Harry Potter and the Prophecy of the Strinx

Harry Potter and the Prophecy of the Strinx

By Moon Weasley

Chapter Sixteen:

Christmas blues

The last days before the Christmas holiday were strangely quiet. After Ron shockingly had asked Lavender to the New Years Ball, the atmosphere between him and Hermione had been strained to put it bluntly. For what seemed like the umpteenth time they were doing their best to avoid each other, and only spoke in cases of absolute necessity. When forced to interact both were acting formal and stiff and not at all like the quarrelling duo Harry was grown used to.

Harry had been nothing short of stunned when Ron had asked Lavender to the dance. Especially considering he'd been dead positive that Ron was mustering up the courage to ask Hermione. The secretive glances, goofy smiles and blushing ears had in Harry's opinion all been good indications that he had finally realized his more-than-friendly feelings for her.

But then why had he asked Lavender? This made absolutely no sense whatsoever.

Harry couldn't resist asking. But when confronted Ron had simply shrugged indifferently and muttered something about her being quite pleasing on the eye.

"But Ron, it's Lavender!" Harry had exclaimed disbelievingly. "I mean, honestly! Lavender?"

He'd been repeating himself like a broken record but the whole thing was just so utterly disturbing and on so many levels it was confusing to think about. She was heavily into Divination for crying out loud, and was practically worshipping the ground that mad old bat Trelawney walked on. That alone was reason enough to exclude rather than include her in ones life. Not that there was anything wrong with the girl per say, but she was sort of obtuse at times, something which Harry also indicated to his friend.

"Ron, you know the most intelligent contribution she's ever made in a class was that time when she mispronounced that spell making large amounts of chocolate frogs pour out of the tip of her wand. Do you honestly want to spend an entire evening with that bimbo?"

That comment had made Ron smile but whether it was because of the reference to candy or her bimbo-qualities Harry didn't know. Lavender did have a rather eye-catching appearance that occasionally made Ron drool, but still Harry had a hard time understanding why Ron preferred her to Hermione.

"Lavender's okay," was all Ron had to say about the matter even though Harry spent the better part of a day trying to worm some sort of explanation out of him. The question "What about Hermione?" had been lingering on the tip of Harry's tongue, aching to be asked, but something about the oddly bitter stares Ron kept sending him had stopped him.

And as the days passed Harry couldn't help but feel that Ron was angry with him for some reason. Ron was widely known for his dry wit and sarcastic remarks directed at anything and everyone but lately the remarks targeted at Harry had been unusually cruel and with an uncharacteristic bitterness to them. He also seemed more reluctant to spend time with him and Hermione and was more and more often seen in the presence of Dean and Seamus.

His behaviour made Harry feel strangely guilty without knowing why. It was as if Ron was disappointed and hurt by something but even after countless hours of pondering, Harry hadn't the faintest idea why. And so without even knowing it he managed to add to Ron's misery a couple of days later when Hermione finally convinced him to be her date for the Ball...

Witnessing Ron ask Lavender to the dance had left Hermione heartbroken. She'd spent most evenings secluded in her dormitory under the pretence of studying but Harry knew otherwise. Ginny had tried to cheer her up by telling her all the worst and most embarrassing stories she could think of from Ron's childhood to give Hermione ammunition for their next quarrel. It had made Hermione laugh again but still her heartache was by far mended.

She had wished for Ron to ask her and the very thought of going with someone else was very unappealing to say the least. As the holiday drew closer Neville suddenly started acting extraordinarily clumsy around her, giving Hermione the distinct feeling he was planning on asking her. It didn't matter how sweet and nice Neville was. She just didn't want to go with him, but knew that without a date she would feel obligated to accept if he asked.

And it was while pondering how to avoid Neville the obvious solution had presented itself to her.

She could go with Harry!

Given the circumstances it was the perfect solution. Okay, so she suspected Harry wanted to go with Ginny, but Hermione couldn't really see him finding the courage to break this news to an already grumpy Ron. He would surely throw a tantrum if someone showed so much as a remote romantic interest in his younger sister. And so she had begged, pleaded and prayed. Harry had been less than enthusiastic (to put it mildly) about the idea but in the end he'd given in and agreed.

So now Harry was going with Hermione and Ron was taking Lavender. Rumours that Harry and Hermione were going together had spread so fast you should think it was travelling by floo. It was the hottest piece of gossip since Pansy Parkinson had been caught snogging Justin Finch-Fletchley two months earlier and the only consolation was that at least Rita Skeeter was safely locked up in a jar beside Hermione's bed and couldn't spread falsities about their alleged romance outside the walls of Hogwarts.

And so while having to endure a rather hostile behaviour on Ron's part, snide and sniggering remarks regarding his so-called love interest from countless Slytherins and an ever growing pile of assignments to be handed in before the holidays it was safe to say that Harry wasn't having the best of weeks.

The final blow came when Max Strober proudly announced that he was taking Ginny to the Ball as his date. If Harry had disliked the prick before it was nothing compared to the animosity he was now feeling.

His and Ron's eyes met for a split second only to confirm that despite a certain tension between them they at least agreed upon one thing. Max was a great ruddy prat!

* * *

Christmas was an unusually subdued affair this year. Seeing as the Ball wasn't until New Years Eve most students took the opportunity to go home for Christmas with plans to return shortly before the dance. All the Weasleys went home to the Burrow to celebrate the first real family Christmas together for years. Naturally Harry had been invited but Dumbledore had advised against it for reasons Harry quite frankly found pitiful. If Ron could escape the Death Eaters lurking around the Burrow, then surely he could do it too! He was fifty times more experienced dealing with that kind of scum after all.

But no matter how much he reasoned, pleaded and down right yelled at his headmaster, the answer was still the same. And so the day before Christmas Eve Harry reluctantly waved goodbye to Ron, Ginny, the twins and Hermione. Hermione had kindly offered to stay with him, but Harry had insisted she go visit her parents as planned. He knew she was an only child and she hardly ever got a chance to spend any time with them as it was. Harry knew he would just feel guilty knowing that she stayed on his account.

It turned out that the only other Gryffindor staying was Seamus. He and Harry had never been particularly close but they'd quickly hit it off over a temperamental game of chess. Without Ron as his opponent Harry actually managed to win a couple of games (though narrowly) and almost laughed himself silly at some of Seamus' furious outburst when the chessmen made rude comments about his terrible tactics. He also soon learned that Seamus was quite the comedian and would when subtly encouraged tell the filthiest jokes. So while entertained by Seamus Harry managed to forget about Ginny, his absent friends and the upcoming dance.

* * *

Christmas morning came with a bright blue sky and a beautiful white landscape. Hogwarts grounds were covered in what looked like white waves of snow and as the previous years at Hogwarts Harry found a modestly sized pile of presents at the end of his bed. Never having received any presents during his ten miserable years with the Dursleys, seeing the pile always felt strangely unreal.

He and Seamus did however waste no time and quickly began tearing away the wrapping. Soon his four-poster bed was covered with new possessions. Hagrid had sent him a book about giants called 584 things you certainly didn't know about giants and some you probably did: A humongous guide to the Giants of England.

Hermione had given him a Neat-Writing-Quill which actually made your handwriting appear - well neat. Guess Hermione thought the readability of his writing could do with some improvement. Ron had not surprisingly given Harry something related to Quidditch. The gift turned out to be a scrapbook containing pictures of the Gryffindor team (probably taken by Colin) in action, player profiles and play-by-play descriptions of every match Harry had ever played. Several pages were still blank and as Ron's note explained were to be filled with future data. Harry found the present to be brilliant.

The twins had also scraped together a gift containing some of their latest inventions and from Mrs. Weasley he received his customary Weasley jumper, this time in a bright red colour. Harry decided to wait with the present from Sirius, as he didn't want to raise Seamus' suspicion about the sender.

But the most remarkable present was the one from Ginny. He hadn't even expected anything from her and at first he didn't even notice it. It was wrapped in a thin box with a single golden ribbon. With it followed a card:

Dear Harry,

I wanted to give you something special for Christmas to show you how much I appreciate you trusting me enough to be a part of your life and to share your secrets - both good and bad. The only way I think I can do this is to turn the tables and trust you to be a part of my life and my secrets - both good and bad.

Enclosed you'll find my notes describing my encounter with Tom Riddle and the Chamber of Secrets. No one has ever read them and nor have I spoken to anyone in my family about this. You'll be the first I share this with, Harry.

I'm giving you this because I trust you and because I owe you; and not just my life but also the chance to get to know your enemy. Knowledge is power and hopefully one day this can be of help to you.

With wishes of a peaceful Christmas

Ginny

Harry stared disbelievingly at the note in front of her. This was - whoa, she trusted him with her darkest secrets, willingly showed him how she had been influenced by the memory of his nemesis stored in the pages of his fifty-year old diary. Harry felt his face blush deep red and his heart felt like it was out of control.

Seamus was finished unwrapping all his presents by now and noticed Harry's flushed face and dreamy eyes.

"Hot love letter from the little woman, ey?" he asked with a huge teasing grin. "I never knew Hermione could be such a passionate writer, but those cheeks speak volumes. Just don't let it lie around for Ron to find if you value the peace."

He chuckled and turned his attention back to the book on how to breed racing owls (his latest craze). The reference to Hermione did however break Harry out of his daze.

"Hermione? Love letter? What are you talking about, Seamus?" Harry was utterly bewildered by the other boy's statements.

"The idea of Hermione sending me love letters is, you know," Harry shuddered and pulled a face, "disturbing. And weird and by Circe I hope that never happens. I don't think I could have looked her in the eye again if she felt like that."

And now it was Seamus' turn to look bewildered. His eyes were the size of small dinner plates and with his mouth slightly open he was quite the sight. Harry grinned and threw some of the wrapping at him to make him snap out of it.

"Did you seriously think that me and Hermione, eh well, liked each other - in that way?"

How could anyone think that? Was he the only one who used his eyesight?

"Honestly," Seamus said with a smirk forming on his lips, "no - I didn't think you did. But when you asked her to the ball leaving Ron in such a state of complete depression, I figured the only reasonable explanation was that his best friend had snatched the girl he's pining for."

Suddenly things started to dawn on Harry. The cold stares, the way Ron had been avoiding them - he really thought Hermione was in love with him. But whatever gave him that idea?

"Oh crap!" Harry exclaimed and clasped a hand to his forehead. "He saw me and Hermione whispering that night he asked Lavender didn't he and thought we were flirting or something?"

Seamus just nodded, as he was unable to speak due to the large amount of chocolate frogs he was munching on.

"And he saw Hermione hugging me and jumped to the wrong conclusion that big git. Never did have much self confidence now did he? If he only knew what we were discussing..." The intensely curious look on Seamus' face made him stop before he revealed too much. A useful rule of thumb around the talkative Irishman was to limit the personal revelations to an absolute minimum as he had a knack of spreading it to everyone in about a blink of an eye. He was in many ways the male version of Parvati minus the annoying giggling.

Well, at least one good thing had come from Seamus' loose lips that morning. Now Harry knew why Ron had been acting so strangely. But that could be fixed as soon as he returned from the Burrow. Right now however Harry was dying for some breakfast.

* * *

The rest of the Christmas holiday passed without any extraordinary events taking place. Judging by The Daily Prophet it seemed as though the Death Eaters had taken the holiday off too. Harry wasn't sure whether this was a good or a bad sign. It was good to know that people could have a peaceful holiday of course, but such inactivity could just as well mean that they were planning something worse.

The night before the Ball Harry woke up drenched in sweat and with his scar red and swollen, and hurting like hell. It had been another dream about Voldemort and the hooded betrayer had been with him. They'd been talking about him and how they're ingenious plan couldn't fail, referring endlessly to the prophecy but without giving him any more clues.

But there had been something oddly familiar about that cloaked figure, Harry mused intently. He couldn't really put his finger on what it was but he had a pricking sensation that he knew this person. But who was it? He knew he could rule out Seamus who currently lay sprawled on his four-poster bed snoring loudly - but aside from him, well it could really be anyone, couldn't it?

"Your presence at the school will naturally be essential; he will never suspect you I'm sure"

Voldemort's words still haunted him and when he passed fellow students and teachers in the halls he couldn't help but wonder if perhaps it was one of them. Harry spent hours pondering about who it could possibly be, but also how this person managed to travel from the school and to Voldemort's hideout.

If it was someone at Hogwarts this person had to know how to apparate and that quickly ruled out the younger students. Only full-fledged wizards were allowed to apparate and only after getting a license, so at this point one of the teachers seemed the obvious choice. Unless someone apparated illegally...

This theory was however severely shattered as soon as Harry remembered a phrase Hermione had reeled off countless times: "You can't apparate or disapparate inside Hogwarts grounds. It says so in Hogwarts: A history. Honestly, don't you guys ever read?"

Harry closed his eyes and tried to clear his mind. It was still pretty early and he was hoping to get some more sleep before tonight. The other students were returning today and the New Years Ball was to be held the same evening. The dance itself was however a secondary priority to Harry. His main objective for the day was straightening things out with Ron. He needed to explain about the whole Hermione-thing.

For the umpteenth time since Christmas morning Harry cursed himself for not talking to Ron about this a long time ago. Honestly, it was over a year ago he first started to suspect that there were more than purely platonic feelings between him and Hermione. It would certainly have spared them some grief. But for some reason talking about feelings and girls was - well a bit embarrassing.

After twisting and turning in his bed for half an hour Harry gave in. He disentangled himself from the sheets, dressed quietly and tiptoed down to the common room. After staring indecisively at the fire for a few minutes he made up his mind and headed out of the portrait hole. A muffled yelp could be heard from the Fat Lady who obviously hadn't expected activity this early. He apologized and hurried down to the Entrance Hall.

He knew what he wanted to do. He wanted to fly!

* * *

Harry didn't return to the common room until late afternoon. He'd enjoyed flying and practising without Ron or George yelling instructions at him for a change. The cold crisp air had done him good.

Flying proved quite therapeutic to Harry. It allowed him to put all his worries behind him and he felt - well free and almost like a normal teenager. He rarely had the chance to goof around like this and it had been hours before he finally landed again outside Hagrid's deserted hut.

It was quite strange around Hogwarts without seeing Hagrid's large body trotting around tending to this and that or nurturing some new hazardous beast under his bed. Hogwarts somehow seemed a bit emptier without the half-giant around.

Harry made his way up to the hut through the heavy snow and with a gloved hand he wiped away the frost on one of the windows and peered inside. The hut seemed much larger now without Hagrid to fill large amounts of it.

Harry missed him. Hagrid was the one who'd rescued him from the Dursley's and told him what he was - who he was. He'd shown him a new world, and a world where he belonged.

Fighting down the lump in his throat Harry pulled out his wand and muttered "Alohomora." He heard the lock click open and slowly pushed the door open and slipped inside. He didn't dare turn on any lights out of fear of alerting any of the teachers up at the castle. He was after all breaking and entering.

After adjusting to the dim light in the hut he walked over to one of the large chairs and sat down. He didn't even fill half its space but somehow that made him feel safe. A large chequered blanket lay over the arm of the chair and Harry pulled it over himself, inhaling the familiar scent that was so characteristically Hagrid. He knew it was only a matter of hours before his friends would return but for some reason Harry had never felt lonelier in his life.

He wished Hagrid was there with him trying to force-feed him one of his notorious rock cakes, or Sirius telling him stories about his parents making him laugh and feel loved. Thoughts of Cedric, his parents, the Godfather that weren't allowed to be there for him due to a wrongful conviction and Voldemort who thanks to him was now gaining power again, soon overwhelmed him.

And for the first time in a long time Harry cried. He cried for what felt like hours before he finally fell asleep.

Outside the small hut stood Albus Dumbledore watching the Boy Who Lived with a concerned look on his wrinkled face. He raised his wand, pointed it towards the fifteen-year-old boy and muttered the words of a spell for dreamless sleep.

"Sleep well, Harry," he whispered before turning towards the castle. "Trouble is coming soon." He then pulled two large and woolly mittens out of his winter cloak and put them on.

"But so are some answers, my friend. So are some answers."

* * *

When Harry finally woke it was pitch dark outside. He glanced at the clock beside the fireplace and let out a small scream. It was nearly six o'clock in the evening!

Panic started to spread in his body. The ball was starting at seven, and he was nowhere near ready. Bloody hell, he hadn't even hung out his dress robes. They were still in his trunk and probably horrendously wrinkled. Hopefully one of the guys knows an ironing charm Harry thought desperately while running towards the castle.

As he dashed through the Entrance Hall the delicious smell of dinner made his mouth water, and the loud rumbling sound coming from his stomach made him painfully aware that he hadn't really eaten anything at all that day.

He fought the urge to stop by the kitchen and knick some food from Dobby and instead continued on his run towards Gryffindor tower. He should really try to talk to Ron before the dance and explain about this sordid Hermione-affair. With some luck this would bring Ron back in high spirits and maybe he and Hermione could sort things out tonight.

Slightly out of breath he reached the Fat Lady who clucked her tongue displeasingly. He didn't bother responding to her accusatory remark about how he really should pay more attention to time when he had a date, and barked the password at her. She looked slightly taken aback by his pert behaviour but swung the portrait open none the less.

Unsurprisingly the common room was deserted. Harry climbed the stairs two at a time and burst into the dormitory, practically slamming the door of its hinges in the process. Neville, Seamus and Dean literally jumped in the air at the sudden sound. Neville even let out a small yelp clutching his heart, but soon regained his posture when he realized it was only Harry.

"Jesus Harry, what are you trying to do? Scare us to death?" Dean exclaimed hotly. He had obviously squeezed his tube of hair gel in fright because his hand was now dripping with slime.

"I hope I didn't get any of this on my robes. Parvati will kill me if I show up looking anything less than perfectly attired." Dean looked positively petrified by the sheer thought of an enraged Parvati.

Seamus snickered and shook his head. "That's the problem with Muggle-born wizards," he said to Neville. "When faced with a crisis they always forget that a wave of a wand will clear out any dirt in a jiffy."

Neville sniggered and Dean simply glared at Seamus and went in search of a towel to wipe his hands clean.

"Where have you been by the way?" Neville asked as Harry rushed to his trunk and frantically began searching for his dress robes.

"Fell asleep," he muttered and pulled out his emerald green robes. They were in a sad state and far beyond wrinkled. Harry groaned loudly.

"Do any of you know any Ironing charms?" he asked looking pleadingly from one to the other. They all shook their heads.

"Sorry old chap," Seamus said in a light teasing tone. "Should have thought about that a bit earlier shouldn't you? What will everyone say if famous Potter shows up looking like common riffraff?"

Harry didn't respond and sunk back on his bed burying his face in his hands. What was he suppose to wear now? Bugger!

He heard a door open and someone stepped out of the bathroom. Loud whistling-sounds immediately broke out and Harry heard Seamus yell "smoking!" A familiar voice retorted sounding slightly embarrassed.

"Shut it, Finnigan!"

It was Ron. Harry quickly straightened up and his eyes fell on his best friend. A huge grin instantly spread across his face when he noticed Ron's new midnight blue dress robes. Fred and George had kept their promise indeed.

"Hello Ron," he said grinning widely. Ron returned the smile. "'Lo, Harry. Had a good Christmas?"

Harry nodded. "It was okay. Thanks for the present by the way. It's brilliant!" Ron's ears went slightly pink and shrugged. "You're welcome," he answered with a small smile. "And your present was wicked."

"I like the new robes. No lace cuffs this time? Can't for the life of me understand why you abandoned those, I thought you pulled off lace pretty well actually. Quite a fashion statement that was," Harry said mock seriously and was awarded with a rude hand gesture.

Ron started to work on his fiery hair, which Harry noticed had been cut somewhat shorter than usual during the holiday. It made Ron seem, well different Harry concluded. But not in a bad way. Ron noticed Harry staring and self-consciously began flattening it.

"Don't do that," Harry said impulsively and Ron gave him a weird look. "Eh, I just thought it looked good the way it was, you know sort of spiky. Just an opinion."

Ron smiled lopsidedly and began spiking it again. "Ginny convinced me to cut it like this," he explained. "She's actually the artist behind the coiffure. Never knew she was an aspiring hairdresser. Did it the Muggle-way and all."

At the mention of Ginny's name Harry felt a jolt in his stomach. It felt almost as if a small hippogriff had been set loose and his cheeks immediately started to heat up. Ron thankfully didn't notice as he had spotted the lump of fabric formally known as Harry's dress robes and lifted an eyebrow questionably.

"Forgot to put them out of my trunk," Harry explained wearily. "Don't suppose you could lend me the lace-ones?"

This statement made Ron burst out laughing. "Nah don't think they'll suit you," he managed to pipe out between chuckles. "I'll fix yours instead."

And then Ron raised his wand and uttered an unknown spell and within seconds Harry's robes where as good as new.

"Now get your arse in the shower and make yourself respectable," Ron commanded waving his index finger denunciatory at him, instantly reminding Harry of Mrs. Weasley. "Can't have the ladies waiting now can we, as I believe that is our job."

Harry saluted him and bowed before hurrying in to the bathroom for a quick shower. Ron seemed to be in a much better mood today, Harry thought happily. He quickly dried off and started to get dressed. All he had to do was to find an opportunity to explain the misunderstanding and then convince him to ask Hermione to dance - or even better, a walk in the rose garden. Harry smiled wickedly. He was sure Fred would be more than delighted to point out a suitable snog-bush if asked.

When Harry emerged from the bathroom a few minutes later, dressed and ready to leave he felt pretty certain that everything would work itself out. Yep, he thought merrily, a small smile forming on this mouth as he watched Ron give his appearance a last check in the mirror. If only he'd get a chance to set the record straight his two best friends would probably be snogging madly come midnight- no doubt about that...