Priceless
Title: Priceless
Rating: PG 13
Word Count: 1,500
Summary: Some gifts are priceless
Author's notes: Super quick fic written in honor of kitty_fic's Birthday! Thank you hd_writers for hosting such a lovely challenge in her honor ^_^ So here's a super fluffy ficlet for a super fluffy, lovey little person who deserves all the feels in the world. Hope you like it, sweetling. Have a lovely birthday <3 So happy I could write this for you!
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.
Draco’s birthday was- as per usual- a marvellous success. The arrangements were certainly not as lavish as they used to be. Ever since he had moved from the Manor to his small flat, Draco had learnt a little about the concept of ‘limited space’. Nevertheless, all his friends were here and everyone was getting along well. Most importantly, Harry was here and that made this birthday all the more special in Draco’s book.
“Present time!” Pansy announced suddenly.
“Now?” Harry’s eyebrows rose in slight surprise. “What about cake?”
“Blasphemy,” Theo drawled. “We always open Draco’s presents before cake.”
“It’s tradition,” Pansy put in.
“There’s a tradition?” Harry asked.
Draco rolled his eyes. “It’s just a silly thing they do,” he explained. “Pay them no mind.”
Blaise smirked. “Don’t mock the birthday gods, young Draco. You know how important this part is. By the way, I don’t mean to brag or anything but I’m going up on the shelf this year.”
“As if,” Pansy scoffed. Theo raised a challenging brow while Harry stared, completely flummoxed.
“Okay, I’m lost.”
Draco smiled and squeezed his hand. “When I was younger and we had my birthday celebration at the Manor, Mother used to put my favourite present up for display. It became a sort of competition with these tossers.”
“Every year, we all try to get Draco the nicest present,” Theo finished. “Best present goes up on the shelf.” He gestured idly at the shelf right behind Harry. It was bare for now but all the Slytherins eyed it covetously. Harry shook his head in bemusement. Honestly, contests over presents? And he thought Gryffindors were competitive…
“Let’s get this rolling,” Blaise demanded. “The sooner we open my present, the sooner we can put these poor souls out of their misery.”
“Mine first!” Pansy snapped, shoving a box at Draco. She glared challengingly at the boys. “Also a tradition, by the way.”
“No one’s arguing, Pans,” Draco grinned, pecking her cheek affectionately. “Now, let’s see what brilliant gift you got me this year.”
Hence, the present unwrapping commenced. Harry’s eyes widened as gift after extravagant gift was unwrapped. Pansy’s cashmere sweater gave way to Adrian Pucey’s dragon-hide gloves. Both fell flat against the emerald dress robes Millicent had picked up in Paris. But surely, even those paled in comparison to the Canons’ autographed Quidditch set that Theo sprung for. Harry gulped. His own present was paltry in comparison. Surely, Draco wouldn’t even want it. Why would he when he had all of this?
“Not bad,” Blaise drawled, distracting him from his musings. “But I can do better.” He fished around in his pocket and handed Draco an envelope.
“You got him parchment?” Pansy teased. “Well, there’s no way we’re topping that.”
“Open it,” Blaise urged. Draco raised an eyebrow as he ripped the envelope open and pulled out two scraps of paper. Pansy frowned and leaned over to get a look. She promptly gasped. Theo took his own look and huffed.
“Cheater,” he declared sullenly.
“Is it my fault I own an island in the Pacific?” Blaise demanded smugly. “Surely I’m allowed to gift my best mate an all expense paid luxury trip to my own island? Oh quit sulking, you lot. Don’t hate the player, hate the game and all that…”
Draco chuckled and gave the smug Slytherin a quick hug. “This is brilliant, Blaise. Thank you so much.”
“Think nothing of it. But if you really want to thank me, you can put my infinitely superior present in the place of honour it deserves.”
Pansy wasn’t going down without a fight. “Not so fast, Zabini! We still have one more present to go. We haven’t opened Potter’s yet.”
Every eye in the room turned on Harry, who immediately flushed. “It’s…it’s not going up on the shelf,” he managed. “I really didn’t…”
“Rules are rules, Potter,” Theo cut in firmly. “You brought a present; you open it in front of everyone.”
“But…”
“He said it’s not going up on the shelf!” Blaise protested. “What’s the point?”
Draco raised an eyebrow at that. “The point is that my boyfriend got me something for my birthday and I want to see it.” He turned to Harry with a soft smile and squeezed his hand gently. “You know I’ll love it,” he whispered. “Please, Harry?”
“Oh come on, Potter. Be a sport. You don’t see us whinging, do you?” Pansy chirped. “Even if Blaise is a dirty cheater,” she grumbled under her breath.
Harry sighed in defeat. “Fine. But…don’t expect too much, okay? It’s really not that great.”
“I’ll be the judge of that,” Draco replied firmly. Harry nodded and retrieved the makeshift box from behind the sofa. Draco smiled as he handled it, carefully prying it open to reveal Harry’s gift. Harry suppressed a groan as everyone gaped at his silly, sappy gift in confused silence.
“It’s a bush,” Pansy finally announced. Her brow furrowed as she ran an inquisitive finger over the golden-green leaves.
“No,” Theo corrected as he cocked his head, observing the present seriously. “It’s a tree. A small tree.”
“Why would you give him a tree?” Pansy demanded.
“Ha!” Blaise crowed. “I still win. I’ve got trees on the island!”
“Blaise, hush,” Draco said sternly. “Harry, I’m guessing there’s a story behind this?”
“Sort of,” Harry shrugged. “Do you…remember the day we went to the Manor to pick up your things?”
Draco’s eyes clouded over. “That was right before the Ministry confiscated it for reparations,” he said quietly. “I was miserable that day.”
“I noticed,” Harry replied, squeezing his hand. “A little while later you said you wanted to walk in the gardens one last time. You showed me something. Remember that?”
“The old oak?” Draco smiled at the memory. “I could never forget that tree. I spent half my childhood in its branches.”
“I remember that,” Theo nodded. “You used to hide up there whenever Lucius saw your grades.”
“We had the elves put a tree-house up there once,” Blaise put in, frowning as he remembered. “It collapsed the next day.”
Draco chuckled. “I loved that tree. It was my tree, you know? Every time I felt like I just wanted to be alone, it was there.” The smile faded and a pained look drifted into his grey eyes. “I suppose the Ministry chopped it down with everything else.”
“Not really,” Harry smiled, cupping his cheek and pushing the tree over gently. “Happy Birthday, Draco.”
Draco’s eyes widened and his head snapped around to look at the tree again. The others leaned forward, just as flummoxed.
“No,” Pansy declared firmly. “It can’t be. You can’t shrink a tree. Can you?”
“Well, I can’t,” Harry admitted. “But Neville can.” He chuckled slightly. “It pays to know people in Herbology.”
Draco was barely listening. His eyes were still wide and he reached out hesitantly to stroke the branches of the tiny tree. He looked absolutely awed. “My tree. I…I never thought I’d see it again,” he whispered reverently. “But… how? They confiscated the Manor the very next day. I was…”
“I went back the same night with Neville. He wasn’t very happy about being dragged out of bed. But you looked so sad and…I just thought this would give you something to remember the good times. After that, it was pretty much Neville. He shrank it down, replanted it and kept it at his greenhouse for six months. And well, here it is.” Harry smiled ruefully and shrugged. “I know it’s not much but…”
The rest of his words went unsaid as Draco pulled him forward with a fervent Harry and kissed him fiercely. Harry blinked in surprise before catching on and slipping an arm around Draco, holding him steady. His heart clenched at the slight tremble of Draco’s lips under his own. His thumb swiped gently at Draco’s jaw line, wiping away a single tear. If only he could give Draco all his memories back…but at least he could do something. And apparently, that was enough.
“Thank you,” Draco whispered against his lips. “It’s brilliant. I don't even know how to thank…"
“I love you,” Harry cut in softly.
“Merlin’s silk knickers!” Blaise exclaimed, throwing his arms up in defeat. “Seriously?! I was this close!”
Harry smiled into Draco’s mouth and the blond chuckled, breaking the kiss and wiping his eyes discreetly. “Sorry, Blaise,” he smiled, patting his shoulder sympathetically.
“Better luck next year, darling,” Pansy tittered at the sulking Italian, patting his head. Blaise pushed her hand away sulkily.
Theo shook his head in amusement and nodded at Harry, raising a toast in acknowledgement. “Well played, Potter. The shelf is yours.”
Harry’s smile widened as Draco lifted his tree up carefully. His eyes were soft and a quiet smile pulled at his lips as he placed it on the shelf. The little oak stood proud on its pedestal, its leaves fluttering gently in the breeze.
And if it still stood there on Draco’s next birthday and the one after that and the one after that, nobody protested.After all, some gifts are too precious to have a price-tag attached. Some gifts go beyond all measure of value. Some gifts are priceless.