Harry opened the painting with trembling fingers. It was a beautiful painting, his parents and their friends smiling up at him. They looked just as they had when they ha appeared to him in the Forest as he walked to his death.

A part of him wondered just how Draco had known how to depict them so perfectly, but mostly, he was just awestruck at what he was cradling in his hands.

He quickly summoned the container it had been in and placed it back inside, not wanting it to be damaged before he had a chance to frame it and transform it into a magical portrait.

He then turned his attention to Draco, who was looking more and more worried every second Harry did not say anything.

"Draco?"

"Harry?"

"It's perfect," Harry breathed. He walked to Draco and, adjusting him so that he had place to sit, curled up at Draco's side. "I love you," he whispered, looking up at Draco adoringly.

Draco wrapped his arms around Harry, letting out a soft, almost imperceptible sigh of relief.

"I love you too," he murmured.


Hope you liked it :)

Please review on your way out. I'd love to hit a hundred reviews with this story, and if I do, I'll write the hundredth reviewer at Drarry story based on their headcanon. It'll be at least a 1000 words, I promise. How's that for motivation?

Also, does anyone have any ideas for what the final collection of 19 gifts should include? I've got about ten, but I'm a bit stumped right now, and I'd love to hear your contributions...leave it in a review or a PM of you have anyideas :)

Note: The information on Mirabella Plunkett is taken from her Chocolate Frog Card on Pottermore.