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They had stayed up late talking and reminiscing. Tonks had taken Teddy up a little bit ago, and now they were calling it a night after Harry had nodded off one too many times.
“Good Night!” Harry climbed up the stairs of Grimmauld Place.
Remus waved while Sirius called, “Merry Christmas!”
They waited until they heard his door close before jumping into action. They had decorated the tree as a family earlier. I had been Harry’s first time getting to take part, and everyone had a great time; even Teddy got to help. Now they just had to get the surprise ready.
“Remy, grab the garland.”
“Hang the lights over there.”
“Did you get all the RSVPs?”
“Try not to sound like an elephant on the stairs next time, Pads.”
“My COOKIES!--I thought you were taking them out!”
“Did you hear something?”
“There are only 28 presents. I thought we had 30?”
“Where’d I put my wand?”
“Again? This is the 5th time!”
By the time they deemed everything ready, it was only a couple hours until sunrise. Both of them had broken down crying several times, and they looked like death warmed over, but the house was a Christmas wonderland. Everything was covered in tinsel, garlands, and lights. Frost had been spelled into intricate designs on the windows, a fire was crackling brightly, presents were spilling out from under the tree, and the whole house smelled like cinnamon and pine. Sirius clasped Remus’ shoulder outside his bedroom, then turned and climbed the last flight to his own room. They wouldn’t get much sleep, but it was so worth it.
Harry woke up abruptly before dawn. It was a habit left over from his time on the run, but he was loath to let it go; it gave him a lot of comfort knowing he was always the first one up. He stretched and climbed out of bed before it hit him--it was Christmas! He threw a jumper over his pajamas to stave off the chill, and then he bolted into the hallway. The house smelled wonderful! He stood there for a couple seconds just being happy before turning and hurrying to Teddy’s room.
After Harry, Teddy was the earliest riser in the house. That was just fine with Harry; he loved getting to spend time with his godson. It constantly amazed him that Remus and Tonks could trust him with something so precious. Harry cracked the door open to look inside, and, true to form, Teddy was stirring. Creeping in, Harry smiled down at him in his crib. He was still partially red and white after going to sleep while trying to express his desire for another lick of candy cane. His face was all scrunched up as he fought off the last bits of sleep, and Harry was sure he was the most perfect thing he had ever seen. Sometimes it scared Harry how much he loved Teddy. What if one of Voldemort’s followers was still out there? They had been very thorough, putting nearly the entire wizarding world on trial by the time they were done, but what if they had missed someone?
Luckily, before Harry’s mind could go back down that road, Teddy opened his eyes and giggled up at him.
“Merry Christmas, Ted. Are you excited?”
Teddy cooed, and Harry scooped him up carefully and bounced him toward the door.
“Let’s go put our presents under the tree.”
They stopped back at Harry’s room to grab his presents, balancing Teddy in one arm and the presents in the other. Skillfully maneuvering the stairs, he turned and his jaw dropped. He stood in shock for a moment, but a magic camera flash brought him back. Moving like in slow motion, he set his presents on the edge of the mountain that were already there, then turned in a circle, taking in the whole room. The camera had been set facing the doorway, obviously charmed to capture someone walking in the room. Handmade stockings hung above the fire that were stuffed to overflowing. Every inch of the room was covered in decorations, and now that Harry was paying attention, he noticed that even the stairs and entryway had been decorated.
Teddy’s wiggling brought his attention down to the boy in his arms. His hair was all red now, and he was trying to catch the floating lights. Using his seeker reflexes, Harry caught one and held it out for him. Smiling at the boy clapping and shaking the small glowing ball, Harry started to hunt down the source of the wonderful smell.
And that was how the adults found them in the kitchen, Teddy sitting on the table in front of Harry, and both equally covered in cookie crumbs. After a couple moments, Harry spoke up.
“We left some for you…”
“You’d better have. There were a lot of cookies!” Harry flinched as Sirius slapped him on the back, “but why don’t we head back to the main room and open presents.”
Remus smiled at Harry as Tonk stepped in to collect Teddy. He opened his mouth to say somehting, but Sirius interrupted with a loud charge toward the tree.
“Presents!”
“EEEeeeEEEee!” Teddy copied.
Everyone laughed as they sat down around the room.
“I get to play Santa!” Sirius scrambled towards the presents.
Sirius would hand out presents until everyone had one, then they would simultaneously open them. They would all exclaim about whatever they had opened, and thank the giver, then Sirius would be back with the next round. And so it went. There were frivolous presents and useful ones; there were silly presents and meaningful ones. By the time they were done, everyone had a small pile next to their seats.
Remus leaned over to kiss Tonks, and Teddy was playing in the wrapping paper and ribbons. Sirius turned to beam at Harry, but instead was greeted by the sight of a crying godson.
“Harry? Is everything okay? Did you not get something you wanted? Don’t give up hope. We still have the stockings to open,” Sirius moved to kneel next to Harry, but he only started crying harder.
At this point Remus and Tonks had noticed and started moving closer.
“Harry! What’s the matter?”
Harry was all out sobbing at this point, but he managed to hiccough, “h-hap-py.”
“Oh, Prongslet,” Sirius leaned in to hug him, and Remus and Tonks crowded in on the sides.
Harry’s tears eventually subsided, but they stayed in the group hug until Teddy was distracted from his makeshift toys long enough to realize he was being left out. At that point, using a nearby stack of gifts, he pulled himself into a standing position and screamed. Everyone else broke apart, laughing, until Tonks realized Teddy was standing for the first time and freaked out.
She grabbed the camera from its stand and started snapping picture, but Teddy, happy to have the attention back on him, promptly sat down.
“Ugh, I maybe got one picture.” Teddy started laughing at her.
“You think that’s funny, huh? Well I’ll show you what’s funny,” Tonks dove at him and started tickling.
Sirius and Remus sat on the couch with Harry between them, and they both wrapped an arm around him. They all smiled at the sight in front of them, and Harry leaned his head onto a shoulder and asked, “So what’s for breakfast besides cookies?”
Sirius’ smile turned mischievous, and Remus leaned in to whisper, “Well, since you asked…”
Just then the fire flared green and Mrs. Weasley burst out. “Merry Christmas, dearies!”
Then the fire flared again and out tumbled Ron, Hermione, Luna, Ginny, the twins, Bill, Charlie, Percy, and Mr. Weasley, all carrying armfuls of food and presents. Merry Christmases and hugs were exchanged all around, and everyone migrated to the kitchen to eat what was turning into a lovely Christmas brunch.
The rest of the day passed in a flurry of activity. There was food and presents and hot drinks and more food and dessert. There were a few close calls with accidental hyper-vigilance, but that was to be expected, and overall it was a lovely time. Mrs. Weasley had produced jumpers for everyone, and a group photo was taken in front of the tree.
Harry looked around as everything was winding down, and he had to blink back tears again. To think that he had gone from being an unwanted orphan with no real family to speak of to having so much family that they filled a large room.
After one last round of hugs, all the guests left, and Harry found himself back between Sirius and Remus on the couch.
“Did you like your surprise, Pup?” Sirius ruffled his hair.
“Very much; thank you.”
Tonks passed a sleeping Teddy to Harry, and he gently nuzzled his cheek before leaning back into the dual embrace of his uncles.
“Merry Christmas,” he whispered.
“Merry Christmas, Harry” .