This chapter barely holds any importance, and I almost scrapped it, but then I thought you might want to know about Harry's first Christmas. Hope you enjoy. And Happy Olympics

5. A Memorable Christmas

December was passing faster than they could imagine. Harry and Tonks had become noticeably closer to each other. Hestia and Edward were relieved to have the old playful Tonks back and both of them liked Harry. To them, Harry was a surprise. He didn't show any arrogance or even a bit of pride at being The Boy Who Lived. He was very polite, shy and somewhat reserved. He laughed with everyone else, listened to others' conversations and occasionally added a comment of his own, but he mostly kept to himself. Tonks tried to talk him about his relatives, but he managed to avoid that topic every time, and Tonks gave it a rest for the time being. He'll talk when he's ready, she thought.

Hermione and Neville liked Tonks too. Though disapproving of her frequent swearing, the bushy haired witch was very interested in a metamorphmagus. (I've read all about them, of course. But they are very rare, aren't they? And sometimes people are prejudiced against them too, which is absolute nonsense, blah, blah, blah…) Neville was awed by the older girl's 'rules are made to be broken' attitude. Harry considered her as a friend and a guide. She was the only link to his parents that he knew. Though they didn't talk much about Harry's parents after that nighttime chat, it was still very comforting to know that someone else missed them and had a better memory of them and was ready to share them with him.

Soon enough, it was Christmas holidays and one Monday morning, Professor McGonagall came to ask who was staying for the holidays. Harry immediately signed up. Given his way, he would have spent his summer holidays at Hogwarts. Hermione and Neville were both leaving. Tonks was staying though, he thought happily. Over the weeks, he had grown fond of the bubbly metamorphmagus. At least he could talk to her for a while when she wasn't with her friends.

On Christmas morning, Harry woke up quite early. He looked out of the window and was delighted to see that it was snowing. As far as he could see, the ground was beautifully white, the trees of the Forbidden Forest were topped with snow and Hagrid's hut looked like the perfect muggle Christmas cards. While Privet Drive had a sterile sort of beauty, it was nothing compared to the magical view in front of his window. He stared at the forest for a long time before his stomach grumbled. Not wanting to stay inside in this beautiful morning, he headed down. He knew that only Angelina Johnson and Katie Bell, his quidditch teammates, were remaining in the Gryffindor Tower and he was not surprised to find both of them huddled near the Christmas tree that graced a corner of the warm common room. Exchanging Christmas greetings with both of them he set to go to the Great hall, but Angelina called him back.

"Hey Harry, aren't you gonna open your presents?"

Harry looked at her with a surprised expression. "I got presents?"

They looked at him like he has gone barmy. "Of course you got presents. Everyone gets presents on Christmas." Katie said. He went towards the pile, slightly dizzy and immensely curious. Who on earth would send him presents?

It appeared that he had three packages. The first one was from Hagrid. He sent a box of chocolate frogs and his own home-made rock cakes. He smiled widely at that. He couldn't eat the cakes without breaking his teeth, but the gesture from his first magical friend made him very happy. The second parcel was some sort of silvery cloak and was mysteriously unsigned. He decided to open the last package before trying on the cloak. It was from Tonks. The package was hard and rectangular, probably a photo frame. Smiling, he opened it to find his suspicions correct. It wasn't, however, empty. It had a picture of four people. There was a caption scribbled under it.

Three Potters and a Tonks.

Lily Potter was beaming at an infant Harry in her arms while James and Dora looked on with almost identical, loving smiles.

As if in a trance, Harry went out through the portrait of the Fat Lady, ignoring her annoyed 'Merry Christmas to you too.' When he reached the Great Hall, his eyes looked for the Hufflepuff table. There she was, sitting in the almost deserted table, chatting up with a couple of first years. When she noticed him coming her way, she smiled brightly and was about to say something but he cut her off with a surprisingly strong hug.

To say Tonks was shocked would be an understatement. Harry has always shied away from physical contacts and him initiate a hug was almost unthinkable. He pulled away soon and brandished the framed photo and said with a cracked voice, "Thanks a lot Dora. It's the best Christmas gift I ever had."

Tonks smiled brilliantly at him. "Don't mention. I wrote mum to send this picture, it's one of my favourites. Well, sit down. Or are you waiting for your friends?"

"No, the Gryffindor tower is almost empty. What about you?"

Tonks turned to the two first years she was talking to. "Here, I guess you guys know each other? Our dorms are almost empty too. Susan and Hannah are the only ones beside me staying back." He greeted Susan Bones and Hannah Abott, and they insisted that he had breakfast with them. He felt a bit uneasy sitting away from Gryffindor table, but when Katie and Angelina went and sat with their friends in the Ravenclaw table, he didn't worry about it anymore. He ate and listened to Susan, Hannah and Tonks's conversation, sometimes voicing his opinion between mouthfuls.

When breakfast was finished, Susan and Hannah left for their dorms and Tonks looked at him with a wide grin. There wasn't any particular reason to it, but Harry couldn't help but grin back. For the first time since he could remember, he was having a happy Christmas.

"So what's your plan for the day?" Tonks asked after she patted her stomach in satisfaction.

"Er… I don't know. I guess I wanted to visit Hagrid. I haven't gone to visit him after my first week here." He added a bit shamefully.

"Great! I'll come too. Haven't visited him for ages. Can you wait a bit while I grab my cloak from my room? No wait, come with me. I don't think you ever went inside Hufflepuff common room?" she asked, already tugging him towards the stairs.

"Er… no. I don't even know where it is." He admitted.

Tonks made a show to look heartbroken. "You don't know where your favourite girl lives? I think you don't love me anymore." She wiped fake tears and howled dramatically and running down the corridor.

Laughing at her antics, he followed her and they stopped near the portrait of a bald and plump looking wizard.

"Mistletoe."

The portrait swung open and revealed the Hufflepuff common room. It was almost identical to the Gryffindor common room, except for the colours. Everything in Gryffindor was scarlet and golden where Hufflepuff was all yellow with streaks of black. There was a warm looking sofa where Susan and Hannah were sitting. They waved at him when they saw him. Tonks smiled and said, "Just wait a minute and I'll be back in no time." She ran to the stairs leading to her dorm and stumbled comically in the way.

Seeing him standing alone, Susan called him over and they talked about classes and school in general. Soon Tonks was back and he bid goodbye to Susan and Hannah and walked out of the portrait. They walked in a comfortable silence until they reached the huge door leading out to the grounds.

"How'd you make friends with Hagrid?" she asked him curiously. He told her all about his eleventh birthday. The hut in the sea, Leaky Cauldron, his introduction to the wizarding world and Hedwig. Tonks never saw Hedwig so she had no idea how she looked, but she smiled at Hagrid's generosity. Just like the big ol' man to buy Harry a gift that he would love and find useful. She in turn told him about how she became friends with Hagrid. In her first year, when Hestia and Edward were just classmates, she used to roam around the grounds all alone. Hagrid noticed her and one day he invited her to his hut and they hit it off immediately. Sometimes when she got upset, she would come down to visit Hagrid and the big man would make her a large mug of tea and she would just sit there and talk with him for hours, it always made her feel better.

When they reached the little cabin, Tonks didn't bother to knock. Instead, she yelled, "HAGRID, OPEN THE DOOR!" Fang's bark was booming and after a moment, Hagrid's great bearded face appeared.

"Tonks! And Harry too! Thought yer forgo' where me lived. C'mon in."

After a short exchange of "Merry Christmas" Hagrid put a huge cauldron full of water above the fire which was cackling merrily in the fireplace, and sat down on his bed. Harry noticed the poor bed sinking down quite a few inches.

"I gotta admit I'm surprised to see yer two together. Howd'ya know each other?" he asked curiously. Tonks looked at Harry, unsure how much he wanted to share. Harry, feeling a bit mischievous, replied, "Oh I just saved her from a mountain troll and now she tags along everywhere I go."

Tonks's jaw dropped in shock but when she realized he was just taking the piss, she jumped to tickle him. "Why you little bugger, I'll show you tagging!"

Unfortunately for her, Harry wasn't ticklish.

"Not fair!" she pouted, "He has to be ticklish somewhere!" when he continued to grin at her, her frown dissolved and she burst out in laughter. Laughing was contagious. So soon Harry and Hagrid joined in the laughter.

They all chatted and teased each other for a while, enjoying the festive mood. Hagrid revealed a few embarrassing secrets of Tonks, which she vehemently claimed were untrue. They swapped tales of Harry's childhood, some of which made him blush madly.

It was almost lunch when Tonks brought up something that changed Hagrid's happy expression for the first time.

"Hey Hagrid, do you know what's a three-headed dog doing in the castle?" she asked lightly.

Hagrid suddenly looked worried. "How d'ya know 'bout Fluffy?" he blurted out.

"You know it's name?" Harry exclaimed.

"That thing has a name?" Tonks asked disbelievingly.

Hagrid looked annoyed with himself. "Course I know 'is name. I gave 'im to professor Dumbledore."

The pair pondered in this new information. Why did professor Dumbledore need a three-headed dog in the first place? Unless it was-

"It's guarding something?" Harry asked thoughtfully. Tonks looked at him in surprise and a bit of admiration. "Of course! What else would that monster do inside a castle full of students. What's it guarding then?"

Hagrid was torn between protesting about Fluffy being a monster and stopping them before they figured out too much. He went for the latter. "Now look, yer lot don' go lookin' for trouble. It's not my business so I'm not gonna tell nothin'. Its professor Dumbledore and Nicholas Flamel's business, so-"

"Aha! So there's someone called Nicholas Flamel involved here." Harry said happily.

Hagrid was furious with himself.

They racked their brain for a while, but they couldn't remember where they heard the name. Hagrid was not opening his mouth in the fear of giving away more information than he already had. It was one in the afternoon when they finally abandoned their 'Flamel Hunt' and said goodbye to Hagrid. He warned them not to waste their time on Flamel. They just laughed and waved at him.

After a delicious lunch, Harry invited the three Hufflepuffs to the Gryffindor tower. The first years were a bit nervous, but Tonks almost skipped on her way. She claimed that it was her first time in the Lion's den. Apparently, she visited the Ravenclaw tower in her fourth year and never had the urge to go down to the dungeons to the Slytherin common room. The Fat Lady didn't look happy at Hufflepuffs getting to know the password ('Fortuna Major') but she didn't say anything. The common room itself was empty and Harry and Tonks plopped down in the comfortable squashy armchairs near the fire. Susan and Hannah sat down carefully on a sofa. Tonks let out an exaggerated sigh. "Oh you lot look like you're setting your arses on fire. Just chill, ladies!"

The pair relaxed a bit and Harry added, "Make yourselves at home, guys. It's not everyday that you get a seat near the fire in the Gryffindor common room." They smiled and sat more comfortably after that.

After a few hours of exploding snap, chatting about nothing in particular and enjoying the 'Funny Face and Imitation of Various Professors and Prefects Show' by Tonks, they decided to go out to the grounds. Still covered in snow, it provided an excellent opportunity for a nice snowball fight. Harry teamed up with Susan, as Tonks was left with Hannah. Tonks was horrible in dodging, but her aim was dangerous. Susan and Hannah were pretty even in both but Harry's seeker reflexes made it almost impossible to hit him, though his throws weren't necessarily that stellar. When it was around six, the flushed and soaked youngsters were heading back to the castle, still bickering over the snow fight.

"That was cheating Tonks! You weren't supposed to do shield charms." Susan exclaimed, her red hair plastered to her face. Tonks winked at her. "Oh loosen up, darling. All is fair in love and war."

Susan harrumphed and Harry patted her head in consolation. He could see why she was complaining. Knowing that it was pointless to keep throwing at Harry, both Tonks and Hannah targeted Susan only, and though she and Harry hit their opponents enough to make it a draw, she was totally drenched from the melting snow.

When they reached the landing where their paths divided, they decided to meet at dinner and went for their respective dorms. When he lied down in his four-poster bed, Harry smiled. He never had this fun in his whole term at Hogwarts, and the day wasn't over yet. He suddenly remembered the strange cloak he received as a gift. Picking it up, he examined it closely. It was translucent and almost had a fluid property. Not knowing what else to do, he put it on and stood in front of a mirror. He almost jumped out of his skin when he saw the reflection. He was looking at the wall behind him, moonlight illuminating it for him. His body was nowhere to be seen. He opened the cloak hastily and was glad to see that his body has returned beneath his head. Out of the corner of his eyes, he noticed a note falling. Snatching it before it reached the ground, he read it. The handwriting was unfamiliar and loopy.

Your father left this in my possession before he died. It is time you had it back. Use it well.

"Use it well? What the hell is it in the first place?"

After dinner, he showed it to Tonks. (He didn't feel comfortable to show it to Susan and Hannah yet)

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Tonks whispered in an awed voice, eyes bulging at the sight of the cloak.

"Language, Nymphadora!" harry admonished. She threw a stink eye at him but returned to try on the cloak herself. Her body disappeared from view and she exclaimed, "This is a bloody invisibility cloak Harry! Oh I'm so jealous of you." she moaned.

"What do you do with an invisibility cloak then?" he asked impatiently, not getting the reason for her over-enthusiasm. Tonks looked at him like he had sprouted a second head.

"Are you daft, Harry? When you are wearing this, no one can see you. You can do almost anything under it and no one will ever catch you!" she almost shouted in excitement.

Then it clicked in his head. Under the cloak, the world was free to him. As long as he didn't bump to someone or make a noise, he could go anywhere. His face split into a grin.

"Hey Dora, how do you feel about a trip to the forest?" he asked.

Her eyes shone like a dagger in the sunlight.

A/N: I want to express my gratitude to all my readers for reviewing, alerting, favouriting and simply for reading this story. I should probably mention that I have run out of the chapters I already finished writing and now I'm writing as I go. So you won't have updates as fast as you used to. But I promise to try and update as soon as possible. Reviews will ensure fast updates ;)