Please read:

Happy Easter, have a Christmas chapter that I've been wrestling with for far too long. I have no excuse for keeping you guys waiting for so long; please forgive me.

This chapter was supposed to be a family-centric piece but I could not get it to flow and it somehow turned into this. It's a little rushed at the end but forgive me for that.

I'd like to than everyone who still wants to read this after all this time.

Enjoy:

XII: Christmas

"Run Chica," Ursula Graham's face had lost all the colour the wine she'd drunk at dinner had given it. "It's very important that you aren't seen- understand?"

Chloe snatched up her wand and, pausing only to kiss her grandmother goodbye, ran out into the garden glad that it had not snowed as the wireless had predicted it would and hid under the kitchen window. She stayed there until she heard a high pitched voice hiss.

"Avada Kedarvra,"

Praying that the spell would miss Chloe peeked through the window just in time to see the green light issue forth from Voldemort's wand and hit her grandmother.

She ran down to the shed and crouched in the darkness, peeking through the small hole in the shed door. Suddenly she was dazzled by a tell-tale flash of emerald light and her world fell apart as the unmistakeable sight of the Dark Mark floated menacingly above her home.

Chloe Black woke with a start, wakened once again by the memory of the night her grandparents were murdered. Sirius lay beside her, lost in his own slumber; his face peaceful; normally when she woke like this she woke him, but that night it seemed a shame to do so. Chloe lay back and curled into her husband's side. Sirius mumbled and his arms curled around her, drawing her closer.

She kissed her husband's nose. After seeing Voldemort murder her grandmother on Christmas day as the tender age of thirteen, it had taken Chloe a long time to regain her Christmas spirit; and even longer before she began to sleep properly around the Christmas period again. Once or twice she woke as she did now; but it was a rare thing.

Boxing Day had spelled her arrival at Potter Manor and the day she had been due to return to Hogwarts after Christmas had brought with it its own surprise.

The fifth of January dawned cold and pleasant that year. Chloe managed a small smile at the thought of returning to school as she stowed her precious Nimbus 360 in her trunk. She couldn't wait for the chance to try-out for the Quidditch team; anything to keep her from thinking. Hebe, her owl, was asleep in her cage and the young witch was all set.

"Miss Chloe?" Yaffle the House Elf knocked on her open door. "Mistress says there's a visitor for you in the kitchen."

"Thanks Yaffle," she shut and locked her trunk. "Could you take my trunk down for me?"

"Yes Miss," Yaffle bowed

Chloe smiled at the Elf and ran down to the kitchen.

~HP~

Chloe stopped dead at the sight of the woman who sat at the kitchen table; Marian Cockgolde, nee Graham, she looked well enough. After her magic stared to emerge Chloe had begun to wish she resembled the tiny dark haired woman more than she did- not wanting anything to do with her small minded sire. Looking at Marian brought home to her how much she'd grown since the last time she'd seen her; the day she'd started Hogwarts.

"Mum?" Chloe blinked, twice, rubbing her eyes to make sure that they weren't deceiving her. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to see you sweetheart," Marian replied. "I wanted to see you before you went back to school."

"I've been here more than a week," Chloe snapped feeling more than a stab of resentment towards her mother. "What was stopping you coming before?"

"Your father,"

"He won't let you see me?" Oh but that hurt. "Just because I'm a witch? Mum, you're from a proud family of Gryffindors and you let that small minded bastard stop you from seeing your own daughter?"

"What can I say but 'I'm sorry'?" Marian sighed- having learned since the day that she'd given Chloe over to her grandparents' care that her daughter's attitude to Richard would never change; that she would never truly get past the fear and loathing that she had come to feel for her father. "You know I've never been a strong person- not like Billy was,"

Chloe was stunned at her mother's mention of her older brother. William Cockgolde had been bitten by a werewolf when he was fifteen and it had destroyed the life of the bright young wizard. He'd been forced to leave Hogwarts, but he'd tried not to let it stop him. However fifteen years of persecution from the Wizarding world had proven too much. Chloe had been four when he was found dead in the Squat he'd been staying in, but she'd adored her uncle and had, reportedly, told him that she would find a cure for his 'furry little problem'

Her mother found it painful to bring up her late brother, as she'd idolized him for remaining strong despite his condition.

"Mrs Potter?" she turned to her foster mother. "Would it be alright if Mum came to King's Cross with us?"

After that Chloe had seen her mother: and her sisters more often; making time in each school holiday to go and see the women with whom she shared blood.

"I can hear you thinking," Sirius mumbled, voice gravelly with sleep. "You had the nightmare again didn't you?"

"I thought you were asleep," Chloe told him

He made a noncommittal noise. "Time is it?"

"Early," she said, and reached for her husband's watch. "Nearly six,"

"Hmm," Sirius rumbled. "Best start thinking about getting up, Poppy and Molly will be in soon."

Chloe just kissed him.

"It's Christmas, it's Christmas!"

Startled out of a deep and dreamless sleep, Harry Potter sat bolt upright in his bed to find Mary Lupin and Poppy Dursley standing at the foot of his bed, both of them in their dressing gowns and slippers, wearing tinsel in their hair; Mary's plaits were bright red to match her holly green tinsel and Poppy's blonde locks were topped by a red and gold wreath of the sparkly tree decoration.

"Morning Harry," the chorused and Poppy threw a Santa hat at him

Despite not quite having his wits about him Harry managed to catch the hat before it hit him in the face.

"You've gotta wear it," Poppy told him, reminding him, for the first time, of her mother. "All the boys have to, and all the girls wear tinsel."

"Yeah," Mary nodded importantly. "It's tadishon."

"Tradition," Poppy corrected

"Yeah,"

Harry chuckled, which quickly became a yawn

"Come on." Mary grabbed his hands and pulled, trying to get him out of bed

"Do as she says Harry," Robyn's voice came from the doorway. She was dressed as the younger girls were, but wore her tinsel more creatively- a top hat made of golden tinsel. "She could mither for England ya know."

Harry did as his sister said and reluctantly tore himself out of his nice warm bed only to have his dressing gown hit him in the face.

"Follow the kids and don't ask questions," Robyn's voice called from somewhere down the landing

Don't ask questions- yet another reminder of pre-Hogwarts life. Hoping this wasn't the start of some horrible trend Harry pulled his dressing gown on, donned the hat and his slippers and followed the two younger witches. Poppy and Mary dragged him down the stairs and into the dark living room and the door clicked shut behind him. Suddenly flames erupted in the fireplace and the fairy lights on the huge tree lit one by one.

"Merry Christmas Harry!"

The whole marauder clan was gathered around the tree awaiting him all the women wore tinsel and the men Santa hats like his own. His mother, who wore emerald green tinsel that matched her eyes beautifully handed him a mug of hot chocolate. Harry smiled his thanks and took a sip, cinnamon. He took another sip- he loved cinnamon, it was something he'd never really tried until he came home.

"I'm sorry they woke you honey," his mother said, kissing him. "But we couldn't convince Molly to wait for you."

"No, its fine," Harry demurred feeling slightly overwhelmed- he'd never had a proper family Christmas before: the Christmas he'd spent at Hogwarts had been brilliant but even that had nothing on being surrounded by people who loved you for who you were, not for something you didn't remember; something that had left you orphaned.

"Can we open the presents now?" Mary asked impatiently

The youngest member of their clan had positioned herself closest to the tree, closest to the huge pile of parcels that lay at the bottom of it.

"Alright Molly," James laughed. "Do you want to hand them out?"

Harry had never had so many presents: A broomstick servicing kit from his parents to go with the Nimbus 2000 they'd bought him nearly two months earlier. Robyn, Will and Teddy had, it seemed, clubbed together and got him an assortment of what appeared to be joke shop products. Poppy smiled sheepishly as he opened a bag of mars bars. Mary Lupin had drawn him a wobbly picture of a snowy owl and his eyes stung at the sight of the wobbly letters spelling out Hedwig in the top corner. He'd paused in the opening of his gifts to hug his little cousin.

Remus and Sarah had bought him the Lord of the Rings trilogy and a copy of the Hobbit to replace the old copy that had fallen apart on him. Sirius and Chloe gave him a small portable wizard wireless. Hermione had sent him a large amount of Every Flavour Beans; Neville a copy of Quidditch Through the Ages and the Hagrid of this world, a man who he had yet to meet, had sent him the same rough wooden flute his alternate self had given him and an invitation to tea on the first Friday back after the New Year. The final gift he received was a large box of fudge and a Weasley Jumper, this one scarlet with a dark yellow H on the front.

A laugh escaped him as he recalled the first time he'd been presented with a Weasley jumper- that one without a letter.

'You haven't got a letter on yours,' George observed, 'I suppose she thinks you don't forget your name. But we're not stupid – we know we're called Gred and Forge.'

"It's only a Weasley jumper Harry," Robyn remarked, puzzled by his laugh. "It's not that funny,"

"It was Christmas the day I left my old world," Harry reminded her. "And I got a jumper then too- that one didn't have a letter on. I was just remembering something George said."

The Christmas holidays continued relaxed and fun and for the first time in his life Harry managed to stay up until midnight on New Years' Eve. Three days later Harry returned to a Hogwarts that didn't feel quite as much like home as the one that he had left behind when he'd fallen through that mirror.

He entered the Great Hall the night that he returned to the castle with Robyn, Will, Teddy and Percy and as the welcome back feast got under way Harry began to relax, feeling that Dumbledore wouldn't make a big deal about his return from 'the dead'. However as the remnants of desert cleared themselves off the gold tableware the headmaster rose.

"To those of you who spent Christmas with your families, welcome back; and happy new year to all of you" Dumbledore smiled. "Now, to a little business- as you will by now be aware, the night before Halloween a miracle occurred within our very walls. As you all know on Halloween Night ten years ago Lord Voldemort reached a new low in mercilessly destroying an innocent baby"

Harry groaned; they were going to make a big deal of this. Beside him Robyn groaned too, she like the rest of their family hated being reminded of that terrible night. Will and Teddy both wrapped an arm around her and Percy laid a hand on Harry's shoulder.

"Well" Dumbledore continued. "Somewhat miraculously, an eleven year old Mr Harry Potter was found alive and will, save for the curse scar on his forehead- he was sorted into Gryffindor before spending the run up to the holidays with his obviously delighted family and now he has returned to Hogwarts- so please join me in welcoming Harry James Potter."

Harry rose on wobbly legs and looked around at his schoolmates; there was a mixture of familiar and alien faces but as his gaze travelled to the Slytherin table, a shock of red hair caught his attention. Ron Weasley sat there in green and silver emblazoned on his uniform between Crabbe and Goyle.

~V~

Please be kind...