A/N: Hey, sorry for me skipping last month but with all the pollen in the air it was hard to do anything, not to mention write a new chapter. But here we are now.

Chapter 61: The Beginning of the Winter Holidays

"What is it, Sirius?" Loki asked the man. It was unusual for him to be so serious so it must be something important.

"When we renovated the townhouse for Narcissa and Draco...well we found something," he said evasively but continued upon Loki's inquisitive look. "It seems that my dear brother managed to find a piece to the Riddle we want to solve and tasked Kreacher, the Black house-elf, with destroying it. Kreacher hasn't managed it, and he is quite reluctant to hand it over to me since he isn't overly fond of me. Maybe you can convince him to give it up?"

With a low hum, Loki nodded. "I'll see what I can. But I doubt that should he really want the thing destroyed, he'll give me much trouble. Was there something else?"

"No, no, that was all. I just want the thing out of the house as fast as possible especially with children around," Sirius explained with a glance at Draco.

It was strange to him. For years he had hated the Malfoys, hated what they stood for, the successful avoidance of prison. However, when Narcissa suddenly contacted him and asked him for help to get away from Lucius, he was shocked and surprised. Sirius would never have thought that his cousin would want to get away from the blonde ponce with all his money and influence.

Not that Narcissa was poor. No, her own vault was quite full, but it was nothing on the wealth Lucius had.

At first, Sirius hadn't known what to do and how to help Narcissa and Draco, but a visit to Gringotts changed that. Sirius had to admit that the goblins could be very vicious and that they didn't like Lucius at all. The man looked down on them and showed them only a minimum of respect. Therefore, they happily helped them. In the end, they found a little clause in the marriage contract about fidelity until the necessary heir was born.

As it stood, Lucius seemed to be drawn to very... unusual sex practices that his wife couldn't and wouldn't fulfil. So, he regularly visited particular establishments that catered to his special needs.

When Sirius learned of the man's habits, he gladly exploited them to get his cousin out of her marriage with the man. A nice bonus was that Narcissa got half his fortune as payment for his infidelity. One thing that Lucius learned was that you never messed with a Black if you value your continued existence. There was a reason that it was called the Black Madness, and it ran deep in the family.

Once Sirius finally got her free, the two sat together and in length talked about what happened during the war.

Sirius was surprised how devoted Narcissa was to her son. She usually only showed her cold exterior and seemed uncaring, but during their talk, Sirius learned that she would do nearly anything if it meant that her son was safe.

That was the point when Sirius stopped seeing her as the wife of an ex-Death Eater and began to see her as a loving mother.

Together they decided that Narcissa would move back into the Black Townhouse with Draco. So, they hired the goblins to renovate the house. Sure, it was quite costly, but the goblins did a great job.

The once dark and dreary house was now bright and friendly. Everything from the cursed silverware to the heads of dead house-elves and even Walburga's portrait was removed. Nothing that was in any way dangerous remained.

They, of course, didn't throw anything away but stored it in one of the Black vaults dedicated for such things. Even if he hated most of his family, Sirius would never disgrace it in such a way if he could help it, not that Narcissa would let him.

Narcissa in the meantime helped the goblins with the renovations, choosing the colour scheme, furniture, and whatever else she wanted in it. By now, it was something you could proudly call home.

"Okay, then let's get back to the others," Loki piped up and brought Sirius out of his musing with it.

With a smile and a nod, Sirius sat into motion, followed by Loki.

In the meantime, Dean pulled Sam aside with an earnest face.

"Dean, what is wrong?" Sam questioned, not having seen Dean so serious for a long time.

"Dad...," Dean growled while running his fingers through his hair in barely concealed anger.

To Sam, it seemed that his brother's demon side was lurking very close to the surface. Thanks to Alastair's teachings, he usually had an excellent grip on it. So, threatening to come out meant that something, or someone, in this case, managed to royally piss him off.

"He has a third son! One who doesn't even know about all the stuff we do!"

"Say what?" Sam exclaimed in utter disbelieve after a few moments of silence.

"Yes," he answered with a nod. "He even visited him while he was supposedly on hunts and went to watch baseball games with him instead. However, he never told him about us or what he's doing."

Sam was completely stunned. John Winchester had another son who they did know nothing about and who could live a happy life. Something they had been denied?! To say that it made Sam furious would be a massive understatement.

"How did you find out?" he finally wanted to know.

Dean huffed. "Through sheer happenstance," he spat. "One day I thought that I should visit John in hell and thank him. He saved my life after all by making a deal. However, when he saw what I became and with whom I was, he began to sing a wholly different tune.

"Suddenly I was a disgrace unworthy to be called his son and far worse things I won't recap. That he deeply regretted to have saved my life and – that was the best part – that he was glad that Adam was nothing like me.

"That, of course, caught my interest. So, Alastair and I – after talking to mum about it, who also had no idea about Adam – investigated the matter. You can understand how surprised I was with what I saw."

"That…that…," Sam growled. "That fucking biased bastard!"

It showed how pissed off Sam was that he began to swear loudly while standing on a platform full of children, some of which looked at him shocked. Even some of his magic slipped out and cracked around him.

"I'm very tempted to go to him an tell him what exactly I think of this."

That made Dean laugh. "You won't believe it, but mum actually demanded to be taken to him. It taught me to never piss her off," he explained to his brother.

"John is an idiot," Mary told them while walking over to them. "He deserved what he got!"

"I demand to see the memories later," Sam said in a tone that broke no argument.

"Sure thing, Sammy," Dean piped much happier.

"You ready to leave?" It was James, who also walked over to then, that asked. "Sam, you, your brother and your mother are staying with us at Potter Manor over the holidays."

They all nodded, while Mary stepped next to James and Dean placed a hand on Sam's shoulder.

Within the blink of an eye, they vanished and reappeared in the entrance hall of Potter Manor. It was a quite large room with a broad stair going up to the first floor. Left to the stairs was a set of double doors behind which they could see a large ballroom. Opposite another entrance led to the private wing.

James led them up to the stairs and down the right corridor.

"This is the guest wing. First comes Dean, Alastair and Castiel's room followed by Mary's room. On the other side, we have first Remus followed by Fenrir and Kali," James explained. "Though every room has a plaque stating who's staying there. Loki and Jor are staying with us in the family wing because Jor still has trouble being far from Harry or his father for too long. You, however, wouldn't be able to get in there. So, don't even try.

"Meals will be served in the small dining room on the ground floor through the right door, the second door on the left. Other than the top floor and my study on the ground floor, you can move freely. Those two are warded against anyone without Potter blood or in this special case Loki and Jor. In the entrance hall to the left of the stairs, you find a fireplace connected to the floo system. Any questions?"

All three shook their head.

"Good, should you need help, you can always call Mipsy. She's a resident house-elf and will help you with whatever you need…within reason, of course. I leave you now to get settled."

The three Winchesters set into motion and entered their own rooms while James went to his study. He had to finalise some paperwork. It only had been half the truth that Loki and Jor had a special allowance to enter the private wing of the manor.

With Loki's agreement, both James and Lily had blood-adopted Jor when they learned what happened to the poor boy. That was because they already saw the small boy as a little brother of Harry, but also to add another layer of protection in the case that should ever something happen to Loki, however improbable that was. All that was left was filing the appropriate paperwork.

Another thing was that both Remus and Sirius became his godfathers. Hopefully, this way neither Odin nor those idiots from heaven would be able to do anything to Jor without having a riot on their hands.

With a sigh, James sat behind his desk and pulled the paperwork to him. The faster he got it done, the sooner he could spend time with his family.

It was about an hour later that Loki found Sam, his mother Mary as well as Harry and Jor sitting in the parlour, playing a round of poker. Sam was growling frustratedly while Mary smirked at her son and Harry contently sat in his seat with Jor in his lap. Lily sat in another chair and watched them while charming something.

"Don't you think it unfair pairing up?" Loki joked.

"What? They are two, and we're two...it's a fair game," Harry huffed.

Loki only snorted, when his gaze fell on Sam, and he remembered something.

"Sammy, I completely forgot...do you want to be aged again?"

Sam blinked a few times confused, not realising what Loki was about. It took a few moments until it dawned him.

"Uhm actually...," he began but fell silent again when he looked at his mother who just smiled at him. Sam nodded in return. "Over the last year I had so much fun and...and I realised that I don't want to go back to my old life. With Dean now having Alastair and Castiel I don't have to worry about abandoning him either. So yeah, as long as it doesn't mean health problems for me, I'd like to stay this way."

"Do you doubt my skills?" Loki growled playfully.

"As if I would be so stupid," Sam replied with a chuckle. "But how old am I now actually?"

"Well, your body is twelve now. Your soul, on the other hand, in the mid-twenties," Loki explained while sitting down on the empty chair he called over from another table. "But don't worry, I know the human body well enough to safely do it. Or do you really think that I would endanger your life and health? I probably even extended your life by healing any damage in the meantime."

Sam looked at Loki in shock before he shook his head.

"Only you Lo...only you."

Loki snorted. "Anyway, Harry, I just retrieved another piece of Riddle's soul. Turns out that Sirius' brother Regulus wasn't as loyal to Voldy than everyone thought. A few pieces are still missing, but we're getting there."

"That's good," Harry replied with a nod. "Now, where were we?"

"Stripping Sam of all his money," Jor piped up, jumping up and down in Harry's lap.

That was precisely what they were doing for the next hour and a half. Between Mary and Harry, Sam was quickly left scrambling to try and at least keep his dignity if not his money.

Harry, however, had a nice sum of spending money that he shared with Jor, who grinned broadly. Not that Sam overly minded as it wasn't all that much money, maybe about five Galleons.

It was the morning of Christmas that Harry was woken by an overly hyper Jor at 5 in the morning. With a groan after checking the time, he turned to the jumping ball of excitement. Jor had snuck into his bed the evening prior because Loki had a few last-minute things to do, and Jor didn't want to be alone.

The first evening they had returned home – which was still a concept that amazed Harry, having a home – they celebrated the Winter Solstice and Yule. Everyone he loved and considered family had been there, even Draco and Narcissa as well as the Winchesters, Alastair and Castiel.

Draco at first felt decidedly uncomfortable not only because he thought he was intruding in Harry's family but also because the celebration at the Potter Manor was far less stiff than he was used to. But the longer he stayed with them, and all of them treated him like he belonged there, he relaxed.

They all played games, told stories and just enjoyed their time together.

On the following evening, that was two days ago now, Narcissa together with his parents held a Yule Ball here at the manor.

It was initially supposed to be the Malfoy Yule Ball, but when Narcissa divorced from her husband and left him to rot, she summarily decided to relocate it and make it the Black Yule Ball. This was for once because the Malfoy Balls always were the main event of the season and cancelling would have meant a massive outcry in their community. But it was also to show that Narcissa didn't need her husband to be successful. Luckily it had been early enough to inform the guests and even invite a few more guests.

From what his father told him, Lily and Narcissa at first only worked tentatively together, but once they both realised that they weren't all that different, they hit it off like a house on fire.

Both Sirius, seeing that Ellen joined the preparation flurry not soon later, as well as James decided to go into hiding and wait it out. Neither had been keen on being dragged into this madness.

Harry had to admit that the three women did a marvellous job. The ballroom had been decorated in white and light blues with snow falling down on the guests but never touching them or the floor. Fir trees stood along the walls and were beautifully decorated while candles that looked like ice illuminated the room.

At first, Harry had been worried that only Slytherins would be invited but to his relief soon realised that this wasn't the case. There had been the Bones, Longbottoms, Lovegoods and so many more of his school mates.

The children had their separate room from where the adults were celebrating and where they could sit together, talk or play different games. Only during the dinner preceding the ball, they had to sit with the adults.

Harry had loved it from the beginning to the end, even if he had to dress up for the occasion.

However, now he was lying in his bed with a hyper Jor trying to get him to get up.

"Have you looked at the clock?" he asked with a frown. "I doubt that anyone is up yet."

"But you're always up early," Jor pouted. "And dad never sleeps."

"There is early, and there are ungodly hours to get up. Besides, your dad is a pagan god and an angel so no wonder that he never sleeps," Harry said while pulling Jor towards him and draping the blanket over him.

The boy reluctantly laid down and curled up in Harry's arms. Harry could feel that it wasn't just anticipation that made Jor so hyper. If he had to make a guess, Loki hasn't returned yet, and Jor was getting worried that something has happened that would keep his father away from him again.

"Hey, don't worry. Your father will be here, no matter what. I brought him to you once, and I'll do it again if I have to," Harry muttered soothingly while gently stroking his back. "And afterwards I hex him to kingdom come for leaving us behind."

Harry felt how Jor began to relax and absently waved his hand in the air and made soft music playing in the background. Slowly Jor fell asleep again, and with a smile, Harry followed suit.

The next time Harry woke up, it was because Jor was stirring in his arms. A check of the time revealed that it was shortly past eight now so a much better time to get up.

"Hey, wanna get up?" he asked Jor, who sleepily blinked at him.

That woke the boy up.

"Yay presents!" he shouted, dragged Harry out of bed and towards the door to the hallway. "Finally!"

"Not so fast," Harry laughed. "Bathroom first or I fear that I'll have a problem soon."

Jor groaned but patiently waited until Harry was done before dragging him out of the room, down the corridor and to the informal sitting room in the private part of the ground floor. Though when they entered, they were greeted by the cutest thing ever.

On a rug in front of the fire lay two wolves though one was quite a bit larger. The smaller one had fur ranging from a honey blond to a middle brown while the larger one was several shades of dark grey. They lay there curled around one another while the brown wolf whimpered and his left foreleg that stuck in the air, twitched a bit.

Jor, seeing an opportunity and completely forgetting about the presents, took a run-up and jumped onto the two wolves. Though, he seemed to have anticipated that his brother would retaliate when woken up so rudely because he instantly shifted into a much smaller snake than the one Harry had seen in the Chamber and slithered under the other wolf, who obviously was Remus.

Fenrir jumped up and tried to get to the snake, consequently waking Remus up who looked around confused and a bit irritated. Though once he processed what was happening, he also jumped up and chased the snake.

Harry chuckled while filming the entire ordeal and the resulting mock fight. It was only when Lily and Mary, together with Sam, entered that the three finally calmed down again.

"Breakfast first and then presents," Lily told them, her amusement clearly audible.

Jor grumbled about that but dutifully walked over to Harry after shifting back. Fenrir and Remus in the meantime changed back too, Fenrir lazily stretching.

"You have your own rooms, you know?" Lily chuckled. "No need to sleep here."

"Meh," Fenrir replied. "I'm still helping Remus getting over his aversion of being a werewolf. At least now he looks like a wolf and not that...monstrosity, no offence."

Remus merely waved him off. He already came a long way since his first meeting with Fenrir and the consequent confrontation. Fenrir had called him every name under the sun for his attempt at suppressing the wolf within him before lecturing him about what he was doing to himself with it and how it would kill him sooner or later.

Now a few weeks later Remus had to admit that Fenrir was right. He had come to terms that he, in fact, was not a monster as he so long believed. That revelation had changed him a lot, and for a few weeks now, he was able to transform on will and not because of the moon phase. It seems that as long as he gave his wolf the freedom it needed, it wouldn't force the transformation every month.

Another side-effect was that he felt much better. Where he was usually exhausted continuously and weary, he suddenly was full of energy, sometimes even so much that he went on a run in the forest surrounding Potter Manor to get rid of the excessive energy.

"He helped me a lot already, Lily," Remus spoke up while walking over to the others. "But it will still take a lot of time for me to be content with myself and Fenrir is helping me with that. If that means that we sleep curled around each other in front of the fire so mote it be."

"I know, Remy," Lily said while she hugged her old friend. "I'm proud of you with how much you already achieved."

"Though I'm very tempted to search for that Greyback guy and show him what exactly I think of his doings," Fenrir growled irritated.

Together they all went to the dining room, where they met a grumbling James and a broadly grinning Loki. Dean, Alastair and Castiel were suspiciously absent, but none of them wanted to know what the three were up to.

Sitting down, they all enjoyed the peace of the breakfast. Jor was wolfing down everything that Loki placed on his plate in the hope that if he got done with it fast, he would get his presents sooner.

"You are surprisingly calm," James stated towards his son. "Are you not excited to get your presents?"

Harry laughed at that. "That is because I already got the greatest present any of you could gift me with. Sitting here together with the family I always wished to have, celebrating Yule and even the ball a few days ago...," he explained with a soft smile looking at every person sitting at the table.

He wanted to make sure that they understood that he meant every one of them and not just his parents. The only ones that were currently missing other than the obvious three were Sirius, Ellen, Narcissa and Draco but they promised to come over after breakfast.

Narcissa had actually been surprised when Harry asked her whether she and Draco would come over to celebrate with them. No matter what others thought, he considered them part of his ever-growing family.

"No present in the world could top this."

With tears in his eyes, he turned to Loki before embracing him in a hug.

"Thank you for everything," he whispered in the pagan god's ear. "I'll never forget what you did for me."

A/N: 'til next chapter!