Chapter 10 - Brightest Day

Ron Weasley was absolutely livid. Here he was, cleaning dirty dishes like some common house elf. While the actual house-elves watched and critiqued his work. He didn't even do the dishes when he was at home. His mother had always used magic to keep her kitchen clean. The boys weren't even allowed in there most of the time.

"Weasel boy missed a spot. Again." Came the squeaky voice of the head elf that had been assigned by McGonagall to watch him.

The dirty golden plate clattered back into the overfull sink and sloshed sudsy water all over his already soaked robes. Ron glared at the smug look on it's pointed face.

"Weasel boy not have all day. Chop, chop." The elf stated, clapping its hands loudly by his ear.

This was absurd. He was stuck down here in the kitchens, cleaning dishes when he should have been out on the Quidditch pitch cheering on Gryffindor to victory over the dirty snakes. Instead, two Gryffindors had snitched on him to McGonagall and now he was being worked like a literal house elf.

"Stupid Potter. Out there making a show of himself I bet. Should be me on the team." Ron grumbled as he half-heartedly brushed the scrubber over the dishes from breakfast. Ron was really starting to dislike Potter and his naggy friend. First the disaster at the flying lesson and now he was being punished for being honest.

"Faster! We need these for lunch in two hours." Ron scowled again, ignoring the little twerp.

The snapping of a pair of fingers beside him was the only warning Ron received before the entire sink of water surged up and doused him from head to toe, disappearing into nothing before it reached the floor.

"Need fresh hot water to clean dirty dishes, boy. Back to work, and less grumbling. Ranty has a kitchen to run and you is holding us up."

Ron sputtered through the suds all over his face, his eyes stinging slightly as the soapy water seeped into them and grumbled to himself about how he would get them back for this outrage.

ϟ

Hermione was thrilled. She hadn't felt this energized in years. Not only was she watching her best friend fly like a maniac to huge cheers from their friends and fellow students, but she was doing it while standing between both their parents as they too shouted themselves hoarse at the boy as well.

James was the loudest, though Sirius was challenging him for the crown as they both behaved like complete children. Even the normally stoic Remus looked pleased to be there, cheering along for every goal and smiling broadly the whole time. Lily swayed back and forth between joy and fear as she watched her little boy dodge lumps of enchanted steel and other bodies on fast-moving brooms.

Hermione found it amazing. Flying was a whole world of fun in its own right. The wind surging about her as she controlled the broom with the soft touch of hand and thigh. The utter freedom of being in the air was something she'd never thought she would enjoy at first. When Harry offered to take her up, she took one look at the flimsy broom in his hands and nearly vomited at the idea.

But a few tandem flights with Lily and she'd been bitten too. She loved to fly. But there was no one on this earth who loved flying more than her Harry.

His robes swooshed past her hair, flicking it about as Hermione screamed and cheered. Harry was in his element. None of the opposing team seemed to know what to do with the lithe boy. His natural talent would have been adequate to keep him away from the lumbering brutes in green, but the new broom his parents had bought him was in a league of its own on this pitch.

Harry had disrupted nearly every single attempt on goal the hulking Slytherin Chaser's had made, not once making the mistake of touching the quaffle and handing the snakes a handy penalty. The few attempts he'd been unable to ruin had been handily repelled by the Gryffindor captain, and she wondered who had the bigger smile at that moment. Harry or Wood.

The teamwork of the all-girl chaser group Gryffindor had fielded was something else too. They moved as one unit, amazing given that like Harry, this was Katie's first full match. Hermione was sure she could hear bird calls coming from the girls and with every one they would switch positions or run a new play. Invariably resulting in a shot on goal. Almost all of which had slipped past the tiny Slytherin keeper. The only small member of their side.

Hermione had taken to thinking of the three girls as birds of prey, and when she had mentioned it aloud, Harry's cheer squad had latched onto the idea and began cheering even louder for the Gryffindor Raptors.

Being in the stands watching such a thrilling match was even better than the premier league matches her father had shouted the combined family out to over the summer. As another goal soared through the Slytherin posts, the noise level pitched up once more, and Hermione was carried about in the midst of the surging red and gold crowd.

But her attention had been drawn away from the Raptors latest attack as she noticed that Harry had pulled sharply away from their assault. He was now in a tight corkscrewing downward spiral, fast approaching the pitch itself.

The redhead by her side glanced down at Hermione as she felt the small hands clutching her arm tighten and she followed Hermione's gaze. Lily gasped loudly and soon the whole family was watching as Harry threw himself from side to side, looking every moment like he was about to be unseated from the wildly shifting broom.

Hermione knew she was likely cutting off the blood supply to Mrs Potter's arm, but she needed the support. As much as she loved to fly, she knew Harry was a daredevil on a broom she would never seek to match.

Several green-robed figures had noticed Harry's descent and were following him at speed. None had a hope of catching his superior broom, but tried nonetheless.

It was only the tiny glint of gold that Hermione could see shining in front of Harry that kept her from screaming in fear. She would be giving Harry a right talking to once the match finished. There was no need for such reckless behaviour.

The golden glint shot upwards, and Harry followed close on its tail. Almost all eyes in the stadium had noticed his movements now and were watching the new seeker demonstrate exactly how he had earned his spot on the team. Hermione could see the glimmer of sweat on Harry's forehead as he turned and shot almost directly at where they were standing.

Her lip screamed in agony as her teeth bit down hard, but Harry seemed completely in the zone. He was utterly focused on the evasive little snitch and was hunting it down, inch by inch. It would only be a matter of seconds before he was on their position in the stands and with a quick swipe of his arm, Harry divested the pitch of its free-flying snitch.

The crowd roared as one at the move and Hermione shouted herself hoarse as she let go of Lily's poor ruined arm and clapped loudly for her friend who now approached their position much slower, the captured snitch held aloft.

And that's when Hermione's shouts of triumph turned to screams of fear. Harry lurched forwards as something heavy struck him in the back and pitched him headfirst over the front of the broom. He was barely able to hold on with the hand not full of snitch as he tumbled forward.

"HARRY!" She screamed, rushing forward to the edge of the stands and stretching out both arms in an attempt to reach him as he rapidly approached the wall.

Two much larger pairs of arms shot out beside her as she grasped at Harry's cloak when he thudded against the side of the stands and his hand came free of the Nimbus. The second set of arms swooped under his armpits and held him firmly against the timber framework.

"Um, hi. We won!" Harry supplied sheepishly from his hanging position, holding up the hand clutched tightly about a set of frantically fluttering wings.

His fathers both struggled not to laugh as they worked together to haul the young lad up over the barrier. The moment Harry's feet touched the stands, Hermione had him in a death grip.

"Don't you ever do that to me again, Harry Potter!" She shouted into his shoulder, holding him as tightly as she ever had before.

"It was an accident, Hermione. I'll be fine."

"Nice flying, Ace," Sirius called as he sidled up to the pair and gave Harry a firm pat on the back.

Harry gave a sharp groan of pain and Hermione immediately released her grip. Seeing his face, she checked his back, pressing gingerly around the area that Sirius had whomped. Harry let out another moan at her touch and she noticed the pain in his eyes.

"Harry! Why didn't you tell us?" Hermione scolded.

"Tell us what? That was some flying there Harry. You're amazing on a broom. Even better than your dad." Remus offered, joining the growing group of adults that were the only thing stopping Harry from being swamped by his fellow classmates.

"Harry's hurt," Hermione stated, trying to guide him gingerly past the shouting schoolchildren.

"Hurt?" Lily asked, rushing past the celebrating Marauders and pulling her wand. "Let me see, Hermione."

The brown-haired girl stepped back but did not let go of Harry's jersey as Lily cast several spells over his back. Hermione tried to ignore the shouting of the assembled team flying above them as she watched the results of Lily's spells, even though she had no clue what the colours and symbols meant.

"You've broken your clavicle. How did you break your clavicle flying on a broom?!" Lily asked incredulously.

"Probably the bludger that slammed into my back after I caught the snitch." Harry groaned, the pain becoming more evident as the adrenaline of the match wore off.

"We need to get him to Madame Pomfrey." Hermione squeaked.

Lily nodded and the two females tried to guide him along the walkway to the stairs. The throng of students were still trying to get to Harry to congratulate him though and made it incredibly hard to move more than a foot at a time.

"This is crazy. It's way too crowded to walk him there." Hermione griped, looking about for a solution, which she found in the arms of Harry's godfather. "Perfect."

She rushed over to Sirius and snatched the long wooden handle from his grip. "Hey!"

As she reached Harry and Lily again, she slipped the head of the broom between Harry's legs, drawing a startled shout from him as she gingerly pressed up to his back, making sure she was over the broom as well.

"Up." She called and the two first-years soon hovered over the stand, gradually moving higher.

"Good thinking. We'll meet you there, Hermione." Lily called as they swooped slowly over the barrier and began a slow flight, guarded by Harry's now concerned teammates, headed for the castle.

"What's wrong with Harry?" Katie asked as she settled in beside them.

"Broken bone. That stupid bludger after the win." Hermione glanced upwards and found who she was looking for. "Who hit it?"

The redheaded twins looked at each other before speaking at once, their voices dripping with mischievous malice, "Bole."

Hermione nodded as she tried to keep Harry's groaning form carefully between her arms as she guided his broom onward.

"Wood's talking to Hooch now. Though I don't know what will come of it. We've already won. Not much they can do to him." Angelina supplied as she came up opposite Katie and used her free hand to steady Harry on the broom.

"Fine, we'll have to deal with it ourselves then," Hermione mumbled in Harry's ear, receiving an affirmative chuckle back before he coughed painfully.

ϟ

Harry had tired quickly of the back slaps. The Gryffindors had meant them as a celebratory gesture, but his shoulder was still tender from the break. The Slytherins however, seemed to ensure they were nearby all the time and were delighting in whacking him as hard as they could. When he had brought it up to a teacher, Snape had said it was simply the students being grateful losers, and the matter had been dropped.

Dropped by the staff at least. Harry now had two scores to settle with the house of snakes. One with the house as a whole for their postgame treatment. And one with Bole specifically. Hermione seemed to be thoroughly delighted at the prospect of punishing the miserable prick.

He had claimed he hit the bludger before Harry had caught the snitch, but Harry's cheer squad had confirmed otherwise. Harry was eager to show the cheating mongrel what happened when they crossed a Marauder, legacy or not.

Harry sagged heavily into the seat beside Hermione as she continued reading the thick tome in front of her. She'd been researching several options for their revenge, and this book had seemed particularly promising.

"So, what have we got?" He asked her, pulling out a small spiral notebook his fathers had charmed for him.

"So much. This book is a gold mine, Harry," she whispered back, trying to ensure they did not garner any additional attention to their task. "We could make him bald for life, though there is a potion based cure for that you can be sure Snape knows. Incontinent for three weeks. No known counter. Unable to absorb nutrients, and nutrient potions exacerbate the condition. But that seems like it might be too far."

Harry nodded as he noted down the options. Just because they weren't of use today, didn't mean they wouldn't find cause to use them in the future. "Cure for that one?"

"A complex spell, but given it was invented by one Filius Flitwick according to this, I'd say he knows the counter."

Harry gave a grunt of acknowledgement. They had both been surprised to find out that their half-goblin Charms professor had been quite a prankster himself in his time. But with a goblin upbringing, some of his work had been decidedly harsher than they were looking for.

"So, option A is still our best bet?"

"Seems to be. This stuff is great and all, but some of it goes over the top for what we're looking for. Though if Weasley bitches one more time about missing the match, I might try that incontinence one on him." Hermione snarled, closing the book.

"Please don't. I have to sleep in the same dorm as him. He's already bad enough."

"Fine, but Bole is definitely getting his."

Harry smiled at his friend and laid a hand gently on hers. "You are the best friend a guy could ask for, Hermione."

ϟ

Harry moved quietly through the corridors, the lack of light kept their pace slower than they'd wanted but Harry allowed Hermione to set it, simply guiding by how tightly he gripped her shoulder as she dragged him ever forward.

Tonight was their last chance to pull this off before the holidays and they were determined. Revenge on them all would be sweet.

He squeezed much tighter and Hermione came to a stop before she shifted them quickly into a nearby alcove behind a suit of armour. He couldn't see any light but the dot on the parchment in his hand proved that Professor Sprout was about to come around the corner. His ears soon picked up the light footfalls and the pair stood in silence as the cheery woman walked past their hiding place without a glance in their direction. When the footsteps had vanished and the Map confirmed her absence, Harry tapped Hermione's shoulder once more before resting his hand lightly.

Their destination was not far now and he watched as the one dot he couldn't be absolutely sure about remained in place. He hoped this meant that Professor McGonagall was asleep, and not sitting at her desk marking. It was two in the morning, after all.

He broadened the area of the Map as they arrived at his head of house's door. There was no one else about on the entire floor that he could see and he gave Hermione the affirmative double-tap. He was glad she'd suggested the series of non-verbal instructions as it greatly reduced the likelihood of discovery.

The coast was clear enough, however, for Hermione to verbalize her spell. "Alohomora."

She opened the door slowly and Harry was buoyed by the lack of light. Hermione led the way again, and Harry left the door very slightly ajar as they passed, enough to look closed at a glance. Hermione slowly led them to the desk where he was very grateful that Professor Sprout had not been using a lit wand to guide her path. They could both see the papers on the desk quite clearly, despite the only light entering the room coming from the moon through the nearby window.

Harry faced the other door in the office, the one he knew led to the professor's chambers and confirmed the dot was on the other side. Another double-tap let Hermione get to work. She had practised the required spell for days now and he was sure she would manage it well enough. But she needed to focus on what she was doing to ensure it came off correctly. There was a risk associated they didn't want to be responsible for if it failed.

Several tense minutes passed and Harry nearly jumped when he received his own double tap on the shoulder. He turned to see Hermione smiling evilly, and he returned the smirk with glee. He allowed Hermione to step ahead of him and let her guide them to the door. He squeezed as he checked the nearby corridors on the Map before loosening to signal they were clear.

Hermione stepped through and resealed the door after him and the pair disappeared into the night, Harry too focused on the areas ahead to notice the one dot that had shifted, or the square-ringed eyes that watched his departure from atop the desk in the room.

ϟ

Lucian Bole had been riding high. He was the hero of his house for having put the irritating flea that was Potter in the Hospital Wing, despite their loss. Everyone in his house had treated him like a king despite only being a simple third year. And yet now, he was not so excited.

He had searched for a reason not to return home for Christmas, his new step-mother would not be so supportive as his housemates had been. The woman was an utter hag, always on him about being tidy and studying harder. And ugly as sin to boot. He honestly had no idea what his father saw in her, but Lucian had hated her ever since his father had married her during Lucian's second year.

And it, at last, seemed as though he'd found his chance. "What do you mean I can't go?"

Lucian rolled his eyes at the pompous first-year. Draco Malfoy had swaggered into Slytherin house as though he owned the place and yet had brought nothing to the house but shame as he failed to outsmart any of his fellow students and yet kept going back for more each time.

"Do you have any idea who my father is?"

"Of course I do Mister Malfoy, I am the one who taught him Transfiguration at this very school. Where he too needed to put his name down on the list if he wanted to go home for the holidays."

"But I did put my name down!" The child whined.

Bole cursed his own stupidity at signing the form after receiving his father's first letter implying his step-mother would be spending Christmas with her own family. By the time the second letter had arrived yesterday indicating he too would be going along, the list had been taken down.

"And yet, it is not on the list in my hand, Mister Malfoy. Are you sure you signed the right form? Perhaps one of your housemates played a prank on you. The official form is always posted to the house notice board." Professor McGonagall stared down the belligerent child who pretended to be important simply because of his last name.

Even from several places further back in the line, Bole could see Malfoy's skin going red. "If you would kindly stop standing in the way, some of the students behind you actually are signed up to go home."

The stern woman glared at Malfoy and the boy refused to move aside. Bole's eyes shifted to the messy black-haired boy who stepped around the Slytherin boy and smiled at his head of house as he was waved past.

"Where's he going?" Malfoy shouted.

"Mister Potter and Miss Granger are both on the list. If I have to explain matters to you again, Mister Malfoy, you shall find yourself not only spending Christmas in the castle, but in detention with me." The glare she fixed the boy with this time had the clearly desired effect.

Malfoy muttered and mumbled to himself as he finally moved aside. Where he joined a growing crowd of Slytherin students who had been denied passage by the Deputy Headmistress. Bole smiled as he stepped forward, someone had clearly removed all the Slytherin names from the list and he was about to be saved a horrid Christmas spent under his step-mother's horrid gaze.

"On you go." Bole was surprised as the sixth-year Slytherin in front of him was allowed through, and headed out of the Entrance Hall. The first to be allowed to do so as far as he knew.

"Bole. On the list, go on." McGonagall stated, looking over him to the next in line. "Move along, Mister Bole. I grow tired of having to repeat myself this morning."

Lucian glanced at the Slytherin crowd, none of them were looking at him like a hero now. He'd give anything to swap places with Draco right now. Another glance at the stern woman before him and his legs took over, walking past her and into the cool morning air.

"Miss Greengrass, say hello to your mother. And thank her for the tea."

Bole shuddered as another Slytherin was let through the bottleneck. Whatever had affected the Slytherins had not saved him as he had been hoping. He was doomed to three weeks of horror. He barely noticed as the Greengrass girl rushed past him and climbed into a carriage with Potter and Granger. He was too resigned to his fate now to care.

ϟ

"And of course, to Hermione, from Harry." Sirius the gaudy elf smirked as he passed her the small brightly wrapped package.

Her eyes flicked to her best friend sitting on the couch between his parents with one of the fakest smiles she'd seen him wear in years. It had niggled at her for days, he'd been sullen all the way home on the train as well. While she regaled her parents with details of their first few months of magical schooling, Harry had sat quietly and stared out the window of the car. Even now, on Christmas morning, surrounded by family something still bothered him and she couldn't read what.

She refocused on the small package on her lap, it was delicately wrapped in bright yellow paper. She peeled away the tape far more carefully than usual, her brain still more focused on Harry's mood than the paper and within a few moments had removed it cleanly. Inside was a small long black case, about the same length as the one her wand came in, but far thinner.

She engaged the hinge and her breath caught at the sight of what was within. It was a long slender chain of silvery-white metal. A necklace of some sort, with a brown stone at the end the size of her eyeball. One that matched the colour of her irises exactly, down to the slight marbling of different shades of brown within. Her eyes flicked up to Harry, a broad smile on her face that fell when she caught the look in his own.

And it finally clicked in her mind. Why he'd been so out of sorts leading up to Christmas, despite a perfectly executed prank.

"Harry James Potter! You…" Her eyes narrowed and she stood, quickly closing the distance between them and she poked his chest with two fingers. "You moody git! I am your friend because I like being your friend. You don't need to buy me fancy expensive things to keep my friendship. Why?"

Her tone demanded an answer and the parents watched stunned as the boy replied. "I thought… I didn't realize it was… I just thought you would like it. But it's so special, I needed to…"

Harry trailed off and she managed to trace the line of thought in the disjointed speech. She glomped the boy hard, pressing them both into the couch hard and making the Potters jump aside as a tangle of children formed between them.

"I love that book, not because it's worth a fortune, but because you gave it to me you git. Yes, it's special, but not because it is valuable. You don't need to buy my friendship, Harry. I give it freely."

Harry returned the hug tightly. "So, you're saying, I'm a huge idiot?" The usual humour she felt from him had returned and Hermione was far happier having solved the dilemma.

"That's just it, I know you aren't. So stop behaving like you are. If something's bothering you, talk to me, Harry." She pulled back and gave him a stern look. "Got it?"

He nodded and flicked his eyes to the necklace that was still in her hand. "Do you like it though?"

"Of course I love it, Harry. But when would I wear it? We're at school nine months a year."

"I don't know. I was getting desperate, I couldn't think of what to get that…" He blushed and refused to look at her face, obviously hiding the fact he'd been fretting about exactly what she'd just caught him out doing. "The stone caught my eye."

"And that's what gets you off. Even when being stupid, you still managed to be my Harry underneath." She whispered to him as she turned in the seat, settling between Harry and his father. "But none of that ever again. I don't care if you give me a tissue with your name on it. It's special because it comes from you. Well, I might. Put more thought in than that at least and we're good."

Harry chuckled at the idea of such a gift and she knew at some later stage she would find herself getting a secondary gift that was exactly that. Not that she would mind, especially not now the normal smile had returned to her friend's face.

"Thank you, Harry." She squeezed him tightly again and glanced at the other assembled adults about the room. Her parents were looking at her knowingly, and she was sure her face had her usual triumphant appearance from when she'd sorted a particularly difficult problem. She blushed and looked away from them to Sirius and Remus, dressed as an elf and Santa respectively. Though the costumes had their typical flair for the idiotic. Both were looking at her with confusion, their eyes flicked to Harry and back occasionally but without sorting what had just happened.

And the two adults of the three newest additions to their group looked completely baffled at her behaviour. Hermione blushed but the girl sat between them just looked beyond amused at the whole thing. Hermione caught Tonks' eye who winked at the far younger girl in return. Their introduction had been brief, but was apparently due to them reconnecting with Sirius at his Grandfather's will reading a few weeks prior. That they were also distant cousins to Harry meant she was more than happy to welcome them to the growing family.

"Sorry. It had been bothering me for days." Hermione apologized to the room who it finally seemed had figured out what she had.

"Well, now that the drama is over, I think there is one last present for both of you." Her mother commented, drawing her eye. In her hand was an envelope with her name scrawled on the front. Hermione released Harry and wandered back over to her parents, plonking down heavily as she took the envelope from her smiling mother.

A quick glance at Harry showed him holding a similar envelope but his was open and he had a card and a small black rectangle that she assumed had been inside. He looked at this mother with confusion and Hermione opened her own. The card was typical Hallmark fare, Congratulations emblazoned across the front in a large font surrounded by blue balloons rather than the pink ones on Harry's.

She flicked the card open and gasped loudly at the item inside. The grainy black and white image was pretty must just a blob, but Hermione knew what a sonogram was and she moved to launch herself towards her mother before stopping short and looking down at her stomach. "Can I?"

"Of course, Hermione," Margaret said, opening her arms wide and receiving the hug of a lifetime.

Many times growing up, Hermione had begged for a sibling. And now she was getting one it seemed. A baby boy she assumed by the colour of the card. She paused as that sunk in, her card was blue. Harry's…

Hermione turned on the spot to see Harry looking at her strangely. It seemed no one had enlightened him to what the image in his hand meant. Her eyes flicked to Lily who smirked before she leant in and whispered in Harry's ear. Hermione watched her friend's eyes widen before flicking between the grainy picture and his mother's stomach. Lily was pregnant too.

"I thought… you couldn't?" He mumbled.

"Not couldn't, but after we lost your sister to the stress of that Halloween, I was wary of trying again. But with you both missing from the house…" Lily explained. "I missed the chaos. And, well... you get a second shot at being a big brother to a little girl."

Harry did not hesitate as he grasped happily onto his mother. The woman laughed as she held her boy tightly and James shuffled across to join the embrace. Hermione felt her own father's arms wrap about her and her mother and she realized she had tears in her eyes. She glanced at her parents and saw them both beaming at her. "Happy Christmas, Hermione."

"Happy Christmas, mum. Dad. Just what I've always wanted."

ϟ

Harry certainly felt lighter on the return trip to the school. He felt a complete fool once Hermione had caught him out and set him to rights again. Of course, she didn't need fancy things to be his friend. Even now she was chattering happily with the other girls in the compartment about the things they'd gotten for Christmas, though he could tell she was dying to tell them all she was going to be a big sister before they returned at the end of the coming term.

And yet, he was distracted from the laughter once more, this time it was his father's doing. The tiny package he had stuffed into Harry's pocket weighed on him as he considered it. His father's hint had made it clear to him what it was.

Talk about fancy priceless gifts. James' cryptic comment, 'It's time you had this I think. Use it like a Marauder.' had made it plain he was receiving one of his family's oldest heirlooms. The cloak that for so long had hung on the wall in James' study was now squished into the palm-sized brown paper package in his pocket.

While it would surely come in handy for pulling pranks at school, as his father intended, it carried a weight he didn't really want to consider. What if he damaged it? What if he lost it? What if it was confiscated like the first Map?

He felt an arm wrap about his shoulders and Harry was startled from his reverie. He saw brown eyes looking at him closely as the girls across the way were fawning over the sonogram Hermione had clearly shown them.

"Alright?" She asked, using the distraction she had created to comfort him.

He nodded. "Yeah, I'll tell you later."

Hermione smiled and snuggled him closely as the girls turned to him as a unit. It seemed Hermione might have let slip his own news to them as well, and they were clearly awaiting the chance to see the first picture of his little sister. One Harry was keeping very close to his heart as he remembered just how happy his final Christmas present had made him, and still did.