Stepping out of Twilfit and Tattings, Harry pocketed the shrunken package containing Daphne's new winter cloak - green, to match her eyes - and mentally checked off another person on his Christmas shopping list. His parents were done, as were Hermione, Su, and Daphne. He doubted he was supposed to get stuff for his sisters, since his parents would take care of appeasing them, so that just left Luna.
Looking around, Harry realized he was at the end of the alley and the only two stores he'd yet to visit at this end were a junk shop and Ollivander's, the latter of which Kate Robinson was emerging from with one of the Weasley twins - Lord only knew which - while arguing loudly. Although Luna was a bit odd, or at least his had been, he didn't want to buy her a Christmas present from someone else's trash and decided to retrace his steps back up Diagon Alley to see if anything else caught his attention.
As he passed Gringotts, the Longbottoms emerged, Frank halting and pinning Harry with a fierce glare as Alice yanked their son behind her. Harry raised an eyebrow; did they think he would attack the Boy-Who-Lived out here in broad daylight just for sport? They'd witnessed his questioning this morning for the aurors and read the statements from his friends. As long as their chubby wanker of a son didn't start problems, Harry wouldn't end them. Rolling his eyes, he turned away and made his way through the crowd toward where he promised to meet his mother. She was waiting for him, a warming charm having removed the snow and chill from the seat in front of Fortescue's as she sat reading a book. "Done, sweetie?"
"All but one. Luna Lovegood." Harry sighed and ran a hand through his hair. After meeting an athletic Hermione, a female Blaise, and numerous other people who weren't quite what he remembered, he wasn't willing to assume he 'knew' Luna at all. So, if he was treating her as an unknown… "How am I supposed to buy a present for somebody I've never met and know nothing about?"
Closing her book, Lily rose to her feet and rolled her shoulders, letting out a truly disturbing cracking noise. Harry shuddered; were humans supposed to be capable of those sorts of sounds? If that's what getting old meant, maybe he'd try to send himself back again in his mid-twenties or so. "Are you sure you want to get her something? After all, you're going over there to decline her offer, not accept it."
Harry nodded, turning and heading toward Flourish and Blotts as his mother fell into step beside him. When in doubt, seek out books. While there likely wasn't a book to help with this situation, there was probably a book Luna would like. "Yeah, but I want to try and let her down easy. I'm going to be spending six years at Hogwarts with her. The last thing I need is her feeling slighted and bitter about being rejected, and turning into a female Neville on me."
That was rather unlikely given how mellow Luna was, but Harry thought it sounded like a believable enough excuse. Unsaid but at the forefront of his mind was their past life together; he didn't want to alienate someone who'd become such a good friend and ally in his old world and likely would become the same again in this one if he didn't manage to bollocks things up by doing something stupid.
"Makes sense. Alright, I haven't seen Luna since back when Selene Lovegood was still stuck pushing a pram everywhere so I'm no help there." Lily pondered for a moment before pointing towards the charms section. "Selene, though, always did fairly well in Charms and DADA… that might have rubbed off on Luna. Or if Luna takes after her father Oddment…"
Just like every other time, Harry couldn't help the chuckle that emerged when he heard the first name of Luna's father. "Oddment?"
Lily's lips quirked up. "His friends call him Odd. So do the rest of us. Odd runs a newspaper called The Quibbler. It's… well, a bit wild. Still, she might be into journalism or creative writing so a book about one of those subjects or even some quills and ink might be good gifts. Other than that, I'm running out of ideas, Harry. I may be a woman, but that doesn't mean I have a telepathic link to every other woman on Earth. Speaking of women, though, what are you going to do about the Zabinis? Present for Blaise as well?"
"I don't need to make a special trip for Blaise, because she's already at school with me. Besides, I can approach her without worrying about scheming parents there. See if I can get her to loosen up and give me some real answers, not whatever her parents have programmed her to say." Flipping through a book quickly, Harry dismissed it and looked around before realizing that the magical bookstore didn't really have anything approaching the second of his mother's three suggestions. Writing was probably an apprenticeship or natural talent profession in the wizarding world, so why would they sell books about it to the common man? He sighed. That made things more complicated, because it was the best idea he'd heard so far. "Can we convert a few galleons and go out onto Charing Cross Road? I want to find a muggle bookstore."
Eyes lighting up, Lily nodded and grabbed him by the hand, hustling him out of Flourish and Blotts. "I haven't been shopping in a muggle store in years. I always had to drag your father and now with you kids along, I've always had to worry about you saying something wrong and attracting attention. Well, my Harry saying something wrong. I'm sure the muggle world is no problem for you, what with what Dumbledore did to you and all." She looked him over with a critical eye before nodding. "You look close enough to pass as-is. Let's get some pounds and I'll show you where this great little shop is…"
When Christmas morning dawned, Harry was more excited than he'd ever been before for the holiday. The closest he'd ever come to a real celebration was in his fifth year, at Grimmauld Place with Sirius and the Weasleys, but now he had his parents, sisters, Remus, and Sirius and his family to celebrate it with. Being included by the Weasleys was all well and good, but it never really made up for his lack of true family… and the more he experienced in this world, the more he became aware of that.
For once he woke up without the assistance of his alarm clock, having not set it the night before. Honestly, Harry had expected his sisters to come and pry him out of bed far before… he stared blearily at the clock before finding his glasses and slipping them on. Wow. He'd made it all the way to nine 'o clock? That was impressive for Christmas Day. Was something wrong?
Harry slid out of bed, hissing a bit in displeasure as his feet hit the cold wooden floors and twisting back and forth to loosen up his back. Then he stopped and let out a rueful chuckle. There'd be no run today, either around the lake at school or around Godric's Hollow. Christmas and all. So instead he tugged on his wand holster, Prue's wand popping out long enough to cast a low-powered warming charm over his body so he wouldn't need slippers or heavier clothing around the house. Time to go investigate the rest of his family.
His first stop was Rose's room, where he stopped in the doorway and chuckled. The poor girl had fallen asleep sitting up leaning against the window while waiting for Father Christmas and was more than likely going to wake up with a hell of a pain in her neck… and with her cheek frozen to the window pane. Harry carefully crept across the room, using another low-powered warming charm on the glass to slowly heat it to room temperature before moving off to check on Jasmine.
Neither of his sisters had made it to bed, Harry discovered upon entering Jasmine's room. Unlike Rose, though, Jasmine's pose was something straight out of his memories of Hermione: face down on a desk with a quill still in hand. Harry carefully took it from her to keep her from scratching or drawing on herself if she twitched in her sleep and was about to move off again when a name caught his eye and brought him to a stop. Hermione? The desk was practically covered in letters in her familiar scrawl and Jasmine had fallen asleep in the middle of a new letter to his teammate. Huh. So they were more closely acquainted than just one meeting. The possibility of his dream being prophetic was starting to seem more likely by the day… which was fine with him. If everything came to pass, learning to live with his best friend hooking up with both his sisters simultaneously was a small price to pay for what he'd be getting.
Deciding to leave her to sleep - at least for now - Harry made his way out of his sister's room and headed downstairs, wandering into the cold and quiet kitchen. After getting a fire going in the empty stone fireplace, he decided to do his parents a favor and got to work cooking breakfast without waiting for his mother to join him. Having prepared ahead and ordered a few extra ingredients the day before via floo, Harry got to work on a variant of the traditional full English that he remembered seeing on Rosmerta's menu up in Hogsmeade: poached eggs, sautéed mushrooms, black pudding, Lorne sausage, bacon, potato scones, and thick slices of whole grain toast.
The first sign of another conscious person in the house came nearly half an hour later when a thump and the scrape of a chair heralded the arrival of his mother as she stumbled into it, wandering blearily towards the counter. "Coffee…" Harry rolled his eyes and snickered, but dutifully poured a mug for his mother and handed it to you. "Thank you, sweetie."
"If your original son hadn't spent eleven years freeloading, I'd be talking about charging for this kind of service, you know." Harry flicked his wand, amused to see that his mother still instinctively opened her mouth to chastise him before shutting it, and levitated the platters of prepared food toward the kitchen table. "Are Dad and the twins coming down or are we starting without them?"
Shrugging, Lily pulled out her wand and tapped her throat before turning her away from him. "James!" Harry winced, clapping his hands over his ears as his mother's supercharged voice boomed through the house. "Get down here now and eat some breakfast or I'll let the kids eat it all!"
Harry groaned and threw himself into the chair beside his mother, poking her in the ribs with his wand before putting it away. "Thanks, Mum. I couldn't have done that myself." A moment later, his father came stumbling down the hall half-asleep, his sisters stuck behind his staggering form. James easily entered the kitchen but a Potter pile-up occurred as Jasmine and Rose ran into Harry's barrier. He'd set up the barrier earlier using a weaker variant of the infamous Age Line, mostly to keep the girls from sneaking in and picking at the food before it was done and set out for the family. "Erm, oops. I should probably take that down, huh?"
"You shouldn't be doing it at all, Harry." Sighing in annoyance, James pulled his wand out of the waistband of his sleep pants and cancelled Harry's spell, allowing the twins to enter the kitchen. "Just because you've discovered the flaw in the magical detection grid that purebloods take advantage of doesn't mean you should be ignoring the rules against underage magic. Lily, I'm surprised you haven't reigned him in."
Lily's grip around her fork tightened momentarily before relaxing. "Yes, because we both know I'm the only adult in this household. Now that I know about the loophole and how easy it is for purebloods to get around something I had to work hard to avoid being held back by, I really can't find it in me to give a damn. You want him punished, either do it yourself or tell Hopkirk's people."
Coughing loudly to get his parents' attention, Harry waggled his finger. "If you children don't simmer down right this instant, I swear to God I will turn this car around." Lily burst into laughter, putting down her fork to avoid flinging food by accident, even as her husband just stared at Harry in utter confusion. "Seriously, let's enjoy Christmas breakfast now and we can sign you up for couples' therapy later."
"Maybe I do need to start getting more involved with the discipline around here." Pushing his plate back a bit, James leaned forward and pointed a finger across the table at Harry. "I don't know what gives you the idea that you can talk to me like that, young man, but I am your father and…"
"_Silencio_." James's mouth continued to move soundlessly for a few moments before what had happened sunk in and he turned to glare at a rather nonplussed Lily. "Took you long enough to remember that. Now, Harry's right. Let's enjoy Christmas like the family we're supposed to be and you and I can talk things over tonight after the children go to bed." Lily returned to her breakfast, a mushroom halfway to her mouth when James pounded a fist against the table before pointing to his throat. "Eat your breakfast and maybe I'll take it off by the time Sirius gets here."
James continued to scowl even as he pulled his plate back to him and returned to eating. The twins looked shocked at witnessing their parents' bickering and so Harry decided to jump in and distract them from the pair's marital discord. "By the way, you two are on dish duty this morning."
Rose pouted, looking to her mother for help before turning back to Harry. "Me? What did I do to deserve that? And you're not the boss of us anyways!"
"I had to come unfreeze your cheek from the window before you woke up because you fell asleep there and Jasmine, I had to take a quill out of your hand this morning or you would have woken up with streaks on your face." Harry gestured over at the heaping pile of pots and pans in the sink. "It means you two owe me and since mom and I cook for you all the time and she does the dishes most days, you can do them once for her."
Lily grinned and raised her mug in approval. "And I'm the boss of you two and I heartily endorse this idea. No chores, at least for the morning? Happy Christmas to me!"
An hour later, breakfast was gone, the twins had grumbled their way through most of the cleaning, James had regained his voice, and the family adjourned to the sitting room to open presents. Almost right on cue, the fireplace flared green and the Blacks came piling out, followed by Remus. There was a bit of laughter as poor Cassie came rocketing out like a brown-haired torpedo, mowing down Harry and sending them to the floor in a tangle of limbs. The blushing pair got themselves sorted out in short order and James and Sirius began passing out presents to their proper recipients as the extended family settled in around the Christmas tree.
One of Harry's first presents was a fairly sizable stack of books, courtesy of his mother. Checking the spines, Harry discovered they were the books he'd left sitting in his room after emptying his mother's school trunk: his textbooks for the next six years of Hogwarts - save any electives he might choose to take that she hadn't - charmed and restored back into pristine condition for him. Their eyes met and she mimed opening a book, so he did, finding a piece of faded parchment inside the cover of the top book. Eyes widening, he looked back up at Lily, who mouthed 'later'. His mother had just given him the Marauder's Map. That was going to be one interesting conversation later.
From his father, who couldn't manage to put on a polite façade for company and simply stared as Harry opened the box with his name on it, he received brand new quidditch pads to use instead of the battered ones the school loaned out to students who didn't have their own. Harry raised an eyebrow at the odd look of them; they weren't anywhere near as big as Hermione's hockey-adapted keeper pads, but they weren't as slim as he was used to either. Lily correctly interpreted his expression, though, and had an explanation. "They're made from the same foam as your friend's keeper pads. Skinnier, obviously. Then we added dragonhide over them and did the cosmetic stuff. They're not as sturdy as your friend's pads, but they're better than what anyone else at Hogwarts has according to your father."
"Cool. Thanks, Dad. And you too, Mum." Given the complexity of both presents - and the hidden second present inside his mother's - Harry didn't expect to receive anything else from them and therefore wasn't disappointed when nothing else appeared with his name on it. He also had gifts upstairs with Su, Hermione, and Daphne's names on them, so he knew he'd be getting a few more things when they exchanged gifts over the next few days.
He'd forgotten about Sirius and Amy, though. "Alright, Harry m'boy. I thought about putting my name on the present I helped your father with, but he charmed the tag so I couldn't come near it. Then I thought about piggybacking on your mum's gift, but I couldn't find where she was hiding it and she hexed me for trying to find it. So… after a lot of debate, I came up with the perfect present for you." Pulling out his wand, Sirius gave it a grand wave and wrapping paper exploded from the end, twisting and wiggling with a life of its own as it surrounded Cassie and bound her, followed by a bright red and gold ribbon to complete the look. "Happy Christmas!"
Cassie wriggled inside the wrapping paper, failing to free herself but succeeding in tipping herself over onto Harry's lap. "Daaaaad!"
Wincing under the dual glares from his wife and daughter, Sirius sighed and vanished the ribbon and paper. "Oh come on, we all know she has a ridiculously strong crush on him. It was funny." Amy just kept glaring at him and Sirius winced. "I'm going to be sleeping on the couch tonight, aren't I?" She nodded. "Bugger." Turning his attention back to Harry, Sirius smiled sheepishly. "No, actually, your present isn't here. My old bat of a mother croaked a few years back and so I can finally get into the family home. We had a pretty extensive library and since you seem intent on turning into your Uncle Remus… I might as well let you grab some good books. Better stuff in the library at Grimmauld Place than you'll find in any of your schoolbooks, I assure you."
"Sirius Black! You are not going to let my son go taking books from your nightmare of a family! Dark wizards, the lot of them! Who knows what he could end up bringing home?"
"Oh come on, Lily! I came out of that house and I turned out all right. Besides, I'll make sure it's nothing too bad. We actually use some of the same spell books in auror training these days. There's no harm in letting Harry learn to recognize dark magic and how to counter it."
"You are most certainly not 'all right' if you think I'm letting my son near that filth. You're a father. You should know better! Would you want Cassie near those kinds of books?"
Harry followed the conversation back and forth like a spectator at a tennis match, only stopping when a hand tapped him on the shoulder. Looking back, he found Remus grinning at him and holding out a hastily wrapped present. "It's not quidditch pads, six years worth of school books, or a trip to Grimmauld Place, but I hope you like it."
Unwrapping it, Harry found a small box and inside was… a pocket watch? Perfect. Now he could return the old one he'd taken from his father before the trip to Hogwarts back in September. There was something odd about the inside of the lid, though: a series of tiny crystals and runes formed an array that even he was unfamiliar with. "What's this?"
"That… is something I discovered in my last days at Hogwarts. Each professor carries a small piece of jewelry with them, usually a ring or necklace, that connects them to the castle and lets them give or take points. I found a way to send out tiny pulses of magic that would resonate with the jewelry… like a bat's echolocation." Remus took the pocket watch from Harry, closing the lid and letting it rest face up on his palm. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."
Magic pulsed and flickered, indistinct and ghostly images that were vaguely humanoid cycling in midair about a foot above Remus's hand before disappearing. "Well, it's not very impressive here in Godric's Hollow. When you get back to school, though, it'll show you if any professors are nearby, how far away they are, and in what direction." The ghostly figures flickered by again and Remus looked down at the watch. "Mischief managed."
Harry took the pocket watch eagerly and tucked it into his pocket. "Thanks, Uncle Remus! This is going to make it a lot easier to track down teachers after class if I have questions about assignments." Remus gave him an uncertain smile as Sirius and James groaned, which was exactly what Harry wanted. He now had a method of tracking the professors in addition to the Marauder's Map. If he could only find his father's cloak, he'd be in business when he got back to school…
Harry was curled up in a chair in the sitting room with one of the books his mother had cleaned up for him, reading her thoughts on how mental clarity and willpower affected the summoning of objects, when a crack alerted him to the return of his mother. Peering over the top of his glasses, he grinned at the vaguely green tinge to Hermione's skin. "Enjoy the trip?"
"I'm going to vomit on your shoes, Harry James Potter." Hermione wrapped both arms around her midsection, flopping limply into a chair beside him and whining pitifully. "That was the most horrible thing I've ever experienced. And adult wizards do that all the time? I think I'll be working somewhere with a fireplace I can use, thank you very much. If I had to do that at least twice a day, I might as well stop eating."
Chuckling, Harry closed his book and set it on the floor beside his chair before leaning over to pat Hermione on the shoulder. "I've heard it's better when you're apparating yourself instead of getting dragged side-along. You'll have to ask my father, though, because I doubt my mum had many people popping her around before she was old enough to do it herself. Muggleborn and all that."
Hermione nodded, leaning her head back and staring at the ceiling as she took deep breaths in and out. "God I hope so. Because that was just… urgh. Please tell me that's not how we're planning to get to King's Cross on the fifth?"
Actually, Harry wasn't entirely sure on that front. He wasn't sure his parents knew, either, given that James was working and Lily could only side-along one of them at a time. Two trips? Or was she counting on Harry and Rensaren to give them a lift to the station again? "Not sure. Portkey, maybe. Or floo. Apparition would be complicated, so it's down there with driving as far as likeliness."
"Oh, thank the Lord." Hermione chuckled and turned her head to look over at Harry. "So, get anything good for Christmas?"
Harry shrugged and leaned over, retrieving his book and holding it up for her to see. "Some books from Mum… some books from Sirius… pocket watch from Remus… some quidditch pads that match yours from Dad… marriage contracts from Daphne, Blaise Zabini, and a girl named Luna Lovegood…"
Nodding along absently, Hermione's eyes went wide at the last bit and Harry knew he had her full attention. "Wait, what? You lot still use marriage contracts? I mean, I know Daphne mentioned it a few times but I've never really brought it up with her and so I thought it was a joke or something. One of those pureblood things where I just nod, smile, and pretend I get why you lot are laughing at something stupid-sounding."
"Not all of us do. My grandparents were pretty modern and so they took care of all the requests that came in so Dad could meet someone on his own and marry for love. Mostly it's the really old-fashioned pureblood families that do it… the Malfoys, Parkinsons, Blacks, Crabbes, Goyles, and so on." Harry made a fist and then held out one finger of his other hand a few inches away. "The Greengrasses fall pretty much on the edge… they respect tradition but exist outside of the tight-knit clump of other traditional families. Works out pretty well for them when the outside families are experiencing an upswing, like they are at the moment, and keeps them from getting as inbred as the Crabbes and Goyles."
Hermione nodded again to show her understanding before biting her lip, contemplating something. "And the Zabinis and Lovegoods? I know Blaise is that dark-skinned Ravenclaw girl… she was the last one to be sorted in our year. You were watching her pretty closely. Never heard of the Lovegoods, although Luna Lovegood sounds like she should be a Bond girl."
While he was familiar with the series from his time at the Dursleys and a trip or two to the cinema with Hermione and Ron before things went south, Harry knew he wasn't supposed to know about James Bond and his lovely ladies and so he kept his mouth shut on that particular facet of things. "According to my mother, Luna's father is Oddment Lovegood, publisher of _The Quibbler_. Her mother does some wild experimental stuff with charms and defensive magic. Neither really strikes me as the traditional type from what little I've heard, so I'm drawing a blank there."
"So you're not going to even entertain the thought of taking any of these girls up on their offers, right?" Hermione waited a beat and when Harry didn't respond fast enough for her tastes, sat up and glared at him. "Arranging marriages is a barbaric and antiquated concept and you shouldn't even be thinking about it, Harry Potter!"
Harry chuckled and waggled his eyebrows. "Have you seen Mrs. Greengrass? Daphne already looks a lot like her… if she grows up to look like that, investing in her now might not be such a bad idea."
Thankfully Hermione's righteous anger over the notion of women as saleable property kept her from realizing that Harry should be a bit on the young side to appreciate women in a blatantly sexual way and she leaned over, slapping him hard upside the head. Then she paused, thought for a moment longer, and slapped him again. "No. Bad Harry. We don't objectify our women. We respect our women."
She then delivered a third slap, just for good measure.
Harry was rescued from further abuse by a redheaded rocket that attacked Hermione, hugging her tight before backing away and blushing. "Hermione! You're here!" Jasmine bounced on her toes, tossing a quaffle from one hand to the other as her eyes bounced back and forth between Hermione and the back door. "C'mon! I can show you our pitch!"
"Erm…" Hermione looked over at Harry, who gave her a little shrug. Not that he wasn't glad to have her there, but he was used to Hermione spending most of her time with Su while they were at school. He wasn't going to complain if she spent a bit of time with his sister. She'd be there non-stop for the foreseeable future; there'd be plenty of time to talk to her later, after Jasmine tired herself out. "Well, if Harry doesn't care, I suppose it sounds like fun. My broom is shrunken in one of my bags along with my pads… although I reckon I don't need those, since we won't be using bludgers."
Watching the pair disappear off in search of one of his parents to activate the complex web of spells on the backyard that would turn it from frozen mess to quidditch pitch, Harry waited a moment before ducking into the hall and then heading up the stairs. While it wasn't on the same level as his former link with Voldemort, Harry could almost always feel roughly where his mother was and use that sixth sense to track her down. It took another flight of stairs and a visit to the musty attic to find her this time, knee deep in boxes of old school things. "Mum? I think I'm going to head over to the Lovegoods' home for a bit."
Lily looked up, a concerned expression on her face. "Is everything okay? I just got back with your friend. Why aren't you spending time with her?"
"Jasmine stole her."
"Ah." Moving to the end of the attic, Lily peered out the window. Harry joined her, watching as his father led Jasmine and Hermione out onto the pitch. He tapped away at something near the base of the three rings, causing an orange dome of energy to ripple outward, removing the snow. Hermione looked around in wonder before shedding her coat, and she and Jasmine chattered excitedly before mounting their respective brooms and taking to the air. "It's not a problem, is it? Jasmine's just excited to have someone to play with who's a decent keeper. She really wants to make the house team when she gets to Hogwarts."
As he watched Jasmine throw the quaffle at Hermione, looping around behind the rings as the brunette caught it and lingering to stare at his friend, Harry waited for his mother to put two and two together. As the silence stretched on and on, he finally decided to give her a little nudge to see what she thought of his suspicions. "She's chasing, but I don't think it has anything to do with quidditch. Just out of curiosity, Mum, when did Jasmine start on her little quidditch princess kick? Say… around the time she first met the lovely Miss Granger?"
Lily nodded, watching things outside with a critical eye for a moment before understanding dawned. "No…"
"She's Cassie's age, so it's not that out there, is it? And Cassie has been crushing on me for a while now. I know one when I see one and Jasmine definitely reminds me of Cassie with red hair and a broomstick right now. Not to mention I've got someone who'll be in her class next year sending me a declaration of interest already." Patting his mother on the back, Harry grinned. "But my little sister's crushes aren't any of my business. Can I go take my present over to Luna?" Lily nodded absently and Harry waited a moment to see if she'd speak before turning and walking away. Down the rickety stairs from the attic, into his room to grab a present, then down another flight of stairs to the ground floor. Taking a pinch of floo powder, he tossed it into the fire and watched it burn green for a moment before stepping in. "The Rookery!"
Floo travel was a sensation that, no matter how old or powerful he became, Harry still detested. And still after all this time, he was pants at sticking the landing. Reaching his destination, Harry dropped to his knees as he came skidding out of the fire, unable to emerge in an entirely controlled manner but not wanting to come out like a rogue bludger. Light tinkling laughter greeted his arrival, and Harry looked up to lay eyes on Luna Lovegood for the first time in this universe. "Hullo, Harry Potter."
