So, Quidditch! I have to admit, sports are not really my 'thing', so while Quidditch is admittedly more interesting than most sports, it's still not one of the things that truly captivates me about Harry Potter. That's reflected in my writing, I'm sure. So while things will change throughout the books, Quidditch games are not going to be one of them, I think. It's just easier for me that way.
October passed into November, and with it cold weather came. Will was pretty used to snow, and magic made it pretty easy to keep warm. His mum had splurged a bit and had bought Will and Harry temperature-regulating cloaks, ones that kept you at a comfortable temperature no matter the weather. They pretty much looked like one of the Hogwarts Uniform cloaks, so unless you knew a lot about Wizarding fashion, you probably wouldn't notice a difference. Harry, Will, Ron, Neville, and Hermione were huddled under them, trying their best to keep warm. Although the enchantment on them didn't work as well if more than one person was using them, with an added jar of blue flames that Hermione had conjured up they were pretty toasty.
As they sat in the courtyard, they saw Snape approaching. He was definitely limping, like Harry had said. He also had an angry scowl on his face and Will was pretty sure he was walking over just to find some way to bully them. Will was right. He'd confiscated the jar of blue flames, saying it was against the rules to be casting spells without supervision. Thankfully he didn't seem to notice that the cloaks weren't uniform.
"I'll be taking five points from Gryffindor for this." Snape gestured to the bottle of fire and walked away, bottle in hand.
"Did he seriously come all the way over here just to pick on us?" Will asked, not really surprised.
"It's fine," Hermione said, "I can make another one later."
"What do you think happened to his leg?" Neville asked.
"Well," Will said, "I'm pretty sure he got bit by Fluffy."
"Fluffy?" Neville asked, confused.
"The three-headed dog?" Will reminded, "Harry said Snape was limping on Halloween, right? The troll was probably let in as a diversion so someone could try to get to whatever the dog was guarding." Will was sure they'd assume that Snape was the one doing that. Because really, Snape made it easy for them. Why didn't Snape go to Madam Pomfrey if he was innocent? Pride? He looked up to see everyone staring at him.
"What?" Will said, "I'm pretty sure the theory is sound."
"I was just staring because I can't believe you named that monster." Ron admitted.
"Why would Snape try to steal something from Dumbledore was guarding?" Hermione asked, "I know he's not very nice, but I'm sure he wouldn't do something like that."
"I think Will's right," Harry said, giving Will a look, "It makes sense. But all I'm wondering now, is what exactly that dog is guarding?"
"Fluffy." Will reminded.
"It doesn't matter what you named him," Ron interjected, frowning.
"I didn't name him," Will said, "That's just his name!"
Hermione gave him a look, "Then who did? And for that matter, how do you know?"
Will just shrugged.
When the day of Harry's first match had arrived, Will was a little regretful. Harry was a nervous wreck it seemed, and was having trouble even eating breakfast. This had happened in the books too, but it seemed worse having to actually watch it. Maybe he shouldn't have told Harry anything.
After breakfast, Will whispered to Harry, "Should I not have told you?"
"It's okay," Harry responded, shaking his head, "I'm sure I would have been nervous anyway. This just makes it a bit more serious, is all."
Will grimaced sympathetically.
Once it was time for Harry to get ready for the game, Will and the others walked him down to the locker room and headed up to wait in the stands. The seats were already filling up, and they grabbed a seat at the top of the Gryffindor section next to Seamus and Dean. They could see the whole stadium from here, and Will had brought binoculars. They'd also banded together with all of the first year Gryffindors to make a large banner that Dean had drawn a large lion head on, and they were going to wave it so that Harry could see.
Once the game started, Will watched the action through his binoculars as best he could, but everything just happened so fast, it was a little overwhelming.
"Move over, tha' s'right. Budge up a bit, would yeh?" A familiar voice said.
"Hagrid!" Ron called, and they all squeezed together to give him room to sit.
"Bin watchin' from me cabin," Hagrid said, "Not as interestin' as bein' in the stands now, is it? 'Ow's Harry doin'?"
"There's been no sign of the snitch yet," Ron reported.
"Harry's pretty much been flying around looking for it, but so far there hasn't been much for him to do." Will added. Harry had been keeping low, like Will had asked him to, but he was still about level with them at the top of the stands.
"Wait, I think he's seen the snitch!" Hermione yelled, and Will did his best to find Harry with his binoculars. Something must have happened, because the Gryffindor stands erupted with boos.
"What happened?" Will asked. He'd missed it!
"Flint blocked Harry from getting the snitch!" Ron yelled, visibly upset.
"Red card! Red card!" Dean was yelling, "Send him off, ref!"
"This isn't soccer, Dean," Will reminded, "The referee can't send players off of the field."
"Maybe they oughta be able to," Hagrid commented, "Flint coulda really hurt Harry wi' tha' one."
But Will wasn't listening anymore, he had gone back to watching Harry. It was about time for Quirrell to do his thing.
Will was right. Harry's broom was going out of control. Every time someone tried to help him, his broom would go higher. Will looked to the professor's stand, and saw Quirrell and Snape both with their eyes fixed on Harry, mouths moving.
Hermione had snatched Hagrid's binoculars and was scanning the crowd as well. "It's Snape, he's jinxing the broom!"
"Could be Quirrell too," Will added, "They're both looking at Harry while muttering."
"What do we do?" Ron asked.
"Leave it to me," Hermione said, and headed off.
Will kept his eyes on the professor's stand, and after a bit, Quirrell jumped up, patting his robes, then Snape did as well. Switching over to watching Harry, Will saw him descend quickly, then cough up the snitch.
"Game's over," Will sighed, leaning back as the stands erupted around him.
"It was Snape! He was jinxing the Broom!" Ron yelled.
"Or Quirrell," Will added. They were all in Hagrid's hut, drinking tea.
"Codswallop. They're Professors, they are. Dumbledore wouldn'ta hired them if they weren't trustworthy."
"Dumbledore is a person too," Will said, "He can make mistakes, just like any of us."
"Snape did try to get past the three-headed dog on Halloween," Neville said.
"And Quirrell was there too," Will reminded.
"How'd all o' yeh know about Fluffy?" Hagrid asked, shocked.
"You named him?" Hermione cried, before turning to look at Will. "Did he tell you?"
"Nope," Hagrid said, "I haven't talked about this with any of yer, and I'm not gonna say anythin' more."
"But they're trying to steal whatever is being guarded there!" Neville cried.
"Rubbish," Hagrid dismissed, "Why'd they wanna go an' do a thin' like tha'?"
"They both just tried to kill Harry," Ron reminded.
"One or both of them was definitely trying to jinx the broom," Hermione said, "I know a jinx when I see one. You have to keep your eyes on your target, and neither was blinking."
"One of them could have been casting a countercurse," Will added.
"Or more likely, they were both tryin' to cast a countercurse." Hagrid said dismissively.
"Then why did the jinx stop as soon as they both were distracted?" Hermione pressed.
"Listen, all o' yeh," Hagrid said seriously, "Yer meddlin' in things tha' are dangerous, now. Yeh'd best forget about that dog, an' forget about what it's guardin'. That's strictly between Professor Dumbledore an' Nicholas Flamel-"
"Oh, so there's someone named Nicholas Flamel involved, is there?" Harry said triumphantly.
Will sighed, "We need to work on your subtle, Harry."
"How did you know?" Hermione rounded on Will once they had left Hagrid's Hut.
"Know what?" Will asked, nervously.
"That the dog's name was Fluffy, that singing would put it to sleep, or anything else you seem to pull out of nowhere!?" She pressed.
Will looked at Harry. Harry sighed, and nodded.
"I may have some future knowledge," Will said, turning back to Hermione.
Ron spluttered, "You can see the future!?"
Will shook his head, "I can see a future. The future where I didn't come to Hogwarts."
"What does that mean?" Neville asked.
"It means, if he changes too much in the present, the knowledge he has will become obsolete, right?" Hermione asked, "That makes sense. Well, as much as anything makes sense nowadays."
"Yes," Will nodded, "It's a constant balancing act, honestly. Trying to figure out just how much to say so that it'll help, but not too much so as to change the future to be unrecognizable. Harry and I have an understanding that if there's something I can tell him that can help, I will. I can make the same agreement with all of you as well."
They all fell silent, continuing to walk back to the castle.
"Wait," Hermione said suddenly, "Harry, that means you knew about this?"
"I told him about a month ago," Will replied, "After we made up. It's part of what we fought about, actually. He knew I was keeping secrets from him."
"I see," Neville nodded, "Is there anything you can tell us right now?"
"Uh," Will said, "I can say Harry's going to get a very special Christmas gift, if what I've seen is still correct."
Ron laughed, "Really, that's it? From you, I imagine?"
"Nope," Will said, chuckling, "From Dumbledore. It was something that belonged to his parents."
That brought Harry up short, "Really?" he breathed.
"Yep!" Will laughed, "It's really cool, too. It'll be one of the coolest things you own, actually."
"I guess that's convincing," Hermione said, "We'll see if it's true, come Christmas time."
"Do you not believe me?" Will asked.
"Well, it makes more sense than what others have told me about the Divination classes offered here." Hermione replied, "I've never really understood how tea leaves and crystal balls are supposed to help predict the future."
"They don't," Will said, "Not really, the gift of sight is one that you either have it or you don't. It can't be taught. I'm pretty sure I don't even have the sight, not truly."
"Then why offer a class?" Hermione asked, "If it's something that can't be taught?"
"I don't know," Will chuckled, "It would make more sense for it to be a professor who was brought in when a student clearly has the gift, then for it to be a class offered to all students. Though Professor Trelawney has made some true prophecies, apparently. So she's not a complete hack."
"Will!" Hermione said, "Don't talk about a professor that way."
"You'll understand, come third year," Will said, grinning.
"Wait, what happens third year?" Neville said nervously, "Will!"
But Will had taken off running. They could probably hear him laughing as they ran to catch up.
In the blink of an eye, the Christmas season was upon them. With Hermione, Will, and Harry going home for the Holidays, and Ron and Neville signing up to stay at the castle, Will had told them that if they didn't figure out who Nicholas Flamel was by the time they were back at Hogwarts he'd give them a hint.
"Wait, so you know who he is?" Ron asked, "Why don't you just tell us?"
Will considered, "I suppose I could," he said finally, "It wouldn't change much. Would you rather I did that?"
"Sure," Harry nodded, "It would save us some trouble, after all." Hermione seemed a bit disappointed, probably because they wouldn't be spending quite as much time in the library, but nodded as well.
"Nicholas Flamel is an alchemist. He's actually famous enough to be known in the muggle world."
"Wait, muggles know about him?" Neville interrupted, "Isn't that going against the Statute of Secrecy?"
"It isn't if he was famous before the Statute was put in place," Will said, smiling.
"What?" Ron was definitely confused, "He'd have to be ancient! How's he still alive?"
Will turned to Hermione, "Hermione, do you know what the purpose of alchemy was?"
She nodded, "It was to discover a way to turn metal into gold, and a way to achieve immor-" She cut herself off, "He did it? He figured out how to become immortal?"
"He invented something known as the Philosopher's Stone," Will nodded, "Said to be able to turn common metals into gold, and able to create something known as the Elixir of Life, that if drunk regularly will allow you to live forever. Many have tried to recreate it, but so far no one has figured it out. Flamel is the only one who's successfully created one."
"No wonder Snape wants it!" Ron said, "Who wouldn't?"
Will still didn't tell them that Snape was completely innocent. He had a sneaking suspicion that Quirrell, or maybe Voldemort, was practicing Legilimency on the students. In order to keep his friends safe, he wasn't going to tell them until this was over. He would hint at it, to keep them wary of Quirrell, but not so much that they'd be sure it was him. He didn't want to know what Quirrell would do to them if he thought they were truly onto him. To keep himself safe, he'd been avoiding Quirrell's eyes. No need to make Quirrell suspicious by revealing he had an empty head.
When Christmas morning dawned, Will and Harry woke bright and early. They headed downstairs and met Liam and Alice waiting for them. Dad had made pancakes, and Mum gathered them around the tree to open presents.
"Now, we got some gifts by owl, so they're added in here too." Dad informed them.
Will tore off the wrapping on his gifts, while Harry always unwrapped by removing the tape and unfolding the paper. Will thought it was a bit silly, but wasn't going to say anything if Harry wanted to indulge in some sentimentalism.
Will had gotten some new CD's and books from his parents, while they'd gotten Harry a Quidditch Starter Kit. Liam had gotten some model cars and trains, and Alice had gotten an expensive looking doll set. Will's Dad had even built her a dollhouse, complete with working lights. Hopefully Liam and Alice's accidental magic didn't completely ruin the mechanics needed to run both of their gifts.
Hermione had gotten them both a large box of chocolate frogs, probably in reference to the train fiasco, and Ron's mum had given Harry the first traditional Weasley's sweater. She hadn't gotten Will anything, but Will wasn't that surprised. He'd spent a large part of the school year so far not talking to Harry and Ron, and Ron had said he had thought Will was a bad person. He'd probably told his mum about it. Maybe next year she'd give him something. Hagrid had given Will and Harry matching wooden carved flutes.
But the shining star of the Christmas gifts was definitely the gift Harry unwrapped last. Once Harry had thrown the cloak on, everyone had let out a gasp.
"Wicked!" Liam said reverently.
"What? What is it?" Harry said, then looked down. "Whoa! No way!"
"What is it?" Dad asked, looking at the cloak.
"An invisibility cloak," Will said, "A rather special one, too."
Will caught the note that fluttered down from the cloak. He handed it to Harry to read.
Harry read, and as he did, his eyes welled up. "It belonged to my Dad," he whispered.
"Oh, Harry." Mum said, and gave him a hug, "I'm so happy for you. I know what this means to you."
"And maybe this way they won't get into too much danger," Dad added, smiling wryly. Mum had apparently gone spare when she found out about the troll.
"Yes, that too," Mum said, pulling back to wipe her eyes.
"Can I borrow it when I get to Hogwarts?" Liam asked. He'd apparently taken a bit of a liking to the Weasley Twins from Will and Harry's letters, and was probably hoping to emulate them.
"You can ask," Will said, "But if Harry says no, you have to accept that. Also, don't go around telling anybody about this, or he won't let you borrow it at all." Liam looked serious, and nodded.
Will looked at the cloak. He'd been wondering about what to do with the Hallows, more specifically the Resurrection Stone. He probably wanted to keep Dumbledore from putting it on, but he just wasn't sure how. The only way he could think of was to tell Dumbledore the truth, and that wasn't something he was sure he wanted to do. There were lots of fan theories about him, and the one that scared him the most was the idea that he'd raised Harry like a pig for slaughter. It even made sense, and that's what had him worried. The idea that Dumbledore was looking at this like a chess game, and was willing to sacrifice pieces to win. That was something Will wasn't willing to agree with. Ever.
"Will?" Harry asked.
Everyone else had headed to breakfast. He must have been staring off into space for a while.
"Are you alright?" Harry asked.
"I'm fine!" Will said, smiling, "Let's go eat breakfast!" They headed to the kitchen together, and had a good time laughing and joking with their family.