Outside of this marvelous room that Jack had just stepped out of, he was almost ran over by Peeves who had a box behind his back.
"There you are Frosty! I've been looking for you everywhere!" Peeves called out, bringing the gift forwards "Happy Christmas."
"Why Peeves, I didn't know you cared..." Jack said in a thankful voice taking it, but not opening it "It's not going to blow up in my face is it?"
"Would I do something like that to one of the best pranksters this places or the world has ever seen?" the little formed Poltergeist asked.
"Yes." Jack said but feeling that he should trust him, Jack opened the box anyway – just at arms-length.
Inside was book and some pranking supplies.
"Hm... Thanks Peeves," Jack said smiling feeling a little better "So, there a particular reason you're giving these to me or are you just being nice?"
"Just being nice," Peeves said "Even Spirits need to have a peaceful truce this time of year right? Don't want any Wendigos coming and freezing everything right?"
"Those monsters had nothing to do with me, Peeves and you know it. That was Old Man Winter, and he hated everyone and everything. That's why he made his winters so hard to survive through." Jack said looking at the pranking supplies too used to being compared with that jerk to show any form of care that that was what was happening.
"But..." Peeves carried on "It will be a shame to waste them won't it?" he asked grinning.
"I suppose..." Jack said slyly "You give one each to the Twins as well."
"Don't you know it," Peeves said beaming.
Agreeing to meet up tomorrow morning, Jack packed everything up and headed for Gryffindor Tower just arriving in time to see Percy come down the stairs to the boys dormitories dressed as an Arthurian Knight.
The look of confusion, embarrassment, and anger on Percy's face was priceless.
Once that was all sorted out, and Percy had changed of course, the whole House went down to the Great Hall for Christmas Dinner.
Jack didn't know where to start first.
One of the 100 fat, roast turkeys? Some of the boiled potatoes from that buttery mountain? Some peas and sweet corn? Yorkshire puddings? Did he want gravy with his meal?
After a while though, he got some of everything (well except the sprouts) and said to himself he could always get more of something he liked more than the others later.
"Hey Jack want a try at a cracker?" Jodie, a 7th year who was staying for the holiday and sitting opposite him asked holding one out.
"Yeah alright," Jack said shrugging believing these to be much more fun than the lame non-magical ones.
And he was right.
Sadly he didn't win the price, a pack of gobstones, but he didn't mind.
After a few more crackers, jokes – that were surprisingly funny, flaming Christmas pudding, and come Carols, Jack, Harry, and the Weasley's had a snowball fight with whoever wanted to join them.
Somehow, Jack was sure of it, he even got nice little Professor Flitwick involved.
When it got a bit cold for everyone else, Jack returned inside with them and while Ron, Harry and Percy were playing chess, he was with Fred and George planning a Pranking Spree for the new year.
"We always thought that Peeves was only trying to get us in trouble," Fred said unwrapping his unopened gift from him.
"Yeah, or if we did anything it will fall back to him," George said looking at his too "A Pranker never turns on his Brothers, or Sisters, or does anything to get them into deep deep deep trouble."
"Well, well for one, Peeves must respect you as Brothers then," Jack said "And two, you have my word as a Spirit, and as a Guardian, that I know for a fact, Peeves respects that rule."
After a tea of turkey sandwiches, crumpets, trifle, and, non-elf-spit-covered/edible fruitcake, everyone was starting to feel tired, to do much except watch as Percy chased Fred and George all over the tower because they had stolen his prefect's badge.
It was hard to choose which holiday was better, Christmas of Easter, when it came to days like this, Jack thought as he got into bed.
Jack was about to shut the curtains and go to bed, when he saw Harry getting up and putting on that cloak and vanishing.
His role as a Guardian over riding his hatred of a piece of material, Jack got up again too, put his wand in his pocket and followed an invisible Harry down the stairs.
"So you're really doing this then Harry?" Jack asked from the stairs.
Hearing a gasp from somewhere before him, Jack tried not to look freaked out when Harry lowered his hood.
"How did you know I was here?" he asked.
"As invisible as you are, that piece of material doesn't shut out noise." Jack said coming over. "So just out for a stroll are we, or are we going somewhere forbidden?"
"Well, since you're asking, I was thinking about going into the Restricted Section of the library to look for Flamel. Seeing as we can't find him anywhere else."
"And it can't wait until tomorrow because...?" Jack asked extending the last word.
"Because the sooner we know what it is, that Fluffy's guarding, the better chance we have of protecting it from whoever is trying to steal it." Harry said turning to the portrait hole again.
"You may not know this Harry, but Christmas time is one of the only times of the year where dark magic hardly ever works," Jack said calmly "So I can bet that whoever is behind all this, will wait until after the holidays for their power to build back up. Meaning it's safe for now. Therefore, we can wait until morning, when the library is actually open to do as you're suggesting and possibly only loose Gryffindor some points and get detentions, rather than be expelled."
Harry thought about this, and all the logic behind it.
Finally he sighed and took off his father's cloak and returned upstairs with Jack.
"But I'm going to try tomorrow," he said as he got back into bed.
"Of course you will Potter," Jack said yawning and falling to sleep.
Boxing Day.
The day during the Christmas Holidays where everyone stayed in late and no one wanted to do anything.
Well except for Jack, Fred and George, who at the moment, were setting pranking traps down one of the corridors.
"I only wish I have a camera with me so I can record all of this for my journal," Jack said when they were finished and left, after checking that the trick wires were hidden.
"Yeah me too," Fred said beaming "But of course if we did, we would need to be here to take the picture, and then we'll get into more trouble."
"Um, guys I think we might already be." George said pointing to a bushy cat's tail which belonged a certain cat, just turn around the corner.
"Oh dear," Fred said nervously.
"Opps," Jack said looking at the trail of ice that he had unknowingly left around, quickly removing it.
"This is bad," George said quickly pulling out an old piece of parchment and his wand.
"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good..."
From the tip of George's want to Jack's amazement there drew a map of Hogwarts and then words started appearing across the top saying:
'Messrs Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs
Purveyors of Aids to Magical Mischief Makers
are proud to present
THE MARURDER'S MAP'
Before Jack could get a better look at it, George opened it up and said: "I wish to know where 'Argus Filch' is..."
Just then the map glowed a little and a new setting labelled 'Trophy Room' came up and a pair of feet with a tag saying 'Argus Filch' was in there next to one saying 'Mrs Norris.'
"They've already met up and are in the Trophy Room," George said, "I'm guessing we don't have long. 'Mischief Managed.'" he said the parchment going blank.
"We'll need to split up then" Fred said "Jack you go that way, and we'll go this way."
"Where did you get that... thing?" Jack asked wanting answers.
"We'll tell you later, now if you don't want to get caught, go that way and hide." George said as he and his twin left in the other direction.
Jack ran for a bit and slipped into an empty class room closing the door behind him, before turning around and looking to see where he was and saw a large mirror.
Wondering what it was doing here, Jack went over to it reading the inscription that ran across the top: Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi.
"I show not your face but your heart's desire?" Jack asked himself before turning to look into the glass and jumped to see a little girl, about Jamie Bennett size and age, with long brown hair and round brown eyes, standing next to him.
Behind him, stood a man and a woman, both also with brown hair and brown eyes, all three of them in clothes worn by people who lived in the 1700's meaning... meaning...
"Mum...? Dad...? Emma...?" he asked tears in his eyes as he looked to each of them, especially his sister, gasping in surprise when Emma Overland threw her arms around Jack's reflection and the real Jack could feel her.
Looking to the door wondering if the Twins would understand if he was late meeting back up with them, Jack slowly sat down, turning his eyes back to the mirror.
"I'm sorry I wasn't there for you sis..." he said quietly to Emma. "And Mum... Dad... I'm sorry I took her out onto the ice before testing if it was safe."
"I'm sure they would forgive you, Jack," someone said behind him making Jack look around to see Dumbledore.
"Dumbledore, I... I didn't hear you come in," Jack said turning back to the mirror rubbing at his eyes to get them free from tears.
"Yes... Strange how lost one can get while they are staring into the Mirror of Erised," Dumbledore said coming to sit onto the floor next to Jack "And with you being from the Spirit world I suppose you have a good idea of what it does?"
Jack looked up at the inscription and thought.
"It shows us, what our hearts desire," he said after a bit "Which is why I can see my Human family."
"Correct," Dumbledore said smiling. "However, this mirror cannot show knowledge or truth. Men have wasted away in front of it entranced by what they have seen, or driven mad, not knowing if what they see is real or possible.
"In a few days the Mirror will be moved to a new home. Until then, you may come and see it again, but afterwards I pray that you don't go looking for it again. If you do, come across it again, you will be prepared. Now, why don't you make your way back up to Gryffindor Tower, so you have an alibi for when your prank traps go off."
Smiling and giving a nod Jack got up, gave one last look to his family and left, meeting up with Fred and George just outside the tower just as the screams from Filch could be heard.
