Author's Notes: 1. Guest. I too wonder about that and yes your assumption is right.

2. Christmas chapter published on Christmas day.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter nor am I attempting to make any personal gain from this story.

Harry Slithers-in; Prisoner of Azkaban: Chapter 9: Christmas Dinner

When they got up in the morning Harry and Tracey noticed Scruffy was no longer in the room. Tracey went to the Common Room to see if he was there.

While Tracey was out of the room Harry had readied everything he would need for his shower. He was just entering the en-suite when she returned.

"Scruffy is in front of the fire," she said. "He woke up when I entered but he stayed put. Obviously the Common Room is warmer than in here."

"It probably is. The beds all have warming charms on them but the rest of the room doesn't."

"It's the same in the girls' dorms too," Tracey said as she gathered her clothes and towel before heading into the shower.

Once both were finished they joined Scruffy in the Common Room. As it was still early they decided against going straight to the Great Hall and instead went back over their homework from the previous evening. Satisfied it was finished they packed it away before going to breakfast. As usual they both slipped a little extra food into their bags for Scruffy. Unfortunately this time Professor Snape noticed them.

"Is there a special reason you are putting food in your bags?" he asked while glaring at them.

"We thought by doing this we could save ourselves a trip here for lunch," Tracey replied.

Snape studied her intently. "If you are that lazy then perhaps you should spend more time exercising. A run around the grounds at lunchtime may make you appreciate the shortness of the distance from there to here."

"I think you are being somewhat harsh, Severus," Dumbledore said. "However, since they are both stockpiling I think it is safe to assume we will not be seeing them for lunch."

Harry and Tracey left the table and, after a side track to the kitchen, they returned to their Common Room where they gave most of the food they had gathered to Scruffy, keeping only enough for themselves for lunch.

"We will need to be more careful from now on," Harry said after a short while. "Snape is bound to be watching us more closely now."

"You might need your invisibility cloak next time you go for food," Tracey replied.

"It's a good thing Snape doesn't have the Marauder's Map."

The whole time Scruffy was watching them intently. Not for the first time Harry got the impression Scruffy could understand everything he and Tracey were saying.

Both of them took a trip to the kitchens under Harry's invisibility cloak during the day and, mid-afternoon, they took Scruffy for a walk around the school grounds, stopping off at Hagrid's only to find he had gone out. Their walk lasted an hour or so before they returned to the warmth of the Common Room. They left Scruffy in front of the fire when they headed down for dinner that evening. They were relieved the dog didn't want to follow them on this occasion.

Their regular routine hardly varied from that day until Christmas. Tracey continued sleeping in Harry's dormitory and they always slept in separate beds, used separate showers and got changed in different rooms. Scruffy seemed content to stay in the Common Room in front of the fire and never came wandering into the dormatories. Harry and Tracey spent most of their time in the Common Room finishing their assignments so that, by Christmas Eve, they had finished everything and were once again able to relax.

Tracey spent the night in her own dormitory leaving Harry alone in his room. The following morning Harry awoke to a stack of presents including several new items of clothing; some of the clothes he had received two years previously no longer fitted him and he had been dropping hints as to what items needed replacing. As he sorted through his presents he came across a long, thin package that had no note attached. Curious, he unwrapped it and found a brand new broomstick. It was a Firebolt just like the one he had seen in quality Quidditch supplies over the summer. As he was admiring the broom there was a knock at the door.

"Come in," he called and Tracey entered with Scruffy at her heels.

"Merry Christmas, Harry. What's that?" she was looking at the broom.

"This is a Firebolt. Somebody gave me it for Christmas."

"That must have cost a fortune. I thought we all agreed to a 5 Galleon limit?"

"We did," Harry replied. "Whoever sent me this is not part of our group."

"Any idea who sent it?"

"No. There was no note or anything."

"Do you think it was Malfoy, lording his wealth over everyone?"

"I doubt it. Even Malfoy isn't that presumptuous."

"So, what are you going to do?" Tracey asked.

"Ride it I guess?" Scruffy had settled on the floor watching the two of them. When Harry said he was going to ride it the dog had stood up. Harry assumed it had merely reacted to his movements but, once again he couldn't help feeling Scruffy understood him.

Harry hopped on the broom and carefully flew it out of the dormitory and along the corridor to the Common Room. Tracey and Scruffy followed him.

"It flies ok," he said, "but I think I'll have breakfast first then decide where I'm going to go. Thank you for the new sweater by the way."

"I like that bracelet you got me. It goes well with some of my other jewellery."

After breakfast in the Great Hall they stopped by the kitchens to get some food for Scruffy. They ended up staying for several minutes and when they left they each had a bag of food for him. They managed to avoid any teachers on their return trip.

While Scruffy ate they planned their day. They decided that, after lunch, they would to go outside and try out the new broom. They would ride together until they reached the Main Entrance after which Harry would ride alone for a while before picking Tracey up for the longer flight.

When Harry landed after his solo flight he said, "It really is fast. I've never flown a broom like it before."

"Now fast can the Firebolt go?"

"Up to about 150 mph; and its acceleration is spectacular." Harry couldn't help feeling elated.

Before Tracey climbed on behind him Harry borrowed her scarf to protect his face from the cold air that whipped past on his solo flight. Tracey climbed on behind him and pressed her face into his shoulder so she wouldn't be too badly affected by the cold.

Once she was aboard Harry kicked off and shot into the air. He changed direction at high speed and was soon beside the Quidditch pitch and where he stopped. "What do you think of that?" he asked.

"That really is fast. I think I left my stomach behind by the castle, though," she replied, laughing.

"I think we should take it a bit more slowly from now on. That way we can enjoy the scenery more."

They spent the next hour flying around the grounds, soaring high over the castle, the lake and the forest but staying away from the boundaries where the Dementors were. From high up they could often see them on the ground and were able to keep well away from them. Eventually they landed back in front of the castle. Tracey climbed off while Harry decided to fly the broom back to the Common Room. When they entered, however, they were met by Professor Dumbledore.

"Good afternoon," Dumbledore said.

"Good afternoon, sir," they both replied.

"I was wondering where you got that broom from, Harry?" asked the Headmaster.

"It was a present sir," Harry replied.

"Who sent it to you?"

"I don't know."

"Somebody decides to give you a Firebolt for Christmas without telling you who they are and you decide to ride it around the grounds without having it checked out by a teacher?"

"I don't understand, sir. Is there a problem?"

"Did it not occur to you that somebody may have sent you a very fast racing broom specifically with the hope you may fall off and injure yourself?"

"No, sir. Is it that important?" Harry asked.

"Professor? Are you thinking that Sirius Black may have sent him this broom?" asked Tracey.

"I do not believe it is likely but it is not impossible. Sirius has already managed to get into the castle despite the Dementors surrounding the grounds. It is possible he may have sent it to you."

"I flew it around the Common Room and everything seemed ok then," Harry said. "After that I thought it would be better to take it outside and really try it out. I had no reason to doubt it would be safe."

"In future you would be better advised to be somewhat more cautious about unexpected gifts. It seems as if it would be safe for you to continue using it but in future you should be more aware of this sort of thing. You may go," Dumbledore finished.

Harry climbed off the broom as they set off for the Common Room. "I don't see how Black could have even purchased a broom. Let alone cursed it," Harry complained.

"Neither do I," Tracey agreed. "There are so many steps to doing that it just wouldn't be practical. And even if it was why buy the most expensive broom on the market? A cheaper broom would be less likely to arouse suspicion as well as saving him money."

"And a cheaper broom wouldn't have the same level of anti-tampering jinxes on it as the Firebolt. All racing brooms are designed with those protections now. I asked about that at Quality Quidditch Supplies over the summer holidays."

Back in the Common Room they settled in front of the fire with Scruffy. They spent the rest of the day feeding him from the food they had earlier obtained from the kitchens before retiring for the night.

Next day Tracey got the idea that, by riding his broom, Harry may be able to enter the girl's dormitory without setting off any alarms. When they returned from breakfast he tried it and found that he could indeed fly down the corridor. Tracey opened the door into her own dormitory and showed Harry the layout. Her bed was next to Daphne's on one side of the room with the other three against the opposite wall; Pansy's bed was in the middle. After about 20 minutes they returned to the Common Room.

They were scheduled to leave for the Greengrass' straight after lunch on December 31. The day before this they took Scruffy for a walk to Hagrid's house.

"Hello, Harry, Tracey," Hagrid said when he opened the door. "Who's this?"

"Hello, Hagrid," Harry said. "This is Scruffy. He is stray we found last week. We have been keeping him in the Common Room but we have to leave for a New Year's party at the Greengrass' tomorrow so we were wondering if you might like to keep him."

"He is very friendly and fully house trained," Tracey added.

Hagrid looked him over. "He's kinda thin, innie?"

"He's not as thin as when we found him," Tracey said. "Looked as if he hadn't eaten properly in weeks."

"I suppose I could introduce him to Fang. See if they get along, y'know."

"That would be good," Harry said.

Hagrid brought Fang to the door. The two dogs eyed each other cautiously but weren't aggressive.

"Seem t' be getting' along ok, don' they?" Hagrid said.

"They seem friendly enough," Harry said. "So, can we leave him with you?"

"Can' yer take' im with yeh?"

"No," Tracey said. "He wouldn't be welcome with the Greengrass' or with my mother or Harry's aunt and uncle."

"Tell yer what. Leave 'im here for now and we'll see how it goes."

"Thank you, Hagrid. We know you'll look after him," Harry said. "Maybe one of the other teachers might like him, too?"

"Maybe. Alright then you two, enjoy yer holidays," Hagrid said.

That evening they packed their trunks before going to bed so they wouldn't be rushed in the morning. Tracey returned to her own dormitory rather than share with Harry as had happened almost every night for nearly two weeks.

Lunch in the Great Hall on New Year's Eve was quieter than usual. After they finished Professor Snape escorted them to the gates where they walked quickly past the Dementors and down the path to Hogsmeade village where they were met by Tracey's mother who apparated them to their destination.