Christmas Drabbles: carol singers

If you read SHB... this is just a little bit from my headcanon. :) You also don't have to read that to understand this one.

"Come on, Mum! I wanna go caroling!" seven year old James cried as he tugged at his Mum's hand. They were visiting their cousins, the Dursleys, and both families were going to go caroling along a muggle street in London. James had never been, and he was so excited. Albus and Lily were excited, too, but neither of them really understood what it was they were doing.

"Uncle Dudley!" he cried when they came in sight of Number 5 Privet Drive. Great Aunt Tuney was on her porch at number 4, and she looked up at the sound of the voice.

Both Dursleys smiled, stepping out to the side walk to greet their family. "Why don't we all come inside my house?" Petunia said, looking round the street warily. Even though she was much more accepting of the wizards, she still wanted to get everyone inside before anything odd could happen.

"Hello, Aunt Petunia. Thank you so much for inviting us to go caroling with you. It's good to see you again," Harry said, kissing his aunt on the cheek. Ever since his Uncle had passed away a few years earlier, his aunt had been much nicer to her extended family.

"Hello, Harry," Dudley said, shaking his cousin's hand. "Everything all right in... your world?"

"Sure, no majorly evil wizards to fight, so I think we're good," Harry said brightly, grinning just a bit wider when Dudley squirmed at the word 'wizard'.

"Uncle Dursley, can't we go caroling now?" James whined, and his uncle laughed.

"Harry, why don't we get going? You're children are just as excited to go as mine. Did you drive here?"

Harry nodded. "Yea, we've got a car. Alright, everyone back in! We'll follow you, Dudley, if that's alright?"

Dudley nodded. "To Charing street then!"

They caroled for an hour before both James and Violet, Dudley's oldest, began to complain of hunger. Then, Mrs Dursley pulled out a bag of cookies to let the kids snack for a second. They all stopped at a tiny park by the side of the street, chattering and laughing and stomping snow off their boots.

James looked around the street, his gaze slipping over the tall buildings, the sign for the Burlington Orphanage, the pair of eyes in the bushes, the...

pair of eyes in the bushes?

James swung back around, staring hard at the bushes at the edge of the park. They shivered slightly, as if someone had recoiled slightly. Following his childish curiosity, he trotted on over and crouched down before the bushes.

Just within, he could make out a dark shape, about the same size as his little sister, with big blue eyes blinking from the darkness.

"Hello?"

There was no answer and no movement.

"I can see you sitting there, you know. I don't know who you are, or what you are, but it's alright to come out. It's just me."

Still no answer.

"Maybe I should introduce myself. I'm James, and I'm seven years old, and I have a little brother and sister, who are six and five. And we've gone caroling with my muggle cousins, but we stopped because I was very hungry, so now we're sitting in the park eating cookies."

The bush rustled at that, and the figure shifted, inching a bit closer to the light.

"Oh, maybe you'd like a cookie? They're gingerbread. Have you ever had gingerbread?" he asked, holding a cookie just out of reach of the bushes.

The figure crawled forward to the very edge of the bushes, until she was crouching in front of him, in full view of the light.

She was small, probably his sister's age, and very dirty. Her blonde hair was unkempt, she wore a ragged brown dress, and there were smudges of dirt on her cheeks.

"Do you have a name?" he asked, and she nodded once. "Well, will you tell me?"

She shook her head.

"Ok. I'll call you... Brownie. Because you're wearing brown and you look like a little house elf, sitting in the bushes."

She cocked her head at that, confusion written across her face.

"Oh, I'm not supposed to talk about magic. Don't worry, it's all make believe."

She shrugged, her eyes returning to the cookie.

"And here, you can have it if you'd like," he said, holding it closer to her. She snatched it from his hand, taking a huge bite and smiling.

"Have you ever had gingerbread before?"

The girl shook her head.

"Well, I hope you get to have it again, wherever you come from."

"James!"

"My mummy's calling me. Do you have a mummy?"

The girl shook her head again, her eyes looking sad.

"Oh. I wish I could share mine with you. She's a really nice mummy."

The girl looked scared for a second, and she glanced over his shoulder and scrambled backwards.

James looked to see what she was scared of, and he saw his mum walking across the park towards him. "James! What are you doing over here?"

"I was just talking to-" he started, and turned to find the girl again.

But she wasn't there. All that was left was a small tear of brown cloth and a few crumbs of gingerbread.