Unfortunately, Evan Rosier never did end up in prison or even searched for the claims Dumbledore made against him in court. In fact, the ministry dismissed them entirely and Evan walked free with Aveline on that very day.
After the trial her friends were sent to finish off their final days of school before the christmas holiday— something that the boys especially complained about, for they wanted to be home with Aveline.
Due to special circumstances, Dumbledore had allowed Aveline to return to the Potter residence early, something that she was very grateful for.
It had been a mere two weeks of azkaban, and somehow she was left with parasite so deeply woven into her brain, she was certain they would never leave. She didn't even comprehend how on earth, people survived years in that place, and it actually made her pity her father a little bit.
The Potter parents took to worrying over Aveline in full force, constantly providing her with comfort and making all her favourite meals. In fact, every single night Mia would ask Aveline what she wanted for dinner, and when the girl was to polite to answer she woman would force it out of her.
All Aveline really wanted however was her friends— her family. Despite it only being ten days before break, every single day James, Sirius, Peter and Remus wrote to her, which she never did get tired of.
The Potter parents made good company in the meantime however. They were currently teaching Aveline a series of muggle card games that Fleamont had learnt a muggle convention, which was rather fun. Aveline always liked muggle card games, there was a peaceful simplicity to nothing exploding or snapping well playing the game.
"So tell me," Fleamont began one night over a game of go fish, "What is going on with you and that Lupin boy?"
Aveline's face flushed a colour so deeply red it looked like Lily's hair. It was one thing for her friends to make jokes and comments, but for James's dad it was much to embarrassing for a teenage girl.
"Who?" Aveline asked, though she was fighting a grin back. "But Anyways, do you have an eights?"
Fleamont raised his eyebrow in a very James fashion.
"Go Fish. But anyways, do I need to scare him with my duelling skills next time he visits? I've never trust that boy," Fleamont spoke, in the way Dad's do, shaking his head.
"Nonesense!" Euphemia interjected. "We love Remus like a son, and you know it Monty."
Fleamont shrugged, "If James was going out with Aveline, I'd scare him too. Teenage boys aren't to be trusted, understood Aveline?"
"We aren't going out—"
"Then why do you look at him all gooey eyed?"
"Monty enough!" Euphemia cut the man off for Aveline, which she was very grateful for. "Besides, I for one think Remus and Aveline would make a lovely couple."
To this Fleamont snorted as if it was the most ridiculous thing he ever heard, but in a way that made Aveline giggle. The Potter parents were the type of parents that everyone deserved, and even if they weren't technically her parents, Aveline couldn't believe her luck she got to steal them from James time from time. They loved her like a daughter, and Sirius like a son, and in her heart Aveline knew they would do the same for any child that needed a home.
If God put angels on earth, Fleamont and Euphemia Potter were definitely two of them.
_________
From the moment Sirius and James arrived home, the three Potter children spent the christmas holiday glued together. It was partially bevause both boys wouldn't let Aveline out of their site, for whenever they did weird stuff seemed to happen.
The Potter house was truly full and briming with the spirit of christmas now the the boys were home, which was something Aveline had really experienced. Her christmas's were usually nothing but being locked in her cold room and dressed up in too tight dresses to go to balls full of too uptight people.
Truthfully, she didn't even know about alot of the proper christmas traditions, which James Potter— in true James Potter fashion— was determined to show her all of them.
Right now, the trio was currently gingerbread house building, except because this was the wizarding world, the gingerbread houses in question involved real life animate ginger bread men, and housed with real working stoves and fireplaces.
"Merlin!" Sirius hollered, "My man on the run!"
Sure enough, running across the floor of the kitchen was Sirius's gingerbread man, sprinting as if there was no tomorrow.
"Padfoot!" James complained, wacking the boy in the arm. "This is why you can't call your gingerbread man your little bitch boy! They have feelings!"
Sirius was already on his hands and knees, crawling around the kitchen with his leather jacket on trying to catch the tiny thing. It was a rather hilarious sight, so much so that it sent Aveline into a fit of laughter so intense she was crippling over.
"Don't just sit there you lazy arse's! Help me!" Sirius complained.
His gingerbread man had taken to running quickly in circles around him, giving Sirius the look as if he was chasing his tale.
It took James and Aveline everything they had in them not to pass out from laughter, the two Gryffindors clinging onto one another as they laughter till their chest wheezed and throats were nearly raw.
_______
The nightmares from her time azkaban never did leave her head. In truth, she could barely remember what it was to have a night without them. They were as much apart of her, as waves were apart of the ocean— sometimes they came big swoops that overtook everything, and sometimes they merely dragged up all the things she was hiding in the depths of her mind.
It was christmas eve, the day had been full of delicious christmas treats baked by Euphemia, more muggle card games and sitting around the fire with mugs of warm hot chocolate. For once Aveline drifted off with a feeling of ease in her mind, and she was a fool for thinking her sleep would come with a similar feeling.
Instead, three hours later the girl was in bed , trashing and screaming like someone was torturing her from the inside. It was the dementors, even though she wasn't physically around them, the thick fog of their powers had coated her brain like dust.
The worst part is that she couldn't seem to get out of them. Most people wake up during a nightmare, but not Aveline.
No, she would scream and scream the entire night, making herself sweat and cry if no one was there to stop her.
"Ave! Ave! Aveline!" James stood in his christmas pajama pants over Aveline's bed, attempting to shake her away by the shoulders. Even from his room he could hear her, though Sirius almost always slept through the noise. "ROSIER!"
She snapped awake, nearly smacking James in the face. Her breath was heavy in her chest, looking around with wide, panicked eyes.
"Your okay," James said calmly, placing his hands on her shoulders. "Look at me Aveline, your okay."
It was like James reached into her mind, swirling with pools of darkness and pulled her out it's swamp in mere moments— his steady breathing, strong brown eyes looking at with creased eyebrows drawing her back to reality.
"I-I'm sorry I woke you—" she began, hair stuck to her head and chest finally beginning to calm down.
James shook his head, reaching for her hand and squeezing it as tight as he could without it being painful.
"You don't need to apologize," he spoke softly. "And look," he whispered, pointing to the clock on her night stand table, "Merry christmas Ave!"
Sure enough the clock read 4:44 am— christmas. She couldn't help but let a smile tug on her face, James watching as it lit up. If James could, he would take all the pain from her that she carried around with like heavy weights, and carry them on his back it made things easier; he would switch places; he would give up everything good in his life to give it to the people he loved. James Potter was just that type of person, and nothing caused him more pain then picturing the people he loved in pain.
All the boy ever wanted to do was make the people around him happy, even it wore him down. He lived to see other people smile— if James made someone laugh it was a good day in his eyes.
So really, it was no surprise he was like this with Aveline— so caring, so kind, when really he owed her nothing. He could've just went back to sleep, tug his head over his pillow and not give a damn.
But that wouldn't be James Potter— a boy with a list thousands of miles long full of ways to make other people smile.
"Well come on then," James said, beckoning with his hand for Aveline to get up. She gave him a confused look, tilting her head. "It's Christmas!" he stated as if it was obvious.
"It's also 4am?" She asked. Truthfully she knew she wasn't going to go back to sleep, even if she tried. She more so just figured James would want to rest for at least a couple more hours, but the boy merely shrugged his shoulders.
"Mom and Dad will probably probably be up in an hour or two, and as soon as Sirius hears us all he'll come bounding down the stairs. He loves christmas," James explained as it if it was obvious.
So dressed in her santa pajama pants with a head of hair so fluffy and curly it look like a birds nest, Aveline followed James down the stairs, both teenagers trying to make as little of noise as possible as to not wake up the rest of the family.
The Potter house was true magic at Christmas, with decorative reeves hanging on nearly every door, strings of tinsel hanging down the staircase. In the sitting room sat the tallest christmas tree Aveline had ever seen, full of colourful ordainments— most handmade but a younger James Potter.
James began to attempt to make hot chocolate the muggle way for them, which involved somehow a lot of pots clanging to the ground, and the boy spilling the whole tin of chocolate powder on his snowman slippers. If it wasn't five am, Aveline would've burst out laughing so loud the house would've shook, but instead she covered her mouth with her hand, wheezing to try to stay silent.
It was no use though, for minutes later Fleamont came bounding down the stairs, sleep in his eyes.
"James what's with the racket?"
For a moment Aveline held her breath as Fleamont spoke, her heart picking up in pace.
Certianly Fleamont was about to start screaming at James any moment now. You don't just wake your parents up without repercussions.
Though as the man entered the kitchen and eyes James chocolate covered slippers he let out a loud cackle. He reached into his pocket— no doubt to pull out his wand— and Aveline found herself flinching, but the man merely waved it, cleaning up James's mess with no sigh of annoyance or even anger.
"Merlin Kid," Fleamont snorted. "Try to get a little in the cup next time."
"I swear it's the tin! It's slippery on my fingers!" James complained.
Aveline watched the next part unravel with so much confusion she was certain she walked into another dimension. Fleamont walked up to James, ruffling his hair and pulling him for a hug.
"Merry Christmas kids!" the man cheered happily.
This certainly was different from Aveline's family Christmas's.
____
A little while later the Potter family and Aveline sat around the christmas tree, passing out gifts.
Though Aveline wasn't exactly trained in gift giving or receiving, she did her very best. Truthfully she wasn't 100% sure about what Christmas traditional were when it came to gifts, but lucky Sirius had warned her in advance about how it all went.
Truthfully she wasn't expecting the Potter parents to get her anything, which was why she was extremely
surprised to see a purple stocking stuffed to the brim with goodies right beside the ones layed out for James and Sirius.
"Oh I hope you like it all dear, but if there's anything that you don't like, tell me and we can return it for something better," Euphemia began, snuggled up on the couch in a knitted cardigan with a mug of steaming tea in her hand. "It's so much more exciting shopping for girls!! I've always wanted a daughter."
She looked to the side to see James and Sirius already digging into their stockings, and so after thanking the parents a million times, she did the same thing.
And let's just say, Euphemia Potter knew what was up. There was chocolates— milk and dark, some with hazelnuts, some with almonds, Aveline's favourite variety of sweets, a new perfume that smelt like cherries, makeup brushes, nail-polishes, body scrubs, body wash, fancy little pearl drop earrings in a darling silver box, a set of pretty quills, eyeshadow, lipstick.
Aveline got properly spoiled by the Potter parents, to the point she was speechless, so overwhelmed that all she could was thank them over and over again until the word started to sound weird in her mouth.
"We aren't done yet dear," Euphemia winked, and waved her wand causing a box wrapped in shiny paper to appear in front of each of the children.
She watched as the boys opened theirs, and merlin did Aveline's jaw drop. She was used to fancy things— her family was rich— she just wasn't used to parents giving so much to their children.
James received a new broom, top of the line with a shiny handle and polishing kit to go along with it, and Sirius received an actual muggle guitar, with a book of songs to go along with it.
And Aveline?
She nervously opened her box not quite possibly sure what the Potters could've gifted her.
"Now," Euphemia began as Aveline was opening, "if you don't like it dear, no pressure..."
And that's when Aveline heard the meowing, and her jaw nearly fought dropping, and never in her life had she opened a box quicker.
As she pulled open the lid, it revealed a tiny little ball of white fluff, with the brightest blue eyes she had ever seen on an animal—
and obviously, Aveline's heart melted.
She reached into the box, picking the tiny creature up with delicacy. The kitten felt so delicate, so tiny, she could feel the little ribs expanding in the creatures side, it's tiny little paws touching her skin.
The kitten let out another little meow, staring up at Aveline as she stared down at it.
"Obviously we understand dear if you aren't ready for another pet—" Euphemia began.
"She's perfect," Aveline cut her off, her voice quite literally choking up. "Thank you guys, really thank you. This is too much— really thank you, I can't thank you enough."
She got up, hugging both the Potter parents tightly before sitting back down, the little kitten stretched out in her lap. Both the boys had abandon whatever they were doing to crouch down beside her, staring at the adorable thing. She literally looked like a stuffed toy a little girl would've played with.
"What are you going to name her Ave?" Sirius asked, as he reached a singular finger out to poke the kitten in her belly.
"Actually," Euphemia piped in, "The place we got her from already picked out a name. Obviously, you can change it if you want dear, but I figured you might want to hear the name before you decide. They named her Princess, if you look on her collar her tag says so."
Sure enough, printed on the heart shaped tag on the collar was Princess in cursive writing.
"Aw Sirius!" James began, looking down at the cat. "That's so cute, they named a kitten after you!"
To this Fleamont loudly laughed, well Sirius reached over, glaring at James and punching him in the arm.
"I am not a princess!" Sirius argued, crossing his arms in a very pouting manner.
"Sure you aren't sweetheart," Aveline said, patting him on the knee.
The rest of the day was filled to the brim with helping Euphemia prepare dinner, and listening to Sirius try to play his guitar. Let's just say Sirius wasn't exactly naturally gifted when it came to the instrument, and it didn't take long for Fleamont to spell him with some sort of silencing charm from behind his back.
The only issue was Sirius had no clue the silencing charm was on, and kept babbling to people who couldn't hear him.
"Yeah!" James said, nodding his head to Sirius who was silently rambling about something. "The guitar sounds great buddy!"
The guitar didn't sound great— not that they could hear it. Dinner was full of christmas puddings and baked goods, so much so that by the end of it Aveline was sure she would never be able to eat again.
And from the amount of laughs and smiles escaping her face, the day ended with her belly full, cheeks sore for smiling and nothing but happy thoughts on her mind.