Redamancy (Harry Potter x Fem!Reader)

Christmas and Cloaks

After weeks and weeks of tedious class work and boring study sessions with Hermione, (Y/N) was finally allowed to enjoy the winter holidays. At the Malfoy's invitation to return to the Manor, she politely declined. (Y/N) simply didn't have the nerve to face Lucius after the sorting incident, and now that she felt more at home with her fellow Gryffindors than she ever felt at the Manor, she didn't want to have the inevitable conversation about how she truly belonged in Slytherin.

Draco decided he would stay, as well. He didn't want (Y/N) to spend the holidays by herself, he'd said, even though (Y/N) told him more times than she could count that she'd have Harry and Ron to keep her company. It would have been a nice offer, but (Y/N) didn't think he was staying with her to be kind. She thought he just didn't want to tell Lucius he'd failed to befriend Harry Potter after (Y/N) managed to so quickly. He'd told his father that he would make friends with the boy in an attempt to impress him. However, (Y/N) thought if Lucius found out she was friends with Harry, with the company they kept, he would be far from impressed.

Hogwarts at the holiday break was quite wonderful. The hallways were always empty, so no one was in (Y/N)'s way. They had no classes, so it provided her ample time to spend with Ron and Harry. Essentially, they had the whole school to themselves, as the majority of student's went home, so they spent all the time they wanted in the great hall, playing wizard's chess or just chatting with each other about what they might do now that they had an entire castle at their disposal.

Soon enough, Christmas morning rolled around, and (Y/N) woke up just as the sun began to rise. She was never one to wake so early, but Alcestis had flown in through her opened window with a parcel in her talons, screeching to rouse (Y/N) from her peaceful sleep.

The young girl sat up, rubbing the tired from her eyes. "Al, quiet down," Her voice was heavy with sleep, but when she saw the large package her owl had brought for her, (Y/N) hurried to get out of bed. She took the parcels from Alcestis and sat down on the floor, giving no time to see who the gift was from. She only knew one wizarding family outside of school. "Thank you very much, Al!" The parcel contained two packages and a letter. Narcissa always told (Y/N) to read the letter before she opened her presents, but Narcissa Malfoy was not there, so (Y/N) reached for the smallest package and got to work.

When she finished unwrapping her gift, she found they'd purchased her a beautiful white quill. The nib was a fine, shining silver with wonderful designs carved into the metal. With it was a crystal inkpot filled to the brim with ink, and when (Y/N) turned it gently in her hands, the light caught on the fractals and created magnificent colors in the glass. She imagined how smoothly it would write her notes and began to grow anxious for classes to resume so she could try it out.

Her next gift came in a larger box and when she tried to pick it up, she found it was quite heavy. She wasted no time to get it unwrapped to find that it was a new potions kit, equipped with a new cauldron and the freshest ingredients. There was even a small pamphlet filled with different recipes for various brews. (Y/N) wondered if she would be able to get Crabbe and Goyle to be her testers of whatever concoctions she managed to make.

Finally, (Y/N) opened the letter. She noticed Narcissa's familiar script, how it flowed and looped gracefully. After skimming, she was relieved to find no traces of her god father, and she brought herself to read.

Dearest (Y/N),
Merry Christmas! I hope you like your gifts, and I hope you read the letter first as I always instructed you! You're too eager.
How are your classes treating you? Draco writes to us quite often complaining of professors who seem quite unfit to be teaching. I hope it doesn't interfere with your education. You're a clever girl, so I'm sure you can manage anyway.
Please do not forget to write to me. I know you're wrapped up being a grown up now, but it's nice to get to hear from you once in a while.
I love you dearly.
Narcissa.