Chapter XIX: Holiday Plans
(Pettigrew P.O.V)
Peter was many things, a coward, a sneak, a deserter, but one thing he was not, was a fool, though he played the part well. He was certain that the Dark Lord would emerge victoriously, the Order of the Phoenix was losing people left and right and their fate had rested on a baby not yet one year old, Peter could see the writing on the wall, he knew the end was near, and without second thought, he told the Dark Lord everything he knew.
James had been his friend, Lily had looked out for him, but none of that mattered in the face of the Dark Lord. His magic was death incarnate, and Peter upon first seeing his 'master' wondered if even Dumbledore in his old age could even stand against him. The plan was set so perfectly. Peter had become the secret keeper in private while Sirius was the one believed even by the Dark Lord until Peter had arrived to be the Potter's secret keeper.
Recognizing that the information Peter possessed was of great value to the Dark Lord he told the Dark Lord of his school-mate's cottage in Godric's Hollow and had been given the rank of Death Eater. He would be forced to bow before the Dark Lord, but to everyone else in the new world the Death Eaters would create, Peter would be royalty. Yes, James was kind to him, protected him when he was weak, but James was of pure-blood, he could have kneeled before the most frightening force on the planet, but he had chosen his side, and he had chosen wrong. Peter would not die over the man's foolishness.
However, things had gone awry, somehow Harry Potter, and infant boy had killed the Dark Lord, and the prosecution of Death Eaters who couldn't escape justice had begun. He had no name like Crabbe or Goyle, and he didn't have the resources the Malfoy's had, Peter was knowingly fucked, as it was no secret that the Secret Keeper could only give out the location willingly, meaning the imperious cure excuse was out. Thankfully, he still had a Plan B, Sirius was believed to be guilty, the ministry would arrest him, and Peter would be free to come out of hiding.
But the ministry never caught Black, Sirius had vanished, and to the distress of the wizarding world, he had taken Harry with him. But Sirius knew the truth, and if Remus would listen, which he expected the werewolf would due to their brotherly bond, Remus would know of the truth as well. The fact that Black was nowhere to be found had forced Peter to his last resort, fearing the Remus and Sirius would come after him, he returned to his home, and burned it to the ground, chopping off his finger, and faking his own death.
Eventually, his house was found, and Sirius Black was secretly assumed the murderer of Peter Pettigrew, though lacking any solid evidence, the ministry mostly kept it to themselves. Though Peter had heard whispers, the ministry believed him dead, and Sirius was the lead suspect of blame, Peter, though confined to his rat form, was free. At least he was free, until he was captured by the Weasley Family in their garden while he was digging for food. He had shifted from wizard to wizard, confined to a cage, and fed pellets instead of food, but it was not all bad, with the Weasleys, while forced to remain a rat, Peter was safe, and information of the ongoing investigation of Harry and Sirius were bountiful. Everything was going well until Potter arrived at Hogwarts with that devil of a cat.
Eventually, with the cat as cover, Peter had bitten himself hard, forcing himself to bleed and faked his own death once more as he escaped the confines of the cage and escaped into the forest. Peter had nowhere to go, no friends to rely on, and a great fear of somehow getting his magic tracked, he had decided the safest bet was to roam the Hogwarts grounds freely, even with Harry and Remus around. After all, there were thousands no millions of rats, why would one more look suspicious?
Yet, as seemed to be commonplace in Peter's life everything went wrong once more, as during the first quidditch match of the season, in a report Peter had seen in a discarded Daily Prophet paper as he dug for his next meal, a dog, a large black dog that could only have been Sirius watched his Godson fly during his first match. Peter couldn't risk it any longer, he needed to think of something, he needed to have Sirius kissed, only then would he be safe.
So, despite his unpolished state, with a wand he had stolen from a late-night straggler going on a moonlit stroll, he had removed a memory of Sirius' transformation, confounded the unsuspecting Hogsmeade civilian, and sent the anonymous tip to the minister, claiming that Black was hiding in Hogsmeade as he assumed that there was no way that Sirius would allow himself to be far away from James' son, a boy he had sworn to James he would protect with his life, it was the only location that made sense.
However, just as his owl sent, he had heard the Game Keeper, Hagrid, arriving to feed the owl and having no other option, Peter transformed once more, and was captured by the Game Keeper, who due to the man's seemingly maddening love for all animals, recognized him as the Weasley's rat. There had been some days where Hagrid had 'nursed him back to health,' but now he was festering once more in the Weasley's cage, being stared down by the purple-eyed cat, his plan to remain free unsuccessful. Once again, Peter was fucked.
(Daphne P.O.V)
The weeks leading up to the Christmas Break were difficult, to say the least. While Potter had kept his word and kept his mouth shut, he was still always checking in to see how she was doing, although Harry seemed to understand that constantly asking her the same question would drive her insane, so he only asked maybe once or twice a week, and for that she was thankful.
Apart from Harry, who every time Daphne saw would remind her of the slightly salty taste of his lips, things weren't going too well. Yes, Harry seemed to have been in a slightly better mood and had resumed calling her Princess which while she faked annoyance, did make her feel better. Outside of Harry, her life was currently quite grim. Daphne had spent time reviewing, reading, and theorizing of any possible way to save Blaise. Tracey was at first being rather helpful, but Daphne saw her spirits crushed when Unspeakables had arrived at the school, blocking all visitors from seeing Blaise.
Initially, Blaise's mother had petitioned to move her son to St. Mungos, but as Tracey and she both assumed, it was mostly for show. Despite being his mother, the love between Mrs. Zabini and her son was slim to none. Pomfrey had protested, however, stating that due to the unknown status of his condition, Blaise shouldn't be moved anywhere, and so Dumbledore and Fudge along with the head of the Unspeakables Saul Croaker had reached a compromise that the Unspeakables would be allowed to do all their research within the school's infirmary, cutting off all access towards their research.
The Ministry was another issue, this time on a more national stage, and while there were many critical comments over the Ministry's inability to control their dementors, a few visits from the likes of Lucius Malfoy and Dolores Umbridge had seemingly led to the retraction of most critical reviews and replaced them with sympathetic views of the Minister and his desire to see justice against Black done.
Sirius Black, he had been the target of all these dementors, and yet upon reading all the information on the man, Daphne felt like something was missing. Black was supposedly the secret keeper of the Potters and betrayed them to Voldemort during the second-wizarding war, leaving Harry the legend he is now. However, this was not Black's only alleged crime. Black was also, according to her father with connections inside the ministry, secretly accused of murdering Peter Pettigrew, a school mate and friend of James and Lily Potter by most accounts.
While no traces of Black were ever found at Pettigrew's home, the house was in shambles, burning to the ground when Aurors arrived on the scene all that was retrieved of Pettigrew was a finger, with the leading theory touted by the minister being that Black completely ripped Pettigrew to shreds. And while Daphne had to admit that everything theoretically made sense, there was one thing that was bothering her about the theory, Harry Potter.
Harry, though Daphne would never admit it out loud, was good at a lot of things; Transfiguration, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Dueling, Quidditch, but one thing he was not good at was hiding his feelings. The fact that Sirius Black had been on the loose and Harry was seemingly unbothered by it left Daphne confused. Every time the name was mentioned, there was no outrage, or fear, or even stress, it simply didn't seem to bother him, and that bothered her.
However, as Daphne closed the pages of Dementors and Lethifolds the Dangers and Risks, she fell back in her bed with a light groan turning to see Tracey who had finally gone to sleep after silently crying for more than an hour. Christmas time had always been a special time for the three of them, Daphne having no family to call her own outside of a short visit to the Manor for Astoria due to her love for her little sister, and Blaise living with a mother that forgot about the day he was even born, had made the Davis Manor their holiday home.
Eoin Davis, Tracey's father, was more of a father to Daphne than hers ever was, he had even gone so far as to tell her father that he would be more than willing to take on Daphne's tuition as the Davis family had all but adopted her. But not wanting to disgrace the family name in the public sphere, despite the lack of love between her and her birth father, Jonathan Greengrass would pay for her schooling for the sake of the public eyes. Though the kindness of Mr. Davis' gesture had not gone unoticed by her.
Now, however, the home that housed the three friends during the happiest time of the year would be a member short, and while Daphne had tried to keep her emotions in check, it was a thought that still hurt when it crossed her mind. She had hoped that the unspeakables would have made some progress, but in all honesty, she knew that the unspeakables were more interested in learning and studying the power of a displaced soul, then actually fixing the issue. They were qualified, and talent wizards, but Daphne had a sinking feeling in her chest that eventually, it would be up to her to find a way to heal Blaise, she wouldn't fail, Tracey was her sister, and her sister needed her help, she would save Blaise, she had to.
(Neville P.O.V)
Neville sat as he watched Harry and Michael stood before Peeves, a large smile on their faces as they spoke, "So what do you say Peeves, all of these new gags, and all you have to do is sing what we asked you to, what do you say?"
"I say," Peeves said with a laugh, "That you overpaid, I'd do this for two stinkbombs!"
Neville watched as Harry and Michael high-fived watching Peeves roam through the hall singing, "There once was a dunce name Snivillus Snape, who walked around Hogwarts with a drape for a cape. Whose nose was structure in an awful shape, and whose sneeze would change an entire landscape. There once was a dunce name Snivillus Snape, whose breath smelled like some rotten grapes, and constantly wished for a face reshape. There once was a dunce named-"
"Snape's going to know it was you two," Neville said shaking his head.
"Probably," Harry said with a shrug.
"But he won't be able to prove it," Michael said with a chuckle, "Now come on, there shouldn't be anyone near the trophy room, let's go."
Neville smiled shaking his head as he followed his two friends through the sparsely filled corridors due to the lateness of their events. Had it been for causing mischief, Neville may have abstained due to finally being in good graces with his Gran so close to Christmas with him for the first time receiving a letter of praise for his bravery during the Hogsmeade Event. But Harry and Michael weren't planning to do mischief, well, outside of their meeting with Peeves, no they were heading to their secret spot.
It was a place that outside of Fred and George, only the three of them knew about, a hidden passageway that led to a large empty room behind the tapestry of Merlin in the corridor between the Trophy Room and the Flitwick's class. It had taken a few days, but both he and Michael were glad to see Harry back to his normal self, his depressing and avoidance filled behavior had concerned the two of them deeply and while they were unsure of what had happened, they were thankful that Harry had returned. Though neither boy definitively knew what happened, Neville did have a theory as he noticed that the scowl that once befell Greengrass' face upon hearing Harry calling her princess began to seem forced, and Neville could have sworn that occasionally Daphne would watch Harry when he wasn't looking and smile.
Still, while they had recovered slightly from Hogsmeade, they had all come to a serious conclusion. There were things out there that none of them were ready for, and as Michael had said, they really didn't want to get, "Caught with their pants down again."
However, it was Corner's second statement that had truly constructed their idea, "You know Potter," Michael had said, "When you said that trouble just seems to find you, I thought you were joking, but apparently, that has more truth in it than I thought." Neville had seen to conflict on Harry's face as he was about to talk about how he understood if they didn't want to be friends anymore, but Michael had put that feeling to bed when he had said, "Guess that just means we'll have to be ready for it, you're my best-mate Potter, we're in this together, trouble and all."
Michael had astutely claimed that as Harry was more advanced than either himself and Corner at combat magic, Harry should begin teaching them some stuff, and while Harry seemed to feel like teaching spells may have been a bit out of his skill-set an encouraging nod from Astoria had changed his mind. For weeks, the three of them had searched for a place in the castle that would be perfect for their work, and it was only with the help of the twins that they had found their training room.
He, Harry, and Michael had all taken turns 'borrowing' items like practice dummies, moving targets, and sneakoscopes from empty rooms in the castle, though when Harry had told Michael that they didn't need sneakoscope, Michael had responded with the very mature answer of, "But I really, really, really, want one." To which Harry simply laughed and relented.
Harry had put a lot of work into the room, while being nowhere near as advanced in runes as Hermione, or Daphne from Neville's understanding, he had done a solid job in conjuring some containment runes, stopping any misfired spells from jumping out of their secret room, and Michael's proficiency with silencing charms had made the likelihood of getting caught almost impossible. However, if they sensed they were going to be caught, Harry had bought from Fred and George their newest invention, instant darkness powder, allowing the three of them a quick escape. Neville didn't remain uninvolved in the creation of this 'lair' as Corner had grown fond of calling it, he had grown Devil Snare around the hallway entrance that would give them enough time to escape under the cover of darkness, while the 'intruder' was being slowed by the snare.
Honestly, Neville knew it was breaking the rules, but the laughs he shared with Michael and Harry over the last few weeks had been better than any of his previous two-years at Hogwarts, and that meant more to him than a detention. Slowly, Harry approached Neville, standing by his side as the three of them began getting to work on casting spells.
"Alright Nev," Harry spoke calmly, "You got this, don't overthink it, point and cast."
"Right," Neville said with a focused voice, "Stupefy!"
The red bolt emerged from Neville's wand, but quickly, he shielded his eyes as he realized the spell was way off target, forcing Corner to drop to the ground to in order to avoid it hitting his head as he yelped, "Merlin, Nev! You're gonna kill me."
"Sorry," Neville said meekly, at first, he had heard no response, but eventually, Corner broke out into laughter.
"It's all good," Corner said with a chuckle, "Just remind me to be behind you when you cast."
Neville gave Michael a weak smile but soon broke out into a chuckle as well, after Harry had laughed at the awkward tension in the room. When the laughter had finally ceased, the three boys sat on the ground and after a short sigh, Harry spoke, "Look Nev, it has to be your wand, your form was perfect, and I know you have the power to produce the spell, but it's just not working with your wand."
"Yeah," Neville said glumly, "But it's my dad's wand, I don't want to lose it, even if it doesn't work for me."
"I know," Harry said placing a hand on Neville's shoulder, "But it's not like you have to throw your wand in the garbage or something, you can keep it with you, just more of a memento than a tool."
"Gran and I were actually talking about that," Neville said, "She said after the things that happened at Hogsmeade, I'm finally a wizard deserving of my own wand, I'm happy and all, but it's just hard."
Michael and Harry each placed a hand on Neville's shoulder as they spoke, "You going to see your folks for Christmas?"
Neville nodded, "It's hard to see them sometimes though, it's like they're alive, but not really."
"Do you want us to come?" Corner asked, "I mean, it's up to you, but if you want, I've got time."
"You'd do that?" Neville asked.
"'Course we would," Michael spoke, "You're our friend, right?"
"Plus," Harry said with a light smile, "Might be nice to see my Godmother, I've never met her after all."
Neville felt a swell of emotions in his chest as Harry and Corner gripped tightly on his shoulders before Neville finally spoke, "Gran actually invite you two over for the Holidays, she wants to meet my friends in person. You don't have to come if you don't-"
"Sure," Michael said, "Honestly, my dad's probably just going to rant about my potions exam grade all break even though I actually brought back mostly E's on all my subjects. I'd be happy to dip, I should probably spend Christmas day with them though."
"I might be busy the first week," Harry said, "But we could all meet up at Diagon Alley then. I'll even bring my old broom, does your house have a pitch?"
"Not really," Neville said, "But we have a huge yard."
"Good enough," Harry spoke with a nod, "Just write me and we'll hash it all out."
"Okay," Neville said with a grin as Harry rose to his feet.
"Well this break's been great and all," Harry said cracking his neck, "But the night's still young and we've got no school tomorrow. You guys up for a little bit more practice and then a sneak into the kitchens?"
"Ready when you are," Corner spoke lifting his wand.
"Right," Neville said with a nod, "I'll do what I can."
(Harry P.O.V)
Harry looked back at his friends who were waiting for him, looking out the window of the Scarlet Steam Engine, as Andromeda and Tonks had agreed it would be less suspicious if Harry was seen on the train though he was planning to leave for America once more shortly after arriving and was going to use the floo in the Hogsmeade House. However, Harry was grateful for this opportunity as he waited for the Greengrass sisters to emerge.
Thankfully, Harry hadn't been waiting long, as soon Astoria, Tracey, and Daphne had arrived at the station. While Astoria looked the happiest to be taking a break from school, Daphne looked a bit concerned, over Blaise's condition Harry assumed, and Tracey looked simply distraught. However, Daphne had looked up at him, and the briefest smile overtook her face to which Harry reciprocated before being crushed in a hug from Astoria, "You'll be safe right? And you'll write me?"
"Yes Short-Stack," Harry said with a smile, resting his hand upon his familiar spot atop Astoria's head, "And I think I'll be safe, I don't know how much trouble I could possibly get into over Christmas Break."
"Knowing you," Astoria said, "A lot."
"Fair enough," Harry said with a chuckle before reaching into his bookbag and pulling out two books, Trials of Transfiguration and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, "Oh, but that reminds me, Merry Christmas Short-Stack."
Astoria looked down at the books, and Harry could see the smiling beaming on her face. The Transfiguration Book was inspired by the fact that Astoria had wanted to succeed more in Transfiguration than any other subject, and the Fantastic Beasts book was due to the fact that Astoria had begun to find Loki more fascinating, and Harry assumed that Astoria was growing a passion for magi-zoology as a whole, considering she had spoken for hours about how cool it was that Corner had gotten to see a Hippogriff up close during a Care of Magical Creatures Class.
Astoria then looked grim as she spoke, "I um, I didn't get you anything, Hogsmeade's been closed to students and I-"
"It's fine Short-Stack," Harry said with a grin, "I don't need anything anyway." Harry then turned to Daphne, and his normal charisma shook a bit looking into her gorgeous eyes before he regained it and with a smile he spoke, "Princess, you got a second?"
"This better be good, Flyboy," Daphne said, though her tone carried a lot less snark than usual.
"I hope so," Harry said with a smirk, "It would be a shame if I disappointed her highness."
Daphne shook her head before leading Harry towards a spot out of earshot of Tracey and Astoria before Harry spoke, "How's Tracey, and how are you for that matter?"
"Awful," Daphne responded to the first question, "And I've been better, this research feels so hopeless sometimes."
"I hope that's not the sound of giving up," Harry said with a gentle smile, "Or else I'll think the Princess is getting soft and I might just stand a chance at getting a date."
"Not a chance, Flyboy," Daphne said shaking her head, "What did you need?"
Harry pulled a tiny gift basket from his pocket before expanding it with his wand and smiled at Daphne's shocked expression as she spoke, "What's all this for?"
"For you," Harry said, "Look, you helped me when I was at an all-time low, I know you said we were even, but I still felt I owed you, so here, it's not much, but I felt you deserved something."
Harry watched as Daphne looked through the assortment of sweets containing Sugar Quills, her favorite as he had learned from Astoria, A signed copy of The Canary Trainer a Sherlock Holmes story published that September and something Astoria had told Harry that Daphne loved as it was her favorite muggle writings, and finally, a book on healing properties from the Black Library entitled Medical Abnormalities and Musings, it was the only book on healing magic in the entire Black Library, but Harry hoped it would be of some use to Daphne.
"Harry this is-" Daphne spoke, "I don't know what to say."
"That's a first," Harry said with a smirk, "Maybe you could just kiss me again instead."
"Maybe if you hadn't been so snarky," Daphne said with a chuckle, "Looks like you missed your shot."
Harry was now forehead to forehead with Daphne, the taste of her vanilla lips resonating in his mind like an echo through a cave, but as Daphne leaned forward, she completely passed his lips and landed at his shoulder, "Merry Christmas Harry."
"You're evil, you know that?" Harry said with a chuckle.
"Shouldn't have opened your mouth," Daphne said with a smirk of her own, "Better luck next time."
"So there will be a next time?" Harry called out to which Daphne shrugged.
"The world of magic is filled with possibilities," Daphne said with a slight grin, "Though chances don't look too good Flyboy."
"Game on, Princess, game on."