The weeks following the Quidditch match flew by quicker than Harry would have thought possible due to the impressive workload that he found himself in. Between homework, studying with Narcissa Malfoy, and the insane amount of Quidditch practice that Wood decided to create (five nights a week,) Harry barely had any time to himself. Now convinced that Snape had tried to kill him, Harry tried to keep his distance and remained cool to the potion's professor, something that Snape found curious, given their interaction beforehand. When Harry brought his suspicions up to Hagrid during one of their weekly gatherings a few days after the match, the gentle giant had laughed it off.
"Now, why would a Hogwarts teacher want to do something like that?"
"I don't know," Harry replied, "Why was he trying to get past that three-headed dog on Halloween?"
Hagrid choked on his tea at that and coughed hard for several minutes before he was able to regain control of himself.
"Who told you about Fluffy?!" Hagrid gasped as he struggled to breathe,
"Fluffy?" Ron said, paling slightly,
"That thing has a name?!" Hermione asked in horror.
"Of course, he has a name," Hagrid replied indignantly, "He's mine! Bought him off some Greek chap I met in the pub last year. Then I lent him to Dumbledore to guard the-"
"Yes?!" Harry asked, leaning forward excitedly, as Hagrid turned beet red with embarrassment,
"I shouldn't have said that! No more questions!"
"But Hagrid!" Harry retorted stubbornly, "Whatever…Fluffy….is guarding, Snape is trying to steal it! It's the only explanation!"
"Nonsense!" Hagrid retorted as he refilled his cup, "Professor Snape is one of the teachers protecting it!"
"Then why did he try and kill me?!" Harry demanded, his hair turning fiery red, "And why was he sneaking around the third floor instead of with the other teachers looking for the troll?!"
"I can't rightly answer that," Hagrid grumbled, "But I'm sure you're misunderstanding things, Harry."
Hagrid sat his cup down and stared Harry in the eye, trying to make the boy understand how serious the giant was as he continued,
"Now listen, you need to let this go, alright? It's dangerous what Fluffy is guarding; it's strictly between Dumbledore and Nicholas Flamel."
"AHA!" Harry triumphantly said, "So there's someone named Nicholas Flamel involved, is there?"
Hagrid looked furious at himself as he threw the three students out of his home before slamming the door shut behind them.
Now knowing that someone named Nicholas Flamel was involved, the trio began trying to find out exactly who he was; after a week of this, and more books than Harry had ever read before, he was starting to hate this mysterious Flamel person with all the spite that an eleven-year-old could muster.
XXXX
"I've never doubted your intelligence, Harry," Draco said one day as he and a few others sat with Harry in the library studying, "But don't you think you're taking it a little far?"
Harry was sitting at the table next to Draco's and had the entirety of the table covered with open books and papers as he once again searched for the elusive Mr. Flamel; across from him, Hermione and Ron were also reading, looking for their target.
"Oh, this isn't school work," Harry replied wearily, "It's for something else,"
"You mean you're reading all those books for something besides schoolwork?" Daphne Greengrass asked in surprise, her eyebrows rising higher when Harry nodded.
"What could possibly warrant such research?" Theo Nott asked as he eyed the avalanche of books that sat before Harry, Ron, and Hermione.
The trio eyed one another warily for a moment; while the trio did view the Slytherins as friends, they didn't know if they should tell them what they were looking for, seeing as how the one they suspected of trying to steal the object on the third floor was their head of house.
"You know you can trust us, right?" Draco said, seeing their hesitation, "If it's serious, we would promise not to tell a soul without your permission."
"It's not that we don't trust you, Draco…." Harry said softly,
"Speak for yourself," Ron mumbled, earning a glare from Harry,
"It's just that…." Harry said before pausing, "It's just that there's something on the third floor, and we think someone from Slytherin is trying to steal it."
"You mean the corridor that Dumbledore expressly told us NOT to go near at the start of term?" Theo asked with a raised eyebrow,
"That'd be the one, yup," Harry replied, popping the 'P' with a grin that was quickly shared by the others.
"It's guarded by a Cerberus," Hermione said, making Tracy Davis and Daphne go pale,
"It belongs to Hagrid," Ron added, "He named it Fluffy."
Theo smirked at that while the rest began to laugh at the absurdity of such a name on such a beast,
"A few weeks ago, Hagrid let slip that whatever Fluffy is guarding is between Dumbledore and some guy named Nicholas Flamel," Harry said quickly, deciding to trust his friends, "Now we're just trying to figure out who he is."
The Slytherins looked at the trio in shock before Daphne lowered her head to the table and rested her forehead there,
"You have GOT to be joking!" Daphne said in irritation,
"Why in the bloody hell would the headmaster keep THAT thing HERE?!" Theo asked in annoyance.
"He's out of his mind!" Tracy added, "Completely mad!"
"What are you all talking about?" Harry asked, completely confused about his friend's reactions, which were shared by Ron and Hermione, judging by their faces.
"Harry," Draco said in an annoyed voice, "Nicholas Flamel is an alchemist, perhaps the most well-known alchemist to have ever lived. And the reason for that is because he is the only known creator of the Philosophers Stone!"
"The what?" Harry and Ron chorused while Hermione looked like she had just remembered something,
"It's an immensely powerful magical object," Daphne replied from where her head was still resting on the table.
"It has the power to turn any metal into pure gold," Theo said quickly, smirking as Ron and Harry's jaws dropped in astonishment,
"As well as produce a substance called the elixir of life, which will make anyone who drinks it immortal," Tracy added, laughing out loud when Harry's red hair turned bone white."
"No wonder Sn…the thief wants it," Ron whispered softly, "Eternal life and endless riches, anyone would want it!"
"Indeed," Draco said, narrowing his eyes at Ron's slip, "So who's the thief? Obviously, you know, as you almost said their name just now."
Ron, to his credit, blushed but was spared from answering by Harry, who quickly replied in his brother's stead,
"We DON'T know who it is, but we have a suspect."
"Well?" Theo asked, "Who is it?"
"I'd rather not say," Harry replied sheepishly, "In the off chance I'm wrong, I don't want to ruin someone's reputation with baseless slander."
"Very sensible," Tracy said as the others nodded their heads in agreement,
"What I want to know," Daphne said, finally raising her head off the table, "Is WHY Dumbledore brought that cursed thing here in the first place?! It shouldn't be anywhere near a school!"
"Cursed?" Harry asked in confusion,
"Wars have been fought over it," Draco replied softly, "The stone is drenched in so much blood that Nicholas Flamel finally decided to hide it away centuries ago, as well as himself. He didn't reappear again for almost two centuries."
Harry's eyes widened in horror as he took in the words; Daphne was right, such an object had no place in a school, and if Snape got his hands on it, the consequences could be disastrous!
"Christmas break will be here in a week," Draco said after a moment of silence, "I'll inform my parents of what Dumbledore has done. No doubt they will want it removed immediately!"
"Why not tell them now?" Harry asked,
"Owls can be intercepted," Theo said simply, "And this is not something you want getting out."
The others nodded quickly as Theo's words,
"Theo's right," Tracy said quickly, "That stone has been the cause of more magical wars than could possibly be remembered; it needs to be removed!"
To everyone's surprise, Harry began to laugh and his hair turned a bright pink while the others looked at him as though he had gone mad.
"What are you laughing about?" Ron asked his brother incredulously,
"We don't have to look for him anymore! No more research!" Harry exclaimed happily as he began to close the books; after a moment, Ron realized that Harry was right and began to laugh just as crazily as his brother while the others shook their heads at the two's lack of decorum.
XXXX
A few days later, Harry and Ron received a letter from their parents saying that Molly and Arthur would be visiting Charlie in Romania for Christmas and that Sirius would be going to France to attend a conference for the Wizengamot; as such, both would, unfortunately, have to remain at Hogwarts for the holidays.
Rather than be disappointed, Harr and Ron instead found themselves delighted when Dora decided to stay as well,
"Can't have my little brother alone on Christmas, can I?" She said happily after telling them the news,
"Hey!" Ron exclaimed angrily, "I'd be here with him too!"
"Oh yeah!" Dora joked, "Forgot about you!"
Ron stuck his tongue at her, making Dora laugh as she wrapped her arms around the pair and guided them towards the Great Hall for dinner.
XXXX
Christmas morning was a grand affair; Harry was woken up early by Ron's shouts of pleasure and quickly put his glasses on before smiling at the impressive stack of presents that sat at the end of his bed.
As the two tore through their presents with gusto, Harry couldn't help but smile at what he had received from his friends and family; from Draco, Harry had received a new ebony black wand holster that seemed to fit his wrist like a second skin.
From Rhea, Harry received a beautiful bracelet that resembled a silver snake eating its own tail, with green emeralds in place of its eyes; Ron looked at the bracelet in shock for a moment, something that was shared by Harry as he read the note that came with it:
'When you wear this, I hope you will think of how grateful I am to you.
Happy Christmas from Rhea Malfoy.'
"That's got to be worth a fortune!" Ron said in awe, "Man, when the Malfoy's want to say thank you, they don't pull any punches, do they?"
"I guess not," Harry replied as he delicately sat the bracelet down, desperately trying to make the blush on his face fade before turning to the others.
Sirius had given Harry a hundred galleon credit at Quality Quidditch Supplies, which made Harry smile uncontrollably as he imagined all he could get with such a gift.
Hermione's present turned out to be a mountain of sweets; something that surprised Harry, given that her parents were Dentists; Remus' present was a voucher for Flourish and Blotts, which Harry looked forward to using.
Molly's present was the traditional Weasley sweater, dark green with a red H on the center, that Harry instantly put on with a smile.
Dora's present was a massive pile of Zonko's prank supplies, which Harry knew he would be putting to good use soon enough.
Finally, there was only one present left, and as Harry tore the wrapping paper off of it, Ron dropped his box of Bertie Botts in shock as he saw what Harry was holding,
"No bloody way!" Ron exclaimed as Harry stood up to examine the long silvery cloak; it felt like liquid, and Harry stared at it in awe as his brother came next to him to examine it.
"It's an invisibility cloak!" Ron said in awe, "Those things are really rare! Quick, try it on!"
Quickly, Harry threw the cloak around his shoulders and looked down in shock as his body disappeared, leaving just his floating head behind.
"Who sent it?" Ron asked in awe, "Sirius, maybe?"
"Can't have been," Harry replied as he took the cloak off, "He already sent me something."
"Hang on, there's a note!" Ron exclaimed as he picked up a piece of paper from the ground that had fallen unnoticed when Harry opened the present:
'Your father left this in my care before he died.
It is time it was returned to you.
Use it well.'
"There's no name," Ron said as he turned the note over, but Harry barely heard him. He was looking at the cloak with wide eyes,
"This was my dad's?" Harry asked softly, tears beginning to prick his eyes.
Before Ron could say anything, the door to the room banged open, and Fred and George barged in wearing their own Weasley sweaters,
"Are you two STILL in bed?!" Fred asked with a warm smile,
"Come on, it's Christmas! A time for family!" George added as the two grabbed Ron and Harry and pulled them out of the room to join the twins for breakfast.
XXXX
The rest of the day passed in a blur for Harry as, right after breakfast, the twins dragged Harry, Ron, and Percy outside to participate in a furious snowball fight that Dora quickly joined in on and soon left them all sweating tired. After a quick nap, the group spent the rest of the day enjoying various games until finally, it was time for dinner; Harry couldn't help but stare in shock as he took in the awe-inspiring amount of food that appeared on the tables.
There were over a dozen giant cooked turkeys, ham, stuffing, and dozens upon dozens of other dishes that Harry could scarcely believe; the best part, however, was dessert, as the tables filled with hundreds of different pies and cakes of every flavor.
Finally, it was time for bed, and the Weasleys sluggishly dragged themselves to their respective dormitories and promptly collapsed into a collective food coma; Harry was very nearly asleep when a thought came to him, and he shot upright in excitement.
He had an invisibility cloak; he could go anywhere in the castle without fear of being caught, the whole of Hogwarts was open to him!
Silently, Harry got out of bed and retrieved his father's cloak from his trunk before exiting the dormitory, shutting the door quietly behind him to not wake Ron. Then, throwing the cloak on, Harry made his exit from Gryffindor tower as the thrill of being able to go anywhere without getting in trouble coursed through him.
Having no fixed destination, Harry began to wander aimlessly, reveling in his freedom, when he turned a corner and stopped short; Professor Snape had Professor Quirrell pinned against the nearby wall and fixed the stuttering professor with a stare that made Harry shiver.
"S-S-Severus, please…." Professor Quirrell began before being cut off by Snape,
"You may have the others fooled, Quirrell, but not me! I know what you're up to and it had better cease immediately! Else I will be forced to end it for you!"
"I'm af-afraid I don't know w-w-what you mean,"
"You know perfectly well what I mean!" Snape snarled, making Quirrell pale slightly, "Let this be your last warning!"
Without another word, Snape released Quirrell and strode away, leaving the trembling professor behind; not wanting to be caught, Harry quickly ducked into a nearby classroom, shutting the door behind him.
"I'll just wait here until it's safe," Harry thought as he turned to look around and saw a colossal mirror resting against a far wall; curious, Harry slowly approached until he was standing directly in front of it.
His eyes widened in shock at what he saw, and he spun around quickly to look behind him, yet there was no one there; slowly, Harry turned back to the mirror, his eyes wide at what he saw.
Standing directly behind Harry was a beautiful red-headed woman who was smiling at Harry; next to her was a black-haired man who was likewise smiling at the boy. Harry knew immediately who they were as one of the first things Sirius had given him was a photo album filled with pictures of his parents; Harry hadn't been able to stop himself from crying when he first received it and had spent hours looking through it. As Harry's eyes took in the image, he noticed there were more people.
Molly and Arthur were there, as was Sirius and the rest of Harry's family; they were all standing around Harry and laughing; Sirius walked forward and smacked his hand on the black-haired man's shoulder as a bright smile appeared on both of their faces, and a terrible sort of sadness took over Harry as he watched his family gathered together.
"Mum?" Harry asked in a broken voice as he looked at the woman, who he noticed was smiling but crying as well; turning to the man, Harry felt his chest tighten as he asked, "Dad?"
Both adults nodded at him, and Harry thought his knees would buckle from under him as he looked at his parents and the Weasleys all waving and smiling at him.
Harry was aware that his cloak had fallen from him as he stared, and yet he didn't care; he just wanted to stand there forever and look at his family; he knew it was stupid, for if he were caught, he would risk detention and loss of point, and yet he still did not care, all that mattered was being here with his family, so Harry slowly lowered himself to the ground intending to sit there all night.
Hours later (or so it seemed), a cough behind Harry made the boy jump to his feet and spin around in surprise; standing behind him was Headmaster Dumbledore, who was looking at Harry with a sad expression on his face.
"Hello, Harry," Dumbledore said softly,
"H-Hello, Professor Dumbledore," Harry stuttered, he'd been caught out of bed after hours, and now he would surely pay for it.
"I see that you, like so many others before you, have discovered the delights of the mirror of erased," Dumbledore said as he approached the boy, "By now, I'm sure you know what it does."
"It shows me, my family…." Harry replied so softly that Dumbledore almost missed it, and the old man's sad expression turned more so,
"This mirror is a powerful magical object that was created many centuries ago, and it shows us nothing less or more than the deepest, most desperate desires of our hearts."
Harry felt tears prick his eyes at the words and angrily wiped them as Dumbledore watched,
"I am so sorry, Harry," Dumbledore said softly as he placed a hand on the boy's shoulder, "The mirror was brought here for personal reasons, and I placed it in this classroom for tonight only, hoping that it would remain undiscovered until I could move it to its new home tomorrow."
Harry's head shot up at the words, and he opened his mouth to plead with Dumbledore not to take it from him before being cut off by the aged Headmaster.
"This mirror is a very dangerous artifact, Harry. It offers us neither knowledge nor truth, men have wasted away in front of it, and some have even gone mad, not knowing if what they see is real or even possible. That is why tomorrow it will be moved to its new home, and I must ask you not to go looking for it again."
"But…" Harry began before being cut off again,
"I know how desperately you wish to see them again, Harry," Dumbledore said sadly, "But they would not want their boy driven mad for them, and you will see them again; never forget that."
Harry's head fell, and tears began running down his cheeks at Dumbledore's words before the old man gently placed his hand under Harry's chin and lifted it so that Harry was staring the Headmaster in the eye.
"It does not do to dwell in dreams, Harry, and forget to live," Dumbledore said softly; Harry sniffled again before nodding that he understood, making Dumbledore smile gently at him.
"Now, it is quite late," Dumbledore said softly, "Perhaps you should return to your dormitory and be sure not to forget that wonderful cloak of yours."
Harry nodded again and quickly retrieved his father's cloak before throwing it on and following Dumbledore out of the room; before he left, Harry cast one final look into the mirror to see his family waving goodbye to him.
Stifling a sob, Harry waved back before turning and closing the door behind him softly.