Merry Christmas everyone!

I was planning to delay this chapter, but then the other stories don't have a Christmas event in the current process, so yeah this one's up :p.

"You're staying in Hogwarts for Christmas?" Hermione asks with a surprised face. "I thought you would want to return back to your home for the day."

"Well, that's my original plan." Harry replies back while the trio walk to their next class, which is Potion Class, and they're not looking forward to it since it's mid-December and it's close to the holiday. "But Uncle sent me a message saying to stay for the day. He also said that Mom and Dad agreed to the plan as well."

"Maybe they were busy that day?"

"Could be, Ron. However, they basically have the time of the world. If the others are busy, they could spend their time with me with no issues."

"Or they're preparing something for you that requires more time than expected?" Hermione theorizes. "Since you just entered Hogwarts for the first time?"

"Eh… let's go with that. Not sure how it works, though." Harry shrugs. "Besides, I'm sure I will find a lot of stuff with the twins in those days."

"Yeah, I heard that these two planned to sneak you out to Hogsmeade to buy prank toys." Ron snickers.

"Can't wait."

"You can't be serious. You do know that only Third-Years and above are allowed, right?"

"Can see them trying, though." Harry's chuckle causes his friends to follow suit. "Let's see what Snape's going to berate us today."

"Speaking of him, Hermione, did you feel something different from him?"

"No, Ron. Why?"

"Eh… just feels like something's off. Not in a bad way, mind you."

'You mean when he stopped berating everything I did?' The Boy-Who-Lived snickers in his mind, knowing what his redhead friend questions.

After his talk with the Potion Master, it seems the Professor has toned down his harassment towards him, though he still criticized anything he truly did wrong (which Harry kinda accepted). Still a prick, but at least he chooses the right moments to be one.

'Still… I wonder what they're going to do this Christmas. Most of the time it was just a big gathering with the other Protectors and gift exchanges.' The boy starts thinking of the possibilities while temporarily ignoring his friends talking with each other. 'Maybe they're building something big and don't want to leave it unattended and/or don't want to ruin the mystery. Yeah, probably that.'

All thoughts are thrown away, however, when they enter the Potion Dungeon and shiver when they feel the temperature, which is somehow worse than the outside. Even worse than that, Snape's voice goes even lower, sending cold sharp icicles on the kids' backs, scaring almost everyone. '...Halloween passed for a while, Professor.'

The next day comes, and Hermione has left Hogwarts to return back to her family for the holiday. While they are having lunch, Hedwig comes down with a letter in her beak. After thanking her with a treat as his gratitude, Harry opens it and starts reading…

"What is it?" Ron asks with his mouth full of food.

"Uncle Sirius and Uncle Remus are going here for Christmas Eve." His friend replies while not losing focus. "They're also confused like I am, huh?"

"Well…" The redhead swallows before continuing. "If I'm your uncle, I would be also confused when I heard my niece asked me to come to the school instead of him coming to my house."

"...I guess so. Still, it's my Uncle and Dad's idea. No idea how Dad agreed to that though." Putting the letter away, Harry takes a sip from his juice.

"Nothing came to mind?"

"Too many possibilities, actually." Picking his folk and stabbing his food, Harry bites it and adds. "Every Eve feels really chaotic to me. I think the CPUs always gather up with the Makers and most of the time just pick my house for the party."

"Your mother is also one, right?"

"Former CPU, to be precise. At least it's still fun." He chuckles and turns his attention to the teacher's table. His laugh dies down when he notices Quirrell staring at him. The stare breaks when Flitwick calls for the DADA Professor, and he starts stuttering like usual.

Or unusual in Harry's eyes.

Thanks to the 'homework' Snape gave him that night, he could confirm that the Potion Master is also observing the DADA Professor. And if he's correct, he's also the one responsible for the broom incident. There's no solid proof, however, so there's no way to pin it to him.

There's another question that Harry kept an interest in but didn't keep dwelling into until now: What's in the third corridor? It seems that someone, if not Quirrell himself, is trying to get it, and it might happen if Snape didn't check the corridor which ended up earning him a 'love' bite from the cerberus. And with Snape's previous answer, he can tell that thing is either nature-breaking or an overpowered weapon. But with the size that fits a palm, he believes it more to be the former kind. But then he remembered a ton of futuristic armors being able to fold down to the size, so he could put that to the question again…

"Hey Harry." He snaps back to reality when the twins approach from both sides. "Found a new toy shop in Hogsmeade. Want to go with us?"

"With the Professors staring at me? Thanks but I can't." Harry jokingly replies back.

"Too bad. Well, prepare to assist us, would ya?"

"See you later." With that, the two leave the boy, with Ron chuckling next to Harry.

"Who's the victim?"

"Who else? Malfoy of course."

A few days pass, and it's Christmas…

"Hey Harry, time to wake up."

Feeling two presences near him, the boy groggily follows the order and picks up his glasses. Once his eyes are adjusted, he sees the Animagus and the cursed Werewolf looking at him with a smile. "Uncle Sirius? Uncle Remus? How are you here? I mean, in Gryffindor Tower."

"Well we WERE Gryffindors." The former flashes out a toothy grin as he and Lupin show the boy what they have in their hands. "Merry Christmas, Harry."

"Thank you two." The boy smiles back and gets out of the bed. "Did you see my parents?"

"Did they tell you they would come?" The werewolf asks in confusion, not remembering that the boy has told anything about it.

"I'm just guessing based on my experiences with them." Harry replies while clothing up. He looks around and to the end of his bed to see no presents. He was planning to ask, but decided to just ignore it for a moment. "How long are you going to stay?"

"Just two days, then we will return back to our work." Remus replies back.

"Let's head down to the Great Hall. We can talk during breakfast."

Harry agrees, and the trio walk out of the tower and give each other small talks. While they're laughing with each other as they approach the big door that leads to the Great Hall, Harry notices Hagrid looking out of breath with a surprised expression on his face. "Hey, it's Hagrid."

"The big man himself." Sirius grins as he approaches the man and opens his arms. "How are you doing, big guy? Good so…" He notices the companions behind the half-Giants, and his smile drops, replaced by a shocked expression. "...What the…"

Lupin hears his friend stopping his words midway, so he also peeks over the half-Giant's arms to see what he's seeing, and he's now wearing the same expression. "How… is this…"

"You two are being weird." Harry just comments, not thinking it's something that…

"You would be shocked when you see your dead friends being alive, my dear son."

His expression freezes when the Boy-Who-Lived watches the two people getting out of Hagrid's back and showing themselves to the trio, with the adults backing away in surprise. The duo is one male and one female, and their appearance instantly brings him back to the vision the Mirror of Erised showed him a while ago. He has to rub his eyes again to make sure that he's not looking at the mirror…

"James… Lily… How?" Sirius opens his mouth and closes them constantly, not believing what he's seeing right now. "I… we thought that you…"

"We did, Padfoot." The male companion speaks, which causes the named person's eyes to widen further. "And I really thought we couldn't see you again."

"Then… how…" Lupin tries to get the answer out. He has to make sure that he's not hallucinating…

"...It's Uncle, isn't he? I will send him a gift back later." All adults look at the boy who rubs his face to soften his facial muscle, then smiles back at his real parents. "Welcome back to Hogwarts, Mom and Dad."

The couple's expression brightens up as they walk forward with open arms, and Harry takes it, giving each other a family reunion hug. After a minute, the two adults let go and give their old friends a group hug as well, which makes the living friends let out tears of happiness.

Harry smiles at the warming reunion, then he feels Hagrid poking him so he turns to see the half-Giant sobbing a bit while asking him: "I was so scared when I saw those two in front of my hut… did you expect to see them here?"

"No… but I know that Dad and Uncle have the capability of doing things like this… and now I see why they wanted me to stay here for this year's holiday." The boy replies, wiping a small tear that appears in his eyes. "Best Christmas gift I have so far."

"Unfortunately we can't stay for long." After the hug is over, Lily speaks up. "We're only allowed to return back in the two days of Christmas."

"It's better than not being able to return." Lupin sniffs once. "But, what spell did they use?"

"I think it's a Spirit Summon one." Harry explains. "I saw Uncle doing so a few times. About the bodies…"

"From what I saw when we woke up, the guy has a room full of premade bodies." James says, then shivers a bit. "Like, no jokes. I think that could give the Department of Mysteries a run for money for its creepiness."

"So your bodies now are…"

"I think they are, Uncle Lupin." Harry replies. "That's an around way for my Uncle to recall someone back instead of reviving."

"And I thought what we saw was their upper limits." Sirius lets out a smile when he says so. "Let's get to the Hall, standing around here makes me feel a bit cold."

"Should I wear a cloak over my head and pretend to be a ghost?"

"Come on, James. Halloween passed long ago." Lily's comment causes all to laugh, as Hagrid pushes the door open and reveals the whole group to everyone.

And surprises no one in the group, every teacher in the table gasps in shock at the presences of the two dead wizards before them. Even the ever-stoic Potion Master, in which Harry has to hide a smirk seeing his expression completely breaking down and looking like he's having a heart attack. Though it quickly turns to a loud and happy reunion, as the teachers come out of their seats and start talking with the Potter adults, though Snape hesitates a bit which makes James chuckle and pull him into the group. Quirrell is surprisingly nowhere to be found…

Like our present?

'You bet. But this is the one-time thing only, right? This kind of stuff is really Dark Arts.'

Yes. One-time thing. Per year.

'...Whoever calls you heartless must have never met you then.'

There are things I make exceptions. Don't expect it to happen frequently.

'Uncle would like to test that to the maximum.'

I'm talking about myself, not him.

"Blimey, Harry." The boy turns to his redhead friend whose mouth opens in shock. "I thought they're dead. How?"

"Don't ask me, ask my family."

"Harry!" Sirius calls him with a big grin. "You're the star here! Join us!"

"Coming!"

…

After the chaotic breakfast, Harry's group takes a stroll around the castle with the adults reminiscing about their school days while Harry listens with great interest. Sirius then brings up the stunt Harry pulled out to get the Snitch in his first game, which causes James to laugh and proudly compliment him.

Many portraits also express their surprises when the parent couple walks by, and they all greet them with great enthusiasm. One of the knight armors calls back of a time the Marauders tried to knock him over, causing all to chuckle at the good memory.

Upon the conversations, Harry can tell that everyone loves Lily Potter due to her intelligence and her kindness, while the three Marauders are painted to be chaotic and almost not caring too much about rules but still in a good manner. With a quick comparison, he can clearly tell that the Weasley twins are the next generation of the Marauders, and IF Anonydeath joins, Hogwarts would be their playhouse with no one able to stop them.

Speaking of the devil, when they go outside, the twins find him and call for a snowfight. Boys being boys, they all join in while Lily stays back and watches the fight with a smile, seeing all having fun.

Midfight, someone approaches her and she turns to see it's the Potion Master. The man's expression returned back to being stoic after the breakfast, but his eyes clearly showed some sort of affection to the woman. And she knows what it is.

"It's been a while, Severus."

"It's ten years long." He replies back, turning his eyes away and looking at the snowfight before him. Lily can see that he's not willing to look her in the eyes, not after what he has done. "I tried. I pleaded with You-Know-Who and he agreed."

"It happened. Let it go."

"It's because of me that you died."

"It didn't matter much, really. Voldemort would come to all who opposed him." Snape steals a small glance to see her smile never fades. "Still, I can see that you did have a heart."

"...For you, only."

"Isn't it obvious… What will you do now?"

"...What do you want me to do?"

"We're all adults here, Severus. I can't order you to do anything. I can only give you suggestions. And if you know me…"

"I do." The two turn silent for a moment, before he continues: "Harry… he's raised better than I expected."

"What? I see that he has James' early arrogance." Lily lets out a giggle, seeing her son inheriting his father's characteristics.

"With your talents backing it up. And that arrogance is more controlled, surely because of the people raising him up."

"You would never say that before him or James, wouldn't you?"

"Never."

Lily giggles once more, and notices that the boys seem to start cooling down. "You want to speak to them?"

"...No." Snape admits, and starts making a move of leaving. However, he stops for a second and says: "If possible, your son…"

"Is in danger. Mother's instinct." Lily can't see clearly, but she could tell the Potion Master nods lightly before he walks away. She stands up and heads to the snowfield, with all the boys smiling when they turn to her. "I think you boys have enough fun. Let's get inside to warm up."

It's fun while it lasts. And it's time for the dead to return back to where they should be.

"We will miss you both, my children."

"The same, Headmaster." James replies as he gives the old man a hug, then to the current Head of the Gryffindor. "Keep teaching them the best things, wouldn't you Professor?"

"I will." McGonagall nods, a small tear appears in her eyes. While James hugs the other Marauders and his son, the old lady gives one to Lily. "I wish we could talk a bit more."

"Maybe next year, if we're lucky." Lily replies, and they break the hug with smiles.

"Dad says it will be." Harry replies with confidence. "Also, Uncle's here."

"Don't ruin the fun Harry. Let them find me by themselves."

The hugging stops, and the adults look at where the Boy-Who-Lived is looking at, to see a person leaning on the gate of the school. Sirius and Remus are about to call out the name of the person they thought the 'Uncle' is, but they notice the significant change of air compared to the one they met before. The person's posture is more relaxed, and his clothes consist of just dark brown jeans with a white coat over his only shirt which makes the wizards feel cold just looking at him.

As the man approaches them, McGonagall shivers a bit and asks: "Aren't you feeling cold?"

"Of course!" To add the 'comedy' in, his body visibly shakes up a bit while hugging himself, causing Harry to laugh. "Hell's colder, though." The Marauders stiff up, trying to let out a burst of laughter. "Jokes aside, I can see that you're done with the goodbyes, correct?"

"Not really." Lupin scratches his head. "We have a lot to talk about. Ten years is not short."

"Then I guess next year's party's my place then." The 'Uncle' shrugs. "I will send the invitation later."

"Why not just revive them? You seem to have the power…"

"I can, old Dumbledore. I would rather not mess with the human's last moment though. Extending it, I can do that no problem, but if they already die, I would like it to stay like that."

"Aren't you being hypocritical here Uncle?"

"Hey, I didn't ask to be like this, okay? I mean, yeah, there are exceptions, but one in billions? You see my point."

The way the person moves his arms around with his tone comically tuned up causes James to lean on Sirius's shoulder while both laugh out loud. After it dies down, the former then asks: "So what's the ritual?"

"Nah, nothing. Just a walk in the park. Half-literally." 'Uncle' replies.

"Is it that easy?"

"Normally it isn't, Lily. I just have privileges when it comes to talking with the ones controlling Hells." He claps his hands and gets to the point: "Alright, if there's no more questions…"

"I do." The Headmaster interrupts: "My apology, but I need confirmation…"

"The guy ain't dead." The reply is spoken with a laid-back tone, which catches Dumbledore off-guard. "The underground buddies would be glad if you manage to send him to them. The guy seems to piss them off."

"...I see that you won't give everything out, however."

"I have a somewhat 'loose' contract about not spoiling everything, sorry." He tucks his tongue out while turning his eyes away with a shrug. After a minute of silence, he decides that nothing else is noted, so he places his hands on James and Lily's shoulder. "Last call." The duo nod, then turn to their friends, son and the Professors with a smile while the others also smile back. "Okay, here we go."

Before everyone else could even blink, the trio instantly disappears, like they were never there in the first place. Minerva and the two Marauders have to blink several times to make sure, before the former leans to the old man and asks: "Did you deactivate the spell?"

"Not in the slightest." The Transfiguration teacher widens her eyes in surprise, as the old man talks to the two male wizards: "The train's ready for you two. You can leave at any moment."

"Thank you." Lupin nods respectfully, then turns his attention to his friends' son. "We will see each other again soon."

"Good luck with your job." Harry replies back, shaking the man's hand. "You can ask Uncle Sirius to send messages too if needed."

"Will do." Sirius raises a thumb up then shakes Harry's hand as well. "Won the Quidditch Cup for the team, would ya?"

"You bet." The Boy-Who-Lived smirks and the two fist-bump.

After that, the Marauders leave the schoolground, leaving the two Professors and the young boy behind.

"This is one of my best Christmas holidays." Minerva can't help but hiccup, though she quickly stiffs it and calls for her student: "Harry, it's time to…"

"Minerva, I need to talk with him a bit. In private."

The Headmaster's order stops the Transfiguration for a moment, before she nods and wishes the two goodnight and leaves.

"What is…"

"Not here. Follow me."

While his tone never raises, Harry could tell it's something serious. Wordlessly he nods, and the duo retreats back inside the school.

After a while, they enter the Gargoyle Corridor. The Headmaster then approaches one of them, and whispers the name of a sweet if Harry hears it right. The gargoyle suddenly moves and jumps aside, showing a stairway behind it. Dumbledore gestures to follow him, and the boy obeys. And one look around the room they enter, Harry immediately can tell it's the Headmaster's Office.

"My boy…" Sitting down in his chair, Dumbledore says with a happy tone. "It might be the best holiday I have ever gotten in my life. And I don't mean it lightly."

"Mine too." Harry smiles back. "Though, I have to ask for forgiveness for my Uncle's intrusion."

"Worry not. Miss Croire has done it a couple of times already, I wasn't really surprised when he showed up." His tone then turns slightly into a whisper: "Can he really call up for anyone?"

"Technically, he can. He won't do it for free that easily, however. I guess he just made exceptions because I'm under his protection, and technically his niece."

"Fair point."

"...Is it because of that night's story?"

"You are sharp, my boy. However, I won't ask you for it. Instead, I have different matters in mind… And it's about you." A moment later, he continues: "Only a few selective people knew this matter. There's a prophecy about you."

The Boy-Who-Lived drops his smile, knowing this is a serious thing.

"It's no coincidence that You-Know-Who targeted you. Simply put, the prophecy predicted that one of you must die."

"...Since it's a prophecy, it can be prevented, correct?"

"Given my life experience… I'm sorry, but it will happen."

"But if You-Know-Who needs to die… I mean, MANY want him dead… or there's another part of it?"

"...Yes." The old man admits. "Its general meaning is: There's a child who was born at the end of July, from the parents who fought the Dark Lord thrice, who has the power to fight against the Dark Lord. He will mark the child as his equal, but the child has the power the Dark Lord didn't know, and one must die by the hand of the other."

A few minutes of silence, as Harry tries to understand what it means. The Headmaster notices it, and he materializes out a chair and gestures to the boy to sit. Harry thanks him and does so, thinking of what he just heard.

"...There's another thing: The Dark Lord only heard the first half." Dumbledore adds.

"...It means it could be any child that was born…"

"And marked by You-Know-Who himself. He chose to target you, Harry."

"...So somehow I got a power I never knew…" He changes to a different part of the prophecy…

"It's not actually complicated." Harry's eyes glance at him in surprise. "That's the reason why my first choice was to leave you to your last relatives. Despite others' protests."

"...Then I will try to find it myself. You don't need to tell me."

"Oh, you don't want to know?" Dumbledore's eyes twinkle in curiosity. The mood's lightened up a bit.

"I'm curious, I won't deny it. But, finding it by myself feels good."

"*Chuckle* My boy, a small help wouldn't hurt."

"I know. But your help might spoil it, so thanks but I'm good." The atmosphere returns back to being serious. "Professor Quirrell…"

"There's no other safe place to move the item in a quick notice. The only thing we can do for now…"

"Why don't you destroy it? Or is it indestructible?"

"...You haven't found out what it is?"

"No. Should I?"

"...I was surprised, that's all. Do you want to know?"

"Eh… maybe? I don't think it matters much."

Dumbledore's about to say something, but then something hits in his brain as he starts making some connections of events…

"Headmaster?"

"Ah, sorry my boy, I was thinking about something… It's a bit late already. Let me get you back to your dorm." The old man turns to look at his clock before announcing it and standing up…

"So, I have to face him alone one day." Harry has already stood up before Dumbledore, and understands his current position right now.

"...I hope it's not too soon. But yes, you will have to face him. Alone or not, that I do not know."

The Boy-Who-Lived nods, seeing that the Headmaster doesn't want to say anything further. And because of it, the trip back to Gryffindor Tower fills with silence with the exception of the step sounds. Filch almost shouts when he sees Harry, but closes his mouth instantly when he sees the Headmaster behind him. After exchanging some small words, the Caretaker walks away, grunting under his breath about not being able to 'punish bad students'.

In the end, they reach the portrait of the Fat Lady. The Headmaster says his goodnight and leaves, and Harry says the password to the lady. Though he has to wait a bit when Fat Lady talks about how she was glad to see his real parents again. And when he enters the Common Room, everyone except the Weasley twin immediately questions how the people who were supposedly dead were suddenly alive again.

His only possible response is: "Ask my parents, don't ask me. I have never seen them going all out once."

Eventually, they let him go, knowing that the boy himself doesn't have a full understanding of his guardians' power. They still chat a bit more before everyone gets to their beds, ending the night…

'I guess it's time to re-practice the spells before it happens.'