Harry Potter - The Accidental Animagus

Chapter 32 - Sirius in a Santa Suit

The last month of the fall term wound down, decorations were hung, goodbyes were said, and the Hogwarts Express made it back to London without incident. The Weasleys would pretty much have Gryffindor Tower to themselves over break. Harry and Hermione weren't sure whether to feel sorry for them or worry about what Fred and George would do to the place.

Grandma and Grandpa arrived on the twenty-third, as usual, but this time, they had been told to expect unusual company: Harry's godfather had just been released after spending ten years in prison for a crime he didn't commit, and his best friend was having a rough time due to an unspecified chronic illness. That made them understandably nervous, but they were assured that both of them loved Harry and that Remus could keep Sirius in line.

Of course, if the Marauders were good at one thing, it was making an impression.

"Ho ho ho, Merry Christmas!" Sirius Black in a Santa suit with a large bag of presents on his back was one of the stranger sights the Granger Family had seen lately, especially considering it wasn't actively magical. Harry and Hermione ran over to hug their guests.

"Sirius, Remus, good to see you," Emma said warmly. "You're looking better." Indeed, Sirius had already gained some weight and was walking more steadily, and Remus, while not looking as festive, was at least wearing new clothes.

"Thanks. Happy Christmas, everyone," Remus said with a smile. "So you know, we had to register this visit with the Ministry so we could do magic here without setting off any alarms. Actually, the kids could, too, and no one would know better."

"Well, I think we'll have them stick to their wandless magic for now," Emma said. Granted, even that was pretty impressive by muggle standards. Hermione had put on quite a show last night by lighting all the candles in the room with cool blue flames.

"Welcome, gentlemen," Dan told the men. "I'd like to introduce my parents, Robert and Vera."

"Pleased to meet you," the Marauders said.

In spite of his concern last night, Robert Granger was all smiles this morning for an unrelated reason. He stepped forward and shook Sirius's hand vigorously. "Good to meet you, sir. Good to meet you. You've heard the news?" he said.

Sirius and Remus each cocked an eyebrow.

"Haven't you heard the news?" he exclaimed. "Gorbachev resigned!"

"Who?" said Sirius.

"Who? Don't you read the papers? Mikhail Gorbachev, President of the Soviet Union. He stepped down this morning. The Soviet Union's coming down! Communism's falling!" he said gleefully.

"Oh, yeah, I've been hearing something about that," Remus said. "I'm afraid wizards don't pay that much attention to the muggle media."

"Well, this bit's important," Robert said in an explanatory tone that the family most often heard from Hermione. "After all, the Russians do have the world's largest nuclear weapons stockpile."

Sirius and Remus both nodded in recognition. Even wizards knew what nuclear weapons were-most of them, anyway.

"Yes," Emma said dryly, "now we don't have to worry about nuclear war. We only have to worry about dark wizards."

"Well, actually, that is a pretty big deal, Emma," Remus said. "Even in the most conservative families, the wizard version of 'duck and cover' was 'apparate as far away from anything as humanly possible.'"