Author Commentary: The timing of these chapters are in a realm of hilarious coincidence. Next week we end '92 at the same time we end '22!


December 21st, 1992

Sirius fell back against the couch, barking loud with laughter. "Let me- let me get this straight! They think a muggleborn is You-Know-Who's bastard son, and that the CHAMBER OF SECRETS is hidden in the HUFFLEPUFF COMMON ROOM?! HA!"

Harry grinned. A large part of him was enjoying his godfather's reaction more than the rumours themselves. "Pretty much. Though he's also used an evil ritual to get all of us to speak parseltongue."

Which, admittedly, was partially true. Though Harry was loathed to consider ritual magic as something dark. Alas, most wizards do think that way, so Harry kept his tone as a playful jest.

"HA! I'm sure he has!" After another fit of laughter, Sirius pushed himself up in a sitting position and patted the seat next to him -which Harry obliged to join. "Though, come on, they don't really believe all that nonsense, do they?"

"Not most people." Harry shrugged. "I think a lot of them are just so used to Hufflepuffs having a sweet and honest reputation that they can't imagine we would pull a prank that big. It's silly, though. Melly, the Weasley Twins, and a few others have joined in on the joke, but a few people still whisper about us like it's all a giant conspiracy."

The two of them chuckled at the silliness of it all. "Now that is a prank for the ages. Fooling everyone with parseltongue, who'd have thought?" He pulled Harry into a one-armed hug and ruffled his head. "You little scamp! I'm so proud of you."

Harry blushed lightly at the praise. "Thanks, Uncle Sirius."

"You're very welcome!" Sirius released his hug and leaned his back into the seat. "We need a way to build up on this prank. Nothing dangerous, of course. Thank goodness that basilisk of yours isn't out hurting people." Sirius missed as Harry flinched and frowned at the remark. "Still, there's no harm in milking it. Maybe we can invite your friend and the Malfoys to the movies? Lucius can 'ingratiate himself with his Former-Master's son.' -It would absolutely torture him. Ha!"

Harry rolled his eyes. "I can think of better ways to spend our Christmas than with Lucius Malfoy."

"Heh. You're not wrong with that. You know, Narcissa actually invited us to their Yule soirée."

"...You would go to something like that?"

Sirius scoffed. "Definitely not. At best it'll just be a bunch of snooty purebloods making snide conversation and shady business deals disguised with gaudy outfits and ballroom dancing. At worst someone'll try to poison us or get into another fight. So thanks but no thanks, Cissy's on her own." He stood up and stretched his arms. "Be-sides -rrah!- We're going to the Tonks' for Christmas." His arms dropped to the side. Then Sirius offered a wink as he added. "They're much better company for Christmas, don't you think?"

Harry offered him a grin. "Definitely!"


Harry enjoyed a relaxing few days leading up to Christmas. He and Sirius spent the next full day exploring museums and shops in muggle London. The day after that he went down to Surrey to spend time with Jeff and his family. That day was spent almost exclusively indoors, as much of their time was spent catching up and playing Street Fighter II (among other games) on Jeff's new Nintendo. He slept over at their house, which meant he got to spend half of Christmas Eve with Melly when her family came over. In the afternoon he went home and spent the rest of his evening with Sirius and a visiting Remus, where the three enjoyed hot chocolate, mused over the reclaimed Marauders' Map and told fun stories about the past.

On Christmas Day the two spent a lounging morning opening presents by the tree. Harry received an assortment of sweets, clothes, art supplies, books, and quidditch paraphernalia, along with a cute squiggly painting by Maggie of her, Harry, and Magdalene standing beside a castle. At noon Harry and Sirius went to the party room, where several of their neighbours had rented out the space to enjoy a light lunch and exchange gifts and gossip. Then, after getting dressed up for the evening, they flooed over to the Tonks' for the night. The evening air filled with the sound of laughter and perfumed with pine, food, and wine.

Harry, naturally, skipped out on the wine. So with a cup of hot cider in hand, he flopped down on the couch and let his toes warm by the fire. Harry closed his eyes, drinking in the sounds of laughter and crackling fire. His shoulders relaxed, and a small smile spread across his face. This- this is what he's craved all his life. No drama, no cupboard, just warmth and laughter and love from a family of his own. There was no need to bother over how long he wished for this, or any painful reminders of what Christmas' used to be like back with the Dursleys. Instead, Harry can sit here, in the moment, and bask in the sounds, tastes, and contentment of the world around him.

On his left, the couch gave a slight dip, softly squeaking with added weight. There was another sound, too. The near-silent squishes of a face changing its expression, close enough to his face to be heard. Though his eyes remained closed, he identified the sound with a small huff of laughter.

"If I open my eyes, am I going to see a reindeer snout or Santa Claus leering at me?"

Tonks scoffed loudly. "You're no fun!" The couch groaned as she changed position. "That's not fair. I managed to sneak up on you and everything. I never sneak that good in training!"

Harry opened his eyes and grinned at her. "Maybe it's not that you did bad. Maybe I'm just that good?"

Tonks snorted, and matched his grin. "Maybe. Suppose you can always try out for being an auror, see how good you really are?"

"Hmm…" Harry looked up, pondering over the idea for a moment before shaking his head. "No, thanks. I've had my fair share of bad and dangerous people. Don't suppose there's a job that involves lounging on a couch drinking cider?"

"Not that I know of. If I find one I'll let you know." She winked.

The two sat back and settled into silence. The crackle of fire retook centre stage, bolstered by the distant clinking of glasses and muted conversation. Harry took a deep drink of cider, enjoying the flavours of apple, citrus, cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove as they washed over his tongue and warmed his insides. With a happy sigh, he closed his eyes and let his other senses take over again.

"It's too bad Sirius wasn't able to invite his friend over this year." Tonks mused.

"You mean Remus?"

Tonks hummed in assent. "Nice chap. Has he ever told you how he got those scars?"

From Fenrir Greyback. Harry thought. Not that he can say as much. "I think he said an animal attack when he was young."

"You think?" She parroted in disbelief.

"We don't talk about it when he's over."

There came a beat of silence. Harry looked over at Tonks to see her tapping a finger against her knee. "What do you talk about then? Work? Fun? Girls?"

Harry let out a small chuckle. "Definitely not girls. They try to hide that anytime they're over."

Her eyes narrowed. "Anytime who's over?"

"Girls." Harry grinned with conspiratorial quiet. "Uncle Sirius tries to hide it; but, over the summer, he'd sometimes have Remus and a girl come over for sleepovers."

Tonks' eyes went wide at the reveal. Her whole body turned to him, knees bent in as she moved closer to whisper back. "Wait, do you mean Remus and a girl, or they both have girls with them?"

"A bit of both. They usually leave too early for me to see how many people are in the flat. But I hear them whispering and giggling out in the hallway, and it tends to be only one or two."

He had to hold back laughter as Tonks' jaw dropped. The woman rocked back against her feet. Her hair shifted from pink to ruby to mulberry purple, with a blush going darker with each shade. "Wow!" She gasped quietly. "That's… the bloke's got a wild side."

"You have no idea." Harry joked. Not that Moony is something she needs to concern herself with. Instead he watched in fascination as her hair shifted in quick alternates of turquoise and electric blue. A toothy grin stretched across her face as the colours shifted.

"This is gonna be bril!" Her eyes flashed wickedly as they met his own. "Do you know the next time you'll see him?"

Though thrown by the odd declaration, he nodded in answer. "On Monday. We're watching a movie at a friend's before heading off to the cinema."

"Perfect! Can I come along?"

"I don't see why not. Might want to check with Sirius first."

"I'll do that. Thanks, Harry!" She patted his arm before launching off the couch -tripping face-first onto the floor in the process- before bouncing off to go talk to Sirius.

Wait… what did I just help with?


Fortunately for him, Melly barely blinked at the inclusion of Tonks on her doorstep. Instead the group was welcomed heartily by the family as all seven settled into the den for an afternoon flick. Who Framed Roger Rabbit was the choice of the day. Deemed simultaneously as "a great film from a couple years back" and "a classic", Melly insisted the film is a mandatory watch before the adults split off to see Cool World.

Harry definitely agreed that it's a fun film. Plenty of silly and zany moments mixed just right with good action and mystery. -Though he refused to admit any blushing during the Jessica Rabbit scenes, despite his friend's teasing.- After the film, Tonks joined in on the prodding, but that went mainly towards Remus. Harry watched, half surprised and half fascinated, as Tonks gave herself a complete changeover of long, red hair, darkened eyelids, narrowed waist, and a wide ...uh... chest area. His distant cousin practically draped herself over Remus' shoulders, eyes fluttering, as she asked "I bet you don't mind if I'm drawn this way, do you?"

Remus, to his embarrassment, went completely red and stammered in reply. "I -uh- m-maybe it'd be better if you -uh- look like how you normally are."

"Oh?" She purred, leaning in closer. "Are you sure?"

To his side, Sirius snickered at the man's fluster. Remus gulped at the closed distance. "Y-yes. I'm sure. Um, it's nice seeing you look like how you want to look, rather than -you know, what some other people might want to see."

The smile faded from her expression. It changed into something unreadable as she uttered a quiet "Oh" and stepped back. Her body shifted in pieces until she returned to her normal look. With eyes still holding that unreadable expression, she bit her lip momentarily before asking. "Is this better?"

Remus seemed to release a breath at the change. He offered her a warm and gentle smile as he murmured. "Much better." With a consoling pat on her shoulder he added. "You don't need to change for other people, Tonks. You're perfect just the way you are.

"Now," He leaned back and looked around the circle, "we should head out to the cinema soon. The movie starts at half-past."

Most of the adults nodded and moved out of the room to get ready. Tonks, meanwhile, held perfectly still. Eyes shining as she watched Remus walk out of the room. To Harry's side, he heard Melly release a hollowed breath. Turning to the sound, he caught her own wide-eyed expression shifting between the two adults. With a bit of prodding, he nudged her out of the room to a quiet corner of the house. "Alright, so I get Tonks was flirting with Remus, but what did you girls see that I missed?"

Her disbelief was prominent. "What did you miss?" She repeated. "Kid, you just witnessed the smoothest line you could ever give a metamorphmagus! Just- wow!" Her hand slapped over her heart as her eyes popped wide. "-Oh. Fuck. He probably doesn't realize what he just did. Shiiiit!"

Harry blinked once and perked his head. "Should we tell him?"

"God, no!" She snapped, which clashed violently against a devious grin. "If we warn him, he'll high-tail it out of here before she can make a move. No, no. We are not getting involved! I want to see how this plays out!"

Harry shook his head. "Are you really trying to play match-maker with adults, now?"

"No, Harry, of course not." She consoled, draping her arm across his shoulders. Her free hand curled in the air as she continued. "Besides, it's not so much match-making as it is… letting fate take its course."

Harry jumped with shock. "Wait! You mean they're-"

She tapped his lips with a single finger and gave him a wink. "Ah-ah! Spoilers!"