019 Acceptance - Family Love
Title: Family Love
Characters/Pairing: Harry/Draco
Prompt: 019 Acceptance
Word Count: 512
Rating: PG
Spoilers: Disregards HBP
Author's Notes: Links to all parts can be found here at my slashfic40 prompt table index.
Overall, the day at the Burrow turned out much better than Draco had expected it to. He had been half prepared for one of the Weasleys to start making comments about either his father or his previous obnoxious behaviour but they had all been perfectly friendly towards him.
“Why did I make fun of the Weasleys when I was younger?” he whispered to Harry.
“Because they were poor and they had a large family.”
Draco looked around him. The Burrow was such a contrast to his own childhood home of Malfoy Manor, there was no doubt about that. It was not the most modern or stylish of houses, but he found that it had a cosy, homely feel that he had never experienced in the Manor. The room was filled with smiling faces and as Draco looked around, realisation hit him.
“Harry,” he said.
“Hmm?”
“You’re wrong.”
Harry turned to look at him. “What?”
“You’re wrong. I didn’t make fun of them because they had a large family and were poor. I made fun of them because they had things that I never had.”
“What?” Harry asked again.
Draco shook his head at his boyfriend’s lack of eloquence and explained, “I don’t mean material possessions. Think for a moment. Can you imagine Malfoy Manor being anything like here?” Confused, Harry shook his head. “Exactly. The Manor was always cold and empty. But here… you can see how much they all care for each other. Everyone sticks up for each other and they still have fun despite the fact that they aren’t that rich. I never had anything like that.”
Suddenly Harry’s arms encircled him. “Oh,” he said. “I understand.”
Meeting Harry’s eyes, Draco realised that he did. They might have been brought up under very different conditions, but at the end of the day they were both missing a crucial element from their childhoods: love.
As they rejoined the conversation in the room, Draco started to see each family member in a new light. The reason that Harry had chosen Ron to be his friend over Draco was now abundantly clear to him and he found that he couldn’t fault the other man for that decision.
Eventually the evening drew to a close and the pair made their goodbyes. Molly Weasley saw them to the door.
“Thank you both for coming,” she said as they pulled on their coats. “I can see why Harry chose to be with you,” she told Draco.
Draco blushed. “Thank you for having us,” he said.
Molly smiled. “Nonsense! You’re both welcome to come here any time that you like.”
After a quick hug they left, trudging away from the Burrow so that they could Apparate. After a minute, Harry turned to him.
“You know that you’ve been accepted as part of the family now? Once you’re given a standing invitation to the Burrow, that’s it.”
Somehow Draco couldn’t find it in himself to make a demeaning comment. “I guess I’m going to have to expand my Christmas card list, then,” he said. Harry smiled at him.
Next part
As always, comments are welcome!
Characters/Pairing: Harry/Draco
Prompt: 019 Acceptance
Word Count: 512
Rating: PG
Spoilers: Disregards HBP
Author's Notes: Links to all parts can be found here at my slashfic40 prompt table index.
Overall, the day at the Burrow turned out much better than Draco had expected it to. He had been half prepared for one of the Weasleys to start making comments about either his father or his previous obnoxious behaviour but they had all been perfectly friendly towards him.
“Why did I make fun of the Weasleys when I was younger?” he whispered to Harry.
“Because they were poor and they had a large family.”
Draco looked around him. The Burrow was such a contrast to his own childhood home of Malfoy Manor, there was no doubt about that. It was not the most modern or stylish of houses, but he found that it had a cosy, homely feel that he had never experienced in the Manor. The room was filled with smiling faces and as Draco looked around, realisation hit him.
“Harry,” he said.
“Hmm?”
“You’re wrong.”
Harry turned to look at him. “What?”
“You’re wrong. I didn’t make fun of them because they had a large family and were poor. I made fun of them because they had things that I never had.”
“What?” Harry asked again.
Draco shook his head at his boyfriend’s lack of eloquence and explained, “I don’t mean material possessions. Think for a moment. Can you imagine Malfoy Manor being anything like here?” Confused, Harry shook his head. “Exactly. The Manor was always cold and empty. But here… you can see how much they all care for each other. Everyone sticks up for each other and they still have fun despite the fact that they aren’t that rich. I never had anything like that.”
Suddenly Harry’s arms encircled him. “Oh,” he said. “I understand.”
Meeting Harry’s eyes, Draco realised that he did. They might have been brought up under very different conditions, but at the end of the day they were both missing a crucial element from their childhoods: love.
As they rejoined the conversation in the room, Draco started to see each family member in a new light. The reason that Harry had chosen Ron to be his friend over Draco was now abundantly clear to him and he found that he couldn’t fault the other man for that decision.
Eventually the evening drew to a close and the pair made their goodbyes. Molly Weasley saw them to the door.
“Thank you both for coming,” she said as they pulled on their coats. “I can see why Harry chose to be with you,” she told Draco.
Draco blushed. “Thank you for having us,” he said.
Molly smiled. “Nonsense! You’re both welcome to come here any time that you like.”
After a quick hug they left, trudging away from the Burrow so that they could Apparate. After a minute, Harry turned to him.
“You know that you’ve been accepted as part of the family now? Once you’re given a standing invitation to the Burrow, that’s it.”
Somehow Draco couldn’t find it in himself to make a demeaning comment. “I guess I’m going to have to expand my Christmas card list, then,” he said. Harry smiled at him.
Next part
As always, comments are welcome!