The writing on the howler read 'Draco Malfoy, Muggle City' and, although there was no sender's name, it was obvious that it was from Lucius.
"Yes, this is from him, i'm sure. That was our owl." Draco explained.
His father knew that he was in a Muggle place at the moment. The howler would have been ruthless. Draco felt panic overrun him.
"I think it's best if we open it at home." Hermione suggested.
After paying for their drinks, the four of them rushed to the Grangers' house, fearing that the howler would burst.
Once in Hermione's room, the girl cast muffliato so that the noise from the screaming letter wouldn't bother the other inhabitants of the house.
They sat on her bed, all gathered around Draco.
The Slytherin was as nervous as can be. This was the first contact with his parents in four months. Sure, it would not be positive, but, at least, they remembered that they had a son.
As he breathed shakily, his lover squeezed his hand tightly, trying to calm him down, telling him that he was there, next to him.
With no further hesitation, Draco tore the envelope open.
"Draco Malfoy, your mother and I are thoroughly disappointed in you.
We learnt that you will be spending Easter in a house of mudbloods, in a muggle city."
Mr Malfoy's amplified scream was so loud that all four of them jumped back, startled.
Draco's face whitened and all he could hear was the sound of his racing heartbeat, which was louder than his father's voice.
"How dare you dishonor us this way? Apparently, being an abomination wasn't enough for you."
Harry couldn't help feeling bad for his boyfriend, who looked like he would faint at any minute.
He felt blinding rage come over him at the sound of those appalling words.
Lucius had no chill, really. He had left his son for dead, what was the point of sending him such a humiliating letter after months?
"This is not the real you, our son we knew and loved would have never accepted such invitation.
You are being brainwashed by Potter's lot, we demand that you drop this act and sort out your priorities, if you care about your family.
Otherwise, you will suffer the consequences of your betrayal.
-Your Father, Lucius Malfoy."
After the last sentence, the howler self destructed, leaving its shreds on Hermione's bed.
No one spoke for a while. Draco seemed to be unable to produce a sound.
It was all too much for him. If he had to make peace with the loss of his parents, receiving a threatening letter didn't help. What were they trying to obtain?
The silence was eventually broken by Harry's voice."What the fuck do they want?"
He was irate.
"I don't know..." Draco murmured. His voice came out broken. He suddenly felt nauseous, his head was spinning as though he had been running around non-stop.
"He's... he's the one who brainwashed you." Harry said in a dry tone.
His boyfriend gripped his shoulder for balance as he felt like he was going to fall from the bed, headfirst onto the floor.
Harry wrapped his arms around him and held him close to his chest, rocking him back and forth as he broke into a sob.
This brought him back to Draco and his father's confrontation, which had taken place the day after their scandal.
Just like he had done that time, the Gryffindor tried to whisper calming words into the Slytherin's hair, as he cried so hard that his whole body shook.
"I'm here, see? It will all be alright." Harry lulled.
The sight was heartbreaking for Ron and Hermione. They watched as their new friend broke down in his boyfriend's arms because of his parents.
Hermione couldn't help feeling guilty for shoving her perfect family life in Draco's face.
Not long after, Draco relaxed into his boyfriend's embrace.
He pulled away, slowly, then, upon fully recollecting himself, he spoke.
"I did care about them. That's why I did all the things I did... to please them. But if he thinks I'm willing to go back to being daddy's servant, he's wrong." He said. His tears had dried on his face, but his eyes were still puffy and red.
"Draco..."Ron said, giving him a pitiful look. "If I may... It's simply not worth it... I know this sounds harsh but they will never accept you, not if they don't open their minds."
"Their acceptance sounds like a dream to me, at this point." Draco sighed.
"Honestly, ignore them, Draco..." Hermione intervened. "Enjoy easter with us! Try not to give them too much importance, ok? Life is too short to always be this sad. "
Draco's lips curled into a smile.
Hermione could have been a life coach if she'd wanted to.
The four friends ended up spending the night laughing, playing muggle cards and watching the highly anticipated TV.
Ron and Draco found themselves staring at the screen in awe.
They went to bed at around 5 am.
The next day they woke up late. It felt like a repetition of Christmas.
Hermione was the first one to come downstairs.
Her hair was messier than usual and she had circles around her eyes. She was still in her pajamas.
Laura was laying the table for Easter feast in the dining room.
The large wooden table was dressed in a pink cloth, the 'Easter cloth', as the Grangers called it.
She'd used a glass vase of flowers as a centerpiece, they were a bunch of pink roses.
Six plates were set, they were also pink, with golden borders.
When her mum saw Hermione, she was setting a plate of decorated hard boiled eggs next to the roses.
"Oh, morning, sweetie." Laura greeted her daughter with a smile. "You're just in time for lunch. Gather your friends here, will you?"
"Oh, Ron is coming in a bit, I don't know if the others are still asleep." Hermione replied, slightly massaging her tired face. "I'll go check."
"Your choice of boys is.. peculiar, to say the least." Her mother expressed. Her lips were pursed, suggesting a minor disapproval regarding Ron.
Hermione didn't know how to respond to that. She knew that look well. It was her 'I know you can do better' look that she'd give her when she didn't agree with her actions.
"Well, that's the reason I love him." she finally said.
"Oh, I see... he's just a bit...goofy, I don't want to say a bad word." Mrs Granger said as she folded the cream colored napkins. "Are you sure he can provide everything you need?"
Hermione's mouth opened to speak, but she was interrupted by the sound of her boyfriend's voice, coming from the bathroom.
"Mione, Is this device next to the toilet used for washing your feet? Because it looks... weird."
"No, Ron, don't touch that!" Hermione shouted back, fearing that Ron was talking about the toilet brush. She rushed upstairs to stop her boyfriend from doing regrettable things. While on the stairs, she met Harry and Draco, who were already dressed.
"Morning, Mione." said Harry. "I think Ron's trying to clean his feet with the toilet brush." He said, chuckling softly.
"I'm on my way to save him." Said Hermione, then she disappeared out of sight.
"Good Morning, boys." said Laura, a bright smile painted on her lips.
She was holding a pot of roast lamb.
"Morning, Mrs Granger." the couple said in unison.
"Do you mind helping me finish with the table?" The woman asked, panting slightly. "It's really a toll."
"Oh, sure." said Draco, stretching his arms to take the container from her hands.
"I have to apologise for my Mother-in-Law, She has a bit of senile dementia... i hope you're not too uncomfortable at hiding your magical aspects." said Laura, giving Harry the cutlery to put on the table.
"Oh don't worry, I'm used to this, I lived with muggles for ten years." said Harry with a polite smile, as he put down a fork.
"Here we are!" said a puffing Hermione. She had changed her clothes and she was holding Ron's hand. "Happy Easter, everyone!"
"Happy Easter!" Ron repeated.
"Donald! Rosemary! Come on downstairs! Food's ready!" Hermione's mum called out, ignoring the wishes.
Ron turned to his girlfriend, feeling uneasy. "She didn't say it back..." he whispered.
"Here I am, ready for this binge!" the elderly lady said, as she jumped on her chair.
Donald Granger looked a little embarrassed at his mother's behaviour. "Mum, sit properly, we have guests." He warned.
His mother simply shrugged.
The four friends all looked at each other, trying to suppress a laugh.
Hermione's Grandma was the life of the party.
In the meantime, Ginny and Luna were at the Lovegoods, ready to engage in Easter fun.
"So, Ginny, I don't know if you do this too in your home, but Luna and I have a special tradition for this day! It's hunting nargle eggs!" Xenophilius said excitedly.
The three of them were all outside. Luna was holding her girlfriend's hand and she was jumping feverishly.
"Oh, no, we don't do that." the redhead replied.
So, nargles actually existed and the Lovegoods bred them?
"Nargles like to come and lay their eggs in our backyard," Luna explained, as she had seen her girlfriend's puzzled expression. "So we hunt them for Easter! It's so fun, you'll see! The winner is proclaimed Easter queen or king and they are fed by someone else throughout the Easter lunch."
Ginny couldn't help smiling at her girlfriend's cuteness.
Luna's little quirks never failed to warm her heart.
"Wow, that sounds awesome."said Ginny, playing along.
She was curious to see what these 'nargle eggs' actually were.
"So, I'll explain the rules." Luna's dad said, clearing his throat.
"The eggs are spread among the garden. Who finds the most in ten minutes, comes out on top. To catch them, it's necessary to learn this dance. I'm going to need Luna for our demonstration."
He said, extending his hand to his daughter, who happily obliged .
Ginny watched as the other two people in the house engaged in a crazy dance, much similar to their secret handshake.
Xenophilius spun Luna around, holding her from her back as she lifted her legs.
Then, they both started singing a tune that lacked rhyme. It went like this, "Nargle eggs, nargle eggs! Come to us! So we can fry you!"
Ginny laughed heartily, clapping her hands. She had not laughed like that in a very long time.
"Come on, baby, join us!" Luna shouted.
Ginny threw herself in the middle of the dance and grabbed Luna's hands.
She started singing, too, but she was unable stay in tune as her laughing prevented it.
"Oh I think I see one!" Ginny exclaimed, then she detached herself from the other girl to run towards an object that looked like an egg.
As she kneeled down to examine it, the mystery around it was revealed: it was nothing but a chicken egg.
There must have been a wild hen roaming around the garden, who had possibly escaped from a farm.
She shook her head at the Lovegoods' naivety.
"I found one!" She shouted as she took it in her hands and lifted it in the air for them to see.
"Good girl!" said Luna, clapping her hands. "One point goes to Ginny!"
As the game continued, Ginny found that she and Luna were both competing for first prize.
There was a fight over one of the eggs, as both girls ran towards it at the same time.
Ginny was the first one to grab it, but Luna wouldn't give up on it.
She took a hold of it, trying to snatch it from her hands, but her girlfriend wouldn't let her.
"Get gone, Luna! This is mine!" Ginny said, all while laughing.
"I can't see your name on it." Luna reasoned in her dreamy voice.
"But I'm its rightful owner, as I touched it first." Ginny smirked as the blonde kept pulling the egg to herself.
"Fine." Luna eventually said, surrendering. "But only because I love you."
"Time's up!" Xenophilius yelled, running towards the girls.
"I win! I'm the Easter Queen!" Ginny squealed contentedly, proudly displaying her basket
"Yay Ginny!" Luna squeaked, smiling even though she had lost.
"Oh, damn!" Luna's father groaned. He was a sore loser, unlike his daughter. "This is just beginner's luck!"
But the girls didn't give him the littlest bit of attention, as their post game excitement brought their lips to press onto each other.
When they pulled away, they were smiling broadly.
Then, they both froze when they realised that Xenophilius was standing right behind them.
He didn't know about them yet.
To their surprise, he didn't have any bad reaction. On the contrary, he simply congratulated Ginny for her win.
It hadn't been made official to him, but he knew already, it seemed.
Maybe that was why he had invited Ginny over, the 'closest friend' actually meant 'girlfriend' to him, maybe.
The two girls felt relieved.
Back to the Grangers' house, the meal had come to an end.
Hermione and her friends were eating chocolate eggs, feeling a bit sleepy as a consequence of their big lunch.
Suddenly, their peace and quiet was interrupted by a loud thump coming from the chimney.
"Oh, God, what was that?" said Hermione, startled.
"It came from our chimney, it seems." Donald observed. He had a worried look on his face.
Draco's grey eyes widened in utter terror as he wasn't completely clueless as to what that might be. Who that might be, to be exact.
"Hermione... is your fireplace connected to Floo Network?" He asked.
"Oh, well, yes... I think... why?" the girl replied, not giving it too much thought.
"You don't think that...?" Harry said, realising what it could mean.
All doubt was cleared when a sling figure stepped into the dining room, shaking the ashes off of themselves.
"Good afternoon." Said a stern voice.
Everyone gasped at the sight of a silver haired man who was carrying a black walking stick:
It was Lucius Malfoy.