Disclaimer: Umm…no.

Chapter Twenty-Five: Christmas at the Burrow

Harry awoke on Christmas morning very early, rare for him, and threw the covers off of his slim body. There was a fresh layer of snow on the ground and his room was cold so Harry pulled on a jumper and jeans before dashing into the hallway.

Remus was up and drinking coffee at the kitchen table. Before Harry could even ask he said, "We'll leave for the Weasley's as soon as Sirius gets up."

Harry's mouth snapped shut and he frowned. If Sirius didn't have to work, then he would gladly sleep until noon or later. There was no way Harry was going to miss out on Mrs. Weasley's Christmas breakfast because Sirius was snoozing.

Calmly the eleven-year-old walked to the sink, filled up a glass with cold water, and headed for the stairs. Remus didn't say anything but he smirked into his coffee.

Harry pushed open the door to Sirius' tiny room slowly, so the hinges wouldn't squeak and wake the slumbering auror, and peered inside. Sirius was spread out over his entire bed, as was his habit, snoring lightly.

Harry grinned and went inside on tip-toe. It was too easy. He carefully climbed onto the mattress, weary again of squeaking springs, and stood over Sirius with the glass of water held high. Harry measured the distance, moved the glass an inch to the right and then overturned it onto his godfather.

The water splashed over Sirius' face and the older man spluttered and gasped at the cold shock. Harry jumped onto his chest and bounced on the bed, shaking Sirius the rest of the way into consciousness. "Wake up Padfoot! We've got to go!"

Sirius groaned. "Merlin Hare, I thought you weren't six anymore."

Harry grinned slyly, knowing exactly which buttons to press. "There are presents waiting for us…"

Sirius shot up and untangled his legs from the damp sheets. "Presents? Why didn't you say so? You know I'm a sucker for a bow."

The pair was downstairs within the minute; Remus was waiting by the door with their coats and scarves. "You reading our minds Moony? I thought I had a word with you about that." Sirius grinned jokingly when in fact it was him who had been reading up on Occlumency. He grabbed his cloak from his Remus and swung it across his broad shoulders.

Remus shrugged. "I know how you two work, and besides, Harry looked determined. C'mon, I want to get there before all the pancakes are gone."

Sirius tutted disapprovingly, fastening the clasp. "You obviously don't know Molly very well; she would save first choice of the food for her guests…us. Merlin help any of those kids who try otherwise."

Remus nodded. "You're right, what was I thinking?"

Sirius sighed dreamily. "Never get tired of hearing that. Anyway, let's go and…what the bloody hell is that?" Sirius ignored the customary thwack for language and pointed out the kitchen window.

There was dot in the distance, growing closer. It went up and down erratically. Remus pulled the tip of his wand from his jacket but Harry reached out to stay it and winced. "That's Errol. Open the window fast…where's a pillow?"

Remus wrenched open the window a moment before Errol went flying through it. Harry dove for the ground, a pillow outstretched, as Errol dive-bombed in exhaustion and old age.

Harry set the pillow, with Errol on it, onto the table and unwrapped the scrap of parchment from his around his skinny leg. It was written in Ron's scrawl.

Harry,

Charlie's home! Said he wouldn't be but never mind, that means pickup Quidditch after breakfast, bring your broom…and Sirius' and Remus' if they want to join in. They'd even out the teams.

Ron

Harry grinned and ran for his room to grab his broom and the hall closet to take Sirius' and Remus' for them. "This just made Christmas so much better." He shouted, jumping past his two guardians out the door.

Sirius side-along apparated with Harry to just outside the Burrow's gate. Remus appeared next to them a moment later with a sharp crack, laden down with shrunken gifts. Remus staggered and Sirius caught his elbow to steady him.

"Why do I always have to carry everything?" Remus complained.

"Sorry Moony." Sirius apologized, scooping his hand through Remus' pocket to lighten the load. "Molly's is heavy." Sirius grunted, weighing one gift in his palm before pocketing it.

"C'mon, c'mon." Harry tugged at their sleeves, kicking open the gate with his foot and parading them through the yard to the front door.

He didn't even have to knock.

Ron leapt out the door, tackled Harry in a hug, and began speaking a mile a minute. "Harry! You're here! You're late; Fred and George are complaining they're hungry. You should see this awesome Egyptian relic Bill brought me and Charlie's got this wicked burn on his leg only don't tell mum because she'd freak out."

Harry laughed. "Good to see you too Ron. It's only been like, two days."

Ron groaned. "Two loooong days mate. You try sharing a room with your oldest brother and Forge has been on the rampage what with all the new victims." Ron shuddered. "The things they do."

Harry grimaced. "Don't worry; Mum's made them promise to behave today." Ron continued hastily. "Do you have your broom?"

Harry pulled the shrunken brooms from his pocket and displayed them proudly. "Wicked, let's go, I'm starving." Ron led the way inside.

The table was set and an expansion charm had been cast, giving the table four more settings than usual for the guests. Molly and Arthur greeted Harry warmly, telling him to hang his cloak by the door.

Sirius was enlarging gifts by the tree so they could open them after breakfast. Charlie clapped Harry on the shoulder and they had a long talk about Quidditch until Mrs. Weasley clapped her hands commandingly and ordered everyone to sit.

Remus and Arthur got the heads, Sirius and Molly in the middle on both sides, and the rest of the kids branched out in either direction. Harry ended up squashed between Bill and Ron with Sirius almost across from him. The twins were way down at the end of the table by Remus, Harry was glad he wouldn't have to worry about them hexing his food when he wasn't looking.

Remus, Sirius, and Harry had only been over to the Weasley's a few times for dinner over the past years and each and every time they did, it was raucous, loud, entertaining event. Christmas would prove no different.

Bill delighted their part of the table with a thrilling tale of code breaking and ancient Egyptian booby traps. Mrs. Weasley pretended not to hear.

Halfway through, George brushed by Charlie's pant leg, exposing the large red burn he had been trying to hide from his mother. Unluckily for him, Molly spotted it.

Harry and Ron snickered behind their hands as Molly shooed Charlie to the bathroom to get burn ointment, despite his protests that the eggs would get cold. Ron spooned himself the last of the eggs and grinned cheekily at Charlie when he returned with pink goo slathered on his leg.

Sirius loosened his belt a notch and rubbed his stomach with a grin. "That. Was. Fantastic. So much better than either of us single blokes could do." He winked at Remus.

Molly looked at him and leaned forward conspiratorially. "Speaking of which, when are you going to find yourself a nice girl Sirius? You could use a woman around that house of yours, I've seen the mess in the hall closet, don't think I haven't."

Sirius choked on his fork and Percy slapped him on the back. "M-molly…I dunno. Haven't found a good girl yet I guess."

"You shouldn't be so picky." Molly told him sternly.

"Yes ma'am." Sirius muttered.

Remus snickered and Molly turned to him. "The same goes for you. You're both single, smart, and attractive. Go find a woman for Merlin's sake!"

"Yes ma'am."

Arthur cleared his throat awkwardly. "Okay, Percy and Bill, you're on dish duty. Presents in an hour everyone."

The table cleared out in seconds.

Sirius shivered as he stepped outside. "It's not like I'm a hermit for goodness sake, my job has very demanding hours! And it's a dangerous job, every day could be my last."

"Don't make excuses. You have commitment problems." Remus muttered as he walked past him.

Sirius frowned. "Yeah? You don't date because you think you'll chase any girl you meet off when they uncover your furry little secret."

Remus grimaced. "I thought we weren't going to call it that anymore."

Harry stepped in between the two and handed them their brooms. "Let's just agree you both need to get out more and play some Quidditch already."

Charlie and Bill were captains, Bill having left Percy to do the dishes by himself. The twins were split up for safety's sake. Ron went to Charlie and Harry to Bill so both teams would have a seeker.

Remus bowed out so Ginny could play and deigned himself scorekeeper. Sirius joined Bill's team and Ginny went to Charlie.

Remus dragged the Weasley's beat up old ball set out of the shed and released the bludgers and the snitch. He grabbed the quaffle and waved for Bill and Charlie to lift off. The teams took to the air and Remus threw the ball as high as he could.

Ginny immediately snatched the quaffle and passed it to Fred, who missed as Bill saved the ball. All the positions were so mismatched that anyone could play the quaffle and they enacted the French keeper rule, whoever was closest to the hoops at the time of a shot could save it.

They would have played all afternoon, despite the heavy snowfall that started soon after they began, if Molly hadn't chased them inside with her non-recreation broom for presents.

Molly shrieked in joy as she opened her gift, one hand flying to her heart. A baby grand piano, gleaming and tuned to perfection sat before her. Sirius had ordered it from a specialty store in Diagon Alley the week before and Remus had taken the liberty of wrapping a red novelty bow around it.

"But…so expensive." Molly stroked the surface gently and tapped a key.

Remus grinned. "You tried to teach me how to play the piano when I was eighteen."

"Me until twenty." Sirius added. "But then you had to sell it to make another room for Ginny and we always thought it was a shame."

"You were like a pro Molly, and now that Bill and Charlie are out of the house you have room again. Maybe you could teach Harry some?"

Molly's eyes teared a little and she pulled Remus and Sirius close to her. "What a thoughtful gift you boys. Thank you. Thank you so much."

Behind her back the two exchanged thumbs-ups.

All the boys as well as Ginny, Arthur, Remus, and Sirius got Weasley sweaters and candy and Sirius delighted in a new leather jacket that Remus and Harry had got him to replace his old one that had been ruined many years ago.

Charlie got a letter from Nymphadora Tonks and Bill teased him about his 'girlfriend.' Charlie blushed and argued vehemently that Tonks was his friend and nothing more and he hadn't even seen her since he left for Romania.

"Did you send her a card?"

"...yes."

Bill grinned triumphantly and unwrapped his own gift from a girlfriend in Egypt, a new quill set.

Harry pulled a package wrapped carefully in brown paper from under the rotating tree. It was addressed to him. "Who's it from Harry?" Ron asked.

Harry flipped the card over. "Your father left this with me before he died. Use it well. There's no sender."

"Your father?" Sirius sat forward and stared at the package then he looked at Remus. "It couldn't be. I thought it was destroyed in the house?"

Remus shook his head in disbelief. "I removed some things from the house because I didn't want anyone messing with their things. I never saw it. I didn't even think to look for it."

"What?" Harry asked, unwrapping the paper to find out for himself. A shimmery silver cloak spilled into his lap. Harry touched it in wonder, like water woven into cloth.

"That can't be." Arthur reached for it but withdrew his hand hastily, letting Harry hold it.

"It is!" Bill and the twins moved closer, staring with wide eyes.

"But, what is it?" Harry asked.

"That's an invisibility cloak. They're really rare and valuable. I've never seen one before." Ron informed him.

Sirius grinned and stroked the cloth. "It was your dad's, handed down to him from his father and so on back many generations of Potters. Merlin we had some good times with this. Saved my life a few times too..."

Ireland, March of 1979

"James! Get down!" Sirius whipped his wand and took out a Death Eater who had been aiming for his best friend's head.

James flashed him a grin of thanks and whirled around, his wand sparking with fast bursts of magic. "I thought there were only supposed to be a small recon camp! I must see twenty some masks in this field alone!"

Sirius ran to help his friend. "Have you seen Remus or Moody? I lost them over the ridge."

James shook his head. "No, I hope they caught up with the rest of the squad. There must've been fifteen more Death Eaters by the coast and they were headed this way."

"Great. No all we have to is worry about no getting our arses fried." Sirius grumbled sarcastically.

As if waiting for a cue, five more Death Eaters joined the group James and Sirius were fighting.

"You've got to be kidding me." Sirius moaned.

"Saucio!" One of the Death Eaters called out, stabbing his wand in the young aurors' direction. James and Sirius hit the dirt for cover, the long grass hiding their bodies for the moment. That I until another Death Eater cast lumos maximus

The entire field was ablaze with light and the two were completely exposed. "Shite." James muttered.

The Death Eaters ran for them, brandishing their wands and shouting dark curses.

"C'mon, we can't take them all." Sirius pulled James to his feet and they took off, dodging as many curses as they could with their backs turned. James got hit by a crucio and lurched forward, screaming in pain.

Sirius pulled up a shield charm to deflect the next round of spells and helped James run along. "Run it off mate, adrenaline will get you going."

James nodded. "Right, I'm fine. What curse is blue? And also duck."

"Why? Augh!" Sirius fell to his knees and clamped his mouth shut to cut off a scream. His shoulder had been split nearly in two by a slicing charm.

"Note to self, look out for the blue ones. Let's go." James grabbed Sirius good arm and hefted him back to his feet. They stumbled to the edge of the field and stared at the expansive Irish coastline. There wasn't any cover, just a small ledge that led down to the beach and the dark water beyond that

"Dead end?" Sirius grunted, holding his shoulder. James nodded slowly, catching his breath.

Red sparks shot into the air a few hundred yards down the beach. "That's the signal! Moody wants to leave and we've got five minutes to get there or else we're as good as dead." James looked back over his shoulder at the stampeding Death Eaters. "We've got to jump."

Sirius stared at him. "Jump? Are you mental? We'll be sitting ducks; the moon makes it easy to see on the sand, with any aim they could pick us off from here!"

"Not with this." James reached into his cloak and pulled out a folded material, nearly transparent in the moonlight

Sirius sighed in relief when he realized what it was. "I'm so glad you brought that I could kiss you."

"Just don't bleed on me. C'mon." The two picked their way down the side of the ledge and onto the sand. Once they were both were on solid ground again, James threw the cloak over them and they huddled down by the rock wall.

They cold hear the Death Eaters above them arguing about who to send down and check if they were there. Apparently a new recruit was chosen, he skidded nearly the whole way down. He almost landed on top of the hiding aurors but instead fell on his butt in the sand. He looked around, expression indiscernible with his mask on.

"They're not here!" He called back.

"What do you mean not there? We saw 'em go down ourselves!"

"Well come down and have a look for yourselves because they're gone."

James and Sirius stifled their snickers at the Death Eaters' inefficiency.

Finally, the Death Eater climbed back up and Sirius heard the group leave, muttering swears under their breath.

James released a sigh of relief and pulled the cloak off of them. "Well that was a close one."

"I wonder who had it?" Remus mused aloud.

"Invisibility cloak? You're leading me on aren't you?" Harry scoffed disbelievingly.

"Try it for yourself." Remus shrugged.

Harry frowned and stood, draping the cloak around his shoulders. It fell all the way to his feet. Harry pulled the ends together under his neck and grinned. "I'm not invisible, look." Harry waved his hand.

"No, you look!" Ron exclaimed.

Harry looked at his hand and saw it wasn't there. Not only wasn't his hand there, his whole body from the neck down was gone. He could feel the carpet through his socks, yet he couldn't see his socks. "My body's gone!"

Everyone laughed at his surprise. "Better be careful with that Hare." Sirius warned him.

"Yeah, alright." Harry winked at Ron.

"There's one more for you Harry dear, here you are." Molly handed him a messily wrapped package. Harry grinned as he read the card, it was from Hagrid. He tore the paper off and held up the hand carven flute for the others to see.

Sirius turned to Molly. "Want to teach him how to play the flute too?"

The lush green country side flashed by Harry's window and he absent-mindedly watched it blur by. Ron was sleeping, it was still rather early in the morning and Hermione had gone off to talk to Lavender and the Patil twins. The compartment was quiet except for the rocking of the wheels and Harry felt himself slipping into slumber.

He was excited to be heading back to Hogwarts, the vacation was nice but had turned into a lull of boredom by the end, even with the companionship of Asher and Gordon. Harry was ready for school again and he was eager to get back to solving the mystery of who Nicholas Flamel was, none of them had been able to do much research over break without the library's vast amount of resources.

"Anything off the trolley dear?"

Harry jerked awake at the question and looked around wildly for the speaker, knocking his glasses askew.

"Over here dear, anything from the trolley?" The kindly old vendor woman was standing in the doorway of the compartment, one hand resting on the handle of her ever-present trolley.

"O-oh, little early for candy isn't it?" Harry stood up, scrabbling in his pocket for loose coins.

"We have hot chocolate and muffins if you like." The vendor offered.

Harry looked from Ron back to the woman. "Alright, two muffins and two cups...with marshmallows. And one chocolate frog for dunking."

She arranged the cups of steaming sugar and handed them over to Harry, who pulled out a cup holder from the middle of one of the seats someone had thoughtfully installed on the train a few years ago. "And your frog too, have a good ride dear." The woman ambled away, knocking on the next door.

Harry slid the door shut and tore open the chocolate frog, throwing the card on the floor and dunking the struggling candy into the hot liquid. Ron mumbled something and turned over, falling off his seat.

"What?" Ron murmured sleepily, sitting up.

Harry snorted and hot chocolate splattered his jeans. "I-I got you a cup too mate." Harry laughed.

"Thanks!" Ron sat up. "What card was with it?" He asked, pointing at the half-eaten sweet in Harry's hand.

Harry shrugged. "Dunno, I didn't look close but it's one I already have though. It's on the floor somewhere..."

"Oh here." Ron pulled the card out by one of it's corners from under the seat. "Ah Dumbledore, I've got at least five of him." Ron flipped the card from one hand to the other in disappointment. "I only need two more and my collection's complete, until they release the new set this year. What? No way!"

"What?" Harry set aside his food and stared at Ron in bewilderment.

"Look! I knew the name Flamel was familiar!" Ron brandished the trading card at Harry. It was the back of the card, with some facts about Dumbledore printed on it. Towards the bottom was a mention of one of his friends with the name Nicholas Flamel.

"The Sorcerer's Stone?" Harry took the card. "Where's Hermione? She'd know what that is."

Author's Note:

Aaaaaand it's got a plot again! I hadn't done a flashback in a while and I missed James so I threw him in there. I think it's very nice and kind of on time.

Dear Readers: This story has been put on 31 alert lists and 10 favorites lists. So I'm severely disappointed that the last chapter only got one review. Is my writing that terrible that you're all losing interest? Please, if you read my story then please review. I like reviews. A lot. They make my day sunshine daisies butter mellow. Thanks.

SO IT GOES WITHOUT SAYING TO PLEASE REVIEW!