Fleur left shortly afterwards to spend the rest of Christmas with her family in France. Penny likewise needed to leave not long after to go to her family's Christmas Dinner. The rest of the family; Sirius, Harry, Tonks, Andromeda, Ted, and Lupin had a wonderful dinner together. Tayla had really outdone herself and the House Elf had been praised so much Harry wasn't sure she'd ever stop smiling. Lupin was corralled into staying the night by Sirius and Tonks pecked Harry's lips before she left. Harry went to bed with a smile on his face.
-December 27th-
Harry was happily working in his smithy at Wood End Cottage. He was poring over a book about leatherworking to learn the skill. He wanted to turn the rolls upon rolls of processed hide into vests, coats, and cloaks for his family. If he could get Tonks', Penny's, and Fleur's measurements, maybe three pairs of leather pants too… For reasons.
"Alright, so measure out the length, then the width, sleeves need to be measured by diameter…" Harry read over the tome as he performed the tasks listed. Bit by bit, the young Artificer made progress. Near the end of the day he smiled happily at his first piece. A Basilisk leather vest with cotton lining; it had very good spell resistance and it looked nice too! Harry wasn't a tailor or anything, but a vest was fairly simple all things considered. Sewing was a skill of his that he'd tried not to let fade.
"I hope Hagrid liked his new Scarf and Gloves." Harry smiled at the thought of the large man. He'd received a gift via owl from Hagrid again this year. Knowing his Enchanting would require materials, Hagrid had sent him a book about safely harvesting parts from Magical Creatures. The book was all about harvesting parts that the creature could grow back. It had a heavy focus on keeping said creatures alive throughout the process too.
Happy with his work, Harry took the vest and left the smithy. Walking through the cleared path in the backyard, Harry admired the snowfall. It was chilly, of course, but he very much enjoyed the view of Wood End Cottage in winter. Walking into the cottage Harry smiled when he heard a voice that had become a bit familiar over the last year. He headed into the living room and was happy to see Sirius and Marlie Reed chatting and enjoying tea. The two were rather serious at this point in their relationship. Harry was expecting for Sirius to eventually announce their engagement.
"What's up Harry?" Sirius asked as he looked at his Godson with a smile.
"Finished the first Basilisk leather vest." Harry explained as he held up the vest. "I figured you could model your last Christmas present for Marlie."
"For me?" Sirius stood up and took the vest from Harry. "Thank you, Harry." He smiled as he put the vest on. Buttoning up the three buttons he moved his arms a bit and found the vest to fit fairly well. "I guess the measurements were good then." He chuckled as Harry had taken his measurements before Christmas Day.
"Looks like it." Harry nodded to his Godfather.
"Now for the big test." Sirius grinned and gave Harry a wink. "What do you think, Love?" He asked while turning to face Marlie. The ravenette woman with the warm grey eyes smiled at her lover.
"It looks rather dashing on you, Sirius." Marlie grinned. "I rather like it."
"Well that settles it," Sirius clapped his hands together. "Made by my Godson, and approved by my darling, I'm sold!" He chuckled as he ran his hands over the vest. Marlie let out a warm laughter that made Sirius smile; and Harry grinned at his Godfather.
"It's also very spell resistant too, so it'll protect you if anything untoward should happen." Harry informed him. "I hit it with everything from a Stinging Hex to a Severing Curse and none of them left a mark on it."
"You don't say?" Sirius looked the vest over with wide eyes.
"The buttons will take in mana if you apply it to them like you would a wand." Harry showed Sirius. "The leather retains the Basilisk's magic resistance, but it'll fade away in time. Giving it mana from time to time will keep it from fading for quite a while longer. You could probably keep it for the rest of your life, but I kinda doubt it'll still be working after that long; so it's not something that can be passed down. Also, it's only magic resistant, so it won't stop physical objects like blades, rocks, or what have you. Only the Basilisk's Scales are both magic resistant AND physically resistant." He explained and Sirius pulled him into a hug.
"Thank you, Harry," Sirius squeezed him tight for a moment. "I love it."
"No problem Sirius, give me some time to practice more and I'll have a long coat for you too." Harry whispered back as he returned the hug.
"Take your time, Harry." Sirius chuckled. "Make a vest for yourself first; I don't want anything to happen to you."
"Sure thing." Harry grinned at his Godfather.
"This is so heartwarming." Marlie cooed at the scene. "You're an excellent parent, Sirius." The smile Marlie gave him made Sirius' heart thump in his chest.
"Well, I'll just be in my smithy working, probably won't be back inside for a few hours…" Harry announced as he walked out of the living room and towards the back door.
"Oi!" Sirius called after him. Harry burst into laughter as he closed the backdoor behind him. He hurried back to his smithy just in case Sirius and Marlie really DID decide to take advantage of his absence.
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