And all through the School, not a creature was stirring not even a rat.
The following weeks went by with little or no fuss and Christmas was approaching fast. Seeing that he was unable to go out of the school to make his purchases, Harry made heavy use of Hedwig for Owl orders. A Yule Ball was being organized for the upper years with a small celebration for the lower years in each common room, the night before the students were to leave for the holidays. Harry looked on at the upper years as the boys attempted to find dates for the dance and laughed a bit. The girls on the other hand were all acting slightly insane and giggling all the time.
Malfoy, still steaming over Slytherins defeat in Quidditch, tried his best to humiliate Harry but most people were very impressed with how well he had played and how he had helped teach a CoMC class. Also, the rumour had been spread that professor Quirell had been the one to jinx Harry's broom and so no one thought too badly of him falling off.
Harry hadn't made much progress on Occlumency yet but from the information Silias provided, that was not surprising. It was a rather complicated technique. His classes on the other hand continued on as they always did. They were easy but at least interesting, well except for History of Magic of course. If his Occlumency was not progressing quickly then his delving into the animagus transformation was at a stand still. Harry had decided to wait until he got better at Occlumency since that would help him with the transformation. Also, Silias had indicated that his magic was not developed enough yet to allow for the transformation.
Harry, Ron and Hermione helped the teachers, at Hagrid's request decorate the great hall for the ball.
Professor Flitwick taught them a handful of decoration spells. The hardest of which was the tinsel conjuring charm. Conjuration required a lot of power and conjuring tinsel taxed the trios limited resources.
The night of the Yule ball found the Gryffindor common room in pandemonium. The upper years, fourth and up, were all rushing to and fro. The girls had all disappeared about two hours before the feast and had apparently kidnapped the lower year girls to help them prepare. Both the ball and the house party's had been huge success.
Harry and the Weasleys were all at the main castle doors wishing their friends goodbye.
"Have fun on your skiing trip Hermione and try to come back in one piece. Madame Pomfrey isn't there to fix you up if you get hurt you know."
"Come on now Harry. It can't be that dangerous I mean. They slide down a hill with pieces of wood strapped to their feet."
"I'll have you know Ronald that there is a version of competitive skiing called 'Speed Skiing' where skiers attain speeds of well over three-hundred miles an hour. Now just imagine hitting a bump going that speed or landing from a jump incorrectly. Of course, that's not what I'm going to be doing but still on a leisurely descent you can still achieve a decent speed depending on snow conditions, equipment and your own willingness."
Ron looked flabbergasted.
"Three-hundred miles an hour? That's faster than the top speed of my broom! Heck, it's faster than the top speed of my broom when it was new!"
Hermione rolled her eyes at her friends comment.
"Now you both promise me you'll stay out of trouble and get your assignments done right?"
"Yes 'mione." The two answered in unison.
Finally, it was Christmas morning.
"Merry Christmas," said Ron sleepily as Harry scrambled out of bed and pulled on his bathrobe.
"You, too," said Harry. "Will you look at this? I've got some presents!"
"What did you expect, turnips?" said Ron, turning to his own pile, which was a lot bigger than Harry's.
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.
A second, very small parcel contained a note.
We received your message and enclose your Christmas present. From Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia. Taped to the note was a fifty-pence piece.
"That's friendly," said Harry.
Ron was fascinated by the fifty pence.
"Weird!" he said, "What a shape! This is money?"
"You can keep it," said Harry, laughing at how pleased Ron was. "Hagrid and my aunt and uncle -- so who sent these?"
"I think I know who that one's from," said Ron, turning a bit pink and pointing to a very lumpy parcel. "My mom. I told her you didn't expect any presents and -- oh, no," he groaned, "she's made you a Weasley sweater."
Harry had torn open the parcel to find a thick, hand-knitted sweater in emerald green and a large box of homemade fudge.
"Every year she makes us a sweater," said Ron, unwrapping his own, "and mine's always maroon."
Harry was having trouble seeing a bit. These were his first Christmas presents ever and they were all, to date, hand made.
"That's really nice of her," said Harry, whipping the tears from his eyes.
Ron was pointedly looking elsewhere.
His next present also contained candy -- a large box of Chocolate Frogs from Hermione.
The next package came as an even greater surprise. It was from Ginny. Admittedly he had also sent her a present but he hadn't expected one from her. Actually, he hadn't expected any presents at all.
Unwrapping the present, he found a small animated drawing in a simple wooden frame. Harry laughed out loud and passed the gift on to Ron.
The picture depicted Harry sitting boldly on a unicorn as it marched through the forest. It was a scene out of a fairy tale where the prince rode back to his castle on his noble steed.
"If only she knew exactly how that whole situation went in reality."
Both Silias and Ron replied the same thing to this comment. "She might have drawn you falling over."
Harry broke out laughing at this.
This only left one parcel. Harry picked it up and felt it. It was very light. He unwrapped it.
Something fluid and silvery gray went slithering to the floor where it lay in gleaming folds. Ron gasped.
"I've heard of those," he said in a hushed voice, dropping the box of Every Flavor Beans he'd gotten from Hermione. "If that's what I think it is -- they're really rare, and really valuable."
"What is it?"
Harry picked the shining, silvery cloth off the floor. It was strange to the touch, like water woven into material.
"It's an invisibility cloak," said Ron, a look of awe on his face. "I'm sure it is -- try it on."
Harry threw the cloak around his shoulders and Ron 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 midair, his body completely invisible. He pulled the cloak over his head and his reflection vanished completely.
"There's a note!" said Ron suddenly. "A note fell out of it!"
Harry pulled off the cloak and seized the letter. Written in narrow, loopy writing he had never seen before were the following words:
Your father left this in my possession before he died. It is time it was
returned to you. Use it well.
A Very Merry Christmas to you.
There was no signature. Harry stared at the note. He knew who it came from. His mother had told him where the cloak was. Ron was admiring the cloak.
"I'd give anything for one of these," he said. "Anything. What's the matter?"
"Nothing," said Harry. He felt very strange. This had belonged to his father at one time.
Before he could say or think anything else, the dormitory door was flung open and Fred and George Weasley bounded in. Harry stuffed the cloak quickly out of sight. He didn't feel like sharing it with anyone else yet.
"Merry Christmas!"
"Hey, look -- Harry's got a Weasley sweater, too!"
Fred and George were wearing blue sweaters, one with a large yellow F on it, the other a G.
"Harry's is better than ours, though," said Fred, holding up Harry's sweater. "She obviously makes more of an effort if you're not family."
"Why aren't you wearing yours, Ron?" George demanded. "Come on, get it on, they're lovely and warm."
"I hate maroon," Ron moaned halfheartedly as he pulled it over his head.
"You haven't got a letter on yours," George observed. "I suppose she thinks you don't forget your name. But we're not stupid -- we know we're called Gred and Forge."
At that moment the portrait hole opened and the headmaster and professor McGonagall entered Gryffindor Tower. Both idly twirling their wands.
"Merry Christmas one and all. I see you have all received many gifts. Good, good."
The headmaster looked calm and relaxed, not that that meant anything really, but McGonagall appeared stressed and seemed to be searching for something.
A soft squeak was heard from Ron's vicinity and instantly the transfiguration professor turned into a tabby cat and the headmaster shot a spell in the direction of the noise.
"What's all this noise?"
Percy Weasley stuck his head through the door, looking disapproving. He had clearly gotten halfway through unwrapping his presents as he, too, carried a lumpy sweater over his arm.
The students jumped out of the way and Scabbers started scurrying across the floor.
Minerva hissed at him blocking his way towards the portrait hole.
"Now Peter, you have nowhere to go. Simply give yourself up."
The students looked up from their hiding spot. Had the professors gone mad?
The rat stopped where it was and started shaking, ever so slowly it changed from a small rat to a man with thinning hair. He stared at the the students with watery blue eyes filled with terror.
Harry was the first to react. "Wormtail?"
Here was his parents secret keeper. Here was the man who his parents had trusted with their lives and his own life. If he was here alive and hiding, it could only mean one thing.
"YOU TRAITOR!"
Harry's wand was in his hand in a flash and before he could even think of what he was doing a bludgeoning spell had left his lips.
Thankfully, the headmaster was quicker and intercepted the spell.
"Harry, please calm down."
"Calm down? He was my parents secret keeper! If he's still alive it means he betrayed them."
"Mr. Potter, Sirius Black was your parents secret keeper. Or at least, that is what we were lead to believe." The headmaster did not appear to be so sure of this information anymore.
"No! In the letter my parents left me, they mention he was the secret keeper. He betrayed them, it's because of him I had to live with the Dursleys, it's because of him my parents are dead!"
"Albus, Is this true?" The Transfiguration teacher had transformed back and was not holding her hand to her heart.
"Harry my dear boy! Look at you, you've grown up to look so much like James." the simpering man was on his hands and knees approaching Harry.
"Stay back traitor! The closer you get the less likely the headmaster is of being able to intercept my spells." his voice was hard and cold. Very much out of character for an eleven year old boy.
"But you heard them Harry, Sirius was your parents secret keeper, not me, I'm innocent."
"If your so innocent, why have you been hiding as a rat for the past decade? Why have you been pretending to be a pet for the Weasleys?" the Weasleys and professors looked on to Harry with some awe. A strange wind had started blowing around Harry and his eyes seemed to be filled with power.
"I've been hiding. I didn't want Sirius to find me, I didn't want the death eaters to find me. I've been protecting you all along Harry. Remember those bullies on the train?"
'Master Potter, you may wish to take a few calming breaths before you do something you regret. This traitor will be dealt with but in the state you are in right now you may do some serious accidental magic.' Silias sounded very worried.
Harry closed his eyes for a second and took a few calming breaths.
"Very good Mr. Potter. I am glad to see you have calmed down. Minerva, if you would go get the Aurors. Incarcerous! Stupefy!" Wormtail found himself bound in thin ropes that had spread from the headmasters wand, securing him in place, and unconscious. "If you would all take a seat, I can explain what I believe has happened. You do not mind if I explain to the Weasleys Harry? Seeing that they have witnessed this event."
Harry, not trusting himself to speak, simply gave the headmaster a nod.
"For this story to make sense, we have to go back to just before the end of the war. Voldermort was at the height of his power. Wizards and witches were disappearing every day and there seemed to be no end in sight. Harry's parents worked with an underground group to bring down Voldemort and his Death Eaters. Unfortunately they were too successful and had managed to thwart his plans on three occasions. Voldemort could not allow this to continue and so bent his will upon the Potters. They went into hiding in Godric's Hollow for the safety of their son."
The headmaster waved his wand and a tea set appeared on a nice oak table. He served himself some tea and indicated to the others present that they should serve themselves. Ron made Harry a cup seeing that his friend was in not fit state to do one for himself.
Clearing his throat the headmaster continued.
"I had offered to be the Potters secret keeper but they chose another instead, one they had undying faith in, one Sirius Black. James, Sirius, Remus and Peter had been best of friends since their fist day here at Hogwarts and had formed a group of trouble makers the likes that Hogwarts had not seen in centuries: The Marauders. So strong was their friendship that none of them could believe that one of their own would betray them. The Potters went into hiding and a mere week later, on all hallows eve, they were murdered by Voldermort himself. Voldermort, as we all know, did not leave this encounter unscathed. I personally believe he roams the lands now, less than a man, less than a ghost."
The headmaster stopped here for a second to take a sip of his tea. Apparently preparing his story in his head.
"The next day, there was a confrontation between Sirius and Peter in London. It appeared that Peter had confronted Sirius and then had been blasted, along with most of the street, away by Sirius. Sirius was taken away by the Aurors without resistance. He had apparently lost his mind and kept repeating 'I killed them, I killed them.'. He was sent to Azkaban without a trial were he still resides to this day."
"WHAT! My godfather has spent the last decade in prison for a crime he didn't commit because the Ministry didn't want to take the time to give him his basic human rights!'" Harry was livid. In his mind he was already composing his letter to Griffhack and planning his siege on Azkaban.
"Please Mr. Potter let me finish." Harry sat down, he didn't remember standing but by this time he was no longer exactly rational. "Peter had us all fooled apparently. You may notice that he has only nine fingers? The following is what I believe has happened. We will only know the truth of it after the aurors interview Mr. Pettigrew. I believe that Sirius decided to act as a decoy for the Potters. He was too obvious a choice for the secret keep and so offered to pretend to be the keeper and offered to switch with Peter. No one would ever have suspected that the Potters would choose Peter as their secret keeper. Peter was a bright enough student at school but he was never of the same caliber as the other Marauders. Peter then betrayed the secret to Voldermort but when his master was destroyed he had nowhere to go, the death eaters would kill him for causing the downfall of their new world order and the light would know him for the traitor he was so he faked his own death , leaving only a finger after his confrontation with Sirius, and hid with a wizarding family so as to keep tabs on the wizarding world."
The headmaster sat there, finished with his story, waiting for the inevitable questions. Percy was the first to react. Scabbers had been his pet for years and the look he gave the man as he spoke of him showed that he wished nothing more than to make him pay.
"Professor? How did you even know that HE" and he spat the word as if it were something poisonous "was here?"
"Your brothers came into possession of a most wondrous map made by the Marauders. The Marauders Map shows almost all of the school and where everyone in the school is. Mr. Potter lent me the map so that we could secure the school from professor Quirell and while searching for our wayward defense professor, I noticed the name of Peter Pettigrew along with that of Ronald Weasley. After some testing we discovered that Peter was Scabbers. We only confirmed our suspicions a few days ago and decided to wait for the school to empty before making our attempt at capture.
"Now what?" Harry, who had remained silent for most of this, now spoke up. His voice was measured and controlled but hinted at a barely suppressed rage.
"Now we wait for the aurors, get Mr. Black moved to a security cell at the Ministry instead of Azkaban, and await a trial."
The Portrait hole opened admitting three Aurors, the head of magical law enforcement and the Gryffindor head of house.
"Ah! Mr. Shaklebot, Mr. Whittlebee, Mr. Pranter and Madame Bones. How good of you all to come on such short notice and on Christmas day no less."
"My god! It is Peter Pettigrew." said Madame Bones. "Albus how can this be?"
"What say we go to my office and discuss this while the Aurors interview the children?"
"Of course, of course. Mr. Potter, pleasure to meet you. I wish it was under better circumstances."
Harry simply nodded to the head of Magical Law Enforcement.
Mr. Whittlebee and Pranter took Peter away from the Gryffindor common room while Kingsley Shaklebolt interviewed the children.
The whole investigation was done rather quickly since the children had very little else to add to the story. As soon as the aurors were gone, Harry rushed to his desk to write a letter to Griffhack.
December 25, 1991
Griffhack
Gringots Bank –
Diagon Alley
Griffhack,
I urgently need your help. I have just found out that my godfather, Sirius Black, has been in Azkaban for the past ten years for a crime he did not commit. I know this because the aurors have just taken away Peter Pettigrew. I need the best solicitors I can afford to work on this case, I don't care what it costs.
I ask you for help now because I don't know who else to turn to. Hopefully, this is the type of thing Gringots does. If not, I would appreciate it if you could point me in the right direction.
Harry James Potter
PS.: I hope you enjoyed the wine I sent you for Christmas.
His letter finished, Harry called Hedwig to him from her perch next to his bed.
"I know it's Christmas girl but I really need this delivered straight away. It's important."
The snowy owl gave his nose a peck and flew off into the bright Christmas morning.
Harry leaned back on his desk chair, the weight of the events of the morning finally hitting him. He really didn't know how to feel. On the one hand, he just found out his godfather was still alive, on the other he had spent the last ten years in the worst prison in the world for a crime he hadn't committed. This was the man his parents had wanted him to be with if they could not take care of him themselves but after ten years in prison would he want anything to do with him.
"Harry? You o.k. mate?"
Harry turned around to see Ron and his brother looking at him worriedly.
"I ... I'm fine. This was just a bit much today."
"I know what you mean. He was my pet for the past couple of months, he slept in my bed!" Ron gave a shudder of disgust.
"You think that's bad? He was my pet for the past ten years!" Percy looked livid.
"Well, we don't feel so bad anymore for all the times we used him in our experiments. Fred, remember that time we tested that tongue growing potion on him?"
"Not as good as the time we glued him to the ceiling to test that super sludge."
Everyone gave a small laugh at that.
"I actually tried that spell to make him change colors you guys gave me." Ron added.
They stayed in silence for a few minutes until Ron's stomach gave a mighty gurgle.
"How's about we head down for lunch and try to enjoy the rest of the day. Nothing else we can do about this right now."
"Right you are Ronikins, right you are. Come on you lot off to the great hall with us. Oh and Percy, your sitting with us and put on your sweater." commanded one of the twins.
The other twin grabbed the sweater from Percy and examined it.
"P for prefect! Get it on, Percy, come on, we're all wearing ours, even Harry got one."
"I -- don't -- want" said Percy thickly, as the twins forced the sweater over his head, knocking his glasses askew. They frog-marched Percy from the room, his arms pinned to his side by his sweater.
Dinner was surreal. The teachers were all acting very much out of character well except for the headmaster, he always acted a little crazy. Dumbledore had swapped his pointed wizard's hat for a flowered bonnet he had pulled from a magical party favor.
The twins started laughing when they noticed a slightly inebriated Hagrid give Professor McGonagall a kiss on the cheek but that quickly stopped when she giggled. Many of the students pinched themselves to make sure they were not dreaming.
Harry and the Weasleys 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 Gryffindor common room, where Harry broke in his new chess set by losing spectacularly to Ron. He suspected he wouldn't have lost so badly if he hadn't been so concerned about his godfather ... of course Percy trying to help him with his game probably had something to do with his defeat as well.
Eventually, they all retired to bed, tired from bellies filled to burst, the excitement of the morning and the physical exertion of the afternoon.
Harry had a strange dream that night. He was standing next to tall haggard man in a forest clearing. The man looked tired, malnourished and was dressed in rags. They stood there in silence staring at the night sky. The strange man put his arm around Harry's shoulder and pulled him towards him in a one armed hug.
Harry awoke from the dream feeling happy and rested.
Harry got dressed and headed down towards the common room where he found the Gryffindor head of house.
"Ah Mr. Potter, just the young man I needed to see. Your presence is requested in the headmasters office. If you could head there straight away, the password is Reese's Peanut Butter Cup."
Harry thanked his head of house and made his way to the headmasters office wondering what this was about. It probably had something to do with Peter Pettigrew's capture.
Entering the headmasters office Harry was surprised to see that he was not the only person to meet with the headmaster that morning.
"Ah! Mr. Potter! Glad you could make it so quickly. I believed you called for these fine gentlemen?"
Sitting around a round table was Griffhack and two other men Harry had never met before.
"Goblin Griffhack? I hope your endeavors have been profitable?"
The two men sitting at the table with Griffhack were not the only ones surprised at Harry's verbal aptitude in Gobbledygook.
'When the heck did I learn this?' he asked himself.
"Yes Mr. Potter they have and so have yours." Replied Griffhack.
"Mr. Potter pleasant venerable account."
Harry looked at the man sitting to the far left of Griffhack. He was well dressed in formal work robes, wore elegant wire rimmed glasses and had a very close cropped haircut. Under his robes could be seen a blue silk shirt and tie.
The man blushed a little seeing the look of confusion on Harry's face.
"I'm sorry, my Gobbledygook is rather primitive. I specialize in criminal cases not financial cases or auditing. My name is Wilbur Bright and this is my associate and research assistant Edmond Fortier."
Harry was still confused. Surely they hadn't dropped everything they were doing, during the Christmas holidays, to answer his plea for help.
"Please have a seat Mr. Potter. Would you rather have this discussion in private or can the Headmaster attend?" asked Griffhack respectfully.
"Uhm. The headmaster can stay of course. I don't think I have anything to hide from him."
"Thank you dear boy." with that the headmaster conjured himself a chair at the table and sat down. The table was covered with breakfast foods and drinks and the headmaster helped himself to a bit of toast.
"Now Mr. Potter we are here to deal with the issue of your Godfather." started Wilbur Bright.
"You interrupted your holidays for me?" asked a bewildered Harry.
"Of course Mr. Potter. This case is of the utmost importance. A man has spent ten years in Azkabhan for a crime he never committed and did not even receive a trial. This situation is in complete opposition to Rule of Law.
'Habeas corpus ad subjiciendum, a Latin term meaning "you must have the body to be subjected (to examination)". A person who is arrested has the right to be told what crimes he or she is accused of, and to request that his or her custody be reviewed by judicial authority. Persons unlawfully imprisoned have to be freed. The rights of individuals are determined by legal rules and not the arbitrary behaviour of authorities. There can be no punishment unless a court decides there has been a breach of law. Everyone, regardless of your position in society, is subject to the law.' interjected Silias.
"Yeah, this reeks of the Micheal Howard case." said Edmond fortier.
Seeing the confused look on the face of his clients Mr. Bright explained.
"Michael Howard as Home Secretary for the muggle government, sent the Jamie Bulgar killers to prison for an unspecified term. The Courts deemed this illegal as they decided that only a person working within the judiciary had the right to come to this decision and that a specified term had to be given as opposed to a sentence 'at Her Majesty's Pleasure'. It is of the utmost importance that we remedy this situation. Add to this that the Blacks have major accounts at Gringots currently standing in the many millions of Galleons, accounts that the ministry has been attempting to seize for the past decade, and you have a very important case affecting a wide range of plaintiffs."
"Ok. What can I do?" Harry asked hesitantly.
"Nothing much Mr. Potter. We are here to tell you that we accept the case, what our conditions are and inform you of our plan of attack. Seeing as you are a bit young, we will need the signature of a legal guardian for the contracts and the likes."
"I believe, Mr. Bright, that I may be of assistance in this situation. I am a special guardian to Mr. Potter due to his unique status in our society." said the headmaster.
"Good, good. Now our plans are as follows. Have Mr. Black moved immediately out of Azkaban. We would like him to be released on his own cognizance but we doubt that will happen due to the nature of his supposed crimes and the fact that a decade in Azkaban will have left him a little unstable. We are prepared to accept, in order of preference: release with bail under guardianship of another, house arrest with Auror guards in a secure location and finally a holding cell at the ministry. If none of these are accepted we may need to wage a PR war against the ministry and for that we will need your help but I doubt it will go that far. With the evidence the ministry has collected from Pettigrew it should be an open and shut case and resolved by the tenth of January. We also plan on obtaining a large amount of Galleons for your Godfather in compensation of years of unfair imprisonment and mental anguish. Now as to our conditions. We will take on this case and if successful, we will take a percentage of the punitive reward. If we are not, then an hourly fee will be billed to you."
Harry looked to the headmaster who was reading the actual details.
"Everything seems in order and you can afford these fees without harming your future."
"Ok then, let's go ahead then."
The headmaster signed the documents and passed them on to the solicitors.
"Well, we had best be going if we want this settled in a timely fashion. We will let you know how things progress as they go along. It was an honor to meet you Mr. Potter, Professor."
With that they took a handful of powder from a jar on the mantle, threw it into the fire and stepped through.
Harry looked around the office. The paintings were all whispering to each other looking rather excited.
"Well, I guess I should let you get to your work professor. Sorry for the trouble."
"No need to rush Mr. Potter, no need to rush. Have some breakfast and maybe we can talk a while."
Harry sat back down and Fawkes left it's perch to join them at the table.
"Fawkes particularly enjoys green grapes."
Harry took one and placed it in his hand, the phoenix plucked it carefully from his hands and gulped it greedily.
"Now Mr. Potter. I am not angry with you but in the future, it would be best if you let me know before you call in your solicitors. I had my own plans for getting Mr. Black out of prison. It is of course your prerogative to call upon your solicitors but it is counter productive for us to work separately to the same end. Also, I would like to know when my office will be invaded." he finished with a light chuckle.
Harry looked guilty up at the headmaster.
The headmaster's eyes were glinting madly in humor and behind his bushy beard, a smile could be seen.
"As I said, no harm done. Now, I asked you some time ago what your wishes were as to your living arrangements. I was hoping you might have had some time to think on it."
Harry had had some time to think on it but with the revelation that he had a godfather his plans had changed drastically.
"Well I had thought about it but now there's Sirius ... I was kind of hoping to meet him and that maybe he would want to take me in."
The last part was said as barely a whisper.
"Unfortunately Harry, Sirius Black has been in Azkaban for over a decade. Once he is freed, and there is no doubt in my mind that he will be soon, he will have a long road ahead before he is well enough to take care of even himself much less a young child ... I'm sorry I mean a young man."
'And that's if he even wants anything to do with me.' Harry thought to himself.
"I understand. Then I guess I'll go back to my relatives for the summer." Harry answered despondently.
"Have some of the Marmalade, it's from my private stores. My brother Aberthford sends me a few jars every year. Well, there is no reason for you to spend the whole summer there of course. You only need spend a few weeks, two at the most, for the magic to recharge. Then you may spend your time elsewhere."
"But where would I go? It would be great to spend time here over the summer but that would be a lot of work for you and the teachers and I don't want to make work."
"I do admit it would be difficult for me to convince the board of governors to allow you to stay here over the summer but I have received multiple requests from Mrs. Weasley, Ronald's mother, to have you spend the summer with them."
This was too good to be true. He loved the Twins, Ginny was a great pen pal, Ron was his best friend and he even got on well with Percy.
"I would need some advanced warning to insure that their home has extra protections but from what I understand Ronald and young Ginerva ..."
"Ginerva?" asked Harry incredulously.
"Yes, Ronald's younger sister. I was led to believe you had been corresponding with her over the past few months?"
'Ginerva is a Gaelic female name meaning "white as foam."' cut in Silias.
"Yeah, I just always called her Ginny. I actually thought that was her name. White as foam? I don't get it."
Harry stopped talking, he had noticed that the headmasters, all of them, were looking at him strangely. He looked up at the headmaster and found himself staring into his twinkling blue eyes.
'How does he do that?' he asked himself.
Suddenly he felt a light touch upon his mind, feather light and gentle like a cool summer breeze. Instinctively he threw up his mental defenses and felt the presence recede.
'Last time he had a reason but what was this about now!' asked a fuming Silias.
"As I was saying, Ronald and Ginerva have been pestering their parents to have you come and stay with them this summer and their parents have agreed." continued the headmaster as if nothing had happened.
"That would be wicked."
"So I gather then that we are in agreement? Two weeks at your relatives and then the rest of the summer at the Weasleys?"
"Actually, can we say three weeks then at the Weasleys? I have a few things I would like to get done before I go there."
"Of course Mr. Potter, of course. It will also give me and a few of my associates time to work on the protections of the Burrow."
They continued talking about general things from then on while enjoying breakfast. Fawkes gorged himself of green grapes.
The headmaster revealed he was still looking for a new defense against the dark arts professor and was thinking of simply finding a substitute teacher to fill the basic role for the interim. Harry commented on the fact that even a seventh year could teach defense better than the Quirell and this sparked the idea of a self study session supervised by an older student, at least for the younger years, in the interim.
On his way back to the Common Room Silias made his presence known.
'Ok so I am intrigued, what are these things you need done during the holidays that require you to be at the Dursleys?'
'I never said I had to be at the Dursleys to do these things. And aren't you in my mind, don't you already know?' replied Harry as he grasped the amulet.
'No, I can only hear your "Inner Voice" when you focus on me. So I am not privy to your hopes and dreams, to your hidden aspirations ... I need to be told these things.'
'Oh! Well I'd like to go on vacation somewhere for a week. Somewhere away from England, just on my own.' replied Harry hesitantly.
'Ok.'
'What do you mean ok? Aren't you gonna scold me?'
'I told you, I'm not your parent. I'm here to assist you with your endeavors ... no matter how crazy they are. So, where are WE going this summer for a full week?'
'Don't worry, I wasn't going to leave you behind. I don't know, I'd like to go somewhere warm and maybe see the ocean. I've never seen the ocean or even a beach other than on the telly.'
'Ok so seeing that seventy percent of the world is covered with water that does not narrow things down.'
'Ok, well somewhere with an ancient magical culture then. Somewhere were I can learn something interesting while having fun.'
'Well, that helps a little. Greece, Japan, South America, Egypt all fit your criteria. Keep walking and I'll tell you a bit about the different places and you can make your decision.'
On the way back to the common room Silias gave a brief overview of the various countries and what would be interesting to visit.
The day had been good. His godfather was one step closer to freedom; he had had the best Christmas in his entire, if somewhat short, life; he was to stay with the Weasleys over the summer. Everything was going well yet something had been nagging at the back of his mind all day. Not until he climbed into bed was he free to think about it: the invisibility cloak!
Ron, full of turkey and cake and with nothing mysterious to bother him, fell asleep almost as soon as he'd drawn the curtains of his four-poster. Harry leaned over the side of his own bed and pulled the cloak out from under it.
His father's... this had been his father's. He let the material flow over his hands, smoother than silk, light as air. Use it well, the note had said.
He had to try it, now. He slipped out of bed and wrapped the cloak around himself. Looking down at his legs, he saw only moonlight and shadows. It was a very funny feeling.
Use it well.
Suddenly, Harry felt wide-awake. The whole of Hogwarts was open to him in this cloak. Excitement flooded through him as he stood there in the dark and silence. He could go anywhere in this, anywhere, and Filch would never know.
Ron grunted in his sleep. Should Harry wake him? Something held him back -- his father's cloak -- he felt that this time -- the first time – he wanted to use it alone.
He crept out of the dormitory, down the stairs, across the common room, and climbed through the portrait hole.
"Who's there?" squawked the Fat Lady. Harry said nothing. He walked quickly down the corridor.
Where should he go?
With no real purpose in mind, Harry headed towards the kitchen. Not that he was hungry but just because he could do it. Using the cloak made evading Mr. Filch and Snape an easy task. All one had to do was avoid making any sound, something he was used to doing at the Dursleys, and avoid being run over.
Once in the kitchen, the house elves still on duty were more than happy to see him and take some time to talk with him over a warm cup of cocoa. Harry, Hermione and Ron were well liked by the elves because, contrarily to other students, they did not always come down for food but they sometimes came down simply to chat with the elves.
Markin happened to be one of the elves still on service and was more than happy to see Harry.
"Harry Potter sir! Markin is being glad to see young master."
"Hello Markin, glad to see you as well. How have things been going here?"
"Well young master, we elves be having important jobs. We is to be keeping an eye out for the evil dark wizard Quirell. Actually young master should not be wandering the halls at night, it not being safe."
"I'm safer than most Markin, I have an invisibility cloak, but your probably right. I should probably stay in the tower at night."
They sat for a time chatting about the happenings of the castle when Harry thought of something interesting.
"Markin, I saw you apparate and disaparate around the castle the other day. How do you do that and can a wizard learn how as well?"
The poor house elf looked rather contrite.
"Markin is being sorry but she is not knowing the answer to young masters questions. No wizard has ever asked a house elf to teach them magic. It may be possible for a witch or wizard to learn house elf magic but I is not knowing for sure."
Harry became rather excited at this prospect.
"Do you think you could teach me?"
"Markin does not think young master is ready for such lessons. Young masters magic needs to grow before we is to try such a thing. Maybe another year or two."
'I think the elf has the right idea. I won't be teaching you apparition until at least your third year and even that might be too early. Like for animagus transformations, you don't currently have enough magic at your disposal. It was a good question and I am very intrigued to find out the answer.' interjected Silias.
Harry finished his hot chocolate, thanked the house elves and left back for the Gryffindor Tower. He had yet another plan to put in place, try to learn magic from the house elves. Their magic was obviously wandless and powerful but they were bound to their home.
Markin had convinced Harry not to go prowling the halls of Hogwarts again, and for the rest of the Christmas holidays the invisibility cloak stayed folded at the bottom of his trunk.
Harry had received two letters to date from his solicitors by the intermediary of the headmaster.
Sirius was out of Azkaban and in a secret location under Auror guards. The poor man was not in the best of shapes either mentally or physically but he had apparently weathered the wizarding prison better than others in the same position.
The trial was to be done on the twelfth of January and Harry would not need to be present, the case was pretty much an open and shut with Peter Pettigrew in prison.
Hermione came back the day before the start of term and was very excited. She thanked both Ron and Harry for their gifts and passed on seasons greetings from her parents along with a small holiday card from both.
Harry brought her up to date on all the happenings over the holidays. The poor witch was, for once, at a lack of words. She was truly impressed with the invisibility cloak and upon hearing that Peter Pettigrew was an animagus, had made it her long-term mission to discover everything she could about the transformation and to be ready to attempt it as soon as possible.
A few days after start of term, Harry received a letter from Ginny. Again using the Weasleys decrepit owl Erol. The poor thing had landed well enough but once it's message delivered it had simply keeled over into a plate or rashers. Harry had taken the poor owl to professor Kettleburn to see if he could do anything for the poor creature.
Dear Harry,
Don't worry about getting back to me quickly, I understand you're busy: Quidditch, detentions, helping teach classes, chasing dark wizards, homework, classes, fighting trolls ... I'm amazed you have any spare time at all.
Fred and George both wrote to me about the class you taught and they said it was great so I'm sure you did just fine.
Now about Fawkes, you really had no control over him so don't worry about it. I was just teasing in my note. I am surprised he offered to deliver the message for you but I am not surprised he demanded to be pet. I've seen him before. When the headmaster has an important message for my dad he usually sends it with Fawkes.
My mom hasn't mentioned anything about Occlumency or Legilimency to me so I guess she is ok with me learning it. I've started on the exercises and even if I don't get better at it than I am now, I still think it's worth it. I can focus better on things and I remembered things better.
I'm sorry to hear that Quirell got away but I'm sure they will catch him. My brothers had a map of Hogwarts that could tell them where everyone is at all times and they gave it to the teachers! Are you sure they haven't been replaced by Dopplegangers or Metamorphs? Still what are the odds that they would ask you for help about something made by your dad?
Now, about your summer plans: I hope you don't have any because Ron and I have been bugging mom for the past couple of months to get you to come here. She just told us you would be coming after three weeks at your relatives! Bring some swim trunks, we have a nice pond in the back.
Ok now on to the Christmas news. Thank you for the gift! I love these fountain pens you sent me, they are way more convenient than quills. My dad wants some now, he's just crazy about muggle stuff. If you want to get on his good side get him some strange muggle junk like plugs or batteries, he collects them. My mom thinks he's crazy.
I may have told you that we went to see my brother at the dragon reserves for Christmas. Well it was great. I got to see tons of dragons and spend time with my favorite brother.
I got a ton of nice gifts this year. Speaking of gifts, I hope you liked the Weasley sweater. I helped mom make it ... ok so I chose the colours, that's still helping. FINE! ... I can't knit to save my life.
I do hope you liked the picture, it's one of the things I'm really good at.
Well, that's pretty much all I had to say,
Ginny Weasley
Wood was working the team harder than ever. Even the endless rain that had replaced the snow couldn't dampen his spirits. The Weasleys complained that Wood was becoming a fanatic, but Harry was on Wood's side. If they won their next match, against Hufflepuff, they would overtake Slytherin in the house championship for the first time in seven years ... of course it did help that he didn't really have to study and homework was dead easy.
The trio were sitting in the common room doing homework when Neville toppled in. How he had managed to climb through the portrait hole was anyone's guess, because his legs had been stuck together with what they recognized at once as the Leg-Locker Curse. He must have had to bunny hop all the way up to Gryffindor tower.
Everyone fell over laughing except Hermione, who leapt up and performed the countercurse. Neville's legs sprang apart and he got to his feet, trembling. "What happened?" Hermione asked him, leading him over to sit with Harry and Ron.
"Malfoy," said Neville shakily. "I met him outside the library. He said he'd been looking for someone to practice that on."
"Go to Professor McGonagall!" Hermione urged Neville. "Report him!"
Neville shook his head.
"I don't want more trouble," he mumbled.
"You've got to stand up to him, Neville!" said Ron. "He's used to walking all over people, but that's no reason to lie down in front of him and make it easier."
"There's no need to tell me I'm not brave enough to be in Gryffindor, Malfoy's already done that," Neville choked out.
Harry felt in the pocket of his robes and pulled out a Chocolate Frog, the very last one from the box Hermione had given him for Christmas. He gave it to Neville, who looked as though he might cry.
"You're worth twelve of Malfoy," Harry said. "The Sorting Hat chose you for Gryffindor, didn't it? And where's Malfoy? In stinking Slytherin."
Neville calmed down after eating the frog.
"Come upstairs with me Neville." and with that he headed up to the boys dormitory with Neville reluctantly in tow.
Once within the first year dormitory, Harry looked inside each bed to insure they were alone.
"Now Neville, you have to learn how to defend yourself. I'm going to teach you a spell. It's a shielding spell that can block most minor curses. The incantation is Redigo Contego. It's nothing fancy but it will stop most of the curses we 'iklle firsties' know, including the leg locker."
"Why are you teaching me this. I'm not going to be able to do this, I'm almost a squib."
"No your not!" Harry replied with fervor. "You are not almost a squib. Didn't you tell us that your wand is your fathers wand?"
"Well, yeah. What does this have to do with anything?"
"Mr. Ollivander told me ... 'You will never get as good a result with the wand of another as with a wand that chooses you.' Your father's wand didn't choose you Neville, it's not suited to you but you still do well enough in class. Imagine what you could do with a proper wand."
Neville looked unsure.
"Look at least with this spell you'll be able to have a fighting chance. Now I'm going to cast a tickling charm on you and you're going to block it, unless you want to be like Crab ... or was that Goyle ... and pee your pants." Harry said with a smirk.
Twenty minutes, many a tickling charm and a few pair of soiled pants later, an exhausted Neville managed to block Harry's tickling charm.
"You see? You CAN do this." Neville gave Harry a tired grin. "Now as soon as you can block three in a row we can stop."
Neville's grin faded from his face and the poor boy groaned resignedly and they went back at it.
Another fifteen minutes later and Neville finally managed to block three tickling charms in a row.
The sound of clapping came from the dorm door. Many first, second and a few third year Gryffindors were standing there giving Neville a standing ovation. There was no ridicule there, only support.
"Now Neville you'll need to practice blocking and then throwing your own spells."
"You'd better listen to Professor Potter there Neville or he'll dock you points" cried out Lee Jordan.
The few third years present laughed.
"We'll help him with that." cried out one of the twins.
"Can't let a stinking Slytherin beat up on one of our own."
"Right you are brother o' mine. Also it allows us to try some of our more imaginative pranks on poor Neville ... and see if they can be blocked by that shield."
A few other people offered to help Neville practice his combat spells. Neville seemed a little ashamed but relieved as well.
The next day, Harry, Ron and Hermione were in defense against the dark arts class. A student from Hufflepuff was overseeing the class as the headmaster had yet to find a replacement. He had yet, also to return Harry's map but Harry was not particularly bothered with this since it was being used to capture a wizard that apparently wanted him dead.
The trio, as previously mentioned, were in defense class and Harry and Hermione were helping Ron master the Redigo Contego shield spell when all of a sudden Harry felt a piercing pain where his scar was located.
"Are you alright mate?"
"Yeah, it's just my scar hurting."
"Maybe you should go to the hospital wing Harry. Madame Pomfrey will certainly have something for you."
"No that's alright Hermione, I don't think it's such a big deal. I'll just sit down for a bit, you continue helping Ron with his shield spell."
'Not such a big deal?' asked an enraged Silisa. 'Just someone trying to get into your head is all!'
Harry took hold of the amulet and closed his eyes.
'What do you mean Silias. There's no one here to practice Legilimency on me.' at this thought another sharp pain throbbed across Harry's forehead. 'And my eyes are closed.'
'Well, I'm in here and trust me, someone else is trying to get in. Now start with your exercises, we can figure out who is trying to attack your mind after we fight off the attack.'
Harry took a deep breath and started clearing his mind, creating a void around his thoughts. Slowly the pain receded. Harry could feel a presence at the edge of the void around his consciousness, it was almost as if he was standing there within himself, a blanket of nothingness the only thing keeping the dark presence at bay. Suddenly Harry could feel something happening at the edge of the nothingness, some sort of conflict. Finally the presence dissipated and Harry felt the calm of his mind take over.
"Mate! You know, even if this is a self study period, they do expect us to study and not sleep. We can only get away with that in history class." Ron was shaking harry out of his trance with a smirk on his face. Hermione on the other hand looked rather concerned.
"Are you sure you are alright Harry? It's not like you to fall asleep in class."
Harry nodded his head as he tried to piece together what had just happened . Hermione looked relieved.
"Well, other than in history class like Ron said." she continued with a small laugh.
Back in the common room Harry took hold of Silias.
'So, what was that all about?' he asked.
'Well, as I said, someone was trying to get into your mind.' replied Silias.
'I'd figured that much out. I managed to clear my mind but I still felt something ... something at the edge of my defenses trying to get in then I felt something like a fight.'
'Yes, that was me. I have no power to affect the outside world but in here I do have some power. I can teach you things but I can also act as a guardian for your thoughts. It does put me at risk but it is one of the functions I was created for. I'm hoping you will learn to defend yourself so that I can fulfill my primary purpose but when you are in danger I'll be there.'
'Thanks Silias. I feel better knowing that your there.'
'I am just fulfilling my purpose Master Potter. We all have a purpose in ... well for lack of a better word ... life. For some, like me, that purpose is clear, obvious and achievable. For you humans, it's not always so clear. Now if you truly wish to thank me, you will learn how to defend your mind and quickly, I would much rather continue to teach you magic than to be destroyed while defending your mind. I think in the long run it would be more profitable for you if I were to continue your instruction instead of "dying" a hero's death.'
'I'll do my best Silias.'
'I do not doubt it Master Potter. You have already achieved much. Many witches and wizards do not have the mastery of Occlumency that you currently hold but I believe that you need to go beyond what you currently posses, especially considering all the attacks on your mind you have suffered to date.'
'Ok, can you tell me anything about how I was being attacked?'
'Not really. All I know is that there was a hostile presence in your mind attempting to gain deeper access. I have no idea how this was possible. Your parents were brilliant but they were still young and my knowledge is based on their own so I am not the ultimate reservoir of knowledge.'
Over the following days, Harry's headaches or pain scars became a constant dull pain. This was causing him some problems both in class and in Quidditch practice as it disturbed his concentration greatly. Harry found himself relying more heavily on Occlumency to block out the pain, to try to find his center while still being conscious of his surroundings.
The day before the game against Hufflepuff was upon them and Harry was feeling nervous. Of course the rest of the team was not doing much better. The thought of overtaking Slytherin for the house cup was both thrilling and frightening. Slytherin had not lost the Quidditch Cup or the House Cup in the last seven years and most of the school was counting on Gryffindor to take the cup away from the house of snakes. It is quite understandable that the players in Gryffindor were feeling a bit of pressure.
The game against Hufflepuff house went very well and Gryffindor won by a large margin and were in the lead for the cup. The Gryffindor common room was in full party mode as the team returned from the showers. Strangely enough Neville was holding a damp cloth over his face but grinning broadly explaining something in great detail to a small crowd of students. Ron was there as well thumping Neville on the back as if congratulating him about something.
"What's going on?" asked Harry.
"What's going on? What's going on you asked? Nothing much really we're just congratulating Neville here for taking on not only Crabe but also Goyle while I took Malfoy down a peg." replied an enthusiastic Ron.
"What? What happened?" asked a now grinning Harry.
"Malfoy was saying the usual stuff about you and my family and muggleborns and I lost it. I jumped him and Neville here took on both Crabe and Goyle to keep them off my back." Ron gave Neville another clap on the back and grinned broadly at Harry.
"And you thought you weren't brave enough for Gryffindor?"said a now laughing Harry.
"Yes. Well while I am very happy that Neville has discovered that the sorting hat knew what it was doing when it put him here, he could get in trouble for fighting." Hermione looked happy but worried and kept shooting glances at the portrait hole.
"Nah. Malfoy wouldn't want anyone to know that Neville took on his two bodyguards on his own. He'd be the laughing stock of Slytherin ... no offense mate." Ron said, dismissing Hermione's concerns.
"No problem. I still don't believe I did that myself."replied a somewhat bruised and bemused Neville.
"Anyways, it's nothing too amazing. You, Harry and Hermione go toe-to-toe with them all the time and it's not like I faced a troll or anything like you guys." Neville seemed to lose some enthusiasm.
"Neville, we almost died when we faced the Troll and like you said, there are usually three of us to match up against Malfoy and his goons, you were outnumbered." said Harry in earnest.
Neville cheered up again at this.