Chapter 18
Christmas Merriment
"Okay, this muggle game is completely stupid, Hermione! I mean nothing blows up in your face and nothing moves on its own. All you do is ask for a stupid card and if you don't have it you say go fish! Why would I even want to go fish," Ron asked Hermione exasperatedly.
Harry could tell that he was lying down on a comfortable bed. He cracked open one eye and saw a blurry looking Ron, Hermione, and Ginny who were sitting at his bedside. He moved his eye upward and saw that around him were hundreds of flowers and cards.
He opened his other eye and looked around the room. He was in the hospital wing and saw that no one else was occupying any beds.
To his left, Remus was leaning back in his chair blowing his hair out of his eyes every few seconds. He made a grab for his glasses and put them on his face. Everything became clear and he rolled off his side.
That was enough to set Remus off. He fell off of his chair out of shock and jumped up.
"Harry! You're awake!" He said happily. Ron, Hermione, and Ginny turned their heads sharply and smiled as Harry sat up a little higher in his bed.
"Hey mate. How you feeling?" Ron asked him throwing down the cards he and Hermione were playing with.
"I'm fine," Harry said looking around. He noticed that it was very quiet in the castle. Before he could even ask a question, Remus bustled over and pushed him back into the bed. He pulled the duvet up under his arm's and tucked it tightly. Harry could hardly breathe. He then gave Harry a stern look.
"You are going to give me a heart attack some day Harry Potter. I saw you flying and when you did that stupid dive off of your broom… ARG! You are so much like your father," he said waging his finger at the boy tightly rapped up in blankets.
"Moony, leave the poor kid alone," a familiar voice called from behind the curtain around Harry's bed.
Harry immediately shot up, although in pain and looked around.
Sirius came into view happily smiling at his godson. Harry's face was soon lit up with a smile as well. Sirius came over and patted him on the back.
"I see you're awake, Prongs Jr. From what Moony has told me it was quite a quidditch game, eh?" Sirius questioned. Ron soon began a very detailed story of the amazing game. Harry watched as Sirius' face fell as he heard the tale of Harry jumping straight off of his broom and in the process getting hit in the hip with a bludger hit by the other team.
"Geez Harry! I've seen James fly on a broom and he hasn't done anything as stupid as you've done," Sirius said looking wide-eyed at his godson.
Harry smiled a bit. Sirius, although a rebel in many ways could be as loving as a father.
"Sirius Black, being serious. Quite amazing," a voice came from beyond the white curtain. Harry looked and saw that Professor Hund was standing casually around the bed looking quite amused as Sirius scolded Harry.
Harry nodded at his professor who smiled back.
"Well my name happens to be Sirius, doesn't it?" he said then burst out laughing at his own joke.
The teenagers and two adults watched as Sirius doubled over in laughter as he said "serious, Sirius! You get it?" several times before calming down.
"How long have I been out?" Harry asked Ron who was currently watching Sirius interestingly.
"Oh, you've only been out for about three days. You broke your hip and leg. Madame Pomfrey said it would have been way to painful to make you stay awake during the whole healing process so she put you in a deep sleep until you were better," Ron told him. Hermione looked happy seeing as Ron remembered something for once.
"We won the match because of you mate. Got to congratulate you on that one and we waited for you to have the party. When everyone gets back were having it because we couldn't leave you out of it," Ron said to Harry, patting him on his back happily. Harry smiled back at him before something from the match came back to him. A scream.
"Someone, someone screamed. I heard it before I got hit. Do you know who it was?" he asked Ron. Ron's eyes darted to Ginny before he took a breath.
"Actually no. Ginny did scream when she saw the bludger coming towards you but it sounded sort of like someone else did too," he said thinking a bit about his answer. Harry pushed the thought aside and fully started to enjoy his vacation.
Harry got out of the hospital wing only hours later much to the unhappiness of Madame Pomfrey.
He met up with Ginny in the Great Hall as she sat alone at the table eating a late lunch. She looked up as he sat down and smiled.
"Hey Harry. You look much better," she said happily taking a bite of food off of her plate.
"Yeah, I feel a lot better. Where are Ron and Hermione?" Harry asked as he grabbed almost all the food that was laid out in front of him and Ginny.
Ginny shook her head slightly before answering, "studying together. They didn't really tell me where they were studying but you know they didn't bring their books so I don't know."
Harry suppressed a laugh and began to dig into his chicken that was laid out.
He looked to the side of him quickly and watched Ginny read her quidditch magazine. Her flowing red hair was put up in a pony tail now and Harry thought it looked better that way. You could see her pale skin and as she turned to him, her hazel eyes stuck out happily.
"Something wrong?" she asked him.
Harry smiled, "nothing; nothing wrong."
"Fancy anyone lately," Harry asked her abruptly after a few minutes of silence.
Ginny sputtered on her juice and turned to look wide-eyed at Harry. He could see a blush creeping in her cheeks and watched her intently.
"I don't know, what about you," she asked quickly trying to change the subject.
"Yeah. I think I do," he told her confidently. Ginny's head spun to look at him surprised at what he was saying.
"Got to go, see you later Gin," Harry called to her as he took one last bite of chicken and ran out of the hall.
The days up until Christmas were quiet for the occupants at Hogwarts School. The Weasley clan (excluding Percy) arrived the day after Harry awoke in the hospital wing. Mrs. Weasley was watching Harry more carefully than usual and when he and Ron played an early Quidditch game, she was beyond distressed. She forced Remus and Sirius to watch them despite the cold. Harry and Ron had been practicing apparition none stop as well at Grimmauld Place. They flooed there every morning and if possible, night to meet with Bill and Tonks. The test being December 29, they were beyond nervous.
The four Gryffindor students learned a lot about Professor Hund over the holiday. Only a week before, the defense professor had apparently been inducted into the Order a long with another women; Hamada Topf. It was also obvious that he, Sirius, and Remus knew each other before now.
Christmas Eve came bright and early for the families at Hogwarts. Many Order members had left to be with their families with the exception of Mad-Eye, Tonks, and Kingsley who are in the inner-circle of the Order of the Phoenix.
As Harry opened his eyes he saw Ron sitting on his bed looking at a Chocolate Frog card. He sat up and watched his friend's face change from excitement to somewhat fearful. Something was in that card and Harry wanted to figure it out.
"Ron, what's that?" Harry asked him. He jumped up on the bed and grabbed the card. He stuffed it behind him and looked at Harry.
"Hey mate. Oh, just a new chocolate frog card," he said rather quickly.
Harry looked at him skeptically, "who was on the card?"
"Some…some quidditch player, want to go eat breakfast now? Good, okay, let's go!" Ron answered Harry quickly before he used a spell to change out his pajamas. Unfortunately for Ron, he ended up in a dress.
"Damn," he mumbled.
Harry got out of bed and performed the same charm, ending up with his shirt and jeans backwards.
He chuckled at himself and Ron and they changed quickly. As they were walking down the stairs, Harry saw the card peeking out of Ron's back pocket. He quickly grabbed it out of his pocket and opened it.
Ron whipped around and watched as Harry opened the card. Ron wasn't lying when he said there was a quidditch player on the card; the quidditch player was Harry. It showed a picture of Harry in his third year when he had won the quidditch cup for his team.
Harry looked at the picture observantly and noticed that well… he was really small. And really skinny. And really pale. And his hair---that was another story.
"When did this come out?" he asked Ron trying to hide his anger.
"I don't know mate. I just found it. It was… it was just with all your other stuff when you were in the hospital wing after the quidditch match. I'm sorry," he told Harry. He could tell that Ron was ready to be yelled at but Harry contained his anger.
"It's okay. I just… never mind. I need a walk," Harry put the card in his back pocket and proceeded down and out of the common room.
Harry was sitting by the lake alone. He had put a warming charm on himself seeing that he had forgotten the need of not only his coat that he was wearing but a scarf, gloves, hate, ear muffs, so on and so forth.
During the year, Harry would come out here by the lake. He would watch as it moved in small, smooth waves. It calmed him. The thing that he loved most about the lake was that his father had asked his mother to marry him after their seventh year graduation in the very spot he sat. They of course got married a year later but Harry loved the fact that once his parents were here, happy and filled with love.
It was of course, a different case for Harry.
He took out the card and looked at his thirteen year old self holding up the cup time after time, a smile filled with happiness and glee. Harry remembered that day. He was happier than he was most of the time. He remembered what he had thought; he had thought that he could have produced the best patronous charm ever.
He then threw the card into the lake.
Although the lake was mostly frozen Harry threw it into a small spot where there was water. He watched as it sunk into the depths of the lake.
"Mr. Potter, I see you enjoy coming here as well as I," a voice called from behind Harry. He turned his head and saw Professor Hund slowly approaching him. He smiled at his professor as he sat to his right.
"Wonderful spot, Mr. Potter," he pronounced to his student.
"Professor, since you're in the order and school is well, not really in you can just call me Harry," Harry told Hund. He smiled at the thought and nodded his head.
"Of course Harry. May I ask why you like to sit out here? I've seen you come down here and just watch the lake," Hund questioned. Harry looked at the ground for a moment before answering.
"I suppose it's because Sirius told me a story about how my father asked my mother to marry him right here. It makes me feel like I have a sort of connection to them since I never really knew them other wise. It made me feel good to know about them I guess," Harry told his professor who was listening intently. Harry looked at him for a moment and could swear he saw a tear forming in his eyes. He quickly turned before Harry could double take.
"My parents died in my seventh year you know. I don't know what it's like to live my whole life with out them but it was so horrible to go through. I'm sorry you never had a chance to know your parents Harry. They were great people," at this point Hund looked across the lake and the conversation ended. He and Harry sat there quietly enjoying the calmness.
"People think I'm a hero you know," Harry told his professor, "they think that I am a real hero who does all the things I've done and still lives like a normal 16 year old kid. I'm only 16; I don't want to fight dark wizards and win wars and save the world. I want to worry about school and girls and my friends and pleasing my parents but I can't. I can't do anything like that because I'm a bloody hero. I've done nothing special. People who don't even know me think I'm amazing and I don't understand why."
Hund looked from the lake to Harry and saw that as he was talking he was still staring at the lake.
"If it's any consolation Harry, I think you are right. About how you should be worrying about school and girls and those things but one thing you are wrong about is that you are hero. You give people hope Harry. They need hope and you have given everyone a chance to feel safe in a world filled with hazards and heartbreak. As far as I'm concerned Harry," Hund looked at Harry again before finishing, "you are the greatest hero anyone could have."
"Christmas Eve dinner is going to be served in ten minutes you lot! I want you dressed and ready NOW!" Mrs. Weasley called to the teenagers. They had been playing in the snow for a long time now and were soaked to the bone.
Ron nodded, his face flushed and ushered everyone inside with him. They ran up to the dormitory and quickly changed. When they arrived in the great hall, they were surprised to see it was looking better than ever.
A large, full tree stood at the top of staff table with ornaments owned by the Weasley's. A big table occupied the middle of the room and food filled it. A festive table cloth and small red ornament's finished off the table. Sitting around it were everyone Harry could think of; Remus and Tonks sat next to each other secretly holding hands under the table. Harry chuckled as he saw Sirius throw mashed potatoes across the table at Remus. Professor Hund sat next to them laughing heartily next to McGonagall. Dumbledore sat at the head of the table watching the food intently on the table. Bill, Charlie, Fred, George, Mr., and Mrs. Weasley took up mostly half the table. Seats were left open for the students and they all sat together at the opposite side of the Dumbledore.
When the meal started, the table erupted in chatter. The night wore on happily filled with singing of carols, talking, eating, and it was filled with merriment. Harry remembered the Christmas' at the Dursley's. He was never included in their festivities. Before he came to Hogwarts Harry would spend his Christmas in his cupboard pretending to have his own little party with himself. He would sit and watch through the opening in the cupboard as Aunt Petunia handed Dudley numerous amounts of gifts and Uncle Vernon watched and took pictures of him with every gift he received. When they felt like it, the Dursley's would give him an old pair of Dudley's pants or socks.
At the thought of the Dursley's he felt a burst of anger shoot through him. Voldemort would pay for taking his last family members away.
"Harry, are you even listening to me?" Hermione asked Harry. He was staring into space and had tuned out any other noise around him. He shook his head and apologized to Hermione. She nodded and continued to speak about her book that she had just finished reading.
Ron was shoveling down any food on the table and Ginny watched him in disgust. She looked up and met Harry's eyes. They looked at each other for a moment before blushing and looking back at their food. Down the table, Sirius and Remus were delighted to have caught the two watching each other.
Severus Snape was lurking in his dungeons on Christmas Eve. He had decided to not attend the "feast" with the order members and others.
He had snuck a glance into the hall not to long ago and saw that everyone was happy and enjoying their time together. He had felt a pang of jealousy as he watched them.
That was how he had ended up in the dungeons, walking aimlessly around wishing he had someone to enjoy the holidays with.
His life had been lonely and although he had grown used to it over the years, he wanted someone to wonder if he was alright when he was hurt, to care for him, to help him in his times of need---and he was not talking about Poppy Pomfrey.
During his time at Hogwarts, Severus was alone even when he was being initiated into the death eaters in his seventh year at Hogwarts. The fellow Voldemort supporters felt he was less worthy then them. He had wanted to fit in and he had wanted to be "cool" in a sense but he never was.
When his parents died in his sixth year, he had become more reclusive than before. James bloody Potter layed off of him during his time of need and for some odd reason he had comforted Severus and still Severus spat at him and cursed him for his actions. Never again did they speak civically.
Severus was not really sad at his parent's death; his parents thought he was a disgrace to the Snape family. He was beaten and spat upon all his life. He dreaded the times when he had to leave Hogwarts for holidays or summer vacation. When he would come back to school he would be meaner than ever and yet, James Potter cared in secret and Lily Evans or Lily Potter cared in the open.
Looking back at himself, Severus saw that he had never got it right. He was sorry for being so cold and he was sorry for the way he is. He never could tell someone that though.
Severus broke out of his thoughts as a pain ran through his arm. He pulled up his black cloaked sleeve and saw the dark mark glowing deep red. Voldemort was up to something and he wanted help.
"What a great holiday," Severus thought, "I get to spend time with some low-life murderers and the darkest wizard of our time on Christmas Eve."
Severus looked around and took out his emergency portkey to Voldemort. He activated it and was taken out of the castle.
Meanwhile, Harry and his friends were quietly lounging in the Gryffindor common room with Sirius, Remus, and Hund. Remus and Ron were playing an intense game of chess while Hermione and Hund cheered on their selected player. Sirius was standing behind Remus giving him horrible tips as well.
Harry and Ginny were sitting by the fire chatting about classes, teachers, and the previous dinner.
"Harry, you said that you fancied someone the day you got out of the hospital wing. I mean it's really none of my business but who is it?" Ginny wondered. Harry's face flushed and he looked around. Everyone else was watching or playing the chess game so Harry quietly grabbed Ginny's hand and led her up to his dorm.
"Why couldn't you just tell me downstairs?" Ginny asked as she sat on the edge of Harry's bed.
"Because… I just like… the… privacy," Harry stuttered. He was trying to contain his nerves but was failing miserably.
"Well, who is it then? Who's the lucky lady that stole the boy-who-lived's heart?" Ginny pushed.
Harry took a deep breathe before answering.
"Well, I never really fancied many girls before. I mean there's this one girl I liked when I was younger and in muggle grade school but that doesn't exactly count. Then there was Cho who was… just bad. Anyway, I've fancied this girl since very end of my fifth year," Harry paused.
Ginny watched as his face flushed even more and stopped herself from laughing. Harry Potter was practically sweating from nerves about a girl.
"I fancy you a lot," He told her quickly.
Harry could feel a blush coming into his cheeks as he saw Ginny turn a deep red.
"You don't really have to you know… fancy me or anything. I just wanted you to know," Harry told her quickly. He got up and almost ran out of the room. Ginny grabbed his arm and pulled him back.
"Want to know something?" she asked Harry still having a hard grip on his arm.
"What?" Harry choked out.
"I fancy you a lot too," she said before she kissed him.
"Sorry Remus but I am the master of chess. No one has beaten me yet," Ron proclaimed throwing his arms up. Remus crossed his arms and fell back into his chair angrily.
"Great job Ron!" Hermione said to her boyfriend. She leaned in and pecked him happily on the cheek.
"Speaking of love birds," Sirius announced causing Ron and Hermione to glare at him, "where are Harry and Ginny?"
Everyone looked around the room and thought the same thing. Where were they?
Just as they were ready to leave the common room to search for the missing children, the boy's dormitory door opened slightly and closed quickly. They all looked up the stairs and saw nothing.
"Let's check up there then," Remus suggested. The group nodded and curiously went up the stairs. Hermione opened the door ever so slightly and was shocked to see Ginny and Harry… kissing in the middle of his dorm.
Remus was behind her and stuck his head over hers and his eyes widened. Sirius and Hund followed closely behind Remus and saw as well the sight in the dorm.
Ron pushed past the adults and looked from behind Hermione.
His mouth hung open as he saw Harry and Ginny kissing in HIS dorm. He pushed the door open and they pulled apart quickly upon seeing that it was Ron who came into the room.
"What the bloody hell is going on in here?" he yelled.
Harry was at a lose for words a long with Ginny. He quickly ran a hand through his hair and was ready to explain but unfortunately he couldn't find the words.
"I see. Well," Ron paused for a moment before his face broke out into a large grin, "what the hell took you so long? My poor sister has been waiting for you for years! And if I happen to find you snogging her in our dorm or hers ever again I will hurt you."
Harry and Ginny watched in shock as Ron and the others walked out of the room and closed the door. They turned to each other and shrugged.
Christmas dawned early for everyone occupying Hogwarts. Ron had woken everyone up quickly and waited for the rest of the Weasley clan to come to the common room.
When everyone had come and opened all their presents.
Harry happily watched as the faces of the Weasley's and Remus and Sirius lit up when they opened the gifts Harry had purchased.
It had been hard but Harry had found the perfect gifts for his family. Harry had given Mrs. Weasley a beautiful bracelet that she had gawked at in Diagon Alley the summer before. Mr. Weasley received a muggle tool set which he held closely to his chest while everyone else was opening their gifts. Harry had given Hermione three new books about various magical abilities, Ron received a new broom cleaning kit accompanied with a book on new quidditch strategies while Ginny had gotten a beautiful auburn colored wood jewelry box with her name engraved in to the side of it. Harry had gotten Sirius a brand new pocket knife which was more advanced than the one Harry had been given from his godfather the previous the Christmas. Remus got a muggle book that Harry had a lot of trouble finding in London but after searching the entire city Harry had found it.
"Thank you so much Harry!" was said numerous times by everyone. Harry himself received a good bunch of gifts.
Harry looked around at his real family. He felt a sense of warmth as Mrs. Weasley came and hugged him and he felt especially happy when Ginny sent him a smile and a wink from across the room.
"Wow, I love Christmas,"Harry thought before he too began to open his gifts.