Chapter Text
Wednesday
December 2, 1998
7:03am
“Happy Birthday Theo!”
Hermione exclaimed as she entered the dining room for breakfast, Teddy tucked under one arm and a pile of presents levitating next to her. The entire room stilled as Blaise, Greg and Pansy waited to gauge Theo’s reaction. Theo took a deep breath, squaring his shoulders and forcing a small smile.
“Thank you Mia,” Theo said quietly, unable to look at Hermione.
Hermione placed Teddy in his highchair and set the presents on the table, taking her seat before addressing the mood in the room.
“Have I done something wrong? My understanding was everyone celebrated their birthday, muggles and magical folk alike.”
“No, you are right, birthdays are celebrated,” Theo said curtly.
Blaise, Greg and Pansy, were watching the conversation closely, their movements akin to a tennis match, shifting their focus as they watched for reactions.
“Okay, then why don’t you seem happy? Did I get the date wrong? Tiggy told me it was today.”
Theo silently cursed the elf, “Tiggy was right, it is my birthday today. I just don’t like to celebrate.”
“Oh, umm, I’ve also told Harry, I’m pretty sure he is also bringing you a present at family dinner tonight. Do you want me to owl him and let him know?”
“No, that’s okay, birthdays are about friends and family, and I have that now,” Theo decided, softening his posture.
“Okay! Good!” Hermione immediately brightened, “Would you like to open the presents Teddy and I got you?”
As Theo gave a small nod, Hermione levitated the pile of presents towards him. She looked so excited, and he knew that the gesture came from a place of goodwill, so with shaky hands, Theo unwrapped the first present he had received willingly since his mother died. Theo blinked back tears as he looked at the small pile of shirts Hermione had gifted him, all similar to the ones he had acquired in muggle London while hiding from his father.
“What are these?” Theo asked, pointing at the logos on the shirts.
“Oh, I got you some more band shirts, like the ones you always wear. I chose bands that are similar to what you seem to favour.”
“Bands?” Theo asked, a bit confused.
“Yeah, like the Weird Sisters, but muggle bands like to go big on the merchandise.” Hermione started to explain, “I thought you knew.”
Theo shook his head and watched as Hermione’s expression became unsure, “Thank you, I love the new additions.”
“You may not love the rest of the present,” Hermione worried.
Confused, Theo unwrapped the next present, revealing a stack of large square cardboard sleeves. Each cardboard sleeve contained a record. Despite the weird packaging, Theo recognised records, it appeared that there were more overlaps between wizarding and muggle worlds than he realised.
“Is this muggle music?”
“Yeah,” Hermoine smiled, “Button and I went through your shirt collection, I managed to find at least one record for each of the bands on your shirts. I hope you like at least some of them!”
Theo smiled brilliantly, lighting up the room, “Thank you Mia, I look forward to listening to them.”
A small cough broke their concentration and Theo looked over at the sound of the noise.
“Does this mean we can start giving you presents too?” Blaise asked.
Saturday
December 5, 1998
2:33pm
Theo, Harry, George, Blaise, Greg and Pansy sat in the currently grey sitting room, Theo had attempted to lighten the palate with accents of silver and white. However, he did not think that the current colour scheme would last very long.
Hermione walked into the room, carrying Teddy on her hip, a small basket of toys in her other hand. Teddy currently had turquoise hair, a colour he seemed to be favouring at an increasing rate. Theo wondered if the colour would work for interior decorating.
“Oh, hullo,” Hermione smiled as she placed Teddy on the ground, spreading toys out for him to play with, “I didn’t realise we were having an impromptu get together. Are we discussing our Christmas plans?”
“No Mia, I think it’s time we had a bit of a chat,” Theo started, watching as Hermione’s spine stiffened in suspicion.
“About what?” Hermione responded, attempting to keep her voice calm.
“It’s almost been six months Mione, do you want to press charges?” Harry asked, talking in a soft voice.
“Against whom Harry? Honestly, let's think about this with logic. I have no case.”
“What do you mean?” Pansy queried, “You have been researching Wizarding law on top of working towards completing your NEWTS.”
Hermione sighed, “Alright, let me break it down for you. Mr and Mrs Weasley were my guardians until June this year. In that time they drained my meagre savings at Gringotts. Which technically they did legally through charging board during the holidays, and a meal allowance. I am pretty sure I helped fund going to the Quidditch World Cup before fourth year as well. This was all legal. I also don’t have the time or evidence to itemise every claim and prove whether or not I was with the Weasley’s or my parents over the holidays. Harry, if you would like help, to challenge the expenses against your account, I can probably help. I have kept copies of the letters we exchanged during our holidays.”
At this point, George was beginning to look a bit green. Theo suspected that no one had actually sat him down and explained everything prior to their intervention.
“Then, let’s keep in mind that although Sirius adopted me in fifth year, he was a convicted criminal on the run from the Ministry. Furthermore, he was disinherited, so I was never legally the responsibility of any house, except for the House of Weasley, until June this year. I have had absolutely no protection and everything they did was technically legal and within the framework of wizarding laws.”
“What about the potions? Or the fact that you arrived here with bruises and broken bones?” George exclaimed.
Hermione smiled sadly, “I can’t prove anything. We suspect that Molly fed me the potions over dinner, but we don’t know. We suspect that Ron hit me in a fit of jealous drunken rage, but we don’t know. I have nothing.”
“And you are okay with that?” Harry asked, incredulously.
“Well no, I’m not okay that those things were done to me, but I am not going to report them. I have had bad media coverage since I was fourteen. If I start throwing accusations, I can almost guarantee it will end badly for me, especially because there is no evidence.”
“So what? We just let it slide? Let them continue with their merry little lives?” Pansy asked, clearly out for blood.
“No, I think we watch Ginny, make sure she is okay. We know I was potioned, we suspect Harry had been potioned from sixth year until Ron abandoned us in seventh year. So we make sure she is okay because, honestly, her behaviour doesn’t add up either.”
“Yeah, I think you are right, Ginny has been living with me at the apartment for the last little while. I overheard mum starting to talk about Ginny’s quidditch dream being a pipe dream.”
“That’s ridiculous!” Blaise exclaimed, “She is the best chaser Gryffindor has seen in years!”
The room turned to Blaise, in stunned silence.
“I didn’t know you took notice of the Gryffindor team,” Theo said slyly before shifting his attention back to Hermione, “we have all claimed our seats in the Wizengamot. We have the numbers to start influencing the laws now. Would you raise charges in the future?”
“No,” Hermione said definitively, “I am happy disappearing from the social pages of the wizarding press. Let them run ‘Where is she now?’ stories about me in ten years time. I can finally see my life going in a positive direction. I don’t want anything to jeopardise that for Teddy and I. I think changing the laws is good though, it shouldn’t happen to anyone else.”
Hermione looked over at Teddy, quietly playing with his toys on the floor. She turned back to the group that had ambushed her, “Who wants to look after Teddy this afternoon? I want to get a head start on my Christmas shopping.”
“Shopping! I’m coming with you,” Pansy leapt out of her seat.
“Yeah, Theo and I will look after Teddy this afternoon, Mione,” Harry agreed.
“Oh, I have a few products I want to test, I’ll be back in an hour.” George left the room with a wicked grin.
Hermione froze.
“No way, no backing out of this now! We are going shopping!” Pansy declared, practically pushing Hermione out of the room.
Saturday
December 19, 1998
9:07am
The dining room table was overflowing with food, the elves had put on a feast to celebrate that they had all finished their NEWTs. Now the group were all stuck in limbo, waiting for their results and, hopefully, their acceptance letters to their preferred apprenticeships or training courses. Theo sighed, looking at the apprehensive faces of his house guests, none of them had been in limbo like this since they were on house arrest. He cleared his throat, someone would have to inject energy and direction into the group. Blaise beat him to it.
“Right everyone’s finished their exams,” Blaise declared, “we are going on a Christmas holiday.”
“Are we even allowed?” Pansy grumbled, poking at her scrambled egg.
“Yes!” Blaise declared, waving an official looking piece of parchment in his hand, “I got permission from the Ministry for all of us to go to Italy for Christmas. I have a portkey that is set to leave in just under two hours.”
“Two hours!” Hermione screeched, “How am I supposed to pack for Teddy and myself in two hours?”
Theo smirked, “Princess, we have house elves, they would be happy to help.”
Hermione scowled, “Fine. Are we inviting anyone else?”
“The Greengrass sisters,” Greg decided.
“And Drake,” Theo declared.
“Can Harry come?” Hermione asked.
“Oh, Neville!” Pansy exclaimed.
“I don’t care how many people you invite, they just have to be here for the portkey at 11am.” Blaise announced, waving his ministry letter once again.
“Right, Tiggy! Button!” Theo called, waiting for the house elves to appear, “Can you please pack bags for Mia, Teddy and myself? For about a week? For Italy, so mild weather, rain gear and swimmers.”
“Yessir!” Tiggy agreed before both house elves disappeared.
Looking back up at the group at the table, Hermione was casting a patronus, informing Harry of their plans, urging him to hurry over with a packed back, and Pansy was relaying instructions to Mippy, who was currently making notes on a piece of parchment. Blaise got up from the table, reminding everyone not to be late before heading to his room to pack.
Greg looked at Theo, “Do you want to go talk to Drake and I’ll go ask Daphne and Astoria?”
“Great plan,” Theo agreed as they both headed towards the fireplace.
10:53am
Theo stood in the entryway, a small pile of luggage stacked in front of him, he had severely underestimated how much a baby would need for a holiday. Not to mention Pansy. Blaise was leaning against the wall to Theo’s right, checking his watch with an air of impatience.
“We only have seven minutes,” Blaise muttered, “where is everyone?”
“Mate, relax, either they come or they don’t. We will have a great time regardless.” Theo declared, already put out by Draco’s refusal to join them.
Blaise let out a sigh of relief as Pansy and Neville stepped through the floo, vanishing the ash off their clothes.
“We made it! Neville’s coming!” Pansy grinned, pulling Neville towards the waiting Slytherins. Theo raised an eyebrow at Neville’s small satchel, “Packing light?”
“Oh, umm,” Neville blushed, “no, this was a present from Hermione.”
Blaise grinned, “That girl sure does love an illegal extension charm.”
As Neville was about to reply, the floo roared to life and Harry, Hermione and Teddy stumbled out of the fireplace. Harry was clutching a backpack, looking slightly stressed as Hermione practically frog marched him towards the group. Harry blinked owlishly at Theo, still clutching his backpack, as Theo vanished the ash from Harry’s clothes and hair.
“I’ve never left the country before,” Harry confided in Theo.
Theo grinned broadly at Harry, “It’s an honour to guide you through your first experience.”
Harry just blinked, clearly too preoccupied to internalise the statement. Blaise snorted, checking his watch again, his impatience catching up with him.
Greg stumbled out of the fireplace, a confused expression across his face, “Stori and Daph aren’t coming. They are going to have Christmas with Narcissa and Drake.”
“Weird. We will talk about it later.” The portkey started vibrating in Blaise’s hand, “Everyone grab your luggage and touch the portkey. One minute!”
12:01pm
“Welcome to Casa Zabini!” Blaise announced, throwing his hands up in the air.
They were standing in the same semi-circle, holding the cracked flowerpot, watching as Blaise turned in a full circle, hands still raised. The portkey had transported them to a small grassy garden, next to a gazebo with an outdoor dining table that could probably hold twenty guests. The gazebo was covered in vines, giving the dining area a leafy canopy. Lanterns were placed evenly around the perimeter of the gazebo, the area would be stunning at night. There was a stone path from the gazebo, leading to a veranda and the back entrance to an impressive stone villa. The house was situated on a rise, giving perfect views of the surrounding Bay of Naples and a nearby town, the surrounding ocean looked blue and inviting, despite the cooler December temperatures.
Pansy rolled her eyes, “Are we in our normal rooms?”
“Yeah, Pansy, Greg and Theo, you know what rooms are yours,” Blaise looked contemplatively at the three Gryffindors, “Hermione, you can have Daphne’s room, Theo can show you where it is. Harry, follow Pansy to Drake’s room, it’s next to hers. Neville, I’ll show you my old room and I will take the master suite.”
“What would have happened if Malfoy, Daphne and Astoria had come?” Hermione asked.
“Eh, we would have doubled up in a few rooms,” Blaise shrugged, “no big deal. Let’s have an hour to acclimate, then we can meet for lunch and decide what we want to do for the rest of our holiday.”
The group broke off into pairs as Harry, Hermione and Neville all followed their assigned guide to their room for the Christmas break.
“This place is amazing.” Hermione said, wide eyed as she looked around, Teddy resting snuggly on her hip.
Theo hummed non-commitaly as he levitated their luggage behind himself, “Wait until you see our house in Spain.”
“I’m sorry, what?” Hermione asked doming to a stop in the middle of the hallway.
“When we get home, remind me to let you look through our property portfolio, we own quite a few properties in the UK as well as a few overseas. It’s a good tax dodge, plus a good income stream if they are rented out. Not that daddy dearest ever let anyone else ever darken their doorways.” Theo explained with a snort.
“What are you going to do with them all?” Hermione asked, looking back at Theo.
“No idea, that’s a decision for the new year,” Theo shrugged, “Come on, let’s get to our rooms so we can begin to relax.”
1:18pm
The group gathered around a large dining table, a large antipasto platter the centrepiece, while they looked through the tourist brochures and maps Cuci the house elf had procured. Theo hummed with pleasure watching the Gryffindors get excited over the myriad of activities and attractions that were now available to them. They had been visiting Casa Zabini for almost a decade and had begun taking the local offerings for granted. The fresh perspective was invigorating.
“May I suggest we head into town this afternoon,” Blaise began, “Piazzo Tasso is usually decorated for Christmas by now with a huge tree and lights.”
“Oh, can we also go to Il Vallone dei Mulini?” Harry asked, peering down at a map.
“Why?” Pansy groaned, “It’s just an old ruin covered in ferns.”
“Actually, it’s known for very unique foliage due to the microclimate of the valley,” Neville chimed in, “I’d love to see it.”
“Fine. When is the next day with decent weather?” Pansy asked, “If you want to see ruins, we should also schedule a visit to Bagni Regina Giovanna”
“If ruins are on the agenda, I would love to do a day trip to Pompeii,” Hermione chimed in, lifting her head out of a travel guide.
“That’s a great idea,” Theo added, “we have never been to Pompeii, it always gets pushed to the bottom of the list.”
“If we are open to new suggestions, I want to hike the Path of the Gods,” Greg declared, drawing a line from Bomerano to Positano on a large map of the Amalfi Coast.
“No thank you,” Blaise declared, “that’s a 4 hour hike, 6 if you decide to carry on walking back here.”
“I’ll join you,” declared Harry, studying the map.
“Great,” Greg relaxed back into his chair.
“Maybe we can go to the Giardini di Cataldo while they tramp through the wilderness.” Pansy suggested, holding up a pamphlet decorated with lemons.
“Or, the art exhibition at Chiostro di San Francesco?” Blaise countered, waving his own brochure in the air.
Friday
December 25, 1998
10:37am
They sat around the Christmas tree, looking out over the Bay of Naples, the last present had been distributed, a sense of contentment rippled through the villa.
“Cuci!” Blaise called, as he was waiting for the villa’s house elf to appear, he ordered everyone to get into position.
"Sì signore?" The house elf asked as he appeared into the room.
“Puoi farci una foto, per favore?” Blaise asked, handing over the camera that Theo had just gifted Pansy. The elf dutifully accepted the camera, motioning for everyone to move closer together.
“Are you sure we should be in this photo?” Harry asked, his arm around Hermione, Teddy nestled comfortably into his lap.
“Shut up Potter,” Pansy said through her smile, her hand tightening around Neville’s wrist as he attempted to move away, “you would know if you weren’t wanted.”
Hermione nudged Harry in the ribs, Harry swung his head to look at Hermione as the camera flash went off. Theo snorted as Blaise groaned, knowing that the photo would not be as desired.
“Cuci, un altro per favore?” Blaise asked, willing everyone to stay silent and still.
With a great sigh the Cuci aimed the camera back at the group, counting down from three this time, before taking their first successful Christmas group photo.
“Grazie Cuci,” Blaise thanked the elf as he retrieved the camera. Cuci disappeared from the room, expertly avoiding being roped into another festive tradition.
Hermione wandlesly vanished the wrapping paper and other miscellaneous festive detritus from the room with the click of her fingers. She then picked up Teddy and excused herself from the group, “It’s nap time for us, I’ll come back out once he is settled. What is next on our Christmas agenda?”
“The weather is fair and the pool is heated, I thought a Christmas swim before a late lunch would be nice.” Blaise replied while collecting all of his presents.
“Perfect, I’ll pop on my swimmers and then join you.” Hermione smiled before leaving the room, Teddy on one hip and a pile of presents levitating behind her.
The living room gradually emptied as the rest of the group took their queue from Hermione, and everyone got dressed into their swimmers for a Christmas swim. As Theo left his room ready for the next activity, he spotted Harry exiting his room a few doors down. Harry laughed as he looked up to see Theo walking towards him and raised his wand, conjuring a mistletoe to hover above Theo’s head.
“That won’t disappear until you find someone to kiss,” Harry laughed.
Theo raised an eyebrow, challenging Harry, “Do you know anyone who might be able to help me out?”
Harry took a few steps towards Theo, “Maybe.”
Theo smiled as Harry stopped in front of him, his eyes sparkling with mirth as Harry raised an eyebrow, mimicking Theo’s earlier expression.
Harry leaned towards Theo, closing his eyes, as he brushed his lips against Theo’s, Theo closed his eyes, letting out a low moan, wrapping his arms around Harry leaning further into the kiss.
Sunday
December 27, 1998
2:16pm
Theo sat on the couch watching Greg and Harry play a game of Gobstones after lunch, a calm had settled around the villa post Christmas. Everyone was enjoying taking the time to relax and re-energise before the festive season was over. Blaise was reviewing his estate statements, a slight frown on his face. His mother had gifted him half of the family wineries in Italy for Christmas, it looked like he was still trying to decide if it was a blessing or a curse. Hermione had taken Teddy for a nap, likely sneaking in a kip or a few chapters of the naughty romance book she thought no one knew about. Pansy had taken Neville for a tour of the gardens, or so she claimed. Theo smiled, taking in the scene before him, raising his glass to his lips in contemplative silence. As he opened his mouth to take a sip, a scream shattered the peace, Theo spilled half his drink as Pansy ran into the room in a state of panic.
“What is it?” Blaise asked, as four sets of eyes landed on Pansy.
“It’s Draco! I just got this letter from Daphne. Here.” Pansy flung the letter at Blaise, sitting down at the table.
Neville had followed Pansy into the room, a look of concern on his face as he sat down at the table and grasped her hand. Blaise cleared his throat and relayed the message to the group.
“Draco and Astoria have left the UK, they got eloped on Boxing Day before going to America. Apparently MUCASA and the ministry have come to an arrangement to uphold the Wizengamot’s conditions. Astoria’s application was approved on medical grounds and Draco was included in the application once they were married.”
A stunned silence fell upon the room.