A Grateful House Elf

Harry woke up on Christmas morning to the unpleasant sensation of Draco dumping a goblet of cold water on his head. He sat up straight in his bed and sputtered. Draco was laughing uproariously.

'What was that for?' Harry demanded.

'It's Christmas Day,' Draco replied eagerly, all but jumping up and down in place. 'The presents are downstairs, and Grandfather says we can't start opening them until you come down.'

Harry blinked. 'Everyone else is up?' He looked at the clock over his mantel. 'It's five in the morning.'

Draco smirked. 'I have my ways.'

'I hope you didn't go pouring water on my great-grandfathers' heads,' Harry muttered, crawling out of bed.

'Don't be stupid,' Draco retorted. 'I just ordered the house elf to make loud noises outside all their bedrooms.'

Harry frowned at his cousin. 'That's not very fair. You'll only get the elf in trouble.'

Draco shrugged. 'It's just an elf. Anyway, Grandfather won't get anyone in trouble on Christmas Day. Father says he's...incidental that way.'

Harry chuckled. 'I think you mean sentimental.' He was very proud of himself, having just learnt that word a week before. Harry liked learning new words.

'That's what I said,' Draco said, and tugged Harry's arm impatiently. 'Come on.'

Harry yanked his arm back. 'Not until I dry my face. I'm not going downstairs dripping like a wet dog.'

'DOBBY!' Draco yelled. The house elf appeared and bowed low. 'Bring Master Aries a towel,' he commanded. The elf vanished and returned a moment later with a freshly ironed hand towel. Harry took it.

'Thank you,' he said. The elf's eyes went wide, but he said nothing as he bowed. Harry dried his face thoroughly and handed the towel back to the elf. 'Happy Christmas, Dobby.'

Dobby looked as though he were about to be hit by a train. 'Happy Christmas, Master Aries,' he stammered. 'Dobby is delighted to serve such a noble and gracious young wizard.' He disappeared with a pop.

Now that Harry was dry, he had no more reason to hold Draco back, and he allowed his cousin to lead him by the arm through the winding corridors of the massive old house. Harry couldn't help but be amused at Draco's excitement.

Christmas was fun and all, but Harry had never got much, just a few broken toys of Dudley's. He anticipated getting better presents this year, of course, but didn't quite see the point of dragging everyone out of bed before the sun was up.

Then he walked into the parlour. He gaped in awe at the sight that awaited him. An enormous tree reached from floor to ceiling, adorned with real fairies and dozens of magical decorations, all moving and chirping and emitting multi-coloured lights.

The adults sat in a semi-circle around the room, each with a pile of presents resting beside them. Harry thought the piles were quite generous, but they paled in comparison with the two mountains of presents waiting in front of the tree for him and Draco.

Abraxas chuckled. 'Happy Christmas, boys.'

'Happy Christmas, Grandfather,' Harry and Draco said in unison, and then grinned at each other before diving in.

All the presents were very expensive, and there were loads of them. Arcturus and Melania had given Harry an antique wizarding chess set – 'It belonged to my grandfather, Phineas Nigellus Black,' Arcturus said – a set of new dress robes and a box of Melania's homemade fudge, which was easily the most delicious thing Harry had ever tasted.

Pollux and Irma had given him a number of antique magical toys of a sort that were no longer produced. There was a set of toy armour that made one mostly invisible, along with a toy sword that could inflict no injuries, but created true-to-life illusions for up to an hour, and a teddy bear that sang lullabies, played games and bandaged scraped knees, alongside many other toys. Cassiopeia gave Harry a collection of magical children's books with moving pictures and realistic sound effects.

Uncle Marius and Aunt Clytemnestra gave Harry a train set that moved on its own and emitted puffs of coloured smoke. Druella, Lucius, Narcissa and Draco gave Harry a hamper of sweets of every sort imaginable. The presents brought tears to Harry's eyes. He stood up and went to each relative, thanking them profusely for their gifts. Pollux ruffled his hair affectionately. Arcturus patted his shoulder roughly. Irma and Melania each gave him a kiss.

.....

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