Written as part of 25 Days of Drarry 2020.

When his husband had first told Harry to get in the car, he had expected for the two of them to end up at a bar for a drink, or perhaps a restaurant for a romantic dinner. But the further Draco had driven them from the city, the more he was starting to wonder just where it was that they were heading.

Draco wouldn't tell him though, still sticking with the whole 'it's a surprise' thing, even though he knew fully well that Harry hates surprises. He found that out the hard way when they had only been dating for a few weeks, and he had driven them to the airport, thinking it'd be nice to surprise Harry with a trip to Paris. Harry had freaked out about the fact that he didn't have any clothes with him, no change of underwear, no toothbrush. And let's not even get started about the leftovers in the fridge that definitely would not keep until they got back.

Draco had not tried to surprise him again after that, until today that is. And it makes Harry feel anxious, because he hates not knowing what is going on. Especially after everything he's been through when he was younger. Sure enough, life got a lot quieter after the war, but the pain and the suffering had left their scars. There is no denying that.

"Please just tell me where we're going," Harry tries again, but his husband flashes a small, almost nervous smile at him, before looking back at the road. "You know I hate this."

"We're not going to Paris, if that's what you're thinking."

"I need to know," Harry says, meaning 'I need to have control, or I will have another panic attack'.

"We're almost there."

Harry gives a small nod, as he takes a deep breath, trying his best to steady his breath, his heartbeat, the anxiety building up inside of him.

He watches, as they head off the main road, but he still can't figure out where it is that they are going. They've never been here before, and there are no signs anywhere. It looks like there is nothing here but fields and cows, but surely his husband isn't going to surprise him with an afternoon of cow cuddling.

He is about to ask Draco again what is going on, when he notices lights in the distance. They seem to be rainbow-coloured orbs, and for a moment he thinks they are Christmas lights. But the closer they get, the better he can see them, the more he realises that these are no Christmas lights.

These are shimmering, shining orbs, floating just above the grass. They are nothing like anything he has ever seen before, and he can't help but wonder what they are.

"I want to show you something," Draco says, making Harry look up from the orbs. "Do you trust me?"

"You know I do," Harry says, and he flashes a reassuring smile.

Draco kisses him, and they get out of the car. He takes Harry's hand, and he leads him over to a red, shimmering orb.

"What is it?" Harry asks, still a little hesitant. "It's magic, isn't it?"

"Touch it."

"No."

"Harry," Draco says, a knowing smile on his face. "Touch it. It won't hurt you. I promise."

Harry can feel his heart starting to beat faster, but he carefully touches the orb, and as soon as he does, he is being transported back to Hogwarts.

For a moment he thinks he was literally taken from the field to the castle, but when someone walks right through him, he realises he isn't really at Hogwarts at all. And when he recognises the young couple standing by the wall, holding hands, he realises he is seeing the past.

He watches, as James whispers something in Lily's ear, making her laugh out loud. She looks so full of life, so happy, that it brings tears to Harry's eyes. So he takes a step towards them to hear them, only now realising that their voices are different from how he remembers them.

They are discussing going on a date, and Harry wonders if they are talking about their first date. Is this when his parents fell in love?

When he blinks, he's back in the field, Draco standing next to him.

"What did you see?"

"My parents," Harry whispers, trying his best to blink away the tears. "At Hogwarts."

"Are you alright?" Draco asks, putting a hand on his husband's arm, and giving it a comforting squeeze.

"Did you know?"

"I didn't know what it was going to show you," Draco admits. "I heard rumours about how it works, but…"

"You haven't tried it yourself?"

"I have. But there aren't too many happy moments in my past, I suppose." Draco shrugs, trying to make it sound like he doesn't care. But Harry can see that he is embarrassed and hurt.

"What did you see?"

"Our first date," Draco admits. "I saw how nervous I was… when I knocked my Butterbeer all over you…"

"I thought it was charming, to see how nervous you were," Harry chuckles, but then he sighs. "What else did they show you?"

"I didn't try another one."

"Want to try one now?"

"I shouldn't," Draco sighs. "But you should."

Harry hesitates, before walking over to a blue orb. The red one had shown him the past, a happy memory. But who knows what this will show him? Should he just stick with the one happy memory and not take the risk?

But his curiosity gets the better of him, so he carefully places his hand on the orb, and within moments he is transported to 12 Grimmauld Place.

He recognises Sirius and Remus' voices even before he steps into the kitchen, and he sees them sitting at the kitchen table.

They are having a drink together, catching up. They are discussing James and Lily, and Harry can see how much it is hurting them to even say their names. But when the conversation turns to Harry, when they agree how grateful they are that they had finally gotten to meet him, they both begin to beam like proud parents.

Harry wishes he could stay in this moment, that he could spend more time with the two men, but he knows that this is only a memory. So when he feels the energy around him starting to change, when he feels it starting to pull at him, he closes his eyes.

When he opens his eyes, Draco is watching him, a worried look on his face.

"I saw Sirius, and Remus."

"Were they…?" Draco asks, hesitating to finish his question.

"Talking," Harry says, looking back at the orb. He wishes he could go back there, step back into the past and somehow step through. He wishes he could tell Sirius and Remus how much he loves them, how much he misses them. How much it means to him, having gotten to know them.

"Do you want to try one more?"

"I don't think I can," Harry admits, feeling emotionally drained. "Perhaps we can come back another time, but…"

"We can't."

"Why not?"

"They only appear around Christmas," Draco explains.

"How do you know? Who creates them? Maybe we can talk to them, ask them…"

"I overheard people talking about them in town," Draco says, looking at a green orb. He keeps quiet for a moment, and Harry wonders if he is about to touch it, but then he looks back up, a pained look on his face. "No one knows how these get here. But they appear here every year around Christmas, and then one day they simply disappear again."

"But surely someone must know more. Someone has to know who is doing this."

"If someone is doing this."

"What do you mean?"

"At this time of year people start thinking about the losses they've suffered, the people who aren't here anymore… what if these things somehow are manifestations of people's pain?"

"But the things I saw… they were happy memories," Harry protests.

"Were they? Or did you see the people you miss the most?"

Harry thinks about it for a moment, but then he shakes his head.

"You said it yourself, it showed you our first date. Why would it show you that, if it's about pain?"

"I lost my parents when I decided to go out with you."

Harry stares at an orb, not sure how to feel about them now that he knows what they could be.

"Then why take me here? What if they had shown me Voldemort?"

"I was hoping you would see your parents," Draco explains, and Harry almost tells him off for taking the risk. But he knows that his husband was trying to be thoughtful, and that he would never hurt him intentionally.

"Was it a mistake, bringing you here?"

"No," Harry says, and he flashes a reassuring smile. "I'm glad you did. Seeing my parents like that… they were happy, you know?"

"Are you sure you don't want to try another one before they disappear again? Maybe it'll show your parents…"

"Or it shows me something I don't want to see," Harry cuts him off. "I'm grateful for what they have shown me, but I don't want to see more. Not now."

"They won't be back for another year, if they come back at all. This could be your last chance to see your parents like this."

"I know." Harry smiles. "I'm okay with that."

"Do you want to stay here for a little longer, or do you want to go home?"

"Let's go home."

"Was it really us dating that caused the rift between you and your parents?" Harry asks, when he and Draco are curled up in front of the fire that night. "You always said you had stopped talking to them years before we started talking again."

"I didn't want to talk about," Draco admits. "They said some really hurtful things to me."

"But you miss them?"

"Of course. They're my parents."

"Why don't you call them?" Harry suggests, but when Draco looks at him with a look of confusion, he can't help but smile. "It's been years. Maybe they don't feel the same way about things anymore."

"I doubt they'll ever accept this. Us."

"You won't know unless you call them."

"You're not going to let this go, are you?" Draco asks, and when the smile on his husband's face grows bigger, he tightens his arms around him, and he pulls him closer. "Fine, I'll give them a call."

Harry rests his head on his husband's chest, and he closes his eyes. But when he does, he sees his parents again, his mother's laughter still ringing in his ears.

"Thank you, for bringing me to that place."

"I'm sorry I can't do more," Draco sighs, before placing a soft kiss on the top of Harry's head. "I wish I could have met them."

"They would have loved you."

"I doubt that," Draco chuckles. "I'm fairly certain your mother would have done everything in her power to stop our wedding."

Harry looks up at him, but when he sees the shy smile on his husband's face, he shakes his head.

"You know I wouldn't have let her, right?"

"What? Would you have run off to Vegas with me?"

"Maybe not Vegas." Harry chuckles. "But nothing, and no one could have stopped me from marrying you."