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Harry's Second Christmas | ||||||
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Category: Alternate Universe, Holidays Characters:Sirius Black Genres: Drama Warnings: Death Story is Complete Rating: PG-13 Reviews: 32 Summary: Sirius doesn't go after Peter, but instead takes Harry and goes into hiding in the Potter ancestral estate Linfred Hall. Can Sirius keep Harry safe when both sides of the recent war want him? Can Harry's godparents reconcile enough to care him without hexing each other? Can it possibly be a Happy Christmas? Hitcount: Story Total: 12091; Chapter Total: 1893 Awards: View Trophy Room Author's Notes: Hi, thanks to everyone who is reading. Next to the last chapter. Thanks too to my beta, Arnel, who is not only a great beta but my dearest friend. |
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Chapter 6: A Party for Wee Ones 19 December 1981 "Arthur, what a pleasant surprise," Anwen said when she greeted the Weasley patriarch at the gates to the keep. "Sirius thought it would Molly bringing the kids over." She waved her hand before the gates, and they unlocked for her. The magic quickly surveyed Arthur and the two little ones before letting them through. "Yes, well, your rule about not telling anyone about the party was a sticking point for her,” he explained. “She knows Dumbledore is looking for a way to see Harry and wanted to tell him about the party. She’s very loyal to Dumbledore.” "Many of the members of the Order are, and he's not a bad man. Sirius and I think Harry should be with those who his parents wanted him to be with." “Is Lily’s sister really so terrible?" Arthur asked as they walked along the path. He kept a tight hold on Ron's hand as he was ready to dart off into the carpet of fresh snow that surrounded them. When Anwen saw him struggling with his son, she reached for the five-month-old Ginny, and Arthur relinquished her so he could lift Ron into the cage of his arms. "At the last minute, she decided she couldn't be at her sister's wedding. I filled in for her, and it was fine but not the same. I was with Lily and Petunia one other time when we were much younger. I was in my second year, and Lily invited me to come home with her over Easter, and Petunia kept calling us freaks. The man Petunia married is horrid too. I feel certain Harry wouldn't be loved and nurtured the way James and Lily would have wanted, in their absence. If two people knew his parents, it's Sirius and me. Plus, we have Remus here most of the time, so it's like three parents anyway." The quartet reached the front steps, and Remus greeted them at the door. They wrangled the children out of their winter outerwear, and everyone was escorted into the sitting room. The only other guests, the Longbottom family, had already arrived. The three toddler boys were happy to see other children their age and sat down to play with Harry's blocks and a few other toys. Anwen kept hold of little Ginny and even gave her the bottle her father had packed in the children’s rucksack. "Anwen, you're looking better than when I last saw you," said Frank with a laugh in his voice. “Well, that wouldn’t be hard,” she replied, “seeing as I had just struggled to remove myself from sinking into a bog.” Everyone laughed, even the boys, although they didn’t know what they were laughing at. Anwen and Frank went on to tell the story of their having to head into Ireland to catch some counterfeit potion suppliers. It turned out to be a very messy affair, but they did close the case. The conversation turned to their families, and Arthur regaled everyone with his twin sons' misadventures. Auntie Mini arrived in time to hear the end of it and raised her eyebrow in response. “I am to take it that your older sons are not quite as rambunctious. I believe I am to have one starting this fall; he just turned eleven, correct?” she asked. "Yes, my oldest, Bill, is eleven, and he is little like the twins. He's more studious, although he does like to fly, and rather daringly too," Arthur replied. “Good, good, we can always use strong fliers for the Quidditch team,” Minerva said, and the group laughed. “He could end up in a different house,” Alice suggested. “Not going to happen,” Arthur said. “Weasleys have been in Gryffindor for as long as anyone can remember.” "My Auntie Cedrella married your cousin, right?" Sirius asked. "It was enough to get her thrown out of the family. Much too righteous of a person to be with a Black." He tried to make it sound like a joke but failed, and no one knew how to respond. Thankfully Harry came over to Anwen to see what she was doing with Ginny. “What you doing?” Harry asked. Anwen had Ginny up on her shoulder, burping her. The baby was quite distressed at her bottle being removed from her mouth. “She upset.” “I know she is, Harry. Ginny will be more upset, however, if the gas stays in her belly rather than being let out in a burp." Anwen continued to rub gentle circles on the infant's back. “You yell when Siri burp,” Harry astutely remarked. "Yes, I do, but Uncle Sirius knows how to make his burps quiet, and he chooses not to. Sometimes I need to remind him of his table manners.” “So does Uncle Remus." The adults laughed, and Ginny finally let loose a wet burp, which made Harry giggle. Anwen brought the baby back down and promptly returned the bottle to her mouth. Harry stood in front of Anwen, looking at Ginny most intentionally. She reached out and grabbed Harry’s fingers. “Auntie Winnie, she holding my hand.” “Yes, she is, Harry. I think that means she likes you.” “I wike her too!” Harry then leaned over and kissed Ginny’s hand. “Yuck, why did you kiss sissy?” Ron said, obviously disgusted that anyone was paying attention to his much-adored little sister. “I wike her,” Harry said emphatically. “I want a sissy. You have one, Winnie?” “Oh, Harry, er, babies come from mummies and daddies when they love each other very much —” “You wuv Siri very much.” “I do, but–” "Maybe someday, my favourite Quaffle," Sirius interrupted and then picked Harry up, making him giggle. "It won't be real soon." He looked at Anwen, and she smiled and blushed, which made Alice look at her friend and wonder what was going on. The whole department knew when they pair broke up, mostly because Sirius tried one over-the-top way after another to try and win her back. The goblin chorus was something no one would ever forget. “I’s not a Quaffle, I Harry.” There were more giggles, and soon Sirius was roughhousing with the three boys. Anwen took the opportunity to give Ginny to Auntie Mini, who was more than happy to have the baby, and then check if lunch was ready. There would be gifts after they'd eaten, and then it would be time to head home for naps. It was a brief time together, but they were only one. Anwen just wanted Harry to have time with children he’d be with as he grew and would go to Hogwarts with. Alice followed Anwen. “Okay, spill; what’s going on with you and Sirius?” she asked when they were far enough away from the sitting room. “We still care for each other, but I don’t know if he’s grown up at all, and I don't know if he will respect I’m good at my job,” Anwen explained as they entered the dining room. Hindsa was checking the table while Peng was bringing in a tray of little cheese sandwiches. The boys would have those along with cup up green grapes and strawberries, and bacon flavoured crisps. The last was at the insistence of Harry, as he’d developed a love for them even before he was born. It was one of the foods Lily craved while pregnant. That and O shaped pasta in tomato sauce on frozen waffles. The grownups were having a seafood bisque or lamb stew with fresh bread and a roasted vegetable melange. There were gingerbread biscuits for dessert. “There’s more than that,” Alice countered. “That look between you two…come on, Anwen, my job is to read your looks and guess what you’re going to do when we’re in the field. Tell me.” "Okay, we're back to sharing a bed, Harry is in bed with us, but there you have it. We've kissed several times, and I'm more at peace than I've been since we broke up in February. I wouldn’t mind rekindling our relationship. It isn’t like I’ve dated anyone or can even imagine myself without him. I just need to trust him.” Alice squealed like a schoolgirl and came over and hugged her workmate. “Yeah, please tell me I get to be in your wedding.” “Let’s have us start dating again before we’re marrying. Both of us are focused on helping Harry through this.” Anwen couldn’t help but smile at Alice’s enthusiasm. “How about you tell me how you outwitted the Lestranges, Crouch junior and Pettigrew, not that Peter was a Rhodes scholar, but Bellatrix was dangerous in her sleep.” Alice explained how the information had come across Anwen's partner's desk, Kingsley Shacklebolt, and how he'd informed the Longbottoms. Neville was sent to his grandmother's fortress of a house (it was built around the same time as the Potter keep), and then they waited with half the Auror corps and a team of Hit Wizards, just for good measure. The grounds had been cursed, charmed, hexed, and layered in so many spells that Alice locked their cat into the laundry room to make sure she wasn’t killed by escaping the house to hunt mice in the yard. “You should have heard Bellatrix scream about how they would punish the runt who killed her Dark Lord —” “Alice, you’re not frightened of the name, are you?” The Aurors were encouraged to either call HIM by his preferred moniker, which Anwen wouldn’t use because it's stupid or, better yet, his name, Tom Riddle. “No, well,” she sighed. “He wanted to kill my son. He did kill James and Lily.” "Yes, Tom Riddle did those things, and he is gone," Anwen said flatly. "I dare any of his followers to try and get at Harry.” “Anwen, no one is stupid enough to try and get through the protections on this house and you and Sirius.” “Damn right.” The two women giggled as Anwen folded up an extra napkin and sent it with a message to the men to bring the kids in for lunch. That night, Anwen awoke with a little hand on her face. Harry was sitting up in bed, crying. Anwen sat up and then slid out of bed, reaching for Harry to come with her as she didn't want to awaken Sirius, now that he was sleeping comfortably. She knew it was a rarity. She carried Harry to his bedroom and pulled a small blanket off the end of the bed, and wrapped him in it before she settled them down on the rocker. "Do you want to tell me about what woke you up?" “Bad dream,” Harry said with a still quivering lip, although the tears had stopped when he was able to be held by his Auntie Winnie. "Yeah, what do you remember?" Healer Weston, the mind healer she had spoken with about Harry, had told her to use open-ended questions and let him just talk. Nothing to force the issue, lest it is worse for Harry. “Mummy,” Harry said, his tears starting anew. “Green light. Screaming. Very Loud!” He put his hands over his ears. “That must have been very scary. You are safe here with Auntie Winnie and Uncle Sirius and Uncle Remus.” “Not safe wit Mummy and Daddy?” he asked, his little head tipped to the side to understand. Anwen forgot how much like his mother Harry’s eyes were as they probed her. “No, Harry, your mummy and daddy kept you very safe.” "But dey went," Harry said as sadly as he'd ever said anything else. "Yes, they are, and I miss them too," Anwen told the child. "They never wanted to leave you, Harry. You were the brightest star in their sky, and they loved you so much. Their worlds revolved around you and raising you to be a good man one day. Believe me, your mummy is sad in heaven because she can’t be with you.” “I don’t want sad.” "I know, Harry, but your mummy loved you so much her heart hurts. But she is with your grammy and pappy Potter, who always made everyone laugh and smile. They were kind people with the biggest hearts and spread joy everywhere. When you're a little older, I'll take you to see the portraits, and you can talk with them." “Mummy and Daddy, too?” "Yes, someday," Anwen promised even though their portrait had yet to awaken. The trauma of their deaths was likely the culprit to their slow awakening. Harry yawned, and Anwen began to rock and softly sing Christmas carols to the child until he was back asleep. When she was sure he was deeply sleeping, she stood to carry him back to bed. She was surprised to find Sirius in the hall waiting for her. “You didn’t need to get up,” Anwen said kindly. “I had this covered.” "Not why I'm awake," he replied, taking Harry from her arms and then wrapping his free arm over her shoulders to pull her to his side. "The bed became cold." “Darn it,” Anwen said softly but emphatically. “I wanted to let you sleep.” “Anwen, I’ve slept more in the last two months than I did in the six months before we came here,” he said matter of fact. Sirius had Anwen scoot into bed first, then he laid Harry on the outer side of her. She waved her hand to put up a shield charm to keep Harry from rolling out of bed while Sirius climbed in, so he was next to Anwen. When he was under the covers, she scooted over so she was pressed up against his side and his arm curled around her. “This is better.” Anwen agreed. She sighed in contentment and reached for the hand which was on her hip. Lacing her fingers through his left hand, she felt a bump on his pinkie finger. “Sirius, what’s this?” she asked while rubbing her fingers over it. "Would you believe me if I said it was nothing?" he asked hopefully. Anwen snorted in response. "Didn't think so, but I needed to try." Reaching for his wand from on the bedside table and tapped the object on his smallest finger. When the Disillusionment Spell cleared, Anwen gasped in shock. She lifted his hand with both of hers and rolled onto her back, so it was above her. “My engagement ring?” "It is," he answered her unspoken question. Sirius could all but hear what was going on in her head; they knew each other well. "I put it there the day you took it off, and I haven't removed it since." “Why?” she muttered. "Anwen, do you really need to ask that?" Sirius queried. "I'm never going to love another woman the way I love you. Hell, I'm not even interested in other women, regardless of how many times guys on the Hit Squad tried to set me up with their sisters, daughters, next-door neighbours, cousins, and so on. I believed we'd get back together one day." "Oh, Sirius," Anwen said, crying. She slipped the ring from his finger and held it in hers. Sensing her questions, he rolled her back on her side so they could face each other. “I fell in love with you on the Hogwarts Express the first day of fourth-year when you put James into his place. I fell in love with you at the ball when you looked like a princess, and I first kissed you. I fell in love with you on your sixteenth birthday when you finally kissed me back. I fell in love with you the first time we made love. I fell in love with you when you stood up for Lily on their wedding day, and you never lowered yourself to bashing her sister, although I was sure there were choice words in your head. I fell in love with you the day you walked through the door here, promising to raise Harry. I fall in love with you every day." "I love you too, Sirius. I have since I was eleven, and you stopped me from leaving Hogwarts.” "Anwen, one day you're going to go back to work, and I will support you when you do. Do I wish you were doing something other than working as an Auror? Yes, but I have a dangerous career too. Maybe now that Tom Riddle is gone, work won’t be so dangerous.” Anwen threw her arms around him and held him tightly. “I’m sorry I didn’t trust your abilities. Your leaving me caused me to think about some uncomfortable truths about our relationship. I hope you’ll forgive me.” “Of course, I do, you silly man. I adore you,” she said through her tears. “Would you be surprised to hear that now that we are responsible for Harry, I think I’m going to leave the Auror Corps and finish my legal studies so I can work for the Wizengamot?” "Nothing surprises me, Anwen. I plan on quitting too, this estate needs better management, and with Orion dead, I need to deal with the Black family finances too." She released him and smiled, even though her breathing was ragged. “Can I put my ring back on?” “No,” Sirius answered, and Anwen looked crestfallen. “I need to put it on. Anwen Llyn Hodgson, will you marry me?” Anwen nodded as she couldn’t speak. The tears that fell on both were happy ones. Sirius slid the ring onto her finger and then kissed her passionately. Anwen stopped him when his hand went to slide into her pyjama top. “We aren’t alone, remember?” “Shite.” “Maybe he can have a sleepover with Uncle Remus in his room one night soon?” Anwen suggested. “Perfect idea from my brilliant fiancée.” The pair settled down so they could sleep, maybe. Anwen couldn’t help but look at the ring again on her hand and smiled like a fool. “You know, this is the second time you’ve proposed while I’m in my pyjamas. If you do it again, I want to be dressed.” |
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