Christmas was lonely. Harry spent it alone, the only Slytherin to remain. He did recieve gifts from Malfoy and his family. They were lavish, and Harry didn't know what to think of the new clothes that now fit him like a glove. Harry now had his own wardrobe of clothes that perfectly fit him.

Then there was a gift that didn't come with a signature.

An invisibility cloak. Tom's voice whispered.

Harry ignored him. Instead he picked up the little note with neat handwriting. It said that the cloak belonged to his father, and it was time to pass it along to him. He tried it on and to his amazement everything from his head down was invisible.

"Who would keep this from me?" Harry wondered to himself.

Someone planned this.

"Can you shut up?" Harry snarled at the annoying voice. Tom had been silent since his meltdown that one day. This was the first time Tom ever spoken.

I have a Christmas present for you, Harry.

"What exactly can you give me?" The boy frowned.

Allow me to show you.

Suddenly Harry was pulled. Then next thing he knew, gone was the Common Room. Dizzying, Harry almost lost balance. Arms reached out and steadied him. Instinctively Harry clung onto the arms as his vision cleared. He blinked several times as he processed that he was standing before Tom.

Dark hair set in light curls. A pale, chiseled face that was handsome where the mirror did him no justice. Those familiar red brown eyes studied him. They held no indication of his thoughts, and Harry wasn't sure if that was a good thing.

"This...How is this possible?"

"You are inside my soul. A piece of me that stuck with you." Tom said softly.

"A piece?" Harry caught on.

"I have been a fool, Harry. I shattered my soul into pieces. Locking them away inside various objects."

"But why?"

"To avoid death."

Harry frowns. That really was foolish. The way he saw it, death was a natural part of life. He wished it never happened with his case with his parenrs, but he didn't have control over any of that. Therefore it wouldn't matter to dwell on it.

"I realized my mistake some years ago. Hence why I reached out to you for the first time. I had rather grown fond of you. I saw so much of myself in you, and I wanted to be what I didn't have growing up."

"Which was?" Harry was still guarded. But he was listening.

"I want to be your friend. I have found out a very important detail while I was within this very room you see here when you pushed me away."

Room? This was a library. Bigger than the Hogwarts one. Harry couldn't believe the amount of books just waiting to be read.

"And what is that?" Harry asked.

"We're soul bound."

"What does that mean?" He blinked. That term was awfully similar to soul mates.

"It means we were meant to be. I don't want to frighten you, so I need to come clean with you on who I am. I want to bare my soul to you."

Memories not his own flashed through. And they all came at once. It was difficult to differentiate from one memory onto the next. They all blended together. And Harry lost himself into the chaos and collapsed.

When he awoke he was on the floor of the Common Room. He groggily got up, adjusting his glasses for they had grown crooked.

"Tom... You're..." His voice hoarse as he spoke.

Lord Voldemort. Yes. The voice whispered soflty.

Harry didn't know how to feel. Or think for that matter. This was all too much to take in at once.

"So we're soul mates."

Yes.

"And you just so happen to be the same bloody man who murdered my parents. Over some stupid prophecy?"

The twists fate have taken on us.

"And now I'm a - what's it called again?"

A horcrux.

"Any idea how to undo it?" Harry wondered.

I have a vague idea, although I rather not like it.

"I... I need time to think." Harry was still having a hard time processing.

I will give you all the time you need, darling.

And just like that Harry felt empty again. He sat there, slowly going through the rest of his presents. That very night he decided he was going to wander around the castle with his invisibility cloak.

xXx

The mirror was strange. It held no reflection. Yet when he stood before it, beside him was Tom. Harry looked around and saw nothing. He turned his gaze back at the mirror and Tom smiled.

And yet his presence wasn't felt here. Tom was still wherever he was, in his soul room. So then this mirror contained some kind of magic.

"The Mirror of Erised." Dumbledore's voice startled him. Harry felt his heart race, and nearly jumped. He whirled around to stare wide eyed at the headmaster.

"Forgive me, I did not mean to startle you."

"What - what does it do?" Harry gulped.

"No need to be afraid, my dear boy. I did not come here to scold you. As for the mirror, it shows many things the heart desires."

"Like what the heart wants?" He guessed.

"Precisely. For instance, in this moment I am holding a lemon drop." Candy? Muggle candy no less?

Something must have been read on Harry's face, for Dumbeldore was studying him. But he quickly recovered and placed the mask tightly fit on his face. He didn't understand how it could have so easily slipped around the headmaster.

"I see my parents." Harry lied. He wasn't going to admit anything related to Tom. Even though a small part of him wanted to break down and cry, he found that he couldn't.

From here the conversation went along that the mirror was powerful. Harry went along with it, having already guessed as such. He asked what it was doing here. Dumbledore hints it is guarding something, but he could not explain what.

Then after a while the headmaster leaves. And Harry is left alone with the mirrors version of Tom. He stayed there for hours until he realized he needed to sleep. So he put on the cloak and made his way back to the Slytherin Common Room.

Once Christmas was over and students returned, Harry kept the discovery of the mirror to himself. Although he did show off his invisibility cloak to Malfoy, who was all sorts of ecstatic over it. Then he flushed and said it beat his gifts for him.

"Don't worry about it. Your presents still meant the world to me, Malfoy. I mean, I'm wearing the clothes now aren't I?" Harry pointed out.

"From now on if you ever need help with clothes, all you have to do is ask." Malfoy offered. "And call me Draco, please."

"Then call me Harry." He found himself smiling. This was the first time they were on a first name basis.

For a long time they were too focused on the upcoming exams to really notice much else. Winter turned into spring. And in a blink of an eye the semester was drawing to a close. Harry was filled with much anxiety, for he dreaded to return to his aunt and uncle.

"You know, I think you have a godfather." Draco mentioned in passing one day.

"What? This is first I've heard. Where is he? Who is he?" Harry almost choked on his breakfast.

"Well...I can't be too sure. I remember seeing my family tree over Christmas. And I saw a name that said it was your godfather. I forgot about the detail until now since you've been nothing but an anxious ball about returning home."

"What was his name?" Harry was eager to know.

"Sirius Black."

So Harry learned everything he could about his own family tree. It took some major digging, and with a bit of help from Draco's father for providing a copy of the Malfoy and Black family trees for reference. In both of them there was the name Sirius Black. And underneath it mentions godfather to Harry Potter.

Finally Harry found his own in a book. And once again in it's own branch was Sirius Black. Together the boys went to the headmaster.

"Professor? What happened to my godfather?" Harry sounded a little too eager.

"He's in prison for betraying your parents, Harry."

"But - but he's my legal guardian!" Harry argued. Now that he thought about it, he knew the truth from Tom's memories. He was also beginning to remember a few other details.

"Alas, he is serving life in Azkaban, dear boy." Dumbeldore deflected.

And thus Harry learned a very important lesson to not fully trust in Dumbledore.