Chapter 63: Christmas 3 (Red Claus)

It was early, there was plenty of time before 00:00 to be 25, but Red Claus was already flying, preparing to descend to his first target, he was in the Leaky Cauldron.

I went down and walked through the door, attracting everyone's attention to see a petite Santa with red hair, it was very impressive, especially with the large bag he was carrying on his back.

I approached one of the tables where you could see a somewhat gaunt man but wearing a nice new coat, the man seemed curious about the appearance of the child before his eyes.

"Remus Lupin?"

"Yes, it's me" Lupine was somewhat intrigued.

"Delivery for you" I said and then from my bag I took out a package of gifts "Merry Christmas"

"A present for me?" ha asks confused, he didn't remember anyone who could send it to him right now.

"I have a lot of gifts to deliver and I want the day off tomorrow, so I'll deliver them a little early" I clarified, it was partly true, I also wanted to send all the gifts in advance.

"Thanks, I guess" he said taking the package from my hands "Do I have to pay you anything for shipping?"

"No, it's fine, everything is already paid"

"Who sends?" He asked.

"Your boss"

"My boss?" He asked in surprise, he didn't expect anything from the current boss of him, but when he opened the gift he seemed to bite into a lemon. Inside the box was a wooden sculpture of a Wolf howling at the moon.

"You do not like? I asked innocently.

"No...yes, it's...pretty..." Lupin's expression was complicated, his new boss's sense of humor a bit harsh for his liking.

"He also asked me to tell you, 'relax, everything can get better'. I have to go, I have to deliver more gifts"

"Okay, Merry Christmas…" Lupin greeted but paused for a moment "You just…you should spend time with your family this holiday season" he said thinking of seeing the boy working through the night.

"I'll make sure of that, thanks for your concern" saying that I started to leave the bar that despite being Christmas was quite full, I suppose that many wizards are lonely beings who spend their time here.

"Hey...don't you have any more presents in there for someone else?" Spoke a drunken magician for the amusement of those present.

"Get yourself a boss as good as his and maybe you'll have it" I said before leaving.

Lupin sighed when he heard it. He stared at the wooden figure on the table, wondering if he could sell it, since he didn't want to have it with him, it just reminded him of what he most feared and hated. Over time some wizards happened to talk to him about the boy delivering presents and his 'Good boss' so he didn't spend much time in isolation. Only at one point his tongue slipped out and he said that his boss was actually the 'Ministry Hunter' and many turned away from him, leaving him alone again.

...

Next target 8 Heathgate...

Arriving at the house I realized that the lights were on and that there seemed to be a party, it would hinder what I was trying to do but who cares. I went up to the roof and saw a chimney, I thought to test the ability of my suit at least once in this life, the bad thing... it was on, but something would occur to me. It was somewhat narrow and there were places where it would be physically almost impossible for me to pass, but I trusted in the magic of Christmas.

Inside the Granger house were Mr. and Mrs. Granger, as well as several other family members and children, including Hermione Granger. Everyone was getting ready for a Christmas dinner, some women in the kitchen were preparing the food, the men in the living room were drinking early, but not so much that they didn't enjoy the night.

In a moment they saw how the fire in the chimney went out, and some ash seemed to fall from inside the flue. They believed that it could be an animal that had entered through the duct. Mr. Granger was about to go see what was going on when he heard something inside the fireplace groan and seemed to bump into something.

Those present could see how something big and red fell from the chimney, almost like in a cartoon.

"Ahhggg... it was more complicated than it seemed" I commented while trying to clean the soot on my clothes.

"...S-Santa?" Several people present said very surprised that a red-haired and pot-bellied boy in a Santa suit came out of the chimney.

"Eh... yes JOJOJO merry Christmas..." *Crack* "... son of a bitch" I almost screamed as I tried to stretch and crack my back "Uff... I won't do it again in the next few houses"

"Santa!" shouted some smaller children, running to hug my legs.

The parents quickly took their children from me, they did not know me and I was a stranger who entered the house. They did not know how to deal with the issue but it was not necessary, since someone had come to see what the fuss was about and reacted instantly when she saw me.

"Red?!" She exclaimed in surprise "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to steal, don't you see my sack" I showed her the bag with gifts "Hermione, I'm dressed as Santa and I broke my back going down the chimney. What do you think I'm going to do?"

"Hermione, do you know him?" Mrs. Granger asked, surprised, like everyone else.

"He's... a classmate from school"

"Cousin, do you go to school with Santa?" A 5-year-old girl asked her.

"No, I mean yes…he's not a Santa, his name is Red Weasley and he goes to my boarding school with me" Hermione tried to clarify.

"Red?!" They asked at the same time several Grangers who were surprised by the name but didn't say anything, except for Hermione's parents, who already knew that name due to her daughter's letters.

"Yeah, that doesn't matter. Red, what are you doing here? And did you get fat?"

"First, I'm not fat, it's the suit...although it's kind of ironic that red makes me look fatter."

"Wait, I still don't understand how he got in through the chimney"

"And why did you come here?"

"Is his hair natural?"

"Santa brought presents in that bag?"

Adults and children all spoke equally at the same time, causing the scene to be chaotic, so much so that Mr. Granger had to yell for everyone to be quiet for a moment in order to understand each other.

"Okay, first..." I said putting my hands in the sack as if I was going to get something, but actually I was taking a bag from my inventory "All the children... Santa brought candy, if you want it you will have to eat it at kitchen" I said before tossing the bag to one of the older girls who should be around Hermione's age.

The girl was surprised like many adults, but the group of smaller ones almost dragged the girl towards the kitchen. Other older children did not want to go, but some of their parents sent them so they could have a deeper chat before they interact with this 'Santa', although a few mothers went with them.

The only ones left were most of the men, some women, Hermione and her parents who didn't have a good expression seeing how I gave so many sweets to the children, because, as we know, they are dentists.

"Okay, now that there's silence you can start with the questions... one at a time" I started the interrogation.

"Red…" Hermione wanted to say.

"Red Claus" I corrected her with my finger.

"Don't annoy" she rolled her eyes "what are you doing here?" Hermione asked, and everyone looked at me intrigued, waiting for the answer.

"I came to bring you your Christmas present" I said as I looked for a package from inside the sack.

"Why didn't you wait until tomorrow, or just send it like everyone else?"

"Because I wanted to do it this way. I have many others to send, so I brought it now"

"How did you get in the chimney?" a woman asked before Hermione launched the next question.

"... The magic of Christmas?" I didn't know how to answer that question.

"Why did you enter through the chimney, could you have hurt yourself?" Mrs. Granger asked, she did not doubt my intentions, she thought it was strange, but according to her daughter's letters, most of the things they said about the child were good.

"In order to make a grand entrance. I am dressed as a Santa, it was necessary or you will tell me that it was not an impressive entrance"

"Yes it was" said the drunk uncle who hadn't even flinched at my entry, he just kept sitting on the couch drinking.

"Thanks…" I thanked him "but I won't do it again, not within this year, I'm glad I'm small or maybe I would have gotten stuck"

"I hate it when you do these crazy things" Hermione complained, getting everyone's looks causing her to blush.

"Okay, I think everything has been explained, I guess we can continue with the party" Mr. Granger said, there was nothing to really worry about so the atmosphere was less tense than when he arrived.

With everyone relaxed, people began to ask questions more normally.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Asked one of Hermione's aunts "You could have hurt yourself a lot of going down there, it was very silly" she scolded me.

"I know, I won't do it again... for now"

"Red, why did you have to come to my house?" Hermione approached me somewhat blushing, she didn't want all her relatives to know me at the same time, not in this way. Although she doesn't say it, she was a little ashamed of her friend's craziness.

"Hermione, don't talk to him like that" Her mother complained considering that her daughter was impolite.

"No, she's right, I was the rude one to break into her house like this" I apologized.

"Okay, it was... very Christmassy" said Mrs. Granger "Would you stay for dinner with us?" She invited me, it was the first time she met any of her daughter's new classmates.

"I am very sorry but I will not be able to have that luxury, Red Claus will have to deliver many more gifts, although I will not use the fireplace again" I said while stroking my reddish beard looking at it "But thanks for the invitation"

"Are you sure? We have room for one more" Mr. Granger added.

"No, that's fine, thanks" I said and went back to look for Hermione's present "Here it is! Take Hermione, Merry Christmas" I handed her a small box "now if you don't mind I must continue with my Christmas journey"

"Goodbye Santa" Said the drunk uncle, then he asked a man next to him" Why was Santa redheaded? "

Hermione's Parents along with her walked me to the door and waved me off, not that I want to leave but I need to continue with my deliveries. They, although reluctant to let me go alone, did not stop me after secretly clarifying that as a wizard I would have no problems. The great Granger family came to the door of the house to say goodbye and I ran away until they couldn't see me anymore and then I secretly went back up to their roof to look for the flying broom that I had left there.

...

On the other hand, when Red Claus left, they all stared at Hermione in silence.

"Don't look at me like that, he's a little weird sometimes" she said, a little embarrassed.

"You haven't told us much about your new school, is it because everyone is like that over there?" An aunt asked.

"No, he's... special" she clarified, not wanting to give too many details.

When everyone entered, they urged Hermione to open the gift that the red-haired boy had taken so much trouble to deliver. Hermione doubted since, knowing the personality of her friend, anything could be there inside her. She wouldn't be surprised if there was a severed head or some adult stuff, so she didn't want to open it, but they forced her.

She ripped the wrapper off the little box and then removed the lid, revealing a small pair of silver-studded ruby ​​earrings. When everyone in the family saw it they were surprised, for despite not being very extravagant or large, they were still clearly beautiful and eye-catching.

"Hermione!" Her mother exclaimed, surprised "They can't be real? Right?" She asked her husband.

At that moment, the drunk uncle, who was half asleep in her seat, rose slightly forward to look at it for a few seconds and say "They're real" and then go back to dozing on the couch.

"It just can't be"

"Is he wrong?"

"How much will a pair like this cost?"

The Granger family got into a debate over the pair of earrings, and Hermione was very uncomfortable. Actually the gift was one of the most beautiful she had ever seen, they were so precious, delicate and shiny that she was dazzled for a second, but her family's reaction to seeing them worried her a little.

"Maybe her family has a jewelry store, it wouldn't be so weird to give a gift like this, it wouldn't be common, but it wouldn't be weird either, right Hermione?" Said one of her uncles.

"No…her parents don't have a jewelry store" She clarified.

"Well, but they can be from a very wealthy family" They tried to guess

"Well...no...as far as I know, her family is quite poor" Hermione didn't want to tell these things, but the pressure exerted by her relatives forced her to do so.

"But how could he have obtained them if so? Could he have stolen them?" Bad murmurs began in the room.

"It has the ability to get into houses through the chimney"

"Shut up!" Hermione stopped the talk, she didn't like her friend being judged as a thief. "He's been working since he was a kid to get his own money," she quickly clarified.

At her words, everyone fell silent and had a better impression of the child, but also much more concerned about the cost of the gift.

"It's possible they're real, he likes to do things like this that aren't very normal, like coming down the chimney dressed as Santa" Hermione explained how she could "Don't worry, if he bought this he must have had enough money to do it... I don't know what he works for but he shouldn't have taken away everything he has, don't worry" She said trying to calm things down, but all the adults present had other ideas. They couldn't think of the boy having such a well-paid job, and they assumed that this gift must have taken away even his pants... Maybe he even dressed as Santa because it was the only clothes he had left?

The family didn't talk much more about it, but Mr. and Mrs. Granger pulled their daughter aside to talk to her, to see if they could return this expensive gift, but Hermione explained that with her friend's personality, it would be difficult for him to accept it back. The Grangers then decided that Hermione should try to send him another, more valuable gift, in addition to the one she sent him, to try to make it up to him.

Hermione had problems with that since when her parents asked what things her partner liked, she could only think of perverted things that he had said, and that she could not tell her parents.

She had already sent a gift that seemed appropriate after thinking about the things that her friend liked, but that gift took a long time and she received help from McGonagall to do it, if she had to send another one she did not know what to send...nothing innocent... but she couldn't do it... could she?

She had to tell her parents that he liked a little of everything and that he didn't have a particular taste, since that's the only thing that came to mind and he needed time to think... and he ended up being scolded for not paying attention to her to their friend.

The rest of the night at the Granger family was fun for most, but Hermione was mostly embarrassed. She was forced to wear the earrings throughout the family dinner under the orders of all the women in the family, receiving compliments from time to time.

There were also several comments about how possibly everyone present was looking at the next 'Mrs. Claus', which made her want the earth to swallow her. She likewise had to put up with her little cousins, who asked her to tell Santa that they are good and bring them lots of presents, causing many older ones to joke about her relationship with Santa again.

...

Once the broom was recovered, I left the Granger house. I would have liked to stay to see how Hermione's earrings looked, but she would still ask her to wear them in the future so I could see her.

Those earrings didn't cost me that much, being a not so rare Muggle item they had a good discount with the trader, so after a few modifications plus some anti-rust spells and such, the result wasn't that expensive.

My next target was Lavender's house.