December 17 - making ornaments

"What is all of this?" Draco asked, eyeing the table full of art supplies suspiciously.

"We're going to make ornaments for the trees," Harry replied.

"With this stuff?"

The table held popsicle sticks, clothespins, cardboard, dried pasta, paint, markers, glue, tissue paper, and more things Draco couldn't see. He began shifting through.

"Glitter?" He asked. "Are you mad?"

"The kids will love it," Harry protested.

"And we'll be finding it all over the house for months. It's the spattergoit of arts and craft supplies. It never goes away, it just seems to disappear then it reappears when you least expect it in the most annoying places and ways."

"Don't you mean herpes and it is not."

Draco shook his head. "It absolutely is. What the hell is herpes anyway?"

"A Muggle disease," Harry explained. "I don't really know. I just know it's what Muggles compare glitter to which is ridiculous."

"It probably isn't. I mean, haven't you ever used glitter before?"

"Yes."

"And were you ever able to get rid of it completely?"

"Well, Muggle vacuums aren't as good at cleaning up as a good vanishing spell," Harry commented.

"And how good are your vanishing spells?"

"They're fine."

"I hope so because mine suck."

It was Harry's turn to shake his head. "If we can't get rid of it we can ask one of the elves to do it."

"Okay, but don't be surprised if that doesn't work," Draco warned.

"Why wouldn't it work?"

"I don't know, but glitter is even stronger than house-elf magic. I'm pretty sure glitter is worse than most dark magic, or stronger anyway."

"Wow, with the hyperbole there," Harry commented dryly.

"What?"

"Worse than most dark magic?"

"Fine scoff at me, but in six months when you're still finding glitter in every room of the house you'll change your mind," Draco warned.

"Wanna bet on it?"

"Sure if you're willing to waste your money."

"Then put your money where your mouth is Malfoy," Harry jeered playfully.

"Certainly, ten galleons work for you?"

"Make it twenty."

"You're on and no worries I won't gloat for more than a week or two when you come crawling on your hands and knees to confess that I was right," Draco grinned.

"In your dreams," Harry tossed back.

As Draco had had more than one dream of Harry on his knees he quickly changed the subject. "Do we even need ornaments? Both trees, all three trees actually are totally packed at the bottom."

"So we fill the top with the ones the kids make today. We'll just hang them up for them, and if they make a smaller ornament it can go on their personal tree."

"Where is all of this stuff going to go when we take it down next month? The attic is a playroom," Draco pointed out.

Harry shrugged. "We can always use the attic next door."

"We have magical decorations, won't that mess with the electric stuff?"

"It's floors away so it shouldn't."

"Ok, then. I assume you know what you're doing."

Harry shrugged. "Sort of. I made some back in primary, though after the first year I never bothered to take them home. They just wound up in the trash usually after Petunia insulted them. Then Dudley would bring home something ten times as ugly and she'd rave and cheer and place it front and center on the damned tree every year."

Draco shook his head. "I will never understand Dumbledore."

"What does he have to do with anything?"

"He's the whole reason you were stuck in that hellhole. He put you there-"

"To keep the protection in place that took effect when my mother died."

"Fine, then he should have been checking in on you regularly to be sure they weren't treating you like shite."

"Him or the hag from the Ministry."

"Or both," Draco said emphatically. "Ok, we're making ornaments. You should make one like you made when you were a kid, and I'll hang it in a special place on the tree."

"Only if you make one too."

"I have no idea how to do that."

"Then you can learn along with the kids."

"As long as I don't have to use glitter."

"Oh, you're definitely using glitter."

Draco looked at the clock on the wall. "Hm, I suddenly remembered I have an appointment."

"You do not, you big liar. What kind of man are you that's afraid of a craft material?"

"A brilliant one," Draco deadpanned.

"More like a scared one."

"Of that stuff, you'd better believe it, and with good reason. Still, if you insist. I will use it and we'll see what happens."

"Is it time yet Daddy?" Fiona asked from the doorway.

"Yes, it is, please let everyone know."

"I'll just sit here in the middle, so I can be part of the class," Draco said.

"As long as you get up to help the ones that need it."

"Naturally."

When the children were all settled in chairs around the table Harry passed around popsicle sticks and glue bottles.

"We're going to make snowflakes," he started.

"Again?" Conor complained.

"These are for the tree," Harry replied. "You can put your sticks together however you want. You each have six, right?"

The kids counted up and most nodded.

"I have seven," Marcus said.

Liam raised his hand. "And I only have five."

"Well then Marcus why don't you hand Liam your extra one," Draco suggested.

"Okay."

"Now then, we'll use the glue to stick the sticks together. You open the bottle like this." He demonstrated turning just the orange top of the bottle. "Then if you squeeze just a little bit a drop of glue will come out. Put the drop on one popsicle stick wherever you want. Put the bottle back down and then add another stick to the spot. Count to twenty slowly to make sure it stays together."

"You're tricking us into doing maths," Freya observed, to which Draco did his best to stifle a chuckle.

Harry shook his head. "I suppose so, though I really didn't mean to, it's just the best way to be sure you've waited long enough."

"Really?" Conor asked skeptically.

"I think he's telling you the truth," Draco assured the children. "Though that's why we tell you maths is important. You never know when you're going to use it."

"For wizards too? We have magic," Conor scowled. "Do we really need maths?"

"For wizards too," Draco responded. "You'll see why when you start taking potions class."

"Ugh, so we have to keep doing maths?"

Harry bit his lip to keep from laughing, took a deep breath, and answered. "Yes, you'll do maths for the rest of your life. Sorry, kiddo."

Conor grumbled as they all began to work with the glue. It didn't take long and there was a mess. Liam had unscrewed the whole cap and the glue poured out all over the table. Harry rushed to vanish the glue and get a new bottle opening it for the child. James spilled the glue on his hand and began to lick it off to the calls of eww from several of the other children. Draco cringed and he wiped the boy's hand. Caela managed to get the popsicle sticks stuck to the table. Marcus tried prying them up for her and brought the paper that covered the table along with it. Harry swiped his hair out of his eyes then handed new sticks to the girl.

Once everyone had a "snowflake" in front of them, Harry stood again in front of the group and held up his. "Now, we are going to decorate them. You put small dots of glue on the ends of each stick and take one of these glitter shakers and turn it over one time, over each dot to make it sparkly. You don't have to shake it, just turn it over one time."

Draco braced himself and watched as the glitter began to fly. Freya was incredibly careful turning her shaker just like Harry had shown. Teddy shook his all around his hair changing to match the silver he was using. Conor shook once over the whole thing and left it at that. Riordan began shaking hard over each dot as if possessed. The glitter was soon everywhere, in every child's hair, and unfortunately in Fiona and Michael's eyes. When that was sorted, eyes cleared though still red Harry collapsed into a chair at the table once again swiping his hair out of his eyes.

"I think we're done, you lot go on up to the playroom."

"I thought we were going to make more," Liam said disappointed.

"Maybe another day."

"Awwww," came the disappointed sigh from most of the children, but they left the room and headed upstairs.

Draco watched and just barely resisted commenting on the trail of glitter they left behind.

"Why was that so hard? How do teachers and childcare workers do that? They have more kids than we do."

"I have no idea and I don't care to guess. Shall I start cleaning," the blond offered.

"No, I'll do it, just give me a minute. There is glitter everywhere, and somehow there is glue everywhere."

"Including in James," Draco laughed.

"I saw that, I should have expected it. I know kids who ate paste in school. I should have told them not to. What is it about glue that makes it look edible? It doesn't smell good, I mean not like something I would eat."

"I've never even known anyone to eat glue, not even Greg and he was the dumbest person I ever knew. He was also the one most likely to eat things that aren't food. Maybe it's because I didn't know him when we were this age. I'm starting to clean here so I can go up and start cleaning the kids. They had glitter all over them."

"So it's now all over the house," Harry sighed. "Well, I can't say you didn't warn me."

"Yes, but even I didn't know it would be this bad. Oh well, so we all sparkle for a few months. Speaking of…"

"Where?" Harry reached up with a hand and ran it over his face.

"Well, everywhere."

Harry groaned.

"Here, just a second," Draco conjured a rag and passed it off to Harry who wiped his face.

"Did I get it?"

"Most of it, just hang on." Draco took the rag back, crouched down in front of the other man, and wiped his cheek gently.

"Draco," Harry breathed.

The blond froze for half a second, then shoved the rag back into Harry's hand as nonchalantly as he could. "You may just need a mirror. I'm going to work on the stairs." He hurried from the room leaving Harry dazed in the chair.