Disclaimer: I own nothing.
A/N: Boxing Day Quidditch, which team are you rooting for? Who will win in the rematch? :)
Christmas morning saw Severus, Remus, Harry, Castor, Fred, George, and Dobby all around the tree Harry insisted they decorate at Spinner's End. It was both his and Castor's first Christmas tree and they had great enjoyment in putting on the ornaments, many of which were tiny, framed scribbles that Castor had colored. It had been a struggle to get him to both color on the paper and not try to eat the crayons, but they had mostly succeeded.
Just after breakfast Castor was squealing in joy at unwrapping his presents, which really means that he enjoyed the unwrapping and the boxes much more than the toys and clothes everyone got him, many of which featured cartoon hippogriffs since they still seemed to be his favorite animal. Dobby even shared in the joy as he opened a package of socks (from Castor so he wouldn't mistakenly think he was being freed) that featured patterns of bacon and eggs and dancing hippogriffs. He also got a collection of pranks to pull around the castle from Fred and George and an assortment of chocolates from Severus and Remus (though everyone assumed it was actually Remus's doing).
Severus and Remus had admitted that they had opened their gifts from each other the night before. As his dad blushed when Remus said that, Harry swore to never ask what they got each other. Instead, Harry happily watched as his dad opened the present he had painstakingly worked on. It was just a simple picture in a frame, but it had taken a lot of plotting and sneaking around to get it. It was a picture of Severus and Remus playing wizard's chess. Severus was holding a happy Castor and Harry was laughing at the two from beside Remus. Harry had finally gotten the picture after charming the camera invisible in Snape's quarters and magically taking pictures randomly over a week's time when everyone happened to be in the room. There were about a hundred blurry or awkward pictures with this perfect one in the midst of them.
Snape stared at the picture for so long that Harry became worried. "Erm, is everything ok, Dad?"
Snape looked up at Harry, his eyes gleaming. He said nothing but walked over and pulled his son into a hug. "Thank you," he finally said in a raspy voice. "It's the best gift I've ever been given."
"You're welcome," Harry sighed, glad his father liked the gift.
Harry cleared his throat and passed a square present to Remus. "I kept a copy, but that's the original," Harry explained.
Remus unwrapped a thin black journal. He slowly opened it and gasped after reading the first page. "Sirius kept this journal during his time at Hogwarts. It mainly just explains each prank the marauders pulled and its success or failure. I found it in Grimmauld Place when I went to clear out some of his things last year."
"Thank you, cub," Remus smiled with tears in his eyes.
"You know we need to see that, right?" George asked as he tried to peer over Remus's shoulder before Remus used to book to smack his arm to get the twin to back off.
"This is for you from mum," Fred said, passing over a familiar, squishy package to Harry. Harry unwrapped it to find a green, knitted jumper with a gold 'H' on the front. "She saw Hedwig at our place and asked if we could try to send it along with her. She didn't seem to believe it would actually get to you." Harry smiled at the jumper sadly. George walked over and waved his wand saying an unfamiliar spell that turned the 'H' into an 'A.'
"That's how we mess with the family so much by changing our jumpers," George explained.
"Thank you," Harry smiled as he pulled the sweater over his head.
"I think she stayed up late last night making this," Fred said, handing a small squishy package over. "It came by owl early this morning."
Harry laughed when he unwrapped a tiny, blue sweater with a 'C' on the front. "Look what Mrs. Weasley made you, Cas!" Harry said as he pulled the tiny sweater over his distracted son's head. "Looks like you've been welcomed to the family."
"You have too, you'll see," Fred pulled Harry into a hug and pressed a kiss into the silver hair.
"For you," Harry said, handing a small package to Fred. Fred opened it to see a crystal on a long chain. "It's spelled like my dad's," Harry explained. "If you're in trouble, hold it and think of me. I'll immediately tesser directly to you."
"Thank you, Harry," Fred kissed his boyfriend.
"What am I, chopped liver?" George asked as the only one who hadn't gotten a gift from Harry yet.
"This is actually for both of you," Harry said, handing George a thick envelope.
"Uh huh, so he really gets two gifts," George fake, huffed.
"Just open it, prat," Harry smiled as he rolled his eyes.
George quickly opened the envelope and pulled out a thick ream of parchment. He read the first page and his face paled. "Is this real?" He asked with a gasp. "You aren't pranking us, right?"
"What is it?" Fred asked as his dazed twin handed the parchment over.
"100% real," Harry laughed as Fred gasped as well.
"Please tell me what you gave them that caused the Weasley twins to be speechless!" Severus smirked.
"We can't accept this," George quickly spoke up.
"It's too much," Fred added.
Harry laughed. "You did this to yourself. All that paperwork you had me sign back in November, did you think I wouldn't read it?"
"I'm confused. You following this?" Remus asked Severus.
"Not a bit," Severus shrugged and just continued sipping his tea.
"The twins had me sign some paperwork for Gringotts because my name changed, and I became of legal age. I was a silent investor in WWW having given them my Triwizard Tournament winnings as start-up capital. It was all just legal stuff, but I learned by reading the documents that they didn't have me listed as a silent investor at all. I'm on the company's documents as a full partner in the business," Harry raised an eyebrow at the twins who were shuffling a bit guiltily.
"We were going to tell you eventually," Fred started.
"Yeah, mate, but we always saw you as more than just an investor," George finished.
"So, what's that?" Remus gestured to the parchment.
"The deed to the shop and our flat above it," Fred said, handing the parchment to Snape.
"Indeed," Snape raised an eyebrow in appreciation as he read the page.
"If I'm a full partner, I plan to pull my own weight," Harry explained. "I might not be good at inventing and the business side of things, but I can at least make sure the company is good financially by owning the building they are located in. I finally got a look at my vault statements and saw how much this partnership was increasing my galleons. I invested all of that and a little more back into the business by buying the building."
"A little more!" George exclaimed.
"Yeah, you guys have been very profitable," Harry shrugged.
"Thank you," Fred kissed Harry deeply.
"Yeah, thank you," George echoed. "I'm not going to kiss you like my brother, but come here," George pulled Harry into a tight hug.
"You're both very welcome, and thank you for seeing me as a partner in all this," Harry hugged George back.
The twins got Remus chocolate, feeding the man's addiction, as well as a new winter cloak. He was very confused though as he unwrapped his normal teaching robe that he wore all the time as a present from Dobby. "Er, thank you?" Remus smiled questioningly at the elf.
"Ah, Master Wolfy, I fixed the pockets. You's can keep your chocolates there now and they's will never melt, no matter how hot it is," Dobby smiled.
Remus actually got a tear in his eye at that point, having had to clean melted chocolate from the pockets several times himself and pulled the little elf into a hug. Snape got a couple casual robes from the twins, neither of which were black. The twins, in turn, got a set of rare potion ingredients from Snape and Remus for their pranks.
Harry received a new defense book from Remus (as well as chocolate), a wand holster and dagger set from his dad, which he promised to teach him how to use, and tickets for all of them to go to Wizarding Disney over the summer from the twins who gave amused looks to Dobby who was jumping up and down at seeing a house elf ticket included.
It wasn't long before Christmas dinner rolled around. They never did figure out how it happened, but somehow Dobby had a place beside Harry at the dinner table and was the one carving the Christmas roast. Harry kissed Castor's head and smiled around at his little family. It was probably the happiest he had ever been in his life.
Early on Boxing Day, Severus, Remus, Harry, and Castor appeared just outside the wards of the Burrow. Severus was carrying Harry's Firebolt and Remus had Severus's Nimbus 2000 since Harry had declared his old Cleansweep unacceptable even for a backyard family game of quidditch. However, Remus with a Firebolt would have raised too many questions. Before any of them could even make it to the door, Fred barreled out to grab Harry and Castor into a hug.
"Oi, Fred, you saw us yesterday," Harry complained as he tried to breathe around the crushing arms and squirming baby.
"Yeah, but you have got to save me from Ron. Ever since you told him, he keeps trying to kidnap me and get me to spill everything."
"It's just breakfast," Snape sneered at the overly dramatic Weasley. "I'm sure you had a harrowing time."
"Well, mum's already asked 30 questions about Castor and what he got for Christmas and Angelina's been obsessing over our quidditch strategy. It's been a morning," Fred said, taking Castor from Harry. "I'm going to hide behind the baby for a while. You're on your own, mate," he smirked at his boyfriend.
"You lot get in here! The food's getting cold!" Mrs. Weasley yelled from the door, causing even the older men to rush inside in order to not experience her wrath.
Fred's plan was immediately disregarded as Mrs. Weasley took Castor from him and started unbundling him. She cooed at Castor over Fred's protests when she realized the baby was wearing the jumper she knitted him. Castor, on his part, just grabbed onto her robes and kissed her cheek, making Mrs. Weasley turn red and giggle. "Traitor," Fred accused the baby as he kissed the back of his head and went to the kitchen with his arm around Harry's waist.
"Professor Snape!" Bill exclaimed as they all entered. "Are you joining the match? It would even out our numbers. Can you play?"
"I'll have you know; I was a keeper for Slytherin in my time. I'm hurt you didn't remember," Snape held a hand to his heart in mock pain.
"Hey, I was a first year when you were a seventh," Bill laughed. "I can't be expected to remember everything."
"Thank you both for the presents," Mr. Weasley said, dishing eggs onto his plate.
"The recipe box is beautiful!" Mrs. Weasley agreed as she sat.
"Artie did the protection charms himself," Remus replied, fake shoving a red-faced Harry's shoulder.
"Yeah, mate, thanks," Ron said awkwardly, not sure how to address his friend now that he knew who he really was.
"Thank you all for welcoming Arcturus for Christmas Eve and all of us today," Severus nodded as he nursed his coffee.
Mr. Weasley cleared his throat. "I realized that none of us thought to ask the other day how you both met," he said to Fred and Harry.
"Yeah, how did you meet Artie?" Ron grinned at Harry who shot him a deadly look.
Fred just smiled. "We met at WWW, of course!" He said before anyone else started to make something up. "Artie stands out a bit with the whole look and the baby and all. I just had to go over and chat him up."
"Castor loved the store, and we got excellent service," Harry added with a smirk.
"And, how did you take all this?" Bill asked Snape with a raise of his eyebrow.
"I remember him groaning and hitting his head on the table," Remus laughed, referring to their Gringotts visit when Harry named the twins godparents.
"It's possible that happened," Snape said stoically as Harry snickered behind his hand.
"This is all very fascinating," Angelina said from George's side. "We need to get to business though. Bill and I decided on the teams."
"We're going with the Old Guys vs. the Young'uns," George laughed.
"You can imagine who came up with those names," Charlie gave George's shoulder a shove.
"Yes, well, the Old Guys are: Bill, Charlie, Hodges, Professor Lupin, Professor Snape, and Mr. Weasley. The Young'uns are: Ron, Artie, Fred, Ginny, George, and me," Angelina informed them.
"Does everyone have brooms?" Arthur asked.
"We brought our own," Remus nodded at him.
"We brought ours as well," Charlie answered for him and Hodges who had a mouthful of bacon.
"No broom for Artie, I refuse," Fred said, messing up Harry's hair.
"Hey!" Harry exclaimed, pushing him away. "I just fixed that!"
George snorted at Harry's belief that he had actually fixed his hair. It wasn't messy like it was before he became a Fury, but the man still never put any thought or effort into it. "Artie, mate, we really need to talk about hair products. I already tackled your dad; it's your turn next."
Snape sent his best sneer George's way. "And, you're welcome," George just smirked back at him.
"So, Artie," Arthur said, turning the conversation back to the interrogation of Fred's new boyfriend. "What do you want to do once you graduate?"
"Yes, Arcturus," Snape smiled questioningly over at this son. "What do you want to do? Do you still have dreams of being an auror as you did when you were young?"
Harry had actually been giving this a lot of thought. We was graduating in just a few months. "I'm actually thinking of going into law. Maybe something having to do with children's rights," he explained. "The goblins at Gringotts gave me the idea. Apparently, as a Fury, oaths made to me are the highest form of legal and binding. So, I could use my powers as well as help make sure that no child grows up in a bad situation."
The Weasley family glanced at Castor and nodded, seeming to know why Artie would care about children's rights. However, Harry's little family and Ron looked to Castor's father and knew the additional reasons this was important to the man. Fred gave George a look over Harry's head, and his twin nodded, understanding the quiet communication. Since Harry's first year, and especially since the summer before his second, it didn't sit right with the twins that nothing had been done to the Dursleys. They agreed it was time. Those people couldn't get away with what they had done to Harry.
After breakfast, Mrs. Weasley unfolded a blanket on the ground outside and settled in with Castor and Fleur to play with the baby as the rest of the rest of the family took to the air. The quidditch match started out with Harry soaring over everyone, loving flying with his wings and feeling even more free than on his broom. Fred just gaped from the ground before Angelina smacked him on the back of the head and told him to pull it together. Remus and Hodges were excellent beaters, but they had nothing on the shear brilliance of the Weasley twins and their destructive reign over the backyard quidditch pitch. Severus proved to be a more skilled keeper than Ron though, giving chasers Angelina and Ginny a run for their money. However, Angelina and Ginny flew circles around Bill and Mr. Weasley.
For Harry, it was very different playing without a broom. The moves he would normally do were out, but he also seemed to have more control over the air currents and his speed. Though Charlie Weasley was an excellent seeker, Harry didn't become the youngest seeker in a century for no reason. After a couple hours, it was Harry who was flying to the ground to bring victory home for the Young'uns while the Old Guys grumbled and commiserated with each other.
The rest of the afternoon was spent reliving and chatting about the quidditch game, finally culminating in a rematch scheduled for the Easter Holidays. Harry ended up having to pry a sleeping Castor from Mrs. Weasley's arms as the Snape family made to leave the house. As they were all walking out, George gave Severus a quick hug to everyone's confusion and mirth, more so to Snape's confusion who felt a slip of paper pressed into his hand as the smiling twin pulled away.
"Have a good night," he winked as the family finally walked towards the edge of the wards.
Snape unfolded the note that George handed him and read it once they were back at Spinner's End. It was his confusion and curiosity that had him waking up Remus and pushing the half-asleep werewolf through the floo to the twins' flat at 1am. "Why?!" Remus asked as he collapsed on the couch, still wearing pajamas.
"Yes, what is the meaning of this meeting, which I'm assuming is about my son since we're doing this while he's asleep?" Snape asked, more elegantly sitting in an armchair.
Fred and George both were pacing agitatedly in front of the men. "So, we think it's time," Fred started.
"Time to do something about the Dursleys," George continued.
"We've waited…"
"But, they can't just get away…"
"With whatever it is that they did…"
"We don't even know what they did."
"Guys, it's way too late, or early, for twin speak," Remus complained. "Though, I do agree with the sentiment. Even Severus and I can't get a straight answer out of Harry about what he went through there."
"The few comments he's made and the pieces we've put together do not look good," Snape agreed. "I'm not sure it's the best plan to go behind his back though. It seems like a betrayal, and I've been doing my best to win over some trust after what I've put him through over the years."
Fred sighed. "I don't think he's ever going to tell you. Any of us. I think he's committed to the idea that Harry Potter is no more and that Artie Snape can put all that behind him and pretend it was someone else."
"That will eventually come back to bite him," George agreed. "We think it's in his best interest for at least one person to know what he'll be facing when that happens."
Snape rubbed the back of his neck in frustration. "And, since I'm the only Legilimens in this group, I get voted in to find out from the muggles, right?"
"That was our thought," Fred nodded.
Remus reached over and squeezed Snape's hand. "You know I would do it if I could," he said regretfully. "The twins are right though. When it catches up to him, tomorrow or ten years from now, one of us needs to know what he'll be facing in order to help him."
"And, it doesn't sit right with me that they can just continue their lives without repercussions," Fred almost growled. "If there's something that can be done without any of us going to Azkaban, I would like to see some justice for Harry."
Knowing whatever they did needed to be done before they went back to Hogwarts and still had free time, the conspirators agreed that the twins would invite Harry and Castor over to spend the day with them soon, and that would leave Snape and Remus to handle the muggles. Fred wanted to join them desperately, but Snape made the point that if they didn't want Harry to suspect anything, it would be best if Fred was with George when they made their visit. Now, they just had to get Harry and Castor distracted while Severus and Remus snuck away to Surrey to deal with whatever they found on Privet Drive.
Up Next: The Dursleys...
