A/N: Thank you to all those that have been reviewing. I'm open to suggestions to the story so please R/R. This chapter is here to setup the next chapters to arrive.
Disclaimer: I wish I could be as good as JK Rowling but I'm not. This is her stuff and not to mention the influence that this story took from various fanfics.
Chapter 22
Christmas
The next few days were enjoyable to everybody and even Mrs. Weasley managed to convince the house elves to allow her to help cook. Ginny and Harry spent a lot of time together alone talking or walking around Potter Mansion in the evenings or at night. Hermione and Ron were the same way and Tonks and Remus. During the day, they played quidditch, met the animals out back in the barn, and exploring the house. The adults would leave during the daytime and go to work and return by assistance of one of the phoenixes or Blaze after work. They picked up and dropped off everybody from Grimmauld Place.
During these few days, the rift in the relationship between Dumbledore and Harry was noticeable to everybody but didn't say anything. Dumbledore only spent a few hours a day at Potter Mansion and even tried to sneak in a tracking device into the estateonce again but the wards negated it upon arrival. Harry had to negate the tracking device the first time because they were landing just outside of the wards therefore the tracking device would lead them to the general vicinity of Potter Mansion.
The day came to escort Kayla's mom to Potter Mansion and Dumbledore did not think it wise to permit her within Grimmauld Place and advised against letting her into Potter Mansion but Harry wasn't going to listen. The plan was to pick up Kayla's mom from the Leaky Cauldron by the portkey area. Kayla and Harry were having lunch in the Leaky Cauldron when a tall brunette with brown eyes came through the door.
Kayla noticed her first, jumped up, which startled a few people, and ran to great her mother with a long hug and saying, "It's great to see you mom. Did you have a nice trip?"
With an English accent, her mother responded, "It's good to see you too kid. It was as best can be expected I guess given that it was traveling the muggle way, but the in flight movie was delightful."
Harry made his way over to the ladies and when he arrived Kayla said, "Harry I would like you to meet my mom, Alexandria Rapp. Mom I would like for you to meet a good friend from school, Harry Potter."
Alexandria was frozen for a moment and from what could be told she was thinking about something but Harry just figured it was another person's usual reaction to meeting him but she wasn't searching for his scar. Harry just shrugged it off and he offered his hand and said, "It's a pleasure to meet you Ms. Rapp."
Ms. Rapp shook Harry's hand and said, "It's good to meet you also Mr. Potter. Kayla writes about you and your friends all the time. Please call me Alexia."
Harry replied, "Kayla talks about you all the time also and please call me Harry."
The three of them sat down, Alexia ordered some food, and enjoyed their lunch while getting to know each other. Alexia and Harry hit it off almost immediately and started to exchange stories and correct some of the rumors that Alexia heard about Harry from the states. After lunch, Harry asked, "Are we ready to go?"
Alexia responded, "If you don't mind Harry. I would like to do some shopping in Diagon Alley for a little while."
Harry said, "That's fine." He took Alexia's travel bag and the group made their way into Diagon Alley. Alexia and Kayla were having a blast getting reacquainted and running from shop to shop buying almost anything that they wanted. Harry was just amazed at how these women can keep up this pace at shopping. He did manage to hide his identity from being revealed and after five hours of shopping they made their way to a side alley to get ready to leave.
Harry said, "Alexia, in a little while you're going to show up in what looks like a prison cell or what I call a holding cell. I'll get to you shortly after that and let you out and administer the charm to allow you to come and go freely."
Alexia nodded and Harry called for his three phoenixes. The three of them held onto a tail of a phoenix and after two bursts of red and white flames and a blue and white flame, Harry and Kayla showed up down in the basement of Potter Mansion just outside of the holding cell where Alexia was dropped off at. Harry walked over to her and muttered something while pointing his wand at the lock to the cell door and the door snapped open. Harry muttered another charm and the same gold sparkles before started to rain down on Alexia giving her access to Potter Mansion.
After everything was done, Harry said, "Welcome to Potter Mansion Alexia."
Alexia's eyes opened wide for a moment but quickly recovered. Harry didn't take much notice in what just happened. Harry led Kayla and Alexia out of the basement and into the dining room because it was almost time for dinner. Harry ran into Dobby and Winky first so he introduced them as people started to arrive.
Harry told Dobby and Winky, "Dobby, Winky, I would like you to meet Alexandria Rapp. She's Kayla's mom and Alexia here are two of my friends that help me out more than I can thank them for. This is Dobby and Winky."
Dobby, Winky, and Alexia greeted each other and the first to arrive but not surprisingly were the Weasley men. Harry introduced everybody to each other and the only people missing were Kingsley, Dumbledore, Remus, Ray, and Rain. Everybody gathered around the table getting to know Alexia while Alexia was getting to know everybody when Dobby came back and said, "Harry Potter sir, Mr. Shacklebolt, and Headmaster DumbleyDore said they will not be able to make it to dinner tonight."
Harry said, "That's fine but where are Ray and Rain?"
At the mention of the two house elves, they popped into the room as everybody else staying over the holidays came in. Once the house elves caught sight of Alexia they ran to hug her saying, "The mistress has returned. Ray and Rain miss the mistress very much."
That got some awkward looks from everybody and a suspicious one from Harry. Alexia said, "It's good to see you two also." She turned to Harry and said, "There's something that I must tell you Harry but can it wait until after Christmas. I am hopeful that you will like the news."
Harry asked, "Why can't you tell me now? We can go into another room if you like."
Remus interrupted by saying, "Harry, trust me on this one. Wait until after Christmas for this one." He turned to Alexia and said, "Can I talk to you for a moment?"
She nodded and the two of them left. Harry said out loud to nobody in particular, "Something isn't right. I don't like this one bit. I thought everybody knew by now that I don't like secrets that concern me being with held. Somehow I have a feeling that all hell is going to break out soon and it's going to happen after Christmas."
Most of the people in the room agreed with him while others had an idea of what happened. Ginny came over to Harry and said, "Harry, I don't like what is happening either but I know that we can trust Professor Lupin. Let's just wait until after Christmas to figure this out like he said. I'll be there to help bring hell if they bring you more bad news. You've already gone through enough and you're not even twenty."
Harry turned to Kayla to say, "Kayla, do you know what is going on?"
Kayla responded, "I'm sorry Harry but I promised not to say anything. I am hopeful that you will agree with mom also that you will see it as a good thing for more reasons than one." She had a hopeful look when she asked, "Harry, please trust me and just wait until after Christmas."
Harry sighed and nodded. He said, "I'll try to live with it and it is only a few days away but I don't want any more surprises."
Everybody agreed and the house elves were bringing out the food as Remus and Alexia came back but Alexia looked like she was crying just moments before but wiped away her tears. Harry was about to comment on it but Ginny whispered to him, "Don't say anything about it Harry," like she was reading his mind.
Harry decided to let it go and everybody took their seats and ate dinner. It was quiet at first but after Ron spat some food out his mouth asking for somebody to pass him some mashed potatoes, Hermione retaliated with comments about table manners and the two of them started to bicker which broke the ice. Ginny noticed Harry's discomfort and proceeded to talk to Alexia and the combination of the two events broke the ice and stories were exchanged around the table. Before he knew it, he was so comfortable with the people around the dinner table that he felt like everybody at the table was his family.
After dinner Rain and Ray assisted Alexia to her room which was in the same suite as the girls so she could spend more time with her daughter.Kayla went with her mom while the rest of the kids went into the library to play various games while the adults either joining the kids in some of the games or talking amongst themselves in the main common room. That night everything felt just right like they were one large happy family.
The next morning, Harry decided to get a practice session in the next morning before everybody woke up. What Harry didn't know was that word spread from his conversation from the night before between him and Ginny. The two of them were talking about what they were going to do today and Harry said he wanted to practice his dueling skills in the morning in his training room. Ginny wanted to come and watch. Harry was hesitant at first to let her watch but decided to let her watch which resulted in a few other people wanting to come see. In the end, everybody found out and everybody wanted to watch the extent of Harry's dueling skills and to an extent this included Kayla also because she knew that Harry was still holding back some of his abilities during their practice session.
Harry got dressed in some all white battle robes similar to the ones that he wore during his fight in York while defending the orphanage. Kayla was there the night before and asked if she could watch also so Harry decided that anybody could come watch if they wanted and informed the house elves about it because at least one house elf was present during Harry's training just in case something happened. Harry entered the room and started his stretching exercises.
Ginny and everybody else came down about fifteen minutes after Harry went to practice. When they entered the training room, they were met by Dobby who ushered everybody into the observation area which allowed them to watch everything that happened in the room through a two way mirror.
Dobby said, "Harry Potter said that for anybody who wanted to watch him practice today to stay in this room. Harry Potter will not know who is in this room to not distract Harry Potter. Dobby and Winky is here to make sure that Harry Potter is safe. If anything happens then please do not leave this room."
Ginny asked, "Dobby, what do you mean if anything happens? How dangerous is it in there when Harry practices?"
Dobby replied, "It is very dangerous for Harry Potter. Dobby remembers one time; Harry was injured badly and couldn't move for three days."
Ginny ran to the mirror and started yelling, "Harry James Potter, you are not to proceed with these practices if you're just using it to hurt yourself!"
Hermione pulled Ginny back to her seat and said, "Ginny, he can't hear you remember? He doesn't know that we're in here right now watching him."
Ginny said, "Well, Harry hasn't started his duel yet so we can stop him before he starts."
Winky popped into the room by the door and said, "Winky is sorry but nobody is allowed in there with Harry Potter. It is too dangerous to be in the room for practice can start at any time."
Ginny sighed but nervous at what might happen. Kayla, Hermione, Mrs. Weasley, and Alexia shared in her nervousness but not to the same degree as Ginny. Winky stayed by the door watching Harry and Dobby stood in the opposite side of the room watching Harry. When everybody noticed that the house elves were paying attention to Harry, they turned their attention to him also.
Ginny's eyes were glued on Harry trying to anticipate what is going to happen and hopefully he will be safe so she can give him a piece of her mind about practicing so dangerously. She saw that Harry had both wands in his left and right hands. Harry stood in the middle of the room with his head down as if he was trying to sense what was going on around him then all of a sudden a cloaked figured dressed in black robes and wearing a white mask showed up behind him and shot a stunning spell at him.
Everybody in the room jumped up and anybody with a wand pulled it out getting ready to fight but Dobby informed them that it was just imaginary and that was not a real Deatheater. Harry rolled to his right then spun around and hit the Deatheater with a bludgeoning spell which hit its mark and the Deatheater flew back against the wall and slumped over. The observers heard everything going on in the room.
Three more Deatheaters showed up and shot three bludgeoning spells at Harry and he threw up a shield which absorbed the attack as Harry used his second wand to fire off a few stunning spells between the shields that he was creating with the first wand. The spells hit their marks but one Deatheater would revive another stunned Deatheater or both. After about five more minutes another Deatheater showed up and it was four against one. To make matters a bit more difficult, the scene in the room changed to that of a restaurant.
Harry changed to a strategy of just blowing all the Deatheaters to dust by firing only explosion hexes but favored the Reducto Spell which annihilated anything that it hit. The only spells that Harry alternated were the various shielding spells that were more affective with certain attacking spells. Harry's shields ranged from blue, green, black, and yellow but all were transparent. The Deatheaters were also using explosion hexes but also used bludgeoning spells and stunning spells. They didn't have to use many shielding spells because Harry spent more time shielding from the four Deatheaters than attacking.
Another five minutes past and Harry managed to hit three of the Deatheaters with a sudden burst of a series of Reducto spells in quick secession that caught the Deatheaters off guard. As soon as those three Deatheaters went down and disappeared, four more showed up surrounding him which now made the odds five to one which caught Harry off guard and was hit by a bludgeoning spell to the back which threw him forward into another Deatheater. Harry knocked over the Deatheater and stunned him quickly, then used the Deatheater's body as a shield. The Deatheater's body that Harry was using quickly was obliterated with all the explosion hexes that hit it. Harry dropped the body and resumed the plan of shielding and sporadic attacking that he used earlier since now the four Deatheaters left were all in front of him now.
This went on for another ten minutes when three more Deatheaters showed up and the odds were now seven to one. To make matters worse, there was now an innocent little girl that Harry had to protect. Harry grabbed the little girl and pulled her behind him and fired off some more explosion hexes in a row at one Deatheater until it broke through his shield and the Deatheater went down with a large gaping hole in his chest. Harry then started the strategy with the next Deatheater. This didn't last very long as a few more Deatheaters showed up which made the odds ten to one.
Harry summoned a series of shields but didn't take long for the spells to break his shields and started to take a beating from all of the spells. He was on his knees trying to recover from all of the spells when one of the Deatheaters yelled out, "Crucio!" as the spell hit Harry. Harry fell to the ground in pain with the feeling of hundreds of hot knives slamming into him. Once the curse was lifted, Harry heard the words "Avada Kedavera!" which shot right at the girl that Harry was supposed to be protecting.
The girl fell over lifeless as Harry watched her fall. The memories of Sirius falling through the veil rushed through his mind along with the thought of the image of the boy from Ravenclaw that lost his baby sister during the fight at York. Harry's emotion and magic raced throughout him and it seemed like there was no pain and infinite strength shooting from him. Harry stood up and screamed with what seemed like a breeze going around him making his clothes float around him.
Harry's eyes became a bright green filled with anger and started firing explosion spells so quickly that the Deatheaters had no time react and the spectators' eyes barely registered ten spells being shot. All they saw were bright red flashes and at the end of the last flash, there were disembodied Deatheaters lying all around in the room and a Harry barely standing in the middle of the room.
The room changed to all black and all of the Deatheaters disappeared. A mist started to fill from around the ground up to about half way up to his knee. Suddenly three images started to form which were his dad, mum, and godfather. The three parents were dressed in black robes and didn't look very pleased.
Lily said, "I can't believe that I died for such an ungrateful child. Petunia was right when she said that you're no better than trash."
Harry was mentally and physically exhausted, he was panting while saying, "I'm sorry. I'm really sorry."
James said, "Sorry does us no good you piece of crap. If you really want to make us proud of you than you know what you have to do."
Sirius said more sympathetically, "Harry, your parents are just a bit upset and you can't really blame them. They've waited over fifteen years for you to join them. Everybody around you is only using you Harry. Come and join us and be happy with your family again."
Harry said, "I don't know if I can take this anymore. But what about the prophecy, if today was an indicator, I'll be joining you all very soon."
On the wall opposite of where the spectators were, the words of the prophecy spelled out with fire were written out in its entirety. Harry fell to his knees, not having much strength left in him to fight anymore.
Sirius said, "I agree that you won't make it through that fight so why deny the inevitable. You might as well save yourself the pain and just join us now."
Harry said, "I don't want to leave my friends. I can't let them fight this by themselves."
Lily said in a soft tone, "Harry, your dad and I are sorry for yelling at you earlier. Come and join us. We're waiting and all the pain will go away. Just come to us."
Memories of Harry's past were being shown on the two side walls. The right wall was showing memories of Harry being beaten and yelled at by the Dursleys while the left wall showed memories of all the pain and ridicule that he went through ever since he started Hogwarts. In summary, the right wall showed how much the Dursleys hated him while the left wall showed how distrustful and the lack of loyalty the wizarding world has for Harry. They showed him being used as a tool and not treated like a person.
There were images of Harry being beaten with a stick while he was a five year old kid after he dropped some plates after doing the dishes. That was followed with images of a younger Harry being punished by Aunt Petunia by placing his hands on a hot stove for burning the food. Tears formed in Harry's eyes as he saw images of every single beating and torture he had to go through by the hands of the Dursleys.
On the opposite wall there were images of Harry at Hogwarts. There was a memory of Harry being tortured by Voldemort after Cedric was murdered. The image of Harry being bitten by the basilisk accompanied by all the whispers that were going around him from his peers talking about how Harry was evil and was a freak. It all ended with the repeated images of Sirius falling through the veil over and over again and Harry's temporary break down that followed just before he chased after Bellatrix.
Harry responded, "But mum, I…"
He didn't get a chance to finish what he said as his dad said, "Don't worry Harry, we're your parents and know what's best for you. Just stay there and we'll take care of the rest."
The three guardians stood back and raised their wands at Harry. Harry didn't have it in him anymore and didn't bother to fight back. Instead, he just stayed kneeling on the ground waiting for the blow to come. When the spell was about to be said three more forms showed up in the room dressed in white. It was another copy of Lily, James, and Sirius.
The three of them raised their wands and together shot stunning spells at their respective copies which hit their marks because the three dressed in black was not prepared for it.
The three guardians dressed in white approached Harry and Lily pulled him into a hug and said, "Harry, don't ever give up. We love you and know that you deserve a better life but you must fight to make it better. It's not fair but we know that you can survive and make it better for everybody."
Harry said, "I'm not sure if I have it in me to do it anymore."
James came up and said, "Don't listen to what our copies said before Harry. We couldn't be more proud of you for all you have done and what we know you will do later on in life."
Sirius said, "Yeah kid. Don't get us wrong. We do want to be with you but we want you to live a long and happy life before you join us."
Harry said, "I don't know anymore."
Lily covered Harry's heart with her hand and said, "We'll always be in your heart. Whenever you have any doubts about what path you should take in life than follow your heart. We're here with you always."
Harry said, "It's just so much easier to give up now. I'm sorry if I disappoint you but I guess there is only so much I can take."
Sirius said, "There's nothing that you can do that will make us disappointed in you Harry. You've had to go through so much and much more then anybody should have to. We know that the moment that you join us just after you've given everything you've got to stay alive and fight for what you believe in."
James said, "That's right Harry. If I'm not mistaken, behind that door there is a red headed witch that is about to blow down that door to get in here."
Harry asked, "How is it that you all are here. This never happened before."
Lily said, "This room generated the hostile version of us to give you another form of training which was for you to develop yourself mentally. That's why that little girl was added also. But we came because your heart called for us to come and help you. We will always be here for you. We might not be there physically and were able to stun the over versions of us because this room permitted it but we will always be in your heart and soul."
James said, "It is time for us to go. Remember that we love you and are always with you."
Sirius said, "Bye kid. We're proud of you and always follow your heart."
Lily said, "We must go but never lose hope."
Harry hugged each one of them as they started to become misty and then disappeared. He had tears running down his cheeks. Harry raised his hand and muttered the stop command and the room return to its blank state with cushions on the floor with weapons on the walls like when he had just arrived in the room earlier.
Once the room reset it self, the doors slammed open as Ginny came rushing in followed by everybody else. Ginny pulled him into a hug and whispered, "We'll always be here for you Harry. We saw everything. I will always be here for you."
Harry said, "Thank you Gin."
He was bombarded by hugs from all the ladies and either one handed hugs from the men or pats on the back. Dobby popped into the room followed by Winky and said, "Dobby needs to get Harry Potter sir into bed. Harry Potter sir is hurt and need to heal."
Ginny said, "If you take him to his room then none of us can be with him Dobby. Will you take him to the infirmary down in the basement so we can keep an eye on him please?"
Winky nodded and took Harry away in a pop. Harry spent the rest of the day on the bed down in his infirmary with a steady rotation of visitors with him but Ginny stayed with him the entire time. When they were alone, Ginny also gave him a piece of her mind about worrying her again and that he was not allowed to do that kind of training again especially when it involved the Unforgivable Curses and the mental beating that he took from the dark versions of his parents and Sirius.
Harry recovered to about 90 by the time night came around and after spending the night down there due to all the pressure he was getting from everybody, he was all better by the next morning. They spent the next day taking it easy just hanging around the house and before they knew it, Christmas arrived.
Christmas day started off in a state of anarchy at Potter Mansion as all of the kids were rushing around trying to get through breakfast as quickly as possible so they can get to their presents. The presents were sitting under a large Christmas tree in the main common room. The exchanging of gifts took a few hours as everybody took turns opening gifts on rotation from the youngest which was Ginny to the oldest which was Dumbledore.
The Grangers gave everybody a large assortment of sugarless candy, toothpaste along with brushes, some floss, and books courtesy of Hermione. The Rapps gave everybody wizarding toys from America. The house elves made everybody some clothing that didn't match.
Mr. and Mrs. Weasley gave everybody some jumpers with their first initials on it. Ron gave everybody some wizarding candies like chocolate frogs. The twins gave everybody an assortment of pranking items. Bill gave everybody souvenirs of protection charms from Egypt while Charlie gave books and little dragon figurines that were charmed to fly around the room.
The Longbottoms gave everybody magical healing plants and books on healing. The Lovegoods gave everybody a lifetime subscription to the Quibbler and special quills that make the writer only write the truth. Tonks gave everybody comedic clothing with funny sayings on them. Remus gave everybody a pocketknife that Harry had before that could open up any lock. Dumbledore's gift was tiny pensives that were only large enough to hold five memories but were small enough to be carried around in a pocket.
Harry gave the Grangers a large collection of books on the magical world and for Hermione sets of books to help her on the NEWTS. He gave the Longbottoms some extremely rare plants that came from his greenhouse which were for Neville and Mrs. Longbottom got a set of broaches.
Mr. and Mrs. Weasley received some muggle appliances to play with. The twins received a deed to a small shop in Hogsmeade so they can expand. Bill received a set of protective robes to help protect him while working at his new job as a curse breaker at Gringott's. Charlie received a set of dragon skin clothing to also protect him at work. Ron got a set of the authentic goal keeper uniform for his favorite team the Cannons.
Harry gave the Lovegoods a set of supposed treasure maps and a collection of butterbeer caps turned into jewelry which was for Luna. Tonks received some neon color clothing that would match her hair. Remus got an automatically refillable vial of single doses of the special Wolfsbane potion that Harry was giving to Remus. Dumbledore received a box full of socks.
The house elves got some fabric and sewing material so they can keep up their hobby of sewing which they all started taking up after seeing Dobby do. Harry gave both Kayla and her mom a set of round trip plane tickets to travel between the states and England.
Ginny received an entirely new wardrobe that was similar to Harry's existing collection including casual robes, formal robes, dress robes, and everyday muggle clothing. Later on that night when they were alone, Harry gave Ginny the Gryffindor pin that he got from his family vault that allowed him to get to Ginny anywhere she was at and for Ginny to get to him.
The entire day was filled with laughter and happy memories shown to everybody by use of a large pensive available in the library that projected an image onto the wall. There was a large feast at lunch and an even larger feast at dinner. They were all in their own little world but little did they know everything was about to change.