Chapter 44: The Lives of the Party - Dec 1994

Weighed down by many other things, Harry wasn't exactly looking forward to attending Slughorn's Christmas party. However, the company was shaping up to be top-notch.

Most of Gryffindor House was aware that Lavender was interested in attending. Harry thought she wanted an invite from a specific person. Hermione took the hint and asked Lavender "as a thank you" for helping her connect with her aunt.

Hermione tried to use Slughorn's party as an excuse for why they shouldn't also host a Gryffindor House dance a month later, but Lavender stood firm. "That's going to have a totally different atmosphere! Better music, more attendees our age, and more dancing!"

Once her own date to the Christmas party was secured, Lavender told both Ron and Harry that Parvati would also be interested in going with someone as a friend. Ron took that hint.

Harry might have asked George Weasley, but he had his own invitation. So, Harry invited Luna, as he had for Slughorn's party in the other timeline.

The night of the party, the group walked towards Slughorn's magically expanded office together. They mixed with the Weasley twins and their dates: Angelina and Alicia. Harry also spotted Cedric and Cho looking cozy in a corner.

Eventually the only other fourth year came over to their group: Pansy Parkinson. She was the date of an older Slytherin boy that Harry didn't know.

Harry greeted her, "Hello, Parkinson."

She matched his tone. "Potter, Weasleys, Granger, Patil, Lovegood."

They chatted somewhat awkwardly about the food and other guests.

Pansy turned to leave but then said to Hermione, "I thought Harry was the best of this little club you have here. But Granger isn't all that bad now. The know-it-all act from first year was quite tiresome."

Hermione shrugged and tried to look indifferent. Harry knew that Hermione had been forced to reign herself in somewhat. If she hadn't, then her future knowledge would have been suspicious. Harry admired her self-control when both hot-headedness and stone-cold iciness were more his friend's style.

Lavender came to Hermione's defense, "She grew out of it."

Pansy finished her drink. "That's what I'm saying. Whatever, bye."

Lavender turned to Hermione, "Obviously, you're still the smartest in our year. But everyone knows that anyway. Let's dance over closer to the music."

Harry and the rest followed them.

Pansy came back again to make fun of Harry's terrible dancing. He took it in stride. Luna said it was perfect, at any rate.

Slughorn eventually made his way around to Harry. He brought a witch that Harry didn't recognize, but he knew her date by name at least: Bertha Jorkins.

Connection mastermind he was, Slughorn quickly left him and Luna to make conversation with the two Ministry movers-and-shakers.

The first witch told them about her advocacy for magical creature rights. She concluded by telling them, "I knew that I'd have a receptive audience in you because I'd heard about that house elf that Harry Potter freed at King's Cross."

Harry recovered quickly from the surprise of being known already to this person. "Ah. Yes, Dobby is a friend and doing quite well."

The witch pointed to her date and said proudly, "Bertha here is behind the current legislative push for tougher sanctions for memory charm use, particularly if it results in permanent damage."

Harry said, "That sounds like a worthy cause."

"It is! And it's so personal to me, as you might have heard from the papers. Old Sluggy may not have thought much of me at school, but I've found my way."

"Er, and how do you think your activism is going, Miss Jorkins?"

"Quite well. Because of the sudden departure of a particular blond snake," her face darkened, "A major obstacle to getting anything to the Wizenagmont has been cleared. I've heard he might be returning soon, but he's old news. The new power around there has a relative who had been attacked by Gilderoy Lockhart. You might remember him as a professor here two years ago."

"We remember," Harry and Luna said in sync.

"Well anyway, Lockhart's victims have also done a lot of the hard parts. I'm… a bit limited by my memory problems but I do what I can. In addition to more regulation and punishment for misuse, I'm hoping to secure some funding for memory charm recovery care."

Knowing that Cedric, Bertha, and Dobby were now living their lives while Voldemort was dead reminded Harry of the enormous significance of the trio's plans. They had spent much more time focused on defeating the Dark Lord, but the "saving lives" part of the plan felt more like victory.

Harry had been torn about whether to send his mother some sort of invitation for Christmas Day. On one hand, it might signal more acceptance of his mother than he really felt. He intended it mostly as an opportunity to get to know each other better. On the other hand, any sort of response (or non-response) to an offer could get Harry more information. Harry was so tired of watching and waiting.

The night Harry came home from Hogwarts for winter break, he decided to ask his roommates about it. "Do any of you have a problem with me inviting Snape — as in Severus Snape — to join us for Christmas dinner?"

Sirius smothered a look of confusion at Harry's question quickly. "If it's important to you, that's fine with me. The more the merrier! I've already invited my cousin Andromeda and her family, too."

Remus said casually, "Any particular reason? Your Professor Snape doesn't strike me as a fan of… holidays."

"Just a thought I had. Forget it." Harry didn't know how to explain himself to this group.

Petunia picked up the slack. "I think you should. His parents died years ago, and he doesn't have any siblings. We need someone properly grouchy here, or we'll go soft now that Acturus is gone."

"Heaven forbid." Remus wasn't persuaded.

Sirius overruled him. "Invite Snape. I'd be surprised if he accepts, but it's a nice thought anyway. From what he's said this year and last, it's obvious to me that he cares about you… in his own sort of way."

"Thanks, Sirius and Petunia. No thanks to Remus." Harry stood up and shot a coy smile at the werewolf.

"Hey!" He joked back.

Harry penned a letter to Lily-as-Snape immediately.

He received a response the following evening:

Harry,

Thank you for the kind invitation, but I must decline.

I am incredibly busy with my potions research, having not expected to return to school mid-year. Or indeed at all. A portion of my research was so dangerous that I have already crafted a will, if you can believe it.

Professor Slughorn talked my work up to a connection of his, and I aspire to live up to his praise. This is especially true if I want to ever publish in a particular journal again. It's a rather tedious tale so I will spare you the details.

Merry Christmas,

Severus (Mr. Scrooge)

It was an extraordinary letter, in Harry's opinion.

Harry had gotten a handful of letters from his mother, but this was the first one that was signed. She even alluded to a conversation that they'd had two years prior.

The idea that Lily expected to die in service to Voldemort was written… so plainly. That expectation was both sad and well-founded. In the other timeline, that's what happened.

Harry also thought the idea that Lily was doing work so that she could come back to Hogwarts and could continue getting Potions work published… Harry practically jumped for joy.

She lived. She lives!

In comparison to that, the disappointment of his rejected invitation was easily manageable.

However, there would still be a controversial guest at the Grimmauld Place over that holiday break.

Harry was told shortly after arriving home that Dudley Dursley would be coming to stay with his mother for the entire two weeks he had off school. He had also spent a week at Grimmauld over the summer, but Harry had hardly seen him.

Still, Harry knew quite a bit about how his previous week at 12 Grimmauld Place had gone:

Harry knew that his cousin hated the house's lack of a television. So, Petunia had taken him to the cinema every day that week.

Dudley was rude to Dobby, who then refused to cook for him. Petunia had taken him out to restaurants for extravagant meals.

Dudley had missed his friends, so Petunia had run herself ragged driving him to Surrey.

Harry had felt a small amount of pity for his aunt, who had always wanted her son to like her. She had tried so hard that she let him walk all over her, which turned him into a terror of a kid.

As Harry waited for Petunia to drive his cousin back from his private school for winter break, Harry noted that Petunia's parenting style with Dudley was the complete opposite of Harry's experience with both Petunia and Lily-as-Snape. Harry reflected that he probably never would have wanted Petunia to mother him the same way, even though her generosity had seemed impossibly wonderful when he was young.

When Dudley arrived at 12 Grimmauld Place, he immediately stomped up the stairs to his bedroom and slammed the door.

When Harry walked to the entrance hall to see what the noise was about, Petunia explained to Harry, "Sirius helped me with some new rules for Dudley. He has to either apologize to Dobby or do his own cooking. I'm only driving him to Surrey once per break, and he'll have to figure out his own entertainment while he's here." Her eyes were watery and her tone was flat.

"That sounds reasonable."

"I'm not his friend. I'm his mum, and he needs to shape up into the young man he wants to be. Life's not all endless television and piles of sweets."

Harry filed that idea away.

Petunia looked up the stairs. "I know that you hate me, but he hates me too. I can't stand it. I've made a decade's worth of mistakes."

"I don't hate you," Harry said quietly.

"Well, that's something." She set down her purse and took off her shoes. "I'm going to go make tea. Would you like some?"

A few days later, Harry was in the sitting room listening to music with Sirius' record player. Dudley came in and flopped onto the settee dramatically.

"There's nothing to do here."

"You're not… wrong."

"There isn't even a cassette tape player. No one would expect that wizards are so boring." Dudley wrinkled his nose.

Harry didn't feel obligated to be nice. He knew that Sirius and Petunia would let him make his own choices about his relationship with Dudley, even though they almost certainly told his cousin explicitly not to pick fights with Harry.

However, Harry chose to give Dudley a chance. "What sorts of things do you do in your free time at school?"

"Sports, mostly. But there's no place here for it. The back garden is all covered in weeds. Sirius says they're dangerous."

"They probably are," Harry admitted. "We could ask Sirius if he needs help cleaning it up. Then we could at least kick a football around in it."

"Beats staring at the walls. Let's go ask."

Sirius, Remus, and Dobby were able to clear the backyard in a single day. Harry and Dudley weren't able to help much, so they watched through a window from safely inside the house.

"What sort of plant is that?"

"Ooh that's a venomous tentacula. They can be a bit nasty, but they only really want to eat insects. The venom is just for protection."

After several such questions, Dudley asked, "How do you know so much about these sorts of plants?"

That led Harry to talking about Hogwarts classes. In return, Harry asked about Dudley's classes. It was an ordinary sort of conversation.

"Ta-da! All done." Sirius announced at supper that night. "Now that there are no plants, I've charmed the temperature so it's comfortable to be in at this time of year in London."

"Excellent." Harry and Dudley traded excited looks. "Thanks, all of you."

The pair enjoyed their new outdoor space. They still traded barbs, but they didn't sting.

"You think you can get past me, wizard boy?"

"You can't even see me, I'm so much faster than you."

"No fair. That's a foul!"

"He scores and the crowd goes wild!"

"Reign your bragging in; your kick only went ten feet."

Panting and sweating, the pair splayed out on the ground on Christmas Eve.

"Does… your school have any sports?" Dudley still avoided naming Hogwarts, as Vernon had trained the household to do.

"Only one: quidditch." Harry explained the basic rules.

"Do you play?"

"I did. I gave it up over a year ago for a lot of reasons. In my last game, I was knocked out cold."

"Whoa."

"I'm fine, obviously. Wizards are pretty hardy, and magical medicine sorts us out quick."

"What— what are your other reasons? For not playing," Dudley clarified.

Harry tried to remember what all Hagrid had mentioned in front of Dudley all those years ago. "Do you… do you remember how I'm sort of famous among wizards?"

"That scary man said so."

"Hagrid is a good sort, usually." Harry paused, thinking over Dudley and Hagrid's interaction again. "Hmm… I can see why you'd be afraid of him, though. He wasn't very nice to you."

Dudley said coldly, "No, he wasn't."

"To answer your question, the kids at my school see me as a big hero, for defeating an evil wizard as a baby. They have all of these expectations for me, and playing that sport well felt like it fit that image. Playing quidditch wasn't bad, but sometimes I just wanted to fly around."

"That's… Huh. Very weird."

Harry laughed, "It is."

"Are you, like, mad at my mum?"

Harry was caught out by the non-sequitur. "No?"

"She… didn't treat you very well."

"I forgave her. Things are better now." These things were both true. Harry didn't think he would ever completely trust or rely on her, but their new roommate-like relationship worked fairly well for them.

Dudley stood up and brushed himself off. "Cool."

Christmas dinner was a joyful time. Sirius sat at the table and gave a short, warm speech before they started to eat. Petunia and Dobby complemented each others' dishes. Lupin ate two helpings of everything.

Andromeda looked so happy, much happier than after the war the other timeline. Her daughter Tonks was friendly and cheerful with both Harry and Dudley. The latter was an eager listener: Dudley wanted to hear all about working in magical law enforcement.

Harry relaxed as he listened. It was all stuff Harry already knew from his own future-past time as an auror trainee. This time, he knew that he would try for a different career.

Surrounded by the wonderful company, Harry was full of gratitude. He looked forward to learning more about his mother when she returned to the school. But if they didn't reconcile, Harry knew that he would be okay eventually. His life was full of love.

A few days into winter break, Hermione told her parents about her discovery.

"I may have figured out who my parents are. Based on my test, one of my professors may be my aunt." Hermione explained the relation-checking spell (but not the prophecy, which seemed a bridge too far). "That couple died in Voldemort's war, which is the one that ended in 1981 with the Potters."

After several beats of silence, Hermione's father remarked lightly, "It's still hard for me to believe that a baby could end a war."

"Er, I personally think that it was actually his mother in a sacrificial sort of magic to protect her son. She was very smart. We'll probably never know for sure." Hermione cringed a little at the white lie, but it was the best she could do.

"And this baby is your friend Harry, who's fourteen now?"

"Right. My friend Ron lost some uncles too. Many of my classmates were… affected as well. Our year is quite small."

Mr. Granger reached for his wife's hand. "I'm glad that business is done with."

Hermione couldn't have agreed more. She finally felt the enormity of the trio's actions in preventing Voldemort's second rise.

Mr. Granger cleared his throat, then started to ask about Professor Trelawney.

Hermione's father seemed a bit skeptical about the field of Divination. Hermione took this as an opportunity to explain about the essays that she'd been writing in lieu of standard prediction-based assignments.

Of course Hermione had kept every essay. Her mother praised her research and writing skills. Her father complemented her open-mindedness combined with rigorous analysis.

"Do you think this Professor Trelawney is someone we should invite for tea?"

"She's not the most social, but we can certainly ask."

The Grangers spent the rest of the break together in typical forms of merriment: making paper snowflakes, ice skating, and listening to carolers.

Ron would again miss his friends over the break, but he was happy for another Weasley Christmas regardless. Bill, Charlie, and Percy all came to the Burrow for Christmas Day.

Fred and George took most of Charlie's attention, asking him extensive questions about his job working with dragons. By the time he left, the twins had a list of inventions they could market to creature reserves as well as a second list of silly dragon-themed toys and gift items.

Their mother praised their creativity and business sense but told them to not get too carried away. "You've still got NEWT exams! Only one and a half years before you can chase your dreams."

Ron appreciated her shift in attitude from the other timeline.

He also appreciated Percy's.

Their father suggested Percy practice his "foreign dignitary" skills with his youngest siblings.

Ron and Ginny responded as younger siblings do. They took the assignment very literally, making Percy feign interest in the made-up lore for the fake countries they pretended to represent.

The two countries eventually declared war on the British Ministry for Magic, which exercised Percy's new conflict resolution skills. The three siblings finally reached a peace agreement and shook hands.

Ron praised, "Great work, Percy."

"Thank you, Ronald. That was fun. Would you like to pull a cracker?"

Percy put on the hat, a purple tricorn with a lime green feather.

Cheeks aching from smiling, Ron slept contentedly that night.

The next day, Ron asked Ginny about the letter he saw her surreptitiously take off an eagle owl during the family's Christmas festivities.

"It's from Draco. He's coming back to Hogwarts soon, since he hates it at Durmstrang."

Ron reflected that Lucius Malfoy might have noticed the change to his Dark Mark. He may have owled Snape about it, but Ron didn't have a sense of what a response would say.

With Voldemort gone, Lily-as-Snape wouldn't necessarily have to play nice with a Malfoy. But who knows what her goals are now?

On the subject of Malfoys, Ron had the teensiest, smallest, most minor sense of regret that his letter to Lucius Malfoy had resulted in Draco no longer being in Ron's Care of Magical Creatures classes.

Obviously, the strategy paid off very well, so Ron would do it again in a heartbeat.

Still, Ron was wary of the power he had wielded then. He realized that all of his strategies that mattered were going to affect people. Some of those people would be those he… cared about? Ulg, nope. Never mind. Ron left that particular lesson unexamined.