I don't own anything in the Harry Potter Universe.
+++++
Lion’s Keep was, in a word, incredible. As Harry walked from room to room, he was struck by just how much it had changed for the holiday season. Large Christmas trees decorated almost every room, and other Christmas knickknacks dotted every open space. Harry was thankful to see that there was no mistletoe in sight. This was a Christmas wonderland that Harry had never experienced before. The portraits on the walls had started singing Christmas carols to anyone walking by, and much to Harry’s surprise, broke out into a rousing rendition of “God Rest ye, Merry Hippogriffs” whenever Remus was within earshot.
There were two trees, however, that stood out in Harry’s mind, above all the wonderful decorations. First was the tree in the main entrance hall. It easily stood twenty feet, reminding Harry of the trees that Hagrid had always brought in for the Christmas festivities at Hogwarts. He loved the tree, but it also bothered him. Hagrid had left the school in November on Order business, and Harry had not heard from him since. Every time he asked about it, he was told that everything was fine and not to worry. Harry was still very concerned for his big friend.
The second tree was the centre piece of the main living room. This was the tree that had all the presents under it, but this was not why Harry thought fondly of it. Upon arriving at the house, he had discovered that this was the Weasley family tree he had seen in the Burrow the previous year. He even noticed a rather disgruntled looking garden gnome tied to the top, wearing angel’s wings and a dress.
On Christmas Eve, Harry woke early. He had his own room in the house, as did everyone else. Luna had arrived a couple of days into the holidays, and her father would be arriving sometime that afternoon. Hermione’s parents were going to arrive, via car, much to the joy of Mr. Weasley, in the afternoon. Bill, Fleur, the twins, Charlie, Remus and Tonks were all staying in the house as well.
Harry walked down to the large, formal dining table, since that was the only table in the house that could seat all the guests. He was surprised that, while the house was certainly immense, all the people staying there seemed to congregate in the same four or five rooms. No one ever went up past the third floor.
“Morning, Harry dear, did you sleep well?” Mrs. Weasley questioned as he took his seat at the table. She had finally stopped thanking him for having them all over during the holidays.
“Yes, ma’am,” he replied. “Is Ron down yet?” Harry had scanned the table but found that Ron was not present, nor were Ginny, Neville, Luna, or Hermione.
“Yes, dear, he came down a while ago. He seemed terribly nervous about something though. Hardly touched his breakfast,” Mrs. Weasley commented, looking a little worried.
“I’m sure he is fine,” Harry reassured her. “Probably just nervous about what he got Hermione for Christmas.”
Mrs. Weasley nodded with a slight grin. Harry had a feeling Ron’s “talk” with Hermione’s parents was the source of Ron’s consternation and lack of appetite.
Harry finished breakfast as Hermione walked into the dining room with the morning paper. She looked a little pale as she approached. She sat down beside him just as Remus entered for breakfast.
“Harry,” she whispered. “Take a look at this.” She handed Harry the paper.
He saw on the front page a picture of man, apparently dead, in black Death Eater robes. He had a silver hand attached to his right arm. Harry’s breath caught in his throat and he looked up at Remus. He noticed that Remus had a long newly healed cut on the side of his face. He looked much paler than usual, as if he hadn’t slept all night.
“Remus, what happened to your face?” Harry asked hesitantly.
Remus looked very sad as he lifted his head to face Harry. His eyes were bloodshot and his mouth drawn into a grim expression. “I’m the last of the Marauders,” he declared. “I killed Peter last night.”
“How?” Harry exclaimed, his eyes wide in surprise.
“I was at Headquarters last night with Nymphadora,” Remus began. “We had some things to pick up for tomorrow. When we arrived, there was a small group of Death Eaters trying to get in. They didn’t know exactly where the house was, and they couldn’t see it, so they were just firing spells in all directions, trying to damage the wards on number twelve. They were hitting the houses of the neighbouring Muggles, and when they came out, they were attacked as well. Nymphadora called in some Aurors and we helped them subdue the Death Eaters. In the process of fighting, I hit Peter with a Cutting Hex. I caught him in the neck, and he died before the fight was over.” Remus looked much paler now and tears began to well up in his eyes.
Harry didn’t know what to say to his former professor. He could tell that the idea that he had killed Wormtail was eating at Lupin, but he didn’t really know fully why. He himself felt no pain at the loss of that traitor. “Are you all right, Remus?” Harry questioned.
“Yes, Harry, I’ve never killed anyone before, and certainly not someone I once considered a friend. I guess there was a part of me that hoped he could still be redeemed, but that can’t be the case now. Excuse me.” Remus got up and quickly left the table, followed by Tonks, who had just entered the room.
“He was the last Marauder long before last night. Wormtail never deserved that honour,” Harry stated flatly. He was no longer hungry, so he and Hermione went to the billiard room to find the rest of the gang.
++++++
The festive spirit in the house was too great for even the sorrows of war to hold down, and by late afternoon Remus could be seen smiling and laughing along with the rest of family. Luna’s father arrived around two and regaled most of the adults with fantastic stories of mythical creatures he had “encountered” over the years. Luna was certainly cast in the same mould as her father. They both wore dreamy expressions on their faces for the majority of the time, but could also speak with surprising wisdom, candour, and intelligence when they wanted to. Harry was surprised to notice that even Hermione seemed to genuinely like the elder Lovegood.
At four thirty, a sound not heard at Lion’s Watch in many years, was heard: the sound of vehicle tires pulling into the drive. Dobby had extended and widened the foot path to make it useable for a car. The Grangers had arrived.
Harry watched as the reactions of his two best friends could not have been more different. As Mrs. Granger walked into the house, Hermione squealed with delight and ran to embrace her. Her father was met, too, by a squeal and a powerful hug. Her mother had tears in her eyes and her father laughed merrily, as he patted his only daughter on the back. They were both obviously thrilled to see Hermione, and it struck Harry just how alone Hermione must feel. Her parents had no contact with, nor real understanding of, the wizarding world. She, in some ways, was just as alone as he was. He smiled, thinking of how the Weasleys had accepted them both without hesitation into their already very large family.
Ron’s reaction to the arrival of the Grangers was much quieter. He just turned green. Harry watched with admiration, however, as he stood”still green, but his back straight”and marched over to greet the Grangers.
“Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Granger,” he spoke, holding out his hand to shake Mr. Granger’s. “It’s nice to see you again.” Harry thought Ron sounded stiff, and a bit too much like Percy, but he understood just how nervous Ron must be at the moment.
Mr. Granger shook Ron’s hand with a wide smile. Mrs. Granger wrapped him in a hug, tears building in her eyes. She mumbled something that Harry couldn’t hear, but Ron seemed to visibly relax. Hermione stepped in as Ron was released and hugged her mother again.
Finally, the Grangers were allowed to move past the entrance hall and into the house. Mr. Weasley quickly cornered Mr. Granger, quizzing him on all things Muggle. Mr. Granger, however, did not seem at all put out by it. In fact, Harry distinctly heard him refer to all the wizarding world information Mr. Weasley offered as “simply fascinating,” and Harry knew where Hermione got her investigative nature from.
“Ron, what did Mrs. Granger say to you when she hugged you?” Ginny asked when she, Harry, and Ron had slipped into a quiet corner.
Ron blushed. “She thanked me for taking such good care of her daughter. She said Hermione has been talking about me for years”how I help her, and try to make her have a good time once in a while.” The blush deepened, but the pride in his voice was clear.
“Awww, little Ronniekins…” Fred intoned from behind them.
“It seems ickle Ronnie has impressed the fair Hermione’s parents,” George announced.
“Watch out, Ron, once the parents like you,” Fred continued.
“The girl won’t anymore,” George finished. Ron went pale again.
Ginny smacked Fred in the arm and kicked George in the shin. “You two, grow up! It’s no wonder neither of you have a girlfriend. You both obviously know nothing about women.”
“Oh, and how would wee little Ginny know about that?” Fred remarked mockingly.
“Yeah, you’re just a wee little girl, so how would you know about what women want?” George commented.
“Oh yeah, you may only see me that way, but some people here see me as all grown up,” she smiled, looking over at Harry, who felt his cheeks turn a blazing red.
“What do you mean by all that?” George exclaimed.
“Who thinks you’re all grown up?” Fred fired back, then turned to Harry, who looked as if he had a bad sunburn on his face. “He thinks you’re all grown up?”
Fred and George started to walk towards Harry, cracking their knuckles, glaring, doing a rather good impression of Crabbe and Goyle.
“Hey, guys, wait--” Harry stammered, backing into the wall.
“Dinner is ready,” Dobby announced from the hallway.
The twins looked at each other, slight grins playing at the corners of their mouths. “We’ll talk about this later, Harry,” they both stated before leaving the room.
“Thanks for that, Ginny,” Harry commented dryly.
“No problem, Harry, see you in there,” Ginny replied before sauntering out of the room. Harry shook his head, as if to clear it, and followed, her still blushing furiously.
The dinner was magnificent, with enough food to rival even the Hogwarts feasts. After everyone had eaten until they were completely full, Harry, Neville, Ginny and Luna got up to go to the game room and relax. Harry noticed that Ron had quietly left the room with Mr. Granger, while Hermione and her mother chatted merrily over tea.
An hour later, Ron walked slowly into the game room. “Where’s Hermione?” Ginny asked.
“She’s with her mum and dad. Since she hasn’t seen them in a while, she wants to spend as much time with them as she can. I think they went to her room to chat,” Ron explained.
Harry looked at Ron. Something didn’t seem quite right. He didn’t look pale, or green. He didn’t look happy or sad; he looked neutral, which for Ron was a rare thing. Harry caught his eye and raised his eyebrows, as if to say, “Did you talk to them and what did they say?”
Ron nodded back, and the faintest of grins broke across his face. “Well I am off to bed,” he declared, the smile growing by the second. He left the room and Harry could have sworn he heard a “Whoop” coming from behind the door as it closed.
“What was that all about?” Neville asked, confused.
“I think Ron is going to have a very happy Christmas this year,” Harry replied, a grin breaking out on his face as well.
+++++++++
“Harry, wake up, it’s Christmas!” Ginny shouted into his bedroom from the door. She then raced down the hall before Harry had even opened his eyes.
He groggily grabbed his glasses, went to check his watch, realized it still didn’t work and got out of bed. He put on his robe, and moved towards the door. They always wake up early on Christmas day, Harry thought as he stepped into the hall. He was greeted by a stream of ice cold water falling onto him from above.
“AHHHH!” he shouted, jumping back into his room. He heard the insane laughter of the twins in the hallway.
“Just thought you might need a cold shower this morning,” one of the twins shouted.
“Since you obviously see our little sister as all grown up,” the other finished.
“See you downstairs, Harry,” they chorused.
Harry glared at the door, feeling cold and wet, but not sleepy anymore. He dried himself off and put on clothes before making his way downstairs.
“What took you so long, mate?” Ron shouted as Harry descended the last steps.
Harry simply growled, glaring at the twins, who stood in the corner laughing. They caught his eye and immediately got serious and walked over to greet him.
“Sorry about that, Harry,” Fred declared.
“Yeah, just having some fun,” George stated sheepishly.
“No harm done,” Fred continued.
“Right, all’s well and that sort of thing. Here, have some breakfast.” George grabbed a tray of pasties from a nearby table. He took one for himself and offered the tray to Harry.
Harry looked suspiciously at the tray. “I think I’ll have this one.” He grabbed the one George was just about to take a bite out of. George looked like he was going to protest, but allowed Harry to take the pasty. Harry took a quick bite and POOF! he became a small pig running around the room.
The twins doubled over with laughter as they watched the little pink pig with glasses race from one person to the next. Finally, after a minute or so, Poof, Harry was himself again, beet red, on his hands and knees in front of a very amused Mrs. Granger.
“Piglet Pasties,” George shouted.
“They’ll be in the spring catalogue,” Fred announced between laughs.
The room broke into great peals of laughter. Harry, still mightily embarrassed, walked over to a chair and sat down with a huff. Fred and George were roaring with laughter, when Ginny shouted an incantation and waved her wand at them.
The twins stopped laughing as large slimy-winged bogies started attacking their heads from every direction.
“Get ’em off!” they both shouted, swatting at the black wings, trying to fend off the attack. The room erupted into laughter again at the sight of the twins. Ginny finally released the hex and the twins began laughing as well.
Once the theatrics of the twins and Harry were complete, it was time for serious present opening. Harry was surprised that almost all of his presents this year were articles of clothing, including his normal green jumper with the H sewn on the chest. He was happy that he would finally have some clothes of his own to wear instead of Dudley’s ill-fitting hand-me-downs. Hermione was the only member of the group to get him something other than clothing; as usual, she purchased Harry a book”this one on great wizards from the United States.
“Jenny Wright, from America, suggested it, and I thought it was fascinating,” Hermione explained, as he opened the book.
The morning wore on and the house slowly slowed down to a lazy, peaceful pace. Harry watched with a satisfied smile as Ginny looked admiringly at her new charm bracelet, a gift from him. It had two charms on it, a broomstick and a Quaffle.
Lunch was set for noon. Everyone was gathered in the main dinning room setting places and chatting happily. Parvati arrived around eleven, and she and Neville exchanged gifts and a few kisses, quietly in a corner.
They were all just about to find their places when a thunderous knock came from the door. The door opened and Hagrid made his way into the house. He was smiling from ear to ear and greeted everyone warmly.
Harry walked up to his friend. “Hagrid! Where have you been?”
“Never you mind that, Harry,” Hagrid replied. “You’ll find out soon enough. Let’s eat, I’m starved.”
Harry noticed Hagrid giving a short nod to Remus, but said nothing. Remus nodded back and went to take his seat beside Tonks.
Dinner ended and once again everyone was stuffed beyond anything they could believe. All the guests slowly found their way from the table to other parts of the house. Harry was on his way to the game room, but was stopped by Remus.
“Harry, could you come with me?”
“Sure, Remus,” Harry replied. They started for the door. Harry saw Ron and Hermione walk out just before him and Remus. All four walked down the path, although Ron and Hermione were in front of them and didn’t seem to notice they were there.
Ron and Hermione turned down a path that Harry knew led to a small pond surrounded by Weeping Willow trees, very similar to the pond in the garden behind Grimmauld Place. Harry and Remus kept walking down the main path, and Harry realized they were walking to his parents’ house.
He had no idea why Remus was taking him here; he really didn’t want to think about losing his parents on a day that had been so bright and happy. He walked around the corner and almost fainted on the spot.
Before him was a perfectly rebuilt two story brick house. All signs of damage and destruction had been removed; the house stood completely restored.
Harry couldn’t speak. He couldn’t move as he stood there looking at the home that he couldn’t remember. It was his home”the place where he had spent the first year of his life, not the demolished wreck he had seen during the summer. “How?”
“I have been working on it for the past couple of months. Remember I told you that Sirius, your dad and I built it years ago? Hagrid came to help me get the finishing touches on it before Christmas. This, Harry, is your Christmas present from Nymphadora and me. Happy Christmas!”
Harry felt like he couldn’t breathe. Tears began to build in his eyes and he didn’t know what to say. He was saved from the awkward silence by Hagrid, who walked up behind him. “All right, Harry?” he said with a smile as he gently placed his massive hand on Harry’s shoulder.
Harry eventually regained his ability to speak. “Hagrid, Remus, I really don’t know how to thank you for this.”
“Just live your life and enjoy it as much as you possibly can, Harry,” Remus replied with a sad smile.
They walked into the house. The furnishings downstairs were all in place and repaired. The upstairs, however, was completely devoid of furniture. Harry was puzzled over this as he and Remus walked down the upstairs hall.
“We didn’t put furniture up here, Harry, because we thought you might like to do that yourself. Most of what was up here was destroyed anyway. Once you graduate, Nymphadora and I will be more than happy to help you with it if you would like.”
“Yeah, that would be great.” Harry smiled. The smile faded, however, and he continued, “Remus, how would anyone but us see the place? The Fidelius Charm is still working although Peter is dead, right?”
A cloud of emotion seemed to descend upon Remus for an instant at the mention of the Charm and Wormtail’s death, but just as quickly as it appeared, it vanished. “I have been working on that, Harry. As it turns out, there is a way for you, as owner of the house, to reverse the spell, now that the Keeper is dead. The incantation is simple enough, although I didn’t expect for you to be able to use it so soon.”
“Why would reversing it be simple if the Fidelius Charm is so hard to perform?” Harry questioned. The Fidelius Charm was always very confusing for him.
Remus paused, thinking before he answered. “It often happens, Harry, that undoing a complicated spell is easier than doing it. Besides, if the Secret Keeper is dead, then only those who wanted to keep the secret in the first place would be able to undo the spell. Does that sort it out for you?”
Harry’s head was beginning to hurt as he tried to make sense of what Remus was telling him. Finally, still confused after several minutes, he gave up. “Just tell me what to do.”
“The incantation is Retego Pectusoris Dissimulo Custos.” Remus waved his wand, showing Harry the wand movement.
Harry imitated the move and the incantation and was surprised to see that nothing happened. “So, is the Charm lifted?”
“I guess we will have to get someone to come out and check,” Remus replied, with a slight grin.
“Harry, can I give you my present now?” Hagrid started, uncharacteristically shy.
“Isn’t this your present, Hagrid?” Harry replied. “You didn’t get me something along with doing all this?”
“Well, sort of…I just sort of thought you’d like this last gift. It’s outside.”
They stepped outside and walked around to the side of the house. Harry saw the shed that had been his dad’s old workshop. Hagrid opened the front door and walked inside. He came out a second later, pushing a beautiful Harley Davidson motorcycle. The chromium on the exhaust pipes and handle bars shined in the afternoon sun. The cowling over the engine was candy apple red, with a large black dog painted on either side.
“This, Harry, is Sirius’s old flying motorbike.”
Harry’s eyes went red again with tears as he tentatively reached out and touched the bike. He had a look of wonder on his face and began to imagine his godfather flying around on this machine. He then remembered Hagrid saying that he had picked Harry up and flew it to the Dursleys’ after that horrible Halloween night. “You can fly this,” Harry stated.
“Yeap. Would you like to go for a spin?” Hagrid asked, his eyes twinkling with glee.
“Oh yeah!” Harry smiled, the excitement of getting to fly on this magical motorcycle overpowering his memories about Sirius.
“Great, let’s go, it’s all filled up and ready to fly,” Hagrid said, smiling broadly.
Harry sat behind Hagrid as he started the motor. It roared to life, and before Harry knew it, he was flying around the grounds of Lion’s Watch on his godfather’s motorcycle. They flew over the Quidditch pitch Harry’s grandfather had built for his father. They flew over the pond, where Harry thought he saw Ron and Hermione in an embrace. They flew over the house just in time to see Neville and Parvati kissing on a second floor balcony. Harry also saw Ginny watching from the third floor window as they went flying by. Harry knew he had to take her for a ride when he learned how to fly it himself.
+++++++
Harry spent hours flying that afternoon. He was very wind blown and tired when he finally reentered the main house, but was thrilled about the time he’d had in the air over the afternoon. He walked into the house and was greeted by a scream.
“Harry, did you hear? Did you see?” Ginny bellowed from the main sitting room. Harry was fairly certain he knew what to expect when he walked in.
He stepped around the corner and saw Hermione, positively glowing, sitting across the room on a couch with Ron. Mr. and Mrs. Granger appeared to be in deep discussion with Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. Hermione looked up and smiled warmly at Harry. Harry smiled back, noticing the small pearl engagement ring on her left hand. He walked over and she stood so that he could hug her.
“Congratulations, Hermione, Ron,” he said, surprised by the amount of emotion in his voice. Ron got up and gave him a one-armed hug as Hermione walked over to show the ring off to Ginny once more.
“Why a pearl?” Harry asked.
“Remember the Muggle book you guys saw me reading a few weeks back?” Harry nodded. “Well the main character gets engaged and the bloke gives her a pearl instead of a diamond. I liked that, and Hermione doesn’t like diamonds anyway, so I thought it was a good idea.”
“And to think that someone once said that you have the emotional range of a knife and fork.” Harry smiled.
The rest of the evening was a dazzle of fun for the family. Harry watched from the sidelines as news of Hermione and Ron’s engagement was made known throughout the house. Fred and George, upon hearing the news, both flung themselves at Hermione’s feet, expressing their undying devotion to her and begging her to reconsider.
Bill simply slapped Ron on the back and welcomed Hermione into the family. Mrs. Weasley and Mrs. Granger sat at a small table discussing wedding plans.
Harry watched and enjoyed the happiness of his friends. He knew that the war would be back tomorrow, that he would have to leave them again and risk his life”but that would come tomorrow. He would enjoy this evening and file the memories away for his final duel with Voldemort.
+++++++
A/N: Sorry for the long wait on this one. I will try and submit faster in the future.
As always big, major thanks to my pre-betas Kerrbear and cableguysmom. Also I would like to welcome Ginny Guerra as one of my beta, she was a big help on this chapter, will be helping with the rest of the story along with my always wonderful beta JenC. Thanks ladies for all the hard work. It is good because you ladies make it good.
Coming up next a trip to Lancaster to search RAB’s house and some questions finally get answered.