Chapter Six: Phantom Attack

"What's going on?" Harry asked Tracey and Theodore, glancing around the hallways. The whispers seemed to have increased tenfold since he'd last walked through these halls, and the Hogwarts population seemed on the verge of panic.

"Another attack. The Gryffindor ghost got petrified-"

"Nick?" Harry interrupted, "Bloody hell."

"Along with some Hufflepuff.." Nott finished.

"Finch-Fletchley. Same guy your pal there," Tracey motioned toward the black snake that was Harry's constant companion lately, "attacked the other night."

"Great. Just great," Harry muttered sarcastically. "And Silas never actually attacked him anyway. Not that I would have blamed him if he had, having just been magically transported to a strange place and dropped from ten feet in the air."

"The thing has a name now?" Tracey asked incredulously. Nott rolled his eyes, and Harry glared at her. Tracey just laughed.

"Nick? But I always thought he and Nick got along..." Dean Thomas muttered as the Gryffindor second years headed back to the common room that after lunch.

"They do." Neville snapped furiously, much to the shock of everyone around them.

"Look, Neville, I know he's your potions partner, but-"

"He's my friend."

"And mine." Hermione had reached them. Dean looked a bit taken aback, and drew slightly away from the crowd with the two of them.

"You really don't think it's him, then?"

"Of course not!" said Hermione emphatically.

"I admit I'd never think it was him from what I know of him, but I'd never have thought he'd be in Slytherin, either. And he was plotting a soccer tournament with us last year... has he ever expressed any opinions on muggles?"

"I asked him what muggles were like once-" Neville began, and at Dean's startle look added, "well, I've never met one! Anyhow, he said they were all- er- they're all different... just like everyone else. Something like that. Listen, why don't you come with us to see him?"

"Well... I guess I will. He always was good company."

"Who's this then, another mudblood?" asked Tracey when Hermione and Neville arrived with Dean. Hermione glared at her fiercely. "Muggleborn then. Well, are you going to answer me?"

"Yes, I think so."

"Think so? Are you or aren't you?"

"Tracey!" Harry exclaimed.

"I don't actually know who my father is. He disappeared before I was born."

"That'd have been during the war," Tracey commented thoughtfully.

"I'd never thought of that. It'd be rather interesting to know if... well..."

Harry nodded. "We can try and help out if you'd like."

"Thanks. I'll try and find out his name over break, then."

An abnormally large number of students were leaving to go home for Christmas, the panicked masses anxious to get home for the holidays in addition to the students who normally left over break. Only the Weasleys, Harry, Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, and a small assortment of Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs (none of them second years) were staying.

Harry, Fred and George went to see the others off, waving as the train flew down the tracks and out of sight amidst swirling waves of snow.

"Anyone left in your house, Harry?"

"Just Malfoy and a few of his lot." The twins exchanged a look at this.

"Please, attack him next," joked Fred.

"Come on, you're coming to Gryffindor tower with us."

Harry allowed himself to be dragged toward Gryffindor tower. Unfortunately, they ran into Percy "Prefect" Weasley on the way.

"What do you two think you're up to?"

"Move out of the way, Percy, Harry's in a hurry."

"Yeah, he's off to the chamber of secrets for a cup of tea with his fanged servant."

"It's no laughing matter! And besides, that's the way to Gryffindor tower."

"Yep." and with that, the twins pushed past him, dragging Harry with them, leaving Percy glaring after them.

Harry woke early Christmas morning- or rather was woken by two grinning Weasleys. He'd stayed the night in the fifth year Gryffindor dorm with the twins. To his surprise, he found a pile of packages at the foot of his bed.

There was a package of Zonkos prank supplies from the twins, a homemade sweater from their mother (we did mention you in a few letters, and we think Ginny did too...), a luxury eagle feather quill from Hermione, a book of hexes and curses from Tracey, a book on Salazar Slytherin from Theodore, and surprisingly (or perhaps not), a green velvet cape with a silver snake clasp from Draco Malfoy. The twins found it extremely amusing, and insisted he wear it along with the Weasley sweater, making for an extremely strange looking outfit.

Finally, he had only one package left to open. The note attached to it read:

"Harry,

Your father left this in my possession before he died.

I leave it to you now, although you probably won't need it.

Use it wisely."

There was no signature. Inside, Harry found something made of flowing silvery fabric.

"Blimey, an invisibility cloak!" exclaimed George.

"It makes people invisible?"

"What else would it do, turn you silver?" said Fred.

"You both can borrow it then," Harry replied, tossing it over to the twins.

"Are you sure? I mean, I know it's Christmas, but you've already-" George motioned toward the bag of galleons Harry had given them, labeled with a note reading "for the joke shop."

Harry turned invisible, and back again. "I'm sure."

Fred snorted. "Right then, mate, just let us know when you'd like to use it for something."

A few moments later Gryffindor tower became complete chaos as the twins took advantage of the cloak to wake the rest of their family, invisible, before heading down to the Great Hall. Ron was wary of Harry as usual, Ginny was rather quiet and seemed strangely fascinated by him, and Percy seemed reluctant to hang out with his family at all, but none of that could quell the laughter that dominated Christmas day, from the feast to the snowball fights to the evening hanging out by the Gryffindor common room fire. Fred and George spent the evening teaching Harry their charm to batter people with snowballs (he had to practice on cushions), Ginny watched and wrote in her diary, and Ron played chess with Percy. Harry made a mental note to challenge the youngest Weasley to a game before break ended. All in all, it had been a good day.

It couldn't last forever of course, Harry knew, there were plenty of things he'd have to deal with soon if he was going to stay alive much longer, but today was good.