HP Christmas Quickies: Wishful Thinking- Pt. 1
Title: Wishful Thinking- Pt. 1
Author: sugareey
Rating: PG for this part
Characters: Harry/Draco, general for this part
Word Count: 1,349
Summary: An inter-house holiday gift exchange was the last thing everyone needed. What could possibly go wrong?
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made from this work.
A/N: Well, it's been a while since I've written anything. And I wanted to spread holiday cheer. So, bear with me. Unbetaed, but poke me if you see anything that sticks out. I've decided to play with the awdt's Christmas Quickies. This part is for the prompt, "Candy Cane Pops." Enjoy!
Harry stared at the newest posting on the bulletin board of Gryffindor Tower’s common room. The more he read, the more uneasy he felt. If this was exactly what he thought it was, they were in trouble. So many things were bound to go wrong with McGonagall’s latest policy.
“This has to be a joke!” said Ron indignantly, frowning at the announcement. “What the hell is McGonagall playing at?”
“What are do you mean? This is wonderful news!” exclaimed Hermione happily. “It makes sense, doesn’t it? Inter-house unity. It’s what McGonagall has been saying all long! And with the holidays so close, I can see why she thought this would be a good idea.”
“I can’t say that everyone’s going to like this, considering that it’s mandatory,” replied Harry warily. He frowned and bit his lip. “I mean, we already sit and work with others from different houses during classes. This is really pushing it.”
“If this is the way we can get everyone to work together, then it’s a perfect plan,” insisted Hermione. “Besides, we could always use some holiday cheer. This hasn’t been an easy year for many students.”
Harry raised an eyebrow. “That’s an understatement. I can’t see how a Secret Santa exchange is going to fix everything.”
“A what?” asked Ron, confused.
“Holiday gift exchange,” Harry elaborated quickly before turning to Hermione. “This is mad. What’ll happen when someone gets a Slytherin as an assignment?”
“They’d probably send them a pass to Azkaban,” muttered Ron with a snort.
“Ron!” hissed Hermione, swatting his arm with her hand. “That’s not funny!”
“Hey! It’s true, Hermione! Don’t know why that bloody lot even came back. Useless and pathetic, if you ask me.”
“You know well enough McGonagall asked the Slytherins to come back! Hogwarts needs all of her houses. Without them, she’ll perish to the ground.”
“You’ve been reading too much.”
“It’s ancient magic, and at least McGonagall believes it’s important!”
Harry sighed. He did not want to be caught in the middle of this argument again, so he crossed the room to escape through the portrait hole. Unfortunately, Ron and Hermione noticed and followed him out of the common room. Then, they continued bickering like an old married couple as they made their way down for dinner.
As much as Harry didn’t like the Slytherins, Hermione did a good point. What would Hogwarts be without Slytherin? If he had to admit it, he had to admire the students who did come back, especially for what was known as “eighth year.” That took some extreme courage to do. If it were him, he wasn’t sure if he’d come back to a place where people hated him.
Harry mulled over these thoughts until he entered the Great Hall. It looked breathtaking. The hall was already decorated for Christmas, with twelve tall pine trees, live fairies, holly, mistletoe, and snow that fell from the enchanted ceiling. He couldn’t help but grin as he saw what looked like candy cane pops on some of the golden plates.
“Looks like Hagrid and Flitwick started decorating early, don’t you think?” Ron commented, but he didn’t look too disappointed. “And I can’t complain about having sweets before dinner.”
“It’s beautiful,” murmured Hermione, taking in the decorations around her. “I’ve never fully appreciated how magical this place really is.”
When they reached the Gryffindor table, Harry nodded to Seamus and Dean and sat down. He pointed at the sweets. “What are these supposed to be for?”
“It’s probably how we find out assignments for this Secret Santa thing,” replied Dean with a shrug. “The announcement did mention to look out for something on our plates.”
“That makes sense,” agreed Hermione, sitting down next to Harry, followed by Ron. “Parchment would be too easy to hand out.”
“I reckon we’re supposed to eat this before we find out who we have,” added Seamus, picking up the candy cane pop carefully. “They appeared as soon as Dean and I sat down.”
Sure enough, as soon as Harry glanced down at his plate, he found a perfectly delicious sweet sitting in front of him. It was a marshmallow covered in chocolate and candy cane bits, complete with a gooey centre and half of a candy cane sticking out the top. It was strange to see this confection in the wizarding world; he was sure it was a Muggle treat.
“Perhaps these are enchanted,” suggested Hermione, taking her wand and levitating her candy cane pop. She inspected it carefully. “Of course, these aren’t going to be like Chocolate Cauldrons or truffles. It would be illegal to fill these with a potion or another substance.”
“Maybe these are like those fortune cookies that always come with Chinese takeaway,” suggested Dean.
Seamus pulled out his candy cane, licking it first before setting it aside. “Weirdest way to assign names, yeah? Well, here goes nothing.”
Harry watched as Seamus took a bite of the sweet. It wasn’t until Seamus glanced down at it that his eyes widened.
“Seamus?”
“Shay? What’s up?”
Seamus flushed. He licked his lips before looking up at everyone. “That’s interesting. Um. It tastes good, and I guess I was kinda right.”
“How d’you mean?” asked Ron curiously.
“That’s how you know who you’re assigned to. No idea how McGongall managed this one, but wow…”
“Who’d you get then?”
“I…can’t tell you,” admitted Seamus, turning pinker by the second. He popped the rest of the chocolate and marshmallow into his mouth, chewing and swallowing quickly. “Seriously, I actually can’t tell you. There’s something that’s not letting me.”
“Perhaps it’s a Secrecy Charm!” murmured Hermione excitedly. “McGonagall wouldn’t want to us tell everyone who we’d have, or else it wouldn’t be a secret gift exchange!”
“What kind of crock is that?”
“The charm has a similar mechanism like Veritaserum. So, rather than forcing you to confess your secrets, this charm stops you from doing that. It’s definitely advanced magic but much easier to break through, of course.”
Seamus nodded. “That’s why I felt l like I was biting my tongue every time I tried to answer.”
“That’s no fun!” Ron glumly poked at his sweet with his candy cane. “Bloody hell. Right, so who’s next?”
“I’ll try,” said Harry. After all, he was curious. He took his candy cane and set it on his plate. Holding up the chocolate and marshmallow, he grinned. “Well, cheers!”
The first bite was glorious and melted in his mouth. The sweet taste of chocolate was the perfect compliment with the gooey sugar of marshmallow and a hint of peppermint from the candy cane bits. It made Harry wish he’d had more this when he was a child.
“Enjoy this treat at your will,
For you have an important mission to fulfill,” a voice recited, like a whisper in his ear.
The name you will see before your eyes
Belongs to a person who you once defied
Use this lesson to learn from the past
To secure camaraderie that will last
Seven days is all you will get
To make this Christmas the best one yet
This was a riddle, wasn’t it? It almost reminded him of the song the merpeople had sung to him from the golden egg he’d captured in the Triwizard Tournament in fourth year. Interesting.
Just as he was about to have another bite, Harry looked down and almost choked.
There, in the centre of the marshmallow, were two glowing words. A name, he realised with horror. It looked like each letter had been carefully inscribed to look like a written note. Was he hallucinating? Harry blinked, hoping this specific name would go away. When it did disappear though, it made him feel worse.
“Harry?”
Harry found Seamus, Dean, Ron and Hermione staring him with expectation. He gave them a tight smile.
“Right. Might as well eat these and get it over with. Trust me.”
As the rest of his friends cautiously poked and finally ate their sweets, there was only one thought running through Harry’s mind: What the hell was he going to get Draco Malfoy, of all people?
NEXT: Part 2
Author: sugareey
Rating: PG for this part
Characters: Harry/Draco, general for this part
Word Count: 1,349
Summary: An inter-house holiday gift exchange was the last thing everyone needed. What could possibly go wrong?
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made from this work.
A/N: Well, it's been a while since I've written anything. And I wanted to spread holiday cheer. So, bear with me. Unbetaed, but poke me if you see anything that sticks out. I've decided to play with the awdt's Christmas Quickies. This part is for the prompt, "Candy Cane Pops." Enjoy!
Harry stared at the newest posting on the bulletin board of Gryffindor Tower’s common room. The more he read, the more uneasy he felt. If this was exactly what he thought it was, they were in trouble. So many things were bound to go wrong with McGonagall’s latest policy.
“This has to be a joke!” said Ron indignantly, frowning at the announcement. “What the hell is McGonagall playing at?”
“What are do you mean? This is wonderful news!” exclaimed Hermione happily. “It makes sense, doesn’t it? Inter-house unity. It’s what McGonagall has been saying all long! And with the holidays so close, I can see why she thought this would be a good idea.”
“I can’t say that everyone’s going to like this, considering that it’s mandatory,” replied Harry warily. He frowned and bit his lip. “I mean, we already sit and work with others from different houses during classes. This is really pushing it.”
“If this is the way we can get everyone to work together, then it’s a perfect plan,” insisted Hermione. “Besides, we could always use some holiday cheer. This hasn’t been an easy year for many students.”
Harry raised an eyebrow. “That’s an understatement. I can’t see how a Secret Santa exchange is going to fix everything.”
“A what?” asked Ron, confused.
“Holiday gift exchange,” Harry elaborated quickly before turning to Hermione. “This is mad. What’ll happen when someone gets a Slytherin as an assignment?”
“They’d probably send them a pass to Azkaban,” muttered Ron with a snort.
“Ron!” hissed Hermione, swatting his arm with her hand. “That’s not funny!”
“Hey! It’s true, Hermione! Don’t know why that bloody lot even came back. Useless and pathetic, if you ask me.”
“You know well enough McGonagall asked the Slytherins to come back! Hogwarts needs all of her houses. Without them, she’ll perish to the ground.”
“You’ve been reading too much.”
“It’s ancient magic, and at least McGonagall believes it’s important!”
Harry sighed. He did not want to be caught in the middle of this argument again, so he crossed the room to escape through the portrait hole. Unfortunately, Ron and Hermione noticed and followed him out of the common room. Then, they continued bickering like an old married couple as they made their way down for dinner.
As much as Harry didn’t like the Slytherins, Hermione did a good point. What would Hogwarts be without Slytherin? If he had to admit it, he had to admire the students who did come back, especially for what was known as “eighth year.” That took some extreme courage to do. If it were him, he wasn’t sure if he’d come back to a place where people hated him.
Harry mulled over these thoughts until he entered the Great Hall. It looked breathtaking. The hall was already decorated for Christmas, with twelve tall pine trees, live fairies, holly, mistletoe, and snow that fell from the enchanted ceiling. He couldn’t help but grin as he saw what looked like candy cane pops on some of the golden plates.
“Looks like Hagrid and Flitwick started decorating early, don’t you think?” Ron commented, but he didn’t look too disappointed. “And I can’t complain about having sweets before dinner.”
“It’s beautiful,” murmured Hermione, taking in the decorations around her. “I’ve never fully appreciated how magical this place really is.”
When they reached the Gryffindor table, Harry nodded to Seamus and Dean and sat down. He pointed at the sweets. “What are these supposed to be for?”
“It’s probably how we find out assignments for this Secret Santa thing,” replied Dean with a shrug. “The announcement did mention to look out for something on our plates.”
“That makes sense,” agreed Hermione, sitting down next to Harry, followed by Ron. “Parchment would be too easy to hand out.”
“I reckon we’re supposed to eat this before we find out who we have,” added Seamus, picking up the candy cane pop carefully. “They appeared as soon as Dean and I sat down.”
Sure enough, as soon as Harry glanced down at his plate, he found a perfectly delicious sweet sitting in front of him. It was a marshmallow covered in chocolate and candy cane bits, complete with a gooey centre and half of a candy cane sticking out the top. It was strange to see this confection in the wizarding world; he was sure it was a Muggle treat.
“Perhaps these are enchanted,” suggested Hermione, taking her wand and levitating her candy cane pop. She inspected it carefully. “Of course, these aren’t going to be like Chocolate Cauldrons or truffles. It would be illegal to fill these with a potion or another substance.”
“Maybe these are like those fortune cookies that always come with Chinese takeaway,” suggested Dean.
Seamus pulled out his candy cane, licking it first before setting it aside. “Weirdest way to assign names, yeah? Well, here goes nothing.”
Harry watched as Seamus took a bite of the sweet. It wasn’t until Seamus glanced down at it that his eyes widened.
“Seamus?”
“Shay? What’s up?”
Seamus flushed. He licked his lips before looking up at everyone. “That’s interesting. Um. It tastes good, and I guess I was kinda right.”
“How d’you mean?” asked Ron curiously.
“That’s how you know who you’re assigned to. No idea how McGongall managed this one, but wow…”
“Who’d you get then?”
“I…can’t tell you,” admitted Seamus, turning pinker by the second. He popped the rest of the chocolate and marshmallow into his mouth, chewing and swallowing quickly. “Seriously, I actually can’t tell you. There’s something that’s not letting me.”
“Perhaps it’s a Secrecy Charm!” murmured Hermione excitedly. “McGonagall wouldn’t want to us tell everyone who we’d have, or else it wouldn’t be a secret gift exchange!”
“What kind of crock is that?”
“The charm has a similar mechanism like Veritaserum. So, rather than forcing you to confess your secrets, this charm stops you from doing that. It’s definitely advanced magic but much easier to break through, of course.”
Seamus nodded. “That’s why I felt l like I was biting my tongue every time I tried to answer.”
“That’s no fun!” Ron glumly poked at his sweet with his candy cane. “Bloody hell. Right, so who’s next?”
“I’ll try,” said Harry. After all, he was curious. He took his candy cane and set it on his plate. Holding up the chocolate and marshmallow, he grinned. “Well, cheers!”
The first bite was glorious and melted in his mouth. The sweet taste of chocolate was the perfect compliment with the gooey sugar of marshmallow and a hint of peppermint from the candy cane bits. It made Harry wish he’d had more this when he was a child.
“Enjoy this treat at your will,
For you have an important mission to fulfill,” a voice recited, like a whisper in his ear.
The name you will see before your eyes
Belongs to a person who you once defied
Use this lesson to learn from the past
To secure camaraderie that will last
Seven days is all you will get
To make this Christmas the best one yet
This was a riddle, wasn’t it? It almost reminded him of the song the merpeople had sung to him from the golden egg he’d captured in the Triwizard Tournament in fourth year. Interesting.
Just as he was about to have another bite, Harry looked down and almost choked.
There, in the centre of the marshmallow, were two glowing words. A name, he realised with horror. It looked like each letter had been carefully inscribed to look like a written note. Was he hallucinating? Harry blinked, hoping this specific name would go away. When it did disappear though, it made him feel worse.
“Harry?”
Harry found Seamus, Dean, Ron and Hermione staring him with expectation. He gave them a tight smile.
“Right. Might as well eat these and get it over with. Trust me.”
As the rest of his friends cautiously poked and finally ate their sweets, there was only one thought running through Harry’s mind: What the hell was he going to get Draco Malfoy, of all people?
NEXT: Part 2