This is the next installment of my 12 Days of Christmas series. At this rate, it'll be done by New Year's. I hope.

Anyway, anything you recognize isn't mine (Disclaimed!), and here's my 3rd installment... "On the 10th day of Christmas, I gave to dear Harry..."


Ten Shifters Howling!

To: William Black

My name is Sirius Black, and I am the newly appointed head of the Ancient and Noble House of Black, from England. I am writing to you in regards to your place within our family. I was unsure if you were aware of this, however when inspecting the family tree upon my inheritance of the Black title, I realized that some names (such as my own) had been smudged out, showing we had been removed due to being disowned. As I, a disowned child of the House of Black, am now the head of that same house, and my heir, who was the son of another disowned cousin, both agreed, it is time to reach out to the other abandoned branches of the Black family and offer them the chance to rejoin our family tree properly.

This will really require no effort on your part, except to say yes or no. Our research shows that our ancestor moved to the colonies not long after their settlement, and then continued to travel west, eventually finding a home amongst a native tribe he found. His refusal to return to marry the bride chosen by his parents, as well as the information that he had married and had a child with a young woman of the tribe, outraged the family, and he was thus disowned. Since times have changed, as have attitudes, and so we are hoping you'd be willing to allow your family and their history to be added to our own.

As I said, this does not mean we are expecting anything from you. This will mostly be a way to allow you to request our help if needed, and to give us another possible line of inheritance in case something happens and another heir cannot be found.

You are not required to do so, but we do hope you will respond with your answer. We will not be offended or insulted, no matter what you choose.

Sincerely,

Sirius Black

Lord of the Ancient and Noble House of Black


To: Sirius Black

First off, I prefer to go by Billy. I hope you can come to call me that. Secondly, I don't know anything regarding this ancient and noble house, but the Black family has been members of the tribe for a very long time, and our ancestor is even included in the legends told to the tribe's children. I admit to being curious as to why you and your heir were disowned, but I don't mean to pry. I'm actually honored you reached out to us, since we know nothing of your family.

As for me, I have 2 daughters, and 1 son. While the girls have moved out, my son is 15, still in school and lives with me, on the reservation in La Push. His name is Jacob...


To: Billy Black

Glad to hear there's another that's a little more relaxed! You have no idea how much effort went into writing up that fancy letter. Anyway, I was disowned for disagreeing that people who weren't like us were therefore lesser beings to be trod upon. My cousin, James, was disowned for marrying one of those 'lesser beings', and producing my heir, Harry, who is currently 14, about a year younger than your own son. He's small, but pretty fast...


Sirius,

You and Harry sound alright by me, since no doubt my tribe and I would likely be among those frowned upon by your family. I'm glad neither of you agree. Yeah, Jacob was pretty jealous when I told him about your bike! I think he's going to be begging me for one now, instead of the truck he'd originally been wanting. I'll just have to point out the practicality again. After all, how can he haul stuff on a bike? And don't be giving him any ideas, please! He gets enough of those with those friends of his...


Billy,

Wow, that many teens amongst the tribe are all feeling sick at once? All the same symptoms? That's definitely odd. Hopefully a doctor will know what to do, and they'll be all better by the time you write me back! Harry's going through a tough time, too. He was forced to participate in a tournament at school, and he's the youngest competitor. There's supposed to be 3 dangerous tasks for them, and they just finished their first one. From what I heard, it was definitely dangerous...


Sirius,

The boys are all feeling better, and even Jacob went through the sickness, and came out well off after it! He's grown some, and none of the boys seem to be suffering any lasting effects, so we're going to hope for the best. Sounds like Harry could use some help, huh? Well, send him our best wishes! It might make him feel better, since you said lots of people are mad at him for being forced to compete...


Billy,

That third task was the worst. Was a trap. The guy who killed Harry's parents is back, and he captured Harry. Thankfully, Harry managed to escape, but he suffered a lot...


Sirius,

Maybe Harry needs a break after that? You said he's never been out of England, right? Maybe we could plan a surprise trip to come see us! I'd like to meet you, too, after all. And Jake's been having some trouble with a local girl, it'd do him good to talk to someone new...


Billy,

Well, it wouldn't be able to be this summer, but I can plan for Christmas! I'll figure a way to get me and Remy and Harry out there to you, if that's okay...


Sirius,

Of course it's okay! Just give us a date and time to pick you up from the airport...


Jacob was holding the sign that said, 'Black' while Billy was telling him about the teenager that was coming to visit. Really, the shifter had heard it all before. Kid's small, was bullied a lot, tends to be quiet, but has a sense of humor and is smart, saw his parents and a friend get killed, so is suffering some, try to play nice, etc., etc. What he hadn't expected, though, when the small family of two men and a small teen exited the terminal, was the gold that filled his vision upon looking his very distant cousin in the very green eye.

Immediately, a lot of his problems from just 5 minutes ago didn't matter anymore. Bella was with a leech? Her mistake, he warned her. She wanted to be a vampire? Super mistake, she'll regret it. He could turn into a giant wolf, and had to keep it a secret from pretty much everyone else? Worth it. Totally worth it, since it meant he had the ability to imprint, and he was so grateful for that ability right n-

"And this is Jacob! I think I broke his brain by rattling on while we were waiting, so just maybe wave your hand in front of him to get his attention back down to Earth."

"Of course I dazed out, old man! You could talk anyone's ear off! I did it out of self-preservation!" He was pleased to see the small smile his argument put on Harry's face, and moved forward to take the teen's bag, even as Sirius greeted Billy and complained that the man had definitely underplayed how big his son actually was.


Sirius and Billy grinned at each other while Remus retrieved his camera and took a snap of the scene before them. The two teens had sat beside each other while watching a movie after dinner, and ended up falling asleep. Harry's head was on Jacob's shoulder, and the larger teen had an arm wrapped around the wizard, his head resting on top of Harry's. In the peace and quiet of that moment, Sirius brought up the question Remus had brought up, regarding the wolf smell that hovered around Jacob and a few of the other boys. The resulting discussion would be repeated in the morning, causing a lot of released nervousness and tension as everyone could talk freely about the pack and magic. Jacob was devastated to learn that Harry was pretty much required to finish school, meaning he would have to leave for another couple of years, but the two promised to write each other constantly. The rest of their visit was spent enjoying time with each other and the rest of the pack when they came by. And this way, Harry didn't worry when it was Jake's turn to patrol. He would often be found hanging out with Emily, swapping recipes and sharing stories.

Two days before Harry had to return to England, Jacob finally sat down and explained imprinting to Harry, and what it meant. Not only did the teen not run away screaming, but he actually blushed and smiled shyly before asking if that meant he would be welcome to come back after he graduated. After all, he didn't really have a place he called home in Britain, nor a desire to stay there after graduation. The shifter had been thrilled, and even managed to steal a kiss, leaving the wizard blushing. It was definitely Harry's favorite Christmas to date, in his own mind.


That had been a little over 2 years ago, and so much had changed since then, though the two had kept in constant contact, sending letters once or twice a week, and even managed another visit. Sirius had died, leaving Harry devastated and relying heavily on Jacob's support and assurance that it hadn't been the teen's fault. There had been an issue with vampires attacking; Harry had worried and even sent him and his pack members pendants to wear that would help both protect them and bring them luck, as well as a vial filled with an antidote for vampire venoms, which apparently only needed a few drops in the location of the bite. It had worked wonders, and saved a few lives, thankfully. Harry had informed him of his headmaster's death and his need to go into hiding. As a result, Jacob hadn't heard from him in months, causing his wolf to howl in loneliness and pain every time he shifted. It was actually getting to be painful for him in human form, and it was only by reading Harry's past letters that made him feel somewhat better, though he was really worried about how his imprint was doing. He should've graduated by now, after all, and Jacob had been really hopeful to see him soon.

Therefore, when he heard the rumor that a person had bought a house near La Push and was moving in within the week, he had been really excited. Then he'd learned it was a woman and her two boys, and had gone back to moping. Feeling the need to run, he undressed and tied his shorts to his leg before shifting and racing off into the woods. It wasn't until he returned home that he caught a familiar scent. A very familiar, very much missed scent.

Excited beyond belief, he changed back and slipped on his shorts, racing into the house. Billy's laugh could be heard, as could a slightly lower and throatier version of Harry's coming from the kitchen. When he burst through the door, he blocked out his dad's ranting about his son 'tearing through the house like a giant tornado!', and instead focused on the teen who was standing up from his chair and looking back at him with a growing smile and that same small blush. That was all the encouragement that Jacob needed, and he had the still smaller wizard crushed to him within seconds, burying his nose in that black hair and breathing deeply. Harry was finally home.


It was explained during a pack meeting, with the tribal elders in attendance, about the wizarding world and the war that just ended, as well as Harry's part in it. Jacob hadn't been pleased when he learned of what Harry had gone through, and had mourned the loss of the quiet, friendly werewolf he'd met years ago. He was furious when he learned of Harry's death, feeling ready to change back to the wolf and rip the old snake-like wizard apart. The rest of the pack agreed with him, but Harry made sure to assure them all (and especially Jacob) that not only was the man dead, but dead 7 times over. He had no chance of returning now.

The wizard went on to explain how this had left him godfather to little Teddy Lupin at 17, and in no real condition to care for a child. Andromeda Tonks had been his own personal savior, offering to help raise her grandson, and even share a house with Harry. In fact, that house that had just been bought nearby was theirs. The British Wizarding media had been practically endless and relentless in trying to get stories and pictures of Harry, and so when Harry mentioned his desire to return to La Push and Jacob, Andromeda had been more than happy to oblige.

And when the pack went running later, Harry changed into his animagus form, that of a black wolf (which he believed was due to the imprint), and joined them.

When Jacob met Harry's new family, he got along pretty well with the older noblewoman and the little boy who was really just old enough to make spit bubbles and coo at him, though he did change his skin color to the same dark tan as Jacob's, which Andromeda (Andy, for short), insisted meant that Teddy liked him. The shifter was thrilled, and eager to hold the baby, until little Teddy filled his diaper up. Then he was ready to hand him off to someone else, with a begging/pleading look thrown in for good measure.

Not to mention the joy and relief that came to the entire pack when Neville Longbottom came to work on the gardens for Harry's new house, and Leah ended up imprinting on him. Everyone agreed that Neville's quiet, peaceful nature was a wonderful counter to Leah's more loud and brash one. It was hoped (strongly) that his personality would rub off on her.

That Christmas, the pack got together and had a large celebration of their own. There was a lot of food, and the pack members and their imprints were all present, enjoying the closeness that came with having a secret that couldn't be easily shared. Jokes were made and stories told, gifts were given and some games were played, both physical (football) and not (question games).

And if Harry happened to use his magic to keep levitating the mistletoe over his and Jacob's heads, well... Jacob didn't complain.

Best. Christmas. Ever.


I know, a little rushed, but was trying to keep it from going on for too long, since this IS supposed to just be a one-shot for Christmas! Anyway, Merry Christmas!