As the final days before Christmas break approached, Harry thought he hadn't felt this good since Voldemort's return. Finally, he was starting to figure things out for himself. He had his old friends and his family on his side. And to top things off, he had new friends, and perhaps he even had something to look forward too.

So far, he had only told Luna and Sirius about his crush of Draco. Telling his friends he was gay was one thing, but telling them he like someone who was supposed to be their enemy was another. He and Draco had not found time to meet as the term drew to an end. Harry had, however, payed a bit more attention to a certain Ravenclaw in transfiguration. If things with Draco didn't pan out, and Cho was right about her assumption, the brown-haired boy was certainly a good alternative.

In the meantime, Harry was growing more excited by the minute to spend Christmas with Sirius. He was excited for the opportunity to spend the holidays with family, one who cared anyway. The night before the final day of term, Harry and his friends had spent the evening goofing off in the common room. Harry had drifted to bed with a smile on his face thinking of all the good things going on. But in doing so, he had forgotten to clear his mind.

He found himself walking down the oh-so-familiar corridor. No…not himself. Voldemort. Or was he Voldemort. Suddenly he realized he wasn't walking—he was slithering.

He was on the floor of the corridor, slithering slowly down towards the door that was always out of reach. He caught his reflection in the marble wall and saw the familiar sight of Nagini.

His—no Nagini's—tongue flicked out. He could taste a wizard in the air. As he neared the door, he finally saw who. It was the red-headed man. The one her master called a blood-traitor.

The man saw him. He exclaimed and raised his wand, but she was too quick for him. She lunged at his wrist and the wand fell from his hands. She heard it clatter on the ground, but she paid it no heed. Strike. Strike. Strike. With her final strike, she went for the throat. She felt his skin cave beneath her fangs and—

"Harry! Harry wake up!" Harry jolted awake to find Ron shaking him. His other dorm mates stood behind looking worried. All but Neville. "Harry you alright mate?' Ron was asking. "You've been screaming bloody murder."

"Dad…" Harry tried to say between gasps of air. "Your…you…dad…attacked."

"What?" Ron asked. "What happened Harry?"

"In hear Professor," Harry heard Neville say.

"Move aside." That was the voice of McGonagall. She came to Harry's bedside. "What's happening here?'

"Mr. Weasley," Harry managed, having finally gotten enough air. "Mr. Weasley was attacked. I saw it. Please professor."

To McGonagall's credit, she didn't hesitate. "Come with me Potter. You too Weasley. Get him up. Let's go."

"Where are we going?" Ron asked as they descended the stairs to the common room.

"To Dumbledore," she answered curtly.

"No," Harry protested. He tried to stop, but Ron pulled him forward. McGonagall spoke as they walked.

"Potter, now is not the time for grudges," she explained. "If what you saw is true, and I believe it likely was, we need the headmaster."

"You mean my dad's really in danger?" Ron asked.

"Quickly now Mr. Weasley," she replied. The three of them hurried to the headmasters' office. They walked in to find Dumbledore sitting behind his desk. "Albus, there's a problem. Potter's seen something."

Dumbledore stood up and walked around the desk towards them. He looked at Harry. "What did you see?'

Harry bit back all the retorts he wanted to say. If Mr. Weasley really was in danger, he needed help now. "I was in the corridor—the one I'm always in when I have these visions. Mr. Weasley was attacked by Nagini."

Without a word towards Harry, Dumbledore turned towards one of the portraits on the wall. "Arthur is on guard duty tonight. See that he is found by the right people." The portrait nodded and walked out of the frame. Dumbledore turned towards another portrait. "Phineas, alert Sirius that Arthur has been attacked. Harry and the Weasley children will be arriving shortly." Again, the portrait nodded and walked out. The headmaster now turned toward McGonagall. "Minerva, go get the rest of the Weasleys. We'll send them all at once."

As Professor McGonagall exited the office, Snape entered it. He looked between the room's inhabitants. "Minerva sent for me," he said.

"Harry has had another vision," Dumbledore stated. "Arthur was attacked by Nagini."

Snape looked at Harry. "I didn't clear my mind tonight," Harry admitted. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be," Snape responded quietly. "If there was any night we should be glad you saw into the Dark Lord's mind tonight would be it."

"Be that as it may," Dumbledore interrupted, "if Voldemort has discovered the connection we are all in danger."

"We don't know that he has," Snape replied. "I can try to find out over break."

"This vision appears to be more concrete than the others," Dumbledore said, staring only at Snape. "There is a difference between Harry walking down the hall and watching someone be attacked."

"I am right here you know!" Harry shouted. He was fed up. It was bad enough he had to come here, but it was another thing entirely to be ignored. "You could, oh I don't know, ask me!"

Dumbledore glanced his way, but just then the first portrait returned. "They found him just in time Albus. He's being taken to St. Mungo's as we speak." The headmaster looked to another portrait. "Wait in St. Mungo's for his arrival. Let us know what you see." The portrait nodded and left as the second one returned. "Sirius is ready for the children to arrive." The headmaster turned towards Snape. "Severus, do you think—"

"Are you really just going to keep ignoring me!?' Harry shouted. "It's one thing to avoid me, but how can you stand in front of me pretending I don't exist."

Dumbledore sighed. "There are certain things that need to be taken care of—"

"And I'm not one of them!?" Harry yelled. "For someone who claims to care so much about my well-being you've seemed awfully unconcerned as of late!" Harry knew Ron and Snape were staring at him with worry, but he didn't care. "You're so concerned with whether or not Voldemort knows, but you don't even care that I just watch someone I care about get hurt!"

"And it is important to make sure Mr. Weasley receives the proper care—"

"You've just done that!" Harry protested. "You—"

"Potter," Snape said quietly, placing a hand on his arm. The gentleness startled Harry into silence. No one spoke for a moment, as Harry gathered his breath after all the shouting. "I am sorry for what you experienced. Can you tell me exactly what happened? In the past you have seen through the Dark Lord's eyes. Was that the case tonight?"

Harry took a deep breath. "Not exactly. I was the snake." He looked down, refusing to meet anyone's eyes. "I attacked Mr. Weasley."

"Potter," Snape said. "Potter look at me." Harry made eye contact with his potion's professor. "You. Did. Nothing. Nagini attacked Arthur Weasely, not you. You simply saw it. The Dark Lord was likely possessing his snake, and that is why you saw through the snake's eyes. Do you understand that?" Harry nodded, though he felt tears prick at his eyes. "I don't see anything from your description to assume the Dark Lord is aware of your connection. Can you continue practicing over break? Tonight is especially important."

Before Harry could speak, Dumbledore did it for him. "Do you think perhaps he should have a lesson tonight? Given—"

"THERE YOU GO AGAIN!" Harry shouted. "I'M RIGHT HERE! I CAN SPEAK FOR MYSELF!"

"Harry—"
At that moment, McGonagall walked back in with the rest of the Weasley's. They all looked tired and confused, but worried at the same time. They looked between Harry and Dumbledore, obviously having heard Harry yell right before the door was opened.

Snape broke the silence. "Whatever you are going to do to get these children to headquarters do it now," he said. "There is nothing you can say to justify this that will satisfy Potter. The only one who can calm him is Black." Dumbledore gave a terse nod and instructed everyone to gather around. Snape held Harry back for a moment. "Practice. Clear your mind constantly. I will visit you over break if I can."

"Thank you," Harry said quietly. He turned and grabbed onto the portkey Dumbledore had just made. The two made eye contact. Harry held back all the things he wanted to say, but he still gave Dumbledore the hardest glare he could muster. Then, he blinked and was whisked away. Next thing he knew, he and the Weasley's were standing in the dining room of Grimmauld Place. The room was empty at first, but as soon as they managed to get their bearings, Sirius came barreling in.

"Everyone alright?" he asked frantically. When the Weasley's all nodded, he turned to Harry. "You?"

"I'm still a bit shaken," Harry admitted. "From what I saw."

"That's understandable," Sirius said, wrapping Harry in a tight hug. "We can talk about it if you want."

"That would be great Sirius," Harry said with relief.

"What exactly did you see?" Fred asked.

"Yeah, all McGonagall said was that dad was attacked," George added.

They all sat down, and Harry recounted his dream for them. By the time he finished, every face around the table was grim.

"Is he going to be okay?" Ginny asked. They all looked toward Sirius.

"We need to go to St. Mungo's!" George exclaimed.

"I have to be honest: I'm not sure," Sirius answered Ginny's question first. "And we can't go to St. Mungo's."

"But—" Fred began, but was cut off.

"They likely haven't even notified your mother yet," Sirius explained. "We can't just show up and explain how you all knew what happened seconds after it occurred."

Naturally, this didn't exactly sooth anyone. Fred and George continued to argue with Sirius, but he wouldn't budge. Then, a note arrived from Mrs. Weasley. It did even less to comfort them than Sirius had, but at least when she told them to stay put, they listened. After some time, and a few butterbeers, Sirius suggested everyone go to sleep, and was met with a look of disgust from the Weasley's. So instead, they sat in silence, no one knowing what to say. Under the pretense of going to the loo, Harry got up to leave the room, but he gave Sirius a pointed look and the two meet in the study instead.

"That must have been hard for you to experience," Sirius said.

"I could feel his skin cave beneath my fangs," Harry said. "Well, Nagini's fangs, but I still felt it."

"Bloody hell," Sirius said. "Harry I'm so sorry."

"It's okay," Harry said. "Well, no it's not, but at least Mr. Weasley was saved in time. If I had never seen it he would have likely died there."

"Yes he probably would have," Sirius conceded. "But that doesn't mean you should have had to experience what you did."

"If I had to choose between another traumatic nightmare and my best friend losing his dad, I would take the nightmare every time."

Sirius gave Harry a rueful smile. "You are so much your parent's son," he said. "But I still wish you didn't have to go through these things. What do you need Harry?"

"I don't know really," Harry admitted. "I can't sit in there with them anymore. I know it wasn't really me, but I can't sit there with the feeling that I attacked their father. Can you stay with me?"

"You got it kid," Sirius said. They both sat and leaned back against the sofa. They were silent for a few minutes. Harry laid his head on his godfather's shoulder.

"Can you tell me about my mom?" he asked quietly. "Everyone always talks about my dad, or both of them together."

"Of course I can," Sirius responded. Sirius told Harry stories until he was able to drift off, still resting his head on his godfather's shoulder.

It was for this reason he was rather confused when he awoke to not only find himself alone, but also laying down on the sofa with a blanket wrapped around him. He glanced at the clock to see it was around 10 in the morning. With a groan and a stretch, he threw the blanket off and headed to the kitchen. He arrived to see Sirius and Mrs. Weasley quietly sipping tea.

"Oh good Harry, you're up," he said. "Sit. I'll get you something to eat."

"Did you cook?" Harry asked, finding it hard to imagine Sirius in the kitchen.

"Worse," he replied. "Kreacher cooked. But it was that or you guys had biscuits for breakfast."

Before Harry could respond, Mrs. Weasley had jumped up and wrapped him in a hug. "I don't know what we would have done without you Harry," she said. "They wouldn't have found Arthur for hours."

"Is he going to be okay?"

"Yes, yes," Mrs. Weasley said with a teary smile. "But he'll be in St. Mungo's for a while. We can go see him this afternoon."

"Everyone will be staying here for the holidays," Sirius said with a smile as he brought out a plate of food for Harry. "The more the merrier yea?"

"Yes," Harry agreed. He suddenly realized he was starving, and eagerly accepted his plate. "Where are the others?"

"I arrived here around five in the morning to find them all sitting around the table trying not to fall asleep," Mrs. Weasley said with a huff. "I sent them all to bed."

Harry nodded and concentrated on eating his late breakfast. Sirius and Mrs. Weasley chatted next to him. Eventually, Mrs. Weasley remarked that the house could really use some holiday cheer.

The three of them spent some time carefully searching the house, most of which had not yet been cleaned, looking for some suitable decorations. They only managed to find a few, and spent some time somberly decorating what they could. The Weasley clan all woke up in time for a late lunch, and right as they finished up, they heard a familiar voice in the entryway.

"Did I hear that someone was lacking a Christmas tree?" Remus called.

They all piled into the hallway, and, sure enough, Remus was standing there with a beautiful Christmas tree and several more bags of decorations.

"Where did you get all this?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

"How did you know?" Harry asked next.

"Sirius sent word you were lacking some nice decorations," Remus answered. "I thought brightening the house was a good idea, so I paid Hagrid a visit. He got me smaller version of the trees they always put in the castle and some extra decorations they didn't use this year. Treat them carefully. We will have to return them."

"Thanks Remus," Ginny said, while Mrs. Weasley beamed.

"When your father is finally able to leave St. Mungo's this will cheer him right up," she said.

With that, they got to work and really made the house feel ready for the holidays. They did not get the chance to finish, but it was time to visit St. Mungo's. Their trunks had arrived while they were decorating, so they changed into muggle clothes so that Tonks and Mad-Eye could escort them to the hospital. They arrived by traveling through a disguised department store. After figuring out where Mr. Weasley was located, they all made their way to his room.

Mr. Weasley was thrilled to see them. Both his children and Harry were relieved to see him in such a cheerful mood. Their excitement didn't last long however, when Mr. Weasley refused to answer any of their probing questions and they were escorted to the hallway. The used Fred and George's extendable ears to listen to what the adults were saying. Harry was dismayed to learn they knew that he had seen things from the snake's perspective. He was even more dismayed to hear them speak of him being possessed by Voldemort.

He looked up to see that all of the others were staring at him with a mixture of fear and confusion. Even Ron, who knew about Harry's occlumency lessons with Snape looked worried. Harry turned away so the other couldn't see him roll his eyes. Sure, he felt bad about what happened to Mr. Weasley, but Snape was right. It wasn't him. He had just seen it. If Voldemort knew about the connection he could plant memories, but he certainly couldn't control him. Could he?

They returned to Grimmauld Place shortly after and ate supper. It was a quiet affair, and Harry could feel the Weasley children stealing nervous glances at him. Harry wasn't in the mood for this, so after he finished, he retreated to the room he had used over the summer—Regulus' former room. He could hear Sirius singing Christmas carols as he and the Weasley's finished putting up Christmas decorations. Harry knew that his godfather had been pleased when he had asked to join him for Christmas, but now that he had a house full, he was more joyful than Harry had ever seen him.

As Harry sat down on his bed, wondering what his next move should be, he heard a tapping at the window and turned to see a familiar owl. It wasn't his own, but he would know it anywhere. As he opened the window, he wondered how he had been so oblivious for so long. Who pays this much attention to someone they don't have feelings for?

Harry laughed at himself and his own stupidity as he untied the scroll from Draco Malfoy's owl. The message was short:

She's furious. You and your friends need to be very careful when you return. She'll be keeping a closer eye than normal.

Harry folded up the letter and sighed. He was happy that Draco had thought to write to him, but he wished there did not have to be so much space and secrets between them. As he sat on his bed in contemplation, he heard a knock on the door. He turned to see Remus.

"Mind if I come in?" he asked.

"Not at all," Harry answered. "Not helping with the decorating?"

"I don't think Sirius needs any," he said with a laugh. "I've never seen him so enthusiastic."

Harry smiled. "I know he hates being in this house, but I'm glad he is. Otherwise I wouldn't have been able to spend the holidays with him."

"He's happy too," Remus said. "He was ecstatic when he told me you asked to come stay with him."

"There's no place else I'd want to stay," Harry said.

"No?" Remus asked. "Not even at Hogwarts, with a certain blond?"

Harry blushed. "I don't think he planned on staying for the holidays."

"That doesn't answer the question."

"I suppose it would have been nice," Harry admitted. "Less people, no homework, classes, or quidditch practice to distract us. But Umbridge would have been there." Harry grimaced. "That in itself makes it not worth it."

Remus laughed. "Yes, I suppose it does." He sat on the bed next to Harry. "So, let's take stock shall we?" Harry looked at him in confusion. "We've told Sirius, who told me. We've told who else now?"

"Luna," Harry said. "She was first, just because I felt she would understand. Well, Snape was first, but that was because he was digging in my head. Then, Neville. Then, Ron and Hermione."

"You told them last?" Remus asked.

"I guess I was the most afraid of telling them," Harry admitted. "And I was partially right. Ron didn't take it well. He's come around, but I think it still bothers him a bit."

"We can talk about that if you'd like," Remus said. "Peter was the same way. Did you tell anyone else?"

"Just Cho," Harry said.

Remus looked surprised. "Was that the young girl you thought you had a crush on?" Harry nodded. "I'm surprised you told her."

"Well, she tried to kiss me and I sort of had to explain why I shouted and ran away," Harry said sheepishly.

To Remus' credit, he tried. He really did, but he could not contain his laughter. Harry laughed along with him. Now that the ordeal was over, he could see the humor in it. Remus wiped tears from his eyes.

"I want to hear all about that," Remus said.

"Okay," Harry agreed. "But you have to tell me all about your story. How you found out, how you told your friends, and definitely anything embarrassing."

Remus laughed again. "Deal. Now you first."