Summary:
There is another Magic school other than Hogwarts. Harry learns this firsthand when he is invited to attend such a school. How will his destiny change when he is given the chance to learn and be free from the limitations and the stigma the world has set for him?
A/N: this fiction portrays elements and character appearances of various people from various anime, movies, books and games. The characters from Harry Potter and characters from those games, anime, movies, books and games are not mine.
Chapter 22:
Harry woke up from his bed, shivering slightly at the cold. It was Christmas. It was Christmas morning to be exact. He remembered those horrid years that he would get nothing from the Dursleys. He remembered looking enviously at the presents Vernon and Petunia would shower Dudley from the confines of his cupboard or as he served them food and hot drinks without a word of thanks. He could remember hearing his heart shatter whenever they would hug or kiss Dudley while he only received sniffs of disdain, yells, or a slap on the head or by the side of his face.
Harry shook his head. None of that now. No more self depreciating thoughts. He got up from his bed and opened his curtains. He looked out the window and all he could see was the clear blue waters of the lake as well as the pristine white snow covering the ground. Sirius had bought a house to own in Pharos. It was a three story home overlooking the lake. The house had four bedrooms, three bathrooms, a living area, an attic, a fully functional kitchen as well as a nice terrace.
Sirius had taken custody of him the very day that he arrived in Illumina and quite frankly despite him being ecstatic about it, he was also confused on how to act. He didn't know which roles to play especially when Sirius caught him in the act of cooking, cleaning, and doing laundry, even when Sirius had hired new house elves to do those jobs, a day after Christmas vacation. Even the elves were shocked to find out that Master Harry had woken up before them. (it took both him and Sirius to stop the three elves from punishing themselves)
He had told Sirius it was a habit and explained to the man that doing chores sometimes calms him down or helps him think. Sirius probably thought his methods were questionable but told him to ease up on it and let the elves handle things. It took a lot of getting used to but it was done.
He quickly did his morning rituals (he has his own bathroom in his room) dressed in a jumper and reached for his door. As soon as he opened his door he was thrown to the ground by two big black dogs. Sirius and Mordred really hit it off and both made it their divine duty to cover him in Dog drool every time he would open his door. Every morning.
They let him up before they both began to barrel down the stairs together making a huge racket.
I thought Sirius was the adult here? hissed Firenna. She's a lot bigger now. When he got her she was barely three feet in length. Now she's at least five feet and still growing.
Well, babies must play, I suppose.
What do you mean? I don't see any infants. she replied not quite getting the analogy
Never mind. he laughed.
Firenna quickly climbed up his body and settled herself around his neck like a scarf. As soon as Harry made sure she was comfortable, he leisurely walked downstairs.
The entire first floor was decked in Christmas decorations. A colorful wreath hung from the door. The staircase and the doorways were lined with holly and red ribbons with glowing things hovering near them. Those glowing things reminded him of those Christmas lights only to stop when one of those glowing things flew to the tip of his nose. He crossed his eyes and saw a small fairy wearing a white and gold dress. She smiled and gave him an Eskimo kiss before flying away, a trail of pixie dust behind her.
He had forgotten about the fairies entirely. Edym had explained that fairies were abundant all throughout Illumina and they all reside within the Mana Tree. During Christmas, the fairies fly to the towns and help light up the Christmas trees inside houses as well as trees outside. They spread holiday cheer to everyone and help make the houses beautiful and festive.
Harry walked into the den. The fireplace was lit making the room all warm and toasty. The mantle was decorated with thick candles and Christmas stockings hung on the mantle. A huge pine tree decorated in reds, whites, golds,Silvers, greens, blues, candies, stars , bells, orbs, as well as crystals sat at the corner of the room with a gold star at the very top. The fairies flew among the branches giving of fairy lights. Some were even dancing as if it were a major gala. Under the tree were a ton of presents. All of them were beautifully wrapped with big bows. Some were stuffed toys with brightly colored ribbons around their necks. The ceiling was enchanted to look like a gentle snowfall.
This looked even better than Christmas at the Dursley house. This, he was absolutely sure of.
"Merry Christmas Harry!" greeted Sirius. The man wore a deep blue turtleneck and a pair of black slacks and a pair of leather boots.
"Merry Christmas Padfoot!" greeted Harry as he ran up to the man and gave him a hug.
Then they heard a knock on the door. Sirius let go of Harry, went to the door and opened it revealing Remus, the Snapes (remember he adopted), the Weasleys, Deux, Ciel, Sebastian, Edym, and the Tonks.
They all agreed to spend Christmas morning at the Black house. They had spend Christmas Dinner at the Weasley Home in Evenfall last night. The Weasley Home was the complete opposite of the Burrow. It was a three story Victorian styled house that was very beautiful and wonderfully spacious. It was also surprisingly cheap when they asked the price for it to own. Mr. Weasley was certainly happy now. He had been a wreck when his family split up but now he is living life. He now works as an apprentice to Mr. Sid, one of the head engineers that made the ships, the vehicles, and other mechanical devices used in Illumina. Rumor has it that he is having the time of his life.
Harry smiled when Damon Snape ran to him and hugged him enthusiastically.
"Merry Christmas Harry! Did you know? Daddy left out milk and cookies for Santa to eat and carrots for the reindeer and when I woke up guess what? guess what?
"What?"
"The plate was empty! Santa came and there were loads of prezzies under the tree! Daddy said that we'll all open the prezzies here!"
"That's great!"
Damon had been unfortunate to be orphaned when the third retrieval mission went awry. He was probably the sweetest five year old he had ever met. Sure the kid was shy, but when he gets comfortable around people he would openly give hugs and would giggle. He also recalled how Mr. Snape went teary eyed when Damon called him 'Daddy' for the first time in a month. Mr. Snape absolutely fell in love with the small brunette boy. It was a safe bet that the man would raise the boy well.
He looked over at the two remaining Marauders as both Remus and Sirius greeted each other. Remus was looking much better now than he wasn't fighting against the transformation. His tawny hair had streaks of gray and he looked years younger. He didn't look haggard anymore and he said his bones don't hurt anymore when he moves, he also had fewer scar tissue now.
"All Right everyone in the Den. It's time to open presents!" yelled Sirius.
"Sirius, no need to yell." admonished Remus as he carried his presents to the den along with the other adults. The kids ran in the room and sat on the floor around the tree.
"O.K. The first present is for...Nyphadora"
"I told you, don't call me Nymphadora!" Dora cried as her hair turned red in anger but accepted the box nonetheless.
The presents were passed out one by one and opened in enthusiastic glee and everyone was having a jolly good time when the doorbell rang. Harry got up from his spot and put down his new Hoverblades (think rollerblades) and went to the door. He opened it and there stood Neville and Madame Longbottom at the door.
"Neville? Madame Longbottom? Oh! Come in, come in. Everyone's in the den right now opening presents."
He quickly ushered the group of four in the house and into the den.
"Hey guys, the Longbottoms are here." he told everyone.
Everyone welcomed the new arrivals with smiles. More gifts were exchanged and the air around was light and full of merriment. They were about to have a sumptuous Christmas Morning meal when the doorbell rang again. This time a house elf opened the door and led two people to the Dining area. All the adults eyes grew wide when the other still unnamed two came into the room.
"Frank? Alice?" Sirius shakily got up from his seat and went up to the other two. His breath caught in his throat, he gingerly touched Frank's shoulder. "I'm not dreaming am I?"
"Now why would you dream about us for? And yes we're real."
Without further ado, Sirius' eyes rolled back into his head and he fainted. Frank quickly caught the man before his head could bang on the wooden floors.
"Um...Merry Christmas...?" said Frank as he struggled to lift Sirius.
Remus and Bill quickly ran to Sirius and carried him to the sofa.
Augusta was speechless. Then she ran with a speed uncommon for a woman of her age and latched onto both her son and daughter-in-law with happy tears rolling down her face
"Oh. Frank, Alice. This is Magic! Oh, I have dreamed for this day for eleven years. I thought that you were lost to us." she cried, her head on her son's shoulder.
"We're back mum. We're back." said Frank as he held onto his mother.
Suddenly someone ran into Alice's arms and hugged her tight. She looked down and saw Neville grasping onto her skirt afraid that this was all just a dream.
"Hello, my Sweet baby. Mum and Dad are back. I'm Sorry. I love you so much." Alice cooed as she knelt down and hugged her son with equal ferocity.
"If this is a dream, I don't want to wake up." cried Neville as he burrowed into her arms further.
"No, darling. This is definitely not a dream. Merry Christmas, baby." Alice said as she kissed Neville's forehead.
Frank let go of his mother and proceeded to hug his son. Neville reveled in the loving attention of his parents. All of his hopes had flourished in that simple hug. Augusta smiled at the sight. Now their family was complete.
"But How? The Healers at St. Mungos told everyone that it was impossible for you to return to your senses after such an exposure?" asked Arthur as he tried to fan Sirius back into the waking world.
"The Healers here told us that it was relatively simple despite our prolonged exposure to that curse. They created a potion to heal the mind. They told us that both our minds were fragile. Think of our minds like a mirror. The cruciatus breaks the mirror into many pieces if used too much. Continued use was like the caster stepping on the glass further damaging the mirror. Well that's what happened to us." explained Frank
"But How did you come back?" asked Bill
"We were both given a potion made from a mixture of phoenix tears, fire-flowers and crushed moonstone. They gave us the potion gradually until we slowly came to our senses. Along with our minds our bodies followed suit. It took us some time to get used to walking again but we did it in time." said Frank
"Fire-flowers? I thought that those flowers were extinct." said Severus
"They are. On Earth that is. There are entire meadows of it here. The Wizarding world, our wizarding world, overused them to the point of extinction. Not even seeds are left. All of them burned during Grindelwald's war. Numengard was rumored to be the only place where they grew." explained Alice. "The hospital staff knew how to counteract and remedy our case and began dosing us in small doses until we finally returned to our full senses. We were cured within the month. During all that time, we underwent intense physical therapy so that we can fully use our limbs. We asked the staff to keep it a secret until now."
Everyone stared at the family in happiness. When news hit that day eleven years ago, both Harry and Neville had been marked for death. Harry had lost his parents that very night. However, Neville also mourned. He had his parents but they had been deemed incurable, they were as good as dead in society. Now, the Longbottoms have a chance to reconnect and be a family they have always wanted to be. They certainly deserved it.
"Now that everyone is here, it's time to eat." said Ted Tonks.
They roused Sirius and everyone enjoyed the occasion. Truly, it was a Christmas miracle. Sirius then Stood up and raised his glass.
"A toast to Frank and Alice, may you enjoy a new beginning together as a family. Cheers!"
"Here, Here!"
Everyone raised their glasses to the family. This was definitely a most memorable Christmas. The best in years.
After everyone enjoyed their Christmas meal everyone got their coats on and decided to walk around town. Everywhere they turned people greeted them with smiles and ruddy cheeks, red from the cold. Other families from Earth were stunned but happy at the sight of Frank and Alice's return. The group walked until they reached the town square. In the middle of the square is a giant of a tree beautifully decorated. Other groups of people gathered in the town square to listen to the choir as they sang.
Fahoo fores dahoo dores
Welcome Christmas come this way
Fahoo fores dahoo dores
Welcome Christmas, Christmas day
Welcome, welcome fahoo ramus
Welcome, welcome dahoo damus
Christmas day is in our grasp
So long as we have hands to clasp
Fahoo fores dahoo dores
Welcome Christmas bring your cheer
Fahoo fores dahoo dores
Welcome all Whos far and near
Welcome Christmas, fahoo ramus
Welcome Christmas, dahoo damus
Christmas day will always be
Just so long as we have we
Fahoo fores dahoo dores
Welcome Christmas bring your light
(hum next two lines...)
There are many problems in the world, but for one day everything is quiet and peaceful. For once all was right in the world.
A/N: I hope you guys like my very early Christmas Present. If you want to listen to the song, I simply used the Glee version of "Welcome Christmas". Happy Holidays!