Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.
Chapter 14 – Christmas Surprises:
As evening enfolded the sky with navy blue velvet, the train started to slow down. Harry watched outside the window the tiny, shimmering lights of London growing brighter by the moment. Soft snowflakes were falling, casting a smooth layer of white onto the pavements and rooftops. It was apparent that Christmas spirit was already in the air.
"Guess we should get up," Blaise said, as he saw people strolling down the train. He started to gather his belongings. "My parents are picking me up. We're Flooing straight to Ireland from the Leaky Cauldron to my Aunt Philly," he said as he fastened his cloak tighter.
Harry got up as well. "I need to wait for Professor Lupin to take me home. That is, if I'm going home..." he added glumly.
The two of them started to get ready to leave; only Draco remained seated, looking sullenly out of the window. Blaise eyed Harry awkwardly, and Harry sat next to him quietly.
"Your mum's coming, isn't she?" he asked him.
Draco's body tensed up and his face stiffened. He barely said a word since they left Hogwarts, which to Harry's great disappointment, made the train ride less fun than he had wanted it to be. Draco let out a small sigh before he got up as well and pulled his trunk off the luggage rack.
"It's going to be okay, Draco," Harry continued, trying to sound.
"Yeah, we'll see," he relied with a dark tone in his voice.
Harry knew what he was thinking. It would never be okay from now on. His father was on the run from the Ministry's Aurors after he helped at least seven Death Eaters escape from Azkaban. Nothing would be the same again.
But Harry had no idea what else to say to his friend. He guessed that if it were him in the same situation, he would have acted the same way. Draco was trying to enjoy life, school and friends, but lately, the relationship he had with his father was unsettled and made him become moody and depressed most of the time.
The train finally came to a halt, and Draco quickly muttered a faint "Happy Christmas" before leaving Blaise and Harry alone in their compartment without even glancing at them once. Harry had the feeling he was holding himself from bursting into tears of fury, as he sensed earlier a broken tone in his voice and noticed his eyes begin to swell and redden.
"Poor fellow," Blaise whispered, and Harry couldn't agree more.
They got off the train, onto the platform and started looking around for a familiar face. "Oh, there's my mum. I'm gone. See you after Christmas, Harry." Blaise waved Harry off and went to join his family.
Harry found himself alone, where all the students around him were joining their parents on the platform. He started to search for Lupin, but it was impossible to see anything among all the witches and wizards around him. He also wished he could have had a last glace at Ginny before Christmas, but he couldn't find her, either.
Suddenly, he heard Lupin's voice calling him from behind. "Harry! Over here!"
Harry turned around and saw his Professor waving at him over a crowed of heads. Harry dragged his trunk over to him, glad he finally found him.
"Ready to go?" Lupin asked. He looked exhausted, more than usual, anyway. The train ride probably wore him out, because the next full moon was only a week away.
"Er – yeah. How are we getting there?" He wondered why he didn't consider it before.
Professor Lupin gave him a small, reassuring smile. "Your parents arranged us a Ministry car," he replied. He led him through the magic barrier in the wall between platforms nine and ten. Despite the strange looks they received from some Muggles who were around, they walked casually out to the snow-covered Muggle street, where an old-fashioned dark green car waited for them. A driver wearing an emerald green velvet suit was sitting by the steering wheel.
About thirty minutes later, they arrived to a small village, which was almost hidden behind a forest just as small, just a bit south of London. They pulled right in front of a two level cottage house, which was right at the centre of the village. To Harry, Godric's Hollow was a convenient, quiet place to live in, and even though it was packed with Muggles and his family was one of the only few wizarding families that resided there, he loved living there.
The evergreen trees he used to see all through his summer holidays were now covered with a thick layer of pure, white snow. The houses around had been ornamented with all kinds of tiny, colorful lights and Christmas ornaments.
They got out of the car, and Lupin started to drag their trunks to the front door, while Harry took his broom in one hand and Hedwig's cage in the other and carried them to the entrance as well.
They got inside quickly and put all their things by the door and closed it quietly. Harry started to sweep the snowflakes off his cloak and then hung it on the coat-hanger, while Lupin walked into the living room. Harry heard him call, "James? Lily? We're here!"
Harry looked around the house, where Christmas decorations were already hung everywhere. It sure was pretty looking. It looked like his parents really put a lot of effort to make it look nice this year. But other than the Christmas decorations, Harry didn't see anything, or rather anyone else in the house. Where had his parents gone? Did they have last minute Christmas shopping to do? Or did something happen to them and Lucius Malfoy was here and already captured them?
Harry's head started to spin around as worries and concerns overflowed him again, and he couldn't help but start to panic.
A second later, he let out a long sigh of relief as he heard his mother's familiar giggling coming from the kitchen. Why didn't he bother to look first, before coming up with suggestions? He cursed himself for his overreaction.
He walked over there, pushing open the kitchen door to greet his parents, but instead of walking in to let them know he was home, he quickly spun around and swore under his breath at the sight of the two of them snogging under mistletoe his father was holding in midair over their heads, with his wand.
"Merlin, you two are disgusting!" Harry commented as he strode back to the living room and slumped down on the couch, helping himself to a ginger cookie from a plate that was placed on the small coffee table.
A few seconds later, James and Lily walked in, very red faced. Lupin, who was reading a magazine in the armchair by the fire, looked up and saw their messy appearances and started chuckling as he realized what happened. "You walked in on them?" he asked Harry, amused.
Harry groaned. "Yes, and believe me, no child should see his parents snogging like they did just now." He threw them a very disgusted look. "Hello. I'm home," he said to them, as though it wasn't obvious.
Lily quickly recovered from her embarrassment. She walked over to her son, sat next to him on the couch and leaned to kiss him on the cheek. "Hello honey. I'm sorry about before. We didn't hear you come in."
Harry pulled his face away from her. "Mum!" he whined, wiping his cheek. Honestly, what was she thinking? He was bloody sixteen years old, not four!
Lily ignored him. "How was your trip home?" she asked, interested.
"Fine," he replied with a shrug. He took another bite to his cookie, before his mother snatched it from his hand and put it on the table. "Hey, I was eating that!" he complained.
"No, you're not. Dinner is in less than half an hour. I don't want you to stuff yourself with cookies!" she scolded, and stood up. "And no shoes on the sofa, please," she said, throwing his feet off the armrest and onto the carpet. "Thank you."
Harry watched her walk vigorously back to the kitchen, where ham and chicken pie scents filled the air. He then turned his head suddenly to his father, who was sitting next to Lupin. "You got her pregnant, didn't you?" he said flatly.
James looked shocked by his son's remark. His mouth fell open. "Wha – Of course I didn't! Why will you say that?"
"Well, I guess we all noticed the mood swings," said a voice from the door. Harry looked up and saw Sirius there, chewing on a blueberry muffin. "Cupcakes are in the kitchen, if you want some, Harry," he said with a wink.
"Hey Sirius!" Harry said brightly, his mood changing the instant he saw his godfather.
"Whoa – Wait a minute!" James called, holding his hands in front of him as to stop all happenings. His voice turned into a whisper. "Lily is not pregnant. I think I would've known if she were, thank you very much. Besides, we aren't thinking of having more children."
"Good, because I'd hate you if you were. I'm happy being an only child," Harry said, retrieving his cookie from the table and stuffing it in his mouth.
Sirius walked in and sat on the carpet, next to James's feet. "So James, how do you explain her ambition for perfection lately? I noticed the house looks a lot cleaner and tidier. And the food –" he took another mouthful bite from his muffin, "– Hmm... delicious!"
Harry suddenly chocked on his own cookie and tried to swallow hard. Lupin patted him hard on the back to help him, and when he was able to breathe again, he said. "You mean you didn't buy these?" he asked disbelievingly, referring to the very tasty cookies. "Mum actually made them?"
Lily Potter was known as the worst cook in the world. It came to situations where the fried chicken shrank to the size on an egg, or where the soup came out dark green and crusted, or even where the chocolate pie tasted as completely different that was also brown, as Sirius once said...
So that was one of the reasons why Harry couldn't wait to get back to Hogwarts every summer, he wouldn't suffer his mum's cooking for months and have a delicious meal three times a day.
"She did," James said. "I was surprised at first, too, but she said she got some cooking advices from a friend, so I didn't push it. And she's not pregnant!" he hissed at the knowing look Sirius gave him. "It's the Christmas spirit that's getting into her."
"Sure," Sirius said, waving off. "We'll see in nine months and then we'll decide if Santa thought you were a good boy this year."
James and Lupin couldn't help but snigger, but Harry didn't find it quite funny and scowled. "He better not," he warned, narrowing his eyes at his father. "I forbid you to knock up Mum!"
James and his two best friends burst out laughing even harder than before. "Hey, you're not my father! You can't tell me what to do! I'm a grown person!" James said mockingly, still laughing. Harry couldn't hold on any longer and let out a laugh of his own, joining the other three men.
Then, after they caught their breath back and calmed down, Lily's sweet voice came from the kitchen. "Boys, dinner's ready!"
They all got up lazily, sighing in satisfaction, and walked over to the dining table. James patted on Harry's back and gave him a smile. "Well, it's good to have you home, son."
Harry leaned back in his chair and rested his hands over his now full stomach. He felt as if he had eaten what seemed like three meals at once. He felt very fat at the moment, even though it didn't show on him. This was the best dinner his mum ever made. He was so full that he knew he couldn't move for a while. "That was incredible," he breathed, a wide, dreamy smile on his face. If this was supposed to be just an ordinary dinner, he thought, what Christmas Eve's dinner will be like?
Lily smiled sweetly at him. "Why, thank you, Harry. I'm glad you liked it."
Sirius wiped his mouth with the back on his hand and sighed. "Merlin, Lily, who thought you to cook like that?"
She chuckled. "It was just Molly Weasley. I came to her a few days ago to ask her for suggestions for what to cook to Christmas Eve, and she thought me a few of her secrets."
At the sound of the name 'Weasley', Harry's head perked up. "Weasley?" he asked her, as if he didn't hear her right.
"Yes. You met her, Harry, don't you remember? If I recall, one of her sons is at your age. Ron, I think his name is, yes, I remember. Weren't you two friends?"
Harry shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "Er – Well, not exactly. That guy is a complete git, you see..." he said.
"Hey, don't talk like that!" James rebuked. "The Weasleys are friends of ours, so do respect them."
"I didn't know you were still in touch with them," Harry said.
"Of course we are," Lily said. "You know what? How about we pay them a visit this week? Harry, you should come with us, maybe you'll get a chance to know Ron a little better," she suggested, looking hopeful.
"Erm – No, I don't think I would," he mumbled quickly, trying to think of a good getaway excuse. "I... have homework to do. Yeah, a lot, a lot of homework. Snape overflowed us with assignments," he said confidently, satisfied with his answer, and the fact that Lupin couldn't tell he was lying. He didn't really fancy going over Ginny's house and sit around while his mother praised Ron as a wonderful guy and ask him why they weren't friends. He did, however, fancy seeing Ginny again.
"Well, you can skip it for a day, couldn't you? I'm sure you can manage it," she pressed.
"Well, I..."
"Of course he'll come," James finished for him. And with that, the conversation was over. Harry knew he couldn't object his father's final word. He will now have to go with them to the Weasleys.
Just his luck...
Harry woke up the next day, feeling like he had slept for two nights straight. He guessed his mum let him oversleep since it was a holiday and there was no school that day. It was good anyway, because he needed to catch up on sleep.
Turning onto his side and glancing at the alarm clock on his bedside cabinet, his slightly heavy from sleep eyes shot open when he saw that he hadn't overslept at all. The time was only seven in the morning! He grabbed the clock quickly and checked closely if it didn't go off. To his great disappointment, he heard its soft ticking sound and let out a loud groan of frustration as he slammed back on the bed again.
Despite his desperate tries to get back to sleep, he couldn't. He was now fully awake and he hated himself for it.
With nothing better to do, he threw the covers off himself and got out of bed, went into the bathroom to wash his face, brush his teeth and change his clothes. He went down to the kitchen, expecting to see everyone already sitting around the table having breakfast, but instead he found it completely empty. He guessed he was a bit too late to join them, because all the plates and dishes were sitting dirty and empty in the sink. No one was around, but Harry knew they must be near by so he wasn't worried. He helped himself for a cup of coffee and thought to read the morning's paper, but a sudden roar of an engine caught his ears, coming from the backyard.
Harry, curious to what made the rusted sound, quickly dressed warmly and stepped outside into the cold, snowing backyard. There, he found Sirius standing by his old bike – His bike now, Harry corrected his mind – and his father sitting on it, heating up the exhaust, a black helmet on his lap, instead of on his head.
"Hem-hem," Harry cleared his throat loudly enough for the two men to hear him. They turned around and looked at him, his arms folded over his chest, waiting for their explanation, as if he was a teacher who caught two students doing something out of bounds – and not just two students, two Marauders, at that. "I do believe that's my bike you're riding on, Father," he said in a cold voice.
James gave him a scowl and Sirius immediately approached Harry. "Harry! I'm glad you're up! We were just warming it up for you! It's time to have your first go, don't you think?"
"Funny, I would've thought you would care to wake me up first, Sirius," Harry said, still not very impressed. "Where is Mum?" He craned his neck over Sirius shoulder to see his father.
James turned off the motorbike's engine and silence finally fell over the peaceful neighborhood. "She went with Remus to Diagon Alley to do some last minute shopping since it's not so crowded at this hour of the day."
"Oh," Harry said shortly and then a light laugh escaped his throat. "Oh, now I get it. Mum's not around, so you're in a hurry to have a go on the bike, because you know she forbids you to ride it. Nice one."
"Yeah, well, that's another way to look at it," Sirius said with half a shrug as he turned to look at James for a quick moment.
Harry slowly walked forward. "Okay, I'll tell you what, Dad. You give me the first go before Mum gets back home, and I, in return, won't tell her you rode it."
"And what makes you think I will allow you to ride it?" James asked, also folding his hands over his chest, thinking he has advantage over his son.
"Well, that is my bike, now that Sirius gave it to me," Harry pointed out easily, a mischievous smirk playing on the corner of his mouth. "And since it's mine, I might not allow you to ride it. So hand over the helmet, Pop, or Mum will be very cross with you."
James knew that his son had a point Lily would kill him if she finds out he put even one finger on the thing. On the other hand, she would be cross with Harry instead of him, because he was the one who actually got to ride it...
Harry saw his father pout and reluctantly got off the bike with slacked shoulders and the helmet held under his arm. As Harry made his way to him slowly, he could hear him mutter something incoherent, which he swore he heard the words "Git" and "Slytherin" included. Harry, however, couldn't help but snigger and feel victorious when he heard him.
"Don't take it too bad, James," Sirius said, trying to cheer up his friend, but failing miserably as James shot him a sharp look and Sirius back a step in respond.
"Okay," James turned to Harry. "But at least let me show you first what you need to do," he suggested, as he turned the engine back on, the black helmet still under his arm.
But before Harry could hop on the bike, he, Sirius and his father were all started by his mother's hard voice.
"If you two won't step back from that thing right now, you're going to spend Christmas Eve outside in the cold, and for all I care, Sirius can try and make room for you in his doghouse!"
They turned around to see that Lily and Remus were back earlier than they had expected, and now she was standing at the backdoor, her face as red as her hair. Remus was just behind her, holding two brown paper bags.
At her exclamation, Sirius immediately blushed and said, "Sorry, I'm afraid I invited Princess to chew some leftovers tonight. You're on your own."
Harry turned to look at his godfather in disgust. Princess was none other than the neighbors' French Poodle. "What?" Sirius asked innocently. "She said she's clean!"
"Sirius, shut up, you're not helping!" James hissed.
"Turn off that damn thing before you wake the entire neighborhood!" Lily yelled at her husband, and he immediately obeyed and then turned back to her, his head bowed down.
At her furious gaze at him, Harry mirrored his father's position and looked down, swinging his foot at the soft snow on the ground. If it was a question what was louder, his mother's screams or Sirius' old bike, then his mother would have won easily. He doubted the neighbors were bothered by the motorbike running, but was sure at least one person woke up to the sound of a very livid Lily Potter.
"Get inside the house," she ordered in fury, and when neither of them moved, too stunned by the sudden change of tones, she suddenly screamed, "NOW!" and in less than a second they were all back inside.
Lily started pacing around the kitchen table, eyeing her husband and son wrathfully, but other than that, she did not say a word. Remus and Sirius watched at the three Potters but remained quiet. James finally felt like breaking the deadly silence.
"Hmm... Lily, dear," he tried to say softly, but the nervousness was evidence in his voice. "We didn't hear you guys Floo in." He added a smile, which he quickly removed at the sight of her red face.
Bad choice of words, Dad, Harry thought, shaking his head.
"Explain yourself, James," she said sharply, ignoring what he said.
"Er..."
"Explain to me," she cut in, not giving him a chance to respond, "why our son was about to ride that thing when we both agreed that he's too young for it; that he's probably not responsible enough for that yet. We agreed to let him use it when he turns eighteen. Did we not, James?"
"Eighteen?" Harry and Sirius yelled in the same time, both gaping at her.
"This is ridiculous!" Harry protested. "Completely outrageous!"
"Lily, you can't keep him away from a birthday present," Sirius reasoned. "It's silly."
"Then Sirius, you should have given it to him in two years. He's too young for it," Lily retorted. "We already talked about it!"
"When?" Harry asked, his hands on his hips.
"Don't get into this, Harry," Sirius whispered to him, and Harry moved his hands back down, not to spite his mother more.
James ran a hand through his hair. "Lily, please. It's not that of a big deal. We were just trying to have a bit of fun."
"Don't you dare making excuses, James Potter!" she said crossly. "Did you even think what would have happen if a Muggle would have seen you flying on an enchanted motorbike above the neighborhood? Some Auror you make!"
Sirius leaned down to Harry's ear and whispered again, "Maybe they would think they were still sleeping and it was all a dream," referring to the Muggle Lily mentioned.
"Or that they were a bit stoned," Harry added and suddenly he and Sirius burst out laughing hard.
James, however, didn't find it so amusing, especially when Lily's accusations fell all upon him. And here he thought she will get mad at Harry, not him. "Come on, Lil. We meant to take it for a spin around the valley. No one would have seen us there!" he defended.
Harry couldn't hear it anymore. He hated when he parents fought (even though it happened ever so seldom), and right now he hated them fighting on Christmas Eve's morning and ruining the whole Christmas spirit they were trying to create last night.
So instead of doing it the Gryffindor-way, which was probably the best thing he would have done if he were noble enough and take the blame on himself so it will end quickly, he elbowed Sirius in the stomach and eyed him suggestively. Why would he get punished for something Sirius was to take the blame for, anyway?
Sirius gave him a fake smile of thanks when Harry smiled brightly at him, before he interrupted the heated row between the Potter couple, ending it up with the two of them holding each other in apology. At that, Harry slipped quietly back up to his room, before he heard his mother storming on Sirius for his recklessness.
Much later that day, Sirius' head popped in behind his bedroom door.
"Is it safe to come out now?" Harry asked behind the latest copy of one of his Quidditch magazines.
"I think so. James and Remus managed to calm her down eventually," Sirius said as he walked in and flipped through some other magazine that Harry had left on the floor along with the rest of his mess. "I'm sorry, Harry, about before. It really could've been fun if she would've allowed you to ride it. Maybe we can make her leave the house a bit longer next time. You know, we'll make something up. James will go with her so it'd be just you and me."
"Yeah, then she'll murder me in my sleep. Hell, she'll just scream and knock the wind right out of me..." Harry replied hollowly, rolling his eyes.
"Yeah. Your mum can be quite loud sometimes. I do remember that back at Hogwarts she never stopped yelling at James when he hit on her."
Harry's head perked up. "Mum didn't like Dad hitting on her?"
Sirius laughed and sat on the chair next to Harry's desk and looked at him. "Are you kidding? She hated him! Well, at least she pretended to hate him for the first four years when he chased after her. Then she gave up, and agreed to go out with him on one date, so he'll be happy and shut up then leave her alone. Problem was that she fell for him on that date and since then she couldn't take her hands off him."
"You don't say!" Harry marveled. He never heard that story before and wondered why. He should've known by now how his parents got together. He knew they met at Hogwarts, but never the full story. It really inspired him.
"All jokes aside now, I think you really are going to be someone's older brother soon," Sirius said suddenly in a soft voice, going back to the magazine still in his hands.
For a minute, he wasn't sure Harry had heard him because he didn't say anything, but when he looked up, he was surprised to see him frozen up. His hands were fidgeting and his face paling.
"Wh... what did you say...?" Harry asked shakily.
"Well," Sirius said slowly, closing his magazine shut. "Whether you like it or not, your parents love each oth –"
"Oh, cut that out, will you!" Harry threw his own magazine at Sirius, accidentally hitting his face with it as he got up from his bed and stormed back downstairs, his fists clutched, and his shoulders set up. "MUM!"
James and Remus, who were decorating the Christmas tree in the living room, turned their heads at the sudden shout and saw Harry running through the house calling for Lily, while evidently searching for her. They moved away from the tree so they would see what the fuss was all about just as Sirius ran down the stairs and Lily came out of the laundry room, holding some clothes she was sorting out.
"What is it, Harry?" she asked calmly, her soft tone only made Harry feel angrier.
He was taking deep breaths now, his anger radiating off of him and his face reddening. "Are you... Are you –?"
"Am I what, dear?" she asked, confused.
Harry clenched his teeth. "Preg –"
"Harry, don't!" James, Remus and Sirius yelled at the same time. James and Remus were holding their hands out as if trying to make time stop and Sirius stopped halfway down the stairs, his right foot still in midair and his face grimacing as Harry finished the word.
"– nant?"
All three other men froze as though time really did stop, their blank faces matching. Lily seemed to be more confused than before. Her mouth opened slightly in question, her brows furrowed and her head tilted to the side in a small angle.
"Pregnant?" she repeated. "Where... did you... get that idea from, Harry?"
Harry's eyes quickly darted to his father, then to Sirius and back to his mother. "No... no one..." he said, managing an embarrassed smile. He took another deep breath and mastered up all his courage. "So... so you're not... pregnant?" he asked tentatively.
She let out a small laugh. "Of course not!" she said lightly.
And like one person, James, Sirius, Remus and Harry all let out a long, relieved sigh.
James walked up to her, holding her delicate hands in his. "Are you sure?" he asked quietly, obviously afraid she will start shouting at him again.
"Yes. I certainly think I would've known if I was. Did you all think I was pregnant?"
"Well, yes... kind of..." James said slowly, rubbing the back of his neck. "Well, there were all those mood swings and all those sudden changes that made us wonder..."
Lily wrapped her hands around his neck. "I just wanted to make this Christmas perfect, that's all. What with Remus here with us and the fear of the Death Eaters threat to get us, I just wanted to make you all feel like home and forget about troubles right now. But, oh James! Next time just ask me, okay?"
"Erm... O... Okay?" James said while rubbing his hands up and down her back to calm her down.
"No!" Harry said sharply. Lily and James broke apart and turned to look at him. "No next time! No more kids. You two keep your dirty hands off each other! Got that?"
Everyone smirked at that, but Harry didn't find it a matter of laughing about. He was totally serious here.
James let out a fake, disappointed sigh and looked at his wife's pretty green eyes. "I guess it's also Harry's decision, isn't it?"
She gave him a playful shove and turned him back to decorate the tree along with Remus and Sirius. "Oh, Harry, would you come here for a second?" she asked her son as she went back to the laundry room.
Harry followed her, wondering what she wanted now. His mind settled on one thing only. "Hey, I'm not going to change my mind about it or anything. I'm pretty satisfied being an only child, and I'd like you to keep it that way, thanks," he said, folding his arms over his chest, showing he already made up his mind.
Lily smiled at him. She put down the clothes she was still holding from before. "Actually, I wanted to talk to you about something else."
"Oh," Harry said stupidly. "Erm – Okay. What is it about?"
She seemed nervous all of the sudden. "Well, I don't know how to say it... I was just sorting put your laundry and I found something I think I shouldn't have fell across."
She shoved her hand to her pocket and pulled out a yellowish scrap of parchment. "I found this, and I thought it was something I can throw out, so I opened to see if it was important and... Well, I'm sorry. I guess I shouldn't have done that. It's personal and it's yours, so take it." She handed it to him and he suddenly realized what it was.
How could he forget about it?
He took it from her and looked at it to make sure it was really the same piece of paper he thought it was. He unfolded it and there it was, his own handwriting formatting six simple words, written in black ink. Now that his mother has seen it all he could think of was why he had written this so everyone could find it and read it, and for a minute he thought it was best to just tear it up but he couldn't. It was evident that what was written there was true. And suddenly, he realized he couldn't be angry at his mother, he couldn't feel sorry for himself that another person had read this note and found out what he truly feels. He felt relieved and when he looked up at his mother, he gave her a small smile.
"It's no big deal," he said, shrugging.
She seemed to relax and without making Harry see it coming, she hugged him. "Oh, Harry! I'm so happy for you!"
"Mum! Stop it!" he whined, freeing himself from her motherly embrace. "Honestly! What do you think you're doing?"
She whipped a lonely, happy tear from her eyes and smiled warmly at him. "Do you want to talk about it? I thought last night at dinner you wear keeping something from me when we talked about going to the Weasleys. But then... Why would you want to stay away?"
"Because, Mum. It's a bit complicated. And not to offend you, but I don't want to talk about it. And I'll appreciate it if you won't talk about it to anyone."
"No one knows?" she asked, stunned.
"My friends kind of already know, and that doesn't mean I need to go out and shout it so the whole world will find out." He turned around and started to walk in the direction of the living room. "Thanks for giving it back to me, though."
Christmas Eve's dinner has been spectacularly delicious, much to everyone's delight. It was apparent that Lily really worked hard to make it taste and feel perfect. She really had outdone herself.
Later on that evening, all five of them sat together by the living room fire, talking about almost everything, sharing jokes and simply enjoyed hearing the music playing on the wireless.
Sirius challenged Harry into a game of wizard chess and looked like he was loosing greatly. Remus then took the opportunity when everyone were together and cleared his throat to get their attention.
"I have something to say, if I may," he began. They all looked up to him expectedly and he inhaled deeply before he went on. "There is something that I kept quiet until now, and I haven't told you this before because I didn't want to add weight on your shoulders. Now that we are done with celebrating, I think it is best I'll just share it with you."
"What is it, Moony?" James asked, becoming curious.
"Well, for starters, there's this," he said, pulling out of his pocket the yellow map Harry had given him at Halloween and laid it on the table so everyone could see it. At the sight of it, James, Lily and Sirius gasped in disbelief.
"Is it –" James started and Remus nodded in confirmation.
"I had it for couple of months now. Harry actually was the one who found it and gave it to me," he explained. "But that's not the real piece of news I wanted to share. I want you all to calm down first."
When they just glared at him, he cleared his throat again and then went on. "Okay then. Well, this might be a bit of a shock to hear, so don't say I didn't warn you –"
"Just spill it out, Remus!" Sirius barked impatiently.
"Okay, here we go... A couple of days ago, when Harry and I were sitting in my office, admiring the map, something caught my eye. Among the hundreds of names that appeared on the map, there was a particular one that I wasn't expecting to see. The name was Peter Pettigrew."
Another gasp emitted from everyone's mouth, including Harry's this time. "No!" they said in disbelief, their voices hushed with surprised horror.
Remus nodded and went on. "I thought at first that I wasn't seeing right, that I imagined it because I was looking at the map and telling Harry about how we made it, so I thought 'Yeah, we and Peter as well,' but I realized I wasn't imagining it at all."
Sirius then got up and walked to where Remus sat and snatched the map from the table in a quick move. "He's there? At Hogwarts?"
"How did he even get there?" Lily asked worriedly, her eyes wide and fearful.
"Well... I–" Remus began, but then he stopped when Sirius pointed his wand at the current blank surface of the map and muttered "I solemnly swear I am up to no good". Slowly, the map of Hogwarts appeared, but only a few numbers of dots were shown next to several names of teachers and students who stayed in the castle. There were no less than fifteen people in the whole school. And Peter's name wasn't one of them.
"I don't understand," Sirius muttered and shook his head. "He's not there!"
"That little rat! Escaped again!" James exclaimed, banging his fist hard on the wooden coffee table, accidentally making Harry jump.
Remus stood up and pointed his finger at James, a small smile tracing his mouth. "A rat! Exactly!" They all listened carefully now. "You see, as I was trying to explain, Peter's name appeared together with the names of two students when I looked at the map. When I ran to meet them and asked them if they'd seen someone suspicious who didn't look like he belonged there, they said they haven't, so I let them be. Then I looked at the map again, and Peter's name was still there. The hallway we stood in was practically empty and small so there wasn't any place he could have hide in or escaped me. Then, when I looked back at the students again, I noticed a little bump moves inside of the boy's trousers pocket, and then it hit me: he was hiding in there!" Remus finished explaining his story, and crossed his arms over his chest, looking quite proud of himself.
Sirius looked stunned to hear this. "In his rat form!" he said in a whisper. "That sneak! How do we get him now, Remus? Who were those students you mentioned? Were they Slytherins? Do their parents were considered as Death Eaters? Harry, do you know them?" he said it all so quickly that Harry felt his head was starting to buzz with overload.
What does this means now? First there was the threat the Lucius Malfoy was starting to gather power in order to kill us and be in control again and now there was this fact that Peter Pettigrew was at Hogwarts. He was so close to me. He could've had killed me by now. He could have finished it, but he didn't. What was his plan, anyway? Harry's fingers started to rub at his temples as a headache started to form.
Remus held Sirius by the shoulders and pushed him down gently onto a comfortable chair. Sirius then sank his head in his hands and sighed in attempt to relax.
"Sirius, calm down, please," Lily begged.
Remus looked at her. "Lily, it's all right. I know you are all worried, but we know where he is right now. We are going to catch him and he will pay for what he's done." He sat back down and looked at Sirius. "As to what Sirius asked, I believe those students aren't harmless. They're Gryffindors, for that matter."
"Yeah, so was Peter and look where he ended up," James said darkly, his hazel eyes turning almost black as anger seethed inside of him.
"True," Remus shrugged. "But we're talking about Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, two of the school's Prefects. You know the Weasleys, they're in the Order, so there's nothing to worry about. And as for Hermione, she is actually one of the best students in Harry's year, a Muggle-born, in fact. I think they just don't know that the rat is actually Peter."
Harry started to have a coughing fit after he took in all what Remus just said. Why does all his trouble always have to be connected to the same people? Why does Ron Weasley have to be involved in his life so much?
"You okay there, Harry?" James asked, his attention now on his son's reaction. "You do know them, right?"
Harry relaxed, breathed deeply and then rolled his eyes. "Of course I am. And somehow I knew he kept a rat, a rather old rat in fact, but never realized there was something suspicious going on there. I should have, though. My friends and I used to bet on how long it will take that thing to drop dead. We always lost because it seemed to be the in the same perfect shape every time we seen it. We used to think he changed rats when they died, so we didn't put a lot of thought into why this rat is living for so long," he explained.
James sighed heavily. "So here we go, that Ron Weasley kid is keeping him," he concluded and then turned to his wife, who was sitting still in her place on the sofa. She looked up at him, already knowing what he was thinking. "Lily, I think –"
She nodded. "I'll Floo Call Molly first thing in the morning and let her know we are coming to visit."
Usually, on Christmas Mornings, Harry would jump right out of bed as dawn breaks, sprint into the living room and start to tear at every wrapping of his presents, without even considering waiting for his parents to wake up and join him.
But this Christmas Morning started different. This year, Harry not only was too mature for that, but he also felt like spending every free minute he has at sleeping as much and as peacefully as he could.
James and Lily found it odd that the time was close to 10:30 and their son was still sleeping in his bed. Wasn't he keen to open his presents? They asked themselves. He used to love it so much when he was younger.
"Do you reckon everything is all right with him?" James asked his wife before sipping from his coffee mug, his brows frowned slightly. "He's not ill or anything, is he? After all, it could only be from your cookin – Oww, I was just kidding, you know!" He exclaimed when she pushed his shoulder hard.
"He's fine!" she said firmly, her teeth clenched together in annoyance. Lily could only guess why Harry chose to sleep this late this morning of all mornings. It was obvious to her he wanted to stay away from the Weasleys and stay at home instead. He acted weird when she told him last night he would have to come with them or else it would be seem rude if he chose to stay at home just so he could sleep. When she told him, he then started to stutter and quickly headed to bed. "He's probably just tired from school work," she said. "I'll go wake him up. We need to be at the Weasleys in about an hour."
When she walked into Harry's room, he was sleeping silently in the darkness. She walked over to the window, opened the blinds so white, wintry sun rays broke into the dusky room.
Harry let out a low, complaining groan when the soft light hit his eyes and he squeezed them hard. "Turnitoff..." he grumbled, still half-sleeping.
Lily smiled despite herself. "And Merry Christmas to you too, dear," she said sarcastically. "I'm afraid you have to wake up, Harry," she said, hovering over his face, and seeing him looking at her blurrily through one sleepy eye.
"Why?" he asked grumpily, pulling the quilt over his face and turning around so his back was now to her. Lily shook Harry again, not giving up just yet.
"We need to go, remember?" she reminded him. "And Sirius is getting cranky because we said we will open the presents together, so we are waiting just for you."
"Do it without me then."
"Oh, no, no," she said, grabbing his quilt despite his protests and throwing it to the floor. "You're getting your lazy arse out of this bed right now and you're coming with us to the Weasleys and in five minutes time I want you dressed, cleaned up and joining us near the tree for presents opening, got that?"
He only grunted in respond, which she took as a sign of agreement and she left the room, and went back down to join everyone else.
At exactly five minutes later, Harry was downstairs, though still tired, and Sirius started prizing Lily for her success of bringing him down.
They started opening the presents together and the room soon filled with the sound of ripped paper and with 'oohes' and 'ahhs' of excitement. Harry loved the presents he received. His parents had given him two tickets for the upcoming Weird Sisters concert in the end of June. Sirius managed to get him a black leather jacket, which in his words "Will suit you well when you ride the bike... Erm... that's of course when you turn eighteen" he added when he caught Lily's watchful eye. Remus gave him a book about Quidditch, which he was glad for, because he knew that if he would have given him any other book, it would probably end up gathering dust on one of the shelves in the library. Draco sent him a nice watch, which obviously he could afford, and Blaise sent him a leather-covered journal, to Harry's great surprise. When he opened the first page, he found a small note Blaise left inside. It said: 'It's a new year to make new memories, which will be nice to look back at them some day. Just don't write too much about how much you adore her, like she had in hers, because THAT we are all going to remember.' Harry couldn't help but snigger at the comment.
It was now almost noon, and Remus hurried everyone to get to the Floo. Sirius, who was told to stay at home, openly protested and turned into Padfoot and started to growl and bark. "No, Sirius. You are to stay here and that's final. Don't worry, we are going to get him and make sure he will get what he deserves," James said to him and Padfoot turn to look at him with cute, puppy eyes. "I know you want to come and fulfill the promise you made me, but we obviously won't bring him today. We just want to think of a plan first. Then will see what we are going to do."
Sirius turned back to his human form and pouted angrily. "Fine," he muttered and sat sprawled on the couch, with nothing better to do but watch them Floo to the Burrow one after the other.
The hearth in the Burrow's living room turned green and the flames roared high and startled Percy Weasley who sat on the rug near the coffee table as he went over a report he was suppose to submit to the Minister after the Christmas break.
"Mother! They're here!" he called out when he first person to come out of the fireplace was Remus Lupin. Percy got up from his spot on the floor and went to shake hands with the guests and wish them a Happy Christmas. When the last person to Floo in was Harry, as Percy could see, he cast him a dirty look before he excused himself from the room and gathered his things and went up the stairs, not bothering to shake Harry's hand, as he remembered him well from his days at Hogwarts.
Harry felt the familiar stinging sensation he felt every time someone looked at him like that, just for being a Slytherin. It wasn't like he expected anything else. Here we go again, he told himself.
Molly Weasley came into the living room holding a wide grin on her face after everyone dusted the black sooth from their robes. She shook hand with everyone and was nice enough to ask Harry if he was doing well. Harry wondered if she adopted her children or was just trying to be nice in front of his parents.
"Oh, Happy Christmas to you all!" she greeted happily. "Come on, sit down," she gestured to the small squashy sofas. "Feel at home. I'll just go and get some tea and biscuits. Be right back."
Before they could say it wasn't necessary, she already disappeared into the kitchen. They sat themselves onto the sofas. Harry was feeling uncomfortable an unwanted and tried to distract himself by looking around the room. He still wondered why his parents insisted he will come. After all, it wasn't like the Weasley children liked him so he would feel welcome, on the contrary.
Harry looked around, thinking this house is completely different from his own. He was reminded of the jokes Draco used to tell about their house, of how small it was and that they all slept in the same room. However, now looking at it personally, he knew Draco only repeated what he was told by his father and noting more. This house had a homey feeling lingering in it. It was small, but still nice and he thought he liked it.
In the corner of the room stood a weird-looking grandfather clock. It had nine golden hands, and on each one was engraved the name of a different Weasley. Five hands stood on the word "Home" and Harry guessed this clock showed where each member of the family was right now. Three other hands were pointing at "Traveling" and one stayed on "Work". As Harry watched the pictures hanging on the walls and the ones that stood on the hearth, he searched for Ginny in them. He found some when she was smaller. Her most recent one was of her and her brothers at the Quidditch World Cup, so it seemed. Her hand on the clock was pointing at "Traveling" and he wondered where she could travel at Christmas with the snow falling outside. Then, when he looked again, the three hands that said "Traveling" before, now stood at the word "Home."
She was home. She's here, Harry thought and his heart began to race. He felt quite hot and didn't know if it was because he sat close to the fire or just from thinking how she will react when she sees him sitting on her couch.
Back in the kitchen, Molly poured the hot water from the kettle she set into cups. The back door opened and a strong, freezing wind blew inside. Charlie, Ron and Ginny came inside, Snow in their hair on over their clothes and their hands holding a few paper bags that contained eggs, fruits and vegetables they picked from Diagon Alley.
"Hey Mum," Ron said, putting down the bags he held onto the kitchen table as Ginny struggled to close the door. "This is the last time we're going to find an open store in Christmas Morning. Got that?" he said while his teeth chattered from the cold.
"Oh please, Ron, stop being such a baby," Charlie chided. "We got what we could. They were out of lettuce and carrots, Mum."
"What you got will be enough, thank you," Molly said. "Ginny, will you please help me to put this tray in the living room?"
"Sure, Mum," she said after taking off her robes and gloves. "Are we having company?"
"Yes and I want you and your brothers to be nice to them," Molly said, handing Ginny the tray with the tea cups. She nodded in respond while wondering why she would say something like that. They were always nice to their guests.
She made her way to the living room with a smile, but when she saw who sat there, the tray dropped from her hands, almost spilling the hot tea all over her and breaking the china if it weren't for Professor Lupin's quick reflexes and attention when he stopped them in mid-air before hitting the ground just by flicking his wand.
"Oh, I'm sorry," she muttered, when Lupin hovered the tray to the table and Lily helped him put the tea back into the caps, not missing a single drop. "I wasn't paying attention," she said when she walked over to the table, making sure everything was all right and nothing spilled. She cast a quick glance at Harry, who sat next to his mother and was obviously trying to avoid her eyes by looking down at his lap.
"That's all right, Ginny," Lupin said calmly. "Nothing happened."
Molly then came bustling back into the living room, holding another tray of many kinds of cookies and cakes. "Here, I'm sorry to keep you," she apologized and put the second tray on the table. "Arthur will be here soon. He was called this morning to the office to handle some case. Something about Blinding Cameras or something like that, I don't know."
"That's okay, Molly, we understand. We do work at the Ministry and know how crazy things can go there sometimes," James explained with a light chuckle.
"Erm... Mum, if you don't need me anymore, I'll be in my room," Ginny said in a soft voice.
"All right, Ginny," she said when she sat down in front of her guests and Ginny went towards the stairs.
Harry felt more relieved when she left the room. He looked up, now able to act like normal. When he saw her enter the room, her skin flushed from cold and her red hair covered with white snowflakes, she looked heavenly and he couldn't let her see him looking at her like he wanted to kiss her on the spot. He couldn't let her know she made him blush, so he looked down at his lap, avoiding her eyes, afraid if he would look at hers, he wouldn't be able to control the smile that wanted so much to trace his lips from the moment he saw her.
Lily suddenly had an idea and she smiled to herself. "Hey, Harry," she said suddenly. "Why don't Ginny show you around the house and keep you company? I don't think the matter we came to discuss with Molly and Arthur will interest you much."
Harry stiffed and looked wide-eyed at her. Why is she doing this? Is that the reason she made me come here? She wants me to stop avoiding her, doesn't she? He began to stammer an objection, but Molly thought it was a great idea as well and called Ginny back down.
Ginny appeared in the living room more quickly than expected. Harry knew he heard her footsteps stop on the stairs when she heard his mum suggest her so brilliant idea. She acted like she hadn't heard a thing, but Harry knew she did and that she didn't like the idea their mothers came up with. Spending alone time with her right now wasn't a part of his plan of making it easier to asking her out. It will ruin everything he and Hermione planned, even if it did sound like a brilliant way to pass the time.
"What is it, Mum?" Ginny asked, her shoulder slumped in disappointment because she knew what she was to be asked.
"Could you and your brothers keep Harry company?" Her mother asked nicely. Ginny couldn't refuse to her when she said it like that.
"Sure," she said through clenched teeth. "Come with me," she said to Harry, when she spun around, not even looking at him.
His mother gave him an encouraging look and he returned her a pointed stare in respond. He could see Lupin smile broadly at him, but he chose not to look directly at him, afraid to find out that he realized she was the girl who he thought about when he wrote the notes as part of his exercise to concentrate on his spells studies for the Dueling Club.
Harry didn't have any choice left and got up and followed Ginny up the stairs. Once they were on the first landing, she turned to face him, her hands on her hips and her look hard. "Look, I didn't ask for this and I'm not going to baby-sit you until your parents decide to leave. I'm going to my room and for all I care, do whatever you like, as long as it won't involve following me or breaking anything, okay?"
Harry silently agreed. It's not like he was the one who asked for it. His mum dropped this on him exactly as her mum did on her. And it wasn't like he meant to follow her into her room or something.
When she turned around, something caught his eye and he smiled despite himself. "Nice necklace," he uttered and she stopped, slowly turning back around to look at him suspiciously. "Did your boyfriend give it to you?"
He did that on purpose. He wanted to hear her saying that she and Dean weren't together anymore. He thought it was smart to add the boyfriend comment, because that way he wouldn't expose himself as her Secret Santa. "Er, no...not exactly," she stuttered, suddenly nervous. She held the necklace between her fingers, and bit her lower lip. "It was a Christmas present from... someone else."
"Won't Dean get mad that other guys sending you gifts?" he inquired.
"I don't think so," she said. "We broke it off long time ago."
Harry smiled inwardly when he saw his little planned had worked. "Oh?" he asked as though surprised to hear. "I didn't know that. I'm sorry."
Ginny's face suddenly hardened again. "Yeah, right. You are probably thrilled right now, aren't you? You wanted this to happen from the very beginning. You even said you would tell him about the kiss."
"Maybe I am a bit pleased," he shrugged and took a step closer to her. She didn't get away. "You were too good for him. You and I both know that."
She gulped hard and looked up at his face, unaware he took another step towards her. "Well, he wasn't too pleased when he heard you kissed me..."
"...And that you liked it..." Harry added, licking his lips as he looked down at hers.
What was he doing? How did he get so close to her? And for the most important part, why couldn't he get away before he will ruin everything he and Hermione planned.
And then he remembered. The plan he and Hermione had. First, getting her a gift and writing her a card. Done. Then, sucking up to her and compliment her. Okay, he can do this.
"You look..." he said, gazing at her brown, shiny eyes.
"What?" she whispered, her breath hitched in her throat.
"...Pretty wearing that necklace," he finished in a barely audible voice. She blinked. She wasn't sure she heard him right. Did he just compliment her? Flirted with her, perhaps?
Done, Harry thought. Next step, ask her out and when she agrees, kiss her lightly.
He couldn't wait...
He closed his eyes, watching hers close as well and leaned his head down when...
"What are you doing?" asked a voice from down the stairs.
Harry's eyes shot open and his head snapped up, and he saw that Ginny whirled around to see her twin brothers standing at the bottom of the stairs, looking up at them with narrowed eyes, waiting for an answer.
"Nothing," she answered simply and turned to her room, before any of them could stop her.
Harry tried to avoid her brothers' eyes. He didn't know what to do. He didn't know where he could go to hide, but they were already moving up the stairs, looking murderous. Harry slowly gulped and backed into the wall until he didn't have anywhere else to go, when they were both cornering him.
"You –" Fred said in a low voice.
"Are a dead man," George finished in the same tone.
Harry was about to say he didn't mean any harm, when a strong voice came from behind. "Leave him alone," he said. Harry looked over their shoulders to see yet another Weasley brother, the eldest one if he could recall. He too, had a red hair, but long and gathered up in a ponytail. He was tall and broad and even when he looked bigger and more menacing than the two in front of Harry, he looked much nicer. Well, he did tell them to back off of him, but for what purpose? Did he want to beat him up by himself? Harry tried not to think about it.
"Bill, are you serious?" Fred asked his older brother.
"Do you know what he was trying to do with Ginny?" George said.
"Did Ginny ask you to corner him?" Bill supplied.
They were silent for a moment, then both sighed in union and said, "No."
"Good, now leave him alone. He did nothing wrong."
The twins backed off and went together to the second landing, and Harry felt his heart drop back to place. They gave him quite a start. He exhaled in relieve and thanked Bill for his kindness.
"You're Harry, right? I recognize you because you look like you father and I heard him talking about you," Bill said, offering his hand to shake Harry's.
"Yeah," Harry said breathily. "I'm Harry."
"Come with me downstairs, will you?" Bill offered, and Harry looked up at him warily. Bill chuckled wholeheartedly and clapped Harry hard on the back, almost making him stumble forward. "Don't worry, I won't hurt you."
Harry followed Bill back to the kitchen. Ron was there, chewing on a cookie and when he noticed Harry, he choked. "Wha... What are you doing in my house?"
"He came with his parents and Remus, Ron, now calm down," Bill answered for him.
Ron huffed, took another cookie from a jar the sat on the counter and went out of sight.
"Don't mind them, they're exaggerating," Bill said, taking the cookie jar from the counter and placing it in the middle of the table, offering it to Harry.
Harry helped himself for one and took a bite, tasting the buttery texture that filled his mouth with each bite. "That's okay. I'm used to it by now. They're giving me that all the time at school."
"You're a Slytherin, right?"
"Yeah..." Harry replied slowly, afraid this news will damage what he built just now with Bill. "Why are you asking?"
"No reason," Bill shrugged. "I used to have a girlfriend in Slytherin when I was at my seventh year. I had a great time with her, but it didn't last. And mind you, I was a Head Boy. You aren't all that bad, you Slytherins."
"Not, most of it are just all rumors. The last one about me said I was a Death Eater..."
"Really? That's a really nasty one."
"You tell me?" Harry shook his head, going silence. "Say, what would you do if one of your siblings were dating a Slytherin?"
"Well, it really depends who we're talking about here," Bill considered. "It wouldn't bother me if it was Charlie, because, well, he's 24 now. Percy is too proud and stupid to do something like that, but he's also so caught up at work at the Ministry that he doesn't even considering dating anyone right now. Fred and George... Well, if the girl is pretty enough they'll go for it, but other than that I wouldn't worry. Ron, there's no way in the world he would date someone from Slytherin. Besides, he has Hermione. And as for Ginny... Well, I guess I can't make up her mind, but if she does date someone from Slytherin, he has to prove he's not evil or anything. Otherwise, I'll kill him."
He shot Harry a quick smile and Harry felt himself starting to sweat in full swing now.
"But I trust you, Harry. You seem like a pretty decent bloke, but if you hurt her, like Fred and George said, you are a dead man. Ginny is closer to me than any of her brothers, so do consider it that I am the most protective of her around here."
Harry faintly nodded. Bill, the big brother, was giving him his blessing for dating his baby sister. He can't mess it up now.
Bill got up from his chair and for a moment, Harry felt like he was towering over him. "Want a game of wizard chess?"
Harry smiled and nodded and Bill went to get the chess set.
Ginny was banging her head on her wall over and over again, thinking how stupid she was. He was so close to her that he almost kissed her again. And she almost let him!
What was wrong with her?
She couldn't be having feeling for Harry Potter. Not again. Before, it was just a stupid crush, it's was understandable then, but now it way beyond just a crush. It was feelings. Real, deep feelings.
And she was suspecting something, too. Something was different in the way he acted around her. He actually flirted with her! He never flirted with her before, and if he had, she never took it as a flirt, but only as something annoying he said. How had she even gotten herself into this? She used to hate him, like wanting to murder him-hate him. And now...she was having feelings? And he was acting strange...
He mentioned the necklace. He noticed the necklace. Made her somehow tell him she broke it off with Dean. How? How did he do that? Why did he do that? Was he her secret admirer? Did he send her the necklace? Did he write the note she found in Lupin's class?
No! she thought, shaking her head forcefully, refusing to admit it.
There couldn't be a possible way he was behind it all. It wasn't like him to pull stuff like that.
She had to know for sure. She had to find out.
She grabbed for the handle and opened the door. She went downstairs in searching for him. She finally found him in the kitchen, and he was... playing bloody wizard chess with...
"BILL!" she screamed, causing them both a start.
"What?" Bill asked innocently.
She whimpered in annoyance, her nerves almost breaking at the sight of her big brother playing chess with... with him!
She turned around and went up the stairs again, and locked herself in her room, banging her door shut behind her, causing the entire house to tremble at the thud.
Bill and Harry looked at each other with same confused expression on their face, shrugged and laughed it off.
Ron wasn't having a pleasant first day of Christmas. He wished Hermione was there, but she chose to spend the holiday with her family instead. Now he was having Harry-bleeding-Potter walking around the house and doing whatever he wants, with Bill accompany him.
Fate was cruel to him, he just knew it.
He was about to go up to his room when something from the living room caught his ears. His parents were there (his father just came back home) and they were discussing something with the Potter couple and Professor Lupin in hushed voices, but what he heard was definitely clear.
"Molly, don't you understand?" Lupin hissed. "You have a Death Eater under your roof at the moment we speak!"
Ron, interested now, hid himself behind the door to the living room and listened closely, his mind went racing to the time he thought Harry was a Death Eater, but he saw it with his own two eyes that he wasn't. They weren't talking to him, then?
"I don't know what to tell you," Molly sighed. "It's been in the family for so long..."
"Fifteen years?" James asked.
"Do you really want me to believe you that my son... my Ronald is –"
Ron's eyes widened. WHAT?
"WHAT?" he yelled, suddenly forgetting he was eavesdropping to something he
shouldn't hear.
"Ron?" Molly called out as she recognized his son's voice. "Is that you?"
Ron, now felt defeated, emerged from behind the door and looked down at the floor in embarrassment, his hands behind his back. "Yes, I'm sorry."
"Ron, where is Scabbers?" Arthur suddenly asked his son.
"Scabbers?" he asked in confusion, his brows furrowing. Why are they bringing his pet rat to the conversation they had on him. They were just saying that he was a Death Eater, weren't they? "He's... up in my room, resting. Why?"
"May we see him for a second?" Professor Lupin asked.
"Why?" Ron asked again.
"We won't hurt him; we just want to see him."
"We're interested in him. We want to see if he's a truly magical rat, since he's nearly 16 years old. That's rather uncommon for a regular rat, you know," James said.
"We're Aurors. You can trust us, Ron," Lily said softly.
Arthur got up. "I'll go with you to bring him, okay?"
Ron nodded and he and his father went up to his room to get Scabbers. A minute later, Arthur came down and reentered the living room, holding the rat firmly in his hands. The moment the rat laid his eyes on the three strangers in the room, it straggled to get free and tried to escape. "Don't let him go!" Lupin yelled.
"What are you doing to him?" Ron asked, getting worried. "Don't hurt him!"
"Ron, that's okay, it's not a regular rat," his mum explained when she went to him and held him by the shoulders, keeping him back while his father, James and Professor Lupin Disapparated.
"Where did they take him? Of course he's not a regular rat! You said he's magical!"
"No, Ron, you don't understand," Lily said, walking over to him. "That rat is actually a human being, an Animagus. He's name is Peter Pettigrew and he's a Death Eater and we had been searching for him for a long, long time. He sold us to Voldemort in try to kill us."
"What are you talking about? You're wrong!"
"We're not wrong, Ron," Molly said calmly. "They took him to the Ministry, to get him to his human form and get him confessed. He will lead them to the remaining Death Eaters. He will give them names."
Ron was trying to take it all in. It was hard to believe. Aurors came to take his rat. His old, poor rat. Why would they do that if he was just a normal rat? He realized they were right and he sighed, his shoulders slump.
"I'm sorry, Ron. I'll get you a new rat," Molly said.
"No," he said quietly and looked at her eyes, and she feared he won't give up on his pet that easily. Then he surprised her by saying, "I want an owl."
Lily and Harry waited at the Burrow until James and Remus came back, telling them that the Aurors were holding Pettigrew and that they will have more news soon.
Harry was glad to hear they captured an escaped Death Eater. And it was the Death Eater that sold them out, that wanted them dead, the one that pretended to be their best friend. Inwardly, he felt a small part of his heart begin to feel more relaxed and safer.
They said goodbyes and Apparated home. They filled Sirius of what happened and he got upset about how he wasn't there to do it himself. He told them he now felt like he disappointed them and James assured him that they were proud of him just for being so brave, but they couldn't risk him being exposed, not even to the Weasleys or let Pettigrew know that Sirius was hiding with them. Eventually he relaxed, especially when they sat down for dinner.
"I still think you should have brought him here and let me finish him off," Sirius grumbled.
"We'll let you question him on his trial," James said.
"It was a long day," Remus sighed.
"Yeah," Harry agreed, leaning back in his chair.
A sudden loud knock on the door caught them off guard. They all looked at each other in puzzlement. They weren't expecting anyone at this hour.
"I'll go get it. Maybe it just a neighbor," Lily said, getting up and walking to the door, while holding her wand firmly. They all looked after her to make sure it was alright, and James meant to get up and watch her close, but they all stood up at once when she yelled "James! Harry! Quick!"
They ran to the door, their wands pulled out, ready to strike, but no one stood at the door. Lily was kneeling on the floor, but she was alright, the person she was holding in her hands wasn't though.
James carefully helped her moved the cloaked figure to lie on its back on the floor, and gently removed his hood. They gasped at the same time when they saw who it was. His face beaten and bloodied and he was obviously unconscious from exhaustion.
"Draco!" Harry yelled when he kneeled next to his best friend to take a better look at him.
A/N: Finally! It's done. The chapter I've been looking forward the most to write. I thought about it a year ago, ever since I came up with this plot and I finally put it into words. So please review it and tell me what you think, because I don't want to think it sat in my head for nothing for a year.