Tap. Tap. Tap.

Alphard rolled over a groaned and tried to cover his ears with his pillow. But the incessant tapping on the window and the occasional hoot from the owl finally forced him to throw the snug blanket off, exposing him to the biting cold air. Grumbling about stupid bird that should be served on a Christmas table, he swung his leg over the bed. He groaned as his stiff muscles and weary bones protested the sudden movement.

He hobbled over to the window in his pure exhaustion. However, the snapping cold air that assaulted him when he opened the window broke him from his sleepy haze. He grabbed the letter and opened the window a little farther to let the poor owl he now recognized as Diablo, his sister's devil bird.

"Why on Earth…?" He muttered to himself as he watched Diablo fly circles around his room.

He opened the letter and began to read.

Alphard,

You unintelligent, incorrigible devil spawn! To think that you once lived under the roof of the house I call my home perturbs me to no end. Filthy, vile, ungrateful bloodtraitor twit! Do you think that I have forgiven your mortifying behavior last Christmas? Who do you bloody think you are, taking my children away from Hogwarts? They are NOT allowed to leave the school unless accompanied by a parent! Believe me when I say, you bumbling idiot, that the school board will hear about this and I will have that crackpot Dumbledore removed faster than you can say mudblood.

You will send both of my children back to me immediately, Alphard.

There is no option.

-Walburga

Alphard snorted and quickly summoned some paper and a quill. He put the paper against the wall as he wrote.

-Wally,

Hell no.

-Alphard

He whistled for Diablo to swoop down so he could attach the note to his leg. Once the note was secrete, the owl quickly twisted around so it pecked Alphard quite hard on the hand and purposely knocked into his head as it flew out the window.

Alphard cursed the bird as he healed his wounded hand with a simple healing charm. He looked up at the clock as saw that it was already close to noon. Since the twins arrived yesterday, they had all been exhausted by all the excitement. Deciding that he wasn't going to get to go back to sleep, he grabbed his slippers and his robe before walking out to the kitchen.

He sat down at one of the bar stools and with a wave of his wand, the kitchen sprang to life to start preparing breakfast for him and his houseguests.

He sighed heavily as he looked out into the enchanted wall. He had always loved the sea ever since he was a little boy. Growing up in a place like Number 12 Grimmauld, one would always find himself trapped in darkness and melancholy. While the rest of his sadistic family thrived off those auras, he became an introvert only to find himself again at Hogwarts (It hadn't helped however that his common room was in the dungeon). The shores of the Black Lake, that he joking told friends he owned, became his escape. He had literally spent hours standing about knee deep in the water as it moved back and forth, soaking his robes in the clear water. It was the most peaceful he ever felt in his life so when he graduated and had a falling out with the rest of his family, he moved as close as possible to the sea. To ensure that he would always have a little bit of brightness and warmth in his life even during the harsh winter months, he turned his kitchen into the beach. It was the most relaxing place he had ever found and if he was given the option, he would never leave the room.

There was a particularly loud snore from the direction of the twin's rooms. Alphard smiled fondly to himself as he thought about his young niece and nephew sleeping just a few doors down. He had never had any children, his life devoted had been devoted to personal expression and worldly exploration. But now as he thought about the children that looked enough like him to be mistaken as his own, he felt a sense of family he hadn't felt since he was a small child.

Sirius was the boy that Alphard wished he had been. When he was a child, he never had the courage to stand up to his family like Sirius did. No, he would take it silently and never fight back. That was probably why he got sorted into Slytherin compared to Sirius getting into Gryffindor. While part of him wished that his nephew had been sorted into his old house, he was inanely proud of Sirius. He understood that Slytherin was no longer the house that he had known; it had changed drastically. While he had been there to witness the bitter rivalry between Gryffindor and Slytherin, there had still been some wiggle room. So for Sirius to get out of there, to get sorted in Gryffindor, Alphard could wish nothing better for his brave and headstrong nephew. Still, fears still haunted his mind of Sirius taking it too far one day. All he had to say was the wrong word to the wrong person…. But Alphard hoped to help guide the boy before it got to that point.

Ursula was still an anomaly to him. While he had heard that she was a headstrong and bold girl, he had heard firsthand accounts from his sister about all the times she beat Ursula and the girl had done nothing. That contradiction worried him. There was something holding her back, something keeping her from defending herself. Even if she was playing the martyr, while that was commendable, there was still a chance that someone could manipulate her weak spot. Yes, she was an intelligent girl, both twins were, but a smart mind is nothing without unwavering morals. She was still young but that didn't mean much in the world they were living in.

The smell of almost complete food brought Alphard out of his thoughts. He didn't hear any noise from the twin's rooms so with a mischievous smile, he grabbed a large pot from under the counter and a large wooden spoon. He walked down the hallway and he gently opened Ursula's door.

He was surprised to see both twins in the bed. Sirius was lying at the foot of the queen sized bed with the blankets wrapped around him. Ursula was lying towards the top of the bed but the blankets only went to her waist. At some point in the night she must have caught a chill for she grabbed her robes and pulled them on top of her.

Alphard smirked; two is better than one.

He gently placed the pot and spoon on the ground while he grabbed his wand from his pocket. He pointed his wand at the kitchen items and there was a moment of peaceful silence before chaos erupted in the room.

The loud clanging sound surprised the shocked twins. Sirius flung around wildly trying to remain on the bed, but it was fruitless. He fell off the edge and seeing as Ursula was also twisted in the blanket, he pulled her down too. Laughing too hard to keep the spell working, Alphard doubled over laughing. The twin's heads popped up from under the blankets, their hair mused up and sleep still in their matching eyes.

"What was that for!" Sirius shouted at him.

Alphard shrugged as if he didn't have two angry twelve year olds glaring at him.

"Breakfast is almost ready and I thought I would share some food with my little house guests."

At the mention of food, Sirius and Ursula somehow untangled themselves and they sprinted into the kitchen. Alphard laughed after them, they were truly Blacks.

After breakfast was done Alphard cleaned the dishes with a simple flick of his wand. He turned to face the twins,

"Alright you two, I was thinking at we go out and pick a Christmas tree from the woods not far from here. Then I'm sure we can find some Christmas decorations somewhere in this house. So what do you say?"

To say the twins agreed would be an understatement.

Seven hours later, after hunting for the absolute perfect tree, a vicious snowball fight following their selection (Sirius and Ursula ganged up on Alphard in the end to secure a win), an epic search for an old box of ancient decorations, and after the completely covered the tree in tinsel and ornaments and candy canes, they collapsed on the couch in exhaustion.

Lazily, Alphard waved his wand and three cups or hot coco floated towards them. Two of them were unnecessary however, as both twelve year olds had fallen asleep on the sofa.

His back flaming in pain from all the activity, Alphard decided to not use magic on either of them and he gently picked up Sirius like a small child and carried him to his room. After tucking him in, he walked back to the living room, resting his hand on his back. He was getting to old for this.

With a soft grunt, he lifted Ursula into his arms. He had just laid her down in her bed and brushed a little hair off her face before leaving the room.

"Uncle Alphard?" A soft voice said from behind him.

He halted in the middle of the doorway, "What do you need Ursula?" He asked her.

"This has been the best holiday we've ever had. Thank you," she mumbled in her sleepy haze.

Alphard smiled into the darkness, "No thank you."

But she never responded; she had been taken by the sandman into the fantastical world of dreams.

Six days later, Ursula was awoken by her brother's scream of "PRESENTS!" She shot up in bed and was shocked when a piece of paper fell onto the floor. She scrambled to the end of the bed and practically dove over the edge of the bed to retrieve the paper.

Not knowing who it was from (all of the presents Alphard and Sirius got her were under the trees and she would exchange gifts with her friends tomorrow and she agreed that she would trade gifts with her roommates when they got back) she tore open the letter quickly.

Dear Ursula,

I'm sorry about the way I acted before break and I think my present will make up for my stupidness. I hope you are having a good time at Hogwarts.

~Reggie

Ursula turned the envelope upside down. Into her hand fell a silver bracelet. There were plain links connecting reasonably large silver plates. On the outside there were three constellations; Canis Major, Leo, and the Ursa Major. It had been commonly accepted, that while she was named for her great-great grandmother, Ursula Flint, the constellation her mother always claimed she was named after was Ursa Major. On the insides of the corresponding constellations were their initials; U.W.B., S.O.B., and R.A.B.

She smiled widely as she put the bracelet on. Once it was around her wrist it magically adjusted itself so it fit perfectly.

"URUSLA! HAPPY CHRISTMAS!" Sirius shouted as he dived onto her bed after sprinting into her room. He bounced high in the air and momentum kept him going. He landed (with a terrified scream) with a painful sounding thud.

Ursula dissolved into a fit of laughter. This was the way Christmas was supposed to be; this was the absolute best Christmas she could remember celebrating with family.

So there's Alphard's point of view. I hope it was up to everyone's expectations. The next chapter might be up this weekend, but it might not. I am going to be really busy in the next five days or so. My school is about to start testing the brains out of my head so I won't really have the time to be writing this. But fear not, even if there is a little break, the story will continue. In case you were curious, I just rewrote the last chapter of this entire story (it gives me a place to work towards) and even when I went back to read it...gah! I can't wait to share it with everyone! It gave me the chills and I was the one that wrote it! So review! Give ideas! Comment! Do something! There are a lot of people reading this but only two people consistently reviews (Thank you so much Lauren and DobbysArmy!) If I get more reviews, I write quicker!