Harry trudged through the snow behind his father, being careful to place his feet in his father’s footprints. It wouldn’t do to have anyone notice that there were two sets of prints and only one walker. James glanced behind him and grimaced in Harry’s general direction.
“Blimey, this is odd! I’ve never had anyone else follow me in my cloak, and it’s weird!”
Harry shrugged, forgetting his father couldn’t see the gesture. “My friends at school’ve told me the same thing, once or twice. There were a couple of years I wasn’t allowed in Hogsmeade, so I sneaked out under the cloak and found them. They kept claiming people gave them funny looks because they were talking to themselves.” He chuckled, and James joined in a moment later.
“Yeah, I’ve got to remember not to move my lips when I talk to you in town. That could get a bit awkward, ‘specially if I run into anyone I know. Speaking of town, we’re almost there, so be extra careful about where you step.”
A moment later, as they entered the outskirts of Godric’s Hollow, James cocked his head in Harry’s direction and whispered, “By the way, what did you do to get banned from Hogsmeade?”
Harry grimaced and whispered back, “Long story. I’ll tell it to you later, when we can talk.”
James nodded as they walked into the little market on the south side of the town square. Harry stepped closer to his father and whispered, “Did Mum, er, Lily, really need you to pick up stuffing ingredients? Or was that just part of the excuse to get me out of the house?”
James grinned, and whispered back, “Bit of both, actually. She wasn’t kidding about being annoyed with me; I really was supposed to pick the stuff up a couple of days ago. But I forgot! Sirius dropped by, and it completely slipped my mind.”
He waved at a tottery old lady crossing the street, and whispered, “That’s Bathilda Bagshot; a really sweet old witch. Going a bit dotty, but still. She thinks you’re adorable; always stops by to have tea and gossip with Lily so she can coo at you.”
Harry got that strange feeling again as he thought about his infant-self back at the cottage with Lily and Ginny. With Ginny…bugger. He made a face. She was going to have loads of embarrassing stories about him when they went back. She’d probably end up changing his nappies while she was there!
He pushed that thought to the back of his mind as James started wandering around the market, muttering to himself.
“Did she say to get the pre-made stuff? And did she want any seasonings, or did we have everything? Bother, I can’t remember. Hope she doesn’t expect me to either; it’s been three days since she told me what to get! Let’s see if she gave me a list…no, bollocks! That’s it, I’m doomed. She’s going to kill me.”
Harry suppressed a laugh as Bathilda wandered over to them, and James plastered a smile on his face.
“Hello, Bathilda. How are you?”
She shrugged and smiled up at him. “Oh, I’m doing well enough for a decrepit old lady. How are you, dear? And how’s Lily and that darling baby?”
James grimaced. “Well, Lily and the baby are fine, though I probably won’t be when I get home. I’m supposed to pick up a few things for dinner tomorrow, and she didn’t give me a list, so I don’t remember what I’m supposed to get.” He smiled ruefully at her. “I don’t suppose you could help me?”
Bathilda chuckled. “I’ve been cooking since before you were born, dearie. I might not know exactly what Lily needs, but I have a good idea. Even if it’s not exactly what she wants, we might be able to keep you out of the doghouse.”
The look on James’s face was priceless.
“My savior!” he cried as he seized Bathilda’s age-spotted hands and kissed them enthusiastically.
She chuckled and pulled them out of his grasp, though two spots of pink had appeared on her withered cheeks.
“Now, now, you silly boy. Let’s get your wife what she needs so she doesn’t brain you with a frying pan when you get home.”
Harry trailed them around the market as Bathilda picked up various items and expounded on their culinary uses to James, who nodded and tried to look interested, but didn’t manage it very well. Luckily, Bathilda didn’t seem to notice his glazed eyes and blank expression, and happily prattled on about the uses of rosemary and thyme as if he were hanging on her every word.
Eventually, they made it to the checkout. Harry was quite sure his father’s sigh of relief was because he didn’t need Bathilda’s help any more; Bathilda took it to mean he was relieved not to be in the doghouse. He bent down and pecked her on the cheek, assuring her that he was forever in her debt, and to let him know if she ever needed anything. She nodded and headed off down a side street, and James looked around for Harry as soon as she’d gone. Harry stepped up and tapped him on the shoulder, and he jumped.
“Don’t do that!” he hissed.
“Sorry,” Harry whispered back. “But what did you want me to do? It’s not like you can see me!”
James nodded grudgingly and set off down a different side street than the one Bathilda had chosen.
“I’ve got something else to get,” he explained to Harry. “I won’t take long; twenty minutes at the most. I’ve got to pick up my gift for Lily; she wouldn’t let me alone when we were shopping for Christmas presents. And if you’ve got anywhere you want to go, just let me know.”
Harry nodded, forgetting James couldn’t see him, and they walked into a shop lined with glass cases. As he passed, he saw that the cases were filled with strings of tiny pearls, slender silver chains, elegant diamond rings, and gems of every color and size shining quietly against their black velvet backgrounds.
“Hello, Henry!” James called as they neared the back of the store, and the quiet little man reading a paper at the counter looked up. He smiled at James’s greeting and held out his hand as Harry’s father approached him.
“Ah, yes, Mr. Potter! So good to see you, I have your purchase right here.” He reached under the counter and brought out a small white box. James smiled even wider as he opened it, holding it up so that Harry could see.
Inside, on a square of black silk, laid an oval locket on a delicate golden chain. It had an exquisite lily etched on the front, inlaid with mother-of-pearl. James looked at it for a moment, then flicked a catch on the side. It opened with a soft click, and Harry saw that the two halves were empty, each waiting to receive a tiny photograph.
James snapped the locket shut and paid the clerk, who smiled and thanked him before turning back to his paper.
“I saw this in that shop a couple of months ago and thought it was perfect,” James said to Harry out of the corner of his mouth after they had exited the shop. “But every time we walked by, Lily would watch me like a hawk. I pretended not to get any of her hints so she’d be surprised. What do you think?”
“I think it’s beautiful, and I’m sure she’ll love it,” Harry answered as he trailed after his father.
“By the way, Harry, did you see anything in there you’d like to get for your girlfriend? I mean, I don’t know what your budget is or anything…”
Harry was already shaking his head, but as James couldn’t see him, he prattled on for a few more minutes before Harry hissed, “She’s not my girlfriend!”
James stopped talking abruptly and shot an incredulous look in Harry’s general direction before ducking down a deserted side street. As soon as they were out of sight, he turned back to Harry, who’d taken off his cloak.
“What do you mean, she’s not your girlfriend? I mean, things don’t seem to be going well for the two of you, but it’s obvious that there’s something going on between you. Even I can see that!”
Harry shrugged uncomfortably. “It’s complicated,” he mumbled. James snorted.
“It’s always complicated,” James said dryly. “Look at me! Lily and I’ve been married almost two years, and we went out a while before that, but I still get in trouble with her just about every day. Of course, things are a bit smoother, now we’ve got the baby, but even so. Women make everything complicated.”
Harry shook his head. “It’s not like that,” he said weakly. James cocked his head and eyed him skeptically.
“Really? Then what’s it like? It can’t be that bad.”
Harry hesitated, not sure what to tell his father. He ran a hand through his hair, frustrated. It was so difficult to talk to his parents about anything important. Everything he said had to be weighed and measured so as to cause the least amount of damage. Should he tell them that he was fighting Voldemort? That Ginny could become a target if they were involved with each other?
He decided to compromise, only telling his father a part of the whole story.
“Well, I’m in the Order, but she’s not old enough to join, or even do magic legally yet,” he began, speaking slowly to give himself more time to think. “Since she’s still in school, if Voldemort finds out she’s involved with the Order, he might try to hurt her. There are a few Slytherins whose fathers are Death Eaters, and I wouldn’t put it past them to go after her because she’s involved with me.” He sighed and ran a hand through his hair again. “I just…I don’t want anything to happen to her,” he said miserably.
James looked at him thoughtfully for a moment before he finally spoke.
“I suppose that is a bit of a dilemma,” he admitted, “But I still don’t see why you’re pushing her away. She obviously cares about you, and if she’s the one you want to be with, then you should at least tell her that. There’s no reason you can’t be together when you’re with her. I mean, it’s not like you’re going to have a lot of time to date, working with the Order and all. Hell, Lily and I barely had time to get married!”
James paused for a moment, and Harry thought he was finished, but he went on, “Just because there’s a war going on doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take what happiness comes your way. Don’t push her away because of some stupid idea that you should be noble and protect her for her own good. Let her make that decision. It’s her life, after all.” James smiled ruefully as he continued, “Lily made that perfectly clear to me when I tried to stop her from joining the Order, and your Ginny looks to be in the same mold. And even if you can’t really be together, at least you’ll know where you stand.”
Harry nodded thoughtfully. “I guess it…it couldn’t hurt to get her something,” he said tentatively. “Any suggestions?”
James looked blank. “I don’t know; she’s your girlfriend! You’re supposed to know what she likes!”
Harry stuffed his hands in his pockets and shrugged. “It’s not that, exactly. It’s just…I want it to be something special. Something that will remind her that I…I care about her, even if I can’t be with her. And it’d be nice if it’s something she likes, too,” he added.
James frowned for a minute, and then his face brightened. “She told us when Dumbledore was questioning you that she played Chaser. What about something related to Quidditch?”
Harry rolled his eyes at his father. “I was thinking something a bit, er…nicer.”
“How about jewelry?”
Harry frowned. “I don’t think she wears it much; last time I remember seeing her in a necklace was at the Yule Ball three years ago.”
James started murmuring to himself, counting off points on his fingers. “Something sentimental, not girly, not jewelry, something nice, something meaningful…hmm…what about a Snitch? You could put something special inside it, and it’s Quidditch related. Don’t you play Seeker?”
“Yes,” Harry said impatiently, “but a Snitch? I can’t put anything in a Snitch!”
“Yes, you can,” James insisted. “A Snitch can be spelled to open for the first human that touches it, so if you get one and use gloves before you activate the spell, it won’t open until Ginny touches it. So you can put something really nice in it. I dunno what, but it’s still a pretty cool idea, if I do say so myself.”
Harry nodded slowly as the idea started growing on him, but then his face fell. “But where are we going to find a Snitch? I mean, I don’t see any Quality Quidditch Supplies here, do you?”
James grinned at him. “You have to know where to look.”
James motioned for Harry to put the cloak back on, and as soon as he disappeared, James walked back out onto the main street. Harry followed, though he seriously doubted there’d be a Quidditch supply shop in Godric’s Hollow. After all, that wasn’t the kind of store that would be easy to hide!
James led Harry a couple of blocks down the street until they reached a run-down store whose sign read, The Champion’s Athletic Store: Equipment for Every Sport!
Harry snorted softly. There was no way this shabby little store could possibly supply equipment for every sport, or even every Muggle sport! James chuckled.
“Oh, ye of little faith,” he quipped as he opened the door, whose paint was faded and had begun peeling from the wood. Harry followed him to the back of the store, where there was a second unobtrusive door. James looked around, and furtively pulled his wand out of his pocket. He tapped the door with it three times before opening it, and as he and Harry walked through it, Harry’s mouth dropped open.
He had entered a huge, brightly lit room that contained everything related to Quidditch he could imagine. There were Quaffles of every size and color, Bludgers crashing into each other in large cages, tiny Golden Snitches zipping back and forth across the ceiling, and a whole wall of broomsticks, including a special section of Nimbus 1700s on display at the far end.
After gaping around for a minute or so, Harry realized that his father had almost disappeared from sight, apparently not realizing that Harry was still standing in front of the door. He hurried up to James and tapped him on the shoulder.
“Wow,” he whispered.
James grinned. “Didn’t I tell you?” he said softly, and Harry nodded fervently.
“I’ll never doubt you again,” he promised.
His father snickered “Now then, do you want to get a Snitch for Ginny? ’Cause they’ve got a collection of game and decorative Snitches over by the Nimbus 1700 display.”
“Yes, please,” Harry replied, and James led him down the long room to the back, where a series of small cases were lined up beside the brooms. In each case, a Snitch rested, gently flapping its tiny wings.
Most of the Snitches were obviously for Quidditch games, though they were distinguished by different categories, such as Professional, School, and Casual Games. Others, however, looked to be more for display than anything. Some had intricate carvings on their golden shells, while others had real feathered wings, or were encrusted with jewels. Harry frowned at those. In his eyes, once a Snitch became too ornate, it ceased to be a Snitch, and turned into a piece of useless decoration.
But then one Snitch caught his eye. It was one of the simpler ones, though more decorative than any of the game ones. Its burnished gold shell was circled by a line of sinuous knots that seemed to twine about the little ball without ever coming to an end, and the tips of its silver wings were gilded. Harry bent down and read the description.
The Lover’s Snitch. The band of Celtic knot work around the center of the Snitch symbolizes everlasting commitment and love. The knots never end, and they circle the Snitch completely, only breaking when the Snitch is opened to place an item of great value to the receiver of the Snitch.
Harry smiled. It was perfect. And it was only fifteen Galleons, which he had in his money bag. He walked over to his father, who was gazing longingly at the new Nimbus 1700s in the display case. He had to touch James on the shoulder twice to break him out of his reverie as he looked at the brooms. James blinked like he was coming into the sun after being in darkness, and looked around wildly for whatever had disturbed him.
Harry laughed. “It’s me,” he whispered.
James sighed heavily and allowed himself to be pulled away from the brooms to the Snitches, all the way elaborating on the details of the Nimbus 1700.
“But I don’t really have time for Quidditch anymore, what with the war going on and all,” he finished sadly. “I’m going to start playing again as soon as everything gets back to normal though, wait and see. Or,” he looked at Harry sharply. “Do I? You know, don’t you?”
Harry winced. “I can’t tell you that,” he said desperately. “It might change something…”
“Oh, come on,” James urged. “It’s not like it’ll affect my performance or anything!”
“No,” Harry said patiently, “But it could give you lots of clues about what’ll happen to you in the war, and I really can’t do that.”
“Oh, all right,” James said grumpily as Harry steered him in front of the Snitch he wanted.
James raised his eyebrows as he read the Snitch’s description.
“The Lover’s Snitch, eh? I thought she wasn’t your girlfriend?” Harry flushed a deep shade of red, suddenly very glad that his father couldn’t see him.
“She’s not,” he mumbled. “I think she’d like it the most, it’s not all gaudy and stuff like the ones on the end over there, but it’s still…different from a normal Snitch.”
James chuckled as Harry pressed the Galleons into his hand. He found a clerk as Harry waited by the case, and when they walked out of the store Harry’s moneybag was lighter, but his pocket was slightly heavier. He smiled to himself as his fingers wrapped around the little box, wrapped in gold and tied with a silver ribbon.
It was a good thing the store had a gift-wrapping option; he was hopeless when it came to wrapping presents. They always looked more like someone had bunched the paper around a box than like he’d actually put some effort into wrapping it.
As they walked up the side street towards the main square, Harry noticed a young couple walking towards them. He frowned as he looked closer at them. They looked really familiar…but no. They couldn’t be here, and even if they were, they’d be bickering and arguing, not cooing and cuddling with each other like a pair of lovesick turtledoves.
As they walked by, they smiled and nodded at James, seeming to scrutinize him carefully. Harry noticed that the girl looked around his father, and he suddenly realized he hadn’t been careful to walk in James’s footsteps for quite some time.
“Oh, Harry, isn’t it a lovely day?” Hermione said loudly to Ron, who looked at her in confusion before replying, in an equally loud voice, “Er, yeah! Beautiful!”
Harry stopped dead. So did James, who slipped his hand inside his cloak. Harry laid a hand on his father’s arm and motioned for him to keep walking. As soon as he’d turned the corner, Harry pulled off his cloak, his wand pointed at his two best friends.
Of Christmas Past by Chaser921
Chapter Notes: Sorry this took so long folks, real life has been incredibly hectic lately. I hope you all enjoy it! Many thanks, once again, to my beta, Yemeron, who is fantastic.