Chapter Playlist:
- Home for the Holidays
- Blown Away ~ Carrie Underwood
I grabbed a Butterbeer from off the table. Eva sat down next to me on one side and an empty spot on the other. This year, we would be celebrating Christmas with the Weasleys, Sirius, and Harry at 12 Grimmauld Place. Mum and Dad's flight would be landing later today.
Suddenly, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley Disapparated into the room. Mr. Weasley had luckily gotten out of surgery early and was discharged from St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries this morning.
We were extremely lucky that Harry, Ron, and I got to Dumbledore in time. I felt a twinge of guilt and sadness. I've never seen Dumbledore so impatience or rude to anyone. Then again, I kinda pushed him to it.
I brushed aside those sad thoughts and plastered a smile on my face. Partially because it was Christmas and partially because I didn't want to worry Eva. Her magic was improving greatly with all the DA lessons. She's learning spells Fifth Years haven't even learned. I smiled wider out of pride.
"Sit down, everybody, sit down. That's it. Now, presents." Mrs. Weasley bustled around handing out presents to everyone. "And a nice big box for Ron. Fred and George. Come on, open up. I want to see your faces."
Fred and George got matching scarves, Ginny got a hat, and Ron got some sort of jacket. "Try it on." She told him. "Thanks, Mum. It's perfect." He smiled weakly. "Just what he wanted, actually." She told me. I chuckled and pushed some of Eva's hair behind her ear. "You hungry?" She nodded.
I was very surprised when Mrs. Weasley passed two packages to me and Eva. I smiled at her and unwrapped mine. They were warm, purple mittens and a matching hat. "I needed new gloves! Remember what happened to my last ones?" I snickered to Eva. She burst into a fit of giggles.
"Thank you Mrs. Weasley." She smiled and watched Eva's face light up at the Weasley sweater she was gifted. It was light blue with a gold 'E', the same color as her eyes. "Heeey! Now you match the rest of us!" Fred grinned.
"Oh, Harry, Harry. There you are. Happy Christmas." Mrs. Weasley gave him a parcel and hugged him. I smiled at him and patted towards the empty seat next to me. He gave her his thanks and plopped down in the wooden chair.
"Now, Daddy. Pass that to Daddy." Mrs. Weasley finally gave everyone their presents, letting Mr. Weasley, who'd been waiting to talk, finally speak. "A Christmas toast. To Mr. Harry Potter without whom I would not be here. Harry." He held up his glass of red wine.
The rest of us kids held up our Butterbeers. "Harry." We repeated. "Harry." A familiar voice said a little late. Harry and I turned our heads to the left. Sirius had sat down at the end of the table, just a few empty seats over from Harry's. He smiled at my best friend and winked.
The food, as usual, was delicious. Mrs. Weasley sure knew how to cook. Their was small talk and laughs here and there. Near the end of the meal, I whispered something in Harry's ear, in hopes of making him smile. He grinned at me and took a swig of Butterbeer.
Sirius caught my eye and beckoned me over. "Could I speak with you privately for a moment?" I nodded confused, and followed him out and to the living room. I sensed it had to do with Harry and/or the nightmare about Mr. Weasley.
He sat down on a couch in front of the fireplace, the one he used when he talked to us that one time in the fall. "You care a great deal about Harry, do you not?" He finally said. I sat up, alarmed. "Sirius, I think you've got the wrong impression...I don't like Harry like that...he's my best friend..."
He laughed, making me feel a bit foolish. Was that not what he was implying? "I know that Laurel. I know. You see...Harry needs to move out of the Dursleys, no doubt about that. But...say something were to happen during the Wizarding War..."
I gulped hard. "Sirius what are you implying?" "I know I am his godfather, but my life is too unstable for him to live with me. I'm considered a criminal to the Ministry. You see, I've talked it over with your parents and they want to do it. We just haven't told to him yet or Eva. I told your parents I'd talk to you first... You're family is going to adopt Harry if he's alright with it."
I sat there in silence, taking it all in. Harry's going to be my brother? Finally, I grinned widely. "I've always wanted a brother. I hope he says yes." Sirius patted me on the back, looking elated. "Thank you. Just keep this between us and your parents for now. Eva will be told later along with Harry." I nodded and went back to the dining room, feeling a lot better than before dinner.
I was sitting in the courtyard studying, not really a surprise, looking over the stupid paper I just wrote for Defense Against the Dark Arts. I saw in the corner of my eye Ron, Harry, and Hermione running towards me.
"Laurel! Hagrid's back." Hermione called, still a few feet away. I grinned and shoved my books in my bag, trailing after my friends in a sprint. Running for your life and the laps Aslan has me do to build stamina really helps you run faster.
We ran down the trail, picking up speed. When we were in front of Hagrid's door, we heard a voice from the inside. But it didn't belong it Hagrid.
"I will say this one last time. I'm ordering you to tell me where you've been." It was old toad face. We ran to the side of the hut and peered into the window. Umbridge was standing in front of our large friend, his back to us.
"I told you. I've been away for me health." He told her, sounding worn out. "Your health?" She asked, doubt clear in her voice. We backed away from the window for fear she might have seen us. "Yeah. Bit of fresh air, you know."
"Oh, yes. As gamekeeper, fresh air must be difficult to come by." He didn't say anything. "If I were you, I shouldn't get too used to being back. In fact, I mightn't bother unpacking at all." She strode to the door and opened it. I grabbed Ron's arm, who was standing in the open where she could see him, and pulled him away just in time.
When she had walked back to the castle, we knocked on the door. I gagged, along with Ron and Harry. She'd obviously sprayed the door with her horrid-smelling perfume. Hagrid opened up and beamed. "Hey you four. Come on in. I have a pot o' tea on the stove right now."
We pulled out chairs from the table and sat around. Fang, Hagrid's dog, laid on the ground under the table. I scratched between his ears and smiled at him. When Hagrid came back with the tea and some rock-hard muffins, which we declined politely, he sat down and started talking.
"Where have you been?" I asked, adding lily petals to my tea, turning the black liquid to a pinkish color. I sipped it and smiled. The tea washed through me and reenergized me quickly; my skin and hair becoming more vibrant in a sense.
"This is top-secret, right? Dumbledore sent me to parley with the giants." He told us. "Giants?" Hermione asked. He nodded, holding a steak to his black and bloodied up eye. I noticed he had cuts on other parts of his face too. "You found them?" she continued.
"Well, they're not that hard to find, to be perfectly honest. They're so big, see? I tried to convince them to join the cause. But I wasn't the only one that was trying to win them over." he explained. "Death Eaters?" Ron guessed. "Yes. Trying to persuade them to join You-Know-Who." Hagrid nodded.
"Did they?" Harry asked next. He shrugged. "I gave them Dumbledore's message. Suppose some of them remember he was friendly to them. I suppose." "And they did this to you?" I asked slowly, not wanting to offend him. "Not exactly, no." he said quietly.
I studied his face. Hagrid was keeping something from us, but I decided to leave the matter alone. Fang whined. "Oh, go on, you have it, then, you dozy dog." I pulled out a small box from the inside of my robes. "Hagrid I can heal those for you if you want." He smiled and gave me his tea cup. I studied his face, then decided to put four lily petals in. That should be enough to heal him.
When the water turned a milky pink, I gave it to him. He chugged it in one sip and sighed. The cuts and bruises healed in less than five minutes. The wind blew loudly outside, drawing all five of our attentions. Fang barked for some unknown reason. I think it's a dog thing.
"It's changing out there. Just like last time. There's a storm coming, Harry. We'd all best be ready when she does." Hagrid said in a serious voice. I gulped. That didn't reassure me.
