I have discovered a strange problem with the time-line in this fic. It says in this chapter that its mid-November. Chapter 5 says that its only a week till Christmas holidays…and only 2 days (story wise) have passed…Hrm. Again, this is edited. Boo, mistakes!!

The-Boy-Who-Lived stared out the window in his dorm room, watching listlessly as the flurries of snow fell past. He could barely see the grounds of Hogwarts due to the snow and the fact that there was no moon to illuminate and reflect. What little light that existed was provided by the few lit windows that proved there were people as restless as him.

It was mid-December and already the temperature was dropping so far students rarely ventured outside. This recent snow fall was about as unexpected as it was unwelcome for Harry, and only served to dampen his mood more so than usual. Things hadn't been so terrible this year so far (aside from the fact that Sirius was dead, of course), he only had to visit the Dursleys for a week this summer before he was whisked away to The Burrow. The Weasleys had even officially adopted him, a thing which had him choked up and hugging every member of the family (Ron had been embarrassed).

Dumbledore had taken it upon himself to teach DADA ("I promise you all that I am neither an impostor nor hiding people in the back of my head") and the students under him have thrived. If there was anyone who would make sure that they were ready for danger, it would be Dumbledore.

That only went so far to soothe him, because pressing heavily on Harry's shoulders was the weight of the world. Of course no one was around to tell him how to deal; so he dealt with it in the only way he thought he could: alone. Oh, there was always, always Ron and Hermione and to some extent, the others who had been with him at the Department of Mysteries. But Harry found himself thinking that Ron and Hermione believed he was still the same boy they met on the train their first year. How could he explain his role in the fate of Wizard and Mankind when he had barely come to grips with it himself?

An incident in class made him all the more hesitant to tell them anything. Dumbledore had set up a safe duel between students, as fighting against a person was obviously more challenging than smacking a pillow with spells. He had paired Harry with Ron for the duel, and the two had joked about turning each other into misshapen blobs. After learning that they will be marked for their efforts and watching a few students duel, they had decided to take it seriously.

Ron had clapped Harry on the back as their turn came up. "No hard feelings mate, if I end up turning you into a sponge or something." Harry had grinned at this and ran what spells he thought he might need to use though his mind.

After Hermione had won the duel against Neville (though barely, Neville had once again shocked everyone at how good he was at something when he put his mind to it), Ron and Harry had stepped up on the platform, all traces of humor gone. A year or so ago, Harry probably would have been fretting over how he would feel if Ron won, or would have been thinking of some other such thing that had no relevance to the now. But after hearing the Prophecy in its whole and a summer to reflect, he decided that luck and gifts from people would be a poor thing to rely on when it came to the fate of everyone and everything. He did after all, have no sadistic wish to fail.

So as soon as the bell that signified the start of their match rang, Harry had cast and had rendered Ron unconscious; and had his wand in possession nearly before the echoing of the bell had diminished. When Ron was revived, he had looked at Harry with a sort of weird look on his face. Harry had supposed because of all their years together, they had both slacked off on nearly everything in school. It was different to be on the receiving end of powerful magic. Harry was just Harry to Ron.

Suffice to say he didn't want to know how Ron would look at him when he found out Harry's destiny.

Now, with the new knowledge of the power he held and what he was supposed to do with it; he found a distance growing between himself and his two best friends. Not so much that they would confront him about it(not yet, at least), but enough so that he wouldn't have to answer any questions. Besides, he had reasoned, telling then the prophecy might put them in danger. Voldemort still didn't know the whole of it, and when he found out that he was nearly immortal there was no doubt that everything would take a sharp turn for the worst.

And this left Harry, staring out the window and listening to the soft snoring of his dorm mates. As he was thinking about how things had been in their first year, he noticed a shadow were one shouldn't be on the grounds. His attention now averted, the shadow moved away from the school. Deciding that he wasn't doing anything productive by sitting there, he bundled into his warm winter-robes and set off.

His teeth were chattering by the time he found a set of footprints fast disappearing because of the snowfall. He walked with his head bent down to keep the footprints in sight, so he didn't see the figure until he had bumped into it. The shadow let out an offending squeak and spun around, wand pointed at him. In the feeble light, Harry was able to see the shadow had large blue eyes…long hair…

"Hi, Luna," he said lamely. She lit the tip of her wand and sighed. "Hello, Harry" she said pleasantly, as if bumping into him in the Great Hall at dinner. "How are you?"

"Er…good." He shifted in his robes. "You?" She smiled and switched her wand into her other hand. "I'm very well, very well…" She trailed off and Harry had to think of something else to say before an awkward silence set in.

"Why are you out here?" He asked, thinking he should have stuck with the awkward silence. "Because the wind spirits often like to play in the snow." She stated. "I'm going to try and spot some tonight, the conditions are prefect. It would be nice to have company, if you want to come along."

Leave it to Luna not to question why I'm out here in the middle of a snowfall, he thought. "I'm not doing anything at the moment…" Luna gave a short nod and spun around, fighting her way through the snow and leaving him no choice to follow. He idly wondered how long they would have to stay out here before she gave up and decided go inside. It really didn't matter to Harry, whose other choice was to listen to his dorm mates snore.

A short trek later and Luna plopped down in the snow. Harry sat down beside her, arranging his robes so his backside wouldn't freeze. Producing a blue thermos and two small cups out from under her robes, Luna filled them and passed one to Harry, instructing him to drink it slowly. He took a careful sip and found that it warmed him slightly.

After a while of sipping, Harry found himself eased into a state of peace, warm as he was and mesmerized by the silent fall of the snow. His mind was a pleasant hum of nothing, only broken when he found himself with an empty cup and a slight chill.

He turned to Luna for a refill and was about to ask what this wonderful liquid was when she shushed him excitedly and grabbed his hand, dragging him to his feet.

Harry followed her intense gaze and didn't see any thing but swirling snow. But actually, that was weird…there was no wind tonight…

The snow fell back to the ground, only to be disturbed again, he noticed, in the same spot. Luna squeezed his hand as the snow dropped and lifted again, leaving small disturbances in the other wise smooth layer of white. This time, the snow stayed up longer, straying a little before it dropped down. Another disturbance in the snow, this one a foot away from the last. The pattern continued until Harry noticed there were two of them, both leaving small indents that seemed for all the world like footprints. He felt Luna squeeze his hand again as they moved, slowly inching their way towards them.

Harry had a second to think about what would happen when they did reach them and closed his eyes. His hand felt like it were about to break because Luna was holding it so tight. Harry felt a breeze playing through his hair and clothes; it was a gentle breeze, so gentle it nearly felt like a breath. He could feel it moving around him until it was at his side, it kissed at his skin and whispered in his ear. Then suddenly; the air was still again and he felt nothing but the cold and snow falling on him. He turned back to Luna to see her eyes closed and a smile upon her face. She opened them when she felt his eyes on her; with a gaze so intense, she couldn't miss its feel.

He gave her a tentative smile and they both started walking back to the warmth of the school. Luna's hand felt very cold when he let go.

Review, my pretties.