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The Nightmare Before Hogwarts

By: USA Tiger

Disclaimer: Harry Potter is the property of J. K. Rowling. The Nightmare Before Christmas is the property of Touchstone/Disney and Tim Burton. Corpse Bride is also the property of Tim Burton and Warner Bros. Pictures. Beetlejuice is also property of Tim Burton. The Scooby-Doo series and related characters are the property of Hanna-Barbera and Warner Brothers.

Author note: So I decided to go more than just what version of Santa we get in TNBC, one of my favorite Christmas films is Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer by Rankin/Bass Productions’ who also did Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town so I borrowed a bit from both those films cause I love Santa from those films and from Disney the Santa Clause for the Elves cause those are my favorite version of Santa’s Elves and I adore Bernard the Head Elf.

This is a chapter I’ve been waiting to do since I started this fic and I’m happy to have finally gotten to it at last.

Love all my readers, enjoy!

This chapter was betaed and edited by The Patient One.

Chapter 21

Getting down to the town below took a bit of time; while they could have taken one of the sleds that was sitting atop the hill, Harry wanted to walk and see everything firsthand. Neither Jack nor Sirius could deny the boy’s wishes, so they set off on foot toward Christmas Town. Popcorn strings and pine cones hung on every one of the snow-covered pine trees that they passed on their way, and though the simple decorations couldn’t compare to those on the giant tree in the middle of the town, they emphasized the Christmas cheer just the same.

A mountain towered above the town, and looking on its side, Sirius could see a little green train chugging along merrily as it pulled its load over a candy cane bridge. And he was fully prepared to believe that the structure was genuine peppermint rather than a festive paint job.

“This place is so awesome,” Sirius said with a grin. “I thought Hogwarts at Christmastime was something, but this…” Sirius waved his hands around them and shook his head. “There’s no contest; this really is where it all came from.”

“It’s so pretty,” Harry agreed, looking up in awe at a masterfully constructed snowman. Whoever built it had gone to a lot of effort: it wore a white long sleeve shirt, a green plaid waistcoat, a stringy black tie, and a bowler hat so dark green that it was almost black with a gold band around it and a little sprig of holly on the side. Moonlight twinkled merrily on its accessories, a silver pocket watch on one snowy arm and a green umbrella with a silver handle hung over the other.

“That’s an interesting looking fellow,” Sirius remarked as he noticed what Harry was looking at, taking particular notice of the snowy mustache and goatee and matching eyebrows. The pair of coal-black eyes that looked almost lucid completed the image; it seemed as though it could come alive at any moment.

“Well, hello there.”

Of course, that didn’t make Sirius or Harry any less surprised when it /did /start to move and speak. Even Jack was taken somewhat aback; he remembered his few trips to Christmas Town in vivid detail, but he had never encountered a living snowperson before.

“Bloody hell!” Sirius exclaimed.

“You talk!” Harry gasped, green eyes wide with wonder.

“Indeed I do, young man,” the snowman said in a pleasant tone as it—or maybe it was a ‘him’ Sirius corrected in his mind—leaned against his umbrella. “My name is Sam, Sam the Snowman.”

“I’m Harry!” Harry introduced himself with a wide grin. “This is Mr. Padfoot and Uncle Jack.”

“It’s Sirius, actually, Padfoot is my nickname,” Sirius added, his shock giving way to wonder. Jack just waved, a wide bony grin spread over his face at his newest discovery.

“Pleased to meet you, young man,” Sam said kindly as he shook Harry’s hand, making the boy giggle. “Welcome to the North Pole, we don’t get many visitors around these parts, especially not from other holidays. Yes, I know who you are, Mr. Skellington, no one can forget about you.”

“I’m not here to meddle or make another mess of Sandy Claws’s holiday,” Jack assured Sam.

“I didn’t think you were,” Sam said kindly. “So what brings you folk up to the North Pole?”

“Uncle Jack said I could see Santa,” Harry said excitedly.

“Is that so?” Sam said. “Well, why don’t I walk with you there? Mrs. Claus will be delighted to have visitors, and Santa should be back from the workshop by the time we get there.” Sirius wondered just how Sam would ‘walk’ with them without any legs but soon got his answer as Sam did a little back-and-forth shuffle that moved him forward in the snow.

As they went, Sam took up the role of a tour guide, gesturing to various points of interest with his umbrella and sharing information on them.

“Over there is where the young reindeer bucks have their reindeer games to see who will one day help pull Santa’s sleigh,” Sam said as they passed a wide open area.

“So reindeer can really fly?” Harry asked in awe.

“Yes, my dear boy,” Sam nodded. Then he paused and added, “Well, only some of them. There are a few that never learn how to leave the ground. And some fly better than others; why, Rudolph was a natural the first time he flew, took straight to the skies.” Sam pointed up at the star-filled sky with his umbrella.

“Harry’s a natural, too,” Sirius said with a fond grin of remembrance. “I got him a little toy broom when he turned 1, and he took right off on it like a pro.”

“Flying is fun,” Harry said, giggling. He couldn’t believe it, Rudolph was real too! It made his tiny heart burst with joy.

They neared the town in no time at all, it seemed, and the festivities were even more exuberant up close. Thick blankets of snow and multicolored strings of lights covered every house and wreaths hung from almost every door and window. The streetlamps looked to be made of candy cane and the streets were filled to the brim with people clothed in bright, festive clothes. At first, Harry thought they were children like him, but looking closer he could see that their ears were pointed and their cheeks sparkled as if they had glitter painted on them. These had to be the Elves that made the toys!

“Bloody hell…” Sirius whispered, his hand holding Harry’s tight as they skirted outside the edge of the town with Sam and Jack. Outsiders visiting Christmas Town were rare, after all, and while Sirius and Harry would likely only get a few curious looks, Jack might cause a bit of a panic. Many of the Elves there remembered the time the big boss was taken and the wannabe Santa, a skinny skeleton dressed in red, for a few short hours took Santa’s place. And while he had redeemed himself since, they didn’t want to take any chances with Harry around.

“Right this way,” Sam said, leading them up to a large house that overlooked the town; the only building bigger was the factory further up on the hill. He paused as they reached the front door. “This is where I’ll leave you folks for now. But feel free to visit me again, I enjoyed our talk. I hope you have a good time with Mr. and Mrs. Claus, Harry. And Merry Christmas.”

Sam patted Harry on the head then tipped his hat to Sirius and Jack before heading away. Harry waved goodbye then swallowed heavily as he turned back to the bright red door in front of them.

“Are you ready, pup?” Sirius asked when Harry didn’t make a move toward the door.

“Uh… uh-huh,” Harry nodded, his voice trembling a little bit. His little body was filled to the brim with so many emotions now he didn’t know what to do! Sirius grinned and reached over, pressing the doorbell button, a few muffled notes of ‘Jingle Bells’ could be heard on the other side.

****

“Nice… nice… nice… naughty…” Kris Kringle, or as he was more famously known as Santa Claus, was sitting on the comfy couch in the cozy living room of the cottage he shared with his beloved Jessica, known as Mrs. Claus to the rest of the world, while she bustled around in the kitchen, no doubt cooking up a hearty meal for him to make sure he was good and fat for the season. Santa chuckled softly to himself; they had this playful argument every year but his wife always gotten him fattened up in time.

Christmas Eve was less than a month away and he had so much to do. He had to check all of these lists at least twice, make sure all the toys were prepared, that all the Elves were taking breaks when they needed to, check on the Reindeer… well, the list went on and on, really.

Santa looked up as the notes for ‘jingle all the way’ echoed through the cottage.

“Now, who could that be?” he said to himself as he put his scroll to the side and capped the pen he used for checking off his lists. Santa had a brief flashback to another wintry evening as he walked toward the door, when a certain trio of troublemakers had been waiting on the other side to kidnap him. He shook those memories from his mind and opened the door, eyes widening as he took in his visitors.

A small young child, a tall and skinny man, and behind them both…

“Jack Skellington,” Santa said as he looked up at his fellow holiday figure in surprise. “What are you doing here?” He wasn’t angry to see the Pumpkin King, no not at all. He had, after those incidents so many years ago, come to consider the other a friend. One he rarely saw, but a friend nonetheless.

“Who’s at the door, Papa?” Jessica asked from the kitchen.

“A friend, Mama,” Santa called back. “Jack, remember him?”

“That pumpkin fellow?” Jessica asked as she finally exited the kitchen drying her hands on her apron. She leveled a glare at her husband when she saw it wasn’t just Jack. “Kris Kringle, you bring let that poor child in right now before they catch their death of cold out there!”

Santa glanced down at the child again, looking at him properly this time. The boy was looking up at him with the awe and childish wonder that he adored seeing in all children of all ages. It only took a few seconds for the special magic within him to place the child as one young Harry James Potter and Santa’s eyes widened in surprise. But before he could say anything, Mrs. Claus lost her patience and pushed him to the side, cooing warmly.

“Come in, come in. Come warm yourself by the fire. Would you two like some hot cocoa? And I have some sugar cookies fresh from the oven.” She bustled Sirius and Harry into the house leaving Santa with Jack. Santa looked after them, then returned his attention to the skeleton.

“Jack, while I’m happy to see you,” Santa began as he closed the door behind Jack. “Why the visit and why is Harry Potter /here/?”

“It’s a bit of a long story, Sandy,” Jack said, spreading his long boney fingers in front of him. “But I have a good reason why I brought Sirius and Harry.”

“Well, Mama will have their attention for a few minutes yet, so you have time to give me the cliff notes,” Santa answered.

So Jack gave Father Christmas the run-down, explaining how Harry had ended up in Halloween Town, how Jack had gone to retrieve James and Lily from the Land of the Dead, and finally the conversation Jack had with Harry the day before on Spiral Hill.

Santa listened to Jack’s tale, slowly stroking his snow-white beard as he took it all in. He had some knowledge of the Wizarding World, there were a few families that believed in him that allowed him to leave gifts every year for the young ones, and his Elves that went out into the wider world to keep an eye on children’s wants and what the newest toys were told him and Jessica some of the more interesting things. So he knew a little of the ‘Boy-who-lived’ thing, but more importantly, Santa knew young Harry Potter as the young boy had been on his Nice list every year since he was born, unlike his cousin Dudley who so far had featured on his Naughty list and was well on his way to getting his name on the /Permanent Naughty List/ if he didn’t shape up.

“I see,” he said as Jack wrapped up his tale. “This is most unusual, Jack, but I think you’ve made the right decision in bringing that young child here.” Jack’s face spread out in a bony grin, Santa chuckled softly with a ‘ho ho ho’ of his own.

“I knew you could help, Sandy,” Jack said.

“Yes, yes,” Santa agreed. “Come on, then, let’s rescue the young lad from Mama before she stuffs him full.” He entered the kitchen where Jessica had Harry and Sirius at the table with steaming cups so hot cocoa and a plate of sugar cookies in the shape of Christmas trees and snowmen. Harry had shed his wintry clothing and had a half-eaten cookie in one hand, staring at the grandmotherly Mrs. Claus in awe as she bustled around. Santa knew the moment Harry caught sight of him as the boy went very still, wide green eyes looking up at him. Santa smiled and knelt in front of Harry’s chair.

“Hello, Harry,” he said in the most gentle tone.

“Santa…” Harry gasped, he couldn’t believe he was really meeting Santa, and he was saying ‘hi’ to him! Santa chuckled and gently took Harry’s hand.

“I’m very pleased to meet you, young man,” he said. “Why don’t you and I go have a talk?”

“Really?” Harry asked as if he couldn’t understand why Santa would want to talk to /him/. When Santa nodded his head, Harry abandoned his cookie on the table and followed Santa into the living room. Sitting down on his comfy couch, Santa pulled Harry to sit on his lap.

“Now, a certain skeleton told me that you didn’t think I would leave you gifts for Christmas,” Santa said. “Is there any reason why you thought that?”

Harry bit his bottom lip and wrung his hands in his lap.

“Cause I’m bad?” he said, the statement coming out as a question.

“Now, why would you say that?” Santa asked gently. “You, Harry Potter, are very far from bad.”

“But… Dudley said…” Harry pressed his lips together for a few seconds before saying the rest in a rush. “Dudley said I’m a freak and that freaks were bad. And that you don’t give gifts to freaks.”

“Oh, Harry… you are not a freak,” Santa said with a shake of his head. “You are one of the sweetest, kindest children out there. There is nothing about you that is a ‘freak’ as your cousin puts it.”

“Then… how comes you never left me any gifts?” Harry asked. Dread filled Santa at those words.

“Harry, what you do mean?” he asked.

“You always leave Dudley gifts every year,” Harry explained. “Dudley and Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia says because I’m bad and a freak, which means no gifts for me.” Kris Kringle closed his eyes and bowed his head slightly as Harry confirmed his fears.

“Harry, my child… those gifts were not meant for your cousin,” he said softly. “They were for you.”

“W-what? M-me?” Harry asked pointed at himself, eyes wide in surprise. Santa nodded his head, still looking very sad.

“Yes,” he said. “I am so sorry, Harry, I’ve failed to bring you the joy you should have had every Christmas. Dudley was never meant to receive the gifts I brought to your former home, he has never been on the Nice list. You have always been, my sweet child, and I am so sorry those horrible people did this to you.”

“Aww, Santa, don’t cry!” Harry said, throwing his arms around Santa’s neck. “It’s not your fault.” Santa’s arms came up around Harry hugging the small boy back.

“Thank you, Harry,” he said once Harry pulled back, a smile on the normally jolly old man’s face once again. “You are a very kind little boy… what’s wrong?” he asked when he saw the doubt still in Harry’s green eyes.

Harry bit his lips before asking softly, “A-are you really sure?”

And Santa’s heart broke all over again. Harry wanted to believe what his mummy, daddy, uncles and even Santa was saying, he really did. They all told him he was a nice little boy who wasn’t a freak, that the Dursleys were the ones that were wrong. But Harry only had his good family back for a month now and he had spent four years with his aunt and uncle. He was healing from the abuse, but he still had a long way to go before the unkind words fully left him, if they ever did. Santa pondered for a moment how to put the boy’s fears to rest, then smiled as an idea came to him.

“Harry, I would like to show you something,” he said, gently placing Harry back on his feet before pulling himself off the couch. He took Harry’s hand again and guided the young wizard over to one of the book cases on the other side of the room. With a wink in Harry’s direction, he pulled a few of the books off one of the shelves revealing a hidden keyhole. Santa reached into his pocket and took out a silvery white old fashioned key with a beautiful snowflake at the bow, inserting it into the keyhole and giving it a turn. Harry gasped as the bookcase swing inward and exposed a staircase behind it with lanterns on the walls giving off light.

“This is a very special place,” Santa said as he took Harry’s hand once again and lead Harry down the stairs.

The staircase was short and twisted downward, opening up into a large basement room with shelves upon shelves filled with scrolls.

“Where are we, Santa?” Harry asked with a little gasp as he looked around with pure childlike wonder.

“Every year, Harry, I make a list of all the children of the world. On that list I check who is naughty and who is nice,” Santa explained as they walked down the rows of shelves. “In fact, I always make sure to check it twice.” Harry gasped softly and bounced with childish excitement.

“Like that song!” He said.

“The very same,” Santa agreed with a nod of his head. “After I deliver toys on Christmas Eve, I save each list, sorting it down here. Now where is… ah, here we go.” Santa and Harry stopped in front of a case of shelves that was only partly filled with scrolls. Reaching up, Santa murmured to himself as read the tags on the ribbons wrapped around each one. “1977… 1978… hmm… there we are.”

Santa took three of the scrolls from the shelf, opening one for Harry to see.

“These are the scrolls for the last three years, my boy,” he said, “See how it says nice and naughty at the top?” He pointed at the top of the scroll where the words were written and the rows of boxes under it.

“Uh-huh,” Harry nodded his head.

“Good… now if we just go down a bit…” the jolly old man quickly moved down the many names on the scroll until he found the one he was looking for and showed Harry. Harry tilted his head to the side, sounding the name out then gasped again.

“That’s Dudley’s name!” he said as he looked up at Santa.

“Indeed it is,” Santa said with a warm chuckle. “Now look at the boxes next to his name, which one is checked?” Harry looked back at the scroll and saw that the box furthest away from Dudley’s name, under the word ‘Naughty,’ had a check mark.

“The naughty one!” he said. Santa nodded then moved down the list again until he found another name, showing it to Harry once again. “That’s my name! Oh… the nice box is marked.”

“Yes, you were a very good boy that year, Harry,” Santa agreed a twinkle in his eye. He repeated the same with the other two scrolls, showing Harry that Dudley was under the naughty list while Harry’s was under the nice. “You see Harry, you are a very good child while your cousin is not. And it’s the same this year as well.”

“Wow…” Harry said in wonder, seeing psychical proof that Santa thought he was a good child helped him a lot. “Thank you, Santa.”

“Of course, Harry,” Santa chuckled with a ‘ho ho ho’. “Now… how would you like to see the workshop?”

******

“He seems a lot happier,” Sirius said as he leaned against the railing, looking down into the lower floor of the toy workshop. He was watching Harry as his little godson was getting a tour of the shop by the head Elf, Bernard. Jack was right there with them, and if the seven foot skeleton bothered the Elf by looking over his shoulder and asking questions, the latter didn’t let it show.

“I only showed him the truth,” Santa said. “He has been on my Nice list every year. You, on the other hand, Sirius Black, managed to make the Naughty list quite a few times growing up.”

“Well, considering my parents wouldn’t have let me have anything you left, it really doesn’t matter,” Sirius pointed out then shrugged his shoulders. Santa gave a concessional nod of his head; he didn’t agree that that was a valid excuse to be naughty, but it was the reason why he could only rarely deliver to Wizarding families.

“You weren’t the worst child on that list,” he said.

“I bet James was right there with me some years,” Sirius said with a laugh.

“At times, you two certainly caused plenty of trouble together,” Santa agreed. Sirius smiled slightly, remembering the good times, and the bad.

He watched Harry standing on a stool, the nightmarish Mr. Bitey held tightly in his arms, as he watched an Elf put together a toy train. A few of the Elves glanced over at Mr. Bitey with nervous glances but kids today had such strange tastes in toys that most of Santa’s helpers didn’t even give the toy a second glance. Sirius took out the camera and snapped a few pictures of Harry and the pure joy on his face. Santa didn’t stop him as nobody would believe that the photos really came from the real North Pole workshop. It certainly warmed the old man’s heart to see Harry happy and carefree as he followed Bernard around the workshop, like a child should be.

“Do you even make toys for wizarding families?” Sirius asked out of curiosity. “I mean, I never heard of you until I got to Hogwarts.”

“Some, mostly those with close ties to non-magical families,” Santa answered.

“Muggles, you mean,” Sirius commented.

“Muggle, no-maj, can’t-spells, these are all just names,” the older man chuckled. “But for you, yes, I mean muggle families. Brooms are a pretty popular wish from children.” A grin crackled over Sirius’s face, his gray eyes seemingly looking out in the distance as he fondly remembered Harry’s first birthday.

“Harry loves flying, I got him this little children’s broom when he turned one. He looked so cute on it,” he said fondly. “Zipped around everywhere on it, natural he was. Bet he still is in fact. Just like his dad.”

“Flying, hmm?” Santa stroked his snowy white beard then smiled widely. “He would like to meet the reindeer, then.” He turned and headed for the stairs leading down to the lower floor.

“Reindeer?” Sirius asked. He hadn’t managed to parse exactly what Sam the snowman meant about flying reindeer; he was no expert on magical creatures, but he was reasonably certain that reindeer were not normally capable of flight. He made a mental note to ask Lily more about Christmas stories when he got back, as it seemed likely that more were true than not. He then realized Santa had left him and hurried to catch up with Ol’ Saint Nick.

“Harry, my child, are you enjoying yourself?” Santa asked as he approached the small boy and Jack. Harry turned up to Santa, grinning widely.

“Yes! The toys are so neat!” He said. “I hope everyone likes them.”

“I believe they will,” Santa assured Harry, kneeling down on one knee to be eye level with Harry, wrapping an arm around the boy. “Now… how would you like to meet the reindeer?” Harry’s green eyes widened and sparkled.

“Really? Do they really fly?” Harry asked in an excited rush. “Like Mr. Sam said?”

“That they do my child,” Santa said laughing. “That they do.”

“Doctor Finkelstein made his own reindeer that flew, skeletal ones,” Jack said in fond remembrance. Oh, how flying across the night sky been such a rush. Santa coughed then cleared his throat as he stood.

“Well… yes. But that was a bit different and maybe a story you can tell Harry at a much later time,” Santa said.

“Wait, you mean back when… okay never mind,” Sirius started to ask then quickly dropped it at the dark look that quickly crossed Santa’s face. Harry looked confused, having no idea what they were talking about, but took Santa’s hand when it was offered. At the door they stopped long enough to put Harry’s winter clothing back on, and Santa took the opportunity to nod at Bernard. The elf returned the nod and exited a side door.

With Harry bundled up once more, the group stepped back out into the cold, and Santa led the group around the outside of the workshop to a large fenced-in field where Harry, Sirius and Jack could see reindeer of all ages standing around, grazing, or playing.

“You have a lot of reindeer!” Harry said as he climbed the fence, Mr. Bitey tucked tight to his chest with one arm.

“It’s not always the reindeer in the poem or song that pull my sleigh,” Santa explained, smiling as some of the younger reindeer came over curious. A few of the braver ones started sniffing Harry’s hair and at Mr. Bitey, one even being bold enough to try to nibble at a stitched ear until Mr. Bitey growled at it, making the reindeer skitter back.

“Be nice, Mr. Bitey,” Harry scolded his stuffed bear, then hugged him, making the toy rumble in content.

“Here we go,” Santa said, opening the gate so they could enter, the reindeer surrounding them.

“Wow, only deer I’ve ever seen is Prongs,” Sirius said as he took photos of Harry petting the reindeer that stiffed him. “Even some of the racks are more impressive than James’s.”

“They’re very friendly,” Jack said with a grin; while many avoided him, many more were brave enough to examine the Pumpkin King.

“They can be,” Santa agreed with a chuckle as he cut up a few apples that an Elf brought, then showed Harry how to hold it so the reindeer could eat from his hand. Harry giggled as they nibbled the fruits from his palm.

“Is that a donkey?” Sirius asked in disbelief as the gray beast joined them.

“That’s just Dominick,” Santa said as he patted the donkey fondly. “He pulls my sleigh in Italy. He loves children.” Dominick brayed in agreement and nudged the giggling Harry, who reached up and patted the donkey’s soft nose.

A hush fell over the herd and many of the reindeer stepped to the side forming a path.

“Merlin’s beard,” Sirius said softly as Bernard stepped forward, leading an older-looking reindeer with a grand rack of antlers. A saddle was strapped to the reindeer’s back and several bells attached all over jingled merrily with each step. Harry looked up at the reindeer as it stopped in front of him, gave a little snort then leaned down to press its snout into Harry’s hands. As it did, the reindeer’s nose started to glow red.

“Rudolph,” Harry said in awe, wrapping his arms around the most famous reindeer of all. Sirius swiftly snapped several photos of Harry hugging the reindeer as Rudolph nuzzled him back, Mr. Bitey trapped between Harry’s arm and Rudolph’s head. Jack grinned as he was reminded of that one night he tried to deliver gifts and how Zero’s nose shone so brightly that it cut through the fog just like the reindeer’s did.

“So, how would you like to ride on Rudolph’s back?” Bernard asked as he knelt down next to Harry.

“Can I?” Harry asked, green eyes wide in childish wonder, turning to look up at Santa.

“Ho ho ho, of course you can, my child,” Santa said. Mr. Bitey was passed over to Bernard, with a ‘Be good’ from Harry, the Head Elf didn’t even look fazed as he held the Frankenstein of a teddy bear. Once his beloved toy was secured, Harry was lifted up onto the saddle on Rudolph’s back. Sirius grinned and held the camera up.

“Give the camera a big smile, pup!” he said, snapping a photo. “Lily is going to kill me,” he added with a laugh under his breath then stepped forward. “At least let me add a sticking charm so I can tell Lily I did something to keep Harry from falling off.”

Sirius didn’t have a wand yet, but he was still one of the brightest wizards of his generation; he could manage a simple sticking charm without a wand.

“Epoximise,” he uttered, placing a hand on the saddle. Then he tried to lift Harry up and grinned as Harry stuck fast to the seat. “There, now you won’t fall off, pup.”

“I can understand your caution, but Rudolph is one of the best flyers I have, Harry will be safe,” Santa assured Sirius, patting Rudolph’s neck fondly.

“Yeah, maybe, but I’d rather not be killed by a certain redhead if I didn’t make doubly sure my godpup stays safe,” Sirius said, ruffling Harry’s hair. Harry was grinning in excitement, the reigns held tightly in his hands.

“Are you ready, my child?” Santa asked Harry.

“Yes, Santa!” Harry said with childish glee.

“Take it away, Rudolph!” Santa told the reindeer. Rudolph snorted in agreement then took off at a slow trot across the snowy grounds. Soon enough, he broke into a full-out run and started to lift in the air.

“Bloody hell…” Sirius whispered in amazement. “He really can fly.”

Rudolph galloped across the night sky, his glowing red nose guiding the way while Harry shrieked with joyful laughter. Sirius lifted the camera, taking several pictures of Harry and Rudolph together. Jack yelled encouragements to the young wizard and Santa laughed, filled with joy from Harry’s laughter. Several of the other reindeer in the area took to the air as well, following after Rudolph and Harry, some of the younger ones breaking away to dip and dive around them.

Soon Rudolph decided to show the young bucks up, going into a sharp dive toward the ground, his legs pumping as if he was going at a full gallop. Many of the bucks made a grunting, almost honking like sound and dove after the elder reindeer. Harry let out a shout, one of pure laughter, as the wind rushed around them.

“Merlin’s beard!” Sirius as Rudolph pulled up at the last second, inches from hitting the ground, and flew only a few feet above the snow. Many of the younger reindeer were able to pull out of the dive, though one or two tumbled into the thick snow banks, but weren’t able to keep up with Rudolph who honked in victory. “That’s a hell of a feint like right out of a Quidditch game—bloody hell!” Sirius, Santa, and Barnard ducked as Rudolph flew right over their heads. Jack wasn’t able to duck in time and his head was caught by one of Rudolph’s back hooves knocking the skull right off Jack’s bony form.

The Pumpkin King let out a surprised yelp as his head flew through the air and landed in a pile of snow while his body staggered off balance for a few seconds.

“Rudolph, you hit Uncle Jack!” Harry said as he tapped Rudolph on the side of his neck. “We gotta go back!” Rudolph grunted and turned in midair, going back the way they came. The famous Christmas figure slowed down and landed gently on the ground with a soft jingle of bells. Harry, wanting to hurry to rescue Jack, ended up using a burst of accidental magic to overpower and cancel out Sirius’s sticking spell, allowing the young wizard to slide off the saddle to the snowy ground. “Uncle Jack! Are you okay? Where are you?”

Harry ran over to the snowbank and started digging in the snow calling Jack’s name until he found the round white skull of his friend. He wrapped his mittened hands around Jack’s head and pulled it out of the snow.

“Uncle Jack?” Harry asked holding the skull up, a small pile of snow on top.

“Ha haa! What a rush!” Jack cackled, his skull adorned with a wide bony grin.

“Are you okay?” Harry asked as he brushed the snow away.

“I’m fine, Harry, didn’t even hurt,” Jack assured the young wizard. “Give me a quick check, any new cracks?” Harry turned Jack’s skull around in his hands then shook his head when the eye sockets were facing him again.

“I don’t see any,” he said.

“Pity… would have made me look dashing,” Jack said with a bit of a pout. “Oh well. Ah, here we go.” A shadow fell over Harry and bony hands reached down to pluck the skull out of Harry’s grip. He tilted his head back and watched as Jack’s body placed his skull back onto his neck bone. Sirius and Santa came up behind them as Bernard led Rudolph a bit away.

“Harry? Are you okay, pup?” Sirius asked as he fell to his knees in the snow and pulled Harry to him checking for any possible injuries.

“I’m okay,” Harry said, melting into Sirius as the man hugged him.

“Whew, that got a little crazy there,” he said. “You looked like you were having fun, though.”

“Uh huh! It was lots of fun. Rudolph flies really fast!” Harry said, bouncing in excitement.

“I am so sorry, Jack,” Santa apologized to Jack. Jack waved him off laughing.

“Nonsense! No harm done at all!” Jack said. Sirius picked up Harry and sat him on his hip, turning to face the others.

“Okay, I think we’ve had enough excitement and playing in the snow for the day,” he said, shivering as the cold wind blew past him cutting through the warming charm on his robes. For all the cheer surrounding them, it reminded him too much of those endless cold days at Azkaban. Harry pouted just a bit but didn’t complain, he had had a lot of fun but now he was starting to feel tired. He looked over at Rudolph.

“Thank you for the ride, Rudolph.” The reindeer nodded his head with a warm smile, making the bells hanging off him jingle.

“Don’t forget your little friend here,” Bernard said as he handed Mr. Bitey back to Harry. Harry grinned as he took his beloved toy and held it close.

“Well now, we should say our goodbyes to Mama and get your things,” Santa said as he patted Rudolph on the neck fondly.

Back at the house, Jessica bustled about and handed all of them bags full of cookies, even making little skull shaped sugar cookies for Jack.

“Now you be careful, dears,” she said as she adjusted Harry’s scarf around his neck. “And make sure to keep the little one warm on your way back.”

“Thank you, Santa,” Harry said as he hugged St. Nick around the neck as the jolly old man leaned down. Santa smiled and gave Harry a hug back.

“Now you continue to be a good boy,” he said. “I’ll bring your presents on Christmas Eve.”

“Okay, I’ll make sure milk and cookies are out!” Harry promised then waved as Sirius picked Harry up again. “Bye, Mrs. Claus!”

“Goodbye, dear, thank you for visiting,” Jessica said standing in the doorway with Santa, watching the trio walk off. “What a kind, sweet boy he was.”

“That he is, Mama, that he is,” Santa agreed.

“Well, I should go finish dinner,” Jessica said. “We want to make sure you’re a nice fat Santa this year.” She smiled as she heard her husband chuckle as she walked back to the kitchen.

As she rounded the corner, Santa turned back to watch Harry, Sirius, and Jack walk out of his line of sight, heading back to Halloween Town. He was happy that he was able to ease that sweet boy’s fears, but sad that he had missed that Harry had never gotten his gifts. Sadly, with as many children in the world as there were and how little he left the North Pole, there would always be a few incidents that even he overlooked, and they never failed to break his heart.

Still… there was one more thing he could do.

“Bernard,” he said, turning to his Head Elf.

“Yes, Santa?” the tall Elf asked as he came closer.

“Contact… /him/,” Santa said in a dark, serious tone. Bernard started a bit and his back stiffened.

“Are you sure?” he asked. “It’s that serious?”

“Yes…” Santa said looking out over the snowy landscape again. “This punishment calls for something far more drastic than coal in their stockings.”

*****

Lily smiled as she flipped through the photos Sirius had taken in Christmas Town, carefully placing each one in an album. The joy and warmth of the pictures and the look of pure joy on her baby’s face filled up Lily’s unbeating heart.

Jack and Sirius had arrived back in the Mayor-mobile at the very late evening, Sirius carrying in Harry who had fallen asleep on the way back. Sirius assured Lily and James that Harry had a ball at the North Pole and that Santa had been a really nice, jolly old bloke. He handed the wizarding camera right over to her as James took Harry to put him to bed.

Father Christmas was just how Lily had always imagined the man to look as a child and his wife Mrs. Claus looked like a kindly old grandmother. James had insisted the Elves would look like House Elves when she first explained the story of Santa Claus to her house mates so many years ago, but instead they were almost identical to human children.

Lily placed the last photo, one of Harry sitting on Santa’s lap, on the last page of the album across from a photo of Harry on what could only be Rudolph due to the glowing red nose. Harry’s green eyes were lit up in the photo and a childish smile of happiness was stretched across his face. Lily smiled and smoothed the photo out before closing the book.