Christmas 2016 Fic: Reset (H/D, rated R) - Part 14
Title: Reset - Part 14
Author: sesheta_66
Pairing(s): Harry/Draco
Rating: R overall
Word Count: ~20K overall
Summary: Forgetting the past isn't always possible or practical. Dwelling on it isn't constructive. Moving beyond it, into what lies ahead, can be just the thing to help us heal. And friends? Well, they make it all - past, present and future - worth living.
Author's Notes: Written for dracoharry100's Christmas Challenge, prompt #30: New Year's Eve party and slythindor100's 25 Days of Draco and Harry, prompt #24: Christmas presents
Disclaimer: All Harry Potter characters herein are the property of J.K. Rowling and Bloomsbury/Scholastic. No copyright infringement is intended.
Previous parts: One | Two | Three | Four | Five | Six | Seven | Eight | Nine | Ten | Eleven | Twelve | Thirteen
Reset - Part 14
Harry looked nervously between Andromeda and the clock. Three fifty-five and still no Narcissa. He'd told her tea was at four but that she and Draco could come anytime. Harry had made it sound like a casual invitation though he knew it was anything but. Andromeda threw furtive glances at the door when she thought Harry wasn't looking and his nerves were nearly shot.
It was one thing to run headlong into things, risking one's own life or heart, but quite another to do it on behalf of someone else. He'd known there was a chance Narcissa - despite how she'd been with Harry since the war - would still hold true to her family's choice to disavow her sister. He'd thought - no, he'd hoped - that, in the absence of her parents and sister and most of all Lucius, she'd be more open. Now, as the minutes ticked away and he watched Andromeda fussing over Teddy, trying not to look anxious, he hoped he hadn't made things worse by bringing the rejection all back to the surface again.
"Let me make a pot of tea," he said.
"That would be nice," she said. "While you do that, I'll put Teddy down for his afternoon nap. It's already past his regular time."
"Sorry."
She smiled and waved a dismissive arm. "Nonsense, Harry. You don't get to see him very often and it's still early enough yet for it not to disturb his sleep tonight."
Relieved that he hadn't messed up her entire day, on top of messing with her life, Harry made his way into the kitchen and set to work making the tea. He warred between preparing the large pot and the small. Rather than emphasising the absence of Narcissa, he opted for the small. As he set the kettle to boil and reached for some biscuits, a soft knock came at the door. He'd been more on edge than he'd realised, as he jumped and dropped the box. He quickly retrieved it and ran for the door.
When he opened it, a composed but clearly nervous Narcissa stood with a gift bag in her hand and a smug Draco smirked at him. He smiled widely, exceedingly relieved and extremely pleased to see them. He opened the door and waved them in. "Andromeda is just putting Teddy down for his nap. She should be down in a minute."
Draco handed Harry a bag containing the gifts he'd left behind. "In your rush, you left these at the Manor." Harry thanked him before he thrust something else into Harry's hand - a bottle of some sort wrapped in cheery Christmas paper. "Just in case we need something stronger than tea," he whispered.
"I can hear you," Narcissa said as she slowly surveyed the room, taking in all the trimmings of a home and a life she never knew. She looked a bit sad and Harry imagined her wondering if the family rift had been worth missing out on all of this.
"How's that tea coming?" Andromeda's voice called softly down the stairs ahead of her. Everyone turned to watch her emerge and she stopped when she reached the landing and saw her sister and nephew in her front room. "You came." It was barely a whisper.
"Andi."
"Cissa." She still stood on the landing. "I didn't think you'd come."
"I'm -"
Legs suddenly jumping into gear, Andromeda crossed the space between her and her sister in six steps, looked like she was going to hug her but pulled short at the last minute, then reached down to grasp her hands. "I'm so glad you're here."
Narcissa's shoulders relaxed and she allowed herself to smile. "So am I."
Draco cleared his throat softly, just enough to remind his mother of his presence but not so loudly as to be obvious about it. Harry rolled his eyes.
Narcissa, remembering there was someone other than her sister in the room, motioned Draco forward. "Andi, this is my son, Draco. Draco, this is your Aunt Andromeda."
Andromeda smiled and reached a hand out. "Very nice to meet you, Draco." They should hands and she looked at Harry and back to her nephew. "I hear wonderful things about you."
A brief look of surprise flashed on his face but it was gone in an instant. "And I you," he replied.
"So," Harry announced to the room, "if you don't mind, I'm going to drag Draco into the kitchen to help me with the tea while you ladies catch up."
Andromeda looked poised to argue but Harry grabbed Draco's arm and pulled him towards the kitchen before she could. "You've already done most of the work. I'm sure we can manage pouring water into a teapot and arranging food on trays." Draco didn't look so sure and Harry stifled a laugh. "And if not, they'll still taste as good, even if they're thrown into a big pile. Go. Sit."
As he closed the kitchen door behind them, he heard Narcissa say, "Is he always this demanding?"
"You know, Potter," Draco said as he leaned against the kitchen counter, arms crossed over his chest and looking both mutinous and gorgeous, "it's customary to invite people over and serve them tea, not put them to work."
"Go on, sit yourself down," Harry said. "I can manage just fine. I didn't actually mean for you to help."
Draco gave him a wary, sidelong glance as he did just that. "Then why did you --?"
"Really?" Harry pulled down the tea from the cupboard and filled the large teapot with a relieved smile. "You can't imagine why I might want to give them some privacy to chat, after all these years, without an audience?"
"Oh. Right. Well, then. Good call."
Harry withdrew the plates of sandwiches and pastries Andromeda had prepared from the fridge and began placing them on the tea service trays while the tea had a chance to steep.
"You're surprisingly good at that," Draco observed.
Harry snorted. "At putting sandwiches on plates? I should hope so." He popped a mini treacle tart into his mouth and mumbled around it, "I can cook too."
Draco shook his head in amusement. "Sure you can."
"I can." He finished arranging the sweets on the second tray, covered the remaining food and returned the plates to the fridge. He walked over to where Draco sat, put his hands on the armrests and leaned in. "I can do all sorts of things."
Draco smiled, his eyes moving from Harry's eyes to his mouth and back. "Can you now?"
Harry grinned as he studied Draco's lips, a mere inch from his own. "I have many talents."
"Do you need help in there?" Andromeda's voice boomed through the silence.
Harry pulled back quickly as Draco began to laugh. "No, no, we're about done!"
"Actually, we hadn't even started."
Harry snorted. "Later."
"That sounds promising." Draco raised a brow. "Care to share?"
"Nope." Harry waved his wand and levitated the trays out the now open door. He motioned for Draco to go ahead. "Go on then. I'll just get the milk, sugar and plates and be right out."
Tea, it turned out, had been a good decision. The informal nature of tea in Andromeda's sitting room made the perfect backdrop for conversation, primarily consisting of revisited memories from their childhood which had everyone laughing and smiling in turn. Harry knew the sisters had other things to discuss - things that would not come so easily and that needed to be done without an audience - but that would come later. Harry was pleased that they had at least crossed the first bridge.
Teddy awoke as they were finishing dessert and Harry immediately jumped up to get him, leaving a bewildered Draco and Narcissa with Andromeda. Their faces looked no less confused when he appeared five minutes later with a freshly changed and smiling Teddy in his arms.
"Teddy, this is your Aunt Narcissa and your … cousin? Second cousin? Uncle? Well, anyway, that's Draco." He pointed Teddy's arm towards each in turn as he introduced them. "Narcissa and Draco, meet my godson, Teddy Lupin."
Narcissa's features softened as she reached a hand out. "Hello, Teddy." Teddy squirmed in Harry's arms but didn’t shy away.
"His hair is just like yours," Draco said.
Harry looked at the unwieldy mop of black atop Teddy's head and laughed. "I know, right?"
"It was black when he was born." Andromeda ran her fingers through Teddy's mop. "But it changes into this whenever he's with Harry. Dora's hair always changed too, depending on whom she was with."
Narcissa turned. "So he's a Metamorphmagus?"
Teddy reached for his grandmother and he handed him off. "He is indeed, or at least he has some of Dora's traits."
Harry watched Narcissa - a cold woman until recently, but even now not particularly warm - gush over her nephew. He nudged Draco who was smiling at his mother. "Was she like this with you?"
Draco nodded. "Always. Well, except in public when Father was with us."
"I can see that," Harry said. "Must keep up appearances."
Draco narrowed his eyes, but - perhaps picking up on Harry's complete lack of vitriol - relaxed again and nodded. "I had to be strong, even as a child. Not always a bad thing."
"I suppose not." Wanting to get off the topic of Lucius, Harry picked up the sandwich tray. "I'll just put all this away and get a little something for Teddy."
"Thanks, Harry." She plunked Teddy down on the sofa beside her then turned to her sister. "he's such a dear."
Narcissa smiled up at Harry. "I can see that."
Blushing madly, he exited the room quickly. Not to be left alone, however, he was followed closely by Draco. He got a plate from the cupboard and placed the leftover sandwiches on it, wrapped it and placed it in the fridge. Then, with a wave of his wand, the plates from the tea tray sailed into the sink where water and soap were filling it. All the while, he could feel Draco watching him. No longer able to avoid his gaze, Harry turned to face him.
He stood leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed over his chest, watching Harry with an amused grin. "Was there something you wanted?" Harry asked.
Ignoring Harry's question, he said, "You seem quite at home here."
Harry shrugged and put his hands in his pockets. "I come by to help out with Teddy when I can."
"Apparently." His eyes twinkled. "My aunt seems to quite like you."
Harry blushed some more and busied himself clearing up the dishes and putting them away.
"So. This other surprise you have. Any chance you'll be telling me about it sometime soon?"
Harry grabbed a cookie for Teddy and looked at the clock. "You'll know in another hour."
They returned to the sitting room and spent the next hour chatting and entertaining Teddy who seemed rather chuffed at all the attention.
"Well, ladies, it has been a lovely afternoon, but I have one more surprise and Draco may hex me if I don't deliver at precisely seven o'clock as promised."
The sisters both smiled at him, something that didn't escape Draco's notice. "Mother? Do you know what the surprise is?"
"I'm sure I don't know exactly what the surprise is, but I think I have a general idea, yes."
He turned on Harry. "Just how often do you correspond with my mother behind my back?"
Harry laughed. "Just a few times, I promise. Now, would you like to see your surprise or would you rather yell at me?"
Harry reached for Teddy and as soon as he'd scooped him into his arms, his little head of hair exploded, not unlike the mini-Harrys. Draco snorted beside him. "Don't listen to him," Harry told Teddy. "He's just jealous he can't have such awesome hair." Everyone laughed at that, including a gurgling Teddy, and Harry wasn't sure if he should be amused or insulted.
He handed Teddy to Draco, who took him but looked nervous. Teddy's hand reached out and pulled on a piece of Draco's hair before his own turned white-blond, the spitting image of Draco's. Draco's eyes widened at the transformation and Andromeda cooed. "Oh, he likes you!"
With that, Draco handed him back to his grandmother and watched, amazed, as Teddy's hair remained like his own.
"See you again soon," Harry said, giving Andromeda a big hug. "Happy Christmas."
She hugged him back fiercely. "Thank you so much, for everything, Harry."
"My pleasure." He turned to Narcissa, holding out a hand, but she brushed it aside and also pulled him in for a hug. Stunned, it took Harry a moment to return a gentle squeeze. "Happy Christmas."
She pulled back, but held him at arm's length. "Yes, it is," she said. "Thank you for this wonderful gift."
Merlin, he needed to stop blushing. "I didn't do anything, really."
She looked at her sister and they both nodded. "Sure you didn't. Now, off with the two of you before my son really does hex you."
Draco kissed his mother and gave his aunt a hug. "Thanks for a lovely afternoon," he told Andromeda. "Mother, I'll see you soon."
***
Outside, Harry shrank his bag of gifts and put in into his coat pocket, retrieving a battered flask from his other.
"Is this your surprise?" Draco raised a brow. "Trying to get me drunk so you can take advantage of me?"
"Not tonight." Harry laughed. "Remember, your mother has a general idea of what's going on, and I don't think she'd be on board with that."
He looked back at the house, then at Harry. "I don't know. I think both of them love you."
Harry snorted and waved his wand over the flask. "Just grab on."
"Ah, a portkey." He took hold and a few seconds later the familiar pull spun them to their destination. They landed heavily in an alley near a busy sidewalk but managed to stand their ground. "Where are we?"
Harry didn't answer but instead grabbed his sleeve and dragged him forward. "Come with me. You'll see."
As they got closer to their destination - another right followed by a sharp left - the voices around them got clearer.
"Are these people speaking French?" Draco asked. "Are we in France?"
"Mm-hmm."
"You got an international portkey?"
"Yep."
"Do you know how hard those are to get? At Christmastime, no less."
Harry shrugged. "Kingsley didn't mention that, no."
"The -" Draco tugged his arm and stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, causing others to frown and grumble in French as they made their way around him. Harry was pretty sure he heard merde more than once. "You went to the Minister of Magic to get a portkey to bring me to France?"
Harry nodded. "To Paris, to be exact. Now come on, that's not what this is about."
"What the -?"
Harry sighed. "Would you please just trust me? You can do that, yeah?"
"Well, yes, of course."
"Then come on."
Harry led the way to a cozy restaurant and they entered. "Potter. Table pour quatre."
"You speak French?"
Harry laughed. "No. That and a few more words would be my full repertoire."
The maître d' led them towards the back. "Wait - did you say table for four?"
"Mm-hmm."
They reached the table to find two people already seated.
"Pansy? Blaise? What are you doing here?"
Parkinson stood up and pulled Draco into a bone-crushing hug. "Oh, Draco, I've missed you so much!"
"Nice to see you again, Draco," Blaise said, standing and taking him in a one-armed embrace before guiding him into the booth.
Harry slid in beside him. "Parkinson, Zabini."
"Potter," Zabini said. He lifted a bottle of elf-wine and both Harry and Draco nodded. He filled the glasses already on the table.
Parkinson looked towards the door then at Harry. "You really came alone?"
Harry laughed. "I told you, no ulterior motive."
"Yes, but …"
Zabini interrupted with a cough and raised his glass. "Happy Christmas."
They all raised their glasses in a toast. "Happy Christmas."
"You did this?" Draco asked, staring at Harry.
Harry smiled and nodded. "It was the least I could do." Draco gaped. Before he argued, Harry added, "You have suffered through a term surrounded by Gryffindors, after all."
"Too true."
"Has it been awful?" Parkinson asked.
"Really, Pans," Zabini said. "How could it be anything but?"
Harry snorted. "Thanks."
"At first it was pretty bad, but lately it's been okay." He glanced briefly at Harry before returning his attention to Parkinson with a big smile. "It's really good to see you."
Her eyes kept darting towards the door until Harry couldn't take it anymore. "Parkinson, there's no one else coming. And even if they did, there would be nothing they could do. We are in France. No extradition. No current warrant. No reason to do anything to you. Relax."
"Is that why we're here?" Draco asked.
Harry took the last sip of his wine and waved Zabini off as he was about to refill it. "She figured I was working with the Ministry to track her down, so I suggested we could meet somewhere neutral. It took a lot of persuading to get her not to contact you directly."
"It was a reasonable conclusion," she argued. "After all, how else could you get all of us international portkeys if the Ministry weren't involved?"
Draco put his glass down. "You got three international portkeys?"
"Four actually," he said. He turned to Parkinson. "I talked to the Minister, not the Aurors, and he didn't ask me any questions. I just said I wanted to be able to bring some friends together for an evening over Christmas and he granted me the permit. No one but the four of us knows you're here. Narcissa has an idea but no details. The Department of Magical Transportation knows of the portkeys but not who is using them. Unless you told someone, no one else knows you are here. No one."
Harry stood up, pulled the flask out of his jacket and handed it to Draco. "This will get you back to Wiltshire. Just trigger the timer and thirty seconds later it will activate."
"Where are you going?" Draco asked.
"I got another portkey to take me back to Hogsmeade. You guys catch up." He nodded to Zabini and Parkinson. "Happy Christmas."
Zabini held out his hand and Harry shook it. "Thanks, Potter. You too." He elbowed Parkinson who nodded but said nothing.
"If not beforehand, Draco, I'll see you at the New Year's Eve party." He waved and left him to catch up with his best friends.
As he walked away, he heard Zabini say, "Fucking hell, Draco. There's a good friend to have."
"You have no idea, Blaise. No idea."
Part 15
Author: sesheta_66
Pairing(s): Harry/Draco
Rating: R overall
Word Count: ~20K overall
Summary: Forgetting the past isn't always possible or practical. Dwelling on it isn't constructive. Moving beyond it, into what lies ahead, can be just the thing to help us heal. And friends? Well, they make it all - past, present and future - worth living.
Author's Notes: Written for dracoharry100's Christmas Challenge, prompt #30: New Year's Eve party and slythindor100's 25 Days of Draco and Harry, prompt #24: Christmas presents
Disclaimer: All Harry Potter characters herein are the property of J.K. Rowling and Bloomsbury/Scholastic. No copyright infringement is intended.
Previous parts: One | Two | Three | Four | Five | Six | Seven | Eight | Nine | Ten | Eleven | Twelve | Thirteen
Reset - Part 14
Harry looked nervously between Andromeda and the clock. Three fifty-five and still no Narcissa. He'd told her tea was at four but that she and Draco could come anytime. Harry had made it sound like a casual invitation though he knew it was anything but. Andromeda threw furtive glances at the door when she thought Harry wasn't looking and his nerves were nearly shot.
It was one thing to run headlong into things, risking one's own life or heart, but quite another to do it on behalf of someone else. He'd known there was a chance Narcissa - despite how she'd been with Harry since the war - would still hold true to her family's choice to disavow her sister. He'd thought - no, he'd hoped - that, in the absence of her parents and sister and most of all Lucius, she'd be more open. Now, as the minutes ticked away and he watched Andromeda fussing over Teddy, trying not to look anxious, he hoped he hadn't made things worse by bringing the rejection all back to the surface again.
"Let me make a pot of tea," he said.
"That would be nice," she said. "While you do that, I'll put Teddy down for his afternoon nap. It's already past his regular time."
"Sorry."
She smiled and waved a dismissive arm. "Nonsense, Harry. You don't get to see him very often and it's still early enough yet for it not to disturb his sleep tonight."
Relieved that he hadn't messed up her entire day, on top of messing with her life, Harry made his way into the kitchen and set to work making the tea. He warred between preparing the large pot and the small. Rather than emphasising the absence of Narcissa, he opted for the small. As he set the kettle to boil and reached for some biscuits, a soft knock came at the door. He'd been more on edge than he'd realised, as he jumped and dropped the box. He quickly retrieved it and ran for the door.
When he opened it, a composed but clearly nervous Narcissa stood with a gift bag in her hand and a smug Draco smirked at him. He smiled widely, exceedingly relieved and extremely pleased to see them. He opened the door and waved them in. "Andromeda is just putting Teddy down for his nap. She should be down in a minute."
Draco handed Harry a bag containing the gifts he'd left behind. "In your rush, you left these at the Manor." Harry thanked him before he thrust something else into Harry's hand - a bottle of some sort wrapped in cheery Christmas paper. "Just in case we need something stronger than tea," he whispered.
"I can hear you," Narcissa said as she slowly surveyed the room, taking in all the trimmings of a home and a life she never knew. She looked a bit sad and Harry imagined her wondering if the family rift had been worth missing out on all of this.
"How's that tea coming?" Andromeda's voice called softly down the stairs ahead of her. Everyone turned to watch her emerge and she stopped when she reached the landing and saw her sister and nephew in her front room. "You came." It was barely a whisper.
"Andi."
"Cissa." She still stood on the landing. "I didn't think you'd come."
"I'm -"
Legs suddenly jumping into gear, Andromeda crossed the space between her and her sister in six steps, looked like she was going to hug her but pulled short at the last minute, then reached down to grasp her hands. "I'm so glad you're here."
Narcissa's shoulders relaxed and she allowed herself to smile. "So am I."
Draco cleared his throat softly, just enough to remind his mother of his presence but not so loudly as to be obvious about it. Harry rolled his eyes.
Narcissa, remembering there was someone other than her sister in the room, motioned Draco forward. "Andi, this is my son, Draco. Draco, this is your Aunt Andromeda."
Andromeda smiled and reached a hand out. "Very nice to meet you, Draco." They should hands and she looked at Harry and back to her nephew. "I hear wonderful things about you."
A brief look of surprise flashed on his face but it was gone in an instant. "And I you," he replied.
"So," Harry announced to the room, "if you don't mind, I'm going to drag Draco into the kitchen to help me with the tea while you ladies catch up."
Andromeda looked poised to argue but Harry grabbed Draco's arm and pulled him towards the kitchen before she could. "You've already done most of the work. I'm sure we can manage pouring water into a teapot and arranging food on trays." Draco didn't look so sure and Harry stifled a laugh. "And if not, they'll still taste as good, even if they're thrown into a big pile. Go. Sit."
As he closed the kitchen door behind them, he heard Narcissa say, "Is he always this demanding?"
"You know, Potter," Draco said as he leaned against the kitchen counter, arms crossed over his chest and looking both mutinous and gorgeous, "it's customary to invite people over and serve them tea, not put them to work."
"Go on, sit yourself down," Harry said. "I can manage just fine. I didn't actually mean for you to help."
Draco gave him a wary, sidelong glance as he did just that. "Then why did you --?"
"Really?" Harry pulled down the tea from the cupboard and filled the large teapot with a relieved smile. "You can't imagine why I might want to give them some privacy to chat, after all these years, without an audience?"
"Oh. Right. Well, then. Good call."
Harry withdrew the plates of sandwiches and pastries Andromeda had prepared from the fridge and began placing them on the tea service trays while the tea had a chance to steep.
"You're surprisingly good at that," Draco observed.
Harry snorted. "At putting sandwiches on plates? I should hope so." He popped a mini treacle tart into his mouth and mumbled around it, "I can cook too."
Draco shook his head in amusement. "Sure you can."
"I can." He finished arranging the sweets on the second tray, covered the remaining food and returned the plates to the fridge. He walked over to where Draco sat, put his hands on the armrests and leaned in. "I can do all sorts of things."
Draco smiled, his eyes moving from Harry's eyes to his mouth and back. "Can you now?"
Harry grinned as he studied Draco's lips, a mere inch from his own. "I have many talents."
"Do you need help in there?" Andromeda's voice boomed through the silence.
Harry pulled back quickly as Draco began to laugh. "No, no, we're about done!"
"Actually, we hadn't even started."
Harry snorted. "Later."
"That sounds promising." Draco raised a brow. "Care to share?"
"Nope." Harry waved his wand and levitated the trays out the now open door. He motioned for Draco to go ahead. "Go on then. I'll just get the milk, sugar and plates and be right out."
Tea, it turned out, had been a good decision. The informal nature of tea in Andromeda's sitting room made the perfect backdrop for conversation, primarily consisting of revisited memories from their childhood which had everyone laughing and smiling in turn. Harry knew the sisters had other things to discuss - things that would not come so easily and that needed to be done without an audience - but that would come later. Harry was pleased that they had at least crossed the first bridge.
Teddy awoke as they were finishing dessert and Harry immediately jumped up to get him, leaving a bewildered Draco and Narcissa with Andromeda. Their faces looked no less confused when he appeared five minutes later with a freshly changed and smiling Teddy in his arms.
"Teddy, this is your Aunt Narcissa and your … cousin? Second cousin? Uncle? Well, anyway, that's Draco." He pointed Teddy's arm towards each in turn as he introduced them. "Narcissa and Draco, meet my godson, Teddy Lupin."
Narcissa's features softened as she reached a hand out. "Hello, Teddy." Teddy squirmed in Harry's arms but didn’t shy away.
"His hair is just like yours," Draco said.
Harry looked at the unwieldy mop of black atop Teddy's head and laughed. "I know, right?"
"It was black when he was born." Andromeda ran her fingers through Teddy's mop. "But it changes into this whenever he's with Harry. Dora's hair always changed too, depending on whom she was with."
Narcissa turned. "So he's a Metamorphmagus?"
Teddy reached for his grandmother and he handed him off. "He is indeed, or at least he has some of Dora's traits."
Harry watched Narcissa - a cold woman until recently, but even now not particularly warm - gush over her nephew. He nudged Draco who was smiling at his mother. "Was she like this with you?"
Draco nodded. "Always. Well, except in public when Father was with us."
"I can see that," Harry said. "Must keep up appearances."
Draco narrowed his eyes, but - perhaps picking up on Harry's complete lack of vitriol - relaxed again and nodded. "I had to be strong, even as a child. Not always a bad thing."
"I suppose not." Wanting to get off the topic of Lucius, Harry picked up the sandwich tray. "I'll just put all this away and get a little something for Teddy."
"Thanks, Harry." She plunked Teddy down on the sofa beside her then turned to her sister. "he's such a dear."
Narcissa smiled up at Harry. "I can see that."
Blushing madly, he exited the room quickly. Not to be left alone, however, he was followed closely by Draco. He got a plate from the cupboard and placed the leftover sandwiches on it, wrapped it and placed it in the fridge. Then, with a wave of his wand, the plates from the tea tray sailed into the sink where water and soap were filling it. All the while, he could feel Draco watching him. No longer able to avoid his gaze, Harry turned to face him.
He stood leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed over his chest, watching Harry with an amused grin. "Was there something you wanted?" Harry asked.
Ignoring Harry's question, he said, "You seem quite at home here."
Harry shrugged and put his hands in his pockets. "I come by to help out with Teddy when I can."
"Apparently." His eyes twinkled. "My aunt seems to quite like you."
Harry blushed some more and busied himself clearing up the dishes and putting them away.
"So. This other surprise you have. Any chance you'll be telling me about it sometime soon?"
Harry grabbed a cookie for Teddy and looked at the clock. "You'll know in another hour."
They returned to the sitting room and spent the next hour chatting and entertaining Teddy who seemed rather chuffed at all the attention.
"Well, ladies, it has been a lovely afternoon, but I have one more surprise and Draco may hex me if I don't deliver at precisely seven o'clock as promised."
The sisters both smiled at him, something that didn't escape Draco's notice. "Mother? Do you know what the surprise is?"
"I'm sure I don't know exactly what the surprise is, but I think I have a general idea, yes."
He turned on Harry. "Just how often do you correspond with my mother behind my back?"
Harry laughed. "Just a few times, I promise. Now, would you like to see your surprise or would you rather yell at me?"
Harry reached for Teddy and as soon as he'd scooped him into his arms, his little head of hair exploded, not unlike the mini-Harrys. Draco snorted beside him. "Don't listen to him," Harry told Teddy. "He's just jealous he can't have such awesome hair." Everyone laughed at that, including a gurgling Teddy, and Harry wasn't sure if he should be amused or insulted.
He handed Teddy to Draco, who took him but looked nervous. Teddy's hand reached out and pulled on a piece of Draco's hair before his own turned white-blond, the spitting image of Draco's. Draco's eyes widened at the transformation and Andromeda cooed. "Oh, he likes you!"
With that, Draco handed him back to his grandmother and watched, amazed, as Teddy's hair remained like his own.
"See you again soon," Harry said, giving Andromeda a big hug. "Happy Christmas."
She hugged him back fiercely. "Thank you so much, for everything, Harry."
"My pleasure." He turned to Narcissa, holding out a hand, but she brushed it aside and also pulled him in for a hug. Stunned, it took Harry a moment to return a gentle squeeze. "Happy Christmas."
She pulled back, but held him at arm's length. "Yes, it is," she said. "Thank you for this wonderful gift."
Merlin, he needed to stop blushing. "I didn't do anything, really."
She looked at her sister and they both nodded. "Sure you didn't. Now, off with the two of you before my son really does hex you."
Draco kissed his mother and gave his aunt a hug. "Thanks for a lovely afternoon," he told Andromeda. "Mother, I'll see you soon."
***
Outside, Harry shrank his bag of gifts and put in into his coat pocket, retrieving a battered flask from his other.
"Is this your surprise?" Draco raised a brow. "Trying to get me drunk so you can take advantage of me?"
"Not tonight." Harry laughed. "Remember, your mother has a general idea of what's going on, and I don't think she'd be on board with that."
He looked back at the house, then at Harry. "I don't know. I think both of them love you."
Harry snorted and waved his wand over the flask. "Just grab on."
"Ah, a portkey." He took hold and a few seconds later the familiar pull spun them to their destination. They landed heavily in an alley near a busy sidewalk but managed to stand their ground. "Where are we?"
Harry didn't answer but instead grabbed his sleeve and dragged him forward. "Come with me. You'll see."
As they got closer to their destination - another right followed by a sharp left - the voices around them got clearer.
"Are these people speaking French?" Draco asked. "Are we in France?"
"Mm-hmm."
"You got an international portkey?"
"Yep."
"Do you know how hard those are to get? At Christmastime, no less."
Harry shrugged. "Kingsley didn't mention that, no."
"The -" Draco tugged his arm and stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, causing others to frown and grumble in French as they made their way around him. Harry was pretty sure he heard merde more than once. "You went to the Minister of Magic to get a portkey to bring me to France?"
Harry nodded. "To Paris, to be exact. Now come on, that's not what this is about."
"What the -?"
Harry sighed. "Would you please just trust me? You can do that, yeah?"
"Well, yes, of course."
"Then come on."
Harry led the way to a cozy restaurant and they entered. "Potter. Table pour quatre."
"You speak French?"
Harry laughed. "No. That and a few more words would be my full repertoire."
The maître d' led them towards the back. "Wait - did you say table for four?"
"Mm-hmm."
They reached the table to find two people already seated.
"Pansy? Blaise? What are you doing here?"
Parkinson stood up and pulled Draco into a bone-crushing hug. "Oh, Draco, I've missed you so much!"
"Nice to see you again, Draco," Blaise said, standing and taking him in a one-armed embrace before guiding him into the booth.
Harry slid in beside him. "Parkinson, Zabini."
"Potter," Zabini said. He lifted a bottle of elf-wine and both Harry and Draco nodded. He filled the glasses already on the table.
Parkinson looked towards the door then at Harry. "You really came alone?"
Harry laughed. "I told you, no ulterior motive."
"Yes, but …"
Zabini interrupted with a cough and raised his glass. "Happy Christmas."
They all raised their glasses in a toast. "Happy Christmas."
"You did this?" Draco asked, staring at Harry.
Harry smiled and nodded. "It was the least I could do." Draco gaped. Before he argued, Harry added, "You have suffered through a term surrounded by Gryffindors, after all."
"Too true."
"Has it been awful?" Parkinson asked.
"Really, Pans," Zabini said. "How could it be anything but?"
Harry snorted. "Thanks."
"At first it was pretty bad, but lately it's been okay." He glanced briefly at Harry before returning his attention to Parkinson with a big smile. "It's really good to see you."
Her eyes kept darting towards the door until Harry couldn't take it anymore. "Parkinson, there's no one else coming. And even if they did, there would be nothing they could do. We are in France. No extradition. No current warrant. No reason to do anything to you. Relax."
"Is that why we're here?" Draco asked.
Harry took the last sip of his wine and waved Zabini off as he was about to refill it. "She figured I was working with the Ministry to track her down, so I suggested we could meet somewhere neutral. It took a lot of persuading to get her not to contact you directly."
"It was a reasonable conclusion," she argued. "After all, how else could you get all of us international portkeys if the Ministry weren't involved?"
Draco put his glass down. "You got three international portkeys?"
"Four actually," he said. He turned to Parkinson. "I talked to the Minister, not the Aurors, and he didn't ask me any questions. I just said I wanted to be able to bring some friends together for an evening over Christmas and he granted me the permit. No one but the four of us knows you're here. Narcissa has an idea but no details. The Department of Magical Transportation knows of the portkeys but not who is using them. Unless you told someone, no one else knows you are here. No one."
Harry stood up, pulled the flask out of his jacket and handed it to Draco. "This will get you back to Wiltshire. Just trigger the timer and thirty seconds later it will activate."
"Where are you going?" Draco asked.
"I got another portkey to take me back to Hogsmeade. You guys catch up." He nodded to Zabini and Parkinson. "Happy Christmas."
Zabini held out his hand and Harry shook it. "Thanks, Potter. You too." He elbowed Parkinson who nodded but said nothing.
"If not beforehand, Draco, I'll see you at the New Year's Eve party." He waved and left him to catch up with his best friends.
As he walked away, he heard Zabini say, "Fucking hell, Draco. There's a good friend to have."
"You have no idea, Blaise. No idea."
Part 15