The Power of Magic

15th of December, 1996.

The new common room was filled with students finishing their many gifts to their families. Harry sat at the head of the room helping anyone who wanted help. Some students were going home to a non-magical household and those had to be adapted so the magic didn't show or at least so it could be deactivated whenever someone who shouldn't know about magic came over.

They all had different ideas about what they wanted their glass orbs to become. Some of them made Christmas tree decorations, others made lamps and there were a few that created jewellery of different sizes.

Everyone approached Harry at some point to have the orbs enchanted. He wasn't alone in doing this, but he directed each student to someone who could best help them. No one knew quite how it had ended up that way, but no one argued that it worked just fine.

There was a happy buzzing Christmas feeling going around the room. The only people who didn't seem happy about that were a group of purebloods. Harry rose from his chair towards the end of the session. He gained everyone's attention. "On Saturday those who wish are gathering outside for the Solstice celebration," he said. "It is the time of year when we give back. I know that a brave few have been doing this on their own." He smiled at some of those somewhat grumpy purebloods. "We wish to see anyone who would be willing to join. The Dance of the Midnight Dream is a time of giving back to magic. It is one of the oldest magical Winter traditions that exist. We are hoping that you will be willing to join us on the Darkest night of the year," he said.

One young student put their hand up. "There will be lights right?" they asked.

Harry smiled. "Yes, there will be lights," he said.

"Do we really need to dance?" another student asked.

"No, only a certain number actually participates in the dance. The rest are witnesses, but everyone that is present is part of the giving of magic," Harry said.

"Does it hurt?"

Harry smiled softly. "No, it does not hurt. You might feel a little extra tired though," he said. He smiled at the crowd. "Now if that was all the questions, I hope that you can fight your way through next week. Remember it isn't long until the holidays now. Don't give up before we get there. Have a good evening everyone." He waved and people started filtering out of the room slowly.

"Do you think people will come?" Tracy asked.

"I think that it is more probable that they will come now that we have given them a bit more unity. The people that participate here seem less likely to attack other students and throw insults in the corridors," Harry said.

"I have also noticed a drop in things like that," Tracy said. "I'm glad I said yes to doing this. I certainly didn't think it would go this well. Sure, there is the occasional insult, but it is quite easy to handle." She placed a bunch of cleaned brushes into a box.

Justin walked up with a bunch of paint tubes and dropped them in a box. "I look forward to hosting this," he said. "Though I was wondering." He looked at Harry. "Could we enchant windows or something like that?" he asked. "It would be really cool if we could get some natural light in here. It would also give me a good basis for my session if they had a window each to work around."

"I'll see what can be done," Harry said. "I'm sure Professor Flitwick knows how to enchant in fake windows."

They cleared everything up and put it away in a big cupboard that would stay in the room. Hopefully, all their unused materials would come to good use someday.

20th of December, 1996.

Gabrielle was standing with the rest of her troupe. Their first performance was in half an hour and people had started arriving. She was nervously pacing back and forth. What if Kato couldn't make it? She really wanted him to be there.

"Gather here everyone," Madame Jeanette said.

Gabrielle walked up to the Madame with everyone else even though she wanted to know if her family had arrived.

Fleur settled down in her seat in the audience with her father to her right and an empty seat to her left. Bill had wanted to come, but unfortunately, work had gotten in the way. The seats filled up quickly. Fleur looked around.

"He said he would come, did he not dear?" Marceau said calmingly.

"Oui father he did," Fleur said.

"Would he say that if he wasn't coming?" Marceau asked.

Fleur sighed. No of course Kato wouldn't stand Gabrielle up now that he had promised to be there even if Gabrielle didn't know he would come for sure. That didn't stop her from looking around for him, however.

The room darkened slowly and the audience fell quiet. On stage, the curtains were pulled apart and soft light shone down on the ground. Snow rolled down the hills of the scenery. One by one or in pairs the dancers moved across the stage in greeting each other.

Fleur smiled as the scene changed and she saw Gabrielle dance around a Christmas tree. She could tell that her mother was already reaching for her handkerchief. She smiled and looked back up at Gabrielle. She looked so happy.

At some point, the seat to Fleur's right had been filled but she hadn't noticed since she was so taken by the performance of the dancers on stage. Kato had finally arrived. Maybe he had been there since the room got dark. She had no way of knowing. She saw the smile on the girls' faces as the Nutcracker was presented. She took Kato's hand and squeezed it.

As the dance of the sugar plum fairies began, Fleur easily picked out her sister from the others. Maybe Veela heritage helped in ballet because there was something with her movements that just seemed more elegant than the rest of them. She doubted anyone noticed unless they were a connoisseur of ballet, but it seemed that way to her at least. Maybe their Madame had felt the same because even when the girl who played the main role danced Gabrielle was still there dancing around her together with another girl. Both of them seemed to wear slightly different outfits from the rest too. Gabrielle hadn't said anything about that at home. It wasn't like her sister to be able to keep a secret. Maybe little Gabrielle was growing up just a bit.

As the end of Act One came, the crowd cheered. People rose from their seats to freshen up and walk around for a bit and Fleur hugged Kato. "When did you get here?" she asked.

"Before the curtains parted," Kato said. "I didn't want Gabrielle to sneak a peek. I had a feeling she was trying to see who had come."

Fleur laughed. "That sounds like Gabrielle," she said. "How have things been? Your letters say much but it isn't the same as speaking face to face."

"It is alright. People seem to appreciate the arts and crafts group we have gotten going. Classes are okay. They are pushing us now, and it is going to get rough I can tell. I'm still crazy ahead in Defence though so I have a bit of leeway there." He considered if there was anything he hadn't told Fleur that was just bad news. "Oh, I found out that one of my little Gryffs is a Khajiit. That was exciting. I'm teaching her and she is taking to it like a fish to water."

Fleur smiled. She was glad that Kato wasn't bored in school. "You probably shouldn't tell Gabrielle. She might get jealous," she said jokingly. Apolline made her way up to them and greeted Kato. "I'm so glad you could make it, dear," she said. "Fleur tells me that you are doing well. You are still coming for Christmas?"

"If you will have me," Kato said.

"Oh, of course, we will," Apoline said. "You are always welcome."

"I think Bill could use the backup," Fleur said. "It will be his first Christmas with us too. He has no idea what he is getting himself into. At least you were there for Gabrielle's birthday."

Kato nodded slowly. So they were meeting with the family then. There would be a lot of cousins. Fleur was probably right. Bill could use some backup if nothing else. He took Fleur's hand and led her back to her seat before the lights dimmed once more. He leaned back in his seat and watched. Ballet was beautiful, and he could just imagine how much training some of those dancers had to do what they did. He knew how hard it was. He had tried after all. He wondered if Fleur would like to dance more often once he had finished school. He knew that she missed it and he doubted Bill would mind unless he was interested in dancing with Fleur himself of course. They would have to talk about that he guessed.

When the curtain call finally came the crowd cheered and whistled. Kato led Fleur from their seats to find a place where Gabrielle could find them. She came running out still in her outfit and she wasn't the only one. When she saw Kato she leaped at him and he caught her. "You made it," she squealed happily.

"I made it," Kato said. He smiled as she started talking so fast about ballet terms that he couldn't quite keep up. Apoline and Marceau joined them. "Calm down my little angel, you need to breathe," Apolline said.

Gabrielle just smiled brightly at her parents. She looked down at Kato. "Have you practised?" she asked.

"A little every week," Kato said. "I have a lot of other things to do, but I do try for your sake."

"Can we dance when you come for Christmas?" Gabrielle asked. She was bouncing on Kato's arm and he had to steady himself so he wouldn't fall over.

"I'm sure you can fit that in," Apoline said and Kato smiled at her. "Now Gabrielle you need to get ready so we can head off dear."

"Okay, mom," Gabrielle said. Kato let her down, and she rushed back to the changing rooms. They were heading out to eat and Gabrielle held Kato's hand as they entered the restaurant. She told him about practice and the other ballerinas. She spoke about some girl Felecia who had been rather rude in the beginning, but now they got along pretty well because Madame wouldn't have any fighting in her troupe.

Apoline smiled as she watched her children, Kato included. He might not be hers but this wasn't the first time she felt like he was part of the family even if he did spend a lot of time away. Poor thing deserved to have some kind of parental figure he could turn to. She knew he had the nice Professor that had lived with him, but that man only now had a child of his own so there were plenty of questions that Kato might have that he wasn't ready to answer just yet.

"Please come stay with us until tomorrow Kato," Gabrielle begged as they walked down the street from the restaurant.

"But I'm soon coming to stay for Christmas and I have some homework and assignments to finish so I don't have to do them while I'd rather have a fun time with you and your cousins," Kato said.

Gabrielle pouted. "But I want you to come now," she said.

"And if I do that I'll have to spend time during the Holidays to finish my school work," Kato said. "We can't do anything fun then so isn't it better I do the boring stuff now so we can have fun later?"

Apoline and Marceau watched their daughter as she thought this over. She wanted to have fun both now and later, but she knew that if Kato said he had to do something he would do it even if he had to lock himself in a room to do it. She pouted. "Fine," she said. "But you better come straight away when the Holidays start," she said.

"I'll see you on Monday evening little star," Kato said. He kissed her on the forehead and hugged Fleur. "Have a nice evening and I'll see you soon," he said before disapparating.

21st of December, 1996.

It was dark outside and the stars shone in the night sky. Harry had prepped most of the day. He had done homework too, but he found this night more important. This would be the first time that the old ways were celebrated school-wide in quite a few years. He had spoken to several Ravenclaws and Slytherins to get this right. It was mostly the old families that followed these traditions, but he had heard enough that he wanted to see if there was any truth to what they said. If they were right then doing this should strengthen the wards around them. He would be able to tell if that happened. The dwemer had made sure he knew how to sense existing wards if he needed to.

"Almost ready," Tracy said. She had volunteered to be the second host of the evening. Most of the time you travelled somewhere and the hosts were the owners of the wards. In this case, Hogwarts was a school and could recognise anyone but the ritual still needed two people to lead.

Harry offered her his arm. Once the ritual started only very specific words would be spoken. It was a tradition that the hosts did not speak for quite some time beforehand. Once they headed inside again they would not speak until it was time for the ritual. "Is everything set up correctly now?" he asked.

Tracy nodded. "This looks good. I hope there will be quite a few of us though. It will seem a little much otherwise," she said.

"Most of Gryffindor is joining. Hermione and Neville are explaining things to them," Harry said. "Hufflepuff has quite a few participants too. I think Susan was explaining things to them and Ravenclaw I think was joining too. I don't know how many of them though.

"Daphne was going to kick Slytherin until they agreed to join," Tracy said. "It would look really bad if we sat this out when we are the ones who have been fighting for it for so long." She took a deep breath as they reached the doors and they stepped inside.

The Great Hall had changed per Harry's request to the elves. There were seven tables now. One for each year. They were mixing the houses for this night only. Prefects had agreed to keep order and several of the students who had attended the arts and crafts sessions had promised they would help keep people in line. No one was forced to attend the ritual after dinner, but they would have to stand the seating arrangements.

Hermione gave Harry a thumbs-up as she met his eyes. She had Gryffindor under control. Not everyone wanted to join, but quite a few were interested in seeing what this was about and since Harry was one of the people leading it they had sort of agreed to give it the benefit of the doubt. Harry was quite awesome after all.

The Great Hall was a bit more subdued that evening. Since students had to sit near people that they saw as different from themselves they didn't act quite as they normally would have. A good deal of students still had lively discussions and looking around it was clear to see where siblings who didn't normally sit together had brought their friend groups together. A clear example was the Pavati twins. They were surrounded by girls who were talking vividly about something. Harry sat too far away to hear them, but he imagined that it had something to do with fashion considering how involved Lavender was. He was surprised how close to him Draco Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson had ended up. He was sure it had something to do with the inner politics of the Slytherin house and he wasn't about to get involved in that. At least the two were cordial with the other people sitting nearby.

As the meal neared its end Harry rose and let out a ringing of silver bells to catch everyone's attention. He took Tracy's hand and helped her out of her seat and then he started walking down the hall. The other students filled in the line behind them and they led everyone that wanted to join outside. It surprised Harry a little when he saw several Professors standing with the students.

"On this the darkest of days we gather," Harry said. His voice carried in the still, cold air.

"On this the darkest of days we pray," Tracy said.

"On this the darkest of nights we wish to give a gift of magic so that as the sun rises higher we may grow stronger and wiser."

"On this road, we shall lead you," Harry said.

"On this path, we will guide your steps," Tracy said.

"All of you that have gathered under our ward and dined within our halls. May we lead you through this night so that tomorrow as the sun shines a little brighter you may find your own path."

Harry took Tracy's hand and she reached out for the person standing closest to her. Slowly they all linked together and Harry started moving. It was a slow dance at first until the circle was complete around the five fires that had yet to start burning. The dance sped up and they passed the fires quicker and quicker until they started lighting and burning one by one. Once all five fires stood alight Tracy led them all into a song so old that most didn't know its meaning. The old families knew that it was a song of magic and prosperity. They knew that it was a song belonging to this night, but if you asked them to translate it they would say that it was impossible.

Part of the reason for that was that no one seemed to know the entire song. If you had done everything right the words would simply come to those gathered. They sang and the fires danced with their gathered voices.

Then one voice clearer than the others broke free. It sang in a language unknown to those gathered but it felt older and more powerful than even the words that they themselves were singing.

Tracy looked over at Harry. She was close enough to him that she could tell that the foreign words belonged to him. She wondered briefly where he had learnt to sing like that. Then she saw the wards. The wards of Hogwarts shimmered into sight of everyone there.

In his tower, Albus looked out the window. He had never been a follower of the old ways. After Gellert had betrayed his trust they had always left a bad taste in his mouth. He couldn't deny the power boost he felt in the wards though. He cracked the window open and let Fawkes outside. He knew that the phoenix's song would only aid those participating, and he could tell that Fawkes wanted to go out there.

The Phoenix flew out and somehow a dragon seemed to join him. Albus watched as the two flew around each other and the magic that they shared between them. He heard the gathered song and wondered briefly who was signing above them all. He couldn't see anyone that stood out, however. Slowly he closed the window shutting the sound out. Ariana had loved these celebrations and they would never be the same without her. He could feel the falling tears and for once he let them come.

Outside the voices slowly died down. The wards shimmer out of sight once more. Everyone felt strangely tired but happy. They had done something together that hadn't been done for years.

"I hope that you will lead us next year as well," Tracy told Harry. "You have the power needed to host this big a group, and I think that it would be the most appropriate."

"It should be the head boy and head girl that leads," Harry said. "That would be the most appropriate."

"I agree, Mr Potter," Minerva said as she came walking up to them slowly. Her robes dragged in the snow. "I have never seen the wards react so clearly though. In my youth when these celebrations were more common I never got to see the wards react."

"I certainly cannot take all the credit for that," Harry said. "It takes the students of Hogwarts working together to gain that result. This year we have worked together more closely than I think Hogwarts has seen in a very long time. We are willing to trust and give in a way that hasn't been possible for a long time."

"And who is responsible for that?" Tracy asked teasingly. "You are the one who got the arts and crafts group started. You are the one the younger students look up to. A lot of the people here are doing it for you because in you they see a better future."

Harry smiled softly. "Then I guess I will have to show them that to change things they have to be willing to make those changes happen. A single person may be able to release the avalanche, but every flake in that avalanche has its own role to play once they are released."

A glimmering goblet filled with something warm appeared before everyone there.

"A toast to a better future," Professor McGonagall said.

"A future where we can work together and where what house you attended at Hogwarts is a simple novelty," Harry said.

Slowly, people started heading back to the castle. Black eyes watched them go. They rose to look up at one of the towers. Then as quietly as the falling snow Severus headed along the grounds until he reached the gates. He disapparated and appeared before his Lord.

"You are late," Voldemort said.

"I attended a winter solstice ritual, my lord," Severus said.

"I see," Voldemort said. "At the school?" he asked. As far as he knew the old fool had never allowed the rituals. It surprised him that someone had managed to bypass that.

"Yes, my lord," Severus said. "Most of the school participated and quite a few Professors as well."

"This is an interesting development indeed," Voldemort said. "Who led the ritual?" He assumed it had been some seventh-year student with a bit of influence that had gotten it going.

"Harry Potter and Tracy Davis," Severus said. "The wards answered and showed themselves."

"Impossible!" Voldemort exclaimed and intruded on Severus' mind. He came back to himself looking thoughtful. Severus certainly had not lied. They had even received Albus's blessing if the darn bird was anything to go by. This would take some consideration. If Potter was this close to the Old Ways maybe he wasn't lost after all. In combination with the news that Lucius had given him about a certain Kato Peverell and his kinship with the Potter brat, he would have to tread carefully around that. It could even lose him followers at this point to attack the boy. It also wouldn't serve a purpose. He had gotten stronger after his little stint as a wraith after all. He would never have gained this power if he hadn't been pulled from his original body.

"Thank you for sharing, Severus," Voldemort said before starting the meeting. He had a lot to think about and Severus hoped that what he had shared wouldn't put Harry in any more danger. He had a promise to keep after all.

23rd of December, 1996.

It was snowing outside. Gentle flakes sailed toward the ground landing in a blanket of pure white. Qozul and Harry were outside walking around the frozen lake. The little dragon loved the snow, but he got cold easily and couldn't stray far from Harry. The ice coating the lake gleamed in the warm light from the castle. A long time ago when Harry and Dudley were small, Petunia had taken them to go ice skating. Harry had thought that the people out on the ice looked so graceful as they glided along on the metal blades connected to their shoes… skates. He had never gotten to try. Dudley had thrown a tantrum when he fell over after putting the skates on and they had gone straight back home.

Harry drew his wand. He wondered if he could make skates out of his own boots. He tapped them and cast what he would assume was an appropriate spell. Then he threw a couple of spells at the lake to make sure that the ice was thick enough and that it was smooth. He remembered that being important or the skates could get stuck and you would fall over. He felt wobbly on the blades as he walked out on the ice. Then he pushed off with one foot and glided. He was careful at first as he got used to his new centre of gravity. It didn't last long though. Soon enough he was moving as fast as he could.

The sun rose slowly beyond the forest. Other students made their way outside. Some even walked up to the lake and Harry stopped right next to them.

"I didn't know you could skate," Daphne Greengrass said.

"Not until today," Harry said. "But I'm a decent dancer so it wasn't that hard to adapt."

Daphne chuckled. "I wish I had my skates with me," she said. She looked out at the ice longingly.

"I could fix that," Harry said. "The spell I am using isn't permanent and it attaches to your current boots." He held a hand out to her.

"Are you going to go with him?" Tracy asked. She wasn't interested herself, but she knew how much Daphne liked skating. "Millicent and I might head back inside. It is cold out here."

Daphne nodded slowly. A year ago she would have been slightly worried about being alone with any Gryffindor, but she knew Harry wasn't going to hurt her. He cared too much about people's happiness to hurt any of them. He had proven as much during the arts and crafts. "I think I would like to take you up on that offer… Harry," she said.

"As my lady wishes," Harry said. He drew his wand and pointed it at her shiny black boots. Snow gathered around them and turned into something that looked like ice. Daphne wobbled for a second before she got her bearings back. Harry led her out on the ice and watched her as she took off. She went around the lake once and then she started doing pirouettes and jumps. It was clear that she skated a lot.

Determined to learn, Harry went after her. He didn't try anything right away and his first jump had him lying on the ice in a heap. He could hear Daphne laughing. Harry wasn't one to give up though. He got back on his feet.

"I could teach you if you would like," Daphne said as she reached him. She took his hand and led him along while explaining the things he needed to keep in mind.

…

Daphne was breathing heavily. She had no idea how long they had been out there. She watched as Harry went for another jump. She was surprised how fast he was learning. When he said that he danced he was not lying. She could see in his form that he had to be doing something like that. "Do you dance ballet?" she asked as he made his way back to her.

"A bit every week," Harry said. "Fleur's little sister dances and she dragged me along."

"Delacour?" Daphne asked and Harry nodded. She had forgotten that Harry had gotten quite close with the French Champion while they had visited. It made sense that he had spent time with them though considering how close they had been. "My sister and I dance too," Daphne said. "In case you don't want to be alone."

Harry smiled. "We should meet up after the holidays and have a chat about that," he said.

Daphne sighed. "I wish I could skate all year round," she said. "It is so freeing. At home, we have a room that acts as a rink so we can skate as much as we want."

"I'll look into that too," Harry said. "I know of a room in the school that can adapt after what you want. Maybe it can become a skating rink too.

Daphne laughed. "You seem capable of anything, Mr Potter," she said.

Harry bowed with a flourish. "I do try my very best, my lady," he said.

"I think we should head back to the school," Daphne said. "As much as I'm loathed to admit it the train will be leaving soon enough and we need some lunch first." She chuckled as Harry held his hand out to her and they made their way to the shore. He got rid of the ice blades and they walked back to the castle.

"Any plans for Christmas?" Harry asked.

"Mostly spent with family I believe," Daphne said. "A cousin of mine that ran off and got married to some rich bloke in America somewhere is coming back home. Apparently, he wasn't all that nice so she left him. She had a daughter that is about five or so. Maybe I'll spend some time with her showing her around." She gave him a mischievous smile. "What about you?" she asked.

"I'll be going to France to celebrate with Fleur and her family. She begged me to act buffer for her boyfriend when the family celebrations start. They get rambunctious," Harry said. "At least the Veela part of the family."

Daphne's eyes widened and she started laughing. "Oh, you are going to spend Christmas surrounded by part Veela? Poor soul how will you make it out of that with your dignity intact?" she said.

"With a sharp mind and a lot of chocolate," Harry said seriously. He kissed her hand as they reached the Great Hall. "I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year my lady. I hope we shall see each other again come the New Year so we may plan more time together."

Daphne watched Harry walk over to the Gryffindor table and sit down next to Hermione. Harry was hard to read. She wasn't sure if he was flirting with her or if he just acted that way. She shook her head. Either way, she looked forward to spending more time with him. She joined Tracy and Millicent by the Slytherin table and they grilled her for information.

Hermione put her book away and looked at Harry. "You look like you have been having fun," she said.

"I learnt how to skate," Harry said excitedly.

Hermione chuckled. "I see," she said. "And who took their time to teach you?" She teased him.

Harry stuck his tongue out at her. "Daphne Greengrass," he said. "She is very good. We'll be meeting up after the Holidays to see if we can't do it some more."

"Are you going to have time for that?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah, I'll manage," Harry said. "I should be healing Frank soon enough and hopefully that won't take as long as healing Alice did."

"Mother is coming home for Christmas this year," Neville said softly. He looked really happy. "It will be our first Christmas together since I was just a year old."

"That is great," Hermione said. "I'm so happy for you."

Harry smiled as other people by the table gave Neville their well wishes. He was glad Alice was back on her feet and recovered too. He hoped they would have a good time.

"Well, I guess we should be off," Hermione said. "We don't want to miss that train after all."

"Hermione is right," Neville said. "Let's get our things and get ready for the trip home."

Harry walks slightly behind the other two up to the Gryffindor tower. He was glad he had decided to no attend Hogwarts properly after his return. It wouldn't have been the same without Neville and Hermione. He chuckled as Tanya hugged him. Or any of the others for that matter.