Christmas
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Scene: Christmas. The camera pans up to a snowy castle, then to Hagrid, who is bringing in a large tree. Inside the great hall, students are leaving and ghosts are singing (Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas, ring the Hogwarts bell. Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas...) Hermione approaches the empty tables, wheeling a cart. She goes to Ron and Harry, who are playing chess. CALLA and BRIAR sit next to the boys.
Harry: Knight to E-5.
A piece moves across the board. Ron thinks for a moment.
Ron: Queen to E-5.
A queen walks over to E-5 and clinks the knight away.
Hermione: That's totally barbaric!
Ron: That's wizard's chess. I see you've packed.
Hermione: See you haven't. Neither have you two. (gesturing to BRIAR and CALLA)
Ron: Change of plans. My parents decided to go to Romania to visit my brother, Charlie. He's studying dragons there!
Calla: wanted to spend Christmas with Harry
Briar: I’m not leaving Calla
“That's so sweet,” Mrs. Weasley smiled at the girls friendship
Hermione: Good. You can help Harry, then. He's going to go the library for information on Nicholas Flamel.
Ron: We've looked a hundred times!
“Ron,”
“In a,”
“Library,”
“Willingly,” Fred and George switched speakers before gasping dramatically in sinc.
Hermione: Not in the restricted section...Happy Christmas. {exits.}
McGonogal spluttered in surprise. While the other teachers' jaws dropped. Hermione turned pink.
Ron: I think we've had a bad influence on her.
Scene:
X-mas morning. Hedwig is perched in the boys' room, and Harry is asleep in bed.
Ron: {calling from downstairs} Harry, wake up! Come on Harry, wake up!
Harry gets up and runs to a balcony overlooking the common room, where Ron is standing next to a tree. He is wearing a sweater with an R on it.
Ron: Happy Christmas, Harry.
Harry: Happy Christmas, Ron. What are you wearing?
Ron: Oh, Mum made it for me. Looks like you've got one too!
Harry: I've got presents?
Ron: Yeah!
Harry: Oh! {Harry runs down the stairs.}
“Why are you so surprised,” A first year asked
“I’ve never gotten presents before,” Harry answered, keeping his voice emotionless like he’s seen Calla do, though not quite getting it. Calla hesitantly returned to her seat near her parents. Calla waved Briar to join them. After a second more (where Calla pretended not to see her parents beam at her) Briar joins them as well.
Ron: There they are. {Ron sits on a couch arm and eats jelly beans as Harry picks up a silver wrapped package. Harry takes out the card.}
Harry: "Your father left this in my possession before he died. It is time it was returned to you. Use it well."
Harry opens the present. It is a cloak.
“My cloak,” James grinned bouncing in his chair like a child
Ron: What is it?
Harry: Some kind of...cloak.
Ron: Well, let's see then. Put it on.
Harry puts the cloak on, and all of him disappears except for his head.
Ron: Whoa!
Harry: My body's gone!
Ron: I know what that is! That's an invisibility cloak!
“I’m afraid Mister Potter that I must confiscate this item,”
“No you can’t it's a family heirloom,” Briar snapped before anyone could stop her
Harry: I'm invisible??
“No were teasing you,” Calla rolled her eyes
Ron: {gets up} They're really rare. I wonder who gave it to you.
Harry: {comes over} There was no name. It just said, "Use it well."
Ron: well come on let's show the girls
Scene:
The girls are in the Gryffindor common room. Both carrying gifts. They appear to be exchanging them. Harry’s sitting there as just a floating head.
“Houses aren’t supposed to cross common rooms,” Dumbledoor reminded us
“I mean this with absolute disrespect. I don’t care,” Calla looked Dumbledoor in the eye. Shocking people.
Calla: I appear to have an anonymous gift as well
Briar: so do I
The group leans in as Calla and Briar pulls apart her wrapping paper. Calla has an old pristinely kept diary. Briar has a leather jacket and a sketchbook full of drawings.
Lily smiled softly while Marleen and Sirius sat straight up.
Ron: well what are they
Calla: it's our mothers diary
Harry scoots over closer as Calla traces the words LILLY EVANS.
Lily smiles at Sev. She remembers giving him her diary to remind him of who he used to be before he became a Death Eater.
Calla: Briar?
Calla interrupted breaking her transe.
Briar: The note says that these are things from my parents. The jacket was my fathers and the sketchbook was my mothers… I have to go.
Anyone who knew either Marleen or Sirius gasped.
“Are you… your…” Sirius gasped looking at Briar in wonder.
“Your our daughter,” Marleen cut off her husband brushing Briars bangs out of her eyes. Briar speechless just nodded. Marleen pulled her into a tight hug. When Marleen finally let go she led her between her and Sirius. Sirius then gave her a hug as well.
Briar left the room shell shocked clutching the leather jacket and the sketch book
Ron: Why is she so upset?
Calla: She is an orphan like Harry and I. My aunts adopted her but she knew about as much as I did about Harry and I’s parents.
If possible Briars parents held her tighter. James and Lily also pulled Harry and Calla into a hug.
Ron: Oh
Harry and Calla exchanged a glance both clinging to the first tangible thing from their parents.
Harry: share
Calla nodded vigorously, joining Harry. The two wearing Weasley sweaters (Callas is pink, Briar was wearing a purple one) The two wearing the invisibility cloak like a blanket reading their mother Diary. Ron smiles softly before leaving to find his brothers.
Remus looked at his best friends and their children holding each other close and then back at the screen smiling softly. Snape also smiled glad for the kids. Though he still isn’t a fan of Harry. Briar is one of his snakes and Calla is one honorarily. And he always looks out for his snakes.
Scene:
Callas in the Slytherin common room. None of the other Slytherins appear to be reacting clearly used to her presence. Briars wearing her purple Weasley sweater under an old worn brown leather jacket. She's flipping through the sketch book.
Calla: people used to react more to my presence
Briar:(not looking up) your officially an honorary Slytherin
Calla nods sitting next to
Briar: your even being assigned your very own Hufflebuddy after the Holidays
Calla: What
Non Slytherin and Hufflepuffs also repeated this sentiment. Severus smiled remembering Emmeline Vance, his own Hufflebuddy.
Briar: Slytherin tradition. Slytherins tend to have trouble making friends so some… most Hufflepuffs sign up to be are buddy. Introduce us to people, make sure we see sunlight. That kind of thing.
“And you don’t make it easy for us,” Ernie Macmillon grumbled.
Calla: oh?
Briar: in turn they tend to have a friend that would literally kill for the so fair trade
Calla: why after Christmas
Briar: so that Prefects can match personalities better
Tonks smiled remembering her own Slytherfriend.
Calla nods along.
Calla: your trying to distract me
Briar: it was worth a shot
Calla: how do you feel
Briar: I don’t know
Calla: me neither
They sit in silence before Briar continues
Briar: It just seems like a betrayal to wish for them. I love my moms. I wouldn't trade them for anything.
“I’m so happy that they were there to take care of you,” Sirius smiled, having met them they were a bit eccentric (he doesn’t know there Gotham Rogues) but care a lot about Briar.
“It's certainly not a betrayal,” Marleen assured her daughter. “I hope we get to meet them,”
“Hem, hem,” Umbridge caught the hall's attention, “the note says they will bring in Briar and Callas adoptive families after the first film. Except for Callas adopted Maternal Grandfather,” Calla gave a sigh of relief.
Calla: I don’t think it's a betrayal to dream. I certainly have.
Lily gave her daughter a kiss on the forehead.
Briar: it's different
Calla: how
Briar: (snapping) Because your childhood sucked ok. I have had a good happy life I shouldn’t want more
“I’m sorry,” Briars voice cracked
“Its ok your right about my childhood,”
“Do you need someone to look into your home life,” Madam Bones inquired
“No, my adoptive mother helped me escape.”
“Escape?” Regulus asked, confused and concerned. Finally breaking away from his shock that he has a niece.
“Let's be glad Grandfather isn’t coming,”
Calla blinks hurt
Calla: ok… I’m going to go
The other Slytherins are staring
Briar: Wait, I’m sorry it's just…
She gestures to her book
Calla: I get it… The Weasley twins invited me to join there Christmas pranking
“Thank you,” Calla smiled at the twins
“Allways,” Fred started
"A pleasure," George finished