Santa Paws
by Teddylonglong
Please refer to the disclaimer and warnings in chapter 1.
"I made grave mistakes in my youth," Severus began to speak up, slowly. "However, about a year before the end of the war, I became a spy for the light side. As to the use of the Dark Mark, no, for me, it doesn't have one. During the last couple of months, I could see that it was getting darker, which means that he is getting stronger, wherever and in which form he might be. That is why I'm not overly surprised about the Death Eaters' activity tonight."
"Do you want me to take the Dark Mark off?" Santa asked, bluntly, causing Severus to look at him wearing the blank mask, which Harry had only seen him display at Hogwarts so far.
"If it's possible, I would be extremely grateful," he then replied.
Santa nodded in understanding. "Very well then, let's head out onto the grounds. Everyone else, please remain here. Santa Star, you may come," he instructed everyone.
'He probably doesn't want us to see Severus hurting, when he takes him to the large crystal and makes the Dark Mark go away,' Harry thought in understanding, as he remembered what Santa had told him about the removal of the Horcrux behind his scar.
"Good luck, Severus," he told the older wizard, who had somehow become something like a mentor to him over the last year.
"Thank you, Harry," Severus replied in a soft voice, as he followed Santa out of the room.
HP
It was on the day before the teachers had to return to Hogwarts that Remus suddenly spoke up, "I was wondering about something." Seeing everyone look at him in expectation, he continued, "When Sirius was sent to Azkaban at that time, Peter received the Order of Merlin for dying – or in other words for getting the Potters killed. Now that it's a well-known fact that he feigned his own death and was the Death Eater who gave away Lily and James on top of it, have they revoked the Order of Merlin? I also wonder where the money went, which he received posthumously along with the Order of Merlin."
"That's a good question," Sirius was the first to comment. "I'll go and speak with Amelia or perhaps even with the goblins about it."
"Harry, why don't you accompany Sirius to Gringotts?" Santa suddenly suggested. "We only took you there once, when you were about six, to speak with Buckbean, your account manager, and have him officially register you with us. We did not look at your account, possible estates that your birth parents might have left you and such things."
"Oh, all right," Harry agreed, looking at his godfather. "May I go with you, Sirius?"
"Of course," Sirius replied, grinning, before he encouraged Luna to accompany them.
"I will," Luna said, lightly, "if Harry doesn't mind."
"Of course not," Harry replied, promptly, gently leaned over to kiss her. 'Why in the world does she feel so insecure all the time?' he wondered in concern. "You're always welcome to accompany me, wherever I go," he added, quietly.
HP
The head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement greeted them as friendly as always. However, upon hearing Sirius' question, she let out a deep sigh. "Sirius, as you know, at that time, I was a lowly Auror in training, and I didn't get to know anything. If you ask me, Albus Dumbledore arranged everything, and he probably is the only one – maybe with the exception of the goblins – who is aware of what really happened at that time. I will, however, see to it that the Order of Merlin will be revoked in any case."
Sirius nodded in apparent understanding. "All right then, we were going to see the goblins anyway," he replied, only to add, "Will you perhaps do us the honour of joining us for lunch, Meli?"
To Harry's surprise, Amelia Bones agreed, and during lunch, he suddenly recalled that Sirius had once told him that she had been his girlfriend before his stay in Azkaban.
'They still seem to like each other,' Santa Paws thought to him, and Harry silently agreed after listening to their friendly banter for a while.
After a quick lunch, Amelia returned to the ministry, and Sirius, Harry and Santa Paws walked the small distance over to Gringotts, where Sirius requested to speak with Buckbean.
HP
Harry liked the goblin immediately, as he was very friendly and less formal than he had expected the goblins to be just from what he had heard over the last few years. He could not remember the visit to Gringotts at the time of his adoption, of which Santa had told him.
"Hello Mr. Potter, Lord Black," Buckbean greeted them and led them into his office.
Harry curiously let his eyes wander around the room, which radiated the atmosphere of a high-ranking goblin with goblin-crafted items impressively decorating the walls.
"What can I do for you today?" their host enquired, giving them a curious look.
"We were wondering about a couple of things," Sirius explained and explicitly asked about Pettigrew's Order of Merlin. "Other than that, we'd like to have a look at the Potter finances – liquids and assets as well."
With a flick of his hand, Buckbean summoned several folders, which arrived neatly piled on his desk. He opened the thinnest and informed them that the money for the Order of Merlin first class for Peter Pettigrew had been sent to a specifically made vault, to which no one but Albus Dumbledore had access.
"What's going to happen to the money now, considering that Pettigrew is really gone?" Sirius enquired.
Buckbean quickly skimmed the folder only to reply, "I'm afraid that there's no money left in that account. Dumbledore used it all for as he called it 'Management expenses for Hogwarts.'
"Nonsense," Harry growled, angrily. "He doesn't have any expenses for Hogwarts, as Hogwarts is completely self-fulfilling through the vaults of the founders of the school."
"Yes, that is correct," Buckbean agreed, grimly. "I'm afraid, however, that there's nothing that I can do about it. There's something else that we can do against Albus Dumbledore though." Deeply sighing, he closed the folder and opened one of the thicker folders on his desk. Taking out a couple of parchments, he placed them in front of Harry and Sirius on the table.
"Here, you can see the income along with the expenses of the Potter vaults from the point of your parents' death onwards," he explained, pointing to the parchments.
"What?" Sirius blurted out in apparent anger, causing Harry to take a closer look at the top parchment.
He realised quickly that there were several monthly expenses taken from his vaults. One was labelled, "Expenses for Ronald Weasley for befriending Harry," the next said, "Cover for the expenses of the Order of the Phoenix," the third was labelled, "Reimbursement of costs for the Dursleys for raising Harry," and the last one read, "Fees for Albus Dumbledore for acting as Harry's magical guardian."
"There is more," Buckbean informed them. "There are yearly expenses that cover the school fees for Ronald and Ginevra Weasley."
"What?" Harry blurted out, looking at the goblin in bewilderment.
"It's good that you finally came to take a look at your expenses," Buckbean continued, "as I suggest calling all these transfers back as soon as possible."
"Please do this," Harry instructed him, and the goblin immediately busied himself producing a series of parchments, which he placed in front of Harry to receive his signature.
Harry swiftly signed everything, before he sat back in his chair to listen to Buckbean, who informed him and his godfather about the Potters' assets and vaults.
"Unlike the last time you came here with your adoptive father, you're now an adult in the magical world and as such able to access each of your vaults, not only your trust vault," the goblin told him.
When Harry hesitantly asked his godfather if they had time to look at his vaults, his godfather readily agreed, and they spent the next two hours at Gringotts, looking at this and that. Harry even found a diary from his mother, which he quickly pocketed to read through it at home.
HP
While Claire and Santa were giving Regina a lesson in magic, Severus took a long walk during the snow accompanied by Santa Star and a couple of her siblings. He recalled how he had been bullied by the Marauders, had reacted in the wrong way towards his beloved Lily and how one thing had led to the next and finally driven him into making the worst mistake in his life. He remembered how he had received the Dark Mark so many years ago. Frustrated with himself and the world around him, he had followed Lucius Malfoy's invitation to visit the Dark Lord and join his ranks. He stared at his left arm, which was now clean and innocent under his warm robes without the more than annoying the Dark Mark. 'Oh Merlin, getting close to Harry and his family was the best thing that ever happened in my life,' he thought, feeling extremely happy.
When Regina joined him after her lesson, Severus stared at her, smiling broadly. Her long, black hair was looking beautiful in the sunshine, and her large, chocolate brown eyes were looking at him with warmth and love.
Summoning as much courage as he could, he spoke up in a soft voice, "Regina, will you please become my wife and make me the happiest wizard in the world?"
Her face became even more beautiful, when her expression stretched into a wide smile, right before she replied, "I would be delighted to become your wife."
Reaching into one of his inner robe pockets, Severus pulled out a small, silver ring with a scenery of the North Pole engraved into it, which he had made with the assistance of Santa's elves a couple of days ago. He carefully slid it over the ring finger of her left hand, where it magically adjusted to the correct size. As soon as she finished staring at the ring in obvious amazement, he leaned over until their faces almost touched and captured her lips with his own.
HP
When Harry and his extended family heard the good news, they were delighted for Severus and Regina and threw an ad hoc party for the happy couple.
"Harry," Severus addressed him in private, when the two wizards stepped outside for a moment together with Santa Paws and Santa Star, "do you think you could somehow connect our private quarters at Hogwarts?"
Harry pondered the question for a moment, before he promised to speak with Hogwarts immediately after his return to the castle. "I'm going to go back with you and the others tomorrow anyway," he informed his mentor. "You certainly need assistance with the brewing for the hospital wing, especially considering that you now need to reserve some time for your fiancée," he added, grinning.
'Luna is going to spend the last two weeks of the holidays together with her father anyway,' he added just for himself, deciding to not voice his thought.
"Thank you very much for your consideration," Severus replied in a mock sneer, "but I'm still a Potions professor and have responsibilities."
"That's good to know," Harry quipped, quickly ducking, when the older wizard made a snowball come into his direction with a flick of his hand.
Just a moment later, the two wizards and their canine familiars were engrossed in a full-fledged snowball fight.
HP
Just like during the previous year, Harry decided to spend the two weeks before the beginning of school in the founders' quarters. Even if he assisted Severus for several hours each day, he saw to it that he spent some time speaking with the founders of Hogwarts in their life-size portrait in the living room and also chatting with Hogwarts in the parlour.
He also visited Amaterasu, Salazar's basilisk familiar, with whom he had become friends after his first visit in the chamber of secrets two years ago.
At that time, Salazar had instructed Harry to take him to her in a small photo frame, right after the attack on Mrs. Norris, as he was worried about the serpent, who had been extremely distraught at that time. At that time, Salazar had taught him a spell to cast at the basilisk that made her large, yellow eyes turn white and harmless for everyone who saw her. The spell, however, had to be renewed once a year, and from that point onwards, Harry saw to it that he re-cast it as soon as he returned to Hogwarts at the end of August every year.
"Thank you ssso much, my dear new massster," the basilisk hissed, seemingly pleased that Harry had re-cast the spell.
"You're very welcome," Harry replied, gently caressing the large animal's skin. "I will alwaysss re-cassst it," he promised, sincerely.
Santa Paws let out a confirming woof, making Harry wonder if the canine could comprehend Parseltongue.
HP
One day, shortly before the beginning of the school year, when Minerva and Severus were doing last-minute preparations for the new school year and the Triwizard Tournament, Molly Weasley suddenly stepped through the fireplace. Her face was bright red and her hair completely messy, almost as if she had tried to pull it out.
"Now Molly, this is a surprise," Minerva greeted the seemingly upset witch. To what owe we the favour of your visit?"
"Minerva," Molly replied in a loud voice, "do you know where Albus is?"
"I'm afraid not," the headmistress replied, calmly. "Why are you asking instead of simply writing a letter to him?" 'Probably a Howler,' she thought to herself, as she had – of course – heard everything about Albus' misdeeds concerning Harry's vaults.
"Years ago, I made a deal with him, and he promised to pay the school fees for Ron and Ginny for us," Molly admitted. "However, the Potter brat apparently pulled all the money back, which we received from Albus during the last couple of years, even their school fees, and we don't have any money left, plus the goblins sealed our accounts, so that we can't even get what is needed in advance. I need to speak with Albus. Everything is his fault and that of the Potter brat of course."
"Mrs. Weasley, you're not making sense," Severus told the excited witch. "Why is it Mr. Potter's concern if you're making deals with Albus Dumbledore and they don't work out for some reason?"
"Albus took the money from the Potter vault, stating that the boy wouldn't need so much money, but would need Ronald as his friend. But see how that worked out," Molly replied in agitation. "My son ended up in the house of the snakes."
"Your son was in Hufflepuff first – just like Harry Potter, who by the way, saved your daughter's life in his second year," Minerva replied in a strict voice. "I don't condone Albus stealing money from Harry Potter's vault to give it to you in any case," she added, sternly. "Was anyone else informed about this deal?"
"Only Ron," Molly replied, letting out a deep sigh. "What am I going to do? I even need to pull the twins out of Hogwarts, as we won't be able to afford the school fees for them."
Quickly thinking, Severus spoke up in a firm voice. "I shall make a deal with the twins. Please send them over to speak with Harry and me at one o'clock this afternoon."
Molly cast Minerva a questioning look.
"Molly, please do so," the headmistress confirmed, strictly. "The twins are good students and don't deserve having to leave Hogwarts just because of something that you arranged with Albus years ago. They're also good friends of Harry, and he will support them as well."
Molly nodded and promised to send the twins and to write to Albus, before she stepped back into the fireplace, causing Minerva and Severus to let out deep sighs of relief.
"Annoying bitch," Severus commented, grimly.
"I wonder how Mr. Weasley will react to this latest escapade of his wife," Minerva replied, pensively. "The last thing I heard was that he was going to leave her if she ever did as much as send a Howler to Harry."
HP
During the following hours, many things happened at once. Using their last quiet time, before the preparations for Christmas were going to begin anew, Santa and Claire were sitting in front of the screen. Since Merlin had alerted them to Molly Weasely's visit in Minerva's office this morning, they had been watching the headmistress' office, Harry, Arthur Weasley, Molly Weasley and Albus Dumbledore in turns.
At lunchtime, Harry received another Howler from Mrs. Weasley.
"Mr. Potter, how dare you deny my youngest children their education? How dare you refuse to go by Albus Dumbledore's rules? He is the wisest wizard in the magical world, and as your guardian has to decide certain things which are good for you and for the Greater Good!" Molly Weasley's voice shouted all over the Great Hall, where the present teachers and Harry collectively rolled their eyes in apparent annoyance.
"That's it. I'm going to speak with Mr. Weasley," Harry announced. He swiftly left the Great Hall and returned to the founders' quarters, where he hugged Santa Paws to keep him close, before he stepped into the fireplace together with the canine.
"Ministry of Magic, Arthur Weasley's office," Santa instructed the screen, and shortly later, they witnessed how Harry walked into the office with Santa Paws on his heels.
Harry informed Mr. Weasley about the transfers from his Gringotts vault, which he had called back a few days ago, about Molly's visit at Hogwarts and finally about her latest Howler to him.
"That's it," Mr. Weasley growled in apparent anger. "Harry, please accept my deepest apologies for my wife's behaviour and her agreement with Albus Dumbledore. Please believe me that I had nothing to do with it and even did not know about it until you informed me right now."
"I believe you," Harry said quietly, and Santa assumed that Santa Paws had checked out the wizard in front of him and reassured him of his trustworthiness.
"Professor Snape and I intend to make a deal with the twins to have them brew prank potions and pay their school fees in return," Harry informed the older wizard, who looked at him, wide-eyed.
"Who in the world needs prank potions?" he enquired, sounding frustrated.
"Professor Snape believes that Voldemort will return shortly, considering the Death Eaters' newest activities," Harry replied, only to add, "and in dark times, everyone sometimes needs a laugh."
Mr. Weasley smiled at the boy. "Thank you, Mr. Potter, for not holding grudges against my sons due to the atrocious behaviour of my wife and my youngest son," he said in a soft voice. "I am going to separate from my wife as of today, and I shall take the twins in. While my wife uses to call them trouble makers, I believe that they have their heart at the right spot."
"They're good friends of mine," Harry admitted, smiling, before he took his leave and swiftly returned to Hogwarts, where the twins were supposed to arrive shortly.
However, during the following minutes, Santa and Claire waited in vain for Harry and Santa Paws to step out of the fireplace in the founders' quarters. After a fifteen-minute wait, they switched over to the headmistress' office; however, only Severus, Minerva and the twins were present.
"Where's Harry?" Santa asked in bewilderment.
HP
Leaving Arthur Weasley's office, Harry and Santa Paws slowly made their way back to the fireplace, when Santa Paws suddenly stepped into Harry's way.
'Wait a moment,' he thought to him. 'Santa Moon just told me to look for the Goblet of Fire. Where is it though? It has to be somewhere in the ministry.'
Harry swiftly turned into his Animagus form, making use of his ability to turn himself invisible in his canine form.
'She said that Albus Dumbledore was just messing with it, so I'm now going to try if I can sense him. Follow me,' Santa Paws instructed him, and the two invisible canines were running through the ministry of magic, dodging people left and right as they went.
It did not take the canines long to find Albus Dumbledore, who was standing in front of a large goblet, casting a couple of charms at the magical device, which Harry could not recognise. When he was finished casting, he slid his wand back into his robe pocket, pulled a small parchment out of it and let it fall right into the goblet.
Nodding contentedly, he stepped back from the Goblet of Fire, transformed into a fire phoenix and flashed away, swiftly.
"What was that?" Harry asked Santa Paws, only to notice that the canine seemed to be engrossed in a staring contest with the goblet.
"If you're sure and now leave me in peace," the goblet finally hissed at the canine, causing Harry to stare at the magical device in shock.
'What did you do now?' he thought to Santa Paws, however, the canine merely motioned him to come and dashed away in the direction of the fireplace.
When they stepped out of the fireplace in the founders' quarters, a fire phoenix was sitting on the back of a chair, apparently waiting for them.
tbc...
Thank you so very much for the kind reviews for the previous chapter. Please let me know what you think of this chapter and what you expect from this story. Any ideas or opinions are welcome. Have a nice 3rd Advent.
Next chapter: "Meddling wizards and dogs".