The End of Christmas
While the children continued playing with the gifts they had received, the sound of the front doorbell echoed through the house. Sally wiped her hands on her kitchen apron before going to open it.
On the other side of the door stood Sirius, wearing a wide grin. He was dressed in a rather careless way, with that slightly wild style that always characterized him, paired with a black trench coat that looked like it had seen far too many adventures.
"Oh, Mr. Black, welcome. You arrived early," Sally said with a warm smile as she greeted him.
"Yes; I wanted to see my adorable godson's face. And I also brought you some help," Sirius replied before speaking clearly, "Kracher."
With a sharp snap, an extremely wrinkled house elf appeared immediately at Sirius's side. At once, he put on a visibly annoyed expression at having been summoned by his master, though he seemed incapable of saying a single word. He literally could not open his mouth; he could only glare at everything around him with disdain.
The moment Kracher appeared, Lia emerged next to Sally almost at the same time. She stared fixedly at the other elf with obvious suspicion and, for a brief moment, a dangerous glint crossed her eyes.
The difference between them was truly noticeable. Kracher wore a ragged and poorly kept outfit, barely held together by an improvised knot. Lia, on the other hand, wore something resembling a dress made of roses; though in reality, it was nothing more than a pillowcase, one of the many that Percy and Harry had given her over the years.
She absolutely refused to wear clothes; however, a pillowcase seemed to be the limit she was willing to accept. She had even sewn a small pocket into it and wore a rope tied around her waist to adjust it better.
It was still not clothing in the proper sense, but it was surprisingly presentable compared to any other house elf.
"Oh, that won't be necessary. Lia is more than enough help," Sally said quickly, shaking her head.
"It's better to have more helpers. I would help you myself, but you really do not want that," Sirius replied with a crooked smile. "Besides, this is a punishment for him for being extremely annoying," he added, shooting a stern look at his elf for a moment.
The look Kracher returned to his master was no better. When Lia witnessed that exchange, she frowned even more deeply.
"But he doesn't seem very eager to help," Sally commented with some doubt.
"Oh, no; he's in a bad mood because I found his hiding place, where he keeps all the things he steals from the house. I found it while looking for Harry's gift," Sirius explained casually, waving his hand as if it were nothing important.
"Well, I suppose that's fine," Sally accepted, unable to find a proper way to refuse.
Sirius entered the house calmly, scanning the place as if he were looking for someone in particular. It did not take long to find them; Harry and Percy were on the floor, playing with the invisibility cloak.
"My dear godson; I'm here," Sirius announced with his usual loud entrance, momentarily stopping the children's game. They were still in their pajamas.
Harry turned toward him with an immediate smile. Percy, on the other hand, put on a slightly sullen expression; after all, only a few minutes earlier he had received that cursed sword from Sirius.
"Sirius, I got the Christmas gift. Thank you," Harry said with obvious happiness, before hugging him without hesitation.
Sirius froze for a second, clearly surprised. Harry was not usually very demonstrative with his affection; in fact, he only was with his mother and his brother. The surprise gave way to an unexpected warmth that filled his chest.
"I'm glad you liked it," he replied with a gentle smile.
Then Sirius noticed the cloak they were using. He observed it carefully and opened his eyes slightly as he recognized it at once.
"It's your father's cloak," he said with a mix of surprise and nostalgia, taking it carefully as a flood of memories seemed to pass through his mind.
"Yes; someone sent it, though it didn't say who," Harry explained, showing him the note.
Sirius looked at the paper and recognized the handwriting almost immediately. He smiled softly.
"You know, when we were at Hogwarts, your father and I used this cloak to do many interesting things. With it, we completed the Marauder's Map, including all the secret passages we found along the way," he said, his smile heavy with memories.
"Marauder's Map?" Harry asked with curiosity.
"Now that I think about it, it should still be at Hogwarts. In our last year, Professor McGonagall managed to catch us, though I do not think she ever figured out how to use it," Sirius added, clearly reminiscing with amusement.
While they were talking, the next to arrive were Luther and Arthur, carrying large trays of food. Sally was momentarily surprised.
Both were dressed elegantly, wearing modern, high end clothing. Luther wore a perfectly fitted dark suit, while Arthur wore a more youthful jacket; even though he was already in his early twenties, He always looked much younger. he was often mistaken for a teenager, especially because of his fresh and contagious personality.
Luther had a tough and imposing appearance, but his character was surprisingly kind and calm; of course, as long as there was no enemy standing in front of him.
"You didn't have to trouble yourselves; we were already preparing everything," Sally said softly.
"Oh, it's fine; we can't show up empty handed," Luther replied with a slight smile.
Arthur came in as always, with that carefree and cheerful air, heading straight for the children.
The next to arrive were Mark and Dorien. Mark wore a flashy wizard's robe in golden and silver tones, which, against all odds, suited him quite well. Dorien, on the other hand, wore a black shirt and matching trousers.
Mark's expression made it clear that he was not happy about having come together with Dorien, while the latter seemed mildly amused by his companion's obvious annoyance.
"You can stop putting on that fake smile; you're really annoying," Mark told Dorien before entering. Then he greeted Sally with a brief nod.
As always, they had worked together for so long that they did not need unnecessary words or formalities.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Dorien said, glancing at him slightly as he handed a package to Sally. "I couldn't send my gifts earlier; I was a bit busy," he added, addressing her.
Sally noticed that inside the package there were three boxes.
"Thank you, you didn't have to go through the trouble," she said quickly, a little surprised.
"Oh, it's fine. For Percy, it's a book about manners; for Harry, one about mythology; and for you, a facial cream that my sister said was very good," Dorien explained casually.
"You have a sister?" Sally asked, surprised, as if she were only just finding out.
Dorien looked at her with a calm smile. "I don't. You're still easy to read," he said, clearly amused by the change in Sally's expression. "I stole it from Gema," he added as he walked into the house.
Sally let out a sigh. Truly, between Dorien, Adrien, and Mr. Vincent, who were also family among themselves, it seemed they took special pleasure in getting reactions out of people.
And, as if she had summoned them, Vincent and Adrien arrived together with Gema. Both wore elegant shirts; Adrien's was white, paired with black trousers, while Vincent's was navy blue. However, due to his massive muscles, Vincent's shirt was stretched rather noticeably, giving him an imposing presence. Curiously, both shared a very similar style, which Sally found slightly amusing.
Although she tried to hide it quickly, both Nito and Grandpa seemed to notice it at once.
Gema, for her part, was wearing warm clothing. She had on a padded jacket and thick pants, covering herself somewhat suspiciously with the jacket itself. However, the bandages peeking out from her neck and wrists made the reason obvious. In addition, a few recent scrapes were still visible on her face.
Harry and Percy stopped their conversation with Arthur and Sirius and approached with worried expressions. It was clear they had noticed; both had good eyesight, and besides, Gema had never been good at hiding her injuries, especially when she walked with a slight limp.
"Professor Gema, what happened to you?" Percy asked immediately, frowning.
Harry also looked concerned when he saw her injured. Her arms were bandaged, her neck covered, there were marks on her face, and she seemed to be in pain as she walked.
Gema let out a sigh when she realized she had been found out and loosened her jacket slightly. "Nothing, kid. Just a mission that got a bit dangerous," she replied, trying not to worry them.
"Who was it?" Percy insisted.
"An unknown magical creature. But, as I said, don't worry; it wasn't near here. It was in another country," she added quickly, gently patting both of their heads.
Even so, those words made the knights present look at Gema for a moment with serious expressions, as if they were all thinking the same thing as the children, but none of them said it out loud.
"All right, kids, go get changed or you'll spend the whole day in your pajamas," Sally said quickly, helping Gema move a little aside to keep the children from continuing to question her.
Harry and Percy nodded and ran off to change their clothes.
Meanwhile, Gema looked for a place to sit. That was when she noticed Mor, sitting calmly on one of the armchairs, completely detached from the surrounding noise, reading a book that looked truly ancient. Her calm contrasted curiously with the general bustle of the house.
Gema sat down quietly on the sofa, not too far from her. However, as she settled in, she felt she had sat on something hard, so she immediately stood up to remove it. When she did, she noticed it was some kind of box filled with strange cards.
She frowned slightly, confused, before opening it out of curiosity.
A faint smile appeared on her face when she saw that the cards depicted different mythological creatures, drawn in a peculiar style. There were also a few illustrations of minor gods. Everything seemed harmless, even somewhat amusing, until one of the cards caught her attention.
The Minotaur.
However, unlike the images she had seen in books or online, this one was wearing ridiculously flashy underwear. The detail was funny, almost absurd; but it was precisely that which made Gema's expression turn completely serious.
After all, the creature that had attacked her in the United States had been exactly that. A minotaur wearing underwear.
At the time, she had believed it to be a confusion caused by the stress of combat or by the absurdity of the situation. But there it was, described in the same way, though represented with a clearly comedic drawing.
Mor, who had been reading in silence, lifted her gaze for a moment. Her eyes settled on Gema's face and then on the card she held in her hand. She said nothing, but her attention was unmistakable.
…
Later, after sharing a Christmas dinner with everyone, full of laughter, lively conversations, and anecdotes, it was time to say goodbye.
That was when Harry and Percy realized something important.
Christmas was over.
And with it, the time to return to Hogwarts had arrived.