Chapter 29: Tis the Season

"Good morning, birthday girl."

Pansy gave him a sleepy smile as she looked up at him. "Is it still morning?"

Harry looked over at the clock on the nightstand. "Well, not technically. But it's the thought that counts, right?"

"I guess. You did keep me up most of the night."

"Yeah, about that..."

"What?"

"Well, I didn't get to finish what I meant to say to you before we got to the birthday spankings," he chuckled. "I was going to suggest that I try to give you one orgasm for every year."

"I didn't count how many I had last night. You might have succeeded."

"I tried to count them all. The first nine I'm pretty sure of, but when we got to double digits, you had one of those long, multiple ones, or at least it seemed like it. So that threw my count off."

"Oh, I remember that. That was wonderful," she purred into his chest. "Guys are really missing out on not having multiple orgasms."

"That's true. I'll just have to make do in basking in your second hand glory."

"Second hand glory, huh? Feeling poetic today, Mr. Potter?"

"What can I say? You bring out my hidden talents."

"I like your hidden talents- just don't go showing them to anyone else."

"As you wish."

"Hmm... I think you might have gotten to fourteen then. But we should probably have a couple more today, just in case."

"I'm sure I can handle that request. I did say I was going to have to give you a really great present this year."

"You already did that by just getting rid of my father. That was the best birthday present I can even imagine. I was worried about him taking revenge on you, taking me back somehow."

"I know sweetheart." He kissed the top of her head and continued, "I promised I'd take care of you, and I meant it.

"Besides, I don't know how many years I'll be able to do that. Ten years from now, you might get annoyed when I'm trying to give you twenty four orgasms in a single day."

"I am feeling more than a little worn out today. So we're going to wait till this evening before we do any more of that."

"Whatever you want. It's your birthday after all. So, what should we do today?"

"I think we should start with a big breakfast in bed."

"Dobby can do that for miss Pansy!"

The ever-excited elf popped in and out of the room in delight. A few moments later, they were served two trays full of pancakes, sausage, toast, and eggs.

"Dobby's special birthday breakfast for miss Pansy!"

"It looks wonderful. Thank you, Dobby."

He bowed deeply as Harry and Pansy smiled at him before he disappeared. They both dug in; they had burned many, many calories the night before.

"So, Christmas time," Pansy began between bites. "I think I'd like to see how the muggles celebrate this year."

Harry swallowed and took a drink. "That shouldn't be a problem. From what I've seen at Hogwarts, it isn't too different, although obviously no magical ornaments. They still decorate trees and wrap presents."

"Ooh, we should get a tree to decorate- that sounds fun." Pansy was so much more lighthearted than she had been until recently. The worry of her father looming in the shadows had burdened her more than Harry had realized, judging by how she had responded the last couple of days.

"I suppose it will be now that I have someone that I'll actually enjoy spending the holidays with. The Dursleys used to make me do as much of the work as possible with no rewards, obviously."

"I'm just going to have to create lots of good new memories for you to associate with the Christmas season."

"I'll raise a toast to that." They clinked their glasses of orange juice together- Harry was glad to get a break from the constant pumpkin juice at Hogwarts. "To new holiday traditions and experiences with people we actually love."

"To our new family," Pansy added before they finished their drinks.

"It will be a little difficult to get a tree here the way the muggles do. Neither of us drives a car. I guess we'll need to go at night; with a little help from Dobby and the Notice-Me-Not charm we should be okay."

"Then maybe this afternoon we should go shopping for decorations."

"Sounds like a plan."

Once they finished eating, Harry and Pansy finally got out of bed and began to get ready for the day.

They stopped downstairs at the tea shop on their way out. Ruby was behind the counter when they came in.

"Hello dearies. I was wondering if we would see you today."

"Good afternoon, Ruby," they replied almost in stereo. "Jinx!"

Ruby smiled at the happy teenagers.

"You two stay right here for a moment. I'll get Mortie out so he can meet your little miss." As she slipped into a door leading to the back of the shop, they could hear the little woman calling for her husband to 'get off his lazy rump' to come say hello. Pansy giggled while Harry smiled, he was pleased that she liked the feisty middle aged redhead. A moment later, Ruby practically dragged her husband out by the arm.

"Mortie, say hello to Pansy. She's Harry's friend from school."

"Well, any friend of Harry's is a friend of ours," he said, and with a not so subtle elbow in the side, he leaned over and kissed her hand. "My pleasure, Pansy."

"I see you're still training him, Ruby," Pansy chuckled.

"It's a life's work, Pansy dear," she answered with a smile.

"I'll have to keep that in mind."

"What are you two youngsters doing today?"

"We were actually going out to shop. We wanted to decorate the flat, and well, we are sort of starting out fresh."

"Oh, I know just the place you should go. There's a wonderful store about a mile and a half from here. They'll have everything you need. Plus they have tons of crafting supplies for making your own ornaments. Oh, and not to mention ribbons and paper for wrapping. Let me get something to write on and I'll give you directions." She stepped over behind the counter and quickly handed over a piece of paper explaining in great detail their destination.

"Thanks Ruby," Pansy said as she slipped the directions into her purse.

"Yeah thanks, that's really helpful. That reminds me actually," Harry said. "We were going to go get a tree later too. I saw one place the other day about a mile west of here. Is there somewhere better, or should we go there tonight?"

"The one over on Rourke Street?" Mortie asked.

"I think so."

"That's probably the best place that isn't too far away," Ruby answered. "Do you two need some help with that? Mortie could drive you if you need him to."

"No thanks, we've got a friend who's going to help us later with the tree."

"Well, let us know if you need a ride for anything. Oh, excuse me," Ruby said as she shuffled over behind the counter again as a couple came into the store.

"That's something you should get used to laddie," Mortie said with a raised eyebrow. "The ladies always like to give us things to do. It's best if you just do as they say for the most part. It'll keep the missus happy, which will keep you happy."

"That's good advice, Harry," Pansy smirked. "You should listen to the wisdom of your elders."

"Whatever you say, birthday girl."

"Oh, it's your birthday? Well, happy birthday miss. Wait till I tell Ruby; she'll be off to cook and bake all afternoon." Mortie went back to work and moments later sent his wife over to them.

"Now what's this I hear about a birthday girl?"

"Pansy's fourteen today."

"Oh happy birthday, dearie," Ruby said as she gave Pansy a hug. "You two must come over for dinner then, I'll bake a cake and everything."

"You don't have to go to all that trouble," Pansy started to say, but Ruby shrugged that off.

"Nonsense. Birthdays are important, especially when you're young. You two go shop and have a good afternoon, and we'll see you later. Can you be back by," she looked over at the clock for a moment, "say six thirty?"

"I'll make sure of it," Harry said. Pansy looked over at him with a raised eyebrow. "I won't mention yesterday's shopping trip unless you make me."

She playfully smacked him on the arm. "Come on then, Harry. Thank you Ruby, we'll be back with plenty of time to spare."

The sun was peeking through the clouds that afternoon, but the wind more than made up for that, leaving the air quite chilly. Pansy wore a new muggle outfit- one of the many from the day before's unmentioned shopping spree- a long sleeved dark grey dress with black tights as well as her new pea coat. She topped it off with one of her new purses; Harry had a feeling he had created a monster when he showed her a department full of nothing but the muggle woman's accessory. Witches used such things not nearly as often, what with robes having expanded pockets almost by default. Pansy adored the overwhelming amount of choices the muggle world offered. If he hadn't been in such a thoroughly great mood from all the sex, Harry probably would have been annoyed by taking a woman out to shop. Years in the future, he might have looked back in dismay at what he had unleashed. But her unbridled joy and the relief they had both been feeling ever since the demise of the late Lord Parkinson led him to just watch and smile at his girlfriend's delight.

Walking beside her that day, as she strutted with aplomb, Harry was more than happy to have such a thoroughly pleased Pansy by his side.

Once they reached the store full of 'All you'll need for your holiday season' Harry headed directly for a shopping cart. He had a feeling they would be filling it to the brim by the time they were done.

Two hours later, Harry was overloaded with bags as they finally finished. They had boxes full of lights and ornaments, not to mention everything they would need to finish wrapping all their presents. Pansy carried their own personally designed wreath, as well as two smaller boxes- one each of them had picked out as special personal ornaments to give to each other. Thankfully, the sun was going down, so they were able to duck into a nearby alley where Harry could hand everything off to Dobby, who transported it all back home. Moments like that made Harry's mind boggle at how wizards could take house-elves for granted. Dobby was a life saver.

They decided to walk back home, as the weather wasn't too cold and they were enjoying being able to revel in the anonymity as just any other young couple among the vast holiday crowd. Harry realized that it was going to be hard to go back to their secretive nature at Hogwarts. But better not to think of that now, though. Might as well enjoy the present while he could. God knows what crisis he would have to deal with next in the magical world.

When they arrived back home, Ruby Brightwell was happily dealing with what looked more like a warzone than a kitchen. Harry was summarily dismissed upstairs to deal with all of the holiday purchases while Pansy and Ruby got to know each other better.

Even with Dobby's help, it took him awhile to separate everything out into piles for what would be needed for all their various tasks. Christmas could be daunting, but this year, finally, it could also be fun.

Dobby was a little disappointed by the idea of someone else cooking a meal for his humans, but Harry assured him that they would have plenty more for him to do later that night.

Once six o'clock rolled around, Harry headed downstairs, assuming the ladies would allow him to join them. Hopefully they'd had enough time to gossip amongst themselves by then.

A yell told him the door was open, and he found Pansy sitting off to the side while Ruby blithely juggled two or three tasks in the kitchen. Harry had spent enough time slaving over a stove to be truly impressed by her skills. She had clearly just finished frosting the cake, as she and Pansy both were licking their fingers, but she also had pots of mashed potatoes and green beans going on the stove top and what appeared to be a roast when he peeked in the oven.

The ladies were both laughing at something he must have just missed when he came in, and that beautiful scene brought a feeling of contentment from somewhere deep within that Harry had never felt before. It was so peaceful and so right. Something told him that he had finally found a home.

"I hope I didn't miss out on anything too important."

"Oh, Harry dear, would you run downstairs and see if it's slow enough for Mortie to join us soon?"

Sure enough, the tea shop was fairly slow at that time, and Heather, their only other employee, was manning the counter, so Mortie told him he'd be able to get away for an hour or so. The two gents made their way back upstairs.

"Now Harry, whatever advice I may try to give you, this is maybe the most important I've ever learned. Never do anything to anger a woman on her birthday. You'll be sleeping on the couch for weeks."

"Well, so far Pansy's had breakfast in bed and I took her shopping. I think I'm doing okay."

"The night is young, lad. Just remember it for the future. I'd throw in anniversaries and Valentine's Day too. The only thing scarier than an angry woman is a woman holding a grudge. When we were young, I forgot the anniversary of our first year dating, and let me just say this- I never forgot another anniversary since then."

Harry laughed with the older man. "I'll keep that in mind."

When they entered the Brightwells' flat, Mortie shooed Harry over to the table where Pansy was waiting with places already set.

"Been enjoying yourself, Pansy?"

"Yes, Ruby's a riot. She's been giving me all sorts of advice on keeping young men in line."

"Well, I hope you won't need too much of it."

"I haven't so far," she answered with a coy grin.

The Brightwells came over carrying plates full of food, and soon they were all gathered at the table.

"Now then, a toast to the birthday girl- er Pansy, I just realized you haven't told us your last name."

"Just Pansy, Ruby, if you please," she answered although she added, after their looks, "it's kind of a long story."

"Okay, then to Pansy, on her fourteenth birthday. Cheers."

"Cheers!"

They all began to eat. Harry was first to compliment the cook.

"This roast is excellent. Mortie, I see why you married her."

"That wasn't the only reason," he said with waggling eyebrows.

"Mortie!"

"I didn't think it was," Harry replied with a chuckle.

"Anyway," Ruby was blushing, and tried to move the conversation on. "How did you two meet?"

"Well, we actually went to school together for a couple of years before we really got to know each other."

"Let me guess, different houses?" she asked.

"Right. Harry and I only had a few classes together and the cliques around us didn't get along, so we never really spoke to each other. Our second year wasn't very pleasant for either of us, although Harry definitely had it worse. But near the end of the year, it got a lot better- because he met me."

They all shared a laugh, but Harry didn't even try to argue with her. His life had become so much better ever since Pansy was in it.

"It all started when he saved me from some bullies..."

"So, what's this about you two living together?"

"Well, have you heard of life debts?"

"Yes, something about how magic creates a bond when a magical person saves another's life."

"Basically yes, magic can have some interesting effects, especially when dealing with life or death. The short version is that Harry saved my life and called the life debt due to get me away from my family."

"Why would he do that?"

"Harry told me you get the Daily Prophet. Did you read it a few days ago?"

"A few days ago... Do you mean the Death Eater story?"

"Yes. That evil bastard was my father."

"Oh Pansy, dear, I'm so sorry."

"Well, I'm not. Good riddance. Anyway, that's why Harry took me in. Now we're both orphans, so we get along pretty well. Most of the time, anyway.

"But enough of that. Harry tells me that you have a son who's a wizard."

"Yes, our Simon. He graduated Hogwarts in eighty six. Those first couple of years were worrying. I don't think having squibs for parents was a very good thing for him at first."

"I'd imagine not. I hope he wasn't in Slytherin like me. They would have been awful to him."

"No, he was a Ravenclaw. We were always proud of him, such a bright boy. I don't know where he got it from."

"Certainly not my side of the fam," Mortie interjected.

"Certainly not, dear." Pansy laughed at Mortie's exaggerated pout, but Harry laughed even harder at the older fellow's wink. Message received- be able to laugh at yourself. The Brightwells always made him think of funny little things like that.

"But Simon was, bless him. We were so thrilled when he was able to get that internship with the Daily Prophet."

"That's why I recognize that name- he wrote the article about the Malfoys last summer!" Pansy smiled brightly at that.

"He did, it was his first front page story. But how do you remember that?"

"Oh, it was one of my absolute favorite stories."

"We go to school with the Malfoy son, and let's just say that we don't like him."

"That's putting it mildly, Harry. The arrogant little shite needs a good foot up his ass most days." Ruby blushed at Pansy's coarse language, but Mortie smiled.

"I knew I liked this girl. She's a keeper Harry." Harry laughed and nodded in agreement, the others joined in. Harry had been around enough to know that Ruby wasn't adverse to cursing at times as well, but he assumed she wanted to put on a good face for Pansy's sake.

"So, Pansy, we saw the photos from the quidditch match earlier this fall. That must have been terrifying. I assume you were in the crowd that day?"

"Yes, it was awful at first, but then Harry saved us all. Again. I don't know if I can really describe what it felt like when his Patronus washed over us, driving those monsters away. Imagine going from feeling utterly miserable and afraid to all of a sudden feeling warm and protected and loved. It was... unbelievable.

"So, to Harry," she raised her glass, "my hero."

"No, its your birthday," Harry interrupted. "To Pansy, a girl worth rescuing, as many times as it takes."

"To Pansy."

"Well, I think it's time for some cake before Mortie needs to get back to work."

They sang Happy Birthday, Pansy made a wish and blew out her candles, and the delicious chocolate cake ended the meal leaving them all full and content.

The trip to pick out a tree was a good chance for them to walk off the large meal they had eaten with the Brightwells, as Harry had cast warming charms on them beforehand. It actually took him a couple of tries to get it right, as Pansy liked the chilly weather and at first he made her far too warm.

Getting just the right tree took much less time than they thought it might. One slightly smaller pine seemed to be just about the right size for their little family. Harry gave Pansy the money to pay for it while he slid his wand into his hand still holding up the tree's branches. Once they were checked out at the register, Harry's wand work let them seem to disappear till they could call Dobby, who once again was invaluable in transporting the tree back to their flat.

Harry spent an hour getting the tree situated just right in their living room then putting the strands of lights on it while Pansy mostly supervised and corrected him about precisely where the tree needed to stand. Dobby's attempts at being helpful in this case mostly led to him wrapping himself in Christmas lights. It seemed they had discovered that house-elves did have a weakness- understanding some things about the muggle world.

Either that or Dobby wanted to decorate himself as a Christmas tree. Harry had to order him to stop helping so that he could eventually get them all up where they actually wanted them to go.

It was decided that it was late enough that the ornaments would go up tomorrow. Harry needed to finish giving Pansy her birthday orgasms.

He started as they showered together, then he carried her to bed with her legs wrapped around his waist, their hair still wet and their tongues in each other's mouths. Moments after they fell onto the bed, Pansy already had the couple extra she might have needed. The rest of the night would just have to be 'the one to grow on.'

The next few days passed in relative peace. They finished decorating the tree. They wrapped the rest of their gifts, and Hedwig went off to deliver things to Hermione and the Weasleys. She wouldn't be back till Christmas. They listened to music, and Pansy worked on teaching Harry to dance some more. She declared he was now at least proficient enough at a couple of basic dances like a waltz and his ego didn't take too much of a hit from it. Looking like a fool while dancing with a pretty girl was much less painful when you knew you were going to bed with her that night.

They had one other meal with the Brightwells, but on Christmas Eve, they decided to spend the night in. The snow had begun falling that afternoon. It had gotten quite a bit colder the last couple of days.

After dinner that night, they curled up on the couch under a blanket. Even with a fire going, the shared body heat was lovely. They were sipping hot cocoa Dobby had brought them, and just relaxing together.

"I hope this Christmas has lived up to whatever you were hoping for so far."

"We're together Harry. No more Death Eater fathers plotting against us. That's enough."

"I know, I just meant, you know, the whole showing you what muggles do for the holidays thing. I've been trying to make sure it all was fun for you."

"You took me shopping Harry. Willingly. That's enough to make any girl happy. Everything since then has been has been wonderful too."

"Good."

"I like the Brightwells."

"Me too. Ruby's sort of what I always hoped a grandmother would be like. Don't tell her that though- I don't want her thinking about her age. I heard her fussing at her son on the phone once last summer. She's getting impatient with him to find a nice girl to settle down with so she can actually be a grandmother."

"She'll be good at it. But I think she would appreciate your thoughts anyway." She stroked his arm and burrowed down a bit deeper under the blanket. "This is nice. Who needs more for Christmas than snuggling and cocoa?"

"I could think of one or two things that would make it even better."

"You're always thinking of one thing to make everything better."

"What can I say? I know what I like. It's not my fault that making you wriggle and moan is so fun."

"Well, you'll just have to wait a few days for more wriggling. If I do any moaning tonight, it will be a bad thing."

"Can I get you anything?"

"Just don't move. I'm comfy."

"As you wish, milady."

The flames flickered a little lower as the flakes of snow kept falling outside.

"I'm surprised Hedwig isn't back yet. I hope she isn't cold out in this weather."

"You do know that she's a snowy owl, right? Hedwig was literally made for this type of weather."

"I know, I just worry about my girls."

"Yes, you do," Pansy snickered against his chest. "I guess she was your first girl, huh? Should I be jealous?"

"That depends on how much bacon there is at breakfast time."

"I guess it's good that I prefer sausage."

"I could take that statement a couple of different ways."

"Don't be a prat tonight, Harry. You don't want me to not be comfy, do you?"

"Of course not."

"Good."

"Dobby?"

"Yes, miss Pansy?"

"Be sure to make plenty of bacon for Hedwig tomorrow morning."

"Of course. Dobby knows to stay on miss Talons good side."

"Smart man, Dobby. Master Harry will be taking me to bed soon. You have a good night too."

"Thank you miss Pansy. Good night."

"Good night Dobby," Harry added. "So we're going to bed soon?"

"As soon as I finish my cocoa. You'll make the bed much more warm and comfy."

"Yes, mistress." Harry chuckled. "You know, something about this feels familiar."

"What, snuggling on a couch? We've done that a time or two before."

"No, more than that, I just can't quite put my finger on it."

Pansy shifted as she set her cup down. "That's all for my cocoa. How about yours?"

"Still a bit left."

"Gimme." She finished his cup as well. "Bed time."

"Alright." Harry started to get up. "Wait a minute. One last tradition we should start."

"What's that?"

"Some muggle families open one present on Christmas Eve. I guess to build excitement for the big day or something. I think you should open..." Harry went over to the pile of gifts already under the tree. He grabbed a small box, one of a matching set. "This one."

"Then, I think you should open the one next to it, Harry."

"Alright. Ladies first." She tore off the paper then carefully opened the box. Inside was a small ceramic figure.

"An angel?"

"The angel that saved me from the Dursleys. You. After the last time I saw them, when they'd locked me up with bars on the windows, I just...

"I think I would have killed them if I had to go back there again."

"That's very sweet Harry. Your turn." He was slower in removing the wrapping paper, but inside was another ceramic figure, slightly larger.

"A dragon. The Patronus?"

"Yes, the symbol of you protecting me. A little bit sweet and innocent, but I didn't think a bloody knife would make a very good Christmas tree decoration."

"Maybe not. It would be one hell of a story though. 'Grandpa Harry, why is there a bloody knife on the tree?'

"'Oh, that's a reminder of the first person I killed for your grandmum.' 'Dad, no telling murder stories to the kids at Christmas time.'"

"That does seem like a reasonable request from our potential future children. At least until the little ones are teens."

Harry took both ornaments over to the tree and hung them side by side. Pansy was standing wrapped in the blanket. He crossed the room and swept her up into his arms.

"I believe I'm supposed to take you to bed now, sweetheart."

"Yes you are, my love." They had to turn to fit through the doorway. "It's a good thing you started working out last summer."

"Well, you did put me in charge of the physical side of our partnership. I had to build some muscles, so I could be the muscle."

"One of my better decisions. That's why I'm the brains, remember."

"I remember," Harry smiled. "With how things have worked out for us so far, I guess that we're both doing our jobs well."

Soon they were both curled up under the blankets, spooned together. Pansy took Harry's arm that he had wrapped around her and slid his hand into a spot low on her stomach. "Right there. Good night, Harry."

"Good night, my love."

Children everywhere tend to wake early on Christmas, filled with excitement to see what gifts they've received. Harry and Pansy slept in. The bed was just too warm and the weather outside was downright frigid. Besides, neither of them had been children for years now. Really, Harry had never even gotten a chance to be one, and Pansy's parents didn't let her remain childish for long either. Harry finally drug himself out of bed when he heard a loud bang coming from the main room.

Apparently, it was just the window closing behind Hedwig, who had finally returned.

Dobby already had breakfast ready.

"Hey Hedwig. Did you have a long night girl?"

She glared at him with a long strip of bacon dangling from her beak.

"Sorry, finish your bite, I can wait."

She swallowed, then responded with an angry bark.

"That long a flight huh? I didn't think the Weasleys lived that far from here."

Pansy came out of their bedroom, once again wrapped in the blanket from the night before. She flopped down on the couch as she listened to Hedwig barking at Harry.

"Why did you have to go that far North?"

Two more barks from the owl were his answer.

"A secret admirer?"

Another bark.

"Oh, sorry Hedwig, a secret admirer has a slightly different meaning to us humans. It has to do with mating."

Three short barks followed; Pansy could have sworn it sounded like the snowy owl was laughing.

"I don't ask what you get up to at night. It's only fair not to judge me either."

The owl grabbed another piece of bacon and then flew into the second bedroom. Hedwig liked to sleep in the day, so they kept her cage in there with the curtains drawn.

"I really don't think I should ask, but...?"

"Oh, she said something about a gift from someone secret. I don't know exactly. A fan maybe? Maybe one of the wealthy guests from the quidditch match? That's why I was telling her a secret admirer means something a bit different to us."

"Right...

"Well, Harry, see what other gifts have been left on the pile."

There were a couple of new wrapped boxes that he didn't recognize, but as he went around the tree, he saw a very long thin box standing up, leaning against the jamb of the fireplace.

"I think this might be it," Harry said as he pulled it out and walked over to the couch. He sat down next to her, holding the box.

"There's no tag on it. Sounds like the secret admirer to me." Pansy looked over and saw him grinning at her.

"You know what this is shaped like?"

"Yes, so go ahead and open it."

Harry cautiously removed the plain wrapping paper and opened the box inside.

It was a Firebolt.

He nearly fainted.

Pansy sat up, staring at the broom in his hands. Harry was shocked, his mouth agape.

"I don't think I like this secret admirer. Harry?" She waved her hands in front of his face. "Earth to Harry."

"A Firebolt?" he whispered.

"Yes, someone bought you a new broom."

"I can't believe it."

"Nope, this won't do at all." Harry was still stunned, the broom laying across his palms. "Dobby, can you give us a few minutes alone please?"

"Yes, miss Pansy."

After the sound of the pop, Pansy reached over to stroke Harry's cheek. "Harry?"

He turned to look at her, eyes still a bit glassy.

"Let's set the broom aside for a minute." He nodded in a daze as she moved it to the other side of the couch from him. "Alright Harry, stand up."

He followed her instructions.

"Turn to me. That's better, now spread your legs a bit."

Pansy pulled down his pants. She was both amused and annoyed at his erection. At least it was convenient for the moment.

The expression on Harry's face finally began to change, although Pansy wouldn't see it for awhile.

Several wonderful minutes later, Harry collapsed back onto the couch with the biggest, silliest grin on his face.

"Wow!"

"Yes, wow," she smirked at him after taking a drink of orange juice. "Remember that Potter. There are even better things that can go between your legs other than a broom."

"Pansy I love you, are you seriously jealous of a broom?"

"You mean the broom that gave you a hard-on?" Harry blushed and she smacked him on the arm. "No, I'm reminding you that I shouldn't need to be jealous even if some rich bint buys you a fancy broom. Got it?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Good. Now bring me breakfast."

Harry was in such a good mood that he did exactly as she demanded. He might have caressed his new broom a bit while Pansy was eating, but she didn't glare at him too much.

"Well, I guess I don't need to worry about buying a new broom now."

Harry eventually joined her in eating before they opened the rest of their gifts. Most of what they had given each other were clothes from their massive shopping spree; Pansy had also gotten him some proper dress robes for the upcoming New Year's Eve party with the Malfoys.

Harry was told that if he was a good boy for the rest of the day, he could go play with his new broom tomorrow. Despite his excitement, Harry didn't have much trouble just enjoying the day in with her. It was so cold outside anyway that Harry was able to set those thoughts aside. Riding a broom would be much better when he could feel his fingers, after all.

Pansy (and not Harry) had given Dobby an assortment of socks- the little guy had developed a strong fondness for them ever since Harry had freed him with one. Harry had given him a coffee mug that he'd originally found in a muggle store, then charmed it to change the words to say 'World's Best Elf.' Pansy shook her head at that. She thought that it might not be the best idea to encourage the hyperactive elf's coffee habit.

Dobby had successfully argued with Harry that caffeine was good for house-elves. The way Harry saw it, he couldn't begrudge his little friend's choice, even if it was something of a vice. He considered himself addicted to Pansy. As long as he wasn't flunking out of Hogwarts from a sex addiction, then Dobby was probably doing fine with his coffee.

It made a lot more sense in his head when he came up with that thought, but then he was watching Pansy brush her teeth after getting out of the shower one morning. If she didn't want him to think of stupid things, then she wouldn't have been naked. Clearly.

They got up on Boxing Day and finally ventured outside their flat.

Actually, Harry went first, when Dobby took him over to Hagrid's. Harry popped in to wish him a merry Christmas and show him his new broom. The giant man followed him outside and watched for a bit as Harry blasted off on the Firebolt and flew like a madman. Even with the warming charm, he had to take a break before too long.

Dobby popped him back to the flat as Pansy was enjoying breakfast in bed again. Harry took a hot shower, but they eventually both went down to the tea shop, placed an order and chatted with the Brightwells for awhile.

Their son had been by for Christmas dinner, which Harry had anticipated and was part of the reason he had wanted to stay in that day. He didn't have anything against Simon Bightwell, but he didn't want any wizards to know where he lived for as long as possible. He was planning on reassessing that idea next summer, depending on how things went.

Ruby and Mortie had kept their promise about not telling even their son about their famous upstairs neighbor, and he was quite thankful for that.

Mortie was going over to a nearby tavern that afternoon to visit some of his friends and have a pint and he invited them to come along. There were several big football matches on that day, and Harry thought it might be fun to have an introduction to muggle pub culture. A couple of quick glamours to make them look older, and they were on their way. Ruby shouted at Mortie as they left not to get the youngsters drunk.

Harry and Pansy followed him a few blocks over to a building called the Red Lion. Mortie led them inside and they found a table fairly close to a telly.

"Ooh, big game's about to come on," he said as the teens just watched. "Do you have a team you root for, Harry?"

"No, I never really got to watch much. I just don't like Man U."

"Why not?"

"Some people I grew up nearby rooted for them. Since they were arseholes, I assumed their team was a bunch of arses too."

Mortie laughed. "That's a good enough reason for me, laddie. Looks like you'll be rooting for Blackburn then."

The game that was coming on was the Blackburn Rovers versus Manchester United. Pansy thought they should cheer for Blackburn anyway because they had the better logo, which made Mortie laugh again.

Harry agreed with a grin at Pansy and announced that they had a team now. They had some crisps while the game got underway. Mortie went over to say hello to a couple of people.

"So, let me get this straight Harry. There's one keeper and everyone else is a chaser with only one ball they run around kicking all game. That's it?"

"Uh, yeah, basically. I always thought it was more fun to play than watch as a kid. But I was pretty fast since I got so much practice running away from Dudley's gang, which helped when I played the game a few times at primary school. I prefer quidditch too."

"Of course you do, but you like flying like a maniac," she hissed at him in a whisper. Harry smiled and shrugged.

Mortie bought them each a pint and cheered on Blackburn with them. He made them promise not to tell Ruby with a wink. Harry assumed she would find out anyway.

They roared with delight when Kevin Gallacher scored a goal but had to make due with a draw by the end of the match. Harry was just glad to think that somewhere Dudley would be disappointed.

The next few days passed with Pansy working Harry hard at improving his dancing, as that was a skill likely to be in demand at the Malfoy New Year's Eve party and she was determined that he would not disappoint. Harry was willing to put in a lot of effort, especially with Pansy offering very pleasant rewards nightly.

The only thing that could have been better is if he had somewhere that he could fly. Dobby had checked for him though, and Hogwarts was still buried in snow, so Harry was resigned to waiting for a break in the weather. That might not be for a month or more, knowing how bitter the last two winters had been when he had stayed at the school over the holiday break.

Harry noticed a second story about the late Edmund Parkinson one day in the Daily Prophet. It seemed that some of his confessed crimes were still being investigated, but the murder of Pansy's mother had been confirmed and her body had been discovered. There was no word yet on any sort of funeral, as the only family still around were some cousins living in France. He had asked Pansy about it, but she had said that it didn't matter. The look on her face worried him a bit, but he had promised not to push her about her mother's death.

She calmly told him they had more important things to deal with right now. Pansy had a lot more planned for the Malfoy party than just some regular old wining and dining with the rich and powerful.

Two days before the party, she began to fill him in on her scheme. He'd had a few thoughts about how to use the evening to his own advantage, but Pansy made him feel like a foolish amateur remembering when he had first decided to accept the invitation. The more she spoke, the more Harry realized that this was might not be such a good idea after all...