When Corben woke up, he found himself lying next to Harry, who was still fast asleep. His eyebrows weaved into a frown – what was he doing here?
Slowly and carefully, he shifted to get into a more comfortable position, but the consequent creaking of the bed woke Harry up. He froze and stared at him with wide eyes.
"Good morning," said Harry with a smile, closing his eyes again.
"Good … morning," he said confusedly. "What – what am I doing here?"
Harry's eyes opened once again. He gave a small, throaty chuckle. "The ghoul was banging on the pipes last night. You were scared. So you came here."
This only served to increase his confusion. "The ghoul was … banging on the pipes?"
"Not really. You just used it as an excuse to come here."
The memory gradually trickled into his head, and when he fully remembered the events of last night, he blushed and sat up, moving the blanket away from him. What on earth was he thinking?
But Harry grabbed his arms from behind and pulled him back. "Hey, what's the hurry? It's just six in the morning."
"We have to –"
"Everyone else is sleeping," Harry whispered into his ear. He found himself giving in and settling down once again beside him. "Come and cuddle me."
Corben rested back against him whilst he snaked his arm around his waist. "Merry Christmas," said Harry.
"Merry Christmas," he answered. Corben felt his heart hammering inside his chest, and thought that if it went any faster, Harry would be able to hear it too. "You look pretty."
"I just woke up, Corben," he laughed. "I'm sure my hair is a mess."
"Exactly."
Harry took his hand and touched the tips of his fingers with Corben's. He noticed how long his own fingers were and how Harry's pale skin contrasted so remarkably against his own. He slid his fingers into the spaces between Harry's fingers, before slowly closing his fist.
"Thanks for bringing me here," he said. "It actually does feel kind of nice."
"I'm glad you feel that way."
He felt Harry's hand moving over his head. He began to stroke his hair, and Corben unwittingly shivered. His eyes closed of their own accord, his posture relaxed, and his heart craved for more.
There was a loud banging on the door that caused both of them to jump and tear themselves away from each other. Then Ron shouted from the other side. "Harry, Corben? Are you two up? Come on downstairs, everyone's waiting."
"Coming, Ron," Harry called out with his throaty voice. "Give us – give me a minute."
The sound of footsteps receding was heard, and once it went silent, Corben let out the breath he has been holding. Harry slumped back into the bed again.
"I thought you said it was only six," he looked at Harry in confusion. Harry began to laugh.
"My watch is on the other side of the room, Corben. I was lying. It's probably eight now."
Nodding rather abashedly, Corben put on his cloak and picked up his bag from the floor. He began rummaging through the contents to search for his toothbrush. Harry dragged himself out of the bed and hunted through the pile of clothes lying on the floor until he found a pair of rather dirty mittens. He shook them vigorously, perhaps to get rid of the dirt, and put them on.
Corben unblinkingly watched the entire action. He has dated plenty of times before, with both boys and girls, but the amount of attraction he felt towards Harry seemed insurmountable. He racked his brains and tried to remember if he felt that way every time he got into a relationship, but he came out blank. None of his relationships has been serious – he had never had any intention to pursue a serious romance that may one day lead to marriage, but when it came to Harry, he found himself wanting to do things with him that would otherwise have seemed unimaginable.
And that was saying something, because they haven't even kissed yet.
"I like your morning voice," he said with a smile.
Harry looked at him curiously. "So you like my mess of a hair, and this ugly pre–puberty voice?"
"It's cute," he shrugged.
Harry came and stood close to him before pecking him softly on the cheek. "I would have kissed you if I didn't have morning breath," he whispered into his ear, then left the room swiftly, leaving Corben unable to breathe.
When he went downstairs after completely freshening up, he was greeted with a chorus of good mornings and Merry Christmases. He smiled and gave an awakward little wave to no one in particular, before flitting his eyes over the kitchen. But Harry was nowhere in sight.
"Where's Harry?" asked Ron with a frown.
"I ... don't know. He left before me, I thought he was downstairs."
"Oh, he will be here in a minute," Molly Weasley assured them. "Please join us, Corben."
He hovered near the doorway. He was practically an outsider at the Burrow, and Harry was the reason he has been feeling somewhat at home. But now that he was alone with all the Weasleys, he felt like an intruder.
But Ginny patted an empty chair. "Here. Sit down."
He took the seat, avoiding eye contact with anyone present in the kitchen. Mrs Weasley came over with a tray and scooped a large amount of food into his plate, completely deaf to his protests.
"Have you looked at yourself in the mirror, Corben?" she chided affectionately. "You look like you haven't eaten in weeks. How can you be an Auror if you don't eat?"
Corben simply lowered his head and cursed Harry for taking so long.
But Harry appeared at the doorway soon. He hugged Mrs Weasley with a Merry Christmas, and began gathering food up from the counter. Corben stared at him disbelievingly.
Harry's hair was messier, way messier, than what it usually was. The pure black strands were stuck up randomly in every direction, bringing an unbelievably adorable look into his face. It was clear that he has done this purposefully.
Even when Harry came and sat down next to Corben, he was staring at him. That is, until Harry kicked his leg under the table. He quickly lowered his eyes and went back to his eating.
After breakfast, the crowd gathered into the living room to collect their presents. Corben pulled Harry aside. "What have you done to your hair?"
He touched his hair with an innocent look on his face. "What are you talking about?"
Corben brushed his hair with his fingers, messing it up even more. "Did you use magic?"
"I don't know what you are talking about, Corben," he said and pulled him into the living room. "Come on, don't you want to open your presents?"
Corben went speechless the moment he entered the living room. It wasn't a very big room, but the gigantic Christmas tree standing in the middle of it reminded him of Christmas during Hogwarts. Fairy lights and baubles were hung on the walls, and the faint sunlight bounced off the decorations to make the air sparkle like a million little diamonds.
Several presents were scattered on the floor below the tree. He and Harry went over to join the Weasley family, ready to open their presents.
Harry handed to him a large package wrapped in a brightly coloured paper. He stared at it for moment – it was large; and soft. Harry laughed at the look on his face.
Corben carefully ripped the wrapper open. Out came a giant teddy bear, light brown in colour and with a tie around its neck. He laughed and shoved Harry with it. "Did you get my present?" he asked.
"You got me a present?"
"Why do you sound so surprised?"
He hunted through the pile in front of him and found the one that had Corben's name signed. It was way smaller compared to the one that Harry gave him, and when he opened the package, a narrow box fell out. Inside was a quill.
"It's more of a decoration than an accessory," explained Corben, smiling shyly. "You can use it to write too, but it's going to be terribly uncomfortable. It looks better in the shelf." He laughed awkwardly. "It's not much –"
"Hey, I love it," Harry reassured. "I'll keep it in my office." He eyed the teddy bear that Corben had wrapped with his arms. "You like that?"
"Yes, now the ghoul cannot harm me."
He moved closer to Harry and watched with amazement all of the presents he has received. There was a myriad of objects – both muggle and magical – piled in front of him. Books, a telescope, a pair of socks that lit up like fireworks when touched, a couple of merchandise that he deduced were from the Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. He was both fascinated and amused by the presents, for they were more for humourous purposes than to be put to any good use. Corben had fussed over what to give Harry for Christmas – he couldn't decide what wouldn't be so mundane but would at least come to some use to him. In the end, he had settled on the quill – although it would be unusable, he thought it would be nice to put in a shelf.
But as he looked at all the presents Harry had received from the Weasleys, he realised that perhaps the usefulness didn't determine the value of a gift as much as the thought behind it. He did love the teddy bear, even though he was too old to play with one. And he realised he loved it more due to the mere fact that it was from the Boy Who Lived.
Just as he was about to leave the room, Ginny called him back and handed a present to him. Surprised, he stared at it without receiving it.
"It's from George," she explained.
It was a vial of potion, he observed after unwrapping it. The liquid was pale brown in colour, and a note was attached to the cork. Scribbled on it was a brief greeting.
Merry Christmas, Corben!
The potion helps you achieve unimaginable wit for a brief period of time. Hope you like the present, though do use it at your own risk! More instructions can be found on the covering of the vial. Hope you will visit the shop soon, I would love to meet you again.
George.
After dinner that evening, Corben quietly slipped to his room, where he extracted a book from his bag and began reading it. He didn't want to stay downstairs and cling onto Harry – he knew he would want to spend time with his best friends, Ron and Hermione, and it would probably be better for him to be in his room than to stand awkwardly in the middle of all those people, not knowing what to do or say.
He lay down on his stomach and placed the book in front of him, his chin rested over his hands. Drowsiness ebbed through his body, but he kept his eyes open and forced himself to read. He needed to catch up with his Auror training.
When he was almost done perusing two chapters, Harry entered the room. He raised his eyebrows as he saw him. "Reading on Christmas Day?"
"I was bored."
"You could have come down."
He shrugged, closing the book. "It's alright. I wasn't feeling well."
Harry sat down next to him and pressed his hand over his forehead, but Corben shoved him away, laughing. "Harry, I'm fine. I'm not a child."
"You look exhausted. Go to sleep."
He lay down on the bed whilst Harry began pulling out clothes from the closet to wear. Corben turned towards the wall and closed his eyes, feeling himself floating away into his sleep. The lights were turned off after a while, and he had almost lost his awareness of the surroundings when Harry's voice pulled him out again.
"Are you going to sleep there tonight?" he asked. A mischievous undertone was audible in his voice that made Corben smile.
He pulled the large teddy bear close to him. "I think so, Harry. This teddy will keep the ghoul away. Thank you for the present, by the way. It will surely come in handy to protect me from any evil forces in this house."
"I don't think that teddy will be able to protect you. It doesn't even have a wand."
"You underestimate his power, Just Harry," he teased. "He can perform wandless and non verbal magic. He will protect me just fine."
"Will he now?" He heard a rustling sound as Harry shifted on his bed. Then – "Accio!"
The teddy bear wrenched itself out of his grip, startling him, and flew across the room to land on Harry's bed. He whipped around. Harry carefully placed the bear on one corner of the bed and grinned triumphantly.
"See? It cannot even protect itself from a simple summoning charm."
Corben grinned back challengingly. "You think I cannot summon him back to me?"
But before he was able to utter the spell after retrieving his own wand from the side table, Harry had already disarmed him. The wand flew out and landed safely in Harry's hand. "I see you need some personal training from me, Corben. What has Audra been teaching you?"
"Don't insult her," he warned, but he was smiling. He turned towards the wall once again and closed his eyes. "Alright, keep him. I'll just stay here and try to sleep. The ghoul can attack me if he likes. No one cares, do they?"
There was silence in the room. Corben was tempted to turn around to see what Harry was doing, but he kept a hold of himself. A few seconds later, a shuffling sound was heard, followed by footsteps. Then his bed sank under pressure and Harry's arm snaked around him.
"I do," he whispered. "I care."
Goosebumps erupted all over his skin where Harry's breath touched. Unwittingly, he leaned back against him and linked their fingers together. He wanted to say something, but his voice seemed to have vanished, and his breaths came out heavily and deeply. This effect was only deepened when Harry began to kiss the back of his neck.
"Harry," he spoke when he finally found his voice. "I – I have a confession."
Harry stopped. Corben slowly moved and turned to face him. "I lied to you that day."
"What day?" asked Harry, running his hand soothingly over his arm.
"Remember I told you that Theo and I went shopping? Then I saw telephones in a shop, remembered you once asked if I had a telephone at home, then bought it? Well, that was a lie. I actually went shopping with the sole purpose of buying a telephone. I wanted to talk to you. I don't like waiting for your letters."
Harry laughed. "Good to know."
Their eyes locked for a split second. Corben looked away blinking, but quickly closed the gap between them and pressed his lips over Harry's. He responded almost instantly, wrapping his arms tighter around him, but the kiss ended quickly, for Corben was shy, embarrassed, scared, even though it wasn't his first kiss in any shape or form. The mere fact that it was Harry freaking Potter he was kissing was enough to make his heart race.
Harry seemed to understand what he was feeling, for he didn't try to kiss him again. Instead, he pecked Corben on the nose, stroked a single line over his cheek with his finger, and wished him good night.
Corben soon fell asleep in Harry's arms, and the last thought that ran through his mind before he was engulfed by his exhaustion was that perhaps he could truly get used to spending Christmas with Harry every year.