Chapter 66: Christmas 6 (The next day)

I woke up early in the morning with the two girls hugging me, they were still tired, so I went back to sleep for a few more hours so as not to wake them up...

...

-Clon in Hogwarts Pov-

It was early at Hogwarts and I had returned to my room. There were very few Slytherins left where some boys attacked me by surprise, but I taught them a lesson, not too exaggerated, just showing that I could beat them. There was not much problem with the girls, since with the few that were left and because of their less impulsive personalities, as well as the shows I did for them, they were not so alienated from me.

At the foot of my bed were a few presents. Harry's, which were sweets. My mother's, which was a Weasley Jersey, which was black, since my mother thought that making me a red one would be too much, so when I was a child I asked her to make it black but with a big R red. There were also those of Fred and George, which were some of their inventions. Charlie sent me some dragon skin and Bill sent me a scarab pendant from Egypt.

Some teachers also sent things because of my gifts yesterday.

Snape handed me a set of different potions, from calming to invigorating.

McGonagall handed me a book with various annotations on transfiguration, along with a set of different balls of materials for transmutation practice.

Sprout handed me a cooking set, it seemed like she found out about my hobby.

Flitwick gave me a dueling manual written by himself.

Hooch gave me a broom care kit.

Pomfrey some books on medical magic that, like McGonagall's, had their own annotations.

Hagrid... a salami...

Many other teachers were some books or sweets... or materials of magical creatures...

Quirrel, Filch, and Binns didn't send me anything, for different reasons.

And what surprised me is that Fawkes came to say hello and thank me for the fruit basket... I don't know, I don't speak Phoenix. He also gave me a phoenix tear as compensation, it wasn't gift-wrapped but I appreciated it very much and thanked him before he left.

I put on my black jersey and felt like Team Rocket for a moment. I left my room a good while later, taking the time to walk around the castle, do a few simple things, say hello to passers-by, and get thanks from some girls for the sweets, although some of them looked at me differently because of the candies shape.

By noon, I met my brothers in the great hall, all in their respective jerseys, apart from Harry, who also had one.

"Red, you're finally here" Said the Twins.

"Gred and Feorge, always as enthusiastic as ever" I replied jokingly.

"You see" (Fred)

"He does understand us" (George)

They laughed as they had just pulled an identical prank in front of Harry. There was also Percy along with them with a big 'P' on his jersey.

"Perfect, right?" I told Percy, looking at his jersey. It was always the same, but now I have the ability to joke with him.

"No" (George)

"It's for Prefect" (Fred)

"Or because of persistent?" (George)

"Or a Prick?" (Fred)

"Shut up, you two," Percy yelled at them, somewhat embarrassed.

Christmas dinner was too big, too many turkeys. Everything was relatively normal until Dumbledore knocked on his glass to make a light Christmas speech, but at one point before finishing he said a few new words.

"...and in thanks to our dear friend and colleague, Mr. Red Weasley, who is not only a great student but a great contributor to the school by single-handedly repairing the Quidditch stadium... I want to show you all that great people like him also have common and humble origins, with their setbacks and failures, a great young man with a simple past and a bright future... As my Christmas gift to him, I want to honor him by remembering all those moments"

The headmaster waved his wand and enchanted banners appeared on all the walls of the great hall that had images of me at various times in my childhood, as well as stories of what happened in each one, some were even enlarged real photos.

In them, events were seen such as when I made positions and failed by blowing up the house or injuring myself, once where I lost a fight against a gnome when I was very young, me being a cranky baby... the story of my name change...

They were all events from my childhood, but not necessarily good ones, and the ones that weren't bad were portrayed as bad. Almost all the students laughed at this story and the others, even some teachers, especially Snape who had a smirk on his face.

I froze for a moment trying to process what was happening and why my face was all over the room, and the worst thing is that I still didn't know that it wasn't just the great hall, but that in various parts of the castle there were also these posters. I should be thankful that many have left Hogwarts for the holidays.

I could only ignore him for a moment until the room quieted down. Until near the end of lunch, I approached the staff table with a drink in my hands, particularly Dumbledore's seat.

"Hello, Headmaster" I smiled falsely.

"Good days, Mr. Weasley." He also smiled only genuinely, but not out of kindness.

"I see you took your time doing all this"

"Actually yes... I took it upon myself to talk to your mother to get some information about you, as well as ask her to borrow some photos to make all this possible. After your gift, I couldn't sit idly by and give you nothing, it would be very impolite of me not to return the favor..."

We talked and it seemed to most of the teachers that the lies and emotions we showed were real, and all this was a real recognition from the director and a thank you from me.

"So I go into my house and take things when no one is there...Isn't that stealing?" I asked innocently.

"I have the permission of your parents to do it, otherwise this would not be possible"

"So it's stealing with permission?"

We both looked at each other seriously with narrowed eyes, you could almost hear some Western music, well, in fact, the ghosts heard it, since I put it on play a moment ago.

"I guess I should thank you for showing me off to everyone…" I said waving my glass "You may be right, all great mages have a not so bright past that we should remember. I wonder if I should look into yours? Just to learn more about the greatest white wizard"

Dumbledore and I had a secret fight in the middle of the room for a while, with friendly comments, but hidden daggers. Neither of us wanted to go into it much, as we both had our own things to do, so we let it go for now. I toasted each teacher and then went about my business.

...

The girls woke up late in the morning, still somewhat sleepy. When we get to the living room, we find Xenophilius with breakfast ready and a Christmas tree full of presents.

Many of them were mine, since on the train I told all the girls that I would be staying at this address. Ginny and Luna also both received a sweater made by mom. Xenophilius also received some gifts from a few friends.

The girls, seeing the number of gifts I received, were surprised and began to open them for me, without asking me, to see them and then present them to me.

"Red, here's a potted plant, from a certain Hannah Abbott, the letter says it's for you to start your garden" Ginny brought me a small plateau.

"Well, can we leave it at your house Luna, Xenophilius? If it doesn't bother you. Until I have my own home"

"No problem" Xenophilius replied without hesitation.

"When you get your house, will you let me live with you? No... You have to have a room for me, no matter what!" Ginny asked, but then she stiffened, as if it was no longer my decision to accept her or not.

"Have no doubts about it" I told the girls "My house will be your house" I assured them and after they nodded happily they continued.

"Here's a Lavender Brown scarf" Luna came towards me.

"Some Magical Amulets of Parvati and Padma Patil"

"A very pretty cape from a girl named Millicent"

"A Pair of Dragonskin Gloves... of Greengrass "

"A Susan Bones Pocket Watch"

"Cho Chang's Broom Care Kit"

"An Enchanted Hairdressing Set From Tracey"

"Some... dance shoes I think... from Penelope"

"A set of crystal glasses with carvings of a Hermione Granger"

...

The girls looked at all the presents one by one and showed them to me, then tried them on or played with some of them. They were very nice gifts, and I could see that Hermione noticed my strange fondness for some eccentric things, like the glasses, jugs and cups she sent me, and how crude they are some seem to be carved by herself with magic, but that just adds more sentimental value to me.

"Why are all the gifts from girls?" Ginny asked.

"Er...because those of the boys... were sent to Hogwarts" I explained.

"Why would they send it to Hogwarts if you're here?"

"ohh... I think I forgot to tell you about my clone..." I said, winning the girls' confused expressions "Wait and see"

At that moment, I got up from the ground and moved a little away from them so they could see me and not get scared. To one side of me, I made an identical clone appear that brought the complete surprise of all those present, including Xenophilius, who almost spilled his tea.

"There are two Reds!" the girls exclaimed

"Yes" x2 we replied.

"How do you do this?"

There I had to tell everyone about this ability and the way I used it at school, as well as explain that there was another Red at Hogwarts at this time and that he is the one who received the most gifts from the boys.

"How do we know which one is real?" Ginny asked at one point.

"It's that" Luna pointed to my real body.

"How did you guess?" I asked, intrigued since she knew it at first.

"It's that you feel more like yourself than you're" she pointed out to the clone.

"Okay..." It sounded a bit confusing to me, but she was just being Luna.

"Does that mean you can leave one of your own here while you're at Hogwarts?" Ginny asked excitedly.

"No, I'm sorry, I may need them there" I said causing her to get very depressed "but I could come from time to time with a clone" I quickly explained since I was sure that if my sister had dog ears, they would fall off in a sign of sadness

"Seriously? How?" She asked, recovering some emotion.

"I have another ability that allows me to travel to certain places and this is one"

"That's great…" she was saying, but I cut her off.

"Yes, but I don't want anyone to know at the moment" I told the three and they nodded firmly, it wasn't uncommon for us to keep secrets "for that reason I will only come to Luna's house on some occasions, when you need it or When you come here alone Ginny, I don't want our parents to know, okay?"

"Yes"

"Great, we'll use my [Message] to agree when we'll meet"

"Good"

I clarified and after that, talk about some of the other skills I had, not many but necessary ones. In a moment, Luna climbed on my back and held me.

"Now there are two Reds" she said to Ginny, who realized something and jumped on my clone's back too.

The girls climbed on my back to mount me as if I were a horse, they dragged me to the patio and ordered me to run just like the first time when we were children, in fact, it is not that we stopped doing it. I followed suit and ran with them on my back around the yard in a kind of race, going round and round.

The girls had a lot of fun, it was the first time they could enjoy riding me together.

After stopping, we organized to see where we would spend the rest of the day

...

At Tonks's house, I was preparing breakfast, when Andromeda came downstairs and saw me. She got a little happy and came to greet me.

"Good morning, did you sleep well?"

"Good morning, yes, I slept well" I replied, although I didn't actually sleep "Here's breakfast" I handed her a plate with what I had prepared.

"You're a sweetheart, you wouldn't have bothered, let me follow" she took the plate and stood next to me.

"No need, it's almost over, if you want to help me finish it and we'll eat in the dining room"

"It's okay"

We both finished breakfast and took it to the table, where we ate and talked for a while. Andromeda was a good companion to talk to in the mornings, she was one of those people with whom you can start a friendly conversation, even if you are not one of the talkers.

Shortly after, Tonks came down with a dead zombie look and walked over to one of the cabinets to take a hangover potion. I'm surprised how common this seems to be in this family because they always have one or two with them. After that, she came and sat next to her mother, taking a plate for herself.

"How did you sleep?" her mother asked.

"Well... I think..." she said, still somewhat sleepy "... Did you stay here?" Tonks asked when she saw me, somewhat surprised, she just realized, the plan was for me to leave. At one point it even seemed to me that with her body movement she was asking me 'We don't sleep together, do we?' To which I shook my head.

"No, I left and came back recently" I explained making her relax, but Andromeda was upset with her daughter.

"And Tenebrius... what things do you like?" Andromeda asked as she shot glances at her daughter. She still hadn't forgotten that she couldn't tell what her partner liked, she considered it a fatal mistake in our 'relationship'.

"Umm… let's see, I like to cook, play music, sing and dance as a hobby…" I began to count.

"TRUE!" Tonks exclaimed as if she had remembered something important "He loves music, as I forgot? Whenever he waits for something or rests, he is singing or playing his guitar... I don't know how I forgot before" said Tonks without the slightest decorum or real anguish, and without noticing that her mother's expression worsened.

"I also like transfiguration, if it wasn't for the high calculation and knowledge requirement I'd be a fan of transmutation and manipulation of elements, possibly wreaking havoc on the world... I also like exotic things like ancient decorations, relics, swords and other weapons..." I continued to relate my true tastes.

"Wow, I didn't know you liked so many things" Andromeda said in a loud tone, "And by any chance, you don't know what my daughter likes?"

"... Yes, I know, but I don't want to say it"

"Why not?"

"Because when I get back home after you kill Tonks, she's going to come back to kill me."

"..."

"Possibly" Tonks replied.

"Well, it's time to go, I really liked yesterday's dinner, I had a great time" I got up from the table.

"Can't you stay?" Asked Andromeda "Today my husband's parents and some more of the family will come to celebrate Christmas. Today is the real party, don't you plan to stay?"

"No, sorry, but thanks…" I politely declined.

"But..."

"Andromeda, I really had a good time, but I have to go"

"Okay... What are your plans? If you have the chance you can come later, it will be very lively all-day" she ended up accepting seeing my determination.

"Go to my mother's grave, go back to see some things I left at work, go home to get some sleep, and then settle some unfinished business... I don't know if I'll have time to go back, but I'll see if I can do it" invent.

"Well, our house will receive you, no matter when. Come whenever you want"

Andromeda and Tonks came to see me off, and on the way out we saw Edward get up and go to the same piece of furniture that Tonks went for a hangover potion. I think I understand more why the custom of those potions.

After a few goodbye hugs, I left. The real reason for leaving is that I didn't want to meet the rest of Tonks's family, not because they misunderstand our relationship... but because I don't want to introduce them to Tenebrius's lie.

I like Tonks and her family too, I don't want to lie to them anymore. If I were Red, maybe I'd stay, but now I'm someone who doesn't exist in part... maybe one day I'll really show up, just... maybe this year or next, when I finish everything he planned to do with Tenebrius, I can send him on an adventure and get him off the map... maybe some sporadic appearances when necessary.

I don't want to bother you this holiday season, that was also the reason why I sent all the gifts on the 24th. I know everyone will be celebrating as a family on the 25th, so I sent all the gifts earlier so I don't show up on that day. It's nice to have a visit, but it's not nice to interrupt the party either, I don't like it. By the way, I will have the time to spend with my family without worries.