Christmas Story 2018 - In the Spirit, part 13 (H/D)

Title: In the Spirit – Part 13
Author: sesheta_66
Prompts used: slythindor100’s early bird prompt 20: reindeer thong (picture under the cut) and dracoharry100’s prompts 8: Christmas baking and 25: Christmas dinner with friends
Word Count: 1.1K
Rating: PG-13, for now
Warning: none
Summary: Harry had a rough Christmas last year, to say the least. But things are looking up this year, and he plans to embrace the season, even if he is still single.
Disclaimer: Harry Potter characters are the property of J.K. Rowling and Bloomsbury/Scholastic. No profit is being made, and no copyright infringement is intended.
Author's Notes: Written for the slythindor100 Early Bird 25 Days of Draco and Harry and the dracoharry100 Christmas Challenge.

On LJ: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12

OR on AO3



In the Spirit – Part 13

"Got a minute?" Harry nearly jumped at the sound of Ron’s voice at his door. He’d been immersed in the latest reports in the niffler jewellery theft case. It had all the signs of being an amateur job, yet the culprit had continued to elude his team.

He tossed the file away in disgust. "Sure, what’s up?"

Ron shrugged. "Not much. Just wondering if you feel like grabbing lunch later. Hermione made her famous tuna casserole last night and I have leftovers today."

Harry laughed. "Enough said." Hermione’s casserole was famous, but for all the wrong reasons. "Hey, at least you can toss it and not be worried you’ll get it as leftovers tonight."

"Too true. So, you free for lunch? I’ve got a taste for an overstuffed deli sandwich."

Harry’s stomach growled in response and he realised he hadn’t eaten anything since he’d shovelled a couple of pieces of toast down his throat this morning. He’d been up half the night and when he had slept, he’d had odd dreams. Ones that woke him, but hadn’t lingered long enough or clearly enough for him to make heads or tails of them. All he did remember was blond hair and grey eyes and why the hell was Malfoy haunting his dreams now too? When his alarm had gone that morning, he’d thrown it unceremoniously across the room and, as a result, had been late getting up.

"Yeah," he said, running a hand over his face, hoping that might help him shed the grogginess. "I could do with something. Sooner rather than later, if you can get away early."

"Had a rough night?" Ron asked, giving him the once over, clearly looking for signs of a night out. Harry sensed a bit of envy, if he wasn’t mistaken. Ron hadn’t joined the regulars for their pints too often since Rose had come along, and though he hid it well, and most of the time loved being with his family, there were times it got to him. Not for any nefarious reason, just to have a night out with the boys. And Harry, being single, represented the freedom that every once in a while Ron craved.

"Nothing exciting, I’m afraid." Harry picked up his mug only to discover it was empty. He put it down. "Just couldn’t sleep."

That seemed to cheer Ron up a bit. "Ah, well, I feel your pain. There’s nothing quite like having a kid in the house to deprive someone of a good night’s sleep."

Harry remembered all too well how Teddy had been as a baby, and he’d had his fair share of sleepless nights as a result. Truth be told, Harry didn’t mind that one bit – being deprived of a good night’s sleep, under the right circumstances, wasn’t such a bad thing. "Alas, no child, no booze and no wild night. Just restless, I suppose."

"Alright, then. I’ll swing by just before noon and we can head to the deli, yeah?"

***

They got their sandwiches and sat down at the end of the counter. Harry dove into his beef and cheese melt with such fervour he might nearly have beaten Ron for the most disgusted look earned from Hermione, but he didn’t care. He was famished.

Ron snorted. "Hungry much?"

Harry grinned and took another bite. "Only had toast this morning."

Ron shuddered, no doubt shocked that any grown man would choose to forego any meal. "So, what are you bringing to Luna’s on Saturday?"

Each year, their group of friends got together for a potluck Christmas dinner and this year was Luna’s turn to host. "Hadn’t thought about it, to be honest."

"Well, if you wanted to bring those meatballs of yours, you won’t get any complaints from me."

Those ‘meatballs of his’ were actually from a Muggle restaurant in Canterbury. He’d had them one night when he was working on a case down that way and had been thrilled to find that they sold a frozen version of the meatballs along with jars of their sauce. Harry just tossed the lot into a slow cooker, like the waitress had recommended, and a couple hours later, voila! Instant ‘home cooked’ meal that everyone raved about. He’d never let anyone in on his secret before and likely never would.

"Yeah, I suppose I could cobble together a pot of those."

"And your Christmas cookies?"

Harry chuckled. "Sure, why not?" He didn’t have anything pressing going on in the next couple of days, besides work, so he could do some Christmas baking. He’d loved Christmas ever since his first year at Hogwarts, and he liked to make the easy-but-always-a-hit sugar cookies cut into all sorts of shapes.

"Remember the year George transfigured them all into ‘twinkling willies’ and Mum nearly gave him a concussion thwacking him over the head?"

Harry laughed. "I’d forgotten about that."

Ron shoulders shook as he bit into his sandwich. "Good times."

"Speaking of Christmas cocks," Harry said. Ron laughed when a woman who’d sat down next to Harry tutted. He lowered his voice and continued. "I was out shopping yesterday and saw these for sale." He pulled out his camera, scrolled to the picture he’d taken in the ‘discrete’ section and showed it to Ron.



Ron choked on a mouthful. "Warning, mate!"

"What, ‘Christmas cocks’ wasn’t enough of a warning?" The woman tutted again.

Ignoring Harry’s comment and the woman, Ron took a large gulp of his drink and looked again at the picture. "I’ll assume you meant the getup was for sale, not the man."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Obviously."

"Tell me you didn’t buy that."

"Course not. I’ve no reason to, have I? Just thought it was hilarious."

"For the love of all things holy, don’t show George. He’ll have us all opening one of those Christmas Day in front of Mum."

Harry chuckled, picturing both Arthur’s and Molly’s faces. "I dunno. It might be fun, if only to see her whack George over the head again."

"Promise me," he said, now sounding desperate. He shifted in his seat. "That thing doesn’t look too comfortable."

Harry, suspecting Ron might not be far off the mark to imagine Hermione expecting him to wear it, laughed again. "Deal," he said, "but you owe me." No sense letting an opportunity slip past him.

"Done."

They finished off their meal in silence, Harry trying very hard not to imagine a certain blond someone wearing a reindeer thong.

Part 14