Enjoy!

I have a hard time figuring out how little kids talk, given I am not around little kids, like, at all. So this is my best. Suggestions on how to improve the reality of their reactions to their age would be amazing. However, I would like everyone to keep in mind they will probably both act older than their actual age. Harry was abused for around six and a half years and Neville lives with his grandmother and is never around any other kids. Therefore, they will talk and act older. They will still have plenty of little kids excitement and overreaction though don't worry

Waking up on Christmas morning was rather surprising for Harry. Of course, he had gotten used to Neville's antics by now, but honestly, getting woken up by having all of the sheets torn off of him and forcing him out of the warm burrow he had snuggled himself into was not his favorite way to be woken up. "Nev!" he whined, feeling around blindly in a hopeless act to get his blankets back and get warm again. He could already feel the cold seeping into his bones. Harry had put on a good bit of weight since living with Neville and Augusta in these past few months, enough to get back to a healthy weight, but he still didn't have much muscle or extra fat to keep him warm.

"Wake up, wake up, wake up!" Neville yelled in his ear, causing Harry to groan and crack open his eyes. He hissed at the sunlight coming through the large windows and squeezed his eyes shut again. "Come on, Harry! It's Christmas!"

What in the bloody hell was Neville going on about. Harry's sleep-addled brain sluggishly worked to process Neville's words. Once it dawned on him, Harry's green eyes snapped open and he shot up right in his bed. "Christmas?"

Neville giggled and grabbed Harry's hand with surprising strength. Harry sometimes keeps forgetting he isn't the only one that has changed in these past couple of months. Neville now resembles his father when he was his age, at least according to the pictures Harry has seen. Harry barely managed to slip his green slipper on his feet before he stumbled after Neville down the hallway. They both leaped and slid down the railing, their giggling bouncing off the walls of the giant mansion as they jumped off the railing and slid on the wooden floors, scrambling towards the giant living room.

Although the Christmas tree has been up for a couple of weeks, Harry didn't think he'd ever get over how gigantic it is. The star at the very top of the tree just barely grazed the ceiling. Augusta had told him it was 25ft tall, but to Harry, who was only around 4 feet tall, it seemed gigantic!

Then, Harry saw the presents. His green eyes widened in shock. There were so many of them! Surely not all of these were for them?! The raven-haired boy suddenly felt really nervous. He hadn't gotten 'Gusta and Neville very many presents. He had only gotten two for 'Gusta and a few more for Neville. He hoped they were okay…

"Neville! Harry! Come on you two. No presents until after breakfast!" Augusta called out to the two of them from the formal dining room and the two boys shared a look, grinning at each other before taking off in a dead sprint towards Augusta. They slid in their slippers across the polished wooden floors and clambered into their seats next to each other on the large dining table across from Augusta.

Augusta stared at them expressionlessly, or so most people would think. But Harry can read 'Gusta almost as well as Neville by now, and Harry could see the faint twinkle of amusement in her eyes and the small upturn of her lips. "Rosa, we are ready for breakfast." Almost as soon as the words left her mouth, a gigantic breakfast feast appeared in front of them. Harry's eyes widened to size of saucers and it took all his self-control not let his jaw drop. He was used to seeing full meals, but he had never seen such a feast before!

After watching Neville dig in with unabashed enthusiasm, Harry hesitated long enough to see Augusta nod at him reassuringly before he joined his brother in his mission to devour all the food on the table. He knew he could have any of the food he was given, but he was still finding it a little hard to break habits.

There was so much food! There was sausage, bacon, five different kinds of egg, four different casseroles, pancakes, waffles, four different kinds of syrup, cereal, hash browns, fruit, and an assortment of other food Harry had never laid eyes on before. It was a lot of food for three people, but Harry, Neville, and Augusta definitely did their best to finish off as much as they could. When they were done, Harry felt like his stomach was going to burst. He was eyeing the living room where the presents and Christmas tree were, debating on whether or not he could just roll over, so he didn't have to try and get up.

"Ugh…" Neville groaned his hands resting on his stomach and looking a little green around the edges. He looked about as Harry felt. "I think… I might have eaten too much…"

Augusta sniffed delicately, looking no different than she usually did, and Harry had to admit, it was one of the things he admired about her. "Well, serves you right for you two eating like pigs." Her voice gave away her amusement. "Now come along." She raised an eyebrow as she began making her way towards the living room. "Unless you don't want to open your presents?"

Neville and Harry shared a look before scrambling off of the chair almost simultaneously as they both wobbled after Augusta. Neville headed straight to the presents and diligently began separating them all out. Catching on, Harry helped. They put all of Augusta's presents next to her on the love seat, and Harry put his in a pile on the floor across from Neville's. Part of Harry wondered if the presents were ever going to end, but eventually they did and Harry ended up with a gigantic pile, Neville with an equally gigantic pile, and Augusta with a decent sized pile of gifts.

"Gram, I think Harry should start first this year." Neville declared, sending a broad grin in said boy's direction. Harry stared at him in surprise and felt his cheeks flush as he waited for Augusta's answer. She readily agreed, much to Harry's surprise, and he cautiously picked up one of the presents labeled 'From: Neville' in legible but sloppy handwriting. It was an unusually long package and after a hesitant glance at Neville, Harry ripped open the package.

"Oh my goodness…" Harry said in awe, eyes wider than saucers as he lifted the beautiful broom carefully out of its box. It was a sleek thing, with a long silver handle and black bristles and a black handle. Engraved on the end of the broom was H. Potter and underneath his name it said Moonriser. "I can't believe…" Harry gaped at Neville. "This is from America! How did you…?" It was a special edition broom only sold in America for young kids.

Neville grinned from ear to ear, looking very pleased with himself. "I ordered it. Well, I told Gram I wanted to get you that and she ordered it." He corrected himself, smiling up at Augusta. "I know you have been wanting to try out flying, since your dad loved it so much. So I figured you should have the best broom to start off on!"

"Neville… this is…" Harry trailed off and set the broom back in the box before launching himself at the other boy and hugging him tightly. "Thank you." He choked. His first ever Christmas present was perfect.

Neville hugged him back before laughing and pushing him off. "Alright, my turn!" Harry settled back among his presents and watched with growing excitement and anticipation as Neville grabbed a simple square gift and started ripping it open. His eyes widened and he reached into the box, revealing Harry's present. It wasn't much, but Harry had hoped he would enjoy it. It was a giant book on herbs and different kinds of plants in Europe. It had taken a little help from Augusta to find it. It included not only wizarding plants but also Muggle plants. "This is awesome!" Neville exclaimed and grinned up at Harry once again. "Thanks, Harry!"

A warm feeling filled Harry's chest at Neville's ecstatic look.

Augusta opened one of her gifts next; this one was also from Harry. He felt kind of nervous as she started opening it up but he knew all his worries were for naught when he saw the surprised and happy look on Augusta's face. It was a simple hat, one of the kinds she really liked to wear. Harry had no idea what kinds of hats were fashionable, and he suspected that hats with tons of purple and grey flowers and feather on them may not be the most fashionable thing out there, but it made Augusta happy so he didn't care.

"Harry I love it." She smiled at him fondly, even though she may have looked a little confused. "But, however did you know this was the hat I have been wanting? I never told anyone."

Harry gave her a secret little smile and didn't answer. He has become close friends with a certain little house elf named Sparky, who was just as energetic as the name suggested. The little elf snuck around for him to help him figure out what Augusta needed or wanted and found a magazine which had a hat circled on it.

It was Harry's turn to open his presents, and he found his next one from Neville was a pair of fingerless Seeker gloves and goggles. At his questioning look, Neville grinned sheepishly. "Your dad was the best Seeker ever. So I figured you probably would want to be a Seeker too."

As the unwrapping went on, Neville got three more herb and plant books on herbs in the America's, Africa, and the United Kingdom specifically. He also got some new clothes and nicer robes from his Gram and a few knickknacks from other family members who sent their gifts since the Longbottom's wouldn't be joining them for Christmas for a while. From Harry aside from the books, he also got a pot so he could keep his favorite herb in his room, a pair of Gryffindor colored gloves, a Gryffindor colored scarf, and a leather cord necklace with a silver lion and ruby eyes. Neville teased him about all of the Gryffindor things and Harry snipped back. "Be grateful, I felt sick the entire time I was buying them." However, his eyes were twinkling to give away his teasing.

Augusta only opened the things from him and Neville, saying she wanted to open the other stuff by herself. Harry was a little confused, but Neville whispered that she did this every year and to not worry about it. Harry had gotten her a beautiful and intricate silver and blue ring that he had found in a Goblin magazine with an intricate Celtic engraving. It had cost a lot of Galleons, but seeing the touched look on Augusta's face made it worth it. Neville had gotten her a few books, and another hat. It wasn't much, but Augusta seemed happy.

Harry had gotten loads of stuff. Not only a broom and seeker gloves and goggles from Neville, but an entire wardrobe of clothes from Augusta. A warm feeling settled within his chest when he unwrapped all of the shirts and pants and robes and socks. No one had ever bothered to gift him with clothes before, and he found that one kind act made him trust Augusta just a little bit more. Ironically, Neville had also gotten him similar items Harry had gotten Neville, and Harry suspected Augusta had something to do with that. Neville had gotten him a pair of Slytherin colored gloves, Slytherin colored scarf, and a silver snake with emerald eyes on a leather cord. He had also gotten a bunch of potions supplies for children. It was a recipe book for the simplest of potions and a simple cauldron along with a silver knife, a silver stirring rod, and a weird looking tool that Harry was pretty positive you used to crush stuff, but couldn't remember the name for the life of him.

His first Christmas was definitely one he wasn't going to forget anytime soon.

Harry was helping Neville clean up the mess of the wrapping paper they had made to make it easier for the house elves, under the assumption they were done with presents and excited to start on his potions kit, when the fireplace flamed to life and outstepped a very formidable looking woman with long red hair. She glanced around before her gaze rested on Harry and a smile spread across her face as she walked over and knelt own in front of him so she was eye level with him. "Hello there, you must be Harry." She said warmly and very softly. "It is so nice to meet you. I'm Amelia Bones, Augusta's friend."

Harry eyed her while she talked, feeling very surprised he didn't feel any kind of anxiety from meeting a new person. He didn't get that same warm feeling he got whenever he was around Neville, or that one time when he met Luna, but he didn't feel like she was any threat to him either. Not like his Aunt Petunia had been. Hesitantly he smiled back. "Hullo Miss Bones. It's a pleasure."

"Ah, Amelia." Augusta smiled warmly as she walked into the room from where she had put her unopened presents in her room, the new hat Harry had gotten her sitting perched on her head with a new set of robes to match. "It's so nice to see you."

"It's lovely to see you as well, Augusta." Amelia greeted as she stood up to face Augusta.

"Am I correct to assume everything went as planned?" Augusta asked, raising an eyebrow. Harry frowned and shared a confused look with Neville. What were they talking about? Neville just shrugged and pointed at the adults before making a coo-coo sign next to his head. Harry smirked and nodded in agreement. He was right. Adults were weird.

"Everything went perfectly!" Amelia chirped. Neither Harry nor Neville were old enough to recognize the dark look in Amelia's eyes, or the underlying weariness in her tone. "Trial went by smoothly and after a couple of months with some Head Medi-Wizards, he's practically more sane then he was before!"

"That's wonderful to hear." Augusta let out a sigh of relief and furrowed her eyebrows. "And Dumbledore?"

Amelia blinked innocently. "What about him? His presence was not needed for anything. A quick sign of papers here, a few carefully worded phrases there…"

Harry narrowed his eyes slightly. If he remembered right, Augusta said that Dumbledore was the Headmaster of Hogwarts, the school he would be going to when he turned eleven. Augusta had told him he had a lot of rewards and was a very powerful wizard. But she told him not to trust him because he was manipulative and even though his heart was in the right place. Was that why Amelia was acting the same Petunia would act when she was gossiping?

Augusta smirked, a look that sent shivers down his spine and made him wish that that smirk was never directed at him, before Augusta turned to him with a smile on her face. "Harry, I'm afraid I have one more Christmas present for you. Now, I know you were promised by Dorea that you would be able to see your parents portraits, and I'm sorry you haven't had a chance yet, but I promise you will be able to in a couple of days."

Harry perked up at that part. He still talked to Dorea every night, or Dora as he had taken to calling her, and he often complained about not being able to see his parents like she had always promised. She always told him to be patient, and it looked like his patience was paying off.

"But today, you'll be receiving something I believe you will appreciate even more." Augusta nodded to Amelia and after scaring Harry half to death by sticking her head in the fireplace, Harry's last Christmas present followed.

A man stepped out of the fireplace and as soon as their eyes met Harry's breath caught in his throat. If he felt intense warmth around Neville and Luna, then he felt a fire spark to life inside of him when he locked eyes with this man. This man with black hair that was a little too long, eyes that were a little too haunted, but laugh lines on his face and a relaxed posture. His face broke into a grin and his eyes lightened considerably, revealing they were actually a deep blue, not black. He knelt down and introduced himself. "Hello, Harry." He said gently, not wanting to scare the boy off. "I'm Sirius Black. I'm –"

"You're my Dad's best friend!" Harry blurted, biting down on his bottom lip nervously.

Sirius grinned sadly. "Yeah, I was your Dad's best friend."

Harry sniffed, feeling too scared to outright ask for a hug but wanting one desperately. So instead he stared longingly at Sirius and allowed one tear to fall down his cheek which prompted the response he wanted. Sirius frowned slightly and opened his arms which Harry promptly ran into. He threw his arms around his godfather and buried his face in the crook of his neck, allowing himself to cry properly. His godfather was here. His actual godfather was hugging him and real and alive and not some figment of his imagination. "I can't believe you're here." He whispered and Sirius hugged him a little tighter before letting go.

Gently, his godfather wiped the tears off Harry's face and softly kissed his forehead. "I'm sorry it took me so long." He apologized. "It wasn't the right time for me to meet you quite yet."

Harry sniffed and grinned at Sirius, grabbing his hand and tugging him over towards Neville. "Sirius, this is Neville. He's my best friend." he paused, glancing up at Sirius before adding, "Well, more like a brother."

Neville smiled shyly at Sirius, his gaze flickering up before lowering back down to the ground. "Hullo Mr. Black." He said softly, careful to keep his hands behind his back as his Gram had taught him to do when meeting new adults.

"It's nice to meet you Neville." Sirius grinned at the boy, kneeling down and reaching out to ruffle Neville's hair. "Augusta hasn't been too hard on you, has she?" he asked, then whispered none too quietly, "She always had a few choice words for me whenever I hung out with your dad."

Neville laughed softly, a small grin on his face. "She's been perfect." He answered, raising his eyes to meet Sirius' twinkling gaze. "You knew my dad?" he asked questioningly.

Sirius laughed, sitting down in front of Neville and Harry to get more comfortable. "Oh, you bet I did. Not only were we friends in school, but we both went to the Auror Academy together and went on a few missions together." Sirius glanced over at Harry and ruffled his hair. "I mostly trained with James though. We were partners together."

Harry's eyes widened. His father had been an auror? He didn't know that. He knew what aurors were, thanks to the vast amount of books in the Longbottom manor, but he didn't know his father had been one. He and Neville shared a look. It wasn't often the two of them got to hear anything about their dads.

"I remember one time your fathers went on a mission with me. We were new, hunting down some wizard who had robbed a few houses at wandpoint." Sirius laughed, his eyes faraway as he recalled the memory. "We found the house he lived in, and were going in to arrest him. James insisted on going 'round the back by himself while Frank and I went to the front." He snorted. "The robber went out the back, obviously. Got in a bit of a tussle with James. The robber, I don't know what he was thinking, but he said a spell meant for decorating a Christmas tree and aimed it right at James."

Harry snickered. "Did dad get covered in Christmas decorations?"

"Yes!" Sirius chortled, eyes sparkling. "It was Christmas, so it must have been in the front of his mind or something. James was covered from head to toe in Christmas lights and ornaments. Frank arrested the guy but I was dying. I was laughing so hard I fell in the snow and it took both Frank and I a couple of minutes before we calmed down enough to say the counter spell."

Neville and Harry both laughed, sharing an amused and thrilled look. This was awesome. They never got to hear stories of their parents. Augusta didn't like talking about Frank and she didn't know much about James. Harry perked up and scrambled over to his broom, grabbing it and shyly walking over to Sirius. "Sirius… could you…" he hesitated, glancing at Neville. The other boy, knowing exactly what he wanted, gave him an encouraging nod and Harry steeled his courage. "Sirius could teach me how to ride this?" he asked hopefully, his stomach in knots with apprehension. He knew his dad loved to play Quidditch, so he figured Sirius must too, since they were best friends.

Sirius' eyes softened. "I would love to teach you how to ride Harry." He glanced out the window at the falling snow and grimaced. "However, we probably should wait until it warms up a bit. The winter isn't really the best time to learn how to ride a broom."

"Oh." Harry said quietly, biting his bottom lip and nodding. He understood Sirius' reasoning. The snow could make the broom wet and he could fall off. That didn't mean he wasn't disappointed, however.

"Hey." Sirius ruffled Harry's hair, forcing the other boy to look up. Harry watched as a smile broke out on Sirius' face. "How about instead we go build snowmen?"

Neville gasped and launched to his feet, eyes wide with excitement. Harry, too, could feel the excitement bubbling up inside of him at the prospect of playing in the snow. "Yes!" the two boys exclaimed together with large grins on their faces.

His godfather laughed. "Alright, alright. Well, go get some warm clothes on. Don't want you getting sick or Augusta will have it out for me!" he joked.

Neville and Harry left dust in their wake as they ran up the stairs towards their room, eager to get dressed so they could play out in the snow. Harry was still having trouble wrapping his mind around the fact his godfather was here! Part of him wondered why he never saw him before now, in the previous seven years of his life, but he shoved the thought away for now. His godfather was here with him right now and that was all that mattered at the moment.

Augusta and Amelia watched from the warmth of the living room at the boys playing outside in the snow. Sirius had built a fort for the two boys and one for himself, and it currently looked like Neville and Harry were winning the snowball fight Sirius had initiated. "I wouldn't have believed that boy was abused for so long if you weren't the one who told me so." Amelia said softly, watching the boys with fond eyes.

"He has come a long way," Augusta agreed, "But he still has a long way to go. Thankfully, I believe we got him out of there before it got any worse." Her eyes were filled with sorrow. "When he first arrived, he was so terrified. He knew nothing of who he was or who his parents were." She shook her head. "He wouldn't ask for anything. It took almost a month before he was comfortable asking me for things and it took three weeks before he accepted he didn't have to constantly do chores to 'earn his keep'." Augusta practically spat the last three words with fire in her eyes.

Amelia gritted her teeth, her fist clenching and oh she wished she could just go find those muggles and curse them into next week. But Augusta did not tell her who the muggles that kept Harry were, though Amelia had a pretty good idea she knew.

"He gets panic attacks sometimes." She sighed, staring into the fire. "Only Neville can calm him down from those. They're really close but…" she trailed off and frowned. "I don't think he trusts me. He is always tense when he's around me or other adults."

"Understandable." Amelia said, a small smile forming on her face as she watched Neville nail Sirius in the face with a snowball. "He probably won't trust adults completely ever. He may grow to trust to a limit but I've seen some cases where the children refuse to even talk to adults." She echoed Augusta's sigh. "We should be thankful it isn't worse."

"We shouldn't have to." Augusta muttered. The two women sat in companionable silence, the air tense as they watched the boys play outside. Sirius was obviously letting the boys pelt him with snowballs, but all three looked like they were having fun. Amelia was glad to see Harry acting his age. The formal way the boy talked to her earlier had worried her, so seeing him act his age was a relief.

"Sirius has meetings with a Medi-Wizard three times a week. Every Monday, Thursday, and Saturday for a couple of months. Then around July next year, it'll be cut down to two if he is doing well." Amelia informed Augusta, breaking the silence and glancing over at the older woman.

Augusta inclined her head in acknowledgment. "I will make sure he goes. He is taking up one of the guest suites. The elves have already prepared it for him." She paused. "How is he doing?"

Amelia considered the questioned for a moment before replying. "Better than expected. He informed us that he spent all of his time in his Animagnus form because he discovered the Dementors have a drastically reduced effect on him when he does this. He went through intense mental and physical therapy those first couple of months to help him heal and cope. He is still seeing a grief counselor; probably will for a couple more weeks." Amelia chuckled as she watched Neville and Harry's attention drain away from the snowball fight as they started wrestling with each other. "He was told of Harry's abuse, and was repeatedly instructed to treat Harry as a separate person from his father. It is not uncommon for people to try to find their loved ones in their loved ones children. But Harry can't deal with that like other children may be able to. The abuse, from what you have told me, seemed to have hit him hard, so it was made very clear how important it was to show Harry he had worth just the way he is, and he doesn't need to change more like James in order for Sirius to love him." She sighed. "I can't tell you how many abused children I have met that have tried to change themselves, sometimes drastically, so the people they idolize will love them."

Augusta let out a small sigh of relief. "That is good to hear." She admitted. "I was a little worried about that. I know Sirius wasn't very mature back then, and spending six years in Azkaban would definitely not help matters."

Amelia gave her a wry smile. "Believe me, he was a pain in the ass when he was first released. We had to keep him guarded so he didn't try to escape and find Harry. It wasn't until we told him he wouldn't get custody of Harry unless he matured and was approved by the Medi-Wizard that he sobered up and quit fighting us and started working to get better." She watched with a find look on her face as the three boys collapsed in the snow and started making snow angels. "He'll be good for Harry. He may not be father material, but I know he'll do his best."

"Harry asks at least once a week when he can meet Sirius and Severus and Remus." Augusta admitted. The older woman looked exhausted. "In the letter, Lily mentioned Severus was her best friend. He has been begging to meet him, and I haven't had the heart to tell him of Severus' choices during the war."

"Perhaps when he is older?" Amelia suggested. "When he is able to more fully understand, you can have Severus explain it to him, and then Harry can decide what he wants to do."

"Perhaps… At least he has Sirius now." Augusta mused and the conversation ended for the time being as the two women resumed watching the three boys play outside.

The two witches may have been surprised to find out that Severus was more than anxious to meet the famous Harry Potter. Or, at least find the brat in order to get Dumbledore off his back. The Slytherin Head of House had been even more irritable this year than any years previous. He had made three first-year Huffepuffs cry already.

Dumbledore was determined to figure out what happened to that stupid brat ever since he disappeared from him house five months ago. Severus honestly didn't care. Good riddance, he decided. Of course, he immediately felt guilty after saying that and slumped back in his chair, massaging the bridge of his nose because Harry may be James' son, but he was also Lily's son. And he had made a promise to Lily's memory that he would protect her son to his dying breath.

Severus remembered when Dumbledore first informed him the brat had gone missing. He hadn't told Severus where he went missing from, so that didn't help matters. The old man was bat shit crazy those first couple of weeks, insisting that they must find Harry Potter but refusing to let him or Minerva tell anyone or use Ministry connections to try and find him.

Severus scowled and took a drink from his bourbon. He was going to need it.

Sorry for the short length guys. HOWEVER. The next chapter will be longer. AND it will be the fastest I have ever put up a chapter before. I am determined to have it up this week. Feel free to hound me over reviews and PM to make me get it done! So, that being said, tell me what you thought of this little spurt of writing. We're going have some action going on next chapter ;) be prepared for that. Sirius ends up using his head and some hindsight. I know crazy right? And… LUNA AND SUSAN AND WANDS AND PARENTS AND REMUS AND ADORABLENESS! I just know you guys will love this next chapter. Thanks for all of you to sticking with this and putting up with meeeee! I love you all.

Would you guys like to see –

A more realistic (active) lifestyle among students

OR

A more realistic version of legalities among Wizards