Till The End | h.p

christmas

When they arrive back from Hogsmeade and step into the common room, Sam rushes up to them.

"Why didn't you bring me with you? I wanted to go too," she gives a slight pout.

Harry hesitates as he looks at her. 'This is the daughter of the man who betrayed my parents' he thinks to himself. But looking in her eyes, he remembers all that she's done for him. He sees that light in her eyes that can't belong to someone who's evil or vile. He sees her, his best friend, his tethered soul.

He shakes off his thoughts, "Well, you would've stopped me from getting you a present."

She punches him in the arm and he shouts, "Hey!"

"So, now that Christmas is tomorrow, I can't get you a present to return the favor?" she exclaims.

He looks at her sheepishly before she lets a smile sneak onto her face, "It's a good thing I had Fred and George pick all of yours up two trips ago."

They all roll their eyes at her. As Hermione and Ron sit down on one of the couches and wrap presents for tomorrow morning, Sam pulls Harry aside.

"Tell me what's wrong."

"Wha- what do you mean? Nothing's wrong," he insists.

"Don't lie to me, Harry Potter. I could tell something was off the moment you looked into my eyes."

As he takes in her appearance again, he doesn't know why he couldn't see it before. She looks so much like him. His thoughts fall back into what her father did.

"Can I tell you after Christmas?" he asks, trying to shake his intrusive thoughts.

She can tell he's struggling with something, and the way his eyes change when he looks at her is unsettling, "No, because you're looking at me like you have no idea who I am."

He looks to where Hermione and Ron are sitting and then abc to Sam, he grabs onto her wrist and pulls her up to her dormitory. She opens the door for them and they sit down in front of the giant window. He looks at her as the moonlight reflects off her face, that light in her eye still shines and he doesn't want to see it go out.

"Tell me," she says gently.

"I snuck into a meeting with Fudge, McGonagall and the woman who owns the pub while I was in Hogsmeade. They were talking about Sirius Black," Harry begins, but he pauses as her eyes are full of concern.

"Well..." she persists.

"He was best friends with my parents... he sold them out to Voldemort," her lips part slightly as if processing the news, "But, you see, he was my dad's best friend so he knew your mom too."

Sam looks from the floor and quickly back into his eyes. Her brow furrows as if she's preparing to control her anger.

"He's your dad."

Her thoughts consume her and it feels like her head is going to either explode or shut down. Her thoughts instead move from her own worries to what Harry must be feeling...how he must be feeling about her. Without saying a word she gently wraps her arms around him. He's unsure of what to do, because out of everything he thought she would say and do, this wasn't one of them. She holds him in silence until his arms cross over her back.

"I'm so sorry, Harry," She whispers as she buries her head deeper into his shoulder.

He pulls away slightly, "I just told you that a mass murderer is your long lost father, and you apologize to me?"

"He betrayed your parents... and I saw how you looked at me when you walked into the common room."

"No, no, no. I'm sorry. I know you're not him, it was just all so new," Harry stutters towards the end.

She looks to the floor, "I won't betray you, not ever. If you want him dead, I will stand by you."

He tilts his head in confusion, "I would never ask that of you-"

"You don't have to."

Harry reaches into his pocket, "I know Hermione might kill me for not waiting until tomorrow, but," he hands her a small box, "Merry Christmas."

She looks from the box to his eyes and grins widely before opening it and finding a small white orb. She picks it up and a beam of colorful light shoots up at the ceiling. She looks up and sees an exact replica of the night sky, complete with constellations, nebulas, galaxies, and comets.

"Harry... I- thank you." She smiles at him and feels an overwhelming rush of emotion.

Harry looks at her and his heart beats a little faster seeing the joy in her eyes.