ch 45 : i'm only joking

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You woke up early the next morning. You wrapped your robe around yourself and shuffled down the stairs in a pair of socks you had stolen from George. They rose to your mid-calf, but you enjoyed the extra warmth they provided on that chilly Christmas morning. You descended the staircase, hearing soft Christmas music grow louder as you got closer to the ground floor. It sounded like a piano.

You padded along the corridor until you found the room with the old piano you had seen over the summer. Sirius was sitting at the piano, playing Sleep in Heavenly Peace on the piano as Thelma sat on the bench beside him with her head on his shoulder. They were so peaceful and still at the early hour, so you just leaned against the frame of the door and let the music wash over you.

You wanted to capture that moment in your memory forever. You tried to ingrain the feel of the cold wood just barely seeping through your socks into your memory. The sound of a fire crackling and the soft melodies echoing from the piano made your eyes flutter sleepily.

When an arm snaked around your waist, you didn't jump. You smiled up at the sleepy-eyed George and mouthed, "Merry Christmas." He mouthed it back and stood just behind you with his arms around your waist as you both listened to the calming music in the otherwise quiet home.

The song ended minutes later, but George had already tugged you off towards the kitchen before you were seen. He moaned, "I smell toast and bacon."

As the kids all stumbled into the kitchen with bedheads and half-closed eyes, Molly cheered, "Come eat! I made all of your favorites. Sausage for Ronald, bacon and toast for Fred and George, eggs for Ginny, porridge for Hermione, pancakes for Harry, and fried potatoes for Y/N. Did I get it all right, dearies?"

All of you nodded together as you sat down and began to load your plates with food. When Fred tried to take some of the potatoes, you jokingly slapped his hand and teased, "Your mother said those are for me."

Fred narrowed his eyes at you and remarked, "I think you want to share with me, Potter... I would hate for something...sinister to happen on Christmas."

Ginny hit the back of Fred's head with that comment but tucked into her eggs wordlessly seconds later.

While Fred was rubbing the back of his head with a pout, you giggled, "I'm only joking, Fred. Of course, you can have some."

Fred winked at you and scooped some onto his plate. The adults all joined them not even minutes later, widening their eyes at how much of the food was already consumed by the ravenous teens at the table.

Before long, the many residents of 12 Grimmauld Place were full of food and laughter as they all passed around presents.

You squealed when you opened up a gift from Molly. It was a new sweater since you had outgrown the one from first year. Mrs. Weasley had knit you and Harry your own sweaters that year after Ron told her you would be present-less that Christmas. You tugged the yellow sweater over your head, delighting at the black initial in the center. You thanked Mrs. Weasley profusely before handing Arthur and Molly your own gifts to them.

You were overjoyed when Arthur happily played with the yo-yo you got him, delighting in his fascination with the child's toy. Thelma energetically showed him how to use it, and you beamed at his happy little dance once he figured out how it worked.

Molly teared up at the new yarn and sentimental letter you gave her, her eyes raking over the note with a hand pressed to her lips. After she read it all, she crossed the room and squeezed you in a hug for nearly a minute straight. She whispered into your auburn hair, "You're so welcome, dearie. I'm so happy you feel welcome in our family too."

Sirius and Thelma were shocked to receive a gift from you and Harry. You had given them a few muggle books. You explained, "I noticed your library was empty, and I thought it was rather sad to have a library without good books to fill the shelves."

Thelma whispered, "I used to love some of these books. I haven't read them in years. Thank you, Y/N and Harry."

Sirius admitted, "We had to get rid of my father's horrid books. Thank you for starting our new collection."

Thelma joked, "Your parents would hate to see books like these in the library."

"And that is exactly why we must fill the shelves with them." Sirius grinned at her.

Hermione loved the advanced History of Magic book you got her, and Ron grinned at the candy you bought him at Hogsmeade, stuffing an entire handful into his mouth before nodding at you enthusiastically. Ginny grinned at the photograph you had framed of Ginny after a big win in Quidditch. In the photo, she was grinning in her uniform with Harry and Ron celebrating behind her.

Fred and George were both hunched over the book of muggle pranks you had gotten for them. They had the biggest grins on their faces as they scanned the pages. You couldn't recall the last time either of them had read this much. When George happily kissed you for the gift, it made the horrified looks from everyone else in the room not matter anymore. You knew that the twins would love it since it could help them come up with more ideas for their joke shop.

You beamed when Fred and Ron both bought you bags of your favorite muggle candy. Ginny gave you a photograph that Colin Creevy had taken of you and George when you hadn't been paying attention. You and Ginny both laughed at how you both had the same idea for your gifts to one another.

Hermione gave you a muggle book that Hermione called a classic. You had never read it before, and you were excited to snuggle into the sofa in front of the fireplace with it over that snowy Christmas break. Inside the book was a pressed sunflower, and this made the gift even more special.

Harry gave you a new pair of boots since you had been complaining about how your old ones still left your feet cold as the days had started to grow colder.

You happily opened up your gift from George next, beaming when you found a thin yellow bracelet with beads spelling George's name on it. He sighed, "I'm sorry it's not much. Once we get our joke shop running, I'll be able to get you everything you've ever dreamed of."

"Nonsense. This is lovely. Now I'll have a reminder of you no matter where I am," You gushed as you held out your wrist for him to put it on. He happily obliged, his soft fingers brushing over your wrist as he slipped the bracelet on. You grinned, "It's perfect."

Lastly, you and Harry were given identical gifts from Thelma and Sirius. They told you, "You should open these at the same time."

The two of you made brief eye contact as you tore open the packaging together. You each found photo albums hidden underneath the wrappings with worn leather covers delicately surrounding the albums. As you began to flip through the pictures beside Harry, you couldn't help your tears. Thelma stammered, "We didn't mean to make you upset! I'm sorry! I just found some of these older pictures of your parents, and I just thought you two might like-"

Harry interrupted with a tilt of his head, "You knew our parents?"

Thelma hesitantly nodded and confessed, "Your mother and father were good friends of mine when we were younger. I met them through Sirius."

You wiped away your tears and sighed, "Thank you for these. This is so special."

George leaned over your shoulder and breathed, "Wow. You look just like your mum in this picture." He pointed to one of the oldest photos Thelma had of Lily Potter. Her red hair had looked dark that night, and her smile was illuminating as her eyes connected with the camera.

You blinked and smiled while staring at your mother's beautiful green eyes that Harry also had. You finally whispered, "She was so beautiful."

"Just like you," George reminded you as he nudged your leg with his own. You beamed at him before staring at your parents again, holding George's hand as you flipped through the photos with Harry. Your heart hurt to look at them, yet you stared at each one carefully, memorizing your parents features in each photograph.


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