Harry lay restless in bed tossing and turning and decided to rearrange his pillows for the third time that night. He never used to look forward to Christmas as a child as it was always tinged with sadness and made him long for his parents even more, but there was something about Christmas – ever since he married Ginny that made his body flutter with excitement. It always made Ginny laugh at how happy he got at Christmas and she joked that he was more excited about it than James!
He looked up out of the window above him and saw soft specks of snow falling out of the twinkling starlit sky and landing onto the trees below. Harry loved it when it snowed – it made him feel so peaceful and calm. He gave a satisfied sigh and turned over to look at his wife. She looked so beautiful when she was asleep and the moonlight illuminated her face making it shine like a star. Harry stroked her face softly, tucking her red hair behind her ears then placed his hand gently onto her growing bump. He felt their child kick the palm of his hand and made him feel like he wanted to burst with happiness. He never expected to have a family of four at such a young age, but he wouldn't have it any other way – especially after growing up without one.
Harry heaved himself out of bed and wondered why they had chosen one that was so high up, especially with his short stature. He chuckled to himself and remembered the time he had to pull Ginny out of bed when she was pregnant with James. What a task that was. He crept towards the door at the other end of the room making sure to avoid the boards he knew would creak and quietly pulled down the handle and snuck out of the room.
He made his way down the old, winding stairs and walked along the corridor stopping just in front of the fireplace. He looked at the many photos that adorned the mantle and found himself smiling and laughing at every single one. He smiled sweetly at a picture of his parents and found a small picture of Fred, George and Ginny that was taken one Christmas at the burrow. That was the best Christmas he had yet. He then found a cluster of photos from when Sirius, Remus and his parents were younger. They all looked so happy in that photo fooling around and laughing. Harry was extremely grateful for all that he had but couldn't help wondering how different it would be if they were alive now. He definitely knew there would be lots of mischief that's for sure. His eyes drifted towards the other end of the mantle and he studied a photo of Sirius at Grimmauld Place shortly before his death.
Harry remembered one of the last things that Sirius had said to him – "As soon as this is over we can be a proper family." He clutched the photo and held it to his chest. He put it back on the mantle and stepped away from the fireplace. He conjured a Christmas wreath that hung above the photos complete with holly leaves and silver bells – that was his token to those he had lost. He choked back the tears and leaned towards the photos, pressing a light kiss onto the corner of the frames. He closed his eyes and felt a single tear roll down his cheek.
"Merry Christmas everybody, have a good one" he whispered quietly.