Chapter Twenty Five: Christmas Mischief and Voldemort Visits
Several days after helping him deal with his worst memory, the occupants of Godric's Hollow were surprised to see Orion show up at the front door. They welcomed him inside, hugging him as they always did before sitting down and looking expectantly at him.
"I've come to the conclusion that you were right to force me to face that memory a few days ago," Orion started. "And I'm grateful for your help with dealing with the rest of my memories. I just came here to tell you that, because I knew you didn't like having to force me to go through that, any more than I did."
There was silence from his audience before Sirius said, "That's fine, Harry." He looked at Lily and inclined his head, causing Orion to look at them curiously.
"What's up?" he asked, leaning back on the couch, looking the picture of relaxation.
"Well," Lily said, hesitating as she tried to find the right words to explain her idea to her son, "we were thinking that, well, could we sort of set things up so that we could see your life as it happens."
Orion tilted his head to one side, puzzled. "How is that possible? Also, it would be rather odd, seeing events through my eyes."
"It wouldn't be through your eyes, Harry, it would show events as though we were viewing them in a Pensieve," Severus said. "The only difference between this and Pensieve events is that the events we'd see would be happening as we watch, they wouldn't be memories."
The five spirits all watched with bated breath as Orion considered their idea. Finally, he raised his head, and they relaxed as they saw a familiar glimmer of mischief in the green depths. Within his mind, Orion kept his true appearance, not his outward one.
Locking eyes with Severus and Remus he asked blandly, "How would you feel, though, about seeing my reaction to your younger selves', hmm, shall we say, overenthusiastic exploits?"
He was surprised when his question brought two embarrassed looks from the wizards in question and he was even more surprised when James and Sirius almost fell off their seats laughing.
"Harry, we should tell you that," James began, barely able to speak through his chuckles, "that we've been able to see memories of yours which are attached to strong emotions."
"What do you mean?" Orion asked suspiciously.
"Remember that fight between Severus and myself when I transformed?" Remus asked, ducking his head as Orion raised his eyebrows and smirked as understanding dawned.
"I do indeed," Orion responded with a grin. "I take it that you saw that?"
Two more embarrassed looks from the older versions of his sons answered him and Orion chuckled. He looked at James, Lily and Sirius and then asked, "So, how did they react?"
"Hid under the sofa during the fight and left the house when it came to the consequences," Sirius answered with a laugh. Severus and Remus glared at him but couldn't repress rueful chuckles at the absurdity of the situation.
Orion shook his head slowly. "If I were to agree to this, and you were able to see my life as it was happening, would I be getting visits to suggest different parenting techniques, or other advice?"
"Not unless you specifically requested it," James assured him. "We would just be sitting in here and laughing at the mayhem that our younger selves create for you."
"As well as sympathizing with these two," Sirius added, indicating Severus and Remus.
Orion nodded and then once more locked eyes with Severus and Remus. "What about you two, are you going to be alright with this? I won't do it if you're not."
Severus and Remus looked at each other and then returned his steady gaze. "Despite our initial discomfort at the idea, we think that you're a wonderful father. Any family has its ups and downs, and we can cope with the downs because thanks to you there aren't that many of them," Remus started.
"I agree. Although I think there might be trouble ahead as our younger selves grow up, we do appreciate your approach to parenting," Severus added. "I have every confidence that this won't be a mistake, and you need not feel embarrassed to come and see us for advice on our younger selves if you need it."
Orion nodded thoughtfully. "OK. The next question is, how do we set this up?"
After a lot of ideas were brought up and discarded, Orion suddenly groaned. "I'm an idiot," he muttered.
"Why?" Lily asked.
Orion gave her a crooked grin. "This is my mind. Therefore, anything that I want in here, I can create. All I have to do is set it up how I want it and then make it permanent."
The spirits stared at him blankly for several minutes before they understood what he was getting at. When they did finally get it, James shook his head and growled playfully, "Get on with it then."
Orion smirked, snapped off a salute and shut his eyes, concentrating hard. Magic flowed from him, making the complicated idea a reality. No one bothered to tell him that what he was doing was supposed to be impossible. When he was finished, there was a blank screen on the wall facing the couch, and as they watched, a fuzzy blur appeared, resolving itself into a picture of Orion, asleep in his bed.
"Well, at least it works, even if it is weird to see myself asleep," Orion commented. Seeing that his family was far more entertained by the new big screen version of his life than by him, he shook his head, smiled and vanished from the house. The picture on the screen changed as he stretched a little in his sleep and changed positions before settling down.
"And we now have proper entertainment," Sirius commented, conjuring a bag of popcorn and passing it around. The others didn't disagree, taking some of the popcorn and eating it.
As Christmas morning dawned, the spirits were eagerly watching the movie screen to see what happened. Silence reigned in Godric's Hollow as they watched the events play out.
Severus and Remus poked their heads round Orion's bedroom door, checking to see if he was awake. Seeing that he was breathing evenly and appeared to be totally unaware of their presence, the two young Marauders crept into the room, and up to the bed.
Looking at each other, the two boys grinned, before simultaneously jumping on the bed and landing on top of their father. Orion's eyes shot open and he yelped as two heavy weights landed on his chest and stomach. Growling playfully, he reacted, engulfing his sons in headlocks and holding them still while they tried to squirm free.
"What are you two little monsters up to so early," he asked, releasing them and sitting up in the bed. Remus and Severus looked at each other and then back at him.
"We wanted to ask if we're still having Christmas dinner here," Severus said. He giggled as Orion dug his fingers into his sides and tickled him.
"Yes, we're still having dinner here," Orion answered, reaching over and ruffling Remus' hair. He checked the time and then yawned. "It's late enough to get up I suppose. Go get dressed and I'll join you for breakfast."
Severus and Remus disappeared so fast that Orion could have sworn they Apparated. Getting up, he looked at the ceiling and growled, "Mum, close your eyes."
In Godric's Hollow, Lily went bright red and obediently closed her eyes while the others laughed. When Orion had dressed, he said under his breath, "OK, it's safe to watch again."
After breakfast, the entire Potter family congregated in the living room at Marauder Manor for presents, Charles, Emma and James having arrived just as breakfast was being finished. Although the boys got right into tearing open their presents, the adults were more restrained about it. Orion also wondered exactly what his spirit family thought of it all. He shook his head, figuring that it would take a while to stop thinking like that, and opened a present from Charles and Emma.
"Wow," he breathed, holding the book and running his fingers lovingly over the gold-embossed title. Potter Family History the book said, and Orion looked up at his grandparents, his eyes filled with gratitude.
"Thank you," he whispered. Over the last three years, Charles and Emma had been feeding him the history of the Potter family, filling in all the blanks on things he would have known had he grown up with his parents. Not only had they filled in the blanks, they'd been incredibly patient with him while he learnt exactly what place their family had in Wizarding society. He'd learnt that they were the social and financial equals of the Malfoys, but they didn't involve themselves with politics the way the Malfoys did, and that they historically funded start-up businesses and contributed to charities and other social events. Putting the book aside for later study, Orion refocused his attention on the three boys who had torn open all their presents and were excitedly comparing them and bouncing around, waiting for their parents to finish opening theirs.
"What did Uncle Orion get you, Mum?" James asked as Emma reached for the last present, a parcel for her and Charles from Orion. The two elder Potters carefully felt the parcel, wondering what it was. Opening it, they gasped and then stared incredulously at Orion. The wrappings fell away to reveal the contents – a gleaming Pensieve, filled with swirling silver liquid.
"Orion, is this what I think it is," Charles asked, dumbfounded.
Orion nodded. "Yes." He knew that James, Severus and Remus were confused at the cryptic exchange but he couldn't tell them what it was – a copy of every single memory of his future family, from his wedding to Hermione, through the births of his children, right up to the last hug before they died. The moment of their deaths, of course, weren't included, as Orion had no wish to put that memory in there.
Seeing that the three boys were almost ready to start climbing the walls, Charles relented. "Go and play boys, but wrap up warmly if you go outside."
James, Severus and Remus promptly rushed outside, barely stopping to throw on coats and gloves. Orion picked up the family history book and walked to the window. Opening both the window and the book, he stood there, reading the book from the first page, soaking up the information eagerly. He blinked in shock as a snowball hit him in the face and he hurriedly closed the book before it could be ruined.
Looking out to the front garden he saw three worried faces staring back at him. Shaking snow out of his hair he grinned. "You've just started a war," he called out. Putting the book on the table, he transformed into Shadow, jumped out the window, transformed back to human form and threw three snowballs at the Marauders, hitting each one of them with unerring accuracy. After spluttering in shock, the boys began pelting him with snow, and Orion willingly returned fire.
In Godric's Hollow, the occupants were watching the snow war with more than a little longing. James, Sirius, Remus and Severus were wishing they could join in while Lily was fretting about them all dying of hypothermia.
"Uh oh," James suddenly said, seeing Orion stand up and begin to make several snowballs. The others watched in silence as Orion enchanted the snowballs with several spells and then winked at the younger versions of James, Severus and Remus.
"Watch this," he said with a glimmer of mischief in his eyes. Both versions of James, Severus and Remus watched with wide eyes as Orion sent the snowballs flying inside the manor. A roar of "ORION JAMES POTTER, STOP THESE SNOWBALLS THIS INSTANT!!" was heard and Orion grinned unashamedly.
"I thought they needed to chill out," he said, causing the three boys to roll around laughing. A very wet and slightly annoyed Charles Potter appeared at the front door, raised his wand and sent Orion flying into a conveniently placed snow bank. Rolling free, Orion spat snow out of his mouth, cleaned it out of his eyes and ears and shook it out of his hair.
He locked eyes with James, Severus and Remus, before he flicked his gaze briefly to Charles and back again, with a wicked grin on his face. The boys understood what he wanted immediately, and Charles soon found himself pelted with snowballs from the four younger members of his family. Driven back indoors, a white flag soon hung from the window, signaling the end of the war.
"That was great Uncle Orion," James said. Severus and Remus hung off Orion's arms, excitedly agreeing with their cousin. Orion himself just laughed, ruffled their hair and drew his wand, casting a warming charm over them before heading indoors to dry off and change clothes. Charles directed a dark look at his grandson but Orion just grinned at him, completely undeterred by the glare. As the cold group disappeared up the stairs to change, Charles shook his head and looked at his wife.
"What are we going to do? There's four of them now," he moaned.
"What do you mean?" Emma enquired with a chuckle.
Charles shook his head. "I mean that we only had to worry about the younger three's pranks before this Christmas. Now Orion's joining in! He can use more magic than they can!"
"Calm down," Emma said soothingly. "I think Orion's just enjoying the chance to let go and relax for a while. How often have you seen him be that relaxed, that happy and carefree? Even when he's played games with the kids before, he's never been totally relaxed; it's always like he's waiting for something bad to happen. And the fact that he's unbent enough to pelt you with snowballs is a good thing."
Charles grumbled a bit more but conceded that Emma had a point. "I know, I just didn't like that I couldn't return fire," he muttered as the snowball quartet came back downstairs.
Hearing the last comment, Orion sat down opposite his grandfather and grinned. "Sending me into that snowbank counts as returning fire in my book," he said. Charles peered at him and then suddenly grinned back.
"You're right. It was entertaining watching you fly backwards the way you did. So is this."
Orion wrinkled his nose as Charles flicked his wand towards him. Guessing that the older wizard wanted a bit of payback, and knowing that Charles would never hurt him, Orion let the spell hit him and then narrowed his eyes as he felt a strange sensation on his head and felt his face change shape.
James, Severus and Remus stared at Orion in shock before they started to giggle, and then laughed outright.
"What did you do?" Orion tried to say. He stopped as what came out didn't sound anything like his normal voice. Emma grinned and held up a mirror so he could see. Orion's eyes widened in shock, he had been partially turned into Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer.
Grabbing his wand, he let loose an alarmed sounding noise as he saw that the transformation was slowly continuing. Within minutes, he was a reindeer.
"Cool, can we have a sleigh too?" Severus asked. Charles' eyes lit up and he stared thoughtfully at his grandson, who was pawing the ground and tossing his head in mock distress.
"Why not," he said, conjuring a sleigh and attaching it to Orion. James, Severus and Remus clambered in, along with Emma, while Charles got up in the driver's seat. Picking up the reins, he conjured snow for the reindeer version of his grandson to drag the sleigh out the door, before he said, "Go on, Rudolph."
Orion turned his head and snorted at his grandfather. His eyes widened when Charles gently tapped him with the whip that he'd conjured along with the sleigh. Deciding that he really didn't mind pulling the sleigh, Orion started forward, and much to his surprise, found that he actually enjoyed it. In fact, he soon found that Charles was holding him back and he kicked up his heels, snorting as he strained against the harness and the reins, wanting to go faster.
"Let him go, Uncle Charles," Severus and Remus called out from the back of the sleigh. Hearing their request, Charles relaxed the reins and was almost thrown backwards to join the others at the burst of speed that Orion put on when the reins were released. Just managing to catch himself, Charles pulled slightly on the reins.
"Easy there, Rudolph," he said, keeping his touch on the reins light and firm. Understanding that Charles wanted him to slow down just a little, Orion shook his head, but slowed down just a little. Soon he felt a firm pressure at the left corner of his mouth. Obeying the pressure, he turned, still dragging the sleigh. He stopped when Charles pulled at both reins. Turning his head, he looked at his grandfather, who wrapped one arm around the back of the driver's seat and winked at him.
"Hold on everyone," Charles said, before nodding to Orion. "Full speed ahead," he ordered.
Orion snorted, and moved forward. Picking up speed, he was soon running at top speed. He could hear the whoops of delight from James, Severus and Remus, the pleas from Emma to slow down, and the steady encouragement from Charles to keep going.
Unfortunately, snow can be treacherous, it can hide dangers that otherwise one would see. Around the grounds of Marauder Manor, there were a lot of rabbits, and, therefore, rabbit holes. Not seeing one through the snow, Orion's left front hoof went in one, and he stumbled.
Charles, who had been talking to Emma and enjoying the fast ride, felt the reins suddenly change angle and then become very slack as the sleigh thumped into a solid obstacle. Three heads popped up from the back as Remus asked, "Uncle Charles, what's wrong? Why have we stopped?"
"Stay in the sleigh," Charles ordered as he got down and went towards the downed reindeer. Orion was lying on his side, his eyes filled with silent pain as he tried to move his broken legs. His left front leg had broken when he'd stepped in the rabbit hole, and the sleigh had run into him while he'd been lying down, breaking both hind legs and bruising his back.
"Dad!" Severus and Remus exclaimed, followed by James' panicked yell of "Uncle Orion!" The boys scrambled out of the sled, ignoring Charles' growled order to stay back. They ran to the injured deer and crouched down beside him. Severus and Remus decided to support their father's head, while James was busy stroking his side.
"James, be careful," Charles warned as Orion made a pained noise when James accidentally pressed a tender spot. The Potter Family patriarch slowly straightened the injured legs, wincing as his grandson groaned in pain.
"Can't you transform him back and then we could take him to St. Mungo's," James said, trying to comfort his uncle while his father was dealing with his legs. Charles looked up and shook his head.
"I'm afraid not, James. An injury this severe, we can't risk the potential complications it might create if we changed him back."
"What complications?" Severus asked. "And can't you give him a pain-relief potion?" he demanded as Orion winced again when Charles gently stroked his legs.
"Right now, if we were to change him back, his left arm would be broken, both his legs, and there might be spinal complications. We could get the vet in though," Charles mused, giving Orion's head a brief stroke.
"It's OK, Orion, we'll get you better," he said softly. Looking around, he sighed, and gave his family a frustrated look. "It's going to be OK," he murmured. Orion gave him as annoyed a look as he could and struggled to get up.
"Orion, you've got three broken legs, you can't possibly walk," Charles said, stopping the reindeer's effort to move before he damaged himself even more. Orion stopped moving and flopped down, resigning himself to his injuries for the moment. He looked up as Charles transfigured another sled, and then picked him up, putting him on the soft bed of furs and gently patting the side of his face.
Moving to the front, Charles picked up one of the ropes attached to the sled. He gestured to the boys to pick up the other three ropes.
"Come on guys, let's get him home," he said. James, Severus and Remus picked up the slack on their ropes and began to pull forward. Charles added his help and the sleigh slowly moved forward. Emma remained on the sleigh with the injured reindeer, stroking him and talking quietly to keep him calm.
When they got back to Marauder Manor, Charles Floo called the local vet, who, upon hearing the problem, also suggested getting hold of someone from St. Mungo's who was experienced in people being injured while in a transfigured form. Gathering the needed supplies, the vet came through the fire, and shortly afterwards, so did a healer from St. Mungo's.
They found Orion in front of the couch, lying on fur rugs, his head supported on James' lap and licking Remus and Severus' hands in turn. The three boys looked anxiously at the vet as he injected a pain-relief potion and then an anesthetic into Orion's bloodstream. Within seconds, he was out like a light, and the vet and the healer went to work.
"What did he step in?" the vet asked, frowning as he examined Orion's left front leg and then the back ones.
"He stepped in a rabbit hole and then the sleigh he was pulling ran into his back legs," Charles answered, looking worried. "Is there a problem?"
"Well," the healer answered, "we can, theoretically, vanish the bones in all three damaged legs, and then return him to his normal form to finish the treatment."
"That is not advisable. The bruising to his spine needs to heal before anything of that nature can be attempted," the vet snapped back. "I realize that it's Christmas Day, but if you want him fully healed, I suggest leaving him as he is for now."
This sparked a heated debate between the two healers. Finally, the boys grew fed up.
"Dad won't want to remain a reindeer for the rest of Christmas!" Severus snapped. Pointing his wand at his father's unconscious form, he was joined by James and Remus as they said, "Finite Incantatem!"
"NO!" the adults yelled, but it was too late. The reindeer shivered and then transformed back into Orion. Even unconscious, he moaned in pain before abruptly falling silent. The healer from St. Mungo's quickly ran diagnostics on the unconscious wizard before glaring at the boys.
"You're very lucky you didn't paralyze him with that stunt," he snapped.
"Is he OK?" Charles asked, annoyed at the healer for yelling at his son and his nephews, but also annoyed that they had interfered when asked not to.
The healer nodded. "He will be, after we vanish his broken bones and give him a dose of Skele-Gro to re-grow them."
"Do it," Charles said, wanting Orion back. What had started as a joke had turned bad and he wanted to salvage some Christmas cheer from the day. The healer nodded, and removed the bones in Orion's left arm and both legs, before waking him up.
"Easy, Mr Potter," the healer murmured. "I've removed your bones; I need you to drink this Skele-Gro to get them back."
Orion sat up carefully. Supported by Charles and Emma, he reached out and took the Skele-Gro from the healer, drinking it quickly and handing the small cup back.
"Ugh," he muttered. "Is everyone else alright," he asked, looking around and seeing five worried faces staring back at him.
"We're fine, Dad, what about you?" Severus said, leaning against his father's good side. Orion gently patted his back.
"I'll be OK," he said. He looked at the vet and the healer and smiled. "Thank you," he said. "I'm grateful that you gave up part of your Christmas Day to help me."
Both of the health professionals waved off his thanks. "It's perfectly fine. I'll be back tomorrow to check that your legs and your arm are back in working order. Stay off your feet until then, but, given that the rest of your body seems to be alright, have a happy rest of your Christmas Day," the healer ordered.
Orion nodded, and then levitated himself up onto the couch, relaxing back into it with a groan. "Well, that was fun," he murmured.
"Yeah, up until you broke your legs," Remus muttered.
Orion gave a rueful chuckle. "I will admit that that part wasn't fun, but this is only a minor setback in my plans for today."
"What plans?" Severus and James asked, echoed closely by Remus. Orion smirked at them and then beckoned them closer. Leaning in close, he whispered something to them, and when they drew back, Charles closed his eyes in mock pain.
"Oh no, the Marauder quartet is back in action," he whispered to Emma, who frowned briefly before seeing the mischievous looks on all the boys' faces and the glimmer of mischief in Orion's eyes which was duller than usual due to the events of the morning, but still present.
"What are you planning?" Charles asked suspiciously.
Orion gave him an innocent look. "Me? Why would I be planning anything? What could I possibly do in this state?" he indicated his arm and legs.
"You still have magic," Charles said. He walked over to the couch and crouched down in front of Orion. Locking eyes with him, Charles growled playfully, "Try anything and I'll ground you."
Orion looked wounded. "You'll what?" he whined, but the sparkle in his eyes betrayed him. "You can't do that. I'm an adult."
"Watch me," Charles returned, his eyes sparkling like Orion's. They both knew that whatever Orion did, or helped the three Marauders to do, Charles would do nothing in response other than roll his eyes.
The rest of the day, throughout lunch and then up to dinner was marked by pranks that were funny and harmless. Charles turned into a lion and then back again, James turned into a stag and then back again. Severus grew cat ears and a tail that didn't disappear until he ate and then drank items in a certain order. The final prank was when the turkey that was supposed to be for dinner, jumped up on its legs and scampered down the table, screaming, "Don't eat me, please, don't eat me!"
Charles covered his eyes and sighed. "Orion, I realize you didn't grow up with your parents, but please, the turkey is supposed to be eaten, not played with."
Orion gave him a mock-sorrowful look, and the turkey reluctantly moved back to the platter. Picking up the carving knife, Charles eyed Orion suspiciously, before carefully cutting into the bird, which, thankfully, didn't move again.
That night, after an argument between Charles and Orion over sleeping arrangements, the entire Potter family was sleeping in Marauder Manor. Remus and Severus were in their own rooms; James took the guest bedroom on the other side of Remus' while Charles and Emma took one of the two remaining rooms for their own. Orion went to sleep with a frown on his face, not liking the fact that his grandfather had told him sternly to stay in bed until the healer gave him a clean bill of health the following morning. Dangling his one good arm off the side of the bed, he slid into his mind. He needed to visit his family, and see what they thought of the day.
As it turned out, the occupants of Godric's Hollow thought that it was the best reality television they'd ever seen. With the exception of the breaking his legs part, James, Severus, Remus and Sirius all agreed that the day had been a success.
"Especially the pranks," James laughed, remembering the turkey running down the table.
Orion grinned. "Yeah, well, I figured Christmas was a good time to indulge my Marauder side," he said. His family agreed with him, and they all had a good laugh. Orion winced as his arm tingled, and then his legs gave a particularly vicious twinge. "Ouch," he muttered. "I'm going to get back. I need to sleep."
Just as he stood up, he sat back down with a grunt of pain. "What's wrong?" Severus asked, seeing Orion's hand fly to his forehead and cover his scar.
"Voldemort," Orion whispered through clenched teeth. "He's awake, he's aware of the link, and he's trying to test the limits of it."
"What are you going to do?" Sirius asked.
Orion stood up as the pain passed. "I'm going to tell him to get lost," he snapped, walking out of the house and towards the place where the link to Voldemort was embedded in his mind.
He could sense the Dark Lord on the other side of the shields, trying to get through. Cautiously, he reached out, trying to get a feel for this version of Voldemort, the one which wasn't totally insane.
"Be careful, Harry," Severus urged. "Don't mix your mind with his."
"I know," Orion responded. He tensed, and then frowned. "It's like he's trying to send a message," he muttered.
"Harry," Severus warned. Hearing the warning, Orion stopped and looked sheepishly at his former mentor.
"I wasn't going to do anything," he muttered.
Severus arched an eyebrow. "Right," he drawled. "Your curiosity will be the death of you one day. Go and get some rest, worry about the Dark Idiot later."
Orion grinned at Severus' irreverent nickname for Voldemort, and obeyed, vanishing a split second later. Voldemort, having failed at getting through Orion's extremely strong shields, retreated to his own mind, resolving to try a different way of getting to the Heir of Slytherin, who's mind his own was linked with.
"There has to be a way, Nagini," he hissed in Parseltongue. His familiar looked up at him and flicked her tail in agitation, but otherwise did not answer. Voldemort growled, ever since he'd told her that his intended target was the Heir of Slytherin she'd been behaving strangely. If he didn't know better, he'd think that she was thinking of switching sides. Deciding to try again in the New Year, he let his head drop forward, closing his eyes. He was asleep a moment later.
After Voldemort's visit, the spirit Marauders watched over Orion as he slept, oblivious to the plans being made by certain wizards around the country which would ensnare his family in trouble far down the road.