Revati,
Much as I appreciate your apparent chivalry in defending my honor against your Potions Professor, I assure you that I can handle myself and you needn't get detention on my behalf. My time at Hogwarts overlapped with Severus Snape's, and though I hardly saw him, I'm not surprised he knows me by reputation. He is not the first to question whether I know who your father is, and he certainly won't be the last. I advise you pay that kind of talk no mind—you and I know what's right, and that's enough.
I'm tired of receiving letters from your professors for your behavior in Potions. I told you there would be consequences if I got another owl, so here they are—you are to remain home and help me out with the farm all summer—yes, with the Knarls and Nogtails, too. You may write to your friends, but you will not be meeting with them, except, perhaps, to get next years' supplies. I'm sorry to be so harsh, but asking you to behave didn't seem to work, and this is the only solution I have otherwise.
I'm sure you're wondering why this punishment is for the summer. I'm sorry, darling, but my boss wants me to go to Germany tomorrow to help them against a number of Manticores that are wreaking havoc in Stuttgart. I'll be gone for at least a week because of the paperwork and the international regulations, so much as I'd love to see you over the holidays, I think it's best that you stay at school. You've told me that your friends Ron and Harry are staying too, so please spend some time with them and have a good break. I'll miss you, but I don't want you to stop having fun on my behalf.
I've sent you one of my old school books on magical creatures from my time at Hogwarts. It's fourth year material, but it isn't as though you'll be working with them (and besides, I suppose between you and your friend Hermione, the two of you have run out of books to read in the library). I remember you asked about Cerberus dogs in your last letter, so I made sure the book I sent had a section on them. Why the sudden interest? We're not getting one as a pet, I'm telling you right now—you'll go off to school and then I'll be the one taking care of the dog.
Love you dearly,
-Mum
Reva looked up at her mum's expectant owl at breakfast, two mornings before break. "Sorry, Elvie," she sighed, "I don't have treats on me. Go on, I'll come by with a letter to Mum later."
Elvie gave her an affronted look, then huffily took to the air, flying out of the Great Hall and presumably to the Owlery, where she'd wait until Reva gave her a letter to take back to Anjali.
"Wha's happeneh?" Asked Ron through a mouthful of eggs.
Reva scrunched up her face at the sight but replied anyway. "Mum's working over break, so I'm actually going to be here with you two during the break."
"Wicked!" Said Harry, grinning at her.
"Excellent," said Hermione matter-of-factly. "Then you can help the boys continue researching Nicholas Flamel."
That's what the four Gryffindors had been doing for the past few weeks—looking for the elusive Flamel to figure out what exactly it was that Fluffy the Cerberus was guarding. Hermione swore up and down that she'd heard that name before, as had (surprisingly) Harry, but neither Ron nor Revati had a clue as to who he was.
"I suppose so," Revati said. She was excited to spend more time in the castle, but she couldn't help feeling a bit sad that she wasn't going to be seeing her mum.
"Didn't you say your mum's working for the Ministry?" Ron asked, thankfully swallowing his eggs before he spoke.
"Yeah, for the Department of Magical Creatures," Revati said. "She doesn't like it very much, though, since it's mostly deskwork and regulation and she wanted to do fieldwork and conservation in her areas of expertise."
"What's that, then?" Hermione asked interestedly.
"Initially she wanted to do diplomatic relations with Magical Beings, but that was during the War and they weren't looking for many people with that skill set, so she also doubled in the study of Lethifolds and dragonology."
"Hey, our brother Charlie's a dragonologist!" exclaimed Fred Weasley as he and his twin George sat down besides the first years. Revati didn't know them very well personally, and had only interacted with them when they wanted something from Ron, but their reputation preceded them.
"So I've heard," Reva said dryly. The twins grinned at her.
"So you're staying here, too, then?" George grabbed a plate and loaded it with sausage. "That makes six of us in Gryffindor Tower over the break."
"That'll be nice," Harry said offhandedly, "We might get a shot at the good armchairs in the common room, then."
"Am I the only girl staying, then?" Asked Reva, slightly crestfallen. She didn't much like the idea of being alone in her dorm Christmas morning while the boys unwrapped their presents in their rooms.
"Ah, don't worry about it," George said bracingly. "We'll probably all be by the fireplace, anyway."
"Course, you might not want to hang with these specky gits on Christmas day," Fred grinned, nudging Ron.
"You could probably stay with them in the boys' dorm the night before," Hermione pointed out. "I mean, if Ron and Harry don't mind."
Ron shrugged. "I shared with my sister Ginny 'til Bill moved to Egypt," he said to her. "I don't care."
Harry gave her a small smile that hinted at a little sadness and understanding. "Of course you can crash with us. Nobody should spend Christmas morning alone."
That was how Revati found herself waking up on a makeshift bed in the first year boys' dorm on the morning of December 25th, to the sound of Ron yelling, "Merry Christmas!"
Reva let out a yawn as she sat up from her pile of blankets and looked around. Overnight, presents had appeared in a little pile at the foot of their beds.
"I've got presents!" Harry gasped in excitement.
"Well, of course you do," Reva said, grinning at him.
"Excellent ones, I might add. We're your friends, aren't we?" Ron said.
"I just… I wasn't expecting…" Harry trailed off, looking quite pleased with them. "Never mind. This is brilliant!"
"Well, open them first!" Ron rolled his eyes. As Harry looked over at his presents with delight, Reva caught Ron's eye and the two of them shared a look.
It wasn't the first time Harry had hinted at a less-than-happy life with his aunt and uncle. From what she'd heard, they'd never given him anything better than a pair of old socks, and the first bit of mail he'd ever received was his Hogwarts letter. By silent agreement, she and Ron left their presents unopened to watch Harry experience his first real Christmas.
Harry beamed as he tore into his first present. Hagrid had given him a flute, clearly hand carved. The next thing had been an oddly shaped little coin from his aunt and uncle. Reva and Ron both peered at it, perplexed and intrigued.
"It's so strange!" Ron exclaimed.
"You can keep it," Harry laughed at them. Ron looked flabbergasted.
"But it says it's fifty pence, Harry! That's a lot of pence, isn't it? Are you sure you don't want it?"
"Trust me, Ron, it's yours."
"Blimey, thanks Harry!" Ron said, eyes bright.
The next thing to come out of Harry's pile was a very lumpy looking package, which Ron seemed to immediately recognize.
"I think that's from my mum," he said, suddenly embarrassed. "I wrote to her, telling her that you didn't expect presents, Harry, and that you had to change your plans last minute and couldn't see your mum, Reva, so she must have sent something for you."
Reva glanced down at her pile—sure enough, a similarly wrapped package was waiting for her.
"That's really kind of her," Harry said, looking touched as he opened the parcel. He pulled out an emerald green sweater, which he immediately pulled on.
"She made you a Weasley sweater!" Ron groaned. "Well, good thing yours is a nice color. Mine's always maroon."
"It's lovely," Harry said, grinning.
"Wow, Ron, your mum's the best!" Reva added. It was really sweet of Mrs. Weasley to think of them—Harry especially—during Christmas. A warm feeling settled in her chest.
Harry opened Hermione's present next. She'd bought him a book (of course), but it was his own copy of Quidditch Through the Ages so he didn't have to continue borrowing the library copy. Ron had gotten him a whole box of Chocolate Frogs, which he opened immediately. And Reva had gifted him some polish for his broomstick—after that first match, she had a feeling he'd need to take care of his poor Nimbus more than most other people.
Harry picked up the last package at the foot of his bed and opened it. Inside was a long, silvery cloak that seemed to shimmer even in the still air.
"Is that—" Ron gasped.
"Can't be!" Reva said, shocked.
"What?" Harry asked.
"Try it on!" Reva urged. Shrugging, Harry put it on, and Ron let out a little yell as his body disappeared.
"It is!" He said.
"But they're really, really rare, aren't they?" Reva murmured. "I mean, Invisibility cloaks are really tricky magic!"
"Invisibility—" Harry frowned, then looked down. He gasped. "I'm invisible!" He ran over to the mirror to look at himself (or, rather, the lack of himself).
A note fluttered out and Harry picked it up, looking stricken as he read it.
"It says… it says this belonged to my dad." He whispered.
"Oh… Harry," Reva whispered. She didn't know what to say at the look of sadness that had quickly entered his eyes.
"Mate…" Ron started, before trailing off. He seemed to be having the same issue as Revati.
Harry shook himself out of it. "Don't worry," he said, taking off his cloak. "You two open your presents," he said with forced brightness.
Ron and Reva exchanged a worried glance, but did so anyway. Soon, the tension that had filled the air after Harry found his dad's cloak lifted, and the three first years laughed and talked as Ron and Reva opened their presents.
Hermione had given Ron some Fizzing Whizbees, which he seemed excited about. Harry had gotten him a bunch of Muggle sweets, which had fascinated him. His elder brothers had gotten him some souvenirs from where they lived—Egypt and Romania accordingly. Reva had found him a Chudley Cannons poster, having heard him make offhanded remarks about his favorite team. Finally, he pulled out a maroon sweater, smiling affectionately at it even as he scrunched up his nose at the color.
Reva had gotten a Weasley sweater as well, which made her beam widely at Ron. Hers was a burnt orange, close to a sunset color, and she pulled it on immediately, just as Harry had. Hermione gifted her a Muggle book of fairy tales which she found quite interesting—the first one, which she skimmed, was about a poor girl named after soot of all things, whose godmother had magic but clearly wasn't very good at Transfiguration (all of her spells timed out at midnight), and whose best friends were mice. Muggle fairy tales were wild, she decided, eyes widening at the pictures in the book, which refused to move no matter how much she prodded at them. Ron had gotten her a bunch of treats for Mango. He seemed to take a shining to her toad despite himself, as Mango tended to hop about the Gryffindor common room quite often and, along with Neville's toad Trevor, had become the unofficial House mascot. Ron, despite his frequent grumbling to the contrary, didn't seem to mind as much as some other students when Mango made herself at home on top of his head.
From Harry, she'd received a whole bag of pumpkin pasties. Next to her mum's Cauldron Cakes, they were her favorite Wizarding treat, and she rewarded him with a huge grin as she bit into one and offered the two boys another. Her uncle had gotten her assorted chocolates, as well as a book called Curses and Counter-curses (Bewitch Your Friends and Befuddle Your Enemies with the Latest Revenges: Hair Loss, Jelly-Legs, Tongue-Tying and Much, Much More). His note said not to mention to her mum that he'd given it to her, and to be careful when using the spells. Finally, she opened her mum's present, grinning as she pulled out an enchanted figurine of a three headed dog, growling up at them. It was small enough to rest on the palm of her hand, and her mother's note said, This is the closest you're getting to having one as a pet, young lady, unless you can prove yourself responsible enough to take care of one.
Her mum had sent her something else—a small wooden box, extremely light and seemingly empty. There were two envelopes attached at the top. One of them was blank, but the other read OPEN ME REVA, so the girl complied, frowning.
Reva,
This is a gift for your friend Harry Potter. Please give it to him in private, when he's alone or surrounded only by his closest friends.
There's one question in your life that you never thought to ask me, and so I never answered it. It is time now for that secret to come to light.
Love,
-Mum
Frowning, Reva opened her mouth to tell Harry about the present, but before she could speak, Fred and George Weasley bounded in.
"Merry Christmas!" They cheered together.
"Hey, look! Harry and Reva have Weasley sweaters too!" One of them, wearing a blue sweater with an 'F' on it, pointed.
"Theirs is better than ours," noticed the other one—Fred, Reva guessed, given that he was wearing the 'G' sweater. "Mum must go through more effort if you're not family."
"Why aren't you wearing yours, Ron?" George sat on his younger brother's bed. "Come on, put it on, they're all nice and warm!"
"I hate maroon," Ron grumbled, but everyone in the room saw through it as he happily pulled his sweater over his head.
"Yours doesn't have a letter, though," George said, grinning. "I guess she doesn't think you forget your name. But we're not stupid, we know people call us Gred and Forge."
The five Gryffindors shared a laugh.
"That's why you've switched sweaters, is it?" Asked Harry, chuckling.
Fred's eyes widened in mock offense. "Haven't the faintest clue what you're talking about, Harry." He joked.
"Of course not," Reva snickered.
"The 'G' is for Gred, weren't you listening?" Fred smirked at her.
"What's all this noise about?" Percy Weasley frowned, poking his head in the doorway. "Revati?" He noticed her. "What are you doing in the boys' dorms? That's against—"
"Oi, lay off her, it's Christmas," George said, jumping forwards and grabbing Percy's sweater. "There we are, 'P' for Prefect, Perce! Put it on, we're all wearing ours!"
"And you're sitting with us at dinner today," Fred added as he joined George, forcing Percy's sweater over his head.
"But—"
"No buts, Perce!" George said, as he and Fred began marching their elder brother out. "Christmas time is family time!"
And Revati, Ron, and Harry couldn't help but laugh as they watched the three elder Weasleys' antics. Reva spared Harry a glance—surely her mum's present ought to wait until the night. That was the only way to be sure that Harry had access to as much privacy as he needed when he opened the little box lying among Reva's things.
And hopefully, when he did, Anjali's secrets would be revealed.
It was only hours later, after dinner, that Reva was able to pull Harry aside as the Weasleys walked together to Gryffindor Tower, a few paces ahead of them. They'd all spent the day together, even Percy, who'd sat and played referee while the rest of them played a game of Quidditch with a couple of the twins' friends from Hufflepuff. They were all cold and wet from the snow, but they were happy and exhilarated as they all trudged back to the castle for a lovely Christmas feast that lasted two hours.
Now the twins were dragging Percy around, and Ron was standing next to George, having a quick conversation as Fred cheerfully spoke over Percy's spluttered complaints.
"Hey," she shifted nervously, recalling the cryptic nature of her mother's letter. "I have another present for you."
"Oh." Harry blinked, surprised but grateful. "You really didn't have to, Reva, honestly—"
"It's not from me," she explained quickly. "It's from my mum."
"That's really nice of her," Harry said. He shook his head. "You know, between your mum and Ron's…" He trailed off, eyes narrowing suspiciously behind his glasses as he looked at her nervous expression. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing!" Reva said. "She was just… acting strangely about it in her letter, that's all." She afforded him a smile. "It's probably nothing, I'm just being silly."
Harry didn't look terribly convinced, but he didn't bring it up again until they were finally alone with Ron in the first year boys' dorms thirty minutes later. Fred and George had hung around for a bit, stealing some of Ron's sweets, joking around with Reva and Harry, and generally horsing around. But finally, even they decided they were bored of the dorms and headed down to the common room, probably to come up with new jokes to play on returning students the next wee.
Without a word, Reva grabbed the small box her mum had sent her. The unaddressed envelope was still stuck to it as she passed it over to Harry.
"What's that, then?" Asked Ron curiously. Reva explained the situation quickly as Harry looked at the box in his hands with a bit of trepidation.
"Somehow, I feel like this is going to change things," he confessed, pushing his glasses higher on his nose.
"Are you okay with that?" Reva asked. She had a feeling he was right—her mother wasn't particularly dramatic, and preferred to cut right to the chase on important matters. For her to act with such secrecy… well, it didn't bode very well.
"I don't know." Harry murmured. He picked up the envelope on top.
"Well," said Ron practically, "Only one way to find out."
Harry tore open the letter. He only seemed to get through one line before his confused expression turned suddenly stunned. Almost immediately, his piercing green eyes widened, his face paled dramatically, and he looked winded. Reva almost feared he'd passed out.
"Harry! Are you okay? What's wrong?" Asked Ron worriedly.
"'Dear Harry,'" read Harry out loud, his voice shaking as it barely rose above a whisper, "'This will probably come as a shock to you, and I'm terribly sorry about that. My name is Anjali Kumar, and I am your aunt.'"
i know it's cliche but bear with me! the brown girls deserve the cliche's too!
stay safe everyone!
-alidfi