(1) Brothers (A Harry Potter Fanfiction)

December 22, 1995

Harry nodded. "Yeah, that she and Harvey said, after the match, that Snape was the one to jinx Harvey's broom."

"Interesting. Have you asked Harvey about this?"

"No." Harry furrowed his brow and stood up, pushing off the wall.

"Why not?"

Harry pushed his fingers through his hair and said, "I am supposed to be focusing on my apprenticeship, not chasing the brat and his crazy ideas around."

Will smirked knowingly. He said, "As an older sibling, you are expected to do both."

"I never asked to be an older sibling," grumbled Harry.

"None of us did."

"I always wanted a sibling," called Cedric, looking up from the game he was playing.

Carlisle scoffed. "You can have mine."

"And mine," added Harry.

Cedric shook his head. "I think I would have preferred a sister."

"Maybe you should take Amelia's sister."

Amelia frowned. "Pansy can be a pain, but unlike the rest of you, I get along with my sibling."

"Regardless," said Jenna, "I think you may have to actually talk to your brother."

Harry sighed and finished the rest of his drink. He didn't want to. It would sound childish if anyone else told him that 'they didn't want to' he would roll his eyes and tell them to suck it up. Whatever was happening needed to be worked out, Harry didn't want to spend the rest of the year dealing with Harvey and his ridiculous mindset, and there would be plenty of opportunities to talk to Harvey over the break.

The Christmas holidays were always insane. The whole week that Harry would spend at home was filled with dinners, parties and family celebrations. Christmas Eve Harry would always spend the evening with his grandparents, Orion and Walburga Black.

Harry knew about the difficult childhood that his father had experienced at the hands of his parents. The strict beliefs of blood purity and tradition were forced upon him, but when Sirius refused and broke whatever traditions he could, rebelled against their rules, it destroyed any form of relationship they had ever had. It wasn't until two years after Sirius had fled from Grimmauld Place that he was contacted by his father.

Orion Black hadn't been as harsh as Walburga had; his displeasure had been relayed in the form of silence and stern looks. He hadn't stopped his wife from burning Sirius from the tapestry, and he hadn't stopped when Walburga hurled insults towards him. The letter that Sirius received had been something that Sirius had almost believed wasn't real, a heartfelt apology. It had taken months before Sirius agreed to meet them to talk and years before Sirius had allowed them to spend more than a few minutes with Harry.

Walburga still held firm to her pure-blood beliefs and seemed to enjoy making snarky comments whenever Sirius was around but having a grandchild did seem to force her to calm down somewhat. Orion just kept his opinions to himself. It made Christmas Eve an awkward but somewhat pleasant time. Harry was always given expensive gifts by his grandparents, and he was always polite and made sure to keep any possibly dangerous topic—for example, his mother—off the table.

Christmas day was always spent with his parents. He and Sirius would spend the morning together, having breakfast and open presents before joining up with the Potters. They always took turns, but some years the Potters would travel to White Oak Manor, and then on the next year, Harry and Sirius would go to Godric's Hollow. It was Lily's turn to host them, and so lunch would be a big event, with mostly like additions such as the Weasleys and Remus.