The First and Last Christmas

December 25, 1980

Ding-dong, the doorbell went at the Potter's house in Godric's Hollow. James Potter answered the door, pushing his messy black hair out of his eyes. Before he had even uttered, "Merry Christmas!" in fact, before he had even started on the first syllable, he was nearly knocked over by an elephantine black dog jumping on him, its tail wagging furiously. Before James could even turn to the black dog, it had disappeared into the living-room with joyful barks. James was helped up by an amused-looking man with light-brown hair liberally streaked with gray.

"Merry Christmas, Prongs," said Remus, smiling.

"Merry Christmas, yourself, Moony," James said to one of his best friends, patting Remus on the back. "Need help with those?" he asked, gesturing at the brightly-wrapped packages that Remus was carrying which were threatening to topple over at any moment.

"Thanks," Remus said, handing a few packages to James, and, with a much more manageable load, going into the room with his host close behind where the big black dog was frantically licking a baby's face. Baby Harry was giggling while his mother, Lily, looked on amusedly. "Sirius left me to carry these while he showed off," he said glaring at the dog, but there was an amused twinkle in his eyes as well.

The animal gave a doggy grin and a moment later, the grinning face of Sirius Black was there, framed by shoulder-length black hair. "I had to say hello to my godson, didn't I?" he teased. "Right, Harry? Your Uncle Padfoot had to wish you a Merry Christmas, didn't he?" He grinned and Harry giggled at his godfather's antics. "See? He said 'yes'!" Sirius proclaimed. Remus rolled his eyes and set his packages under the Christmas Tree while Harry gazed at the large, brightly-wrapped packages in awe. He looked up at his mother, his emerald-green eyes pleading in his cherub-like face.

"Not yet, Harry," Lily said with a musical laugh. "You have to wait until after we have dinner, then you can open your presents."

"That's torture for a baby, Lily," Remus said wisely. "Look at him; he's such a sweet pup. Can't he just have one?"

"You're as excited about this as he is, aren't you?" Lily teased.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I am," Remus pronounced with a grin. James and Sirius both chuckled.

Lily smiled sweetly, her eyes which matched her son's, sparkling with laughter. "Oh, alright," she said, addressing both Harry and Remus. "But just one." Remus grinned and picked up a gift in green wrapping paper.

"This is yours, Harry," he said, bringing the gift to the infant and reading the nametag aloud. "See? To: Harry. From: Uncle Moony." Harry cocked his head at Remus and gave a happy gurgle at the bright color.

"Stop with the English lessons and get on with it, Moony," James said teasingly. "I'm one hungry Marauder."

Before any of the other adults could formulate answers to this observation, Harry began chewing on the wrapping paper.

"No, no, Harry, wrapping paper isn't for babies," Lily chided gently, prying her son's fingers away from the paper and divesting the slimy bits from his mouth.

"It's what's inside that's important, pup," Remus added, unwrapping the package for Harry. It revealed a stuffed wolf and when the man pressed a button on the wolf's underside, began to gambol around on the wrapping paper, now and then giving a miniature yip. Harry giggled and clapped his tiny hands in delight.

"Moo-ey, moo-ey!" he crowed. Lily smiled, glad that the uncomfortable silence had been breached.

"What do you say, Harry?" she asked.

"Thank-oo, Moo-ey!" Harry said, throwing his arms around Remus, and giving him a slobbery baby kiss.

"Never too early to teach a kid manners, is it, Lily?" Sirius teased.

"It's easier to teach him than it is to teach you, Sirius," Lily returned.

Remus chuckled appreciatively while James said, "Oh, she got you, Padfoot."

"You're just as bad, Prongs," said Sirius, hitting his friend playfully on the back of the head.

"Well, at least I've mastered the skill of chewing with my mouth closed."

"Oh, really?" said Sirius, doing an exaggerated impression of it with a cracker from the coffee table.

"Yeah!" said James teasingly, throwing a walnut at his friend. Sirius returned with a deviled egg and soon a vicious food-fight was underway.

"I'm going to check on the ham. Can you watch Harry for a moment, Remus? It seems that those two kids are busy," Lily said, gesturing at James and Sirius (who were both covered in some residue of food), placing the one-year-old in the werewolf's lap, and walking into the kitchen (where tantalizing scents were issuing from), without waiting for a reply.

"They are crazy, aren't they, Harry?" Remus commented. The baby looked up at him, his eyes leaving the toy wolf (dubbed "Moony" or "Moo-ey"), for an instant. "Then again, you are James's son and Sirius's godson, so you'll probably be just like them when you're older," he added, casting a quick Scourgify on the couch to get rid of a mess of food that Harry had been reaching toward.

"Moo-ey!" Harry said, lifting up the toy wolf which seemed to have run down. Remus pressed the button on it again and it began to run around once Remus placed it back on the couch.

"Or maybe it'll be me or your mother coming out in you, eh, Harry?" he mused. "You have her eyes, you know."

Remus's musings were cut short by a comment Sirius made. "Why do you talk to him like that, Moony? He doesn't understand a word you're saying."

"How do you know?" James asked. "He's a very intelligent baby."

"If he has your genes in him, then he's definitely not intelligent," Sirius teased.

"Excuse me, who got an O in our Transfiguration NEWT and who got an E?"

"Hey, I would have gotten an O if that stupid examiner hadn't jinxed me!"

"The examiner didn't jinx you. That's just your stupidity at work, Padfoot."

"Oh, yeah, let's see my 'stupidity' shove this walnut up your. . . ."

"Excuse me, gentlemen, but shouldn't we be keeping this conversation G-rated?" Remus asked, gesturing at Harry who had been watching his father and godfather's conversation as the watcher of a tennis match might, his head swinging to each speaker.

Sirius sighed. "There you go with the kid understanding what we're saying, Moony," Sirius sighed. "Right, Harry, you don't understand do you? Do you?"

"Pah-foo stipidy!" Harry said, giggling at Sirius's surprised expression.

"Guess it's my genes coming out in him," said James. "Right, Harry?" he asked, picking Harry up.

"Dada!" Harry said, placing a sloppy kiss on his father's cheek and getting off a residue of food from James and Sirius's food fight.

"Oh, we'd better clean ourselves up," Sirius said.

"Right. Scourgify!" James said, pointing his wand at his stained robes. In an instant, they were clean again. He had done it just in time for at that moment, Lily poked her head through the door again.

"Come on, you kids," she said. "Everything's ready."

"Ah, Lily's cooking," Sirius sighed. "Even better than what they make at Hogwarts."

"Everything looks delicious, Lily," Remus said, licking his chops at the ham, steak-and-kidney pie, stuffing, pumpkin soup, breads, vegetables, and butterbeer.

"Thanks, Remus," Lily said, taking small amounts of everything while the men loaded their plates.

"'S, grt, Lly, than-oo," Sirius mumbled.

"Sorry, I've only taken Mermish and Gobbledegook, not Food Garble," Lily teased.

Sirius swallowed with great difficulty and then said, "It's great Lily, thanks."

Lily beamed at him, then said, "What about you, Harry? What do you think?" to her son who was busy smearing his face with the baby food that he had been given.

"Is it yummy?" James prompted with a grin.

Harry rubbed his stomach and Sirius burped, having already finished nearly all of the food on his plate, making Harry giggle at his godfather's silliness. Lily rolled her eyes, murmuring something indistinct.

"What's that, Lily?" James asked.

"It's not about me, is it?" Sirius asked. "Like my wonderfully good looks and how did you manage to fall in love with this idiot, right here," he said, socking James jokingly on the arm, "while it is obvious that I am the one with most class at this table. Why, I can even burp the alphabet, and can your wonderful James do that?"

Lily laughed, making James look at her adoringly and said, "No. It's just that I will never again wonder why you two are best friends. You're exactly the same."

"What? We're both handsome rogues?" James asked, raising his eyebrows.

"No, you both have every lack of hygiene, but are wonderful nonetheless. Right, Harry? You love your Daddy and your Uncle Padfoot, don't you?" Harry gurgled incoherently, yet, to Lily's experienced ear in Baby Language, it was an affectionate one.

"Wow, Lily thinks I'm wonderful! I guess there's hope for me yet," said Sirius with a roguish grin.

"Oh, shut up, you," said Lily, trying to sound stern, but failing abysmally. "You guys are such sarcastic, lovable idiots. Not meaning you, Remus," she said.

"Oh, I know," said Remus politely.

"It's a good thing you chose us, then," Sirius added. "Or you would have been nearly as great a prat as Fudge."

Remus rolled his eyes at his two best friends, knowing that they were kidding

"Now, are we all finished?" Lily asked. "Because I for one would like to see who bought me those diamond earrings that I was hinting about," she said, going into the living-room with Harry in her arms. James, Sirius, and Remus glanced at each other and simultaneously said, "Did you?" before following Lily into the living-room and the waiting presents under the lighted tree.

The next few hours were a joy for all those assembled in Godric's Hollow that day. All grudges were forgotten (or at least seemed to be), while the Marauders and Lily all gave or received presents from each other. It turned out that Lily had not only received diamond earrings but also a pearl necklace and a diamond bracelet from James, Sirius, and Remus, which she exclaimed over, making even Sirius blush. Harry, of course, was perfectly content with all the gifts that the adults had given him, and had gurgled unintelligible words in his excitement that even Lily could not decipher.

The joyful time seemed to go on forever but finally came to a close to the dismay of those assembled and it ran down into the lazy aftermath of Christmas evening. James and Lily sat snuggled together on the loveseat while Remus sat across from them lounging in the chintz armchair. Harry lay on the hearthrug by the fire with Padfoot curled up next to him, keeping the baby warm. It was the perfect scene, one that a person might have painted a picture of and people dismissed as mere fantasy, saying that nothing could be that perfect these days. And indeed it couldn't.

"This'll be something to tell Harry about when he's older," Remus commented, gesturing at the baby and the dog curled up together. "Him sleeping with Sirius."

"I must say, Harry's better-looking than some of the chicks Sirius has slept with, though," James said with a grin.

Finally, James said, "You two are welcome to stay the night. Lily and I have the guest rooms set up just in case. . . ."

"No thank you," Remus said and Sirius just shook his head.

"I should get going now, it's pretty late as it is," Sirius said, going to the fire and shouting, "Lupin's Place!" which was where he was staying. Remus soon followed suit with a nod to James and Harry. It hadn't been a fun night for any of the Marauders.

James sat in the living-room, holding his son in his lap and rocking him until he fell asleep. James heard Harry's gentle snores and whispered, "Merry Christmas, pup," before getting up and cleaning up the strewn wrapping paper with a quick Scourgify while Banishing Harry's toys to his room. Holding Harry over his shoulder, James climbed the stairs to the second landing and walked along the blue carpeted floor, turning right when he came to Harry's room. He put Harry in the crib and tucked "Moony" in with his son.