Christmas Eve dawned with an overcast sky and high winds. The students of Hogwarts University were all incredibly grateful they'd been able to visit Hogsmeade the day before when the weather had been much nicer.
Harry was relaxing in the first year's common room with Parvati and Ron after sleeping in a little later than usual.
"Trying to shop in this weather would have been brutal," said Parvati. "I am perfectly happy to sit in front of a nice warm fire all day."
"It is nice in here," Harry said. "Having a big fireplace right next to massive windows looking out over the beginnings of a storm is not a bad place to hang out and relax."
"Agreed," said a voice, approaching from behind them. Harry turned to see one of the Weasley twins flop down onto one of the empty couches, he thought it was Fred but could never really tell. "However, you'll like the house common rooms much more."
"How so?" asked Ron.
"It's kind of hard to describe," Fred said. "You know that feeling you get when all your classmates are hanging out in here together? It's like that but a little more comfortable. It doesn't feel like you're on school property in the house common rooms. More like you are all sharing a house somewhere together and you're all really close roommates."
"Does that mean you don't hang out with the other houses much?"
"Not at all. You'll still have your friends from other houses and will even hang out with them fairly regularly. There are obviously some inter-house rivalries but it's mostly in good fun. There will be a few times where someone can go a bit too far and cause a problem but, for the most part, everyone is in it for a good time."
He hesitated. After a moment, he continued, the care free tone in his voice a little more subdued.
"The only real division between the students has to do with things outside of the school."
Ron and Parvati nodded. Both were a little startled when Harry spoke up.
"Like what?" Harry asked.
"I keep forgetting you've been raised in the muggle world," Ron said, scratching the back of his head. He looked to Parvati who turned to Harry with a more serious look.
"Have you looked into any of our world's politics?"
"Er… no? It's not something I've even thought about."
Parvati nodded and thought for a moment. Eventually, she looked back at him and continued.
"Just like in the muggle world, there are many different ideologies and opinions on how society should function. While everyone has their own individual beliefs, most tend to fall into conservative or progressive ideologies."
Harry was intrigued. He truly hadn't considered politics in this world and having a quick crash course was useful. He also hadn't seen Parvati so engaged in such a serious conversation before.
"Traditionally, the magical world has been a more conservative group, choosing to limit exposure to only those that can use magic and a very select few outsiders. Most of society agrees with this policy but hardly any of us can agree on the specifics. For example, many of the old families, sometimes called Purebloods, don't think muggleborns should be allowed into our world. They think these people are dangerous due to them being so close to the muggle world through their families. They fear the possibility that a muggleborn will reveal our world to the muggles and throw the world into chaos."
She paused for a moment and looked to the Weasley brothers to make sure she wasn't missing anything.
"That's a nice way to put it," Ron said. "In reality, many of the Purebloods view themselves as superior to muggles and muggleborn alike. They can't understand how something beneath them should ever be considered more than an animal."
Fred nodded before adding, "What Ron says is true but the vast majority of those who think along those lines would never openly say something like that in public. In reality, they work from behind the scenes making political moves to limit the ability of muggle born to truly flourish in our world. For example, there are several laws on the books that make it very difficult for a muggleborn to start their own businesses in our world but Purebloods are fast tracked."
"There is also a lot of nepotism in the old families," said Parvati. "Many private businesses only hire purebloods for higher level positions. Even the Ministry has a massive problem with this as most positions are appointed and those with power tend to be the traditional purebloods."
"That's not to say there aren't old families that are more progressive," said another voice. The group turned to see Blaise approach. He sat down next to Ron and continued.
"There are families like the Bones and Longbottoms that have been very supportive of muggleborn. The Potters were too. Your dad did marry a muggleborn, after all."
Harry smiled. He liked knowing his parents hadn't bought into the pureblood mindset.
"The biggest problem is the Purebloods practically own the wizarding world. Their companies and businesses have made them wealthy to the point they can just buy out most of their problems. The most the progressives can do is prevent the worst of the Pureblood ideologies to be enacted and hope that eventually they can consolidate more influence."
When everyone paused for a moment, Harry voiced a thought.
"How does that translate to the houses and students here at Hogwarts?"
Fred sighed. "The old families aren't just old men holed up in their houses. They still have children and participate in society. Their children are brought up having those conservative values drilled into them. When they come to school, they are suddenly put in close contact with people they've been told are beneath them and that they should be avoided."
"Have you noticed Malfoy and his friends don't associate with many people outside of class?" Ron said.
Harry thought about it for a moment.
"Yeah, I guess. But I haven't seen any of them be outright mean to anyone."
Fred nodded. "It's because they are outnumbered here. This class of first years has more muggleborn and muggle raised than previous years. I think once they get into Slytherin, they'll be a little more abrasive."
Harry turned to him, a confused look on his face.
"Slytherin? How do you know they'll go there?"
Fred winced. "Sorry, it's hard not to paint people with such broad strokes but many of the old pureblood families find like minded people in Slytherin house. Although I know a few Slytherins that are cool."
Harry nodded, not sure how to feel about a single house having a bunch of bigoted people in it. After a moment he looked at the other students, each of whom were lost in their own thoughts. After a while, the group moved on to other subjects and the mood lifted a bit, although Harry couldn't help but feel like his future in the wizarding world wasn't going to be as quiet as he expected.
Throughout the rest of the day, Harry and his friends relaxed in the common room before an excellent dinner procured by the Weasley twins. They spread out in front of the fire and enjoyed themselves, allowing the holiday spirit to envelope them. When the sun went down, snow began to fall again and the group began to make their way to their warm beds.
Harry was the last to leave. He sat in front of the fire for a while, enjoying the peace and quiet of the empty common room. Eventually, he rose and climbed the stairs to his room. Laying down, he couldn't help but feel excited for his first real Christmas.
The next morning Harry woke to banging on his outer door. Jumping up, he rushed to open the door only to see Ron and Blaise standing there.
"Well my, my, Potter," Blaise said in a sultry tone while taking a prolonged look at Harry. "You are in very good shape."
Harry blushed. In his rush to open the door he hadn't thrown on a shirt.
Ron, who had been staring with his mouth partly open, turned to Blaise, a little shocked at the tone of voice. When he looked back at Harry, he coughed before nodding in agreement.
"Remind me to keep you away from my sister next year," he said. After a pause he looked again, noticing several small, faded scars over his chest and arms. "Where did you get all those marks?"
Blushing again, Harry mumbled something about getting into fights when he was little before he closed the door and rushed back to his room for a shirt. As he was fumbling about he heard Blaise call out again.
"Come downstairs when you're ready. Did you forget it's Christmas?"
Harry went back to the door, now with a shirt, and opened it again.
"I didn't know there was something happening downstairs."
Ron and Blaise shared a confused look.
"Uh… Presents?" Ron said.
"Oh, I didn't really expect to get anything."
Again, Ron and Blaise shared a look. Ron looked like he was going to ask another question before Blaise spoke over him.
"Well we all did so let's go see what we got."
Shrugging, Harry closed his door and followed them down the stairs. Once they made it to their usual area next to the fireplace, Harry saw several small piles of presents scattered around. Parvati and Padma were sitting on a couch, their piles to each side of them and a large pile in the middle where the coffee table used to be.
Or maybe it's still there and it's just buried, Harry thought as he found his pile next to his favorite chair.
It took a minute for him to realize they were actually his. He'd never received real gifts like this before. Sure, he'd gotten some things from the guys at St. Brutus' but nothing like wrapped gifts for Christmas.
When everyone was settled, the group decided to take turns opening gifts. Before Blaise could open his first gift, however, one of the Weasley twins tossed a box at Harry. He caught it and looked up, confused.
"Mum seems to think you might get cold this winter and decided to include you in the Weasley family tradition." He then lifted his own box which was wrapped in the same paper as Harry's. Ron and the other twin lifted theirs to show they all had the same thing.
"Why don't we open these first," Ron said. "Mum would love for us to wear them today."
When the others agreed, the three Weasleys and Harry tore into the gifts. Harry opened the box to find a knitted green jumper with a large "P" in the center. He smiled and lifted it out of the box. He couldn't think of a better first Christmas gift.
"Why is it always maroon?"
Harry lifted his head and saw Ron pulling on his jumper with an exasperated expression.
"Seriously, Harry gets a nice green and you two get blue!"
Everyone laughed and Harry slipped his gift over his head. It was thick and warm and perfect for the winter ahead.
I must remember to write to Mrs. Weasley when I get the chance.
From there, the group opened each of their gifts. Most of his friends had gotten him sweets but there were a few others. Hagrid had hand carved a wooden flute for his gift. Hermione had gotten him a short book on teaching techniques as well as some Every Flavor Beans. Ron had gotten him a poster for the Chudley Cannons. Neville had sent a letter of thanks for convincing him to get a new wand along with a truly mountainous pile of chocolate. When they were done, he gathered his gifts and made his way up to his room. When he got there, he laid each out on his bed, smiling at the love and warmth he'd felt that morning.
He was just about to go back downstairs for breakfast when he noticed another package he couldn't remember bringing to his room. Nevertheless, there it was, right in the middle of his bed. He opened the package and something silky and light leaked out, almost like it was a fluid. He picked it up and after unfolding it properly, he noticed it was a cloak.
Well it's in the shape of a cloak, Harry thought. It wouldn't do very well in the cold.
He decided to try it on. He had one arm in when there was another knock on his door. He pulled the other arm on as he approached and opened the door only to see Ron jump back with a yelp. If it hadn't been for the protective charms on the railing, he would have fallen over.
"What's wrong?" Harry asked, looking down at Ron sprawled on the floor with a look of terror on his face.
"Y-your… Head… uh… where is your body?" Ron asked, still clearly terrified.
"What are you on about, Ron?"
Ron gulped. "Look down."
Harry looked down and immediately leapt back into his room, his own fear rising. When he landed his foot was on the hem of the cloak and as he fell backwards, the cloak opened in the front revealing his body.
"Blimey, that's an invisibility cloak!" Ron exclaimed, finally understanding what was happening. He got to his feet and approached Harry who was still on the ground. He helped him stand before inspecting the cloak more intently.
"I've heard of these things before but never seen one," he said. "This looks to be very well made."
Harry, finally calm after thinking he'd somehow been beheaded, also looked at the cloak in wonder.
"Where did you get this?" Ron asked, finally coming out of his fascination with the cloak.
"It was in my pile of presents when I brought them up here. I didn't see it downstairs so it might have already been up here when I came back."
"Was there a note?"
"Yeah, I was just about to open it when you knocked."
Harry led Ron into his side of the room and opened the short note that was attached to the cloak's package.
Unfolding it he found a handwritten note in narrow, loopy writing.
Your father left this in my possession before he died. It is time it was returned to you. Use it well.
Harry looked at the note closely and couldn't find a signature or any other identifying markers.
He felt uncomfortable with receiving what seemed to be a very valuable item without knowing who sent it to him. After a moment more, he put the note and the cloak in his trunk and joined Ron as they went downstairs to join their friends for breakfast.
The rest of the day was spent in celebration of Christmas. Harry and the Weasleys participated in a massive snowball fight that devolved into frantic war cries from the Twins as they rushed the Patil twins who had sat on the sidelines the whole time. The girls cried out when snowballs rained upon them as Fred and George, now identifiable by their jumpers, yelled "There can only be one set of twins!"
As the day wound down and the students returned to their rooms, Harry couldn't help but think about the cloak. He had mulled it over all day and came to the conclusion that the person who gave him the gift was just passing on something that was already his as it had belonged to his father. He couldn't really comprehend that. He'd never really had anything of his parents but he was incredibly excited about having something that belonged to his father.
When he got to his room, he experimented a bit with the cloak, trying to figure out the best way to use it. When it was well past midnight, he slipped on the cloak and crept out of his room and down the stairs to the common room.
When he closed the painting of Athena behind him, he turned to the corridor and felt excitement pour through him. He had the whole of Hogwarts to explore and nothing to stop him. Pulling the cloak tight around him, making sure it covered his feet, he set off to have his night time adventure.
He wandered the castle and enjoyed the quiet peace that settled around him. While he had gone on absent minded explorations before, he hadn't ever really been nosy. Tonight, however, he quietly explored rooms he'd never even bothered to open the door of before.
After a few hours, he was on the second floor exploring a few classrooms when he found an unused room with nothing in it other than a tall mirror. He approached it, curious as to why such a magnificent mirror was in such a dull place.
It was tall with a golden frame that had beautiful designs all over it. At the top was an inscription:
Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi.
Harry stepped closer, fascinated with the etchings around the frame. After a moment, he caught some movement in the mirror and all but fell over as he saw a man smiling at him from behind.
Harry looked about to make sure there was no one else in the room before looking back to the mirror. His father was smiling at him from the mirror. James Potter motioned for Harry to stand before stepping over to a young woman with dark red hair. They both looked on the verge of tears but Harry could tell they were happy.
That's my mother.
He stood and shrugged off the cloak so he could see his own reflection. When he appeared, his parents stepped up to his reflection and embraced him. While he couldn't physically feel their touch, just the image of his parents hugging him was overwhelming. He felt tears come to his eyes as his mother kissed his reflection's cheek.
He sank to his knees, sobs wracking his body as a pain and loneliness he thought he'd overcome cascaded over him. His parents knelt down beside him and comforted his reflection.
Harry didn't know how long he knelt in front of that mirror. It could have been only a few minutes or an eternity. Eventually, he forced himself to take some deep breaths and collect himself. Once he'd calmed, he looked back to the mirror to see his parents smiling at him sadly. It was then he noticed others standing behind them.
Beyond his parents were several people who were clearly his extended family judging by the amount of green eyes and messy hair. He even saw a few of his mothers family members including one that looked like a much softer version of his aunt Petunia.
He tried asking them questions but they couldn't answer him. Even when he asked yes or no questions, they just looked at him. It was like they knew he was asking questions but were unable to even acknowledge he was speaking. His frustration was beginning to boil over when he heard a voice behind him.
"They can't answer you, Harry."
Harry spun, startled to see the headmaster leaning against a desk.
"I uh- didn't see you sir," Harry said, now fearful of getting into trouble.
"I don't need a cloak to be invisible," he said with a bit of a mischievous smirk. He approached Harry and the mirror, peering into the reflection, a sad smile resting on his face.
"I see you've found the Mirror of Erised.
"I didn't know it was called that."
"By now I expect you realize what it does?"
"Well… it seems to show me my family. But I can't get any of them to talk to me."
"They can't, Harry. They are not real. They are a magical illusion."
Harry felt his anger rise. He'd never even come close to this much family in his life and he felt like Dumbledore was dismissing them out right. Before he could say anything, however, the headmaster raised his hand to placate him.
"That was insensitive, my boy, I apologize. What I meant to say was this: The mirror only shows our deepest desires."
Harry relaxed somewhat, still not convinced.
"Let me say it this way: If the happiest man in the world stood in front of this mirror, he would see nothing but his reflection. I'm sure if your friend Mr. Weasley were to stand here he would see himself as the captain of the Quidditch team or maybe even Head Boy."
Harry nodded, beginning to understand.
"And so for me it shows my family. What I want most…"
Dumbledore nodded. "But I must warn you, Harry, people have wasted their lives away standing in front of this mirror. It may show you what you desire in the deepest, most hidden parts of your heart, but it will never grant it to you. It is up to you to make it happen."
Harry sighed. "How can I be surrounded by my family members if they are all dead?"
Dumbledore looked at the boy and smiled again. "Ah, but have you not already begun building your own family of some sort?"
Harry gave him a confused look.
"I see how you have made many friends while here at Hogwarts. A few of which you seem to be becoming quite close with. Over the years, you will drift in and out of eachothers lives but there will be a few, a very small few that will be by your side in your darkest moments and in your brightest triumphs. Those will be your family."
Harry nodded, feeling a little better.
"And don't forget, when the time is right you will grow the Potter family and make what you see in the mirror just as real as it looks."
Harry's eyes widened and he felt a bit of a blush dust his cheeks. Dumbledore chuckled and placed a hand on Harry's shoulder.
"But that is quite a ways off, yes?"
"Yes!" Harry blurted. He definitely wasn't ready to think that far ahead but he appreciated Dumbledore's effort to cheer him up.
"Good. Now, you should be off to bed. And just so you know, the mirror will be moved tomorrow and I ask that you not try to find it again."
Harry nodded and gathered the invisibility cloak. After he'd pulled it on, he looked back to the Headmaster.
"Professor Dumbledore?"
The professor turned to Harry and smiled seeing the cloak.
"Uh… Professor… Can I ask… What do you see in the mirror?"
Dumbledore hesitated. After a moment he gave Harry a sad smile.
"I see my brother and sister giving me a pair of socks."
"Socks, sir?"
Dumbledore chuckled again, his sad smile not quite reaching his eyes.
"One can never have enough socks."