The cold came quickly with a blistering chill that year, one that stuck to your bones like wet clothes to flesh. It was supposedly a record low, "much lower" than last year, which is what they always said. Remus never believed the weathermen, for they were often wrong. The news on the television was more white noise than informative. Christmas was approaching quickly, and with that came the anxious planning for Harry's gifts. The initial plan was to give him something special since he was older now. They would have to find something like they'd never given him before. Remus used to plan out what ages Harry would gain possession of his parents' items, the list sprawled like ant tunnels through his mind. It took profound and long thoughts, but they knew the perfect answer. The only glaring problem, similar to a giant, old and stubborn boulder, was it would require a trip to Albus Dumbledore's office.
***
"Bambi!" Remus called out, ushering the kid out of his room.
"I know!"
"He's always late." Sirius yawned into his hand, his other reaching into his pocket to grab his box of cigarettes.
"I wonder where he gets it from," Remus snatched the cigarette out of his mouth and curled it between his fingers.
"-No smoking in the house." Leaning against the doorframe, he kicked the sliding door open and snapped his idle fingers at Sirius. Seeing this, Sirius snapped as a small blue flame ignited from above his nail. To that day, it was still one of Remus' favorite party tricks of his.
"I'm ready- ugh!" Harry sang from inside his room, groaning at the fallen object before picking it up again with a quick exhale.
"Brilliant, let's get a move on." Taking the cigarette out of Remus' mouth, Sirius put it in his own and headed for the door.
Hogwarts had never really changed. A few chaotic movements of items and a new ghost was usually the maximum. For people like Remus who wouldn't accept a new scenery if it were served on a silver platter, it was a daydream.
"Harry, why don't you run off and find something to do, Moony and I have matters to attend to."
Harry smiled from afar and began to skip the other way. He had attested to some of the paintings, saying that they were particularly kind to him. It seemed as though many of his friends were drawings now, which sparked an odd and quiet disappointment in Sirius. This silenced thought nagged at him long enough for Remus to ask what was bugging him. Upon hearing this, he reassured him it was normal for kids not to have a large group, especially the ones considered more intelligent. Remus protested that he was the same way up to Hogwarts, minus having any magical ability at the time. Harry did have a couple friends at school, but none like Sirius said he had.
***
"I had many friends" Said Sirius, whipping around in faint disgust at the rejection of thought.
"Yeah? I wonder why."
"I did!" He said even prouder, grinning. Disbelief from another was an idea he couldn't stand.
"Like who."
"Well, they had-" he paused as if he was searching for an answer better than his own.
"I don't remember their names, they just followed me around."
Remus just smiled in mockery and laughed, realizing what they were bickering over was something they didn't need to worry about. They already had their share of things to argue about.
"They probably got paid by your mother."
***
Opening the heavy wooden door to the office, he scanned the shapes and lines indented in it and took a shaking breath. It was the same print on the inside where he used to sit and trace each semicircle and engraved plant. The door he used to sit behind, captive, days before the full moons when a voice above a whisper was piercing.
"Remus." A voice called from his desk up the stairs. Slowly, they walked up the stairs. Sirius had muttered something under his breath as his hand trailed the wooden rail, but Remus didn't catch it.
"This should be easy." Sirius called from behind him.
"Oh, lovely. Black's here too."
Albus smiled with a warm chuckle that bounced off the cluttered walls full of what Remus would classify as trinkets of glory. On the contrary, through years of observation, Sirius knew that laugh. He had grown up with it ringing in his ears, teasing him with a weight that mimicked malice.
"The invisibility cloak. It was James', now it's ours." Remus paused, correcting himself.
"Now, it's Harry's."
Albus lost his smile and stared quietly. His bottom lip moved with his teeth biting into his lip. Reaching down to the bottom drawer of his desk, he spoke in a low tone as if someone was nearby.
"I'm telling you this information because I trust the both of you, though you seem to think otherwise."
"On with it, Albus." Sirius hissed, eager to be anywhere but in that dusted office. With a kick to the shin, Sirius dropped his cold gaze and welcomed a more monotonous look.
"This wand is a deathly hallow, I assume you know what that means?"
Remus' eyes darted to Sirius who quickly turned pale, the blood draining from his face to his feet, making him wobble at the words. He nodded.
"I remember," He whispered. Remus could almost see the anxiously proud eleven-year-old boy in him, the boy who reeked of self-preservation and flooded with knowledge of the darkest fabrics of his being.
"Good. If Harry gets one of them, he could draw Voldemort to him. I only want the best for Harry, and this is not such."
Without a second thought, Sirius quietly thanked him and walked downstairs, slamming the door behind him. The ambiguous thanks made Remus' stomach flip in his gut. Turning his head, he gave one last look at Albus that he could only assume was a mixture between debate and confusion and followed out.
"He's lying." Sirius panted, pointing at the door. The furious crinkle in his brow mowed over any last remnant of panic.
"I know what the deathly hallows are. God, the audacity of him to lie-" He shook his head briskly.
"We used to have one back before Reggie kicked the bucket."
"Morbid." Remus moaned. He found himself once again tracing the thin whisps of the wooden sculpture that was hardly considered a door. The only thing that would've completed this puzzle of his past would be to mumble quietly, praying to whatever god was out there for a way out.
"If someone has even one of the three that would make him a-" Sirius paused until he couldn't help but smile.
"Oi, it's ridiculous," He spat, raising his head in a royal manner to mimic what looked like a teacher's attention.
"He becomes the 'Master of Death' as my mother used to call it." He clapped his hand to his mouth to conceal his boyish grin from his unexpected falsetto.
"Master of- what does that mean?"
"If Harry has one, it could lead Voldemort to us again," Sirius kicked the floor with the toe of his shoe, an anxious hand running through his slivered black hair.
"It could also give gramps in there the chance to gather the last one, and then-" Sirius made a pop sound and accompanied his hands with the poor-timed gesture.
"Morbid, Sirius!" Remus covered his face with his hands.
"What i'm saying is-" Sirius stumbled, his gaze finally catching full attention.
"It's a chance we should take."
***
Harry was busy with his own gift wrapping. Anne, the portrait; had given him the ideas and the money to go out and buy something for the people he loved. Harry was confused at the gesture, and certainly the galleons, but avoided questioning it any further. For Remus he had a leather note holder made in london and a new quill. Harry was supposed to sign the holder, per request from the Queen. For Padfoot, Phineas had the thought to get Moony to get him a motorcycle. Refusing this, he contemplated and revised the audible annotations the portraits made.
"I'll do something, i'll come up with it." He said softly.
Anne folded her arms and glanced at Phineas, the scarred pink line on her neck reflecting the dull light.
"I'm his family, I know what to get one of my grandsons, especially my rebel one!"
"Bambi, où es-tu?" Sirius' clear voice called from around a corridor. His footsteps drew closer with a reverberating thump of his shoe soles.
"I'm over here!" Harry shoved the gift into his pocket as best he could and stood up.
"Sirius! My favorite grandson." Phineas Black's arms spread as if he was going to hug him.
Without a single glance, Sirius chuckled evenly and shook his head. "We both know that's not true."
He adjusted the neck of his black button up, irritated by the fabric against his collarbone.
"What have you been up to?"
"Nothing, just getting ready for Christmas."
"Really? Well, I'm excited then, because I've got quite the gift for you."
Harry's eyes lit up in a manner reminiscent of Sirius' own childlike spark, a mischievous grin spreading across his brightened face.
"Can I have it? Please, can I have it? Just tell me what it is, I'll act surprised!"
Harry bounced on his feet like a rabbit. His curiosity and energy alone reminded Sirius of Athena. The kitten was really growing on him and he enjoyed when she would lay near his head when she slept. She reminded him of Harry.
"Say it in french." He grinned, his smile lopsided as it usually remained. With his family and their history of eugenics, they still couldn't find a way to wipe clean his most perfect imperfection.
"Puis-je avoir mon...Christmas present?"
"Cadeau." Sirius laughed. "Present."
"Ah, okay." Harry nodded politely. "Can I have it now?"
"No. Let's go."
"Shit!"
Sirius giggled and turned around when he realized who he was with. His effort to conceal his chuckle failed, so he pointed his finger at Harry in an attempt to dish some discipline to the boy.
"Watch it, Bambi!"
Word count: 1712