A/N - This is coming out quick because of all the wonderful reviewers who gave such quick feedback on the last chapter. Thank you for your feedback! I send you hugs, and a very yummy chapter.

Chapter 10 – And then there was Laughter

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Oddly enough, he even found it easy to sit in the train car and chat with his housemates much like they used to do. Mostly, conversation centered around family and parties and what presents were exchanged. The change in their attitude toward him was surprising but he tried not to give any indication that he noticed.

He was once again in their good graces, even though he'd done absolutely nothing to earn it. His low opinion of the conniving bunch of backstabbers had been reaffirmed.

Not that he had any problem with their behavior. He didn't. He truly understood that it was the nature of anyone sorted into Slytherin. Their lives were based on jockeying into the most opportunistic position, allying with those who seemed most influential either through finance or power. It was all about who was on top and, for the moment, it was him. He accepted that, though he no longer enjoyed it as much now that he'd viewed the other side of the proverbial fence.

The conversation eventually yielded the means of his reversal of fortune. Apparently, his act of going into the Weasley shop had not gone unnoticed – there were many who were shopping for Christmas that day, after all, and the action was unusual enough to be worthy of note. The timing of the disaster only a day later had now cast him in the role of the probable perpetrator. Rumor had even gone about that he'd been under direct orders of the Dark Lord. The actual saboteur had not stepped forward and the alleged action had given Draco a reprieve among the Dark Lord's ranks.

For the first time in many months, he felt more like himself. It was amazing how not being under threat of imminent death could lift one's spirits.

For the time, he was able to focus on good things, even though he knew it was a temporary reprieve. Unbeknownst to his classmates, he had done something nice over the holiday and was willing to let positive feeling from the good deed add to his good spirits.

It wasn't until the end of the train ride when the conversation turned to darker topics. There had been several Death Eater gatherings over the break. Draco had attended, since several were in his family's home. He might be an outcast, but he was expected to follow the Dark Lord's rule, and he continued to be resigned to the matter. He was grateful that he'd not been assigned anything directly, though the rumors had indicated otherwise.

He knew that the others had been at those meetings also, and were looking forward to their initiation soon. They talked about it like it was another rite of passage and of how glorious it would be to finally be fully recognized by the powerful Dark Lord. They dreamed of how their loyalty would bring them greater power and prestige in the new regime and Draco hid his scowl.

Their shortsightedness disturbed him but he chose not to say anything because he knew that nothing he could say would alter their misguided views. He'd been like that once. Unfortunately, it took a horrible change of fortune for him to understand the full repercussion of following such a lunatic. They would have to learn the lesson on their own.

Fortunately, the trip ended soon after, and he had other plans to keep him from dwelling on such dark topics. He exited the train and found a way to avoid his classmates as they traveled back up to the castle, though his newly restored popularity made ditching them a bit more work than he'd expected. He walked past the thestral-drawn carriages and took the path down toward the forest. He knew she would be there to greet him and this time, he was looking forward to surprising her.

His good mood restored at the thought of giving her a gift, he walked happily along the snow covered path. Lost in his thoughts, he didn't realize he was being followed. He was barely out of sight of the carriage road when he heard the rather whiny tones of Pansy behind him.

"Draco, wait up!"

Reluctantly he turned. He'd kept his good mood so far, but his patience with his fellow Slytherins was wearing thin.

"Pansy."

"Won't you come ride with me?"

Ugh. Apparently, she'd gotten bored hanging off of Nott. He'd noticed that she hadn't been draping herself all over him while on the train.

"I'm taking a walk. I've been cooped up for too long and need to stretch." Far be it from him to mention that she'd been the one to dump him, not that he cared. He didn't want her back anyway but saying that outright was not the proper tactic. That's not how the game was played.

"Now Drakie, you know I was hoping to talk to you more."

"Not now, Pansy. You better get back, before Nott misses you."

"Hmmph," she squeaked, and huffily stomped back to the carriages.

Fortunately, the walk to the forest was long enough for him to forget about her.

He'd barely stepped into the forest canopy when she danced into sight, obviously happy to see him. He felt his smile grow wider at the sight of his little nymph. He liked thinking of her like that. How many men could say they had a personal wood nymph all to themselves? Him. And it made him feel special. It was always nice to have something that was unattainable to others.

He continued to grin at her but refused to increase his pace. Instead, he enjoyed watching her grow impatient. As he reached the shelter of the tree, she finally charged forward, launching herself into his arms. He returned the embrace warmly, pulling her into a soft kiss. He continued to hold her close, wrapping his warm cloak to encompass the both of them.

"You know, I realize you're not cold, but could you at least try to put on something resembling shoes? I get cold just thinking of you running around barefoot in the snow."

She laughed silently. The joy in her eyes was contagious and he impulsively picked her up and carried her over to his usual spot near the large tree. He sat down, keeping her in his arms and was pleased that she didn't seem to argue. They were both wrapped up in the happy moment, after all, they hadn't seen each other for almost three weeks.

Before she could get a chance to pull away, he spoke, "So, would you like your present?" Her eyes grew wide and her smile showed her delight at the thought. She nodded enthusiastically and he could feel his own smile widen at her response.

"Have you been a good little nymph while I've been gone?"

She continued to nod vigorously.

"No running off with centaurs, or creating any snowstorms, or anything like that?" She shook her head negatively in mock seriousness, her smile still firmly in place.

"Good then. There are two parts," her face lit up even further. He hadn't entirely been looking forward to the first part of his gift but seeing her expression spurred him on. He might actually enjoy this after all.

He pulled out a small box, neatly wrapped in yellow paper and a bright golden bow. He wished she could speak because he was certain that a delighted squeal would have escaped from those lovely lips. He started thinking that he didn't even need to see her open the silly thing, since her joy at simply seeing the pretty box was more than enough. He'd been around the rich all his life and had rarely seen anyone, except for a few small children, ever show so much enthusiasm for the pretty wrapping paper.

She opened it enthusiastically and he delighted in watching as her expression changed from excitement, to confusion, to suspicion as the box revealed a single, very elegant looking piece of chocolate covered candy. She was no fool, as he well knew. She recognized it immediately for what it was. A classic from Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes: the infamous canary cream.

"Yes, it is. And yes, I got it from your brothers' shop. They just about fell on the floor in shock when I purchased it."

She was confused. It was nice to get something that reminded her of her family, but this? And why? She continued to look at him suspiciously, motioning to the chocolate, then to herself and shook her head.

"No, I don't expect you to eat it. I'm not sure how it would work on you anyway, being a nymph and all."

Her look of confusion increased.

"That's where the second part of the gift comes in. And I can't believe I'm about to say this..." He took a deep breath and paused.

The moment of truth had arrived and he really, really wondered what profound state of desperation had driven him to come up with this idea in the first place. He decided that it was because he was feeling rebellious. A moment of unrestrained idiocy would never, ever be something the Dark Lord would approve. That thought gave him the courage to speak the words.

She was staring at him intently now and he took a deep breath, "I wouldn't do this for just anyone and if you ever tell anyone about it, I'll deny it. Not that you can even speak, but, well..."

He almost lost his nerve to continue. After a brief pause he added, "My gift to you is that I'm going to eat it and you get to watch."

Her jaw dropped open in shock and he once again questioned his sanity in this matter. She started silently laughing so hard that she just about fell out of his lap, except that he still had an arm around her to steady her.

"Well, it is supposed to be funny, after all."

She stopped shaking for a moment and looked at him, her eyes watering in laughter, looking down at the deceptively innocent piece of candy and back at him. After contemplating for a wisp of an instant, she nodded enthusiastically. He moved her off his lap.

"All right then. You sit over there. Don't want you to get hurt, after all."

She moved off to sit on the ground a few feet from him, grinning.

He looked at her as she sat on the snow, looking about as beautiful as a sixteen year old witch could appear. He took in the sight of her. She was dressed in something skimpy enough to make any boy go wild, her long red hair cascading over her shoulders, her hazel-green eyes shining in merriment. Yes, he decided, the humiliation was worth this.

"You promise that, if I do this, you aren't going to hold it against me."

She nodded enthusiastically.

"And you realize, that I am seriously doing something that is completely out of character for me."

She gave him a look of amused impatience. Yes, he was well aware that he was stalling.

He tried to school his expression to appear dead serious. "Now, these things are safe, right? And it's only supposed to last a minute?"

She nodded, now obviously accusing of stalling.

"Ok, here goes... This better not hurt," and he, somewhat fearfully, bit into the chocolate treat, watching her as her hands clasped in joyful anticipation.

"It's actually quite good," he remarked. "If the joke shop fails, they could possibly go into candy making."

But she didn't hear him. As he spoke the words, he'd sprouted bright yellow feathers and she'd collapsed on the ground, the light sounds of her all-encompassing laugher filling the clearing.

"Something tells me that I will be eternally grateful that there's no looking glass anywhere near me right now," he muttered.

He made several attempts to look disgusted at his current situation, which had no effect on his audience whatsoever. She actually attempted to look sorry for him for a moment before breaking out further peals of laughter.

He leaned forward to place a feathered elbow on his knee and rest his head on his chin, now resigned to his fate. She saw his pitiful expression and had the good grace to look momentarily abashed at her state of over-exuberant merriment before giving into the moment completely.

Her giggles only grew louder and he found himself thoroughly enjoying the moment, even if it was at his expense. She was almost rolling on the floor, arms clutched around her bare tummy, holding in gasps of delight.

She was gorgeous. There were no other words to describe how beautiful she looked in her joy. He decided that he'd gladly go through this again if it meant he could enjoy this sight more often.

The minute of torture passed quickly and during that time the clearing seemed alight with magic. He could almost see the area sparkle with an incomprehensible power. At first, he thought he was imagining it, or perhaps it was a side effect of the candy but the magical light in the clearing moved in time with the joyful chuckles that he heard from the nymph.

As his feathers molted away and she lay collapsed on the ground, exhausted and still recovering from her gasps, the thought struck him.

He had heard her.

Even when she'd laughed in the past, her expression had been totally silent. Her nymph-friend had told him that she didn't yet have the power to freely interact with the wizarding world, but that her power would grow with time. This was apparently that time.

From what little he'd been able to find about nymphs, it was consistently written that they were creatures of joy and love but his little nymph had always seemed a bit sad. She smiled often enough, certainly. She clearly laughed when she was being mischievous but she'd never once seemed joyful until this moment and it appeared that she'd tapped into something powerful as a result.

She pulled herself up, kneeling before him, taking both of his hands. Obviously, she had no idea of what had just occurred, as she'd been completely lost in the moment. She smiled at him, eyes still watery and sparkling. "Thank you," she mouthed, but it seemed that she'd gone silent again.

He simply smiled at her, happy that he'd accomplished his goal of making her happy. He yearned to bring up the topic of what he'd just seen and heard, but it wasn't the proper time as she leaned in to give him a soft kiss. Sufficiently distracted, he had to force himself back to reality as she pulled away.

"Is that all I get for a full minute of complete and total humiliation?"

She smiled sheepishly.

"Well, I still have the second part of your gift. I'm thinking you might like it as well."

She looked at him as if she didn't really want or need anything else. He liked that about her. Not often that you find a girl so easy to please.

"Don't worry, it's nothing big but, well, I thought you might like to know about how your family is doing."

Her eyes lit up with joy again.

"Well, come along then. Sit with me and I'll fill you in on what I know."

He leaned back against his favorite tree and she made to sit beside him but he pulled her into his lap. After all, he'd earned it after that humiliating display he'd just undergone for her. She smiled indulgently and complied, as he pulled his dark cloak around the both of them. It wasn't that he was cold but he felt that it was cozier having them both wrapped up in the garment.

"Comfy?"

She nodded.

"Good. Now, I'll tell you what I know. I wish it was more but, as you know, your family doesn't exactly trust me."

She nodded in understanding and he was pleased when she leaned her head on his shoulder, looking up at him.

"First, they are all well," he paused to see her relax in his embrace, wondering if she was finally becoming more comfortable with him. He hoped so, and maybe his relaying what information he had would earn her trust further. For some reason, it was important to him.

"There was a minor incident at the twins shop, and the twins spent a couple of days in St. Mungo's but nothing serious." She looked concerned, so he explained further. "I don't know what happened, it might have been something as simple as they mis-stocked some of their items and something accidentally exploded. The investigation report hasn't been released. If I find out more, I'll let you know."

She still looked concerned, so he continued. "Just know that nobody was seriously hurt, just shaken up a bit. It was covered fairly heavily in the papers and from what I heard, they aren't planning on re-opening right now because of all the uncertainty in the Ministry. I guess business has been slowing due to the Dark Lord's activity, but they will be still doing an owl delivery business. It should do well until things settle down."

"Your Father and brother Bill are still looking for you." At this, she looked somewhat dismayed. She was causing her family grief and she couldn't let them know why. He knew it bothered her but she needed to know so he continued, "The twins help a bit as well, but they were working at their business to help out your folks since you're father is no longer working at the Ministry. I hear he's doing some odd jobs on the side with Muggle artifacts but he tries to keep that secret."

She nodded. Her Dad could not go back now that the Ministry was under Voldemort's control She had been wondering how they had been getting along.

"Bill is, of course, still at Gringott's. He's looking well. He gave me quite the dirty look when I went in there. I already told you that his wife is expecting a child but I don't have any further details on when."

She smiled fondly, hoping that she could gather enough power soon to leave this forest and check in on them sometime. It would be nice to see what her new niece or nephew might look like.

"Charlie the dragon keeper came home for Christmas. I saw him in Diagon Alley and he looked well enough. He didn't see me so, unfortunately, I wasn't cursed or anything," he said wryly. She gave him a light slap, and he took the opportunity to pull her closer to acknowledge her teasing.

"Oh, and I went to the Ministry to check on Percy. He's also doing well. I guess he's seeing a nice girl and getting along as well as can be expected. I actually had a good chat with him over lunch. He seems to be an agreeable sort."

Ginny looked at him with surprise. Percy had never been one she'd thought of as 'agreeable'. But Draco went on, "Well, he does work in the Ministry and working in a political environment does require a certain amount of skill and tact. He might have just been being polite out of political
courtesy but at least he was willing to give me the time of day. Unfortunately, he doesn't seem to have much contact with the rest of your family. It seems there's been some sort of falling out?"

She nodded. The rift between Percy and the rest of her family caused her parents a great deal of grief.

"Well, I'm thinking he might be seeing the error of his ways. He's fallen into a similar trap as I have, where we've made decisions in the past that are kind of limiting our choices right now. He's a good sort. I'm thinking that it will work out with him."

She smiled at his words giving his hand a small squeeze.

He continued, "I hope you won't be angry at this, but..." He'd debated about telling her, but what was the fun of doing a good deed if you couldn't share, and it was so fun to see her smile, "I covered your Mother's account at the grocery. I left word that they will tell her that she won some sort of contest. So,
she's got her account paid and a few Galleons left over to cover expenses for a bit."

She looked at him in awe. He had been worried she might be angry with him, not sure of how she might feel about charity, so he covered. "It's really nothing, you know, for me. But, I know that what
my father has done has contributed to your father being out of work, so..."

She stopped him by leaning forward and giving him a sweet kiss. He took the opportunity to enjoy his hold around her, as she squirmed in his lap. Momentarily, he felt a bit lecherous for enjoying being able to hold her like this but he overcame the guilty feeling quickly, enjoying it thoroughly. He deepened the kiss, taking the time to run his hand up her side, and along her back. Things were just getting very interesting for him when she pulled back.

He was confused, but then he saw her motioning, rather apologetically for him to continue. Of course.

"Oh, so you're holding out on me until you get the whole story, aren't you?"

She really did look sorry, but she nodded quickly.

"Alright..." he paused, calming himself down and hoping that they could get back to matters soon. "Well, Ron is supposedly still sick at home. Seems like he should be over that bout by now but it's probably a good thing because if he was at school he'd probably provoke me into doing something
you'd never forgive me for."

She looked at him crossly. There was something more there in her eyes but he wasn't going to push the matter. Not that she could actually explain using hand motions anyway.

"Oh, and one more thing," he added. He felt it would be overkill to tell her that he'd paid the bill for Fred and George at St. Mungo's, but he did have to let her know about one more thing.

She looked at him expectantly.

"I sort of... I left your Mother a note."

She waited for more information.

"It didn't say anything in particular and they don't know it's from me. I know you can't let them know, but it let them know that you're alive and send your love."

He watched her eyes grow watery with tears. He really preferred to see her laugh but the gratitude he saw on her face was reward enough for every last knut he spent on her family this past week. She put her arms around him and held him close for a long moment and he returned the embrace readily.
She buried her face into his neck and sobbed.

There was nothing he could say and he'd done his best by at least letting her know that they were all well for the time being. Obviously, being away from her family was harder than she normally let on.

Eventually, she'd released her tears and pulled back to look at him gratefully. He reached his hand up to caress her cheek, looking at her closely. "Are you alright?" She nodded and leaned in to kiss him again. The snogging session went on for quite a long while after that.

- -

The week returning after Christmas holiday was always a busy one. With classes resuming, and various prefect duties to be attended, he had no spare time to sneak away. Worse, his renewed popularity left him far to visible to slip away quietly as he'd done in the fall. He now had social duties that required his time if he wasn't going to draw attention to himself. The game was still on, and he had to set up for his social standing after he graduated.

One of his bigger issues revolved around the attention he was getting from several girls. When he'd been on the "outs" during the last semester, it seemed that the Slytherin girls wanted to keep their distance, at least until his status with the Dark Lord was made more clear. Nobody would want to be associated with someone that the Dark Lord had marked as inferior regardless of how good looking he was.

Now, things were different, at least from the perception of his classmates, and he once again found himself being targeted. Not that he minded. Girls were a pleasant enough distraction and it would be out of character to completely deny that fact. So, he took the opportunity to attempt dating again. The problem was, that each girl fell far short of being nearly as fun to be with as his silent nymph. It was rather annoying.

It was almost two weeks into the new term, and he decided to join his housemates on an outing to Hogsmeade. The day had gone well enough, although a bit on the boring side. He had only been there for an hour or so and was already planning on how he might slip away when he was unexpectedly pulled into a dimly lit alley.

Being roughly shoved against a brick wall, he discovered that his attacker was none other than Bill Weasley. Bill, being larger, used his weight to hold him against the wall, his wand up against the boy's throat.

"Do you mind?!" he exclaimed, trying to sound more irritated than frightened.

"You're going to talk to me, Malfoy."

"Gee, what would you like to talk about. Perhaps today's weather?"

"Don't get smart with me. We aren't in your headmaster's office and I want answers about what you did with Ginny."

Thoughts of kissing the girl immediately flashed through his mind, but he stifled the thought, not knowing if Bill had any talent at Legilimency. He said nothing.

"I know you covered the services for the twins at St. Mungo's. It wasn't hard to match up your withdrawal at Gringott's to being the same amount and on the same day."

"First of all, I could have you fired for violating Gringott's privacy policy," Draco retorted sharply. It wasn't exactly the first thought that came to his mind, but it was easier to respond with an attack than the truth in this particular case.

The words didn't seem to phase Bill in the least. If anything, his arm against Draco's throat seemed to press a little harder. Draco coughed, now struggling to breathe.

"You could try that, but you might not live long enough. The only reason you're not dead yet is that you left my Mother that charming little note."

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Oh, but you do," Bill said, the snarl in his voice sounding suspiciously like the werewolf that he'd been attacked by.

"You have a tough time showing gratitude, Weasley."

Bill's look of hatred only intensified at the utmost defiance that this boy managed to show. Backed up to a wall, being choked, and he had the gall to taunt his attacker.

He made sure Draco got a good look at his scarred face, and said, "Gratitude? After what you've done to me, and what your family has done to mine?"

"I didn't give you those scars, not personally, anyway. And, yes, gratitude. I paid the bill and made your mother happy for a bit. Are you jealous that I accomplished something you didn't? I'd expect
that from your dear brother Ronald but I always thought better of you."

Bill released his grip slightly and Draco used the opportunity to slip out of his grasp and reach for his wand. Both wizards now at a standoff, wands raised.

"Don't provoke me, boy," Bill threatened.

"I wouldn't dream of it," Draco said. Trusting that the Weasley was of the same honest character as the rest of that family, he lowered his wand slightly, hoping that the man wouldn't kill him. He knew that
Weasley wouldn't think the same of him, so if this was going to end peacefully, he had to back down first. If Bill chose to kill him, well, it would put an end to his problems rather quickly. He figured he had nothing to lose.

Bill seemed surprised by the action and relaxed slightly but didn't lower his wand. This one had too many answers to what he needed to know.

"You were in the shop. Did you have anything to do with that explosion?"

"Absolutely not. Not that you'd believe me anyway, but I have no desire to hurt your family right now."

"So, why were you at St. Mungo's? Why did you pay the bill?"

"I thought you had already cleverly figured that out?"

"You're trying my patience. You've got no good reason to try to help my family. That leaves me wondering about your motive. I certainly don't think you did anything decent out of purely good intentions."

"You have no idea what my reasons are. And, yes, helping your family, for the time being is in my best interest. You can know that it's just me and that my parents had nothing to do with it."

"And the note?"

"It made your mother happy, didn't it?"

"Of course it did!" Bill's voice raised in frustration. "But is it true? Does it mean she's alive? Is she safe?"

"I can't answer that. Just know that the note says the truth," and with that Draco had turned and calmly walked away, returning to the main street. If Bill was going to shoot him, he would have to do so in the back. He was certain that the Gryffindor honesty wouldn't allow for that. So he walked away with confidence, knowing that Bill would be fuming behind him.

Bill watched him go, now with even more questions than he'd had before their little conversation.

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