Harry returned to Travers Manor by Hogwarts Express the next morning, promising to write to Parvati and to meet up with her, though he did his best to avoid the mistake he made with Cho and warned her in advance that he'd chiefly want to spend time with his little cousins, since he had so little opportunity to see them during the year. She seemed understanding enough.
The Traverses had already celebrated Christmas the day before, naturally, but they still sat with him as he opened the presents left for him under the tree. There were some nice books and displayers, and clothes, as usual – this time more formal evening ones, in deference to Harry being fourteen already – but his biggest gift was still watching Edric and Wynn play.
"What's going to happen with his birthday party?" Harry wondered. "I mean, it can't be in the garden..."
"No," Alexandra agreed. "It'll be a house party for friends with children, so it's going to be a bit smaller. He's unlikely to mind at this stage, and when he's older, we will be able to make it up to him with the less official party. Isn't that right?" She added turning to Edric and tickling him, to his hysterical giggling.
Harry had rather hoped Wynn would get his first broom already, but when he asked Alduin after the boys went to sleep, his cousin said with a sigh: "His next birthday. We discussed it and three years old seems appropriate. Or, well," he grimaced, "if it was up to me, he wouldn't sit on a big broom until he was ten, but I know you'd sneak him one much sooner, so this way I'll at least have it under control. And he could hardly fly in this weather, anyway."
Harry gave a guilty smile. His cousin was right, on both counts – it was too cold outside for the little boys to be out for any length of time. It didn't stop him from playing with Wynn in the snow for the limited time he could, though.
A day later, they did their annual visit to Godric's Hollow, where they saw a truly ailing by now Mrs. Bagshot, and after their return home, Harry asked Alexandra to give him the Resurrection Stone for a while. She agreed, and they all sat together by the Christmas Tree after Wynn and Edric had gone to sleep and Harry, in a melancholy mood, turned the Stone in his hands.
His parents appeared, giving him the same sad smiles as in the summer.
"Hello, Harry," his mother said.
"Hello," Harry replied, swallowing. "I just...wanted to see you for a little bit, for Christmas."
"That's qite alright," his dad agreed. "Merry Christmas, Harry."
"Merry Christmas," his mum chorused. "We're proud of you, Harry, as always."
"Especially for that pretty new girlfriend you got yourself," his father said with a grin, and mis mother smacked him in the arm.
Harry flushed bright red. "You know?" He asked.
"Of course we know," his mother said softly. "We keep an eye on you. Treat her well, Harry. Don't take after your father in this and take years to figure out how to do that."
Harry looked down. "I think I messed up with Cho," he admitted.
His father frowned. "That wasn't your fault," he said firmly.
"It wasn't anyone's fault," his mum added, touching his father's arm. "You were just kids, really. You didn't know anything. But try your best, Harry, and talk to your cousin about it if you are unsure about things, alright?"
Harry nodded.
"Good. It's time to say goodbye, Harry, and – may your next year be good."
Harry mutely nodded, and turned the stone again, retreating to his room shortly afterwards.
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The earliest chance he got – once he wasn't needed for Christmas celebrations all day long – Alduin met up with Severus Snape, detailed notes from Theodore in his hand – this went way beyond his expertise – and explained the situation before handing them over.
Snape studied the notes carefully, ees sparkling with interest, and once finished, said: "This is a very well thought out solution, my compliments to Mr. Theodore. I came across this spell once in my studies, but it has been some time ago, and I admit I did not immediately think of it when you first suggested this, but it is a definite possibility. Checking for it will not be easy, but I do have one or two ideas."
Alduin exhaled. "Good," he muttered. "I asked Kingsley to do some little investigation for me into possible suspects, but he won't move unless he has confirmation this is even relevant. Which is reasonable enough, mind you, but the mere idea that there might be another agent of Riddle teaching Harry doesn't exactly let me sleep well." He shuddered. "At least involuntary possession, from what I can understand, is out of the question."
"Very much so," Snape agreed. "There are people weak-willed enough to take involuntary possession without any outward signs of it, but Moody would certainly not be one of them." He frowned down at the notes. "Dumbledore, as usual, will no tell me anything, so I must ask: what are the theories for why have there been no further steps taked by the Dark Lord? If it was his plan to put Potter's name in the Goblet, and it didn't work out...it's been two months. Surely he should have attempted something more, since then?"
Alduin shrugged. "Honestly, I have no clue – and if Dumbledore does, he doesn't share with me either. Kingsley is running his men rugged trying to find any trace of any plan. We don't know what the original intent with the Goblet had been, perhaps he's still trying to make use of it in some way...but your guess is as good as mine. Better, actually, since you know him much better."
"That is assuming that his years in incorporeal exile didn't change him significantly, which is a very bold assumption."
"Granted, but it's still more than I have to go on."
Snape had to concede that, but his knowledge did not give him any more insights into this, apparently, and so Alduin bid him goodbye shortly afterwards and returned home to his family Christmas cheer.
It was late at night of the same day, after all the children were asleep, that Alduin sat down next to Alexandra on their bed and asked: "What do you think?"
She raised her eyebrows a him. "About?"
He rolled his eyes in turn. "You know perfectly well about what." He nodded to the bedside table with its potions. "Do you still want to do this? Even with Riddle's possible return hanging above our heads?"
She gave him a look that seemed to imply he was stupid. "The whole point," she said, "is to ensure your line is secure, precisely because you knew the war would come again. What would be the point in stopping now you know it's just beyond the corner?"
"You're right, of course," he admitted with a sigh. "It's just...I'm worried about the children."
"I thought we had a plan for that."
"We do."
"Precisely. And it's a good plan. They will be safer than most other children."
"You'd be alone with them-"
"It's fine, Alduin. Really, it is," she insisted.
"All right, then," he did his best to smile at her and reached for the potions. "I'm ready to be inspired."
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It seemed Harry would hardly have any free time over the break – the day after the visit to Godric's Hollow, it was time for Edric's birthday party. It was, like Alduin had said, smaller, and focused on the nearest relations and people who had children of similar age to Edric. It meant it was a different crows than Harry was used to seeing, a little bit. There were the Burkes, obviously, and the Yaxleys – Horatio's grandmother was born a Burke, and that brought Harriet and Charles, too, his cousins, with their parents. It also meant the Malfoys and the Shafiqa. So far, it was familiar. The rest, however, were the youngest families of Princes, Odgens, Proudfoots and Ollivanders, which, except for the last, Harry didn't know all that well.
Luis Proudfoot, it turned out, was the youngest child there, not even a half a year old, and didn't seem like he enjoyed the company of other children all that much yet – Harry remebered when Wynn had been like that. Edric, at least, seemed to be gettign slowly used to it – probably Wynn helped in this – if his tentative interactions with Primula Prince were anything to go by. Wynn, on the other hand, had taken to cheerfully running around with Gerlat Ollivander and Salome Odgen, under the stubborn direction of Placidia Burke. Augustus Prince, Lucilla Ollivander and Daniel Burke seemed to have formed yet another separate group, deeming themselves too old to play with the babies. Gamila had joined Charles, Abdulaziz and Harriet, leaving Draco to Harry's company – Horatio, who after all would be seventeen in a few days, kept mostly to the adults.
Draco was probably not all that satisfied with this development, given that Harry was much more inclined to pay attention to his little cousins than to him, but bore it with as much grace as he could, and even had to admit that watching Placidia try, over and over again, to give instruction no one listened to was kind of amusing.
After the party came a trip to the wizarding theatre, another thing now available to him because he was fourteen – and it had been amazing, it was a production of Midsummer Night's Dream and all the magical effects took Harry's breath away. After that, there were, at least, two free days to rest, and then it was time for the New Year's party – for the first time in his life, Harry could attend the adult part of it as well – and, not long after, his return to Hogwarts.
Where, directly on the first day, there was an unpleasant surprise waiting for them in the form of an article in the Daily Prophet – by no one but the fabled Rita Skeeter – about Hogwarts' Keeper of Keys and Grounds being a half-giant.
It was a disgusting, vicious piece of journalism and Harry was now immensely grateful to Alduin once more for sparing him this woman's vitriol.
He also didn't hesitate to ask his cousin to intervene. Surely this could not be allowed to stand?
Alduin, looking at him in the mirror, gave a sigh. "She didn't technically write anything untrue," he said. "Hagrid is a half-giant. The best I can do is try and send up a more sympathetic reporter to do an interview with him. I might have to bait her with another interview with you, though – perhaps one about how you'd enjoyed your first ball?"
Harry sighed, but agreed, and went down to see Hagrid.
Hagrid, as it turned out, was shut up in his cabin and refusing to leave.
"Come on, Hagrid!" Harry called. "Do you really think we care? I've known for years!"
That caught Hagrid's attention, apparently, because he opened the door to give Harry a suspicious look. "Yeh did?" He asked. "How?"
"Alduin told me," Harry explained simply.
Hagrid grumbled. "O' course he did."
"He doesn't care either," Harry said emphatically. "Now will you let me in?"
Rather reluctantly, Hagrid did, and Harry explained about the reporter.
"Dunno if I wanna talk ter another one o' those," Hagrid said, sounding worried at the idea. "Didn' do me much good las' time, did it?"
"Mrs. Fenwick is great," Harry assured him. "She helped me do that article when I explained to everyone about the Tournament and the Goblet of Fire."
"That's her, is it?" That seemed to change Hagrid's mind somewhat. "I guess they can' be all bad...All righ' then, if yeh think it'll help."
"It will," Harry promised. Then he thought about a change of topic, and thankfully landed on one quite easily: "How did you like having the dragons here?" He asked.
Hagrid immediately brightened. "Oh, they were amazin'! I'm just sorry they didn' bring Norberta, but she isn' nestin', they said. But such creatures, Harry! Didn' it just make yeh wanna have one, too?"
"Er...no," Harry admitted.
Hagrid hook his head in incomprehension. "They're really amazin'," he muttered.
"Why did you never go work in a dragon reserve?" Harry asked, suddenly curious.
"Don' have the qualifications, do I?" Hagrid asked glumly.
Harry frowned. It was true, he supposed, but… "Couldn't you sit your OWLs now? I mean, from what Alduin told me, they're Ministry exams, not Hogwarts ones, so it shouldn't matter you were expelled. People who are home-schooled do them too."
"Yeah, but yeh need OWLs in three subjects at leas' teh carry a wand," Hagrid muttered. "An' I could maybe do the Creatures exam," maybe, right, Harry thought, "but not the others...I was a bad students even when at Hogwarts, Harry."
Harry thought about that. "What about Herbology?" He asked. "You grow a lot of plants and everything."
"Maybe Herbology," Hagrid conceded, "but that's still jus' two."
"What was your best subject beside these two?" Harry wondered.
"I wasn' too rubbish at Potions," Hagrid admitted reluctantly, "but that was a long time ago."
Harry wondered. He would have to ask Alduin again how this all worked, he decided, but probably only over the Easter. This seemed like it could be a long discussion.
"I wouldn' wanna leave Hogwarts anyway," Hagrid interrupted his thoughts. "Dumbledore did so much for me, I wouldn' wanna abandon him."
Harry tried not to grimace. He wanted to tell Hagrid Dumbledore would want him to follow his dream, but frankly, he wasn't all that sure it was true.