It's OK, Omega is here. Another day, another chapter. . . Well, maybe not day, seeing as I upload once every two weeks. But, anyway, I kinda had to rush to get this all together, so I'm really sorry if the qualities any worse than normal!

Happy Mother's Day, by the way, and I hope you enjoy!

-OK-

"Are you two going to be okay on your own?" Hermione asked with luggage in hand.

"We'll be fine, Hermione," Harry said. "Even I take time off for the holidays."

The look on Hermione's face said she didn't believe him. Harry's grin said he didn't expect her to. Smooth Criminal dropped something into Harry's off-hand.

"Regardless, here," Harry handed the well-wrapped present to Hermione. "Just to show I'm not a completely worthless thief."

Hermione looked at the wrapped gift for a moment. Then, she sat it down on top of her luggage, so she could give Harry a bone-crushing hug. "You are a lot of things, Harry Potter, but that is not one of them."

Once they separated, Harry tipped his hat down to hide the blush on his face. Hermione smirked and didn't hide it.

"Oh, get out of here," Harry said, still hiding his face, "Before I decide to double your training sessions."

"Merry Christmas, Harry," Hermione laughed off his half-hearted threat as she walked away.

Neville entered the Great Hall before she could leave. They exchanged presents, hugs, and goodbyes before Hermione needed to leave. After she left, Neville took his seat next to Harry.

"Are you sure you don't want to leave for the holidays, Harry?" Neville asked.

"I could ask the same of you," Harry replied.

"Gran said I should stay at Hogwarts this year for Christmas. Said being away from home would be good for me."

Harry gave him a pat on the back, "There are some blokes I usually hang out with around this time. But, I thought I'd see what Hogwarts looks like during the yuletide season. At least once."

Neville smiled as a warm feeling spread through his chest. It seemed that his lonely holiday wouldn't be so lonely after all.

-OK-

Over on the Hogwarts Express, Hermione found herself in an unexpected situation. Not long after she'd found a compartment and stowed her trunk away, Draco Malfoy showed up.

"Good day, Granger," he said.

And, before she could get a word out, Draco placed his truck across from hers. Then, he started layering the door with a myriad of spells. All ones that Hermione recognized as privacy enchantments.

"Shouldn't you be with your Slytherin friends?" She asked, both wary and curious of the new arrival.

"Maybe," he said with naught but a shrug. "But, I felt like spending time with you instead, Granger."

"And why's that?" She couldn't resist the urge to flinch when Draco pulled something from his robes. She felt quite silly when it turned out to be a simple sketchbook. Draco flipped to an unfinished page and started to draw.

"I guess you could say you opened my eyes." Without even looking at her, Draco continued to chat and draw. "Finding out Potter had a Stand was something of a shock, but understandable. He had magic blood, only seems natural he had the chance to gain a Stand. But, you. You were born from muggle parents and yet, you have both magic and a Stand. It goes against everything I was taught as a child. So, to try and correct those teachings, I would like to get to know you better."

After his rant, Draco finished drawing and put away his pencil. Hermione could see that it was a nice picture, well-drawn. Shining sun, large open field, small stream curving through the background, and, top it off, a herd of-

"Are those cats?"

"What-? Oh, right," Draco sighed as he flipped the sketchbook. Giving Hermione a better view of his creation. A small horde of cats of all different shapes and sizes. "My Stand, S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W, gets lonely sometimes. So, I draw him things like this to keep him entertained. Go on then, enjoy. . ."

Draco's Stand appeared in a flash of purple energy. Despite its raggedy appearance, Hermione could've sworn she saw it smile. Right before it disappeared into Draco's sketch.

Hermione let that settle for a moment before she forced herself to speak. "I wanted to ask you a question. . ."

"No one's stopping you, Granger," he said.

"You and Harry both call these things Stands, right?" Draco nodded and gestured for her to continue. "I just want to know how that's possible? I mean, you each have severely different backgrounds. So I want to know why you both use the same terminology."

"I have no idea," Hermione glared at him, not appreciating the joke. "I really don't. The way I found out about Stands was through a book. I unlocked S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W a few months later."

"A book?" Hermione hid her desires as well as a puppy with a leash in its mouth.

"Out of respect for what you did at the Quidditch field. I'll see if I can lend it to you." As Hermione was about to thank him, Draco smirked. "But, that means you'll owe me a favor, Granger."

Hermione paused, before she gave him a stiff nod, "That seems fair."

"Anyway, I really don't know how Potter knows about Stands," Draco scowls at his own lack of knowledge. "He's spent all his life with muggles, without any knowledge of the wizarding world. He should barely know how to hold a wand and yet, he's got a Stand."

"He's never said anything to you?"

"Something about an old man he met, but that's it," Draco said. The compartment went silent until Draco let another grin grace his features. "You know, I'm surprised, Granger."

"About what exactly?" That look said he'd better watch himself before he got punched.

Draco's confidence faltered as he scrambled for an answer. "Well, you've always seemed the type to just demand answers from the source. I'm surprised that you asked me instead of Potter."

"Harry's not the type to give straight answers, so I stopped trying a while ago. Besides," Hermione sighed, "demanding answers has never won me any friends in the past. I'd rather not lose the ones I have now."

Draco smirked, "And my respect for you grows, Granger."

The two unlikely friends spent the rest of the train ride talking. Exchanging stories about their childhoods and the things that shaped them. By the time they reached King's Cross Station, both of them felt closer and wiser than before.

-OK-

As Christmas Day approached, Harry found himself regretting his decision to stay.

Not because of Neville's company or the fact that Weasley had decided to stay. No, the reason he was having regrets was because of how cold the castle became.

Hogwarts was a castle made of stone with a very open floor plan. Combining those two things with winter in Scotland meant the castle practically froze. Harry'd slept on the streets before. But, even that paled in comparison to Hogwart's winter chill.

The weather had forced Harry to take off his treasured trilby hat. In exchange for a black beanie with the word 'Smooth' written in green, cursive letters on the front.

Disregarding that, Christmas Day itself came with more than few surprises.

The first of which is the sight of presents at the end of Harry's bed. Even after the Dursleys stopped torturing him, presents were not the norm of his existence.

He smiled when he noticed the names written on the packages: Hermione, Neville, Draco. Each one of his accomplices had decided to get him something. It was enough to make a thief feel loved. But, there was one present with no return address. The sight of it had him feeling tense.

Deciding to ignore the mystery present, for now, Harry opened Hermione's gift first. The paper was torn away and revealed a stack of novels. Harry laughed when he saw the title on their covers.

"What is it?" Neville asked, looking up from his new Herbology book.

"Books on Arsene de Lupin, Gentleman Thief." Harry smirked, "Irony above ironies, I've never actually read these before."

"Hmm. . . Thanks for the hat, by the way." The new, wool-laden, Aviator's hat already rested on Neville's head. Red plaid with a beige lining.

"Not a problem," Harry said. He had no shortage of hats, may as well share the love.

Neville's gift turned out to be a book on potion making. With a marked section on potions that would help with sneaking around, Harry thanked him. Draco's gift was a set of lockpicks, enchanted to never tarnish and remain steady when in use. Harry was jokingly insulted that Draco thought he had shaky hands.

After that, all that remained was Harry's unmarked present. Harry summoned Smooth Criminal and had him open it, just in case. When the paper fell away, the only thing in the package was a silver cloak.

"Well, that was a tad anticlimactic." Harry sighed and willed Smooth Criminal away. After a short once-over, Harry threw it over his shoulders. He had to admit that it was quite comfortable. "Hey, Neville, how do I look?"

Neville looked up from his book and paled, "You, uh- You look, umm. . ."

"What's the big de-Oh," Harry looked down and noticed the sides of his body were no longer visible. "Well, that's interesting."

"It's- It's an invisibility cloak," Neville exclaimed.

Harry looked himself over noticing that he couldn't see his body, no matter how you looked at it. Which meant one thing. . . He'd just received every thief's wet dream. Harry couldn't resist the devilish smile that grew on his face. "I am going to have so much fun with this."

"Looks like there's a card with it," Neville pointed out.

Harry grabbed the stray piece of paper and started to read aloud. "Your father left this in my possession before he died. It is time it was returned to you. Use it well."

"Does it say who sent it?"

"Doesn't seem like it. Shame, they'll never realize how much I appreciate my new toy." Before Neville could voice his worries, Harry handed the cloak to Smooth Criminal and it disappeared. "I think I'm going out on a midnight stroll tonight. So I can appreciate Hogwart's nightlife properly."

-OK-

It'd been months since Draco challenge Harry to their nighttime duel. During that time, Harry never got to enjoy the experience that was Hogwarts at night. Now that he had the cloak, Harry found that he loved it.

It could be the thief in him, but Harry loved quiet places. Nothing moving, nothing breathing. Only the sound of his footsteps echoing throughout the halls. The sensation calmed Harry and left him with a sense of peace as he wandered.

Now that's a door I've never seen before, he thought. Given how big Hogwarts proved to be, Harry found new places within its wall all the time.

He made to test the door and felt disappointed when he found it unlocked. Draco's gifts to him would go unused, for now anyway. Harry slipped into the room and shut the door behind him with nary a click.

The only thing present in the room was a mirror. A mirror that stood by itself in the very center of the room, begging for attention.

Harry walked up to this mirror and spotted the inscription engraved at the top. His brow furrowed with confusion before he deciphered it.

"I show you not your face, but your hearts desire. Is that right?" Harry allowed a lopsided grin to grace his face before looking into the mirror proper. "Then, what is it that my heart desires?"

The surface shimmered and warped until Harry could no longer see his own reflection. Instead, he saw himself, but older. Wearing a black suit with his trademark hat resting over his face. Harry couldn't help but notice how calm his older self looked. Lounged across a chair(some would call it a throne) with not a care in the world.

His fellow accomplices were there too; Hermione, Neville, Draco. All of them wearing suits, standing by his side, and looking happy and at peace.

Harry smirked, this was not just his heart's desire. It was his heart's future, "Just you wait. Wait until they get a load of me."

Feeling no reason to stay longer, Harry left the room. Never noticing the person who'd been there the entire time, hiding beneath a charm.

Professor Dumbledore stepped into the moonlight, looking pensive. With an off-hand, he retrieves a quill and a leather-bound journal from within his robes. As he started speaking, the journal floated into the air as the quill began to write.

"Case log number one-hundred thirty-seven. As stated in previous entries, Harry Potter is nothing like I expected him to be. On the surface, he acts like a completely normal student. But, I've seen multiple instances where he adopts a more sinister expression. He continues to defy my expectations with the Mirror of Erised. Instead of seeing his family as I'd hoped, he's seen something different. I can not say what that is at this time.

"There is also the matter of the strange power several occupants of Hogwarts, including Mister Potter, now possess. I have no knowledge of what this power is. It bears no resemblance to any prior experience I have had in the past. As of now, the only occupants that possess this power are Mister Harry Potter, Miss Hermione Granger, Mister Draco Malfoy, and Mister Tom Riddle, also known as the Dark Lord Voldemort. But, I fear that this number will only grow as things progress. . . Regardless, Mister Potter is still proceeding as planned. More to report at a later date. End of log."

-OK-

"Are you cold, Harry?"

"Just peachy," Harry said, right before he sneezed.

Two days after Christmas, the boys made their way to Hagrid's little hut. The giant of a man had invited them for a more private celebration as a way to catch up and converse. Neither of them had any reason to decline the offer.

As they approached, Neville knocked on the door. Whilst Harry tried to keep himself from shivering. The sounds of a dog barking and heavy footsteps echoed.

"Back, Fang," Hagrid's booming voice shouted. The door opened and the keeper of keys broke into a wide smile. At least, that's what Harry thought he did. Hard to tell with the beard and all that. "'Arry! Neville! Nice to see ya!"

"Nice to see you too, Hagrid," Harry said; Neville also returned the greeting.

"Well, come on then, get in," Hagrid started ushering them into his home. "Don't want to catch a cold, now do we?"

Harry found the inside much warmer than outside. Made evident by the roaring fire in the fireplace. Harry let out an audible sigh of relief as he felt the heat seep into his bones.

Harry and Neville sat down in two overly-large chairs. Meanwhile, Hagrid busied himself by making tea and setting out a plate of rock-like cakes.

"I've been meanin' to ask ye, Harry," he said. "How've ya been enjoying Hogwarts so far?"

"It's been nice, if not a bit more bizarre than I'd been expecting," Harry said. While Neville hurt himself trying to bite into a rock cake.

The groundskeeper looked honestly confused, "Watcha mean?"

"Is it normal for troll's to attack girl's bathrooms around here?"

Hagrid's face twisted, "Aye, that's. . . That's not supposed to happen. But, everything should be fine with Professor Dumbledore around!"

"What about the giant three-headed dog in the third-floor corridor?"

"How'd you find out about Fluffy?" Hagrid asked, looking spooked like a dog around fireworks.

Neville couldn't hold his tongue, "That thing has a name?"

"Course he's got a name, he's mine. Gave him to Professor Dumbledore to help guard the- The, uh. . . I shouldn't have said that."

"Let me guess, that special package you got from Gringotts?" Harry pressed further with a devilish grin etched into his features.

"Package?" Neville asked.

"Hagrid took me shopping in Diagon Alley for the first time. When we went to Gringotts, we needed to take a detour so Hagrid could grab a package for Dumbledore. I was very interested in it, but I never got the chance to get a closer look." Neville took that to mean he wanted to steal it. "Imagine my surprise when I heard that same vault had been broken into later that day."

"That's not of yer business. The only people who need to know about that are Professor Dumbledore and Nicholas Flamel. . ." It took Hagrid more than a few seconds to realize what he just said. "I shouldn't have said that. Oh, I definitely should not have said that. . ."

Harry's thoughts raced, where have I heard that name before? And then it all clicked. Pieces started coming together as Harry thought about everything that's happened to him around Hogwarts. The boat, the troll, the quidditch match, all of it coming down to a hunch. Nothing more than a guess. But, it was all he had to work with.

Breaking out of his revelation, Harry noticed Neville looked frightened and Hagrid was in the process of beating himself up. I need to fix this right now, Harry thought, before he starts beating himself up for real.

"Hey, I'm sorry, Hagrid." Harry tried to grace his large friend with a carefree smile. "You're right, it was none of my business, whatsoever. I'll just forget everything that's happened in the past five minutes. . . So, how have you been lately?"

"Oh, uh, well. . ." Hagrid didn't expect the sudden shift in conversation. "Somethin's been spooking the unicorns. Don't know what though."

The three of them talked for the next hour. Chatting about classes, Hagrid's newest pets, and Neville even threw in some Herbology facts. They left once Hagrid mentioned he needed to chop up some firewood.

Once they left, Neville rounded on Harry. . . At least, as much as he could bring himself to.

"What happened back there?"

"I put all the pieces together," Harry said.

"What?" Neville's face was pure confusion.

"Nicholas Flamel," Harry said, "Is history's most famous alchemist. The man who created the Philosopher's Stone. That same stone could turn lead into gold and grant a person eternal life."

"Woah. . . Wait, how do you know that?"

"After Smooth Criminal showed up, I started researching the supernatural. Looking for anything even close to what it was." Harry shrugged, "Flamel's story was one of many dead-ends, but it made for good entertainment."

"So, what does that have to do with the enemy Stand-User?"

"Think about it, the stone shows up at Hogwarts. And then, the next thing we know a rogue Stand-User starts wreaking havoc? Not to mention big, bad, and fluffy over on the third-floor-corridor. That's all too much of a coincidence to ignore. What better reason to attack the safest place in the wizarding world than eternal life?"

"But that still doesn't tell us who this person is," Neville added.

"No, it doesn't. But, it gives us time to prepare. We know what they want and where it is, which means we can set up precautions." Harry spun around, the ends of his robe fluttering like a cape. "Come on, I have an idea and we're going to need to set it up before Hermione and Draco get back. . ."

-OK-

The gang's first year is slowely coming to a close. I really wish I could spend more time on Stand battles, but the plot needs to advance. Even if I mainly just copying from the book, this stuff is hard.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed and I will see you next time, OK is out!