"Where were you two last night?"

Harry opened his eyes to a mass of brilliant orange hovering a few inches above his face. It was Ron. The full morning sunlight tinged his hair with a fiery glow. He grinned toothily into Harry's squinting face.

"Get up already, it's nearly eleven! You've missed breakfast. We waited all morning for you, but we're not waiting any longer. Hermione's in the Common Room right now."

As Harry got up and began to dress, Ron moved back toward the stairs.

"Hey!" Harry called hoarsely. "Where are you going?"

"Back down to the Common Room. I want to tell Hermione you're coming. We're both dying to hear where you were all night."

"Don't go yet." Harry looked over at Neville, still sleeping soundly. "Wake him up too. He can go down with us."

Ron shrugged and walked over to Neville's bed. "Oy! Neville! Wake up, it's almost lunchtime!"

Neville sat up in bed and looked around confusedly. "It is?"

"Yeah." Ron was laughing now.

"Neville," Harry called, "how about a game of chess before lunch?"

Neville really looked confused now. Not only had he just been woken up out of a dead slumber, but he was being invited to join Harry, Ron, and Hermione in the Common Room. He smiled.

"Oh. Alright then," he replied quietly.

They reached the foot of the stairs to fine Hermione standing there waiting for them. "Well, where were you? I was really worried, you know!"

Ron snorted. "Yeah, she thought Snape had finished you both off once and for all--"

"No, Ron!" Hermione interrupted. "That was you. I thought Neville might have been hurt really badly--"

"I told you he wasn't! Anyway," Ron said as he herded them all toward four fluffy chairs in the corner of the room. "Let's hear it. What happened?"

Harry glanced at Neville, uncertain whether he would want to tell them about his parents. But Neville just grinned, and began to tell the story of the previous night's events. When he told them how Professor Green had hit Snape, Hermione gasped and Ron howled with laughter. When Neville explained about his parents, and how he had seen Green's memories of them, Ron and Hermione fell silent and listened attentively. Neville told them everything, including the origins of the little box they had seen Peeves smash, and where Dementors came from.

"Well, I knew that part," Ron said when he had finished.

"But you actually got to see a Summoning!" Hermione squeaked. "Oh, tell me what it was like, Neville. I want details!"

"Tell her on the way to lunch, Neville," Ron advised. "I'm hungry." And the four of them crossed the room and climbed through the portrait hole on their way to the Great Hall.

As they sat down at the Gryffindor table, Hermione was still listening raptly as Neville thoroughly described each detail of the memories he had seen the night before. Ron turned to Harry.

"Oh, I meant to tell you! Errol came this morning with a message from Mum. She says I'm to come home for Christmas this year; Charlie and Bill are going to be there. Percy and Penelope too."

"Oh," Harry replied, trying unsuccessfully to hide his disappointment.

"Yeah, I guess she's still worried about You-Know-Who being on the loose and all. Probably wants to have a proper holiday with us before something awful happens." Ron rolled his eyes. As he moved to hand over a large bowl of green salad, he caught the look of dismay on Harry's face. "No, you nitwit! She wants you to come too!"

Harry perked up instantly. "Really?"

"Yeah. She also owled Hermione's parents and invited her, but they said they want her home for the holidays. Something about her having been away for four Christmases." He shrugged. "Oh, but Mum says you've got to get Dumbledore's permission."

Harry glanced over at the staff table, where Dumbledore sat in conversation with Professor McGonagall. He was certain Dumbledore wouldn't begrudge him a nice Christmas with the Weasleys, but then he had also forced Harry to return to the Dursleys' every summer, for reasons Harry still didn't know. There was no telling what he would say.

But there was only one way to find out. After downing their lunches, Harry and Ron made their way to the staff table. As he stood across the table from Dumbledore, Harry suddenly realized that he had never approached the table in the middle of a meal before. He hoped this wasn't some sort of breach of etiquette. Professor McGonagall eyed them curiously.

Dumbledore looked up from his tomato soup. "Yes, Harry. Ronald. May I help you?"

"Professor," Harry began, "I needed to ask you something."

"Yes?"

"Well, I--Mrs. Weasley's just invited me to spend Christmas with her, and I was wondering ... I mean, I would need your permission ..."

Dumbledore and McGonagall looked at each other. Dumbledore turned back to Harry and Ron.

"Boys, I've just finished my lunch. Why don't we go for a walk and discuss this?"

Dumbledore stood up, and Harry and Ron followed him out of the Great Hall across the entrance hall to the large stone staircase. They expected Dumbledore to say something to them, but he didn't speak a word until he gave the stone gargoyle guarding his office the password ("treacle fudge") and took them inside.

Ron had obviously never been inside Dumbledore's office before. He whirled around to fully take in the large round room--the tall bookshelves brimming over with volumes; the venerable portraits of past headmasters and headmistresses, most of whom slept. As he caught sight of Fawkes sitting on his perch near the door, he started. "Hullo, Fawkes," he said.

"Now then," Dumbledore began, sitting down behind his desk and motioning for the two boys to sit in across from him, "I apologize for bringing you boys all the way up here just to tell you this. I'm very sorry, Harry, but I can't send you to the Weasleys' over the winter holiday this year."

"But why not?" Ron cried impatiently. "The Muggles won't mind!"

Dumbledore smiled at him. "That's not the problem, Ronald. Harry, I believe Mrs. Figg told you over the summer about the Fidelius Charm I invoked when I first took you to live with your relatives?"

"Yeah," Harry said, remembering the conversation which had taken place in Mrs. Figg's kitchen several months before.

"She may not have told you all the particulars. You might have been wondering, for instance, why I did not allow you to return directly to the Weasleys' last summer."

Harry thought for a moment. It took him a while to remember that the Weasleys had invited him to stay with them last summer, and that Dumbledore had insisted he return to the Dursleys'. With all that had happened at the end of the last term, he had nearly forgotten.

"The way this particular charm works," Dumbledore explained, "you're protected while you're with the Dursleys, and then for two months after you leave them. When you're here at school, of course, you're safe anyway, so the school year is not a problem. But if you left here now, you'd be unprotected."

Harry winced. He had already received a letter from the Dursleys informing him curtly that they were spending Christmas with Aunt Marge and her vicious pit bull, Ripper, and that Harry was to stay at school for the holiday. He wouldn't even be able to go to the Dursleys' briefly, and then have Ron pick him up.

"But there's no danger, is there?" Ron asked impatiently. "I mean, if he was with me and my parents, he'd be safe."

Dumbledore shook his head sadly. "I'm afraid that would be too much of a risk."

"But we haven't heard anything--"

"Especially because we haven't heard anything of Voldemort." Dumbledore crossed his hands on top of the desk. The matter was clearly decided. "I'm sorry."

Someone knocked on the door behind them. They turned around just in time to see the door open and a large black dog bound excitedly into the room.

Sirius stopped next to Harry's chair and resumed his human form. Harry stood up to greet him, and Sirius put his arm around Harry's shoulders. He looked into Harry's eyes concernedly.

"I didn't expect to find you two here," he said, noticing Ron. "Is everything all right?"

"We've just been discussing our holiday plans," Dumbledore replied warmly. "It's good to see you again, Sirius. Any news?"

Sirius looked slightly confused by Dumbledore's answer. Still, he answered him quickly. "No, I'm afraid not. Remus wasn't able to find out anything." He turned back to Harry and Ron. "Say, what did you mean, holiday plans?"

"My Mum's invited Harry for Christmas," Ron answered, "but he can't come because of that Fidelius thing."

Sirius smiled. "Well, that's alright, isn't it? We'll just have to spend Christmas together at Hogwarts."

"Yes," Dumbledore mused. "Yes, I'm sure that could be arranged."

"I'm staying too," a voice called from behind them. Harry and Ron whirled around; they hadn't noticed Professor Green standing there. She must have been the one who let Sirius into the office in the first place. "My dad is going to spend the holidays with my stepmother's family, and Penny's going to be with the Weasleys." She nodded at Ron. "So it works out. I mean, it won't look odd for my dog to be here if I'm here, too."

Harry smiled. Now Ron was the one who looked disappointed. Dumbledore clasped his hands together enthusiastically. "It's settled then! Harry, you will politely decline Mrs. Weasley's invitation and inform her that you will spend your holiday here."

"Great," Ron muttered as they walked through the corridor toward the portrait of the Fat Lady. "You get to spend the holiday here with Sirius, Hagrid, and Green, and I get to spend it listening to Percy go on about quality control standards for imported wand cores."

***

The last couple of weeks before the Christmas holidays passed very quickly, probably in part because Harry wasn't looking forward to saying goodbye to Ron and Hermione. The end-of-term exams didn't seem to slow things down, eitherr. Charms was particularly difficult, and even Care of Magical Creatures was harder this year. Ever since Hagrid had got rid of the Streeler, he had them studying Fawkes the Phoenix. Even though Harry knew Fawkes, it turned out that Phoenixes had more magical properties than even he was aware of.

The combined effect of studying constantly and anticipating missing his friends was that, before Harry knew it, he was standing on the stone steps of the castle, waving at Ron and Hermione as they walked to Hogsmeade station in the snow with the rest of the students returning home for the holidays.

Harry trudged back up to Gryffindor Tower and flopped onto his bed. No Ron to play chess with, no Hermione to study with, no Neville to talk to. Even Crookshanks was gone. Harry couldn't stay in his room all day, he would go crazy. He decided to go looking for Sirius.

He walked down to Professor Green's office and knocked on the door. No one answered. What if she was gone, but Sirius was still there? he wondered.

He decided to call through the door. "It's me, Harry," he said tentatively. "No one's with me." Suddenly the door creaked open. Sirius was standing inside.

"Come in, Harry," Sirius greeted him. "I just came inside, but I think Persephone's gone to take the students to the station. Hey, it's a bit cold in here, could I borrow your wand?"

Harry pulled out his wand and handed it over. Sirius waved it at the fireplace, producing a roaring fire. "That's better," he mused, handing Harry his wand back. He looked pleased with himself. "Haven't had a wand in twelve years, and I still remember that spell. Not too bad, eh?"

Harry and Sirius spent a very pleasant morning talking in front of the fire. They discussed Harry's classes, the upcoming O.W.L.s, Quidditch--and Harry told Sirius all about the night he and Neville had seen Professor Green's memories of the Longbottoms. When he reached the part where she hit Snape, Sirius laughed out loud. He was an even better audience than Ron.

Outside the window, snow drifted lazily onto the grounds. They spent the remainder of the morning and the entire afternoon in conversation. When the shadows outside lengthened to envelop the grounds completely, Professor Green still hadn't returned. Harry noticed Sirius glancing alternately at a clock on the wall, and then outside, while they talked.

At a quarter to six, Professor Green opened the door without knocking and walked inside, dusted from head to foot with snow. She took off her cloak and shook it out before she noticed Sirius and Harry sitting in two chairs before the fire.

"Oh, hello. Hi there, Harry."

"Hi, Professor Green."

"Persephone," said Sirius, "where have you been? It's late. I started to worry."

"Why?" she asked. She looked at him blankly.

"Well, it's snowing pretty hard, it must be very cold. I just wondered, that's all--"

"I had errands to run in town," she responded shortly.

"I didn't know. You should have told me, I wouldn't have
worried--"

"No one asked you to worry about me." She returned his gaze coldly. There was an unmistakable note of resentment in her voice.

Sirius simply nodded and looked into the fire. Suddenly Harry felt very uncomfortable; he tried to think of a good excuse to leave.

Professor Green rubbed the heels of her hands against her eyes. "I'm sorry. Look, it's been a long day. I'm tired, I'm cold, and my feet hurt. I guess I'm a little cranky." She smiled apologetically. "I had some last minute Christmas shopping to do, that's all. Listen, why don't we all go downstairs and have something to eat?"

Relieved, Harry stood up. Sirius smiled forgivingly. After he had taken his canine form, they walked together down to the Great Hall and dinner.

It might have been the fact that the Yule Ball of the previous year had kept many students from spending Christmas with their families, and they were making up for it this year. Or it might have been that many families feared, like the Weasleys, that dangerous times lay ahead, and they wanted their children home as much as possible. Whatever the reason, there were even fewer students at Hogwarts over the winter holiday than usual. In fact, Harry found that he was the only Gryffindor. At Professor Dumbledore's request, he sat at the Slytherin table, with the rest of the staff and students. He looked around at the others. The only other students seated at the table were a Hufflepuff second-year and three
Slytherins--Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle.

They had taken seats at the end of the table, as far as possible from Dumbledore, Green, Hagrid, and Harry. Harry wondered why the Malfoys hadn't brought Draco home for the holidays--the only other time Draco had spent Christmas at school was at his own request, and he didn't appear to be here willingly now. Harry chuckled at the expression of intense displeasure on Malfoy's face.

All through the meal Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle alternately whispered amongst themselves and shot Harry malevolent looks. After everyone had eaten, Professor Green pulled out her guitar and played Christmas carols. Dumbledore sang and clapped loudly, while the rest of the table grudgingly mumbled along. Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle, however, abruptly left the table right in the middle of the chorus of "Jingle Bells".

Secretly, Harry resolved to watch his back. Malfoy was unhappy and accompanied by two of the biggest fifth-years in the school. He might be tempted to entertain himself over the holiday by seeking out novel methods of torture and trying them out on Harry.

***

Each day of the Christmas holiday passed much like the first. Harry took a little time to study for O.W.L.s, but he mostly spent his days talking with Sirius and Hagrid. He and Hagrid had even participated in a couple of snowball fights against Sirius and Professor Green. These weren't quite fair fights, though, as Professor Green knew how to bewitch the snowballs to follow their targets, so that they were impossible to evade.

Harry realized guiltily that he had been so busy with schoolwork that he hadn't yet been to see Dobby. He made up for this, however, by visting a few times before Christmas. Dobby still seemed to be enjoying life at Hogwarts. He was continued to keep an eye out for Winky, who was drinking less now, but still wore the same tattered blue blouse and skirt, which were so dirty they were nearly indistinguishable from the other House-Elves' old dishrags and pillowcases. Somehow, Harry suspected that this was the exact look Winky was going for.

On Christmas morning Harry awoke to find a pile of presents heaped at the foot of his bed. Excitedly, he leapt up and tore into it. He unwrapped a set of three Practice Snitches from Ron ("For keeping top Seekers at the top of their game!" screamed the package), an emerald-green knitted sweater from Mrs. Weasley, fudge brownies from Hagrid, and a new mokeskin wallet from Sirius. The Dursleys had also sent a present: a half-used spool of orange thread.

At the bottom of the pile, Harry found a brand-new Transcription Quill from Hermione. He fingered it suspiciously, remembering the Quick Quotes Quill Rita Skeeter had used to twist his words into unrecognizability last year. He reached into his bookbag and grabbed a piece of parchment, which he set on his bed. Then he set the quill upon it. Very tentatively, he said, "Merry Christmas".

In an untidy scrawl--just like Harry's own handwriting--the quill wrote, Merry Christmas.

"Cool!" Harry exclaimed, forgetting that the quill was still transcribing his speech. Cool!, it wrote. He snatched it up happily and placed it in his pocket.

Harry thought he would go downstairs and find Sirius before breakfast. He gathered up the tin of brownies and started down the staircase to the Common Room. A pang of guilt struck him when he remembered the wallet Sirius had given him. Aside from a handmade card, he didn't have any gifts for Sirius; after all, what do you give someone who spends most of his time as a dog? He wondered if Sirius might want to share the brownies with him, but then suddenly remembered hearing that chocolate wasn't good for dogs. He wondered if Animagi were different. Could Sirius eat chocolate as a dog without any negative effects? If Sirius ate a brownie in his human form, and then changed over, would the brownie hurt him if it were still in his system?

Harry was lost in ruminations about the biology of Animagi as he climbed out of the portrait hole. A cold voice called out from behind him, pulling him out of his reverie.

"Merry Christmas, Potter."

Harry turned around. Draco Malfoy was leaning against the wall next to the portrait hole, lazily passing his wand from hand to hand. Crabbe and Goyle stood close by, but they looked tenser than Malfoy, as though they expected something to happen.

This couldn't be good, Harry thought, but he decided to play along. "Merry Christmas. I'm just going downstairs to breakfast." It wasn't strictly true, but it was plausible. "See you later."

"Not so fast. What've you got there?" Malfoy drawled, pointing his wand at the brownies. "Accio tin."

The little tin of brownies flew out of Harry's hands, and Malfoy caught them with ease. He opened it, looked inside, and wrinkled his nose. "They look like charcoal. Who made them, that half-witted idiot Hagrid?"

Crabbe and Goyle, however, looked very interested in the brownies. Malfoy rolled his eyes and handed them the tin.

"Give it back, it's mine," Harry said, steeling himself for a fight. He had been afraid of an ambush by these three, but now that they were face to-face, all he felt was anger.

Malfoy laughed. "Make me."

Harry was furious. "You don't want to fight me," he heard himself saying, "You were afraid to duel our first year, and you're afraid now."

Malfoy clenched his fists by his sides, an expression of rage reddening his pale face. "I am not. I'll prove it!"

"Oh yeah?" Harry shouted. "You, Crabbe, and Goyle against me?" Harry paused and appeared to consider this. "I guess that's fair. After all, you could never beat me on your own."

If Malfoy had looked angry before, it was nothing to the pure loathing Harry read on his face now. Harry nearly laughed out loud. Malfoy was so easy to bait.

Upon hearing their names Crabbe and Goyle looked up from the brownies. Their hands and mouths were already covered in crumbs. Inwardly, Harry marveled at his good luck--neither he nor Sirius would have to eat Hagrid's cooking now.

"You don't think so?" Malfoy said icily as he pointed his wand at Harry. He turned to Crabbe and Goyle. "Go downstairs."

Crabbe and Goyle looked at each other, bewildered. Goyle said, "But you told us--"

"GO!" Malfoy shouted. Hurriedly, they shuffled off down the corridor, taking the nearly empty brownie tin with them.

Malfoy turned back to Harry, who quickly drew his own wand. "It's just you and me now, Potter." He snickered. "The great Harry Potter. Let's see how great you really are. On three."

Harry pointed his wand at Malfoy and mentally prepared a hex. "Three," he called.

"Two," Malfoy hissed.

"ONE!" Harry shouted, but Malfoy had already begun muttering a curse. Harry had to abandon his own hex and managed to deflect the curse just in time, sending a blue bolt screaming into the opposite wall. Chips of stone flew off the wall in all directions.

"Arachnis!" Harry yelled, and a stream of spiders shot out of his wand toward Malfoy. This time Malfoy was the one who deflected the hex, sending the spiders tumbling harmlessly down the corridor.

While Harry was still trying to think of another curse, and before he had a chance to say anything, Malfoy screamed, "Expelliarmus!" Harry's wand flew off down the corridor, in the same direction the spiders had taken.

Malfoy's gray eyes glittered maliciously as he held his wand out toward Harry. "The great Harry Potter! You don't look so great now, do you, Wonder Boy?"

He chuckled, paused, and then articulated a curse slowly and deliberately. "Deprivat--"

The distance between the two boys wasn't great, and Harry covered it in the amount of time that Malfoy took to utter three of the curse's the four syllables. Without thinking, he grabbed Malfoy's wand hand, placed his right foot behind Malfoy's, and struck him open-handed in the chest. It wasn't a hard blow, but the force of it was enough to knock the stunned Malfoy onto his back on the cold stone.

"POTTER!" Professor McGonagall rushed up the corridor toward them. She was followed closely by Hagrid, holding the empty tin in one hand, and both Crabbe and Goyle by their collars in the other.

"What on earth is going on here?"

Harry tried to explain. "Professor, he threatened me. He wanted to duel--"

"To DUEL?!" Professor McGonagall screeched, her eyes as wide as Galleons. "As you are both well aware, dueling is explicitly forbidden by the Hogwarts Code of Conduct! Twenty-five points each from Gryffindor and Slytherin, and detention for both of you!"

Harry thought about protesting this, but the look in Professor McGonagall's eye deterred him. After all, he reasoned, he had been dueling. Harry was just glad that it was over, and by the look on Malfoy's face, so was he.

Malfoy didn't attempt to argue either; he simply looked up at Professor McGonagall and winced in pain.

"Professor, I think my back's hurt. It's really painful." He let out a pitiful moan. Harry rolled his eyes.

Thankfully, Professor McGonagall found this display as convincing as Harry did. She strode over to Malfoy, reached down, and yanked him up by his arm. "That will do, Mr. Malfoy! If you feel that you are so grievously injured, you may spend Christmas in the hospital wing and forego the holiday feast later today."

Malfoy stopped moaning and returned her gaze sulkily.

"That's what I thought. Now, you four can either come downstairs for breakfast or return to your respective dormitories. I won't have you roaming the corridors fighting all day." She glanced witheringly at Harry.

Harry realized that he was missing his wand. He didn't want to anger her further, but he had to say something. "Professor, my wand," he said quietly, pointing to a spot several yards away where it lay on the stone floor, surrounded by scuttling black spiders. Professor McGonagall retrieved it and handed the wand to Harry indignantly.

Hagrid finally let go of Crabbe and Goyle, and led the group back toward the Great Hall. Clearly attempting to preserve some semblance of dignity, Malfoy lifted his head and strode down the corridor. Harry followed. When they reached the entrance hall, he was relieved to see Malfoy turn in the direction of the Slytherins' dungeon Common Room, followed reluctantly by the still-hungry Crabbe and Goyle.

Harry, Hagrid, and Professor McGonagall proceeded into the Great Hall, where Professors Green and Dumbledore were leading the mumbling staff in a rousing chorus of "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen".

***

Author's Note: This is the revised version of this chapter (Harry got his wand back!). The next part is taking me a really, really long time to write, so I apologize in advance for the delay. I'm not going to post an ETA because I would surely miss it. :)