Harry Potter: Another Chance

Chapter 137: Presents!

Disclaimer: Harry Potter and all its characters belong to J.K. Rowling. I own nothing but the original characters I create.

"Dialogue"

 'Thoughts' 

-Author notes-

Chapter 137: Presents!

December 25, early morning.

"Presents!" Holly screamed while running down the stairs.

"Stop running! You're going to fall!" Lily chased after her.

Lyra sighed. "When is she going to stop going crazy like that for presents…"

"You were doing the same thing until just a few years ago," James teased her, and Harry chuckled.

Lyra became visibly embarrassed at this. "I did not!" she replied.

James laughed loudly. "But you did. I remember you used to say, 'Daddy Daddy! Let's go. I want to open the presents!' and then you would take off running, and your mother chased after you."

She made a dissatisfied expression. "That was all in the past, Daddy… I mean Dad! I am soon to be twelve years old and a Hogwarts student, so I'm almost a grown-up," she said smugly.

"Sure you are, dear," James said with a smile.

Harry wondered what being a Hogwarts student had to do with anything.

When he crossed the doorway into the living room, he spotted Holly already circling the Christmas tree, collecting every box with her name on it.

By the time Lyra, James, and he arrived at the tree, Holly was struggling to carry away a pile of boxes.

"Let me help you with that." Harry knelt down, picked up the biggest boxes, and carried them to a nearby couch.

Holly sat down and started tearing open the presents.

He gave a sidelong glance to the tree, where his other sister was searching for her own presents with a face of pure joy.

"Harry, help!" Holly seemed to be having trouble with one of the big boxes.

Harry stayed with her and assisted her while she unveiled a good variety of presents, including clothes, toys, and books.

Finally, she opened the smallest present of them all. After removing the wrapping paper, she revealed a simple-looking wooden box about the size of his fist.

"That one is from me," said Harry.

He could have made a more beautiful box, but it was a conjured object, and like all conjured objects, it would only last for a short period of time before disappearing.

"From brother?" Holly stared at him.

This got the attention of the other family members, who were curious to see what he had gifted her.

"Go ahead, open the box. The present is inside," Harry told her.

"So pretty!" Inside, there was a pendant made of silvery-blue metal with a brilliant stone embedded in it. It had a circular shape, and around it were runic symbols. Attached to it was a simple chain made of the same metal.

"Oh? That must have cost you quite a few coins," said James.

Lily and Lyra moved closer to take a better look at the object.

Lyra's eyes widened as she recognized the design.

Lily, on the other hand, stared at the pendant with curiosity. She did not recognize the stone or the metal it was made of. Its surface shone like silver, but it had a bluish tint to it that made it look like it was radiating with magic.

"Where did you get this? What is it made of? Are those runes? What do they do?" She started bombarding him with questions.

For a second, it reminded him of an old friend with bushy hair.

"I made it myself. It is made of a special alloy called magicite. Yes, those are runes. As for what they do… it may be better if I demonstrate it."

"It looks a lot like your earrings. Did you also make them?" Lyra asked. "Can you make some for me?"

"Earrings?" asked James.

"Never mind that," Harry brushed their questions away.

"Magicite? I have never h-... oh, I see," Lily stopped talking when she realized. If Harry had made it himself, it had to be something that he learned in his future, so she decided not to ask in front of her daughters.

"The rune cluster looks very intricate and well made," James said, impressed. He was not a master at runes, but in order to become an auror, one needed to have at least an advanced knowledge of them.

"So you are skilled at writing runes too? Perhaps you could give your mother some tips," Lily whispered in his ear.

"I'm barely decent with that stuff, but sure," he replied. He could not call himself skilled at runes when he had met people like Hermione or Luna who could run laps around him in that field of magic. But he did have a lot of knowledge that didn't exist in this era, so it's not like he couldn't teach anything to his mother.

"And what does it do?" Lyra asked.

"Does it shine?!" exclaimed Holly.

"That… it wouldn't be very impressive if it only did that…" Harry glanced at Lyra. "Why don't you bring yours, and I'll give you a demonstration."

"I got one too?" Lyra asked excitedly.

"Yes, but they are a bit different," said Harry. "I believe it's that small box over there." He pointed.

"Wait, you want to do a demonstration here in the living room?" James asked with concern; he knew how destructive Harry could be.

"Harry, you can't do magic outside of school. Did you forget about that?" Lily reminded him.

"I already removed the trace," Harry said nonchalantly.

"What?!" Lily looked outraged.

"Of course he did…" James sighed.