It's Christmas Time Again: A Time-Traveling TMS Holiday Extravaganza

Christmas Holiday, 2011 (Part Four)

I was in dress robes and my hair was its natural state, my height and face my own - utterly uncomfortable, to say the least. Harry was waking beside me.

"You don't have to say anything, remember, if you aren't comfortable, you haven't got to say a thing," Harry was saying quietly.

I nodded, my mouth dry, and heart pounding about a hundred beats a second.

It was cold in the hall, the walls made of an ornate marble, carved into magical flora and fauna accents. Rich ruby carpeting led through convoluted hallways. It was hard not to feel out of place and weird in a place like this.

It was several days after Christmas, when Harry had told me about this ceremony. He'd promised me then I would be under no obligation to speak, or to even go if I didn't wish to, but he hoped I would consider both. He'd cleared it with my Gran,  he said, and I'd had to swallow back the urge to say "I heard".

My father had been selected to receive the Order of Merlin First Class, and we had been invited to not only attend but I, specifically, was offered the opportunity to accept the medal on his behalf.

This was a very, very big deal. Everyone else involved with the Battle of Hogwarts had already received their medals years ago - but my father, a werewolf, had not been eligible for the honor.

A magical beast could not legally be bestowed the Order of Merlin. Furthermore, my father hadn't even been legally registered, and therefore hadn't even been awarded any of the lesser honors he might've been entitled to as he was technically enlisted at the Ministry for Magic as a wanted man, destined for Azkaban for avoiding containment during full moon nights.

However, the Minister for Magic, Kingsley Shacklebolt, had been working for years to establish fair laws for werewolves, partnering with a retired Auror called Harry Underhill, and had revoked the Restriction Act of 1963, putting into effect something called the Fair Treatment and Equality For All Magical Beings Act of 2009. The act had cleared many were wolves names that had previously been on the Wanted list from the old days, and released many lycanthropic people from Azkaban.

(This was actually the catalyst for the fight that had gotten Harry bitten by that Crup, by the by.)

It had taken two years to get all the paperwork processed and such and finally, finally now in 2011c the Department for the Appointment of the Order of Merlin had concluded that it was now legal for non-human magical beings to receive the honor of the Order of any class - and my father was to be the first ever werewolf to receive the medal.

First class.

Posthumously.

Harry was excited. I could see it in his eyes, and feel it in the energy that he protruded as he led the way through the ornate corridors that led to the throne room at Buckingham Palace - the wizarding one, that is. There are two, after all. The wizarding one is only accessible through underground corridors one enters at the Ministry for Magic.

"How many w-w -- of them -- will be here?" I asked anxiously. My hand was in my pocket, George Michael in my sweating palm.

"The entire pack at Fallengunder will be in attendance," Harry said.

I thought of that huge man - that terrifying, huge, hairy man that had told me about my father being a werewolf.

Harry stopped and leaned down to look me in the eye. "Teddy, there is nothing to be afraid of," he said. "They are just regular people. And they loved your father so much. They'll love you in turn."

I stared at him, nodding outwardly but screaming arguments and worries internally.

"This is a huge honor, Tedders, you know that, yeah? Your Dad - he deserved recognition for the things he did. He was so brave, he saved so many lives by the actions he took, in a time when nobody dared to even speak Voldemort's name. He fought back, he put everything on the line."