Chapter 25: Yule Tidings
Harry POV
Harry had assumed it would be easy to find information on their target. Yet weeks would pass in vain, however, and Harry and his friends found bupkiss on Nicholas Flamel. The library was an impressive repository of knowledge, but it was poorly organized. No Dewey Decimal System, no standardized method of sorting, and quite a few books were handwritten, making it hard to read if the author had atrocious writing.
And while they researched Nicholas Flamel in secret, winter break snuck up on them.
"Don't worry, Hermione, we can keep searching when you get back," Harry consoled his bushy-haired friend. She was preparing to leave to catch the Hogwarts Express back to London to spend Christmas with her parents.
Hermione wasn't the only member of the group leaving, either. Neville, Susan, and Hannah were all heading home for the break.
"I suppose," she sighed heavily. She then shot Harry a concerned look. "Will you be fine on your own here over break?"
"I won't be alone, I'll have Ron with me," Harry replied. Hermione raised an eyebrow at him at that, and the Boy-Who-Lived snorted in amusement.
"Alright, but remember, you don't have to play chess with him every time he asks, alright?" Hermione reminded him.
"I'll keep that in mind," Harry said dryly. He then gave Hermione a hug which she returned, and she hurried off to the platform.
Behind her came Susan and Hannah, and he gave them farewell hugs as well.
"See ya, Harry," Susan said as she let go of Harry. "We're all an owl away!"
"I can't wait to see what you've gotten me as a Christmas gift, Harry," Hannah said with a teasing smile.
Susan smacked her friend's arm for that, but the blonde just grinned unrepentantly. Harry chuckled.
"You'll like it," he promised.
"I'll hold you to that!" she giggled.
"Sorry about her," Susan apologized as Hannah skipped off.
"Nah, it's fine. Her bluntness is refreshing," Harry assured her. "See you later, Susan. And don't worry, I got you a gift, too."
She blushed at that, and ran off after Hannah as her fellow Hufflepuff whistled at her.
The next one to say goodbye was Neville. As he and Neville were blokes, they said farewell by shaking hands, wishing each other a Merry Christmas.
And with that, Hogwarts felt a little bit emptier. Colder, too, though Harry was fairly certain that was due to the open door leading out of the castle.
He decided to warm up in the Gryffindor common room, and found Ron and his brothers already in there.
"Hermione says 'Hi,'" Harry said. "She also says 'Bye.' Neville, Susan, and Hannah also just left."
"Hmm? Oh, sorry I missed saying goodbye. But Scabbers wasn't feeling well," Ron said, holding up his pet rat. It did look under weather, shivering a bit in Ron's hands.
"Well, hopefully he gets better soon," Harry said.
"Harry!" Fred (or was it George?) said, wrapping an arm around Harry's shoulder. "We happened to hear-"
"-from sources who shall remain anonymous-" continued George (or maybe Fred?) who got onto Harry's other side.
"-that a certain Puff was sad to see you go," the other twin finished.
"Yes?" he said, an eyebrow raised. "That is what happened."
The twins shared a look and a grin, then said "Nothing!" simultaneously before walking off, laughing to themselves.
"What was that about?" Harry asked Ron.
"Dunno. I try not to understand my brothers, lest I go mad," Ron replied with a shrug.
"Huh," Harry hummed. "Well, I need to go wrap some presents. I'll be in the dorm. No peeking!"
"I won't," Ron promised.
Harry hurried up to his dorm, and got out the presents he'd bought for his friends. He had wrapping paper and tape – provided by a helpful House Elf – and quickly wrapped up the gifts for his friends.
A giddy feeling ran through Harry's chest, and a smile crept unbidden onto his face. He couldn't help it. Thinking about his friends, and realizing he actually had some after so long, still managed to make his happy, even after all this time.
'Sometimes I'm afraid I will wake up, and this will all have been a beautiful, fleeting dream,' Harry thought to himself as he hid the wrapped presents away under his bed.
Once he was finished, he walked back to the common room, and sat down across from Ron.
"Want to play a game of chess?" Harry offered, and Ron lit up eagerly.
After everyone left for winter break, the castle felt empty. The corridors echoed ominously, and the crinkle-crackle of ice could be heard from every window. And Harry wasn't sure if it was Hogwarts playing a trick on people, or if maybe his imagination was acting up, but he could have sworn that the moving staircases were taking him to a certain area of the Third Floor more often than not.
He never lingered, of course. Dumbledore had said that that particular corridor was off-limits, and he wasn't willing to go exploring with just Ron. No, he'd rather have a full party if he was going to be starting trouble.
Harry instead spent his time playing and hanging out with the Weasleys. Even Percy occasionally joined in, though that only happened whenever he and Ron were catching up on their winter assignments.
Despite the emptiness, Hogwarts was still lively, and Harry got to know both the castle and its caretakers a lot more. Harry would sometimes sneak down to the kitchens to talk with the House Elves. He'd been curious about them ever since he'd first met Inky, Edward's House Elf, and found them to be a strange if charming folk. Could do without all the bowing and scraping, though.
He also spoke to some of the ghosts, and found some interesting rooms scattered about. Harry'd had no idea that Hogwarts had its own indoor Squash court. Or that it had two ateliers for painting. Sadly, none of them were in use. He'd been curious to find out more about the magical portraits that littered the castle.
And then, as if time had just flown by, it was finally dawn of December the 25th, and the only two boys in the Gryffindor First Year dorms woke up as the first sliver of light entered their bedroom.
"Whoa!" Ron gasped, looking over the pile of gifts the House Elves had left for them at the foot of each bed.
Harry could only nod his head numbly in silent agreement with Ron, shocked to see this many gifts. He'd thought the handful of presents Edward and Sam had given him last year had been a lot, but this amount… he'd never imagined getting so many gifts in his life!
"What should we open first?" Ron asked, already sifting through the pile.
"How about each other's gifts?" Harry suggested, which received a bob of the head.
For Harry, he received a book called 'Quidditch Through the Ages!' from Ron, which detailed all of the Quidditch teams, both past and present, as well as some of the more famous events in the sport.
Ron's gift from Harry was a new wizarding chess set. It was expertly carved and Harry didn't have to be a Seer to know Ron would be getting a lot of use out of it.
The rest of the presents they opened up were just as thoughtful. Hermione got Harry a book of history that included the various contributions the Potter Family had made for Wizarding Britain. Neville sent Harry a carton of magical playing cards for something called Exploding Snap. Hannah gave him a magical hat that was supposed to be able to keep his unruly hair under control, while Susan sent him a broom care kit. Edward had surprised Harry by sending him a sack of Muggle candy, and even Hagrid had gotten him a hand-carved wooden flute. And when Harry saw the sweater Mrs. Weasley had made for him, Harry couldn't help but tear up.
As for the presents Harry had gotten for his friends, Hermione received a book about more in-depth magical history, Neville got a collection of seeds for his garden back home, while Hannah and Susan both got customized boxes of chocolates. Hagrid got a giant pair of mittens, and Edward would be getting a bunch of materials he could do runecrafting with.
"Hey, Harry, you missed one," Ron said, and Harry noticed that he had indeed missed a gift. It was a small, bundle of cloth that he'd nearly mistaken for part of his sheets. If not for Ron spotting the simple bit of twine tying it up, he might have missed it entirely.
"What is it?" Harry wondered, picking it up. As he did so, the twine unraveled, and the item he was holding unfolded.
It was a cloak made of a shimmering, almost translucent silk-like substance, and a tiny postcard sized note was tucked away in its folds.
'This belonged to your father, and was in my safe keeping. Use it well,' Harry read off the card, frowning. This was a Potter heirloom? He wasn't entirely versed on The Rules wizarding society played by, but thanks to Neville and Susan he knew it was considered a faux pas at best to keep something that wasn't yours and had been loaned out, as it was clear this item had been from the context of the note.
"Wicked, mate! That's an Invisibility Cloak!" Ron gasped when Harry tried on the shimmering sheet of fabric by wrapping it around his shoulders.
"Oh, wow!" Harry uttered, staring down at his now invisible upper torso. "This was my dad's?"
'Why didn't he have this when Voldemort attacked us?' Harry couldn't help but wonder. 'Could my parents have escaped if they'd had this at the time?'
He shook his head rapidly a moment, clearing out the dark thoughts. Now was not the time for that!
"Should we go see if Fred and George are up yet?" Harry asked, holding up the cloak. Ron's grin turned wicked. It was time for the pranksters to become the pranked!
After scaring the daylights out of the twins (and waking them up, but that had always been a secondary objective) the boys went down to the Great Hall to enjoy the food laid out for them.
'I wonder how Edward's Christmas is going?' Harry wondered as he tucked into the sumptuous Christmas feast the House Elves of Hogwarts had prepared for everyone still in the castle. 'I hope he's having a good time!'
"This was supposed to be an easy Christmas," I muttered to myself. "No relatives to bring me down, fun times with Sam and his family, and the knowledge that things were going my way for once keeping my spirits up through the long, cold nights."
I quickly reloaded the stolen handgun I had in my grasp as my breath came out in harsh, unsteady bursts. I was hiding behind a pillar in a parking garage, which was riddled with bullet holes. The crunch of broken glass alerted me to the presence of someone approaching, and I tensed up, fury bubbling away in my gut.
"I was not supposed to be doing any of this today!" I uttered with a snarl, rolling out of cover and aiming at the men in black suits who were pointing their own assortment of guns at my hiding spot.
"DIE!" I shouted at them, pulling the trigger.
No, this was not how I wanted my Christmas to go at all!
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Author's Note:
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! Have an extra chapter as a gift! Thank you so much for supporting me this year! And I hope the next year treats you all well!