Disclaimer: Any possibility of me owning Harry Potter is completely bogus. Please do not think that I really own him. Everything you recognize is owned by the great talented JKR. Again, that's not me.
Summary: Sequel to Living at Hogwarts. Harry, Draco and Jem are starting their first year as students at Hogwarts. Who will they meet? Friends? Enemies? And sometimes, they feel they are living only to die. READ!
AN This is the sequel to Living at Hogwarts. If you haven't read that, please do so, as it will make much more sense if you do. This story will not be slash in any kind, though it will have loads of characters OOC. Please do not flame, as I have many not so nice ways of dealing with them. Enjoy!
"^^blah-blah^^" = Elfish
/blah-blah/ = italicized
*blah-blah* = bold
'blah-blah' = thoughts
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Chapter 5
After Jem's birthday, where Albus did indeed take them skiing for the weekend, the Christmas holidays seemed to gallop towards them. And in almost no time at all, Hermione had packed all of her things and hugged them each good-bye.
"Remember to look for information on Flamel," she said quietly, glancing around to make sure that nobody was listening to them.
Draco groaned, "We've looked a hundred times!" He complained.
Jem pretended to pass out on the ground and Harry rolled his eyes.
Hermione leaned in closer, "not in the restricted section."
Harry nodded, "be sure to ask you parents, it'll be safe to ask them, won't it?"
She grinned at him and stepped away. "Very safe, as their both dentists. Happy Christmas, you three."
Jem stood up and stared as the bushy haired girl walked down to the carriages. "^^I think we've had a bad influence on her,^^" she said softly.
Harry nodded, and Draco continued to stare after the girl in disbelief.
"^^Was that Hermione Granger?^^" he said finally, turning towards his two best friends. "^^The Hermione Granger that never breaks any rules? The Hermione Granger that would never turn in a homework piece unless she knew it would score ten out of ten?^^"
Harry nodded, laughing. "^^Yes, Draco,^^" he said, "^^the one and only.^^"
Draco shook his head in shock. "^^I never thought I'd hear her say anything like that.^^" He paused for effect. "^^EVER!^^"
--oo00oo--
Now that the Christmas holidays had really started, Harry, Draco and Jem were having a great time. It was just like life before they started classes. They spent most of their time in the empty Gryffindor common room, talking and laughing with Fred and George Weasley.
They also spent hours on end sitting in front of the fire, roasting anything they could attach to a toasting fork and discussing ways that they could get Ron expelled, which was fun - even if it wouldn't work.
The rest of their time was spent reading about their preferred subjects. Harry was always carrying around a book on curses and hexes. Draco always had his nose buried in some potion book, and Jem was constantly transfiguring their things into strange random objects.
Harry was most miffed when his old teddy bear, Mr. Snuggles, was transfigured into a box of crayons- speaking of which...
"^^JEMERA GRAZER!^^" Harry roared, storming down the stairs, holding the battered coloring tools. "^^WHAT DID YOU DO TO MR. SNUGGLES?!^^"
George, only understanding 'Jemera Grazer' and 'Mr. Snuggles' looked up interestedly, poking his brother as he did so.
"^^What makes you think it was me?^^" Jem asked, a sly smile on her face.
"^^I KNOW IT WAS YOU!^^" Harry shouted, "^^CHANGE HIM BACK!^^"
Jem sighed and pulled out her wand, changing the box back into a ratty old teddy bear. It was the only thing Harry had from his life with his parents, the only thing the Aurrors were able to dig out of the rubble of his house. Harry hugged his bear tightly and rushed out of the portrait hole and down to Severus' room. Along the way there, he ran into with Ron Weasley.
"Potter," Ron sneered, looking down his nose at Harry, he suddenly blinked. "What is *that*?"
"This," Harry snapped, wrapping his arms tighter around his bear, "is none of your business."
Ron suddenly blinked, his eyes locked on Mr. Snuggles. "Is that a teddy bear?" He asked, holding back a choke of laughter. "Oh Merlin, this is precious. Famous Harry Potter has a teddy bear!"
Harry's eyes flashed, and quite suddenly, his wand was pointing directly at Ron's forehead. "Say another word about me," he said, "and I won't even bother to give you a warning before I hex you."
"Harry?"
Harry spun around, his wand disappearing as he did so. "Severus!" Harry cried, "I was just looking for you... I wanted to ask you if you could make Jem to stop transfiguring my things into random objects." He held up the bear. "It's most annoying, and sometimes when I find my Nimbus as a bear, it has bad effects on people around me... especially if I lose my temper."
Severus sighed. He recognized the bear, but he also had overheard Harry and Ron's conversation and decided to play along. "Why don't we talk about this in my rooms..." there was a pause, "by the way, are you and Draco spending the holiday with me this year, or are you going to stay in the dorm?"
"With you," Harry smiled, "do you expect anything different?"
The two of them started walking. "Would you mind moving, Ginger," Harry said, mock pleasantly, "we're trying to go down the hall, and you're in the way."
Ron scowled, but pushed past Harry, continuing on his way to where ever he was going. And Harry and Severus quickly went down to Severus' rooms and sat down on the couch, talking about a whole range of things. Which all, in some way, included Harry's childhood.
--oo00oo--
On Christmas morning, Harry woke up when Jem jumped onto his bed. He and Draco were indeed staying with the Potions Master over the holidays, and both were happy to be sleeping in their own beds again, rather then in the dorms.
"Wake up!" Jem hollered, successfully chasing away any thought of ever going back to sleep. "PRESENTS!!"
Draco jumped out of his bed and he and Jem tugged Harry out of his and into Severus' room. All three of them then jumped onto the sleeping Potion Masters bed.
Severus woke with a grunt.
"Come on, Severus," Draco pleaded, "wake up! We want our presents!"
Severus groaned and slowly sat up, staring around for his clock. He noticed that Harry was now standing right in front of it, and scowled.
"Good morning, Severus," Harry chirped, grinning and quickly changing the time that the clock said.
"Move, Harry," said man growled.
Harry obeyed and winked at his friends. The clock now read ten in the morning, two hours faster then what it should read.
"Shi- err... Crap!" Severus cried, jumping out of bed and running towards his bathroom. He suddenly poked his head around the bathroom door, the shower water already running and a pink shower-cap on his head. "Happy Christmas, you three," he said finally. "Your gifts are up in the great hall."
The three nodded and quickly left the room, Harry changing the clock back to normal as they did.
--oo00oo--
When they reached the great hall, a few other students were already eating breakfast. The Weasley twins and Percy, their older brother, were all sitting at the Gryffindor table, but Ron seemed to prefer being over at Slytherin, even if he /was/ all alone.
Harry, Draco and Jem sprinted towards the tall tree at the front of the hall, diving underneath it for the packages addressed to them.
They each extracted all of their presents and sat down to wait for Severus and the rest of the professors to arrive. Severus arrived last, minus the pink shower cap, and sat down at the table, smiling at the three, nodding that they could start to open their presents.
Wrapping paper flew into the air as the three complied.
There were joy filled shrieks (mostly from Jem) as the gifts were uncovered. Candy from Hermione, advanced books from the professors, a Potions set for Draco; from Harry and Jem; a wand holster for Harry; from Jem and Draco, and an updated version of 'Quidditch through the Ages' for Jem; from Harry and Draco. Among those were countless gifts from their other friends and some upperclassman, including the Weasley family, (minus Ron) and a few others. Most importantly of all, at least for now, was the gift that Bill Weasley and Blade Feslin sent them from Egypt, and from Charlie Weasley in Romania.
Dragon hide clothing for each of them. Boots for Harry and Draco; and a skirt for Jem, which reached all the way down to her ankles. And each received a book about Egyptian magic. Transfiguration for Jem, charms for Harry, and potions for Draco. (Did you expect anything else?)
And roughly whittled flutes for each of them, from Hagrid. They each blew them, experimentally, sounding a bit like an out of tune owl chorus.
Needless to say, they were very impressed, and very happy with all the gifts they had received.
They had just sat down to eat their neglected breakfasts, when Albus suddenly walked up to Harry, holding a strangely wrapped gift.
"Grandpapa?" Harry asked, looking up at him strangely.
"Harry, would you come with me please? This gift is very important, but I don't want everyone knowing what it is just yet."
Harry nodded and stood up, following the old man through the Great Hall and through a door at the end of the teachers table, leading into a small classroom that he and Draco had used as a playhouse when they were five. The black haired Gryffindor smiled at the paintings, especially Violet, a woman in a large purple dress.
"Now, Harry," Albus said, drawing his attention away from the paintings and his old memories, motioning for the boy to sit down. "This gift is very special, and I was going to give it to you a few years ago- but I decided that it wasn't the time yet. But now, I think you're ready for it."
He placed the gift in Harry's lap and smiled. "Use it well." He paused before leaving them room. "He loved you very much, Harry." Albus said softly, his hand on the doorknob. "They both did." Then he left the room, leaving Harry alone. The black haired boy stared down at the package in his lap with apprehension and slight fear.
Finally, with trembling hands, Harry slowly undid the cord binding the wrapping paper together, and carefully pushed the paper away. Something silvery slid to the floor, along with a small note, written in handwriting Harry had never seen before.
/Property of James Potter. If this cannot find its way back to me, please leave in the care of Harry Potter, my son. Make sure he knows that I love him./
Harry felt tears welling up and carefully folded the bit of paper, and pushing it into his pocket before leaning over to pick up whatever had fallen. It was soft and light, like a soft breath turned to water, or wind becoming solid, Harry couldn't decide. But what was most important, is what it was.
An invisibility cloak.
Harry gapped at it, letting the material slide over his hands, feeling the silky texture of it. 'It was my dad's?' he thought absently. 'But, how did he get it? They're so rare!'
There was a knock on the door, before Draco and Jem threw it open and rushed towards their friend.
"^^What did Grandpapa give you, Harry,^^" they asked excitedly. "^^He looked really weird when he came back out, it was so strange...^^"
Draco suddenly caught sight of the silvery fabric Harry was holding. "^^It's an Invisibility Cloak!^^" He said, in complete awe. "^^But, how come you got it? They're supposed to be really rare!^^"
Jem pouted. "^^I want one.^^" She said childishly.
Draco shot her a look before turning back to his friend, who looked slightly teary. "What is it, Harry?" He asked, concerned.
"It was my dad's." Harry whispered. "He left it for me."
"Really?" Draco asked, reaching out a hand to feel the cloak. "Well, lets see, put it on."
Harry complied, and his body quickly disappeared, before reappearing behind them. "BOO!" He shouted, causing Jem and Draco to jump and whirl around. With identical grins, the two lunged towards Harry and tackled him to the ground, tickling for all they were worth.
--oo00oo--
For the rest of the day, Harry managed to forget about his dad's cloak. He spent the rest of the morning with Jem and Draco, having a snowball fight. Then the Weasley twins joined in and they restored to see who could lift the most snow magically.
As it turned out, Draco won, and was the only one of them, not to have a large pile of snow drop onto his head.
"I still say you cheated," Harry sulked, as they walked back up to the castle. "There is no way that all those snowballs just 'came out of nowhere' and somehow didn't hit you."
Jem nodded her agreement.
"Sore loser," Draco grinned, making sure that his wand was still hidden in his shirt sleeve.
Harry shook his head and followed his friends up to the Gryffindor Common Room, where they spent nearly an hour watching Percy Weasley chase Fred and George for stealing his prefects badge. After that, Harry chose to visit Hedwig in the owlry, and maybe send a letter to Hermione, thanking her for her gift.
It also made him ponder what he was going to get for her. 'I'll ask Draco and Jem later,' he promised himself, reaching the owlry.
Hedwig fluttered down to rest on his shoulder, hooting softly.
"Hey," Harry said softly, stroking her feathers, "up for a short trip?"
Hedwig hooted, fluttering until she rested on the window ledge and Harry pulled out a scroll.
"Can you take this to Hermione for me?" He asked. The snowy owl hooted again and allowed Harry to tie the note to her leg. "Thanks, Hed." The boy smiled.
The owl didn't do anymore then hooting again and spreading her wings and taking flight. Harry watched her until she was a tiny dot in the clouds. Then, he headed back up to the teachers quarters- going straight to Minerva's rooms.
"Grandmamma!" He called, knocking on the door. "Can I ask you something?"
Minerva opened the door and smiled down at him. "What is it, Harry?" She asked.
"You- taught my dad when he was here at Hogwarts, right?" Harry started. Minerva nodded. "Could you tell me what he was like?"
And that's how Harry spent his Christmas afternoon.
--oo00oo--
By the time the Gryffindor trio had decided to go up to bed, Harry had long since decided that he needed to do a bit of wandering. And, what better to wander with, then his dad's old invisibility cloak? He slipped out of bed and carefully removed the silky cloth from under his pillow, before draping it over his body.
He stood there for a moment, breathing in the smell that could only be James Potter. Pumpkin juice and the forbidden forest, fire smoke and chocolate. Harry smiled softly and quickly made his way out of his and Draco's room, through Severus' living room and out into the hallway.
Now, where to go?
Harry started off in a random direction, smiling as he passed ghosts and sleeping paintings, undetected. The corridor was extremely dark, the only light coming from small slit windows. Harry wandered slowly, turning corners at random, not caring where he went.
He suddenly blinked. How did he get here?
This used to be where he and Albus worked on his wandless magic when he was still a small child. The two spent hours on end practicing charms and hexes, transfiguration and all sorts of things. Once in a while, Draco and Jem would come along and Albus would help the three together.
Draco, of course, being a magical translator, meaning that he was born with the gift to understand and speak any language that he heard, and sometimes, even pass his gift on to others, which he did to his two best friends. And Jem, being the princess of a french High Elven clan that had been mostly whipped out due to a mugger disease, and also a very strong and powerful witch.
This must have been one of Harry's favorite rooms in the castle. He stepped inside, smiling softly. It was empty, of course, abandoned and cold. Except for...
A mirror.
A very old mirror, Harry noticed, moving to stand in front of it, wanting to see what it was like to not have a reflection. He jumped back in surprise.
He *did* have a reflection! Not only that, but there were other people all around him! Harry took another look at the mirror, his brow wrinkled in thought when he saw an inscription. "Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi."
Suddenly, it dawned on him. The inscription was a reflection of what the mirror did.
"I show not your face, but your hearts desire," Harry whispered, stepping close to the mirror again. And again, he saw the people, but this time he did not jump back. Instead he peered closely at the people he only recognized from photographs. And smiled.
"Mum," he whispered, reaching up with one hand to touch the glass lightly. "Dad." His parents nodded, smiling widely at him, mouthing "I love you's" and "I miss you's".
And Harry, even knowing that it wasn't real, still felt his eyes prickling with tears. He slowly put his cloak back on and began the trek back towards the dungeons, this time passing nobody.
He got back and swiftly climbed into bed with Draco, something he always did when he was sad and depressed. It didn't matter to them, they were as close, if not closer, then brothers and Draco always did the same. And Draco, did little more then move over to make enough room and open his eyes slightly.
"^^What's wrong?^^" He whispered.
Harry shook his head. "^^I'll tell you in the morning, okay?^^"
Draco frowned but nodded. And they both fell back asleep.
--oo00oo--
Harry woke up when the bed changed positions, caused by Jem sitting down gently. The bed moved again, this time it was Draco.
"^^Alright, Harry,^^" Draco said sternly, "^^what's wrong? You haven't slept in my bed since you were nine, what happened?^^"
Harry sighed. "^^I went out wandering last night.^^" He whispered, "and I found this mirror. It's kind of hard to explain...^^"
"^^Do it anyway.^^" Jem demanded.
"^^Well, when I looked into the mirror, I saw my-^^"
"^^Reflection?^^"
"^^My parents.^^" Harry said, his voice even quieter. "^^It really hurt, and well, I've seen their pictures and everything, but this time it was like they were talking to me... and...^^"
"Show me," Jem demanded, switching to English all of a sudden. "I want to see it."
"See what?" Severus asked, poking his head into the room. His eyes immediately went worried when he saw Harry in Draco's bed. "Harry, what's wrong?"
"I just-"
"Did you have another vision?"
Harry shook his head. "It was just a bad dream, no big deal. And Jem wanted me to show her the boxers that somebody got Professor Flitwick for Christmas."
Severus cringed, "Well, I am going to forbid *that* action, no offence, Jem, but that's really disgusting."
Jem managed a weak smile. Before turning to Harry and glaring heatedly at him. The glare remained on her face for the most part of the day.
--oo00oo--
That night, Harry and Draco met Jem in the Entrance Hall, but unfortunately, they weren't alone. Peeves, the poltergeist, was bouncing around in the stairs, and Mrs. Norris was sniffing around the Entrance Hall.
"Great," Jem breathed, "how are we supposed to get past both of them?"
"Walk?" Harry and Draco deadpanned.
And so, they walked. Right past Mrs. Norris, who began to purr as they passed, and right below Peeves, who froze and quickly shot to another part of the castle.
"I don't think he's ever going to forget that joke you two played on him," Jem grinned, "who would have thought that dropping a bag of flour on his head would scare him away..."
The two boys shushed her and continued climbing the seemingly endless flights of stairs to their old training room. They finally reached it, and took off the cloak, Jem and Draco moving to stand in front of the mirror.
"I only see me and Draco," Jem said after a moment.
"Well, maybe you need to look in it one at a time," Harry said. Jem promptly pushed Draco out of the way and stared into the mirror. Her eyes widened and her mouth dropped open.
"^^Mummy? Papa? Is it really you?^^"
The princess let out a sob and collapsed onto her knees, curling into a ball on the floor. "^^I miss you, so much...^^"
Harry and Draco looked at each other before Harry moved to comfort their best friend, Draco moving to stand in front of the mirror. His reaction, wasn't anything like Harry's and Jem's, although, he only saw his father, as he had *no* desires to see his mother. Draco didn't even say anything before turning around and helping Harry pull Jem to her feet.
They brought her back to their bedroom, and spent the rest of the night in Harry's bed, holding each other tightly in their own emotional pain.
Severus peaked in on them when he woke up, surprised to find them all cuddled in Harry's bed. He left immediately and went to find Dumbledore.
--oo00oo--
Soon, not only Dumbledore, but also Severus and Minerva hurried into the trio's room, each pulling one into a tight hug.
"There there," Minerva soothed, smoothing Jem's long uncombed, blonde hair. "What's wrong?"
Jem shook her head, pushing tighter against the women holding her.
"Mirror," Draco choked out finally, clinging onto Severus, "it- it..."
"A mirror?" Albus repeated, "what did it do? Did it show you something, did it pull you in?"
"Oh Merlin, I wish it did," Jem whimpered, "it hurts so much, Grandpapa..."
Albus looked down at Harry, who was leaning against him, his eyes closed, shielding his emerald green eyes. "It showed us out parents," Harry finally explained. "The thing that we wanted more then anything in the world, and the one thing that we can't have."
The three professors shared a confused look, before comprehension dawned on Albus.
"The mirror of Erised?" He asked.
The three nodded.
"Then, that explains it. I think you've got it right, Harry, when you described the mirror. That mirror, shows neither truth, or knowledge. It shows more or less, the deepest, most desperate desires of our hearts. You Harry, who have never really known your family except for what you were told, see them standing around you. Jem, who lost them at age five, sees them as she remembers, well and healthy, still ruling their Kingdom. And, Draco, who has never even seen pictures of his father, sees him standing proudly, no matter what he does."
"How do you-"
"I daresay that I have more tricks up my sleeve that you have yet to encounter," Albus said, his eyes twinkling.
Draco remained silent, as did the other two.
"Now, remember, men have wasted away in front of this mirror. Even gone mad- not knowing if what they see is real or even possible. Which, is why, tomorrow, the mirror will be moved to a new home..."
"Good," Jem whispered, "that hurt too much the first time, I never want to see it again!"
Albus nodded, pleased. "Now, why don't you three head upstairs for an early breakfast, and then perhaps we can spend the remainder of the day somewhere in the Muggle world."
The three nodded and slowly let go of their Grandmamma, Grandpapa and almost surrogate father.
The rest of the day was fun, spent shopping in London, which helped get their minds off of the haunting images in the mirror.
AN Alright, sorry about the very long delay in writing, but believe it or not, there was this huge writers block that would *not* go away! And then, my HP books were left at the mall, *glares at Adria* Anyway, I'll try to get the next chapter up soon, but, it might take a while.
.
Summary: Sequel to Living at Hogwarts. Harry, Draco and Jem are starting their first year as students at Hogwarts. Who will they meet? Friends? Enemies? And sometimes, they feel they are living only to die. READ!
AN This is the sequel to Living at Hogwarts. If you haven't read that, please do so, as it will make much more sense if you do. This story will not be slash in any kind, though it will have loads of characters OOC. Please do not flame, as I have many not so nice ways of dealing with them. Enjoy!
"^^blah-blah^^" = Elfish
/blah-blah/ = italicized
*blah-blah* = bold
'blah-blah' = thoughts
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Chapter 5
After Jem's birthday, where Albus did indeed take them skiing for the weekend, the Christmas holidays seemed to gallop towards them. And in almost no time at all, Hermione had packed all of her things and hugged them each good-bye.
"Remember to look for information on Flamel," she said quietly, glancing around to make sure that nobody was listening to them.
Draco groaned, "We've looked a hundred times!" He complained.
Jem pretended to pass out on the ground and Harry rolled his eyes.
Hermione leaned in closer, "not in the restricted section."
Harry nodded, "be sure to ask you parents, it'll be safe to ask them, won't it?"
She grinned at him and stepped away. "Very safe, as their both dentists. Happy Christmas, you three."
Jem stood up and stared as the bushy haired girl walked down to the carriages. "^^I think we've had a bad influence on her,^^" she said softly.
Harry nodded, and Draco continued to stare after the girl in disbelief.
"^^Was that Hermione Granger?^^" he said finally, turning towards his two best friends. "^^The Hermione Granger that never breaks any rules? The Hermione Granger that would never turn in a homework piece unless she knew it would score ten out of ten?^^"
Harry nodded, laughing. "^^Yes, Draco,^^" he said, "^^the one and only.^^"
Draco shook his head in shock. "^^I never thought I'd hear her say anything like that.^^" He paused for effect. "^^EVER!^^"
--oo00oo--
Now that the Christmas holidays had really started, Harry, Draco and Jem were having a great time. It was just like life before they started classes. They spent most of their time in the empty Gryffindor common room, talking and laughing with Fred and George Weasley.
They also spent hours on end sitting in front of the fire, roasting anything they could attach to a toasting fork and discussing ways that they could get Ron expelled, which was fun - even if it wouldn't work.
The rest of their time was spent reading about their preferred subjects. Harry was always carrying around a book on curses and hexes. Draco always had his nose buried in some potion book, and Jem was constantly transfiguring their things into strange random objects.
Harry was most miffed when his old teddy bear, Mr. Snuggles, was transfigured into a box of crayons- speaking of which...
"^^JEMERA GRAZER!^^" Harry roared, storming down the stairs, holding the battered coloring tools. "^^WHAT DID YOU DO TO MR. SNUGGLES?!^^"
George, only understanding 'Jemera Grazer' and 'Mr. Snuggles' looked up interestedly, poking his brother as he did so.
"^^What makes you think it was me?^^" Jem asked, a sly smile on her face.
"^^I KNOW IT WAS YOU!^^" Harry shouted, "^^CHANGE HIM BACK!^^"
Jem sighed and pulled out her wand, changing the box back into a ratty old teddy bear. It was the only thing Harry had from his life with his parents, the only thing the Aurrors were able to dig out of the rubble of his house. Harry hugged his bear tightly and rushed out of the portrait hole and down to Severus' room. Along the way there, he ran into with Ron Weasley.
"Potter," Ron sneered, looking down his nose at Harry, he suddenly blinked. "What is *that*?"
"This," Harry snapped, wrapping his arms tighter around his bear, "is none of your business."
Ron suddenly blinked, his eyes locked on Mr. Snuggles. "Is that a teddy bear?" He asked, holding back a choke of laughter. "Oh Merlin, this is precious. Famous Harry Potter has a teddy bear!"
Harry's eyes flashed, and quite suddenly, his wand was pointing directly at Ron's forehead. "Say another word about me," he said, "and I won't even bother to give you a warning before I hex you."
"Harry?"
Harry spun around, his wand disappearing as he did so. "Severus!" Harry cried, "I was just looking for you... I wanted to ask you if you could make Jem to stop transfiguring my things into random objects." He held up the bear. "It's most annoying, and sometimes when I find my Nimbus as a bear, it has bad effects on people around me... especially if I lose my temper."
Severus sighed. He recognized the bear, but he also had overheard Harry and Ron's conversation and decided to play along. "Why don't we talk about this in my rooms..." there was a pause, "by the way, are you and Draco spending the holiday with me this year, or are you going to stay in the dorm?"
"With you," Harry smiled, "do you expect anything different?"
The two of them started walking. "Would you mind moving, Ginger," Harry said, mock pleasantly, "we're trying to go down the hall, and you're in the way."
Ron scowled, but pushed past Harry, continuing on his way to where ever he was going. And Harry and Severus quickly went down to Severus' rooms and sat down on the couch, talking about a whole range of things. Which all, in some way, included Harry's childhood.
--oo00oo--
On Christmas morning, Harry woke up when Jem jumped onto his bed. He and Draco were indeed staying with the Potions Master over the holidays, and both were happy to be sleeping in their own beds again, rather then in the dorms.
"Wake up!" Jem hollered, successfully chasing away any thought of ever going back to sleep. "PRESENTS!!"
Draco jumped out of his bed and he and Jem tugged Harry out of his and into Severus' room. All three of them then jumped onto the sleeping Potion Masters bed.
Severus woke with a grunt.
"Come on, Severus," Draco pleaded, "wake up! We want our presents!"
Severus groaned and slowly sat up, staring around for his clock. He noticed that Harry was now standing right in front of it, and scowled.
"Good morning, Severus," Harry chirped, grinning and quickly changing the time that the clock said.
"Move, Harry," said man growled.
Harry obeyed and winked at his friends. The clock now read ten in the morning, two hours faster then what it should read.
"Shi- err... Crap!" Severus cried, jumping out of bed and running towards his bathroom. He suddenly poked his head around the bathroom door, the shower water already running and a pink shower-cap on his head. "Happy Christmas, you three," he said finally. "Your gifts are up in the great hall."
The three nodded and quickly left the room, Harry changing the clock back to normal as they did.
--oo00oo--
When they reached the great hall, a few other students were already eating breakfast. The Weasley twins and Percy, their older brother, were all sitting at the Gryffindor table, but Ron seemed to prefer being over at Slytherin, even if he /was/ all alone.
Harry, Draco and Jem sprinted towards the tall tree at the front of the hall, diving underneath it for the packages addressed to them.
They each extracted all of their presents and sat down to wait for Severus and the rest of the professors to arrive. Severus arrived last, minus the pink shower cap, and sat down at the table, smiling at the three, nodding that they could start to open their presents.
Wrapping paper flew into the air as the three complied.
There were joy filled shrieks (mostly from Jem) as the gifts were uncovered. Candy from Hermione, advanced books from the professors, a Potions set for Draco; from Harry and Jem; a wand holster for Harry; from Jem and Draco, and an updated version of 'Quidditch through the Ages' for Jem; from Harry and Draco. Among those were countless gifts from their other friends and some upperclassman, including the Weasley family, (minus Ron) and a few others. Most importantly of all, at least for now, was the gift that Bill Weasley and Blade Feslin sent them from Egypt, and from Charlie Weasley in Romania.
Dragon hide clothing for each of them. Boots for Harry and Draco; and a skirt for Jem, which reached all the way down to her ankles. And each received a book about Egyptian magic. Transfiguration for Jem, charms for Harry, and potions for Draco. (Did you expect anything else?)
And roughly whittled flutes for each of them, from Hagrid. They each blew them, experimentally, sounding a bit like an out of tune owl chorus.
Needless to say, they were very impressed, and very happy with all the gifts they had received.
They had just sat down to eat their neglected breakfasts, when Albus suddenly walked up to Harry, holding a strangely wrapped gift.
"Grandpapa?" Harry asked, looking up at him strangely.
"Harry, would you come with me please? This gift is very important, but I don't want everyone knowing what it is just yet."
Harry nodded and stood up, following the old man through the Great Hall and through a door at the end of the teachers table, leading into a small classroom that he and Draco had used as a playhouse when they were five. The black haired Gryffindor smiled at the paintings, especially Violet, a woman in a large purple dress.
"Now, Harry," Albus said, drawing his attention away from the paintings and his old memories, motioning for the boy to sit down. "This gift is very special, and I was going to give it to you a few years ago- but I decided that it wasn't the time yet. But now, I think you're ready for it."
He placed the gift in Harry's lap and smiled. "Use it well." He paused before leaving them room. "He loved you very much, Harry." Albus said softly, his hand on the doorknob. "They both did." Then he left the room, leaving Harry alone. The black haired boy stared down at the package in his lap with apprehension and slight fear.
Finally, with trembling hands, Harry slowly undid the cord binding the wrapping paper together, and carefully pushed the paper away. Something silvery slid to the floor, along with a small note, written in handwriting Harry had never seen before.
/Property of James Potter. If this cannot find its way back to me, please leave in the care of Harry Potter, my son. Make sure he knows that I love him./
Harry felt tears welling up and carefully folded the bit of paper, and pushing it into his pocket before leaning over to pick up whatever had fallen. It was soft and light, like a soft breath turned to water, or wind becoming solid, Harry couldn't decide. But what was most important, is what it was.
An invisibility cloak.
Harry gapped at it, letting the material slide over his hands, feeling the silky texture of it. 'It was my dad's?' he thought absently. 'But, how did he get it? They're so rare!'
There was a knock on the door, before Draco and Jem threw it open and rushed towards their friend.
"^^What did Grandpapa give you, Harry,^^" they asked excitedly. "^^He looked really weird when he came back out, it was so strange...^^"
Draco suddenly caught sight of the silvery fabric Harry was holding. "^^It's an Invisibility Cloak!^^" He said, in complete awe. "^^But, how come you got it? They're supposed to be really rare!^^"
Jem pouted. "^^I want one.^^" She said childishly.
Draco shot her a look before turning back to his friend, who looked slightly teary. "What is it, Harry?" He asked, concerned.
"It was my dad's." Harry whispered. "He left it for me."
"Really?" Draco asked, reaching out a hand to feel the cloak. "Well, lets see, put it on."
Harry complied, and his body quickly disappeared, before reappearing behind them. "BOO!" He shouted, causing Jem and Draco to jump and whirl around. With identical grins, the two lunged towards Harry and tackled him to the ground, tickling for all they were worth.
--oo00oo--
For the rest of the day, Harry managed to forget about his dad's cloak. He spent the rest of the morning with Jem and Draco, having a snowball fight. Then the Weasley twins joined in and they restored to see who could lift the most snow magically.
As it turned out, Draco won, and was the only one of them, not to have a large pile of snow drop onto his head.
"I still say you cheated," Harry sulked, as they walked back up to the castle. "There is no way that all those snowballs just 'came out of nowhere' and somehow didn't hit you."
Jem nodded her agreement.
"Sore loser," Draco grinned, making sure that his wand was still hidden in his shirt sleeve.
Harry shook his head and followed his friends up to the Gryffindor Common Room, where they spent nearly an hour watching Percy Weasley chase Fred and George for stealing his prefects badge. After that, Harry chose to visit Hedwig in the owlry, and maybe send a letter to Hermione, thanking her for her gift.
It also made him ponder what he was going to get for her. 'I'll ask Draco and Jem later,' he promised himself, reaching the owlry.
Hedwig fluttered down to rest on his shoulder, hooting softly.
"Hey," Harry said softly, stroking her feathers, "up for a short trip?"
Hedwig hooted, fluttering until she rested on the window ledge and Harry pulled out a scroll.
"Can you take this to Hermione for me?" He asked. The snowy owl hooted again and allowed Harry to tie the note to her leg. "Thanks, Hed." The boy smiled.
The owl didn't do anymore then hooting again and spreading her wings and taking flight. Harry watched her until she was a tiny dot in the clouds. Then, he headed back up to the teachers quarters- going straight to Minerva's rooms.
"Grandmamma!" He called, knocking on the door. "Can I ask you something?"
Minerva opened the door and smiled down at him. "What is it, Harry?" She asked.
"You- taught my dad when he was here at Hogwarts, right?" Harry started. Minerva nodded. "Could you tell me what he was like?"
And that's how Harry spent his Christmas afternoon.
--oo00oo--
By the time the Gryffindor trio had decided to go up to bed, Harry had long since decided that he needed to do a bit of wandering. And, what better to wander with, then his dad's old invisibility cloak? He slipped out of bed and carefully removed the silky cloth from under his pillow, before draping it over his body.
He stood there for a moment, breathing in the smell that could only be James Potter. Pumpkin juice and the forbidden forest, fire smoke and chocolate. Harry smiled softly and quickly made his way out of his and Draco's room, through Severus' living room and out into the hallway.
Now, where to go?
Harry started off in a random direction, smiling as he passed ghosts and sleeping paintings, undetected. The corridor was extremely dark, the only light coming from small slit windows. Harry wandered slowly, turning corners at random, not caring where he went.
He suddenly blinked. How did he get here?
This used to be where he and Albus worked on his wandless magic when he was still a small child. The two spent hours on end practicing charms and hexes, transfiguration and all sorts of things. Once in a while, Draco and Jem would come along and Albus would help the three together.
Draco, of course, being a magical translator, meaning that he was born with the gift to understand and speak any language that he heard, and sometimes, even pass his gift on to others, which he did to his two best friends. And Jem, being the princess of a french High Elven clan that had been mostly whipped out due to a mugger disease, and also a very strong and powerful witch.
This must have been one of Harry's favorite rooms in the castle. He stepped inside, smiling softly. It was empty, of course, abandoned and cold. Except for...
A mirror.
A very old mirror, Harry noticed, moving to stand in front of it, wanting to see what it was like to not have a reflection. He jumped back in surprise.
He *did* have a reflection! Not only that, but there were other people all around him! Harry took another look at the mirror, his brow wrinkled in thought when he saw an inscription. "Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi."
Suddenly, it dawned on him. The inscription was a reflection of what the mirror did.
"I show not your face, but your hearts desire," Harry whispered, stepping close to the mirror again. And again, he saw the people, but this time he did not jump back. Instead he peered closely at the people he only recognized from photographs. And smiled.
"Mum," he whispered, reaching up with one hand to touch the glass lightly. "Dad." His parents nodded, smiling widely at him, mouthing "I love you's" and "I miss you's".
And Harry, even knowing that it wasn't real, still felt his eyes prickling with tears. He slowly put his cloak back on and began the trek back towards the dungeons, this time passing nobody.
He got back and swiftly climbed into bed with Draco, something he always did when he was sad and depressed. It didn't matter to them, they were as close, if not closer, then brothers and Draco always did the same. And Draco, did little more then move over to make enough room and open his eyes slightly.
"^^What's wrong?^^" He whispered.
Harry shook his head. "^^I'll tell you in the morning, okay?^^"
Draco frowned but nodded. And they both fell back asleep.
--oo00oo--
Harry woke up when the bed changed positions, caused by Jem sitting down gently. The bed moved again, this time it was Draco.
"^^Alright, Harry,^^" Draco said sternly, "^^what's wrong? You haven't slept in my bed since you were nine, what happened?^^"
Harry sighed. "^^I went out wandering last night.^^" He whispered, "and I found this mirror. It's kind of hard to explain...^^"
"^^Do it anyway.^^" Jem demanded.
"^^Well, when I looked into the mirror, I saw my-^^"
"^^Reflection?^^"
"^^My parents.^^" Harry said, his voice even quieter. "^^It really hurt, and well, I've seen their pictures and everything, but this time it was like they were talking to me... and...^^"
"Show me," Jem demanded, switching to English all of a sudden. "I want to see it."
"See what?" Severus asked, poking his head into the room. His eyes immediately went worried when he saw Harry in Draco's bed. "Harry, what's wrong?"
"I just-"
"Did you have another vision?"
Harry shook his head. "It was just a bad dream, no big deal. And Jem wanted me to show her the boxers that somebody got Professor Flitwick for Christmas."
Severus cringed, "Well, I am going to forbid *that* action, no offence, Jem, but that's really disgusting."
Jem managed a weak smile. Before turning to Harry and glaring heatedly at him. The glare remained on her face for the most part of the day.
--oo00oo--
That night, Harry and Draco met Jem in the Entrance Hall, but unfortunately, they weren't alone. Peeves, the poltergeist, was bouncing around in the stairs, and Mrs. Norris was sniffing around the Entrance Hall.
"Great," Jem breathed, "how are we supposed to get past both of them?"
"Walk?" Harry and Draco deadpanned.
And so, they walked. Right past Mrs. Norris, who began to purr as they passed, and right below Peeves, who froze and quickly shot to another part of the castle.
"I don't think he's ever going to forget that joke you two played on him," Jem grinned, "who would have thought that dropping a bag of flour on his head would scare him away..."
The two boys shushed her and continued climbing the seemingly endless flights of stairs to their old training room. They finally reached it, and took off the cloak, Jem and Draco moving to stand in front of the mirror.
"I only see me and Draco," Jem said after a moment.
"Well, maybe you need to look in it one at a time," Harry said. Jem promptly pushed Draco out of the way and stared into the mirror. Her eyes widened and her mouth dropped open.
"^^Mummy? Papa? Is it really you?^^"
The princess let out a sob and collapsed onto her knees, curling into a ball on the floor. "^^I miss you, so much...^^"
Harry and Draco looked at each other before Harry moved to comfort their best friend, Draco moving to stand in front of the mirror. His reaction, wasn't anything like Harry's and Jem's, although, he only saw his father, as he had *no* desires to see his mother. Draco didn't even say anything before turning around and helping Harry pull Jem to her feet.
They brought her back to their bedroom, and spent the rest of the night in Harry's bed, holding each other tightly in their own emotional pain.
Severus peaked in on them when he woke up, surprised to find them all cuddled in Harry's bed. He left immediately and went to find Dumbledore.
--oo00oo--
Soon, not only Dumbledore, but also Severus and Minerva hurried into the trio's room, each pulling one into a tight hug.
"There there," Minerva soothed, smoothing Jem's long uncombed, blonde hair. "What's wrong?"
Jem shook her head, pushing tighter against the women holding her.
"Mirror," Draco choked out finally, clinging onto Severus, "it- it..."
"A mirror?" Albus repeated, "what did it do? Did it show you something, did it pull you in?"
"Oh Merlin, I wish it did," Jem whimpered, "it hurts so much, Grandpapa..."
Albus looked down at Harry, who was leaning against him, his eyes closed, shielding his emerald green eyes. "It showed us out parents," Harry finally explained. "The thing that we wanted more then anything in the world, and the one thing that we can't have."
The three professors shared a confused look, before comprehension dawned on Albus.
"The mirror of Erised?" He asked.
The three nodded.
"Then, that explains it. I think you've got it right, Harry, when you described the mirror. That mirror, shows neither truth, or knowledge. It shows more or less, the deepest, most desperate desires of our hearts. You Harry, who have never really known your family except for what you were told, see them standing around you. Jem, who lost them at age five, sees them as she remembers, well and healthy, still ruling their Kingdom. And, Draco, who has never even seen pictures of his father, sees him standing proudly, no matter what he does."
"How do you-"
"I daresay that I have more tricks up my sleeve that you have yet to encounter," Albus said, his eyes twinkling.
Draco remained silent, as did the other two.
"Now, remember, men have wasted away in front of this mirror. Even gone mad- not knowing if what they see is real or even possible. Which, is why, tomorrow, the mirror will be moved to a new home..."
"Good," Jem whispered, "that hurt too much the first time, I never want to see it again!"
Albus nodded, pleased. "Now, why don't you three head upstairs for an early breakfast, and then perhaps we can spend the remainder of the day somewhere in the Muggle world."
The three nodded and slowly let go of their Grandmamma, Grandpapa and almost surrogate father.
The rest of the day was fun, spent shopping in London, which helped get their minds off of the haunting images in the mirror.
AN Alright, sorry about the very long delay in writing, but believe it or not, there was this huge writers block that would *not* go away! And then, my HP books were left at the mall, *glares at Adria* Anyway, I'll try to get the next chapter up soon, but, it might take a while.
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