So far, Christmas had been delightful. Harry and Severus were spending it with the Malfoy's, and right now they were just talking after enjoying lunch together. Harry did show Draco his room, and the two of them had their own private conversation upstairs for a little bit; it was Draco asking Harry if he and Severus had truly made up and were doing better.
Harry told Draco everything was fine between them and they were now working at seeing how things would develop with a plan in mind for if there was a next time with arguing. Draco was happy to hear his godfather and best friend made up, and planning to stay together to see where things ended up for them. Harry and Draco were still up in Harry's room, talking about the possibility of getting together with their friends over the holiday break. Downstairs, Severus sat with Narcissa and Lucius, just relaxing and having a calm conversation.
"Things are truly settled with you and Harry, Severus?" Narcissa asked.
"Yes, we spoke yesterday after lunch." Severus replied to the woman. "I believe that things will be fine now, we did discuss this morning that all couples fight and the next one we should have would be handled better." He informed.
"That's good to hear," Lucius stated. "Then the remainder of your marriage to Harry until he's seventeen should be smooth."
"Unless things prove they're not working out between us when that point reaches, Harry and I have agreed to stay together." Severus told his friends.
"What?" Lucius and Narcissa stared at the potions master in surprise at what he revealed.
"Why is that so shocking?" Severus questioned. "You spoke of our bond representing soulmates, so we've elected to stay together unless we feel that it's not going to work. Soulmates don't have to be lovers, they can be friends or just meant to be part of each other's lives. I took a vow on Lily's body the night she was murdered that I would protect her son, perhaps that was a factor."
"I don't know, we're not questioning things anymore." He told them calmly. "We agreed to take the journey to find out what it means together, forgoing the arrangement to end things when he turns seventeen, to see where things go on their own when we're both on the same page of giving this an honest try."
"Oh, Severus…That's so lovely to hear!" Narcissa smiled.
"Yes, very nice." Lucius nodded.
Suddenly, Harry's owl swooped through the fireplace and landed on her perch with a hoot; she was carrying a medium-sized box. "Harry!" Severus called up to his husband.
"Yeah, Sev?" Harry replied after the door upstairs opened.
"Your owl is here with a package," Severus informed lightly.
"Coming!" Harry responded. A few moments later, Harry was coming down the stairs with Draco, and then they both entered the room. "Her name is Hedwig, by the way," He chuckled before sitting next to Severus on the couch and Hedwig instantly went over to land on Harry's arm, then drop the package in his lap before squawking and nuzzling her face to Harry's cheek, nose and forehead. "Hello my girl."
"She adores you," Narcissa beamed. "You must have had a connection the moment you saw her in the pet shop in Diagon Alley and chose her."
"I didn't choose her," Harry stated. "Hagrid did, as a birthday present."
"The giant?" Draco asked.
"Mmhm. He's the one who told me I was a wizard, and gave me my letter, then took me into Diagon Alley to get my things for school in first year. Second year, I was with the Weasley's. Third year, Fudge said he had them brought to me. I stayed at the Leaky Cauldron that night until going to the platform to take the train back to Hogwarts. I think fourth and fifth year I went to Diagon Alley with Sirius and Remus." Harry recalled.
"Why were you staying at the Leaky Cauldron? That was before Sirius was cleared of charges and you got to live with him. You were supposed to be with your muggle relatives." Severus wondered.
"My uncle's annoying sister came to visit and she was talking bad about my parents, so I got mad and accidently blew her up like a balloon…My uncle wanted me to fix it and I refused, so I left the house and got picked up by the Knight Bus, then went to the Leaky Cauldron. Fudge met me there, told me they fixed my aunt and altered her memory." Harry explained.
"Blew her up like a balloon?" Draco blinked.
"Yeah." Harry nodded.
"With what spell?" Lucius asked.
"Didn't use one. I was just angry at her and the lights flickered, then she started to blow up, eventually float away." Harry shrugged.
"Did you have your wand on you?" Narcissa asked.
"No. My aunt and uncle never let me have my school stuff during the summer. It was locked in the cupboard under the stairs, which used to be my bedroom until first year at Hogwarts. Then I got Dudley's toy room." Harry informed lightly.
"Wandless and wordless, impressive for thirteen. It's not taught until seventh year at Hogwarts." Severus mentioned.
"So what did you get?" Draco asked, motioning to the package in Harry's lap.
"Dunno, maybe from the Weasley's? They always send me a sweater with my first name's initials on it." Harry shrugged as Hedwig went back to her perch and Harry removed the strings, then opened the flaps to look inside. There were wrapped gifts, and a letter. Harry pulled the tri-folded letter out and opened it.
"Harry, Merry Christmas. Remus said you weren't feeling well and wouldn't be joining us for Christmas this year. That saddens me, but I hope you feel better. Your gifts from us are enclosed, they're under a shrink charm so it wouldn't be heavy for Hedwig. We hope you like them and get to see you sometime over the holiday. Remember that we love you as one of our clan. Always, your second family, The Weasley's. Oh, and Hermione sends her love too."
"You told us you were feeling better!" Draco glared at his friend.
"A-And I am! Calm down, Dray…Remus is just covering why I'm not living at Grimmauld. I normally spend the holiday with the Weasley's. Nobody knows Severus and I are married. I haven't even told Remus…I know he'll tell Sirius, and he really will lose it if he finds out." Harry informed. "Remus knows I'm living here, just not the depth of how Severus has…Custody of me."
"Okay…Just making sure you're okay. Don't give me a hard time because I care about my brother-figure." Draco told Harry.
"Aw, I didn't know you loved me so much." Harry smiled.
"Well, I love Blaise, Vin, Greg, Theo, and Pansy the same. Like siblings." Draco informed. "But yes, I see you like family. You're married to my godfather, who is basically my uncle."
Harry pulled out the miniature gifts and Severus used his wand to flick them back to normal size for his husband. "Thanks." Harry said to the man as Severus nodded. Harry picked up the soft square one. "That'll be the sweater…" Harry easily tore the wrapper and found a Slytherin green knitted sweater with a big silver H on the front.
"She makes one every year, for her whole family and anyone close to them. Molly's a saint." The next gift was an assortment of sweets. "This must be from Ron." Then he found a couple books. "Definitely from Hermione." The last bit was joke-shop things. "Absolutely from the twins." He laughed a little. The last gift in the box was a rubber duck. "From Arthur."
"Why a rubber duck?" Severus inquired.
"It's an ongoing joke between us. In second year when Ron, Fred, and George broke me out of the Dursley's house with that flying car because my uncle put bars on my window and about six locks on the outside of bedroom door, Mr. Weasley came home from work and sat down to breakfast."
"He noticed me right away and one of the first things he ever asked was what the function of a rubber duck was. So every year, he sends me a duck, assumingly because he thinks it's for gift-giving. I don't have the heart to tell them their children's play toys for a bath." Harry shrugged.
"They broke you out of your relatives home in the blasted car?" Severus snorted.
"Mmhm. My uncle locked me in the room, Ron was worried why I hadn't sent letters all summer, so they showed up and tore the bars off and took me to their house. And be nice to the car, that thing is awesome." Harry remarked. "It saved mine and Ron's lives in the forbidden forest during second year."
"You obviously left out some things from your second year story. Pray tell how the car saved you…" Severus sighed.
"Well…It was when Lucius came to remove Dumbledore…Hagrid made a comment that if anyone was looking for some information, which Ron and I were, and there under the invisibility cloak, to follow the spiders. So we followed the spiders into the forest and came across Aragog." Harry informed.
"The spider you said Tom Riddle accused of being the monster?" Draco asked.
"Yes. So I talked to Aragog about the monster, trying to get clues…Then Aragog basically send his little spider friends after Ron and me. The car showed up and drove us out of the forest. We'd have been killed there otherwise. Aragog said that they wouldn't harm Hagrid, but wouldn't deny themselves fresh meat when it wandered into the forest so willingly." Harry muttered. Aragog is massive spider…Acromantula, I think Hagrid said he was."
"Another creature whose venom and parts are good for potions…" Severus said.
"I could probably get you some if you wanted." Harry offered.
"Why the hell did you and Weasley take that car to school? You realize how dangerous that was and seen by muggles, no less." The potions master sighed.
"We didn't have a choice. The passageway onto platform nine and three quarters was blocked. I found out later that it had been Dobby, he was trying to protect me from going back to school that year. He knew it was dangerous, never said why. He's the one who stopped all my letters too, and enchanted the bludger during that quidditch match. We only took the car to get to school…" Harry looked down.
"You should have sent word, or waited for the Weasley parents to come back through to let us know. At that point, Dumbledore would have probably opened his floo to let you come through from their house." Severus sighed.
"We were twelve and panicked…" Harry reminded. "We weren't sure if the others were gonna get back through. It was entirely Ron's idea!"
"Fair," Draco snickered. "Are they still trying to get your forgiveness?"
"They have it. I forgave everyone for what happened in fourth year. They are, however, still earning my trust back. Even if they do, it'd never be the same again." Harry stated as he set the box down on the floor and piled the rest of his gifts in it for easier carrying upstairs later. Harry leaned back against the couch and closed his eyes with a sigh.
"Are you alright?" Severus questioned.
"Mmhm, relaxing. I don't get to do it that often," Harry smiled. "I wonder how Remus is doing…"
"Would you like to call him over for a while? He could join us for dinner." Severus suggested.
"You wouldn't mind?" Harry inquired.
"I promised you I wouldn't hold my past against you, so I won't let my hatred for your father and his closest friends get in the way of you seeing them." Severus reminded. "Besides, as much as I don't like your father and Sirius…Remus was always the one trying to get them to stop. Or hinting that it wasn't a good idea. They had their fun, but Remus didn't give me a hard time. He didn't stop it, but he didn't join in either."
Harry smiled and kissed Severus's cheek. "Thank you!" Harry went right over to the fireplace, tossing some powder in. "Harry's Lounge, 12 Grimmauld Place." The fire sparked as Harry stuck his head in. "Uncle Moony…?"
"HARRY!" Remus shouted with joy.
"Hi. What are you up to?" Harry asked.
"Sitting around mostly. Reading. How about you? Is Severus treating you well? Do I need to come have a word with him?" Remus wondered. Severus snorted, arms folded over one another. "Ah, he's there then. Hello, Severus."
"Wolf…" Severus greeted. "Of course I'm here. I live here…And yes, Harry is just fine."
"Everything is okay, Remus. I wanted to see you, do you want to pop over to Severus's for a bit? Stay for dinner?" Harry inquired.
"As long as Severus doesn't mind, sure. I'll be right over." Remus replied.
"Okay," Harry beamed and then the call ended when Harry pulled back.
"Are you planning to tell him that we're married?" Severus wondered.
"I probably should…" Harry admitted. "I don't like keeping things from him or Sirius, but my godfather is a special case right now. He's already unstable…"
"I support whatever you choose to do." Severus informed. "Just know that they, like others, will probably not share your sentiments about how the marriage came about."
"I've become accustomed to ending up in situations that others don't like or approve of. And I've accepted that I really just don't care anymore." Harry shrugged with a small smile. "It's my life, not theirs. I know the people who truly care for me will stand at my side and have my back."
"Damn right," Draco nodded.
The floo flared to life as Remus stepped through. "Uncle Remy!" Harry immediately hugged the man.
Remus laughed some and embraced Harry back, kissing the top of his head. "Uncle Remy? Ah, what the hell. But, you're the only one allowed to call me that, nephew. Merry Christmas, cub,"
"Merry Christmas," Harry replied. "Sirius told me I could call you Remy, Remus, or Moony…" He informed. "I'm happy to see you. I've missed you."
"I've missed you as well, Harry. Grimmauld is far too quiet without you and Sirius around…" Remus stated.
"How…Is Sirius?" Harry wondered gently, the sadness was clear in his tone.
"I don't want to hurt you by telling you the truth, but I also don't want to lie to you, cub…" Remus began.
"Tell me…I-I can take it." Harry insisted.
"Healers have said it's…Going to take a while to help him recover from his time in Azkaban, properly coping with the loss of your parents. While he knows the truth; things still get distorted. Just last week he was reliving your time in the tournament, but…Believed it was our years at Hogwarts and James was a champion. Healers believes he's putting James in his memories of you because of the uncanny resemblance, trying to use the memories to see his friend alive again."
"You do have quite the knack for trouble that your father did. I've told you this before." Remus informed as Harry sighed. "I know it's not what you want to hear, but…All hope is not lost. He'll recover, it's just going to take a while. Deep down, he knows they're gone…And you're still here, but you look like your father and that sets him back into the past." He explained.
"I know, Remus…I just hoped there'd be a little progress. It's been…Months now." Harry told him.
"I understand, cub…But just remember there's a lot to work through. Sirius didn't get to mourn, he was thrown right in Azkaban, lost to his grief of going after Pettigrew and ending up framed, that he never got to take you…There's just so much that needs addressing. But he does know that he was seeing you as James, and he knows how that must have hurt you with what happened. He misses you, has asked to see you…I said I'd try, but I won't make you, Harry." Remus informed.
"I'll think about it, but I feel like him seeing me before he's healed more will just set him backwards." Harry admitted.
"Understandable, Harry. As I said, I will not make you. I'll tell him you're busy with school and send your love." Remus promised.
"Thank you," Harry said.
"Good. Now, it wouldn't be Christmas without a proper gift from an uncle…So here you go," Remus pulled a wrapped gift out of his bag and enlarged it. "I wasn't sure what to get you, but I figure this might be something you enjoyed. I know how much you like your other one." He added.
Harry tore the paper and pulled out a black book with Memories written on the cover in gold coloring. "A-An album?" Harry asked.
"Look inside," Remus invited.
Harry adjusted to flip open the cover and see a perfect picture of his parents when they got married. The words under the photo were When two lives, hearts, and souls became one. Our wedding. "Th-This is mum and dad's wedding album?"
"It is." Remus nodded with a smile. "I tracked it down at Godric's Hollow when I was visiting them."
"Visiting?" Harry inquired.
"That's where they're buried, cub. I usually go on their birthdays and the day they died, a holiday or two." Remus stated. "Sirius and I had been planning to take you, when you told us you were ready to go. We assumed you might ask sooner or later to see the place you'd started your life."
"Thank you for this…" Harry hugged the man again.
"You're welcome." Remus replied. "And there's so many more, Harry. I have them all at Grimmauld. Days at Hogwarts, when you were born…That first year and a half. They belong to you, if you want them."
"I-I do." Harry nodded.
"I'll bring them over soon. I was organizing them." Remus smiled.
"Okay, this is officially now, one of the best Christmas's I've ever had…" Harry said. "Merry Christmas everyone!"
"Merry Christmas…" The rest said.