Love Bites (Harry Potter: Official Dragon Tamer, Part One)

A Brief Turning of the Tables

Flashback

Saturday Morning05 September 2009Harry's POV

Draco and his mum were walking side-by-side, just a tad ahead of me, Narcissa busy telling Draco all about what had been happening at their chateau in the Loire Valley, and I took the opportunity to sneak my mobile out of my pocket to open the text Narcissa had sent me.

Mini-Draco peering out from behind the sofa in the impressive Malfoy library had been adorable.

Toddler Draco putting all the effort a three-year-old could muster into racing his father on a broom had nearly killed me, it was so bloody cute.

However, Narcissa had also sent a few more photos, with the warning, "It would be in both of our best interests that Draco didn't find out I've shared these with you until later. Also, it may, one day, be handy to know that there is very little that cannot be fixed with Draco if good-quality chocolate and a sincere apology are involved."

I smiled to myself at the thoughtful advice tidbit and opened the first of the three photos with anticipation.

In it, the littlest Draco yet sat on a youthful, smiling Narcissa's lap, surrounded by a small crowd of adults, presumably family and friends, seeing as Bellatrix and Snape were both present, disconcerting, to say the least, as they were both also smiling and, well, looking happy.

They were enthusiastically singing "Happy Birthday" while baby Draco looked up and around at them in a sort of befuddled awe, this clearly being his first birthday, and I realised with a jolt that, when this photo had been taken, I had still been living at home with my parents at Godric's Hollow.

And that we would be celebrating my own first birthday just a short month later.

Draco's stormy blue-grey eyes, already striking, even at this young age, came to focus on a point just in front of him but out of the lens of the camera.

The object of Draco's attention appeared to be moving closer, his eyes widening, little blond brows lifting, and mouth opening to form a perfect little "O" of surprise as Lucius came into view, smiling broadly at his son.

A birthday cake with a single magical sparkler spurting out colourful sparks was floating alongside Lucius and was, clearly, the object that had caught little Draco's attention.

As the cake came to a halt to hover just in front of him, Draco's eyes lit up, and a pleased smile, similar to the one he still smiled today, spread across his face as he made the realisation that all this hubbub was for him.

The photo ended with Draco looking adoringly up at his Mum.

It was, literally, all I could do not to run and catch up with present-day Draco, grab him, and snog the living daylight out of him because what the bloody hell else was I supposed to do when confronted with this kind of adorable?

A brief glance upwards told me that he and his mum were still deeply engrossed in their conversation, so I quickly swiped to the next photo and actually did stop in my tracks.

It was one-year-old Draco, being presented a slice of his cake, heaped high with frosting.

His eyes were still wandering cautiously, probably wondering why all the adults were gathered round him, watching with rapt attention as he leant forward to take a tentative bite of the proffered cake, some of the frosting smearing across his nose, mouth, and chin as he did so.

His eyes widened almost comically as he continued to chew tentatively on his bite, face turning back to his audience, this time almost hurt and accusing, as though holding all the adults surrounding him accountable for having held out on him about this wonderful secret called cake.