Bel: Thanks to: angelus grl, Sandra Solaria Dees, Juliana Black and Cat Samwise. Thanks again to the wonders of email (and the fact that I'm all alone in the house with nothing better to do now that Neighbours has finished) I bring you chapter 6, set in December, just cos I felt like doing a little fluffy pre-Christmas piece :)
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"Harryyyyy!" Harry sighed, heaved himself off the couch and went to join his husband in the hall.
"Drac, you know the rules, my Quidditch telly time is not to be interrupted unless…" Harry stopped when he noticed that Draco was struggling to get an enormous Christmas tree through the door, let alone the three million bags of shopping he had with him. "Where the hell did you get that?" Harry demanded.
"Went shopping," gasped Draco. "Now are you going to help me or are you just going to stand there, gawping like a guppy?" Harry moved forward to help.
"I can see you went shopping. Why didn't you just magic everything home?"
"Because I didn't stay in Hogsmeade, I went to get a few bits and pieces from the Muggle town about a mile away."
"A few? And anyway, why didn't you go to the Muggle town first?"
"Because I only thought of going there after I'd gone to Hogsmeade." Harry and Draco succeeded in getting the Christmas tree into the living room. Thor came bounding over to see what they'd got, and ended up with a noseful of pine needles. Draco went to tend to the yelping puppy while Harry struggled with the shopping bags.
"Need a hand?" Harry turned to see his godfather standing on the doorstep.
"Yes please, Sirius!"
"Draco, what the hell is in all these bags?" demanded Sirius, dumping them on the floor next to the Christmas tree. "Presents and decorations," replied Draco. At the word 'Presents', Harry immediately started trying to surreptitiously peek into some of the bags. Sirius snatched the bags away from Harry and started rummaging through them himself.
"Any for me, Draco?" asked Sirius.
"Yes, and those bags only have decorations in them," replied Draco, putting Thor down and picking up all the bags with presents in them. "Now I'll go and hide these, and you two can get started on putting the tree up." Sirius took out his wand and waved it, and a second later the tree was standing in the front window.
"Now that's done, why don't we follow Draco and see where he's hiding the presents?" he whispered to Harry. Harry nodded, grinning, and they tiptoed up the stairs, listening for sounds of Draco hiding presents. Sirius's grin widened as they approached the half-open bedroom door – he could hear the rustling of the bags. Suddenly, the door slammed shut, almost trapping Sirius's fingers.
"No peeking!" called Draco. A few moments later, he bounded out, and laughed at the other two's sulky faces. "You don't have long to find out, it's only fifteen days to go! Let's go and decorate the tree!"
"Ouch! Draco…" Draco turned to see what his husband wanted this time, and laughed as he noticed Harry fighting a losing battle with a string of fairy lights. "It's wound too tightly around my leg, I can't move and I can't reach my wand!" Sirius came to the rescue, brandishing his wand, and the fairy lights unwound themselves from Harry's leg and started wrapping themselves around the tree.
"Are you going to do anything other than sit there and watch us do all the work?" demanded Draco.
"Nah," replied Sirius with a grin. "It's fun watching you two struggle!"
"Okay then. You can put the fairy on top of the tree when we've finished. Without magic!"
"Why do you have to put the fairy on last? Why can't you put the fairy on first before you put the tree up?" moaned Sirius. "Because it's traditional," replied Draco.
"And it also gives us the opportunity to laugh at my godfather when he fails to accomplish a relatively simple task," replied Harry.
"Hey, if you wanted to laugh at me, why didn't you say? I could just fall over the table or trip over the puppy, it will probably be a lot less painful in the long run!"
"Yes, but not quite so amusing."
They managed to get the rest of the decorations onto the tree without much hassle, although Harry did notice that a length of purple and silver tinsel and a length of white tinsel had gone missing, and Draco was looking suspiciously innocent.
"Okay, Sirius!" announced Draco, handing him the fairy. "Time to put the fairy on top of the tree!"
"And no magic, remember," warned Harry, as Sirius reached for his wand.
"Thanks, guys. Am I allowed a chair to stand on, or do I have to scratch myself to death, impale myself on icicles and electrocute myself as I climb the tree?"
"That would be quite amusing, but I think we'll let you have the chair," said Draco.
"Shame," said Harry. "Sirius climbing a Christmas tree to put a fairy on top would have been something comical to show any potential shag partners that he decides to let us meet."
"Which is precisely the reason that you don't get to meet them until at least a month into the relationship, when they've had time to find out nearly everything there is to know about me," replied Sirius. from the kitchen.
"Yes, but they never last longer than three weeks," called Draco.
Sirius said nothing as he returned with a kitchen chair. As he approached the tree, Thor shot out from under the coffee table and through Sirius's legs, causing him to fall over, drop the chair on his leg and crash into the Christmas tree, causing pine needles and decorations to drop onto him. Thor then decided it would be fun to jump on Sirius and start licking him.
"That was not funny!" protested Sirius, as Draco and Harry fell about laughing.
"What's not?" asked Remus, coming in with a man that Harry and Draco didn't know. He then clocked Sirius lying sprawled underneath the Christmas tree, covered with decorations, pine needles, a chair and mad Labrador puppy, still clutching the fairy in his hand. "Don't tell me he tried to climb the tree to put the fairy on top again?"
"No, he tripped over the dog while carrying the chair to the tree in order to put the fairy on top," laughed Draco.
"Mmm, tinsel-covered Sirius, exactly what I wanted for Christmas," said the man with Remus.
"Hi, Laurie," said Sirius, getting up, picking up his wand and repairing the damage he'd done to the tree. "Harry, Draco, meet Laurie, my current 'shag partner' as you so delicately put it. Laurie, this is my godson Harry, and his husband Draco."
"Nice to meet you," said Laurie, shaking their hands. He looked quite young, with long, black, curly hair, black PVC trousers and a deep purple shirt. "Sirius, we were supposed to be going to Annie's half an hour ago, she sent us to come looking for you."
"Oh, shit! I forgot! Sorry, Harry, looks like I won't be putting the fairy on the tree after all!"
"No, we have time enough for that," insisted Laurie, motioning to the chair. Sirius stuck his tongue out at him, but complied, and after missing a few times managed to get the fairy on top of the tree. He jumped off the chair and bowed as the others applauded.
"Before you go, Sirius, can I have a word?" asked Draco. Sirius nodded.
"Go ahead, Laurie, I'll be with you in a minute." Laurie nodded, and he and Remus Disapparated. "Right, Oh Great and Wonderful Draco, what can I do you for?"
"Sirius… exactly how old is Laurie? Not that it's any of my business, but he looks quite a bit younger than you, and…"
"And you know what Draco's like about gossip," finished Harry, grinning.
"Er…" Sirius looked embarrassed.
"He can't be that young, at least, not younger than us, anyway," Harry reasoned. Sirius said nothing, he just continued going bright red and staring at the floor.
"Sirius… *how* old is Laurie?" demanded Draco again.
"Um… he's, er, 22…"
"Sirius!"
"He's nearly 23!" protested Sirius. "And it's not like it's illegal or anything…"
"But that's half your age!" gawped Harry.
"Well… his physical age, maybe," grinned Draco. "But mentally, it's Sirius who's the toy boy!" Sirius half-heartedly swiped at Draco.
"Look, can I go now? Annie's expecting me."
"Yeah, go on then," said Harry. "But…"
"Yes?"
"22!"
"You're just jealous, 'cos he's gorgeous!" Sirius flounced to the door, then turned and said, in a ridiculously camp voice, "I may be a mangy old cat but I can still get the cream!"
"Sirius!" Sirius Disapparated before the cushions that were flung at him reached their destination. Harry shook his head. "He's never going to grow up, is he?"
"No. But then, neither are we!" announced Draco, flinging his arms around Harry's waist and pulling him into a passionate embrace.
"Hey, contain yourself, Romeo," ordered Harry. "We've still got the decorations to put on the ceiling yet!"
Two hours later, all the decorations were up.
"Turn on the lights, Harry!" ordered Draco.
"Don't be so impatient!" laughed Harry. He turned the living room lights off, and flicked the switch for the Christmas lights.
"It's so pretty!" sighed Draco, sitting down on the couch and surveying the room.
"A bit over the top," said Harry, sitting down next to him.
"Yeah, but then that's just typically me, isn't it?"
"Absolutely," replied Harry, putting his arm around his husband's waist. They sat in silence for a moment, staring at the lights.
"Harry?"
"Yes, Drac?"
"I love you."
"I love you more!"
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"Harryyyyy!" Harry sighed, heaved himself off the couch and went to join his husband in the hall.
"Drac, you know the rules, my Quidditch telly time is not to be interrupted unless…" Harry stopped when he noticed that Draco was struggling to get an enormous Christmas tree through the door, let alone the three million bags of shopping he had with him. "Where the hell did you get that?" Harry demanded.
"Went shopping," gasped Draco. "Now are you going to help me or are you just going to stand there, gawping like a guppy?" Harry moved forward to help.
"I can see you went shopping. Why didn't you just magic everything home?"
"Because I didn't stay in Hogsmeade, I went to get a few bits and pieces from the Muggle town about a mile away."
"A few? And anyway, why didn't you go to the Muggle town first?"
"Because I only thought of going there after I'd gone to Hogsmeade." Harry and Draco succeeded in getting the Christmas tree into the living room. Thor came bounding over to see what they'd got, and ended up with a noseful of pine needles. Draco went to tend to the yelping puppy while Harry struggled with the shopping bags.
"Need a hand?" Harry turned to see his godfather standing on the doorstep.
"Yes please, Sirius!"
"Draco, what the hell is in all these bags?" demanded Sirius, dumping them on the floor next to the Christmas tree. "Presents and decorations," replied Draco. At the word 'Presents', Harry immediately started trying to surreptitiously peek into some of the bags. Sirius snatched the bags away from Harry and started rummaging through them himself.
"Any for me, Draco?" asked Sirius.
"Yes, and those bags only have decorations in them," replied Draco, putting Thor down and picking up all the bags with presents in them. "Now I'll go and hide these, and you two can get started on putting the tree up." Sirius took out his wand and waved it, and a second later the tree was standing in the front window.
"Now that's done, why don't we follow Draco and see where he's hiding the presents?" he whispered to Harry. Harry nodded, grinning, and they tiptoed up the stairs, listening for sounds of Draco hiding presents. Sirius's grin widened as they approached the half-open bedroom door – he could hear the rustling of the bags. Suddenly, the door slammed shut, almost trapping Sirius's fingers.
"No peeking!" called Draco. A few moments later, he bounded out, and laughed at the other two's sulky faces. "You don't have long to find out, it's only fifteen days to go! Let's go and decorate the tree!"
"Ouch! Draco…" Draco turned to see what his husband wanted this time, and laughed as he noticed Harry fighting a losing battle with a string of fairy lights. "It's wound too tightly around my leg, I can't move and I can't reach my wand!" Sirius came to the rescue, brandishing his wand, and the fairy lights unwound themselves from Harry's leg and started wrapping themselves around the tree.
"Are you going to do anything other than sit there and watch us do all the work?" demanded Draco.
"Nah," replied Sirius with a grin. "It's fun watching you two struggle!"
"Okay then. You can put the fairy on top of the tree when we've finished. Without magic!"
"Why do you have to put the fairy on last? Why can't you put the fairy on first before you put the tree up?" moaned Sirius. "Because it's traditional," replied Draco.
"And it also gives us the opportunity to laugh at my godfather when he fails to accomplish a relatively simple task," replied Harry.
"Hey, if you wanted to laugh at me, why didn't you say? I could just fall over the table or trip over the puppy, it will probably be a lot less painful in the long run!"
"Yes, but not quite so amusing."
They managed to get the rest of the decorations onto the tree without much hassle, although Harry did notice that a length of purple and silver tinsel and a length of white tinsel had gone missing, and Draco was looking suspiciously innocent.
"Okay, Sirius!" announced Draco, handing him the fairy. "Time to put the fairy on top of the tree!"
"And no magic, remember," warned Harry, as Sirius reached for his wand.
"Thanks, guys. Am I allowed a chair to stand on, or do I have to scratch myself to death, impale myself on icicles and electrocute myself as I climb the tree?"
"That would be quite amusing, but I think we'll let you have the chair," said Draco.
"Shame," said Harry. "Sirius climbing a Christmas tree to put a fairy on top would have been something comical to show any potential shag partners that he decides to let us meet."
"Which is precisely the reason that you don't get to meet them until at least a month into the relationship, when they've had time to find out nearly everything there is to know about me," replied Sirius. from the kitchen.
"Yes, but they never last longer than three weeks," called Draco.
Sirius said nothing as he returned with a kitchen chair. As he approached the tree, Thor shot out from under the coffee table and through Sirius's legs, causing him to fall over, drop the chair on his leg and crash into the Christmas tree, causing pine needles and decorations to drop onto him. Thor then decided it would be fun to jump on Sirius and start licking him.
"That was not funny!" protested Sirius, as Draco and Harry fell about laughing.
"What's not?" asked Remus, coming in with a man that Harry and Draco didn't know. He then clocked Sirius lying sprawled underneath the Christmas tree, covered with decorations, pine needles, a chair and mad Labrador puppy, still clutching the fairy in his hand. "Don't tell me he tried to climb the tree to put the fairy on top again?"
"No, he tripped over the dog while carrying the chair to the tree in order to put the fairy on top," laughed Draco.
"Mmm, tinsel-covered Sirius, exactly what I wanted for Christmas," said the man with Remus.
"Hi, Laurie," said Sirius, getting up, picking up his wand and repairing the damage he'd done to the tree. "Harry, Draco, meet Laurie, my current 'shag partner' as you so delicately put it. Laurie, this is my godson Harry, and his husband Draco."
"Nice to meet you," said Laurie, shaking their hands. He looked quite young, with long, black, curly hair, black PVC trousers and a deep purple shirt. "Sirius, we were supposed to be going to Annie's half an hour ago, she sent us to come looking for you."
"Oh, shit! I forgot! Sorry, Harry, looks like I won't be putting the fairy on the tree after all!"
"No, we have time enough for that," insisted Laurie, motioning to the chair. Sirius stuck his tongue out at him, but complied, and after missing a few times managed to get the fairy on top of the tree. He jumped off the chair and bowed as the others applauded.
"Before you go, Sirius, can I have a word?" asked Draco. Sirius nodded.
"Go ahead, Laurie, I'll be with you in a minute." Laurie nodded, and he and Remus Disapparated. "Right, Oh Great and Wonderful Draco, what can I do you for?"
"Sirius… exactly how old is Laurie? Not that it's any of my business, but he looks quite a bit younger than you, and…"
"And you know what Draco's like about gossip," finished Harry, grinning.
"Er…" Sirius looked embarrassed.
"He can't be that young, at least, not younger than us, anyway," Harry reasoned. Sirius said nothing, he just continued going bright red and staring at the floor.
"Sirius… *how* old is Laurie?" demanded Draco again.
"Um… he's, er, 22…"
"Sirius!"
"He's nearly 23!" protested Sirius. "And it's not like it's illegal or anything…"
"But that's half your age!" gawped Harry.
"Well… his physical age, maybe," grinned Draco. "But mentally, it's Sirius who's the toy boy!" Sirius half-heartedly swiped at Draco.
"Look, can I go now? Annie's expecting me."
"Yeah, go on then," said Harry. "But…"
"Yes?"
"22!"
"You're just jealous, 'cos he's gorgeous!" Sirius flounced to the door, then turned and said, in a ridiculously camp voice, "I may be a mangy old cat but I can still get the cream!"
"Sirius!" Sirius Disapparated before the cushions that were flung at him reached their destination. Harry shook his head. "He's never going to grow up, is he?"
"No. But then, neither are we!" announced Draco, flinging his arms around Harry's waist and pulling him into a passionate embrace.
"Hey, contain yourself, Romeo," ordered Harry. "We've still got the decorations to put on the ceiling yet!"
Two hours later, all the decorations were up.
"Turn on the lights, Harry!" ordered Draco.
"Don't be so impatient!" laughed Harry. He turned the living room lights off, and flicked the switch for the Christmas lights.
"It's so pretty!" sighed Draco, sitting down on the couch and surveying the room.
"A bit over the top," said Harry, sitting down next to him.
"Yeah, but then that's just typically me, isn't it?"
"Absolutely," replied Harry, putting his arm around his husband's waist. They sat in silence for a moment, staring at the lights.
"Harry?"
"Yes, Drac?"
"I love you."
"I love you more!"
