Violets (A Drarry FanFiction - Roses are Red, Violets are Blue Part 2)

Chapter Thirteen

   Harry awoke suddenly to a soft knock at their door. Wintery sunshine was streaming through the floor to ceiling windows, illuminating the city as it too roused from its Sunday morning slumber. The knock came quietly again, and Harry slipped out of bed, leaving Draco looking untroubled and oblivious.

He pulled on one of the complementary dressing gowns, marvelling at how soft and fluffy it was as he padded over and opened up the door to their hotel room.

"Mr Potter?" A petrified looking bell boy stood on the other side, trembling in the corridor with wide eyes and a stack of mail clutched between his hands.

"Yes?" he replied, raising an eyebrow.

"These, uh-" He held out the letters, and Harry eyed them up dubiously. One or two were definitely quivering as much as the hands that were clamped around them. "They came to the front desk, by uh, I mean...They were dropped off by birds."

Harry raised both his eyebrows at that. "Owls?" he guessed.

The bell boy gulped. "One looked like an eagle," he stammered.

Harry sighed. He should have known it was too much to ask that they be left alone. If he had learnt one thing from his acceptance into Hogwarts, it was that letters would always find you, no matter how hard you tried to hide. At least it was just a bit of mail, and not an actual Lucius Malfoy or anything.

He held up a finger to the teenager and darted back into the room for his wallet. "I'm very sorry about that," he apologised, giving him a hefty tip and removing the envelopes from his hands. "It shouldn't happen again," he said, hoping that was true.

He kicked the door closed and made his way back into the bedroom where Draco has woken, presumably at the sound of the voices in the hall. "Morning," said Harry affectionately, dropping the post on the cabinet and slipping back into bed.

Draco smiled sleepily, curling into Harry's side and rubbing his face against the robe. "Cuddly bear," he muttered, clearly still half asleep.

Harry laughed and ruffled his hair, making a mental note to tease Draco about being soft on him once he was properly awake. Sadly he didn't have to wait long for that though. "We have mail," he said neutrally.

Draco pulled away and looked at Harry, then at the stack of letters he had brought in. "Oh," was all he said.

Harry though had already steeled himself, so he hopped back out of bed briefly to fetch the other dressing gown for Draco to put on, then collected the letters as he got back under the covers. "I think we should just face the music," he said, fishing out the bright red howler and reinforcing the sound proofing on the room with his wand. "It'll only get worse if you wait."

Because of course it was addressed to Draco, and Harry would have bet his life savings on who it was from.

Draco swallowed and took the letter in his own hands, meaning Harry could put his right arm around his shoulders and squeeze, bracing him for what was about to hit. Draco slid his finger under the sealed flap, and tugged it free, releasing the magic.

"DRACO LUCIUS MALFOY!" his father roared, making both of them jump no matter how much they had been prepared. "YOU ARE A DISGRACE TO THIS FAMILY, YOU HAVE BROUGHT SHAME DOWN UPON US THE LIKES WE HAVE NEVER KNOWN!"

Harry thought about the fact that Lucius had thrown his lot in with the most heinous wizard who'd ever lived, and doubted that very much, but of course that didn't stop the voice from blaring.