Chapter 24: Christmas

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Love is like pi - natural, irrational, and very important.
-Lisa Hoffman

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The week at Number 12 Grimmauld Place had been a pleasant one. Mrs. Weasley had cleaned the house up to the extent that Harry
could barely recognize it from what it had been when he had first seen it two years ago. Everything seemed bright and homey,
and though he knew that Mrs. Black would never have approved of the Weasleys' mis-matched furniture, to Harry it all seemed
right. For once in their life, all the Weasley children had their own bedrooms and more to spare. It's perfect for them,
he thought peacefully one night as he sat around the fireplace with Ron, Ginny, Fred, and George. It was Christmas Eve and 
Mrs. Weasley was putting the final touches on the Christmas pudding. 

"Wonder when Hermione'll get here," Ron mused lazily, his long limbs draping over the edge of the armchair he was sitting in.

"What did you get her for Christmas?" Harry asked curiously. Ron blushed a deep red.

"Aww, let's see, Ron!" Ginny chimed in. 

"You can't see, it's already wrapped," Ron grumbled. "And besides, if I did tell you, you'd probably just go and tell her-"

"I would not!" Ginny replied hotly. "I can keep a secret!"

"Stop fighting, it's Christmas Eve!" Mrs. Weasley chided. "Come up to the table, the pudding's ready." Still glaring at Ron,
Ginny marched up to the table. The pudding was delicious, but the conversation left something to be desired. After Ron and
Ginny's fight, only Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were speaking. The twins managed to lob a clump of pudding into Ron's hair when
Mrs. Weasley wasn't looking, and that only made him angrier. Mr. Weasley sighed and muttered a quick cleaning spell.

"I wish we could just have one night where we could just get along as a family," he said. "Now, I don't want any more 
interruptions-"

There was a loud knock on the door. Ron jumped out of his chair, nearly knocking it over with his long legs.

"I'll get it!" he cried, running out of the room. Fred looked at George curiously.

"Hmm, who do you suppose he thinks it is?" he asked his brother sarcastically. Ron returned to the room, looking triumphant
and accompanied by Hermione.

"Hello Hermione, it's wonderful to see you!" Mrs. Weasley said graciously, standing up. "Did you want some pudding? There's 
still a bit left."

"Oh, no thank you, Mrs. Weasley," Hermione said, sounding exhausted. Harry noticed she was staring at the ground and her eyes 
looked a little red. "I'm quite tired, I think I'll just go upstairs."

"Okay dear," Mrs. Weasley said, sounding worried. Hermione attempted a smile before retreating back towards the staircase.
Harry and Ron followed her, Ron grabbing her trunk and Harry her backpack. They walked up the stairs wordlessly and continued
until they reached Hermione's bedroom.

"Hermione... are you feeling okay?" Harry asked hesitantly as he and Ron set down her belongings. She turned to face the two
boys, tears welling up in her eyes.

"I was supposed to spend Christmas with my parents," she said quietly, trying to hold back a sob. "We got in a fight. They're
happy I'm a witch and everything, but they don't understand how important this world is to me... I can't just go back into the
muggle world and pretend like everything's normal again." Ron sat next to her on the bed and rubbed her back gently. 

"I'm sorry, Mione," he said softly. "I wish there was something I could do." She wiped her eyes.

"This is silly. It's almost Christmas, I should be happy, right?" She laughed coldly and looked down. There was a knock on the
door and the hinges squeaked open.

"Everything okay in here?" Fred asked, peering in. "Mum told me to let you three know they're going to bed, and she thinks you
should too, before it gets too late."

"Wouldn't want the ickle kiddies waiting up for Santa!" George cackled from behind him. 

"We're going, we're going," Ron grumbled, standing up.

"So're we," George said simply, as he and Fred disapparated with a loud crack. 

"Well, we're rid of them," Ron said thankfully. "Who wants some butterbeer?" With a tiny smile, Hermione stood up. 

"Are you coming, Harry?" she asked him politely.

"Er, no... I think I'm going to bed," he said, smirking at Ron. "I'll leave you two alone."

*******************

Harry groaned as he heard a loud voice yelling into his ear.

"It's too early..." he muttered, pulling his pillow over his head. He felt a soft object thump him on his upper back and
rolled over to see Ron's pillow lying on his own bed.

"C'mon Harry, get up! Happy Christmas!" Ron cried, jumping up and down. 

"Stop throwing things at me, for Merlin's sake," Harry grumbled. "You're acting like you're five years old!"

"You sound like Hermione," Ron scoffed. "Now come on, let's go downstairs and open our presents!" Harry pulled himself out of
bed and followed Ron. As the two young men reached the room where the slightly bent Christmas tree was, Harry couldn't help 
but feel that childhood excitement rising within him. Christmas, he thought grinning as he ripped into his first present. 
This is a great holiday!

"Aaah! Thank you!" Ginny squealed, pulling a Teen Witch makeup kit out of a box. Hermione had just come down the stairs and
was grinning at Ginny. She came towards Ron and Harry and sat on the floor, but stayed off to the side a little.

"Hermione, come over by us!" Ron yelled, reaching for another present. Hermione's smile faded. The door creaked open and
Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Fred, George, and Charlie entered.

"Happy Christmas, everyone!" Mr. Weasley called out in a jolly voice. 

"Hermione, why don't you come open some presents?" Harry asked her quietly. She shook her head.

"I probably don't have any... at least not from my parents. They're so furious that I left before Christmas.." She sighed.

"Well, you'll still have something from Ron, and me, and the Weasleys!" Harry said, feeling sympathetic.

"There's one right here with your name on it," Ron added, pulling a tiny box from the pile. He gave her a smile as he handed
her the box, but Harry could see right through him - he looked worried. Hermione turned the box over in her hands and glanced
at the gift tag. It was from Ron. She grinned.

"Thanks, Ron," she said, and began unwrapping. She gasped as she opened the box. "Oh, wow, this is beautiful-"

"Wotcher, it's a party!" a familiar female voice called from the doorway. "Happy Christmas!" 

"Tonks!" Ginny cried happily as the green-haired ex-Auror made her way into the room. She was followed closely by none other than
Remus Lupin. Harry looked up at him, grinning. As he stood up to greet him, he noticed Hermione was holding a gold chain with
an a light green stone hanging off of it. Ron's mystery present, he thought to himself. He focused his attention on
Remus, walking through the crowded room towards his former Defense teacher.

"How're you doing?" Harry asked him. Remus smiled.

"Not too bad. And yourself?"

"I'm fine. I haven't seen you in ages, but I'm glad you decided to come back."

"I told you I would," Remus replied seriously. "Can I have a word with you in the kitchen?"

"Oh, er, of course," Harry said, beginning to think something was wrong. He followed Remus through the doorway and into the
next room, where a shabbily-wrapped present lay on the long wooden table.

"Your Christmas present," Remus told him triumphantly. Harry looked at him curiously. "Go on, open it!" Harry hurriedly ripped
the wrapping paper off and was surprised to find a bottle marked "Morton's Magic Motorbike Polish", a black and red helmet, and
a complete polishing kit. Harry's eyes were as wide as saucers.

"Now mind you, I wouldn't go telling Molly about this," Remus said anxiously, his voice low. "But I thought that might come
in handy since I've convinced Professor Dumbledore that since the motorbike does belong to you, you should be allowed to keep
it at Hogwart's. You would only be able to ride it on school grounds, of course-" 

Grinning, Harry stood up and gave Remus a hug, surprising even himself with his action.

"Thank you so much," Harry said, staring at the box full of goodies. "I can't even... wow..."

"Sirius would have been thrilled to know you got to bring that thing to school," Remus said, rolling his eyes. They both 
laughed, and Harry felt as if another weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He would have given anything to have Sirius
there with them at that moment, but he knew it was impossible. Talking about Sirius openly with Remus was good enough.

**************

Before they knew it, the holiday was over and it was time to return to Hogwart's. Harry was slightly bitter that Rachel had
not come to visit at 12 Grimmauld Place and even more so that she had not returned any of his owls. He sat silently on the
Scarlet Express, staring at the ceiling and wishing he felt as happy as he had on Christmas Day. Hermione noticed this and
gave him a sympathetic glance.

"Don't worry about it, Harry. I'm sure she was just busy with the holidays and all..." Hermione tried, sounding unconvinced.

Harry snorted but didn't answer.

"Maybe something bad happened to her," Ginny said, her eyes wide. "Doesn't she live with Death Eaters or something? You never
know..."

"She's perfectly fine," Harry grunted. "She just didn't feel like answering any of my letters."

"What kind of relationship is that, mate?" Ron asked, grimacing. "I mean, what's the point? Just break up with her if she
doesn't talk to you." He bit into a chocolate frog.

"Ron, it isn't that simple. You can't just dump someone because they're having problems!" Hermione said, sounding exasperated.
She watched as he devoured the rest of the candy. Ron shrugged.

"Why not? It's not Harry's problem." Hermione rolled her eyes but declined to comment further. The train came to a halt and
Ron peeked out the window.

"We're here!" he announced, standing up. The group made their way outside and trudged toward the castle.

"Wow, there's really a lot of people coming back right now," Harry observed, looking at all the other students surrounding
them. A few had taken the train; others had been dropped off by their parents or were walking in from Hogsmeade. A few
snowball fights had broken out on the way into the building, but Harry, Ron, and Hermione managed to stay out of them. They
made it safely to Gryffindor tower and into the main common room.

"Harry, did you hear?" Parvati shrieked as he entered the common room. 

"Hear what?" he asked tiredly, dropping his trunk to the ground. 

"About Rachel!" Lavendar added in a whisper. Harry glanced between the two of them.

"Er.. no..." 

"She fainted as she was coming into the building! She's up in the hospital wing right now," Parvati said matter-of-factly.
"We were wondering if you knew anything about it."

"No, I didn't-"

"Who fainted?" asked a fourth-year, snapping her gum loudly.

"Rachel Wheaton, you know, that Hufflepuff girl-" Harry pushed his way through the crowd towards the exit. He felt a hand on
his shoulder and turned to see Ron standing beside him. 

"Sorry about all that stuff I said," he muttered. "D'you want me to come with you?" Harry shook his head. 

"I'll be fine." With that, he took off towards the hospital wing at a remarkable pace. He was there within minutes and pushed
the heavy door open slowly, worried about what he would find inside. Madam Pomfrey, Professor Dumbledore, and, surprisingly,
Professor Snape were huddled around the closest bed. Rachel lay on the bed, now fully conscious but looking confused.
 
"I'll have to do a few tests," Snape was saying. He strolled haughtily towards the door. "Out of the way, Potter," he hissed
as he walked past him. Dumbledore smiled benignly at Harry.

"Rach, are you okay?" Harry asked as he walked over to her bedside.

"Oh, yes, I'm sure I'll be fine... I just felt a little dizzy before and all of a sudden I blacked out," she replied weakly.

"Have you been feeling all right this week?" Madam Pomfrey asked, bustling around the bed.

"Well... not really. I've been forgetting things, sometimes I'll realize I don't know what's happened in the last hour or so.
It's happened about four times this week." Pomfrey and Dumbledore exchanged a significant glance.

"Have you been eating or drinking anything differently than normal?" Madam Pomfrey asked. Rachel frowned in concentration.

"No... not really... I can't think of anything." Madam Pomfrey nodded. 

"Very well, I will ask that you stay here for a half hour to rest. After that, you may go to dinner and return to your dormitory."

"I'm very sorry I never answered your owls Harry, I just wasn't myself over the holiday. I felt sick all of the time," Rachel
said, looking concerned.

"Oh, it's okay, don't worry about anything," Harry replied guiltily. He was kicking himself for having had that conversation
about breaking up with Rachel on the train. Rachel yawned.

"I'm going to take a little nap, I'm exhausted. I'll see you at dinner, okay?" Harry nodded and stood up.

"Mr. Potter, could I have a word with you outside?" Dumbledore asked him, also standing up. Harry agreed and followed him
out the door. "Actually, it might be better if we were to... talk a walk," Dumbledore added.

"Okay..." Harry said, unaware of where the conversation was going.

"So how was your holiday? Did you have a good Christmas?" Dumbledore inquired. Harry smiled.

"It was great. Remus came by. He told me that you were letting me keep the motorbike here," he said. 

"Oh yes. He brought it by this morning. It's being stored in the shed behind Hagrid's hut, so just talk to him when you want
to use it, he'll unlock the door for you." They continued their conversation for a few minutes until Harry realized they
were in the dungeons.

"Er... Professor Dumbledore, where are we going?" Harry asked curiously.

"You'll see, we're nearly there," was the only reply he got. Harry kept following Dumbledore, and realized with a sinking 
feeling that he knew exactly where they were going...

"Ah, here we are," Dumbledore said, stopping outside Professor Snape's office. "Do come in, Harry." He followed the headmaster
inside and found Professor Snape there, pouring various potions into a small cauldron. He cast an angry glare in Harry's
direction. Harry felt a flame of outrage rising in his chest. You greasy git, he thought furiously. He was suddenly
aware of another voice in his head. Watch what you're thinking when you are emotional and around other Legilimens,
it mocked him. Harry's eyes narrowed as he stared at Snape, who was now smirking at him from across the table. 

"So Severus," Professor Dumbledore said, breaking the two men out of their unspoken fight. "What are the results?" Snape
raised his eyebrows.

"You wish to speak of this in front of him?" he asked, gesturing rudely towards Harry. Harry opened his mouth to protest, but
Dumbledore held up a hand.

"Yes I do," he said simply, turning to Harry. "What you hear cannot leave this room, do you understand?" Harry nodded. "Very
well Severus, please tell us." Professor Snape poured a few droplets of a purple liquid into the cauldron and it began to
boil. The substance inside turned bright orange.

"The girl has been under the effects of Vertiaserum," he said slowly. "Quite a bit, too." Harry's mind was working a million
miles an hour.

"You mean Rachel?" he asked, realization dawning upon him finally. Dumbledore nodded.

"Yes, Harry. I'm sorry to tell you. But whatever you do, you mustn't tell her - if her family finds out she knows, they may
well kill her. It would be dangerous for them to know that we have this knowledge and, with the proper spell, could make her
recall what questions they asked her."

"But... you're not going to tell anyone? I mean, why would you even let me know?" He was getting angrier and angrier every
minute.

"The purpose of bringing you here was so you would be aware. I urge you to remain close to Rachel, but do not divulge important
secrets. Anything you tell her has the possibility of ending up in Voldemort's hands." With that, Dumbledore gestured towards
the door. "Please remember that, Harry. You may leave now."

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Okay, so that was probably about the longest it has ever taken me to update... Again, I apologize. I planned to finish this 
entire story by the end of April, but now I'm not sure if I will be able to. I don't want to have to cram all of the events
into a few chapters. I will be gone all of May, and if it isn't done by then, I guess I'll just take a month-long break. 
However, I will try my hardest to finish before then.

Thanks to all of my AMAZING readers. I don't know what I would do without you!!!

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