#19 ~ The Dunderhead's Miracle [PG13] (RL/SS; HP/DM) Title:
The Dunderhead’s Miracle 19
Author:bonfoi Rating: PG13 Pairing: Remus Lupin/Severus Snape; Harry Potter/Draco Malfoy; Lucius Malfoy/Narcissa Malfoy Summary: Rebuilding means forging new relationships…and rediscovering old ones. During the first Voldemort-free Christmas hols, two couples—one brand new, the other separated by time and distance—discover the joys of giving and receiving. Challenge:adventdrabbles 2011: Day 19 ~ Santa Hat Word Count: 1,258 Genre: Alternate Universe; EWE; Post-Second Voldemort War; Romance; Angst; Humor Warnings: Original characters; Deathly Hallows, what Deathly Hallows? Pranking A/N: It’s almost time for the Malfoy-Potter engagement party…so exactly where is everybody?
Disclaimer: The world of Harry Potter, its characters and settings are the copyrighted works of J.K. Rowling, Warner Bros., her publishing companies and affiliates. No profit was made from the writing of this story nor was any malice intended in any way, shape or form to the author or the actors/actresses who so brilliantly have brought them to life.
This author is not responsible for underage readers. Please observe the ratings, warnings, and age of legal consent for your country.
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Lucius waited impatiently as witches’ and wizards’ numbers were called. When he was the only one left in the corridor, a tall, sturdy brunette mediwitch wearing a Santa Claus hat came to the door and bellowed, “Thirteen? Number Thirteen, please.”
“Miss Bulstrode?” Lucius asked as he entered the nurse’s room. His lips were twitching.
The young woman looked pleased and nodded. “Yes, sir, Millicent Bulstrode. If I’d known you were out there, I’d have called you sooner.” She looked down at the clipboard on the desk and shook her head, the white ball on the hat nodding in counterpoint. “Says here you’re to be vaccinated for Dragon Pox and Widdershins’ Whines before that toe-rag of a sergeant will let you travel to Ireland.” She pulled her wand out of a pocket on her apron and began casting diagnostic spells upon Lucius. He stifled a laugh as they tickled his fancy and his funny bone.
“You don’t need the Dragon Pox shot, and so I shall tell him, and as for Widdershins’ Whines…well, sir, you had them when you were younger. No chance of getting them again or giving them to anyone.” Millicent flicked her wand at the desk and a quill dipped itself in a pot of green ink. She directed it to write a few short sentences on a form. The clipboard and the form flew up and into her hands when the quill was finished scribbling. Millicent pressed her thumb to a box on the form and then tore the paper off and handed it to Lucius.
“This should see you through the Floo, sir.” Millicent gave him a smirk. “You just have to show it to the attendant.” Lucius nodded and thanked her. The door opened silently and he began to step through.
“Give my best to Draco and Potter, sir,” Millicent called after him. “I’m looking forward to tonight’s party.”
“I shall, Miss Bulstrode. Season’s best to you,” Lucius replied magnanimously.
On his way out of the PkFA offices, Lucius twisted the head of his cane back into its former position and smiled thinly. If the swot of a sergeant jumped and twitched uncontrollably, and if the man’s mouth disappeared and reappeared randomly over the next quarter hour, well…Lucius wasn’t there to have done it, was he?
He patted his robe pocket and heard the crackle of Mediwitch Bulstrode’s form. “Now, to find that blasted son of mine and his thrice-misbegotten fiancé,” he muttered under his breath as he strode down the hall.
~o~O~o~
Harry and Draco watched Severus box-up, label, and ready the cakes, biscuits, and tarts for their engagement party. It was all done with military precision and a minimum of fuss.
“Did you know you were sending your order for our engagement party to Severus, Harry?” Draco asked.
Harry fiddled with the evergreen rope Port-key. Then he looked up, surprising Severus as he glanced over his shoulder. Draco merely crossed his arms over his chest and surveyed his fiancé. “Uh, yeah, to be exact. My sources had pinpointed his location a couple of days earlier. I wanted to surprise you by getting him to the party tonight, but you beat me to it, and here we are.” Harry’s green eyes were solemn. “His being there was going to be your gift, and Remus’. I just wanted to make everyone happy because, for once, I was happy.”
Draco reached across the table and wove his fingers between Harry’s and squeezed. Severus heaved a theatrical sigh and shook his head at the display. “Potter…Harry…you do realize you could have sent me an owl and let me decide when and how to reveal myself.” Severus forgot he had powder sugar-covered biscuit in his hand and waved it around, leaving a cloud of sugar in the air. “Hell’s bells, man, you could have at least let me know Remus was alive,” he groused, and then sneezed.
~o~O~o~
Ryan led Remus through Glocca Morra, greeting everyone either as a friend or a cousin. Soon, Remus’ head was swimming with images and names. His hand was shaken to soreness as everyone thanked him for his war efforts. Remus began to dread meeting any more of the O’Deays and Princes.
They came to a small garden ringed by a stone wall. Remus sniffed the winter roses appreciatively. “Let me guess, we’re at your mother’s?” he asked softly. The scent was light, yet it seemed filled with notes of citrus and evergreen. “She grows potion ingredients, doesn’t she?”
Ryan’s booming laugh was all the answer Remus received. A heavy door opened somewhere in the garden and a woman called out, “Ryan Tiberius O’Deay, show yerself, lad. You’ve kept me waitin’ to meet that nice Remus with all yer lollygaggin’.”
Remus couldn’t help himself as the woman belonging to the voice came into sight. She was almost a petite version of Severus, even if her nose wasn’t as…prominent. Her hair, although still dark, was touched with grey at the temples, and her dark eyes twinkled much like Dumbledore’s had. It was the Santa Claus hat perched on the back of her head, covered with what looked like shimmering confetti, which had him laughing so hard his sides were hurting.
“So yer the fellow Mary-Margaret told us about, eh?” the small woman asked. She smirked and winked, making Remus tear-up as he laughed even harder. “I ken why Severus thought you a mon worth loving, Remus Lupin. Welcome to ma home.” She reached out and tugged Remus into a surprisingly fierce hug.
“Severus’ll break his jaw when it flops open on first sight of ye. Now, come inside and have a cuppa, lad, and some sandwiches. Ryan, boy, wipe yer feet. Ye weren’t raised in a barn.”
“Mr. Lupin, my mother, Mary Eileen O’Deay. And, ye were right. Mam’s the leading potion ingredient grower in this half of Ireland. My aunt and uncle Prince are the champions of the other half.” Remus let himself be guided inside by Mary Eileen.
“Mam, the mon’s just got here. Couldn’t we take him to Cousin Snape’s?”
~o~O~o~
Narcissa Malfoy was accustomed to getting her own way. She’d made plans, plans involving her son and Harry Potter. Their betrothal would not only elevate the family once more, but she genuinely liked Harry, finding him refreshingly honest and innocent, even after all the things he’d had to do during the war. She wasn’t about to have her family, and the young man who would be joining it, lost in the wilds of the United Kingdom.
She tugged on her lambs’-wool-lined driving gloves and waited impatiently for the sleigh to be brought around. When Pixie, her personal house-elf popped up next to her with a black velvet bag, she smiled and patted her on the head. “Thank you, Pixie. Is everything in the bag?” she asked.
Just then the Threstral-drawn sleigh came around the drive. The house-elf snapped her fingers and blanket lined with wool appeared in her arms. “Yeses, Mistress. Seeing ball and Master’s winter things.” Narcissa plucked the bag from Pixie’s hands and climbed aboard the sleigh, grabbing up the reins capably.
The house-elf driver sat next to her, unmoving. Narcissa spared him a glance and then raised her eyebrows.
“Pixie wishes Mistress take Duster along. Will need someone to change the Thessies.”
“Thank you for your thoughtfulness, Pixie. Duster may come along.” Narcissa picked up the sleigh whip and cracked it over the Thestrals’ heads. The sleigh moved forward and then into the air, Pixie waving good-bye as long as she could see it.