Work Text:
Christmas time, 2003
He had to run faster. That man was old, but god, he was bloody fast. To worsen it all, he knew the place like the back of his hand and it was always a challenge to leave him behind.
Go, go, go! Up the staircase, two steps at a time, turn sharp to sprint along the corridor, take the shortcut behind the tapestry, run up another narrow staircase – his heart drummed in his chest like mad, and his lungs were on fire, but he had to continue to run. He couldn’t get away with it if he got caught this time, he would get a tell-off to remember, not to mention that it was almost Christmas; what if his parents took back all his presents as a form of punishment? He gulped, terrified at the bare idea. He had pleaded for months asking for that new amazing dragon farm complete with five different types of dragons that could actually fly and breathe fire, and he risked –
He speeded up with a new spring in his step. He was almost safe. Just another shortcut and he would reach his rooms –
“GOTCHA!”
Not fast enough. His back hit the wall behind him. He was trapped.
Resigned, he turned around. The old man was running towards him with a mean, exultant look on his sour face that now was all blotchy from running up an endless castle. His breath was short and heavy, and he looked like he was about to have a stroke, but that didn’t stop him.
“Not running anymore, eh, little pest?” he hissed, looming over him. “It’s just bad enough that I have to put up with teenagers, I won’t let you smirch this castle all the way through your seventh year and out of here for good, no, no sir, I won’t have it! I’ll make you regret it, rest assured. I’m taking you to the Headmistress!”
The old man grabbed him roughly by one arm and dragged him away. Tears welled up his eyes but he didn’t protest; he was too sad and scared. The Headmistress was a terrifying woman. Every time he ran into her, he hid behind one of his parents.
“EDWARD!” a voice boomed behind them.
Uh-oh. He was in an Edward kind of trouble, and things didn’t look good. His parents never called him Edward unless they were really, really angry. He was Teddy, most of the time. Or cariad. Or cub, or mon cœur. But Edward… He swallowed, his palms hideously sweaty.
His father was striding fast to reach them, long black hair flying behind his shoulders. He looked furious. Teddy sighed inwardly. Farewell, Dragon Farm.
“Professor!” the old man said with his oily voice, letting him go. He looked at his feet while his father approached, trying his best to hold back tears.
“I’m glad you found us, I was about to take him to the Headmistress…”
“Thank you, Filch, there’s no need.” His father put his hands on his waist. “What did you do this time?”
Teddy sniffed and bit his lip, trying to become one with the wall. It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t fair at all. He was only a little bored and wanted to know what would happen if –
“He poured one gallon of extra-foamy, extra-colouring FunnyBath Solution in the main fountain, Professor, and now the yard is covered in one foot and a half of thick pink foam that sticks to everything! Lessons are over and students cross the yard, spreading the foam all around the castle! And I have to clean up!” yelled Filch, outraged. His father inhaled sharply and Teddy closed his eyes, bracing himself for the biggest telling off in history.
“For heaven’s sake, Teddy, how many times do we have to tell you to stop messing around? Show some respect! Mr Filch here is working and you disregard his efforts completely, and for what? For fun?! Oh, you’re not seeing the end of it this time, kid, you’re in big, big trouble! And look at me when I talk to you!”
Teddy sniffed a bit more and reluctantly looked up to meet his father’s gaze. He could be really intimidating if he wanted to, and he was really strict about some things, but Teddy wasn’t used to seeing that side of him.
“You wait till I tell your father,” his dad went on, and now Teddy was a little confused, because how was telling his other dad supposed to put him in more trouble? Teddy couldn’t remember a single time when Daddy had really scolded him, because he hardly got angry.
It got everything a little bit clearer when his dad, still in the middle of his telling off (with threats of no candies nor books for an entire week and maybe neither the mass on Christmas Eve night back home, which was an absolute shock because Teddy adored that), winked so slightly Teddy almost missed it. Ooh, so he wasn’t being serious! Well, yes, he had to be at least a little since Sirius was his name, but he wasn’t angry! Dragon Farm was still on the plate, and so were candies, books, and the mass!
“Well, I’ll leave him to you, Professor. Feel free to come to me if you wish to discipline your son effectively,” Filch say with an unctuous smile.
“I am sure I already know how to educate my son, Filch, thank you for your concern,” his dad said, his voice both cold as ice and sarcastic.
Filch nodded sceptically and walked away. Teddy thought he heard him mutter under his breath, but he couldn’t make out the words. He looked tentatively at his dad, who was glaring at the caretaker’s back, showing his teeth in a dangerous, deprecating, and sort of canine way. He waited until Filch disappeared behind the corner, then he turned to Teddy and smirked playfully.
“So, FunnyBath Solution, huh?”
Teddy nodded, smiling self-consciously. Sirius laughed heartily and squatted down, a hand raised. “That’s my boy! High-five!”
Teddy laughed, thrilled, and hit his dad’s hand. “High-five!”
“But – did you run away just when the fountain started foaming?” Sirius asked, tilting his head.
Teddy nodded again. “Mr Filch started yelling at me…”
His dad leaned in, his eyes twinkling. Teddy loved his dad’s eyes because they were bright and smart and had the same colour as melting icebergs. Teddy had soft brown eyes, and he only liked them because Daddy Remus said they were as sweet as chocolate, and Daddy loved chocolate, so Teddy was happy. Both his dads and his grandma also said that he had his mother’s eyes, something that made him really proud and made his godfather laugh for some reason. But Papa Sirius’ eyes were so sparkly and beautiful they were just like stars. Teddy loved both his dads very very much.
“Would you like to see how your prank turned out?” Sirius asked in a mischievous whisper.
“Yes!” Teddy chirped, jumping on the spot. “Can we go see, Papa? On peut le voir ?”
“Bien sûr, mon cœur,” Sirius beamed. “Allons-y.”
Sirius took him by the waist and propped him on top of his shoulder, and Teddy giggled some more because Papa was very tall and he felt as giant as Hagrid up there.
“Papa, when will Daddy finish work?” he asked, doing his best to speak correctly as he had been taught to. Teddy watched interested as a suit of armour tried to pick at its non-existent nose.
“Daddy will be a little late today, darling. He and the other Heads of Houses need to organise the holiday break for those students who stay here for Christmas,” Sirius explained while he took the same shortcut Teddy had taken a few minutes before.
“When I’ll be a student I’ll always come home for Christmas,” Teddy said, latching his hands around his dad’s neck to have more balance. Sirius laughed softly.
“We’ll see. Hogwarts is beautiful around Christmas, you might want to stay here.”
“But I want to come home with you and Daddy!”
“You say this now, cub, but trust me, when you’re eleven, and you’ll have at least one of your dads as a Professor, I strongly believe you’ll prefer to stay here with your friends with almost no supervision,” Sirius chuckled.
“I’ll come home with you,” Teddy insisted confidently.
“And we’ll be very happy if you do.” Sirius took his hand and kissed it with a smile.
Teddy rested his cheek on top of his dad’s head and let himself be carried around peacefully, enjoying the Christmas decorations that made Hogwarts look like a dreamland. A thick layer of snow was forming outside the windows, while giant, fluffy snowflakes continued to fall. Teddy thought of the snow turning pink in the yard and giggled some more.
“Let’s see how Uncle Prongs is doing with the decorations,” Sirius said at one point, pulling out a compact mirror from one of his pockets. He opened it and called, “James. James. James! Prongs! Prooongs! Help me up, Teddy.”
Teddy took a sharp breath. “Prooongs! Prooongs! PROOONGS!”
Some students walking by laughed when he screamed with all his might, making his dad flinch. Finally, Uncle James’ cheerful face appeared in the mirror.
“Look who’s there!” he grinned, “Hiya, guys!”
“Hiya, Uncle Prongs!” Teddy chirped loudly, drowning out Sirius’ greeting.
“How’s the world up there, buddy?”
Teddy thought about it. “Tiny.”
“Yeah, I bet it is,” James smiled. “Where are you going? Fetching Moony?”
“He’s still in the pre-holiday staff meeting. I’m actually bringing Teddy to see the outcome of his hard labour,” Sirius explained while he skipped the vanishing step in one staircase with a gracious ‘hop’.
“What hard labour?”
“I did a prank,” Teddy confessed in a whisper, leaning over to get closer to the mirror, and James burst out laughing. “Now Filch hates me.”
“He hates everybody, love,” Sirius said. “It was only a matter of time.”
“And what was this prank about?”
“I put the extra-foamy FunnyBath in the fountain and now the yard is all pink,” Teddy said, covering his mouth with his little fist to conceal his thrilled giggle.
“Well, I raise my hat to you, Mr Teddy,” James grinned. “You’re a real Marauder!”
“I’m a Marauder!” Teddy cheered, raising his arm exultantly.
“Of course you are,” Sirius assured, looking at him with a loving smile. “Speaking of – James, how are the decorations coming along?”
“We’re almost done, and I can’t wait for you to see it. Your house has never been so beautiful, mate.”
“And the Marauders’ ice sculptures?” Sirius urged expectantly.
“All done, nice and giant, right in the front garden. They will last until New Year’s Eve, at least. They’re amazing.”
Sirius winked. “Even Tastebuds’?”
“Especially Tastebuds’. It came out exactly how we planned, it’s perfect,” James sighed dreamily. “He’s gonna hate it.”
“Excellent,” Sirius grinned. “Blimey, I can’t wait to see his face.”
“We’re putting on tinsel tomorrow as well,” James said. “Amelia won’t rest until she sees holly and baubles on her dad’s antlers.”
“Ooh, Uncle James, Uncle James,” Teddy urged, wobbling on Sirius’ shoulders. “Can you put tinsel on dads, too?”
“No problem, buddy.”
“And a scarf so that they won’t get cold.”
James saluted through the mirror. “Consider it done.”
“Pa, Pa, Pa,” Teddy said suddenly, struck by a brilliant idea. He pulled Sirius’ hair lightly. “Can I have a sleepover with Amelia and Victorie? Can I?”
“Oi, ladies’ man, slow down,” Sirius laughed. “You’re only five.”
“Please!”
“I’ll tell you this: since there’ll be also Charlie and Percy’s kids, you can have a sleepover all together. What do you say?” James said.
Teddy gasped, delighted. “YES! We can sleep in my room! Or around the fireplace! Or– ”
“We’ll risk having the Christmas dinner in the streets at this rate, since you six will likely blow up the entire house,” Sirius said.
“We’ll behave, Papa, I promise,” Teddy said.
James grinned. “He promised, Padfoot.”
“Don’t bother trying to convince me, James, the moment he tells Remus, the sleepover is happening,” Sirius said, shaking his head. “I swear, he physically can’t say no to this kid.”
“I get it. I mean, look at that face,” James chuckled. “He’s too cute. I don’t know how you manage to deny him anything. I know for sure that Amelia totally takes advantage of me, and Lily has to play the bad Auror. She’s not exactly thrilled at the idea, but I can’t help myself.”
“I’m having a hard time, I’m telling you, but someone has to say no, and I can’t leave it all up to Andromeda.”
“I love Pa even when he says no to me sometimes,” Teddy assured, hugging his dad by the neck. He knew that Papa Sirius wasn’t actually his dad, not in the same way as Daddy Remus was, so he thought that Papa needed a little more love and affection sometimes. Teddy wanted to make sure that both his dads knew he loved them equally. Sirius whined.
“You’re so sweet,” he said, taking one of Teddy’s hands and kissing it repeatedly. “See?” he said to James. “Speaking of having a hard time.”
“Keep it up, Teddy,” James grinned. “You’re winning him over.”
“He won me over the moment I took him in my arms for the first time.”
“I know. I was there,” James said tenderly. “Listen, when are you coming home exactly?”
“Tomorrow afternoon. Remus has to supervise the departure of the Gryffindor students, and the train leaves at eleven o’clock. We’ll have lunch here and then we’ll head home.”
“Great. There’s only the main Christmas tree left, I wanted to wait for you to come home, so we could decorate it together. I know it’s your favourite bit.”
“You’re right,” Sirius said, “And Teddy here is in charge of placing the tree topper.”
“You’ll have to contend the job with Amelia, Teddy, because she absolutely wants to do that too, and she’s as bossy as her mother.”
“We can do it together!” Teddy proposed.
“You know, cub, we should put you on the tree top,” Sirius said fondly. “You’re an angel.”
“But I don’t have wings!”
“We can work on that,” James grinned. “Harry told me that they used a gnome as an angel at the Weasleys’ once, you’d be a great improvement.”
“But I want to celebrate with you!” Teddy sulked.
“Don’t worry, we’re just teasing.” Sirius reached to ruffle his hair, and Teddy laughed.
“Listen, I have to go now, Lily and Amelia went shopping for Christmas gifts and I’m in charge of dinner. See you tomorrow – oh, ask Flitwick for some fairies, please, they’re perfect for decorating but the ones I found around here aren’t exactly cooperative.”
“I think their community still remembers the time you tried to use them to spice up your fireworks,” Sirius said. “I’ll see what I can do.”
“You’re the best. Bye, lads! Teddy, make sure to keep an eye on those two, alright?”
Teddy nodded vigorously. “Aye, sir!”
“Bye, James,” Sirius laughed. James disappeared from the mirror, and his dad closed his own.
They reached the yard, but it was too dark now, and it was hard to see. Anyway, Teddy was rewarded with the sight of students laughing and sporting fuzzy pink foamy hats, or chasing each other to smudge some foam on robes or faces, littering the corridors in the meantime. Filch was still trying to stop the foaming, and Teddy was extremely proud of himself.
“Why are you still smiling, Pa?” he asked after a while, when he rested a hand on his dad’s cheek and felt his smile.
“Because I’m happy that I can talk to my best friend,” Sirius said, looking in his direction.
“I like it when you smile.”
“I like it when you smile, too. You’ve got the prettiest smile in the world.”
“Prettier than Daddy’s?”
Sirius remained silent for a minute. “They’re equally pretty, but yours gets extra points because you’re an adorable cub.”
“I won’t tell him,” Teddy promised solemnly.
“Oh, you can, he agrees with me,” Sirius grinned. “Want to go wait for him outside the staff room?”
“Yes! Can we please get some food from the kitchens first?”
“We’ll go to dinner in less than an hour, better not to stuff yourself in advance.”
“Not for me, for Daddy!” Teddy said. “He worked all day, he needs something sweet.”
“Well, I can’t argue with that,” Sirius said. “You’re very kind, mon cœur.”
Teddy smiled proudly, happy to be praised like that. He felt warmer and lighter at the compliment.
They went to the kitchens, where the house-elves prepared them a mug of steamy chocolate with a cinnamon stick and a plate with biscuits and pastries. Sirius levitated it all the way to the staff room in order to carry Teddy on his shoulders. When they got there, the staff meeting was over. Teddy saw his dad near the door, yawning and stretching after having sat still for a long time. He was tall but a bit smaller than Papa Sirius, and he was a little lanky, with a few grey strands among his light brown hair. Anyway, he was stronger than he looked, and clever. Students loved him: Teddy knew it, because everyone told him so. They loved Papa, too, but they also feared him. Papa Sirius could be very frightening, and even though he wasn’t easily triggered, students knew they didn’t want to get on the bad side of him. Besides, students revered him too much for his achievements and everything he had gone through in his life to disrespect or wrong him, (things Teddy overheard sometimes but that he wasn’t allowed to know ‘just yet’) and they knew he was the one who had helped, together with Uncle James, Aunt Lily, Uncle Reggie, and Harry, to fix Daddy Remus’ problem with the full moon almost entirely. Teddy didn’t know exactly what happened; he was too young, but now Daddy didn’t suffer anymore when he had to change into a wolf, and he could change at will, just like Papa, although he was still forced to change during the full moon. Teddy only knew that it was almost a miracle and that Papa Sirius and Uncle James had to fly to the real moon to help Daddy, who hadn’t been thrilled at the idea, but it had worked, and it was all that mattered.
“Daddy!” Teddy chirped. He squirmed, and Sirius squatted down to let him run to his other dad. Remus smiled through his tiredness and spread his arms, catching him pronto when Teddy jumped up.
“Hello, sweetheart,” his dad said with his kind and slightly hoarse voice. He stroked Teddy’s cheek. “How was your day?”
“Amazing!” Teddy said, excited. “I played football at school and my team won, the teacher said my drawings are the best of all, and I helped Grandma in the greenhouse, and then I came back here and – and – ”
“And?” Remus encouraged him gently.
“I did a prank,” he confessed, his eyes wide.
“Oh, did you? What kind of prank?”
“Haven’t you seen anyone walking around covered in pink foam?” Sirius grinned. He had reached them and was now offering the mug to Remus.
“Oh, thank you,” he sighed gratefully, leaning forward to kiss him.
“It was Teddy’s idea, actually,” Sirius said.
“Thank you, too.” Remus kissed him on the forehead, and Teddy smiled happily, his nose filled with the pleasant smell of chocolate, which mixed perfectly with Daddy’s scent.
“So, pink foam,” Remus continued with a sly smile.
“Pink foam,” Teddy nodded. “All over the yard. Mr Filch hates me now.”
“He hates everybody, love.”
“That’s exactly what I told him,” Sirius grinned.
“But you shouldn’t go around pranking the castle, Teddy,” Remus tried, although Teddy could tell that even he wasn’t taking himself seriously.
“But I was bored, and the yard looked bored too,” Teddy said earnestly. “It was getting dark and it looked bored and sad. I wanted to cheer it up a bit.”
“So it was an act of love,” Sirius laughed, taking a biscuit.
“Exactly!”
Remus shook his head fondly. He finished his hot chocolate, took a biscuit, and made it all return to the kitchens with a wave of his wand. “Let’s go to the Great Hall, it’s almost dinner time.”
They walked together towards the Hall, Teddy nested happily in his dad’s arms while he and his other dad talked about the teachers’ meeting and stuff. Being so close to his dad was always calming and comforting. Teddy knew his scent like his own and loved it completely. It was sweet and feral at the same time, warm like a hug, and sometimes it was a little less human and a little more animal. Daddy’s scent was very human now, because the full moon had been a couple of weeks ago, and he also smelled like Papa a little. On certain mornings, his dads smelled strongly like each other, as if they had swapped their bodies; it happened quite often and Teddy had no idea why, but it was no problem because Sirius’ scent was just as good. It was like pure magic, and stuck to Daddy Remus’ skin like a delicious perfume.
Teddy missed his mum even if he couldn’t remember her. Some day he missed her more than usual, like when he was at his Grandma’s and asked her to see his mum’s pictures, or asked for stories, or asked to know how much he looked like her. For some reason, now that Christmas was approaching, he felt like he missed his mum more than ever. That was why he’d pulled that prank – the pink foam reminded him of his mum’s hair. Sometimes he lay in his bed at night with one of his dads (or both of them) next to him, telling him about his mum until he fell asleep. It was beautiful and painful at the same time, but Teddy wouldn’t give those moments up for anything in the world.
He wrapped his arms around Daddy’s neck, appreciating how his voice reverberated in his chest, listening to the calm chattering between him and Papa Sirius. Teddy missed his mum, but he felt lucky and happy to be with his dads. He was always surrounded by so much love.
Later that night, Teddy lay in his bed, cosy under a heavy duvet, looking at Daddy who had come to tuck him in. Teddy was very fond of the rooms they stayed in at Hogwarts: those were the Head of Gryffindor’s apartments and were next to the House itself. Daddy was Head of Gryffindor, so it was obvious that they stayed there, and the apartments had been extended to accommodate their family in addition to Daddy’s and Papa’s offices. Teddy had a room for himself, which was not as big as the one he had back home, but it was very comfy and warm, with a nice bed that could get heated up in winter. There were lots of paintings of dragons, unicorns, and other creatures on the walls, which Teddy loved to look at while he was falling asleep. His room also had a nice view of the grounds and the Forbidden Forest, even though it was hard to actually see something with all that snow that continued to fall; it had almost blocked the view from the window completely.
Teddy felt his eyelids become heavier as his dad made sure he was covered up to his nose by the duvet and stroked his forehead. He had already said goodnight to Papa Sirius, who had told him one of his amazing bedtime stories, but he didn’t want to sleep yet.
“Papa said that when I grow up I’ll want to stay here for Christmas,” Teddy said, yawning, “But I won’t. I will always come home.”
“I also thought so when I first came here,” Remus said kindly, “But in the end, I stayed here almost every year. It was just too much fun.”
“Didn’t you miss your parents?” Teddy asked, his eyes wide.
“I did, but I was too excited at the idea of staying here with my friends,” his dad smiled. “The first year, I went back home because I was too scared of the imminent full moon, and it was still a secret. The second year I wanted to go home as well, but Papa would stay here, and our friends and I were sorry at the idea of leaving him alone, so we all stayed.”
“Was that the Christmas when Papa and the other Marauders told you they knew your secret?” Teddy asked again, even though he knew that story by heart.
“Yes, cariad, it was,” Daddy said, his smile a little sadder than before. “That’s a Christmas I’ll never forget.”
“Do you really think I’ll want to stay here?”
“I hope so. It would mean you found some good friends and that you’re having a good time, and Papa and I would be very happy for you.”
“Maybe I’ll stay here, then.”
“You can do whatever you want, Teddy.” His dad stroked his forehead again, pushing his hair back. “Now try to sleep, alright?”
“Alright.”
“Have you said goodnight to Mum?”
Teddy nodded, but rolled over to face his bedside table and look at the nice framed picture of his mother, who was waving happily at him. “Goodnight, Mum. I love you,” he said again, waving his little hand back.
Daddy smiled, one of those smiles that made Teddy’s heart clench for some reason. It was sweet, but his eyes looked melancholic anyway. He leaned over to kiss Teddy on the cheek.
“Goodnight.”
“Goodnight, Daddy,” he yawned again. “I love you.”
“Love you too,” Remus said quietly as he turned off the oil lamp on his bedside table. The room fell into darkness, but Teddy’s eyes adjusted almost immediately and he saw his dad smile again as he stood up and walked to the door. Remus left the door ajar, and Teddy rolled over again, watching his mum’s picture moving, snow still falling outside the window. It was completely silent, out there. The muffled voices of his parents rose up from downstairs together with the faint sound of the crackling fire. Teddy yawned one last time, balling up under the covers, feeling warm and content. He drifted off almost immediately, dreaming of running around Hogwarts with his friends and turning into a blue-furred wolf to leave Filch behind.
***
Remus apparated with Sirius and Teddy right beyond the front gate of their house to make sure no one would see them. The loud crack echoed in the crisp winter afternoon air. Their villa, as well as the Potters’ cottage, was hidden from view by high and luxurious hedges that were now heavy with the snow that had fallen in the previous days.
Teddy started to squirm as soon as he recognised the place and Remus put him down. The moment the boy’s feet touched the ground, he sprinted along the pathway to the house, the pompoms at the top of his woollen beanie bobbing while he ran like he had wings at his feet.
“Careful, please!” Remus said, even though the path was free from snow or ice. James and Lily were kind enough to tend their house and garden while they stayed at Hogwarts, and they had made sure the main access was free and easily walkable despite the snow. Good foresight, since more than thirty people were coming over for Christmas.
Teddy answered with a high-pitched ‘Weee!’ and Sirius laughed helplessly, following him quickly.
“He’s too excited to be home,” he grinned.
“Said the one who can barely control himself,” Remus said, raising his eyebrows and closing the line. Sirius was almost vibrating for how thrilled he was. His excitement had been hard to contain in the past few days – as it usually was around Christmas.
“I want to see the decorations and say hi to Prongs!” Sirius grinned again, walking backwards impressively fast. He turned around and jogged to reach Teddy. Remus watched as he propped the kid on his shoulders, smiling when Teddy’s giggles filled the air and he and Sirius began to sing Good King Wenceslas together – they had been singing Christmas carols all the way to Hogsmeade, which Teddy had reached riding on Buckbeak with Sirius.
“BRIGHTLY SHONE THE MOON THAT NIGHT, THOUGH THE FROST WAS CRUEL,” Teddy sang at the top of his lungs.
“WHEN A POOR MAN CAME IN SIGHT, GATHERING WINTER FU-U-EL!” Sirius sang back. Snow fell from the highest branches of the evergreen trees that ran along the pathway. When the house and the front garden came in sight like the poor man mentioned in the song, Sirius stopped dead on the spot and Teddy shrieked, thrilled.
“Wow!” the kid gasped.
“What did Potter do to our garden?” Remus asked in a resigned tone as he approached. He found it really hard not to hold his breath as well.
James and Lily had outdone themselves that year: every tree had been decorated with fairy lights, baubles, and tinsel. The winter rose bushes twinkled as if they were covered with sugar, and some crystallised snowflakes floated weightlessly mid-air. Ice sculptures were placed all over the garden – bunnies, reindeer, fairies, foxes, unicorns, and more. The house itself sparkled with magic icicles hanging from edges and railings, and every window glimmered with frost and more fairy lights. A giant wreath was hanging on the main door. It was like looking at a postcard or at some of those ideal pictures you saw in décor magazines. And, around the pond that was now iced over, with moss and bushes covered in frost and glitter, there they were – four magnificent ice sculptures, the real piece de resistance of the whole thing: a regal, majestic stag with a wild mass of antlers, a big werewolf with an alert gaze looking over his shoulder at a massive dog that had his head tilted back to howl at an invisible moon, and a huge raven resting on the ground, his wide wings spread open just like his beak, as if he was screaming something to the dog and the stag in an extremely reproachful tone. All four Marauders wore a scarf and a fuzzy woollen hat around their necks.
“Oh my god,” Remus said, “It’s incredible!”
“It’s BRILLIANT!” Sirius screamed, awed. “Look at Tastebuds! Look!” he pointed at the raven and laughed wildly at how the bird, with his ruffled feathers and his scarf and hat, looked like a grumpy grandma about to scold her nephews.
“He’s definitely gonna hate it,” Remus grinned. “It’s so indecorous.”
“I know! Oh, I must kiss James, I must smooch him right on the– ”
“THERE YOU ARE!” James’ voice boomed.
They turned. James was standing on the threshold of the main door, grinning manically.
“HONEY, I’M HOME!” Sirius roared back. He put Teddy down and ran to his best friend, clasping him warmly. Sirius took James’ face between his hands and actually smooched him once on the lips.
“Here, here, lover, not in front of your husband,” James winked, squeezing Sirius’ butt while he grinned at Remus.
“Oh, never mind me, I’m his little something on the side, everyone knows that,” Remus shrugged with a smirk. “All right, Prongs?”
“Hola, Moony,” James beamed happily, leaning to pat him before launching an arm around him and Sirius. “Happy to have a break yourself, eh? Oi, Moony Jr, come say hi to your uncle!”
“Teddy!” Sirius called, a laugh dancing in his throat as he watched his son adjust the scarf on Moony’s sculpture. The kid turned around and beamed when he saw James.
“Uncle Prongs!” he chirped, running forward and launching himself in the hug. “The house is so beautiful! And the garden! And the sculptures! You really put on the scarves! Thank you!”
“Of course I did, it’s super cold outside!” James said. “I’m happy you like it. Come inside and see the rest, Lily and Amelia are going through the decorations for the Christmas tree.”
They entered, and Sirius let out a longing whimper at the sight which made Remus want to hug him. Enchanted icicles ran all along the banisters, twinkling; there were fairy lights, streamers, festive cards, mistletoe, and holly hanging from every corner, and every subject of every painting wore a festive jumper somehow – which was the unmistakable Lily’s expert and creative wand work. The house smelled pleasantly of clover, cinnamon and honey, giving the impression of walking inside a gingerbread house. It was hard not to emulate Sirius and Teddy, who were looking around with their mouths agape and the eyes sparkling with wonder, because the house was a proper show.
“You really outshone yourself this year, mate,” Remus said, impressed, as they walked towards the library. “Thank you.”
“When we decided to host the Christmas party here, we knew we had to go big,” James said, wiggling his eyebrows – which resulted in his glasses going askew a little. “Besides, Amelia has very clear ideas about decorations, this year. She instructed us like a captain on the quidditch pitch.”
Remus laughed and pushed the door to the library open, and they were immediately assaulted by the excited shrieks and giggles of little Amelia Potter, who was having the time of her life trying to prevent their family cat from climbing the giant tree that dominated the room. The library was definitely Remus’ favourite part of their house – it was already welcoming and cosy with all its wooden panels, bookshelves, thousands of books, a huge fireplace, and carpets all over, with a spectacular view of the front garden through the tall windows that went up to the ceiling. It looked even better with all the decorations on.
“Amy, leave Britney alone,” Lily said when the girl started to pull the cat’s tail gently. As a result, Britney scattered all the way up as fast as lightning, and Amelia roared with laughter.
“She thinks she’s a squirrel, Mum!” she giggled. “Can I turn her into a squirrel?”
“Leave-Britney-alone,” Lily repeated sternly.
“Look who just arrived!” James said. Lily and Amelia looked up.
“Hi! Welcome home at last!” the first smiled, getting up and coming to hug them. She was outdistanced by Amelia, who, as soon as she saw them, started running on all fours at first, then on her feet, darting forward like a tiny missile.
“Amyyy!” Teddy squeaked, jumping on the spot.
“Hiiii!” she chirped, basically launching herself in Sirius’ arms and kissing his face all over before hugging him around the neck.
“Hi to you, tornado,” he grinned, delighted. “You got taller!”
“I know,” Amelia said proudly. “Uncle Moony!” She proceeded to lean forward to be held by Remus.
“Look at you,” he grinned, booping her nose. He looked up to Lily. “You just can’t win against the Potters’ genetics. She’s another mini James every day more.”
“I know,” Lily sighed, hugging Remus by the waist.
“I know,” James echoed in a completely different tone.
“I wear glasses now,” Amelia announced, framing her face with her hands to highlight her new and obviously round glasses.
“Of course you are,” Remus nodded. “You look remarkably like your brother.”
“I’m prettier than Harry.”
“… And somehow, you took Sirius’ personality,” Lily said, making Sirius laugh. “Me – nothing. I literally did all the labour, and nothing.”
“Believe me, Snitchy, no one would doubt Amy’s your daughter,” James said, kissing her head.
“Daddy, Daddy, can I go play in the snow with Amy?” Teddy asked, tugging at Remus’ cloak.
“I thought you wanted to place the tree topper?” he said.
“We’ll come when the tree is ready! Please?”
“Fine, but don’t take off anything, not even your hat, and get back inside as soon as it gets darker, alright?” Remus conceded.
“Alright!” Teddy chirped. “Merci !”
“Teddyyy, wait!” Amelia yelped, trotting behind him. James shook his head and flicked his wand at his daughter. A heavy jacket, a hat, a scarf, and a pair of gloves and apres-ski boots appeared on her, and she continued to run after Teddy without even noticing.
“I swear, if we had been of our real age when she had been born, I’m not sure we would’ve been able to keep up,” James said. “She really is a tornado. Harry was extremely calm compared to her, but again, we got to see him growing only for his first year.”
“She’s energetic,” Lily said, watching as Amelia grabbed Teddy by an elbow not to be left behind. The two kids were circa one year apart, and Teddy was quite tall for his age, resulting in Amelia looking smaller than she was in comparison. She compensated with her temper, though.
The four of them kept looking at the kids for a minute – Teddy with his yellow parka, green boots, white hat and blue hair, Amelia with her maroon coat and multi-striped outerwear. She really looked a lot like James: her skin was a warm, soft brown, she had that typical thin face, just like Harry, and her dark hair was a mess just as much; it was just a little lighter than her brother’s and dad’s, but it grew equally fast and it was now long enough to tie it into two cute, puffy ponytails.
“Merlin’s balls, how I love Christmas,” Sirius grinned.
“We know,” the other three said. James squeezed him by the shoulders. “Remember the first one we spent at Hogwarts? That was the first time I spotted something doggish in you. You wouldn’t stand still for a minute.”
“And the first time he saw the Christmas decorations?” Remus smiled. “He walked around for an entire day with his mouth agape.”
“Try coming from eleven years of Christmases spent in Grimmauld Place, and then you can talk,” Sirius muttered, pulling a face and tossing his hair. “Alright, back to work, I want to see this tree nice and ready for tonight’s dinner. Who’d like some tea?”
Sirius and Remus took their cloaks off, and everyone focused on decorating the tree while drinking tea and chatting amiably, music playing softly in the background.
“Did you hear from Regulus?” Lily asked.
“He’s picking Maia and her friends at King’s Cross with Nes and Angela,” Sirius said, “They should be here around eight or so. Harry?”
“Yeah, the same. Oh, that reminds me – Kingsley’s coming, too!” Lily said. “We came across him at the Ministry yesterday. He broke up with his girlfriend, at last, and he’s pretty down.”
“Oh? He and Robin were having problems?” Remus asked, baffled. “I had no idea.”
“You can’t always know everything, love,” Sirius said from behind the tree, where he was choosing where to place a giant glass bauble.
“Yeah, anyway, he was resigned to spending Christmas alone, and he’s always so busy being the Minister, so we invited him over,” Lily explained. “I hope you don’t mind.”
“Pfft,” Sirius snorted. “The more the merrier. Besides, mi casa es tu casa, as the saying goes.”
“And maybe this time we’ll successfully manage to pair him up with Angela,” James winked. “She’s still single, isn’t she? They were flirting wildly at your wedding.”
“It’s been four years!” Remus said, amused.
“Yeah, but the chemistry might still be there,” James grinned wickedly. “I love playing Cupid. I’m extremely good at it.”
“Unless you’re playing it for yourself,” Sirius teased, peering from behind the tree. “You did a poor job with Lily here.”
“It only took him six years to figure out how to grow on me,” Lily said, levitating a long red streamer and wrapping it around the tree. “Better late than never.”
“May I remind you, Mrs Potter, that when you fell for me at last, you fell incredibly hard?”
“No need to, I sadly remember it clearly enough.”
“Mean.”
“That’s how you like it, dear,” Lily beamed angelically at her husband, making Sirius and Remus laugh.
They finished decorating the tree, and it was splendid like the other trees placed in the house – it sparkled with lights, glitter, icicles, and snow, not to mention the refined crystal and glass baubles that shone like multi-coloured jewels. The tree was so big that, when Teddy and Amelia re-entered to place the tree topper, they didn’t manage to reach the top even with Amelia standing on Teddy’s shoulders, who was standing on Sirius’ shoulders himself. So they levitated the two kids, who placed the big golden star together, giggling and laughing the whole time. They took a picture just in time before Britney the cat launched herself into the three. Lily was deft enough to cast a clever spell to prevent the decorations from falling.
It was almost eight o’clock when the doorbell rang for the first time that evening. Teddy and Amelia, who were positively tired at that point, jumped up, suddenly thrilled and alert. Sirius, James and Lily turned to Remus. He didn’t even have to strain his ears.
“Reggie’s contingent,” he said. The kids squeaked and ran to the door, wrestling to establish who would open the door.
“Easy, you two!” Sirius and Lily called loudly, but neither Teddy nor Amelia listened. They heard the delighted shrieks of the kids when the door opened and other voices came in.
“Come look at the tree! Come!” Teddy said. He reappeared tugging Nereus Branson by the hand, with Amelia wrapped around his opposite leg.
“I’m weighted down!” Nes cried dramatically. “Gravity is increasing on me! I’m falling! I’m falling!” and he proceeded to perform a controlled fall, lying on the floor gradually and gracefully as only a trained dancer could do. Amelia and Teddy laughed and launched themselves onto him. After a moment, when he lay perfectly still, Nes attacked them and tickled them mercilessly.
“Hi!” he smiled at James, Sirius, Lily, and Remus from the floor. “Brace yourselves, guys, he’s so pissed off.”
“Excellent,” James grinned. At that moment, the rest of the group walked through the double doors of the library.
There was Angela Branson, her figure charming and reassuring as ever, who stopped to hug and kiss everybody; then came sixteen-year-old Maia with her two best friends, Alexis Durrant and Oliver Sawyer, who looked around sheepishly as they found themselves in their Proofessors’ house for the first time. Maia was gorgeous: she had styled her luxurious hair in a high braid that exposed the shaved bits behind her temples and wore scarlet patent high-heeled boots that matched her red lipstick. She looked very Christmassy, but all the glee she brought in was wiped away as Regulus appeared, closing the group, his eyes like thunder.
“Who did it? Who did it?!” He seethed, tearing his scarf away. “It was you, Potter, wasn’t it? Confess!”
“I’m not denying it,” James laughed happily.
“I. Will. Kill. You!” Regulus cried, outraged. “What is that thing? I look like a hen! Like a bloody fat hen!”
“I think it’s cute,” Lily said jovially. “It embodies you perfectly.”
“Yeah, it’s so on point,” Sirius added, grinning. “Don’t be like that, Tastebuds.”
“I will tear your eyes off on the next full moon, I mean it,” Regulus promised, fuming.
“Nes, control your man,” James said, plummeting on the big velvety sofa.
“You know I can’t do such a thing,” Nes shrugged, still busy keeping Teddy and Amelia at bay.
“You have your own kind of magic, do your trick.”
“I can’t do that here, James!”
“You two: shut. up,” Regulus hissed at Nes and James. “I will end you, Potter, I swear I will.”
“Please don’t hurt my dad!” Amelia cried from the floor. She stumbled to get on her feet and ran to jump on James to shield him with her little body. “Please, Uncle Reggie!”
Regulus looked at Amelia and his gaze shifted drastically: suddenly, he wasn’t mad anymore. His face softened and he scratched his forehead, sighing in resignation.
“Only because you asked, Amy,” he caved in, stifling a smile.
“Thank you!” she squealed, latching her arms around James’ neck.
James was on the verge of tears. He squeezed his daughter with all his might, smooching her face all over. “Nobody’s going to hurt me, love, let alone Uncle Reggie.”
“Er – what’s going on?” Alexis Durrant whispered to Maia.
“Oh, nothing, just an inside joke between them,” Maia brushed it off carelessly.
“I look like a hen!”
Any further inquiry was forgotten when Sirius came closer to say hi to Maia and her friends. Oliver Sawyer cleared his throat self-consciously.
“Thanks for having us, Professor Black,” he stammered.
“Oh, please, you’re our guests, I’m Sirius while you’re staying here,” he said gallantly, flashing them all with one of his charming smiles. Alexis blushed with all their might.
“Well, thank you, sir – I mean, Sirius.”
“Maia, would you be so kind and show Oliver and Alexis their rooms?” Remus said as he came over and successfully found a way to get those two out of their own awkwardness.
“I’ll go too,” Angela said, “I need to unpack my Christmas dress if I want to wear it at the party.”
“Sure, no problem, pick a room and make yourself at home. Oh, Maia, Alexis, Oliver – you can stay all in one bedroom if you prefer, the ones on the first floor are huge enough.”
“’Kay, Moony, thank you!” Maia chirped, motioning her friends out of the library. She had no problems keeping it casual – on the contrary, she struggled to keep acceptable boundaries while at Hogwarts. But they had been knowing each other for a while, now; they had all been there when Maia had discovered she was a witch, and acting friendly came naturally.
“Poor Maia,” Nes chuckled, “She’ll have to sit through hours and hours of those two daydreaming about their Professors, now.”
“Don’t be silly,” Remus scoffed, pouring himself another cup of tea.
“I’m not. You know half the school is in love with you, right?”
“Half the school is in love with Sirius,” Remus said. Sirius bowed with a flourish, and Regulus snorted.
“The whole school is in love with Sirius,” James corrected him as he sat up on the sofa. “Half the school is in love with you as well, and everyone from fourth year up dreams of throwing themselves in the middle with you. Don’t tell me you can’t sniff it, Moony.”
“I try to block everything out while I’m teaching, or I wouldn’t last a day,” Remus scrunched his nose. “But how do you know that?”
“Harry told us in his seventh year, and then Ginny, and there’s Maia now who tells everything to Reg and Nes, and we talk to them,” Lily explained.
“You should start unblocking something, ma lune,” Sirius said, hugging Remus from behind. “You’re missing some interesting bits.”
“That’s interesting for you. For me, it’s just torture.”
“Because you haven’t got an ego the size of a black hole, Remus,” Regulus said sneeringly.
“La vostra miseria non mi tange, né fiamma d’esto ‘ncendio non m’assale,” Sirius recited smugly.
“You conversationally quoting the Commedia only proves my point, idiot.”
“But I never said I haven’t got an ego that big. In fact, I find yours is kind of an understatement.”
“And that’s why I spend half my time trying to convince everyone that we’re not actually related.”
“Ha! As if your ego weren’t just as big, Mr ‘I left a note to Voldemort because I wanted him to know that I discovered his secret before anyone else’.”
“That’s an entirely different matter!”
“Leave him be, Padfoot, he doesn’t appreciate you like I do,” James grinned.
“I don’t live up his arse like you do, you mean” Regulus retorted as Sirius flopped himself in his best friend’s lap. James caught him and Sirius latched his arms around his shoulders playfully, like a princess who had just been saved by her knight in shining armour.
“Wanna talk about arses, Tasty? Wanna offer me such a beautiful assist? Because I know for sure who lives up yours,” James grinned again as he winked at Nes, who rolled away with laughter.
“Mind the kids,” Remus and Lily sighed.
But Teddy and Amelia were oblivious to the adults’ conversation. They were busy teaming up to make the baubles on the tree change colours to the rhythm of Last Christmas by Wham!, which was passing on the radio.
A little later after that, guests began to arrive in a consistent flow. First Harry and Ginny, who lived on the other side of the little country town. Remus and Sirius had seen them less than a month before, but they hugged heartily nonetheless. Harry came directly from work and looked equally happy and exhausted. Luckily he had a bunch of days off for Christmas.
“Look at you,” Sirius beamed, a hand each on their shoulders. “Ginny, what happened to you? You’re glowing!”
“It’s all that fresh air I get on the quidditch pitch,” she beamed back.
“Teddy, let Harry take off his cloak first,” Remus chortled as Teddy climbed on Harry to squeeze him.
“I can manage, Remus, don’t worry,” Harry laughed back, shaking his cloak off.
“Harryyy!” Amelia screamed, running forward and tackling her brother around his waist. “You’re here! You’re here!”
“Hi, Amy,” he grinned, taking Amelia in his arms. Ginny leaned forward to kiss her.
The little girl sniffed her brother intently. “You smell funny today.”
“It’s true!” Teddy backed her up. “You smell like coal and rotten eggs.”
“You can’t imagine the day I had – and I showered three times,” Harry assured with a grimace.
“That was a really vicious hex,” Ginny said. “I get sick every time I get too close to his hair.”
“What about you, Amy? What’s new?”
“I’m prettier than you and I have Sirius’ personality,” Amelia said matter-of-factly.
“Sounds right to me,” Ginny said jokingly while Harry laughed again. She took Amelia from Harry’s arms. “Why don’t you show me the Christmas tree? It looks beautiful!”
“Amy and I placed the tree topper!” Teddy chirped. “Papa had to levitate us because the tree is too tall!”
“Harry!” Lily said warmly, coming over with James. They both hugged their son briefly.
“Hi, Mum,” he grinned, hugging them back, “Hi, Dad.”
“On a break at last? I swear, they make you work too hard these days.”
“Nah, I don’t mind.”
“What’s this smell?” James asked, intrigued.
“I have no idea,” Harry sighed. “I ran into Mundungus Fletcher this afternoon. He was obviously up to something illegal and I might have threatened to Stun him – we’re not exactly on good terms since I caught him raiding Sirius’ house, you know. Long story short, he threw something at me and the others to lose us, and now I can’t make this stench go away.”
“Wait here, let me see if I have something you could use stored in the cellar.”
“Thank you, Mum.”
The doorbell rang again, and this time it was Andromeda and Lyall Lupin, who didn’t look like his son at all except for his tall and slender figure and that generally kind and reflective air. Then came Ron and Hermione; Molly and Arthur; Bill, Fleur and four-year-old Victorie (who tagged along with Teddy and Amelia immediately); George and Angelina Johnson, who had recently started going out together; Charlie with his two partners, Florian and Isabela, and their kid Marcel; Percy, his wife Penelope, and their twins, Daphne and Diana; and then, at half past ten, the Minister for Magic himself showed up – Kingsley Shacklebolt, alone, with his golden earring, reassuring presence, deep voice and everything. When the midnight of December 21 came, there were thirty-four people staying at Sirius and Remus’ (actually, James, Lily, and Amelia returned home for the night, as they all lived on the same property, so it didn’t actually count), and the big house turned into a sort of chaotic yet marvellous hotel where the guests did essentially what they wanted.
In the days that preceded Christmas, the kids formed a solid pact in the name of fun, snow-related games, exploitation of every single toy that Teddy possessed (and he possessed plenty), and exploration of the house and the grounds – a pact that more often than not ended with desperate cries and mortal offences that required the intervention of a grown-up, but each time all was forgiven and forgotten to quickly return to the main occupation: Having Fun.
The vast kitchen became the undisputed reign of three people in particular: Molly, James, and Regulus. You couldn’t tear them away from the stove as they had self-elected themselves food managers since the very first Christmas they had spent together after the Battle of Hogwarts. All the others could do, if they wished to, was to follow their instructions and help with chopping, stirring, seasoning, or washing – or, if they were clever enough like Remus, Sirius, Lily, and Nes, choosing to stay away and keeping themselves busy with other activities.
Days were slow and pleasant, made of strolls to the village through the thick snow, skating on the iced pond nearby, watching rented movies on the big screen in the drawing room at night, singing Christmas songs, playing board games, listening to Regulus playing the piano near the crackling fireplace. There was always more than one teapot ready on the stove for some tea, and in the morning, porridge, toasted bread, and fried eggs were always ready and warm for the ones who liked to sleep in and didn’t get down before eleven or twelve in the morning.
On Christmas Eve night, Teddy was unable to control himself with excitement. He ran and bounced all over the place, asking what time it was every fifteen minutes, trying to convince everyone to come to the mass with him and using his grandpa to find new topics to persuade the guests.
“What is this obsession with mass?” asked Penelope Wright-Weasley kindly while she helped to set the table for dinner and Teddy continued his proselytism in favour of mass.
“He likes the general atmosphere,” Sirius said, watching Teddy affectionately. “And he loves to hear the choir singing the carols.”
“He likes one carol in particular,” James added.
“And it’s all your fault,” Remus said.
“What do you mean, Remus?” asked Fleur, batting her long eyelashes. On the other side of the table, Ron sighed loudly, and he was mysteriously hit on the head by a flying napkin holder coming from where a glaring Hermione was standing.
“You never learn, do you?” Harry whispered, shaking his head.
“He’s referring to the fact that we used to sing him Adeste Fideles at Christmas time,” James explained, his eyes twinkling. “We started to kind of torment him with that once we noticed the pun implied. We used to sing it first thing in the morning – ”
“When he was trying to read or do his homework – ” Sirius continued.
“When he entered the Great Hall – ”
“Or exited the loo – ”
“Basically, whenever he appeared somewhere.”
“I remember that,” Regulus and Lily muttered unwillingly.
“These idiots,” Remus said, his smirk hidden by the glass he was drinking from.
“Oh, I see,” Lyall said. “Venite adoremus.” Remus groaned, and Sirius grinned.
“Do you know the carols, Lyall?” the latter asked.
“Hope was a big fan,” he explained with a soft smile. “She always wanted to go to the mass on Christmas Eve. Do you remember, Remus?”
“Yes,” he smiled back melancholically. “She would’ve loved to go with Teddy.”
“We’ll take care of that,” Sirius assured, kissing his temple tenderly. “We’ll take something of your mum with us tonight. You definitely have to come with us, Lyall.”
“Of course,” the old man said. “I wouldn’t miss this show.” And he looked over to Teddy, who was running around the long table, singing again at the top of his lungs with a remarkable Latin pronunciation:
“VENITE ADOREMUS, VENITE ADOREMUS, VENITE ADOREMU-U-S DO-O-MINUM!”
Christmas Day, 2003
Teddy shuffled through the silent corridor. The sun wasn’t completely up yet and the house was dark, sleepy and silent. He could hear the slow breathing of the guests, still busy with their dreams. He hadn’t woken up any of the other kids, who were sound asleep in his bedroom – they had had their sleepover, at last. It wasn’t anyone’s fault if he was too excited to sleep in. It was Christmas. Teddy knew that the big Christmas tree in the library was now surrounded by lots of presents beautifully wrapped, and he couldn’t wait to open his, but most of all, he couldn’t wait to spend that day with his family.
The mass had been spectacular: everybody had come, even Uncle Reggie, after Uncle Nes had successfully coaxed him into going. Teddy had sung, had had fun praying (he liked prayers; they sounded like a mock incantation, and it was hilarious to enunciate them out loud solemnly as the muggles did), had listened to the Nativity stories and had looked around curiously since the church reminded him vaguely of the Great Hall at Hogwarts. They had sung Adeste Fideles and he had probably cast an involuntary spell because the choir and the little orchestra had repeated the song three more times, much for Papa and Uncle James’ glee, and no one had said anything against it, not even the priest. They had returned home late at night, Teddy had had one last mug of cocoa and Papa had let him go to sleep without brushing his teeth as a Christmas treat.
He sneaked into his parents’ bedroom silently, opening the door without making a sound. The curtains were drawn and the room was dark, with all candles and lights off, but Teddy could see pretty well anyway. He saw his dads still fast asleep in the bed, strange to the world. Papa was curled up against Daddy’s side, his head resting on his chest, his black hair splayed all over like spilled ink. The room was filled with an intriguing, dense, and strong scent that mixed with his dads’. Teddy had smelled it other times before, and it always sent shivers all along his spine for some reason. It usually coincided with that strange phenomenon where his dads’ scents sort of swapped, too – and of course, as Teddy padded towards the bed, he noticed it had happened again. How curious.
He climbed on the bed from Daddy’s side. That bed was so big it could easily fit four people, but his parents slept all entangled together here just as they did at Hogwarts. Daddy had his arms wrapped around Pa like he had no intention of letting him go for anything in the world, and Teddy smiled. He knew how it felt to be hugged like that; Daddy always hugged him like that, too, and it was an amazing feeling.
Remus’ breathing changed from asleep to waking up, as Teddy expected to. His dad always knew when he was close. Sure enough, he inhaled deeply once and opened his eyes.
“Teddy,” he croaked quietly, sleepiness seeping into his voice. “Why are you up already?”
“Couldn’t sleep,” he explained in an excited whisper. “It’s Christmas!”
Daddy smirked, one of his typical vague, ironic smiles that Teddy learned how to read long ago. He smiled back.
“Nobody is going to get up already for at least a couple of hours, cariad,” he said patiently. In the meantime, Papa didn’t seem to notice that the chest he was using as a pillow was emitting sounds. He continued to sleep undisturbed.
“I don’t want to go back to bed,” Teddy protested. “Vicky sleeps like this,” he traced a horizontal line mid-air, “and I have no space left.”
“Have you tried to push her away?”
“She won’t move! She’s mean,” he frowned. Remus chortled, making Sirius grunt a protest in his sleep.
“Do you want to stay here?”
“Please?”
Daddy smiled and stifled a yawn, stretching a bit. He looked down at Papa, running his long fingers through his hair to move it aside and clear his face.
“Sirius,” he murmured.
“Mmh,” was the low growl he got in response. Papa didn’t like to be woken up.
“Make room for Teddy, please.”
Sirius opened one eye slowly and Teddy grinned. He barely registered his presence and moved his body slightly, creating an alcove between Daddy and himself for Teddy to curl in.
“I knew it,” he grunted as Teddy climbed over Remus to settle between them. “Glad I insisted to put the night trousers back on, now, eh?”
“Yes, yes, you’re the cleverest,” Daddy indulged him lazily, turning to them to close the hug with Teddy in the middle. Dad kissed his hair lightly and then Pa on the nose. “Merry Christmas.”
“Merry Christmas!” Teddy twittered happily.
“Gnnghsmas,” Papa mumbled, yawning and going back to sleep immediately.
In the end, they slept in until past nine. They went to the kitchen together, Sirius yawning all his way down. There was already a lively activity in the room: Uncle Reggie and Uncle Nes were already up, as were Maia, Alexis, and Oliver. The three friends were having breakfast at the long table, their faces still sleepy and soft. Nes was by the counter next to Regulus, who was chewing a slice of toast absentmindedly while he swiftly chopped a huge pile of dark chocolate.
“Morning, everybody,” Remus smiled as Teddy ran inside. “Merry Christmas.”
“Merry Christmas!” the room answered with various levels of enthusiasm.
“Nice hoodie, Reggie,” Sirius yawned again as he got closer to pour himself some tea.
“Isn’t it?” Nes grinned back. “It’s an early Christmas present. I thought it suited him perfectly.”
“You’re right, of course.”
“Shut up,” Regulus mumbled grumpily, his voice muffled by the toast. Despite his apparent protests, he was wearing an oversized black hoodie with a big picture of one of the Powerpuff Girls on the front – the green one, Buttercup.
“She looks a bit like you, Uncle Reggie,” Teddy said, climbing on one chair and letting his legs swing.
“I’m aware of that, unfortunately,” Regulus mumbled again. “Que veux-tu manger, mon chéri ?” he asked, looking at Teddy over his shoulder.
“Puis-je avoir du lait avec des biscuits au chocolat, mon oncle, s’il te plaît ?” Teddy answered politely, enunciating the best he could.
“D’accord.” Regulus tapped a small pot with his wand and it started steaming almost immediately. The aroma of chocolate and hot milk filled the already good-smelling kitchen.
“Thanks,” Remus said, pouring the hot milk in a bowl and taking some chocolate biscuits from the oven. “You know,” he said, placing the breakfast in front of Teddy, “It’s been a couple of years now, but this whole family dynamic still feels incredible sometimes.”
“Yeah,” Sirius laughed, eating his toast just like his brother. “Reggie making Teddy’s breakfast and calling him chéri. It’ll always feel incredible.”
“And you’re telling me? Hello?” Regulus waved his left arm, where the old red scar of the Dark Mark, now turned to a faint dark pink, was still perfectly visible. “It’s not my fault. It’s your son who’s as irresistible as this dynamic is incredible.”
“Uhm?” Teddy asked, busy checking how much time it took for the biscuits to drown in the milk. He looked up, his eyes wide with questions. It felt like they were talking about him, somehow.
“See?” Regulus said, pointing at him. “Look at that face. Look at those big brown eyes. How am I supposed to resist?”
“Oh, Reg, stop playing the grumpy former Death Eater,” Maia cooed cheekily. “You dote on kids. You basically adopted me, and you work with kids now.”
“It is you who adopted me if anything,” Regulus said.
Maia shrugged. “Whatever. Still, I’m surprised that you’ve not come back home hiding an ill-treated child under your cloak yet, sneaking him inside and Confusing Nes into thinking he’s your son and always has been.”
Nes laughed heartily. “That’s only because he hasn’t rescued a black kid yet. It would be too fishy that way, I wouldn’t buy it even if he Confused me.”
“Ha, ha, how hilarious,” Regulus drawled, rolling his eyes while Papa roared with laughter. Then Regulus groaned, “Oh, Nes, why, why do you always have to do this?”
Nes had put his left leg up and was using one of the cabinets to stretch, resulting in a sort of standing split. He winked, tossing his long braids over his shoulder.
“Uncle Nes, please, can you pass me a napkin?” Teddy asked.
“Because I know how much it bothers you,” Nes said. “Especially if I do something like this. Here you are, Ted.”
Nes grabbed a napkin with his toes effortlessly and moved his leg gracefully over, dropping the napkin beside Teddy’s bowl. Uncle Reggie groaned again, and Teddy grinned.
“Cool!” he chirped. “Thanks!”
“Disgusting,” Regulus grimaced. He leaned forward and took Nes’ face with one hand to kiss him anyway.
“Good morning,” Kingsley’s Shacklebolt soothing voice came from the door. “Merry Christmas, everybody.”
“Oi, King, Merry Christmas to you too,” Sirius said happily while the others greeted back. “There’s some coffee ready on the stove.”
“Excellent, I’m asleep on my feet,” he yawned.
“Oh. Did you sleep badly?”
“Well – ”
“Good morning!” Angela entered the kitchen as well, a bright smile on her lips. “Merry Christmas, everybody. Give me a kiss.”
She toured the room, starting with Maia and Nes, hugging and kissing her kids, then Regulus and the others. When it was Teddy’s turn, she took him into her arms to kiss his cheeks and hug him warmly. He giggled at first, delighted – he loved hugs – then he caught a glimpse of her scent.
“Angie?” he asked, puzzled because it had happened again, and now to other people, apparently, “Why do you smell like Kingsley this morning?”
The room fell silent. Angela froze, looking at him with shocked eyes. Everyone else froze as well, turning to look at her and the Minister. Teddy heard Daddy Remus desperately try not to laugh. Kingsley scratched his head self-consciously. One second later, Maia and Uncle Nes held their breath in unison.
“MUM!” they shouted, stunned.
At that point, Papa, Daddy and Uncle Reggie burst out laughing helplessly. Sirius leaned on Remus, gasping for air, and Regulus started fanning his eyes with one hand to dry his tears.
“Oh SWEET MORGAN!” Papa howled.
“He’s the freaking Minister for Magic!” Maia squeaked, covering her face with her hands, utterly embarrassed.
“So what? I didn’t ask for a job!” Angela said back, flushed. She put Teddy down, and he looked around, more confused by the minute.
“That’s what she said,” Sirius narrated, giggles making his voice quiver. Regulus laughed even harder.
“‘That’s what she said?!’” Kingsley repeated, but he was struggling not to laugh as well, “Is this how you pay me back for hiding you from the Ministry for a year despite my assigned job being exactly that of catching you, Black?”
“I’m sorry, but the way Teddy exposed you – ”
“Alright, alright, stop,” Daddy said, trying to make things go back to normal. Alexis and Oliver were still looking at Angela and Kingsley with their mouths agape, turning to look at Maia every now and then. The girl had collapsed on the table and was shaking her head.
“What happened? What did I say?” Teddy asked nervously, chewing his bottom lip, which had started trembling. “Have I done something wrong? I just wanted to know… ”
“No, mon cœur, you did nothing wrong,” Pa Sirius assured him softly, stroking his head.
“Absolutely not, love,” Angela said. “No need to cry, ok? You’re the sweetest baby in the world.”
“’Kay,” Teddy sniffed, wiping his eyes and searching for comfort in Papa’s arms – who still smelled like Daddy, by the way.
“So,” Uncle Nes cleared his throat, recovering at last. “We’re all adults here – sort of. Was it a one-time thing or…?”
“We’ll see,” Angela said sternly as she poured herself some coffee.
“I’d very much prefer if it wasn’t,” Kingsley said, his voice deep, reassuring and sincere as ever.
“We’ll see,” Angela repeated – but she looked at him with a soft smile, this time.
“Here I am! HERE I AM!” Uncle James came running into the kitchen, his glasses askew, several trails and plates hovering mid-air behind him. “Sorry, I completely ignored the alarm, Merry Christmas and stuff to everyone, I’m ready to cook the crap out of the – what’s going on?” he asked, stopping abruptly when he noticed the awkward atmosphere in the room.
“Oi, Prongs, Merry Christmas,” Sirius grinned, clapping his shoulder. “Teddy’s just asked Angela why she smells like Kingsley this morning.”
“Wha– ” James blinked a couple of times, looking around and studying everyone’s face. Then he gasped audibly.
“SWEET MORGAN!”
Apparently, Angela and Kingsley did something really serious because the adults didn’t stop talking about it. Every time someone else came down for breakfast or to help with the cooking, the story was told once again; Teddy only understood the ‘Angela and Kingsley! Angela and Kingsley! Finally!’ bit, because the rest was about things there was absolutely no need to make such a big fuss about – like sleeping together. He slept with his dads and the other kids all the time: so what? It wasn’t like he was going to marry Victoire, that vicious bed-stealer, only because they had slept together once. Bah! The adults were really strange. Anyway, the whole thing was eventually cast aside when they finally gathered around the Christmas tree to open the presents, which was far more important.
“YES!” Teddy shouted, holding the amazing Dragon Farm to his chest and jumping all over the place. “YES, YES, YES! DRAGONS! FIRE-BREATHING DRAGONS!”
“Oi, Teddy, want me to ask if they need a helper at my workplace?” Charlie Weasley grinned. But he was too busy studying his new favourite toy.
“THERE’S A HUNGARIAN HORNTAIL TOO! COOL!”
“Did you hear, Harry? There’s a Hungarian Horntail, too!” Ron said in an over-excited tone.
“Cool!” Harry said in the same tone, making Ginny laugh. “You should definitely show that to Hagrid, Teddy.”
“Better not give him other strange ideas about dragons,” Hermione giggled.
Teddy had nothing to complain about that year’s loot: other than Dragon Farm, he got another toy broom, books to read (both magic and muggle), colouring books, pastels, board games, and new clothes. Everyone got candies and sweets, but the adults made the kids swear not to touch them until the end of Christmas dinner. Teddy (unlike nasty bed-stealing Victorie) was happy to wait: he had seen what Uncle Reggie, Uncle James and Molly Weasley had been cooking, and he was definitely eager to stuff himself on those delicacies first.
A few hours later, they were still in the library, waiting for Daddy, Aunt Lily, Grandma Andy and Angela to finish setting the big table in the drawing room and finally start to eat. Teddy was famished.
“Behold!” Uncle James boomed solemnly, presenting himself in front of the Christmas tree wearing a headband with sparkling reindeer antlers. “The ancient Tree of Christmas, the lush Wreath of Holly, the sugary Cane of Candy! Together, they are the Merry Hallows,” he uttered, holding a wreath and a candy cane in each hand. “Together, they make one the Master of Cheer!”
“Oi, Dad, that sounds like fun,” Harry said, deadpan, among the general laughter. “Can I give it a try, too?”
“You’re already the Master of Death, Harry, don’t be that guy,” Ron tutted, waving another candy cane reproachfully before biting it.
“You’re right. Master of Death is as cheerful as Master of the bloody Cheer.”
“May I strike a blow for being the Master of Death? It has its perks,” Papa Sirius grinned, still plunked in his favourite armchair with a glass of what Teddy knew was firewhisky even though they never let him try it and an aromatic cigar that smelled pleasantly like burnt sugar. Sirius looked vaguely like a pirate that day - long legs thrown over one arm of the chair, black hair surrounding his face and torso in thick waves made soft by the reflection of the flames dancing in the fireplace, his trimmed goatee, his twinkling eyes. Someone in the room sighed, and Teddy looked around to find Alexis Durrant looking dopily at his dad. Maia nudged her friend in the ribs with a tut.
“Yes, it definitely has its perks,” Harry grinned back as he let Amelia climb on his legs to stick another antlered headband in his hair.
“Table’s ready!” Lily announced, peering from the door. Teddy jumped up and ran forward, racing against Victorie, Daphne and Florian.
“Wait!” squeaked Diana and Amelia, who positively flew from her brother’s lap to join them.
It had started to snow again. The sun had set and the air outside was blueish, making the thick snowflakes look even whiter and brighter. The front garden was clearly visible through the withdrawn curtains of the drawing room: it looked like a fairytale or a scenario coming directly from The Nutcracker. Teddy and the other kids managed to sit facing the big windows so they could look outside all the time.
Adults started to pour wine to each other, laughing and chatting happily. Uncle Reggie had changed at some point and was now wearing a beautiful midnight blue set that made him look like a prince. Teddy sipped his pumpkin juice happily, his feet dancing to the rhythm of Loreena McKennit’s songs that were playing on the record. The mood was so good that, even though he hadn’t managed to play with his new Dragon Farm yet, it was impossible to sulk. He had no idea how to express it properly, but if Teddy had known words stranger to a five-year-old kid, he would have said that he was surrounded by so much love and beauty that it had got through him somehow, lighting him up from the inside and making him feel almost weightless.
“Alright, lads, this requires a hell of a toast,” Pa Sirius called from the top of the table. He stood up, raising his glass. “I am sincerely honoured to know all of you and to have you as my friends and family. You know that our lives haven’t exactly been easy, but I look at you, at every single one of you, and I can’t but consider myself the luckiest man on the planet. Thank you all for coming, you are the best.” Everyone cheered and applauded, and Sirius bowed his head. “Please, indulge me a little further. First, I’d love to thank Andromeda,” Pa raised his glass at her, “for being an amazing grandmother and successfully making our ancestors roll in their graves every day you walk Teddy to the muggle kindergarten.” Laughter all along the table, and Teddy applauded enthusiastically when his grandma stood up and bowed gracefully. “Then, to my beautiful cub.” Teddy looked up and grinned, elated. “I couldn’t be prouder of you even if I tried, mon cœur. Je t’aime.”
“Je t’aime aussi, papa !” Teddy ran to the other side of the table to hug his dad, who laughed and kissed and lifted him up, continuing his toast with him on his shoulders.
“And speaking of being proud, here’s to the other Black who took the concept of karma and turned it upside down – Reg,” Pa turned to Uncle Reggie, “I don’t even know where to start with you.”
“So don’t,” Regulus suggested, making everyone chuckle, “Leave some mystery up.”
“Fine, Tastebuds, fine,” Sirius grinned. “May I say that I love you, or do you have something to remonstrate about that too?”
“You may,” Regulus smiled.
“I love you, then.”
“Good for you,” Uncle Reggie said, making the table laugh again – Pa Sirius included.
“To Nes, for successfully putting up with this insolent brat even after living together for four years now,
“To Maia, for having pulled Reggie away from his misery before anyone else,
“To the Weasleys, one of the best families in this mad, mad, world,
“To Hermione, for still being the voice of reason even though you’re now surrounded by older adults, who pretty suck at adulting, though,
“To Kingsley and Angela, because after this morning, you definitely deserved a combined toast,
“To James, for being a bloody prince amongst men and the best friend anyone could wish for,
“To Lily, for being our undisputed generalissimo and freaking genius, you wonderful woman, we’ll love you forever and beyond,
“To Lyall, for being an extremely patient grandfather and for being responsible for bringing Remus into this world, and please forgive me if I lack to recognise your other merits,
“To the love of my life,” Sirius smiled softly as he raised the glasses to Daddy, who beamed back self-consciously, and Teddy clapped louder than ever. “Toujours pur, ma lune.”
“Showman,” Daddy smirked, his eyes twinkling, raising his glass at Sirius as well.
“And, last but not least, to Harry, without whom we wouldn’t be here now. May I have a little help here?” Papa asked loudly. “To Harry!”
“To Harry!” the table boomed. “TO HARRY!” Teddy screamed from Pa’s shoulders, waving dangerously and making everyone laugh some more.
“You have to stop toasting at me,” Harry protested after the applause waned.
“I’m afraid you’re asking for too much, Harry,” Remus said ironically.
“Not today, I much as well hope,” Harry said, a grin forming on his lips. Teddy noticed his voice was shaking slightly. Sure enough, his godfather cleared his throat while he took Ginny’s hand. “We’ve got a little announcement to make.”
“NO!” Lily and Molly shrieked, both covering their mouths with their hands.
“He hasn’t said anything yet!” James laughed.
“I’m pregnant!” Ginny announced, grinning from ear to ear.
“OH MY GOD!”
The table exploded. Teddy couldn’t hear anything except delighted screams, seats scratching the floor as people stood up to congratulate to Harry and Ginny. Pa put him down with a brief peck on the cheek before joining the general cheering – a cheering so loud that the window panels rattled.
“I’M GOING TO BE A GRANDDAD!” Uncle James roared, wiping his eyes while he squeezed Ginny and Harry.
“I’M GOING TO BE A GRANDMOTHER!” Aunt Lily roared back, crying her eyes out. “Oh my god, I’m so happy!”
Harry pulled her into the giant hug that was forming around the couple, and she didn’t resurface for a long time. Teddy joined in, surprised to see everyone crying and feeling the urge to cry some himself. He reached for Daddy Remus and asked to be picked up, smiling and crying, hugging Harry and Ginny even though he didn’t know exactly what being pregnant meant. But he felt overwhelmed by joy, and the feeling of lightness he felt before increased, making him feel weightless and weightless, to the point he found himself floating over everyone’s heads. Daddy laughed, waved his wand and pulled him down gently.
Someone opened the doors, and the little crowd poured over the front garden. Wands were drawn out and pointed at the sky, and the air soon filled with jets of golden, red, and white sparks that looked like fireworks. Pa Sirius started to run, jumped forward and turned into a black dog, howling loudly at the sky. Daddy followed him, turning into a majestic ash-brown wolf and howling with him. Then Uncle James changed as well, belling towards the sky with all his might. Uncle Reggie climbed on the railing and free-dived, turning into a huge raven before hitting the ground, flying in circles over the other Marauders’ heads.
Teddy inhaled and his nose filled with the smell of love. It smelled like salty tears, like shivers, like wolf blood and black dog, like silky raven feathers, like mead, like wine, like laughs, and sweat, and sugar, and swapped bodies, and cinnamon, and Christmas. It felt good, felt wild, felt raw and joyful.
I’m never staying at Hogwarts for Christmas, he promised himself solemnly, like only a five-year-old boy would do.
Victorie – bossy, nasty, bed-stealer Victorie – pulled his hair cheekily, taking advantage of the adults still busy celebrating Harry and Ginny. Well. It looked like Teddy had to deal with it on his own this time.
“I’ll make you pay, Vic!” he promised, taking a handful of snow and aiming at her nose. Victoire dodged, giggling. She pulled a face, sticking her tongue out, and ran away. Teddy simply had to chase her.
“Come here!” he shrieked, chasing her all around the garden.
Suddenly, Teddy felt a surge of sympathy towards Mr Filch. Maybe he would let the caretaker catch him sooner next time he pulled a prank.