Advent

When it had first been planned, the pupils from the visiting schools had been invited to spend the whole of the Hogwarts Christmas holiday at Hogwarts. The idea was that they would spend time getting to know their counterparts outside the actual ball. When the students had been informed of this they had protested. Hermione Granger had led (or bullied) some Hogwarts students to protest that they would not have enough time for study over the break, particularly those for whom it was their NEWT year. Several Beauxbatons pupils complained about spending so long in the cold Scottish climate, building on the stories of terrible weather that the participants in the Triwizard Tournament had returned with. Someone had also managed to organise a mixed-school petition to be able to spend some of the holiday with their families since if the exchange was for a shorter time-period they could both attend the Yule Ball and spend some time away from school.

The events organisers were not impressed by the protests, but were impressed by the cooperation between the schools which had produced the third one, and so decided to reward it by compromising and scheduling the event to run from the 23rd to the 27th of December with the proviso that for the duration the students would spend time interacting with those from other school and not in solitary study. To enforce this, the Hogwarts Library would be closed for the duration to those students participating in the exchange.

David was quite pleased with the changes. He was not planning on spending the holiday at school, other than during the exchange when he was accompanying Remus incognito, so he was relieved to note that Hermione and her parents would be staying at the Burrow for most of the holiday. He could not see anyone managing to poison her there since Molly was so used to dealing with the twins she could spot foreign foodstuffs a mile off. Neither would the Weasleys allow any unfriendly wizards or witches to come near her.

School had broken up on the 18th, and on the 19th a rather disgruntled looking Ginny Weasley arrived through the floo at Lions' Den. Molly was working hard in her role as matriarch. She was in charge of the arrangements for the wedding and was determined to fix everything herself, despite the fact that the position was really intended for a figurehead rather than a worker. She technically had the right to organise everything herself and nobody had been able to dissuade her, the best they managed was to get her to let Sirius help her from time to time. After pouring over many documents describing how to choose auspicious dates they had finally decided on the 4th of April for the wedding ceremony. The previous full moon was on the 28th which gave Remus long enough to recover beforehand and also meant they would have time for a honeymoon before the next full moon and the beginning of the summer term. With the date decided, the Ministry had to be informed. Molly asked Ron to visit Lions' Den to get the documents she had prepared signed and sealed.

Ron did not know what the documents were about and had no wish to play messenger during his holidays, particularly since his mother had said it might take a while, so he bribed his sister Ginny to deal with them for him. Thus Ginny ended up at Lions' Den only knowing that she had to give the papers to Remus and wait while he dealt with them. Molly could have easily delivered the papers herself, or sent them by owl; her intention had been to introduce David (undisguised) to her children. Ginny had thought that she was going to Remus's home and was surprised by where she found herself. It was very different from what she had pictured. A house elf appeared and asked her business before directing her through to an office. She wondered what the hell was going on while she looked around the room with interest. There were several portraits who were regarding her with equal interest. Ginny's attention was drawn to a particular family group and she was approaching for a closer look when she heard the door open and turned round to see her professor enter.

"I see you're interested in your namesake," he said. "This portrait is of my fiancé's father, aunt and uncle. Ginny Weasley, meet Roger, Godric and Ginevra Dragon," Remus pointed the figures out as he spoke and they each waved friendlily to Ginny. "Ginevra was your grandmother."

"She looks different," said Ginny. "Grandmum died before I was born, but the photos Mum's shown me are nothing like this."

"Ginevra was a metamorphmagus," explained Remus patiently. "This portrait is of how she really looked, she changed her appearance when she distanced herself from the family. David knows more about what happened than I do. Anyway, I understand you wished to see me about something?"

"Um yes," said Ginny holding out the papers she was carrying. "Mum asked me to bring you these, she said I should wait and bring them back when you've dealt with them."

Remus took the papers and glanced through them. "I think it's David you want not me," he said. "Simba!" he called summoning the house elf Ginny had met earlier. "Simba, could you please tell David that Ginny has brought the Ministry letters for him to sign." Simba popped away again and Remus handed the papers back to Ginny. "David will be here shortly, I'm afraid I'm in the middle of something would you mind talking to Ginevra while you wait? If you can spare the time, perhaps you'd stay and chat to David for a while, he doesn't have many friends his own age. I'm sure he'd give you a tour of the house and grounds if you ask, after all it might be interesting to see where your grandmother grew up." Remus left Ginny, hoping that she took up the suggestion and spent some time with David. He was surprised that Molly had sent her, thinking Ron would have been a better option, but perhaps Molly was wise in starting with the less well known sibling.

Ginny turned back to the portrait and asked her grandmother the question she had been wanting answered since she arrived. Where exactly was she? Ginevra's brothers seemed highly amused by her ignorance and refused to enlighten her but instead teased their sister about her granddaughter's ignorance and insisted that Ginny try to guess. She thought she had a good guess with 'The Noble and Most Ancient House of Dragon,' having remembered the tapestry in Sirius's house and guessing that Lions' Den must belong to a well to do pureblood family. The paintings just laughed at her.

"Lions' Den is the ancestral home of the Crimson House," said a voice behind her. Ginny turned round and saw a redheaded boy of about her own age and height. "Ginny Weasley?" the boy asked. "Hi, I'm David Antirrhinum. I see you've been making your grandmother's acquaintance."

"Hi," said Ginny. "Yes, Professor Lupin introduced us. So this is where Lord Crimson lives? Professor Lupin said that my grandmother grew up here, does that mean that she knew Lord Crimson?"

"Yep, she knew him," said the boy sounding amused. "The last Crimson Lord was her father, David Dragon, my namesake. Your grandfather came from a very proud family, and he was worried that they would see his wife as a trophy and parade her about if they knew that she was a zia, so she cut herself off from her family to marry him."

"I thought all zias were homosexual males," said Ginny.

"Not at all, Lord Hapstaff has six daughters. But you're half right, all male zias are homosexual which is useful since they need to be in order to reproduce and keep the line going. By contrast, all female zias are heterosexual and consequently have to marry outside the zia houses. I think it's supposed to have something to do with the attitude the parents have during conception. Since both a zia's parents are male, they are thinking about males during conception, their children are all attracted to men. For a heterosexual couple like your parents, one is thinking about men and the other women at the time of conception and their offspring can be of either or both persuasions."

"When you put it like that, it's logical I guess," said Ginny. "Oh, sorry, I'm forgetting myself, Mum sent me with these papers and Professor Lupin said they were for you. I'm supposed to wait for you to deal with them and taken them back with me."

David took the proffered papers and flicked through them as he walked towards his desk. "This shouldn't take long," he said offering her the seat in front of the desk and then taking his own place behind it. "It's just a case of sign 'n seal, but I should probably give them the once over before I add my mark. Can I offer you a drink or a bite to eat while you wait?"

Ginny readily agreed, she liked what she had seen of this teenager and Professor Lupin had obviously wanted her to engage him in conversation so taking tea with him would be a good start. Her subconscious was suggesting that since he seemed at ease here, he was using the desk and it was a zia household, he was probably a zia and hence homosexual, but her conscious mind hoped that he might not be, after all a secretary would also fit the evidence. She tried to recall everything she knew about the Crimson House, but unfortunately it was not very much. None the less this chore was turning out much more interesting than Ron must have expected. She might as well enjoy herself and still receive the chocolate frogs he had promised her.

David was correct in his assessment; it did not take him long to read and sign the papers; although it helped that he could read exceptionally fast. Once he had done so he reached for his butterbeer and talked to Ginny for a while. She expressed an interest in seeing any other portraits there were of her grandmother which led to him offering to give her a tour. They talked about Ginny's family and David took the opportunity invite her to bring her brothers for a visit if she wished. David was surprised that they had a mutual interest in quidditch and that Ginny had turned out to be on the Gryffindor team. He had not spent his weekends at Hogwarts since the quidditch season had started and had not taken much interest in the Gryffindor team beyond noting that Ron was their captain. Whenever he had heard Minerva talk about a Weasley on the team he had thought she had meant Ron, not Ginny.

When Ginny saw the library she immediately asked whether the Crimson Lord would allow her friend Hermione to visit it and read a few of the books. David had not realised that she had not worked out who he was and was half tempted not to tell her, but decided that yet another secret identity would be far too complicated. Her reaction was along the lines of 'but you're normal.' To which he replied that he was not even fully human.

"Zias are magical beings; we are not 'of woman born' and technically shouldn't exist so we are not classed as wizards or witches. I'm more human than a half giant, since I have one completely human parent and the other was descended from humans, but my fiancé is actually more human than I am since he was born human and he's only a wolf for a few hours each month."

"Professor Lupin's your fiancé?"

"Ah ha, did you he was here chasing boggarts? He's been spending his weekends here with me for a while. Your mum's organising our wedding, that's what the papers were about. They're to let the Ministry know that the Crimson Lord is marrying and they need to cough up the money for the ceremony. But only close family are allowed to know who I'm marrying until the day it happens. We don't want to have to deal with a hate campaign because of Remus's condition. Once he's Sire Crimson it's less likely anyone will want to offend him so hopefully they'll just accept it. If you tell your brothers make sure they understand it must be a complete secret. I get the impression that Ron is almost married to Hermione himself so you can tell her under the same conditions if you want."

Ginny returned to the Burrow having agreed to firecall and arrange a time to bring Ron and Hermione over. That was the start of the reestablishment of the friendship within the trio which became more of a quartet with Ginny now included better than she was before. Before they returned to Hogwarts Molly, David and Remus all impressed on the students how important it was that nobody could connect David with Crimson during the Yule Ball. They explained that since Molly had acknowledged the family connection, it would now be accessible to anyone at the Ministry who wanted to know, and also to some of the older families who also had self-updating genealogical tapestries. Therefore they must not mention that they were related to Remus's fiancé.

Once they were packed and ready to go Remus turned to David and asked, "Are you ready for this? You've done very well with Hermione and the Weasleys and they accept you as a teenager, but we know Albus will be looking to talk to you at some point. Will you be able to cope?"

"Yes," said David, more certainly than he felt. He was nervous, but there was a lot riding on this. Albus would be at their engagement party in a week's time anyway, he might as well get the confrontation over with in a setting where alcohol wouldn't be an issue. They put on their cloaks and apparated to the edge of the school grounds. They arrived half an hour before the visiting schools were due and gathered in front of the school with the rest of Hogwarts' inhabitants to watch them arrive. The scene was eerily reminiscent of there years previously when the last attempt at interschool relations had begun, except this time it was much colder and there was snow underfoot. It appeared that this time the Beauxbatons students had remembered to dress for the weather which made them less grumpy than the previous time.

When everyone made it to the great hall they found that the normal tables had been removed and in their place were dozens of small circular tables. A few students sat down but as more joined the tables they suddenly found themselves thrown out of their seats. After this had happened a few times Albus apologised for his absentmindedness and announced that in order to foster mingling between the schools the chairs would only allow people to stay if there were at least two schools represented on the table. He then broke it to the staff that they were also expected to join in, and that the staff counted as a fourth school. David and Remus decided to set a good example and made their way to one of the groups who had been thrown on the floor and arranged to take the places of two of their number. It was not long before they were chatting animatedly in French with the Beauxbatons group while waiting for the rest of the hall to settle down and the food to arrive. Remus was surprised that David was fluent in French. He himself had learnt the language from his grandmother who had been born in France, but David had never mentioned knowing the language. Still, with everything else David had learnt from the dead the idea of him also learning French was not too far fetched.

Albus had no compulsory activities planned for after supper, given that the visitors had travelled some way and were likely to be quite tired. The Hogwarts staff retreated to their staffroom and grumbled about the meal arrangements. David was introduced and momentarily confused everyone by telling them that 'he'd heard so much about Hogwarts from Viddy.' This led to the planned explanation that Remus's fiancé was a friend of Professor David's and they had met through him.

"We are both named for my grandfather. He was Viddy's apprentice-master," David informed them. "But having two Davids around does confuse things some times, and I refused to be known as Little David."

Severus was thrown into the mix as having 'taught me to make my first potion' and gave his opinion of how abysmal at potions David was as his student. They hoped that since Professor David was acknowledged as a potions expert this would enhance the impression that they were two different people. While David was being given the rundown on the trials of being the spouse of a Hogwarts employee by Pomona's husband, he overheard Minerva quietly ask Remus whether he was sure David was of age. Remus assured her that the soul-bond would not have worked if he was not and that David's physical appearance belied his age. It would appear that Minerva did not connect David with Lord Crimson whom Albus had pointed out to her at the funeral in September.

Albus visited the staff-room briefly to check everything was prepared for the next day. He greeted David with a knowing smile and told him that it was nice to see him under more pleasant circumstances than their last meeting. He warned David that Fudge would be in attendance and would most likely recognise him. David replied that since as a politician Fudge would meet a lot of people he was hoping that the Minister would not, and was not planning on talking to him in any case. If Fudge did recognise him David would cross that bridge when he came to it.

David was not too pleased when they retired for the night and he found he was expected to stay in Remus's rooms. He had wanted some time alone to recharge his mental batteries in preparation for whatever bright ideas Albus had to foster interschool relations the next day. He was also, though he did not like to admit it, worried because his body had been signalling its physical attraction to Remus quite a bit over the week. He did not know how Remus would react if he noticed. True they were engaged to be married, but he was definitely not ready for an intimate relationship, whatever his traitorous body was doing.

David suggested that he could return to his own rooms, but Remus squashed that plan immediately. He explained that not all the visitors had been from other schools and hence had brought their own accommodations with them. Some of the guests were from the ministries who funded the schools. They would be being accommodated within Hogwarts and it was possible that someone was using David's rooms. Since his contract allowed him to be absent during the holidays, Hogwarts was not obliged to provide him with accommodation during those periods and his belongings could well have been put in storage and the room used for someone else over the exchange period. Remus thought the possibility unlikely, but he hoped that he could persuade David to stay with him. He knew if David was really uncomfortable he could return unnoticed to Lions' Den for the night so he was not forcing David's hand, just prodding him in the direction he hoped he would take.

As it was the arrangement worked out to be beneficial to David. He had a Voldemort induced vision in the early morning and Remus was able to awaken him as soon as the cruciati started flying. David only had a few seconds under the curse and so suffered no after effects which would require waking Severus for potions. David's scar had not opened although its former position was sore. This set his mind at rest over his worries that it would appear suddenly when he was with other people if Voldemort got angry enough. By the time a vision got to that stage someone in the know should have got to him. While the vision was not pleasant both men were pleased with the knowledge David had gained. Voldemort's plans had gone wrong and he was now looking towards March for his rebirthing party. They worked out what information needed to be passed on to Albus and went back to sleep happy that they could now enjoy Christmas without having to keep watch so that they could rescue Voldemort's unwilling guest of honour.

The lifting of his stress over Severus's safety made David subconsciously much more relaxed so he did not mind waking up with Remus's arm protectively round him. It was odd but not unpleasant. He lay in bed for a while savouring the chance to lie in, since it would not do for him to go running around the lake like Professor David did each morning. They washed and dressed at a leisurely pace and then went to breakfast, choosing this time to sit with a mixture of Hogwarts and Durmstrang students.

Breakfast was followed by tours of the castle for the visitors and David was none too surprised to find himself encouraged to join one. He could hardly refuse since it would be expected for him to take an interest in his fiancé's place of work. He did find it hard to keep a straight face and not interrupt as his guide prattled on about Hogwarts' history as they walked past the relevant items. Justin Finch-Fletchley was no Hermione Granger. He was proud of his school but a bit off in his facts. Still it could have been worse; David did not like to think what Colin Creevey would have talked about. Colin had been one of the students Poppy had referred David to as an Umbridge victim. It appeared his fixation on Harry Potter had only increased after the trial.

It turned out that the main activity of the day was to be a duelling competition. The students were also being encouraged to form interschool quidditch teams for a mini tournament on Boxing Day. The teams would take time away from duelling to practice so that each team had some pitch time to get to know each other's abilities. The actual matches would be time-limited so that the whole tournament could take place within a winter's day. This made the seeker's job much harder since the snitch had to be caught quickly, although it also meant that the chasers were more important since it was likely that neither side would get the snitch at all.

David found himself being pressed to join a team that Ron was forming. David wondered whether it was Albus or Molly who had put him up to it. Albus had yet to tackle David on the subject of transferring to Hogwarts. David was hesitant about agreeing because he thought his flying could identify him, but Remus and Severus convinced him. They pointed out that nobody had seen him play since his third year and none of his former team mates were present. Remus revealed that he had brought David's broom with him for just this reason. David grumbled good naturedly that Remus had not warned him in advance but was pleased to have the opportunity to play quidditch again. He had been flying around with the snitch but it was not the same by yourself.

Flying with a team after so long was extremely difficult but luckily the seeker position does not require much actual teamwork. David felt he acquitted himself well and Ron seemed pleased with his efforts. In fact Ron was cautiously optimistic about their chances. David had managed to catch the snitch within a quarter of an hour each time they released it and the matches were unlikely to be any shorter.

While the quidditch was fun, David was not keen to join in the duelling. Minerva 'suggested' he would find it more interesting to participate than keep score with the rest of the staff. David was in no doubt that Albus was interested in how he performed. If he did well then Albus would have less reasons for saying that he was not able to protect himself. David had so he replied that he was quite happy keeping score. When Minerva pressed him he admitted that since had known Viddy for years he felt he had an unfair advantage, particularly since he won more than lost against his fiancé. He was quite pleased with the disbelieving look she gave him particularly when it turned to shock after he saw her have a quiet word with Remus. He was not too surprised later when Albus drew near soon after and asked for a word.

Albus led David up to his office explaining that they would not be overheard up there. David considered insisting that Remus be present, but decided that with the layers of lies involved it would be easier to talk one-on-one than have to communicate a strategy. Albus busied himself with providing tea and cake while David made sure to look around his office with interest, as though seeing it for the first time. He also kept a veiled watch on the headmaster to ensure that he did not lace the tea with anything.

The headmaster started the conversation by congratulating David on his engagement. David responded by outlining their reasons for keeping the details under wraps until the actual ceremony and Albus approved of his foresight and political awareness. Albus expressed an interest in why and how David's identity had been concealed until his majority and David explained his parents' and granddad's reasoning. Albus admitted that had he known of the birth of a zia while Voldemort was trying to gain control of one he would have considered euthanasia to prevent that. David's conviction that Albus had raped him had been falling since the revelation that Albus had taken a zia oath and his respect for the man increased with this admission. It took a lot of integrity to admit to the face of an extremely powerful person, both magically and politically, that you would have killed that person. It would have been safer to protest that such a suspicion was groundless.

As they talked Albus's respect for David also grew. The young man was politically aware and knew his own limits. He was fiercely against discrimination, both against magical creatures and muggleborn wizards and witches. Albus predicted that he would be a force for good in wizarding Britain. With the end by assassination of three zia houses and the exodus of two others the policy of the Ministry had come to rest with families like the Malfoys who unlike the zia lords were not sworn to protect the interests of the general population. Before his death David Dragon had managed to keep the power balance in favour of the political left but Lord Hapstaff was not competent enough to champion citizens' rights on his own. He tended to bury his head in the sand, as he had when Albus had approached him for help over the missing shadow dragons. He was honourable and did not betray confidences or work for solely monetary gain, but regarded his oath as forbidding him from doing active damage rather than requiring him to prevent other people from doing it. Albus saw in David a possible catalyst for whipping the Ministry back into shape so that it actually served the wizarding community. All this increased his wish to persuade the zia to transfer to Hogwarts so that he could get to know him better.

As Albus was considering how best to present his suggestion for a transfer he noticed a wooden ring on David's right middle finger. Wood was not a usual material for a ring which made Albus immediately connect the sight with that of the ring his DADA professor wore. Professor David wore his ring on exactly the same finger. He remembered that the last Crimson Lord had been a metamorphmagus, and that his son Roger, this David's father, had been a highly sort after healer. He recalled how Minerva had been worried about Professor David's reaction to Remus's engagement since she had thought that there had been something between them. As a zia it would not be unheard of for David to have started his magical education early and he could have known Nicolas Flamel. The actual content message from Nick could have been faked; all it had actually proved was that Professor David had known Nick well enough to know the identification part. Albus was warming to his line of reasoning when he hit a dead end; Professor David had far too much experience to be only seventeen.

Professor David's understanding of some subjects rivalled Albus's own. Also Albus was convinced that the professor had been trained as a shadow dragon. He knew too much about their modes of operation for it to have been otherwise. He had also claimed that David Dragon had trained him personally. Albus could not imagine his friend training a nine year old as an elite auror. Nor could Albus envisage David Dragon not telling Brian that he had a grandson if he had known about him. David had always been interested in the continuation of his house and he had become obsessed after the deaths of his spouse and children in finding another soul-mate so that he could have another child. Of course the more likely possibility was that Professor David was another member of the Crimson House. It would explain his power level; not just anyone could apparate to Majorca several times in one day with no ill effects. If one zia had been hidden it was possible that another had as well. If David Dragon had sent Professor David on a deep undercover mission he would have had no way of knowing whether he had died or not so he would have still obsessed over his line. If the professor were not in the direct line he could not have inherited the title and it seemed he intended to remain hidden until his mission was complete in any case.

"You have an interesting ring," Albus observed quietly. "I was wondering whether it had some particular relevance. I have seen Professor David wearing a similar one."

David looked at him searchingly. "Yes," he conceded. "Viddy made it for me."

"There's much about Viddy that I'm curious about," admitted Albus and he proceeded to outline his reasoning.

"You are correct," said David slowly. "Viddy is a Crimson zia, and his existence has been hidden. It must remain hidden at least for the present."

"I will keep quiet on the matter," said Albus agreeably before changing the subject. "I was wondering what your opinion of Hogwarts is. You are after all descended from one of our founders so I imagine you were eager to visit. Does she compare favourably with your own school?"

"I don't think there is anywhere else like Hogwarts," said David neutrally. "And whether you prefer your own school depends on whether you've just had detention or received a commendation. Remus and Sirius are very fond of Hogwarts."

"Would you like to transfer here? It is unusual but not unheard of and your family has always studied here. I believe Mr Weasley would be keen to put your quidditch talents to good use were you to become a Gryffindor, and our library is one of the best in the world."

"I do not want any favours because you were a friend of my grandfather," said David flatly. "For all you know I could have been expelled from my last school and have been home-tutored ever since. I thank you for the offer, but I think I will continue where I am."

Albus noted that David did not refer to not wanting to leave his friends behind. He found this odd since having watched the young man interact with the other students he seemed the sort to be popular even without his position being known.

"It is traditional for the descendants of the founders to be educated at Hogwarts," he told David. "I tried to contact you over the summer to offer you a place but the letter was returned undelivered. I intended to discuss it when we met in September but I did not get the chance. Why don't you take some time to think about my suggestion? Perhaps talk it over with Remus and Sirius. There is no need for you to decide it right now, and coming here would mean you were closer to Remus. I believe the regulations require the school to give you a sheep…"

"Goat, Albus," put in one of the portraits, "he can keep a goat on the quidditch pitch."

"Thank you Dilys," said Albus. "I have a bit of a blind spot about goats," he confided to David. "My brother Alberforth was convicted of practicing inappropriate charms on a goat and my brain tries to forget that such animals exist."

After a bit more inconsequential chatter David and Albus returned to the great hall to see how the duelling competition was going. David joined Remus who was helping to sort out those students who had been on the receiving end of hexes and curses and required assistance to counteract them. David lent a hand and in a lull in the work Remus informed him that he had just found out that the staff Christmas party was taking place after supper. Remus had expected that it would not take place during the exchange because the teachers would be needed elsewhere, but it appeared that Albus thought it would improve interschool relations if the visiting teachers were asked to join in. Remus warned David to watch his drink carefully particularly around Sibyll. Both men shuddered at the idea of a repeat performance of Sibyll playing strip poker, one in memory and one in imagination.

As it was there was no getting out drinking alcohol that evening. The witch from the Department of International Cooperation had thought she was doing the staff a favour by organising a random draw to select two members of staff to stay sober and cast sobering charms on the rest if an emergency arose. Several Hogwarts teachers, possibly with their own horrible memories from previous years, tried to limit their intake only to find themselves being confronted by their Durmstrang counterparts who were knocking it back like pumpkin juice and would not take no for an answer.

Severus had had the forethought to excuse himself briefly and then to supply himself, Remus and David with a potion to reduce the alcohol's effects and avoid dangerous disclosures. Unfortunately David's potion got spotted by one of the Durmstrang teachers who confiscated it before gathering his colleagues to teach David how to drink like a real man. All Remus could do was too look on in horror at the thuggish behaviour of supposedly responsible adults and then use their bond to ensure David was unable to say anything incriminating. He and Severus, along with Sibyll and a wizard from Beauxbatons were the only sober people in the room. Remus was thankful for small mercies since Sibyll had not been allowed to drink, and he realised it was only a very small mercy as he watched Minerva trying to manoeuvre Severus nearer the mistletoe while under the mistaken impression that he was Albus.

When they were finally able to leave, Remus dragged David back towards his rooms and once they out of sight performed a sobering charm on him. Given the amount David had consumed it was only likely to work for half an hour but it would be enough for him to get to bed. Breakfast on Christmas morning was a leisurely affair and he could leave David to lie in and sleep it off.