---Dedicated in part to those reviewers who asked about the timelines.
---The Presentation is in chapter 14!
Chapter 13 – Saturday, 19 October – Morning/Afternoon
Harry apparated back to the forest entrance at ten o'clock and resituated the bag holding his purchases that hung over his left shoulder. He couldn't help but smile as he traveled through the tunnels back to Salazar's Quarters. Draco was waiting for him there and he hadn't seen his bond-mate in a week. A whole week! Maybe he could drag Draco's nose out of that tome and snuggle for a while…
Draco looked up at opening of the bedroom door and smiled over at Harry. He let his book fall closed as Harry quickly made his way over and swept Draco up into a fierce hug. Harry held on tightly and reveled in the surging of the bond after a week's absence.
Draco was surprised at the intensity of Harry's greeting but returned the hug enthusiastically and offered politely, "Hello, Harry. How were your errands?"
"Fine," Harry mumbled into Draco's neck. "I missed you."
"You've only been gone two hours, Harry," Draco said wryly, nevertheless relishing Harry's possessiveness.
"No," Harry mumbled, "Been gone a week." Harry continued his tight hold on Draco. He hadn't realized quite how much he missed Draco until just now.
"What!" Draco exclaimed. "You turned a week! Why!" Draco asked, pushing Harry away slightly so he could look the other boy in the eye. "Surely you know a bond this strong likes close proximity in the beginning! And you just stretched it for what!"
"I had a bunch of stuff to do," Harry tried to reason with his incensed bond-mate. "I had to commission our robes and…"
"Our robes couldn't have taken that long to make!" Draco interrupted angrily.
"They're special. At least yours…," Harry protested.
"Harry," Draco interrupted once again. "They can't be all that special to need a week!"
"And I brought you a present," Harry offered in an attempt to derail Draco's scolding.
Draco stopped, momentarily distracted. "A present?" he asked. He liked presents.
"Yes, of course, a present," Harry said, relieved that he had managed to sidestep some of Draco's growing ire. "It is traditional for partners to exchange presents, you know."
"Of course I know. You didn't have to," Draco said even though he was eagerly looking forward to what Harry had bought him. "Don't think this gets you out of explaining why you went back a week," Draco added sternly.
"Of course I did," Harry said. "And I went back a week because your robes are very special. They took me six nights to finish."
Draco was taken aback. "Six nights?" he asked in disbelief. "What do you mean? What did you do?"
"I'll tell you later, I promise. Can we snuggle for now? Please?" Harry practically whined.
Draco assessed Harry a moment then smiled gently. "Sounds like you put a lot of effort into my robes," he said, once again wrapping his arms around Harry.
"Yes," Harry agreed, happily sticking his face back into Draco's neck.
"And you got me a present," Draco said softly.
"Yes, of course I did," Harry said distractedly, breathing in the scent of Draco.
"And you've been missing me a whole week so you could do this," Draco said as he ran his hands over Harry's back.
"Yes," Harry said, sinking into the feeling of the bond.
"Well, then," Draco said suggestively, "I think the bond needs a bit of reaffirmation, don't you?"
Harry would have answered but he was too busy responding to Draco's kiss as the other boy pulled him down to the floor. And, really, who was he to argue?
Draco lay on his back on the hearth rug staring up at the tiled ceiling. Harry had been quite responsive in their earlier activities, nearly desperate in fact. Now, though, Harry was resting comfortably against Draco as Draco ran a hand through the black hair. Stretching the bond like Harry had done wasn't such a good idea so early; it tended to snap back into place a little violently. There was no harm done, though, and the bond was now appeased and settled.
Still, Harry had been so needy for Draco. More so than Draco would have thought would be the case. He thought about that some. Given Harry's reaction, he wondered how close their bond was to being exclusionary. Probably pretty close. If the two of them continued with an intimate relationship, which seemed likely, then they would probably develop an exclusionary bond before too long. A few years, maybe. Such an outcome wouldn't be completely unexpected; about a quarter of the Gifted of Europe had exclusionary bonds. It wouldn't squeeze out prior bonds, like the Weasley twins, but it would keep either of them from forming new bonds. And Draco was completely fine with that. Possessively ecstatic, in fact. He wondered if Harry was.
"Just ask," Harry mumbled.
Draco chuckled. Evidently Draco's curiosity was getting the better of Harry. "I think our bond will become exclusionary. Are you all right with that?" he asked, concerned.
"Yes. I'm looking forward to it, actually," Harry said. And he had. Such a deep bond with another person had been one of Harry's dreams.
"Me, too," Draco said softly, happy at the truth he could feel through the bond at Harry's words. "Maybe," he offered optimistically, "if it happens soon enough you can use that as an excuse to not partner Weaslette."
"Maybe," Harry said with a tiny half-shrug. "I don't think it will, though. It usually takes a few years."
"I know. But you have the weirdest luck," Draco said with a snort.
"True," Harry agreed. Privately, though, he figured he would still have to deal with that mess.
"Harry?" Draco asked after a couple minutes of silence.
"Yes?" Harry said, already suspecting exactly what it was Draco wanted to know.
"How come it took so long on my robes? Just what did you do?" Draco asked. He was determined to get an answer this time.
A bit of abashedness filtered through the bond to Draco as Harry answered, "Well, I spelled them myself."
Draco frowned in puzzlement. "You spelled them yourself? That's nice, Harry, but what could you have possibly done that would have taken you six days?"
"Nights," Harry corrected.
"Whatever," Draco said. "Six nights, then."
"Well, you know there are runes on the edges, right?" Harry asked
"Yes," Draco answered, still mystified. "One hundred eighty of them."
"Right. I spelled each thread of each rune individually for various protections," Harry said matter-of-factly.
Draco sat up quickly, dislodging Harry from his resting spot on Draco's belly. "What!" he exclaimed in shock.
"Oomph." Harry glared accusingly at Draco as he was unceremoniously dumped to the floor then pulled Draco back down to the floor to once again lay his head on Draco's belly.
Draco rolled his eyes but brought a hand up to card through Harry's hair. He supposed if the other boy had spent such effort that he did deserve some of the head petting he seemed so addicted to. Draco was still getting his answers, though. "Well?" he demanded.
"I spelled them," Harry said petulantly. "I cast the protection spells on the individual strands and then embroidered each strand into a rune. Each rune took about ten minutes; all of them together took about thirty hours."
"Wow," Draco said in surprise. He'd never had someone spend so much time on something for him. "That's amazing, Harry. A lot more than I expected. A lot more than anyone could expect. I bet they're grand."
"They are," Harry agreed.
"What about the image," Draco asked curiously. "Did you spell that, too?"
"Well, it's special but not spelled special," Harry said. "It has a lot of magic in it and it projects a certain aura."
Draco frowned. "You mean can tell what you were thinking when you made it by touching it?"
"Yes. Or looking at it. I think you'll like it," Harry said.
"I'm sure I will, Harry," Draco said softly. How could he not? Harry had spent a week's effort on something Draco would probably wear less than a dozen times a year. "At least now I understand why you went back a week."
"Hmmm," was Harry's only response as he continued to enjoy the fingers running through his hair.
"Harry?"
"Hmmm?" Why was Draco so chatty? What was so wrong about a nice quiet snuggle right about now?
Draco snorted at the spike of sleepy peevishness he felt in the bond and shook his head. "How come you're only seventeen?" he asked.
"What?" Harry asked nonplussed. What kind of question was that? Draco knew when Harry's birthday was.
"You have a weekly time-turner. You just used it to go back a week to bespell my robes. How come you haven't used it every week since you first got hold of it? How come you only doubled your summers? Merlin knows I would be thirty by now," Draco admitted.
"Can't," Harry said. "S'got limits on it."
Draco frowned. "Time-turners don't have limits on them. Well, except for the whole you can't encounter yourself rule. That's why the Ministry restricts their use so much."
"That's for the little ones that only go back a maximum of twenty-four hours. The bigger ones for days and weeks have got limits," Harry explained.
"Really? What kind of limits?" Draco had never heard of such a thing. Of course, he'd never heard of a weekly time-turner either so that wasn't saying much.
Harry dragged his mind up where it was trying to sink into a somnolent state from Draco's attentions, resigning himself to a conversation with his ever curious bond-mate. "The weekly one only goes back one week. It's one week or nothing. And it can only double up time not triple or quadruple it. So, you can only time-turn the same week once. And it can only take one person. And it can only be activated twelve times in any given twelve months. So I use it for the summers since there are only nine full weeks."
"Oh," Draco said. Well, that was slightly disappointing. "But what about last summer? I thought you said it was tripled."
"It was. It was special because of the ritual."
"Oh. I'd wondered," Draco said. Still, Draco figured if it was him he'd have turned as much time as he could. Maybe Salazar put restrictions on Harry's use of the time-turners? "Why didn't you use the weekly time-turner instead of the ritual for your transition? Why go through all that effort? In fact, why do it at all?"
"I couldn't use the time-turner because of paradox problems," Harry said. "If I'd jumped back a week then I would have lived through my astrological sixteenth birthday again and been subject to transition a second time. Merlin knows what would have happened."
"Oh," Draco said, blinking. "I didn't think of that."
"My only options were to either disappear or do something that let me live through my birthday multiple times without paradox," Harry continued.
"The ritual," Draco said in understanding.
"Yes," Harry said.
"But why do it at all?" Draco asked again. "Why not just disappear for that week?"
"I was scared," Harry admitted. "Vol…he'd been resurrected but he was so quiet. Nobody knew what he was up to. Some hints had been dropped that if they couldn't determine what kind of attack he was planning that I would have to be guarded extra heavily whenever I left Hogwarts. If that had happened I didn't think I'd be able to sneak away without getting caught and I'd be stuck with whoever Dumbledore picked for me. So that meant I had to stay here. I could have done that easily but I didn't want to just disappear for the summer; that would have brought down way too much attention. Even disappearing for a week would have been too suspicious."
"But he did attack," Draco said, confused. "Did they still say they were going to guard you heavily?"
"No. But by that time it was too late. He attacked the ministry on June fourth. I set the anchor and stayed in Salazar's chambers starting on the first, remember. I was already on my second pass by the time I found out about the attack."
"Right, right. And your summer?" Draco asked.
"Was normal and I was able to turn every week. That world tour was a last minute decision. I hadn't thought I'd be able to do anything," Harry said.
"But how did you never get caught? Either during the summers or here at school?" Draco asked. If he was going to join Harry in lessons he was going to need to know.
"I keep very accurate notes when I'm turning time for lessons," Harry said strongly. "I time back to fifteen minutes before I arrived and wait in the alcove opposite Octavia, behind that suit of armor. When I hear myself hissing the password I leave and continue walking. The only thing I have to be careful about is if someone is following me in the first place and I have something that helps with that now, though at first it was just being careful. It's the same for the weekends. I'm very, very careful about when I jump back when I'm here at Hogwarts because I'm always cutting it so close."
"And during summer?" Draco asked. He hadn't realized how involved it would be to use a time-turner.
"The summers are a lot easier," Harry said matter-of-factly. "There are two reasons for that. One, I don't have to worry about the timing so much and usually just apparate back to the Dursley's house an hour or two after I leave, like today. Plus…"
"There isn't an anti-apparition ward at that place?" Draco asked, surprised. That was stupid. Honestly, that was one of the first wards that should be erected to protect someplace. It was the first ward Severus had taught him, as a matter of fact.
"There is," Harry said. "I'm just keyed into it."
"You are? But why? When?" Why key in someone who, supposedly, didn't know how to apparate?
"I don't know why or when," Harry answered. "From my study of the wards I know that there is a handful of people keyed into them. I don't know who they are but I'm one of them."
"Huh. Dumbledore and some of his Order, probably," Draco said thoughtfully.
Harry shrugged. "Probably. So, I just apparate from my room to France. The Dursley's go to church on Sundays, so I do it then. I leave at eight in the morning and come back at ten. I turn time at my destination, usually, so I'm not in danger of catching myself."
"He doesn't happen to have another one, does he?" Draco asked suddenly.
Harry frowned into Draco's belly. "What? A weekly time-turner?"
"Yes," Draco said. Maybe he and Harry could spend their next summer together.
"No," Harry answered.
Draco deflated. "Too bad," he said sadly.
Harry snorted at Draco's disconsolate tone.
"Could he teach me to make one?" Draco asked, perking up as he thought of the possibility.
Harry chuckled at Draco's eagerness. "Maybe, but I doubt it. They were a gift from Rowena."
"But he taught you that ritual," Draco protested.
"That was different," Harry said.
"How?" Draco asked petulantly.
"It was a ritual," Harry said soothingly, "not time magic per se. There were elements of time magic, yes, but the primary aspect was ritual magic. You don't have to understand time magic theory to do the appropriate calculations or properly set up the ritual. But to make a time-turner? Well, you have to understand the theory of time magics and you have to know how to enchant objects. Besides, evidently the theory behind the big time jump of the ritual is different than the theory behind hourly versus daily versus weekly time-travel."
"That doesn't make sense," Draco said, frowning. "It's all time-travel."
"Salazar told me that Rowena once explained it to him with rubber-bands. The difference between each type of time-travel is like the differences between rubber-bands. All rubber-bands have similar properties but how far they stretch before breaking and how far you can shoot one depends on their size and thickness." Harry remembered that explanation well. Salazar had had a rather pained look on his face when relaying the simplistic explanation. Harry had stared at his mentor's expression and decided not to ask. And based on all the tedious calculations he'd had to do for the ritual, Harry had decided he really didn't want to know any more about the topic of time theory at all.
Draco sighed in disappointment. "All right. Have you ever met her? Rowena, I mean?"
"Once," Harry said.
"Could I meet her? Maybe I could ask her to teach me," Draco said, running possibilities through his head.
"You could," Harry said doubtfully, "but you'll have to have a better reason than just because I want to. She's pretty strict from what I could tell and what Salazar has said. Sort of like McGonagall."
"All right," Draco said. A moment later he added, "We should get up and take a shower so we can get dressed."
Harry propped himself up on an elbow and looked down at Draco in disbelief. "It's not even noon," he protested.
"Well," Draco said anxiously, "we need plenty of time to prepare."
Harry stared at Draco a moment and realized that the underlying tension running through the bond wasn't from Draco's unsatisfied curiosity but from his nervousness.
"No," Harry stated flatly.
"Bu…"
Draco never finished his protest as Harry decided that another round of "reaffirmation" might curb Draco's anxiety.
"Can… we get dressed…now?" Draco gasped out, desperately trying to remain standing.
"In a minute," Harry murmured, his head buried in Draco's shoulder.
They stood under the spray of the shower for several minutes, recovering from their latest bout of "let's keep Draco from thinking about his Presentation and driving Harry to distraction." Harry would never have thought Draco would be subject to pre-performance jitters. Harry wasn't so foolish as to think, and certainly not to mention out loud, that it was stage fright. No, he was certain Draco would be calm, cool, and perfectly collected the moment they stepped through the doors of the Great Hall.
Eventually Harry pushed himself away from the tiled wall, keeping Draco trapped between his arms. He looked at his bond-mate seriously. "You'll be fine."
Draco looked back a moment then gave a small smile. "I know."
Harry leaned in and kissed Draco gently. It was a kiss of reassurance, acknowledgement, and a deepening affection. It was sweet and full of future promise. "Let's rinse off and get ready," Harry said and pulled away.
Draco nodded and after they both rinsed off he turned to shut off the water as Harry grabbed a couple towels. "Just dry your hair, Draco. I'll take care of combing and braiding it, all right?"
Draco took the proffered towel and nodded. "Sure." He was actually rather glad Harry was going to tend his hair; he was certain it would take him forever to get the little side braids even. Best to have someone else do it. Fishing drying off, he wrapped the towel around his waist and turned to Harry to find the other boy already combing his own hair.
Draco studied Harry's back for a moment, shifting his vision a bit so he could see the remaining scars. Despite his efforts, he hadn't been able to get rid of all of Harry's scars this week. He had every intention of keeping to his promise, however. Before the year was out Draco would ensure all those scars were gone. He was reminded, though…
"Harry?"
Harry turned to Draco, setting the comb back down on the counter, "Yes?"
"Didn't you say you were going to drop the glamour over your age?" Draco said. Draco could sort of see through that piece of Harry's glamour, but not very well, certainly not as well as he could see through to specific injuries. He wanted to see what Harry really looked like and what better time than when the boy was naked?
Harry was startled a moment then flushed in embarrassment. "Oops?" he said. He had completely forgotten.
Draco laughed. "Take it down now. I want to see you," he said.
Harry nodded and closed his eyes. Draco watched in fascination as Harry's image seemed to melt into a new, but not very different, form. Raking his eyes slowly over Harry from head to toe, Draco compared the changes. The hair was longer; it now fell to the middle of Harry's shoulder blades. Draco nodded in approval; Harry was going to show his position as Head of Family. "Do you have your Lord's ring?" he asked. This would be an excellent time to display Harry's status.
Harry nodded. "I'll wear it tonight. Do you have your Heir's ring?" he asked back.
"Yes, of course," Draco said absently and continued his perusal. Harry's shoulders and chest were a bit wider and more developed; a young man's chest instead of a boy's. His arms and legs and torso were slightly more muscled; they weren't overly large but it was apparent that Harry worked his body at more than just flying a broom. Not stunning changes, but overall they gave Harry a greater presence. "Very nice," he said approvingly.
Harry smiled. "I'm glad you think so," he said. "Shall we?" Harry motioned to the door into the bedroom.
Draco walked out the bathroom door and headed towards the low table that held the bag Harry had returned with earlier. The bag was certain to hold Harry's robes as well as Draco's but Draco was unabashedly more interested in what his robes looked like and what his present was. Harry snatched the bag away before Draco could grab hold.
"Damn it, Harry!" Draco scowled at his smirking Guardian.
"No peeking," Harry said with a grin, perfectly aware that he was taunting Draco with all the mysterious goodies in the bag.
"It's been hours," Draco said. He did not whine. He was a Malfoy.
"And another ten minutes won't hurt you," Harry said unsympathetically. At Draco's pathetic look Harry rolled his eyes and said, "I'll give you a couple packages to open while I comb your hair, all right?"
Appeased, Draco nodded and sat expectantly on the settee. Harry pulled a couple gift boxes out of the bottomless bag and moved the bag to a nearby chair. "Come sit on the table so it's easier for me to reach your hair," Harry said as he held out the boxes and pulled out the comb from where he'd placed it in the waist of his towel on his way out of the bathroom.
Draco obligingly shifted to the table and took the boxes eagerly. "I love presents," he said excitedly.
Harry laughed and started on Draco's hair. "Open the little one first. I'll tell you about them after you open each one."
"All right," Draco agreed and turned his focus to his presents. He untied the fancy ribbon on the small package and took off the lid, exposing colorful tissue paper. Moving aside the first layer exposed a very thin pair of gloves made of knitted…acromantula silk? "Harry, is this…?"
"Yes," Harry replied. "Acromantula silk. Keep going."
Impressed, Draco continued, eventually revealing socks, a long-sleeved turtle-necked undershirt and full-legged underpants, all of knitted acromantula silk. "Merlin, Harry," he said, amazed, "I don't own anything in acromantula silk. Father says it's too expensive to buy for a growing boy."
"Well, that's true, but you're nearly full grown and these are spelled to fit themselves to you. Within reason, of course," Harry said as he continued to gently detangle the white hair.
Draco merely nodded. Still…
"They're also spelled for temperature and to protect you against hide garments," Harry added.
"Merlin, Harry, if you keep going I might just want to never take them off," Draco said wryly, trying to cover his surprise at such a fine gift. Harry chuckled at his comment and Draco asked, "Why gloves? Same reason?"
"Yes," Harry said. "They're to be worn under hide gloves. Open the next box."
Draco repackaged his new undergarments and set them aside only half reluctantly. He couldn't wait to put them on but…there was another present… As he untied the ribbon on the new – much larger – box Draco decided it probably held the hide pants and high-necked shirt that formed the base of a Healer's traditional garb. And, indeed, setting aside the lid and digging through the tissue revealed medium gray hide. Running a finger over it, Draco tried to determine which type of dragon had provided his new clothes.
"It's basilisk," Harry said, putting the comb back into the waist of his towel and setting his hands on Draco's shoulders.
"From the one you killed?" Draco asked curiously.
"Yes," Harry said. "It's not quite as spell-resistant as dragon-hide but that is balanced by it being lighter, thinner, and just generally more supple. It allows greater flexibility than dragon hide. And, personally, I'd rather dodge a spell than hope that my armor is going hold up."
"Good point," Draco said. "And since I'm agile, this won't hinder me like dragon hide would."
"Exactly," Harry said. "These have been spelled to help protect you from magical and physical attack."
Draco nodded in understanding then twisted his body to look up at Harry and asked eagerly, "Shall we get dressed?"
Shaking his head in amusement, Harry said, "Sure. Hand me the bag so I can get my things?"
Draco did as asked then immediately dove back into his packages. Oh, he couldn't wait to feel the silk against his skin and run his hands over the basilisk hide. Harry smiled at Draco's antics and pulled out the boxes that held his own undergarments and hide clothes.
"How do they fit?" Harry asked when they were both dressed.
"Perfectly," Draco said, somewhat surprised. "Are the spelled?" He hadn't thought that was possible with the hides of magical creatures.
"No," Harry said. "I, uh, snagged a couple of your hairs before I left. The tanner and seamstress both have mani-clones." Merlin, he hoped Draco didn't get mad about that.
Draco raised an eyebrow. Those were expensive. Only the most prestigious clothiers could afford to purchase, much less keep licensed, the magical manikins that would alter form with the addition of a client's hair. Although, given the quality of the garments so far, he really shouldn't be surprised. "Oh. You could have told me, you know. I've done that before and I'm fine with it."
Harry let out a sigh of relief. "Good. I wasn't sure. Next layer?"
Draco nodded and eagerly took the new gift box Harry pulled from the bag. Draco sat on the settee and opened the box, revealing the floor length under-robe. The robe was designed to show off the hide beneath it; sleeves had been eliminated and the neckline swooped low to mid-chest and only buttoned from there to the hips before splitting open freely from hips to floor. He put it on and started work on the two dozen little buttons, only peripherally aware of Harry pulling out another box and doing the same.
Harry finished his buttons and looked up to see Draco studying him. "The velvet is a nice choice," Draco said, running a hand over the robe. "What fabric did you choose for your outer dress robe?"
"Me," Harry said in disbelief. "Believe me, Draco, I chose nothing. I am as completely inept at fashion as you've always believed. The designer chose. But to answer your question, I've no idea. Shall we find out?"
Draco snickered and nodded, gesturing to the bag now sitting on the low table. Harry pulled out another box and quickly opened it, pulling out a robe of heavy brocade. "Nice," Draco murmured. "Put it on."
Harry shrugged the heavy garment onto his shoulders, letting the full sleeves and open style front fall as they will. "Turn," Draco said. Harry obeyed and slowly turned in a full circle to let Draco evaluate his appearance. "You look resplendent, Harry," he said. And he did, standing there in black on black on black he looked every inch the young lord he was.
"Thank you," Harry said, smiling a bit in embarrassment. "I'll pass along your comment."
"No. Let me," Draco said. "I think I might want to meet this designer of yours."
"Sure," Harry said agreeably then once again opened the bag and pulled out a package. He passed the package to an eager Draco and sat on the chair to pull on the boots he had left there earlier when they had cleaned up from their activities on the floor. Since Draco had admitted a bit of envy over them when he'd been taking them off Harry, Harry figured Draco would be delighted that he now owned a similar pair of basilisk hide boots complete with optional color charm.
"Ooooh," Draco cooed over the boots. He spent the next several minutes caressing the boots and playing with the color charm before Harry got impatient.
"Just put them on, you nut," Harry said. "And reset the color."
Draco sniffed but did indeed put on the boots. "Do I get to see my robe now?" he asked a minute later, eager to see the robe Harry had spent so much effort on.
"Of course," Harry said and pulled out the next to last large box from the bottomless bag and handed it over. He watched Draco closely; he didn't want to miss any part of Draco's expression when he examined the robe.
"Finally!" Draco exclaimed and Harry chuckled at the childlike delight Draco was displaying.
Draco opened the box and moved the tissue. For a moment he was curious about the shimmering effect his saw on the runes embroidered on the light gray robe and then widened his eyes as he realized what they were made of. "Unicorn hair," he breathed.
"Yes," Harry said.
"Merlin," Draco breathed and pulled the garment out of its box reverently. "Merlin. Where did you get so much?"
"From the herd stallion in the forbidden forest," Harry said. "He was very helpful."
"The herd stallion," Draco said in stunned disbelief.
"Yes," Harry said, well aware of the significance. "Harvested by moonlight."
"Merlin," Draco said yet again, unable to form a coherent sentence in the face of such a gift. Unicorn hair willingly given was more potent than strands simply collected from where they'd been caught in bushes or bark. It was again more potent if harvested by moonlight. And the hair from a herd stallion was even more potent still. To use such hairs in embroidered protection runes… "How?" he managed to get out.
"I asked a snake to be an intermediary between me and the unicorns and ask the herd stallion if I could get the cooperation of his herd for my project. He agreed and was the one to donate his time and hair," Harry explained, gratified that Draco understood the value of the hair. "Here. Give it to me," he said softly.
"Why?" Draco said, holding the robe to himself, unwilling to let go of such a fine garment.
Harry smiled and said gently, "Let me show you the back and then you can put in on. All right?"
Draco nodded agreeably enough but still only reluctantly handed over the robe. Harry took the robe, turned it around, and held it up so Draco could see the image of the stallion on the back.
Draco inhaled sharply and reached out to run a finger over the fabric near the embroidered image. Acromantula silk again, he noted absently. Heavier than the undergarments and woven instead of knitted. "Is that…?" he asked.
"Yes, that's him. This is what he looked like the very first time I saw him. I couldn't get him out of my mind, so I used that memory for the image. It seemed appropriate since it was his hair," Harry said.
"He's beautiful," Draco said, entranced.
"Yes, he is," Harry agreed.
Draco dropped his hand from where he'd been stroking the fabric near the stallion's head. "I can't believe I'm going to be wearing this," he said awed. "I see what you mean about the aura. Was he really like this?" He could feel the strength and confidence and authority of the stallion emanating from the artwork. He could feel the sheer power of the beautiful animal.
"Oh, yes," Harry said, closing his eyes a moment in remembered awe. "He was amazing. Do you want to put it on or look at it for a while?"
"I better put it on or I just might sit here all night looking at it," Draco said, quite serious.
Harry laughed but nodded and helped Draco into the heavy silk robe, settling it comfortably. "Sit here on the table again so I can braid your hair," Harry said.
"It won't hurt the image, will it?" Draco asked worriedly.
"No, the image is high enough you won't sit on it," Harry said, pressing on Draco's shoulder.
Harry pulled out the last two boxes from the bag and handed the large one to Draco. "This is your Gifted cloak. The tanner had a hard time getting the right color – for some reason basilisk hide doesn't seem to like blue – but it came out fine eventually. There's also a pair of matching gloves for whenever you go outside."
Draco opened the box and pulled out the gloves, setting them aside so he could bring out the long and not-heavy cloak. He figured it was spelled lighter like his father's dragon hide cloak was. The cloak was a lovely midnight blue and was cut in the traditional style for a Gifted wizard: the hood was large and could be pulled over his head far enough to completely hide his face and the right panel overlapped all the way the left side of the body so no one could see the color of his Gifted robes before being revealed by his Guardian. It was also from basilisk hide.
"It's very nice, Harry. Thank you. Everything is very nice. I don't know what to say, really. You're going to run out of basilisk hide at this rate," Draco said, overwhelmed by how well Harry had provided for him today. This went beyond any of Draco's expectations, even knowing that Harry had access to sufficient funds.
Harry smiled at him. "I'm glad you're pleased. Thank you is enough. I can feel how much you mean it. And that thing shed a skin every year for nearly a thousand years. Believe me, I have plenty of hide left," Harry said.
"Thank you," Draco said again, purposely projecting his gratitude across the bond.
Harry blinked for a moment then blushed. "I, uh, have your present," he said, holding out a small box.
Draco accepted the box and asked teasingly, "You're actually going to let me open it before I'm fully ready to go?"
"Uh, well," Harry stammered.
"Ah, I see," Draco said. "It's the clasps for my hair."
Harry laughed a bit and nodded sheepishly. "Yes. They'll go perfectly with your robes. Make sure to read the provenance in the lid."
Draco nodded and opened the lid to reveal a set of three cylindrical clasps: a large clasp that would go on his main braid and two tiny clasps that would go on the two small decorative braids that would fall from just in front of his ears. They were exquisite. They were worth a small manor. They were made from unicorn horn. "Harry, I can't…," he strangled out.
"Read the provenance," Harry said firmly.
So Draco did. He read about how nearly four hundred years ago Richard Potter had commissioned the clasps for his only grand-daughter, Beatrice Montaigne. Beatrice had only lived six weeks after her Presentation as a Healer, killed in some random raid during the Thirty Years War. Richard had placed the items in the Potter vault with the admonishment that they were to be given as the Presentation gift to the next Healer associated with the Potter family. Evidently, that would be him. As Lord, Harry would be bound to honor the man's request. And that meant these now belonged to Draco. Draco couldn't speak.
Harry said nothing, instead opting to start on one of Draco's little braids. A couple minutes later he took out one of the smaller clasps and attached it the end of the braid. The little clasp – it was only about an inch tall and a quarter-inch thick – was heavier than it looked and caused Draco's braid to swing a little when it was released. Harry quickly made the second braid and fastened on the other little clasp before moving behind Draco to braid the remainder of the long white hair. Finishing the braid, Harry tapped on Draco's shoulder and held out a hand. Draco fingered the large clasp as it rested in the box. It was three inches tall and an inch wide; large enough to securely hold his main braid. It was so beautiful. And the carving... He'd need a magnifying spell to see all the detail. He lifted the heavy piece and placed it in Harry's palm. He couldn't believe he was going to wearing something like this.
Then Draco started to giggle. Then he started to laugh.
Harry smiled and fought to not join the infectious laughter. "Not that I mind your happy mood, but what brought this on?" he asked.
"Harry," he burbled, "my mother…" Grabbing control of his laughter, Draco shook his head and felt the clasps jump about. "My mother loves to wear expensive jewelry. It's all very tasteful, of course, but the more expensive the better. It's her way of showing off. She'll be wearing something hideously expensive tonight, but this…this will top anything she's ever thought about purchasing, much less worn. I can't wait until she sees them and realizes what they are." Draco continued to snicker.
Harry snickered as well then leaned in to kiss Draco quiet. "Vicious monster," he said in amusement. "Let's go."
"No, wait," Draco said quickly. "Your present, Harry."
Harry grinned. "You got me a present?"
"Of course, Harry. You didn't think I would forget did you? I brought it with me." He got up and went to the nightstand where he'd hidden Harry's present a few minutes after Harry had left that morning.
He handed the small box to Harry with a little shrug and a smile. "I guess it's the day for jewelry," he said.
Harry grinned and accepted the box. Opening it he found a bracelet of overlapping two-inch tall rectangles made of… Harry lifted the bracelet from its box and set the box aside to study the material of the bracelet; it was bright crimson with gold flecks.
"It's made from the eggshell of a Chinese fireball dragon," Draco explained. "They have the hottest flame of all the dragons and the eggshells are rumored to give protection from fire. My great-grandmother gave it to me just days before she died and told me to give it whomever I felt worthy of it. It belonged to her brother, Pierre Badeau."
Harry raised his eyebrows at the name. Interesting. Appropriate. "It's beautiful," he said and slipped the bracelet onto his left wrist and felt it constrict slightly to remain secure.
"I thought you would like it since it's in Gryffindor colors. Of course, now I know you're really a Slyherin…" Draco trailed off, uncertain now as to how Harry would receive his gift.
"That's all right. I really like it. It's beautiful. Thank you," he said, and kissed Draco again, making sure to project his pleasure and gratitude.
Draco flushed in response. "Now we can go," he said.
Harry grinned and picked up Draco's cloak and gestured towards the door. "After you."
