Author's Note: First, thanks for reading! Second, I'm glad you liked the interaction between Sirius and Remus.
The story is picking up speed and I will finish out the year in the next couple of chapters because Harry's second year will really be when everything takes off.
Just as a general FYI: my version of the castle may be quite different than in the books. Forgive me in advance if I put something that is seemingly out of place from canon.
Standard disclaimer about not owning anything; the entire world belongs to JK. Maybe if we ask REALLY nicely, she will build a Hogwarts for us? Thank you JK for giving us this gift. Like really, you are responsible for 80% of my ability to procrastinate.
Harry was currently enjoying the sparsely populated common room with Neville and Cedric since almost everyone else was busy doing last minute packing. The students would be leaving immediately after breakfast tomorrow, and like most things, it had come down to the last minute for some people. A few of them had even endeavored and succeeded in getting all of their homework done, ensuring that they would be able to enjoy complete freedom for the holidays.
There were only one or two other students about and they were in the process of packing up and heading back to their rooms. Soon it was just the three of them playing one last game of Exploding Snap.
Since Harry was not going home on the Hogwarts Express, his friends decided to make the most out of tonight and had gotten their stuff taken care of earlier in the day. It just didn't make any sense for Harry to go home with everyone when he could just leave with Remus later and just use the floo and be home in a matter of seconds. Besides, Harry wanted at least some time alone in the castle.
And sure, Harry would miss the extra leisure time he would get to spend with his friends on the ride to King's Cross, but that was why some of them were hanging out with him now. Anyways, Cedric and Neville really didn't have that much to pack and were well on top of their homework that had been assigned over break. Cedric's quidditch practices had made him efficient at getting his work done timely and effectively, while Neville spent his time with Harry and Hermione and that explained why he was always up to date.
The boys were all talking animatedly about the upcoming break and what they were most looking forward to at home. Neville and Cedric talked about certain traditions that their family performed while Harry began to think about what traditions he would start at Grimmauld Place. Their discussion about home and family really filled them all with a holiday spirit and Neville began to look forward to visiting his parents for the first time; he was no longer ashamed about his situation and a large part of that was due to Harry.
But they were still children, and they were mostly just looking to relax and be able to do their own thing for just a little while. It would be nice to get out from under schoolwork always hanging over their heads, and just recharge their body from all of the casting that they did. After a while, it really became quite difficult to keep one's energy levels up; especially for the first years, who were unprepared for the constant drain. It was one of the reasons why the students went home for three weeks during the school year; after centuries of teaching magic it was apparent that while repeated tuition and practice was necessary for being a successful witch or wizard, it was imperative that their bodies be given sufficient periods of rest from time to time in order to recuperate.
Magical exhaustion was a serious matter, and Harry was all too familiar with its effects. However, once the core became more stable as they aged, continual casting no longer became that much of a concern except in rare cases where excessive high-energy spells were used repeatedly over a short. But for the average magical being, their core adjusted to how much magic they used in a very similar manner to how a muscle would over or under develop according to how much it was used.
At any rate, the boy's card game was winding down and Neville was close to winning for the third time in a row – he just had a real proclivity for Exploding Snap that neither Harry nor Cedric possessed. Soon everyone called it a night and they exchanged well-wishes for a happy Christmas and then Neville and Cedric headed up to their rooms to be sure they had everything that they wanted to bring home.
Harry remained where he was in the common room because he was currently too cozy next to the fire on the couch and was going to take this opportunity to have the room all to himself. He wasn't worried about packing because of all of his belongings were already stored in his suitcases and he could always catch up on sleep over break. Plus, Remus and him weren't going to leave for Grimmauld Place until tomorrow evening because Remus had 'things to take care of' the next day which was his way of saying he too wanted to get his work out of the way.
With the rest of Hufflepuff in for the night, Harry chanced bringing out the Marauder's Map while lying on his back. He opened up the parchment and activated it, with Kaa taking this opportunity to roam free on the rafters. Nothing interesting was displayed because no one was out of his or her own room. Even the teachers were safely ensconced within their own quarters!
Disappointed with having no one to follow as they made their clandestine rendezvous, Harry settled on studying the Hufflepuff dorms in more detail. His focus with the map had mostly been centered on the rest of Hogwarts and he thought it was about time to see if anything looked amiss here.
It really was amazing when he thought about it; here he was sitting on the couch and he could tell where every person in Hufflepuff was and even the shapes of their rooms. Off of the common room there was a hallway that led down various corridors to each of the years that were clustered together. Some halls were straight while others had jutted out here or turned sharply there and seemed to make the most for fitting all of the students in the space provided. Stairs accessed some of the rooms below, while the rest were either on the same floor as the common room or on the level above them. There was no divide between male and female housing since everyone had their own room; however, each year did have a separate male and female shower and bathroom area.
He was in the process of noting the divide between the hallway and the common room when he finally figured out why his eyes kept coming back to one particular spot on the map: something just didn't add up. Curious, he got up from the couch and walked over to the other side of the common room and stood next to the wall that just seemed to be out a little farther than it should have been.
He spent a moment studying each individual stone and tried to look for a hidden crevice or some other indication that hinted at something waiting to be discovered. The stones that made up this section where slightly different than those used throughout the rest of the common room, and only became apparent if one really concentrated. The stones were the same size, perhaps a little bigger than a brick, but instead of edges that were ninety degrees, these were more rounded. In a weird way, it somehow reminded him of the entrance to Diagon Alley from the Leaky Cauldron; those bricks had smoother edges as well because of the constant grinding caused by shaping the entrance.
'It couldn't be the same,' Harry thought as he slowly took his wand out and began tapping it in the pattern as the one used to gain entrance to Diagon Alley. And he was partly right: it wasn't the same pattern.
Intrigued, he kept tapping various patterns until he tried the four tiles that were directly in the center of the wall that made a very fat cross. Harry's breath caught in his throat as the wall began to slowly change into an arched passageway that revealed a descending staircase shrouded in darkness. He just stood there, stunned that this was hidden right in plain sight and no one had even noticed.
His mind wondered how it closed and his wand, without him thinking about it, went to tap the stone arch at about the same height that his wand had been when he had revealed the door. The intricate moving of the tiles as they reformed into a solid wall left harry with a dumbfounded look on his face.
At first he had been momentarily dazed, but when he had come to his senses, he attempted to repeat what he had just done to prove that it hadn't been a fluke. Harry was delighted to discover that he had discovered something new and couldn't wait to see where it led.
A low chuckle escaped his lips.
He was about to open the door for a third time when his wand paused and he refrained from unlocking the hidden door; he wondered if he should go and share this with Cedric. Though Harry wanted to first discover the Chamber of Secrets by himself, he hardly thought that the entrance to it would be hidden away in Hufflepuff. As if Salazar Slytherin would ever set foot in this place.
It didn't take that long for Harry to decide that Cedric would want to be here for this, and he set off in the direction of Cedric's room. Kaa was pleased that Harry hadn't rushed into the unknown and approved of Harry's plan to bring someone along. Although, Kaa did understand that for Harry it was hard to delay action on something that was otherwise exciting and force himself to think through it rationally. Especially considering that it involved secret passages in a thousand-year old castle.
Harry knocked lightly on Cedric's door so as to not wake anyone else and he hoped that Cedric was still awake. Harry really wanted to go through this rabbit hole as soon as possible, and with Cedric if he could.
He sighed in relief as his door opened to a slightly bewildered Cedric who wondered what else Harry could have possibly gotten himself into this time, though Harry's manic grin put some of that worry at ease.
"Cedric," Harry whispered, his eyes squealing in delight.
"Grab your wand and come with me, I found something that you will find very interesting." Harry was giving Cedric a little incentive because Cedric was obviously dressed for bed, but he wanted to hold onto his surprise and see Cedric's expression of shock and awe.
Cedric mumbled something about first years and having too much energy as he followed Harry to the entrance to the common room where Harry had stopped and was facing the wall.
"Well," Cedric motioned with his hand expectantly.
"What is this grand thing that you …"
Cedric never got to finish his statement as his eyes widened in response to the rapidly appearing entrance that had been in their very own common room.
"Tada!" Harry proclaimed softly as he flourished his hands out to the side.
Cedric was practically drooling at the chance to explore something that no one else knew about.
"How did you find this?" He whispered back to Harry excitedly while examining the stone arch with his hands.
Harry appreciated that Cedric had the ability to think about things rationally and asked very astute questions. It was one of the reasons that they got on so well together.
"Well, I was sitting on the couch by the fireplace and I chanced a look at the map because no one else was out. Since practically everyone in the castle is where they are supposed to be, I concentrated on Hufflepuff and realized that we had never gone over our very own common room. I was examining the various dorms and something seemed off about this particular spot."
Harry pulled out the map and showed Cedric just what he was talking about.
"As you can see, this wall appears that it should be back more and then I started to examine it closer. The tiles were slightly off and, for some reason, it reminded me of the entrance to Diagon Alley in the Leaky Cauldron."
Cedric nodded his head, indicating that he was now following Harry to the logical conclusion that he must have come up with to start tapping the wall with his wand.
"And then I guess I got lucky and it opened. You just have to tap your wand here to close it again."
Harry demonstrated and then told Cedric to try opening it himself.
Once it was clear that they both could open and close it, they had both wanted to make sure trying one other thing out before venturing in.
After Harry had confirmed that it could be opened from the inside – so that they wouldn't be trapped in there – he turned to Cedric and asked if he was up for an adventure.
Cedric nodded his head vigorously.
"Of course! Who knows where this will lead too, but I can't wait to find out. And it is good thing that I can sleep on the train tomorrow."
Harry nodded his head in agreement and brought his wand up in front of him. Kaa stuck his head out slightly and licked the air, trying to discern if anything was amiss about what they were about to do.
"Smells clear to me, it doesn't seem to have been opened in years. The air is very stale." Kaa slithered under Harry's clothes and wrapped loosely around his neck so that he could see everything as they went. He would be on guard just in case.
Harry quickly relayed what Kaa had said to Cedric and he brandished his wand in front of him.
"Lumos," they whispered in tandem.
With a last look at each other, Cedric took the lead down the narrow circular stairs and Harry followed him, pausing briefly to seal the entrance behind them.
Harry was studying the map as they went along to get a sense of the direction that they were headed in.
A couple of times he had been so focused on reading the map that he nearly tripped into Cedric because the floor was slightly uneven after what appeared to be centuries of use and then nothing for hundreds of years. From Hufflepuff's common room, they had only descended about a floor before continuing along underneath the hallway that separated the kitchen from their dorms. It was slightly disconcerting seeing where they appeared on the map as they went along and new passageways were revealed, but at the same time it produced a sensation of anticipation as Harry tried to guess where they were going the farther that they went along.
They finally reached a set of ascending stairs that were very much like the ones used to access the Headmaster's office, only much, much narrower. At this point, Harry commented that they were underneath the infirmary, which was on the opposite side of the castle as the entrance. When Hogwarts had been constructed the infirmary was built atop a stone mound that jutted out of the ground around fifty feet. Harry would have guessed that they were about two floors underneath the single floor of the infirmary, which would have placed them squarely in the middle of the stone mound.
They exited the narrow confines of the staircase and were in a room as large as the space above them. Cedric chanced a little bit more light in order to better see the area around them.
"Lumos maxima," he called out in a steady voice that bathed everything in artificial light.
Harry and Cedric just stood there looking at a very dirty but extraordinary room. Behind them, there were three more tunnels than the one they had exited from, and upon closer inspection it became apparent that they must lead to the other common rooms. For above each entrance, or exit depending on how you looked at it, was the animal associated with each house.
But that was hardly the most exciting thing that they found within this new chamber. Rusted swords and ancient axes with huge blades were hung neatly across each wall. There were also windows that looked out across the back of the castle and surrounding hills. Cedric reasoned that the windows must be enchanted or constructed in some way as to not be noticeable from the outside, or else this place would have been rediscovered long ago. Students and teachers frequently walked around this part of the castle's grounds during the warmer months and would surely have noticed.
Along with the weapons had been a chest that had been filled with spare wands and a cabinet that contained very old potions and was quickly shut due to the weird odor that it gave off.
Cedric smartly performed the Febreeze Charm and they moved on to the bookcase.
Harry was completely overwhelmed with what was in front of him. Old tomes that were positively ancient were just up for grabs and he had to refrain from squirreling them away. It would have been all to easy for him to run back and retrieve his pouch that had a featherweight and expandable charm on them to take them and add them to his growing library collection.
But he resisted the urge, reasoning that they would be fine here for the moment since the entire room was basically unknown.
They spent a little while reviewing some of the texts and quickly discovered that most of them were written in very old English or Latin and they would have to brush up on the translations. The books seemed to focus on healing and casting defensive and offensive charms based on the very crude figures that accompanied the text.
Looking around the room for a minute and thinking about where they were and just what the room contained, Harry suddenly understood what this space could have been used for: a retreat and defensive position in case Hogwarts was under attack. It made perfect sense, and not just because of the weapons and books and possibly old healing potions. It was directly under the infirmary and therefore could easily protect it if all of the other defenses had fallen and remain hidden from attackers.
This set Harry's mind into a furious overdrive; if it was a battle center, then Hogwarts at some point had been attacked or was built with that in mind. He thought back through all of the history classes that he had taken that involved the time around 1000AD, and what stood out the most were the various Anglo-Saxon kingdoms that had existed around that time. Wars and conquests occurred daily as the various tribes fought for dominance. It would have been prudent during any construction of a castle to have contingency plans; especially if it was going to be a place of learning and house children and young adults.
'That must be why the tunnels connect each common room here,' Harry thought suddenly. It provided a direct route in case something happened. He wondered what had caused it to be forgotten, but it had been so long ago that it really didn't matter. Some people couldn't remember what they had for dinner when they woke up the next day.
Cedric's musings brought Harry out of his head.
"Do you wonder if there is a way out of here? Or something that connects to the infirmary? It just seems that if this could have been used to evacuate the students out of the castle, then it reasons that there is a way to get outside from here – or on second thought to the infirmary above."
Harry was slightly stunned because these were the same questions that he had been leading to. But he shouldn't have been surprised at all because they were very reasonable conclusions that most rational people would arrive at.
"I was wondering about that." Harry remarked as he began searching the walls for anything obvious.
Cedric was doing the same but had started on the opposing wall as Harry did. Harry was using the map to try and see if anything indicated a reasonable passage up to the infirmary while Cedric was busy finding a way to the outdoors.
Harry ended up besides the potion cabinet that he had left closed and was studying a particular spot that was under what he thought made the most sense as a suspicious area in the infirmary above him. There was an unused square that he would guess to be four feet by four feet and would have made a perfect fit for the circular stairs that they had accessed this room with.
Harry looked down at the floor beneath him for any sign that indicated stairs had once been here. He wasn't about to disregard the possibility that they had sealed it up at some point in the past. It would help to explain how this had gone undiscovered for so long. Kaa was even trying to sniff something out.
"Harry!" Cedric called out quickly.
Harry turned and caught sight of Cedric standing next to one of the windows and pointing to a strange series of symbols. Harry moved closer to get a better look and recognized that they were runes from some of the books he had bought in Flourish and Blotts with Minnie. He couldn't understand them though, and Cedric couldn't either – even though he was actually taking Ancient Runes.
"So far we have only began the theory and how to identify individual runes, we don't begin combining them until fourth year. And I don't even recognize these – they are familiar though."
Cedric pondered the etchings for a few more minutes before deciding it would be better to copy them down so that he could reference them later. The problem was that neither had brought parchment or anything to write with.
"I'll come back tomorrow and copy it and send it to you over the holidays. It is probably too late to go get something and come back."
Cedric nodded at the idea of Harry sending it to him, and acknowledged that it was far too late to retrieve a parchment and quill at this hour.
"Yeah, it is a bit late to do that now. Speaking of late, we really should get going. It is going to be hard getting up for breakfast and then leaving right after. Guess I will be sleeping for a good while on the train. It'll be worth it though."
Harry did feel a little guilty at the hour that they finally returned to their common room; Cedric would be lucky to get a few hours of sleep before his day started. Harry, on the other hand, could sleep after breakfast or miss it entirely because he could always get something from the kitchens when the other students had left. But he could survive on a few hours of sleep before it caught up with him.
But Cedric didn't care about a few missed hours of sleep after discovering that and let Harry know to wake him for any and all future exploratory operations. Eventually they parted ways and wished that the other enjoyed their holidays and time at home.
Harry smiled, very happy with how the entire evening had gone and with what they had discovered.
They both were exhausted and fell asleep seconds after their heads hit their pillow.
After what had seemed like only second of being asleep, but in reality was a few hours, it was time for them to head to breakfast where those leaving Hogwarts for the holidays would head to Hogsmead Station afterwards. Harry decided to join them for breakfast since he wanted to see his friends before they left one last time. He couldn't be happier with the people in his life now and their friendship really meant a lot to him. In what seemed like such a short time, Harry had gone from relying mostly on himself, though not feeling incomplete, to discovering a group of individuals that he got along very well with.
Hermione had hugged him fiercely before joining Neville, Susan, and Hannah on their way to The Hogwarts Express. Harry saw his first year group of friends off and remained in the courtyard until the majority of the other students had passed. Cedric had been one of the last to leave.
Cedric patted Harry on the back before taking off and reminding him to send him the runes over break.
"See ya, Cedric. I'll make sure to send it!" Harry called out after him.
"Take care, mate. I wonder what else this castle has hidden" he replied to him quietly.
'Yes, what else is hidden from us,' Harry thought as he watched one of the people he felt most comfortable around catch up with his friends and march towards Hogsmead.
They had gotten so used to each other that neither of them even noticed the tingles or sparks anymore when they came in close contact. And it had been easier for Harry to keep his attraction towards Cedric in check as their platonic relationship progressed. He didn't want it to get in the way of what they did have. Harry knew that some of what he was feeling was innate and there was no way to prevent his body from having the various chemical interactions dictated by human biology– but he could and would control how he reacted to them.
Cedric was a great person to have in his life and to go from the Dursleys to having this plethora of amazing individuals in his life, well, Harry was very thankful. He couldn't properly describe the feeling that being loved and taken care of meant to him. In a weird way, he felt quite lucky to be Harry Potter.
Sure, he had lost his parents and had spent the majority of his formative years alone, but he had persevered and it forced him to become more mature and able to handle everything that he had faced since joining the wizarding world. It was hard to watch his friends go off without him but that was only because they meant so much to him. And he had a home now, a place where it truly felt right to call someplace home. The fact that he was feeling sad just provided another example of how his life had changed for the better. It was a good problem to have.
When the last of students disappeared from his view and had moved past the bridge and behind the hill, he turned and headed towards his common room. He would have to grab some parchment and a pen – because he was not bringing a quill and ink well with him – and he headed through the secret passage. He had been fortunate that the one or two Hufflepuffs that remained in the castle were in their rooms for the moment, and he didn't even want to think how difficult all of this would have been if he didn't have his map that told him where everyone was.
Harry had cast some blue bell fireballs that danced along the passage ahead of him, making it much easier to traverse the narrow corridor this time around. Kaa had preferred to slither there on his own this time along the floor in front on Harry. The cool stone was no longer an issue after Harry had discovered a warming charm that could be placed on the snake itself, though Kaa preferred to remain with Harry in most situations because of their mind link.
The trip was much quicker this time and Harry soon found himself in that expansive chamber and had quickly inscribed the rune combination with him. He had also pilfered several of the books – okay, all of them – into his pouch so that he could take them with him. He would have to show Cedric his library trunk at some point, but securing these books was important to Harry. He had thought about bringing Remus in on this discovery, and would do so eventually, but he kind of liked having something that was just for Cedric and him for the time being.
Harry searched for some time for any passage that led outside or to the infirmary but gave up and decided that it was time to put his cloak to good use and try to explore some more of the castle. He had thought briefly about taking the passageways to the other common rooms but each of them had students present and he didn't want to risk being noticed entering or exiting the secret tunnel. Besides, it was the perfect time for him to explore areas of the castle that were hard while students were around and Remus had indicated that it would most likely be early evening before they got out of there so he had plenty of time.
Harry placed his bag of books in his trunk and figured he would start near some of the other common rooms, Slytherin was first on his list because it was in the dungeons on the other side of the castle and no one but a Slytherin ever had a reason to frequent that part of the castle.
Harry made his way there, while practicing making silent steps, under his cloak and with his map focused on the region he was exploring. He had thought that this would be a prime location for the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets since it was Salazar who had created it, but a few hours into his search had left Harry empty-handed. He did notice that there were troves of unused classrooms and little nooks and crannies that were perfect for one or two students to hide. And Harry had noticed some of these being used when two older students wanted some 'alone' time during the night. Not all of them had been heterosexual couples either, which intrigued Harry greatly and made him feel more normal.
Next, Harry tried for Gryffindor Tower and this had taken up the rest of his day because it was one of the largest towers and many floors were involved. Again, anything of note eluded him and he was slightly disappointed by the time he had went to his room when it was close to the time Remus had indicated he would come and fetch him. He spent the last few minutes getting his things in order when Remus had knocked on the door. A few slashes and prods of his wand and his trunks were easily managed into briefcase form and most everything that Harry owned was taken with him.
There was an easiness to their conversation as they made their way towards Remus' office where they would be flooing back to Grimmauld Place, his home, and to Sirius.
Harry would have preferred more time to explore the castle in the open and easily accessible state that it was in now, but all thoughts quickly exited his mind when he stepped out of the fireplace. He had been getting better at controlling his landing coming out and didn't stumble anymore.
For a moment, he had wondered if they had gotten out at the wrong stop because the entire place was decorated festively for Christmas. There were trees and wreaths nearly in every corner that were tastefully and beautifully adorned with little glowing balls of almost every color that he had names for. And the smell of pine lingered in the air but it wasn't overpowering. There was enchanted snow that fell from the top of the main stairwell past several floors before finally dissipating before hitting the marble floor of the foyer. Presents were placed underneath the large Christmas tree that was past the main entryway and spanned at least two stories. The staircase seemed to frame it and the entire thing was something that he would never forget and everything that he imagined Christmas to be and more. Even Remus was awestruck at the change. Sirius was grinning madly at them from where he stood by the second-floor banister.
"Do you like it? Remus said you always liked Christmas trees and lights and I wanted to make our first holiday together perfect."
Harry couldn't really speak; he was overwhelmed with sheer joy and the fact that Sirius had created all of this just for him.
He dropped his belonging at his side and ran into his arms.
"It's wonderful, Sirius. Thank you – it's … it's indescribable. How did you do all of this?"
He slowly removed himself from Sirius' embrace and gazed into eyes that were shinning contently with just a pinch or proud satisfaction.
"Well, I can't take all of the credit."
"As if you have never done that before," Remus retorted as he set down his belongings and came over to the pair. His eyes were also taking in his surroundings and he smiled at how Sirius really had gone all out for their first Christmas as a family.
"Now, now, Moony. I was young in those days, and mostly joking."
He winked at Remus and then turned his attention back to Harry. Setting all of this up had given Sirius something to focus on while he was home and each day he had assigned himself more tasks. He was slowly becoming able to deal with more and more things and he had wanted to show Harry just how much he meant to him.
"Kreacher helped me with a lot of it. I told him what I wanted and he helped me get the trees and then used some of his own magic to place these multicolored lights everywhere."
He pointed around to where they hovered just above the pines that they illuminated. "But for the snow," Sirius gestured to the open space created by the spiraling staircase, "that was because of Lily."
"Ahhhh," Remus sighed
"I forgot about that – it had been the first and only Christmas you had with them, Harry - Lily wanted to make it special for you."
"She was so talented with charms and could do the most amazing things."
Harry liked it even more that his mum had inspired part of the decorations. This was already the best holiday he could ever remember having.
"How about dinner, you guys must be starving?"
They all followed Sirius' lead to the dining area where Kreacher had just finished placing the last dish for the evening. He had prepared a nice roast in honor of 'Master Harry' being back.
"Hello Kreacher – spectacular job with the lights! And the food smells great."
As usual, any compliment produced a goofy grin on the elf and he was overcome with pride for serving his house so well.
"Kreacher lives to serve, Harry. Kreacher has been enjoying the time with Lord Black-"
Sirius made a face, to which Remus lightly slapped his arm.
"- and getting the house in shape for your arrival."
Harry didn't notice the exchange between his parental figures as his attention was focused on the elf.
They finally sat down to a fabulous meal that made it difficult to leave the table, because they had eaten more than their fill. But they didn't have anywhere else to be and they enjoyed the leisurely feel of their surroundings and took generous sips of their stouts, for the men, and butterbeer for Harry. Since it was the holidays, Remus had felt it appropriate to allow Harry a second butterbeer. Which combined with all that he had eaten and that it had been over several hours had hardly affected him besides making him slightly drousy.
It was common for children in the wizarding world to drink small glasses of alcohol here or there from an early age. They were raised around it and so it never became an addiction for most. Well that and it was very difficult for a wizard to get properly drunk as it took a very large amount of alcohol to outpace their own magic breaking it down. This was one of the reasons that wizards were hardly ill, but when they were it was usually very serious since only the most magical and dangerous diseases ever caused lasting harm. Magic would flow through the body and constantly remove threats that it found to its host if it could.
Besides, there were various potions that were much more entertaining and used for recreational purposes that could alter one's body and mind for a short time. Those were very popular and could be quite addicting and an alcoholic drink would never be able to compare to that.
When the last lights of Grimmauld Place were turned off in the early hours of the morning when Remus and Sirius had gone to their separate bedrooms, there was only the illumination provided by the snow falling around the Christmas lights. It was very tranquil and the most beautiful thing that Harry had ever seen when he got up during the night to pee and get a glass of water. So enchanted he was by the ethereal splendor that Sirius and Remus had found him curled up in a blanket underneath the Christmas tree in the foyer.
It soon became an every night occurrence and they would all just camp out at the foot of the tree underneath the snowy sky. Blankets and bedding had been brought down and they spent as much time being cozy and enjoying each other's company as possible.
When Boxing Day had finally arrived, Harry was nearly bouncing off of the walls in anticipation. He couldn't wait until Sirius and Remus opened their presents from him, but that would be later in the day when Minerva would be coming over to join them all. Severus had also been invited but had declined; more time was needed to mend some of his past grievances. Minerva on the other hand had readily accepted Remus' invitation to celebrate Harry's first Christmas. She had preferred a solitary life and had never 'settled down' and had a family. Minnie was of the opinion that there were worst things than being alone and was content in the life that she lived.
Harry had gone out of his mind just a little with his all of his gifts this year. And it wasn't just the ones that he had gotten the adults. He had spoiled his friends rotten and really wanted to show them just how special they were to him. And since he had the money – and he knew deep down he would never spend it all in his life – he had decided to splurge a little. Although some gifts hadn't cost him a thing, they were still worth quite a lot.
To Neville, he had sent over a very rare book from the Black Library on Elemental Herbology. This art focused more on the magic you could perform without a wand and had been developed over thousands of years to allow a witch or wizard to infuse some of their own magic into cultivating a variety of different flowering plants, herbs, and fungi. It would take years for someone to master, but he thought it suited Neville quite well and it would get more use out of in Neville's hand than sitting on this dusty bookshelf. Books were meant to used, after all!
For Hermione he had sent several books that focused on wizarding laws and history, with special emphasis on customs and muggle relations. These were from a combination of sources that included the Black Library and various bookstores that he had found that existed besides Flourish and Blotts. He had reached out to Remus and was directed to French and German business from which he owl-ordered books that focused on more than just British History. He expected to hear Hermione's squeal of delight at any time, and thoroughly expected to be hugged tightly when he saw her again. He completely understood her love of books and he didn't even hesitate to give her something if he could.
To Hannah and Susan he had given them matching scarves that were black with gold trim. They had been complaining about the draft in the castle and Harry found it a practical gift.
His final gift to his friends could definitely be considered a splurge, but he couldn't help himself from purchasing it. Sure, a Nimbus 2000 would set him back a few hundred galleons, but he could afford it easily from his trust account. He had even sent it anonymously because he knew that Cedric would try and return it, but he wanted him to have it. It would make Cedric happy and give Hufflepuff a better chance against Gryffindor and Slytherin. So it was a practical gift too. He just wished he could have seen Cedric's face light up when he opened it; Harry enjoyed making other people smile, especially Cedric. His smile was something special.
Harry joined Sirius and Remus for a light breakfast since Minnie would be coming over in the afternoon for a sumptuous meal and then they would open presents. Harry had insisted that he help Kreacher in the kitchen because he had an idea for dessert; it was one of his favorite things to help Petunia with around the holidays and he had spent the day making cookies. Kreacher helped use his magic to make interesting shapes that just couldn't exist in the muggle world. For instance, they had made tree shaped cookies that actually sparkled in several different colors and had a yellow star at the top that adjusted its luminescence periodically. Testing the limits with what was possible with magical cookies was quite possibly the most fun that Harry, or anyone for that matter, had ever had in a kitchen.
Minerva arrived later in the afternoon and was quite taken aback by all of the decorations. Minerva was enamored by the biscuits that Harry had made and spent quite a length of time pestering Kreacher about his method of enchantment. She was particularly impressed by the ever-changing face on the snowmen that ran through the gamut of human emotion.
They all sat down to a splendid meal and took their time before starting with presents. Remus and Sirius had wanted Harry to savor the entire the entire day and were spreading things out as much as possible.
"Minnie, I want you to open this one first," Harry had a slip of the tongue.
Sirius' face was priceless and he was waiting with baited breath to see old McGonagall's reaction. Remus was also watching the scene unfold with mild amusement – he had figured that Harry would slip eventually and at least this was only in front of Sirius. Though, he didn't know whether the fact that it was Sirius made the situation better or worse.
Harry realized what he had done when Minerva's countenance showed a mild annoyance but that was nothing serious.
"Harry, I thought we had come to an understanding with that name?" She raised her eyebrows pointedly. She was going to try and at least give Harry a shock or two in payback for all of the moments she had to witness involving Harry and wasn't going to make this easy on him.
Harry had been prepared for an eventual slip of the tongue and had the perfect excuse waiting. He was a sly devil when he wanted to be.
"Aunt Minnie, I know you said that I could only call you that in private," Harry started sheepishly.
"But I am just so comfortable around all of you and in one way or another you are all either a guardian or a godparent." Harry gestured around and had the most innocent facial expression that portrayed a perfect angelic face.
"And… you're my family and it really is a term of endearment."
Minerva's eyes began to well up even though she knew that Harry had merely said those things for the effect that they would have. Though, she didn't doubt that they were true; they had just been embellished to perfection. All parents were susceptible to this form of guile the first time around.
Sirius was mentally commending Harry's performance. He was James' son through and through.
"Very well," Minerva sighed, wiping away wetness that lingered under her eyes.
Harry smiled with pure glee and handed her his present before becoming less fawning in his show of true and honest gratitude.
"I am very glad for everything that you have done and wanted to find a way to say thank you for showing me the ropes, so to speak. I don't know how I could have gone through everything during those first few days if you hadn't been there. Happy Christmas, Aunt Minnie."
And this was why Minerva wasn't really upset at Harry calling her Minnie: she was enamored with the boy's genuineness and loved him like he was her own.
Even Sirius had to wipe at his eyes, though he would have swore that he had something in his eyes.
Remus had been touched when Harry had approached him with the idea of the gift and had helped him acquire the necessary paperwork. Even though Minerva had already agreed and signed the paperwork that had made up a guardian, Harry's gift was more sentimental and 'final' in nature.
It was a simple box that held a copy of the signed paperwork that had since become official as well as a very sweet Hallmark card with a picture of a Lily flower on it with a short inscription on the inside.
Mothers hold their children's hand for a short while, but their hearts forever.
Minnie,
I know that no one can ever replace my mum, but that doesn't mean there isn't room for someone else or that she wouldn't want someone to step in. As I said before, I am very happy with you being my 'Aunt Minnie,' and very glad that you are in my life and someone that I can turn to. I don't think I can properly ever explain what that feeling means.
Your 'nephew,'
Harry
It took a few moments for Minerva to come to her senses. She couldn't really describe what she was feeling and didn't know that she should even try. She had been content in enjoying a single life and pursuing her love of transfiguration – she never sought out marriage or starting a family and preferred to let things go as they may in her life. One of her mottos in life had been, 'if you are not enough without it, you will never be enough with it."
But just because she hadn't gone looking for a family didn't mean that she wouldn't accept being a part of one should the opportunity arise. And boy did one ever present itself.
The hug that Minerva gave Harry in response to his gift necessitated hugs all around. Looking back, it was a moment that really defined their little family unit as coming together for the first time and recognizing that the most important thing going forward to them was the safety and happiness of Harry.
A little break was given as refreshments and more of Harrys and Kreacher's cookies were brought out. There was butterbeer aplenty for Harry and even some aged port for the adults to wet their tongues with.
When the gift giving resumed, it was Minerva's turn to give Harry her gift.
"Here, Harry. I think you will enjoy this." Minerva sat back and looked on as Harry tore open the wrapping paper to reveal a book that contained her notes on various aspects of Transfiguration.
"Now, I know this could be seen as being quite unfair if other students were to find out about this, but I am hoping that you can be a little discreet with this?"
She waited for Harry to nod his head. He hadn't looked up at Minnie while assenting to her comment of understanding because he was too engrossed with flipping through the various pages. This was worth more than gold; knowledge from experience was priceless.
Harry had also received a lot of books that day from Remus and Sirius. Of course, he was given more books on continuing his Occlumency and had been working briefly with Walburga for the next stage in his training. After starting therapy with Will, he had been making very steady progress and had really gotten the hang of organizing his mind in an efficient way. The majority of his time was now spent finishing sorting of his past memories, and once this was done he could really begin coming up with creating effective defensive barriers.
Sirius had also given Harry the mirrors that he had used to communicate with James while in separate detentions. Harry liked the idea of being able to speak with Sirius whenever he wanted to and knew that it would be good for the both of them to further develop their relationship.
Remus hadn't known what to get Harry. He struggled with deciding on an appropriate gift that fully conveyed his appreciation for Harry wanting him in his life with his desire as a guardian to spoil him. He had simply decided on indulging Harry's interest in books, but had pulled him aside when Sirius and Minerva had went to go freshen up at one point during the evening's festivities.
"Harry, I just wanted to make you are aware – and I know that you are – that you can come to me with anything. Or Sirius, for that matter. And Minnie too I guess," He smirked at that.
"We are here for anything that you may be curious about or dealing with. I just want you to know that no matter what you are going through, we are here for you. And we will never stop loving you for anything."
Remus wanted Harry to know that he didn't have to worry about hiding who he was from him, and sometimes people needed to hear that from time to time. Because hearing that someone will unconditionally be there for you really does help allay some of the fears that they could stop loving you for being who you are on the inside.
"Thanks, Remus. I know that you guys are there. I'm still getting used to the idea of having people in my life that I know are looking out for me at all time. Sometimes I forget that and it helps to be reminded."
Remus pulled him into a hug and kissed his temple.
"You are our pup, Harry. Forever."
Sirius and Minerva waited silently for the moment to be over by the stairs because they didn't want to disturb the obvious bonding that was happening. That didn't stop Sirius from commenting on the situation, however.
"Did you ever feel like you woke up one day and discovered that you more or less had a child to take care of and found yourself loving him with all of your heart?"
There were too many ways for Minerva to answer that and she suspected that it was more Sirius talking out loud than asking her a direct question. She opted for a simple response nonetheless.
"Every now and then."
Sirius smiled at her response and then decided to ask her thoughts on how her life had managed to become entangled with his the way it had.
"Did you ever think you would be here, helping to raise a child with Remus and myself?"
Minnie had to hold in her snort so as not to alert Harry and Remus to their presence.
She turned to Sirius and gave a brief upturn to her lips.
"When it involves a Potter, I have come to have no expectations on the situations that may or may not result."
"I would expect nothing less," Sirius smiled, attempting to reconcile how his own life had managed to become intricately bound to the teacher who had attempted to thwart some of his most hair-brained schemes.
Eventually, they all settled around the tree again and Harry gave out his final presents to Sirius and Remus.
To Sirius, he repaid every galleon that he had taken from his account. It had only been a few thousand galleons and Sirius had attempted to protest but Harry just held up his hand.
"It's also to apologize somewhat for being so angry with you… well, before I knew that it was Pettigrew. I know it's not something that is expected of me to apologize for but it was hard for me to go from hating you so much for what I thought you had done to, well everything that is now changed. But I felt it important to recognize – Will has helped me a lot with making peace for how I felt – and, more importantly, I wanted to."
Sirius could only nod and mentally earmarked the money that Harry had given him to Harry's future presents.
Remus had received something similar to what Minerva had received – though Harry had signed it 'son.' It felt right and that was how Harry had come to see himself more and more as time had passed in Remus' presence. He really felt a paternal relationship with the man and wanted to acknowledge Remus' importance. Really, Harry was the most happy that he had ever been because he had a family now, and finally felt at peace with his parents now. He didn't even doubt that they would have objected to the situation; everything had just come together naturally.
Minerva had a little trouble in leaving that night; it was hard to part after such strong bonds had been forged. Ultimately, she had accepted Harry's request to join them for a sleepover and another mattress popped into existence under the tree. It was late into the night when the noise quieted and the only sound that could be heard was the rhythmic breathing of the family in Grimmauld Place.
Miles away in a lonely setting in Spinner's End, a dark haired man stood staring silently at the unwrapped gifts before him with a half-drunk glass of fire whiskey forgotten in front of him. He had a letter in his hands that he had been clutching for some hours now, as he was lost in thought and contemplating how everything in his life had led him to this particular moment.
Eventually he picked up the locket that Regulus had retrieved and placed it around his neck before heading to bed. He placed the letter on the table face up.
The last vestiges of moonlight that came in through the kitchen window illuminated the elegant and heartfelt script.
Professor Snape,
I talked with Kreacher and we both feel like you should have this. I know we can never understand what Regulus meant to you, but if anyone deserves to have this, it's you. We will defeat him, professor – Voldemort will pay for what he has done and the lives he has destroyed.
Finally, I don't know how to tell you this so I'm just going to do it. My parents left me letters in my vault at Gringotts and they were charmed to reveal more and more of what they wrote to me over time. My mum wanted me to let you know that she forgives you. She didn't elaborate on what had happened between you two but regrets that you guys never made up because of things that were happening in the world. She said she knows that everyone does things that they regret and that you are a good man; she wished she could have understood more about what you were going through at that time. Her message was not to let one stupid moment get in the way of people that you love. She also wanted me to let you know that my dad was sorry as well for things that he did. Again, I am just relaying a message and don't care or know about the events that transpired between you guys.
I hope you have a Happy Christmas, Professor. I hope you know how much I enjoy your class and hope you can find a use for some of Kaa's skin in something. If nothing currently exists, I'm sure you will invent something.
Sincerely,
Harry Potter
Let me know what you think! And thanks for reading :)