"Your shadow is missing," Dean pointed out as he joined them by the door. Harry and Ron were waiting for Hermione to finish in the library before they headed down to Hogsmeade for Christmas shopping. It felt like half the school was loitering by the front door waiting for friends to join them. Harry had seen more of his classmates in the last five minutes than he normally did in a whole day. So he smiled brightly back at Dean and shifted over to share the warmth of the nook they had found.

"What shadow?" he asked in good humor. He and the Headmaster thought they had a solid lead on where the locket was and were even talking about going to get it soon. Harry's new found free time since he wasn't training in the evenings meant that he was actually getting his school work done on time and wasn't in danger of failing any more. His DADA teacher could be a bit harsh sometimes, but at least he wasn't trying to kill Harry (that Harry knew of). So life was fairly good if he ignored all of his other horrible failures this year.

"That Konoha kid," Dean replied – which was exactly one of those horrible failures Harry was trying very hard not to think about these days.

"What do we care where he's at?" Ron replied, though he didn't ask which Konoha kid Dean was referring to. They all knew damn well who.

Dean shrugged. "Just commenting on the weather," he demurred. "The guy's kind of creepy, so no one would blame you. For the best, likely, not to hang around that type too much."

Harry frowned. That sounded a bit too much like something Professor Northstein would say about foreigners, but Harry figured Dean hadn't meant it that way. And what could Harry say in rebuttal? That the nin weren't creepy? As it was, he had a hard enough time getting two moments to himself without one of them trailing along somewhere behind him. Hell, they were probably watching him now but he didn't want to pull out the map to check.

Ron started to agree full heartedly, but he checked himself at the last moment with a guilty look at Harry. "For the best," he finally agreed in a much more subdued tone of voice.

"See you in Hogsmeade?" Dean called as he waved goodbye. His own group of friends were starting to make their way down and he peeled off to join them.

Harry and Ron both waved back.

"If Dean's figured it out, it's a fairly safe bet the rest of the school has," Ron commented quietly. "No offense to Dean, that is, but this school couldn't keep a secret if it's life depended on it."

Harry sighed.

"It was kind of a stupid idea trying to keep it a secret," Ron continued. "What with your cousin being a creepy stalker and everything."

"I am aware," Harry grumbled back.

"Just checking."

Hermione thankfully came charging down the hall at that point. She still had ink stains on her fingers and was shoving the last of her notes back into her bag.

"Homework on a Hogsmeade weekend?" Ron asked in dismay. They had both known full well where she had been but it apparently still horrified Ron.

Hermione just rolled her eyes back at him. "We're not third years anymore, Ron. Homework waits for no one and nothing."

"Neither does Christmas shopping," Harry joked back.

Ron frowned. "I haven't even started."

"I finished last week," Hermione informed them. "Post deliveries are so much more efficient."

"Well, I have a lot of people to buy for this year," Harry told them, with more than a little bit of pride.

Ron groaned in response. "It's not nearly as much fun as you think it is. Trust me."