Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, that honor goes to J.K. Rowling; may she get everlasting enjoyment from our recasting of her characters.

"Talk"

'Thought'

"Phoenix telepathy"

~ quotes from the book ~

~~ letters or notes ~~

A/N: I appreciate all of you that have waited for this chapter. Thank you all so much for reading and reviewing. Work and Writers Block stalled this chapter ridiculously, and its far shorter than my standard, but its finally here. I hope you all enjoy and the next chapter will not take nearly as long.

It was the 19th of December, and Harry and his friends were about to head down to the Hogsmeade train station. They said goodbye to Ron after their breakfast before getting in the thestral drawn carriages that would take them to the station. When they arrived, the station was packed with other students heading home for the holidays and wanting to beat the crowd, unintentionally causing it, for good seats.

With no luggage to slow them down, already taken to the train by Dobby and with Harry's going straight to Potter Manor, the group moved quickly but carefully towards the Hogwarts Express. They managed to get a compartment in the fourth car. Over the next hour, the train filled with the students heading home. The train began moving at 9am, the difference between when the train leaves is to accommodate those that had to travel for the train to London.

As the train left the station, Dobby popped in and asked if they would like something to read. Unfortunately, Hermione found that you could not remove the books that the Room created. Hermione was nearly catatonic when the book she was carrying disintegrated from her arms, Luna had to take her aside and talk her through why the book did that and asked the room for another copy before Hermione calmed down. With the requests for books that were in the Potter Library made, Dobby popped away for the requested books and was back a moment later.

"Harry, before you get lost in that book, my father owled me that it would be ok for you to visit during the break. You can Floo there or have Dobby take you; it's near Ottery St. Catchpoll, about a mile from the Weasleys'. The address is The Rookery," Luna said, blushing slightly while she asked. Neville smiled and nodded his head encouragingly while Hermione looked surprised and confused by the name.

Harry was slightly surprised; it was never talked about visiting her, but it sounded like a good idea. With Neville's encouraging nod, Harry was happy to accept the invitation. The books were put aside for a few minutes as they discussed their plans. Hermione said she would ask her parents about Harry and the others visiting, which led Harry to invite them all and their family for Christmas Day. Hermione said she would ask when she got home and would find a way to let him know. Neville said he would ask his Gran, but was pretty sure she would say yes.

They then went back to reading until the Trolley Witch came by two hours later. They all got snacks and juice packs before she moved on. As Harry was closing the door again, he found it odd that Malfoy and his goons had not shown up yet. Luna noticed and as Harry sat back down, whispered, "They were all told to stay at school for the break, for the embarrassment Dobby's last prank caused them. The Malfoy's host a Yule Ball every year, attended by most of Malfoy's father's old friends." Harry could easily hear what Luna was hinting at: Death Eaters and politicians. Harry nodded and went back to reading, while eating a few sweets.

They enjoyed the rest of the trip in mostly silence, with them sharing odd thoughts or interesting tidbits from their books. Prefects that were going home checked in on them occasionally, with the Trolley Witch stopping by twice more before the train reached Platform 9 ¾, shortly after 6pm. The station was packed with parents, eager to see their children for the holidays. As Harry and his friends rose from their seats, Dobby popped in with Hermione, Luna, and Neville's trunks shrunk with a delayed cancelation of an hour. They pocketed their trunks and Harry escorted Luna over to a man who must be her father, Xenophilius Lovegood. The man was wearing the second most colorful robes he had ever seen- you would have to intentionally try very hard to beat Professor Dumbledore's collection.

Xenophilius Lovegood gave Luna a hug before shaking Harry's hand. Luna reminded Harry about visiting the next day before her father escorted her to the Floo. Harry then led the others over to Madam Longbottom, who gave her grandson a brief hug and smiled at Harry and Hermione. Neville said goodbye before his grandmother led him over to the Floo.

When it was just Harry and Hermione left, Harry escorted her through the border to find her parents. They quickly found them, and her parents gave Hermione an enthusiastic hug. Hermione asked her parents about Harry and their friends coming over during the break while Harry was still there, and was quickly given permission. Harry then invited her parents to join him and his friends for Christmas Day at Potter Manor. They shared a look and told Harry they would talk about it and let him know when he visited.

With a nod from Harry, Hermione's family left for their car with smiles. Harry went back through to Platform 9 ¾ and found that most of the families were gone, leaving the platform much clearer. Wanting to keep up appearances, Harry called for Dobby to take him home. With a quite pop, they were gone.

FG

As soon as Harry and Dobby arrived at the entry hall of Potter Manor, Harry was jumped on by a very excited black dog. Harry let this go on with a smile and laughter for a few moments before saying, "Enough, Padfoot. Get off or I'll hide your gift and layer it with invisibility charms, there was one in the Invisible Book specifically for dogs." The dog whined and pouted, but got off before turning into a rather sullen Sirius Black.

"No fair, pup. Is this any way to treat your godfather?" Sirius asked, pouting. Harry relented and gave him a hug, causing Sirius to grin. He was happy to be back in his godson's life and after three months of freedom and good care by the Potter house elves, he was well on his way to recovery from twelve years in Azkaban. Sirius hugged Harry back before messing with Harry's hair.

"Sirius, what was the point of that? I have already got the messiest hair possible from my father's genes." Harry said, exasperated.

Sirius just chuckled and grinned, not bothering to answer. "So, did you like my gift, Harry?"

"Yeah, except everyone reacted like I figured they would, especially Oliver Wood; which was why I did not take the one I got last summer. The armor and box were a nice touch. It is a little late tonight, so how about we have our race tomorrow before I visit Luna?" Harry said.

Sirius grinned and cackled with delight. He had been waiting for this since he had found out Harry owned a Firebolt and investigated its specifics. His godson had good taste and could not wait to fly with Harry. They walked together, arm in arm, to the dining room. Maple had been thrilled ever since Sirius had moved into the manor. Sirius was always fun going and not nearly as self-reliant as Harry.

FG

The next morning, Harry got Sirius up just after sunrise. Sirius was not a morning person, but once he got some coffee and a good breakfast he woke up. It did not hurt that one of the seasonings on the table was a powdered invigoration draught, introduced by Dorea Potter nee Black to help with the Blacks all being night owls; if added to coffee it had the same effect as adding a double shot of espresso.

They each grabbed a Firebolt and headed down the sky-blue path to the quidditch pitch. After ten minutes of walking, they arrived at the pitch; it had to be at least that far from the house for the separate wards needed for a pitch to hold the Snitch and Bludgers within them to safely function without stressing the ward network for the rest of the house. The pitch was also weather charmed to be clear of snow and moderately warm. There were two stands and two sets of hoops for the Quaffle.

They would play with the Quaffle and Snitch, but leave the Bludgers bound since they did not have beaters to play with them. Sirius released the Snitch and passed the Quaffle to Harry. Harry would be first to control, while Sirius tried to take the Quaffle and score. The game would end after an hour or when the Snitch was caught. With the speed of the Firebolts and the skill both Harry and Sirius had on them, high speed shenanigans ensued on the pitch. The Quaffle being stolen after every stunt the other pulled, always leaving the previous holder of the ball stunned and incredulous.

When Harry and Sirius were tied and 50 points each, two minutes to go on the clock, Sirius threw the Quaffle only for Harry to fly past in a near vertical dive, blocking the Quaffle and sending it back into Sirius's stunned face. Harry pulled up from his dive five meters off the ground before rising to face this gob smacked, literally, Godfather to present the Snitch just as the hour ended. Sirius could not determine if he was more scared or angry because he lost and for Harry pulling that stunt.

"Harry James Potter, if your parents saw that stunt, they would have both passed out after seeing you were alright. Your father would have praised you for it before giving you a stern dressing down about risking your life for the game. Your mother would have hugged you to within an inch cracking your bones before holding you out to arm's length before giving you the scolding of your life. Of all the…" was as far as Sirius got before soap flew from the Manor and started washing Sirius's mouth.

This caused Harry to blink for a moment before pointing and laughing at his Godfather. He had gotten worked up enough to forget the auto punishment hex placed into the wards. Harry guided his Godfather back to the ground before calling for Dobby to fix Sirius up. Once Sirius was calm enough and not coughing up soap bubbles, he turned to Harry and said, "That was a brilliant move, but for the love of Merlin and my remaining years, please do not pull a dive like that again for anything short of saving a life."

They then put the Snitch and Quaffle back into the supplies box before heading back to the Manor. The elf responsible for caring for the Pitch gave a shaky sigh while smiling. It had been a long time since the elf had gotten the adrenaline rush of watch his master fly and dive around the Pitch. He snapped his fingers and the score box he had been keeping reset from a 200/50 to 0/0. He then popped off to tell all the other elves about the game.

FG

After Harry showered and changed, along with being chastised by Tomsy about his flight with Sirius, Harry made his way to Luna's. Having never been there before and not knowing which direction from the Weasleys' the Rookery was, Harry Flamed over to Neville's.

Harry knocked on the door and waited for Jules to admit him. He had barely been led to the greeting room when Madam Longbottom came in with her wand drawn, as was custom, and asked "What is the similarity between Neville's first wand and his current wand?"

"Unicorn hair, which does not transfer allegiance easily." Harry replied. Both parties knew this was still a sore subject, she would expect the irritation with the answer from the real Harry.

While looking slightly bristled from the barb, she said "Good morning, Mr. Potter. It is a touch early for a visit, what can I help you with today?"

"Luna invited me to her home, but I have not been there yet and was hoping to use your Floo. It's more secure than the Leaky Cauldron and I do not know which way from the Weasleys' house hers is," said Harry, a little embarrassed about it.

"By all means, Mr. Potter. Though I fail to see why you did not use one of your loyal elves. There is not much they can't find, especially if they've seen it before," Madam Longbottom said, resisting the desire to smirk. Which failed when Harry facepalmed and grumbled. 'It's good to make him act his age once in a while.' While Harry was being humbled, Madam Longbottom moved past him and grabbed some Floo powder from the pot on the mantle before throwing it in the fire.

She called out, "The Rookery" and was immediately connected. When nobody went through after a few moments, Luna's face appeared in the fire. Seeing Harry with his head in his hand and Madam Longbottom standing near the fireplace she smirked. "Hello, Harry, Madam Longbottom. Ready to come over, Harry?" Luna said, deciding not to tease.

Harry took his head out of his hand and smiled towards the fireplace. "Thank you, Luna. I was just about to. Thank you, Madam Longbottom, I'll see you later."

Luna disappeared from the fire and Harry made his way through. As Harry traveled through the Floo, spinning faster than a blender, he caught peeks of other fireplaces. He was surprised how relaxed some people were by their fires; did not they realize people using the Floo could see through momentarily? By the time he reached Luna's, Harry was extremely flustered and blushing heavily, and shot out of Luna's fireplace.

Luna giggled slightly as Harry picked himself up. She knew Harry really could not help it, but it was just funny to watch. She would have to wait till later to reveal why he had trouble with Floo travel. After Harry dusted himself off, Luna gave him a light hug before welcoming him to her home. Xenophilius stuck his head down the winding staircase to see what was the commotion, but pulled back when he saw Luna hugging Harry. He trusted his daughter not to let herself get hurt, she had proven as much when the Notts showed an interest in her.

"Dad's working on the paper upstairs right now, so I'll show you around," Luna said, before taking Harry's hand and leading him towards the door. Even in winter the yard looked well cared for and vibrant, bushes of dirigible plums and other magical bushes followed the path to the front gate. Once they were far enough away from the house, Luna turned him around to show him the outer design.

Harry's first thought upon seeing the house was, 'It's a giant Rook.' "Wow, as on the nose as the Weasleys' name for their house; though given they live in a 'Burrow' you would think they belonged in Hufflepuff." They both laughed at that, neither could see Ron in the house of the hard working.

They walked around the edge of her dad's property, with Luna pointing out various spots she enjoyed. After an hour of walking, they returned to the house for tea. After their tea, Luna brought Harry up the stairs to see her father's home office. He was just finishing up a page for the latest edition of The Quibbler as they came up.

"Hello Mr. Potter, Moonflower, how are you doing today? I am just about done with this edition, just a few more pages; someone asked for another article about your little friend, Newt. I love the responses I have been getting since we found them." Xenophilius said with a smile.

Harry smiled and thanked him for the invitation. They talked about what Luna had shown him that morning and Harry complemented him on his office. Xenophilius then spent the next hour talking about his publication while Harry and Luna looked to be listening attentively. Luna then distracted her father by saying she wanted to show Harry the rest of the house. He waved them off and they left to the next floor.

On the third floor was Xenophilius and Luna's bedrooms and the kitchen. She led him over to the kitchen where she grabbed some pudding from the fridge. They enjoyed their pudding before going up to the top floor, where Luna's burgeoning art collection was held along with old trunks and boxes. He admired the paintings and his compliments made Luna smile.

After an hour of admiring Luna's art, Harry said it was about time he got back to the Manor. Luna was a little disappointed, but knew it was not the time to keep him close. She walked him down to the front door before Harry Flamed home. Luna sighed before returning to the house and shut the door.

FG

Once he was home, he found his Godfather sitting down to lunch and decided to join him. After a delicious meal, Harry and Sirius went up to the library and spent the afternoon reading and talking. After dinner, they went to the gallery and talked with Harry's parents for several hours before Fawkes showed up for Harry's nightly training.

Just after breakfast on the 22nd, Professor McGonagall appeared with Dobby. She could hardly wait for this visit. Harry welcomed Professor McGonagall and led her up to the top floor. Opening the Gallery Room, Harry brought her to the end of the room, where his parents were waiting.

"James! Lily! I can hardly believe it. I never thought I would see either of you again, even though you're only portraits. It has been a difficult decade," Professor McGonagall began. Harry left her to it and left after they started talking, to give them privacy.

Lunch came and went with no sign of Professor McGonagall, so Harry sent up a platter of sandwiches; he could not help pulling a slight prank on one of his favorite Professors, the bottom row of the platter was nothing but tuna fish sandwiches. Several minutes later, Harry heard Professor McGonagall call down, "Cute, Mr. Potter." Harry grinned and all the elves in the Manor chuckled.

As Dinner was drawing near, Professor McGonagall made her way down and found Harry in the Library. She was smiling, but Harry could see that she had been crying. As Harry made to rise, Professor McGonagall held out her hand and shook her head slightly. "Thank you, Mr. Potter. But I am fine. Thank you so much for allowing me this."

"No trouble at all, Professor. All I ask is that you do not reveal this to Professor Dumbledore or this Manors location. This is the Potter Family's safest bastion, the center of our strength and safety; where we keep our history and our dead as we grow towards the future. I will add you to the wards so that you can visit them again, but never bring another with you or they will be bounced to the edge of the wards, detained, and obliviated upon leaving." Harry said, kindly but seriously. Minerva frowned but nodded her understanding.

Seeing she understood, Harry nodded with a small smile. "I hope you enjoyed your time today, but I believe it is about time you returned to the castle; I do not know what you told the headmaster, but I would rather he not become concerned by your absence from dinner. Otherwise, I would love to invite you to dine with me."

Minerva sighed before responding. "I told him I would be out of the castle visiting an old friend who wanted to catch up. He said to be safe and enjoy my chat before returning to his mail. The last time I met up with an old friend to catch up it took nearly the whole day and was held entirely in Gaelic; the headmaster had tried to invite himself along and was completely lost and unable to excuse himself for the entirety, he has not tried to invite himself to one of my catch-up sessions again in years." They both smirked at that before Harry walked her down to the entrance hall.

From there, Dobby returned her to Hogsmeade, where she made her way back to the castle by Flooing from the Three Broomsticks. No need to make Albus suspicious and there was no way she was walking up to the castle after dark in the dead of winter.

FG

On the 23rd of December, Harry had Dobby take him to Hermione's after breakfast. They arrived quietly in the high fenced back yard and Harry knocked on the back door. A confused Mr. Granger opened to door to greet him before letting him in after Harry told him how he arrived. Mrs. Granger gave him a quick hug before going to the stairs of their two-floor house to call Hermione down. Hermione came down the stairs quickly and hugged Harry fiercely.

After exchanging happy holidays, Hermione insisted on showing Harry around. Hermione quickly got ready for a winter walk before taking Harry's offered arm and let her parents know. They made their way to Hermione's old school and then to the public Library, while making small talk about their holidays so far. Hermione told Harry about the gifts she had gotten their friends, before trying to get a hint as to her gift, not that he would tell her or expect to be told. After seeing Harry would not fall for her trap of talk of gifts, Hermione led him back to her home.

They spent the rest of the day playing Christmas games with Hermione's parents. As the sun was going down, Harry excused himself stating he had a great time. Mrs. Granger tried to offer him to stay for dinner, but Harry said he had plans with his Godfather. With well wishes from the Granger family and an acceptance of Harry's invitation, Harry left out the back door and Flamed home after making sure no one saw him.

FG

The next day, the 24th of December, Harry watched the elves turn Potter Manor into a Winter Wonderland. Decorations flying around the house and fixing themselves at seemingly random spots before other decorations joined them. Dobby and Maple filled the kitchen with the smell of sweets, which spread throughout the manor. Sirius could be found singing wizarding Christmas carols all around the manor, slightly tipsy from Eggnog.

Harry could not help but smile and laugh. The elves were happy, Sirius was free and having fun, and he was surrounded by people that love him. He could not wait for his friends and their families to visit the next day. Even the portraits were getting into a festive mood; where they got the winter clothes, he had no idea.

FG

Christmas Day finally arrived, and Harry woke up with a smile on his face. Tomsy had a Christmas hymn playing throughout the manor. He quickly left his bed and head towards his private bathroom for his morning shower before collecting his clothes for the day from his bed. Dobby had laid out burgundy-colored pants and a bright red long sleeved shirt with pine trees trimmed with Christmas ornaments. To compliment the clothes, Dobby also laid out a pine-green robe for Harry. He then smiled once he was dressed and made his way down for breakfast.

Harry smiled as all his elf friends and Sirius, though he looked half asleep, sat with him for Christmas breakfast. Scrambled eggs, honeyed hams, cinnamon rolls, piles of pancakes, and mounds of bacon and sausages was prepared for breakfast. For the next hour, they all enjoyed the hard work of Dobby and Maple had lovingly prepared, both blushing as they were praised by Harry, Sirius, and all the other elves of the manor for the Christmas morning feast.

After breakfast, Harry sent several of his elves to his friends to ask if they were ready to visit. The elves returned over the next half hour with his friends and their families. They all wished him well and handed their gifts for Harry and the others that will be visiting to the elf that took them to the Manor. While Harry's guests waited for the remaining guests to arrive, Harry invited them to enjoy the remainder of his breakfast feast. Over the next half hour, all his guests arrived and brought their gifts for Harry and others they knew would be there.

The first to arrive was Neville with his grandmother, arriving five minutes after Harry sent one of his elves for them. The elf that went to fetch them brought their gifts to the central tree, located in the ball room. The ball room had been redecorated to accommodate the giant fir tree. The presents were beneath it and several tables and couches had been arranged around it. The next to arrive were the Grangers, fifteen minutes after an elf had been sent to retrieve them. They did not realize Harry would provide breakfast, so were in the middle of theirs after unwrapping their gifts from each other. The last to arrive were the Lovegoods. Luna smiled at Harry before glaring irately at her father.

Mr. Lovegood had insisted on finishing the assembly of that day's edition of The Quibbler. He then had taken his time to dress in more collars than the most festive fir tree, managing to tie with Dumbledore's most outlandish outfit in his collection; said blatant breach of wizarding secrecy was his only black robe, with flashing stars, speeding comets, and a scale model of the solar system moving around the sun. He had gotten the robes when visiting a wizarding astronomy conference in Alaska, which was raided for said sale of magical robes the next day, by which time Dumbledore had already returned to Britain.

Luna had gone with a delicate white, strapless gown, which was held by a resizing charm to perfectly fit her burgeoning chest. This got a light blush from Harry, which caused her to smile when she saw his blush before he got it under control. Luna handed over the gifts to the waiting elf before going to join Harry, Neville, and Hermione.

With all the guests that were due to attend, Harry led them all to the ball room. The moment they arrived, the empty tables were filled with finger sandwiches, cinnamon rolls individually plated, a platter of Christmas cookies, a pitcher of pumpkin juice for the kids and a carafe of steaming coffee for the adults. Everyone loved the gifts Harry got them and Harry was amazed by the gifts he got. They all enjoyed their Christmas day together and Harry's guests left as night was starting to fall. The elves that had brought them there that morning were the ones to take them home, in the order they had arrived.

First to leave was Neville and his grandmother, who hugged Harry lightly before Neville gripped his forearm with a smile, before both stepped back and grabbed the little elves ready hand. Harry received a handshake from a smiling Mr. Granger while Mrs. Granger and Hermione gave him a hug each. The Grangers all smiled and waved at Harry before grabbing the waiting elves hands and disappearing with a pop. Mr. Lovegood shook Harry's hand before stepping back, allowing Luna to step forward. She gives Harry a hug before shyly giving him a quick peck on the lips. They both blush before she steps back and grabs the waiting elves hand, leaving Harry standing there in a daze.

His godfather, watching from the doorway, cannot help but laugh at Harry's dazed stare, causing Harry to blush scarlet. Sirius quickly retreats as Harry glares at him. Chuckling to himself, Sirius makes his way up to the Portrait Gallery, to spend some time with his old friends and let them know what he had just seen. James and Lily chuckle and smile before Sirius makes James go pastel white with one phrase, "James, I think its time you gave your son The Talk." Sirius then laughed before bolting out of the Gallery before James could try to pass the buck.

James sighed in annoyance while Lily giggled. Several of the older portraits were muttering about Sirius running in the Manor like he had done. James called for Tomsy, who appeared with a pop and bowed to James. "Tomsy, I am going to need your help. I need to give Harry 'The Talk' and he is likely to bolt. Tomorrow, I need you to move me to That room and then bring Harry to me." The elf smirked before bowing to James and popping away. James grumbled before being slapped lightly to the back of his head by Lily, who was smirking and then he sighed.

The room in James had specified was specially enchanted to this situation. Harry was not the only one to manifest his gifts before receiving 'The Talk', so one of Potter ancestors had a room enchanted to prevent phoenix flame travel or any other form of magical transportation other than house elf, keyed to the Head Elf uniform. The designer of the enchantment was then obliviated of its design, only that it was enchanted into that room.

The next day, Tomsy took Harry to the secured room with James's portrait. Tomsy then had to force himself to ignore a dozen calls from Harry before James Portrait called for him again. Harry was incredibly embarrassed, and for one of the few times ordered Tomsy to take get him out of the hidden room. Harry then hid in his room for the rest of the day.

FG

After several days, Harry's embarrassment subsided and he read the material of the hidden room, as his father had told him to. Harry, with the help of his Occlumency managed to get through his assigned reading from his father before he and his friends returned to Hogwarts after the turn of the year. Neville was glad to see him, he had been worried when Harry stopped visiting after the Christmas Party. He had tried to ask Luna about it, but she would just blush and put on the look that said she knew but could not tell. She did say the she was fine though, so he trusted her.

The four teens made their way back to Hogwarts on the Express. Harry was a bit tense, and everyone could feel it, but with his claims of everything being fine and Luna's nod and smile, the others just went with it. Everyone smiled when they pulled into Hogsmeade station, happy to be back.

There we are, through the Yule break. I'll be honest, I thought I could do this easily, but it kicked my butt and stalled me for months. I hope you all liked my attempt at a Yule break for Harry and his friends and look forward to the next chapter, it looks to be a lovely chapter in my head so far.