Burgon and Burtt's had the convenient ability of making even the most seasoned Death Eater's uncomfortable. The smell of something rotting permeated the entire building, as if it had been built over a corpse. A thick layer of dust covered every odd and oddity that the store offered regardless of how long it had actually been there. Draco had come here many times as a child with Lucius but the fear he had felt back then did not seem to lessen with age. Surprisingly, it had seemed to grow, the comforting presence of his father now replaced by Bellatrix Lestrange, in all her psychotic glory. However, seeing her here, leaning lazily on her right leg, suddenly made the strange atmosphere of the place make sense. She was more in line with the store's ideal clientele than the Malfoys had ever been.
After weeks of brainstorming, Bellatrix and Draco had finally managed to concoct a feasible plan to infiltrate Hogwarts: sister vanishing cabinets. The twin to the one they stood in front of had been moved to the room of requirement ten years ago. Its connection had been severed and the cabinet discarded. Assuming the connection could be fixed at all, it would allow anyone to travel from Burgan's straight to Hogwarts, undetected. The plan relied wholly on Draco's ability to fix the magical connection but he tried his best not to dwell on that as they conducted their tests.
Draco honestly wasn't sure it was even possible. He was good at magic but the kind of spells that this would require were far above anything he'd done before. He was by no means a prodigy like Granger and just the research into the magic made him feel incredibly out of his depth. He had learned to keep those doubts to himself though. Regardless of how naive he felt, he would have to make it work. And despite himself, it was almost comforting to focus all of his energy into the cabinet problem. He didn't have to think about how the hell he was going to manage to kill Dumbledore. That was a problem for Draco in six months, a version of Draco who had successfully smuggled in a group of Death Eaters and fixed an unfixable cabinet. Murder would be an easy task for that Draco.
Bellatrix examined the cabinet, trailing her slender fingers along the curve of the brass doorknob. It was empty inside, even missing the dust that adorned everything else in the building. Bellatrix cast a few more spells over it, humming as she looked at the subtle reactions the magic gave.
"It's working, if not a little rusty." She said contemplatively. Draco sighed, relieved. At least he didn't have to worry about fixing both. They'd been here for hours, conducting tests and probing the magic. For the first few, Draco's worry over whether either of the cabinets was working had grown to a near panic. This was by far the best plan they'd come up with and if it ended up not being an option, Draco had no idea what else they could do.
Bellatrix excused herself to talk to the gnarled, old shop owner as Draco stared at the aging, dark wood of the door. A vague memory of green eyes staring at him through the crack resurfaced and it took Draco a moment to figure out the origin of the thought. It had been right before second year, he recollected, he had visited the shop with his father. Draco hadn't been sure what he was looking at so he didn't say anything. The store was full of odd things after all. He hadn't thought about the encounter since that day but for some reason it wouldn't leave his mind as he and Bellatrix thanked the owner and left the store, making their way up the dimly lit streets of Knockturn Alley.
They made another quick stop on their way home, Bellatrix picking out several more hefty spell books for Draco to study. She'd already inundated him with reading material in the last few weeks, insisting that he needed to be prepared for the complex magic that the cabinet would require. "Your inherent incompetence will not be a suitable excuse for the Dark Lord." She had told him. Per her request, he'd been spending the majority of his days pouring over the advanced textbooks and so far the only thing that he'd found helpful was a spell that charmed paper to copy itself. Not particularly a spell he would brag about to the Death Eaters but one that had significantly improved his quality of life since he'd discovered it. The past week had been full of late nights, chatting with Harry into the early morning.
Bellatrix snapped her fingers in front of his face, making him jump. "Draco. You seem a little distracted today. Is everything alright?"
Draco cleared his throat "Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little tired." Bellatrix stared at him with her characteristic coldness gone from her eyes. The absence unsettled Draco. "Don't worry. I'll be ready by the time the semester starts."
She nodded slowly and handed him the bag of new books. They'd been spending an unusual amount of time together in the last week and Draco had found his aunt still entirely impossible to read. "You won't have me to help you once you leave for the school year." Draco nodded. "You aren't taking this seriously enough." Draco nodded again. "Stupid Boy." She hissed in a low tone, brushing past him.
They approached the public chimney to floo home and Draco's head snapped up as Bellatrix called his name. Her eyes looked dead as she stared at him. He hefted the books to his other arm and tilted his head questioningly. "Yeah?" She continued staring, taking a step forward.
"If there was something distracting you, you'd tell me? Wouldn't you, Draco?" She had yet to blink as she played with her wand in one hand. "You remember the stakes that are at play in this, don't you?" Draco nodded, glancing at the chimney, wondering how quickly he would be able to make an escape should he need to.
"You know I do." He assured, hoping it wouldn't come to that.
Her eyes flared dangerously, "If you are the reason my dear sister ends up dead, I'll kill you myself." Her voice was unnervingly calm as she spoke and Draco knew without a doubt that she meant it. Their eyes stayed locked for a moment before Bella's face broke into a smile. "Well, be sure to get some rest, Draco. We wouldn't want you to embarrass yourself in front of the Dark Lord again, now would we?" Her voice was soft and melodic, as if she was singing the reminder of his torture. Draco nodded coldly and turned to grab some floo powder.
"Oh, and Draco?" He grunted, letting the cold, green dust prickle against his palm. "Happy birthday." He didn't wait to hear more as he threw the dust into the fireplace and spoke the name of his home.
Draco's mother had also indeed remembered his birthday. When he arrived at the floo, brushing the ashes off of his gray sweater, he saw with dismay that their dining table had been set for two. A small cake sat in the center, decorated with green frosting and several candles burning magically so as to not drip wax onto the frosting. Draco sighed, setting down his bag of books and running an exhausted hand through his pale hair. Narcissa peered in from around the corner, her facing breaking into a smile at the site of her newly 17 year old son.
"Oh! You're home early, Draco!" She crooned, making her way to embrace him in a firm hug. "I was supposed to have everything ready before you got here! It'll be a few more minutes for dinner but you can go ahead and sit down now if you'd like!" Her voice rattled on quickly, her hands pointing at all the decorations as she spoke. Draco nodded, smiling numbly. He hadn't eaten in the dining room since Voldemort's visit and he noticed that the place settings were arranged roughly in the same space that Draco had sat before being subjected to the torture curse. The thought of eating here made his stomach turn, but the excited look on Narcissa's face quieted any arguments he had been about to make.
"Thank you, this looks really nice." He pulled her into another hug and buried his head into her shoulder. The distance between them had been growing over the past few weeks. Draco knew he was to blame for it too. She'd made efforts to check on him, trying to talk to him about everything that was happening, but Draco consistently shut her down. Thinking about what he was going to be doing this year made her effort feel incredibly important. He might not return from Hogwarts at all. Was the last thing his Mother would remember of him be a sullen, ungrateful teenager? Not if he could help it. He thought, releasing her with a smile. "I'll go ahead and sit down."
Narcissa had prepared a lovely meal of honey baked ham and mashed potatoes with a rich chocolate cake for dessert. They ate quietly, occasionally making small talk about school and what classes Draco intended to take. They both seemed to understand that discussing Voldemort's mission was off the table, especially as Draco's eyes kept glancing at the spot he had fallen to the floor weeks ago. Draco was finishing his second slice of cake when Narcissa spoke. "How's your new friend doing?"
Draco almost choked. "W-who do you mean?"
She smiled knowingly. "The friend you've been writing the letters to."
"H-how did you know about him?" Draco asked, clearing his throat and taking a sip of water.
"Don't worry, I didn't read anything. I've just noticed them in your room. You guys seem to be talking a lot?" She laughed off his uncomfortable posture and leaned back in her chair, smoothing the napkin in her lap.
"He's doing well, I suppose." Draco was happy to leave it at that but Narcissa's face told him that he could either spill the tea willingly or she could interrogate him further. "We just chat to pass the time. It's nothing strange."
"I see. Is he what's been keeping you up till dawn these days?" She sipped her tea, not making eye contact with him. Draco was a little stunned. He had no idea she was paying that much attention to him recently. His mind raced for a good answer, one that wouldn't implicate him. It took him a moment to realize he wasn't even sure what he would implicate himself in if he were to be completely honest with her.
"Yeah. I really like talking to him. He's…" The words seemed to fail him as he tried to describe their strange relationship. "He's nice."
"I'm sure he is."
"Why are you smiling like that?" Draco asked, unsure of what exactly was happening right now.
"You just seem a lot happier lately. Even with… everything going on." Her eyes dropped, "I'm just glad."
Draco smiled softly, "Sure."
"So when do I get to meet him?" Her eyes shot up with a mischievous glint.
"Never." Draco shrugged as casually as he could manage. "Sorry. Don't know what to tell ya."
"Is he cute?" She leaned forward onto her elbows, as if to hear Draco tell her a juicy secret.
"What?! Mother, please!" Draco got up, ready to leave the dining room behind. He'd humored her for a meal and now it was time to go to his room. He had definitely not spent his whole evening thinking about the fresh sheet of charmed paper waiting on his desk and he definitely did not want to go see if there was anything written for him there. He simply desired to end this line of conversation and it was his birthday after all. He could do what he wanted. Stopping at the foot of the staircase, he turned his head slightly to address his mother. "Yeah he is. Thanks for dinner." She smiled and he returned the gesture.
"Happy birthday Draco."
Draco tried his best to not run to his room but the second he turned the corner and was out of sight of Narcissa, he found his feet moving faster than they had been before. Ignoring the house elf that startled as he rushed around the corner, he opened his door and locked it behind him. He tossed the pile of new spell books onto his bed and reached for the large white parchment that he kept hidden underneath the matte on his desk. To his utter disappointment, the sheet of paper was as clean as it had been that morning when he'd sent over the newly enchanted parchment to Harry. With how often they'd been talking late into the morning, Draco had gotten into the habit of spelling and sending a new piece of paper at the start of every day that they could use until they both fell asleep.
He stared at the blank paper, his heart dropping a little. He'd been gone for the majority of the day, busy running tests and errands with Bellatrix. He hadn't expected much since he couldn't reply but he'd expected…something. He'd even mentioned his birthday to Harry last week. Of all the people that he'd wanted to forget his birthday, there had only been one that he'd hoped would remember. He sucked in a breath and put the paper down. Maybe he'd incorrectly charmed it. He wasn't perfect after all. Maybe Harry had spent all day writing notes that hadn't transferred over to him.
Hey! How's your day going? It was stupid, he thought, putting the quill down. He didn't know why his chest felt so heavy. He thought of what his mother had said and chewed on his lip anxiously. A new message appeared.
Hold on one second. I'm working on something. The chaotic handwriting did little to fill the pit that was forming in his stomach. The parchment was working fine. Harry had just forgotten. Draco put it down and sat on the edge of his bed, staring at his empty hands. It was fine, he told himself bitterly. He hadn't heard from his other friends today either. Pansy, Crabbe and Goyle hadn't reached out to him in weeks and when he really thought about it. He couldn't care less. Though something felt different about Harry forgetting. They'd been talking constantly recently. Draco had incorrectly assumed that Harry cared more about him than his friends that he'd only ever really talked to when it was convenient at Hogwarts. It's fine, Draco repeated, blinking.
The faint pop of the reply charm sounded from a few feet away and Draco jumped. As he looked up, his eyes widened, almost unable to believe what he was seeing. The swan's head slowly twirled in the air and the delicate, if not a little wobbly, wings flapped gently as the bird twirled down. Its movements mimicked that of a real bird, straining the elasticity of the paper. Draco gently reached his hand out and let it fall into his open palm. He stared, slightly stunned as it continued to move, the charm slowly wearing off. Seconds later, a second pop alerted him to yet another gift. A folded box bobbed in the air, obviously charmed but with no wings to move, it just seemed to wiggle in place. Draco took it with his free hand, Harry's signature messy handwriting scrawling OPEN ME over the top. Draco waited for the swan to stop dancing and he set it down, gently pulling the lid off the box.
He couldn't quite tell if he was breathing as he stared at the delicate little flower that stared back. It was some kind of wildflower, with delicate lavender petals. It had been placed in the box with a few leaves and blades of grass, framing it against the walls. Draco touched it tentatively, afraid to disturb the nest of flora. The smell reminded him of the flowers that grew in the forest behind the manor. He smiled looking back to the swan and then to the parchment, a new paragraph of Harry's signature brand of chicken scratch arriving.
Okay, so I know it's not much and it's kinda corny but I wanted to do something for your birthday:) I'm definitely not at your level but I've been practicing all week! I hope you like it and I'm really glad Hedwig messed up that delivery cus honestly you're the only thing keeping me sane this summer and I just really appreciate talking with you and I'm rambling now and I can't seem to stop so HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
Draco likewise couldn't seem to stop himself from grinning. He reread the letter, picking up the swan and examining it. Looking closer he could see that it was made by an amateur, folds were haphazard here and there and Draco could see where Harry had bent it in the wrong direction, only to correct himself and force the paper to the opposite side. It was obviously made by a beginner and it was the most beautiful piece of origami Draco had ever seen.
Another sentence appeared on the parchment: Do you like it? Draco couldn't think of the words to respond, just staring at the tiny little gift. He liked it so much. He had never liked anything as much as he liked this. He picked up his quill, careful not to bend the swan.
Yeah
He held the quill over the page, watching the words sink into the paper as he tried to think of something else to say, something else to put to words how much it meant to him that Harry had remembered, had done something so thoughtful. Harry responded while Draco failed to form a coherent thought.
Haha it's okay if you don't. I didn't have many options, as embarrassed as I am to admit it.
Draco scrambled for the pen. No I do! I love it! He wrote the words faster than he could think, following it with Thank you, Harry. Really, I mean it.
Haha okay I'm so glad :D Have you had a good birthday so far?
Draco thought back to the stressful hours he'd spent with Bella in Knockturn Alley, the death threat and the awkward but pleasant enough dinner with Narcissa, his eyes eventually falling back to the swan in his hands. Yeah, I have:) It's been really nice honestly. How long did it take you to fold the swan?
It's actually my fifth attempt today, and believe it or not, that is the lucky winner that remotely looks like a swan! Waiting for Draco's reply, a little doodle of a swan started to float through the paper. Draco smiled.
That's amazing! You've picked it up really fast and it honestly looks incredible.
It took a bit longer for Harry to reply this time. You're being very nice to me. Is everything okay?
Yeah. I'm just- Again, Draco found himself hovering the nib of the quill, unsure of what to say. I'm just also really glad that Hedwig brought me your letter. Our friendship means a lot to me, even if I'm a git about it sometimes.
A devilishly handsome git. A pause. Who is also now 17:) Draco snorted, drawing what he hoped looked like a fist giving the middle finger. Harry replied by adding intricate little doodles on the nails.