The Surprise

Harry was finally on the train to King's Cross Station. He sincerely hoped his uncle would bother to pick him up, for he was not happy upon receiving the letter that announced Harry would be home for the holidays. The train was about half full; unfortunately, most were Slytherins. Toward the end of the ride an awkward thing happened. Draco came into Harry's compartment without Crabbe and Goyle and sat down grinning at Harry.

"Got sent to your tortuous relatives, eh?" he asked.

"I chose to," Harry said defending himself. Draco sniffed as he leaned back.

"So, why?" he continued looking like he owned the world.

"I don't have to tell you," Harry retorted.

"Fine, but I'm betting anything I'll see you before the vacation is over," and he got up just as the train was pulling into King's Cross. He turned to Harry, "I wouldn't want to be caught sitting next to you." He half laughed and walked away leaving Harry wondering what he meant by seeing him again. He got off the train and headed for the barrier catching Malfoy, out of the corner of his eye, talking with his sinister father. He went through the barrier and walked around looking for the Dursleys. As he was searching the station a girl caught his eye. It was Julie! And to his surprise, she and her parents waved to him and ushered him over. "Hi," he said a little confused.

"Hi! We're here to pick you up," said Julie cheerily.

"Pick me up?" he asked.

"Well, you weren't thinking of walking were you?" she said with a laugh. Harry smiled.

"You've met my dad, and this is my mother."

"Hello, Harry. I'm Mrs. Waters. I'm sorry I missed you earlier, but I have a summer job, you see," she said smiling. She had a similar personality as Julie.

And he followed them out to their car. Her parents were in the front seats with him and Julie in the back. He was a little nervous to say anything.

"Uh, why did... uh," he wasn't sure how to ask them without seeming rude.

"Why did we pick you up," she guessed. Harry nodded.

"Well, your uncle came over and said he had a very important matter to deal with, and I'll tell ya he seemed in a real hurry. So he asked us to pick you up," she answered. Harry still maintained a confused look on his face. "He asked us because he knew you had been over to our house before, and I guess he figured we'd be available and happy to pick you up. Then they loaded up and left"

"Oh, all right. I get it," Harry replied.

"Harry, " started Mrs. Waters, "which train did you come on?"

"Uh, well I don't really know. One of my teachers had my ticket and rushed me on the train, so I didn't catch the number," he lied.

"Well, where did you come from, because there were no trains arriving at the time your uncle gave us? I hope we didn't keep you waiting?" she continued.

"No, you didn't. This day has sort of just been a blur for me. It was a long trip," he replied trying to avoid the subject. Possibly because Harry wasn't giving her direct answers, Mrs. Waters dropped the conversation to total silence.

When the car was pulled into their drive, Harry was relieved to stretch. Seeing that the Dursleys' car was not in the driveway, it suddenly occurred to him that the Dursleys might not be home for a while.

"When will my uncle be home," he asked.

"Well, he said they would be back about nine this evening," replied Julie's mother. "So you'll stay here till then." She smiled and unlocked the front door. They went inside. It was beautiful; the whole house was decorated with Christmas colors and lights. It was better than Hogwarts even. This Christmas was certain to be a good one.

Oddly enough, the Dursleys didn't come home. Nine o' clock that night, Mr. Waters received a phone call from Vernon. Harry overheard their conversation. Vernon was saying that he had urgent business with his sister who was sick in France. The line was breaking up, but Harry knew there was nothing wrong. The Dursleys simply decided to have their Christmas elsewhere and to leave Harry at Julie's... not that that bothered him. He was given the small guest bedroom on the second floor.

The next morning as Harry sat at the dining table to eat his breakfast, Mrs. Waters asked if he would like to join her and Julie for shopping for Christmas dinner and gifts. He, of course, agreed, and after they had cleaned the table they left for the mall for gifts. It had never occurred to Harry, but he would have to get Julie a present. What would she like? he wondered. As they walked through the shops he kept his eyes open for anything that looked suitable. After about two hours, just as they were getting ready to leave for the grocery store, Harry spotted a store that looked promising. He told the girls to go on into the parking lot while he took a look in the store. He saw some books relating to poetry; he thought she might like one, but he felt like that would be too predictable. Plus, she probably had every book of poems already. He wandered through the aisles getting impatient. He knew it was here, but he didn't know what. He finally stopped and tried to think. What would she want? He pulled at his hair wreaking his brain for ideas.

"Oh my gosh! What are you doing here?" came an astounding voice. He opened his clenched eyes to see Sarah not but ten feet from him.

"How'd you get here?" he asked extremely surprised. Her mouth was hanging open.

"I asked you first."

"I'm looking for a Christmas present," he said quickly. "But you... here?"

"Duh, where'd you think I'd be?" she asked.

"Hog... the school," he said forgetting he was in muggle territory.

"Well, I was, but for some reason, Dumbledore made me go to Grimmauld Place," she whispered. "Anyway, who's the present for?"

"Uh... a friend... who writes poetry." She nodded thinking.

"Follow me," she said yanking his arm. She dragged him to the other side of the store.

"These are CD's," Harry said confused.

"Yeah, and some musical artists use poems in their songs," she said. Harry caught on.

"Which one? I don't listen to a lot of music." She fingered through the rows of CD's before suddenly stopping upon one particular artist. She pulled it out.

"This is a good one," she said handing it to Harry. He scanned the cover.

"True Sojourner? Who's that?"

"You mean who're they," she corrected. "They're fantastic; very melodic yet... well, words can't describe them. Anyway, give it a try."

"What if she already has them?" he asked.

"She?" Sarah said. Harry froze; he had let it slip. He remained silent, and Sarah taking a hint resumed the former subject. "As good as they are, they're not too well known." Harry happened to read the clock behind her. He had kept Julie waiting for almost fifteen minutes!

"Oh, all right, but I've got to go," he ran to the check out lane.

"Hey, what about me? Aren't you going to send me anything?" Sarah yelled after him.

"Yeah, sure," he said while exiting the shop. He decided to find his sister something later. He found them waiting for him by the car.

"Sorry, I took so long... lost track of the time," he panted and he climbed into the car.

"What'd you get?" Julie asked.

"Can't tell you that," he smiled. The shopping for food wasn't half bad either. It was quite fun looking at all the delicious meats and cheeses. The store was packed full of all kinds of holiday treats. Their basket was overflowing by the time they checked out. All the groceries barely fit into the car, which until now, had seemed so large. It was honestly hard work to heave all the bags into the house and put them away. Mrs. Waters divided all the wrapping paper up so each person could wrap the presents they bought. In his room, Harry began wrapping presents that night. He had also bought Julie's parents some nice things. He wrapped Julie's as carefully and as perfectly as possible. He also wrapped Ron's, Hermione's, and Hagrid's gifts. The only one missing was Sarah's. But he did have two more days before Christmas. He took the Waters' presents down to the tree where he saw a couple of presents were already residing. He placed his among them and sat down in a comfy chair across from the tree admiring the coziness of the little house. Julie came down with her pile of gifts and laid them before the tree also. She smiled looking at the scene.

"This Christmas will be wonderful, won't it?" she said. Harry nodded. They exchanged a more or less deep glance before Julie retired to her bedroom.

That night he also sent off his friends' gifts; he would have to do it one at a time as he only had Hedwig. But he also had to be discreet because Julie and her family did not know who he truly was.

The next afternoon, while Julie was writing, Harry asked," What would you give a truly stubborn sister that you barely know?" She looked up at him oddly.

"What does she like?" Julie asked.

"I don't know; that's the point," he said.

"Get her a movie or something, I guess," she tried. "But, I thought you didn't have any siblings."

"I don't... sort of. It's a very long story; one that I don't quite understand, myself."

"You said she's stubborn, right?" she asked. Harry nodded.

"Actually she's a little meaner than stubborn, but..." he trailed off.

"Send her some flowers and a little trinket," she said laughing a little. "That'll teach her to be stubborn." Harry thought that would be funny. The last thing she would be expecting and the last thing she wanted was probably a flower.

"You know, that's not a bad idea," he said. He went upstairs and pulled out some parchment.

Dear Sarah,

I'm just letting you know that your Christmas gift will be late. But don't worry; I've got the perfect thing in mind. So Merry Christmas, and have a wonderful time.

Your Dear Brother,

Harry Potter

He laughed as he finished the letter. He placed it next to Hermione's package for Hedwig. The first thing he would do when he made it to Grimmauld Place would be to go to Diagon Alley and find a little figurine and flowers, but until then she'd have to wait.

It was Christmas Eve and Mrs. Waters was making sure everything would be ready for the next day. It would be an at home party with no one but themselves, but that was fine with Harry. Meanwhile the Dursleys had still mysteriously not shown up. Hedwig had delivered all of Harry's gifts to his friends, and she had brought the ones sent to him. He saw the one his sister had sent him and wondered if it would be anything normal. Hermione's, Hagrid's, Ron's mum's and, of course, Ron's had arrived also. He was very careful to not let Julie into his room as she might wonder how all of a sudden his room filled with presents. However, this proved harder than originally thought.

He could smell dinner being cooked downstairs, and it had never felt so inviting. He began dreaming of Christmas day when someone knocked at the door. He jumped up and tossed a blanket over his gifts on the floor. He inched the door open; it was Julie smiling suspiciously.

"Hi," Harry said failing to seem normal.

"I need a book from in there," she said.

"Which one? I'll get it for you," Harry offered.

"It's the red one on the shelf," she said. He shut the door and ran to the shelf and began to dig through it. Red, red, the red one... Then he heard the creak of the door. Julie began to walk in. Harry ran up to her, trying to block her gaze from crossing the pile beside his bed. "I was just finding it," he said.

"Oh, I thought I would help," she said firmly, and she searched through the shelf. "Ah, here it is," she said pulling out a very large red hardback. "Thanks." She looked back at him before exiting the room; her head turned to the side a little. "Are you hiding something," she said with a grin. Harry who had been watching the corner of his room was drawn back to the present.

"Me? No, I don't have anything to hide," he sneaked a glance downward to make sure he was still blocking her view from the blanket-covered gifts. She moved her head to try and look around him, and he, too, moved to the side to block her.

"What's under that blanket?" she asked.

"What blanket? Oh, that just fell off the bed," he said nodding. She opened her mouth, but Harry interrupted. "Why, I do think dinner's almost ready. Why don't we go on downstairs?" he said urging her out of the room. She looked about to question him some more but decided to drop it, and she took his arm and headed to the dining room. Harry couldn't have wished for a more perfect timing. Just as they entered the kitchen, Mrs. Waters was pulling out a superb chicken from the oven.

"Julie, go set the table, and then we can eat," she asked nicely. Harry helped her lay out the silverware and napkins while she placed the cups and plates. Mrs. Waters brought out the feast just as Julie's father was coming inside.

Harry was fixing up his room, for it had gotten quite messy. He was just finishing when he heard Julie at his door. He opened the door.

"I was wondering if you'd like a night stroll?" she said her eyes gleaming more than usual.

"Sure," he said closing the door behind him. It was a little after sunset and the sky was just getting dark as they began to walk. The first block they made was in complete silence, and then she gave a little laugh. "There is something about you that is so different. I have a million questions, but I feel they won't get answered," she said.

"Questions like what?" he asked. She thought for a moment.

"Well, let's start with your Aunt and Uncle. They send you off to a school that doesn't have a name, then you arrive here on a train that doesn't exist, not to mention the fact that your Uncle has mysteriously disappeared and left you here." Harry began to see her point. "And then there's your owl, Hedwig. And what about that pile beside your bed earlier? I know you're hiding something." Harry had no response to this. She watched him expectantly. "But I don't care," she suddenly stated. "It doesn't matter to me if you're a little different..."

"What if I'm a lot different?" he asked. She looked up at him hoping for a little more information. He watched her eyes that were now reflecting the stars.

"Your fine by me either way," she replied softly. She took his hand and they continued to walk, but it left Harry feeling a bit confused. He knew he couldn't tell her; she'd think he was either lying or going insane. But she had no idea how different he was. Not only was he a wizard, he was famous in a way. And then Harry noticed she had never once mentioned his scar. Perhaps she thought it would be rude. He felt very different with her than he had with Cho. He knew Julie would be there if he needed someone. He squeezed her hand a little.

"I'm not sure I can answer those questions..." he said hesitantly.

"No, that's alright, as long as you're not with the government or something," she laughed.

"No, that's one thing I'm not," he assured smiling.

"As long as you're here..." she suddenly stopped, and Harry felt her hand grow warm. She didn't move feeling nervous of what she had said.

"I will be," Harry said plainly facing her. She slowly looked up at him to see if he meant it. And he put his hand behind her and pulled her into a kiss. It was a wonderful feeling - complete and meaningful. She had her arms over his shoulders enclosing him forever it seemed. She put her head on his chest and closed her eyes.

"As long as you don't change," she said as Harry still cradled her. Harry nodded to himself; he never wanted to leave her. And though they were standing still, time wasn't. Harry suddenly came to the reality of the time. He knew she wasn't asleep, but she was just as still. He reached for her shoulder.

"Hey," he said softly. She opened her eyes slowly and pulled herself away. He stroked her arm. "I'm sure it's late." She nodded.

"I don't want my parents panicking," she said softly. And they walked with her head on his shoulder and his arm around her waist back to her house.

He flopped onto his bed knowing that the following day would be wonderful in more than one way.