CHAPTER ELEVEN: CHRISTMAS DISCOVERIES

Damian's and Ginny's relationship was all anyone seemed to be able to talk about over the next few months. There were those who couldn't understand why they were seeing each other and figured that their relationship wouldn't last, while there were others who thought that they were soul mates and their love was eternal.

Damian's friends still didn't agree with the relationship for they knew it would end with Damian's heart being broken again. They could all see that Ginny was using him for they had reached the same conclusion as Sanaro; Ginny Weasley was the weapon Dumbledore was using to entice Damian back into his grasp. They couldn't allow this to happen.

At first they all argued strongly with Damian on the subject, but all that did was make matters worse, so they did the next best thing. They ended up apologising to Damian, saying that they only wanted what was best for him, and pretended to approve of the relationship. They didn't, of course, but they needed to keep a secret eye on the pair, ready to intervene on a moment's notice. They figured Ginny would slip up and reveal herself to be a fraud eventually, but she never did.

A blink of an eye later, the Christmas holidays had arrived, which was a relief to all of Damian's friends. They wouldn't have to see Damian and Ginny snogging for a few weeks. Damian and Ginny, however, weren't thrilled. Normally they would have made plans to visit each other, but dared not under the circumstances. Ginny knew that her family wouldn't allow her to visit Damian nor him to visit them. Damian for his part didn't dare to make any plans for her to visit until he had spoken to Voldemort to see how he would react. He didn't want Ginny being killed on her visit.

And so Damian began his Christmas holidays without Ginny, but that didn't stop him from talking constantly about her. He ended up driving his family and the Malfoys insane; especially Draco who got most of it. Matters got worse when Narcissa brought up a Christmas party.

'I was wondering, my Lord, if you would allow the boys to hold a Christmas party for their friends,' Narcissa asked one night over dinner.

'I have no objections,' Voldemort answered indifferently.

'That's no surprise,' Sanaro whispered to Damian. 'Mother loved Christmas. Father probably thinks that she'll come back to haunt him if he stops either of us enjoying the holidays.'

Damian sniggered quietly.

'I'll need you boys to give me a list of your friends so I know who to invite,' Narcissa informed the boys.

'There's Blaise, Daphne and Tracey,' Draco said thoughtfully.

'What about the other Slytherin seventh years?' asked Lucius.

'We're not exactly friends anymore,' Draco informed his father.

'Aren't you and Pansy still together?'

'No. We broke up just before the holidays.' Draco grimaced at the memory. It had been a very public break up. 'She's extremely jealous of my friendship with Damian.'

'Is there anyone else you want to invite?' Narcissa enquired, getting back on task.

'Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood,' Draco said hesitantly.

'Good to see that some more purebloods have come to their senses,' Lucius muttered. 'Anyone else?'

Draco and Damian exchanged a look.

'Um... yes,' Damian said, looking at his father. 'A Muggle-born named Hermione Granger.'

Voldemort groaned.

'You're as bad as your brother,' he grumbled. 'Fine. If I can tolerate your brother dating a Muggle-born, I can tolerate you being friends with one.'

'Thanks,' said Damian. 'Is it alright if Ginny comes too?'

Draco and Sanaro both groaned.

'Must she?' asked Sanaro.

'She's my girlfriend,' Damian said pointedly, 'and aren't you and Voldemort always going on about needing more purebloods?'

'You have me there,' Sanaro muttered, 'but I don't trust her.'

'That's because you don't know her. I never used to trust you until I got to know you, remember?'

'How could I forget?' Sanaro grudgingly admitted.

Damian looked at Voldemort.

'Can she come?' he begged.

'You really love this girl, don't you?' Voldemort asked softly.

'I do. Words can't describe how much I love her.'

'Then she may come.'

'Thank you!' Damian exclaimed. 'If you'd excuse me, I think I'll retire for the night.'

'Night, dear,' Narcissa said as Damian left the room.

The moment he was gone, Sanaro turned to his father.

'How could you agree to have that girl here?' he asked.

'I want to meet the girl who has managed to capture my son's heart,' Voldemort said calmly. 'I need to see what she's like with my own eyes before I intervene and forbid him from seeing her. I want to know how she's controlling him and what she wants with him.'

'You don't believe she truly loves him?' Narcissa questioned quietly.

'Unlike Lucinda, I'm a realist, not an optimist,' Voldemort said bluntly. 'She would take an optimistic view and say this girl is his soul mate. Realistically, however, she is just another one of Dumbledore's pawns.'

-THE EXPOSED TRUTH-

Christmas day soon arrived, which found the Malfoys, Sanaro and Damian hurrying around getting everything ready for their guests. All of Draco's grandparents were deceased, which meant the boys' friends would be their only guests. Voldemort had disappeared somewhere. Sanaro said that he didn't like to celebrate Christmas as it brought back painful memories of Lucinda.

At eleven the boys' friends started to turn up for the day. Tracey was the first to arrive, followed closely by Daphne and the nervous Hermione. Blaise followed them with Neville and Luna bringing up the rear. Ginny was the last to arrive.

'I thought you weren't going to show up,' Damian said as he stepped forward to meet her.

'I nearly wasn't,' replied Ginny. 'Mum and Dad said that I wasn't allowed to come, but Fred and George were kind enough to cover for me so I could come.'

'I'm glad you did come,' Damian said, leaning forward and kissing her.

'Save it for the mistletoe, you two.'

Damian ended the kiss and turned around, his eyes going wide. Standing with her arm around Sanaro's waist was none other than Lily Potter. She was smiling at Damian with much joy and love in her eyes.

'Mum – I mean – Lily,' Damian gasped, walking slowly towards her, and she him.

'Hi, Damian,' she said. 'Let me look at you.'

Lily held him back at arm's length and looked at him closely.

'You've grown so much,' she commented. 'I'm so proud of you. Despite everything Sanaro says Dumbledore has put you through, you have kept your head held high and have powered through every challenge. Not many people your age could have done that.'

Damian smiled widely and hugged Lily tightly. Despite never really knowing her, he still felt a deep connection to her. He was happy to know that she was likely to become his sister-in-law.

'I believe some introductions are in order,' Sanaro said, breaking the touching moment.

'Good point,' Damian agreed, before pointing to each in turn. 'Right, this is Blaise, Daphne, Tracey, Neville, Hermione, Ginny and Luna. Guys, this is my brother, Sanaro, and his girlfriend, Lily.'

'Make that fiancé,' Sanaro corrected. 'I proposed to her this morning.'

'With the Dark Lord's blessing, scarily enough,' Lily added, showing Narcissa her ring.

'Shall we go into the sitting room?' Sanaro suggested.

The company moved into the sitting room where they exchanged gifts.

'Here you go,' Daphne said, handing Damian a heavy present as the gift giving was coming to an end.

Damian accepted the present and opened it. She had given him a beautiful book set on magical artefacts.

'Wow! Thanks, Daphne,' he said, grinning over at her. 'I'll enjoy reading these.'

'What? You read?' Sanaro said from the couch, where he was sitting with Lily.

'I do read,' Damian informed Sanaro, throwing some wrapping paper at him. 'I just don't always retain what I read. Anyway, this is for you,' he added, handing Daphne a small present. Inside was a necklace with small white pearls at different intervals, separated with small emeralds and amethysts.

'It's beautiful, Damian,' Daphne said quietly. 'Help me put it on?'

'Sure.'

Sanaro and Lily both noticed that Ginny was glaring at Daphne, and once Damian had put the necklace on Daphne, she immediately turned Damian's attention back to her.

'Here you go, Damian,' she said, handing him a present. 'Sorry it's not like everyone else's.'

Damian knew that she was embarrassed because the Weasleys didn't have that sort of money.

Damian opened it and saw that it was a bright red photo frame. Inside was a moving picture of Damian and Ginny by the lake. Colin Creevey had taken it shortly after they first started dating.

'Thank you, love,' Damian said, leaning over to her and giving her a quick kiss. He then handed her a present, which was a bottle of perfume.

'That's interesting,' Sanaro muttered quietly.

'What is?' Lily whispered.

'He gave Weasley, the girl who's meant to be his soul mate, a bottle of perfume, yet he gave a friend an expensive necklace,' said Sanaro. 'He spent more on Daphne than he did on anyone else.'

'Do you think a part of him is trying to break through a spell?'

'Maybe.'

'I think everyone's had a chance to give and receive their presents,' Narcissa commented, looking around.

'Not quite all.'

Everyone looked to the doorway and found Voldemort calmly standing there. All of Damian's friends, except Draco, tensed right up. Ginny grabbed Damian's arm, eyes wide. Hermione wasn't doing any better. The friends could understand Hermione's fear as she was a Muggle-born, but they couldn't understand Ginny's until they remembered her involvement with the Chamber of the Secrets.

'Your brother, Lily and I have a present for you, Damian,' Voldemort continued.

Sanaro reached behind the couch he was sitting on and revealed a small present.

'Beware, it's fragile,' he warned as he handed over the present.

With a frown of curiosity, Damian carefully opened his present and found a small vial containing some royal purple liquid. Damian stared at it blankly.

'What is it?' he asked.

'Remember when we first found out you were Damian and Father tried to remove the Glamour Dumbledore put on you?' Sanaro questioned.

'I remember. One of you said something about a potion to break it.'

'That vial contains the potion you need to break the Glamour,' Lily stated.

'We would have given it to you sooner, but we only just finished making it,' Sanaro explained. 'The potion recipe to make the Glamour potion is extremely rare, which makes the antidote even rarer. It's taken us all those months to find it. That's what Father's been looking for since we found out the truth. Lily's been in Egypt looking through the wizarding world's oldest library achieves.'

'Making it wasn't a walk in the park either,' Lily added. 'Your father, Sanaro and I have been working on it together; triple checking every instruction before implementing it. I now know why it has become so rare. They're a pain to brew.'

'Are you saying that if I take this now, I'll no longer look like James Potter?' asked Damian.

'That's correct,' Sanaro confirmed, 'though it might be best if you take it in your room, just in case. We wouldn't want your clothes becoming too big or something. I don't think you want to lose your pants in front of your friends.'

Damian's friends' sniggered.

'I see your point,' said Damian. 'I'll be back,' he added, hurrying from the room, potion in hand.

'This is so exciting, finally being able to see what Damian really looks like,' Daphne commented.

'I know,' Hermione agreed. 'Lucky we are able to see him now, otherwise we probably wouldn't recognise him at school.'

'I wonder how long it will take the rest of the school to figure out who he is,' said Draco. 'Pansy will love this. The school's going to be buzzing about how Damian looks for ages!'

'Damian certainly knows how to get under her skin,' Blaise agreed. 'He just has to breathe near her and she becomes annoyed.'

'You seem awfully quiet about all this,' Tracey said accusingly to Ginny. 'Aren't you happy for Damian?'

'Of course I am!' Ginny snapped. 'I frankly couldn't care less about how he looks.'

'You say that rather indifferently,' Voldemort said coolly. 'If that is the case, it must mean you are dating my son for his personality, am I correct?'

'Yes,' Ginny answered without looking at Voldemort.

'What is it about Damian that you love?' Voldemort continued.

'Um... everything.'

'Really? You love everything about Damian, including any annoying habits? How interesting.'

Ginny fidgeted as Voldemort's cold red eyes bore into her.

Damian's friends looked at Draco, who was trying to laugh. We he saw them looking at him, he reached up onto the coffee table behind him where Lucius had left some parchment and ink. He wrote them a message so Ginny wouldn't hear.

Damian's father thinks the same as we do and is trying to prove it. That's the only reason he allowed Damian to invite her.

So far I don't think she's making a good impression.

He then handed it to them and they all had to agree with Draco, while rooting Voldemort.

Fifteen minutes later, the room fell silent as a tall, young man walked into the room. He had longish midnight black hair, pale skin, dark green eyes, and in the middle of his forehead was a familiar lightning bolt scar. He looked like a younger version of Sanaro, talking on both of their parents' looks as well as their own.

'How do I look?' Damian asked.

'Very handsome,' Lily answered. 'No denying you're a Riddle now.'

Damian laughed before looking at his father. He was surprised to see that Voldemort's eyes didn't look as red as they grew soft. He had a tender looking smile on his face, but when he saw Damian looking at him, he hastily removed all traces of said smile.

'Much better,' was all he said, before walking away.

Five minutes later, the company moved on to the dining hall where they had a cooked Christmas lunch of roast chicken, turkey, vegetables and several other Christmas delicacies. These delicacies were followed by a homemade plum pudding. In the end, no one could eat another bite, so they returned to the sitting room where they'd be more comfortable.

While the adults all sat around talking politics and about the Ministry of Magic, Damian and his friends were looking at their new belongings and talking about random teenaged topics. Blaise and Draco played a game of chess, while talking to Neville. Luna, Hermione, Daphne and Tracey were all looking through the book set Daphne had given Damian. Damian and Ginny were sitting quietly together.

It turned out to be a peaceful afternoon, until Tracey and Hermione both gasped, staring down at the book they were sharing.

The room went silent as everyone turned to look at the pair.

'What's wrong?' asked Luna.

'There are two necklaces in this book that are used to make someone fall in love with someone else,' Hermione explained. 'They look exactly like the necklaces Damian and Ginny have.'

Voldemort, who had been walking passed the room at the time and stopped when he heard the girls gasp, turned to his youngest son, making his presence known.

'Is this true, Damian?' he demanded. 'Did she give you a necklace?'

'Yes,' Damian answered, remembering back to when Ginny gave it to him, as he explained everything to his father.

Damian and his friends were sitting down by the lake, in their usual spot, when Ginny pulled something out of her pocket, handing it to Damian.

'I bought you something in Hogsmeade yesterday,' she said. 'It's just a little something to remember me by.'

It was a golden necklace with a golden pendant at the end. The pendent had a rose quartz in the centre.

'I'm sure Damian will look very manly wearing that!' Draco sniggered. 'That's as bad as the necklace Brown gave your brother!'

'Shut up,' Damian hissed at this best friend, before looking at Ginny, who revealed an identical necklace around her neck.

'The lady who sold them to me said that they will bring us good luck as long as we never take them off,' she explained.

'Then I'll never take mine off,' Damian replied as he put his on around his neck.

'Oh please,' said Daphne. 'Could you two be any cornier?'

'Ignore her, Ginny,' Damian stated, glaring at his friend. He still couldn't understand why Daphne was being so cruel to Ginny. 'And thank you. I will always treasure it.'

He then leant forward and kissed her.

While Damian and Ginny were kissing, Hermione and Tracey pointedly began to look at their Ancient Runes homework, while Draco, Neville and Blaise became unnaturally interested their homework. Luna stared off out across the lake and Daphne glared at Ginny.

'Show it to me!' Voldemort ordered, throwing aside the book that had the necklaces in it, once Damian had finished his recount. As Damian had been speaking, Voldemort had been examining the item in the textbook.

Damian pulled on the chain around his neck to reveal a necklace identical to the one in the book.

'And this is why I am a realist,' Voldemort said coldly, walking towards Damian and the terrified Ginny. 'Hand it over now, Damian!'

'But –'

'Do not make me ask you again!'

Damian looked at Ginny, before looking back at his father. It was clear by his facial expressions that he was fighting an internal battle. The spell from the necklaces was preventing him from obeying his father's orders. Hence, Voldemort yanked the necklace off his youngest son's neck. They then watched as Damian slowly broke free of the spell. He looked horrified as he hastily moved away from Ginny.

'I suggest you start talking, Weasley,' Sanaro said coldly, while Lily comforted Damian.

'Dumbledore told me to do it,' Ginny answered, shaking badly. 'He told me to go and speak to Riddle to see if he was naive enough to date me again. However, when I saw that he wasn't, I secretly gestured to the two third years Dumbledore organised to help me cause a distraction. While Malfoy, Greengrass and Riddle were distracted by them, I drugged Riddle's drink water with a weak love potion so no one would be suspicious of why he was falling in love with me again. Dumbledore then gave me the necklaces to make certain he remained under my control.

'And what did Dumbledore hope to achieve from this?' Voldemort hissed.

'He was hoping that I would be able to lead Damian back to him and use him against you.'

'So we were right,' Sanaro said darkly. 'You were a weapon.'

'What are you going to do to me?' Ginny hesitantly asked.

'Normally I would kill you for what you have done to my son, but my wife was rather against me killing people on Christmas,' said Voldemort. 'Thank your lucky star that I am sparing you this day, but should our paths cross again, I will kill you. Sanaro, get her out of my sight.'

'With pleasure,' Sanaro said coldly, getting to his feet and taking Ginny away.

Sanaro ended up talking Ginny to the Burrow, where he barged into the kitchen, dragging Ginny a long with him.

'GINNY!' Mrs Weasley screamed, abruptly standing as did the rest of the Weasleys.

'You should keep a closer eye on your only daughter!' Sanaro growled, pushing Ginny into Bill's chest. 'Give a message to Dumbledore for me, will you? Tell him not to send a little girl to do his dirty work. You can also give him this back!'

Sanaro threw the necklace Ginny used to control Damian on the dinner table, before storming out of the house. He then Apparated back to Malfoy Manor where he found Damian slowly controlling his anger and disgust.

'I can't believe Ginny would do something like that,' Damian said for the hundredth time.

'Show's what her true colours are,' Draco muttered.

'How are you feeling?' Sanaro asked his little brother.

'Disgusted, angry, used, betrayed... and I could go on,' Damian said bitterly.

'So how do these necklaces work?' asked Neville.

'All rose quartz's have magic properties,' Hermione explained. 'The rose quartz in the middle of the necklace Damian wore had enhanced magical properties, which makes the wearer fall in love with the person that wears the other necklace. Weasley was safe from falling in love with Damian seeing as she had a fake rose quartz.'

With Dumbledore's scheme foiled, everyone went back to enjoying their Christmas, but the surprises weren't all over. As everyone was saying goodbye that night, Daphne and Damian stopped in the doorway.

'I had fun today, despite everything that happened,' Daphne told Damian.

'You knew all along that she was using me, didn't you?' asked Damian.

'What do you mean?'

'That's why you were always so cold around her. Ginny told me it was jealousy –'

'Why would I be jealous?' Daphne said hastily, going red. 'I mean, you and I are just friends.'

'Yes. Of course.' Damian sounded put out.

By chance, Damian looked up and saw it.

'Mistletoe,' he whispered.

Daphne also looked up, before looking deeply into Damian's eyes. They both slowly leant forward until their lips met. When they pulled apart, both of them had gone red.

'Goodnight,' Daphne breathed, before hurrying off, her face burning.

'Night,' Damian muttered back, smiling after her.

A/N: A picture of Daphne's necklace is on Facebook

Azaelia Silmarwen Facebook page: link on profile
Written: 27 April 2014
Updated: N/A
Beta: BETA WANTED

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