Aurora | Harry Potter

chapter twenty-seven

It's Christmas Day and everyone is in the Black residence to celebrate. An enchanted Father Christmas figure soars around the room, cheerful smiles on everyone's faces. I turn around when I hear Molly's voice and see Arthur get seated at the head of the table, his face bruised but a grin on his face.

Everyone claps when they see him and we all sit down. "Now, presents!" Molly exclaims, handing boxes and parcels around to everyone. Everyone thanks her for their gifts, Ron trying his best to hide his distaste for his. I chuckle as I open mine, revealing a large, light pink handmade jumper, a dark red 'A' shown into the side shoulder of the right arm.

"Thank you, Molly," I say, giving her a kiss on the cheek as she takes the empty packaging from me. As I go to place it on the back of my chair, I see Harry walk inside the room, wearing a dark turquoise, button up shirt tucked into some white trousers. Sirius stands at the door and watches, as we all set up the table for Christmas dinner and Harry unwraps his gift, which is a handmade scarf.

I stand up and walk over to Harry, pressing a kiss on his cheek. "Happy Christmas, Harry," I say, grabbing the bowl of roast potatoes. He presses one on my cheek and says the same to me. I place the potatoes on the table and see Arthur raise his glass.

"A Christmas toast, to Mr. Harry Potter," Arthur says, making Harry look down at him. "Without whom I would not be here." Everyone smiles as we all raise our glasses to him, including Sirius, who walks into the room and grabs a glass to raise.

"Harry!" Everyone exclaims. He bashfully smiles and sits down next to me, Sirius taking a seat opposite us both. Molly starts to plate food for everyone and there is nothing in the air except for Christmas cheer.

-

"I don't understand why you want to wear it, Ronald," Hermione says, a smirk on her face as we all walk downstairs, all of us wearing our presents. "Because I look like a bloody idiot, that's why!" Ron protests, making me chuckle. 

Harry's eyes wander to a nearby room, so I whisper to Ron and Hermione that we'll join them in a moment. I follow Harry inside to see an empty room, the walls covered in a long, winding family tree. 

Sirius' house-elf, Kreacher, starts grumbling at us and talking about Harry being friends with 'mudbloods and blood traitors', but Sirius himself appears at the bottom of the stairs and sends Kreacher away. "Of course, Master," Kreacher says as he shuffles away, "Kreacher lives to serve the noble house of Black."

"Sorry about that," he apologises, standing in the doorway, "he never was very pleasant, even when I was a boy. Not to me, anyway..."

"You grew up here?" Harry asks, Sirius nodding in response, explaining this house was his parents and he offered it as the Order's Headquarters to Dumbledore. "This is the Black family tree," he says, walking into the room. He starts talking about his 'deranged cousin' and when I see where he's looking, I see the face of Bellatrix Lestrange, the woman who tortured Neville's parents and drove them mad. 

He points up to where his face should be, except it's torched and burnt away. "My mother did that when I ran away... charming woman," he says sarcastically, an ounce of hurt in his voice. "I was sixteen..."

"Where did you go?" I ask, my eyes looking all over the tree. Sirius smiles sadly and points at Harry. "His father's house, I was always welcome at the Potters... I see so much of him in you, Harry," he says, "You are so very much alike."

"I'm not so sure," Harry responds. I sigh and take his hand in mine, giving him a reassuring smile. "Sirius when I was... when I saw Mr Weasley being attacked, I wasn't just watching. I was the snake and afterwards in Dumbledore's office, there was a moment when I... I wanted to..." He sighs in agitation.

I stroke his arm slightly. "It's okay, Harry, take your time," I say, Sirius giving me a subtle smile as Harry looks at the floor. "This connection between me and Voldemort," he restarts, "what if the reason for it is that I am becoming more like him? I just feel... so angry, all the time and... what if after everything that I've been through, something's gone wrong inside me? What if I'm becoming bad?"

"Harry, listen to me," I interrupt, turning his head around to look at me, "you are NOT a bad person. You're a very good person who's just had a lot of bad things happen to, okay?" He nods and pulls me into a hug, his arms tight around my back.

"Everyone has both light and darkness inside them," Sirius adds on, "what matters is the part we choose to act on. That's who we really are." We pull out of our hug just as Hermione knocks on the door, telling us it's time for us to get our things together and return to Hogwarts. 

"Once this is all over, we'll be a real family," Sirius says to Harry, giving him a large smile before hugging him. Harry walks out and I go to leave, but Sirius asks me to stay behind for a moment. "Are you alright too, Aurora? Harry's told me things haven't been too easy for you recently?" He asks.

I smile and nod my head. "Thank you, I'm doing much better now." He smiles and then thanks me for always sticking beside Harry. "That boy is the only true family I have left in this world," he says, a smile filled with wonder on his face, "he means absolutely everything to me."

I smile back, saying I completely understand what he means. "Keep an eye on him for me, will you?" He asks and I nod my head. Sirius opens his arms and gives me a small hug too, before sending me off to join everyone else.