Chapter 25
LB
I was covered under thick blankets that weighed down on me, which I loved. I was snuggled up and fast asleep when a voice boomed through the room.
"Merry Christmas, cub!" Moony jubilant voice echoed. I groaned from under my blankets, nuzzling my face even more in my pillow. I felt the bed dip as he sat down next to me. He moved the blanket, to reveal my hair all over the place, my face hidden under my dark locks. "Ready to get up? It's nearly nine."
"Humpfh."
"I guess I'm going to muggle London myself then."
I bolted up quickly, my hair standing in every direction as I looked to Moony wide eyed. Then a frown appeared on my face. "It's Christmas."
"That's why I greeted you with Merry Christmas, yes." He said with a grin.
"Nothing is open on Christmas."
"This one is."
"How?"
"It's someone I used to know." He said vaguely as he stood up. "Now, get dressed. We have to be there in an hour, and you know we have the rest of the day planned." He said as he walked to the door. When he closed the door behind him, I jumped out of bed with a large grin. I sprinted to the bathroom and took a quick shower. I came back out in jeans and a loose sweater, my hair tied up in high lose bun. Moony was waiting for me in the joined living chambers as he was leaning against the couch flipping through a book.
"I'm ready." I clapped my hands together in excitement.
"We'll floo over to the Leaky Cauldron and do the rest on foot." He offered his arm and guided me to our own fireplace. He let me step in first as he took a handful of floo powder. And with green flames, we were gone.
Half an hour later we were standing in muggle London, what is normally a busy street, was now dead quiet. We were both glancing through the dark shopwindow as the snow blazed by. "Are you sure you want to do this?" He asked, looking away from the window to me.
"You know I wanted this forever. I've been asking you for the last two years. Are you sure you're okay with it?"
"I am, you're turning seventeen next year, so even if I say no, I know you're going to get one then. And I like to be there with you, especially this one." He wrapped an arm around me.
"I'm happy you're here too." I wrapped my own arm around his waist. The door of the shop opened and a man a little older than uncle Moony looked at us with a smile.
"Lupin! Long time." He said as he shook his hand, before giving him half a hug.
"Norris, good to see you. How are you?" He asked. The man named Norris, stepped aside and gestured us in.
"Good. Business is going well. Opened my second shop in Edinburgh last year." He smiled his pearly white teeth. He was a handsome man, about as tall as Moony, with green eyes and blonde hair tied up in the back. "So, who's the client for today?" He asked as his eyes lingered on me.
"Right, well." He cleared his throat and looked from the man to me. "My niece, Alec. Alec, this is Damien Norris, an old friend of mine."
"Nice to meet you." I held out my hand. He shook it as his eyes searched for something and looked to Remus with a raised eyebrow. With Moony's evasiveness, telling me he's an old friend, and the fact that Sirius was covered with tattoo's, he must've figured out who I was, as I resembled him more than I liked to admit. "Lupin is my guardian, so he's giving me permission."
"Oh, don't worry about that." He winked and guided us to the back of the shop. The room he guided us to was small with a large window on one side. A long, small table was placed against the wall, filled with tools. There were two stools on wheels in the room and one large leather chair in the middle of the room under a bright light. "Hop on, love." He patted the leather chair.
I hopped on the chair and Norris sat down on one of the stools and rolled closer. He looked over his shoulder and nudged his head to the other stool for Moony to sit on. Moony pushed the chair on my other side and sat down.
"Alright, now that everyone is seated. What can I do for you, Alec?"
I took a piece of paper from my pocket and handed it over. "I want this, right here." I pointed to the spot just under my elbow pit. I watched as he studied the paper.
"Can I ask why this?" He asked as he copied to the paper.
"My mum's name was Cordelia, which means heart." I said as I watch him gather the supplies. "She died when I was four."
Damien looked from Remus to me. "I'm sorry." I nodded my head, not knowing what to reply. "I'll put the imprint here and then I'll start. If it hurts to much, just give me a shout, alright?"
"Yeah." I nodded again as I laid my arm flat on the armrest. After he placed the imprint on my arm, he gathered the tattoo needle and ink. Moony took hold of my free hand and gave it a squeeze. Norris gave me a warm smile before turning on the equipment, the buzzing sound filled the room. When the needle hit my skin, I clenched my hand around Moony's. He didn't even flinch, he just grazed my hand with his thumb. My eyes watched the man work, the needle, his fingers going delicately over my skin. I was mesmerized by the way it moved over my skin, marking me permanently. Before I knew it, he finished it, and I was the brand-new owner of my first tattoo. The tattoo was just a simple black outline from a heart, a little shadow colouring inside. My grin was wide as tears clouded my eyesight. "Thank you, it's beautiful. Your work is amazing."
"You made the design." He said with a smile as he put a paste on the tattoo. "Keep the tattoo clean, don't go swimming for a few weeks, and rub it in with this." He handed me a tube of cream. "Don't let it dry out."
"I will." He helped me off the chair with a large smile and looked down at me. "Thank you for making the time for me today."
"No worries. Anything for friends. Now." He looked at me with a grin. "You can see me when you're ready for your next tattoo."
"Which won't be for at least a year." Moony said behind me. Norris and I exchanged a look before we both chuckled.
"Right." Norris said trying to pull a straight face. "Don't be a stranger, Remus."
"I'll try." They shook hands when we reached the front door of the shop. "Merry Christmas, Norris."
"You too." He turned to me and took my hand in his and leaned down to place a kiss on it. "Merry Christmas, love."
"Merry Christmas, Damien." I shook my head with a chuckle. "I'll see you soon."
"Not too soon." I chimed with Moony, because I knew him so well, I knew what he was going to say. He mumbled something incoherent, and Norris and I laughed.
LB
We had just finished our gingerbread houses, made our own tree decorations, singing crazy and loudly on Christmas songs with extravagate dancing, and were now on our way to the kitchens. The castle was beautiful decorated with garlands and lights, Christmas trees around every corner. Moony tickled the pear and the portrait opened up, revealing the kitchens behind it.
"We can cook here, or in our chambers." Remus said as he walked in behind me.
"Our chambers if you don't mind." I said as a house elf came over in an instant. Remus spoke to the elf as I looked around the large kitchens, seeing numerous house elves strut around, making dinner for the remaining students and staff. The house elf disappeared before reappearing with a large basket a second later. We thanked the house elf, before heading out of the kitchens. "I like Christmas at the castle, but I rather spend it in our own room. The whole move has been a lot, and spending our Christmas together in our small kitchen, it just takes me back to when it was just us two."
"I know what you mean. Even though I grew up here and spend most of my days surrounded by my friends, I got used to it being just the two of us, especially on Christmas. You're my family now."
"And you're mine." I nudged my arm against him with a smile before opening the door to our chambers. "Let's get cooking!" I rubbed my hands together as he placed the basket on the table.
Stomachs filled with delicious homemade food; we settled down on the floor in front of the fire. With a wave of his wand, the presents came flying over from under our own Christmas tree. My pile larger than Moony's, but he didn't seem to mind. And just like the years before, we started off with the presents we got for each other.
"Since I got you a whole new set of robes for landing this job, which you are brilliant at, I might add." I grinned. "I thought I would get you something else." I said pointing at the large package in front of him. He pursed his lips at me before turning his attention to the present.
"I hope you didn't spend too much money on this."
"Just open up, uncle Moony." I huffed as I waved my hand. He started to open the wrapping, revealing French press coffeemaker and a pair of old man slippers.
"Just what I wanted." He laughed holding up the fuzzy slippers.
"I know you always get cold feet, and your other ones are in dire need of replacement." I chuckled as he scoffed. "And I know you miss your old coffee maker. And don't lie to me-" I pointed my finger at him. "I know how bad coffee makes you grumpy, and you've been grumpy every morning since we arrived here."
"I am not." He scoffed again, leaving his mouth open.
"Yeah, right." I rolled my eyes with a laugh. "You like it?"
"I love it, cub. But spending the day with you is all I need. I love you." He smiled. "Now open yours."
I glanced down at the pile and picked up the top present. I took the small box in my hands and clicked it open. It was a ring; with a vintage rose gold band, and a green oval emerald. "Oh, wow!" I gasped as I took out the ring. "It's beautiful."
"It was your mothers." I looked up to him with large eyes. "It's been in your family for ages actually. It took me a while to track it down, even enlisted the help of Narcissa. But I wanted you to have something that belonged to your mum." By the time he finished talking, I was already crying. I jumped over the presents and wrapped my arms around him. He rubbed my back softly as I cried on his shoulder.
"Thank you, dad." I whispered in his neck. His hand stilled for a moment before it repeated the movements. I haven't called him dad a lot. I think I've only said it a handful of times in the years since he became my legal guardian. He was in every sense my father, my dad. I loved him like I loved my mum. I don't care if I had another father out there, even if Sirius was hiding in the forest behind the castle, Moony was mine. He didn't want me to call him that, I don't know why exactly, but I think he didn't want to take Sirius Black's place even with what he supposedly had done. The few times I had called him dad, was in times of distress, emotional overload, or when I was beyond scared. But now was a right time to call him that, to let him know what he meant to me.
"Anything for you, cub." He kissed the top of my head.