Time for disclaimers! I don't own Harry Potter or Lego – I just write this as my homage to both. Don't bother suing – I'm broke.
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Chapter 15
Secret Santa
The semester was winding down. Harry hired the goblins during one of his monthly luncheons with Griphook to renew and replace all the wards guarding the Longbottom estate, which they were glad to do. Now that the manor was unplottable to all again, Mrs. Longbottom and her elf Nippy moved back in after many thanks to the foursome.
As far as the Hogwarts staff was concerned, Luna, Neville, and Hermione were going home for Christmas holiday, and Harry was going home with Neville (despite some flack between Dumbledore and Harry over the matter). What actually happened was a practice run for what they wanted to do during the next summer holiday. The four boarded onto the Hogwarts express, dragging trunks and all. As soon as they got a private compartment, they shrunk their trunks and put them in their pockets, except for Harry, who called out "Winky!" who popped into the compartment with a smile.
"Here you go" Harry said, handing her his shrunken magical trunk. "Set it up like I told you, and send me the message when we can pop in". He let Hedwig out the window with instructions to fly to Longbottom Manor for the holiday.
"So where are you putting the trunk?" Neville asked in a low voice. "If you leave it in the tower, I'm sure Dumbledore will go through it." Luna and Hermione nodded in agreement.
"Not saying until we get there – I don't want any chance of being overheard" Harry smiled mischievously.
"Masters, Godric's Suitcase is ready for you" came Winky's telepathic message.
With a smile, they waited for the train to arrive at the station, knowing as soon as they could step out of sight, they would apparate back to the trunk.
Winky and Dobby welcomed their four masters (as they thought of them) with open arms and a lovely buffet of food. Godric's suitcase had been altered yet again – this time the right hand wall had two large bedrooms, each with a private bath. Now the girls and boys had separate 'dorms'. The large great room was arranged to feel more 'homey', with large dining room table, lit fireplace, music playing from a wireless, and the large couch and arrangement of chairs facing the 'telly'.
First thing Hermione, Luna and Neville did was run to the enchanted windows to see where the trunk actually was. They saw nothing but a dark stone room with some trash scattered on the floor. It seemed like Hogwarts, but where?
Harry, leaning against a wall with his arms crossed, laughed at their puzzlement. "You've all been in this room before" he teased.
"Oh!" Hermione cried. "The room of requirement! We practiced popping here when it had no requirement!"
He nodded, pleased. "Yep! I had Winky put us about three trunks down on the stack, so if Dumbledore or anyone comes in here for any reason, we won't look out of place. She took all my school stuff out of the upper compartment and filled it with trash from the other trunks incase anyone wants to look through them. I think we will be safe here."
Luna was looking out the windows around the room. "What if someone needs the room of requirement – what happens to the trash, and us, in here?"
"I'm not sure, Luna. I'm certain we are safe though – the junk in here is never damaged or moved. Now – is it configured into the furniture and settings in the room? No – Winky and I did some tests. What I didn't have time to test is whether we stay in the room, hidden, and get to spy on who ever is in here, or if we move to another dimension for the time the room is in use. It should be interesting to find out."
"Ewwww" Hermione complained. "I'm sure I don't want to watch students snogging in here…"
"Not to worry, Hermione," laughed Neville. "It is the holiday – I doubt if any will be in here."
"It's lovely, but not very festive," Luna observed. "We need to decorate for Christmas."
Harry nodded in agreement. "We have no schedule for the next few weeks – we can pop in and out as we choose, as long as we stay disguised. Personally, I'm going to Diagon Alley, and come back with a tree and stuff." With that, Harry changed into his Edward Evans look and popped out.
O0o0o0o0o0o0o0oHarry popped back into Godric's Suitcase later that afternoon, stomping snow off his boots and enlarging a lovely tree from his satchel. Winky and Dobby immediately took to setting it up in the corner by the fireplace.
"Oi – don't block my view!" Sirius barked with a grin.
As Harry was emptying his satchel of ornaments, garlands and trimmings, he glanced over to see what his friends were doing. Initially he had thought they were watching the Dumbledore Channel on the 'telly', but he realized they had shifted the couch, and popcorn in hand, were staring intently out the window.
"What are you looking at? Spiders building webs?" Harry asked sarcastically as he walked over. He found himself blushing furiously as he saw what the entertainment was. Sure enough, the room of requirement was in use, and obviously their trunk was able to watch the events without being in the same dimension. Malfoy had turned the room into a teenage make-out pad, redolent with muggle lava lamps, disco lights, and a crackling fireplace. Draco himself was lounging on a couch putting the moves on a 4th year Slytherin girl, Raven Smythe, who was encouraging him by the look on her face.
"So, um, Luna. Is that really what girls think is a romantic retreat?" Neville giggled with embarrassment. It was like seeing a train wreck – it was awful, but you just couldn't turn away.
"No, Neville. It's what boys think is conducive to snogging. Girls see it as tacky." Luna smiled, snuggling up close to the Hufflepuff/Gryffindor.
"Come on, Rave, you know you want to…" Draco refilled the girl's glass with what looked like firewhiskey, and slid closer to her. She giggled and slid a bit away, but certainly wasn't trying to discourage his advances.
"What about your betrothed?" she teased.
"What, Pansy? She's cool. She knows I'm a man and have needs."
"Maybe I have needs too, Draco. I'd like to marry someone of a good family and social standing. And I have a lot more to offer than her…" and the girl seductively licked a drop off the edge of her glass while giving Draco looks that could melt steel.
"Why are we watching this?" Harry gulped, turning away from the windows.
"Oh Harry, we will shut the curtains if he gets anywhere with her. But Luna and I have a galleon on the outcome." Hermione laughed, never taking her scornful eyes off the pair of Slytherin lustbirds.
"What outcome would that be?" Harry asked, unpacking and hanging some glass balls on the tree, pointedly not looking out the window.
"I say he will get a snog and more, and Luna says he will get no more than a snog." Hermione nodded, pulling the aforementioned galleon out of her pocket and slapping it on the coffee table in front of them.
"What do you say, Nev?" Harry asked, handing greenery garlands to the elves to hang around the fireplace. "Still not looking" he thought to himself, blushing away.
"I can't believe he could do that to his fiancé! Pansy is so smitten over him – what does he hope to gain? Oh – I agree with Luna – I think Raven is trying to get something out of him in return, and is just leading him on."
Draco set his glass down and leaned over to the girl. "What needs?" he lustfully growled, with a total lack of sincerity.
"Slow down, Draco. I want to take Pansy's place. My family is as wealthy as hers, and almost as old. I'm not a bit of fluff on the side – I want a good marriage, and to choose my partner before my parents choose for me. You know Pansy is ugly, simple, and petty. Break it off and have me."
Draco sat back like he'd been slapped. "I, um, I don't know what to say." He stuttered, frustrated and angry at being put off like that.
"What you mean," she purred dangerously, "is that you thought I was good for a little fun and games, and that's all. Have your folks get in touch with mine if you want to see any more of me." With that, the pretty young girl got up abruptly and flounced out of the room.
"Pay up, Granger" Luna held her palm out smugly.
"Uh uh! " Hermione protested. "You bet 'only a snog'. Mr. I'm-too-sexy-for-my-shoes didn't even get that. It's a draw."
Laughing at Draco's misfortune, the four set to decorating their digs for the holidays. "Hey – no fairies!" Neville complained. It was wizard tradition to light their Christmas trees with live fairies that would blink and glow soft magical light.
"Oh, yah – about the fairies. I didn't get any because I felt kind of bad for them. I mean, they are live creatures – do they like being stuck on a tree branch for weeks at a time? What happens with them after Christmas? Are they people, or just animals, or plants?"
Luna smiled at Harry. "It's hard for Neville and I to imagine not growing up in the magical world. Fairies have been part of the wizard's celebrations for centuries. I've had wonderful Christmas's chatting with them. Why don't we buy a set and you can ask them? I promise they aren't being abused."
Harry nodded in agreement, and sent Winky out to get a set of fairies, asking her to pick a talkative set.
The elf returned with a fancy box with bright Christmas graphics on the cardboard. Inside the box, peeking through the cellophane was 20 tiny little creatures, human in shape and appearance, except they were glowing the softest shade of pink, and had lovely, transparent wings. They were dressed in filmy material and clung and floated around them like it had a life all its own. They blinked and smiled up at the kids crowding around the box. Harry carefully opened the lid and the fairies sat up and yawned and stretched, and pointed at the tree in the corner.
Hermione spoke softly at the small beings "can we ask you some questions? We've never talked to fairies before."
They smiled and nodded, and a male fairy stood up and bowed to them. "Chosen One," he spoke in his tiny voice, facing Harry, "it is an honor to adorn your tree."
Harry bowed in return. "Er, hi. What's your name?" The tiny fairy looked pleased, as did his companions. "I am Erind, Chosen One. These are my tribe."
"How is it that wizards use living, sentient beings to decorate a tree? Do you do this willingly?" Hermione asked in astonishment.
Erind turned his serious eyes toward the bushy haired witch. "Great lady, as the house-elf is born to serve and nurture, the fairy folk are born to beautify. We live in secret places throughout the year – sometimes in the presence of wizards, sometimes far away. When the holiday season approaches, we gladly go to the factory to be boxed. When a wizard comes to buy lights for their tree, we reach out with our magic to sense which tribe of fairies would be most compatible with that family. That is why you feel a certain attraction to a particular box of us."
"But what do you get out of it?" Hermione asked, bewildered.
"Every time a witch or wizard looks at their tree with love or pride, we feed off the magic you radiate. Every time love is shown near our tree, it strengthens us. It gives us the magic to live throughout the rest of the year. In turn, we give beauty, and a sense of rest and peace, and help re-enforce the positive feelings of traditions and family." Erind smiled at Hermione, nodding.
"What happens if your tribe isn't bought for a tree?" Hermione asked, frowning in concern.
"Then we leave the stores the week before Christmas, and find public trees to adorn. Your trees in the Great Hall, the trees in small shops, or in the Ministry buildings are samples of that. The magic is still strong, because when you see the public displays, your hearts are filled with cheer." The other fairies nodded in agreement.
Neville laughed. "I always thought the fairy lights were sold out by the week before Christmas! I never paid attention. I did always wonder why so many places waited until the last moment to decorate!"
"Unlike Muggles, who decorate two months before" agreed Hermione.
"Erind, we are proud to welcome your tribe to our home" Luna spoke gravely, bowing at the 20 little creatures. To everyone's surprise, they all stood up in unison and bowed in return.
"Great Lady, heir of Ravenclaw, we are honored to serve. We have been called to your home to train you in the magic of the fairy. Joy and peace upon this dwelling." And with that, they flew up gracefully, trailing sparkles of magical dust, and flew to the partially decorated Christmas tree by the fireplace. In mere minutes the remaining ornaments were perfectly arranged around the room and tree, the fireplace seemed to flicker with more color, the wizarding wireless came through more crisply, and the room seemed to radiate love and warmth. The four kids ran into their respective rooms to wrap what gifts had been purchased already and place them under the tree.
"Hey!" Neville walked over to the tree and looked at the fairies, settling comfortably on their branches, now glowing brightly. "What do you guys need to eat or drink? And why doesn't the box come with instructions!"
A pretty little girl fairy laughed in a tiny, tinkling giggle. "My Lord, we don't want people to worry about us throughout the holidays, and be a burden for the season. We find crumbs and sustenance throughout the house when everyone is asleep or away."
Neville smiled and walked over to the book cases, with the look of one trying to recall something.
O0o0o0o0o0o0o0oThe next week was a blur of Christmas shopping, trips to relatives and friends, and all around fun. Harry spent a few sessions training with Sir Nicolas on better dueling techniques, but at one point let loose a blast with his new wand that was so powerful, it actually rocked the trunk. Breakage in the trunk was repaired swiftly, with no permanent damage, but the kids were worried to see Dumbledore look up from his desk in shock when the blast erupted, and leave to investigate.
Winky had popped out of the trunk to straighten the room of requirements to look like it did before the explosion, and returned. The four founderettes stood gaping out the trunk windows waiting for Dumbledore to enter the room and sense their presence. Even though the trunk was soundproof, no body made a noise.
The headmaster entered the room, peering around at the broken and unused trunks, furniture and bric-a-brac. He poked around a couple boxes and frowned at the walls. Harry could plainly hear him talking to the castle.
"Hogwarts, what was that disturbance?"Harry and his friends felt the castle answering that it was merely an explosion caused by Peeves.
With a nod the ancient turned and left the room to return to his office.
"Whew" gasped Neville. "I didn't know I could hold my breath that long."
O0o0o0o0o0o0oBetween the map and the spy canvas, Harry was sure the headmaster had left the school for a while. He gathered up some bags, jars, and tools and called Winky and Dobby and turned to Luna. "Hey, Luna. Keep an eye on the map for me – if Dumbledore comes back, send me an elf message, ok?"
Harry popped with the elves to the Chamber of Secrets. There it lay, undisturbed for three years, the carcass of the basilisk he had killed. "Now, if this grosses you guys out, feel free to pop back to the trunk. But I could really use the help." Harry said while unpacking various instruments and charming the room for time slowing. "It turns out that certain parts of the basilisk are incredibly important for some rare potions, and it's almost impossible to find. So we are going to render this rather ripe snake."
O0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0oProfessor Snape sat down by in fireplace in his private chambers, conjured a cup of tea to relax with before dinner. His eyes suddenly fell on a rather large box, wrapped in Christmas paper, sitting on the floor by the hearth. He waved his wand around the package, looking for hexes and booby traps, but it came up clean. He carefully lifted the tag with the end of his wand, and read that it was from Potter. With a sneer he tore the paper open.
The potion master's jaw dropped when he saw the contents. There, neatly labeled and most professionally rendered, were jars and vials of basilisk hide, venom, eyes, and various organs. The headmaster had told him the body of the giant snake was burnt up when Potter had killed it. Here were thousands of galleons worth of rare components – enough to experiment with for years to come. Happy Christmas indeed.
O0o0o0o0o0o0oHarry was making his last shopping trip to Diagon Alley to pick up some custom made gifts, and stopped at Gringotts to meet with Griphook.
"Urush-Gai!" Harry cried joyfully at his teacher. Griphook smiled warmly and conjured up a good hot lunch to share with his student. "Here" he tossed the goblin a brightly wrapped box "Happy Christmas!"
"Happy Christmas to you, Ursoo-Tow," Griphook returned, pulling out a gift from his desk for Harry. "It's not much, but it's what you asked for. I have another gift being worked on."
Griphook tore the paper off the small box Harry had lobbed at him. Inside was a very ornate, masculine necklace, radiating goblin magic and power. He looked at the boy in amazement. "Do you know what this is, my Ursoo-Tow?" his teacher gasped in a low, strained voice.
"Um, no. Not really, Griphook." We have been spying on Dumbledore, and I saw him making a big fuss over this in his office one day. I know it is goblin by the style and magic it radiates, and it doesn't give off any trace of evil or dark magic. I figured he didn't get it by honest means the way he was acting."
Griphook was caressing the necklace with love and respect, and curled a lip at Harry's reply. "No, Mr. Potter, he didn't. Excuse me a moment." He scribbled a note on an enchanted paper airplane, like they use at the Ministry, and sent it off. "I took the liberty of inviting King Flailhide to lunch with us."
"That important, huh?" Harry glanced over at the necklace on the desk, impressed, as he tore open the wrapping on his gift. It was what he asked Griphook for – a framed photo of the two of them together. He grinned at his teacher friend and thanked him.
After a short wait, the door opened and in strode the most imposing goblin Harry had ever seen. He was a good foot taller than Griphook, younger and fiercer. The King was dressed in battle armor, and not the useless ceremonial type. Harry and Griphook immediately knelt in front of him and bared their necks, in the Goblin gesture of submission.
Flailhide gestured them to get up and seat themselves and joined them in eating. After finishing the meal and drinking the last of the beverages, Griphook pushed the box with the necklace in it to the monarch. "My Ursoo-Tow here brought this to me for a Christmas gift, your majesty. I thought you would like it more."
It is difficult to catch a Goblin warrior by surprise, but this did it. The King gaped at the box, moving his head between Griphook, Harry and the necklace in disbelief. He finally gasped out in Goblin that translated to "Our beloved Dragon Ear has returned!"
Griphook nodded solemnly. "Ursoo-Tow found it in Headmaster Dumbledore's office, and recognized it as a Goblin artifact of importance. He felt it had not come to the headmaster by honest means."
King Flailhide cast a critical eye over Harry. "This is your Ursoo-Tow, whom you speak so proudly of" he said, more as a statement than a question. Griphook nodded. "Lord Potter-Black, you have done the community a huge favor, though I sense you aren't aware of the enormity of what you have done. This Goblin forged necklace, which we respectfully call 'the Dragon Ear', is our oldest artifact. It is thousands of years old, although perhaps to your human eyes that doesn't seem possible. Its magical powers are not enormous, though it is rumored among the wizards to be. It is symbolic to the Goblin, handed down from King to King, much like the muggle crown jewels. When it disappeared from Gringotts, there were only a small handful of individuals that could have managed the crime, and your headmaster was under deep suspicion." The king frowned darkly, as he lovingly caressed the necklace. "If we were not living in such precarious times, the Goblins would have ceased relations with the wizards for this alone.
Harry paled at the thought. "If it isn't that powerful, your Majesty, then why would Dumbledore want it?"
Flailhide and Griphook both grinned feral-like. "Because, Ursoo-Tow, Dumbledore doesn't know that it's not all-powerful. He obviously believed the rumors and hoped it would help him against Mr. Riddle perhaps."
The King turned to Griphook, standing up. "I must go and make this joyful announcement. Griphook you have my permission to do that which you had requested – gladly and gratefully. Here are the signed forms." The King waived his fingers and a folder appeared which he placed on Griphook's desk. He then turned and bowed formally to Harry. "The thanks and gratitude of the Goblins is yours, Lord Potter-Black. When you go to battle, call on us. Do not ask us, however, to follow Albus Dumbledore. We are in your debt, not his. If I see him ever again, only one of us will leave the meeting alive."
With that the powerful leader left the office. Harry gaped after him, feeling floored at what just happened.
"Mr. Potter, it was as if the Crown Jewels, or Mona Lisa or the Statue of Liberty had gone missing and was returned unharmed with no strings attached. What you did was something the Goblins will not forget. The Dragon Ear is very sacred to us."
Griphook opened the folder the king had given him, smiled and signed his name to a sheet inside. He looked at Harry and told him "now for my second gift to you, Ursoo-Tow. If you agree and sign this, you are legally my son. I will not expect you to live with me or obey me, as you are already an adult, but I never had children. I wish you to be my heir, and this is the way I can express my affection for you the best."
Harry felt his eyes stinging with tears. "I'd like that very much, Griphook. I'm honored." He spoke softly and reverently, picking up the quill and signing his name without hesitation. He looked up at his teacher/father, and for the first time in his life, saw tears in the eyes of a Goblin.
"You are now Furybolt, son of Griphook. And I may now call you Harry" he spoke with his beloved sharp toothed smile.
O0o0o0o0o0o0oHarry headed to the Weasley's shop after taking some time in peace in quiet in a booth at the Leaky Caldron. He needed to recover for a bit from the emotional time he spent at Gringotts. Harry Furybolt, son of Griphook!
The twins were delighted to see him and dragged him in the back room, where he charmed the place for time and privacy, and sat down for a nice long chat and gift exchange.
"So what are you doing about gifts for our prat siblings?" asked Fred.
"Are you giving them some of our products?" George grinned evilly.
Harry laughed. "Naw – I'm giving them nice, non-committal things. And here are a couple tokens of my love and affection." He tossed a box to each of the twins.
"Oh Harry – bad form. You got us confused" George smirked, looking at the tag on his package.
"Did not" laughed Harry. "Sorry, but as we share the 'Weasley network', you can't pull that on me."
The twins laughed and tossed Harry a couple gifts too. Besides the usual box of latest gags and inventions, there was a lurid, flashing dragonhide vest of the most tasteless design imaginable. It looked like something the twins would wear.
"Cheers!" Harry chortled. "This is a riot. I know it will really annoy Ron to see me wear this."
Fred was delighted to open a box of muggle magic tricks and books, and George was ecstatic with a box of muggle gag gifts and a DVD of Spike Jones. "Hours of inspiration here!" George nodded with satisfaction.
Harry wasn't sure he wanted to know what a whoopee cushion would inspire in magic, or what horrors he had just unleashed on the wizarding world.
O0o0o0o0o0o0oHarry dropped in on Leonard's shop briefly, to give him a small package. Leonard took him in back and opened the box, and was astounded to find Harry had given him several basilisk heart strings and tendons.
"Where ever did you get these from?" Leonard breathed with reverence.
"From a basilisk" Harry answered with dry amusement.
"Well, yes!" Stuttered Leonard, "but where did you ever find a basilisk?"
"Second year of Hogwarts. It was a real pain to kill, let me tell you. Nasty blighter almost got me first. I recently came upon a book that explained how to render the parts down for potions, etc. I never realized the carcass was valuable. I'm glad it was still there." Harry watched the man caressing the box lovingly.
"You killed a basilisk in your second year at Hogwarts? What was that for – advanced defense against the dark arts?" Leonard looked at the young man with amazement.
"Extra curricular activities" Harry snorted, and left, wishing Leonard a Happy Christmas.
O0o0o0o0o0o0o0oHarry spent some time Christmas Eve morning spying on Tom. He didn't do it often, as he didn't want to risk being found and blocked by too much spying, but he was worried that Christmas would be a perfect time for an attack. But Voldemort was spending his yuletide drunk on firewhiskey, torturing several of the death eaters on his naughty list, and driving himself into a frenzy of anger over the loss of 15 of his best at Longbottom Manor.
Neville and Harry popped to Longbottom Manor later that morning for a quick visit to Mrs. Longbottom, and so Harry could send his gifts to the Weasleys, visit Hedwig, and collect the gifts to him self.
"Happy Christmas, Neville darling" his Gran nodded to him, causing the Hufflepuff/Gryffindor to turn bright red. Harry thought for a brief instant that she was going to shake his hand. She was certainly not the huggy-touchy-feely type of parent. They spent a pleasant lunch with the matriarch, collected gifts to return to Godric's Suitcase, and said their good byes.
Popping back, the tree was now surrounded by brightly wrapped boxes and parcels. Harry shook his head in amazement – the whole trunk was filled with Christmas like he'd never experienced. His whole sad childhood the Dursley's tree was surrounded by gifts for Dudley, and never any for himself, and it had been no where near as festive as this. Fairies flittered all over the place – the original 20 of Erind's tribe mostly stayed in the tree, but there were dozens more that were never purchased that now lived in the greenery, garlands and nooks and crannies of the trunk. Luna never went anywhere without 5 or more gently floating around her hair, resting on her shoulders, or whispering magical secrets in her ears. She had just popped back herself from visiting her father, exchanging gifts, and checking his newly reinforced wards.
Neville reached into his satchel and drew out a large plant, the size of a banana tree, but with feathery leaves and scores of deep tropical pink blossoms. "Hey Erind – I've got a present for you and your friends!" he proudly proclaimed as he placed the plant on the opposite side of the fireplace from the tree. Sirius grinned down from his portrait and gave him the thumbs up.
Fairies flew from every corner of the house, oohing and ahing over Neville's plant. Even the ever-present fairies surrounding Luna abandoned her for the flowering foliage. "What is that, Nev?" Luna asked, coming over to give him a kiss and look the lovely plant over.
Candidus noeverflowera, commonly known as 'fairy fern'. I remembered reading that it's as attractive to fairies as clover is to bees. I happened to have one in my greenhouse at home" he grinned. "Oh – it is mildly intoxicating to fairies, too. Happy Christmas, little friends!"
Christmas morning everyone woke up early, with childish excitement in the air. Throwing on bathrobes and rubbing the sleep dirt from their eyes, they all gamboled into the common area like puppies, grinning and hugging in holiday merriment. Winky and Dobby had a lovely breakfast waiting, with smells of bacon, coffee, and sweet breads mixing with the heady pine, perfuming the air. The six of them chowed as quickly as was possible while still staying vaguely in the realms of politeness, throwing constant glances at the tree and its gifts.
Finally, it was time. Everyone gathered around the tree and started to hand out gifts. Fairies were flying drunkenly all over the room, giggling and blowing kisses. Several were tangled in Luna's long pale hair, singing what was probably fairy drinking songs, and a dozen more were laying all over the fairy fern daintily nibbling on the pollen of the blossoms. Harry called his house-elves over and tossed them a couple boxes, who looked bewildered.
"The Great Harry Potter gives elves gifts?" Dobby stammered, and Winky looked up with tears in her large round eyes.
"Well, of course" Hermione laughed, giving the elves a crushing hug. "Here are my gifts to you, too."
At the end of the unwrapping, Dobby and Winky were the proud owners of necklaces with the Potter and Black crests that they could wear under their clothes for now. Hermione had given Winky enchanted needles and scissor so she could make new clothing for the both of them, without being 'given' clothes and Luna gave them an assortment of fabrics that could only have come from Luna. Neville had given them each a pouch with healing potions, scaled down for elves.
"Is Winky the happiest elf in the world?" Dobby asked with a grin. "I don't think so – I still think it is Dobby!"
Harry got tons more LEGO from the elves (which was appreciated by everyone), a new penseive from Neville and his grandmother, dragonhide arm guards from Remus, a beautiful watch fob with aquamarine from Tonks, and a fur lined cloak from Hagrid. From Mr. & Mrs. Weasley he got home made fruitcake and a lovely sweater, still made by Mrs. Weasley, but out of cashmere yarn this time. Ron sent him the usual box of Honeydukes chocolate (gee – could he spare the money? Hermione asked snarkily), and Ginny, much to his disgust, gave him a bottle of Viagra.
"What's Viagra?" Neville asked innocently.
"Never mind" Hermione and Harry gulped in unison.
Neville and Luna looked at each other bewildered. "Must be a muggle thing" Luna shrugged her shoulders.
"Yah" Harry grumped. "Quite the muggle insult."
Luna had given Harry a magical photo album, the size of a muggle credit card that could expand on demand. It was filled with photos of all his friends from school with room for more.
She also gave each of the founderettes a necklace that was charmed so when they wore them, they could all see the strange fairy creatures she had been talking and writing about for years. That was a bit of a shock – where they were some of the few people that didn't believe Luna was, well, loony, they had rather believed she had a very active imagination. Wearing the necklaces, they could see all sorts of fairy and enchanted creatures scurrying around the baseboards, flying through the air, and inhabiting what they thought were empty spaces. Luna had quite the smug expression on her face as she watched them staring around the room in shock. "And that" she proclaimed, pointing at one extremely strange creature outside the window in the room of requirement, "is a Crumple-Horned Snorkack". And it was, too.
Harry gave Luna a blown glass globe on a wooden base, with a miniature Hogwarts inside. It was actually a like muggle snow globe, but he had enchanted the globe to play soothing music and show the weather outside when touched. To Neville he gave a goblin knife that was enchanted to never need sharpening and a sheath for it that could tie around a leg or arm.
Hermione smiled at Harry. "I want to give you your gift, but I have to get you out of this room for a bit."
Harry smiled back "that's fine, because I want to give you my gift in private" and led her by the hand to his room. Hermione gave Dobby a 'thumbs up' as they left the common room. They shut the door and sat down on the edge of his bed, and Harry brought out a small box, and got down on a knee in front of her.
"Hermione, I know I've never officially asked you to go out or anything. I hope I wasn't taking too much for granted. We have grown so close; I can't imagine spending the rest of my life with anyone else. Would you please marry me when we get out of school?" He opened the box to reveal a ring. It wasn't an engagement ring like the muggles wore, but more like a golden eternity band, set with pale flashing gems round the circumference. The stones were the colors of water, lightest blues and greens and clears.
She looked up in wonder into his eyes. "Harry" she whispered, "we've never even kissed! I know I love you and want to marry you, but are you sure?"
He smiled gently at her, and sat on the bed again, taking her hand in his. "Hermione, we might not have been snogging all over the castle, but we have shared memories and deepest thoughts. We both know this is right. I'm sorry if I haven't been too aggressive, but I never want you to feel cheap like Ginny makes herself, and I didn't want to push myself into a fiasco like Cho."
Having shared all those memories, Hermione knew what he meant and smiled. "Yes, I will gladly marry you. I'm not sure how my parents will react, but yes." And they shared their first kiss, a kiss of promise, gentle passion, and deep, honest love.
They broke away and Harry handed her the magical planner he had snuck from her bedroom. "Your parents were a bit shocked at first, but I explained how we have bonded and promised we were not rushing things. Your dad gave us his blessings as long as we wait to finish school."
"Oh Harry" she swooned with gratitude, hugging him. "I'll chat with them in a bit. I'm afraid my gift to you is no where near as wonderful."
With a laugh, Harry pointed out that saying 'yes' was about as fantastic of a Christmas gift as he could ever get, but he allowed her to lead him back into the common room.
The sight that greeted his eyes was stunning to say the least. Ignoring the grins of his friends, he gazed, slack jawed, at miles of metal tracks and gears enveloping the room. Up near the ceilings, around the whole circumference of the trunk, and filling unused corners, was a roller coaster of tubes, tracks, and mechanics, with large glass spheres gently traveling around, up and down. Everywhere you looked were marbles doing loop de loops, traveling up ramps and down, swirling and changing colors as they moved. There was a gentle whirring and clicking that accompanied it, but nothing loud or annoying.
"Do you like it?" Hermione asked nervously. It takes each ball 15 minutes to do the whole room, and can be charmed for silence if you don't like the noise. And each ball can be charmed to give a sensory message when you hold it, like this" and she plucked a green marble off the track and handed it to him. Harry held the marble and was amazed to distinctly smell fresh baked gingerbread. He plucked another marble off the track, and that one played 'The Coventry Carol' as he held it. "They are all charmed for Christmas senses right now – we had a blast doing it."
"Hermione, I love it!" Harry breathed, running around the room following the marbles, and plucking ones off at random to see what they smelled, tasted, felt, or sounded like. One even felt like a puppy with a wet nose! Fairies were flying around, racing the marbles and looping around the track in tipsy delight. As he drooled over his new toy, Hermione proudly showed off her ring and status as the fiancé of Harry Furybolt James Potter-Black.
O0o0o0o0o0o0oRemus and Tonks were snuggled together on the couch in the parlor of Grimmauld Place, wrapping paper strewn around the floor, sipping cocoa together. A brand new engagement ring glittered on Tonks left hand, and love glowed around the room.
"Should we tell Harry what his watch fob does?" Tonks asked idly, admiring her shoes.
"Owl him" Remus said, nodding. "He always hated floo travel, and that will finally let him use the floo without dizziness and falling."
Remus was admiring his brand new pocket watch, a gift from Harry. It was identical to the one Harry wore – one side told normal time, the other side with hands for close friends. Harry had taken the liberty of adding hands for Tonks and himself already. Tonks was wearing her gift from the Chosen One – enchanted dragonhide boots that gave her magical grace and balance. She was busy changing them pink, then purple, then lime green…
O0o0o0o0o0o0oHagrid was sitting in front of his fire on the grounds, scratching Fang behind the ears and smiling to himself. He had just unwrapped Harry's gift of a large, giant sized leather bag that was enchanted for featherweight and to hold much more than it should. It was stocked with rope, bandages, potions and ointments, saws, and scores of useful things one could use in the forest when helping creatures.
He was wearing a surprise gift from Luna Lovegood – a giant-scaled silver chain around his neck. It was enchanted by the fairies, allowing Hagrid to spend a most enjoyable time watching formally invisible creatures of all shapes and sizes scampering around the grounds outside his hut.
Fresh snow glittered on the grounds, and Hagrid took in a deep breath, smelling the cold earth and frozen trees. It was the smell of change – soon foretold events would start and the wizarding world would never be the same.
O0o0o0o0o0o0o0oThe Weasleys were sitting around their tree in their new home. They had just finished unwrapping gifts from Harry. Harry had a real struggle trying to figure out what to buy for the adults, as he had no idea what their new home was like, and they had a plenty of money of their own now.
Mrs. Weasley was delighted with a large muggle gift basket of gourmet foods. It was really fun to see what muggles enjoyed and thought was exotic. She had to admit the chocolate truffles were to die for.
Arthur Weasley was beside himself. Harry had sent him a muggle child's 'invisible engine' kit. It was clear plastic, came with a manual to explain how the combustion engine worked, and actually moved when a crank when turned. He was sitting on the floor assembling it with wild abandon.
Ron got from Harry a very professional set of goggles for playing Quiddich. He felt a small pang of guilt for sending such a cheap gift in return. Ginny unwrapped a very nice lap desk, with many compartments, feminine stationary and never-out quills. It was a very lovely gift, and she felt far more than a small twinge of conscience for her snarky gift of the Viagra.
O0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0Harry and Hermione were snuggled up together on a loveseat facing the fireplace. Sirius was politely ignoring them and visiting with his mother. They were talking in low, intimate tones, feeding each other fork-fulls of plum pudding, and stopping for the occasional delighted kiss.
"What did you ever give to Ginny?" Hermione asked with a grin.
"I wanted to give her a Weasley Wizarding Wheezes instant cold shower. I wish I did now." Harry grumbled.
O0o0o0o0o0o0ooIt was a few days before vacation was over. Dumbledore had been gone a few days and his office was empty. Hermione had taken over the dining table with books and parchments to such a degree that the elves charmed an end table into a larger one for eating at.
"I've GOT it!" She shouted, looking up. "I know what to do with captured Death Eaters!"
Luna, Neville and Harry came over from their LEGO. "What did you find?" Harry asked.
"This!" Hermione pointed triumphantly in an old book titled 'Enchanting For Stasis'. "Read this, guys, and tell me it's not perfect."
"Holy cow" Harry whistled low. He broke into song "Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam…" Hermione giggled. Neville and Luna looked at each other and just shrugged. Some things are better left unasked. "I'll bring this to Tonks and Remus – I'm sure the Aurors will want to use it."
OK folks – please in your reviews give me some creative euphemisms for poop and pooping. I need them for chapter 17. Please try to steer clear of cussing – my 10 year old loves to read this stuff.
If you have never seen Spike Jones, find a DVD or video and indulge yourself and bond with the Weasley twins. It's hard to describe – jazz band music by a pack of comedians from the 1940s, who attracted the most bizarre talent on the show. I wish he were still alive and performing. Heck – I wish they still had variety shows on TV – television really stinks now.
I hope I described the marble maze that now takes up the ceiling space of Godric's Suitcase well enough – they are amazing things to see, and an enchanted one would be positively dreamy.