Written for: The Christmas Collection Competition on the HPFC forum
Prompt: #18 (object) Christmas Card
Pairing: fem!Harry/Draco
December 10th, 1999
Friday
"Ah, Draco! You're home!" calls out his beautiful girlfriend cheerfully, right after he steps out of the fireplace.
Her voice is too cheerful. It makes him suspicious. She's never home this early, and she's certainly never this cheerful after a day at the Auror Office.
He heads straight to the kitchen to get something to drink from the refrigerator. It's a Muggle device, and it's better than the cooling charms that the house-elves use.
Who would have thought that Muggles would have done something so useful? And that too, without magic? Harry says that the Muggles have even been to the moon, but Draco doubts it. There's no actual proof, is there?
"Where are you?"
"Kitchen," he calls out, as he finishes a glass of pumpkin juice. He hears footsteps- the harsh clacking of high heels on a wooden floor- and Harriet's there, beaming at him from the doorway.
She's all dressed up in a set of midnight blue robes, and is even wearing the pearl necklace that he got her for her nineteenth birthday. Her messy hair has been tamed to fall gently with the slightest of waves and all he can do is stare.
He stops gaping at her long enough to ask her a question. "Have I forgotten something? Is it some important date today? Am I supposed to be getting you a present?"
She laughs that tinkling laugh of hers - that laugh is so uniquely hers that Draco feels it characterises her. "Of course not, silly. But you might want to book us a table somewhere fancy for the thirteenth. Seeing as I planned our first date."
Draco already has a date planned out, but it's for the twelfth. That way, it will be an unexpectedly expected surprise. Draco stops himself from smirking. It won't do to let her know he's up to something.
"If you've finished drinking all the pumpkin juice I made just yesterday, will you hurry up and go have a bath? I've set some robes on the bed for you. You have half an hour to get ready."
He stares at her, his eyes narrowed. The narrowing of eyes is a trademark move of Harriet's.
Holy Merlin, she's rubbing off on him.
He sets his special goblet (encrusted with tiny emeralds) down on the counter, and stalks towards her. He puts his hands on either side of her, and captures her against the wall. He leans in.
She stares at him defiantly.
"Care to tell me what's going on?" he asks, trying to make his voice low and velvety. Harry gives him a disdainful look.
"Are you trying to intimidate me, Malfoy?"
"Yes, Potter. You see, you've always been shitty at acting and lying. So why don't you just tell me why you're all dolled up?"
She sighs and nestles herself onto his shoulder. Apparently, his intimidation tactics suck.
"You won't like the reason," she says softly into his ear.
"Try me."
"Your mum and Andy think it's a great idea though."
"Will you just tell me already, Scarface?" he asks, not knowing where this is going. With Father in prison, his immediate family is made of only women. And one small boy. He's the last man standing.
"Have you heard of Christmas cards?"
"Nope. Is it a Muggle thing?"
"Yup," she says, slightly brightly. "Every year, the family comes together to take a family picture, which they make into a card, like a greeting card, and send to their relatives and their friends with their greetings for Christmas."
Now he knows where this is heading, and being the Slytherin he is, he plans to utilise it to his benefit. He can probably get her to do his chores for a week!
"You want us to do something similar for Yule?"
"So you're not mad?" she asks, almost hopefully, as she turns her face slightly sideways. Her nose touches his cheek. She smells lovely, as usual.
"I'm not too keen on having so many Muggle things invading our lives, you know?" he says, trying to make his voice light. He doesn't really have a problem with the idea, but that doesn't mean he'll walk away without getting something out of it.
"Well, when we have kids, it'll be such a wonderful tradition. It'll be so nice for them to see the cards from before they were born. It'll show the evolution of our relationship."
Draco pulls back in surprise.
"Kids?"
There's a flash of hurt in her eyes, and she asks guardedly, "Do you not want to have children with me?"
And there's something in his heart that makes him want to yell from the tallest tower on the planet. He feels like a bloody Hufflepuff.
"Trust me, I want to have kids with you. It's just... I never thought of kids, as in the plural."
She leans up and kisses him hard. He feels like tiny bubbles are popping inside him.
"So you'll do it?" she asks.
"I'm not all that willing, but I can be persuaded..." he peters off, as she scowls at him.
"Fine, what do you want me to bribe you with? Grocery shopping for a week?"
Her suggestion is tempting, but he says impulsively, without thinking, "I get to name our firstborn."
She gapes at him, before beginning to smile brilliantly. And then, she stops, all of a sudden.
"You can't name him Draco Junior. And if it's a girl, I want it to be a flower name."
"Malfoys haven't had a girl in the past twenty-seven generations," he says, without thinking.
"I know. Mione made me read the genealogy books last year. Now will you go get dressed? I still have to put on my make-up. And these new shoes are killing me. I think I'll fall at least once tonight."
He shakes his head and picks her up, bridal style.
"We can't have you falling and hurting yourself, can we?"
She sticks her tongue out at him.
He laughs.
Word Count: 995 (I had to go back and remove much of the fluffiness. :P )
AN:
Hope you liked it. Leave me a review? *puppy dog eyes*