Autumn passed quickly at Hogwarts, and soon winter had settled into the castle and it's grounds. Dumbledore had continued to attempt to find ways into the Sanctuary Wing, but he'd wound up hopelessly lost each time. Mealtimes in the Hall weren't much better, and he couldn't summon Harry to his office without having at least two of the others along, which made it a great deal more difficult to attempt Legilimency. Of course, the rings Harry wore as Lord Potter-Black made it even more difficult, but the old man was certain he could get past those shields with time.
Time that Lily Potter was determined not to give him. And the entire school had enjoyed the prank war that had broken out through November. While Lily could forgive Severus a great many things, he had to know, once she came back, that he would pay for his treatment of Harry. The only reason he didn't suffer far worse than pranks was that Harry, and the others, all reminded her he'd been under compulsions that were apparently designed to be undetectable with the wand of the person being cast upon. As she spent a good amount of the same time pranking Sirius and Remus as well, he took it in good humor. James, on the other hand, stayed well out of it. He loved his best friends, his brothers in all but blood, but he was not dumb enough to cross his wife and her punishment for all three men in not being there for Harry as they should have been.
As the end of term approached, the entire group who had taken up residence in Sanctuary Wing were discussing what to do about the break. There had been weeks of teaching Harry everything he should have grown up learning, and going over his portfolios and statements from the Goblins each month. They had been discussing all leaving for the break, going to somewhere that the Death Eaters couldn't access, but with the damage done to most of the Potter homes - thanks to Dumbledore not taking care of Harry's property, and what Sirius' mother had done to more than one of the Black homes, there weren't a lot of choices left.
So the decision was made to all stay together in the Sanctuary Wing. The Longbottoms had been moved earlier in the Fall and Lily had already begun researching ideas that blended Muggle and Magical healing. She hadn't had much luck yet, but a new potion seemed promising. Severus had promised it would be ready on the first day of break, and everyone was anxiously awaiting the results.
Owl order had been a very useful thing in getting presents ready, as most of the group knew they couldn't get out to buy presents. Not with death threats hanging over their heads. So judicious use had been made of the school owls, and rarely a day went by without some package being delivered to one or more of the group.
The Unspeakables had been busy as well. Algernon had become a frequent visitor, and now that Augusta had spilled the beans, spoke quite openly with them all about what had been found and what other avenues they were searching. The locket had been found, after Harry had remembered seeing it in Grimmauld Place, and Mundungus had gotten a heavy reminder not to steal from those he considered friend. A search of Gringotts had yielded Hufflepuff's Cup, in the dowry returned from Bellatrix Lestrange's vault. The family was now bankrupted, and all had agreed that no one deserved it more. Popular consensus among the Unspeakables was that just one piece of soul remained, outside of Voldemort's reconstructed body, and the hunt for the snake was proving to be quite the challenge.
Harry, on the other hand, was content to just relax and be a teenagers. Yes, he was an emancipated Lord, of two houses no less, but for once, the adults were handling it as they should have years ago. His time outside of classes had been spent with his friends, and increasingly with Pansy Parkinson, leading many to wonder if that would soon be something more than friends. He spent time with his sister as well, when she wasn't snogging Blaise or Draco, or both. The triad had settled into a relationship that just seemedto fit, at least for those who saw them with their masks down.
Molly Weasley, on the other had, hadn't quite gotten the message. More than one howler, unable to find it's recipient of Ginevra Molly Weasley, had exploded in the Great Hall, showering the Gryffindor table with confetti as the woman shrieked at her former daughter. After the fourth one, Harry had asked Amelia Bones if he could press charges against the woman for harrassing his sister, or at least attempting to. The DMLE head was looking into it and hoped to have some answers soon.