Chapter 10: Christmas Reflections

Disclaimer: I do not own Bioshock or Harry Potter each of them belong to their respective owners.

"Christmas Time"

The song started on the radio, Harry groaned as he pulled the pillow over his head. Whoever had left that Radio in the dorm room was going to suffer if he had anything to say about it.

"Mistletoe and Wine."

Oh wait, they weren't here. Harry realised that in annoyance and reached out of his bed, grabbing one of his shoes and throwing it in the direction of the radio. He smiled into his pillow as he heard the smash of the object being hit and then falling to the floor. "Peace and Quiet." He muttered closing his eyes again, he wasn't in a rush to get up, he wasn't expecting anything to arrive for him, he never had before even though this time was different. This time he had friends. He opened an eye, peering around the otherwise deserted room, there was indeed a small pile of presents waiting for him, he smiled happily then yawned and closed his eyes again. They could wait.

Sleep now, presents later.

Two hours of extra sleep later he was awoken by something landing on his bed. "Wake up Harry!" The oh so familiar and happy voice of Elizabeth called and he opened his eyes. "How are you sleeping at a time like this?" She asked excitedly, "It's Christmas, gifts! Presents! I've been waiting for you to come downstairs for the last half an hour." She commented with a slight pout.

"I was tired, am still tired." He protested sleepily, pulling the pillow over his head and she laughed.

"Come on Harry, I'm waiting on you to open presents." She said to him pulling the pillow off his head and he slowly pulled himself up into a sitting position. he looked at her face, blurry as it was because of the lack of glasses but even he could see the bright smile that she had. It was the first proper Christmas for both of them. For her, she had been locked away, Christmas wasn't a thing that she was involved with growing up outside of the Religious Aspects of it but even then, she didn't practice it because she was alone, she found little to pray for except for Freedom and even then, she put more faith in her own actions to escape rather than the actions of a higher power. Harry was the same in that regards, they both were isolated, though he had to watch from the side-lines as Dudley was given presents, each year the number increasing and each year Harry would get nothing or worse than nothing, a present that was solely given to try and break his spirit. What kind of gift was a coat hanger? Or a pair of used socks? Elizabeth passed him his glasses, he slipped them onto his face as she stood up. "Now come on, get downstairs, and bring your presents with you." She continued excitedly and disappeared back out of the room.

He dragged himself out of the bed, his tiredness vanishing as he stepped into the cool air of the room and shivered, quickly getting changed and then finally turning his attention to the presents. A nice sized pile of presents all wrapped in a variety of different wrapping paper. Each had a label on it and each was from a different person that he could see. He had sent out mail orders for gifts for other people and he had picked up a few things when he had been in Rapture for a few others and had sent them out, he hoped they arrived in time and if not, he hoped the others wouldn't mind. It was all still quite a new concept to him, the giving and receiving of gifts.

He looked at the pile and tried to work out how to get them all downstairs before shrugging it off, he'd open some now, take them down to where Elizabeth was waiting and then get the rest in a little while. Without looking as to who's gifts he had grabbed, he took them downstairs, he entered the Common Room to see Elizabeth with a smaller pile by her chair and he placed his down on the floor and sat on the sofa. "Merry Christmas Elizabeth." He said happily and she beamed at him in response.

"Merry Christmas Harry," She said and with that the two started to open the presents.

The first was from Terry, the boy had bought him a book, Quidditch Through the Ages, he flicked it open looking at some of the different pages before carefully closing it again, he looked at Elizabeth, she was also placing a book to the side before moving over to the next one. He saw the present that he had got her off to the side and smiled before turning back, he had a present from Hermione, another book to add to his collection 'Defending the Defenceless: A guide to basic defensive spells' That was a book he'd definitely read and very soon. He placed it down next to the other, a book from Su Li and he couldn't help but smile as he looked at Elizabeth. "With the number of books I'm getting, I should probably start my own library." He joked but it did nothing to hide the gratitude he felt for these gifts.

"Well, I know who to borrow books from in the future." Elizabeth said as she finished opening her second gift, also one from Hermione and another book was soon added to the collection. The two continued going through their gifts and added other bits and pieces including a variety of sweets to the collection and soon Harry was left with three presents, something that felt like another book from Hagrid, a gift from Elizabeth and a gift that he didn't recognise. He took the one from Hagrid, looking at the note he smiled, remembering to thank Hagrid the next time he saw him. He pulled off the wrapper, taking care to not break or damage the cover.

Hagrid had been meaning to talk to Harry for a while, and after hearing from Bathsheda and McGonagall about him, the man had taken it upon himself to contact several of his parent's old friends and had been happy enough to send photos for a photo album that Hagrid had worked on for him. He opened it, looking at the photos, taking a stuttering breath he looked at the photo's his hand running across it gently as he looked at them, seeing his parents and he sighed sadly. It was a gift that he loved, he had barely seen what they looked like but at the same time, he thought about what he had missed out on. Slowly he closed the album and placed it with the books, looking down at the gift from Elizabeth. "I wasn't sure what to get you, so I thought of something practical. Two things actually, a book and a wand holster." She said as he tore off the wrapper, inside was a simple box, he took the lid off and looked at the items in question The book title was covered by the wand holster and he looked up at her. "With someone out trying to kill you I thought that the best would be something practical, the books is something the Lutece Twins wrote, it may be a bit on the difficult side to understand right now but it should help you understand a few things in the future." She explained as he took it, looking at it. "I know it's not much but..." She trailed off as he smiled at her again.

"It's perfect, thank you." Harry said quickly as he looked to attach it to his wrist, he then turned his attention to the book in question, Barriers to Trans-Dimensional Travel – R. Lutece. As he was doing this, Elizabeth lifted up her gift from Harry, the box was small but that didn't mean anything as she opened it up, inside was a pendant on a necklace. "I saw it when we were in Arcadia, you've already got that one with a bird, it looked like it matched." He said as she lifted the necklace out, looking at the pendant that had a cage on it, she held it in her hands her mind going back to when she had first escaped the tower with Booker and she had received one from the Lutece Twins.

"It's perfect," she said, echoing the words that he had used moments before looking at it intently, the caged bird, that's what she had been, and now she had broken free and spread her wings.

Your father left this cloak in my possession before he died. It is time it was returned to you. Use it well.

Harry looked at the last note, the writing was extravagant and flowing and not signed, he looked at it curiously, peeling the wrapper away a shimmering fabric fell into his lap. he lifted it up letting it run across his fingers, looking at it in confusion. "What is it?" Elizabeth asked as Harry held it.

"It's a cloak." Harry replied as he looked at it, standing up and letting the wrapping paper fall to the floor. "It belonged to my father..." Harry said quietly as he pulled it on. Elizabeth stared in shock, where Harry had been there was now just a floating head. "Harry..." She started in surprise. "Where's your body?" She asked and he looked at her in confusion before looking down.

"My body, it's gone!" He said in shock.

"You've been given a cloak that grants invisibility?" She asked in surprise and awe. How much she would have killed for that when trying to escape from Columbia. "That's incredible." She said breathlessly as Harry still looked around at himself, hidden by the cloak. He flicked it up over his head, completely vanishing from view. "Harry, what are you up to?" She asked with a smirk on her face as she listened for his movement, though his shoeless feet were quiet on the carpeted floor. "Don't even think about it Harry." She warned playfully before gasping as the cloak was thrown over head too.

"This cloak is huge, it could easily hide both of us and possibly another person," He said from behind her.

"And what do you plan to do with the cloak?" She asked as she pulled it off both of them, stepping away from him and turning back around to face him, holding it in her arms before she interrupted him before he could speak. "Actually, don't answer that, if I don't know I can't be a teacher and stop it." She said with a laugh and holding it out to Harry.

"Good point," Harry agreed, taking the cloak and with that, they left their gifts stacked tidily, knowing that they were the only two in the Ravenclaw Dorm at the moment and made their way down to breakfast.

HPCVHPCVHPCV

That night, Harry was out under the cloak, making a beeline towards the one place that he was intending to go to with the cloak. The Restricted Section, he knew that if any books that were focused on the study of the killing curse, in fact any of the unforgivable curses and studies done on the spells would interest him at this point. It wasn't the killing curse itself that he wanted to study but more how it worked, how it interacted with the body when cast. Maybe he could find some hint on to how it worked and then come up with some ideas as to how his mother protected him all those years ago.

He was walking slowly as he made his way down, he didn't want to take the chance that one of the professors over heard him as they did their nightly patrols, nor did he want Filch and his cat to find him either. Then he'd probably never see the cloak again. He entered the library, the door groaning in protest as it was pushed open, he held his breath even though it didn't change the sound the door made, making his way slowly into the room and closing it behind him, looking around he didn't see anyone but he realised that even Madam Pince needed to sleep at some point. Part of him thought that she was going to turn up somewhere, sleep walking the aisles in her attempt to guard the books from any possible theft or harm. He made his way through the stacks, making his way to the Restricted Section as quickly as possible, the sooner he got in the sooner he got out. arriving at the door to the Restricted section he pushed it open carefully, preparing to run if an alarm of some description sounded. There was silence and darkness and not much else so he made his way in, the darkness of the room surrounded him, forcing him to light his wand to guide the way, he knew it would stand out if anyone came near here but it was either that or not see which direction he was going in.

The book titles were quickly apparent why they were in the restricted section the book titles almost as horrifying as the contents they no doubt held, he walked past them, toying with taking a look but at the same time, not wanting to even touch them. He pulled back his cloak, letting his head free from the cloak to get a better look he saw one name that stood out to him. Understanding the Unforgivables: A study of the Unforgivable Curses. This was probably his best bet. He picked up the book, walking over to a table and placing it down, removing the cloak, it was an unassuming black book with silver writing on the cover, the only reason he had properly seen it was because of the light reflecting off of it. he looked around, still he was alone and opened up the book.

It screamed.

Harry jumped back, the book screaming loudly at him, a face almost coming out of the pages as the sound tore through the air. He recovered quickly, slamming the book shut, the scream muffled but not completely gone.

"Who's there!?" A voice called out, Harry recognising it as Filch and cursed, throwing on his cloak and extinguishing his wand. He made his way quickly back to the door, ducking out and under Filch's arm as he held up the lantern looking into the darkness, trying to see the intruder. Harry held his breath, backing away as he did, Filch reached out in the direction that he had moved, feeling something brush past him but not seeing anything. "Show yourself, I know your here." Filch called but Harry wasn't going to do anything like that, ducking down another aisle in the library. Filch grunted in annoyance, realising his target was gone and disappeared into the darkness. No doubt heading to find one of the professors. Harry let out the breath that he was holding, making his way out of the library and heading up towards the door, get out, get back to the Ravenclaw Common Room and pretend this disaster of a hunt had never happened. He exited the library, walking along the corridor acutely aware of a feeling on the back of his neck that he was being followed. he stopped glancing back around, he couldn't see anyone.

'Wait... the cat!' he looked down at the floor, there, watching the area that he was standing in confusion was Mrs Norris, the cat could smell him even if she couldn't see him. He looked at the cat, staring at it through the cloak and tried to work out how to get rid of her. There were a few passages that he could possibly escape and double back through, ones that he had found during a bit of his exploration and there were a few that he could possibly get away from her. All he'd have to do was be quick. He turned running down the corridor, trying to keep as quiet as possible, ducking behind a tapestry and running up a secret passageway, he took a left moving down the corridor, acutely aware that the cat was still following him. He looped back down another one, sliding the door shut before the cat could get down the passageway, letting out a sigh of relief Harry started the journey, he was now in the completely wrong part of the castle and had to make his way back. This evening was getting to be too long. He yawned, stepping into an archway as he heard footsteps coming from in front of him and behind him. There was a bench in the archway, Harry sat down as the two met in front of it.

"Anything happening Severus?" Bathsheda asked tiredly, she had been patrolling two floors up from the Library and even she had heard the scream of the security from the book.

"Nothing, whoever opened that book disappeared quickly." Severus spoke, looking around the corridor in disinterest, "Filch claims it was someone invisible." He explained and Bathsheda rolled her eyes.

"Are we sure it wasn't just Peeves? You know that doing something like this would be right up his street." She questioned and Severus shrugged.

"Either way it could be a distraction to take attention away from that." Snape pointed out and Bathsheda nodded in understanding. "I'll head to the corridor and keep an eye on things, you look around and see if we can find our invisible guest." He ordered and turned, walking into the darkness of the corridor.

"Aye, Aye, mon Capitan." She mocked quietly with a sarcastic salute, turning around and walking back the other way. Harry, sitting on the bench stifled a chuckle as he witnessed her response and stood up, preparing to make his way back to the dorm. But something caught his eyes. A classroom door was ajar, usually this would be nothing to be curious about but there was something sitting in there covered in a sheet. He walked in, curiosity getting the better of him, walking up to the item in question and removing the cloak, he walked around it, studying it before grabbing the cover, pulling it off.

It was a mirror, an elegant one, an inscription written across the top of it Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi He stared blankly at the writing, it looked strange, a language he didn't recognise, he'd puzzle over it later, for now, his view was drawn to the mirror.

It wasn't just him reflected in the mirror. He spun around, expecting people to be behind him, but the only thing that was there were dusty shelves and tables that had been pushed aside to make room for this mirror. He looked back at the mirror, expecting it to be just a trick of the mind, tiredness, but they were still there. A woman with red hair stood behind him, next to someone who looked like an older version of him. He froze, his breath catching as his mind clicked with what he was seeing. "Mom... Dad?" He whispered looking at the two in shock.

But there was someone else, a person standing next to him, but he couldn't see who it was, she was definitely female but the figure was hidden. He fell back, sitting on the floor looking at the mirror. These were his parents. Lily and James Potter standing behind him, what was this mirror?

Time passed, he didn't know how long, he just sat staring at the mirror, looking at his parents, was it an hour that passed? was it two? He didn't know when he finally dragged himself away, throwing the cloak on and walking out of the room. He had to tell Elizabeth about this. Moving quickly through the hallways he made his way to the Head Girl Dorm, quickly calling out the password to the picture and entering the room.

He stopped to catch his breath as the portrait swung shut behind him and he looked around the room to the bed where he could hear the gentle breathing of the sleeping Elizabeth. Part of him wanted to let her sleep but at the same time, she had to see what he had found. "Elizabeth." He called, removing the cloak, "Elizabeth." He repeated, walking over to the bed. She was lying on her side, covers pulled up and Harry reached out, gently shaking her at the shoulder. "Elizabeth, you've got to come see this." Harry repeated and she groaned as she was pulled from her dreams.

"What?" She muttered sleepily, her eyes opening and looking at Harry. "Harry... what are you doing here?" She asked tiredly, barely taking note of what time it was at the moment. "It's still dark, what's wrong?" She asked in confusion.

"You've got to come see what I found." He said quickly and excitedly, the tiredness he had been feeling now long gone.

"What? what did you find?" She asked, still confused and groggy as she started to properly wake up. "You went out with your cloak didn't you." A statement more than a question.

"Perhaps, and I may have set an alarm off in the Restricted Section but what I found afterwards was... I saw my parents!" He exclaimed and Elizabeth stared at him.

"You saw your parents? As in through a rift?" She asked, the statement, as surprising as it was waking her up more effectively than an ice-cold bucket of water dumped on her head.

"No, not in a rift, C'mon I've got to show you!" He said quickly.

"Ok, but wait outside." She said to him and Harry looked at her in confusion. "I need to get dressed first." She said bluntly.

"Oh... right... erm... I'll just go, wait outside." He said quickly, his cheeks turning bright red as he exited the room. Elizabeth chuckled and then quickly got dressed, walking out to Harry who had hidden back under the cloak, it was still too early for him to be out after all.

"Let's go to what you found," she said as he pulled the cloak over her as well, not so much to keep her out of trouble, she was staff after all but more of the fact he didn't want them being stopped from getting to the location. he led her back through the corridors to the room that he had found, the mirror still standing there in all its mesmerising glory. He closed the door behind the two of them and threw the cloak off, practically pulling Elizabeth in front of the mirror as he pointed happily at it.

"See, there's my mum and there's my dad." He said happily and Elizabeth looked at the mirror in confusion, all she could see was the two of them reflected.

"Harry, are you sure you're seeing what you're seeing? all I can see is us." She said and Harry looked at her in confusion.

"But they're right there." He said with another gesture, "stand in the centre you'll see." He said enthusiastically, stepping to the side and letting her move to centre focus of the mirror. She looked at it, unsure as to what she was meant to be seeing beyond her reflection but as she looked something started to take shape. Her eyes widened as she realised what it was and she quickly stepped away. "Did you see them?"

"Harry, I saw myself, that was all," she said a little too quickly. She looked at the inscription her mind puzzling over it before realising what it said, an inscription written in reverse, a mirror to show what the true message was. I show not your face but your heart's desire "Harry, this mirror, don't listen to what it shows you." She said slowly.

"What? Why?" He asked in disbelief, he finally gets to see what his parents look like, outside of the few photos that were in the album and now she wants to stop him from looking at the mirror that showed them there, with him.

"The mirror is dangerous." She said seriously, "please Harry, don't lose focus on what is here now, to see what you really want to see and lose sight of everything around you." She said almost pleadingly and Harry found himself torn between looking at the mirror and listening to Elizabeth. "Harry, promise me when we leave here you won't come back." She requested as he brought his gaze back to the mirror.

"What? but. why?" He asked again and she sighed.

"You can't live, watching this mirror, it will torment you, what good is showing you what you want when it can't be gained?" She asked in frustration. "Why torment yourself? Why reopen the wound? why focus on what could have been and live with what is?" She asked and even she heard the doubt in her voice. With what they were, what they were capable of, what could have been, could be.

"I just want to see them... see them properly." He said sadly and Elizabeth closed her eyes, sighing deeply, stepping over to Harry and pulling him into a hug.

"Stay then, look at them for a while but remember Harry, it isn't real, don't forget to live for not only yourself but them, don't lose yourself to the memory." she said quietly, holding him tightly. "You will eventually see what could have happened when this ability starts to form, there will always be the temptation to act on it. I know, I really do, but please Harry, don't lose yourself to this." She finished, releasing the hug and pulling back looking at him. He looked heartbroken, he knew that she was right but to see them, to see them standing behind him like they were and to see the proud smiles on their faces, something that even the photo's would never show. "I'm going to head away Harry, stay if you need to, but don't forget to rest." She said softly and he nodded, still looking torn over the situation.

"Oh Elizabeth." He called softly to her as she went to leave. She turned around to look at him, "Bathsheda knows what's in the corridor." He said simply, turning his gaze back to the mirror.

"Huh." Elizabeth muttered unintelligently, why hadn't she thought about Bathsheda first? Instead of trying to find out through Dumbledore, why didn't she try her friend? She mentally berated herself, vowing to speak to her later today about it.

"Thank you." Harry added finally and he meant it, Elizabeth was right it wasn't good to focus on what he couldn't have but at this time, he just wanted to stay, to take in the image that he could see and hopefully try to work out who the other one was. As Elizabeth left the door shut behind her and closed with a click, leaving him alone with his thoughts.

And so the night passed into day, the day passed into two days and then a third and a fourth. Still Harry would find himself pulled back here when he wasn't busy, he would just sit and work on the holiday homework while watching the mirror.

Elizabeth watched from the side-lines, she wanted to drag him away from it, stop him from looking at it but each time he did she knew why he was doing it and she also knew that if the roles had been reversed, she would no doubt have been doing the same.

The morning after that night, she had spoken to Bathsheda, the answers had been vague but she had let slip on one little fact, it concerned someone named Nicholas Flamel. The answer to everything would be through that one person, she just knew it. The name rung a bell, something in the back of her mind, something that she should have been able to recall but she couldn't.

Time would show it all. Time would give her all the answers she needed. She walked back to the Common Room, she knew it would be empty, with Harry spending his time with the mirror, she would have the area to herself.

That evening, Harry was again at the mirror, his homework scattered in front of him, piecing through the work, glancing up every now and again at the mirror. It was strange, he knew he shouldn't be here but at the same time he didn't want to leave.

"Back again Harry?" A voice spoke behind him and Harry jumped, spinning around and looking to see Dumbledore standing in the corner of the room.

"Professor Dumbledore, I didn't see you come in." He said nervously, wondering how much trouble he was in.

"Of course, I do not need a cloak to make myself invisible. Though I have a feeling with the mirror your attention was a bit preoccupied." Dumbledore said with a smile, walking up to Harry and the mirror. "I see that you, like so many before you have discovered the Mirror of Erised." Dumbledore spoke warmly as Harry started to pick up his homework. "Do you know what it does?" He asked and Harry nodded.

"It shows us our hearts desire." He said simply and Dumbledore nodded, he understood what it was, he knew that was a dangerous tool but at the same time he couldn't pull himself away.

"The happiest man in the world could look at this mirror and it would function exactly as a mirror, you, who have never known the love of your parents, see them before you." He sadly spoke, Harry closed his eyes and knew that was the truth.

"But there's something else I see." He added and Dumbledore looked at him with a quizzical expression.

"Oh? Do you mind if I ask what it is that you see?" Dumbledore questioned politely.

"There's someone else that I can't see properly, they're cloaked in darkness, but I can tell it's a girl."

"Ah, I see, yes, you grew up relatively alone didn't you Harry? isolated from your other students?" He asked, already knowing the answer, he had been informed about the situation by both McGonagall and Babbling, if it wasn't for the protections that the house gave he would have happily moved Harry but the risk was too great at the moment. Harry nodded his head in answer to the question. "The mirror reflects that, it shows you companionship, it just doesn't know who that companion will be, the heart is a powerful tool but it can only guide the mind. In time, I have no doubt that the image would take shape into someone you may know. But I must forbid you from approaching the mirror again Mr Potter, it will be moved shortly and you must not go looking for it." He ordered and begrudgingly Harry nodded. "Remember Harry, it does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live." He said softly and Harry turned to walk out, stopping at the door.

"Professor can I ask you a question?"

"You just did." Dumbledore said with a small smile before gesturing for Harry to continue.

"What do you see when you look in the mirror?" He asked and Dumbledore looked at him for a moment, a flash of something crossing his face but Harry couldn't make out exactly what it was.

"I see myself holding a pair of socks. Every Christmas, people always buy me books when you can't go wrong with a good pair of socks." Dumbledore smiled again as he finished and Harry nodded his head turning away and walking out of the room. There was no doubt that it was a lie, but it was a personal question and Harry wasn't going to question it further. He left the room, leaving the door open behind him as he made his way to the common room, unaware of the look that Dumbledore was giving him, one of curiosity and suspicion as the old wizard pondered the words that Harry had spoken.

He made his way back to the Common Room, opening the door and seeing Elizabeth sat on her usual chair in the room he dropped down into the sofa next to her. "Dumbledore turned up at the mirror." He said and she looked up from the book she was reading, the Tales of Beedle the Bard. "He's forbidden me from looking at the mirror and has said that it's going to be moved later this evening and I'm not to go looking for it."

"Will you?" She asked simply, turning the page in her book. "Look for it?"

"No," Harry replied with a certainty in the tone that showed that he wouldn't. "I got to see them, I got to think, I don't need to worry about the mirror or if they're proud of me." Harry said with a small smile. "It was just nice you know, for a moment to imagine them watching over as I did my Homework and worked on my studies."

"Harry, they're always watching over you, people who die don't just go away, they live as long as you believe in them, as long as the memory remains in your heart and beyond that. They may not have stayed watching as ghosts but they are watching and they are proud. They'd be foolish if they weren't." Elizabeth replied softly and smiled at him, "but I'm glad you realise that the mirror was only a temporary thing." She added and closed her book. "What else did Dumbledore say?"

"Well he apparently wants Socks as a Christmas present." Harry started with a laugh, "I asked him what he saw in the mirror, I'm pretty sure that he was making up that answer but you never know with Dumbledore." Harry joked, twisting on the sofa and lying back on it, his feet resting on the armrest. "Though he did say one thing about the mirror. 'It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live.' I already knew that but with it being said like that, it sunk in just that little bit more." He explained quietly, "but he is right, you were right, I can't focus on what could have been. I may go have a look in the future but not right now." He said, at peace with everything now, before sitting up quickly looking at Elizabeth like a cloud had been pulled from his mind. "Did you speak to Bathsheda?" He asked quickly.

"I did, she couldn't tell me what it was but she gave some information, a person called Nicholas Flamel is involved."

"Flamel?" Harry asked with a frown, the name was something that he recalled... where was it from? He spun in his seat again, looking at the fireplace deep in thought. "I heard the name recently," He said trying to pick out the memory. "Where was it..." He repeated frowning as he did.

"It doesn't matter for now, the more you think on it, the more it'll slip away." Elizabeth said and Harry reluctantly agreed with her.

"You're right, you're always right." He said with an over dramatic sigh, falling back into the sofa. "We'll work it out, the others will probably want to help as well."

"They're back tomorrow aren't they?" She asked and he nodded. "Which means more work for me to do." She pouted before laughing. Tomorrow the students returned, tomorrow the group continued to investigate into what was going on in the school. For now, though, the two friends just relaxed, talking about random things until they each returned to their respective rooms for the evening.

The quiet and the peace they had over the holiday would not last for much longer.

HPCVHPCVHPCV

"Draco?" Lucius spoke, entering his sons study. Draco froze, where he was sat, it was unusual for his father to enter his study, like Lucius he had his own private area to work and just be by himself, he didn't enter his father's study and in return Lucius didn't enter his, for him to be here now meant that something was terribly wrong... or right. "How does your mothers plan proceed?" He asked and Draco sighed.

"Slowly, I can speak to her and I believe we are building the basics for friendship, but it is slow." Draco explained as he got off of his chair, stepping away from his desk and facing his father. "I guess you could say we are friends if I had to guess but at the same time, she doesn't really talk to many of the Slytherins. I think Flint has done well in offending her." Draco guessed, he had seen the way he had looked at her, it was enough to make any girls skin crawl just by knowing it was happening but having it directed at someone he knew and was trying to be friends with made it all the fouler.

"Indeed... I have no doubt that the Flint family probably have tried to encourage his actions. Low intelligence and low political power," Lucius sneered and Draco smirked at the apt description. "Keep an eye on him and if he steps out of line then inform me and I will see to it his family keeps him under tighter control." Lucius ordered and got a nod in response, Draco knew when to stay quiet, unless he was given a direct question, he wasn't going to talk out of line to his father. "And Potter? have you spoken to him?" Lucius asked, already knowing the answer having spoken to Snape over the holidays.

"Again, he's hard to talk to because we move in different social circles, but he has been open to talking about tradition in the Wizarding World and seems to have picked up the same attitude that Elizabeth has." He was being polite with his phrasing, Harry asked questions, a lot of questions, they were questions designed to be double edged, one side, they gave Harry knowledge and as the saying goes, Knowledge is power, the other edge was that it made the people he spoke to think. It was never a judgemental question that he asked in regards to tradition or culture it was always one that he would follow up with a comparison and not in a way that made others feel inferior or superior. "But he is willing to talk to me, including now that I've told him we're related. Family is important to him."

"He's an orphan from an abusive house, of course it's important to him, the question is, can it be used to our advantage?" Lucius asked and Draco nodded. It was something that had become blatantly obvioius with the way Harry carried himself, he was quite, thin and tended to avoid large groups of people, he had made many friends but he never really hung out with them all at the same time, preferring to keep to smaller groups, two or three people at a time.

"I think it can, I am helping him with something, he was nearly killed in the Ravenclaw Quidditch match, someone tried cursing his broom. At the moment, he's looking into it." Draco explained and the look Lucius gave him was one of curiosity. "I do not plan to be a public supporter or investigate it like Potter no doubt plans to do, but I do plan to keep an eye on things. I haven't told him this part yet but I think he realises that this little group he's forming has different approaches to the situation." Draco explained calmly.

"Good, continue with it. But, remember we are Malfoy's we do not compromise on who we are and what we want." Lucius stated, "If Potter tries to force you to do that than do what you know you must do." Lucius finished, turning and leaving the room, the door sliding shut behind him.

Draco let out a deep breath that he hadn't realised he was holding, relaxing slightly, his shoulders slumping as he thought about what he was being asked to do.

Was it worth it?

TBC

I'm still not 100% sure about this chapter, not only is it my shortest chapter but It's also the one that just feels off the most, I will be really glad to get out of Year one and start moving onto the others, I'm kind of glossing over a lot at the moment because it's not really going to come to full effect until the summer at the least. The conversations which Draco is referring to are ones that I've got in my head and will be appearing over the next few chapters with more detail, for now I just wanted to make reference to the fact they were talking to each other.

Yes i realise the song at the start is a muggle song but i kinda feel that there would be some sort of overlap. That and i dont know any wizarding christmas carols. :)