Our discussion had to be put on hold when a knock at the door drew us attention back to the present, and I got up to answer it. Opening the door, I found Sam on the other side, hands full of bags with food.
"Hey there! Merry Christmas, Ed!" he said cheerfully.
"Sam! How are you?" I asked, hugging him.
"Doing good," he replied, returning the gesture.
"Come on in! Some other people are gonna be here for Christmas brunch besides Harry and Mr. Lupin, by the way," I said as I led him inside.
"Who?"
"Mr. Lupin's friend," I replied. Sam blinked in surprise when he saw the scruffy man waving at him from the dining room table, messy plates in front of him. He recognized Remus Lupin, and had already met him, but the other person was a mystery. Though since he was glaring at the remnants of the breakfast, I knew why he was upset.
"Did you start eating without us?" he asked, annoyed.
"I just made them pancakes," I assured him. "Sam, this is Sirius Black, Harry's Godfather. Sirius, this is my friend Sam Parson."
"Why does he look like he escaped from a prison?" Sam asked warily, causing the man in question to bark out a laugh.
"Because he did," Remus said dryly.
"Wait… is this the guy who supposedly sold-out Harry's parents?!" Sam gasped. "The one who was falsely imprisoned?"
"That's him," I snickered. "Don't tell anyone, okay?"
"Not like anyone would believe me," Sam grunted, shaking his head in disbelief. "Anyways, I hope you properly brined the turkey!"
"Inky and I made sure of it," I promised.
"Alrighty, then. I'll be working on the food with Inky, then," he said, walking towards the kitchenette.
"Young Master Eddie! Young Mister Harry has arrived," Inky informed me a moment later, having detected his arrival.
"Great! I'll go get him," I said, grabbing my coat, shoes, and a paper bag from the closet before stepping out of the apartment.
It was chilly, but there wasn't any snow save a small dusting of it from last night, which was a relief, and I went down to greet Harry.
"Ed!" Harry said cheerfully as he got out of the limo. "Merry Christmas!"
"Hey, Harry," I said. "Merry Christmas as well!"
"And thank you for dropping him off," I said, turning to the limo's chauffeur. "Oh, and could you drop off a couple gifts at the Finch-Fletchleys when you head back?"
"Sure," he replied. I handed over the paper bag with a couple simple magical items wrapped up in Christmas themed parchment. Cosmetics for the missus, boot and medal polish for the mister, and Justin was getting a couple of magical prank items.
I also included an envelope with a hundred Pounds Sterling which was for the chauffeur as a gift for working on Christmas day. I'd done the same for my employees, making sure they all got a nice Holiday bonus which had made them very excited and grateful.
The Finch-Fletchley's driver tipped his hat to me in thanks, and drove off, leaving me with Harry who was practically vibrating with excitement, a bag full of clothes and toiletries from the sleepover in hand.
"Did you have fun at the sleepover with Justin?" I asked.
"I did! His house is amazing!" Harry said, which I could only nod in agreement at. Their house was indeed amazing.
"Glad you enjoyed yourself," I said, genuinely happy for him.
"Is Sam here? And Mr. Lupin?" Harry wondered, and I nodded.
"Yup! They're both here. But, before we go in, I want you to know that there's somebody here to meet you," I told him as I led him inside. "Somebody Remus brought."
"Who?" he asked, curious, but also a little suspicious.
"You'll see," I assured him as we stepped into the apartment. I took his coat and hung it up, letting Harry enter the living room.
"Harry?" Sirius breathed out when he saw the green-eyed boy enter. He stared at the pre-teen as if he was seeing a ghost or hallucination that would vanish if he blinked.
"Um, hello," Harry said nervously.
"Harry, this is Sirius Black," I said, and Harry's eyes lit up in recognition. I'd told him all about the lack of evidence there was towards Sirius Black being guilty, but I wasn't sure if he'd ever decided if he believed in the man's innocence.
"Harry… Prongslet… it's me. Do you remember me?" Sirius whispered, all but begging.
"I-I don't," Harry replied, shaking his head. "But… is it true? Did… did you do it?"
"No! No, I never betrayed your parents! I would never hurt James or his family! He was my brother in all but blood!" Sirius exclaimed, pleading for Harry to believe him.
That was all Harry needed to hear, it seemed, as he immediately rushed over to the other man and gave him a hug.
The two immediately broke down into tears, which made the rest of us tear up as well. But we didn't cry! And anyone who claims we did is a liar! Pics or it didn't happen!
After that, Harry spent the rest of the morning attached to Sirius' side, and he and Remus took turns telling Harry all about his parents. How James had been smitten with Lily from day one, and how Lily had been uninterested in James' pranking ways until their Sixth year, when James had started to mature and straighten up his act.
Not that the pranks stopped, of course. Sirius happily regaled Harry about the antics the Marauders had gotten up to, and there was a lot of laughs from everybody as the mostly harmless pranks were spoken about.
Sirius' mention of James' invisibility cloak had caused Harry to perk up and rush to get it, showing it off to everyone, which had Remus and Sirius impressed that it still worked after all these years.
When the food was ready, everyone was ready to eat. Turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, egg salad, and so much more was piled up onto plates, while sparkling cider filled our cups, and everyone enjoyed the festive mood that suffused the apartment.
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