Gabriel was seven and sometimes the Malfoys still overwhelmed him. He didn't worry that he'd do something wrong and be sent away for use in potions anymore, not unless Valentine's Uncle Tom was over, and he didn't feel as bad about being given presents by Narcissa when she took him and Valentine and Winter shopping, and he knew Valentine thought of him as a friend and not a pet, but sometimes the things the Malfoys did were just so
big. Every year at Christmas, for example, they threw a huge party and they got a tree that filled up the foyer and took the house-elves days to decorate completely. They bought lavish presents for everyone as if spending thousands of galleons on gifts was a perfectly normal thing to do.
Gabriel's first Christmas with the Malfoys, he'd been surprised to get anything. After all, hadn't he been an early Christmas present for Valentine? But Narcissa always made sure he had presents and Gabriel had come to accept that she and Valentine saw him as part of their family now. Narcissa even took Gabriel out to buy special presents for Valentine.
There were floods of people at the manor during Christmas too. Valentine's brother came home, and so did Winter's father and his brother's friends. And then all the guests who came to the parties where Narcissa finally seemed happy, and Valentine's father always came around and surprised Gabriel by being much nicer than he expected someone who made Valentine's mother so sad to be. It was kind of nice, having everyone there. Valentine's grandfather, Abraxas, who was someone very important and seemed very young for a grandfather, was loud and kind and liked to pick him and Valentine up a lot. Draco played with them both and spent a lot of time with Narcissa too. Valentine's Uncle Evan and Lucius and his Uncle Sirius all spent much more time with Narcissa and when she was happy Valentine and Gabriel didn't sleep in her room as often.
There were also special Christmas songs to sing. Gabriel loved singing. He sang lullabies to Winter all the time to get her to go to sleep, but the Christmas songs were extra special because you were only allowed to sing them for a month and then you had to wait a whole year before they came out again. Lucius's birds got special treatment around Christmas too. Narcissa used spells to make their white feathers gleam with hints of gold and silver and they looked even more magnificent than usual, prancing around the grounds and gardens. Gabriel had a special bond with the birds. He always smuggled out breads to feed them around Christmas because it seemed like the right time of year to show them how much he liked them.
But Gabriel's favourite part of Christmas was the topper that went on the huge tree the Malfoys kept in their foyer. A beautiful angel, made of porcelain and glass, dressed in silk and glinting with gold leaf. She had blonde hair and big wings and Gabriel would sit on the landing at the top of the Malfoy's grand staircase, so he was about even with the top of the tree, and gave at it for hours, until Valentine or someone came and got him to do something, and then he'd sneak out and do it again. Gabriel only had vague memories of his mother, but in his mind he thought she looked like the angel. Elegant and lovely and perfect and winged, like an angel. This ethereal creature that was the only thing special enough to symbolize Christmas.
Every year Gabriel looked forward to the angel coming out again because it reminded him of her. He kept the thought to himself, though. It felt like a secret between him and the angel. Everyone else just thought he liked the tree, except for the elves, who knew he sometimes snuck out at night to sit and stare at her too. Usually they just brought him a glass of milk and some biscuits to keep him company.
Gabriel was eating a biscuit, gazing at the angel and wondering if he'd grow wings when he got older as he sat on the landing in the middle of the night, when he heard footsteps behind him and turned to see Valentine standing there. "You should be in bed," he pointed out. "Santa comes tonight."
