Chrismas(02/02)

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It's the little moments we spend together that make our lives so happy.

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| December 25, 1991 | Hogwarts |

**** (Third-person point of view)****

 A special day was unfolding at Hogwarts, and the scent of cinnamon, gingerbread, chocolate, and a hint of orange filled the air. On this special day, snow covered the historic building that is Hogwarts, but no children wanted to go out on this beautiful morning. Why? Because the much-anticipated Christmas gifts had arrived.

"Harry, Harry, hurry up, they're here, our gifts are here!!!" Equally excited about this day, Ronald Weasley dragged his still-sleeping best friend, Harry Potter, towards the Christmas tree.

"Why are you so excited, Ron? Couldn't you let me sleep a little longer?" Although aware of what day it was, Harry had never really celebrated Christmas. As the Dursleys' household servant, Harry spent his time cleaning up after them; he couldn't even dream of receiving gifts. Making a mistake would send him straight to his cupboard for the day. So Harry couldn't know the joy that Christmas brings to a normal child.

"Look, Harry, there are gifts for us!"

"Darn it, wait, Ron, I promised to open mine with Lilian, so hurry up, I'm sure, punctual as he is, he's already getting impatient," looking at the time, Harry could already hear his brother's lectures that one minute of delay would be a minute lost forever.

"But we already have our gifts; can't we open them here and meet him later?" Knowing the kind of gifts his family reserved for him every year, Ron didn't want to open them in front of the person he considered his second sworn enemy. The first being Draco Malfoy, and the third being his brothers George and Fred.

"Come on, Ron, you and Lilian can't be like this forever; you're my best friend, and he's my brother. Plus, he always helps us when we have problems with our homework, and I think he's started to get into the wizard's chess game; you can play a game against him."

As if a fire ignited within him, Ron set his gifts aside and thought only of victory against that Slytherin.

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Taking a sip of his hot chocolate with marshmallows, Lilian Potter patiently waited for his brother.

He reflected on everything he had accomplished during the year, a small ritual he performed each year to plan for the next.

At the beginning of the year, he became blind due to a terrible mistake he had made. He had to literally change his entire approach to magic to correct his error, which ultimately turned out better for him in the future.

He finally met his brother when he went to Hogwarts, the holy land of every British wizard.

He made friends he could rely on.

He advanced his understanding of magic through daily practice but was ultimately limited in what he could achieve at his level. He still lacked magical quantity. He tried to make it denser in his body to remedy this, but it wasn't enough. He needed to be able to communicate with external mana by projecting his own out of his body. Without that, he would be just a blind wizard who, without his cane, was an easy target.

Sighing at his lack of success, Lilian took another sip of hot chocolate.

Not long after, he heard a familiar sound. He couldn't help but wonder how his brother always managed to arrive late.

"I don't even have the energy to tell you that you're late because I know it will happen again," Lilian said with a cold smile.

"I'm sorry, Ron and I stayed up late last night, having fun with our roommates with the magical voice-changing candies."

"Yes, we're sorry. Now, play a game of chess with me!"

"Ron!!"

Faced with the full energy of the two Gryffindors, Lilian simply invited them to sit down and have hot chocolate. It wasn't as good as what Nixie made, but Lilian loved this kind of treat.

"Why don't we each open a gift in turn? Here, my dear little brother, start with mine."

Lilian's gift was a frame containing one of his paintings. Of course, not just any painting, but a portrait of him and his brother with their parents behind them and Nixie on the side.

Harry, not having known his parents, had a hard time recognizing who they were. But the moment he recognized them, he couldn't take his eyes off the moving painting. Even blind, his brother had talent; he perfectly captured the warm smile that Harry longed to receive from a parent. The painting made him happy but also sad; he could see everything he had never received.

"Th-thank you, brother. I will cherish this painting like no other and promise to protect it."

Lilian gave his brother a pained smile, understanding his emotions.

"I will say it's my turn now." 

"I wanted it to be my turn," Ron pouted, having to go last in the unusual trio of Slytherin and Gryffindor students unwrapping their gifts one by one.

There were gifts like Ron's sweater, chocolates exchanged among them, or books such as <Quidditch for the Uninitiated>, <Chess: A Subtle Art>, and <Plants and Potions: All Methods from Past to Present> that Lilian received from his three friends, which he appreciated.

But the prize for the biggest gift was received by Harry with their family heirloom.

 "By magic, little brother, you received the cloak of our family. I thought it was stolen by someone, but apparently, it was lent to a family friend so that we would receive it like this," said Lilian, marveling at the sight, or rather the nothingness, in Harry's hands that Lilian could sense. 

"It is invisible to mana; it truly is the relic of our family," Lilian murmured to himself.

After Ron explained to Harry what he had in his hands, even though it was not a counterfeit but the real deal, Harry asked, 

"Do you have any idea who it could be from? The letter doesn't give a name." 

"If I had to guess, it would come from Uncle Lupin, as he would have needed it to hide from people looking for individuals like him." 

"Uncle Lupin? People like him? I thought I had seen the majority of your memories, so why don't I know anything about this?" Harry asked, vexed that his brother still had secrets. 

"It's because knowing that would be of no use to you or could be harmful. So, become more adept, and I'll tell you more." Lilian didn't miss an opportunity to motivate his brother on the path of magic.

Observing his brother's mocking smile, Harry gave up but still asked. "So, who is Uncle Lupin?" 

"He was one of the great friends Mom and Dad made during their time at Hogwarts. But he was especially a friend of Dad. He and his group would be what Fred and George are today, but more... mischievous in their pranks. Even after school, they all remained friends until that incident."

 As he uttered the last phrase, anger could be felt in his voice. "Scabbers, why are you fidgeting like that? Stop fidgeting! If a cat eats you, I won't be able to do anything for you."

Scabbers, the Weasley family rat, trotted onto the trio's table. Observing him, Lilian wondered how someone could choose a rat as a pet, especially a rat missing a finger.

The day for the Slytherin and Gryffindor trio was just beginning, and despite the disagreement between Ronald Weasley and Lilian Potter, they had an excellent Christmas, unlike anything the Potter twins had ever experienced.