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The next Saturday, the door of the staff room burst open. The teachers looked up, a few going automatically to their wands. Hermione Weasley burst in, eyes shining, a sheet of paper clutched in her hand.

"You're early, Hermione," James said, smiling indulgently at her enthusiasm. He'd missed seeing his friends over the past few years. "It's only two o'clock. What's up?"

"I think I've found it!"

"Let's see."

She came round to stand next to him, putting her slip of paper down on the desk.

"It's from Arsenius Jigger's 'Gryffindor and Slytherin: Friend or Foe' - Percy had a copy so I borrowed it."

"With or without asking?" James said, highly amused

"Um . . . Anyway, listen.

The combined Slytherin and Gryffindor force built for itself a great fortress, which could hold and support all of the clan's allies, dependants and warriors in time of crisis. This location of fortress was protected by a Fidelius charm tied to the bloodline itself - only a member of the Gryffindor or Slytherin bloodline could take a stranger through the wards. The only ones exempt from this were those born within the castle itself and while they could pass through alone, they could not bring others within the wards. The geographical location has been much discussed, although they have not been able to be tested. In many documents of the time, Salazar Slytherin has been poetically described as coming from the Fens - modern day Norfolk. The Gryffindor family 'from wild moor' would have originated in Yorkshire. Together the two families controlled the majority of this part of Britain, their main rivals in power being the Delaney-Podmore family of Cornwall, the last remaining member of which is the ghost now leading the Headless Hunt, Sir Patrick Delaney Podmore. The fortress, as one of the defences against the forces of this family, would have been located between the two territories, therefore, taking into account other political alliances, in Cambridgeshire.

"This is it James! We've found it."

"Er Hermione, that's only a general area."

"No, it goes on to give a few more details, such as its height over surrounding land, it being on a river and its proximity to the coast and I think I've managed to pinpoint an exact site. Its marked as being a quarry on Muggle maps, so I imagine the Muggle-repelling charms are still in effect, and it would only take seconds to Apparate there."

"Do you have a map with you?"

Hermione gave him a scathing look and took a new Ordnance Survey map out of her bag. She unfolded it over his desk. As she did so, Severus and Draco came to look over their shoulders. Putting a hand-drawn map of the UK on top of it, she sketched on the various alliances' territories and her theory for the location of the fortress, showing them where it corresponded on the map.

The men exchanged glances.

"It sounds like it should work," Draco said doubtfully. "But it can't be that easy, can it?"

"Easy!?! Do you know how long it took me to find that one reference? Do you know how rare that book is, how long he had to research to find that much information?"

James and Severus backed carefully away. They summoned a house elf and requested enough food to last them overnight if necessary. If the castle really was there, they doubted any of them would want to leave without exploring it thoroughly. James wasn't surprised that it seemed the two Slytherins intended to accompany them, he was excited himself. He was even less surprised that they had joined the expedition without asking and, to be honest, he didn't care.

By the time Hermione had finished with Draco, he was a nervous wreck and the others had almost finished their preparations.

"Uh Hermione," James said carefully. "We're just going to go and change into clothes that would be more suited for this, okay? We'll meet you at the Apparition point in fifteen minutes."

She smiled at him, at once all excitement again.

"You've got food. Great, get Draco sorted too, and I'll see you there."

James bounded out of the room and equipped himself in battle robes, just as he had for the trip to Malfoy Manor. Even if the fortress could only be found by one of the bloodline, who was to say the last occupants hadn't left some nasty traps or that there wasn't anyone already living there?

At the Apparition point, he met up with the others, all similarly attired, and they took down the Apparition co-ordinates of the small village near the quarry. It would have been risky to attempt apparition straight to the site in case of any wards that had been erected.

They arrived with a pop in a quiet lane and followed the road - little more than a mud track really - down to the danger signs marked 'QUARRY'. Taking a deep breath, James stepped forwards and immediately met with a slightly resistance, as if he was trying to walk through water. He stepped back, puzzled.

"Well, there's definitely something there but I don't know how to get through the wards."

"Sometimes wards are blood-linked," Severus said reasonably. "When a child of the family is born, they are taken to the boundary and a few drops of blood are let fall to the ground to seal them to the wards. That might work."

James made a mental inventory and came up with a blank.

"Does anyone have a dagger that isn't poisoned?" he asked sheepishly. Severus shook his head - as James had expected, he probably had a nasty variety of potions on his. Draco drew one from his belt and handed it over.

Taking a deep breath, James forced his way back into the ward. He made a shallow cut on his arm and squeezed it enough for some blood to fall. Suddenly, he was encased in a silver glow and a small snake encircled his cut wrist. It curled itself tightly around his arm, then vanished with the glow. He looked down at his arm, seeing only unbroken skin. The resistance had vanished. James looked towards his friends.

"I'm in," he said. "Now does anyone know how I bring you in?"

"Sometimes physical contact . . ." Draco suggested tentatively.

"Worth a try."

James put a hand on Draco's shoulder and tried to walk him through. After a moment, Draco stepped back.

"It's like walking into a brick wall," he said in disgust. "I think you'd better go on James; we'll see you back at Hogwarts. When you've worked out what to do, we can have a fieldtrip."

James watched until they disapparated together, all of them looking a little put out at being excluded. He turned back again and looked around.

He was at the beginning of a series of fields, obviously well tended and producing many different crops, many of which were unfamiliar to him. Others contained archaic looking animals that must have been ancestors of modern sheep and cows. There, in the distance, was the castle itself.

It was an impressive affair, situated on the top of a hill and surrounded by a steep ditch. It was stone and, unlike at Hogwarts, it was quite obviously built for war, with only slits for windows. It certainly got the point across. A mud track led the way up to the castle, imprinted with small boots and horseshoes.

Following it through the fields, James crossed the narrow wooden drawbridge and came to the huge oak doors of the castle. They were shut. He stopped and thought about it; this was a moment when having someone like Severus along would have been extremely useful. Since inspiration failed him, James pushed the door in the hope that it was simply unlocked.

It swung open. The doors must have been perfectly balanced on their hinges since the door - standing at least five metres high and ten centimetres thick- was light and moved at the slightest nudge.

James drew his wand and stepped in. The door swung shut behind him and he jumped. It was shadowy inside, the only light coming from a high slitted opening up in the wall above him.

"Lumos!" he murmured, holding his wand up and looking around.

He was standing in a huge hall, maybe four or more times the size of the Great hall of Hogwarts and twice as high. Long wooden tables ran the length of the hall, benches running along side them. At the far end of the hall was a table perpendicular to the other and on a small dais, sort of like the teachers' table at Hogwarts. The floor was covered in a layer of some sort of plant, reeds probably, that rustled as he stepped on them and smelt . . . strange, unfamiliar. On the walls hung great shields and banners of coats of arms long since forgotten and the swords and axes belonging to the great warriors of ancient times. Small archways along the walls led off, presumably towards other parts of the fortress.

James found it particularly strange, since there were a few obvious design similarities with Hogwarts, yet it was so different, even more so in that this was a silent place, a memorial to times quite unknown to his generation. It was so well preserved, looked so lived in, that he expected to walk into a knight any minute.

He chose an archway at random and walked into a small, dark passageway that twisted and turned as if he was in a labyrinth. At last, he came to some uneven stairs and climbed up them. When he reached the top, he was standing in front of a small, wooden door. Examining it more closely, James noted the Slytherin snake carved into the centre of it.

He pushed the door open and walked into a bedroom. It was quite large but still simple - a bed in the centre of the room, a single shelf of books, a chest in the corner and a rail in an alcove (for clothes?). The walls were covered in tapestries for the most part and the floor held animal pelts that would have cushioned the room against the cold of the stone floor.

On one wall however, were two portraits. The first appeared to be a normal painting, a Muggle one, not moving at all. There were two boys in it, one of about nine years of age riding on the shoulders of a brawny young man. They were dressed in shirts and brown trousers but both wore a dagger in a sheath on their belt next to a wand holster and the older one had a ruby-hilted sword at his side that looked well-used and that he looked accustomed to wearing. Those had been troubled times indeed. A carved message at the bottom of the frame read 'Godric and Salazar'. It was certainly a fascinating piece - James had never realised how much younger Salazar must have been. Since the records stated that Godric had been twenty-nine when Hogwarts was founded, Salazar must have been a very young man, sixteen maybe.

There was a sudden 'POP'.

James jumped about a foot into the air, spinning around into a crouch to notice a house elf standing beside him. They stared at each other for a moment, then the house elf bowed deeply.

"Bienvenu Maitre," it said, its voice slightly gravely. James was no expert, but he thought the elf must be ancient, judging by the wrinkles around the eyes.

"Hello?" he tried, remembering with some panic that from 1066 for a few centuries, the nobility of England had spoken French. It was possible that it could present just a few problems. "Do you speak English?"

The house elf looked at him blankly.

"Vous ne parlez pas Francais?" James shook his head, guessing what it meant. He wasn't even sure if this was an archaic form of French. If so, the standard translation charm wouldn't work.

The elf narrowed its eyes and looked at him thoughtfully for a moment.

"Hwaet!" it instructed. James watched closely. It pointed at the wand and slowly articulated some words that were like no French James had ever heard. Might it be a spell? Worth a try. He gestured for the elf to repeat them again and copied them himself.

A shower of green sparks shot from his wand into the elf's body.

"You understand now master? The spell worked?"

"Perfectly, thank you."

"Welcome to Castle Firebreath. I assume you are the new master descended from the children of the last masters to reside in this place."

"Uh yes, I suppose so. My father was James Potter, I'm told he was descended from Godric Gryffindor. My mother was Lily Evans and I think that she was descended from Slytherin, but it’s a Squib line, so hard to trace accurately."

"I am Wat, the chief house elf of the estate and I have to say that you do look remarkably like my last young master, Septimus of the Slytherin line."

"James Evans."

"That is not your true name."

"You can tell?"

"I am blood bound to your family, young master, I can always tell when you are lying."

"I wasn't lying!" James protested, feeling awfully like he had being pulled up by Professor McGonagall during his time at Hogwarts. "My true name is Harry James Evans Potter, satisfied?"

"Quite, Master Harry."

"I would really rather you called me James."

"Master James, then. Will you be staying here?"

"Not immediately. I'm teaching at Hogwarts at the moment, you know where that is?"

"I'm seven hundred and twenty three years old this Midwinter, not senile!"

"Yes, well one of my friends is in a lot of danger at the moment and someone found a description of this place, so I thought I'd look for it."

"A noble quest for a young man such as yourself. He is not related to Podmore, I hope."

"I don't think so, I think his family was French originally."

"Acceptable. You will be staying tonight, though. There is much you must see to if you are to take control," Wat said. It was not a question. James had the feeling that he was only the last one in a long line of young wizards and house elves this being had seen come and go: he quite obviously didn't stand a chance.

"Okay then," he agreed hastily. One night wouldn't do his job any harm. "Is there are a bathroom."

"Bathroom?"

'Oh no, James thought, please let them at least have a decent bathroom.

"A place to uh relieve yourself . . . . " he said, gesturing towards that area of his body.

"There's the trench outside, or a jacks off the Great Hall," Wat said, sounding puzzled. That was obviously an answer in the negative. There was obviously quite a lot to do before Draco would agree to stay here. James loved him dearly, in a fraternal sort of way, but it was obvious why people tended to think he was gay. It had been an ongoing joke how long he spent on his toilette.

He thought for a moment about the austerity of the little of the fortress he had seen so far. The rushes and animal furs on the floors, the lack of toilets - this had been a fortress, not a manor house like the Malfoys owned. There was going to be a hell of a lot he needed to do.



* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *



The next morning, after some lengthy negotiations with Wat about the improvements he was determined to make, James Apparated back to Hogwarts. To his surprise, Severus and Draco were sitting at the Apparition point waiting for him.

"James!" Draco exclaimed, jumping to his feet. "What was it like!"

"Morning Severus. I didn't actually see all of it Draco, so I can't give you a full description. It is a little primitive though."

"It makes sense," Severus said, standing up and starting to walk back to the school.

"What does?" Draco asked.

"It hasn't been lived in for half a millennia, they didn't have lots of the amenities we have today."

"What sort of things?"

"Well, I'd imagine that they wouldn't have running water, so no bathrooms or toilets. I don't think magical portraits were often made until a while after Salazar Slytherin's death, so there would have been far fewer of those than there were at Hogwarts."

"It did surprise me a bit," James admitted. "There's a house elf there that's running things who I talked to, once we got the language thing settled out. He seemed perfectly happy telling me what to do, so I just agreed with him for the most part. I'm going to have a few things done to make it more habitable. I think I'd be constantly Apparating back here for a shower if I tried to move in now!"

"It's a plausible safe-house for the Malfoys then?"

"I'd say so, certainly Wat the house elf didn't have any objections. He didn't seem to mind who you were so long as you were relatively well born and not related to the Podmore family. You aren't, are you?"

"Of course not!" Draco retorted, sounding offended at the thought. "They were supposedly so inbred that they saw bunny rabbits instead of soldiers when they were last attacked. Besides, do I look like that idiot from the Headless Hunt? There is no resemblance whatsoever!"

"Take it easy on the poor little orphan boy," James said, amused at this rise.

"Hardly poor," Severus murmured; James glared at him.

"Why don't you go and tell Blaise?" he suggested. Draco nodded and stalked off.

The two teachers walked in silence for a bit, then Severus asked.

"Was it really interesting?" James nodded.

"I found a portrait there of Gryffindor and Slytherin. Did you know that Godric was so much older - he looked about ten or fifteen years older at the least. There's not that much personal stuff there at all though - anything like books was removed when the family moved out and it was a primarily a fortress anyway, very plain furnishings and the like. I thought I'd see if I could borrow Dobby from Dumbledore for a bit and see if he can modernise the place. As soon as I've got it presentable, I'll invite a few people who might be interested."

"Won't that be a security risk?"

"Shouldn't think so - only someone with the bloodline can get through the wards and since Draco couldn't, Lucius Malfoy won't be able to either. It's even stronger than a Fidelius charm, since killing the Secret Keeper can break that. Even if I'm killed, the wards should hold."

"Clever."

"Isn't it. Have you thought about what you're doing over the holiday?"

"Same as usual, I expect," Severus replied. "I'll stay at school, do some research perhaps. A crowd of . . . . old pupils and friends generally meet up for Christmas day and then of course Albus has that Ball of his."

"I'd almost forgotten about it," James lied.

"Hogsmeade weekend next week, last opportunity to buy a costume. I assure you that there is no chance Minerva will be allowed to forget. She, of course, managed to get out of chaperoning and I really don't want to know how."

There was a long pause.

"Eww, I really didn't need that mental image!" James said, pulling a face. Severus checked the vicinity for students, then the corners of his mouth turned up slightly, his black eyes twinkling with mischief.

"You didn't know? I thought everyone did by now. There was a betting pool on until he kissed her on the lips after Harry Potter defeated Voldemort. We decided that was good enough evidence. I don't know why they maintain the fiction of having separate quarters either. . . "

"Can we just drop the subject," James interrupted, blocking his ears. "He's old enough to be my grandfather's grandfather."



* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *



The next morning, James was enjoying a well-deserved rest. Not that he was going to lie in or anything, he had classes to teach, after all. Still, he was intending to get a full night's sleep. That's when he was not impressed when he was roughly shaken awake.

He opened his eyes blearily and scowled at the offending person. It was Severus.

"Read this," he instructed calmly, as if rousing young men from their beds was a common occupation for him. He then watched as James sat up and skimmed through the article pointed out to him.

THE NEXT DARK LORD?

A highly placed source within the Ministry of Magic itself has today informed us that an intelligence report has confirmed the identity of the wizard behind the recent attacks as being Lucius Malfoy, a former politician and aristocrat who is a convicted Death Eater from Lord Voldemort's regime. Lucius Malfoy is a widower (wife Narcissa Black was executed eight years ago) and has one son, Draco Malfoy. The younger Mr Malfoy, reputed to be an Order of the Phoenix member and a close friend of heroes such as Ron and Hermione Weasley, was unable for comment this morning.

Lucius Malfoy is known to have taken part in the attacks on the Ministry during Voldemort's rising and paid hefty bribes to former Minister, Cornelius Fudge (convicted as a traitor to the Ministry, 1998). It is unknown how much of his money remains in his possession. Auror Commander Kingsley Shacklebolt had only this to say to our readers:
"Lucius Malfoy is a very dangerous man who will stoop to anything to achieve his ends. It is the opinion of many that his time in Azkaban rendered him more than a little insane. Our only advice is to take care and avoid going into disreputable areas such as Knockturn Alley alone or at night. The Ministry of Magic is doing its utmost best to ensure that he is apprehended with all possible speed. Any sightings should be reported immediately."

At that, James stopped and looked up.

"Its certain?"

"The intelligence report was compiled by an Order member; we're sure it's him."

"Draco?"

"He's not taking it well. I think he knew it was coming but it’s a shock seeing it in print so soon."

"I'll come through, just let me get dressed. Could you see if Albus would excuse me from teaching today? If that's what it takes, I'll stay on the Quidditch pitch all day to keep him occupied."

"Certainly. I'm sure he could cover them himself should it come to that. I'll join you out there when I'm not teaching."

James pulled on a heavy winter cloak and stuck the warmest pair of gloves he owned into his pockets. He was going to help his friend the best he could, but he'd do them no favours if he got ill doing it.



* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *



Surprisingly enough, the revelation of the Dark Lord's identity didn't seem to have sparked off a run of attacks, a relief that the staff of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry were extremely grateful for. Most of them had taught during wartime before and knew that suddenly academics stopped mattering, with survival becoming more important. Also, even the school was unlikely to remain untouched for long. The children should be safe for the moment but their parents and friends were still out there in the world, Muggle parents completely unprotected, and sooner or later someone would be killed.

The next Monday morning, James went, rather nervously, up to the Headmaster's office at the very centre of the school. There the wards would be tuned to his magical signature and the school would be fully defended once more. The ritual would have taken place early, in fact, the paperwork had already been done, but certain preparations had had to be made. James had fasted for the past twenty-four hours and had eaten only bread and water for two days before that. Certainly, arrangements had also been made within the office, changing it back into the ritual room it had once been. Now he was dressed in a plain white robe and they were ready to begin.

He opened the door and went in. The room was bare of furniture and there were four concentric circles drawn on the floor - one ring of dragon's blood, one of wolfsbane one of breadcrumbs and one of salt. The heads of houses were standing, evenly spaced, around the outside circle and Albus was inside.

"Ah, James. Step through here, would you?"

With the precise moves of a well-taught acolyte, James drew his wand and used it to sketch slit down the edge of the circle. He then stepped through and brought his wand up again to close it off. Since everyone else was already in position, he assumed they had already raised a protective barrier to contain the excess magical energy until it could be dealt with. Albus watched approvingly, his brother's students had always been this accurate in their movements. It was presumably a Slytherin thing, since none of his had ever quite managed the same precision.

Following the standard ritual procedure of warding, James knelt down, putting his wand in the exact centre of the circle next to a silver dagger that already lay there. All magical lighting in the room was removed and they were ready to begin.

"On behalf of the house of Gryffindor, I call upon the element of Fire to ward this circle and defend Hogwarts against the enemies that would destroy us," Minerva began, adopting a stance with legs well spaced to ground herself when the power began to flow.

"On behalf of the house of Hufflepuff, I call upon the element of Earth to ward this circle and to heal and nurture those who take refuge within the walls and wards of Hogwarts," Sprout continued from her place anti-clockwise from her colleague.

"On behalf of the house of Ravenclaw, I call upon the element of Water to ward this circle and to help us to find the meanings of the signs that we see."

"On behalf of the house of Slytherin," Severus continued, his eyes blazing, unfamiliar in his white robe. "I call upon the element of Wind to ward this circle and to guide those who need the protection of Hogwarts to us, be they beast, elf, Muggle or wizard."

With the final incantation, there was a blaze of colour as the circle of protection flared into life. There was no way to reopen the circle until the ritual was complete and nothing, not air, not sound, not magic, could now enter or leave it. Albus picked up the dagger and traced the runes engraved on it. The two men actively involved in the ceremony were completely cut off from the others standing just outside.

"I, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, Headmaster and Defender of Hogwarts, Bearer of the Wards, call upon the elements to witness to our deeds this dawn and infuse this dagger with your power. Do you, the Defence Master of Hogwarts, accept as your duty the Defence of Hogwarts Castle and Grounds and all other duties related therein and swear upon your magic to take them up immediately upon my death." James took a deep breath acknowledging and accepting the consequences as he began to give the response.

"I, Harry James Evans Potter, being sound in mind, body and magic, do swear upon the magic that is born from my soul to take up the duties of Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore upon his death and hold them until another should come to take my place. Furthermore, I do swear to sacrifice my life for the safety of the castle and the well-being of all those within it should it become necessary for me to do so. I call the elements to bear witness to this oath and accept my life-blood as a symbol of the truth in my heart."

He took the dagger from Dumbledore and slit his arms vertically along the veins, hissing with pain as a red line appeared on each arm. If the oath was not accepted, he would bleed to death, essentially having committed suicide. If it was, the magic would close his wounds after taking the blood it required. He watched with a certain morbid fascination as the red blood spurted from his arms. Then there was a tingle and the deep cuts closed as if they had never been, leaving only the blood red on white stains of his robe. James let out the breath he had been holding and looked up to meet Albus Dumbledore's eyes.

"So mote it be," the older man murmured and the circle vanished.

The heads of houses sagged with relief and Albus helped James to his feet. Quite obviously acting on experience, the four of them staggered off.

"They'll be going to get an energy replenisher from Poppy," Albus explained. "You are going to sit down, take a dose of this one I fetched from her earlier and give me a full explanation."

James drank down the luminous green potion without complaint and closed his eyes with relief as he felt a tingle as his energy returned.

"What do you want to know?" he asked innocently.

"I am particularly curious as to how I have had Harry Potter under the same roof for months and not noticed when I could have sworn I would recognise your magic anywhere. Who else knows and were you ever planning on telling me?"

James sighed and decided there was no way to get out of it, certainly he wouldn't be able to pull off a strong enough Obliviate charm.

"After I turned sixteen, I began to think very seriously about what I would do when I defeated Voldemort. I had been studying like mad that summer already and was already about halfway through the sixth year syllabus. I remembered what had happened when they thought I was the heir of Slytherin when I was twelve, or in my fourth year when they all thought I was mad and decided that I'd given enough of my life. I wanted a chance to be myself, not to have to put masks up constantly and have no privacy."

"It would have been near impossible to keep you completely isolated from the press," Albus conceded, smiling slightly. James relaxed, his mentor obviously understood his reasoning.

"I sent off a few letters to Hermione and Remus, asking about it but not explaining exactly what I wanted to do. I transferred some money from my Gringotts vault to a Muggle account and had my papers given to the bank, my passport included, so that I could get at them without having to go to my relatives.

"In my research, I came across a mention of a type of power that was pure magic, that only Slytherin had ever been able to use with any degree of success before."

"And you can use it because you're his heir?"

"Sort of, there's a prophecy somewhere that I found about Slytherin's heir in blood and heir in power. I took those to be Riddle and myself but I didn't discover that I was also of his bloodline until Uni."

"My brother?"

"Yes. Well, I never learned to control the power properly, but it worked well enough to completely destroy Voldemort. I Apparated away and ended up in a Muggle street unconscious, delirious and with burns covering every inch of my body. Someone 'phoned an ambulance and I was taken to hospital. It took me two months to heal sufficiently to be able to leave and by then I was different; the magic had changed me. The colour of my hair is natural, as is the colour of my eyes. The only concealment I use right now is on my scar. I was also quite a bit taller and very pleased about it. I set myself up in another city, I won't say where, and enrolled in a 6th form college to get some Muggle qualifications. When I was twenty, I received an invitation to the university. I was surprised to say the least, I was already older than most who go to university and I wasn't aware that a magical one even existed."

"Surely you must have heard about it?"

"Not that I remembered. I was never that concerned with what people did after they left Hogwarts. I was assigned to Abe at Uni and took a Dark Arts course. One of the things I researched was my ancestry because someone told me that it's very rare for there to be a Muggleborn without wizarding blood somewhere in her family. In my mother's case, she was the first witch in a long line of female squibs descended from Salazar Slytherin's grandson."

"And she was in Gryffindor?"

"She was unaware of her heritage, and didn't expect to be in Slytherin because of not being 'pureblood'. Anyway, after my course finished, I decided I'd rather be here than anywhere else."

"Do you still have the scar?"

"Oh, yes. I use Muggle concealer so it doesn't show. Nothing magical works."

"And who else knows."

"That I know, your brother and Hermione. That's all. I wasn't planning on telling anyone but Abe guessed while I was at university and Hermione spent five minutes with me at the bloody festival and worked it out."

"Ah yes, the Harry Potter Festival. That must have been . . . interesting."

"Didn't any of you think to point out that I wouldn't have wanted it?"

"Ron, Hermione, Draco, Severus, myself. Everyone else seemed to think that it was their right to have a proper celebration."

"Severus?"

"It surprised me a little too. Perhaps he knows you better than you thought."

"I doubt it. You should have seen his face during Ron's talk. He looked as though all of his illusions had been shattered. I imagine he had a very clear idea about what my life was like and Ron was brutally honest and wrecked it all." Suddenly James got a little uncomfortable with the track of conversation. "I'd better go now - I've got a second year Slytherin-Gryffindor class."

"Certainly, my dear boy. But, you know Harry, you've turned out better than I could ever have hoped for. Should I ever die, I'm glad Hogwarts will be in your hands."

James fled at that. He wasn't that great, he just happened to have been born with a little more sheer power than most other people had. It didn't mean he was special: he couldn't brew even third year potions with any degree of accuracy and he had no knowledge whatsoever about Arithmancy or Ancient Runes.



* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *



After lunch, Severus caught James leaving the Great Hall.

"Are you recovered yet?" he asked. "I have a few energy potions in stock should you need them."

"I'm fine thanks, Albus gave me an energy potion this morning. I don't feel any different from normal."

"Aren't you lucky then," Severus said, frowning slightly. "Every other person in this castle has been deliriously cheerful all morning. Its sickening really."

"You think the castle is affecting people?"

"I wouldn't put it past it. There can't be any other explanation for a fifth year Slytherin-Gryffindor class with no incidents whatsoever. Would you care to stop by my quarters for a drink?"

James agreed and followed him through, accepting a glass as he took a seat on a sofa.

"Draco agreed to take my second year potions class," Severus explained, "So I have a free afternoon. At least he's earning his keep for once - I swear that brat of his hasn't slept through the night once."

"Speaking of Harry, where is he?"

"Upstairs in the staff room, being doted on by Albus and every female member of staff who doesn't have a class to teach."

"I worry about him sometimes," James muttered. "At least it’s the holiday soon."

"And Albus' ball."

"Urrrgh, I was trying to forget about that."

"Have you found a costume yet?"

"Easy, same as I always wore at Uni."

"What is it then?"

"Salazar Slytherin."

"Appropriate."

"Isn't it. Normally I drag someone in to be Wulfric Ravenclaw and once I managed to get Draco as Godric Gryffindor. It only happened once though and I doubt he'll do it at Hogwarts - it would wreck his reputation. How about you?"

"I could always go as a Muggle."

James quickly revised his plans. The question was whether Severus owned a pair of leather trousers. Those would be better even than medieval tights, since they wouldn't be covered by a cloak.

"What would you wear?"

"Dress trousers and shirt would be the most logical."

Not leather then. Damn.

"You'd be welcome to come as Ravenclaw," he suggested. "I have a costume somewhere and it wouldn't take much to adjust the size. Merlin, if you really wanted to go anonymously, you could use that Weasley range of appearance changing sweets before you put the illusion on. That way it will look like you aren't in attendance and you can do what you want."

Severus paused, thinking this over.

"It is an . . . interesting idea. I will have to consider it. Which unfortunate did you plan on having me go as?"

"I doubt Bertie would mind."

"Bertie?"

"Bertram Highcastle."

"Ravenclaw, the year below Draco, has a reputation for being a bit wild?"

"That's him alright," James confirmed, somewhat impressed by this show of memory. Memorable character or not, Bertie had been in Ravenclaw, and he wouldn't have expected the Slytherin head of house to know him well. "We were friends at Uni and he's gone to things like this with me before. If someone asked him, chances are he wouldn't remember whether he was there or not, he goes to so many parties. That is, if you think you can act like him well enough to fool some of his teachers . . ."

"Of course I can, its not like he's exactly a complex character. Act like an idiot and you have him to the core."

"It's entirely your decision then. The offer stands."

"Thank you," Severus said. "I might just take you up on it."



* * * * * * * * * *



James was halfway through a lesson with a fourth year class when someone knocked on the door.

"Come in!" he called. Unlike the doors to the common rooms and bedrooms, this was a normal wooden door, so didn't have the advantage of having someone to guard it. The door was pushed open and a third year girl stepped in, a scrap of parchment in her hand.

"Note for you from Professor Snape, sir," she explained, handing it to him. "There shouldn’t be a reply."

"You can go then," James said, unfolding the note.

Come up to the Headmaster's office at once. Our luck was too good to last. SS

Someone had lost a relative then, probably someone in Slytherin house. James wasn't sure whether he'd prefer it to be an older or younger student - a younger one would probably have more emotional problems, whereas an older one would be more likely to do something stupid looking for revenge. There wasn't an easy answer. The note had told him approximately what had happened without spelling it out for the whole school to know had the girl read it.

"Continue reading through chapter five and summarise it. Put the summaries on my desk by the end of the lesson. Mr Philips, Miss Summers you will report any problems to me."

As he spoke this, the instructions appeared on the board behind him. He locked any dangerous items and the door to his office and left, breaking into a run as he left the classroom.

When he reached the office, he found Severus waiting there.

"James, I was worried you wouldn't get here."

"Who is it?"

"Mr and Mrs Macdonald."

"Alistair's parents?"

"Yes. At the moment, he's in Albus' private sitting room with him, being dosed with tea laced with calming potion. In a minute, I will go in and we will tell him. I would like you to call an assembly of Slytherin house as soon as class is dismissed in ten minutes. Tell them the bare bones of the situation - yes it was Death Eaters - and then we had better start thinking about who could take him in. The poor boy doesn't have any other close relatives."

James nodded and turned to head down to the Slytherin common room. He paused at the door.

"Good luck with him, I have a feeling he won't take it well."

As the bell rang to dismiss classes for the day, James pressed the button located within the fireplace of the common room and spoke his message.

"All Slytherins to report to the common room immediately. All Slytherins to report to the common room immediately, no exceptions." Over the next ten minutes, the students of Slytherin House poured into their common room from all over the castle, taking seats on the chairs, floor and benches.

"Professor, Alistair went to the Headmaster's office," Simon Wood said, looking lonely without his friend.

"I know. Go and take a seat. Is everyone else here now?"

There was a murmur of agreement.

"I had hoped never to have to do this but there is no easy way to say this. I am forced to tell you that a student's family was attacked and killed this morning by Death Eaters. Alistair Macdonald is a first year, for those of you who do not know him, and at present is with Professor Snape and the Headmaster. He has no siblings and no close relatives, so I would ask you not to ask him questions and to watch out for him over the next few days. Arrangements for him are being made as we speak. Anyone with questions or concerns should come to speak to Professor Snape or myself over the next few days. That is all. Thank you."

Simon came over to him as soon as James dismissed the gathering, followed closely by a seventh year prefect, Archie Alderton.

"Are Alistair's parents really dead?" Simon asked, with all the bluntness of his Gryffindor relatives.

"Yes, Simon, they are."

"I was just thinking, he'll have to stay at school for Christmas, won't he?"

"Probably, yes, but we do our best to make sure that everyone who stays still has a good time."

"Would he be allowed to come to my place for the holiday, at least for Christmas Day?"

"That would depend on whether your parents agree and what Professor Snape says, but I should think no one would mind."

"We're not actually at home this Christmas, we're going to Oliver's boyfriend's family."

"The Weasleys?"

"Yes, he's going out with Charlie Weasley."

"Shall I speak to Professor Snape for you and see what he thinks. I wouldn't mention it to Alistair yet, we wouldn't want to disappoint him."

"Okay Professor."

Simon moved out of Archie's way and went to join some of his other friends. The seventh year was looking very serious. He obviously understood the implications far better than Simon.

"This is a bad time for it to happen, just before Christmas. Is there anything we can do to help?"

"Do you know how many people are staying over Christmas?"

"There aren't usually any, anyone who can't go home gets invited to a friend's house. There might be a couple this year whose parents want them safe but I can't see there being many."

"I'll have to make sure Professor Snape agrees to let Alistair leave for the holiday. He'll need to be around his friends, this year in particular."

"I was talking to a couple of others and we were thinking that maybe some of us could team up to buy him a few presents, since he won't be getting any from his family this year. It's not much but it might make him feel a bit better."

"As you say, its not much, but if he has to watch other people opening piles of presents from their families it might make all the difference. Thank you."

"I know no one pays any attention to the start of term speech about us being a family, but it is true at times like this. Do you want me to organise it?"

"If you have the time. Be careful with the younger years, its probably better if he doesn't hear about it."

Archie nodded and moved away, a few other seventh years drifting over to join him. They soon had a small huddle in one of the corners; one of them had produced a piece of parchment that they were scribbling names on. James smiled slightly and headed back upstairs.

When he arrived, he found Alistair curled up in Severus' arms, quite obviously asleep. His eyes were red with crying and he was clutching his teacher's robes like a lifeline. As James watched, Severus carefully pried his fingers open and put the boy down on the sofa. Albus noticed him standing in the doorway.

"Come in James," he said. Severus turned to see him.

"How is he?" James asked softly.

"Upset, shocked, a little angry - more or less how we expected him to be. We gave himself a chance to cry and then gave him a sleeping draught," Severus said, equally quietly so as not to disturb the boy. "How did your talk with the others go."

"I told them, they seemed to accept it. Archie had an idea that they could organise some presents for him between them and volunteered to organise it."

"I've always admired how Slytherins stand up for their own," Albus said wistfully. "I could only wish that the other orphans at Hogwarts were looked after quite as well, though I do my best. Of course, hopefully by next year he'll be settled with another family and this won't be an issue."

"Simon Wood seemed keen on having Alistair spend Christmas with him. It's certainly an idea, especially since his family's going to the Weasleys. They should be able to provide the support he needs and he'll feel welcome there."

"I'll have a talk with Molly," Albus agreed. "She has a way of adopting orphans. If they get on well, it might work as a more permanent arrangement too. I know she's felt a bit lost without teenagers in the house."

"One of my Slytherins with the Weasley family?" Severus asked, sounding a little incredulous. "They're as Gryffindor as anyone. Would they even agree to take in a Slytherin?"

"They're less prejudiced than you think Severus and a number of them have . . . Slytherin tendencies, I suppose - the twins and Ginny in particular. I'll send an owl to Molly this afternoon. I just hope we don’t have anyone else lost before Christmas, or a great many children will be miserable this holiday. Having Alistair with the Weasleys could work very well, especially given that usually they come to Hogwarts. It might work better if we went to them this year though . . .. James, would you come through to my study for a minute?"

James followed him out, then watched with surprise as Albus shut the door and erected a number of silencing charms.

"I take it you don't want Severus knowing who you are?" Albus said by way of explanation. "I wanted to ask whether you would rejoin the Order. I won't ask much of you beyond the defence of Hogwarts - its traditional that you should stay safely behind the wards - but I would like you to have access to certain channels that you wouldn't otherwise."

"I don't know . . . I've nothing against it in principal but how do we work the ritual. Fawkes knows that I'm already a member but everyone else will expect to see the full ceremony and that includes an oath that would require my full name."

"I will have a word with him. I'm sure we'll be able to work something out. I'm sure we can work out a limited effect silencing charm for your name. I will think about it."

"I'll do it then." Albus seemed to sigh with relief.

"I know you don't like people telling you but I think you will turn out to be as important in this war as the last."



* * * * * * * * *



"STOP!!!!" James yelled as his first year Slytherin and Gryffindor class attempted to stampede to the classroom door. He had a feeling that he would come to hate the last days of term. "Return to your seats immediately!"

Muttering about the unfairness, the twenty odd children returned to their seats, among them a silent Alistair, Simon glued constantly to his side.

"As you know, this is your last lesson. However, just because I have finished the topic doesn’t mean we are done," James said sternly, thinking very carefully about his phrasing so as to cause as little an emotional impact as possible on Alistair. "This is your last lesson of the day. When I do let you out, those of you who are leaving will go to your dormitories and pack whatever you think you will need over the holiday. Everything else can, of course, stay at school. At nine o'clock tomorrow morning, I want you all to meet me in the Entrance Hall with your things and I will take you to the train from there. I believe that is all. Mr Macdonald, could you stay behind for a moment?"

The class poured out and the two first years came up to the desk. James waved his wand at the door and it shut behind the last girl. He knew that pretty much everyone already knew about Alistair's parents but if anything happened, it might be better to talk in private.

"Are you ready to go, Alistair?" he asked kindly. The boy nodded mutely.

"Now, I've spoken to some people and Ron and Hermione Weasley are going to come to the station to pick you up. I know Simon's your friend but we thought you might prefer having someone especially for you. I'll travel down with you on the train and if you need anything during the holiday, I want you to owl me. I'll be coming for Christmas day anyway."

"Thank you, Professor," Alistair said, almost whispering.

"Its fine. Why don't you go and start packing now?"

At that, the two boys left. James watched them go. He, Albus and Severus had spent a long while discussing and making arrangements for Alistair that would make him feel wanted. One of those things had been getting Hermione and Ron to come and pick him up, partly because they were going to the Weasleys anyway. They had also agreed to act as 'godparents' of sort to him over the holiday and it would help to make sure he didn't feel left out when Simon was met by his family. It also helped that both of them had experience dealing with bereaved and orphaned children - James himself had been very touchy at times. Partly in the hope that Alistair would find a permanent home with the Weasleys, the Christmas gathering of Order members would this year occur at Grimmauld Place rather than Hogwarts.

As the youngest and probably the most approachable member of staff, James had volunteered to keep an eye on Alistair as much as he could. It was hardly an onerous duty but it could make a big difference just having someone available.

He sighed - bloody Death Eaters. Still, there was nothing more he could do for the present. James began to shut up the classroom for the holidays, locking the cupboards of equipment and putting any delicate instruments away out of the light. At last, he gave a final look around, decided he was done and left, locking the door behind him. It wasn't that he didn’t trust his students but with a small number left behind over the holidays who might potentially get bored and start pranking, it was better to be safe than sorry.

Archie stepped out of the entrance as he passed the Slytherin common room.

"Professor," he said, sounding pleased to see him. "Could I have a word?"

"Certainly," James said. They went into his office and the portrait swung firmly shut behind them. "I take it this is about your scheme?"

"Yes sir. We think we've got everything sorted but we weren't sure how we could get the presents to him. Is there any way you could arrange it?"

"Easily. I'm going down to London with him anyway, so if you bring them along to my office I'll pack them and pass them on."

Archie appeared greatly relieved.

"Thanks. We'll drop them by throughout the evening, okay?"

"That sounds fine. It goes without saying to make sure he doesn't see anything suspicious, I suppose?"

"We are Slytherins, sir." He shared a smirk with James. Slytherins were always proud of their house, even more so than Gryffindors.

"Fifty points to Slytherin for being so supportive of your house mates."

The prefect grinned at him. It had been clear to James from the beginning that the kid hadn't had an ulterior motive but it was nice to get a reward and he knew a lot of work had gone into arranging this.

The next morning, James shrunk all of the presents he'd been brought and put them into a bag with his overnight clothes. He'd been told what each was. All of the contributions were joint and often sweets or chocolate but a few had been more imaginative and teamed up towards books and prank sets. Archie's own group had pooled their money to buy a tiny flying broomstick with a figure on it that, though they didn't say anything, had obviously been added later and looked remarkably like he did. He was a little surprised that they'd noticed how much Alistair was enjoying his flying lessons. Then again, this was Archie he was talking about. He had probably noticed any potential players and was grooming Alistair up to later take a place on the team. There were times when he was remarkably like Oliver Wood in his student days.

After a large breakfast in the Hall, he moved just outside to the Entrance Hall to wait for the Gryffindor and Slytherin first years he had been assigned to take down to the station. The older students would take themselves but it was assumed to be safer if first years were accompanied the first time they went by the carriages.

He was waiting for eighteen children. They came over gradually, in twos and threes, dressed warmly in winter robes with a heavy black cloak over all of it. Most of them were also sporting house scarves and heavy boots. A few of them had been quite surprised to discover the heavy snow they got in this part of Scotland.

At last, they had all assembled and he led them outside, trunks making thin tracks on the snow covered drive as they went out to the carriages. Other older students were already climbing in and setting off, their chatter travelling easily in the still air. James got into a carriage with Alistair, Simon and another Slytherin boy and sat quietly while they engaged in a conversation complaining about how much holiday homework they had received. Suddenly, Simon pulled up short, as if realising for the first time who they were sharing a carriage with.

"Uh Professor . . . we . . . "

James let him flounder for a moment before letting him out of his misery.

"It isn't term time at the moment, Mr Wood, and so long as you have no complaints about your Defence assignment, I can't see any reason for me to mention anything I should happen to hear to another member of staff."

They seemed surprised at this and, after a few wary glances at him, they resumed their conversation, although the topic changed rather quickly to the innocuous one of Quidditch. Simon, it seemed, was a dedicated fan of Puddlemere United - hardly surprising given that his uncle played for them - and he was trying to convince Michael Rosier that they were the only plausible candidates for the Cup this year. James sighed inwardly, reminded of the fierce debates he'd witnessed between Ron and Seamus on this very topic. It wasn't that he hadn't followed professional Quidditch, more that he'd always preferred playing it and in any case, he'd supported the Cannons so Ron had no reason to attempt to argue him over.

Getting onto the train, James followed the same principal and sat himself firmly in a compartment with the two boys. If they chose not to include him in conversation, he saw no reason to interfere, but he felt better being able to supervise them. It would certainly give him a chance to catch up on his marking. He remembered the way Remus Lupin had been with them at the beginning of his third year. To this day, he wasn't sure how 'asleep' the man had been - sleeping for six hours was certainly impressive in the middle of the day, full moon or not. He had certainly moved fast enough when the Dementors appeared . . .

It was a long journey from Hogsmeade to King's Cross, in the region of eight or nine hours and neither Simon nor Alistair seemed to find it easy to fill up the empty hours with conversation. James got the impression that, supportive as Simon was, he didn't truly understand what it was like to lose someone and Alistair was reluctant to confide in him. At around twelve, after numerous rounds of Exploding Snap, they took out the sandwiches they had been provided with. All students could, of course, buy things off the trolley but given that some couldn't afford it, Hogwarts provided. Given the standard of food the house elves made, the packed lunches were probably as nice or nicer than anything bought anyway.

There was an awkward silence when the food had vanished.

"What shall we do now?" Alistair asked with the restlessness of most eleven year olds stuck in a confined space for a long period of time. Simon appeared to consider this seriously.

"We've played snap."

"Right."

"And talked about Quidditch."

"Uh huh."

"Um, we don't have anything else with us much, do we?"

"Not any games, anyway."

"There's always our holiday assignments, I suppose. I mean, its not like we have anything better to do and we won't want to do them over the holiday."

That settled it and despite their earlier complaints, both boys pulled out textbooks and parchment. James glanced over. He was seriously considering introducing Muggle-style exercise books to his classes. It wasn't that he didn’t like parchment, it was in fact very . . . ornate and historic but it would be much easier for him and the students if all of their work for the subject was in one book.

"Simon," Alistair asked after about an hour.

"Yup?"

"What do you know about Devil's Snare?"

"You mean it's not in the text book?" Simon asked, sounding horrified. He obviously used Ron's method of doing homework - finding the relevant passage and all but copying out the necessary details.

"I don't think so, or at least, I can't find it."

"Let me have a look," he said, obviously not quite willing to believe that they would be set something not in the book. A moment later he put the book down. "You know, you're right. It's not in here. What in Merlin's name do we do now?"

There was a long pause.

Both boys had a chocolate frog to stimulate their brain processes.

No answer was forthcoming.

Half an hour passed.

"You know Alistair," Simon said eventually. "Do you think that Professor Evans would know?"

"Do you think we should ask him?" Alistair asked, sounding shy suddenly.

"Might as well try," Simon said with a shrug. "Professor Evans? Would you mind if we asked you about something on our Herbology assignment?"

James smiled at them, putting his pen down. He'd been listening to them for a while, wondering how long it would take them to realise that he had no doubt taken first year Herbology himself.

"I'll do my best."

"We're asked to describe what would happen if we fell onto a Devil's Snare and how we could get away from it."

Shaking his head slightly, James realised that this must have been added to the first year syllabus after his brush with it.

"Devil's Snare, I can certainly help you with that one. What exact details do you need to know?" James asked, knowing that it was best for them to think as much through themselves as possible.

"Size?" Alistair suggested.

"Well, with the proper care, it can grow very large, big enough to hold onto three humans at once without them touching."

The boys scribbled this down.

"And what does it look like sir?" Simon asked.

"Tendrils, sort of like the plant equivalent of the giant squid."

"Got it. Um . . .is it . . .does it eat people then?"

"It is carnivorous, yes. It will, as far as I remember, eat anything up to about a human in size."

"So it sort of grabs you and then suffocates you, or something?" Alistair asked, shivering.

"Exactly."

"So, what do you do if you fall into one?"

"Well, if it’s a small one, you can just pull yourself free. A larger one, well, it likes the dark and the damp."

"So you could make a fire?"

"A magical one. Does that help?"

"Yes sir, thanks. I think we can bulk that out enough to make up the inches "

It was early evening when the train pulled into King's Cross, already dark and cold and in typically British style, it was raining. James looked up and scowled for a moment.

"Here we are then. We'll be taking a portkey to where you'll be staying, so you can stay in your robes.

"What's a portkey?" Alistair asked, shivering slightly in the cold air.

"It essentially teleports you from one place to another," James explained, using Muggle terms as much as possible. "It takes a bit of influence to get hold of one but its very convenient if you do. Pass out your trunks to me." With their help, he manhandled the awkward trunks out of the narrow doors to the platform, where they could be wheeled easily around. Once out, he checked they hadn't left anything behind and hustled them over to the sheltered area. Alistair by this time was starting to look jittery.

Simon spotted his uncle and Charlie waiting together and rushed over, leaving Alistair with James. It wasn't that he meant to be mean, he'd just forgotten about his friend temporarily in the excitement of seeing his family for the first time in months.

James put a hand on Alistair's shoulder and squeezed.

"Let's go and find the Weasleys then, shall we?" he said. Alistair gave a shaky smile and James guided him over. Just Ron and Hermione were there, it having been decided that three Weasleys making the trip was quite enough to overwhelm the poor kid.

"Alistair, these are Ron and Hermione Weasley."

"Pleased to meet you, Mr Weasley, Mrs Weasley," Alistair said shyly, holding out his hand.

"None of that," Ron said, shaking the hand heartily. "Its Ron and Hermione to you, kid. You'll have major problems if you use surnames the whole time."

"Uh, why?"

"Ron's the sixth of seven children," James explained, giving Hermione a brief hug and shaking Ron's hand. "Six are boys and I think all but Charlie are married. They're all coming for Christmas. We'd better get you inside, I think, before you catch cold."

"Merlin yes," Hermione said, sounding horrified that they'd stayed out so long. "Here's the portkey, just touch it and make sure you're holding onto your things and I'll activate it."

The familiar tug and James opened his eyes to see the familiar, gloomy hall of Grimmauld Place. It had obviously been done up and the horrific portrait of Mrs Black removed but it was still dark in the hallway.

"Leave your trunk here," Hermione said, bustling them through into the living room, where a fire was burning in the huge fireplace and a number of Weasleys were gathered. "The house elf will take it upstairs for you."

James raised an eyebrow at that and she pulled a face at him when she was sure no one was looking. He let the warm, noisy atmosphere that he had always associated with the Weasleys envelope him like a warm blanket as Ron guided Alistair into the middle of the room.

"Oi!" he yelled. "You lot!"

Almost one could say that silence fell, just a few snickers coming from the twins' area of the room and murmurs from the numerous babies and young children scattered around made this an impossible conclusion. But hell Ron had a powerful bellow.

"Everyone, this is Alistair, he'll be staying with us as you know. I'm just going to introduce him to the important people round here, I figured the kids would undoubtedly take care of themselves. I think you all know James Evans as well," Ron said. Immediately the buzz of chatter built up again and Alistair was guided around. "My parents, Arthur and Molly. My oldest brother Bill and his wife Fleur; Fred and George - don't bother trying to tell them apart - and their wives Alicia and Luna and my younger sister Ginny, she's with Neville."

Alistair just looked at him, completely bewildered. James and Ron looked at each other, then steered him into one of the corners. James knelt down so he was on the same level as him.

"They don't expect you to remember everyone," he reminded the boy. "It's just to give you a start. As a general rule, if you call every red-head whose name you don't know 'Mr Weasley', you're almost guaranteed to get it right." That earned him a small laugh.

"Okay there?" Ron asked. "Do you want to go over to Simon now? Who knows, you could get Oliver to sign you some autographs."

Alistair nodded and dashed off as best he could through the crowd to the area by the Christmas tree where his friend had disappeared to after his own arrival.

"That kid's like a cat on hot bricks," Ron said seriously. "We're going to have to give him a lot of insulation against the Weasley chaos, I think, at least to start with."

"I wouldn’t worry so much," Hermione said quietly. "Look, he's perfectly happy with Simon and Oliver, and don't they look like they might prank someone any moment. I think you've just overwhelmed him with sheer numbers, won't you agree James?"

"I'd say he's fairly quiet, but then so is Charlie compared to the rest of you. He's a little shy as well but I wouldn't tone things down too much. See if you can get Fred'n'George onto him. He's a first year, he'd probably appreciate their sense of humour more than the rest of us and they'd probably love an audience."

They watched him for another moment before turning away.

"How's your place going then?" Hermione asked eagerly - she'd obviously been dying to ask since he got off the train.

"Almost fixed up, I think," James said, smiling at the thought of really having his own home. "I've been having them put some modern bathrooms and stuff in and didn’t that cause a scene. Albus lent me Dobby to organise things and I think he and Wat, the chief house elf, didn't quite see eye to eye. Dobby's so, well, bouncy and Wat is the opposite. Still, they seem to be getting on okay now and Draco and Blaise are just about to move in."

"You figured out how to get them through the wards?"

"Yes, and didn't that take weeks longer than it should have? All it requires is a wizard's oath taken by anyone over seventeen to a family member that they intend no harm to said family. The oath is sworn on their magic, so its not one they're likely to break."

"Does that mean…." Hermione began anxiously.

"Yes, and you can certainly come and look around sometime. I wouldn't hold your breath though, they weren't into libraries in quite the same way."

"Prat," she said, mock-whacking him in the head.

"Where's Percy then?" he asked. "Isn't he coming?"

"Where else," she said, pulling a face. "He's still at work. Of course, Arthur could get off early for the first day of the holidays but his Junior Undersecretary couldn't? I worry about him sometimes."

"Why do you make such a big deal about the holidays if you don't have any school age kids around?"

"We do now," Ron said with a grin. "Two of them, if you remember. It's mostly so you people can come and celebrate the first night as well."

"Hogwarts staff, you mean?"

There was a pause, "Yeah, in a way."

"Order members, then?"

"Well…."

"I'm joining over the holiday," James said quickly, to avert any suspicion. "Albus has told me a bit already."

"I guess its okay then. Almost all of the Hogwarts staff who are Order members come today - generally at least one Head of House has to stay behind - and everyone is there for Christmas as well. We get even more people at Christmas," he said with a grin. "Not that we'll ever be lacking, with the way my family runs to kids. That's why we're here and not at Mum and Dad's place. Its large enough for me and my siblings but factoring in visitors gets a little difficult."



* * * * * * * * *



The next morning, James apparated back to Hogsmeade in a fine mood. He knew that it wasn't quite the same as when he'd been a kid - they didn't know who he was, for a start - but he knew enough of them as James that he'd felt welcome and comfortable. He sort of wondered how many grandchildren Molly and Arthur would end up with . Bill already had three kids, Percy one and Fred two. Ginny had surprised everyone with twin boys but Fred and George had looked at them, taken one look at her and said that if any of them could cope with twins it would be her. No one had any doubt at all that Neville would be completely helpless to their sweet smiles and pleas.

He met up with Severus in the staff room, already anticipating Abe's arrival at Hogwarts in time for lunch. Now that he didn't have a particular protégé at the University, he'd decided that it was lonely spending holidays alone and was coming to spend them with his brother and Order comrades.

"Have a pleasant evening?" Severus offered cordially.

"Not bad. I've always wished I had a family like that one."

"They are certainly . . . welcoming. Were you invited for Christmas Day?"

"Yes, actually."

"Finally, I have another Slytherin. Draco insists on spending the holiday at his own place. I think it's to do with his mother."

"You're going there for Christmas?" James asked, mock incredulously.

"I am not so antisocial as to miss it. A few school mates are also coming."

"Have you decided about the ball?"

Severus hesitated for a moment.

"I would like to take you up on that offer, if it is still amenable to you."

"Course it is. I'll dig out the costume for you sometime. I take it you'd rather size it yourself? Great, expect it tomorrow, probably."

He looked down at the huge pile of parchment on the desk.

"Do you really have that much marking to do?" he asked sympathetically. Then again, maybe he'd subconsciously decided to slacken off on homework to spare himself. Severus obviously had a great deal more self-discipline.

"Its mostly first year tests - multi-choice so they shouldn't take long to mark."

"Do you want a hand?" James asked, surprising himself with the offer. He hated marking with a passion. Severus looked just as shocked, though he quickly hid it.

"If you don't mind, it would be a great help."

"Abe's coming soon and I'm going to be jumping around doing nothing unless I do some work," he said, then looked at the first paper with resignation. "I think I might need an answer sheet though: I never was any good at Potions."



* * * * * * * * * * *



That evening, James was sitting in the headmaster's living room with Albus and Abe. Claudius had also managed to worm his way into the gathering and was pottering around, chewing contentedly on some of Albus' luminous green socks.

It was a relaxing discussion, of a sort that James hadn't felt for a long time. He was with two people who he trusted with his life, both of whom knew his secret so the care was off his shoulder and he could just be himself. Not that there was much if any difference between 'himself' and 'James' but he didn't have to think about not giving anything away. Albus in particular had seemed very interested in his time in the Muggle world. James was no longer curious as to where Arthur had got his love of Muggle artefacts from.

"Lemon drop, anyone?" Albus asked, reaching over into his desk draw to pull out a well-stocked tray, which he held out. "I haven't doctored these ones, they're the ones I have myself."

"That's what we're worried about," James deadpanned, declining. Abe took one cheerfully and soon was even brighter than ever, almost matching his brother in merriness. James' suspicions were confirmed. He wondered whether Albus had a private supplier, produced the drug himself or bought it on the black market.

Claudius, attracted by the noise, came over and, before anyone could stop him, snagged one or three off the tray.

"Claudius!" Abe scolded. "You know you shouldn't eat pure sugar, its bad for your……." He broke off, fumbling for a quill and parchment.

Indeed, a moment of so after consuming the obviously doctored lemon drop, Claudius had changed colour. It wasn't just to grey either, no, it was to an eye-burning shade of fluorescent pink that looked like something Dobby or Albus would select for their thriving sock collections. The goat was practically skipping around the room and his master wasn't much better. James was in hysterics on the sofa, while Albus was looking on in bewilderment, not knowing what the charm cast had even been.

"I knew it would work!" Abe exclaimed. "I'm a genius! This is my next thesis written already!"

"Would someone tell me what in Merlin's name is going on?" Albus asked plaintively, though not sounding too put out as he sucked absently on a lemon drop.



* * * * * * * * * * * *



James had to admit it - he was really looking forward to Christmas this year. It would be his first with a family of sorts that was mostly unsullied by darker overtones of the war. The two forces this time hadn't yet engaged in earnest and, for the moment, they would have the chance to celebrate.

In anticipation, he had already gone to buy presents. That had taken a great deal of thought. How well did he have to know someone as 'James' to buy them a present without suspicion? What about 'Harry's' friends that he longed to talk to again but didn't yet know?

In the end, he had decided to be sensible. Albus would be receiving two pairs of socks, one striped and one polka dots, both in the most garish colours he could find. Claudius had been given a new feeding bucket (much to his disgust, he was being left at Hogwarts under the care of the house elves). Abe himself would get a new Muggle book on superstitions related to goats and Draco was getting a new dagger, complete with a poison bottle since James was a little concerned that he owned a weapon without a little extra bite. Very proudly, James had marched into a toyshop to buy little Harry a cuddly dragon as his first present from his godfather. He had even wrapped this one himself, or attempted too. It was lucky that Harry was not yet at the age to care about the quality of the wrapping.

Hermione received a new calendar and Ron a signed poster of the Cannons. One of James' housemates from University had joined them and it had been quite easy to get hold of. His reasoning for getting him one was supposedly as a thank you present for looking after Alistair. Hermione of course had spent a lot of time researching with and talking to him so it was known that they were friends.

Severus had been horrendously difficult. He didn't have any obvious hobbies in the same way that Ron did and James didn't think he'd appreciate a joke present in the same was as Hermione did. He was certainly harder than Harry! At last, Albus had pointed out that there was a perfectly good basilisk carcass sitting in the chamber of secrets which could be harvested for some high value potions ingredients.

After much discussion, Severus and James had decided that to Alistair they were now at least uncle if not father figures and as such a present would be a good idea. Severus had once gone to Grimmauld Place to consult with Simon and they thought they had a good idea. They had bought him a broom, a Nimbus 2001. It was not a particularly expensive broom or a particularly good one in today's market, but it was a broom of his very own. Of course, given school rules, one of them would have to look after it for him during term time.

Over the week and a half remaining before Christmas Day, James had also found the time to make the necessary alterations to Severus' costume for the ball and to obtain the necessary sweets to complete the disguise.



* * * * * * * * * * * * * *



Christmas Day itself came at last and James woke up at the crack of dawn. Given the time of year, this was about eight o'clock. He bounded out of bed, dressed in jeans and a green dress shirt and walked cheerfully upstairs to breakfast. For once, he was intending to be happy, even hyper maybe, and show it. When else could he do that, if not Christmas?

Unsurprisingly, he wasn't alone in the Great Hall. Five of the seven students, all of them Gryffindors, staying for the holidays were already there although none of the teachers had yet made an appearance.

"Happy Christmas!" James said cheerfully. He got a few mumbled replies from the Gryffindors. He was a Slytherin teacher, he wasn't meant to be being nice!

He helped himself to small portions of the bacon and toast on offer, knowing that he would undoubtedly be having a huge Christmas lunch later and wanting to be able to appreciate it properly.

The Dumbledores arrived ten minutes or so later.

"Merry Christmas everyone!" Albus said, beaming down at them, looking for all the world like a very skinny Santa Claus.

"Happy Christmas," James replied. "What time are we going?"

"Whenever you're ready, dear boy. Severus is probably already there."

"They won't mind me being so early?"

"Early?" Abe asked. "This is a house with small children on Christmas morning. Early would probably be about five. I'm sure nine o'clock would be very civilised."

"I'll go over now then, if that's okay. See you later everyone."

Going back down to his quarters, James packed the presents he was bringing into a bag and added a bottle of butterbeer as his contribution to the feast. He then wandered cheerfully up to Albus' office and lit the fire.

"Number 12 Grimmauld Place!" he said clearly and was sucked through the whirling passageways. He stumbled out, coughing and spluttering to clear his lungs of the smoke.

Someone grabbed his arm to steady him. He blinked a few times and opened his eyes.

"Hello Hermione," he said. "Um . . . thanks."

She grinned at him impishly, obviously trying not to laugh. Simon hadn't succeeded - he was snickering away in the corner where he had set up a game of Gobstones with one of the Weasley kids.

"I somehow didn’t think you'd got any better at Flooing."

"Normally I don't have an audience," James said ruefully. "Still, it shows that learning early is the best and I obviously had a deprived childhood."

Simon perked up at this.

"But I thought you were a pureblood sir?" he stopped, realising this could be construed as a personal question. "If you don't mind me saying so, of course."

"I am, to the extent that anyone can claim to be these days. My mother was from a Squib line and when my parents died I was raised by her sister. I didn’t even know what Floo was until I was twelve."

"I would have thought you'd be good at it though," Simon said, unwilling to drop it. "I mean you're bloody brilliant at flying."

"It just goes to show that you can't be good at everything, Mr Wood," he said, keeping his 'teacher voice'.

Then he smiled and kissed Hermione on the cheek. "Happy Christmas."

"And to you," she said quietly.

"Oi Evans! Watch it!" Ron said, coming in to see what was happening. James was fairly sure he was just joking.

"Watch what?"

"That's my wife you just kissed."

"So? I'm far more interested in you, truth be told," he managed with a completely straight face. He was actually not at all interested in either of them. Hermione was a girl and Ron was straight and completely not his type. No, he tended to go more for tall, dark guys. Simon was listening, ears pricked. Ron laughed.

"Happy Christmas, James. Are you coming through or were you two planning on staying here talking all morning?"

James let himself be pulled from the Floo room through to the living room. It was lit with a warm, flickering glow from the huge fireplace and seemed even busier than it had been the last time he saw it. One corner of the room was taken up by a huge Christmas tree, brushing the ceiling at around three meters in height and beautifully decorated. Under it was a huge pile of parcels, all unopened.

"We wait until everyone's here until we start, then it’s a free for all," Ron said, almost shouting to make himself heard. "Here, give me that bag and I'll put them down for you."

James paused for a moment to look around the room. Yes, he knew everyone here. Severus was sitting on a sofa in the far corner with another man. Who was it? They had their back to him, so he could only see the neatly trimmed white hair. He turned slightly and James winced.

"Is that…" he said, trailing off. Hermione followed the direction of his gaze and nodded.

"That's Remus, if that's what you mean. Remember Ha - James, he's a werewolf, bitten as a very young child. Most werewolf children don't live to become an adult so every moment he survives has been borrowed time. In werewolf years, he must be something like two hundred. He's old, yes, but he's happy, and there would have been nothing you could do about it so don't beat yourself up about it."

"What does he do now?"

"He has a home in a werewolf pack. They've a small hamlet on the far side of the forbidden forest from Hogwarts. There's maybe forty of them, mostly young. Some are families but many of the children were abandoned by their parents. He's one of the elders and teaches the little ones their first lessons."

"That's the sort of thing he'd enjoy, isn't it?"

"I know you weren't planning on telling anyone but if you did, I think it should be Remus. He's accepted that you are gone but it would mean a lot to him to know that you're alive and happy and that you're well on your way to love."

"I never said anything about . . . "

"And nor did anyone else, but I can read you as easily as I can read Ron. Why don't you go and talk to them?"

"You mean that they're actually talking?!?"

"They get on very well now actually and Severus makes the Wolfsbane for all of Remus' pack every full moon. They can be remarkably similar actually. I think Albus was very relieved - apparently Order meetings could get very tense before they made up."

With that she gave him a gentle shove in that direction and picked her way through the crowd towards Ron.

On his way over, James passed Alistair. He was sitting on the floor, happily teaching one of the younger Weasleys how to play Exploding Snap. He smiled at James as he passed but didn’t say anything. At least he wasn't looking sad, not hugely happy, but not sad. That was about all they could hope for.

Severus smiled as James approached. He looked around and decided just to sit on one of the beanbags on the floor so that he could take part in the conversation.

"About time you showed up," the older man said. "I was the only Slytherin in a room full of Gryffindors."

"You had Alistair," James pointed out.

"One should not expect an eleven year old to be able to stand with you against the masses."

"Well, I'm here now, and Abe is coming along soon," James said. Then he smiled broadly at Remus. "Hello, I'm James Evans."

"Remus Lupin. Severus has mentioned you a few times. I only feel it fair to warn you that I'm a werewolf."

" I know - you're quite the celebrity after the last war."

"You don't mind then?"

"Why would I? Its only a problem at full moon and only if you don't take the Wolfsbane. Given that you seem to be one of Severus's friends, I can only assume that he supplies you with it."

"If you knew the number of people who didn't think like that…. So, you've taken on the Defence position? You're not worried about the curse?"

James smiled, Remus seemed to be taking it about as seriously as he did.

"Not at all. Given how much Hogwarts seems to like me, I can't foresee any sort of problem with a curse."

"Too true the castle likes him," Severus said irritably.

"I assume you are the ward holder then?"

"He is indeed," Severus replied. "We held the ceremony about two weeks ago and there hasn't been a single fight since, not even a scuffle. Everyone's been walking around like their birthday came early."

Remus chuckled at this.

"I bet that has you worried. Imagine what they'll be like when it all calms down!"

There was a fresh burst of chatter over by the main door and they looked over.

"There's Albus," Severus said. "If you'll excuse me . . ."

"We'll see you around, I'm sure," Remus said. "Mr Evans, if you would give me a hand upstairs, I have something I need to pick up from my room."

"Certainly, and it's James. Too be honest, I'd rather forget that I teach some of the kids here. You'll have to tell me where to go."

Remus guided him up to the first landing and into a small single room. As James would have expected from him, the room was neat and tidy, the bed made.

"Thank you," Remus said. "I won't be a minute, I'm just meant to take my potion two hours after breakfast each morning."

James gathered his nerve. Hermione was right, it wasn't fair to leave his almost-godfather in the dark, especially given the fact that they were uncertain how much longer he'd last.

"Remus . . . Moony. . . . can I talk to you for a moment."

Remus spun around, wand outstretched. James gulped as the wand swished. The door behind him swept shut and a series of locking charms followed. He himself was propelled into a chair and fixed with a leg-locker curse.

"Explain!" the werewolf demanded. "How do you know that name?"

"I don't suppose you have a damp cloth?" James asked, deciding it would be easiest if he showed him. This was supplied and he scrubbed at his forehead, patting his robes to be certain he still had his concealer with him. When he thought he was done, he moved his hand, holding any loose wisps of hair out of the way.

"Harry?" Remus whispered disbelievingly. James nodded and smiled.

"Ask me anything I should know. Constant Vigilance."

"Why did Sirius escape Azkaban?"

"It was the summer holiday between my second and third years at Hogwarts," James said, counting backwards on his fingers. "The Weasleys went to Egypt and there was a picture of them in the Prophet. Fudge gave him a copy when he visited Azkaban and he saw Wormtail sitting on Ron's shoulder. He escaped and made his way to Hogwarts because . . . because he thought Wormtail might hurt me."

"It is you then," Remus said with relief and awe, his eyes bright with unshed tears. "James Evans - that's the sort of thing Lily would have come up with. So obvious, yet so difficult to spot. I take it Severus doesn't know?"

"No. You, Hermione, Albus and Aberforth - that's all. I didn't know where you'd gone until today. Hermione pointed you out and said that I should tell you but I wasn't sure I'd get a chance to today."

"So you're Defence master at Hogwarts now? Sirius used to joke that that's where you'd end up. We could never see you playing professional Quidditch or becoming an Auror like the rest of the Order."

"I received some offers," James admitted.

"You would never have accepted them though, you couldn't cope with the media attention and I suspect by the time you killed Voldemort you had had more than enough of chasing Dark Wizards. Are you happy there?"

James nodded.

"It always was my home and . . . the company's good as well."

"Are you talking about Albus or Severus?"

"Why does everyone seem to think that me and Severus should get together?"

"You mean you aren't planning to?"

"Well, yes, but its not nice to tease me about it."

"It's a thin line between love and hate, Harry, and I think you've crossed it. You are remarkably similar, you know."

"Remus, what would Sirius have thought?" Harry asked timidly.

"It's not something we ever discussed, I admit, but I think I have an idea of his reaction. The first thing he'd do would throw a tantrum and yell at Severus for a bit. You would, of course, be completely innocent in his eyes and have been seduced by the evil dark wizard who'd put you under the Imperius Curse, or something equally ridiculous. After a while, he'd calm down and you'd talk about it with him and he'd see that you were serious about it and it would be what made you happy. Then he'd probably go and threaten Severus and say that if he ever did anything to hurt you, he wouldn't live to see the next day. After Severus convinced him he was serious, he would accept it. They wouldn't become best friends but over time I think they would come to understand each other."

"They did already know each other."

"Harry, they saw figments of their imagination. To Sirius, Severus was the living example of what his parents wanted him to be. He was a Slytherin, magically powerful, good in lessons, responsible and with a good knowledge of dark magic. Hating Severus was one of the ways he could rebel against his family. After a while, they'd escalated it so far that he believed he hated Severus as a person. Severus on the other hand knew only Sirius' worst side - the crueller pranks, the bullying, and the way the teachers favoured him despite his attitude in class. It was more or less like you and Draco Malfoy at Hogwarts - you didn't see past your houses."

"I guess. Thanks."

"We'd better go back downstairs again or they'll be wondering where we are." As they went back down again, it felt more like a son supporting his ageing father than a kindly stranger helping an elderly man.

There was a cheer as they came back into the living room. Everyone was sitting down now, the adults on chairs and sofas, the children and younger adults who didn't have seats on the floor around the tree. Small plates of appetisers were being passed around - smoked salmon, crisps and olives from what he could see.

"Take a seat over here, Remus," Molly said, clearing Ron off an armchair near the tree. He took this good naturedly and sprawled on the floor instead, leaning against Hermione's legs. James took a seat cross-legged next to him. A few of the adults seemed to be giving the three of them wistful looks, perhaps thinking of the black haired boy who they thought had left them for the next big adventure.

"Now, for those of you who don't know the rules," Arthur said clearly. "One present each at a time and you can't choose which one. I'll give out the first round."

He went over to the tree and made a show of choosing the smallest presents there for each person and distributing them to his gathered friends and relations. A lot of the little ones looked a bit disappointed, eyeing a few large boxes they might have spotted bearing their name but pounced on the parcels none the less, ripping the paper and leaving it in shreds on the floor. James opened his to find 'A Guide to Wards and Warding', a thick book from Draco. Obviously he was considered backwards in this area. Looking around the room, several of the others had also discovered books. Alistair looked delighted to have found a box of chocolate frogs from the Slytherin third years.

When everyone had examined their present and thanked the giver, Molly chose a set of presents, again mostly small ones. James could see the logic in this. In building up the suspense, the children appreciated the large ones even more. He could imagine how curious they would be about the contents. Since presumably most of the adults were in on this, they would have to wait until the first kid's turn to have a go at it.

Soon each person had a heap of presents next to them. Clothes featured in a big way - everyone, even James, had received a Weasley jumped. James couldn't see properly, but he thought Severus had received one too. There were also large quantities of sweets and books. The floor was a complete mess, strewn with multicoloured and flashing paper so that you almost had to wade through it to reach the tree.

Oliver and Charlie took pity on the children - and a lot of the adults - when their turn came and deliberately selected the biggest present for everyone that they could find. James laughed when he opened his parcel to reveal a full set of Slytherin Quidditch robes from Severus and the present team. They were green and white, similar to the Merlin ones (green and black) but with a slightly different cut. The note attached informed him that he was now the official team coach and an honorary past member of the team.

He watched carefully as Alistair slowly unwrapped his to reveal his broom. A look of wonder spread over the boy's face. Simon, sitting next to him, also looked impressed. After a moment of him gazing awe-struck and the broom, James was unprepared when Alistair raced over and hugged him tightly. Awkwardly, he hugged back. He was a little uncomfortable with it, not having really had much physical contact with anyone beyond Ron, Hermione and Draco before.

"Thank you Professor," Alistair mumbled into his robes.

"It wasn't just me, it was Professor Snape as well." Alistair looked up just long enough to say, face red,

"He might kill me if I tried to hug him though." Then his head buried itself in his robes again.

James laughed. Severus certainly hadn't lost his touch. James himself would have expected to be hung, drawn, quartered (diced rather) and his body parts thrown to the Giant Squid should he even have thought of hugging the man during his own schooldays. Then again, as Harry Potter, he probably would have been.

"He might surprise you," he said with an encouraging smile. "Go on, I'll take full responsibility if he attempts to murder you."

More uncertainly, Alistair walked over to Severus and paused for a moment before clinging to him like a lifeline as he started to cry. Aware of everyone watching, Severus swung him up into his arms and carried him out. James followed hastily, gesturing that Simon should stay put.

He found them in the deserted library, Severus drying Alistair's tears with an uncharacteristically gentleness. James stood in the doorway for a moment, not wanting to intrude. When Severus looked up and smiled at him, he came in and sat down next to them on the sofa.

"Okay there Alistair?" he asked. The boy nodded, sniffing. "Enjoying yourself?"

Much to his surprise, Alistair smiled through his tears.

"Everyone's really nice. I never expected to get so many presents!"

"Do you know Archie in seventh year?" Severus asked. "He's the one you should thank for that." Alistair seemed awed at that idea. To think that a seventh year prefect would do all that for him! James looked at Severus over the top of his head, silently asking permission and receiving a pleased nod.

"Alistair, I know that you don't have any family left," he said bluntly but gently. "But, to be honest, neither do I and no one will ever be able to take the places of those you've lost. If you want, I'll your . . . uncle . . . if you will. That way you can always stay with me over the holidays, though it might be best if you stayed here for the rest of this one."

"Really sir?"

"If its what you want. We don't have to rush into things, you hardly know me as anything other than your teacher, but we can give it a go."

"You really don't mind, Professor?"

"Would I be offering if I did? No, this is something for you to think about. If, in a few months, you want to try, I'll see if I can't make it formal and adopt you. Until then, I'd like you to try to get to know me a bit better. One other thing, I don’t think you need to keep on calling me Professor outside of school. My name is James, you're welcome to use it."

"Wow!"

"Think about it for me. Why don't we go back inside now? I don't think you've opened all of your presents yet. Tell them to start without us, there's a few things we need to talk about."

Alistair smiled shyly at both of them and dashed back through. The two men watched his departing back.

"That was kind but are you sure about it?" Severus said seriously.

"I wouldn't have asked if I wasn't. I've thought about it a great deal and I think its something that I have to do, in a way. I remember what it was like for me growing up without parents, and I had other relatives, even if they didn’t like me. Its as much a chance for me to have a family as for him."

"And if you have children of your own?"

"That is very unlikely ever to happen since I have no interest whatsoever in women. I think that any partner I would be prepared to have a permanent relationship with would be as accepting as I would."

Severus looked at him for a moment, considering that.

"I think you might be right there, given what I have seen of your choice in friends. Have you thought about what to do in the summer holidays?"

"Not that much actually. It depends on what happens with Lucius Malfoy. If its all over by then, I'd like to see about a permanent home other than Hogwarts. I was thinking that I might take a house in Hogsmeade. It’s a magical community near to Hogwarts and there should be other kids there as well. It's near the werewolf place as well and I thought I might see if I can't help Remus with some of his teaching. I'm not sure that I'd want to be in a city."

"It sounds pleasant. If you want, I'll help you set up a room for him attached to your Hogwarts suite."

"Thanks," James said. It surprised him how much Severus' approval meant to him. He was a little scared at the prospect of being responsible for an eleven-year-old but this felt to him the right thing to do. Alistair's surprise at receiving presents had brought back echoes of his own eleven-year-old self and, while there was nothing he could do about his own past, there was so much he could do about Alistair's future. So far, they were getting on fine, already past the distant teacher-student relationship and he would build on that slowly. Hopefully, he was different enough from Alistair's parents that it wouldn't feel like he was trying to take their place. Maybe that was why, while he was obviously happy enough at Grimmauld Place, a permanent place in the Weasley family wasn't really for him.

They slipped quietly back into the living room together. All of the presents had by this time been opened and the floor was a sea of garish colours. As they came in, Molly rushed out with Ginny and Fleur in the direction of the kitchen where a remarkable dinner was being prepared. George slipped after them, supposedly to help. James made a mental note to watch what he ate.

James was drawn into a conversation Remus and Aberforth about the standards of students in his classes and what exactly he was teaching each year. Severus seemed to be trapped in a corner with Fred Weasley, looking resigned. He seemed relieved when Molly appeared again in the doorway.

"Lunchtime," she said with a smile. "Come through."

The older of the children dashed through, the younger ones being scooped up by parents and the very youngest being rescued by house elves and taken off for naps. James followed at a more sedate pace with the rest of the adults.

"What was all that about?" he asked Severus.

"Fred, you mean? He was trying to recruit me. They've been offering me a job in their business for years."

"He's only one of the best Potions Masters in the world," Fred said, joining them with his four-year-old daughter draped over his arm. "We're decent at potions but we could really do with a specialist."

"I think parents everywhere would be in trouble if your pranks got any more sophisticated," James said ruefully, thinking of the few pranks that had been tried in his lessons. He'd not been hit by any of them but one or two had come close and only quick reflexes had saved him.

As they reached the long kitchen, James found his seat at the table, marked by a place card. The table was beautifully set with a pristine white tablecloth and silver dishes. At intervals along the table were blue candles set in ornate silver candlesticks and matching crackers were stacked neatly in sixes. He was seated quite happily between Alistair and Hermione. James noted with approval that the children seemed to be mixed in with the adults. Sitting in twos around the table, each had an adult next to them to pour their drink and cut up their food should it be required. Maybe when they were older they would be given their own end or even their own table when their numbers increased but for now this seemed sensible.

His mouth watered as he took in the platters on the table. Turkey and stuffing, goose, roast potatoes and parsnips, sprouts, bacon, sausages . . . .the choice seemed endless. He heaped his plate, pouring himself a flask of wine. Alistair looked at him for guidance when a jug of butterbeer was passed down to him. Simon had already poured himself a full mug and looked very smug. James knew that this was undoubtedly a treat for him - usually Hogwarts students didn't get it until they started visiting Hogsmeade. The other children all had pumpkin juice.

"Try it," he suggested. "Its butterbeer."

Alistair dribbled a little into his mug and tentatively poured it into his mouth. He paused thoughtfully for a moment as he considered the taste. For a moment, James thought he wouldn't like it, then he grinned and poured himself a mug that was nearly overflowing.

The main course was dealt with in short order, everyone probably eating far more than they should have. Finished, they leaned back in their chairs, stomachs full, and talked for a while as a few house elves popped in to clear away the plates. James had always the Hogwarts food excellent but this had surpassed all previous bests.

It didn't take too long before the kids started getting restless. The crackers were handed out and around the table everyone crossed arms and pulled together. There was a series of loud pops and items of every sort erupted from the cardboard. From James' own, a set of Weasleys' Wizzbangs (guaranteed safety within enclosed spaces) burst and showered sparkles down on them. Of course, all of the crackers would be from Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes, where else? He put his admiral's hat on his head and read through the incredibly cheesy joke, donating the wizard's chess set he'd received to Alistair since he himself already owned one.

As soon as everyone seemed ready, the crackers vanished and new plates arrived on the table. There was a Christmas pudding, burning with a blue flame, in the very centre and various chocolatey desserts for those that way inclined. James, not liking fruit puddings, cut himself a generous slice of chocolate tart and piled this with ice cream.

When everything had been eaten and a satisfied quiet had fallen on the room, Ginny and Neville took the children out. Shortly afterwards, shrieks and giggles could be heard echoing from all corners of the house. Neville poked his head round the door after a particularly loud scream and said apologetically,

"No one's been murdered, we're playing sardines."

He left again as a series of reminiscences about Christmas Days of the past began. Apparently Ginny had always been the best at sardines in her youth with Charlie a close second. Percy had undoubtedly been the worst, disliking dirt and dust, and the twins were good but had insisted on hiding together, making things harder for themselves. It certainly sounded like they were having fun. James noticed, getting a little restless himself, that Oliver and Charlie were exchanging glances.

Five minutes or so later, a red head poked itself around the kitchen door, taking in the surroundings and ready to bolt if necessary.

"I'm allowed in here, aren't I?" Bill's eldest son asked boldly. When no objection was made, he came in properly and surveyed the room critically. With the cupboards full, there wasn't that much room for improvisation, so he slid under the table, hidden by the legs and the tablecloth, and stayed there, perfectly still and quiet.

Ginny came in a moment later, holding a toddler by the hand. They made a show of looking behind the door and in a few of the cupboard.

"Is he under the table?" the little girl asked loudly, receiving indulgent smiles from the adults.

"Why don't you have a look?" Ginny suggested. The girl crawled under.

"He's here!" she announced. "We've got to hide now." Ginny looked mortified at acting this way in front of her old teachers but crawled under herself, carefully ending up at Hermione and James' feet.

One by one the children trickled in and squashed in under the table until six year old Stephen came in.

"Sardine!" they chorused together. He looked a bit disappointed but ran off to hide as the others began counting loudly and not completely together since some of them seemed to be having problems after they passed twenty. When they began to leave, Charlie and Oliver stood up, obviously intending to join in. James shifted restlessly in his seat. Hermione looked at him and leaned over to whisper in his ear.

"If you want to, just go. Make the most of it while you can."

He needed no further urging and followed them out, fully intending to win this game on his first try. From the whispered conversations under the table, he had picked up a working understanding of the game even though he'd never played it himself.

It was late when James returned to Hogwarts. Severus, Minerva and Albus had gone on ahead to ensure that those students who had remained at school with Filius, Poppy and Pomona were getting ready for bed and not wrecking havoc around the castle. James had stayed and helped bundling toddlers into pyjamas and bed. He had then thanked Molly and Arthur for the day and said goodbye to Remus, promising to visit him at his home soon.

This was what Christmas should be like, he thought fuzzily as he climbed into bed. He didn't get any further than that, his eyes drooping shut as his head hit the pillow.



* * * * * * * * * * *



Severus met him in the Great Hall for breakfast the next morning. No, James thought, mentally considering the time, maybe it ought to be brunch . . . or afternoon tea. It was in fact about twelve o'clock, perfectly civilised really.

"Good morning James," Severus said, pouring himself another mug of coffee. "Weren't too late last night?"

"Not really - I got caught up in helping with 'bedtime'. I'd never have been allowed to stay up that late at their age."

"From what I understand, it's only twice a year - Hogmanay and Christmas. It does tend to give the adults a break on St Stephen's Day if the children sleep late."

James laughed, seeing the logic in that. He knew from watching Dudley that Boxing Day often seemed anticlimatic after the excitement of Christmas Day itself and the Weasleys' scheme sounded very practical.

"So, do you want to pick up your costume sometime today or shall I bring it round to your room. I've sized it approximately but I think you're going to have to do the exact stuff yourself."

"With your permission, I will call by your rooms later. I promised that I would teach you a little of how to manipulate rooms within the castle so you have a room ready for Alistair when he returns. I can easily retrieve the costume then."

"Sounds good to me - it isn't as if there's any pressing business I have to attend to, so drop by any time that suits."



* * * * * * * *



So by the time Severus did arrive, James made sure he had brought out the deep blue costume. It was simple enough, fashioned around common dress of the time and consisted of black tights (they probably had a fancy name but that was what they looked like to him), a black shirt and a blue doublet embroidered with black falcons. That, of course, was Wulfric's personal sign just as the eagle had been his sister's.

"That?" Severus asked suspiciously, eyeing the tights with reluctance.

"Yes," James said, hiding a smile at the look on his face. The number of time's he'd got this reaction . . . "I have one pretty much identical but in green. Oh, and I picked up the appearance sweets from the twins yesterday evening."

"Very well. Now, had you given any thought as to where you wanted to situate this bedroom?"

"On the other side of the bathroom from my room," James replied promptly. He really did not want to just have a wall between them when or if Alistair got into some of the popular teenage music that some of the older Slytherins liked. Severus's mouth quirked upwards slightly as he realised that that was the furthest from James' room it could get and still be in the same suite.

"And I assume approximately the same size as your own room."

"I suppose."

"It's quite a simple procedure but a little draining since Hogwarts doesn't quite operate in three dimensional space. The consciousness of the castle is what we have to ask to create the room. To do this is like the warding. Take a dagger . . . I brought one along that wasn't poisoned since you don't seem to own one . . . and make a small cut. Smear the blood along the place where you want the door to be."

"Me? Aren't you the one doing the magic?" James asked, eyeing the knife with a certain amount of distrust. "And are you sure that that knife isn't poisoned. I wouldn't have thought you had one given all your potions."

"An advantage of knowing all the poisons is that I also know all of the antidotes and sterilisation techniques. As to the magic, these are your rooms, therefore you must be the one to give the blood."

James sighed,

"Okay, here goes."

"Repeat after me: I, the Defence Master of Hogwarts School and resident of this suite of rooms, request that a second bedroom be added to them in this location to be used by a boy of eleven years."

James dutifully repeated this, surprised at the simplicity. There was a groan and a door appeared as the wall grew about a metre in length. When he asked about the wording, Severus seemed amused.

"The castle's consciousness is made by absorbing the magic and emotions of the residents. It is exposed to far more modern English than Latin, so that's the language we use. Besides, very few wizards could conjugate the Latin correctly as they would have to for this sort of thing."

"Could you?"

"Of course, I received a very . . . thorough education at home in addition to my Hogwarts one."

There was an awkward silence. Then James plucked up the courage to ask.

"Um, the room won't be furnished or anything, will it?"

"No, you'll have to do that yourself."

"I was sort of hoping . . . would you give me a hand. I really don't want to get it wrong and I'm not sure what he's like and . . . "

"Certainly I'll stay, if you want me to. Why don't you have a house elf bring some basic furniture down while we think of the basic ideas?"

A few moments later, there was the odd crack every few moments in the bedroom and Severus and James were sitting together on the sofa.

"I was thinking that he would probably prefer something other than green," James ventured. He hurried on, "I mean, he has green in his dormitory all year, so a change is probably good."

"Not Gryffindor colours, of course."

"Well, obviously not red or gold, so blue I guess."

"You'll want sky blue."

James was a little surprised by this revelation and the assurance. He'd never really thought of light blue being a particularly popular colour with boys of that age.

"According to Draco at that age, it's the best colour to mount Quidditch posters on because if it's well done, they'll blend in and it will be more like a mural."

"I should have guessed Quidditch would have something to do with it. Light blue for the walls then? And I suppose a darker blue for the furnishings."

"That sounds bearable to me. You can always change it if he doesn't like it without much effort."

"I suppose that's true," James admitted doubtfully. Thing was, he wasn't sure whether Alistair would tell him if he didn't like the room or just pretend to.

Severus stood up, putting a hand on James' shoulder in a sort of one-armed hug and scooping up the costume with his other hand.

"I wouldn't worry too much about it," he said, his expression understanding. "I can't see him not liking it and I doubt a single mistake with a colour scheme would make a difference in your relationship anyway."

As if embarrassed by the show of gentleness, he spun away and strode out, robes billowing behind him again. James raised a hand to his shoulder, watching him leave.



* * * * * * * * * *



A few days later, James found himself waiting outside a hidden room below the headmaster's tower that he knew to be the headquarters and council room of the Order of the Phoenix. In fact, unlike most recruits, he also knew exactly what as going to occur when he entered the room and it wasn’t nearly as intimidating as they liked to make out. He had also taken the opportunity to plan out his responses to alleviate any suspicions as to his character.

When the doors opened, a man stepped out. He was tall, wearing a hooded white robe with a golden phoenix embroidered on the front, his face completely shadowed. Silently, he tied a strip of cloth around James' eyes and led him forwards.

Feeling uncertainly around with his feet as he shuffled into the room, he was guided carefully to the front of the room. They wouldn't have let him fall anyway - this was the Order, not the Death Eaters.

Once there, the blindfold was removed and James saw that he was standing in the middle of a circle made by four Order members garbed in the same way as his guide. This arrangement was particularly common in rituals because it symbolised the four elements, the seasons, the four houses at Hogwarts, the four stages of life and multiple other components and factors. It was also easier to balance than the less common circles of three or five.

The man standing in the North spoke first - this was usually how it worked.

"For what reason do you come before the Order of the Phoenix?"

"I come to become a member."

"To what purpose?"

"To help me to protect the lives under my care under the recommendations of those I trust."

"Very well. Turn and continue.

James turned anticlockwise. He thought this person, shorter than the other, was a woman and this was confirmed when he heard her voice. In fact, he was almost positive that it was Minerva, a powerful witch in her own right.

"Can you, a man wishing to join the Order of the Phoenix, state that you have never knowingly or deliberately harmed an innocent, someone disabled or someone wounded and at your mercy."

"I cannot," James admitted, knowing that a lie would be immediately detected. "I once killed a Death Eater who had murdered people close to me in cold blood when I found them disabled with a broken leg."

"We deem this to be a justified act of revenge as stated in the Statute of Reparations from 1754. Are there any other incidents?"

"To the best of my knowledge, no."

"Turn and continue then."

"Have you ever practised the Dark Arts?" the next interrogator demanded sternly. James winced inwardly, he bloody hated this part of the ritual. Even so, he wasn't entirely sure if it was admitting the attempt or admitting the failure that he minded most.

"When I was fifteen, I attempted to cast the Cruciatus Curse on a woman who had just killed a member of my family. The curse failed."

"A child will do many things in times of sorrow. As a mistake is made, the soul and magic grow and the mistake will not be repeated. Remember this and be free from guilt. Turn and continue."

The next and final stop was in front of a man who leant heavily on a staff and whose gentle voice was instantly recognisable to James as Remus Lupin's.

"A member of the Order of the Phoenix must choose three things to mark his dedication to the light: an element, a former member and a present member of the Order to guide them on their path. Are you ready to make these choices?"

"I am ready," James said with a slight smile. His choices now were, with a notable exception, identical to those he had made when being initiated as Harry Potter. The last one in particular would no doubt cause a minor uproar. "For my element, I choose fire for its strength, power and purity. The deceased member I wish to remember in my initiation is Lily Evans, wife of James Potter, who bore my name and laid down her life for her family and her cause. For my guide I choose Severus Snape as a man I trust and respect for the care he gives to each child under his guidance. These are my choices, are they acceptable?"

"They are more than acceptable. You have been judged a worthy candidate for the Order and may proceed to the final stage of your initiation."

James swallowed slightly and looked again to his guide, who had stood next to him, a hand on his shoulder, throughout. Every candidate had a guide, normally but not always the one who had proposed them to the Order and always a volunteer. In this case, it wouldn't be Albus because he had his own role to play. In truth, he was a little nervous about this stage because it was the one that could go terribly wrong if Albus hadn't managed to explain clearly to Fawkes what the situation was.

When they stopped and the blindfold was removed, they were standing within a ring of fire, the flames towering high above them though the heat was just pleasantly warm. Fawkes was perched on a post in the centre, flames pouring upwards from his scarlet crest. Next to him stood Albus Dumbledore, who smiled confidently at James.

"Your choices have been made and you have been deemed a worthy candidate. Are you ready to take the oath? Repeat after me."

"I, a man pure of heart and strong in power, swear to dedicate my life to fighting against the forces of darkness, to protect all those that I can and to sacrifice my life for others should this be necessary to help the cause,"

James repeated dutifully. In fact, the one time he had previously said them had been enough to burn them into his brain forever. " I furthermore swear never to practice the dark arts or harm an innocent or one helpless to my wand. Let my oath be heard and witnessed as true."

There was an agonising pause, both Albus and James wincing slightly. At last, Fawkes began to sing and they let out the breath they had been holding.

"Welcome to the Order of the Phoenix," Albus said, ending his part in the ritual. The flames around them died away to reveal the rest of the Order gathered around them, unhooded and welcoming. In a moment, James would go to be welcomed by them but for now he waited, watching curiously as his guide removed his hood. Severus smiled slightly at him, back to their audience, and leaned to kiss him gently on the forehead.

"Welcome to the Order of the Phoenix," he said softly. "Good to have you with us James. But now, the hordes await you - have fun."

With a gentle push, he propelled James out into the gathered group. There were about twenty five of them gathered, quite enough to make him embarrassed at being the centre of attention even though most of them he knew well, either as James or as Harry.

With an indignant squawk, Fawkes regained their attention. He fluttered over to James in a smooth glide and perched himself firmly on his shoulder. He then calmly proceeded to start preening his long hair. James looked to Albus for help, only to find the old man chuckling to himself as he watched. Indignantly, he ignored him and made the compulsory round of handshaking.

A while later, Albus called them rather reluctantly to Order and they took their seats along the long table to start the business they needed to attend to and hear the reports from the various operatives. Kingsley Shacklebolt, as the leader of the Aurors, was the first to speak.

"I assure you that the Aurors are taking the threat that Lucius Malfoy poses extremely seriously. Training has been increased and the recruit schedules are being fast-tracked so we should have another ten Aurors in the field by Easter. That will bring our numbers to seventy four, including those in managerial and support roles. So far, the Aurors have suffered no casualties, just a few minor injuries."

"And in terms of civilian casualties?" Hestia Jones asked.

"Twenty four and growing every day. We're keeping it as quiet as possible to avoid any alarm. If the press got hold of the figures and photographs, we would be in serious trouble. As it is, we are advising people to take precautions and avoid staying in a house alone, especially Muggleborns and half-bloods. We're doing all we can but we no longer have a spy and that's making it extremely difficult to prevent attacks."

Albus looked serious and everyone was a little shocked at how much people were being sheltered from the reality of the situation.

"Bill, what about Gringotts?"

"So far they are doing nothing openly, like the Aurors, they believe panic can't be a good thing and are toning it down to their customers as much as possible. If people don't feel safe, it has to be bad for business. Privately, they have us putting up as many additional wards as possible and we're running twenty four hour patrols in the maximum security areas. Personally, I don't think Gringotts is likely to be attacked, given how many Death Eaters have vaults there, and at any rate it's one of the safest places in the wizarding world."

"At least something's normal. Ron, how are the Hogwarts defences coming on?"

"We've blocked up all of the passages out of the school - I'd warn the kids once they get back from the holiday or they might get a nasty surprise. We've started negotiating with the centaurs and we think they'll at least give us a warning if they try to bring large numbers of troops through the forest. The mermen and squid are, of course, with us and doing all they can. Our most vulnerable approach is the one via the main gate from Hogsmeade since we have to leave it open to let students and refugees through."

As the briefing session continued, James was reminded again how impressive the Order could be in a martial situation. They had people from all walks of life, working for many different organisations. There were spies in the Ministry, in Gringotts and in Knockturn Alley and seemingly innocent and humorous citizens like the Weasley twins who could be downright nasty when they put their minds to it. Though he hesitated to admit it, it certainly felt good to feel he was contributing again, it had felt odd as a 'civilian' of sorts.

Albus caught him on the way out.

"You are getting Severus to go with you, aren't you?" he asked quietly and urgently. "Its just, unless he's out the way, my costume won't and nor will Abe's."

"He's coming with me. Why, who are you two going as?"

"Our secret," the infuriating old man said, eyes twinkling. "I'll see you at dinner then."



* * * * * * * * * * *



On New Year's Eve, most of the students returned on the Hogwarts Express. Term didn't officially begin until the fourth, but the ball was considered an opportunity too good to miss and Albus had been persuaded to run the Hogwarts express early and allow them to cut their holiday short. The few students who weren't attending would arrive by Floo in Hogsmeade and walk up to the school with a teacher on the third.

The Hogmanay Ball itself was due to begin at seven o'clock but James was ready with half an hour to go, sitting fidgeting in his living room, wondering how girls put up with tights all the time. They didn't look too bad, he admitted, but Merlin they itched! There was probably a spell that they all used that he didn't know which gave them an unfair advantage.

He wondered if Severus' tights were itching as well. He also wondered what Severus would look like wearing the tights. He had carefully decided to give Severus the chance to change his face only and that would be weird enough. He already knew what Bertie's legs looked like, that wasn't at all what he was interested in.

James knew that he looked the part in his costume. It was accurate to the time period and because of his magic, his face was right. For the occasion, he had brushed his hair out so every strand was in place and applied an extra concealing charm onto his scar.

At five to, he stood up and spun around, making sure his green cape could billow freely to add to the effect. One of the guys he'd roped into going as Wulfric had walked around all evening with it tucked into his breeches and had looked like a complete idiot.

James took a deep breath. Now or never . . .

He stepped out into the corridor and waited, pacing anxiously up and down outside, ready to freeze as soon as Severus' portrait hole opened.

At last it did and James ran an appraising eye down his friend. The clothing was a perfect fit - he'd never known Severus to be anything but accurate and it seemed that this applied even to sizing charms - and highlighted the slim, muscular figure that James had always guessed he was hiding. Okay, so maybe the man was a bit old fashioned but there had to be another reason for wearing those heavy black robes in the heat of summer, even with cooling charms. He didn't want to think how many girls (and boys) would develop crushes on Severus if they knew what he looked like in better clothing and to be quite honest, falling for him was entirely James' own prerogative. He recovered his composure and said,

"Shall we go up then?"

Severus agreed, looking slightly uncomfortable, though whether it was with the costume, the assumed identity or going with James that caused it, he couldn't tell.

When they arrived, the Hall was already full as students of all ages danced, talked and made fools of themselves as youngsters are prone to doing. The Weird Sisters - now quite an old band but still popular - provided a musical background that was traditional enough not to grate on an adult's ears. A prefect at the door, who was wearing a realistic costume of a veela, stopped them before they could enter.

"Who are you going as?" she asked, smiling at them. Apparently, the illusion was meant to extend to the veela charm as well and she was a little puzzled as to why it wasn't working. Of course, they were both perfectly certain in themselves that they only liked guys and their self-control was stronger than most.

"Salazar Slytherin and Wulfric Ravenclaw," James said, bestowing a dazzling smile of his own. She blushed slightly.

"Sorry Professor Evans, I didn't recognise you."

A wave of her wand and named badges attached themselves to their clothes and she waved them through into the Great Hall.

Looking around, they could see a huge variety of costumes, some more realistic or ambitious than others. There were a few that would be impossible to achieve without illusion charms, others that were clearly just clever costumes with the occasional WWW sweet. The twins must have done excellent business in the run up to this since illusion and glamour charms weren't taught until fourth year. Around the Hall were the occasional uncomfortable looking chaperone and, standing arms folded in the corner, Professor Snape. James looked curiously over at Severus, pointing the intruder out.

"Do you know who that is?" he asked. Severus followed his glance and looked a little surprise.

"It can't be anyone but a staff member or Slytherin, no one else would have the guts. Given that they are unaccompanied, a staff member would be the most likely and the only one with that sort of sense of humour is Albus. It won't be the first time either."

"That would explain why he was practically threatening to put Imperious on you so that you wore a costume yourself. He looks like he's having a fine time."

"Hufflepuff will probably be in negative points tomorrow," Severus said. He was relaxing into the occasion, perhaps enjoying the chance to exercise his acting skills, and his pose as he stood there was the slouching, defiant looking stance that Bertie was particularly fond of, one that he certainly needed a lot. "Or maybe not. Isn't that Albus over by the punch?"

"Albus informed me that neither his costume nor his brother's would work if you turned up as yourself. I guess Abe's putting in an appearance as Albus. Shall we go confirm it?"

They wove their way through the crowds towards the drinks table. A snatch of conversation made James pause.

"Did you hear that Professor Evans is gay?" a girl was saying to a huddle of friends, boys and girls amongst them. James wasn't sure exactly who they were but he honestly doubted Slytherins given the ease with which he was eavesdropping.

"Really?" another girl asked. "Oh damn, and he's so good looking as well."

James flushed an attractive shade of scarlet. He could tell that Severus was trying very hard not to smirk.

"Your loss our gain," one of the boys said smugly. James walked rapidly away, Severus trailing behind him. He was trying very hard to recover his composure. He knew that he was relatively popular but had always put it down to his character, not his looks.

"You mean you didn’t know?" Severus asked incredulously. "You never noticed the way you always have about a dozen of them staring at you during mealtimes?"

"I'll never be able to eat at the staff table again," he muttered.

"Pull yourself together. I thought you wanted to talk to Professor Dumbledore?"

"Not after this I'm not. Can you imagine the teasing I'd get?"

"Too bad - I want a drink."

James groaned.

"Promise you won't say anything?"

"If you wish but if you don't want him to know you've been embarrassed, I suggest you come up with a believable excuse for being that shade of red. It clashes with your costume."

"Hello sir!" a goblin said suddenly, beaming cheerfully up at him from a diminutive stature. "Nice costume."

"Alistair?" James guessed. "Your own isn't too dusty. This must be Simon then . . . what exactly has he come as?"

He was perfectly entitled to ask, as anyone who beheld the boy would admit. He was wearing an extremely baggy pair of jeans and a T-shirt that was inside out and back to front. He was also wearing an oversized pair of glasses.

"Martin Miggs at your service sir," Simon said, a grin plastered onto his face. James could see a remarkably bad impression of braces on his teeth. "Howdy!"

"I tried to tell him we didn't really look like this but he didn't exactly listen," Alistair explained, looking slightly embarrassed. "Come on Simon, Jeff said there were Chocolate Frogs on the staff table."

When they reached the drinks table, set over by the far wall where the Hufflepuff table normal stood, James poured himself a mug of firewhisky.

"I don't normally drink but I think I need one right now."

Dumbledore - which one they hadn't yet confirmed - looked on curiously, eyes twinkling.

"My dear boy, what can the trouble be. Would you like a lemon drop?" He proffered a small dish of the Headmaster's favourite candy.

"Quit the act Abe, it was all very predictable," James said irritably, downing his glass in one and wincing as stream poured out of his ears. "Did Albus lend you the robes or are they your own?"

"You think I would have something like this in my own wardrobe? I appropriated some of Albus' for the occasion."

"I take it you forgot to tell him then," Severus concluded. "I hope you realise that now he'll think that you have similar taste in clothes and will start giving you the monstrosities as gifts."

"Hmm, I'll have to watch out for that. I'm so glad you found a date, James, I hope you took my advice?"

"Advice?"

"Never go out with anyone who wears their clothes back to front. It shows a lack of co-ordination and common sense."

This, coming from a man wearing the most atrocious canary yellow robes that had ever been made, sent the two younger men into hysterics. Well, James started laughing uncontrollably (later blaming it on the small amount of alcohol) and Severus chuckled discreetly.

As the evening wore on, James elected not to partake of the punch Abe was guarding, not being entirely sure what the man had added, and stuck to butterbeer. He had no wish to get drunk and make a fool of himself in front of Severus and his students. When twelve o'clock approached, James was hurriedly evicted from the castle by Abe and stood shivering in the cold night outside. Inside, he heard the students counting down the last minute. Dobby appeared with a crack holding a small basket and a note. He thrust these at James and vanished again.



Dear James, As a tall, dark man that was readily available, you are going to be first footing the castle. In the basket are a piece of coal, which you put on the fire, a flask of whiskey and some shortbread. You are also obliged to kiss any woman who asks for it, though I suggest you limit it to those who are of age if you don't want to be there all night. Remember not to come in until midnight Abe

James stared at the note. First footing he'd heard of, though while he was at school they'd had bigger concerns and no party on New Year's eve for him to find out about it. If Albus was really that superstitious, he assumed that Severus had been pushed out every year. The bit about the kissing - that could get nasty. He made a mental note to absent himself as soon as possible.

"10 - 9 - 8 - 7 - 6 - 5 - 4 - 3 - 2 - 1. . . . " he heard them chant. Then there was a cheer and a huge bang as hundreds of WWW fireworks went off inside. That was the beauty of wizard fireworks, that they were safe enough to be used indoors.

He walked in through the door. As he came into the Great Hall, he got another cheer. As he'd been instructed, he walked over to put the coal in the fireplace and deposited the whiskey and shortbread on the refreshments tables. He then looked at the watching audience and sighed. This could be a long night.

With a certain amount of relief, he spotted Minerva over with Albus, Abe and Severus and went over to them. A number of the students lost interest in him.

"Happy New Year," he said to her, kissing her lightly on the cheek. She giggled slightly - too much whiskey for her this evening!

A couple of the braver seventh years came up to him and he dutifully pecked them on the cheek, being very careful to be as light as possible and trying not to grimace If they liked him already, there was no way he was going to give them any more ammunition!

Severus had been sitting down, smirking at James' dilemma. As suspected, he had been subjected to this ritual a number of times himself, being the only member of the staff that had qualified before James's employment. Hagrid, while tall, dark and male, was also only half-human, and had therefore been ruled out. He might have been asked this year, except that he'd made his hair blond, ruling himself out.

After about fifteen minutes, James gave up. He retreated behind the table, grabbed Severus' arm and pulled him out of the Hall.

"Did you suggest that?" he asked.

"No, I certainly should have though. The look on your face was priceless."

"I think I'm calling it a night then, if that's okay with you. I've kissed a quarter of the seventh years - I'd hate to think what they'll be like in class next term!"

"They'll forget it quickly enough, it's not as if it was just one of them or, judging by the rumours, that you're even interested in girls."

"True," James admitted, then added shyly, "You know, if anyone's paying attention, maybe we ought to do this properly."

"What do you mean?" Severus asked, the smirk on his face showing that he knew exactly what James meant but was making him suffer all the same. James decided not to co-operate. It appeared that maybe Severus wasn't interested after all.

He sighed slightly and stepped forwards to press a quick kiss to Severus' lips before drawing back, looking at his face though he was nervous of what he might see. They looked at each other for a moment, then Severus shook his head slightly.

"That was pathetic, Evans."

He pulled James in and kissed him thoroughly and passionately. When they drew apart for lack of breath a minute or so later, they looked at each other. Words didn't seem necessary with the level of trust between them already so high and mutual understanding greater. They headed down to the dungeons together.

Albus and Abe Dumbledore watched them go, their costumes gone, replaced with normal robes when they left the party.

"That took longer than expected," Abe said relief. "What were you doing all term? I told you that they'd be a good match in August!"

"These things take time," Albus said placidly. "Especially with those two. They needed to get to know each other before they'd get anywhere. Lemon drop?"

"Don't mind if I do."

Next