Chapter 7
The day after the ball, everyone was leaving for the Christmas holidays, and Harry wished he could have stayed, because he would much rather have stayed with Ron, but since Ron was going home for Christmas as well, there wasn't really much else to do but go home.
When he got home there was nothing to greet him but everyone rushing around, getting ready for something. His parents were shouting about something, and desperately trying to get ready for something, but Harry couldn't figure out what it was. It wasn't just that they were cleaning, but they seemed to be hiding things away, so that the house looked rather boring.
Harry saw his sister sitting on the stairs, and immediately went over to get as much information as he could. "Emily, what's going on in here?" he asked her quietly.
"Well," she replied laughing, "Mum and Dad have lost their minds."
"We have not lost our minds," Lily said, coming up behind them. "Do you remember you Aunt Petunia?"
Harry laughed dryly. "You mean the one who pretends we don't exist and who I've never met because she avoids our family like the plague?"
His mother glared at him, but continued as if she hadn't heard him. "Well, she and her husband, Vernon, and their children will be staying with us for the holidays.
"Fine, but that still doesn't explain why the house is in utter chaos," Harry said, watching his father drag a large purple chest up the stairs.
"Well… my sister hasn't seen fit to tell her family that I'm a witch… or even that witches and wizards exist, and she has requested that we don't flaunt our `condition' while they are in the house," Lily said bitterly.
As he walked past, James muttered, "In my opinion, you should have just told her to go to hell."
"You know I can't do that, James. She's my sister, and I haven't seen her in ages, and if she offers to come and see us for Christmas, I'm going to let her. Now, back to work. We only have a few hours till they arrive, and we have to get rid of everything suspicious. Everything."
James walked grudgingly back to his work, and Lily turned away, muttering, "Now I suppose a few enlargement charms won't hurt… otherwise we'll never fit all of them in here."
*
The Potters stood by the front door, wearing brand new Muggle clothes, and waiting anxiously for the Dursleys to arrive.
"Ok, now there will be absolutely no magic," Lily said, taking away all their wands and locking them away. "And please be nice to your cousins."
Harry could see the nervousness on his mother's face, and he could understand how badly she wanted to impress Petunia and her family. Lily hadn't seen her sister since before Harry was born, and it hurt her every day. Harry could tell that she saw her sister's request to stay with them as a major breakthrough. A knock on the door interrupted Harry's thoughts, and with a deep breath, Lily stepped forward to open it.
A big, burly man walked in immediately, saying in a deep, booming voice, "Vernon Dursley. Pleased to meet all of you," and shaking all of there hands in turn. He had a very firm grip.
After him, a boy Harry's age walked in, grinning, and also shook hands with all of them, saying simply, "I'm Dudley." He seemed nice, but Harry didn't have much time to tell before a small boy and an even smaller girl followed their brother.
"I'm Davy, and this is Debbie," the boy said. These two resembled their mother a lot more than Dudley did. Where Dudley was burly like his father, the other two were small and skinny.
The little girl smiled, and went straight for Emily. "How old are you?" she asked, speaking very quickly. "I'm six and a half, but soon I'll be seven, and Daddy says that when I turn seven I can have whatever I want for my birthday!"
Harry turned around, zoning out the little girl, who was already getting on his nerves.
"She's already getting on your nerves, isn't she?" Dudley asked, smiling. Harry laughed, and turned to look at his mother, who was just seeing her sister after almost twenty years. His first impression if Petunia Dursley was that she looked a lot like a horse, and the awkwardness surrounding the two sisters was so thick you could almost touch it.
Emily had gone upstairs a while ago, followed closely by Debbie, who still hadn't stopped talking. Harry turned back to Dudley and began a slightly awkward conversation, but it wasn't long before they were interrupted by Debbie, running full speed down the stairs.
"Mum, Dad! Guess what?" she yelled, running toward her parents. "There's an owl upstairs!"
Lily grew pale, glaring at James, and Petunia's eyes grew wide. "An owl?" she said, sending a warning look at her sister.
When no one else said anything, Harry stepped forward and crouched next to Debbie, saying, "You know, it might seem a little unusual to have an owl, but really they make great pets. They're very friendly."
"I think it's great!" she shouted. Turning to Vernon, she asked, "Daddy, can I have an owl?"
"Uh… we'll see," he said, looking more than a bit confused.
Petunia cleared her throat. "Well, it's been a long journey, and I'd appreciate it if you would show us where we'll be staying."
Lily practically jumped over to their luggage, and led them up the stairs to their room. Dudley smiled uneasily, and then followed his parents.
"Well this should be an interesting Christmas," Harry said to his father when they were left alone.
James smiled and leaned over, whispering, "You have no idea. I haven't told your mother yet, but I've invited Remus and Sirius over for Christmas dinner."
Harry gasped. His father never had really grown up, and he still liked to cause a little bit of mischief. Remus wouldn't cause any trouble, but Sirius was another story. His twin sons, Alex and Andrew, were only 4 years old, but they had quite a bit of talent, and strange things were already happening around them all the time. They could be quite rowdy, too, and Harry could tell that neither his mother, nor the Dursleys would quite approve of their being there.
It was going to be a very interesting Christmas.
Hope everybody liked it….
Please !!!
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