The Golden Snitch

9: (object) stocking/s

AJ, Kasai; Mahoutokoro.

Advent Calendar Event

Word count: 385

Harry never had a stocking for Christmas, that was just a fact he'd come to bear. He figured he'd never get a stocking, and it didn't matter to him. Of course it hurt to see Dudley's bright eyes at the sight of his stocking hanging on the mantelpiece - yes it stung when he never got a single present from underneath the Christmas tree. But that was just life, his life, to be specific - and he reasoned that there was nothing he could do to change that. Well, at least before the war anyway.

Now the war was over, not even a year had passed, and yet Christmas was already coming around. It didn't do to cheer people up like it would have before the war - like it should still have done. No, now everyone was still grieving, mourning the loss of their loved ones. Harry was no exception, because it seemed like it was his fault those closest to him had died. He didn't want to begin to imagine how the Weasleys must feel, Christmas time coming up and they had no Fred to celebrate with. Yet, they'd still sent Harry an invitation, and so he'd gone. It was only right for him to do so.

The first thing he noticed when he arrived was the warmth of the home, and he tried to locate its source. Surely there weren't any spells that could warm the entire house, or any that he knew of anyway. His gaze landed on their fireplace, crackling with a warm orange fire, stockings hung right above the mantel. Now it made sense to him - why they'd told him not to use the floo. He moved closer, unable to take his eyes off of them. Each had a name embroidered on it.

Molly, Arthur, Bill, Charlie, Percy, George, Ron, Ginny, and Harry. He did a double take, why was his name up there? He hadn't noticed the other people in the room until Molly went up and wrapped him in a warm hug, Ron following suit, Ginny too. He couldn't help but smile, though the confusion was still in his eyes. He raised a brow at Bill, moving his gaze between his stocking and the scarred man. Bill only laughed.

"Why wouldn't we hang it? You're part of the family now."