Chapter 12

It had been a few weeks since their research on the stone. Once it hit Christmas break, James made sure Jude made good on his promise from last year and made him pack his stuff so he could spend the break with the Longbottoms, Weasleys, and Potters. Though Jude was happy to spend the break with Hannah and Neville, he was reluctant to visit James' family since he couldn't stand the dirty looks Harry threw at him.

Before they had left, they had given presents to Emma. Jude got her a book while James got her some sweets. In return, she gave Jude a muggle book he hadn't read and James a watch. Though James didn't seem like he cared for it at first, he still wore it when they had gotten on the train.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Jude murmured questioningly as he rode with James on the train to the station. "I mean, no offense, mate, but I'd rather spend Christmas without mental death threats thrown at the back of my head."

"You'll be fine," James reassured. "My mom's there and I'm gonna be there so you have nothing to worry about. It's not like he's gonna do anything anyways."

Jude nodded slightly, leaning his head on the glass, "I guess you're right. I'm just being cautious is all."

The train ride lasted for another hour or so before they finally reached the station. They took their belongings and got off, meeting their parents and guardians. Jude grinned happily, hugging Hannah tightly, "Hi, Hannah."

Hannah chuckled, ruffling his messy hair, "Hey, Jude. You ready for the break?" She pulled away to give Neville a hug and kiss. "Hello, Neville."

"Hi, love," Neville greeted with a smile before putting his arm around Jude's shoulder. "I hope we give you a great Christmas, Jude."

Jude chuckled as they walked off the station, just barely behind the Potters, "Well, it's my first time celebrating Christmas with other people, so I'm sure it'll be good."

James slowed his pace, walking with them, "You guys are coming over, right? That way, it'll be an even better Christmas."

"That we are, James," Neville smiled at the grinning boys. "But first, let's get home and settle down."

…

After settling down at home for a couple of days, Christmas Eve came around pretty quickly. Neville helped Jude into his dress shirt, tie and slacks that he had bought for him last Christmas while Hannah tried to tame the boy's hair.

"Honestly, Jude," Hannah sighed as she pulled the comb from his hair. "It would help once in a while if you combed your hair."

Jude ran a hand, wincing at his sensitive scalp while he fiddled with the tie Neville had just tied, "Sorry, Hannah. I just like it this way."

She ruffled his hair teasingly, "You look like a rapscallion. I hope you like it because that is never going to be tamed."

He patted his hair, grinning, "I like it. Can we go now?"

"Yes, we can," Neville smiled, taking his hand and his wife's. He made sure he had all the presents before Apparating.

.

"Shh, shh, it's okay, Jude. It'll pass," Hannah whispered, rubbing his back comfortingly. "You'll get used to it."

Jude dry heaved, using a shaking hand to his mouth. Once he was sure his breakfast and lunch would stay put, he drifted his gaze to the place Neville had taken them to. It was big, much bigger than any house he had been to. They said it was called the Burrow and the Weasley family lived there.

He slowly stood straight, patting Hannah's hand to indicate that he was alright. They soon got to walk inside. The door opened, revealing a red haired woman who smiled at them kindly, "Oh, Neville, Hannah. It's so good to see you." She hugged the two.

Neville smiled, "It's good to see you too, Mrs. Weasley."

Mrs. Weasley pulled away, glancing down at Jude. She smiled, "And who is this?"

"Ju-Jude Porter, ma'am," He smiled, holding out his hand. "I'm a friend of James'."

He was startled when she pulled his hand and smothered him in a hug, "Oh, it's nice to meet you, Jude. I'm Molly Weasley; James' grandmother."

He was a bit dazed after she pulled away. Neville helped usher him in the house with Hannah. He blinked slowly before he was faced with an older man with glasses and red hair, "Hello, I'm Arthur Weasley." He held out his hand, "I don't think I've seen you before."

He chuckled in his daze, shaking his hand, "I'm Jude Porter, sir. I'm a friend of James' and I'm living with Neville and Hannah."

"Ah, yes," Arthur smiled widely. "I've heard a lot about you from James. It's great to finally meet you."

"You too," He murmured before more people came on over to greet him. He met Percy, Audrey, George, Angelina, Bill, Fleur, Lucy, Hermione, Ron, Hugo, and Charlie Weasley. He said hi again to Victoire, Ginny, Teddy, Molly, Rose, Lily, Fred, Louis, Roxanne, and Dominique. He reluctantly greeted Albus and Harry Potter.

James came over, grinning happily and took him with him where he sat with Louis, Fred, Charlie, Bill, Ron, George, Teddy, Ginny, Lily, Harry and Albus. They spent most of the night talking about quidditch. They spoke about the world cup, and the house cup which James, Louis, Fred and Roxanne proudly announced it was because of their new seeker that they actually won the cup after years of losing.

Once it was past midnight, Mrs. Weasley gave everyone pillows and blankets for the whole sleeping over. George, Percy, Ron, Bill, Charlie, and Ginny got their own rooms with their significant others. Some of their kids chose whether or not they wanted to go to the rooms or sleep in the living room with Neville, Hannah, Jude, and Teddy. James, Lily, Fred, Roxanne, Louis, Hugo and Victoire, much to her father's chagrin, stayed down.

Jude stared at the ceiling, blinking and hoping that sleep would come to him sooner rather than later. He could hear James' slight snoring next to him and Fred's loud ones just a few feet away. With a sigh, he stood up and walked to the kitchen silently.

His heart jumped in his throat when he saw a familiar head of red hair. He swallowed as Ginny turned around and gave him a small smile, "Oh, hello, Jude. What are you doing up?" She chuckled when he glanced back at the others frantically. "Don't worry. I put a silencing charm so they wouldn't hear me and wake up."

He sighed in relief, scratching his head, "I couldn't sleep. I was hoping to get some kind of snack to help me."

She nodded understandingly and sat down at the table. She gestured for him to sit across from her which he was quick to do so. "So, how's school?"

"It's good," He answered in a mumble, putting his hands on the table. "I really like learning everything and it's great when I get to play quidditch. Especially now since Emma and James are on the team."

"Emma," Ginny said, raising her eyebrows. "I've heard James talk about her, but I don't think I've ever seen her."

Jude nodded slightly, "Yeah. She's a muggleborn and always right away goes to her parents whenever we go home. She's really smart though. She's helped me and James with our homework all the time." He chuckled with a grin, "I'm sure James likes as more than a friend though."

Ginny perked up at that, smirking, "Really? I don't think I've heard of any of that. How do you know? Has he told you?"

Jude shook his head, "No. I can just see it. He always wants to be around her and doesn't like it when she's with other boys, especially Leon Adams. At first, I just thought it was because we're all best friends but he's more hostile towards Adams than anyone else."

"Wow," Ginny grinned, leaning back in her seat. "I would've never guess it would come so early. He really is my son."

Jude grinned back. If there was one thing he liked about Ginny, it was that she reminded him of James so much. Like mother like son.

…

In the morning, after being rudely awakened by Fred who thought it was funny to shoot of magical fireworks to wake everyone up, they all gathered in the living room, opening their presents.

James got many presents from his grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins and parents as did almost everyone else. Jude got a present from James which was a picture of him, James, and Emma that moved just like the ones he had seen almost everywhere now. He thanked his friend and gave him his present which was a necklace that had a quaffle on the end. His friend thanked him with a noogie.

Jude then opened his next present from Neville and Hannah. He blinked at the slips of paper in his hands, "Quidditch World Cup?" His eyes widened excitedly. "No way. You got me a tickets to the world cup?"

Neville nodded, smiling, "Well, I knew Harry and everyone was going to the World Cup so I thought you'd like to go as well."

Jude laughed, hugging his guardians tightly, "I love it so much. Thank you, thank you, thank you." He turned around to cheer with the boisterous James. "We can invite Emma too."

James' expression faltered before he cheered again. Ginny's smirk went unnoticed by everyone. Mrs. Weasley came up, smiling happily at the boy, "I'm glad you're liking Christmas, Jude. Here," She held out a present for him. "James asked me to make this for you. It's from the Potter-Weasley family."

He blinked before smiling gratefully. He took it from her hands and opened it, revealing a blue jumper with the letter J in the middle. He could feel the nice, warming wool and felt his eyes water. He sniffled, rubbing his eyes, "Thank you. Thank you so much."

Mrs. Weasley hushed him, embracing him, "Shh, it's okay, darling. You're welcome. It was my pleasure."

Spending 9 years with a man who wouldn't care if you were dead was something Jude was used to. When he finally came to Hogwarts and got into the Wizarding world, he realized what it was like to have people care about him. He realized that his life was worth something and nothing was better than having love in your life.