Chapter VII: Christmas Break
Harry, Hermione and Neville walked to their last class of the term. Harry was happy that it was over, even if he was staying at the castle with Mini. Harry was known as one of the better students, even in potions. Hermione was tied with him, though she was better than him at theory, he was better than her at practical. Neville was third and was a balance between the two of them.
Harry was comfortable being in his own skin these days, except for nearly putting Ron through a wall a couple of times, and Malfoy right along side him, he was actually enjoying the red head's company especially when Harry wanted a challenge in chess. The two of them played one game a week which had brought a relaxation of tension between them.
Harry paid close attention to what Mini was saying, as she was supplying the course overview for the next term. Hermione was taking a rather large amount of notes, which she always seemed to do. He and Neville watched as she wrote the notes, even though it was simply what would be discussed next term.
After class, Harry walked up to talk with Mini as soon as everyone, including Hermione and Neville, left. "So we're staying at the castle for Christmas break Mini?"
She smiled sadly and nodded, "yes, I know you had your heart on returning home to visit with Sal, Yen, Yang and their son. Unfortunately I cannot go back, but they have agreed to come here." This brought a smile to Harry's face, as they had been the first friends he had.
Harry went to help Neville pack, since he couldn't get up the stairs and help Hermione. The next day would be the first time he would be able to spend as much time as he wanted with Mini. Even though he would miss his friends, he was happy to finally be able to visit his mother as much as he wanted. He had never actually called Mini his mother to her face, he never really thought about it as he was so used to calling her Mini, but he had always thought of her that way.
Harry and Neville joked awhile and soon finished packing, Hermione joined them as they did it by hand. It wasn't that they couldn't use magic, it simply was that none of them felt as if they were in any hurry to finish. Once that was done, the three of them sat and talked about their plans for the break. They both knew that Professor McGonagall was Harry's legal guardian, but didn't actually say anything about him visiting her.
Harry said that he had their presents, and that he hoped they would enjoy them. He had bought both of them wrist holsters for their wands, similar to the one he wore, and a book on the topic that had seemed to interest them the most. For Neville it was a book on Herbology, Hermione it was an introduction to various classes that could be taken in their third year. Knowing her it would keep her entertained at least until the break ended.
The next morning saw Harry waving at his friends until he could no longer see the carriage they rode in. The majority of the day was spent doing all the homework that had been ignored the day before. He quickly finished his homework and spent the time after supper to curfew just spending time with Mini. Returning to his dorm, Harry joined Ron in a game of chess, but his heart wasn't in it.
The next day found Harry helping Mini read and grade some of the other first year essays, while she focused on doing the second through seventh year ones. As Harry was already very skilled in the area the papers were on, it was not a stretch to read others and grade them. Harry and Mini were joined by Yen, Yang and their son, Kitsune, a couple of days later. Harry was happy to be around family again and played with Kitsune when he could.
The days until Christmas were oddly short, though it was most likely because Harry's days were filled with a lot of joy by being with his family, as odd as it was. Christmas day dawned bright and clear. Harry, noticing that he had no presents at the foot of his bed, quickly got up and went to Mini's quarters to say Happy Christmas. Sure enough, all the presents that were to be given to him were here. Harry was happy that he was with family and greeted Mini with a hug.
Mini, who was unused to overt displays of affection, got over her shock and returned the hug. They sat opening presents and just being happy that they were together. Harry received candy from Ron, a book on various hexes and curses from Hermione with a note that he should be careful not use them on another student, a new cloak from Mini, and several hand woven shirts, pants, and other clothing articles from Sal, Yen, Yang, and Kitsune.
Finally there was a final present that was simply address to him and didn't say who it was from. Curiously, Harry opened it to find a piece of cloth that seemed to shimmer in the light. Pulling it out, he found that it was a cloak. Mini's eyes widened when she looked at him, which caused harry to follow her line of sight. What he saw startled him, as he could no longer see his body.
Mini whispered, "that's an invisibility cloak, those are extremely rare." Harry took off the cloak and searched for any indication of who might have sent it. All he found was a note that read:
Your father left this in my possession, and I felt it was the right time to return it to its proper owner. Use it well.
Harry handed the note to Mini, but if she recognized it, she wasn't saying so. The day was anticlimactic compared to the mood that Harry started off in. Harry rarely thought about his parents, it was always a point of contention for him. He couldn't remember their faces but he vaguely remembered that they had loved him dearly, though he wasn't sure if that was wistful thinking.
Harry often wondered about his parents, what they had been like, what they liked to do, did they want him as a child. Harry had never told Mini that there were times, especially when he was younger, that he felt that his parents might have felt him to be a burden. After all he had seen how hard it was for Mini to raise him, and that was with the help of three house elves.
Harry spent a couple of hours staring at his canopy before deciding to go for a walk. Grabbing his invisibility cloak, he wandered around Hogwarts, almost running into Filch. Dodging into a class room, he noticed a mirror standing in the corner. Walking up to it, he read: Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi. Harry contemplated what this could mean until he decided to read it backwards. It read, I show not your face but your heart's desire, which interested Harry and he stepped in front of it.
What Harry saw caused him to flinch. He saw a man that look incredibly like him standing slightly off his right side. He noticed that the man was very similar except that he had different eyes, his were hazel. Off his left, a very pretty woman with long dark red hair and eyes the same shade of green as his own. He stood there just looking at them as he watched a scene in a muggle movie. He watched them playing with a small child with a look of joy and love on their faces.
Harry looked closer and noticed that the child look like pictures Mini had of him when he was just a baby. Suddenly it clicked, these were his parents. He watched, until he noticed that the sun had risen, various events that displayed Harry and his parents together.
Returning to his common room, he lay in bed wondering why the mirror only showed images of Harry and his parents when they were happy, but didn't feel comfortable talking to Mini about it. He would never burden her with knowing that he was curious about his biological parents.
Harry spent time helping Mini with the various papers she had to grade, played a few games with the Weasley twins, and played several games of chess with Ron. At night, he returned to the mirror to watch his parents with him for hours before returning to bed. It comforted him to see that his parents had enjoyed having him for the short time they did. The third night he was barely able to wait for everyone to fall asleep before rushing to watch his family.
As he sat there entranced, he heard someone clear their throat. Spinning around, he saw the headmaster watching him with pleasant, but neutral expression. "I see you have discovered the mirror's unique ability," he said evenly.
Harry simply stood and nodded. He didn't want to get in trouble, that would mean that he failed Mini. He watched the headmaster walk towards him, as he stood in nervous silence. "You should be careful my boy, a many great men have wasted away in front of this mirror. It shows your heart's desire, but cannot be completely trusted."
Harry was saddened, "so when it showed me with my parents, it was just what I wanted to see, correct sir?"
Dumbledore shrugged, "that depends on what you wanted to see Harry."
Harry thought about what he wanted to see. He had always wondered what his parents had felt with him around, but was that it, or did he want proof that they had loved him. "I believe I wanted to see what my parents had felt about me."
The headmaster nodded, "then you may trust what you saw. However…" He seemed to drift off. A few minutes went by before he shook himself. "You should get back to your common room Harry. I must ask that you not try to find this mirror again, it will be moved to a safe location soon."
Harry nodded and gathered up his cloak and put it on. It amazed him later that he hadn't been caught going to the common room in the daze he was in. He wondered what the headmaster was going to say before he drifted off. What other way could he have learned about his parents?
The last of Christmas break Harry was tempted to search for the mirror, but decided against it. As a way to counter his desire to search, he spent a lot of time studying ahead in the courses that he felt he needed it, potions being at the top of the list. He had become better friend's with Hagrid. He found Hagrid's love of dangerous creatures interesting, although he felt that it was an interest that he would have better from a distance. He also spent as much time as he could with Mini determined to show, to himself more than anyone else, that Mini was his family and that he didn't need to know more about his parents, because he wasn't one to define himself by those that gave birth to him.
By the time Hermione and Neville returned from break, Harry had finished reading his course books and had memorized half of them. Harry hadn't realized that he had poured himself so deeply into studying, until Hermione and Neville found him in the library on the day they got back.
"That such a good book Harry that you forgot to come and see us return," Neville asked with a smile on his face.
Harry jerked up and looked at them, then at his watch, "bugger, I completely forgot."
Neville let out a laugh, while Hermione simply smiled. The two of them took up seats at the table and started talking about their vacations. Harry noticed that Neville had become slightly subdued when Hermione was talking about spending time with her family. He probably wouldn't have noticed if he didn't spend as much time around him as he did.
Neville smiled lightly during his turn. He and his grandmother had spent time in the family summer house in southern England. He had enjoyed the book he was given by Harry, and showed that he was wearing his wrist holder. Hermione also thanked Harry for the gifts, blushing slightly that she had forgotten to.
The rest of the evening was spent talking about Harry's exploits during the break. After telling them about finding the mirror, but not what he saw, they tried to figure out why something so potentially dangerous would be stored in the castle.
Harry vaguely remembered Hagrid getting something from Gringotts before the term started, and then hearing about the break in soon afterwards. Now that he thought about it, the paper had said that noting had been stolen, as the vault had been emptied earlier that day. How many vaults had been completely empty that particular day?
Bringing this to the attention of Neville and Hermione, they tried to figure out what it could be. Not getting much farther that night, they decided to turn in for the night.
Excerpt: Between McGonagall and Dumbledore (Takes place on the night before the term starts)
Minerva McGonagall was setting up for the classes that would be taught in the morning when Dumbledore walked in. He seemed as if he had come to a decision, but was unsure of how to approach it. As he had come to her, not summoned her to come to him, she knew it had to do with Harry.
After sitting, Dumbledore began. "Earlier during the break, I found Harry wandering around the halls late at night. Further observation had me seeing him find the Mirror of Erised."
To say she was surprised would be an understatement, "I thought that it was placed in with the other protections."
Dumbledore nodded, "everyone was supposed to. However, now that it has been discovered, I have moved it to the safety of the protections. This is not why I came here however." Steeling himself visibly he continued, "young Harry said that he wished to know what his parents felt about him, which is understandable considering that he has had no contact with any of their friends."
Minerva tried to see where this was going. "You want him to meet some of them, don't you," it wasn't a question, more like an accusation.
He nodded slowly, "I was thinking of having Remus Lupin contact him. He was friends with both Lily and James, and would understand the need to keep your relationship with Harry quiet."
Minerva sat in silence for awhile. 'yes,' she thought to herself, 'its time for Harry to learn more about his parents. Especially now that he knows more about the Wizard world.' "I'll contact Remus tomorrow."
Nodding Dumbledore bid her goodnight and soon she was left with her own thoughts.
A/n: 2524 words not counting titles or A/n's. Thank you for your patience on this chapter.