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Chapter thirteen
Christmas
A few days before Christmas Harry, Hermione, Ron and Ginny arrived at 12 Grimmauld Place once again. The rest of the Weasley family, except for Percy, who was still estranged from them, were already there, as were Tonks and Kingsley Shacklebolt. Most of the members of the Order were going to have a meeting on Christmas Eve, so they had decided that they would all celebrate Christmas there together.
Harry had mixed feelings about going to Grimmauld Place; he was looking forward to getting away from Hogwarts for a while, spending Christmas with his best friends, but at the same time, Grimmauld Place brought back the nightmares he had had about Sirius. He wondered what it was going to be like to be in Sirius's house again, without him there. As it turned out, however, Harry did not have much time to brood about Sirius when he got there, because the reactions he'd got from people at the start of term were repeated with stunning accuracy as soon as he arrived.
'Harry, dear, you look pale and thin!' Mrs Weasley exclaimed as she gave him an enormous hug. 'Don't you eat enough at Hogwarts? You have to go out sometimes too, you know. It's not good to spend all your time inside, studying...'
'Hey, Harry!' said Fred when Mrs Weasley was out of earshot, 'You haven't gone overboard on the skiving snackboxes, have you?'
'You're not supposed to use them every day, you know,' George added.
The commotion died down eventually, and everyone seemed to get used to Harry's altered looks once again. Was this going to keep happening now, Harry wondered, or would he stop changing soon? He shuddered at the thought of becoming even more like Snape...
When they had all settled in, Harry realised that he didn't have a clue what was going on with the Order these days, except that Moody was away on some sort of secret mission in Bulgaria (or maybe somewhere else, Harry couldn't remember) and of course that Hagrid was away in the mountains again, with his half-brother Grawp, trying to negotiate with the Giants. Would he bring any more of them with him to Britain? Harry asked himself with a shudder.
As far as the rest of the Order was concerned, Harry had been kept in the dark, as usual. With everything that had been going on this term, he had been too preoccupied to care much about this. Also, having found out the contents of the Prophecy, he had been less interested in knowing what the Order was up to than he had been before. It didn't really matter what they did, since he would have to confront Voldemort in the end no matter what.
He didn't know what Voldemort was up to either, since the members of the Order hadn't told him, and he hadn't even bothered to ask. His dreams about Voldemort had ceased during the summer, and although his scar sometimes prickled unpleasantly, it rarely hurt the way it had done the year before. Harry didn't know whether the Order had something to do with this, perhaps blocking Voldemort's thoughts in some way, or whether it was Voldemort's own doing. Dumbledore had never suggested that he continue doing Occlumency, at any rate.
There wasn't a whole lot to do at Grimmauld Place these days. They had managed to clean the place up rather well last year, and Buckbeak was no longer there; Hagrid had taken care of him again, much to his own joy, as well as Buckbeak's. Kreacher wasn't there either; he had died of old age soon after Sirius's death. Harry never said so in front of Hermione, but he felt it was a relief to be rid of the old elf. He wouldn't have been able to take it if Kreacher had gone on complaining about Sirius now that he was dead.
With no doxys or boggarts left to fight, Harry and his friends were able to relax during the days leading up to Christmas. Ron and Harry played wizard's chess almost every night, and strangely enough, Harry rather enjoyed this, although he lost every single time, mainly because his chess pieces still didn't trust him, and kept giving him conflicting advice. Sometimes they even tried to refuse obeying his orders and he had to spend a lot of time convincing them that they should go wherever he wanted them to go. Playing chess seemed to keep his mind off Sirius, though, as well as the fact that Snape was his father.
After lunch on Christmas Eve, the other members of the Order arrived at Grimmauld Place, including Dumbledore, McGonagall, Lupin and Snape. Although Harry had seen Snape at Grimmauld Place before, it felt strange to meet him away from school now that he knew he was his father. He didn't see much of him, however, since the meeting began straight away in the kitchen. Harry almost forgot that Snape was there, as he spent the afternoon trying out some of Fred and George's new products together with Hermione, Ginny and Ron.
So it was with a jolt of uneasiness Harry noticed that Snape, along with most of the other members of the Order, had remained there after the meeting, apparently intending to have dinner with them. On Christmas Eve of all days, he was going to have to put up with him... As if he didn't feel awkward enough anyway, with everyone still eyeing him curiously whenever they thought he wasn't looking...
'Ah, Harry, come and sit here between me and Professor Snape!' Professor Dumbledore said as they entered the kitchen, smiling brightly, moving aside so as to make place for Harry. So Dumbledore was still hoping that he would give Snape a chance ... Well, he was hoping in vain! Harry noticed that Snape was as stony-faced as ever, his expression betraying nothing of what he thought about Dumbledore's suggestion. Harry went and sat down there all the same, looking longingly at Ron and Hermione, who had sat down next to the seat into which Dumbledore was now moving. He saw that Lupin was looking at Dumbledore, questioningly, too, then looking away, leaning over to say something to Mrs Weasley.
Harry felt uncomfortable during the meal, in spite of – or perhaps rather because of – Dumbledore's attempts to initiate some conversation between Snape and himself. At one point he noticed that Mrs Weasley was looking from him to Snape, then back again, and he had a distinct feeling that she had guessed the state of things. Harry hardly ate anything, despite the fact that he was rather hungry and Mrs Weasley tried to make him take second and third helpings.
After dinner the members of the Order sat together talking in the drawing room, while Ginny and Hermione stood together looking at the Black family tapestry, discussing who was who. Harry didn't want to look at it, so he suggested to Ron that they should play a game of Wizard's Chess, which he happily agreed to. Harry didn't do well, but neither had he expected to, and it didn't take long until he lost. As they started their second game, the Order had scattered, everybody standing in twos or threes, talking. After a while, Harry was slightly startled to notice Snape looking at him from across the room, and promptly lost his second Castle to Ron's Knight, losing the game shortly afterwards. He felt disconcerted to see Snape glancing at him repeatedly as he was losing so spectacularly. It would be just like Snape, Harry thought, to come over and make some snide comment about Harry being too stupid to play a simple game of Chess, but Snape stayed where he was, looking at them thoughtfully.
After some time, Dumbledore, McGonagall, Lupin and Snape got ready to return to Hogwarts. Only the Weasleys, Harry, Hermione and Tonks were to stay at Grimmauld Place, as the Order was to have another meeting on Boxing Day. Harry was relieved to see the others go; now he would be able to relax again, with Snape gone. They all went to bed early, looking forward to the next day.
There was a surprisingly large heap of Christmas presents at the foot of Harry's bed the next morning. Apart from the usual presents from his friends and Mrs Weasley, there were also gifts from Tonks, Kingsley and Mundungus Fletcher, not to mention a large assortment of products from Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes. It took quite some time to open everything. When Harry thought he was already done, he noticed that there was another present beneath the large pile of wrapping paper.
Harry looked at the last unopened parcel, curiously. It was wrapped in glossy black paper, which had some sort of family crest on it, also in black, but not glossy; he couldn't see exactly what it looked like. Who was this from? Harry tore it open, revealing the most beautiful set of Wizard's Chess he had ever seen. The board was made of black marble and so were the pieces, which were also decorated with what looked like emeralds, rubies and sapphires. They looked curiously at him from inside the box, some of them whispering excitedly to each other. There was a small card with the gift; Harry opened it eagerly and read it.
Dear Harry,
This chess set used to belong to your Great-great-grandfather. I think these pieces will obey you better than the ones you are using at present. I hope you will like this gift, but you are, of course, under no obligation to accept it.
Harry felt a twinge of excitement. This had belonged to his father's family! But wait. Snape was his father – could this possibly be from him? No, it couldn't be, he would never address him as 'Dear Harry'... Or would he? Was this Snape's handwriting? He wasn't sure... But yes, he recognised that large, spiky black 'D'; he had seen it on countless occasions on essays he'd written for Snape.
'Wow!' said Ron, awe-struck, 'They're really old! I bet the pieces are well trained, too. These are real gemstones, look! Who on Earth gave you this?'
'My Great-great-grandfather,' Harry said thoughtfully. 'I mean, it used to be his...'
'Oh, so you got it from Dumbledore again? I wonder what else he's got that used to be in your family, maybe he's got loads of things...'
Harry nodded absent-mindedly, wondering what he had been like, his Great-great-grandfather. And – had Snape been using this? A lot? And if so, would the pieces really trust him? He looked at the set, which was, indeed, beautiful. Much to his own surprise, he felt touched by this gift more than by anything anyone had said to him about Snape. The fact that Snape had seen – and noticed – how he was doing at chess, and how much trouble he had with the pieces, made Harry realise that he wasn't as indifferent as he seemed to be. He didn't feel as badly as before about having to spend Boxing Day with him, although it would still be awkward.
Chapter thirteen
Christmas
A few days before Christmas Harry, Hermione, Ron and Ginny arrived at 12 Grimmauld Place once again. The rest of the Weasley family, except for Percy, who was still estranged from them, were already there, as were Tonks and Kingsley Shacklebolt. Most of the members of the Order were going to have a meeting on Christmas Eve, so they had decided that they would all celebrate Christmas there together.
Harry had mixed feelings about going to Grimmauld Place; he was looking forward to getting away from Hogwarts for a while, spending Christmas with his best friends, but at the same time, Grimmauld Place brought back the nightmares he had had about Sirius. He wondered what it was going to be like to be in Sirius's house again, without him there. As it turned out, however, Harry did not have much time to brood about Sirius when he got there, because the reactions he'd got from people at the start of term were repeated with stunning accuracy as soon as he arrived.
'Harry, dear, you look pale and thin!' Mrs Weasley exclaimed as she gave him an enormous hug. 'Don't you eat enough at Hogwarts? You have to go out sometimes too, you know. It's not good to spend all your time inside, studying...'
'Hey, Harry!' said Fred when Mrs Weasley was out of earshot, 'You haven't gone overboard on the skiving snackboxes, have you?'
'You're not supposed to use them every day, you know,' George added.
The commotion died down eventually, and everyone seemed to get used to Harry's altered looks once again. Was this going to keep happening now, Harry wondered, or would he stop changing soon? He shuddered at the thought of becoming even more like Snape...
When they had all settled in, Harry realised that he didn't have a clue what was going on with the Order these days, except that Moody was away on some sort of secret mission in Bulgaria (or maybe somewhere else, Harry couldn't remember) and of course that Hagrid was away in the mountains again, with his half-brother Grawp, trying to negotiate with the Giants. Would he bring any more of them with him to Britain? Harry asked himself with a shudder.
As far as the rest of the Order was concerned, Harry had been kept in the dark, as usual. With everything that had been going on this term, he had been too preoccupied to care much about this. Also, having found out the contents of the Prophecy, he had been less interested in knowing what the Order was up to than he had been before. It didn't really matter what they did, since he would have to confront Voldemort in the end no matter what.
He didn't know what Voldemort was up to either, since the members of the Order hadn't told him, and he hadn't even bothered to ask. His dreams about Voldemort had ceased during the summer, and although his scar sometimes prickled unpleasantly, it rarely hurt the way it had done the year before. Harry didn't know whether the Order had something to do with this, perhaps blocking Voldemort's thoughts in some way, or whether it was Voldemort's own doing. Dumbledore had never suggested that he continue doing Occlumency, at any rate.
There wasn't a whole lot to do at Grimmauld Place these days. They had managed to clean the place up rather well last year, and Buckbeak was no longer there; Hagrid had taken care of him again, much to his own joy, as well as Buckbeak's. Kreacher wasn't there either; he had died of old age soon after Sirius's death. Harry never said so in front of Hermione, but he felt it was a relief to be rid of the old elf. He wouldn't have been able to take it if Kreacher had gone on complaining about Sirius now that he was dead.
With no doxys or boggarts left to fight, Harry and his friends were able to relax during the days leading up to Christmas. Ron and Harry played wizard's chess almost every night, and strangely enough, Harry rather enjoyed this, although he lost every single time, mainly because his chess pieces still didn't trust him, and kept giving him conflicting advice. Sometimes they even tried to refuse obeying his orders and he had to spend a lot of time convincing them that they should go wherever he wanted them to go. Playing chess seemed to keep his mind off Sirius, though, as well as the fact that Snape was his father.
After lunch on Christmas Eve, the other members of the Order arrived at Grimmauld Place, including Dumbledore, McGonagall, Lupin and Snape. Although Harry had seen Snape at Grimmauld Place before, it felt strange to meet him away from school now that he knew he was his father. He didn't see much of him, however, since the meeting began straight away in the kitchen. Harry almost forgot that Snape was there, as he spent the afternoon trying out some of Fred and George's new products together with Hermione, Ginny and Ron.
So it was with a jolt of uneasiness Harry noticed that Snape, along with most of the other members of the Order, had remained there after the meeting, apparently intending to have dinner with them. On Christmas Eve of all days, he was going to have to put up with him... As if he didn't feel awkward enough anyway, with everyone still eyeing him curiously whenever they thought he wasn't looking...
'Ah, Harry, come and sit here between me and Professor Snape!' Professor Dumbledore said as they entered the kitchen, smiling brightly, moving aside so as to make place for Harry. So Dumbledore was still hoping that he would give Snape a chance ... Well, he was hoping in vain! Harry noticed that Snape was as stony-faced as ever, his expression betraying nothing of what he thought about Dumbledore's suggestion. Harry went and sat down there all the same, looking longingly at Ron and Hermione, who had sat down next to the seat into which Dumbledore was now moving. He saw that Lupin was looking at Dumbledore, questioningly, too, then looking away, leaning over to say something to Mrs Weasley.
Harry felt uncomfortable during the meal, in spite of – or perhaps rather because of – Dumbledore's attempts to initiate some conversation between Snape and himself. At one point he noticed that Mrs Weasley was looking from him to Snape, then back again, and he had a distinct feeling that she had guessed the state of things. Harry hardly ate anything, despite the fact that he was rather hungry and Mrs Weasley tried to make him take second and third helpings.
After dinner the members of the Order sat together talking in the drawing room, while Ginny and Hermione stood together looking at the Black family tapestry, discussing who was who. Harry didn't want to look at it, so he suggested to Ron that they should play a game of Wizard's Chess, which he happily agreed to. Harry didn't do well, but neither had he expected to, and it didn't take long until he lost. As they started their second game, the Order had scattered, everybody standing in twos or threes, talking. After a while, Harry was slightly startled to notice Snape looking at him from across the room, and promptly lost his second Castle to Ron's Knight, losing the game shortly afterwards. He felt disconcerted to see Snape glancing at him repeatedly as he was losing so spectacularly. It would be just like Snape, Harry thought, to come over and make some snide comment about Harry being too stupid to play a simple game of Chess, but Snape stayed where he was, looking at them thoughtfully.
After some time, Dumbledore, McGonagall, Lupin and Snape got ready to return to Hogwarts. Only the Weasleys, Harry, Hermione and Tonks were to stay at Grimmauld Place, as the Order was to have another meeting on Boxing Day. Harry was relieved to see the others go; now he would be able to relax again, with Snape gone. They all went to bed early, looking forward to the next day.
There was a surprisingly large heap of Christmas presents at the foot of Harry's bed the next morning. Apart from the usual presents from his friends and Mrs Weasley, there were also gifts from Tonks, Kingsley and Mundungus Fletcher, not to mention a large assortment of products from Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes. It took quite some time to open everything. When Harry thought he was already done, he noticed that there was another present beneath the large pile of wrapping paper.
Harry looked at the last unopened parcel, curiously. It was wrapped in glossy black paper, which had some sort of family crest on it, also in black, but not glossy; he couldn't see exactly what it looked like. Who was this from? Harry tore it open, revealing the most beautiful set of Wizard's Chess he had ever seen. The board was made of black marble and so were the pieces, which were also decorated with what looked like emeralds, rubies and sapphires. They looked curiously at him from inside the box, some of them whispering excitedly to each other. There was a small card with the gift; Harry opened it eagerly and read it.
Dear Harry,
This chess set used to belong to your Great-great-grandfather. I think these pieces will obey you better than the ones you are using at present. I hope you will like this gift, but you are, of course, under no obligation to accept it.
Harry felt a twinge of excitement. This had belonged to his father's family! But wait. Snape was his father – could this possibly be from him? No, it couldn't be, he would never address him as 'Dear Harry'... Or would he? Was this Snape's handwriting? He wasn't sure... But yes, he recognised that large, spiky black 'D'; he had seen it on countless occasions on essays he'd written for Snape.
'Wow!' said Ron, awe-struck, 'They're really old! I bet the pieces are well trained, too. These are real gemstones, look! Who on Earth gave you this?'
'My Great-great-grandfather,' Harry said thoughtfully. 'I mean, it used to be his...'
'Oh, so you got it from Dumbledore again? I wonder what else he's got that used to be in your family, maybe he's got loads of things...'
Harry nodded absent-mindedly, wondering what he had been like, his Great-great-grandfather. And – had Snape been using this? A lot? And if so, would the pieces really trust him? He looked at the set, which was, indeed, beautiful. Much to his own surprise, he felt touched by this gift more than by anything anyone had said to him about Snape. The fact that Snape had seen – and noticed – how he was doing at chess, and how much trouble he had with the pieces, made Harry realise that he wasn't as indifferent as he seemed to be. He didn't feel as badly as before about having to spend Boxing Day with him, although it would still be awkward.