Chapter 26 – A Search for Missing Things

After Mr. Weasley flooed back to the Burrow, the four Weasleys, Harry, and Hermione started the walk back to the Gryffindor tower. They ended up walking in two lines of three. Harry was in front listening to the twins describe the pranks they had pulled on Filch during the holidays. Ron was walking between Ginny and Hermione and listening to how their muggle holidays had gone.

They were halfway back when a crowd of Slytherins cut them off in a corridor. "Well look, its Harry Potter and a pack of his pet Weasleys. Haven't you figured out, Potter, that they're only around in case you lose a sickle or two out of your pockets?"

"Malfoy", said Harry, "at least we are real friends. How much did you pay everybody to show up with you?"

"I'm going to end this Potter."

"Excuse me, make way, coming through." Harry and Fred moved aside to let Ginny come through. She was carrying her wand but she put her free hand behind her back and wiggled it to let Harry know she wanted some contact. Harry moved closer to her and discreetly put his hand to the middle of her back.

Ginny cleared her throat once. "Do you really want to continue the discussion we had just before break, Mr. Malfoy?" Harry almost laughed out loud as he saw a number of huge black sparks fountain out from her wand. It was just one of the harmless fireworks spells the twins had taught her. But neither Malfoy nor the other Slytherins knew that!

Draco Malfoy's face got a little pale, "You can't threaten us!" Ginny just kept grinning and Harry felt a little bit of bond magic being used as the fountain from Ginny's wand suddenly shot to the ceiling. The Slytherins turned as one and started hurrying away from the most junior member of the Hogwarts staff. George yelled 'Boo' suddenly and the departing students broke into a run!

Harry waited about five seconds until they had all disappeared and then grabbed Ginny up in a hug. "That was absolutely.."

".. brilliant!" finished Ron as everybody started congratulating her. After Harry had let Ginny down, Ron pulled on Harry's shoulder to turn him around. "Ok, I believe you now. Ginny is capable of taking care of herself. As long as you and Hermione can give her backup, I'll not complain about you hanging out together."

Ron was shocked when Hermione came up and gave him a surprise one-armed hug. "That was very good Ron. I think your sister would like to hear that." When Ron seemed puzzled, Hermione whispered something into his ear. He blushed a little but nodded and tried breaking his sister away from the twins. Harry had watched the whole encounter.

'That was nice, Hermione. Ron might start thinking a little more.'

'I did it just as much for Ginny. We've got a long way to go in educating him.'

Both watched as Ron talked to Ginny and both smiled as she hugged her brother. Ginny entertained her brothers as they walked the rest of the way to the common room by telling them about the little encounter she had with Malfoy just before the holidays. All of her brothers was angry initially but said that she had done a proper job of punishing the rotten git.

Harry was in a good mood by the time he got back to his dorm. He had a hard time seeing if his bed was new or not. He did notice a small scorch mark on the ceiling but wasn't sure if it had been there before. The mattress seemed a little softer but Harry wasn't going to complain to anyone about that. Harry unpacked his belonging and put the letter for Dumbledore on his nightstand so he wouldn't forget about it. He then went back down to the common room where the twins were telling everyone how their sister had scared the Slytherins with a light show!

xxxx xxxx

Classes didn't restart until January 2nd, but Harry had a huge problem the next morning when he woke up. He was planning on delivering the letter to Dumbledore that he had discovered in his trunk. The problem was that the envelope wasn't where he placed it. Harry frantically search around the dorm room and even tried an 'Accio Letter' but to no avail. It had come up missing! Harry felt just awful about it; he had no idea how important the letter was, but it might have been another type of message from his parents.

Hermione timidly came up to the dorm room after Harry let her know what had happened. She was a little surprised at how messy everything was but Harry just said they were all boys and it was still the holidays. Ron and Neville came in after Hermione had been there helping Harry search and a couple of other precious belongings turned up missing. Both Scabbers and Trevor were gone! Ron went down to tell Percy about the fact that they had been burglarized. Harry started searching the rest of Gryffindor tower while Hermione went back to the girls' dorms and spread the word about the missing pets and Harry's letter.

A thorough search by a number of parties didn't reveal either pet or Harry's missing letter. Harry abandoned the search as he went to Dumbledore's office. While the headmaster was happy to see Harry, he was a little troubled about the disappearance of the things from the ward room. It took Dumbledore about twenty minutes to calm Harry down enough so that he could discuss the time he had spent at the Granger's and the other things he found in his trunk.

Harry walked away from Dumbledore's office feeling a little better about things in general. Trevor had gotten away once or twice from Neville's custody since school started and Scabbers had already gotten a reputation among all the Gryffindors for being an escape artist. Even Percy couldn't account for the rat's actions; Percy had never had any problems with Scabbers while he was in his dorm room.

Since everyone was still on holidays, Ron and Neville had a good number of volunteers to help search around the castle. Since most of the Slytherins were back also, everyone was cautioned not to travel alone. Harry and Hermione decided to go out and try their luck together as they could talk to Ginny along the way.

Harry and Hermione went through the usual places that they had found Ron's pet before with no results. Harry was still a little frustrated over the lost letter but Hermione led him out to check the greenhouses. They saw no toad or rat tracks in the snow on the pathways but Hermione thought it might be a good chance for Harry to get some fresh air outside. Harry's mood improved as they went through the greenhouses; he, Hermione and the absent Ginny all took turns trying to identify the plants that they found that weren't labeled.

It was in the fourth of the greenhouses that Hermione heard a familiar croak as she opened up the door. Exploring around a little, Harry finally discovered Trevor hiding between two small potted plants. He bent down carefully to pick up the toad but the honking daffodil went off right in his ear. Thanking fate that the plant was still a small one, Harry managed to grab Trevor and lifted him out of his hiding place. Reversing his opinion about luck, Harry was grabbed firmly around one wrist by the other plantling; a Devil's Snare!

Hermione and Ginny were both laughing through their connection as Harry tried unwrapping himself as he held on to the giant toad. Hermione finally took pity on him and used a little magic to light up her wand with some flames. The plant, startled, released its hold and Harry managed to toss Trevor to Hermione and then catch the pot in midair. Harry turned around and laughed at the expression on Hermione's face.

(GW): 'Guess she'll have to try out for your seeker's position next year, right Harry?'

(HP): 'It was a good catch!'

(HG): 'You two are so funny!' "Take this back please."

Harry took Trevor back from Hermione and she wiped her hands on Harry's shirtsleeve. That got another giggle from Ginny but Hermione did use her wand to 'Scourgify' Harry's shirt. Harry laughed and bowed to Hermione and she curtsied back with a smile. Harry and Hermione headed back to the Gryffindor tower as they wondered how Trevor had managed to get all the way across the castle and into a closed greenhouse overnight.

Neville rushed over to greet the two as the entered through the portal. When Harry told him where they had found his pet, Neville held it up close to his face and shook it hard. Hermione smiled as she heard the threats that Neville tried to make. He was such a good natured sort that he wasn't very convincing as a threatening figure.

Ron came walking down the stairs then carrying the cage that had Scabbers in it. "We were searching down by the entrance by the Hufflepuff area when Professor Quirrell of all people came up and told us that he had found Scabbers outside his office door this morning. He may be a lousy teacher with that stutter but it was nice he just didn't make the assumption that it was an ordinary rat and killed him outright."

"You're so lucky it wasn't Snape Ron", Harry said.

Ron's face got a little queasy look to it as he imagined what the Potions teacher would have done to his pet. Harry, with a little mental nudge from Hermione, asked Ron if he had finished his homework yet. Ron said that he had done the reading but hadn't started on the Charms essay. He hung his head and said he also hadn't finished on the Potions either. Instead of blowing up at him like she usually did, Hermione asked if they could look it over and help him with the rest of the writing. Ron brightened up and said he would really appreciate it. Ron ran back up to the dorm room to fetch his bookbag and Hermione and Harry sat down at one of the tables to wait for him.

"We listen and let him ask questions," Hermione said.

"But he's got to write it himself." Harry finished.

'Are you going to correct his writing?' came from Ginny.

'No but we're going to let him see how we wrote ours after he finishes his. And make suggestions if he needs it.'

'He'll need it' responded Ginny. 'If you make an essay look like a chess problem to him, it might go better.'

'Good idea, Gin. Can you come and visit before classes start day after tomorrow.'

'I'm not sure Hermione. Mum said she missed me a lot when they were over in Romania so we may be doing some mother - daughter bonding stuff.'

'Does that mean biscuits?'

'Harry!'

'Promises for hitting somebody in the jaw, if I remember right.'

Harry didn't hear anything more from Ginny but he received a light kick from Hermione in response. She had her face hidden behind a book and tried looking innocent when Harry looked over the top at her. She couldn't keep a straight face for long but Harry joined her in giggling.

Neville came back down with Ron as he said he had some questions about Charms that he thought Harry or Hermione could answer. Hermione invited him to stay and the quick session with Ron actually turned into a couple of hour's group study as other of the first year Gryffindors wandered down to the common room and joined in the discussions. Hermione was glad everyone was taking their studies serious for once. The session wasn't very structured as people asked and answered question with some jokes thrown in. In fact, they had such a good time of it that Percy came over and told them he was putting a silencing charm around their table as they obviously couldn't be studying!

Hermione stuck her tongue out at Percy once he had turned his back and then clapped her hands to her face in horror as she realized what she had done.

"Are you sure you're not really Ginny in disguise?" asked a chuckling Ron. A few other of the first years congratulated Hermione for doing something they had wanted to do to their prefect. Hermione blushed but 'felt' Ginny giving her the equivalent of a mental hug for her actions.

The group session broke up just before curfew. Hermione really liked the interaction between her housemates. When Neville asked why they couldn't do this every week, Harry knew Hermione was just about to go over and hug him. A quick vote was taken and the group decided that Friday night after supper was a good time to get together. Although they weren't eligible for Hogsmeade yet, the first years thought that getting more things done before the weekend would be better for everyone. Hermione blushed when Neville and Pavarti thanked her for her help.

Harry and Hermione sat back in wonder at what a few words to Ron turned into. Ron had finished his Potions essay and had done most of the works on his Charms essay with Neville. Hermione let Harry look those over. Other than a couple of spelling errors, Harry couldn't find much wrong with what Ron wrote. He told Ron that the professors might have other opinions though. Ron said he might rework them after he finished his reading and wondered if he or Hermione might take a look at it. Harry said yes and Hermione quietly asked Ron who was doing the impersonating now. Ron had a small grin and said he really liked the group work as nobody was picking on him alone. He gave Harry a clap on the shoulder and asked Hermione if she was up for a game of chess sometime before he went back upstairs.

"Is he messing with my head Harry?", asked a skeptical Hermione.

"I think he's starting a new attitude, and I hope he means it. Let's not go too hard on him if he backslides. I think we really got through to him."

"I hope so. Well, I'm going to up to bed. Say hi to Ginny for me if you keep talking to her." Hermione gave Harry a brief hug and then grabbed her bookbag to head up to her dorm.

'Well, how about that? Ron actually asked for help.'

Harry heard Ginny giggling from the Burrow. 'There may be hope for him yet. I know Hermione prompted him yesterday but it was still nice hearing that he was proud of me.'

'Ron's basically a nice guy but he just doesn't know it yet. You did offer to have him hang out with us so he could give you backup also?'

'Oh course! He liked that! That was a nice study session Harry with everybody there. It was good hearing Neville speak out for once.'

'Why don't you ask your mum if you can attend the Friday sessions? That might give you some more time here.'

'Good idea, Mr. Potter. It is for my grades. But the last time something like this came up, she muttered something about packing up my trunk and me moving out of the Burrow.

'I understand that she doesn't want you gone yet but I'm kind of sorry you're not here all the time though. It was nice having all that time alone with you while we were at Hermione's. Not that I didn't appreciate the time the three of us had.'

'I know what you're trying to say Harry. I miss you too. I'll be there when classes start. Good night, Harry.'

'Sweet Dreams, Lady Weasley.'

'Harry, you never have to say that to me ever again. I'm still embarrassed."

'It's ok; you certainly deserve a title in my book. It suits you nicely! Night, Gin!'

xxxx xxxx

Harry's week of unfortunate occurrences continued on the next evening. He had slipped away after supper to take a look at the mirror he had found. Hermione asked him why he was going since he had all the newfound photos of his parents. Harry said that the mirror drew him somehow and that it was different seeing them 'in person'.

He had been sitting for over an hour just watching the faces and expressions of his parents when he felt another presence in the room. Harry stumbled as he got up but received a steadying arm from Dumbledore. "I'm sorry sir, this wasn't a prohibited room. Am I in trouble?"

Dumbledore indicated a pair of seats nearby and Harry went and sat down in one of them with Dumbledore sitting next to him. "I'm sorry you have found the Mirror of Erised, Harry. I will now have to find another hiding place for it and ask you to promise me that you won't go looking for it again."

"I was just watching my parents sir. It's strange though, when I brought Hermione and Ginny to see them, they saw totally different things."

"Ah, that is the promise and the problem with that object. It shows you what you desire most in life. For you, it was your parents and the desire for the family you don't have. I imagine Miss Granger had some visions of academic excellence show up for her."

Harry nodded at the Headmaster's guess. "But what's wrong about seeing what you desire Sir?"

"Alas, Harry this is only a vision and an illusion that one sees. You cannot get your parents back through that mirror. Miss Granger cannot get good grades simply because she saw it in the mirror. Men much older and wiser than you have wasted their lives in front of this mirror trying to get to their heart's desire. Do you understand what an addiction is Harry?"

"I think so. An undue reliance on something that makes it harmful to you."

"That's a very apt description Harry. The mirror is like that for some people. They seek the answer from the Mirror itself without doing anything else. No deeds, no actions. Just waiting for the mirror to produce what they want. This will only be a problem for you Harry if you continue looking at this illusion. You have other friends and family to concentrate on now. I'm sorry that I can't be less cruel about this, seeing how much you miss your parents, but that part of your life is sadly over. I'm not saying you shouldn't remember them however. You have other people to turn to for sharing memories of your parents like Professor Lupin. And I dare say that the new people in your life will be the basis of your new family - like you expressed at your birthday party a few months ago."

"Thank you sir. I didn't realize that there was a danger here."

"Often the most dangerous objects are disguised as being harmless. A lesson that Professor Quirrell seems to have not gotten to yet. Do not come looking for this again Harry. You have much better things to do with your time."

"Goodnight headmaster." Harry left Dumbledore standing beside the Mirror of Erised and made his way back to the Gryffindor Tower. He had a lot on his mind as he walked; his past, present, and maybe future families.