The magi, as you know, were wise men--wonderfully wise men--who brought
gifts to the Babe in the manger. They invented the art of giving Christmas
presents. Being wise, their gifts were no doubt wise ones, possibly bearing
the privilege of exchange in case of duplication.O all who give and receive
gifts, such as they are wisest. Everywhere they are wisest. They are the
magi.
~~~O. Henry~~
The Gift of the Magical Magi
The air was crisp, and a light dusting of snow was falling to the already well-covered ground as three familiar Gryffindors walked up the great lawn, returning from Care of Magical Creatures. It was the day before the Christmas Holidays were to begin. With any luck this year's Holidays would be better than the last year's. At that time, Mr. Weasley had been laid up in St. Mungo's after having been attacked. Harry thought the snow gave the grounds a more magical feeling than usual, or perhaps it was the holiday spirit in the air. Ron and Hermione, however, soon interrupted his thoughts.
"So what colour sweater go you suppose my Mum will be getting you this year, Harry? She has used just about everything I can think of so far. Seems to me you are due for sunshiny yellow!" said Ron jovially.
Wham! A well-lobbed snowball hit Ron square in the chest. Both Harry and Hermoine broke into laughter. Ron was blinking in disbelief and jumping in an odd dance. Apparently, the snow was both on his clothes and under it.
"Maybe she'll make me a white sweater to match your new look," said Harry as he laughed with a mischievous look in his eye.
"Which of you?" Ron sputtered indignantly, "Do you have any idea how cold this is? You used a Penetrus spell to make it go all the way through, and it is now dripping down to.never mind!" Ron's face now matched his hair.
"Serves you right for poking fun at your Mum. Really Ron, you know she means well; you could show a bit more appreciation. There are plenty of people who get nothing for Christmas!" said Hermione, sounding a bit like Professor McGonagal.
"Well then they can have my sweater," retorted Ron. "Besides at Christmas people who are not well off have the St. Mungo's Christmas Relief supply truck to help them out. It's not like people have to go without things for the Holidays-"
Hermione cut him off, "How insensitive can you be Ron! That hardly makes up for not being able to provide for your own family. Can you imagine how it would feel if your children knew their presents came from a charity? It is humiliating not to be able to give the simplest of things to those you care about." Hermione was on a roll now and there was no stopping her. She was wagging her finger an inch from Ron's nose as she continued to scold him, "There are people have it far worse than that, you know!"
"Actually, I don't know Hermione, but I have a feeling you are about to tell me," said Ron sarcastically.
Hermione did not disappoint him, "People who are alone at Christmas, people who have no one to share their time with. It's a lot worse to be alone than not have the money--"
"Well, I wouldn't know about anyone like that Hermione," interrupted Ron, who was obviously growing impatient under today's tirade, "If I did, I would do something about it."
Harry, who had stayed out of the squabble until that point, spoke up. "Actually, I know someone just like that; in fact, we all do."
Hermione and Ron stopped arguing and looked at Harry quizzically. Suddenly Hermione turned beat red and began to apologize, "Oh Harry, I am so sorry. I did not mean to imply that we don't like spending Christmas here with you!"
"No mate," Ron continued, looking sheepish, "I mean, we like being here with you, honest. We don't think of it as a burden." Hermione smacked the back of Ron's head glaring at him.
Harry just grinned at their embarrassment, "It's not that I don't appreciate the apologies you two, but I never thought you were referring to me." Ron and Hermione looked blankly at Harry until he continued, "I confess I never gave it much thought myself. It's what Hermione said about 'people who have no one to share their time with' being worse off than the people who lack money. I thought that it would be really horrible if someone was poor and had no one to spend the Holidays with."
"So, who are you talking about then?" asked Ron.
"Think back to last Christmas." replied Harry, giving a hint.
They continued to look puzzled for a moment until a glimmer of recognition came into Hermione's eyes.
"How did I not see it? Why of course you are right; he fits both categories." Said Hermione sadly.
"All right, I have had enough of the guessing games," stated a slightly exasperated Ron, "Would one of you please explain exactly what and whom we are talking about?"
"Professor Lupin." Harry and Hermione replied in unison.
"Right then," said Ron, "So what do you propose we do about it? You said it yourself, Hermione, 'It is humiliating not to be able to give the simplest of things to those you care about.' How do we do anything for him without embarrassing him?"
"I have an idea," said Harry, "Come on, we need to see Professor Dumbledore and a few other people if this is going to work."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
On Christmas Day, Remus Lupin arrived at Hogwarts as requested by Professor Dumbledore. It worried him more than just a little as to what could be so pressing that it required discussion on Christmas Day. As he arrived in the great hall just before suppertime he found four people awaiting his arrival.
"Good evening to you all," Remus greeted the assembled group, "I did not realise there would be more people than myself and Professor Dumbledore here."
"Good evening, Remus. Please join us and take a seat. I trust you had a pleasant walk up to the castle after you Apparated?" queried Dumbledore, smiling warmly.
"Thank you, the walk was most picturesque," replied Remus, "If I may ask Headmaster, I was under the impression that there was business that you needed to discuss with me?"
"There is indeed a matter of importance, Remus. I, however, am not the one who is chiefly responsible for our meeting." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled as he spoke, " I am merely here as the host, and as such I need to check on our meal. I always like to visit the House Elves on Christmas and thank them for the fine job they do throughout the year. They are a bit put out at the moment not having more people for whom to prepare food. I leave you in the quite capable hands of the Harry, Ron and Hermione." With that final comment, Dumbledore departed for the kitchens.
" I guess we had best explain, Professor," said Harry taking the lead "This all started a with a conversation we had yesterday and.well.to make a long story short."
"Well for starters," continued Ron, since Harry was fumbling for words, "We couldn't think of anyone all of us wanted to have Christmas supper more than you. It's because.well, it's like this.er."
"I think what we are all trying to say Professor," said Hermione warmly, "is thank you."
There was a long pause as Remus looked at each of them before saying, "I am truly sorry, but I am not following you."
Regaining the power of articulate speech Harry held out a small box that was tied with a ribbon, "Maybe this will explain it better."
Remus, looking quite puzzled, took the box from Harry and opened it. Inside were letters from several of the students he had taught four years ago. Many of the names Remus recognized had formed the original members of the D.A. They had all written to thank him, for what they had learned from him:
From Ginny, "My brothers have learned that "little packages can be mighty", professor, thanks to you. You told me to stand up and have courage and my spells would work."
From Dean, "You never made us Muggleborns feel inferior, sir. You never made us feel like our questions were stupid. I learned more from you than anyone."
From Hermione, "From you I learned that there is more in life than just reading books, that I had to stop taking myself so seriously all the time. I need time just to have fun with my friends and appreciate them too."
From Ron, "You made me see that I have a lot to learn about prejudice. There are a lot of things that I have just taken for granted like all werewolves being evil and all giants being bloodthirsty. I guess you taught me to think about what I have heard, and to match it up against what I actually see."
From Neville, "I don't know where to start professor. Other than when I was with Professor Sprout, I never felt I could do anything right until I was in your class. You didn't make me afraid to try."
From Harry, "If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't be here. Many of us wouldn't be here. I would have fallen to the Dementors. I wouldn't have had two years with Sirius. I wouldn't know anything about my parents. I wouldn't have my life, as I know it."
"You gave me the skills to help people defend themselves. I guess I realised what it meant to me when I saw Neville actually succeeding because of me, and it meant even more when he said thank you. I know it's not a gift money can buy, but I just felt that we all needed to say thank you."
Remus looked up from the letters not knowing where to begin. The treasures in his hands were worth more to him than all the gold in Gringotts. He could think of no Christmas of his past that he would value more than this one. He knew the gifts he received this Christmas would be remain with him for the rest of his life. The man who was never without words, found himself only capable of uttering two.
"Thank you!"
They all understood.
magi.
~~~O. Henry~~
The Gift of the Magical Magi
The air was crisp, and a light dusting of snow was falling to the already well-covered ground as three familiar Gryffindors walked up the great lawn, returning from Care of Magical Creatures. It was the day before the Christmas Holidays were to begin. With any luck this year's Holidays would be better than the last year's. At that time, Mr. Weasley had been laid up in St. Mungo's after having been attacked. Harry thought the snow gave the grounds a more magical feeling than usual, or perhaps it was the holiday spirit in the air. Ron and Hermione, however, soon interrupted his thoughts.
"So what colour sweater go you suppose my Mum will be getting you this year, Harry? She has used just about everything I can think of so far. Seems to me you are due for sunshiny yellow!" said Ron jovially.
Wham! A well-lobbed snowball hit Ron square in the chest. Both Harry and Hermoine broke into laughter. Ron was blinking in disbelief and jumping in an odd dance. Apparently, the snow was both on his clothes and under it.
"Maybe she'll make me a white sweater to match your new look," said Harry as he laughed with a mischievous look in his eye.
"Which of you?" Ron sputtered indignantly, "Do you have any idea how cold this is? You used a Penetrus spell to make it go all the way through, and it is now dripping down to.never mind!" Ron's face now matched his hair.
"Serves you right for poking fun at your Mum. Really Ron, you know she means well; you could show a bit more appreciation. There are plenty of people who get nothing for Christmas!" said Hermione, sounding a bit like Professor McGonagal.
"Well then they can have my sweater," retorted Ron. "Besides at Christmas people who are not well off have the St. Mungo's Christmas Relief supply truck to help them out. It's not like people have to go without things for the Holidays-"
Hermione cut him off, "How insensitive can you be Ron! That hardly makes up for not being able to provide for your own family. Can you imagine how it would feel if your children knew their presents came from a charity? It is humiliating not to be able to give the simplest of things to those you care about." Hermione was on a roll now and there was no stopping her. She was wagging her finger an inch from Ron's nose as she continued to scold him, "There are people have it far worse than that, you know!"
"Actually, I don't know Hermione, but I have a feeling you are about to tell me," said Ron sarcastically.
Hermione did not disappoint him, "People who are alone at Christmas, people who have no one to share their time with. It's a lot worse to be alone than not have the money--"
"Well, I wouldn't know about anyone like that Hermione," interrupted Ron, who was obviously growing impatient under today's tirade, "If I did, I would do something about it."
Harry, who had stayed out of the squabble until that point, spoke up. "Actually, I know someone just like that; in fact, we all do."
Hermione and Ron stopped arguing and looked at Harry quizzically. Suddenly Hermione turned beat red and began to apologize, "Oh Harry, I am so sorry. I did not mean to imply that we don't like spending Christmas here with you!"
"No mate," Ron continued, looking sheepish, "I mean, we like being here with you, honest. We don't think of it as a burden." Hermione smacked the back of Ron's head glaring at him.
Harry just grinned at their embarrassment, "It's not that I don't appreciate the apologies you two, but I never thought you were referring to me." Ron and Hermione looked blankly at Harry until he continued, "I confess I never gave it much thought myself. It's what Hermione said about 'people who have no one to share their time with' being worse off than the people who lack money. I thought that it would be really horrible if someone was poor and had no one to spend the Holidays with."
"So, who are you talking about then?" asked Ron.
"Think back to last Christmas." replied Harry, giving a hint.
They continued to look puzzled for a moment until a glimmer of recognition came into Hermione's eyes.
"How did I not see it? Why of course you are right; he fits both categories." Said Hermione sadly.
"All right, I have had enough of the guessing games," stated a slightly exasperated Ron, "Would one of you please explain exactly what and whom we are talking about?"
"Professor Lupin." Harry and Hermione replied in unison.
"Right then," said Ron, "So what do you propose we do about it? You said it yourself, Hermione, 'It is humiliating not to be able to give the simplest of things to those you care about.' How do we do anything for him without embarrassing him?"
"I have an idea," said Harry, "Come on, we need to see Professor Dumbledore and a few other people if this is going to work."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
On Christmas Day, Remus Lupin arrived at Hogwarts as requested by Professor Dumbledore. It worried him more than just a little as to what could be so pressing that it required discussion on Christmas Day. As he arrived in the great hall just before suppertime he found four people awaiting his arrival.
"Good evening to you all," Remus greeted the assembled group, "I did not realise there would be more people than myself and Professor Dumbledore here."
"Good evening, Remus. Please join us and take a seat. I trust you had a pleasant walk up to the castle after you Apparated?" queried Dumbledore, smiling warmly.
"Thank you, the walk was most picturesque," replied Remus, "If I may ask Headmaster, I was under the impression that there was business that you needed to discuss with me?"
"There is indeed a matter of importance, Remus. I, however, am not the one who is chiefly responsible for our meeting." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled as he spoke, " I am merely here as the host, and as such I need to check on our meal. I always like to visit the House Elves on Christmas and thank them for the fine job they do throughout the year. They are a bit put out at the moment not having more people for whom to prepare food. I leave you in the quite capable hands of the Harry, Ron and Hermione." With that final comment, Dumbledore departed for the kitchens.
" I guess we had best explain, Professor," said Harry taking the lead "This all started a with a conversation we had yesterday and.well.to make a long story short."
"Well for starters," continued Ron, since Harry was fumbling for words, "We couldn't think of anyone all of us wanted to have Christmas supper more than you. It's because.well, it's like this.er."
"I think what we are all trying to say Professor," said Hermione warmly, "is thank you."
There was a long pause as Remus looked at each of them before saying, "I am truly sorry, but I am not following you."
Regaining the power of articulate speech Harry held out a small box that was tied with a ribbon, "Maybe this will explain it better."
Remus, looking quite puzzled, took the box from Harry and opened it. Inside were letters from several of the students he had taught four years ago. Many of the names Remus recognized had formed the original members of the D.A. They had all written to thank him, for what they had learned from him:
From Ginny, "My brothers have learned that "little packages can be mighty", professor, thanks to you. You told me to stand up and have courage and my spells would work."
From Dean, "You never made us Muggleborns feel inferior, sir. You never made us feel like our questions were stupid. I learned more from you than anyone."
From Hermione, "From you I learned that there is more in life than just reading books, that I had to stop taking myself so seriously all the time. I need time just to have fun with my friends and appreciate them too."
From Ron, "You made me see that I have a lot to learn about prejudice. There are a lot of things that I have just taken for granted like all werewolves being evil and all giants being bloodthirsty. I guess you taught me to think about what I have heard, and to match it up against what I actually see."
From Neville, "I don't know where to start professor. Other than when I was with Professor Sprout, I never felt I could do anything right until I was in your class. You didn't make me afraid to try."
From Harry, "If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't be here. Many of us wouldn't be here. I would have fallen to the Dementors. I wouldn't have had two years with Sirius. I wouldn't know anything about my parents. I wouldn't have my life, as I know it."
"You gave me the skills to help people defend themselves. I guess I realised what it meant to me when I saw Neville actually succeeding because of me, and it meant even more when he said thank you. I know it's not a gift money can buy, but I just felt that we all needed to say thank you."
Remus looked up from the letters not knowing where to begin. The treasures in his hands were worth more to him than all the gold in Gringotts. He could think of no Christmas of his past that he would value more than this one. He knew the gifts he received this Christmas would be remain with him for the rest of his life. The man who was never without words, found himself only capable of uttering two.
"Thank you!"
They all understood.