A/N: Hey guys, I'm so happy that everyone has been loving this story so much. You guys are the reason why I love to write!
Chapter Twenty-One: Harry
The weeks following the first Quidditch match was spent mainly in the library trying to figure out who Nicolas Flamel was. If they were not in the library for researching Flamel, they were there trying to finish homework. The Monday after the Quidditch match, Professor Quirrell assigned them a twelve-inch essay on why they needed to learn how to defend themselves against hags due on the following Friday. Then on Tuesday both Professor Binns and Professor McGonagall assigned essays. For History of Magic they had to write a twelve-inch essay over Emeric the Evil which would be due the following Tuesday. Their Transfiguration essay was over the spell and counter spell for turning a mouse into a snuffbox due thankfully on Thursday, the twenty-fourth. Then on Wednesday, Professor Sprout assigned them a twelve-inch essay over the lifespan of the Bouncing Bulbs due on the twenty-third.
Everyone was being a nightmare during the two weeks following the Gryffindor vs. Slytherin match. Harry was beyond stress because not only did he have homework to do and three – sometimes four – girls to nag him into completing his homework quickly, Wood was trying to put in as many Quidditch practices as he could. To be honest, Harry didn't understand how Wood wasn't breaking. Wood was a Fifth year, so he had prefect duties and he had his O.W.L.s. coming up at the end of the school year.
The first-time Harry heard about O.W.L.s. was the other day when a fifth year Hufflepuff girl broke down into tears in the library. So, Harry asked Ron if they needed to find Professor Sprout for the girl and Ron looked up to say, "No, I'm sure she's just one of the girls who is freaking out over her O.W.L.s. and she won't be the last one we see break."
"What are O.W.L.s.?" Hallie asked from her seat across from Lisa and Seamus. His sister was able to talk their whole group into coming into the library to work on their essays. The students that were new to their table with Lisa was Rowan and Ryder from Hufflepuff, Sophia and their newest friend, Isabel, from Ravenclaw, Seamus, Dean, Ella, and Neville.
Seamus looked up from his own essay before answering, "From what my mum has told me, O.W.L.s. stands for Ordinary Wizarding Levels. It's a test that we take at the end of our fifth year. It will basically tell us if the career we want will be possible because it tells us if we can move on in certain subjects."
"Oh, that's great!" Hallie grumbles from her seat.
"Don't worry, Hallie. You will do fine. It's me that we should all worry about," Neville says from his seat beside Prim. The group all tries to comfort Neville before they get shushed from Madam Prince.
The Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff Quidditch game on November twenty-sixth comes and goes with Ravenclaw winning the match by two hundred points to Hufflepuff's seventy points. That game was hard to cheer for because the group didn't want to have to pick between Lisa and the other Ravenclaws and Rowan and Ryder, even if they were closer with Lisa than anyone else outside of their own house.
On December ninth, Professor McGonagall walks up and down each table, taking the names of the students who are staying at Hogwarts for the Christmas holiday. Harry already knew that both Lisa and Rowan will be heading home and he was completely ecstatic that he would be one of the students heading home for the holiday. When Professor McGonagall came to their table, the Weasley twins and Lee Jordan said they were going home, same with Neville, Ella, Dean, and Seamus. Professor McGonagall walked up to his seat and asked, "What about you five? Staying or will you be on the train heading back to London?"
"I'm heading home, Professor." Hermione says from her seat beside Harry. He knew that she couldn't wait to see her little sister.
"Going home, Professor." Ron says from across from Harry.
Professor McGonagall's eyes land on Harry, Hallie, and Prim. "And I'm taking a guess that you three will be heading home as well."
"Yes Professor. Our grandparents want all of us to spend our first Christmas together." Prim says from beside Ron. Professor McGonagall nods her head before going on down the table.
The days went by faster and faster. On the twelfth, Ron's parents sent a letter saying that him and his brothers needed to either see if they can spend the holiday with one of their friends or stay at Hogwarts because they were going to visit his brother, Charlie, in Romania. Ginny was going to be spending the holiday with Melanie and Reid. Ron complained about how he was going to be stuck at Hogwarts for the whole holiday with Percy. To hopefully make Ron's day, Harry writes a letter to Gran and Papa, asking if Ron could come and stay with them during the Christmas holiday. The following Friday, he gets their reply and runs from the Great Hall to the Gryffindor common room to let Ron know. He almost passes him in one of the corridors but stops and says, "You can come stay with us for the holiday! Gran just wrote back saying that you can stay! We should send your parents a letter, letting them know!" Ron grins and they run towards their common room to write the letter. Later that night, Harry and his friends are sitting in front of the fire trying to stay warm in the cool castle.
"I can't believe that Prim nor I thought about sending Gran a letter asking if Ron could stay! Though I do feel bad that he will have to come with us to our eye appointments." Hallie says from the floor.
After the first Quidditch match, Harry had sent their grandparents a letter asking if he could go to the eye doctor and see about getting contacts. He still loved his glasses (mainly because he has heard that his dad wore a similar pair) but he knew contacts would be beneficial for Quidditch matches. "I don't mind, Hallie. It's better than having to stay here and deal with Percy. You know he actually wants to stay during the break!"
"What about Fred and George? Are they staying?" Prim asks from the loveseat she was sharing with Hermione.
Ron looked over at her and shook his head 'no'. "Nope, they are going to spend the break with Lee Jordan's family. At least this way, I still get to see Ginny. We will see the Bennett family over the break, right?"
"Of course, Ron. Reid is basically Hallie's and mine little brother. Though, we won't see them until probably New Year's Eve. Gran and Papa are throwing a party. Who you should be worried about meeting is our cousin, Dudley."
Prim rolls her eyes at Ron's horrified expression before saying, "Ron, he isn't that bad. My brother has actually gotten a lot better since our birthday. Harry is just trying to freak you out is all." She turns towards Dean and Seamus before asking, "What will the two of you be doing while on break?"
"Nothing much, really. Just basically spending time with our family. Though, we definitely can't wait to come to your party on New Year's Eve." When Gran had sent the letter saying that Ron could stay the night, she also sent invites for their New Year's Eve party, saying that they could invite anyone they wanted.
"It should be a lot of fun but you have to remember that there will be muggles at the party and you can't talk about magic." Hermione tells them.
Dean rolls his eyes and Seamus says, "We know Hermione. Don't worry about us, okay? We'll be good." Hermione shakes her head and they all head up to bed a couple of minutes later.
As the end of term got closer and closer, the days seemed to run longer. On the seventeenth, Fred and George got detention until term ended plus another two weeks once term started back up for bewitching snowballs to hit Professor Quirrell in the back of the head. They also lost the Gryffindor House twenty points which brought them to be tied for second place with the Slytherin House.
The last week of school, every single professor gave them homework to work on over the break. Professor Snape gave them a twelve-inch essay over the Wideye potion, Professor Binns gave them a twelve-inch essay over the Soap Blizzard of 1378, and Professor Sinistra wants them to complete a chart for the moon and plants from the twenty-first of December until January fourth. For their charms homework, they had to write a twelve-inch essay over the softening charm. In Herbology, a twelve-inch essay over the spiky bush. Professor McGonagall gave them a twelve-inch essay over the Avifors spell and Professor Quirrell assigned them a twelve-inch essay on the differences between red and green sparks and why they need to know the usefulness of them. Their essays were either due the first day that they came back or the second day – well besides Astronomy but that was because their class was on Wednesdays at midnight.
As they were trying to get to Herbology on time, they saw Hagrid setting up the Christmas trees in the Great Hall. Harry was really going to miss Hogwarts while they were away and he did want to see what the school was like during the holiday break. He was also going to miss being able to fly. On the night before they were set to leave, the first-year Gryffindor boys' dorm was crowded with Hallie, Prim, Hermione, and Ella. The girls were checking that the boys had all of their textbooks in their trunks. They were technically done with their first term at Hogwarts but the end of term wasn't completely over until tomorrow when they left for the Hogwarts express. While they were in London, they were going to finish up their Christmas shopping. Harry, Hallie, and Prim were able to do a tad bit of catalogue shopping but there were a few items that absolutely had to be bought in store. The Golden Quintet weren't going to give gifts with their Hogwarts friends until the New Year's Eve party and that they were only going to make their gifts. Hallie had come up with the plan that they should do a Secret Santa gift exchange. Harry knew who all had who: Ron had drawn Sophia's name, Prim's name was Seamus, Hermione got Ella's name, Hallie's drew Ryder, and Harry was Neville's Secret Santa. He had no idea what to do for Neville and he hoped his sister could be of some help.
The next morning, Harry woke up earlier than he had on school days. Well, one of the reasons was because he had to go and get Hedwig from the Owlry and also because they had to be at the Hogsmeade station by 9:45 AM, so they got on the train before it left at 10:00 AM sharp. He quickly got dressed and woke Ron up. "Come on Ron, get dressed. I need to go get Hedwig before we go to breakfast." Ron grumbled but pulled himself out of bed. Harry went around his dorm room to wake up his friends. Once he knew everyone was up and getting ready, he dragged his trunk down the stairs. He was going to have to invest in a suitcase or learn how to make his trunk lighter. Halfway down the stairs, he remembered that he was a wizard that knew how to levitate his trunk. "Wingardium Leviosa." His trunk started to float and he quickly but carefully went down the stairs. When he sits his trunk down by the door portrait hole, he turns around to see Hallie, Prim, Hermione, and Ella sitting around the fire. "How long have you guys been up?"
Hallie looked up from her book before answering, "We might have walked down about thirty minutes ago. Are the guys getting up because we have to bring our trunks downstairs before we eat breakfast? Also, we need to go and get Hedwig as well because I highly doubt you want to leave her here."
Harry was about to say something to that when Midnight and Cleo jumped up from their perch and meowed loudly in protest. "Of course, I'm not leaving Hedwig here. She's coming home with us as well." Moments later, Ron, Neville, Dean, and Seamus walk down levitating their trunks. Well, Neville was dragging his down the stairs. They were about to levitate their trunks to leave when Harry heard Fred chuckle. "What?"
"You don't have to bring them down to the Great Hall. The castle somehow does that for us. If you don't believe us, then by all means, levitate them downstairs but think about it this way. How did they get up here on your first night? They appeared at the foot of your beds that night, didn't they?" George says with a laugh and the group of first years nod their heads 'yes'. "Good, now let's head down for breakfast! Harry, don't forget to bring Hedwig's cage."
The group walks down and when they walk into the Great Hall, Harry sees that the only students in the Great Hall are the ones leaving for home. They walk over towards their normal seats and they were barely there for a minute when Lisa, Sophia, Isabel, Rowan, and Ryder run over. The three Ravenclaws and the two Hufflepuffs sit down beside them and starts to fix their plates. "I thought we always had to eat at our tables?" Prim asks from her place between Dean and Neville.
"Not so much during breaks." Ryder tells her and continues on, "They don't care so much when the students are about to leave for home. Also, there isn't many students over at our tables to begin with." Prim nods her head and the group continues on with their breakfast.
Moments later, Lavender and the Patil twins walked into the Great Hall and over towards the Gryffindor table. "Happy Christmas guys," Parvati said with a smile as the three girls sit down next to Isabel. "Are you excited to be heading home for the holidays? Padma and I miss our parents a lot."
"We are. It's going to be our first Christmas with our grandparents; so, it should be a grand occasion. Though, we are going to miss being able to do magic and Hogwarts." Hallie said with a sad smile.
Lisa leaned forward to look at the other girls and said, "All of us are excited about heading home but what we can't wait for is the New Year's Eve party that Hallie, Harry, and Prim's grandparents are throwing!"
Prim shot Lisa a glare and Harry coughed before throwing out an invite. "You three are more than welcome to come but you do have to make sure you act like muggles. The majorly of the people coming are muggles."
Lavender coughed and looked over at the Patil twins. "Um, thank you for the invite but we are all going on a trip with our parents. Parvati and Padma are heading to India to visit family and my family is going to Germany."
"Oh, well, I hope you guys have fun on your trip. The party is probably going to be lame any way. We have to dress up and such; and most of the people there are going to be our grandparents' friends and maybe a few of my mum's friends." Prim tells them with a shrug. "The only thing that will end up amazing is that my muggle best friend will be there. And we've only been able to write a handful of letters to one another."
"And don't forget that we get to see Dudley and Max while we are home!" Hallie added in. Harry couldn't believe how both his and his sister's relationship with their cousin has changed since moving in with Gran and Papa. There were still bad days but Dudley has all but stopped picking on Harry and other kids. Some of Dudley's friends dropped him but luckily Piers was a true friend to their cousin and he stuck around.
Prim laughed and said, "Of course I'm excited about seeing my brother! And I know all three of our familiars are excited about seeing Max. Max must miss all of us terribly. Poor dog." Just then the rest of the Gryffindor Quidditch team walked into the Great Hall and over to where the first years were sitting.
"Okay, Harry, what exactly are we supposed to wear to this party?" Angelina asked as she wrapped her grey fur-lined coat tighter around her.
"Gran's letter said dress wear and for muggles that means nice dress clothes. So, Prim and I have no idea what we are wearing yet, and Harry and Ron are probably going to wear dress shirts and sacks. Just find a really nice dress in London before heading home with your parents. We are going to be shopping in both Diagon Alley and a few London shops. Though, I'm not so sure if we will be able to do so since we will have our familiars with us. Hedwig can just fly home, which she would probably love to do no matter what but we won't be able to leave Cleo and Midnight in the car. And Ron wouldn't be able to leave Scabbers in the car either!"
"Don't worry, Hals. Gran and Papa most likely have a plan and if anything, you two could always carry a bag or something. Maybe, we can buy one while we are in Diagon Alley." Harry says with a shake of his head. Throughout the rest of breakfast, the group saw Hannah, Susan, and Daphne and they all gave each other pleasant goodbyes to one another. They were the last of the students that they knew and were friendly enough with that were leaving Hogwarts. Sophia and Mandy from Ravenclaw walked in with a gloomy expression on their faces. Harry looked over at Lisa and asked, "Why do Sophia and Mandy look so sad? The semester is over, everyone should be excited for the holidays!"
Lisa looked over to where her two house-mates were sitting at her house's table and sighed. "Their parents had to leave on business and they can't go home. Everyone in our year and house sent letters out to our parents asking if they could come with us and we did get many 'yeses' back but Sophia and Mandy said it wouldn't be the same without their parents and siblings around for the holidays. So, they just opted for staying at Hogwarts."
"But most of the students decided to leave for the holiday. I know there won't be anyone in our year left in the Gryffindor house and it's the same for most of the other years and houses. I feel so bad for them." Prim says from her seat.
"I know, but we couldn't force them to come home with us. They are going to be miserable no matter where they went. Sophia is a half-blood, so she knew her parents could get called away for the ministry. Both of her parents are Aurors and Mandy is a muggle-born. But she never would've thought her parents would have to go away on business since they normally don't have to… I'm not really sure where her younger sister is going but she's stuck here since no one else in her family knows about her being a witch." Sophie adds in with a sigh.
Just then, their Head Girl walked in holding hands with one of the new Slytherin Prefects. "Wait a second! When did this happen? I thought you told me she and the Head Boy have been dating for years now?" Hallie said as Heather Stewart kissed Drake something on the cheek before heading towards the Professor's table.
"Um, about a week ago… There's been a lot of screaming matches in the Ravenclaw common room lately." Isabel said with a shake of her head. "None of us know what happened. Almost three weeks ago, she broke up with Logan and then a week later, she was seen holding hands with Drake. I thought, you guys would've heard by now. It's been the talk of the school since they broke up."
Harry looked over at where his Ravenclaw friends were sitting down at. "You guys are kidding me, right? We've been focused on all of the last-minute homework and test that have been happening then what is going on in someone's dating life or any of the gossip going around here. So, far I've heard that Hermione and I are dating because we were seen studying in the library together last week and I heard the same thing about my sister and Finnigan over here. Half of this gossip going around is false anyways. I mean, Hals and Seamus aren't dating nor is Hermione and me. I don't know anyone our age dating at the moment!"
"Sally Smith and Oliver Rivers are dating for about a week now." Rowan calls down the table and Hallie giggles.
"They make a cute couple. I've seen how they look so uncomfortable holding hands when they walk down the halls. But still, they look cute together. Though, my brother is right most people our age aren't dating or if they are, it's not like it's going to last longer than a few weeks. By the time that we get back to Hogwarts, Sally and Oliver will be broken up. Are they both leaving for their own homes?" Hallie asks Rowan or Ryder.
"Um, I actually think they are both staying. Sally's brother is staying as well." Ryder says and Hallie nods her head.
Harry looks over to the Hufflepuff table but didn't see any of the students that they were talking about. Then his eyes travelled over to the Professor's table. He saw how both Professor Quirrell and Heather were arguing about something with Logan and a few of the other Prefects. "I wonder what's going on over there."
Everyone's eyes travel to where Harry was staring and Isabel sighs. "Like we said, Heather and Logan haven't been getting along very well and Professor Quirrell is going to be the Professor over Ravenclaw during the break since Professor Flitwick will be heading home. So, they are probably trying to figure out how they will be working together over the break. The Head Boy and Girl don't have to stay over the break but it does normally happen each year. My older brother was Head Boy four years ago and decided to stay over the break to keep an eye on the other students." Harry and Hallie nodded their heads as they continued to watch the fight.
Moments later, most of the students were leaving and as Harry was turning away from the group, his scar burst into pain. "Ouch!" Both Harry and Hallie said at the same time as Professor Snape came into view of the duo.
"Your scars?" Hermione and Prim says at the same time as the Potter twins nod their head 'yes'. "You really need to say something about the pain, guys." Prim says with a sigh.
Harry rolls his eyes and says, "Prim, it's probably nothing. It happened as soon as Professor Snape walked over to Heather and Professor Quirrell. Maybe my body is trying to tell me that I need less potions for a while?" Ron chuckles and Harry grins over at his friend. Prim groans but leaves him be for the time being. The rest of their breakfast went by quickly and once they were done, the Golden Quintet made their way towards the Owlry to pick up Hedwig. As they ran past the front doors they saw their trunks. "I guess the Weasley twins were right!" After they got Hedwig, and they had moved their trunks to the carriages that bring older students to the school at the beginning of the year, before they were on their way to the Hogwarts Express.
The trip home went quickly and before Harry knew it, he and Ron were pulling their trunks off the train before getting the girls' trunks as well. "Bye guys! Happy Christmas and see you at our place on New Year's Eve!" He calls over to their friends as Ron and him worked. "Hals, go find us trollies as we get the rest of our stuff off the train." Harry called and his sister nodded her head before all three girls ran off to look for trollies. "I didn't mean all of you!" He grumbles and stares at where they left Cleo and Midnight. Their familiars were looking around the room as they sat by a snoozing Hedwig.
"Let's just finished getting the trunks off, Harry." Ron grumbles and Harry nods his head. Once they had gotten Hermione's trunk off the train, the girls had brought at least three trollies over and went to look for two more. Hermione had stayed and helped them put three trunks on the trollies and when Hallie and Prim got back all three were sitting on the floor. "You two are putting your trunks on the trollies!"
Hallie and Prim roll their eyes before doing exactly what Ron said. Once they had everything on the trollies, they made their way over to and through the barrier, all the while looking for their family. They finally spotted them right off to the right of the barrier. The first person that they saw was Dudley and Max. Both of them came running towards the group of five.
"Who is that?" Ron asked nervously.
Prim smiles before saying, "My twin brother, Dudley." After that, she picked up the pace to meet her brother in a hug. Harry and the others followed behind Prim and by the time they made it to the hugging siblings, Gran, Papa, and Aunt Petunia were there as well.
A round of hugs went around before Harry introduced Ron to his family. "It's so nice to meet you, Ron. Harry, Hallie, and Prim have spoken a lot about you in their letters. Hermione, dear, you look lovely. I saw your parents a few moments ago over on the far side of the platform, and I think they had your little sister with them." Harry smiles at seeing Hermione's smile brighten at the mention of her little sister. "We invited your family over for Christmas dinner and they said that they would love to come. And Ron, the Bennetts have of course been invited as well, so you will be able to see you little sister." Ron smiled at the mention of Ginny and Hermione was looking all around for her family.
"Hermione, you can go leave and find them. We'll see you on Christmas anyways." Hallie tells her with a laugh. Hermione smiles before she starts her long line of hugs. The only people she didn't hug was Aunt Petunia and Dudley because she didn't know them as well and Ron because they never have had that kind of friendship. Harry didn't really understand why he hated seeing her leave them but he could only assume it was because he would miss his friend. After Hermione left the group, they started walking towards the front door before going through it.
Gran walked in-between Harry and Hallie and listened as they talked about their first semester at Hogwarts and how they couldn't wait for her and Papa to meet all of their new friends. "Seamus is Irish and he's really good at somehow blowing up a lot of his spells. Dean is a muggle-born like mum was and he loves football. Lisa has a photographic memory, so she can tell you almost anything about the magical world." Hallie said as they got closer to the parking lot. "Wait? How are we all going to fit?" Heading to King's Cross station was hard coming for the train ride but they have one extra person and trunk this time around.
"Petunia brought her car, so Prim and Dudley will be riding with her. Dudley's train got in only a few minutes before yours did and we knew that we had enough time to get his bag into the car. Come on, let's head on out. We know you guys have some shopping to do before we head home." Papa told them and Harry nodded his head.
"We do. But only for you guys really. We were able to order some things for each other and Ron and Hermione. But do you mind if we stop at a muggle bookshop? I have an ideal present for someone." Harry said with a rub of his neck.
Hallie looked over at him and asked, "Who? Like you said, we've ordered everyone something magical and we just need to pick the stuff up in Diagon Alley. And we aren't supposed to be buying anything for our Secret Santa."
"It's something to go along with the present I got Hermione and I don't even know if I can find it exactly. She was telling me about this book she's been wanting to read. She's into Greek and Roman mythology and has been since the Percy Jackson series came out a couple of years ago. And she's been looking for a book on the Norse Gods and Goddesses ever since Rick Riordan has come out with one of his new series. She just really likes to be informed about the myths she's reading about." Harry told his sister with his face going beet red.
Hallie smirked and questioned, "And how exactly does this go with the present you bought her?"
"I found her a book that goes more in-depth of Hogwarts and the founders. So, they are both about history. One real and the other about mythology." Harry answered as he stared straight ahead.
"Harry, she'll love it!" Prim said with a soft smile and Harry gave her a smile back.
They walked further outside and over to where Papa and Aunt Petunia parked their cars. Once they loaded everything up and let Hedwig fly on home, they left for Diagon Alley. When they stopped at the Leaky Cauldron and got out of the cars, Dudley looked out puzzled. "Why are we at an abandoned building?"
"It's the Leaky Cauldron, Duds. Wizards and Witches put spells on buildings that can be seen by muggles, like you, mum, and Gran and Papa. But if you focus real hard and think about how you believe in magic, it should show up for you." Prim tells her twin and he nods his head.
Moments later, Harry hears Dudley gasp before saying, "I see an old building! I'm seeing the Leaky Cauldron, right?" Harry nods his head and the group walks on through the front door. He waves over at Tom the barman before he follows his Gran out towards the secret entryway. That's when the bickering started.
"I want to open the entryway!" Hallie wined.
"No, let me! I want to be the one to show Dudley!" Prim wined.
This went on for a few moments before Papa yelled at them. "Harry will be the one opening the entryway since he was the only one to not wine about being able to do so! Now, Harry, do you remember how to open it?"
Harry nodded his head and took his wand out of his holster. From the trash bin, he went three up and two across before the bricks started to move and allowed them into the secret wizarding shopping centre. Once the gateway was open, the small group made their way into Diagon Alley. They quickly went through Flourish and Blotts and a few other shops before they could leave to do their muggle shopping in London. Harry was right, they were able to buy magical pet carriers for Midnight and Cleo. From what he could tell, they were a newer and better version then what he had seen during the summer. The ones Hallie and Prim got were basically little homes with cat beds in them.
Since they had Max with them, they had to have someone always stand outside of each store they went into and Papa had decided that would be him. Harry was able to find Hermione a book about the Norse mythology at the Waterstones bookshop. An hour later, they were heading on back towards Esher, Surrey. "Ron, dear, I'm sorry your sister couldn't have been there with us; but Melanie tries not to be out in the wizarding world all that often and she had to work earlier this morning."
"It's okay. I'm just glad that I'll get to see her this holiday. Thank you for extending the invite for your New Year's Eve party to my brothers as well. They are also super stoked to being able to see Ginny as well. Normally our parents don't leave for the holidays, so they've always been able to head home. Though, I don't understand why my other brother didn't want to leave Hogwarts this year." Ron said with a shrug.
"Well, like what Isabel said about the Head Girl and Boy. They stay at Hogwarts over the break. Your brother probably wants to make it known that he is Head Boy material. Though, I don't think that matters as much to the Professors that choose who will become Head Boy and Girl, but to his, his own." Hallie said as she read over a book from her bag.
After that, the ride goes quiet and once they pulled into the driveway, Papa turns around in his seat. "Okay, Harry. We got you an appointment tonight with a friend of your Gran and mine. Hallie, Prim, and Dudley are also getting their eyes checked as well. So, we will only be home long enough to unload before heading back out." Harry nodded his head and got out of the car, followed by Hallie and Ron. He saw Prim and Dudley pull their trunks out and started to do the same with his own. Once everything was situated upstairs, they filed back into the cars to head towards the eye doctor.
When they got out of the cars, they made it into the building. "Thank you for doing this. We didn't know when they could get in during the break from school and Harry really wants to try contacts because he's on a sports team at his school and he doesn't want to break his glasses."
"It's fine, Rosalie. After Aiden designed our new house a few years ago even though he was retired, we had to do so. Okay, so this is how we are doing this, Harry and Hallie will be seen by me and Prim and Dudley will be seen by my husband. Henry, come in here!" The lady eye doctor called into the building. "I'm so sorry, I forgot to introduce myself to you. I'm Dr. Alice Keller and my husband is Dr. Henry Keller. We've been friends with your grandparents ever since they've moved to Esher. Let's get started! Harry follow me." Harry nodded his head and followed her to where he has to do the air puff thing and the other one he had never known the name of. After that everything seemed to flow quickly. He went into the exam room and they did the exam and before he knew it, his sister went through the same process. Once everyone was done, they were all sitting at the long table to be fitted for either contacts or glasses or neither. "Okay, Harry, try these. If you don't like how they feel in your eyes, that's okay. It just means that contacts are not for you."
Harry nodded his head and he went on to stick the contacts in his eyes. Blinking a few times, he looks over at his grandparents before looking back at Dr. Keller. "They seem to be feeling alright."
Dr. Keller turned towards his sister and said, "Okay, Hallie, your eyesight isn't bad but over time you will feel some strain, so I would like to suggest you try a pair of glasses. These will be mainly used for prolonged reading and just in general when your eyes get tired. It's always good to rest your eyes for a bit." Harry watched his sister nod her head and start to look through glasses. He saw her pick out a pair of black nerd style and try them on before smiling.
"I like them and if I'm going to have to wear glasses, at least I get to look stylish." Hallie says with a shrug of her shoulders as Dr. Keller heads to the back with both of their frames. Harry had decided that he wanted to stay with the round style frames that he's always used since he knew his father had the same type of glasses.
Ron looked over at where everyone was sitting to get fitted for glasses before saying, "So, being a nerd is a good thing?" Harry and Dudley laughed as Hallie and Prim glared over at Ron. "What? I'm just wondering! I thought nerds weren't cool in both… anywhere." Harry sobered up when he realized that Ron had almost let the knowledge of magic existing slip out.
"Maybe not to you but you don't seem to mind Hermione, Hallie, and I being nerds when homework gets dished out." Prim says with a huff as she looks anywhere but at Ron.
"I'm sorry, Prim. I didn't mean for you to take it that way. You know that being friends with you guys is the only reason I'm doing well in all of our classes. Do you forgive me?" Ron asked.
Prim looked up and gave him a tiny smile and a nod of her head. "And Ron, you get those good grades because you are smart, you just need us to keep you focused long enough to do your work." Harry stayed quiet, thinking. Something was happening right about now between his best friend and his cousin; and he knew it meant things will be changing at some point in the future.
Two days later, Harry wakes up in his room before looking over at the clock. Seeing how it's now 7:30 in the morning, he groans and sits up. Gran wanted everyone up and down stairs by eight o'clock for breakfast and presents. "Ron, get up. We need to head downstairs soon." He hears Ron groan and sighs.
Harry didn't really blame Ron for being tired. All of them, even Dudley, was up late, playing Apples to Apples in Hallie's room. He was surprised that they didn't just decide to crash on Hallie's floor. They played multiple rounds until Prim won with fifteen green cards and midnight had already came and went. "I'm not kidding, Ron. Wake up. We need to be downstairs soon." Harry said as he got out of bed and went to the bathroom that he shared with Dudley. Moments later, he came out and saw that Ron was still sleeping on the blow-up mattress and he groaned.
"Just push him off the bed, Harry." Prim calls from Harry's opened bedroom door.
Harry looked over to where his sister and cousin were standing and sighed. "I'm not going to push my best friend off the bed."
"Fine, I'll do it!" Prim grumbles and walks over to push Ron off the bed and onto his back.
"Merlin's beard! What you do that for!" Ron grumbles from the floor.
Prim smiles sweetly at him and says, "You wouldn't wake up when Harry asked you to, so I decided to push you off the bed. It's Christmas Day, Ron. Happy Christmas, Harry. Happy Christmas, Ron." A chorus of 'happy Christmas' went around before they all made their way down the stairs towards the kitchen.
"They are finally up, Aiden. Happy Christmas kids. Come and sit down, breakfast is almost ready." Gran said with a smile and they did what she told them to. Papa walked around with the orange and apple juice, pouring glasses as Aunt Petunia and Dudley walked in.
"Wow, mum, the kids are alive! I'm surprised. I heard you guys had an epic Apples to Apples game going on well past midnight." Aunt Petunia said with a smile as she placed a kiss onto Prim's forehead. "Mum, we are still going to the house next week to pick up the rest of my things, correct?"
Gran nodded her head while Prim and Dudley looked back and forth between Gran and their mum. "You're heading to our house to pick up the last bit of your things? Mum, what's going on?"
"I'm divorcing your father, kids. I know you guys knew that I was planning on moving in here with mum and dad until I could find a house for us to live in together. We had discussed all of this before all of you went off to school, remember?" Aunt Petunia said as she grabbed the plates.
Prim looked down at her glass before softly saying, "I never really thought of it as the two of you getting a divorce… When were you exactly going to tell Dudley and me this?"
"After I got the rest of my things, Prim. I didn't want to ruin your Christmas, dear; but your father is a terrible man and we all know it. I've been afraid to leave him for the longest time but I can finally do it since I have people on my side, dear. Now, it is Christmas and we are supposed to be celebrating!"
Prim nods her head and everyone tried to act like nothing wrong was going on. After breakfast, they all migrated into the family room to do presents. Sitting around the room, Aunt Petunia starts to pass out the presents and once everything but the presents for Hermione and Reid were out from under the tree, they started to open them. Harry had received a sweater with a Golden Snitch on it and some homemade fudge by Mrs. Weasley, Gran and Papa got him a lot of new clothes and even some wizarding candy, such as Chocolate Frog boxes and Acid Pops, Aunt Petunia gave him a book on the history of the Nimbus broomsticks and a twenty-five-dollar gift card to iTunes, and Dudley gave him a book about Defensive spells. "I remember from one of your letters, how much you were enjoying your Defence Against the Dark Arts class."
"Thanks, Dudley! It's nice of you to remember which class is my favourite." Harry said with a smile after he opened Dudley's gift.
"You're welcome, Harry." Dudley said with a grin as he unwrapped one of his gifts from Gran and Papa.
Hallie got a baby blue sweater with an 'H' on it and some homemade fudge from Mrs. Weasley, Gran and Papa gave her some new clothes as well and a few more book series she had wanted to start, Aunt Petunia bought her a book over charms and she also was given a twenty-five-dollar gift card to iTunes, and Dudley got her a book of potions. Prim's sweater from Mrs. Weasley was scarlet with a 'P' on it, she also received some homemade fudge, some new clothes from Gran and Papa and a book on wizarding photography which Prim didn't understand until she opened her gift from her mum which was a wizarding camera, and from Dudley, she got some more art supplies. Dudley got two different books on wizarding history from Harry and Hallie, and everyone else gave him clothes and videos games, but he did get a punching bag that Papa was going to hang in the garage for him. A lot of the gifts Ron received were different type of wizarding items and his mum knitted him a maroon sweater with an 'R' on it. Gran, Papa, and Aunt Petunia gave Ron some wizarding candy and they got some clothing and books from the kids. "Now, Harry, Hallie, Prim, and Dudley, we have a huge gift for each of you from the three of us." Papa said as he walked over to the hallway's closet. He was inside looking for something for a few minutes before he came out with four packages. Each box looked like they had another packaged taped to it. He gave each one their own box and said to open it. Inside the box was a new iPhone 6S and Harry was surprised that they bought him an iPhone. "We wanted to make sure we always had a way to hear from you when you four were home for the holidays. The phone also has all the numbers you need to automatically know in the phone. Go on and open the second box." Harry did what he was told and open the box to see a phone case that said 'Gryffindor Quidditch' and 'Team Seeker' and 'EST. 1092'. He looked up and saw that both Hallie and Prim's cases both had the Gryffindor crest and had scarlet and gold in the background and Dudley's case was also of the Smelting's Academy.
"Thank you so much for this… I can't believe you bought us all iPhones!" Hallie said as she was staring at her new phone. Prim and Harry nodded their heads and started to go through their iPhones.
Gran smiled at all four of her grandkids and stood up to give them a hug. "You're welcome sweethearts. Now, go get dressed and we can have a lazy day together before the Grangers and Bennetts come over." All of them nod their heads and run upstairs to change. "Oh, wait dears, I forgot to give you your last present. I bought everyone something nice to wear for the New Year's Eve party. They are sitting on your beds, and we also mean your bed, Ron." Harry nods his head and they continue making their way upstairs to their rooms. After they change clothes, they meet in the family room to watch Christmas movies and play board games. When six o'clock came around, a knock on the door brought the Harry away from the living room.
When he opened the door, he saw Hermione standing there with her gifts for everyone. Behind her, where her parents and her little sister, Cordelia. "Harry! Happy Christmas!"
"Happy Christmas, 'Mione!" Harrys says as he takes two of the gifts from her. "Come on in. We are just playing some games with Papa since Gran and Aunt Petunia are in the kitchen cooking. It's nice to finally meet you, Cordelia. Hermione loves to talk about her little sister." Cordelia smiles shyly at him as all of them walk into the family room. "Guys, Hermione is here." Hallie, Prim, and Ron jump up and give her a hug.
There was another round of 'Happy Christmases' and another knock on the door that signal the Bennetts along with Ginny and Mrs. Figg were here. Papa stood up and went to open the door and as Hermione was putting her new number in Harry, Hallie, and Prim's phones, Ginny comes running in to quickly hug Ron. "Ginny! I've missed you." Ron says as he hugs her tightly. "Ginny, this is Harry and Hallie Potter, Prim Dursley and her twin brother, Dudley, and Hermione Granger and her little sister, Cordelia. Guys this is my little sister, Ginny." Harry and Hallie waved at her and she became beat red as she stared at Harry in wonderment.
"Happy Christmas, guys," Reid says as he walks in with his gifts for everyone. "Where are you guys wanting to do our Christmas? Oh, mum and Mrs. Figg loved the flowers you guys sent them."
Hallie looked up from her new phone before saying, "We can do so in here." She smiles as she walks over to the Christmas tree. Reid nods his head and they sit down with all of their gifts in front of them. They had Reid open his gifts first since he was the youngest and he loved what each one of them gave him. Harry had given him a book on how to become the best Beater out there, Hallie gave him a box that could only be opened by himself, and Prim gave him a piece of artwork that she has been working on since they talked about art this summer and she was even able to make the picture move. Harry remembered when she asked Professor Flitwick if there was a spell out there that could make a muggle drawling move. Hermione and Ron both gave him candy from the wizarding word and a few pieces from the muggle world that Hermione was able to sneak in his bag.
Harry and Hallie went next. From Reid, Harry got a new broom servicing kit, Ron gave him a box of Chocolate Frogs, Prim had bought him a new pair of gloves for when he played Quidditch, Hallie bought him a tiny plastic Snitch but if you hit a button, it would start to fly around the room, but the gift from Hermione was most likely his favourite. "You had talked about how much you liked the idea of becoming better at chess in general, but I thought you would rather be playing wizard chess. But the book, should help you no matter what to become better." She blushed and shrugged her shoulders.
"I just can't believe that you remembered me saying this. That was like, what over the summer when we would play hours on end. This is the best gift ever, 'Mione! Thank you!" He leaned forward to pull her into a hug. She smiled at her and hugged him tightly back. "Hal's your turn."
Hallie smiled at him before she opened the gift from Prim. "Prim, you didn't!" Hallie said laughing as she pulled out a scarlet and gold footed pajamas.
"Turn it over, so you can see what's on the back." Prim says with a laugh and when Hallie did, she laughed even louder. The back of the pajamas said 'Gryffindor' and had a lion's tail connected to the material.
"This is amazing!" She smiled before moving onto Ron's gift, which was a mini potion set. "Wow, Ron. This is so cool! Thanks." Ron smiles and nods his head as she opens Hermione's gift which had been the first book the Testing Trilogy. "Thanks! I've been wanting to read this since I saw it in my old school's library!" The next two gifts were from Harry and Reid and they had been two more books that Hallie wanted to start the series of. Harry had given her Legend by Marie Lu and Reid gave her Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco.
Prim went next and was given a book on wizarding photography from Harry, Hallie gave her a book on wizards and witches who have been labelled as an artist over time, Hermione's book was over the history of transfiguration, Reid bought her some supplies to make wizarding artwork, and Ron gave her a really nice feathered quill. "Wow, this is really beautiful, Ron. Thank you." Ron smiled and nodded his head as he started to open his own gifts. He and Ginny opened their gifts at the same time and laughed as they saw what they gave each other. Ginny had given him a new Chudley Cannons poster and Ron had given her a new Holyhead Harpies poster. Smiling, Ron opened his gift from Reid to see a bunch of different types of wizarding candy, Hallie, Harry, and Hermione bought him a Chudley Cannons jersey, and Prim bought him a book for him to place all of the cards he's collected from his Chocolate Frog boxes.
"Thank you, guys. I love all of them." Ron said as he pulled his new jersey on.
Hermione smiled before pulling her gifts to her. She was the last one to open anything, and Harry was nervous on if she would like the books he got her. Hallie gave her a book on advance spell work, Prim gave her a new set of quills and ink, Ron bought her a book on Godric Gryffindor, and Reid bought her a book on wizarding law since she didn't understand a lot about it. When she finally got to Harry's gift, he held his breath as she carefully unwrapped it. He finally breathed when he saw her smile. "Harry, thank you! I love these so much!" She leaned forward and gave him a tight hug. "Cordelia, why don't you speak with Ginny and Reid while we go upstairs, so they can put their gifts up." Cordelia nodded her head before she started talking about how she hoped she would be heading to Hogwarts next year. Hermione sighs but she follows Harry and the rest up the stairs. "I don't know if Cordelia is really a witch guys… I just don't see her doing any magic…" Hermione lets out another sigh as Harry opens his bedroom door. But he stops in the doorway when he sees two unopened packages on his bed.
"What is it, Harry?" Hallie asked as she shoulder her way into the entryway.
"I'm not sure but all I know is that these packages weren't on my bed when we came up to get dressed earlier." Harry said as he moved closer to his bed. "Wait, one of them has my name and the other one has your name, Hals."
Ron walked into the room and looked down at the packages, "Well, why don't you open them?" Harry and Hallie nodded their heads and ripped the paper off. Inside the package was a weird simmering grey cloak. It was identical to the one that Hallie had. Looking down at the cloak, Harry ran his fingers through it. "Wow… I think I know what that is and if I'm correct it's very rare and very valuable!"
Hallie looked over at Ron and asked, "What do you think it is?"
"An Invisibility Cloak. It doesn't look like one I've ever seen before, so that's why I'm not sure. Why don't you guys try them on?" Ron says with a shrug of his shoulder.
"Shut the door, Prim." Harry calls over to his cousin as he and Hallie pulls their cloaks on. When the door shut, they heard multiple gasps. "What?" Harry looked down at his body, only to see nothing there. When he looked over at Hallie, he could only see her floating head. "Wow!"
"Merlin's beard! I can't believe I was right! This is so cool, Harry!" Ron says as she stares at the nothingness of where Harry's body should have been. "Wait, there's a note on the floor. Two of them exactly."
Harry and Hallie both pulled off their cloaks and bent down to pick up the notes.
Your father left this in my possession before he died. It is time it was returned to you. Use it well.
A very Happy Christmas to you.
"This cloak was my dad's guys! Whoever gave it to me, must have been good friends with my dad." Harry said as he walked over to gently place the note and cloak in his trunk. When he looked up, he saw that Hallie had tears running down her face. "Hals?"
"Mine was mum's, Harry. I can't believe I have something of mum's." Hallie said as she tried to wipe away her tears. Shaking her head, she picks up all of her things before quickly walking to her room.
Harry was about to follow her when Prim stepped in front of him. "Let me and Hermione deal with this one, Harry. You have to learn that you won't always be here to protect her from everything." He was about to say something about that but Prim and Hermione moved quickly out of the room and down towards Hallie's bedroom.
"Prim is right about that, Harry. You won't always be near Hallie when something is scaring or upsetting her. She will need to learn how to deal with it." Ron says with a shake of his head.
"Wow, Ron, you sounded like Prim right then." Harry says with a smirk as Ron's cheeks go red. "And I know I need to get better at not always trying to jump to her aid, but she's my twin sister. Hals and I have a special bond and it sucks to know that she's hurting in some way and I can't do anything about it!"
Ron sighs and sits down next to Harry on Harry's bed. "I know mate, but you have to figure out how to let go of it all."
"Are you going to be able to let go of it all once Ginny is at Hogwarts next year?" Harry asked, trying to lighten up the mood in the room.
"Oh, hell no, Ginny is screwed. She'll have four older brothers at Hogwarts for at least two years, she'll be completely protected while she's there. You know she has a crush on you, right?" Ron said with a smirk as Harry shook his head 'no'. "It's why she wouldn't say anything while we were downstairs, which we should head back down there and play Apples to Apples again since that was so much fun!" Harry laughed but followed Ron out of the room. In the hallway, Harry saw Hallie leaning against the door next to Prim's bedroom and he walked over.
Hallie sighed when she saw him in front of her and said, "I'm fine, Harry. I was mostly happy to have something of mum's."
Harry nodded his head before saying, "Ron wants to play Apples to Apples again, so get Hermione and Prim and meet us downstairs."
"Okay, we'll meet you downstairs."