Ch. 39
Sunday 20 December 1998
"So, I understand from what Jaime's told her mom, you teach Potions but don't have any degree." Adam asked Sirius as they sat.
"No, I learned my love of Potions in school--testing them on the Slytherins. Now I test them on the students." He responded with a wide smile. Mark warned him this interrogation was coming. "And staff."
"Including the Headmistress." Jaime commented as she and Sarah played Darts.
"Hey! She of all people should know not to trust the food." Sirius exclaimed. At the inquisitive looks on Adam and Suzan's faces, he said. "That woman has given me more detentions than any other teacher. Until the Weasley twins, James and I had the record for the total number of detentions given and the highest number of detentions in one term!!!!" he puffed out his chest proudly. "Most of those were given by the Headmistress herself. And she still hired me!!"
"You want to know why McGonagall hired him?" Nev asked as he finished his shot.
"Please." Suzan agreed.
"Because he actually likes the subject and kids and is good at his job. I've always been pants at potions but if I had him teaching me from first year, I guarantee I would've been getting E's or O's all these years. He's bloody brilliant at explaining things. Sort of like Mark is with Transfiguration." Nev finished passionately.
Sirius had gotten up when Nev had begun to speak to get a drink, when he detoured to Nev. He grabbed Frankie's boy around the neck and put his forehead to Nev's. "Thanks Neville. That means a lot from you."
"Only speaking the truth, Pads." He went a little red as Sirius let him go and turned to get his drink and sit back down.
"Okay. I have a teacher like that. I guess every school does." Suzan said.
"So, are you planning on having kids?" Adam asked.
"Daddy!!! That is none of your--"
"He's just seeing whether I'm good enough." Sirius smiled at the outraged look on Jaime's face and looked at Adam. "We may, we may not. If Jay wants kids then yes, I'd love to have my own kids but I'm fine this way as well. We're still early yet, so we'll see. Who knows? Jay may see Mione's pregnancy and say 'hell no'. We'll see."
At that the floobell chimed. Nev and Harry immediately went down to greet guests. "Hey Gran!" Harry gave her a big hug. "Nev just saved Sirius' butt with Jaime's dad." He whispered.
"How did that go?" She whispered back.
"He pulled it off." Harry grinned. "I think they like him."
Augusta sighed. "That's good. Jaime's good for him."
"I'm good for Sirius?" Jaime questioned as they came in the travelling room.
"Yes, dear girl. You are." She smiled as people started wandering downstairs and out of the floo.
Soon, all the Weasleys, Lovegoods, Tonks, Grangers, Richardsons and Potters were all out on the patio with warming and anti-rain charms to make everyone feel comfortable.
"I need to have someone come out and put an extendable roof over this back patio." Sirius commented to Mark. "That way it can be more of an outdoor room."
"Like a sunroom?"
"Exactly."
"We do that a lot in California, especially in SoCal." Mark replied as they moved to the patio furniture.
"I can find someone to do that for you if you want?" Ted asked as he sat down.
"That'd be great Ted." Sirius agreed.
"I'll set up some interviews for the week after Christmas." He grinned at his cousin-in-law.
The wizards congregated near Sirius and Mark; this included the babies. While the witches did the same a little way down the patio. "It's nice to have wizards who like kids." Sarah sighed as she drank her tea.
"It is. I really miss Wolfie but I am extremely glad to have the family I do." Dora commented. "It's almost like Sirius and Harry have decided to raise him themselves and I'm only used for my breastmilk."
All the witches laughed. "You can help me with mine." Mione offered.
"You'll have to fight Dan and I, Dora." Emma laughed. Then she sobered up a bit. "When Christmas is over, love, we've got to start planning the wedding."
"Yeah. I've been thinking and I want Mitzy to make the dress. At least if she can do Luna's too." She looked at Augusta.
"I don't see that being a problem. She'd love the work." Augusta smiled at Mione. "I'm glad you're letting Mitzy do this, not trying to keep her from working."
"Yeah. Dobby explained that they need our magic. I'm fine with it as long as they're treated well." Hermione smiled. "I have to admit to being a little selfish here. I've seen the clothes she makes you and she's good and I want the best when I marry Harry."
They all laughed at that. "So how are you going to manage having your muggle friends at the wedding?" Molly asked.
"Well, we're going to do a traditional ceremony with just our magical friends, then have the reception for all."
"That sounds good." Andi said. "We had to have a muggle ceremony so Ted's parents could be there."
"You also need to start thinking about baby showers and nurseries too." Molly offered.
"Yes." Mione smiled. "Luckily we have fairly large rooms next to our bedrooms in both places, so they'll be easy to have."
"You can do the showers at least at the Burrow if you want. I don't know how many muggles you'll want there though." Molly offered.
"Well, the wedding is going to be different than the baby shower because the wedding list will include business acquaintances plus a few friends. The shower will be limited to my friend Jill and her husband--and they know Hermione is magical." Emma said.
"Well, then we could definitely do it at the Burrow." Molly smiled.
"We'll see." Mione answered.
HP
That evening, as Harry and Mione were getting ready for bed, she commented. "We were talking about weddings and showers today and Molly offered the Burrow as a place for the baby shower."
"Is that what you want?" Harry asked.
"Well, I don't know." She sighed. "I really want to do the baby shower here or at Longbottom Estates. Maybe at my parents' place?" She got into bed.
"Well, we know Molly can be a little persistent about things. If you don't want it at the Burrow, then that will be that." Harry got in beside her. As he laid down, he put one hand on her belly. "Hi little ones. It's Daddy. You have so many people out here that want to meet you." Harry whispered down at them. "That doesn't mean come early, just know you're loved."
"Yeah don't come early kiddos." Mione laughed.
HP
The next day was a flurry of activity. After breakfast, the women sent the men out to cut down a Christmas tree on the property. When Sirius and Dan began to whine about going out in the cold, Jaime's retort was, "It's either the tree or cooking today. Which would you prefer?"
The comical look on their faces as they simultaneously shouted, "Tree!" made all the women laugh. As the men moved outdoors, Sarah and Dora looked at Dobby.
"Dobby, could you look after the kids this morning?" Dora asked.
"Of course, Mistress Dora. Both Teddy and Jordan?" He asked.
"Yes please, Dobby." Sarah smiled as she got up to hand the baby to him. He simply levitated Jordan out of her arms as she began to babble excitedly. As she landed in Dobby's arms, she sighed "Ahhhhh" as she settled in. Dobby did the same with Teddy and he just giggled.
"Thanks Dobby." Both mums said.
"Your welcome." He left the kitchen.
"Okay ladies." Augusta said in her stern voice. "Everyone, pick two items off the list on the board. Put your name next to them and start cooking." Then she went on in a less stern voice. "Hermione, Dora and Luna. I will need you in the drawing room in 10 minutes. We need to set up the Yule Altar." She smiled as she called "Mitzy! Please!" With a pop, Mitzy appeared. "Do we have everything we'll need for the altar prepared?"
"Yes Mistress. I'll bring it over now if it pleases you?"
"Yes please." Mitzy popped out.
"Sounds like you three will be busy?" Sarah commented as she began getting items together.
"Shouldn't take more than half an hour." Augusta smiled as she heard Mitzy pop into the drawing room. She followed the pop.
Mione looked at Dora and Jaime. "Do you think Sirius will ever be able to celebrate Halloween?"
Jaime sighed. "I don't know. I know he still has a lot of guilt for James' death. Like he always tells me, they were brothers in every way but blood. Quite frankly, the idea of Yule without him or Remus terrifies him. That's why he's so interested in bringing Potter traditions back to the family. He wants Harry to get to know his family rituals. Honestly, I don't know about Halloween though. That may be asking too much."
"Well, that sucks." Luna sighed. Everyone laughed at the way she said it. "I want him to enjoy it again."
At that moment, Augusta glided her way into the kitchen. "May I have Hermione, Dora, Luna and Jaime in the drawing room please?" she asked as she slipped her way out. Those four immediately left their meal preparation and obediently followed Augusta into the drawing room.
She had the same table they had used for Lammas set up under a window in between the seating area and the play area. The table already had a red cloth laid on it. The little ottoman next to the table had a chest with all of the accoutrements they would need for the Yule altar. "So, today we are going to learn about how to set up the altar for Yule. Yule is all about rebirth. Tonight is the longest night of the year. After that, the sun will make its journey back to our lands. In the old tradition, this meant that spring, with all its greenery, was not far behind. That is why you see a lot of green this time of year. Red is the color of prosperity; therefore, you will see a lot of red associated with the coming of spring. These are the reasons that Christianity adopted them as well for their winter holiday. Now the main candle we will place on the altar is this gold one." She picked up a tall, fat, gold candle and set it in the middle of the altar. "This represents the sun's journey back to us." She gestured at the other candles on the ottoman. "Since this is winter, you will place blue, white and silver candles on the altar." She stepped back as they all silently decorated the altar with several shapes, sizes and colors of candles.
Hermione found a big silver one in the chest that didn't seem to have been used in a long time. "What does silver mean in Yule?" She asked as she handed the candle to Augusta.
She took it, almost reverently, "Silver is the color of the Goddess. It has protective and restorative powers" She explained as she set it on the altar next to the gold candle. "This is usually placed by the matriarch of the family as a sign of respect to the Goddess, so the Goddess knows she wants her entire family protected." As the candles were finished being placed, Augusta found an iron cross in the chest. "This is a Solar Cross. The four arms represent the four seasons and the sun's place at the center of them." She looked at how attentive they were all being. "Do you all understand this? Are there any questions?" The four of them looked at each other and shook their heads. She smiled "Now onto everything else. Our family has always put pine and fir branches on our altar as well. This is again for protection in the coming year." She said as she gathered up the greenery from a bag and placed it on the altar. She then dug into a different bag and pulled out a Yule Log. "Luna, dear. Can you put this on the kitchen table as the centerpiece?"
"Of course." Luna smiled as she took the log.
"Now, I have here plenty of snowflakes and sundials to represent purity and the coming of the sun. I want each of you to decorate this room, the kitchen, the game room and the floo room with these items. In that way, we will be protecting all of our common areas from negative energies, which the snowflakes do. The sun dials represent our connection to the sun." When everyone just stood there, she laughed. "Go on. Shoo."
"Okay, Luna and I will do this room and the entry, you two do the kitchen and game room." Mione said in her bossy know-it-all voice as she gathered up her stuff. She handed some of it to Luna as she went around the drawing room levitating snowflakes and sundials around the room. Luna started to the floo room.
"I guess the game room is ours, huh?" Dora laughed with Jaime as they headed up.
"Is Mione always this bossy?" Jaime asked as she headed upstairs.
"I am not bossy!!" was heard as Dora laughed and said, "According to Harry, the answer's yes."
HP
A little while later, all the women were in the kitchen working on the feast they would have later in the day. Around 2.00, Mione looked up through the window to the back garden and saw a huge tree being levitated along. "It looks like they're bringing home a large tree and several smaller ones." She laughed as she pointed out the window. It was raining heavily and Harry looked like a drowned rat to her.
Jaime came up behind her and chuckled at the sight of Sirius levitating the huge tree. Then she saw Mark, Harry, Nev and her dad each levitating a "normal" sized tree. "I suppose the smaller trees are for our bedrooms?" she queried Mione.
"I guess." She shook her head as she went back to work.
Augusta looked outside and just chuckled. "Sirius hasn't changed all that much." She laughed as she went back to work.
"What does that mean?" Suzan asked.
"When he and his friends were teens, they had to have the biggest tree ever. Or the biggest of whatever it was they were talking about. My Frank always complained that our trees weren't nearly as big as the Potters'." She laughed nostalgically.
"So, your son and Sirius were good friends?" Suzan asked.
"Yes. They went to school together. Sirius' last name may be Black but he could've easily taken the name Potter. They nearly adopted the boy." And she was off explaining all the family dynamics Jaime had learned over the last months.
When the men came in the front doors, because the big trees wouldn't fit through the back doors, the women had everything cooking or ready to put in.
"Look what we found!!!!" Sirius yelled from the floo room.
Jaime came in first and giggled. "You had to get the biggest one on the property, right?" At Sirius' emphatic nod, she just laughed harder. "You're an idiot." She grinned at her brother. "You couldn't keep your friend in line, brother dear?"
"Have you tried to keep him from getting what he wants?" Mark grinned as everyone laughed. "Harry even tried but failed."
"C'mon guys, take your trees up to your suites and I'll put the big one up in the game room." Sirius shook his wet hair out of his face, like the dog he could become, and started up the stairs. Then he looked at Augusta. "Have you decided to stay here until Boxing Day?"
She just shook her head bemusedly at Suzan and said. "Yes dear. This is where my grandsons will be so I'll be here. I don't want one of those in my room though." She pointed to the tree. She turned around and went back to the kitchen.
"See ya later, pretty ladies." Sirius grinned at the witches as he turned around. The rest of the witches went back to the kitchen.
"Why don't I watch the meal and you witches can go relax?" Dobby asked as he whirled around the room.
"Where are the littles?" Sarah asked.
"In bed. They should be up soon." Dobby smiled.
"Well, I haven't seen Jordan all morning so I'll take you up on that Dobby." Sarah responded as they all spread out.
Hermione looked at Luna. "We ought to check up on Sirius. The boys can manage themselves, it's Sirius I worry about."
Luna and Jaime just laughed as they made their way up to the game room. They heard Sirius saying "Shite that hurts!!" as they came up.
"You okay?" Jaime asked as she hurried up the stairs.
Sirius looked up and his eyes lit when he saw Jaime. "I am now, love." He smiled as he moved over to the sofa. "Just a little trouble fitting the tree up here. I almost gave up and put it in the drawing room." He collapsed on the sofa as he motioned for Jaime to join him. "I found a bunch of Dorea's tree decorations in the Potter Vault this summer, so I thought we'd do the tree tonight." She plopped down on his lap. He looked at Mione. "So, how's my girl?" he asked.
"Tired. Luckily, I was able to sit a lot while preparing the meal." She smiled. "I'm glad to be past the 12 weeks so I can wander around and only see Healer Axel once a week."
"When is your next appointment?" Luna asked.
"Christmas Eve morning." She laughed.
Harry came upstairs then and sat down next to Mione. She cuddled a little into him as he chuckled. "Tired, love."
She just nodded as she curled herself into him more as her arms went around his waist. "Comfy Harry." She murmured as he laughed.
"Go to sleep love." He whispered as he felt her breath even out.
"Should she be this tired Harry?" Sirius asked, concerned for his niece.
"The books say so. Especially with twins." Harry looked at his Godfather and smiled. "Don't worry Pads. We'll make it through this."
"How are her nightmares doing?"
"Horrible. Constant." He looked down at his fiancée sadly. "It seems if I just turn and hold her, they go away pretty quickly but it is horrid to watch."
"She's told me the same about yours." Jaime sighed.
"Yeah. I know."
"You know," Augusta sat down. "Frank had nightmares all the time he was an auror. Sometimes, after Neville was born, he'd come over and nap before he went home. He said he didn't want to bring it home with him but Alice told me he had nightmares anyway. It wasn't a good time to be an auror."
"That's part of the reason I don't want to be one anymore." Harry grimaced.
"You wanted to be an auror?" Mark laughed as he came up.
"Yep."
"But you don't do rules. How would you have survived?" This made everyone familiar with Harry laugh.
"So, Adam." Sirius got a mischievous grin on his face. "Was Jaime as much of a daddy's girl as I think she was?"
"Daddy!" Jaime warned threateningly.
Adam just grinned. "Of course, she was. As you probably know, we own a ranch and I teach handicapped muggle children how to ride. Well, Jaime was out every morning helping me feed and clean stalls before school and she was an excellent mentor to those kids." Adam laughed. "When she was very young, she helped me build and repair fences on the property. I used to call her my little nail girl because she held nails for me."
Jaime just glared at her dad as he said this. Mark piped up with "Jaime learned to go to Dad whenever we were arguing because Dad always took her side."
"Wait a minute Mark. She only ever told on you when you were doing things like dangling fake spiders into her bed." Suzan corrected.
Sirius laughed as he said, "You sound like me Mark. I remember putting itching powder in my brother's underwear."
Harry laughed. "Did you do that to Dad or Uncle Frank?"
Sirius grinned. "Of couse."
"Frank came home, I think it was fourth year, and told me that the one thing he missed from home was that when he put on underthings at home, he knew there was no itching powder in them." Augusta laughed.
And the bonding of this weirdly fabricated family went on. HP
Around sunset, Augusta decided to check with Dobby in the kitchen. When she got there, the table was made with Longbottom family china, Dobby had lit candles on each end of the Yule Log, turned down the lights and the room smelled heavenly.
She looked down at Dobby and said. "This is beautiful Dobby. Thank you." She smiled at the little elf.
"You're welcome Mistress Longbottom." He smiled happily at the praise. "I will go get everyone." And he popped out!
A few minutes later, she heard her family coming downstairs. She heard Sirius' barking laugh and Mark's quiet comments egging Sirius on to more laughter. She also heard her own grandsons laughing hysterically. That was the sweetest sound in the world to her--being that she couldn't have Frank or Gerald back, that is. Yule was always the season she missed her boys the most. Seeing both Neville and Harry so happy these last few months had been a balm to her very soul. She was so happy with the boys and proud of everything they'd accomplished.
"Wow!" Sirius breathed as he walked into the kitchen. He seated Augusta at one end of the table, which was a sign of respect because of her importance to the family and age. He then sat at the top of the rectangular table, which established him as the de facto Head of House. Harry and Neville sat at Sirius' side as future Heads of Families. Then sat Mione and Luna next to them. After that, everyone else sat down wherever they wanted. "This smells amazing." Sirius looked at the witches. "Thanks for putting this together, ladies." He added as Dobby started putting food on the table. When everyone had served themselves and the elf-made wine had been poured, Sirius stood, "I would like to make a toast." He said as the table quieted. "This year started off being under the rule of Voldemort and his Death Eaters. We fought and got rid of them, sacrificing some in the process." A sad look crossed his eyes as he thought of Remus. "However, we've gained something in return. Our world is now on the mend from the past 20 years of chaos, our government is more stable now than ever. But most importantly, our family is not only healing but is adding members as well. Last year at this time the only people I considered family were Remus, Harry and Dora. Now we have added Harry's godbrother Neville," he raised his glass to Neville and to each successively, "his fiancée Luna, Harry's fiancée Mione, Mione's parents Dan and Emma, and my friend Frankie's mum Augusta." He smiled as looked at his Jaime. "Then there are those recent inductees into this patchwork family, Jaime, Mark, Sarah, Adam and Suzan." He took a breath. "Oh, and we can't forget Jordan and Teddy. All of this to say that while this year has had its major down points, in the end, every single one of you has become part of my family. Thank You." He paused. "To family!"
"To family." Everyone yelled as Sirius sat down.
As everyone began to eat, Harry asked his Godfather, "Why did you deliberately seat Nev and me next to you and Gran at the other end but you didn't place anyone else?"
"When a pureblood family has a formal dinner like this, the head of the family sits at one end and his partner sits at the other. Because of Augusta heading House Longbottom and as a sign of respect, I decided to seat her at the other end. The other male heads sit next to the main head of house and their spouses, or in your case fiancées, sit next to you. Everyone else is free to sit where they want."
Nev looked at him a little confused. "What about Mark and Adam? They're Heads of House."
"Yes, but until Jaime and I marry, they are simply guests here. At least by protocol." He smiled when Mark started laughing.
"Shows our importance to your family!" He coughed out.
"No. It shows pureblood bigotry, dear boy." Augusta sighed. HP
After dinner, everyone trooped up to the game room. Harry looked around and noticed that the area near the fireplace was much larger and had a U-shaped sofa that could seat eight or nine comfortably. There were also three or four chairs sitting around the edges. "Looks like Mitzy and Dobby strike again." He looked at Nev.
"Yup. And we still have enough room for the pool table, darts and bar." He laughed. They both sat down with their fiancées next to them as everyone came up and found seats. The tree was placed on the same wall as the fireplace but separate enough that Hermione didn't complain about fire hazards. Next to the tree was a small table with a bowl of soil, another of salt, one with water and some incense laid next to it. Mione guessed they were for some ritual Augusta had planned.
Everyone settled in with their hot cocoa and just relaxed.
Each couple was either talking quietly to one another or just simply relaxing with their loved one. Hermione was sitting in the V of Harry's thighs as his legs rested on the ottoman in front of them. He had his arms around her as she laid back on his chest.
"Tomorrow, you and I need to go to the baby store and buy some things for Teddy." Mione sighed.
"There's a great one in Hogsmeade you might want to check out." Luna offered.
"Sounds good." Harry smiled back.
"No brooms!" Dora reminded Harry.
Harry chuckled. "That's for his one year."
Dora just shook her head and laughed. "Watch out Sarah. He'll buy one for Jordan too."
Sarah laughed when Harry just nodded. "You go right ahead there, Harry. But you're teaching her."
Harry just laughed. "I will. And any other kids in the family."
"Not mine." Sirius barked. "I'm teaching my own kids."
"Okay everyone, I think it's time to do the tree." Augusta got up as Sirius summoned a footlocker up the stairs. "I don't know how you Americans do it, but we do a blessing of the tree before we decorate." Augusta informed everyone.
"We do as well." Volunteered Suzan.
"Good. Everyone stand, please." She said as she picked up a bowl of salt that had been sitting on the table. She began to spread it around the tree at the base as she said. "By the powers of earth, I bless this tree, that it shall remain sacred, a symbol of life, stable and strong in our home throughout the Yule season." She put a bit of soil from a bowl around the tree. "By the powers of air, I bless this tree,
as the cool winter winds blow away the baggage of the old year,
and we welcome the brightness of the new into our hearts and home.
By the powers of fire, I bless this tree,
as the days have gotten shorter, and the nights grown dark,
yet the warmth of the sun is returning, bringing with it life." She took the incense she had waiting, lit it and waved it over the tree. "By the powers of water, I bless this tree,
a gift I give, that it may stay bright and green for us a bit longer,
so that we can enjoy the harmony and peace of Yule." She put her fingers in a bowl of water and flicked the excess onto and around the tree.
"Blessed Be." Everyone intoned before they sat down.
"Now!" Sirius rubbed his hands together before he put the chest next to the tree. "We can all start decorating!" He said as he dove into the chest.
"Sirius Black are you 38 or 8?" Augusta asked in her stern Minerva-like voice.
He bounced up looking around for McGonagall with a terrified look on his face, when he eyed Augusta, he sighed, then growled out. "Don't do that!! That's not funny!"
"You should do that more Gran." Nev laughed. "I like the look of terror on his face."
"No, she shouldn't! Minnie's scary!" Sirius sighed as he handed a train ornament to Harry. "Har, your dad bought this the Christmas of our seventh year."
"Where?"
"Godric's Hollow, I think."
"What about this one?" Mione asked, holding up a mum and baby.
"That was bought straight after Yule in 1979. Lily had just found out she was pregnant with you Harry and she wanted an ornament, so she got one." Sirius smiled sadly. "If I remember right, she and Alice went to get them together since they were both pregnant. Boy was that a fun time, even with the war." And so it went, with Sirius explaining the ornaments he knew of.
As they decided that the tree was finished, Emma stood up and got into her bag. "I don't know whether magicals use stockings but I have some for everyone." She looked at Adam and Suzan. "I'm sorry. I had no idea you were coming, so I didn't know to make you ones."
Suzan just smiled as she looked at Jaime's. "These are amazing." Emma had cross stitched a winter's scene into each stocking along with the name of the person at the top.
"Mum! You made Harry one!!" Hermione jumped up and hugged her mum, whispering as she did, "Thank you Mum."
It turned out everyone got one with a different cross stitch in the main part of the stocking. Harry looked at his Mione when she sat back down and kissed her gently on the lips. "To think, last year we were stuck in the tent and had no idea of the date. Ron had left and we had no way of getting rid of the horcruxes. Now, we're warm, surrounded by family. You're pregnant with our babies. It's almost too good to believe, isn't it?"
She smiled as she turned to him. "Almost. I can't believe our family has grown so much this past year." She took his hand and intertwined their fingers. She then turned towards him so she was straddling his lap. "I love you so much Harry. I don't know if I'll ever figure out how to tell you how much."
She took his cheek in her hand as he whispered, "Same for me love. Same for me." They reached towards each other and kissed, gently at first but it became more passionate quickly. Harry was moving his hand from her cheek and began feathering it down her body when they suddenly heard, "Excuse me!!! What do you think you're doing?" in a very loud voice. In some part of his brain that was not clouded by wanting to be buried deep inside Hermione, Harry recognised that voice. He pulled back from Hermione to see Dan standing above them. "Oh Shite!" He breathed out as Hermione's face went to his neck.