! chapter ten !
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HAVEN THREW ON A jacket after packing up her suitcase, and began to make her way outside in the freezing cold weather. She glanced up as snow started to fall from the sky, and squinted once a flake landed in her eye. She hurriedly made her way down to the boats, and soon, she'd arrived at the train station.
She hugged Luna first, the other girl returning the embrace tightly. "Have a lovely Christmas break," the blonde told her, and Haven grinned in response.
"You as well."
"Come on," Harry commanded, lightly tugging on her sleeve. "We have to get good seats."
"Right," Haven replied, before going to follow after him. Something from the other end of the platform caught her eye, and she glanced over to see Draco, Pansy standing next to him as the two talked. He instantly snapped his head over in her direction, and Haven offered him nothing except a small smile, and a curt nod, which he returned. She ignored her pumping heart, and stepped into the train, where she was immediately met with warm air. Shivering, she pulled off her coat, and placed it onto the seat next to Harry as the four of them fell into conversation.
Before she knew it, Haven had drifted off to sleep.
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"Merry Christmas!" Is how Haven was greeted when she walked down the stairs of the apartment they'd been staying at. Grinning, she took the medium sized box that was wrapped with bright red paper from Molly's hands.
"You didn't have to get me anything, Mrs Weasley."
"Surely, I had to! Hermione told me your knack for shopping, and I hadn't seen you wear much sweaters."
Smiling at the homemade sweater that she had grabbed out of the box, Haven pulled Molly into a side hug. She wasn't able to form any words, not that she wasn't grateful for the gift, of course, but the article of clothing was rather...interesting to say the least. "It's beautiful," she finally managed to get out. "Thank you."
"Of course, dear. Now come sit! I've made what you Muggles called pancakes. Real simple recipe, actually."
"Quite tasty too," Fred said, a piece of food falling out of his mouth. George laughed loudly from besides him as Haven slid into a seat with a grin. The kitchen had been decorated with sparkly red and green tinsel that went around the trim of the entire room. Paper snowflakes that Ginny had made a few nights prior hung from the ceiling, and the table had a classic sewed cloth placed on it. Haven was afraid to even touch it in fear of ripping the stitching out.
Arthur sat at the head of the table, it seemed that his injuries were recovering quickly. She was grateful for that. Haven didn't want to imagine what would've happened to him if Harry hadn't gotten that vision. Which, she was still completely confused about. She understood that Harry and Voldemort had some sort of connection to one another, she was just confused to how—and why she didn't have it. It wasn't like she was complaining, however. Maybe somehow Harry had managed to collect apart of him when he had attacked them all those years ago. But still, at least, she figured she'd also have some sort of connection to him as well.
A small snow covered tree sat a few feet away, and Haven couldn't help but notice that there had been no lights strung from it. She didn't comment on this, however, because maybe putting lights on trees was just a Muggle thing.
Harry appeared at the top of the steps, and Haven quickly abandoned her spot at the table to wrap him in a tight hug. Harry returned the gesture. "I'm sorry," he whispered after a moment.
She pulled away from him, confused. "For what?"
"Shoving you back like that the other night. I didn't mean to...I just—"
"It's alright, Harry," she assured him. "Promise."
"Harry!" Molly enthused excitedly, cutting of Harry from answering as she went to wrap the boy into a hug. "Happy Christmas."
"Happy Christmas," he replied with a smile, taking the present from her hands.
"At toast!" Arthur suddenly announced. "To Mr Harry Potter. Without who, I would not be here." He raised his glass. "Harry."
"Harry!" The rest of the Weasley family said in unison. Haven glanced back to the doorway when she heard a floorboard creak behind her. She met Sirius' gaze, and he offered her a small smile. Grinning, Haven made her way over to him, and allowed him to wrap her into a tight hug.
"Merry Christmas," he told her, before grabbing Harry and pulling him into one as well. "I'm spending my favorite holiday with my favorite godchildren. Don't think life could get any better."
"You're saying you have other godchildren?" Haven questioned in a teasing tone. "Feeling betrayed."
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Haven walked around the small Christmas market a few blocks away, Hermione by her side as the two girls examined a snowglobe they'd found. The air outside was chilled, and Haven had put on an extra jacket to stop herself from freezing. "Quite interesting," Hermione commented, placing the item back down onto the stand.
They began walking again, their boots crunching on the snow beneath them, leaving prints to trail after them as they made their way around the area. Haven shoved her hands into her coat pockets, the pair of gloves she had on wasn't enough to keep out the cool winter air. She was almost positive her fingertips must've been purple.
Hermione mumbled something about going to grab a bite of food, but Haven didn't hear her because her eyes were trained solely on the retreating figure of a familiar blonde boy's head. She wouldn't have seen him if it weren't for the crowd of people who seemed to move out of the way for the Malfoy's like they were some sort of royalty. She guessed they technically were. Draco used to brag about his father's money when they were younger.
Subtly, Haven made her way over to the stand that they were at. She pretended not to notice him once she got there, and instead she played with one of the necklaces on the table. Haven planned on doing that until Draco said something to her, but as usual, her plans didn't work out, and she took a step back, only to crash into something solid.
"Sorry," she quickly apologized, turning around to meet the hard eyes of Lucius Malfoy. "I didn't look where I was going."
Draco's head popped up from behind his father's shoulder, and she saw his eyes visibly widen at her sudden appearance. He looked completely surprised to see her there, and she understood the feeling. She definitely hadn't been expecting to see him, either. "Pity," the older man mused. "Filthy half-bloods are crowding the streets these days. You're a Potter, aren't you? Don't even bother answering that, actually. I can tell you are, with your mother's eyes. It's disgusting, really."
Haven opened her mouth to say something in response, but nothing came out and her hands began to sweat. Before she could even register all of the insults he threw at her, Lucius began to briskly walk away. Draco, however, still stood there, watching her with an expression she couldn't place.
"I didn't think you and your prim and proper family would be at a place like this," she finally managed to spit out.
Draco bit his lip, glancing back to his father who didn't even seem to notice that his son wasn't with him. "My father's friend owns the market."
"Cool," Haven answered dryly. "It was good seeing you. Bye."
"Wait," he caught her arm, making her pause and turn around to face him once more. "I'm sorry, about my father, I mean."
"Sure you are," she ripped her hand out of his grasp.
"No, I am. Really."
She stared at him for a long moment, deciding whether or not he was pulling her leg, before she nodded. Snowflakes began to appear from the sky, landing softly onto their clothing as Haven resisted the urge to shiver. "You shouldn't have to apologize for your father's actions."
A strange look appeared across his face, before he sighed. "I know."
There was an awkward silence that filled the air between them. Haven saw Hermione from the corner of her eye, looking around the market curiously—probably for her. She hadn't spotted her yet, and an idea popped into her mind. Without even thinking it through, Haven took a step forward, and pressed a gentle kiss to the side of Draco's cheek. He stiffened at this, and Haven couldn't tell if it was from the cold, but his face had turned beat red. She pulled away, sending him a small smile. He didn't return it, but she didn't to mind. In fact, he actually seemed to stunned to do anything.
"Merry Christmas, Draco," she told him, before lightly brushing past him to go meet up with Hermione.
"Did I see that correctly?" The brunette asked once Haven was close enough.
Blushing, she shook her head. "No idea what you're talking about."
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— AUTHORS NOTE
i figured y'all deserved a lil sum sum😏
i was gonna wait to post this but angel bullied me into uploading it so y'all get two updates today👍🏼