Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter only Leo and Fawn
"Chapter 12 The Mirror of Erised," James began to read.
Christmas was coming. One morning in mid-December, Hogwarts woke up find itself covered in several feet of snow. The lake frozen solid and the Weasley twins were punished for bewitching several snowballs so that they followed Quirrell around, bouncing off the back of his turban.
The Marauders laughed loudly at the mental image. Every time the twins are mentioned they get better.
"Does that mean the twins were throwing snowballs at Voldy?" Leo whispered to Harry who had to quickly muffle his laughter and buried his head into the crook of Leo's arm that was resting under his head.
The few owls that managed to battle their way through the stormy sky to deliver mail had to be nursed back to health by Hagrid before they could fly off again.
No one could wait for the holidays to start.
"Christmas at Hogwarts is always so amazing!" Lily gushed.
While the Gryffindor common room and the Great Hall had roaring fires, the drafty corridors had become icy and a bitter wind rattled the windows in the classrooms. Worse of all were Professor Snape's classes down in the dungeons, where their breath rose in a mist before them and they kept as close as possible to their hot cauldrons. Not to mention that Snape had been in a bad mood since his office had been made a mess, he still didn't know that it was Leo who had done it and Harry, Ron and Hermione weren't about to get their friend into trouble, even if Hermione didn't approve of what Leo did.
"It was necessary," Leo defended himself when Hermione gave him a disapproving look.
"It wasn't, but okay," Hermione rolled her eyes.
"I agree with Leo, it was necessary," Sirius nodded.
"I do feel so sorry," said Draco Malfoy, one Potions class, "for all those people who have to stay at Hogwarts for Christmas because they're not wanted at home."
He was looking over at Harry as he spoke.
"Stupid little git!" James growled. "I'd like to see him try and say something in front of Minnie and not Snivellus!"
"Like he'd be brave enough to do that, the little weasel is a cowered just like his stupid father," Sirius scoffed.
Narcissa went to open her mouth to defend her son and future husband but couldn't bring herself to do it. She knew that James and Sirius were right.
Crabbe and Goyle chuckled. Harry, who was measuring out powdered spine of lionfish, ignored them. Malfoy had been even more unpleasant than usual since the Quidditch match. Disgusted that the Slytherins had lost, he had tried to get everyone laughing at how a wide-mouthed tree frog would be replacing Harry as Seeker next.
James snorted before Lily smack him on the arm and scolded him for laughing.
"I'm sorry, but it's kind of funny," James said with a sheepish smile.
"It's a little funny to think about," Harry admitted, he knew his dad hadn't meant anything by his laugh and could see where he was coming from.
Then he'd realized that nobody found this funny, especially with Leo saying that the frog could still beat Malfoy, because they were all so impressed at the way Harry had managed to stay on his bucking broomstick. So, Malfoy, jealous and angry, had gone back to taunting Harry about having no proper family.
"Harry has a proper family," Ron frowned. "He's got us!"
Harry felt his chest warm as his friends all agreed. He loved his friends.
"He's got us too!" Lily stated.
It was true that Harry wasn't going back to Privet Drive for Christmas, Professor McGonagall had come around the week before, making a list of students who would be staying for the holidays, and Harry had signed up at once. He didn't feel sorry for himself at all; this would probably be the best Christmas he'd ever had.
"Not having to spend Christmas at the Dursleys? It's like an early Christmas present!" Remus grinned.
Ron and his brothers were staying, too, because Mr and Mrs Weasley were going to Romania to visit Charlie.
"Can we go to Romania some day?" Leo asked.
"Do you want to see the dragons or Charlie?" Harry teasingly asked.
Leo blushed brightly and groaned much to everyone else's confusion. "I said he was attractive!"
"You what?" Ginny asked shocked.
Leo jus groaned louder and buried his head into Harry's hair as he laughed louder. Harry didn't hold it against Leo, they were allowed to find other attractive and he thought Charlie was attractive as well.
When they left the dungeons at the end of Potions, they found a large fir tree blocking the corridor ahead. Two enormous feet sticking out at the bottom and a loud puffing sound told them that Hagrid was behind it.
"Hi, Hagrid, want any help?" Ron asked, sticking his head through the branches.
"That so sweet of you," Fawn smiled as Ron blushed.
"Nah, I'm all right, thanks, Ron."
"Would you mid moving out of the way?" came Malfoys cold drawl from behind them. "Are you trying to earn some extra money, Weasley? Hoping to be gamekeeper yourself when you leave Hogwarts, I suppose- that hut of Hagrid's must seem like a palace compared to what your families used to."
"I still can't believe how rude he is!" Narcissa admitted.
"You can change that this time around," Regulus told his cousin.
"Yeah, like leave Lucy when you have Draco and raise him with us," Sirius said, gesturing between Regulus and himself.
Narcissa felt tears well up in her eyes at the kind offer. "Thank you," she chocked out.
"We're family," Andromeda shrugged as it was nothing.
Ron dived at Malfoy just as Snape came up the stairs.
"WEASLEY!"
"Of course, it's you who has to turn up," James sneered.
Snape just rolled his eyes. Weasley deserved it.
Ron let go of the front of Malfoy's robes.
"He was provoked, Professor Snape," said Hagrid, sticking his huge hairy face out from behind the free. "Malfoy was insultin' his family."
"Be that as it may, fighting is against Hogwarts rules, Hagrid," said Snape silkily. "Five points from Gryffindor, Weasley, and be grateful it isn't more. Move along, all of you."
"Why are you so unpleasant?" Fawn asked, shocking everyone, she was always so kind and never had a mean word to say
"Why are you so weird?" Snape snapped, thinking about how the only think she ever talks about is creatures and nothing else.
"Leave her alone!" Leo snapped sitting up.
"Why? It's true," Snape rolled his eyes.
"Just because you're a miserable piece of shit who doesn't have any happiness his in life doesn't give you the right to insult my mother!" Leo growled, his hair slowly changing black.
"Insult her again, Snivellus, and you'll see what happen!" Sirius snapped.
"That is enough!" Professor McGonagall shouted. "I will have no more of this childish behavior! The next person who acts out of line will have detention for a week! And yes, that includes you five," she said pointing at the five from the future,
Leo laid back down at Harry's insisting, still glaring at Snape before scoffing and looking away.
Sirius stood up and moved so he was sitting next to Fawn and threw his arm around her shoulder.
Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle pushed roughly past the tree, scattering needles everywhere and smirking.
"There is no need for that," Remus said quietly into the tense room.
"I'll get him," said Ron, grinding his teeth at Malfoy's back, "one of these days, I'll get him- "
"I hate them both," said Harry, "Malfoy and Snape."
"You're not the only one," Sirius snorted.
"Come one, cheer up, it's nearly Christmas," said Hagrid. "Tell yeh what, come with me an' see the Great Hall, looks a treat."
So, the four of them followed Hagrid and his tree off to the Great Hall, where Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick were busy with the Christmas decorations.
"Ah, Hagrid, the last tree- put it in the far corner, would you?"
The hall looked spectacular. Festoons of holly and mistletoe hung all around the wall, and no less than twelve Christmas trees stood around the room, some sparkling with tiny icicles some glittering with hundreds of candles.
Everyone was in awe as a photo of the Great Hall showed itself on the screen. It looked amazing.
"'How many days you got left until yer holidays?" Hagrid asked.
"Just one," said Hermione. "And that reminds me- Harry, Leo, Ron, we've got half an hour before lunch, we should be in the library."
"Why do you need to go to the library that close to the holidays?" Regulus asked shocked. He knew Hermione was very studious but that a bit excessive.
"It's says it in a moment," James said, having read a head a few lines.
"Oh yeah, you're right," said Ron, tearing his eyes away from Professor Flitwick, who had golden bubbles blossoming out of his wand and was trailing them over the branches of the new tree.
"I've always wanted to help decorate the trees in the hall," Lily admitted softly.
"The library?" said Hagrid, following them out of the hall. "Just before the holidays? Bit keen, aren't yeh?"
"Oh, we're not working," Harry told him brightly. "Ever since you mentioned Nicolas Flamel, we've been trying to find out who he is."
Remus laughed loudly. "Just like James," he chuckled at everyone's questioning looks.
James puffed his chest out proudly that his son took after him as Lily rolled her eyes good naturedly.
"You what?" Hagrid looked shocked. "Listen here- I've told yeh- drop it. It's nothin' to you what that dog's guardin'."
"We just want to know who Nicolas Flamel is, that's all," said Leo with innocent eyes.
"I don' believe yeh," Hagrid admitted with a chuckle. Leo looked at him with the same innocent eyes, his hair back to white with a black streak.
"Unless you'd like to tell us and save us the trouble?" Harry added. "We've must've been through hundreds of books already and we can't find them anywhere- just give us a hint- I know I've read his name somewhere."
"You were looking in the more recent books, weren't you?" Lily asked knowingly as the four didn't look at her. She was right.
"I'm sayin' nothin," said Hagrid flatly.
"Just have to find out for ourselves, then," said Ron, and they left Hagrid looking disgruntled and hurried off to the library.
"Poor Hagrid," Fawn giggled.
They had indeed been searching books from Flamel's name everywhere since Hagrid had let it slip, because how else were they going to find out what Snape was trying to steal? The trouble was, it was very hard to know where to begin, not knowing what Flamel might have done to get himself into a book. He wasn't in Great Wizards of the Twentieth Century, or Notable Magical Names of Our time; he was missing, too, from Important Modern Magical Discoveries, and A Study of Recent Developments in Wizardry. And then, of course, there were the sheer size of the library; tens of thousands of books; thousands of shelves; hundreds of narrow rows.
"Did you guys try to ask Madam Pince?" Remus asked.
"We didn't think it was a good idea to ask," Hermione admitted.
Hermione took out a list of subjects and titles she had decided to search while Ron strode off down a row of books and started pulling them off the shelves at random. Leo was staying with Hermione, they decided that it was for the best, when they left Leo alone in the library the first time, he kept getting distracted with creature books and didn't help them in their search at all.
"That sounds like me," Fawn smiled sheepishly.
"I can never get any work done in the library unless someone it with me, I get too distracted," Leo admitted.
Harry wondered over to the Restricted Section. He had been wondering for a while if Flamel wasn't somewhere in there.
"Flamel isn't in there but there are still some really good books in there," Peter said without thinking.
"When have you been in the restricted section?" Professor McGonagall asked sharply.
"I- I haven't, I just think there would some cool books in there…" Peter mumbled nervously.
Professor McGonagall's lips thinned but she didn't say anything, gesturing for James to continue reading.
Unfortunately, you need a specially signed note form one of the teachers to look in any of the restricted books, and he knew he'd never get one. These were the books containing powerful Dark Magic never taught at Hogwarts, and only read by older students studying advanced Defense Against the Dark Arts.
"That's going to be us next year," James grinned at Sirius.
"What are you looking for, boy?"
"Busted," Sirius sang.
"Nothing"' said Harry.
Madam Pince the librarian brandished a feather duster at him.
"You'd better get out, then. Go on- out!"
"She can't just kick you out for doing nothing," Lily gasped. "You were literally doing nothing and there aren't any rules against that."
Wishing he'd been a bit quicker at thinking up some story, Harry left the library. He, Ron, Leo and Hermione had already agreed they'd better not ask Madam Pince where they could find Flamel. They were sure she'd be able to tell them, but they couldn't risk Snape hearing what they were up to.
"I'd like to see him do something if he did find out," James said darkly.
Harry waited outside in the corridor to see if the other two had found anything, but he wasn't very hopeful. They had been looking two weeks, after all, but as they only had odd moments between lessons it wasn't surprising, they'd found nothing. What they really needed was a nice long search without Madam Pince breathing down their necks.
"That will never happen," said Sirius. "I'm pretty sure she lives in there."
Five minutes later, Ron, Leo and Hermione joined him, shaking their heads. They went off to lunch.
"You will keep looking while I'm away, won't you?" said Hermione. "And send me an owl if you find anything. You too, Leo." Leo was also going home for Christmas.
"Why aren't you staying at Hogwarts for Christmas? I'm sure I wouldn't mind if you did," said Andromeda confused.
"I usually spend the Christmas holidays with Gramps and his creatures," Leo said. "I spend the summer holidays at home."
"Where am I?" Fawn asked with a frown.
"It will be explained in a moment," Leo sad quietly.
"And you could ask your parents if they know who Flamel is," said Ron. "It'd be safe to ask them."
"Very safe, as they're both dentists," said Hermione.
"What are dentists?" Regulus asked.
"Dentists are doctors that look after your teeth," Hermione explained, giggled as Regulus scrunched his face up in disgust.
"I'll see if my aunt and uncle know anything," said Leo.
The three looked at him confused. "What about your mum?" said Harry.
Fawn and Sirius leaned forward curiously. Leo pulled Harry tighter against him, nervous about his parents' reactions.
Leo blinked just as confused as the rest of them, "I thought I told you guys? My mum's dead, died during child birth."
The room went silent and still. Fawn was in shock, she expected that she had died in the future when Leo said that Andromeda and her husband raise him but she never knew that was the reason. She didn't even get to hold him.
Sirius could feel tears start to well up in his eyes at the news. The love of his life dies brining their son into the world. He didn't blame, he could never blame Leo for that. Sirius turned and pulled a shell-shocked Fawn into his arms and held her tightly, a few tears falling from his eyes and into her soft blonde locks.
"I'm sorry," Leo said quietly, sitting up and not making eye contact with anyone.
"No! You have nothing to be sorry about! That wasn't your fault and it never will be!" Fawn said sharply, she would never let him think that what happened was his fault.
"Do you know what happened?" Sirius asked shakenly.
"I don't know a lot, just that there was a choice, you either give birth to me but you die or I die and you live. You chose me over yourself," Leo whispered, he couldn't bring him to say it any louder.
Harry hugged Leo around the middle and held him tightly against his chest. It wasn't often that Leo needed comfort but when he did, holding him tightly was always the best way to keep him calm.
"I'm glad," Fawn said with a watery smile. "I will always choose your life before my own."
Leo looked up at her shocked, his once brilliant blue eyes now a murky gray. After a moment he stood up and made his way to the couch that his parents were sharing and sat between them when they made room for him.
Everyone looked away and let the small family have a private moment as Fawn and Sirius completely surrounded Leo, trying to drown him in their love for him.
James let them have a moment before he started to read again.
Harry suddenly felt very awkward for having asked at all. "S-sorry, I didn't know," he mumbled feeling guilty for bring it up.
"It's all right. You didn't know and it's not something I just tell people in everyday conversation."
"That wouldn't make me many friends," Leo joked weakly.
Once the holidays had started, Ron and Harry were having too good a time to think much about Flamel. They had the dormitory to themselves and the common room was far emptier than usual, so they were able to get the good armchairs by the fire. They sat by the hour eating anything they could spear on a toasting fork- bread, English muffins, marshmallows- and plotting ways of getting Malfoy expelled, which were fun to talk about even if they wouldn't work.
"You never know until you try," James smirked but dropped it when Lily smacked his arm.
Ron also started teaching Harry wizard chess. This was exactly like muggle chess expect that the figures were alive, which made it a lot like directing troops in battle.
"I love wizard's chess," Peter said absently. He loved to play against his friends, it was one of the only games he could beat his friends in.
Ron's set was very old and battered. Like everything else he owned, it had once belonged to someone else in his family- in this case, his grandfather. However, old chessmen weren't a drawback at all. Ron knew them so well he never had trouble getting them to do what he wanted.
"Chess is so boring," Sirius whined, Leo still sitting under his arm.
"You just can't sit still long enough to play it correctly," Remus remarked with a chuckle.
Harry played with chessmen Seamus Finnigan had lent him, and they didn't trust him at all. He wasn't very good yet and they kept shouting different bits of advice at him, which was confusing. "Don't send me there, can't you see his knight? Send him, we can afford to lost him."
"I hate when they do that," James complained.
On Christmas Eve, Harry went to bed looking forward to the next day for the food and the fun, but not expecting any presents at all.
James and Lily exchanged a sad frown between them before they moved so they were sitting on the couch Harry was sitting on alone since Leo was still wrapped up in Sirius and Fawn's arms. James and Lily wanted to be as close of Harry as they could be for as long as they can.
When he woke early in the morning, however, the first thing he saw was a small pile of packages at the foot of his bed.
"I'm so happy that you have presents!" Lily beamed.
"Merry Christmas," said Ron sleepily as Harry scrambled out of bed and pulled on his bathrobe.
"You, too," said Harry. "Will you look at his? I've got some presents!"
'What did you expect, turnips?' said Ron, turning to his own pile, which was a lot bigger than Harry's.
"Turnips are still better then nothing at all," Harry shrugged.
Harry picked up the top parcel. It was wrapped in thick brown paper and scrawled across it was 'To Harry, From Hagrid'. Inside was a roughly cut wooden flute. Hagrid had obviously whittled it himself. Harry blew it- it sounded a bit like an owl.
"Hagrid, thank you!" James said to the gentle giant who blushed and waved his thanks away.
Second, a very small parcel contained a note.
We received your message and enclosed your Christmas present. From Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia.
Taped to the note was a fifty-pence piece.
"Is that muggle money?" Narcissa asked curiously.
"It is, not worth much though," Lily answer with a frown.
"That's friendly," said Harry.
Ron was fascinated by the fifty pence.
Sirius snorted as Ron blushed brightly.
"Weird!" he said, "What a shape! This is money?"
"You can keep it," said Harry, laughing at how pleased Ron was. "Hagrid and my aunt and uncle- so who sent these?"
"Did you really expect that 'Mione and me didn't get you anything," Leo said with fake offence.
"I wasn't expecting anything from anyone, if it makes you feel any better," Harry said with a crooked grin as Leo let out a bark of a laugh knowin Harry's humor could be quite dark sometimes.
"I think I know who that one's from," said Ron, turning a bit pink and pointing to a very lumpy parcel. "My mum. I told her you didn't expect any presents and- oh no," he groaned, "she's made you a Weasley sweater."
"That's so nice of Molly," Lily said with teary eyes at everyone's kindness to her son.
Harry had torn open the parcel to find a thick, hand-knitted sweater in emerald green and a large box of homemade fudge.
"Every year she makes us a sweater," said Ron, unwrapping his own, "and mine's always maroon."
"Nothing wrong with maroon," Remus said slightly confused.
"I don't like maroon," Ron said.
"That's really nice of her," said Harry, trying the fudge, which as very tasty.
"Mrs Weasley does the best fudge," Harry grinned.
His next present also contained candy- a large box of Chocolate Frogs from Hermione.
The next present was from Leo and he had sent Harry a book on Magical Creatures from Australia.
"Your favourite present," Leo joked with a smirk.
This only left one parcel. Harry picked it up and felt it. It was very light. He unwrapped it.
Something fluid and silvery grey went slithering to the floor where it lay in gleaming folds. Ron gasped.
The Marauders all sat up straighter.
"No way," James gasped.
"That can't be!" Sirius whispered.
"But who had it?" Remus asked.
"What are you three talking about?" Andromeda asked curiously.
"Nothing, never mind," James said quickly not wanting everyone to know about his cloak but quickly reading ahead he realized that it was useless, they were all going to find out but at least they won't know about the map.
"What is it?"
Harry picked the shining, silvery cloth off the floor. It was strange to the touch, like water woven into material.
"It's an invisibly cloak," said Ron, a look of awe on his face. "I'm sure it is- try it on."
"How did you four know it was an invisibility cloak?" Regulus asked.
James groaned loudly, "You're about to find out."
Harry threw the cloak around his shoulders and Ron gave a yell.
"It is! Look down!"
Harry looked down at his feet, but they were gone. He dashed to the mirror. Sure enough, his reflection looked back at him, just his head suspended in midair, his body completely invisible. He pulled the cloak over his head and his reflection vanished completely.
"There's a note!" said Ron suddenly. "A note fell out of it!"
Harry pulled off the cloak and seized the letter. Written in narrow, loopy writing he had never seen before were the following words:
Your father left this in my possession before he died. It is time it was returned to you. Use it well.
A Very Merry Christmas to you.
"You have an invisibility cloak?" Fawn gasped in awe.
"Is that how you guys always get around the castle without getting caught?" Lily asked.
"You four have been using this cloak to wander around the castle after hours?" Professor McGonagall asked sharply.
"No…" James trailed off awkwardly, he didn't know what to say.
Professor McGonagall pursed her lips, she couldn't punish the boys if she didn't have any evidence that they had done anything wrong so she decided for the moment to let the matter go but she would be to talking to the boys at a later date.
There was no signature. Harry stared at the note. Ron was admiring the cloak.
"I'd give anything for one of these," he said. "Anything. What's the matter?"
"Nothing," said Harry. He felt very strange. Who had sent the cloak? Had it really once belonged to his father?
"I did," James reassured his son with a beaming smile.
Before he could say or think anything else, the dormitory door was flung open and Fred and George Weasley bounded in. Harry stuffed the cloak quickly out of sight. He didn't feel like sharing it with anyone else yet.
"It's best if you don't tell anyone about it either, never know who might try to steal it," Sirius warned.
"Merry Christmas!"
"Hey, look- Harry's got a Weasley sweater, too!"
Fred and George were wearing blue sweaters, one with a large yellow F on it, the other a G.
"Harry's is better than ours, though," said Fred, holding up Harry's sweater. "She obviously makes more of an effort if you're not family."
"Why aren't you wearing yours, Ron?" George demanded. "Come on, get it on, they're lovely and warm."
'I hate maroon,' Ron moaned halfheartedly as he pulled it over his head.
"I think it's more the thought and effort that comes with the sweater then the colour," Lily said.
"It is but I've told her before that I don't like the colour maroon but she still makes mine maroon," Ron shrugged.
"You haven't got a let on yours," George observed. "I suppose she thinks you don't forget your name. but we're not stupid- we know we're called Gred and Forge."
Everyone laughed at the twins, the two always made everyone smile.
"What's all this noise."
Percy Weasley stuck his head through the door, looking disapproving. He had clearly gotten halfway through unwrapping his presents as he, too, carried a lumpy sweater over his arm, Fred seized.
"Great, here comes to fun police," James moaned.
"P for Prefect! Get it on, Percy, come on, we're all wearing ours, even Harry got one."
"I- don't—want- " said Percy thickly, as the twins forced the sweater over his head, knocking his glasses askew.
"And you're not sitting with the prefects today, either," said George. "Christmas is a time for family."
They frog-marched Percy from the room, his arms pinned to his side by his sweater.
A photo of Percy being lead from the dorm was shown on screen making everyone laugh loudly. Percy was red in the face and looked very annoyed.
Harry had never in all his life had such a Christmas dinner. A hundred fat, roast turkeys; mountains of roast and boiled potatoes; platters of chipolata; tureens of buttered peas; silver boats of thick, rich gravy and cranberry sauce- and stacks of wizard crackers every few feet along the table.
"We just had dinner but this is making me hungry again," Fawn giggled.
These fantastic party favors were nothing like the feeble muggle ones the Dursleys usually bought, with their little plastic toys and their flimsy paper hat inside.
"Sometimes muggles can be very boring," Remus admitted.
Harry pulled a wizard cracker with Fred and it didn't just bang, it went off with a blast like a cannon and engulfed them all in a cloud of blue smoke, while from the inside exploded a rear admiral's hat and several live, white mice.
"I remember getting a jester's hat, the one with the bells, one Christmas. I loved that hat," Peter said with a grin.
Up at the High Table, Dumbledore had swapped his pointed wizard's hat for a flowered bonnet, and was chuckling merrily at a joke Professor Flitwick had just read him.
Flaming Christmas puddings followed the turkey. Percy nearly broke his teeth on a silver sickle embedded in his slice. Harry watched Hagrid getting redder and redder in the face as he called for more wine, finally kissing Professor McGonagall on the cheek, who, to Harry's amazement, giggled and blushed, her top hat lopsided.
Professor McGonagall and Hagrid both blushed and shifted awkwardly as the students all cackled merrily at the imagine that had popped up on the screen of the scene.
When Harry finally left the table, he was laden down with a stack of things out of the cracks, including a pack of nonexplodable, luminous balloons, a Grow-Your-Own-Warts kit, and his own new wizard chess set. The white mice had disappeared and Harry had a nasty feeling they were going to end up as Mrs Norris's Christmas dinner.
Harry and the Weasleys spent a happy afternoon having a furious snowball fight on the grounds. Then, cold, wet, and gasping for breath, they returned to the first in the Gryffindor common room, where Harry broke in his new chess set but losing spectacularly to Ron. He suspected he wouldn't have lost so badly if Percy hadn't tried to help him so much.
"I hate when people try to help me when I'm playing chess, it's so distracting," Ron bemoaned.
After a meal of turkey sandwiches, crumpets, trifle, and Christmas cake, everyone felt too full and sleepy to do much before bed except sit and watch Percy chase Fred and George all over the Gryffindor tower because they'd stolen his prefect badge.
It had been Harry's best Christmas day ever.
Lily and James exchanged a sad look between the two before they hugged Harry between them.
Yet something had been nagging at the back of his mind all day. Not until he climbed into bed was he free to think about it: the invisibility cloak and whoever had sent it.
"I bet it was Dumbledore," James guessed.
Ron, full of turkey and cake and with nothing mysterious to bother him, fell asleep almost as soon as he'd drawn the curtains of his four-poster. Harry leaned over the side of his own bed and pulled the cloak out from under it.
His father's… this had been his father's. He let the material flow over his hands, smoother than silk, light as air. Use it well, the note had said.
He had to try it, now. He slipped out of bed and wrapped the cloak around himself.
"Just like his father," Remus chuckled at Harry's curiosity and obvious need to always be moving.
Looking down at his legs, he saw only moonlight and shadows. It was a funny feeling.
Use it well.
Suddenly, Harry felt wide-awake. The whole of Hogwarts was open to him in this cloak. Excitement flood through him as he stood there in the dark and silence. He could go anywhere in this, anywhere, and Filch would never know.
"You're a bad influence, Mr Potter," Professor McGonagall scolded James who looked horrified.
"I haven't even been around Harry long enough to be a bad influence," James defended himself in confusion.
"Being his father is enough of an influence," Professor McGonagall said dryly as the rest of the Marauders started to cackled at their friend's misfortune.
Ron grunted in his sleep. Should Harry wake him? Something held him back- his father's cloak- he felt that this time- the first time- he wanted to use it alone.
"I get that," Ron said understandingly when Harry gave him an apologetic look.
He crept out of the dormitory, down the stairs, across the common room, and climbed through the portrait hole.
"Who's there?" squawked the Fat Lady.
"I love scaring the Fat Lady," Sirius snickered.
"I do too," Leo nodded as Sirius beamed at him.
Harry said nothing. He walked quickly down the corridor.
Where should he go? He stopped, his heart racing, and thought. And then it came to him. The Restricted Section in the library. He'd be able to read as long as he liked, as long as it took to find out who Flamel was. He set off, drawing the invisibility cloak tight around him as he walked.
"You could go anywhere in the castle and you chose to go to the library?" James asked horrified that his own son was going to the library and not exploring the castle or going to prank someone.
"Good to know that you got some of my traits," Lily joked.
The library was pitch-black and very eerie. Harry lit a lamp to see his way along the row of books. The lamp looked as if it was floating along in midair, and even thought Harry could feel his arm supporting it, the sight gave him the creeps.
"Why didn't you just use 'Lumos'?" Remus asked.
"We hadn't learnt the spell yet," said Harry.
The Restricted Section was right at the back of the library. Stepping carefully over the rope that separated these books from the rest of the library, he held up his lamp to read the titles.
They didn't tell him much. Their peeling, faded gold letters spelled words in languages Harry couldn't understand. Some had no title at all. One book had a dark stain on it that looked horribly like blood. The hairs on the back of Harry's neck prickled. Maybe he was imagining it, maybe not, but he thought a faint whispering was coming from the books, as though they knew someone as there who shouldn't be.
"You aren't imagining it, the books are charmed to recognized intruders," Lily said. As a prefect she had to patrol the restricted sections sometimes and was told about the books.
He had to start somewhere. Setting the lamp down carefully on the floor, he looked along the bottom shelf for an interesting looking book. A large black and silver volume caught his eye. He pulled it out with difficulty, because it was very heavy, and balancing it on his knee, let it fall open.
A piercing, bloodcurdling shriek spilt the silence- the book was screaming!
"They only do that if someone who doesn't have permission reads them," Professor McGonagall explained.
Harry snapped it shut, the shriek went on and on, a high, unbroken, earsplitting note. He stumbled backward and knocked over his lamp, which went out at once.
"You should run," James winced, just imaging how much trouble Harry would be in if he was caught.
Panicking, he heard footsteps coming down the corridor outside- stuffing the shrieking book back on the shelf, he ran for it. He passed Filch in the doorway; Filch's pale, wild eyes looked straight through him, and Harry slipped under Filch's outstretched arm and streaked off up the corridor, the book's shrieks still ringing in his ears.
He came to a sudden halt in front of a tall suit of armor. He had been so busy getting away from the library, he hasn't paid attention to where he was going. Perhaps because it was dark, he didn't recognize where he was at all. There was a suit of armor near the kitchens, he knew, but he must be five floors above there.
"There are so many different suits of armor around the school, you could be literally anywhere," Sirius frowned.
"You asked me to come directly to you, Professor, if anyone was wandering around at night, and somebody's been in the library Restricted Section."
"I wonder who Filch is talking to," James said giving Snape a glare who returned it.
"It could be Professor McGonagall," Lily said weakly but even she doubted it.
Harry felt his blood drain out of his face. Wherever he was, Filch must know a shortcut, because his soft, greasy voice was getting nearer, and to his horror, it was Snape who replied, "The Restricted Section? Well, they can't be far, we'll catch them."
"I knew it," James scoffed.
Harry stood rooted to the spot as Filch and Snape came around the corner ahead. They couldn't see him, of course, but it was a narrow corridor and if they came much nearer, they'd knock right into him- the cloak didn't stop him from being solid.
"Or being heard so you have to remember to be quiet," Remus said giving Sirius a pointed look. Sirius was always forgetting that just because people couldn't see him didn't mean they couldn't hear him.
Sirius gave his friend a sheepish grin.
He backed away as quietly as he could. A door stood ajar to his left. It was his only hope. He squeezed through it, holding his breath, trying not to move it, and to his relief he managed to get inside the room without their noticing anything.
"It's a good thing you were so small in first year," Leo chuckled.
They walked straight past, and Harry leaned against the wall, breathing deeply, listening to their footsteps dying away. That had been close, very close. It was a few seconds before he noticed anything about the room, he had hidden in.
It looked like an unused classroom. The dark shapes of desks and chairs were piled against the walls, and there was an upturned wastepaper basket- but prodded against the wall facing him was something that didn't look as if it belonged there, something that looked as if someone had just put it there to keep it out of the way.
"Is it the mirror that the chapters named after?" Lily asked, she was the only one who had remembered what the chapter was called and was beginning to wonder why it was names after a mirror.
"It's the mirror," Harry confirmed nervously since they were going to find out in a second anyway, he just wasn't looking forward to seeing his parent's reactions to what he sees in the mirror.
It was a magnificent mirror, as high as the ceiling, with an ornate gold frame, standing on two clawed feet. There was an inscription carved around the top: Erised stra ehru oyt tube cafru oyt on wohsi. His panic faded now that there was no sound of Filch and Snape, Harry moved nearer to the mirror, wanting to look at himself but saw no reflection again.
"You forgot you were wearing the cloak, didn't you?" James chuckled but Harry just shuffled nervously.
He stepped in front of it.
He had to clap his hand to his mouth to stop himself from screaming. He whirled around. His heart was pointing far more furiously than when the book had screamed- for he had seen not only himself in the mirror, but a whole crowd of people standing right behind him.
"But the room is empty, isn't it? And how can you be seen in the mirror if you have the cloak still on?" James asked alarmed.
"It's the mirror is magic," Harry said.
But the room was empty. Breathing very fast, he turned slowly back to the mirror.
There he was, reflected in it, white and scared-looking, and there, reflected behind him, were at least ten others. Harry looked over his shoulder- but still, no one was there. Or were they all invisible, too? Was he in fact in a room full invisible people and this mirror's trick was the it reflected them, invisible or not?
"I've never heard of a mirror like that," Remus said suspiciously.
He looked in the mirror again. A woman standing right behind his reflection was smiling at him and waving. He reached out a hand and felt the air behind him. If she really there, he'd touch her, their reflections were so close together, but he felt only air- she and the others existed only in the mirror.
"Is that possible?" Narcissa asked.
"I'm not certain, Miss Black," Professor McGonagall admitted.
She was a very pretty woman. She had dark red hair and her eyes- her eyes are just like mine, Harry thought, edging a little closer to the glass. Bright green-exactly the same shape, but then he noticed that she was crying; smiling, but crying at the same time. The tall, thin, black-haired man standing next to her put his arm around her. He wore glasses, and his was very untidy. It stuck up at the back, just as Harry's did.
"Is that us?" Lily whispered.
Harry nodded sadly.
James pulled Lily and Harry closer to him in a protective embrace.
Harry was so close to the mirror now that his nose was nearly touching that of his reflection.
"Mum," he whispered. "Dad?"
They just looked at him smiling.
"This is the first time you're seeing us, isn't it?" Lily asked quietly.
"It is," Harry said just as quiet.
And slowly, Harry looked into the faces of the other people in the mirror, and saw other pairs of green eyes like his, other noses like his, even a little old man who looked as though he had Harry's knobby knees- Harry was looking at his family, for the first time in his life.
"Oh, Harry," Lily sobbed, holding Harry tightly.
Everyone in the room looked away from the small family, giving them a small moment of privacy as they held onto each other.
The Potters smiled and waved at Harry and he stared hungrily back at them, his hands pressed flat against the glass as though he was hoping to fall right through it and reach them. He had a powerful kind of ache inside him, half joy, half terrible sadness.
"I can't even imagine how lonely you must have felt," Andromeda said sympathetically.
Harry gave you're a reassuring smile. He was lonely back then but he has a new family that he had found on his own and he wouldn't give them up for the world.
How long he stood there, he didn't know. The reflections did not fade and he looked and looked until a distant noise brough him back to his senses. He couldn't stay here, he had to find his way back to bed. He tore his eyes away from his mother's face, whispered, "I'll come back," and hurried from the room.
"I don't think that's a good idea," Lily said hesitantly.
"That mirror gives me a bad feeling," James admitted.
"You could have woken me up," said Ron crossly.
"I know you needed to that on your own the first time, don't worry mate," Ron smiled, he didn't like not being included when he was younger but he knows now that sometimes you just need to do sometimes on your own.
"You can come tonight, I'm going back, I want to show you the mirror."
"I'd like to see your mum and dad," Ron said eagerly.
"And I want to see all your family, all the Weasleys, you'll be able to show me your other brothers and everyone."
"You can see them any old time," said Ron. "Just come round my house this summer. Anyway, maybe it only shows dead people. Shame about not finding Flamel, though. Have some bacon or something, why aren't you eating anything?"
Harry couldn't eat.
"That mirror is affecting you, isn't it?" Regulus asked worriedly.
"What is that mirror?" Narcissa wondered.
"It's the Mirror of Erised," Remus said in realization.
Lily gasped. "There's no way, is there?"
"What's the Mirror of Erised?" Fawn asked.
"The Mirror of Erised shows the view their deepest desirers," Lily explained.
"It has driven people mad before," Remus added. "It's a very dangerous magical artifact, so why is it at Hogwarts?"
Everyone was silent as they tried to think of why something so dangerous would be at Hogwarts.
"Do you think it has to do with the Philosophers Stone?" Regulus asked hesitantly.
"It must have, why else would it be at Hogwarts?" Lily asked.
"Why don't you continue to read, Mr Potter, and we can see why the mirror is at the school," suggested Professor McGonagall.
He had seen his parents and would be seeing them again tonight. He had almost forgotten about Flamel. It didn't seem very important anymore. Who cared what the three headed dog was guarding? What did it matter if Snape stole it, really?
"That's the mirror talking," Remus grimaced.
"Are you all right?" said Ron. "You look odd."
What Harry feared most was that he might not be able to find the mirror room again.
"That's probably for the best," Lily frowned.
With Ron covered in the cloak, too, they had to walk much slowly the next night. They tired retracing Harry's route from the library, wondering around the dark passageways for nearly an hour.
"I'm freezing," said Ron. "Let's forget it and go back."
"No!" Harry hissed. "I know it's here somewhere."
"You should have listened to Ron, Harry," Hermione scolded.
"I know that now," Harry shrugged, still the in the tight embrace of his worried parents.
They passed the ghost of a tall witch gliding in the opposite direction, but saw no one else. Just as Ron started moaning that his feet were dead with cold, Harry spotted the suit of armor.
"It's here- just here- yes!"
Everyone groaned in disappointment, they were hoping that Harry wouldn't be able to find the room the mirror was in again.
They pushed the door open. Harry dropped the cloak from around his shoulders and ran to the mirror.
There they were. His mother and father beamed at the sight of him.
"See?" Harry whispered.
"I can't see anything."
"Look! Look at them all… there are loads of them…"
"I can only see you."
"Ron wouldn't be able to see what you can see anyway, his deepest desire would be different front yours," Remus explained.
"I didn't know that at the time, I didn't know what the mirror really did," Harry said.
"Look in it properly, go on, stand where I am."
Harry stepped aside, but with Ron in front of the mirror, he couldn't see his family anymore, just Ron in his paisley pajamas.
Ron, though, was staring transfixed at his image.
"Look at me!" he said.
"What did you see?" Fawn asked curiously.
"I think it's about to be said in the book," Ron said not wanting to admit it out loud, it was a little embarrassing.
"Can you see all your family standing around you?"
"No- I'm alone- but I'm different- I look older- and I'm head boy!"
"What?"
"I am- I'm wearing the badge like Bill used to- and I'm holding the house cup and the Quidditch cup-I'm Quidditch captain too."
"Quidditch Captain is a good desire to have," James said with a grin.
Snape scoffed silently, to Potter everything was about Quidditch, it was all the idiot ever thought about.
Ron tore his eyes away from this splendid sight to look excitedly at Harry.
"Do you think this mirror shows the future?"
"How can it? All my family are dead- let me have another look- "
"Not anymore," Leo said happily and Harry gave his boyfriend a grin.
"You had it to yourself all last night, give me a bit more time."
"You're only holding the Quidditch cup, what's interesting about that? I want to see my parents."
"Don't push me- "
"You're starting to fight over the mirror now, that mirror is bad news," Andromeda winced.
A sudden noise outside in the corridor put an end to their discussion. They hadn't realized how loudly they had been talking.
"Quick!"
Ron threw the cloak back over them as the luminous eyes of Mrs Norris came round the door. Ron and Harry stood quite still, both thinking the same thing- did the cloak work on cats? After what seemed an age, she turned and left.
"Does it?" Fawn asked curiously.
"They can't see through the cloak but she can seem you when you're wearing it," James explained.
"This isn't safe- she might have gone for Filch, I bet she heard us. Come on."
And Ron pulled Harry out of the room.
"Please don't go back," Lily pleaded but Harry just looked away, he couldn't promise her that.
The snow still hadn't melted the next morning.
"Want to play chess, Harry?" said Ron.
"No."
"Why don't we go down and visit Hagrid?"
"No… you go…"
"I know what you're thinking about, Harry, that mirror. Don't go back tonight."
"At least Ron has the right idea!" said Peter.
"Why not?"
"I dunno, I've just got a bad feeling about it- and anyway, you've had too many close shaves already. Filch and Snape, and Mrs. Norris are wandering around. So, what if they can't see you? What if they walk into you? What if you knock something over?"
"You sound like Hermione."
"I'm serious, Harry, don't go."
"Listen to Ron, please," Lily pleaded again.
But Harry only had one thought in his head, which was to get back in front of the mirror, and Ron wasn't going to stop him.
Lily and James both groaned. They didn't want their son to go mad just so he could see them, they weren't worth his sanity.
That third night he found his way more quickly than before. He was so fast he knew he was making more noise than was wise, but he didn't meet anyone.
"You getting reckless!" James scolded.
And there were his mother and father smiling at him again, and one of his grandfather's nodding happily. Harry sank down to sit on the floor in front of the mirror. There was nothing to stop him from staying here all night with his family. Nothing at all.
Except-
"So- back again, Harry?"
Harry felt as though his insides had turned to ice. He looked behind him. Sitting on one of the desks by the wall was none other the Albus Dumbledore.
"Thank Merlin for Dumbledore!" Sirius said in relief, if there was anyone to that knock some sense into his godson it was Dumbledore.
Leo couldn't but feel a little grateful to the old Headmaster even if he didn't like him.
Harry must have walked straight past him, so desperate to get to the mirror he hadn't noticed him.
"I sometimes do that when I have the cloak on, it's so easy to forget your surrounds," James admitted.
"- I didn't see you, sir."
"Strange how nearsighted being invisible can make you," said Dumbledore, and Harry was relieved to see that he was smiling.
"Doesn't mean he won't give you detention still," Professor McGonagall warned.
"So," said Dumbledore, slipping off the desk to sit on the floor with Harry, "you, like hundreds before you, have discovered the delights of the Mirror of Erised."
"I didn't know it was called that, Sir."
"But I expect you've realized by now what it does?"
"It- well- it shows me my family- "
"And it showed your friend Ron himself as head boy."
"How did you know-?"
"I don't need a cloak to become invisible," said Dumbledore gently. "Now, can you think what the Mirror Erised shows us all?"
Harry shook his head.
"Did you have any idea?" Regulus asked curiously.
"I thought it shows you whatever you wanted," said Harry.
"Let me explain. The happiest man on earth would be able to use the Mirror of Erised like a normal mirror, that is, he would look into it and see himself exactly as he is. Does that help?"
Harry thought. Then he said slowly, "It shows us what we want… whatever we want…"
"So close," said Remus.
"Yes and no," said Dumbledore quietly. "It shows us nothing more or less than the deepest, most desperate desire of our hearts. You, who have never known your family, see them standing around you.
Lily and James gave Harry a tight squeeze.
Ronald Weasley, who has always been overshadowed by his brothers, sees himself standing along, the best of them all.
Hermione have Ron's hand a squeeze and a loving smile.
However, this mirror will give us neither knowledge nor truth. Men have wasted way before it, entranced by what they have seen, or been driven mad, not knowing if what it shows is real or even possible. The Mirror will be moved to a new home tomorrow, Harry, and I ask you not to go looking for it again.
"Thank Merlin," Lily said in relief, her son was going to be okay.
If you ever run across it, you will now be prepared. It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live, remember that. Now, why don't you put that admirable cloak back on and get off to bed?"
Harry stood up.
"Sir- Professor Dumbledore? Can I ask you something?"
"Obviously, you've just done so," Dumbledore smiled.
Sirius snorted.
"You may ask me one more thing, however."
"What do you see when you look in the mirror?"
"You can't just ask that, Harry," Andromeda said.
Harry winced, "Yeah, wasn't the most sensitive question I've ever asked."
"I? I see myself holding a pair of thick woolen socks."
"I know what to get Dumbledore for Christmas now," James joked.
Harry stared.
"One can never have enough socks," said Dumbledore. "Another Christmas had come and gone and I didn't get a single pair. People will insist on giving me books."
"We should fill Dumbledore's office with socks at Christmas," Sirius grinned.
"No," said Professor McGonagall, Fawn and Lily at the same time making Sirius look at the three horrified.
It was only when he was back in bed that it struck Harry that Dumbledore might not have been quite truthful. But then, he thought, as he shoved Scabbers off his pillow, it had been quite a personal question.
"That's the chapter done, who's reading next?" James asked holding the book up.
"I will," Sirius volunteered taking the book when James handed it to him. "Chapter 13 Nicolas Flamel…"
"Finally, you're going to find out how Nicolas Flamel is," Fawn said.
This chapter is the longest so far, and it took me forever to finish it for some reason but only about 5 more chapters to go until this book is finished. How's excited?