[pic]Disclaimer: Harry Potter and associated character are property of J.K.
Rowling
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Chapter 23: The Weasley Family
The term ended and once the holidays started, the school was completely empty with the exception of a few Hufflepuffs and a handful of Gryffindors. The Weasleys were all staying at Hogwarts this Christmas since their mother had owled them saying that they were to remain at the school where they would be safe. She also mentioned that they would receive a surprise for Christmas. They didn't know what the surprise would be but Fred and George suggested that the surprise would probably another green sweater that their mother knitted for them every year.
Harry was glad that the Weasleys would be staying so that he wouldn't be the only Gryffindor left at school but the fact that the school was fairly empty, it would also give him a chance to practice his animagus forms. He hadn't been able to practice them ever since he had Sirius teach Hermione how to become one and he had been very busy lately.
On Christmas morning, Harry awoke to the sound of Ron's snoring. Realizing it was Christmas, he quietly made it downstairs to the common room where Hermione was asleep on the couch with Harry's elemental book lying across her chest.
After looking around to see if anyone was around, Harry carefully picked up the book and ran upstairs to hide it in his trunk. He also made sure to grab Ron and Hermione's presents before returning back downstairs. He noted that there was a Christmas tree standing near the fireplace of the common room but upon inspecting all the presents, he noticed that there wasn't the usual present from Mrs. Weasley.
As much as Harry wanted to open his presents, he thought it better to wait until Ron had come down. Instead, he separated the presents into three groups: those for Hermione, those for Ron, and those for himself. Among Ron's presents, Harry saw that there was a long thin present that looked a lot like a broom from Hermione and as much as it made him feel a little jealous that she would give Ron something meaningful, Harry knew that Ron could never afford it. Harry then placed the muggle diary that he bought for Hermione in her stack before and a box full of sugar quills for Ron before looking back at his stack.
Looking at his stack, he read the notes attached to each of them to see who they were from. This year he got a present from Dobby, one from Ron, which looked like a box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, and finally one from Hermione. However, there was also one small package, similar to one in Hermione's stack, wrapped in red wrapping paper and he noted that there was a short note attached.
~*~*~*~*~*~
The ring contained within is a link to the Phoenix. Keep it with you at all times. It will glow red when danger is near you or those who are close to you. Happy Christmas.
~*~*~*~*~*~
The present intrigued Harry and decided to make an exception and open it. After picking the small present up, he carefully opened it, not wanting to wake Hermione by tearing the wrapping off. Once he had finished unwrapping the present, he saw a small black box and opened it. Contained within was a gold ring with a ruby shaped like a Phoenix on it that looked more or less like Fawkes.
Ron came running down stairs at that moment and Harry quickly slipped the ring into the pocket of his pyjamas before Ron noticed.
"Hey Harry!" Ron yelled, causing Hermione to jolt awake and glare at him.
"Oh sorry Hermione," Ron apologized sheepishly when he saw that he woke her up. "Happy Christmas."
"That was very rude Ron," Hermione scolded but her face broke into a friendly smile. "Happy Christmas to you both."
"Happy Christmas," Harry replied, grinning. "I've already separated your presents for you."
"Thanks mate," Ron said and he quickly went over to open his presents, tearing off the wrapping of each one as Harry watched and Hermione was carefully unwrapping hers.
"WOW! My very own dress robes!" Ron exclaimed, holding up a brand new dress robe that was scarlet on the outside and had gold lining on the inside with black trimming on the sleeves. "I'll need to thank Fred and George later but I wonder where they got the money for this."
Harry grinned at Ron. Little did Ron know that Harry had something to do with it but Hermione seemed to figure it out when she gave him a quick but thoughtful look.
"That looks nice. I'm sure you'll be the best looking wizard when the next ball comes," Hermione commented.
"Thanks Hermione," said Ron, turning the same colour as his hair.
Harry finally began to open his presents and saw that there was a pair of different colour socks from Dobby, Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans from Ron, and a box of Honeydukes chocolate and a quill that wrote on its own from Hermione.
"WHOA! IS THIS WHAT I THINK THIS IS?!" Harry heard Ron yell excitedly, holding up the long thin present Harry saw earlier.
"Yes Ron," Hermione said, "it's a broom."
Ron quickly opened it and saw that it was a Nimbus 2001.
"Thank you so much Hermione. Now I'll be able to match Malfoy," he said triumphantly.
"You're welcome Ron."
"Thanks so much for the diary Harry," Hermione said, grinning. "It's not enchanted, it is?"
"After what happened with Riddle's diary, I've had enough of enchanted diaries. No, that's a normal muggle diary," Harry explained.
"Thanks again. I'm sure I'll have some use for this," she said, putting it aside.
Hermione went up to him and gave him a quick hug, while Ron looked at them jealously, though he relaxed visibly and smiled goofily when Hermione also gave him a hug, making his cheeks heat up.
Hermione then returned to where she was sitting and opened up the small present wrapped in red paper. It also contained a small black box. Opening it, she saw a beautiful ring with another ruby shaped like a Phoenix. Harry had opened his earlier but this would be rather awkward if Ron started asking questions.
Unfortunately Ron noticed it because he asked who it was from with an envious look upon his face.
"I don't know," Hermione replied. "The note didn't say who it was from but I think it's from Walter."
"Why do you think it's from Walter, Hermione?" Harry asked.
"Because he's the one of the two teachers who could possibly afford something this expensive. Now that Dumbledore is out of the way, Sepet will want to come after Harry."
"Why would Sepet want to go after now when he's had plenty of chances to do so? What is that ring for anyway?" Ron questioned. "And why would Walter help Harry if his master is trying to kill Harry?"
"I don't know but I suppose caution is the best policy here," Hermione said thoughtfully. "Unlike Mad-Eyed Moody last year, Sepet wouldn't make the same mistake and want to get out in one piece. For all we know Walter could also be a death eater. The note attached to it says that it will glow red when either my friends or I am in danger and to wear it at all times," Hermione said, putting it in her pocket. "But I want to make sure it's not jinxed before I try using it."
"Ok fearless leader," said Ron sarcastically. "How do you suggest we go about it?"
"I'll get Professor Flitwick to test it of course," Hermione stated matter- of-factly.
"Are you crazy?" Ron said through gritted teeth. "That thing could save Harry's life. We'd know if You-Know-Who was nearby or if not. At any rate, do you think Flitwick would really do that if you went up and asked him to test it?"
"Harry won't have to worry about You-Know-Who if this ring kills him," Hermione said hotly. "Besides, I'm Professor Flitwick's favorite student, that has to account for something.
"Enough you two," Harry interrupted. "Please don't talk as if I wasn't in the room. It's also Christmas and I'd like to enjoy it without having to worry about You-Know-Who."
"Happy Christmas!" two voices said in unison from the staircase leading to the dorms.
The trio turned and saw Fred and George standing there, wearing blue sweaters with a yellow F and G knitted into the center of them. Ginny was also there, blushing and trying to hide behind Fred. She was also an old red sweater that Mrs. Weasley had made previously.
"Did you get your sweater yet Ron? We're wearing some old ones," Fred asked.
"I don't know. Maybe mom forgot to make them for us this year," Ron said, happily realizing that he never got a sweater for Christmas. "Thanks for the new pair of dress robes. Where did you get the money from?"
"That's our secret Ickle Ronnikins," George teased. "Our lips are sealed."
"You two aren't any fun," Ron pouted. "Let's go to breakfast."
The trio went upstairs to put away their Christmas presents and change, then the six of them made their way towards the exit. However, just as they were about to exit through the portrait, it swung open to reveal Dobby holding a platter with of various comestibles, including pancakes, French Toast, and scrambled eggs.
"Dobby wishes to give Harry Potter and his friends their breakfast," he squeaked, as he put down the platter on the table in the middle of the common room.
"Thank you Dobby," Harry said. "I was going to visit you today and give you your Christmas present."
With that, Harry ran upstairs and rummaged through his trunk to find a pair of different colour socks to give to Dobby before running downstairs to see that everyone was already sitting around the table and eating.
He handed Dobby the pair of socks and Dobby's eyes widened. "Harry Potter is kind. Dobby is happy that sir remembers him."
Dobby started to withdraw from the common room with the two socks but Hermione suddenly got up and ran over to him.
She then took out a gold galleon and handed it to Dobby. "Here you go Dobby. Happy Christmas and thank you for making us breakfast."
Dobby's eyes widened again at Hermione's gift. "Harry Potter's Miss is just as kind as he is."
Hermione's cheeks flushed red while everyone in the common room stopped eating and stared at Dobby.
"Uh, Dobby," Harry said, very much embarrassed, "Hermione isn't my girlfriend."
"But Reporter Lady says that she is Harry Potter's Miss," Dobby insisted.
"She was making that up," Harry explained while Ron and Ginny glared at Dobby.
"If Harry Potter says so," Dobby said with uncertainty and backed out slowly. "Dobby wishes Harry Potter and his friends Happy Christmas."
"Happy Christmas Dobby," Harry said as Dobby exited the room.
Once the door closed, Harry breathed a small sigh of relief and joined the rest of the Weasleys, making sure to sit in between Ginny and George so that Ron wouldn't become jealous.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
After breakfast, the six of them decided to go out to the Quidditch pitch and fly around on their brooms. Ron had desperately wanted to try out his new Nimbus 2001 and everyone happily agreed, though Hermione would be sitting in the stands watching them fly since she had a terrible fear of heights.
At the Quidditch Pitch, Hermione made her way over to the stands while Harry and the Weasleys mounted their brooms and lifted off the ground into the air.
As soon as he got into the air, Ron immediately leaned forward and shot forward at a rapid pace, flying in between Fred and George who barely flew out of the way in time and nearly fell off their brooms in the process.
Ron laughed slightly at their expense, causing Fred and George to chase after him on their brooms but since their brooms were slower, they couldn't catch up to him.
"Hey Ginny - Harry!" George yelled. "Give us a hand here."
Harry smiled and leaned forward, joining the case while Ginny tried to head Ron off on her broom only to have Ron fly under her.
"Sorry Ginny, better luck next time," Ron laughed, looking back at Ginny who was now chasing after him on her broom.
"Unfortunately for you, dear brother, your luck has just run out," Fred said.
Ron looked ahead and saw that Fred had flown in front of him so he pulled up to avoid him. However, Harry was already there and Ron collided into him, causing both of them to fall to the ground.
Hermione saw this and quickly cast a cushioning charm to cushion their fall before they hit the ground.
As soon as both boys were on the ground, the three Weasleys flew down and Hermione ran to them to see if they were all right.
"HARRY! RON! Are you okay?" Hermione asked, her voice full of concern.
"Yeah, but my body feels like its been through the laundry machine and I'm still seeing Ron flying around on his broom. Funny how he keeps flying around my head," Harry said weakly.
"I'm not on my broom though, you're just delirious," Harry heard Ron say painfully beside him. "I'm glad nothing is broken."
Hermione breathed a sigh of relief that her two best friends were still in one piece.
"I think that's enough excitement on your brooms for today," Hermione said.
"You're right Hermione," George said, throwing a snowball at Ginny, which hit her in the chest and knocked her to the ground. "This calls for a snowball fight."
"George, that's not a nice thing to do to your sister," said Fred, throwing a snowball at George who was trying to make more snowballs.
By then Ron had gotten up and Hermione was helping Harry up but a snowball hit Ron in the back and he fell face first into the snow.
Ginny started laughing uncontrollably at her older brother only to be hit again by a snowball from Fred.
"FRED!" Ginny screamed, quickly getting up and running after her brother.
"I don't think you'll be able to catch me," Fred taunted, grabbing his broom and taking off into the air with a snowball in hand.
"Not fair," Ginny pouted, but she started gathering up snow to make snowballs.
"Fear not dear sister," George said, grinning. "We'll get our brother back."
Ron also joined in the fun and gathered up a snowball, throwing it at Hermione, hitting her square in the face.
"YOU'LL PAY FOR THAT!" Hermione screamed and she too started manufacturing snowballs while Harry watched the two separate snowball fights in amusement.
However, Harry's amusement didn't last very long as Fred had dive-bombed him, hitting him in the back with the snowball he had in hand.
Harry joined Hermione in her snowball fight with Ron, creating a small barrier to shield them from any incoming snowballs. Fred flew down next to Ron and helped him create snowballs, though Ginny and George were busy creating a barrier of their own.
"This would go faster if we had some help, wouldn't you think?" Harry asked Hermione.
"You mean the water elemental? That's not very fair Harry," Hermione said.
"You're right," Harry said, patting down their wall. "ACCIO FIREBOLT!"
Harry's Firebolt flew to him and he caught it in his hand and ducking just in time to avoid a snowball thrown at him by Ginny.
There were now three different mounds being manned by two pairs of students, each of them busy creating as many snowballs as possible.
"I think we have enough snowballs," Hermione said, creating the last snowball and placing it on top of the stack of snowballs they had.
"SNOWBALL FIGHT!" Fred shouted. "MAY THE BEST TEAM WIN!"
Fred immediately took off on his broom with a snowball and George did likewise, however Harry and Hermione stayed grounded. Ron threw a snowball at Ginny, but she ducked and retaliated, hitting Ron in the face with her snowball.
"TAKE THAT!" she yelled.
"GINNY, LOOK OUT!" George shouted and Ginny turned around to be hit in the chest by Fred's snowball.
"Sorry dear sister but your team obviously isn't the best," Fred said with a large grin on his face.
George then dived at Harry and Hermione who saw him coming and started throwing snowballs at him, trying to knock him off his broom as he weaved through their fire. Harry was going through his stack rather quickly but Hermione waited until George was close enough before throwing her snowball, hitting George in the face and knocking off his broom. "Good shot Hermione," Harry commented with a large grin on his face.
"Thanks," she said and Harry began to make more snowballs while Hermione stood guard.
George got up and called his broom to him with his wand before running back to the safety of his mound as Fred landed and started throwing snowballs at him.
While Fred was distracted, Harry took the opportunity to lob a snowball at Fred but he missed. Hermione however had more luck and ended up hitting George in the leg with her carefully aimed snowball.
"Hey, why isn't anyone attacking Harry and Hermione?" Fred asked.
"Good point Forge," George said. "I say we team up against them, what do you say Ronnikins?"
"I agree," Ron said. "I'll attack from the air, you three attack on the ground. Hand me a snowball."
George put a snowball in Ron's hand and Ron immediately took off on his Nimbus 2001.
"Hermione," Harry said, noticing that Ron was up in the air. "They're trying to get us from the air. Let's concentrate on the three on the ground first unless Ron gets close enough. What do you think?"
"Try throwing some from your Firebolt," Hermione concurred as she threw another snowball at George but missed as he dodged to the right.
"Okay, will you be able to handle this?" Harry asked.
"Yeah," Hermione replied and Harry mounted his broom with a snowball in his hand.
Ron saw this and zipped towards Harry as he was still rising into the air, throwing the snowball at Harry before he could get into the air completely and knocking Harry to the ground. Ron then withdrew to his mound to get another snowball.
"OW!" Harry yelled as he landed next to Hermione.
"So much for that. Ron knows what he's doing apparently. Just stay down here," Hermione said, throwing another snowball at Ginny but Ginny dived forward and landed in the snow, the snowball flying over her head.
"We aren't hitting them," Harry said, getting up. "Wait until they come close before hitting them."
They didn't have to wait long as the three Weasleys on the ground soon came close enough that Harry and Hermione were able to throw a snowball at Fred and George, hitting them square in the chest. However, as Harry turned to hit Ginny with a snowball, Ron dived on him with another snowball and hit Harry just as he was raising a snowball to throw it.
The snowball hit Harry in the side and he fell to the ground, the snowball he was holding, landing on his face.
Hermione felt Harry fall beside her and she turned her attention away for a brief moment, but in that moment, Ginny threw her snowball and hit Hermione in the chest, knocking her to the ground beside Harry.
"We win," Ron said simply.
"Yes," Harry said from under the snow, some of which fell into his mouth and made his mouth go numb because it was so cold.
"Good job Ronnikins," George said. "We won with only half of our team hit."
"I agree, Forge," Fred said, getting up and brushing the snow from his robes. "But now it's almost lunch time and we should get changed into something that isn't so wet."
With that the group gathered themselves and walked back towards the castle, chatting and throwing jokes along the way.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Later that afternoon, after lunch, the trio was strolling around the school chatting amongst themselves when Ron suddenly said, "I just remembered something, I'll catch up to you later."
Ron ran down the hall, back the way they had come, leaving behind a perplexed Harry and Hermione.
"That was strange," Hermione commented.
"I agree," said Harry, who was happy that he could be alone with Hermione. "But since he's gone, do you want to go up to the Astronomy Tower and practice our Animagus forms?"
"Sure," Hermione agreed. "I still haven't been able to transform completely though."
"That's ok," Harry assured her. "I haven't been able to practice mine lately and I'm sure it'll hurt when I try it but I want to try to see if I can fly."
"Please promise me that you'll be careful," Hermione said, concerned about what could happen if he couldn't hold his form long enough.
They made their way up to the top of the Astronomy Tower and looked around. The view of the snow covered grounds was breathtaking but the two soon got around to do what they were there for.
Hermione stood in the center of the tower and concentrated on her Dove form, but she only managed to change her arms into wings.
Harry grinned lopsidedly at her. "Not bad though I don't think you'll be able to fly."
"Oh be quiet, let's see you try flying," Hermione challenged him, reverting back to normal.
"Fine, I will," Harry said and he concentrated on his form.
Harry felt some pain as he transformed but soon enough there was a fully- grown Phoenix standing where he was with red feathers that sparkled in the sunlight.
Harry then managed to walk over to the edge of the tower despite the pain and spread his wings. Jumping off, he felt himself fall but then an updraft caught in his wings and he began to glide through the air.
Hermione clapped her hands in delight watching Harry fly around the tower in his form. However, the pain soon increased and he became more and more exhausted from having to maintain his form. Harry started to direct himself back towards the tower, but he never made it in time as he lost his concentration and changed back to normal.
Hermione screamed as Harry fell through the air towards the ground.
*This isn't good * Harry thought with desperation, fumbling for his wand in his pocket.
Harry couldn't exactly move since he was still in pain but he suddenly hit something that felt like feathers and was quickly sliding off. Just before he fell off, he grabbed onto its tail. A strange sensation of weight being lifted off of him came to Harry and he looked up to see that it was Fawkes that rescued him.
Fawkes started flying higher, back towards the Astronomy Tower. Before he even landed, Harry could see Hermione standing near the edge of the Tower, backing up slowly as Fawkes approached her.
Upon landing safely, Hermione rushed forward and embraced Harry tightly. "I'm glad you're safe. I was afraid that you had fallen to your death."
"I'm grateful that Fawkes was there to save me," said Harry, hugging Hermione back and looking at Fawkes, who had perched himself on one of the stones lining the tower. "Thanks Fawkes."
Fawkes gave him a nod of his head, acknowledging Harry's gratitude.
"Maybe we should go back down to the common room before something else happens," Hermione said, taking Harry's hand and leading him back down with Fawkes following close behind.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Once back in the common room, Hermione immediately sat Harry down in a couch and started lecturing him on how he should have had more practice before trying to fly. Meanwhile Fawkes had settled down on the back of one of the armchairs and observed Hermione's lecture.
"Hermione, is it just me or does Fawkes appear to be studying us," said Harry.
"He's Dumbledore's Phoenix, I'd expect that he'd be a very intelligent bird," Hermione pointed out.
At that moment, Ron came running into the common room to see Harry and Hermione looking at Fawkes.
"Hey guys," he said excitedly. "You'll never guess who I found in the kitchen."
"So you ran off just to get to the kitchen?" Hermione asked, very interested in why Ron had suddenly run off. "What could you have possibly been doing?"
"Yes I ran off to get to the kitchen but what I was doing is my secret," Ron said, his cheeks turning slightly red. "But I was going to tell you that I found my mum cooking dinner."
"WHAT?!" Harry and Hermione exclaimed in unison.
"Yeah, that's what I said when I saw her," said Ron. "But she said that Dumbledore told her to come here since it wasn't safe at our house anymore because father had some trouble at work with Fudge. Fudge accused him of trying to free the Death Eaters with Dumbledore."
Harry and Hermione looked at each other before turning back to Ron.
"But that's ridiculous," Hermione argued.
"Tell me about it, but anyway, you're both invited to come have dinner with us in the Great Hall later on," said Ron, grinning. "My father will be there too."
Harry was more than overjoyed since the Weasleys were the closest thing that Harry had to a family and being able to spend Christmas with them would be one of the best things that happened to him.
"Say, what is Fawkes doing here?" Ron asked, pointing at Fawkes. "I thought he was in Dumbledore's office all the time."
"He followed us in here," Hermione cut in, covering for the fact that they had been practising their Animagus forms.
"Well I'm not done yet in the kitchen," Ron said, turning to leave. "I'll see you guys at dinner."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
When dinnertime rolled around, the Weasleys headed towards the Great Hall but Ron once again sprinted off on his own.
"Go on you guys," he called as he ran off, "I'll join you in a bit."
Hermione looked after Ron as he ran down the hall. "Sometimes I wonder about him."
"He's probably going back to the kitchen for whatever he was doing earlier," Harry reasoned.
Upon arriving at the Great Hall, Harry saw that the High Table was already full of food and all the professors, with the exception of Snape and Sepet, were there. Walter was talking with Hagrid and both raised their glasses in Harry's direction when they saw him.
Harry grinned at them just as Arthur, Percy, and Molly Weasley entered the Great Hall. Molly was carrying a tray full of roasted turkey, followed by several House Elves carrying trays of other assorted foods.
All the House Elves placed the trays on the Gryffindor table and exited. Mrs. Weasley came over to Harry and gave him a hug, which he happily returned.
"How have you been dear?" she asked, giving him a warm smile.
"I've been doing well Mrs. Weasley," Harry replied, returning the smile.
Then Ron entered, carrying a plate with a piece of roasted chicken and some roasted potatoes on it. He walked over to where Hermione was and bowed to her.
"Uh Hermione, I couldn't think of any Christmas present to give you," said Ron, looking somewhat nervous. "So I decided to make dinner for you."
With that, Ron placed the plate in front of her and gave her a goofy smile. Hermione, however, was more than overjoyed and she got up and gave Ron a kiss on the cheek in front of everyone, causing him to turn red.
"Thank you Ron," she said, also blushing. "That was very sweet of you to make dinner for me."
The Weasley family broke into cheers and applause, as the two sat down at the Gryffindor table next to Harry, who was forcing a smile.
"Aw, so Ickle Ronnikins has finally made his move," George teased and both Ron and Hermione turned even redder.
If nothing else, Christmas dinner with the Weasleys was enjoyable, though Harry forced himself to concentrate on his food while his two friends talked next to him without argument.
*Well, at least they're happy. * Harry thought, as he shoved a forkful of roasted potatoes into his mouth.
"After dinner," Mrs. Weasley announced. "I have something to give all of you. I thought it'd be best if I gave you your Christmas presents."
"Not another sweater mum," Percy grumbled.
"Oh common," Mrs. Weasley protested. "They're a family tradition, besides we'll be exchanging gifts in the Gryffindor Tower so it will be just as if it were at school."
"Your mother is right Percy," Arthur chimed in. "We all wear our sweaters at Christmas time."
The doors of the Great Hall opened revealing Professor Sepet and Viktor Krum. Sepet strode through the center of the hall towards the High Table and took a seat next to Walter. Krum, trying to avoid the other students from chasing him around for autographs made his way over to the Gryffindor table where Harry was having his Christmas dinner with the Weasleys.
Since Harry never told Hermione about his ring, he still had possession of it. Curious to see if it indeed worked, Harry pulled it out of his robe pocket and saw that it was glowing red.
Stuffing it back in his pocket before anyone noticed, Harry turned back to his meal, though not before noticing that Sepet was looking in his direction with a cold look while Walter continued to talk.
"Excuse me," said Krum, "Is this seat taken?"
Before Harry could reply, Krum had sat in between Harry and Hermione, causing Harry to glare at him and Ron's eyes narrowed.
"What do you want Krum?" he asked maliciously.
"Nothing, I just vont to enjoy Christmas dinner vith everyone," Krum replied, somewhat annoyed at Ron's question.
"Ron, be nice to our guest," Mrs. Weasley scolded before turning to Krum with a smile, "of course you can have dinner with us dear, after all its not everyday we get a world class Quidditch player to join us for dinner."
"Thank you Mrs. Vealsey," Krum said politely.
"But - he's sitting next to Hermione," Ron said quickly but then realised what he had said and clapped his hands over his mouth. The rest of the Weasleys gave him a strange look.
A hand came across and slapped Ron on the cheek. "Ron you selfish prat!" Hermione shouted in anger, "I'm not your girlfriend so I won't have you telling me who can sit next to me."
Ron glared at Krum while rubbing the cheek where Hermione had slapped him but he kept his silence for the rest of dinner, grumbling to himself every now and then.
As the evening dragged on, Harry started to enjoy himself more and ignoring the feeling of disappointment that he felt about Hermione; concentrating more on the fact that he was able to have a family Christmas dinner with the Weasleys.
Eventually Professor Sepet and Walter got up and left, though Harry stayed a little while, quietly observing the conversation between Krum and Hermione.
"Harry, are you feeling all right?" Hermione asked, noticing Harry's thoughtful expression, her face full of worry.
"Yes, I'm fine Hermione," Harry replied. "I'm just feeling a little tired, I'll see you all in the common room."
"Would you like me to take you to see Madam Pomfrey Harry?" Mrs. Weasley asked, overhearing Hermione's question.
"No thank you Mrs. Weasley, I'll just take a short nap - Ron could you wake me up when you're ready to exchange presents?"
"Sure thing," said Ron absentmindedly.
With that, Harry got up and left the Great Hall, heading back to the common room.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Once back at the Gryffindor tower, Harry immediately went upstairs to his room. There, he saw a note on one of the windowsills and Fawkes was sitting next to it. It was from Sirius:
Happy Christmas Harry,
Sorry that I wasn't able to join you or give you a gift this year but I'm currently keeping Moony company in the Shrieking Shack. He wishes you a happy Christmas too. Fawkes was nice enough to deliver this letter for us. Hope to see you soon.
We've noticed some strange activity in the school during our patrols at night but we haven't been able to catch whatever it is. Be careful.
-Padfoot
Harry put the letter aside and petted Fawkes on the head while looking out the window.
"What do you think?" he asked the phoenix tiredly. "Do you think this war will ever be over?"
Fawkes seemed to understand Harry's concern as he ruffled his feathers, sending dust-like particles into the air that sparkled under the light of the full moon.
As the particles continued to sparkle, Harry soon became entranced as he looked out the window that was facing another high tower inside the school.
There was a slight movement within one of the tower windows and Harry suddenly became alert.
Soon a figure emerged from the window and started crawling down the side of the tower like a lizard. Harry's keen sight from having been a seeker for the past four years told him that it was a man dressed entirely in black.
*Is that Sepet? * Harry thought as the figure turned into a large bat and started flying in the direction of the Forbidden Forest.
"Accio broom!" Harry called, whipping out his wand and holding out a hand so that he could catch his Firebolt.
Mounting it, Harry silently stalked the large bat as Fawkes followed closely behind. *Sepet has got to be up to something. *
The bat seemed to be unaware that Harry was following it though once it got to the Forbidden Forest; it immediately dove and flew through the trees.
It sped up and skillfully wove in and out of the trees, forcing Harry to slow down in order to avoid getting caught in the branches since he was still much larger.
Eventually the bat was out of sight and Harry couldn't figure out where it went. Fawkes continued to follow the large bat and Harry tried his best to follow the phoenix but even Fawkes was flying too fast for him.
In order to get a better view, Harry then flew upwards above the trees to see if he could find Fawkes or the large bat.
A rustling of the leaves below Harry caught his attention and he could see the large bat duelling with Fawkes.
The Phoenix was continuously ramming the bat with its body, trying to knock it out. The large bat must have had enough for it soon let out an ear- splitting shriek.
As if answering its call, a swarm of bats came flying from the direction of the castle and flew towards Harry at a frightening speed.
However just before the bats got to Harry, they dived down on the two animals battling down below. Fawkes continued to fight the large bat and Harry wondered why the phoenix wasn't bothering to retreat for soon it would be overwhelmed by the large number of bats.
Harry quickly drew out his wand so that he could assist Fawkes before he was overwhelmed. He fired a stunning spell in the center of the swarm of bats, causing them to disperse. Despite the spell, the swarm of bats never turned on Harry and continued to dive.
Seeing that his first spell was ineffective, Harry fired another stunning spell, though this time the bats dispersed and the spell went through the air in between Fawkes and the large bat.
The spell caused Fawkes to be temporarily distracted and the large bat took the opportunity to flee with the swarm of bats following close behind.
Once the bats were out of sight, Fawkes flew up to where Harry was hovering and faced him.
"You did your best Fawkes - let's head back," Harry said and the two flew back towards the Gryffindor tower.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Once Harry landed back in his room, he saw that Hermione and Ron were already there, talking between themselves and apparently worried that he had gone off on his own.
" - Ron, Harry's safety comes first. I know you're jealous about Krum and me but I assure you that there's nothing going on between us," Hermione was saying, trying to remain calm.
"Hermione, I'm sorry that I made that comment during dinner about you and Krum," Ron said apologetically. "But where would we start to look for him? He could be anywhere."
At that point Harry decided to interrupt their conversation.
"Harry!" Hermione exclaimed, running to him and giving him a hug. "We were so worried about you. Why were you out on your own? You could have been hurt."
For the next few minutes, Harry related all that had happened while his two friends were still at dinner.
"So Sepet was crawling out from the window?" Hermione asked with a thoughtful expression.
"How could he do that?" Ron asked with a confounded look. "There isn't a single spell in our books that would allow anyone to do that. Not even Percy could do that and he knows the most magic out of all of my brothers."
"That may be true Ron, but Sepet could do that because he's a vampire," Hermione declared.
"HE'S A WHAT?" Ron burst out.
"A vampire," Hermione said calmly.
"Why didn't you tell us before?" Ron babbled nervously. "Just great, our Dark Arts teacher is a Necromancer and our Duelling teacher is a blood sucking vampire who's going to turn us all into his servants."
"I didn't say anything before because I was afraid that the Slytherins or other students would try to stake Sepet or Parvati and either way, Parvati would die."
"Why?" Harry asked.
"Because Parvati is Sepet's creation, if the master dies, the servants die too," Hermione stated matter-of-factly. "That also explains why Sepet attacked Alicia. He needed the blood and so did Parvati when she attacked Filch."
"Parvati attacked Filch?" Ron inquired.
"Yes and Sepet was reprimanding her when we got to them," said Harry. "Probably because he didn't want her to make it known that they were vampires."
"Oh, so now we can't kill Sepet after he's turned one of the Gryffindors into a vampire," Ron grumbled.
"So what do we do about it?" Hermione whispered quietly to herself.
"We know the rings work," Harry said, pulling out his ring from his pocket. "I had one too and I used it earlier. It was glowing red when Sepet entered the room."
"You WHAT?" Hermione said in surprise, "You could have been hurt if it was jinxed."
"Hermione, sometimes I think you worry too much," Ron murmured. "Harry is still alive and we know who we should watch out for."
"Being reckless won't get us anywhere," Hermione protested.
"Let's leave this for another time," Harry interrupted. "Ron, I'm sure that your family will be wondering where we are if we don't show up soon."
Hermione agree reluctantly and the three of them made their way downstairs, where the Weasley family was waiting, and enjoyed a wonderful Christmas evening exchanging gifts, story telling and snacking.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
A/N: Well, sorry that took so long, but at least I finished planning out the rest of the book and I'm so happy midterms are over. Thanks to everyone who reviewed. I was pleasantly surprised that the last chapter had the most number of people giving me some form of feedback and I am grateful since you caught mistakes that I didn't. Also for those of you who were wondering why Hermione hadn't figured Sepet was a vampire, or didn't say anything earlier, I hope that this chapter also clarifies it. (If you haven't figured it out by now that Sepet is a vampire, here it is again SEPET IS A VAMPIRE!)
According to the poll results, most people are in favour of Quidditch, so I will continue that, but it won't be a major event in the chapter.
EssenceofPower: Thanks for the review and for beta-reading the last chapter.
IloveDraco: Sorry you don't like an evil Draco but everything will make sense in the end. Thanks for the note about Lucius Malfoy. I changed that to the correct Ministry department that he works for.
DarkGolo: Thanks for the review and for the notes. Hopefully the reason why Hermione was so quiet about Sepet and Parvati makes sense. As for no one protesting Dumbledore's arrest, you'll find out why, later. Hagrid was out cold, that's why he wasn't there.
Merced: Whether or not I hook Harry/Hermione up in this book, you'll have to keep reading to find out. ( You'll find out at a major event in February who gets hooked up with who.
Quis: No problem, please review when you wish. I appreciate the feedback and thank you for the note of the errors.
Angelis: You're right, its very hard coming up with a plot that excludes Quidditch. Gryffindor will play all the houses.
Infad: Thank you for telling me that Lucius Malfoy was removed from the board of school governors, I made the according changes. As for Cho, are you sure Harry got over her and are you sure that Lucius' influence has decreased?
Souls: I agree that the Armageddon spell is a little overkill, but Harry hasn't even discovered that section of his book yet.
Marba50: Krum probably should have won the Quidditch game but I thought that Ron had to play some part. He is a master strategist after all, so knocking him off the broom with the Quaffle was the best thing that came to mind. I also haven't seen that move used yet and I think it's a great move to use if you want to knock the seeker off his broom since its not counted as a foul.
Elyna Hynin: Thanks for reviewing. I wish you had voted on Hermione's form earlier because the unicorn would have won out with your vote but oh well, the dove has some use later.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Chapter 23: The Weasley Family
The term ended and once the holidays started, the school was completely empty with the exception of a few Hufflepuffs and a handful of Gryffindors. The Weasleys were all staying at Hogwarts this Christmas since their mother had owled them saying that they were to remain at the school where they would be safe. She also mentioned that they would receive a surprise for Christmas. They didn't know what the surprise would be but Fred and George suggested that the surprise would probably another green sweater that their mother knitted for them every year.
Harry was glad that the Weasleys would be staying so that he wouldn't be the only Gryffindor left at school but the fact that the school was fairly empty, it would also give him a chance to practice his animagus forms. He hadn't been able to practice them ever since he had Sirius teach Hermione how to become one and he had been very busy lately.
On Christmas morning, Harry awoke to the sound of Ron's snoring. Realizing it was Christmas, he quietly made it downstairs to the common room where Hermione was asleep on the couch with Harry's elemental book lying across her chest.
After looking around to see if anyone was around, Harry carefully picked up the book and ran upstairs to hide it in his trunk. He also made sure to grab Ron and Hermione's presents before returning back downstairs. He noted that there was a Christmas tree standing near the fireplace of the common room but upon inspecting all the presents, he noticed that there wasn't the usual present from Mrs. Weasley.
As much as Harry wanted to open his presents, he thought it better to wait until Ron had come down. Instead, he separated the presents into three groups: those for Hermione, those for Ron, and those for himself. Among Ron's presents, Harry saw that there was a long thin present that looked a lot like a broom from Hermione and as much as it made him feel a little jealous that she would give Ron something meaningful, Harry knew that Ron could never afford it. Harry then placed the muggle diary that he bought for Hermione in her stack before and a box full of sugar quills for Ron before looking back at his stack.
Looking at his stack, he read the notes attached to each of them to see who they were from. This year he got a present from Dobby, one from Ron, which looked like a box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, and finally one from Hermione. However, there was also one small package, similar to one in Hermione's stack, wrapped in red wrapping paper and he noted that there was a short note attached.
~*~*~*~*~*~
The ring contained within is a link to the Phoenix. Keep it with you at all times. It will glow red when danger is near you or those who are close to you. Happy Christmas.
~*~*~*~*~*~
The present intrigued Harry and decided to make an exception and open it. After picking the small present up, he carefully opened it, not wanting to wake Hermione by tearing the wrapping off. Once he had finished unwrapping the present, he saw a small black box and opened it. Contained within was a gold ring with a ruby shaped like a Phoenix on it that looked more or less like Fawkes.
Ron came running down stairs at that moment and Harry quickly slipped the ring into the pocket of his pyjamas before Ron noticed.
"Hey Harry!" Ron yelled, causing Hermione to jolt awake and glare at him.
"Oh sorry Hermione," Ron apologized sheepishly when he saw that he woke her up. "Happy Christmas."
"That was very rude Ron," Hermione scolded but her face broke into a friendly smile. "Happy Christmas to you both."
"Happy Christmas," Harry replied, grinning. "I've already separated your presents for you."
"Thanks mate," Ron said and he quickly went over to open his presents, tearing off the wrapping of each one as Harry watched and Hermione was carefully unwrapping hers.
"WOW! My very own dress robes!" Ron exclaimed, holding up a brand new dress robe that was scarlet on the outside and had gold lining on the inside with black trimming on the sleeves. "I'll need to thank Fred and George later but I wonder where they got the money for this."
Harry grinned at Ron. Little did Ron know that Harry had something to do with it but Hermione seemed to figure it out when she gave him a quick but thoughtful look.
"That looks nice. I'm sure you'll be the best looking wizard when the next ball comes," Hermione commented.
"Thanks Hermione," said Ron, turning the same colour as his hair.
Harry finally began to open his presents and saw that there was a pair of different colour socks from Dobby, Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans from Ron, and a box of Honeydukes chocolate and a quill that wrote on its own from Hermione.
"WHOA! IS THIS WHAT I THINK THIS IS?!" Harry heard Ron yell excitedly, holding up the long thin present Harry saw earlier.
"Yes Ron," Hermione said, "it's a broom."
Ron quickly opened it and saw that it was a Nimbus 2001.
"Thank you so much Hermione. Now I'll be able to match Malfoy," he said triumphantly.
"You're welcome Ron."
"Thanks so much for the diary Harry," Hermione said, grinning. "It's not enchanted, it is?"
"After what happened with Riddle's diary, I've had enough of enchanted diaries. No, that's a normal muggle diary," Harry explained.
"Thanks again. I'm sure I'll have some use for this," she said, putting it aside.
Hermione went up to him and gave him a quick hug, while Ron looked at them jealously, though he relaxed visibly and smiled goofily when Hermione also gave him a hug, making his cheeks heat up.
Hermione then returned to where she was sitting and opened up the small present wrapped in red paper. It also contained a small black box. Opening it, she saw a beautiful ring with another ruby shaped like a Phoenix. Harry had opened his earlier but this would be rather awkward if Ron started asking questions.
Unfortunately Ron noticed it because he asked who it was from with an envious look upon his face.
"I don't know," Hermione replied. "The note didn't say who it was from but I think it's from Walter."
"Why do you think it's from Walter, Hermione?" Harry asked.
"Because he's the one of the two teachers who could possibly afford something this expensive. Now that Dumbledore is out of the way, Sepet will want to come after Harry."
"Why would Sepet want to go after now when he's had plenty of chances to do so? What is that ring for anyway?" Ron questioned. "And why would Walter help Harry if his master is trying to kill Harry?"
"I don't know but I suppose caution is the best policy here," Hermione said thoughtfully. "Unlike Mad-Eyed Moody last year, Sepet wouldn't make the same mistake and want to get out in one piece. For all we know Walter could also be a death eater. The note attached to it says that it will glow red when either my friends or I am in danger and to wear it at all times," Hermione said, putting it in her pocket. "But I want to make sure it's not jinxed before I try using it."
"Ok fearless leader," said Ron sarcastically. "How do you suggest we go about it?"
"I'll get Professor Flitwick to test it of course," Hermione stated matter- of-factly.
"Are you crazy?" Ron said through gritted teeth. "That thing could save Harry's life. We'd know if You-Know-Who was nearby or if not. At any rate, do you think Flitwick would really do that if you went up and asked him to test it?"
"Harry won't have to worry about You-Know-Who if this ring kills him," Hermione said hotly. "Besides, I'm Professor Flitwick's favorite student, that has to account for something.
"Enough you two," Harry interrupted. "Please don't talk as if I wasn't in the room. It's also Christmas and I'd like to enjoy it without having to worry about You-Know-Who."
"Happy Christmas!" two voices said in unison from the staircase leading to the dorms.
The trio turned and saw Fred and George standing there, wearing blue sweaters with a yellow F and G knitted into the center of them. Ginny was also there, blushing and trying to hide behind Fred. She was also an old red sweater that Mrs. Weasley had made previously.
"Did you get your sweater yet Ron? We're wearing some old ones," Fred asked.
"I don't know. Maybe mom forgot to make them for us this year," Ron said, happily realizing that he never got a sweater for Christmas. "Thanks for the new pair of dress robes. Where did you get the money from?"
"That's our secret Ickle Ronnikins," George teased. "Our lips are sealed."
"You two aren't any fun," Ron pouted. "Let's go to breakfast."
The trio went upstairs to put away their Christmas presents and change, then the six of them made their way towards the exit. However, just as they were about to exit through the portrait, it swung open to reveal Dobby holding a platter with of various comestibles, including pancakes, French Toast, and scrambled eggs.
"Dobby wishes to give Harry Potter and his friends their breakfast," he squeaked, as he put down the platter on the table in the middle of the common room.
"Thank you Dobby," Harry said. "I was going to visit you today and give you your Christmas present."
With that, Harry ran upstairs and rummaged through his trunk to find a pair of different colour socks to give to Dobby before running downstairs to see that everyone was already sitting around the table and eating.
He handed Dobby the pair of socks and Dobby's eyes widened. "Harry Potter is kind. Dobby is happy that sir remembers him."
Dobby started to withdraw from the common room with the two socks but Hermione suddenly got up and ran over to him.
She then took out a gold galleon and handed it to Dobby. "Here you go Dobby. Happy Christmas and thank you for making us breakfast."
Dobby's eyes widened again at Hermione's gift. "Harry Potter's Miss is just as kind as he is."
Hermione's cheeks flushed red while everyone in the common room stopped eating and stared at Dobby.
"Uh, Dobby," Harry said, very much embarrassed, "Hermione isn't my girlfriend."
"But Reporter Lady says that she is Harry Potter's Miss," Dobby insisted.
"She was making that up," Harry explained while Ron and Ginny glared at Dobby.
"If Harry Potter says so," Dobby said with uncertainty and backed out slowly. "Dobby wishes Harry Potter and his friends Happy Christmas."
"Happy Christmas Dobby," Harry said as Dobby exited the room.
Once the door closed, Harry breathed a small sigh of relief and joined the rest of the Weasleys, making sure to sit in between Ginny and George so that Ron wouldn't become jealous.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
After breakfast, the six of them decided to go out to the Quidditch pitch and fly around on their brooms. Ron had desperately wanted to try out his new Nimbus 2001 and everyone happily agreed, though Hermione would be sitting in the stands watching them fly since she had a terrible fear of heights.
At the Quidditch Pitch, Hermione made her way over to the stands while Harry and the Weasleys mounted their brooms and lifted off the ground into the air.
As soon as he got into the air, Ron immediately leaned forward and shot forward at a rapid pace, flying in between Fred and George who barely flew out of the way in time and nearly fell off their brooms in the process.
Ron laughed slightly at their expense, causing Fred and George to chase after him on their brooms but since their brooms were slower, they couldn't catch up to him.
"Hey Ginny - Harry!" George yelled. "Give us a hand here."
Harry smiled and leaned forward, joining the case while Ginny tried to head Ron off on her broom only to have Ron fly under her.
"Sorry Ginny, better luck next time," Ron laughed, looking back at Ginny who was now chasing after him on her broom.
"Unfortunately for you, dear brother, your luck has just run out," Fred said.
Ron looked ahead and saw that Fred had flown in front of him so he pulled up to avoid him. However, Harry was already there and Ron collided into him, causing both of them to fall to the ground.
Hermione saw this and quickly cast a cushioning charm to cushion their fall before they hit the ground.
As soon as both boys were on the ground, the three Weasleys flew down and Hermione ran to them to see if they were all right.
"HARRY! RON! Are you okay?" Hermione asked, her voice full of concern.
"Yeah, but my body feels like its been through the laundry machine and I'm still seeing Ron flying around on his broom. Funny how he keeps flying around my head," Harry said weakly.
"I'm not on my broom though, you're just delirious," Harry heard Ron say painfully beside him. "I'm glad nothing is broken."
Hermione breathed a sigh of relief that her two best friends were still in one piece.
"I think that's enough excitement on your brooms for today," Hermione said.
"You're right Hermione," George said, throwing a snowball at Ginny, which hit her in the chest and knocked her to the ground. "This calls for a snowball fight."
"George, that's not a nice thing to do to your sister," said Fred, throwing a snowball at George who was trying to make more snowballs.
By then Ron had gotten up and Hermione was helping Harry up but a snowball hit Ron in the back and he fell face first into the snow.
Ginny started laughing uncontrollably at her older brother only to be hit again by a snowball from Fred.
"FRED!" Ginny screamed, quickly getting up and running after her brother.
"I don't think you'll be able to catch me," Fred taunted, grabbing his broom and taking off into the air with a snowball in hand.
"Not fair," Ginny pouted, but she started gathering up snow to make snowballs.
"Fear not dear sister," George said, grinning. "We'll get our brother back."
Ron also joined in the fun and gathered up a snowball, throwing it at Hermione, hitting her square in the face.
"YOU'LL PAY FOR THAT!" Hermione screamed and she too started manufacturing snowballs while Harry watched the two separate snowball fights in amusement.
However, Harry's amusement didn't last very long as Fred had dive-bombed him, hitting him in the back with the snowball he had in hand.
Harry joined Hermione in her snowball fight with Ron, creating a small barrier to shield them from any incoming snowballs. Fred flew down next to Ron and helped him create snowballs, though Ginny and George were busy creating a barrier of their own.
"This would go faster if we had some help, wouldn't you think?" Harry asked Hermione.
"You mean the water elemental? That's not very fair Harry," Hermione said.
"You're right," Harry said, patting down their wall. "ACCIO FIREBOLT!"
Harry's Firebolt flew to him and he caught it in his hand and ducking just in time to avoid a snowball thrown at him by Ginny.
There were now three different mounds being manned by two pairs of students, each of them busy creating as many snowballs as possible.
"I think we have enough snowballs," Hermione said, creating the last snowball and placing it on top of the stack of snowballs they had.
"SNOWBALL FIGHT!" Fred shouted. "MAY THE BEST TEAM WIN!"
Fred immediately took off on his broom with a snowball and George did likewise, however Harry and Hermione stayed grounded. Ron threw a snowball at Ginny, but she ducked and retaliated, hitting Ron in the face with her snowball.
"TAKE THAT!" she yelled.
"GINNY, LOOK OUT!" George shouted and Ginny turned around to be hit in the chest by Fred's snowball.
"Sorry dear sister but your team obviously isn't the best," Fred said with a large grin on his face.
George then dived at Harry and Hermione who saw him coming and started throwing snowballs at him, trying to knock him off his broom as he weaved through their fire. Harry was going through his stack rather quickly but Hermione waited until George was close enough before throwing her snowball, hitting George in the face and knocking off his broom. "Good shot Hermione," Harry commented with a large grin on his face.
"Thanks," she said and Harry began to make more snowballs while Hermione stood guard.
George got up and called his broom to him with his wand before running back to the safety of his mound as Fred landed and started throwing snowballs at him.
While Fred was distracted, Harry took the opportunity to lob a snowball at Fred but he missed. Hermione however had more luck and ended up hitting George in the leg with her carefully aimed snowball.
"Hey, why isn't anyone attacking Harry and Hermione?" Fred asked.
"Good point Forge," George said. "I say we team up against them, what do you say Ronnikins?"
"I agree," Ron said. "I'll attack from the air, you three attack on the ground. Hand me a snowball."
George put a snowball in Ron's hand and Ron immediately took off on his Nimbus 2001.
"Hermione," Harry said, noticing that Ron was up in the air. "They're trying to get us from the air. Let's concentrate on the three on the ground first unless Ron gets close enough. What do you think?"
"Try throwing some from your Firebolt," Hermione concurred as she threw another snowball at George but missed as he dodged to the right.
"Okay, will you be able to handle this?" Harry asked.
"Yeah," Hermione replied and Harry mounted his broom with a snowball in his hand.
Ron saw this and zipped towards Harry as he was still rising into the air, throwing the snowball at Harry before he could get into the air completely and knocking Harry to the ground. Ron then withdrew to his mound to get another snowball.
"OW!" Harry yelled as he landed next to Hermione.
"So much for that. Ron knows what he's doing apparently. Just stay down here," Hermione said, throwing another snowball at Ginny but Ginny dived forward and landed in the snow, the snowball flying over her head.
"We aren't hitting them," Harry said, getting up. "Wait until they come close before hitting them."
They didn't have to wait long as the three Weasleys on the ground soon came close enough that Harry and Hermione were able to throw a snowball at Fred and George, hitting them square in the chest. However, as Harry turned to hit Ginny with a snowball, Ron dived on him with another snowball and hit Harry just as he was raising a snowball to throw it.
The snowball hit Harry in the side and he fell to the ground, the snowball he was holding, landing on his face.
Hermione felt Harry fall beside her and she turned her attention away for a brief moment, but in that moment, Ginny threw her snowball and hit Hermione in the chest, knocking her to the ground beside Harry.
"We win," Ron said simply.
"Yes," Harry said from under the snow, some of which fell into his mouth and made his mouth go numb because it was so cold.
"Good job Ronnikins," George said. "We won with only half of our team hit."
"I agree, Forge," Fred said, getting up and brushing the snow from his robes. "But now it's almost lunch time and we should get changed into something that isn't so wet."
With that the group gathered themselves and walked back towards the castle, chatting and throwing jokes along the way.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Later that afternoon, after lunch, the trio was strolling around the school chatting amongst themselves when Ron suddenly said, "I just remembered something, I'll catch up to you later."
Ron ran down the hall, back the way they had come, leaving behind a perplexed Harry and Hermione.
"That was strange," Hermione commented.
"I agree," said Harry, who was happy that he could be alone with Hermione. "But since he's gone, do you want to go up to the Astronomy Tower and practice our Animagus forms?"
"Sure," Hermione agreed. "I still haven't been able to transform completely though."
"That's ok," Harry assured her. "I haven't been able to practice mine lately and I'm sure it'll hurt when I try it but I want to try to see if I can fly."
"Please promise me that you'll be careful," Hermione said, concerned about what could happen if he couldn't hold his form long enough.
They made their way up to the top of the Astronomy Tower and looked around. The view of the snow covered grounds was breathtaking but the two soon got around to do what they were there for.
Hermione stood in the center of the tower and concentrated on her Dove form, but she only managed to change her arms into wings.
Harry grinned lopsidedly at her. "Not bad though I don't think you'll be able to fly."
"Oh be quiet, let's see you try flying," Hermione challenged him, reverting back to normal.
"Fine, I will," Harry said and he concentrated on his form.
Harry felt some pain as he transformed but soon enough there was a fully- grown Phoenix standing where he was with red feathers that sparkled in the sunlight.
Harry then managed to walk over to the edge of the tower despite the pain and spread his wings. Jumping off, he felt himself fall but then an updraft caught in his wings and he began to glide through the air.
Hermione clapped her hands in delight watching Harry fly around the tower in his form. However, the pain soon increased and he became more and more exhausted from having to maintain his form. Harry started to direct himself back towards the tower, but he never made it in time as he lost his concentration and changed back to normal.
Hermione screamed as Harry fell through the air towards the ground.
*This isn't good * Harry thought with desperation, fumbling for his wand in his pocket.
Harry couldn't exactly move since he was still in pain but he suddenly hit something that felt like feathers and was quickly sliding off. Just before he fell off, he grabbed onto its tail. A strange sensation of weight being lifted off of him came to Harry and he looked up to see that it was Fawkes that rescued him.
Fawkes started flying higher, back towards the Astronomy Tower. Before he even landed, Harry could see Hermione standing near the edge of the Tower, backing up slowly as Fawkes approached her.
Upon landing safely, Hermione rushed forward and embraced Harry tightly. "I'm glad you're safe. I was afraid that you had fallen to your death."
"I'm grateful that Fawkes was there to save me," said Harry, hugging Hermione back and looking at Fawkes, who had perched himself on one of the stones lining the tower. "Thanks Fawkes."
Fawkes gave him a nod of his head, acknowledging Harry's gratitude.
"Maybe we should go back down to the common room before something else happens," Hermione said, taking Harry's hand and leading him back down with Fawkes following close behind.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Once back in the common room, Hermione immediately sat Harry down in a couch and started lecturing him on how he should have had more practice before trying to fly. Meanwhile Fawkes had settled down on the back of one of the armchairs and observed Hermione's lecture.
"Hermione, is it just me or does Fawkes appear to be studying us," said Harry.
"He's Dumbledore's Phoenix, I'd expect that he'd be a very intelligent bird," Hermione pointed out.
At that moment, Ron came running into the common room to see Harry and Hermione looking at Fawkes.
"Hey guys," he said excitedly. "You'll never guess who I found in the kitchen."
"So you ran off just to get to the kitchen?" Hermione asked, very interested in why Ron had suddenly run off. "What could you have possibly been doing?"
"Yes I ran off to get to the kitchen but what I was doing is my secret," Ron said, his cheeks turning slightly red. "But I was going to tell you that I found my mum cooking dinner."
"WHAT?!" Harry and Hermione exclaimed in unison.
"Yeah, that's what I said when I saw her," said Ron. "But she said that Dumbledore told her to come here since it wasn't safe at our house anymore because father had some trouble at work with Fudge. Fudge accused him of trying to free the Death Eaters with Dumbledore."
Harry and Hermione looked at each other before turning back to Ron.
"But that's ridiculous," Hermione argued.
"Tell me about it, but anyway, you're both invited to come have dinner with us in the Great Hall later on," said Ron, grinning. "My father will be there too."
Harry was more than overjoyed since the Weasleys were the closest thing that Harry had to a family and being able to spend Christmas with them would be one of the best things that happened to him.
"Say, what is Fawkes doing here?" Ron asked, pointing at Fawkes. "I thought he was in Dumbledore's office all the time."
"He followed us in here," Hermione cut in, covering for the fact that they had been practising their Animagus forms.
"Well I'm not done yet in the kitchen," Ron said, turning to leave. "I'll see you guys at dinner."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
When dinnertime rolled around, the Weasleys headed towards the Great Hall but Ron once again sprinted off on his own.
"Go on you guys," he called as he ran off, "I'll join you in a bit."
Hermione looked after Ron as he ran down the hall. "Sometimes I wonder about him."
"He's probably going back to the kitchen for whatever he was doing earlier," Harry reasoned.
Upon arriving at the Great Hall, Harry saw that the High Table was already full of food and all the professors, with the exception of Snape and Sepet, were there. Walter was talking with Hagrid and both raised their glasses in Harry's direction when they saw him.
Harry grinned at them just as Arthur, Percy, and Molly Weasley entered the Great Hall. Molly was carrying a tray full of roasted turkey, followed by several House Elves carrying trays of other assorted foods.
All the House Elves placed the trays on the Gryffindor table and exited. Mrs. Weasley came over to Harry and gave him a hug, which he happily returned.
"How have you been dear?" she asked, giving him a warm smile.
"I've been doing well Mrs. Weasley," Harry replied, returning the smile.
Then Ron entered, carrying a plate with a piece of roasted chicken and some roasted potatoes on it. He walked over to where Hermione was and bowed to her.
"Uh Hermione, I couldn't think of any Christmas present to give you," said Ron, looking somewhat nervous. "So I decided to make dinner for you."
With that, Ron placed the plate in front of her and gave her a goofy smile. Hermione, however, was more than overjoyed and she got up and gave Ron a kiss on the cheek in front of everyone, causing him to turn red.
"Thank you Ron," she said, also blushing. "That was very sweet of you to make dinner for me."
The Weasley family broke into cheers and applause, as the two sat down at the Gryffindor table next to Harry, who was forcing a smile.
"Aw, so Ickle Ronnikins has finally made his move," George teased and both Ron and Hermione turned even redder.
If nothing else, Christmas dinner with the Weasleys was enjoyable, though Harry forced himself to concentrate on his food while his two friends talked next to him without argument.
*Well, at least they're happy. * Harry thought, as he shoved a forkful of roasted potatoes into his mouth.
"After dinner," Mrs. Weasley announced. "I have something to give all of you. I thought it'd be best if I gave you your Christmas presents."
"Not another sweater mum," Percy grumbled.
"Oh common," Mrs. Weasley protested. "They're a family tradition, besides we'll be exchanging gifts in the Gryffindor Tower so it will be just as if it were at school."
"Your mother is right Percy," Arthur chimed in. "We all wear our sweaters at Christmas time."
The doors of the Great Hall opened revealing Professor Sepet and Viktor Krum. Sepet strode through the center of the hall towards the High Table and took a seat next to Walter. Krum, trying to avoid the other students from chasing him around for autographs made his way over to the Gryffindor table where Harry was having his Christmas dinner with the Weasleys.
Since Harry never told Hermione about his ring, he still had possession of it. Curious to see if it indeed worked, Harry pulled it out of his robe pocket and saw that it was glowing red.
Stuffing it back in his pocket before anyone noticed, Harry turned back to his meal, though not before noticing that Sepet was looking in his direction with a cold look while Walter continued to talk.
"Excuse me," said Krum, "Is this seat taken?"
Before Harry could reply, Krum had sat in between Harry and Hermione, causing Harry to glare at him and Ron's eyes narrowed.
"What do you want Krum?" he asked maliciously.
"Nothing, I just vont to enjoy Christmas dinner vith everyone," Krum replied, somewhat annoyed at Ron's question.
"Ron, be nice to our guest," Mrs. Weasley scolded before turning to Krum with a smile, "of course you can have dinner with us dear, after all its not everyday we get a world class Quidditch player to join us for dinner."
"Thank you Mrs. Vealsey," Krum said politely.
"But - he's sitting next to Hermione," Ron said quickly but then realised what he had said and clapped his hands over his mouth. The rest of the Weasleys gave him a strange look.
A hand came across and slapped Ron on the cheek. "Ron you selfish prat!" Hermione shouted in anger, "I'm not your girlfriend so I won't have you telling me who can sit next to me."
Ron glared at Krum while rubbing the cheek where Hermione had slapped him but he kept his silence for the rest of dinner, grumbling to himself every now and then.
As the evening dragged on, Harry started to enjoy himself more and ignoring the feeling of disappointment that he felt about Hermione; concentrating more on the fact that he was able to have a family Christmas dinner with the Weasleys.
Eventually Professor Sepet and Walter got up and left, though Harry stayed a little while, quietly observing the conversation between Krum and Hermione.
"Harry, are you feeling all right?" Hermione asked, noticing Harry's thoughtful expression, her face full of worry.
"Yes, I'm fine Hermione," Harry replied. "I'm just feeling a little tired, I'll see you all in the common room."
"Would you like me to take you to see Madam Pomfrey Harry?" Mrs. Weasley asked, overhearing Hermione's question.
"No thank you Mrs. Weasley, I'll just take a short nap - Ron could you wake me up when you're ready to exchange presents?"
"Sure thing," said Ron absentmindedly.
With that, Harry got up and left the Great Hall, heading back to the common room.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Once back at the Gryffindor tower, Harry immediately went upstairs to his room. There, he saw a note on one of the windowsills and Fawkes was sitting next to it. It was from Sirius:
Happy Christmas Harry,
Sorry that I wasn't able to join you or give you a gift this year but I'm currently keeping Moony company in the Shrieking Shack. He wishes you a happy Christmas too. Fawkes was nice enough to deliver this letter for us. Hope to see you soon.
We've noticed some strange activity in the school during our patrols at night but we haven't been able to catch whatever it is. Be careful.
-Padfoot
Harry put the letter aside and petted Fawkes on the head while looking out the window.
"What do you think?" he asked the phoenix tiredly. "Do you think this war will ever be over?"
Fawkes seemed to understand Harry's concern as he ruffled his feathers, sending dust-like particles into the air that sparkled under the light of the full moon.
As the particles continued to sparkle, Harry soon became entranced as he looked out the window that was facing another high tower inside the school.
There was a slight movement within one of the tower windows and Harry suddenly became alert.
Soon a figure emerged from the window and started crawling down the side of the tower like a lizard. Harry's keen sight from having been a seeker for the past four years told him that it was a man dressed entirely in black.
*Is that Sepet? * Harry thought as the figure turned into a large bat and started flying in the direction of the Forbidden Forest.
"Accio broom!" Harry called, whipping out his wand and holding out a hand so that he could catch his Firebolt.
Mounting it, Harry silently stalked the large bat as Fawkes followed closely behind. *Sepet has got to be up to something. *
The bat seemed to be unaware that Harry was following it though once it got to the Forbidden Forest; it immediately dove and flew through the trees.
It sped up and skillfully wove in and out of the trees, forcing Harry to slow down in order to avoid getting caught in the branches since he was still much larger.
Eventually the bat was out of sight and Harry couldn't figure out where it went. Fawkes continued to follow the large bat and Harry tried his best to follow the phoenix but even Fawkes was flying too fast for him.
In order to get a better view, Harry then flew upwards above the trees to see if he could find Fawkes or the large bat.
A rustling of the leaves below Harry caught his attention and he could see the large bat duelling with Fawkes.
The Phoenix was continuously ramming the bat with its body, trying to knock it out. The large bat must have had enough for it soon let out an ear- splitting shriek.
As if answering its call, a swarm of bats came flying from the direction of the castle and flew towards Harry at a frightening speed.
However just before the bats got to Harry, they dived down on the two animals battling down below. Fawkes continued to fight the large bat and Harry wondered why the phoenix wasn't bothering to retreat for soon it would be overwhelmed by the large number of bats.
Harry quickly drew out his wand so that he could assist Fawkes before he was overwhelmed. He fired a stunning spell in the center of the swarm of bats, causing them to disperse. Despite the spell, the swarm of bats never turned on Harry and continued to dive.
Seeing that his first spell was ineffective, Harry fired another stunning spell, though this time the bats dispersed and the spell went through the air in between Fawkes and the large bat.
The spell caused Fawkes to be temporarily distracted and the large bat took the opportunity to flee with the swarm of bats following close behind.
Once the bats were out of sight, Fawkes flew up to where Harry was hovering and faced him.
"You did your best Fawkes - let's head back," Harry said and the two flew back towards the Gryffindor tower.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Once Harry landed back in his room, he saw that Hermione and Ron were already there, talking between themselves and apparently worried that he had gone off on his own.
" - Ron, Harry's safety comes first. I know you're jealous about Krum and me but I assure you that there's nothing going on between us," Hermione was saying, trying to remain calm.
"Hermione, I'm sorry that I made that comment during dinner about you and Krum," Ron said apologetically. "But where would we start to look for him? He could be anywhere."
At that point Harry decided to interrupt their conversation.
"Harry!" Hermione exclaimed, running to him and giving him a hug. "We were so worried about you. Why were you out on your own? You could have been hurt."
For the next few minutes, Harry related all that had happened while his two friends were still at dinner.
"So Sepet was crawling out from the window?" Hermione asked with a thoughtful expression.
"How could he do that?" Ron asked with a confounded look. "There isn't a single spell in our books that would allow anyone to do that. Not even Percy could do that and he knows the most magic out of all of my brothers."
"That may be true Ron, but Sepet could do that because he's a vampire," Hermione declared.
"HE'S A WHAT?" Ron burst out.
"A vampire," Hermione said calmly.
"Why didn't you tell us before?" Ron babbled nervously. "Just great, our Dark Arts teacher is a Necromancer and our Duelling teacher is a blood sucking vampire who's going to turn us all into his servants."
"I didn't say anything before because I was afraid that the Slytherins or other students would try to stake Sepet or Parvati and either way, Parvati would die."
"Why?" Harry asked.
"Because Parvati is Sepet's creation, if the master dies, the servants die too," Hermione stated matter-of-factly. "That also explains why Sepet attacked Alicia. He needed the blood and so did Parvati when she attacked Filch."
"Parvati attacked Filch?" Ron inquired.
"Yes and Sepet was reprimanding her when we got to them," said Harry. "Probably because he didn't want her to make it known that they were vampires."
"Oh, so now we can't kill Sepet after he's turned one of the Gryffindors into a vampire," Ron grumbled.
"So what do we do about it?" Hermione whispered quietly to herself.
"We know the rings work," Harry said, pulling out his ring from his pocket. "I had one too and I used it earlier. It was glowing red when Sepet entered the room."
"You WHAT?" Hermione said in surprise, "You could have been hurt if it was jinxed."
"Hermione, sometimes I think you worry too much," Ron murmured. "Harry is still alive and we know who we should watch out for."
"Being reckless won't get us anywhere," Hermione protested.
"Let's leave this for another time," Harry interrupted. "Ron, I'm sure that your family will be wondering where we are if we don't show up soon."
Hermione agree reluctantly and the three of them made their way downstairs, where the Weasley family was waiting, and enjoyed a wonderful Christmas evening exchanging gifts, story telling and snacking.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
A/N: Well, sorry that took so long, but at least I finished planning out the rest of the book and I'm so happy midterms are over. Thanks to everyone who reviewed. I was pleasantly surprised that the last chapter had the most number of people giving me some form of feedback and I am grateful since you caught mistakes that I didn't. Also for those of you who were wondering why Hermione hadn't figured Sepet was a vampire, or didn't say anything earlier, I hope that this chapter also clarifies it. (If you haven't figured it out by now that Sepet is a vampire, here it is again SEPET IS A VAMPIRE!)
According to the poll results, most people are in favour of Quidditch, so I will continue that, but it won't be a major event in the chapter.
EssenceofPower: Thanks for the review and for beta-reading the last chapter.
IloveDraco: Sorry you don't like an evil Draco but everything will make sense in the end. Thanks for the note about Lucius Malfoy. I changed that to the correct Ministry department that he works for.
DarkGolo: Thanks for the review and for the notes. Hopefully the reason why Hermione was so quiet about Sepet and Parvati makes sense. As for no one protesting Dumbledore's arrest, you'll find out why, later. Hagrid was out cold, that's why he wasn't there.
Merced: Whether or not I hook Harry/Hermione up in this book, you'll have to keep reading to find out. ( You'll find out at a major event in February who gets hooked up with who.
Quis: No problem, please review when you wish. I appreciate the feedback and thank you for the note of the errors.
Angelis: You're right, its very hard coming up with a plot that excludes Quidditch. Gryffindor will play all the houses.
Infad: Thank you for telling me that Lucius Malfoy was removed from the board of school governors, I made the according changes. As for Cho, are you sure Harry got over her and are you sure that Lucius' influence has decreased?
Souls: I agree that the Armageddon spell is a little overkill, but Harry hasn't even discovered that section of his book yet.
Marba50: Krum probably should have won the Quidditch game but I thought that Ron had to play some part. He is a master strategist after all, so knocking him off the broom with the Quaffle was the best thing that came to mind. I also haven't seen that move used yet and I think it's a great move to use if you want to knock the seeker off his broom since its not counted as a foul.
Elyna Hynin: Thanks for reviewing. I wish you had voted on Hermione's form earlier because the unicorn would have won out with your vote but oh well, the dove has some use later.