Merry Christmas. Have fun with this short one-shot.
After the demise of the strong, controlling Dark Lord, the wizarding world had changed to a great extent. The pure fear and mistrust had held the biggest parts of the magical British population in its tight grip and did only begin to lose slightly after the death of their feared leader.
Harry had been tormented by the everlasting feeling of guilt for months on end after the great Battle of Hogwarts, which had caused the demise of lots of students and friends he knew. The young man had been sure that there would have been a different, less bloody way to resolve the situation. In his fear to confront the Weasleys, Harry had never gone to George's funeral. He wasn't ready to look into the eyes of the people that he counted as his own family, not ready to apologize for putting them at risk.
It was too late when Harry Potter had understood that nobody blamed him for it , too late to salvage his deteriorating relationship with the Weasleys and many other of his friends, when they responded poorly to his seeming indifference.
If it wasn't for the infant Harry had been tasked to take care of, the young man would have lost himself in the pity of the lost friends and his relationship with his first real-love, Ginny Weasley. Teddy had grown to be the key factor that kept him productive, fully determined to not disappoint Remus and Tonks and be the best godfather anyone could ever be.
As the golden light that surrounded Lord Harry Potter faded into the darkness, the now middle aged looking man found himself in a world that was both familiar and heartbreakingly distant. He stood in the living room of the Number 12, Grimmauld Place, the air humming with an eerie sense of déjà vu. The Order of the Phoenix had once gathered here, a beacon of hope in the dark times of Voldemort's second rise.
He had been in his office in Potter Manor only mere minutes ago, when his life had taken a drastic change.
With a frustrated look on his face, Harry Potter let his head sink onto his work table. The last weeks of work had been stressful to say the least, with multiple operations leading to poor results and his subordinates returning injured.
A quick knock and the figure of a breathless Neville Longbottom, one of the few old friends he kept and now esteemed Unspeakable, had stormed into his office. Neville, with a hint of mystery and mischief, held a large golden watch in his hand, showing it to his boss.
"Harry," he panted breathlessly, his chest heaving heavily, from the sprint he had seemingly taken to his office. "See what I found in the chamber in Hogwarts that I've been researching," he chirped happily to his old friend, pushing the mysterious object into the hands of the curious Harry Potter.
"It's a time-turner," Harry murmured thoughtfully, "but I've never seen one this big."
Neville, now beaming from eye to eye, nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, it does look like a time-turner,'' he confirmed."But it doesn't allow you time travel itself, but only to bring you to a specific moment in your life and back."
It had taken fifteen minutes for the expert in time magic to explain the device to Harry, its features and limitations. He would not be able to change anything in that past and anybody that saw him wouldn't remember anything of the time he could be there. Still, every minute, Harry's mood brightened more and more; This was his chance. He would finally be able to say goodbye to some of his friends, even if his body would only be allowed for the trip once and only for one day.
Without much more thought, Harry had spun the time-turner, leading him back into a time of war and death. A time that Harry had never wanted to relive again, but the chance was too huge to not take the risk.
And now he stood in his current home, that looked so much different to the one in his present. Gone was the new furniture, the bright colors and sparkly pictures, that Teddy had drawn for him as an infant. The place looked empty without the life that his wife and their five children had given it. It was just like he remembered it from Christmas break of his fifth Hogwarts year, maybe even a bit more dirty.
The night was draped over the large enchanted windows, casting the room into the slight shine of the small crest of the new moon. The eerie silence, only broken by the soft ticking of the ancient, wooden clock, was almost disconcerting Harry, as he still clutched the mysterious golden device, that had transported him back into this time, in the hope to help Harry cope with the weight of the loss of his last parts of family.
While he still adjusted to his new, but familiar surroundings, the kitchen door creaked slowly open, allowing Harry a view on a duo that Harry hadn't seen in over twenty years.
"Harry will come to Grimmauld Place for this Christmas," the man cheered, hugging the woman tightly on the doorstep. "I didn't see the pup for way too long, Tonks."
Nymphadora Tonks cracked a bright smile at her cousin, laughing slightly at the eagerness to see the boy shown by the grown man standing in front of her.
"If I didn't know you better, I would be convinced you have a crush on Harry," she teased Sirius, whose face flushed a bright red.
"Nymphadora, stop that, it's embarrassing," he sighed towards the bubbly, young auror.
He had already been hit with a stinging hex, when Sirius recognized the grave mistake he had made. Wincing in pain, he raised in surrender as he turned towards the door that Harry was observing the situation through.
Sirius wore a hurt expression on his face. "I am sorry, Tonks. I for-" His eyes went comically wide, his mien morphing into one of utter surprise as he spotted Harry in the living room of his ancient home.
"James?!" The last of the blacks explained, not able to believe his eyes. The figure standing in front of him looked like an exact copy of his best friend, only around a decade older. He looked almost pleadingly to his, now 40 years-old godson, expecting an answer.
Tonks had noticed him as well, and shook herself out of her stupor first, taking a few steps towards her cousin standing in the kitchen door. "Look at the eyes," she whispered to Sirius, as she recognized the bright, green flames in them and was finally able to connect the dots.
Realization dawned on the ex-convict, as he took the color in as well, but his look of shock only increased, spotting the faint traces of Harry's signature scare, the lightning bolt still visible after all the years. "But how is that possible," he uttered, his voice little more than a whisper. "How can this be Harry? How is he here?"
Breaking out of his stupor of seeing his godfather once again, Harry launched forward, embracing the man tightly. This was why he had taken the risk, seized the risk of the unknown time turner and its toll on his body.
"I can't believe it is you," Sirius exclaimed in disbelief, after several minutes in the hug of his now older godson. "How…?"
Harry pulled back slightly, wanting to watch into Sirius's eyes, his own glistening in unshed tears. "Neville. He is an Unspeakable now, actually one of our best. He found this device," he explained, showing them the golden device in his hand. "It lets me come back into my past. He thought… he thought I would want to use it."
With a "Wotcher Harry," Tonks, her expression a mix of shock and delight, finally joined the duo, after giving them some much needed space. As the shock ebbed away, her hair returned to her signature bubble-gum shade of pink, with the bright blue eyes that she decided on for today.
Deciding to pull one on the joyous metamorph in front of him, he answered with a simple "Hey, Nymphadora," expecting her reaction that came only moments later.
His smugness was quickly replaced by concern, as the woman tripped trying to reach him too quickly and fell into a heap on the floor only slowed by the weak, wandless cushioning spell Harry had cast with the swish of his hand. Tonks, ever the embodiment of her ungraceful charm, chuckled and looked up to Harry with twinkling eyes. "I told you, as soon as you get as ripped as you are now, the women will lay at your feet," she quipped with a smirk, while accepting Harry's strong outstretched hand to help her up.
Harry knew that by this time, his younger self would be too embarrassed to even speak, but he didn't even show a blush anymore, being used to much more teasing by his wife, the children and ultimately Teddy.
The boy had taken after his mother in most ways, being the same bubbly, happy type of person as her, but inherited his drive for defense and mischievous pranks from his father, a marauder through and through. This and his metamorph ability, made it a given that they had been invited into school by Minerva multiple times a year.
The voice of his godfather pulled him finally out of his thoughts, bringing him back into the time he was in now. "How long will you be able to stay, Harry?"
"If Neville's calculation is correct, and they usually are, we will have this whole day for us," Harry happily announced, but his voice was tinged in sadness. "But unfortunately, you will not be able to remember anything of this day, while you are still in this world. It seems to be blocked by the magic of this device."
The two inhabitants of Grimmauld Place shared a short look, communicating everything they needed to. "That's ok, pup," Sirius replied, stepping forward to pull Harry into another tight embrace.
"And it seems like everything worked out for you anyway," Tonks added, while joining the hug, "but you better tell me how you did that wandless magic to catch my fall."
The group spent hours upon hours catching up, sharing many stories of Harry's life after the war.
"You married a Greengrass?" Sirius exclaimed, shocked, as Harry told them about his wife and how they had met. "Are you freaking mental, pup?"
Harry could only chuckle, knowing about the reputation the family had. They had used it multiple times to their advantage after all, with both of them being in the Wizengamot and trying to improve the wizarding world. "Daphne is not as dangerous as you would think," he explained to his dumbstruck godfather and Tonks, "she is actually really sweet, in her own way."
Tonks looked at him in disbelief. "Sweet? A Greengrass? I've heard of Daphne and you two were only first years, when I finished school," she huffed.
"You don't want to be an enemy of her, that's true," Harry conceded, "but who would fit better to the Lord of both the family of Potter and Black?"
Now it was Sirius' turn to peer at him in disbelief. "How are you Lord Black?"
"You are still in the family, padfoot. You were never formally cast out of it," Harry explained, showing him the Lords ring on his finger. "But enough of politics."
Harry continued to talk about Daphne, their children and finally Teddy, how proud he was of them and what they all had achieved. As the conversation turned towards his own achievements, Harry told them about his work place - the "Alliance of Families" - and how he had excelled in magical theory and magical fighting.
As the day passed further and further and dawn came over the city, the group still sat around the fireplace in Grimmauld Place, looking through Sirius's photo album of his school time. With every flick of the pages, Sirius told more and more of their stories, the mayhem they had provided and the detentions they had to sit through. Occasionally he would be interrupted by the laughter of either Tonks or Harry, when he recounted the times that Lily had given his father the fluff or how they had pulled a prank on the teachers. Harry felt closer to his parents than ever before.
"I wish this could last forever," Harry murmured, his voice shaking in anticipation of the loss laying ahead. He would give so much to have more time with them, but he could feel the pull the magic had on his body, and knew that staying here any longer could irreversibly hurt him.
Sirius, his eyes filling with small tears, gave Harry a little smile. "We may not have forever, yet. But, Harry, memories… memories last forever."
"And these memories will stay in your heart until we meet each other once again. We will always be with you, just like your parents, in here," Tonks explained, touching the man's chest right above his heart. "At least I won't ever forget these muscles," she added, with a playful, exaggerated shiver, "pity you are married."
Sirius laughed brightly by the blushing Harry. "She did it," he cheered, his hands raised into the air in victory. "I knew she could still embarrass you, like she always does."
With that said, Harry took the golden, now glowing device back into his hand, looking into the teary eyes of the last pieces of his old family he had left.
"You've got so much more of your life ahead of you, kiddo," Sirius told him once more, "I am so proud of you. And please tell Daphne, that I am grateful for picking you up."
As the time-turners' magic began to pull him back to his own time, Harry looked at them one last time. "I'll never forget this," he promised, giving them a large beaming smile while he disappeared from view.
The golden light enveloped him once more, and as he felt the pull of his own time drawing back, he closed his eyes, holding onto the precious moments he had just witnessed, with the people he had lost way too early.
The last thing Sirius had told him was still repeating in his head on repeat. It won't be the last time we see each other.
I hope you enjoyed my Secret Santa One-Shot, with Kori.J's prompt. This unfortunately had to be a bit rushed, because my work was holding me on edge currently, but that's just how it is now.
I hope you have a Merry Christmas, spend some nice time with family and friends and just enjoy the holiday season.