The Dark Lord's Salvation - T.Riddle

22. Christmas Day

Lyra woke later than usual the next day. The dorm was empty, so she assumed the other girls had gotten up earlier. As she stirred awake, a small pop sounded from beside her bed. Lyra turned her head to see Tipsy standing there.

"Hello Tipsy. What can I help you with today?"

"Tipsy has presents for the great mistress. A mister Nott is asking Tipsy to bring them to you when the great mistress is alone"

Lyra looked down to the small pile of presents Tipsy held in her arms. She took them gently from her, softly thanking her. Tipsy nodded her head before disappearing with another soft pop. Listening for anyone heading in, Lyra started opening these presents from her Slytherin friends.

Draco had sent her the latest broom servicing kit and some seeker gloves with her name embroidered on. Since she'd started taking her miniature dragon around the castle with her on occasion, Theo thought it was fitting to gift her a rare book on dragons. Blaise had sent her a snake bracelet made of goblin silver with emeralds for eyes. It turned into a whip with the flick of her wrist. Pansy had sent her some luxury hair care products that she thought would help with her untameable thick wavy hair. Her last gift was from Daphne. She had given her a couple of hair pins. One was of a dragon, and the other was a lily.

Now Lyra was glad she'd splurged on their presents. She'd sent Draco a Firebolt and a servicing kit. For Theo, she'd got a first edition book on the Kingdom of Camelot. She had several in her vaults and thought Theo would appreciate one. Blaise had received a cloak lined with the warmest fur. For Pansy and Daphne, she'd stuck with jewellery. A silver chain necklace with a large emerald drop for Pansy, and a diamond bracelet for Daphne. Both pieces had multiple protection spells on them, and they were charmed to never rust or break.

Lyra also received a whole box of different chocolates from her Remus. He'd sent the box with Sirius when she'd met up with him. They'd also been exchanging letters more recently. She placed the gifts into her trunk before moving on to the ones from Sirius. He'd told her to open them privately, so they weren't reported to Dumbledore.

There were three presents and an envelope. He'd written on the envelope for her to open that last. She picked up the first present. Lyra opened it and gasped softly. Inside, was a necklace with two rings on it. She put it on and felt a wave of warmth flow through her. The second present was a grey Falmouth Falcons Quidditch hoody with the name Potter on the back. It smelled like cologne. Lyra put it to the side and picked up the last present. It was a leather jacket. It too, smelled like cologne but it had a faint trace of cigarette smoke too.

Lyra opened the envelope and inside was a letter.

Lyra,

I thought about spoiling you rotten as you like to accuse me of doing so often. But then I remembered the reaction you had to the mirrors. Having something of mine and James's brought the biggest smile to your face and I knew what I needed to get you for Yule. The leather jacket was mine. I used to wear it all the time at Hogwarts. There are protection spells on it since I also wore it during the war. The hoody was your fathers. James had an open invitation to play for the Falmouth Falcons when the war was over. This was his favourite hoody to relax in from them. The rings on the necklace were your parents wedding rings. I found them in the Potter vault as they'd been returned there after they died. They'd imbued some of their magic into them so they could always find each other. I thought you would appreciate them. I asked the goblins to put a charm on it, so only you can see it. That way you can wear it freely, without nosy people asking where it came from. The chain will also never break or rust, and only you can take it on and off.

I'll speak you soon Prongslette. Happy Yule.

Love

Papa Padfoot

The letter brought tears to her eyes. She finally had something of her parents. All three of them. Something she had so desperately wanted growing up. She placed the leather jacket, hoody, and letter in her trunk. Lyra didn't want anything happening to them.

It took several minutes for her to compose herself. She then changed into comfortable clothes and headed down into the common room.

There were many people down there. Everyone was exchanging pleasantries and gifts. The Weasley twins spotted her first. They ran up to her to give her a hug.

"Merry Christmas! Come join us. Make way for the champion people!" Fred exclaimed.

Lyra laughed at his antics but joined them with Ron and Hermione.

"Merry Christmas all! Now, who wants to open presents?" Lyra asked giddily.

Everyone grabbed their piles. Fred and George gave Lyra some products they had developed. She had given them a copy of one of her dad's pranking journals. Sharpfang had copied it for her. The original was in her trunk's library. Fred had given her a big hug, whilst George sat speechless. It also had commentary from Sirius and Remus in it, but all the notes were signed with Prongs, Padfoot, and Moony. Ron had gifted her some of his duplicate chocolate frog cards to add to her collection and a few sweets. Hermione had given her some muggle fiction books. Lyra presented Ron with a Chudley Cannons sweatshirt, and she'd given Hermione a book on creatures. Also in Lyra's pile, was the Weasley jumper and homemade fudge from Molly. She sensed compulsions on the jumper and potions in the fudge. They were added to the pile for her to take upstairs. She'd get a house elf to destroy them later.

They went down to the great hall for Christmas lunch. All the staff were there along with all the guests. Everyone mingled which meant there were no house tables. You found a seat and sat down. Lyra spotted Luna and waved. They'd each gotten the other a plant for Christmas. Lyra had planted hers in her trunks outdoor area. At the end of the meal, Mad-Eye limped past Lyra on his way out and discreetly handed her a note. When she got back to her dorm, she read it.

Open the egg underwater

That night, Lyra snuck out to the prefect's bathroom on the fifth floor. She lowered herself into the bath and reached back for the egg. Lyra took a deep breath and sunk below the water before opening the egg. Instead of screaming, a hauntingly beautiful voice filled her ears.

"Come seek us where our voices sound. We cannot sing above the ground. An hour long you have to look, to recover what we took"

"Oh, come on! First to get passed a dragon, now hold our breath for an hour? Damn it all to hell" Lyra muttered under her breath. She snuck back to her dorm. This Yule holiday had been interesting for sure.