Author's Rant- Disclaimer? First chapter please.

A heartfelt thank you to all those who took their time to review my story. I really never thought I would receive this much if I stopped putting the review target requests lol.

On my last chapter, I had received 19 reviews. Therefore, according to my review-update table, I had to post the next chapter in three days. I kept my word and on third day from my last update, you have your Chapter Fourteen! And I really hope you like it. This chapter tells what happened after...nopes, read it!

Also, I had to make one thing very- very clear to a few of my readers, There are way more than many fics where a bloody eleven year old Harry Potter indulges in sexual activities with his teachers, I have read fics where a fourteen or fifteen year old Harry completely dominates his teachers and makes them his pet. What will you say about those teachers?

I had put up a poll where Aurora Sinistra won it with 34 Votes. She has to be attracted towards a thirteen year old Harry who looks like he is fifteen. She is NOT having sex with the boy. Thinking about it is NOT a crime. Please read the Ending note of Chapter 3: Confrontations, where I wrote this 'Harry will not be indulging in any romantic scene until his third year.

That means, Harry won't have a girlfriend till he is fifteen. Though that certainly doesn't mean that girls and/or women are prohibited to think of him like that. Hell, one of the chapters involved a kissing scene. Now it's completely up on you guys if he should kiss in his first year or not. I have already put up a POLL on my profile asking the question. I will do as the poll says.

And yes, please think carefully and analyze what happened before blaming it on me. I have done nothing which hasn't already been done already and nothing that isn't seen in the real everyday life. Having attraction isn't wrong but molesting an underage and/or raping them bloody well IS! Kill me before I let anyone molest or successfully rape an underage.

Oh and if you want to uselessly complain about something, please do think if you had ever read any fic like that and do what you did to that fic's writer. Also, give some solid reasons rather than repeating old ones. Once again, being sexually attracted isn't wrong until you think with the wrong side of your head and do something worth being thrown in a prison (in real life) or being brutally slaughtered in my fic (you read what I did to Daphne's 'could be' rapists)...I hate RAPE that much.

Omakes are still open. Anyone who wants to publish an omake can write it and PM me or email me at devsagi/./black/ (the symbol vanishes on ff site but it's 'at the rate')/gmail/./com (remove the slashes '/')

Author Out!

"I am Talking."

'I am Thinking'

Spells

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Thinking about you is my only way to calm myself...oh success...

~ R-Kade

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Previously in SotW-

Harry flicked his hand and trained his wand on the door as he moved to open it. His adrenal glands started working overtime and his blood started running wild with magic. His mind activated the extra senses and he forwarded his magical sensor sheet towards the door.

"Harry? Open the door...It's me.". The voice was a hushed whisper still his enhanced senses heard it clearly.

Harry paused momentarily before closing everything and still keeping his wand ready opened the door. What he saw made him frown.

"Su?...What happened?!"

Silence of the Winters

-by Dev Sagittarius Black

~~Chapter 14: Yule Times- Part One ~~

Su Li had tried her level best to postpone this day as much as possible. To bear everything and not to ask anyone for help, especially not him. The thoughts of 'What would he say' ran rampant through her mind, What would he say when he sees her weak? He had praised her that she was very good and had the power to go toe-to-toe with boys.

Yet all of that was useless. She was nothing more than a weakling. Nothing more than a girl who had tried and failed. She was sure that her master would be laughing at her when she wasn't able to stop them and let herself be bullied.

Before this, her roommate Padma was her only solace, she knew what happened every night, what with being her roommate and all. And was always there to collect her broken pieces and join them all over again by the night to build the laughing and bold Su Li who kicked off lessons till the day ended and night loomed over the horizon. But she too had left for the yule holidays, Su knew she too should have left but...but she knew what would have happened if she dared to deny them.

And this was why she was standing here. Dressed in her midnight blue sleeping robes, standing in front of the door she had always wanted to come to. Though most certainly NOT in this state.

"Su?...What Happened?!" Harry asked the girl, who instead of her usual cool and bold self was looking down 'And...was that a sob?'

But what the girl did made him more worried than ever. The girl without looking up into his eyes threw herself on him, putting her petite arms around his neck, she collided her head with his stiff chest and started crying bitterly.

Harry was bewildered. Like really, really really bewildered. This was literally the first time that he had seen someone cry...someone who he wasn't going to kill anyways. And this was one of the situations that he wasn't trained to handle, but a crying girl in a boy's corridor could cause some weird rumors that he didn't want to think about 'For that matter, how was she in the boy's corridor?!'

"Err...Su? Can you tell me what happened?" Harry asked her awkwardly and she sobbed out some unintelligible words that were so messed up that even he had to strain his ears. But he got what she wanted to say and that made him even more uncomfortable. Harry looked left and right before channeling magic out of his body and down the corridors, finding nothing alive he swiftly pulled Su inside his room and closed his door.

And now he was facing a messed up situation which he didn't had any idea how to tackle. And how could he? He never had friends his age. He had never seen his loved ones cry and the last time he, himself cried was, when he was five..years...old... Harry grinned at the strange idea that came in his head.

He took Su towards his bed and made the girl sit with him. It was a bit awkward at first but then he managed to still her at his left side and hesitantly encircled his left arm around her as she laid her head on his shoulder and kept weeping.

He slowly started moving his upper body back and forth, forcing Su to do so too, and went down the memory lane. Looking out for that particular memory when he was having his first and last 'cry moment' in his new bed. He tried to follow what his grandlady did for him that night.

'What happened Harry? Not being able to sleep?'

"What happened Su? Not being able to s-sl-sleep?" Harry stuttered a bit but controlled himself.

'Nightmares troubling you? Do you want to talk about it?'

"Nightmares troubling you?" He tried and calmed his mind first when he started to notice that she was slowly calming down herself "Want to talk about it?"

'I am there for you, you know that right? I will always be there for you my dearest.'

"I-I" 'Merlin's bloody beard, this is hard!' "I am th-ere for you. You know that right? I will al-always be there for you." Surprisingly it was this line that exponentially calmed her down and her hysterical wails reduced to silent sobs that were diminishing with time.

'You don't need to worry about anything Harry. We have got loads of time. Whatever it is that's troubling you, we will remove it together, alright?'

"You don't need to worry about anything Su. We have got loads of time. Whatever it is that's troubling you, we will remove it together, alright?" He finished and internally sighed when he felt the girl nod. He was still doing the back an forth motion, no use of taking any risk.

'Now stop crying and drink this first.' Harry remembered what it was that she gave and wiggled his fingers silently conjuring a glass of water and wandlessly making the water lukewarm for her "Now stop crying and drink this." He said and forwarded the glass full of water towards the now silent girl, she was still sniffing a bit but thankfully not that much.

Su reluctantly dethatched herself and took the glass from his hands and slowly sipped down the water. She mumbled something which sounded like a 'Thank you' as she gave the glass back, Harry just nodded.

"Now, will you tell me what happened?" He was so tempted to slip down her mental shields and see everything first hand. But she was his friend, a friend who came to him when she couldn't go to someone else and so disrupting the trust she put in him didn't look like a good way to pay her back. Therefore, he patiently waited for the girl to collect her wayward thoughts and arrange them in a more comprehensible manner. It was then that Harry noticed she was shivering a bit and he cursed himself for his momentary loss in mindfulness.

Harry got up and closed the glass window that he kept open for the cool December wind to infiltrate the small room and sooth his mind and body, reliving him from all his stress, tension and anxiety. A starry sky and wind around him were the only two ways he could cool his head. Sometimes, library helped when either of these options weren't available.

He turned around only to see Su still looking down though this time her cheeks were cherry red 'What caused this change?'

"Wear a shirt Harry." It wasn't as loud as she usually said things but it was louder than the faint mumbles and the message was quite clear. Harry shook his head at the second thing he forgot that night, he could only blame it on the bizarre situation that he found himself in.

"Done. You could look now." Harry said closing the top button of his white shirt and rolling the sleeves to three-fourths.

Su nodded and sighed before muttering aloud "I hate them." Harry frowned a bit but let her continue. The dark brown eyed asian girl looked straight in his eyes, her eyes akin to some restrained beast "I hate all of them."

"Who?" Harry asked the girl sitting on his bed.

And so, Su gushed her heart out. telling him each and everything of what had transpired with her and how Hogwarts had made her feel. She told him the nights when Padma held her as she cried herself, the moments when she had been pushed to a side in the girls washroom and laughed at, moments when neither he nor Terry or Padma had been with her and she had suffered the actions of some seniors.

Ending her Hogwarts life story, she told him how they had been disturbing her every night since Padma left. How they just banged on her door every three-four hours at night and then ran away before she could do a thing, how they started stealing her things and lastly, how they had barged in her room yesterday when she was unaware of it and destroyed her room.

Su then procured out a small crumpled paper and gave it to Harry, she wasn't able to tell what it was as her tears poured down from her eyes and her body wracked with silent painful sobs. Harry took the paper and opened it, it was not a simple paper.

It was a photograph. A magical photograph that showed him a laughing family, Su's family. A short statured sturdily built man with long hairs, a petite woman wearing hanfu and holding a small baby in her arms while two girls, twelve and nine if he guessed correct, waved at the cameraman as every person in the pic laughed heartily.

The picture was completely crumpled. Harry turned the picture and stopped when he read what was written behind it.

Leave Hogwarts as soon as you can.

We are better off without blood thieves like you!

Harry frowned at that and looked towards the girl "Blood thieves?"

"The-they think we s-stole their bl-blood and indirectly their magic...and went to our homeland. They don't want me here." She cried more before shaking her head slightly and looking at him with tear filled eyes "But Harry, why does daddy says we have been in Ravenclaw for centuries then? How could we be blood thieves? I am not a blood thief Harry...I am..n-not..." She started weeping again.

Harry looked at her and felt a different emotion. Something he hadn't felt for anyone since the time he was eight years old. The time when they told him what had happened to his parents. Protectiveness. Fierce Protectiveness.

"Your father is right Su. House Li is an Ancient and Most Noble house and has been in British isles for more than six hundred years. You are most certainly not what they call a blood thief." He told her the truth that was written in the ministry records.

After some time, Harry spoke "Who are they Su? Do you know them?" He asked her and she shook her head in denial "Their leader or their face left for holidays. I don't know who the others are as they never did anything in front of my eyes." She admitted.

"What about the times when, err..when they shoved you in crowds or laughed at you?" How could the girl not notice every face in the crowd that bullied her? After all, he had scanned each and every face and given them their rightful punishments when he was bullied first. He hated bullies, especially those who manhandled someone's family. It eerily reminded him about three people who looked like a giant walrus, a horse and a fatty pig in a wig.

But Su just shook her head "It's not like everyone is here, the faces I knew left for yule holidays. The ones that do these things are completely new and haven't shown their faces, yet."

Harry nodded, this could be a possible excuse, but.. " What about Cho Chang? She is also from China."

"Cho is from China, yes. But she is from mainland China. The creamiest place in Chinese wizarding community. Her father is close to the emperor there and is quite rich. Plus, her mom is from Britain, so that makes her half-english and so, easily acceptable. While both my parents are of Chinese origin and my father is a simple businessman." Su explained the inner facts and he nodded in consent.

Harry had never thought that one of his friends could be the victim of bullying, he had never cared about them to even ask or notice the signs. Everything was different for him from the start. Elder students were afraid of him for the first few weeks because he had supposedly 'dueled' and defeated Alandale Potter, who was supposed to be the strongest of them all. Stupid Boy-Who-Lived stories. Harry could wager and win that all that hollow gobshit had ever done was give poses and sign autographs before gobbling down everything in his reach because he was 'having enough space for some snacks'.

After sometime when things started to cool down, he had gone and single handedly killed a troll. The students, at least in Ravenclaw were wary of him after that and had left him and by extension Terry completely alone to their devices. Not wanting to strike his ire, they had not said a thing but then, there was nothing to be said in the first place. It was a fairly understandable deal 'Not to touch his things and he will let them live'. If they didn't understand such simple things, then what the hell were they doing in the house of Claws?!

"Harry? Can I ask you something?" Su called out to him and he looked at her and quirked his left eyebrow. "Can I...Can I sleep here tonight?" She stammered a bit.

"..."

"Please?"

"..."

"..."

"Su...you do know what you are asking right?"

Su gave a meek nod "I know it sounds weird and that's why I came to your door, hidden from all the eyes. I am thankful that the stairs collapse only when a boy is moving towards the girls dormitory and not the other way round." She told him and continued "I won't sleep with you per se, I will sleep in your room, I mean on Terry's bed. And will go back to my room first thing tomorrow, you could wake me up when you wake up at five for your exercises." She told her reasons and in the end Harry could only give a small sigh of resignation.

The reason could easily be traced to the day's frustrating meeting with the eye and the power consuming time he had spent in the evening doing his usual elemental exercises. He swore that first thing he did tomorrow morning would be to secure Su's door with the same runes as his and an additional 'eye' rune for special hidden intruders 'Why is my life so twisted?' He asked to no one in particular before helping Su get comfortable and going to sleep, not before promising her that he will find some solution by tomorrow morning. It was an easy promise because he already had a good solution in his mind.

.

"Are you really sure about this Harry?" Su had asked him this every minute since they came out and he told the petite girl his plans for her tormentors.

"Yes." And he was! He had contemplated this for quite a long time in his mindscape after Su had left for the lands of Morpheus. There were several other ways he could have gone through and yet this one sounded more promising, more strict and tough. Some might classify his decision as brash and more Gryffindor-ish but other plans would most certainly be not as strong as this one. This plan would not only benefit Su but also enhance the value and weight of his words in the common room and in house politics. Side benefit also includes that he would be more feared than ever and therefore left completely alone.

"Harry?" Su called out to him in that same uncertain voice she had been using since last night, "Listening." He was busy activating the final eye symbol on the topmost point of the door. A single eye rune that would immediately record and send the owner a signal that some living being just tried to enter the room without their permission and a small shock and strength rune that he had carved on it's handle for security purposes.

"Thank you." Su said and hugged him tightly murmuring Thank yous continuously, her face buried in his chest, warmth seeping from her into him.

Harry knew that this Thank you was not like the one he had received from the Greengrass heiress, the night he had saved her from the troll and her could-be rapists. This was a real Thank you. It was not said because he was doing all this, it was said because he was willing to do all this. This Thank you was not a word...lit was an emotion. One that he hadn't felt for a long time. And he didn't want to either, because the crimes he had done...let's just say that this Thank you was for humans and he most certainly was the most inhumane thing on earth right now.

So he just grunted and pulled her from him "Now let's go and make the announcement. I will tell about this to Lord Li later." Lily had finally come that night and he was in no mood to send her again before she had taken some rest an then delivered the very important letter that he will write today along with the gifts he had to send. He wouldn't have if not for his grandlady blackmailing him to send his friends his most embarrassing photographs. 'Like, why would a woman click photographs of a five year old Harry in a bugs bunny suit trying to catch butterflies? Stupid woman.'

"Yes." Su said and grabbed his hand. It was another thing he had discovered today morning when they were going up the staircase. If a girl was in contact with a boy and they stepped on the stairs together then the stairs won't flatten. It was a hit and trial method and he had plan B and C up if this didn't work. Though he would have to use them if he ever needed to reach a girl's dorm and didn't have a girl with him on this staircase 'Wait...I could just mind control someone?...Nah.'

Harry was thankful of the cool and dark atmosphere of the Common Room. It was always so calming plus, no one could witness anyone till they were in light's range or had some really good advanced eyes like himself. Fortunately, no one did and so he was safe.

Harry counted nineteen members lounging in the common room 'Nineteen...just nineteen and they still bear the tormentors.' He shook his head slightly and stepped on the podium that was usually used for inhouse debates. He switched on the mic and tapped it twice, successfully getting everyone's attention.

"A short announcement for everyone here." He began "Till date, some of you have had the pleasure of tormenting and bullying my friend Su Li. Point is, I want this to stop. From today onwards till I expressly tell you, Heiress Su Li is under the protection of Most Ancient and most Noble houses of Potter and Peverell." He heard quite a few of them gasp in surprise, after all, house protection was not a day-to-day thing. There were certain things that both houses had to agree on. To do such a thing was almost unprecedented.

"Therefore from today onwards, if I find any of you tormenting her in any way possible, stealing or destroying her things, spontaneously pushing her just for fun, making her trip and fall or just anything that comes under the act of bullying. You will be having me and full force of two top tier houses to answer. I hope that, you do know what it means and if unfortunately you don't then ask someone before taking rash decisions."

Harry switched the mic off and stepped down, amid all the stares he moved towards the main doors and Su quietly followed him with tears of happiness in her chocolate brown eyes and a huge smile stretched across her lips trying to split her face into two. They exited the corridor and halfway through it, Su blushed profusely as she slowly entwined her fingers with his cold ones. Harry looked down at their joined hands and quirked his left eyebrow. She just blushed more and held tighter.

"Harry, I had a few questions to ask." Su said trying her level best to walk beside him as he took long strides of equal length.

"Ask."

"How were you able to give me warm water yesterday night? I never saw you pour it from that bedside jug and why were your windows open while you were bare chested?" She asked him and again blushed deep red reminiscing the pleasant view that she was sure will warm her in her dreams, starting tonight.

Harry just kept on walking, what could he say? That he conjured a steel glass full of water and then heated it up just by wiggling his fingers? He would rather kiss Dumbledore than admit that to her. Not that he would kiss Dumbles either because that would be 'Urgh...where's the washroom, I have to vomit'

Thankfully he didn't to say anything because Su stopped mid stride and squeaked 'Harry!' While her eyes widened and she gasped.

"What happened?" Harry studied her reaction and could only come to one, single conclusion..."Someone tried to enter my room!"

And like always, he was damn right!

"Hmm..They might be unconscious by now and will be being treated in the hospital bed within next ten minutes." He mused and was a bit amused when he saw her Su gasp in horror. He turned towards her "Where do you want to see them? it will take us fifteen minutes till hospital wing and eight till the common room."

"Hospital wing then." Su said and ran towards the said wing, still holding his hand which Harry gently pried away and took on a leisurely pace. He was certainly not hurried to see whoever was dumb enough to put their toe out of line even after he had warned them not to do so.

By the time they reached the Hogwarts hospital wing, Madam Pomfrey was not in the room while two boys and three girls were standing around a bed where someone was lying, all were wearing casual clothes though Harry knew them to be from fifth and sixth years of house Ravenclaw. He strolled inside with Su at his side and others noticed his presence.

"What are you doing here Potter?" One of the boy with a burly build and deep grey eyes growled taking a few steps in the boy's direction before being restrained by the other one.

"Hello to you too Yanerds, how's your girlfriend doing?" Harry asked more taunted and had to restrain a smirk when he saw the boy clench his hands in a tight fist. "It's your doing isn't it Potter? Of course it is! How could I ever forget the same effect it had on that Weasley when he touched your rag bag."

"Of course it is Yanerds. What powerful things runes are, aren't they? And if we imbibe them with the castle's magic...I can't imagine how dear Sophie would have felt." Harry knew what he was doing was dangerous. But he also knew what was gonna happen will happen anyways, so why not make it a bit more interesting?

Yanerds growled and shrugged off his friend Robin, pushing the boy away he moved towards the teenage elemental.

"Call madam Pomfrey Su. Fast please." Harry told the petite girl beside him, a maniac glint in his glittering greens.

"Wh-What? But Harry-"

"NOW!" The dominance in his voice might have been the factor or it could be the way air crackled around him that compulsed the girl beside him scurrying along the way to Pomfrey's lair.

Norman Yanerds growled and took strong powerful strides towards the teenage heir who just smirked in response. He ignored the cries of 'Norman don't!' or 'He is Harry Potter, Norman! Don't do anything harsh!'. He even dodged a stunner from behind him and turned to growl at them "Don't come between this. No one messes with a Yanerds." Before turning towards a smirking Harry Potter "Let's see what you got in your tiny arms Potty."

Harry smiled before turning his face into an innocently curious one "I wonder what it would be to feel 440 Volt of raw electricity course through their hands?"

And Norman Yanerds mind snapped at that as he punched the first year in front right in the gut. ACCIDENT...

"MADAM POMFREY! EMERGENCY!" Su barged in through the said madam's office only to find the office completely empty. Dread seeped in her veins as she eyed the completely empty office room 'Where are you madam?' Su thought warily before running outside as fast as her short yet strong legs could take. Harry needed her and she would do all she can!

"I don't think Norman understands the gravity of the situation and what Potter could do to him." Robin said eying the situation which could very soon turn into a massacre.

"Oh stop it Rob." Marlene Whisborn, his fifth year hot girlfriend of two years admonished him "It's about time someone showed Potter his place. Granted he's got a princely face but that doesn't means he could do whatever he wishes could he? What would you do if it was me who was lying in Soph's place?"

Ignoring the 'Princely face' comment, Robin knew better than to answer such a trick question, so he changed the topic instead "But Li was under his protection and he announced it publicly. It was idiotic of Sophie to take Potter's announcement as lightly as she did."

"But that's the-"

"Marie" Her other friend stopped her "I think Rob's right y'know. Wait! hear me first!" She hurried as she saw Marlene about to burst in an angry rant "It's not like we could reverse what happened right? Sophie did take that stupid decision and whatever Potter did, it did affect her and paralyzed her for a week with burns all over her hand, didn't it?"

"And that's why Norman is avenging his girlfriend by paralyzing Potter too. Just hope he doesn't kill the brat." She said and looked towards the scene where Norman was hanging Potter by his arms and repeatedly punching the boy 'Serves you right Potter. How dare you reject me?! This is what you get for that!' She had a pleasant smile on her face which turned in a frown when she saw that Potter was still smiling and not crying in pain like he should.

"I still can't believe how you allowed her to be banged in the wall behind her that cracked her ribs..."Harry tutted in faux pity while Yanerds growled and punched once more in the boy's gut. FAULT...

"Such a pity isn't it Yanerds? The killer and the killed right in the same room with nothing to stop you and you still can't do a thing.." Harry tightened his abs muscle to absorb the punch but Yanerds growled as he dropped the boy's hands, bent him and smashed his elbow on Harry's back. MISTAKE...

Yanerds grinned as he heads the satisfying crunch of bones breaking "How was that Potty? Did you feel how she might have felt?"

Harry just gave a hollow laugh "Not exactly, she got beaten by a masterpiece while I am being beaten by a daft and dumb Trog" Norman smashed Harry's face on his knees. BLUNDER... "-uh...Troglo-dyte." Harry said and panted a bit as he hid all his pain between occulomency shields and grinned widely showing his bloodied lips.

By the time Madam Pomfrey came with a panting Su Li behind her, Harry was on the floor trying his best to dodge the powerful ones while take the light ones on parts that won't hurt that much while Yanerds was straddling his victim and was repeatedly throwing punches on the said victim's face.

"NORMAN YANERDS STOP RIGHT THERE!" Pomfrey snarled and pointe her wand at the burly bow who either didn't hear her or just ignored the woman. His friends though came running, the girls held his arms while Robin did his best to pull his friend away from the lying Potter heir, there was only one thought running in his head 'Shit just hit the fucking fan'

Norman knew that his 'break time' time ended and he was kinda sad that he didn't have much fun with his toy. He still managed to kick Potter once in the sides as Robin pulled him up and gave himself an imaginary pat when he saw Potter wince a bit 'Serves you right Potty, beware your steps because you will get much worse until Sophie wakes up'

Pomfrey deducted fifty points from Ravenclaw and ten from each of Norman's friends for not stopping the boy when this began and gave them detentions with Snape and Filch for the rest of their holidays and told them that their parents, head of house and Headmaster Dumbledore will hear all about this. She then started treating Harry and forced him to remove his shirt to apply the salves making the girls in the room blush profusely and involuntarily think of ways to snag him as soon as plausible, before they stopped themselves because...because he was their enemy! 'At least till Sophie isn't well' The treachery filled part of their brains filled in.

Su was by his side the entire time even after he told her to go because his magic was actively healing him and he would be out in an hour. Madam Pomfrey corrected that to a day and glared his protest down.

.

Albus Dumbledore smiled down at the small parcel in his wrinkly old hands 'It's time for you to move away and play your part in my plans...farewell old friend' he flicked the power strumming elder wand and caste a few charms on the parcel before giving it to a large school owl "Take it to the burrow, alright?" The brown horned owl hooted and took off, flapping it's large wings while Dumbledore saw it's departure.

He had hoped Alan would have chosen to stay at Hogwarts rather than follow Weasley boys out. That would have made his plans easier and faster 'Well, things can wait till Alan re-enters these halls' Dumbledore sighed thinking he should have put a compulsion on Alan to stay 'Next time, that would be thing I would do. It would speed up my plans' He had planned great things for Victor Potter and all he got was Harry Potter now.

And even that boy was a mystery in himself. After his eventful meeting with Arabella Figg that day, he had scanned her mind and saw all the memories that confirmed the fact that she indeed met Dedalus Diggle every month in Diagon Alley and updated him on Harry for the first four years before one day Dedalus himself told him that her work was over and she was now free from her task as Harry would be shifted to a new location.

She asked Dedalus if Dumbledore knew of that and he was aghast to see that Dedalus fetched out a letter with Dumbledore's own signature and Hogwarts seal on it that said Harry's shifting was necessary, thanked Arabella for her work and told her to not to contact him or Dedalus about Harry anymore because some specific groups might get suspicious. That was indeed some very strong twisting right? Wrong.

The strongest twist in this case came when he went to Dedalus' place and asked him about Harry. And Dedalus just asked the same wretched question 'Harry who?'

Dumbledore then scanned Dedalus brain and what he saw made him completely numb. After four years of regularly meeting both Arabella and himself, Dedalus Diggle was completely obliviated of his task as Harry's reporter and who obliviated him? Why, Albus bloody Dumbledore himself! This incident gave rise to a few really tricky questions.

Why had he obliviated Dedalus Diggle?

Why did he sign a letter for Harry's shifting?

How did Dedalus get the letter and why the hell was that man robed off this memory?

Why didn't he, Dumbledore ever remember this happening?

Who was the person that had taken Dedalus' body and reported him about Harry's condition every six months for the past twelve years?

And most of all...'Where do you really live Harry potter?'

He even went to the records room of Hogwarts that held all the records about students, staff members and everyone who ever attended Hogwarts. Only the headmaster was to be allowed in that room. He took the book that held records of students from Harry's year and checked the address. He choked on his own saliva when it came up to be what he had never thought of.

Mr. H Potter

The cupboard under the stairs,

4 Privet Drive,

Little Whinging

SURREY

.

'THUMP THUMP THUMP!'

'Urgh...'

'KNOCK KNOCK, THUMP THUMP...KNOCK-THUMP, KNOCK-THUMP...!

"Omphh..." 'Thud' "Urgh..." Twin emeralds snapped open in the darkness as their owner groaned a bit, rubbing his back on which he fell. He had involuntarily stopped himself but it still hurt.

"HAARRRRYY! OPEN THE DOOOR!"

'Su?' Harry's eyes widened thinking the girl was in trouble because Yanerds and his group was still in Hogwarts. He immediately threw the sheets he had been tangled up in, flicked his wand out and pulled the door open with a sudden snap. With a curse on his lips, cold murder ragging storm in his glinting eyes and an angry sneer, he pointed his wand right in a petite girl's face who 'Eeeped' loudly and shrunk back with saucer wide eyes.

"Su? What happened?" Harry asked the girl, his wand still in the air as he scanned the corridor for any living person...no one.

"Err..yo-you are scaring me Harry." Su stuttered out, her eyes going cross as she stared at the glowing wand red glowing wand tip. Harry frowned as he took the cutting curse back and lowered his wand. "Who are you running from?" He asked her as she sighed in relief before frowning in confusion "Why would I be running from anyone at 4 in the morning?"

"No one is troubling you?" Harry asked her totally confused. It didn't help him when she denied and looked at him as if he was the one who had gone bonkers.

"Then, exactly why are you standing here, banging my door like you burned Hades beard with a candle at '4 in the morning'?" Harry asked her with as much patience as he could muster. Disturbing his sleep was really not a good way to start someone's day, his house elves had learnt that fact from their very first day.

"Because...it's Christmas? Aren't you excited!" She asked grinning widely like she had just been offered a complete candy shop.

Harry looked at the grinning small piece of headache and ran four thoughts simultaneously.

'Breathe in...don't kill...breathe out...she's your friend...breath in...don't kill...breath out...she's your friend...breath in...'

'Ten...nine...eight...seven...six...five...do you work damnit!...ten...nine...eight...fucking control my bloody anger...ten...nine...eight...'

'Why the hell are girls allowed to walk freely in the boy's corridor...Why is Hogwarts co-ed in the first place?!'

and of course...a special long string of curse words...special because he was making a new curse words every second...

"Err...Harry? You alright? I didn't disturb you did I? And where's your shirt? And why is your room cold? Is that window still open? I told you to-"

"Su!" Harry stopped her, "I am alright. Yes you did disturb me. It was suffocating. Yes, the window is open and again, it was suffocating. Now please go, let me freshen myself first." He told the small bullet train who was no different than a bloody chatterbox. Especially since the time he took her under his protection two days ago.

"Go? But I can't, I have brought all my gifts here. We are going to open them together!" She exclaimed happily completely ignoring the 'You disturbed me' part and Harry took a look behind her to see the sack full of gifts wrapped in fancy papers...'Shit dumb luck...just what I wanted' this was again followed by that same string of curse words because he wanted some thrice be daMNED SLEEP! HE WAS UP TILL TWELVE FOR MERLIN'S SAKE!

"Alright, then keep this here and wait in the common room. I will come after my bath and call you back-"

But Su was already shaking had denying everything he said "Why take a bath this early? C'mon harry, it's Christmas! And that reminds me." She gave him a very tight hug "Merry Christmas Harry!"

"Uh yeah, you too. Now leave." He grumbled at the girl who laughed and without hearing a word from him stepped inside his room, pulling her sack of gifts behind her.

"Now go get dressed and who the hell opens a window. Can't you feel how chilly your room is?" She muttered and went towards the said window to close it. "Like honestly, which normal Human opens a window on December twenty-fifth at four because he was feeling 'suffocated'?" She shook her head. Her dramatics were more because she wanted to remove the picture of how Harry's shirtless body looked like 'For Circe's sake I need to learn occulomency!'

So finally, it was a yawning Harry who sat down wearing a green Tee AND a black jumper, because mini-mother Su won't let poor lil Harry get cold 'Idiot girl' he mentally grumbled as he eyed his pile of gifts near the foot of his bed and frowned. There were quite a few gifts...quite much more than a few.

"What are you waiting for Harry? GET SET GO!" Su laughed giddily as she started with removing the golden wrapper from her first gift. Harry shook his head and picked the first one, it was wrapped in blue wrapping paper with a card on it that shouted 'To my coldest roommate, you know who it is from.' He pursed his lips and swore that this might be the stupidest thing he did every year.

It took Harry exactly half an hour to open all of his nearly twenty gifts. Was it more than the usual four he received every year? Maybe it was.

He had received some good gifts from the expected ones, A batch of homemade cookies from Hannah; A collection of chocolate frogs from Tracey; A quillstand, set of colourful ink bottles and a stack of parchments from Terry; A golden male's bracelet from Susan that had a few protection runes secretly imbibed in it; A letter from his friend in response to the 'very important' letter he had sent him regarding the prophecy and Su personally gave him a set of silver steel daggers. Harry didn't deny her and was thankful for that as expressed by the small smile as he pulled the dagger out. It wasn't goblin made or had any magic in it. Just plain very sharp steel daggers.

But it was the unexpected ones that surprised him. A book on advanced potions from Hermione Granger; a stack of second year Hogwarts books from Irma Pince; A set of everyday, all size robe from Aurora Sinistra; A diary from someone named Juliana Cohen; A batch of homemade cookies from Cho Chang; A map of Hogwarts depicting advanced classes from Derrick Moonsbow; A box written 'PRaNk kiT' from Gred and Forge Weasley; A letter from lord Gerald Greengrass; Two letters from Lord Li and the last one was quite surprising... A Sanskrit-English-English dictionary and translation book from none other than Daphne Greengrass herself.

Su had asked him about the last one, which he just told her was a side project of his and about the other two gifts from his guardians. One was understandable, A golden Rolex men's watch but the other one was helluva lot confusing.

"Harry, why would your guardians send you a muggle doormat?" Su asked looking at the new looking doormat with a dark blue 'WELCOME' on it. Harry just shrugged "Because I asked for it. I want to keep this room clean." Harry said and placed the doormat outside his door with a sticking charm on it's base that covered the rune circuit he had sent a week ago.

He then strapped the Rolex watch on his left wrist and winced a bit when it connected his blood and magic to the muggle doormat innocently lying right outside his door. 'Thank you Dumbles for this...though mine's way better than your 'non violent' one' Harry smirked when he felt being given the controls of the runes inside the doormat via the watch. Now he had a very good surprise for those who would ever come on his threshold just to cause some mischief.

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Ending Note- There you have it fellas, Fourteenth chapter of Silence of the Winters. Liked it? Loved it? Hated it? Please DO tell! I am salivating at the thought of all those delicious reviews. And like always, constructive criticism is welcomed.

Till date, I haven't any word from my beta reader so I can't be sure if he is still stuck aid exams. Forgive my spelling and grammatical blunders please? (Puppy dog face)

Those who are worried about Harry getting beaten and not retelling. Don't worry, Remember the four letters written in CAPITAL and bold? Each and every one eill be rewritten. I have told you, Harry won't leave anyone who tried to prick him even. Also, the public reaction to taking Su Li under House Potter's protection is in another chapter. The main reason I didn't write the above two things in this one is, this chapter has already crossed the 7k+ words target. This one is 7.8k+ words!

Again, there is no target mark for reviews but the table I gave is still present-

More than 20 Reviews- Chapter 15 arrives in 2 days.

15-20- three days.

10-15- four days.

5-10- five days.

0-5- One week or more (depends on my mood)

I hope you are spending good time with your loved ones. Stay Safe, Be happy...and a F you Corona!

Regards

Dev Black