Harry, Ron, and Hermione excitedly ran down the stairs Christmas morning. When they entered the dining room, it was to find everyone already there, getting ready for a hearty Christmas breakfast. They sat down as Fred and George helped pass out the cutlery and plates – Sirius and Lupin were loading the table with the full dishes of food. Mr. Weasley was sat at the end of the table looking a lot better than he had when he came home a week prior: Mrs. Weasley was helping him get situated. Soon, she stood up and faced the group.
"Alright everyone! Now that we are all here, I want to say something before we start eating." All heads turned towards Mrs. Weasley. "I am truly blessed to have all of us here together, especially Arther, who might have not been with us if it weren't for Harry."
The others looked at Harry with proud, smiling faces. Harry could feel himself getting a little pink in the face but smiled back. Mrs. Weasley continued. "So before we dig in, if we could raise a glass to the health of all our family members – including non-blood related –" she looked at Harry, Hermione, Lupin, and Sirius in turn, "may many blessings fall upon us all!"
"Cheers!" Everyone toasted in unison and drank before helping themselves to a delicious meal.
After nearly an hour of devouring Mrs. Weasley's delicious cooking, she announced it was time for presents. She and Sirius went into the pantry and brought out an abundance of beautifully wrapped parcels. They waved their wands, each present going to the intended recipient. The room was soon filled with joyous sounds: Ripping paper, happy gasps, "thank you!"s and "oh my goodness!"s.
"Are you serious, Harry? This is the best!" Ron gasped happily. Harry had gifted him a full set of Chudley Cannon robes (Ron's favorite Quidditch team). He stopped up and held it up to his body, checking the size. "Thanks!"
"You're welcome, glad you like them!" Harry said as he unwrapped a broom servicing kit. "Wow Hermione! Thank you!"
"What's that?"
There was a faint tapping coming from the kitchen window. Everyone turned their heads to find a great, black barn owl standing on the windowsill, a package tied to its leg. Sirius went over to let it in, and it immediately flew to Harry.
"Who does it belong to?" Ron asked, watching as Harry took the parcel. The owl gave him an affectionate nip on the hand before flying off.
"Maybe it's from Hagrid? Looks like a school owl." Hermione suggested.
"I already got my present from him," Harry said. There was a letter attached to the underside of the package. He turned it over and his face instantly lit up. "It's from Seamus!" Harry excitedly ripped open the letter, reading it through, while the rest of the table watched. Harry smiled widely as he put the letter down and opened the package next.
"Oh my god! He didn't!" Harry gasped as the wrappings fell away.
"What, what is it?" Ron asked excitedly, trying to get a good look.
"Remember when we went to Hogsmeade and I saw that really expensive art set?" Harry stared at the present in awe: It had an abundance of different card stock, color changing pencils and quills, different paints, etc.
"He got that for you?!" Hermione squealed in excitement.
"Wow! Kid knows how to impress!" Fred said, nodding his head approvingly.
"Who's Seamus?" Mrs. Weasley asked curiously.
The room suddenly got quiet as Harry exchanged looks with the others, his heart racing slightly. "He's er…h-he's my boyfriend."
Ron and Hermione smiled at him proudly while Mrs. and Mr. Weasley exchanged looks. Lupin looked at Harry curiously. "Seamus….Seamus Finnegan, right?"
"Yes," Harry said, swallowing nervously. But Lupin gave him a kind smile.
"Ah yes! Always a great student, that one! I remember he was one of the students rallying support to get me back."
Harry chuckled. "Sounds like him."
"Still doing well in his studies?"
"Of course. He's only third behind Hermione in the year!" Harry explained. Harry turned to Sirius, who was peering at him.
"Is Seamus good to you? Does he treat you right?" Sirius suddenly asked.
"Y-yeah."
"And he makes you happy?"
"Very."
"That's all I care about," Sirius said, sitting back and breaking into a kind smile. Harry breathed a sigh of relief. "How long have you two been together?"
"Um…two months, I believe." Harry said.
"Did you say he got you an art set?" Mr. Weasley asked curiously. "I didn't know you did art, Harry."
"It's kind of a new hobby I'm exploring," Harry said, shrugging.
"Yeah right!" Fred chuckled. "He's like a regular Picasso over here!"
"Well, I would like to see your art if you're willing to show," Sirius said, happily watching as his godson's face lit up.
"I have some upstairs! Seamus made me a special sketchbook that I keep on me," Harry said excitedly.
"Well then, maybe during afternoon tea, I would be happy to take a look." Sirius smiled.
Later that day, as Sirius promised, he made his way up to the drawing room, where Harry said he would be. When he entered the room, it was to find Harry sitting at one of the easels, working on an elaborate drawing. It was the backdrop of Hogwarts: Everything was so beautifully intricate and detailed. It looked as though he were starting to add some people to the picture.
"Amazing, Harry!" Sirius said in awe, watching Harry from behind. "How long have you been working on this?"
"I just started this morning, actually." Harry said, turning to find Sirius staring at the drawing.
"You only started on this this morning? That's incredible!" Sirius took a seat next to Harry and continued taking everything in.
"Thank you! Seamus' Christmas present made all this possible," Harry said, staring happily at his new art set. Sirius gave Harry a side look and cleared his throat.
"So Seamus…he seems very special to you," Sirius said.
Harry turned to Sirius. "He is…he's very important to me."
"You know I don't care who you like Harry, right?" Sirius said, watching Harry closely. Harry nodded. "I sensed you were a bit nervous this morning telling us. But we're all happy for you."
"Thanks, Sirius," Harry said appreciatively. He paused for a moment. "I – I care a lot about what you guys think, and I just didn't know how to tell you –"
"It's alright, Harry. It's a hard thing to do, coming out. But you're my godson, and I'lll love you either way." They smiled at each other. "I'm sure your abrupt arrival here made your departure with him a bit stressful, huh?"
"Very. I mean, I know I'll be seeing him in a week, but not being able to say a proper goodbye was hard given the circumstances." Harry nodded.
"Does he live around here? Seamus?"
"No, he lives in Ireland."
"An Irishman!" Sirius chuckled, and Harry smiled. . "Well, Harry." Sirius paused, considering him for a moment. "I was thinking…how much do you trust Seamus?"
"I trust him with my life," Harry said quickly. "I'd put him up there with Ron and Hermione. Why?"
"Your boyfriend seems very important to you. And if he's important to you, then he's important to me. So I thought, maybe…maybe he could spend the last week of the Christmas holidays with us." Sirius said, shrugging.
Harry jumped up with excitement. "Wait, really? You would really let Seamus stay here?"
Sirius chuckled. "Of course, Harry! I would love to meet him!"
"What about Dumbledore, though? What if he doesn't –"
"Leave Dumbledore to me," Sirius said, standing up as well. "It's my house, after all. And if I want to invite someone over, I have every right to."
Harry gave Sirius a big hug, squeezing him tightly. "Thank you, Sirius! Thank you, thank you!"
"Of course, Harry! Now, why don't you owl him and I will see what I can get set up with Lupin."
He watched as Harry happily ran out of the room and up the stairs, leaving Sirius to chuckle to himself.
Harry woke up very early the next morning. Even though Seamus wasn't due to arrive until the next day, Harry was too excited to do or think about anything else. Everything was already set up for Seamus' arrival: Harry made space in the wardrobe for him, Mrs. Weasley brought in extra bedding and pillows as well as a rollaway bed (although Harry knew they would probably just bunk in with each other): Lupin was put in charge of getting Seamus from Kings' Cross Station near noontime: And Sirius was able to put his foot down and convince Dumbledore that Seamus had every right to stay in his house as Ron and Hermione had.
With the excitement building, Harry threw the blankets off and stood up. There was no way he could go back to sleep with the adrenaline coursing through him. He gave a little stretch, thinking he would finish up the art project he started for Seamus. But first, he was hoping to get a little something in his stomach beforehand. He quietly made his way down the stairs and towards the kitchen. He was about to push open the door, when he heard his name being brought up. He paused, carefully putting his ear to the door.
"…Harry having a boyfriend. It's just not…not…"
"Not what, Molly?" Sirius asked sternly.
"It's not natural," Mrs. Weasley hissed. Harry felt his heart drop slightly.
"Of course it's natural! And who cares if Harry likes a guy? He's happy!" Sirius argued back.
"Don't you want him to be happy, Molly?" Lupin asked.
"Of course I want Harry to be happy! But did you really need to entertain the idea of having the two in the same room for the holidays?"
"Molly, they're roommates at Hogwarts. It doesn't matter if they're sharing a room here," Sirius sounded frustrated.
"What is this really about? Hmm? Do you have a problem with Harry's sexuality?" Lupin asked.
There was a moment of silence. Harry's heartbeat faster, his body shaking slightly.
"No! But I can't pretend that – that –"
"That what? What is it, Molly?" Lupin pushed. Harry had never heard him so agitated before.
"Harry's different enough as it is! After what happened with the dream, after what happened in the graveyard – he's already seen as a freak!"
There was the sound of scraping chairs. "Harry is not a freak!" Sirius yelled.
"Harry is perfectly normal like everyone else! His sexuality does not change who he is!" Lupin yelled as well.
Harry didn't stay to hear the rest of the conversation. He silently ran back up the stairs, tears pouring down his face. He stood outside of his room: he started to hear the others stirring. He couldn't go back in there; he couldn't face them. Harry turned and ran into the bathroom and locked the door behind him.
He couldn't believe that Mrs. Weasley had called him a freak. His breathing started to quicken as he felt an anxiety attack coming on. He undressed and immediately hopped in the shower, hoping the cold water would help. But it didn't. Harry couldn't get the nastiness of the conversation out of his head. His vision started to blur as more tears rose to the surface: He tried stifling a sob. Mrs. Weasley didn't approve of him…he knew he shouldn't care, but he did. He always thought very highly of her. Did that she mean she hated him? Hated him for something he couldn't help being? Hated him for being…him?
Harry glanced up and noticed someone had left a razor blade in the shower. Harry tried to calm his breathing, trying to will himself to look away. But he couldn't: He couldn't take his gaze off. Before he realized what he was doing, he grabbed the razor and held it in his shaking hands. He could feel his vision going in and out and it went black momentarily.
Harry gasped as he felt a sudden pain and looked down: There was a fresh cut on his left wrist, blood pouring down and mixing with the water. Harry cried out in shame and dropped the razor. He slid down the shower wall, his head to his knees, his arms wrapped around his legs. He sat there and cried, allowing the water to wash away the tears, the blood, and the sounds.
"Harry, there you are! I thought you drowned," Ron chuckled as Harry walked in. Harry didn't even acknowledge him as he threw himself down on his bed face first. Ron noticed his best friend's demeanor and walked over to his bed, taking a seat at the end. "Hey, mate. You ok?"
Hermione walked in just then. "Hey! Thought I'd stop by before we headed down to breakfast." She noticed the worried look Ron was giving. "What's wrong with Harry?"
"Not sure. Harry, what's going on?" Ron watched as Harry slowly turned himself over. There were tears in his eyes. He sat up, not looking at his friends.
"Harry?" Hermione sat down on the other side of him. She reached out and put a gentle hand on his shoulder. "You know you can talk to us?"
Harry's lip started trembling. Tears rolling down his cheeks as he looked up at his two friends. "I did something bad." He whispered.
"What did you?" Hermione asked gently. Harry shakily lifted the sleeve of his left arm up and showed the new cut. "Oh Harry!" Hermione tearfully pulled Harry in for a hug.
"What happened? You were doing so well?" Ron asked, putting a hand on Harry's back.
"I-I overheard a conversation t-this morning," Harry cried. "I didn't even realize what was happening until it did! I couldn't stop myself!"
"It's ok, Harry, it's ok," Hermione and Ron looked at each other sadly. "We'll help you get through this."
"What did you hear?" Ron asked. But Harry just shook his head, not able to repeat any of it. "It's fine, Harry. I don't want to make you uncomfortable."
There was a knock on the door just then. Hermione crossed the room and opened it a smidge. Ginny was staring through the crack in the door, looking confused. "Mum says she's waiting for you guys. Breakfast is ready."
Hermione turned; Harry was in no fit state to go downstairs, and she could not, in good conscious, leave her best friend like this. She turned back to Ginny. "We can't come down. Harry's…he's not doing too well. We need to stay with him."
"Did he – ?" Ginny started. Hermione nodded, a sad look in her eyes. "I'll make something up. Give Harry a hug for me?" Hermione nodded and closed the door behind her.
"Come on, Harry. Let's get you cleaned up."
Harry, Ron, and Hermione made their way down to the kitchen later that day for dinner time. Harry was very hungry, which was the only reason he was willing to go. Ron and Hermione did their best to keep Harry as occupied as they could throughout the day. They didn't press him to talk about what he heard, to which Harry was very grateful for. He took a seat in between them at the dinner table.
"Are you feeling better, Harry?" Sirius asked, watching his godson closely. Harry just nodded his head, afraid to look up.
"Are you sure? You're looking a little pale." Mrs. Weasley asked.
"Yeah. I think I just need something in my stomach." Harry said. He could feel a bit of emotion rising in his chest, but kept it at bay.
"Here, I made you some soup. Something that's not too heavy." Mrs. Weasley pushed a bowl of homemade chicken noodle soup in front of him. Harry nodded his head, picking up a spoon.
"Well, hopefully you'll feel better tomorrow when Seamus comes." Sirius said, giving Harry a smile. Harry smiled back.