Holiday Surprise #1: To: Harry Potter
Today was turning into a strange day.
Harry had woken up late for double Potions again. Somehow, he miraculously earned himself an O from Slughorn for his Ageing Potion. That bit of luck wore out fast, though, when McGongall had caught him falling asleep in Transfiguration, earning him an extra foot to write for his Animagus essay. Then, Harry almost lost his hand when he had tried to tend to a Chinese Chomping Cabbage in Herbology.
It certainly hadn't helped his mood with Hermione pestering him in every class to see how he was doing. He knew she meant well, but he wasn't going to talk to her about his conversations with Seamus, and how he might be looking at blokes in a different light.
The realisation hadn't hit him until Ginny sent him a note during Charms. At first, Harry had been surprised. They haven't talked in a good while (if one didn’t count brief acknowledgments in the common room or the corridors). He had stopped reaching out to her sometime ago to talk about their relationship. Secretly, Harry hadn't known what to say to her, and he was thankful they both had busy schedules.
Harry also knew that Ginny had her own issues, like dealing with the competition between Michael and McLaggen. He definitely hadn't seen that one coming. He probably should have been angry that Ginny was already moving on, as if nothing had ever happened between them. But the anger never came.
Frankly, he had stopped getting jealous (when did that happen?), figuring that Ginny would come to him when she needed to. But Harry never dreamed she would go to him for dating advice (he hadn't exactly been the best boyfriend). And certainly not about Neville.
That last bit had made Ginny snort, and Harry grin back at her. It had been a lesson learned and an icebreaker that made it easier to attend to unresolved issues. One thing was clear: he and Ginny were over, for good. On the other hand, at least they were still friends.
Now, it was dinner. After a share of steak and kidney pie, roasted potatoes and trifle, Harry thought it would be good idea to indulge in a Fiery Fortune Cookie. He hadn’t had one in a while.
It wasn’t until he opened the treat that a yellow puff of smoke emitted into the air. Suddenly, a small parakeet appeared in front of him. Its feathers were coated with exotic colours of greens, both dark and light. Its long tail had a hint of blue mixed with a Slytherin green.
“Er, hello,” said Harry, eyeing the bird warily.
The parakeet screeched as it flew around him excitedly. Where had George learned this kind of magic? Harry knew that parakeets were common in Australia, and even in South America. George would have had to get a permit or something to manage a trick like making animals appear out of thin air.
That thought was completely abandoned when Harry felt something warm and wet land on his head.
“Oh, that’s just great!” exclaimed Ron, roaring with laughter. Everyone at the Gryffindor table couldn’t help but laugh with him. "Brilliant!"
”You’ve got to be kidding me,” mumbled Harry, glaring at the bird. “You really just shat on me, didn't you?”
The parakeet responded by nipping his finger. Harry yelped before sticking his finger in his mouth. Hermione sighed, taking her wand out and vanishing the bird dung from Harry’s mop of hair. Everyone else just laughed harder.
“Honestly!” she muttered impatiently, shaking her head. She grabbed Harry’s hand and healed the cut on his finger.
“Thanks, Hermione,” he replied sheepishly, blushing a little.
“Look!” said a second year girl with pigtails. She was pointing at something. “Where do you think it’s going?”
Harry blinked. He realised the girl was referring to the parakeet, which soared across the Great Hall and attracted the attention of all the other houses. The murmuring in the room suddenly grew louder as everyone watched the bird circle over the Slytherin table.
That was, until it landed on Draco Malfoy’s shoulder. The murmuring instantly stopped.
Harry held his breath when he saw Malfoy’s eyes widen. The parakeet seemed quite content, as it nuzzled Malfoy with its head. Malfoy tried to shoo it away, but the bird refused to budge. Parkinson smirked mischievously as Zabini choked on his pumpkin juice.
When the parakeet tried to sing what sounded like a horrible rendition of "A Cauldron Full of Hot, Strong Love", Harry turned crimson. The noise in the Great Hall escalated three times more than before, both with laughter and whispers.
"That's interesting," commented Hermione with confusion.
"What kind of joke is this?" asked Ron, clearly outraged. "That cookie must have been tampered with, or something..."
Harry couldn't agree more. He just wanted to crawl in a hole and hide forever. Daring himself to sneak a peek, Harry was shocked to see Malfoy was actually laughing as the bird continued to sing and tried to mess with his blond hair. He had never seen Malfoy really laugh before, but it definitely didn't wasn't a bad look on him. Harry almost wished he could see Malfoy laugh more often.
"What are you thinking?!" his conscience screamed him. "Are you mental?"
Apparently he was, because when he met grey eyes from across the Great Hall, his heart skipped a beat. When Malfoy gave him a slight smile, Harry quickly looked away.
Well, fuck.
Silly, Harry! *hugs* Who will be the lucky recipient of the next Fiery Fortune Cookie? What kind of surprise will it hold for them? Stay tuned to find out as we celebrate the holidays!
Inspiration for this mini series goes to awdt's Christmas Quickies!
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