Holiday Interlude
I don't own Girl Meets World, Harry Potter, Marvel, or anything else you might recognize!
The winter holidays were fast approaching, Thea, Harry, and the Weasleys had decided to stay at Hogwarts for the break, while Hermione was going home to visit her parents. By mid-December Hogwarts was buried under several feet of white, puffy snow. The lake had frozen solid and Thea spent a very memorable afternoon teaching Neville, Ron, and Harry how to skate, which of course ended in the first years falling more times than not, and a visit to the hospital wing for a bump on Neville's head when he and Ron had crashed into each other.
Fred and George took advantage of the weather in their usual way, pranking everything in sight. They got detention for bewitching snowballs to bounce off the back of Professor Quirrell's turban, turning Snape's spare cauldron to ice so it melted when he tried to use it, turning Professor Flitwick's classroom into a toboggan run, and racing each other and Thea down the staircase in the great hall on skis (Thea won of course). And if they'd gotten the spells for all those pranks from Thea, well, nobody could prove anything.
One evening Thea found herself curled up by the roaring fire warming the Gryffindor Common Room, making a list of what she wanted to get for her family and friends for Christmas.
Mom:
Sugar Quills
Droobles Best Blowing Gum
Explosive Fairy Dust
Home Life and Social Habits of British Muggles
Break with a Banshee
Never ending candle (vanilla?)
Dad:
Acid Pops
Caramel Cobwebs
Fizzing Wizzbees
Hogwarts: A History
Rune Dictionary
Wizard Chess Set
Auggie:
Chocolate Frogs
Ice Mice
Sugared Butterfly Wings
Mad Muggle Compilation
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
Quidditch Through the Ages
Gobstones set
Riley:
Cauldron Cakes
Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans
?
Thea sat back, her parents and Auggie were easy to shop for, but Thea had no idea what Riley wanted, or even liked anymore. Deciding to come back to her sister later, Thea started on her list for the Weasleys
Molly:
Sweater (purple)
Candy Floss
Gilderoy Lockhart's Guide to Household Pests
Never ending candle (Multi-berry?)
Arthur:
Engineering Basics
1001 Dad Jokes
Muggles Discovered: A Study of the Average Working Muggle and Their Lives
Peppermint Toads
Muggle candy canes
Bill:
Curse Breakers: A Guide
New earrings (Don't open in front of Molly)
The History of Wizarding Egypt
Charlie:
Burn cream (Lots of it, maybe peppermint scented?)
Discovering Dragons: an Anthology
Dragon hide gloves
Percy:
From Student to Master: A Step by Step Guide to Ancient Runes
Sugar quills (strawberry flavor)
The Foundation of Education: A History of European Wizarding Schools
Fred and George:
Dr. Filibuster Fireworks
Hear Me Roar: A Biography by Rumbleroar
The Legend of Pigfarts
Cauldron Cakes
Dung bombs
Acid pops
Ron:
Chocolate frogs
Chudley Cannons Poster
Quidditch Through the Ages
The Care and Keeping of Brooms
Places to See! In America!
Ginny:
Fizzing Wizzbees
Puddlemere United blanket
Jinxes, Hexes, and Counter Spells for Beginners
The Weird Sisters Album
Harry:
The Care and Keeping of Brooms
Chocolate Frogs
Licorice Spiders
Quidditch Model
Quidditch Compilation- Best of Beaters, Supreme Seekers, Chasers of Change, Keepers and Kin
Thea smiled, pleased with her planned presents. The portrait opened and Harry and Ron came in, red faced and breathless from the cold. Quickly, Thea folded up her papers and stuck them in her bag.
Ron collapsed on the chair next to her, grumbling how he couldn't feel his feet. Harry slumped down on thee rug in front of the fire, pulling off his snow soaked mittens.
"Where've you been?" Thea poked Ron in the knee with her pencil "It's almost dinnertime."
"Snowball fight with Fred and George." Ron complained "There's snow in my ears."
Thea snorted "Well why'd you do that? You know they're ruthless, and that sounds like a you problem."
"They ambushed us," Harry at least didn't seem as bothered "We were visiting Hagrid and got caught walking back."
"Ah, I see." Thea nodded sagely "A sneak attack. I've taught them well."
She grabbed her wand and cast a quick warming charm on the boys before she gathered her bag.
"Let me put my stuff away and we can go down to dinner. I'll help you plan your revenge."
"Revenge? On Fred and George?" Ron scoffed "No thanks, I want to live."
"But you must regain your honor!" Thea shouted over her shoulder, as she headed up the girls stairs.
Christmas Day dawned bright and early, with a fresh snowfall blanketing the grounds. Harry awoke, not expecting any gifts, after all who would send him any? Certainly not the Dursleys. But at the foot of his bed was a small pile of presents.
"Merry Christmas." Ron mumbled, only just waking up.
"You too. Will you look at this?" He pointed at the brightly wrapped packages "I've got some presents."
"What'd you expect, turnips?" Ron grabbed a box from his own pile "Go on, open them!"
Harry pulled the top parcel towards him, it was wrapped in thick, brown paper and he could just make out Hagrid's handwriting. 'To Harry from Hagrid' Inside was a little wooden flute, Hagrid had clearly whittled himself. A small card from the Dursleys was next.
'We received your message and enclosed your Christmas present. From Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia.'
Harry grimaced as he noticed the fifty-pence piece taped to the back of the note "That's friendly."
Ron goggled at the small coin with great interest "So that's muggle money? Why's it such a weird shape?"
Harry shrugged, handing Ron the money and turning back to his pile of presents "Hagrid and my Aunt and Uncle, so who sent these?"
Ron pointed at a lumpy package "I think I know who that one's from, my mum. I told her you didn't expect any presents and-oh no." Harry had torn the package open and a cozy green sweater and a box of homemade fudge tumbled out "She's made you a Weasley sweater. Every year she makes us a sweater, and mine's always maroon. Thea started making her sweaters the first year she stayed with us too so I guess we're stuck with them forever."
"That's really nice of her." Harry commented, opening a bag of sweets from Hermione.
"Yeah, I suppose." Ron opened his own Weasley sweater "Look, maroon, what did I tell you?" He pointed at several neatly wrapped gifts in Harry's pile "Those'll be from Thea, c'mon, open them!"
Harry complied, ripping the paper off to find several books on quidditch, some candy, and a miniature model of a quidditch pitch, complete with tiny players zooming around it. Ron opened his own presents from the older girl and found a Chudley Cannons poster, quidditch books, and a dozen chocolate frogs. Harry ran his finger down the spine of Supreme Seekers, he hadn't thought he'd get any presents this year.
"Thea's really good at Christmas." Ron seemed to read his mind "She goes all out every year. I think she misses her family a lot this time of year."
Harry frowned "Why doesn't she see them? Couldn't she go and visit?"
"She could, but she hasn't. Not since her first year." Ron shook his head "I don't know all the details, everyone else got back the day before, I went to bed, and the next morning Thea was there. It was something to do with her sister. Apparently she wasn't too thrilled that Thea was a witch. Dunno what she said, but Thea hasn't been back to the States since."
Harry was quiet for a minute "That's terrible." He finally said "She just doesn't see them at all?"
"She writes to them." Ron shrugged "And her parents and little brother usually come for a week or so in the summers, but her sister stays with friends back in New York. Probably for the better, if Fred and George got their hands on her... Or my mum!"
Harry laughed a little at that, opening his last present. A silvery-grey something spilled out onto the floor.
Ron got a look at it and gasped "I've heard of those, if it's what I think it is-they're really rare, and really valuable."
"What is it?" Harry asked, poking the pooled fabric with his toe before he picked it up.
"It's an invisibility cloak." Ron's eyes were wide with awe "I'm sure it is. Go on! Try it on!"
Harry wrapped the cloak around his shoulders and Ron gave a loud whoop that made him jump.
"It is! Look down!"
Harry did, and sure enough, his feet were nowhere to be seen. Nor was the rest of his body. Hurrying over to the mirror confirmed that his body had vanished and he was a floating head. Carefully, Harry pulled the hood over his head and watched as that too vanished beneath the cloak.
Ron stooped down "There's a note! A note fell out of it!"
Harry took the cloak off, seeing himself ripple back into existence, and took the little piece of parchment.
Your Father left this in my possession before he died. It is time it was returned to you. Use it well. A very merry Christmas to you.
Was written in an unfamiliar loopy hand. Harry brushed his fingers across the sentence 'Use it well.' It felt slightly ominous, there was no signature, no clue as to who might have sent it.
Before they could admire it further the dormitory door burst open and Fred and George bounced in. Harry quickly stuffed the cloak under his pillow and the note in his pocket, he didn't feel like sharing it just yet.
"Merry Christmas!" Fred crowed.
"Look! Harry's got a Weasley sweater too!" George snagged the sweater, holding it up to the light.
They were both wearing blue sweaters one with a yellow F, and the other G.
"Harry's is better than ours though." Fred mused "She obviously makes more of an effort if you're not family. Thea's is always nicer too."
"Why aren't you wearing yours, Ron?" George advanced on his little brother menacingly "Come on, they're lovely and warm."
"I hate maroon." Ron complained, but he wisely pulled the sweater over his head, leaving his hair thoroughly ruffled.
"You haven't got a letter on yours." George noticed "I suppose she thinks you don't forget your name. But we're not stupid, we know we're called Gred and Forge."
"What's all this noise?" Percy joined them, carrying his own red sweater that Fred quickly swiped.
"P for prefect! Get it on, Percy, come on, we're all wearing ours. Even Harry's got one."
It was then Harry noticed Thea sneaking up the stairs, she made eye contact with him, putting her finger to her lips and shaking her head with a smile.
"I don't want-Ack!" Thea had leapt on Percy's back, wrapping her arms around him like a koala.
"Merry Christmas!" She shouted "Get the sweater on him!"
Fred and George immediately helped force the sweater over his head, knocking his glasses askew.
"Get off! Get off!" He complained "Thea, come on!"
The three ignored him, pinning his arms to his sides and frog-marching him away, Thea now detached.
"And you're not sitting with the prefects today, either." Fred ordered.
"Yeah, Christmas is a time for family." George agreed, their voices fading as they made their way down the stairs.
Thea poked her head back around the door "Better hurry up, or I'm going to eat all the French toast."
Ron was on his feet in a heartbeat, pulling on a robe and tugging Harry off his bed.
"Never underestimate Thea when there's French toast involved." He muttered "It's a mistake you only make once."
They put their slippers on and followed the rest down to the Great Hall.
The meal was like nothing Harry had ever experienced before. If he thought Hogwarts food was good normally, the Christmas breakfast was on a completely different level. There were little party favors, that went off with a blast, engulfing them in smoke as a variety of hats and several live white mice scampered out.
Everyone was enjoying themselves, Professor Dumbledore had swapped his pointed wizards hat for the flowered bonnet Thea had gotten in a party favor, Hagrid was red in the face as he called for more wine, and there was laughter all around the hall. Even Snape didn't look quite as dower as usual.
The day only got better, when the food had vanished the Weasleys, Harry, and Thea trooped outside for a furious snowball fight. Fred, George, and Thea teamed up to soak Percy to the bone, making his already red face match his flaming hair and Harry and Ron got quite a laugh when Fred had dumped a handful of snow down the back of George's sweater. They returned to the common room where Harry absolutely destroyed his new chess set playing against Ron and Percy chased the twins around the common room after his prefects badge went missing. Harry pretended he didn't see Thea slip the badge into her pocket when Percy wasn't looking.
The feast that night was an event Harry would never forget. The whole Hall glittered with little floating lights, that if you looked closely enough, were actual fairies! Professor Flitwick conducted the school choir in some magical carols including 'God Rest Ye Merry Hippogiffs' and 'We Three Warlocks.'
The sun set on the Hogwarts grounds as they made their way back upstairs. It was the best Christmas Harry had ever had. But when he finally climbed into bed the nagging thought of the invisibility cloak kept him from falling asleep. Ron, stuffed full of turkey and cake, was snoring comfortably in the next bed, so talking to him was not an option.
With a sigh, Harry got up and snuck down the stairs. The fire was still lit, giving the room a warm glow. Thea sat by a window, legs dangling over the arm of her chair, writing a letter. She looked up when Harry came downstairs.
"Uh, sorry." Harry stammered "I can, uh, I can go?"
"Don't be silly." She pointed at the chair across from her "How was your day?"
Harry hesitated "It was amazing. I've never had a Christmas like it."
"But...?"
"I, uh, I got a present."
Harry knew Thea was smart, and she wouldn't snitch on him if he decided to break the rules like Hermione might have, so he took the plunge.
"I got an invisibility cloak. The letter said it was my dad's."
"An invisibility cloak? Really?" They must be really rare if Thea and Ron had both been so surprised "You're not pulling my leg because of that snowball earlier, are you?"
"Don't tell anybody?" Harry pulled the note from where it had been burning a hole in his pocket all day "Look."
Thea read the letter several times, her eyes skimming the lines trying to find any message she could "It belonged to your dad?"
"Yeah, I guess." Harry looked away, hoping his face didn't show all the emotions tumbling in the pit of his stomach "I dunno."
"Do you miss them?" Damn it, Thea could read him like a book.
"I guess so. I mean, I never really knew them though, did I? They died when I was a baby." Harry shrugged "I don't know who they were at all."
Thea frowned "And that means you don't have the right to miss them?"
"I- that's not- I mean-"
"Oh, no. I get it. Or, I think I do." Thea swung her legs down "All your life you've known one version of your parents, whatever your aunt and uncle told you about them. From what you've said about them, it probably wasn't good."
Harry nodded mutely.
"Now you find out that not only were they probably the opposite of what you were told, heroes, magical, good people. So the version you have in your mind no longer matches and you feel like you have no idea who they were. Right?"
"Yeah, I guess so."
'But, Harry, look, you're still allowed to miss them. You're allowed to love them, to mourn them, to wish they were here or that they stayed the same in your mind forever." Thea patted his hand "You're allowed to do all those things even when you do know someone, when you know exactly who they are. Ron's told you about my family, right?"
Harry pulled back, suddenly uncomfortable, he didn't want Thea thinking they'd been talking behind her back "A little, I s'pose."
"It's okay." She assured him "My sister, Riley, she's a year younger than me. All my life I thought I knew exactly who she was. My kid sister, a ball of sunshine, determined that she was always right no matter what. And she is all of those things, but she can also be self centered, insecure, and jealous. I knew that then and I especially know that now. I can't see her the. way I used to anymore, the picture perfect girl I had in my head wasn't the real thing. But I still miss that version of my sister. I love her, even now, but I'm sad that she's not who I thought she was. It's not the same as you and your parents at all, but I kinda get it."
Harry pushed his hair back in frustration "Everyone tells me I look just like my Dad. Everyone knows who they were, who I am. But the Dursleys said my Dad was a drunk, that he and Mum died in a car crash. I used to lie awake and imagine conversations with them, telling them about my day or what I wanted to be when I grew up. I always thought they loved me, and now I know they did. But they're not the parents I pictured and I don't know if that makes me feel better or not."
Hot tears stung his eyes as he tried furiously to blink them away. He couldn't cry, Thea would think he was a crybaby, a child.
"Drink." A cup of water swam into view, Thea was kneeling next to him, one hand on his shoulder "Come on, drink."
Harry drank, the cool water soothing his throat as he gulped it down "Thanks." He mumbled.
"Your feelings are valid, Harry. The anger, the pain, but also the love, you can't hide from it." Thea patted his shoulder "If you want to get to know what your parents were like you could talk to Professor McGonagall, or Dumbledore, Hagrid knew them too I think. There are decades worth of old yearbooks in the library I'm sure we could find them in. They might not be here anymore, but you can still get to know them."
The library...
"Thea?" Harry sat up, struck by sudden inspiration "Do you know anything about someone called Nicholas Flamel?"
Surprised by the change in topic, The blinked "Uh, the name is familiar. Why?"
"We, uh, heard someone mention him and he sounded interesting?" Harry invented weakly "We've been trying to find him in the library, but we haven't had any luck so far."
"Sounded interesting, huh?" Thea teased "I've definitely read the name somewhere ion the library. Yeah, there should be a few books on famous wizards and their accomplishments. But I think it's in the restricted section-Harry, where are you going?"
Harry had leapt out of his seat and was bounding up the stairs "Uh, bed?"
Thea shook her head, laughing, and if the portrait hole opened as quiet footsteps scampered out, well, Thea hadn't seen a soul.
Word count: 3282 words
Happy holidays everybody! This chapter is a little short but I realized it was perfect timing with where I am in the story. I'm not sure when I'll update again because the new Percy Jackson show comes out in 3 days!
My roommate and I are making blue food and will be staying up to watch the first episodes the second they drop! I make no apologies for the person I'm going to become when this show comes out.
Short version, expect a lot of Percy Jackson content and references from me. I am obsessed.
Please don't forget to comment, vote, and add to your reading lists! #BlackLivesMatter #FreePalestine
Love,
The Author