Chapter Twenty-Eight - Another Special Christmas Season
It was already December first again! Harry was in charge of getting the boys ready, and Ginny was getting herself ready for work, and Lily ready for a day at the daycare. The boys won the race to the kitchen, and after Harry had set them up with breakfast, he sat down to open the Owl Post that was waiting for him.
Dear Harry,
The numbers are in, and here we are once again with a record year for PBP Investments and the Investment Partnership. Marauders Institute, as expected, continues it's phenomenal growth, and there were also exciting results in our Property division, and with the Goblin ventures, as well as the smaller investments paying decent returns.
We put a modest two hundred million galleon limit on new investments into the Partnership this past year to give us time to absorb the new Marauders Institute products, and to re-assess new opportunities during the year. New investment for 2009 will be closed at five hundred million galleons, which will be sufficient to meet our investment needs for the coming year.
I have included your financial summary and my annual incentive authorization form in this package. Please return the approved authorization with this Owl at your convenience.
Sincerely,
Fleur Weasley
CEO - PBP Investments
Harry loved good news. He flipped to the financial summary, and continued to read through the report.
Annual Financial Report - PBP Investments
Year Ending November 30, 2008
Beginning Balance PBPI: 10,009.25 million galleons
Beginning Charity Balance: 240 million galleons
Beginning Balance - IP: 3,071 million galleons
New Investment: 200 million galleons
Total Beginning Balance: 13,520.25 million galleons
Profits:
Marauders Institute: 3,100 million galleons
Property Division: 810 million galleons
Goblin Ventures: 415 million galleons
Other Investments: 235 million galleons
Total Profit: 4,560 million galleons
Less incentive (40 percent): 1,824 million galleons
*Pending approval of projected incentives.
Less Non-Profit Vaccine: 5 million galleons **One Million vaccinations delivered during business year..
Profit after incentives: 2,731 million galleons
**Investment Partnership receives 24.15 percent of after-incentive profit. Charity receives 1.78 percent of profit.
Ending Balance PBPI: 11,829.75 million galleons
Charity Account: 491 million galleons
Less Expenses: 215 million galleons
Ending Balance - Charity: 276 million galleons
Ending Balance - IP: 3,930.5 million galleons
Total Ending Balance: 16,036.25 million galleons
Harry read through Fleur's incentive form, signed off on her ninety-one point two million galleons incentive, and sent the form back with the Owl Post. Ginny had come into the kitchen with Lily, and Harry switched parchment for little girl, and Ginny sat down with a tea and read the summary, then opened her own letter.
Dear Ginny,
I am pleased to advise you that a transfer of thirty-one million galleons has been completed to your account today. Marauders Institute had another exceptional year, due in large part to the incredible products developed by you and the other researchers. Thank-you!
Molly (Mum) Weasley :^)
Account Manager - PBP Investments
Ginny handed her letter to Harry, and he quickly read it, chuckling at the 'Mum' and smiley face.
"If it wasn't for the fact that today is pretty much just a party day, I'd take the day off to celebrate with you," she told Harry and the kids. Harry smiled at her.
"It's probably not much of a play day for Mandy - I imagine it takes a while to go through everything without having a certain special remembrall to help her out." Ginny laughed.
"I'd forgotten about that last year, and she told me it took her three hours to go through it all. Hermione, Natalie, and I put our heads together, and made an arithmancy spell for her to use from now on that she can use to check it all for her in just a few minutes."
Harry nodded. "Good idea," he told her. "Just don't let a spell like that get in the hands of the Hogwarts students, or they'll never have to study the subject anymore - one quick spell, and they could have a perfect homework assignment or test. Now that I think about it, I wish I'd had a spell like that when we were at school." Ginny laughed at him.
"Sorry, but the spell only checks the answers to see if they're right - it won't answer the questions for you. You've got a good point about Hogwarts, though - it'd be a big help to the Professors in marking homework. I'll get it to Professor McGonagall this morning. I'm sure they'll be very happy to save some time marking student's tests and assignments."
Lily reached up a hand and smacked Harry on the cheek then, and he looked down at her with a big smile. "Is that a subtle hint that it's time for me to give you my undivided attention, little miss?" he asked, and Lily smiled up at him.
"Blah, Blah, Blah," she said.
Ginny laughed. "Let me guess - translation is 'a little less talk, a little more breakfast, Daddy'."
The Wizengamot meeting in December was a momentous event. Several channels on the WWVN were carrying it live. The chamber was filled with citizens and reporters who were all expecting a big showdown. Hermione and Ginny were there with quite a few other family and friends. The meeting was called to order, and the formalities observed. The large audience was given general instructions as to what was expected of their conduct.
Everyone attending was expecting an exciting battle over Harry's sponsored Bill. The members of the Wizengamot had all agreed that this meeting would be dedicated to just this one issue, and Harry, as sponsor, would be addressing his fellow Elders, and a large percentage of the Wizarding World population as the first speaker. Other Elders would then have the opportunity to address everyone, either in support of or opposition to the bill, and that would be followed by a vote.
Harry had worked with Hermione, Ginny, Bill, and a few others on his speech, and he was ready when Percy called his name. He stood up, looked around, and began the biggest address of his life.
"Thank-you. Mr. Minister, fellow Elders of the Wizengamot, honoured guests, and fellow citizens of the Wizarding World," he began. "I ask you this question: Who among you long for the days of old, where Lord Voldemort reigned in our world?" Harry looked around the room, and heard gasps at his speaking the name that still terrified Wizards and Witches even more than ten years after Tom Riddle's death.
"How many of you would like to again be killed just for being Muggle born, or half-bloods, or blood-traitors?" he asked. There was actually horror and fear on many faces in the room now. Harry waited for a long moment, making as much eye contact as he could.
"Nobody? I didn't think so. We defeated the Dark Lord because most of us rose up and shouted 'NO!' - we are not going to discriminate against Witches and Wizards just because of who their parents are. We fought, and many died, so that we could have a world where every one of us, no matter our heritage, could be free and live together in peace." He looked around again, his gaze piercing as he looked from face to face.
"We sit here and pat ourselves on the back for our tolerance of other Witches and Wizards, of other 'human' persons. Yet we are all guilty of perpetrating the same horrors Lord Voldemort inflicted on us against our brethren magical creatures." He definitely had his audience now. Harry didn't know it, but he had also started to glow softly as he put everything into this moment.
"Today I am here in support of a Bill of Rights for Goblins, to finally begin returning to them the dignity and respect that has been denied them by our race for thousands of years," he continued. "Needless thousands of Goblins and Wizards have died in wars over the centuries because of the chains we have put on our magical neighbours. Every single Wizard and Witch needs to understand that WE WERE - AND ARE - WRONG!" There was complete silence in the chamber now as Harry spoke.
"There can't possibly be anyone in this room who doesn't believe that Goblins are intelligent. We entrust our finances to them without hesitation. We know that they are creative - some of our greatest treasures are Goblin-made! They are certainly different from us. I won't ever try to pretend to understand everything about them, but what I do know for certain is that they should have always been given the freedom, equality, and respect they deserve. Instead, we put unbearable restrictions on them, we cheat them in our courts, and in the years since the House Elf Bill of Rights passed, in many ways they are treated worse than slaves." Harry paused, and took a deep breath. His audience was completely focused on him, listening to his every word, mesmerized by the shimmering power surrounding him. He continued in a soft voice now.
"This Bill is just a first step. It will take years, probably decades before Goblins can be truly equal members of our society, and certainly before we Wizards and Witches can prove that we are worthy of their trust and respect."
Every person watching felt like Harry was looking directly into their own hearts, his glowing emerald eyes penetrating deep, tearing away the comfortable illusions they'd built for themselves, and leaving behind the raw, bleeding reality of the injustices that they were, as both a society and individuals, responsible for inflicting on their fellow magical creatures.
"I fought Lord Voldemort with my every breath because I knew it was right," Harry told them next. "I stood with Elder Slughorn and others for the House Elf Bill of Rights because it was the right thing to do. I stand here today, asking you, and all other governments in our world, to pass the Goblin Bill of Rights for the same reason." Harry was now absolutely suffused with power, and it radiated from him, touching every single person who was watching, all over the Wizarding World.
"When I was a little boy, living with my Muggle Aunt and Uncle, I remember hearing a phrase once - 'You fight the fights you can win'. I'm here to tell you that I know from personal experience that the Muggle who said that had it totally wrong. Defeating Lord Voldemort taught me this: You win the fights that need winning!" He took one last look around.
"Ladies and gentlement, we owe a debt to our Goblin neighbours. Let us begin repaying it today by passing the Goblin Bill of Rights. Thank-you."
The complete silence in the chamber that followed the end of Harry's speech continued as he sat down again. The glow around him was fading slowly, but was still visible to everyone watching him. Percy stood up and broke the silence by asking for members who wanted to speak for or against the proposed bill.
Any members that had been against the bill before Harry spoke had either had their minds changed, or were smart enough to know when they'd been beaten. The members who had planned to speak in support of the bill knew that there wasn't anything more that needed to be said. With no other Elder wishing to speak on the issue, Percy called for the vote. When it was over, the Goblin Bill of Rights passed with forty-eight in favour, and two abstentions.
Griphook was watching the meeting on WWVN with the other account managers. "Hand over that bag, my friend," he told Gornuk. "I did warn all of you not to bet against him. I hope you made sure those coins are nice and polished!"
Lily was asleep in Harry's arms when Ginny got home from work. She smiled as she watched them, lying on a sofa together. She walked over, leaned down, and kissed her husband, waking him from his little catnap.
"Tough day shopping with the kids?" she whispered. Harry smiled up at his beautiful wife.
"Sometimes I think it'd be easier taking a double shift being Hermione's lab rat than running around a Mall with a gang of kids," he answered quietly. Ginny laughed.
"Poor baby," she commiserated. "Where are the boys?" Harry looked up and pointed in that direction.
"Teddy and Stewart are playing with them so Lily and I could have a nap," he said, and Ginny smiled.
"Do we have extra mouths for dinner then?" she asked.
"And overnight too" he told her with a nod. "I'll take them back home tomorrow. James wanted them to have a sleepover with him." Ginny picked Lily up, and the little girl began to wake, opening her eyes, and then grinning happily at her mother.
"Come on, sweetie. If you sleep all afternoon, you'll want to get up in the middle of the night and party, so wake-up sunshine." Harry got up and followed them into the kitchen, and they began cooking dinner for seven.
"I wish my girls could be here too, like you get to do with Stewart," Ginny told him.
"They'll be back from school on Friday, and then we can do a sleepover or something with them this weekend," Harry answered with a grin. "And this is my last year to do stuff like this during the school year, since Teddy and Stewart will be starting at Hogwarts next year." They heard the stampede coming down the stairs announcing that the boys were on the move.
Harry smiled. "It was good while it lasted. Why don't you put together a small snack for our ravenous pack of young Wizards, and I'll keep working on dinner."
Ginny recruited Fleur and Victoire to go that Saturday on a girl's day shopping trip with Lisa and Megan. They dropped Lily off at Grandma's house on their way, and Harry had the boys for the day. They were going to hang out with Teddy and Stewart at the Residence, where their day was spent swimming in the pool, playing games, and having a blast.
Harry was soundly beaten at every 3D GameWizard game they played. The children that lived at the Residence all thought it was hilarious that nearly any one of them could defeat Harry Potter - defender of the Wizarding World, great Seeker, most powerful Wizard - defeated at video games by children as young as four years old! Harry loved seeing their faces light up with every victory and at his theatrical responses to his defeats. He and Ginny were snuggled together in bed later that night, quietly talking about their day, and what they'd each been doing.
"Don't you ever get tired of losing all the time at those video games, Harry?" she asked. "You've been playing them for years now, and still don't seem to get any better at them." He nuzzled her neck, and kissed her.
"Can you keep a secret?" he asked. Ginny rolled over to look at him, and nodded. "I could win every time if I wanted to."
She looked at him skeptically. "Does it help if you keep telling yourself that?" she joked. Harry laughed, and floated his 3D GameWizard over.
"I can prove it to you. Want to try a little World Cup Quidditch?" he offered. When he had the game ready to play, she put her hands on the GameWizard too, and he let her start the match. Ginny blinked once, and he had already won, catching the snitch in under a second according to the little time clock. She looked into his smiling eyes.
"You could pick any game, and I could do the same thing," he assured her, not bragging, but just stating a fact. "I can make my broom in BroomRacer fly at nearly the speed of light. I can defeat the dragons with one sword stroke or spell. None of that would be any fun though. I keep playing the games because I love to watch the kid's smiles when they win."
Ginny hugged him. "Thanks for sharing your secret with me," she told him. "I should have guessed, though, since sometimes you were just so obviously bad." Harry kissed her.
"How about we play a different game now, and you can decide for yourself if I'm any good," he suggested, and Ginny laughed as he began nuzzling her neck and sending shivers of excitement through her.
The Weasley family Christmas was on Sunday. The kitchen and sitting room were magically enlarged to have enough space for everyone. Kreacher and Winky were asked to prepare dinner, and then to stay and join them for the meal, and after dinner when they were opening presents.
Sometimes it was hard to keep track of everyone. There were Grandparents Molly, Arthur, Andromeda, and the Delacours. There were six Weasley children and their spouses. Gabrielle and Kevin were there. Then there were the grandchildren. Teddy, Victoire, Art, Nicolas, Michael, James, Rose, Albus, Lily, and Hugo. Harry and Ginny had also brought Stewart, Lisa, and Megan with them.
Harry was in the sitting room, having a drink, and talking with Nathalie and Charlie about the opening of the Residence in Romania at the end of this school year, when they heard the older kids start singing a new favourite Christmas song, and they stopped to listen to them.
For my first gift at Christmas, my true love gave to me
A hippogriff in a Whomping Willow tree
For my second gift at Christmas, my true love gave to me
Two puking pastilles, and a hippogriff in a Whomping Willow tree
For my third gift at Christmas, my true love gave to me
Three Pygmy Puffs, Two puking pastilles, and a hippogriff in a Whomping Willow tree
For my fourth gift at Christmas, my true love gave to me
Four Norwegian Ridgebacks, Three Pygmy Puffs, Two puking pastilles, and a hippogriff in a Whomping Willow Tree
For my fifth gift at Christmas, my true love gave to me
Five Golden Phoenixes
Four Norwegian Ridgebacks, Three Pygmy Puffs, Two puking pastilles, and a hippogriff in a Whomping Willow Tree
For my sixth gift at Christmas, my true love gave to me
Six bat-bogey hexes
Five Golden Phoenixes
Four Norwegian Ridgebacks, Three Pygmy Puffs, Two puking pastilles, and a hippogriff in a Whomping Willow tree
For my seventh gift at Christmas, my true love gave to me
Seven quidditch players, six bat-bogey hexes,
Five Golden Phoenixes
Four Norwegian Ridgebacks, Three Pygmy Puffs, Two puking pastilles, and a hippogriff in a Whomping Willow tree
For my eighth gift at Christmas, my true love gave to me
Eight skiving snackboxes, Seven quidditch players, Six bat-bogey hexes,
Five Golden Phoenixes
Four Norwegian Ridgebacks, Three Pygmy Puffs, Two puking pastilles, and a hippogriff in a Whomping Willow tree
For my ninth gift at Christmas, my true love gave to me
Nine Owls hooting, Eight Skiving snackboxes, Seven Quidditch players, Six bat-bogey hexes,
Five Golden Phoenixes
Four Norwegian Ridgebacks, Three Pygmy Puffs, Two puking pastilles, and a hippogriff in a Whomping Willow tree
For my tenth gift at Christmas, my true love gave to me
Ten flying Thestrals, Nine Owls hooting, Eight Skiving snackboxes, Seven Quidditch players, Six bat-bogey hexes,
Five Golden Phoenixes
Four Norwegian Ridgebacks, Three Pygmy Puffs, Two puking pastilles, and a hippogriff in a Whomping Willow tree
For my eleventh gift at Christmas, my true love gave to me
Eleven Kneazel kittens, Ten flying Thestrals, Nine Owls hooting, Eight Skiving snackboxes, Seven Quidditch players, Six bat-bogey hexes
Five Golden Phoenixes
Four Norwegian Ridgebacks, Three Pygmy Puffs, Two puking pastilles, and a hippogriff in a Whomping Willow tree
For my twelfth gift at Christmas, my true love gave to me
Twelve Weasley's Wheezes, Eleven Kneazel kittens, Ten flying Thestrals, Nine Owls hooting, Eight Skiving snackboxes, Seven Quidditch players, Six bat-bogey hexes
Five Golden Phoenixes
Four Norwegian Ridgebacks, Three Pygmy Puffs, Two puking pastilles,
AND A HIPPOGRIFF IN A WHOMPING WILLOW TREE!
The adults gave the children a big round of applause, laughing at the silly song.
"That song is going to make you a bunch of money in free advertising," Charlie told George, laughing. "Did you pay the Witch or Wizard who wrote it?" There was more laughter to Charlie's comments, but George denied having anything to do with the contents of the song.
The children played together and entertained the grown-ups throughout the afternoon, and when dinner was ready, they all went into the kitchen and took their seats. Kreacher and Winky sat next to Harry and Ginny, both a little nervous, but pleased to have been asked to actually sit down with the whole family for dinner this year. Michael smiled a lot now, which was something that Harry hadn't seen him do much of before he'd met Gabrielle and Kevin.
There had never, as far as Harry knew, ever been such a thing as a quiet dinner at the Burrow when the whole gang was there, and if anything, it got louder each year as the family grew. The dinner that Kreacher and Winky had made was amazing, and both House Elves were pleased and overwhelmed by the praise directed at them. The two elves got up from the table as dinner ended, and were about to start cleaning, when Mrs. Weasley put a gentle hand on Winky's shoulder.
"We have a rule here at the Burrow - whoever made dinner doesn't have to clean up afterward. Why don't you and Kreacher come into the sitting room with the children and the rest of us old grandparents, and we'll let the others take care of the clean-up."
Winky looked up at her in amazement. Surely this was the greatest Wizarding family in the world! Kreacher took her hand, and they followed the others into the sitting room. Ginny gave Harry a hug.
"She's still pretty cool for an 'old grandparent'. Let's get to work, so we can get in there and open presents!" Harry laughed, and with all of them pitching in, they had the kitchen clean in no time at all.
Natalie and Owen were in charge of organizing the volunteers that were helping out at the two residences this Christmas. Nearly all of the volunteers that went with the group to Marauders Paradise were coming to the party on Christmas afternoon, and Natalie had over one hundred new volunteers that were going to be helping at the newer Residence.
The workers at the GamePortal stores were taking care of things for the Residences in France and America. Harry and Ginny left the kids with Grandma for a couple of hours early on Christmas Eve, and spent some time with the children at Dumbledore House, the second Residence, now also nearly filled to capacity. The kids here didn't get the chance to see Harry every week, and so he and Ginny were more like surprise celebrity visitors to the kids there.
Harry wished that he could have enough time for all of the orphans, but knew that it just wasn't possible, and counted on the now hundreds of workers and volunteers to do for these children what he had no way to do on his own without their help.
On Christmas morning, Ginny woke up to find two sets of eyes and noses peeking at her from the edge of the bed.
"Are you awake Mommy?" James asked her hopefully. Ginny smiled to herself.
"No, I'm just sleeping with my eyes open for a while," she told him. Albus laughed at her, his eyes flashing happily.
"Merry Christmas, Mommy," he told her. She reached out for her sons, and pulled them both up onto the bed.
"Merry Christmas to you too," she said, hugging and kissing each of them. Harry was still asleep, or so he was pretending. "You guys better pounce on Daddy and wake him up so we can go open presents," she suggested to the two excited little boys. James and Albus both jumped on Harry, who'd been lying in wait, and suddenly the boys were defending themselves from tickles and kisses.
Ginny jumped out of bed. "Last one downstairs has to go get Lily!" she yelled, and ran out of the bedroom, laughing. James immediately chased after her, and Albus stayed with Harry, caught in a hug, and happy to have a special moment for just the two of them. Harry kissed his forehead.
"Why don't we both go wake up Lily - it'll just drive those two crazy having to wait while we get her ready." Albus laughed, and they got up and went to Lily's room to find her already awake.
By the time Harry got downstairs with Lily and Albus, James was bouncing around, too excited to sit still.
"Let the merriment begin!" Harry said grandly, laughing as James started bouncing around even more.
Ginny started handing out the gifts. Albus would help her by carrying the ones for Lily and Daddy to the sofa where they were sitting. James got the Junior Quidditch set he had wanted, complete with beater bats and Seeker glove. The main difference with the junior set was that the bludgers were stuffed and soft, and the snitch a bit bigger and slower than the real thing. There were more dragons for his collection, and a Junior Skiving Snackbox from Albus that James did have to admit was a pretty wicked present.
Albus received books (his favourite), a little flying phoenix, and a 'headless hat' that James had gotten for him, and had him rolling on the floor with laughter when Albus put it on. Lily was very interested in the pretty bows, ribbons, and paper, but fairly indifferent to the dresses or dolls. She did like the sparkly necklace that Albus told her was 'just like mommy's'.
James, having learned from experience, had gotten Ginny another big box of chocolates. Albus had picked out a bunch of everbloom roses, and Harry got her a table clock that was similar to the one they'd gotten Charlie years ago, except this one had a little red headed boy come out of what looked very suspiciously like the Burrow, and toss garden gnomes - one for each hour. The boys thought it was really neat. Lily got her mommy a new outfit that she'd picked out with Aunt Fleur's help.
Harry was given a large bag of Anyflavour beans from James, who was again on the floor laughing when the first one Harry had was 'stagnant swamp water'. Albus gave him a permanent ink quill that would never run out of ink, and Ginny and Lily gave him a portrait of them that Kevin had painted. When they'd finished opening presents, Harry made breakfast for all of them, and after eating and cleaning up, they got ready for the afternoon party at the residence.
Teddy had talked with Harry last year after Christmas about what he and Stewart had thought about maybe being able to do something for the kids that were left behind at Hogwarts over Christmas. The orphans had homes now, but most of these kids were actually from some of the richer old families who didn't seem to worry about leaving their kids stuck in a school during holidays while they were off skiing in some winter wonderland, or sitting on a warm, sunny beach.
Harry understood where Teddy was coming from, but these kids didn't need gifts or money, and he hadn't been sure what exactly he could do. He and Ginny had put together a meeting with Professor McGonagall, Molly, Arthur, and Andromeda to discuss it one night, and come up with something they thought might both help these kids, and with luck, teach them one or two lessons.
There were already a lot of the volunteers gathering in the dining hall when Harry and Ginny got there with their own three children. Lisa and Megan saw them almost right away, and were there to exchange hugs and kisses with both Harry and Ginny. Teddy and Stewart joined them shortly after that, and more hugs followed. They both even let Ginny kiss them - she must have been pretty enough that it wouldn't cause them any trouble later with the other boys. Harry wandered around the room, greeting kids, volunteers, and residence staff as he went. Susan was with Professor McGonagall when he went over to speak with the Professor.
"Were the students that stayed at Hogwarts willing to come?" he asked her. She smiled at him and nodded.
"Free food, a Christmas party, and a promised surprise at the end - it wasn't hard for Professor Tonks and I to sell the idea to them," she answered, and Harry laughed.
"Good. Susan, did you and Natalie get them paired up with some of our volunteers and their children?" Susan nodded.
"We spread them out as soon as they got here. It'll be interesting to see the results." Harry nodded too.
"Any special projects for me tonight," he asked next, and she bobbed her head.
"A little girl, almost two years old, named Carolyn, and I think you and Albus are just what the doctor ordered for her," she told him. Harry smiled and took her hand.
"Why don't you introduce me to the young lady, and I'll take it from there," he suggested.
Susan was right, and Albus was quickly able to win Carolyn over, and the two of them were playing happily in the Common Room of Carolyn's group. She was a sweet little girl with soft, light brown hair, and hazel eyes. Her parents had been Muggles who were so afraid when strange things happened around her crib that they abandoned her in an orphanage. Professor McGonagall let Susan check over the rolls that kept track of future students, and she had been able to rescue the little girl from that dismal place. Within just a few minutes, Harry knew that they'd found the next child they would be helping along with Lisa, Megan, and Stewart.
Harry played a few GameWizard matches with some of the teens in one room, actually managing to win one out of four games. He sat in with a small group of younger girls who were playing dolls, and they let him play pretend with them, even letting him be one of the teen wizards for their little game. They laughed when he covered his eyes, and his doll's eyes while they changed their little doll's outfits.
He saw Ginny with her two shadows, and took Lily from her for a while. He was back in the dining hall, sitting with Lily, Albus, and Carolyn when Susan and her staff started gathering everyone so they could give out presents. This was Carolyn's first Christmas here, so when the presents started flying in all directions, and some of them actually came to her, she watched in delight and amazement.
She and Albus worked together to get her gifts opened, and she had received a doll, a few outfits for it, a mirror and brush set that came with hair ribbons and clips and everything, and a little gold necklace. The other children were also busy opening their presents, and the hall was filled with excited chatter and laughter.
Ginny and the girls had joined them. Teddy, Stewart, and James were somewhere else in the hall, probably hanging out with the boys closer to their own age. Lisa and Megan loved the gifts that Ginny had so carefully picked out for each girl.
Harry saw Ron and Hermione across the room with a young fourth year Hogwarts student that Susan had paired them with because he was the Keeper on the Hufflepuff team, and idolized the two-time World Cup winning Keeper of the Cannons. When he had looked over, he smiled because the boy had just opened his gift to find the brand new Firebolt that Hermione had hidden in an undetectable expandable gift box. When all of the children were finished opening their gifts, and a quick cleanup was done, they all sat down for the Christmas feast.
The volunteers that had spent the afternoon at the two Residences were all gathered in the Great Hall at Hogwarts. There were over two hundred people there, and drinks and some light snacks had been set out on the tables. When they were all seated, Harry stood up at the front of the tables they were using.
"I've asked you all to come here for this meeting to thank each of you for helping out this year at the children's residences today," he told everyone. "There are also more than two hundred other volunteers that helped out at the residences in France and America. We have been deciding on a name for our charity for some time, and I'm pleased to announce that the charity will now be known as the Phoenix Foundation." He held up a small wrapped box.
"We asked the students that had stayed here at Hogwarts over the holidays to come help us at the residence today, and promised them a surprise." Harry had waved his wand at his side, and a storm of boxes flew around, one landing in front of each Wizard and Witch.
"Please open your surprises," he invited them. When the commotion died down, he continued, holding up one of the pins they each now had.
"The artwork (a phoenix in flight) for these pins was created by an artist friend of mine, and the pins are Goblin-made. You'll see that there is an emerald set into the pin, and spaces for more stones. Some of your pins have two emeralds, for those of you who are now in your second year of volunteering at the Residences." He looked around, particularly at the students from Hogwarts.
"These pins are our way of thanking you for becoming volunteers of the Phoenix Foundation. Every new volunteer will get one of these pins, and a new emerald will be added for each additional year that you, or they help out." He smiled at everyone.
"There are ten spots for stones, so if you fill them up, we'll switch them for diamonds for the ten years after that." Laughing, he added - "And when we get past twenty years, I'll have to figure something else out to do then." Harry put his own small gold pin on.
"Wear them with pride, because you all should be as proud of yourselves as I am of each one of you."
Ron had put his pin on too, and then called out - "Enough of the yakking, let's get to the snacking!"