Harry Potter - Series Fan Fiction ❯ Love For What You Believe In ❯ An Enchanting Christmas ( Chapter 13 )

A/N: I know I’m a horrid person for making you all wait this long; my new job takes up a lot of time. And I just want to say THANKYOU THANKYOU THANKYOU to everyone who has stuck with me this long, I appreciate it immensely. I hope you like this chapter
Chapter 13 – An Enchanting Christmas

The gang settled in easily enough. The Weasley’s, well the majority of them minus a certain girl, welcomed Draco back into the house openly. The twins were finding that he had a great sense of humour and knew some great jokes, Molly was teaching him how to make Christmas cake (with Harry’s help of course, he could never be baking cake without him) and Draco was now sitting in the lounge explaining to Arthur about the wonders of the television.
Draco left from his conversation with Arthur, who sat there in amazed glee at the wonders of TV, and went to help Harry in the kitchen; the cake was ready to come out of the oven. Harry had placed it on a cooling rack and the boys looked at it proudly.
“Can’t beat a bit of traditional Christmas cake” Draco smiled slipping his arm around Harry’s waist.
“No you can’t. But I wish it was iced now because I could gladly devour that whole cake this instant.” Draco chuckled.
“It won’t be long love, but you can’t eat it all, nobody else will get any”
Harry pouted and stared at him with glimmering green eyes.
“I’m not giving in you, it’s for everyone.”
We’ll make another one later on just for you alright?
Harry’s face lit up.
They sat at the long kitchen table icing the cake once it had cooled.
“I was thinking...” Harry mumbled, concentrating on keeping the icing even.
“Yes?” Draco questioned, even though he knew exactly what Harry was going to say
“We should go into the city, the muggle city, and buy some things for the little ones.”
“It sounds like a wondrous idea, just remember, you haven’t told Molly yet so you might want to tell her first... she’ll be so upset if she finds out and it wasn’t us that-”
“Harry, HARRY!!” Hermione came bundling into the kitchen.
“I’m – hic- so sorry Harry –hic- it just slipped out” She swayed slightly on the spot, her cheeks flushed.
“Hermione have you been drinking?” Draco asked stunned
“Maybe just a tipple” she grinned.
“Hermione, what slipped out?” the brunette asked confused. Hermione opened her mouth to answer but before she could say a word Molly Weasley Walked into the kitchen her face blank her eyes slightly wide.
“Harry” she cleared her throat “Are you really pregnant?”
“You told her THAT!?” Harry squeaked
“Molly we were going to tell you, we just wanted to work out quite how to say it that was all...” Draco tried to reconcile the situation, failing quite exponentially.
“Right, right – of course...” The look of disappointment clear on her face.
“We really did want to be the first ones to tell you” He shot a glaring glance at the intoxicated Hermione “But we wanted it to be special when we told you, we didn’t want to just bundle in and say it. We’re sorry Molly” Harry looked ashamed of himself, and he was, they should have told her themselves.
Tears welled in the older woman’s eyes and a smiled crept onto her face.
“Oh you silly boys, I’m so happy for you. And it’s alright; it’s not the end of the world right?”
“Molly have a seat and we’ll tell you everything.” Draco motioned to the chair in front of them on the other side of the table.
“How much has Hermione told you?”
“Just that Harry is pregnant” she said taking a seat.
“Ah, well there is definitely a lot more to it...”
And the boys started to tell the stories of Harry’s mysterious illness and their theories and all of Hermione’s research... Then came the bombshell of the triplets.
“Triplets?” The Weasley mother exclaimed
“Yeah” Harry chuckled
“But Harry dear, you’re still flat as a pancake, how can that be?”
“Hermione enchanted all of my shirts; I’m a whale under here”
You’re not a whale silly, you are beautiful. Draco held Harry’s hand in his own and stroked it affectionately.
“Here Mrs Weasley, feel them.” And harry had grabbed her hand and put it against the stretched skin under the thin fabric of his t-shirt.
She was in shock.
“I well.... well there’s many things to prepare isn’t there!!!! Not one but three, oh there’s so much to do!” and before they knew it she was near enough pacing the kitchen.
“Now then Harry we’ve got think everything through. Clothes, what about names? Where are you all going to live! Pooh there’s so much...”
“Well Molly, we were going to start the hunt for clothes tomorrow, we’re going to go into London, the muggle side.”
“Really? Well I guess it’s good to make a start... but the muggle side, really?”
“Yeah” Harry uttered “I think it will be nice.”
How about we invite Ron and Hermione too – I think they’d enjoy having a part in this, especially since Hermione feels so rotten right now.
Harry listened to Draco’s words and looked round at one of his best friends. She had her arms wrapped around herself and her eyes were all red and sore with shame and guilt.
That’d be lovely; thank you Harry replied squeezing Draco’s hand.
“Would you and Ron like to come Hermione?” Draco asked her.
“Really?” She squealed throwing her arms around the two boys.
And it was settled tomorrow the four friends were going to muggle London to look at baby clothes. It was a day that seemed slightly surreal to be happening, but it was. Ron was a little nervous about keeping his cool around all the muggles but all the others reassured him that nothing would go wrong.
The morning came swiftly, Harry was up and ready before any of the others as the excitement of the day wouldn’t allow him to sleep. Draco came down the stairs rolling the sleeves of his shirt up as he entered the kitchen. And there was his lover sitting and chatting with his best friends. Harry looked so serene so content it just made his insides fill with warmth that reverberated around his body.
As soon as the warm tingle went up Draco’s spine a simultaneous feeling went up Harry’s. He turned to see Draco standing in the doorway a full smile across his face, eyes sparkling.
They finished breakfast and floo networked to the leaky cauldron, greeting Tom on their way through. And there they turned the opposite way to usual and instead towards the cars and buses of the muggle folk. To Harry and Hermione it was nothing out of the ordinary going to a place filled with muggles and their technology as they had lived around it for so many years. But For Ron and Draco this was a big step. Harry had been showing Draco the usefulness of muggle inventions gradually and Ron should be used to muggle talk now what with his father’s fascination. But still it was a lot to take in.
Harry didn’t have much muggle money, obviously, as the only people he ever got it from were the Dursley’s. But unbeknownst to them, Harry had started saving the dribs and drabs he had received in a savings account and over the years it had accumulated enough for him to at least buy a few of things in the muggle shops. (Harry could have changed some of his wizarding money at Gringott’s, but this money that he saved her felt like he had earned it and so it deserved to be spent on something this special.) Hermione was also very insistent that she owed them something for her atrocious behaviour, and she had more muggle money than Harry – even though they lived in the muggle world for just as long, Hermione had one key difference: loving parents rather than relations who despise you. If Harry still had his parents he would have been raised entirely in the wizarding world and his whole life would be different, he probably wouldn’t be in this relationship with Draco, let alone pregnant with his children and he would never have thought to go shopping in the muggle world. But he for whatever reason found it gratifying shopping in the muggle world for something this important, something to tie in the two lives he had, even if his muggle life was rather horrid. But it wasn’t all muggle’s fault that it was a miserable first 11 years of his life; it was just the Dursley’s.
Draco and Ron had been stealing glances at the world around them as they walked through London. Draco managed it with his usual grace and manners, Ron on the other hand ended up being dragged forcefully most of the way by Hermione, because he kept stopping to stare at every little detail.
Eventually they found a shop that looked just right. The window was hung with various objects in an array of pastel colours. Cribs, mobiles and clothes being a few of the many items.
The group walked in looking up and down the aisles of the charming little store. The woman behind the counter smiled at them. Harry realised that it must look a bit odd a group of their age coming in. He saw the eyes of the clerk hone in on Hermione walking, her arm still linked with Ron’s. From the muggle world this seemed like the right conclusion, but in reality it was completely the opposite. Though it did amuse Harry and Draco slightly when the clerk asked Hermione when she was due and how long they’d known. Then to top it off remarked that maybe the baby would get their dad’s red hair. The pair of them flustered and flapped and now stood 3 feet from each other, which thoroughly confused the clerk until Hermione told her that they were buying for friends.
With the knowledge that there were to be two girls and a boy the whole store was opened to them.
“Do remember that the charm was open to interpretation.” Hermione stated again
“We know Hermione” The boys said in unison
In the end the boys ended up buying clothes from the little muggle shop they bought 3 little all in ones in three different colours – one lilac, one yellow and one green. Three little snugly jumpers, which had little hoods with different animal ears (which Draco found and was so enamoured with, he nearly tried to pay with galleons) One had rabbit ears, one cat and one teddy bear ears. And Hermione to make up for her guilt bought the little ones a cuddly toy each to match the jackets. Ron was a little out of his depth, especially after the misunderstanding with the shop assistant which shook him quite a bit. But by the end of it even he was cooing over the frilly little baby socks.
They headed back to the leaky cauldron on their way through to Diagon alley, Harry had spent nearly every penny of his saved up muggle money, but was quite sure that he would be fine without it for now, the need for it didn’t arise often. They spent the afternoon browsing more shops before they sat down to have a drink. They had bags laden with more baby goodies, every shop they went in eyeing them oddly, yet another shop clerk trying to ask Hermione about when she was due, luckily Ron was nowhere near her this time so saved himself another jolt of embarrassment.
They list of what they bought was astounding. There were little stuffed dragons that flapped their fleecy wings and squeaked everytime they opened their mouths. There were 3 separate mobiles that were made up of twinkling moons and stars and played a most soothing lullaby as they turned. Harry had even bought a set of Quidditch rattles which he found particularly amusing, there were four in total the first three had one of the 3 balls at the end and the fourth was in the shape of a broom. And much to Harry’s delight Hermione had come out of flourish and blotts with a stack of wizarding baby books, they sat reading a chapter on ‘if your baby starts levitating without meaning too and how to get them back’. Obviously there were the non magical things too about feeding and food and routine.
“The only things we haven’t got are the cribs” Draco mused, fiddling with one of the many stray hairs sticking up from Harry’s head.
“What’s all this chatter I hear ‘bout babies and cribs then ‘ey?” a booming voice asked behind their table.
“Hagrid!?”
“Caw you lot look like you seen a vampire” he said drawing over a chair to their table to join them.
“And Malfoy, you’re not a face that I usually see in with this bunch, far from come to think of it...” His big black eyebrows appeared to furrow in between the rest of his bushy hair.
“Anyone care to explain?” He asked staring at Hermione.
“Why do people always jump to the conclusion that it’s me!” she sighed exasperated.
“It would be the most logical answer” Harry replied trying to work out how to explain this to Hagrid. He knew he’d have to tell people, but telling Molly Weasley had been the first and hardest step; all the next ones should be easier....
Right?
“Well Hagrid” Draco started straightening up “A lot has happened so far this year. I guess the first thing to explain would be why I’m here and the truth is that I love Harry Potter with my uttermost being. We found that we actually have a great deal in common and I refuse to be associated with my father’s failures anymore. I’ve branched out on my own and this is where I have found myself. And it is the happiest I’ve been in all my life.” Draco beamed and held Harry’s hand in his own.
Hagrid sat shocked into silence until he managed to shake himself free.
“Right, sill don’t explain all this talk ‘bout babies”
“I guess that’s a little more complicated... but I still stems from my love for Harry and in turn his love for me...” Again Draco recalled the events of the past months; the story was being repeated so many times now it came out effortlessly.
“Blimey! Well that’s somthin’ that don’t happen often! Crikey.... So crib you say ‘eh? Well, if you’d be willing, I still got me own baby crib lyin’ about down at the hut. Needs a bit o’ work mind you, but it’s the least I could do! An’ it’ll be big enough for all three littluns.”
“Oh Hagrid you don’t have to! Your understanding is enough” Harry added gratefully.
“Nah, it’s no problem o’ course! It’s only sittin’ ‘round doin’ nothin’”
“Thanks so much Hagrid” Tears welling in the brunette’s eyes, his hormones making his emotions a little tender.
“We really appreciate it” Draco said moving to shake Hagrid’s hand, who took it graciously, if not a bit surprised.
************
They parted their ways with Hagrid after finishing their drinks and made their way back to the Burrow.
Molly’s Christmas plans were well underway. With a large family to feed and cater for, as well as the annual party for all their friends too, Molly was in an even more frantic state than usual, which is saying something. The party day was soon upon them and family and friends had started flocking in. There were no marquees this time as the weather outside was just too cold, instead the living room had been enchanted to be bigger. There was a spread of food and drink that Molly had been preparing for the last couple of days. Having the party on Christmas Eve gave everyone somewhere to be and people to be with. The music was blaring, the crowds were dancing and the atmosphere was just generally joyous.
“Dance with me Draco” Harry said standing from his chair with his hand outstretched. The blonde didn’t even have to utter a word in reply but simply took his lover’s hand. The crowd around them just smiled and parted letting them dance together. Nobody there judged them anymore. They were no longer a death eater’s son and the boy that lived, and they had each other to thank for it. Being together had given them each so much more confidence.
Harry, being with you and starting our family is the best thing I have ever done with my life. You have let me be myself and show my true personality, you have introduced me to friends that I will have for the many years I have to come. My life without you would be meaningless. I love you wholeheartedly with every fibre of my being and I never want to part from you.....
And before either of them quite knew what was happening Draco had knelt down on one knee in front of Harry in the midst of the crowded room.
He had refused to spend his Christmas at home with his ‘family’, and told his mother that he would spend it with the family he was making. The Weasleys had graciously invited them both to their home; this was Draco’s true family now. A family of friends and people who don’t judge you anymore.
Draco intertwined his finger with Harry’s and gazed up into the green eyes he found so enchanting.
“Marry me Harry” he breathed
An awed silence had come across the room that had all stopped to watch the curious scene in the middle of the sitting room.
“I simply can’t imagine a future without you… Any of you.” He said pressing Harry’s knuckles against his lips softly.
So it came to fruition that Christmas Eve was the night that Draco had proposed to Harry. And they had in turn securely fixed their future together. Not they hadn’t already done so, silently. But this verbal conformation made the emotions well in Harry. Draco’s actions always amazed him. He always made his greatest efforts to make Harry feel wanted and loved and cared for as the person he was. Just exactly as he was. No changes.