Harry was the first to be shooed through the fireplace. The boy didn't know why his fathers did this to him. He clung to Beast, hoping the wild journey would soon be over. .He had put oskar in his pocket to be on the safe side.
When the Gryffindor finally arrived at its destination, it got out of the chimney with a strong dizziness and promptly lost its balance, but was luckily caught by someone.
."Not so stormy," laughed Lucius as he saved the boy from falling.
His young visitor's eyes immediately turned to him.
“Sorry, Mr. Malfoy, I didn't mean to ambush you. .but, I can't travel very well, so I mean, through the chimneys, I often fall. Or I end up in the wrong fireplace. I don't know why my fathers insisted that I go first, ”Harry chattered immediately.
."Great, Potter, what a gig, and you haven't said hello to the man either," he snapped at himself.
Lucius smiled at the embarrassed teenager. .Harry had already changed the color again and he swallowed half the words out of sheer nervousness.
The aristocrat, however, knew very well what Severus and Sirius had aimed at with this action. .at least Lucius had some idea. Presumably the two idiots had hoped for just such a situation. He was supposed to take care of her son, Lucius was completely sure of that.
.Harry carefully straightened up again and pulled away from his blond savior.
“Good afternoon, Mr. Malfoy. Please forgive the attack, I wish you a Merry Christmas. "
.“Have a nice Christmas, too, and you certainly don't need to apologize for the gig. I'm sure you will learn. Flea iron requires skill and practice ”, the blonde reassured his guest.
.“Speaking of exercise, what happened to my fathers? Have they disappeared? "
Harry had turned away from his beloved and was now looking back at the fireplace.
.that neither Severus nor Sirius were already here, Lucius only confirmed in his guess.
"As messengers of love, the two are a total miscast," the man thought.
.but as soon as he had thought that, the fireplace was already glowing green and Severus stepped elegantly out of the flames and carelessly wiped the ashes from his suit.
"How can you look so cool about it?" Harry mutinized.
.severus gave him a grin.
"Landed on the nose again?"
"No, in Mr. Malfoy's arms," the boy admitted meekly.
Sirius had also heard this sentence, who had now also arrived.
"Since when have you been so stormy, little one?"
.Harry stared bitterly at his godfather and father.
“You are lucky that we are guests here. Otherwise I would have set Beast on you now, ”he grumbled.
To make things clearer, the book clattered its covers and showed its teeth. .oskar quickly climbed onto his child's shoulder and sent wisps of smoke in Sirius' direction.
"You're not making yourself popular," Lucius stated.
“I also noticed. .I'm being threatened by toys and a book, ”the Minister of Education grinned.
Then the adults greeted each other again.
"Are we the first?" Severus wanted to know.
"Not quite, Draco and his family are already in the parlor. .come with me, I'll bring you to them. Harry, your friends are really excited to see you. You'd think you would have been apart for years. "
The boy smiled up at Lucius.
“It's because of the stress at school. .even if we try to see each other regularly, everything is clouded by all the material we have to learn. There is often no time to play or talk. Always just learning, ”the boy confessed.
.the politician nodded, he knew that from his own school days. Only at that time there was no stupid representative from the ministry on his back.
.no sooner had the family entered the parlor than Draco jumped up and ran Harry over, regardless of loss.
"SKUNK!"
Somehow the green-eyed man found himself on the floor, buried by a grinning Draco.
."I think I now know what you have in common," he groaned up to Lucius.
“Draco, what are you doing? You can't be so wild, ”his mother scolded, but she smiled good-naturedly.
“I'm sorry, but I was just so happy. .we finally see each other without a textbook lying between us or a teacher telling us to be quiet, ”he grinned.
“I agree, but why did you want to get me down to earth? .and don't say it wasn't on purpose, ”Harry demanded.
"Because you're such a flyweight, I've always wanted to try that, run over someone," grinned Draco.
."Get on the side, you impossible guy, now it's Daphne and me. Don't worry, Harry, we're not going to throw you on the floor, ”Astoria promised, hugging her friend.
Then it was her sister's turn.
."Though you could for sure, with the lightweight?" Draco teased.
"Are you saying we're fat?" Daphne growled immediately.
.the adults burst out laughing as they saw Draco's face suddenly change.
"You have to put it down to yourself now," Harry giggled.
.“No, I don't think you're fat, on the contrary, you look lovely. Damn, I wanted to kid you not my sisters. "
."If I'm really as easy as you say you can try," Harry challenged his friend.
Now Draco had to grin too.
“You can tell that Severus is your father. You have the same sense of humor as him. "
."Always had," agreed the jailer.
Harry freed himself from his devoted friends and approached the Greengrass couple.
“Good afternoon, Mr. and Mrs. Greengrass. I am very happy to see you both again. .I hope you have a pleasant holiday? "
Ariel, of course, was immediately taken with the young man.
“What a polite young man you are. Yes, our family is having a wonderful time together, thank you for asking. .I hope you are well too? "
"Always that stilted language," Draco could be heard muttering in the background.
Harry ignored his friend and answered in the affirmative, then spoke briefly to Antonius Greengrass.
.“Don't even pay attention to our son, if he starts like that then he's just impatient,” the man confided to the green-eyed man.
“I understand that very well. Dad is really telling us the rules of etiquette right now. .we are already dreaming of it. I guess Draco just wanted a break, ”Harry defended his friend.
Antonius and Ariel smiled and then agreed.
.of course Severus and Sirius insisted on greeting the couple very politely. And they worked hard right away.
"They all just want to annoy me," Draco grumbled.
"Of course," Astoria agreed.
."You shouldn't have shown that you mind," grinned Daphne.
"Right, our parents love playing with etiquette," Draco smiled now too.
.that was very different from Narcissa, she would never have been joking, no matter what. This woman was always so completely correct that her son often thought he was choking on it. Well, it wasn't that correct after all, as it turned out.
.in the meantime the elves had ushered in the other two guests.
"Hagrid, Percy?" The youngsters marveled.
"This surprise seems to have been a success," said Lucius happily.
.the two guests entered the room and were also greeted warmly.
Hagrid was a bit awkward about it, the man didn't feel right at home in upscale company. .that was because, as a half-giant, he had always had to contend with prejudice in the past.
But nobody took offense at his insecurity. Everyone in the room knew how difficult it was as a magical being in this society. .even now, with the new laws, but it would get better, everyone agreed.
Percy, on the other hand, showed perfect manners.
"He clearly didn't get that from his parents," whispered Daphne.
.unfortunately it was not quiet enough, you could hear the girl very well.
"Daphne!" This time Ariel was far from amused.
The girl also instantly blushed and apologized to Percy.
“Oh what, it's not that wild. .after all, you're telling the truth. We all learned a lot from our parents, but none of it is useful. "
The young man didn't seem offended at all, he even smiled at Daphne.
.the embarrassment did not last long. Lucius was a born host, he poured everyone something to drink. Of course, the children did not get any alcohol.
After a short chat, one of the house-elves came into the room and asked to be seated.
.“Thank you, Tobsy, we'll be right away,” the host led the group into the dining room.
The menu was as expected from a Malfoy, excellent. The house-elves really gave it their all, or at least that was how it seemed to the guests.
.Lucius received praise for the work of the little helpers and the elves themselves were also given words of thanks.
"How long have your elves been wearing clothes?" Draco asked, puzzled.
.he had noticed this when he arrived, but he hadn't gotten to ask about it yet.
“Harry gave me this idea. I was invited to Grimmauldplatz yesterday. And that's when I saw Kreacher wearing clothes. .work clothes, as I learned. I liked the idea very much. I've spoken to my elves and they were excited about the suggestion too. .actually stupid that I didn't think of it myself, "said Lucius.
"You brought in so much clothes in those few hours, how did you manage that?" Sirius wanted to know.
.“With magic, for a start these are just transformed pillowcases and logs for the shoes. But I'll call a tailor after the holidays. I want my employees to be well looked after. "
.harry smiled quietly to himself. He was incredibly proud that the blonde had implemented his idea so readily.
.Ariel and Antonius were also very impressed by the idea that elves would no longer run around in silly pillowcases or tea towels. They resolved to speak to their servants as well.
."It is embarrassing that we have never thought about it until now," said Antonius.
Then the conversation switched to school, lessons and how the students spent the holidays in the castle. .Of course, Hagrid was asked, after all, he was responsible for all the decoration in the castle.
Then the adults talked about the ministry and of course some narrow-minded employees were not allowed to look good.
.most of all Percy scolded his father and that he tried to disturb his son at work almost every day. Arthur tried to get to Percy whenever the opportunity arose.
.“And that's only because I work directly with the minister. He and mother have high hopes that I will put in a good word for them. "
"Because of the hunts?" Severus wanted to know.
.“Exactly, they really think I could persuade the minister to abolish the law. Above all, they think I only accepted the post for that reason. .and if not that, then at least I should get my father promoted. But he can wait until he turns black.
.the two of them hardly give any more pocket money to my little siblings because they really believe that their children will come back to them then. Such nonsense, as if my siblings would let themselves be bought. .now I'll just give them a little something, they shouldn't suffer more than necessary. Fortunately, I was invited for Christmas I was with them yesterday. They can use any support they can get.
.mum and dad will be amazed, they should just wait until the end of the school year, ”said the young man diabolically.
"What will happen then?" Lucius wanted to know.
"The twins want to open a store," Percy announced.
."So you want to sell your joke items on a large scale?" Draco asked.
“No, you only want to finance your actual project with that. .and since the joke articles are literally ripped out of their hands, they can certainly do it without my help. Although I offered it to them. "
“Percy, come on. What are you planning? ”An impatient Sirius wanted to know.
.“You want to help the magical beings by making objects with which the beings can protect themselves from attacks. Especially for children and old people. Well, at least the magical beings that get old. .they can often no longer defend themselves so quickly. Or are still too weak to hold their own against hunters. That's why Fred and George want to help them. "
."How the stores in the Muggle world offer the self-defense equipment," Harry mused.
“I can't say much about that, I don't know my way around, but it sounds similar. Just that it won't be mass-produced. .the twins want to make everything individually and to suit each customer, ”Percy continued.
“The idea is great. When your brothers are ready, I'll have some customers for them. "
Percy nodded.
."I also know people who would be happy to have additional protection," Lucius interjected.
The rest of the meal was spent talking about all the possibilities such a business offered. .Hagrid was looking forward to it too.
After dinner everyone went back to the salon, where the elves had in the meantime lifted the illusion spell they had cast about the tree and the gifts below.
."Did you see the tree earlier?" Harry asked Lucius.
"Of course, the spell only affected people who didn't know about the tree," Lucius explained.
"Could your house-elves teach me the spell?"
.the blond host looked at Harry in confusion.
"Certainly, but why do you need such a spell?"
Suddenly Harry blushed again and mumbled something to himself.
Of course, his fathers knew immediately what their son was thinking. .Harry wanted to put the magic on the picture of Luna.
"It's listed in your ritual book," smirked Severus.
"Oh, um well, I mean, thank you," the boy stammered.
Lucius and the other guests raised their eyebrows.
."He just wants to hide something from his curious classmates," Sirius said with a smile.
"Not helpful," Harry grumbled when he saw the curious faces of his friends.
."Maybe we can change the subject and now hand out the presents," suggested Lucius.
The youngsters were immediately distracted. Harry gave the man a grateful smile. If only Lucius knew what he had just helped him with.
.'No, better not to think about it. Not when he's that close. '
Everyone sat down and Lucius handed out the parcels with a wave of his wand. Something living flew through the air and landed on Harry's lap.
.he just brought Beast to safety and then looked down curiously at the little creature who was just straightening up again.
“A Niffler?” The boy marveled.
“Lucius, you didn't give our son a pet, did you? .woe, I warn you, I'll give you a short hairstyle. He has no time for a new animal this year, ”Severus scolded immediately.
Lucius sat down next to the embarrassed Harry with a smile and plucked the animal from his lap.
.“I can reassure you, the little guy is not my present to Harry. But apparently he was hiding under the tree. Presumably the bullets attracted him. "
"How long have you had a Niffler?" Asked Antonius, amazed.
.“Longer than expected. My house-elves and I noticed some time ago that the manor was drawing. While searching for the reason, my employees came across him here. .apparently he dug his way through the walls because it was too cold for him outside. "
"And you let him stay?" Sirius was amazed.
"Why not? He is very trusting. Besides, I didn't want to chase him outside. "
.that Lucius was also happy about every company in this lonely house, he didn't have to tease anyone.
"Does it have a name?" Harry asked, carefully stroking the animal's soft fur.
."Storm, he let in here when he settled," Lucius grinned.
The little animal had recovered from its involuntary flight and now curled up on the blonde.
"That's really cute," beamed Daphne.
.After this little shock, everyone turned back to the presents.
Harry handed the sisters the things he had bought for them back then in the village. For Draco, of course, Quirrell's book on dragons. .daphne got earrings and Astoria got a nice bracelet.
He had already sent his presents to Hagrid and Percy and he had opened theirs at home too. He didn't know he would meet her here.
.Draco and his sisters gave him a book full of all sorts of useful everyday charms.
"Practical," he grinned.
Severus and Sirius exchanged presents with Ariel, Antonius, and Lucius.
.then the host gave the young people the things he had chosen for them.
For the two girls there was jewelry that could be worn especially for a ball. Draco got an expensive robe.
.then Lucius presented Harry his present and opened the one the boy had given him at the same time.
Harry had given the blonde a silver hair clip with a dragon on it.
"Thank you, Harry, this is really nice.and Lucius meant the words quite honestly, he actually liked the clasp.
"Draco helped me choose." Harry was delighted that his gift was so well received.
Then he looked at his lap.
."Two presents?" He said ashamed.
“One thing is more selfishness,” the man confessed, pointing to one.
Curiously, Harry opened this package first. It contained beautiful stationery and envelopes.
."Wow, thanks," the boy breathed.
"That's actually pure self-interest," Sirius grinned.
Harry paid no attention to his father but opened the second package. As with Draco, inside was a beautiful robe with his family crest.
.“That's incredible, thank you. But I don't understand why a robe? Such a great one too. I don't go to balls that often, ”Harry explained, confused.
Immediately Lucius looked at Severus and Sirius.
."You haven't told him yet?" He wanted to know, stunned.
"We wanted to wait until the right time to do that," Severus sighed.
"Tell me what?" Harry demanded.
."In other words, you only wanted to tell him when you were in company and he couldn't misbehave?" Came the lurking blonde.
"That's not entirely wrong," Sirius admitted.
"Would someone please tell me what's going on?"
.Harry looked around the room. Really everyone looked at their parents and shook their heads. No matter what was going on here, apparently his fathers had just screwed up.
Lucius turned to the Gryffindor.
."Harry, since Sirius is now Minister of Education and has so many seats on the council, people expect him to be seen more often at events. .Severus ’presence is also required, as he too has a seat, even if his husband is replacing him, and is also married to Sirius. And last but not least you, the whole magical world would like to see you around the clock. .but I'm not telling you anything new.for them you are not just one, but THE hero, have fought several times against almost unbelievable dangers and have always emerged victorious, caused a political rethink, albeit with the help of your friends and the others .Champions.
and then of course there are also the many seats that you call your own. And which you will take over again when you are of legal age. "
"So what exactly does that mean now?" Harry wanted to know more than nervously.
.“It means that you will be at a lot of balls and parties in the future. The next event is in a few days. The New Year's Eve ball at the Ministry, ”Lucius explained calmly.
.Harry's mouth fell open, then closed it again. He tried several times to say something, but nothing came out.
Now he knew why Severus had drilled him so lately. .he shouldn't be embarrassed at the balls.
Merlin a ball, and that in a few days. He wouldn't survive that. Not when he knew that so many people were just waiting for him again.
.everyone in the room had been watching Harry closely.
"He's about to start babbling," prophesied Draco ..