Harry, Ron, and Hermione headed down the stairs for breakfast. Harry trudged behind the other two, yawning. He hadn't slept too well last night. He kept having dreams of Mrs. Weasley kicking him out of the Burrow, telling him he wasn't good enough to be considered part of the family. After Harry had written his response to Draco, Mrs. Weasley's reaction truly started to sink in, and he wanted nothing more than to just be alone, away from people.
Ron and Hermione, being great friends, kept constant talk with Harry, trying to lift his spirits. They told him that Mrs. Weasley was just acting in the same way Ron did – that she just needed time to get used to the idea, after all, she herself said it was knew to her. Harry had to admit that that made him feel better. But he still felt a little awkward when he walked into the kitchen for breakfast; Mrs. Weasley barely glanced in their direction as she said "Morning," a little stiffly as they took a seat at the table. They could see Sirius glaring at Mrs. Weasley over the top of the Daily Prophet. Harry didn't understand why, but found he didn't really care at the moment. He tried to stifle another yawn as he grabbed a bowl of oatmeal and a glass of orange juice towards him.
"Um, morning Harry."
Harry looked up at the sound of his name. It was Ginny. She gave him a nervous smile, which he returned. "Morning Ginny." Harry said.
"Mind if I sit next to you?" Ginny asked awkwardly. Harry stared at her in surprise.
"Of course you can," Harry said, widening his smile. Ginny sat down in the empty seat next to Harry. Ron and Hermione – who were sitting on Harry's opposite side – turned their heads towards the pair in curiosity.
"Listen Harry, about how I've been acting lately," Ginny said, looking down at her wringing hands, "I know I've been really immature lately and I just wanted to say that I'm sorry."
"It's ok Ginny, really, you don't have to –"
"Please Harry, just let me finish," Ginny said, looking up into those dazzling green eyes that always got to her. "I do need to say sorry because there was no reason for me to be angry with you. I know you know that I've liked you for a while now, and I'll admit that I was hurt when I found out about you and Draco. But I guess after you told everyone else, it helped me to realize that it's more official and permanent, and I guess that's all I needed to know." Ginny said, taking a deep breath.
"I'm really glad you told me that Ginny. Honestly, had everyone found out in the way I wanted to –" he glanced over his shoulder at Ron, who blushed – "you would have been the toughest person to tell." Harry said, looking Ginny in the eyes.
"Really? Why is that?" Ginny asked in surprise.
"Because I know you've had a little thing for me ever since we met. And since then, we've grown closer together. I just didn't want to hurt you." Harry said, his smile wavering. Ginny leaned forward and gave Harry a hug, which he returned.
"You're a good guy, Harry. I can tell Draco makes you happy, and I don't want anything or anyone to get in the way of that." Ginny said into his hair, before pulling away. Harry could see out of the corner of his eye Mrs. Weasley's sour look the entire time he and Ginny were talking. But the moment she had hugged him, her expression turned to one of surprise.
"Here are your eggs, dear," Mrs. Weasley said, placing a plate full of scrambled eggs in front of Ginny. "More bacon, Harry?" Mrs. Weasley asked in a tone that was a little softer than the previous night. Harry nodded, and she slid five more pieces onto his plate. Maybe Ron and Hermione were right Harry thought as he shoved more bacon into his mouth, his smile firmly in place.
Later the next day, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley decided that a trip into Diagon Ally for some Christmas shopping would be a great excuse to get out of the house from their hard work. Everyone was excited, all except Sirius, who wasn't allowed to go. He had owled Dumbledore the previous night to ask if he could go in his Animagus form, but Dumbledore flat out said no. So Harry, Ron, and Hermione promised to bring him back lots of goodies which seemed to cheer him up a little. So at quarter to ten, five Weasley's, Harry, Hermione, and Lupin and Tonks for guards, queued up at the sidewalk in front of Number Twelve Grimmauld Place, waiting for the Knight bus.
"I can't wait to go to Flourish and Blott's! There's this new book that I pre-ordered that I have been waiting for!" Hermione said excitedly as the three friends took a seat at the way back of the bus. Ron rolled his eyes while Harry just sat there, a sudden feeling of emptiness inside.
"You alright, mate?" Ron asked, who had noticed the somber expression on his best friend's face. Harry just shrugged. He couldn't tell when he started to feel this way, but the only time he did feel this emptiness, was when he would leave Sirius every time he went back to school. But he knew it couldn't be that; he was going to see his godfather later on for dinner. But then…
"You sure there's nothing bothering you?" Hermione asked in concern.
"Well," Harry started, not sure if the others wanted to hear it.
"What is it?" Ron asked, urging Harry on. Harry sighed.
"I kind of miss Draco." Harry said, looking up at his friend's faces that went from concern to uncomfortability. Well, Ron's did anyway. Hermione just smiled and said, "aww!" Harry smirked at her reaction. "Seriously, though. I mean, all this talk about him these last few days has made me miss him."
"Don't worry Harry, I'm sure you'll be able to see him over the break. His grandmother sounded pretty nice in the letter, the way Malfoy described her. I'm sure she wouldn't mind." Hermione suggested. Harry's spirits lifted and he smiled. Maybe he could go to Draco's for a day or two to spend time with him. Maybe he would owl him after they got back from Diagon Ally.
As it turned out, Harry didn't have to wait until later to owl Draco. As soon as everyone exited the bus, Harry could hear his name being shouted. He looked up in time to see a blonde white head flying towards him, and the next thing he knew, he was wrapped up in Draco's warm embrace. Harry squeezed back, the emptiness fading from his stomach.
"I didn't know you were going to be here!" Draco said excitedly, breaking the hug and holding Harry at arms-length.
"I didn't know you were going to be here either," Harry laughed, amazed at how much his spirits had rose. The two boys laughed while the Weasley's, Hermione, and Lupin and Tonks watched with mild interest. Draco looked passed Harry at the staring faces, and went slightly red.
"Hi," Draco said awkwardly, giving a single wave to the group. Lupin and Tonks waved back, while Mr. and Mrs. Weasley just smiled awkwardly. The twins and Ron gave a little head nod, while Ginny and Hermione together said, "hi." Draco's smile grew more confident as he looked back at Harry. "So listen, I was wondering if you wanted to meet my grandmother? She's just over there." Draco said, turning to the right to point to a woman standing under the awning of Gringotts, the Wizarding Bank.
"Sure! I would love to meet her!" Harry said excitedly. He turned to the group, looking at Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. "Is it ok if I go with Draco to meet his Grandmother?" Harry asked.
Mr. and Mrs. Weasley exchanged looks; they could tell how excited Harry was, and did not want to deny him this. Mr. Weasley nodded his head. "Of course you can Harry. We'll be around Flourish and Blott's when you're ready." Mr. Weasley said, smiling.
Harry smiled back at him, before turning around and hurrying after Draco, who grabbed his hand, interlocking their fingers together. Harry could feel the stares following the pair of them to the other side of the pavement where Draco's grandmother was waiting. But Harry didn't care – the only person he cared about at the moment was beside him.
"By the way, was that Professor Lupin with you?" Draco asked.
"Oh yeah, he hangs around a lot. He's pretty cool." Harry said. But then he remembered that Draco's rumors about Lupin ultimately got him to resign. Draco must have remembered that too because he suddenly looked very uncomfortable, turning red once more.
"Yeah, well I'll admit he was a pretty good teacher. I do feel bad about what I did," Draco said in a small voice, looking straight ahead; they were almost to his grandmother, who was waving at the pair enthusiastically. They both waved back. Just before they stopped in front of Mrs. Black, Harry leaned to the side and kissed Draco on the cheek. Draco touched the warm spot where Harry's lips just left. "What was that for?" Draco asked, grinning.
"Because I missed you," Harry said, smiling broadly. Draco gave Harry's hand a quick squeeze before facing his grandmother, who was watching the whole exchange.
"Well, well, well, Harry Potter! I'm so glad that I finally have the chance to meet you!" Mrs. Black said, shaking Harry's free hand.
"It's very nice to meet you too, Mrs…?"
"Oh! How terribly rude of me! My name is Mrs. Black, dear." Mrs. Black said, letting go of her hand. The name clicked in Harry's head, but he decided not to say anything. He remembered over the summer Sirius telling them that he was related to the Malfoy's but had forgotten about it.
"Nice to meet you Mrs. Black." Harry said. While Harry and Mrs. Black were talking, Draco had turned to the right to check out some window displays in the shop next to them. Harry turned to say something to him when he noticed the bad cut and bruise on Draco's left cheek bone. Harry reached out and gently took Draco's chin in his hand, turning him so that he could see the injury better. "Is that where he hit you?" Harry asked, stunned by the mark.
"Yeah. But it doesn't hurt as much anymore. Grandma took care of it for me," Draco said, giving his grandmother a quick smile before looking back into Harry's worried ones. "Don't worry, Harry. I'm fine, really." Draco said, giving Harry a swift kiss on the lips before removing Harry's hand and placing it back into his own.
"Well, it was really nice to meet you, Harry. Unfortunately, Draco and I have to dash." Mrs. Black said, picking up the few bags that were next to her. Harry looked at Draco with sad eyes.
"You're leaving already? But I just got here!" Harry said, looking into Draco's beautiful gray eyes. Draco chuckled.
"Don't worry, you'll see me soon! I was actually going to ask you if you wanted to come over next weekend?" Draco asked, glancing nervously at his feet.
"Like, spend the weekend? As in sleep over?" Harry asked, starting to go a little red in the face. He watched as Draco nervously pushed a pebble around with the toe of his shoe.
"Only if you want to that is. I mean you don't have to stay the night, you could just spend the day." Draco said, starting to go red as well.
Harry put his hand on Draco's shoulder. He looked up; Harry was smiling. "I would love to spend the weekend with you. The WHOLE weekend. Just you and me. Plus, it will give us some real time together before we have to go back to school." Harry said. Draco smiled in appreciation.
"Awesome! I'll owl you later on in the week with arrangements of how you're getting there." Draco said.
"Well now, I'm glad that all of this is settled. I don't mean to be rude, but we are going to be late for our appointment if we don't dash Draco, dear." Mrs. Black said, looking apologetically at Harry.
"Of course Grandma, I understand. I'm just going to walk Harry back over to his friends and I'll meet you back here."
Harry said his last goodbyes to Mrs. Black before he and Draco interlocked their hands once more and headed towards Flourish and Blott's, where Harry could glimpse the Weasley's distinguished ginger hair. Draco and Harry didn't say a word while they walked back – but then again, they didn't have to; it was a very comfortable silence. It looked like Harry had just gotten there in time because his party was starting to exit the store. Hermione started to wave him over. Harry held up one finger, indicating her to wait one moment. He turned to Draco.
"Well, I'm glad I at least got to see you for a few minutes," Harry said.
"Me too. I'll look forward to seeing you next weekend! You will be able to, won't you?" Draco asked, glancing sideways at Mrs. Weasley, who was giving him a distrustful look.
"Yeah, I'll be able to, don't worry! Listen, I look forward to your owl, but I guess you should probably go, you don't want to be late for your appointment." Harry said, glancing behind him at Mrs. Black, who was starting to look impatient. Draco sighed. Harry smiled at Draco's downtrodden face. He gently placed both hands onto either side of Draco's face and gently kissed him. Draco was a little taken aback, but did not protest, and instead put his hands on top of Harry's and briefly kissed back. They pulled apart and hugged each other. Harry watched as Draco ran back to his grandmother, his heart racing.
"I will never get used to that," Ron said to Harry as he rejoined the group.
"Get used to what?" Harry asked, as he started walking with the others. But Harry knew what Ron was talking about.
"You and Malfoy kissing," Ron said, cringing as he said it. Harry just rolled his eyes, but not before he saw Mrs. Weasley cringe at Ron's words as well; the others looked slightly uncomfortable too. Harry decided he would worry about that later. Right then, he was starting to get nervous about spending an entire weekend alone with Draco.