From his cosy seat, Dudley eyed the craziness unfolding in front of him. It was Christmas Day, and presents were passed around and opened. Joyous shouts and loud laughter rang through his ears, and he ducked when a lumpy stocking flew over his head. He grew dizzy when the force of ten thousand or so redheads of varying shades started stampeding all over the room, but his eyes quickly zoned in on one boy.

Albus Severus Potter had picked up a plain-looking green package, tied with a white ribbon. That was one of the three packages in the room that wasn’t flashy or animated like the other packages, and Dudley held his breath as Albus slowly unravelled the ribbon, letting it fall into his lap.

Dudley knew what was behind the plain wrapping paper. It was a gift he had mulled over for several days before carefully making his selection — so unlike James’ or Lily’s gifts, both of which he was able to choose quickly. The two of them were easy to read and figure out, both of them outgoing and confident.

But not Albus, who was quieter than his siblings, more introspective with hidden depths in those familiar green eyes — a mystery, he was.

Dudley, as nonchalantly as possible, watched Albus rip apart the paper and watched the way Albus just stared at the gift. It was a box — a fountain pen kit. In it was a handsome fountain pen, in bold black, with gold and silver designs along its body. There were several different types of nibs and ink refills in the kit and a small notebook with a leather cover. Albus looked up at Dudley with unreadable eyes.

Swallowing hard and feeling dread growing inside of him, Dudley said, “Your dad told me you like to write stories. So, I, erm, thought you’d like to write with this.”

He became more uncomfortable by the silence, and before he could tell Albus that he could exchange the gift, Albus let out a beaming smile. As quick as a wink, Albus had crossed the room to give him a big hug, and Dudley found himself hugging back. It was then he heard a very soft, “Thank you, Uncle Dudley. This is the best gift ever!”

And all Dudley could say back was “Happy Christmas, Albus.”

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There’s nothing you can know that isn’t known.
Nothing you can see that isn’t shown.
Nowhere you can be that isn’t where you’re meant to be.

When Severus Snape arrived at Spinner’s End, he welcomed its stillness, the layers of dust, the fraying curtains, and the faded carpet in the sitting room. He glanced at the yellowed wall, and his eyes landed on the familiar radio.

He was glad to be finally away from Hogwarts and a certain old, eccentric, meddling wizard who wore half-moon spectacles over his twinkling eyes and had a nasty habit of offering sweets to students and staff members at apparent random.

Then again, he thought, looks could be deceiving. The esteemed Hogwarts headmaster might be an old coot who was getting on years, but Severus knew better than to underestimate one of the greatest wizards known to the wizarding world.

Nonetheless, tonight’s conversation with the headmaster had left him unsettled to where he found himself wishing he could poke a liquorice wand up the headmaster’s crooked nose. Then again, maybe not. Knowing Albus, he’d enjoy the wand up there and make a comment such as, “Now it makes perfect sense why this sweet is long and thin!”

Severus rolled his eyes as his mind wandered back to the conversation he’d had earlier. In fact, he could not believe it was already a decade since that year, the year he’d failed to protect her . . .

At the end of summer, at the start of the new term, Severus would see him. The thought of it left him feeling rattled. He wondered if he had any of her traits, along with her green eyes.

Stifling another sigh, he threw himself on a chair. Next to him was the Muggle radio, the same radio he used to listen as a child. He stared at the thick layer of dust and spelled it away. Then he slowly reached out to flick it on.

First the radio spewed out static noises and indecipherable words. Severus fiddled with the knobs until he could hear something akin to music pour out of the speakers.

It was a song he hadn’t thought of for years; a song he had never quite liked because of its silly melody and lyrics. His fingers twitched, wanting to turn the radio off, but the dreadful song seeped into his mind.

“In the town where I was born, lived a man who sailed to sea. And he told us of his life, in the land of sub–”

The sound of water, the sea crashing against an unknown shore, a captain’s voice, and a brass band filled his sitting room.

Then, in his mind, another voice began to sing.

Severus stilled his hand.

“In the town where I was born, lived a man who sailed to sea. And he told us of his life, in the land of sub–”

“Lily!” Severus yelled, holding his hands against his ears for protection. “Stop!”

She ignored Severus and continued to sing, her voice loud and off-key. “–marines. So we sailed on to the sun, till we found the sea of green. And we lived beneath the waves, in our yellow submarine!”

Severus groaned and kept his hands on his ears, eyeing the back door of Lily’s house, hoping Mrs Evans would come out and tell Lily to stop her horrible singing.

Nobody came, so Severus was condemned to suffer until the song had ended. When she had — finally! — finished, Severus brought his hands down. She turned to Severus and said, “Come on! Sing with me!”

Severus recoiled in horror. “No! I am not going to sing!”

“Aw,” Lily said, her green eyes opened wide. “Why not? We’ll sing your favourite.”

“My favourite?” Severus stared at her, wondering if she had lost her mind. “I don’t have a favourite Beatles song.”

“Yes, you do.” Lily grinned and tossed her long red hair. “I heard you sing it before when I snuck up on you once. And stop glaring! You’re going to have a pinched forehead like Petunia if you constantly frown like that. Now come on. Sing! You say yes, I say no . . . ”

Severus gave a resigned sigh, and in a very monotone voice, completely the opposite from Lily’s belting vocals, he sang, “You say stop, and I say go, go, go.” That was what he did for the next hour. Lily would urge him to sing with her, and he’d sing, all flat and on one note, but that didn’t deter Lily. She just continued to sing happily and — unfortunately for Severus — horribly.

He didn’t mind, though. Not as much as he pretended to anyway.

He’d rather put up with Lily’s awful singing than listening to the daily arguments of his parents. Compared to their screaming and arguing, he found Lily’s voice beautiful . . . when she wasn’t singing.

Later, when he finally couldn’t postpone going home, he wondered if he should see if there were any potions that would improve someone’s singing quality. Better yet, he thought, maybe he could find some magical earplugs that were invisible when worn and that would block out someone’s off-key singing, but allowed the wearer to still hear everything else.

This idea had come to him last year when Lily suddenly had become interested with this band, but Severus had never acted on it because he didn’t mind Lily having fun with these awful songs. Mostly. He just hoped that she would improve one day.

“Hello, Severus.” Mrs Evans smiled. “Lily’s in the back. Do you want a jam tart before you go?”

He looked at the mouth-watering treats, something he’d never find in his own home. His pride made him decline them. “No, thank you. I’m still full from lunch.” He hurried away before she could insist and ignored his empty stomach’s protest.

Outside, he scanned the yard for Lily. She sat cross-legged under her favourite tree, where the afternoon sunlight peeked through the leaves above, creating a shadowy pattern. In her lap was a book, and she was smiling. Severus frowned slightly, realising that the smile on her face was different from her usual ones.

She smiled shyly when meeting someone for the first time. She had a polite, courteous smile that she always smiled (in fact it was hard to catch her not smiling). When she knew someone better, her smile was a bit more mischievous. When she had an idea, her smile grew knowing, secretive. And when she was with Severus, her whole face lit up.

The smile she had now was wide, and her eyes looked dreamy. That expression unnerved him; it was an expression he’d seen before, but he couldn’t remember where.

When he got closer, he saw it wasn’t a book but a magazine. He stopped in front of her, looked down, and stared at the gigantic pin-up poster of John Lennon. Lily was humming something, a very familiar tune that always made his stomach clench in disgust. Of all the Beatles songs, he found himself hating “Can’t Buy Me Love” most, and hearing her humming it made his ears hurt. As he tried his best to block out that tune, he glanced at Lily’s face once more, and that was when he realised where he’d seen that expression before. He’d seen it on Petunia when she’d been in love with that neighbourhood boy down the street.

Now Lily wore that same look. Did that mean she was in love with John Lennon?

Severus made a face at that thought. He hoped she hadn’t turned into a girl, like Petunia!

Lily looked up, finally noticing him, and asked, “What’s wrong with your face? Are you sick?”

“No, but what’s that?” He pointed at the magazine.

“A magazine.” Lily smirked at her answer as Severus resisted rolling his eyes. “Daddy got this for me. This has a lot of stuff about the Beatles. A lot of articles and posters. See? Look at this poster of John Lennon when he was younger! See that mop-top? I think that suits him waaaaay better than what he looks like now.”

He studied the two pictures, studied how different the Beatles had looked in the early 1960s compared to now. He could see that they had looked a lot cleaner when they had been younger, and then as they had grown older, they had turned into these messy people. He could not figure out who was who except for John Lennon, because of his glasses. “Do all grown-ups become this messy when they get older?”

“Maybe?” Lily shrugged as she went back to staring at the huge John Lennon poster. “He still looks good, though. I wish I could meet him one day. I wish I could go to their concert. I’m trying to convince Daddy and Mummy to let me go when I turn eleven. I’ll be all grown up by then, so they have to let me go! Do you think they’ll ever come here and perform?”

“I don’t know.”

“If they come here or any nearby cities, I’m going to go. Let’s go together, okay?”

Severus grimaced and took a step back. “I don’t think so,” he said fiercely.

“Aw, why not? I don’t want to go by myself. If you come with me, you can be my bodyguard! You already like wearing black, so you can wear that and protect me.”

Severus tried to figure out just what black had to do with bodyguards, but before he could ask, she stood up, set the magazine aside, and started singing a new song.

“Oh, please, say to me, you’ll let me be your man. And please, say to me, you’ll let me hold your hand!” Lily danced as she grabbed Severus’ hand. “Sing with me! We have to practise for when they come!”

“What do you mean practise?!” Severus asked as she yanked him around the yard.

“At the concert! When they sing, we have to sing along with them. So we need to memorise the lyrics and all.” She laughed and skipped around the yard, still holding Severus’ hand, and continued to sing, “Now let me hold your hand! I want to hold your hand!”

Once again, thanks to Lily’s convincing attitude, Severus found himself singing along with her off-key performance. Thank goodness she didn’t mind his flat singing, he thought. He didn’t fancy the idea of receiving singing lessons on top of all these Beatles songs.

It was cold when Severus woke up on the last day of the year. He blearily rubbed his eyes, and he sat up with a large yawn. He winced as he heard something crashing downstairs, followed by his father’s deep shouting and his mother’s softer sobs.

Already numb from the coldness in his room, he pulled his threadbare blanket tighter around him and lay back down on his lumpy mattress, curling himself into a foetal position and pulling the blanket over his head to block out the noises from below. Despite all his efforts, though, he could still hear everything through the thin walls. He heard his father’s cruel voice as he continued to yell at his mother. He heard the all familiar threats of him leaving them, and his mother begging him not to.

Unable to withstand it any longer, he got off his bed, stopped by the loo to do his business, and went to change into a pair of frayed jeans and an old but clean shirt. He slipped his feet into a pair of socks that had holes and into ratty-looking trainers which had once been white. Finally, he pulled on his coat, quietly crept through the house, and went outside.

He walked down the road, enjoying the blissful silence and trying to ignore the frosty winds that swept all over him. He pulled his coat’s collar up around his neck and ears and stuffed his hands deep into his pocket. In one of the side alley streets, away from the prying eyes of his neighbours, he jumped up and down and ran around in circles until he could feel himself getting warm.

Still, it was too cold to linger around, so he decided to go visit Lily and see if she wanted to play. He ran all the way to Lily’s house, and when he arrived, he could see his breath coming out in pants. Swallowing hard, he forced his breathing to slow down before he rang the doorbell.

Mrs Evans opened the door. Severus noticed that she appeared sad instead of her usual cheery self. “Oh, hello, Severus. You look chilled to your bones. Come on in!”

Inside, he quickly turned down her offers of tea and crumpets. “Thank you, but maybe later. Is Lily around?”

Sighing loudly, her face turned sad again. “She’s out in the back. I just checked on her five minutes ago, and she’s not ready to come back in yet. She’s quite . . . upset. Thank goodness she’s bundled up, at least. Go see her, love. Perhaps you can knock some sense into her so she’ll brood inside the house instead.”

“All right. I’ll–” Severus was cut off when Mrs Evans wrapped a fluffy muffler around his neck.

“There. We mustn’t let you catch your death of cold.” She finished tying the muffler and stepped back with a smile. “Go and bring her in soon. Otherwise, I’ll dig out my rubber crowbar and yank you two inside the house.”

Severus thanked her quickly, and he went outside. Just like that one time when she’d been fascinated by the magazine, he found her under the tree. Unlike last time, she didn’t have a silly smile on her face; instead, there were tears in her eyes. Worried, he wondered what had upset her. Quietly, he took a seat next to her on the hard ground.

“Hullo,” she said, pulling her knees closer to her chest and wrapping her thin arms around her legs.

“Hi,” he responded softly. “What’s wrong?”

Lily kept quiet, but her bottom lip began to quiver.

“Did Petunia do something to you?” he asked, alarmed.

She shook her head. “No. Not Petunia. It’s . . . it’s . . . ” She lost her control, and she burst into tears. She buried her face in her arms. Her shoulders heaved and shook.

Awkwardly, Severus put an arm around her shoulder, but barely touching her, afraid to upset her further. Then, without warnings, Lily turned and leaned into him, sobbing into his chest. His eyes now wide open, he slowly hugged her very stiffly.

They stayed like that for a few minutes as Lily’s sob subsided. Soon, she was only sniffling. He asked again, “What’s wrong?”

“Thebeebmamdumedinagoo.”

“The Bee Man made dinner goo?”

“No!” Lily pulled away from him and giggled before she remembered her pain and turned sombre again. “The Beatles are breaking up for good.”

He blinked. “For good?”

“Back in April, Paul McCartney had left the group. So I was waiting for Paul to realise how he was being silly and needed to come back to the group, but now . . . ” Her bottom lip began to quiver again. “I always thought they would stay together forever.”

Severus was slightly dismayed. He knew she really liked the band, but he didn’t think their break up would affect her this much. He couldn’t understand why she was so upset, but he didn’t want to see her so miserable.

“Here comes the sun, here comes the sun,” he began to sing the first song that came into his mind. “And I say it’s all right!”

She stared at him, open-mouthed. He continued to belt out the song, not caring that he sounded worse than she usually did. “Little darling, it’s been a long cold lonely winter. Little darling, it feels like years since it’s been here. Here comes the sun, here comes the sun . . . ”

“And I say it’s all right!” Lily finished in a shaky voice. They smiled at each other and continued to sing. It was one of their worst attempts at singing Beatles songs, and they most likely butchered the song to where Severus would have definitely preferred an earplug or three . . . but he didn’t care. Lily wasn’t crying, and that was more important than his ears.

Together they finished the rest of the song.

“Will you promise me something?”

They were back in Lily’s house, in the sitting room, eating and drinking Mrs Evans’ wonderful tea and crumpets. Severus was going to soak in all the warmth here before he had to return to his cold home and celebrate New Year’s Eve with his parents, hoping they wouldn’t fight for once, hoping they’d call a truce for tonight and perhaps even fight less in the New Year.

He looked into her serious green eyes, the same eyes he’d looked into for years. But now they appeared different. “What is it?”

“Promise me that we’ll always be friends, no matter what. Promise me that we’ll never break up like the Beatles.”

Severus slowly grinned. “I promise.” Lily was his true friend; he would always be loyal to her.

She smiled back, her green eyes becoming brighter. She grabbed his hand and laced their fingers together before saying, “Friends forever.”

He nodded and looked at their intertwined fingers and echoed her, “Friends forever.”

When the song ended, Severus finally turned the radio off. He leaned heavily against his chair and stared at the wall in front of him; an image of Lily, so beautiful with her long red hair and her endearing green eyes smiling at him, came to his mind.

He closed his eyes. When he opened them again, he saw her holding up a baby up to her bosom.

He had broken his promise.

Yet, maybe, there was another chance.

Make sure it was not in vain. Help me protect Lily’s son.

As Albus’ voice drifted away, Severus smiled sadly. “Friends forever,” he whispered. Lily looked at him and mouthed a single word.

Pools of sorrow, waves of joy
Are drifting through my open mind
Possessing and caressing me.

Severus rushed away from Spinner’s End, eager to get to the little clearing in the woods. It was a quiet clearing, surrounded by tall trees, currently covered with snow. This little clearing was a special place that he and Lily played in, both considering it their secret hideout.

As he walked down the snow-covered streets, he brought his cold hands up to blow at them, trying to warm them up. He shoved his hands into his pockets. The wind stung his cheeks, and he ducked his head down to avoid it. From the corner of his eyes, he saw the Christmas decorations still on some people’s houses, unlike his own dark, undecorated dwelling, and he was glad that Christmas was over.

When he reached the entrance of the clearing, he shoved the branches away and slipped past them, ignoring the snow that had fallen on his head, and he saw Lily already there, smiling. As usual, she had on a colourful matching set of hat, mittens, and a scarf. Her bright green eyes gleaming, she waved one of her mitten-clad hands. “Hi, Severus!”

He smiled back, but he didn’t wave, keeping his hands still in his pockets. “Hi, Lily. Did you have a good Christmas?”

“The best! How about you? Did you get some nice presents?”

He nodded briskly. “It was fine.” It wasn’t, but he had no intention of telling her that or that her little gift — a book about the Arthurian legends — was the only gift he’d received for the holidays. Quickly, he changed the subject. “I looked through one of my mum’s old books a couple of days ago. I discovered something called frostyworms. Apparently they are magical worms, some kind of flobberworm, and they can be found in snow. My mum said they can be found around here.”

That was before his father had started yelling at his mum. It was one of the worst fights he’d seen his parents have, and he could still hear the shouts and screams. He didn’t want to think of it, though, and he only thought about finding the frostyworms because he wanted to try the Snowflake Potion. He’d read that if it was poured onto an object, the potion would transform into snow for a while. Even though there was a lot of snow around him, he still wanted to try it since it would be quite handy to have in the summer. “Want to help look for them?” he asked, hoping she’d agreed. He knew how girls were about worms and bugs. He’d seen Petunia scream over spiders, cockroaches, and worms all the time.

“Sure!” Lily said enthusiastically, which surprised him. “Are they potions ingredients, too? You want to find them and practise potions, right? We’ll be turning eleven in another year or so.” She bit her bottom lip. “Do you really think I’ll get a Hogwarts letter, too?”

Severus nodded hard. He knew she was a witch, and he could tell she would be a good one. Last year, before they’d first talked, he had been watching Lily and Petunia from behind some bushes. Apparently Petunia did something to annoy Lily, and to his and Petunia’s amazement, Lily’s annoyance had made her do some wandless magic. Interestingly enough, Lily had made real petunias sprout out on top of Petunia’s head. Severus would never forget the look of horror on Petunia’s face, and now that he knew Petunia, he thought that was a fitting punishment for her! “You will. And we’ll go to Hogwarts together. I’m going to make the Snowflake Potion, and I’ll show you how it’s done.”

“That’d be great! But we have to dig for them, right? We’ll need shovels or something.”

Severus’ brows furrowed together. “Yeah.” He’d forgotten about that. Then again, his family didn’t have any shovels.

“We have two at my house! Let’s go get them.” Lily grabbed Severus’ wrist, tugging so his hand slipped out of his pocket. With his hand in her mitten-covered one, they walked out of the clearing and went towards her house. As they walked, he couldn’t help but revel in the fact that his hand felt warmer in Lily’s as opposed to in his pocket. It was strange because his pocket was usually much warmer. He shrugged, though, and let himself be dragged along by Lily’s enthusiasm.

“Oof!” Lily said, throwing a pile of snow over her shoulder. “Snow’s sure heavy.”

Severus grunted in agreement. “I can’t wait until we can legally do magic. It’d be easier to Accio these frostyworms.”

“That’s the summoning or another spell, right? It’d be easier, I agree, but I think this is more fun. And this is exercise — ah-ha!” Lily exclaimed. She pointed at something in the snow. “Is that your frostyworm?”

Severus looked at the wriggling worm. It was blue, fat, and squishy, and it looked rather . . . disgusting. More disgusting than the picture in his mum’s book. “I’m not touching that!”

Lily took off one of her mittens, stuffed it into her pocket, and reached out to grab the frostyworm. She picked it up gingerly between two fingers and brought the frostyworm close to her face and studied it. “I think it looks cute.”

Severus shook his head emphatically and made a face.

Lily giggled and stepped closer to Severus and practically shoved the frostyworm into his face. “Look at it.”

“Lily!” Severus shrieked and backed away. Shuddering he said, “I don’t want it near me!”

Rolling her eyes, she set the worm down on her other hand, watching it crawl around the woollen material. “How are you going to be a Potions master if you can’t stand the sight of your own ingredients?”

“How come you’re not like other girls who squeal when they see bugs and other creepy stuff?” Severus retorted.

“Please. I’m not like Petunia! I like this stuff. Maybe I should become a Potions master if I go to Hogwarts. Or should that be Potions mistress? No, that doesn’t sound quite right . . . ”

While she pondered on that, Severus pouted. Lily did have a point — he would have to get used to handling disgusting potions ingredients. And if Lily — a girl — could touch a frostyworm and not get sick, then by all means, so could he!

Determinedly, he pushed his disgust deep inside, and he reached out to touch the frostyworm in Lily’s hand. It did feel slimy and cold, but he repeatedly reminded himself that it wouldn’t hurt him, that it was a harmless little bug that he could overpower; after all, he was larger than the frostyworm!

He quickly got used to it, and eventually, he had the entire thing in his own hand.

Lily gave him a smug look. “See? It’s not bad.”

Snortling, he said, “Yeah, you’re right. It’s not so bad.”

“Good. Now, go make that potion!”

Severus came to the clearing first. Waiting for Lily, he sat on his haunches and he found a stick and drew random doodles in the snow. However, he had to stop every few minutes to warm his hands up. Whether he blew on them, put them in his pocket, or pulled his sleeves over them, it didn’t work. His hands were too cold.

When Lily finally arrived, he stood up and threw the stick aside. “Hi.”

“Hi. I had to do chores with Petunia, but she was too busy complaining and whining. Honestly. She’s older than me, but I feel like I’m more mature than her!” Lily grabbed the stick he had thrown, and she continued his drawing. “You’re lucky you’re an only child.”

Severus agreed and disagreed with her statement. He thought about how lonely it was to be an only child, but if he had to have a sibling like Petunia — who was not only a cow, but an evil, soul-sucking cow — he’d rather eat dirt! “I guess,” he said noncommittally.

“How’s your potion?”

“It’s kind of hard,” he admitted, “but it’s just that my hands get too cold at home. Our house’s heating system has its good and bad days.” Truthfully, his house had no heat since his father hadn’t paid the bills for this month, but he decided not to tell Lily the entire truth. He bit his lip. He didn’t like talking about his home situation with her.

“Oh, I see.” She looked thoughtful. “Well, I’m in a mood for hot chocolate. Plus, Mummy made raspberry tarts. Mummy knows you like her tarts. Let’s go to my place and get some.”

Hot chocolate and raspberry tarts . . . things he didn’t have at his house. And there was also the fact that Lily’s house was heated, and Severus longed for that warmth. Something his own home lacked in more ways than one. Trying not to appear too eager, he said, “All right.”

Hand in hand, one in mitten and one in nothing, they walked down the snow-covered streets to Lily’s house.

Severus was bored. And cold. And sick of staying in his house. Then there were his parents. He could tell that both of them were in bad moods, so another one of their famous fights would happen soon. Sighing, he decided to go see if Lily was free.

He walked through the cold streets, and he saw that the blasted Christmas decorations were still up on some people’s houses. It was almost New Year’s. Why did these people not take down the cheerful decorations? Seeing them only reminded him of his home life and what he lacked. All his life, his family had never decorated for Christmas. No wreath, no stockings, no nothing. His place was always cheerless.

At the next intersection, he turned at the corner of Lily’s street, and there he saw Lily running towards her house.

“Lily!” he called out.

She stopped and smiled. “Hi!”

“Want to play?” he asked hopefully.

She frowned slightly. “Oh, I want to, but I can’t today. I’ve got stuff to do.”

“Oh.” Awkwardly, he shuffled his feet. “Maybe later then?”

“Sure! I’ll see you.” She waved and dashed off.

Forlornly, he stared at Lily’s retreating figure, and he let out a sigh. Well, he thought, he could always go to the public library nearby. That was surely a better idea than standing around in the cold. In the opposite direction, he walked slowly to the library, wishing Lily was there to accompany him.

“Oh, Seveeeeerus.”

Severus stifled back a groan and bit his tongue from going on a rampage at the annoying voice that called out to him. Even though his back was turned to the person, he knew exactly who it was. There was only one person who had that annoyingly high-pitched, screeching voice, and the person was none other than Petunia Evans.

Taking a deep breath, he turned around to face Petunia with a blank expression. “Yes?”

Her smile, which looked fake and ugly on that long face of hers, grew wider as she said, “Why are you alone? Do you have no one else to play with now that Lily has a new friend?”

“Friend?” Severus’ eye widened. “What friend?”

“Oh, she didn’t tell you?” Petunia looked surprised. “Well, she’s so occupied, so I guess it’s not surprising she wouldn’t make the time to tell you.”

Even though he was upset, he decided he didn’t want Petunia to know that her words had upset and surprised him. “Oh, right, that friend. I know. So?”

She snorted, which reminded him of a horse. Then again, her face was indeed long, so he could definitely see the resemblance. “You’re a terrible liar. But whatever. It won’t be long before Lily realises that her new friend’s a lot better than you.” With that, she flounced off.

Severus, at that moment, had never hated anyone this much. “You’re the liar. Lily would tell me if she’s got a new friend!” he snapped at the empty street. He stomped in the opposite direction. He was furious — not only at Petunia’s words, but he was also miffed for showing his weakness to her. He remembered reading about Occlumency, and he decided he’d master that when he turned older, and he’d also learn how to mask his face from showing any emotions that would give him away. He would never let anybody like Petunia mock him again!

Severus managed to catch Lily outside her house a few days later. He grabbed her hand, which was in her richly coloured mitten as usual, and he noticed his pale hand contrasting against the vibrant material. “Lily, can we talk?”

“Hmm?” She glanced down at her watch. “Not now. I’ve got a meeting with someone today! An important meeting.”

He stepped back and let go of her hand as if he’d been slapped. “I see . . . ” Maybe Petunia was telling the truth. “Well,” he continued blandly, “have fun.” He turned around and ran off, ignoring her calls of “Severus, wait!”

He ran and ran until his stomach cramped, and when he came to their secret hideout, he fell down on top of the snow, not caring that his clothes would get wet. Hot tears came down his face, and he muffled his sobs by stuffing his hand into his mouth. Sod it all, he thought. If Lily had found a new friend and chose that person over him, then forget her! He didn’t need her or his parents! He only needed himself. At least, that was what he tried to convince himself for the rest of the day. Whether he succeeded or not, he didn’t care too much on that. Deep inside, more than anything, he only wanted Lily’s friendship.

But it looked like even his friendship with Lily was deteriorating. He miserably realised that with his birthday around the corner, this was the worst present he could ever receive.

A few days later, his birthday came. His mother had wished him a happy birthday while his father just ignored him. But Severus did not feel happy. Instead, he moped around his room in the morning. He’d stared at the blank walls and studied its cracks. That got boring, so he went to his hideout to mope and stare at the tree’s trunks, its branches, and all the snow around him. It wasn’t much better than his room, but at least he could get some peace and quiet here instead of listening to his parents arguing.

Like before, he found a stick, and he crouched to the ground and drew in the snow without really thinking about what he was drawing. When he finished he stood up and saw that he’d drawn Lily. In the drawing, her hair was down, and she was smiling that friendly smile of hers. He felt a pang in his heart, and he let out a loud sigh. “What am I doing?” he muttered to himself.

Throwing the stick, he was about to erase the drawing, but he froze when he heard a noise behind him. He blinked when he saw Lily coming into the clearing, and he gave her a wary look.

“Hi,” she said.

“Hi,” he repeated.

“I, er, wanted to wish you a happy birthday.”

He didn’t say anything. He only stared down at his feet with a scowl.

“And to apologise.” His head snapped up and he stared at her. She gave him a small smile. “I found out what Petunia said to you. What she made you believe is all a lie. I . . . I didn’t make a new friend. But it is true I had an important meeting . . . but it was with my aunt!” She made a face. “I was doing something with her.”

“Oh . . . ” Severus now shifted uncomfortably. “It . . . it’s okay. I didn’t believe her anyway.”

Lily cocked her head and stared at him. Her green eyes were intense, and he almost could feel them burning into her, but he refused to blush and show her that she was right. Thankfully, she only nodded. When he saw her arms move, he realised that they’d been behind her back this entire time. “Here,” she said, revealing a wrapped package. “It’s your birthday present.”

This time he couldn’t hide his emotion. His eyebrows shot up, and his mouth dropped opened. “What?”

She beamed. “This was why I hadn’t played with you lately. I had to finish this in time for your birthday! Take it!” She nudged the package, and he accepted it. “Now, open it!”

“T-thank you.” The words almost didn’t come out from his clogged up throat. Slowly, he unwrapped the green-coloured paper, and he peeked inside. What he saw were mittens. Rainbow-coloured mittens. He looked at her.

“My aunt taught me how to knit those.”

He looked down at the mittens and studied them closer. He saw that the thumb coverings were a bit on the wide side. He could see small holes and tangled up yarn in some places. One mitten was slightly bigger than the other. The colours blinded him. Honestly, it was probably the worst pair of mittens he’d ever seen.

But he didn’t care.

This was the first time anyone had ever made him something.

All sorts of emotions flooded over him, and Severus ducked his head to hide the tears that threatened to spill. He blinked them away, and he said softly, “Thank you. They’re brilliant.” Shoving the wrappings into his pockets, he slipped the mittens on his hands. As soon as his hands were encased in the imperfectly made mittens, he felt them grow instantly warm.

“Oh, I’m glad they fit!” Lily squealed, clapping her hands. “And I know you like black, but I decided to knit you a rainbow pair. You need more colour in your life, Severus! Being in black all the time is utterly depressing!”

“But I like black.”

“You’re hopeless,” she joked. “Just like your drawing skills. Since when do I have gigantic lips?”

Severus gave her a mock glare. “You’re the one to talk. You can’t even draw period!”

“Hey! Not nice!” She quickly bent over and made a snowball.

Before Severus could stop her, the snowball hit his face. “Payback time!” He made his own snowball, and he was pleased to see that his hands stayed warm as he threw it at her.

Laughter rang out in the small clearing, and snow went flying all over the place as they both tried to snow each other out. Severus’ drawing of Lily disappeared, and the two of them shrieked and yelled as they chased each other all over.

It wasn’t long before they both leaned against a tree and panted from their chase. “That was fun,” she said, her eyes twinkling.

“Yes,” Severus agreed. Staring up at the trees, he could see sunlight coming through the branches. The warmth he felt from the sun and from running around with his best friend made him smile wider. “It was fun.”

“Let’s end today with some hot chocolate at my place. And cake.” She grabbed his hand, no longer naked and cold. “I helped make it! Don’t worry. Petunia didn’t go anywhere near the cake. So it won’t have salt or any other disgusting thing in it. I swear, she can’t cook anything!”

Again, his throat tightened, and he could only nod. She gently tugged him, and hand in hand, they walked down the street.

“Tomorrow, let’s go look for more frostyworms. We’ve got to cure you of your bug-and-other-crawly-stuff-phobia.” Lily grinned. “I’ll make sure you become the best Potions master in the world.”

Finding his voice, Severus answered, “Deal. You can be my partner-in-crime as we come up with new potions that will change the world!”

“And,” she added, “I’ll get you to wear more colours.”

Severus groaned. “Whatever.”

“Watch me!”

When they entered Lily’s warm house, Severus said to himself, “You already have me in colours.” He looked at their entwined hands. “I am in colour now.”

I like her because she smiles at me and means it. — Anonymous

Dudley squirmed uncomfortably in his chair. He suspected the chair had a nasty spell on it. Earlier, when he’d sat down, the chair was nice, plush, and pleasant; now, he swore the damned thing was shrinking around his bottom, had grown bumps on the cushion, and was giving him some serious itching problems. Or maybe he was imagining things? He wasn’t sure, but it really was getting rather tight, bumpy, and itchy, but he didn’t dare complain. Especially when he thought he saw one of those redheaded folks looking at him queerly, and it reminded him of the first magical sweets he had consumed. He would never forget what the sweet had done to him — his tongue had never been quite the same since — and he became rather cautious on what he ate at one of these gatherings.

He looked at the huge, motley group of people around some sort of an open area with these strange looking hoops. They were all cheering and yelling as some of them flew around on their brooms, throwing a red ball and dodging these dangerous and wild black balls. He recalled Harry’s stiff explanation of something called Quid Dish, and the only thing Dudley could remember was something about a golden ball with wings; the rest of the explanation sounded like some complicated algebraic equation.

Again, he shifted in his seat, and he let out a quiet but deep sigh. For the last two years or so, he’d been coming to this Weasley-Potter-and-close-friends gathering. The first time he came, he remembered the hostile aura he felt from everyone there and the masked glares he picked up from some of them. It was enough to make him want to flee, but Dudley Dursley wasn’t a chicken. He was not going to let a bunch of magical folks scare him off. So with his head held high, he attended the gathering and survived it without any major hitch. All the food and drinks he ate didn’t cause him to do anything strange — though he did wonder if they used batwings and other weird ingredients in the food — and nobody turned him into anything non-human. What they ended up doing was ignore him, with the exception of Harry.

Dudley had made the first initiative to get to know his only cousin. With Aunt Marge being childless — unless those ugly things called dogs counted, but he highly doubted that — and his father having no other siblings, Harry was really the only one left of his family since his parents had passed away. His father had died of a heart attack, and his mother, never getting over the guilt she had towards Harry and her sister, died from grief when his father had passed. He lived in his own little world of guilt, and as he grew older, he thought back to his childhood, thought about all those times he had treated Harry like shite, and he grew to regret them. But he hesitated to contact Harry because he’d figured Harry would shun him, and he wouldn’t have blamed Harry for doing that.

In the end, though, it was his dying wife’s — she’d died from AIDS-related pneumonia — last wish that convinced him that life was too short to hold onto grudges. Before she died, she’d wanted to know more about his childhood — she had always complained that he was reticent about it. He eventually caved in and told her about his magical cousin, the one she never had the chance to meet. He could tell she was fascinated by what little he could tell her. She had looked at him sadly when he said he never had contacted Harry since that time he’d shook Harry’s hand.

“Meet him,” she urged. “Before you lose the chance.”

He hadn’t listened to her then. How could he? She was dying. He wasn’t about to leave her side to go on a hunt for his cousin. No, he really couldn’t leave her. And she probably knew how he felt, so she only mentioned it one last time when she was leaving him.

Feeling empty and miserable without his wife, it took a while for Dudley to get over her death. As he wallowed in alcohol, he remembered how she’d hated his drinking, and he remembered how he’d cut down for her sake. He was willing to do anything for her, and if granting her last wish will make her happy in her afterlife, then so be it.

And he did it. He’d somehow managed to get a hold of Harry through Mrs Figg, and they’d been sort of keeping contact, with Harry inviting him to the gathering every year so far. He felt grateful that Harry had invited him, yet he didn’t enjoy going to it. Spending the whole day as an outcast was not fun, and he now knew how Harry had felt all those years before as an outcast with the Dursleys.

Dudley stifled back yet another sigh, and he knocked back what he hoped was water, or at least something that wouldn’t dissolve his teeth like acid would. Thankfully, his teeth stayed intact, and Dudley was just about to get up and go to the loo when a perky voice said, “Hi, Uncle D!”

Blinking, Dudley gaped at the friendly, cheerful, and bright face that came into his view. Lily Luna Potter. Harry’s youngest child, who at the age of eight was quite an interesting child to watch compared to her brothers and the thousands of redheaded spawns littering the whole place. Her long and messy auburn hair cascaded down her back, and she rocked back on her heel as she sucked on a lolly. Popping the lolly out of her mouth, she grinned at him. “Why are you all the way out here, Uncle D?”

“Why are you calling me that? I’m not your uncle.” Dudley winced at the stupidity of his response, but he didn’t know what else to say to her. This was the first time Lily had ever approached him; in fact she was the first person to really acknowledge him other than Harry, and with her bubbly personality, he was reminded of his wife before her condition had worsened.

Lily’s giggly voice prevented him from feeling depressed. “Then what do I call you? Daddy says you’re my first cousin once removed. That’s too long! Or should I call you ‘F-CORD’?”

“A what?”

“That’s ‘First Cousin Once Removed D’ in . . . what do you call it? That A word? Ahhh . . . acrobat?”

Dudley frowned, trying to understand this bizarre conversation, and he guessed, “Acronym?”

“Yeah! That! I made up an acronym.” She gave him a beaming smile. “Which one do you want to be called?”

It didn’t take Dudley long to come to a decision. He immediately answered, “Just call me ‘Uncle D’.”

“Okay.” She jumped into a chair next to Dudley. She pulled her legs up to her chest, and she looked at the Dish game or whatever it was called. “You like Quidditch?”

“It . . . seems . . . ” Dudley gave the game a good look. “Fun. It looks quite fun, but I don’t think I’ll like it.” Fun was not a word he’d describe it, but he wasn’t about to admit to a little girl that it looked downright scary.

Lily must have agreed with him because she wrinkled her nose and said, “I’m afraid of those Bludgers.” She clarified with Dudley’s confused look. “The black balls. I heard Daddy telling Teddy to be careful of them because Daddy remembers when it broke his arm. I don’t ever want that to break my arm!”

“Yeah,” Dudley drawled out. “I wouldn’t want to get hit by it, either.” There was a pause as Lily continued to watch the game, and Dudley took this chance to readjust his position in the blasted chair. He bit his tongue from swearing in front of her. His movement caused him to lean over to the side, and he saw his bag there. That reminded him of some Willy Wonka chocolates he kept in there, and he took one out and handed it towards Lily. “Want one?”

“What?” Lily’s eyes opened wide. “Muggle chocolate! I love those!” By then her lolly was gone, so she eagerly grabbed the bar. “Thank you, Uncle D!” She opened it up and broke off a generous piece and gave it to Dudley.

Surprised by her action, he grabbed the piece and the two of them ate the bar in companionable silence. From a distance, Dudley saw the other members of the gathering give them strange looks, some of them hostile, so he made up his mind to send her away from him. He didn’t want Lily to get teased or lectured for being around him.

But Lily surprised him. “I don’t understand why some of my family don’t like you. Why is that?” She turned her questioning brown eyes to him.

Dudley wanted to tell her to piss off. He wanted to tell her to mind her own business. But he didn’t. He was tired of the intimidating attitude, tired of being alone, and if Lily Potter, who ironically was named after the aunt he’d never met, was going to show him some compassion, then he’d accept it. “I . . . I didn’t treat your daddy very well when he used to live with me.”

“I know. I heard Mummy and Nana talk about it.”

“You sure eavesdrop a lot,” Dudley chuckled.

“Well, I am small, and I like to play behind our sofas. Not my fault they choose to sit there and talk for hours!” Giving him an impish smile, she turned solemn once more. “But you don’t treat him bad no more, right?”

“Right.”

“Then the others shouldn’t treat you bad, too!” Her eyes flashed, and Dudley found himself wondering if Lily was always this vivacious and spontaneous with her feelings.

“It’s all right, Lily. Sometimes we grown-ups are . . . stubborn, and we let things go on too long.” His explanation sounded unconvincing, but he couldn’t think of anything else to say without insulting Lily’s huge family.

“Stubborn? Yeah, you’re right. Grown-ups can be stubborn.” Her playful smile came back when she continued, “And silly!”

Dudley pretended to glare at her, and that only caused her to laugh. “Oh, fine. You spoke the truth.” He shook his head and started to laugh, not caring whether the others looked at them strangely.

“Of course. James calls me an ‘instuffable know-it-all’, and I know something else, too.”

“What?” Dudley asked, humouring her.

“You’re not bad. I like you, Uncle D. Daddy said you invest in at Mr Wonka’s chocolate factory. But he said someone named Charlie Bucket’s the owner or something? Can you take me to ‘Mr Bonka’s’ — or should that be ‘Mr Wucket’s’? — factory one day? I’m going to beg and beg and beg Mummy and Daddy to let me go there with you! I want to see the Loompa thingie and compare them to house elves!”

Once Dudley figured out what she was saying, he said, “All right. I’ll take you there, if your parents allow it.”

Just then, the game finally ended, and all the players flew back down to the ground, and the noise level around them grew. Lily scrambled out of her chair, and her tiny, pale hand reached out to grab Dudley’s larger and darker one. “Let’s go ask them now! Come on, Uncle D.”

As he allowed Lily to drag him away from that awful bunk of a chair, Lily’s enthusiasm made him feel happier than he had for a long time. Someone in this gigantic family liked him. There wasn’t rhyme or reason in Lily’s thinking, but she genuinely liked him, and this cheered Dudley up. He could sense a new change within him. He could see this as a new opportunity to get to know his cousin’s family, and he’d do it right. His hand slipped inside of his pocket, and he touched his mobile. Soon as Lily cajoled her parents into saying yes, he’d be calling a certain Mr Bonka or Wucket — he had to give Lily points for humour and creativity — and he’d tell the owner to arrange a very special tour for her.

And maybe even a larger tour in the future if the rest of the Potters and all those redheaded devils decided to visit the chocolate factory.

Whatever happened, Dudley would be ready for it, and he privately thanked his wife for everything.

Click on the image for the larger version.

Grown-ups never understand anything for themselves, and it is tiresome for children to be always and forever explaining things to them. — Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Five-year old Teddy, holding onto his daddy’s hand, skipped down the long corridors of the Japanese Ministry of Magic. He was so excited — so excited that his hair was turquoise, his happy colour. He was going on a trip, a portkey trip, and he couldn’t wait. He loved travelling by portkey; he didn’t mind that strange tug in his belly. He just found it fun that they could travel somewhere like that.

They entered a room, and a young Japanese worker greeted them with something dangling from his hand.

“Daddy!” Teddy pointed at the yellow Pikachu keychain. “Is that Pikachu going to take us back to England from Japan?”

Daddy tousled Teddy’s hair. “It will. When we both touch it, this man will activate it for us, and we’ll be in London’s Ministry of Magic.”

“Wow!” Teddy looked at the worker named Hangata with a grin. “Can I have this Pikachu, Hanagata-san?”

Hanagata chuckled. “Sorry. This belongs to the ministry. How about I give you this Charmander keychain instead?”

Teddy looked at his daddy hopefully, who smiled and said, “Go ahead. And what do you say?”

“Thank you!” Teddy hugged the keychain to himself. This was going to be his new favourite thing to show off. He loved Pokemon and their many species.

“Are you two ready?” Hanagata asked. “If you are, please touch the keychain. Mr Lupin? Teddy? Good luck in England.”

“Is this London, Daddy?” Teddy asked, his eyes huge as they looked around the busy streets. He watched the people pass by him, the red double-decker bus on the streets, and the English language all around him. He saw that the people were dressed differently here than the Japanese did. He didn’t see anybody wearing kimonos or anything of the like, but he did see colourful hairstyles and clothing that were wild like the ones he saw in Tokyo. He didn’t see any shrines or temples nearby like he did in Tokyo. London was different from Tokyo, yet he could sense that it was a busy and crowded place like his previous home.

“Yes, it is.” Daddy’s calm voice soothed him, and Teddy grabbed his daddy’s hand tighter. He didn’t want to get separated from him.

“It smells different.” Teddy sniffed at the air, and although he couldn’t explain how it smelled different, it did. In Tokyo, he smelled takoyaki, ramen, fish, green teas, and the cherry blossoms. Here, he smelled potatoes, meats, some different kind of tea, and some sort of a flowery scent that he wasn’t able to figure out yet. Tokyo had smelled very unique to his nose, along with Osaka and Kyoto when he had visited before, and now he sensed that London had its own scent. All of these new sensations intrigued Teddy. Daddy had explained to him about how Tokyo was on the other side of the world from London. Teddy was told that things were never the same from one place to another, so the new experience of being in London made some sense to him.

Daddy let out a quiet laughter “Are you ready to go meet your grandmother?”

“Grandmamma?” Teddy perked up. “I want to see her! I want to show her my new Charmander keychain!”

“Well, then, let’s go. It’s a short walk from here.”

“Okay!”

When they reached Andromeda’s house, Teddy met and saw many people there. There were many of Daddy’s grown-up friends. He lost count of how many legs he had hugged. Some legs were in trousers, some in jeans, and some were covered in robes. He liked the robes. They reminded him of kimonos; though the robes were less pretty than the designs and the colours of the kimonos.

With his grandmother, once she picked him up and hugged him tightly, Teddy could smell this flowery scent coming from her. She was warm and kind, and Teddy liked her immediately, even though he’d only met her once last year. He still loved his grandmother.

There was a party going on with many good food and sweets. Teddy looked at the foreign looking food, so different from the Japanese food he was accustomed to, but he liked them, especially the sweets. He always liked the Japanese chocolates, so when he tried the English chocolate, he was amazed by how much sweeter they were. He liked it. Then again, he and Daddy both loved sweets.

As the grown-ups talked amongst themselves, Teddy wandered around the sitting room until he ran into Harry, his godfather. His godfather had black hair that was wild. The hair fascinated Teddy. He always hated it when his hair needed to be brushed, but it looked like Harry never brushed his own. Teddy wondered if Daddy would let him not brush his hair, too.

“Harry!” Teddy squealed, running into the open arms. He laughed and giggled as Harry swung him around.

“You’ve grown so much, Teddy! What’s that in your hand?”

“It’s my Charmander keychain. Hanagata-san gave it to me! He’s the portkey man!”

“I see.” Harry nodded. Teddy saw a glint of happiness in the deep green eyes, and Teddy tried to change his own eyes to match that colour.

“Is it green?”

“Your eyes? Yes, they are. And your hair is now black. You’re pretty good at this.”

Teddy beamed at the compliment. He enjoyed his metamorphmagus ability. He and Harry talked until someone came near them, and Teddy saw it was a red-haired man with one ear. Teddy stopped talking, and he stared at the unknown man.

“Oh, hullo, George,” Harry said.

There was a sad look to George’s eyes, and Teddy remained silent. He was a bit frightened by George. He had never met a man with one ear, nor did he ever meet a man with such sorrowful eyes. But George was smiling. It was strange. Teddy always thought when someone was sad or happy, they were just that. Not both. He stepped back, bumping into Daddy.

“There you are, Teddy,” Daddy said. “Having fun with Harry?”

Teddy nodded, but his eyes didn’t leave George. “Yes.”

Daddy reached out and rested a hand on George’s shoulder. “This is George Weasley. He’s the owner of that joke shop I told you about. The one Harry is the sponsor of.”

“Really? He’s the owner of the WWW shop?” Teddy brightened a bit at that. Daddy had told him about the store and had promised to take Teddy there one day. But Teddy was a bit stumped. He’d imagine joke shop owners to be bright and bubbly, yet George seemed neither bright nor bubbly. But his mind wandered on, and another question popped in his head. “Are you named after Curious George?” That was the only George Teddy knew. Teddy loved those books Daddy would read to him. He’d always imagined that he was George and the man with the yellow hat was Daddy. Only, Teddy didn’t try to get into all those mishaps like George did!

George and Harry both blinked as Daddy laughed. “No,” Daddy explained. “I don’t think he’s named after that.” He turned to look at the other two. “Curious George is this character in one of his favourite Muggle book series. It’s a monkey that gets into a lot of sticky situations due to his curious nature.”

Teddy watched as George crouched down to his level. “I’m not named after a monkey, but I can act like one if you want.” Teddy giggled as George scratched his armpits and let out an “Ooh, ooh, aah, aah” sound. He then pretended to unpeel an imaginary banana and eat it. “How’s that?”

“You’re funny!” Teddy exclaimed, feeling more comfortable with him. Maybe being around George wouldn’t be as scary as he thought. He liked George’s goofy nature. “That’s not how Curious George acts, but you act like a good monkey.”

“Unfortunately, I don’t really like bananas. I prefer chocolates,” George continued.

“Me too! I like chocolates!” Teddy agreed excitedly. Aside from Daddy, he didn’t know that many people in Tokyo who liked sweets like they did. Teddy wasn’t sure why a lot of Japanese grown-ups didn’t like many sweets, but it seemed like the grown-ups in London liked it more, at least.

George reached into his pockets, and he pulled out a package of chocolate and gave it to Teddy. “Here, have some Chocolate Frogs.”

“Can I, Daddy?” Teddy asked.

Daddy nodded. “But that’s your last chocolate for the day. I don’t want you to spoil your appetite.”

Teddy took the Chocolate Frog, and he said, “Thank you!” He quickly ate the frog before it tried to escape from him, and when he finished he asked, “You own that joke shop, right? Can I see it?”

A dark look came on George’s face. It was really quick, but Teddy didn’t miss it. It was rapidly replaced with a smile, and George answered, “Yes. I’ll give you and your dad a special tour.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

“Woooow. This is so cool!” Teddy couldn’t keep his mouth shut as he walked up and down the aisle with Daddy and George. On the shelves he saw so many items that his eyes were crossing from trying to look everywhere. Next to each of the products were little monitors that showed the jokes’ effect on the screen. He watched one where a taco shaped treat caused someone to breathe out fire and fart really, really loudly. That was extremely funny, and Teddy found himself laughing and saying “Ewwww”.

He saw another product that transformed someone into a canary. That grabbed his attention. Although he had the ability to change his appearance, he had yet to figure out if he could transform into an animal. He looked at George hopefully and asked, “Is there one that can change someone into a Pokemon?”

“Er, a Pokeyman?” George looked bewildered.

“A Pokemon! You know, Pikachu? Charmander? Bulbasaur?”

“It’s another Muggle thing he likes,” Daddy explained, his eyes twinkling.

“Yeah!” Teddy pulled out his toy Poke Ball and showed it to George. “The Pokemon live in these things, and when I want to summon them, they come out of them!”

“Hmm.” George’s face changed into a thoughtful expression. “You know, while I probably can’t really do Pokeyman since I’ll run into some copyright issues, I can probably come up with some ideas equivalent to that.” A scheming look came on George’s face. “What do you say, Teddy. Do you want to help give me ideas?”

Teddy nodded, feeling proud that a grown-up was asking for his advice. “I’ll help!”

Again, Teddy saw a flicker of uncertainty on George’s face, but like before, it went away quickly. “Let me show you my inventing room. There’s a lot of stuff in there that goes ‘boom’, but it’s all harmless. I think you’ll like it. Especially the candy floss fireworks.”

“Okay!” Teddy couldn’t wait to see what was in the room. He was very fond of explosions.

After a long and exciting day at the shop, Teddy was tired and happy. He and Daddy came back with bags of free samples of George’s products, and Teddy couldn’t wait to try them all out. He’d wanted to try them out now, but it was bedtime. Teddy was too tired to beg to stay up longer.

Teddy snuggled comfortably into his bed; the same bed that came with him from Tokyo. The sheets were blue — his favourite colour — and his Pokemon blanket featuring the main characters covered him. When Daddy came back with a book to read, he said, “Daddy? I like George.”

“You do?”

“Yes, but why does he only got one ear?”

“Only have,” Daddy corrected. “That’s because he was in a fight with some bad wizards and witches before. One of them spelled it off of him.”

“Really? That must have been a big owie.”

“Yes, it was.”

“Daddy?” Teddy yawned. “Why does George look sad sometime?”

“Well, he lost someone important to him.”

“Like . . . ” Teddy paused, unsure if he wanted to ask about his mother and Sirius. He noticed that whenever they were mentioned, his daddy would turn sad.

Daddy nodded, giving a small sigh. “Yes, like your mother and Sirius. He lost his twin brother.”

“He’s a twin like Daisuke and Hikaru?” They were Teddy’s neighbours in Tokyo.

“Yes, just like them.”

“But George’s brother, Mummy, and Sirius are in that happy place now, right?”

“Yes, they are.” Daddy ruffled Teddy’s hair and opened up the book. “Now, let’s read a bit before you sleep.”

“Okay.” Teddy tried to stay awake for this nightly ritual. The only time they didn’t do this was when his daddy went off on his monthly business trip. Whoever stayed with him during the trip would read to him, but it wasn’t the same when his daddy read to him. He loved listening to his daddy’s soft voice reading the stories he enjoyed. His daddy was able to change his voice to fit the characters of the stories, making Teddy laugh. He called that skill “Daddy’s Voice-a-morpmagus Skill”.

Before he slept, he turned his hair into a mixture of violet and pink just like his mother’s favourite hair colours, and he thought about the shop and George. He hoped George would stop looking sad soon. He didn’t want the people he liked to be unhappy.

Teddy was supposed to be taking a nap, but he wasn’t tired. He didn’t want to take a nap. He wanted to play with his Pokemon and with George’s joke items. Quietly, after Daddy left his room, Teddy grabbed his toys and snuck out from his room. He crept downstairs, and he went into the sitting room. There, he played on the floor next to the sofa, and he quietly imagined and acted out his own Pokemon adventure. He pretended to be Ash, and he pretended to travel with Pikachu and his other friends. He and his other companions were taking a break by getting ready for camp in a forest, and he and Pikachu walked off to get some water from a nearby stream. There, he heard the running water and heard voices coming from the camp. Suddenly, Pikachu stepped on a balloon that appeared out of nowhere, and it let out a loud pop!

Teddy was startled from that noise. He was no longer in the forest. The loud popping noise he’d imagine was real, and he knew someone came over. In the kitchen, he heard three voices. Two of them were Harry — who was visiting — and Daddy. He wasn’t sure who the third voice belonged to yet. When the voices grew louder, Teddy realised that they were coming to the sitting room. He quickly gathered his toys, and he squeezed behind the sofa. As still as a mouse, he listened closely. The newcomer’s voice belonged to George.

“What brings you here?” Daddy asked.

Someone crashed onto the sofa, nearly startling Teddy out of his hiding place, but Teddy held his breath and remained still.

“I just told Ron that I wanted to close down the shop. For whatever reason, Ron yelled at me and told me to go take a walk to clear my head. I didn’t want to take a walk, so I decided to come here. I hope you don’t mind. I just needed to talk to someone who’s not family. I’m tired of my family’s nagging at times.”

Teddy’s eyes widened. George wanted to close his shop? Why? It was a wonderful shop filled with so many great stuff. Teddy didn’t want George to close it down.

“Harry,” George continued, “if it weren’t for you, Fred and I would have never opened the shop this quickly. On our behalf, I do thank you for all your support over the years, but . . . it’s already been five years, and it’s just been ruddy difficult running that shop without him.”

Fred? Was that George’s twin brother? Teddy wasn’t sure, but that was what he guessed.

“I understand, George. If you decide to close the shop, it’s your decision. I’ll support whatever you do. And it’s really nothing. I didn’t want that money,” Harry’s voice sounded heavy. Teddy wondered why grown-ups over here were always sad. The grown-ups in Tokyo weren’t like this, so why were the ones in London so depressing?

George spoke next, his voice sounding equally miserable. “I love the shop, don’t get me wrong, and I know a huge part of me will regret closing it, but . . . I don’t know.”

“Why don’t you take a break?” It was Daddy suggesting that. “Ron and Verity can run the shop for you while you take a well-deserved break. From what I’ve seen in the shop, there are enough products in stock before you have to create more. So take some time off. See if this is what you really want to do.”

“Maybe . . . ”

Teddy couldn’t help himself as he shouted, “Don’t close the shop, George!” He heard someone yelling, and he heard the sofa’s coil squeak loudly followed by a loud thud. He crawled out from his hiding place.

“Teddy!” Daddy admonished. “Why are you here? You know eavesdropping is rude!”

“I’m sorry,” Teddy automatically apologised. He saw George looking a bit dazed on the floor, and he scooted over to him. “Don’t close the store, George. I’ll miss it.”

George gave Teddy a crooked smile. “Merlin, Teddy. You were behind there the entire time? You were so quiet. I’m impressed!”

Teddy knew this trick. He knew that grown-up trick of trying to distract him. His nanny, Megumi-san, did that whenever he asked her a question. His lower lips came out, and he said again, “Don’t close the shop. I don’t want you to.”

“Teddy, I think you need to go back to your nap. And we’ll have a talk about your eavesdropping behaviour later. Go to your room.” He heard the firmness in his daddy’s voice, and he knew he’d better listen, but he still gave George a begging look with his eyes.

George shook his head. “Your puppy eyes are very convincing. I won’t close the shop yet, but I do need to think about it. Now listen to your daddy, Teddy.”

“Okay,” Teddy answered quietly. He didn’t believe that George was telling the truth, but he saw the warning look in his daddy’s eyes. He quickly gathered his toys, and he went to his room. Climbing into his bed, he grabbed his stuffed Pikachu. He whispered to it, “I hope he doesn’t close the store.”

Teddy woke up with a start. He’d been dreaming of catching Pokemon. He’d just caught a Pikachu, and it had kept saying, “Pikachu. Pika? Pika, pika, pikaaaa!” But then it began to say something new. It was now saying, “Teddy? Teddy? Wake up, Teddy.” The Pikachu’s voice sounded suspiciously like his daddy, and that was when he woke up. Daddy was sitting on his bed, and Teddy felt something inside of him twist at the stern look on his daddy’s face.

“Did you have a good nap?” Daddy asked, his voice sounding gentle despite his expression.

Teddy nodded. He wanted to talk about his dream, but he knew he was in trouble at the moment.

“You know it’s very rude to eavesdrop on people, Teddy. And you were supposed to be napping, but instead you snuck out from your room to play behind my back. I’m very disappointed in you.”

Teddy hung his head, his hair turning back into its natural, dull shade of brown. He knew what he did earlier was naughty. He hated disappointing his daddy like this. “I’m sorry, Daddy. I won’t do it again.”

Daddy smiled, and Teddy tentatively smiled back. “Good. I know you won’t.” He opened his arms, and Teddy went for the hug. He rested his head against the warm chest, listening to the steady heartbeat inside, and he felt protected by the strong arms around him. “Did you dream while you slept? You had a smile on your face when I tried to wake you.”

“Yeah!” Teddy proceeded to talk about his dream. When he was done, he asked, “Can I ask a question?”

“May I.”

“May I ask a question?” Teddy repeated. Daddy nodded, so Teddy asked, “Is George really going to close the store?”

“Teddy, it’s really none of our business on what George ends up doing. Whatever he does, we must respect his decision, but right now he’s thinking about it. So when you see him next time, don’t bother him about it.”

“I won’t.”

His daddy stood up with Teddy still in his arms, and Teddy giggled when Daddy pretended to put on a show on heavy Teddy was. “Oof. Soon, I won’t be able to carry you like this.”

“Because I’ll be a big boy?”

“Yes, now how about we go to the playground for a while. Then we’ll get some pizza for supper.”

“Yayyy!” Teddy loved going to the playground, and he loved pizza. He knew then that Daddy was no longer upset at his naughtiness.

Teddy was a bit curious on something. Lately, George was at their place a lot. Teddy didn’t mind. He liked George. He wasn’t sure whether George still planned to close the shop or not, but he didn’t ask. He remembered Daddy’s words on not pestering George about it. But he did know that George was still taking a break from the store, and it seemed like George mostly just hung around with him and Daddy.

One of the things George did with Teddy was flying. Daddy didn’t particularly enjoy that activity, so Teddy would usually go flying with Harry. But Harry was too busy with his job, so whenever Daddy was busy with his own work, something dealing with freelancing, George would take him flying. Then, when they were done, they’d stop by the Burrow, and Mrs Weasley would give him delicious cakes.

Then, in the evenings, all three of them would do something together. Sometimes Harry and all these friends of his would join them, but Teddy preferred just himself, Daddy, and George. He loved playing at the playground with them, and he made George watch Pokemon together. He was pleased that George ended up enjoying the show. In fact, they would all watch other films together. Teddy particularly enjoyed some of the Disney films.

During all of this, Teddy wondered just what Daddy and George talked about a lot. He noticed that they would sit really close to each other on the sofa, and he saw them share a secret look between them. He knew something was happening, but he wasn’t sure what. But he also noticed that Daddy seemed more relaxed and happier than before.

But Teddy was still curious and wanted to know what was not being said. He knew he was only a kid, but he was also getting to be a big boy, and he wanted to be treated like one.

Although it was Saturday, Teddy still had to take his nap. As usual, he didn’t want to, but Daddy insisted, so he listened.

He took a short nap, and he woke up. The house was quiet, and Teddy wondered if George was around like he usually was, so he quietly padded towards Daddy’s room. He noticed that the bedroom door was closed. That confused him since the door was always opened during the day.

He knocked on the door like Daddy told him to always do, and then he opened it. “Daddy . . . ? George? What are you guys doing?”

Daddy and George were on the bed. George was on top of Daddy, and he saw that their clothes were rumpled. They were also breathing rather hard. Teddy blinked at their current state, and he noticed that their faces had gone red. George’s entire head was red, reminding Teddy of a tomato.

“Oh, er, Teddy. You’re up already?” George pushed himself into a sitting position.

Teddy saw the two of them exchange looks. “We were, er, we were . . . ” Why was his daddy not able to speak? Teddy found that quite odd.

“Wrestling!” George blurted out in a strange sounding voice. “We were trying to see who’s a better wrestler between us!”

“Yes, wrestling,” Daddy agreed quickly. “And I think I’ve been beaten by George, here.”

Teddy frowned. “George beat you?” He walked closer to the bed. “Nobody beats my daddy! I’ll beat you now!” he declared and climbed onto the bed. He threw himself against George, laughing as he tried to push him down. George fell back onto bed with a loud shout, and Teddy grinned as he playfully punched him. “Bam, bam, bam! I got you!”

“Not bad,” George said. “You’re stronger than you look.”

“Of course! I eat my vegetables. It’s supposed to make me strong. Especially spinach. I want to be like Popeye!”

“Like who?”

Daddy let out a loud guffaw. “Popeye. This Muggle cartoon character.”

“Ooooh! Well, then I better eat more vegetables, too!”

“But first,” Teddy said, climbing off of him. “You got to beat me!”

“Remus! Your son is too tough for me!”

Teddy saw the proud look on Daddy’s face. “He is. He certainly is.”

“Can I play with that stuffed Pikachu when you’re done?” Sophie Jordan asked. She was Teddy’s neighbour, and was a cousin of George’s friend. Teddy was glad to have a friend his age. As much as he liked being around grown-ups, he wanted more friends his age.

Teddy handed over the stuffed Pikachu, and he said, “You know what I did yesterday?”

“What?”

“My daddy and George were wrestling, and I wrestled and beat George!”

“They were wrestling? Outside?”

“No, in Daddy’s bedroom.”

Sophie gave him an odd look. “But that’s what my mummy and daddy do alone. They never let me wrestle in the bed.”

“Really?” Teddy frowned and pursed his lips together.

“Yeah, and they also kiss together in bed, too.”

“Kiss?”

Sophie nodded. “Yeah. I caught them kissing in bed once, and they said they were wrestling and then when they finished, they decided to kiss. They told me that two grown-ups who love each other will do that. And my mummy and daddy love each other.”

“Oh. I wonder if Daddy and George were kissing, too.”

“Do they love each other?”

“I don’t know.” Teddy didn’t think too long on that. Sophie wanted to go on the trampoline, and he wanted to jump up and down, too. “I can jump higher than you!”

“Nu-uh! I can!”

Teddy grabbed her hand, and the two dashed off to the trampoline.

Later, during supper, George ate with them. Teddy watched the way they interacted, and he noticed that whenever George and Daddy looked at each other briefly, their eyes would soften, and they looked as if they spoke to each other with their eyes. Teddy remembered his conversation with Sophie, and he asked, “Daddy? Do you and George love each other?”

Their reactions amused him. Daddy spluttered and coughed on his tea. George turned very red, and he froze in his seat, as he dropped his hands on the table, leaving the fork dangling in his mouth.

Daddy managed to rasp out, “Why do you ask that?”

“I told Sophie about me catching you guys wrestling, and she asked if you guys kiss during wrestling, and she said two grown-ups who love each other only do that.”

Again, George and Daddy looked at each other. Nobody spoke, and Teddy waited forever for someone to say something.

George finally answered. “Teddy, I do like your father, and well . . . it’s a little too early to say I love him, but I think I do love him . . . ”

Teddy looked over at his daddy. “Daddy?”

His daddy nodded, but he didn’t answer right away. Another long silence passed before he cleared his throat and said, “I agree with George. I love him, too.”

Teddy accepted the answer. It was a strange answer, but then again grown-up were confusing at times, including his daddy. “So does that mean George’s going to be my new ‘daddy’?”

George chuckled. “We’re not getting married yet. We’ll wait on that, but if we do get married, yes I’ll be your new ‘daddy’.”

“So I’ll have two daddies?” When both George and Daddy nodded, Teddy felt happy by this turn of event. He didn’t mind his small family growing. But at the same time, it’d always been just him and Daddy. Daddy and him. With George being part of their family, that mean Daddy would have someone special for him. Then where would that leave Teddy? In a quiet voice he asked, “So now that Daddy and George love each other . . . will you still love me?”

His Daddy and George both left their chairs. Teddy moved in his seat to face the two who were now crouched on the floor. One of Daddy’s large hands was on his shoulder while the other smoothed his hair down. “I may have found someone to love — a grown-up kind of love — but nobody will ever replace you, Teddy. You’re my son, and if I ever have to choose between you or him, I’ll choose you. I will always love you, Teddy.”

“Just like he said, Kiddo. Your daddy here will always love you. And I will love you to.” George grinned as he continued. “I’ll choose you over him, too, because honestly you’re more fun to play with than your old man, here. At least you’re a much better flying partner than him.”

His daddy glared at George. Teddy giggled since he recognised it as a pretend glare. “I’m not old.”

George rolled his eyes. “Fine, fine. I mean young man. A handsome young man. Anyway, Teddy, don’t worry. I won’t take your daddy away from you. I may play pranks and own a joke shop, but I’m not cruel, okay?”

Teddy smiled as he felt his hair become turquoise. He was embraced in a “sandwich hug”, and he knew that things would turn all right. “I love you Daddy. I love you George.”

“I’ve decided something. Something very important.” George announced.

“What, what?” Teddy asked. “Are you going to go to Tokyo?” Lately, there had been talks about George wanting to visit Tokyo, and he was hoping he could go back and visit there, too.

“I’ve decided I’m taking you both to Tokyo with me, but that’s not my news.”

“What’s the news?” Daddy asked. Teddy was surprised that even Daddy didn’t know George’s secret.

“I’m not going to close the shop.”

“Brilliant!” Teddy shouted, a phrase he’d picked up from Ron. “You’re going to keep it open? Forever and ever?”

George laughed. “As long as I live, yes, I’ll keep it open. I’ve decided that I want to keep it open in memory of my brother . . . and because of you two.”

“What did me and Daddy do?”

“Both of you brought me back happiness in my life. Before you two came, I was feeling not happy.” Teddy nodded. He remembered George looking sad before. “And you two, especially you, Teddy, reminded me why Fred and I opened up that joke shop. We wanted to spread happiness and laughter in the world, and seeing how much you love the shop and how much you love my pranks and jokes . . . I want to keep spreading that joy. With your Daddy. Who I’d like to ask to be my business partner. As the last of the Marauders, I think it’s appropriate to ask him to be my partner.”

Now his daddy looked really surprised, and Teddy thought he saw tears in his daddy’s amber-coloured eyes. “George . . . I . . . ”

“Daddy? Will you?” Teddy didn’t exactly know what a business partner or a Marauder was, but it sounded like a good idea.

Daddy shook his head a bit, and he chuckled. “Well . . . all right. Someone needs to help you with the books and the accounting, after all.”

“And giving me some critiques and suggestions on the products,” George added.

“Hooray!” Teddy cheered.

George let out his own loud joyfulness, and he lifted Teddy up in the air, twirling them until Teddy felt dizzy. “Hooray, indeed! Now, let’s go back to my shop! We have a party to throw!”

“A party?” Teddy loved the idea of having a party in a joke shop. He especially wanted those candy floss fireworks. He loved watching the item burst into brightly coloured candy floss in mid-air. “Can we blow up all your candy floss fireworks?”

“Definitely! We’ll explode everything that can be exploded in the shop until we lift the whole building up into the sky!”

Teddy beamed. He knew that wasn’t possible, but it would still be neat to see all that! He couldn’t wait to do more fun things with his daddy and his new “daddy”.

Draco’s twenty-fifth birthday was just around the corner.

He had a great job (he was the Arithmancy professor at Hogwarts), a good house (aside from the manor and his rooms at Hogwarts, he had a lovely Victorian-style mansion in Dorset), and a wonderful girlfriend (who was also his colleague as the Care of Magical Creatures professor) who was the one and only Luna Lovegood.

Every day, his life was always hopping with unpredictable students in his classes. He was constantly amused by the interesting answers his students gave him on their Arithmancy problems, and he alternated between amused and frustrated at how the younger generations seemed incapable of following instructions on their exams. One time, he specifically wrote out a true and false exam, where the students would only have to circle A or B. Unfortunately, he had a student circle “C” for the entire exam, and Draco didn’t know whether he should cry or laugh. Instead, he focused his attention on the good part of teaching, and so aside from a few morons in his classes, he generally enjoyed his job.

Then there were his homes. Luckily, there was nothing for him to really complain or discuss about. His house elves took care of the manor and the mansion, and the Hogwarts’ house elves took care of his rooms at Hogwarts. As long as his residences were nice and clean, nothing else mattered.

Well, one more thing mattered, and that was Luna. After the war, with the Malfoy name ruined, Draco had been in a slump. He couldn’t seem to get himself out of bed in the morning. But that all changed when a chance meeting had brought him to Luna.

He’d been in the Three Broomsticks, hiding in a corner as he tried to ignore all the hostile looks from the other wizarding folks. He’d just come from a job interview, a job he knew he had no chance of getting within the first minute of his interview, and he was rather furious, frustrated, and flummoxed as what to do next. Draco glared at the shot of firewhiskey sitting on the table in front of him. He’d been so busy concentrating on the shot glass that he didn’t even notice he had company until someone’s cheery voice said, “Is there something invisible on the shot glass? A secret message that will tell us the answer to the mystery of life? Or better yet, why Nargles are so shy?”

Startled by his unwelcomed companion, Draco gaped unattractively at a rather beaming Luna Lovegood. Her silvery-grey eyes met his steely ones, and Draco had to close his own to keep the sparkles from blinding him. Looking away from those eyes, he looked at her dirty blonde hair, plaited neatly into a fat braid, and her interesting ensemble of clothes. He remembered Pansy showing him a doll donned in some Native American costume, complete with a feathered headband. Luna reminded him of that doll as he looked at the beige-coloured robes that had colourful beads and feathers. Luna didn’t have the feathered headband, but it didn’t take much imagination for Draco to mentally draw one on her head.

He then scowled as he mentally kicked himself. “Go away, Loony Lovegood. What I stare at or think about is none of your business.” He was glad his mother wasn’t with him because he would have just received an earful from her for being incredibly rude. But he didn’t care if he was rude. He wanted to be alone, and he didn’t want someone like Luna to bother him.

She didn’t go away. Instead, Luna sat down and began prattling on about a multitude of topics. Draco narrowed his eyes; she was either deaf or playing dumb. He’d decided on both as his head had begun to spin from the randomness of her one-sided conversation, and he was having a difficult time keeping up with her.

Thankfully, she finally said, “It was really enlightening to have this discussion about magical creatures, Draco. Perhaps, next time we’ll discuss about the complexities of Arithmancy? I really loved that class, too, but the Hogwarts curriculum is lacking a bit in that department, so I feel like I was quite cheated from learning the intricacies of the subject.”

Draco nodded mutely, wondering how she knew that Arithmancy was his favourite subject. Before he could ask, she stood up and barged on, “I’ve got to run now. I’ll see you here again, next week? Same time? Farewell until then!” She walked off, the feathers on her costume fluttering and the beads clanking.

Gobsmacked, Draco stayed at the Three Broomsticks for another two hours until he was able to force himself to leave.

Since then, Draco came to the conclusion that Luna was a force to be reckoned with. In fact, somehow, despite his initial plan to ignore her assumption of them meeting again in a week, Draco found himself at the Three Broomsticks exactly a week later. Luna, as promised, showed up, and since then, he’d not been able to get rid of her.

Luna’s bright personality and her interesting perspectives on something simple like sweets to something complex like why the universe exist all gave Draco the encouragement to do something more with his life instead of wallowing in self-pity and alcohol. Not at first, though. In the beginning, he’d tried to snipe his way away from Luna by insulting her to make her hate him. It hadn’t worked. She’d seemed impervious to any of his snarky comments; in fact, she’d even twisted his comments and used it to discuss her favourite topic ever: the existence of Nargles.

One time, he’d said to her, “Are you colour-blind? Why are your robes pink and green — neon pink and green?”

Her response was, “Nargles like these colours. I wear them in hopes to attract them to me, and I think it works! I think one almost came to me, but because I was in Diagon Alley, the crowds and the noises scared the poor thing away.”

She was eccentric, but she’d wormed her way into his heart. Six months after their first meeting, Luna gave him a mind-blowing kiss that caused him to see fireworks and other sparkly objects that Luna loved. A year later, they moved in with each other, and both started on their mastery programmes. She did a thesis in the extinction level of magical creatures, and he a thesis on the differences between Eastern and Western Arithmancy. Two years later, they finished and got hired to work at Hogwarts. Now, five years after their first meeting, Draco was blissfully happy with his career and with his love life.

His birthday fell on a Sunday this year. Because it was the weekend, instead of waking up in his rooms at Hogwarts, he woke up in his bedroom in his mansion at Dorset. Blearily, he rubbed his eyes, and he looked at the empty spot next to him. He found it odd. Normally, Luna would never wake up before him, but today, she did, and it was a bit unnerving. He touched the rumpled area, and he felt that it was still slightly warm. Just as he threw the blanket off of him, intending to run to the loo to do his business, the door swung open, and Luna walked in carrying a big box.

“Happy Birthday, Draco!” she announced in her clear, sing-song voice. Still in her nightgown with her dressing gown over it, Luna carefully walked towards the bed, her arms wrapped protectively over the box. It was a pretty box. It was wrapped neatly in silver wrapping, and there was a huge pink bow at the top. Draco had to wonder why the bow had to be pink. Of all the colours, why pink?

Luna set the garish box in his lap, and she eagerly climbed into the bed next to him, giving him a passionate kiss. The kiss was so good that Draco almost forgot about the present in his lap. But Luna broke it and backed off. She grinned at him, her eyes twinkling with mirth and said, “Before you open this, I want you to guess what’s in here.”

Draco raised an eyebrow. “Can you give me a hint?”

“Nope. No hints. That will take the fun out of this game.”

Looking carefully at the box, Draco’s magical instincts told him that the box was spelled to keep something alive in here. Alive. He blanched and hoped Luna didn’t get him a ferret. “A . . . cat?”

“Nope.”

“A . . . snake?”

“Not even close.”

“Please, not a ferret.”

Luna giggled. “Of course not. I would never get you that — although those are cute.”

Draco exhaled loudly. “They may be cute, but I don’t want them near me.” Pressing an ear against the box, Draco strained to hear some sort of a noise that would give him a clue. It was silent. “A rabbit?”

A soft smirk came on her face. “Not a rabbit.”

Just then he heard a whimpering sound from the box. Draco looked at Luna. “Don’t tell me you’ve got a child in here,” he half-joked. An indignant “ruff-ruff” sound came from the box. “A dog?”

Luna’s face emitted joy. “Yes, but which one?”

Groaning, Draco whined, “Lunaaaaa. Don’t make me guess all those breeds of dog!”

“But, darling,” Luna said with an innocent look. “There aren’t that many wizarding breeds of dog.”

“Oh, well, that makes it better. I thought you’d have got me a Muggle dog.”

“No, of course not. You know I wouldn’t want a Muggle dog with us. It’d scare away the Nargles since Muggle dogs have different aura compared to a wizarding dog. Now, guess!”

“A crup?” Draco asked. “Is that the breed?”

“Yes! You did it! Now, open it.”

A crup? Draco had to admit, he was a bit surprised. True, Luna was a big animal lover, but he’d never been much into animals before. When he was younger, he’d always wanted a pet, but he wasn’t allowed to have one because of the mess they would make and all the responsibility it took to raise an animal. Sure, his father raised two crups, but it was his father’s, not his. The crups were off-limit, and Draco always thought that was unfair. Now, that he was older, the idea of having a pet never really hit him, especially since his experience with the “bouncing ferret” left him quite traumatised.

Taking a deep breath, he carefully undid the pink bow and unwrapped the silver paper. The top flap automatically popped opened, and an adorable puppy poked its head out and licked Draco’s cheek. “Oi!” Draco exclaimed in surprise, making Luna’s pearly laughter ring out in the room.

The puppy barked happily, and Draco carefully took it out of the box. He held it away from his face, and he studied the crup.

“Isn’t it cute?” Luna asked, reaching out to scratched its head. “It’s a girl.”

A girl? Draco set the puppy down on his bed, and he watched it stretch and wriggle her body. The puppy had a nice colouring. It was chocolate brown with white paws. Draco held out a hand towards her, and she sniffed at it. When it looked like she was satisfied by his smell, she bumped her head into his hand, and Draco automatically began to pet her.

“She’s controllable in Muggle-inhabited area — Hermione and Harry helped me with that — and I got the licence for her from the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creature. The only thing she needs now is a name. Well, a name from you.”

“Pardon?”

“See,” Luna explained happily, “I named her ‘Padraig’.”

“Padraig? Isn’t that a guy’s–”

“Yes, but that was before I was told it was a girl. So like I said, she has a name from me, but she needs a name from you unless you want to call her Padraig.”

“And confuse everyone around her?” Draco drawled out with a frown. “No. She’s not going to be Padraig. I was thinking ‘Eydie’. It means ‘rich gift’, and she is a rich gift in a sense that . . . well . . . it’s . . . ” Draco blushed as he tried to find the words to explain his sudden moments of sentimentalism. “It’s from you. And because it’s you . . . that makes this little crup even more special.”

Luna answered him by hugging and kissing him. “Eydie it is, love.”

Draco kissed her back, and amidst the box, the wrapping, the bow, and Eydie, Luna straddled him and deepened the kiss. As Eydie barked and demanded for their attention, Draco tuned out the barking for a few minutes as he wrapped his arms around her slender waist.

With his fantastic job, his marvellous homes, his tremendously fabulous girlfriend, and now a brilliant new puppy in his life, Draco couldn’t have asked for a better birthday.