Hey! Sorry it's been a while since I've updated this. School sucks. Enough said. Anyway, I'm trying to wrap up this story in about four, five chapters. I'm just getting tired of writing it, and I think it's time. I promise to try to wrap things up. If you have any specific request of characters or anything like that, let me know. Anyway, now it's Christmas, and Harry's old and new worlds collide, and a tiny peek at Lord Voldemort's plans. Stay tuned! Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. I lack all the major qualifications: blonde hair, being British, and having crazy genius talent.
Harry's visit to Old Mam's mellowed him out a bit, much to the relief of Tess, who had been afraid of his reaction to her meddling. Looking back, she knew Harry had been right. She had been too quick to trust these new people in their lives, and she was coming to regret it. Now Dumbledore and the Order saw her as some kind of pump of information on Harry instead of a friend that genuinely wanted to help him. She was starting to think that this whole Hogwarts thing was a mistake. Sure, they got to see their old friends and make new ones, but it had not been beneficial to their part in the war at all like she thought it would be.
Though Harry did not hold a grudge against Tess, he did make it clear that the beautiful brunette had lost his trust. Hearing those words was a huge blow to Tess, but she knew it was deserved. He would trust her again in time, but for now they were just trying to get to a good place again. Delia and Sean did the best they could to help, serving as buffers between the feuding friends. Of course, Tess also thought the mood improving make-out sessions Delia would have with Harry before he talked to her helped.
Harry continued to get to know Sirius and Remus though he would not say he trusted them yet. Harry's list of trusted friends was small, and these days it seemed like it wasn't ironclad. He continued to religiously ignore the Headmaster. Still, things were fine at Hogwarts. He didn't get into too many fights, and whenever he felt like he'd really lose it he took his bike out for a ride.
Life went on. November ended, and December seemed to go back quickly, Christmas holidays seemingly sneaking up on the students. As he expected, Harry received a summons to Dumbledore's office the day before they were supposed to sign up if they were staying at school for the holidays.
Harry said the ridiculous password (no one in their right mind would guess Dumbledore's password was Swedish Fish) and entered the old goat's office. Dumbledore was sitting in his throne (excuse me, chair) at his desk, stroking his beard thoughtfully. He brightened up when he saw Harry standing in front of him.
"Ah, Harry, m'boy! Please, come sit down." Harry sat down, watching the Headmaster warily. Of course, he tried to look the man in the eyes to avoid having to look at his robes. Honestly, who told Dumbledore fuchsia robes with yellow trimming was a good idea? "I wanted to talk to you about your arrangements for the holidays."
"My arrangements, sir?" Harry asked casually, trying not to betray his hand. He knew this conversation was coming. Dumbledore expected to fight to go off on his own for the holidays, and usually he would, but Harry had something better in mind.
"Yes, m'boy. Now, I know you will probably want to go off on your own for the Christmas holiday, and I firmly believe in your ability to care for yourself, but I still worry about your safety. I think it would be best if you and your friends remained at school for the holidays. The Order will be here as well. Sirius and Remus will be glad to see you."
Harry resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Laying it on a bit thick, aren't you Dumbledore was his only thought. "I might be willing to stay at the castle," Dumbledore brightened, "but it's going to cost you."
The headmaster sighed. Gryffindor he may be, but the Slytherin in him shown through very brightly at times. "What is it you want, Harry?"
Harry smirked.
The castle was quiet, most of the students gone home from the holidays. Besides Harry, Tess, Delia, and Sean, few students remained. The Weasleys had gone home, but they were coming back for Christmas dinner. Harry took the advantage of the empty common room to blast music from a tiny radio one of the house elves had found for him. He religiously avoided Christmas music, but the rock station was playing good stuff. They all sat in the common room in front of the fire. It was Christmas morning, and they were exchanging presents.
Daisy was opening hers with childish delight. Sean had gotten her a stuffed owl since the little girl had asked why she couldn't have an owl like Hedwig. It actually looked remarkably like Hedwig to, pure white and life-size. Delia had scrimped and managed to buy her sister a beautiful little locket. Inside she placed a picture of the five of them together and one she had kept all these years of their parents. Tess had bought her knitting skills to good use and knit Daisy and everyone else warm sweaters. Harry, however, probably gave Daisy her favorite gift: a rare and beautifully bound edition of her favorite story, A Little Princess. The little girl didn't know much about books (yet), but she did know it was special.
While Daisy played with her owl and Tess and Sean played War with the pack of cards Harry had given him, Harry pulled Delia aside and handed her a package wrapped in newspaper. She rolled her eyes at Harry's typical avoidance of all things decorated Christmas and pulled out her own simply wrapped gift. They opened their gifts at the same time.
Delia gasped. She took the necklace gently out of the box. It was a beautiful light blue gemstone glittering off a pretty sliver chain. "Harry," she said breathlessly.
He smiled, looking up from the rare tome on Parseltongue she had found in a used bookstore. "It has protective charms woven around it," he explained. "No one can take it off but you."
Delia took a step towards Harry and kissed him fiercely. He pushed her against the wall, and they continued kissing until Sean shouted, "Potter, get a room!"
Harry unpinned Tess and she started to head back to her sister, but first she stopped and whispered in his ear, "Merry Christmas Harry." He didn't say anything, only watching as she rejoined her sister and their friends. The image warmed his heart, and he resolved to win this war only if he could keep his friends just like this, whole and intact. Merlin knows he wasn't.
The day passed by fairly quickly, and soon it was time for dinner. Harry didn't want to admit it, but he was excited. To the shock of many, he showed up to the meal in a button down shirt and black jeans with blatant rips and tears it them. His eyes were glued to the door. The Weasley family arrived first, and Harry's eyes hurt slightly at the sight of all the red hair in the room. He was glad to see the Weasley twins again, though Mr. Weasley's questions did get annoying at times. The Order arrived next. Sirius and Remus gave Harry a joint gift of a beautifully bound photo album containing snapshots of his parents at school, their wedding day, and Harry as a baby. He had been speechless, only able to smile possibly the only genuine smile they'd ever seen from him.
Harry's eyes, however, remained on the door until he seemed to hear something. The door flung upon, revealing two young girls in matching red dresses running. Their eyes scanned the room until they found their target. "Harry!" the two little girls shouted happily. They ran to him and clung to his legs, chattering a mile a minute. To the Order's surprise, he didn't mind. Instead, he laughed and asked the little girls if they'd pulled any good pranks lately, which lead to a long, energetically told story about some paint, a cat, and someone called Raf.
"Girls, what have I told you about just running off?" an older voice scolded, though her warning was tingling with warmth. An older woman, probably McGonagall's age, stepped into the Great Hall. She was looking at the little girls with exasperation but smiled kindly when she saw Harry. "Hello, dearie. Merry Christmas."
Harry smiled. "Merry Christmas," he said back.
The older woman eyed him suspiciously. "Are you sure they feed you?"
Harry groaned while the little girls giggled. "Mams, leave the kid alone. It's not Scamp's fault he'll always be a scrawny git," another voice drawled.
Harry turned around and glared. The tall, slightly muscular sandy hair man with hazel eyes laughed.
"Ralph, be nice. It's Christmas after all," said the cropped-hair woman who entered next. It was hard not to look at her with the huge disfiguring burn on one side of her face. She smiled at Harry and then looked down at his legs. "Mari, Lettie, I know it's fun to annoy Harry, but could you let go for a little while so I can say hello?"
The little girls sighed but let go and ran over to the table where they sat down next to the Weasley twins. Despite gender and age differences, the two set of twins seemed to be hitting it off.
Harry sighed in relief as he hugged the woman. "Thank Merlin. I thought I was going to have to bribe them with a really good prank to get them to let go."
Old Mam gave him a disapproving look, remember the mess the last prank he'd given the little tornados had done to her kitchen, while the short-haired woman laughed and ruffled his hair, causing Harry to protest. "Hey, I actually combed that today!"
"Your comb must be broken," another voice taunted. The girl from the hall walked in with a small blonde girl on her hip and Adrianna following from behind.
Harry glared at her. "I can name something of yours that has been broken," he shot back. Isa opened her mouth to retort but doesn't, seeing Mam's behave-or-else look. Harry is similar quiet until he noticed the child on Isa's hip.
He smiles genuinely at the girl. "Hey Princess," he said quietly, almost too quiet for those at the table to hear. "Merry Christmas."
The solemn little girl beamed at him, and Harry mentally crowed victory. She reached at to him, and he gladly took her from Isa. He looked at his friend, but the question didn't even need to be asked. She hadn't seen Markus.
The group mixed in with the Order and professors sitting at the table. Introductions were made. At the front of the table was Dumbledore followed by the Order members. Old Mam, Pandora, and Ralph sat there as well. Old Mam conducted a conversation with Mrs. Weasley about raising children and all the chaos it entailed. Ralph was debating various aspects of the war with Shackbolt and Moody. Pandora and Tonks became fast friends over Muggle music and clothes.
Further down the table was Ron, Ginny, Tess, Sean, and both sets of twins. The Weasley twins were sharing their pranking secrets with the younger twins much to everyone's horror while Ron and Sean listened on in interest. Ginny and Tess were trading bits of Hogwarts gossip, mostly about who they thought would be together by Easter.
At the end of the table, Delia, Adrianna, and Isa sat on one side while Harry sat in by Ariella and Daisy. Daisy, delighted at meeting a girl her own age, had taken to Ariella instantly, and it warmed Harry's heart to see what good it did the little princess. Ariella had never been so opened before. The little girls chatted and giggled, Daisy doing most of the talking.
Dinner was a spectacular affair. There was laughing and talking and consuming of wonderful food. As conversation grew quieter, attention was drawn to Isa and Harry, who seemed to be debating just about everything under the sun very loudly.
"There's no way Jack Kerouac is better than Jane Austen! You are on crack!"
"Jane Austen was a stuck-up busy-body who wrote about her neighbors."
"Jack Kerouac did the same damn thing!"
"At least he was up front about it!"
That comment launched Isa into a totally different argument, and the table watched in fascination.
Dumbledore turned to Old Mam. "Are they always this…"
"Passionate?" Old Mam supplied. She smiled fondly, glancing over at the arguing teenagers. "Yes. Harry and Isa are very similar. It's the reason they fight so much." She studied Dumbledore carefully, not afraid to look into the great wizard's eyes.
"They are the most brilliant of my children, the most daring, but also the most broken. If you try to harm either of them, you will not live to regret it." For the first time in many years, Dumbledore was actually threatened by somebody. The glint in her eyes made him believe her.
The best part of dinner, however, was when Isa broke out her flask and, doing a quick glance to make sure Old Mam wasn't looking, poured some in her drink and tossed it to Harry, who did the same.
"Can I have some?" Adrianna asked eagerly.
"No!" Harry and Isa said simultaneously, causing the little girls to giggle. They glared at each other, which only caused further laughter.
When Adrianna was still pouting, Isa said, "Harry and I are the bad kids, Shadow. We're expected to do this."
"Well, you got one thing right at least." Heads whipped around fast to see a familiar figure standing by the door. Markus was standing hesitantly, almost like he didn't know if he was welcomed. "Mind if I join you?"
Isa rolled her eyes. "Come sit down you idiot." That was all it took. Markus sat down next to Harry, who offered a smirk-smile combo, and it was like he had never left. Christmas truly was a time of forgiveness, joy, and family. At least, for some people….
"Wormtail!"
"Yes, my Lord?"
"Your Dark Mark." There was a hiss of pain, and then a triumphant laugh. "Ah, excellent. My followers have been summoned."
"Summoned for what, my Lord?"
"It is time to plan, Wormtail. This will be the act that will change the tide of the war permanently."
"What act, my Lord?"
"Attacking Hogwarts. It is time to take that old coot and his precious Boy-Who-Lived down."