Chapter 13: Surprise! After Surprise!

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It was the night before the train was to leave for the Yule break. The whole school was just finishing with dinner and were eating their afters and there was a happy atmosphere. Even though there was some petrification going on, there didn't seem to be anything overly oppressive about the environment. Only two people were petrified, and nothing had happened in days. People were starting to get over the fear. That, and they were going home, where it was safe.

Harry and his group of second year students were joking around and generally having a good time. Even if Harry was having an identity crisis inside about the whole talking to snakes' ordeal. He really wanted to tell Hermione. He didn't think she'd tell anyone or shun him. She was a muggleborn after all. He was going to ask Millie as soon as he saw her. Even it he had to wait until summer to do that.

Dumbledore stood up, tapped his glass to silence the room and said, "I have a few announcements to make. First of all, thanks to a generous donation, from an anonymous donor, I have ordered the Mandrake Potion to be shipped in. So, Mr. Creevey and Mr. Finch-Fletchley will be joining their families for Christmas."

At that announcement the student body clapped. Everybody was really excited that they would be unpetrified, except for perhaps the Slytherins. What did they care for some muggleborn? Still, they wouldn't be stuck in the hospital wing for the whole school year.

Dumbledore held up his hands for quiet, and he continued. "While you are on Christmas break, the Aurors will come in and check the school for any perpetrators of what is causing the petrifications. I ask that you do not bring any dark objects into the school when you return as the Aurors will be here and they will be checking your belongings." He looked out over the students with his grandfatherly image in full force.

At this many grumblings were heard among the student body. A few yelled out, "You can't do that." Draco Malfoy being the loudest heard, and the boy added, "My father will hear of this."

To which he replied, "You will find I can." His face took on a firmer look.

There were a few very white faces among the student body. And they knew that there were going to be some objects that were taken home and never returned. To which a few teachers were very happy to know. They were tired of always being on the look out for dark objects. Well, they would still be, but to know that some were going to be gone was a blessing.

"For my last announcement," the headmaster said. "As to your petition to have Professor Snape as the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. I am sad to inform you that at this time we will be keeping Professor Lockhart. But I will endeavor to see the professor's name takes up the position in the future."

That got the student body grumbling and clapping at the same time. On the one hand, they grumbled that Lockhart would be staying. On the other hand, they were happy that Snape would be taking up the position in the future.

With that, Dumbledore sat down.

"Well, what do you think of that?" Harry said, taking a bite of his treacle tart. He just loved this dessert.

"I think it's great that Colin will be able to go home for Christmas," Neville said, taking up his fork and serving himself some more pumpkin pie with whipped cream.

"I think that's great too, but I was talking more about Snape." the dark-haired boy said with a chuckle. He was glad for the younger boy, but he was more concerned about his education.

"I'm not sure how I feel about that," Neville said, his brow scrunched up in confusion. Even after the dueling club, he was still terrified of the man. It took more than one class to get over the fear of the rest of the year. Though since the petition had been started, Snape had been reasonable in the last couple potion classes. It was as if he knew it had been started by them.

"I mean, it's great that he's going to be in the future, but we don't know how far in the future that will be," Dean said, shoveling a large bite of blueberry pie into his mouth.

"That's true," Harry said, wiping the edge of his mouth with a napkin. "For all we know, it might be after we graduate." And wouldn't that suck? That would just be years and years of self-study.

"That would be terrible," Hermione said, echoing everybody's thoughts. "I don't wanna have to self-educate the entire time I'm here. What if we're stuck with people like Lockhart this whole time?" Her hair seemed to get frizzier and frizzier as she spoke. It was as if the angrier she got, the frizzier it got. Harry was concerned that soon it would be standing on its end.

"Don't worry about it, Hermione. You're one of the smartest people we have," Ron said, finishing off the last of his third helping.

"You just like me because I help you with your homework," The bookworm said, smiling indulgently at him. She didn't mind him asking for help.

"Well, there's a little bit of truth in that," the redhead said, going to reach for a fourth helping, only to have his hands slapped away by his older brother Percy.

"That's just mean," Harry said, a frown marring his face. There were times he just didn't understand Ron. He was really, really smart when it came to chess, but then when it came to schoolwork, he just seemed so… lazy.

"It's all right," said Hermione. "I know how to deal with people like Ron." She smiled a smile like she had a secret.

"Oh," the boy said. "How's that?"

"I don't do all his homework," she said. "I simply tell him to look up what he needs to find."

"That's right smart of you, Hermione," Dean said, guilty of having asked Hermione to help him with his homework a time or two. However, he never took advantage of her like Ron did.

"I've been dealing with people like him for a very long time," she said, sticking her nose up in the air just a little bit.

"Anyway, I am glad Colin is going to be going home for Christmas. At least he doesn't have to be stuck in the hospital wing this whole time. But I wonder how they're going to find out what's petrifying everybody. But what if what's petrifying everybody goes home for Christmas?" Harry said, finishing off his treat and looking around the room as if the answer was waiting in the rafters.

"Well, you and the Weasleys are going to be here," Seamus said, pointing his finger between the two boys.

"Are you trying to say that I'm petrifying everybody?" the dark-haired boy said, not sure if he should be angry or not.

"I'm just saying that there are still going to be some people in the castle and maybe one of them are what's petrifying everybody," the Irish boy said, quickly becoming defensive. He didn't want them to think that he thought they were the perpetrators.

"Good, because I'd hate to think you were accusing me of doing anything wrong."

"Nah, you're too much of A goody, goody two shoes."

"I am not. Take that back."

"No, you really are," Dean said, clapping Harry on the back, making everybody laugh.

And the table started laughing. Everybody's started having a good time and the tension was broken. Amy and Phil looked on from the Hufflepuff table and were very happy to see that everything was going good at the Gryffindor table. They were going to be leaving for the Christmas break and only Ron and Harry were going to be staying in that little group. Though there was going to be a Christmas surprise for Harry.

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The Aurors showed up and they were swarming the castle. They looked everywhere and all the nooks and crannies. They even looked in Harry's trunk. They didn't find anything accept his cloak, and they tried to take it, but it wasn't a dark object, so Dumbledore nixed that.

They looked in Ron's trunk and they didn't find anything there. They looked in the Weasley twin's trunk and took half their stuff. But they gave it back. It was only joke stuff. But when they looked in Ginny's trunk, they took a book. And they didn't give it back.

The rest of Christmas break was rather boring. All Ron wanted to do was play chess. Harry was pants at chess. He hated playing it. He wanted to go outside and have a snowball fight, so he invited the twins along. Ron would rather stay inside where it was warm. Percy was busy with his girlfriend, and Ginny was moping. So Harry and the twins went outside and had a snowball fight.

They came back cold and wet, but happy. Having had a good time.

The next morning was Christmas morning, and Ron woke Harry up very early to go open presents. They brought their presents downstairs to open them with everybody else. And down there was a surprise for Harry. Sitting next to the tree was Millie.

"Millie!" Harry cried, dropping his presents, and flying into her arms. He hugged her as tight as he could, so tight that she had problems breathing.

"Hiya, Harry," Millie said, hugging him just as hard. She missed her little firstie. She was very happy to be back in Gryffindor Towers, seeing how happy he was. He had grown a bit, and she was very glad to see that.

"What are you doing here?" the dark-haired boy said, finally letting her go and taking a look at her face. She was just as pretty as she always was.

"I came to surprise you for Christmas," she said, her hands falling to her side, but with a huge smile on her face, showing just how happy she was just to see him.

"Well, it's certainly a surprise, but how did you get into the common room?" he asked, looking over to the Weasleys and seeing what they were doing. They were over, off to the side, opening their presents, letting him and Millie have their space. That was actually quite nice of them.

"I asked Dumbledore for permission to come and see you," she said, tucking her arm into his and pulling him further away from the Weasleys. It wasn't that she didn't trust them, she just wanted some time away from them with Harry.

"And he let you?" the younger boy asked, looking up at her face with curiosity.

"Well, obviously, yeah," she said with laughter in her eyes.

"Yeah, that was kind of a stupid question. So what are you doing here?" he asked again, hoping it was just to see him and not something bad.

"I wanted to see my favorite firstie," Millie said, confirming his hopes. She wasn't here for anything nefarious; she was just here to see her favorite boy. She had missed him something fierce and she wanted to give him something special for Christmas.

"I'm in second year now, Millie," he huffed at her. He wasn't going to be treated like a baby.

"I know you are, but you'll always be my favorite firstie," she said, ruffling his hair like she always did. To her, he would always be like a little brother.

"So, let's go someplace where we can talk. I have something I need to talk to you about," he said, shuffling his feet a little bit. He was very reluctant to talk about this, but he knew that it was important.

"Oh, it sounds important, yeah," she said concern in her tone.

"Yeah."

With that, the two of them exited the common room and went to an empty classroom.

"So what is it that you need to talk to me about?" she asked, making sure to stay at eye level with him.

"Phil told me I could only tell you, but I… I… um… it's really hard for me to say because he said it was evil and I really don't want you to think I'm evil," Harry said, babbling for all he was worth. He really didn't want to tell her this because he was very scared of how she was going to react.

"I would never think you're evil, Harry. You can tell me anything, yeah," she said, but she was very worried about what he was going to say.

"Well, you see, um, I, um, can talk to snakes," he said, keeping his eyes glued to the floor.

"Oh," Mellie said, reaching over and pulling him into a hug. "I don't think you're evil, Harry. But I can see why Phil didn't want you to tell anybody." She let him go and held him at arm's length. She looked into his eyes to make sure that he understood what she was saying to him.

"Can I tell Hermione?" he asked, shooting her a pleading look. He wanted to know because it had really been bugging him some since Phil told him he couldn't tell anybody. Hermione was his best friend.

"I think it will be okay if you tell Hermione. But make sure you tell her where nobody else can hear. It's very, very important. Phil was not kidding about that," she said, running a hand down his face. She wanted to make sure that he understood just how important this was. He would be ridiculed and shunned by the entire wizarding world if they found out that he was a parselmouth. Well, maybe not the muggleborns, but just about everybody else.

"Okay, Millie, I trust you and Phil," Harry said, beaming a brilliant smile at her. He really did trust these two. And he hoped one day to be just as trustworthy to somebody younger than him when he was their age.

"Let's go open our presents and have a good Christmas, okay? No more of this depressing stuff, yeah," she said, grabbing his hand and heading towards the door.

"Okay, Millie," he said, going along with her. He really wanted to open his presents anyway. All this mushy stuff was for girls.

And with that, the two went back to the common room and opened presents and had a great Christmas. There was a great deal of presents under the tree for everyone; Millie, Harry and the Weasleys. It was mostly jumpers, candy and broom repairing and maintenance kits. But there were a few things on there that were special, like handmade ornaments and other things that children give one another for Christmas. There were a few books from Hermione as she was prone to give those out as gifts.

"Hey, Millie."

"Yeah, Harry."

"You never did tell me what your job was. I thought you were going to university," he said as they sat drinking hot cocoa after a long day of opening presents and snowball fights.

"Well, I decided I was going to open my own business instead," she said after adjusting the blanket on her lap and taking a sip from her cocoa.

"Really, what is it?" he asked, very intrigued. He wondered what she could possibly have started when she was so adamant about going to university.

"I opened a defense studio in Hogsmeade," she stated proudly, holding her chin up high, as if she had done something nobody else had done. Which was true. Nobody else had done anything like this in the wizarding world.

"You did? How's it working?" he asked, leaning forward. As if he could get the answer much quicker.

"Not bad actually. I get a lot of muggleborns and half-bloods," she said, taking another sip of her cocoa. And then she added. "But I'm getting a few of the purebloods that I went to school with. They're actually doing really well at it. I didn't think they would because they've been pampered all their life, but they're following along pretty well, yeah."

It was because her business was doing so well that she was able to give the donation to the school and bully the headmaster into ordering the Mandrake Potion. It had been a hard sell, but a threat here and some blackmail there, and voila things got done. She felt a bit bad about using Harry's living conditions, but the old man should have done something about them earlier.

"Wow. Well, I'm glad it all worked out for you," Harry said, smiling at her. There was a great deal of pride in his voice.

"Me too. I think it's just what this world needs, yeah. And I owe it all to you, my little firstie," she said, leaning over and ruffling his hair.

"Leave off, will you?" Harry said, batting her hands away like he had done millions of times before.

"Never," she said, putting her cocoa down and starting a tickling fight.

And with that, the two had a great time just visiting until it was time for Mellie to leave. It was a tearful goodbye, but it was good to know that Millie was just down in Hogsmeade.

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Soon enough, it was time for the students to return, and just like Dumbledore said, the Aurors were there to check everybody's luggage as they came in. Some of the students didn't listen to the headmaster and their stuff got confiscated as they came in with dark objects. The notes were sent home to their parents. And one of the seventh years was arrested.

Harry didn't care about all that. That was up to the adults to take care of. What he cared about was talking to his best friend. As soon as she got settled in, he approached her.

"Hermione, I have something important to talk to you about," he said when she came down from the stairs of the girl's dormitory. She was looking really good in her winter clothes, and she had a happy smile on her face, like she had had a really good Christmas. He took her to the classroom that he and Millie had talked in and sat her down.

"What is it, Harry?" she asked, looking at his face like she was confused as to why he wasn't as happy as she was. She settled in the chair and put her hands in her lap, waiting for him to spill what had gotten him so tense.

"Well, it's really important. I have to have your promise that you won't tell anybody," Harry said, taking the chair opposite of hers and looking her in the face with the intensity not belonging on a twelve-year-old boy's face.

"Of course, Harry, I would never spill your secrets," she said, reaching forward and grasping both of his hands in hers.

"Well, see… the thing is, um, I… I can talk to snakes," he said, stumbling over the words just a little bit. He was getting better at this telling the secret thing. But they made such a huge deal out of it that it was really hard to get out. That and, this was the last person he was probably going to tell.

"Oh, is that all? What? Is it evil or something?" she asked, waving her hand, and giggling a little bit. She had not read anything about being able to talk to snakes. Well, she read a little bit about Slytherin and Voldemort being able to do it. But that didn't mean everybody thought it was evil, did it?

"Actually, yeah. According to Phil and Millie, most people think it is evil," he said, looking at her like she had lost her mind. Hermione was usually much more informed than this.

"Are you serious?" she asked, completely aghast that people would think that a language was evil. Just how simple-minded can people be? That was like saying English was evil.

"Yeah, according to them, all of the wizarding world thinks it's an evil language," he stated, nodding his head in confirmation.

"But it's just the language," she said, throwing her hands in the air like people were morons.

"You can't tell anybody, Hermione. I can't tell you how important this is," he said, grabbing her hands again and giving them a squeeze.

"Don't worry, Harry, I won't tell anybody," she assured him, squeezing his hands back.

"Thank you, Hermione, I can't tell you how much this means to me." It felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. Now he had someone his age that he could talk to.

"Harry, you are my best friend. Of course, I won't tell anybody any secret you ever give to me. I'll stand by your side no matter what." She looked into his eyes and saw that he was still scared and hugged him again.

"Thank you, Hermione, you're my best friend too and that's why I told you." He squeezed her back and the two separated and moved to the door.

And with that, the two went back to the common room with the shared secret. They joined the rest of the group of second years and had a great time talking about the Yule break. The Weasleys were in good form, even Ginny had gotten over her funk.

There were no more petrifications the rest of the year, and the Aurors left after a month of nothing happening. There were no voices in the walls, and Harry breathed a sigh of relief. However, that meant somewhere in the castle there was a snake that could kill just waiting for someone to wake it up again. That was something to worry about another day.

Lockhart was found to be a fraud by Snape, who really wanted the DADA position. Gilderoy was drummed out of the castle when he hired the dwarfs for his Valentine's Day fiasco. Snape got his wish, partially. He and the others picked up the slack, along with Dumbledore for the rest of the year.

Soon enough, it was time to go home, and Harry was willing to see the Dursleys, as long as Phil was going to take up Millie's place. She was still going to visit him and help Phil, but she had her business to run. Harry would be going to Hogsmeade with Phil every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, for classes along with Hermione. They didn't want to lose their advantage. It looked like it was going to be a productive summer.