Chapter 11

The next day the cold winter winds had truly arrived at Hogwarts, kicking snow drifts into the air. The snows had come and settled weeks ago, but now the draughts that chilled the halls and forced the younger students to learn warming charms had descended. The Hogwarts right of passage.

As the light faded Harry sat in his study contemplating his year so far. Book left forgotten on his lap. The large oak tree was blowing heavily in the wind but it had kept all its leaves, which was most peculiar for an oak tree in winter. Perhaps it wasn't completely unmagical after all.

The tree truly took his breath away every time he saw it. When he touched it it reached for him, grounded him and was warm to his touch, Neville and Hermione both had described a similar feeling.

Earlier that day a group of Hufflepuff kids had used the burrow and bank in the snow around the tree caused by the foliage as a natural fortification in a snowball fight against the Gryffindors.

Dumbledore had been right, its creation was an ever present thing of wonder for him and it really fuelled his desire to improve at runes, counterintuitively not really herbology. It just wasn't like anything he had really felt for another subject. He liked Charms and Transfiguration, Care of Magical Creatures was fun and interesting despite Malfoy, he was even enjoying Herbology and Defence Against the Dark Arts. The less said about Potions and History the better, but that was no change.

Though it must be said that this year his classes generally just seemed a bit easier, more enjoyable, certainly more interesting and even more of a priority even. Much to Ron's displeasure and Hermione's pleasure. He wasn't at her level in classes of course, nobody was, but he was doing much better this year.

Ancient Runes however practically called to him, possibility opening up with every book he devoured and every class he attended. Professor Babbling had already confided to him that his most recent assignments had put him at the top of the fourth year class. An apparently unprecedented growth curve.

Looking over at the table with a large chalk glyph upon it. A tracing of numerous times, symbols, triangles and circles in a pattern he only really copied without fully understanding. He wished alchemy came so easily. He had checked it near twenty times now and each time he had found a mistake, as though discovering and correcting one would reveal the next. He would need to get Hermione to check it. Much could be said of his friend but her attention to detail was second to none.

He was thankful that his friend's disagreements had cooled over the last month since he took this room. Scabbers was still missing but Hermione had apologised to Ron and they had made up. Hermione Granger apologising had been a sight in itself. He had, regardless, taken to spending a lot of time in his study completing his homework and learning more about runes, particularly wards at the moment. He found that doing his homework in isolation had actually made things far easier. A childhood with the Dursleys had made him crave company but also built habits of completing work in isolation.

While he had finessed the glyph he had begun planning for the wards he wished to implement at Laurels Peak. Professor Babbling had leant him a great book on the topic which was apparently a sixth year text.

All wards were anchored spells and required a power source. Most wizards simply used ambient magic however this made them weaker, vulnerable to standard breaking techniques by severing that connection from the outside. They weren't useless, but more useful for keeping muggles away and as a warning of other wizards than a protection. Harry didn't want an alarm, he wanted a fortress. Laurels Peak had been destroyed before and he didn't want a repeat, the Dursleys had also made him crave a home and he was not going to lose the one he had found. Voldemort was also still lurking around, it was only paranoia if you were wrong and in the last two years Harry had two encounters with the man.

Most large wizarding locations instead used an internal system of absorbing the remnant magic of spells cast by their occupants. When a spell is cast and resolved there was left over magic in the air for a time before it dispersed slowly. The wards for these places would absorb and store this magic. This wouldn't work for Harry though as he wasn't intending on having hundreds of magical folk around.

So instead he needed to anchor the wards to something which created or absorbed it's own magic. This was the rarest of warding types as options were limited for them, for numerous reasons, chief of which is the fact that the anchor would need to have runes carved into it and not move around. That excluded essentially all magical animals. There were some geological options however usually they couldn't be moved from where they were lest they become inert. Instead you had to build on-top of them, Hogwarts was theorised as one such place.

Plants were another option but we're often too weak, small, or inappropriate for other reasons. They were often using their magic themselves, so any ward using a plant as an anchor would have a specific purpose or flavour. Wiggentrees for example were a good option, as long as you were only wanting to ward off dark creatures. A particularly unfortunate wizard had tried a mandrake tree and been rendered deaf on entering his wards.

So instead he needed a blank plant, something to channel magic without specific purpose. Which is where his living wand idea had truly picked up steam. Originally it had been a project of curiosity, now it was one of practicality.

A large tree would be ideal with plenty of room for rune arrangements. If he could get it big fast then that would be ideal.

And so he came full circle back to his annoying alchemy glyph.

The sun was setting now so he put it out of his mind and looked back outside. Near the base of the tree he saw some figures moving all in a line, how strange. There weren't many people in the castle, his classmates having left for the holidays this morning. The Weasley's and Hermione were all here still, along with a smattering of other Gryffindors. There were far fewer from other houses. There were also few staff and so students were not allowed outside after dark.

Never one to turn his nose up to a mystery Harry grabbed his cloak and rushed downstairs. The Grand Staircase was a peculiar thing. When you weren't sure were just out for a walk it would misbehave, taking students all over the castle. When you were in a rush though the staircases would seem to line up just as you needed them.

He bounded down the staircase and through his father's cloak over his shoulders, disappearing from the eyes of the portraits that lined the walls.

The Entrance Hall was empty when he arrived so he pushed the doors open and was immediately assaulted by a blisteringly cold wind. The Invisibility Cloak was an amazing magical item, but it wasn't a warm one. He paused to cast a warming charms and rushed out into the snow, his socks quickly dampened with melted snow.

Whoever has been out here was gone now but their footprints were easily followed out towards the Forbidden Forest.

There was a warm orange glow coming from the tree line. Harry moved closer. He came across a big clearing just on the edge of the forest.

The first figure he picked up was Hagrid, his huge frame dominating the clearing. There was a huge bonfire surrounded by students and a few teachers in warm cloaks. The fire was casting small embers into the air and the wind kicked them up further, making them look like dancing fireflies.

Professors Sprout, Flitwick and Vector were present. Along with two of the students from Hufflepuff, three from Ravenclaw and Daphne Greengrass, standing on the far side of the clearing next to a small Ravenclaw student.

He watched on as each person stepped out of the circle and threw bits of paper into the fire. Hagrid threw something the size of a newspaper, causing a big flare.

They all then took their wands out, except for his big friend, and collectively cast incendio charms into the flames. Fuelled by the magic the fire erupted into a pillar, piercing the treeline, causing an explosion of hot air to wash over even his distant hiding place. It blew a wave of snowflakes up into the air.

The crowd watched on for a moment but then began moving, the ceremony clearly concluded.

Harry rushed in ahead of them, not wanting to get caught watching something he didn't understand.

When he got back indoors he cast a quick drying charm on his socks and took off his cloak, tucking it into his hoodie's pocket.

Taking a seat on the stairs leading to the Grand Staircase, he watched on as the witches and wizards trudged back into the school, the Professor's turning to dry off the younger students. Most of the students paid him no mind but the only Slytherin amongst them approached him after hugging the small pale Ravenclaw girl with dark brown hair.

Dressed in a fur lined cloak of clearly high quality, she was annoyingly beautiful even with cheeks made pink in the cool air and otherwise almost entirely covered. She loosened the tie of the cloak around her neck with gloved hands.

"How was the show Potter?" She asked, though not with the usual snark, more a casual curiosity.

"Show?" Harry asked, feigning ignorance.

"I saw you out there, the snow fell on you and now you're sitting here, even Weasley could have worked it out." She sat down on the stairs next to him. Harry was surprised by the action, not expecting such a…casual action from the girl. Though it was Christmas and there was barely anyone around to see.

"I saw you all leaving and was curious." Harry said with a shrug. "What was it?" She looked at him strangely and bit her lip in thought. Harry's insides clenched weirdly at the expression.

"You really were raised by muggles weren't you?" She asked, but again not meanly, rather the opposite, as though she was suddenly worried about upsetting him. Something that hadn't been a concern before. How peculiar. Harry shrugged in response.

"It was the Winter Solstice celebration. From today the days get longer, a new year so to speak. And so we cast a regret or something else into the fire with the intention of letting them go, to not carry them on, into the symbolic rebirth of the sun. It's an ancient wizarding tradition."

Harry had actually read about this in one of the books he bought during the summer holidays but had put it aside. He didn't actually know anyone who celebrated the holidays in the ways the book described. At least, he didn't think he did. maybe he did though, most of Gryffindor left for the holidays.

"I read about it, though I hadn't realised what the day was today." Harry looked over at the dark haired girl. "What did you put into the fire?"

She smiled at him with a lopsided but somewhat melancholic smile. "A presumptuous question there Potter, but I put in the thing I always do, not that it's ever mattered."

Harry wisely chose a different topic, not wishing to push on a sore topic. "You're staying for the Holidays?"

"My sister and I, yes. Our parents are visiting my mother's brother in America." Harry nodded.

"There's a lot of that going around this year." Harry commented lightly. "Ron and Hermione's parents are both doing something similar. So that was your sister?"

"Astoria, a second year. Though I don't suppose you saw that sorting, after crashing into the Whomping Willow." She grinned at him slightly and Harry found he rather liked that expression. Harry grinned back.

"I'm not actually sure who crashed into who to be honest." Before she could respond though another voice interrupted.

"Harry?" Hermione asked in surprise, coming down the stairs. Harry stood up and brushed some imaginary dirt from his pants.

"See you round Greengrass."

"See you." She responded. As Harry went to join his friend though she reached out and stopped him. Harry was surprised by the physical contact. "The offer is open, Potter, if you want to join the next celebration. There is a lot more to our people and customs than Malfoy's nonsense."

Harry smiled and nodded at the offer. "You know where to find me." And with that he joined Hermione and moved toward the Great Hall for dinner.

"I didn't know that you knew Greengrass?" The bushy haired Gryffindor asked inquisitively.

"I don't." Harry replied. Yet, Harry's brain unhelpfully added.

Christmas was one of Harry's favourite holidays, principally because he could spend it at Hogwarts. Consequently it also held more happy memories than most now, Halloween was often awful and his birthday was routinely spent alone locked in one room or another. Christmas however had given him links to his family and happy memories with friends.

So he was already excited when his sleep was interrupted by his best friends questioning call, which was only slightly muffled by the drawn crimson curtains of his four poster bed.

"Harry! Harry, what is this?!" Ron asked. Trust Ronald Weasley to begin opening presents as soon as humanly possible and to forego any etiquette like waiting for the only other occupant of the third year boys dormitory.

Harry grabbed his glasses and jumped out of bed to see Ron holding the Quidditch gloves and quaffle Harry had got him. He was also surrounded by other wrapped presents. He had obviously gone for the biggest first.

"What do you mean Ron? They are Quidditch supplies…" Harry grinned, deciding to play dumb.

"Quidditch supplies covered in your little scribbles!" Ron retorted. "What have you done to them!" Harry laughed at Ron's aghast expression. The boy was exaggerating, they weren't covered, Harry had placed his security runes on the items and so there were only a few visible carvings. However Harry understood the boys displeasure, they were no longer standard issue and so couldn't be used in even a pickup game.

"Put the gloves on and throw the quaffle." Harry suggested. The boy did just that and threw the ball across the room towards Harry, who didn't even put up his hands. Before it reached its creator the bright red ball twisted in the air and rocketed back at the redhead.

Just before it reached the thrower it twisted again and tried to get around him. Ron was too surprised to react and the ball hit the wall behind him, then bounced off Dean's bed, then took off again towards the redhead. This time he was ready and his hands followed the ball as it tried to pass him on the left, catching it neatly.

"Woah." Was Ron's reply. Harry grinned again.

"The further you throw it the faster it comes back and further away it will try to get around you. Good training for keepers and chasers I imagine."

"Awesome." Ron replied, clearly his vocabulary was a bit stunted today. "Hey Harry, is that what I think it is?" The boy asked, pointing at Harry's pile, upon which sat a distinctly broom shaped gift.

Ron and Harry made their way down to the Common Room a few minutes later, brand new firebolt racing broom in hand and proud grins on their faces. Hermione was already camped out on the sofa in front of the main fireplace, book open in her lap.

She looked up at the noise and smiled warmly at her friends. She practically bounced out of her seat and launched herself at Harry, knocking the wind from him in an all enveloping hug.

"Oh Harry, thank you so much for my present, I absolutely love it!" Harry smiled in satisfaction at his friend's appreciation, but tapped her on the back of her shoulders asking for release.

"You're. Welcome. Herm-ione." He wheezed. His bushy haired friend's present had been far more difficult to both conceive of and create. He had almost just settled on a floating study light, which he did make her as well because he knew she would like it. He had also considered a Dictaquill that she had raved about but the charms needed were a bit above him. Instead he had owl ordered a watch. And then another. Then another, which he took to Professor Babbling, who had helped look over his work and help him with some of the charms.

Now Hermione had a watch she could program to alert her before class and would subsequently tell her which class she had, with small words of fiery lines across the glass. And Harry completed his fourth year final exam creation for Ancient Runes. So it worked out nicely for everyone. It would also work as an alarm clock by vibrating at a time of Hermione's choice.

"It's really quite amazing! Did you make it yourself?" She thankfully seemed too excited to be jealous. Nevertheless Harry shook his head.

"Professor Babbling helped with some of the work, the charms particularly, but it was fun." Harry said nonchalantly.

"Oh really?" Hermione asked. "Which did you use? I can recognise the vibrata of course, though I always thought it a stupid useless spell, but did you use the flagrate charm for the letters, and how did you make it change with different input?"

Thankfully Harry was saved from having to answer by his other friend. "That's nothing, you should see what he made me, or even better, his new firebolt!"

Hermione finally paused for a second and took a look at first the quaffle Ron had in his gloved hands and the broom on Harry's shoulders.

"Someone gave you a firebolt Harry? Aren't they, you know, expensive?"

"They're the best broom you can get, I didn't even know you could buy them yet!" Hermione answered for him. Harry shrugged. It was a bit peculiar, it's not like he had any friends with fathers like Lucius Malfoy. But then again McGonagall had bought him a Nimbus 2000 in his first year without leaving a note. This wasn't exactly unprecedented.

"But what if, well, what if Sirius Black sent it. You-know-who tried to hurt you in first year by cursing your broom. What if it's cursed too?" Hermione asked, concern etching her words. Harry didn't think that was likely, Ron had said something about them having the finest anti-tampering protections on the market.

"I don't think that's likely Hermione, why go to the effort? And shouldn't there be protections to stop cursed objects even getting into Hogwarts?"

"I still think we should get it looked at, just in case." Hermione said matter-of-factly. She then walked over to the sofa and took one of the blankets and held it out to him. "Here, wrap it in this and let's just see what Professor McGonagall thinks."

Harry understood, even valued, her concern, but this was his new broom. He had very little in this world and his Nimbus 2000 had been one of those precious few possessions. When it had been broken by the Whomping Willow it had torn his heart in two. The freedom of flying was something Harry cherished and so brooms held an equally close place in his heart. He was not letting someone dissect his new broom.

"I know you're worried Hermione, and I appreciate that, truly, but I think it's fine this is the safest broom around as far as tampering goes. I am not letting the Professors pull it apart. It's my broom."

"Harry, I know it's your broom, but it's also your life!" Hermione pleaded, but Harry ignored her.

"It's a Firebolt Hermione!" Ron exclaimed, finally speaking up in his defence.

"Look, let's just go to breakfast." Harry suggested, trying to shift the attention away from where it was now. "I won't fly it for now okay Hermione?" The girl looked somewhat mollified, her frown lessening and she nodded.

They went down to the Great Hall and joined the other Weasley's and a few other students for breakfast. The whole time Harry felt like he was being watched. It grew increasingly annoying until he finally turned and met Daphne Greengrass' unflinching gaze.

They stared at each other until her sister hit her in the arm for clearly not paying enough attention to her. The redheaded Slytherin turned a pretty pink colour at whatever her sister was saying to her.

Harry turned away just as Hermione left her seat as McGonagall entered the hall. He watched as his friend walked straight to the Headmistress and began gesturing at him. His heart sank as the Transfiguration Professor moved away from the head table and approached him, a prim look to her.

"Mister Potter, I believe you have a mystery gift."

The next day Harry left Gryffindor Tower early. He had promised Neville to look in on his plants during the break and it was the perfect excuse to get away from everyone.

He was angry with Hermione, not necessarily for telling McGonagall, but for doing so over his head. He did appreciate her caring for him and understood it was with the best of intentions. He just couldn't stand people making decisions for him or taking away what freedoms he got in life.

Ron had become equally avoided though as he had taken Hermione's actions even worse than Harry had. As though it was his broom. And sought to bad mouth their female friend when she wasn't around, which had been most of Christmas Day.

So he sought the refuge of solitude. Neville's plants were all doing well as expected. The Wiggentree was fully grown now and seemed to still be growing. It would be interesting to see how big it would actually get. The other plants were also doing well though the Molly that had formerly been in one of his pots had died back to a normal size. It seemed the abnormal growth was only sustainable with the continued application of the herbivicus charm.

"Potter! Just the person I was looking for." A voice interrupted his musing.

"Greengrass!" Harry returned, mimicking her tone. "You know there are other places in the castle than the greenhouses."

"What is this!" She exclaimed, ignoring him completely. She was holding a pot with a familiar runic arrangement around its lip in her hand, waving it around in his direction.

"It's a pot." Harry answered, repeating his answer from the last time she had asked that question. He really wasn't in the mood for her moodiness today.

"I know what it is!" She growled. "Why did I wake up to find it at the end of my bed!"

"You seem to like herbology as much as Neville, if the amount of times we have run into each other here is anything to go by. So I thought you might like one." Harry shrugged. "And because you were kind to me on the solstice."

"Oh." She said, clearly taken aback.

"If you don't want it I'll just give it to the school. Sprout keeps asking for more." Harry reached for the pot but she snatched it back. Harry raised an eyebrow in response.

"I never said I didn't want it. I just didn't know we were in any way close enough to exchange gifts! You've embarrassed me." Her cheeks turned a rosy colour that looked so appealing on her pale skin.

"I embarrassed you?" Harry asked incredulously.

"I don't think it's just a wizarding custom to exchange gifts with those you are likely to receive one from." She huffed. "Astoria hasn't given me a moment's peace about this since she found out, especially about receiving a gift from you!"

Ah so now the truth came out, she wasn't actually annoyed with him, but rather the fact he had opened her up to mockery from her sibling. He had spent enough time around Ron and the twins to understand this well. Though they could be more bully than light hearted ribbing.

"So here!" She took something from her bag and thrust it into his hands. Harry was taken by surprise and almost dropped it. Thankfully he was a seeker for a reason.

The package was wrapped in plain paper as though it had just been delivered today. It was a book, that was for sure, a thick one at that. Harry untied the twine and pulled the paper away. She had bought him a book on runes, Scribbles and Scratchings, an Examination of Undecipherable Ancient Magics. It was, well it was a lot.

"Daphne I…this is really too much, I can't accept this." Harry said embarrassedly. "I just got you a pot."

"Just a pot?" She said, confused. "These things are a revolution Potter! People have been trying to make magical plants grow faster for centuries and you do it as a third year and just give them out like they are nothing. You could sell one of these for way more than that book, and I'm not being modest!"

Harry scratched his head in embarrassment, he hadn't really thought much of it. "It was just a simple arrangement for the absorption of ambient magic and then having a constant output of a herbivicus charm within the confines of the pot. It doesn't even take any conditions or other complicating factors."

The girl sighed in exasperation. "Potter I know next to nothing about runes, much to my mother's disappointment, but I know there is nothing simple about controlling a consistent output of magic. That's what makes the ceiling of the Great Hall as remarkable as it is. Or have you not noticed that most spells affect objects or exist very temporarily before either hiring something or becoming unstable."

He didn't really know what to say to that. He hadn't honestly thought much of it when he had crafted the arrangement. Rather than casting the charm, all it did was essentially emit the charm from the bottom into the confines of the pot, an unfocused casting by not including a condition. A linked arrangement around the top of the pot absorbed and cycled the magic back into the main arrangement. It was only logical to improve the efficiency of the charm.

He was proud of it no doubt. A revolution it definitely wasn't. As far as he was concerned anyway.

"Still." Harry said, rubbing the back of his head. "This is very nice of you, thank you."

"You're welcome Potter." Daphne said, as she put her Christmas gift down. Harry only noticed then that it had her name carved prominently into the side. "I'm sure you'll put it to good use."