Harry Potter stared into a mirror, and saw himself staring back, but it wasn't quite himself. This mirror image had a knowing smirk on his face.
"I am surprised it took us so long to get down here." it intoned.
"What can I say? I wanted a bit of excitement for my first Christmas Eve at school."
"This certainly is pushing our luck. Dumbledore might notice we are gone."
"I can only hope so, if the next six and a half years are this boring I might just leave and start a cult or something… at least that would be mildly interesting."
"Oh yes, because we aren't already doing that."
The real Harry rolled his eyes, before reaching out expectantly. "So?"
"Yeah yeah here you go."
The mirror reached into his pocket and pulled out a red rock, which was now in the real world as well. "Not like anyone else is using it right?"
"Exactly, so why not add a bit of mystery to my life."
"You know whoever those defenses were meant for is going to come after it eventually."
The real Potter's face turned into a blood thirsty grin, "Oh I can only hope so."
...
"Headmaster, we have a problem!"
"Ah Severus my boy, please come in. Would you care for a lemon drop?"
"Of course not . I wanted to make a few alterations on the wards surrounding the stone but… they were already breached."
Dumbledore's eyes twinkled slightly, as he rose from his desk. "Recently? If so we should proceed immediately to captu…"
"I have already investigated, I figured there would not be enough time. The other traps have been passed as well. Albus, the Philosopher's Stone is gone."
The older man paled, "Quirrell?"
"Still in his office, muttering to himself as always. Were we wrong Albus? Could it have been someone else?"
"There have been no signs of entry up until today, Minerva checked just before the students left. Even if a seventh year could have attempted it they would not have made such progress in so little time. It had to be a wizard of considerable experience."
"Perhaps it isn't Quirrell then? Maybe the Dark Lord has taken on a different form?"
"He is the only one unaccounted for before the Troll incident, and the only one I could not place on every evening that a Unicorn was attacked. It has to be him."
"Should we strike now then? If he is bluffing…"
"Why would he do so? Nothing is stopping him from leaving if he truly has the stone. Let us wait and see what he does with the staff at a minimum. With the celebration this evening and tomorrow this is the best chance for him to make his escape. In the meantime I will monitor every other staff member and those few students who stayed behind."
...
Upon returning to his dorm room Christmas Eve night Harry felt himself feeling a bit claustrophobic. With the theft of the jewel someone was going to come looking, which meant that someone would be going through his possessions. While he could care less about them damaging his books, schoolwork, or any such nonsense he was rather protective of his companion, who had just awoken from her midday nap.
"It appears Hedwig, that we need to find a different place to sleep. This one is simply not private enough for my needs."
'There aren't very many places that you can sleep without drawing notice Harry.' a soft voice echoed in his mind.
"True, but I have located one, and once there you will be able to take your other form as often as you wish without fear."
Even without the mental connection the emerald-eyed boy could feel his companion's excitement.
...
The young Potter had to admit, that it was rather odd finding a dozen or so presents in the common room all addressed to him. In his short life he had never actually received any wrapped gifts before, and the only thing he had ever been given for Christmas was having Hedwig give him a back rub before cuddling up next to him for the evening.
This still remained his favorite gift thus far, even with the looming boxes. A slight gesture later and the pile had been moved into his new room, while Hedwig was busy soaking in the massive bathtub that he found was connected to it.
"Everything okay?"
"Quite, it appears as though my housemates have seen fit to try and bribe me with gifts."
Harry would never tire of the musical laughter that the girl could produce. "Let me know if there is anything I should be jealous over. I noticed the way those girls look at you."
"As I said before Hedwig, you do not like anyone."
"And as I said before, I disagree I like you, and I like you even more that you have found a room with a private, and very large, bath."
"I thought you would, Merry Christmas."
Moments later the boy unwrapped the first box and found a rather expensive looking trunk from Draco. Next a pair of leather boots from Blaise followed by a wide assortment of candy and sweets from Greg and Vincent.
The rest of the gifts from his classmates had been various articles of fine clothing up until he reached a small envelope from Pansy Parkinson. In it was a magical photo, one of her doing a rather poor job of what would be considered a 'strip tease' with a note telling him to enjoy.
The boy shook his head, before sending the mental image to his companion, a broad smile appearing on his face as he heard the rather loud string of profanities aimed at the younger girl. A man named 'Hagrid' had sent him a rather lovely photo album of his parents, while his Head of House had left a library pass to the more advanced potions books, a subtle hint to earning Slytherin more House Points no doubt.
Interestingly enough Professor Sinistra had also sent him a gift, a rather nice silk shirt with a card emphasizing that if he ever wanted to 'talk' she was available. This earned another round of curses from the pale skinned girl when she heard.
The final package was a small box, one without a marked sender and containing a silvery cloak and a mysterious card claiming that it had been his father's and to use it well.
....
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