When Harry woke up, it was still dark. He felt Shani's warm body against his side as he lay in the darkness of her room. He could smell the shampoo scent in her hair as he breathed in. It was the best sleep he'd ever had. Harry managed to look at his watch without waking her. 4:30. Bloody hell, he thought. He sighed, knowing that he should get back to his own bed before morning came. What would Christmas be without getting his ass woken up by Ron? He almost chuckled at the thought of seeing him in his latest Weasely sweater.

Somewhere nearby, a certain bleach blonde Slytherin was stewing in his bed. When the two lovebirds had so amorously made their way through the Slytherin common room, they hadn't noticed Draco sitting alone by the fire. Draco had watched them disappear into Shani's room with a scowl on his face. Not only did it piss him off that he wasn't having her, but it pissed him off even MORE that it was HARRY who was having her. He tossed in his bed, not wanting to think about it anymore. Many a night of his had been spent sitting by himself in the common room, gazing into the fire. The letters from his father had finally stopped. The last letter he received had come that night and he had been reading it by the fire when he saw Harry and Shani flounce by.

Draco,

It has begun. You will die like the rest of them.

Lucius

This letter was no different than the others, except for when he crumpled it up in his hand, it burst into flames. Draco bellowed in pain as the flames licked the inside of his palm. The paper fell onto the carpet and Draco kicked it into the fire, leaving a small black smudge where it had fallen on the rug. Draco stood there, gazing into the fire and trying to catch his breath. Fuck you, he thought, watching the letter from his father disappear into the flames. He looked down at his burnt hand. It wasn't too bad. He'd dropped it before it could burn him too much. Still, it wasn't all together comfortable. Draco pulled out his wand and pointed it at his left hand.

"Episkey," he muttered. The skin on his hand began to heal before Draco's eyes. He sighed a sigh of relief as the pain left him. He sank back into his chair, running a hand through his cool blonde hair. He briefly wondered what he'd meant by "it has begun". It was the general opinion of the Death eaters that their Master was returning to them. Most of them thought he was back to his old Unicorn blood sucking tricks in the Forbidden Forrest. Draco shook the thoughts away, not wanting to think about it anymore. That's when the two love birds pranced by and sent him spiraling back into his brooding.

May as well let him have his fun. He may not live for much longer, Draco thought morbidly. If what the death eaters were saying was true, Harry's time was growing dangerously short. Draco wondered if he had any idea. Then he wondered why the fuck he cared. He sank back into the soft green velvet of the arm chair and closed his eyes.

Back to the present. Harry slowly sidled himself away from Shani and slipped her head off of his shoulder gently. She stirred in her sleep but didn't wake. Harry smiled as she continued to dream. He bent down and give her a soft kiss on her head and then slid out of her bed. The air outside her bed was crisp and cool as he closed the curtains behind him. It was dark and all the other beds had their drapes drawn. He grabbed his clothes and quietly slipped them back on. Harry snuck out of the room, hearing the door click softly as he closed it behind him. He tiptoed across the common room. Just as he was about to exit through the portal, he noticed something in the common room. He turned around to see Draco sleeping in the green armchair closest to the fire. Harry frowned, wondering what in the hell he was doing there. He looked almost innocent in his sleep. Harry shook his head and made his way out.

Harry was no longer too scared to travel the halls at night. Being a 7th year, teachers tended to be a little more lenient about the late night sneaking around. Especially since he was so commonly to be found doing it. He meandered down the halls towards his own house. On his way, he heard a soft creak somewhere in front of him. He paused. It was silent. Harry held his breath, waiting to hear another sound. He wondered if it was a teacher. He began to edge forward quietly. As he did so, he felt a cool blast of air ruffling his hair. His legs slowly brought him closer to the turn in the hall until he was standing just at the corner. Harry could feel a constant flow of cold air coming from around the bend. He took a deep breath, pulled out his wand, and peeked around the corner. He let out a sigh of relief when he saw that the hall was empty except for a slightly open door that led to the courtyard. He stepped out into the hall, nearing the open door with the intent to close it. Bloody hell Harry. Fucking pussy, Harry chuckled to himself for having gotten so scared. He opened the door, poking his head out to see if someone had exited through that door. He didn't see anyone, nor did he see any footprints in the white snow that was laying on the door step. He shrugged, figuring that the door must have swung open in the wind. The cold air felt wonderful on his skin as he stood there. Harry looked around, deciding to take a little stroll in the snow. It was so pristine at four in the morning. There were no foot prints or marks of any kind and it sparkled so beautifully in the moonlight.

Harry stepped out into the snow, reveling in the soft crunches beneath his shoe. He walked out into the cold, holding his arms tight to his chest. The snow fell lightly on his hair and landed on his skin, melting on contact. He looked up at the moon that was slowly setting. The silence was so complete, it was magnificent. Suddenly, he heard a soft shuffling from the edge of the courtyard. Harry looked over and saw nothing.

"Hello?" he called out softly. "Who's there?" Harry was frozen in his place. His eyes searched the dimly lit courtyard and saw that the snow was messed up in the corner that he had heard the noise. He squinted and saw that the snow was not only messed up, but it was moving. Harry whipped out his wand.

"I know you're there, show yourself," Harry whispered through gritted teeth. He could see some kind of footprints forming in the snow, but the figure making them was still not to be seen. "Fucking show yourself!" Harry repeated, a little more urgently as the footprints came a little closer to him. Harry took a step back, holding his wand out at the ready. He heard a soft snort and felt the hair on his arms rise. He took another step back as the footprints came nearer to him.

"Lumos!" Harry called out. The light from his wand shone brightly and the footprints stopped. Harry looked out into the snow with wide eyes. Something was there, standing not four feet away from him, but it was invisible. Harry attempted to think of some kind of revealing spell but couldn't think of anything on the spot. Was there someone there wearing an invisibility cloak? Before Harry could think anymore a louder snort came from the direction of the footprints and suddenly it came rapidly towards him. Harry began to step backwards but it was too late. Just before the invisible being was upon him, Harry saw something begin to take shape where there had been nothing. In the blink of an eye there was a large black form shaping in front of him. It was as if smoke was materializing into some solid form as it misted into existence. Harry tripped over his pant leg and fell back into the snow, paralyzed by fear. The creature materialized completely and Harry immediately recognized it. A Thestral. The large black horse reared in front of him, just inches away from his extended legs. Its heavy black wings beat against its sides, sending flurries of snow into the air. Harry's jaw dropped as the magnificent slammed its front legs back into the snow, coming down from its rearing position. Its hooves landed just inches away from his legs. Harry looked up to see the burning eyes of the creature boring into his own. He found that he could not move in his shock as he tried to back away. The Thestral whinnied softly, not breaking eye contact with Harry, and just as quickly as it had come, it disappeared. Harry could hear it take off into the night with its huge black wings.

He lay there quietly, amazed at what had just happened. A few moments of silence passed and Harry suddenly became aware of the cold wetness that was slowly seeping through seat of his pants. He stood up slowly, brushing himself off. The snow continued to fall, covering the tracks of his encounter. He took one last look into the sky, and turned back. He walked the rest of the way back to his room in silence, still on edge from his meeting with the mystical creature.

The next morning, just as he'd predicted, he awoke to the excited sounds of Ron ripping open his gifts and yelling. "HAPPY CHRISTMAS HARRY!" Ron yelled happily, shredding the paper on his presents.

Harry slid out of bed, rubbing his eyes. "Happy Christmas Ron," he said. He felt the cool wood beneath his feet and yawned. His mind slipped briefly back to the night before and he smiled, wondering what she was doing now. "Have I got presents?" Harry asked, grinning.

"Sure," Ron laughed, pointing at the small pile of presents at the foot of the bed. Harry slipped off of his bed and sat down next to his pile of gifts.

"Happy Christmas," Harry said to his other room mates who were also just awakening. Neville smiled, reaching down to feel around for his gifts. Harry leaned over and picked up a large, roughly wrapped, red package. "Wonder what this could be," he joked. Ron rolled his eyes.

"They're uglier than ever this year," he said, holding up his own sweater. It was true. It was pretty damn horrendous. It was some kind of brown color with a blue R printed in the middle. It wouldn't have been so bad if it weren't for the fact that Mrs. Weasely must have run out of the brown because halfway down the right sleeve it turned into sort of a yellowish orange. Harry laughed.

"I bet yours is all one color at least," Ron grumbled, pulling his sweater over his chest. Harry opened up the parcel in his hands. To his surprise, it wasn't brown at all. It wasn't even a sweater. It was a thick black cloak. Harry unfolded it and held it up in front of him.

"Whoa, what is that?" Ron asked, looking up from his gifts. Harry shook his head.

"I have no idea. Your mum sent it to me," Harry shrugged, looking the thick black material over.

"Oi, there's a note," Ron said, pointing out a small bit of paper that fell from the cloak. Harry bent over and picked it up from the floor.

Happy Christmas Harry,

Hope you'll find this useful. Be safe,

Love,

Mr. and Mrs. Weasely

"What does it say?" Ron asked. Harry flipped the note over, looking for something more. He sighed when he saw that there was nothing else written.

"Nothing. Bloody ambiguous note," Harry said, tossing the cloak and note over to Ron. Ron mulled it over.

"Better than a sweater," he decided before tossing it back. Harry agreed with a smile before setting the mysterious gift down on his trunk. He returned to his presents and began opening them. By the end of his pile, he had acquired quite a plethora of items. He had received yet another pair of socks from Dobby, a figurine of himself from Ginny (apparently a toy shop had started producing little Harry Potter's that had glow in the dark scars, much to Harry's embarrassment), an egg polishing kit from Hagrid (presumably for his Phoenix egg), a wand care set from Hermione (to maximize spell power and wand attractiveness), a giant box of strange (and most likely dangerous) candies from Ron's brothers, Fred and George, and a signed portrait of one of his favorite Quidditch players from Ron. There were a few other knickknacks, but nothing special. Fleur had given him a large box, decorated with equally large bows and such. Inside was a thick fuzzy white coat, possibly to match her hair. Ron teased him about being one of her favorite accessories. Harry threw an egg polishing brush at his head.

To his dismay, there was nothing from Shani. He hoped she liked his gift. He'd gotten her a small lightening bolt charm necklace, kind of as a joke. It was rather pretty and it almost felt like staking his claim or something. He smiled as he once again remembered last night.

After Christmas Breakfast, Harry met up with Shani. He smiled at her awkwardly as they approached each other. He felt a rush of happiness when he saw that she had his silly necklace on. "Happy Christmas Harry," she grinned, throwing her arms around his neck. He gratefully accepted her into his arms, embracing her tightly.

"Happy Christmas to you too," he whispered. She stepped back, looking him in the eye.

"Thanks so much for the necklace, I love it," she smiled, twiddling it with her fingers. Harry smiled back.

"I'm glad."

Shani then looked down, her cheeks turning red. "I got you something too," she said quietly. Harry laughed at her shyness.

"Really? You didn't have to," he smiled, taking her back into his arms. She giggled, reaching into her pocket and pulling out a small box. "What is it?" Harry asked. Shani raised an eyebrow.

"Just open it, silly," she teased. Harry obeyed and opened the little box. Inside thin chain with a small white pendant hanging from it. He lifted it out of the box delicately, inspecting the white ornament. It appeared to be some sort of natural stone, still in its natural shape.

"What is it?"

"It's a charm," Shani explained, helping him slip it over his head. "It's meant to protect you from evil," she added. "So it might keep Fleur away."

"It's fantastic," he said, laughing. He kissed her forehead, feeling the pendant rest against his chest. It gave him a strange sensation, almost as if it was humming or radiating heat. He tucked it into his sweater. "Shani, I have to go do something for a bit," Harry said, taking her hand in his.

"Oh?"

"Nothing important, I just need to talk to Hagrid," Harry explained briefly. Shani nodded.

"OK, I'll see you later then?"

"Of course," he smiled, leaning in for a kiss. Shani blushed as she gave him a small peck. "I'll be back soon." With that, Harry turned and jogged out of the room towards Hagrid's hut. As he neared the door, he could hear some loud clanging coming from the back of the hut. Harry walked around to the back and saw his large friend Hagrid tossing a few flower pots out of a shed.

"Hagrid!" Harry called out over the noise. Hagrid didn't hear him. "HAGRID!" Finally, Hagrid turned around to see Harry.

"Harry! Happy Christmas! Did ye get my gift?" he asked gruffly. Harry nodded.

"Yeah, thanks. It's great," he grinned. "Anyway, I'm here to ask you something," he said, the smile fading from his face.

"What's happened? Is something wrong?" Hagrid asked, concerned at Harry's sudden change of attitude.

"Is something happening with the Thestrals?" Harry blurted out. Hagrid stiffened.

"What do ye know about the Thestrals?" Hagrid asked.

"Last night, one of them…attacked me, or something," Harry replied.

"Attacked ye? Are ye sure?" Hagrid looked concerned, sitting down.

"Well, I'm not really sure. I heard it outside and I went to see what it was. It was invisible at first, and then it sort of charged me. It didn't touch me though, just scared me. Then it just flew away," Harry recapped the events from the previous night.

"Might as well tell ye the truth then, eh?" Hagrid sighed. "Somethin's happenin' in the forest. Dumbledore's told ye a little, but somethin' big is happenin'. Creatures are leavin', dunno why. Ye saw the Spiders leavin' yerself," Hagrid spoke solemnly.

"So the Thestrals are running away too?" Harry asked.

"No, I see um runnin' around still, but they're a lot more active than usual, somethin's exciting um. Some people think they're bad omens, Harry. If one showed itself to ye, maybe it was tryin' to tell ye somethin'," Hagrid finishished, rubbing his hands together in the cold.

"What about the other creatures? The unicorns? Are they still here?"

"Hard to say, unicorns aren't easy to find anyway," Hagrid replied. Harry nodded. "Anyway, I've got work to do, ye go enjoy yer Christmas. If anythin' else happin's, tell me," Hagrid finished, patting Harry roughly on the back. Harry smiled.

"I will, thanks." Harry then jogged back up to the castle, thankful to get out of the cold. He made a quick detour in the direction of the library. Sure enough, he found Hermione.

"Hey," Harry called out. Hermione squealed and dropped the book she was carrying, looking up.

"Harry! You scared the hell out of me," Hermione exclaimed, recollecting herself. Harry looked around and saw that the library was really deserted. "What are you doing here?"

"Hermione, if I tell you something, will you keep it a secret?" Harry asked, sitting down at one of the study tables.

Hermione's expression of surprise changed to concern. "What? What happened? I mean, of course," Hermione muttered, leaning closer to Harry.

"Last night, something happened. A Thestral kind of…appeared to me outside," Harry spoke quietly. "I just need to know what that meant, or if I should even be worrying about it."

"A Thestral? Hold on a minute," Hermione spoke while walking away towards a shelf. She pulled out a large book called Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. She began to read it aloud as she walked back over to Harry. "Thestrals are the most elusive and least horse-like breed of magical horse. They have earned an undeserved reputation as omens of evil. They are visible only to those who have witnessed and accepted a death, and their appearance is skeletal, fleshless. Thestrals have fangs, are attracted by the smell of blood, and will occasionally go after birds. Their wings are capable of very fast flight for at least several hours at a time, though they usually spend their time on the ground, and they have an excellent sense of direction. Blah blah blah," Hermione said, skipping over some of the more unimportant information. "That's really all it says," Hermione said, handing the book to Harry. Harry skimmed over the passage that Hermione had just read to him. There was a small picture next to the block of text. Harry sighed, closing the book.

"What exactly happened?" Hermione asked, leaning back in her chair.

"I dunno, I just heard it outside, so I went out to look," Harry recapped. "Then, it sort of charged me and appeared out of thin air just before it reached me. I dunno, I don't think it was trying to hurt me," Harry finished, looking up.

"Well, I wouldn't take it as an omen or anything, but it may mean something," Hermione said, pulling the book onto her lap.

"It was strange, I got the feeling that it was trying to…I dunno, warn me?" Harry said, feeling stupid the moment the words left his lips.

"Warn you?"

Harry turned closer to Hermione. "You know something's happening, we all do," Harry began. "Dumbledore's just not telling us-"

"Maybe Dumbledore doesn't know," Hermione shrugged.

"What? You don't think it's Voldemort?" Harry asked, surprised. Hermione shrugged again.

"I don't know, it might be?" Hermione replied, leaning forward onto the table. "There's always something new brewing now isn't there?" she said with a slight smile. "Nothing you can't handle."

Harry laughed. Just then, Ron came into the library. Hermione visibly stiffened in her seat. "Harry!" Ron squeaked. "Hermione."

"Hi Ron," Hermione said, scooping a few books into her hands, clutching them tightly.

"Hey Ron, I didn't know you knew where the library was," Harry joked. Ron didn't laugh, neither did Hermione.

"Erm, yeah, I was just…" Ron looked around, trailing off. "Looking for a book."

"You've made the right decision coming here then, being as how this IS where the books live," Hermione said dryly. Harry laughed quietly.

"Anyway, I'm going back," Harry said, his mind falling back to Shani. "Coming Ron?" he asked, walking towards the main hall.

"What? Oh, no. The book, remember?" Ron said, turning around and awkwardly waving to Harry as he left. Harry shrugged his shoulders, quite accustomed to Ron's antics. Ron let out a whoosh of air the moment Harry was out of ear shot.

"God, Ron. You are a miserable liar," Hermione giggled. Ron blushed.

"I wasn't ready. I mean, honestly. Can you think up a reason for my being in the library?" Hermione opened her mouth to speak but Ron cut her off. "One that sounds credible?" he added. Hermione laughed.

"I suppose not," she finished, standing up. Ron walked over to her.

"That's what I thought," he said, grinning. He then leaned forward and gave her a deep kiss, holding her close to him.

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