A/N: Sorry for the delay, everybody! This is the Christmas chapter, and I was having some trouble finding some content without having everybody look for Horcruxes and junk. It's a friggin' HOLIDAY, people!

November faded into December, the weather grew steadily chillier. Soon thick layers of snow obscured the ground. Footprints made one day was filled in the next. Herbology oftentimes found itself cancelled, Professor Sprout scuttling back and forth between the castle and the greenhouses with her arms loaded with scarves and other protective gear.

The Heads of Houses began coming around with the sign-up list for people staying at Hogwarts over the Christmas holidays. When Riku found that Daisuke had signed up she had to demand why.

"Don't you want to see your family? It's been forever since you've seen them."

Daisuke laughed it off nervously. "They're all coming here. Besides, I'm having trouble in a few of my classes."

Riku harrumphed. It wasn't the point she was trying to make.

Daisuke wasn't being truthful about his reason for staying. True, the Niwas were visiting for Christmas, but his grades weren't as poor as he expressed. The truth of it was that he might be needed by Albus and Minerva, and Japan was a long way away.

Until the holidays officially commenced, though, the teachers intended to put their students' noses to the grindstone. The homework piled up tremendously, but Daisuke considered himself lucky: he had been told of the fifth through seventh years' expectations and workload from the teachers. Dark was also expected not to slack off on the doling out of work.

How'm I ever gonna keep up with this stuff? he often demanded roughly.

Ever consider writing it down and keeping it in your office? was always the answer.

Daisuke had heard many things about Quidditch, but he had never actually seen a game. The first-years found this hard to believe and insisted that he come to the last game before the holidays, Gryffindor versus Hufflepuff. After almost a week of pleading, Daisuke was forced to submit to their demands.

The morning of the match brought tension to the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff tables. Daisuke noticed the team members eating nothing off their plates. He went over to Ginny Weasley, the Captain, and sat next to her. Her face looked deathly pale.

"This is my first Quidditch match," he said. Ginny started. Obviously she hadn't heard him approach. Daisuke smiled warmly in an attempt to cheer her up. "I'm sure you'll do fantastic."

The captain smiled weakly and nodded. Then she stood, beckoned the team to follow her, and exited the castle. Daisuke stared after her for a minute and soon returned to Riku and his breakfast.

--- ---

Daisuke waved his scarlet-and-gold pennant, watching the Quidditch pitch anxiously. So much angst and expectation surrounded him that it had soon become contagious. Behind him a roaring lion banner waved in the wind with the words "Weasley is Our Queen" scripted in fanciful letters. Apparently a seventh-year by the name Dean Thomas had drawn it, and Daisuke had to admit that he was very talented.

Another Gryffindor seventh-year next to him held a pair of complex-looking binoculars in his dragon-hide gloves. He had a pudgy, fat face and nervous-looking eyes.

"What are those for?" Daisuke asked.

The boy looked at him blankly for a minute, and then he answered. "Is this your first Quidditch match?"

Daisuke nodded.

"Ah, I thought so. The players can get high in the clouds where we can't see them."

"I'm Niwa Daisuke." He extended his own gloved hand.

"Neville Longbottom." Neville took the offered hand and shook it meagerly. They didn't have longer to talk, though, because abruptly louder cheers announced the arrival of the teams, Gryffindor in scarlet, Hufflepuff in canary yellow. A dreamy voice permeated the stands.

"Hello, everyone. This is Luna Lovegood here with your match commentation. Captains Weasley and Macmillan shake hands and mount their brooms. There's the whistle, and they're off, Chaser Demelza Robins of Gryffindor in possession of the Quaffle. Robins passes to Weasley speeding toward the goal posts. She shoots—oh, no, intercepted by Keeper Lawrence Cuff. And it's Hufflepuff in possession, Chaser Smith planning to overtake Gryffindor Keeper Kentley, it's a shame last year's Keeper Ronald Weasley isn't here, he was funny…"

Daisuke started. He hadn't expected to hear that name in a Quidditch commentary.

"Ooh, look, it looks like Gryffindor Seeker Edith Jennings seen something. Could it be the Snitch she's after? She's putting on a burst of speed."

One of the players had indeed sped up. She streaked towards the Gryffindor end of the pitch. Her face held a set, determined expression as the wind whipped her robes around her. Then, unexpectedly, she veered off course and returned to circling in the sky.

"Well, that was uncalled-for Bludger work from Hufflepuff Beater Macmillan. Either way the Snitch is lost—oh, and it seems that Hufflepuff has scored a goal, so it's ten-zero to them."

Events followed this course for the next quarter-hour or so, at which point the two teams were tied ninety-ninety. There were a few times in which everyone thought the game would end because one of the Seekers almost caught the evasive Golden Snitch. They were all false alarms, however, and so the game continued.

At one point Daisuke thought he had glimpsed a shock of fire-red hair in the stands. When he looked back it had gone. Dark either couldn't or wouldn't say anything on the subject, not even that Daisuke's eyes might be tricking him. He merely sat back and kept quiet.

Cheers suddenly erupted from the stands. Neville was yelling and jumping ecstatically next to Daisuke. When Daisuke looked back, he found that the Gryffindor team was flying in a cluster around Edith Jennings, who held something with fluttering wings in her hand. Daisuke saw gold reflecting off it in the winter sunlight.

--- ---

When they returned to Gryffindor Tower, Daisuke and Riku found the common room in an absolute uproar. The students were cheering raucously while swigging down large gulps of something called butterbeer. The same banner that had waved in the stands now hung above the staircases. Also much to their surprise several people were growing yellow feathers with a popping sound and then molting after several minutes. On these occasions he heard the onlookers yell something about "Canary Creams" and "Fred and George."

Daisuke spotted Ginny in an armchair by the fireplace with a half-drained bottle of butterbeer in her hand. She stared almost longingly at the flickering flames, seemingly oblivious to the celebration commencing all around her.

Daisuke kissed Riku softly on the cheek—his heart went mad and he almost transformed—and went to join the sixth-year. He sat on a pouf close by and smiled encouragingly at her. She didn't respond.

"You don't seem to be enjoying yourself," he said.

She detached her gaze from the fire to look at him. "It's not the same as it used to be."

"How so?" Daisuke inquired.

Ginny hesitated before answering. "There used to be someone that was always the most popular Quidditch player since his first year. But he never let it go to his head. If anything he despised too much attention."

Harry, Daisuke thought, she's talking about Harry. He wasn't supposed to know that, though, so he feigned cluelessness.

"Who was he?"

Again Ginny didn't answer for a minute. "My boyfriend."

Daisuke expected Dark to gloat, boasting that he had known all along that there was something between Ron's sister and Harry. The Phantom Thief was silent as his title suggested, though, so Daisuke continued speaking.

"He must have been a good player, then, huh?"

Ginny snorted. "That's an understatement. He was the youngest Quidditch player in a century and the best Gryffindor Seeker since my brother Charlie."

Daisuke was amazed. He had heard rumors of the sort, but he had never expected Harry to be this renowned a Quidditch player. If what Ginny said now was anywhere near true, then the Gryffindor team was nowhere close to its previous zenith.

"I guess you're right," he said. "It's not the same at all."

-- --

On Christmas Day Daisuke woke to find Wiz crouching on his chest and some unexpected visitors at his bedside.

"Good morning, Daisuke, sweetiiiiie!"

The boy was so startled he almost tore down the scarlet curtains of his four-poster.

"MOM!" he yelled as he caught himself. "What are you doing in here?"

"I couldn't wait till noon to see my only son, now, could I?" Emiko demanded lovingly. Before Daisuke could prepare himself, she pulled him abruptly into her tight embrace and planted a large kiss on his forehead. Daisuke tried to speak against her, but all that came out was a loud muffle. When Emiko finally released him, Kosuke placed a hand on his son's head.

"How's wizard school, Daisuke?" he asked.

Daisuke laughed lightly. "Um, it's fine, I guess."

Daisuke's grandfather gave him a level look through his bushy gray eyebrows.

"Are they teaching Dark to use magic without exhausting the both of you?" he asked.

Daisuke gulped silently. "I-I don't think they know how. I mean, they've never heard of anyone like him, so, uh, it stands to reason why."

"Don't make him stutter like that, Dad," Emiko snapped gently at her father. "I think I might die from TCS."

"TCS?"

Emiko beamed. "Too-Cute Syndrome."

Daisuke grumbled. This was Emiko Niwa, eccentric mother of the first Phantom Thief since her father. She and he had trained him since early childhood so that he could inherit the birthright of the Niwa family the day he turned fourteen: the ability to turn into Dark. Emiko, being a woman and without they Y chromosome, did not inherit that trait and so throughout life had looked for a man to help her bear a son. That had been when she met Kosuke in college.

Daisuke took more after his father Kosuke in both personality and physical likeness. They had spiky hair, were clumsy, and possessed gentle natures. Also, they had both lost their white ribbons on a Valentine's Day. They kept their tempers under strict control and so rarely got fired up enough to stay really angry for long. They were just raised too well.

Daisuke noticed that someone was missing.

"Where's Towa? Didn't she come with you?"

Emiko giggled. "She did. She decided to have some and try finding all the common rooms and secret passageways. A place this huge has to have a lot."

Daisuke smiled. That would be just the kind of thing Towa would do. Her powers allowed her to locate lost things, people, and places. She had helped him find Dark when Satoshi Hiwatari of the Hikari clan had sealed him in a magical mirror.

"Well don't just sit there like a slug!" Emiko commanded. "Get up, get dressed, and show us your school!"

Daisuke moved sluggishly indeed. He had been woken startlingly, true, but he was still fog-brained at the moment.

Since it was the beginning of the holidays, he donned a wool sweater, a pair of jeans, and tennis shoes. Emiko was disappointed because she had hoped to see her little Daisuke in wizard uniform. Kosuke insisted that she not embarrass him too much on her first visit.

When they descended to the common room, the found Towa reclined on one of the little sofas in front of the fire. Also, the many smells of Christmas dinner wafted through all the tight crevices.

"To-To," Emiko said brightly, "it seems you didn't have much trouble finding the common rooms."

"The only problem," To-To admitted, "was getting the wards around them lifted, but it only took a few seconds."

"Do you mean figuring out the passwords?" Daisuke asked tiredly; he still hadn't woken up entirely.

"That's what that Fat Lady out front wanted. They need to strengthen their defenses and not just the common room guards, either. Circumstances being what they are you'd think the headmistress would raise stronger defenses."

Daisuke said nothing. Towa was an expert at her type of magic, and if she though that the defenses weren't quite up to scratch, then she was probably right. He, after all, was still struggling with simple spells.

"Come on, Daisuke," Kosuke said, interrupting Daisuke's thoughts, "show us Hogwarts."

The first thing they did was eat breakfast in the Great Hall. There Daisuke found Ginny eating with some other sixth-year girls. He introduced her to his family. When he came to Towa he presented her as "Aunt Towa."

"Now, now, Daisuke," she admonished with a wagging finger, "it's Aunt To-To. Towa makes me feel so…so old." She shivered.

"You cannot be older than twenty-five," Ginny said wondrously. "You look so young."

"I am young. I'm only ni—"

"Nine years older then me," Daisuke interrupted. Towa was about to say ninety-eight, which was in fact her real age. Ginny couldn't know that, or anyone else. "She's twenty-three, right, Aunt Towa?"

Catching on, Towa nodded. "Yes, yes, that's right, I'm twenty-three. And it's Aunt To-To, Daisuke, don't forget."

Daisuke laughed anxiously. "Yeah, r-right, Aunt T-To-To."

He didn't know how he would be able to live through the rest of the holidays…or through the rest of the day, for that matter.

After breakfast they wandered through the corridors, and Daisuke introduced his eccentric family to his teachers. The professors commented plentifully on Daisuke's progress in school, especially the older ones. When they ran into Hawkins coming up from the dungeon, though, she seemed unwilling to talk except for one sentence.

"He could do better, but then, who couldn't?"

Hawkins was dressed inappropriately for the weather. She wore an Evanescence T-shirt and sleeveless denim vest with blue jeans and black inch-high boots. Her face was moderately decked with just the right amount of make-up and a thin layer of green eyeliner. She was quite stunning, and it was no problem to figure out that she was visiting the village of Hogsmeade, though what she intended to do there was a mystery.

"Well, it was nice to meet you, Hawkins-san," Kosuke called after her retreating back. She waved over her shoulder absentmindedly.

"She's a very interesting woman," Emiko mutter consideringly.

"Indeed, she is," Grandpa concurred.

After all the teachers had been met, the Niwas donned their coats and winter gear and left for a stroll on the grounds. The snow had fallen very thickly and now blinded them. They passed by the greenhouses and a large lonely tree with branches that resembled fingers and fists. Daisuke explained that this was the Whomping Willow and hit back anything that hit it; or at least, that's what the older students said.

"I'm tired," Grandpa groaned. "I need to rest these creaking brittle bones."

He hobbled over to the enchanted tree and sprawled on a protruding knot. He tilted his head slightly and leaned against the sturdy trunk. Next to him was a hole in the tangle of roots. Looking into it his eyes widened somewhat.

"There's a tunnel down there."

Towa, eager to see another of Hogwarts' secrets, rushed over to join Grandpa. She peered in excitedly for a moment and looked at the others.

"Grandpa's right," she said. "Oh, goody-goody! I was wondering if I'd soon find the continuations of those collapsed tunnels! Let's see what secrets lie at the end of this one!" With that exclamation she disappeared underground.

Daisuke withdrew his wand, which he had tucked up his sleeve, and lit it. Emiko and Kosuke beamed with pride and they and Grandpa followed him down.

The light of Daisuke's wand tip illuminated the dark, dank walls of the passage. Soil squelched beneath their feet as they trod on. They walked for maybe ten minutes before the ground began to rise. Daisuke remained wary. He came to a twist in the tunnel and came out in a room.

They were all shocked enough at finding a secret passage. Now they found that it came out at a decrepit building.

The room was the dustiest, dirtiest room they had ever set eyes on. The wallpaper was peeling almost everywhere. The furniture had been heavily mistreated, every piece broken somewhere. No winter sunlight poured through the boarded-up windows.

Part of the floor was not as dusty as the rest: it resembled a wide stripe, as if something had been dragged through this house not too many years ago. Daisuke followed the not-so-dusty trail through a door to the right and up a nearby staircase. On the next landing the path led through yet another door.

The door opened onto what was once a bedroom. The stripe ended at a four-poster bed with dusty hangings. Though the makeshift trail had ended, there were other signs of recent but not so recent activity. The faint traces of footprints and places where bodies had lain, lingered still.

"The vibrations of this room are warped."

Daisuke started. He had forgotten that his family was with him. Towa was the one who had spoken. Her voice was sot, her eyes wandering.

"What do you mean?" Kosuke asked.

"The house itself is filled with pain. But this room…something happened in this room a few years ago…anger…sadness…happiness….The vibrations, the ripples you might say, have clashed. The memories are too different for them to coexist harmoniously."

Daisuke began to wonder what had happened here not all that long before.

"I wonder where this place actually is," Grandpa wondered aloud.

Minutes later, the Niwas ascended from the tunnel and returned to the castle in time for Christmas dinner, only to be shocked by the number of diners. All of the professors except Hawkins were present at one table in the middle of the room. Daisuke recognized the centaur, Firenze, the professor who co-taught Divination with the mysterious Professor Trelawney who rarely left her tower. With the teachers sat Ginny, a Hufflepuff third-year, two Ravenclaws, and a Gryffindor second-year.

The Niwas' entrance seemed to startle all the students except Ginny, who spared them a fleeting glance before returning to her turkey. Most simply stared with wide eyes. The teachers merely nodded in acknowledgement of their presence.

The family sat and grabbed for everything in reach. They had not eaten since breakfast, and their trip to that strange house had left them famished. Turkey, ham, pork, mashed potatoes, broiled potatoes, chicken pot pie, and a whole assortment of other delectable foods were piled on their plates. They all tucked in, even Towa.

Eventually they noticed that wizard crackers lay on the table every few feet. Emiko and her father shared the first one. The resulting noise gave nearly all the Niwas heart attacks. The seated students burst into laughter at seeing their faces, and even a few of the staff allowed small smiles to cross their faces. Grandpa Niwa grumbled about he was too old for surprises, and shoved the veiled purple witch's hat over to his daughter, who squealed and donned it with zeal.

The plates filled with the remains of the main course cleaned at one point and were loaded with desserts. Ice cream, sherbet, chocolate mousse, cake, brownies, fudge, and Jell-O rich in sugar and carbs were popular with the younger diners and those adventurous older eaters. The table began to clear itself, and that's about when everyone began to disperse.

Ginny, the Niwas, and the second-year returned to the tower. Ginny gave the Fat Lady the password ("sherry") and they all entered.

"Daisukeeee," Emiko whispered slyly, "aren't you forgetting something?"

The boy thought hard for a moment. Then his face brightened as he realized that he had yet to give his family their Christmas presents.

"Yeah, wait just a minute," he implored as he turned to the boys' staircase. "I'll be right back."

He didn't see his mother's face twisted in confusion. All of his focus was on getting those wrapped presents that he had hidden under his bed. Upon retrieving them, he fled back downstairs and motioned for everybody to sit. He distributed the gifts accordingly to each person. In return he received one gift from the entire family.

He watched his family open their presents first. Emiko got a small piece of Daisuke's original artwork and a necklace. Kosuke held to his chest a photograph of him and Emiko from college and a book on the history of wizardry. Grandpa fondly fingered a hand-knit scarf and a book on Japanese art. To-To clutched a beautiful dress and stared admiringly at an eagle statuette.

Afterwards, however, Emiko fiercely scolded herself for thoughtlessly ignoring Daisuke. She ordered him to open his present. He slowly tugged at the laced ribbon and gently ripped the wrapping paper.

Opening the box he found a beautiful blue sapphire hanging from a leather thong. Despite its generally haggard appearance, Daisuke was awed by the quality of the stone.

"That's a very special pendant," Kosuke said.

"Yes," Emiko assented, "it's been passed down to every successor of the Niwa family."

"Wear it around your neck always," Grandpa said.

"It was made," To-To informed him, "as protection against most evil spells."

I remember, Dark said, this being made long, long ago.

Daisuke smiled to himself not knowing what to say. He beamed at his family and slung the charm around his neck. His family beamed back at him.

Then a consistent tapping sound came faintly from the boys' dormitory. Daisuke went up to see what was what. An owl was hammering lightly against the window in a desperate attempt to enter. Daisuke hastily unlatched the window to admit the owl and quickly shut it again.

The bird swooped around his head impatiently. It finally landed among his spiky hair and dropped a small package which Daisuke caught. It was a small unadorned box with a label that read, To Daisuke, From Harry. He tore away the Spellotape and opened the package.

Something snapped at his fingers. Daisuke started in surprised and gave a slight yelp. That same thing began thrashing around inside. Daisuke risked a peek into the box and found a miniature dragon with green scales and a spike back and tail. He recognized the type by a description in one of his course books: this was a miniscule Hungarian Horntail. How Harry had come across this object Daisuke had no idea, but it was cool-looking all the same.

He removed the model carefully so those sharp-looking spikes wouldn't scratch him too much. That's when he found a note nestled in the bottom. Daisuke set the model on his bedside table, unfolded the message, and read.

Dear Daisuke,

I hope the dragon hasn't burned this letter to ashes. Horntails can be pretty unpleasant. Merry Christmas! I hope you're enjoying the time with your family. I thought you might like this miniature. I've had it for a few years, and I was getting tired of it; so I decided someone else might appreciate it more than me. I hope you like it.

Harry

Daisuke glanced from the letter to the dragon. Harry was a pretty interesting guy. Somehow he had had a personal experience with one of the meanest-natured dragons in the world without being handicapped or having plastic surgery. Not many people could say that much about themselves without being a pathological liar.

He smiled and rushed downstairs. He showed his family the little dragon with slight enthusiasm.

"Extraordinary!" Grandpa gasped under his breath.

"How interesting," Kosuke muttered.

"How cuuuuuute!" Emiko and To-To squealed in delight. "Who gave it to you, Daisuke?" Emiko asked.

Daisuke glanced around the room and found that nobody was there.

"Harry," he told them.

This only succeeded in heightening their curiosity.

"Where did he get it?"

"Did he say who made it?"

Daisuke's head ached with all the questions his family asked him. When they finally quieted down he asked them if they would like to ask Harry themselves. All heads nodded in affirmative, so Daisuke led them to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. They passed several ghosts along the way, not to mention a few teachers. It was past five o' clock and guard shifts needed to be maintained before curfew in case of an emergency.

They finally reached the classroom. Daisuke motioned his followers to, well, follow him inside. Daisuke stole along the rows of desks and into Dark's once unused office.

Harry and Ron sat on the teacher's desk, sporting hand-knit sweaters and identical worn-out expressions. Boxes of candy and fudge surrounded them on the oak surface.

Harry was the first to acknowledge the Niwas' presence. He looked them up and down with a distant smile on his face. Finally, he spoke.

"Your family looks very interesting, Daisuke."

Ron looked up from a box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans from Hermione. On seeing the Niwa family he grimaced as he swallowed a bean.

"Hi, there," he said. "M'name's Ron Weasley."

The rest of the introductions commenced, and soon the Niwas were inquiring particulars about the boys' lives. Do you have a girlfriend? How many brothers and sisters do you have? What do you plan to do once you're out of school? Eventually, things calmed down enough for Harry to speak.

"You guys are exactly how Daisuke described you: interesting and full of surprises."

Daisuke recalled saying nothing so specific, so he supposed this had to be flattery on Harry's part. He had described the Niwas to the dot, though.

"I've got to say," Ron informed them, "that I've never seen anyone with hair as red as mine. Is it his natural hair color?"

"Of course it is!" Emiko practically shrieked. "And it looks so cute: like a Troll doll!"

"Mom, d-don't say stuff like that," Daisuke stammered embarrassedly. His face almost turned as red as his hair.

Everyone but Ron, who knew nothing about Troll dolls, laughed at Emiko's motherly praise. Daisuke hid his face in embarrassment.

"It is pretty cool, though," Harry commented. "It reminds me of my hair. It never does what I want it to."

Yeah, Dark said, it looks like a friggin' thorn bush.

They continued to converse for the remainder of the evening. At times Daisuke was certain he saw Harry gaze longingly, sadly at his family. He didn't really mind it or blame him for it: from what he understood of Harry's situation, none of his father's family still lived and his Muggle cousins had cast him out at his latest birthday. Actually, he had seen Harry storm out fuming, but the Dursleys were probably glad to have him gone for good now.

Finally, it came time for them to return to Gryffindor Tower. Daisuke looked behind him as he left and saw the same expression on Harry's face.

--- ---

Harry watched the Niwas leave Dark's office almost sullenly. He envied Daisuke for his loving family. He remembered the Mirror of Erised from his first year of Hogwarts: all the wizard family had had never met, his parents among them. Looking back, he felt grateful for Professor Dumbledore's interference then. He knew that otherwise he would definitely gone mad and grown old simply staring at them all. It did not mean that he didn't want to see them again, though.

"Oy, Harry…"

Ron's voice snapped him back to the present.

"What?"

"You all right, mate?"

"Yeah, just fine."

Ron gave him a concerned, knowing glance before returning to his candy. Harry watched his friend with a pang: looking at him now made him think of Ginny.

No, he scolded himself, there's no thinking of her, wanting the caress of her—oh, damn.

Harry rubbed his head in exasperation, ran his fingers through his wild hair. He couldn't wait until he could get back to hunting down Horcruxes, and for more reason than one.