They stepped off the stone staircase at the top, and Professor McGonagall rapped on the door. It opened silently, and they entered. Professor McGonagall told Harry to wait and left him there alone. Harry looked around. One thing was certain: of all the teachers' offices Harry had visited so far this year, Dumbledore's was by far the most interesting. If he hadn't been scared out of his wits that he was about to be thrown out of school, he would have been happy to have a chance to look around it.
It was a large and beautiful circular room full of funny little noises. Several curious silver instruments stood on spindle-legged tables, whirring and emitting little puffs of smoke. The walls were covered with portraits of old headmasters and headmistresses, all of whom were snoozing gently in their frames. There was also an enormous, claw-footed desk and, sitting on a shelf behind it, a shabby, tattered wizard's hat—the Sorting Hat.
Harry hesitated. He cast a wary eye around the sleeping witches and wizards on the walls. Surely it couldn't hurt if he took the hat down and tried it on again? Just to see… just to make sure it had put him in the right House…
He walked quietly around the desk, lifted the hat from its shelf, and lowered it slowly onto his head. It was much too large and slipped down over his eyes, just as it had done the last time he'd put it on. Harry stared at the black inside of the hat, waiting. Then a small voice said in his ear,
"Bee in your bonnet, Harry Weasley?"
"Er, yes," Harry muttered. "Er…. Sorry to bother you… I wanted to ask…"
"You've been wondering whether I put you in the right House," said the hat smartly. "Yes… You were particularly difficult to place. Any of the founders would have been proud to call you one of their students."
"Even Slytherin…?" Harry asked in a near whisper, almost hoping the hat wouldn't hear him.
"Oh yes," the hat purred, "You would have done well in Slytherin. It might have been an even better house for you, in fact."
Harry's stomach plummeted, his hair shortening to its normal length and turning white instantly. He grabbed the point of the hat and pulled it off, and it hung limply in his hand, grubby and faded. Harry pushed it back onto its shelf, feeling sick.
"You're wrong," he said aloud to the still and silent hat. It didn't move, and Harry backed away, watching it. Then, a strange, gagging noise behind him made him wheel around.
He wasn't alone after all, it seemed; standing on a golden perch behind the door was a decrepit-looking bird that resembled a half-plucked turkey. Harry stared at it, and the bird looked balefully back, making its gagging noise again. Harry thought it looked very ill. Its eyes were dull, and even as Harry watched, a couple more feathers fell out of its tail.
"Oh, that's just bloody perfect!" Harry thought with a disbelieving scoff at how bad his luck was, "I get sent to Professor Dumbledore for allegedly attacking a student, and his bird dies while I'm alone with it! I might as well snap my wand now!"
Just as that thought ended, the bird burst into flames, causing Harry's jaw to drop in disbelief at what he was seeing.
"Oh, come on!" Harry shouted angrily before quickly looking around for some water that he could use to douse the still-burning bird; the bird, meanwhile, had become a fireball; it gave one loud shriek, and the next second, there was nothing but a smoldering pile of ash on the floor.
Before Harry could do anything but snort at how bad his luck was, the office door opened, and Harry spun around in surprise to see Dumbledore come in, looking very somber.
"Professor," Harry gasped, "Your bird… I couldn't do anything…. He just caught fire…!"
To Harry's astonishment, Dumbledore smiled.
"About time, too," he said. "He's been looking dreadful for days; I've been telling him to get a move on."
He chuckled at the stunned look on Harry's face, before moving around the boy and standing next to the golden perch, gazing fondly down into the ashes.
"Fawkes is a phoenix, Harry. Phoenixes burst into flame when it is time for them to die and are reborn from the ashes. Watch him…"
Harry slowly approached the perch and looked down in time to see a tiny, wrinkled newborn bird poke its head out of the ashes; it was quite as ugly as the old one.
"It's a shame you had to see him on a Burning Day," said Dumbledore, seating himself behind his desk. "He's really very handsome most of the time, wonderful red and gold plumage. Fascinating creatures, phoenixes. They can carry immensely heavy loads, their tears have healing powers, and they make highly faithful pets."
In the shock of Fawkes catching fire, Harry had forgotten what he was there for, but it all returned to him as Dumbledore settled himself in the highchair behind the desk and fixed Harry with his penetrating, light-blue stare.
"Professor Dumbledore, sir…" Harry began with a tremble, "I know how it must look to you, but I swear, sir. I had nothing to do with Justin's attack! I was actually looking for him to try and explain what happened that night!"
"Harry, my boy…" Dumbledore replied softly before Harry cut him off again,
"And I know you've heard by now that I can talk to snakes, but I'm not a dark wizard! I'm not… I'm not Voldemort!"
By now, Harry seemed to be speaking more to himself than Dumbledore and had wrapped his arms around himself as his eyes swam with unshed tears.
"Harry!" Dumbledore's voice boomed, breaking through Harry's panic and making the boy look up sharply at the sudden noise. Dumbledore didn't look angry but sad as he gazed at Harry.
"I know that you're not a dark wizard, Harry," Dumbledore said calmly, "And I have, in fact, heard about your newfound ability. But that ability doesn't make you any more like Voldemort than having green eyes does."
"But Ron said that it's a dark gift and that the only other wizard to have it was Voldemort," Harry replied quickly, "What if… What if that means I'm gonna be like him one day!"
Dumbledore took a deep breath and then sighed sadly for several seconds before he spoke again in a weary voice,
"I very much doubt that that will happen, Harry. For one thing, you have gifts that Voldemort never had."
"Like what, sir?" Harry asked desperately, and Dumbledore felt his heart break as he looked at the boy; Harry was trying so hard to be strong, but between the school turning its collective back on the boy, and this recent attack no doubt exacerbating that problem, Harry looked dangerously close to completely falling apart.
"Like love, Harry," Dumbledore replied gently, calming the boy, "It is a foreign concept to Voldemort and one that he believes to be a weakness. You know what it is to love and be loved in return. I have watched you quite closely since you first arrived here, Harry, and do you know what I have seen?"
"No sir," Harry replied softly,
"I have seen a bright, wonderful child, who has offered the hand of friendship to those who need it most, even when others have tried to dissuade you from doing so. I see a child who will one day go on to do amazing things, and my only hope is that I live long enough to see some of them."
Harry sniffled twice, wiped his nose, and then smiled gratefully at Professor Dumbledore for a moment before whispering,
"Thank you, sir."
"You're quite welcome, my boy. And I know how cruel some children can be, but you must never let their opinion of you darken your opinion of yourself. Do you understand?"
"Yes sir," Harry replied as he wiped his nose again, "You don't think it was me, Professor?" Harry repeated hopefully as Dumbledore brushed the ash off his desk.
"No, Harry, I don't," said Dumbledore, though his face was somber again. "But I still want to talk to you."
Harry waited nervously while Dumbledore considered him, the tips of his long fingers together.
"I must ask you, Harry, whether there is anything you'd like to tell me," he said gently. "Anything at all."
Harry didn't know what to say. He thought of Zabini shouting, "You'll be next, Mudbloods!" and of the plan to impersonate a Slytherin and sneak into their common room. Then he thought of the disembodied voice he had heard twice that no one else could hear. He thought, too, about what everyone was saying about him, and his growing dread that he was somehow connected with Salazar Slytherin…
"No," said Harry. "There isn't anything, Professor…"
Dumbledore stared at Harry over his half-moon glasses for a moment, and Harry couldn't help but twitch under the wizard's gaze; after a considerable amount of time had passed, Dumbledore finally sighed and looked down wearily,
"Very well then, my boy. You may go," Dumbledore replied, looking back up. "But do try to keep yourself out of trouble during the holidays."
"Of course, sir," Harry replied quickly before turning on his heel and all but running out of the office.
XXXX
The double attack on Justin and Nearly Headless Nick turned what had hitherto been nervousness into absolute panic. Curiously, Nearly Headless Nick's fate seemed to worry people most. What could possibly do that to a ghost? People asked each other; what terrible power could harm someone who was already dead? There was almost a stampede to book seats on the Hogwarts Express so that students could go home for Christmas.
Luckily for Harry and the others, Molly and Arthur had written, telling the children to stay at Hogwarts for Christmas as Sirius had given them an early gift. In an act of supreme altruism, Sirius had gotten the Weasley parents a two-week reservation at an all-inclusive adult's spa in France. Sirius, thankfully, also had plans for the holidays; he was going to be spending time with a pretty witch he had been keeping time with, and to the surprise of all, it seemed to be getting much more serious (pun intended).
"At this rate, we'll be the only ones left," Ron told Harry and Hermione, "Us, Zabini, and the few sorry sops who can't go home or whose family told them to stay. What a jolly holiday this'll be…"
"Suits me," Harry muttered back, "Less chance of me getting caught when I take one of their places and sneak into the Slytherin common room."
"Agreed…" Ron muttered darkly.
But Harry was glad that most people were leaving. He was tired of people skirting around him in the corridors as though he were about to sprout fangs or spit poison, tired of all the muttering, pointing, and hissing as he passed. Fred and George, however, found all this very funny. They went out of their way to march ahead of their little brother down the corridors, shouting, "Make way for the Heir of Slytherin, seriously evil wizard coming through…"
Percy was deeply disapproving of this behavior.
"It is not a laughing matter," he said coldly.
"Oh, get out of the way, Percy," said Fred. "Harrykins is in a hurry."
"Yeah, he's off to the Chamber of Secrets for a cup of tea with his fanged servant," said George, chortling. Luna didn't find it amusing either,
"Oh, don't," she wailed every time Fred asked Harry loudly who he was planning to attack next or when George pretended to ward Harry off with a large clove of garlic when they met.
Harry didn't mind; it made him feel better that Fred and George, at least, thought the idea of his being Slytherin's heir was quite ludicrous. But their antics seemed to be aggravating Zabini, who looked increasingly sour each time he saw them at it.
"It's because he's bursting to say it's really him," said Ron knowingly. "You know how he hates anyone beating him at anything, and you're getting all the credit for his dirty work."
"Not for long," said Hermione in a satisfied tone. "We'll be getting the truth out of him soon enough. And think of how much sweeter it'll be to catch him because of his own two lips."
The last day of the term found Harry, Ron, and Hermione sitting close together and enjoying their breakfast when Harry suddenly heard a cough from behind him; turning to see who it was, Harry smiled with genuine pleasure as he rose from his chair as Narcissa had taught him, and said warmly,
"Good morning, Rhea. I thought you'd be on the train already; it's leaving soon, right?
"Not quite yet," Rhea smiled back, "And, I'm leaving now, I just wanted to say goodbye to you first. And to give you this."
Quickly, Rhea retrieved a piece of parchment from within her robes and held it out to Harry expectantly; slowly taking it, Harry swallowed nervously as he realized that the entire Great Hall was watching the encounter. Some, like his older brothers, were grinning knowingly, while others glared in obvious jealously; all of this, however, went over Harry's innocent head as he broke the wax seal on the parchment, opened it, and began to read:
'Lord Potter-
It has reached my ears that you will be staying at Hogwarts for the holidays; this is fortuitous, it would appear, as I believe that you are ready for your first real test in how to behave as a lord in society. I have already gained acceptance from your mother and father, reluctantly, I might add, and so wish to offer you an invitation to my family's annual Yule Ball. If you accept, I will pick you up in the Headmaster's office on Christmas Day at four P.M. sharp and will return you once the celebrations have concluded. You have my guarantee as a Malfoy and as a mother that you will come to no harm while in my care. Please send your owl as soon as you can, and know that I hope you are able to come, as some are more eager for you to attend than others.
Respectfully yours,
-Lady Narcissa Malfoy.'
Harry felt pale as he read, then reread the letter; how could he refuse such an invitation? He couldn't without seriously insulting Narcissa. Such an insult might never be forgiven; she had been so kind to him, teaching him this last year. But, if he did accept, how was he supposed to sneak into the Slytherin common room? There was no way he could be in two places at once.
Looking up from the letter, Harry could see a hopeful expectation in Rhea's eyes that made his heart sink. There was simply no way he could refuse without hurting Rhea, and that was something that Harry simply refused to do. Harry could speak to Draco at the ball and begin to repair their friendship.
"I would be honored to attend," Harry said with a slight bow, "Please inform your mother that I will be waiting at the agreed-upon time."
"Brilliant!" Rhea cried before blushing furiously, coughing slightly, then replying in a much more subdued voice, "I mean, glad to hear it. I'll see you there, then. Goodbye."
"Um… Bye," Harry replied in confusion as Rhea quickly stalked out of the Great Hall; once she was gone, Harry sat back down and began to eat his breakfast again. After a few moments of silence, Harry looked up to see most of the table grinning at him in obvious delight.
"What?" Harry asked in confusion,
"What, he says!" Fred laughed, "As if he didn't just get a hand-written invitation to the biggest party in England."
"Aye, brother of mine," George laughed back, "They grow up so fast!"
The twins pretended to dissolve into tears and wipe their eyes on their cloaks as the table erupted in laughter,
"Oh, shut up!" Harry cried, throwing a bread roll at the twins, "Rhea's just a friend! It's not like that!"
"Uh huh," Fred snorted,
"Sure," George added, drawing out the word with a snort of his own.
"Fools though they may be," Percy said with a slight chuckle, "Our brothers do have a point,"
"We do?" Fred and George asked in unison, identical shocked looks on their faces, making Percy roll his eyes before he answered.
"Yes, you two idiots do. Enjoy it for once," turning back to Harry, Percy continued in a haughty tone, "The Malfoy's Annual Yule Ball is the biggest party in England. Dozens, perhaps hundreds, of government and political leaders will be there! You really are quite lucky, Harry. Some people would trade both arms for the opportunity you've just been given."
"What does she mean by 'test'?" Hermione asked, having read the letter while Harry wasn't looking.
"Well, Hermione dear," Fred replied with a grin, "Harrykins here is the heir to The most Ancient and Honorable House of Potter, one of the founding members of the Wizengamot. And as thanks for saving Rhea last year, the dear, sweet Narcissa Malfoy has been training our little Harry on how to behave like a boring noble."
"Better him than us, I say," George added grimly, "I couldn't handle all those stuffy nobles. Walking around like they're better than everyone else."
"Too true," Fred nodded before turning to Harry and saluting him, "We thank you for your noble sacrifice on our behalf, little brother."
"So, this will be your introduction into society," Hermione said with a gasp as Harry flicked a piece of egg at the twins, "Oh, that's so amazing! I wish I could go as well!"
"Ahem," Ron coughed with an irritated look, "Harry? Can I talk to you and Hermione for a moment? In private."
Before either of them could object, Ron had grabbed both by the scruff of their necks and dragged them out of the Great Hall as everyone else watched with amusement; once he had pulled both down an empty hallway, Ron released his grip and turned on the two of them with an annoyed look as they fixed themselves.
"Why the bloody hell did you accept the invitation!" Ron hissed angrily, "How are we supposed to interrogate Zabini now?"
"I didn't have a choice!" Harry hissed back, "You saw! She cornered me in the Great Hall! What was I supposed to do, reject her in front of everyone?!"
"Yes!" Ron retorted as if it were apparent,
"You didn't see her face, Ron," Harry sighed, "I couldn't hurt her like that. And not Lady Malfoy either, not after all she's done for me."
"Oh, for the love of Merlin…" Ron growled, throwing his hands in the air as he turned his back on Harry and Hermione; taking a deep breath, Ron turned around and glared at his brother for a moment.
"Okay, fine," Ron said softly, looking around in case anyone might be listening, "So, what do we do now?"
"There's not enough time to make the Polyjuice Potion," Hermione replied, putting her thumbnail between her teeth as she tried to formulate a plan, "Without Harry, we won't be able to get into the Slytherin's common room."
"What if…" Harry began, making both turn to him, "What if I sneak away sometime during the ball and Floo back to Hogwarts? I could quickly interrogate Zabini and be back before anyone even knows I'm gone."
"I already thought of that, but it's not possible!" Hermione replied quickly, "Even if you ran the whole way, it would still take too long to get to the Dungeons, talk to Zabini, and get back to the ball. All without getting caught!"
"So, what do we do!" Ron demanded again, "This whole plan depended on Harry being here!"
"We'll have to improvise, then," Harry said,
"What do you mean?" Ron asked,
"We'll have to go on another day instead."
"Another…!" Ron demanded, only to his with annoyance as a pair of Ravenclaws passed by, giving Harry another suspicious look and causing Harry to sneer at them, which hurried them along.
"Look," Harry hissed once they were alone again, "There was no way I could decline the invite without hurting Rhea and her mother! And there is also no way for me to get back here without getting caught! So, we'll have to go and interrogate Zabini on another day before everyone gets back from Christmas break."
Ron began to grumble murderously under his breath at that, making Hermione place a calming hand on his shoulder,
"I don't like any better than you, Ron. But Harry's right! This is our only option, now."
"Oh, very well then!" Ron growled, "Can we go back to breakfast now?"
"Yes, please!" Harry cried before he ran back into the Great Hall, hoping his jelly doughnut was still there.
XXXX
At last, the term ended, and a silence as deep as the snow on the grounds descended on the castle. Harry found it peaceful rather than gloomy and enjoyed the fact that he, Hermione, and the Weasleys had the run of Gryffindor Tower, which meant they could play Exploding Snap loudly without bothering anyone and practice dueling in private.
Percy disapproved of their childish behavior, but he didn't spend much time in the Gryffindor common room. He had already told them pompously that he was only staying over Christmas rather than accept their brother Bill's invitation to come see him for Christmas because it was his duty as a prefect to support the teachers during this troubled time.
XXXX
Christmas morning dawned, cold and white. Harry and Ron, the only ones left in their dormitory, were woken very early by Hermione, who burst in, fully dressed and carrying presents for them both.
"Wake up," she roared, pulling back the curtains at the window and causing both boys to groan in abject misery at the sudden burst of light.
"Hermione, you're not supposed to be in here," said Ron, shielding his eyes against the light.
"Merry Christmas to you, too," said Hermione, throwing him his present, "Your brothers sent me in here to fetch you. They also told me to tell you that you have five minutes to come downstairs, or they're coming in to get you."
Harry and Ron both paled at that before a mad scramble began to get out of their sheets as quick as possible; the end result of this was that Ron became tangled and fell to the floor with a painful "Oomph."
Once the two boys had finally managed to free themselves from their accursed beds, the trio made their way downstairs. Ginny, Fred, George, and Percy were already waiting with a pile of presents in front of each of them.
"About bloody time!" Ginny cried when she saw them before pointing to two separate piles across her, "The one on the left is for you, Harry."
"Thanks, Gin," Harry replied with a smile before collapsing in front of his hoard; beside him, Ron did the same, with a gigantic grin as he viewed his pile.
"Well?" Fred asked the room at large, "What are we waiting for?"
"Indeed!" George added, "Let's dig in!"
The common room exploded into a shower of wrapping paper and bows as everyone began to tear into their individual presents with gusto; Hagrid had sent him a large tin of treacle toffee, which Harry decided to soften by the fire before eating. Ron had given him a book called Flying with the Cannons, a book of interesting facts about Ron's favorite Quidditch team, no doubt another attempt to convert Harry.
The twins had gotten Harry some Zonko's stuff, while Ginny had bought Harry a new homework journal, which Harry knew he would never use but thanked her for, all the same. Percy's gift had been a book on charms that Harry had asked for last year; unfortunately, it had been sold out at the time, leaving Harry disappointed. Harry had almost hugged his big brother to death in gratitude. Percy surprised everyone with a genuine smile as he hugged Harry back. Hermione had bought him a luxury eagle feather quill. Harry opened the next present to find a new, hand-knitted sweater from Mrs. Weasley and a large plum cake.
Sirius and Remus seemed to have chosen Harry's gift together this year, and Harry's eyes nearly bugged out of his head as he saw what it was: a two-week cruise this summer for him and all his friends that would sail to Greece and back.
"Harry… Did you get it too…?" Ron asked as he looked at his own gift from Remus and Sirius,
"Yeah, wicked…" Harry breathed in shock at his godfather's generosity,
"I bloody love Sirius!" Ron cried out as he kissed the ticket twice and quickly stowed it in his pajama robes.
"This summer is going to be amazing!" Fred declared as he looked at the ticket,
"Look at all the stops it makes in Greece!" George added, his eyes gazing at the information in wonder, "It's brilliant!"
Carefully putting the ticket on the ground next to him, Harry opened his last present with a smile; it was from Dora, and it seemed she had decided on something practical yet elegant for Harry's present.
With wide eyes, Harry gazed down at the cherry-red wand holster that his big sister had given him; it appeared made from dragonhide and had strange runes carved along its length that glowed an eerie blue. A large Othala rune was carved into the middle of the holster, and as Harry slipped it onto his forearm, the runes suddenly turned red, and the holster snapped taught in a perfect fit.
"Whoa!" Harry exclaimed in surprise as he ran his hand over the red leather; it felt as if it had been molded specifically for him, and he couldn't help grinning as he flexed his forearm and saw the leather flex with it.
Seeing the letter that had been attached to the wrapping paper, Harry tore it open and began to read:
Hey squirt-
First of all, Happy Christmas! I heard from Mum about how your year has been going so far, and I figured you could use a way to properly defend yourself, so you better appreciate it! This is a genuine dragonhide wand holster. But wait! There's more! If you look on the sides, you'll notice a series of runes. Those are to ensure that you and ONLY you can remove the wand from the holster. There are also a few other itty bitty protection runes in there. Still, the main thing is that this keeps you alive as you continue to defy the adults who are constantly telling you to stay out of trouble.
All my love,
-Dora.
"This is so brilliant!" Harry cried happily as he twisted his arm this way and that, marveling at the way that the holster seemed to move like a second skin, "I love Dora!"
"Not a bad haul this year," Ron said happily, marveling at the toy dragon Charlie had sent.
"Looks like there's one more," Hermione replied, pointing at the window, where a large barn owl was repeatedly pecking, holding a large package in its grip; once Hermione opened the window, the owl flew straight toward Harry, dropping it in the boy's lap before performing a 180 spin and flying back out the window it came through.
"Who's it from?" Ron asked as he watched Harry begin to pull apart the present; it was a large box wrapped in bright green paper with a silver bow,
"It says it's from Lady Narcissa," Harry replied as he looked at the tag on the side, "It says it's for tonight."
"Well, go on, then!" Ginny laughed, "Open it, already!"
Quickly ripping off the remaining paper, Harry eagerly pulled the top off of the box before dropping it in shock; inside lay a VERY expensive dress robe of pure black with green trimming along the neck and sides.
"Whoa…" Harry breathed as he took in what he was expected to wear tonight; it looked more expensive than anything he'd ever worn before in his life, and for a moment, Harry was actually afraid to touch it.
"I'll say one thing for the Malfoys…" Ron said in an awed voice, "They don't do small, do they…?"
XXXX
Authors Note:
Next time! The Malfoy's Yule Ball, and perhaps a dance 😊