Harry Potter AUS

Day 8; Harry Potter; Muggle Traditions

Harry Potter and I sat in my bedroom with a plate of Mrs. Weasley's delicious Christmas cookies and my radio, curled up together under a blanket. Harry was fiddling with a dial to change the channel, trying to find a muggle Christmas station for us to listen to.

"Come on," he murmured, half to himself, "This has to work. Muggle Christmas music is much better than the Weird Sisters' songs, anyways."

I rolled my eyes. "If I've never heard it before, I can't be missing out on much."

"Yeah right - aha!" Harry cried out triumphantly when a radio broadcasting some sort of a song about a snowman emerged from the static.

I snuggled close to Harry and listened, but the song was over before I could get in to it, and a man with a very attractive voice came on.

"That was Frosty the Snowman by Gene Autry, and you've been listening to 94.9KWC London. Hope all of our listeners are having a great Christmas Eve - make sure your stockings are hung up by the fireplace ..."

I frowned at Harry, confused. "Stockings?"

"Oh yeah! I forgot - wizards and muggles tell their kids different things about Santa Claus. Instead of a broom, he rides in a sleigh pulled by reindeer. To get in to their houses, Santa goes down the chimney, and he fills up stockings that they leave out with presents."

"How strange."

Harry laughed. "Imagine how I felt my first day at Hogwarts!"

" ... Make sure your Christmas lights are on early tonight. Steve, the weatherman here at the station, tells me we're due for a blizzard ... "

"Christmas lights?"

"That's how muggles decorate their houses," Harry told me.

" ... And don't forget to leave cookies out for Santa!"

I laughed. "Finally, something I recognize!"

Harry smiled at me. "Next year, we can celebrate muggle traditions too, if you want."

"I would love that."