Christmas Holiday Interludes: Harry and Ron

Christmas Dinner was the best he'd had since Harry could remember. Back with the Dursleys Harry had always been forced to do all of the prep work, the cooking, the decorating, the setting of the table, and the dishes. However, he had never been allowed to indulge with the rest of his relatives. Instead, he would be forced to act as a sort of waiter, bringing out courses and clearing the table. He normally only got leftovers once all the work was finished, which he had to eat by himself in the kitchen.

Of course, with Dudley being Dudley, Harry would be lucky to get a few small cookies from the desserts, much less any Christmas Cake. Dudley seemed to indulge in his worst, most gluttonous impulses every holiday simply out of spite for Harry, ensuring that if Harry got any dessert at all, it wasn't ever very much. It stood to reason, as his cousin Dudley was several things but he was a bully first and foremost, after all.

Harry did usually get turkey, vegetables, potatoes, and so on, but generally just enough for a single, normal-sized, meal. In his Uncle Vernon's mind, there was no sense in allowing Harry to indulge to the same degree as the rest of them. To his Uncle Vernon's Mind, Harry's 'freakishness' needed to be trodden down with hard labor at chores, and allowing him to eat more than one medium-sized portion of a Holiday Feast ran counter to that goal.

In the end, most of Harry's Holidays prior to this had been filled with all the hard work that was required to make such a festive occasion happen, but he reaped very little of the rewards of such hard work himself. He'd never even gotten any Christmas Presents before, as that would be considered too extravagant and indulgent for a 'freak' like him by his Aunt and Uncle. They'd never seemed to have that attitude about Dudley, who always had a veritable tidal wave of presents every year, but then, his Cousin was his Aunt and Uncle's golden child.

This Holiday contrasted very sharply with every other Christmas Harry had ever experienced. He'd woken up late on Christmas Eve, something he'd have never been able to do before with all the work he would have had to put in for the Dursley's Christmas Feast. He'd spent the day with Ron, playing Exploding Snap or just generally hanging out. When it came time for Dinner, he'd been sat at the same table as everyone else, even the Professors, though Quirrel was resting in his room for the evening. He'd sat there as the Hogwarts House Elves Served them multiple courses of masterfully cooked food instead of being the one to serve and had eaten two whole servings of everything, including Christmas Cake! He'd even been allowed to pull a Christmas Cracker!

"This has been the best Holiday I think I've ever had." Wondered Harry.

"Is that so? What of your relatives? Surely you miss them?" Questioned Professor Flitwick.

"The Dursleys don't usually allow me to eat so much, and there's never Christmas Crackers or Cake for me." Refuted Harry.

"Are your relatives not well-off?" Queried Professor Sinistra.

"Uncle Vernon is an executive at a large manufacturing firm, they're quite comfortable. It's just that they don't generally allow me those things." Answered Harry.

"Poor dear." Comisserated Professor Sprout

"Preposterous! You must be making up stories to gain sympathy. I can conceive of no reason why that would be the case." Sneered Professor Snape.

"Oi, lay off Harry!" Snapped Ron, from next to Harry. Ron was a solid bloke who'd even stand up to a professor if he was being a git, and it made Harry thankful to have the redhead as his Best Mate. Unfortunately, Snape didn't see it quite the same way.

"You are lucky it is a Holiday, Mister Weasley, or I would be assigning you so many detentions for such an outburst it would make your head spin." Snarled Snape.

"Severus, that is quite enough." Intoned Headmaster Dumbledore.

"Of course, Headmaster. If I might be excused, I find myself in need of some fresh air." Drawled Snape, inclining his head at Headmaster Dumbledore.

Then, Snape was walking away from the table, headed for his Dungeon, no doubt. The slimy git fit right in there, with all the bats. Harry couldn't figure out exactly what Snape's deal was. He'd figured that the Potions Professor hated children in general, but he seemed to have a special hatred for Harry personally. It was odd considering Harry had never met the man once prior to the start of the School Year. He was, drawn out of his musings by Ron's Voice.

"What did he mean I'm lucky it's a Holiday?" Asked Ron.

"Yeah, I can't imagine a bloke like Snape cares too much about the Spirit of the Season." Added George from over where the Twins sat.

"Nor can I, brother of mine. He seems to be more of a Halloween fan, just by how he dresses." Joked Fred from next to George.

"School is currently not in session, so the normal rules for detentions and house points don't currently apply." Sniffed Percy Weasley from across the table.

"A succinct description, but not inaccurate." Nodded Headmaster Dumbledore.

"Don't think this gives you a license to cause trouble, though." Warned Professor McGonagall.

"Indeed, we're still the lords of the castle, so to speak." Added Professor Babbling.

"That's also somewhat literal, at least in the Headmaster's Case." Added Professor Vector.

"We'll keep that in mind." Nodded Harry.

"Look! Look! The tea leaves! A sign!" Interrupted Professor Trelawney, gesturing with her Teacup.

Harry looked at the odd fractal patterns of the leaves left in her cup, but couldn't make heads or tails of them. Headmaster Dumbledore, on the other hand, seemed to be able to read them because he let out a chuckle with a twinkle in his eyes as he gazed into Trelawney's Teacup.

"Indeed, it seems that if the leaves are accurate, it will be a White Christmas." Grinned Headmaster Dumbledore.

That seemed to banish the gloom from the table, though before Harry went back to Gryffindor Tower for the night, he missed the signs that the Gloom hadn't entirely been forgotten. As he left, Headmaster Dumbledore regarded him with a sad look in his eyes that Harry never saw.

In the end, though, Professor Trelawney's Tea Leaves had been correct, it did indeed snow that night. . .

XXXX

The next day, Harry spent largely playing with his presents. There were a few from friends and even some from the Professors. He'd never been allowed a single present at Christmas, let alone multiple, so this was sort of overwhelming for Harry.

Blaise had given him a Basket of Various Potions, Gytrash Speed, Strength Potion, Girding Potion, Wideye Potion, Mind Enhancers, Wiggenweld Potions, Antidotes to both Common and Uncommon Poisons, and more. Meanwhile, Tracey Davis had gotten him a jumbo pack of Chocolate Frogs, after he'd mentioned that they were his favorite wizarding confection, while Daphne Greengrass had given him a quilted dueling outfit that was enchanted to resize to fit him as he grew and Millie Bulstrode had given him a case of Butterbeer, since he'd exclaimed a fondness for it at their party they'd had for Blaise.

Harry hadn't been expecting that from Blaise and Company, but it was nice to see that Cross-House Friendships still held strong even in Slytherin. Of course, they weren't the only friends he had, and others had given him various gifts as well.

Meanwhile, Ron had gotten him a proper Wizards' Chess Set, while Seamus Finnegan had given him a full deck of Exploding Snap Cards. Neville had given him an odd plant that seemed to require suspension in Water, which the card assured him was a Gillyweed Plant. Apparently, swallowing a cutting of this could let you breathe underwater, which Harry figured he'd test in the spring when the weather warmed up and he could actually go swimming in the Black Lake.

Hermione Granger from Ravenclaw, meanwhile, had gotten him a book about how to perform various Quidditch Maneuvers, while Terry Boot from the same House had given him a wrist holster for his wand that was enchanted to allow the wand to spring into your waiting hand with a flex of your arm. Meanwhile, Susan Bones and Hannah Abbot from Hufflepuff had given him a scarf that carried a warming charm and a wool knit hat that had the same enchantment, both in Gryffindor Colors.

Of the Hogwarts Staff, he only really received presents from Hagrid, Professor McGonagall, and Headmaster Dumbledore. That wasn't too surprising, though, given how they were the professors he had any kind of actual report with at all in the first place.

The First gave him a pair of boots that had been made out of what appeared to be some kind of magical beast leather. The Boots had fur trim that was both soft and Warm. Hagrid's Card indicated that the leather had come from the Alpha of a small pack of Wolves that had been sneaking around and going after the small herd of Mooncalves that he kept on the Grounds. Hagrid and Fang had gone out hunting the Wolves and Hagrid had taken the Alpha through the eye with a lucky shot from his crossbow. He'd skinned the Alpha after the rest of the pack had fled and had Madame Malkin in Diagon Alley turn the leather and fur into a pair of boots for Harry that'd keep his feet warm even in deep snow.

Meanwhile, Professor McGonagall had given Harry an assortment from Honeydukes. It was a less personalized gift, but then, Professor McGonagall had already arranged for Harry to get on the Gryffindor Quidditch Team and given him his Nimbus Two-Thousand to boot, so he figured that was fair dues. Harry certainly couldn't imagine any part of being a Wizard he enjoyed more than flying, so that was already quite good.

Finally, Headmaster Dumbledore had given Harry an honest-to-God Invisibility Cloak. Rather, he'd given Harry back an honest-to-God invisibility cloak. According to the Card, it had belonged to his father, who had lent it to Headmaster Dumbledore during the War with Voldemort. It was something that Harry had to think of his parents by, and he didn't have a lot of those.

"Here. You've got one more." Huffed Ron, shoving a wrapped, soft, package into Harry's Hands.

"What's this?" Questioned Harry.

"It's from Mum. I guess she figures if we're best mates, you're gonna be included in a Weasley Holiday Tradition." Grinned Ron.

Harry frowned, but took the package, tearing open the paper to reveal a blueish-purple, fuzzy, jumper. There was a golden letter H sewn into the fuzzy wool on the front. He looked over at Ron who shrugged and pulled out a Jumper of his own, Maroon in color with a letter R sewn onto the front.

"Mum knits them for all of us every year. Sometimes they're different colors, but mine's always maroon, which is annoying. Anyway, this means you're part of the family now, sort of." Nodded Ron.

Harry felt wetness start at the corner of his eyes and blinked the forming tears away before shrugging on the woolen jumper. It was soft, warm, and lovely, but more to the point, this was more than something like Blaise's Potions, which were functional, or Seamus' Exploding Snap Cards, which were less personal. This was a meaningful gift, rivaled only by the Headmaster's.

"Thanks, Mate. I love it." Grinned Harry.

Ron shrugged on his Jumper and nodded at Harry before saying, "Come on. Let's go see what my Brothers are up to."

Harry followed Ron down into the Gryffindor Common Room and they proceeded to spend the day having fun. They played Exploding Snap with Harry's new deck, Wizard's Chess on the fancy, Deluxe, Wizarding Chessboard that Hermione had gotten Ron, and just generally had a good time. Unfortunately, there was nothing that Harry found he could do to test out his invisibility cloak. Not until that night, anyway.

When everyone else had gone to bed, however, Harry threw on his Cloak and headed out to see what he could do with it. . .

XXXX

Harry crept through various hallways, making his way through them under the cover of his Invisibility Cloak. The thing worked amazingly! Harry had even stood and watched as Argus Filch and his Cat made their way right past him without ever being the wiser as to his presence! It was great!

Of course, Filch was just a Squib, so he wasn't likely to be able to cast any of the sort of charms that would be required to ferret out any invisible or disillusioned wizards skulking about, but his senses were just as sharp as any Wizard's, sharper even, considering the Cat.

Harry continued his journey through the halls, heading up the Grand Staircase, where even Peeves floated by him without even seeming to notice him. Of course, if he had noticed him, it's probable that Peeves would have woken up half the castle in a prank, so that was a good thing. Harry had been under the impression that Poltergeists usually could sense when people were around through most forms of disillusionment, though. This cloak had to be a very high-end one to fool Peeves.

Regardless, Harry was so caught up in his marveling at his Cloak's Capabilities, that he never seemed to notice he had wandered into the Forbidden Third-Floor Corridor until he entered a room and was brought up short by the sight of a massive, Three-Headed, Dog. Each head had a mouth that was packed full of sword-like teeth, while each massive paw was the size of an adult wizard. Thankfully, the Dog was asleep, though Harry could spy the shape of a wooden trapdoor underneath one of the Beast's massive paws.

Unfortunately, Harry had little time to take in anything else before there was a snuffling noise from one of the nostrils as if the massive Dog was about to sniff him out. Deciding not to stick around and see if this Dog could do that when Filch's Cat couldn't, Harry slowly backed away through the door into the room and carefully shut the door behind him.

"That was too close." He muttered under his breath.

Resolving to explore a section of the castle further away from here, Harry made his way back to the Grand Staircase and headed up to the fourth floor on the opposite landing from the Forbidden Corridor. He meandered through this area, checking various disused classrooms to see if there was anything interesting in them. A few did, though most were barren.

The first Classroom Harry Checked had skeletons of all sorts of interesting Magical Beasts on display, Harry checked the names on the various brass display plates and saw that they ranged between locations, not all of which were even in Europe, judging by the Skeleton of the Chinese Qirin, the American Wampus Cat, and the Maori Pouākai. Idly, Harry wondered what this classroom had been used for and when, but decided it likely had something to do with Magical Creatures and, judging by the layer of dust, hadn't been used for at least half a century, possibly more.

The next Classroom Harry checked out had what looked to be some sort of blacksmith's forge along with a jewelers' table and various other crafting stations. Several shelves were stocked with various ingredients for crafting, along with shelves stocked with books. Harry pulled one of the books out and read the title, Magical Crafts and Enchanting by Cornelius Urquart. Judging by the cleanliness of the room, this room had been used recently too, maybe even as recently as last year.

The last room he found was bare except for a single item. An oddly gaudy mirror with a golden frame and clawed feet. Inscribed on the frame was an odd phrase that Harry read aloud as he studied the mirror's appearance.

"Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi? What does that mean?" Queried Harry.

It sounded honestly like Gibberish to him, but who knew? Maybe it was some sort of ancient dead Wizarding Language? That was a thing that could happen, wasn't it? Harry wasn't sure, but he figured he'd find out what the odd inscription meant by trying to turn the Mirror on. Maybe if he looked into it? Harry did so and what he saw was something that shocked him to his core, but in a good way.

As he peered into the Mirror, Harry saw the faces of his parents smiling at him. That was something he'd only seen before in photos. The image morphed as he saw himself with his parents, smiling, laughing, joking, and just generally having a good time. An elderly man Harry didn't recognize, but somehow knew to be his grandfather was likewise there, as were three other people he didn't know, one a Sandy Blonde-haired Man in worn clothing with a mustache, another a Rakish-looking Dark-haired Man, and a third a Chubby Man with shifty eyes that looked about even as he joked with the rest of the group.

All were laughing and having a good time, being a family, and Harry saw himself doing so along with them. Furthermore, there was no sign of the Dursleys in sight, nobody to force him into a cupboard under the stairs or make him do all the chores around the house. Just a loving family, one that Harry had never had, but somehow knew he would have had if not for Voldemort.

Harry never realized when he had sunk to his knees in front of the mirror, but he realized it when the pain from kneeling in front of the mirror for an extended period of time flared up. Suddenly, he realized the trap, that what the mirror showed wasn't truly real. The pain in his legs from kneeling on hard stone had jolted him out of his trance-like state and the Occlumency he had recently been initiated into by Blaise did the rest, allowing him to pull back away from the Mirror as if burned.

Harry cried out, flinging himself back away from the mirror, breathing heavily as he stared at the stone floor on his hands and knees to avoid inadvertently gazing back into the mirror. As he huffed and puffed, getting a hold of himself, the door to the classroom opened once again.

"I see you've found the Mirror of Erised and have managed to pull yourself away from it. That speaks highly of your mental fortitude, though perhaps, given what you claimed over Christmas Dinner, I should not be surprised." Intoned the voice of Headmaster Dumbledore.

"Headmaster, that Mirror is terrible!" Hissed Harry, pinpricks of tears beginning to form in his eyes.

"I know, my Boy. The Mirror of Erised shows you your Heart's Desire, regardless of whether or not it is possible. It is a very dangerous thing to gaze into, and fully-trained Wizards have been known to succumb to its temptations, the Siren Call of their Heart's Desire causing them to sit there, gazing into it for so long they waste away, starved to death." Agreed Headmaster Dumbledore.

"Why would you put that sort of thing in the Castle?" Demanded Harry, wiping his eyes.

"It is better here, where I can keep an eye on it, than out in the World, my boy. It is unfortunate, but having it in the Castle was the Lesser of Two Evils, something which you will find yourself having to choose between at times in your life, sadly. However, I think I shall have it moved after tonight. It was far too freely accessible here." Informed Headmaster Dumbledore.

"Why leave it lying around at all? Why not get rid of it?" Pressed Harry, sadness at what he'd lost giving way to fury that such a trick could even be played at all.

"Destroy it, you mean? Many have tried, but it was made with magics that are old enough that their workings have been lost to the vagaries of time. Without knowing what destroying it would do, any attempt could well unleash something worse than simply keeping it away from the general public." Pointed out Headmaster Dumbledore.

"Fine, but at least put it somewhere no one can run across it. The bottom of the sea maybe?" Hedged Harry.

"I believe the Merfolk would have something to say about that, to say nothing of how hazardous the deeps truly are. But I think this is enough excitement for one evening, don't you, my boy? Come, let us get you back to your dorm." Intoned Headmaster Dumbledore, throwing a cloth over the Mirror like a Tarp.

"All right. I just have one question, Headmaster." Acquiesced Harry, standing up.

"And what might that be?" Asked Headmaster Dumbledore.

"Have you ever looked in the mirror, and if so what did you see?" Questioned Harry.

"That's two questions, Harry. However, I have looked into the Mirror." Nodded Headmaster Dumbledore.

"And what did you see?" Queried Harry.

"Myself in a pair of very comfortable socks." Answered Headmaster Dumbledore.

Harry groaned at that but didn't press the issue. After an experience like the one he'd just had, any levity would be welcome. The Headmaster's Joke may not have been the best, but it was appreciated. Headmaster Dumbledore smiled at Harry with a twinkle in his eye and despite himself, Harry laughed at the joke.

Then the Headmaster led Harry back to his dorm to sleep the rest of the night. . .

XXXX

AN: All right, here's the Harry and Ron Holiday Interludes, though honestly, it's mostly a Harry Interlude. Ron features quite a bit too, though, so I feel confident in labeling it as such. He gets his invisibility cloak, finds out about Fluffy, and sees the Mirror of Erised, all in the span of twenty-four hours. It was an eventful Christmas Day for Harry.

Next up, we'll be back with Blaise for the Greengrass Yule Ball. I figured I'd do most of Blaise's Friend Group from his POV since they'd all be going to the Greengrass Ball instead of the Malfoy One.

Stay tuned. . .