With Aurora, I think she needs to be harsh with him every now and then. It keeps him on his toes. ;>) Thanks for the review. :)

Hi, HeartStar! I'm sorry I didn't respond sooner (I did find your email), but I don't have my own computer, and I had to get to the library to post a response. :-)

Actually, there's no DEEP symbolism with the holly sprig in the coffin. It simply represents Harry (where he used to be), and the holly tree at the head of the grave represents Harry's wand, where Draco had planted it originally before leaving to tell Voldemort that he'd captured Harry.  Mr. Olivander stated that "the wand chooses the wizard", and while in canon it would seem that the key to that wand choosing Harry is the phoenix feather core, a twin to the feather in Voldemort's wand, I'm going a step further and suggesting that holly itself has an affinity to Harry, thus Dumbledore's decision to leave the holly sprig and holly tree after Harry has been rescued.

Dumbledore's actions are not a joke upon Draco; Dumbledore would never be that cruel. The Headmaster's message via the holly is meant for Voldemort himself: First, that Harry belongs to Dumbledore's side, and Voldemort can't have him. Second, that Voldemort shouldn't send a boy to do a man's job-- Draco has made a bunch of mistakes.

In a desperate attempt to avenge his father and restore the Malfoy name to its former glory, Draco has insisted on capturing Harry by himself, without any help or input from more experienced Death Eaters. An older, more mature servant of the Dark Lord wouldn't want to take any chances, and would have posted at least one guard, maybe two, by the grave site. If a Patronus unexpectedly burst out of the ground, they might decide to unearth Harry and take him elsewhere. At the very least, they'd be aware that trouble was on the way, and they'd be prepared for combat when the Patronus returned with a rescue team. When Dumbledore and Snape Apparated into the clearing, they were prepared for battle, but nobody was waiting for them-- Harry had been left unguarded. Big mistake!

Another huge mistake Draco made was planting the holly wand at the head of Harry's grave. He SHOULD have taken the wand immediately to Voldemort, since the wand was something that Voldemort wanted as much as he wanted to kill Harry. The twin cores rendered Voldemort's wand nearly useless in a face-to-face battle. But instead of taking the wand away, Draco rather stupidly planted it at the grave, in a "Take THAT, Potter!" moment. Duh!

The final scene of the story reflects back to Harry's visualization (while he was in the grave) of Draco suffering Voldemort's wrath when Harry is found lying dead in the coffin. Instead, Draco will obviously suffer when the coffin is found empty, except for the sprig of holly, and the holly tree is discovered standing in lieu of Harry's wand.

I hope that helps! And THANK YOU VERY MUCH for not only reading my story, but also taking the time to review! I really appreciate it! :-D