After their meeting with Quirrell, time started to move quickly and soon, November faded into December. Cold creeped over the fields of Hogwarts, covering it in a fine dust of frost in the mornings until one day in mid-December when Hogwarts found itself covered in several feet of snow. The tree branches bowed down with the weight of the snow and the lake froze solid. White flecks floated down setting softly upon the students' heads as many spent their time outside. The Weasley twins were punished for bewitching several snowballs so that they followed Quirrell around, bouncing off the back of his turban. The few owls that managed to battle their way through the stormy sky to deliver post had to be nursed back to health by Hagrid before they could fly off again.
A week before the start of the holidays, a regal white, yet exhausted looking owl had landed in front of Harry's porridge. After removing the letter from her leg, he quickly fed her a few bits of bacon and spelled her dry. The owl hooted in contentment and after a while flew off, to rest in the owlery. Once the bird had left, Harry's attention turned to the letter. But before he could inspect the impressive wax seal, Draco plopped down next to him, "So, I take it father finally sent you an invitation?"
Raising an eyebrow at the blonde, Harry turned his eyes back on to the expensive paper of the envelope and broke the wax seal proudly displaying the Malfoy family crest. After quickly scanning the official invitation to the Malfoy's annual Yule ball, Harry looked up, "He did indeed invite me."
"Please tell me that you intend on coming. Please," Draco spoke eagerly, "I know that you intend on staying at Hogwarts, but Uncle Severus could take you out for the day. And Neville and all the others from our year will be there, too. You must attend! Please!"
Chuckling at the unusually childish behaviour, Harry quickly answered, "I'll try my best to be there. I will talk to Professor Snape today after Potions."
What Draco did not know was that he had already spoken to Severus a week prior. Their Head of House had collected the names of those who intended to stay at Hogwarts for the Christmas or Yule break. Unsurprisingly, Harry's name had been the only one. With a house full of Purebloods, it was hardly surprising. Back when Tom had been at Hogwarts, he had always been the sole Slytherin to stay at the school. Not that Harry cared to be alone. Instead, he looked forward to having the common room all to himself for two weeks. Two weeks to work on projects that were better kept from the eyes of the public.
After Severus had finished writing down his name, Harry had asked him about attending the traditional Yule ball at Malfoy Manor. Although Severus clearly wasn't happy about attending any form of social gathering, he had promised to do everything in his power for Harry to travel to Malfoy Manor on Christmas Day. A couple of days prior, Severus had informed him that he had talked to the Headmaster and Dumbledore had grudgingly allowed Harry to leave the castle, but only in Severus' company.
A week later, Harry found himself in the middle of a stream of students on their way to the train station in Hogsmeade. Although he wasn't leaving the school, Harry had promised to accompany his friends to the train station. Everybody was wrapped in thick cloaks to protect them from the cold wind as they were walking through the snow. By the time they could see the red steam train, his teeth were chattering, and he couldn't feel his toes anymore. Because of that, he quickly waved his friends a pleasant journey and made his way back to the castle while applying countless silent Warming Charms on himself without using his wand.
Once he had closed the massive entrance door behind him, he quickly made his way to the dungeons, ignoring the twelve massive Christmas trees in the hall. Much like Samhain, the Headmaster seemed keen on forgoing the traditional Yule decoration in favour of a much more Muggle-friendly Christmas decoration. Harry hoped there wouldn't be a re-enactment of the birth of baby Jesus or Muggle-Christmas songs during the traditional feast.
After a quick detour to the kitchens, he finally entered the pleasantly quiet common room with a steaming mug of hot chocolate in his hand. Without further ado, he fetched his holiday assignments and started to work. It was better to get the homework out of the way as quickly as possible. Since he had already finished several of the essays, Harry was able to finish his last assignment, three feet on the characteristics of metal to wood transfigurations.
Since he had skipped lunch, Harry was slightly surprised by the state of the Great Hall. Since only a few more than twenty students had decided to stay at Hogwarts, mostly older Ravenclaws, a few Hufflepuffs and much to his annoyance the four Weasleys, the four house tables had been removed in favour of one long table. When Harry sat down, Dumbledore at the head of the table was cheerfully trying to dish Professor McGonagall some suspiciously sweet looking Christmas pudding. While scanning the foods on the table, Harry only hoped that there would be at least some vegetables there. With Dumbledore so close, he didn't dare asking the House Elves for something not purely consisting of starch and sugar. Luckily, he managed to find some green beans and a nice Shepherd's Pie. After dinner, Harry quickly retired to the dungeons narrowly escaping the Weasley twins. He treated himself to a long and hot bath before going to bed early.
The next day, he awoke early. After completing his morning exercise and taking a quick shower, Harry headed for the Great Hall for breakfast. Besides him, only Severus and Professor McGonagall were there. After a quick and mostly quiet breakfast, he returned to the Slytherin common room and got out the notes he had been working on clandestinely. For the last few months now, Tom and Harry have tried to write down as much information as possible on an obscured resurrection ritual. With the help of his post box, several decoy vaults, a Potter house elf, and Ragnok, they had tried to gather as many Dark Arts books as possible that dealt with the problem of recreating a human body. They had accumulated quite a lot of information but so far, nothing suited Tom's specific problem.
They would have to create the ritual themselves. It would be a complicated process. That was for sure. They would roughly base the ritual around an ancient Egyptian ritual, commonly known as the 'Dark Trinity Ritual' because of its three major components – bone of the father, flesh of the servant and either blood of the enemy or lover. Although not many people knew about this ritual and it was banned in Britain, it was one of the most potent and safe ways to recreate a human body. They would have to modify it though. Since the original ritual called for a Homunculus vessel, that had to contain the soul of the resurrected for a year in order to age and adapt to the body of the soul, it wouldn't suit Tom's requirements. And to be honest, neither did it please Harry. They simply weren't in the position to extract Tom's soul without harming Harry to initiate the creation of the Homunculus nor was Tom willing to spend a year in such a degrading state. They had to find a different solution.
Both of them wanted to achieve all the steps of the ritual in one night. Therefore, they had to integrate the extraction of Tom's soul, the creation and shaping of Tom's body all into one large ritual. What they knew so far was that they would need a powerful magical substance to boost things up. The easiest choice would be the Philosopher's Stone. Sadly, Dumbledore hadn't made a move yet. That's why they would be looking into possible substitutes. They had briefly contemplated using unicorn blood but nicked the idea because of all the negative backlashes the magical substance would cause. Currently, Harry favoured Basilisk venom and Phoenix tears while Tom was thinking about an undiscovered thirteenth way of using dragon's blood.
On top of that, they'd also need a powerful magical force to fuel the ritual. So far, Tom and Harry agreed that it would be the best idea for Harry to supply the ritual with magic. Magical, power-charged crystals would be used to support him while Severus and maybe a couple of other wizards would stabilise the ritual from the outside. Nevertheless, it would be complicated.
After having scanned all the notes, Harry started to write. He and Tom began with a rough sketch of all the different steps and components. They finished shortly before dinner. Harry stared at the long list of possible ingredients for the potion, a rough outline of the rune circle, an overview of the arithmantic equations and the sequence in which everything had to be executed. Sighing, Harry gathered all the sheets of parchment. He couldn't risk them lying around, even if he was the only Slytherin staying at Hogwarts.
A few minutes later, he was on his way to the Great Hall, his stomach grumbling. His notes safely stored in his trunk. The trunk itself was protected with the strongest wards, mostly erected with Parselmagic. Nobody would be able to disable them. Even if somebody would manage this impossible feat, they would be in for one hell of surprise since the notes had been taken in Parselscript. After dinner, he quickly returned to his work.
The next few days passed in the same rhythm. Harry would start the day with his exercises, grab a quick breakfast, try to avoid the Weasleys twins, who kept following him, and would only interrupt his work for dinner and a few hours of sleep. But his hard work seemed to pay off. The ritual was slowly taking shape. And one night, he finally had a breakthrough.
Having worked late into the morning hours, Harry felt slightly disoriented when he was shaken out of his dreams by a dark figure. It took a moment until he realized that it was Severus who had woken him. Blinking at the potions master, Harry couldn't help but wonder, "What are you doing here?"
"A House Elf came to me this morning, telling me that it came across you while trying to put your presents under the tree," Severus drawled, the corners of his mouth twitching, "I first didn't believe it when it told me that you had fallen asleep in the middle of the common room. Seems like it spoke the truth. You have ink on your chin."
Only then did Harry realize that he was indeed in the common room, not lying in his comfortable bed but on the floor his notes scattered around him. Suddenly, he caught sight of the Christmas tree and the pile of presents underneath it, "Severus, what day is it?"
"Christmas Day. Just how absorbed in your work have you been?" The potions master chuckled before quickly scanning the sheets of parchment on the floor, "what exactly are you working on? This clearly isn't homework."
"Oh, this," Harry explained, pointing at the parchments covered in elegant Parselscript squiggles while a Cheshire grin suddenly appeared on his face, "is the first finished draft of the resurrection ritual."
Severus' jaw dropped, "You already finished it?"
"Yup," Harry said, popping the 'p', "Tom and I finally had a breakthrough last night and continued until we finished. I must have fallen asleep on the spot. When is breakfast going to start?"
"In half an hour," the potion master replied curtly.
Harry sighed, "I must have worked longer than I thought… Originally, I had planned to check the finished ritual before breakfast, but since I must have slept through my alarm, I won't be able to do that if I want to take a quick shower."
"Why don't you taking that shower while I take a quick glance at the ritual," Severus suggested.
Harry shrugged his shoulders after a moment, "A second opinion wouldn't hurt."
A flick of his wand later, and the Parselscript turned into English. Ignoring the mountain of presents for now, Harry headed for the shower.
Twenty minutes later, he entered the common room, much more awake now. Severus was still scanning the massive pile of parchment; his eyes wide open, "Just how complicated is this ritual? And how much further does it go?"
"Roughly 70 sheets of parchment the last time I counted."
Chuckling quietly, Harry sat down next to the potions master. Unsurprisingly, Severus was looking through the potion part of the ritual, "Basilisk venom, dark phoenix tears, dragon blood, unicorn hair, Runespoor eggs, Manticore venom and Chimaera mane? Are you out of your mind?"
"At times. But only when I'm busy conversing with a certain Dark Lord," Harry laughed, "there are ways to gather the ingredients. But hopefully, this won't be necessary. This is only the first draft of the ritual and we hope to simplify it. A certain powerful magical artefact would be a nice start. Right, Severus? Has Dumbledore still not made a move to place the stone?"
As Harry had anticipated, the potions master couldn't answer. The vows he had sworn to protect the stone did not allow Severus to relay anything remotely connected to the stone. Instead, the potions master sighed, "We should head for breakfast soon. But before, I wanted to ask you if your dress robes for the ball have arrived yet?"
"They arrived weeks ago," Harry said, while reaching for something in his pocket, "it's a good thing you came down to wake me, not only to prevent me from missing breakfast. Here, I wanted to give this to you in person."
With that, he handed Severus a small, neatly wrapped box. The potions master stared at him incredulously and raised an eyebrow as if this was the most surreal thing happening to him. Pushing the box forwards once more, Severus finally accepted the box. After staring at it for a few seconds, he finally began to unwrap it carefully. Once the wrapping paper had been removed, Severus eyed the box wearily until he finally removed the lid. His eyes growing comically wide the longer he stared at the contents of the box, "You can't be serious!"
"The last time I checked, I wasn't incarcerated in Azkaban," Harry chuckled.
"That was the worst pun ever," Severus said, rolling his eyes. He then finally took the shining jewellery out of its box. Harry watched Severus inspecting the intricate design on the cufflinks. It was one Harry had sketched himself: The Prince family crest inside a tiny cauldron. The Goblins had truly outdone themselves.
"I cannot accept this," the potions master said, suddenly looking up, "I'm not worth…"
"Of course, you are," Harry interrupted Severus, not accepting his rejection, "you are the last of the direct Prince line. It is your given right to wear the symbol of your ancestors. Now that you are the Lord of the most ancient and noble House Prince, you should start to show it. I won't take the cufflinks back. Besides, I'm sure they'll look brilliant on your black dress robes."
Severus' jaw snapped shut before he continued to inspect the cufflinks, "They're masterfully crafted. Thank you. I've also got something for you."
Moments later, Harry was unwrapping his present. He wasn't surprised that it was a book and quickly went on to scan the title. Only to find none. Opening the book, he found it filled with the elegant script that could only be Severus'.
The man in question audibly cleared his throat, obviously feeling rather uncomfortable, "It's a collection of my unpublished research containing quite a lot of recipes that aren't too public friendly. I hope you'll enjoy them. They might even help you at some point. In the back, you will some of my unfinished projects, projects I've met a dead end with. Maybe you'll have some ideas. If not…"
"This is brilliant!" Harry exclaimed, looking up from the manuscript with gleaming eyes, "I cannot wait to read it and maybe Tom and I come up with a few ideas. Thank you, Severus."
The potions master then reached inside his pockets once more, "Speaking of the Dark Lord. Since there are two of you, I thought it was only fair to present each of you a gift. Merry Yule, my Lord."
Severus looked rather awkward when uttering those last to words as he handed the present wrapped in thick green paper towards Tom, the slight tremor of his hand another indication of how he truly felt. Avada green eyes turned crimson red as the Dark Lord in question accepted his present, "Thank you, Severus. A Merry Yule to you, too."
Tom then turned his attention to the present, knowing Severus it was most likely a book. Much like Harry and Severus before, he carefully loosened the wrapping. That none of them had simply ripped the paper of their presents spoke volumes – it spoke of childhoods spent in poverty or abusive homes. The corners of Tom's lips twitched upwards when he scanned the title of the book: ' The Dangers of the Internet – Mass Surveillance in the Digital Age'.
"Thank you, Severus," Tom said, a genuine smile plastered across Harry's face, "I will certainly devour this."
After that declaration, Severus relaxed considerably. Red eyes turned back to green and Harry quickly turned to his pile of presents under the large Christmas tree. Most of his year mates but also a few older Slytherins and the entire Quidditch team had sent sweets. Oddly, a roughly and rather crudely cut wooden flute from Hagrid had found its way under the tree. Draco had gifted him a selection of white peacock quills, while Neville had selected a book on obscure plants and their usage in potions. What surprised him the most was Granger's present, a book on the latest findings in the field of xenobiology, which had been published only weeks ago. He certainly hadn't expected a present from the Gryffindor but was glad that he had sent her a book about the foundation of the Wizengamot which also focused on the functions of all its members.
Once all the presents had been unwrapped, Severus was about to stand up from his armchair, when Harry suddenly met his eyes, "There is one more thing. Tom and I would like to speak to Lucius tonight. We need a proper ritual chamber for the resurrection and at least one more wizard to stabilise the ritual. Malfoy Manor would be perfect since the wards will shield us from detection. I know for a fact since Tom helped Abraxas with the ward weaving. Furthermore, Lucius is a skilled and powerful wizard who hopefully is still true to the cause. We would like you to set up a meeting towards the end of the ball."
The potions master agreed without complaint. After the draft of the ritual had been safely stored away, the two finally went up to the Great Hall. Breakfast was a merry affair. Even the Muggle Christmas decorations and Dumbledore's overly happy demeanour couldn't dampen Harry's mood since he was just so happy about finishing the first draft of the resurrection ritual. He watched Ronald Weasley shovel enormous amounts of food in his mouth, waiting for the moment when the redhead would choke, before his eyes moved over to the teachers. Professor McGonagall was smugly declaring that Professor Trelawney had sadly declined to join them, since her Inner Eye wasn't feeling too well. Chuckling quietly to himself, Harry was just about to turn back to his plate when he felt something.
His wards had been breached. Ever since arriving at Hogwarts, he had heavily warded his space and personal belongings. While nobody would be able to open or steal his trunk, such strong measures on his bed would only arouse suspicion. Therefore, he had instead opted to surround his bed with strong yet subtle monitoring charms which would alert him whenever somebody came too close or breached his privacy.
And somebody had just done that. Somebody rather powerful.
It wasn't Dumbledore though. The Headmaster was happily sitting at the head of the table eating his usual plate of overly sugary things while being engaged in a lively discussion about the creatures of the Dark Forest with his favourite domesticated pet giant.
In the end, it took all of Harry's willpower and a lot of persuasion by Tom to remain seated. Fifteen gruelling minutes later, Tom finally deemed it safe to leave. Harry rushed back to the dungeons as quickly as possible without running. Once he had reached the entrance of the common room, he quietly hissed at the bare wall. Inside, he stopped refraining himself and quickly headed for the dormitories taking two steps at a time.
With a loud bang, the door to the first-year dormitory was thrown open. Reaching out his magic, Harry quickly deduced that his trunk hadn't been touched. Instead, somebody or rather something had placed a wrapped package on top of the comforter of his bed. Narrowing his eyes at the package, Harry concentrated on the magic surrounding it. While the interior of the package radiated strange and ancient magic, the wrapping was soaked with Compulsion Charms, charms that would make him wander the castle tonight urging him to explore the restricted section of the library and pulling a specific book out of the shelves. This was without doubt Dumbledore's doing. Besides that, he could detect remnants of House Elf magic. Since Dumbledore couldn't have placed the package himself, a House Elf had most likely placed it there.
Shaking his head at the Headmaster's manipulations, Harry quickly focussed his magic on the wrapping to disable the Compulsions. After making sure that it was free of harmful magic, Harry cautiously began to unwrap the package. He could feel that there was some sort of fabric inside, a very light fabric. Harry's eyes grew wide as he stared at the fluid and silvery grey fabric, "Tom, is this what I think it is?"
"I need to take a better look at it, Harry. Please, reach out your magic once more," Tom ordered rather gently, a suspicion already forming in his mind. When Harry's magic touched the fabric, both were astonished by the amount of magic residing in the fabric. Slowly, the magic of the fabric started to unravel in front of their eyes. It was covered in tiny runes, old Pictish runes that were almost forgotten nowadays. But what was even more fascinating was the fabric itself.
Tom had seen many Invisibility Cloaks in his days. Most were woven out of Demiguise hair or produced out of ordinary fabric, layered with runes and Disillusionment Charms. They all faded over time. But this one was something different entirely.
"I think," Tom began slowly, still in awe of the fabric, "that this is the famous Potter Indivisibility Cloak. I've seen your grandfather using it. I've always wondered why it was considered to be so special, so unique. I think the answer is in the fabric. It's no ordinary fabric. It feels like the Lethifold I once had the displeasure to come across during my time in Papua New Guinea. I wouldn't be surprised if this is its skin, although that should be impossible. Put it on."
Harry was about to throw the cloak over himself when he noticed a note falling out of the fabric. Quickly crouching down to pick up the piece of parchment, he found himself frowning at the note.
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.
Tom could recognise the handwriting anywhere. This was without doubt Dumbledore's doing.
"Why would he have the cloak?" Harry suddenly roared in anger, "why? Certainly, nobody with half a brain would part with such a valuable and useful artefact, especially in times of war!"
Tom didn't know the answer to that, "Calm down, Harry! The only one to answer that is the old coot himself. But I guess that a lot of persuasion was involved. Knowing Dumbledore's tendency for mind-altering magic, I don't think your father willingly parted with the cloak. I've known your grandfather, and if James was anything like him, he would never part with such a valuable family heirloom."
Shaking his head, Harry finally put on the cloak. The magic surrounding him felt pleasant, intoxicatingly so. Without doubt, the Invisibility Cloak was something else entirely. After a while, Harry pulled the cloak off and sighed, "Tom, do you think the cloak is the next piece of the puzzle?"
"Of course, it is," Tom purred, "tonight after we return from the Yule Ball, the two of us will go exploring and see what the old fool has hidden in the Restricted Section. Hopefully, this will take us a step closer to the stone."
A few hours later, Harry stood in front of a large conjured mirror inspecting his appearance, frowning at the bowtie. Tom had instructed him how to tie the piece of fabric, yet Harry was still unsure if he had done it right.
"Stop bothering," Tom chuckled, "you look dashing and did a great job with the bowtie."
Harry felt his cheeks heating up. But Tom was right. His slacks and shirt were of the finest silk, both black and pleasantly hugged his frame. His equally black waistcoat was finished with dark green stitching. On top of that, Harry wore a traditional dress robe. To honour his Hogwarts house, Harry had chosen the rich Slytherin green. It also worked well with his eyes. To also acknowledge his position as the last of the Potters, the family crest had been embroidered right above his heart, although he had forgone the usual red and gold colouring and instead opted for more neutral black and whites. Overall, the tailors at Gladrags had done a marvellous job matching the opposite Houses of Slytherin and Potter. Tom was sure that the outfit would raise many eyes.
And indeed it did as Harry knocked at Severus' door ten minutes later. The potions master's brows rose as he stared at the Slytherin in front of him, "And here I thought one couldn't combine the Houses of Slytherin and Potter unless mimicking those vile Christmas decorations."
Ignoring his words, Harry focussed on the potions master instead, "You don't look bad either, although your choice of colour is just too predictable. Nice cufflinks though!"
To that Severus only snorted and ushered him into his office. He quickly followed the potions master, as the man entered his private quarters. They would take the floo from there on. It was just too cold and bothersome to walk to the edge of the wards surrounding Hogwarts in all the snow and apparate from there on. Flooing was much easier in this weather.
"Are you still sure about meeting Lucius?" Snape asked, obsidian eyes boring into him.
Raising an eyebrow, Harry calmly met the potions master's eyes, "Trust me. I can deal with Lucius. I'm sure his reaction will be most… surprising."
Without another word, Harry grabbed a pinch of Floo powder and stepped into the flames. Moments later, the world stopped spinning and Harry found himself surrounded by nothing but white marble as he stepped out of the fireplace. A spike of magic told him that Severus had arrived, too. Before one of them could utter a word, a House Elf clad in a clean pillowcase embroidered with the Malfoy family crest appeared in front of them with a soft pop to clean them of the soot and to escort them to the ballroom. Under the calculating gaze of countless Malfoy ancestors on the walls, all with grey eyes and pointed faces framed by light blond almost white hair, they walked to the ballroom in silence.
In the massive, lavishly decorated ballroom, Harry and Severus were greeted by a Malfoy in flesh and blood. Lucius Malfoy could easily be considered to be the pinnacle of pureblood society. Much like his ancestors, his pale, pointed face was framed by an impressive mane of pale hair, proudly paying homage to his Veela ancestry. His robes were of the finest silk, the green, black and silver representing the Malfoy family colours accompanied by the family crest embroidered right above his heart. In his right hand, he carried an obsidian walking stick with a snake head which contained his wand. His cold grey eyes were examining the newest arrivals with calculating interest, "Mister Potter, welcome to Malfoy Manor. What an… unexpected development. I was most surprised when my son expressed the desire to invite you to this social gathering. He was most adamant in his endeavour…"
Before Lucius Malfoy could say more, a hand had been placed on his shoulder, "Lucius, my dear, where are your manners?"
Although her tone was light, Lucius Malfoy straightened up immediately and cleared his throat, "I must ask for your forgiveness, Mister Potter. With the greatest pleasure we welcome you to Malfoy Manor. We, the Malfoy Family, feel honoured that you spend this very special evening here with us."
"Thank you for this most humble invitation, Lord Malfoy," Harry said meeting the grey eyes of Lucius Malfoy, his face a blank mask. After that, he quickly turned to Narcissa Malfoy, "Lady Malfoy, it's a pleasure meeting you. May this night be blessed by magic herself."
Harry bowed his head to pay respect to the hostess of the Yule ball. He then took her hand to grace her with a ghost of a kiss. Looking up, Harry saw the faint surprise in her eyes she failed to completely hide behind her impartial mask. Besides that, Narcissa Malfoy's face mirrored the picture of a perfect Pureblood. Much like her husband, her delicate yet stoic facial features spoke of generations of carefully arranged marriages that sometimes boarded the macabre. The Black family had always been eager to preserve their lineage. And Narcissa certainly was proof of that although her light hair had been inherited from the Rosier line through her mother Druella.
"And may your Yule be equally blessed by magic," Narcissa replied, her tone light as she was trying to solve the puzzle in front of her. Luckily, more guests arrived at that moment and Harry excused himself.
Shadowed by Severus, Harry entered the lavishly decorated main ballroom. Thousands of ice crystals were hanging from the ceiling. Gigantic, richly decorated Yule trees were standing in each corner of the room. On an elevated platform, a magical chamber orchestra was playing gentle tunes while little fairies were floating above their heads.
But Harry ignored all that. There were far more interesting things in this room than lavish decorations and grandeur. It was time to enter the stage of politics.
By the time the guests were called to the banquet hall, Harry had already conversed with several high-ranking Ministry officials, among them an Unspeakable, a Senior Auror and the Head of the Department of Magical Transportation. But it was at dinner that Harry finally got the opportunity to speak to one of his main targets of the night.
Much like the ballroom, the banquet hall was lavishly decorated with thousands of ice crystals and several Yule trees. Small round dinner tables were scattered across the hall, all laid out with exquisite crockery, shining cutlery and crystal goblets. Like expected, Harry and Severus were led to the head table. Afterall, Severus was the godfather of the sole heir of the Malfoy family and thus expected to sit with the hosts. Pureblood customs dictated that Harry as Severus' ward had to be included.
Seated between Draco and Severus at the head table, Harry thus found himself opposite the Minister of Magic himself, Cornelius Fudge. The man seemed eager to talk to the famous Boy-who-lived, as he cheerfully addressed Harry mere seconds after he had taken his place, "Mister Potter, what a pleasure of finally meeting you."
Sadly, their conversation was interrupted shortly afterwards by Lucius Malfoy. The room felt silent as the Lord of the Malfoy family gracefully rose from his chair. After the speech had been delivered, the food appeared on the tables. Most dishes appeared to be of French origin, paying homage to the background of the Malfoy family. Once Harry's plate had been filled, it didn't take long for the Minister of Magic to continue their conversation, "Mister Potter, you can't imagine how happy I am to finally meet you. All these years after the fall of You-Know-Who, I've wanted to get in touch with you. After all, we, the Wizarding Community, have so much to thank you for. But sadly, all ways to you were blocked. Dumbledore as your magical guardian said it was to protect you and shield you from harm. Is it really true that you grew up in the Muggle world?"
"It is," Harry replied with a blank face, "I grew up with my mother's sister and her family. I only got informed of my magical heritage a month before the start of Hogwarts. It was quite a… surprise, Minister, to tell you the truth."
"Really?" Fudge said, his expression a mixture of shock and surprise, "nobody told you?"
"No," Harry stated courtly, "I wish somebody had told me before. A month really isn't enough time to prepare yourself properly before entering a foreign world one is utterly unfamiliar with."
What followed was an awkward silence, until the Minister finally cleared his throat, "Well, I hope that you had a pleasant start at Hogwarts despite these unfortunate circumstances."
Harry forced a smile on his face, "I tried to prepare myself as much as possible. I bought a lot of additional reading material when I was buying my school supplies. Professor Snape here can certainly attest to the countless hours in Flourish and Blotts. Therefore, I had read up on the school subjects and gained a general overview of the culture, customs and traditions of the magical community. Still, I couldn't help but wonder, why is there no class on magical culture, customs and traditions offered at Hogwarts? Especially when Muggle Studies is offered as an elective starting in third year. I certainly am not the only student brought up outside the magical community. A Muggleborn student and I have talked about this extensively. We feel that a class about the Magical Society could facilitate the entry of many non-magically brought up students considerably. The least one could do is assign a book on the basics of Wizarding traditions to those students or offer literature on this topic in the school library. Sadly, information is hard to come by since the school library does not offer books on Wizarding traditions."
"What an interesting point, Mister Potter," Lucius Malfoy silky voice cut into the conversation, "and such an uncommon position. For years, it has been suggested that the Wizarding community should appropinquate itself towards the Muggle world whereas you suggest the opposite. Why would you favour such an approach?"
"Lord Malfoy, the more I read, learn and experience of the Wizarding culture, the more it fascinates me," Harry explained, playing the part of a slightly agitated yet enthusiastic child to perfection, "those traditions date back hundreds if not thousands of years. Whereas many Muggle cultures and civilisations have risen and fallen, the Wizarding world has stood the test of time. Personally, I think the Wizarding society should cherish their rich and ancient traditions instead of abandoning them in favour of assimilating to the Muggles. I only wish they would make an effort to include those new to their world, like me. Muggle-raised Witches and Wizards can still decide which culture they prefer. But only after being exposed and educated about both of them – Magical and Muggle."
"Minister," Lucius Malfoy's silky voice was now directly addressing Cornelius Fudge, "Mister Potter has just confirmed the issue I've been trying to address for years. In fact, most members of the Board of Governors share this opinion, but our efforts keep getting dismissed."
"May I add something?" Harry asked, an innocent look on his face. After both the Minister and Lucius Malfoy had voiced their consent, Harry continued his first move on the stage of politics, and education was a safe topic to start, "I also couldn't help but wonder about the declining number of classes offered at Hogwarts, especially in comparison to the other magical schools."
Harry couldn't be happier when the food eventually vanished, and the guests of the Yule Ball returned to the ballroom. The conversation had eventually turned into a heated argument about the declining standard of education at Hogwarts ever since Dumbledore had taken over as Headmaster. Lucius Malfoy had watched Harry in awe, clearly baffled by the boy's stance on education that clearly did not line with the old goat. Cornelius Fudge had been eager to listen and soaked up Harry's suggestions like a sponge. Harry was sure that many of his ideas would soon be discussed in the Ministry and on the Hogwarts Board of Governors. Maybe even during the next session of the Wizengamot. Of course, most likely in favour of his ideas. The fact that Severus had been involved into the conversation halfway through to confirm and elaborate on a few of Lucius' and Harry's claims had only added to the cogency of his ideas. It would be interesting to see the Minister go against Dumbledore.
After the pleasant dinner, Harry spent the next few hours engaging in casual conversation with several high-ranking guests of the ball or dancing with his year mates. He shared a few dances with Daphne, Rhea, Millicent and Neville, who were all surprised about his dancing skills. Harry might not be the most talented dancer, but Tom had taught him well. Overall, the evening was only interrupted by the traditional lightning of the Yule Fire. After midnight, the crowd slowly began to thin. Scanning the ballroom, Harry's eyes met obsidian ones. It was time to move.
Ten minutes later, a nervous House Elf popped up in front of Harry, "Mister Harry Potter, Master requests your presence in his office. Dobby is told to escort Mister Harry Potter to Master's office."
Ignoring the pointed look of his friends, Harry quickly followed Dobby. The Elf appeared to be hyper-active, jumping up and down and talking almost too fast to understand him, his voice high, once they had left the ballroom. What Harry could decipher was that the Elf was warning the Great Harry Potter who had beaten the evil Dark Lord that Master Lucius was a dangerous Dark Wizard. Harry almost snorted at that declaration. Lucius Malfoy clearly did not have his servants under control.
Harry was more than glad when they arrived at the office of the Lord of the Malfoy Family and he could finally leave the rebellious Elf behind. Without looking back, Harry opened the shining mahogany double door. The office behind was as lavish as the rest of the house. The walls were of the finest and purest white marble, the bookcases filled with old, priceless tomes and an intricately woven carpet on the ground with its rich colours all reeked of Galleons. Ignoring all the wealth around him, Harry's eyes landed on the man of the house. Lucius Malfoy, the image of a Pureblood, was sitting behind his massive mahogany desk, his family crest proudly displayed behind him on the white marble. Pale grey eyes landed on Harry as the Malfoy Lord gestured him to take the seat next to Severus, "Mister Potter, please join us."
"Thank you, Lord Malfoy," Harry said with a slight nod of his head before gracefully taking the offered seat next to the Potions Master.
"Now," Lucius Malfoy said with a silky voice while casually locking his hands underneath his chin, "I can't help but wonder about the reason why you asked for a meeting, Mister Potter. So far, you are a conundrum. While Albus Dumbledore and the media are keen on presenting you as the golden saviour, your actions speak differently. You turned your back on Gryffindor and instead got sorted into the snake pit. According to my son, you are weary of the Headmaster and promote the preservation of Wizarding traditions. And today, you directly positioned yourself against Dumbledore's politics. I wonder what game you are playing, Mister Potter. I wonder which side you are on. Which goals you aim to fulfil. So many mysteries indeed. And I wonder if you will tell me."
A Cheshire grin suddenly appeared on Harry's face as his Avada-green eyes met the pale ones of the Head of the Malfoy family, "Very well observed, Lord Malfoy. But after all, you have always been observant and managed to manoeuvre yourself through the world of politics, always positioning yourself carefully at the top of the food chain. The fact that you've managed to stay out of Azkaban after the disappearance of the Dark Lord clearly indicates your skills."
At the last words, Lord Malfoy paled, "What did you say?"
The grin on Harry's face grew only wider, "I'm impressed that you managed to stay out of Azkaban after the disappearance of the Dark Lord. "
Lucius Malfoy turned even paler, his jaw slightly quivering, "Why did you use that name? What game are you playing?"
"Oh, Lord Malfoy, I positioned myself a long time ago," Harry chuckled darkly, "did you ever wonder what happened that night ten years ago? Where did he go to? Lucius, I'm afraid I never left."
At those last words, green eyes turned crimson. Lucius Malfoy's jaw dropped completely while losing all the colour in his face. In an attempt to flee from the dangerous crimson eyes, he pushed himself back off his desk while simultaneously trying to stand up. Because he had pushed himself off so forcefully, the Lord of the Malfoy family lost his balance and tumbled over with his chair while a high-pitched scream escaped his mouth.
Tom found every bit of his self-restraint tested, while Severus next to him erupted in laughter. Meanwhile, Lucius tried to untangle himself and regain some of his dignity yet failing spectacularly. At this sight, Tom couldn't keep quiet any longer, "Lucius, I'm disappointed. Where are your manners?"
This caused Severus to only laugh louder which in turn caused Lucius to stop his struggle in favour of openly staring at the laughing Potion Master, "You knew?"
"Of course, I did! You should have seen yourself tumbling over like a peasant" Severus managed to get out in between laughter before turning to his Lord, "you were right, my Lord, scaring your minions is much better than being on the receiving end."
"It is," the Dark Lord said, his diabolical smile widening showing too much teeth, "but now do get up, Lucius, or do you intend on staying on the ground like the vermin you so despise."
When the Lord of House Malfoy refused to move, too shocked by the words of his master, Tom lost his patience and hissed angrily, "Hurry, Lucius! You don't want to test me!"
Only then did the blonde start to move. Once he had picked up his chair, placed it back behind his desk and sat down, did he speak, "But what about the boy, my Lord?"
"Your concern for Harry touches me, Lucius," Tom hissed quietly, "but let me assure you that Harry and I are on the same page. He is not under my possession. We interact on an equal footing. He lets me reside inside his body until we manage to get mine back. And here, you come into play, my dear Lucius. We have to talk."