Christmas Story 2018 - In the Spirit, part 18 (H/D)
Title: In the Spirit - Part 18
Author: sesheta_66
Prompts used: slythindor100’s early bird prompt 2: hot drinks by the fire (picture under the cut) and dracoharry100’s prompt 5: glühwein/mulled wine
Word Count: 2.6K
Rating: PG-13, for now
Warning: none
Summary: Harry had a rough Christmas last year, to say the least. But things are looking up this year, and he plans to embrace the season, even if he is still single.
Disclaimer: Harry Potter characters are the property of J.K. Rowling and Bloomsbury/Scholastic. No profit is being made, and no copyright infringement is intended.
Author's Notes: Written for the slythindor100 Early Bird 25 Days of Draco and Harry and the dracoharry100 Christmas Challenge.
On LJ: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 |
Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17
OR on AO3
[Part 18]
In the Spirit - Part 18
Harry stepped off the ice followed by Malfoy, both slightly out of breath after their antics. He noticed Teddy was no longer wearing his skates. "No more skating for you?" he asked.
"My toes were numb, so we took them back." He grinned at Draco then looked back at Harry. "You two are crazy!"
"You should see them when they’re playing Quidditch," Luna said.
Teddy looked at Malfoy and Harry in awe. "You play Quidditch together?"
Harry laughed. "Against each other is more like it, but yes."
"That was a long time ago," Malfoy said. "Another lifetime."
Before Harry could get caught up in memories, Teddy said, "You should do it again."
"It’s a sight to see, that’s for sure," Luna said dreamily. Harry recalled their Gryffindor/Slytherin games back at school and doubted he’d use such an airy tone to describe those matches. Bloody dangerous, they had been. "Especially your Uncle Harry and Draco here. They were the best flyers in school."
"Wow!" Teddy looked at them both with wide, twinkling eyes. "Now you have to play a game. I want to see the best flyers from Hogwarts."
"You do realise we aren’t seventeen years old anymore, yes?" Malfoy said. He shot Luna a pointed look. "We may not be quite up to the hype."
"Up to the what?"
"What he means," Harry said in a long-suffering tone, "is that he doesn’t think he’s good enough to fly against me anymore." Luna laughed and Harry realised he’d been roped in yet again.
"You really are too easy." Malfoy chuckled. "It’s rather sad. Maybe even a little bit pathetic."
Harry narrowed his eyes at Malfoy. "Perhaps, but I don’t hear you disputing what I said."
Malfoy closed the distance between them, jabbing a finger into Harry’s chest. "I’ll take you on anywhere, Potter. On land, in the air, on ice, hell, even in water. Anywhere. Anytime." A rush of energy coursed through Harry like he hadn’t felt in years, and when he caught the spark in Malfoy’s eyes he wondered if his own reflected the same.
Teddy’s giggles brought them back. "You two are funny."
"They were always like this in school, too," Luna said. Then she whispered, "They attracted a lot of attention."
Harry made the mistake of looking at Malfoy again and the two of them barely contained their own laughter. They had made rather a spectacle of themselves in school from time to time, hadn’t they? Harry cleared his throat. "Yes, well, I’d like to think we’ve matured since then."
Luna smiled widely. "I’m sure you have."
"Quite," Malfoy said, crossing his arms over his chest, then losing all dignity as he wobbled on his blades. He caught the boards to steady himself. "Theodore, what say you?" At Teddy’s bewildered expression, he added, "Which of us won the night? Who dazzled and impressed you more with his prowess on the ice?"
Teddy giggled some more and Harry had to hold back not to join him. Malfoy sounded like he’d been plucked right out of Medieval times. He wiped the ice from his blades as he balanced on the boards, trying to look nonchalant. "Yes, do tell."
Luna leaned down and stage-whispered in Teddy’s ear. "Shall we consult on the matter, good sir?"
Teddy nodded, still chuckling, and they stepped away and put their heads together to ‘consult’. After a time, they returned. "We have reached our conclusion," Teddy said with a deep voice and a very nearly straight face.
"What say you?" Malfoy asked again.
"We have concluded," Luna said, looking at Teddy and receiving a nod of encouragement before looking first at Malfoy, then at Harry, "that you have both performed admirably on this fine evening."
"A tie?" Harry said with disgust.
"A tie?" Malfoy echoed.
"A tie," Teddy repeated.
"And as such, we humbly request ..."
"A rematch!" Teddy blurted out, quite pleased with himself.
Harry turned to Malfoy. "Do you get the feeling--"
"-that we’re being hoodwinked?" Malfoy finished for him.
They both looked at Luna and said together, "Again." The whole thing reminded Harry sharply of the twins.
"But it’ll be fun," Teddy said in a slightly whiny voice. "Didn’t you have fun tonight?"
Harry had enjoyed himself. As a matter of fact, he hadn’t had this much fun in a long time. He put a hand on Teddy’s shoulder. "I had a great time tonight," he said. "But we don’t always have to compete, you know."
"Speak for yourself," Malfoy said. Then he leaned down to say to Teddy, "He’s just afraid I’ll win."
And just like that, Harry was roped into another day of skating on some unknown future date. With Malfoy. "Alright, everyone, now that we’ve established that Malfoy and I may not have matured quite as much as we’d like others to believe, how about we top off the evening with a hot beverage at my place?"
"Ooh, I’d like that!" Luna said. "I don’t suppose you’d make your mulled wine, would you?"
Harry grinned. "I think I can manage that. I’ve a late start to the day tomorrow." He did a mental calculation and said, "But I’ll need to pick up some oranges."
"No need," Luna said. "I have some at home. I’ll go home first, then meet you."
"Rolf’s welcome too," Harry said.
"An impromptu party!" Luna smiled. "How lovely. But I’m sorry to say that Rolf has plans tonight, so it’ll just be me."
"Okay, we’ll see you there." He turned to Malfoy. "You’re coming, yeah?"
"I am?" He looked a bit shell-shocked at the idea.
"Please?" Teddy begged. Harry wondered how much of that was Luna’s doing, but said nothing.
"Come on, Malfoy. It’s the least I can do after you bought me dinner."
He gave Harry a quizzical look - to see if he was serious, perhaps? - but quickly recovered. "I suppose it would be rude to refuse."
"Indeed it would." Harry winked at Teddy. "And we can’t have that."
"Nope!" Teddy agreed.
***
Back at Harry’s, he threw together the ingredients for the mulled wine while Malfoy listened to a chattering Teddy. Harry grinned, wondering when all the fresh air would kick in and Teddy would pass out.
Luna arrived a short time later, oranges in hand. "Let me wash and slice these for you."
"Thanks."
She washed the oranges and pulled out a cutting board. "You and Draco seem to be getting along well."
Harry rolled his eyes. He was surprised she’d waited this long. "Yes, we’re best mates now. Just don’t tell Ron."
Luna sliced one orange and added it to the pot. She remained standing beside Harry and he could feel her gaze attempting to penetrate his brain. "What?" he asked, trying not to sound irritated.
"Oh, nothing," she said, returning to the cutting board. "It’s just that it’s nice to see you happy again." He glanced at her. "You were so terribly miserable for so long."
"I know." Harry turned back to the pot and stirred the contents, breathing in the clove and cinnamon scented steam. "But I was determined this year to make the most of the season, and I’ve been trying."
"Teddy says you’ve seen quite a bit of him this month."
"Yeah. I want to make the most of Christmas for him too."
She brought the rest of the orange slices over and carefully added them to the pot. "You’re a good godfather, Harry."
"You think so?"
She put a hand to his shoulder. "I know so. And so does everyone else."
Thanks to magic, the concoction was ready to drink in short order. Harry brought the serving bowl and mugs out and placed them on the sideboard in the front room. Luna followed with a mug of mint hot chocolate for Teddy, complete with a candy cane.
"Yum!" Teddy announced after licking some chocolate off the end of the candy cane.
"I second that," Malfoy said after sipping the warm wine.
"Harry makes the best Gluhwein I’ve ever had."
Harry snorted. "And how many others have you tried?"
"That’s entirely beside the point."
"Fair enough." He chuckled. "Thank you."
For the next hour, they played some board games that Luna had brought over, and by the end of that, it appeared that everyone was as confused as he’d been. Nevertheless, he’d won one game, so he’d take that as a positive result for the night. He topped up his own wine and Malfoy’s, but Luna waved him away. "I have work tomorrow."
"And it’s-" Harry looked at the clock "-not even nine, yet." As his brain registered the time, he turned to Teddy. "Nearly time for bed, you."
"Uh-oh." Teddy’s face fell and his hair turned a dull brown.
"What’s wrong?" Harry asked.
"Grandma said I can’t stay tonight, and I forgot to tell you. She said we have an early start tomorrow."
Harry smiled reassuringly. "That’s alright." He put his and Malfoy’s cups on the table. "I can get you home on time."
"Oh, don’t worry about that," Luna said. "I can take him back to Andromeda’s."
Harry frowned. "You don’t have to do that."
"It’s no trouble. I need to get going anyway." She smiled at Teddy." You don’t mind, do you?"
"Nope."
"Luna, really. You don’t have to do that."
"Of course I don’t. But I want to. Besides, it’s just a Floo ride away." She gathered up her coat and gloves along with Teddy’s. "You and Draco can relax and enjoy the rest of the night."
Before he could argue the matter, Teddy had launched himself at Harry. He picked up his godson and swung him around before giving him a big hug. "I’ll see you later, little man. Thanks for coming skating with me today."
Teddy gave Malfoy a hug too, then allowed Luna to help him on with his coat. "Bye, Uncle Harry. Bye, Draco. Thanks for taking me skating."
"You’re welcome," they replied together.
Luna grinned at them and tossed some Floo powder into the grate. And in a whoosh of green flames, they were gone.
He turned around to see Malfoy staring down into his cup. "That woman isn’t fooling anyone," Harry said.
"No, she’s not."
"If I were more paranoid," Harry thought out loud, "I’d say she’d enlisted Teddy in her plan too."
Malfoy looked up at Harry, then put his cup on the table. "I should go."
"What?"
"Thanks for inviting me over. I had a nice evening. But we both have work tomorrow."
"And, as I believe I just said, it’s only nine o’clock."
Look, Potter, I appreciate you playing along with whatever notion Luna has cooked up in her head, but really, there’s no need --" He stood up.
"Sit down, Malfoy." He hadn’t meant to imply ... "Look, just because Luna has an agenda - which clearly she does - that doesn’t mean you have to leave." Malfoy narrowed his eyes but said nothing in response. "I had fun tonight. And not just with Teddy and Luna." He ran his hand over the back of his neck. "As improbable as this may sound, I don’t hate you."
"I did think we’d moved past that, too."
"Right." Harry wasn’t sure how to continue without sounding ridiculous. "So sit back, relax and drink your wine." He motioned to the sideboard. "I made a whole pot of this stuff, and I’m not going to finish it off on my own."
"You’re sure?"
"Malfoy, when have I ever done something I didn’t want to do?"
Malfoy considered him for a long while before answering. "I’m not sure I know the answer to that."
"Well then, you’ll just have to trust me when I say it doesn’t happen very often. And if I didn’t want you in my house, I would never have invited you over, no matter how much nudging and manipulation Luna pulled."
Hesitantly, Malfoy said, "Okay."
"Good. That’s settled. Now put up your feet-" He nudged the ottoman towards Malfoy "-and drink up. There’s still half a pot to go." When Malfoy did just that, Harry looked at his feet and laughed. "Love the socks."
Malfoy’s cheeks reddened. "They’re warm," he said defensively. "And they were a gift from-"
"Luna." Harry finished for him. He plunked himself down on the sofa next to Malfoy and put his own feet on the ottoman. "She got me a pair too."
Malfoy’s shoulders shook. "Not an exact match."
"But pretty close." Harry laughed some more before raising his cup. "Happy Christmas, Malfoy."
Malfoy rolled his eyes, but clinked cups with Harry anyway. "Happy Christmas, Potter."
They sat like that for a while, quietly staring into the fire. Harry knew he should move - there was a whole room full of furniture, after all - but he found himself quite comfortable. Besides, Malfoy didn’t seem inclined to get up either. "You’re alright, Malfoy."
Malfoy chuckled. "You’re drunk."
Harry held up his mug. "Not yet, but I’m working on it."
"Let me help you with that," Malfoy said, grabbing Harry’s cup. Then, rather than getting up as Harry had expected him to, he flicked his wand and the bowl sailed across the room and onto the coffee table in front of them. Malfoy filled both of their cups and lounged back once more, returning his feet to the ottoman beside Harry’s. He wiggled his toes. "She really is determined, isn’t she?"
Harry sipped his wine. "She said she always thought it was inevitable that we’d become friends."
"Always? The two of us?" he said incredulously. "Where was she in school?"
Harry shrugged. "I don’t know where she gets her ideas, but when it comes to people she’s close to, she tends to be right."
"Be that as it may, I don’t think friends is what she has in mind for us."
Harry snorted. "Yeah, she thinks we’d make a handsome couple."
Malfoy sat up. "She said that?"
Harry nodded. "Yup."
"Huh." Malfoy let that settle for a bit. "True as that may be, I can’t believe she told you that."
"Yeah, Luna often just blurts out what she thinks," Harry said. Then Malfoy’s words sunk in. "Wait. You think we’d make a handsome couple?"
Malfoy rolled his eyes. "Oh, please, Potter. Give me a break. You have eyes and a mirror. Of course we would." Harry gaped at Malfoy. "Oh, come on. She has a point. Take me for instance. I’m attractive in a sophisticated, refined way, exuding culture and taste. And you’ve certainly grown out of your scrawny school days. You’re hot in that tough, take on the world way, dripping with masculinity. Admit it. We’d turn heads everywhere we went together."
He’d said all of this in such a matter-of-fact way that Harry was rendered speechless. He stared, dumbfounded, at Malfoy for a while. He couldn’t objectively argue about Malfoy’s assessment of himself. He was attractive, Harry could admit. And refined. The pointy kid from school had filled out just enough to soften the rough edges while still retaining the sharpness of features that matched his personality. But Harry? He was just Harry.
He sat up and split the last of the wine between them, wondering when they’d managed to drink it all, still unable to respond to Malfoy’s pronouncement. Malfoy gulped back the last of his wine without a word and Harry did the same before reclining again, feet on the ottoman, head resting on the back of the sofa, and stared up at the ceiling. The events of the day ran through his mind and he smiled. He’d had a really good day.
"I can’t believe you brought me dinner." His head lolled to the side and he looked at Malfoy. His head also rested on the sofa back and his eyes were closed. Harry couldn’t tell for sure, but he thought the other man might be asleep. He grinned. "Who knew you could be so ... sweet."
Malfoy’s head lolled lazily towards Harry and he squinted. "Did you just call me sweet?"
"Shh." Harry patted him on the arm. "I promise I won’t tell anyone."
Part 19
Author: sesheta_66
Prompts used: slythindor100’s early bird prompt 2: hot drinks by the fire (picture under the cut) and dracoharry100’s prompt 5: glühwein/mulled wine
Word Count: 2.6K
Rating: PG-13, for now
Warning: none
Summary: Harry had a rough Christmas last year, to say the least. But things are looking up this year, and he plans to embrace the season, even if he is still single.
Disclaimer: Harry Potter characters are the property of J.K. Rowling and Bloomsbury/Scholastic. No profit is being made, and no copyright infringement is intended.
Author's Notes: Written for the slythindor100 Early Bird 25 Days of Draco and Harry and the dracoharry100 Christmas Challenge.
On LJ: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 |
Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17
OR on AO3
[Part 18]
In the Spirit - Part 18
Harry stepped off the ice followed by Malfoy, both slightly out of breath after their antics. He noticed Teddy was no longer wearing his skates. "No more skating for you?" he asked.
"My toes were numb, so we took them back." He grinned at Draco then looked back at Harry. "You two are crazy!"
"You should see them when they’re playing Quidditch," Luna said.
Teddy looked at Malfoy and Harry in awe. "You play Quidditch together?"
Harry laughed. "Against each other is more like it, but yes."
"That was a long time ago," Malfoy said. "Another lifetime."
Before Harry could get caught up in memories, Teddy said, "You should do it again."
"It’s a sight to see, that’s for sure," Luna said dreamily. Harry recalled their Gryffindor/Slytherin games back at school and doubted he’d use such an airy tone to describe those matches. Bloody dangerous, they had been. "Especially your Uncle Harry and Draco here. They were the best flyers in school."
"Wow!" Teddy looked at them both with wide, twinkling eyes. "Now you have to play a game. I want to see the best flyers from Hogwarts."
"You do realise we aren’t seventeen years old anymore, yes?" Malfoy said. He shot Luna a pointed look. "We may not be quite up to the hype."
"Up to the what?"
"What he means," Harry said in a long-suffering tone, "is that he doesn’t think he’s good enough to fly against me anymore." Luna laughed and Harry realised he’d been roped in yet again.
"You really are too easy." Malfoy chuckled. "It’s rather sad. Maybe even a little bit pathetic."
Harry narrowed his eyes at Malfoy. "Perhaps, but I don’t hear you disputing what I said."
Malfoy closed the distance between them, jabbing a finger into Harry’s chest. "I’ll take you on anywhere, Potter. On land, in the air, on ice, hell, even in water. Anywhere. Anytime." A rush of energy coursed through Harry like he hadn’t felt in years, and when he caught the spark in Malfoy’s eyes he wondered if his own reflected the same.
Teddy’s giggles brought them back. "You two are funny."
"They were always like this in school, too," Luna said. Then she whispered, "They attracted a lot of attention."
Harry made the mistake of looking at Malfoy again and the two of them barely contained their own laughter. They had made rather a spectacle of themselves in school from time to time, hadn’t they? Harry cleared his throat. "Yes, well, I’d like to think we’ve matured since then."
Luna smiled widely. "I’m sure you have."
"Quite," Malfoy said, crossing his arms over his chest, then losing all dignity as he wobbled on his blades. He caught the boards to steady himself. "Theodore, what say you?" At Teddy’s bewildered expression, he added, "Which of us won the night? Who dazzled and impressed you more with his prowess on the ice?"
Teddy giggled some more and Harry had to hold back not to join him. Malfoy sounded like he’d been plucked right out of Medieval times. He wiped the ice from his blades as he balanced on the boards, trying to look nonchalant. "Yes, do tell."
Luna leaned down and stage-whispered in Teddy’s ear. "Shall we consult on the matter, good sir?"
Teddy nodded, still chuckling, and they stepped away and put their heads together to ‘consult’. After a time, they returned. "We have reached our conclusion," Teddy said with a deep voice and a very nearly straight face.
"What say you?" Malfoy asked again.
"We have concluded," Luna said, looking at Teddy and receiving a nod of encouragement before looking first at Malfoy, then at Harry, "that you have both performed admirably on this fine evening."
"A tie?" Harry said with disgust.
"A tie?" Malfoy echoed.
"A tie," Teddy repeated.
"And as such, we humbly request ..."
"A rematch!" Teddy blurted out, quite pleased with himself.
Harry turned to Malfoy. "Do you get the feeling--"
"-that we’re being hoodwinked?" Malfoy finished for him.
They both looked at Luna and said together, "Again." The whole thing reminded Harry sharply of the twins.
"But it’ll be fun," Teddy said in a slightly whiny voice. "Didn’t you have fun tonight?"
Harry had enjoyed himself. As a matter of fact, he hadn’t had this much fun in a long time. He put a hand on Teddy’s shoulder. "I had a great time tonight," he said. "But we don’t always have to compete, you know."
"Speak for yourself," Malfoy said. Then he leaned down to say to Teddy, "He’s just afraid I’ll win."
And just like that, Harry was roped into another day of skating on some unknown future date. With Malfoy. "Alright, everyone, now that we’ve established that Malfoy and I may not have matured quite as much as we’d like others to believe, how about we top off the evening with a hot beverage at my place?"
"Ooh, I’d like that!" Luna said. "I don’t suppose you’d make your mulled wine, would you?"
Harry grinned. "I think I can manage that. I’ve a late start to the day tomorrow." He did a mental calculation and said, "But I’ll need to pick up some oranges."
"No need," Luna said. "I have some at home. I’ll go home first, then meet you."
"Rolf’s welcome too," Harry said.
"An impromptu party!" Luna smiled. "How lovely. But I’m sorry to say that Rolf has plans tonight, so it’ll just be me."
"Okay, we’ll see you there." He turned to Malfoy. "You’re coming, yeah?"
"I am?" He looked a bit shell-shocked at the idea.
"Please?" Teddy begged. Harry wondered how much of that was Luna’s doing, but said nothing.
"Come on, Malfoy. It’s the least I can do after you bought me dinner."
He gave Harry a quizzical look - to see if he was serious, perhaps? - but quickly recovered. "I suppose it would be rude to refuse."
"Indeed it would." Harry winked at Teddy. "And we can’t have that."
"Nope!" Teddy agreed.
***
Back at Harry’s, he threw together the ingredients for the mulled wine while Malfoy listened to a chattering Teddy. Harry grinned, wondering when all the fresh air would kick in and Teddy would pass out.
Luna arrived a short time later, oranges in hand. "Let me wash and slice these for you."
"Thanks."
She washed the oranges and pulled out a cutting board. "You and Draco seem to be getting along well."
Harry rolled his eyes. He was surprised she’d waited this long. "Yes, we’re best mates now. Just don’t tell Ron."
Luna sliced one orange and added it to the pot. She remained standing beside Harry and he could feel her gaze attempting to penetrate his brain. "What?" he asked, trying not to sound irritated.
"Oh, nothing," she said, returning to the cutting board. "It’s just that it’s nice to see you happy again." He glanced at her. "You were so terribly miserable for so long."
"I know." Harry turned back to the pot and stirred the contents, breathing in the clove and cinnamon scented steam. "But I was determined this year to make the most of the season, and I’ve been trying."
"Teddy says you’ve seen quite a bit of him this month."
"Yeah. I want to make the most of Christmas for him too."
She brought the rest of the orange slices over and carefully added them to the pot. "You’re a good godfather, Harry."
"You think so?"
She put a hand to his shoulder. "I know so. And so does everyone else."
Thanks to magic, the concoction was ready to drink in short order. Harry brought the serving bowl and mugs out and placed them on the sideboard in the front room. Luna followed with a mug of mint hot chocolate for Teddy, complete with a candy cane.
"Yum!" Teddy announced after licking some chocolate off the end of the candy cane.
"I second that," Malfoy said after sipping the warm wine.
"Harry makes the best Gluhwein I’ve ever had."
Harry snorted. "And how many others have you tried?"
"That’s entirely beside the point."
"Fair enough." He chuckled. "Thank you."
For the next hour, they played some board games that Luna had brought over, and by the end of that, it appeared that everyone was as confused as he’d been. Nevertheless, he’d won one game, so he’d take that as a positive result for the night. He topped up his own wine and Malfoy’s, but Luna waved him away. "I have work tomorrow."
"And it’s-" Harry looked at the clock "-not even nine, yet." As his brain registered the time, he turned to Teddy. "Nearly time for bed, you."
"Uh-oh." Teddy’s face fell and his hair turned a dull brown.
"What’s wrong?" Harry asked.
"Grandma said I can’t stay tonight, and I forgot to tell you. She said we have an early start tomorrow."
Harry smiled reassuringly. "That’s alright." He put his and Malfoy’s cups on the table. "I can get you home on time."
"Oh, don’t worry about that," Luna said. "I can take him back to Andromeda’s."
Harry frowned. "You don’t have to do that."
"It’s no trouble. I need to get going anyway." She smiled at Teddy." You don’t mind, do you?"
"Nope."
"Luna, really. You don’t have to do that."
"Of course I don’t. But I want to. Besides, it’s just a Floo ride away." She gathered up her coat and gloves along with Teddy’s. "You and Draco can relax and enjoy the rest of the night."
Before he could argue the matter, Teddy had launched himself at Harry. He picked up his godson and swung him around before giving him a big hug. "I’ll see you later, little man. Thanks for coming skating with me today."
Teddy gave Malfoy a hug too, then allowed Luna to help him on with his coat. "Bye, Uncle Harry. Bye, Draco. Thanks for taking me skating."
"You’re welcome," they replied together.
Luna grinned at them and tossed some Floo powder into the grate. And in a whoosh of green flames, they were gone.
He turned around to see Malfoy staring down into his cup. "That woman isn’t fooling anyone," Harry said.
"No, she’s not."
"If I were more paranoid," Harry thought out loud, "I’d say she’d enlisted Teddy in her plan too."
Malfoy looked up at Harry, then put his cup on the table. "I should go."
"What?"
"Thanks for inviting me over. I had a nice evening. But we both have work tomorrow."
"And, as I believe I just said, it’s only nine o’clock."
Look, Potter, I appreciate you playing along with whatever notion Luna has cooked up in her head, but really, there’s no need --" He stood up.
"Sit down, Malfoy." He hadn’t meant to imply ... "Look, just because Luna has an agenda - which clearly she does - that doesn’t mean you have to leave." Malfoy narrowed his eyes but said nothing in response. "I had fun tonight. And not just with Teddy and Luna." He ran his hand over the back of his neck. "As improbable as this may sound, I don’t hate you."
"I did think we’d moved past that, too."
"Right." Harry wasn’t sure how to continue without sounding ridiculous. "So sit back, relax and drink your wine." He motioned to the sideboard. "I made a whole pot of this stuff, and I’m not going to finish it off on my own."
"You’re sure?"
"Malfoy, when have I ever done something I didn’t want to do?"
Malfoy considered him for a long while before answering. "I’m not sure I know the answer to that."
"Well then, you’ll just have to trust me when I say it doesn’t happen very often. And if I didn’t want you in my house, I would never have invited you over, no matter how much nudging and manipulation Luna pulled."
Hesitantly, Malfoy said, "Okay."
"Good. That’s settled. Now put up your feet-" He nudged the ottoman towards Malfoy "-and drink up. There’s still half a pot to go." When Malfoy did just that, Harry looked at his feet and laughed. "Love the socks."
Malfoy’s cheeks reddened. "They’re warm," he said defensively. "And they were a gift from-"
"Luna." Harry finished for him. He plunked himself down on the sofa next to Malfoy and put his own feet on the ottoman. "She got me a pair too."
Malfoy’s shoulders shook. "Not an exact match."
"But pretty close." Harry laughed some more before raising his cup. "Happy Christmas, Malfoy."
Malfoy rolled his eyes, but clinked cups with Harry anyway. "Happy Christmas, Potter."
They sat like that for a while, quietly staring into the fire. Harry knew he should move - there was a whole room full of furniture, after all - but he found himself quite comfortable. Besides, Malfoy didn’t seem inclined to get up either. "You’re alright, Malfoy."
Malfoy chuckled. "You’re drunk."
Harry held up his mug. "Not yet, but I’m working on it."
"Let me help you with that," Malfoy said, grabbing Harry’s cup. Then, rather than getting up as Harry had expected him to, he flicked his wand and the bowl sailed across the room and onto the coffee table in front of them. Malfoy filled both of their cups and lounged back once more, returning his feet to the ottoman beside Harry’s. He wiggled his toes. "She really is determined, isn’t she?"
Harry sipped his wine. "She said she always thought it was inevitable that we’d become friends."
"Always? The two of us?" he said incredulously. "Where was she in school?"
Harry shrugged. "I don’t know where she gets her ideas, but when it comes to people she’s close to, she tends to be right."
"Be that as it may, I don’t think friends is what she has in mind for us."
Harry snorted. "Yeah, she thinks we’d make a handsome couple."
Malfoy sat up. "She said that?"
Harry nodded. "Yup."
"Huh." Malfoy let that settle for a bit. "True as that may be, I can’t believe she told you that."
"Yeah, Luna often just blurts out what she thinks," Harry said. Then Malfoy’s words sunk in. "Wait. You think we’d make a handsome couple?"
Malfoy rolled his eyes. "Oh, please, Potter. Give me a break. You have eyes and a mirror. Of course we would." Harry gaped at Malfoy. "Oh, come on. She has a point. Take me for instance. I’m attractive in a sophisticated, refined way, exuding culture and taste. And you’ve certainly grown out of your scrawny school days. You’re hot in that tough, take on the world way, dripping with masculinity. Admit it. We’d turn heads everywhere we went together."
He’d said all of this in such a matter-of-fact way that Harry was rendered speechless. He stared, dumbfounded, at Malfoy for a while. He couldn’t objectively argue about Malfoy’s assessment of himself. He was attractive, Harry could admit. And refined. The pointy kid from school had filled out just enough to soften the rough edges while still retaining the sharpness of features that matched his personality. But Harry? He was just Harry.
He sat up and split the last of the wine between them, wondering when they’d managed to drink it all, still unable to respond to Malfoy’s pronouncement. Malfoy gulped back the last of his wine without a word and Harry did the same before reclining again, feet on the ottoman, head resting on the back of the sofa, and stared up at the ceiling. The events of the day ran through his mind and he smiled. He’d had a really good day.
"I can’t believe you brought me dinner." His head lolled to the side and he looked at Malfoy. His head also rested on the sofa back and his eyes were closed. Harry couldn’t tell for sure, but he thought the other man might be asleep. He grinned. "Who knew you could be so ... sweet."
Malfoy’s head lolled lazily towards Harry and he squinted. "Did you just call me sweet?"
"Shh." Harry patted him on the arm. "I promise I won’t tell anyone."
Part 19