Disclaimer: I solemnly swear that Harry Potter belongs to the amazing JK Rowling and that I am most definitely up to no good.
Previous Chapter Summary: Arthur Weasley gets a surprise when he is summoned to Madam Bones' office and told that his son's pet rat, that has been living with his family for years, is none other than Peter Pettigrew. Not wanting the foul man anywhere near his family, Arthur accepts the task of capturing Pettigrew and, though Peter puts up a fight, Arthur and the Aurors manage to bring him down in the end.
Harry woke on Christmas morning to Alcmene kneading her claws gently on his chest and Hedwig's soft hoots from where she sat on her perch next to the window. It took him longer than necessary to remember what day it was and he actually needed some help from his familiar by way of an image of the Christmas tree in the living room with all of the festively wrapped gifts underneath to remember that he actually had presents to open this year.
That was a new experience for him, like so many others, and it had taken him forever to actually fall asleep the night before since he was so eager for it to be Christmas morning. On top of that was the thrill of actually getting presents for his friends and new family, though he admitted to being quite nervous about the whole affair at first since the only person that he had chosen a present for all on his own had been Susan's birthday present at the beginning of December. But once Nicolas and Perenelle had taken him to Diagon Alley and let him get gold from his vault so he could buy the presents himself, he had tackled the task with ferocity, and admittedly got assistance from both adults when he wasn't sure what to get.
He stroked Alcmene's fur absentmindedly as he thought of all the things he had gotten his friends and, not for the first time, wondered if they would like them. Hermione had gotten a journal that was guaranteed to contain enough pages to last even the most avid note taker 5 years before needing replacing and came with a 5 year homework planner as well. Neville received a special carrying case with 50 storage areas that could house a variety of different plant seeds as Neville had said that he wanted to start collecting for when he gained his Mastery and started his own business growing plants and supplying ingredients to the masses.
He had chosen an assortment of metallic silver animal shaped hair pins that could change color with the tap of a wand for Daphne as she seemed to enjoy 'accessories' like that, or at least he was pretty sure that's what she called them when he overheard her and Tracey talking about it. Blaise had gotten a pair of enchanted monogramed gloves made from the hide of a Hungarian Horntail that kept the hands of the wearer warm no matter how cold it was since Blaise was well known for complaining at every opportunity about how cold and drafty the castle could be. Tracey had been the easiest of the group of Slytherins since, despite seeing them every day, she enjoyed randomly writing small letters to all of them throughout the week and Harry hadn't been the least bit surprised to see that this extended to over the holidays as well. With this in mind, he had picked out a stationary set that came with a large stack of lavender colored parchment embossed with butterflies around the edges, an eagle feather quill, and 3 bottles of different colored inks, thinking that since she enjoyed writing so much it might as well be on something she thought was pretty.
Hannah had been rather easy to buy for as well since early on in his shopping spree, he had come by a human anatomy puzzle kit that she could put together, starting with bones and then from there to joints, muscles, and organs. It also came with a book that had detailed information for each step and reportedly could take months to put together depending on how thorough one wanted to be. Susan had complained to him a few times that since the Hufflepuff dormitories were underground, she never got to hear birds singing outside her window like she used to at home so he had gotten her an enchanted statue of a blue jay that could be programmed to sing in the mornings or could randomly be turned off and on if you tapped its beak with your wand.
Luna had been the most difficult to find something for despite the fact that she seemed to enjoy everything life had to offer. He had stayed in touch with the quirky girl all through his first semester and enjoyed the letters she sent him as she tended to draw pictures to cover the parchment, then write over the drawings and he enjoyed looking at the wide variety of topics she chose to draw. She also seemed to have a knack for knowing exactly what he needed to hear at any given time. She was the only one who he hadn't sent her present via Hedwig because she had somehow coerced him into inviting her and her father over for lunch later today so she could give him his present in person. He had finally settled on getting her a brand new paint set which came with self cleaning brushes, an easel that could change sizes depending on the size of the canvas, tubes of both oil and acrylic paint, and a self cleaning palette.
Though Ginny had almost stopped writing to him entirely after the first month of school, Perenelle saying that she was most likely embarrassed for reasons Harry couldn't fathom, he had gotten her a small wooden lock box engraved with her name in gold on the side that had an image of a horse running across the top. She had mentioned a few times how nice it was to have her brothers out of the house so they couldn't sneak into her room and rummage through her things. The lock box would only allow her to open it and could be used to store trinkets, jewelry, or anything else Ginny felt she didn't want her brothers to find.
Other than getting Cedric a monogramed Quidditch armor set and Hagrid a miniature animated Hebridean Black dragon model, enlarged slightly to fit the large man, Harry had settled for getting the rest of his friends sweets so that nobody would feel left out. He had realized how much he was spending on presents about halfway through but reasoned with himself that other than birthdays, this was a once a year thing and with Nicolas and Perenelle paying for everything he had nothing else to spend his money on.
It took another hoot from Hedwig to pull him from his musings and remind him again why he had been anticipating this day. With a smile, he gently removed Alcmene's claws from his shirt and moved her to the side so he could crawl out of bed and hurriedly brush his teeth and go to the bathroom.
Hedwig was perched on his shoulder as he made his way into the living room and he noticed that Nicolas and Perenelle were already sitting on the couch talking softly to each other and drinking hot chocolate while waiting for him. Perenelle saw him first and she stood to give him a hug as he made his way over. "Happy Christmas Harry." She beamed.
"Happy Christmas!" He responded excitedly, basking in the love and attention he only ever got to watch his Aunt and Uncle lavish on his cousin.
He repeated the process with Nicolas before they all sat down near the tree, Hedwig settling on the back of Harry's chair to watch.
"So Harry, would you like to play Santa and pass out the presents or would you rather one of us do it?" Nicolas asked with a smile.
Harry jumped up and practically shouted, "I'll do it!"
"Very good." The old Alchemist replied and waved his wand over Harry, transfiguring his pyjamas into a Santa suite and conjuring a hat, beard, and black buckled boots to go with it.
Harry couldn't stop laughing as Perenelle snapped his picture and then he made his way over and grabbed three presents, one for each of them, and passed Nicolas and Perenelle theirs before sitting down to open his own. He continued this process for nearly half an hour before all of the opened presents were spread about the living room, Harry's pile being much bigger than his guardian's.
Perenelle waved her wand and all of the wrapping paper disappeared off of the floor, couch, and chairs where it had ended up and Harry let out a content sigh as he sat back with his own mug of hot chocolate and gazed at his presents. There was a large pile of new winter and summer clothes from Nicolas and Perenelle along with an assortment of wizarding games; including a large pack of exploding snap cards, a new gobstones set, and his own chess set. He was pretty new to chess but Nicolas enjoyed playing it and was currently teaching him the basics. They had also gotten him some new books including; Finding and Conquering Your Animagus: Volume 1, Basic Hexes for the Busy and Vexed, and The Absolutely Complete Compendium of Magical Brazil. Though they refused to tell him why they had given him the last one he figured he would enjoy it just as much as he had his Egypt version.
Hermione had gotten him a copy of Quidditch Through the Ages and a box of chocolate frogs while Neville sent him a deluxe Broomstick Servicing Kit. He had received a black cashmere cloak with gold trimmings that had water-repelling charms on it and was spelled to keep him warm or cool, depending on the weather, from Cedric as well as a hand carved wooden flute from Hagrid. Blaise, Daphne, and Tracey had gotten together to get him his own monogrammed Quidditch armor set and Hannah and Susan had given him a set of quills that would actually assist him with bettering his penmanship the more he wrote with them.
He had put on the emerald green jumper that Mrs. Weasley had sent him after Nicolas had transfigured his pyjamas back to normal and was munching on the Ginger Newts that Ginny had made him when Hedwig started preening his hair. Harry jumped up in alarm, causing a disgruntled bark from his familiar. "I forgot to give Hedwig her present!" He shouted and ran to the tree where he had set her, Jaidynn, Sirius, Remus, and Luna's presents to the side.
He walked back over to the snowy owl holding a small box wrapped in white paper with silver snowflakes moving around as if blown by an unseen wind and held it out to her. "Here you go Hed, this is for you."
Hedwig gave a happy bark and began clawing at the paper with her talons and beak until it came loose. Harry removed it and opened the box for her. Inside, laying on a velvet cushion, was what looked like a necklace with a three inch wide onyx colored silk band that had runes stitched around the edges in gold and a gold medallion, 3 inches in diameter, hanging from it with Hedwig's name engraved on it.
"I found this in my book about familiars and ordered it for you right away, as well as one for Jaidynn. They are specially made on order in Japan so it took some time getting here. The runes on the band are for protection mostly but can help you from getting too tired on long journeys by giving you a bit of a boost. After receiving it, I had to cast some spells the jeweler gave me on the medallion that will tie my magic to it via our bond. That will allow you to pull magic from me to make the protections more powerful if you ever find yourself in an extra dangerous situation." Harry explained as he lifted the necklace from the box.
Hedwig leaned forward to give him better access and Harry held the golden clasps together until they magically sealed themselves. "There, now only I will be able to remove the necklace and there are enchantments that keep it from being summoned and from falling off." He said and held his arm out so she could hop onto it.
Perenelle conjured a large mirror and spelled it to levitate in place at Hedwig's level so she could see herself.
Hedwig gazed at her reflection for a few minutes, tilting her head to the left and right then puffed out her chest before she gave another, much louder, bark.
Harry knew she liked it when her emotions bombarded him from down their link, causing him to laugh out loud from the sheer delight he felt coming from her. "You look great Hedwig."
Just as Perenelle vanished the mirror, there was a knock on the door and she turned to answer it, not seeming at all surprised to see Albus Dumbledore standing on their doorstep.
"Happy Christmas Albus." Perenelle said as she stepped aside to let him in.
"Happy Christmas everyone." Dumbledore replied and looked around the messy living room. "You have been hard at work I see."
"We just finished opening presents and were about to start on breakfast. Would you like to join us?" Nicolas asked, making his way to the kitchen and waving his wand to get the batter for the pancakes started along with the bacon and eggs.
Dumbledore sat in one of the chairs at the table that Perenelle led him to while she set about making tea and pouring juice. "That would be lovely, thank you." He turned his sights onto Harry as the boy sat hesitantly in his normal seat, which was just to the right of the wizened wizard. "Did you get some good presents this year Harry?"
Harry cocked his head to the side as he studied Dumbledore up close. He certainly seemed grandfatherly but Harry knew that Dumbledore was considered the most powerful wizard of the age. He was also responsible for him having to live with the Dursleys for all those years so he wasn't quite sure what to make of the man. "I've never gotten presents before so I can't really compare them but I did get a bunch from my friends and Nick and Nell."
Dumbledore visibly winced at hearing that. "I would like to take this moment to apologize for sending you to live with your relatives Harry. At the time I thought it the best place for you though I have learned how utterly wrong I was and can only hope to earn your forgiveness in the future."
Harry looked to Perenelle as she set down the tray of tea but she didn't give him any indication of what he should do so he determined that they were leaving it up to him on whether to accept the apology or not. After some deliberation, he turned back to the old wizard and nodded his head. "Apology accepted Headmaster."
"You may call me Albus when we aren't at Hogwarts Harry and thank you." Dumbledore said and added four cubes of sugar to his tea. "I brought you a few presents that I hope you will enjoy though I think it best to wait until after we eat to give them to you."
It took entirely too long after that for Nicolas to finish the breakfast while they all made small talk and Harry nearly wolfed down his food until he realized that he would still have to wait for the adults to finish eating before he got his presents anyway so reluctantly slowed down, much to the amusement of the others.
When they were finally done and Dumbledore made his way back into the living room, Harry jumped out of his chair and quickly followed. "This belonged to your father and I believe it is time it was passed to you." Dumbledore said, pulling a squishy looking package from his robes and handing it to Harry.
Harry took it reverently and simply basked in the fact that he was holding something that belonged to his father before slowly tearing the wrapping away. A shimmering silvery cloth spilled out of the package and nearly hit the floor before Harry caught it. It felt like he was somehow holding onto handfuls of water and he marveled as he ran his hands over it.
Nicolas turned to Dumbledore. "Albus, is that…?"
Dumbledore beamed as Harry looked up at them and asked. "What is it?"
"Put it on and see my boy." Dumbledore said.
Harry fumbled for a bit as he found the top of what he now realized was some type of cloak and threw it around his shoulders. "How does it look?"
"See for yourself." Perenelle said with a smile and conjured another mirror, this one full length, and set it in front of him.
Harry cried out in alarm as his floating head appeared in the mirror but nothing else. He looked down at his body and realized that everything covered by the cloak had completely disappeared.
The adults chuckled as he passed his hand in and out of the cloak to watch it appear and disappear before Nicolas answered his first question. "It's an invisibility cloak Harry and they can be quite expensive for a good one."
"Wow." Was all Harry could say as he took off the cloak.
"May I?" Nicolas asked stepping forward. He took the cloak from Harry when he nodded and handed it to him, looking over it with a critical eye. "Albus, you said that this belonged to James?"
"Yes, he let me borrow it shortly before… that Halloween so that I could examine it. According to him, it has been in the Potter family for quite some time."
"Impossible." Nicolas murmured as he pulled his wand to begin casting spells.
"Why is it impossible?" Harry asked.
Nicolas threw the cloak over Perenelle and brushed his hand over the fabric so he could examine it in its invisible state. "Because the best invisibility cloaks are made from Demiguise hair, which is a peaceful magical creature that has the ability to make itself invisible at will, and they only last a few years before they start to turn opaque and eventually stop working entirely."
"I felt the same way Nicolas, which is why I asked James to let me examine it." Dumbledore admitted. "I found no signs of it aging however and even after all this time, it works as if brand new."
Perenelle swatted Nicolas' hand as it began to rove ever lower down her body and he gazed up at where he thought her head was with a bewildered look on his face before realizing where his hand had been roaming and gave a cheeky grin.
He finally finished his examination of the invisibility cloak and handed it back to Harry.
"Can I take it with me to school?" Harry asked as he began folding it up, eyes bulging as it continued to get smaller and smaller until he could easily fit it into his pocket.
The Flamels looked at each other and held a silent conversation between themselves while Dumbledore gave Harry a small wink and amused smile. Perenelle turned to him finally and said, "It will be good to carry it around in case of emergencies but you must promise not to use it to go wandering around the castle after curfew or break any other rules."
"I promise." Harry crowed, shaking the cloak out again so he could throw it back over himself, simply because he could.
"Very good." Dumbledore spoke up." Now, there is one more present I have for you Harry but it is outside so you would need to get dressed before I can show it to you."
Harry wasted no time in running to his room to change, the adults only aware of his exit by the sound of his footsteps running away from where they stood. He took the cloak off, lay it gently on his bed, and quickly got dressed. He made it back to the living room in record time, put on the cloak Cedric had gotten him and hopped impatiently from foot to foot while waiting for Nicolas and Perenelle to get ready to go outside too.
Following Dumbledore out the door with Hedwig again on his shoulder, Harry hardly noticed the fairy tail winter wonderland that had become Nicolas and Perenelle's garden. The main attraction, as always, being the fairies, who had taken to fluttering around the cottage, acting as Christmas lights since their fountain had frozen. The few that had taken to Harry and enjoyed playing with him when he came outside flew over and burrowed into his hair and the collar of his cloak or perched on his shoulders.
The raven-haired boy looked around for his present and let out a shout of glee when his eyes fell on his second familiar and her parents standing at the edge of the woods. "Jaidynn!" Harry cried and ran to her as she let out an excited whinny and made her way to him. It had only been a little more than a week since he had seen her but he hadn't expected to get to spend time with her again until after the holidays so Harry was ecstatic to be able to see her for Christmas.
"Though they certainly didn't like the portkey I used to get them here, I think they found it was worth making the trip." Dumbledore said with a smile as Harry hugged the foal and Kylina and Auris walked forward to join them.
"The wise one explained to us what day it is and, though we do not celebrate your holidays, we did not want to miss a chance to spend time with you." Auris said as they approached and touched his horn to Harry's forehead with Kylina following suit. Harry had learned that this gesture was how they said hello and goodbye to each other and was always amazed at the sensation he felt when they did it, as if they were cleansing his mind and body, leaving a feeling of contentment and love.
"Thank you Auris, Kylina. I'm glad I got to see all of you." Harry said and gave them both a hug in turn. He had felt slightly intimidated by the two at first but had soon learned that they viewed him as not just part of the herd, but as a second child and knowing that had made it much easier for him to interact with them.
"Harry." Nicolas said from where the three adult humans were watching the happy display. Harry looked towards him and noticed he was holding a package similar to Hedwig's. "Don't you have something to give to Jaidynn?"
"Thanks Nick." Harry said, taking the present from him and bringing it back over to the Unicorns. "I got you a Christmas present Jaidynn. Do you want me to open it for you?"
Jaidynn nickered softly and bobbed her head up and down but as he went to tear away the paper, Hedwig sent a flash through his mind and Harry laughed as he held it up for her to open instead, again removing the paper once she had loosened it and opening the box. This necklace had a deep sapphire blue band with silver runes and a silver medallion that Harry thought would look very nice once Jaidynn's silver hair grew in all the way. At the moment, it was almost to her knees with small patches here and there on the rest of her body and Harry knew from Kylina that the young foal was a little self conscious about the way it looked.
Upon seeing the necklace, Jaidynn gave a happy whinny and eagerly came forward so Harry could put it on her. He told her the same thing he had told Hedwig, though with a slight difference. "I won't be able to cast the spells on the medallion to link my magic to you until we bond completely but at least now you will have some protection in case anything happens."
Kylina came forward and nuzzled Harry's head, letting out a loud snort into his hair, blowing away the fairies burrowed within and causing it to stick up slightly. "Thank you for the gift Harry. No others have been taken from us but we still sense the darkness lurking in the forest, though we cannot seem to pinpoint where it might be. Knowing that Jaidynn will have extra protection helps ease some of our worry."
"Mine too." Harry admitted and petted her nose as he turned to Dumbledore. "Thank you for bringing them here sir."
"You are most welcome Harry. I am afraid I can't take all the credit though, as it was Nicolas and Perenelle's idea in the first place." He replied. "I had a rather hard time tracking them down to be honest, since they kept moving away from me and can be quite fast when they see a need to be. I had to resort to sending a messenger Patronus to find them and let them know why I was looking for them."
"What's a messenger Patronus?" Harry asked and watched with amusement as Hedwig hopped onto Jaidynn's head and the young Unicorn went trotting around the garden.
"It is a little trick I invented during the last war as a means of communication using the Patronus Charm, which is a charm used mostly against Lethifolds and Dementors. I don't believe you will be learning about them until around 6th or 7th year."
"Can I see it?"
"Of course." Dumbledore said and pulled his wand, raised it, and waved it in a circular motion. A white light coalesced at the end of the wand before shooting forth and taking the shape of a large phoenix.
It flew around the garden before stopping to hover right in front of Harry and speaking to him in Dumbledore's voice. "Hello Harry."
Harry laughed and reached out to try and touch the glowing white phoenix but his hand went straight through it before it slowly vanished. "That was brilliant. Can you teach me how to do that?"
"I'm afraid it's a fairly advanced spell and many adult witches and wizards have great difficulty learning it. However, Perenelle has informed me that you are doing very well in your training so far and your marks for the first semester are excellent so I have no doubt that she will eventually attempt to teach it to you." Dumbledore said.
"Oh." Harry said, a tad disappointed. "Do they always look like animals?"
"Indeed they do. Each Patronus is unique to the person casting it, usually representing that which resides deep within their personality and may not always take the shape one would expect."
Harry looked at Nicolas and Perenelle with a curious expression and they both raised their wands to cast the spell at the same time. Nicolas' took the shape of a fox while Perenelle's turned out to be a wolf.
"Before I fell in love with Nell, my Patronus took the form of a seal. It's not uncommon for the form of the Patronus to change its shape if the caster goes through some sort of emotional change themselves. I didn't even realize mine was different until I was teaching Nell the spell years later and we realized that they took the same form as each other's Animaguses." Nicolas' Patronus told him as it pranced around Harry's feet while Perenelle's wolf sat regally nearby.
"I can't wait to try it and see what mine is." Harry said.
"Perhaps we can see how you do in your 3rd or 4th year." Perenelle said. "Now, why don't you stay out here and spend time with Jaidynn and the others while we go inside to talk. Albus will be here until Luna and Xeno arrive."
"That's great, Luna was excited to meet Jaidynn, Auris, and Kylina when I wrote her about them. Thanks for asking the Headmaster to bring them." Harry said over his shoulder as he ran off to play tag with Jaidynn.
Though he had tested his new cloak to its limits and his cheeks and nose were rosy red by the time Luna and Xeno got there, Harry enjoyed his time with the Unicorns. Luna rushed out the door as soon as she was told what Harry was up to outside and Nicolas hurried to transfigure her sweater into a jacket so she wouldn't get too cold since they had arrived via floo and had not expected to be going outside.
All three Unicorns took to the peaceful little girl immediately and Luna wasted no time in starting up a one sided conversation with Kylina while sitting next to her in the snow and stroking her side. All too soon though, Dumbledore came out of the cottage and announced that he had to be going and both children reluctantly said goodbye to the beautiful creatures.
Once back in the cottage, Harry grabbed Luna's present from under the tree and sat down in front of the roaring fire so he could thaw out. He gratefully took one of the mugs of hot cocoa Perenelle brought them and took a sip before setting it down and facing Luna, who had sat on the floor right across from him with her present for him.
"Want to open them one at a time or together?" He asked.
Luna looked thoughtful for a moment as she sipped her own cup of hot cocoa then said. "I think opening them together would be best."
Harry simply nodded and held the present out to her and took the one she handed him.
"On the count of three." Luna said. "One, two, three!"
They both tore into the presents at the same time, Luna's face lighting up when she saw Madam Audeley's Paint Supplies written across the top of the case in ever changing colors. Neither Perenelle or Nicolas were very artistic, but Nicolas had directed him to Madam Audeley's art store when Harry told them what he had wanted to get Luna, telling him it was the best place to get art supplies if not a little expensive.
"Wow Luna, this is great." Harry said, staring at the painting of Hedwig as she flapped her wings at him. The real Hedwig came over to gaze at the picture and gave a satisfied bark.
"Thank you Harry. I know I already gave you a picture but after you told me that Hedwig doesn't really like it in your dormitory, I asked her to pose for me one day while she was resting at my house so you might hang it up in there instead. Then I asked Daddy to make an appointment for me to see Julian Bamard about placing the enchantments on it to animate her. He is my favorite artist and is the one that got me interested in art." Luna explained and opened the case to see what was inside.
"Thanks a lot Luna. I'll definitely be putting this up in my room when I get back." He said and set it aside so he could watch her remove each item one by one.
Satisfied hums could be heard from the blond-haired girl every time she took an item out of the case to examine it until she got to the paint, at which point she could only stare in amazement. "Harry, these are the Bellegarde brand. They are very high quality and extremely expensive."
"I know, I asked Madam Audeley which ones she thought were the best and she pointed these out. She told me she not only likes them for their quality but also because Gérard and Jeannette Bellegarde donate half of their proceeds to various magical and non-magical orphanages around France."
Luna began packing all of the supplies away and said. "I'll be sure to paint you a magnificent picture with these."
"I can't wait to see it." Harry replied.
"Hey you two, it's time for lunch." Nicolas said, popping his head in from the kitchen.
The rest of the day flew by for Harry. Luna and Xeno stayed so long that they ended up being invited to stay for the large Christmas dinner Nicolas had made. Once that was done and the father and daughter had left, the three of them relaxed for a bit before getting ready to go visit Sirius at St. Mungo's.
Upon entering the private room, Harry noticed that his godfather had an enlarged copy of the Daily Prophet's story about Peter Pettigrew's capture and trial stuck up on his wall, which he would continuously sneak a peak at and chuckle darkly.
Madame Bones had wasted no time in doing either it seemed since it had only been on the 23rd that Nicolas had gone to the Ministry to let her know what they had found out from Sirius and Remus and the Daily Prophet had run a special evening edition on Christmas Eve to inform the magical community of all the gritty details. Though the Weasley family took a bit of a hit for allowing Pettigrew to hide with them in the first place, Arthur Weasley had made up for the mistake by assisting with the rat's capture. Pettigrew ended up getting life imprisonment in the high security wing of Azkaban and Sirius had laughed for a solid ten minutes at Amelia's account of the little traitor's squeals of terror and begging as they drug him away.
Once Sirius' gloating was over, Perenelle reminding him that Pettigrew was not really a proper Christmas topic, they got down to the very important moment of exchanging presents. Sirius enjoyed the large box of the newest joke and prank items from both Zonko's and Gambol and Japes but was hesitant about the personal journal he received from his godson.
Remus had written Harry shortly after their visit that one of the Mind Healers had recommended that the man begin writing in a journal, believing that it might help with the nightmares and outbursts but the werewolf didn't think Sirius would even consider writing in it if he got it for him but that he might be willing to if Harry gave him one instead. He had made sure to get one that was charmed to let no one else but Sirius read what he had written so the man couldn't try the excuse that someone could steal it and read it as being the reason he didn't want to write in it.
It took some convincing and slight coercion on Harry's part but he finally convinced Sirius to at least try writing in the journal to see if it actually helped at all and he finally gave in and promised to try it as well as test out some of the pranks on his medi-witches and Healer the next chance he got and write Harry to let him know how it went.
The Chinese puzzle box Harry had found in Pandora's Box, a small shop they had come across in Diagon Alley right past Gringotts that sold all different kinds of odds and ends, intrigued Remus immediately. Harry chose not to tell him that the puzzle box was only half the present, the gift certificate to Gawain's Grandeur Apparel shop that was hidden inside for when he managed to open it, being the other.
Sirius had gotten him a magical penknife that could open any lock and untie any knot, even if protected by spells, as well as Harry's own box of the jokes and pranks Sirius enjoyed when he was younger. Remus gifted him Occlumency for Beginners: Preparing to Protect Your Mind from Intruders, which he explained had a detailed chapter about meditation that could assist him with his Animagus training among other things, and a one year subscription to Quidditch Global, a magazine featuring articles about the various Quidditch teams and games happening all over the world.
The group conversed until Sirius' Healer came in to let them know that it was time for his patient to rest so goodbyes were said and a promise given to visit at least once more before the end of the holidays. It was as they were leaving the hospital that Harry got a major shock.
"Neville? What are you doing here?" He asked his friend after almost running into him and his grandmother in the reception area.
Neville looked surprised to see them there and shuffled nervously from foot to foot.
When he didn't answer, Harry grew concerned. "Are you hurt?"
The shy boy shook his head vigorously but still said nothing, biting his lip and staring at the floor instead.
"Neville, have you not told your friends?" Augusta asked him as kindly as she could. She had been trying harder not to be so stern with her grandson since their discussion over the summer but she gave an exasperated sigh when he shook his head again. "It's nothing to be ashamed of Neville. Would you like me to tell him?"
Neville looked at her in relief and nodded.
"Very well. Perhaps we should move to a quieter area." Augusta suggested and everyone followed her to a set of chairs in an empty corner of the waiting room. Once they were situated, Harry making sure to sit next to his friend as it looked like Neville was having a hard time with whatever was going on, Augusta told them all about Frank and Alice Longbottom and how they had been tortured into insanity by Death Eaters.
When she was done, Harry lay a hand on Neville's shoulder. "I'm sorry Nev. That's why you got so upset on the train huh?"
"Yeah." He replied softly. "I… I'm not ashamed of them." At this he gave his grandmother a pointed look before looking down again. "It's just hard to talk about and I don't like seeing the looks of pity from people when they hear about what happened."
"I understand." Harry said and hesitated a moment before continuing. "I'd like to meet them some time if that's ok with you."
Neville gave him an incredulous look. "Really?" Harry nodded and he added sadly. "They wouldn't really know you or anything, even if you visited them every day. They don't even recognize me or Gran."
"I'm sure they still enjoy your visits Nev, even if they don't have the ability to show it." Harry said.
"Do you really think so?" Neville asked tentatively. A part of him always held out hope that his parents were still there but just weren't able to bridge the gap in their minds that had broken, to let him know that they recognized him and were happy to see him. The other part however, thought that being trapped in your own mind for years without being able to communicate to others would be an absolutely horrible way to live the rest of your life and he felt guilty for being so selfish.
"Of course." Harry said with conviction. "You're their son and they'll always be happy to see you."
A small smile slowly spread across his friend's face and he said. "Thanks Harry."
"You're welcome." Harry said and slapped him lightly on the back. "Now, how was your Christmas? Did you like your present?"
Neville's smile grew wider as he answered. "Yeah, it's great! I already gathered some seeds from the greenhouse to store in the case. Did you know that it has built in preservation runes powerful enough to keep the seeds from decaying for up to 10 years?"
"Of course." Harry laughed. "That's part of the reason I chose that one."
"Well thanks a lot, I really like it. How did you like your Broom Servicing Kit?"
"It's just what I needed actually. My Nimbus looks like it could do with a good polishing; it really takes a beating sometimes from those obstacle courses that Dimitri sets up."
Augusta and the Flamels let the boys discuss the various Christmas presents they had gotten for a bit longer before finally deciding it was time to get going, reminding them that they would see each other the very next day.
Harry watched his friend leave with a bit of a sad smile. He had wished too many times to count over the years that he could have his parents back amongst the living but didn't think for a moment that he would be strong enough to come visit them, looking into their eyes and not seeing the recognition that should be reflected there. Neville had it much worse than Harry did to be sure. "He's a lot braver than he thinks he is." Harry said quietly.
Nicolas heard him and lay his arm across the boy's shoulders so he could pull him close as they made their way to the fireplaces to floo home.
A/N: I know the bit about the presents was sort of long but I don't plan on listing them out like that every time, I was just having way too much fun thinking up all the different things for Harry to get his friends and even ended up wanting all of them myself. As always, you guys are awesome and thanks for reading.