Yesterday, Today, Always
“Okay so we didn’t have a Christmas tree but then Pugsley said he wanted one and I just said I’d never had one before and then Gomez took us to the forest to cut down a tree! Can you believe it? We cut down a real tree and took it back to the house and then Morticia found a bunch of decorations for it! We put a skeleton head on the top, isn’t that amazing? And then on Christmas—”
“Breathe, Harry,” Wednesday murmured from behind her book. “You’re rambling.”
“Sorry.” Harry took a deep breathe and ducked his head, only for a moment, to hide his blush.
“I don’t mind,” Xavier said. He was sitting on the bench beside Harry, grinning placatingly at him. “It sounds like more of an interesting Christmas break than I had.”
“Ditto,” Tyler drawled. He had his head in Harry’s lap and his eyes closed while the sun shone on him and Harry carded his fingers through Tyler’s curls. He looked peaceful, but Harry knew he’d had a rough go of it with his dad since transferring schools.
“Did you go home at all?” Harry asked Tyler tentatively.
“Nope,” Tyler scoffed without opening his eyes. “I stayed here and celebrated Christmas with Principal Weems, Ares, and a couple of dumbasses that didn’t even talk to me.”
Xavier frowned just as Harry did to hear that. Harry knew kids were scared of Tyler, with the whole Hyde thing, but Harry thought maybe it would get better with time. Of course, Tyler hadn’t been there long, so Harry still had to hope he’d eventually feel more like one of them.
Tyler already started with more friends than Harry did though, and he didn’t complain too often, so Harry just needed to be patient. Eventually people would see Tyler as the witty and kind person that Harry knew.
“Sounds peaceful,” Wednesday said blandly in response to Tyler. “Harry and Pugsley were determined to make our home as loud and chaotic as possible.”
Our home.
Harry was beaming.
He’d never had a home before.
And he certainly didn’t try to make the Addams home loud or chaotic, but Pugsley had been excited to show Harry every inch of the grand house and Harry had been just as excited to show him his magic. Pugsley said they were brothers, and Harry figured they had years of brotherly things to catch up on.
“It was actually kind of gross because Ares and Weems are fucking, I think,” Tyler laughed.
“Ew!” Harry and Xavier both screamed with laughter at that idea.
Before anyone could argue over if Sirius was sleeping with their principal though, a boy came striding up to them looking straight at Harry. He was probably one of the new magical students, Harry thought he would have remembered seeing someone with his pale and pointed features and slicked back blonde hair.
“Hi,” Harry said when the boy came to a halt beside their table. “Are you new?”
“I am,” the boy said in a posh drawl. “My name is Draco Malfoy and you and I are roommates. You’re meant to show me to scheduling and to our room.”
“Great!” Harry was so happy - all of his life had clicked in place recently and he thought nothing could bring him down. “I’m Harry, this is Tyler, Xavier, and Wednesday.”
Tyler and Xavier raised their hands when Harry introduced them while Wednesday made no outward indication she could even hear them.
Draco curled his upper lip up in the corner and nodded his head. “Charmed, I’m sure.”
“You are,” Tyler said snarkily from Harry’s lap. “I’m sure.”
“Quit,” Harry admonished him gently. “Hop up, I need to go show Dracko our room.”
“Draco,” Draco corrected Harry while Tyler slowly lifted his head from Harry’s lap so Harry could get up.
“Sorry,” Harry said pleasantly, determined to get along better with Draco than he did Ajax. “Are you from Surrey? We’ve got similar accent, except Morticia says mine’s become more American. She says it’s charming, but I think she’s just saying that because she likes me. Oh, Morticia is Wednesday’s mum, but—”
Draco made a noise in the back of his throat while Harry guided him from the quad toward the recently repaired dormitory building.
“You talk a lot,” Draco said, giving Harry an unimpressed look from the corner of his eyes and causing Harry to deflate quickly.
Harry knew he talked too much recently, but he’d died twice and Dr. Kinbott said Harry was a success case and Harry was just so happy.
Plus, Gomez told Harry he was too quiet and that he should share his thoughts, and that was all that Harry had been doing.
“Sorry,” Harry murmured. “Er… where are you from?”
“Derbyshire,” Draco said stiffly. “And you?”
“Surrey, then Westshire, then Feltham,” Harry said, listing off the places he lived previously. He had went from the Dursleys to St. Brutus’, then ultimately the detention center in Feltham before being shipped to Nevermore.
“Now I live here during the year and New Jersey in the summers with my family,” Harry explained, focusing on the perfect present instead of the past. “It’s a long drive, like eight hours, but Lurch drives fast so it only feels like maybe five hours. Oh, Lurch is—”
“Merlin, Potter, shut up,” Draco groaned.
Harry bit his lower lip and nodded, feeling incredibly stupid. He reached up out of habit and smoothed his dark hair down, admiring the blue streak that was still vivid even months after adding it.
Xavier said Harry should change it to purple, but Harry was rather attached to the blue.
Harry stayed quiet while he took Draco to get his schedule and he didn’t say anything at all until he got him to their dorm in Apollo Hall.
“This is our room,” Harry told Draco, waving his hand around. “All the rooms in Apollo are painted red because it’s our dorm color. Ophelia, one of the girls’ dorms, is black. Nyx Hall is purple and Ares Hall, the other boys dorm, is green.”
Draco looked around their spacey room and didn’t look very impressed by his bare half of the room. There was a wooden trunk at the foot of Draco’s bed and a stack of folded sheets on his mattress.
“I’d prefer to be in Ares Hall,” Draco said with a sneer. He looked back at Harry’s side and Harry saw when his eyes snagged on the photo on Harry’s nightstand.
“Those are my parents,” Harry said proudly. He walked over to grab the photo to show Draco. “They’re dead now, but they were a witch and wizard,” he explained. He grinned down at the photo of his dad and mum that laughed and blew kisses on a magical loop. They were just as lovely and just as happy in their photo as they’d been in the afterlife when Harry met them.
It still ached to think of losing his opportunity to be with them, but Morticia reminded Harry over break that they’d be happier if he joined them when he had more stories to share.
“You must think I have sludge for brains if you thought I needed you to inform me that those are your parents,” Draco scowled.
Harry frowned at Draco before smiling down at his parents and carefully putting them back on his nightstand. Just because Harry looked like them, he wouldn’t have assumed they were his parents.
It was good manners to explain things. Nobody did for Harry when he was new to Nevermore, but Harry was trying to help Draco not feel as lonely as Harry used to.
“Do you want help making your bed?” Harry politely offered. “I have work at five, but I’ve got time to help you get unpacked.”
“I’m not a muggle in need of your assistance,” Draco snapped, causing Harry to rear back. “I can make my own bed.”
“Fine,” Harry said, rather hurt by Draco’s cold indifference to Harry’s offer. “I’ll just be going then… I work until eight, so I’ll see you tonight.”
Draco didn’t say anything else so Harry changed from his school uniform to the red polo he wore for work and slipped quietly out the door.
So much for making a good first impression.