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batsutousaiTitle: Déguiser
Author: Batsutousai
Beta: magickmaker17
Rating: PG-13 for now
Pairings: Intended - HP/LV, Possible - HP/DM
Warnings: AU, an attempt to not copy the book
Summary: When Albus Dumbledore leaves Harry Potter on the doorstep of the Dursleys, the last thing he expected was for an unknown relative to disappear with the boy for ten years. Enter Thomas Potter, a man who intends to change the past, the present, and the future.
A/N: The chapter was too big for LJ. This is part two. Part one can be found here.
-~/\~-
Chapter Five - Letters and Christmas
-~\/~-
-~/^\~-
Thomas woke when Harry climbed out of bed at the ungodly hour of five in the morning. When he turned over with the intent of going back to sleep, Harry got back on the bed and started poking him.
"Harry, it's five o'clock in the morning. Go back to sleep for another hour," Thomas grumbled while trying to swat the irritating boy's hands away with his eyes closed.
"Oh, come on, Uncle Thomas. It's Christmas."
"And I'm old and need sleep. So do you."
"But Uncle Thomas..."
"One more hour, that's all I ask for," Thomas said, only pleading a little.
"Oh, fine," Harry decided before crawling back under the covers and snuggling up against Thomas' back.
Thomas was just drifting back to sleep again when his bedroom door slammed open and Sirius shouted, "I found Harry, Moony!"
Thomas grabbed his wand from under his pillow and shot a hex in the general direction of the doorway. A thump and a grunt told him he'd hit his mark and Sirius was out of his room, so he waved the door closed and sent a high-level locking charm at it, then buried his head back into his pillow, ignoring Harry's stifled giggles.
Two minutes later – a record, for the mutt – Sirius was pounding on the door, demanding to be let in. Thomas added a silencing charm to the door. Harry snorted.
At six o'clock, the door was still closed and Harry had fallen back asleep, but Thomas was still awake and considering the best way to get the mutt back for ruining his nap. Knowing Sirius' dislike of cats made him want to turn the man into one for a couple hours, but he didn't particularly care to know what Sylvin's response would be. Maybe he could dye the man's hair permanently green for a month? And have him say 'I love you, Sevvie,' to Snape every time he saw the man. Thomas had said Snape was invited to attend the dinner if he so pleased.
Pleased with his get-back, Thomas got out of bed and shuffled into the bathroom that was attached to his room. When he came back out into the room, he found Harry sitting up and rubbing at his eyes sleepily behind crooked glasses. "Morning," the boy mumbled, crawling out of bed and stumbling towards the bathroom. Thomas stepped out of the way and watched with an amused smile as his nephew tripped when the plush carpeting of the bedroom changed into the cool tiles of the bathroom.
Thomas pulled out two house robes for himself and his nephew, then resized the one for Harry a little bit so it would fit the boy – he was still a good foot and a half shorter than Thomas, but Thomas thought that Harry would end up outgrowing him in a few years.
Harry popped out of the bathroom looking much more aware and smiling brightly. He took the offered robe and put it on before asking, "So, what sort of revenge should I look forward to?"
Thomas smirked – Harry had gotten pranked a few times when he woke his uncle up too early and wouldn't stop trying. "Oh, I'm thinking green hair for a month and saying, 'I love you, Sevvie,' every time he sees Professor Snape could serve well."
"Green and silver," Harry suggested.
"Done." The two shook on it, then Thomas undid his spellwork and opened the door.
Sirius looked up from where he was sitting against the wall with Hermione, Elizabeth and John. Remus was just coming out of his room, a book in one hand. When he saw them, he went back into his room, presumably to put the book back.
"Took you long enough," Sirius grumbled, standing.
Thomas pointed his wand at Sirius and cast two quick spells before Sirius could try and defend himself. Everyone but Thomas and Sirius burst out laughing. Thomas was looking smug while Sirius looked confused.
Remus accio'd Sirius a hand mirror and Sirius' responding shout of horror had even Thomas laughing.
"Change it back!" Sirius ordered, turning to glare at Thomas.
Thomas cocked an eyebrow, still snickering. "Make me."
Sirius turned to Remus. "Help?"
Remus shook his head. "I did tell you not to bother Thomas, didn't I?"
"He turned my hair green and silver! That's against all codes of pranking!" Sirius complained.
"I refuse to touch that one, Sirius. Be glad the hair is the only thing he did to you," Remus muttered, then blinked when Thomas smirked again.
"All right!" Harry shouted, hands on his hips. "Sirius, grow up. There's a pile of presents down there and the last one to them's a rotten egg!" Then he took off running, Sirius and Hermione right behind. Elizabeth and John went ahead to keep the three children from totally destroying the sitting room while Remus and Thomas took their time.
"What else did you do to him?" Remus whispered once even John and Elizabeth were out of sight.
"Whenever he sees Snape, he'll say, 'I love you, Sevvie.' "
"I'm, quite frankly, impressed," Remus admitted. "He's going to pitch a fit."
"I always make up the best spells when I'm tired and can't sleep," Thomas admitted.
Remus stopped and Thomas had to turn around to look at him. Remus looked incredulous. "You made that up on the spur of the moment?"
Thomas shrugged. "Well, yeah. Making spells up on the spot is something I was trained to do when I was younger."
Remus shook his head and started walking again, Thomas falling back into step with him when he caught up. "You're constantly surprising me, Thomas. Forgive the question but, exactly how old are you?"
"Fifty-three," Thomas replied promptly, then sighed. "I suppose the ability to make up spells on the spot is kind of rare, huh?"
"That's one way to put it," Remus agreed as they reached the sitting room.
There was a flurry of wrapping paper all over the floor and the three children were all ripping into what looked to be present number four among the shreds. Sirius' pile was almost gone, but he appeared to be enjoying himself too much to slow down. Elizabeth and John sat calmly on the loveseat, watching over the proceedings with the sharp eyes of parents who were more than used to this ritual.
Remus and Thomas sat down on the couch across the mess from the loveseat, where someone had thoughtfully placed their piles of presents. When Elizabeth saw them sit down, she smiled and picked a gift off the top of her pile. Thomas and Remus smiled back and they, with John, all opened their own gifts at a much more sedate pace than the children, taking turns keeping an eye on the growing mess and the three inside it in hopes of ending any accidents before they began.
-~/^\~-
After three garbage bags of wrapping paper, a small breakfast of fruit and eggs and a number of times telling the children to take their toys to their rooms, Thomas, Remus, John and Elizabeth finally settled down around the Christmas tree with quiet carols playing on the wireless and mugs of hot chocolate in their hands. Harry and Hermione had returned to the library, dragging the mostly useless Sirius with them to give their guardians a break.
"So, who's cooking the dinner?" Elizabeth asked after an hour of peace.
"Hm?" Thomas blinked. "Oh, I started it this morning."
The other three blinked at him in disbelief.
"Well, I suppose that's the wrong way to put that," Thomas continued thoughtfully. "It's more like, I set it up so that dinner would start making itself around ten o'clock. It's all magical."
Remus shook his head. "I had wondered how you were planning to make Christmas dinner for an ever expanding guest list without killing yourself. I mean, you're a brilliant cook and all, Thomas, but I don't think even you can make dinner by yourself for that many people."
Thomas shrugged uncomfortably.
John interrupted with, "So, did you put mistletoe up anywhere?"
Thomas blinked, then got a really, really evil look on his face. "No, but I know where there's some in the garden."
Remus frowned, then his eyes widened. "You wouldn't."
"Would too," Thomas returned, standing easily. "I'll be right back." He left as Remus turned to tell the Grangers about the rest of the prank on Sirius to take the back door behind the stairs to the garden behind the manor. As he'd remembered from two Christmases ago, there was a flowering of mistletoe on one of the dormant apple trees that bordered the left edge of the garden. He picked it with care and then stood there for a moment, considering what to do with it, exactly.
:Could we please go inside, now? It's bloody freezing out here,: Kaz complained, startling Thomas. He'd almost forgotten the snake was there, since he had basically become a part of Thomas' daily wear.
:Which man should I make this hang over, Snape or Sirius?: Thomas asked as he headed back inside.
:Snape. You can just add to the spell on the dog, right?: Kaz inquired.
:Hm, good point. Shall we sneak over to the library and add the spell now?:
:Sounds exciting.:
-~/^\~-
Thomas' prank was not in vain. Snape came out of the fireplace behind Lucius and scowled when a sprig of mistletoe suddenly appeared over his head. He looked around suspiciously, but Thomas was the only person in the room beyond the Malfoys and the man was currently taking their cloaks. "Mr Potter, what do you know about this, this..." Severus pointed above his head when he came up blank for a curse vile enough.
Thomas blinked in surprise and got in Snape's personal space so he could try and see it a little better, but Snape was taller than him and it just ended up irritating the shit out of him instead. Thomas stepped back with a confused look on his face. "I can't say. Are you sure you didn't bring it yourself? I know I didn't put up any mistletoe..."
Draco coughed discretely into his hand, earning him an irritated look from Snape.
Thomas smiled at Draco. "Draco, could you go collect Harry, Hermione and that aggravating godfool from the library? It's on the left side of the hall, two doors down."
"Sure thing, Thomas," Draco replied, then hurried out before his professor could throw a fit.
Snape's eyes narrowed. "Black did this, didn't he?" he spat.
Thomas blinked, then shrugged. "It's possible, but it looks a little advanced for him, and last I knew, he was chanting a prayer to some deity or another that you wouldn't bother coming."
"Lupin, then."
Thomas narrowed his eyes at the dark man. "First off, Remus is in no condition to be playing pranks, the full moon was only a few nights ago. Second off, Mr Snape, I would appreciate it if you would act your age here, or can you not handle being mature in the face of those who are younger than you and, in fact, can?" he asked acidly.
Snape drew back, looking a little surprised. Lucius sighed in exasperation as Narcissa turned on Snape and said, "I did tell you to behave, Severus, or you'd regret it. Thomas is within his rights to ask Lucius to have the Governors put you under probation. You're lucky he hasn't already."
The fire flared green, halting any further conversations, and everyone turned to see Neville come tumbling through. Thomas rushed forward to help the boy up and shoot a cleaning spell at him. "All right there, Neville?"
Neville smiled, but it was pained. "As well as can be expected. Thanks, Thomas."
Thomas smiled and helped him out of his cloak, which he sent to the cloak stand where everyone else's cloaks were. "No problem, child. I'm glad you made it."
Neville shrugged. "Gran got irritated and so we left earlier than usual."
"Irritated?" Thomas asked, frowning.
Neville opened his mouth to answer, then slammed it shut, looking behind Thomas. Thomas blinked in surprise and looked at the Malfoys and Snape, who all looked a little uncomfortable.
"Forgive me," Thomas covered smoothly. "The dinning room is the second on the right. Please feel free to make your way over there."
Lucius and Narcissa guided Snape out, mistletoe bobbing along above him smoothly.
Neville blinked. "Is that..."
"Mistletoe?" Thomas offered, smirking. "Why, yes. Should we go with them and watch the fun? It should cheer you up a bit, I hope."
Neville smiled a real smile and nodded, so Thomas led the way down the hall to the larger dining room.
They made it just in time, for Sirius had just caught sight of Snape. "I love you, Sevvie," he said with feeling, then ran over and smooched Snape with a happy smile.
Snape looked ill. Draco, Lucius, Narcissa and Hermione looked like they couldn't decide whether to laugh or be horrified. Harry, Remus, Elizabeth, John and Neville looked like they were trying really hard to not laugh.
Thomas started chuckling, then, slowly, laughing so hard his sides hurt and he was bent over forwards. Harry joined him, then Remus and John. Elizabeth let out a snort and John elbowed her side until she was laughing as well. Neville, Hermione and Draco traded looks, then started laughing as well. Narcissa tried to not laugh in the room of mirth, but failed and ended up giggling into her hand. Lucius snorted and turned to look at Thomas knowingly.
Thomas calmed himself enough to say, "I'd originally intended to be rid of the mistletoe after we all had a good laugh, Mr Snape, but you seem to have wormed your way onto my bad side, so you may find yourself being kissed by Sirius on a regular basis throughout dinner." He slipped past the blockade the Malfoys and Snape had unwittingly created in the doorway and turned Sirius away from Snape before snapping his fingers. The smiling Sirius disappeared, only to be replaced by gagging Sirius. "Next time, listen to Remus," he offered, then smiled at the amused faces of his other guests. "Please, take a seat. Harry, you're helping me serve dinner."
Harry rolled his eyes in good-natured annoyance and asked Draco to save him a space before the two Potters moved to the kitchen. "Wow, Uncle Thomas. I knew you were making a lot, but, wow..." Harry stared at the lines of dishes in amazement.
Thomas smiled and ruffled his hair, ignoring the irritated look the boy sent him. "You'll be pouring drinks, okay? There's water, champagne, butterbeer and milk. Yes, you may have one glass of champagne tonight, but be sure to ask your friends' parents before serving it to them."
Harry nodded his understanding as he carefully wheeled the drink cart around. "What about Neville?"
Thomas blinked and thought about it before shrugging. "I trust him to know what Augusta would or wouldn't allow. One glass at most."
"Understood." Harry saluted Thomas before slipping out the kitchen door to the dining room.
Thomas eyed all the food for a long moment, then closed his eyes and mentally placed all the dishes on the dining room table, keeping in mind where the various place-settings were. Once he had it clear in his mind, he waved his wand back a forth through the air a few times before bringing it straight down, then straight back up again. The food popped out of existence and Thomas allowed himself a tired smile of success before pulling himself back together and walking out to the dining room to find the room filled with friendly chatter and everyone going for some of the food or accepting a drink from Harry.
Lucius nodded to the chair next to himself when he spotted Thomas in the kitchen doorway. Thomas smiled and took the seat. "Thank you," he said.
Lucius nodded to the food that he had on his plate and had already started in on, as had others around the table. "This is wonderful, Thomas. Elizabeth was saying you cooked it yourself?"
Thomas nodded and helped himself to a serving of salad. "After a fashion. They're my recipes and it was my magic that did it all, but I wasn't actually the one making the stuff by hand."
"Never the less, I commend you. I'm quite glad I let you talk me into having dinner here."
Thomas smiled. "Thank you."
Harry popped up behind him with a smile. "What do you want, Uncle Thomas? I would have just poured you something before you got here, but I couldn't decide whether you'd prefer water or champagne."
Thomas eyed the champagne for a moment before nodding at the water jug and handing over his glass. "Water would be wonderful, actually."
Harry smirked. "You want the whole pitcher?"
Thomas rolled his eyes in amusement. "Thank you, but I'm perfectly capable of getting more water for myself later if I want it. Now, go sit with your friends."
"Sure thing." Harry wheeled the cart off to the side and took his seat between Draco and Neville with a laugh at whatever they'd been speaking of.
Across the table from the group of students, Snape and Sirius sat on either side of Remus, determinedly looking anywhere but at one another. John was sitting on Sirius' free side and trying to trick the two into looking at one another.
On Lucius' free side sat Narcissa, who was talking in whispers with Elizabeth.
All-in-all, Thomas decided, the dinner was going quite well. He only hoped nothing ridiculous messed it up.
-~/^\~-
Once dinner ended, Snape made his excuses and returned to Malfoy Mansion, but not before Sirius managed to proclaim his love for him and kiss him again. Sirius excused himself to go 'wash his mouth out with bleach' and Remus, afraid he might do just that, said good night to everyone and followed his friend.
Draco managed to talk his parents into letting him spend the night at the Manor, since Thomas, Harry, Sirius, Remus and the Grangers all intended to spend the rest of the Christmas holiday there. Thomas extended the invitation for them to spend the night as well, but Lucius pointed out that they wouldn't do well to leave an embarrassed and disgusted Severus Snape alone in the mansion. Not that Lucius begrudged Thomas his bit of revenge – the pair had certainly had it coming, and Lucius fully condoned Thomas' approach.
Elizabeth and John made their excuses soon after Narcissa and Lucius left. With only the four friends and himself left, Thomas asked if he might borrow Neville for a bit to continue their earlier conversation. Since the others were, once again, in the library, Neville and Thomas moved to the sitting room. Thomas offered Neville a butterbeer he'd called from the kitchen and popped open one of his own.
"Uhm, I want to thank you, Thomas," Neville said before Thomas could find a way to start the conversation from earlier.
"Oh?" Thomas gave the boy a curious look.
Neville blushed. "Yeah. For getting me that book and getting Harry not to pry and inviting me over for this party and being really understanding about everything. And even for putting up with Gran. She was really rude to you on the platform, and I apologise for her."
Thomas shook his head, smiling. "Neville, child, please understand that you are a friend of Harry's and, in a strange way, a part of the family. You have nothing to thank me for. As for your grandmother, I already knew she'd be absolutely nasty before we met. As you saw earlier, if I don't like someone's attitude, I'll let them know. In the most aggravating way possible."
Neville chuckled. "And thanks for that, too. It was fun seeing Snape get a talking to."
Thomas sighed. "I have a feeling I'll be doing that a lot over the years. Eventually I'll get tired of being nice about it, though, and then there will be issues." He grimaced.
Neville shrugged. "Maybe he'll figure out you mean it before it comes to that?"
"Oh, I hope so. I've been told I'm truly terrifying when I lose my temper." Thomas smiled tiredly at Neville. "Now, what happened at St Mungo's?"
Neville sighed and took a gulp of his butterbeer before saying, "Mum likes to give me little gifts sometimes, usually candy wrappers of some sort, and Gran thinks I should just throw them out, but I always keep them, and she hates that. Well, today, Mum gave me a whole pile that she'd been collecting for a while now and Gran grabbed it and threw it all away, then said that we needed to leave, so I'd best say my good-byes quick." Neville looked like he might cry.
Thomas sat down his bottle on the table so he could open his arms to the boy and quickly found himself with a crying boy on his lap. He rocked Neville gently and just held the boy, desperately wishing there was something he could do for the child, beyond losing his temper at Augusta. He had a sinking feeling that part of the problem this particular time came from the party and the various stresses Augusta was feeling, knowing that she was allowing her grandson to go to a party with a Death Eater.
Once Neville had calmed down so he was only hiccupping occasionally, Thomas said, "I don't think your grandmother was trying to be cruel Neville. I think she was scared."
"Of what?" Neville whispered into Thomas' neck.
Thomas started combing his hands through the boy's hair. "Well, consider this: her grandson, whose parents were tortured to insanity by Death Eaters, is good friends with the son of a Death Eater and was going to go to dinner tonight at the house of a man who she knows nothing about and with the Death Eater parents of the grandson's friend."
Neville pulled away enough to look at Thomas, looking thoughtful and a fair bit calmer. "Oh. I-I never even thought of it that way. I tend to forget that Draco's dad is a Death Eater, because Draco doesn't act like the son of a Death Eater. And I know you're a really nice person and you wouldn't let any harm come to any of us. It's– I mean, you're so open with us all the time that I forget how private a person you are, even though Harry's always saying you like being left alone."
Thomas nodded. "I've lived most of my life in the Muggle world, and even though your grandmother could probably dig up information about me if she wanted, it would be rather difficult and near impossible with the amount of time she had between agreeing to let you come and you actually coming."
Neville nodded, looking eerily mature. "Thomas, would you like to accompany me home so Gran knows everything was okay?"
Thomas smiled. "Sure. Let's go have you say good-bye to the others and then we can go."
-~/^\~-
The Longbottom residence was bigger than the house Thomas owned in the city, but smaller than Malfoy Mansion by a fair chunk. As soon as they Floo'd into the lit sitting room, Augusta was upon Neville, checking to make sure he wasn't hurt and not noticing Thomas' presence at all.
After a few long moments of trying to regain his bearings and figure out why he was being attacked with hugs and worry, Neville finally got out a, "Gran, I'm perfectly fine. The only lasting damage from tonight is seeing Sirius kiss Professor Snape."
Augusta froze, looking confused. "Excuse me?"
Neville sighed. "Sirius has been driving Thomas stark-raving mad since he was freed and Professor Snape's always picking on Harry and Hermione and me, so Thomas pranked Sirius into telling Professor Snape he loved him, then kissing him. It was kind of creepy, but funny too." Neville paused to let his grandmother catch up, then said, "Gran, I asked Thomas to come with me because I think you two got off on the wrong foot a couple of days ago." He nodded towards where Thomas was still standing next to the fireplace silently, his expression blank.
Augusta frowned. "And why, exactly, do you think that, Neville? I think everything went fine."
Neville threw his arms up in the air in clear exasperation and Thomas couldn't help but smile. "Because you were nothing but rude to him and he was being really polite about the whole thing even though he had every right to hex you and he knew it." Neville turned on Thomas. "Didn't you?"
Thomas sighed. "I did, and still do. However, Neville, because we're meeting in your home, your grandmother has every right to be as rude to me as she wants and I can't do anything."
Neville winced. "I forgot. I'm sorry, Thomas."
"Don't be. If I didn't want your grandmother to have the advantage, I wouldn't have come." He glanced up at Augusta, who was watching him with thinly veiled curiosity. "Mrs Longbottom, am I correct in my assumptions that your actions earlier this day that had Neville arrive at my house so distraught were, in fact, due to your concern for his safety and not your anger at his keeping mementos of his parents, as he'd originally assumed?"
Augusta stiffened and she looked at Neville. "You thought I didn't want you to have things from Frank and Alice?"
Neville shifted uncomfortably and shrugged. "You always tell me to throw them out."
"I just don't like you keeping so much trash around to clutter your room. I know you like that Alice gives you things, but I really don't think you should keep all of them," Augusta replied, voice softening ever so slightly.
"But–"
"Neville," Thomas interrupted gently. The two Longbottoms looked at him, Neville with pained eyes, Augusta with irritated ones. "While I agree that keeping the wrappers is nice for a time, you must eventually learn to look beyond the material gifts and instead think of the actual gift your mother is giving you."
Neville shook his head in confusion, but Augusta was frowning as if she'd just realized something about this darkly cloaked man in her sitting room. "What's that, Thomas?"
"She loves you," Thomas said simply. "She may not remember you, but she loves you, even through her lack of memories. Her gift is not trash, but the love that she can no longer show you every day."
Neville bit his lip. "Oh."
"So, really, you don't need to keep the wrappers, for what she is really offering you isn't something that can pile up in your room and be forgotten because others just like it have covered it up. Do you understand?"
Neville nodded, looking like he might cry again. "Yeah."
Thomas smiled at the child, then looked at Augusta, who was watching him with interest. "While hard love can be good for children from time to time, it's probably not good for them when there's no one else for them to turn to when it gets too difficult to bear. Sometimes, it's good to smile instead of always frowning; it makes life look less bleak."
"You say that as if you know," Augusta commented in an offhand manner.
Thomas' smile became tight, but didn't falter. "I do."
Augusta blinked, then inclined her head. "I see."
Thomas inclined his head in return, then looked at Neville. "I should return. It's past my bedtime."
Neville laughed weakly. "You don't have a bedtime, Thomas."
"Even old farts have bedtimes, Neville." Thomas winked. "I will surely see you on the platform, if not sooner."
Neville nodded sadly. "Okay. Bye."
Thomas ruffled the boy's hair fondly, then turned back to the fireplace and tossed in a bit of the Floo Powder he kept stored in his cloak in case of emergencies and said, "Leland Manor. Lisa."
-
-
A/N: *stares at length in disbelief* I did NOT intend for it to be that long. However, now that it IS that long, I can hardly see how I would fix it. I could break it up into two chapters, but I'm sure you're all excited that it's maddeningly long and would kill me if I were to cut it. Anyway, I swore I'd get Christmas in here.
I fully intend next chapter to have the end of the hols and when they see the train back to Hogwarts. As of, I'm undecided as to what to do with the rest of this year. I really don't want to continue writing weekly letters – there's only so many I can write before I want to strangle something – but I don't want them to go down to being monthly, because I don't think Harry and Thomas would be so lax. Bleh.
So I realized somewhere in the middle of this chapter that I've been trying so hard to keep from giving any clues about Thomas that's he's starting to look more and more like an OC/Gary-Stu. Is he starting to turn into one? Do you think? Or am I blowing this way out of proportion? (And, no, I'm not telling you anything special about him that hasn't yet been released in the story.)
Cheers!
~Bats
Chapters:
Pro - To Face the Unknown / 1 - Two Potters
2 - Diagon Alley ||| 3 - Summer's End and Letters ||| 4 - The Trial
5 - Letters and Christmas ||| 6 - Dragons and Stones ||| 7 - The First Summer
8 - The Second Year ||| 9 - The Third Year ||| 10 - Fight For What You Believe In
11 - Thomas Potter ||| 12 - Plots and Plans ||| 13 - The Children's Hand
14 - ???
Incomplete
Author: Batsutousai
Beta: magickmaker17
Rating: PG-13 for now
Pairings: Intended - HP/LV, Possible - HP/DM
Warnings: AU, an attempt to not copy the book
Summary: When Albus Dumbledore leaves Harry Potter on the doorstep of the Dursleys, the last thing he expected was for an unknown relative to disappear with the boy for ten years. Enter Thomas Potter, a man who intends to change the past, the present, and the future.
A/N: The chapter was too big for LJ. This is part two. Part one can be found here.
Chapter Five - Letters and Christmas
-~\/~-
Thomas woke when Harry climbed out of bed at the ungodly hour of five in the morning. When he turned over with the intent of going back to sleep, Harry got back on the bed and started poking him.
"Harry, it's five o'clock in the morning. Go back to sleep for another hour," Thomas grumbled while trying to swat the irritating boy's hands away with his eyes closed.
"Oh, come on, Uncle Thomas. It's Christmas."
"And I'm old and need sleep. So do you."
"But Uncle Thomas..."
"One more hour, that's all I ask for," Thomas said, only pleading a little.
"Oh, fine," Harry decided before crawling back under the covers and snuggling up against Thomas' back.
Thomas was just drifting back to sleep again when his bedroom door slammed open and Sirius shouted, "I found Harry, Moony!"
Thomas grabbed his wand from under his pillow and shot a hex in the general direction of the doorway. A thump and a grunt told him he'd hit his mark and Sirius was out of his room, so he waved the door closed and sent a high-level locking charm at it, then buried his head back into his pillow, ignoring Harry's stifled giggles.
Two minutes later – a record, for the mutt – Sirius was pounding on the door, demanding to be let in. Thomas added a silencing charm to the door. Harry snorted.
At six o'clock, the door was still closed and Harry had fallen back asleep, but Thomas was still awake and considering the best way to get the mutt back for ruining his nap. Knowing Sirius' dislike of cats made him want to turn the man into one for a couple hours, but he didn't particularly care to know what Sylvin's response would be. Maybe he could dye the man's hair permanently green for a month? And have him say 'I love you, Sevvie,' to Snape every time he saw the man. Thomas had said Snape was invited to attend the dinner if he so pleased.
Pleased with his get-back, Thomas got out of bed and shuffled into the bathroom that was attached to his room. When he came back out into the room, he found Harry sitting up and rubbing at his eyes sleepily behind crooked glasses. "Morning," the boy mumbled, crawling out of bed and stumbling towards the bathroom. Thomas stepped out of the way and watched with an amused smile as his nephew tripped when the plush carpeting of the bedroom changed into the cool tiles of the bathroom.
Thomas pulled out two house robes for himself and his nephew, then resized the one for Harry a little bit so it would fit the boy – he was still a good foot and a half shorter than Thomas, but Thomas thought that Harry would end up outgrowing him in a few years.
Harry popped out of the bathroom looking much more aware and smiling brightly. He took the offered robe and put it on before asking, "So, what sort of revenge should I look forward to?"
Thomas smirked – Harry had gotten pranked a few times when he woke his uncle up too early and wouldn't stop trying. "Oh, I'm thinking green hair for a month and saying, 'I love you, Sevvie,' every time he sees Professor Snape could serve well."
"Green and silver," Harry suggested.
"Done." The two shook on it, then Thomas undid his spellwork and opened the door.
Sirius looked up from where he was sitting against the wall with Hermione, Elizabeth and John. Remus was just coming out of his room, a book in one hand. When he saw them, he went back into his room, presumably to put the book back.
"Took you long enough," Sirius grumbled, standing.
Thomas pointed his wand at Sirius and cast two quick spells before Sirius could try and defend himself. Everyone but Thomas and Sirius burst out laughing. Thomas was looking smug while Sirius looked confused.
Remus accio'd Sirius a hand mirror and Sirius' responding shout of horror had even Thomas laughing.
"Change it back!" Sirius ordered, turning to glare at Thomas.
Thomas cocked an eyebrow, still snickering. "Make me."
Sirius turned to Remus. "Help?"
Remus shook his head. "I did tell you not to bother Thomas, didn't I?"
"He turned my hair green and silver! That's against all codes of pranking!" Sirius complained.
"I refuse to touch that one, Sirius. Be glad the hair is the only thing he did to you," Remus muttered, then blinked when Thomas smirked again.
"All right!" Harry shouted, hands on his hips. "Sirius, grow up. There's a pile of presents down there and the last one to them's a rotten egg!" Then he took off running, Sirius and Hermione right behind. Elizabeth and John went ahead to keep the three children from totally destroying the sitting room while Remus and Thomas took their time.
"What else did you do to him?" Remus whispered once even John and Elizabeth were out of sight.
"Whenever he sees Snape, he'll say, 'I love you, Sevvie.' "
"I'm, quite frankly, impressed," Remus admitted. "He's going to pitch a fit."
"I always make up the best spells when I'm tired and can't sleep," Thomas admitted.
Remus stopped and Thomas had to turn around to look at him. Remus looked incredulous. "You made that up on the spur of the moment?"
Thomas shrugged. "Well, yeah. Making spells up on the spot is something I was trained to do when I was younger."
Remus shook his head and started walking again, Thomas falling back into step with him when he caught up. "You're constantly surprising me, Thomas. Forgive the question but, exactly how old are you?"
"Fifty-three," Thomas replied promptly, then sighed. "I suppose the ability to make up spells on the spot is kind of rare, huh?"
"That's one way to put it," Remus agreed as they reached the sitting room.
There was a flurry of wrapping paper all over the floor and the three children were all ripping into what looked to be present number four among the shreds. Sirius' pile was almost gone, but he appeared to be enjoying himself too much to slow down. Elizabeth and John sat calmly on the loveseat, watching over the proceedings with the sharp eyes of parents who were more than used to this ritual.
Remus and Thomas sat down on the couch across the mess from the loveseat, where someone had thoughtfully placed their piles of presents. When Elizabeth saw them sit down, she smiled and picked a gift off the top of her pile. Thomas and Remus smiled back and they, with John, all opened their own gifts at a much more sedate pace than the children, taking turns keeping an eye on the growing mess and the three inside it in hopes of ending any accidents before they began.
After three garbage bags of wrapping paper, a small breakfast of fruit and eggs and a number of times telling the children to take their toys to their rooms, Thomas, Remus, John and Elizabeth finally settled down around the Christmas tree with quiet carols playing on the wireless and mugs of hot chocolate in their hands. Harry and Hermione had returned to the library, dragging the mostly useless Sirius with them to give their guardians a break.
"So, who's cooking the dinner?" Elizabeth asked after an hour of peace.
"Hm?" Thomas blinked. "Oh, I started it this morning."
The other three blinked at him in disbelief.
"Well, I suppose that's the wrong way to put that," Thomas continued thoughtfully. "It's more like, I set it up so that dinner would start making itself around ten o'clock. It's all magical."
Remus shook his head. "I had wondered how you were planning to make Christmas dinner for an ever expanding guest list without killing yourself. I mean, you're a brilliant cook and all, Thomas, but I don't think even you can make dinner by yourself for that many people."
Thomas shrugged uncomfortably.
John interrupted with, "So, did you put mistletoe up anywhere?"
Thomas blinked, then got a really, really evil look on his face. "No, but I know where there's some in the garden."
Remus frowned, then his eyes widened. "You wouldn't."
"Would too," Thomas returned, standing easily. "I'll be right back." He left as Remus turned to tell the Grangers about the rest of the prank on Sirius to take the back door behind the stairs to the garden behind the manor. As he'd remembered from two Christmases ago, there was a flowering of mistletoe on one of the dormant apple trees that bordered the left edge of the garden. He picked it with care and then stood there for a moment, considering what to do with it, exactly.
:Could we please go inside, now? It's bloody freezing out here,: Kaz complained, startling Thomas. He'd almost forgotten the snake was there, since he had basically become a part of Thomas' daily wear.
:Which man should I make this hang over, Snape or Sirius?: Thomas asked as he headed back inside.
:Snape. You can just add to the spell on the dog, right?: Kaz inquired.
:Hm, good point. Shall we sneak over to the library and add the spell now?:
:Sounds exciting.:
Thomas' prank was not in vain. Snape came out of the fireplace behind Lucius and scowled when a sprig of mistletoe suddenly appeared over his head. He looked around suspiciously, but Thomas was the only person in the room beyond the Malfoys and the man was currently taking their cloaks. "Mr Potter, what do you know about this, this..." Severus pointed above his head when he came up blank for a curse vile enough.
Thomas blinked in surprise and got in Snape's personal space so he could try and see it a little better, but Snape was taller than him and it just ended up irritating the shit out of him instead. Thomas stepped back with a confused look on his face. "I can't say. Are you sure you didn't bring it yourself? I know I didn't put up any mistletoe..."
Draco coughed discretely into his hand, earning him an irritated look from Snape.
Thomas smiled at Draco. "Draco, could you go collect Harry, Hermione and that aggravating godfool from the library? It's on the left side of the hall, two doors down."
"Sure thing, Thomas," Draco replied, then hurried out before his professor could throw a fit.
Snape's eyes narrowed. "Black did this, didn't he?" he spat.
Thomas blinked, then shrugged. "It's possible, but it looks a little advanced for him, and last I knew, he was chanting a prayer to some deity or another that you wouldn't bother coming."
"Lupin, then."
Thomas narrowed his eyes at the dark man. "First off, Remus is in no condition to be playing pranks, the full moon was only a few nights ago. Second off, Mr Snape, I would appreciate it if you would act your age here, or can you not handle being mature in the face of those who are younger than you and, in fact, can?" he asked acidly.
Snape drew back, looking a little surprised. Lucius sighed in exasperation as Narcissa turned on Snape and said, "I did tell you to behave, Severus, or you'd regret it. Thomas is within his rights to ask Lucius to have the Governors put you under probation. You're lucky he hasn't already."
The fire flared green, halting any further conversations, and everyone turned to see Neville come tumbling through. Thomas rushed forward to help the boy up and shoot a cleaning spell at him. "All right there, Neville?"
Neville smiled, but it was pained. "As well as can be expected. Thanks, Thomas."
Thomas smiled and helped him out of his cloak, which he sent to the cloak stand where everyone else's cloaks were. "No problem, child. I'm glad you made it."
Neville shrugged. "Gran got irritated and so we left earlier than usual."
"Irritated?" Thomas asked, frowning.
Neville opened his mouth to answer, then slammed it shut, looking behind Thomas. Thomas blinked in surprise and looked at the Malfoys and Snape, who all looked a little uncomfortable.
"Forgive me," Thomas covered smoothly. "The dinning room is the second on the right. Please feel free to make your way over there."
Lucius and Narcissa guided Snape out, mistletoe bobbing along above him smoothly.
Neville blinked. "Is that..."
"Mistletoe?" Thomas offered, smirking. "Why, yes. Should we go with them and watch the fun? It should cheer you up a bit, I hope."
Neville smiled a real smile and nodded, so Thomas led the way down the hall to the larger dining room.
They made it just in time, for Sirius had just caught sight of Snape. "I love you, Sevvie," he said with feeling, then ran over and smooched Snape with a happy smile.
Snape looked ill. Draco, Lucius, Narcissa and Hermione looked like they couldn't decide whether to laugh or be horrified. Harry, Remus, Elizabeth, John and Neville looked like they were trying really hard to not laugh.
Thomas started chuckling, then, slowly, laughing so hard his sides hurt and he was bent over forwards. Harry joined him, then Remus and John. Elizabeth let out a snort and John elbowed her side until she was laughing as well. Neville, Hermione and Draco traded looks, then started laughing as well. Narcissa tried to not laugh in the room of mirth, but failed and ended up giggling into her hand. Lucius snorted and turned to look at Thomas knowingly.
Thomas calmed himself enough to say, "I'd originally intended to be rid of the mistletoe after we all had a good laugh, Mr Snape, but you seem to have wormed your way onto my bad side, so you may find yourself being kissed by Sirius on a regular basis throughout dinner." He slipped past the blockade the Malfoys and Snape had unwittingly created in the doorway and turned Sirius away from Snape before snapping his fingers. The smiling Sirius disappeared, only to be replaced by gagging Sirius. "Next time, listen to Remus," he offered, then smiled at the amused faces of his other guests. "Please, take a seat. Harry, you're helping me serve dinner."
Harry rolled his eyes in good-natured annoyance and asked Draco to save him a space before the two Potters moved to the kitchen. "Wow, Uncle Thomas. I knew you were making a lot, but, wow..." Harry stared at the lines of dishes in amazement.
Thomas smiled and ruffled his hair, ignoring the irritated look the boy sent him. "You'll be pouring drinks, okay? There's water, champagne, butterbeer and milk. Yes, you may have one glass of champagne tonight, but be sure to ask your friends' parents before serving it to them."
Harry nodded his understanding as he carefully wheeled the drink cart around. "What about Neville?"
Thomas blinked and thought about it before shrugging. "I trust him to know what Augusta would or wouldn't allow. One glass at most."
"Understood." Harry saluted Thomas before slipping out the kitchen door to the dining room.
Thomas eyed all the food for a long moment, then closed his eyes and mentally placed all the dishes on the dining room table, keeping in mind where the various place-settings were. Once he had it clear in his mind, he waved his wand back a forth through the air a few times before bringing it straight down, then straight back up again. The food popped out of existence and Thomas allowed himself a tired smile of success before pulling himself back together and walking out to the dining room to find the room filled with friendly chatter and everyone going for some of the food or accepting a drink from Harry.
Lucius nodded to the chair next to himself when he spotted Thomas in the kitchen doorway. Thomas smiled and took the seat. "Thank you," he said.
Lucius nodded to the food that he had on his plate and had already started in on, as had others around the table. "This is wonderful, Thomas. Elizabeth was saying you cooked it yourself?"
Thomas nodded and helped himself to a serving of salad. "After a fashion. They're my recipes and it was my magic that did it all, but I wasn't actually the one making the stuff by hand."
"Never the less, I commend you. I'm quite glad I let you talk me into having dinner here."
Thomas smiled. "Thank you."
Harry popped up behind him with a smile. "What do you want, Uncle Thomas? I would have just poured you something before you got here, but I couldn't decide whether you'd prefer water or champagne."
Thomas eyed the champagne for a moment before nodding at the water jug and handing over his glass. "Water would be wonderful, actually."
Harry smirked. "You want the whole pitcher?"
Thomas rolled his eyes in amusement. "Thank you, but I'm perfectly capable of getting more water for myself later if I want it. Now, go sit with your friends."
"Sure thing." Harry wheeled the cart off to the side and took his seat between Draco and Neville with a laugh at whatever they'd been speaking of.
Across the table from the group of students, Snape and Sirius sat on either side of Remus, determinedly looking anywhere but at one another. John was sitting on Sirius' free side and trying to trick the two into looking at one another.
On Lucius' free side sat Narcissa, who was talking in whispers with Elizabeth.
All-in-all, Thomas decided, the dinner was going quite well. He only hoped nothing ridiculous messed it up.
Once dinner ended, Snape made his excuses and returned to Malfoy Mansion, but not before Sirius managed to proclaim his love for him and kiss him again. Sirius excused himself to go 'wash his mouth out with bleach' and Remus, afraid he might do just that, said good night to everyone and followed his friend.
Draco managed to talk his parents into letting him spend the night at the Manor, since Thomas, Harry, Sirius, Remus and the Grangers all intended to spend the rest of the Christmas holiday there. Thomas extended the invitation for them to spend the night as well, but Lucius pointed out that they wouldn't do well to leave an embarrassed and disgusted Severus Snape alone in the mansion. Not that Lucius begrudged Thomas his bit of revenge – the pair had certainly had it coming, and Lucius fully condoned Thomas' approach.
Elizabeth and John made their excuses soon after Narcissa and Lucius left. With only the four friends and himself left, Thomas asked if he might borrow Neville for a bit to continue their earlier conversation. Since the others were, once again, in the library, Neville and Thomas moved to the sitting room. Thomas offered Neville a butterbeer he'd called from the kitchen and popped open one of his own.
"Uhm, I want to thank you, Thomas," Neville said before Thomas could find a way to start the conversation from earlier.
"Oh?" Thomas gave the boy a curious look.
Neville blushed. "Yeah. For getting me that book and getting Harry not to pry and inviting me over for this party and being really understanding about everything. And even for putting up with Gran. She was really rude to you on the platform, and I apologise for her."
Thomas shook his head, smiling. "Neville, child, please understand that you are a friend of Harry's and, in a strange way, a part of the family. You have nothing to thank me for. As for your grandmother, I already knew she'd be absolutely nasty before we met. As you saw earlier, if I don't like someone's attitude, I'll let them know. In the most aggravating way possible."
Neville chuckled. "And thanks for that, too. It was fun seeing Snape get a talking to."
Thomas sighed. "I have a feeling I'll be doing that a lot over the years. Eventually I'll get tired of being nice about it, though, and then there will be issues." He grimaced.
Neville shrugged. "Maybe he'll figure out you mean it before it comes to that?"
"Oh, I hope so. I've been told I'm truly terrifying when I lose my temper." Thomas smiled tiredly at Neville. "Now, what happened at St Mungo's?"
Neville sighed and took a gulp of his butterbeer before saying, "Mum likes to give me little gifts sometimes, usually candy wrappers of some sort, and Gran thinks I should just throw them out, but I always keep them, and she hates that. Well, today, Mum gave me a whole pile that she'd been collecting for a while now and Gran grabbed it and threw it all away, then said that we needed to leave, so I'd best say my good-byes quick." Neville looked like he might cry.
Thomas sat down his bottle on the table so he could open his arms to the boy and quickly found himself with a crying boy on his lap. He rocked Neville gently and just held the boy, desperately wishing there was something he could do for the child, beyond losing his temper at Augusta. He had a sinking feeling that part of the problem this particular time came from the party and the various stresses Augusta was feeling, knowing that she was allowing her grandson to go to a party with a Death Eater.
Once Neville had calmed down so he was only hiccupping occasionally, Thomas said, "I don't think your grandmother was trying to be cruel Neville. I think she was scared."
"Of what?" Neville whispered into Thomas' neck.
Thomas started combing his hands through the boy's hair. "Well, consider this: her grandson, whose parents were tortured to insanity by Death Eaters, is good friends with the son of a Death Eater and was going to go to dinner tonight at the house of a man who she knows nothing about and with the Death Eater parents of the grandson's friend."
Neville pulled away enough to look at Thomas, looking thoughtful and a fair bit calmer. "Oh. I-I never even thought of it that way. I tend to forget that Draco's dad is a Death Eater, because Draco doesn't act like the son of a Death Eater. And I know you're a really nice person and you wouldn't let any harm come to any of us. It's– I mean, you're so open with us all the time that I forget how private a person you are, even though Harry's always saying you like being left alone."
Thomas nodded. "I've lived most of my life in the Muggle world, and even though your grandmother could probably dig up information about me if she wanted, it would be rather difficult and near impossible with the amount of time she had between agreeing to let you come and you actually coming."
Neville nodded, looking eerily mature. "Thomas, would you like to accompany me home so Gran knows everything was okay?"
Thomas smiled. "Sure. Let's go have you say good-bye to the others and then we can go."
The Longbottom residence was bigger than the house Thomas owned in the city, but smaller than Malfoy Mansion by a fair chunk. As soon as they Floo'd into the lit sitting room, Augusta was upon Neville, checking to make sure he wasn't hurt and not noticing Thomas' presence at all.
After a few long moments of trying to regain his bearings and figure out why he was being attacked with hugs and worry, Neville finally got out a, "Gran, I'm perfectly fine. The only lasting damage from tonight is seeing Sirius kiss Professor Snape."
Augusta froze, looking confused. "Excuse me?"
Neville sighed. "Sirius has been driving Thomas stark-raving mad since he was freed and Professor Snape's always picking on Harry and Hermione and me, so Thomas pranked Sirius into telling Professor Snape he loved him, then kissing him. It was kind of creepy, but funny too." Neville paused to let his grandmother catch up, then said, "Gran, I asked Thomas to come with me because I think you two got off on the wrong foot a couple of days ago." He nodded towards where Thomas was still standing next to the fireplace silently, his expression blank.
Augusta frowned. "And why, exactly, do you think that, Neville? I think everything went fine."
Neville threw his arms up in the air in clear exasperation and Thomas couldn't help but smile. "Because you were nothing but rude to him and he was being really polite about the whole thing even though he had every right to hex you and he knew it." Neville turned on Thomas. "Didn't you?"
Thomas sighed. "I did, and still do. However, Neville, because we're meeting in your home, your grandmother has every right to be as rude to me as she wants and I can't do anything."
Neville winced. "I forgot. I'm sorry, Thomas."
"Don't be. If I didn't want your grandmother to have the advantage, I wouldn't have come." He glanced up at Augusta, who was watching him with thinly veiled curiosity. "Mrs Longbottom, am I correct in my assumptions that your actions earlier this day that had Neville arrive at my house so distraught were, in fact, due to your concern for his safety and not your anger at his keeping mementos of his parents, as he'd originally assumed?"
Augusta stiffened and she looked at Neville. "You thought I didn't want you to have things from Frank and Alice?"
Neville shifted uncomfortably and shrugged. "You always tell me to throw them out."
"I just don't like you keeping so much trash around to clutter your room. I know you like that Alice gives you things, but I really don't think you should keep all of them," Augusta replied, voice softening ever so slightly.
"But–"
"Neville," Thomas interrupted gently. The two Longbottoms looked at him, Neville with pained eyes, Augusta with irritated ones. "While I agree that keeping the wrappers is nice for a time, you must eventually learn to look beyond the material gifts and instead think of the actual gift your mother is giving you."
Neville shook his head in confusion, but Augusta was frowning as if she'd just realized something about this darkly cloaked man in her sitting room. "What's that, Thomas?"
"She loves you," Thomas said simply. "She may not remember you, but she loves you, even through her lack of memories. Her gift is not trash, but the love that she can no longer show you every day."
Neville bit his lip. "Oh."
"So, really, you don't need to keep the wrappers, for what she is really offering you isn't something that can pile up in your room and be forgotten because others just like it have covered it up. Do you understand?"
Neville nodded, looking like he might cry again. "Yeah."
Thomas smiled at the child, then looked at Augusta, who was watching him with interest. "While hard love can be good for children from time to time, it's probably not good for them when there's no one else for them to turn to when it gets too difficult to bear. Sometimes, it's good to smile instead of always frowning; it makes life look less bleak."
"You say that as if you know," Augusta commented in an offhand manner.
Thomas' smile became tight, but didn't falter. "I do."
Augusta blinked, then inclined her head. "I see."
Thomas inclined his head in return, then looked at Neville. "I should return. It's past my bedtime."
Neville laughed weakly. "You don't have a bedtime, Thomas."
"Even old farts have bedtimes, Neville." Thomas winked. "I will surely see you on the platform, if not sooner."
Neville nodded sadly. "Okay. Bye."
Thomas ruffled the boy's hair fondly, then turned back to the fireplace and tossed in a bit of the Floo Powder he kept stored in his cloak in case of emergencies and said, "Leland Manor. Lisa."
-
A/N: *stares at length in disbelief* I did NOT intend for it to be that long. However, now that it IS that long, I can hardly see how I would fix it. I could break it up into two chapters, but I'm sure you're all excited that it's maddeningly long and would kill me if I were to cut it. Anyway, I swore I'd get Christmas in here.
I fully intend next chapter to have the end of the hols and when they see the train back to Hogwarts. As of, I'm undecided as to what to do with the rest of this year. I really don't want to continue writing weekly letters – there's only so many I can write before I want to strangle something – but I don't want them to go down to being monthly, because I don't think Harry and Thomas would be so lax. Bleh.
So I realized somewhere in the middle of this chapter that I've been trying so hard to keep from giving any clues about Thomas that's he's starting to look more and more like an OC/Gary-Stu. Is he starting to turn into one? Do you think? Or am I blowing this way out of proportion? (And, no, I'm not telling you anything special about him that hasn't yet been released in the story.)
Cheers!
~Bats
Pro - To Face the Unknown / 1 - Two Potters
2 - Diagon Alley ||| 3 - Summer's End and Letters ||| 4 - The Trial
8 - The Second Year ||| 9 - The Third Year ||| 10 - Fight For What You Believe In
11 - Thomas Potter ||| 12 - Plots and Plans ||| 13 - The Children's Hand
14 - ???
Incomplete
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no subject
Date: 24/7/07 01:04 (UTC)no subject
Date: 24/7/07 20:42 (UTC)