Chapter 9
It's mid-December and the Christmas holiday is coming soon. Hogwarts woke to find itself covered in several feet of snow. The lake had frozen solid. The Weasley twins were punished for bewitching several snowballs so that they followed Quirrell around, bouncing off the back of his purple turban. They had no idea that they were hitting Lord Voldemort in the face or they would've passed out. The monster behind the turban promised revenge muttering how no one hits the great Lord Voldemort.
While the Slytherin common room and the Great Hall had roaring fires, the drafty corridors had become icy and bitter wind rattled the windows in the classrooms. Worst of all were Professor Snape's classes down in the dungeons, where their breath rose in a mist before them and they kept as close as possible to their hot cauldrons. During that time, most of the potions were made properly, since the students didn't want their potions to explode while they were using them as sources of heat. Neville and Godric, however, did manage to explode theirs. Godric had burst into tears before fleeing the room shouting, "I'm telling my dad Snivellus!" Thankfully, only Severus and Harry heard the last word. Harry remembered the word when James was talking about bullying Snape.
"I do feel so sorry," said Godric Potter said during one Potions class, "for all those people who have to stay at Hogwarts for Christmas because they're not wanted at home."
He was looking over at Harry as he spoke. Draco and Hermione growled. Harry, who was measuring out powdered spine of a toad, ignored them. Godric had been even more unpleasant than usual since the Quidditch match. Disgusted that Gryffindor had lost, he had tried to get everyone laughing at how a frog could be better replacing Harry as Seeker.
They soon realized that nobody found this funny, because they were all so impressed at the way Harry had managed to stay on his bucking broomstick. So Godric and Ron, as well as Godric's new side kick Seamus, were jealous and angry, and had gone back to taunting Harry and Jamie about having no proper family because the Potters' hated them.
It was true that Harry and Jamie weren't going back to Potter Manor for Christmas, but they had their reasons which no one knew. They all thought they didn't go home because they didn't want to disappoint their parents. That wasn't the real reason, however, and no one would be finding out the real reason any time soon.
Professor Snape had come around the week before the holiday, making a list of students who would be staying for the holidays, and the twins had signed up at once.
They didn't feel sorry for themselves at all; they just wanted to stay with their friends. Draco and Hermione were staying because they didn't want to leave their friends behind. Hermione's parents would be tending to patients those few weeks anyway. Draco, on the other hand, wanted to go home for Christmas. He missed his parents but stayed with his friends so he can continue with his animagus studies.
The hall looked spectacular. Holly and mistletoe hung all around the walls, and no less than ten towering Christmas trees stood around the Great Hall, some sparkling with huge icicles, all glittering with hundreds of candles.
Once the Christmas holidays had started, they all had a fairly good time. Unfortunately, Ron, Percy and the Weasley twins were staying because their parents are visiting their son, Charlie, who works with dragons in Romania.
On Christmas Eve, Harry, Draco, Jamie and Hermione went to bed looking forward to the next day for food and fun. They slept in the Slytherin common room, leaving Severus to explain why Jamie and Hermione weren't in their beds to their Head of House. When they woke early in the morning, the first thing each of them saw was a small pile of packages at their feet.
"Merry Christmas," squealed Hermione sleepily as Harry scrambled out of bed and pulled on his bathrobe.
"You, too," said Harry grumpily. He had never been that much of a morning person. Jamie was also grumpy, as she knew they wouldn't be getting anything from their parents, the people who were supposed to love them unconditionally.
Harry picked up the top parcel. It was wrapped in thick brown paper and scrawled across it was 'To Harry, from Hagrid.' Inside was a roughly cut wooden flute. Hagrid had obviously whittled it himself. Harry blew it; it sounded a bit like an owl. Jamie told him that Hagrid have her a small wooden harp that made sounds like a phoenix.
"That's nice," said Hermione. "What is that? Coal? Why? Were you a bad boy and girl?" She shook her head in amusement. "Your parents must still be in a bad mood with you getting into Slytherin."
Harry's next present contained a large box of Chocolate Frogs from Hermione. The next ones were a book on Quidditch from his sister and a bag of Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans from Remus. Jamie had gotten the same presents from Hermione and Remy. Harry had given his sister a book on potions since she really liked that subject, as well as a Charms one that he had stolen from the Potter library ages ago. Then Harry opened a brown paper package. Opening it, a slivery fabric fell to the floor.
"I've heard of those," Jamie said in a hushed voice, dropping the boxes of candy "If that's what I think it is; they're really rare and really valuable."
"What is it?" asked Harry, picking the shining, silvery cloth off the floor. It was strange to the touch, as though there was water woven into material.
"It's an invisibility cloak," answered Jamie, a look of awe on her face and Hermione only nodded. "I'm sure it is. Try it on."
Harry threw the cloak around his shoulders and Draco gave a yell. "It is! Look down!"
Harry looked down at his feet, but they were gone. He dashed to the mirror. Sure enough, his reflection looked back at him, just his head suspended in mid-air, his body completely invisible. He pulled the
cloak over his head and his reflection vanished completely.
"There's a note," said Hermione suddenly. "A note fell out of it!"
Harry pulled off the cloak and seized the letter. Written in a narrow, loopy writing he had seen before were the following words:
Every first born Potter gets this package on their first Christmas at Hogwarts. Now, I pass it on to you as I passed it on to my son. A
Very Merry Christmas to you.
Your Grandfather Harrison
Harry stared at the note. Jamie was admiring the cloak.
"I'd give anything for one of these," she breathed. "Anything. What's the matter?"
"Nothing," said Harry. He felt very strange. Why had he sent the cloak? Didn't everybody think that Godric's the first born child? He was brought out of his musing when his sister asked him a question.
"Can I try it on too?"
"Sure," Harry said, smiling at her as he handed her the cloak.
After Harry gave Jamie the cloak, they opened the rest of their
presents. Draco had gotten Harry sugar quills and Jamie chocolate frogs and Hermione some muggle sweets from a squib he knew. He himself was still going through all his presents as he had twice as much as his friends. Jamie and Harry couldn't help but feel a very big pang of jealously. All they had ever wanted was for their parents to care for them like Draco's apparently did.
The four friends soon went to breakfast. They were early and only the Headmaster and Professor Snape were sitting at the table. There was only one table in the Great Hall because there were so few students staying at Hogwarts. The kids quickly ate breakfast and hurried outside.
They spent their time having snowball fights and were soaking wet when they came back. After a quick shower and a change into dry clothes, they met in their secret room. They were lucky to have it. They really liked their room and it gave them the peace that they both needed and wanted. So, they spent most of their Christmas in the Slytherin common room or their secret room.
They began reading their books; all of them thought books were knowledge. Hermione could not hide her astonishment about the two Slytherins. "Are you sure that you were sorted into the right house?" she asked teasingly. When the others looked confused, she added grinning, "From your behavior right now, one would think you would do better in Ravenclaw. Not even most of my house mates study this much."
That got her two almost identical trademark Slytherin smirks in return. It almost seemed as if you got the ability for that, you get sorted there.
"You should know that we only do this for gaining knowledge and as you know..." started Harry.
"... Knowledge is power. And that of course is what the average, ambitious Slytherin is trying to achieve as well as Ravenclaws," finished Jamie.
After that they all burst out in laughter and the whole afternoon was spent studying and doing homework that was due after the holidays.
The Potter twins, never in all their life, had seen such a Christmas dinner as the one they saw that night. Christmas at the Potters' had been the worst; with people coming, they hardly got anything and were usually stuck in the dungeons. Jamie was fed more than Harry because Lily sometimes went soft on her. Jamie used it to her advantage sometimes and got enough food for Harry too.
The party favors at Hogwarts were nothing like the feeble muggle ones that the Potters' have. Lily had never changed from her muggle ways and it annoyed James but he never let it show. He liked the belts though. Yes, he found them amusing enough to strike his son with again and again every day, especially the buckle bit.
Not even the presence of the Weasley kids from could ruin their Christmas, as Godric had gone home.
When Harry finally left the table, he was laden down with a stack of things out of the crackers, including a pack of non-exploding, luminous balloons, a Grow-Your-Own-Warts kit, and his new wizard chess set.
Harry, Draco and the girls spent a happy afternoon having a furious snowball fight on the grounds. Then, cold, wet, and gasping for breath, they returned to the fire in the Slytherin common room, where Harry and the others all warmed up and fell asleep there again.
They didn't see Severus shake his head then sigh before covering them up, again putting up the fire. Severus had wondered why they had stayed but shrugged it off to wanting to be with their friends. No one had seen the looks Severus had given Harry.
Severus had looked at Harry as if trying to work out a clue. Harry doesn't act like a Potter and it baffled him. He had seen Harry closed his eyes and shake his head in his potions class when Godric had called Severus with that name he had to put up with from the Marauders. That was something that made Severus curious to no end, and he had begun watching Harry more and more. There was nothing for him to pick up on, only that they spent ages outside of the Slytherin common room. He knows that they had a secret room, which he didn't go into and therefore doesn't know what they were doing. Of course, even if he tried, he wouldn't have been able to enter.
It had been Harry's and Jamie's best Christmas ever. The only thing Harry and Jamie regretted about Christmas being over so soon was having to listen to Godric going on about how great his Christmas was.
