How to Save a Life

“Harry! Wake up.” Draco shook his sleeping boyfriend gently.

Harry grunted, but simply rolled over in his continued slumber.

“Harry,” Draco whined. “It’s time to get up.” To enforce his point, he treated his boyfriend to a sharp poke in the ribs.

Bleary green eyes cracked open. “Ow, that hurt.” Harry’s words were a little slurred as he slowly came round.

Satisfied with the success of his actions, Draco bounced excitedly on the bed. “Come on, sleepyhead. It’s Christmas day, and you know what that means.”

“Sleep deprivation, apparently,” Harry replied. He struggled to sit upright, realising that sleep was now a thing of the past.

Draco shook his head and a curtain of white blond hair tumbled in front of his eyes. “No, presents.”

Harry smiled at his boyfriend’s barely concealed excitement. “What time is it?” he queried.

“It’s gone six o’clock already.” Draco glanced at his watch in concern.

“Six o’clock,” Harry repeated slowly. “Are you mad? It’s still the middle of the night.” Harry prepared to snuggle back down under the covers, but found himself on the sharp end of Draco’s wand.

“Don’t you dare go back to sleep, Potter.”

“You wouldn’t,” Harry said, but something in the blonde’s tone, told him that he would.

A snort sounded from the doorway. “And you thought Voldemort was scary. You just try coming between Draco and his presents, then you’ll know what real fear is.”

Pansy walked into the room, sporting a rather fetching pair of pink pyjamas, and rubbing her eyes sleepily.

“Pansy! You’re up too. What’s wrong with you people?”

Pansy sank onto the bed and grimaced at Harry. “Not through choice, I assure you. You should think yourself lucky, Harry, you got a lie in. Someone woke me up just after 5.30am.”

“Don’t get comfortable, Parkinson,” Draco warned, his wand still trained on the bed.

“Draco, put the wand down. I’ll get up in a minute.” Harry tried his utmost to smother a laugh at the picture his boyfriend made; feeling now was probably not the time.

“Now! You’ll get up now,” Draco asserted.

Harry thought for a moment, smirked up at the blonde, and then made to pull the covers back off himself.

“Ok, Dray, if you insist. Pansy, you might want to look the other way.” Harry stopped and considered for a moment. “On second thoughts, knowing you, that’s probably the last thing you’ll want to do.

Pansy’s eyes glinted in understanding. “Look away? Are you mad? As if I’m going to pass up the chance to see Harry Potter in the buff.”

“Make one move, Potter, and I’ll stun you,” Draco spluttered in outrage as the realisation of what his boyfriend was planning to do hit him.

The blonde threw a package onto the bed. “You,” he glared at Harry. “Put them on. And you,” he turned to the giggling girl, “Out, now!”

Harry looked in confusion at the bundle in his lap. On closer inspection, it proved to be a pair of silk pyjamas, exactly like the ones that Draco was currently wearing. Except that his were silver whereas Harry’s were green.

“Pyjamas?” he queried. “Shouldn’t I be getting dressed?”

Draco shook his head emphatically. “No, it’s a tradition. We always open presents before we do anything else, getting dressed included.”

“Oh,” Harry replied, trying his hardest to picture Lucius Malfoy in his own bed wear. “These are nice,” he continued, running the silken fabric through his fingers. “But I do already own several pairs, you know?”

“Yes, but none that I particularly want my mother to see you wearing. I obviously overlooked nightclothes when I overhauled your wardrobe.”

“Well, it’s not like he has much call for pyjamas when he’s with you,” Pansy offered.

Draco nodded in agreement, then his eyes narrowed.

“Pansy, you’re still here. I distinctly remember telling you to get out.”

“C’mon, Drakie, don’t be mean. Harry doesn’t mind me staying; just think of it as giving me an early present.”

“Seeing Harry naked is my present, Pansy, not yours. Now go, or I will start deducting one of your gifts for every second you linger.” The gleam in Draco’s eyes indicated that he meant exactly what he said.

Pansy squeaked in outrage at this, “Bitch,” she accused.

“Yes, quite possibly,” Draco agreed smugly, as he watched the dark- haired girl scramble out of bed and hasten to the door.

Harry leant back against the pillows and chuckled quietly at the Slytherin pair’s antics.

“I don’t know what you’re laughing at, Potter. The same will apply to you if you’re not up and dressed in the next five minutes.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Fifteen minutes later saw the Manor’s occupants grouped around the elegant tree in the large sitting room. The house-elves had obviously been busy during the night, as all the presents had been arranged into neat piles, one for each person.

“About time - we were about to start with out you.”

Draco turned horrified eyes to his mother. “You wouldn’t dare.”

Draco and Pansy immediately made a dive for their own pile. Harry followed, grinning at their excitement, and sprawled on the floor between the two of them.

Andromeda and Narcissa were more sedate in their seating arrangements, preferring instead to settle on one of the many sofas’ that littered the room. Teddy, meanwhile, crawled excitedly between them, not sure which way to turn first.

Harry’s eyes widened at the sheer number of presents in his pile. Never in his life had he received so many. Christmases with the Dursleys had been just like any other day for him. Even when he had entered the wizarding world, there had only been the few gifts he received from Ron and Hermione, and the obligatory Weasley jumper. Not that he hadn’t been extremely grateful, but he had never felt so spoilt or indulged as he did at that moment. He just hoped Draco hadn’t spent too much money.

“Relax,” the blond murmured in his ear. “You’re worth it, every last Knut.”

They took it in turns to open a gift, starting with Teddy as the youngest. Andromeda held the squirming baby on her lap as he tore at the paper, revealing his toy broom from Harry and Draco.

“I know he’s a bit young for it now,” Harry explained. “But Sirius bought me my first broom, so I thought I should get Teddy’s. Sort of a Godfather tradition, you know?”

“Just remind me to thank you properly when he’s buzzing round on it under my feet all day,” Andromeda teased.

“Harry next,” Draco interjected impatiently, and he thrust a brightly wrapped parcel into his boyfriend’s hands.

It turned out to be a Slytherin scarf from Draco.

“I thought you might need one, seeing as how I’ve pinched your Gryffindor one,” Draco said sheepishly, as he looped the green knit round Harry’s neck.

“There.” He sat back satisfied. “It matches your pyjamas, and your eyes.”

Harry leant forward and impulsively gave his boyfriend a quick peck on the lips, only too aware of the fact that they were not alone.

“Me now!” Draco exclaimed, and the rest of them smiled as the blonde bounced in anticipation. He tore at the paper with a startling ferocity before leaping forward to hug his boyfriend. “It’s perfect,” he declared, tugging the soft blue cashmere sweater on over the top of his pyjamas. “It’s so soft.”


“Won’t you be a little hot like that, Dray?

“No more so than you in that scarf.”

Harry absently stroked the fine woollen knit that encircled his neck, and said no more on the subject. He turned his attention to Pansy who was in transports of delight over the set of amethyst coloured dress-robes.

Narcissa was also similarly pleased with the elegant cornflower blue robes that Harry had purchased for her, with much help from Draco.

“They’re lovely, Harry, thank you,” she murmured, pressing a light kiss to his cheek.

Harry blushed slightly and turned in time to see his boyfriend directing a smug smile at him, which clearly said ‘see, I told you’.
Both boys received similar thanks from Andromeda after she had opened the diamond earrings that they had bought for her. Slipping the studs into her ears, she turned to them.

“They’re perfect, boys. Ted gave me a pair just like these when we were married, but Dora managed to lose them somehow.” Her eyes looked suspiciously bright when she finished speaking and Draco hurriedly pressed another present on the happy baby snuggled in her lap.

Harry’s next gift proved to be a sweater very similar to the one he had bought for Draco, only his was green.

“Great minds think alike, eh, Potter?”

“More like shop in the same store,” Pansy snorted.

Draco didn’t reply; he was already busy shredding the wrapping on his next gift, revealing the new winter cloak that Harry had spent some time agonising over purchasing.

The cloak was black velvet with a forest green silk lining; its clasps were silver and took the form of small serpents. Harry had also had a permanent warming charm woven into the fabric.

“Do you like it?” he asked nervously, after several seconds of silence from his boyfriend.

“It’s perfect,” Draco replied, stroking the butter-soft fabric. He hooked one hand round the back of Harry’s neck and tugged him in for a kiss.

Harry felt a hot blush suffuse his cheeks at his boyfriend’s public display of affection, which was not helped by Pansy’s suggestion that they should ‘get a room’.

Some time later and the two older members of the group had finished their unwrapping and were now comfortably seated, with a cup of tea, watching the teenagers open their remaining gifts. Teddy was on the floor, buried in a pile of wrapping paper, which he seemed to find far more exciting than any one of the many presents he had been given. With the exception of a green stuffed dragon that was safely tucked under his arm. A fact that had caused no small amount of smug gloating from Draco, who had been the purchaser of said toy.

The three friends came across identical looking packages in their piles, which on closer inspection, proved to be from Neville and Blaise. Pansy opened hers first and let out a squeal of delight which spurred the boys on. Harry grinned in amusement when he saw what it was, and Draco had a mixture of outrage and pleasure.

The two adults looked at the expressions in curiosity, which was quickly relieved when Pansy picked the T-shirt up from her lap and wriggled it on over her head. It was a soft baby-pink t-shirt, and on the front, written in purple glitter were the words ‘fag-hag’. Harry held his up, revealing a green t-shirt with the words ‘snake-charmer’ written in silver, and a small design of a serpent wrapped round the writing.

Draco appeared to be slightly more reluctant to share his gift, and it was only after much coaxing from all concerned that he could be persuaded to hold up his t-shirt for inspection. As soon as he saw it, Harry completely understood Draco’s reluctance and the expression on his face. Not that this stopped a giggle from escaping his lips.

Across the front of the black t-shirt, were the words ‘Drama Queen’ emblazoned in sparkling diamante.

“Well, they’re certainly very…appropriate,” said Narcissa, obviously biting back her mirth. She was fixed by a baleful glare from her son. “Come on, Draco. You must admit they are rather amusing.”

Draco only huffed in reply, but Harry didn’t miss the small smile that tugged at the edge of the blonde’s lips.

“I’ll kill Blaise for this,” he muttered, to no one in particular.

When finally the last of the presents had been opened, Draco sat back and eyed his pile with satisfaction. It had been a particularly fruitful year, and he was more than impressed with the gifts that Harry had got him. The jumper and the cloak were exactly the kind of items he would have purchased for himself. The copious amounts of Honeyduke’s chocolates would satisfy even his sweet tooth.

However, he had to admit that his favourite gift from the Gryffindor had been the Potion’s kit; with its selection of commonly used ingredients, various sized glass vials, sterling silver cutting implements, all in a black dragon hide case, monogrammed with his initials. The thought that had gone into this purchase was obvious, and that alone made it Draco’s best present.

The three teenagers were clambering to their feet when Narcissa spoke again.

“Oh, I forgot. An owl delivered these for you all yesterday.” She reached into the drawer at her side and pulled two packages and an envelope out. The smaller of the parcels was addressed to Pansy who took it with wide eyes, wondering whom on earth it could be from.

When she unwrapped it, she found a small jewellery box, which she stared at for, what seemed like to Draco, an eternity.

“Merlin, Pansy, would you just open it already.”

Pressing the clasp, the lid popped up and revealed a slender silver chain with a tiny dragon pendant, with emerald eyes. She looked in wonder at it, before her slightly trembling fingers plucked up the note that had come with it.

Pansy,

Hope you like the necklace.
I wasn’t sure what to get, and it
seemed appropriate.

It was really good to meet you
last week. Hope to see you again
Soon. Merry Christmas.

Charlie


“That’s pretty dear,” Narcissa said, peering at the necklace. “Who’s it from?”

“Charlie,” Pansy replied softy, her eyes still fixed on the note.

“Weasley?” Draco questioned, his voice raised slightly.

Harry shot him a warning look, and when Pansy nodded, he said no more on the subject.

“You open the parcel, Dray. It’s addressed to both of us, but I have the envelope.”

Draco didn’t need telling twice; his fingers had already been twitching at the paper. Tearing it off, he pulled back the lid of the box and peered inside. A chuckle escaped his lips as he took in its contents.

“What is it?” Harry queried. “Let me see.”

“You might want to wait till later to look,” Draco advised, but Harry was having none of it.

“Don’t be silly, I want to see.” His fingers curled round the top of the box and pulled it closer. He peered inside and then quickly withdrew his head, his face flushed red.

“Umm, yes, maybe we should look at it later,” he mumbled uncomfortably, much to Draco’s amusement. “Who’s it from?”

Draco flipped the label over, “George,” he replied, and Harry nodded as if this explained everything.

“What is it?” Pansy all but shrieked.

“Never you mind,” Draco reprimanded her. “Open the envelope, Harry.”

Harry didn’t recognise the writing on the envelope. It just said ‘Harry Potter’ on the front, no address or anything. He tore slowly at the paper, just in case it was another inappropriate present from George.

What fell out, was a small bundle of photographs, Muggle ones, about ten in all.

Harry picked them up, and on first inspection, he thought someone had sent him pictures of a young Ginny Weasley. On closer inspection, his heart leapt into his throat as he realised that the small redhead growing up in the pictures was, in fact, his mum.

Harry’s eyes misted over and his hands trembled slightly. Apart from in Snape’s memories, this was the first time he had seen his mum as a child. Aunt Petunia had allowed no visible trace of her sister in the house, with the exception of her son, and he was hidden away as much as possible.

Sensing his boyfriend’s emotional stat, Draco scooted closer and placed a tentative hand on his shoulder.

“Who’s that, Harry?” He asked softly, peering at the strange, unmoving, pictures.

“It’s my mum,” Harry almost whispered, and he felt Pansy press up against his other side.

“There was a note with them,” she said, picking up the folded paper from where it had fallen, unnoticed, on the floor.

Harry,

I found these and thought
you might want them. Mrs Figg
told me you’re okay, and that she
will send these to you.
I’m glad that everything worked
out for you.

Merry Christmas,

Dudley


To say that Harry was stunned wouldn’t even have come close to describing how he felt on reading that note.

Firstly, he was shocked that his Aunt Petunia had actually kept any reminder of her ‘freak’ sister. Secondly, that Dudley would find them and be thoughtful enough to realise what they would mean to Harry, was just mind-blowing.

He hadn’t seen his cousin since the day they had gone into hiding. Their parting had certainly been more civilized than any of their earlier interactions. Dudley had seemed almost concerned about him. But Harry never expected a gesture like this. It was almost as if Dudley was offering an olive branch to him.

Truth be told, Harry tried to think about the Dursleys as little as possible. However awful they had been to him over the years, they were still his only living family, and their estrangement bothered him more than he cared to admit.

Folding up the note, he stuffed it, along with the photos, back into the envelope. Blinking back the unshed tears in his eyes, he looked up at the concerned faces of his friends with a smile.

“I’m okay,” he assured them. “It just brought back a few memories, that’s all.”

“I think we should all retire to our rooms and dress for breakfast,” Narcissa suggested during the awkward pause in conversation. “I’ll have the elves ready it for 9am.”

Harry looked at the large pile of presents and wished that he’d brought his wand down so that he could shrink and levitate them to his room. However, while he was still trying to figure out how he was going the manage them, a series of cracks sounded, and their piles were swiftly removed to their various rooms by the Manor’s various house-elves.

As the boys paused outside Harry’s room, Draco snaked his arms round his boyfriend’s slender waist and stole a quick kiss.

“Enjoying Christmas so far?” he wanted to know.

Harry nodded. “It’s different,” he admitted. “But good different,” he added quickly.

Draco kissed him again. “Good. Now go grab your things and then come to my room. I was thinking that maybe we could shower together and I could give you another present.”

Harry’s eyes widened at this and he didn’t need telling twice. He scurried quickly into his room, the door banging loudly behind him. Draco chuckled all the way to his own room at his boyfriend’s eagerness.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Harry could hear the shower running already as he entered Draco’s room. The blond was nowhere to be seen, so Harry set his things down on a nearby chair and turned to head into the ensuite bathroom.


Draco stood in the doorway watching him, naked apart from a small white towel slung low on his hips.

“C’mon, Potter,” he chided. “Let’s get you naked.”

Harry grinned devilishly and needed no further telling. He quickly shed his pyjamas, revealing to Draco just how much he was excited at the prospect of them showering together. Draco dropped the towel, revealing similar arousal, and it was all Harry could do not to sink to his knees and take the blond in his mouth right there.

As if reading his boyfriend’s thoughts, Draco smiled. “Patience, Harry,” and he held out his hand. Harry accepted it and let himself be led into the bathroom.

They entered the already steamy shower cubicle. Privately, Harry thought that cubicle was hardly the right word for it; it was about the size of the family bathroom at the Burrow.

Draco stepped under the hot spray and Harry watched in fascination as the water coursed over his naked form.

“C’mon,” and Draco tugged Harry under the jets with him.

Draco reached for the shampoo and, squirting some into his hand, he began to gently massage Harry’s head. The brunette had never imagined that something as simple as having your hair washed could become so erotic. The way Draco’s fingers were caressing his scalp was sending small shoots of pleasure straight to his cock.

Unable to restrain himself, he slid one hand down his wet torso, before finally coming to rest on his hard length. Draco’s hands instantly left his head and batted the hand away.

“That’s mine,” he growled, before pushing Harry further under the spray to wash the soap away.

Next, he selected a sponge and soaped it up generously with what Harry thought was a heavenly smelling shower-gel. The blonde lovingly washed every inch of his boyfriend’s body, missing only the one part that was begging for attention.

By the time Draco sank to his knees, Harry was almost weeping with frustration. “Please, Draco,” he begged.


Draco dipped his head and lightly ran his tongue over the underside of Harry’s cock, and he was satisfied to hear a whimper escape his boyfriend’s lips. The blond placed his hands on Harry’s hips, then he wrapped his lips slowly around the brunette’s shaft and took him into his mouth, inch by inch.

Harry groaned louder as Draco grazed his teeth along the sensitive skin of his cock and then swirled his tongue around the head.

“Fuck, yes,” Harry gasped, leaning against the wall of the shower for support.

Harry’s hands fisted tightly in Draco’s soaking wet hair as he tried to thrust deeper into his mouth. Draco kept his hands firm on his boyfriend’s hips, controlling the depth of each thrust. He traced his fingers lightly over Harry’s balls as his warm mouth engulfed his cock, his throat relaxing to take Harry deeper.

“Shit, Dray, I’m so close.”

Draco took hold of the base of Harry’s cock and pulled his mouth off him. He looked up at his boyfriend as he stroked his entire length and massaged his cum-filled balls. His breath ghosted over the tip, causing a soft mewl to escape Harry’s parted lips.

Draco’s tongue teased the head of his boyfriend’s cock, bringing him close to cumming several times, but pulling away just before. He had Harry begging for release, but continued to torture him, sensing just when he was getting close and then pinching the base of his cock, pulling him back from the edge.

Finally, Draco looked up at Harry and smiled as he stroked his glistening cock. “Ready to cum?” he purred.

“God, yes,” Harry replied desperately.

Draco took Harry’s cock all the way into his warm, wet mouth. Swirling his tongue down the shaft, he nibbled at the cock-head and sucked hard. He snaked a hand between Harry’s legs, teasing the spot between his balls and anus, before sliding further back to massage his puckered opening.

He felt Harry’s cock tense and knew his boyfriend was about to come. This time he didn’t stop it, he just sank his mouth down as far as he could, until he felt the head of Harry’s cock slide into this throat.

Harry’s hands were buried so tight in his hair that it was almost painful, but Draco just concentrated on relaxing his throat to take more of his length in.

“Shit, ‘m gonna…nnghh”

Harry never finished that sentence as Draco swallowed him particularly deep and he felt himself explode deep in his boyfriend’s throat, ropes of thick cum spurting from his cock.

Draco continued sucking on Harry’s softening cock until he had drained every drop of his boyfriend’s seed. Then he sat back on his heels and smiled up at his boyfriend, who was now slumped bonelessly against the wall of the shower. “Happy Christmas,” he smirked.

Minutes later their positions were switched. Draco was now resting against the cool tiles while Harry dropped to his knees.

Draco was surprised when, instead of his cock, Harry sucked his balls into his mouth, swirling his tongue over them, before pulling back and giving them a few gentle licks.

Then he turned his attention to the blond’s cock, teasing his head relentlessly with flicks of his tongue. Draco ran his fingers through his boyfriend’s soaking hair as the dark head bobbed up and down on his shaft.

Harry opened his mouth wider as he felt the head of Draco’s cock nudge at the back of his throat. He swallowed hard, accepting his boyfriend’s length into the tight passageway of his throat, and hummed, the vibrations causing Draco to emit a loud keening noise.


Harry pulled back until almost all of Draco was out of his mouth - before plunging down onto his shaft, taking him all the way into the depths of his throat.

Unable to hold back any longer, Draco’s cock began to swell within Harry’s mouth and he gave a few sharp, jabbing thrusts. His words became an incoherent stream of babble as his cock began to pulse and a stream of hot cum spurted into Harry’s waiting mouth.

Harry continued to gently clean every last drop of seed from Draco’s now limp cock, until the blonde was unable to stand it any longer. He allowed himself to look up at the sated blond, and revelled in the look of bliss that he had put there.

Christmases at the Burrow were never this good, he thought to himself.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~