“not that that wasn’t a fasinating way to wake up, but would you mind sharing exatly what that was for, harry?” drao asked as one eyebrow rose in quesn
drao never did find out what harry found so amusing about that quesn before harry answered, “no reason i felt like it”
drao was pointedly eating breakfast and not thinking about what had hened that m when the rest of his ompatts made their way into the great hall he immediately regretted not leaving when he had the hane after all, he should have been prepared for the human-sized leeh that thed itself on to his right arm-whih was unfortunately the arm that he was using his fork with and thus he was stuk staring at his eggs with an almost forlorn air as all movement of that arm was stopped
“draaaooo we haven’t seen you in so long”
drao wished for a silening harm…or for someone to just make that woman permaly mute and yet she ontinued to keep talking merlin, hadn’t she insulted the english nguage enough by now by using it in suh a way? and she really didn’t need to e around the subjet like that there was no way she was going to get drao to take her to hogsmead, today of all days drao needed to get a present today and that had to take preedene
“pansy, i already told bise that i would aompany him to hogsmead” drao fshed a sikeningly sweet smile at the girl “perhapstime” then with pratie-honed skill, he detangled himself from her grasp and headed for the slytherin on room
bise was just walking out into the hallway when drao found him
“zabini, we’re going to hogsmead today”
“pansy again?”
“do i need to dignify that with an answer?”
“fine, but you’re helping me with pons homework then”
drao nodded and ontinued past the hidden door to the slytherin on room to his own rooms he would need more suitable lothing for a trip to hogsmead
harry travelled through hogsmead, surprisingly by himself, w what on this earth ould one buy for drao malfoy…espeially onsidering that anything he truly wanted he would have already bought a month ago…
harry was pointedly avoiding any students of hogwarts so as to not get distrated from this goal of his even if he didn’t find a present for drao here, he would ome up with at least an idea before this day was over or…well harry ouldn’t really ome up with a reasonable threat for what would hen if he failed this self-imposed quest…but hopefully he wouldn’t have to ome up with something
all of the gift shops were deked out in all their splendor as he meandered down the road christmas was just around the orner after all, a mere week and a half away, and like any shopping enter hogsmead was full of st-minute shoppers looking for just the right christmas gift it was easy to lose yourself in suh a rowd, not quite as bustling as the one in diagon ally but lose
it was also strange, in suh rowds, who you atually saw and as harry neared one partiurly…expensive looking shop, he saw none other than drao malfoy and bise zambini standing nearby bise was looking around and disussing where they should go drao was only half paying attenn, his eyes seeming to be drawn to something in the middle of the window dispy
harry hung bak, areful not to be seen by either boy, wathing as drao’s perusal of this objet turned to aeptane and then a look of more i but surprisingly drao made no move to buy whatever it was that he obusly wanted, instead he moved through the rowd with his fellow slytherin when said slytherin exitedly began urging drao along to look at something or other
as they moved off, harry went to look in the window it was a jewelry shop that also sold small, expensive, tris harry had seen this kind of store before but had never atually been in one and the item that drao had been looking at was…well, harry had to admit it was very pretty
the item in quesn was a set of rystal himes, edged in silver with trailing flowers flowing around the top, also in silver harry had seen suh flowers; his aunt had wanted some of them pnted a year before the pnt was green when it was live, and grew in a bush although it spread out in a vine-like manner the flowers it reated were a dark pink olor, shaped like upside-down hearts that were broken in the middle, thus earning it the name of the “bleeding heart flower” harry ould now see why drao wouldn’t want to buy this in front of other people a malfoy and bleeding heart flowers didn’t mix it was the kind of item that one would have to be able to say, “oh, that was a gift from so and so”, or one of those things that husbands kept around simply beause it was a gift from their wives…no matter how they really felt about it
harry looked over at the ardto the himes to see exatly what the item did it was harmed to hime the hour, though it was not atually a lok, with eah hour having a different hime these were all set to a default hime but one ould set a different hime if they wanted to
with a set smile on his fae harry walked into the shop and pointed to the himes in the window, asking if they ould be gift ed as well
chapter 20: through the looking gss
when one was being entirely truthful, there were only a few things in life one ould really ount on, and drao beame ever firmer in his resolve of this statement as he passed by gift after gift that he ould have bought for harry but…didn’t it was rather sad really, all the glitter of ommerialism everywhere, but just not the right glitter not that drao hadn’t seusly onsidered most of the gifts (all inside the orret prie range of ourse…a range that would have made most people flinh); there were some really good andidates… but they just weren’t right and there was no getting around it
