Chapter 234: Christmas with the Malfoys - 2
Harry grinned wolfishly.
"Exactly how happy a Christmas do you think you're going to get, Mr. Potter?" she asked, walking away from him while sashaying her hips as she moved toward Ron and Hermione.
Harry gaped for a moment before shaking his head and following her. He loved their verbal sparring matches even if he didn't ever get the best of her. He didn't mind. Really.
Ron and Hermione sat by the fire, Ron propped comfortably in a big, overstuffed easy chair. He held a gift on his lap and was shaking the box enthusiastically. Hermione sat next to him with a fond smile playing on her lips. She appeared more relaxed than Harry had seen her in weeks, although he noticed that she kept irritably scratching her head.
"Come on, Hermione, just give me one little hint," Ron said, shaking the box again.
"No, Ron," Hermione said, giggling. "You'll just have to wait until morning."
"Oh, he'll never last, Hermione. He'll do what he did when we were kids and open up all the gifts once everyone goes to sleep and wrap them back up again before morning," Ginny said, laughing.
"You knew?" Ron asked, his face dropping.
"Of course I knew," Ginny said, rolling her eyes. "We all did. You never wrapped them back up very well."
"Ron, you didn't," Hermione said, sounding scandalized while absently scratching the back of her head.
"Did Fred and George slip some itching powder in your wig, Hermione?" Ginny asked, watching the other girl fidget.
"No," Hermione said, exasperated. "It's my own hair starting to grow back, but it's driving me mad."
"You could always just shave it again," Ron said, tossing a piece of chocolate in his mouth.
Hermione scowled while Ginny whacked her brother on the arm. "Oh, that's real helpful, Ron. You know, the twins might actually be useful for something. They have tons of products that make you itch, and they test all their products on themselves. I bet they've got some powerful anti-itch remedies stocked by now."
"Oh, Ginny, that's a wonderful idea," Hermione said, craning her neck in search of Fred or George.
"Yeah, if you can trust anything they give you," Harry said warily.
All of their expressions sobered for a moment.
"Well, they did help me with that bruising remedy last year, and I have to do something. I'll just have to risk it," Hermione said, shrugging.
"That's my girl – live on the edge, Hermione," Ron said, grinning. His grin faded slowly as they all laughed, however. "Why did you need a bruising remedy?" he asked, clearly confused.
"A telescope of Fred and George's punched me," Hermione replied easily. She was the only one who didn't constantly get disconcerted by Ron's frequent memory lapses. She would gently explain and move on as if nothing unusual had happened.
"Why did it punch you?" Ron asked, struggling with the memory.
"Sirius!" Ron said suddenly.
Hermione glanced nervously at Harry. "That's right, Ron. We were worried about Harry."
Ron smiled, pleased, and Ginny squeezed Harry's hand.
Harry looked up as a sudden silence fell across the rest of the room. Slowly descending the stairs was the group of Slytherins in residence at Grimmauld Place. Narcissa Malfoy led the way, her nose held loftily in the air. Harry noticed that even Draco, Pansy and Iris were dressed in robes, while Harry, Hermione and the younger Weasleys were all dressed in Muggle attire. Only the adults wore robes.
Narcissa had Transfigured her robes into black velvet ones with a silvery thread running through them. All of the Slytherins robes appeared rather tattered and frayed, despite the Transfiguration. The Malfoys and the Parkinsons had left their wealth and the vast majority of their belongings behind when they'd gone into hiding, and their few remaining clothing items were beginning to show the strain.
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