G. Lippert - James Potter and the Hall of the Elders' Crossing

"I didn't understand about every third word of that," Ralph said, sighing, "but I'm cold. How do we get in?"

James reached down for Ralph's hand. Ralph gave it to him, and James pulled him up onto the first step of the landing leading into number twelve. Ralph stumbled, regained his footing and looked up. His eyes widened and a grin of delight spread across his face. James had no memory of his first visit to the old headquarters, but he knew from other people's descriptions how the doorway revealed itself the first time you arrived, how number twelve simply pushed numbers eleven and thirteen aside like a man shouldering his way through a crowd. James couldn't help grinning back at Ralph's wonderment.

"I love being a wizard," Ralph said meaningfully.

As James slammed the door, his mum strode quickly toward him from the hall, wiping her hands on a towel. "James!" she cried, gathering him into her arms and nearly yanking him off his feet.

"Mum," James said, embarrassed and pleased. "Come on, you're gonna melt the Chocolate Frog in my shirt pocket already."

"You're not too old to give your mum a kiss after being gone for four months, you know," she chided him.

"You know how it is," Ted exclaimed mournfully. "One moment, they're yanking your apron strings, the next, they're asking to borrow the broom to go snogging with some crumpet. Where does the time go?"

James' mum grinned, turning to Ted and embracing him as well. "Ted, you never change. Or shut up. Welcome. And you too, Victoire. Adorable hat, by the way." Ralph groaned, but James' mum went on before Victoire could offer any pointed explanation. "And you are Ralph, of course. Harry mentioned you, and of course, James has told me loads about you in his letters. My name's Ginny. I hear you are quite the wand master."

"Where is Dad, by the way?" James asked quickly, cutting Victoire off again.

"He picked up Andromeda after work today. They should be home soon enough. Everyone else will be here tomorrow."

"James!" two smaller voices chimed in unison, to the accompaniment of thundering footsteps. "Ted! Victoire!" Lily and Albus shoved past their mum. "What'd you bring us?" Albus demanded, stopping in front of James.

"Direct from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," James said grandly, "I bring you both… hugs!" He grabbed Albus in a bear hug. Albus pushed and struggled, simultaneously laughing and annoyed.

"No! I wanted some Drooble's Best Blowing Gum from the cart lady! I told you!"

Ted squatted down and squeezed Lily. "I got you something you'll love, my dear."

"What is it?" she asked, suddenly shy.

"You'll have to wait until Christmas, won't you? Your mummy's all stocked up on dragon kibble, isn't she?"

"Ted Lupin!" Ginny snapped. "Don't get her hopes up, you rogue. Now come on, all of you. Kreacher's been in the basement all afternoon preparing what he calls 'a fitting and proper tea service'. Don't fill up, though, or you'll not be hungry for the goose he cooked, and he'll sulk all week."

Harry and Ted's grandmum, Andromeda Tonks, arrived half an hour later, and the rest of the evening was a whirlwind of food, happy laughter, and catching up. Harry and Ginny, it turned out, hadn't even listened to the Hogwarts debate, despite what James had assumed. Andromeda Tonks had, though, and was full of endless vitriol for Tabitha Corsica and her team. Fortunately, she had no idea whatsoever that Ralph had also been on the team, and Ralph was all too happy to allow her to continue in that ignorance.

"Don't worry," Ted murmured to Ralph over dessert, "if anybody says anything, I'll tell her you were a spy operating undercover. She loves espionage, does the old dear."

Kreacher hadn't changed a single iota. He bowed low to James, one hand over his heart, the other spread wide. "Master James, come back from his first year of schooling, he has," he warbled in his bullfrog voice. "Kreacher has prepared Master's quarters just the way he likes them. Would Master and his friend care for a watercress sandwich?"

Kreacher had, as usual, kept the house in exceptional order, and had even gone to the trouble to decorate for the holidays. Unfortunately, Kreacher's concept of good cheer was a bit rustic, and the result would have amused Zane endlessly. The severed heads of the previous house-elves, which still hung in the hallway as a testament to the original pureblood owners of the estate, had been dressed with fake, white beards and conical, green caps with jingle bells on the tips.

"Kreacher had bewitched them to sing holiday songs, too, he did," Kreacher told James and Ralph a bit petulantly. "But the missus decided that that was perhaps a bit too… festive. Kreacher liked it, though, just the same." He seemed to be angling to be allowed to reinstate the caroling heads. James assured Kreacher that it had been a wonderfully inventive idea and he'd talk to his mum about it. He was, in fact, morbidly curious to see and hear the heads in action.

Both Lily and Albus followed James and Ralph around most of the night, begging to see what the boys could do with their newly learned skills.

"Come on, James!" Albus demanded. "Show us a levitation! Levitate Lily!"

"No!" Lily cried. "Levitate Albus! Fly him out the window!"

"You both know I can't do magic once I'm off the train and officially out of Hogwarts," James said wearily. "I'll get in trouble."

"Dad's Head Auror, you git. You probably won't even get a warning."

"It's irresponsible," James said seriously. "You get older and you'll know what that means."

"You can't do it, can you?" Albus taunted. "James can't do a levitation! Some wizard you are. First Squib in the Potter family. Mum will die of shame."

"You're the same Albus-blabbus you ever were, you little skrewt."

"Don't call me that!"

"What, skrewt or Albus-blabbus?" James smiled. "You know Albus-blabbus is your real name, don't you? It's on your birth certificate. I saw it."

"Albus-blabbus!" Lily sang, dancing around her older brother.

Albus jumped on James, wrestling him to the floor.

Later, as James and Ralph headed to James' bedroom for the night, they passed a curtain that seemed to be drawn over a section of wall. A sleepy muttering came from behind it.

"Old Mrs. Black," James explained. "Crazy old nutter. Wigs out about people desecrating the house of her fathers and stuff every time she sees any of us. Dad and Neville have done everything they could think of to get the old bat off the wall, but she's stuck there right good. Even considered cutting out the section of wall with the portrait on it, but it's a main wall. Cutting her out would probably bring the next floor right down on top of us. Besides, strange as it may seem, Kreacher's rather attached to her, since she was his old mistress. So I suppose she's part of the family forever."

Ralph peeked tentatively behind the curtain. He furrowed his brow. "Is she… watching television?"

James shrugged. "We discovered that a few years back. We had the front door open because we were moving in a new sofa. She saw a telly through the window across the street and shut right up for the first time in weeks. So we hired a wizard artist to come and paint one right into her portrait. Crazy old bat loves the chat shows. Ever since then, well, she's been a lot more bearable."

Ralph slowly let the curtain drape back over the portrait. A man's voice behind it was saying, "And when did you first notice that your dog had Tourette's syndrome, Mrs. Drakemont?"

Kreacher had arranged a cot for Ralph in James' room. His trunk was placed neatly at the end of it, and there was a ribbon-wrapped pinecone on each pillow, apparently Kreacher's idea of a Christmas mint.

"This used to be my dad's godfather's room," James said sleepily, once they had settled down.