Confessions of an Ex-Death-Eater

Saturday 1st December

They had found a suitable pine tree in the grounds for the front of the manor and, Harry managed to hover it around the house and erect it under Draco's watchful eye while Narcissa retrieved the outdoor decorations and the boys were left to distribute them as they saw fit (under Narcissa's firm guidance). Harry insisted that Draco returned the favour and the following Saturday, Draco and Scorpius came over to help. Harry took them into London to find a tree from one of the sellers who sold trees on the outskirts of Battersea Park. They chose together and took it back on the underground, much to Harry and Teddy's amusement and the anxiety of Draco and Scorpius who had never travelled on underground trains before, let alone with a seven-foot Christmas tree.

Once more the boys were left to decorate, but without Narcissa's management the results were not quite so evenly spread and the boys soon got bored resulting in Teddy dragged Scorpius off to introduce him to Lego.

It ended up with Harry and Draco re-organising the decorations and finishing them together.

'Did you ever get to see your Shakespeare play with your mother?' Harry asked, as he stood on a chair hanging baubles near the top of the tree while Draco handed them to him.

'No,' Draco sighed. 'It would never have been possible in the years before the war, and afterwards, after house arrest was over, it all seemed so frivolous.'

'Oh. So, if I said I have five tickets to see Romeo and Juliet in Stratford-upon-Avon, do you think you and your mother and Scorpius might like to come with me and Teddy?'

'Harry?'

'Of course, it depends on whether you're all free on Saturday 29th December?'

'Well, I might have to check mother's diary but it's not like we're exactly flocked by relatives over the Christmas period so we don't tend to have fully loaded calendars.'

Harry smiled down at Draco from the chair, 'good, consider it your Christmas present.'

'But...'

Harry stepped down off the chair he was standing on and stood in front of Draco, 'I would like to take you all.'

Draco was looking intently at him. 'I would love that, my mother would too,' his voice was low and quieter than usual. He had, unconsciously, stepped closer, a little too close.

'We'll have to do some explaining to the boys, but it's a straightforward play for them to start with,' Harry couldn't help his voice dropping to meet Draco's. There was a surprising husky tone to his voice that he didn't want to think about too much.

'You know your Shakespeare?' Draco's smoke-grey eyes were flicking between Harry's, his pupils darker than usual.

'Yes.' He was close enough to smell Draco's aftershave and Merlin! it was doing things to his insides that weren't normal. 'I went to muggle school with a rather keen year-six teacher, and rather inappropriately for a cast of ten-year-olds, we put on a performance of A Midsummer Night's Dream. Then Andy, I guess like your mother, was rather passionate about the Bard. She made me go to a few performances with her before she passed away. Romeo and Juliet is one of my favourites.'

'A story about star-crossed lovers? As a favourite literary text, it's nearly as bad as Jane Eyre. I hope you're not telling me something...'

Harry quirked a small smile, 'No. At least, nothing tragic anyway.'

'It's a date then,' Draco said quietly.

And there was that Funny Little Stomach Flip-Thing again, especially as Draco had reached out and was, slightly shakily, unconsciously fiddling with a small bobble of fluff on Harry's jumper.