Authors Note - This has been a labour of love, it has taken a LOT longer than I anticipated. Loads of issues over the two years which I will not bore you with. I hope you will stick with this story and give me a chance to finish what I started. This will be updated alot quicker in the future. This chapter was orginally written under the title 'Chapter 10 - The Trial of Mr and Mrs Vernon Dursley' but it was becoming too long. I know there is nothing wrong with long chapters but I felt this will be better split. Chapter 11 is done, just needs proof read then it will be uploaded. So appologises for the delay and now back to the story.

Disclaimer - I do not own Harry Potter, he is the creation of the brilliant JK Rowling.

Chapter 10 – Christmas at the Burrow

Over the next week Harry didn't say a lot. He was trying to sort out his thoughts. After returning to Grimmald Place after leaving Hogwarts he spent most of his time in his room. He found that his thoughts seemed very blurred. He could remember things just not in any great details. The flashbacks that had been so vivid now seemed like a dream that the harder you tried to remember the less of it you retained. He was very frustrated and had without meaning too, taken it out on Remus and Sirius. Both had tried to talk to Harry and both had failed. Remus had taken the sharper edge of Harry's tongue. Sirius had taken the hint and left Harry alone knowing that he'd talk when he needed to but Remus seemed determined to get Harry out of his room and talking to them. On the fourth occasion Harry found himself screaming at Remus to leave him alone. Afterwards Harry had felt quite guilty but he still remained locked in his room. Eventually he decided he needed a sounding board so he could talk out his memories and decided to take Sirius up on his offer. So the Friday after Harry returned home, he and Sirius were sitting in the living room.

"So what do you want to discus?" asked Sirius.

"I thought I would start with the story of your escape." Said Harry

"You told me about that" replied Sirius

"I know which means if I miss something you'll know" explained Harry. "My memories are confusing, I am sure I remember everything but it feels like I am forgetting something within the memory"

"That makes sense" replied Sirius.

"Well it started in the summer before my third year. You'd escaped from Azkaban" started Harry.

"How?" asked Sirius deciding the best way to check Harry's memory would be to question him. Harry seem to understand and nodded.

"Erm… well you lived as a dog mostly because the Dementor's couldn't effect you as much. You slipped between the bars and walked out. Then swam to land" explained Harry

"Why did I escape?" asked Sirius

"To… to get Peter.." said Harry racking his brains

"I thought Peter was dead, how did I know he was alive?" asked Sirius raising an eyebrow.

"Erm… erm…damn it!" spat Harry as his mind raced and no answer came.

"Don't worry about it Harry. Where was Peter?" asked Sirius

"He was at Hogwarts, as an animal" replied Harry

"What kind of animal?" asked Sirius

"A rat, I am sure he was a rat. Called Scabbers" replied Harry

"Ok, so after I escaped what happened"

"They started a search for you. But couldn't find you"

"When was the first time you saw me?"

"Erm… in person you mean?" asked Harry, Sirius nodded "At my Quidditch game"

Sirius sighed, Harry looked at him. "You told me you saw me in Little Whinging the night you blew up your aunt" explained Sirius

"I blew up my aunt? I don't remember that" replied Harry quietly.

"Come on Harry that isn't important, you're doing fine. Why did people think I'd escaped?"

"To get me" replied Harry that was vivid in his memory.

"Why?"

"Because they reckoned that you thought if I died Voldemort would come back"

"Ok so then what happened?"

"They had Dementor's posted at Hogwarts. They stopped the train and inspected it"

"Did I come to the school?" asked Sirius

"Yes"

"How did I know Peter was at Hogwarts?"

"Erm, you saw him in the newspaper in rat form"

Sirius smiled as Harry seemed to have remembered the part of the story he'd forgotten a couple of minute prior. Harry realised this too and smiled back at his God father, feeling hopeful that talking through the memories will make him remember more.

"Why was he in the paper?" asked Sirius

"He was with Ron and the rest of the Weasley's. Mr Weasley won something." Replied Harry.

"What?"

"I don't remember"

"OK so I was at Hogwarts, then what?"

"You came to my Quidditch match and were in my dorm one night"

"How did I get in the dorm?"

"Erm… I guess you had the password"

"How?"

"I don't know" mumbled Harry barely audible.

"OK. So I am at Hogwarts, what happened?"

"I wasn't allowed to go to Hogsmead and I wanted to. But I couldn't use the invisibility cloak because Dementor's aren't fooled by them. Fred and George Weasley give me the Marauder's Map." Explained Harry.

"Good map isn't it?" laughed Sirius his face full of mischief.

"Brilliant" laughed Harry

"Took us weeks to draw up." Sighed Sirius "Anyways back to the story"

"Yeah, you tried to break into Gryffindor tower but the Fat Lady wouldn't let you in so you slashed the canvas" said Harry "Snape thought Remus had let you into the castle."

"Had he?"

"No he still thought you were guilty"

"Then what?" pushed Sirius.

"You got a hold of the Gryffindor passwords and entered the boy's dorm. Ron saw you stand over him with a knife. We thought you had the wrong bed"

Sirius said nothing, he simply nodded.

"Peter ran away from Ron and pretended to have been killed by a cat"

"Who's cat?"

"Hermione's"

"OK, now what?"

"I saw Pettigrew's name on the map. I went to investigate and Snape caught me. He called for Remus. Remus took the map. I told him what I saw. That's when he realised you were innocent...what Peter must have done."

"That no good…" growled Sirius, Peter's betrayal of James and Lily was still hard for Sirius to bear.

"Let it go. It's not your fault my parents are dead. Chain of events remember. Even if you were secret keeper he would have found them eventually."

"I suppose your right." Sighed Sirius "Carry on"

"I am"

"So the night you found me, what happened?" asked Sirius

"Well we thought that the rat was dead. It had been eaten by the cat or so we thought" Harry paused to consider what happened next. Sirius smiled, he wasn't too concerned what Harry had forgotten, they were quite minor.

"We were at Hagrid's and the rat was there. Hagrid found him" continued Harry.

"Why were you at Hagrid's?"

"To visit him I guess I don't remember the reason. But we often went down to see him."

"Ok continue" said Sirius trying not to show how concerned he had suddenly become. Buckbeak was an important part of the tail and Harry didn't seem to even remember him.

"So we were leaving and the rat goes mental. Ron dropped him and then chased after him. Hermione and I followed. You; in your dog form went straight for Ron. Just as Ron grabbed the rat you grabbed him and dragged him into the Whomping Willow."

"Did I hurt Ron?"

"Yes you broke his leg"

"Ok then what?"

"Hermione and I followed. Her cat had frozen the tree."

"So you enter the tunnel. Then what?"

"We end up in the Shrieking Shack. You had turned back into a man again. We thought it was a trap that you were there to kill me. I tried to hurt you. I was going to use a spell on you but Remus turned up and stopped me. We then thought that he had been helping you. He made us listen to your story."

"So Remus believed me because he was on the map?"

"Yes"

"Why was Remus at the school?" Asked Sirius, he didn't know the reason Harry had kept that to himself but He needed to know if Harry remembered.

"I am not sure I should say. It might damage the timeline."

"Harry, I give you my word what is said between us will not leave my lips"

Harry considered this for a moment before deciding to explain. He knew Sirius would keep his word and besides he was likely to be discussing other things with him too.

"Ok, he was the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher in my third year" said Harry. Sirius's jaw dropped, he hadn't expected that.

"Merlin! Really?" Exclaimed Sirius. "Was he any good?"

"The best I ever had" replied Harry laughing at Sirius's reaction. "Snape wasn't happy though"

"I bet he wasn't. How did Remus control his monthly changes?"

"Wolfsbane Potion. Snape made it."

"And Moony drank it?"

"Haha, that was my reaction too" smiled Harry.

"Ok so back to the night we were in the Shrieking Shack"

"Right yeah. So you were telling us the story of how you became animagus and about the night my parents died. And Snape comes in"

"How did he know you were there?"

"I am not sure, he said something about the potion he made for Remus but how he knew we were in the Shack I don't recall."

"Don't worry about it. What happened next?"

"Snape wanted to take you and Remus to the Dementors. But Hermione, Ron and I stunned him and knocked him out. You turned Peter into a man. You and Remus wanted to kill him. But I stopped you" Harry paused for a moment before continuing. "We decided to turn Peter in so you'd be free. We left the shack. Remus and Ron were attached to Peter by chains so he couldn't run off. You were levitating Snape. Everything was fine until we got out of the tree. It was the full moon and Remus transformed. We had to release Ron and you turned into the dog to occupy Remus. In the confusion Peter changed and escaped."

"Then what?"

"We got Ron free, you and Remus disappeared. I went after you. I found you by the lake and then the Dementors came and I passed out. I woke up later in the Hospital wing."

"So how did I escape?"

"You were in Flitwicks office and they were going to give you the Kiss. Dumbledore came to see me, Ron and Hermione. Well me and Hermione, Ron was unconscious. He told us to go back and rescue you."

"How do you mean 'go back'?"

"We used Hermione's time turner"

"And you rescued me from the office?"

"Yes"

"How"

"Erm…" started Harry he racked his brains and he simply couldn't remember. "We flew to the window… I think"

"Harry, do you remember anything about a Hippogriff?" said Sirius deciding to try and help Harry.

"A hippogriff?" repeated Harry

"Yes"

"No" said Harry looking very annoyed with himself. "I don't remember any more. Tell me what I missed"

Sirius didn't speak for a moment then recounted the story Harry had told him just after returning from the future. Harry nodded along with the bits he remembered. Occasionally when Sirius explained a part of the events Harry remembered. But even when Sirius explained about Buckbeak Harry couldn't remember saving him. He had remembered it hurting Draco Malfoy but not the trial that resulted in its planned execution. Harry was very frustrated.

"Don't get upset Harry, it was only really the last bit you forgot." Soothed Sirius

"Only the most important bit" retorted Harry bitterly

Harry sat quiet; he now knew this wasn't going to be as easy as he first thought. How could he prevent the deaths of his friends if he couldn't remember all the details? For the rest of the day he locked himself away in his bedroom refusing to come out. He sat at his desk with a piece of parchment in front of him. On the parchment he had jotted a time line of events and also a list of Horcruxes and their locations. It read;

Year 1 – Quirrell possessed by Voldemort.

Attempts to steal Philosophers Stone

No fatal injuries

Year 2 – Chamber of Secrets opened.

1st Horcrux (the Riddle Diary)

No fatal injuries (Ginny nearly dies, I almost die)

Sword of Gryffindor discovered

Year 3 – Old time line no longer applicable.

Year 4 – Voldemort returns

Cedric dies.

Horcruxes

Me (Already destroyed)

Nagini – With Voldemort

Slytherin's locket – Already Collected

Marvolo's Ring – Shack (Unknown Location)

Hufflepuff's Cup – Unknown location at current time.

Ravenclaw's Diadem – At Hogwarts

Voldemort – Must kill him myself

Harry was angry that he didn't know where all the Horcruxes were. Why hadn't told Dumbledore? How would he find them now? He was also annoyed that he could visualise the shack that was home to the ring but had no clue to where it was. Perhaps Dumbledore already knew where Voldemort's family had lived. Failing that he'd have to get the memory from the Ministry worker who had went to the shack to arrest Voldemort's uncle. Assuming of course he could find out the name of the worker who had visited. He couldn't remember his name either.

Over the next couple of weeks Harry and Sirius locked themselves away in the living room. Harry talked about key events in his life. Of course Sirius was unable to correct him if he forgot something but Harry became to be comfortable to say if he didn't know and Sirius would ask questions in an attempt to stir something in Harry. It was long work and Harry had been unable to fill the gaps. Sirius was shocked by the things Harry had dealt with.

"How am I supposed to be able to change the events if I can't remember them?" asked Harry one afternoon after trying to explain about the Chamber of Secrets (which he hadn't done very well).

"Perhaps reliving the events will have a effect on you, help you remember" suggested Sirius.

"Maybe your right."

"And I will help you the best I can to work out the clues. At least you remember everyone who dies, so that's something"

"How I know though?"

"How do you know you've remember everyone? I don't know Harry, but we'll have to cross that bridge when we come to it."

Christmas was soon upon them and they had been invited to the Burrow. Harry hadn't been back since the night that he'd had his flashbacks. Ron however had been to the Black Manor a number of times and he and Harry had become really close friends. Harry was excited to spend Christmas with the Weasley's. On Christmas Eve they flooed to the kitchen of the Burrow.

"Merry Christmas Harry" greeted Ron as Harry fell out of the fire place.

"Hi Ron" beamed Harry and quickly moved out of the way of the fireplace to allow room for Sirius and Remus to appear behind him.

"Come on Harry I'll show you to my bedroom. That's were you are going to be sleeping." Said Ron pulling Harry out of the room. Sirius smiled as he watched Harry run after Ron.

"I brought my broom." Said Harry as they raced up the stairs "Maybe we could play later"

"Cool, maybe Charlie, Fred and George will play" replied Ron

"We'll need another player. Is Bill here?"

"No" replied Ron as they entered the attic bedroom.

"Does Percy play at all?" asked Harry

"Not likely"

"How about Ginny then?"

"I don't know if she can fly"

"She could try, then it could be three on three"

"I'll ask the others what they think."

Harry looked around the room it was just as orange as he remembered.

"You really do like the cannons don't you"

"Yeah. You like the Tornado's don't you?"

"That's right, but the Cannon's are ok"

After settling into Ron's room, Harry and Ron went back downstairs.

"Charlie, Fred, George do you want to play quidditch?" asked Ron as he entered the living room.

"Yeah ok" answered Fred

"Sounds good" replied George

"Do you play quidditch Harry?" asked Charlie

"Yes I do. I played at Hogwarts in the summer" said Harry

"The championships?" asked Charlie looking impressed.

"Yes" Smiled Harry

"Brilliant what position do you play?" asked Charlie

"Seeker" answered Harry

"That's wicked" exclaimed Fred

"Charlie is a seeker too. We play together on the Gryffindor quidditch team. He's captain and we play as beaters" explained George.

"We need a sixth player" said Harry "Ginny do you want to play?"

"Ginny?" repeated Fred in surprise

"Can I?" asked Ginny looking up from the book she was reading.

"What about Percy?" asked George

"Don't be mean, if Ginny wants to play let her" said Charlie

Ginny who had looked upset at Fred and Georges comments, looked immediately happy again and followed the boys out of the room to the broom shed in the garden. After collecting the brooms (Ginny borrowed Bill's old broom). They split into two teams. Harry, Ron and Fred verses Charlie, George and Ginny. They played for the rest of the afternoon and didn't head back to the house until they were frozen stiff and the snow became to heavy for them to see properly.

Back in the house Harry and Ron settled in the living room. The others headed to their rooms to get changed. They were sitting on the floor playing chess when the conversation came round to Harry's last visit to the burrow. Harry had been expecting it.

"I am pleased your feeling better now" said Ron

"Thanks" replied Harry

"Mum explained that the muggles weren't very nice to you"

"No they weren't"

"Is it true they told you weren't magic?"

Harry paused for a moment while he decided how much to tell Ron. It didn't take him long to decide to tell him the truth, he knew Ron could deal with it. They were best friends even if Ron had no idea yet just how much of a sacrifice that would be over the next few years. Taking a deep breath he told Ron about living in the cupboard under the stairs, the beatings and the lies the Dursley's had told him about his parents.

"That's horrible, they actually beat you because you did accidental magic" said Ron looking disgusted.

"I never understood that it was magic" said Harry

Unbeknown to the two boys their conversation was overheard by Sirius and Molly who were standing in the doorway. Molly had silent tears running down her face. That night they had a large meal in the kitchen. It was one of the most delicious meal Harry had ever had. Sirius and Remus weren't very good cooks, he often thought they could do with a new house elf. Molly kept piling more food on their plates as they ate through the three courses which ended with a sticky toffee pudding. When Harry had eaten enough he looked around the table. Fred and George were in deep conversation at the end of the table. Next to them Ginny was snoozing in her chair. Arthur and Sirius were talking shop in the middle of the table.

"Christmas is the worse time of the year" said Arthur.

"Those crackers were pretty nasty" agreed Sirius

"What happened father?" asked Percy pompously.

"When you pulled them stinksap burst out of them" sighed Arthur

"That's horrible. Did you catch the culprit?" Percy grimaced.

"Yes we did, well Sirius here did" answered Arthur

Their conversation moved on to what legal action would be taken against the perpetrator. Harry moved his attention to Charlie who was taking to his mother and Remus about his upcoming N.E.W.T examinations. Ron was also listening.

"Well I am expecting an O in Care of Magical Creatures, Transfiguration and Defence Against the Dark Arts." Said Charlie

"That's good. What other subjects are you taking?" asked Remus

"Potions, Charms and Herbology. I think I will do well in them too. I am averaging a E in them." Replied Charlie

"If you pull a good exam you could get the O" said Remus

"I am sure you'll do great" smiled Molly

"Thanks Mum" said Charlie

"What do you want to do when you leave school?" asked Harry, who of course wasn't supposed to know of Charlie's ambition yet.

"I am going to train Dragons" answered Charlie proudly "I have a job lined up all I need to do is get the right grades at the end of the year"

"That's cool" said Harry. "I can't wait to go to Hogwarts"

"Me too" chipped in Ron

"Hogwarts is great. I'll miss it when I leave" smiled Charlie

"Has Remus and Sirius told you a lot about school?" asked Molly

"Oh yes loads. I am going to be in Gryffindor" responded Harry

"Are you now?" laughed Charlie "You know you don't choose, you get placed"

"I know, but my Mum and Dad were in that house. I bet you I will be and someday I will be the wearing your captains badge as I lead the Gryffindor team onto the field." Said Harry with a cheeky grin on his face.

"Yeah I'll be in Gryffindor too" said Ron "But I am going to be captain not you Harry"

Molly, Charlie and Remus smiled as they watched the two boys squabbling playfully. Harry felt weird to do this but at the same time he felt at peace. For the moment he could just enjoy life and not worry about Voldemort or anything else.

The next morning Harry was awoken early by Ron who was eagerly pulling on his dressing gown to rush downstairs to open his presents. Harry smiled to himself Ron was always impatient at Christmas. Harry got up and pulled on his dressing gown as he headed downstairs. When he entered the living room everyone else was present.

"Merry Christmas" chorused everybody.

"Come on Harry, open your presents" said Sirius eagerly

Harry laughed and walked over to where Sirius was sitting. He sat on the floor and pulled his presents towards him. It was certainly the largest pile of presents he'd ever received. He didn't open his presents immediately. He watched as Ron and his Brothers ripped open their gifts.

"What's up Harry?" asked Sirius

"I am not used to presents" he shrugged. Harry noticed that Molly looked surprised but she said nothing.

"Open your gifts first" said Harry to Sirius and Remus.

"OK" said Remus and Sirius nodded in agreement.

Harry handed over the gifts he had bought them. Sirius ripped the paper off to revel the handsome gold watch Harry had gotten him. It had a duel face. The face in the middle was an ordinary watch face and under that (the watch face was over the top so only the outer edge of the face beneath it was visible) was similar to the clock Molly had in the kitchen. Three customised hands had been added; one said Harry, another said Remus and the final one said Sirius.

"This is great" said Sirius sounding completely gob smacked.

"You like it?" asked Harry

"Of course, must've been really expensive though" replied Sirius

"A little bit but Remus made sure I didn't get ripped off" explained Harry. Remus nodded in agreement and then opened his presents; which were a new black travelling cloak and a pair of dragon hide boots.

"These are very nice, thank you" said Remus

"Your welcome" smiled Harry, giving gifts had always given him more pleasure than receiving.

"Come on Harry your turn" said Sirius

"Hang on" said Harry and then lend across to the armchair where Arthur was sitting; Molly was perched on the arm. He handed over two parcels.

"Oh Harry you shouldn't have" said Molly

"I wanted to, to say thank you" replied Harry meekly. He had always wanted to show his appreciation to the Weasley's for all the help they had given him over the years but somehow never got around to it. This time would be different. The presents weren't much, Harry knew they'd never accept grand presents. Molly's present was a navy blue cashmere cardigan and Arthur's gift was a selection of muggle plugs from different countries and some batteries. Both were very happy and kept stammering their thanks.

"Now will you open your gifts?" laughed Sirius

"Ok, ok" laughed Harry.

Harry opened his presents. Off Sirius he got a set of the newest Tornado's robes, quidditch gloves, a pair of leather boots, new clothes, bags of Zonko products and a leather bound book. It was a photo album similar to the one that Hagrid had bought him in the other time line.

"This is brilliant" beamed Harry and give Sirius a brief hug.

"I am pleased you like it" smiled Sirius

Harry then turned his attention to Remus' gifts. He had bought him a sneakoscope, books on defensive magic and charms, also a battered old scrap book. Harry opened it, on the inside front cover written in black ink was the words 'Property of James Potter'. Harry's heart leaped. He'd never seen this before. A quick flick though showed newspaper cuttings, more pictures; mostly of him playing Quidditch, journal entries made by himself and on the last page a love letter from Lily. Harry had to blink back tears.

"Where did you get this?" asked Harry though a lump in his throat.

"Bathida Bagshot, she found it at your parents house and kept a hold of it. When I spook to her about photographs she said had none but she did have James' old scrap book. He started it when he started at Hogwarts." Explained Remus.

"There are loads of blank pages maybe I will fill the rest with my Hogwarts years" said Harry.

"I think he'd have liked that" said Sirius.

Harry then opened the rest of his presents. Off Ron he got some sweets, he got book on Quidditch off Hagrid and Molly and Arthur had given him a homemade jumper and some fudge. That left one present, Harry was immensely surprised to find it was from Amber Merryfield; whom he had played Quidditch with in the summer. It was a framed picture of the team. Because Harry had left so abruptly he hadn't collected his. There was a note with it;

Hi Harry,

I heard from my mother (she works at the ministry) that you are going through a lot at the moment what with the trial and everything. So I thought this might cheer you up. I know you didn't get yours. Merry Christmas.

Hope to see you next summer.

Amber

x

Harry was touched by her kindness and resolved to owl her as soon as possible to thank her. After the presents were out of the way they retreated to the kitchen for some breakfast, where everyone was given generous helpings of bacon and eggs. The stress of the last couple of months were forgotten in Harry. He'd hoped for a easy year before joining Hogwarts. It had been his hope that he could simply enjoy spending time with his Godfather for a while before leaving him, but then things in Harry's life had never been that easy.

The rest of Christmas passed quickly. They spent the days playing Quiddich or having snowball fights in the meadow next to the Burrow. Harry couldn't remember being happier anytime in the recent years. He was sad to say goodbye to the Weasley's when he went home but he had more pressing things to think about. The trial of the Dursley's was coming up.

Authors Note - I know this chapter isn't much. As I stated, it just didn't feel right at the beginning of the next chapter. Chapter 11 will be up really soon (Maybe tonight, but it is 00:36 and I am tired so it might have to wait untill tomorrow). Anyway I hope you enjoyed this. Please review.