The months passed in a flurry of studying and casual outings and soon it was December. Harry had been invited to visit Parkinson Place and join the family for a meal and presents. He had stressed for days on what to get everyone. They were going to be his in-laws so he wanted it to go well.
He Flooed over on December 24. He had promised Andromeda that Christmas would be what was left of the Blacks, even including Narcissa and Draco. Boy was that a hard pill to swallow. But he Flooed over to Pansy's house and only stumbled a bit. He was improving. It'd be impossible to get worse.
Douglass and Ellenora were there to greet him and only chuckled lightly at his stumbling.
"Nice to see you again, Berry. Come on, we'll show you the way to the family room." Douglass offered.
The house wasn't huge, just comfortable for a family of four. It was nicely decorated in honey colored woods and pastel paints. The portraits they had up were of animals and plants mostly, with a few ancestors here and there.
Harry liked the energy of the home and said as much. Ellenora smiled secretively and whispered that it was all her doing. Apparently Lord Parkinson was terribly color blind.
They arrived at a sitting room with blue-green couches and a vine patterned wallpaper as well as a naturally decorated Christmas tree set up in the corner. It had garlands of cranberries, popcorn, and dried orange slices. Pansy and Sage were already there, teasing each other as Harry had seen with the Weasleys. Pansy looked up as they entered and ran over to hug Harry. It felt good to have her in his arms. Hugs and games of footsie were as far as they had gotten with what felt like eternal watching.
He smiled and returned her hug. Then Douglass cleared his throat as he shot them a meaningful glance.
"I think it's about time to open these gifts." He said, gesturing to the parcels under the tree that Harry hadn't noticed at first.
They all sat on the couches and Ellenora waved her wand directing the packages to their intended person. Harry was somehow surprised that he had gifts from all four Parkinsons.
Douglass looked over everyone and said youngest to oldest. Harry looked around before realizing that meant him. He opened his gifts methodically, in the way someone who hasn't received many gifts does, and found a voucher for new glasses from Douglass, a collection of wizarding novels from Ellenora, and five bottles of Baby Be Calm from Sage. The Baby Be Calm would come in handy; Teddy was teething. Then he got to Pansy's gift. It was square the size of a cutting board. He opened it slowly, jaw dropping when the paper fell away to reveal a painting of Teddy sleeping with his favorite stuffed dragon.
He looked up at her, hopeless to say anything in the moment.
SHe blushed and said, "It's not a true portrait. With his essence I mean. But it'll look like he's breathing.
"I love it."
They shared a glance before looking back at the others.
Pansy was next, receiving a new cloak from her parents and a custom perfume from her Brother. She opened Harry's gift to reveal a simple ring with a diamond. She looked up.
"Is this for real?"
He brushed the back of his head with the hand not holding his gifts, "Yeah, I figured you deserve a real engagement ring for our real engagement. Sorry it took so long. I just figured…well, in a lot of muggle stories, people get engaged on Christmas. I thought it'd be romantic."
"You lug! I love it. Put it on my finger!" She demanded. Harry chuckled and complied. And then, they paused the gift opening to admire Pansy's new ring.
Sage opened his gifts next, also receiving a new cloak as well as a box of crystal vials. Pansy had gotten him a painting of him at a cauldron brewing something and Harry had gotten him a voucher for potions ingredients. When Sage looked at him, amused, Harry shrugged and said, "Next year might be better. All I've heard about you is you're studying potions."
Sage laughed and said," I'll hold you to that. But honestly, Potions stuff is a good guess."
Ellenora spoke up, " I guess I'm next." SHe opened parcels to reveal a new dress from Douglass, a painting of a garden scene from Pansy, and a personalized perfume form Sage. Harry's gift was a brooch featuring sage blossoms and pansy flowers. She looked at it for a long time, tracing her fingers over the delicate painted blooms. "Thank you Berry. I'll treasure it."
Douglass rubbed his wife's back for a moment before turning to his own pile. "Let's see what we've got."
Ellenora gifted him a voucher that had him blushing. Pansy gave him a painting of his favorite animal, a horse running in the wind. Sage gave him a pair of cufflinks made from a pretty wood. And Harry' s gift was an accountant's log, muggle in make, but made out of a luxurious oxblood leather.
He thanked everyone for the gifts and they sat and talked for an hour until it was time for luncheon. Then Ellenora guided everyone to the dining room where a wonderful, steaming hot meal was waiting courtesy of the Parkinson's elf, Stubs. They ate and talked and laughed until well into the afternoon, and then Harry gathered his gifts, making sure to take special care of the portrait of Teddy, and went back to Grimmauld Place.