Son of the Dark Lord

Chapter 25: Christmas

The next day was Christmas Eve. Harry woke early, a plan already formed, as though his dreams had worked it all out. He found his mother having breakfast in the sitting room and joined her, knowing he would need to eat before mentioning anything to her.
"Did you sleep well, Harry?"
"Yes, mum. And you?"
"Of course, dear. What do you and Draco have planned for today?" Harry had hoped to make it through breakfast before asking, but he couldn't put it off now.
"Well, actually, mum, I was hoping you would take me to Hogsmeade. I need to buy a very last-minute gift."
"I thought you finished all your shopping, Harry."
"It's for a new acquaintance." Bella smiled.
"Really? And who might that be?" Harry blushed, sure he was about to get teased.
"Luna Lovegood." Bella's smile grew wider.
"That's lovely, dear. She's a nice girl. She'll be starting Hogwarts next year. It will be interesting to see which house she's sorted into. Her mother was in Ravenclaw, but her father was in Slytherin with me."
"I don't recall seeing her mother."
"She died several years back. It was some sort of explosion. Many say she was killed. Oh, no, not by Xenophilius!" she exclaimed at Harry's horrified expression. "He was with Luna that day. They came home to a house destroyed. Poor Xeno never fully recovered from that. He's gone a little odd since, and Luna has as well, although I think it's to please her father more than anything. Oh, here I am rambling on." Harry, who had been hanging on every word, sat back upright.
"That's ok, mum. So, can you take me?"
"I would, dear, but wouldn't it look odd if I went with you?"
"We could always say you're helping me find Draco's gift." Seeing that Harry was determined, Bella agreed. Harry hugged her and ran upstairs to grab his things. When he came back down, Bella was waiting in the foyer, fully ready.
"Hurry on, Harry, most stores are only open until noon today."
"It's only ten, mum."
"True, but do you have any idea what to get her?"
"I was thinking something from Honeydukes. All girls like sweets, right?" Bella laughed.
"I suppose that will be an acceptable gift as you don't know her that well."
"What would you suggest, mum?"
"We'll see once we get there, Harry. Now, are you ready?"
"Sure, mum. Let's go." They walked out past the front gate, then Bella Apparated them to Hogsmeade. Once there, Bella led him through the clothing shop, the stationer's store, and finally, into a second-hand shop.
Harry eagerly searched the shop, remembering what he had found at the last one he was in. Finally, in a locked case, he found something better than sweets. It was a silver necklace with two charms: a lightning bolt and a crescent moon.
Harry pointed it out to his mother, who nodded in agreement. Harry purchased it and had it nicely wrapped. When they were done, Bella Apparated them back to Malfoy Manor. Harry thanked her then raced inside to send the gift.
Harry took a seat at the desk in his room and wrote a quick note to Luna.
Dear Luna
I hope you don't mind me sending you a gift. I saw this today at Hogsmeade and it made me think of you. I hope you'll wear it as a remembrance to the start of a wonderful friendship. I don't know when I'll see you again, but I'm looking forward to it. Take care, Merry Christmas, and my best wishes to yourself and your father.
Yours truly,
Harry
He tied the letter and parcel to Hedwig's leg, and watched as she flew out the window. Harry didn't know how far Luna lived, but hopefully she would receive the gift tonight. Harry spent the rest of the day working on his homework. He managed to finish everything but the last bit of his star chart. He decided he would be able to finish that with Greg's help. He had dinner with everyone then went upstairs to bed. He hadn't gotten much sleep the night before.
On Christmas morning, Harry was woken up by Draco pounding on his door.
"Harry! Harry, wake up! It's Christmas! Come on, cousin! Don't make me come in there!"
"I'm up! I'm up!" Harry quickly got ready and went downstairs. Everyone was in the sitting room eating breakfast.
"I'm sorry to have kept you all waiting."
"That's alright, Harry, come join us for breakfast," said Narcissa. Harry did so, greatly enjoying the sweet breads and tarts that were laid out. When breakfast was cleared away, Dobby and Dottie gave each person one present to open, then stood back.
"I have a gift?" asked Harry.
"Gifts, Harry. Plural. And of course you have gifts. What did you expect? Turnips?" Alexander asked, a small smile on his face. He knew how awful the Dursley's would have been to him.
"Well, I nev..." Harry's mouth closed with a snap. He didn't want his mother to know about his childhood. He knew it would hurt her.
"Children first!" called Draco, attempting to avoid the awkward moment. He dug into his present, revealing a dragonhide bag from his parents. It also had a featherlight charm placed on it, so he would not feel the weight of his books.
Harry's gift was from Hermione. She had given him his own copy of Quidditch Through the Ages.
The first gift Alexander got was from Bella, which shocked him. He opened it up to reveal a very old book on potion making.
"Severus tells me you have a knack for potions." She said with a smile. Alexander smiled back in thanks.
Violet received the bag that Harry had gotten her.
"Thanks Harry! This will help at Hogwarts next year!" She said with a grin.
By either coincidence, or planning on the part of the elves, Bella, Lucius, and Narcissa all received Harry's gift first. Lucius and Narcissa opened their gifts together at Harry's request. As they pulled out their quills, Harry could see he had made the correct choice.
"Harry, this is marvelous. Thank you!"
"You're welcome, Aunt Cissy." Lucius, who had been reading the instructions on the parchment, looked up.
"These are extraordinary, Harry. Thank you."
"You're welcome, Uncle Luke. " Narcissa looked up from her parchment.
"Lucius, I suppose we could use your ring."
"Of course, dear." Lucius held out his right hand. Narcissa pointed her wand at his ring.
"Crusta Iugum." Harry watched as the ring began to glow. Narcissa then pointed her wand at the oval on the quill.
"Adepto Iugum." The glowing aura surrounding the ring pooled into the oval on the quill, forming itself into a perfect replica of the Malfoy family crest.
"Cool," said Draco. Harry nodded, watching intently as Lucius repeated the process with his own quill. As they inspected their newly finished quills, Bella opened her gift. When she revealed the mirror, she stared at it a moment before picking it up, obviously confused.
Draco had a hard time not laughing. She finally noticed the parchment in the box and read it, eyes going wide.
"Oh, Harry! Thank you. I take it you have the other?"
"Yes, mum." Harry pulled it out of his pocket.
"This is brilliant, Harry!"
"Bella, what is it?" Bella handed the parchment to her sister, who read it quickly.
"My, that is quite a find. Harry, I don't suppose you'd allow Draco to borrow it once in a while to allow us to speak to him?"
"Me too!" Violet spoke up.
"Of course you both can use them." He smiled. "If you can pry the other one away from Mum." They all laughed as Dobby and Dottie brought another round of gifts.
Draco's next gift was from Harry. It was a Honeyduke's Candy Sample Box. It had one of each type of candy sold at Honeydukes. Draco started laughing, only just managing to thank Harry.
Confused, Harry merely shrugged and opened his gift, which was from Draco. He understood Draco's reaction as soon as he saw the box. They had bought each other the same gift.
Alexander laughed to himself as he opened his gift from Draco, which was once again, a Honeyduke's Candy Sample Box.
"Well we definitely have enough candy now, don't we?" They had a good laugh as the adults opened their gifts. They all slowly made their way through the gifts. By the time they were through, Harry almost had more gifts in one sitting than he had received in his entire life. The best part was that he actually liked the gifts.
He had received his own set of chess pieces from Vince. Greg had sent him a star chart of the entire night sky that clearly outlined each constellation as you named it (it came with a list of constellations) that Harry was pretty sure Greg had made himself. Hagrid had sent him a flute that looked hand-carved. Lucius and Narcissa had given him a cashmere jumper with an adjustable, permanent warming charm on it. Violet had given him a book on different magical animals. From Alexander he received an ink and quill set that was Slytherin themed. Draco received something similar but his was black, and the ink flashed silver. Violet got a flower themed one with scented ink that smelt like violets.
"I made them myself." Alexander explained. Everyone was impressed by this.
Even the Dursleys had sent something. Harry had sent them a Christmas card to keep up the charade for Dumbledore. They sent him a 50 pence piece, quite nice for Dursleys, actually. Harry gave it to Draco when he expressed interest in it.
However, the best gift by far was from his mother. Bella had given Harry a book about the Black Family and all of its relations. It was very thick, but Harry was looking forward to reading it. She also presented him with his father's invisibility cloak. It was fluid and silvery grey, and strange to the touch, like water woven into material. Harry had thrown the cloak around his shoulders and looked down. His feet were gone, as was every other part of his body he could normally see. It was an odd feeling.
"Use it well, Harry. And be careful, you wouldn't want Dumbledore to know about this."
"Ok, mum. Thanks." He had given her a large hug before they all took their gifts to their rooms. Harry was surprised to see an owl perched on his bed. It was brown and white with large yellow eyes.
"Well, aren't you a pretty owl? Who do you belong to, beautiful?" The owl ruffled her feathers in response then held out her leg. Harry untied the parcel and offered it some owl treats and a drink. The owl gave him an affectionate nip before it flew back out the window. Harry looked back down and the parcel and saw that there was a note attached. Harry opened it first.
Harry,
I know it is not customary to send gifts so soon after meeting someone, but I wanted to send you a little something. I truly feel that this is the start of a beautiful friendship and hope you feel the same. I look forward to seeing you again (whenever that may be) and wish you and your family well.
Warm wishes,
Luna Lovegood
Harry smiled at the letter then eagerly turned to the parcel. Inside laid emerald green shoelaces with silver moons at the very end near each tip. Harry smiled at the meaning. Another note was included inside.
Harry,
These are self-tying shoelaces. Once you use them to lace a shoe, when you put your foot in, they will automatically tie. They can only untie by pulling your foot from the shoe (no more shoelace pranks). I hope you enjoy your first Christmas with your mother and sister.
Luna
Harry quickly pulled the laces through his sneakers then dashed downstairs. After a light lunch, Harry broke in his new chess set with a surprise win against Draco.
Harry and Bella then spent a while testing the mirrors from different areas in the house. They found that it grew warm to the touch when someone was calling you. Finally, it was time for dinner.
Harry had never in all his life had such a Christmas dinner. There was a fat, roast turkey; roast and boiled potatoes; chipolatas; buttered peas, thick, rich gravy and cranberry sauce – and stacks of wizard crackers. These fantastic party favors were nothing like the feeble Muggle ones the Dursleys usually bought, with their little plastic toys and their flimsy paper hats inside. Harry pulled a wizard cracker with Draco and it didn't just bang, it went off with a blast like a cannon and engulfed them all in a cloud of blue smoke, while from the inside exploded a rear admiral's hat.
Flaming Christmas pudding followed the turkey. Harry watched Lucius getting redder and redder in the face as he called for more wine, finally kissing his wife, who, to Harry's amazement, giggled and blushed. When Harry finally left the table, he was laden down with a stack of things out of the crackers, including a pack of nonexplodable, luminous balloons, a Grow-Your-Own-Warts kit, and some Filibuster's fireworks.
Harry went to sleep late that night. They had all stayed at the table for hours, exchanging funny stories and hopeful wishes for the future. Harry certainly hoped some, if not all, of them would come true.