An Un-Merry Christmas
Seth lay on one of the many couches in the common room, idly tossing a tennis ball up into the air. The only other occupants were Hermione, who was trying and failing to read her Arithmancy textbook, and Ron, who was mindlessly eating pieces of a cauldron cake.
Eventually, Harry made his appearance looking as if he hadn’t slept all night which, considering the news he discovered only the day before, was entirely possible.
“Harry!” Hermione exclaimed, her head snapping up from her textbook.
“Morning Harry. You look terrible,” Ron carefully greeted.
Harry shrugged. “Wasn’t able to sleep until daybreak.” He looked around the empty common room. “Where is everyone?”
“Gone for the holidays,” Seth responded, “They all left yesterday after we got back from Hogsmeade.”
“Oh…”
Harry made his way over to a chair by the fire and flopped down onto it.
Hermione peered anxiously at his face. “You don’t look well, Harry. Maybe you should go to the infirmary for a pepper up potion.”
“I’m fine,” he grumbled petulantly.
Hermione, Ron, and Seth all exchanged concerned looks because that was the most unbelievable ‘I’m fine’ they had ever heard.
“Do you wanna talk about it?” Seth asked.
Harry frowned. “What’s there to talk about? Sirius Black was my parents’ friend and he betrayed them. He killed them. And if I ever get the chance, I’m going to kill him.”
Hermione and Ron flinched at the vehemency in which he spat that last part out.
Seth shook a finger at him. “See that. That’s what we need to talk about.”
“What Sirius Black did? Or me killing him?”
“Both. But let’s just start with the first half and let me play devil’s advocate by asking how do we know for sure that Sirius Black was the one who betrayed your parents?”
“Fudge said it himself and I don’t think the Minister of Magic would lie about something like that would he?” Harry firmly stated.
“Not unless it was to cover his ass,” Seth rebuked, “Right Hermione?”
She nodded. “It is possible. I read in the news that Sirius Black was never given a trial. They merely made assumptions passed as conclusions based on the evidence presented at the scene of the crime and threw him straight into Azkaban.”
“As they should,” Ron interjected. “Black was a mad man. I mean, innocent people don’t kill a bunch of innocent muggles in broad daylight, do they?”
Seth nodded. “Alright, fair enough. I have no arguments for that since I was never at the scene of the crime but let me ask you this. Why did the Ministry hold a trial for every other Death Eater, many of whom have committed far more heinous crimes than Sirius Black has? Why was he different?”
Harry scowled. “Maybe because they all assumed he was good because he was friends with my parents. Why else?”
“What about other Death Eaters people thought were actually good?” Seth posited, “You guys don’t seriously believe that there weren’t any undercover Death Eaters?”
“What are you trying to say, Seth?” Harry asked, growing irritated by the conversation that refused to end.
“I’m just saying, there are three sides to every story. One side, the other side, and the truth,” Seth explained, “We only know the Ministry’s side. We don’t even know Black’s. So how do we know we actually have the truth?”
“Who cares what Black’s side of the story is. The truth is that my parents are dead and he killed them so I’m going to kill him!” Harry shouted vehemently, jumping up to his feet with fists tightly clenched.
“You’re not actually serious are you, Harry? You can’t go after Black!” Ron exclaimed in alarm.
Harry glared at him. “Why not?!”
“Because he’s not worth dying for, Harry,” Hermione pleadingly remarked.
“Especially not for something like revenge,” Seth added.
Harry looked at them in disbelief. They didn’t seem to understand what he was trying to say at all.
“You know what I see and hear every time a dementor gets too close?”
They shook their heads, looking apprehensive by the turn in topic.
“I hear my mum screaming and pleading with Voldemort not to kill me. And if you found out someone who was supposed to be her friend betrayed her and sent Voldemort after her-”
“And that’s why you need to take a minute to clear your head,” Seth interjected with a stern expression, “Get some air, do some thinking, and calm the hell down.” Harry glared at him but he refused to back down. “Look Harry, no one should ever have to hear what you heard but that’s still not enough justification to lose your life over something as un-fulfilling as revenge. What happens if, and that’s a really big if, you actually manage to find Black and kill him? Is that going to bring your parents back?”
“...no. But it’d certainly make me feel better.”
“Yeah, for all of maybe two seconds. And then you’ll feel empty and like crap because that’s what happens when you let negative emotions fuel you, Harry. You may think taking revenge on Black is something you need to do or you may even be spinning it as avenging your parents for their deaths. But all you’re actually doing is spitting on your mother’s sacrifice.”
Hermione gasped in horror. “Seth!”
“Not cool, mate,” Ron said.
Harry’s face grew red with anger. “You take that back!”
But Seth remained unbending. “No, I won’t because someone needs to make sure this gets through your thick skull. Your mom sacrificed herself because she loved you and she wanted you to live. She didn’t die just so you could get yourself killed for revenge at the grand old age of 13. I’ll bet if she was alive right now, she’d tell you that Black isn’t worth your anger, your time, or your life.”
“Well I’ll never know what she would’ve wanted because thanks to Black I’ve never and will never speak to her,” Harry said shortly.
Seth released a heavy sigh and shook his head. He looked Harry dead in the eyes, his expression tired but the weight of his gaze was old and heavy.
“No one ever knows the true range of emotions one feels after killing someone, no matter the reason. And I sincerely, hope you never have to, Harry.”
There was a lengthy silence that followed after with Harry glaring at Seth and Hermione observing him in concern.
Ron cleared his throat awkwardly. “Look, it’s the holidays. Christmas is right around the corner. Let’s play a game of chess or gobstones or something. Percy left a set-”
“No,” Harry said, suddenly looking weary, “I…I’m going to step out for a bit. I need some air.”
He left the common room without another word. The portrait door swung close behind him.
Ron and Hermione got up to follow but Seth shook his head and said, “Don’t.”
They look at him in question.
“He needs space. It’ll only make him more angry if you crowd him right now. If he’s not in the hall for dinner, we can go look for him.”
And with that, Ron and Hermione reluctantly backed down and settled again in awkward silence.
Harry had no destination in mind after he left the common room. All he knew was that he needed to get out of there before the stifling atmosphere could suffocate him. Thus he was surprised, but also not surprised, when he finally became aware of his surroundings and found himself walking down the path to Hagrid’s hut.
He began to turn on his heel to go back to the castle only to remember that Hagrid was there when he’d eavesdropped on the Minister. The half giant knew his parents so he must’ve known something about Sirius Black as well.
The anger that Harry momentarily forgot hit him like the Hogwarts Express. He resumed his walk to Hagrid’s, ready to demand an explanation as to why the half giant never told him about Sirius Black to begin with.
Just as he reached Hagrid’s now empty pumpkin patch, he immediately stopped short at the peculiar sight before him - Draco Malfoy sitting on a tree stump next to Buckbeak and cooing at the hippogriff as he stroked his wing.
He couldn’t help but gape at the sight, blinking and rubbing at his eyes and wondering if he hadn’t gone mad from anger.
Eventually, Draco seemed to notice he was being watched and looked over. The blood drained from his face as soon as he saw Harry gawking at him.
“P-Potter! What are you doing here?”
His angry demand was enough to startle Harry out of his shock. “W-Wha- What am I doing here? What are you doing here?”
“Well I asked first so you better answer me, Potter.”
“I’m here to see Hagrid obviously. Now tell me what you’re doing here,” Harry demanded. He glanced over at Buckbeak, taking in the brush Draco had placed on the hippogriff’s wing. He gaped in disbelief. “Are you…grooming Buckbeak?”
“That’s- I- Well- The thing is-” Draco blushed and stammered.
Harry gawked again at the odd sight before him. Thankfully, Draco was saved from his stammering excuses when Hagrid came out of his hut with two steaming mugs of tea.
“Got some tea ter help keep yeh warm out here, Draco!”
Then he noticed Harry and grinned. “Oh Harry! Welcome! Welcome! Let me get a cuppa for ya too.”
Harry waved his hands in refusal. “Oh no, it’s okay, Hagrid. I don’t need tea. I just…needed to get outside for a bit.”
Hagrid shrugged. “If yeh say so. What brings yeh out here?”
“Uh, before that, what’s Malfoy doing here?”
“Draco? Why he’s spendin some quality time with Buckbeak!” Hagrid proudly beamed.
“Why?” Harry asked, utterly bewildered.
“He saved Buckbeak from gettin punished by the Ministry o’course!”
Draco blushed lightly. “I didn’t do much. Just got Mother to help get Father to drop the issue. It was a waste of time on Father’s part anyway and would’ve been a waste of a life if Buckbeak’s execution had been ordered.”
“Still, yeh saved Buckbeak,” Hagrid said, refusing to let the Slytherin downplay his good deed, “And I’ll always be grateful fer that.”
Draco looked away with a scoff. “Whatever. It’s not as if I was doing it for you.”
Harry snickered and Draco glared at him. “And you. Stop beating around the bush and tell us why you’re here alone.”
“That’s- I…” Harry frowned and clenched his hands into tight fists. “I wanted to talk with Hagrid about Sirius Black and how he betrayed my parents.”
Hagrid dropped the mugs in shock. The hot tea within splashed across the frozen ground, melting a layer of ice and snow to leave behind a light brown colored slush. “How- How’d yeh find out?”
“It doesn’t matter how I found out,” Harry said, original anger slowly returning, “Why didn’t you tell me, Hagrid? Why didn’t anyone tell me?”
Hagrid frowned. “Nobody thought it was important enough ter share with yeh.”
“Not important? Not important?!” Harry exploded with rage, “The fact that my parents’ friend betrayed them and got them killed seems pretty bloody important to me!”
Hagrid remained silent and looked slightly ashamed in the face of Harry’s anger. Draco scoffed, making Harry whip his head over to glare at him.
“Got something to say?” He asked with a hostile tone.
Draco remained unmoved by the poor display of intimidation. “Yes, I do actually. Remember I’ve been trying to talk with you about something important for ages?”
Harry nodded slowly before he was stunned in realization. “You mean, you wanted to talk to me about Sirius Black?”
Draco nodded. “Before you heard it from some third party who has no clue what they’re talking about but I guess that didn’t happen.”
“Well what do you have to say? Is it going to help me kill Black?” Harry eagerly asked.
Hagrid sputtered. “Kill Sirius Black?! Harry! You can’t-”
“Hold on a moment,” Draco interjected, “Tell me first why you believe Sirius Black betrayed your parents.”
“Because I overheard the Minister of Magic say so himself,” Harry responded.
Draco scoffed. “Of course you’d hear it from that self important sack who only pretends he knows something when he knows nothing at all.”
“Oh and you know something?” Harry sarcastically retorted.
“I sure hope I do, considering my mother is a Black. Sirius Black is her cousin,” Draco shot back, equally sarcastic.
Harry was stunned again. “You…you’re related to Sirius Black?”
“Yes. Which means I have intimate knowledge about him including the most important piece of information you’re going to want to know.” Upon Harry’s eager nod, “He was disowned. Struck from the family tree and everything.”
Whatever Harry was expecting, it wasn’t that. “That’s it? That’s all?” He asked, disappointed.
Draco released an exasperated sigh. “Right. I forgot you were raised by muggles. Listen closely, Potter. Pureblood families, such as the Blacks, take pride in the lineage very seriously. If you do anything that goes against their creed, you are considered disowned and struck from the family tree meaning you no longer have any ties except through blood.”
“And what did Sirius Black do that got him disowned? Kill three people instead of five?” Harry sarcastically asked.
“He was sorted into Gryffindor.”
That shocked Harry. “Really? He was disowned from his family because he was sorted into Gryffindor?”
Draco nodded. “It was quite the scandal when it happened. The Blacks have always been Slytherins so to have their eldest son be sorted into Gryffindor was a matter of great shame so he was disowned the morning right after the sorting,” he explained.
“Okay but, what does this have to do with Black betraying my parents?”
“See, that’s the thing. I don’t believe he did and neither does Mother.”
“Why?”
“He was a Gryffindor for one.”
“But that doesn’t mean much,” Harry said, thinking back to what Snape told him, “I’ve heard stories of how terribly Gryffindors treated Slytherins back then that they may as well have been Slytherins themselves.”
“And I’m sure they were but that was most likely just how it was back then. You don’t see that sort of animosity between our houses now, do you?” Draco countered.
“Well…” Harry began, expression full of uncertainty.
Draco sighed. “Look. From what Mother has told me, Sirius Black didn’t have a bone in his body to betray those whom he considered his close friends and family even at the cost of his life, especially those who stuck by his side after he was disowned at 11 years old. Think about it. Why was it that the moment Black learned about the Potters’ death, he went running after Pettigrew? Why didn’t he go straight to the Dark Lord if he truly is a Death Eater?”
“I don’t know. Maybe Voldemort told him to go kill Pettigrew. It’s not like we can ask him though since he’s dead,” Harry retorted in frustration.
Draco rolled his eyes. “Whatever Potter. I said my piece. Believe me or don’t. As a matter of fact, why don’t you go ask Professor Snape and Lupin about Black. If I recall, they were all in school around the same time.”
Harry nodded in agreement. “Yeah. I think I’m going to go do that now.”
And without another word, he turned on his heel and made his swift return to the castle.
“Should yeh really have told him all tha?” Hagrid asked.
Draco nodded sharply. “He deserves to have one person be completely straight with him, not lollygagging and certainly not third party gossiping.”
Hagrid chuckled. “Yer a good friend, Draco.”
Draco immediately sputtered in denial. “Excuse me?! Potter and I are not friends!”
“Sure yeh aren’. Just like yeh and Seth aren’ good friends,” Hagrid playfully teased.
“We’re not!” Draco screeched, startling Buckbeak and making the hippogriff shake his head with a huff.
“Whatever yeh say,” Hagrid cheerfully said, “I’ll go fetch a new cuppa now.”
And with that, Hagrid went chuckling back to his hut while Draco fumed over the ridiculous notion that he could be friends with Gryffindors and returned to grooming a pleased Buckbeak.
Harry stormed into the potions classroom. The door slammed open and startled Snape who had been careful scrutinizing a smoking cauldron.
“Harry,” Snape said disapprovingly, “Classes may not be in session but that does not mean you are exempt from practicing basic courtesy.”
“Did you know?” Harry asked instead of issuing an apology.
Snape raised an eyebrow as he eyed the boy in confusion. “Did I know what?”
“About Sirius Black.”
Snape frowned deeply. “You’ll have to be more specific. What did I know about Sirius Black?”
“Did you know he was friends with my parents?”
Snape did not immediately respond but his expression said it all.
Harry grew angry. “Why didn’t you tell me? I deserved to know!”
“Harry, I-”
Suddenly, Harry was struck with a realization. “You were going to. That day we were talking about Lupin. You were going to say Black’s name, weren’t you?”
“I-” Snape tried to come up with an excuse but failed. He sighed. “Yes, I was.”
“Tell me everything, right now,” Harry demanded. Then he added as an afterthought but still with an undertone of desperation, “Please, I…I need to know.”
Snape’s expression softened but it was also filled with regret. “I’m sorry Harry but, I didn’t know Black all that well beyond the…unfortunate encounters we had.”
Harry deflated at that but perked up slightly when Snape continued, “But there is still someone you can speak to about him. Someone who knows him better than I ever would. Remus Lupin. They were all close knit friends you see, your father, Lupin, Pettigrew, and Black.”
Harry frowned, he was afraid of that. He still felt awkward around Lupin even after the talk they had that led to him getting anti-dementor lessons but he knew he had no choice if he wanted answers. He nodded gratefully to Snape. “Thank you. I will.”
Snape sighed. “Run along now. Before Lupin needs to hole himself away again.” Harry looked confused but Snape didn’t elaborate, instead handing over a goblet smoking over from the potion within. “And take this with you as well. It’s for Lupin.”
“Sure but, out of curiosity, what is this?” Harry asked as he carefully took hold of the goblet.
“Nothing important,” Snape said dismissively, “Simply a medicine meant to soothe the symptoms of Lupin’s illness.”
Harry nodded, thinking nothing more of the matter and left. He made the trek all the way up to the DADA classroom where Lupin was thankfully inside sorting through some paperwork.
“Ah Harry! What a surprise!” Lupin happily exclaimed when he saw him, “Are you ready for your first anti-dementor lesson?”
“Actually professor, I was wondering if I could talk to you about something else first.”
“Of course, of course.” Lupin gestured to the empty desks. “Come, sit.”
Harry walked over but stayed standing. “I’d prefer to stand if that’s alright.”
Lupin nodded, raising no objections, and waited for Harry to speak.
“Er first, here you go. It’s from Snape,” Harry handed over the smoking goblet and Lupin sighed.
“Ah, right. It’s almost that time again. Thank you Harry.” He took the goblet and chugged its contents. He grimaced at the taste as he put the goblet down and returned his attention to Harry. “Right. What did you want to talk about?”
Harry took in a deep breath and steeled his nerves before saying, “Sirius Black.”
Lupin frowned. “What about Sirius Black?”
“I know you and my father were his friends and that he was the one who betrayed my parents for Voldemort.”
Lupin paled when he said Voldemort’s name but otherwise didn’t react at the fact that Harry knew about his friendship to Black. “What are you trying to ask me, Harry?”
“Tell me about him,” Harry said, “Everything you can think of that could explain why he would betray his friends the way he did.”
Lupin seemed to go through the five stages of grief in a matter of seconds before releasing a tired sigh with his shoulders slumping as if they were suddenly carrying a heavy weight. “I suppose you’re not going to drop the matter if I ask you to, will you?”
Harry shook his head.
“Very well.” Lupin cleared his throat. “Yes, we were all friends back during our Hogwarts days. Me, your father, Peter Pettigrew, and…Sirius Black. Sirius was, well, he was a bit of a wild child. Everything he did was for the sake of rebelling against his family but he was the most loyal friend anyone could ask for. We told each other everything and there were no secrets hidden among us. We were like brothers in all but blood which was why it was such a shock what happened.” He chuckled sardonically. “I suppose I simply didn’t know him as well as I thought I did. But then again, I never would’ve believed Sirius had the capacity to betray us and kill Peter if it hadn’t been for that incident with Severus.”
Harry immediately latched onto that. “What incident?”
Lupin clammed up. “Ah. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to mention that. It’s not important anyway so-”
“If you won’t tell me, then I’ll just go ask Snape,” Harry interrupted with a scowl, “And even if he doesn’t tell me, I’m not going to stop asking either of you or doing my own snooping until I figure it out so you might as well save me the trouble and tell me now.”
Lupin was briefly stunned by the interruption before shaking his head and chuckling. “Honestly, you may look just like your father but your spirit is definitely from your mother.”
Harry, while internally preening at the compliment, was outwardly unimpressed. “Professor, please.”
“Alright, alright. I supposed it wouldn’t hurt to tell you. Long story short, Sirius tricked Severus into a situation where his life could’ve been severely harmed to the point of death and all for the sake of some petty comeuppance. No one got in trouble for it though as your father managed to save Severus before it was too late.”
Harry chewed on his lip because he could tell there was more to the story but he’d already pushed his luck enough so he nodded. “I see…”
“I believe it was also the final nail in the coffin for Severus and he’s held an understandable grudge against us ever since. This is the true reason for the animosity he holds against me since I’m the only one left to bear the brunt of it now.”
Harry took a moment to digest the information before tentatively asking, “Did you ever talk to Snape about what happened? Did he ever come to talk to you about it?”
Lupin shook his head and smiled self-deprecatingly. “No. And even though I told myself I would once I took up a post in Hogwarts, I’ve managed to make excuses to talk myself out of it each time I try. And as for Severus, he’ll only ever speak to me about my medication and that’s as far as our interaction goes.”
Harry frowned. “Why? It’s been years hasn’t it? That can’t be nice, carrying all that anger or being made to deal with it.”
“That’s true. But fear can cloud judgment.”
“Well then why don’t you talk to him right now? Come on!”
Lupin startled as Harry grabbed his arm. “Wait, Harry!”
But Harry refused to wait or listen to Lupin’s protests and started dragging him down to the dungeons.
“Really Harry, I’d rather go on my own time,” Lupin weakly protested.
But Harry wasn’t having it. “Yeah? And when will that be? Tomorrow? Next week? The end of the school year? Never? Face it professor. You even said it yourself that you’ve been making excuses. But I’m not going to let you or Snape keep making them anymore. You’re talking and that’s that.”
Knowing a losing situation when he saw it, Lupin finally quieted and let Harry bring him to the dungeons. They soon arrived and made their way to the potions classroom where Harry slammed the door open, startling Snape as he stoppered a potion and almost made him drop it.
“Harry. Did I not already tell you to-” The scolding words died when he realized that Lupin was there as well.
Lupin sheepishly waved. “Hello Severus.”
“What do you want, Lupin?” Snape asked with a hostile and guarded expression.
Lupin shrank in on himself. A gentle nudge to his side startled him. He looked to Harry who nodded encouragingly and he took a deep breath, squared his shoulders, and walked over until he was within reaching distance of Snape who eyed him warily.
He cleared his throat and looked Snape directly in the eye, refusing to falter or look away. “I’m sorry.”
Snape was taken aback, clearly not expecting that. “Excuse me?”
“I’m sorry, Severus,” Lupin said, “For standing on the sidelines as James and Sirius bullied you before fifth year. For not punishing Sirius for tricking you and putting your life at risk during fifth year. And for waiting until years later and with two of us dead and another imprisoned to finally apologize for our actions.”
“That’s- I-” Snape stammered in surprise.
“I’m not asking you to forgive or forget what happened. I understand if you want to continue to hate me and the others. I simply wanted to say my piece and finally give you the apology you deserved all those years ago.”
Once Lupin was done speaking, he and Harry waited with bated breath for Snape’s reaction.
Snape searched Lupin for any sign of deception and when he found none (because he knew he wouldn’t find any) he sighed. “I suppose I can accept your apology.”
Lupin released a sigh of relief.
But Snape wasn’t done yet. “However, I would like to inform you that I never hated you. Not then and even not know, as much as I am loathe to admit it.”
Now Lupin was the one who was surprised. “You don’t hate me?”
“No. After I had gotten over the fear and anger from that night, I came to the begrudging conclusion that you were an unwitting victim as well. I had even allowed my curiosity of your condition get the better of me and began preliminary research into a cure as the challenge of it fascinated me though I never had the money and then later the motivation to actually put my theories into practice.”
Lupin’s jaw dropped and Harry was actually concerned that it would fall right off with how wide open it was
“I suppose now with this apology I would be remiss not to look back at said research and see if I can’t actually come up with something to temper, if not cure, your condition,” Snape idly remarked.
“I- Severus, I-” Lupin swallowed thickly, completely speechless. There were even tears beginning to gather in his eyes. “Thank you.”
Snape scoffed. “Do not thank me. I’m not doing this for you. I’m doing this for the sake of our mutual connection.” He looked at Harry. “It would do him some good to have another reliable link to his parents.”
“Regardless of the reasoning, thank you, so very much,” Lupin said. He held his hand out. “Friends?”
Snape eyed the offered hand with an unamused expression.
Lupin laughed but still kept his hand out. “Right. Too soon. Then truce?”
Snape sighed. “Very well. Truce.”
The two shook hands and Harry grinned in delight. “Alright! Now that that’s done with, can we start my first anti-dementor lesson now, Professor Lupin?”
“Of course! Let’s head back to the DADA classroom, shall we?”
Snape cleared his throat to get their attention. “If it’s alright with you, Lupin, may I join this lesson as well?”
Lupin beamed. “Of course! The more the merrier! Especially given your own DADA expertise, Severus.”
Snape scoffed. “Please, flattery will get you nowhere.”
“Whatever you say, Severus,” Lupin said, nonplussed, “Come along then. To the DADA classroom!”
Harry joined Lupin in cheerfully marching out of the potions classroom. Snape shook his head with an almost fond but definitely exasperated expression before following after them.
On Christmas morning, Seth was rudely woken up by two pillows being thrown at his face.
“Why?” He groaned pitifully, wanting to return to the tender embrace of sleep.
“Christmas morning! Presents here!” Ron exclaimed as if he couldn’t believe Seth wasn’t awake already.
Seth laid back with another groan before sitting up and throwing the pillows back at Ron and Harry. He grinned when the pillows struck both boys in the face. Then he crawled to his end of the bed where he saw a small pile of presents waiting to be opened. He looked over to see Ron and Harry already ripping the paper off their own presents.
Ron held up a maroon sweater with a look of disgust. “Ugh. Another sweater from mum. I told her I didn’t like maroon.”
Harry held up a scarlet sweater with a gold Gryffindor lion on the front. “Well I think it’s really nice.”
“What’d she make for you?” Ron directed the question to Seth.
Seth pawed through the presents until he found the one from Mrs. Weasley. He ripped it open to reveal a crimson sweater with yellow accents. He admired how soft and comfortable the fabric felt. “Wow. This feels and looks really cozy.”
The boys went back to ripping open their presents until Harry made a noise of confusion. “Huh? What’s this?”
Seth and Ron looked over to see him hold up a long, thin package.
“Open it. See what’s inside,” Seth said as he carefully put aside glass jars containing alchemic ingredients, courtesy of his family. There was also a guide on how to use said ingredients for more ‘interesting’ purposes (aka explosions of all shapes and sizes), courtesy of Vanessa. He made sure to tuck that away from sight.
Harry did so, ripping the packaging off, and he gasped as a magnificent gleaming broomstick appeared. Ron dropped a tin of fudge in shock. The loud clang it made on the wooden floor was the only thing to jolt him out of said shock.
“Is that?” Ron whispered as if speaking loudly would break some sort of illusion.
Harry reverently picked up the broom and let it go where it hung mid air unsupported at the exact right height for him to mount it. His eyes trailed down the sleek and beautiful design. “It’s a firebolt.”
Seth whistled, impressed. “Damn. Who shelled out the dough to get you that?”
“Maybe there’s a card,” Ron said.
The boys looked through the packaging but found nothing.
“Maybe it’s Dumbledore again?” Ron suggested, “He sent you the invisibility cloak anonymously.”
“But he still wrote a note,” Seth reminded him, “And I highly doubt Dumbledore can do something like this without it being seen as favoritism and having the holier than thou students getting their parents to raise hell against Harry for getting preferential treatment.”
“Besides, the cloak was my dad’s and Dumbledore was just passing it onto me,” Harry added.
“Well maybe it was Lupin?” Ron guessed.
Harry snorted. “With what gold? If he had all that gold, he’d buy himself some new robes.”
“Yeah but he likes you and he was friends with your parents right? He was away when your nimbus was smashed so maybe once he heard about it, he went to Diagon Alley and got a firebolt for you,” Ron theorized.
“What do you mean he was away?” Harry asked, confused, “He told me he was ill.”
Ron shrugged. “Well he wasn’t in the hospital wing. I was there cleaning out the bedpans for a week for detention, remember?”
Harry frowned at Ron, still confused, and Seth scrutinized the firebolt in concern.
“I still can’t see Lupin affording something like this even if he was my parents’ friend.”
“If not Lupin then who else? Snape?”
“No way. Not without a note,” Seth rejected.
Harry nodded in agreement. “Yeah. Besides, he already sent me a gift.” He held up what looked to be a muggle chemistry set but with potion ingredients instead of muggle chemicals. “Guess he’s hoping this’ll help me get better at potions.”
“What’re you all talking about?” Hermione asked as she walked into the boy’s dorm carrying Crookshanks who was looking very grumpy with red and green ribbon tied around his neck with a bow.
“Don’t bring him in here!” Ron cried out as he snatched up Scabbers from the depths of his bed and cradled the rat protectively in his hands.
Hermione rolled her eyes and went back to the door to place Crookshanks outside before closing it. They could faintly hear his irritated meowing and some scratching at the door.
“It’s okay, Crookshanks. Head on down to the common room. It’s warm by the fireplace,” Hermione said soothingly.
Another meow could be heard before silence followed. Crookshanks seemed to be following her suggestion. She turned back to glare at Ron. “There. Happy?”
“Immensely,” Ron dryly remarked but he still kept holding Scabbers in his hands just in case.
Hermione rolled her eyes again before she finally noticed the firebolt and stared open mouthed at it. “Oh Harry! Who sent you that?”
“No idea. There wasn’t a card or anything with it,” he answered.
Hermione frowned. She looked over to Seth and the two shared a silent conversation in the form of some nods, eyebrow movements, and head tilts. It seemed they both came to the same conclusion when the conversation ended with firm nods on both sides. Ron and Harry watched the two in confusion.
“Oi! What’s the matter with you two?” Ron asked.
“Nothing. I hope,” Seth said, sharing a look with Hermione who grimaced.
“It’s just…It’s a bit odd, isn’t it? This is supposed to be a top quality broom right?” She tentatively asked.
Ron sighed exasperatedly as if he couldn’t believe he was friends with someone so ignorant about all things Quidditch. “It’s the best broom on the market, Hermione,” he said as if he were lecturing a toddler.
She paid no mind to his exasperation and continued. “So it must’ve been really expensive. Not something anyone can just afford right?”
“Obviously,” Ron said with a roll of his eyes. Then he grinned gleefully. “It probably costs more than all the Slytherin’s Nimbus 2001’s combined!”
“Why? What’s it matter?” Harry asked, eyeing the two in confusion.
Hermione and Seth shared looks again.
“What I think Hermione is trying to get at is, who would send Harry something so expensive and not even tell him they sent it? They didn’t even leave an unsigned note which would be way less suspicious than leaving no note,” Seth said.
Ron made a dismissive noise. “Who cares? Listen Harry, can I have a go on it? Can I?”
“I don’t think anyone should ride that broom just yet,” Hermione sharply stated.
Harry and Ron looked at her in surprise.
“Why not?” Ron asked incredulously.
Harry nodded vigorously in agreement with Ron’s sentiment.
“Because the whole thing is suspicious. That’s why,” Seth said.
Ron scowled. “You’re all acting like the broom’s been cursed. No way would someone do that.”
“Just like Quirrel didn’t jinx Harry’s broom back in first year?” Hermione shot back in retort.
Harry and Ron scowled at the reminder.
“That was only the one time,” Harry protested.
“That’s still one time too many,” Seth rebuked. “Look. Until we figure out who sent the broom or somehow make sure it’s not been cursed or jinxed, no one will be doing anything with it except putting it away.”
Harry scowled more deeply before he perked up in remembrance. “Wait. If we just want to check that it’s not been cursed, we could use the sneakoscope Ron got me.”
“Isn’t it still broken though?” Ron asked.
“Maybe it’s fixed now. Couldn’t hurt to see.”
Harry went over to his trunk and took out the pair of socks the sneakoscope was stuffed into. He went back over to the broom and pulled the sneakoscope out.
Immediately it began to whirl and gleam in his hand as it released a shrill tinny whistle that startled everyone. Scabbers let out a series of scared squeaks as Harry stuffed the sneakoscope back into the socks.
“Looks like it’s still broken. Is Scabbers okay?”
Ron held out his hands to display the shaking rat who now looked very skinny with patches of fur falling off.
Seth carefully looked over the rat and realized he was missing a toe. “Has he always been missing a toe or was that recent?”
“It was already gone when we found him,” Ron answered.
“He’s not looking too good, is he?” Harry sympathetically remarked.
Ron sniffed disdainfully. “It’s stress. He’d be fine if that stupid cat left him alone.”
Hermione scowled. “Stop being so rude to Crookshanks, Ronald.”
Ron scowled back. “Don’t call me Ronald!”
“Then don’t be rude, Ronald!”
Seth quickly stepped in between them before another argument could break out. “Okay. How about we head on down to get breakfast, yeah? And Harry, if you could please do us a favor and just, uh, not touch that broom anymore, just for a little bit, that’d be great.”
Harry scowled but didn’t protest as he put the broom away and the quartet went down to breakfast, the Christmas spirit now on thin ice.
At dinnertime, the quartet went down to the Great Hall and found that the house tables had been placed against the walls. There was only a single table set for fourteen in the middle of the spacious room. Dumbledore, McGonagall, Snape, Sprout, and Flitwick were already seated. Filch had joined as well and was wearing an old tailcoat that looked as if it’d seen better days a few centuries ago. There were three other students as well - two extremely nervous looking first year Hufflepuffs and a disgruntled fifth year Slytherin.
“Merry Christmas!” Dumbledore cheerfully exclaimed as the quartet approached the table, “I hope you don’t mind the new arrangement as there are so few of us it seemed foolish to continue using the house tables. Sit down, sit down.”
They sat down side by side at the end of the table.
“Crackers!” Dumbledore enthusiastically offered the end of a large silver cracker to Snape who took it reluctantly and tugged. With a bang, the cracker flew apart to reveal a large pointed witch’s hat topped with a stuffed vulture.
Harry slapped a hand over his mouth to block the guffaw that burst forth. He and Ron shared a look, grinning as they remembered the boggart from DADA. Meanwhile, Seth snorted involuntarily into his pumpkin juice and Hermione stifled a giggle. Snape scowled and pushed the hat towards Dumbledore who gladly swapped it out for his own hat at once.
“Dig in!” Dumbledore said with arms spread out in invitation.
As everyone began to help themselves to the food, the doors to the Great Hall opened and Professor Trelawney came gliding in.
Dumbledore looked both surprised and not surprised by her appearance. “Sybil! This is a pleasant surprise.”
“I was crystal gazing, Headmaster,” Trelawney said in a misty and faraway voice, “And to my astonishment, I saw myself abandoning my solitary supper and coming to join you. Who am I to refuse the promptings of fate? I at once hastened from my tower and I do beg you to forgive my lateness.”
“Certainly, certainly. Come sit. We have one more seat left.”
She sat down and looked around the table. Her gaze seemed to linger on Seth for a second longer but nobody noticed before she moved on. “Where is dear Professor Lupin?”
“I’m afraid the poor fellow is ill again,” Dumbledore responded as he gestured for everyone to resume digging in, “Most unfortunate that it should happen on Christmas day.”
Trelawney hummed knowingly. “Is that so? I have seen that poor Lupin will not be with us for very long. He also seems aware that his time is short. He always flees whenever I offer to crystal gaze for him.”
“I can’t imagine why,” McGonagall dryly remarked.
“I doubt that Professor Lupin is in any immediate danger,” Dumbledore said with a cheerful tone that prevented anything from starting between the two professors, “Severus, you’ve made the potion for him again, yes?”
“Of course, Headmaster,” Snape said before hesitantly adding, “And…I’ve decided to restart an old project as well.”
Dumbledore was surprised by the sudden admission before his expression softened and he smiled. “Good, good. Then he should be up and about in no time.” He turned to address one of the first years. “Derek, have you had any of those chipolatas? They’re excellent!”
Dinner resumed without any more fanfare. Good conversation was shared all around and good food was quickly devoured. Seth took a moment to examine Trelawney as she carefully pecked at some roast chicken.
She suddenly looked up and caught his eye. She smiled knowingly at him and winked. Seth quickly dropped his gaze back down to his food. That one short interaction told him everything he needed to know though it couldn’t hurt to talk with her after dinner.
“Thanks for the gift, Snape,” Harry said as soon as Snape finished a rather short conversation about something transfiguration related that either involved the moon or a loon with McGonagall.
Snape gave the barest hint of a smile. “You’re welcome, Harry. Hopefully the instructions I provided will aid you in improving in my classes.”
“I’m not that bad at potions, am I?” Harry sheepishly asked.
Snape hummed instead of answering. “I…apologize that I was not able to gift you something better. I know you would’ve liked to receive a new broom to replace your old one.”
“It’s alright, professor. I got a new one anyways!” Harry said assuringly.
Snape frowned. “You did? May I ask from whom?”
Harry shrugged. “Dunno. But I hope I can find out soon. I feel bad they spent so much money getting a firebolt for me and I can’t even thank them.”
Snape’s frown deepened. “Harry-”
“Oh! Chocolate pudding!” Harry remarked, distracted by desert appearing.
Snape shut his mouth but glanced over meaningfully at McGonagall who nodded before they resumed eating.
At the end of dinner, everyone began to disperse for the night.
“Hey, I’m gonna hang back a bit,” Seth said to the others, “I want to chat a little with Trelawney.”
Ron gave him a weird look. “You sure, mate? She’s a bit mad, you know.”
“I know. I just wanna check something.”
“Alright. But just remember to take everything she says with a grain of salt,” Hermione warned.
Seth gave a playful salute before making his way to Trelawney who watched him expectantly.
“So you’re the strange presence I’ve been sensing for the past few years. My my, how fascinating. An old soul in a young body,” she said with none of her usual airiness.
Seth blinked in surprise. “How?”
Trelawney smiled mysteriously. “I see many things, my dear.”
“So then you really?”
She hummed. “Apologies my dear, but I must retire for the night. Do not worry though, for we will see each other again soon enough.”
And with that she glided out of the Great Hall leaving a stunned Seth behind. He shook his head to snap himself out of it and sighed. “Well that wasn’t ominous at all.”
He then made to leave the hall but not before seeing Snape and McGonagall talking to each other. Both professors had serious expressions and he could faintly hear a mention of Harry’s name as he passed them but thought nothing more of it. They were probably discussing something related to Sirius Black.
By the time he got back to the common room, Harry pulled the firebolt out from its corner to start polishing it while Ron admired it. Hermione was sitting by the fireplace with her head buried in a book and a frown on her face that deepened every time she glanced over at the broom.
Not too long after he stepped in, the portrait door opened again and in came McGonagall.
Harry and Ron stared wide eyed at her, both still holding the firebolt. Hermione raised her head and was staring as well in confusion.
McGonagall scanned the room until her gaze landed on the broom. “So that’s it then.” She walked over to Harry and Ron, still looking at the firebolt. “I’ve been informed that you’ve been sent a broomstick, Mister Potter.”
“Uh, yes,” Harry said, bewildered by what was happening, “It was with the rest of my presents.”
McGonagall frowned. “May I?” But she didn’t wait for an answer and pulled the firebolt out of their hands. She examined it carefully from handle to twig ends. “And there was no note at all, Mister Potter? No card? No message of any kind?”
Harry didn’t like where this was going. “No…”
“I see… Well I’m afraid I will have to take this then.”
Harry scrambled to his feet. “W-What? Why?!”
“This broom is a suspicious package as it was not on the list of inspected items for Christmas Day delivery,” she explained. Upon their blank looks, she sighed. “Did you simply think your gifts appeared in the castle without our knowledge?” Harry and Ron’s sheepish expression was enough to answer her question. “It will need to be checked for jinxes and curses. I believe Madam Hooch and Professor Flitwick might need to strip it down.”
Ron paled and faintly repeated, “Strip it down?”
“Yes. It shouldn’t take more than a few weeks.”
“But there’s nothing wrong with it,” Harry protested, his voice shaking, “Honestly, professor.”
“You can’t know that, Mister Potter,” McGonagall sternly said, “Not until you’ve flown it which thank Merlin I was informed before you did. Who knows what could’ve happened. Don’t worry. You’ll have it back once we’re certain it hasn’t been tampered with. I shall keep you informed.”
She turned on her heel and carried the firebolt out of the common room. Harry stood staring in disbelief after her as the portrait door closed behind her, still clutching the tin of high finish polish in his hands.
Ron immediately rounded on Hermione. “What did you go running to McGonagall for?!”
Hermione threw her book down angrily. “I did no such thing!”
“Well who else could it be?” Ron exclaimed, “You’re the one who had a problem with not knowing who gave Harry that broom!”
“Hey!” Seth shouted, coming to Hermione’s defense, “Don’t go pinning the blame on her! I also had a problem with that broom.”
“But you’re not a snitch like she is!” Ron retorted.
“Yeah! She was going to rat me out about the map!” Harry jumped in as well.
Hermione turned red with a hint of tears appearing in her eyes. “I’m not a snitch! And I promised I wouldn’t say anything about the map to anyone and I haven’t!”
“Well then how do you explain McGonagall finding out?” Harry asked as if that was checkmate.
“Oh I don’t know, maybe Snape told her about it because you told him about it and if you add in the fact that McGonagall literally just said that packages are checked before they’re sent to us for Christmas, it’s no wonder someone found out!” Seth sarcastically remarked, “The professors were all rightfully concerned. Nobody knows who gave you that broom. For all we know, it could’ve been Sirius Black who sent it!”
Harry barked out a harsh laugh. “Why would Sirius Black give me a broom? And with what money? He’s a criminal on the run!”
“Who’s also from a rich pureblood family that would definitely have money stashed away for a rainy day in places where no one but they know,” Seth argued.
“Then why a firebolt? Why not another nimbus or some other broom?” Harry asked, unwilling to concede that he may be wrong.
“Oh my god! Are you stupid?!” Seth shouted in frustration, “Were you or were you not completely enamored by that broom the moment you saw it? I bet Black was banking on you being so starstruck by it that you would’ve used it without a second thought and then bam! You’re dead! Everyone says he wants to kill you, remember? What better way then with a shiny new broom you wouldn’t ask questions about before hopping on it like an idiot?!”
Harry looked as if he’d been punched in the gut. “But- I-I- Hermione-”
“STOP PINNING THE BLAME ON HERMIONE!” Seth roared in rage, “SHE IS OUR FRIEND!”
“Well she doesn’t always act like one,” Ron muttered petulantly.
Unfortunately, Seth heard him and he went to go throttle the redhead but Hermione grabbed his arm to stop him.
“Enough! Please, just…enough…” She tearfully pleaded.
Seth looked over at her and saw she was on the verge of tears. His boiling anger immediately came down to a simmer.
“I think it’s best we stay away from each other until you guys can think clearly again and apologize to Hermione for your off base accusations. I’ll sleep in the common room tonight. C’mon Hermione.”
With that clear dismissal, Seth gently guided Hermione over to the fireplace, leaving Ron and Harry with no choice but to go back to the dorms for the night.