The next morning, Harry woke with a start as he was yanked out of bed by his ankle. He yelled and twisted in the air, flailing wildly as he tried to get to his wand. The Death Eaters! They must have found them…and then he heard his father’s laughter.
“Happy Christmas, Harry, Ginny! Upsie daisy!” James’ voice yelled happily. Harry blinked and relaxed, grinning. He should’ve known his father would pull something like this. After all, it was the only Christmas they’d have together, so he’d probably want it to be memorable, even if there had been Death Eaters searching around the house last night.
“Libracorpus,” Harry heard Ginny say, giggling, and he dropped back onto the bed, narrowly avoiding her legs.
“Oi! How’d you know the countercurse?” James demanded, sounding a bit put out.
“Harry’s used that spell on my brother enough times that I paid attention when he let him down, just in case he ever decided to try it with me,” she said as she climbed out of bed. “I don’t fancy hanging in the air with my skirt around my ears, thanks.”
Harry grinned at the thought, and she pretended to glare at him. “Don’t even think about it!”
“Hey, you put that image in my head! I’m perfectly innocent!” he protested, attempting to wipe the grin off of his face, though he didn’t manage it very well.
She snorted and followed James out of the room, wrapping a spare robe around herself. Harry tumbled out of bed after them, tripped by the sheets around his ankles.
“Ow,” he yelped, and heard Ginny’s laughter drift up the stairs. “It’s amazing, the things my girlfriend finds funny,” he grumbled to himself, though he smiled as he said it. He couldn’t seem to stop smiling this morning. And what was wrong with that? It was Christmas, after all!
He managed to untangle himself from the sheets and made it down the stairs without further incident to be greeted by Ginny and his parents in the sitting room. Lily and James were seated next to each other on the sofa, while Ginny played with the baby on the floor by the tree. He kept grabbing at the ornaments, but since he couldn’t stand yet, they were just out of reach. He was determined though, and didn’t stop trying until Ginny finally pulled a red plastic ball from the tree and handed it to him.
“Harry, why don’t you play Father Christmas and hand out the gifts?” Lily asked from the sofa.
“Yeah, since you’re up already,” James added, and Lily rolled her eyes.
“That wasn’t why I asked him,” she fussed, but Harry just chuckled and began handing out packages. Soon, everyone had presents in front of them, though the baby’s pile was the biggest of all. Lily and James helped their tiny son open his new toys, but he was more interested in the boxes they came in. Ginny tried to interest him in a stuffed elephant, but he ignored it in favor of a piece of shiny wrapping paper, which he kept trying to stuff in his mouth.
“Try not to let me choke, Ginny,” Harry told her as he grabbed the paper away from himself. “I’d like to live to the age I am now, if that’s all right with you.” He grinned at her as she picked up little Harry and bounced him in her arms.
“Shush, you,” she retorted, sticking her tongue out at him, and then making faces at the baby while his parents tore into their own presents, watching each other out of the corners of their eyes.
“Oh, James, it’s lovely,” Lily breathed, dangling the locket in front of her, its delicate chain dripping through her fingers.
“Here, let me put it on you,” James said hastily, reaching around to clasp it around her neck. “I know it’s a little clichéd, a lily for my Lily, but you said you liked it in the store, and it’s really pretty, and it reminded me of you because it’s really pretty, and…”
“I love it,” she said firmly, and kissed him solidly on the mouth, effectively shutting him up for a few minutes.
“You didn’t have to get me anything, Ginny,” Harry said as he unwrapped the little box she’d handed to him.
“I know,” she said hesitantly as she set his younger self on the floor, well away from the discarded wrapping paper. He finally became interested in the stuffed elephant he had ignored before, and started chewing one of its ears. “I just…I picked it up the day before I joined you and my brother and Hermione. That’s why it’s here and not back at the Burrow “ it was still in my pocket.”
It was a glass ball the size of a large marble, filled with whitish smoke. As he rolled it in his palm, the smoke began to change color, until it became a rich, grassy green.
“What is it?” he asked, and Ginny smiled.
“It’s a type of Rememberall, actually,” she said. “You know how, in the usual ones, the smoke turns red if you’ve forgotten something?”
He nodded. “Yeah, like the one Neville has.”
“Right,” she said. “Well, this one is kind of like that, but a little different. It’s actually keyed to me, not you, and the smoke turns green when I’m remembering you. Or just thinking of you, but it’s kind of the same thing. So, you’ll know when I’m thinking of you.” She hesitated a moment before continuing. “I thought maybe it’d show you how important you are to me. And…and I’d hoped it would convince you that we should be together, despite the dangers.”
He smiled and leaned close to her. “You convinced me of that all by yourself,” he whispered before kissing her. “But it’s nice to know that you think of me almost as much as I think of you.” He grinned cheekily at that last, ducking away as she swiped playfully at him and stuck out her tongue.
“Seriously though, I love it. I’ll carry it everywhere I go,” he said, and she squeezed his hand briefly. Then she picked up his gift to her, and started to open it.
He was suddenly nervous. What if she didn’t like it? Or worse, didn’t want it? He had the sudden urge to snatch the box from her before she could finish unwrapping it so that she couldn’t hate it. But she’d pulled it out in a moment, and was turning it over in her hands.
“It’s beautiful, Harry,” she said softly, her fingers tracing the whirls in the pattern twining around the Snitch. It opened a moment later, revealing the knot of their hair that Harry had placed in it the night before.
“It…it was called The Lover’s Snitch in the store, but that wasn’t why I picked it. I just thought you’d like it because it’s beautiful without being too fancy “ we could still play with it, if we wanted, though you probably won’t want to, since it’s just got a design around it instead of something added to it. And you can put anything you want in there, really, I just thought…well, people used to exchange locks of hair all the time, and we’ve finally decided to be together and I thought it would be…romantic,” he finished, his voice trailing off at the last word, when his eyes finally met hers, which were shining.
“I think I know what you meant, Harry,” she said, reaching a hand out to stroke his face. He raised his hand to cover hers.
“Yeah,” he said simply, and smiled.
Their little reverie was interrupted a moment later with James’ exuberant shout. “A Nimbus 1700! I’ve been dying for one of these, Harry! Look, Lily, look at all the features…”
She nodded as he began expounding on the many fine qualities of the broom, giving Harry a rueful glance right before her eyes glazed over. He shrugged, miming helplessness.
“Thanks again for the broom, Harry. Though you really shouldn’t have, it’s really expensive,” James began, but Harry cut him off.
“The money’s not important,” Harry said. “Let’s play some Quidditch later, you said you haven’t been able to in a while. Ginny’s good, and so’s Ron, so maybe we can get Remus and Sirius and Tonks to play a game when they all get here.”
“But what about the Death Eaters?” James asked, and Harry gave him a look.
“The war shouldn’t stop you from doing the things you love,” Harry said quietly. “You shouldn’t give up the things you love because things are uncertain or dangerous. Besides, you never know when you’ll get a chance to play again.” His smile turned sad. “And it’ll be the only time I can play with you.”
James smiled back at him, equally sad, and nodded. “This afternoon, then,” he said quietly, picking up the baby and holding him tightly. There was a moment of silence as they each contemplated the future that would be taken from them, but it was soon broken by little Harry’s complaints at being parted from his beloved elephant.
“All right, all right, here you go!” James exclaimed, picking up the toy and giving it to him as Lily opened her present from Harry.
“I love your gift, Harry, thank you! It’s lovely,” she said, beaming at him as brightly as she could as she unwrapped the photo album he’d given her. She flipped through the empty pages as Harry said, “That’s why I wanted the camera yesterday “ I want to fill it with pictures of my time here.”
She raised her eyes to meet his, and suddenly, they brimmed over. “Thank you, son,” she whispered, and leaned over to hug him fiercely, the album clutched to her chest. “We’ll treasure it.” His father nodded in agreement, his own eyes moist, but he held his emotions in check as Harry held his mother.
“I’m so glad I got this time with you,” Harry said quietly. “This is the best Christmas gift I could ever have received. And soon, everyone I care about will be here. Both of you, Ginny, Ron and Hermione, and Sirius and Remus. My family.” He smiled, and reached for Ginny. “I only wish your mum and dad could be here, too,” he told her. “Mrs. Weasley’s probably the closest thing I have to a mum. I even get a Weasley sweater every year!”
Lily smiled at that, and James hooted with laughter.
“Molly and her knitting,” he chuckled. “She was knitting scarves and socks for Arthur when they were thirteen! I felt a bit sorry for him, really.”
Lily rolled her eyes at him. “I think it’s lovely,” she said, a bit hotly. “Have you ever tried to knit? It’s bloody hard! You’re always dropping stitches and missing loops and the needles slip out and it’s really amazing she knits as much as she does! So don’t laugh!”
“Oh, come now darling, I was only joking! I think it’s lovely, too!” James protested, before whispering to Harry, “Though I’m a bit glad she hasn’t knitted me anything yet.”
Ginny overheard, and giggled. “No hard feelings. You have to be a Weasley to truly appreciate Mum’s sweaters. They’re not very pretty, true, and poor Ron always gets a maroon one, but they’re warm and soft, and we all secretly love them. And she gets a little better every year. The one I got last year was quite respectable. I even wear it out in public sometimes.”
They all laughed again, and began talking of other Christmases as they moved into the kitchen for breakfast, though Harry and Ginny were careful not to reveal anything too important. It wasn’t too difficult, though Harry suspected that his parents still knew that his Christmases weren’t always happy. But this one would be, especially once everyone arrived for dinner that evening.
After breakfast, Hermione called Ginny on the enchanted mirrors.
“Ginny! Ginny!” her voice called from Ginny’s pocket. “Ginny, I need to talk to you and Harry! It’s important!”
“All right, all right! Keep your knickers on,” Ginny grumbled, pulling the mirror out of her pocket and talking to it. “What’s so important?”
“Ginny? Oh, good, finally! I was beginning to think you’d never answer,” Hermione said, and Ginny snorted.
“Hermione, it was only a couple of seconds. Now, again, what’s so important? You’ll be coming over soon anyway. Why couldn’t you just tell me whatever it is then?”
“Because Tonks will be in disguise as my older sister, Elizabeth, and you’ve got to warn the Potters,” Hermione replied. Ginny was rendered silent for a moment, and Harry jumped in.
“In disguise? Why? They’ve already met her “ they know who she is!” he said indignantly, and Hermione sighed.
“I know that, Harry, but Remus and Sirius haven’t. Well, not in this time, anyway, but we’re worried that Remus’ll try to talk himself out of being with her in our time if he meets her in this one because he might think he has to or something,” she explained.
“He’s a stubborn bastard, my Remus,” they heard Tonks shout, and Hermione agreed. “Right, he might think that he has no choice in the matter or something, and we don’t want to jeopardize that. So, we thought it’d be best if she disguised herself as my sister when she meets him and Sirius, so that they don’t recognize her in the future. Can you explain all of that to James and Lily?”
“Hermione, really, do we have to?” Harry asked. “I mean, we only just got them to really trust us, and there were Death Eaters around the house last night “ ”
“Death Eaters? In Godric’s Hollow? Did they find you?” she asked, horrified.
“Actually, we’re talking to you in a Death Eater dungeon in Voldemort’s secret hideout,” Ginny added. “We’ve only got a minute, so could you be quick?”
Harry chuckled as Hermione began to sputter, and then cut her off.
“We’re all fine “ no one found us or the house. We think that they think Mum and Dad are in the area, but they’re not sure where. So, we’re fine, but it made us all a little edgy last night, and we don’t really need the extra stress.”
“I know, none of us does,” Hermione sighed. “But I’m afraid it’s really necessary. And obviously, future Remus doesn’t remember meeting Tonks in this time, which means it doesn’t happen, so she either has to stay at the hotel, which isn’t a good idea, or come in disguise.”
Harry was silent for a minute, but then huffed out a breath in defeat. She was right; they couldn’t afford to take chances. And Remus probably shouldn’t meet his future wife early, so a disguise was the only choice they had. He wasn’t happy about it, though, something that he made perfectly clear to Hermione before finally agreeing to it.
After Hermione’s call, he and Ginny went downstairs to broach the subject with his parents.
“Oh, erm, Mum, Dad?” Harry began, a little hesitantly. “Tonks is going to look a little different when she gets here. She knows Remus and Sirius in the future, you see, and she thinks it’s best if she’s not herself when she meets them.”
“Oh, well, all right, I suppose,” James said slowly. “Though I don’t really like lying to my best friends. Do we have to call her something else, too?”
“Erm, well, Hermione said she’s disguising herself as her older sister, Elizabeth Granger, so that’s what we’ll need to call her. You’re sure you don’t mind?”
James shrugged. “Not if you say it’s important. We trust you now, so it’s all right. Like I said, I don’t like it much, but we’ll do it.” Lily nodded her assent as he spoke, and then asked, “When will they be here?”
“Whenever you want them to be “ I told Hermione we’d let them know as soon as you told us when you wanted them here. When will Sirius and Remus be getting here? They can come when they do,” Ginny said.
“They should be here in about half an hour, so why don’t you go ahead and invite your friends over now? That way we’ll have a bit of time to get used to Tonks as Elizabeth,” said Lily, and Harry hurried upstairs to tell the others.
Shortly afterwards, Ron, Hermione, and a very different-looking Tonks appeared at the cottage door, and were admitted after the requisite security questions.
“It’s bloody freezing,” Ron complained the moment the door was opened, stamping snow from his boots. “And it’s snowing like mad again, so it’ll be loads of fun going home tonight.”
“Oh, Ron, do stop fussing,” Hermione said as she shook snow from her hair. “It’s lovely!”
“Yeah, we’ll have a white Christmas,” Tonks said, unwinding her scarf. “Not that it wasn’t white before, but this is a nice, new white instead of a dirty, wet white.”
“And we can have a rematch!” James chimed in, slamming his fist into his palm. “Let the bloodshed begin!”
Ron snorted. “Riiiiiiiight, because we didn’t beat you badly enough the first time.”
“Hey, we were ambushed!” James protested as Lily bustled into the room with her son on her hip.
“That’s enough bragging and strutting for now, thank you,” she said briskly as she shooed everyone into the sitting room.. “Sirius and Remus should be here in a few minutes.”
“What about Peter?” Ginny asked, and Harry’s head snapped up.
“Peter usually spends Christmas with his folks. He’s the only one that has them, really. Well, Sirius does, but they don’t count,” James said, scowling as he finished. “And Remus…well, his father never forgave himself for what happened to Remus when he was a kid, and when Remus’ werewolf records became public after he turned seventeen, it became too much for him.”
Everyone’s faces wore various expressions of stunned shock.
“You…you mean, he…he killed himself?” Harry stuttered, and James shook his head.
“Well, not exactly, no. He just…kind of gave into despair, I suppose. He stopped eating and started sleeping all the time “ wasted away to nothing. And then one day he got sick, and that was it. So, Remus doesn’t really have anyone.”
“What are you going to tell Remus and Sirius about us?” Hermione asked, her forehead wrinkling with worry. “I mean, it probably won’t be a good idea to tell them who we really are. Remus could probably keep a secret, but I don’t know about Sirius.”
“Oh, don’t worry about Sirius,” James laughed. “He’ll probably be pissed when he gets here, so he’ll think he dreamed everything. And you’re right - Remus can keep a secret. Who’d believe him anyway?”
Hermione’s frown smoothed into a smile, and Ron threw an arm around her shoulder.
“See, I told you we’d figure something out,” he said confidently.
“Yes, but James figured it out, not you,” she said, and laughed when he opened his mouth to protest. “I’m sure you would’ve come up with something if he hadn’t,” she soothed, and Ron nodded.
“Course I would’ve.”
“Anyway, they should be along in a minute,” James continued. A moment later, they heard loud, off-key singing echoing down the chimney.
“That would be Sirius,” James said, grinning, and Lily groaned, handing their son to him.
“And from the sound of him, he’s at least half-pissed,” she said as Sirius appeared in the fireplace.
“Heeeeeeeeello, everyone!” Sirius shouted merrily as soon as he saw them. His arms were full of packages, and he swayed slightly on his feet. “Thought I’d start the celebration early…maybe too early.” He frowned. “I’m already seeing two of you, James. I didn’t think I’d had that much Firewhiskey.”
Everyone laughed as he pulled a half-empty bottle out of his pocket and held it up, squinting to check the amount in it. “Hmm…maybe I can’t hold it as well as I thought I could.”
Sirius shrugged and looked up as Lily took the bottle away from him, smiling. “Yeah, that’s probably a good idea, Lily. After all, I’d at least like to last until midnight.” He suddenly smiled brightly again, and threw an arm around her. “How’s my honorary sister-in-law? And my godson?”
“We’re doing fine, Sirius,” she said breathlessly as he squeezed her. “Um…not so tight, please?”
“Huh? Oh, yeah, sorry ‘bout that. “ He let her go abruptly. “There you go, James, you can have her back now. Now, give me my godson! I want to tell him hello.”
James and Lily glanced at each other as Sirius reached for the baby in James’ arms. “Well,” Lily began. “He’s actually standing in front of you.”
Sirius blinked rapidly and dropped his arms as Harry stepped forward and held out his hand. “Er…Harry Potter. It’s nice to see you again, Sirius. Not that you’ve seen me before. Well, you have, but not me, exactly…” His voice trailed off as Sirius stared at him, ignoring his outstretched hand.
“I…I don’t understand…have I really had that much Firewhiskey? I mean, little Harry’s right there! I played with him last time I was here!” Sirius said plaintively. “Or did I sleep for twenty years? Those are the only two explanations I can come up with.”
Hermione stepped forward. “Actually, neither one of those is right. Though you probably have had too much Firewhiskey,” she added, raising an eyebrow in disapproval. “The baby that James is holding is your godson, Harry, but this young man is also your godson Harry, and we are his friends. We’re from the future - 1997, to be precise. Harry and Ginny here fell through a time portal, and we followed to make sure nothing happened to them. It’s quite simple, really.”
Sirius blinked again. “And, who are you?”
She smiled. “Hermione Granger, and this is Ron Weasley, his sister Ginny, and Elizabeth Granger, my older sister. Though she prefers to go by Lizzy,” she added hastily as Tonks scowled at her. “Ron and Ginny are Arthur and Molly Weasley’s children “ ”
“Wait, don’t tell me that’s little Ron!” Sirius broke in. “He’s not even a year old! Or less…I can’t remember -- it’s been so long since I’ve seen them. I should stop by this Christmas…the Weasleys are the best family I know, well, except for yours, of course, James.” He frowned. “They don’t have a girl yet, do they? Or is Molly trying to keep it a secret?”
James threw an arm around Sirius’ shoulders and steered him towards an overstuffed chair. “Here, Sirius, why don’t we all sit down and explain things to you…”
After an explanation that took nearly an hour, Sirius finally seemed to realize what was going on. Halfway through it, Lily handed the baby to his godfather, who bounced him absently on his knee as he listened to the others.
“So, let me get this straight; you accidentally came here from the future and the rest of you came to get them, but you can’t leave until New Year’s Eve?” Sirius asked, the confusion finally starting to clear from his face.
“In a nutshell, yes,” Hermione said.
Soon afterwards, Remus whooshed down the chimney, and the whole story had to be told again, this time with interjections from Sirius. Luckily, Remus wasn’t intoxicated, so he understood things a bit quicker than his friend.
“Now, remember, you can’t tell anyone else about us, ever,” Hermione admonished them when everyone finally knew everything. Remus nodded solemnly, and Sirius snorted. “Who’d believe us? Anyone we told this story to would send us to St. Mungo’s for insanity!”
Of Christmas Past by Chaser921
Chapter Notes: To whomever mods this story: could you please try to make sure that the date on this story is changed so that everyone gets an email saying it's been updated? And that it appears on the "Most Recent" list? It hasn't happened the past few times, and I'm sure there are a few of my readers who think that I haven't updated this story in a year. Thank you, in advance.
Also, I'm sorry this has taken so very long, but I think you'll all be pleased with it. Merry Christmas.