The Greatest Love, The Highest Sacrifice

"You want to know why Sirius kissed Norri, Ginny?" came a voice from everyone's left. "You want the truth? Well, the truth is that Sirius Black didn't kiss Norri tonight - I did."

Chapter 14 - A Season to Be Jolly

Truly, to tell lies is not honourable;
but when the truth entails tremendous ruin,
to speak dishonourably is pardonable.

Sophocles, Creusa

As Draco's words resounded around the almost-empty common room, he was met with five shocked faces - and Norri's was the most shocked of all.

"Draco?" Norri said in total confusion. She was too bewildered to feel relief at what was definitely a life-saving distraction.

"You kissed Norri?" Harry asked in disbelief.

"There had better be a good explanation for this, Malfoy," Ginny said frostily.

"Ooh, I like this," Ron murmured, looking with smug satisfaction from Draco to Ginny and back again.

Hermione was the only one who did not comment; she was too busy looking at Norri's shell-shocked face and coming to conclusions of her own. But she wasn't about to share them with anyone else. Not just yet, anyway.

"Yes, I kissed Norri. And yes, there is a good explanation for it. That is, if you all care to shut up, sit down and listen," Draco added as Harry, Ron and Ginny all began speaking at once.

There was instant silence, and Draco took the opportunity to enter through the common room window and clamber off his broom. After resting his Nimbus against the wall, the Head Boy sat down on one of the empty couches.

"Let me explain," he said calmly. "Three weeks ago, I made a bet - a bet which was worth one hundred Galleons. The terms were simple: if Harry Potter kissed Elsie Norr before Sirius Black did, then my payment was forfeit. But if Black kissed her first, then I won the hundred Galleons."

"And who was this ridiculous bet with?" Ginny asked scathingly.

"Your brothers," was Draco's reply.

"Fred and George?" Ron asked incredulously. "You made a bet like that with Fred and George?"

"Obviously." Draco crossed his arms across his chest, looking smug.

"Not quite so obvious," Ginny retorted, and before anyone could say or do anything, she grabbed a handful of powder and threw it onto the fire. "Parlus directus momentis Weirds and Wonders," she cried.

"Yes?" asked Fred's sleepy head a moment later.

"Hello Fred," Ginny said, clearly unrepentant at having woken her older brother up. "Didn´t you make a bet with Draco Malfoy that Harry would kiss Elsie before Sirius Black did?"

"Yes, why?" asked George, pushing Fred aside. He looked no more awake than his twin, but for all that his eyes were focused sharply on Ginny, as if her answer was of great importance to him.

"Because," Ginny said shrilly, "Malfoy is sitting here, in our common room, telling us that he kissed Norri tonight - not Sirius!"

"Why Malfoy, you little rat!" Fred exploded. "You deliberately altered things so that you could win that bet. How did you manage it - a private collection of Polyjuice potion?"

"Pretty close," Draco acknowledged, unruffled by Fred's fury. "Snape has a supply of it handy for emergencies when the teachers get sick."

"I don't believe you, Malfoy!" George's head yelled through the flames. "To cheat...on a bet like that!"

"I am a Slytherin, remember?" Draco´s words were clipped, haughty, and to the others staring angrily at him, he suddenly became the Draco Malfoy they remembered: cold, cruel, sneering - the ultimate Slytherin.

"As if we could forget," Ginny said bitterly. "And I suppose she was in on this too?" she asked, turning to glare at Norri.

Norri could only stammer a soft "No," and shake her head.

"Don't be daft!" Draco exclaimed, showing the first signs of annoyance. "She had no idea - until after I kissed her, when I told her it was really me. Why else do you think she disappeared?"

"Guilt!" Ginny shrieked.

"Ginny!" Harry said reprovingly, only to receive the brunt of her anger.

"And wouldn't you like to know why my brothers had this stupid bet with Draco, Harry?" she yelled at him. "How they came up with it in the first place? I know I´m extremely interested in finding out."

"That's a good question," Harry said, his face a shade paler than it had been a moment before. "Fred? George? Care to answer that one?"

Fred and George looked uncomfortably at Harry, then at Norri, before replying.

"Well, you see Harry," George said slowly. "Draco was in here at Hogsmeade the other week and you came up in our conversation. You know he's never liked you -"

"Believe me, the feeling's mutual," Harry said savagely, glaring at Draco.

"Yes, well," Fred continued, "the thing is that Draco seemed to think that you had a thing for Norri. But he reckoned you'd never have the guts to do anything about it. He said anyone - even your godfather - was more likely to try and kiss Norri than you were."

"And we disagreed," George added. "Obviously."

"So we made a bet," Draco took over from the twins, totally unaffected by the hostility emanating towards him. "My wager was that Sirius Black - who seemed the most unlikely candidate around - would try to kiss Norri before you did. And the Weasleys backed you."

"So it was only a bet over who would try to kiss Norri first?" Hermione asked, suddenly interested.

"Well, yes," Fred replied. "We figure that no one would actually kiss her, considering she wasn't interested in either of them. Uh, that is, she didn't seem interested in either of them," he amended when he saw Harry's face fall.

Harry opened his mouth to say something else, but this time Norri beat him to it.

"A bet? I was a bet between you three? For a hundred Galleons? And just what were you planning to do with that enormous sum of money?" Norri´s tone had begun as one of disbelief. But as she continued, her voice became shrill, then a tad hysterical.

Draco was quicker to the mark than either of the twins. "Actually, I don't think you really need to know -"

"You're in it up to your ears anyway, Malfoy," George interrupted. "You may as well let them know everything now." He looked from Draco to where the others were standing. "You see, Draco had overheard Ginny complaining to Elsie that she didn't have anything to wear to the Yule Ball. And he wanted to help her, but he knew she'd be too proud to take any money from him. So the agreement was that, regardless of who actually won the bet, the winnings would go towards taking Ginny on a visit to Madam Malkins. The time limit was Christmas Day, you understand. And if neither party won the bet, we each put in fifty Galleons, so Ginny would still have her dress."

Draco interrupted again. "I didn't think it was likely that either Potter or Black would try anything. But when I realised there would be mistletoe at this stupid Gryffindor party of yours, I was worried that Potter would use the excuse to bolster the little courage he actually has. So, I used the Polyjuice, pretended to hang out with Lupin for a while and - hey presto! Bet won."

"You might have won the bet, Draco," Norri said in freezing accents. "But I'd be worried about what you've lost as well. Something more important than dress robes and Galleons."

And before anyone could stop her, she stalked out of the common room and up the stairs to the female dorms.

"I don't see why she's so unhappy," Ginny muttered.

"Well, wouldn't you be?" Hermione replied, her tone a little sharp. "Your boyfriend - or practically that, anyway - pecked another girl on the lips so he could win you a set of dress robes. Norri's love life got kicked around by a bunch of highly inconsiderate males."

"So did mine, for that matter," Harry said quietly, but everyone shot to attention at his words.

"I'm not about to apologise to you, Potter," Draco said, shooting a glance at Ginny as he did so.

"I'm not expecting you to," Harry replied, absently looking in the direction Norri had gone. "If anything, I guess I should be thanking you. She certainly didn't deny that she doesn't like me. I suppose knowing that is not a bad thing."

Ron sighed, obviously familiar enough with his best friend's moods to know that Harry's despondence signalled a long night.

"Come on, Harry," he said cheerfully. "Let's take one of those passages down to Hogsmeade and go get drunk."

Surprisingly, Harry brightened up at this prospect.

"Yes," he agreed. "And then we can go beat some sense into your brothers."

Fred and George, still visible in the fireplace, were seen to swallow hastily.

"Right then," George said nervously. "I guess we'll see you two in a couple of hours? Cheerio, you lot."

Their heads disappeared, but not before Fred's shot back into view one last time.

"Oh, and Malfoy? Your bet's forfeit."

And then they were both gone.

"Well, we're off too," Ron announced. "Are you going to come, Hermione?"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "And get smashed with you two? No, thank you." She waited until Ron and Harry had departed before turning to Ginny and Draco. "I think I'll go and check on Norri for a bit. Try not to blow anything up, you two." And with that piece of maternal advice, she also disappeared, leaving Draco and Ginny alone in the common room.

***

"Well, that went well, didn´t it?" Draco asked inanely after an extremely awkward silence had descended.

Ginny, curled up in a sofa opposite him, glared at him without deigning to say anything in reply.

"Oh, come on Ginny, don´t freeze up on me now! Okay, I agree, kissing Norri was one of my less intelligent ideas. But I did it for you - for the Yule Ball. Don´t you understand what I did - why I did it?"

"What I understand," Ginny enunciated carefully and frigidly, "is that you had too much of a problem with me being poor to trust that I would turn up at the Yule Ball dressed well enough for you to be seen with me."

She didn´t let him defend himself, but continued her diatribe. "I can just see you now, thinking about it. Poor little Ginny, destitute because her silly family has too many children and not enough money. If I get money for her to have a dress, I won´t be ashamed of having her as my partner at the Yule Ball - I might just manage to keep face with the other Slytherins. Perhaps if I dress the ragamuffin Weasley up enough, I won´t have to compromise my haughty Malfoy pride!"

As Ginny spoke, her voice increased in volume until she was screaming at Draco, totally uncaring of the fact that they were in the middle of the Gryffindor common room at nearly five in the morning, that everyone was trying to sleep after a late night of celebrations and were unlikely to appreciate being awakened, or that their very personal discussion could be observed by any person who happened to appear.

Draco, much to his chagrin, felt himself beginning to get angry, defensive.

It´s quite ridiculous, really

, he thought to himself ruefully. I´m getting hauled over the coals for something I didn´t even do! He conveniently chose to forget that, though he certainly hadn´t kissed Norri, the bet with Fred and George - which was what had angered Ginny the most - was real, and would have made him a decent sum of money if he´d kept his mouth shut and let Norri get into trouble.

His mind was drawn from his own self-pitying thoughts back to the girl in front of him - who, if it was possible, was even angrier than she had been moments before.

"And you´re not even listening to me!" she yelled at him. "Why do I bother when - when - oh, what´s the use?"

And to Draco´s amazement, shock, and horror, Ginny turned her head away from him and burst into tears.

And not just heart-broken, guilt-inducing tears.

No, she was going for the real thing; deep, rasping, ugly sobs, long sniffles as she tried to make up for the fact that she obviously had nothing with which to wipe her nose, and great blubbering noises mixed in with everything else.

Draco stared at her helplessly. The only two girls he´d ever seen crying before were Norri and his mother - and they were both quite different from this girl...whom, he realised suddenly, he was absolutely crazy about.

"Come on, Ginny," he said softly, getting up from his chair and going over to sit on the arm of her sofa. "It´s not that bad, is it?"

To his alarm, she didn´t even yell at him for being an inconsiderate male. She just hiccupped a little and turned away from him.

"Ginny," Draco begged, now seriously worried that he had blown it. Big-time. He placed one hand on her shoulder and the other underneath her chin, guiding her face back until it met his gaze. "Ginny, please."

She looked up at him. Her eyes were red and puffy, her nose had not quite stopped running, and she looked a mess. But Draco had never thought her more beautiful.

"Do you have any idea," she said slowly, her voice hitching a little, "how humiliating that was for me? As if it wasn´t bad enough that you kissed my best friend -" she broke off for a moment, unable to continue "- but it was all because of some stupid bet to buy me clothes? Do you know how that makes me feel? And now you expect me to just sit here and accept the funny side of the whole thing, and to forgive you - just like that?"

She did not wait for him to answer, but ploughed on ahead.

"To be fair, it´s not just tonight that bothers me. Charlie´s not here - not for Christmas, or the Yule Ball. And Norri and I are constantly bickering, and it´s almost always my fault, which makes me feel horrible, but I can´t quite stop myself. And I missed you tonight at the party, and I was so looking forward to the Ball. But now I find out that you´re...ashamed of me. So much so that you´ll get it on with someone you don´t feel anything for, just so I can wear a dress you that won´t embarrass you."

"No,"

Draco interrupted fiercely, taking her face and cradling it in his hands. "No, that´s not it at all! I would never be ashamed of you, even if you turned up to the Ball in rags. But Norri told me how much you wanted something beautiful to wear. And I knew you´d be too proud to accept anything from me. So I thought, if the money came from Fred and George, it would be easier for you to accept it."

He stopped, looked away for a moment.

"I´m not going to deny that I made the bet because I loathe Potter," he said resolutely, "even though I know it makes you angry with me. The truth is that for me the bet was more about showing him up than anything else. And that doesn´t say much for me, but it´s a little better than being such an obnoxious snob that I have to approve of my girlfriend´s clothes."

He looked back at Ginny, saw her eyes widened and stare at his intently.

"Is that what you think I am, Draco?" she asked, almost in a whisper. "Your girlfriend?"

Draco thought frantically, knowing that if he said yes, chances were that she would throw it back in his face. But he couldn´t be anything less than honest with her.

"That´s what I want you to be," he answered huskily.

She looked at him for a second, then smiled slowly.

"Well, then," she murmured, "that must be what I am."

And leaning forward, she gently brushed her lips against his.

Draco froze for a moment, shocked. Then, his heart racing, he leaned into Ginny and returned the kiss, his hands still cupping her face, lifting her towards him.

Some minutes later, as he trailed kisses along her jaw and up towards her ear, Ginny spoke.

"Draco?" she asked, her voice a little breathier than usual.

"Mmm?" he answered, thoroughly distracted.

"Promise me you won´t make bets or kiss my friends ever again?"

He grinned against her ear lobe and she gasped.

"That tickles!" she squealed.

He moved away a little, and laughed. Then he moved to face her, and his expression was utterly serious.

"Ginny," he said. "I promise. No bets. No kisses - for your friends, that is. Ever again."

She smiled joyfully. "Good!" she exclaimed, then looked at him questioningly.

Draco noticed her ears were turning pink.

"Umm, now that that´s all settled - um, well - could you kiss me again?"

***

"Norri?" Hermione asked uncertainly, standing at the entrance to the dorm that her friend shared with Ginny. "Can I come in?"

"Sure," came a muffled voice from the far corner of the room.

Hermione moved forward, looking to see where Norri was sitting. She wasn´t on her bed or at her desk. Finally, she spotted her, sitting on the windowsill, half-hidden behind the curtain.

"Are you okay?" Hermione asked, not sure exactly what she was going to say now that she was here.

"Why wouldn´t I be?" Norri laughed bitterly.

Hermione winced.

Sitting down on the edge of Norri´s bed, she said quietly, "I know. It was really tough. And it must have been so confusing for you, thinking it was Sirius and all," she added shrewdly, looking carefully to see her friend´s reaction to this last statement.

Norri sighed.

It was a sad sound - bitter, defeated and bleak all at once. As if she had no hope left.

"It was Sirius," she said calmly.

"What?" Hermione exclaimed.

She was not surprised to discover the truth; indeed, she had suspected the truth from the moment she had seen Norri´s shocked face at Draco´s announcement. But she had not been expecting Norri to reveal what had really happened so easily, or with so little feeling.

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked cautiously.

"It was Sirius who kissed me," Norri explained, as if talking to a very small child.

"Then why did Draco say it was him?" Hermione enquired.

Norri grimaced.

"Because Ginny would have hated me if she´d known the truth. She´s already mad at me most of the time, and this would have been the final straw. And because Draco knew how hard it would be for Harry to relax with Sirius over Christmas, thinking the whole time that he had been the one to kiss me. So he lied for me."

"You mean, the whole thing wasn´t real?" Hermione asked in amazement. "The bet, the hundred galleons, Fred and George being furious with him - none of that was real?"

Norri smiled cynically.

"Oh, that was real all right. At least, I´m convinced it was. I had no idea, though it makes sense in a twisted kind of way."

Hermione squirmed a little, uncomfortable with a Norri who was so different from her normal, cheerful, personality. For a moment she considered asking Norri why Sirius had kissed her, if indeed it had really been him. But she knew instinctively that a question like that could ruin any chance she had of getting Norri to share her feelings, and so she steered clear of that topic altogether.

"But why would Draco let Ginny think that he kissed you?" she asked, trying to come to terms with something a little safer.

Norri shrugged.

"In different circumstances, what he claimed could have been quite literal. I mean, it´s not like any of us are old enough to be talking life-long commitment or anything, right?" She chuckled, but there was no humour in her tunes. "Besides, you know what Metastasio said: `The faith of lovers is like the Arabian phoenix; everyone says it exists but no one knows where it is.´ You could apply that to the faith of friends too, actually," she concluded thoughtfully.

Hermione had been lost in abstraction at Norri´s obscure Muggle literary comment - not that it was surprising; it happened often enough to her - but she bristled at this barbed reference to faithless friends.

"I take offence to that," she snapped.

"Sorry," Norri replied, and turned to face the other girl for the first time. "I don´t mean it - not really, anyway," she amended. "It´s just that everything seems so impossible now. Everyone´s fighting and angry and hurt, and Christmas is only two days away. Nothing seems to be right, and I don´t know how to fix it!" she finished, her frustration evident in her voice.

"Don´t worry," Hermione replied soothingly. "You´re not meant to fix everything. And if it helps, you should know that Ron´s taken Harry off to Hogsmeade to recover."

"By getting drunk?" Norri said wryly. "How intelligent."

"They´re guys," Hermione said calmly, and Norri grinned at her. "And," she continued smugly, "Draco and Ginny are currently kissing and making up on the sofa in the common room."

"Are you sure?" Norri asked in confusion. "How can you tell?"

Hermione smiled gleefully. "Because I left a Scryer downstairs that would show the common room on your mirror - and look!"

Norri turned around and gazed for a moment at what the mirror was showing. Then she blushed, and darkened the scene with a hasty wave of her wand.

"You see," Hermione said placidly, "things aren´t really that bad. Go to sleep, and it´ll all be better in the morning."

"It is the morning," Norri said, smiling.

Hermione laughed, and headed for the door.

"You know what I mean!"

***

Why people all fussed about stupid Yule Ball me not understand

, Ra'ed complained to Draco the next day. Santa Christmas coming one day sleeps!

"That's Father Christmas or Santa Claus, Ra'ed," Draco answered absently, not bothering with mind speech because there was no one else anywhere near the dragon nest.

Draco know what means Ra'ed

, was the sulky reply.

"Yes, I know," Draco said, taking a moment to pat the little dragon on the head before returning to what he was doing. "And you know that the only reason I correct you is because you have to learn how to speak properly. It's part of growing up."

Ra'ed happy as is

, the kit responded defiantly.

"Yes, well, don't worry about it too much - you've a long way to go until you get as big as Cináed. Now, stop distracting me! You're all excited about Christmas Day, but you won't let me concentrate on getting this gift finished for Norri."

Draco delazy

, Ra'ed commented slyly. Norri finished Draco present week flown by.

"You either mean delayed, late, or lazy, and I'm none of those, thank you very much. I was waiting for a particular ingredient, and it only arrived last night." Then Draco processed the other half of what his familiar had told him. "And how do you know what Norri's Christmas present for me is?"

Ra'ed saw

, the kit replied. And Draco no asking - Ra'ed no telling.

"I had a feeling you might say that," was Draco's disgruntled response, before he firmly shut the dragon's chatter out of his mind and concentrated on the task at hand. After all, Ra'ed was right. There were only two more days until Christmas.

***

Christmas morning dawned brightly. The winter sun that shone down on Hogwarts was pale, but compared to the bucketing rain of the preceding weeks, the weak rays were as welcome as high summer.

Norri woke to the bouncing of three small creatures on her bed. Blurry-eyed, she glared at Macaire, Mele and Ra'ed, told them to go bother someone else, and buried herself under the covers again. But the young trio were having none of it.

This our first Christmas!

Mele thought excitedly at Norri, easily bypassing the hearing barrier that the blankets posed. We want now see everything!

Norri groaned. You saw it all yesterday, she grumbled, intent on staying in bed as long as possible. There's nothing different to see.

But Father Christmas come!

Ra'ed bounced on the spot where the covers hid Norri's head.

And presents left!

Mele added excitedly.

And you?

Norri asked Macaire, defeatedly lifting the covers so she could see the trio. Macaire was seated placidly on the edge of the bed, a marked contrast between the two dragon kits. Aren't you all excited as well?

There's no need to get acerbic with me, thank you very much

, Macaire answered imperturbably, his dragon-tongue snaking out to clean an already pristine paw. I don't place much stock in Father Christmas. That's not what it's all about in the end.

You don't need to remind me of that

, Norri answered fervently, her mind briefly drawn back to the days when Christmas meant morning service with her parents, and later her grandfather, at the little old church where she had been christened. The vicar, the carols, the choir, the holly decorating the pews, the Nativity scene....

But waking Norri your idea

, Mele said to Macaire in naive confusion, and Norri's reverie was broken by a strong sense of annoyance at her familiar, who was glaring at Ginny's kit.

Why, you little -

Before you decide to kill me

, Macaire advised as Norri reached out to take him by the scruff of the neck, you might want to consider that now is the perfect time to give Draco his Christmas present. Before anyone is awake enough to ask uncomfortable questions...

Much as she was loath to acknowledge Macaire's point, Norri had to admit that her infuriating familiar was right. Asking Ra'ed to fetch Draco and tell him to meet her in the Astronomy Tower, she clambered out of bed, careful not to disturb a sleeping Ginny.

What if she wakes up and follows me?

she asked Macaire warily as she dressed. You know how edgy she's been with me lately.

Don't worry

, Macaire replied reassuringly. I'll stay here and make sure that doesn´t happen.

Thanks!

Norri breathed with relief. Then she grabbed one of the festively-wrapped parcels that sat on her desk and headed out the door, a bouncing Mele following excitedly behind her.

***

"Norri, are you in here?" Draco asked from the entrance of the Astronomy Tower.

"Yeah - come on up!" Norri's voice echoed down the stairs.

Moments later, Draco emerged from the winding staircase into the Observatory room. He looked around him with a mixture of fondness and exasperation. The last time he had been in this room had been after Norri nearly destroyed half the Tower´s contents - for which Charlie Weasley had given him a month of detentions.

Looking over at where Norri was sitting comfortably in an armchair, Draco grinned.

"It looks good, doesn´t it?" he asked.

"Of course. Why wouldn´t it?" Norri replied, and then, realizing to what he was referring, she flushed a little. "I did apologise for all that, didn´t I?"

"At some point or another, I think you did, yes," Draco responded, entering the room with Ra´ed on his shoulder. "Oh, and speaking of apologies - I´m sorry about the bet."

He stood there in front of her, looking a little uncomfortable. They hadn´t discussed what had happened in the two days since the Gryffindor Christmas party, but Draco knew that they had to get the issue out of the way, or their friendship would never be the same.

Norri grinned wryly.

"No apologies needed," she said calmly. "After all, I should be thanking you. You saved me from a great many uncomfortable questions about Sirius. And you weren´t to know that Harry ever actually meant to kiss me, so I can´t really blame you."

Draco shrugged, looking as if he was about to speak, but Norri forestalled him. "Besides, I guess I should accept the fact that you´re still a Slytherin - just a good one. Bets like that are part of life - especially if you know Fred and George," she laughed, and he knew for certain that everything was all right. Taking Ra´ed from his shoulder, he pulled his gift for her out of his robes.

Norri eyed the elegantly wrapped and beribboned present in Draco´s hands with a good measure of surprise.

"Why, Draco, I didn´t know you were the domestic-artistic type," she joked.

To her surprise and delight, Draco actually blushed.

"I´m not," he mumbled. "Mater did it for me."

"That is so sweet!" Norri said, then choked up a little with memories of her own mother at Christmas time.

"Yeah, well, it´s not just to look at," Draco muttered, obviously still embarrassed, and he dumped the present in Norri´s lap before sitting in the armchair opposite hers. "So open it."

Norri carefully unwrapped the present, ignoring Ra´ed and Mele, who ordered her excitedly to hurry things up. As the first edition Tennyson was revealed, she gasped with delight.

"Draco, it´s - it´s - "

"Yeah, yeah, it´s a book," he quipped, grinning at her excitement. "I figured you´d like something that has nothing to do with all the stuff that´s happening just now - something that you could just enjoy."

"It´s perfect!" Norri beamed, and leaned over to hug him.

"Good thing Macaire´s not here," he huffed, blushing again. "He´s not into all this sentimental stuff."

"You look like Ron - all pink-eared," Norri teased, then sat back in her own chair, leaving Draco with his present.

"It´s nothing expensive," she warned as he started ripping at the paper. "Just something I thought you would like."

"Nothing expensive!" Draco said slowly as he held up his present, his face wreathed in smiles. "Norri, you couldn´t buy this from me for all the gold in the world!"

"I found it among some stuff of my sister´s," Norri explained as Draco continued to stare at the black-and-white photo of his mother that Norri had placed in a silver frame. "Lily loved Muggle photography, and I reckon that was one of her best shots."

"She´s gorgeous, isn´t she?" Draco asked rhetorically as he drank in a younger, happier version of the mother he adored. "I hardly ever see her that happy anymore," he added sadly.

Norri ruffled his hair reassuringly.

"Don´t worry. You´ll see her like this all the time soon. I promise."

"Yeah. Thanks so much, Norri," Draco repeated as he reverently put the photo back in its wrapping paper.

"Hang on. I´ve got something else for you," Norri said. "Just give me a moment to distract these two." She yanked a handful of Flying Fizz-Whizzes from her robes pocket and threw them past Mele and Ra´ed, who immediately flew off after them with squeals of delight.

"Something else?" Draco asked, confused.

"Well, it´s not exactly a Christmas present," Norri explained, pulling something out of her other pocket. "But I guess now is as good a time as any to give it to you. Here, take this."

And she handed Draco a silver chain with a small, solid cylinder in its centre.

"Put it on," she urged, and Draco obediently fastened the chain.

"You know, jewellery´s not really my thing, Norri," he said dubiously, fingering the chain tentatively.

"It´s not jewellery," Norri laughed. "It´s magic. Very powerful magic at that."

"What is it?" asked Draco.

"It´s called an Amorandis Charm," Norri explained. "It´s part of blood magic, incredibly ancient, and it´s meant to protect the person who wears it from the Unforgivable Curses."

"That´s all well and good," Draco said pensively. "But you and I aren´t related...are we?" he asked suddenly, realising how many people Norri was actually related to.

"No, of course not!" she grinned. "But it´s not that kind of blood magic. You could hardly use it for anyone if it only worked like that. Here." Norri leaned over and took the cylinder between her fingers. "This holds my fingerprint - and my blood. Both are mixed into the silver, and fused there with my personal magic. When I give you the charm freely and you put it on, it protects you."

"How?" Draco asked uncertainly. His gaze narrowed as Norri sat back in her chair and looked down at her book of Tennyson. "Norri..."

She looked up at him carefully, gauging what his reaction would be, then shrugged.

"The Amorandis Charm works by deflecting any Unforgivable Curses from the wearer to the person who gave the charm."

"Oh no!" Draco exclaimed, his fingers going to the catch of the chain. "No way am I putting you in danger of something like that!" He fiddled with the chain for a few seconds, then looked up again. "How do I get this thing off?"

Norri smiled.

"Only the person who made the Amorandis Charm can remove it, once the wearer has put it on. And no," she continued resolutely as Draco opened his mouth, "I´m not going to take it off you."

"Damn it, Norri, what if someone decides to practice the Killing Curse on me? What if I fail my NEWTS and Dad decides I need a touch of the Cruciatus to improve my academic performance?"

"The Killing Curse is the only curse which the Amorandis Charm doesn´t fully deflect. It splits it in half, so that both people share the spell; basically, it´s like being under a really strong version of the Cruciatus. And as for the Cruciatus in general - " she shrugged. "I´ve had it before."

"I don´t believe this!" Draco seethed.

"If it makes you feel better," Norri said, not at all bothered by her friend´s ungrateful response, "Professor Snape and Sirius also have them."

"From you?" asked Draco, and then swore when she nodded. "Damn it Norri, when are you going to realise that it´s not your job to save the world? I´m surprised you haven´t made one for everyone you know!"

"They´re very difficult to make," Norri retorted, unruffled. "And besides, Harry and Grandfather are both protected by normal blood magic."

"Why me?" Draco asked after a moment´s silence.

"Because you´re one of the people most likely to be in harm´s way, considering your Dad and Justin, and how close they are to Voldemort. And I wanted to give you a way to help your Mum, if you ever need to."

Draco absorbed this, then frowned as something else occurred to him.

"Why not Charlie?"

For the first time, Norri looked uncomfortable. Shifting in her seat, she searched for the right words to explain.

"When I broke off my engagement to Charlie," she finally replied, "I´d only just learnt how to make an Amorandis Charm. And I´d totally drained myself by making two at once - one for Sirius and one for Severus. I couldn´t have made another. And then, when I had my strength back, I had been disguised at Hogwarts as Elsie for nearly six months. Charlie was back in Rumania, apparently for good. He had Cináed - who is significant protection in himself - and I didn´t think he´d need anything more complicated."

"And now?" Draco persisted.

Norri sighed.

"I want to, Draco," she said tiredly. "But to appear as myself, just to give him the Charm, and then vanish again? If he doesn´t already hate me, that would definitely do it. Besides, keeping the Charm of Illusion in place for almost the whole day is draining enough as it is. After making you that charm, I don´t know how soon I´ll be able to do another one. So, not Charlie - not right now, anyway."

Remembering the photo Charlie kept in his office of Norri, Draco doubted that the Care of Magical Creatures professor could ever hate his ex-fiancée. But he could see Norri´s point, and so he kept his thoughts to himself.

"Have the other two been Cursed yet?" he asked Norri in an attempt to change the subject.

She nodded.

"A few times - mainly Snape, I think. If I´m lucky, it´s usually not too much to handle. It´s only when someone very strong is doing the Cursing that the pain is very bad. And distance makes a difference too."

Draco grinned lopsidedly. "So this is basically an excuse for us to spend less time together?" he joked, and Norri laughed.

"You could look at it like that, I guess," she chuckled, then stood up. "Come on. It´ll be breakfast soon, and I want to get back to my dorm before Ginny wakes up, so I can surprise her and exchange presents."

Draco nodded. "See you in the Hall then." He got to his feet, and then sprinted for the door. "Last one there gets the Snow Man spell!" he yelled as he disappeared down the stairs, and with a squeal of mock fury, Norri raced after him.

***

"Ginny?" Norri asked softly, shaking her best friend´s shoulder gently to wake her up. "Ginny, it´s Christmas Day!"

As Ginny mumbled and turned over in her sleep, Norri breathed a sigh of relief that her friend had not woken to find her missing.

Thanks

, she whispered to Macaire, who was still sitting at the end of her bed. I´m really lucky she was so tired.

Luck had nothing to do with it

, Macaire informed her imperiously. I kept her asleep.

You can do that?

Norri asked in awe. When Macaire nodded, she grinned at him. Then unsleep her, she said cheekily. Because now I need her awake!

Humans

, Macaire grumbled, sticking his tongue out at her. So fussy!

But in the next moment, Ginny opened her eyes and sat upright in her bed.

"Is it Christmas?" she asked abruptly, rubbing her eyes and then looking up to find Norri smiling down at her. "It is!" she said gleefully, and leapt out of bed. "Oh, it´s Christmas!" she sang, and capered around the room.

Watching her, Norri laughed.

"You´re as bad as Ra´ed and Mele," she said. "Like a little kid!"

"Well, it´s only once a year," Ginny retorted, grinning excitedly. She looked around the room for the dragon kits. "Where are they? The kits, I mean," she asked.

"They wouldn´t wait." Norri shrugged. "They´ve already gone down to the Great Hall for breakfast."

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Ginny asked, already reaching for her clothes. "Let´s go!"

***

Late that evening, after a long day filled with gift-giving, feasting, and general celebrations, everyone gathered round the fire in the Gryffindor common room. Ron was sitting in one of the armchairs, a rather pink Hermione on his lap.

"Ron!" she had cried when he first pulled her down on top of him. "I can´t sit here like this. I mean, it´s not proper. You know. After all, I´m the -"

" - the Head Girl, right?" Ron had asked, a note of sarcasm in his voice. "Quite frankly, Hermione, if you can´t loosen up on Christmas night, there´s something seriously wrong with you. I mean, no one´s here besides us."

"And Dean and Seamus and Lavender," Harry had interjected, grinning as Ron sent a glare in his direction. "Not to mention a few assorted second and third years. But seriously, Hermione," he continued, taking pity on his best friend, "Ron´s right. It´s not going to hurt anyone´s moral calibre to see you two enjoying each other´s company like that, just for one evening."

"Well, if you really think so," Hermione had cavilled. "What do you think, Norri?"

Norri had grinned at them, and Hermione had been pleased to note that she was more like the Norri they were all used to - cheerful and just a little cheeky.

"I think the guys are right," she had said solemnly, before looking at Ron with a twinkle in her eye. "However, Ron, I think you should realise that your little sister is going to take one look at you two and swiftly follow suit."

Which was exactly what happened.

Ginny and Draco entered the common room moments after Norri had announced her prediction and, after taking a careful look at Ron and Hermione, Draco had calmly sat down in the other spare armchair and dragged Ginny straight onto his lap, where she perched quite happily.

"Malfoy," Ron began warningly.

"Oh, do stow it, Ron," Harry interjected, drawing surprised looks from everyone present. "If you can do it, so can they."

"Uh, thanks Potter," Draco mumbled, clearly not happy to be forced into a position where he was in Harry´s debt.

"No worries!" Harry said cheerfully.

Everyone looked at his relaxed face in amazement. There was a moment´s silence and then Harry said, a touch of exasperation lacing his voice, "Honestly, everyone, get over it! Malfoy made a stupid bet. Fine - so did the twins. But, considering I´m certainly going to keep talking to them, I don´t see why I shouldn´t do the same for him."

Draco flushed a little. "Thanks, Potter," he said again, distinctly uncomfortable now.

"And Norri, you should do the same," Harry continued sternly, unaware that Norri and Draco had already come to an agreement about the bet. "After all, he was your friend first."

Norri nodded gravely, though Hermione and Draco both caught the glint of humour in her eyes. "You´re right, Harry," she said. "And Ron, now that Draco is Ginny´s boyfriend, you should make an effort to be nice to him too."

Everyone turned to regard Ron, who looked thoroughly disgruntled.

"Oh, all right!" he said finally, giving in without much grace.

"Friends, Weasley?" Draco asked dryly.

Ron grimaced.

"Or at least, not enemies?" Draco clarified, not at all bothered that Ron was still uncomfortable with the idea that he was dating Ginny. After all, he wasn´t yet at ease with the idea that he had to be nice to Ron.

"Not enemies," Ron agreed, and then grinned. "Happy Christmas, everyone!"

"Happy Christmas!" they chorused back.

And indeed, it was.