A/N: Wow! I said I liked reviews but I honestly never expected that many. Keep it up like that and you're almost guaranteed longer chapters I'm feeling so motivated.
Just to clarify from the last chapter, in the ritual, many of you were confused as to who heard his name. Think of the protective dome as a tent. The Heads of Houses are like the tent pegs, right up by itbut not inside. Only Albus and James are inside and only they can hear what's going on, although the others can see.
Thanks to Pensieve Dreamer for agreeing to beta. I'm not sure how quickly you guys will see the benefits, since she's working through from the beginning.
"STOP!" James yelled as his first year Slytherin and Gryffindor class attempted to stampede to the classroom door. He had a feeling that he would come to hate the last days of term. "Return to your seats immediately!"
Muttering about the unfairness, the twenty odd children returned to their seats, among them a silent Alistair, Simon glued constantly to his side.
"As you know, this is your last lesson before the Christmas holidays begin. However, just because I have finished the topic doesn't mean we are done," James said sternly, thinking very carefully about his phrasing so as to cause as little an emotional impact as possible on Alistair. "This is your last lesson of the day. When I do let you out, those of you who are leaving will go to your dormitories and pack whatever you think you will need over the holiday. Everything else can, of course, stay at school. At nine o'clock tomorrow morning, I want you all to meet me in the Entrance Hall with your things and I will take you to the train from there. I believe that is all. Mr Macdonald, could you stay behind for a moment?"
The class poured out and the two first years came up to the desk. James waved his wand at the door and it shut behind the last girl. He knew that pretty much everyone already knew about Alistair's parents but if anything happened, it might be better to talk in private.
"Are you ready to go, Alistair?" he asked kindly. The boy nodded mutely.
"Now, I've spoken to some people and Ron and Hermione Weasley are going to come to the station to pick you up. I know Simon's your friend but we thought you might prefer having someone especially for you. I'll travel down with you on the train and if you need anything during the holiday, I want you to owl me. I'll be coming for Christmas day anyway."
"Thank you, Professor," Alistair said, almost whispering.
"Its fine. Why don't you go and start packing now?"
At that, the two boys left. James watched them go. He, Albus and Severus had spent a long while discussing and making arrangements for Alistair that would make him feel wanted. One of those things had been getting Hermione and Ron to come and pick him up, partly because they were going to the Weasleys anyway. They had also agreed to act as 'godparents' of sort to him over the holiday and it would help to make sure he didn't feel left out when Simon was met by his family. It also helped that both of them had experience dealing with bereaved and orphaned children - James himself had been very touchy at times.
As the youngest and probably the most approachable member of staff, James had volunteered to keep an eye on Alistair as much as he could. It was hardly an onerous duty but it could make a big difference just having someone available.
He sighed - bloody Death Eaters. Still, there was nothing more he could do for the present. James began to shut up the classroom for the holidays, locking the cupboards of equipment and putting any delicate instruments away out of the light. At last, he gave a final look around, decided he was done and left, locking the door behind him. It wasn't that he didn't trust his students but with a small number left behind over the holidays who might potentially get bored and start pranking, it was better to be safe than sorry.
Archie stepped out of the entrance as he passed the Slytherin common room.
"Professor," he said, sounding pleased to see him. "Could I have a word?"
"Certainly," James said. They went into his office and the portrait swung firmly shut behind them. "I take it this is about your scheme?"
"Yes sir. We think we've got everything sorted but we weren't sure how we could get the presents to him. Is there any way you could arrange it?"
"Easily. I'm going down to London with him anyway, so if you bring them along to my office I'll pack them and pass them on."
Archie appeared greatly relieved.
"Thanks. We'll drop them by throughout the evening, okay?"
"That sounds fine. It goes without saying to make sure he doesn't see anything suspicious, I suppose?"
"We are Slytherins, sir." He shared a smirk with James. Slytherins were always proud of their house, even more so than Gryffindors.
"Fifty points to Slytherin for being so supportive of your house mates."
The prefect grinned at him. It had been clear to James from the beginning that the kid hadn't had an ulterior motive but it was nice to get a reward and he knew a lot of work had gone into arranging this.
The next morning, James shrunk all of the presents he'd been brought and put them into a bag with his overnight clothes. He'd been told what each was. All of the contributions were joint and often sweets or chocolate but a few had been more imaginative and teamed up towards books and prank sets. Archie's own group had pooled their money to buy a tiny flying broomstick with a figure on it that, though they didn't say anything, had obviously been added later and looked remarkably like he did. He was a little surprised that they'd noticed how much Alistair was enjoying his flying lessons. Then again, this was Archie he was talking about. He had probably noticed any potential players and was grooming Alistair up to later take a place on the team. There were times when he was remarkably like Oliver Wood in his student days.
After a large breakfast in the Hall, he moved just outside to the Entrance Hall to wait for the Gryffindor and Slytherin first years he had been assigned to take down to the station. The older students would take themselves but it was assumed to be safer if first years were accompanied the first time they went by the carriages.
He was waiting for eighteen children. They came over gradually, in twos and threes, dressed warmly in winter robes with a heavy black cloak over all of it. Most of them were also sporting house scarves and heavy boots. A few of them had been quite surprised to discover the heavy snow they got in this part of Scotland.
At last, they had all assembled and he led them outside, trunks making thin tracks on the snow covered drive as they went out to the carriages. Other older students were already climbing in and setting off, their chatter travelling easily in the still air. James got into a carriage with Alistair, Simon and another Slytherin boy and sat quietly while they engaged in a conversation complaining about how much holiday homework they had received. Suddenly, Simon pulled up short, as if realising for the first time who they were sharing a carriage with.
"Uh Professor . . . we . . . "
James let him flounder for a moment before letting him out of his misery.
"It isn't term time at the moment, Mr Wood, and so long as you have no complaints about your Defence assignment, I can't see any reason for me to mention anything I should happen to hear to another member of staff."
They seemed surprised at this and, after a few wary glances at him, they resumed their conversation, although the topic changed rather quickly to the innocuous one of Quidditch. Simon, it seemed, was a dedicated fan of Puddlemere United - hardly surprising given that his uncle played for them - and he was trying to convince Michael Rosier that they were the only plausible candidates for the Cup this year. James sighed inwardly, reminded of the fierce debates he'd witnessed between Ron and Seamus on this very topic. It wasn't that he hadn't followed professional Quidditch, more that he'd always preferred playing it and in any case, he'd supported the Cannons so Ron had no reason to attempt to argue him over.
Getting onto the train, James followed the same principal and sat himself firmly in a compartment with the two boys. If they chose not to include him in conversation, he saw no reason to interfere, but he felt better being able to supervise them. It would certainly give him a chance to catch up on his marking. He remembered the way Remus Lupin had been with them at the beginning of his third year. To this day, he wasn't sure how 'asleep' the man had been - sleeping for six hours was certainly impressive in the middle of the day, full moon or not. He had certainly moved fast enough when the Dementors appeared . . .
It was a long journey from Hogsmeade to King's Cross, in the region of eight or nine hours and neither Simon nor Alistair seemed to find it easy to fill up the empty hours with conversation. James got the impression that, supportive as Simon was, he didn't truly understand what it was like to lose someone and Alistair was reluctant to confide in him. At around twelve, after numerous rounds of Exploding Snap, they took out the sandwiches they had been provided with. All students could, of course, buy things off the trolley but given that some couldn't afford it, Hogwarts provided. Given the standard of food the house elves made, the packed lunches were probably as nice or nicer than anything bought anyway.
There was an awkward silence when the food had vanished.
"What shall we do now?" Alistair asked with the restlessness of most eleven year olds stuck in a confined space for a long period of time. Simon appeared to consider this seriously.
"We've played snap."
"Right."
"And talked about Quidditch."
"Uh huh."
"Um, we don't have anything else with us much, do we?"
"Not any games, anyway."
"There's always our holiday assignments, I suppose. I mean, its not like we have anything better to do and we won't want to do them over the holiday."
That settled it and despite their earlier complaints, both boys pulled out textbooks and parchment. James glanced over. He was seriously considering introducing Muggle-style exercise books to his classes. It wasn't that he didn't like parchment, it was in fact very . . . ornate and historic but it would be much easier for him and the students if all of their work for the subject was in one book.
"Simon," Alistair asked after about an hour.
"Yup?"
"What do you know about Devil's Snare?"
"You mean it's not in the text book?" Simon asked, sounding horrified. He obviously used Ron's method of doing homework - finding the relevant passage and all but copying out the necessary details.
"I don't think so, or at least, I can't find it."
"Let me have a look," he said, obviously not quite willing to believe that they would be set something not in the book. A moment later he put the book down. "You know, you're right. It's not in here. What in Merlin's name do we do now?"
There was a long pause.
Both boys had a chocolate frog to stimulate their brain processes.
No answer was forthcoming.
Half an hour passed.
"You know Alistair," Simon said eventually. "Do you think that Professor Evans would know?"
"Do you think we should ask him?" Alistair asked, sounding shy suddenly.
"Might as well try," Simon said with a shrug. "Professor Evans? Would you mind if we asked you about something on our Herbology assignment?"
James smiled at them, putting his pen down. He'd been listening to them for a while, wondering how long it would take them to realise that he had no doubt taken first year Herbology himself.
"I'll do my best."
"We're asked to describe what would happen if we fell onto a Devil's Snare and how we could get away from it."
Shaking his head slightly, James realised that this must have been added to the first year syllabus after his brush with it.
"Devil's Snare, I can certainly help you with that one. What exact details do you need to know?" James asked, knowing that it was best for them to think as much through themselves as possible.
"Size?" Alistair suggested.
"Well, with the proper care, it can grow very large, big enough to hold onto three humans at once without them touching."
The boys scribbled this down.
"And what does it look like sir?" Simon asked.
"Tendrils, sort of like the plant equivalent of the giant squid."
"Got it. Um . . .is it . . .does it eat people then?"
"It is carnivorous, yes. It will, as far as I remember, eat anything up to about a human in size."
"So it sort of grabs you and then suffocates you, or something?" Alistair asked, shivering.
"Exactly."
"So, what do you do if you fall into one?"
"Well, if it's a small one, you can just pull yourself free. A larger one, well, it likes the dark and the damp."
"So you could make a fire?"
"A magical one. Does that help?"
"Yes sir, thanks. I think we can bulk that out enough to make up the inches."
It was early evening when the train pulled into King's Cross, already dark and cold and in typically British style, it was raining. James looked up and scowled for a moment.
"Here we are then. We'll be taking a portkey to where you'll be staying, so you can stay in your robes.
"What's a portkey?" Alistair asked, shivering slightly in the cold air.
"It essentially teleports you from one place to another," James explained, using Muggle terms as much as possible. "It takes a bit of influence to get hold of one but its very convenient if you do. Pass out your trunks to me."
With their help, he manhandled the awkward trunks out of the narrow doors to the platform, where they could be wheeled easily around. Once out, he checked they hadn't left anything behind and hustled them over to the sheltered area. Alistair by this time was starting to look jittery.
Simon spotted his uncle and Charlie waiting together and rushed over, leaving Alistair with James. It wasn't that he meant to be mean, he'd just forgotten about his friend temporarily in the excitement of seeing his family for the first time in months.
James put a hand on Alistair's shoulder and squeezed.
"Let's go and find the Weasleys then, shall we?" he said. Alistair gave a shaky smile and James guided him over. Just Ron and Hermione were there, it having been decided that three Weasleys making the trip was quite enough to overwhelm the poor kid.
"Alistair, these are Ron and Hermione Weasley."
"Pleased to meet you, Mr Weasley, Mrs Weasley," Alistair said shyly, holding out his hand.
"None of that," Ron said, shaking the hand heartily. "Its Ron and Hermione to you, kid. You'll have major problems if you use surnames the whole time."
"Uh, why?"
"Ron's the sixth of seven children," James explained, giving Hermione a brief hug and shaking Ron's hand. "Six are boys and I think all but Charlie are married. He, of course, is dating Simon's uncle, Oliver. They're all coming for Christmas. We'd better get you inside, I think, before you catch cold."
"Merlin, yes," Hermione said, sounding horrified that they'd stayed out so long. "Here's the portkey, just touch it and make sure you're holding onto your things and I'll activate it."
The familiar tug and James opened his eyes to see the familiar, gloomy hall of Grimwauld Place. It had obviously been done up and the horrific portrait of Mrs Black removed but it was still dark in the hallway.
"Leave your trunk here," Hermione said, bustling them through into the living room, where a fire was burning in the huge fireplace and a number of Weasleys were gathered. "The house elf will take it upstairs for you."
James raised an eyebrow at that and she pulled a face at him when she was sure no one was looking. He let the warm, noisy atmosphere that he had always associated with the Weasleys envelope him like a warm blanket as Ron guided Alistair into the middle of the room.
"Oi!" he yelled. "You lot!"
Almost one could say that silence fell, just a few snickers coming from the twins' area of the room and murmurs from the numerous babies and young children scattered around made this an impossible conclusion. But hell Ron had a powerful bellow.
"Everyone, this is Alistair, he'll be staying with us as you know. I'm just going to introduce him to the important people round here, I figured the kids would undoubtedly take care of themselves. I think you all know James Evans as well," Ron said. Immediately the buzz of chatter built up again and Alistair was guided around. "My parents, Arthur and Molly. My oldest brother Bill and his wife Fleur; Fred and George - don't bother trying to tell them apart - and their wives Alicia and Luna and my younger sister Ginny, she's with Neville."
Alistair just looked at him, completely bewildered. James and Ron looked at each other, then steered him into one of the corners. James knelt down so he was on the same level as him.
"They don't expect you to remember everyone," he reminded the boy. "It's just to give you a start. As a general rule, if you call every red-head whose name you don't know 'Mr Weasley', you're almost guaranteed to get it right."
That earned him a small laugh.
"Okay there?" Ron asked. "Do you want to go over to Simon now? Who knows, you could get Oliver to sign you some autographs."
Alistair nodded and dashed off as best he could through the crowd to the area by the Christmas tree where his friend had disappeared to after his own arrival.
"That kid's like a cat on hot bricks," Ron said seriously. "We're going to have to give him a lot of insulation against the Weasley chaos, I think, at least to start with."
"I wouldn't worry so much," Hermione said quietly. "Look, he's perfectly happy with Simon and Oliver, and don't they look like they might prank someone any moment. I think you've just overwhelmed him with sheer numbers, won't you agree James?"
"I'd say he's fairly quiet, but then so is Charlie compared to the rest of you. He's a little shy as well but I wouldn't tone things down too much. See if you can get Fred'n'George onto him. He's a first year, he'd probably appreciate their sense of humour more than the rest of us and they'd probably love an audience."
They watched him for another moment before turning away.
"How's your place going then?" Hermione asked eagerly - she'd obviously been dying to ask since he got off the train.
"Almost fixed up, I think," James said, smiling at the thought of really having his own home. "I've been having them put some modern bathrooms and stuff in and didn't that cause a scene. Albus lent me Dobby to organise things and I think he and Wat, the chief house elf, didn't quite see eye to eye. Dobby's so, well, bouncy and Wat is the opposite. Still, they seem to be getting on okay now and Draco and Blaise are just about to move in."
"You figured out how to get them through the wards?"
"Yes, and didn't that take weeks longer than it should have? All it requires is a wizard's oath taken by anyone over 17 to a family member that they intend no harm to said family. The oath is sworn on their magic, so its not one they're likely to break."
"Does that mean…." Hermione began anxiously.
"Yes, and you can certainly come and look around sometime. I wouldn't hold your breath though, they weren't into libraries in quite the same way."
"Prat," she said, mock-whacking him in the head.
"Where's Percy then?" he asked. "Isn't he coming?"
"Where else," she said, pulling a face. "He's still at work. Of course, Arthur could get off early for the first day of the holidays but his Junior Undersecretary couldn't? I worry about him sometimes."
"Why do you make such a big deal about the holidays if you don't have any school age kids around?"
"We do now," Ron said with a grin. "Two of them, if you remember. Its mostly so you people can come and celebrate the first night as well."
"Hogwarts staff, you mean?"
There was a pause, "Yeah, in a way."
"Order members, then?"
"Well…."
"I'm joining over the holiday," James said quickly, to avert any suspicion. "Albus has told me a bit already."
"I guess its okay then. All of the Hogwarts staff who are Order members come today and for Christmas as well. We get even more people at Christmas," he said with a grin. "Not that we'll ever be lacking, with the way my family runs to kids. That's why we're here and not at Mum and Dad's place. Its large enough for me and my siblings but factoring in visitors gets a little difficult."
The next morning, James apparated back to Hogsmeade in a fine mood. He knew that it wasn't quite the same as when he'd been a kid - they didn't know who he was, for a start - but he knew enough of them as James that he'd felt welcome and comfortable. He sort of wondered how many grandchildren Molly and Arthur would end up with . Bill already had three kids, Percy one and Fred two. Ginny had surprised everyone with twin boys but Fred and George looked at them, taken one look at her and said that if any of them could cope with twins it would be her. They had no doubt that Neville would be completely helpless.
He met up with Severus in the staff room, already anticipating Abe's arrival at Hogwarts in time for lunch. Now that he didn't have a particular protégé at the University, he'd decided that it was lonely spending holidays alone and was coming to spend them with his brother and Order comrades.
"Have a pleasant evening?" Severus offered cordially.
"Not bad. I've always wished I had a family like that one. I got talking to Bill at dinner. Its certainly interesting what exactly a curse-breaker does. I considered it as a career at one point."
"They are certainly . . . welcoming. Were you invited for Christmas Day?"
"Yes, actually."
"Finally, I have another Slytherin. Draco insists on spending the holiday at his own place. I think it's to do with his mother."
"You're going there for Christmas?" James asked, mock incredulously.
"I am not so antisocial as to miss it. A few school mates are also coming."
"Have you decided about the ball?"
Severus hesitated for a moment.
"I would like to take you up on that offer, if it is still amenable to you."
"Course it is. Dig out the costume for you. I take it you'd rather size it yourself? Great, expect it tomorrow, probably."
He looked down at the huge pile of parchment on the desk.
"Do you really have that much marking to do?" he asked sympathetically. Then again, maybe he'd subconsciously decided to slacken off on homework to spare himself. Severus obviously had a great deal more self-discipline than he did.
"Its mostly first year tests - multi-choice so they shouldn't take long to mark."
"Do you want a hand?" James asked, surprising himself with the offer. He hated marking with a passion. Severus looked just as shocked, though he quickly hid it.
"If you don't mind, it would be a great help."
"Abe's coming soon and I'm going to be jumping around doing nothing unless I do some work. Do you have an answer sheet - I'm afraid I was never that great at Potions."
That evening, James was sitting in the headmaster's living room with Albus, Abe and Minerva. Claudius had also managed to worm his way into the gathering and was pottering around, contentedly chewing on some of Albus' luminous green socks.
It was a relaxing discussion, of a sort that James hadn't felt for a long time. He was with two people who he trusted with his life, both of whom knew his secret so the care was off his shoulder and he could just be himself. Not that there was much if any difference between 'himself' and 'James' but he didn't have to think about not giving anything away. Albus in particular had seemed very interested in his time in the Muggle world. James was no longer curious as to where Arthur had got his love of Muggle artefacts from.
"Lemon drop, anyone?" Albus asked, reaching over into his desk draw to pull out a well-stocked tray, which he held out. "I haven't doctored these ones, they're the ones I have myself."
"That's what we're worried about," James deadpanned, declining. Abe took one cheerfully and soon was even brighter than ever, almost matching his brother in merriness.
Claudius, attracted by the noise, came over and, before anyone could stop him, snagged one or three off the tray.
"Claudius!" Abe scolded. "You know you shouldn't eat pure sugar, its bad for your……."
He broke off, fumbling for a quill and parchment.
Indeed, a moment of so after consuming the obviously doctored lemon drop, Claudius had changed colour. It wasn't just to grey either, no, it was to an eye-burning shade of fluorescent pink that looked like something Dobby would select for his sock collection. The goat was practically skipping around the room and his master wasn't much better. James was in hysterics on the sofa, while Albus was looking on in bewilderment, not knowing what the charm cast had even been.
"I knew it would work!" Abe exclaimed. "I'm a genius! This is my next thesis written already!"
"Would someone tell me what in Merlin's name is going on?" Albus asked plaintively, sucking absently on a lemon drop.
A/N: So, you like? People seemed to like Claudius last time he appeared, so I thought I'd let him stay inside this time round. Am I absolutely mad? Yes, probably, but not as mad as the Dumbledore brothers.