Chapter Eleven: Happy Christmas!
Alysia was out of the hospital wing by ten o'clock the next morning. She was greeted in Herbology with hugs from Harry, Ron and Hermione, who didn't mince words in telling her how worried they'd been. While they were describing, in detail, their suspicions with regards to her "kidnapping", Alysia simply smiled and tried to pretend that Susan and Moira weren't leaning on their hands, hanging on to every word the four of them said. As they left the class to go to lunch, Alysia decided to do something she'd never done before. She was going to invite Harry, Ron and Hermione and their families to her house for Christmas.
"Harry, I know my mum is expecting you anyway," she stated. "She wants to have a family Christmas. But Ron and Hermione, perhaps you could join us for Christmas dinner?"
"Who else is going to be there?" Ron wanted to know.
"Oh, everyone!" Alysia laughed. "When Dad was taken to Azkaban, all of his and mum's old friends from school started helping us out, giving us money and all that. They always spend Christmas with us. The house is always so crowded and fun. Oh, do come! It'll be such a happy Christmas!"
Ron looked at Hermione and shrugged. "I'll talk to my folks. I'm sure they'd love to do something other than stay home and cook for our dozens of relatives," he stated.
Hermione nodded in agreement. "I'll talk to my parents, too. Hopefully we can come on Christmas Day," she said with a smile.
After lunch, Alysia found herself spending the entirety of double Potions copying notes on Polyjuice Potion (a potion she had been able to produce since she was nine years old) to satisfy the glaring Professor Snape, who obviously didn't think that being "kidnapped" and having one's arm broken were viable excuses for being behind on work. He announced that they would be brewing and testing the Polyjuice Potion that Friday, in a less potent form. This would cause them to only turn into the other person for fifteen minutes, but Alysia was still looking forward to seeing people turned into someone else. Draco was waiting for her outside the dungeon with a kiss when class ended.
"What do you have planned for Christmas?" he asked, ignoring the whispering of Susan and Moira behind them.
"Oh, just going home with my Mum and having the whole gang over; you know, all my 'aunts' and 'uncles'. Very loud and fun," she answered, laughing. "What about you?"
"I haven't decided yet," Draco admitted. "But when I do decide, I promise I'll let you know."
"Good," Alysia smiled.
Thursday passed by very dully. The Quidditch pitch was covered in snow and had been for a week, so there was no practice to worry about. Alysia spent the long afternoon making a list of Christmas gifts she would buy that weekend in Hogsmeade. She also recopied her notes on Polyjuice Potion to ensure that hers would be perfect the next day.
In a surprise move, Professor Snape combined all four houses for the Polyjuice Potion lesson, the term's final. Alysia kept sneaking smiles at Draco (who was grudgingly working with Harry) and waving to Ron and Hermione, sitting behind her. Her partner, Ernie MacMillan, kept her laughing through the entire class, and when they finally drank the Polyjuice Potion at the end of the class, they fell into gales of hysterical laughter at how well they'd turned out. This was a common reaction as everyone started to filter out of the dungeon. Alysia (as Ernie) looked around and saw a very cross-looking Harry in Slytherin robes. She ran up to him and, making sure the Polyjuice Potion hadn't worn off early, asked, "Draco?"
"Yes," Harry's voice said and his face scowled. Alysia-as-Ernie giggled and planted a kiss on Draco-as-Harry's mouth. The entire crowd leaving the dungeon froze and Draco-as-Harry cried, "What the hell is wrong with you?"
Ernie-as-Alysia ran up at that moment. "Don't get your hopes up, Malfoy," he sneered in Alysia's voice. "That's Alysia. I'm Ernie." Draco-as-Harry looked shocked and confused and Alysia-as-Ernie couldn't stop laughing. She was still laughing an hour later when she and Draco, now looking much more themselves, walked through one of the gardens, frosted white with snow.
"Just the thought of what that must have looked like to the rest of the school," Alysia chuckled, and this time Draco laughed with her before dropping a kiss on top of her head. He held her for a moment then spoke over her head.
"Would your Mum be upset if I came for Christmas Day?" he asked.
"Why, no!" Alysia exclaimed happily. She'd been hoping Draco would try to come to her house for Christmas, but she hadn't asked him yet.
"Would she mind if I brought Griffin and Zel?" Draco moved back a step and looked her in the eyes. "I always do something special for them for Christmas. Last year I flew them over Hogwart's on my broom. I'm sure this is something they'd love."
Alysia smiled. "It's perfect! I've been hoping I would see them again. They were awfully inquisitive about my mother and her friends after we looked at your father's yearbooks. Now they can meet them."
Draco smiled at her kindly as they went back inside.
That weekend, most everyone had already gone home for the Christmas holiday. Alysia and her family were leaving on Sunday, her family including Harry. For the time being, however, she was in Hogsmeade, doing some last minute Christmas shopping. Her list of people to shop for was long, and she knew she'd only have this afternoon before Christmas.
Her first stop was in Gladrags, and she had success almost immediately. Just inside the store were beautiful silk scarves that would keep the wearer warm, no matter how cold it was outside. After some debate, Alysia decided to buy a deep blue-and-gold one for her mother, rather than for Hermione or her aunts Arabella Figg or Cassiopeia Fletcher. Alysia had many 'aunts' and 'uncles' who had helped her mother get along while her father was in Azkaban. In the twelve years her father was gone, the number of visitors had dwindled several times, but there were four 'aunts' and 'uncles' who still visited very regularly: Remus Lupin, Arabella Figg and Mundungus and Cassiopeia Fletcher. Those four would be joining her family on Christmas Day, along with Mundungus and Cassiopeia's children Andreah and Andrew. She did some quick mental calculations, finding that with Ron's family and Hermione's family and Draco and his cousins; there would be twenty-two people in her house for Christmas.
"Yikes," she muttered under her breath as she picked up a pair of singing gloves for Arabella. Pink mohair ones, to be exact, Aunt Arabella's favorite. She took a trip to the men's section, briefly, and bought some new robes for Uncle Remus (a deep blue to match his eyes; he always seemed to ruin robes). That done, she paid for the store to magically gift-wrap her purchases (in black velvet with silver snowflakes and silver bows and ribbons). Then it was off to Nubian Novelties for more gifts. This store was far more crowded than Gladrags had been. Witches and wizards of all ages were browsing for stocking stuffers and gifts for their families and friends. Alysia managed to squeeze through the crowd and find a few nice selections. There was a pair of music boxes that played a concerto on violin and cello, so she chose those for Uncle Mundungus and Aunt Cassiopeia. The store was far too stuffy, however, so she made her purchases quickly and hurried out into the street where she spotted her mother.
"Mum!" she called and Anaral waved to her. They made their way to the Three Broomsticks for a break and some butterbeer.
"Have you gotten anything for your father yet?" Anaral asked, sipping her mulled wine. Alysia shook her head.
"No. I saw some good stuff in Nubian Novelties, but nothing that really reached out and grabbed me, you know?" she explained and took a swig of butterbeer that warmed her through and through.
"I'm having a wand custom made for him," Anaral confessed. "Carver Ollivander. . .the wand-maker. . .is an old friend of your father's." She dropped her voice and began speaking in hushed tones. "He's believed in your father's innocence from day one. When I mentioned that your father had wanted a wand, he got to work immediately. This was about six months ago. Last owl I had from him said that the wand would be done in time for Christmas. So my question for you is, would you like to buy him a wand case?"
Alysia nodded enthusiastically. "I saw a nice one in Nubian Novelties. I'll go back and get it now," she answered, standing and collecting her bags. "I'll see you later tonight."
Her mother waved as Alysia left the Three Broomsticks and squeezed back into Nubian Novelties. She made it to the wand cases section and grabbed the mahogany box with the deep red velvet lining before anyone else could grab it. She rushed to the counter and paid for the case, had it gift- wrapped, and dashed off to Flourish & Blott's. There was only one thing needed here: a book she'd seen that Hermione would enjoy. The book was called "Magical Flora that Reaches the Heart," and it had a detailed history of the magical properties and symbols of certain flowers. This, too, was gift-wrapped and Alysia crossed another name off of her list.
She had hoped to find not only Harry and Ron's gifts in Quality Quidditch supplies, but also something for Draco. Sadly, nothing there screamed for her to buy it (except for the socks in the front window, but that was another story) for Draco. For Harry, she bought a full set of Quidditch action figures: two teams, complete with balls, goals and brooms. Feeling a bit evil, she chose a set of figures dressed in red and a set dressed in green. Ron also got some Quidditch figures, but only the seekers for the English and Irish teams.
Breathless and beginning to feel quite exhausted, Alysia hurried to Honeydukes where she filled four sacks with candy for Andreah, Andrew, Griffin and Zel. That done, Alysia realized that it must be nearly nightfall, but also that she couldn't leave Hogsmeade until she bought something for Draco. Nothing looked appealing. She glared at books, sneered at robes and fought back the urge to blow up Quidditch supplies. None of it was special enough, none of it was good enough. Finally, however, something caught her eye, as she was getting ready to leave Hogsmeade and give up altogether. A roadside peddler was advertising gold-grown roses, so Alysia went over to investigate.
"Grown in gold soil, given gold water, and they never die!" the old witch explained. Alysia smiled. This was perfect. The roses were as soft and delicate as regular roses but were made of such pure gold that they were almost transparent.
"How much?" she asked. The cost ended up being ten galleons, but she decided it was well worth it. She paid the woman and carried her belongings back to Hogwart's.
By the time Alysia and her family left on Sunday, a blanket of snow had fallen over Hogwart's making the trip to Hogsmeade Station an adventurous one. But only a few hours later, Alysia saw the house she'd known all her life. On the outside, it was a small Tudor-style cottage that couldn't possibly have had more than three rooms, but on the inside, it not only had three rooms but many more, and a second and third floor. The house had earned the name "Lioness' Cove", after her mother. Very faintly in her memory, Alysia could recall traveling back and forth between the fireplace in the front room of Lioness' Cove and Godric's Hollow. She inhaled sharply, causing Harry to look at her.
"Are you alright?" he asked, finally.
"Yes, I'm fine. Let's go inside." Alysia led the way in through the front door and through the entry to the front room. She pointed out the important aspects to Harry: the hardwood floors, the great stone fireplace and the old furniture that had belonged to her grandfather. The next room was what was known as the "expanding dining room". Alysia explained it to Harry, "This way, all twenty-two guests on Christmas will be able to eat in one room."
The kitchen, she told him, was nothing special. They had no house elves; in fact, the only thing they did have was cutlery with a nasty temper. She then showed him the ever-closed doors that led to her father's study then chased him down a hallway to the first flight of stairs. She felt like a little girl again, finally having the brother and father she was supposed to have. At the top of the stairs, she gave him the general points of the second floor. "Mum and Dad's room is down the hall to the left. Straight ahead is the playroom and two guest bedrooms. And to the right is the library. There are also bathrooms behind all three bedrooms," she explained, sounding like a tour guide. Then, with hushed footsteps, she led Harry up the wrought iron spiral staircase to the tower that was their bedroom.
"Mum had this all set up for you," she said, gesturing to his side of the room, "and she didn't want to move it all downstairs. I'll put up a curtain tonight, though, so you can have some privacy. We can take it down during the day."
"It's fantastic!" Harry exclaimed, and Alysia agreed. The entire room was decorated in deep blues and greens. They each had a canopy bed made of mahogany and dressers made of the same. The windows were edged with a beautiful window seat that was almost completely covered in enormous pillows. The view was of the garden below, now slowly being covered in enchanting white snow. The blue-green curtains were tied back with golden tassels, and two sofas sat opposite the window seat. Beside the sofas was a pair of mahogany desks with overstuffed armchairs in front of them. Bookshelves were mounted in the walls.
"I'm serious, Aly. It's really great," Harry stated again. Alysia smiled at him.
"Welcome home, brother."
The days leading up to Christmas were filled with decorating, cooking and singing. Alysia and Harry went with Sirius into the woods nearby to find a perfect tree, one that they had to magically shrink to get back to the house. They decorated it with as many ornaments as they could fit and spent the rest of the night singing Christmas carols at the top of their lungs. By the time Alysia put up her stocking on Christmas Eve, she was more than ready for the next morning and the celebrations of the next day.
She was awakened that morning by the sounds of shouting downstairs. At first she panicked, but then she recognized the voices and, shaking Harry awake, ran downstairs and threw her arms around the shabby man who had just fallen out of the fireplace. "Uncle Remus! You're here!" she exclaimed. "You're so early!"
"Had to be. . .couldn't let Arabella beat me this year," he panted, hugging Alysia back. Sure enough, seconds later, a woman who looked like she was aging backwards tumbled through the fireplace. She stood quickly for looking half-ancient and half-twenty-something.
"Damn you, Remus," she muttered in a young voice, brushing soot off of her robes. Her hair was slowly turning from white to mouse brown. "I almost had you beat this year."
"Aunt Arabella!" Alysia decided to stop the imminent banter before it began to get out of hand as it always did. "Happy Christmas! Happy Christmas, Uncle Remus."
"You keep calling me aunt, you'll make me feel old," Arabella stated with a merry wink. Her wrinkles were fading. "I took my last dose of Polyjuice Potion an hour and a half ago, and I am ever so happy to be spending the day without it."
"It'll be hell when you start to take it again," Remus grumbled, walking towards the dining room where Anaral already was, setting out a fabulous breakfast. "Good morning, Ana. Happy Christmas!"
"Happy Christmas, Remus. Happy Christmas, Arabella, I thought I heard your voice. Alysia, did you wake Harry?" Anaral asked, wiping her hands on her apron. Alysia nodded.
"Harry's here? Bless me. . .it's as if things are the way they should have been," Arabella said softly, sitting down in front of a plate heaped high with thick French toast.
"No, Arabella. If things were as they should have been, James and Lily would be here," Remus corrected somberly, but brightened immediately. "So, Alysia, what did you get your favorite uncle for Christmas?"
Alysia rolled her eyes. "First of all, you aren't really my uncle and secondly, there's no way I'm telling you."
More shouts came from the front room and Alysia was ambushed seconds later by her "cousins" Andreah and Andrew Fletcher, fraternal twins with identical brown curls. Her Aunt Cassiopeia followed, trying to make her own brown curls stay in their clip and Uncle Mundungus rubbing a sore spot on his rump.
"Next year, Anaral, I do believe we'll be traveling by broomstick, if that's quite alright with you," he muttered as he gave Anaral a hug. "Happy Christmas. Happy Christmas, Alysia."
"Happy Christmas, Uncle Mundungus. Happy Christmas, Aunt Cassiopeia," Alysia greeted them, hugging everyone. She hid a smile as she spotted a mostly-still-asleep Harry shuffling into the room, rubbing his eyes under his glasses.
"Happy Christmas, Harry!" the whole crowd exclaimed and Harry was soon buried in a flurry of hugs. Alysia was doubled up with laughter at the look on his face. When everyone had finally finished, she patted him on the shoulder.
"You should've gotten up earlier. . .you could've gotten it over with one at a time," she teased. "Happy Christmas. Have some breakfast!"
Breakfast was the traditional French toast and bacon, which Alysia ate so quickly it seemed as if she'd never eat again. Her father came down halfway through breakfast, looking as if he hadn't slept at all, and everyone gave him grief for it. He hardly seemed healthy, Alysia noticed, but decided not to bring it up and ruin Christmas. After breakfast, she and Harry hurried upstairs to get dressed, and before they could hurry downstairs, there was a pounding on their door.
"Happy Christmas!" Ron and Hermione called out, rushing into the room and hugging (the thankfully fully clothed) Alysia and Harry. They were both talking at the same time, so rapidly and loudly that Alysia just laughed and gave up on trying to understand what they were trying to say. Everyone was wearing Muggle clothing, Harry wearing the brand-new clothes Alysia and Anaral had found for him in London: black pants and a gray sweater that made his eyes light up and had reminded Anaral of Lily. Alysia was pleased with her outfit as well, and noticed that she and Hermione were wearing very similar outfits in different colors. Hermione's turtleneck sweater was deep red and her pants black while Alysia's sweater was blue and her skirt a dark charcoal gray. Completing their little group was Ron, begrudgingly wearing his burgundy-and-gold Weasley sweater with a letter "R" on the front. As they slowly made their way downstairs, Alysia began to piece together what they had been trying to say.
Ron's Christmas morning had, as usual, been busy and loud. Only three of his siblings had joined his parents and him on their trip to Lioness' Cove: Fred, George and Ginny. His parents had brought food for everyone, as well as gifts for Harry and Alysia (Ron suspected they were Weasley sweaters). Hermione's parents, on the other hand, were a bit skittish about coming to an entirely wizarding household. She had advised that they bring Muggle artifacts for Ron's father to examine and stated that once they'd all arrived, Ron's father had made her parents feel quite welcome.
Reaching the living room, their talk continued excitedly. Ron was explaining, from his point of view, what it had looked like when Alysia-as- Ernie kissed Draco-as-Harry, and everyone within hearing range was doubled over with laughter.
". . .I don't think I'd ever seen Harry look that disgusted, shocked, frightened and furious at the same time!" Ron laughed, and Alysia was gasping for breath.
"I remember when we made Polyjuice Potion in that class," Fred (or was it George?) recalled. "Snape assumed we didn't do it right, but it seemed he'd forgotten we're twins anyway."
"We had to re-do it later, with different partners. Angelina Johnson and Alicia Spinnet. . .couldn't have picked a better two to work with, eh Fred?" George chortled.
"Nope. . .but I don't think the details of that meeting need to be shared with these young ears," Fred answered, devilishly. "Anyway, in the end, we passed."
"In more than one way," George added, and the friends dissolved into gales of laughter. They talked and talked and all too soon, it was time for dinner. Everyone filtered into the dining room, but Alysia noted sadly as she sat that the chair next to hers-the chair reserved for Draco-was empty. Griffin and Zel's chairs on either side of Andreah and Andrew were also empty. Harry noticed this as well and leaned over to Alysia on her other side as they prepared to say grace.
"Are you alright?" he asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Alysia lied. Her father stood at the head of the table with Anaral at his right side and Remus at his left. Before he carved into the turkey, he bowed his head to say grace, yet before he'd even opened his mouth, there was a knock at the door. "Oh please," Alysia whispered as she ran to answer the door and felt a grin spreading widely over her face when she opened it.
"Hey. . .I hope we're not too late," Draco greeted her with a half smile. Griffin and Zel had plastered themselves to his side and were smiling up at Alysia shyly. She wasn't quite sure why seeing them again on Christmas made her cry, but it did. Sobbing happily, she threw her arms around Draco's neck.
"I was afraid you weren't going to make it!" she whispered.
"And miss seeing you on Christmas? Never!" he laughed, kissing the top of her head. Alysia finally let go and gave Griffin and Zel happy hugs then led the crew to the dining room table. Draco froze when he saw her father standing at the head of the table and didn't seem quite sure how to react. For a moment, all conversation ceased as Draco saw, for the first time, the human Sirius Black face-to-face. For that moment Alysia worried that the entire celebration would be ruined. Draco walked slowly over to where her father was standing, looked at him for a minute and finally extended his hand.
"Sirius Black, I presume? My name is Draco Malfoy," he introduced himself. "It seems your beautiful daughter has invited me for Christmas."
Sirius shook Draco's hand and suddenly laughed. "And you are most welcome!"
Though Alysia noted that this sentiment was not shared by everyone in the room (Ron, most notably, looked like something foul had walked into the room, and her aunts and uncles looked like they were seeing evil reincarnated), she nearly started crying again in relief. Draco wasn't running for the door or giving Dementors the signal to attack her father, so she assumed that it was safe. She showed him his seat next to her.
"Let us say grace," her father stated when everyone was seated. They all bowed their heads as he blessed the food and finally began to carve the turkey.
As usual, Christmas dinner was loud and fun. As Alysia had hoped, Griffin and Zel got along very well with Andrew and Andreah. Draco remained silent through most of the meal, as Alysia had expected, but whenever she looked in his direction, he didn't appear discontented. In fact, he would smile at her almost happily and squeeze her hand under the table. Despite the fact that most of the other guests were looking at him as if he was the spawn of the devil himself, Alysia decided that inviting Draco to her house for Christmas dinner was the best thing she'd ever done. After the last plate had been magically whisked away to the kitchen and washed, Anaral stood, smiling graciously.
"Let's go open our Christmas gifts, shall we?" she invited. Everyone stood and left the table in a very busy manner, eventually all managing to find seats in the living room within warming distance of the Yule fire. Alysia was cozily snuggled under Draco's arm and next to Harry, who was next to Ron, who was scooting closer to Hermione by the minute. Her father had taken his traditional armchair by the fireplace, and Anaral was standing beside it, directly next to the Christmas tree.
"Is everyone ready?" she asked sweetly and a chorus of "yeses" arose from the crowded room. Anaral snapped her fingers sweetly and immediately, everyone's presents flew to their laps. She counted to three, and in a flurry of paper, the unwrapping began.
Alysia always kept a quill and parchment with her when opening Christmas gifts; otherwise it was very hard to keep track of who gave her what. In the next half an hour, she unwrapped a deep blue set of dress robes from her mother with matching dancing slippers from Aunt Arabella. Her father's gift was a charming music box that would play whatever song she wanted to hear whenever she wanted to hear it. Uncle Remus, who always managed to find something randomly amusing, had pulled through this year with a set of five singing golden rings, belting out "The Twelve Days of Christmas" in five-part harmony. Uncle Mundungus and Aunt Cassiopeia had given their usual broom servicing kit, this one with a new pot of polish and several silver straws to bring more balance to Alysia's Firebolt. For a full five minutes, she and Harry stopped unwrapping gifts to examine the kit while Draco looked over her shoulder.
"Jealous?" she murmured, twirling one of the silver straws between her thumb and forefinger. He kissed the side of her head, gently.
"No. I already have three," he answered.
"Have you opened your gift from the Weasleys yet?"
Draco shook his head, looking listlessly at the package in his lap. "I'm not sure what to say. I've done nothing but insult their family since Day One and they give me a Christmas gift."
Alysia giggled lightly. "Well, it is Christmas, after all. Let's open them at the same time."
They tore into the wrapping paper to find, as Ron had predicted, a pair of Weasley sweaters. Alysia's was blue with a silver letter "A" on the front while Draco's was green with a silver letter "D" on the front. Alysia felt the need to laugh when she looked around the room and realized that everyone had a Weasley sweater, even Griffin and Zel. Still fighting back a giggle, she turned to her gift from Ron: a Quidditch poster of the Chudley Cannons, his favorite Quidditch team (Alysia didn't bother to mention that she preferred the Edinburgh Eagles). Hermione's gift was, to no surprise, a book. The title, "Dreaming Deep" didn't sound very scholarly, but Hermione explained immediately.
"It's ancient fiction by Morgan le Fay, revised for today's reader," she explained. "Not many people know that she was not only a great witch but also a fabulous novelist. This one reminded me of you."
Alysia grinned. "Thanks, Hermione." Opening Harry's gift, she laughed aloud to see that he had purchased two full teams of Quidditch figurines for her in yellow and blue. He, too, was laughing at her gift for him and the irony of the colors each had chosen.
It was then that Draco put his lips close to her ear and whispered that he wanted to give his Christmas gift in private. Alysia nodded and they walked out to the kitchen where sponges were merrily scrubbing away and the broom was singing, "Deck the Halls with Boughs of Holly."
"I brought yours out here too," she whispered, handing him the carefully wrapped rose. He seemed to be holding his breath as he drew it from its wrapping, but smiled broadly when he saw what it was.
"A gold-grown rose," he breathed. "Did the vendor tell you this is a sign of everlasting love?"
Alysia wasn't about to admit that she had only learned that fact when he spoke it, so she turned her head and looked down, pretending to be coy. Even so, she couldn't shield her eyes from the bright light emanating from whatever Draco had just pulled from his pocket. It slowly died down, and she stepped closer to inspect what he was holding in his outstretched hand. She caught her breath upon seeing the silver pendant and its red and green stones, now glowing very faintly.
"Oh, Draco. . .it's beautiful!" she whispered.
"You like it?" He stepped around behind her to fasten the necklace around her neck and she nodded. "I hoped you would. It's called the Unity Amulet."
"Where did you get it?" Alysia wanted to know.
"I. . .ah. . .Professor Dumbledore told me to give it you," Draco explained shortly. "I saw it, though, and I knew it was perfect for you."
"Thank you." Alysia turned around in his arms and kissed him.
That night, after all of the guests had gone home and Alysia was lying in bed, touching the Unity Amulet, she heard her parents talking and what sounded like someone crying. Alarmed, she hurried down the stairs and pressed her ear against their bedroom door. She was startled to find that rather than her mother crying, it was her father.
". . . can't believe it, Ana. It's just like right before James and Lily died," her father sobbed. "Three today, alone. I just can't believe it."
"Shh," her mother whispered soothingly. Alysia could picture her father resting his head in her mother's lap. "There's nothing that can be done now. We'll have to tell the children tomorrow morning. . .now that it can't ruin their Christmas."
"They should have been here, Ana. They should have been here," her father repeated over and over again until he could speak no more. There was no question whom he was talking about.
If there was one thing that could always make Alysia cry, it was her father crying. She began to back away, and only heard her mother say one more thing before she ran to her room in tears. "Three Muggle families in one night. . .good God, what next?"
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------
A/N: Merry Christmas in March! Sorry I couldn't make it a merrier Christmas at the end, but what can I say? This isn't "It's a Wonderful Life". Don't worry. . .things will get happier eventually.
By the way, I absolutely adored the little scene with Polyjuice Potion. It's probably been done before, but I was still laughing while I wrote it. I wish I could squeeze more into this chapter, but it's so darn long already!
So leave me a review while I figure out what's going to happen next.
Alysia was out of the hospital wing by ten o'clock the next morning. She was greeted in Herbology with hugs from Harry, Ron and Hermione, who didn't mince words in telling her how worried they'd been. While they were describing, in detail, their suspicions with regards to her "kidnapping", Alysia simply smiled and tried to pretend that Susan and Moira weren't leaning on their hands, hanging on to every word the four of them said. As they left the class to go to lunch, Alysia decided to do something she'd never done before. She was going to invite Harry, Ron and Hermione and their families to her house for Christmas.
"Harry, I know my mum is expecting you anyway," she stated. "She wants to have a family Christmas. But Ron and Hermione, perhaps you could join us for Christmas dinner?"
"Who else is going to be there?" Ron wanted to know.
"Oh, everyone!" Alysia laughed. "When Dad was taken to Azkaban, all of his and mum's old friends from school started helping us out, giving us money and all that. They always spend Christmas with us. The house is always so crowded and fun. Oh, do come! It'll be such a happy Christmas!"
Ron looked at Hermione and shrugged. "I'll talk to my folks. I'm sure they'd love to do something other than stay home and cook for our dozens of relatives," he stated.
Hermione nodded in agreement. "I'll talk to my parents, too. Hopefully we can come on Christmas Day," she said with a smile.
After lunch, Alysia found herself spending the entirety of double Potions copying notes on Polyjuice Potion (a potion she had been able to produce since she was nine years old) to satisfy the glaring Professor Snape, who obviously didn't think that being "kidnapped" and having one's arm broken were viable excuses for being behind on work. He announced that they would be brewing and testing the Polyjuice Potion that Friday, in a less potent form. This would cause them to only turn into the other person for fifteen minutes, but Alysia was still looking forward to seeing people turned into someone else. Draco was waiting for her outside the dungeon with a kiss when class ended.
"What do you have planned for Christmas?" he asked, ignoring the whispering of Susan and Moira behind them.
"Oh, just going home with my Mum and having the whole gang over; you know, all my 'aunts' and 'uncles'. Very loud and fun," she answered, laughing. "What about you?"
"I haven't decided yet," Draco admitted. "But when I do decide, I promise I'll let you know."
"Good," Alysia smiled.
Thursday passed by very dully. The Quidditch pitch was covered in snow and had been for a week, so there was no practice to worry about. Alysia spent the long afternoon making a list of Christmas gifts she would buy that weekend in Hogsmeade. She also recopied her notes on Polyjuice Potion to ensure that hers would be perfect the next day.
In a surprise move, Professor Snape combined all four houses for the Polyjuice Potion lesson, the term's final. Alysia kept sneaking smiles at Draco (who was grudgingly working with Harry) and waving to Ron and Hermione, sitting behind her. Her partner, Ernie MacMillan, kept her laughing through the entire class, and when they finally drank the Polyjuice Potion at the end of the class, they fell into gales of hysterical laughter at how well they'd turned out. This was a common reaction as everyone started to filter out of the dungeon. Alysia (as Ernie) looked around and saw a very cross-looking Harry in Slytherin robes. She ran up to him and, making sure the Polyjuice Potion hadn't worn off early, asked, "Draco?"
"Yes," Harry's voice said and his face scowled. Alysia-as-Ernie giggled and planted a kiss on Draco-as-Harry's mouth. The entire crowd leaving the dungeon froze and Draco-as-Harry cried, "What the hell is wrong with you?"
Ernie-as-Alysia ran up at that moment. "Don't get your hopes up, Malfoy," he sneered in Alysia's voice. "That's Alysia. I'm Ernie." Draco-as-Harry looked shocked and confused and Alysia-as-Ernie couldn't stop laughing. She was still laughing an hour later when she and Draco, now looking much more themselves, walked through one of the gardens, frosted white with snow.
"Just the thought of what that must have looked like to the rest of the school," Alysia chuckled, and this time Draco laughed with her before dropping a kiss on top of her head. He held her for a moment then spoke over her head.
"Would your Mum be upset if I came for Christmas Day?" he asked.
"Why, no!" Alysia exclaimed happily. She'd been hoping Draco would try to come to her house for Christmas, but she hadn't asked him yet.
"Would she mind if I brought Griffin and Zel?" Draco moved back a step and looked her in the eyes. "I always do something special for them for Christmas. Last year I flew them over Hogwart's on my broom. I'm sure this is something they'd love."
Alysia smiled. "It's perfect! I've been hoping I would see them again. They were awfully inquisitive about my mother and her friends after we looked at your father's yearbooks. Now they can meet them."
Draco smiled at her kindly as they went back inside.
That weekend, most everyone had already gone home for the Christmas holiday. Alysia and her family were leaving on Sunday, her family including Harry. For the time being, however, she was in Hogsmeade, doing some last minute Christmas shopping. Her list of people to shop for was long, and she knew she'd only have this afternoon before Christmas.
Her first stop was in Gladrags, and she had success almost immediately. Just inside the store were beautiful silk scarves that would keep the wearer warm, no matter how cold it was outside. After some debate, Alysia decided to buy a deep blue-and-gold one for her mother, rather than for Hermione or her aunts Arabella Figg or Cassiopeia Fletcher. Alysia had many 'aunts' and 'uncles' who had helped her mother get along while her father was in Azkaban. In the twelve years her father was gone, the number of visitors had dwindled several times, but there were four 'aunts' and 'uncles' who still visited very regularly: Remus Lupin, Arabella Figg and Mundungus and Cassiopeia Fletcher. Those four would be joining her family on Christmas Day, along with Mundungus and Cassiopeia's children Andreah and Andrew. She did some quick mental calculations, finding that with Ron's family and Hermione's family and Draco and his cousins; there would be twenty-two people in her house for Christmas.
"Yikes," she muttered under her breath as she picked up a pair of singing gloves for Arabella. Pink mohair ones, to be exact, Aunt Arabella's favorite. She took a trip to the men's section, briefly, and bought some new robes for Uncle Remus (a deep blue to match his eyes; he always seemed to ruin robes). That done, she paid for the store to magically gift-wrap her purchases (in black velvet with silver snowflakes and silver bows and ribbons). Then it was off to Nubian Novelties for more gifts. This store was far more crowded than Gladrags had been. Witches and wizards of all ages were browsing for stocking stuffers and gifts for their families and friends. Alysia managed to squeeze through the crowd and find a few nice selections. There was a pair of music boxes that played a concerto on violin and cello, so she chose those for Uncle Mundungus and Aunt Cassiopeia. The store was far too stuffy, however, so she made her purchases quickly and hurried out into the street where she spotted her mother.
"Mum!" she called and Anaral waved to her. They made their way to the Three Broomsticks for a break and some butterbeer.
"Have you gotten anything for your father yet?" Anaral asked, sipping her mulled wine. Alysia shook her head.
"No. I saw some good stuff in Nubian Novelties, but nothing that really reached out and grabbed me, you know?" she explained and took a swig of butterbeer that warmed her through and through.
"I'm having a wand custom made for him," Anaral confessed. "Carver Ollivander. . .the wand-maker. . .is an old friend of your father's." She dropped her voice and began speaking in hushed tones. "He's believed in your father's innocence from day one. When I mentioned that your father had wanted a wand, he got to work immediately. This was about six months ago. Last owl I had from him said that the wand would be done in time for Christmas. So my question for you is, would you like to buy him a wand case?"
Alysia nodded enthusiastically. "I saw a nice one in Nubian Novelties. I'll go back and get it now," she answered, standing and collecting her bags. "I'll see you later tonight."
Her mother waved as Alysia left the Three Broomsticks and squeezed back into Nubian Novelties. She made it to the wand cases section and grabbed the mahogany box with the deep red velvet lining before anyone else could grab it. She rushed to the counter and paid for the case, had it gift- wrapped, and dashed off to Flourish & Blott's. There was only one thing needed here: a book she'd seen that Hermione would enjoy. The book was called "Magical Flora that Reaches the Heart," and it had a detailed history of the magical properties and symbols of certain flowers. This, too, was gift-wrapped and Alysia crossed another name off of her list.
She had hoped to find not only Harry and Ron's gifts in Quality Quidditch supplies, but also something for Draco. Sadly, nothing there screamed for her to buy it (except for the socks in the front window, but that was another story) for Draco. For Harry, she bought a full set of Quidditch action figures: two teams, complete with balls, goals and brooms. Feeling a bit evil, she chose a set of figures dressed in red and a set dressed in green. Ron also got some Quidditch figures, but only the seekers for the English and Irish teams.
Breathless and beginning to feel quite exhausted, Alysia hurried to Honeydukes where she filled four sacks with candy for Andreah, Andrew, Griffin and Zel. That done, Alysia realized that it must be nearly nightfall, but also that she couldn't leave Hogsmeade until she bought something for Draco. Nothing looked appealing. She glared at books, sneered at robes and fought back the urge to blow up Quidditch supplies. None of it was special enough, none of it was good enough. Finally, however, something caught her eye, as she was getting ready to leave Hogsmeade and give up altogether. A roadside peddler was advertising gold-grown roses, so Alysia went over to investigate.
"Grown in gold soil, given gold water, and they never die!" the old witch explained. Alysia smiled. This was perfect. The roses were as soft and delicate as regular roses but were made of such pure gold that they were almost transparent.
"How much?" she asked. The cost ended up being ten galleons, but she decided it was well worth it. She paid the woman and carried her belongings back to Hogwart's.
By the time Alysia and her family left on Sunday, a blanket of snow had fallen over Hogwart's making the trip to Hogsmeade Station an adventurous one. But only a few hours later, Alysia saw the house she'd known all her life. On the outside, it was a small Tudor-style cottage that couldn't possibly have had more than three rooms, but on the inside, it not only had three rooms but many more, and a second and third floor. The house had earned the name "Lioness' Cove", after her mother. Very faintly in her memory, Alysia could recall traveling back and forth between the fireplace in the front room of Lioness' Cove and Godric's Hollow. She inhaled sharply, causing Harry to look at her.
"Are you alright?" he asked, finally.
"Yes, I'm fine. Let's go inside." Alysia led the way in through the front door and through the entry to the front room. She pointed out the important aspects to Harry: the hardwood floors, the great stone fireplace and the old furniture that had belonged to her grandfather. The next room was what was known as the "expanding dining room". Alysia explained it to Harry, "This way, all twenty-two guests on Christmas will be able to eat in one room."
The kitchen, she told him, was nothing special. They had no house elves; in fact, the only thing they did have was cutlery with a nasty temper. She then showed him the ever-closed doors that led to her father's study then chased him down a hallway to the first flight of stairs. She felt like a little girl again, finally having the brother and father she was supposed to have. At the top of the stairs, she gave him the general points of the second floor. "Mum and Dad's room is down the hall to the left. Straight ahead is the playroom and two guest bedrooms. And to the right is the library. There are also bathrooms behind all three bedrooms," she explained, sounding like a tour guide. Then, with hushed footsteps, she led Harry up the wrought iron spiral staircase to the tower that was their bedroom.
"Mum had this all set up for you," she said, gesturing to his side of the room, "and she didn't want to move it all downstairs. I'll put up a curtain tonight, though, so you can have some privacy. We can take it down during the day."
"It's fantastic!" Harry exclaimed, and Alysia agreed. The entire room was decorated in deep blues and greens. They each had a canopy bed made of mahogany and dressers made of the same. The windows were edged with a beautiful window seat that was almost completely covered in enormous pillows. The view was of the garden below, now slowly being covered in enchanting white snow. The blue-green curtains were tied back with golden tassels, and two sofas sat opposite the window seat. Beside the sofas was a pair of mahogany desks with overstuffed armchairs in front of them. Bookshelves were mounted in the walls.
"I'm serious, Aly. It's really great," Harry stated again. Alysia smiled at him.
"Welcome home, brother."
The days leading up to Christmas were filled with decorating, cooking and singing. Alysia and Harry went with Sirius into the woods nearby to find a perfect tree, one that they had to magically shrink to get back to the house. They decorated it with as many ornaments as they could fit and spent the rest of the night singing Christmas carols at the top of their lungs. By the time Alysia put up her stocking on Christmas Eve, she was more than ready for the next morning and the celebrations of the next day.
She was awakened that morning by the sounds of shouting downstairs. At first she panicked, but then she recognized the voices and, shaking Harry awake, ran downstairs and threw her arms around the shabby man who had just fallen out of the fireplace. "Uncle Remus! You're here!" she exclaimed. "You're so early!"
"Had to be. . .couldn't let Arabella beat me this year," he panted, hugging Alysia back. Sure enough, seconds later, a woman who looked like she was aging backwards tumbled through the fireplace. She stood quickly for looking half-ancient and half-twenty-something.
"Damn you, Remus," she muttered in a young voice, brushing soot off of her robes. Her hair was slowly turning from white to mouse brown. "I almost had you beat this year."
"Aunt Arabella!" Alysia decided to stop the imminent banter before it began to get out of hand as it always did. "Happy Christmas! Happy Christmas, Uncle Remus."
"You keep calling me aunt, you'll make me feel old," Arabella stated with a merry wink. Her wrinkles were fading. "I took my last dose of Polyjuice Potion an hour and a half ago, and I am ever so happy to be spending the day without it."
"It'll be hell when you start to take it again," Remus grumbled, walking towards the dining room where Anaral already was, setting out a fabulous breakfast. "Good morning, Ana. Happy Christmas!"
"Happy Christmas, Remus. Happy Christmas, Arabella, I thought I heard your voice. Alysia, did you wake Harry?" Anaral asked, wiping her hands on her apron. Alysia nodded.
"Harry's here? Bless me. . .it's as if things are the way they should have been," Arabella said softly, sitting down in front of a plate heaped high with thick French toast.
"No, Arabella. If things were as they should have been, James and Lily would be here," Remus corrected somberly, but brightened immediately. "So, Alysia, what did you get your favorite uncle for Christmas?"
Alysia rolled her eyes. "First of all, you aren't really my uncle and secondly, there's no way I'm telling you."
More shouts came from the front room and Alysia was ambushed seconds later by her "cousins" Andreah and Andrew Fletcher, fraternal twins with identical brown curls. Her Aunt Cassiopeia followed, trying to make her own brown curls stay in their clip and Uncle Mundungus rubbing a sore spot on his rump.
"Next year, Anaral, I do believe we'll be traveling by broomstick, if that's quite alright with you," he muttered as he gave Anaral a hug. "Happy Christmas. Happy Christmas, Alysia."
"Happy Christmas, Uncle Mundungus. Happy Christmas, Aunt Cassiopeia," Alysia greeted them, hugging everyone. She hid a smile as she spotted a mostly-still-asleep Harry shuffling into the room, rubbing his eyes under his glasses.
"Happy Christmas, Harry!" the whole crowd exclaimed and Harry was soon buried in a flurry of hugs. Alysia was doubled up with laughter at the look on his face. When everyone had finally finished, she patted him on the shoulder.
"You should've gotten up earlier. . .you could've gotten it over with one at a time," she teased. "Happy Christmas. Have some breakfast!"
Breakfast was the traditional French toast and bacon, which Alysia ate so quickly it seemed as if she'd never eat again. Her father came down halfway through breakfast, looking as if he hadn't slept at all, and everyone gave him grief for it. He hardly seemed healthy, Alysia noticed, but decided not to bring it up and ruin Christmas. After breakfast, she and Harry hurried upstairs to get dressed, and before they could hurry downstairs, there was a pounding on their door.
"Happy Christmas!" Ron and Hermione called out, rushing into the room and hugging (the thankfully fully clothed) Alysia and Harry. They were both talking at the same time, so rapidly and loudly that Alysia just laughed and gave up on trying to understand what they were trying to say. Everyone was wearing Muggle clothing, Harry wearing the brand-new clothes Alysia and Anaral had found for him in London: black pants and a gray sweater that made his eyes light up and had reminded Anaral of Lily. Alysia was pleased with her outfit as well, and noticed that she and Hermione were wearing very similar outfits in different colors. Hermione's turtleneck sweater was deep red and her pants black while Alysia's sweater was blue and her skirt a dark charcoal gray. Completing their little group was Ron, begrudgingly wearing his burgundy-and-gold Weasley sweater with a letter "R" on the front. As they slowly made their way downstairs, Alysia began to piece together what they had been trying to say.
Ron's Christmas morning had, as usual, been busy and loud. Only three of his siblings had joined his parents and him on their trip to Lioness' Cove: Fred, George and Ginny. His parents had brought food for everyone, as well as gifts for Harry and Alysia (Ron suspected they were Weasley sweaters). Hermione's parents, on the other hand, were a bit skittish about coming to an entirely wizarding household. She had advised that they bring Muggle artifacts for Ron's father to examine and stated that once they'd all arrived, Ron's father had made her parents feel quite welcome.
Reaching the living room, their talk continued excitedly. Ron was explaining, from his point of view, what it had looked like when Alysia-as- Ernie kissed Draco-as-Harry, and everyone within hearing range was doubled over with laughter.
". . .I don't think I'd ever seen Harry look that disgusted, shocked, frightened and furious at the same time!" Ron laughed, and Alysia was gasping for breath.
"I remember when we made Polyjuice Potion in that class," Fred (or was it George?) recalled. "Snape assumed we didn't do it right, but it seemed he'd forgotten we're twins anyway."
"We had to re-do it later, with different partners. Angelina Johnson and Alicia Spinnet. . .couldn't have picked a better two to work with, eh Fred?" George chortled.
"Nope. . .but I don't think the details of that meeting need to be shared with these young ears," Fred answered, devilishly. "Anyway, in the end, we passed."
"In more than one way," George added, and the friends dissolved into gales of laughter. They talked and talked and all too soon, it was time for dinner. Everyone filtered into the dining room, but Alysia noted sadly as she sat that the chair next to hers-the chair reserved for Draco-was empty. Griffin and Zel's chairs on either side of Andreah and Andrew were also empty. Harry noticed this as well and leaned over to Alysia on her other side as they prepared to say grace.
"Are you alright?" he asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Alysia lied. Her father stood at the head of the table with Anaral at his right side and Remus at his left. Before he carved into the turkey, he bowed his head to say grace, yet before he'd even opened his mouth, there was a knock at the door. "Oh please," Alysia whispered as she ran to answer the door and felt a grin spreading widely over her face when she opened it.
"Hey. . .I hope we're not too late," Draco greeted her with a half smile. Griffin and Zel had plastered themselves to his side and were smiling up at Alysia shyly. She wasn't quite sure why seeing them again on Christmas made her cry, but it did. Sobbing happily, she threw her arms around Draco's neck.
"I was afraid you weren't going to make it!" she whispered.
"And miss seeing you on Christmas? Never!" he laughed, kissing the top of her head. Alysia finally let go and gave Griffin and Zel happy hugs then led the crew to the dining room table. Draco froze when he saw her father standing at the head of the table and didn't seem quite sure how to react. For a moment, all conversation ceased as Draco saw, for the first time, the human Sirius Black face-to-face. For that moment Alysia worried that the entire celebration would be ruined. Draco walked slowly over to where her father was standing, looked at him for a minute and finally extended his hand.
"Sirius Black, I presume? My name is Draco Malfoy," he introduced himself. "It seems your beautiful daughter has invited me for Christmas."
Sirius shook Draco's hand and suddenly laughed. "And you are most welcome!"
Though Alysia noted that this sentiment was not shared by everyone in the room (Ron, most notably, looked like something foul had walked into the room, and her aunts and uncles looked like they were seeing evil reincarnated), she nearly started crying again in relief. Draco wasn't running for the door or giving Dementors the signal to attack her father, so she assumed that it was safe. She showed him his seat next to her.
"Let us say grace," her father stated when everyone was seated. They all bowed their heads as he blessed the food and finally began to carve the turkey.
As usual, Christmas dinner was loud and fun. As Alysia had hoped, Griffin and Zel got along very well with Andrew and Andreah. Draco remained silent through most of the meal, as Alysia had expected, but whenever she looked in his direction, he didn't appear discontented. In fact, he would smile at her almost happily and squeeze her hand under the table. Despite the fact that most of the other guests were looking at him as if he was the spawn of the devil himself, Alysia decided that inviting Draco to her house for Christmas dinner was the best thing she'd ever done. After the last plate had been magically whisked away to the kitchen and washed, Anaral stood, smiling graciously.
"Let's go open our Christmas gifts, shall we?" she invited. Everyone stood and left the table in a very busy manner, eventually all managing to find seats in the living room within warming distance of the Yule fire. Alysia was cozily snuggled under Draco's arm and next to Harry, who was next to Ron, who was scooting closer to Hermione by the minute. Her father had taken his traditional armchair by the fireplace, and Anaral was standing beside it, directly next to the Christmas tree.
"Is everyone ready?" she asked sweetly and a chorus of "yeses" arose from the crowded room. Anaral snapped her fingers sweetly and immediately, everyone's presents flew to their laps. She counted to three, and in a flurry of paper, the unwrapping began.
Alysia always kept a quill and parchment with her when opening Christmas gifts; otherwise it was very hard to keep track of who gave her what. In the next half an hour, she unwrapped a deep blue set of dress robes from her mother with matching dancing slippers from Aunt Arabella. Her father's gift was a charming music box that would play whatever song she wanted to hear whenever she wanted to hear it. Uncle Remus, who always managed to find something randomly amusing, had pulled through this year with a set of five singing golden rings, belting out "The Twelve Days of Christmas" in five-part harmony. Uncle Mundungus and Aunt Cassiopeia had given their usual broom servicing kit, this one with a new pot of polish and several silver straws to bring more balance to Alysia's Firebolt. For a full five minutes, she and Harry stopped unwrapping gifts to examine the kit while Draco looked over her shoulder.
"Jealous?" she murmured, twirling one of the silver straws between her thumb and forefinger. He kissed the side of her head, gently.
"No. I already have three," he answered.
"Have you opened your gift from the Weasleys yet?"
Draco shook his head, looking listlessly at the package in his lap. "I'm not sure what to say. I've done nothing but insult their family since Day One and they give me a Christmas gift."
Alysia giggled lightly. "Well, it is Christmas, after all. Let's open them at the same time."
They tore into the wrapping paper to find, as Ron had predicted, a pair of Weasley sweaters. Alysia's was blue with a silver letter "A" on the front while Draco's was green with a silver letter "D" on the front. Alysia felt the need to laugh when she looked around the room and realized that everyone had a Weasley sweater, even Griffin and Zel. Still fighting back a giggle, she turned to her gift from Ron: a Quidditch poster of the Chudley Cannons, his favorite Quidditch team (Alysia didn't bother to mention that she preferred the Edinburgh Eagles). Hermione's gift was, to no surprise, a book. The title, "Dreaming Deep" didn't sound very scholarly, but Hermione explained immediately.
"It's ancient fiction by Morgan le Fay, revised for today's reader," she explained. "Not many people know that she was not only a great witch but also a fabulous novelist. This one reminded me of you."
Alysia grinned. "Thanks, Hermione." Opening Harry's gift, she laughed aloud to see that he had purchased two full teams of Quidditch figurines for her in yellow and blue. He, too, was laughing at her gift for him and the irony of the colors each had chosen.
It was then that Draco put his lips close to her ear and whispered that he wanted to give his Christmas gift in private. Alysia nodded and they walked out to the kitchen where sponges were merrily scrubbing away and the broom was singing, "Deck the Halls with Boughs of Holly."
"I brought yours out here too," she whispered, handing him the carefully wrapped rose. He seemed to be holding his breath as he drew it from its wrapping, but smiled broadly when he saw what it was.
"A gold-grown rose," he breathed. "Did the vendor tell you this is a sign of everlasting love?"
Alysia wasn't about to admit that she had only learned that fact when he spoke it, so she turned her head and looked down, pretending to be coy. Even so, she couldn't shield her eyes from the bright light emanating from whatever Draco had just pulled from his pocket. It slowly died down, and she stepped closer to inspect what he was holding in his outstretched hand. She caught her breath upon seeing the silver pendant and its red and green stones, now glowing very faintly.
"Oh, Draco. . .it's beautiful!" she whispered.
"You like it?" He stepped around behind her to fasten the necklace around her neck and she nodded. "I hoped you would. It's called the Unity Amulet."
"Where did you get it?" Alysia wanted to know.
"I. . .ah. . .Professor Dumbledore told me to give it you," Draco explained shortly. "I saw it, though, and I knew it was perfect for you."
"Thank you." Alysia turned around in his arms and kissed him.
That night, after all of the guests had gone home and Alysia was lying in bed, touching the Unity Amulet, she heard her parents talking and what sounded like someone crying. Alarmed, she hurried down the stairs and pressed her ear against their bedroom door. She was startled to find that rather than her mother crying, it was her father.
". . . can't believe it, Ana. It's just like right before James and Lily died," her father sobbed. "Three today, alone. I just can't believe it."
"Shh," her mother whispered soothingly. Alysia could picture her father resting his head in her mother's lap. "There's nothing that can be done now. We'll have to tell the children tomorrow morning. . .now that it can't ruin their Christmas."
"They should have been here, Ana. They should have been here," her father repeated over and over again until he could speak no more. There was no question whom he was talking about.
If there was one thing that could always make Alysia cry, it was her father crying. She began to back away, and only heard her mother say one more thing before she ran to her room in tears. "Three Muggle families in one night. . .good God, what next?"
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------
A/N: Merry Christmas in March! Sorry I couldn't make it a merrier Christmas at the end, but what can I say? This isn't "It's a Wonderful Life". Don't worry. . .things will get happier eventually.
By the way, I absolutely adored the little scene with Polyjuice Potion. It's probably been done before, but I was still laughing while I wrote it. I wish I could squeeze more into this chapter, but it's so darn long already!
So leave me a review while I figure out what's going to happen next.
