A/N: Here's probably the
longest chapter I've ever written. I should have split it in two,
probably, but hey, things don't always work out that way, do they?
Christmas day. 'Nuf said. Enjoy, all! –Nymphean
Thanks to my wonderful reviewers!
I'm having trouble getting to my reviews right now, so I don't
exactly know who specifically to thank, so just thanks to all of you. -N
On
Christmas morning, Harry awoke to see the snow falling outside his window in
heavy sheets. Stepping over the mounds of clothing and books at the foot of his
bed, he gave Ron's shoulder a little shove.
"Wake
up, dummy, it's Christmas!" Ron snorted and buried his head in the
pillow. Harry rolled his eyes and pulled on his robe, heading down to the
Gryffindor common room without opening his gifts.
*****
Laelyn
looked out the window and smiled happily, burrowing underneath the covers with
one arm around her stomach and the other around Bill.
"Merry
Christmas, darling," She said as he opened his eyes. He kissed her
gently, placing a hand on her stomach.
"I
love you," he whispered.
"I'm
so glad you're here. It's so lonely at night…" He held
her to his chest.
"I'm
glad too," He said, kissing the top of her head. The two of them lay
still and silent for a while, and then began to get dressed and head over to
Gryffindor tower.
*****
Hermione
stretched at the sound of her alarm clock. Eight thirty. Fifteen minutes in
which to get down to the common room. Five to shower, five to dress, two to
walk, and three extra just for good measure. She swung her feet over the side
of the bed, and felt something hard stick into her foot. Yelping quietly at the
pain, she bent down and picked up the small white box. With a sigh of
irritation, she began to pry at the lid, which had been fixed on with tape. Her
roommates, Lavender and Parvati, peered anxiously over the tops of their
covers. Hermione testily removed the lid from the box, and her hand immediately
flew to her mouth. Inside, resting on a cotton pad, was a thin silver chain,
from which hung a blue, teardrop shaped pendant. Hermione gasped and lifted the
cotton out of the box, revealing a small card with the words Merry Christmas
scrawled across it in a very familiar
handwriting.
Lavender
stifled a giggle. "Well? Are you going to show us what Ron got you for
Christmas?" Hermione held up the necklace, and the other girls squealed
in delight.
"It's
a SAPPHIRE," Parvati said knowingly. "That must have cost a
fortune!"
Hermione
said nothing, only pulled on her robe and dashed out the door towards the
common room.
*****
Ginny
awoke to the sound of Harry's voice in her ear.
"Ginny,
love… wake up. It's Christmas morning." She blinked rapidly.
"Harry…
wha…?"
He
laughed at her, pushing a strand of hair out of her eyes. "You must have
fallen asleep out here last night." She looked around the common room in
dismay.
"That
wasn't very smart of me," she said scornfully.
"It's
fine with me… this way you're the first person I get to see in the
morning… well, besides Ron, but I would exactly call him a person."
Ginny
giggled and pulled her boyfriend towards her, kissing him slowly on the lips.
"Hey,
Gin, not that I'm objecting," Harry said, pulling away, "But both
of us are in our pajamas, and this probably won't look very good when
everybody gets here…" she cut him off by kissing him again.
"I
don't care what it looks like. Let them look."
Harry
laughed. "All right… I've just decided that I'm willing
to face your brother's wrath after all!"
Just then
Ron strode into the room. "Hey Harry… Gin…" He walked
past them. Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks, froze, and turned around.
"Harry, what are you doing kissing my sister WITHOUT ANY CLOTHS
ON?"
Ginny
rolled her eyes. "Will you PLEASE stop being so DRAMATIC? I'm
wearing exactly the same amount of clothing that I wear every day. It's
just in the shape of a bathrobe instead of a school robe!" And she gave
Harry another kiss, just to spite Ron.
Harry
shrugged. "I'm an innocent party. Your sister's crazy!"
Ginny
pulled his hair playfully. "Hey! Did I say you could talk?"
Harry
was about to answer when Hermione came rushing into the room, also in her
bathrobe. She ran over to Ron and jumped on him, covering his face in kisses.
"I
take it you got my gift," Ron said when they came up from breath.
"It's
BEAUTIFUL!" She cried, touching the necklace lovingly.
He
smiled. "It looks amazing on you."
She
kissed him again. "I love it. I love YOU."
"I
love you to, 'Mio. Merry Christmas."
Harry
tapped Ginny. "I want to give you your present in private," he
whispered in her ear, pulling her up from the couch. She nodded and followed
him from the room.
They sat
down on the stairs, and Harry took her hands in his. "Gin," He said
shakily.
"Mm
Hm?"
Harry
cleared his throat. "I wanted to get you a really special gift. I know
that we've only been together a couple months, but already it feels like
you're the only one I'll ever love. Maybe it's crazy,
but…"
"No,
I know exactly what you mean," she said, squeezing his hand.
"Anyways,
I can't see myself ever being with anyone else. I want to be with you
forever, Ginny." He pulled a small box out of his pocket and held it out
to her. "I know we're still very young, and I don't want you
to think I'm trying to rush you…"
"Harry,
what are you saying?"
He drew
in a deep breath. "I'm saying, Ginny, that I want you to marry me.
Not right now, but once you're done with school. If you would promise to
marry me after your seventh year, I would be the happiest person in the
world." He opened the ring box, showing Ginny a delicate band of platinum
set with a row of emeralds.
"Harry…"
Ginny said breathlessly, "I'm fifteen years old…"
"Almost
sixteen. You don't have to answer right away… I know it's a
big decision, and I don't want you to feel…" Ginny cut him
off by flinging her arms around his neck and kissing him.
"Yes,"
she breathed. "Yes, Harry Potter, I'll agree to agree to marry
you!" Harry's eyes went wide.
"Really?"
When Ginny nodded, he shook his head in amazement. "Oh my god! I
can't believe you said yes!"
"Why
wouldn't I, silly?"
"Because…
well… I don't know," He said, laughing at himself. He took
the ring from the box and slid it on her finger. "There."
Ginny
held her hand up to admire the ring. "Oh Harry, it's simply
beautiful!" She exclaimed. "Look, the emeralds are the same color
as your eyes."
"So
you won't forget whom you're engaged to be engaged to," he
said, kissing her lightly. Then he took her in his arms and held her to his
chest, smoothing her hair. "Ginny, I'll make you so happy. I promise."
"You've
already made me happier than I ever thought I could be," she said,
looking into his eyes.
"Merry
Christmas, Ginny."
"Merry
Christmas."
*****
Sirius
lay awake, watching Charlie as he slept. The sun had risen and was now fighting
it's way through an opening in the curtains. Charlie was bathed in light
from the window. Sirius stroked the younger man's hair gently, so as not
to wake him, but Charlie stirred anyhow.
"Is
it morning?" He asked sleepily. Sirius nodded.
"Unfortunately."
"Can
we sleep in?"
"Sure."
Sirius leaned over and kissed Charlie, wrapping his hands around the back of
his neck. "Merry Christmas."
"This
is the best present anyone could ask for," Charlie said, kissing him
back. "I love this… love you."
"Me
too." Sirius stretched lazily. "I feel really good today."
Charlie
grinned. "Yeah, I'll do that to you."
*****
Bill
played with the large bracelet around his wrist. It was a thick, linked chain,
and it had a flat metal plate in the front with his initials on it. On the back
of the plate was inscribed "To the slacker, from his schoolgirl". Bill smiled distantly.
"I
really like it, Lae," He said, kissing the top of her head.
Laelyn,
in turn, looked at her wrist, where a smaller, slightly more feminine version
of Bill's bracelet rested. "I still think it's funny that we
got each other almost exactly the same gift." She looked at the
inscription on her bracelet.
My
whole world is only you,
My whole world has turned sky blue.
Laelyn kissed her husband lovingly. "It really is
beautiful," she said, taking his hand.
"How
did you get the idea to give me this?"
"Charlie
and I went shopping, and I saw it in a window…"
Bill
raised an eyebrow. "My brother? Isn't he in Romania?"
Laelyn's
eyes went wide. "Oh… umm…"
He
looked her in the eyes. "What's going on, Laelyn?" She shook
her head silently, her eyes frantic. "Come on, Lae, you can't lie
to me, remember?"
"But
I can't tell you either!" She said, sounding tortured. Bill put his
hands on either side of her face.
"Look,
whatever it is, I'm sure it's not THAT bad. You can ALWAYS tell me
anything, you know that."
Laelyn
put her hands over his and slowly moved them away. "I made a promise, Bill,
and I don't intend to break it."
"So
you're just intending to hide… whatever it is… from me
forever?"
"Well,
hopefully not FOREVER, but… it's really not my place to tell
anyone."
Bill
sighed. "All right, if you say so… just tell me, is my brother here
at Hogwarts?"
"Yes…"
Laelyn slapped both hands over her mouth. "Oh no… this is bad, this
is very, very bad."
"Well
where is he? I'd really like to talk to him."
"I
can't tell you, Bill!" she bit her lower lip. Things were not going
according to plan.
"I
want to see my brother!" Bill said, getting a bit annoyed.
"FINE!
I'll get him for you then!" Laelyn pulled away from him and left
the room quickly, almost at a run. Bill sat down on the bed, running a hand
through his hair in frustration. What the hell is going on here?
*****
Laelyn
pounded on Sirius' door, breathing heavily after just having run there
from her room, which was on the other side of the school. After about a minute,
Sirius answered, clad in his bathrobe.
"What
IS it?" He asked irritably.
"Sorry
to spoil your fun, but we might have trouble."
Charlie
walked towards the door and stood behind Sirius. "Like what mind of
trouble?"
"Like
the kind of trouble where I accidentally let it slip to Bill that you're
here and now he knows something's going on… maybe."
Sirius
slammed the door. "Dammit, Laelyn! That was not smart…"
She bit
her lip. "I'm sorry… I can't help it."
Charlie
sighed and closed his eyes. "It's not your fault… it was
bound to happen anyway. Well, I suppose we might as well tell him."
"WHAT?"
Sirius and Laelyn cried in unison.
"Are
you sure about this?" Sirius asked skeptically. Charlie shrugged.
"I
think he'll understand. I wouldn't dream of telling Percy or Ron
just yet, but Bill's different. What do you think, Laelyn?"
"I
think he'll be fine with it. It might take a little getting used to, but
he'll love you all the same."
Charlie
nodded. "Then I think we should go tell him now, if that's okay
with you, Si. I think I should try to get Laelyn out of trouble as soon as
possible."
Sirius
hugged Charlie. "Go. Do it now, before you decide no to. Good
luck." He squeezed his hand. "I love you."
"Love
you too."
Laelyn
smiled and put her hand on Charlie's shoulder, shepherding him towards
the door.
They
stopped for a moment outside Laelyn's room. "Sure you want to do
this?" She asked him. Charlie nodded, and pushed open the door. Bill was
sitting on the edge of the bed, apparently deep in thought. His head snapped
towards them as the door creaked open.
"Charlie!"
He said, rising to greet his brother. "This certainly IS a
surprise!"
Charlie
nodded. "Hey Bill. How's it going with you?"
"Great!
I know this is weird, but in a way this feels just like I've come home
for the holidays."
"I
know what you mean. Seven years of Christmases at Hogwarts make the holiday
season seem boring anywhere else."
Bill
laughed in agreement. "So, what brings you back here?"
Charlie's
smile dropped away. "Well, that's actually what I'm here to
tell you. Maybe we should sit down… this might take a while." Bill,
Laelyn and Charlie relocated to three large armchairs on the other side of the
room. Charlie took a deep breath and readjusted the collar of his shirt before
beginning his story.
"You
know that I've been in Romania for the past year or so, working with dragons.
What you DON'T know is that you're not the only member of our
family who's helping with this whole war against the Dark Lord, Bill. You
two have both been contacts in Egypt, if I'm not mistaken. Well, in
Romania, I'm the info guy.
"Near
the end of summer last year, I heard from Dumbledore that I would be meeting a
contact. A spy named Sirius Black."
"Harry's
godfather?" Bill asked.
"Mm
Hm. I was to give Sirius his instructions from Dumbledore. However, we ran into
a problem. On the way to our meeting place, Sirius got injured. He would be
unable to travel for at least a week. So I took him back to my camp.
"Over
the week that Sirius stayed with me, we had quite a few chances to talk. He
told me all about his life, and I told him all about mine. By the time He had
to leave, we had become very close. We promised to visit each other as often as
possible. When we couldn't visit, we wrote letters. Anyways, you know
that Sirius is staying at Hogwarts this year. That's why I'm here."
Bill
raised an eyebrow. "So you're visiting a friend? Why is that such a
big secret?"
Charlie
looked down at his feet. "I don't think you quite understand what I
mean… Sirius and I are more than just friends, Bill. We're…
well, we're involved."
"With
each other?" Charlie nodded. Bill ran his fingers through his hair and
looked at Laelyn. "And you knew about this?" She bit her lip and
shrugged helplessly. "Damn… well that's some pretty big
news."
Charlie
moved to stand up, but bill reached out and put a hand on his shoulder.
"Sit down. We're not done talking here." Charlie sat. Bill
looked from his wife to his brother. "I'm having trouble believing
this. I mean, GOD Charlie, when did this happen?"
"I
don't know, Bill… I think I just sort of knew.
"But
you've had girlfriends…"
"Yes,
and none of them were ever able to make me feel like this. Complete,
Bill… I feel complete now. Don't tell me you can't understand
that."
Bill
closed his eyes. "Do you really love him?"
"Yes,"
Charlie whispered. "With all my heart."
Bill sat
quietly for a moment, than a smile began to spread across his face.
"Congratulations," he said finally. Charlie was momentarily
stunned, and then he too began to smile.
"You
really mean that?"
"Of
course I do. I mean, look at you. He makes you happy. Who am I to tell you who
and who not to love?"
Charlie
leapt to his feet and embraced his brother. "Thank you, Bill. You have no
idea how much this means to me." Bill patted his younger brother on the
back.
"I
think I'm beginning to understand." They pulled apart, and Bill
turned towards his wife.
"Lae…"
He opened his arms and she practically fell into them. He kissed the top of her
head. "Thank you for helping my brother," He whispered. She smiled
up at him.
"Someone
had to."
Charlie
grinned at them. "You two are perfect for each other, you know
that?"
Bill
nodded. "We know. So, when do I get to meet the famous Sirius Black?
Between what you and Harry have told me, I'm beginning to expect some
sort of superman."
Charlie
laughed. "Well, you haven't exactly met him in PERSON,
but…"
Laelyn
burst out in laughter. "That's right! I forgot about the
wedding!"
Bill
raised an eyebrow. "Wedding? What wedding?"
"Our
wedding, dear."
"What
about our wedding?"
Laelyn
winked at Charlie. "Bill, remember how I gave Charlie a dog?"
*****
Sirius
heard a knock at the door. He grinned. That was Charlie's special knock.
Sirius opened the door and let him in.
"How
did it go?"
Charlie
smiled and kissed him. "It went very well, I think. Laelyn and my brother
are outside now… He wants to meet you, Si."
Sirius
felt himself grinning again. "You're kidding?"
"Nope.
Can I show them in?"
Sirius
examined himself in the full-length mirror across the room. "Maybe I
should put on a better robe or something."
"Sirius,
you look great. Look, I'm in my BATHROBE, for goodness sake! At least
you're clothed!" He walked over to the door and opened it.
"Guys? You can come in now."
Bill
stepped tentatively into the room, followed by Laelyn, who smiled and waved at
Sirius. They closed the door behind them.
"Bill,
this is Sirius Black. Sirius, my brother Bill."
Sirius
nodded and stuck out his hand. Bill shook it and smiled a little awkwardly.
"Harry
and Charlie have told me a lot about you," They both said at the same
time. This was followed by laughter from all four people in the room. The ice
had been broken, and now Sirius and Bill were carrying on a rather animated
conversation.
"So,
you're a spy?"
"Sometimes.
Most of the time I just sit around waiting for orders."
"Well,
it's better than working in a bank!"
"Isn't
it interesting living in Egypt, though?"
Laelyn
leaned over to Charlie. "I think it's going rather well,
don't you?" Charlie nodded.
"Better
than I had though it would, that's for sure." He put an arm around
her. "Thank you so much, Laelyn. For everything."
She
smiled up at him. "Merry Christmas, Charlie."