Harry Potter and Slytherin's Secret

Part Two of the

Time's Avenging Angel Series

Author's Notes:

Hello, Everyone!

Finally got the new chapter ready for you, and I really hope you like it. I know the updates are a little slower than I started out with, but I'm working on a few other projects while finishing this one. Feel free to check out Immutable Forces if you want, but only if you like Doctor Who as well as Harry Potter.

As always, I want to thank my very talented and lovely betas, C & J. If it weren't for these two wonderful women I would probably make a fool out of myself. They are also the ones that pull me back from the edge when I go too far with my twisting of canon, so thank them if you get the chance.

That being said, go read and please remember to review.

Chris

Disclaimer:

I do not own the publishing rights to Harry Potter. This story is subject to copyright law under transformative use. No compensation is made for this work.

Chapter 9: The Holiday Attack

Harry was happier than he had been in months. Ginny was back in his life, along with the addition of her friends. Colin and Gwen seemed to fit in pretty well with the rest of his friends. Still, it was Ginny that really made his world brighten. Ginny's friends were just a small bonus to what was already a wonderful thing. With this latest event, Harry thought everything was turning out pretty well. Now if only he could get over the feeling that something was not right.

In the month and a half since he and Ginny had been talking again, Harry had started to think someone was following him. It was a strange feeling because no one ever seemed to be around other than his friends, but he just could not shake the feeling. Harry could not explain it, though he had tried several times, other than to say that he could feel someone watching everything he did. It seemed the only time he did not feel those eyes on him was when he was in class, his room, or the washroom. It had been like that since his reconciliation with Ginny and he was starting to wonder if that had something to do with it.

"Could it be someone jealous of how close I am to Ginny?"

Harry thought about that possibility a great deal. After all, Ginny was great and Harry could not imagine that other guys had failed to notice her. Now that she was eating regularly again, Harry thought she was prettier than ever before. It was not like he had not seen guys turning to look when they walked down the hallways together. Just the other day he had even seen one third year student run into a wall as they passed him. Harry had even laughed when Ginny seemed unaware of the reaction guys had to her.

Of course he also felt a little jealous when he saw this happening. Harry hated to feel like that. Not that he really knew why he felt so conflicted about other boys paying attention to Ginny, but he did. It was truly confusing to Harry and he had promised himself that he would talk to Sirius or Remus about it as soon as he could. Until then, Harry would just have to try and ignore his jealousy.

"Why do I feel so possessive?" Harry often thought to himself. "She's my best friend."

Harry felt someone sit down next to him on the couch he was occupying and smiled when he saw it was Ginny. She scooted over closer to him, turning slightly so she could lean back against his side. That had become Ginny's favorite way to sit when they were on the couch together. Harry liked it, and after a little shock on Ron's part, everyone had become used to the sight. The only person that seemed to have a problem with it was Gwen.

"Speaking of," thought Harry, looking around.

Sure enough, Gwen was sitting at a nearby table. The dark haired girl always seemed to be nearby whenever Ginny was near Harry. Harry wondered if maybe she was the presence he felt watching him recently. It was obvious that as time passed Gwen was not happy about his relationship with Ginny. Many times over the last few weeks, Harry had seen her staring at him and Ginny with a look that seemed to fluctuate between longing and hate. When Harry mentioned this to Ginny, she assured him that Gwen was just lonely and wanted to spend more time with Ginny. Harry was by no means an expert when it came to girls, but his instincts told him that it was not Ginny that Gwen wanted to spend time with.

"She's doing it again," Harry said in a barely audible whisper to Ginny.

Ginny sighed, turning a page of her Transfiguration book. "What do you want me to do about it, Harry? You want me to start a row with her because she's sitting too close?"

"Of course not."

"Well then deal with it," Ginny whispered back. "I think she's lonely, but I can't spend all my time with her."

"I know that," sighed Harry. "I just think there is more to it than her being lonely."

"Fine," Ginny hissed, turning to face him. "I'll talk to her about it tonight. Will that make you happy?"

"I just think there's more to it, Gin," Harry began, but was silenced when Ginny laid a finger on his lips.

"I know, Harry," she almost crooned to him. "The famous Potter instinct senses something wrong and you want to know what it is?"

Harry nodded, not wanting to speak for fear Ginny would move her finger. He loved the feeling of her skin, even just her finger, on his lips. For the thousandth time since he and Ginny had started talking again, Harry wondered what it would feel like to kiss her. Even more of those confusing feelings seemed to flood his mind at the thought of kissing Ginny. They were all half formed and gone too quickly for Harry to understand any of them. They just left him with a vague desire to kiss her, and not the quick friendly pecks on the cheek, but a real kiss on the lips.

"No," Harry thought, mentally pulling away from the images in his mind. "We're too young for that."

Ginny seemed to be thinking something similar because she blushed prettily and moved her finger from Harry's lips. They sat silently for a time, staring in to each other's eyes. Harry noticed how close their faces were to each other. Only a few inches separated them now. He once again thought about kissing Ginny and had almost convinced himself to do it when a voice interrupted them. Looking up, he noticed Hermione was standing over them, evidently trying to get Harry's attention.

"Are you listening to me?" she asked, her hands on her hips and a look of disapproval on her face. "I said I just saw Mr. Knight down by the lake."

"Right then," Harry said, pulling away reluctantly from Ginny. "I should go see what he wants. Sorry, Gin."

Ginny sighed and smiled at him. "It's alright, Harry. Do what you need to. I'll be here when you get back."

Harry smiled at her, and then nodded to Hermione before running up to his room to retrieve the Invisibility Cloak. Though it was still early, Harry did not want to chance on being caught out after curfew if his conversation with Mr. Knight took too long. Putting on his warmest cloak, Harry pulled on the Invisibility Cloak before tossing the hood up to cover his head.

As he dashed from the common room, Harry saw Ginny sitting with Gwen. He could not hear their whispered conversation, but from their expressions he thought they were arguing about something. He hoped he was not responsible for them arguing, but he did not have time to wonder at the cause. He ducked out the portrait hole and made his way silently down to the entrance hall.

Harry was halfway to the lake before he saw the figure of Mr. Knight standing by the frozen water. What surprised him was that a second figure was standing next to Mr. Knight and the two seemed to be having an argument. Harry crept forward and slid behind a large tree. He was close enough to hear them speak but hopefully not close enough to be noticed.

"I realize that," Mr. Knight was saying angrily. "Their bond is stronger than I realized. That's a good thing though and I'm not going to apologize for it!"

The other man, wearing an oddly old-looking hooded cloak, sighed and then spoke softly. "I'm not asking you to, Arthur. I'm merely telling you what our concerns are. When we agreed to this plan of yours, you told us that we needn't worry about things going wrong. The problem is things ARE going wrong!"

"Calm down, Alexander," replied Mr. Knight. "This was not unexpected. In fact I was rather counting on it. Harry can handle the situation and the timeline will actually work out better this way."

"I'm sure the boy can handle it," said the man Mr. Knight had called Alexander. "In fact I have looked at the possible outcomes and can see that he has a better than fifty percent chance of succeeding. It's that other forty-eight percent we're worried about. Should he fail, then there will be no recovering from it. The Worthies will not allow a third attempt to correct the situation. Do you understand me, Arthur?"

Mr. Knight nodded. "I understand, Alexander."

"Good," said the stranger with a smile. "Now the old fool is coming and you need to warn him from his path."

Turning towards where Harry was hiding, the man waved and winked. "Stay hidden for now, Harry. Listen closely to the conversation that is about to take place. Good luck to you, and to Ginevra."

Feeling a bit embarrassed, Harry nodded and mumbled, "Thank you, sir."

Walking away, the strange man called over his shoulder to Mr. Knight. "He's a good kid, Arthur. Take care of him or you'll answer to me and Hephaestion."

Mr. Knight chuckled before answering. "I will, Alexander. Give my best to your husband."

Harry watched the strange man nod and wave once more before he vanished into thin air. Mr. Knight sighed once and looked over at Harry. With a wave of his hand, Mr. Knight summoned a drift of snow to form around Harry. It was not cold but Harry realized he was completely hidden from normal sight.

"Stay quiet, Harry," whispered Mr. Knight, jerking his head slightly towards where Harry could see another figure approaching.

Less than a minute later, Harry recognized the figure as Albus Dumbledore. The Headmaster strode confidently across the snow-covered grounds until he reached Mr. Knight's side. Taking a final step, Dumbledore stopped next to the former king and looked out over the lake. The two men stood silently gazing out over the frozen water for a time before Dumbledore finally spoke.

"What have you released in my school?" demanded Dumbledore.

Mr. Knight chuckled softly, then looked at Dumbledore. "I didn't release anything, Albus. You already know that, so your question is meaningless. What you should really be asking is will it harm anyone?"

"Will it?" asked Dumbledore.

"No," answered Mr. Knight firmly. "I am forbidden from intervening this time, but Harry will be more than capable of dealing with it when the time comes."

"Harry?" asked a stunned looking Dumbledore. "You expect a twelve year old boy to be able to handle this? Are you mad?"

"Maybe," replied Mr. Knight. "Then again, I'm not the one trying to play savior from behind the scenes. You pull the strings, like some grand puppet master, with no thought to the damage you may do to the people you manipulate. I will not allow that to continue. I will arm Harry with everything he needs to win."

Dumbledore looked terrified as he spoke, his voice a little higher than before. "You armed him? How so? Do you mean to tell me you have told him the prophecy?"

Dumbledore looked absolutely enraged when Mr. Knight nodded. "Of course I told him, Albus. Did you think I would allow him to walk blindly into Tom's hands? Now he knows what he is fighting for and will appreciate what he has even more. Love is his sword and his shield, Albus. Please remember, Albus, just because Tom doesn't know what love is does not mean that Harry should be denied it as well."

Harry watched as Dumbledore pulled a crystal from his pocket and fingered it like a worry stone. For some reason Harry felt a chill run down his spine at the sight of the crystal. Not wanting to think about it, Harry began twisting his ring around his finger as he continued to listen. The sensation of the ring on his finger seemed to calm him, though he still found himself glancing at the strange crystal from time to time.

"You really shouldn't take that lightly, Albus," Mr. Knight said with a gesture towards the crystal.

"I can handle this," objected Dumbledore, holding the crystal up and looking at it.

"I warned you," said Mr. Knight with a sigh. "Remember that when the time comes."

Dumbledore looked shaken for an instant, and then nodded saying softly, "I will."

Without looking back, Dumbledore walked slowly away, pausing only long enough to whisper something that sounded like, "Please, keep them safe."

Mr. Knight nodded, his face looking sad. "I will, my friend. Please, try to do the same for yourself."

After a few moments of silence, Mr. Knight waved his hand at the snow that had been hiding Harry. The snow swirled around Harry like a living thing for a few seconds, then settled to the ground. Harry marveled at the ease with which his friend performed such complex magic. As he considered that, Mr. Knight motioned for him to join him.

"You heard that?"

Harry nodded, glancing down at the ring he wore. "Dumbledore doesn't want me to know what's coming. Does he?"

"No, he doesn't," agreed Mr. Knight. "Albus, for all his faults, wants to protect you. No matter what you might think, Albus wants you to have a normal childhood."

"But he would be happier if I remained clueless?"

Mr. Knight chuckled softly and patted Harry's shoulder. "Albus is in a bad spot right now. On the one hand, he wants to protect you and allow you to be normal for as long as possible."

"And on the other hand?"

"Yes, on the other hand, he feels driven to keep you clueless," Mr. Knight admitted. "Albus is fighting a battle of his own that will eventually either set him free, or make him a slave to his darker impulses."

"What the heck does that mean?" asked Harry, looking up at his friend again.

"I can't really explain any more than that, Harry," said Mr. Knight with a strangely playful grin. "But I suggest you keep your eyes open and trust your gut."

Harry thought about that for a moment before speaking. "Does this have something to do with that crystal he was holding? I noticed when you mentioned it to him that he was rather defensive about it and it gave me the chills to boot."

"Good eye, Harry," Mr. Knight said with a wide grin. "It does have something to do with all of this, but that is also something I'm not allowed to tell you about. You see my… partners… think you should learn some things on your own. They don't think you'll appreciate the answers nearly as much if I just hand them to you without you having to work for them."

Harry debated on whether or not to argue about that until he remembered the first man Mr. Knight had spoken to. "Was that man, Alexander you called him, one of your partners?"

Mr. Knight grinned even wider at Harry. "Yes he is. Alexander and I are members of a type of advisory board of sorts. Each of us has our own little pet projects. When we are actively working on something, we try to keep each other appraised of our progress. We each have to agree that what we are doing is for the greater good and if it isn't…"

"They can stop you," Harry finished for him. "They're the ones that told you what you could and couldn't tell me?"

"Exactly," confirmed the older man. "Alexander is sort of my silent partner in this venture, so he's responsible for reviewing my progress. He feels that you deserve all the help you can get, but not at the cost of destroying what we have worked so hard to achieve."

Nodding, Harry thought about all that he had just heard. It made sense if these other people were tweaking things the same way that Mr. Knight was. There almost had to be someone watching over what was happening in that type of situation. In a way it made Harry feel better about many things. If there were other people watching out for him, then that meant fewer things could go wrong.

"How badly could things go wrong?" Harry asked, feeling his throat tighten as he said it.

Mr. Knight looked down at Harry for a moment and sighed. "Very badly, Harry. If that were to happen, then my friends would take over. They would take whatever steps were required to fix the situation. It happened once before."

"When?"

"Before I joined them," replied Mr. Knight. "Someone meddled with my life and they were forced to salvage the situation. The results as you know them are what they agreed upon in order to salvage what they could of the situation."

Harry wanted to know what had happened, but he stopped himself from asking when he looked up at his friend. Mr. Knight's face was a mask of sorrow and pain. It was a pain that seemed to resonate within Harry so that he knew it was not his place to ask.

Pulling the hood of the Invisibility Cloak from his head, Harry grinned up at Mr. Knight. "It's your story, and I don't need to know. Maybe someday when this is all over with, we'll trade stories, but I can wait until then."

"Thank you, Harry," was all Mr. Knight said for several minutes as they aimlessly walked the grounds of Hogwarts.

"It's time for one of my warnings, Harry," he finally said. "Keep your eyes open and your wand ready from now on. Things are going to be… interesting… from this point on."

Harry wondered what that meant, but he followed the advice over the next few days. With only three days left before the end of term, Harry was starting to feel nervous. He had just left History of Magic one afternoon when he finally understood. Hermione, Ron, and Neville had run ahead to the common room while Harry headed over to Ginny's classroom to wait for her.

Halfway between the two classrooms, Harry found himself in a strangely dark passage. The candles and torches that normally lit the hallway had all gone out. That was not too unusual given that Peeves often blew out the candles and torches to annoy Filch. Harry barely even thought about it as he continued to walk along the passageway. It was as he reached the halfway point that he realized something was wrong.

"This isn't right," he thought, reaching for his wand and looking around.

The passageway seemed to be empty, but his instincts told him someone was nearby. The shadows suddenly seemed too dark. Harry felt the ring on his finger growing warm and he began turning it around on his finger with his thumb. Each step he took made the feeling stronger and Harry was fighting the desire to run to the lights he could just see at the end of the hallway.

"Stupefy!"

The voice sounded high and cold but was strangely muffled as Harry dove forward and rolled out of the way of the spell. He barely managed to move out of the way of a second spell that hit the ground where his head had been just a second before. Scrambling behind a suit of armor, Harry got back to his feet and pressed his back against the cold metal, trying to figure out where the attacks were coming from. Three more spells impacted the suit of armor and Harry could hear the metal shriek as it was hit. A sharp pain in Harry's back nearly drove him to his knees, but he managed to keep standing.

"Who are you?" bellowed Harry, wanting his attacker to speak so he could find them.

The voice that replied seemed to come from every direction. "I am your death, Harry Potter!"

Just then Harry heard the sound of many feet running towards him and the voice of his attacker cursing about the impending rescue. Harry never could remember what happened next, except that suddenly he was flying through the air and then there was a bright flash of light. Everything went black and Harry could only remember a sensation of floating in pitch black surroundings. Occasionally he almost thought someone was near him, or that a voice was calling his name, but then it would fade and he would be alone again. Time held no meaning in that place and he gave up trying to understand what was happening to him.

After what seemed like an eternity floating in the black void, Harry finally opened his eyes. The first thing Harry realized was that he was looking up at the ceiling of his bedroom back at the Den. He could not remember how he had gotten there, nor when. Sitting up slightly in bed and resting on his elbow, Harry glanced out his window and saw fluffy white snowflakes falling past it against a pitch black night. A single white candle burned on his nightstand, wax streaming down it and onto the wooden table. Other than himself, the room was empty, though a comfortable armchair had been placed next to his bed. He reached over to touch the seat of the chair and felt the warmth of it, proving that someone had been sitting there very recently.

Sitting up fully, Harry stretched and wondered why his muscles felt so stiff. He stepped out of bed slowly, noticing he only had on a loose fitting pair of boxer shorts. That seemed odd since he normally wore pajamas to bed, but then waking up at home when he had just been at school was odder still. He thought about that as he walked towards his door trying to remember what had happened, but his last memory was the flash of white light.

"Must have hit my head," he thought as he stepped out into the hallway and made his way to the bathroom. "Not sure why I'm here though. You would think Madame Pomfrey would want me in the hospital wing."

Glancing around, Harry noticed that Sirius had redecorated the house, again. Everything seemed darker and there was barely any light to be seen, except for a candle at the head of the stairs. It was really depressing in Harry's opinion and he instantly wondered if Sirius had broken up with yet another in a long line of girlfriends. Harry pushed that aside as he dealt with his pressing need at the moment. After a quick wash up, Harry made his way back to his room and changed into a regular pair of pajamas and his slippers. It felt good to be clean and dressed, almost as if it had been too long since the last time he had done it. Stepping back out into the hallway, Harry began his search for his uncles, hoping they would have the answers he needed. Harry checked both their bedrooms, but found them empty and looking as if they had not been cleaned in ages. The clock next to Sirius' bed showed that it was nearly midnight and Harry wondered if his uncles were down in the kitchen or possibly in Sirius' study having a drink. Quietly he made his way down the stairs until he was nearly at the bottom. Voices were coming from the family room and he stopped as he listened to what they were saying.

"He's stronger than you think," he heard Sirius saying.

"I know that," replied Tonks in a watery sounding voice. "But it's been over a week now and he's still asleep."

"It's my fault," Ron's voice said suddenly. "I should have been there."

"We all should have been there," added Neville's voice.

Harry was surprised when Professor McGonagall spoke next. "You had no way of knowing what was going to happen, Mr. Longbottom. Harry has always been able to look out for himself before this happened. How could any of us be expected to know something like this was going to happen? It still shocks me that someone would try to kill him while at Hogwarts."

"It was always a possibility, Minerva," said a man's voice that Harry did not recognize. "Since the very day he was born, Harry has been a target for the darker aspects of our society."

"Which is exactly why we should have been more alert, Nicolas," objected the voice of Harry's potions teacher. "We always knew V-V-Voldemort wanted Harry dead. We should have taken better precautions to make sure that no one else did as well."

"I disagree, Perenelle" Grace said as Harry moved further down the stairs. "Not even the stars warned of this. It should not have happened."

"But it did!" Ginny suddenly cried and Harry could hear the pain in her voice. "He nearly died! Now he won't wake up! What good are your stars if Harry spends the rest of his life in a coma?"

That was all it took for Harry to decide the time for listening was done. Moving faster than should have been possible, even for him, Harry was down the stairs and in the family room in the blink of an eye. He took in the sight around him in a moment and was surprised by the number of people in the room. His uncles and Tonks were sitting on a long couch. Tonks was curled up next to Remus with his arm around her as she cried. Almost all the Weasleys were there as well, spread out around the room, either sitting on the floor or sitting on assorted chairs. Professor McGonagall and Professor Flamel were sitting on a long couch opposite Harry's uncles along with a man that must have been Professor Flamel's husband. Hermione sat with Ron and Neville in front of the fireplace with Grace in her human form, lying with her head in Hermione's lap. The brown haired witch was gently stroking Grace's snow white hair. They both had tears in their red puffy eyes.

All that touched Harry deeply, but it was the sight of Ginny's tear streaked face that pulled at his very heart and soul. The weeping girl sat in her father's lap, her head buried in his chest, his arms around her tightly as she cried. Harry had never seen such a look of determination on the elder Weasley's face, but it was obvious the man would do anything in his power to protect his one and only daughter. Weaving his way through the tangle of bodies and chairs faster than they could see, Harry was suddenly kneeling in front of Arthur Weasley and his daughter. There was a collective gasp from the room as Harry seemed to suddenly appear out of thin air in front of the two Weasleys. Many voices called out his name, but Harry was speaking before anyone could so much as move an inch towards him.

"I'm not dead, Ginny. I'm here now," Harry told her as he reached out and took her hand in his. "I'm here and I'm not going anywhere."

"Harry? Is that really you?" Ginny asked in shock before flinging herself into his arms. "Don't you ever leave me again! You hear me?"

"Never, Gin" answered Harry as he hugged her tightly.

Maybe the room had been struck silent by his sudden arrival or by the reunion of Harry and Ginny. Harry and Ginny stayed like that, lost in their own moment in time for several minutes. For Harry, it was as if the world had stopped around him and Ginny. It was a perfect moment as far as he was concerned, made even better by the fact that they were surrounded by Harry's friends and family. It just made everything feel so much better, as if they could handle anything. Ginny had her head buried in Harry's chest and he could hear that she was softly crying, but even that was something they could handle together. When Ginny finally pulled away, cheeks flaming and eyes half hidden by her lashes, Harry felt as if his heart would burst from sheer joy.

"I could get used to this," he thought to himself, as the sound of laughter and celebration suddenly filled the room.

As it turned out, Harry had been attacked three days before the winter holiday and been unconscious since then. It was now New Year's Eve and everyone had gathered at the Den in hopes of supporting each other through the dark times. Sirius had brought Harry home at the end of term to protect him, though Dumbledore had objected. His friends and family had stayed with him since then in hopes that their presence would help in his recovery.

"You really had us worried, Harry," Sirius told him a little later. "You had a lot of metal shards in your back from one of the suits of armor exploding. One of the larger shards actually tore up your left kidney. Then you hit your head against the wall. It was really bad. You were just lucky that Madame Pomfrey and Professor Flamel were able to fix you up as well as they did."

Harry tried to remember being hit by metal shards and just had a vague memory of a sharp pain in his back. "I remember pain and someone telling me they were there to kill me. Then there was a bright white light and then I was here."

Sirius chuckled softly. "That white light was probably you cracking your head open on the wall. You were a mess, kid. Madame Pomfrey wanted to send you to St. Mungo's, but Dumbledore stopped her saying you were safer at Hogwarts. I didn't agree as you can tell. While Poppy and Perenelle were putting you back together, I pulled a few strings at the Ministry to make sure Dumbledore couldn't stop me from coming to get you. The moment I had the approval, Arthur, Remus, and I Apparated to Hogwarts and we pulled you out of there before Dumbledore even knew we were there."

"Bet he wasn't happy about that," Harry said with a chuckle.

"Nope," agreed Sirius. "When he found out, he popped over here to 'talk' me into returning you. Funny thing was, he couldn't seem to cross the property line. When he realized that he wasn't going to get his way, I honestly thought he was going to draw his wand on me. It was only when Minerva and Perenelle showed up that he seemed to calm down. I swear Perenelle scolded him like he was five years old. After that, we tried to make you as comfortable as possible while we waited to see if you would recover. Within about an hour of getting home, everyone just sort of showed up."

"Everyone?"

"Well, Hermione went home for Christmas, but then came back as soon as she could," replied Sirius. "The Weasleys have been here the entire time. You just missed their oldest boys, Charlie and Bill."

Harry was touched by the dedication and love everyone had shown him. He was even more surprised when he walked back in the previously dark room and found it lit up with Christmas decorations and smiling faces. There was a Christmas tree in the corner with two piles of presents piled neatly under it.

"Happy Christmas, Harry!" chorused the room as he looked around.

"We kept your presents for you, Harry," Fred said pointing at one of the piles of presents.

"Of course Ginny refused to open hers until you woke up," added George.

"Absolutely barmy if you ask me," groused Ron, but Harry could tell it was all for show.

Harry smiled at Ginny as she blushed furiously and played with the hem of her jumper. "Thanks, Gin."

Professor McGonagall stood up, looking as if she was preparing to leave. "I should return to Hogwarts and tell Poppy that you have woken up, Harry. I'm sure you would rather spend time with your friends and family without me here."

"You're right," agreed Harry with a wide smile. Walking over to the stern woman, Harry took her hand in his and smiled up at the surprised expression on her face. "That's why I want you to stay, because you are part of my family now."

Harry suddenly hugged his very surprised head of house. Professor McGonagall looked down at Harry with tears obvious in her eyes. Then Minerva McGonagall did something she had never done before, she hugged a student. Wrapping her arms tightly around Harry's shoulders, Minerva squeezed him tightly and was hugged again in return.

"Thank you, Harry," she whispered.

Harry looked up at her and whispered back. "You're welcome, ma'am."

Harry turned to look at the room full of people and smiled around at them. Noticing the slightly out of place appearance of Professor Flamel and her husband, Harry decided it was time to meet the man whose stone had been at the center of the previous year's chaos. Walking over to where the two ancient newcomers were sitting, Harry held out his hands to them both. He could not help but feel that they were already a part of his family.

"I'm glad you're here," he said to Perenelle, and then turned to her husband. "And I'm glad to finally meet you, sir. Welcome to the family."

"Thank you, Harry," the Flamels said together, their faces shining with pleasure at the greeting.

"In fact I'm glad you're all here," continued Harry, looking around the room again. "Now, I have all my family here."

One by one Harry pointed at the people in the room as he spoke. "I have my brothers and sisters, including my lovely sister Tonks. I also have my aunts and uncles. And I have Ginny back again, just to top it all off."

Everyone beamed at Harry as he spoke, especially the youngest Weasley. Ginny quickly made her way over to Harry and wrapped her arms around his waist tightly. Harry laughed as he watched Grace trying to hide her blushing face as she asked Tonks if she was considered an aunt or a sister. Tonks wiped her own tears away and explained that the centaur filly was definitely a sister, to which Harry nodded in agreement.

"Harry?" asked Nicolas Flamel. "I wanted to thank you for saving my stone last year. You didn't have to, but you did anyway."

"You're welcome, sir," said Harry. "However… well… I thought when it was gone that…well… I thought you would…"

"Die?" asked Nicolas with a grin. "Yes that would have been the outcome if not for the kind offer of sanctuary we received from your Mr. Knight. Thanks to him, my wife and I are free from our need to continually drink the Elixir of Life, though we have not revealed that secret as of yet."

"Is that why Professor Flamel told us in class that you still needed it?" asked Ginny. "To keep your secret?"

"Yes, Ginny," confirmed Perenelle as she joined her husband. "Better that people think we still require the Elixir than have them trying to figure out we no longer need it. This way they wonder if we destroyed the stone and have the Elixir stored away somewhere safe, or they think we are slowly dying without it. Better they never know that we no longer require it and that there is another alternative to taking the Elixir."

"Makes sense," agreed Harry. "This way no one bothers Mr. Knight, and no one tries to bother you either."

Their conversation was cut short by Molly announcing it was time to open their presents. All said, Harry thought it was a wonderful time spent with his friends and family. He received another hand knitted jumper from Mrs. Weasley and a book about airplanes from her husband. Then there were several more books from Remus, Hermione, and Neville. The twins surprised Harry with a book as well, only theirs was on how to prank people and not get caught. Ron, of course, gave Harry a box of chocolate frogs, which Harry shared with everyone.

Tonks' gift was probably the most embarrassing thing Harry had ever seen, though it did make Ginny's day. When he opened the unassuming box, he saw a plain black t-shirt with no markings on it at all. At his cousin's insistence, Harry tried it on and immediately knew something was up. It was only when Sirius whispered to him what the back said that Harry felt like crawling under the couch. Much to his embarrassment, clearly written across his back in large red letters that matched Ginny's hair color was the message, "Property of Ginny Weasley!" As soon as Ginny saw that, she blushed so furiously that it was hard to tell where her hair stopped and her face began. The only perk was that for the rest of the night Ginny sat even closer to him as if daring anyone to disagree with the shirt's message.

Ginny's present was not as large as the others, but Harry liked it better than all the rest. In a simple silver frame was a picture from the previous summer. The picture showed Harry and Ginny sitting together outside of the Den. Harry remembered when the picture had been taken by Remus. Ginny's head rested on Harry's shoulder and both of them waved happily for the camera. It was an image that filled Harry with joy. Harry loved it and leaned over to kiss Ginny on the cheek to show his appreciation. Ginny must have been preparing to say something to him as she chose that exact moment to turn towards him. Before Harry knew what was happening, he found himself kissing Ginny's lips, and not her cheek. They both quickly pulled away, Harry falling off the couch they were sitting on, while Ginny did her best to sink into the cushions. No one else seemed to have noticed the kiss, though Sirius and Remus seemed to find Harry falling off the couch to be highly entertaining.

After a few awkward moments spent regaining their composure, and in Harry's case his seat, they resumed opening presents. Sirius and Grace combined their presents. At first Harry was rather confused by the large box, especially when he realized there was a smaller box inside that one. Opening that box Harry found a leather satchel like the one that Sirius carried for his work. He was even more surprised that it contained the same type of materials and equipment as Sirius'. When he looked at Sirius and Grace, they both smiled and Sirius held his finger to his lips. Looking down once again, Harry noticed a note attached to the satchel.

Harry,

Grace and I decided that with all the things going on around you this year that maybe it was for the best if you had a means of helping yourself when we aren't available. To aid in that I am giving you a kit just like mine. I can't really speak about what I do, but I'm sure you already know more than you let on. Let's just say that with the equipment and books you'll find in this satchel, you'll be well on your way to following in my footsteps someday.

Happy Christmas,

Sirius & Grace

PS. The satchel can only be opened by you. The same goes for the books inside. Sirius.

Glancing up at his uncle and the centaur filly, Harry smiled at them both. Yes, this was a gift that would help him out greatly as time went by. They all three seemed to share a secret little joke amongst themselves before Harry closed the lid of the box and returned his attention to the people around him. This Christmas had ended much better than it had started, at least in Harry's opinion.