Magical Origins
Year 1: The First Christmas
Harry woke up and looks to at Blaises' bed to find it empty. Thinking his roommate is in the bathroom, he was surprised to see it empty and hasn't been touch. Making his way to the Common Room, Harry was surprised to see it was very empty.
"Hey Artemis, where is everyone?" Harry asked the Prefect.
"It's the holidays, remember? Everyone has gone home," Artemis said.
Harry suddenly remembered. Blaise had gone home to his mother, where she was taking him to Italy to visit his grandparents. Only a few Slytherin's had decided to remain behind to enjoy the Christmas holidays at Hogwarts. One of the people who left to Harry's great joy was Draco Malfoy. Draco was still harping that Weasley didn't get caught and even more so that Ron had the nerve to call them out because they didn't show. Something that made Harry happy because he wouldn't have to listen to Malfoy for the rest of the holidays.
For the next several days, Harry spent his time exploring the castle. He would soon learn to his great disappointment, the Weasley's and Lily were also staying behind. Lily apparently did not wish to return and instead remain at Hogwarts. The Weasley's parents were visiting the second oldest son Charlie in Romania. Leaving the rest of the Weasley's to stay at Hogwarts.
After the third week of break, Harry woke up with a smile on his face. For the first time in his young life, he was looking forward to a Christmas.
Harry woke up and could see presents hanging off the side of his bed. Getting up and thanking that he could act like a kid, he opens the presents up. First, he opens Blaises' gift, which turns out to be a book of Modern Spells and Defensives. Harry eagerly flip through the first pages and could tell he was going to enjoy reading this book.
Draco had given him several books, as well. Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy had sent him chocolate with every wizard card. They also express their interest in having Harry visit their Manor since he was friends with their only son. Harry wasn't too sure about becoming friends with the Malfoys so soon. Artemis had given him a dragon fang necklace that would protect him from potions, magical influence, and certain spells. According to her, it will save his life as long as he wears it. She also sent him some private pictures of herself in witches lingerie. Harry swore she did this to get a reaction from him, and she even hinted he could use these pictures for when he gets older and needs them. Harry hated how she knew how to tease him.
The giant Hagrid, whom Harry has never spoken to, sent him a package too. It was a picture album of whom Hagrid claimed to be his parents since their first years at Hogwarts. Harry eagerly look through the pages and couldn't stop the tears from falling down his face. He looks at his mother, a beautiful young witch who had just graduated from Hogwarts and had a smile on her face. She looked like she was fifteen years old, but the date claimed she was seventeen. Harry could also see she was a Gryffindor like Lily. Harry looked at her first-year picture and could have sworn Lily look just like her. Harry could see her eyes look just like his. He knew people told him he had his mother's eyes, but now he could see how he had her eyes. He opens the page and could see several letters that were enchanted to fit the small album and to be read.
"Dear Sirus,
Thank you so much for getting little Harry, his toy broomstick. James claims he's a natural and can grow up to be a better Quidditch player than himself. I just wish the war wasn't so bad; otherwise, James could pursue his dream of being a professional Quidditch player. Harry is such a bright boy too, you would be so proud of him. We had to place bouncing charms on everything so Harry won't go breaking everything. He's already got a habit of breaking the horrible vase Petunia sent me. Not that I'm complaining. Now he's into a game of chasing our cat. I don't think the cat likes it, but he knows better than to try and hurt Harry. I think the cat knows Harry is just a baby and doesn't understand what he's doing. Thank Merlin for that.
I'm also writing to discuss our plans involving Peter. James and I talked about it, and we agree Peter is a much better choice. I mean, Voldemort would never look at Peter to find us would he? I hope not, Peter has not been himself, the death toll has been rising, and some of our friends from school are dying. It's only been two years since we graduated and we are already disappearing.
James has always told me how he wished he could have a sibling and how he wants Harry to be a big brother. Honestly, having one child nearly felt like the end of me. I sometimes think James and I rush into things too soon because of the war. I don't want Harry to grow up alone, so the idea of letting him play with a younger sibling would be good for him.
I feel so depress Sirus, I keep getting an uneasy feeling that something terrible is going to happen.
Don't tell James but the other day Voldemort asked me to join him again. Me a muggle-born to join him.
Alicia says Neville is growing up as fast as Harry. I'm glad to say both boys are already proven to be good friends. A Longbottom and Potter stay side by side. That's what James says. Harry is so happy he doesn't even realize the danger he is in. If what Dumbledore told us is true, then Voldemort is after Harry for unknown reasons.
Anyways, I want you to know that I give you my 'Heart' and I hope you'll see your godson soon. James also wants me to tell you to begin.
Lots of Love; Lady Lily Potter nee Evans."
Harry stared at the letter and realized most of the words were written in code. They had a hidden meaning in them. Who was Sirus, and who was Peter? Her mother was only eighteen when she had him. That was incredibly young to be married and have children. What made Harry curious was that he already knew Neville when they were babies. This was news to him and shocking. Rereading the letter, he had a smile on his face knowing that this Sirus gave him a toy broomstick when he was one year old. His father was proud to say he would be a natural Quidditch star. Harry paused and thought about it. It would be nice to try and play Quidditch for Slytherin. Though he would have to wait till his second year before trying out.
If he read this right, he realized his mother was only twenty years old when she died.
Harry set it aside, knowing he had more questions than answers. He looks at a very slim package and could see it was very light. Opening it, he saw it was a cloak.
Putting it on, Harry looks down to see how it looked on him only to jump back in shock. He dropped the cloak and was realized to see his body was still intact. Putting on the cloak, he then realized this cloak had the power to make the user invisible. This, which made Harry smile, would be very useful.
'Your father left this in my possession before he died. It has come to the time where it shall be returned to you. Use it well.' A note said. Setting it down, Harry looked at his other gifts.
"What's this?" Harry said as he opens a square looking box. Opening the box, he was taken back by a loud bang before he was suddenly blinded by a bright flash of light. It took Harry a while, but he was finally able to see. Opening his eyes, he read the letter attach to the box and realized it was from Lily.
'Cheers, hope you enjoy the Dusngbombs I got from Fred and Georg. Don't worry; that's for not showing up at the duel. I gave you some chocolates and some new shoes, Merlin knows you need them. Cheers, Lily…. P.S. Have a good Christmas. Also, meet me tonight on the fourth floor near the east wing at nine. I got something to show you, I swear this is not a joke or payback of any kind. I got something I want to show you that I think you'll be interested in.'
"I am so not going to eat those chocolates. She could have poisoned them for all I know." Harry said, and he tosses them in the garbage.
"Hermione, wake up, its Christmas," Lily shouted as she jumps up and down on top of Hermione.
"Let me sleep, we got all day," Hermione mumbled.
"Oh no, you don't, you're not going back to sleep on me, little miss know-it-all," Lily said, jumping down. She grabbed Hermione's blanket and yank them off.
"Lily, it's freezing," Hermione shouted.
"Get up, we got presents," Lily shouted. She was already dressed and trying to get her roommate to come down the stairs.
"If I get up, will you leave me alone?" Hermione said.
"Maybe," Lily said.
"Okay, I'm up," Hermione said, yawning as she sat on the edge of her four-poster bed.
Lily ran down the stairs to see Ron already opening his presents. He was wearing a maroon sweater with the large letter 'W' on it.
"You're up to about time," Ron said as he was eating some chocolate.
"Hermione didn't want to get up," Lily said as she reaches towards her presents. She began to tear them up and could see her father had bought her some magical clothes that could change the way you want on a doll, and the robes would mimic the doll. Lily's eyes open wide, knowing she was going to have a lot of fun with the doll and robes. Hermione had unsurprising got her some books. Ron had gotten her owl treats for her owl. He made a note saying he couldn't afford anything but promise to get her a better gift the next time he got some money. Lily doubt he could afford anything nice as his family was destitute.
She then realized Potter had sent her a gift as well in a small box. Opening it carefully and praying it was something terrible, she opens it only for yellow pus to emerge from the box. Ron and Lily started coughing uncontrollably before they remove the lid. Inside was Pumpkin pastes and surprising a book. "The Art of Fire." It was called, and Lily couldn't understand what it was about until she pop opens the book, and inside was every known magical fire ability.
'Hey Freckles, I'm sure you are going to send me a horrible gift, so I prank your gift knowing you would prank mine. I have come to the conclusion that you are a fire elemental, and you have some control over fire magic. Last week someone sent me this book with the note to pass it onto you. I hope you understand that I'm doing this, so you don't do something stupid with your abilities. Please don't ruin Christmas for me; I'm hoping to have a simple Christmas this year.
Harry.'
"You smell horrible," Hermione said, wiggling her nose.
"Potter!" Lily screamed as she smelled herself. She smelled like a skunk had just sprayed her.
"Oh, this is hilarious, the two of you really think alike," Hermione said.
"Hey, I sent him chocolate and shoes," Lily said.
"The shoes will bite his toes, and the chocolate will make sure he'll spend the rest of his vacation sitting on the loo," Hermione said.
"I forgot," Lily said with a small laugh.
"Nice Lily, I hope he eats them till he pukes," Ron said.
Harry made his way to the Great Hall and spotted Professor Flitwick immediately. Walking towards the Professor, Harry stood there waiting for him to finish speaking to Professor Vector.
"Yes, Potter, are you having a good Christmas?" Professor Flitwick asked.
"Yes, Professor, I got a gift from the Ground Keeper Hagrid containing photos and letters from my parents," Harry said in a slow voice.
"Yes, he was good friends with your parents." Professor Flitwick said.
"Well, one of the letters has a lot of, er I guess you could say questions in them," Harry said in a slow voice.
"Questions you say?"
"Yes, read it yourself," Harry said as he handed the letter to the tiny Professor.
Professor Flitwick read the letter, and he frowns as he read it.
"This doesn't seem like your mother. She would have written a second page in her letter, this is too short." Professor Flitwick said.
"Yes, but my question is, who is Sirus and Peter?" Harry asked.
"Sirus Black was your father's best friend during their time together at Hogwarts."
"It mentions that he's my godfather, where is he? Did he perish too during the last war?" Harry asked.
"No, Mr. Potter, he is serving a life sentence in the Wizarding Prison Azkaban."
"Why is he in prison?"
"He betrayed your parents and sold them out." Professor Flitwick said in a hoarse sort of voice.
Harry felt a pang enter his stomach, knowing his parents were dead, and any hopes of having a sibling were gone because of him.
"What about Peter?" Harry asked in a slow voice dreading the answer.
"Sirus Black killed him two nights after he betrayed your parents. He attempted to track him down and bring Sirus Black to justice, but he lost his life. The biggest piece we could find of him was his right index finger." Professor Flitwick said.
"Professor, can you explain parts of the letter to me? Something about using Peter in their plans. What does that mean?" Harry asked.
"To be honest, I don't know. Your parents disappeared for a full year before their untimely death. Whatever plans they had with Peter Pettigrew, remains buried with them." Professor Flitwick said.
"There is one person who knows, Sirus Black. This letter says he knows. Can't we ask him?" Harry said, eagerly.
"I'm afraid not, you can't go to Azkaban just too asked questions to an inmate." Professor Flitwick said.
"Can I see the trail records then?" Harry asked.
"I'm afraid there is none. The former head of Magical Law Enforcement, Bartemious Crouch threw Sirus Black in prison without a trial. The evidence was used against him was overwhelming." Professor Flitwick said.
"I want to hear the words come from him. I want to know why he betrayed my parents when they trusted him." Harry said in a loud tone of voice. Professor Flitwick stares at Harry and gives him a calculating look.
"I'll speak to Professor Dumbledore. I shall also ask Hagrid where he got that letter." Professor Flitwick said.
At a quarter to nine, Harry finally decided to meet Lily in the corridor she asked for. He knew he was going to be late, and he half prayed she wouldn't be there, or this wasn't a trap set by Ron to get payback for tricking him into a wizards duel.
Harry arrived under his new invisibility cloak and could see Lily standing in the shadows looking around, clearly hoping he would show. Harry checks the area to make sure that this wasn't an ambush. Seeing no signs of a trap or the Weasel nearby, Harry took off his cloak.
"Alright, Freckles, what is it that you wanted to show me?" Harry said as he appeared. Lily jumps out of her skin and could stare at Harry, who was standing so close to her.
"How did you get here? I didn't see you at all." Lily asked after gathering her wits.
"My secret now, what is it you wanted to show me."
Lily paused before smirking.
"Nice colon. I see you like my gift." Lily said.
"I agree, your perfume seems to match you," Harry said, sniffing Lily scent. It reeked like a skunk. Lily smirk vanishes, and she let out a growl.
"Follow me." She said, entering a classroom. Harry hesitated before following her. The room was empty. There was nothing inside except for a giant mirror.
"You wanted to show me a mirror?" Harry said, baffled.
"A magical mirror," Lily said as she walks up to hit. She places her hand and looks almost sad. Harry walked up to the mirror and nearly leaped back in shock. He stared hard at the mirror. There standing beside him was his mother and father, precisely as they look in their pictures. There was a man who was good looking with long hair and a handsome face. He was standing by his father's side with his arm wrapped around his father's shoulders. Another man with brown hair and brown eyes was standing there, and he looked quite happy as he stood between James and Lily Potter. There were a couple of elderly people beaming at Harry.
"What do you see?" Lily asked.
"My…" Harry croaked. His voice was starting to become very dry, and it was hard to talk. "My family." Harry finally said.
"Same here. I see my mother,"
"Indeed, Miss Morris, I see you brought Mr. Potter here." A voice behind them said. Standing behind them was Professor Dumbledore with Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape. Lily and Harry both paused in fear knowing at once they were out of bounds.
"Professors. We were…" Lily said in a small voice.
"No need to explain yourself. Curiosity is a curious thing, is it not." Professor Dumbledore said as he gave them a gentle smile.
"I see you like so many others before you have discovered the delights of the Mirror of Erised." Professor Dumbledore said.
"I wasn't aware it had a name, Professor Dumbledore," Lily said.
"Yes, you if you read what it says, Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on woshi. Do you know what it means?" Dumbledore asked gently. Lily and Harry shook their heads.
"I show not your face, but your hearts desire. Do you understand what that means?" Dumbledore asks gently. It was clear to Harry, and Lily Dumbledore wasn't going to punish them. They shook their heads.
Let me explain; you can take the happiest man on earth, and if he stares into the mirror, he will see himself exactly as he is. For you, Lily, you've had to deal with growing up without the love of a parent you so desperately needed. You see yourself, standing beside your father and your mother, a woman you needed in your life but was taken from you when you very young. As for Mr. Potter, who never knew his family sees them standing beside him, proud and happy. You two share so much in common it's a shame the houses set you two apart." Professor Dumbledore said as he looks at the two of them. "Now, I must tell you that no punishment will be given to you. The Mirror of Erised will be moved to a new home tonight, and I must ask both of you, not to go looking for the mirror again. Many have been driven to madness because they believed to have believed the mirror tells them their fate. This mirror does no such thing. It only shows you the illusion of what you want and nothing else." Dumbledore said in a heavy stern voice.
"Professor, er, what do you see when you look at the mirror?" Lily asked in a calm voice.
"Me, I see myself holding a pair of woolen socks. One can never have enough socks, but another Christmas has come and gone, and I have yet to receive a pair. People consist of sending me books, always thinking I would enjoy them rather than finding something to do with the children I am in charge of," Dumbledore said in a sad voice.
Harry knew at once Dumbledore was lying. He couldn't explain it, but something in his gut told him Dumbledore wasn't truthful about what he saw in the mirror.
"Sir, I have a question. Did Voldemort ever look in the mirror?" Harry asked.
Dumbledore blinks, clearly not expecting Harry to ask such a question.
"Yes, he saw himself standing above all others. As far as I know, he is still stuck in the illusion that he is destined to be the greatest wizard. I know he lost his dreams after he found the mirror." Dumbledore said softly. It was clear Dumbledore knew more about the subject then he was letting on. Harry didn't press the matter as he could tell Dumbledore did not wish to continue.
Harry and Lily went back to their dorms in silence.
Hermione was beside herself. Lily had come back and explains he was caught out of bounds, but Dumbledore didn't give her any punishment.
"I thought you were supposed to be looking for Nicholas Flamel. What were you doing staring at a mirror?" Hermione demanded.
"I saw my mother," Lily said.
"What?"
"Unlike you, Hermione, who still lives with her parents, and they've been supportive of you, I lost my mother when I was young. That mirror was enchanted to show me what I truly desired."
"I don't know Lily, that mirror seems to be dangerous."
"Dumbledore said as much. I'm not going to look for it again; the Mirror of Erised is moving to a new home, so I won't be able to look for it anymore." Lily said as she collapses on the chair.
"You okay, Lily?" Ron asked, seeing his friend looking down.
"Yeah, it's just… Dumbledore was right. That mirror can drive one into madness. I want to go back and see my mother again, but I know I have to give up on seeing her again and focus on what's in front of me instead of the past."
"I didn't know you lost your mother."
"Yeah, I was one. There was a car crash, and my mother died. That's really all my dad would tell me."
"I'm sorry," Hermione said, trying to sound sad.
Lily shook her head, Hermione didn't understand, that much was certain.
"It's okay, it happened ten Halloween's ago," Lily said as she shook her head.
"Did you say ten years ago, Lily?" Ron asked, suddenly.
"Yeah, I did, in Merthyr Tydfil. That's where my mom and dad use to live, why?"
Ron looked suddenly shocked.
"Lily, Merthyr Tydfil holds a wizarding village, Godric's Hollow. It's a place where You-Know-Who vanished ten years ago on Halloween." Ron said, suddenly aghast.
"Do you think there's a connection?" Hermione asked at once.
"I don't know. I'll ask dad if he could investigate for me."
Lily said nothing but wondered how Harry was doing. She wondered why no one ever seemed to care about how Harry felt. She was hoping to run into him again and try to make up for her silly prank.
Author Notes: Someone is helping Harry and Lily from the shadows away from the prying and protective eyes of Albus Dumbledore. Is this person a friend or a foe?
