You Know the Drill

Harry felt the air rush out of his lungs as Hermione hugged him just a little too tightly. It was nearly Christmas which meant that, for the first time since everything changed, they would have to separate. Harry and Ron were able to stay together at Hogwarts of course, but Hermione had to go home and pretend to be a 12-year-old in front of her parents.

"Can't. Breathe," Ron choked out as Hermione reached out and gave him his hug. This was going to be hard for her, lying to her parents and pretending everything was normal. And she would be away from the only two people who understood what she was going through.

"This is too weird, I don't know if I can do this. Can I do this?" Hermione asked.

"We all knew this would happen eventually, right? At least it won't be for long," Harry replied.

"At least you'll be away from Taylor," Ron pointed out.

"We all will, I hope. Hannah is going home for the holidays too," Hermione reminded him.

"What if he possesses someone else?"

"He doesn't have many options. Besides, he probably isn't powerful enough to just go around possessing anyone. Why else would he only use Hannah? It seems it would be more efficient to possess whoever happens to be around."

"Taylor sent all of us back in time and is holding us prisoner here, he's pretty powerful."

"It is a bit weird that he's so fixated on Hannah," Harry agreed. "I hope he leaves her alone while she's away."

"I could check in on her while I'm gone. It will give me something to do," Hermione suggested.

"I don't think it's a good idea to be communicating with Taylor while you're home," Ron pointed out.

"And I know you're not going to like this, Hermione, but it's probably too dangerous to talk about any of this in owls. We can definitely write, but just about, like, normal first year stuff," Harry added.

Hermione grinned halfheartedly. "I know, I thought about that. If anything bad happens, send me a message about Quidditch or something. So if I don't hear anything about magical sports, I'll at least know you're both safe."

"We will."

And finally, it was time for Hermione to go. The three of them shared one last hug before she ran off, suitcase in hand.

As much as Harry missed Hermione, he truly was enjoying the break. With so few people in the castle, he didn't have to be so on guard all the time. He didn't have to constantly pretend to be the person he used to be rather than the person he was. But Hermione didn't have that luxury, so Harry and Ron were writing to her every day. They couldn't say anything about their predicament in case their messages were intercepted, but they hoped it would make her feel better to at least stay somewhat connected with the two of them.

"I suppose I'll have to throw all of these games so that I don't mess up the timeline?" Harry teased. He and Ron were playing Wizard's Chess by the fire in the Gryffindor Common Room. Christmas break during their first year was when Ron had first introduced Harry to the game. Harry hadn't been very good, and ended up losing every game. It didn't help that the chess pieces he had borrowed from Seamus had no faith in him and kept trying to give him advice.

Ron laughed. "Do you honestly think you've improved at this game any since you were 11?"

"Shut up."

Suddenly, Fred and George came bounding through the common room carrying Percy's prefect badge.

"Don't mind us!" called George as they ran up the stairs to the dormitory and out of sight.

Harry shook his head. "When do you think watching those two mess with Percy will get old?"

"Never."

"Yeah. When do you think reliving our lives will get old?"

"It already has., mate"

"Yeah. I'm dreading…" Harry trailed off. There were so many ways in which he could end that sentence. It would be difficult for anybody to relive their teen years, but it wasn't all embarrassing moments and romantic drama for him. It was that plus the added thrill of somehow escaping death year after year, and watching as some people didn't manage to escape. Besides, half the time he had just felt like he'd gotten lucky. What if he wasn't so lucky the second time around?

"Yeah," Ron replied. He didn't need to be told of the perils that lay ahead. After all, he'd already lived through them once. And Ron had had some tough times too, Hermione as well. But the three of them had always stuck together, and they were determined to keep the tradition alive.

Finally it was Christmas day. Harry and Ron awoke to find a familiar pile of presents waiting for them.

"Hagrid's flute" Harry said fondly as he unwrapped the wooden instrument that his large, hairy friend had whittled himself. This thing had helped them get past Fluffy the day they stopped Voldemort from getting the Sorcerer's Stone. The day that Taylor wanted them to change.

"You never play that thing anymore," Ron teased. "We all expected you to become a professional flautist but you didn't take the hint."

"I see Hermione remembered to send you your Every Flavor Beans."

"And she sent you your Chocolate Frogs. I swear she remembers everything."

"That's going to come in handy over the next few years."

The two of them both unwrapped their Weasley sweaters, Harry's in emerald green to match his eyes and Ron's in his least-favorite color: maroon.

"Oh look your aunt and uncle still remembered your present. How thoughtful," Ron said sarcastically.

Harry laughed and handed him his fifty pence piece. Ron had been so fascinated by the sight of the muggle money when he saw it the first time. "You know you laugh at your dad's obsession with muggles, but you get pretty fascinated by them too sometimes."

Ron sighed. "Yeah, I know. I guess I'm a bit like him, aren't I?"

"You're both two of the best people I know."

"Oh, shut up and unwrap your cloak," Ron said. "It figures we'd get it back as soon as we stop investigating."

Harry unwrapped his final parcel, spilling the silvery invisibility cloak onto the floor. He picked it up and modeled it for Ron, glad to finally have it back in his life even if it wouldn't help their current situation. It had belonged to his dad, after all.

"You know, Harry, you never look better than when you're under that cloak," Ron commented.

Harry rolled his eyes and picked Dumbledore's note up off the floor. Although it hadn't been signed, young Harry had later found out that their headmaster was the one who had sent him the cloak. He had been borrowing it from James Potter at the time of his passing.

"Bloody hell," Harry muttered as he let the note fall back to the floor.

"That's my line," Ron insisted.

Harry said nothing, but just pointed to where the note had fallen.

Ron furrowed his brow and picked it up. "Bloody hell."

Harry put down the cloak and moved so that he could read it again over Ron's shoulder, because he still couldn't believe his own eyes.

You know the drill. I imagine you've been missing this.

Before either of them could get over the shock of the loopy handwriting before them, the Weasley twins came bounding into the room.

"Merry Christmas!"

"Hey, look – Harry's got a Weasley sweater, too!"

The Christmas feast was every bit as delicious as Harry remembered. And the Great Hall was gorgeous as always with its 12 beautifully decorated Christmas trees. And as nice as it was to enjoy the food and festivities with everyone, Harry was overcome with an overwhelming desire to ask Professor Dumbledore about his note.

Harry had so many questions. Was Dumbledore still the one who had sent the cloak? The handwriting definitely looked like his. Did this mean that Dumbledore knew what was going on? Why hadn't he said anything? Was he just as worried as the rest of them about messing up the timeline? Did he know about Taylor and the mysterious plan to get Voldemort the Sorcerer's Stone?

"I wish Hermione was here," Harry whispered. Hermione would know what to do, Harry was sure of it. He and Ron had agreed not to do anything until they were able to discuss it with her. Of course, they couldn't just send her a letter and ask her. They were going to have so much to talk about after the holidays.

"Just enjoy the feast, mate," Ron replied. He pulled a wizard cracker with George, causing a loud bang and a puff of blue smoke. "See? Fun."

Harry grinned and took another bite of his pudding. He was trying to enjoy himself, but there were just too many unanswered questions.

"See? Dumbledore's not worried," Ron said as he pointed over to where the headmaster sat. Indeed Dumbledore seemed to be having a lovely time, wearing a flowered bonnet he'd received from a wizard cracker and laughing in the merry way he did. At least someone was happy.