Note: Minor revisions as 2/2/2016

Chapter 14: Dear Santa

"It's Christmas! It's Christmas! It's Christmas!" Lily cheered as she bounced excitedly through the house. "Wake up!"

"We know, Lily," Teddy said, looking amused. He had stuck his head out of his bedroom as she ran past, followed closely by her whooping brothers.

Around them, doors were being opened and their occupants likewise groggily looking out. Molly beamed. "It's so exciting to have young children in the house for Christmas again!"

The twins groaned. "It's five o'clock in the morning…"

"Teddy, would you be a dear?" Ginny asked tiredly from the doorway of her room. Behind her, Harry yawned as he headed towards the bathroom, already too used to his children's antics.

Teddy grinned. "On it, Ginny. Leave it to me." He dashed down the stairs two at a time, faintly hearing Ginny's relieved thanks from behind. He found the Potter children in the living room, practically dancing a jig around the Christmas tree.

"Those presents are to be opened later, kids," he reminded chidingly. As one, the trio turned towards him with identical pouts. Laughing, Teddy waved them over to the sofa and sat down. "So, what did Santa leave in your stockings this year?"

The children began to excitedly chatter about their presents that year, ranging from various kinds of candy to a tiny model broomstick set. Lily proudly showed off her new toy jewelry set, comprising of satiny ribbons to thread through her hair and a brightly-colored bead necklace. Teddy smiled at the children's enthusiasm, absently compiling with Lily's request to braid her hair with a green ribbon.

"And a Weasley sweater," they finished in unison. "But that's from Grandma, not Santa," James added. They proceeded to show Teddy their sweaters, pink for Lily, green for Al and red for James. With a grin, Teddy revealed his own, a dark blue one. Honestly, how did the Molly do it? She couldn't possibly have anticipated their arrival, yet still managed to complete at least four extra sweaters within just five days.

"Breakfast!" Molly called from the kitchen. As one, the Potter children pulled their new sweaters over their heads and then ran out of the living room. Teddy laughed as he tugged on his as well and headed after them.

Upon entering the kitchen, he was greeted by the sight of Molly sobbing.

The twins, entering behind Teddy, looked alarmed. "Mum, what's wrong?" When Molly gave no reply, they looked questioningly at Bill, who was sitting at the dining table. Interestingly, Bill appeared to be amused rather than concerned.

"She's fine," he assured his younger siblings.

The twins shifted their a skeptical glances between him and their mother.

"Having grandchildren is so nice!" the Weasley matriarch finally managed to wail semi-coherently. The three Potter children stared at her in confusion, wearing the sweaters she had knitted for them and wondering why she wasn't giving them any breakfast yet.

The twins sighed in unison, looking embarrassed at their mother's uncontrolled display of emotion. Bill just laughed and returned his attention to his toast.

Thankfully, by the time the rest of the household trickled into the kitchen, Molly had pretty much recovered. She dabbed the corner of her eyes with a dotted handkerchief as she continued to dish out the delicious-smelling food.

Stifling a yawn, Remus entered the room. "Merry Christmas, everyone," he said with a smile and was greeted by a chorus of 'Merry Christmas' in reply from those in the room. He gratefully took the plate of breakfast given to him by Molly and took a seat next to Teddy. "Merry Christmas, Teddy."

Teddy's returning smile was blinding. "Merry Christmas, Dad."

"Is anyone else expected for breakfast?" Molly asked, cracking more eggs into the pan. As if in answer to her question, the door opened once again.

"Hohoho, Merry Christmas!" An old white-bearded man dressed in a red suit trimmed generously with white fur burst into the room, carrying an impressively large sack on his back.

"Santa!" shrieked Lily in delight, her eyes widened with glee.

Everyone else was similarly wide-eyed, though not for the same reasons. Ron, among others, was straight out gaping.

"Merry Christmas, Professor. May I say you look very fine today?" Harry greeted with a smile.

Dumbledore chuckled merrily. "Thank you, my dear boy. Would you say I do the costume justice?"

"Admirably, sir, judging by Lily's reaction."

The little girl in question had latched herself onto Dumbledore's arm and was demanding presents.

James rolled his eyes and he shoveled down a plate of chocolate chip pancakes. "That's not really Santa, Lily. It's Professor Dumbledore."

Well, bloody hell.

The other occupants of the room held their breath in anticipation of the eruption of a sibling squabble of epic proportions.

Lily looked over at her brother but didn't let go of the old man's arm. Her reply was remarkably calm. "Of course he's not Santa. Santa always comes at night and it's morning already. But that doesn't mean Professor Dumbledore can't give presents anyway."

The entire room was silent, flabbergasted by her logic. Dumbledore broke the silence by chuckling. "You are perfectly, right, my dear. Here is your present."

"Thank you!" Lily said happily, accepting the small wrapped box.

Dumbledore began to go around the room handing out presents. When he reached Lily's father, his eyes twinkled. "Your daughter is a very intelligent child, Harry."

Harry's eyes danced as well. "She terrifies the whole family, Professor. I can't even imagine what she will be like when she grows up."

The elderly professor chuckled. "Children will never fail to amaze us with every passing day."

The door swung open again and this time it was Severus Snape who stepped into the room. Silence reigned for the second time that morning as the occupants of the room took in his appearance, or to be more exact the items he held.

"Are those presents!?" Fred managed incredulously.

Indeed, the usually sour-faced Potions Master appeared to have two nearly wrapped boxes tucked under an arm, one pink and one green.

"Sev!" Lily raced over to her friend's side to tackle him in a hug. "Merry Christmas, Sev!" He returned the exuberant greeting with a small smile, the type reserved only for her, and handed her the pink box. She received it happily.

The smaller green one was given to a surprised Al, who stammered out his thanks. Severus was then guided by Lily to an empty seat at the table and accepted Molly's offer of toast and bacon.

"Now that's terrifying," George commented. The other Weasleys nodded fervently.

After breakfast, the group adjoined to the living room where the children proceeded to attack the presents sitting under the tree.

"The presents aren't going to run away, you know," Teddy commented in amusement, approaching the three Potter children. His words were completely ignored. Chuckling, he went in search for his own presents. Which turned out to be a harder task than expected, given that he could hardly see anything beneath the mess of ribbons and discarded wrapping paper.

"They're over there," Lily told him helpfully, pointing to several boxes on her right, not looking up from the box she was opening. One moment later, she held a pretty doll in her arms and beamed up at Teddy.

Teddy grinned. He had gotten that doll from Diagon Alley a few days ago. "Like it?"

Lily nodded vigorously, rubbing her cheek against the doll's soft hair. "Thanks, Teddy."

Footsteps sounded and Harry entered the room. He took in the cheerful mess in the room and raised an eyebrow at Teddy. The teen just laughed and continued towards his presents.

"Daddy! Look at the dolly Teddy got for me!" Lily rushed up to her father, holding up her new doll proudly.

Harry scooped his little girl up into his arms. "She's really pretty. What are you going to name her, princess?"

Lily thought for a moment. "Dora," she decided. "'Cause she's pretty just like the Dora we know."

Reaching for his presents, Teddy froze. Harry smiled and ruffled Lily's hair tenderly. "That's a really nice name. Why don't you show her to Dora later?"

Lily nodded in agreement then squirmed to get down. Once Harry placed her back on the ground, she dashed towards the rest of her presents.

Teddy met Harry's gaze, misty eyed. "It's a good name," he agreed. Smiling, Harry ruffled the boy's hair fondly in response.

"Hohoho, Merry Christmas!" For the second time, Santa burst into the room. After a single frozen moment, the room erupted in laughter.

"I'm afraid I have beaten you to the attempt, my dear girl," Dumbledore said with a chuckle.

Santa stared at Santa for a stunned moment.

"Dang." With a light pop, the beard and white hair vanished, leaving a heart-shaped face framed by bubblegum pink hair. Dora left the room and returned soon dressed in a red blouse and jeans instead of the bulky Santa costume. She grinned at Dumbledore, giving him a thumbs-up. "Looking good, Professor!"

"Thank you. I have been told that the outfit becomes me."

Dora laughed. "That it does."

"Dora, Dora! Look at the doll Teddy got me! I'm naming her Dora because she looks like you," Lily said sweetly, running up to the pink-haired woman.

Dora smiled and crouched down to admire the doll, touched at the gesture. "That's really nice, Lily. Thanks." She gave the little girl a light kiss on the cheek. Lily smiled broadly and ran back to her presents.

Straightening, Dora went over to Teddy and hugged him warmly. "Merry Christmas, Teddy."

"Merry Christmas, Mum." Teddy returned the hug tightly. "Dad's over there," he whispered, tilting his head towards the couch by the fireplace. The place beside Remus was currently taken up by Sirius, but the dark-haired man obligingly vacated it with a roguish grin and a wink. Remus looked up, startled at being suddenly abandoned.

"Come on, let's get him before he escapes!" Dora told Teddy laughingly, because it really did seem like Remus was preparing to bolt. Honestly, the older man was just so stubborn sometimes. "Teddy, quick!"

Laughing, Teddy let his mother to pull him towards the couch to corner his father. One Lupin stood not chance against two.

"Oh-ho!" Dumbledore, inspecting the largely depleted pile of presents under the tree, had discovered a present addressed to him sitting innocently in a corner. Upon opening it, he was first greeted by a card nestled among what appeared to be several rolls of colorful fabric. Lifting it, he silently read the contents of the card with a teary smile.

'Dear Professor Dumbledore,

Merry Christmas! Now you won't be able to say that you didn't receive any of them for Christmas again.

Love, the Potters'

Inside the box were five pairs of thick, wooly socks.

The Christmas dinner was magnificent. Molly's cooking was, as always, absolutely delicious, but the highlight of the feast was the Christmas crackers set beside every plate, courtesy of a certain pair of red-haired twins and a certain auburn-haired boy.

Sirius hooted with laughter as his hat began an enthusiastic rendition of "God Rest Ye Merry Hippogriffs". Remus sportingly put on a hat that was spitting mini fireworks in a most determined fashion. Lily's hat changed colors every few seconds, while Harry's cheerily sang "Deck the Halls". Soon the room was filled by overlapping songs and flashing colors. When the mayhem finally died down, Fred, George and James stepped onto their chairs and took a bow. The children cheered, and while Molly attempted to look disapproving she also couldn't help but smile. It really had been a rather marvelous piece of work.

A loud crack sounded, partially drowned out by the noise but still enough to attract the attention of several people in the room nearer to the source of the noise. Huge green eyes gazed out at the cheery crowd in the kitchen and the newcomer broke into a wide smile.

"Dobby comes with Christmas cake from Hogwarts!" the house elf squeaked, presenting the prettily iced dessert to Molly.

Molly beamed. "Why, thank you, Dobby! Would you like to join us for dinner?"

Dobby shook his head, ears flapping. "Dobby must be getting back to Hogwarts, ma'am! There is much work to be done still!" The house elf made to Apparate away, but was stayed by a voice calling his name.

"One moment, Dobby," Harry called, getting up from his seat. He crouched down in front of the tiny house elf and smiled. "It's nice to see you again."

"Dobby is most happy to see Harry Potter as well, sir!" the elf squeaked. He looked at Harry a little confusedly. "But Dobby must say that Harry Potter looks different than he has before."

Harry's lips twitched at the elf's bemused expression. "That is a long story, Dobby, one that I rather not bore you with. I called you for a different reason." He extracted a miniature gift from his pocket. With a light tap of his wand, it enlarged to medium sized box which he handed to Dobby. The house elf's eyes were enormous as he unwrapped the present with shaking hands. "Merry Christmas, Dobby."

Inside, there were a pair of mismatched socks, a pair of differently-colored child-sized gloves and a striped scarf colored in all colors of the rainbow. Dobby promptly replaced his current wear with the new items. Put together, the ensemble admittedly looked rather odd. Dobby loved it.

Green eyes watered alarmingly. "Dobby – Dobby is most honored that Harry Potter prepared this gift for Dobby, sir!"

Harry patted the house elf's head awkwardly as he sniffled loudly.

"Who's this, Daddy?" It was Lily, who had come over to peer in interest at Dobby.

Harry smiled and wrapped an arm around the girl to pull her closer. "This is Dobby, Lily. Dobby is one of Daddy's good friends." Dobby was incredibly touched at being called Harry's friend, as seen from the increase in the amount of moisture in his eyes.

Lily's mouth formed a soft o as she looked at Dobby again. She then took in Dobby's new clothes and frowned. The little girl tilted her head to one side as she solemnly considered the insane color coordination that was the house elf's outfit. "It's missing something," Lily suddenly declared.

Ducking nimbly under her father's arm to free herself, she shot out of the room, only to return soon with something pink and fluffy. Running up to Dobby, she added a new color to the already colorful ensemble by the simple action of placing the pink hat on the house elf's head. She stepped back to observe her handiwork. "There! Now you look really nice!" she announced with a bright smile.

Dobby looked frankly overwhelmed, a reaction that Lily seemed to frequently evoke in people. He reached out a hand to tentatively touch his new hat. Long, thin fingers stroked the fluffy material reverently. Then Dobby burst into tears.

"Young miss is so kind!" he wailed happily. He then began blubbering praises about Lily, much to Harry's amusement.

The clock on the wall chimed, reminding Dobby of the time. With a start, he dried his tears with his new scarf. "Dobby must be going now, sir!" With a final teary wave, the house elf disapparated.

When Harry sat back down, he noticed Hermione beaming at him. "That was so nice of you, Harry! Unlike a certain two that I know…" she shot an annoyed look at her two oblivious teenage friends.

Harry laughed. "Don't worry. Ron will mature in time as well. I assure you that he'll come to his senses in the end. He won't stay oblivious forever." He gave her a wink that told her that he wasn't just talking about house elves anymore. Hermione blushed furiously.

Focusing his attention back on the turkey, Harry grinned to himself. This was all rather fun, really.

"Now you see, my dear nephew, we are about to impart a fine piece of knowledge to you, one that will undoubtedly prove a valuable addition to your mischief-making experience when you go to Hogwarts," Fred said, an arm slung across James' shoulders. They were in the living room again, with Bill and Dora setting up the music for the evening's party. The violet-haired witch had brought along a self-playing violin that she claimed to have bought from a music shop in Diagon Alley the day before. Bill had looked at the instrument skeptically but agreed to give it a try.

"It's a most ingenious invention, made by a group of pranksters for the express purpose of causing great mayhem in the hallowed halls of Hogwarts. It fell into our hands in our first year, and was a great asset to us, I can tell you that. The Map will show you all the secret passages in Hogwarts, as well as where every single individual in the castle is presently at. Priceless information to know when one is up to some mischief, as you should know," George continued, the epitome of seriousness. Screechy violin music punctuated his words.

James' eyes were shining in anticipation.

"It's known as…" Fred paused for dramatic effect.

"The Marauder's Map," they finished together. The violin hit an exceptionally sour note. "Sorry," Dora called to the room in general. The twins gave her a baleful look. Thankfully, their audience's enthusiasm wasn't deterred by the lousy background music.

"Can I see it?" James asked eagerly.

George sighed dramatically in regret. "Unfortunately, Jamie my boy, we gave it to someone who we felt needed it more two years ago, so we cannot show the actual artifact to you."

"However, we are telling you about it because we believe that you will have the means to retrieve it in that future of yours and put it to good use."

"You see…" The twins looked seriously at James. "The current holder of the map is your dear father."

"Dad!?" James was surprised.

"Yes, we gave it to Harry in our fifth year, seeing as the poor guy was stuck in the castle while his peers were off wandering Hogsmeade. It was our good deed, you see," Fred said while George nodded sagely. The violin continued its terrible screeching, much to the dismay of the pair attempting to make it work. Remus wandered over to help.

"But that is a thing of the past. We look to the future now, and in that future we see you!" George said with dramatic flourish. "Search your home thoroughly, and I daresay you will find it! The Map in its usual form looks just like a piece of old parchment, yellowed with age. But when you tap your wand to it and utter the magic words, the map will appear! Now listen closely, we're going to tell you how to activate it."

Fred took over. "All you have to do is say-"

"I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good," a new voice contributed from behind them. The trio fell over in shock.

"S-Sirius!" Fred gasped out. "Don't scare us like that!"

"Wait, how did you know the password?" George asked, his eyes wide.

"Did you know the Marauders?" Fred asked eagerly. The twins knew that the Marauders had definitely attended Hogwarts at some point in the past. It wouldn't be surprising, really, if the pranksters had belonged to Sirius' generation.

Sirius let out a bark of laughter at the question. "Did I know the Marauders?" he repeated with a grin. He turned. "Hey, Moony!" Sirius called across the room. "Did we know the Marauders?"

Remus didn't even turn around, but the laughter was apparent in his voice he played along. "I daresay we did, Padfoot! It would be troubling if we didn't! Who's asking?"

"The twins and old Prongs' grandson!" Sirius turned back to the gaping trio with a grin. "Does that answer your question?"

They nodded dumbly. In the background, the violin fell silent, before starting up in a merry rendition of "Jingle Bells" under Remus' directions.

Sirius ruffled James' hair. "Go find that map and turn Hogwarts upside down, kid. I bet it has been too quiet there for far too long." With another bark of laughter, he strode off.

Nearby, Minerva McGonagall shuddered and took a sip of punch to calm her nerves. "If I'm still alive then, I'll definitely retire before that boy grows old enough to attend Hogwarts."

The violin hummed its agreement.

The problem of music thus solved, the party began without further obstacles. The decorations had made the living room almost unrecognizable from the dark, damp room it usually was. Bright Christmas lights had been hung on the walls along with colorful banners, framing the lovely Christmas tree. A sprig of mistletoe zipped in a seemingly random fashion around the room, hovering sometimes in the same spot for several minutes before moving again. As everyone began to truly get in the mood to party, the violin gamely began to play "Rocking around the Christmas Tree", the jolly music bouncing off the walls.

"Let's dance!" Dora grabbed Teddy's hand and pulled him to the middle of the room.

The furniture originally in the room had been shrunk and stacked in a corner, leaving ample space for dancing to go on in full swing. Nearby, Fred and George were doing an impressively synchronized jig, garnering much appreciation from their hooting audience. Smiling, Dumbledore extended a hand suavely to McGonagall as the couple also stepped onto the dance room. Across the room, Lily had snagged Remus as a partner and the duo were spinning in dizzy circles, their laughter echoing around the room.

"They call that dancing?" Teddy commented with a laugh, gesturing at the pair.

Dora laughed as well. "Anything goes, I suppose!"

After a while, Remus and Lily had to stop to recover, both being breathless with laughter. Taking advantage of that moment, Teddy caught Lily's eye. Lily winked. Teddy gave a subtle nod in return, and that was the signal that set their plan in motion.

"Teddy!" Lily jumped on Teddy, effectively abandoning her partner. "Dance with me!"

Teddy pretended to look at Lily reprovingly. "Lily, I'm dancing with Dora now."

Lily directed her puppy eyes at Dora. "Can I dance with Teddy, Dora? Please?"

The older witch laughed and gave her consent. "Go on, the two of you," she said, fondly waving the two children off.

"You can dance with Dora, Remus!" Lily suggested cheerfully. "Otherwise she'll be lonely."

Remus' eyes widened. Dora laughed to cover her blushing cheeks. She raised an eyebrow at him, hand on hip. "Well, Mr Lupin?" she challenged, half taunting and half shy. Unable to repress a grin at the two children's ploy, Remus extended his hand to take hers and drew her into his arms.

Teddy and Lily shared a gleeful look. Perfect. Now for stage two. While Lily had been talking, Teddy had subtly extracted his wand from a pocket. A quick flick sent a certain item flying towards them.

"Teddy, Teddy!" Lily pointed above their heads, unable to control her giggles. A small bunch of leaves hung innocently overhead, suspended in the air by magic. It appeared that the mistletoe had decided to drift overhead and stay stubbornly in place for a while. Teddy had nothing to do with it, of course. Absolutely nothing.

Teddy put a hand to his forehead dramatically. "Oh, you've got me, Lily! Mistletoe!" He picked the little girl up and planted a loud kiss on her cheek. "A kiss for you, then!"

This done, the duo whirled away, Lily still giggling madly.

Remus and Dora, thus abandoned by their crafty son and his partner-in-crime, stared at each other awkwardly. The sprig of mistletoe continued to spin cheerfully in small circles above them, with no intention to go away. After all, it still had a mission to complete and was determined not to leave before it was done.

"Kiss her, Moony!" Sirius yelled from the other side of the room.

The couple was now attracting a good deal of attention. The pair simply stood looking at each other, faces an identical beet red. For a moment, it looked like nothing was going to happen. Then, something in Dora's eyes changed.

"Oh, to heck with it!" Throwing all caution to the wind, Dora daringly wrapped her arms around a stunned Remus' neck and kissed him full on the mouth amidst much cheering.

A short distance away, Teddy and Lily hi-fived.

Dear Santa,

My name is Teddy Lupin, and I'm six years old. I only have one request. I want to see Daddy and Mummy this Christmas. Harry says Daddy and Mummy are in the sky. Santa, you can fly, so can you pick them up on your sleigh?

Love, Teddy

Dear Santa,

Did you see my letter last year? I think it got lost on the way, so I'm writing to you again. My name is Teddy Lupin. I'm seven years old. My wish is to celebrate Christmas with Daddy and Mummy. Just once is enough. I've been a good boy this year, so could you please give me my present?

Love, Teddy

Dear Santa,

It's Teddy again, I'm eleven now. I'm writing this letter to you from Hogwarts this time, but my wish is still the same as the years before, so could you please grant it?

Love, Teddy

Dear Santa,

Lily insists that Santa exists, so I'm writing another letter to you this year. It's been a long time, so you may not remember me, so I'll introduce myself again. My name is Teddy Lupin, sixteen years old. I really want to see my parents, so if you exist, Santa, could you please let me spend Christmas with them?

Love, Teddy

Dear Santa,

Thank you.

Love, Teddy

Teddy sealed the letter and put it on the table by his bed. As he gently slipped into dreamland, he could have sworn that he heard the melodious jingle of sleigh bells, and a deep, kind voice saying, "Hohoho, Merry Christmas!"

The ending was inspired by a video that I watched, called "Santa's Forgotten Letters". It's a lovely, sweetly touching video, and I do recommend that you watch it as well. Fanfiction . Net is a terrible pain when it comes to posting links, so if you want to see it, you can find it by searching on Youtube.

I hope that you enjoyed the Christmas special!

Bonus scene: A normal Christmas at the (future) Potter Household...

Lily Luna was sleeping, warmly snuggled up under the covers. Or maybe she wasn't sleeping, for she sat up immediately when a loud creak was heard from outside her room. In an instant, she had jumped off the bed and ran out into the hallway, pouncing on her brothers who were waiting outside.

"It's Christmas!" she cheered.

"Merry Christmas to you too, Lils," Al said with a grin.

"Come on, let's go wake Mum and Dad!" James said impatiently, pushing his two younger siblings down the hallway. He didn't need to remind them twice. As one, they dashed towards their parents' room.

"MERRY CHRISTMAS!" they shrieked as they burst in, jumping onto the bed.

There was a scuffle. Before they knew it, James and Al each found themselves tucked under one of their father's arms. They flailed, trying to reach the floor but to no avail - Harry had a firm grip on their waists that he wasn't planning to relinquish anytime soon.

"I caught two elves!" the tousled-haired man said cheerfully. "How about you, Ginny?"

Lily Luna giggled madly as Ginny wrapped her arms around her and kissed her on the nose. "One here!"

"We're all set then! Let's go down and open the presents!" He let the boys go.

The children cheered. Harry and Ginny smiled fondly as the three ran downstairs. Harry put his arms around his wife's waist and kissed her. "Merry Christmas, Ginny."

"Mmm, Merry Christmas. But shouldn't we go downstairs before the children break something?"

Harry didn't let go. "Don't worry, I called a babysitter over. We can have some time for ourselves." He grinned before leaning in to kiss her again.

Meanwhile, downstairs...

"Hohoho, Merry Christmas!"

The three Potter children gaped at the sight of Santa standing in their living room, complete with fluffy white mustache and hair.

James recovered first and went up to tug at the beard, giving it a particularly vicious yank. "Hey, it's real!" he told his younger siblings, his eyes dancing.

The beard disappeared. Teddy scowled and rubbed at his sore chin. "Of course it's real, you little rascal."

"Teddy!" The boy bent down and gave in to Lily's insistent demands to carry her. "Merry Christmas!" She gave him a sweet kiss on his cheek.

"Merry Christmas to you too, Lily."

Christmas was a time meant to be spent with family. And Teddy Lupin knew that he was blessed with his.