Hi everybody, I have the next chapter ready. Enjoy.

Rita Skeeter – Star Reporter

Rita Skeeter had her great coup with the article about the trial of Sirius Black. Alone that he got a trial would have made the headlines for a while, but with the way the trial had gone, she had a sensation at her hands. To have Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived and just eleven year old student, having to defend his godfather because no professional barrister at law wanted to take the case and then win with a landslide like he did was without comparison.

She had seen the look Harry Potter had given Waldimor Innireth, when he had shouted that Black would only have lied if interrogated. No, this article would be her finest piece of journalism. The cold, hard facts. She had thankfully had a dicta quill set up and now had a one hundred per cent accurate protocol. She had planned to spice up things later with her quick quotes quill, but she would refrain from it. Harry Potter was dangerous if angered. That much was certain. The boy had a sharp mind and knew how to present facts. If she didn't know he was a Ravenclaw she would have thought that a Slytherin had been presenting the defence. He had built up the defence from the bottom, secured every layer, pointed out where false conclusions had been made and cemented his deductions with statements from important sources like the Minister of Magic himself.

Citing the reports from Fudge and the warden of Azkaban about the Lestranges' placement there was genius. And then the part from the auror manual; he had made Barty Crouch look like an incompetent fool. Having shown that the basic procedure hadn't even been followed and letting Madam Bones do it ten years later was keeping everybody's attention. Often in trials the barristers didn't manage to hold the attention of the members of the Wizengamot. Harry Potter had known how to do this perfectly. Seeing was better than hearing and having to think what things might have looked like. And she had the photos of Bozo, her loyal photographer who knew when to take pictures. So she knew they had the demonstration of the blasting hex against the dummy, Harry Potter holding up the torn robe for all to see, the moment where he pushed up the sleeve of Black with no dark mark on it and the stare down of Innireth.

Then the interview after the trial, the second one he ever gave and she had been the one who got the first one as well. When she had got the letter from Potter with the request to meet him, she had been eager to follow the request. Having an exclusive interview with the Boy-Who-Lived was something no reporter worth their money would pass up upon. She didn't expect to meet a boy who was as well-prepared as he had been. Harry had made her sign a contract that she would only report on his answers truthfully. Otherwise she could forget the interview. When she had asked why she should do it, he had given her that damnable smile. She knew in a few years that smile would be the downfall of dozens of girls. He had told her that the story would be worth it and could make her the most famous reporter in England. She had taken the risk and it had paid off.

In the interview he had brought up the questions he had in regard to his godfather's imprisonment without a trial. He also informed her about the refusal of Minister Fudge to just grant Sirius Black a trial. He asked why the Minister was so afraid of finding out the truth. Were there corpses in his basement that he didn't want to be found? Had he been bribed to keep Sirius locked up? For him, an eleven year old boy it reeked of cover-up. So what if Sirius Black was innocent and still in Azkaban? Were there perhaps others that got thrown to the dementors without a chance to defend themselves? If so, shouldn't the normal witch and wizard be informed what could happen to them in case the Ministry thought they wanted to look good again?

She had loved his style and had written the article. She could proudly say her article was the trigger to get this historical trial on the way. And this one could be her ticket into the ranks of those that were celebrated as star reporters in the world. She, Rita Skeeter, mostly laughed at as a gossip monger. Well, not this time. She had the story of a lifetime with more background information than the others. She would write an award winning article on the trial and she would get the follow up stories on it. The scandal Barty Crouch, the corruption in the Ministry, the abuse of Harry Potter at the hands of the muggles, the whole story, all facts nothing made up, otherwise Potter would skin her alive. That much was for sure.

Like Rita had prophesied, her article sent the wizarding world into uproar. Her first article had only been the overture to months of sensational stories. People were eager for stories of Harry Potter and his past. And as she never really liked any of the stupid Lockharts that were making so much money for made up stories that even she wouldn't have written; she knew she at least needed a nugget of fact to spin a story of guesses and assumptions around to not be sued. So she happily tore the lies that had been made up by Romanio Lockhart apart and told the real story of Harry Potter, a boy who had to grow up way earlier than any child should. While she didn't get many details on the treatment of Harry, she could find out that there had been physical and emotional abuse included.

She went to Harry's old primary school and got interviews with Mr Miller and Mrs Jannison, the two people Harry had mentioned by their jobs. Those two gave her the image of a boy who had had it very hard but didn't give up and by his own effort went to the top of his class and also became one of the best if not the best football player in his age group. They asked about how Harry was fairing and she could tell them that he had just managed to get his godfather who had been framed for a crime he didn't commit out of prison by asking inconvenient questions and that he would probably get to live with him in the future.

After hearing that the two told her even more stories, being happy that Harry was finally getting some justice and happiness. They told her about their observations, Mr Miller about how he had taken it upon himself to make sure the boy got to an appropriate weight once he had noticed his small frame. Mrs Jannison that Harry had a fierce determination to get what he wanted by working for it. And how much the boy despised bullies. It was good material. Here she could paint a picture that would touch the people of the wizarding world emotionally. And it was all the complete truth. She got pictures from the Dursleys, listened in on conversations they had in their house about the trial and how everything was going down the drain because of the freak.

She questioned the neighbours and got a bulls-eye when she found Arabella Figg, a squib, living in the neighbourhood. While Mrs Figg was reluctant to give her all the information she wanted, she had no problems to tell her exactly what kind of despicable monsters the Dursleys were. The lies they told about Harry, how they neglected the poor boy, how they were obsessed with normalcy while being the worst kind of monsters.

She also looked into the Barty Crouch affair. Her beetle form came in very useful. She landed her next great coup when she found out that Barty Crouch had hidden his supposedly dead Death Eater son at his home for years and faked his death with the help of his wife. She heard the house elf talking to somebody when there was nobody to be seen. The words 'Master Barty' were an indication what was going on and she could confirm it once Barty Senior came home. Her next headline, after she had informed the aurors; of course she had collected the condemning evidence before. Knowing a few tricks of the muggle reporters came in handy. She didn't know that much about muggles, but more than the average witch or wizard. For example that their cameras were easier to hide. So she got a few very good pictures of Barty Crouch Jr in his bed, it had been difficult to manage without the house elf noticing, Barty Crouch Senior using the imperius curse to keep his son under control, some documents that were incriminating and the copies of records of people he sent to Azkaban without trial.

With a little potion used for developing the muggle film, she got the normal moving wizarding pictures and nobody was any the wiser. Yes, another career destroyed. Her name became feared in the ranks of those that had to hide things. And the best thing was that they couldn't even say she had made up the stories that she printed. Because this time she hadn't. Her editor had given her a massive bonus for her stories. The circulation of the Prophet had increased massively and the subscriptions shot up.

Harry was setting down his copy of the Prophet. Rita Skeeter had really outdone herself. Within the two weeks that had now passed since Sirius' trial she had portrayed the trial in detail, producing an outcry of unknown proportions in the population. To have proof that an innocent man, a man who was a hero, had been sent to Azkaban for ten years without ever having the chance to defend himself was outrageous. Then having no professional barrister being willing to take the case which forced an eleven year old to take a role he was much too young for normally. But who said Harry was normal? Normal didn't fit him. He was special.

The pictures of the important milestones in the article were really good and pulled the reader into the story. Next she had found out all the dirt on the Dursleys. Thankfully there were no details about the abuse besides the verbal abuse and the malnourishment she had found out about. The interviews with Mr Miller and Mrs Jannison had brought a smile on his face. He was happy that they thought so highly of him. Then now the scandal around Barty Crouch Senior sneaking his son out of Azkaban and holding him under the imperius curse for years with a house elf as the son's guard. Both Crouch men were now in Azkaban, one back in his old cell, the other awaiting trial. Harry wondered how Rita got all her facts, but she had been able to prove everything she wrote so far. Interesting what one interview and the promise of the story of the century could achieve. He wondered if she would keep to properly researching her stories.

Today the other students would return home over the Christmas Holidays. After breakfast the carriages would take them to Hogsmeade Station from where the Hogwarts Express would take them back to London. Harry's end of term results had been very good. Professor Flitwick had been delighted with the results of his first year Ravenclaws. In the half-an-hour meeting Harry had for the month, this time all the meetings had been in the last week of term to discuss the current standing in class and the earned advancements for their rooms mainly, he had been told that he had the highest grades Flitwick had seen in a Ravenclaw student in many years after only one term of school.

Harry had scored 90 % in Potions, 93 % in Defence Against the Dark Arts, 96 % in Astronomy, 99 % in History of Magic, 100 % in Herbology, 105 % in Charms and 107 % in Transfiguration. If he had those scores in his OWL exams he would have got two E's and five O's. Which meant he got five upgrades for his room as he had got a point of the list achieved. Not that Harry hadn't already done that with a few spells already. He had wanted to wait with the essays for Potions and the star chart until he knew better what would be required there. He had had guessed he could get a few O's before Christmas, even if he didn't expect five of them just now. He additionally was in the top five of point winners for his house. Professor Flitwick told him he was immensely proud of his performance so far. Harry smiled. He always liked to hear that somebody was proud of him.

Yesterday evening Harry had played a game of chess with Draco Malfoy in the Great Hall after dinner. The blond and him had a polite conversation about how things had gone for the past term, what goals they had for the coming term and the exams, how Draco would spend his Christmas holidays and so on. Draco had really taken up Harry's advice and put all his effort into his studies while building up a network of mostly Slytherins and Ravenclaws. While he tended to keep to the pureblood students, he treated the halfbloods with normal politeness and the muggleborns indifferently. Meaning while he didn't insult them like he would have done before, he also didn't have more contact than being in the same class with them. But Harry didn't expect anything in that direction anyway. It was more than enough that he didn't bully them.

Draco was the top student of the Slytherin first years with the equivalent of two O's in Potions and History of Magic and high E's in the other five subjects. He was glad he could tell his father those good results and he hoped his father would be proud of him. Harry wondered how any parent couldn't be proud of those grades.

He knew that many wondered why he was acquainted with somebody like Malfoy, who was known to look down on muggleborns, but when he told them he saw potential in Malfoy, they shut up. It was an open secret that Harry Potter knew how to judge people and based his decisions on substantial reasons most of the time. And the pureblood students were very impressed with the network Potter had built up until now. There were only a few first years that didn't like him, mostly those that were jealous. Even if Ron Weasley didn't make a secret of his feelings for the raven haired boy, he didn't dare to cross him again. The dressing down he got after the troll incident had stuck. After one and a half weeks he had finally apologized to Hermione. Things were still a bit frosty towards him in Gryffindor house, but his classmates talked to him again.

Harry Potter had also shown he was powerful and that he was not to be crossed in the Sirius Black trial. Anybody who had the guts to take on the Ministry in their domain, take apart their arguments and win a case that was declared lost by all barristers, who now wanted to kick themselves for not taking the Black case, anybody who had the cunning to catch the Wizengamot in a well-built, multi-layered trap, anybody who worked relentlessly to get all his facts straight and have an ironclad strategy deserved respect in all houses. Harry had got many congratulations for getting his godfather freed. He had to retell the story many times. But he didn't mind that much. It was something he had achieved with his own abilities, nothing that had just happened. And he was willing to take praise for things he deserved to be praised for.

Sirius would arrive the day after tomorrow around lunch. The day before Christmas.

There were only a dozen or so students staying at Hogwarts over the holidays. The Weasley siblings in Gryffindor, he knew from Penny, who was friends with Percy Weasley, that their parents would visit their second oldest brother Charlie at his work in a dragon preserve in Romania. Then there was Neville, who had looked relieved to not have to return home over the holidays.

Two older Hufflepuffs and three fifth year Ravenclaws were staying and one Slytherin third year. Harry mostly spent his time with Neville, showing him how to play Monopoly. Once the Weasley twins found out that he had a game they didn't know they asked if they could play a game as well. Harry agreed as the twins were decent enough chaps, even if they mostly were only interested in their pranks. They had a fun time. When Sirius arrived on Christmas Eve, he and Snape were called into Dumbledore's office. Obviously Dumbledore didn't want to risk anything with those two. To Harry's big surprise, both men really acted civilly around each other. Sirius later told Harry that he had taken a prank way too far and had endangered Snape's life in the past. He had sincerely apologized to Snape for that and both men had closed a cease fire. They would never get along, but they could try to stay away from each other and that was enough.

The twins invited Harry and Sirius to a big snowball fight, where Ron, Neville and the two Hufflepuffs were also included. I was a great and funny match where in the end everybody was trying to get everybody. Wet, red and happy the fighters returned to the school, Sirius performing a drying charm on all their clothes. Harry led Sirius to his common room and showed him his room. Sirius was impressed with the niceties the room had compared to the Gryffindor boy's dorm. Harry opened the window to let a bit of fresh air in and they sat down on his bed.

"Well, as Ravenclaw stresses learning success, we get rooms with fewer roommates. From third year on we get single rooms. I think that is because many Ravenclaws have strange study habits and to not disturb others we get space to just do our thing when we need to. The rooms we can improve by doing things that are on a list Professor Flitwick gave us at the start of the year. Like learning certain spells, writing potions essays that have to be up to a certain standard and the like. We also got some improvements if we managed to get our grades to the equivalent of O's until Christmas. That's where most of my room improvements came from. I only had two other things from my list done so far as I wanted to wait until first term was over for the essays and the star chart. I don't like not achieving something I set my mind upon." Harry explained.

"So you got some O's after just one term, that's very impressive. I hope you don't forget to have fun though." Sirius said. "While being good at school is important, you can't forget to live in the meantime."

"Don't worry. I'm really good at time management. I had already read all my school books before the term started as I had much time on my hands while I stayed in the Leaky Cauldron. With a bit over a month of time on your hands, it's simply not possible to spend it all in Diagon Alley looking around. So I had much time to read. I also decided to not give up my muggle education. I've found out how to take my tests at the end of the year respectively and how they will be filed with the educational departments. I'm not sure if I want to go to university after school, so I want to at least keep the possibility open." Harry said. "The best part is that thanks to Professor Dumbledore and the important people in this country desperately wanting me to come to Hogwarts they bent over backwards to start up a real 'Muggle Studies' course which takes place every second weekend. We have Maths, English Literature, Science, Politics, History and Economics. I am taking all of them and I am really content with the two teachers we have. I have heard that they have also taken over the former elective Muggle Studies that was offered from third year on and have completely reversed what was taught."

"Yeah, Lily was the same. She didn't want to give up on her muggle education and learned next to her normal wizarding studies. Though she concentrated on three subjects she especially liked to get the workload done. How are you managing it?" Sirius asked.

"I'm well ahead of my age group in my studies. I told you the library was my refuge, so I read what I could get into my hands. As there were only so many books that kept my interest in the primary school library, I took to the public library of Little Whinging. And Mrs Jannison also managed to get me more interesting books once she noticed what kind of books I was reading. And most of the muggle exams are easy and include multiple choice questions. Not all of them, in English Literature, Maths and Politics they normally have you write essays, solve mathematical problems or write summaries to books. But Science was mostly multiple choice or answering easy questions with short answers." Harry explained.

"So, what is your favourite subject?" Sirius asked.

"I think Transfiguration and then Potions, even if Professor Snape is really picky and strict. But I always liked subjects that demanded my full concentration. And my 90 % in Potions are a really good result. I don't think anybody but Draco Malfoy got over 95 % in our year." Harry said.

"That's Narcissa's son." Sirius commented thoughtfully.

"Narcissa?" Harry asked.

"My cousin, how is Draco like?" Sirius asked.

"After I put a few ideas into his head on the train, it's okay. He isn't the most likeable guy, keeps mostly to the pureblood students in his closer circle of acquaintances and friends, but he seems to have realized that with his arrogant attitude he hindered himself more than he achieved things. The thing that started it was him barging into the compartment I shared with Terry, Susan and Hannah and demanded to know if I was really Harry Potter. He offered me to help me with making friends with the right people. While I don't like arrogant ponces, I know better than to make an enemy of somebody whose family is influential. So I shook his hand, but told him that I didn't accept anybody as a closer acquaintance or friend until I knew them better. After all I wouldn't want to risk my own reputation by being connected to somebody who didn't know how to at least keep to a proper code of conduct.

"I took apart his way to approach me, the faux pas he had committed by completely ignoring my companions, two of them girls, which you never do in polite society, and gave him a few hints to do better in the future. I planted the idea of making a name of his own instead of only being known as his father's son in his head. It seems to have worked. He treats halfbloods politely and mostly just ignores the muggleborns. From what I have heard about his father, that is a massive improvement." Harry told Sirius.

"That indeed it is. Wow, to have manipulated a Malfoy like that. Are you sure you shouldn't have been a Slytherin?" Sirius joked.

"Would you be mad if I was?" Harry asked, trying to make it sound lightly, but he really feared what Sirius thought.

"Nah, while I hate all that pureblood supremacy rubbish, I know a few people who are decent people and were in Slytherin. Just because you are ambitious and cunning, you aren't evil. The reason I disliked Slytherin in my youth was my family and how they treated me. I mean your grandmother Dorea, a third cousin of my father and a born Black, was a Slytherin and one of the nicest people I ever met. She was more like a mother to me than my own mother. And my cousin Andromeda was also a Slytherin and she married a muggleborn wizard, Ted Tonks. I tend to look at Slytherins more critically, but I know that it's a person who decides what he or she does in life, not a house. After all, Peter Pettigrew was a Gryffindor and went traitor. You can't pin it to one house." Sirius said.

Harry was relieved.

"Why did you ask?" Sirius asked.

"Well, because I normally would have been a Slytherin. I just convinced the sorting hat to put me into Ravenclaw. I didn't want to be branded as the next dark lord in training, just because I want to be the best. And I also didn't think I would be that safe in Slytherin with so many children of Death Eaters there." Harry admitted.

"Don't worry. I'd never hate you, Harry. I loved you from the moment I first held you when James named me your godfather. It doesn't matter which house you're in, even if it is easier for me to accept the idea of another house than Gryffindor with Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff as too much bad in my past is connected to the pureblood mania which was started by Salazar Slytherin himself. When you were a baby, James and I were always planning how we would cheer for you when you played in the Gryffindor house team. I don't mind at all that you play in the Ravenclaw team instead or would've played in Slytherin if the hat had put your there. I'm just really proud that you got on the team in your first year. And from what I heard about your first game against Hufflepuff you're a damn good chaser." Sirius said and was surprised when Harry threw himself into his arms.

Nobody had ever told him he loved him. Nobody. Never. He had wanted to hear those words for all his life. Sirius again was confronted with another emotional wound in his godson's heart. Through the open window Hedwig soared inside, having felt the emotional uproar of her wizard. She looked at the sight before her and decided Sirius had everything well under control. She settled down on her perch and just watched.

On the morning of Christmas Day Harry awoke around eight. He was surprised to see a bunch of Christmas presents at the foot of his bed. It looked like all his classmates and his friendly acquaintances had all given him a little present. He had done the same. For those he wasn't that close to he had got some sweets. For the boys mostly a box with five chocolate frogs and for the girls he got a small box of Honeydukes' finest filled chocolate. For those closer to him, like Rick, Terry, Tony, Lisa, Sylveena, Neville, Hermione, Miranda, Susan and Hannah, he had got a bit more personal presents. He also had sent a bigger box of Honeydukes chocolate to Remus Lupin, having heard that he was a chocoholic from Sirius and he had got Sirius and Hagrid presents. He was busy opening his presents from his acquaintances first, completely awed that he had got so many presents. He never had any proper Christmas presents before.

He got some chocolate frogs, some liquorice wands; some Bertie Bott's every flavour beans, and some self-made biscuits in his collection. The biscuits were really good when he tried one. He looked at the card, the Patil twins had sent them. Just when he was about to open the bigger presents, it knocked at the door.

"Come in." Harry called, assuming that it was probably Sirius. He had said he would come by this morning.

"Hey, Harry. Merry Christmas." Sirius cried happily.

"Merry Christmas, Sirius." Harry replied cheerily.

"I see you already started unpacking your presents. What did you get so far? This looks like a really good haul." Sirius commented.

"Yes. Well until now I only unwrapped the small tokens. You know from people who I'm friendly with, but not close to. I also sent quite a few of those out. Mostly chocolate frogs for the boys and filled chocolate for the girls." Harry answered.

"Nice, it never hurts to be on good terms with people and if a bit of chocolate lets them know you have at least thought of them, all the better." Sirius said. "Come on; let's see what's in the bigger ones."

Sirius seemed as excited as Harry was. Harry nodded and unwrapped the next package. It was a hand-carved wooden flute from Hagrid. Harry tested blowing into it and it sounded like and owl. Remembering an easy Christmas song, he played it on the flute, thinking amused what Hedwig would think about it.

"Nice, I didn't know you could play flute." Sirius said.

"We all had to learn playing flute in music class when I was six. I liked it as it was something nobody minded if I did it well, because they wanted to spare their ears from intentional torture." Harry said. "Sadly I couldn't learn another instrument. That would have required lessons and for those I didn't have the money."

"Do you still want to learn it?" Sirius asked.

"Perhaps later. At the moment with Quidditch and my studies taking so much time, I don't know when I would get it between. Perhaps during the summer. I like music." Harry said.

Sirius nodded. Harry continued to unpack his presents. Hermione had given him a book on famous chasers, Miranda a leather-bound notebook with a fountain pen, Neville a subscription on a potions magazine for a year. From Susan and Hannah he got a combined present of new chaser gloves, Terry and Anthony had also got him a combined present of a broom service kit. Rick had sent an assortment of sweets he knew Harry liked best and Sylveena and Lisa each sent a big box of different homemade biscuits.

Then Harry continued with the biggest presents. He found a three part set of books on the Potter family history from Remus Lupin. He had wanted for some time to find out more about his family so this was a fantastic present. The next one was from Sirius and contained a full set of protective Quidditch gear.

"Thank you, Sirius." Harry said happily.

"You're welcome. I'm glad you like it." Sirius answered.

Now only one present was left. Harry took it and unwrapped it. Inside he found a shimmering piece of cloth.

"I don't believe it, James' invisibility cloak." Sirius exclaimed.

"An invisibility cloak? And it belonged to Dad?" Harry asked shocked.

"Yes. I had wondered where it had gone. Was there a card or something?" Sirius asked.

Harry looked for it. Finally he found it inside the folded cloak.

"Your father left this in my possession. I thought it was about time that it was returned to you, use it well." Harry read out and held the card out to Sirius.

"That's Professor Dumbledore's writing. Curious that James would have lent the cloak to Dumbledore. Especially as he was in hiding." Sirius pondered. "Well, let me tell you, there is as good as nothing in Hogwarts that is out of your reach with this cloak being in your hands. I know we used it quite often to get a midnight snack from the kitchen when we felt like it." Sirius informed Harry.

"Or set up pranks." Harry teased.

"That as well." Sirius confirmed proudly.

"By the way, how did you find the kitchen and how did you get in? I thought that the teachers wouldn't give up that knowledge." Harry asked.

"Ah, what a true marauder is, doesn't know the restriction of rules that are only meant to find ways around them. We wanted to know as much as we could about the castle and so we explored quite a bit. Finding the kitchens was a bit of a coincidence when it happened. We wondered why a still-life type of portrait was hanging in a part of the lower floors, so we tested if there were hidden mechanisms. When Peter sneezed, his hand slipped down the pear, it giggled and tuned into a knob which is the entrance to the kitchen. The house elves were always really helpful. Couldn't be more pleased to give students additional food." Sirius told the story.

"So to get into the kitchen you only have to tickle the pear?" Harry asked.

"Indeed. Why don't you try the cloak on?" Sirius asked.

Harry nodded eagerly and disappeared under the cloak. Only his head was still visible until he pulled the hood up.

"Hey this is great." Harry's voice sounded.

"Indeed it is, but you still are tangible. So be careful where you walk with it. And Mrs Norris can smell you under it, so if you want to stay clear of her, learn a scent erasing charm." Sirius advised.

Harry giggled. He felt a bit cheeky and tackled Sirius invisibly and began tickling him. It resulted in Sirius retaliating and both rolling around on the floor in a tickling match. Harry's cloak had slipped off a bit, taking away his advantage that Sirius couldn't see the most tickling places like his bare feet or his sides.

"I yield!" Harry cried out laughing.

After Harry had stored his presents in his cupboard, which was one of the improvements on his side of the room, he dressed in comfortable but still presentable clothes and both went down to the Great Hall for Christmas Breakfast.

On their way down to the Great Hall they met Peeves.

"Sirius!" Peeves cried in delight.

"Hey Peeves, still keeping this old castle on its toes?" Sirius greeted back.

"Yessir! Peevesy has kept Filch, the nosy cat, the strict teachers and the students busy, making sure nobody is bored." Peeves answered.

"Good to hear. Any remarkable pranksters coming up?"

"Aye. The Weasley twins are on a good way to follow the legacy of the infamous marauders." Peeves said.

"Great. By the way, don't give my godson here a hard time Peeves, would you?" Sirius asked.

"Ah, Harry, didn't see you behind Sirius. It's ready." Peeves said.

"Really? Great work Peeves. When will you start it?" Harry asked.

"After lunch is over. You said you didn't want to disrupt the feast." Peeves said cackling.

Harry nodded enthusiastically.

"Harry, are you collaborating with Peeves for a prank?" Sirius asked.

"Why would you say that?" Harry asked innocently.

"I'm so proud. I thought you didn't like pranking that much." Sirius said delightedly, putting his arm around Harry's shoulders.

"I don't like if it goes too far and if it is too disrupting over the school year. But a well-done prank that makes everybody laugh I like. And as a gag after the Christmas feast, I thought it was okay." Harry answered blushing slightly.

"What did you plan?" Sirius asked.

"Uh, uh!" Harry responded shaking his head. "That would be telling."

"Come on, I'm your godfather, you can tell me." Sirius tried to convince Harry.

"No, it's a surprise." Harry insisted.

No matter what Sirius tried, Harry wouldn't budge. In the end Sirius resigned to waiting after lunch.

After the breakfast Dumbledore insisted on singing a few Christmas carols. As this time they all sang to the right melody it was pretty nice. Neville and the twins invited Harry over to the Gryffindor common room to play a few games. Harry agreed and Sirius said he would meet him later for lunch. He wanted to catch up with his cousin Andromeda and her husband Ted, who had joined his wife for Christmas at Hogwarts. Normally Andromeda Tonks flooed home after she was done with her classes, but over Christmas with her daughter being stuck at the auror academy this year she and Ted had decided to celebrate at Hogwarts.

Harry had a fun morning in the Gryffindor common room. He found out that Percy already knew how to play 'Wizard' from Penny, so he and Harry explained the game to the other four. In the beginning Ron had grumbled about that a Ravenclaw being in the Gryffindor common room was not right, but his brothers and Neville had soon shut him down. It was Christmas; Harry was okay as long as you didn't cross him or his friends, so he was welcome to visit for a few games and the like. And once the new term started, the password would be changed again anyway, so there was no way it would be a problem.

They had a fun morning and soon the Gryffindor boys liked the game as much as the Ravenclaw students. They had some biscuits that the house elves had placed in all the common rooms for the students that stayed at Hogwarts over the holidays, coaxed Harry into singing again, the twins hit all of them with spells that had their hair change colours every thirty seconds and they had some fun in the beginning guessing the next colour. They then went down for lunch and were greeted by an opulent meal. Fat, roast turkeys, roasted and boiled potatoes, platters of chipolatas, buttered peas, gravy and cranberry sauce and stacks of wizard crackers everywhere.

Inside the crackers were fantastic presents for those that pulled them. Harry got a new wizard chess set and an admiral's hat. In the flaming Christmas puddings that followed the main course Sirius found a silver sickle. Then, when all the children and adults were stuffed, Harry knew it was soon time for the little gag he and Peeves had prepared.

Once everybody was filled to the rim, outside explosions and wheezing were going off. Everybody just started to run outside to see what the noise was about. When they reached the entrance doors, they saw they had been opened wide to have everybody look at the snowy grounds. There in the snow were glowing pictures of embarrassing scenes of each teacher. For each subject there was one thing that had gone wrong in their respective field. The pictures were drawn lines in the snow that were sizzling with sparks in different colours. There was an exploding cauldron with Snape looking surprised, McGonagall having bunny ears, a carrot in her paw and a bushy tail, Flitwick shooting sparks from his ears, Sprout being strangled by the vines of a plant, Tonks having a cloud of letters and numbers swirling around, Sinistra running away from a shooting star, Hagrid being grilled by a small dragon and Dumbledore running after a bag of lemon drops that hopped away.

The students were laughing hard at the scenes and even most of the teachers had to suppress a grin. This was a well-done act and while some scenes might have been embarrassing, it was obvious that it was all in good fun.

Dumbledore chuckled. "Quite a nice idea to end the feast with a bang." He commented.

Harry just grinned and said nothing. This had worked out well. Everybody got a good laugh, but nobody was humiliated or hurt. While Snape seemed to be a bit put off at the idea, he couldn't think it was a prank that targeted him specifically. He had made sure to portrait all the teachers during their classes to have the correct looks on their faces. He had drawn the images later with a special potion he had found in a third year book. While theoretically a third year potion, the process was easy enough. He had given the pictures to Peeves to place them in the grounds. With the poltergeist being able to float over the snow it was impossible to find out who had done it. No footprints, the portraits on paper burned up when the pictures were enlarged by a spell on the papers which he had set for a certain time to go off, and no magical signature to go by. The perfect prank.

Okay, another chapter done. Hope you liked it. Till next time.