Hey guys, I just want to say that this will probably be the last chapter in a while. I'm starting Uni/College this week, so I probably won't have time to write. I will write and update when I can.
In the meantime, Enjoy!
"Harry! Harry! Wake up! Come on Harry! Wake up!"
Harry groaned, and slowly got up from his bed. He rubbed his tired eyes and sat up yawning. "It's Christmas! Wake up Harry! It's Christmas!" Harry blinked his eyes awake, and grabbed his glasses. He rushed out the door and stopped at the balcony.
"Happy Christmas Harry." Ron smiled. "Happy Christmas Ron." Harry wished. "What are you wearing?" He then asked, pointing at the Ginger's jumper. Ron's jumper. "Oh. Mum made this for me." Ron told him. "There's even a present for you." Ron told him, pointing to the tree. Harry was shocked. "I….I have presents?!" He repeated, shocked. "Yeah!" Ron nodded. Harry beamed an excited smile, and zoomed downstairs as fast as he could.
"Over there." Ron pointed as he took a seat on the couch arm. Harry bended over and picked up his present. He took a seat on the big comfy red chair and opened the letter that came with the present, Ron meanwhile grabbing a carton of Bertie Bott's.
"Your father left this in my possession before he died. It is time it was returned to you. Use it well…." Harry looked at Ron, who simply just shrugged. Harry zoned out a bit at the letter, before putting it down to the side and proceeded to open the gift.
"You think Harry and Ron will like the present we'll give them?" Happy questioned, looking at Natsu. "Course they will! I made it after all!" Natsu beamed, pointing to himself. "You mean Lucy did…." Happy corrected. "Yeah, but it was my idea!" Natsu boasted, pointing at himself.
"But I still don't get why Lucy is mad at me…." Natsu whined, rubbing his head. "Well you did seem dazed after you swallowed that blue flame. Do you remember anything after eating the flames?" Happy asked. "Hmm…..no not really….." Natsu hummed. "So either you shouldn't eat those flames again, or Lucy is just stronger than we take her for. She's really starting to be like Edolas Lucy." Happy commented, walking up to the Common Room door.
"Also, we'd better keep our cloaks hidden." Happy pointed at Natsu's bag, that had a bit of the cloak sticking out. "Huh?" Natsu looked at his bag, and shoved it in. "Oh right. I mean this cloak would make people FREAK if they saw me wearing this. Caput Draconis." As the door opened, Natsu turned back to Happy to finish his point. "I mean, it would be like-"
As Natsu turned back into the Common Room, his face became white. "A FLOATING HEAD!" He screamed, pointing at the back of the head of the bodiless head. Ron jumped and turned around, and so did Harry. "Harry?! What happened?! Who did this to you?! It was Draco wasn't it?! I never trusted that kid!" Natsu gritted, shaking his fist.
"Natsu! Calm down! It's not Malfoy, he's gone like the others for Christmas. It's Harry's Invisibility Cloak is all." Ron explained, still shocked from Natsu's little outburst. "Huh? Wha…?" Natsu muttered, utterly confused. Happy wandered over, and swiped his paw under Harry's head. He definitely could feel something there. He grabbed onto what felt like cloth and lifted it up. "Natsu, it really is a cloak!" Happy looked back at Natsu, lifting the cloak up for Natsu to see under the cloak. "Huh. So it is." Natsu said in a mix of bland and surprise.
Harry looked at Happy wide eyed, as he backed away hastily. "D-Did Happy just talk?!" He yelled, pointing to Happy. Now only his head and arm showing. "Didn't you know Harry?" Ron asked, unaffected by the talking cat. Harry looked at Ron, wondering what he was talking about. "It's been a known fact for at least six months." He continued. "Six months?!" Harry repeated, still boggled about all this. Everyone around him simply nodded. "W-well, I never was one for gossip…." Harry muttered, looking down.
"Oh, also Natsu, are you alright?" Ron asked. "What do you mean?" Natsu asked, folding his arms tilting his head. "You got injured during the earthquake. Since you're up now, you must be better." Ron reasoned. "Oh yeah. Um, yeah, I'm feeling a bit better." Natsu smiled, rubbing the back of his head. "What happened?" Harry asked, taking off the cloak. "I don't know. I can't remember." Natsu lied, flopping his hand down.
Harry and Ron looked at each other, having a feeling it had something to do with his head. "Oh, here." Ron rushed over to the tree and picked up two presents from the tree. "Happy Christmas." He handed over a medium sized rectangle present to Natsu, and a small round present to Happy. "What is this?" Natsu asked, playing around with the present. "Just a little something." Ron smiled.
Natsu and Happy blinked at Ron, before looking at each other. Simultaneously, they ripped off the wrapping of their presents. Happy stared at his present, drooling. "No way….. Snapper with Salmon with Tuna?! These are my three favorite fishies! Thank you Ron!" Happy praised.
Natsu's eyes opened wider, his mouth forming a surprised look, holding his present in his hand. "T-This is…." He gasped. "You're our room mate Natsu. And even though you're not seeing your family, you're a part of our family now." Harry smiled, agreeing with Ron. Natsu stared at the what he received. He began to tear up, unable to move. What he received, was a photo that Seamus, Neville, Ron, Harry, and Natsu took together the first night. Everyone was talking, laughing and pointing around, before facing the front and giving a smile and pose for the photo.
"Thank you Ron….Harry…." He smiled, small tears in the corner of his eyes. "Here." Natsu dug into his bag, moving his cloak out of the way to find his presents. "Here!" Natsu grabbed the presents and handed them over to Ron and Harry. "It was finished this morning."
Ron and Harry looked at each other, wondering what Natsu got them. They ripped off the paper, holding in their hands a white scarf, identical to Natsu's. "I also got some made for Hermione, Seamus, and Neville as well. But I'm not sure where they live, so I'm going to give it to them when they get back." Natsu told them, smiling. "Woah, it's so warm!" Ron smiled, flicking it around his neck. "I know right!" Natsu smiled.
"Anyway. I'm going to put this next to my bed. Then, I'm going to grab a bite!" Natsu waved, and jolted up the stairs. "Don't start eating without me!" Happy smiled after him, spreading his wings and flying up after him. Harry once again wide eyed about what he saw. "Six months?" Harry asked Ron, leaning over to him, Ron nodding.
Later that Night
Harry held an arm out of the cloak, holding a lantern. "Restricted Section." Harry muttered. He grabbed his wand and pointed it at the lock. "Alohomora." He whispered. A slither of silver threads slipped into the lock, a click unlocking the door. Harry took a deep breath and entered the maze of the Forbidden books.
"Nicholas Flammel...Nicholas Flammel…" He whispered out loud, holding the lantern to the shelves. He took off the cloak, so he could have a better view of the book spines. "Nicholas Flammel…" Harry repeated, scanning the shelves.
THUD!
Harry gasped and blew out his light. It didn't sound like it came from the main entrance, but from a few bookshelves down. Now that it was dark for him, he could see a faint light coming from the bowels of the section. Slowly, he creeped up to the light, and peeped his head, slowly around the corner. What he saw was a white cloaked being, stuffing books into the satchel they were carrying. He looked on, wide eyed gasping softly at what he was seeing. The figure took a book off the shelves, and opened it. Only for the book to scream at them. The figure jolted, and quickly closed the book to shut it up.
"Who's here?!" An old scrunchy voice called from the entrance of the library. Harry turned sharply to the entrance, a scared gasp softly coming from him. The figure did the same, but missed Harry by a nanosecond. The figure stuffed the last of what they needed, before proceeding to the window grabbing a broom. Harry swiftly followed the figure, watching them jump out the window and fly away.
"Is there anyone here past their bedtime?" The voice asked in a sweet but creepy way. Harry gasped, tossing his invisibility cloak over him and dashing out. But not fast enough. He saw Mister Filch, and stopped abruptly in front of him. Filch growled lowly, holding the lantern up. Harry held his breath, delicately tiptoeing around the caretaker, Filch staring blankly forward. He slowly backed away, before zooming out the already opened up.
Harry swiftly moved through the halls, making sure that no one was following him. He turned the corner, but jumped back as he nearly bumped into Snape and Quirrell. But something wasn't right. Quirrell was being forced against the wall by Snape.
"Severus, I-I-I" Quirrell stammered, flailing his hands at his chest. "You don't want me as your enemy, Quirrell." Severes snarled in that monotone, grasping on Quirrell's collar. "I-I don't know what you mean." Quirrell reasoned, trying everything to get out of the situation. "You know perfectly well what I mean." Snape shot back.
Suddenly, Snape lifted his head up and turned around, facing Harry's direction. Harry slapped his hand over his mouth to stop himself from breathing out loud, and slowly backed away. Snape reached out, but in the nick of time, Harry leapt back, resulting in Snape grabbing air.
Snape opened and closed his hand, before sharply turning to Quirrel. "We'll have another little chat soon." He sternly told him, Quirrell scared for his life. "When you've had time to decide where your loyalties lie…"
"What is going on here?" Harry turned around, and gasped. Professor Strauss and Professor Scarlet. He speed walked out of the way, narrowly avoiding them. He didn't want to get caught more than anything now. Snape swiftly put his arms down and faced towards them. "Professor Strauss, Professor Scarlet, good evening." Professor Snape greeted, bowing a little. "Y-Yes.. G-good evening P-Professor S-Strauss…Professor S-Scarlet." Quirrell greeted, doing the same thing.
"Snape, you're not bullying Quirrell are you?" Mira scolded sweetly. "Why would I engage in such foolish actions?" Snape gritted. "Anyway, we heard footsteps coming from this direction. If it was only you two, I guess it was a false alarm…" Erza sighed, folding her arms and closing her eyes. "I guess so…" Mira agreed, looking at Erza.
"Professors." Everyone looked at the one who greeted them. Filch gave a bow, and held up a lantern. "I found this in the Restricted Section." Everyone looked at the lantern, hoping it wasn't going in the direction they think it was. Harry looked at the lantern wide eyed. He forgot to grab the lantern! "It's still hot. That means there's a student out of bed!" Filch exclaimed, giving an evil gold smile of excitement.
Everyone looked at each other in a panic, and ran to the library without a moment's hesitation, Filch hobbling behind. As soon as they left, a door opened, just enough for an eleven year old to squeeze through, before softly closing it behind.
An empty echo bounced around the room. Harry peeped out of the cloak, before taking it off completely. He sighed, and looked around the room. There was nothing in the room. Except… A giant mirror in the middle room.
This immediately caught Harry's eyes, and slowly walked forward to it. As he stared into the mirror, he noticed a misty like wave behind him. He looked behind him, then back at the mirror. But when he looked back, he saw something that he knew couldn't be true. There were two figures in the mirror. A woman with light red hair and a man with glasses and dark clean cut hair. Harry looked at the woman first, shocked. A small smile formed, until he finally asked.
"Mum?" The woman smiled at him, a smile that only a mother could do. If she was his mother, then….
"Dad…." The man smiled at Harry, and nodded.
Harry looked at the woman again, and reached out for her. Only for his fingers to touch the smooth glass. The woman looked at him. She knew that her son wanted to hold them. To ask questions, to have that parent bond that he never got. She didn't know how she knew that. She just knew. Guess it was one of those motherly instincts.
She reached out and touched Harry's shoulder and rubbed her hand on it. Harry slowly reached up, touching the shoulder his mother touched. But as his hand rested, he was greeted by nothing. Harry looked at the mirror. Then looked behind him. "I-I'll be right back." Harry stuttered, as he grabbed the cloak and zoomed out the window.
"Ron! Ron! Wake up!" Harry whispered excitedly, as he ran into the room and threw the cloak off, accidently letting it fly on Natsu's bed. "What…?" Ron asked, sitting up rubbing his eyes. "I saw something! You gotta see this! Now come on!" Harry pleaded, pulling Ron up. "What's going on? Why does my bed smell like dusty books?" Natsu yawned, sitting up. "Wait, are you guys going somewhere? It's like, one in the morning…." Natsu drooled. "Sorry for waking you up Natsu. We'll be quieter." Harry whispered, before proceeding to the exit. "Wait." Ron and Harry turned around, Natsu standing up, holding Harry's cloak. "You'll need this right?" Natsu threw the cloak over to Harry, who caught it. "And I'm up now. Might as well go with you." Natsu stretched. Harry and Ron looked at each other, then just gave a shrug.
A gust of wind gushed over the trio as Harry flicked off the cloak. "Over here, look!" Harry pointed to the mirror, and pulled Ron over to the mirror, Natsu jogging behind. "Look in there! It's my parents!" Natsu and Ron squinted at the mirror. "Stand here!" Ron pointed at a spot on the ground, Ron and Natsu standing next to each other and stared into the mirror. Suddenly, Ron and Natsu's eyes opened in shock.
"Can you guys see them?! I bet you can! That's my-"
"That's me! I'm Head Boy! I'm holding the Quidditch Cup! And bloody hell, I'm Quidditch Captain! I look good…" Harry looked at Ron, confused at what he was saying. Ron saw something different to him. So what did Natsu see?
"Natsu, did you see what I saw?" Ron asked, looking at Natsu. Natsu stood there, gasping, his body shaking, and eyes wide. "Igneel…." He muttered. "I found him… I found Igneel…." Natsu gasped.
He saw his dear father figure, standing behind him, majestic and strong. He gave Natsu a deep nod, proud of his son. "Can this mirror….predict the future…?" Natsu asked, not taking his eyes off the mirror. "It's unlikely…. My parents are dead." Harry told them, not looking up then at the mirror.
Ron and Natsu agreed that Harry needed some time alone. So they took the cloak and promised they'd come back in an hour or so. Only for Harry to agree in silence. Natsu laid in his bed, thinking about what he saw in the mirror, and what Harry said about his parents. Ron did the same, tossing a leather ball up and down.
"Hey Ron, what happened to Harry's parents?" Natsu asked. Ron stopped tossing the ball, then sat up. "You don't know?" Natsu sat up, and looked at Ron. "What do you mean?" He asked. "Bloody hell, I can't believe you don't know!" Ron gasped. "Know what?" Natsu asked again. Ron sighed and looked to the side. "The Boy-Who-Lived." Ron told him as if he should know this stuff. "Uh…" Natsu hummed, until he shook his head. Ron's jaw dropped. "How could you not know?!" He yelled at him. Ron sighed again, and looked at Natsu. He then looked at the ball, and tossed it a bit.
"This was about ten or eleven years ago. We would have been a few months or a year old. Harry's parents were attacked and killed on the spot with the Unforgivable Curse. Harry was an attempted murder victim. But the spell was rebutted, and Harry survived. That's why he's famous. Because he is the only one who ever survived the Curse and by He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Mentioned."
Natsu's head jolted up, his eyes shocked. "Wait…. This Who-Must-Not-Be-Mentioned…. He killed Harry's parents?" Natsu gasped. Ron nodded. "Ron…. who is this person?" Natsu asked. "Bloody hell, it'll be a million years until I say! Mentioning his name bad luck!" Ron refuted, looking at Natsu disgusted a bit.
Natsu looked down on his bed, thinking to himself. "If Harry was killed by this Mystery Man, then that means there's a high chance there is someone who is trying to complete the deed! But who..? I need to tell everyone about this as soon as possible!"
"By the way Natsu? Who is this Igneel? Why are you so obsessed with finding him?" Ron asked, tilting his head. Natsu looked at Ron, before looking down at his legs. "He's just someone who's always been there for me…. He raised me as a child, before I found my family…" Ron looked at Natsu, surprised. "You were an orphan as well?" Ron asked. Natsu nodded, still not looking at Ron.
"But in the Grand Hall, you asked me if Charlie heard of him. Why would Charlie know Igneel?" Ron asked. "Because Igneel is a dragon." Natsu said plainly. "Wait WHAT?!" Ron exclaimed, leaning forward. "How did you not get eaten?! How did you escape?!" Ron asked, still flipping. "Not all dragons are bad. Igneel was a dragon who supported the human race." Natsu explained calmly. "Bloody hell, are you some sort of Dragon Whisperer?" Ron asked, excited by all this. "To an extent." Natsu admitted.
"Woah! Awesome!" Ron beamed. "I guess I can contact Charlie. See if he knows anything." Ron smiled. "Thanks Ron." Natsu smiled back. "Welp, it's been about an hour. I'm going to get Harry. You coming?" Ron asked, looking at Natsu. "Nah, I'll stay here." Natsu smiled. "Alright." Ron shrugged, before tossing on the cloak and walked out the door.
"Yawn. Why are we up here this late at night?" Lucy slurred, rubbing her eyes. "This better be for a good reason." Gray muttered, clearly grumpy about waking up at around three in the morning. "It is for a good reason." Natsu told him, determined. "Natsu came up and said to gather you all here as soon as possible. Not sure why though…" Mavis told them.
"Well, since we're here, did Levy grab the books?" Wendy asked, taking her seat at the table. "Right here." Levy smiled, holding up a book. "Some of those books were weird. There was even a screaming book." "You've got to be more careful Levy. We could only distract for so long." Erza scolded. "Sorry. But I got what we needed." Levy smiled, putting the books on the table.
"But still, why did Natsu call us here?" Mira asked. "I think I have an idea who's after Harry." Everyone was awake now. "You?" Gajeel snarked, pointing at Natsu. "Yes. Mavis, where are the folders on Harry's parents?" Mavis looked at Natsu, confused. "Alright…." Two folders flew down onto the table.
"James and Lily J. Potter. Both in Gryffindor, had one son. Harry. Both of them are deceased. But how did they die?" Natsu asked his comrades. Everyone looked at Natsu, then looked up thinking. "It's simple. They were murdered." Everyone looked at shock at Natsu's claim. "They were murdered…? By who?!" Wendy exclaimed, hand to her mouth. "By Mister Mysterio." Natsu said, his face quite serious.
Everyone froze in place, the information refusing to process. "So that means…" Natsu nodded at Lucy. "The one who attacked him during the Quidditch match… Was either him, or someone who's sworn to finish the deed." He finished. "Natsu…. How do you….?" Mira asked. "Ron explained to me. He told me the reason why Harry is famous. I didn't even know he was famous. But still…" Natsu sighed.
"... Natsu, thank you for bring this to our attention. Thanks to your information, I have a theory of what their achievement is." Everyone looked at Mavis, waiting for her theory. As Mavis explained, everyone stood in place their eyes taking shape of surprise. "I guarantee 96.349% probability that this is how it will play out. Best be on our guard everybody." Everyone nodded, understanding. "Makarov, ask Dumbledore who this man is. I will take it from there." Makarov nodded, understanding.
"Keep your eyes peeled everyone. We don't know who's working for this mystery man. And now that we know why Harry is being targeted, we must stick closer to him more than ever. Am I clear?" Everyone nodded, no objections.
"Good. Meeting adjourned."