Chapter Fourteen
Christmas was coming fast as the Addams family got ready for the holiday. Morticia baked all sorts of treats and goodies for the coming holiday; Gomez directed Lurch as the mighty butler decorated the House with holly and ivy; Fester and Grandmama took the kids Christmas shopping in town, buying presents for each other and their distant friends and loved ones.
Kingsport didn't have a sizeable Wizarding population, but there were a few shops here and there, hidden from No-Madj eyes, that carried magical wares. Ron purchased a leather-bound journal and schedule keeper for Hermione in a local bookstore, a box of unorthodox candies and treats for Harry that fit his unusual tastes, a set of knitted tea cozies in flowery patterns for his Mother, and in a Muggle toyshop he found his Father a Yo-Yo.
Lurch wrapped the presents and placed them beneath the tree. Gomez had written to MACUSA to add the Addams Manor's fireplaces to the Floo network so that Christmas presents could be received and sent to Britain. Harry and Ron sent gifts through the Floo system and received presents from Hermione and Ron's family. At last, the day had come. Ron was awoken early by Harry and Mano, who gently shook him.
"Come on, let's get Wednesday and Pugsley!" Ron followed his friend, slipping on his dressing gown. Pugsley was snoring in his bed, and waking him took more effort.
"Come on, Pugsley, it's Christmas Day!" Mano grabbed hold of Pugsley's nose and tweaked it. Pugsley woke with a snort and stared confusedly for a moment before he got his bearings. Pugsley jumped out of bed and followed the two boys to find Wednesday.
Harry gently knocked on Wednesday's door, knowing better than to disturb her as he did Pugsley abruptly. Wednesday opened her door, wrapped in a black dressing gown, her face frozen in a stoic expression.
"Give me a moment to get dressed, and I will meet you downstairs." She closed her door, and the three boys turned to race downstairs. A mountain of presents surrounded the tree. Harry, Ron, and Pugsley inspected each parcel and package, looking for their names. Wednesday soon came down the stairs, dressed in one of her usual black dresses, her hair braided and hanging down her shoulders.
"I wanna open my presents now!" Pugsley exclaimed, but Wednesday poked him in the ribs.
"You know the rules, not until everyone is awake," Wednesday observed the pile, her face emotionless, though Harry could see some excitement in her dark eyes.
Gomez and Morticia came down the stairs together, holding hands and smiling at the gathered children.
"Good Yule, my dear ones!" Morticia said as she approached the children, embracing Hary, Wednesday, and Pugsley. Gomez pulled a lit cigar from his purple velvet smoking robe and puffed on it.
"Happy Holiday, children! What a wonderful morning it is!" Fester came sliding down his firepole and bounded over to everybody.
"Merry Christmas, everyone!" he cheered. Fester looked at the four kids and grinned.
"Come on, kids, let's rip those presents open!" at Fester's word, the four youths, Wednesday included, raced to the tree, and began grabbing the presents with their names on them. Harry opened the package of treats Ron had gotten him, excitedly biting into a candied beetle. Ron opened a package from Harry that contained a brand new Wizard's chess set made of pewter and onyx. Ron turned red and shakily thanked his best friend for the beautiful gift. Pugsley received from Harry a miniature catapult set for his handheld bombs. Wednesday opened a box containing a silver and amethyst broach shaped like a spider. Her stoic mask slipped slightly at the sight of the beautiful piece.
Gomez gave Morticia a bottle of her favorite perfume, Quagmire No.13, and a silver ring set with a blood-red ruby. Tish stroked Gomez's cheek and called him Bubele, a pet name that always drove him wild. Gomez opened a brand new cigar lighter from his darling wife in the form of a tiki torch that popped out of a wooden box. Fester got a brand new Tesla Coil kit to help keep his core charged up. Morticia gifted Grandmama a new recipe book for potions of eldritch lore, which the old Witch began excitedly flipping through. Even Lurch wasn't forgotten, receiving from his employers a new tuning kit for his beloved Krupnick Harpsichord. Lurch gave a low grumble, and a small smile formed on his dark lips.
Amongst the packages from Britain, Harry received a carved wooden flute from Hagrid, which looked and sounded like an owl. From Mrs. Weasley, he received a knitted sweater in green with a box of homemade fudge. Ron opened an identical maroon sweater, his face falling slightly at the color he despised. Hermione sent Harry and Ron each a copy of a Quidditch almanac chronicling the past several years. The last package was light and thin, with a small card attached. Harry opened the card and read what was written inside.
"Your Father left this in my possession before he died; it's time it was returned to you; use it well." Harry looked at Ron, who shrugged, saying it wasn't from him. Harry unwrapped the package, revealing a bundle of silvery cloth. Harry stood and held up the fabric; it was an antique cloak. One side was silvery and shimmering, but the other was completely invisible!
"Blimey! I've heard of those things! It's an invisibility cloak!" Ron gasped. The family hushed at this exclamation and examined the unique article.
"By Hecate, that is a magnificent gift, my dear one!" Morticia felt the silkiness of the half-invisible fabric. She examined the card, but there was no name.
"You should be proud, my boy," Gomez said, patting Harry on the shoulder.
"This must have been in your birth Father's family for generations!"
"Try it on, give us a look!" said Fester excitedly. Harry draped the cloak about his shoulders, his body disappearing entirely, leaving only his head as if floating in midair. The family laughed at the unusual sight of Harry's disembodied head.
"I say, Harry, you look just like Cousin Clump when his head pops off when he sneezes!" Harry laughed at his Uncle's remark. He looked at Ron, whose face was twisted in confusion at hearing a relative of Harry's could pop his head off.
Once the presents were all opened and put away, the family went to the dining room for a sumptuous breakfast. Lurch prepared toadstool ostrich egg omelets, dark toast with yak's butter, crispy warthog's bacon, and freshly squeezed grapefruit juice. Ron had grown used to the unusual fare at the Addams House; it wasn't as bizarre tasting as it sometimes looked.
Once breakfast was over, the family enjoyed the day playing games and enjoying their new presents. The boys helped Fester put together his new Tesla Coil, whooping with excitement when it surged to life, shooting plasma arcs through the air. Lurch tuned and waxed his Krupnik to perfection and played an arrangement of holiday songs for the family, accompanied by Harry on his violin and Wednesday on her cello. After a filling banquet for dinner, which included a roast two-headed pig, much to Ron's initial shock, the family gathered for Gomez to read Charles Dickens's "A Christmas Carol." Ron listened, fascinated by the classic Muggle story.
All too soon, it was time to return to Hogwarts. Gomez and Morticia accompanied Harry and Ron to Kings Cross Station and bid them both goodbye, watching as they crossed through the barrier to Platform 9 3/4. Harry and Ron found their usual compartment and began playing Wizards chess with Ron's new set. Just as the train started to pull out of the station, Hermione saw them.
"Ah, there you two are. I hope you enjoyed your Christmas." Hermione put her trunk above their heads and sat opposite the two boys.
"It was the best, Hermione! Harry's family took me to see New York City, and we saw many great things! Harry's family is neat, unlike anybody I've ever known." Ron excitedly babbled to Hermione all about their fabulous holiday.
"Oh, and Harry got an amazing Invisibility Cloak for Christmas!" Hermione's eyes widened at this. Harry told her it was in his trunk and that the note said it belonged to his birth Father.
"Why would someone give you an invisibility cloak?" Hermione wondered.
"The note said it belonged to my family; whoever gave it to me felt I should have it." Hermione shook her head.
"But you're a first-year student; only older Wizards have invisibility cloaks like that. You mustn't use it to get up to any mischief; you could get into much trouble!" Ron groaned and rolled his eyes.
"I missed your lecturing, Hermione; Christmas wasn't the same without you bossing us around." Hermione shot Ron a quick, annoyed glance, then turned to Harry.
"Anyways, what did you find out about Nicholas Flamel?" Harry shook his head resignedly. Harry and Ron poured through the history books in the Addams library, but they found nothing; even Wednesday had been unable to find anything about the mysterious Wizard in the Library at Nightshade Academy. Hermione groaned resignedly.
"I was afraid of that. That leaves one other place we might be able to find anything, and I'm not sure how to get access to it! The Restricted Section in the Library." The Restricted Section was where Hogwarts kept all their ancient volumes of knowledge that were too advanced or unauthorized for students to learn.
Students were only permitted to peruse these books with written permission from a professor, and even then, the librarian, Madame Pince, would supervise them. Ron suddenly got an idea and looked at Harry.
"Wait a minute, we might not be able to get there during the day, but you've got your cloak now! You could get in there without anyone knowing!"
"Absolutely not! That's exactly what I just said you mustn't do, Harry, please, you'd most certainly be caught by Mr. Filch, or worse, Professor Snape! He's looking for any excuse to take points from Gryffindor, and if he's up to anything sinister like we think, he could do something awful to you!" Harry thought about it, and both his friends made good points, but he'd failed at finding anything about Flamel out of Hogwarts, so this could be their last chance, as Hermione said.
"You said it yourself, Hermione; you don't know how to get permission to get into the Restricted Section legitimately; this could be the only way we can find anything." Hermione tried to argue but sighed, resigned to the fact that Harry and Ron were right.
The three changed the subject and discussed how Hermione's Christmas had gone. She thanked them for the presents they sent, and they said the same to her. When the snack trolley came, they bought some treats to share and enjoyed each other's company as the train continued.
At last, they arrived at the station and boarded the Thestral pulled carriages, riding them back to the castle. Harry had remembered the Thestrals before they left the train and put some of Hedwig's freeze-dried mice in his pockets to give them as a treat. Upon arriving, Prof. McGonagall took a roll of every student who had left the castle. She nodded to the three friends and hoped they'd had pleasant holidays.
Harry and his friends retired to Gryffindor Tower and wiled away the evening until bedtime. Ron wished Harry good luck while Hermione tried to convince him one last time that what he was doing was too dangerous, but Harry had decided.
Harry waited until midnight before setting his plan in motion. He opened his trunk and removed the invisibility cloak. Mano hopped from his pillow and stood, waiting for his master. Draping the cloak over himself, Harry glanced in the dorm room mirror and saw nothing reflected on its surface.
"Let's go, " he whispered to Mano, and the two crept out of the room and down the stairs. Carefully and quietly, Harry left Gryffindor Tower and proceeded to the Library.
The castle halls were dark and cold, lit only by moonlight. As Mano led the way, searching for danger, Harry crept past sleeping portraits, their subjects snoring softly. At last, they came to the Library. Inside was very dark, so Harry was forced to pick up and light a lamp on a nearby desk.
Harry walked past shelves and shelves of books until he came to the Restricted Section in the back of the Library. The Restricted Section was closed by iron doors and lit by blue flamed candles. Harry tried the door and found it was locked. Pulling out his wand, he tried the basic unlocking spell.
"Alohomora." He whispered. Luckily, that was all it took, and the gate swung open, the candles springing to light, their eerie blue flames giving an unearthly pallor over the rows of books. Harry lifted the lamp and gazed at each book. Their dark covers told him little; some had fading titles, some had no titles, and some were in languages even Harry didn't understand. Harry set the lamp on a table and looked over a row of books. Mano snapped his fingers and pointed to a large volume at random. Harry shrugged, deciding he had just as much to lose as to gain. Its cover was black and silver, with a geometric sigil on the front. Carefully, Harry balanced the book on his knee and opened the book.
The moment the book was opened, a piercing shriek filled the air. Harry clamped the book shut and put it back, but the volume still screamed. Mano crawled into Harry's pocket, and Harry Quickly snuffed the lamp and ran from the Restricted Section, closing and locking the gates behind him. Harry was running for the exit when the door opened.
"Who's there?" a raspy voice croaked out. It was Filch. The old caretaker entered the dark Library with a lamp of his own.
"I know you're in there; you can't hide from me!" Harry slowly crept away from Filch, holding his breath. The book was still screaming in the Restricted Section. Harry stood as still as he could and watched Filch stalking towards the noise. As soon as he felt he could, Harry crept out of the Library.
Harry stalked his way back to Gryffindor Tower, his ears still ringing from that damned book. As he walked, he heard footsteps approaching him quickly. Harry backed against the corridor and saw Snape and Quirrell walking briskly. They seemed to be arguing.
"Sev-Severus, please, I must get-get back to-to my off-office!" Suddenly, Snape grabbed hold of the front of Quirrell's purple robes.
"You don't want me for an enemy Quirrell." His dark eyes narrowed menacingly. Quirrell gulped and stammered at the Potions Prof. Suddenly, they heard more footsteps coming. Snape let go of the DADA Prof. and pointed into his face.
"We'll have another little chat soon once you've decided where your loyalties lie." The two looked behind them to see Filch's loping shape approaching them.
"Ah, Professors, I just came from the Library! Someone was in the Restricted Section, I found this lamp, and it's still hot! The little blighter can't have gotten far!" The three adults raced back down the corridor towards the Library while Harry backed into the room he was pressed against to avoid accidentally being brushed against the hurrying men.
Harry leaned against the door, listening to the others hurrying away from where they had been moments before. He listened until he couldn't hear them anymore. Harry turned to look at the room he was in. It appeared to be a disused classroom. Desks and chairs were stacked against the walls. A golden, antique mirror stood upright in the far back of the room. Harry approached the Mirror, examining it.
It was elegantly crafted, with a hand-carved wooden frame gilded with gold leaf. Carved at the top were words seemingly in another language. 'Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi'. Harry examined the words, gleaning their meaning, then glanced in the Mirror. He saw nothing in the boy's dorm room mirror while he wore the cloak, but in this Mirror, he could see himself. Harry reached up to see if the cloak covered him; he could feel the silky fabric on his fingers, so he was still invisible to others, just not in this Mirror.
As Harry glanced again, his eyes widened in shock as two figures approached him from behind. Harry turned around, but there was nobody there. He looked again, and two people were smiling behind him. Harry examined the two people, feeling there was something familiar about the two of them.
The man had dark hair and glasses like himself, but his eyes were hazel brown. He smiled warmly at Harry. The woman beside him was beautiful, with bright red hair and emerald green eyes, eyes that were just like Harry's. His eyes widened as he realized who he was looking at in this Mirror: his birth Mother and Father.
Harry pulled off the invisibility cloak to see if the phantoms of his parents would remain. Harry's reflection mimicked his motions, pulling off the cloak, but his parents remained. Harry gazed at the two smiling figures of the family he had never known but wanted to know. An idea formed in Harry's mind, and he looked at the words above the Mirror again. Harry reread the words but from the opposite direction. "I Show Not Your Face, But Your Hearts Desire."
Harry looked again at the smiling faces of his Mother and Father. Lily Potter placed her hand on Harry's shoulder in the Mirror, but Harry couldn't feel it. Despite what Wednesday had taught him about controlling his emotions, Harry felt his eyes fill with tears. He loved his family deeply, but there had always been a hole in his heart that could not be filled. Now, with this Mirror, he could finally see his Mother and Father standing beside him, looking at him with love in their eyes.
As much as he longed to gaze at his parents, Harry felt he had to show this to Ron. Harry put the cloak back on and crept to the door. Carefully, he opened it and glanced at each end of the corridor. Filch and the others were long gone. Harry crept along the corridors back to Gryffindor Tower. Ron and the others were still snoring away. Harry put away the cloak and returned to bed after putting Mano back on his pillow. Harry lay there until daybreak, still too stirred up from what he had seen.
As soon as Ron was awake, Harry told him all about what had happened last night, how his mission to the Restricted Section had failed, and how he had found the magic Mirror and seen his Mother and Father. Ron listened, fascinated and jealous that he hadn't been there.
"I wonder what I'd see if I looked in that mirror?" Ron wondered, so Harry invited him back to go with him that night. As soon as night fell and they were sure everyone was asleep, Harry draped himself and Ron under the cloak and took him to the Mirror room.
The Mirror stood as it had the previous night, as if it had been waiting for them. Harry dropped the cloak and stood before the Mirror. As before, his parents walked up behind him, smiling warmly at them. Harry looked back at Ron.
"Can you see them? My Mother and Father?" Ron walked over and looked but all he saw was Harry and himself. Harry turned back to the Mirror; his parents were still there. Reluctantly, Harry stepped back and allowed Ron to look into the Mirror alone.
Ron gazed into the Mirror and gasped. He stared enraptured at the Mirror. All Harry saw was his friend in the Mirror; he was too far away to see his parents reflected.
"What do you see, Ron?" Ron turned back and glanced at Harry, a grin on his face.
"I see me, but it's not me. I'm older, holding the House and Quidditch cups and Head Boy and Quidditch Captain, too! It's amazing!" Ron motioned for Harry to come close. Harry did so, standing next to Ron, but she still saw nothing but his friend. Soon, Lily and James stood behind the two boys, but Ron could not see them.
"Harry, does this thing show the future or something?" Ron asked. Harry shook his head.
"No, I read the inscription, and it says it shows your heart's desire. I've always wanted to meet my birth parents, so I see them in the Mirror while you see yourself successful and rising above your brother's glory." Suddenly, there was a clapping behind them; both boys turned and saw Professor Dumbledore standing near the back of the classroom.
Ron gulped and turned pale; he was sure they were done. Dumbledore approached the two boys, his eyes twinkling as usual.
"Bravo, Harry, you have discerned the gift of the Mirror of Erised. The Mirror was designed to show your reflection and our hearts' deepest and most desperate desires." Dumbledore glanced into the Mirror. Harry looked but saw nothing but the old headmaster. He wondered what Dumbledore saw when he looked within.
"Who created the mirror, Professor?" Harry asked. Dumbledore shrugged and looked back at the two boys.
"No one can say for sure; it was found in a long-forgotten vault over seven hundred years ago. The most learned of Wizards have studied it to no avail, and some have wasted their lives gazing into the Mirror, gone mad trying to reach what the reflection showed them." Harry and Ron glanced at the Mirror briefly, feeling the temptation to gaze into the Mirror to see what it offered.
"That is why it shall be moved to a new home tomorrow, and I must ask you boys not to look for it again. It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live, my boys. Now, hurry along; you want to avoid being caught by Mr. Filch, don't you? This meeting between ourselves can remain our secret.
Harry and Ron thanked the professor and then left the classroom. As soon as they were alone, they enshrouded themselves in the cloak and returned to Gryffindor Tower. As they walked, Harry suddenly had an idea and mentally kicked himself; if only he'd thought of it once he'd realized the Mirror's true purpose. Harry could have used the Mirror to learn who Nicholas Flamel was.