By the time Christmas break came around, Harry's melancholy mood had totally lifted. The conversation with Snape in his dorm room had really helped. Whenever he saw people cringing away from him, or jeering at him, he would just remind himself of what Snape had said.
' You are better than them' .
It really served to help. Harry found himself simply smirking at those who tried to insult him. Admittedly, that probably only served to cement the idea that he was the Heir in their heads, but he also found that he couldn't really care.
Christmas time at Hogwarts was a really interesting experience. The dinner was amazing. Harry had never seen so much food in his life, not even at all the previous Hogwarts feasts. And the decorations were another level entirely. Enormous trees, festooned with crazy decorations like giant icicles and what seemed to be live fairies.
The Great Hall's set up as well was different. The house tables had been moved from their usual places and were all set up in front of the main table. Harry overheard the prefect Weasley telling one a first year how it was set up differently every year depending how many people stayed.
' Of course, the Weasley's stayed. Their parents were probably overjoyed to get a break from them'
Something fell on Harry's shoulder, and he looked up, gasping. Snow was falling from the roof! Crumbling the snow through his fingers, Harry realized it was dry. And warm too. ' So much can be done with magic'
Harry had never had so much fun at a dinner before. Magical Christmas crackers were all over the tables, and when he and Draco had pulled one, it had exploded like a bomb, showering them with an insane amount of confetti and chocolate in small packages.
Nevertheless, Harry still wished he had been able to go to the Malfoy's for the break. Especially with them not being able to wonder the castle just as they wished. They were planning to do some exploring as a group, but Harry would have liked to hang out in the library a bit. Even with his invisibility cloak, he didn't dare to wander off on his own. It just wouldn't be smart. In fact, especially with his invisibility cloak. A terrible image popped into Harry's mind, of him being petrified (he couldn't quite bring himself to think of himself dead) underneath his cloak, and nobody finding him for days because of it.
' Do petrified people even need to eat and drink?'
Unfortunately, none of his friends really wanted to spend time in the library over break. They had given in to his wishes though and accompanied him so he could at least pick out some books to take back to the dorm.
Harry and Draco managed to convince Theo to come practice some hexes and jinxes with them. They decided to start their practicing again, at least over the break.
It was a lot more fun with a third person, but also made it more difficult. Harry and Draco had been practicing on their own for a year now, and they were far, far above Theo in their dueling skills. Harry actually felt quite embarrassed with how easily he managed to disarm Theo, and wasn't surprised when Theo said he wouldn't be joining them in the future.
Harry decided to learn how to conjure a snake and started practicing. It made him feel quite weird to vanish it at the end though. One minute he's talking to it, the next he's made it disappear.
Draco was still insistent on trying to learn Parseltongue, even though they were making no progress on that front at all. Harry was willing to swear that Draco made the exact same hissing sounds that he himself had, but it still wasn't Parseltongue. His only explanation was that it must be a magical language and not one that could simply be learned. Draco disagreed. Strenuously.
Crabbe and Goyle spent most of their time in the Great Hall, where there were cakes and other snacks at all times. Luckily for them, they made friends with a third year, Eric Graham, who was very similar. He was actually meant to be a fourth year but had repeated his third. At least with Eric, they had someone to accompany them back from the Hall after they had finished pigging out.
As the first week of the break was coming to a close, Draco was getting very excited for his father's visit, which would be on Sunday. The next day, in fact. Apparently, he also needed to meet with Dumbledore, as he wanted to discuss some matters with him before the Aurors arrived.
Snape had informed the Slytherins who had stayed for the break that Aurors would be stationed in the school. A special task force, they were said to be very serious, and not to be joked around with. They were going to be arriving just before break ended.
So that Saturday found Harry and Draco just sitting in the common room, playing a game of chess in front of the roaring fire. Harry was stroking the head of a snake he had conjured a few minutes earlier as he contemplated the next move.
The common room door surged open, and Theo stormed in, followed by the hulking figures of Crabbe, Goyle, and Eric.
"These damned idiots!" He huffed. "They make me wait over an hour for them to finish eating to walk back here with me!"
Draco laughed, Harry not really paying attention.
' If I take his rook, I might be able to take his queen next. But then I'm in danger from his knight'
"You think it's funny?" Theo raged. "By the time we leave, I need to piss like a pregnant woman. So I make them wait for me while I go to the loo, and I come back, and guess what? They've wandered off!"
Draco roared with laughter.
"It's not fucking funny! If one of the teachers had seen me alone, I would have gotten at least a week's worth of detentions"
"Sorry, Theo. I'm sorry" Draco said, wiping his eyes, looking not the least bit apologetic.
Theo muttered something and stormed up to his room. Crabbe, Goyle, and Eric sat around them, and Harry took Draco's rook.
' Ok, so he takes my bishop, then I can take his knight, but he'll probably take the pawn'
Harry noticed Crabbe studying the board, looking very interested.
"You're definitely better at chess when you've got a snake with you. You should have bought one at the beginning of the year like I said"
"Yes, Draco," Harry said, with as much sarcasm as he could. "I'm sure the idiots who think I'm attacking everyone wouldn't take that as a sign of my guilt then"
Draco frowned slightly. "I still don't understand why you care what they think. Snape told you that Dumbledore knows it isn't you"
Harry heaved a sigh. "Because I'm sick and tired of people looking at me in fear of things I didn't do. I had more than enough of that growing up with those fucking muggles" he injected more hate into that word than he would have thought possible, "And I don't want to have to deal with it anymore. They need to all grow the hell up, and actually, think"
"So you don't know who it is?" Crabbe blurted out.
Harry looked at him strangely. "How many times are we going to have this stupid conversation? None of us have any idea who it is. It can't be anyone from Slytherin, because we were all here when Weasley got petrified"
"Check," Draco said smugly. Harry went back to studying the board, muttering to himself.
There was silence in the room for a few minutes. Had Harry and Draco been paying attention, they would have noticed the looks being shared by Crabbe, Goyle, and Eric. Eventually, Eric broke the silence.
"Do you think there will be more attacks?"
"Not really. I mean, with there being Aurors around, it doesn't seem likely. I hope they at least catch whoever it is, so those damn Weasley's will stop staring at me like I'm a murderer" Harry said absentmindedly, about to make a move.
"When are the Aurors coming?" Crabbe demanded, red in the face.
"Are you taking stupidity potion? I mean, jeez, Snape told us all yesterday!"
"Forgot. Sorry, Draco" Crabbe rumbled.
Eric stood up. "My stomach's hurting. I want to go to Madam Pomfrey."
"Don't go alone, idiot. Snape will get us all in trouble" Harry said, before saying to Draco, "Checkmate"
"What, no!"
Crabbe and Goyle stood up. "We'll go with he-him," One of them said, with neither of the chess-players paying any attention to them whatsoever.
Gryffindor common room, that evening
"Just admit it, Ron! We were wrong!" Hermione shouted, near tears. The conversation with the Slytherins had really shaken her up. To be honest, she had started being shaken up well before entering their common room. The process of changing was rather painful, and it was extremely unnerving to become a boy. She idly wondered how guys managed walking. It was far more uncomfortable for them.
And then the conversation itself. From what she had heard, it sounded like Harry Potter had been abused. She suppressed a shudder at the thought of the amount of venom he had put into the word "muggles". She had never heard anyone talk with such anger. And to think that they had just been bringing up bad memories by suspecting him! Her insides roiled with guilt.
"OK! You want to rub it in? We were wrong!" Ron shouted back, ears dangerously red.
"How do you know he wasn't just acting?" Fred asked.
"You didn't see him. There's no way he was acting" Hermione replied.
"If he's good enough to fool Dumbledore, you really think he isn't good enough to fool you three?" Fred retorted, heating up.
Hermione threw up her hands. "What do you want me to say, Fred? Everything he said points to him being innocent. And the way he said it as well"
"I wish I'd been there. If there was something, I'd have picked up on it"
"It's not our fault you weren't! Honestly, who gets detention over break?"
"Fred," Ron said, speaking quietly, "He's looking forward to Aurors coming, because they'll prove him innocent. It's not him"
Fred's face crumpled, and he dropped his head, putting his hands over it.
"It would just make it so much easier," He said, voice thick, "having someone to blame"
"I know. He's still a massive git"
Fred's shoulders shook, as he cried and laughed.
Potion Master's office, the following evening
Severus frowned at the door as it closed behind Lucius. An invitation to the Malfoy's for a Sunday lunch was not quite totally unexpected, but there was something about how Lucius was carrying himself. Something about the man's movements spoke of nervousness. Nervousness, and a sense of urgency.
There were certainly strange occurrences happening. Severus thought of Dumbledore's news of Quirrell's apparent disappearance. And then there was that Auror. That was most troubling too. And of course, what was going on at Hogwarts right now.
For a moment, Severus debated telling Dumbledore about Lucius' invitation. He quickly overruled it. He was feeling- apathetic towards Dumbledore. Well, somewhere between apathetic and resentful. The man always knew more than he told. Besides, it was probably nothing. Ignoring the foreboding he was feeling, he went back to brewing the Draught of the Living Death for his NEWT class.
Second-floor girl's bathroom, the following day (Monday)
"Myrtle, please-"
"No! Headmaster, I told you no!"
"But why, Myrtle? This could save lives!" Albus said, exasperation seeping into his usually calm tone.
"And why am I interested in that?" The ghost hissed, "After all, maybe if more students die here, they'll become ghosts and I'll have some better company than Peeves!"
Albus slumped. "Surely there is something I can trade with you for this information?"
"Maybe," she said, floating up and down until Albus began to feel seasick from watching her.
"I don't want to stay here anymore," she said softly.
"The ministry-"
"I don't mean the castle" she snapped. "I don't want this-this fake, half-life anymore"
"And what can I do?"
"Get me exorcised" came the matter of fact reply.
Albus was rendered speechless for a moment. Not a very common occurrence, Myrtle seized the opportunity.
"I hated it here when I was alive. I died in the bathroom, where I was hiding away from my bullies. I can't even leave the castle now. Even if I could, my family wouldn't be able to see me, because they're muggles. I had no friends when I was alive here, and since I died Peeves has made everything even worse. There's no one to talk to. No one who cares, at least. And because when I died, I was too much of a coward to go on, this is my lot for eternity. Get me an exorcism, and before they do it I will tell you everything you want to know"
Albus pinched the bridge of his nose. He could definitely feel a headache coming on.
"No-one knows for sure what happens to the subject of an exorcism" he attempted, gently.
"I don't care. Anything is better than this"
"Fine. If that is your wish, I will speak to the Ministry"
"Good. Come back to me when you've gotten permission" said Myrtle, turning to dive into a toilet.
"Myrtle! Such things can take time. Won't you at least tell me now, and take my word that I will get the permission?" He called, desperately.
"No" she didn't even turn back to face him. "This way, you'll at least have something pushing you to think of my desires". With that, she dove into the toilet, flooding the bathroom and disappearing from view. Albus stood still for a moment, before leaving the bathroom.
He had some letters to write.
' Maybe while I'm doing this, I should get permission to exorcise Binns?'
Azkaban prison, 1:30 Tuesday morning
Lord Voldemort ghosted through the corridors of the infamous prison. The charms around him prevented his being noticed, although the dementors would not be a problem to him even if they did see him. He wanted this conversation to remain private.
He came to a stop in front of the cell he had been searching for. The emaciated woman within slept fitfully, unaware of his presence.
His lips curled in a silent, feral snarl. No one had the right to treat his followers like this. They were his. Retribution would come.
He cast a series of spells around him and the cell he desired.
"Bella" He called out. Had there been a witness, they would have been shocked at the gentle tone used by the fearsome Dark Lord.
"Bella" He called again, and this time she awoke, looking around in jerky motions. She saw him, and seconds later was at the bars of her cell, seeming not to have crossed the intervening space.
"My Lord," She said breathlessly, joyfully. "You live. I knew you had lived, I knew the Potter brat couldn't have killed you"
"Your faith is heartwarming"
"I am sorry my Lord," She said, suddenly despondent. "We tried to find you, but we failed. We should have done more. Searched harder. I am so sorry"
And then she was crying.
"Hush, Bella. You did not fail me. You proved your loyalty to be great"
"Thank you, my Lord," she said, brightening up.
' Her time here has definitely affected her. She will not be as reliable in combat as once she was'
"My Lord? Are you here to rescue me?"
"Unfortunately, now is not yet the time for that. But I promise you, Bella soon you will be free"
"Thank you, Lord. It is too late for Barty though"
"How do you mean?"
"He died, my Lord. Not too long after he came in. His parents" she spat that word, fury evident in her every line, "came to visit just before. I hear his mother died soon after too"
"Barty died?" Voldemort said, clearly confused. He looked down at his left arm and seemed to be deep in thought.
"No matter. It is a mystery for another time. Bella, time is short. I need to ask you something"
"Anything"
"I gave you an object to keep in your Gringotts vault for me. Did you remove it after I was thought to have been killed?"
Bella looked at him, shock written all over her face. "Never. It was not mine to touch. It belongs to you, my Lord. I am not worthy unless you say I am"
"Good. Bella, you have served me most loyally. I promise you, as soon as my position is right, you will be removed from this place"
"Just knowing that my Lord lives is enough for me".
"Ah, yes. About that." He pointed his wand at her. "Obliviate"
As Voldemort flew away from the falsely believed impenetrable fortress, he made plans to visit all his Horcruxes and double up the security measures. But one part of his mind wondered. ' If Barty is dead, why can I still sense his Mark?'