ALL CHARLUS WANTED, was for his family to be happy during the holidays, but it seemed every direction they turned, they were met with some form of a barrier. Whether it was Ministry causing trouble or Walburga showing up on Maeve's doorstep unannounced, they simply couldn't catch a break. He was beyond frustrated with Walburga for daring to show her face and stir up her own drama, leaving an emotionally shattered Sirius in her wake.

When he reentered Maeve's home, he walked in on Maeve and Remus trying their best to console Sirius, who was reduced to tears. No matter what harsh things he had uttered out in the past pertaining to his family, it was clear that some part of Sirius still cared. He could swear up and down that he didn't, but his actions said otherwise. More than likely, there had been the slightest sliver of hope that his mother had shown up, seeking forgiveness.

Deep down, Charlus believed that Walburga did actually care for her son as she claimed. But she was too caught up in her prejudice beliefs to admit that face to face with Sirius. She wanted him back in her life, but it had to be under her conditions, she wanted Sirius to submit and admit his "wrongs." But in reality, it wasn't destined to be a healthy relationship between the two. Sirius would never falter in his beliefs and he certainly wouldn't do it, just for the sake of pleasing his mother. And it seemed Walburga was no different.

Kneeling down beside where Sirius was sitting on the floor, Charlus placed his hand on Sirius' shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"Sirius-"

"Some things never change!" Sirius huffed. "I should have known as soon as she told me that she sent Kreacher to figure out where I was. She was just looking for trouble this entire time. She wanted to come here in hopes of seeing the damage that Azkaban did, just so she could rub it in my face. She's a miserable being, she's always been so fuckin' miserable! Why did I think that in her old age she could change?"

"Because you have a good heart," Charlus told him. "No matter what the relationship between you and your mother, you still held onto some hope that she would come around. I know somewhere inside of you, you still love her, Sirius, or at the very least, you care."

"No, I don't," Sirius said turning his head, " I don't love her. Maybe I did when I was a boy, but how could I love someone who treats me like that?"

Charlus remained quiet because he was unable to see what Sirius had said as soon as he looked away, leaving Maeve and Remus to jump in and help again.

"I think what Charlus was trying to say was that you may not like the person she became in your eyes, but you probably still remember some good memories with your mother, " Maeve said, " and it's hard to let those memories go. My mother and I don't talk anymore and I thought I hated her, but sometimes, I find myself thinking about her. Even if I'm just wondering if she still bakes bread on Sundays because those are some of my happy memories with her."

"Maeve," Remus said softly, not sure where the direction of the conversation was heading. But she shrugged him off to continue.

"Remus asked me last night how come he never saw me in the corridors of Hogwarts while you were all there. After all, we all about the same age, we should have at least passed each other once or maybe shared a class. And I told him that I never got the chance to attend Hogwarts and that was because of my mother."

Sirius' tears stopped as everyone turned their attention to Maeve.

"My parents divorced when I was young, quite the scandal in our neighbourhood since divorce is so taboo, especially in the church," she said. "My mother ran my father out of the house and I was left with her. I would visit him during the summers or on certain holidays but my mother never liked the idea. She wanted me to hate my father because she was angry with him. And for the most part, I did hate him until I was older. I hated him because of the things she said about him. But it was just the two of us. We did everything together, she would even drag me to church every Sunday."

Charlus had a bad feeling about the direction of the story Maeve was telling, as his stomach became knotted.

"And then, one day, this woman shows up on our doorstep. She introduces herself as Pomona Sprout, she's the Herbology Professor at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. She has an acceptance letter for me, claiming that I'm a witch. I was so excited but my mother was absolutely furious. She didn't want to believe her daughter was a witch, although she claimed to have her suspicions when I was younger. I was always "off" according to her. But witchcraft is the devil's work in her mind."

She paused for a moment, feeling the sensation of a lump developing her throat.

"We stopped going to church after that. We moved after the letter was delivered. We moved around a lot. And my mother turned into this completely different person. She treated me terribly, always calling me names. She even thought she could beat the magic out of me. Until one evening where I fought back. I knocked her into the wall and she looked at me like I was a monster. So, she decided enough was enough, she didn't want a demon in her home. She sent me to live with my father in France."

Noting how her voice sounded on the edge of tears, Sirius reached out and grabbed her hand in his, holding onto it for emotional support.

"My father was incredibly understanding about everything. In fact, he ended up remarrying a witch, and she was wonderful. By then I was fifteen years old and it was probably too late for me to go to any wizarding school. She suggested Beauxbatons, but I was so far behind. So she took it upon herself to teach me at home. Seeing how well my father and step-mother treated me despite my magical abilities, it made me resent my mother. When I hear stories about Hogwarts whether it's from you three or other Healers at St Mungo's, I think about how I was cheated out of an experience. It makes me think I hate her, and then some days, I hope she'll send me a letter with an apology so we can heal our relationship."

"Oftentimes, we disguise our hurt with anger," Charlus said. "It's easier to detach ourselves from the pain that way. The problem with anger is that it's only a temporary solution."

Helping Sirius up to his feet, Charlus wrapped his arms around him in a tight hug. Sirius hugged him in return, but also pulled in Maeve and Remus in as well to make it a group hug.

"Thank you."

Maeve wanted to turn things back around and salvage what was left of Christmas. After all, it was her favourite holiday and she would be damned if she was going to let the Ministry and Walburga Black get in the way of that. She had all the men gather around the Christmas tree in the living room so she could give them their gifts that she had gotten them.

"Before my grandmother died when I was younger," Maeve began, " she would tell me stories about guardian angels. Not sure if you three are familiar with the idea, but they are angels that are assigned to protect people. She used to tell me that my guardian angel was looking after me when I almost got hurt in situations. Maybe I don't strongly believe in the teachings of the church now, but I always loved the idea of guardian angels."

She handed each of them a small wrapped box.

" She gave me a pin of an angel when I was younger and when she was on her death bed, she told me that she would become my guardian angel when she passed on. It was probably the reason I wanted to become a Healer. I always wanted to help look after people and save them. Go ahead, open them."

Charlus opened his first and saw a small golden pin of an angel with a small gemstone engraved. He quickly recognised his birthstone as the gem, an aquamarine.

"I know it's small," she said as Sirius and Remus pulled out the same thing with their respective birthstones, "but they actually can be useful. Keep them on your person at all times. Pin it to your robes or make a necklace out of it because if you're ever hurt, they will alert mine."

Holding up a pin, she showed that her pin resembled the ones they held but it didn't possess a stone.

"You three don't like asking for help even when you need it. So now I'll know without you asking. If you're hurting or need help, my pin will show me your birthstone. Although I'll admit, I didn't think this totally through since Charlus and Remus have the same birthstone. But that will just give me a reason to check up on both of you, I suppose."

"Maeve, this is amazing," Charlus told her, " you didn't have to get us anything, you know? But these are...perfect."

"And I don't expect or want anything in return. Having you all here for the holidays and being okay, that's really been the best Christmas gift I've had in a while. I just want to spend the rest of the day eating nice food, listening to funny stories, and being in the company of all of you. No more interruptions. I don't care if God himself comes knocking on my front door. He'll have to wait."

No one dared to get in the way of Maeve's Christmas plans as they enjoyed rounds of Butterbeer and eggnog while chatting away near the fireplace. Remus and Sirius decided to tell Maeve stories about Hogwarts as she requested them to tell her what it was like. And while Charlus had been watching the conversation for a bit until he directed his attention out the window.

He wondered what Harry was doing at that time. He prayed that the Dursleys showed him some mercy and made his Christmas time bearable. After all, even though Harry possessed magic, he was still an innocent little boy. Lily and Petunia may have had their history, along with James clashing with Vernon, but Harry was only a child. Hearing Maeve talk about how her own mother had turned on her, even go so far as to beating her, because she possessed magic made Charlus sick to his stomach.

Would the Dursleys go that far to show their hatred towards magic? Would they take it out on Harry, who didn't have any control over what he as born with?

Suddenly, a hand touched under his chin, bringing him to look up. "You're being awfully quiet over here," Sirius said to him as he sat down in front of him. "I understand if you're upset about what my mother said to you earlier."

"No, it's not that," Charlus said, " I was just thinking about Harry. Wondering if he's having a decent Christmas."

Sirius didn't say anything and it was clear by the frown that developed on his face that he held his own doubts about such thoughts.

"Charlus, we're going to get to him, he just has to hold out a little longer."

"Well, there's nothing stopping us from sending him a letter to let him know that we're coming, right?"

"Sending a letter?"

"We may not know where he is exactly, but owls don't need directions."

A/N: I have a little surprise for you all next chapter. A good one, I promise.