Thoughts: 'Blah. Blah. Blah."
Flashback: Blah. Blah. Blah. ( [END]FLASHBACK before/after them)
Hedwig: "Blah. Blah. Blah."
Parseltongue: {Blah. Blah. Blah.}
Letters/Articles/Writing: Blah. Blah. Blah.
Chapter 19
Harry wakes up to yelling. Actually, screeching is a better word to describe the atrocious sound coming out of Draco's mouth. Harry doesn't even think about throwing his pillow at his best friend, honestly. It just… happens. Anyway, a pillow is thrown, an indignant screech is given, and Harry decides to roll over and bundle his blankets over his head.
Draco scoffs loudly. "You know that won't stop me. It's Christmas Day, Harry. Get your butt out of bed; We have presents to open!" Draco takes hold of Harry's blanket and pulls, dragging Harry across the bed and onto the floor. Harry pops up into a sitting position, still holding onto his end of the blanket and fixing Draco with an unimpressed glare. Draco merely raises one of his perfect eyebrows at his disgruntled friend.
"Well, since you're already up, I suggest you come down for breakfast." Draco tugs on the blanket and it is yanked out of Harry's tired grasp. The dark haired boy groans and falls onto his back, closing his eyes once more as he hears Draco leave the room.
"Well, since you're up already…" Harry mocks in a bad imitation of Draco's voice. He heaves himself into a sitting position, rubbing his tired eyes and looking around the blurry room. Getting to his feet, he paws at the nightstand for his glasses, his hand finally landing on them and, unfortunately, knocking them to the floor. Harry sighs, a full body motion that makes his shoulders sag and his head fall back. After bending down to retrieve them, Harry slides them onto his face, bringing the room into focus.
Taking another moment to lament on being up at such an early hour, he vaguely hears Draco's voice in his head telling him, 'It's not early, Potter. It's eight in the morning.', he pulls on a sweater and stumbles to the door.
Exiting the room, Harry trudges into the main dining room, hearing the dull chatter of the Malfoy family at the table.
"Harry! Come, sit and eat." Narcissa greets him happily, pointing to the empty seat next to Draco. Harry, being barely awake, answers with a nod and a smile. He finds that words are close to impossible until about an hour after he wakes up. Which, may or may not be a good thing when he thinks about it. A part of him, the part he likes to call "Responsible Harry", says 'I'll work on it.', while another part, "Rebel Harry", contradicts by saying 'No, no you really won't'. Don't judge, okay? Harry has had a rough childhood. He's entitled to his issues.
Harry sits at the table, glaring evilly at Draco, obviously still peeved at being woken up. Draco, in return, smacks the back of Harry's head lightly. Harry smacks Draco's arm, successfully starting a slap fight with his best friend. What can they say, maturity is their passion.
"Boys." Lucius warns, stopping them both in their tracks, mid-slap.
Harry and Draco, both thoroughly chastised, turn their attentions to the food on their plates. It is then that Harry realizes that Severus is also at the table. As he glances toward his head-of-house, he sees that his lips are quirked into a smile. Although, he could be imagining it, because the expression is gone a mere moment later.
To Harry and Draco, the meal drags on for what feels like an eternity, the two boys buzzing with restless energy at the thought of opening their Christmas gifts. But finally, the three adults finish their meals and conversations, prompting Harry and Draco to spring from their chairs and run into the next room as soon as the last plate is cleared from the table. 'Took them long enough. Although, they were probably just torturing us, watching us waste away slowly.' Harry laughs at himself, but is unable to dismiss the thought completely. He is a Slytherin after all, and it helps to always be suspicious, no matter how ludicrous the idea may seem.
Severus, Lucius, and Narcissa slowly file into the elegantly decorated lounge, chuckling at the sight of Harry and Draco sitting impatiently beside the large Christmas tree situated in the right corner of the room.
"Well," Narcissa begins as she takes a seat on the black leather couch in front of the fireplace, "Go ahead; I think we've tortured you for long enough."
Draco takes up an affronted look at Naricissa's comment, while Harry's mind supplies him with a victorious 'I knew it!'.
"It's not paranoia if people are actually out to get you." Harry mutters under his breath.
"What?" Draco turns to look at Harry strangely, his brows furrowed.
"Oh, nothing." Harry supplies ariely, waving off Draco's question.
"No, I know what you said; I was just hoping for an explanation."
"Who needs explanations? I like to keep things open-ended, keeps the mind sharp. Not that you'd know, Draco." Harry teases, barely holding back a giggle at Draco's shocked and confused expression (Yes, he's finally come to terms with it. He giggles… But he thinks he's adorable and nobody can convince him otherwise).
"I- You… Nevermind." Draco juts out his chin and turns up his nose, almost as if saying 'I'm above this nonsense'. Which is utterly ridiculous. More often than not, Draco is the one who starts it. 'I'm lying to myself again. I thought I said I'd work on that…' Harry, once again, files this thought away for later... Where it will never be seen again.
"What, cat got your tongue?"
"In what universe would a cat be holding my tongue, Harry? That doesn't even make sense! I swear I will never understand muggle expressions." Draco counters, obviously distressed.
"So you've said, but I rather like to confuse you, so you may want to start getting used to it, Malfoy." Harry grins broadly, or evilly if you ask Draco's opinion, and pats Draco on the shoulder in a mock show of comfort. Draco, being the well-mannered, aristocratic young man that he is, shoves Harry onto his back, earning an indignant squawk from his dark haired friend.
"Well, that was rude." Harry says matter-of-factly, brushing himself off as he pushes himself off the floor for the second time today.
"Eh, you had it coming." Draco writes off Harry's complaint, pointedly ignoring him by inspecting his fingernails.
"I can't argue with that. I most definitely had that coming."
"As amusing as this has been," Snape begins, drawing the two boy's attention and reminding them that they are not, in fact, alone in the room. "We should begin, lest we want to be here all day listening to their inane banter." Though Snape's words seem deprecating, his tone has a teasing edge to it that both Draco and Harry pick up on, causing them to turn to each other and smile.
Now that they are distracted from their playful argument, Harry and Draco turn to look at the Christmas Tree. There is a large amount of neatly wrapped gifts piled underneath it, and honestly, Harry is at a loss. This is his first real Christmas and he has no idea how this is supposed to go. As such, Draco makes the first move as he picks up on Harry's confusion.
Draco leans down to inspect the parcels and chooses one that is wrapped in emerald green paper. He sets it in front of Harry and then returns to inspect the gifts, finding one that has his name on it and placing it in his lap.
"Let's open the first one together." Draco states, locking eyes with Harry to communicate the underlying meaning of his words. Harry smiles gratefully and Draco is suddenly hit with an onslaught of unfamiliar emotions. Not in the sense that he's never felt them before, but more so that he isn't completely sure that these feelings are his own. Taking a moment to reorient himself, he shakes off the experience, writing it off as a manifestation of his joy at being able to spend Christmas with his best friend.
Draco slowly pulls at the ribbon on top of the parcel, letting the decoration fall to the floor. Harry follows his friend's example, stopping after he unties the bow, looking at Draco expectantly. The blonde sighs before ripping into the paper. Harry smiles and mimics his friend's actions excitedly, leaving the wrapping paper in a heap underneath his hands. Once the paper is completely discarded, a black satin box sits heavily in Harry's hands. He raises his head to find Draco gazing at him expectantly, his eyes imploring him to continue. Harry returns his eyes to the small box, running his fingers along its seams and ridges. He slowly lifts the top, feeling the tiny hinges connecting the two halves of the box creak lightly.
Inside the box is a golden Snitch that shines in the firelight. The wings unfold elegantly as Harry takes the Snitch between his thumb and index finger. There is an irregularity at the bottom of the metal casing and Harry runs a finger over the perceived blemish. As it is, the markings are not an irregularity at all, but a small inscription on the Snitch's belly. There is a lightning bolt carved into the golden metal and underneath the symbol sits one word:
Always.
Harry lightly touches the word, allowing its meaning to reverberate through him. He recalls his first confrontation with Ron at the beginning of term. His friends had stayed firmly by his side, defending him. He remembers the conversation they had after Ron had walked away and his friend's responses to his thanks ring true in his ears…
"You're stuck with us now."
"Always."
"Always." Harry whispers as tears begin to fill his eyes. The wings of the Snitch fold back into its body and Harry closes his fist around it, enjoying the cool feeling of the metal against his warm skin. Harry launches himself at Draco, nearly knocking the blonde to the ground in his excitement. "Thank you…"
Harry feels Draco smile against his shoulder. "You're welcome." The two boys pull apart, grinning at each other for a moment before Harry takes note of the red box sitting at Draco's side.
"Oh! You need to open yours! Come on, open it!" Harry urges Draco, his last words coming out as more of a whine than anything else.
"Okay, okay, I'll open it." Draco chuckles, taking the box in his hands and inspecting it briefly.
Draco lifts the lid, setting it to the side while he folds away the tissue paper that conceals the gift inside. Draco gasps when the paper falls away, his eyes widening. Nestled within the velvet box is an intricately carved dragon figurine. The dragon's scales are as white as freshly fallen snow, almost luminescent. Its serpentine body is curled in on itself, its long, narrow head resting on the tip of its tail. When Draco touches the spiky frill that runs along the figurine's back, something unusual happens. The dragon gradually begins shaking its body, slowly animating. Draco gasps once more as the dragon turns to look at him, crawling up his finger and coming to rest on his right shoulder.
"It's an Antipodean Opaleye." Harry's statement breaks Draco out of his trance, turning his attention away from the small white dragon that is nuzzling into his neck. "They're native to New Zealand." Harry pauses briefly, looking down and rubbing the back of his neck. "I hope you like it."
"I love it!" Draco exclaims, startling the animated figurine perched on his shoulder. He looks over to the disgruntled dragon to see smoke pouring out of its nostrils. It seems to be glaring at him. However, Draco's actions are soon forgotten as the dragon unfurls its wings and begins preening, smacking Draco's ear in the process. Moments later, the dragon crawls back down Draco's arm and into the box, settling into its original position and growing still. "That's amazing." Draco murmurs, taking one last look at the dragon before closing the box. "Thank you."
Harry nods at his friend, smiling softly at the blonde before returning his gaze to the tree. Draco smiles to himself for a moment before reaching underneath the tree and grabbing another parcel, this one labeled: To Narcissa. He stands and walks the gift over to her, placing it in her hands. Narcissa reaches up to ruffle Draco's hair, planting a kiss to his forehead before turning her attention to the expertly wrapped gift in her hand.
The rest of the gifts are opened, and after an hour and a half everyone is surrounded by wrapping paper and talking amongst themselves. Narcissa, Lucius, and Snape have given Harry a binder containing all sorts of information about his family.
As for Harry, he had painstakingly chosen out a gift for every one of them, struggling the most with what to get Lucius. For Narcissa, he chose a charm bracelet pre-decorated with three charms: The Malfoy family crest, a dragon to represent her son, and a snake head to represent her husband.
For Severus, Harry decided on something symbolic. He put together a box containing every potion ingredient that Snape had mentioned during his questioning of Harry at the beginning of term. Harry hopes that Snape will see it as a testament to Harry's growth over the past few months, and as a symbol of how Snape spurred on his transformation from 'scared little boy' to 'confident young man'.
Finally, Harry purchased a Secrecy Sensor for Lucius at a small antique shot on the outskirts of Diagon Alley. Secrecy Sensors are not commonly used anymore, although they are still a valuable asset. They detect lies and concealments, which, in Lucius' line of work will prove useful.
Draco had also gifted Harry with the Tales of Beedle the Bard, having remembered Harry previously expressing an interest.
After another few minutes, Narcissa stands saying, "We should move this into the dining room for lunch."
Snape agrees, standing with her, and Harry and Draco move to follow, only to be stopped by Lucius. "Stay for a moment; I have one last gift to give."
Harry and Draco sit back down obediently, looking at one another in confusion before shifting their gazes to the Malfoy patriarch. Lucius pulls two small journals from within his jacket, handing one to both Harry and Draco. Draco's is a sleek black journal with his initials on the front in gold lettering, while Harry's is an emerald green, his initials inscribed in black on the cover.
"They're two way journals. What you write in one, will appear in the other, and visa versa. I have one too, so that would make them three way journals, I suppose. All you must do is write the name of the person you are contacting in the top right corner to dictate which journal it is sent to, and then write your message underneath. Quite simple, really."
"Thank you." Harry and Draco say in unison, clutching the journals to their chests protectively. 'This must be his way to work around the system and communicate undetected.' Harry praises Lucius' clever thinking.
Lucius hums in response, standing and making his way from the room. Just before he exits he turns back to the two boys. "Just know that nothing is too insignificant to contact me for. These journals are here for us to communicate and I hope you will fully utilize them. I look forward to hearing of your adventures." Lucius smiles warmly before exiting the room, leaving Harry and Draco alone.
~~~Time Skip~~~
Harry hates packing. Actually, hate is nothing compared to what he's feeling right now, so let's try again. Harry loathes packing. There, much better. But either way, that's not the point. The point is that Harry is packing. For what, we may never know… That's a lie. Harry would apologize for being overdramatic, but he can't seem to find it within himself to care about trivial things, such as being normal.
Harry and Draco will be departing for Hogwarts within the hour, and Harry, being the responsible young boy that he is, has put off his packing until the very last minute. So, here he is, dashing frantic laps around his temporary room in an effort to finish on time.
"Well, I hate to say I told you so, but I-"
"You finish that sentence and I will hex you into next year." Harry pauses his activities to glare murderously at his best friend, who has seemingly appeared out of nowhere. 'He's been doing that a lot lately… Should I be worried?'
"What sentence? I wasn't going to say anything."
Harry merely grunts, stuffing the shirt in his hands shirts into his trunk. He can practically feel Draco's eyes burning a hole in the back of his head as the blonde glares disapprovingly at his packing style.
Harry makes one last trip across the room and back, placing the last few items in his case before closing it tightly. He picks it up and begins waddling out of the room, his body weighed down by the weight.
"Well, come on." Harry says as he passes Draco. The blonde rolls his eyes and shrugs, following his friend from the room.
As Harry travels the extravagant halls of Malfoy Manor for the last time, he can't help but think of how much he'll miss this place. He's loved how the Malfoy's have made him feel at home here and he hopes more than ever before that he won't have to return to the Dursley's over the summer.
Harry and Draco reach the front room and come to stand next to Lucius and Narcissa.
"Are you ready?" Lucius asks in a dull tone.
"Yes, sir." Harry and Draco reply, prompting Lucius to levitate Harry's trunk into the floo where Draco's is already sitting. Lucius enters the fireplace and disappears after stating, "Platform 9 ¾." Once he disappears, Draco enters the floo, followed by Harry, and finally Narcissa.
The Malfoys and Harry are now standing on the platform amidst the bustle of wizards and witches ready to return to Hogwarts.
Goodbyes go much the same as they had at the start of term. Except this time there is no flinch as Narcissa gives Harry a hug and ruffles his hair affectionately.
Harry and Draco leave the two Malfoys, lugging their heavy trunks with them. They hop onto the train and make their way to their compartment, all the while attempting to catch a glimpse of Blaise and Theo. Reaching the compartment, they heave their trunks up onto the rack above them, both slumping onto the seat in exhaustion after the task is finished.
Just as Draco opens his mouth to say something, the compartment door is thrust open, revealing a rambunctious Blaise and a reserved Theo. Immediately, Harry notices an improvement in Theo. His shoulders are no longer slumped and there seems to be a constant smile on his face and a mischievous glint in his eye. Blaise and Theo enter the compartment, closing the sliding door behind them. They take their seats, Blaise next to Draco and Theo next to Harry, and immediately begin speaking about their adventures over the Christmas holiday. After all, letters can only convey so much.
Soon, the Hogwarts Express departs and begins chugging along toward Hogwarts. As he sits listening to his friends, Harry can only wonder what the rest of the year will bring.