Chapter 21

"A fire is burning, the long night draws near,
All who need comfort are welcome by here.
We'll dance 'neath the stars and toast the past year,
For the spirit of solstice is still living here."
Song - Solstice Carole, by Saffie

21 December 2005

Draco

Draco walked into the ballroom, checking off each item from his list as he went. Linney walked next to him, occasionally clicking her fingers and fixing small items that must have appeared out of place to her discerning elf eyes.

The decorations were all in place, including the magically iced branches that grew out from the walls, giving the room a woodland air. Nearly one hundred and fifty candles were scattered throughout the ballroom, which really was just the formal parlour that'd been magically expanded based on the number of guests and activities required. The candles floated throughout the room and nestled into wall sconces, creating a warm glow and supplying light, and they reflected tastefully off the delicate gold, white, and red glass spheres that hung from the tree branches.

Everything smelt of the fresh evergreens that adorned nearly every free surface, and the large hearth was readied, the Yule log that he and Harry had chosen already seasoned and prepared to be lit.

"Draco?"

Harry stepped into the room, seeing it for the first time. He'd been working nearly non-stop since their lunch at Hagrid's, but he'd assured Draco he'd be home in plenty of time for their party.

When Harry didn't say anything, Draco's stomach began to twist. What if he didn't like it? What if it was too much? What if it wasn't enough? Was this what Harry had envisioned?

Harry finally turned towards where Draco stood in front of the hearth, and in the pale light of the setting sun streaming in through the window, Draco could see the wonder in his boyfriend's eyes.

"How?"

"A lot of planning and a house-elf?" Draco suggested, walking closer.

"But, the room. Where'd this come from?"

"What do you mean? It's just the parlour extended for the occasion."

"It does that?"

Draco suppressed a snort. Harry hated it when Draco laughed at him for not having basic magical knowledge. And it wasn't funny, not really. But Harry had lived here for years — he'd refurbished the place, for Merlin's sake — and he didn't even know this was here. "It does. It's the same type of magic as the Room of Requirement, I would think, but not nearly as sophisticated. Most of the old magical houses do things like this. The kitchen does. Surely you've recognised it changes size when we have parties."

"Well, yeah, but not like this." Harry took Draco's hand and pulled him close. "It looks amazing."

"Let me show you everything." They turned to Harry's left and walked beside a long table set out as an altar. Fir, pine, and juniper branches lined the top with white, silver, and gold candles of various sizes scattered throughout, none of them yet lit. "This is the Yule altar. This is actually one of your family traditions, according to Neville's grandmother. As each guest comes in, they'll ignite a candle to welcome the sun and light in the coming days. My family does something similar, but we generally used red candles for passion and wealth."

Harry nodded, running his hand along the table as they walked, but he didn't say anything. Draco guided them to the other side of the room to another table, this one also laden with greenery, but instead of candles, there were ribbons, scissors, and wires available throughout, making little workstations. "One of my family's traditions is to allow the guests to make a Yule wreath that each can take home. The evergreens themselves offer wishes of protection and prosperity to our guests, so it's our gift to them, our magical protection and good wishes. It's the same reason I've added the holly over the windows and Floo, for protection and warding off evil."

After a moment, they turned to the centre of the room, where there was a long table set for nineteen running down the middle. The place settings were semi-formal, with only three forks, as Harry had requested, the meal only four courses. Harry stepped closer, his eyes roaming over the candelabra and greenery on the table, and he reached forward to pick up one of the delicately embossed placards with a guest's name. He turned to Draco.

"Draco…" he closed his mouth and swallowed, then he put the card back down and stepped into Draco's arms. He rested his forehead on Draco's left shoulder. "This is beautiful. I didn't imagine anything like this."

Excitement swelled inside Draco's chest, and he ran a hand up Harry's back. "So you like it? It's not too much?"

Harry choked out a laugh and stood back, wiping at his eyes. "Oh, it's definitely too much, but it's perfect. You're perfect."

"Well, of course, I am. You sound surprised," Draco teased.

"When did you find the time to do all this? You've been off work this week, but you were sick, and you were working last week. You've only had two weeks to put this together, and—"

"I had help. Pansy loves this kind of thing, and ever since she married Abbott, she's preferred to be out of the house." The man was ancient, old enough to be her grandfather. In fact, his great-niece was one of their old classmates, something that hadn't seemed to bother Pansy when she accepted his suit. The man wanted an heir, she wanted his fortune, and otherwise, they seemed to stay out of each other's way. And unfortunately, Draco couldn't not invite him to the party.

"Well, it's wonderful." Harry looked at his watch. "I suppose we should go get dressed. I can't sit in all this splendour in my Auror robes."

"You certainly can't. We have nearly an hour." Draco took Harry's hand and tugged him from the room and towards the stairs. "We'll take a shower together and you can tell me about your day."

Harry grinned. "We closed the case, but I don't want to talk about it tonight. We can do that tomorrow. For now, I have things I'd rather do with you in the shower than talk."

Draco raised an eyebrow. "By all means…"


Harry

Three hours later, their friends all gathered around the long table. Altar candles had been lit, wreaths created, and cocktails drunk, and everyone was talking as they ate their dinner and Harry stared out at his family and friends, ruminating.

He and Draco sat side-by-side at the head, with a single chair at the opposite end for Harry's family tradition that Hagrid had told him about. It was probably the light playing tricks on Harry's brain, but occasionally, he could have sworn he saw shadows moving about the seat. He liked to think that perhaps his parents, Sirius, Remus, Tonks, or Fred were stopping in the share in the dinner.

His eyes ran over each of the Weasley brothers and their dates or spouses — Ginny couldn't make it for the night, so she was conspicuously missing. George had his arm around Angelina, her protruding stomach announcing the impending birth of their first child. Fleur, who was also pregnant with her third child, sat with Bill across from them. Harry couldn't wait to meet both of the new children who he'd claim as his nieces or nephews. Next to Fleur sat Pansy and her husband, who, while seeming bored with the young guests around him, was exceedingly polite, especially to Harry. Actually, only to Harry, if truth be told, but as Harry ignored him, it mostly went unnoticed by the others.

Blaise sat with a young woman he'd introduced as Claudia. She didn't seem to speak much English, but Blaise kept up the conversation with her in Italian, and she seemed mostly pleased with the evening. Next to them, Neville sat with his date, a spiky-haired blonde Herbologist named Kimmi from America, who made Harry want to roll his eyes every time she spoke. But Neville liked her and she was nice enough, so Harry just ignored her and was glad she was seated further down the table by Percy and his wife.

The conversation nearest him and Draco was lively, however, with Ron and Hermione, Dean and Seamus, and Charlie and his date, Adrik. The food was delicious and not overly pretentious, as if Draco had really taken into consideration what type of things would be appropriate but would still be to Harry's taste.

Finally, as the meal finished and the dessert plates were cleared, Draco stood and drew Harry up with him. "It's been my family's tradition to say a prayer before gathering and lighting the Yule Log. Please, everyone, take one another's hands.

When they'd complied, Draco cast a little spell with the twist of his wand, and the mass of candles in the room dimmed.

"Beneath the tree of light and life,
a blessing at this season of Yule!
To all that sit at my hearth,
today we are brothers, we are family,
and I drink to your health!
Today we do not fight,
We bear no one ill will.
Today is a day to offer hospitality
to all that cross my threshold
in the name of the season."

As he spoke, the light of the dimmed candles swelled, and as he reached the end, there was a bright flash, completing the prayer. Everyone was quiet as they stood and walked to the hearth.

The next part was something Harry and Draco had prepared together, so Harry spoke. "The wood chosen for a Yule log is important for magical reasons. Aspen is the wood of choice for spiritual understanding, while oak is symbolic of strength and wisdom. A family hoping for a year of prosperity will burn a log of pine, while a couple wishing to be blessed with fertility will prefer a birch bough." He took Draco's hand and turned to him. "Draco and I have chosen oak this year, as it's the most common amongst Muggles in our country, and because it's what my grandparents traditionally chose."

Draco ignited a small piece of charred wood he'd prepared earlier. Evidently, it was a piece from his prior year's log at Malfoy Manor, and Harry had insisted he use it if it were important to him, as if he were bringing his family celebration to Grimmauld Place as much as Harry was. Draco lit the charred wood then placed it against the kindling under the log. Everyone watched, the room completely still, until after several seconds it caught and a collective gasp filled the room. The fire slowly began to crackle as everyone stood around, watching.

Harry's gaze took in the large gathering. He loved most of these people. They were his closest friends and family, and to have them here, to have them partaking in one of his family's traditions, it was overwhelming to think about. Draco must have noticed because he squeezed Harry's hand tightly, then waved his wand to start some music.

"Who would like to dance?"

As the group scattered over to the area set aside for dancing, Harry pulled Draco close, slotting their bodies together. "Thank you."

"Of course." Draco's voice sounded light, as though he didn't realise the magnitude of Harry's gratitude.

"No. I mean it. Thank you, Draco. This was the best Christmas present ever." His voice felt rough, the tears he was hiding from his eyes leaking into his throat. "I feel like I have a bit of my family back tonight, and you gave that to me. No Christmas present I could ever give you would equal this."

Draco shook his head, his eyes fluttering over Harry's face. They appeared gold from the reflection of all the candles. "Don't be stupid. You'll think of something. I like emeralds."

Harry snorted out a laugh. Merlin, he loved this man. Emeralds, indeed.

"Come on, Potter. Let's dance."

Harry let Draco pull him to the dance floor and spent the rest of the evening in his arms.


A/N: I did a bit of research on various Yule and winter solstice traditions. Some of the things listed above were suggestions from people I know who celebrate, and others came from various websites. The best variety of information came from a website called "learnreligions" dot com, and that's also where I found the prayer.

Happy Yule! Four more days until Christmas!