House: Ravenclaw

Word Count: 1090

Category: Additional

Additional: A happy occasion

Prompt(s): [Event] Easter

Year: Standing in for Year 3

Warning(s): AU-Ish. Drarry.


Easter had always been a holiday that Draco Malfoy had absolutely loathed. While most children would play outside in the grass, have Easter egg hunts and baskets of candy waiting for them in the mornings, Draco's Easter looked very, very different. In his family's manor Easter Sunday was filled with hours upon hours of getting ready. His mother would slick his hair back so tight onto his head it would give him a headache after only thirty minutes. They would pose for pictures with multiple photographers, his father never being able to decide which one was the best photographer until long after the photographs were taken.

Easter dinner was a quiet occasion in the Malfoy household, his mother would sit far away from his father, and Draco would sit at the end of the table, far away from the both of them. It was upon his father's insistence that they be this way, so detached from each other and yet act as a family. And because of those childhood memories, he'd just never celebrated Easter after the war. It had been two years, and despite his mother's request he hadn't returned either year for Easter, celebrating didn't seem worth it.

Well, until now anyway. Somehow, Draco's boyfriend Harry had convinced him to go to Easter that year, since he always went alone he was trying to convince the blonde to go with him just once. Draco tried to come up with excuses, thousands of them ready at the tip of his tongue, though Harry - having been in a relationship with the stubborn Slytherin for just over a year - had insisted they go together, bashing every excuse that flew out of Draco's mouth.

His reason being that while Draco had celebrated Easter in the past and had awful experiences, he'd never celebrated with the Weasleys. According to Harry, they would be welcoming, they'd invite Draco in and let him participate in their many festivities. Draco was sceptical, but he'd agreed. He couldn't help but be curious after all.

Which is why he was standing outside the Burrow on a cold April day, wearing one of Harry's oversized green sweaters and looking around nervously. His hands were shaking, though not from the cold. No, he was scared and excited at the same time, because this might be a second chance at a nice family holiday, he didn't' want to mess it up. He felt Harry grip his hand a little tighter, looking over at his boyfriend with a small, nervous smile on his face. Perhaps this Easter would be different from the ones in his past, he could only hope he was right.

They knocked on the door, and almost immediately it burst open, a rush of warm air flooding out and onto their frigid faces. Molly enveloped both in a warm hug, Draco surprised at how welcoming she was already being. He wondered faintly if she knew who he was, because surely she wouldn't hug him if she did. Yet she pulled away with a welcoming smile on his face, and he could see in her eyes that she knew who he was. But oddly enough she didn't seem to care. His family had always spoken so badly about the Weasley's, but they seemed so nice and he'd only just arrived.

They walked into the house, Hermione, Ron, and the others Weasley's were staring at him, of that he was sure. But unlike their Hogwarts years, their gazes weren't full of hatred. Instead they were warm and welcoming.

"Come on, we waited on the egg hunt for you guys," came Ron's slightly impatient, yet still lighthearted voice. Harry left Draco's side, walking with his friend group as they moved to the Burrow's back yard. Draco stood awkwardly, unsure if the invitation was extended to him or not. He twisted his hands in his sleeves, looking around slightly, pondering on what he should do next. A hand on his shoulder startled him, and he turned around to see Percy smiling wryly down at him.

"Come on, they won't start the hunt without you," and with that he was dragged into the backyard, his worries forgotten as excitement filled him. He'd never gotten to do an egg hunt, and though he was sure he must have been a little too old for it, he had fun just like the rest of them. He felt at home, something he'd rarely felt before this.

The festivities continued on, a small game of Quidditch, which 'wasn't fair' according to Bill because both Harry and Draco were on the same team. Since both were fantastic Quidditch players, it did tip the scale a considerable amount, but Ginny was on the Holyhead Harpies, so that had to even things out just a little bit. Next they degnomed the garden, upon Molly's insistence that it needed to happen sometime, and what better time than the present. Well, everyone but Draco did that.

Molly invited him into the kitchen with Hermione, and asked if he wanted to help make the Easter Dinner. He'd lit up, because of course he wanted to. Cooking had always been interesting to him, fascinating in so very many ways. They made the dinner, first a chicken dish, then a bunch of sides. It almost reminded him of a Christmas Feast. It was absolutely brilliant.

As she finished up with the food preparations she shooed Hermione and Draco out of the kitchen, the two moving over to Percy's little reading corner to join him. Draco found that the two were extremely knowledgeable about thousands of books, and he spent the rest of his free time before dinner chatting with them about the latest books he'd been reading. It was nice to have a conversation like that without being scolded for the excitement in his eyes, or how he gestured with his hands when he spoke.

Dinner was fantastic too, a wonderfully happy occasion that he would cherish forever. They all spoke with each other, having loud jovial conversations while eating their food. Everyone was warm and happy, and Draco couldn't help but feel the same. The highlight of the night, however, wasn't the dinner, nor the quidditch, not even the easter egg hunt. No, it was when Harry got down onto one knee and proposed. It was, just as Harry said, one of the best Easter's of Draco's life. And as they left the Burrow to get back to their flat, he couldn't help but to agree to being there next Easter.

He honestly couldn't wait.