Chapter 10- Christmas Invitations

Harry was absentmindedly munching his way through a bowl of Frosted Flakes one morning when he noticed that the owls had already begun to make their deliveries. (A/N: I have no idea why I always write the scenes in the Great Hall during breakfast. I hate breakfast!) He didn't think much of it until he spotted the Weasley's family owls Pigwidgeon and Errol fly into the Great Hall. They were each carrying three green envelopes.

Harry watched as Errol swooped down and dropped one of the envelopes in front of Draco over at the Slytherin table. The blonde's face looked thoroughly puzzled as he read through its contents. Errol then silently flew towards the staff table at the head of the room and dropped a similar envelope before Remus and then Snape respectively. Harry didn't have time to contemplate the odd situation any further as a blur of grey feathers came whizzing past him. Pig was obviously having a little more difficulty carrying his load since he was so much smaller.

The hyperactive little owl made an abrupt u-turn and headed back towards Harry. He misjudged his flight path completely and ended up in his bowl of cereal head first.

"Oi, Pig! Bloody bird can't do anything right! I told mum not to use him," said Ron as he grabbed his beloved pet and set it upright. He dabbed at his owl's feathers with a spare napkin to get rid of the milk and cornflakes that were not covering the poor creature's body. He looked rather miserable. Fortunately, Pig managed to save the three precious envelopes, and it held out his small leg so that Ron could remove them. Seeing that he had delivered his cargo, the bird extended his small wings and flapped them a few times before he set off again. Pig whizzed about the Great Hall for a bit until he finally discovered Errol leaving through one of the upper windows.

Ron looked at each envelope and then passed one to Neville, another to Hermione, and finally one to Harry. Ginny and Ron winked at one another knowingly, while the other friends looked at one another completely bewildered.

Harry noticed that his name was written in bold calligraphy on the outside of the envelope. He neatly undid the crimson ribbon that held the green envelope together and pulled out the card that had lain hidden inside. The beige colored card was secured to another green piece of paper, and the lettering on the face of it was done in an amazing red calligraphy. The lettering wasn't only a deep red; it also had some type of glitter embedded in the ink. The card seemed to embody the very essence of Christmas, and he could swear that the card was enchanted to sparkle intermittently. Harry was awed by the sheer of beauty of something so simple. Not wanting to waste anymore time in wonder, he began to read the card to himself.

In these desperate times it is

important that families stick together

through thick and thin. So since you

are now considered to be part of our

family, we wish to extend to you a

personal invitation to our humble abode.

You are cordially invited to

stay with the Weasley family at the

Burrow this holiday season. The spirit of Christmas has a firm place in our hearts, and we cannot wait to welcome you home. We will greet you at King's Cross Station on December 20th.

P.S. Harry, we will not accept,

"No thank you," as an answer.

Harry looked up at his best friend and tried to say something in response, but no words came. Ron smiled at him and started the conversation for him, "It's going to be so great, Harry, you wait and see. The whole family is going to be there this year. Even Bill and Charlie are coming in for the occasion…er… well, except Percy, but anyway…. this is going to be the biggest and best Christmas ever!"

"Are you sure, Ron? I hate to be a burden…."

"Don't even start in on that, Harry. You are family now, might as well face it. Unfortunately, family members usually get set to work. Mum will probably be having you do chores all Christmas break. Just you wait and see," said Ginny trying to help the situation.

"Well, alright then. What about you two?" asked Harry, looking at Hermione and Neville. "Are you coming too?"

Neville looked torn about the situation. "I would really love to, but my Gram needs me around this time of year. Christmas is always hard… on her, I mean."

Harry looked at his friend sympathetically. He knew what it was like to miss your parents at Christmas. He watched as Ginny wrapped her arms around her boyfriend and affectionately kissed him on the cheek. "I'll miss you, you know. You're going to have to write everyday."

"Okay, okay…let a man breathe," he said as Ginny wrapped her arms tighter around him, practically cutting off his air supply. "What about you Hermione?" Neville asked.

"Well, I don't know. My parents have been pretty funny about me being away from home since…ah... what happened last year…" said Hermione somewhat apprehensively. Everyone tried to side step the issue over what happened at the Department of Mysteries as much a possible so that Harry wouldn't become upset. Harry looked away anyway, knowing that he was the real cause of why her parents now worried about her so much.

"I understand, Hermione. Your parents love you and want to spend time with you, but if you think they might let you come for at least a day or two the invitation will always be open. My parents love you," said Ron reassuringly.

"Thanks, Ron. I'll see what I can do," she replied smiling softly.

During their conversation, Harry looked over at his boyfriend and caught his eye. Draco smiled at him, but something didn't seem right. His eyes seemed sad and lost. Harry made a mental note to ask what was troubling him later. He then glanced up over at the staff table to see what the professors' reactions to the invitation was.

Snape looked utterly bewildered. He scowled as he glanced at the card over and over again. He even turned it over as if he expected another message stating that it had been a joke or something. Harry suspected that he had been invited because of Draco. Like Harry, Draco was alone in the world right now and he needed his godfather as much as Harry had needed Sirius. Snape looked over at Draco like he had something to do with this mess, but Draco could only shrug his shoulders to express he was as confused as him.

Harry looked across the staff table and saw that Dumbledore, who was sitting by Snape, looked quite amused. His pale blues eyes twinkled as he struggled to suppress a snigger. It was pretty funny to see Snape all worked up about being invited to Christmas dinner. Harry continued to survey the rest of the staff until he caught the eye of Remus. Lupin lifted his own invitation slightly and nodded as he smiled at Harry. Harry smiled back at him. At least he would have someone he considered to be family there too.

Later that evening, Harry searched the entire castle looking for Draco. He hadn't been able to talk to him in classes today, and he wanted to find out what had been bothering him. No one had seen him anywhere, not even his roommate Blaise. He even checked the Room of Requirement, but he had yet to find his beloved boyfriend. He really began to worry about his whereabouts. What if one of the Death Eaters had captured him or something?

Not really knowing where else to look, Harry threw on his heavy cloak and went out into the cold night air. Draco was notorious for talking long walks when he wanted to be alone or was upset. Harry hoped that he would be able to find him outside. Surprisingly, it was actually quite bright outside. The moon was almost full, and Harry wondered if Lupin had already begun his preparations for his transformation. The landscape was illuminated by the endless expanse of snow, which seemed to sparkle in the soft glow of the waxing gibbous moon. The lake was completely frozen now, and it was difficult to distinguish between the ice itself and the snow covered shore.

Harry began to jog to keep himself warm and looked across the landscape hoping to see some sign of Draco. Suddenly, he knew without a doubt where Draco was. He made his way through the deep snow towards their favorite spot beneath an old maple tree that grew close to the shore's edge. He was freezing, but he was determined to find his boyfriend.

Sure enough, he located Draco sitting beneath the maple with arms wrapped around his body while he shivered. It was the same spot they had all come to when Draco explained what happened to them in limbo.

"Draco? I have been looking all over for you," he said as he approached the boy.

"Sorry. I kind of wanted to be alone for awhile."

"Do you want me to leave?" asked Harry hesitantly.

"No, of course not. I love having you around. Come here…" He said as he stood up and opened his arms. Harry embraced him quickly and snuggled in his warmth.

"What's bothering you?" he asked looking up at the blond.

"I guess it's just this whole Christmas thing…"

"What do you mean? Don't you want to go to the Weasley's?"

"Yeah, I do, but that's the problem," said Draco sadly.

"I don't get it," said Harry. He pulled back and looked up into Draco's pale eyes. He looked quite exquisite. His blonde hair glowed in the moonlight and his pale features were rosy with the cold. He looked almost like angelic, but then his features softened into a frown.

"It's my mum…" he began.

"What about her?"

"I feel like I have betrayed her or something. I left her with my father and never looked back. I didn't even consider the amount of danger she was still in when I left," he said. A single tear rolled down his face.

Harry reached up and brushed it away with is gloved hand. "Draco, you had to save yourself. I can't even imagine what would have happened to you if you hadn't used the portkey Snape gave you."

"I know, but you didn't see how frightened she looked when I last saw her. I didn't even get to say goodbye…"

Harry kissed him softly on the lips and asked, "Do you know what happened to her?"

"No, I imagine that she left with my father like he had planned, but I have no idea what happened to her after he was captured on Halloween. Severus thinks that she may be in hiding or something. It would be too dangerous to come out now…"

"Because of Voldemort?"

"Well, yeah... and the rest of his Death Eaters as well. She has always supported my father, but I think it was more out of fear than anything else. I don't think that she would ever openly support the Dark Lord on her own."

"Do you miss her?"

"Yeah… I do. I have been thinking about her a lot lately. It's not like she was a great mother or anything. She and I were never really close, I was raised by the house elves to be perfectly honest. She knew what my father did to me and she never tried to stop him. Maybe she was too afraid, I don't know. But I do love her, and I am worried for her."

"Maybe we could try to find her…" offered Harry.

"No, I think that she is better of in hiding, if that is where she is. I hate to even think about what would happen to her if she were ever discovered."

Harry nodded in understanding and wrapped his arms around his boyfriend's waist once again. They clung to each other trying to block out the cold.

"Harry…"

"Yeah?" he mumbled into his chest.

"Is it wrong that I would rather be with the Weasleys this Christmas than my own mother?"

"No, of course not. You have to do what's right for you. Besides, you don't even know where she is."

"I know… it's just… that… that bunch of red heads have something that I have always wanted…. a real family. I like being around them… you know?"

"Yes, I know. I understand perfectly," said Harry.

He reached up and held Draco's face in his hands and then kissed him deeply. Allowing the taller boy to feel how much he loved him in that single kiss.

"Hey, you know what?" asked Draco as he pulled away grinning.

"What?" asked Harry.

"My arse is freezing out here, let's get inside!" said Draco as he ran back to the school.

"You're the dunderhead that came out here in the first place!" shouted Harry as he ran to catch up.

They traipsed through the heavy snow and back into Hogwarts. They decided to go raid the kitchen for cookies and hot chocolate before heading back to their dorms.

A/N: I know, I know… this chapter was really short compared to my last few, but in my defense when I set out to write the darn thing I kept getting more and more ideas of what I want to happen over Christmas and New Years. Some of which is going to be pretty dramatic. So the chapter I had originally planned has now become four shorter ones. That way I don't drive my beta crazy with an insanely long chapter, and you guys will get quicker updates. My bringing up Narcissa really doesn't add much to the plot, so don't start thinking otherwise, I just realized the other day that I had forgotten about her completely. I am exploring the idea of bringing her back if I do the 7th year fic. I know it seems that I am dragging out the reasons behind the dreams about Sirius, but Harry has yet to make sense of them. He will begin to after New Years (in the story's time line) after some certain events.

Thank you to everyone that reviewed the last chapter. And thank you to all my readers who continue to read this story. And of course, many thanks to Drae, my beta.