Chapter Thirty-Seven: Shopping
The furious excitement bubbled along the length of the Hogwarts Express, infecting every compartment with the same restlessness.
"Is it always like this?" Harry asked Draco as they settled into their compartment.
"Is what always like this?"
"The train. The – the –," Harry shrugged.
"Oh, that. Yes, it is."
"Wow."
"That's right, you've never…"
"No."
"Sorry."
"Don't be. I was happy to stay at the castle. Holidays with the Dursleys were not very fun."
Harry knew he'd soured the mood a bit by the silence coming from the other boy. "Tell me what you're going to do," he said, hoping to rescue the former good mood that they'd entered the train with.
"What?"
"For Yule," Harry got the last of his things settled and turned. "Are you going to celebrate with others or are you staying home?"
"Ah, that." Draco sat next to Harry as the train whistle shrieked through the air. "We'll have a private ceremony, probably and then we'll go to the Temple for its opening."
"A private ceremony? You didn't have one last year."
"We did."
"You…did?" He turned to look at Draco. "But, when?"
"Midnight of Yule. We followed the rising constellations. I believe you were all asleep."
"But…"
"It's a family thing," Draco tangled their hands together. "We have to go through a messy ritual when we're legal to do so and then you'll be able to join us."
"You want me to?"
"Of course!"
"…What kind of messy ritual?"
Draco wrinkled his nose. "Well, there's tree sap involved."
"…Tree sap?"
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The train coasted into King's Cross Station with billowing clouds of humid steam. Draco and Harry had said their goodbyes early, with Harry anxious that Sirius not catch sight of the blond or his family. Harry would rather not have a row between Lucius Malfoy and his godfather on the train platform and Draco agreed with him.
Beside him, Ginny was all but vibrating from excitement. She had her cane clenched with both hands, the distinctive ornamental head peeking out from between her fingers. Another reminder of the Malfoys, but Harry hoped Sirius would let it slide. A nasty storm had settled over the school before they had left, leaving the air achingly cold with a touch of moisture. Ginny's knee hadn't had a chance against that type of weather change.
"We're here, we're here, we're here…" She was sort of hopping on one leg, more of a bounce, really, the staccato tap of her cane's tip sharp at their feet.
"It'll be fine, Ginny," he said, trying to relax the tense line of her shoulders.
"I hope so," she muttered. Then the doors were opened and they were free to flood from the train.
Not for the first time, Harry cursed the fact that neither James or Lily Potter had been very tall. He jumped a few times, trying to spot Remus or Sirius in the crowd.
"Do you see them?" Ginny had taken his arm when people began to swarm all over the platform.
"No – oof," Harry staggered as someone crashed into him from behind. "Sorry, there," he said out of reflex. The glance, double take and glare made the good mood he'd been trying to hang onto wither a little more.
He could see Draco through a gap in the press. There was space around the gathered pure blood families. He saw Lucius clasp a hand to Draco's shoulder and draw the boy to his side. Something sharp went through Harry's chest at the sight. He turned away before he could see any more.
Someone grabbed Ginny from behind, lifting her away from her hold on Harry's arm. He whirled, wand falling into his palm with a well-practiced twist.
"Ginny, my girl!" Sirius spun her around and lifted her into the air. Ginny let out a shriek of laughter and threw her arms around Sirius' neck, causing those near the pair to duck the flailing cane.
Please let this holiday be calm, Harry sent up as a prayer. He didn't have time to listen for an answer, if there was any. Sirius had turned his way with a manic grin plastered across his face.
It was going to be a long holiday. He tried not to sigh.
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Lucius' warm clasp on Draco's shoulder made him want to puff out his chest with pride.
"Son," was all his father had said, but that was Lucius' way. Draco knew his father's moods, knew by the gray tint to the older wizard's eyes that his father was up to his neck in worries, but had made the time to be there when Draco stepped off the train.
In his family, it was the little things that communicated their feelings more than words ever did.
He thought he saw Harry in the shifting crowd, but his glimpse was there and gone, too fast for him to react. Lucius gave Draco's shoulder a squeeze and turned away, nodding to the other pure blood families that had gathered around them.
Draco was not blind to the show of support. He did, however, fear that most of the other families on the platform had no idea what was going on.
A shout from the crowd drew stares. Draco saw Black lift Ginny up in a wild swing. He resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the antics.
"Come along, Draco," Lucius' tone had acquired a bit of a bite. "I have no wish for Black's attention to fall on to us."
"I doubt he would notice," he fell into step with the older man. "He has a particularly good set of blinders on his eyes."
"With a convenient Slytherin-shaped hole," Lucius' cane struck the concrete with more force than necessary.
"When will Severus be joining us?" Draco asked, adjusting his cuffs with careful fingers.
Lucius let out a long breath. "Tomorrow. He wants to finish up the last of the grading before he joins us. He has never been one to leave things for the last minute."
"A good habit to have," Draco agreed.
"Indeed."
They came to the Apparition Point. Lucius' hand returned to Draco's shoulder. He was looking forward to his seventeenth birthday. The ability to Apparate – legally, that was – was something he was eager to learn. His father and Severus had made sure he knew the basics – just in case – but had warned him against on-the-side practice. A few stories about some particularly embarrassing accidents had cured Draco of any urge to try it out on his own.
They appeared outside the gates of the Manor. To Draco's surprise, snow was already thick on the ground, piled high in dirty drifts against the long gray stone walls that lined the property.
"This is…odd," he remarked to his father as they slogged their way up the path.
"We have had problems getting the carriage out," Lucius flicked a spell at the snow ahead of them, causing it to melt. The resulting mud and puddles ringed the hems of Draco's pants with muck.
"It's good to be home," he said with a sigh at the damage. Pansy would have to be right about it, Draco mourned. I should have worn boots.
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"Everyone in! Everyone in!"
The headache had settled somewhere behind Harry's eyes. Every pulse made his teeth ache. Ginny and Sirius had kept up their chatter the entire way home. Harry had been with Remus for the sideways apparition. Sirius had swung Ginny up into his arms – much to her furious blushing and protests to the fact that she could walk, thank you very much.
They were having a bit of a sun break when they arrived at Black Manor. Harry had shivered at the heavy black band of clouds that were gathered to the west.
"Harry?"
He realized he was standing at the door, half in, half out of the frame. "Sorry," he said and stepped through. The ominous feeling slid from his shoulders as the door closed behind him.
"Well, well," Sirius hugged Ginny to his side. "We're all home, together. Bill should be here in the next few days."
"Really?" Ginny gripped the edges of Sirius' formal robe. "He's coming home? The goblins let him have the time off?"
"They surely did, Ginny me gal. He's got a few things to wrap up and then he'll be here. He wants to celebrate Yule with us." He tweaked her nose.
"This is amazing!" She threw her arms around the man's waist and squeezed. Sirius looked as though he had won the lottery.
"Let's get your things to your rooms," Remus put his hand on Harry's shoulder. He hadn't been expecting the touch, so he jumped a bit. The werewolf squeezed Harry's shoulder and let his hand fall away.
"Right, right!" Sirius kept giving Harry strange looks he couldn't decipher. Harry wasn't sure if he was supposed to throw his arms around the man like Ginny or what. "Dinner should be sometime soon. We got a few new house elves and they are fantastic cooks, let me just say…"
"He means they can do more than boil water, which is the extent of Sirius' ability," Remus laughed.
"Moony!"
Harry moved past them, headed for the stairs. Ginny continued to chatter at Sirius, keeping the man's attention away from Harry.
The room was still the same eye-watering loud riot of color as when he had left it. He rubbed at his eyes, cast a glance at the door and then decided, why not? A few flicks of his wand stripped the walls of their dizzying Quidditch posters. They were rolled and stacked on the top shelf of the closet. The bedspread was turned so that the lining showed. A dark blue hue took over the walls, though Harry wasn't sure what to do about the bare windows.
There was a pop from behind him. "Master Harry's trunk, sir!"
He turned to see a house elf hauling his trunk to the foot of the bed. The creature danced in place, pulling at its ears.
"So nice to meet you, Master Harry, sir! I is Tangle. Tangle is most glad to meet the Master Harry! Can Tangle do anything for Master Harry?"
He considered it. "Could you find some drapes for my windows?"
"Of course, Master Harry! Right away, Master Harry!" With a brilliant smile – that showed a maw of cracked, yellowing teeth – Tangle disappeared with a sharp snap of its fingers.
"Well, that's one problem down," he informed the silent room. "Let's hope they're all as easy as that."
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Hermione escaped the horde of relatives with a few smiles and easy excuses. Her father and uncle had taken her trunk upstairs when they had arrived. Someone in the family had decided that her parent's house would be the ideal place for the annual familial gathering of their extended blood relatives. Their guest rooms were full (not that they had many, just two) and the sofas were claimed by a few junior members who didn't mind stiff backs come morning.
It was the perfect recipe to drive her mad.
She found the letters after a brief search. She would have to work fast to get everything she needed done. She would not have the freedom she'd had during the summer. And, she suspected with a frown, the privacy of her room would be invaded by visiting cousins before the holiday was over.
She slipped the letters into her pocket, knowing she would be able to escape the careful eye of her family between dessert and the traditional night cap the adults indulged in. The letters were already post marked and there was a mail bin at the end of her street.
She didn't have any time to waste.
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There was something sticking to his boot.
Gwyn ap Nudd paused to examine the object. He plucked it from the sole of his boot and held it up.
It was a feather. The glossy blue-black shine reflected in the wavering witch light he had created to bob just over his shoulder. The glow did little to illuminate the Dark – but in the small circle surrounding him, he began to notice a few things.
Another feather lay off to his left. He kept one hand on his sword as he moved to pick it up. That was when he noticed the others. They were scattered along the gray dust-like dirt that he traveled on. Some were half buried, others were tumbled across each other like small x's to mark the spot.
The sense of unease in Gwyn ap Nudd's mind grew larger.
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"Everyone set?"
Harry hung back from Sirius, keeping a little of Remus' bulk between them.
"Yes! Yes!" Ginny had a hold of Bill's hand and a radiant smile on her face.
Harry wasn't sure if the young witch was actively trying to be a buffer between him and Sirius, but either way, he could have kissed her for it. He wrinkled his nose. Maybe not kissed her, that would be a bit too incestuous right there. Ew. That was not an image I needed in my mind.
Bill had arrived earlier than expected, which meant Harry had just one day of dodging his godfather whenever he evaded Ginny's grasp. Bill's arrival was a relief – Sirius was getting adept at finding things for Ginny to explore on her own.
It was two days to Yule. They would be celebrating in the old ways, Sirius had proclaimed – which also meant that they were two days of present shopping shorter.
"Now, a pouch for you, Gin, and a pouch for Bill and one for Harry!" Sirius' smile turned a bit strained as he held the gathered gallons for Harry to take.
"Oh, but I…"
"Mate, if I get one, you get one," Bill laughed and pushed Harry forward. He took the pouch from Sirius with a strained smile. His heart stuttered when a warm hand ruffled his hair.
"Now, let's to shopping!" Sirius rubbed his hands together with manic glee.
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Diagon Alley was alive with people. The piney scent of boughs permeated the air; spiced cider was sold at almost every street corner. Harry was grateful for his scarf, it was pulled up so far it hid most of his face. The hat Bill had clapped over his head hid most of his messy black hair.
He was anonymous and he loved it.
Even that didn't help him with shopping, though. He had no idea what to get everyone and didn't have Pansy on hand to ask if he really did need to buy gifts for everyone or if those he considered close friends was enough.
He found funny knickknacks for Remus and Sirius. As a gag gift, he found a few tubes of specially made sunscreen for wizards. Ginny was a harder buy; he found some pretty ear rings in a small shop tucked away around the corner of the many smaller streets that branched off Diagon Alley. At his Slytherin Housemates, he drew a bit of a blank.
For Pansy and Millicent, he found matching charm bracelets. Blaise got a silly gift; a wizard's version of an idiot's guide to gardening. Blaise, of them all, had the worst grades in Herbology – at least when Neville wasn't helping him get by.
Neville was a little more difficult – Harry wanted to get him something garden related, but Harry had no idea what texts the other boy already had. He ended up getting Neville a home herb-growing kit, complete with instructions on how to keep the plants lit with sunlight indoors. It would be nice for Neville to have plants in his room, Harry decided.
For Sasha, he found a monogrammed never-run-dry quill. Then he was left with the difficult decisions.
For Lucius Malfoy, he found a pair of what he thought were pleasant cuff links. As for Professor Snape, Harry paused for a moment outside an animal shop. There wasn't anything he could think of to give the man. In the end, he found a stark black and white chess set, whose characters did not shout filthy words at each other. He'd noticed a lack of a board in the man's office and wondered why. Snape seems like the type to play chess, he thought with a sigh. I just hope he likes it. I can't think of anything else.
As for Draco…well. Harry knew what he wanted to give Draco and that would have to wait until they were together again at school. Just thinking about it made the heat rise to his cheeks.
As Harry wrapped up the last of the gifts he was going to get, he turned and bumped into a familiar face.
"Sasha?"
The girl peered at him, squinting at the strip of exposed skin on Harry's face. "Who is – is that…"
"Shh," he caught her arm and hustled her to a quiet corner of the curio shop. There were people bustling in and through the aisles, creating enough noise for them to talk without being overheard.
"Harry?"
He pulled down the scarf and smiled. "Hi," he said.
She thumped him on the shoulder. "What are you doing out here alone?"
"It's fine," he inched away, rubbing at the sore spot she had left behind. "No one can tell who I am."
"That defense has so many holes in it I'm not even going to respond to that," she shook her head, but ended up smiling. "You like being anonymous, don't you?"
"Oh, yes," he breathed. It had been so nice, not being followed by the stares and the whispers.
"Is any of that for me?" She hooked a finger into one of the bags. He batted her hand away with a laugh.
"You keep out. You'll find out when we get back to school."
She rolled her eyes at him. "So mean."
"Oh, I am not."
"Sasha?"
They turned at the sound of her name. "It was good to see you out, even if it's a stupid idea," she surprised him with a hug. "Go home and don't get caught."
"I won't get caught," he waved at her back. The unexpected encounter left him buoyed, with a warmth in his chest that he hadn't had since he left school.
With a light heart, he exited the shop with a bounce in his step.
End Chapter Thirty-Seven