A Hufflepuff Christmas

Christmas was right around the corner, and despite the holiday cheer that was brimming in all the other students, Harry was in a sullen mood. Dumbledore had insisted that he spend the winter holiday at the school. With a smile that made Harry cringe and an offer of a lemon drop, the old wizard said it was safer. Apparently there was rumors of something lurking in the woods near his home. That though, had just made Harry more worried for his family and even more eager to go home. But when Elysia had sent him a letter with the same request, he resigned himself to a quiet two weeks at the castle.

Both Neville and Susan offered to invite him over to their home for the break, but Harry had politely declined the offers, saying that he would use the time to try and look again for any information on Nicolas Flamel, though, Harry was losing hope that he or his friends would find any information. Almost two months of searching, after all, and nothing. The only place they hadn't looked was the Restricted Section, and they couldn't look in there with the permission of a professor, and of course they couldn't tell the professor why they were trying to get in there. So the search was slowly coming to a halt.

Still, Harry never voiced his concern, and, even if they couldn't find anything, he was enjoying the time he was spending with his new friends.

On first day of the holiday break, Harry woke up to an empty room, and he felt a twinge of loneliness. He hadn't slept by himself since he was still living with the Dursleys, still in the cupboard under the stairs. Even at the clan, there was always Elysia sleeping nearby in the small hut, sometimes even Morgan or Fenrir.

The feeling of being alone didn't last long though, as a moment later the door to his room flew open and hit the wall behind it with a bang. With a yelp of surprise, Harry tried to scramble out of bed and stand up, but only managed to fall to the floor, tangled up his sheets. "Wha -?"

"Up and at them, Harry!" said Susan in an overly cheerful tone, already dressed in heavy clothes, dark trousers, a light purple jumper, and heavy boots. In her arms was a dark purple coat that came with matching knitted gloves, hat, and scarf, all with hints of gold. Her cheeks were already flushed red, and her smile was wide. "Can't waste such a beautiful day! Oh good, you're already out of bed!"

"Susan?" Detaching himself from the sheets, Harry looked at his energetic friend with a yawn and a tilt of his head. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, the boys staircase doesn't keep out the girls, some contrived notion that girls were more eager to keep their virtue -" babbled Susan before Harry interrupted her with a wave of his hand.

"No, I mean - what are you doing at Hogwarts? I thought you left yesterday with the others." He had left her at front entrance with Neville, both getting into the carriage that would take them to the train station, and both eager to go home and see their families. He had waved goodbye until he couldn't see them any longer.

For a moment, Susan faltered, and looked heartbroken, but then she perked up again, though it seemed more forced this time. "I was! But some Auror trainee named Tonks met me at Platform Nine and Three Quarters and just sent me right back! Seems that my aunt got a sudden case that needs a lot of attention, so she thought it would be best if I stayed here." She shrugged halfheartedly. "Oh well! At least you won't be all alone in Hufflepuff! Now come on a get dressed - I'll meet you down at the Great Hall for breakfast!"

Susan slammed the door shut behind as she left, leaving Harry still confused on the floor. With a sigh, he shoved his blankets back on the bed and started getting dressed - knowing if he didn't meet up with her before long, Susan would come back to hunt him down.

Fifteen minutes later, a piece of toast hanging out of his mouth and he buttoned his jacket as he walked, Harry followed an impatient Susan out the front doors. He stopped in the doorway and stared out at the blindingly white grounds, which was covered with fresh, powdery snow from the snow from early morning and that was still lightly falling. It was kind of beautiful and sad at the same - the grass, lake, and even the forest hidden under a blanket of cold, not to reappear till the thaw of spring. But then again, Harry grinned at the thought of rolling around in the snow and sending it flying when he ran -

"Harry! Earth to Harry!"

Blinking, Harry looked to Susan, who was staring at him strangely. "Everything alright?" she asked slowly. "You kind of... zoned out for a minute."

"Oh, yeah - I'm fine," said Harry as he tugged on his hat and gloves. He'd have to remember to send a thank you card to Lupin for them and the jacket and scarf, all of them forest green or brown. They were all sent as an early Christmas gift since Lupin seemed to realize that Harry wouldn't have brought any of these things since he really didn't need them, immune to the cold now. But if he wanted to pass as a normal boy, they were a necessary evil.

"Hey, Harry?" For a moment, Susan looked nervous as she absentmindedly brushed snow off the door. "I wanted to ask you a question... about Halloween night - GAH!" Cut off, Susan's hands went to her head - she had just been hit by a snowball, which was now falling off her knitted hat in clumps. Whirling around, she glared at the pair of boys nearby, who both had started laughing. "Oh you, YOU IDIOTS!"

"Oh, feisty first-year!" chuckled George.

"I like her - " Fred ducked just a snowball flew passed his head, barely missing him. "I think we're in trouble," he sang, still laughing.

"I'm going to kill you!" screeched Susan as she gathered snow up and packing it in her hands while running straight at the twins, who yelped and started to run off, their laughs ringing through the air.

Laughing a little himself, Harry followed them at a much slower pace, watching his exhaled breath turn white in the cold. While he really did miss home, Hogwarts during the vacation wasn't so bad. He just wished he was a little more free to go running.

Without really thinking about, Harry picked up his pace, his boots digging into the soft snow as started going faster, his heavy puffs of white breath trailing behind him. The cold felt good on his cheeks, feeling loaded down with all these heavy clothes that really made him too warm - but it felt good to run again, even though it wasn't the form he preferred.

'Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.' The sound of his feet trudging through the layer of ice and snow on the ground was all he could hear for a long minute, not even the screams of Susan and the twins, who had started to fight back. And all he could imagine was stretching out and his body shifting without even thinking about it and running and running until he couldn't stop. But, that would have to be for later, when he was alone and hidden in the trees.

After a short run around the grounds, Harry joined Susan near the frozen lake. His friend was laying on the ground and staring up at sky, ignoring the snow that was still falling. Plopping down next to her, Harry leaned over her, grinning while he shook is head and let the snow that had gathered there fall over her. "Done teaching the Weasley twins a lesson?"

"For now," said Susan, her smile slow when she swatted him away. "I thought the Weasleys were going home for the holidays," she remarked.

"I think they were," Harry said with a shrug. "But their parents decided to see someone in Romania, or something like that."

"That's alright, I guess." Susan sat up suddenly, making Harry lean back, and stared out at the lake instead, quiet.

"Are you alright, Susan?" asked Harry carefully. "You don't seem like yourself."

"I'm fine. " When Harry gave her a look that meant he didn't believe her, Susan shook her head. "I don't know, actually. I guess... I guess I was just really looking forward to seeing my aunt. Not just because it's been four months since we last saw each other. It's just, she's usually pretty busy anyway, which I totally get. But, even before school started, I didn't get to see her very often. And then she promised to clear her schedule this holiday, and now..." She trailed off. "It's pretty selfish of me, huh? To want my aunt all to myself when she's doing really important stuff for the Ministry."

"It's not selfish," Harry reassured her quickly. "She's your only family, and you haven't seen her in months. And you just want to see her, just like I want to see my family. It's not selfish... it's just means you miss her, and you're lonely."

"But I shouldn't be!" Susan burst out. "I'm here, with you, my best-" She stopped and flushed to a dark pink, the color clashing with her red hair. "Sorry, I shouldn't call you, that's stupid of me, Neville's probably your best friend, I shouldn't just presume -"

"You are one of my best friends," interjected Harry before Susan could babble on. "Just warning you, there's a girl called Morgan who will kick my arse if I don't say that she is my best friend of all time. So you'll have to contend with being my second best friend that's a girl."

Laughing, which included a small snort, Susan said, "I think I can handle that." She got quiet again. "It's just, I shouldn't be lonely with you here, but I am, and I feel horrible about it." She glanced away. "Sorry."

"You shouldn't be," said Harry, giving her shoulder a gentle shove. "There's nothing wrong with missing your family. I miss mine too. But at least neither one of us are alone here. That would be even worse, right?"

"Right," answered Susan with a halfhearted smile. Then she turned away again, looking anxious. "Harry... I've been meaning to talk to you. About Halloween night?"

"What about it?" asked Harry as casually as he could, while inside his stomach flipped. He tired to keep his focus on the twins nearby, who were jinxing snowballs to follow Quirrell around and bounce off his turban.

"Its just... I mean..." Taking a deep breath, Susan blurted out. "I saw your hands, Harry. The claws - and then your teeth! How did you do that? That's a level of Transfiguration that we haven't gotten near yet - we just finished turning matches into needles a month ago! There should be no way, and yet..." She fell silent when she saw Harry wasn't going to give her an answer, but a few moments later went on in a much quieter tone. "It was probably just my imagination, wasn't it? I was probably just imagining the whole thing, and now you think I'm crazy." With cheeks dark red and tears shimmering in her eyes, she scrambled up. "Sorry, I'll just go now."

Harry knew what he should do - he should tell her that she was just imagining it, like she thought, and that there was no way he do the things she said he could. That he should just brush it off and let it go, and hope that she never speak of it again. Its what his mum and his clan would want him to do. But -

Grabbing her hand before she had a chance to walk away, Harry said, "Wait."

As Susan sniffled, Harry stood, glancing around to make sure no one would see then before he tugged her in the direction of the forest. "Come on." And even though he knew Susan must be questioning his decision as he lead her into the trees, she kept quiet, though her grip on his hand did tighten.

"You're not crazy," said Harry as they entered a small clearing not even ten feet from the border of the forest, so Susan could easily look back and still see the school from where they were, but no one should be able to see him. He turned to her. "But what I'm going to say, you can't tell anyone, Sue."

"A-Alright."

"I'm serious," said Harry. "You have to swear to me that you'll never tell anyone about this, ever. If other people found out about it, they could take me away from my family. Please, swear."

After a moments pause, Susan nodded. "I swear, Harry Potter, that I will never tell anyone your secret. Unless you want me too," she added. As she said that, a slight tingle of magic went through their hands, and though Harry gave a little flinch, Susan didn't seem surprised at all. Maybe he just imagined it.

Letting go of her hand after another moment, Harry took a few steps back and started shedding his hat, scarf, mittens, and jacket. "This might scare you, but nothing's gonna happen to you, I promise." When Susan nodded in understanding, he closed his eyes, took deep breath, and let the change wash over him.

He heard Susan's hitched breath, and Harry opened his eyes. She was staring at him, eyes wide and her hands clutched over her chest. He could her her heart beating faster, but he couldn't smell any fear. At least she wasn't afraid him, more... surprised. Sitting back on haunches, Harry tilted his head met her gaze, waiting for her to move.

She finally took a step forward, then another, till Susan stopped just in front of him, kneeling in front of him as she tried to speak. "I can't believe it." She shook her head. "This is amazing, Harry! Can I... Can I touch you? I mean, I just..."

Harry gave a nod before she could fumble anymore, and leaned into Susan's touch as she stroked the side of his head, her fingers running though his fur and going for his ears. His tail wagged, delighted at the attention. "This is fantastic! You're... you're an Animagus! Do you know how rare this is? And this transformation, oh, it is flawless! I can't imagine how much training and magic this must take! Oh, I'm so jealous."

Even in wolf form, Harry rolled his eyes and gave a barking laugh at Susan's look at the situation, and then licked her hand - just to annoy her.

"Ew!" Wiping her hand on her coat, Susan glared at Harry. "Thanks a lot, Harry. That would be cute if I didn't know any better." She paused. "Does anyone else know? Oh Merlin, does Neville know?"

Changing back to human form - so quickly and without any warning that Susan yelped and fell back on her rump - Harry shook his head. "No, only the Headmaster, Snape, and Sprout know. And I shouldn't have even told you! If they find out, I could get in a lot of trouble."

"Why? Is it because you're unregistered?"

"No, its because..." Harry sighed. "This is hard to explain. You know I was technically missing for six years, right?" When Susan nodded in answer, he went on. "Well, I was kind of... being raised by a clan of werewolves," he rushed out.

Susan blinked, sitting there in silence for a long moment before she cleared her throat and said in a squeak, "Huh?"

Slowly and carefully, Harry explained his situation to Susan as best he could, leaving out the more graphic details of the Vernon Dudley abuse and the fact that Fenir Greyback was his adopted uncle. He thought he was going a very good job, but Susan continued to have this stunned look on her face until he finally asked, "Are you alright, Sue? Did you get all that?"

With a shaky nod, Susan repeated back, "Abandoned, werewolves, found you, raised you. I just... whoa. Are you joking me? Of course you're not, you would never do that. And then there's the odd habits, I should have seen the signs! Oh Merlin," she breathed. "My best friends is a werewolf!"

"Not a true werewolf," Harry pointed out. "But close enough. Wait, what signs?"

Flushing, Susan pointed out, "Well, Neville noticed that you leave your room in the middle of the night at least once a week, and you're always exhausted the next day. And your sense of smell is nothing I've ever seen, and your hearing too! Plus there's the fact that everything seems new to you - but I thought it was just because you might have been raised by Muggles!"

Blinking, Harry surprised Susan by breaking out into laughter, so hard that he clutched at his stomach. "You are just too smart for your own good, Sue," he managed to force out.

"I know," said Susan with a whisper, shrugging. Harry stopped laughing, looking at her with worry. But she was already moving on, "So where you ever planning on tell us? Or we going to have to follow you one night and see you howling at the moon? Come to think of it, why aren't you just a normal werewolf anyway? Why didn't you get bitten? Or did you and you're immune to the bite! This is like a superhero comic!"

"Whoa, way to many questions at once," laughed Harry again, scooping up his discarded winter clothing. "Come on, lets go inside and get some hot chocolate, and I'll explain best as I can."

"Harry, wake up!"

Grumbling, Harry turned away from the voice, burying his face in his pillow. He didn't want to wake up yet - he'd been having this dream about running, but there was something running with him that wasn't a wolf. It looked smaller, more like a -

"HARRY, WAKE UP! It's Christmas!"

Those words finally roused Harry out of his sleep. He sat up slowly and blinked a few times before snapping awake as those wonderful words sank in. "Its Christmas!" he said with a grin at the bouncing girl next to him. Susan slept in Neville's bed after the two had spend half the night waiting for Father Christmas. Harry hadn't done such a thing in years since his pack didn't celebrate Christmas, and he greatly enjoyed playing cards until he and Susan couldn't stay awake any longer.

"Come on!" Susan grabbed his hand and almost yanked him out of bed, and the both of them stumbled down to the common room. In one corner of the room was a large Christmas tree, decorated with something from each Hufflepuff, including a Snitch ornament from Harry that fluttered in place, a frog from Neville that occasionally croaked, and a simple orb from Susan that turned different colors depending on the closest person's mood. And despite the fact that they were the only Hufflepuff students who stayed at Hogwarts for the holidays, there were two large piles of presents under the tree.

"These can't be all mine," Harry said in awe as he glanced over the ones with his name somewhere on them. His clan didn't celebrate human holidays, and they never really gave presents unless you actually achieved something. And Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon definitely never gave him anything.

"Oh no, they must have delivered these to the wrong Harry Potter," Susan said with heavy sarcasm, and Harry stuck a tongue out at her in retaliation. "Of course they're for you, silly! That one's from me," she said while pointing to a small box closest to him and blushing faintly.

Picking up that one first, Harry took a moment to examine his first Christmas present. It was wrapped in gold that shimmered when he moved it, and there was a large red ribbon on top of it. In a moment of silliness, he took it off and placed it on Susan's head. She just stuck her own tongue out at him and went back to her presents without taking off her new decoration.

Carefully puling off the gold paper, Harry lifted two things out of the bow; a stuffed toy of a black wolf that looked exactly like him, with a little red and gold scarf wrapped around its neck. It looked handmade.

"I made the it the day you told me," Susan said in a low whisper, her blush darkening. "As a... thank you, sort of. For telling me the truth. And I thought you might like something with your parents house colors. Sorry if it look a little weird."

Smiling brightly, Harry dragged Susan into a hug, his arms wrapped around her tightly. "Its perfect," he insisted as he pulled back. "Here, open mine next."

It didn't take long before each of them had a pile of presents beside them and an ocean of wrapping paper and ribbon around them, with Susan's familiar, a calico cat named Athena, happily attacking every scrap she came across. Harry was very proud of his pile, despite the fact that nothing was very fancy or expensive. Along with the stuffed toy, Harry had gotten a broom care kit from Neville, a hand carved whistle from Hagrid, and even a large box of candies from Hermione Granger in Gryffindor, thanking him for saving her life. He also got a present from Ron Weasley's mother: a green sweater with a large golden snitch on the front, along with a large box of fudge. He was shocked to receive something from his clan: a large blanket made of rabbit fur, with a note to keep warm during the cold winter months, and that everyone was thinking about him.

Then there were two large presents left: a large box and a small silver parcel. Picking up one of the larger ones first, Harry was shocked to see it addressed from Dudley. They had barely talked during the first part of school. His cousin had no reason to get him anything. Still, Harry tore into it, and when he peered inside, he stared at it with a confusion.

Inside was a variety of items; a small stuffed bear that could have been won at a carnival, a rolled up paper with green ribbon wrapped around it, a book called Jane Eyre, a snow globe with Big Ben inside, and finally, a framed picture of two young girls. Along with all that, there was a note from his cousin.

Harry,
Found these in the attic of my new house. When my parents house got cleaned out, Elle saved a bunch of stuff.
I think these were your mom's. I don't know why my mom saved them, but thought you might like them.
Merry Christmas,
Dudley

A few tears rolling down his cheeks, Harry wiped them away before picking up the small bear, tan with a white belly. He brought it up to his nose and breathed it in. Beaneath the dusty smell from living in an attic from many years, there was the faint smell of something fragrant, a strange mixture of lavender and peppermint. It was vaguely familiar, like a faint memory. And if he studied the picture long enough, he could see it was his mother and aunt, when they were much younger. Maybe even still friendly with each other, by the wide smiles on their faces.

Tearing up again, Harry set the bear back inside its box and pushed it away for later, and he went to open the last present, which seemed very light. As he opened it, Harry couldn't hold in his gasp something fluid and silvery gray went slithering to the floor, where it lay in gleaming folds. He didn't know what it was, but it was beautiful, shimmering like the moon.

Hearing his gasp, Susan turned with a question on her lips, but then she saw the material on the floor and gasped as well. "Where did you get that, Harry?!"

"I don't know," said Harry with a shake of his head, looking over the packaging it came with. "There's no name." He glanced at her. "Wait, do you know what this is?"

"If it's what I think it is! Oh, Harry, put it on! It can't be!"

Standing, Harry lifted the cloak and flung it over his shoulders. It pooled at his feet, but when he looked down, there was nothing there. Literally nothing, with everything from his neck down gone. Harry yelped and turned round, trying to see any part of his lower body. "What - where's my body?!"

"I can't believe it!" squealed Susan, reaching out and touching his lower leg with wide eyes, even though she couldn't see it. "It really is - Harry! This is an Invisibility Cloak! They're really rare, and really valuable! Who would send this to - wait!" She picked up a small piece of paper that had fallen out of the folds of the Cloak and held it out to Harry. "Maybe this will say something."

Slipping a hand from underneath the cloak, which looked very strange as it seemed to float in midair, Harry took the note. It was very short, only saying:

Your father left this in my possession before he died.
It is time it was returned to you.
Use it well.
A Very Merry Christmas to you.

"There's no name," said Harry with a hint of disappointment, but it was over shadowed by one fact. "It says that this belonged to my dad."

"Well, your father's family is an old one, it might be an heirloom," pointed out Susan. "Still, this is amazing!" She frowned. "I don't think we should tell anyone about it, though, except Neville obviously. One of the professors might want to take it away. They might think we'll sneak around... HARRY!" Susan shouted as she stood up suddenly, startling Harry so badly that he stepped back, tripping on the hem of the Cloak and falling on his rump. Not noticing, Susan gleefully said in a low whisper, "We could use this to get into the Restricted Section! We could finally find something on Nicolas Flamel in there, I'm sure!"

"Are you talking about breaking the rules?" teased Harry as he rubbed his lower back, taking off the cloak so he wouldn't trip again.

"Well, we have to, don't we?" said Susan slowly, clearly not likely the idea of breaking the rules. "We have to find out who Nicolas Flamel is, and what he has to do with what Fluffy guarding."

"Lets not worry about that right now," said Harry, hiding the cloak in the fur blanket. "It Christmas - for now, lets just enjoy the day. Alright?"

"Of course," said Susan with a nod, though with a far away look in her eyes, like she was already plotting out the route they would take to the library.

After putting all their presents in their rooms, and after Harry shrugged on his new sweater, the duo sat in front of the fireplace and snacked on anything they could spear on a toasting fork - bread, cheese, marshmallows - and played chess. Neville's attempts to teach Harry the game resulted in long hours of irritation from both teacher and student. Susan was a bit better, but even she struggled with it sometimes. Then it was time for dinner.

Dinner itself was amazing; Harry had never seen so much food in his life as he and Susan stepped into the Great Hall. Fat roasted turkeys, small mountains of roasted and boiled potatoes, platters of chipolatas, tureens of buttered peas, silver boats of thick, rich gravy and cranberry sauce – and stacks of wizard crackers every few feet along the table. It could have fed his entire clan for a week, but for now it would just feed the handful of Hogwarts students and teachers that had stayed behind for the holidays.

"Oi, come sit over here with us, Harry!" said Fred, waving them over, and Harry and Susan chuckled because it was the only table in the room to sit at. All the Weasley boys were there, including a sour-faced Ron when he saw them coming, along with Regina and another girl from Slytherin that he didn't know. Harry remembered hearing some Gryffindor boys tease her, saying that she must have troll blood. Harry didn't see it, though, she had very pretty black hair and she was only just larger than the petite Regina.

"I didn't know you stayed for the holiday, Regina," said Harry after greeting everyone and sitting at her side.

With a shrug, Regina looked at her empty plate. "My mom wasn't feeling well," she said with reluctance. "She didn't want me to catch whatever she had."

"She also didn't want you hiding out in your room for the entire holiday," pointed out the Slytherin girl next to her. "As she said in her letter. And if I knew you actually made a friend beside me, I would have pushed you out instead of hiding down there with you." As Regina's cheeks darkened at her friends bluntness, the girl held out her hand to Harry. "Millicent Bulstrode, but you can call me Milli. Nice to meet you. And of course, I know who you are," she said before Harry could speak up as they shook hands. "Actually, we're related you know, Potter; very far back in the family tree."

"Oh, we are?" Harry sputtered, trying to comprehend the deluge of words.

"Yes. Our common ancestor was Violetta Black, nee Bulstrode. My great-great-grandmother, and your great-grandmother, I think. Of course, that means we're also related to Malfoy and Weasley as well, she was their great-great-grandmother too. Though it's all rather irrelevant, you know, with us all being like third or fourth cousins at least twice removed. It was bound to happen, with all the Purebloods mingling."

"Uh, that's kind of cool," said Harry with some confusion at the rush of information. "I think. So are you really into family histories, then?"

Milli blinked, and Harry saw that her eyes were grey with flecks of blue. "No, not really. But my mother thinks a proper lady should know her family tree." She gave a little snort. "I just wished she'd realized I'm not going to grow up into a 'proper lady' anytime soon." She turned to Regina. "Speaking of which, lets cut my hair soon - I'm getting really tired of it being this long."

"Your mom is going to kill you," said Regina, but she still smiled and gave a shrug. "Maybe after dinner?"

"Yes." Milli's grin was wicked. "Best Christmas present ever."

Dinner turned out to be much noisier than Harry expected with only eight students and teachers still at the school, thanks to the piles of wizard crackers that were placed every few feet down the table. But these weren't at all like flimsy ones that he remembered from the Dursleys, that usually just came with a paper hat, cheap toys, and a bad joke. One that Harry pulled open with one of the twins went off with a blast like a cannon and engulfed them all in a cloud of blue smoke, while from the inside exploded a rear admiral's hat and several live, white mice.

"How do I look?" asked Susan, laughing at herself as she showed off a wide brim hat with an outrageous amount of fake flowers and birds.

"Very lovely! And how about me?" Harry said as he gestured to the tiny sombrero that was so many different colours it made his eyes water.

"Dashing, of course," teased Susan, and both of them laughed so hard that they were bent over at the stomach.

After a round of flaming Christmas pudding - during which the eldest Weasley, Percy, almost broke his teeth on Silver Sickle imbedded in his slice - Harry was ready to go back to the dormitories and sleep off the large meal. He carried back with him a stack of things out of the crackers, including a pack of nonexplodable, luminous balloons, a Grow-Your-Own-Warts kit, and his own new wizard chess set. The white mice had disappeared and Harry had a nasty feeling they were going to end up as Mrs. Norris's Christmas dinner.

"Well at least now we can stop borrowing Cedric's chess set," said Susan as she shifted the items in her arms so she could knock on the Hufflepuff entrance. She'd gotten a box of Chocolate Frogs, a ukelele, and an owl that flapped it's wings and sang a random song whenever someone tapped it's head twice.

"Are you still upset that you couldn't go back home?" asked Harry hesitantly as they entered the common room and slipped their stuff on one of the armchairs.

"Truthfully? Yes, a little," said Susan with a sigh. "But I'm glad you didn't have to spend the holiday alone, Harry. I would have felt really bad. Plus, there's always next year, right?" With a yawn, Susan flopped onto the couch. "I think it's nap time. Wake me up for supper, alright?" she said to Harry as she pulled over her the blanket that rested on the back of the couch.

"Sure." Harry yawned himself. "Unless you wake up before I do." Settling into a chair, he wrapped himself in another blanket and curled up. "Oh, and Susan?"

"Mm?"

"Thanks. I know spending the holiday with me wasn't your choice, but thanks for keeping me company."

Susan's face peered over the blankets, and she smiled faintly. "Anytime, Harry."

Authors Notes: So... I have no excuse for why it took me so long to post this. Other then the fact that I reached yet another writing slump, and was busy with NaNoWriMo all last month, and then hit another writing slump... Sorry, again. But please have this as a belated Christmas present, and I hope you all enjoyed your holidays!

Thanks again to Megark for editing and making this an all around better chapter!