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Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry:
Christmas Eve Boxes: Olaf Plush (character) Justin Finch Fletchley
Ugly Christmas Sweaters: Additional Feature - Plays Music (plot point) A party
Advent Calendar: Action Door #3 hugging
12 Days of Shipmas: Dec 10th - Your ship partakes in/deals with the ugly sweater/jumper tradition. (late) Harry/Justin
Hot Chocolate Station: White Chocolate Peppermint Hot Chocolate (action) hugging
Fill a Stocking: Glow Sticks (plot point) throwing a party
Write a Letter to Santa: A baby (genre) family
Big Dinner Bash: Potatoes #2 Roasties (action) hugging
New Years Resolutions: Spend more time with family (genre) family
Pop Figures: Television - Buffy the Vampire Slayer (color) red
Hogwarts Talent Show: Holding Breath (word) joke
Elizabeth's Empire: (object) jumper
Sophie's Shelf: 19. Groan
Scamander's Case: (genre) friendship
Chemistry Week: Hassium Happy
Games and Puzzles Week: (genre) family
Monthly Challenges For All:
Firework Factory: Hard (Shipmas Tide) 835 words
Hangman: (Restriction) Non-Traditional Families, guessing the letter R, 835 words
Warning for innuendos and extreme fluff. Word count is 835 words. I hope you all enjoy A Christmas Sweater Tale.
"This is tens times worse than the time you had me dress in that sexy Santa costume and didn't tell me you'd invited people over," Harry moaned as he pulled at the big fluffy Santa beard that was on the Christmas sweater that his husband Justin had picked out for him.
To say that Harry hadn't been a big fan of the idea for an ugly Christmas sweater party when Justin suggested it was an understatement. He'd firm spoke out against and had only agreed when Freddie and Cleo turned their puppy dog eyes on him. Justin must have convinced the children to do that since he knew it was one of Harry's biggest weaknesses.
"You look marvelous, babe," Justin said, smiling as he pulled the ugly Christmas sweater he'd chosen for himself out of his closet.
"I look like an idiot," Harry said, looking down at the jolly smiling Santa face that graced his shirt. He caught sight of what Santa was saying and almost choked on his breath. "What is that Santa on my shirt saying?"
Justin smiled slyly while shuffling his feet and looking at the ground. He'd told Harry that he was going custom made with the family's ugly sweaters this year. "He's saying "I'm a ho ho ho for the holidays."."
"I can't wear this in front of our friends and family," Harry said, blushing a deep red. That was the last thing that he would need. For his ex-brother-in-law, who also happened to be second to his boss the Minister of Magic, to see him dressed in a shirt that something like that. "What will people think when they read it?"
"That it's another ugly Christmas sweater just like the rest of them," Justin said, listening for the children in case either of them needed help dressing. "They won't take the words on the sweater seriously. It's just a bit of fun. You do remember what fun is, right?"
That sort of stung. Sure, now that Harry was Head of the Auror department he had a lot more on his plate. But he still knew how to have fun. Why was Justin insinuating that he didn't?
"I know how to have fun," Harry said, folding his arms over his chest which covered Santa's eyes. "Why would you even suggest that I didn't?"
"I wasn't suggesting…."
"Yes. You were."
Justin sighed and seemed to deflate a bit. "If I gave you the impression that I didn't think you were fun, I'm sorry," he said. "The thing is….the thing is you seem to care more about what everyone else thinks ever since you got promoted to Head Auror. That didn't use to be you. That never was you."
Harry blinked as what Justin had just said washed over him. He didn't use to care what other people thought of him. He used to tell people that he was proud of all the things that made him different from the others. But as Justin pointed out since his promotion he'd been doing everything in his power not to make a bad impression on people.
"I...I di…"
"I know you didn't realize how much you had changed since your promotion, Harry," Justin said, taking the shorter man in his arms and holding him tight. "But that's why you have me. To bring you back down to Earth when you forget yourself."
Harry laughed and nodded against Justin's shoulder.
"Now what do you say we go downstairs and give our guests something to talk about?" Justin asked as the doorbell rang announcing the first guests to arrive.
"Let's do it," Harry said, pulling his Santa hat on and watching Justin pull his own ugly Christmas sweater on. He started to giggle as he saw what Mrs. Claus was saying.
"What?" Justin asked, laughing as the kids came running into the room.
"That," Harry said, pointing as they walked out of the room and downstairs.
Justin smiled stepping to one side of Harry as they neared the door. "You'll see," he said, smiling as Harry opened the door to find Hermione, Ron, and their family standing on the front step.
Ron laughed as he read Justin's shirt and then Harry's. "That's clever," he said, scooping up both Cleo and Freddie and taking them into the living room to teach them how to play exploding snaps.
"That is very clever," Hermione commented taking off her jacket and allowing Justin to hang it up. "He's my ho ho ho. And I'm a ho ho ho for the holidays."
Harry's eyes widened as he saw what was written on the front of Hermione's ugly Christmas sweater. It hadn't made sense until just then. "Congratulations, Hermione," Harry said, smiling at his friend.
Justin gave him a confused looked as they lead Hermione into the living room. He'd have to explain the meaning of sweater to Justin later. But right now all he wanted to do was enjoy his family and friends and this time to have fun.
I hope you all enjoyed A Christmas Sweater Tale as much as I enjoyed writing it.