Chapter 9 – The Perfect Gift
He lay in bed on Christmas morning with a mild sense of panic. Hermione had helped him finish the Necklace yesterday, but they were unsure if it actually worked. Since the enchantment was specific to Cho, it would only work on her and they could not know whether they had succeeded until she tried it on.
He took the Necklace out of his trunk where it lay wrapped in a piece of black cloth and stared at it. The tiny elegant swan made of silver shone in his hand; even without the enchantment it would still be beautiful he thought. He carefully rewrapped the necklace and put it back in his trunk.
When he got out of bed he looked at the Christmas tree in their dorm he saw that there were at least a dozen presents this year for him, even more than the year before. He grabbed the first one and saw that it was from Mr. and Mrs.Weasley; another sweater Harry grinned, as he pulled the red and gold sweater out of the wrapping.
'Presents!' Ron exclaimed as he walked in and sat down next to Harry.
'Here, this one's from me. Hope you like it.'
'Wow, the brand new Chudley Cannon team robes, thanks Harry!'
'No problem, thank your mom for the sweater.'
They started opening the rest of their presents, and the noise woke up Dean and Seamus who eagerly joined them. Before long Ginny and Hermione arrived, and they too joined in the fervent unwrapping.
All things said, it was a very good catch this year. Lupin had given him a marvelous biographical book on the best duelers of all time, with detailed descriptions of the various techniques they used to win tournaments and duels. Hagrid had sent him an assortment of sweets, including Bernie Botts every flavor beans, which were his favorite. He liked Hermione's present the best of all though; she had made him a scrapbook with all the events of their fifth year in it. Pictures of the DA, of Fred and George's pranks, and various newspaper cutouts detailing all the events of last year. It would be a nice reminder someday when he was looking back on his time at Hogwarts. Hermione was equally delighted with the present he had bought her; a book of advanced magical remedies and healing techniques for the prospective student.
When Ron and Hermione opened each other's presents Harry pretended to clean up to give them some privacy, but he couldn't help overhearing.
'It's exactly what I wanted, how did you know Ron?' making Ron blush as she gave him a hug. When Ron wasn't looking she winked at Harry, and mouthed 'thanks' with a grin.
After breakfast he hid the necklace in his robes and went to meet Cho. She had her hair tied back in beautiful ponytail and was waiting for him nervously with a present under her arm. He grabbed her hand and led her to a secluded place of the castle where they found privacy, and then she gave him her gift. As he tore open her present he was greeted with a beautiful hand drawn picture, framed, of the two of them. He was standing straight with his firebolt in his right arm, and his left arm around Cho's shoulders, who in turn had her arms around his waist.
'I made it myself, I hope you like it' she said as she studied his expression.
'It's beautiful; I can't believe you drew this!'
'You really like it?'
'It's brilliant; it must have taken you ages. I'm going to hang it right next to my bed.'
He leaned over and kissed her on the cheek, and then took out the wrapped necklace from his robes.
'I hope you like this too' he said nervously as he handed her the necklace wrapped in a piece of soft cloth.
She opened it and picked up the necklace and held it high; letting it hang down, and then looked at him.
'It's a swan' he said nervously, 'like your patronus.'
'It's beautiful' she said with a grin.
'Put it on; tell me if you sense anything.' He said nervously
She fastened it around her neck and then held the swan in the palm of her hand, before looking at him with curious eyes.
'I … I feel strength, like I'm not afraid of anything' she said slowly
'It's not just an ordinary necklace; I put an enchantment on it that is supposed to instill a sense of my strength in you, my bravery.' He said. 'That's why I needed your teardrop' he added as an afterthought.'
Slowly comprehension dawned on her face, and she looked at the necklace and then back at him.
'I don't know what to say … it's … it's beautiful.'
He grinned awkwardly, and was starting to feel unsure of himself now. Did she really like it? He wished she would just say it if she didn't, at least he would know.
She must have noticed the look on his face, because at that moment she let go of the necklace and put her arms on his shoulders.
'This is the best present anyone has ever given to me' and she leaned closer to him and kissed him.
'You really like it?' he asked embarrassedly as their lips parted
'You don't believe me? What can I do to persuade you that I love it?' and she drew closer again.
The day passed before it had even begun, and they hurried to the kitchens together before the Christmas feast that evening. Harry opened the concealed door by tickling the pear, and they walked into the kitchens where the Elves were working hard at preparing the food.
'Dobby?' he called out
'Harry Potter!' a delighted voice shouted, and a moment later Dobby came running up to them.
'Hi Dobby, we just came by to give you your present.'
Dobby looked at him with his great big teary eyes and then grinned at him
'Dobby made Harry Potter a present too! And his friend who was nice to Dobby too!
He ran off and came back a few seconds later with two badly wrapped presents with about ten times too much tape holding it all in place.
'Wow Dobby, a pair of purple and yellow socks, just what I wanted!' Harry lied through his teeth as he opened it.
'Oh and I got orange and blue' Cho grinned, 'How did you know those are my favorite colors Dobby?'
'Dobby knitted them himself' he beamed at them.
'Here Dobby, these are for you' Cho said as she gave him the bag with a dozen pairs of different colored socks.
Dobby opened it and then looked at them with a shocked face.
'But … Dobby is wondering, who are all these pairs for?' he asked with a confused expression
'They're all for you Dobby, we wanted to give you a lots of socks to show you how much we appreciate your help.' He said kindly
'And we chose the colors ourselves, I hope you like them' Cho added.
Harry noticed that most of the other elves had stopped working and were now staring at Dobby with envious expressions.
'Dobby like them?' and he started crying. 'Dobby knew Harry Potter was the greatest and kindest wizard in the world, and his friend too is kind and caring too, but Dobby does not deserve so many socks!'
'Err sure you do Dobby, you deserve all the socks in the world.' Harry assured him
'Especially since you were so helpful' Cho continued, 'You're the best house-elf I know'
'Well we'd better be going to the feast now, but drop by anytime you want Dobby.'
He looked at the other house-elves who were all staring wide-eyed at the number of socks Dobby was holding, but quickly got back to work when they saw him staring at them.
Dobby walked them to the entrance, all the while thanking them profusely and promising to knit them a full wardrobe for next year.
The best Christmas holidays Harry had ever had passed so quickly that he nearly forgot about his lessons with Dumbledore, and it was with a sense of elated excitement that he walked through the corridors to the office.
'Ah Harry, come in please. I trust you've had a good Christmas?'
'Very good sir' Harry said politely.
'Now I realize this is a little late, but I wanted to give it to you in person. Here is your present.'
'Oh - thanks'
Harry felt embarrassed; he hadn't even thought of getting Dumbledore anything.
'I realize what you are thinking, and I assure you it would be impossible to find something I don't already have.' He said as his eyes twinkled. 'Now please open it.'
Harry tore open the wrapping paper on the rectangular box, and inside was an empty glass container.
'Err, thank you sir' he said with a puzzled look
Dumbledore chuckled however.
'Although it can be used as such if you wish, it is not a fishbowl. If you'll take a closer look at the empty container and compare it to the one on that shelf there you should see the resemblance.
'Wow sir, a pensieve? Thanks a lot.'
'Not at all, I am sure you have some thoughts you'd like to put away every now and then. You must remember though that running from one's own memory will not help, and it should not be used for such a purpose.'
'Right.' Harry nodded thoughtfully. He was still trying to imagine the possibilities of owning such an item.
'Now I must apologize for not being able to be there last lesson; I was called away on urgent business for the ministry at the last moment. From what I understand you did a fabulous job of defending yourself against Professor Snape's legilimency attacks, despite the fact I had asked him to simply to tell you the lesson was cancelled.
'You mean, he broke into my mind for no reason at all?'
'Despite the animosity between you two, I think he felt I would be too soft on you and he wanted to see if you really had become more skilled at occlumency. Suffice it to say that he was most taken aback with your abilities.'
Dumbledore looked at him and smiled, before continuing.
'So, as promised I will teach you something of your own choice. What would you like to learn?'
'I'd like to learn how to duel better sir.'
'Ah yes, I suspected as much when you took that book from the restricted section.'
'Oh err, you know?' he asked guiltily
'Yes, and I am happy that you are serious about learning more than your coursework, however I must caution you about the path you are treading.'
With these words he took of his glassed and rubbed his temples before putting them back on and continuing.
'I am reminded of another great student of mine, from fifty years ago, who also used to sneak into the restricted section and study some very dangerous books.'
'Tom Riddle?'
Dumbledore nodded.
'He used to spend every moment of spare time immersed in books when he first arrived at Hogwarts. I daresay that by his fourth year he knew more about magic than some of the staff members. From the very beginning he was obsessed with learning everything he could, and this obsession may have helped him down the path he has taken. Now I realize that your intentions are completely different, but you must exercise caution when learning such terrible power.
Harry nodded, and Dumbledore smiled before continuing.
'I will speak to Madam Pince and allow you full access to the restricted section; you have never disappointed me in the past and it is only fitting that I repay your loyalty with my trust.'
Harry looked at him and saw that Dumbledore had a look of pride on his face, like a father giving his son the car keys for the first time.
'Now then, let's start our lesson shall we? Stand up please and take out your wand.'
Harry stood up and with a shaking hand pulled his wand out. He was both intimidated and excited; was the headmaster really going to duel with him? After what he had seen last year at the ministry, how could he possible stand a chance against the most powerful wizard in the world?
'There are of course many different skills required to be an effective dueler. Sharp reflexes, knowledge, quick thinking, to name a few, but none of these things I can teach you. I am going to help you with your technique - do you remember the brief duel between Voldemort and I last year?'
Harry nodded; 'you were able to disappear and reappear somewhere else, like you were disapparating.'
'Exactly, why block an attack when you can simply dodge it? While you are defending yourself your opponent is busy preparing his next attack, but if you are able to reappear somewhere else it will force him to adapt.'
That made sense; it would be harder to focus on casting a spell while also keeping track of a moving opponent.
'So I am going to teach you how to use your recently acquired apparition skills to duel. Let's take a portkey to the ministry shall we? We can practice there.'
After the familiar navel jerk they arrived in the large empty white room again, and Dumbledore took out his wand and pointed it at Harry.
'I assume you haven't forgotten how to apparate, so when I cast a simple jinx at you I would like you to simple reappear behind me. Ready?'
Harry nodded, but his wand hand was shaking.
'tarrantallegra'
The moment Dumbledore waved his wand he tried to disapparate but he panicked and said the incantation wrong, and next thing he knew his legs were dancing out of control.
'finite incantatem. Try to calm yourself Harry, though it is not unwise to use your emotions in a battle you should never let them control you. Let's try again shall we?'
He waved his hand again but this time Harry began his spell the moment he saw Dumbledore move his hand, and ended up almost at the spot he had focused on.
'Very good, but in a duel there is no time to rest! 'tarrantallegra'
Instinctively he tried to apparate again but he had been caught by surprise and his apparition ended up completely wrong.
'Don't worry, it just takes practice' Dumbledore tried to reassure him.
'Right, I'm ready.'
'tarrantallegra'
Harry disappeared and then reappeared behind the Headmaster, who quickly turned and cast another spell at him. This time he was not caught off guard and managed to apparate again.
'Very good! Now let's speed things up again; I will keep trying to hit you, and every time you successfully dodge it I will try just a little harder.'
They spent two hours practicing the same thing over and over, at the end of which Harry felt exhausted and dizzy. He had progressed remarkably though, he could now displace himself almost instantly, and with more practice he felt sure he could improve further. After they had taken the portkey back to Hogwarts, Harry sat in the Headmaster's office and Dumbledore offered him a cup of tea as he rested.
'So tell me Harry' he said, 'are there things about Voldemort that still intimidate you?'
Harry was puzzled by this question. Did he feel intimidated by the most evil dark wizard off all time?
'I will assume your silence means yes, but please humor me. What exactly about Voldemort intimidates you?'
' I … I don't know see how I can possible beat him.'
'Why Harry? Why can't you beat him?' Dumbledore insisted
'He's … so powerful, and he knows more about magic than anyone except perhaps you.'
'It is true that he knows a lot about magic, but I do not think that all the knowledge in the world will stop you from beating him'
'What about his magical power?'
'You do not think you are powerful too?'
'Not like him!'
Dumbledore nodded, but continued.
'I think you are looking at things from the wrong perspective Harry. Voldemort's strength comes from his lack of emotion. His lack of compassion and caring allow him to be utterly ruthless; he will let nothing stand in the way of his goals, and that is his greatest strength.'
'So he will use my friends and compassion as a weapon against me' Harry said.
'Your strength lies in them Harry; they have given you great power in the past and will continue to do so. You threw off Voldemort's control at the ministry last year with nothing but your emotions.'
'So my greatest weakness is my greatest strength as well - '
'- And Voldemort's strength is also his weakness.' Dumbledore nodded.
It all clicked, like the paradox that made perfect sense, Harry's mind was putting it all together.
'So how can I use my strength to defeat Voldemort?'
'That is something you will have to discover yourself Harry, for I do not have the answer.'
Harry nodded, and for the first time in his life he felt less intimidated by the power of the dark lord.
