The Tenth Chapter
Christmas Gifts and A Truth Revealed
Draco loved Harry's stories about the Weasleys except for two things. One was that Ron and Harry played Doctor and explored each other's bodies, despite the fact that Harry and Draco see each other naked every day during bath time; and the second was that Harry told Ron that they're husbands. "You can't do that! It's only supposed to be between me and Blaise!" Draco pouted.
"But I like him too," Harry said. "Besides he looked really sad!"
"So? You don't tell him that you're husbands! It doesn't work like that!" Draco said.
"And how does it work then?"
"I don't know but its only supposed to be between me and Blaise!" Draco yelled again.
Both boys didn't budge from their spots on the argument, but soon life began to gel into normalcy again. Harry kept his promise and wrote to Ron almost weekly. On the third week he got Draco to write Ron a letter.
They began to take even more lessons, much to Harry's annoyance. He just wanted to play with Draco! The only good thing was that these lessons were with Blaise, and they were at his house so every day Draco and Harry would travel to his house to learn and play and Mrs. Malfoy would come around dinner time to take Harry home. The first time Blaise saw Harry he pulled the small boy into a bone-crushing hug and refused to let go of him like a kid holding his favorite toy. Harry didn't mind as he missed his best friend very much. Blaise was so adamant of not letting Harry go that during their first lesson he made the boy share the seat with Blaise, causing Harry to half sit on his lap and the chair at the same time. Draco was jealous of that, so Harry sat on his chair and lap the next day before sitting by himself on the third.
Before Harry knew it, summer was falling into winter and Mrs. Malfoy had the house-elves pulling out the Christmas decorations. Ron's latest letter came and Harry couldn't help but grin to himself as he ran to Mrs. Malfoy with an idea in his head. "Mummy! Mummy!" he said excitedly.
"What is it Harry?" Mrs. Malfoy asked.
Harry brandished the letter and said, "Bill and Charlie are home for Christmas! I need to buy them a Christmas present! And Ron! And Mr. and Mrs. Weasley! And Fred; and George; and Ginny! …maybe Percy but definitely Ron!"
Mrs. Malfoy chuckled and smiled at Harry. "That's a lot of presents Harry, do you even know what you want to buy for them?"
"Yes!" Harry said nodding. Mrs. Malfoy shook her head and sighed. "Well, I needed to go buy a nice dress for Delilah anyway… we'll go in a bit, okay? Go get your traveling cloak."
Harry smiled and ran off to get his traveling cloak from his room. "Where are you running?" Draco asked as Harry passed his room.
Harry stopped and turned to Draco, "I'm going shopping with Mummy!" He said before running into his room. He came out a few minutes later wearing a heavy dark-green traveling cloak over his clothes. He met with Mrs. Malfoy who was waiting in the foyer. "I'm ready," he said.
"Good, now we'll be needing to visit Gringotts first," Mrs. Malfoy said. "Let's see… you're still too young to Apparate, so we're forced to use the Floo Powder again. Come along, Harry." Mrs. Malfoy walked away from the foyer and into a small waiting room where a large bowl of floo powder waited. "Stand in the fireplace, Harry," she said.
Harry stepped over the grate and stood waiting. Mrs. Malfoy took a handful of floo powder and stepped into the fireplace with Harry. With her free hand, she took Harry's shoulder and griped it tightly. Mrs. Malfoy threw the floo powder into the fireplace and said very clearly, "Gringotts!"
Green flames consumed them and Harry held onto his mother tightly as they traveled through the Floo Network, ending up in the Wizarding Bank. Mrs. Malfoy stepped out of the fireplace and helped Harry out, dusting off any soot before taking his hand. "This way, Harry," she said and led him deep into the bank. They stopped at a pudgy looking goblin and Mrs. Malfoy pulled out several keys. "Narcissa Malfoy here to withdraw some money," she said.
The goblin looked at the keys and moved from its ledger. "Follow me," it squeaked. The goblin led Harry and Mrs. Malfoy to a minecart and tracks. They got in and Harry held on tightly and closed his eyes as they shot off at top speeds. The cart continued to speed around but Harry kept his eyes shut the entire time that he barely even recognized that they stopped. "Harry, this way," Mrs. Malfoy said.
Harry opened his eyes to see that they were in a very vast and large cave-like system. The cart had stopped in front of a large iron door with many iron bars that weaved and spiraled together. The goblin took Mrs. Malfoy's keys, pressed them into a lock that Harry didn't see, and pressed its entire hand against the door. The sound of a lock clicking filled Harry's ears and the door slowly began to push open, revealing mountains upon mountains of gold. Harry's eyes glittered as he stared at the gold, his mouth fell open. He could buy so many presents with these! Mrs. Malfoy pulled an empty sack out of one of her pockets and opened it. Gold galleons jumped from the nearest mountain of gold into the sack slowly filling it. When the sack had its fill, the top closed itself up, a long string tying itself around the neck. Mrs. Malfoy pocketed the gold and turned to Harry. "Alright, let's go buy some presents," she smiled.
They returned to the minecart and again Harry held his eyes tightly shut as the cart speeded through the cave systems underneath the bank. Mrs. Malfoy led Harry through the bank when the minecart returned, and they left through the front doors. Diagon Alley was tightly packed with shoppers, all of whom were wearing heavy cloaks as snow fell from the sky. Harry could hear the street bustling with conversation and loud hoots from owls close by. Harry stared wide-eyed at all the stores and felt a bubble of excitement fill his tiny body as he shook with enthusiasm. Mrs. Malfoy looked down at him and said, "Oh right! This is your first time at Diagon Alley, well hold onto my hand very tightly Harry. I don't want to lose you."
Harry did so and the two descended the stairs from the back and joined the bustling crowd. "So Harry, we'll get your things first and then mine. What is the first stop?"
"A jokes shop," Harry said, looking at the letter clenched in his hands. "Ron says that Fred and George loves jokes!"
"Jokes huh?" Mrs. Malfoy said looking around. She gave a small sigh and muttered, "A Malfoy was bound to step into a joke stop eventually, at least I can handle it with grace."
"What was that, Mummy?" Harry asked.
"Nothing, nothing," Mrs. Malfoy said. "Hold my hand tightly Harry, the joke shop is this way." She pointed ahead of them and Harry looked around. He stuck close to Mrs. Malfoy and struggled to see the buildings as the other witches and wizards were blocking his view. Mrs. Malfoy walked with a purpose, her head aimed straight ahead. She did not look around like Harry did, instead she was aiming straight for their destination without any distractions, effortlessly pushing through the crowd. "Here we are," she said a couple of minutes later. "Gambol and Japes Wizarding Joke Shop. I'm sure you can easily find a perfect Christmas gift for these twins here."
Harry nodded and they entered. The shop was compact and filled with boxes upon boxes of joke products and pranks that Harry never seen before. There were trick wands stacked in a corner right next to a display of Bernie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, and across of that was a large display of Dr. Filibuster's Wet-Start, No Heat Fireworks. Harry started going towards them, mesmerized, only for Mrs. Malfoy to stop him. "We are not giving the twins fireworks Harry, pick again," she said simply.
Harry nodded and looked around. He stopped at a small stack of boxes and leaned toward them, reading the product name out loud. "Non-exploooseeve, lum—lumi—luminous balloons!" He grinned to himself.
Mrs. Weasley bent down and picked up one of the boxes. "'Non-explosive luminous balloons,'" she read. "Looks like they just glow and are impossible to pop… seems safe enough."
"How do you say that word?" Harry asked. "The explooseeve one."
"Explosive? Ex-plo-sive, Harry," Mrs. Malfoy said. "E-X-P-L-O-S-I-V-E."
"Explosive… explosive…" Harry said a couple of times, trying out the word. "Explosive!" he cheered.
"Good job," Mrs. Malfoy chuckled.
"Those are five for a Galleon," an old man with a long white mustache called out from behind the counter. Harry turned from the man to Mrs. Malfoy and said, "Can I get these? Please?"
"Five for a Galleon? Get ten then," Mrs. Malfoy shrugged as she pulled out two galleons and gave them to the old man. Harry grinned and pulled out ten boxes and placed them precariously onto the counter. The man took the boxes before they could fall and dropped them into a bag which he gave to Mrs. Malfoy, who gave to Harry to hold. "Thank you!" Harry said as they exited the room.
"All right Harry, who is next?" Mrs. Malfoy asked.
"Mrs. Weasley! I want to get her… a nice hat," Harry said looking at Ron's letter.
"A nice hat?" Mrs. Malfoy asked.
"Uh-huh! And not too… Bill wrote this word… ex…pen…sive. Not too expensive," Harry nodded.
"Then we go to Madam Malkin's," Mrs. Malfoy said., already walking towards the shop. "I must say I haven't been there in ages. Delilah and I usually go to a different clothing shop a bit a way from here that's quite expensive. Of course the last time we went there, Parkinson was there with her daughter, you'll know her by her rather piggish nose, Harry. Of course, she tried to talk to us, and she is a lovely lady, but only in small increments of time for soon it's 'my husband' this and 'my husband' that, and while it is a good thing to discuss familial achievements, there is something rather droll and boring when all you here are those achievements, especially when it is the same achievement that you heard a couple of weeks ago when you last saw each other. Another thing Harry, is that when you talk of familial achievements, you would want to change the subject a little, turn from husbands to children or from your family to others, for all you know the person who's talking to might have some very interesting events happening in their lives that could be useful in tea parties where the conversations starts to wane and you need to keep both the pace and mood constant."
"What do you talk about?" Harry asked, his head somewhat dizzy from Mrs. Malfoy's long wind of talk.
"You and Draco of course," Mrs. Malfoy said. "Why just last week I was telling Mrs. Nott, Mrs. Greengrass, and Delilah about how you've stolen Lucius's broom and flew it to the roof. They were all quite fond of your antics. Of course I left out the spanking you received, so don't worry about that part, Harry." Mrs. Malfoy giggled softly to herself as they went into the next shop.
It was a small clothes shop with racks upon racks of robes, shirts and any other clothing a wizard would need. Harry looked around and asked, "Where are the hats?"
"One second Harry," Mrs. Malfoy said walking to a rack where several magenta robes were hanging. She examined them with idle leisure, picking one up and holding it in front of herself. "What do you think?" she asked as she turned around to Harry.
Harry stared at her and shrugged, he wasn't the best at picking out clothes. Mrs. Malfoy sighed and muttered, "Brought the wrong son to do clothes shopping," and placed the robes back. A stout-looking witch came from behind a rack holding green robes and said, "Oh! I knew I heard the bell, well what can I help you with?"
"My son is buying a Christmas gift for his friend's mother," Mrs. Malfoy said. "And the friend told him to get her a hat."
"Well hats are over here, we have a large selection for you to choose from," Madam Malkin said. Harry and Mrs. Malfoy followed her to a large shelving that covered an entire wall filled with hats. Harry listened to Mrs. Malfoy and Madam Malkin as they discussed which hat would be perfect for Mrs. Weasley, which was difficult since she wasn't there to get her head measured, but in the end Harry decided on a maroon pointed hat which only costed three galleons and seven sickles. Since they were there, Harry decided to buy Ginny a small robe in the same color as well as a tiny hat as well.
"Well, who's next Harry?" Mrs. Malfoy asked.
Harry looked at his list. "Bill wrote down something for Percy but I don't know him very well."
"Who's Percy again?"
"He's a bookworm! Fred's words not mine, Mummy," Harry said. "He just stayed in his room mostly and did… stuff, I don't know."
"Then we'll get him a book," Mrs. Malfoy said simply.
"Okay! Because Charlie wants a book on dragons as well!" Harry smiled.
"And Bill and Ron? And what about Mr. Weasley?" Mrs. Malfoy asked.
"Umm Mr. Weasley loves muggles so something Muggle-related… Ron wrote to get Bill… umm…" Harry squinted at the words.
Mrs. Malfoy frowned and said, "You're getting an eye appointment after Christmas Harry."
"I don't need it! I can see good!" Harry said. "Oh! Get him a broomstick kit and Ron wants… it's crossed out and written over I can't read it."
He gave the piece of paper to Mrs. Malfoy. She read it and said, "Ron wants a toy wand, Harry. Luckily, I am positive that we can get all at Flourish and Blotts. We'll be having to frequent that place later when you and Draco start going to Hogwarts."
Harry just nodded and followed Mrs. Malfoy down the road and into the last shop. Flourish and Blotts had shelves that stacked to the ceiling and had books as large as paving stones bound in leather, books the size of postage stamps; books filled with peculiar symbols, and a few books with nothing in them at all! Harry quickly found a small corner where cheap toys were sold and grabbed the first toy wand he could grab. Holding the wand, he followed Mrs. Malfoy as she browsed the covers.
"Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Bestiarium Magicum, that might be a little too advance… Lockhart's got a new book Delilah will be happy with that… ahh! How about Dragon Species of Great Britain and Ireland? Or Men Who Love Dragons Too Much?" Mrs. Malfoy looked down at Harry for his opinion.
"Umm the Dragon Species one," Harry said.
"Alright," Mrs. Malfoy nodded, taking down the book as well as Lockhart's. She smiled down at Harry and said, "Blaise's mother just loves this man's writing, she keeps convincing me to read it. She swears that he'll be the next biggest thing since Edred Warple. Anyway, all we need now is the broomstick kit for Bill and a book for Percy, right?"
"That's right," Harry nodded. He looked around the shop and quickly found a small pile of broomstick repair kits and took the top one. He then spent five minutes looking for a book for Percy (a hard task as he doesn't know much about the boy). He finally stumbled on a book about goblin wars and pulled it out. He went with Mrs. Malfoy to the counter and they quickly paid for everything. Harry held the bags as they left the shop and walked down the street, turning into another street that not many witches or wizards entered. Mrs. Malfoy led Harry to a dress shop and had the little boy sit down in a seat as she carefully browsed the various low-cut dresses all hanging neatly on a rack. Harry kicked his feet in the air as he waited, growing quickly bored as Mrs. Malfoy talked with several women about a couple of dresses.
It was twenty minutes later that they left the shop and returned home. Harry ran with all the packages directly into Draco's room and shown his adoptive brother the presents he brought for the Weasleys. They ordered house-elves to wrap them up and once they were done Draco brought a quill and they each wrote their names as well as the name of the Weasley the present is for. Harry couldn't be more excited as he and Draco bring the pile of presents to Mrs. Malfoy to send to the Weasleys, he wished he could see their reaction when they open it on Christmas Day.
.
Harry and Draco both groaned as they looked at each other. They were both wearing stiff dress robes of a dark-green color underneath was a button-down shirt and a tie that was choking Harry's neck. Mr. Malfoy was standing in front of them, examining their appearances. Draco stood tall, his back straight and stiff as he avoided touching his heavily combed back hair. Harry meanwhile stood straight but had a little hunch as he struggled with the tie that insisted on staying in it's place no matter how much Harry pulled. His hair was a controllable mess but he couldn't help but see the annoyed looks Mr. Malfoy gave it as he examined Harry. "Stop struggling Harry, Malfoys never struggle with clothing," Mr. Malfoy said. "Appearances are everything."
He motioned to himself. He was wearing an elegant black dress robe over a form-fitting shirt and pants with a tie that fitted perfectly under his chin and went straight down the middle of his body. "Of course," Mrs. Malfoy's voice said from behind the three of them, "they can only be good as your conversational skills."
"Darling, you look lovely," Mr. Malfoy said holding out his hand for his wife. Mrs. Malfoy took it gracefully and Mr. Malfoy kissed it. She looked at Harry and Draco and smiled, "My don't you two look absolutely handsome. I'm sure everyone will be talking about you two."
"Mostly of Harry, I hope," Mr. Malfoy said. "Remember this Christmas party is to mostly officially showcase him to our… society."
"And make them think of their little lies, of course," Mrs. Malfoy said. "I've already told the Greengrasses and Parkinsons about tonight. I expect to see their daughters fully outfitted in the best clothes they could buy."
"And Nott is bringing his son as well," Mr. Malfoy said.
"What about Crabbe and Goyle?"
"They'll arrive, those families just loves free food," Mr. Malfoy said. "Of course others will come as well."
"Is it true that one of our guest is actually bringing a vampire?" Mrs. Malfoy chuckled.
"I hope not, they're dreadful creatures," Mr. Malfoy said.
"A vampire?" Draco said excitedly. "I want to meet one!"
"Me too!" Harry jumped.
"Hopefully not tonight," Mr. Malfoy said. "Come along you two, into the Hall." Mr. Malfoy led Harry and Draco into a huge room that was decorated with crystalized snowflakes that hung in midair. The walls had drapes hugging the windows that shown the snow falling down lightly and at the front was a huge Christmas tree decorated in silvers and golds as music played from somewhere unknown. House-elves dressed in the Malfoy family crest were already walking around with trays on their heads filled with drinks and small food. Mr. Malfoy led Harry to the front doors and said, "Our guests are going to come in a minute, we're to welcome each and every one."
"Welcome?" Harry asked.
"Yes Harry, we welcome them to our home and thank them for coming," Mr. Malfoy. "See? Our first guests are already arriving." He pointed to the front lawn, where Mrs. Zabini and Blaise were walking up the pathway towards the front door. Harry smiled and moved to wave at Blaise but Mr. Malfoy stopped him.
"Don't wave Harry," he said. Harry stopped and stayed still until Blaise went up to him. "Delilah, so nice of you to come," Mr. Malfoy said, kissing both her cheeks.
"It is always a pleasure to visit, Lucius," Mrs. Zabini said. Harry and Blaise smiled at each other and hugged, much to the disappointment of Mr. Malfoy.
"Harry, you do not hug your guests to welcome them," he said.
"Calm down Lucius, it's Harry and Blaise," Mrs. Zabini said looking at the two amused. "Blaise, let's go see how Narcissa decorated her home."
"Okay mother, see you later Harry," Blaise said.
"Bye!" Harry said, smiling at Blaise. Mr. Malfoy gave him a sharp look but said nothing.
The next people to show up was a puggish man and woman with their daughter. "The Parkinsons," Mr. Malfoy said to Harry. He smiled and greeted them both, shaking Mr. Parkinson's hand while kissing Mrs. Parkinson's cheeks. "And this must be your daughter," he said indicating to a girl around Harry's age.
"She is," Mr. Parkinson said. "Little Pansy here, say hello Pansy."
"Hello Mr. Malfoy," the girl said in a highly sweet voice.
"Hello," Mr. Malfoy said. "This is my son, Harry Malfoy. Say 'hello,' Harry."
"Hello," Harry said shortly, looking at Pansy. She was wearing a purple dress robe and her hair was done up in a sort of bun. She smiled too… big at him as he offered his hand to shake. She looked at it slightly insulted. "You don't shake my hand," she said a bit rudely. "You're supposed to kiss my cheeks!"
"Pansy, please watch your manners," said her father, who was a rather fat and dog-looking man.
"But father, you told me yourself, how manners work," the girl said in a huff. "When a boy greets a girl he's supposed to kiss her cheeks."
Harry opened his mouth to argue that he doesn't want to but Mr. Malfoy stopped him with a glare. Mr. Parkinson looked at Mr. Malfoy apologetically and said, "I am so sorry for my daughter's attitude."
"Do not worry about it," Mr. Malfoy said coolly as the Parkinsons entered his home. He looked down at Harry and said, "You've done right by trying to shake her hand, I don't expect you to kiss everyone's cheek, but perhaps next time you can avoid causing a scene."
"But I did nothing wrong," Harry frowned as the next set of guests arrived. It was the Greengrass family who had two girls whom Harry shook hands with and neither of them were insulted like Pansy. Both Mr. and Mrs. Greengrass were quite curious to the way Harry shook their elder daughter's hand and the small blush he held when she commented on how small he was. Mr. Malfoy noted both their look and Harry's blush but said nothing until the Greengrass family was a good distance away.
"I see that Daphne has already taken quite a liking to you," Mr. Malfoy said. "You two may only be five, but if you develop opposite of your father I dare say she might be a—"
He stopped talking when he saw the look of embarrassed disgust on Harry's face. Mr. Malfoy stared at Harry confused for a moment but shrugged it off as the Notts arrived. It was just Mr. Nott and his son, Theo, whom Harry took an immediate liking to. After the Nott family came the Flint family. Harry stared at Marcus Flint, who was a few years older than Harry, and said without thinking, "You're big!"
Mr. Malfoy looked completely shocked and embraced, but Marcus Flint thankfully laughed. "You're tiny so of course I'm big," he said. He thrust his hand and said, "Marcus Flint."
"Harry Malfoy," Harry smiled shaking the older boy's hand.
"Better see you in Slytherin, Harry," Marcus said following his father inside.
"Harry…" Mr. Malfoy said in a warning tone once the Flints were far away. "From now on I believe it would be best for you to be quiet."
"Sorry Daddy," Harry frowned, looking down at his feet in shame. The next guest was a man that was older than Mr. Malfoy named Corban Yaxley, followed by two fat and wide families known as the Crabbe family and the Goyle family. Harry thought that Dudley was smarter than both the boys. Harry continued to greet guests silently under Mr. Malfoy's watchful eyes. It took half an hour for all the guests to arrive. At the end, Harry's feet were aching from standing in place and he was feeling completely restless. He looked up at Mr. Malfoy and asked, "Is that everyone? I want to go back to Draco."
"Stop your whining, but yes, that is everyone," Mr. Malfoy said. "Come along Harry, it's time to join the party proper."
"Are there any more rules I need to follow?" Harry couldn't help but mutter.
"Any more talk like that and I'll have to send you to your room," Mr. Malfoy said. "You will act like an obedient boy, Harry. I do not know what the Weasleys did to you, but whatever it is, it is no good."
Harry glared at him but said nothing. Mr. Malfoy has been silent about his month with the Weasleys and his sending letters to Ron, but it seems that he stills disapproves. Harry walked along with Mr. Malfoy into the party hall and quickly separated from him in search for Draco. He found him with the other kids in a corner of the room. "Harry! There you are," Draco said looking relieved.
"Hi Draco, I'm so glad I found you," Harry smiled as he hugged Draco. "Daddy's being so strict and mean when we're alone," he whispered in Draco's ear. "I thought he was going to spank me."
"Relax, he won't do that while other people are here," Draco whispered. "Come on, let's meet the kids who aren't Blaise."
Harry giggled and nodded. He turned to the others only to see Pansy Parkinson still glaring at him. "Well?" she demanded. "Are you going to kiss me or not?"
"What are you talking about?" Blaise asked.
"My father says that when a boy greets a girl that he's supposed to kiss her and Potter here hasn't done that yet!" Pansy said.
"Potter?" Blaise asked slightly confused. He looked at Harry and Draco for a moment. "Oh! Harry!" he said with realization.
"Parkinson we've just met, are you really going to be so unlikeable?" Draco drawled. "Don't call my brother my his wrong last name."
"Even though I still have it," Harry nodded.
"Even though he still has it," Draco nodded along with Harry.
"Still I demanded a kiss!" Parkinson demanded like a stubborn child. "I bet you kissed Daphne and her sister!"
"No he didn't," Daphne Greengrass said. "We just shook hands."
"Uh-huh," Daphne's sister said, Harry already forgot her name.
"He hugged me," Blaise couldn't help but smirk.
"YOU! Why did you hug him and not kiss me!" Parkinson demanded.
"Because we know each other?" Harry suggested. "Besides I don't want to kiss you, your nose looks like a pug's nose and your voice reminds me of a Rottweiler."
Pansy stared at Harry, utterly shocked. "I…I… Daddy!" she cried off running. Harry watched her run before turning to Blaise and Draco, both of whom were failing to stifle their chuckles.
"For such a little boy, you have a big voice," said the big Marcus Flint.
"Thanks," Harry smiled and he started to have a rather pleasant conversation with the other children.
.
"I'm sure we've all read the articles, Narcissa, but you must tell us how you've came to have him," Mrs. Parkinson said.
"Yes, you must!" Mrs. Greengrass said. "Your endless teasing of the story is just dreadful! How could you survive while he was off with blood traitors!?"
Mrs. Malfoy looked around the small gaggle of mothers surrounding her and smiled politely. "Of course, I guess I could tell you all now," she said. "This is Harry's second Christmas with us, he's been with us for a full year now—"
"And you're just introducing him to us now? Narcissa, you should have done that way before he was forced to be with those hicks," Mrs. Parkinson said. "We all could have helped you keep him on the straight and narrow."
"Are you trying to imply something, dear Violet?" Mrs. Malfoy asked. "I couldn't help but notice the way you've emphasis a certain word."
"It's just… well we all heard the rumors of his father, Narcissa," Mrs. Parkinson said sweetly. "We wouldn't want the boy to develop to turn exactly into the father, do we?"
"If that is your thinking, then I hope he does turn into exactly like his father," Mrs. Malfoy said. "After all, both Lucius and James were pleasant men."
"Especially James," Mrs. Zabini said. "Though, you would know nothing of pleasant, would you Parkinson, seeing that husband of yours you carry around."
"At least I have a husband, Delilah," Mrs. Parkinson said.
"I had a husband, and I had five more after that," Mrs. Zabini said. "I've learned a lesson that your girls should learn quickly too."
"And what is that?"
"Men are unnecessary," Mrs. Zabini said. "They can give you nice things, but they never give you pleasure."
Several women blushed and giggled under their hands as they covered their mouths in a sophisticated, elegant, and unnatural manner. Mrs. Parkinson just looked at Mrs. Zabini in an unusual anger.
"Getting back to the point, Narcissa, how are you going to raise Potter?" someone asked.
"Simple, I am just raising him as if he is my son, which he is. We've got the adoption papers and everything," Narcissa said. "He still has Potter in his name, in case he wishes to use it later on, but for all intent and purposes he is a Malfoy through and through."
"But what about… well, you know?"
"Those Death Eaters? What about them?" Mrs. Malfoy asked, picking up a flute of wine from a passing house-elf and taking a sip. "He is being raised as a Malfoy and any morals that we…I find acceptable," she said.
"Besides, your husbands need to finally learn that You-Know-Who is gone, gone, gone," Mrs. Zabini said. "Who cares about a dead man's opinion?"
"Bold words from a woman who wouldn't even participate in the war," Mrs. Parkinson said.
"Better to do nothing and survive than do something and die, Violet," Mrs. Zabini said. She looked over their shoulder and chuckled. "Looked at how our kids are getting along." She pointed to the group of children who were talking. Harry was between Blaise and Draco and talked animatedly while both boys had a hand on his back.
"Why are they holding him like that?" Mrs. Parkinson said with a cross look on her face.
"Oh they're husbands," Mrs. Zabini said casually. "That's what they call their friendship anyway."
"How disgust—I mean how nice," Mrs. Parkinson said as both Mrs. Zabini and Mrs. Malfoy glare at her.
"Let's see… Harry has three husbands now, I believe," Mrs. Malfoy chuckled. "There's Draco and Blaise, obviously, and also Ron."
"Ron?" Mrs. Flint asked.
"Ronald Weasley," Mrs. Malfoy said. "The country hick as one of us so lovingly decides to call him. Both Harry and Draco mail him weekly."
The other women glanced at each other nervously. Mrs. Malfoy just waited patiently for them to react. No one was saying anything so she continued, "Of course, I am currently trying to coordinate a play date with the Weasleys, Harry misses them so much."
"But they're—"
"They've picked the opposite side during the war, they value morals that some of us don't particularly care about, and they are, as we call them, blood traitors," Mrs. Malfoy said. "However, when Harry is forced to live away from us for a month we were fortunate that it was the Weasleys the Ministry picked and not some other family."
"Fortunate?"
"Yes, fortunate," Mrs. Malfoy said. "Though I see that trying to defend that point is moot with you ladies."
"Then let's talk about something else," Mrs. Zabini said. "Narcissa, you'll be very pleased to hear that the tutor for our boys say that they're doing brilliantly. Although Harry's handwriting leaves something to be desired."
"If I remember correctly, didn't James not have the best handwriting?"
"He did," Mrs. Zabini said. "In fact…"
.
The moon was high in the sky when Harry walked out into the garden. The party was going on for a couple of hours and Harry was exhausted. The other children were demanding question after question of him, wanting to know every single minuscule detail of his life just so they can gloat about it to their parents. Harry didn't mind so much but he was really tired and just wanted to go to bed. It was almost ten at night! Harry should be fast asleep by now! Alone in the garden, Harry looked around at the snow-covered flowerbeds and couldn't help but wonder what Ron and the others were doing. Were they forced to attend a big boring party like this when all he wanted to do was sleep? Or was he playing with his brothers after eating one of Mrs. Weasley's home-cooked meals? Harry missed her cooking. The elves were good, but there was something about Mrs. Weasley's cooking that the elves couldn't even begin to replicate.
Harry gave a yawn and stretched his arms out. If it weren't for all the snow he would have collapse then and there and take a nap. He walked further into the garden and stopped. The hairs on the back of his neck started to rise and Harry couldn't help but feel like he was being watched. He turned around quickly only to be face-to-face with a huge black dog. Harry gave a small yelp of fright and jumped away. The dog stayed still and just stared at Harry. Harry looked at the dog.
They've stared at each other for some time before Harry took a cautious step forward. "H-Hello," he said. "Are you going to eat me?"
The dog shook his head and gave a snort.
"Well… you look umm rather hungry," Harry said looking at the dog. "Are you hungry?" The dog nodded. "Then… I need to get you food! But Daddy would get really mad if I bring a dog in the house, he wasn't very happy when I brought the snake in that one time… I know, I'll sneak you in! Come on!" Harry looked for a leash to pull the dog but found none. So instead he placed his small hand on the dog's neck and walked with it, his hand gently pulling at the fur. The dog followed and they've reached the back door. "We have to be very quiet, okay, doggy?" Harry whispered. "Daddy and Mummy are having a huge party just on the other side of the corridor… but nobody will see us if we move quietly."
He patted the dog and opened the door. Still leading the dog with his hand on his neck, Harry walked quietly down the corridor, the talk and music of the party playing through the walls as Mr. Malfoy and his guests continue unawares of the new occupant. "Come on," Harry whispered as they almost reached the end of the corridor. "We go into the foyer and run upstairs!"
Harry stopped at the set of closed doors and opened them. He peaked through to look into the empty foyer and turned to the dog. "All clear," he whispered and the two immediately started running into the foyer and up the staircase. Harry turned into his and Draco's corridors and quickly made the way into his room. "Here we are! Safe!" Harry smiled. "That was easier than I thought it would be. You stay right there," Harry pointed to the rug in the middle, "and I'll get you some food, okay doggy?"
The dog barked in appreciation and moved to the spot Harry indicated, sitting down on it. Harry turned to leave, closing the door behind him. He went down the stairs and returned to the party, looking for a house-elf. "You! Ummm Dobby right?" Harry asked.
"Yes Mr. Harry, sir," the house-elf said.
"I need food, all the food you can get," Harry said.
"Y-Yes sir!" the house-elf squeaked. It ran towards the banquet table and proceeded to fill the tray it was carrying with as much food as it could fit, piling food on top of food. It returned to Harry with the tray and Harry went to grab it but the house-elf gave a scared shriek when he did. "Master Harry cannot carry the tray, sir!" it said.
Harry frowned and said, "Fine, follow me and you can't say any of this to my dad." He turned and led the house-elf out of the room, into the foyer, up the stairs, and into his room. The dog was still sitting in the spot and Harry told Dobby to leave the tray on the floor and disappeared. The house-elf did so and Harry turned to the dog and said, "I don't know if anything of this is safe for a dog to eat… it should… but I'm sorry if it isn't."
The dog looked at Harry for a moment, as if contemplating something, then before Harry's eyes it shifted into a man. The man looked haggard, his cheeks were hollowed in, his black hair was long and grisly-looking and his clothes were a pair tattered shirt and pants. Most of all he looked thin, dreadfully thin. Harry's eyes widen and he opened his mouth to scream but the man placed his dirty finger to his lips and said, "Hush Harry, hush, we don't want my cousin come running up here."
"How—How do you know my name?" Harry asked.
"That's a long story Harry, and I would rather tell it with a full stomach," the man said. "For now just call me Sirius, alright? I knew your father very well."
"S-Sirius!? You're the guy that my dad was supposed to marry!" Harry said.
"Yes, yes, I know," the man said a bit darkly. "But that's for later."
"What do you know about my dad? What was he like? Why did he marry my mum instead of you? Mrs. Zabini said that he was a Parseltongue too, was that true? Why didn't you guys married? Is my Dad a Dark Wizard like Mrs. Zabini said? Are you one as well? What—"
"Easy Harry, stop with the questions," Sirius said as he stuffed his mouth with the food on the plate, taking a huge bite out of an apple. "I told you I'll answer your questions when I'm done eating. I had a bit of a swim to get here."
"But I want to know now!" Harry said.
"Fine," Sirius swallowed. "One question. Then the rest waits till I'm finished with my food."
"Okay," Harry said eagerly.
"Now… ask your question," Sirius said, picking up a bit of ham. Harry thought for a moment and then asked, "Why am I a Parseltongue? Mrs. Zabini said that my dad's one as well, but how is that possible?"
"Easy," Sirius said. "You know Voldemort? The big scary guy the idiotic lot downstairs worships? He was James's dad. Not that he was ever a good one, mind you. Didn't even know James was his own son. Anyway yeah, James got it from his dad, and you got it from yours. Sorry about that."