Bleep.

One muffled sound woke Harry from a fitful sleep. His alarm went off as programmed, just one bleep, so nobody else would hear. Not that he was worried. There weren’t many students asleep in the Gryffindor dorm rooms this time of year. It was Christmas. Most of the students were home with their families. Only Ron lay snoring nearby, and Harry hoped he could sneak away quietly enough not to wake him. Just yesterday he’d gotten a letter from Sirius requesting a Christmas Eve meeting in the forbidden forest. Any letter from his godfather could stir excitement in the young boy, but a note of meeting at Christmas held even greater promise of wonder. With only a moment of preparation, the young wizard-in-training left his bed. He grabbed up two brightly wrapped packages, stuffing them into the pockets of his robe. Swathed securely in his invisibility cloak, he tiptoed out of the castle and onto the grounds of Hogwarts.

“Blasted snow,” he spoke softly. The cloak of invisibility did nothing to hide his footprints. “If Hermoine were here she’d have a spell for this,” he mused. There was nothing he could do about it though, he shrugged and moved on, hoping that the snow currently falling would cover up his tracks.

The dark forest loomed eerily bright, bathed in white as it was. The moon’s fullness reflected on the untouched snow, but made its shadows even more foreboding.Reaching into his pocket with cold stiffened fingers, Harry smoothed the letter from Sirius one more time. They were to meet in a rocky cove not far from Hagrid’s cottage. Harry grinned. Obviously Sirius had attempted to keep Harry from traveling too far into the forbidden forest, but he knew distance wouldn’t matter if he was caught.

“Out of your room after hours is grounds for detention, Mr. Potter.” He could already hear Professor MacGonagall’s pronouncement of doom, but any detention time served would be worth it, to get to spend a little time with Sirius.

Lost in thought as he was, the boy trudged past two sets of footprints before he realized they were slipping behind him. Big paw prints marked the place where Sirius had gone before him, in his animagus form, a shaggy black dog. Harry’s pace quickened, his eyes squinting in an effort to catch a glimpse of Sirius. His heartbeat quickened in anticipation.

“Harry.”

Potter froze at the sound of his name whispered into the crisp midnight air.

“Over here.” Changing course a little, he climbed the rocks to where Sirius sat, pulling off his cloak as his companion squeezed his shoulders.

“Good to see you, boy,” the older man grinned. “Everything going alright at the castle?”

Harry gave him a puzzled look. “How did you know...”

“Harry, just because one is invisible does not make one soundless. I could hear your feet scrunching in the snow. Have a seat. I have something here for you.” He dug around in the pockets of his robe.

“You look good,” Harry mentioned, in an attempt to stay casual. He worried much about Sirius living a life on the run.

“Thanks,“ Sirius returned. “Lots of sun where I’m staying now. It’s pleasant enough. But I couldn’t pass up Christmas here at Hogwart’s. I’ve missed you.”

“Missed you too,” Harry agreed, reaching into his own robe pockets. “I made you a gift.”

He handed over a small square box covered in gold-and-red foil wrapping, glancing up at Sirius with wide eyes as the older man handed him a box of nearly the same shape, only smaller. They both grinned and turned to ripping open their presents.

“Hermoine helped with mine,” Harry admitted. “I didn’t know what you’d like best. She gave me some hints.” His mind wandered even as he tore into the box before him. “Parents... or... people... similar to parents... enjoy personal presents best,” Hermoine’d informed him. “Nothing expensive, of course, but they must come from the heart.” He’d been grateful for the information. It was easy to find presents for her and Ron. Even Cho’s gift had come to him with ease. But Sirius... He was another matter entirely.

“I hope you like it,” he ventured, as Sirius held up an opalescent cube. Every surface reflected a different picture of Harry and his friends. “There’s Hermoine, Ron and me,” he explained. “And there’s one of me and Hagrid and Fang.” Pointing to another side, he continued. “That’s from our first quidditch match of the season.” He went quiet at the emotion that became evident on the face of his godfather.

“Do you... I mean... is it?”

“It’s wonderful, Harry,” Sirius assured him. “Thank you. This will serve well to cheer me when we’re so far apart.” He stole a glance at Harry.

“How about yours?”

Harry looked down at a crystal ball that rested in his hands. “A RememberAll?” he asked, trying to hide a bit of confusion. RememberAlls were kid toys. Harry had hoped he projected himself as being a little more mature.

“It looks like a RememberAll,” Sirius, agreed, grinning. “But it’s more. I dubbed it a ‘CallsAll’.” He gave an apologetic little smile as he took the ball from Harry’s hand. “I tried to come up with a more original name, but....well, I’m not all that imaginative at things like that. No matter. You merely tap it three times, and you can see me, where ever I am. Tap it five times and I’ll apparate to where you are. You have to use it with caution, but I believe you are man enough to know how important it is not to... misuse such a gift.”

“I understand,” Harry looked up, his smile changing into a wide grin as the full import of Sirius’ gift sunk in.

“And if anyone else finds it, it’s just a RememberAll.”

“Awesome,” Harry breathed. He looked down at the ball in his hand, then back to Sirius. “I’ll be careful.”

“I know, Harry. I know.”

They slipped into a comfortable silence, broken only as they ventured to catch up on each other’s lives. An hour slid into two, then three as they enjoyed the shared company. Cold was forgotten. Even the forbidding atmosphere of the dark forest was pushed back by animated conversation. It was only with great regret that Sirius finally stood to his feet.

“You better be getting back to bed, Harry,” he said sadly. “I don’t want any trouble coming to you because of me.”

“Yeah, “ Harry agreed. “Ron’ll wake up soon. And then there’ll be questions.... I better hurry.”

Standing to his feet, he took a long look at the only connection to his parents that the boy’d ever had. The only grown up he could relate to. The only grown up that had made it a point to relate to him. There were no words to express how their separation saddened him.

“Best be off then,” he finally managed. Sirius nodded gravely, the engulfed Harry in a bear hug. “Happy Christmas, Harry,” the older man whispered.

“Happy Christmas.”

In the blink of an eye Harry was back in his cloak and heading toward Hogwart’s, stopping only to place the other red-and-gold foiled package on the steps of Hagrid’s hut. He smiled sleepily at the thought of his enormous friend discovering his gift.

“Happy Christmas, Hagrid,” he whispered to the snores that emerged from the cottage. He allowed his hand to slide slowly down the heavy wooden door, turning as he did toward the castle. Suddenly he was filled with a new sense of purpose and well-being. This place was home to Harry. These people meant so much to him. They made Hogwart’s feel like home. Sirius, and Hagrid, Dumbledore and even MacGonagall. Warmth flooded over him. A warmth that leaving Sirius in the forest had stolen. He was ready to go back to the castle, to Ron and the inevitable sweater from Mrs. Weasely. To the familiar walls of Gryffindor tower. He was ready to go home. To a place so much better than anything the Dursely’s had ever offered him. For that gift, he would be eternally grateful.

“Happy Christmas everybody,” white breath floated upward from underneath his cloak as the whispered wish rose into the wind.

“Happy Christmas.”