Chapter 6 - Christmas Eve

Hermione came home just before dinner. She was delighted to see Lillian and enjoyed meeting Dianna. She was quite surprised and somewhat amused to find out that Dianna's mother was actually Mrs. Malfoy, but accepted her just as warmly.

Dinner was a noisy affair that evening. Even little Rose joined the table after waking up, making Dianna gasp when she noticed the small girl's aura. "She will probably be more powerful than any of us!" she whispered in Lilly's ear. Lilly only smiled.

"Mrs. Malfoy, would you join us in the living room?" asked Hermione after dinner.

"Gladly, but please call me Narcissa. I'm not even sure I can still be called Mrs. Malfoy."

"Why?" wondered Hermione.

"Well, I've received my approved divorce papers last week. I'm finally free of that man who lost his soul to the dark lord."

"Does Dianna know?"

"I've already told her everything. She is a smart girl. She wasn't even surprised. I wish Draco was even half as smart…"

"Then, how will you be named now?" wondered Harry.

"I'm not sure. I can revert to my maiden name – Black – but I believe I need your approval for doing this, especially if I want to be treated like a Black and not like a Malfoy."

"Why would you need my approval?" asked Harry.

"Have you not inherited Sirius' position as head of the house of Black? I can't come back into the family without your approval."

"You have it. You may officially use the name Narcissa Black. Do I need to write anything?"

"No. Your word is just as magically binding as a written statement," Narcissa assured him.

They all sat in front of the large-screen TV. Hermione cuddled close to Harry on the sofa while Narciss found the arm-chair very comfortable. The TV was showing a popular entertainment program to which nobody paid any attention. The smaller children had already been sent to bed, but Dianna and Lillian joined the adults, positioning themselves on the love-seat behind the sofa and talking in hushed voices so the others would not pay attention to their presence.

Rose was feeling much better in the morning. Hermione fed her another potion to be on the safe side and Rose insisted on staying near her sister although Lilly wasn't sure it was appropriate.

"You can teach her to apparate as well!" said Dianna. "She's about the same age you've first done it, and she is probably just as powerful."

Rose smiled at Dianna thankfully, while Lillian took her hand. "Maybe it's time to teach my little sister a thing or two."

It was a very cold day, but Lillian established a warm zone in the grove behind the house and took her sister and her friend there. She was first interested to hear about Rose's magical achievements, and her sister was glad to demonstrate: she turned a dry twig into a bunch of flowers and conjured a vase to put them in. She then changed her hair to stripes of red, green and blue before letting it set back to its natural reddish-brown. Dianna was deeply impressed, but Rose winked at her sister, as if saying "there's much more in store".

"I believe you could benefit from learning to apparate," concluded Lillian. She then started demonstrating her technique, apparating from one tree to another. An hour later they were all apparating freely between the trees. "This is FUN!" exclaimed little Rose.

"Let's apparate into your room," suggested Lillian.

A moment later they were all standing in Rose's room, removing some stray snow-flakes from their clothing.

"I thought you were still playing outside," they heard a voice. Narcissa was standing near the open door and looking somewhat confused.

"Mom! Lillian has just taught me how to apparate like her!" beamed Dianna.

"Good for you," said Narcissa, although her face kept its stoic expression.

Rose noticed her mother behind their guest. "Mom! I can apparate as well! Isn't it wonderful?"

"Yes, it is, darling, but please refrain from doing it until you are fully healed."

James came in, looking for the source of the excitement.

"I can apparate!" Rose told him.

"No, you can't" he replied.

"Oh, but I can! See?" and Rose apparated to the other side of the room, making James drop his jaw in disbelief.

"Why don't you teach me as well?" James whined to Lillian.

She looked suddenly sad. "I'd like to teach you, but your aura is very different. I don't think this will work for you. It may even be dangerous."

"You always talk of aura, but I've never seen anybody having an aura. It's just a lot of bull."

"But we can see auras," intervened Dianna. "Yours is sky-blue with red and yellow waves traveling through it and some orange bands. Rose's is almost white and much wider, with several color bands fluctuating in it. You both need to grow up before it's fully stabilized, but your magic is very different."

"I don't believe you!" blurted James, somewhat hurt for not being considered.

"There's a spell Aunt Minnie had shown me when I was your age," informed him Lilly. She made her two siblings stand in front of the large mirror and then took her wand and pointed at them. "Revelio aura personale" she said, moving her wand in a small circle. James looked at the mirror and saw exactly the auras described by Dianna.

"I don't need that spell," said Rose suddenly. "I thought I had an eye problem. Mom took me to a doctor. He found no problem. He had no real aura either. She then took me to a healer. He had a nice green aura. He explained to me what I was seeing and taught me how to ignore it."

Both older girls smiled. They had already suspected that much.

Rose was already tired. Hermione suggested she got some rest until lunchtime. "I'll help her go to bed," volunteered Lilly.

Once they were alone, Lilly helped Rose undress and go to bed. "I'm glad you feel better," she told her.

Rose smiled at her elder sister. "Can you teach me some other things as well?"

"I don't know. I'm sure you can already do much more than you showed us. Can you change your form?"

"Like becoming a cat or a dog? I can. I can even become a bird. I don't do it often, though. It's very tiring and I don't really need it."

Christmas Eve dinner was taking place at Potter Manor, as the number of guests was too large to accommodate in the house at Godric Hollow. The Potters, along with Narcissa, Dianna and Teddy, flooed to the Manor after lunch and got some rest in their assigned rooms while the house-elves made all the preparations. Hermione had finally agreed to let them do their work after making sure they were well paid.

Two hours before dinner time they were all ready. Harry was wearing his formal robes with the house crest and the large house ring. Hermione was wearing a simple, yet extremely elegant dress and managed to somewhat tame her hair into a presentable hairdo. Both Dianna and Lillian were dressed in fine dresses. Lillian's was red while Dianna's was blue. Rose wore a dress the color of her name and the two boys were wearing deep emerald dress robes. Teddy even changed his hair to the same color. Narcissa, the last person to join them at the entrance hall, preferred dark blue robes, accentuating her blonde hair and pale complexion.

The guests started arriving quite early. Andrew Creevey, along with his parents, his brother Denis and Gabrielle came first. Andrew soon positioned himself near the door, ready to take pictures of all participants.

Joanne came next with her parents and her sister. "We had to drive here and we weren't sure how long it might take," explained her father. Lillian was quick to introduce Janette to Dianna. "Janette has been my best friend since kindergarten. She knows we are magical and she is still our friend. She is also very talented. She has already appeared in a ballet and she also started painting very nicely. She may become a famous artist one day."

Julius Snape and his mother were also quite early, using a taxi to bring them to the Potter Manor.

Other guests arrived soon: Dudley with Millie, Minerva and Hagrid, the Weasleys, the Longbottoms, some more friends and then some members of the House of Lords and a few from the Wizengamot. The house-elves, all using a glamour to look like human servants, were becoming quite busy.

Andromeda Tonks was among the last to arrive, using the floo. She looked almost shocked to see Narcissa standing near the Potters and chatting amiably. "Why are you here?" she blurted at her sister.

"Dianna is Lillian's best friend at Hogwarts and she invited us both here with her parents consent, of course."

"Lady Malfoy paying a social visit to the Potters? That's some worthy news!" Andromeda said sarcastically. "Lucius wouldn't have approved at all!"

"Lucius can rot in jail! I'm finally free of him and his prejudices. My divorce papers have arrived a few days ago and I asked Harry, as the head of the house of Black, to allow me to use my maiden name and be considered part of the Black house again. He granted me his permission."

Andromeda still looked skeptical. "Please, Andy, let me back into your life," Narcissa pleaded. "At least let my daughter get to know her aunt, as she deserves."

"May I meet her first?" Andromeda asked and then added hesitantly "Cissy."

Lilian noticed some changes concerning the seating around the table. While most official dinners were held at the long table, with Harry sitting at one end and Hermione at the opposite end, this time the table was U shaped, with her dad sitting at the center. Her mother was sitting at his right while Narcissa was seated at Harry's left with Dianna at her side, followed by Andromeda and Teddy, while Lillian was seated at her mother's side. She didn't know why it was different but she was quite sure it would be revealed before the end of the meal.

Dinner was quite normal. The Weasleys glanced suspiciously at Narcissa, but said nothing. Lillian noted others glancing at the blond witches as well, but their expression showed only confusion. Dianna, though, seemed quite happy to get to know her aunt and they seemed to get along very nicely.

The guests were already finishing the desert when Harry stood up and called for attention. He waited until everybody was looking at him before he continued talking.

"Most of you already know the lady at my left – the former Mrs. Malfoy. She has recently got her divorce finalized and has asked me, as the head of the old and noble house of Black, to allow her to revert to her maiden name and use Black as her name instead of Malfoy. I'm glad to grant her that wish and to formally give her the right to be called Mrs. Black."

There was a murmur of surprise around the table. Some guests applauded while others looked quite bewildered – mainly those with no magical background. Molly Weasley seemed to be quite furious, though. Arthur was holding her shoulder and covering her mouth while whispering urgently in her ear.

Lilly glanced over to Dianna, but could not discern her feelings. She hoped to have a chance to talk with her once dinner was over.

They didn't spend the night at the Manor. They used a portkey to go back home as soon as the last guests left. Lillian couldn't talk with Dianna privately, but she could sense that her friend was excited and happy. That was enough for her to sleep really well that night.

Christmas morning passed lazily. They all opened their presents in the morning, but these presented no big surprises. Both Lillian and Dianna received books, as expected. The only surprise was Narcissa's present – a solid gold ring with the Black crest.