Foreshadowing the Past

Chapter 18

Perhaps the best Yuletide decoration is being wreathed in smiles. --Unknown

Connor woke to the sound of his sister and brothers shouting for him. His mind reached out in vain to hold on to the last remnants of the dream he'd been having, but it was no use, the last wisps of the dream floated away as hid eyes opened. He groaned when he noted that the sun hadn't even risen yet, but the sounds of Lucy, Ian and Adam racing up the steps was unmistakable. Just moments after opening his eyes, Connor was shaken awake by Lucy, who was bouncing on his bed, urgently saying, "Wake up! It's time to open presents, and Mum and Dad say we can't start until you and Zack are there!"

Above him, he heard Zack grunt as Adam climbed over the railing of the top bunk and landed on him. "Zack! Zack! You have to come downstairs NOW!"

"It's still dark out!" Zack said tiredly.

"It's almost seven!" Ian said, practically dancing on the spot. It's snowing out, so it'll be dark all day. Come on!"

"Okay! Okay!" Zack said, sitting up slowly, Adam tugging heavily on his arm.

Connor was already sitting up and rubbing his eyes, reaching for his dressing gown. "Whatever happened to the tradition of the presents being left at the end of the bed?"

"We never did that," Lucy said. "You're getting that from Dad's stories about Hogwarts. Let's go!"

The three younger kids managed to bully Connor and Zack out of the bedroom, and then waited impatiently while each of the boys took their turn in the loo before allowing themselves to be propelled down the stairs.

"We got them, Mum!" Adam announced excitedly, dragging Zack into the family by the arm. While Ian and Lucy were both shoving Connor along while he dragged his feet just to annoy them.

Mr. And Mrs. Potter still in their pyjamas and dressing gowns; they were sitting together in one over-stuffed, over-sized chair, each with a thick ceramic mug in their hands as they watched their children and guest invade the room.

"Sorry guys," Mr. Potter said as they both flopped onto one of the couches tiredly. "You were warned no to stay up too late."

"At home," Zack said, fully awake now, but still lethargic, "I'm not allowed to wake my parents before nine on Christmas."

Connor's mum did her best to not appear horrified at this bit of information, and said brightly, "Well as you can see, we do things a bit differently here. Ian, why don't you start passing out presents?"

Ian punched the air happily, and rummaged through the seemingly endless gifts under the tree. Soon everyone in the room was busily unwrapping colorfully papered presents and exclaiming over their new things. Zack had expected to spend most of the time enjoying watching the Potter family open their gifts, but was surprised to see that the pile of gifts for him had grown to far past his expectations. The first thing he opened turned out to be a jumper of navy blue wool with red striped across the front, and he thanked Mrs. Weasley who had clearly knitted it herself.

"It's a family tradition," Lucy said, pulling her own new violet jumper over her head. "Grandma Molly just doesn't have time to make them for everyone, so Mum pitches in."

In fact, everyone in the room did have a hand knit jumper, and Zack grinned, happy to be included in the tradition. He knew that he would receive some small tokens from his friends, and he wasn't disappointed; Rachel had given him an enormous box of Pepper Imps, Ivy had given him a book on useful charms, and Quentin had sent a book on the various Quidditch teams of the world with excellent moving pictures. He was just opening a bottle of Belching Bubbles from Connor when his friend said, "Thanks Zack!"

Zack laughed as Connor jumped up to show his parents the large stack of Muggle comic books that he'd just opened, featuring superheroes of various kinds. Adam came and hugged Zack and thanked him solemnly for the bag of sweets he'd received from their guest. Lucy and Ian were somewhat mystified by the walkie-talkies and batteries they had received from him, but thanked him very politely just the same while their father laughed. While the twins went to ask their father about their latest gifts, and Connor was looking through the comics, wondering aloud what laser beams were, Zack spied something moving among his friend's pile of opened gifts. He reached down and picked up a framed picture of himself, Connor, Quentin, Ivy and Rachel, all waving at the camera; they were obviously standing on the Quidditch pitch, and Connor, Quentin and Ivy were all in their practice robes, and they all had their arms around each other's shoulders and were smiling broadly. He smiled at the image and wondered if he could get a copy of it made, when Connor's dad stood and said, "I think there's one more gift to be given out."

Zack wondered which member of the family would be the recipient of the last gift, but he suspected that it was going to be Mrs. Weasley. Zack's own father often surprised his mother this way on Christmas, with a special gift that he waited to give her until the very end of the gift opening - usually some sort of jewelry. He was rendered speechless when Connor's dad lifted a long wrapped box from behind the tree and handed it not to his wife, but to him.

"Happy Christmas, Zack!" he said with a grin.

Though Zack was pretty sure he knew what was inside, his heart thumped almost painfully inside his chest as he removed the wrapping and lifted the long lid of the box to find the modified Daytripper broom he had ridden the day before. He felt the grin growing on his face, and didn't even stop to think as he stood and threw his arms spontaneously around Mr. Potter and hugged him tight, saying excitedly, "Thank you so much!" Harry hugged the boy back with a laugh, pleased, and Connor let out a whoop and asked if they could go out flying to break it in.

"Son," came the amused reply. "There's about two feet of new snow out there, and it's still coming down. You haven't even had breakfast yet."

Connor looked disappointed, but Zack simply sat down again and ran his hands lovingly over the handle of his new broom, unable to believe his good fortune. He didn't mind not being able to ride it right away, since he had spent hours on it only yesterday morning.

At Mrs. Weasley's bidding, they collected their opened gifts and took them up the stairs to be put away while breakfast was put on the table. Connor set the picture he had received from Ivy on his dresser and smiled happily at it for a moment, then tossed the rest onto his bed.

"What else did you get?" Zack asked him, tearing his eyes away from the Daytripper and sitting on the floor across from the bed.

"Books from Aunt Hermione and Uncle Ron," he said, rolling his eyes. "She's determined to get me to read 'Hogwarts, A History', Rachel gave me some Sugar Quills, Quentin gave me this cool little gadget for my broom that's charmed to keep score during the game so I don't loose track. Uncle Remus sent me a dream journal... ha, ha, ha."

"Speaking of dreams..." Zack said quietly. "You've been talking in your sleep again."

"Yeah," Connor sighed. "I've had that same dream a couple of times now since I've been home. The one with the clocks and that lady."

"I wonder if you really are dreaming about Andrew's grandmother," Zack said thoughtfully.

"It fits, doesn't it?" Connor said, feeling fairly certain that was exactly who the woman was. "I'd like to know why, though."

They didn't have anytime to ruminate on the possible answers to that question, though, as they were called down for breakfast. They quickly changed from pyjamas to regular clothes, and ran down the stairs with the kind of thunderous noise that only twelve-year-old boys can make, and skidded to a halt at the bottom, surprised to see Professor Lupin sitting at the table across from his dad, with a cup of tea in front of him. Connor caught the last few words of what he was saying to his father.

"Yes," he was saying quietly. "Samantha Tillman. I'm almost sure of it. In the time room."

"But he never said anything about it." His dad looked troubled, and Connor groaned inwardly.

The conversation came to a halt as the two boys entered, followed closely by Lucy and Ian, each of whom were holding one of the walkie-talkies that Zack had given them. Connor was glad when Adam came into the room and climbed into Uncle Remus's lap and began talking his ear off, though he knew from the uneasy expression his father wore that he would soon have to explain why he hadn't told his father about this new dream. Zack and he exchanged looks that said, 'uh-oh' before going to sit at the table, where Connor did his best to act as if he hadn't heard his uncle ratting him out.

"Happy Christmas!" he said cheerfully at almost the exact same time as Zack.

"Happy Christmas, boys," Lupin returned warmly. "How has your day been so far?"

"Great!" Zack said.

"Really cool," Connor replied. "Thank you for the journal."

"Your welcome," came the easy answer. "I hope you'll use it."

Wanting to get off that subject as quickly as possible, Connor sighed with relief as the twins started telling him all about the gift Zack had given them, and showing him the batteries as if they were some bizarre and exciting new item. Connor was actually interested in having a closer look himself, but didn't want to seem too impressed with them in front of Zack, who would probably think he was strange.

Breakfast was a long, happy and noisy affair, punctuated by stories of past Christmas escapades, and visits from various family members and friends, who stopped in with holiday greetings and the occasional gift. Professor Lupin had departed to visit other friends, and almost immediately Professor McGonagall popped in to see her "niece" and "nephews". Owls came and went all day long, carrying Christmas cards and letters. Before noon, Adam had fallen asleep under the tree in the family room, clutching yet another Puffskein that he'd received as a gift from his Uncle Fred, who had given him the first two he owned as well on various occasions. This Puffskein was a bit different than the other two, though, in that its fur was a bright white color instead of the standard custard color, earning it the predictable name of 'Snowball'.

"I swear," Connor heard his mother say as he and Zack were on the way outdoors to play in the snow. "If Fred sends another one of those things to this house, I'm going to buy him a Fwooper* - without the silencing charm."

By the time dinner was ready, Connor and Zack were frozen through their heavy cloaks and thick jumpers, and were more than ready for a hot meal. When they got inside, the boys found that Rachel was stepping out of the fire, and that her sisters had already arrived. It appeared that her family had been invited for Christmas dinner, along with Connor's grandmother. They would be eating in the formal dining room that night for sure, and judging by the way that everyone else was dressed, they would be made to change their clothes beforehand.

"Connor, Zack," Mrs. Potter said when she spotted them hanging up their cloaks. "You'd better go and get changed into some nice robes for dinner; it won't be long now."

Rachel snorted at the look on her cousin's face and waved cheekily at him. She was already dressed in pretty green velvet robes that had been a gift to her that morning. The two boys headed up to Connor's room, with Connor griping the entire way. "I don't see what we need to get dressed up for. Its only family."

Zack laughed as he shrugged off his jumper and rummaged for some of the nicer robes his parents had thought he would need when they had bought him his school, supplies. He hadn't even worn one of the sets yet, and figured that tonight was as good as any to break them in. "This is no big deal," he said, toeing off his trainers. "I have to dress for dinner every night when I'm at home. It's expected." He looked up at and grinned at the look of horror on his friend's face. "We don't have to get really formal, just nicer than play clothes; no denim or trainers or tee shirts."

"Every night?" Connor visibly shuddered.

"Pretty much," Zack shrugged. "That's just how it is, it's no big deal."

"Muggles are strange," Connor said, pulling a set of deep red robes from his wardrobe and shrugging into them, making sure that his trainers weren't showing.

Zack rolled his eyes at this bit of defiance, and neatly tied his own nicely polished ones. "I don't think its just Muggles that do that," he said, running a comb through his hair and gathering in neatly into a short ponytail at the nape of his neck. "I have a feeling that Quentin was raised the same way I was."

"How do you know?" Connor asked curiously, slightly envious of the way Zack's hair was so easily managed. He finally admitted defeat, tossing aside his comb and making sure that his hands weren't dirty

"I don't know," Zack said. "Just observation."

"You must think we're all a bunch of animals, then," Connor smiled as he led the way out of his room.

"No," Zack corrected him. "Just you."

He narrowly avoided a playful smack on the back of the head and jogged down the stairs to find that most of the family was already seated at the dining room table. He spotted Mr. Potter speaking with Rachel's parents in a corner, and at a gesture from Connor, walked over to that side of the room on the pretense of saying hello to the elder Mrs. Weasley. He distinctly heard the words "time-room" and "then it's not coming from you" from the trio who were all looking concerned and looking furtively over at Connor, who was teasing Gwen and Prue. Zack had the sinking feeling that Connor and his parents were going to be having a long talk very soon, and finished his brief conversation with Mrs. Weasley, hoping that he had replied appropriately to her remarks. He made his way over to Connor, but before he had the chance to relay what he had heard, Mrs. Potter asked them all to be seated. Connor sat down, and then rolled his eyes dramatically when he saw Zack holding a chair for Rachel and then Gwen, who both looked pleased at the attention. Connor got to his feet and held a chair for Prue and Lucy, earning smiles from his mother, aunt and grandmother.

"I'm serious," Ron was heard to say to Harry as he held his wife's chair. "Send him to my house next."

"Will you quit making me look bad?" Connor hissed at Zack in mock aggravation.

"Sorry," Zack murmured back easily. "You just make it so easy."

Connor's response to this was a snort and a mental vow to get back at his friend later. He had to admit that everything looked nice as he surveyed the room. There was lots of candlelight, garlands of holly and pine in festoons along the walls, the fireplace at the far end of the room the crackling merrily, and the table was set with the good china. It would have looked odd for them to all be sitting here in their everyday clothes, so he guessed he didn't resent having to dress for dinner so much, after all. He was about to ask Zack if he had heard anything good from his eavesdropping, but his father stood just then with his glass in his hand and smiled at everyone.

"Well," he began. "You all know how much I love to make speeches." Everyone chuckled at this, and he continued on. "I just wanted to thank you all for coming to share Christmas dinner with us. It's become a tradition for us to meet here like this, and I hope it's one we never have to break. Happy Christmas."

Everyone raised their glasses and repeated, "Happy Christmas," touching their glasses together.

The meal was brought in, and everyone helped themselves from the many platters of food passed from hand to hand around the table. The talk was a little more subdued than it had been the night before with all of the Weasleys present, but no less merry. Zack listened raptly to stories of Christmases past, and relayed a few stories of his own about Muggle traditions and customs. They were well into the meal when Connor finally nudged his friend and whispered, "What did they day?"

"Well," Zack said sympathetically. "You'd better start thinking up a good reason why you didn't tell your parents about that latest dream."

Connor swallowed hard and nodded his understanding. "I think I'll be okay there," he said, already having a good idea as to how he would explain. "Besides, it's Christmas. He won't bug me about it tonight."

The dinner guests stayed until late, and Connor and Zack said their goodnights and were about to head up the stairs when Harry called after his son.

"Connor, I'd like a word with you in the morning. I'll be in my workshop, so come and find me when you're up and about, okay?" There was no hint of anger or accusation in his voice, and so Connor nodded and fled up the stairs.

Zack tugged off his robes with a huge yawn, and said, "I like your family."

Connor followed suit, and said, "They like you too. I swear my parents would adopt you if you were available."

They pulled on their pyjamas and climbed into bed. Godric fluttered out the window with a soft hoot to hunt, and both boys were asleep before they had a chance to talk about anything else.

"It's nearly 11:30!" Rachel whispered urgently. "If we want to get there by 2:58, we need to hurry; we have no idea how long it's going to take to find the right room."

Connor was just about to reply, when Quentin announced, "He's gone! Let's go!"

"What was Lupin doing here so late anyway?" Ivy asked as they all stood from where they had been sitting on the floor in a shadowy corner of the Gryffindor Common Room.

"Maybe he suspects something," Zack said.

"How could he?" Connor asked, heading for the portrait hole.

"I hope you're right about this," Rachel said nervously.

Connor held up a piece of paper that had a drawing on it that looked like a wagon wheel before stuffing it in his pocket and said, "I've got the directions right here. Now let's go!"

"Go where?"

Everyone gasped in surprise and shock as Andrew stepped out f the shadowy stairwell from the boy's dormitory and confronted them.

"Get out of the way!" Connor said angrily, wondering if they would have to resort to hexing the other boy to make it out without further detection.

A hand descended on Connor's shoulder at that moment, and he jerked awake. He was startled to find that not only was he standing at the top of the staircase in his house, but that his father was standing directly in front of him, one step down.

*African bird with brightly colored feathers. The Fwooper song will drive the listener insane and must therefore be sold with a Silencing Charm on it (FBAWTFT).