The weather outside was cold and chilly with snow falling heavily which contrasted with the atmosphere inside of the Potters home which was warm and cozy with a fire blazing in the hearth as everyone was gathered around the table in the parlor and writing out their annual Christmas cards, except Albus who was three years old and couldn't write yet.

James and Lily each signed a card to Rose and Hugo Weasley, one had a picture of a dancing candy cane and the other had a picture of a Christmas tree with blinking lights on it.

"I hope Uncle and Ron and Aunt Hermione will visit for Christmas this year," said Lily hopefully.

"If not we'll just come visit them," added James.

While on the other side Harry and Ginny signed one of a bouncing snowman to Bill, Fleur, and Victoire Weasley who were on Christmas holiday this year in France and Teddy Lupin had gone with them.

"I hope they are having fun in Paris this year," said Ginny.

"You know Teddy and Victoire always have fun together," Harry said with a smile.

Dobby and Winky at the end of the table was collecting the cards and scribbling his name below the others just before he placed them into the envelopes. Albus sat watching him and picked up one card which was an animated picture of Father Christmas in his flying sleigh with eight tiny reindeer.

"Who is this?" asked Albus curiously.

Harry came over and sat Albus on his lap and began to tell him the story he had told twice before in the past twelve years.

"This is Father Christmas," he explained. "He is a very special wizard who comes to the houses of all of the children in the world once every year on Christmas eve leaving presents for them in his wake."

"He is a wizard? You're sure?" asked Albus.

"I'm sure he must be," replied Harry, "because he can make reindeer fly, and visit all the houses in the world in one night and no one ever sees him though some have been said to catch glimpses of him in his flying sleigh pulled by reindeer through the sky. Also he has elves working for him."

"Like Dobby and Winky?" asked Albus.

"Sort of," replied Harry. "His are very special elves who dwell only in the North Pole and have the power to make the toys every child in the world wants and they help him keep track of how many children there are every minute as he makes his list and checks it twice."

"Well, actually Father Christmas doesn't come to all of the houses in the world," said James. "We learned in school that not everyone celebrates Christmas, they celebrate Hanukkah or Kwanzaa. And there is more than just one who brings gifts on Christmas eve, in Italy there is a witch called the Befana and in Sweden there is a gnome called Jutomtum."

Harry smiled at his eldest son. "I guess the wizard Father Christmas seems to favor our neck of the world." He turned again to his youngest and asked, "Would you like to sign your name on this card Albus?" Albus nodded eagerly and so Harry took a red crayon and gently tucked it between Albus's tiny fingers and helped him write his name on the card. "It's A-L-B-U-S, there that's it. Very good!"

Then shortly after they had finished sending out the cards Ginny went over to the window and exclaimed, "Look! The snow has stopped!"

"Now we can go outside and play in the snow! Hooray!" exclaimed James.

So the children and the elves all put on their winter clothes with hats, scarves, mittens, and boots and rushed outside and into the thick snow drifts. Lily fell backward onto the white covered ground and spread her limbs out and made a snow angel while the elves began helping James and Albus build a snowman.

Lily stood up and admired the snow angels she had made then she heard James cry out, "Lily, look over there!" She looked quickly behind her and then suddenly felt a solid frozen snowball make contact with the side of her head. She turned and found found James laughing heartily and so she reached down and grounded up the biggest snowball she could and tossed it rapidly in his direction. Soon the elves were joining in and everyone was throwing snowballs at everyone all at the same time.

Harry and Ginny watched them playing from the window. "They remind me of us when we were their age," Harry said, smiling as he reminisced.

"We sure had some fantastic snowball wars, didn't we?" added Ginny. "It seems James has inherited your skill."

Later everyone came inside and was warmed up by the fire with hot chocolate. The children began talking animatedly about what they wanted for Christmas.

"I want one of those unicorns that grows to let you ride it," said Lily.

"I want one of those robot dolls that walks and talks and does tricks," said James.

"Hey now, you mustn't get carried away with your Christmas list," Harry said as he came over and sat down with them. "You must remember that Christmas isn't just about receiving presents, it is also about family and friends and helping the less fortunate. Remember that I was raised by my muggle Aunt and Uncle Dursley and I didn't have a happy Christmas until I went to Hogwarts. I want you lot to have the Christmases I missed out on always."

Later in the evening they all went Christmas shopping in Diagon Alley for presents for their family and friends. The fronts of the shops were all decorated with bows and holly and bells and lights. They entered all of the shops that sold eligible gifts.

As they were leaving they encountered a group of Christmas carolers and also an old wizard wearing a Santa Claus costume and ringing a bell with a large canister beside him which they learned was to collect charity funds for the orphanage of children whose parents had died in the war of the previous decade.

"Now this is what I was talking about when I explained to you what Christmas is all about," Harry said as he deposited a few galleons into the canister as did the others including the elves.

"Ho ho ho! Thank you very much and merry Christmas!" said the charity Santa as they passed by.

They were just about to exit Diagon Alley when they suddenly heard the sound of rough coughing coming from nearby. They followed it and it led them to a large overturned cardboard box left out in a deserted alleyway.

"There must be something living inside there," said Harry.

They carefully turned the box over onto its side and they discovered a lone house elf wearing a pillowcase full of holes. His long ears were drooping and his blue eyes were red and puffy and his nose was running slightly. His arms were wrapped around himself as if to keep warm and he was quivering with seemingly both chill and fear. He looked up at them with a most imploring expression.

"Please help me!" he cried.

"Who are you and why are you out here all alone?" asked Harry.

"I is Jolie the house elf, sir," replied the little elf, "and I is out here all alone because his master has thrown Jolie out and gave him this," he held up a worn and filthy old sock.

"You were thrown out in the middle of winter! How awful!" exclaimed Ginny.

The elf slowly started crying as he spoke. "Jolie does not know any place to go to, and he is so ashamed of being free he does not want to be seen and so he intends to freeze to death. Please leave Jolie be!"

"I can't possibly leave you be," declared Harry. "Listen to me, Jolie. I work in the ministry and have contacts with witches and wizards who have special interests in the welfare of elves like you and we can find you a new home and family and until we do you can stay with us."

The elf looked up at them with wide tear-filled eyes. "You are too kind to a miserable lowly house elf!" he wailed.

"Winky understands just how Jolie feels," said Winky kindly as she helped the Jolie out of the box. "Winky was set free by her old master twenty years ago and she was ashamed of it for the longest time but then she met Dobby who is now her mate and he helped her see freedom not as a burden but as a blessing because he was freed by the great Harry Potter who is now our master."

Dobby nodded and added, "Socks are Dobby's most favorite clothes. Come with Dobby and you will see just how lucky you is now."

"Besides," added Ginny. "If your old master had the audacity to throw you out in the cold he probably didn't deserve you in the first place."

So Jolie went home with them and Harry at once set about looking for a new home for him. He brought him down to the elf centre of the ministry where he met with elves who were also free and homeless. Then he posted an ad in the Daily Prophet about Jolie needing a home for Christmas.

Then after a few days had gone by while Jolie was decorating the Christmas tree along Winky and Dobby and the children and Ginny and Harry were in the kitchen baking Christmas cookies a large snowy white owl wearing a bright green and red scarf knocked at the window and deposited a letter from someone claiming to want to be Jolie's new master.

"He says he will arrive on Christmas Eve!" exclaimed Harry as he read the note aloud.

Jolie who was wearing Dobby's older clothes which he had given to him began squealing with absolute delight and dancing around everyone's legs and soon the other elves and children joined in

Christmas Eve came and at their doorstep there appeared an older man with a long white beard wearing bright red robes with a green cloak and black shiny boots. His eyes held a twinkle which reminded Harry of his late Headmaster.

"Is the Potters house? I have come to collect the elf named Jolie," he said in a deep and friendly voice.

Jolie stepped forward smiling. "I is Jolie, new master," he said bowing to him.

The old gentleman laughed in a jolly manner and said. "There will be no need to bow to me as I will not enslave you in any way. I will treat you with the respect that I treat all of my elf helpers with. Though you will be unique because of instead of working in my workshops you will be my personal servant, my wife and I have been talking about getting an elf just like you for a long time now."

Jolie wailed with happiness and embraced the old gentleman while rambling almost incoherent words of gratitude. Then the Potters bid them goodbye as the two of them left hand in hand. Seconds after the door was closed they heard they sound of sleigh bells and hoof beats on the snow passing by.

"I'm so happy for Jolie!" said Lily. "It feels so good to know we've done something good for someone in need of it."

"Especially at this time of year," agreed Harry.

Then as they all gathered around their Christmas Eve feast they all raised their glasses and spoke in unison, "To Jolie and his new master, may they find happiness in each other!"

The next morning Harry and Ginny were abruptly awakened from their slumber by their children who were eager to open presents and equally anxious elves.

As they gathered around the tree and opened their presents James found among them a toy robot that walks and talks and does tricks, and Lily found a unicorn that grows to let you ride it, and Albus found a rubber duckie that quacks in songs and swims like a real duck.

Ginny and Harry gave each other their presents. Ginny's to Harry was a special remembral which works like a pensive so he could preserve such happy memories as this one. Harry's to Ginny was a music box which played her favorite love song.

Winky and Dobby took out the presents which each of them had put in large Christmas stockings. Dobby's gift to Winky was a set of magic rings which glowed when they each held hands. Winky's gift to Dobby was, to his great delight, a pair of shiny brown shoes with the toes pointed slightly upward which would go splendidly with his collection of socks.