Chapter 13
Blaise was jolted out of his sleep-trance to Harley bouncing around the dorm room and yowling, "YUUUUUUUUULLLLLLLE!"
Which was a first; usually Harley was half-asleep until he had his morning coffee.
"Harley," Harrison muttered in annoyance, eyes squeezed shut, "shut the fuck up."
"But I wanna-"
"No."
Ron groaned and put his pillow over his face. "What time is it?"
"Almost seven," Blaise said dryly.
Draco, who had fallen asleep in Harley's bed the night before, sat up and squinted at the end of his bed. "We're not 'lowed to celebrate Yule at Hogwarts," he muttered. "My mum invited you all to celebrate it at our manor, though."
"It would be better for my plans to stay at Hogwarts," Harrison said in a muffled tone. "I need Dumbledore to think he's winning Harley's and my trust."
"Grandfather Septimus said I could invite you and Harley over to Weasley Manor to celebrate Yule next year," Ron remembered as he sat up, yawning. "This year he's too busy helping dad pay for a lawyer. Dunno why he needs one."
"Harrison, I'm not going back to sleep," Harley insisted, bouncing on his brother's bed. The presents at the end of their bed threatened to spill to the floor. "C'mon, Harrison, pleeeeeeeaaase?"
Vigil lifted his head from inside his cage and hissed something. Groggily, Harrison responded in the same language.
"Harrison! You can speak Parseltongue!" Ron sputtered. Draco sat up so quickly he almost fell off Harley's bed.
"Don't shout," Harrison grumbled. "Fine, I'm up. Harley, sit down." He sat up in bed, and Harley plopped down next to him, beaming.
There was a knock on the door at that moment.
"Who is it?" Harrison asked cautiously.
"Your favorite Gryffindors!" came Fred's bright voice. Harley grinned.
"Prove it," Harrison said bluntly.
"How are we supposed to do that?" George's voice complained.
Vigil hissed something, and Harrison rolled his eyes. "Get in, idiots."
The door opened, and Fred and George fell into the room, presents spilling from their arms. "King Prime said we could open presents with you this morning," Fred said from the floor.
"I didn't say you could come at six in the morning!" Prime appeared in the doorway, looking irritated and exhausted. "You're lucky I don't kick you out, idiots. Shut the door and be quiet." He nodded a good morning to Harrison before shutting the door behind the two Gryffindors.
"Yule Harrison Happy," said George, sitting up. Harley and Draco snickered.
"We can only stay for a few minutes, Lee's expecting us to open presents in the dorm," Fred said cheerily.
"Brats," Harrison grumbled, but Blaise could hear the slight note of fondness in his voice. The twins noticed it too, because they beamed at him.
"See, I told you we were his favorite, Gred," Fred said to George.
"Pretty sure I told you that, Forge," George said dramatically.
"Whose presents are those?" Ron interjected, rolling his eyes.
"You guys," Fred said, tossing a present to Harley.
"We want to watch you open them," George added as he threw a present at a surprised Blaise. "We never get to do that at home."
Ron, Draco, and Harrison were each tossed their own presents.
"How come 'Mia and Neville aren't here?" Fred asked.
"Hermione wanted to spend Christmas with her parents, since she can't celebrate Yule here and Dad would never let a Muggleborn into his house," Draco said resignedly.
"Neville's at home, too," Harley added. "It's just us noodle babies."
Fred and George snickered, and the other 'noodle babies' in the room rolled their eyes.
Harrison opened his present first, at the bidding of the redheads. It contained a folded piece of blank parchment. He raised an eyebrow at the twins.
"You'll love this," Fred grinned. "C'mere, let us show you how it works."
The five boys crowded around the older twins, and Fred took the parchment from Harrison. He tapped it with his wand and said, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."
Words appeared on the parchment.
Messrs Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs
Purveyors of Aids to Magical Mischief Makers
are proud to present
THE MARAUDER'S MAP
More lines appeared on the map. The five Slytherins gasped.
"It's a map of Hogwarts," Harrison breathed, eyes glittering. "Thank you, this is very useful."
"We're not done yet," George said indignantly. "Look." He unfolded part of the map and pointed at the Slytherin common room, or where it should have been. "According to King Prime, Slytherin common room is Unplottable, hence why it doesn't appear on the map. But-"
Fred unfolded another part of the map and pointed out Gryffindor tower. It showed names.
"This shows where everyone is, every minute of every day," Fred said. "And it shows seven secret passages out of Hogwarts. Most of them are unusable, but there are two you should know about."
George pointed to a statue right next to the DADA classroom. "If you tap your wand on this statue and say Dissendium, it reveals a secret passageway that leads to the cellar in Honeydukes."
Fred pointed to a mirror on the fourth floor. "There's a giant room behind this mirror, and a tunnel that leads to the Haunted Hogsmeade Shop, which isn't actually haunted, but it always sells whatever you need. Miss Cassandra Mason owns it. You'll like her," he told Harrison and Harley.
"This one," George continued, pointing out a passage right under a huge tree, "is blocked by the Whomping Willow. We don't know where it goes."
"We already know about that one," Harrison said. "The Willow has a soft spot for Harley."
Harley grinned wildly. "I wonder why!"
The twins snorted. "The passage behind the statue of Gregory the Smarmy has, for some reason, disappeared," Fred continued.
"And these three caved in," George finished, gesturing to the last three passages. "We don't know where they led."
"The passage behind Gregory the Smarmy used to lead to a door we couldn't open," Fred added.
"This is going to be incredibly useful," Harrison purred. "Thank you, boys."
The twins preened. "Our pleasure," said George. "Harley, you next."
The other presents weren't as notable as the Map. Harley got a homemade prank kit, Ron got an emerald green, knitted weighted blanket, Draco got pink dragon footies, and Blaise got a wooden carving of a bat.
"How did you know I'm half-vampire?" Blaise asked them dryly. Ron's eyes widened a little.
"We don't know what you're talking about," said Fred, sniffing.
"We just wanted to share our artwork with you," said George.
"Did you make this blanket?" Draco asked, running a hand over Ron's present.
"Yes," Fred admitted. "Don't tell anyone," he warned.
"You'll ruin our carefully crafted reputation as lazy idiots," said George dramatically.
Harley snorted.
"How did you make it a weighted blanket?" Ron asked quietly, pulling it over his shoulders.
"A spell," said George. "We made one for Percy, too, after the troll incident."
"It's supposed to help with sleep and comfort," said Fred.
"Thanks," Ron whispered.
Blaise took a black drawstring out of his trunk and tied it around the bat, creating a makeshift necklace.
"We've got to get back to our dorm room," Fred said, standing. "Happy Yule, baby noodles." He ruffled Harley's hair and George ruffled Ron's, and then they left.
"Should we open the presents we got from each other first?" Draco suggested. "That's what we do at my house. You still get presents at Yule, it's just specific types of presents," he added when Ron looked puzzled.
"Your mother/bearer gives you something that brings comfort. Your father/sire gives you something that brings strength. Older siblings give you something useful for your future. Younger siblings give you whatever they want, because no one usually forces them to give anything. Male and non-binary extended relatives give you clothing, female relatives give you jewelry. Close friends give you smaller pieces of clothing, like shoes or gloves. Family friends or acquaintances give books or toys. Soulmates give something that's personal and/or homemade."
"That's a lot of presents," Ron noted. "Do we have to follow that protocol? I don't have any money."
"It's pretty loose for those who are poor," Draco promised. "Just give what you can."
"I drew pictures," Ron muttered.
"You're an artist?" Blaise asked with interest.
Ron blushed. "I'm not that good, but-"
"Let's start with Ron's presents, then," Harrison interjected. "I assume yours are the folded parchments?"
Blaise realized Ron couldn't even afford wrapping paper when Ron nodded.
Ron had drawn the four other boys, in a pretty accurate manner. He wasn't a professional, but the art was pretty good. Harrison put his drawing in a frame that he conjured (wordlessly and wandlessly, the show-off) and set it on his bedside table. He did the same for Harley's, Draco's, and Blaise's when they asked.
Blaise had gotten two black daggers from Harrison that looked exactly like Harley's, minus the dried blood; a book on the chaos theory from Harley; a silver wand holster from Draco; a pair of silver biker gloves from Hermione; a monogrammed cuff-link from Neville; and the other presents were from his mother and his mother's side of the family, mostly clothes and books.
Ron had received a personalized chess set from Harrison; a snake plushy from Harley; a book on Quidditch strategy from Draco; homework planners from Percy and Hermione; a book on cool plants from Neville; a little dragon figurine from his older brother, Charlie; desserts from Egypt from his older brother, Bill; and a note from his father saying his Christmas/Yule present was going to be a bit late.
Draco had received a personalized chess set from Harrison; a dragon plushy from Harley; a pair of white biker gloves from Blaise; a pair of silver biker gloves from Hermione; a pair of dragon-themed socks from Neville; a silver, fluffy weighted blanket from his mother; a wand holster from his father; and several random presents from his father's friends. (He discarded Pansy Parkinson's book on love potions.)
Harley had received a book written in Parseltongue from his twin brother; a pair of dagger holsters from Blaise; a pair of bright yellow socks from Draco; a homework planner catered to people with ADHD from Hermione; a book on crazy plants from Neville; a magical ADHD fidget toy from someone Harley and Harrison wouldn't tell; and a bag of candy from his Muggle relatives.
Harrison had received a direwolf plushy from his brother; a pouch that had an Extension Charm on it from Blaise, that only Harrison could access; a pair of green socks from Draco; a book on Merlin from Hermione; a book on dangerous plants from Neville; a book written in Parseltongue from someone Harley and Harrison wouldn't tell; a bag of candy from his Muggle relatives; and-
An Invisibility Cloak from Albus Dumbledore.
Severus was not having a happy Yule.
To be fair, he spent most of his holidays grieving the loss of his mother and his honorary sister, Lily. Severus couldn't celebrate Yule with the Princes, because Dumbledore assumed they were estranged. Lucius hadn't spoken to him since the Dark Lord had disappeared. Regulus had died. Harley and Harrison couldn't celebrate Yule in Hogwarts.
And the Dark Lord... well...
On Christmas morning, Severus found several presents at the end of his bed. Usually, he didn't get any.
He checked them for spells and found nothing. Curiously, Severus opened them one by one.
The first present was from Harrison, and it contained several things: a collection of rare potion ingredients, a lily made of glass, a magical puzzle box, a book of incredibly difficult Muggle riddles, and a book from Slytherin's library.
The second present was from Harley, and most of it was prank items: a bat plushy the size of his bed, a box with an Extension Charm containing what looked like every single Batman comic, movie, and action figure imaginable, a book titled 101 Ways to Get Back at Bullies (Without Getting Caught), and a book on Dark Lords from Merlin-Pendragon Library.
For some reason, the twins' friends also gave Severus presents: a potion the Weasley twins had created which was essentially the potion form of the Cheering Charm; a black pendant that would detect harmful potions from Blaise Zabini; a soft green weighted blanket that Draco, his honorary godson, had begged his mother to make for Severus; a charcoal drawing of a lily from Ronald Weasley; a Muggle fictional series from Hermione Granger called Fablehaven; and a Wood Lily, which was Lily's favorite type of lily, from Neville Longbottom.
There was one last present that he hadn't opened. It was wrapped in familiar, AK green wrapping paper and wrapped in a silver bow. Severus hadn't gotten a gift like this since before the Dark Lord had disappeared.
There was a letter on top of the gift.
Severus,
It was not your fault that I killed Lily. I believe the prophecy is fake. I should have realized then, so your friend would have been spared. The blame lies with the old fool and myself.
I am close to returning to my body, and returning my sanity. You do not have to return to me, but I hope you do.
V
Severus squashed the butterflies that rose when he read the letter. The Dark Lord had never signed his notes with 'V' before, always 'The Dark Lord.' He supposed it was because 'Voldemort' was a bit too obvious.
Still, he burned the letter after reading it, so Dumbledore wouldn't find it.
The Dark Lord had given him Alaric Slytherin's diary. The most famous Potions Master in existence! Severus had wanted to read the man's diary since hearing the name, but every copy had been lost to time. How had the Dark Lord gotten it?
There was a green bookmark on the first page, along with a note:
This is merely a copy that I had made just after Yule 1981. The original couldn't be moved. I would have given it to you earlier, but it took months to translate it from Parseltongue.
Severus snorted; the Dark Lord was terrible at being modest.
He set the books he'd received on the shelf by his bed; the potions and potion ingredients in his personal lab; the drawing from Weasley, and the puzzle box, and the flowers from Harrison and Longbottom on his desk in his study; the pendant and on his dresser; and the blanket on his bed.
(Severus desperately wanted to burn the Batman paraphernalia and the bat plushy, but decided to donate them to a Muggle orphanage instead.)