Chapter Eleven
Christmas time had come to Hogwarts. The castle and the grounds were covered in snow and ice, and the Black Lake had frozen. Students were enjoying the winter weather, building snowmen, and throwing snowballs at each other; the Weasley twins were given detention for bewitching a flurry of snowballs to chase Professor Quirrell and pelt him in the back of the head! Harry wished he'd been there to see it!
Gryffindor Tower was toasty warm in the winter weather, as were most of the classrooms, but the corridors were draughty, and the Potions classroom was like an ice-House. The only heat during Potions class came from the burners beneath their cauldrons.
Harry was looking forward to Yuletide, as were most other students. Students were given the choice of going home for the Christmas holidays or staying in the castle. Harry was planning to go home to spend Yule with his family. He loved the Winter Solstice ceremonies back home, the Yule feast, the wonderful presents, and the beautiful decorations. He could almost taste Lurch's roast warthog ham!
Professor McGonagall had taken a list of students who would be staying in the castle and who would be returning home. Hermione and Harry would take the train back home for Christmas. Ron was going to go home for the holiday, but at the last minute, his parents decided they would be going to Romania to visit their second eldest son, Charlie, the dragonologist.
"You could come home with me; my family would make you feel welcome," Harry told Ron. Ron's eyes widened at this suggestion.
"You think they wouldn't mind?" Ron had never been to America before. He hoped his Mother would agree to let him go. Fred, George, and Percy would be staying in the castle, and Ron wasn't exactly excited to spend the holiday with his elder brothers.
Harry and Ron quickly wrote to their families to ask if Ron could spend Christmas with Harry. Harry received a letter from his parents, saying they would be more than happy to welcome Ron to their home, provided it was all right with his family. Mrs. Weasley was apprehensive about letting Ron go overseas for the first time without his parents' presence, but she finally decided it would be all right.
Harry told Ron what they would expect back home for Christmas as they left Potions class one day when they walked right into a large fir tree. The tree moved aside, and Hagrid's massive, bearded face appeared.
"Ah, sorry boys, didn't see ye there!" Hagrid hauled the tree out of the way of the classroom door. Harry asked if Hagrid needed help, but he said he handled it. Malfoy came shoving past and disparaging Ron's family's finances, implying that Hagrid's hut must be a luxury compared to the Weasleys' hovel. Ron turned red and was about to retaliate when Harry put his hand on Ron's shoulder and shook his head. Snape came out of the classroom and eyed the three students standing there.
"Not starting trouble, are we?" he asked Harry and Ron. Both of them shook their heads no. Snape gave his usual sneer and stalked away, Malfoy and his goons following their head of the House.
"Right bunch of gits, all of them, Snape most of all!" Ron said as soon as the Slytherins were out of earshot. Hagrid shook his head and told Ron to cheer up; it was Christmas time.
"Come ter t'Great 'All and see what we've been up ter!" Hagrid told them. Harry and Ron followed Hagrid as he dragged the massive tree along. Inside the Great Hall were several other Christmas trees, all decorated with garland, baubles, and lights. Flitwick and McGonagall were levitating decorations or charming them into existence from their wands. McGonagall motioned for Hagrid to place the latest tree in the far corner.
The Hall looked spectacular, decorated with holly, garland, wreaths, and icicles. Harry and Ron took it all in, marveling at its beauty. Hermione was sitting at the Gryffindor table, reading one of her many books. She looked up and greeted Harry and Ron. Hermione had been scouring the Library for any mention of Nicholas Flamel.
"I can't find any mention of Flamel in any book. These are all the volumes I could find of notable Wizards and Witches of the past two centuries. There are older books I've yet to look through." Ron shook his head in disbelief.
"Is this really what you do for fun, Hermione? Read every dusty, forgotten volume you can find that no one else wants to read?" Hermione ignored him and continued to examine her book. Hagrid came over and asked what they would be doing over their holidays.
"I'm going home for Christmas; my family is visiting relatives in Brighton," Hermione said, not taking her eyes out of her book.
"Ron's coming home with me; he's never been to America before," Ron said he'd never been out of Britain before and was looking forward to it. Hagrid noticed Hermione's stack of books.
"Blimey Hermione, you tryin' ter earn extra credit or sommat?" he asked.
"Some'o these books ain't been outta t'Library fer years!" Hermione started to say what the books were for, but Harry spoke first.
"You know Hermione, always wanting to learn more." Hagrid shrugged and went back to working on the decorations. Harry turned to Hermione.
"He's already suspicious about us learning about Flamel, and we don't want him telling McGonagall or Dumbledore what we're up to." Hermione thought about this and admitted that Harry might be right.
"You will keep looking over the holidays, won't you?" she asked intently. Ron rolled his eyes at this.
"Hermione, it's Christmas time! We're all anxious about who Flamel is and why he and Dumbledore are cooking up something in Hogwarts, but can't we take a break and enjoy the holiday?" Hermione started to protest, but Harry raised his hand.
"I promise we'll keep looking; my family has a massive library back home, both magical and not. If we find anything, I promise we'll tell you."
It was a week before Christmas when the students who were leaving the castle gathered their belongings and lined up in the Great Hall to leave the castle. Harry had his trunk packed with clothes and schoolwork, Hedwig was safely in her cage, and Mano was perched on Harry's shoulder. Ron had messily packed his trunk with clothes but had to be needled by Harry and Hermione to take along his holiday school work. Scabbers was sleeping in Ron's pocket. Hermione had packed nearly all the books she could find and still left room for clothes.
McGonagall entered the Hall and gathered the students, leading them to the grounds. There was a series of carriages that seemed to be pulled by nothing. Harry inspected the carriage he, Ron, and Hermione had chosen. Something was tethered to the carriage but invisible. He reached out his hand and felt a bony body with leathery skin. As he felt around, he found a wing. His eyes widened in delight.
"Thestrals! They have Thestrals pulling the carriages!" Ron and Hermione's eyes widened at this.
"I've read about them. They're a form of winged horse, but they're usually invisible to most people. Only those who have witnessed someone die can see them!" Hermione said as Ron shuddered.
"I'm glad I can't see them; they're supposed to look creepy, like something that died and came back after too long!" Harry patted the side of the invisible horse. He wished he could see it. He thought they must be beautiful from what he'd read about them.
Harry climbed aboard the carriage with his friends. As soon as they were seated, the carriage trundled forward, the Thestrals pulling them along. The three rode the carriage down the path to the gate of the grounds. They hopped down from the carriage as soon as they reached the gate. Harry felt until he found Thestral's head and stroked its muzzle. He felt a wet, forked tongue flick against his fingers. Harry smiled and patted the horse goodbye.
The students walked a short while until they reached Hogsmeade Station. The Hogwarts Express waited in all its scarlet glory as the students loaded their luggage and boarded the train. Harry and his friends chose a compartment and chatted, waiting for the train to depart.
Once everyone was aboard, the train chugged to life and left the station, returning to London. The trolley came by after a while, and Harry treated his friends to several goodies. They ate and talked about what they looked forward to for the holiday until, at last, as it was getting dark, the train pulled into Platform 9 . Harry, Ron, and Hermione gathered their belongings and left the train. One by one, they walked through the stone barrier into the Muggle side of Kings Cross Station.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione walked through the station, looking for their families. Hermione perked up and waved to a nice-looking couple. Hermione's parents were dentists, and they owned a practice in London. Hermione ran up to her parents and embraced them tightly. She turned to Harry and Ron and pulled her parents to meet them.
"Mummy, Daddy, these are my friends, Ron Weasley and Harry Potter-Addams." Mr. and Mrs. Granger smiled and shook hands with the two boys.
"It's Lovely to meet you two boys; Hermione has written about you both," said Mrs. Granger. Harry shook hands with the two doctors and thanked them. Ron shook hands and muttered a brief thanks.
Harry began scanning the crowd for his own family. Suddenly, he heard a shriek and turned his head. Uncle Fester was chatting with an attractive lady who seemed to be trying to decide whether to faint or run away. Grandmama pulled Fester by his ear, back from the woman, who breathed a sigh of relief and ran off. Harry smiled and ran over to his family. Grandmama and Fester saw Harry approaching and beamed.
"Ah, there you are dearest! Been looking for you through this crowd!" Grandmama pulled him into a warm embrace. As soon as she let go, he hugged Uncle Fester.
"You've been growing like a toadstool, Harry; soon, you'll tower over your Father!" Fester ruffled Harry's hair. Harry pulled his Uncle and Grandmother over to meet his friends.
"Ron, Hermione, I want you to meet my Uncle Fester and Grandmama Eudora!" Grandmama and Fester grinned at the two shocked young Wizards. Hermione cleared her throat and held out her hand.
"Erm, how do you do?" Grandmama reached with a gnarled and warty hand and shook Hermione's.
"Hello, dearie. You're pretty; I bet you're beating them off with a stick at school!" Hermione turned pink in embarrassment. Ron reached out and shook hands with Fester.
"Hi, I'm Ron." Fester shook his hand vigorously.
"Ah, you're the kid with the two hellraisers for brothers!" Ron nodded at the mention of Fred and George.
"I'd sure like to meet them; remind me of me and Gomez when we were boys!"
"Fester, my, that's an unusual name," Hermione said, hesitantly offering her hand for the rotund, hairless man to shake. Fester grinned.
"Yeah, it means 'to rot'!" he shook the girl's hand in a friendly fashion, not noticing the disgust on her face.
"Well, it's been lovely to meet you, dearie, but we must get going. Come along, boys!" Grandmama ushered Harry, Ron, and Fester along. Harry and Ron said goodbye to Hermione and followed the elderly Witch.
"Right, we'll be taking one of them Portkey dealies, so everybody hold on tight!" Grandmama reached into her handbag and pulled out a familiar-looking bronze disc. She held it out, and Harry, Fester, and Ron grabbed hold. Just as before, there felt like a hook behind the navel, pulling them through space.
Harry and Fester laughed as they whirled through the vortex. Ron turned a little green; it was the first time he'd taken a portkey. After several minutes of flying through space, they landed with a thud in the parlor of Addams Manor. Lurch was dusting the Moose head, barely even noticing the sudden arrival.
"Those things are pretty quick, but they make a mess of your hair!" Grandmama ran her hands through her frazzled locks, putting everything back into place. Harry helped Ron up off the floor where he landed. Ron brushed himself off, then began to look around the eclectic House.
"Blimey, this place is something else!" He looked around at the swordfish, the tortoise, and, of course, the moose. Lurch shuffled over to the others and grunted in greeting. Ron looked up into Lurch's face and yelped.
"Hello, Lurch, this is my friend, Ron Weasley!" Harry presented Ron to the faithful butler. Lurch nodded and held out a massive hand. Ron hesitantly shook hands with the giant servant.
"Merlin, and I thought Hagrid was big!" Lurch stalked away, and Harry began to show Ron around. He took Ron downstairs to the playroom. Harry had just opened the door when a knife flew past him and embedded itself in the wall. Ron shrieked and ducked in in case another came flying. Harry grabbed hold of the knife and entered the room.
Wednesday and Pugsley were inside, standing beside a table with several knives. The door to the playroom door had a target hung up, with several more knives embedded in it. Harry smiled at his siblings.
"Good shot, Wednesday; sorry to make you miss!" Harry closed the door and flung the knife behind him, nailing the board right in the center. Ron marveled at how Harry did that.
"Harry, welcome home!" Pugsley ran up and hugged his brother. Wednesday nodded Harry hello in her usual detached way.
"Hello Harry, you look well." Wednesday picked up another knife and set up her aim. She drew back her arm and threw it. The knife bounced off the wall, ricocheted off the Iron Maiden, curved around the electric chair, and landed at the end of the knife Harry had thrown. Harry pushed the shocked Ron over to meet his siblings.
"Wednesday, Pugsley, this is my best friend from Hogwarts, Ron Weasley." Ron meekly waved and said hello. Pugsley shook Ron's hand in a friendly fashion.
"Hi, Harry's written to us about you and your adventures! Did you see a live Cerberus and kill a troll?" Ron told Pugsley about the events Harry, Hermione, and he had been through so far. Wednesday had not greeted Ron, simply staring at him in her usual icy, detached fashion, but Harry saw darkness in her eyes. Ron turned to Wednesday and held out his hand.
"Hello, Harry's told me about you too!" Ron held out his hand, but Wednesday stared at him. She gripped another knife and felt the sharp edge of the blade.
"Pleasure." That was all she said, and she threw the knife hard and fast. The knife embedded itself almost to the hilt. Ron gulped and lowered his hand. Harry turned to Wednesday and pulled her aside.
"Come now, Wednesday, Ron's my friend and our guest, and we should be welcoming!" Wednesday glared at Harry but shrugged. She walked over to Ron and gave his hand a brief shake. She held out the knife she was holding.
"Here, why don't you try your luck?" Ron's eyes boggled at the knife being offered to him. He'd only held a blade in potions class when chopping or peeling ingredients. Harry had shown him the knife that Wednesday had given him. He still got a shiver when he remembered Harry pulling it on Malfoy the night before their ill-fated duel.
Harry smiled and motioned for Ron to go ahead. Ron grabbed the knife; it was heavier than it looked and cold in his hands. Harry pointed to the target on the door.
"Just aim your shot, keep your arm level, and throw!" Ron stood before the target and lined up his shot. He and his siblings liked to play Quidditch back home in the summer. Their Father had made a makeshift pitch in the field behind the House, and they all took turns at the various positions. Ron was a better Keeper than Chaser but had experience aiming and shooting the Quaffle through the hoop. He hoped his skills at Quidditch would aid in throwing a knife.
Ron looked at the dead center of the target, closed one eye, pulled back his arm, took a breath, and then threw as hard and straight as he could. The knife flew through the air and landed just off-center! Harry and Pugsley cheered and applauded; even Wednesday seemed impressed, though she tried not to show it. Ron could hardly believe he had done it! The door opened, and Gomez poked his head in the door.
"Ah, children, there you are!" Gomez entered the playroom. He noticed the set of knives and grinned.
"Up to some good, wholesome fun, I see!" Gomez turned his eyes to Harry, and he beamed widely.
"Harry, my boy, how wonderful to have you home!" Gomez embraced Harry, then looked over at Ron.
"Ah, this must be your dear friend, young Master Weasley; welcome to our home, my lad!" Gomez held out his hand for Ron to shake.
"Thank you for letting me stay for the holiday, sir." Ron shook hands with Gomez vigorously. Gomez then told the children to follow him upstairs. The four youths followed the Addams Patriarch to the parlor, where Morticia supervised Lurch's placement of a large, dead tree. The tree was tall, with long, bony branches; the wood was pale as a stone and planted in a pot. Morticia directed Lurch to shift it each way to the right and left until it was perfect. She turned and saw the five coming up from the playroom.
"Oh, Gomez, do you like the placement of the tree this year?" she motioned to the tree as Lurch continued to adjust it. Gomez inspected Lurch's handiwork and nodded.
"Perfect Querida, well done Lurch!" Lurch gave a brief nod and a low grumble, then stalked off. A large cardboard box labeled 'decorations' was beside Morticia. She looked over at Harry and smiled warmly.
"Harry dearest, welcome home!" Harry ran over and embraced his Mother tightly. When they parted, Harry introduced Ron. Morticia gently shook hands with Ron.
"Welcome, my dear; you're just in time to help us decorate the tree!" Ron glanced at the tree confusedly.
"Erm, I don't mean to be rude, Mrs. Addams, but isn't that tree dead?" Morticia nodded and turned to the tree.
"This tree has been in the Addams family for nearly fifty years. It was first cut by Gomez's Father, the Yule he and his wife spent in this House when they were first married. Gomez has decorated this tree every year since he was born." Gomez smiled wistfully at the tree and gently patted a branch.
"Ah, boyhood memories always make me teary-eyed. A bonus, my boy, to a dead tree is how clean it is, no fallen needles or sticky sap, and the bare branches give more room for decorations and presents to hang!"
Ron continued looking at the dead tree, then at Harry, who grinned. Ron shrugged and walked with the other kids to the decorations box. Everybody picked various baubles, garlands, and decorations. Some were the usual colored glass ornaments; one was broken but known as Grandmama's favorite. Others were somewhat unusual, such as a carved, skeletal, rocking horse, a tiny but sharp-looking guillotine, and a shrunken head that Ron swore winked at him!
Uncle Fester came in and went to work untangling and draping the lights. He checked each bulb by sticking it in his mouth; if it glowed, it was still good! Once the lights were adequately stringed and positioned, Fester plugged the pronged end of the cord into his ear. The tree sparkled to life, twinkling away. The family applauded Fester, who bowed modestly before pulling the plug from his ear and sticking it into the wall outlet.
Once the tree was fully decorated, Ron had to admit, it was quite pretty. All the lights, garlands, and decorations helped disguise the tree as dead and bare of needles. The final decoration was a model train placed around the bottom of the tree, which smoked and chugged around in a circle.
"There, finished just in time for dinner!" Gomez clapped his hands and led everyone to the dining room. Ron was always up for eating something, but Harry had told him about some of the meals he'd grown up with, so he took his seat apprehensively. Harry sat between Ron and Pugsley after seating Wednesday first. Lurch came wheeling the dinner tray, filled with various covered silver dishes.
Lurch laid the trays and dishes on the table and lifted the lids. Steam rose from the various foods prepared by the hulking butler. Ron sniffed the air and found it smelled good, though his stomach gave a little hop as the steam cleared. There was a platter with a roast of some kind, colored green, with scaly skin. A big bowl of purple mashed potatoes with greenish butter. A pie with several eel heads poking from the crust and a bowl of brown soup with whole prawns and purple tentacles floating on the surface.
The family dished their plates as Lurch poured a green concoction into their glasses. Harry glanced at Ron, who, for once, wasn't piling his plate with everything he could grab. Harry nudged him in the side.
"Go on, take plenty. It may look different, but Lurch is a marvelous cook!" Ron apprehensively filled his plate with roast meat and mashed potatoes. Harry filled a bowl with some of the soup and handed it to Ron. A Prawn peeked up from the brown liquid, its beady black eyes staring at him.
"You pull the heads off and eat the meat inside." Harry demonstrated, using his fork and knife to pry off the head of a prawn, exposing the white, flaky meat. Ron did the same, placing the creature's head to the side of his plate. Pulling out the meat with his fork, he cautiously took a bite. Surprisingly, it was good! Sweet and salty at the same time. The soup broth was tasty, too. Each part of the meal Ron tried looked unusual but tasted quite delicious. The brew in his glass smoked and bubbled like some of the potions he'd made in Snape's class. The taste was complex to place but was tart and refreshing.
Once their dinner was done, the family returned to the parlor to enjoy the evening. Lurch had cleared away the dishes and was now playing at his harpsichord. Gomez directed Lurch to play the tango, and he and Morticia began dancing in the parlor. Harry and Ron were showing Wednesday and Pugsley how to play Exploding Snap.
Ron found the Addams family to be quite odd but very friendly and a close-knit group. Pugsley seemed eager to make friends, but Wednesday still glared at him. He asked Harry why she seemed angry at him, but Harry brushed it aside.
"Wednesday's not a people person; She can be frosty to new people but warms up to them eventually." Harry laid a card that exploded with a loud bang and a puff of smoke.
When bedtime came, Ron was shown to a guest room. The walls were papered in a dark purple vine pattern. The bed was made with black sheets and a dark gray blanket. Lurch had unpacked Ron's clothes in an antique dresser and neatly folded his pajamas on the bed. Ron changed, lay in the reasonably comfortable bed, and drifted asleep. So far, he was glad he had accompanied Harry to his home for the holidays and wondered what new surprise would happen tomorrow.