Got One Hundred Steps to Go (Tonight I'll Make it Ninety Nine)

14

The last days towards Christmas dwindled, with Harry and his friends researching and keeping their fighting skills sharp. They had plans to make another go at finding the Gaunt Shack before the new year, and had found a few more clues that might point to the location, in several books so old Harry thought they may have been lost to the fabric of time. Genealogy books that traced the old family lines had provided a good deal of information, including areas where some families had chosen to settle.

While the Gaunt Family had faded several decades earlier, these books had been written generations ago, and still included the family they were so interested in.

On the morning of the Twenty Fifth, Ron, somewhat predictably, woke them all up early. They congregated in the sitting room, where Harry had asked the house elves to set up a Christmas tree, and ate breakfast sitting on the floor as they opened their gifts.

They all missed their families, but were grateful to be able to spend the day with each other, and because they had kept their trunks shrunken in their pockets when heading to catch the train out of Hogsmeade, they all were able to exchange their gifts with each other.

Ginny immediately put on the gold lioness pendant that Harry had given her, grinning with pleasure as she admired the necklace.

Harry leaned over to give his wife a kiss when he unwrapped a photo of the two of them from her. They were seated on the grass by the lake at Hogwarts, with Ginny leaning against Harry's chest, the two of them oblivious to the camera. "Did Colin take this?" Harry asked curiously, running a finger along the frame.

Ginny nodded, smiling. "He gave it to me a couple weeks before the end of the term. He thought we might like it. It seems he caught us in a rare moment of relaxation, without stressing about the war, or school, or anything."

Harry nodded absentmindedly. "I love it, Gin."

"This is great, Harry, thanks!" Ron called, reading the back cover of a book on the history of Quidditch.

Harry smiled at his friend, knowing that he had gifted the redhead with probably one of the few books the teenager was likely to enjoy reading.

Hermione cut in next, thanking Harry for the book on various jobs in the Ministry, and then it was Neville's turn; Harry had given him a book on jobs that utilize Herbology training.

Harry opened a few more gifts, including a book on wizarding villages and towns in Britain from Hermione, candy from Ron, and a book on advanced warding from Neville. When he got to Susan's present, she looked nervous. "I found this over the summer, and I thought you would like a copy," she bit her lip.

Confused, Harry unwrapped another picture frame. He turned it over, and gasped lightly, looking at the photo within. He recognized his and Neville's parents in the background, along with another man and woman who looked vaguely familiar. Looking at Susan once more, he realized why they seemed so recognizable: the woman in the photo had the same face as his auburn-haired friend, but he could detect a trace of the unknown man in Susan's eyes and jaw line.

Susan nodded, looking down, and Harry turned back to the photo. In the foreground, three toddlers were playing together; he once more recognized himself and Neville, from the photos the Longbottom heir had given him over the last few years. The third toddler he had never seen before, but she had Susan's eyes, and her hair was the same color.

Susan coughed, clearing her throat. "I asked Aunt Amelia, and she told me that we played together a few times before..." Her eyes filled with water. "Our parents weren't great friends, since mine were several years older, but when there was an Order meeting, or if they needed someone to babysit... well, we had a few play dates before my parents died."