Warning: contains mention of child abuse. Could be triggering.

A/N: ^^^^^^ I hope it's ok I've made it kind of heavy. This is my Harry Potter fanfic entry for round two of fangirl_potato_ 's writing contest. It's 1,223 words and took me about 4 hours. Also, I wasn't able to use the quotes word for word. Hope that's ok... And I didn't exactly say it was an unforgettable Christmas or anything, so hopefully the story just proves that naturally. I'm so glad I was able to write this through my fever-muddled brain XD enjoy!

James cracked the door to his families' house open, feeling warmth rush out into the winter outside.

"Mom? Dad?" He called. He opened the door a little more and found a note clipped to the fridge.

"Dear James," The note read, "We're off buying Christmas presents! Feel free to have a cookie. Love, Mom and Dad."

James went back outside and looked around. "Sammy, where'd you go?"

Sammy, a scrawny first-year hufflepuff, peaked out from behind a tree. "W-what is it?"

"My parents aren't here right now, but I'm sure they'll be fine with you staying over Christmas break anyways," James said. "And they left cookies for us!"

Sammy stepped out from behind the tree. "Really?"

"Yeah," James said, waving him over. "Now get in here before you freeze."

Sammy followed James inside, looking around the house like a scared puppy. He looked like a scared puppy a lot. James gave him a cookie and grabbed the rest for himself.

Right before leaving Hogwarts for Christmas break, James had found Sammy crying in a little corner. Both his parents were muggles, and Sammy didn't really want to go home, so James decided to take him to his house instead.

Sammy nibbled on the cookie slowly while James pretty much inhaled his. James had never seen Sammy smile, which worried him.

"Why are you so scared of your parents?" James asked. "What exactly did they do to you?"

Sammy hesitated for a moment, then turned around and lifted up the back of his shirt, revealing lines upon lines of scars crisscrossing each other.

James almost choked on his cookies. "How'd they do that?" He asked.

Sammy turned around, his face a deep red. "They used a whip. Promise you won't tell anyone, though."

"I won't. Isn't doing that kind of thing illegal though?"

Sammy shrugged.

James shook his head. "They sound like such slytherins."

"Not all slytherins are bad. That's just a really mean stereotype."

"Then what do you think your parents would be?" James asked.

Sammy thought for a minute. "Probably ravenclaws. They really like science and knowing how things work. That's why they don't like me."

"That makes sense," James said. He reached into the jar of cookies but there weren't any left, and he was still hungry. He went into the pantry to search for some cookie dough, Sammy following. "If you want, my dad can go beat them up for you."

Sammy shook his head. "It's fine."

"Doesn't sound like it," James muttered. He pulled a cardboard box of cookie dough from the shelf and read the instructions on the back. "This says to cook them for ten minutes at 176 degrees Celsius, but what if we cooked them for one minute at 1,760 degrees?"

Sammy's eyes got wide. "You're going to light the house on fire if you try that!"

James laughed. "I was just joking, lighten up."

Just then, James could hear a knocking on the door. He raced out of the pantry and opened it up. Mom, Dad, Lily and Albus were at the front steps, carrying loads of presents already wrapped up.

"Hi!" James said, letting them all in. "I brought a friend home with me, I hope that's ok."

Dad put the presents down and shook Sammy's hand. "Hello, I'm Harry, what's your name?"

Sammy stared at Harry with awe in his eyes. "I- I'm Sammy," He said quietly.

"You don't have to be scared," Harry said, patting Sammy on the head. James knew his dad was used to that kind of reaction.

"Can... can I see the scar?" Sammy asked.

Harry smiled and pulled his bangs back, revealing the lightning bolt on his forehead. Sammy's eyes got even wider.

"Does his parents know he's here?" Mom asked James.

"Um... no," James said. "But he doesn't want to go to his house."

Mom frowned. "You shouldn't have done that. They're probably worried about where he is."

"No they aren't," James said. "He's much better off here." He started to explain what Sammy's parents were like, but he caught Sammy shaking his head slowly, as if to say he didn't want them to know.

Mom shook her head. "Family comes first."

"Not when you have my family," Sammy muttered.

"You still might be able to stay," Mom said. "But we need to get your parent's permission first. Looks like we're going on another trip. Albus, you take care of Lily while we're gone."

Albus nodded and ran off to the living room, Lily following.

Mom smiled. "Alright, Sammy, tell us where your house is and we'll go there."

§§§§§§§§§§§§§

An hour later, Sammy stood at the door to his house. He glanced back at James, looking very nervous, until finally knocking on the door.

The door swung open, revealing a man who smelled very strongly of alcohol. He grabbed Sammy's arm and yanked him closer, making Sammy scream. "Samuel, where have you been? You were supposed to be here hours ago!"

"Stop, you're scaring him!" Mom said, stepping forward.

The man looked up and looked at the Potters like he hadn't realized they were there before. "Don't tell me how to treat my child," He growled.

"Why do you even want me here?" Sammy asked, trying to pull away from his father's grip.

"I wanted to tell you your mother died, that's all," The man said. "Now get out of my sight!" He shoved Sammy away, and James caught him before he fell.

James' dad suddenly pulled his wand out and stormed towards Sammy's father. He pressed his wand against the man's nose as the tip began to glow bright red. "How dare you treat your son like that?"

The man stared down at the wand, going cross-eyed. "You're more of them blasted witches!"

"Is that why you hate him? Because he can do magic?" Dad asked. James had never seen him so angry.

"You all shouldn't exist! You're dangerous! You deserve to be punished!" The man said, his voice rising in volume.

"You should never, ever treat anybody like that just because they have a gift that you don't!" Dad said, his whole body shaking. "Nobody deserves that!"

"Get away!" The man said. His pushed Dad out of the doorway. "I don't want to see you, or any of your lot ever again!" He glared at Sammy, then growled, "You're not my son," and slammed the door.

Sammy started crying, and James' mom ran over and gave him a hug. "It's ok," She whispered. "You're going to be alright."

Dad stomped his foot against the ground and walked over to us, still shaking in anger. "I can't believe people like that still exist!"

James looked up at his parents, then down at Sammy. "Hey, how'd you like to be a Potter?" He asked. He just had to hope his parents would approve.

Sammy calmed down a little and looked up. "R-Really?"

Mom smiled. "Why not? You need somewhere to live now. But it's your choice, of course."

Sammy smiled. "Yes! I'd love to live with you guys!" He threw his arms around James. "I always wanted a brother!" James hugged Sammy back.

"Looks like we've got a few more Christmas presents to buy," Mom said, looking at Dad.

Dad smiled and nodded, putting his arms around James and Sammy. "Come on, sons, let's get you home."