COMPLIMENTS OF LORD VOLDEMORT
Disclaimer: Everything to JKR. You know that and I know that.
Summary: Christmas at Godric's Hollow has always been peaceful. Sirius and James call it dull. There's no reason why the Christmas of 1980 should be any different from that of 1979, or 1978, or... you get the idea. After all, only the Potters' most trusted friends are coming to spend the holidays with them, and their home is as well protected as No. 12, Grimmauld Place. But Voldemort has something exciting in mind...
Author's note: Well, I'm back! I'll try to update this regularly. The first chapter is short and a little irrelevant, but bear with me. It'll get better. Thanks to everyone who reviewed my last fic – some people weren't too happy with the absence of a plot in that one, so I'll try to make this better. Read and review!
CHAPTER 1: PLANS
"What do you mean you can't come?" Sirius Black demanded indignantly. "We've been planning this for weeks!"
James Potter sighed.
"I know. But Dumbledore thinks it isn't safe for Lily and me to leave Godric's Hollow for more than a day or two, and he nearly hexed me when I told him we were planning to take Harry with us. So that's that."
"Interfering old fossil," Sirius muttered. Lily Potter glared at him.
"I don't see what all the complaining is about," Remus Lupin said. "If James and Lily can't come to London for Christmas, then we'll go to Godric's Hollow. It's not the end of the world."
Sirius nodded moodily.
"Always Professor Moony," he muttered.
James grinned at him.
"Here's something that'll cheer you up: Dumbledore and McGonagall and Flitwick are coming to Godric's Hollow for Christmas dinner."
Sirius brightened at once.
"Just like Hogwarts again – d'you remember that time we hexed the turkey and it ran all the way across the Great Hall when Dumbledore tried to carve it?"
"Yeah, I do – and so, apparently, does he, because he told me he'd practise the Summoning Charm before he came."
"And that time at the Leaving Feast when we made Wormtail's plate –"
"Where is Peter, anyway?" Lily asked. "He went off for another drink ten minutes ago – unless Tom's measuring it out drop by drop, he ought to have got it by now."
"Oh, he'll come," Sirius said dismissively. "Probably got lost on the way to the counter."
"Yes, but I can't see him anywhere."
Remus glanced around the pub.
"You're right, that's odd. I don't know –"
"Look around, you two," James said. "The place is packed. You'd have a hard time spotting Hagrid at the moment, never mind Wormtail."
"If you say so," Lily said. "There really are all kinds of people here today. I saw a couple of hags who seem to have come all the way from Dublin."
Sirius leaned across the table to James.
"If Snivelly turns up," he whispered, "you can say you've seen a slimy bat that came all the way from – where does he live, anyway?"
"How should I know? Wherever bats live – maybe in one of those caves near Hogsmeade."
"Too bad he's not coming to Christmas dinner. We could have some fun with him – like when we charmed the entrance to the Slytherin dungeon, remember? Every one of those slimy gits got through, but Snivellus couldn't."
Unfortunately, Sirius failed to lower his voice, and Lily overheard the last part of his speech.
"That was you two?" she demanded. "If my memory serves me correctly, you insisted at the time that you had seen Lucius Malfoy use an Impediment Jinx on Snape."
"Well, you see, Lily –"
"No, I don't see. I don't see at all."
"That was in school!"
"We haven't done anything to him since we left Hogwarts."
"Although we can't promise that we won't turn him into a grasshopper when we see him next."
"And he deserved it."
"So did Malfoy, for that matter. Slimy Death Eaters!"
"Sirius! You know perfectly well that Snape's not a Death Eater any more. Dumbledore trusts him; I don't know why you two –"
"Dumbledore trusts everyone, Lily. He believes in second chances. But there's no point giving people like Snape a second chance. He and Voldemort are probably laughing at us in their little secret meetings. So trusting, so gullible, so stupid."
"Here's Wormtail," Remus said. "And shut up, Sirius. Snape's risking a lot to give us information about Voldemort."
"Where have you been?" James asked Peter Pettigrew as he hurried up to their table with a foaming tankard. "We thought you'd been eaten by one of those hags Lily saw."
"Oh," Peter said. "Oh, no – no, there was just a bit of a crowd at the counter. So what have we decided about Christmas?"
"That we're all going to Godric's Hollow," Remus told him.
"As usual," Sirius added. "So don't worry, Wormtail, you won't have to Apparate to London again."
"I hate Apparating," Peter said unhappily. "And I don't see why you wouldn't let me use Floo Powder this morning."
"Peter, have you looked at the Leaky Cauldron fireplace today? There are only about seventy witches and wizards coming in every minute. You would have been stuck in the Floo Network for hours."
"I'm going for a drink," Sirius announced.
"No, you're not," Lily said. "We have to be at Hogwarts in fifteen minutes for the meeting. Hurry up and finish, Peter."
"Are we Apparating?"
"Yes! Unless you want to join that line next to the fireplace. You'll only have to wait for a week or so for your turn."
Well, what do you think? Should I go on, or should I give it up as a bad job?
