Blue Moon [completed]

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

External POV

The next couple of weeks were slightly cheerier for the Eighth Years. They bonded over the party's events and everybody started talking to each other more regularly. Hermione felt ashamed of herself for about three days after Halloween, after Ron had told her how she had acted. She was actually one of the most sober people there and she definitely enjoyed herself immensely, but she couldn't help but feel guilty about hexing the suits of armour to dance with them, causing a few to get damaged by the other students. Nobody ever found out and the invitees were celebrating her all day long, which did make her feel just a little bit proud of herself, but she would never admit it.

Not long after, students all over the school were packing up their things to go home for the Christmas holidays. Hermione had managed to persuade Molly to have Ron, who was reluctant at first, go home with her to meet her family. He was incredibly anxious about impressing her parents and brought it up as often as his friends would let him. Hermione was constantly attempting to reassure him that her mum and dad would love him either way. Harry gave him a few Muggle Life tips and how to behave as a model boyfriend. Seamus also tried to advise him on a few things he had picked up.

Seeing as his best friends would both be at Hermione's house both weeks, he would've felt a bit awkward if he were essentially alone at the Burrow with Ginny and George. Harry didn't have anywhere else to go, so he would be staying at Hogwarts, which wasn't new to him, and he felt safe there anyway.

Draco would also be staying at Hogwarts, he didn't feel like going all the way back to the summer house to stay there all alone again, especially not at Christmas. Besides, he wanted to use the available facilities to further his research on the Dark Mark. Most of the other students' families wanted their children back at home, not just for the holidays, but also for peace of mind.

There was one last Hogsmeade visit on the last Saturday before the Hogwarts Express would pick up the leaving students. Most people were hoping to find a few last-minute Christmas gifts. Harry had already bought a gift for each of his friends: a book entitled Working Women of the Wizarding World for Hermione, he knew how much she cared about those kinds of causes; for Ron an "iPod" and some earphones, along with a small sheet of paper on how to use it; for Ginny he got a box of gingerbread men that sang Christmas carols every time you opened the lid. He also managed to find some nice things for Luna, Neville, Dean and Seamus.

He had to be back at the castle in just under an hour and an unexpected thought crept into his mind. He thought he could grab something small for Malfoy. He assumed he wouldn't be getting many presents this year and decided it would be a kind gesture. Maybe it would even spark a newfound friendship. After all, he did want to put the past behind the both of them and start anew.

So Harry racked his brain looking for an adequate gift to get Draco Malfoy. It couldn't be too extravagant of course; he didn't want to give him the wrong idea. And if it was ridiculously small then he would feel insulted and it would backfire. He scanned the shelves in the Apothecary, knowing Malfoy had a penchant for Potions. He didn't want to just grab any old ingredient; he probably owned half the shop already anyway. Time was running out and Harry was frantically reading the labels on every interesting-looking bottle he could lay his hands on.

Eventually, he found it. Harry had picked up a small sphere-shaped vial containing a midnight-blue-coloured liquid. The liquid seemed to be bubbling all by itself up into the empty space of the bottle. The tiny bubbles would pop just above the surface just before reaching the stopper. He looked at the label attached and noticed how worn it looked. It seemed to be a rather old label and it was the only one on the shelf, there weren't any others like it.