Chapter 11: The Rest of the 'Happy Holidays'
(A/N: This chapter and the next few that follow have some homosexual topics. If you're offended, please feel free to skip ahead, though I guarantee you'll miss things. I personally have nothing against them; they're cool because they stand up for what they believe in. Unfortunately, I do not know many gay people, so if you find and inaccuracies, please let me know show I can change them right away! Thanks!)
Draco sat in the Hall at breakfast the next morning, munching thoughtfully on a bagel (A/N: Bagels are like Fluffy-wuffy pillows). So far, since yesterday, that is, Ginny hadn't taken him up on his offer, and Potter had clearly done nothing in response to the owl he'd received. All in all, it was not the best way to start his Christmas Eve day.
Just as he was close to finishing, two boys approached him. They were fifteen and fourteen, one a Ravenclaw and the other a Hufflepuff, respectively. He eyed them warily as he left the Great Hall, but they just inched closer as he tried desperately to lose them. Finally, he angrily spun around to face them. "What is wrong with you two?"
One looked surprised; his companion looked sad. The former asked the latter, "You mean he doesn't know?"
To which he got the reply, "No, he's probably just in denial." He then faced Draco. "We know the truth. You shouldn't hide things like that just because you think there's something wrong with it. It's perfectly natural, you know, to feel that way. But, the last thing you want to do is bottle it up inside." His friend nodded empathetically.
Draco wrinkled his forehead. "What the hell are you talking about? What feelings?"
The boy, the Ravenclaw, clucked knowing. "Like I said; denial. It's perfectly alright to have feelings for him. A lot of the girls around here can empathize. After all, he is Harry Potter."
"WHAT?"
But the Hufflepuff shook his head. "No, not here. You need to come to terms with what you are. And our friends are just the people to help you do it. Shall we, Bob?"
Bob nodded. "Sure, Louis. Lead the way."
They took the much taller boy by his elbows and made him walk down the halls with them. One or two girls pointed and laughed as they passed; whatever the news was, it was spreading. As they began to pass into territory unfamiliar to Draco, he asked, "So, where exactly are you taking me?"
"No," Louis told him gleefully, "not until we get there. It would be terrible to spoil the surprise for you. But, trust me, Mr. Malfoy; you will most certainly be among friends."
Draco highly doubted this, and showed as much. Bob laughed. "Mr. Malfoy- or, do you prefer Draco?"
"Mr. Malfoy will work, thanks," he responded flatly.
Bob continued, "Well, Draco, we've already established you're in denial. So, if you're refuting the actual existence of your real self, then how do you know who your friends are? And no, it's Draco. We're all the same here." Guidance Counselors scared Draco. And that's exactly what Bob was.
Draco was about to reply when the magnitude of Bob's great words hit him. Or, at least, made him stumble, ever-so-slightly. Did he really know who his friends were? Among Slytherins, it was all about your class, your year, your rank among your year. Next year he would be all-powerful among his fellow Slytherins, but only if he played the part of a spoiled, rich, muggle hating brat for long enough. Not that it was hard; it was a role that he'd been playing for as long as he'd been alive, a role that many times he had a hard time believing wasn't actually his real nature, like some people told him.. After all, old habits, if that's what they were, are hard to brake.
It was amazing how much he thought about it this year. With every insult he threw, or rumor he helped spread, he wondered if this was the real him. (After all, something had to keep him occupied in class when he was sure he already knew it all.) It disturbed him greatly, but he wasn't sure with whom the blame rested for its beginning. Maybe it was Kera. The girl, for all the strange, often unscrupulous-looking things she did, she seemed to have a very keen, innate sense of right and wrong. It really was a shame she always chose to ignore it, except when it was time for Draco's weekly moral lecture.
"We're here," declared Louis happily, indicated a strange portrait. One half was a man, in a black suit accompanied with matching bushy moustache; his other half was a plump lady with fake honey tresses, clothed in a brilliant pink masterpiece of fabric.
Bob extended his hand as far as it would go and poked the portrait dead center, right on the nose. It sneezed violently, and the portrait swung open. Inside was a brightly lit room full of an odd assortment of plastic chairs and a few rather destitute looking tables. Clustered around were a group of girls and boys from all houses; the youngest, however, was at least a third year. They were all chatting comfortably and only a few looked up and waved at the newcomers. "This is where we meet," he explained.
"Who meets?"
"The AHWW. Well, actually, we're the JAWHH, UK school division," Louis seemed impressively proud, and Draco was just confused.
"What?"
"JAHWW. The Junior Association of Homosexuals in the Wizarding World. We're a group for people with feelings like ours to come and discuss our them in a secure environment among friends." Louis sounded like he was quoting some sort of handbook. Draco wouldn't have been too surprised to find out that these wizard Brownies did have one. "There's no pressure to join, honestly. We just brought you here because today's subject is the Golden Trio." Great, they even have their own secret language, he thought.
"The Wada-what?"
"The Golden Trio," Louis sighed. He looked meaningfully at Bob, who just smiled that 'you were new too' smile. "You know, Harry Potter and his two friends, Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger? They're practically gods to those of us who would be oppressed by You-Know-Who otherwise. A lot of us have crushes on at least one of them. Come on, we're late."
The three boys took seat. It began to occur to Draco what was going on here. "So, who the hell told you I'm in love with Harry Potter? And why did you believe them?"
"Oh, a very reliable source. They thought we'd be the best people to help you come to terms."
"Right." Draco eased into his chair a little way away from everyone else. Bob got up and cleared his throat importantly as everyone took their seats.
"Okay, so, is everybody here? Good. Now, we have someone very special joining us today, so I want you to all give a big hello to Draco."
"Hi Draco," they all replied, rather stupidly, in his opinion. Draco was pretty sure at least one or two of them were, or at least were giving the impression of being, high on something. It suddenly occurred to him that Crabbe and Goyle wouldn't look out of place here at all. So that's why they were always together.
After that, he was more or less ignored, which suited the Slytherin just fine. He sank lower and lower into his chair as girls talked of Hermione and boys of Harry and Ron. It scared him, but they all seemed fairly willing to accept that he clearly wasn't in a talking mood. Draco thoroughly approved of this. He spent his time thinking about girls.
First, there was Pansy. When he thought about her, he was actually thinking about all the girls he'd ever dated, up to a certain point. At first, around third or fourth year, she seemed pretty fun, always ready to 'try' something new. But then, as it happened with any other female he'd dated (and quite a few of those he'd gone even father with) they had always gotten moody and overprotective, like they expected to be the one to marry him. No one seemed to have figured out yet that he had no intention of marrying. Well, at least not until he was older than Dumbledore, maybe older still. But, before and even after they broke up, 'Draco Syndrome' often caused girls to curse anyone they thought was even looking at him, often with terrible results. Worst of all, it was now a common occurrence, since none of his actual flings ever lasted more than two or three weeks, though one or two would rekindle months later.
Then there was Ginny. He wasn't sure what to think of her. Maybe it was his old habit of insulting any redhead on the off chance it was a weasel, but she'd never responded to any of the looks he'd given her. He wanted her so badly; he oftentimes woke up in the middle of the night, sore from the thought of it. She spurned him, and it made the feeling worse. He'd talk it over with Kera who, in her normal way, told him not to get in an erection over it. But, then again, as disgusting as it sounded, what she said was true. Draco had thought about it, and that was definitely why. He didn't want to guess how the hell someone who had never been in a relationship before knew so much about them.
Luckily, because of it, he had Kera to slap him out of anything if it ever got to a serious point. She was a scything shrew, and would always be as hard and truthful as possible, but Draco knew her secret. Inside, she was scared of something, and this gave her an astoundingly stony exterior. It was the school, maybe, or the people in it. He'd had no clue (quite frankly he thought at first that she was in some sort of permanent PMS or this was just her personality), until they were forced to kissed a few days ago. Though she'd never spoken a word about it in four months, in one kiss she'd conveyed all her loneliness and sadness to him, and he'd nearly broken down under the weight of it all (now he was scared to ever get that close again). For all her attitude, Draco had a distinct feeling that being torn away from her family (and then not knowing that it had ever happened) was making her more subconsciously depressed than anyone could see. Being mocked by the school probably wasn't very uplifting either. (A/N: He of course would have no clue, as mockers can rarely empathize with their victims.)
Something inside Draco squirmed. Just a few weeks ago, he'd found out what it was. It seemed that somehow, over the summer, Draco had developed this bizarre thing some liked to call a conscience. At first, he believed it was some strange combination of Kera and what he thought Ginny would be like but no, it's name was Draco2. Now, it wouldn't leave him alone. Every time he even thought of doing something wrong, that nagging little voice would start up, sounding so much like the mother he'd never had. Draco had no clue how to kill it at the present time, but that didn't mean he wasn't still looking.
But now, someone must have started a rumor that he was gay. It wasn't Kera; he'd ordered her not to tell a soul, which meant she'd chuck herself off a tower before she'd talk (thought not from her own volition). Sure, he'd made lots of enemies, but most of them had graduated or were too scared to do anything. Except for one. And, who better to start a rumor that he was in love with Potter than scar boy himself?
This meant he must have found out the real reason he kissed Kera the other night. Or, more likely, Ginny found out and told him. The-Boy-Who-Won't-Die didn't have a reputation for being all that intelligent among those of green and silver.
The same girl who was occupying Draco's thought looked up when a glum voice said, "Is a Slytherin allowed to sit at the Gryffindor table?"
"Oh, hello Kera," Hermione said icily. Clearly, they all knew what she'd done, and now were too happy to see her again.
"I came to apologize," Kera mumbled, head down, "but I can go away if you want." She turned, and was about to shuffle off, when Ginny spoke up.
"The school rules can go sod off for once; it is Christmas Eve. Sit down Kera, and tell us what you want."
She sat down gratefully. "So, why are you four in here so late? It's almost eleven."
Ginny shrugged. "I don't know about them, but I had a late night. What did you need to tell me?"
"I came to apologize." Kera's head, which was up a moment before, now sank back on her shoulder. "I'm really sorry about the other night. What I did was… wrong. Really wrong. I wish I could tell you why I had to but-" Kera began to cough violently. It went on for a steady minute or two, as Ginny watched in horror. "Sorry,' she apologized when it subsided. "See, that seems to happen every time I try to talk about it. In fact, something like that happens every time I try to talk about things like that."
"Like what?"
"Things I've been told not to talk about." Kera shrugged. Her face was pale, and there were dark rings under both eyes. Oddly, there was no sign of any sneezing, though not to their disappointment. She began to cough again, even more than the last time. Even Ron, whose slowness on the uptake was legendary, looked a bit scared. It would do nothing to help Gryffindor reputation if a Slytherin dropped dead at their table.
"Kera," Hermione asked, "Have you gone to Madame Pomfrey about this?"
"No, I didn't think it was that big a deal. I mean, I'll just have bad days like this everyone once and a while. It's been happening for months now. All that ever happens in the end is, I get really tired, but it seems I'm always tired nowadays, so it's no extravaganza, right?"
Hermione clearly didn't share her views. "Well," she replied doubtfully, "if it ever last more than a day you should really go to the infirmary. You've got all the characteristics of one of the Silencing Curses. I read that Death Eaters use them to weaken down strong opponents for months on end, before they captured their target and placed them under the Imperius Curse."
"And," Harry pointed out, "you were staying with the Malfoys all summer. Actually, even longer than that, right? How do you know they aren't trying to put you under a curse?"
Kera raised her eyebrows and gave a hollow laugh. "The Malfoys? No way, I just work as a servant for them. As long as I clean everything and keep my infamous mouth tightly shut, I highly doubt they care what I do with what little is left of my time. Besides," she looked at all of them for conformation, "you've seen me with my wand. What could the Death Eaters want with a half squib like me?"
Ron shrugged. Ginny opened her mouth, but Kera cut her off brightly, "Hey, you guys want to come skating with me? I check the lake this morning, and it's more than frozen enough, even at the center."
"Sure," said Hermione. The others looked doubtful. "We never did much skating, it never got cold enough where we lived," Ginny said. Ron nodded to back her up.
"The Dursleys wouldn't even let me watch TV," Harry explained. Everyone but Hermione looked puzzled, but accepted it as his explanation of why he didn't skate.
"Don't worry, I can teach you! My old house was right by the water, on a small lake," Kera told them brightly. "It's a nice way to get around; a lot faster than walking or riding around the edge." They nodded, gaining confidence, and she decided that it would be good if she left them to make sure they actually could go skating. "I'll go down to see Hagrid about those skates. Meet me down there, okay?" She practically skipped off.
"Wow, I guess she really doesn't have many friends," Ron commented as soon as she was gone.
"You think?" asked Ginny sardonically.
"I don't care what she said," Hermione told her, "what she meant to be a reassuring explanation reeked of a curse. Though, I have to admit, why the Death Eaters would want to put her under the Imperius Curse is beyond me. Why they would need to weaken someone like her first makes even less sense."
"Yeah, I've seen her in class. We all know to duck and cover when she uses that wand," Harry told Ginny.
"Yeah, I know that, but I think I know why she'd be good to have on either side," Ginny responded. "Kera's got guts, and just because she can't perform the spells doesn't mean she doesn't know them. She told me she's in seventh year charms, and I've seen her papers a few times. Despite the impression she gives to her classmates, she definitely knows what she's talking about, and making a futile attempt to perform."
"Oh!" Hermione exclaimed, eyebrows shooting up. "Harry, you've … um… got yourself a guest."
Harry turned around. Ginny groaned. It was the Butter-Dish Girl. She stood there, trembling like some newly defrosted creature, blond hair in two cute curling pigtails. She must have been thirteen, or fourteen, but her eyes were shining like a five-year-old's. Clearly, Harry didn't recognized her, because he asked, "Oh hi. Can I help you?"
She opened her mouth, but nothing would come out. Furiously, she tried again, but came up only with a croak. Of, course, as in all good stories, the third time's the charm. "My name's Beatrice Diane Garrett! And you're Harry Potter." (A/N: Oh, would you look at that… BDG…)
He gave her a bemused smile, and her eyed rolled upward, either from ecstasy, or low blood sugar. "Well, that was… fun," Ginny broke the silence. She looked down at the unconscious, beaming girl. "Just a head's up, this is the girl that wanted your butter-dish memorabilia."
"What?" he replied absently.
"Harry, that's two girls so far. Next thing you know, this Garrett will be enchanting mistletoe. I just hope she isn't cursed as well."
"What," asked Ron, "are you really that mad just because someone in our year finally beat you at something?"
"No," snapped Hermione, blushing slightly. "I'm just saying that it all makes sense. I'm willing to bet her ability means she practiced this stuff before, or at least used to be really good at it. First side to correct whatever went wrong inside gets to tap into a nice wellspring of strong, usable magic."
Ginny caught on. "In other words, she'd naturally need to be weakened by the other side, because, despite her attitude, I've got a feeling Kera's got pretty sound morals, with the backbone to match."
"I guess I should stop making fun of her, then?" Ron asked. Harry covered his eyes with his hand and got up.
"Oh, you think?" asked Ginny sarcastically as she stood up.
"Come one, let's not leave Kera and Hagrid waiting," Harry told them.
"Ron, have you really been making fun of her?" Hermione asked as they left. She sounded rather disappointed in him.
"Well, nothing particularly bad or hideous… but I did come up with the Great Sneezdini." Harry snorted.
"Ron, you- what's that?"
They all paused outside the broom closet in the main hall. The doorknob was rattling, like someone was trying to get it open in the dark. Ron looked uneasily. "Maybe it's a ghost?"
Suddenly, the door swung open to reveal Neville pulling his belt tighter. Behind him, grinning like a house-elf was Cho. Her hair and shirt were wrinkled and she had the ridiculous look of someone who has just done something incredibly fun. She put his hand in her pocket and beamed. Neville nodded. "See you guys around." They exited arm in arm.
Ginny was looking a bit green. "I've heard of getting to a broom closet, but I've heard of anyone actually doing it."
Ron shrugged. "Well, Cho did always strike me as a sort of old fashioned girl. But, Neville? Hey, Harry, how come you and Cho never did anything like that?" Harry punched him on the arm. Ron winced, "Well sorry, I didn't know that that was still a sore sport. Can we get to Hagrid's already?"
Draco appeared from a cramped hall. "Thank god I made it out alive," he muttered. He spotted them and called out, "Potter! You seen Kera anywhere?"
Harry's hand clenched tight, but, before he could move forward to punch Malfoy, Ginny slipped her arm in his. Surprised, he hesitated, and it was enough time for her to whisper, "You're not supposed to know, remember?" He nodded, and she replied, "Why do you need to know?"
"I need to talk to her, that's why," he replied sarcastically.
Before Ron could tell Malfoy to go do something somewhere with someone, Hermione got in the way. "She's down at Hagrid's house. We were heading there now."
He nodded grimly and set off out the door. As they followed, Ron whispered, "He doesn't have a… thing, for Kera, does he?"
To which Harry and Ginny both automatically replied, "No."
"How do you guys know that?"
Ginny shook her head, "Just trust us on it."
When they got to Hagrid's hut, Kera was already there, out on the lake with her skates on, doing pirouettes with her large black skirt flapping and look for all the world like some strange black bird that found its way down south. As they approach Hagrid, they saw Malfoy wave her over and begin to talk vehemently to her. While he looked a bit flustered, she just smiled and gave him a hug. He left for the castle the exact way, but turned at the last minute. "Do you have another pair of skates?" he asked Hagrid.
Wordlessly, Hagrid dug another pair out of the box in his massive hands. Draco took them and ambled back to the lake. "Well now, ain't that interesting?" he remarked when the boy was out of earshot.
"What?" asked Harry curiously as he took his own pair.
"Wel, when little Kera came down here an' asked for the skates, she made sure t'were at least six pairs. Seems she knew he'd come. Are them two together?"
"What?" sputtered Hermione. "What makes you think that, Hagrid?"
He shrugged. "Not much, jus' some hoping on my part. The boys seems almos' civil when he with 'er. It's good to she you friends with Kera. She seems mighty short on them nowadays."
Hermione nodded. "We noticed. Say, Hagrid, is Kera very good at your class." She felt a bit guilty asking this, since she and her friends would've known the answer if they were still in his class. But, times changed, and no one was inclined to deal with anything akin to the monsters Hagrid exposed them to on previous occasions.
Hagrid smiled. "The child has an unnatural talent with my creatures, she certainly does. But, it's that sorcery that is so nice."
"Sorcery?"
"Well o' course. She, I unlike the other profess'rs, relized she ain't gonna get better at using spells if'n that sneeze o' hers gets in the way. So, when she told me she could do, sorcery, I said go ahead. There was one time a niffler got under me house, and she lifted the whole thing up without touching a thing. Not even a mug twas out o' place when I got a chance ta look. 'Course, she looked a tad bit sick afterward, but she told 'twas normal."
Hermione stared. "You're serious?"
He nodded.
As soon as they headed down to the lake, Hermione crossed her arms. "That'll be it, then," she told them.
"What?" Harry asked.
"Didn't you here Hagrid? Kera used sorcery to lift his house clear off the ground. She probably had to hold it there for a long time too, if they were looking for a rogue niffler. Plus, she didn't even have contact. What power-hungry maniac wouldn't want someone with that power on their team?"
"Yeah, but if Voldemort knew about her, she wouldn't be here right now, would she?" Harry told her.
"Well, you're probably right," Hermione frowned. "Do you think what Kera said is true? The Malfoys could have taken her in to protect her, a bit like the Dursleys did with you."
"Yeah, maybe."
"Draco, you skink, that's cheating!" Kera shrieked.
Draco swirled around her once more. "That's what I'm here for. Need a hand?" He gave her his. She pulled him down and skated off. "Hey!" Kera gave him her tongue.
"Maybe she has been with that family for five years. I'd think it would be impossible to be that friendly with that thing other wise," Ginny muttered.
Kera skated to the edge and came off the ice. Clopping up to them, she seized Harry and Ginny's hands. "Hermione, you show Ron how to do it. Come on, you guys are slow!"
Several minute later Hermione had sent Ron over to Kera, who'd already taught the others to be more than passable, and took some time for herself. Malfoy, who had thus far been an observer, skated over with a strange look on his face. "Yes?" she asked, preparing for a duel of insults.
But none came. Instead, he asked. "Are you four friends with Kera now?" He asked her curiously.
"Yeah, why?" What the heck was he trying to ask?
"Well, I heard weasel make fun of her the other day. I have an image to maintain."
"What's that suppose to mean?"
"Well, as she's the most unpopular kid in the school, I can't be openly kind to her in public. But, as you may have noticed, Granger, that doesn't mean she isn't my friend when no one is watching."
"Oh, that's so sweet and two-faced of you."
"Yeah, well how much do you know about it? Look, just tell weasel that if I ever get wind of him mocking her again, I'll kill him and make it look like an accident. Got it?"
"Sure," she shrugged.
"Good." He turned to skate off, but paused. "Oh, and, thanks mud-Hermione. Thanks for stepping in."
"What?"
"She's lonely." He wasn't acting like the rotten bastard she knew; his face had gone softer, like daylight breaking through after the storm. "I can't believe no one has noticed. She needed friends, the type that could be there, even in public. And, yeah, I do know how bad it looks from either perspective. You either lose your dignity or you keep it with the knowledge of what it means to her. I just hope you guys'll last even when the rest of the school returns. Hey, tell Kera I had to go back to the castle, but thanks for inviting me anyway."
Draco skated off, feeling very strange. He was hurting all over, not just the places where he'd fallen. And, it was an inside sort of hurt as well. Like years of pain breaking apart to reveal something unique underneath. He needed to talk to Kera, but she had other friends now. Draco was happy for her; it was the happy feeling of thinking about a favorite sister, if he ever had a chance to get one of those. For one reason or another, seeing her happy made him feel relieved. It looked liked Draco2 refused to leave.
Hermione stared at the boy's retreating back. Did that just happen? Ginny had once said that Kera told her something like, "'He's not such a bad guy, once you look at him for the hundredth time.'" She guessed Kera knew what she was talking about. Oddly enough, Draco seemed to care for Kera like a little sister, or a favorite cousin. He really was two-faced, but at least the faces were opposites.
Kera woke the next morning, feeling very happy. After all, it was Christmas Day. She looked at her bed; there were a tiny pile of present, but she felt lucky to have them. Unwrapping everything, she spread the gifts out on her freshly made bed. A small bracelet from Mrs. Malfoy, of all people, a small package of homemade cookies from Mrs. Weasley with a get-well note on it, a small glowing ball from Ginny, and a note from Draco. Come to the Boy's Dormitory.
Sighing with happiness, she thought that, in comparison, the gifts she made and sent out were paltry in comparison. As she entered Draco's room, she saw a large and brightly wrapped box on the bed. "Remember how I said I couldn't be your friend in public?" he asked her. She nodded quietly, and he grinned. "Well, this isn't public, you idiot. Open them up, servant girl."
Inside were five new black robes. She pulled them out. "Wait, but how did you know what size I am? Have you been going though my things?" she asked suspiciously.
He laughed. "Guys can't even get up the staircase, remember? You have the same measurements as my mom. Look again, though. There's more." He pulled out from behind his back a set of beautiful yellow pastel dress robes and threw them over her head. "I managed to convince my parents of your situation, and to get them expressed here."
She pulled them off, and was about to hug him, when she remembered what he thought about things like that. She dropped her arms, and her face went down to blush. "I don't know how to thank you for all of this. I would have been overjoyed just to get the cloth, and this is…" she trailed off.
He grinned. "You can blame me." Some remnant of his conscious from yesterday still lingered, and it screamed at him. "Hey Kera?" She looked up, and he carefully put his arms around her shoulders and pulled her in slightly. He breathed more easily when she returned it. They stood there for a few minutes, feeling so much like part of their own little family. "Merry Christmas."
Draco looked up. "Damn." They'd somehow found themselves under the mistletoe again, and a bizarre little creature was grinning devilishly at him. Kera looked up. "Uh-oh," she told him.
"Should we-"
"Better not risk it. Merry Christmas, Draco." They gave each other a short little kiss, and Kera laughed. "God, I wish I was Pansy sometimes." He snorted, and she gave him a playful punch.
(A/N: Well, err, there ya'll have it. I'm pretty sure next chapter should have some New Year's Resolutions, like Ron's not spend the remainder of his year as a vir – well, you'll find out for yourself. So… SUNDAY, SUNDAY, SUNDAY! CATCH THE NEXT CHAPTER OF FOUND IN THE FOREST SUNDAY!)