"Mr. Potter," Professor McGonagall stopped him as he left the Great Hall after lunch on a Saturday. It was only two weeks before the Christmas holidays. Harry hadn't attempted to crack the code of his golden egg, deciding to first get his marks up and work on the clue after the holidays. Ron was back to normal and it was almost as if nothing had ever happened. All of Gryffindor house was back on Harry's side as well, making him feel a bit better about the whole situation.
"Yes, Professor?" Harry said, facing her.
"I noticed you are not staying at the castle this year for Christmas holidays," she said.
"That's right. I'm going back home with Remus and Snuffles. It's my first Christmas with them," Harry answered.
"I understand, Potter. However, you must stay," McGonagall said and Harry frowned.
"What? Why?"
"It is tradition to hold a Yule Ball during the tournament. It is also tradition for the Triwizard champions to open the ball," McGonagall told him and he blinked, almost as if he didn't understand what she was saying.
"But, I—I—" Harry stuttered.
"I know, Potter, but you must open the ball. I'm sorry," she said. She gave him a sympathetic smile then turned and walked away.
Harry couldn't believe it. It was his first Christmas with his new family and he had to spend it at the school. It couldn't be happening. He had had it planned for months that he was going to go home with Remus and Sirius and have Christmas with them. Now he had to stay and open a ball he didn't want to go to for a tournament he never wanted to be in in the first place.
"Harry, what's going on? We saw McGonagall talking to you," Hermione said as she and Ron exited the Great Hall.
"I have to stay at the school for Christmas," he told them as they started walking up the Grand Staircase, heading for the seventh floor.
"What?" said Ron. "But you were going to go home with Remus and Snuffles. You told us months ago."
"I know, but I'm a champion and I have to open the Yule Ball that's on Christmas," Harry said.
"I'm so sorry, Harry," Hermione said.
Harry nodded but didn't say anything. They were quiet as they continued up to the seventh floor. When they got there, Harry told his friends he was going to Marauder's Quarters. They nodded and walked into Gryffindor Tower as Harry walked down the corridor. He made the doors appear and walked inside. Remus and Sirius weren't in the living room so Harry assumed they were down in Hogsmeade. He dropped his bag on the sofa and walked to the mantle. He turned the wolf ornament to the left and the wall opened, revealing the Pensieve and the glass case holding all the many memories. He opened the door and looked at the titles on the vials, finally choosing one off Remus' shelf labelled 'Secret Out'. He poured it into the Pensieve and bent over, touching his nose to the surface.
He fell through nothing then landed in Gryffindor common room. It looked pretty much the same, except the furniture looked a tad newer. He looked around and found the common room was deserted, completely empty. He glanced out the window and saw the stars were out and the quarter moon was high in the black sky. He spun around when he heard the portrait door opened and saw the teenage version of Remus Lupin. Harry watched as Remus walked around him and looked around, evidently searching for his best friends.
"Sirius? James? Peter? Where are you?" he called. Harry and Remus waited and listened then heard footsteps on the stairs leading to the boys' dormitories. Teenage Sirius, James, and Pettigrew walked down and stood in a line in front of Remus, no expression on any of their young faces. James, standing in the middle, had his arms crossed. Harry looked between the friends waiting for something to happen.
"Hey, Remus," Sirius said and Remus frowned at the tone of voice.
"What's going on?" Remus asked, lowering his bag to the floor.
"Why don't you tell us?" James said.
"What do you mean?" Remus said, his eyebrows creasing.
"Remus," James began. Harry could tell that Remus had begun breathing quickly and was nervous. "We know."
"Know? Know what?" Remus said but Harry could tell he knew exactly what his friends were talking about.
"About where you go every month," Sirius said. Harry couldn't tell if his father and godfather were mad or not. They were still expressionless and were speaking very monotone.
"What were you going to tell us this month, Remus? Mother was sick? Father was sick? Had to help move?" James said and Harry had to admit that sounded kind of mean.
"I—I—I—" Remus stuttered, not sure what to say.
"Why don't you just tell us?" Sirius said.
"We already know. We just want to hear you tell us," James said.
"I—I—" Remus spluttered and his eyes fell to the floor. "I'm a werewolf," he whispered. Harry wasn't sure if the others had heard him or not.
"Right then. Let's play chess," Sirius said, clapping his hands together. Harry grinned when Remus looked up, thoroughly confused. Leave it to Sirius to completely change the subject after pretty much torturing one of his best friends.
"What are you talking about?" Remus said.
"Chess. Play. Me and you. Or you and James. Or me and James," Sirius said in clipped sentences as if he were talking to a five year old.
"But—I—" Remus said, looking at them confused. "I'm a werewolf. I'm a dark creature."
"No you're not," James said. "You're Remus."
"You're not scared?"
"Scared of what? When have you ever hurt us?" James said, raising an eyebrow in slight amusement. Harry got a feeling of looking in a mirror and realized what Sirius meant when he said Harry looked like his father and Remus when he raised an eyebrow.
"You're not angry? I've lied to you for three years," Remus said. It was clear he couldn't comprehend what was happening.
"No, we're not mad," Sirius shook his head.
"I'm sure it was all for safety reasons and Dumbledore obviously had something to do with it," James added.
"Come on, Remus. We mean it. We're not scared. We're not mad. You're not a dark, evil creature. You're Remus. Now, sit down and let me kick your ass at chess," Sirius said and Harry laughed at his godfather's words. He watched as a smile slid onto Remus' face.
"Thanks, guys. Thank you so much," he said gratefully.
"What'd you think was going to happen? We were going to take off or come after you and kill you?" James said, clapping a hand onto Remus' shoulder. "Nah. We've lived with you for three years. If we had wanted to kill you we would have already. We can handle you," James grinned with Sirius.
"Oh, shut up, you two," Remus said but he was beaming as he took a seat across from Sirius and began playing chess.
Harry felt himself rising out of the Pensieve as the scene around him dissolved. His feet hit the floor of Marauder's Quarters and Harry found himself still smiling.
"People have a fascination with watching the day James, Sirius, and Peter found out I was a werewolf and pretty much forced me to tell," Remus said behind Harry making him jump. Remus and Sirius were sitting on the sofa, grinning at him.
"We didn't force you," Sirius said. "We politely asked you."
"You have no idea the torture I was in when you two decided to slowly lead up to it," Remus said, shaking his head. "About as bad as the days leading up to that day. Worst days of my life."
"I doubt that, Moony," Sirius said.
"You have no idea. Though I'm sure it was torture for you and Prongs too, reading all those books," Remus smirked.
"That was harsh," Sirius said and Harry laughed, falling onto the sofa between them.
"How about this?" Harry said. "You were all tortured in some way."
"We'll settle for that," Sirius said. Harry chuckled again.
"So where were you?" Harry asked.
"Hogsmeade. Sirius wanted butterbeer and sweets from Honeydukes," Remus said. Harry nodded but didn't speak. He stared at the glowing Pensieve. His silence didn't go unnoticed. It never did.
"Is something wrong, kiddo?" Sirius asked.
Harry looked down at his lap. "I can't go home for Christmas."
"I forgot about the Yule Ball," Remus nodded.
"It's not fair," Harry said quietly. Sirius sighed and pulled Harry gently to his chest as Remus put a comforting hand on the boy's back.
"We know, pup," Remus said. "Don't worry. We'll make it work. We'll still have Christmas together."
"It won't be the same here as it would be going home," Harry said against his godfather's chest.
"I know, Harry, but we'll make it work," Sirius said.
Harry sat up. "It's my first Christmas with you two and I have to spend it at school."
Remus looked at him softly and smoothed back Harry's hair. "It's all right, pup."
Harry didn't know what to do. He had to have a date for the Yule Ball but had no idea who to ask. He had thought of Hermione but she told him someone had already asked her. Now, he didn't know who to ask. He wanted it to be someone he knew well, someone he was comfortable well. He also had to move fast. The Christmas holidays had started two days ago and for the first time in the four years Harry had been at Hogwarts, almost every student stayed. Harry lay on his bed in Marauder's Quarters trying to concentrate on his Defence homework but found he kept thinking about who he was going to ask to the ball.
"You haven't gotten much further than when I checked an hour ago, pup," Remus said, gazing down at Harry's essay on Stinging Jinxes.
"Sorry," Harry said, dropping his quill and sitting up. "I can't figure out who to ask to the ball. I was too late asking Hermione. I don't know who to ask. I want it to be someone I know well, someone I'm comfortable being with."
"What about one of the girls from your Quidditch team? You've known them for a few years," Remus suggested.
"Angelina's going with Fred, Katie's going with George, and Alicia went home for the holidays," Harry shook his head.
"Well," Remus said thoughtfully. "What about Ginny? You've known her since you were eleven and you two are good friends. You're part of the family."
"That's a good idea," Harry nodded. "Yeah, I'll ask Ginny, but I'll ask Ron first to make sure he's okay with it. I don't feel like him cursing me."
"All right. Now that you have that figured out, finish this essay. Do you need help?" Remus asked, looking at the two paragraphs Harry had down.
Harry sighed. "No, I'm okay. Can't I take a break?"
"Harry, you've hardly done anything. At least get halfway done then you can take a break. Fair?" Remus said.
"Yes, that's fair," Harry nodded, picking up his quill again. Remus watched as Harry lay down again and started writing then left the room. Harry focused again upon his essay and began writing again. He wasn't sure how much time had passed but he managed to finish the whole essay. He breathed in relief and put his things away. He left his room and sat on the sofa with Remus who was reading a book.
"Done?" he asked, turning a page in his book.
"Yeah," Harry nodded. "Where's Sirius?"
"Running around outside, probably in the forest," Remus said and Harry heard a hint of disapproval in his voice.
"You don't sound too pleased about that," Harry pointed out.
"It's dangerous in that forest. You should know that," Remus looked down at Harry who smiled sheepishly. Remus grinned and put an around Harry's shoulders.
"He lived in that forest for a good portion of last year," Harry said, leaning against Remus' side.
"Still, he needs to be careful," Remus said, putting down his book. "Have you gotten anywhere on your egg?"
"No, I haven't opened it since I got it."
"Harry, the task is in two months," Remus said.
"I know but it makes no sense. It's just a loud screeching sound. It's not like it's even a language. It's just screaming," Harry said.
"You've got to try, pup. You can't go into that task unprepared," Remus told him.
"This would be so much easier if I wasn't in the tournament," Harry muttered. Remus sighed and rubbed Harry's arm in comfort.
"Believe me, Sirius and I would feel much better if you weren't in the tournament either," Remus said quietly.
"I'm sorry. You two always have to worry. You and Sirius would be happier if you didn't have to constantly worry about me," Harry said and found himself being held to Remus' chest tightly.
"That's ridiculous, pup. We can't think of a better life. We love having you, Harry, never think otherwise. We're happier than either of us has been in years," Remus told him. Harry nodded against his guardian and smiled into Remus' robes. He still had that nagging voice in his head telling him he didn't deserve what Remus and Sirius were giving him but he pushed it away and rested against Remus, content.
"What's going on?" Sirius had returned and sat on Harry's other side. Harry, unaware that he was exhausted found himself drifting off in Remus' embrace and was only catching parts of what his guardians were saying.
"He really believes we'd be happier without him," Remus said, laying Harry down on his lap.
"I've noticed that," Sirius nodded. "He's so afraid of making us angry or disappointing us. If it hadn't been for those Muggles, he wouldn't be so afraid. He would also eat more. He's way too thin for a kid his age."
"I know," Remus nodded and looked down at Harry sadly. "He doesn't think he deserves anything but he deserves everything and more."
"He must've been really tired. He's completely out," Sirius said, looking at his godson who was curled up, his head on Remus' thigh.
"That's good. He hasn't been sleeping much. He despises the fact that he has to stay here for Christmas," Remus smiled.
"Like he said, it's the first Christmas we're spending together," Sirius said and Remus nodded.
"What's up, Padfoot?" Remus asked as Sirius looked thoughtful.
"Do you think this Room would change to look like the cottage?" Sirius asked.
"I'm sure it would. Remember when James' dad was ill? James wanted to go home but couldn't so the Room changed to look like his place," Remus nodded.
"We can change the Room to look like the cottage Christmas Eve night and then it'll be like we're back home for Christmas morning," Sirius explained and Remus smiled.
"That's genius, Padfoot. Never thought I'd say that," Remus said and laughed when Sirius aimed a slap at his head.
"I'll bring Harry to bed," Sirius said and picked up the small boy in his arms. He brought his godson to the room with 'Prongs' on the door and lay him on the bed. He took off Harry's glasses and pulled the blankets over him, putting a hand through the boy's hair. He smiled when his godson leaned into the touch.