Chapter Seven
Lily Potter was no stranger to fear; she had experienced it many times in her life; when her first case of accidental magic had occurred, when she had her first flying lesson and nearly fell off of her broomstick, when Dumbledore had told her and James that Voldemort would be coming after her family due to some prophecy.
But as she gazed through the glass into the room where the St. Mungo's Healers were desperately trying to save her son's life, Lily realized that she had never been so afraid in her entire life, and if it weren't for James' arm around her shoulder, Lily was sure that she would have collapsed by now.
Four healers were standing around the unconscious form of her son; one was pouring healing potions down Harry's throat as fast as she could, while another was pulling bottles from a seemingly limitless bag as fast as he could.
While this was going on, the two remaining Healers were waving their wands over Harry, sending golden light to wash over his unconscious body and causing the boy to twitch violently every now and then.
When Lily and James had apparated to St. Mungo's, Lily immediately began screaming for help. A moment later, Harry was seized from her arms and rushed into a nearby room, which James and Lily were barred from entering, so they were forced to watch and pray that they hadn't lost their son a second time.
"James! Lily!" A voice suddenly called, making the two parents turn to see who had called them; Dumbledore was quickly striding towards the worried parents with an expression on his face that seemed torn between worry and determination.
"Professor Dumbledore," James replied as Dumbledore stopped in front of them,
"I came as soon as I heard," Dumbledore replied, "Is Harry alright?"
"We don't know," Lily said softly, "They took him in over an hour ago and won't tell us anything. My baby could be dying, and they won't bloody tell me anything!"
Lily fell to her knees at that and began to sob uncontrollably as James lowered himself to the ground to console her,
"Lily," James said softly, "Harry's going to be fine, you'll see!"
"You don't know that, James!" Lily shouted as tears ran freely down her cheeks, "We could lose him all over again!"
James flinched as though Lily had smacked him, and quickly tried to wrap his arms back around his wife, only for her to dissolve once again into a sobbing mess as a Healer ran toward them,
"Is everything alright?"
"My wife requires attention," James replied quickly, causing the Healer to nod at once and call for help; a moment later, two orderlies appeared and helped Lily to her feet before leading her down the hall as the Healer followed close behind.
"Sirius only told me that Harry was injured," Dumbledore said simply once Lily was out of sight, "What happened?"
"Voldemort," James stated as he turned back to the glass and watched as the Healers continued to work on his son.
"What?" Dumbledore replied in a horrified voice, "James, you must tell me everything!"
"I don't know the whole story," James replied in a hollow voice, "Harry's familiar was able to lead us to where he was being kept after he was taken. It took us a while to get through the wards, but once they were down and we began our assault, we were immediately attacked by Dark Wizards."
"How many?" Dumbledore asked,
"Two," James replied, "But they were incredibly powerful. It took the combined might of my Aurors to get through them; Lily, meanwhile, went to find Harry."
"And then?" Dumbledore asked with bated breath,
"When Sirius and I finally managed to take down the Death Eater that we were fighting, we ran into the room that Lily had gone to. Harry was strapped to some kind of alter, and Lily was shouting that Voldemort kidnapped him; I didn't believe it until the bloody wall exploded, and that bastard stepped out of it."
"He's returned?" Dumbledore asked in a hollow voice, the blood running from his face,
"I don't know how," James said, "But when we dueled, it felt as though he wasn't at full strength yet."
"What do you mean?"
"Sirius and I nearly had that snake-faced bastard!" James snarled, "He fled when his remaining servant ran in and told him that reinforcements were on the way; he abandoned his servant, of course."
"What happened to the Death Eater?"
"Sirius relieved him of his head," James said with a cruel grin that seemed out of place on his face.
"Sirius shouldn't have done that," Dumbledore said sadly, "Killing is not the way. We cannot defeat our enemies by acting like them."
"That bastard killed my son!" James snarled, "And then tried to do it again! Do you think I care about killing every last man and woman serving that arsehole!"
Dumbledore said nothing, simply stared with sadness as James' anger washed over him; for a moment, the two men simply stared at each other until Dumbledore finally looked away with a weary sigh.
"I must summon the order immediately," Dumbledore said softly, "If Voldemort truly has returned, we must ensure that steps are taken to stop him before he can restart his war, or else many will die or worse. When you are ready, may I have the memory of what occurred? Perhaps it will answer a few questions regarding how Voldemort returned."
James nodded as he turned back to the glass, watching as the Healers continued to work on his son,
"I need to make my report to the Minister. Fudge needs to be made aware that Voldemort is back."
"He'll never believe it," Dumbledore replied in a wary voice, "He's too in love with power to believe that someone might take it from him."
"He won't have a choice," James growled back, "There are three people who saw Voldemort return and another three Aurors who fought against two Death Eaters! Fudge won't be able to deny it."
"Perhaps not," Dumbledore replied, "But he can suppress it! He can use his considerable power to make sure that anyone who speaks of what they saw will lose their job at the Ministry."
"Let him try!" James snapped as he turned to the aged Headmaster, "As the head of House Potter, I have considerable power myself! And if Fudge tries to bury this, I will bring the full weight of it down on his incompetent head!"
Dumbledore shook his head wearily at James' tirade before stepping up next to him and placing a calming hand on James' shoulder,
"He's going to be okay, James," Dumbledore said softly, "The Healers here are the best in Europe; they'll bring him back to you."
"I hope you're right, Albus," James replied in a broken voice, "I can't lose Harry again; it would kill Lily, and I'd be right behind her."
Nothing else was said between the two, nor was anything else needed; Dumbledore simply stood beside his former student and laid a comforting hand on James' shoulder as each prayed for Harry to be saved.
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Pain. That was the first thing Harry registered as he slowly opened his eyes; as the blinding light hit his eyes, Harry groaned and quickly shut his eyes again, hoping to block out the pain that seemed to radiate throughout his entire being.
"Harry!" A voice next to him suddenly shouted, causing him to flinch involuntarily, "You're awake! Thank God!"
"Rose?" Harry croaked as he slowly opened his eyes again and stared blurrily at where the voice had come from, "Is that you?"
Harry's answer came in the form of his big sister enveloping him in a tight hug that made him gasp,
"I thought I'd lost you," Rose whispered as she tightened her hug and tears began to run down her face and onto Harry's neck.
"Where am I?" Harry asked as Rose pulled away and gently put his glasses on his face,
"At St. Mungo's," Rose said with a sniffle as she sat on the bed next to Harry,
"What's that?" Harry asked as he slowly raised himself up into a sitting position, "Some kind of hospital?"
"Yeah," Rose replied as she wiped her eyes, "Never came here in your world, I take it?"
"No," Harry replied with a weak smile, "The Dursleys weren't really concerned with my health when I was growing up."
Rose glared at that, making Harry fidget slightly until she finally looked away and shook her head in aggravation.
"How long have I been here?" Harry groaned,
"A little over a week," Rose said as a tear ran down her cheek, "Your core was almost completely drained. It took the Healers nearly twenty hours of constant work to stabilize you! We…. we all thought we were going to lose you again."
Harry's jaw dropped open almost comically as shock ran through him; he had been here for over a week, and according to Rose, he had nearly died. Harry was only drawn from his thoughts when Rose tackled him in another hug that made Harry grit his teeth as pain raced through him.
"Where's mum and dad?" Harry asked as Rose released him and sat down next to him again,
"They went to the cafeteria to get something to eat," Rose replied, "Mum has refused to leave your side; dad had to bring fresh clothes for her to change into."
Harry opened his mouth to respond when the door suddenly opened, causing Rose and Harry to turn to see who had come in.
"Harry!" Lily shrieked as she dropped the teacup she had been holding and ran toward him; a moment later, Harry was being crushed by his crying mother, followed a second later by his father.
"Mum, dad, I'm sorry…." Harry mumbled,
"For what, honey?" Lily asked as she pulled away and wiped her eyes,
"I shouldn't have wandered off," Harry said in a small voice, "If I had just waited until we got home to use the loo, none of this would have happened…."
"Harry, it wasn't your fault," James said softly as he ruffled Harry's hair gently, "We don't blame you, sport."
"You don't?" Harry asked with a sniffle,
"Not a bit, sweetie," Lily said with a smile, "We could never blame you for what happened. We're just glad that you're okay."
"Can we go home?" Harry asked,
"We will soon, sweetie," Lily said softly as she kissed Harry's forehead, "The Healers just need to look at you, and we can go from there, okay?"
"Okay, mum," Harry replied with a smile,
"Now, I think I should get your mother another cup of tea," James said with a laugh as Lily blushed furiously.
Immediately, Lily drew her wand and waved it at the broken tea cup that lay by the door; a moment later, the cup was repaired, and the spilled tea disappeared, causing James to laugh as he got up, bent down to pick it up and leave the room a moment later.
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Dark Wizards kidnap and torture Harry Potter!
By: Rita Skeeter
Many years ago, our world was united in our collective misery as we mourned the death of a child, a child who saved us all from perhaps the most evil wizard our world has ever known; but, then a miracle occurred when Harry was found to have been alive the whole time and was safely returned to his family. After years of abuse at the hands of those who raised him, the only thing that Harry Potter should have been expecting was to attend Hogwarts after the winter break. But instead, Harry Potter was kidnapped from the train station as he and his parents went to pick up his sister, Rose Potter, who had just been released for winter break.
James Potter, lead Auror at the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, immediately summoned the Aurors to find out what happened to his son; after a lengthy search, Harry was found to have been abducted by Dark Wizards for reasons unknown.
After a lengthy battle between Aurors and Dark Wizards that left many on both sides dead, Harry was rescued and brought to St. Mungo's for treatment; this reporter has since discovered that whatever young Harry was subjected to nearly left the poor boy a squib as nearly his entire magical core was depleted. According to interviews that this reporter has conducted, it took the Healers of St. Mungo's nearly a full day of continuous treatment to save young Harry's life; afterward, Harry was in a magical coma for over a week.
Thankfully, Harry has since awoken from his coma and, after a few days of observation by the St. Mungo's Healers, has been allowed to return home with his family; many questions remain, however, regarding Harry's abduction.
Who were these Dark Wizards? Why did they take Harry Potter? What did they do to Harry Potter that nearly turned him into a squib?
All attempts to interview the Potter family have been met with a myriad of threats of physical violence by Lily Potter. So, unfortunately, I cannot answer these questions, but hopefully, others will be able to shine light on what exactly occurred.
In the meantime, however, we at the Daily Prophet hope that Harry and the rest of the Potter family will have a very Happy Christmas and that Harry is looking forward to attending Hogwarts after the holiday break.
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"Dead on both sides?!" James spat as he threw down the paper in disgust, "No Aurors died! And there were only two Death Eaters!"
"You know how Rita Skeeter is," Sirius sneered as he took a sip of his fire whiskey, "Always has to embellish everything. And with Fudge trying to keep a lid on what really happened, it's no surprise."
James growled as he took his own glass and took a sip; it had been nearly a week since Harry awoke from the magically induced coma he had been in, and it took the Healers another three days before they cleared Harry to leave and go home.
The day after he had taken his family home, James had been summoned to the office of Amelia Bones, the Head of the Department of Magical Law; when he got there, James saw that Minister Fudge was also waiting for him, and it only took five minutes for the reason to make itself known.
Because the only people to see who was actually responsible were Sirius and James, Fudge concluded that they must have been mistaken about seeing Voldemort rise from the dead; when James tried to counter this idiotic line of thought by stating that Lily had seen it as well, Fudge replied that Lily's testimony couldn't be trusted as she was an emotional wreck, understandably so seeing as her child had been nearly rendered a squib.
James argued that his memories could be used to show that Voldemort had indeed been the one responsible, but Fudge had refused to hear anymore, and when James retorted that the other Aurors had been there as well, Fudge had a conclusion for that as well; the other Aurors had not seen anything, aside from the two Dark Wizards that they had been fighting, and therefore could not say with any amount of certainty that Voldemort had indeed been the one responsible.
James had unfortunately lost his temper then and threatened to go to the papers if Fudge tried to cover this up; Fudge had then equally lost his temper and threatened to fire James if he even considered such action.
As Sirius dragged James from the room, he couldn't resist one last threat and roared that Fudge was nothing when compared to the power that House Potter could bring to bear and that Fudge had made a very powerful enemy that day; James smiled with righteous fury as he remembered how Fudge had paled at James' words.
Afterward, Amelia strongly recommended that James take a nice long holiday so that he could spend more time with his family while tempers cooled down around the Ministry. Still, James knew the truth, Fudge was trying to find some way to fire James, and his so-called 'holiday' was nothing more than a suspension while Amelia tried to save his job.
Now, James and Sirius were sitting in James' study and enjoying a warm glass of fire-whiskey while they waited for Lily and the kids to return from St. Mungo's; the Healers had wanted to look at Harry again to make sure that he was okay and there would be no surprises in the future that might cause Harry issue.
"So, what's the word at work?" James asked as he sat his glass down,
"Fudge called all those who went on the raid against Voldemort into his office this morning," Sirius replied,
"Oh yeah?" James said with a raised brow, "What did he want?"
"To let us all know, in no unambiguous language, that we are to keep our mouths shut! If anyone speaks to the press, that person will find themselves unemployed shortly thereafter."
"Unbelievable," James growled, "How did that idiot ever become Minister for Magic!"
"Beats me," Sirius replied as he drained the last of his glass, "The man is an idiot of the highest order. Apparently, he's been looking for some way to fire you but seeing as you're the head Auror with an exceptional track record, there isn't really much he can do."
"Voldemort is back, and as long as Fudge is in charge, the Ministry will be in danger." James said darkly as he refilled his and Sirius' glass, "My family will be in danger."
"I agree with you, Prongs," Sirius said as he leaned back in his chair and sipped his drink, "But what can you do? His political base is secure, and with jackasses like the Malfoy's backing him, he's pretty much untouchable."
"For now," James sneered, "But that won't always be the case. His term of office is set to expire in six months; perhaps new leadership is needed to protect our country from Voldemort and his ilk."
"You're not thinking of running, are you?" Sirius asked incredulously, "I know you're head Auror, but being Minister is a whole different animal. I don't know if you're up for it, Prongs, no offense."
"None taken, Padfoot," James laughed, "There hasn't been a Potter as Minister since my great-grandfather, perhaps it's time for another Potter to take the helm, especially since our current Minister is leading us toward destruction."
"James Potter as Minister for Magic," Sirius said thoughtfully as he swirled his glass, "Doesn't sound too bad."
"No," James replied with a raised glass, "It doesn't sound too bad at all."
Sirius laughed at his friend's enthusiasm as he raised his own glass and clinked it against James',
"To the future," Sirius said in toast, "May it be bright for your family and the future."
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Harry looked up from his book for the third time and smiled as he saw his sister Rose sitting in the opposite chair, likewise reading; since Harry had returned from St. Mungo's, Rose had not let Harry out of her sight, and on more than one occasion Lily had walked into Harry's room to check on him, only to find Rose and Harry asleep curled up against one another.
"Hey, um…Rose?" Harry said softly,
"Not happening," Rose replied, not looking up from her book,
"Huh?"
"You were going to say that I don't need to keep such a close eye on you," Rose replied, "But until we get on the train to Hogwarts, I'm not letting you out of my sight, so get used to it, kid."
"You realize that I'm not a baby, right?" Harry said with a slight grin,
"Yeah, I know," Rose replied as she lazily turned the page of her book, "Don't care."
Harry and Rose laughed together at that before returning to their reading; unknown to both of them, Lily was watching surreptitiously from the doorway under a notice-me-not spell.
Like Rose, Lily had no intention of letting Harry out of her sight until both of her children were safely on the train back to school, and as such, had spent the last few days keeping a constant eye on her son; Voldemort had taken Harry from her once, then tried to do it again, there would be no third time.
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Christmas morning came, and Harry was sure that it would remain the greatest memory of his life for as long as he lived; though Harry had already had a good Christmas when he stayed at Hogwarts with Ron, it just wasn't the same as experiencing the holiday with his family surrounding him.
Harry was awoken bright and early by Rose, who decided that the best way to awaken her little brother for his first Potter Christmas was to dive-bomb him and then tickle him until they both fell off the bed and lay in a heap on the floor.
After being successfully extricated from the tangled mess by a laughing Lily and James, the Potters made their way downstairs, and Harry couldn't help but feel in awe at what he saw; the breakfast table was positively groaning with food, and such delicious-looking food it was too!
Harry immediately felt bad as he imagined how long it must have taken the poor house-elves to make so much food; James must've understood how Harry was feeling, for he promptly put an arm around Harry's shoulder and explained that house-elves were not slaves, but friends, and enjoyed doing work such as cooking like this.
Sirius showed up halfway through breakfast and Harry couldn't help but smile as he saw his godfather enter the room with his usual swagger and half-grin.
After breakfast, the Potters and Sirius retired to the living room, and Harry felt his jaw drop almost comically at what he beheld; a gigantic Christmas tree stood in the center of the room, decorated with hundreds of ornaments dangling from it that shined like gems, almost magically.
Beneath the tree sat a veritable mountain of presents that stood even taller than Harry and rendered the poor boy speechless; these couldn't be all for him and Rose, could they? Surely not! While Harry had received a few pleasant gifts last Christmas, it was nothing like this, and Harry immediately felt guilty that his parents would have spent so much on him.
Lily and James must have sensed what he was thinking, for they both took Harry into a very warm hug which left Harry feeling happier than he ever had in his life; the best Christmas gift of all was getting to spend it with his mum and dad, everything else didn't matter to him.
Rose and Harry had both received brand new Nimbus 2001's, which caused both to tackle their parents as they expressed their gratitude for such an amazing gift; James promised the both of them that they would all go out and use them after they were done opening presents, and Harry felt giddy at the prospect of trying out such an amazing broom.
Sirius had likewise bought both Rose and Harry the same gift, a Broomstick servicing kit; no doubt having been forewarned by James about the gift he planned on buying Rose and Harry, while Hermione had sent Harry a copy of Hogwarts, a history, which Harry looked forward to reading as he never had before.
Harry had just begun to open another present from his parents, a dark green sweater with a golden snitch sewed onto it, when the doorbell rang, and Lily ran to see who it was; she returned a few minutes later with an elderly-looking man with scars across his face, who was wearing a worn and frayed suit.
"Remus!" James called happily as he ran and embraced the man, "I was worried you wouldn't be able to make it!"
"Almost wasn't able to," Remus shrugged, "Getting an international portkey this time of year is mad!"
"Glad to see you all the same, Moony!" Sirius said happily, giving Remus a hug once James had let go.
"Remus, I'd like to introduce you to my son, Harry," James said warmly once Sirius had released the man; Harry stepped forward and extended his hand dutifully,
"Hello, sir. It's nice to meet you."
"It's nice to meet you as well, Harry," Remus replied with tears in his eyes, "I knew you once, a long time ago. And I'm so happy that I get to see you again."
Harry didn't know how to respond to that, so he wisely chose to keep his mouth shut,
"Way to bring the mood down, Moony," Sirius chuckled as he slapped Remus on the back merrily, "Come on, we're just starting to open presents."
Remus laughed for a moment before joining the others; a moment later, the cheerful atmosphere returned as everyone began to tear into their presents with fervor.
It took several hours to get through all the presents, with each being better than the last, and Harry couldn't help the tears that flowed when he looked at all he had been given; he knew that others felt differently, but Harry still didn't feel like he was worth all of this, just having his parents with him was enough for him.
The house-elves had just taken everyone's presents to their respective rooms when the doorbell rang again, and Lily ran to see who it was; a moment later, she returned with the Weasley family, and it took all of Harry's will-power to keep him from running up to Ron and hugging his first friend for all Harry was worth. Noone saw Rose's surreptitious grin at how well her plan was coming together.
"Hello, I'm Ron," Ron said shyly as he extended his hand to Harry, who immediately shook it with a massive smile on his face,
"Nice to meet you. I'm Harry Potter, want to be friends?"
"Sure!" Ron replied enthusiastically with a matching grin of his own, "You play Quidditch?"
"No," Harry lied, remembering what his backstory was supposed to be, "But I'm eager to learn!"
"Well, no better time to start than now!" Sirius said with a booming laugh, "How about we all go outside and have a game, we've got enough people, after all."
"We didn't bring our brooms, unfortunately," Fred or George said sadly,
"Not a problem," James laughed, "I've got more than enough for everyone to use in the shed."
An enthusiastic cheer met James' words, and the group began to charge outside, with James and Sirius leading the pack as Molly and Lily shook their heads in mock exasperation.
"Some children never grow up," Lily laughed as she and Molly watched from the front doorway as James opened the shed and began to hand out brooms,
"My Arthur is the same," Molly replied cheerfully, "Always playing with Muggle toys in his shed."
"Where is Arthur?" Lily asked,
"Oh, he was forced to go in early today to deal with some last-minute paperwork, but he wanted me to assure you that he'll be here for dinner."
"Well, that's good, at least," Lily replied with a smile,
"I must say, it's amazing how quickly your son has become friends with my Ronald," Molly said happily as she and Lily watched the two of them flying close together and laughing cheerfully, "It's almost as though they've known each other their whole lives."
"Yes, quite extraordinary," Lily said with a shy smile; she already knew how Harry and Ron had been best friends in Harry's original world, so it made sense that the same result would occur here.
"Shall we get started on dinner, then?" Molly asked with a smile,
"Yes, let's," Lily replied cheerfully as the two turned and made their way back into the house; the sky was filled with cries and laughter behind them.
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A few hours later completed Harry's perfect Christmas; Harry and the group played Quidditch for hours until they were all too tired and cold to continue, despite how much they might want to.
As they all returned to the house, they were immediately hit with scents that instantly made their mouths water, and when they entered the dining room, they discovered why; the dining room table was groaning with food, way more than Harry thought could be eaten by so few people.
A giant turkey (magically enlarged, no doubt) sat in the middle of the table, surrounded by a myriad of dishes; there was a green-bean casserole, honey-glazed ham, scalloped potatoes, prime rib, Yorkshire pudding, candied yams, and a dozen other dishes that left Harry staring in naked hunger.
"This can't be just for us, can it?" Harry asked Rose as they stared at the table, drooling.
"We have a few more people joining us, sweetie," Lily answered before Rose could,
"We usually invite a few friends for Christmas," James added, "They should be here soon. So why don't you all clean yourselves up while there's time."
"Okay, dad," Harry replied cheerfully as he and the others made their way upstairs; a little while later, when Harry returned, he was greeted by the sight of six additional people, including one girl with the strangest hair color that Harry had ever seen.
"Harry, this is Andromeda and Ted Tonks and their daughter Nymphadora," Lily said warmly,
"Please don't call me that, Aunt Lily," the girl replied as she walked up to Harry and extended her hand, "Wotcher, Harry! Just call me Tonks. I'm your cousin."
Harry felt himself start with surprise at the words as he took the girl's hand and took a look at her; she was wearing a pair of torn blue jeans and a bright yellow sweater under a black jacket, but the strangest thing about Tonks' was her hair, which was bright bubblegum pink.
"I have a cousin?" Harry asked in shock,
"Well, technically, I'm Sirius' cousin," Tonks answered cheerfully, "But, seeing as how the Potter line is connected to the Black line, of which my mother is formerly a part, we're kind of third cousins or something like that. But still, family is family, right?"
Before Harry could respond, Tonks had rushed forward and wrapped her arms around Harry before picking him up and swinging him around, making Harry giggle slightly while the adults watched with indulgent smiles.
"I guess that would make you, my aunt?" Harry asked sheepishly as he turned to Tonks' mother. She was a tall, elegant-looking woman with long black hair and kind eyes that immediately put Harry at ease; as Harry took in her appearance, he saw that she was wearing a comfortable-looking white turtleneck sweater and grey pants.
"I suppose I am," Andromeda replied warmly, "If you want me to be, that is."
"I've never had a kind aunt before," Harry mumbled shyly, "The lady who made me call her aunt wasn't very nice to me…."
Andromeda's eyes went sad at that, and she shared a look at Lily before quickly making her way forward and taking Harry into her bosom in a warm hug,
"Well, now you can say that you DO have a nice aunt, how's that sound?"
Harry enthusiastically nodded as he returned the hug to his new aunt; once they had pulled away, Harry noticed Andromeda's husband, who was staring at Harry with a warm smile.
"That makes you my uncle, right?" Harry asked shyly,
"Guess it does, kid," Ted replied as he stepped forward and extended his hand, "Uncle Ted does have a nice ring to it, I suppose."
Ted was a rather large man with a head of light brown hair and kind brown eyes; like Andromeda, he was wearing a comfortable white sweater and dark grey pants, and Harry cheerfully shook his hand.
"And what am I? Chopped liver!" Rose asked in mock anger,
"Well, if Harry is my new nephew, that would make you my niece, of course," Andromeda replied with a wry grin that made everyone laugh; their laughter became even harder when Rose pretended to grumble about Harry getting to call Andromeda 'aunt' first.
"And these are the Longbottoms," James said warmly as he introduced the other family that had entered the house since Harry had gone upstairs, "Alice and Frank work with me in the Auror office, and their son Neville, here, will be joining you at Hogwarts next term."
Harry almost felt his jaw drop as he took in Neville's appearance; his Neville had been a chubby boy with almost no self-confidence, no doubt due to how he was raised by his overbearing grandmother and abusive uncle. This Neville was slim and stood straight as an arrow, sporting a shy but wry grin that caught Harry off guard; there was almost no comparison between Harry's Neville and this one.
"Hello, I'm Harry," Harry said warmly as he extended his hand, "Would you like to be friends? I could use some when I go to Hogwarts next term."
"I'd really like that," Neville replied warmly as the adults watched with matching smiles, "I don't have very many, myself, and I would really enjoy having more of them."
After releasing Neville's hand, Harry introduced himself to Alic and Frank; Alice was a round-faced woman with short blonde hair and a warm smile that instantly put Harry at ease. On the other hand, Frank was a tall yet slim man with dark brown hair and kind eyes that left Harry feeling warm as he looked into them.
"Alice was your godmother, Harry," Lily said softly, "Before we lost you, that is…."
"Oh, Harry…" Alice breathed softly as tears pooled in her eyes, "It's so good to see you again. I thought we lost you!"
Before Harry could reply, Alice had swept him into her arms and held him tight as she softly cried; despite how he felt about new people touching him, Harry felt perfectly at ease with Alice hugging him and almost immediately returned the hug, which lasted for several seconds.
"Enough of that!" Sirius called cheerfully, "It's Christmas! Let's feast!"
A cheer rang out at that, and the group made their way to the dining room before each taking their seat; as Harry gazed around at the multitude of smiling faces that surrounded him, he felt happier than he had ever felt in his life, and was absolutely sure that this was, and would remain, the greatest Christmas of his life.
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Author's Note:
I'm going to start with the question that I've been getting bombarded with the most, "How could the tiny sliver of Voldemort's soul inside Harry possibly be enough to return Voldemort to power?"
The answer is obvious, or at least I thought it was; the tiny sliver inside Harry may not have been much, but it was enough to provide a jumpstart to Voldemort's core like jumping a car, just enough to get the motor running again.
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I apologize for how long it took me to update this story, and I can't promise that the next one will take less time. Unfortunately, life has a way of interfering with the things we want to do, you know? And between going back to school and working 12 hours a day, I don't have much time for writing anymore, but I'll do my best to ensure that the next chapter is out asap. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this chapter!
