As Harry walked out of the owlery at Number 12 Grimmauld Place, he couldn’t contain the smile that was spreading across his face. He had just received a very sweet letter from Cedric, who had been his boyfriend since the start of term, and combined with how great of a day he was already having, this was turning out to be one of the best Christmases he’d ever had. Technically, the one he had with his parents was the best, but did it really count if he couldn’t remember it? Harry decided not to dwell on that for too long.
Nevertheless, Harry was delighted.
So delighted, in fact, that he didn’t notice Fred Weasley walking directly in his path until it was too late.
Harry had no time to react before they ran into each other and toppled to the floor. He felt like an idiot.
"Alright, Harry?" Fred greeted as he began to stand up, wincing a little when he straightened his knee.
“Sorry Fred, I was lost in thought. Didn't see ya.” Harry sheepishly admitted. The letter was still clutched loosely in his hand. Once Fred was fully upright, he reached out to help Harry up. He was dressed rather festively, wearing a hideous bright green Christmas sweater. He also had what looked suspiciously like a branch of mistletoe in his pocket. In his hand, he had a letter addressed to Gringotts. Harry let himself be pulled up, barely supressing a wince of his own. Damn, that would definitely bruise.
“Whatcha got there?” Fred questioned, gesturing to Cedric’s letter.
“I- uh, just a letter from a friend.” Harry stuttered out, blushing furiously.
“Oh yeah? Who?” Fred sounded genuine. Maybe he hadn’t caught on after all.
“It’s from, uh.. Neville. Yeah. Neville.” Harry had paused for just a moment too long before stating a name. And Fred has always been freakily observant. His cheeks grew redder, if that was even possible.
“Right…” Fred replied, not sounding convinced at all.
They both stood there dumbly for a long moment. Was it just Harry, or did Fred seem to be inching his hand closer. . .? -
The next thing Harry knew, Fred had the letter in his hand and was running full speed down the stairs, Harry giving chase.
“No running down the stairs!” He heard Mrs. Weasley shout from the kitchen.
No, no, no, Harry thought as he raced down the stairs, they can’t find out yet. Not like this.
After charging down a truly unreasonable amount of stairs (honestly, did Grimmauld need so many floors?) Fred finally reached the living room.
It was jam-packed and full of life. There had been an order meeting that day -which Harry thought was rather inconsiderate, since most people would be busy- and a few members had decided to stick around for Christmas dinner.
One corner of the room had Emmeline Vance and Kingsley Shacklebolt deep in conversation. Harry didn’t know much about Vance except that she had been part of the original Order, but she seemed nice enough. Another corner had Tonks and Ron playing a very competitive game of wizard’s chess. Ginny and Hermione were quietly chatting on the sofa. Lupin (‘really Harry, just call me Remus’) was next to the girls, struggling to read while Sirius and George tried to shove a neon red Santa hat on his head. George had a Santa hat of his own, and Sirius was sporting a pair of huge antlers, complete with little ornaments that jingled when he moved his head. Professor McGonagall was watching their antics with a small smile. Mundungus Fletcher and Dedalus Diggle were on the other side of the room making small talk, but they both looked rather uncomfortable with their company. Most people looked up as Fred ran in shouting, Harry not far behind.
“Oi, George!! Ickle harrykins has a crush!!”
George sped over, the Santa hat now forgotten on the floor.
“What? Show me!” He exclaimed as Fred began to open the letter.
Meanwhile, Harry was pleading frantically. “Come on Fred, I told you it’s just a letter from a friend. Give it back! It’s not a big deal.”
“They grow up so fast.” George sighed dramatically, pretending to wipe tears from his eyes.
Harry was starting to get desperate. He tried to reach out and grab the letter, but it was quickly hoisted out of his reach.
“Aw don’t be like that Harry, there’s no shame in it really. It’s perfectly natural for boys your age to be having certain feelings about girls.” Fred teased.
“It’s not from a g- ugh, just give it back!” oops. He really needed to be more careful. Although , he thought, that ship had sailed the moment Fred got his hands on the letter.
“Not to worry Harry, you’ll get your letter back.” Fred soothed, the playful glint in his eye revealing his insincerity.
“Just as soon as we have a read!” George finished. Harry was frozen in shock as Fred took the letter out of the envelope, unfolded it, and began to read aloud.
My Harry,
Happy Christmas!
I hope you’re enjoying your holiday. I didn’t see you the last few days of term, is everything alright? My gift to you should be arriving soon. I wish I could be there to see you open it, you’ll have to tell me what you think!
Thank you for the journal, it’s beautiful and I’ve already started writing in it.
Though I cannot be there with you, know that you are always in my thoughts.
Your loving boyfriend,
C D
Harry’s stomach dropped. He had yet to come out to anyone except Cedric.
But there it was, in the gorgeous handwriting he knew so well.
‘Your loving boyfriend,’
And Fred had just read it aloud.
Harry didn’t know if he wanted to laugh or cry.
Cedric, as far as Harry knew, was closeted as well. They had both decided that with all the ridicule Harry had been facing, staying hidden was the safest for them both. Thank Merlin he’d had the foresight to only sign his initials.
For one agonizingly long moment, the room was dead silent. Harry kept his eyes fixed on the letter, not wanting to see everyone’s reactions. He didn’t want to know what they had to say.
It was Ron who finally broke the silence.
“So…you’re gay?” He barely had time to get the words out before he was being smacked on the head by Hermione.
“Honestly Ron, have some tact!” She scolded.
“Well he is, isn’t he? You heard the letter!” Ron replied, oblivious as always.
Harry chanced a glance up at Fred, and their eyes met. He looked truly remorseful, a far cry from the gleeful expression he had worn just a minute ago.
“Harry, I-” Fred began, no doubt trying to stammer out an apology.
“Good one, Fred.” Harry cut him off, his voice emotionless. “Really hilarious.”
Harry snatched the letter back and began to exit.. He heard Lupin and Hermione call out to him, but he ignored them both as he walked quickly up to his (and Ron’s) room.
*
Harry wasn't sure what he was feeling. He was angry, that’s for sure. Regardless of the contents, it was his private letter! He knew Fred would never do something like that with the intention of hurting someone, but the twins could be so cruel with their ‘pranks’ sometimes. Transfiguring a toddler’s teddy bear into spiders? Ron was terrified to this day! And he could have sworn he heard them brainstorming about edible Dark Marks for their joke shop.
But below the anger and hurt, part of him almost felt relieved. At least now, Harry didn’t need to worry about coming out to most of his loved ones. Fred had done that for him. He was still terrified of their reactions, but in a way, Fred had just spared Harry quite a bit of stress.
Although, Harry thought, the stunt as a whole had more than made up for it.
Laying facedown on his bed, he wasn’t sure how much time had passed before he heard footsteps and a light knock on the door.
“Harry?” The gentle, slightly hoarse voice of Remus Lupin floated in through the door.
Harry barely suppressed a groan. He really, really didn’t want to know what Lupin would have to say about this. Harry had always valued his opinion, and he didn’t know if he could stand hearing the disappointment in his voice.
“Harry, are you in there?” Lupin spoke again, slightly louder.
Again, Harry didn’t respond.
He heard some shuffling from the hallway and more footsteps.
“Prongslet? It’s Sirius. Can we come in?”
Shite, Harry thought. Lupin was bad enough, but Sirius as well? Knowing him, he would probably break down the door if Harry didn’t reply soon, so he sat up with a mumbled, “Come in.”
Harry kept his eyes downcast as the door cracked open and they both walked over to sit on Ron’s bed opposite Harry.
They were all silent for a moment. It was Sirius who spoke first.
“How are you doing, kid?” He sounded concerned. Was he not disappointed? No, he couldn’t get his hopes up like that.
“Fine, I guess.” Was his response.
“I’m sure that’s not quite how you expected it to come out.” It was Lupin who spoke up this time. His tone was carefully neutral.
“No, it really wasn’t.” Harry replied, trying -and failing- to keep the anger from his voice.
“I’ve had a long talk with the twins about the nature of the ‘pranks’ they play and the importance of privacy,” Lupin began, “and they would both love to apologize when you feel ready. No rush, they understand you’ll likely be upset with them for quite a wh-”
“Nobody else knew I’m bi.” Harry cut in, needing to get it off his chest.
Lupin frowned. “Harry, you don’t mean the twins knew before reading the letter?”
“Nobody except my-” Harry took a breath. “Nobody except my boyfriend knew I’m bi.”
“Is there any specific reason for this?” Sirius spoke up. Neither of them seemed too bothered with his identity, so maybe he hadn’t needed to be so worried. However, they were only two people out of the twelve or so (thirteen, really, if you count Mrs. Weasley. Someone had undoubtedly told her what happened. And Mrs. Weasley would probably tell Mr. Weasley, who was resting after the attack, so more like fourteen) who now knew about him.
“A few reasons, actually.” Harry looked up. “For one, the wizarding world seems to be rather… upset with me lately, and I really don’t want to give them another reason. Being publicly out would be putting a target on Ce- on my boyfriend’s back, and an even larger one on mine. Neither of us need that right now. Plus, we’re both still figuring things out and getting used to being in a relationship, and we don’t want to deal with any pressure from our friends or family quite yet. Not to mention that I had no idea how any of you would react, and I don’t fancy losing any friends. I dealt with that enough in my fourth year. Not that I would expect either of you to understand any of this, since you aren’t gay.”
Sirius and Lupin looked at each other. They seemed to be having a silent conversation. It had been going on for long enough that Harry was about to say something when Lupin spoke.
“Harry, have either of us ever said we’re straight?”
“I- what?” Harry was dumbfounded. Where was he going with this?
“Have you ever heard either of us say we’re straight?” Lupin repeated, and was it just Harry or did he look almost… amused?
“Well…” Harry thought for a moment. “No, I guess not.”
“Then why do you think we are?”
“Uh, I suppose I just…assumed?”
“Exactly.”
“So are you…not?” Harry replied slowly. He knew he sounded stupid, but this conversation was so awkward!
“I, like you, am bisexual.” Lupin’s voice was still neutral, like this confession meant nothing.
“And I am very, very gay.” Sirius had been relatively quiet in this conversation, but he must have deemed this important enough to chime in.
Harry watched as their hands linked together. Wait, are they…? He looked back up at their faces. They were looking at each other with what Harry could only describe as….
As love.
Oh.
.
.
OH
They must have seen it in his face when it finally clicked, because they both burst out laughing. For Sirius, this kind of loud laughter was typical. But Harry had never seen Lupin laugh so hard. It looked almost painful.
“Figured it out, did you?” Sirius gasped out after a while.
“You both…” Harry wasn’t quite sure how to finish the sentence.
“Sirius and I are together. We have been since….sixth year?” Lupin had apparently collected himself enough to speak.
“And nobody ever found out?” Harry couldn’t believe it. If they had been together since their sixth year, it must have been almost twenty years!
“Well, Lily knew I was bi before I knew it myself. She was always good at that.” Lupin answered with a chuckle.
“And James was the first person I told when I finally realized I had a fat crush on Moony here.” Sirius said with a light shove in Lupin’s direction.
"But to answer your question, no. James and Lily only knew because we spent so much time around them. I dont even think Peter figured it out. For similar reasons as your own, we thought it best to keep quiet about our relationship. I'm sure someone in the order must have realized by now, but it's not something we openly display. Moony, maybe it's about time we fix that."
“So my dad…” Harry wasn’t sure how to phrase this without sounding too desperate. He wouldn’t admit it out loud, but this was something he’d been thinking about a lot since he realized he was bisexual. “He wouldn’t have cared if he knew?”
“Oh, James was a bi disaster if I've ever seen one. Much like you in that way.”
“Wh- I’m not a ‘bi disaster’! What does that even mean?”
“Prongslet, remind me again how your little date with Cho went?” The blush that had been slowly fading from Harry’s cheeks returned in full force.
“Hey! I told you about that in confidence!”
“And as your godfather, it’s my job to torment you about it until the end of your days.”
Harry put on a scowl, but they all knew there was no heat behind it.
“And,” Lupin added on, “it’s also our job to make sure nobody gives you any grief about this. If anyone treats you differently, you come straight to us, alright?”
Wait, did he just say ‘our’? And ‘us’? Does he mean…
Lupin must have noticed Harry’s pause, because he stood up from Ron’s bed and walked over to sit beside Harry.
“Harry,” Lupin looked nervous. “I understand you’ve only really known me as your teacher, and that this may not be what you want, but you should know that the only reason I was not named your godfather alongside Sirius is because of the issue with my lycanthropy. I knew I wouldn’t have been able to properly take care of you if it came to that, and I requested they only name Sirius. You were only ever supposed to know me as your Uncle Moony, not Professor Lupin. And for a while, you did. I seem to recall going back and forth with Lily for nearly a week about whether you said ‘mommy’ or ‘moony’. And I know a lot has happened since then, but if it’s what you want, I would love to be your Uncle Moony again.” Lupin finished with a timid smile, still not taking his eyes off Harry.
For a moment, just a moment, Harry stared at Lupin in shock. Then, he was throwing his arms around Lupi- no, his Uncle Moony, and hugging him tight.
Uncle Moony -Harry didn’t think he would ever get tired of calling him that-, for his part, didn’t hesitate. He immediately wrapped a scarred arm around Harry, the other combing through his hair like had already known how Harry would respond.
“I’d like that.” Harry choked out, his voice muffled against his uncle’s shoulder.
“Oi, no hugging without me!!” Sirius transformed into padfoot and threw himself in between the two, his wet nose making both squirm.
They stayed like that for a long time. Just three people, who had lost so much, finally feeling like they had a family.
And, for the first time, Harry felt like he was home.
“Now,” Sirius spoke up once he’d transformed back. “I think it’s about time we get Moony out of his usual hideous grandpa sweater and into something more festive, don’t you think?”
“Love, are you trying to start a duel?”