Wednesday 15 December, 1993 Astronomy Tower

Harry was lightly shivering from the cold breeze wafting its way across the Tower. He pressed his eye to the viewer of his telescope as he attempted to see the rings of Saturn. The telescope he had bought from the student supply shop in Diagon Alley during the summer prior to his first year was barely able to give him any sort of clarity. He often wondered why the students were forced to buy such sub-standard equipment. Harry thought about asking the teacher but decided against it. He knew there were other students who did enjoy stargazing and figured he'd ask them. Maybe give them the idea to buy a modern non-magical telescope and bring it in to show off the improvements.

"Harry?" Hermione nudged him to get his attention, "Do you have anymore of those Warmth rune plates? My hands are freezing even with my gloves."

Harry dug around in his bag and pulled out a set of two rune inscribed discs that would emit warmth when activated, "Here you go Hermione."

She thanked him and returned to her lesson.

Saturday 18 December, 1993 Three Broomsticks, Hogsmeade

Harry and Remus entered the Three Broomsticks at around noon and followed the barmaid to a private room in the back. They ordered lunch and greeted Sirius.

"So…Sirius, Professor Lupin tells me that you found a place to live in?"

"Yup, Pup! It's a nice place just outside of London in a town called Crawley. Nice upscale sort of neighborhood." Sirius replied.

"Pup?" asked Harry, one eyebrow rising up inquiringly.

Sirius snorted in amusement and a bit of chagrin, "Sorry, I tend to go with dog metaphors on account of my Animagus form."

"Ok…I guess. Crawley, huh? Sounds familiar." Mused Harry, "What's the address?"

"Fourteen Kensington Drive in Crawley."

"Cool, big enough for the two of us?"

Sirius grinned, "It's big enough for at least eight of us plus fifty more on the grounds. The yard is huge! Plenty of space for old Padfoot to run around in."

Harry laughed at that. It was nice to hear that his godfather was getting things together. He hoped that things worked out well so he could move out of Little Whinging and never look back.

"So, Pup. How about you and Moony here come visit me for the Christmas break? Give you a chance to see if you can stand living with me."

Harry nodded his approval and chuckled at the pained expression on Remus' face. Sirius noticed it as well.

"Now Moony, don't go telling Harry any bad stories about me! I'm no longer that obnoxious teen I used to be."

Remus held his hand up and swore on Marauder's Honor that he wouldn't say anything until Harry asked or experienced Sirius without adult supervision. All three of them laughed.

"Marauder's? Who are they?" Harry inquired; Sirius gave a mock expression of hurt.

Their lunches came and Harry was regaled with stories from the Marauder's days at Hogwarts. Any mentions of Wormtail aka Peter Pettigrew were quickly squashed. Stories of his dad's attempts to woo his mom over the seven years they were in school together had Harry practically in stitches and rolling on the floor from laughing so hard.

"You guys sound like an older version of the Weasley twins." He said.

Sirius glanced curiously at Remus, "The Weasley twins? Related to Arthur and Molly Weasley?" Remus and Harry nodded.

"The twins are legendary, or so they would like to believe. I've heard tales from those who were the victims of their pranks that despite being caught a fair number of times, not even the teachers are foolhardy or brave enough to go head to head with them. Headmistress McGonagall will punish them with detention every so often but I believe that she's just playing along."

Sirius grinned, "Maybe we should meet with them Moony old chap, see how they stack up against gentlemen of our quality and caliber?"

Remus' snorted and shook his head in amusement, "I teach their Transfiguration classes, they have potential but right now as their professor, I can't condone any action in the foreseeable future." Sirius just shot him a mock glare then grinned and nodded his acceptance.


Harry got back to the castle in time for curfew, his arms loaded down with all sorts of goodies from his excursion into Hogsmeade. He met up with Hermione as they walked through the main doors. He offered her some of the chocolate he had acquired but she shook her head and said that she already had some.

"So how was your visit, Harry?" she asked.

"Pretty good. Sirius mentioned that he found a nice place for the three of us. He offered Professor Lupin a room as well. Apparently the two of them have known each other and were best friends since their first day back in 1971. I was then regaled with stories of their adventures, or misadventures depending on whom you would ask."

"Where's the new place going to be?" she queried, "hopefully nowhere near the Weasleys. I hear they live in Devon."

Harry shook his head, "Somewhere in a town called Crawley."

Hermione stopped suddenly and sharply turned to face him, "Crawley? Where in Crawley? What's the address?"

Intrigued by her response, he replied, "Fourteen Kensington Drive, why?"

Hermione let out a joyous squeal and nearly grapple-hugged the life out of him, "My parents and I live at Twelve Kensington Drive! You're going to live next door to me!"

"Hmmph," grunted Harry with a mock nonchalant air, "I thought the address sounded familiar. I don't know now, where's the fun in living next door to each other? The mystery in wondering whether or not we could visit each other?"

"Oh, you…" she pouted. Shaking her head in amusement, she gave him a light playful slap on the arm, "I guess then we'll be taking the train home together. Oh, I'm SO excited!"

Harry was amused that she was amused and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. The look on her face when he did that was heartwarming at its finest.

Thursday 23 December, 1993 Hogwarts Express heading South

Headmistress McGonagall had decided to allow those going home for the holidays to leave a day earlier than normal. The Express was arrived at the Hogsmeade Station at eight am and left one hour later. Everyone was in high spirits, talking about their plans and giving out well wishes to everyone to be safe and happy. Finally, the train pulled into King's Cross and everyone made their way either to parents waiting on the platform or on the non-magical side of the barrier.

Hermione spotted her parents and raced over, squealing with joy and excitement. Harry spotted Sirius and Remus talking quietly and waiting patiently by a newspaper stand. He made his way over and greeted the two older men.

"Interesting choice of address, Padfoot. Did you know in advance that my girlfriend and her parents live next door?"

Sirius let out a bark of laughter and vehemently denied knowing. He said it was just a coincidence. Remus suggested that they leave soon so they wouldn't get tied up in traffic.

"You drive, Professor?" Harry asked.

"Nope, that would be me, Pup!" exclaimed Sirius, "learned to drive, took the test and now I have a license! Got a nice family car too…Moony here wouldn't let me get the flashy one." He looked over teasingly at Remus who ignored the jibe.

The three of them found Sirius' car parked in the lot and headed to their new home in Crawley.

Saturday 25 December, 1993 "The Kennel" Fourteen Kensington Drive, Crawley

Harry woke up bright and early on Christmas Day. He had a hard time falling asleep last night he was so excited. The house was everything he had dreamed of in a large, family-oriented home. The colors and furniture blended well together, it was devoid of any personal artwork but he had a gut feeling that would change over time. Overall, the place just screamed "home."

He ambled his way down the stairs and into the kitchen where he headed straight for the coffeemaker. After pouring himself a cup of coffee, he sat down at the kitchen table and looked bleary-eyed for the morning paper. Unfortunately, it didn't seem to have been delivered yet. He heard thumping coming from above him and guessed that either Moony or Padfoot was awake and would be down shortly.

Fifteen minutes later, Padfoot came stumbling into the kitchen nursing a stubbed toe. He gave Harry a sheepish look and plopped down next to him at the table.

"No paper this morning, Padfoot?" Harry mumbled around his coffee mug.

"Paper…Oh! I knew there was something I had forgotten to get set up. Is your owl here? If you would allow me, I'll get her sent off to retrieve one." Harry nodded and gave his permission though he did warn Sirius that he would have to bribe her with a plate of bacon. He also recommended that he take out a subscription for the London Times to keep abreast of the happenings in the non-magical world as well.

"Ok, now that's settled, how about some breakfast? I'm no great shakes in the kitchen but I do know how to make scrambled eggs and toast." Sirius stated.

"I know how to cook Sirius, if you want? I promise to keep it simple. No five course breakfast meals…" Harry joked.

Padfoot raised one eyebrow, "When did you learn how to cook?" Harry gave him a returned raised eyebrow, "Right. Never mind. Um…wanted to ask you…did they ever mistreat you? Harm you physically?" he stammered nervously.

Harry shook his head, "No, but they did neglect me and basically ignore me for a while. This past year things have improved greatly but I think that's because I helped them achieve a financial status they couldn't reach on their own."

This got Sirius' attention. "They didn't access your vault did they? I find it hard to believe that the Goblins would ever allow that."

Harry leaned back and smiled an evil grin. "I have a secret that I'm willing to share with you and Moony but it has to stay a secret. Granted, I've already told a few others, my non-magically born and raised, a couple of half-bloods and a couple of purebloods I trust."

Moony by this point had entered the kitchen and was brought up to speed on the conversation. Both agreed to keep Harry's secret.

"Ok, I discovered during the summer before my first year that there's no oversight between the magical and non-magical financial worlds. I had just finished shopping for my school supplies and was studying the last gold Galleon I had in my pocket that evening…"

Harry described all that he had learned and what to look out for. He went over the exchange rates and how there were no enchantments on the Galleons that would prevent anyone from melting them down, despite the commonly held beliefs. He dug into his bag and pulled out his last Account Statement from the Bank of London and showed them the amount that he had saved and the savings rates that he had negotiated with the bank. Then he launched into describing his 'Master Plan For Dealing With The Dark Lord's Minions.' He had both Marauders in stitches as they began to realize just how sneaky and cunning Harry's plan was.

"I got to say, Cub, that's a masterful plan!" Moony wheezed from laughing so hard.

"Cub?"

"Padfoot calls you Pup because of his dog form Animagus. I call you Cub because of my wolf's side. It's just an endearing name…unless you want us to stop?" Moony replied.

"NO! I like it! Love it actually. It makes me feel happy and wanted, something I've always dreamed for…" he finished quietly.

There was a moment of silence before Sirius cleared his throat and declared it was time to open their presents. They gathered around the tree that had been set up the prior night, Harry played Santa. He found a small wrapped box with Moony's name on it and smiled.

"Here you go, Moony. This is hopefully the best one you'll receive today."

Remus looked in askance at Harry but he just gave back a mysterious grin. Ripping the paper from the box revealed a glossy printed manufacturer's package with a scientific sounding name and other descriptions he couldn't identify. He opened it up to find four sheets of blister packs, divided into individual tabs. Each tab contained two pills. His hands shaking, he pulled one of the sheets out of the box and looked up at Harry.

"Harry…is this…is this what I think it is?" he asked tremulously.

"Yup, first batch of the newly improved and mass manufactured Wolfsbane potion." Harry remarked, "The blue pill is the potion itself and the other is a pain-reliever. All you have to do is swallow it with a glass of water and you're set for the week."

Moony immediately jumped up and ran to the kitchen. When he returned, he gave Harry a strong hug and a large smile. Harry mentioned that the company would like for him to stop by their offices after the next full moon to discuss the effects and any side effects that he noticed plus any recommendations for the future. He also stated that this box is the only one available until they can get permission from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency for further studies and to mass-produce them for the werewolf public.

Harry then handed Sirius his presents. When the older man opened them, he found himself presented with two miniature statues and several bas-relief wall art. Harry said they were shrunk down and recommended that Sirius find a place for them, as they were heavy when full-size.

They were all relaxing in the den later sipping on non-alcoholic eggnog when the doorbell rang. Sirius got up to answer it and came back with Hermione in tow.

"Happy Christmas, Harry, Professor Lupin and Mr. Black!" she exclaimed joyously.

"Just call me Sirius or Padfoot, Miss Granger. Mr. Black makes me look around for my father, may he burn in Hell." Sirius responded with an easy smile.

"Ok, Sirius. So Harry? Did you receive my present?" she asked.

Harry moved his bathrobe aside and showed her that he was wearing the scarf that she had knitted him with his initials on one end. He got up and gave his girlfriend a hug and asked her the same.

There were tears in her eyes as she replied that it was the most interesting present that she'd ever received. Sirius was curious as to what Harry had gifted her.

"It starts off appearing like a marbled slab of clay sitting on a stack of books with a quill and inkpot. One of the books is lying open facing the recipient. You must answer the questions written in the book in order to reveal the true present within. If you get any of the answers wrong, the whole thing reverts back to its starting position. There are questions in the topics of Potions, Charms, Transfiguration, Arithmancy, Runes and Defense. Right now, it's set up to respond to questions up to Third Year but I have the Master Key that will allow me to reset it up to Seventh Year." Harry stated.

"It's a study and learning tool all wrapped up in a Christmas present from the most wonderful boyfriend in the world!" Hermione gushed, her eyes glistening with joy and a bit of a desire to begin working on it.

"Have you tried it out yet?" Harry asked.

"A bit. I wanted to come over and thank you before really sitting down and working on it."

"I should point out that there's a time limit of three minutes between the question appearing and the time you give the answer. Keeps things interesting, Draco's idea too." Harry commented.

Hermione was given the Knut tour of the house. She remarked that the house was very similar to her own just mirrored in layout. After about an hour conversing, Hermione returned to her home with a promise from Harry to stop by in the next couple of days so they could go to the movies or ice-skating at the local ice rink.