“Hi Draco!” Harry smiled, sticking his pencil behind his ear.

“Whatyoo writing. It’s too early to start on your Yule homewooork” Draco said, ending with an enormous yawn.

“Just a list of presents I need to buy” Harry said with a sigh “I’ve managed to think of most people but I’m sure I’ve forgotten someone.”

“Give it here” Draco took Harry’s notebook. He scanned the page, his eyebrows rising “Gods, Harry, this is almost as bad as Mother’s! Me, Zabini, Goyle, Crabbe, Nott, Granger, Greengrass, Parkinson, Bulstrode, Davis, Longbottom, Snape, Burbage, Pomfrey, Hagrid, Dumbledore, Sinistra, Spout, McGonagall, Flitwick, Hooch, my parents, Dudley! You’re even getting something for that great lout? Oh, and Reggie, Isis and Hedwig.” Draco giggled “May I suggest you give Dudley to Isis; I’m sure she’d like a chew toy!”

“Hey!” laughed Harry, throwing a pillow at Draco.

“You’re going down, Potter!” yelled Draco, jumping on top of Harry and whacking him on the head with a pillow. Harry giggled and thumped his pillow against Draco’s side.

Draco’s pillow burst as Lucius Malfoy opened the door.

“And just what is happening here?” said Lucius in a mock, stern voice, tapping his foot.

Harry looked through the mist of feathers at Draco “Um, it was my fault, Sir. Er… I threw a pillow at Draco.” The boy gulped, wide, green eyes darting to the cane in Mr Malfoy’s hand. “I started it.”

Lucius gazed at Harry, perplexed at the child’s fearful tone. Then he noticed that the boys eyes were riveted on his cane. Lucius pressed his hard lips, lest they tremble.

“Harry! It’s just a dumb pillow! And I broke it, not you.” Draco said, gently punching Harry’s arm “Dad was just teasing, anyway. He can fix it in a second, right Dad?”

“Of course, Draco” Mr Malfoy answered softly “Mr Potter, any accidents which occur in this house will not be punished. All children break things and, as Draco said, it is easy enough to repair them.”

Lucius twirled his wand and the feathers flew inside the pillowcase, which resealed itself. “There. Now, children, it is time for breakfast. You have fifteen minutes. Chop chop!”

oOoOo

“Jewellery. It’s a failsafe gift.” Draco confided with a grin, leading Harry into a small jewellers store.

Harry looked around, eyes lighting up in amazement: as well as the usual muggle jewels, there were some pieces which were obviously enchanted: Little pendants engraved with moving animals, round brooches, the stones of which changed colour, giving the impression of a flower blooming, and watches which, in stead of numbers, had sentences like ‘time to go to work’, ‘travelling’ and ‘lost’.

As Draco perused the rings, Harry approached a counter labelled ‘Broomstick Tags”: They were little silver bands which, according to the sign, would stick permanently to a broom. Harry grinned: there was one with a little orange and green banded, enamel snake which looked just like Isis. He picked it up and walked over to the plump, grey-bearded shopkeeper “Um, Sir, could you put this behind the counter for me whilst I pick out some other things” he whispered.

The shopkeeper nodded “Very well, young Sir. I could key in a name if you like” His eyes flicked to Draco “Found anything pleasing, young master Malfoy?”

As Harry nodded, Draco replied “I’m looking for something for a muggleborn. A small gift, relatively discreet. She likes books.”

Harry turned away with a grin and started browsing: Snape had given him what remained of the bag of gold for spending money and Harry had worked out that he had five galleons per person. So, another broomstick charm for Hooch, this time with a nice little miniature broom on it, a yellow ‘blooming flower’ brooch for Spout, a oval, blue-bloodstone pendant, which sparkled like the night’s sky, for Sinistra, a pretty pair of carnelian earrings, carved to look like poppies, for Madam Pomfrey, a nice locket with an engraved cat for McGonagall, a very pretty necklace of round, rose-quartz beads for Professor Burbage, an enamelled Heartsease pendant for Pansy, a cute little ballerina pendant for Tracy, a pair of serpentine earrings for Daphne, a cool silver ring which looked like a coiled snake for Milly and, for Hermione a really beautiful pendant with a silver snake circling a round of jade on which was carved ‘Wit Beyond Measure is Man’s Greatest Treasure’.

“Buying out the store, Harry” asked Draco, as Harry added a beautiful tiepin set with a black, purple and green opal to his stash. Professor Dumbledore seemed to like shiny, bright things.

“Only the not too expensive parts!” grinned Harry. “Nothing much over two galleons, though I haven’t chosen for your mother yet.” He finished, cheekily.

“Oh!” grinned Draco “Get her the opal earrings. I was torn between those and this pretty pearl and sapphire hair ornament.”

“Four galleons, not bad” grinned Harry “How come everything’s so cheap? It’d cost a bomb in muggle shops.”

The shopkeeper laughed, adding a wrapped box to Harry’s pile with a conspiring wink “Well, most of what you’ve chosen is made from semiprecious as opposed to precious stones and silver instead of gold. Good quality but not too costly. Secondly, it don’t take a magically trained silversmith five minutes to set these, whereas it’d take a muggle a few hours and, thirdly, we have ways and means of finding metals and stones which muggles can only dream of. It also helps that we do a pretty brisk trade. Will this be all, young Sirs?”

“Yes… Oh, no! Wait.” Harry gasped “How much is that watch?”

“Good eye, young Sir, very good eye. Lovely, that is. Hematite face, platinum numbering and surround and dragon-leather strap. Goblin made too. Quite expensive, I’m afraid; ten galleons, though I could do it for eight seeing as you’re buying so much else.”

“I think I could just about manage that” said Harry, sorting through his coin purse. “Yeah! Professor Snape’ll love it.”

“Very well. Would you like me to wrap em’ all up for you? Separate wrappings with ribbons and a label: won’t take me a jiffy.”

Harry and Draco left the shop with bulging bags and pleased grins: Yule shopping was easy.

oOoOo

“Hey, how about this for Blaise ‘Sassy Spells for Savvy Sorcerers: a comprehensive compendium of spells for the modern Warlock.’" Harry grinned "Listen to this ‘Cinderella Charms: changes any outfit to evening-wear for up to six hours’. Oh and there’s this table of ‘Offenses’ with really funny ‘ironic’ jinxes to cast on the one who did it to you.”

“Blaise will love it.” Draco grinned “And I’ve found two new publications, one on alchemy, the other on obscure spells. Theo will love either of them so why don’t you give him one and I’ll give him another.”

OoOoO

“Father loves cherry liquors. You could do much worse than to get him a box of those.”

“And Neville really loves chocolate frogs; look they’re got a special Yule edition with ‘Christmas pudding’, ‘Speculaas’ and ‘Mulled Wine’ flavours!” Harry smiled, holding up a loudly coloured carton. “I’ve heard Flitwick likes them too!”

“How come you always find everything great first?!” whined Draco

“Seekers eyes!” Harry grinned, grabbing a packet of assorted Chocoballs for Dudley.

“Oh sod off Potter! I’m taking your present back now!” Draco said in mock ire, sticking out his tongue. “You might want to get some cockroach cluster, by the way. You can tell Dudders its peanut brittle!”

OoOoO

“Come on, Dray, ‘Quality Quidditch Supplies’ next! I want to get some Beater Gloves for Vin and Greg.” Harry smiled secretly to himself and a golden snitch for my best friend.

oOoOo

“Oh I’m exhausted! Let’s go to Fortescues for a Yule Log Special” moaned Draco.

“But I haven’t got anything for Hagrid yet!” said Harry.

“Should have just got him sweets like I did.” groaned Draco, slumping against a wall melodramatically.

“I tried to find a book on Dragons for him but there was nothing in the bookshop except a really dumb one for kids.” Harry said with a sigh.

Draco’s brow wrinkled “I know where we can find one but…”

“Oh!” Harry straightened up, smiling.

Draco grinned at his best friend “Come on, let’s go to 'Borgin and Burkes'. It’s just around the corner.”

oOoOo

“God! That shop gave me the creeps. That cursed necklace! And the ‘Hand of Glory’! Urrgggh!”

“Well, you got your Dragon book, right?”

“Yeah, thanks Dray! You’re the best.”

“And just what, exactly, are you two doing in Knockturn Alley!” said a familiar baritone.

Harry and Draco spun around.

“Professor Snape! Father!” spluttered Draco, his eyes flickering between the two thunderous faces “We were just…”

“Found where you were explicitly forbidden from being.” finished Lucius sternly.

Harry paled: Knockturn Alley… he truly hadn’t realised…

Draco looked at Harry and, placing a hand on the trembling boy’s arm, girt himself for parental displeasure “Father, it’s my fault. Potter wanted a book on dragons so I led him here. He probably didn’t even know that we’d left Diagon Alley.”

Lucius looked surprised. Draco was a natural wriggler: if his young son could possibly avoid responsibility for his sins, he would. The number of times the boy had palmed off his own wrongdoing on poor little Crabbe and Goyle over the years…

“We will discuss this further at home. Come.” Lucius swept away, two chastened boys and a slightly amused Potions Master in his wake.

OoOoO

“Hi Draco” Harry murmured, looking up with concerned green eyes as his friend entered the room “How did it go?”

“Oh Father put me on the rack and burnt me with red hot pokers!” Draco tossed a doughnut at his worried best friend “No, Harry, I’m just grounded for a week but Father said that, as I’d told the truth and as you, my guest, did nothing wrong, he’s going to postpone the punishment to the spring break” Draco giggled, his eyes glowing with mischief “By which time Daddy will have forgotten all about it!”