DISCLAIMER: See Ch. 1.

A/N: The HPCC in this has been greatly toned down to platonic but with hints of romance, so don't panic.

Hey, I'll tell you all what: If you hate Cho, take up my challenge (it's in my user profile at fanfiction(dot)net) to write a story where Cho becomes a traitor and a Death Eater.

CHAPTER 20: CHRISTMAS CELEBRATION

Solidam in glaciem vertere lacunae. The ponds have turned to solid ice. –Vergil, Georgica (3.365)

When Harry returned to Hogwarts late that afternoon, he was instantly greeted by an uproar of celebrating students, who had heard the interview with Harry through wizarding wireless. The relatives of the hostages thanked Harry endlessly: Euan shook Harry's hand vigorously, Blaise slapped him on the back, and the Patil twins each kissed him on the cheek. A special edition of the Daily Prophet had come out within the hour, showing scenes from Harry's "air battle" with Voldemort, thanks to the latest magical cameras, which could zoom in over a few hundred feet; he was swooping in with Fawkes, shooting silver darts right at the Dark Lord, and Hagrid and Norbert circled ominously behind them, fire ready to spew from the dragon's mouth. Speaking of Norbert, Dumbledore said, he would be kept in the Forbidden Forest, but also be used as a security measure. Included were interviews with Harry's friends, Dumbledore, Hagrid (he and Ginny were especially praised due to the damage they had inflicted on Voldemort), and the Weasley twins with their new line of pranks-turned- weapons ("which, unfortunately, we can only to sell to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, due to their purpose," they added). Dumbledore announced a feast later that night, but he had to talk to Harry in his office first.

In his office, the portraits cheered nonstop for a few minutes, and Fawkes warbled a victory song. "Congratulations, Harry," he said, beaming, "the Ministry has been celebrating ever since they saw you and Hagrid fend off the Dark Lord. You and your friends have been offered the Order of Merlin, Third Class, also due to your actions in the Department of Mysteries last summer, except the Ministry had a lot of other things to deal with, like Howlers demanding why they hadn't said that Voldemort had returned."

Harry hadn't expected this. "But sir, the whole thing was a trap."

"But if that hadn't happened, you would have never helped them catch all those Death Eaters."

"True. So what now?"

"Well, now your friends have been offered the Order of Merlin, Third Class, while they have been offering you the Order of Merlin, Second Class, if you can show them all the other times between then and now where you have defeated Voldemort."

"Okay, that I'll do. Not because I care about the award, but because maybe I would help if I show those people that I'm not lying about the things I've done. Although... if I show the memory with the basilisk, I don't want anyone to get petrified."

"Excellent insight, Harry. Fortunately, the Memory Orb has been designed to reduce the effect of a basilisk's eyes so it doesn't cause any damage whatsoever. In the meantime, we should go to St. Mungo's before dinner to visit the hostages who are recovering; it will help the public feel better if you're there visiting them."

"Not like I have anything better to do, other than avoid getting mobbed by the student body."

"It's all right, Harry, they're just grateful that you have thwarted Voldemort's plans once again. By the way," the Headmaster added, "What's in the backpack?"

Remembering, he took it off and pulled out the golden egg. It felt heavy again, now that it was out of the enchanted bag. Dumbledore looked at it and examined it carefully. "I'm not sure what it is, Harry," he said at last, "Hagrid and I will look at this later."

The door opened, and Professor Lupin walked in, followed by Cho, Blaise, Parvati, Padma, and Euan. "We're ready to go, Albus," he said.

Taking out the Floo powder, Dumbledore tossed into the flames. Walking into the emerald green flames, he said, "St. Mungo's Hospital!" He vanished, and the rest of them followed.

After a brief trip through the Floo network, Harry landed in the reception room for the wizarding hospital. A moment later, when the rest of his group made their way out of the fireplace, Dumbledore and Lupin led them to a spacious ward on the "Creature-Induced Injuries" floor (because of their exposure to dementors), where reporters waited down the end while the Healers strolled along the beds, handing out chocolate and checking out their patients' progress.

As soon as the reporters spotted Harry, they instantly bombarded him with questions. With another one of his media-evading tactics, he said, "You've interviewed me enough for one day, why not ask my friends whose relatives have been held captive for a month?" This instantly worked, and when the reporters were done five minutes later, the Healers nudged Harry along so he could visit each patient. He briefly shook hands with each one, and their eyes widened when they saw the scar on his forehead. Regardless of whatever different language they used, Harry could easily guess what it was that they were basically saying. The photographers hovered behind him, taking pictures. Euan's uncle shook his hand heartily; Mrs. Patil winked at him in a way he didn't trust; Blaise's parents complimented him in a barrage of Spanish; and Cho's parents formally bowed to him. On his way out, Cho and her parents pulled Harry aside into a small empty room and locked the door.

"Mr. Potter," Mr. Chang said formally, bowing slightly, "Cho told us about the fight in her common room. We just want to let you know that we are eternally grateful for your efforts to protect our daughter from that Death Eater and his twisted, vile motives."

"I don't know how we can repay you for your heroism," Mrs. Chang added.

"It's perfectly all right," Harry said, adopting a formal attitude, "I did it because it needed to be done. Just knowing that your intelligent, wonderful daughter is safe is enough for me."

"Why do I doubt that?" Cho smiled mischievously. Suddenly, she was kissing him again, with her parents laughing silently. When she was done, Harry looked at her and said, "I can't believe you just did that in front of your own parents."

"Oh," she said slyly, rolling her eyes, "They're just thinking about finding a perfect young man for me to get married to and bear children to."

"What!?" Harry exclaimed, nearly jumping a foot in he air. "You and your parents lure me into this room so they can-"

Her laughing interrupted him, while her parents looked about ready to fall over laughing. "No, Harry, it was a joke. Anyway," she continued, calming down slightly, "The International Confederation of Wizards was thinking about holding a Yule Ball this Christmas to celebrate your victory and the damaged cause to the Dark Lord and his forces. They also want you to come so they can award us the Order of Merlin."

Harry took all this in, and at the mention of "Yule Ball," his memory stirred, and thought back to when Cedric had beat him to it at asking out Cho. She looked him straight in the eye, and asked, "So, Harry, aren't you going to ask the question?"

"Sure. Wouldn't you rather want to stay home and talk about Quidditch instead?"

"What!?"

"Hahaha, I got you that time! Okay, seriously, Cho, will you go to the Ball with me?"

Cho giggled and looked about ready to collapse. "Of course I will!" Harry felt like the luckiest person in the world.

Then Harry remembered something else, and his smile vanished. Cho noticed this and asked him what the problem was. "Er, I don't know how to dance," he admitted.

Cho was smiling again, and she advanced on him, smiling so beautifully. Wrapping her arms around him and pressing up against him, she breathed dramatically, "Oh, leave that to me, Harry, I'll help you out."

He grinned as he turned to Cho's parents and asked, "Er, Mr. and Mrs. Chang, I think your daughter is trying to seduce me, could you please help me out here?"

Cho laughed and playfully punched him in the arm, while her parents tried to conceal their reactions. "Oh, and one other thing, Harry," she quickly added, "Officially, the invitations will come in the mail on Monday morning; you need the tickets included in them to get in."

"Thank you, Cho." Crossing over to the door and opening it, he said, "Thank all of you so very much." As he left the ward and returned to Hogwarts, he was feeling as though this were definitely one of the better times of his life.

~*~*~*~

There was a gigantic feast that night at Hogwarts; parents and even Ministry members dined. A toast was made to the efforts of Harry and his friends, and even Malfoy joined it, just to give a convincing act.

Harry went to his office before going to Gryffindor Tower to find with him the people he had fought with at Grindelwald's old stronghold. Dumbledore stepped forward and said, "Harry, maybe you should explain to everyone the relation between your wand and Voldemort's. Quite a few of them were surprised at seeing some old friends come out."

He nodded and addressed to everyone in the room, "The reason my wand forced his to do that was because… well, his wand and mine share cores. Their cores both come from Fawkes."

Surprise was etched onto everyone's faces. None of them had suspected that. Cho tried to say something, but words failed to come out. When she tried again, she asked, "Was that what happened on the night that he returned?"

"Yeah. First I saw Cedric, then that old Muggle, then Bertha Jorkins, and- my parents-" his voice trailed off, still thinking about it. "More would have appeared if I had maintained the connection. At that point, I figured it would be a wise move to run for it and try to get back to the school."

He sat down, still thinking about it. Hermione stepped forward, her voice quavering, "Your parents? The two that came after Bertha Jorkins? Are you okay?"

Harry buried his face in his hands. Lupin placed a hand on his shoulder. "I bet you didn't expect that one, Moony," he said quietly.

"It was something of a shock, I admit," the werewolf said hoarsely. "Besides, Moody also saw our old friend Caradoc Dearborn; we never did find out what happened to him."

Harry remembered something. Looking up at the retired Auror, he asked, "What was it that Dearborn's echo told you?"

Moody's eye rolled around somewhat, and he finally croaked out, "What he told me was about the experiments they were conducting within that base. We got some information we didn't know already. And no, can't tell you about it," he added hastily Harry opened his mouth to ask.

Getting up, he left, saying, "I've had a long day, I just need to get some sleep." He was halfway through the doorway when Dumbledore said, "Please see my in my office tomorrow evening, Harry. There are some things I wish to discuss with you." Harry nodded and swept out.

~*~*~*~

On Sunday morning, Harry received a note with the morning post. "There will be a press meeting in your office at five o'clock this afternoon so you can show all of your previous battles against Voldemort to the press. Sincerely, Professor Dumbledore."

After lunch, Cho came over and whispered into his ear, "Follow me." Trailing behind her, she went up to the Room of Requirement. On the landing where the door would appear, she wandered back and forth, muttering about the proper tools they would need. Sure enough, the door appeared, and Cho opened it to reveal books, step-by-step dancing charts, magical disc players with records, and dress robes on racks for both genders.

"Oh, how perfect!" she squealed excitedly as she shut the door behind them. "Imagine how much I could save on shopping!" Harry groaned, then muttered, "I'm pretty sure I heard Sirius joke once about how women are hunters and men are gatherers; the women look for what they want, and the men just get what they need."

Cho giggled. Scanning the books, she chose a couple for Harry and told him, "Read these later. But now, let me show you a couple of different styles."

Taking out her wand, she flicked it to activate the record player, singing "Sending the Aurors After You." The dance chart glowed, and red footprints appeared to direct Harry, and blue ones to direct Cho. She showed him what to do and where to go; he was a little bit confused at first, but he got the hang of it. After they practiced that song a couple more times, Cho switched to a different song. They continued through this cycle at least five times, and Harry was thoroughly enjoying the experience.

He had to admit he was better at this than he had given himself credit for. As if she were reading his mind, Cho said, "Well, Harry, you really are good at this!"

"Or maybe because I'm with you," he said so genuinely that her heart beat faster. After the song had finished, she went over to inspect the racks full of women's dress robes. Her eyes widened when she saw all the magnificent dresses, and she took a few off their racks, and seeing a screen to change behind, she darted behind it, eager to try them out.

Harry was wondering what to do about getting himself a new dress robe when his eye fell upon a robe he hadn't noticed before. He picked up and examined it; it was a magnificent crimson robe with gold trimmings along the cuffs, bottom and collar and a couple of long, golden prowling lions along the trimmings. It was designed so each lion would take up the half the circumference of the robe, so a lion could be fully viewed from the front and the back. Upon closer inspection, he saw that their manes and tail ends were finely woven black silk, and emeralds were embedded to act as eyes.

"Sometimes I wonder if this room has a mind of its own," he wondered out loud. "You wouldn't believe this one I just found."

"Well, try it on," Cho called from across the room, throwing her second rejected dress aside from behind the screen.

Harry changed into it, and examined himself in a mirror. Now that he was wearing it, the lions were slinking along around the robes as though they were hunting. "This is amazing," he breathed.

"Why, what did you find?" Cho asked, sticking her head out from behind the screen, halfway through taking off her third dress. "Hang on, let me get back into my school robes." A couple of minutes later, she was back into her normal black robes, and walking up to Harry, her eyes went so wide that she did an uncanny impersonation of Luna. "Oh, Merlin! Now that is an excellent robe."

"Thank you," Harry said, smiling as he observed himself from different angles. "Er, can you find me a bag to put this in?"

"Just found one," she said, handing a black packaging bag to him.

"Thanks. I'm going to change back now. As soon as I go back to my dorm room, I'm putting this in my trunk right away." Going back behind his own screen, he asked, "Do you know what time it is?"

"Yeah, it's a quarter to five."

"Darn! I have to be in my office at five!" Quickly changing back into his school robes, folding up the robes and placing them in the bag along with the books, he darted out from behind the screen and towards the door. As he grabbed the handle, he asked over his shoulder, "Will you find one that you like?"

"Oh, I'm sure I will soon enough," she called back, rummaging through more dresses.

"Just don't waste away in here, looking for the perfect one!"

"Don't worry, I won't."

"'Bye."

"'Bye."

He ran up to Gryffindor Tower and deposited it in his trunk along with his other clothing, then he flew back down to his office to meet the press reporters, including Mr. Lovegood for The Quibbler. Panting for breath, he explained, "Sorry- I- was-busy..."

Dragging himself over to his desk and taking deep breaths to regain his voice, the door suddenly opened again. "Cho?"

"Hi, Harry. I'll try looking for it later. What's going on here?"

"Another press conference. They want me to show them my other encounters with Voldemort."

"And now you will," said a voice behind Harry's girlfriend. Dumbledore walked in, carrying the box with the Memory Orb inside. As Harry took it out, he told the reporters, "The purpose of this isn't to show off to draw attention; this is to settle, once and for all, my previous encounters with Voldemort. Just be sure to have a lot of ink, parchment, and film ready; I've been through a lot."

And so the memories rushed forth. Everyone gasped and screamed at just the right times. The Sorcerer's Stone; The Chamber of Secrets; the night in the Shrieking Shack; the night of Voldemort's rebirth (Cho looked away as Cedric fell lifeless to the ground) and Crouch Jr.'s confession; and the battle in the Department of Mysteries. As soon as the reporters were all done getting this down, they all begged Harry to show the battle in the Black Forest. He complied, and they all watched in amazement at the airborne battle above the collapsing remains.

After all the reporters were content and left, Harry, Cho and Dumbledore were left. Cho came up to Harry and said, "I'm sorry, but I can't get that out of my head; you know, the night when he returned."

"I understand," Harry said, giving her a hug.

"Well, Harry," Dumbledore said, "That took well over an hour; I would like to discuss a couple of issues in my office."

"See you later, Cho," he said, letting go so he could discuss whatever other important issues there were.

"'Bye."

Once the professor and pupil were in the familiar circular room full of old portraits, whirring contraptions and other wonders, the former got down to business. "Harry, you remember yesterday during the battle when you claimed that you somehow saw an image of the golden egg in that lab?"

"Yes, sir."

"Well, could you please explain to me exactly how that vision came to mind?"

"I dunno; somehow, I saw it in Voldemort's eyes."

The Headmaster thought this over in his mind. "Harry," he began, "I think that somehow, in addition to gaining abilities from Voldemort when he first failed to kill you, like Parseltongue, you also somehow gained a natural advantage in Legilimency."

Harry hadn't expected that. "Me? Possibly a Legilimens like Professor Snape?"

Dumbledore allowed himself a tiny smile. "That's right, Harry. If you wish, we can take this skill further during your Occlumency lessons. You're almost done with your training in fencing and sword-fighting anyway; we could start the Legilimency lessons in place of that after the holidays."

Harry thought about this carefully before he reached his decision. "Sure. That sounds great."

Dumbledore truly smiled now. "Excellent. The other issue of the matter is that we have not yet identified this kind of creature egg," he said, placing it on his desk. "We are not entirely sure, but there is a very small chance that it may belong to a phoenix."

No one in the room spoke after hearing this speculation. Apart from Dumbledore's miniature devices, the only thing that could be heard was the cawing of a raven outside, on the ledge of the window.

"A phoenix?" Harry breathed. "Sir, if I take care of the egg, then can I keep it when it hatches?"

Dumbledore chuckled. "You seem to have a natural affinity for phoenixes, Harry."

"Of course, my fiery friend Fawkes may have something to do with that," Harry said, getting up and walking over to stroke Fawkes' feathers, making the latter sing happily.

"Anyway, if it hatches, it might naturally view the first person it sees as its parent. If you take really good care of it, it might even be hooked to you. I'm not entirely sure if it's a phoenix, because phoenixes are greatly rare to begin with, and phoenix eggs, if possible, are even rarer. I will have Hagrid make room for it in his cabin, and you can go down every day to visit it and try to properly hatch it."

"Thank you, sir. Oh, and I just remembered," he added, "I promised Malfoy I'd get him one of those unlocking penknives as a late birthday gift for his help at the stronghold. If you can get him one, please charge it to my vault."

"Of course, Harry. Good night."

"Good night, sir," he said as he left.

Harry was just on his way down to dinner when he heard some boy- girl giggles around a corner. He traced their source to an empty classroom, and peeking through the crack in the doorway to see Ginny and... Draco!?

Remaining as spy-like as possible, he crept closer to her them better.

"So, why did you ask to meet me here, Ginny?" he asked, sounding politely curious, something which Harry had never heard from him before in over five years.

"Well, Draco," she said, leaning closer to him, "It's just that I never got the chance to thank you properly for your dragon Patronus saving me and Luna yesterday. So, thank you."

"Well, you didn't exactly have to drag me into an empty classroom for-"

She suddenly moved at him and kissed him on the cheek, and Harry's jaw dropped.

"-that," Draco finished, putting his hand up to his cheek where she kissed him, smiling and looking pleasantly surprised. He blushed somewhat, making his pale complexion look almost normal. Ginny giggled and said, "Please don't tell this to anyone, not even Ron; he might go berserk."

"Believe me, I know. Well, time to go to dinner. 'Bye, Ginny."

Harry opened the door and walked in. Both of them jumped and went pale.

"Hi, Draco. I just came in to let you know that Dumbledore will help me get one of those penknives for you." Feigning innocence, he asked, "Is anything wrong?"

"Oh no, nothing at all," Ginny said a little to quickly.

"Yeah, anyway, thanks for the knife, Harry," Draco added.

"Okay, good. Well, 'bye."

Harry went to dinner, wondering about the possibility of the two being a couple. 'Sounds like Romeo and Juliet,' he thought, 'only I hope it doesn't end as tragic as those two "star-cross'd lovers".'

~*~*~*~

At breakfast the next morning, his invitation to the International Confederation of Wizards' Yule Ball came in the mail. He took out the response card, wrote a response that yes, he would go, and put the ticket in his pocket.

Special editions of the Daily Prophet, Quibbler, etc., had come out with explanations of Harry's previous exploits (although the encounter in the Shrieking Shack had been explained months before in order to clear Sirius' name, and Harry had also told the reporters to omit what happened to Snape, as not to offend his professor). Everyone was amazed at what Harry had done, although it did eventually cause some backlash over the following week.

Several Slytherins were badmouthing Harry for his "heroics," but they were instantly met with several angry classmates, even a few from their own House, who pointed out that Harry was just trying to survive, and didn't even know what he was doing half the time. A few irate and devout witches had sent him Howlers for badmouthing Lockhart and exposing him for a fraud; Harry simply responded with Howlers of his own, calling them people who couldn't stand the truth, and even created them in the Hall for everybody to hear, and since some students remembered Lockhart's days as DADA professor, they backed Harry up. A few people from Hogsmeade sent him nasty letters for ruining tourism, because of the truth behind the Shrieking Shack revealed; Dumbledore and Lupin sent letters to be published, stating that the idea was theirs, and any mail on the subject should be directed to them, not their student.

On his way down to the O.S. meeting that night, he found Snape and Draco waiting outside the entrance painting. "I'm taking over for Lupin tonight, since it's the full moon," the former explained. "Mr. Malfoy has also been invited, due to the Headmaster's request. He already has a stag medallion."

"I have no problem with Draco being a part of it," Harry reassured his Potions professor.

"Oh, and we still have to maintain the act as though we hate each other," Snape added. With that, the unlikely trio entered. Over all the muttering that erupted at this sight, Harry exclaimed, "It's okay, everyone, Professor Snape will be taking over tonight, and Malfoy will be joining us." There was lots of complaining, but Harry yelled, "Hey, cut it out! Rule #1 to Hogwarts: Never argue with the Headmaster, he's always right."

This wasn't entirely true, but they all bought it. Harry was about to introduce the Silver Dart Curse (which everyone had been waiting to learn), but then Snape interrupted him. "Mr. Potter, since Mr. Malfoy will be joining us today, maybe you should finish that duel you started four years ago."

How like Snape in his detestable manner. Harry nodded, and he and Malfoy took their positions across the stage. They bowed, and as Harry looked Draco straight in the eye, he somehow heard the Slytherin's thoughts: 'I hope he doesn't use the snake thing on me again.'

Just then, Draco said to his House Head, "Sir, are you sure I should duel him? He's been overcharging all his spells lately."

Snape sneered, "Fairness is a wonderful attribute, Draco. Unfortunately, it has nothing to do with real war. (1) Now begin."

With that, the two opponents immediately went for each other. Harry struck first; "Serpensortia!"

Commanding the twenty-foot long snake in Parseltongue, he hissed, "Restrain him from using his wand!" The snake obeyed, constricting itself around Draco, looking terrified. He yelled, "What did you say!?"

"All I told it to do was restrain you from using your wand," Harry said calmly.

"Incendio!" The snake released him, smoke coming up from its scales. "I couldn't point it at you, Potter, but I could still hurt the snake!" the Slytherin gleefully shot back. He then sent a Bat-Bogey Hex at Harry, which was almost as good as Ginny's. "Watch out, Potter, some snakes eat bats! You're basically a bat buffet at the moment!"

Harry, who was trying to prevent the bats from stealing his glasses, heard Draco say, "Densaugeo!" Through the cloud of bats, Harry could see the snake coming at him, its fangs growing rapidly. "Well, look at the size of those teeth!" Draco drawled. "They're almost as big as those basilisk fangs now!"

"Venti Turbulenti!" The bats all flew off of him and vanished. The snake could barely move now, since its fangs were so big. "Major problem, Malfoy! The teeth are weighing him down at this point!" Draco's eyes widened. "Evanesco!" The snake vanished.

"MULTAE ARENAE!" Another giant swarm of spiders appeared. They all scuttled at Draco, who looked not the slightest bit worried. "Reducio!" Malfoy countered, and the spiders all shrunk down to the size of buttons. Calmly stepping on them, he added, "I'm not arachnophobic, remember? You're thinking of Weasley. Speaking of which... Inretio!"

Another net flew at him; but Harry sliced it with a Severing Charm before it could even touch him, so little bits of rope were all that was left of it before it reached Harry. As Draco tried to run, Harry said, "Gravescis!"

Suddenly, Draco was hit by the Weight-Increasing Hex and was staggering as though his weight had increased tenfold. Unable to even lift his own wand, he collapsed and was sprawled all over the stage. There was polite applause from all four Houses, but Snape swept forward, helping Draco up, and turned to Harry, saying in his deadliest voice, "Well, Potter, you certainly seem to know how to fight your own classmates, but how about a fully educated professor?"

Harry knew instantly what Snape was implying. "What professor did you have in mind, sir?"

Snape gave one of his evilest smiles. "Me, of course. This is about as close as I'm going to get to Defense Against to the Dark Arts, isn't it? I'm sure the Headmaster knew what he was doing when he had me take over for Professor Lupin tonight." The students gasped like the audience at a horror movie.

Harry, however, played the arrogant role. Calmly arching an eyebrow, he said, "I accept your challenge." There were more gasps as the professor and student bowed.

"Before we start, Potter, I have only one thing to say: I will not go easy on you."

To heighten the drama, Harry waved his hand with his wand in it in a welcoming sort of way and said, "Do your worst."

There was absolute silence now. With a truly evil smile, Snape said, "Indeed I shall. Arieto!"

Harry's body arched backwards as he was hit in the chest. Quickly regaining control of himself, he yelled, "Tarantallegra!"

Snape's feet went into a crazed tap dance, and he quickly got entangled in his own robes. Before he fell over, quickly got to his feet, and charged forward. "Expelliarmus!"

Harry was lifted off his feet and thrown backwards into the wall. Sliding down it, some boys cheered as some girls gasped. Smirking, he said, "Who do I look like, Lockhart? GLACIO!"

Harry used a High Jump Charm on himself before he leaped into the air a second before the entire surface of the stage turned to ice. Snape slipped, fell face forward, and slid straight into the wall head first as Harry jumped over him, using a Hot Air Charm to melt the ice into water as he landed. Lots of Gryffindors cheered as Snape got up, rubbing his forehead where it hurt, the front of his robes now soaking wet.

Pointing to himself, Harry said, "Wingardium Leviosa!"

He hovered more than five feet in the air. Snape sneered, "Why do that, Potter?"

Pointing at the wet stage, Harry said, "Electricio!" Shocking electric current traveled through the water, stunning Snape, who yelled with pain. Stopping the spell, Harry dropped back down to the ground. As Snape glared at him, the boy said, "That's why."

The battle went back and forth for at least twenty minutes. The audience watched in awe as the known rivals countered each other, move for move, neither of them showing any sign of giving up.

"Why don't I heat this up a little?" Harry taunted. "INCENDIO!"The rush of fire went at Snape, who was just raising his wand-

"VENTI TURBULENTI!" The gust of air repelled the fire right back at Harry, who hadn't expected that. Everyone screamed just as Harry roared, "GLACIOMURA!"

A gigantic wall of ice appeared right in front of the flames, forcing them to go around the icy barrier and Harry. The last of the fire disappeared, leaving a gigantic puddle of water.

"SERPENSAQUA!" Harry transfigured the water into the form of a serpent, who hissed at Snape. "Get him!" the boy commanded it in Parseltongue, as it slithered forward. The Potions Master blew holes in the snake to slow it down, but it quickly regenerated and continued its onslaught. When it wrapped itself around Snape in a circle, Harry said, "Glacio!" The water snake was frozen into solid ice, leaving Snape entrapped in an icy body bind. However, the latter took a leaf out of Draco's book and-

"REDUCTO!" The icy serpentine bind exploded into shards. Harry didn't pause, but instead, "MULTAE ARENAE!"

Another monstrous swarm of spiders, each the size of a soccer ball, went after Snape, who decided to copy Harry's move and used a High Jump Charm on himself before he leapt into the air at Harry with his wand pointed down at the insects. "SPICULAE ARGENTAE!" The spiders were all impaled and stuck to the ground. But before he could point his wand at Harry-

"PETRIFICUS TOTALUS!" The hex hit Snape in mid-air, slowing him down and causing him to be completely unable to move of his own free will. The crowd gasped as he fell down towards the silver spikes still sticking out of the floor, and Snape closed his eyes in horror-

"LOCOMOTOR SNAPE!" Snape felt himself stopping and hovering him in mid air. Opening his eyes, he saw himself hovering only a couple of inches above the silver shafts; Harry had stopped his descent. As the young Gryffindor hovered Snape away from himself and the impaled spiders, he undid the Full Body Bind at let the older Slytherin drop roughly on his feet.

Somebody from the rear of the hall was clapping. Everybody turned to see Dumbledore walking into the hall. "Well, that was certainly an exciting duel." Pulling out his watch, he said, "Oh my, look at the time! Good night at everyone!" On the way out, Draco and Snape nodded together at Harry, who nodded back; the unsaid thought between them was basically "That went well."

Back in the common room, his friends dragged him to a corner and asked him about the Yule Ball, since they had also received invitations. He found out that Ron would go with Hermione, Neville would go out with Susan, and Ginny was "still looking for someone," but Harry had a shrewd idea who she had in mind (without the Legilimency).

"Why not go with Harry?" Ron asked her.

"Because he's going with Cho, of course," and gave a tiny wink at Harry, as though confirming his suspicions.

At this point, a school owl came in with a note for Harry.

Harry,

Please meet me in the Great Hall A.S.A.P.

Sincerely, Professor Dumbledore.

Pocketing the note, Harry said, "Dumbledore wants to see me in the Great Hall for some reason. I'm going to put my wand away first. Good night."

After doing the said action, Harry went down to the hall to find Dumbledore waiting beside Lupin as a wolf. "As you may have already deduced, Harry, tonight is the full moon. There's nearly a foot of snow outside already, and lions come from warmer climates than wolves. If you wish to join Professor Lupin tonight, you will need to take a Body-Warming Potion, which will allow you to maintain your body heat even at temperatures as low as negative fifteen degrees Fahrenheit for about twelve hours. You should drink it as a lion, in order to make sure that the transformation doesn't interfere with the digestion."

"Thank you, sir." Becoming a lion again, he drank the potion as Dumbledore held it to his mouth. After a few moments, he felt a warm sensation; the potion had taken effect.

"Have fun, you two, and if you decide to visit the Forbidden Forest again, try not to scare the inhabitants," the Headmaster said with that twinkle in his eye. "I will inform your friends of your whereabouts." Purring with gratitude, lion and wolf ran out through the front doors and into the snowy night.

The full moon was half-visible through the light clouds which let loose all the snow that was piling up. Harry felt surprisingly warm, and the freezing snow felt more like powdery lukewarm water (which he found hard to explain). In fact, he almost felt as though he was native to a cold environment.

"Moony" and "Griffinclaw" ran through the snow into the Quidditch stadium. For about half an hour, the pair of predators played war games, hiding in the snow and jumping out of it. The former blended in with the snow better, while the latter was able to defend himself with his larger amount of strength. The two of them had just knocked each other over when a flash of something black went right past them.

Both of them looked around to see what it was as it went behind a large mound of snow that had been formed by their game. Looking at each other, he could almost see sadness in his professor's wolf face. So it also reminded him of Sirius as well. Harry went around the left side of the mound while Lupin took the right. They steadily moved closer to find... a raven!? It looked at both of them, cawing as though it were telling them off. Harry noticed it was pitch black, although the feathers on its head in particular seemed to have a kind of greasy quality to them; it reminded Harry of the raven which was outside Dumbledore's office earlier. It flew off towards the nearest goal posts and perched itself on the center ring, looking back at them and cawing again before disappearing into the darkness.

Looking at each other again, the two Animagi just looked down at the ground, both of them thinking about their fallen friend. Harry was so sure it had been Sirius that time. Unable to bear it any longer, Harry let out an anguished roar of pain and sped off in the direction of Hogsmeade.

He went behind the buildings, as not to attract the attention of anyone still awake in the quiet town. He went up towards the mountain where Sirius had hid during Harry's fourth year. His feline physique enabled him to climb it easier this time, his memory leading him to the cave. Squeezing through the narrow fissure in the wall, he was back inside the hideout for the first time in nearly two years. There were no newspaper clippings, no chicken bones, nothing to suggest that Sirius and Buckbeak had ever been here. Figurative ghosts drifted around the cave, the products of Harry's memory. Even this place was paradise, compared to Grimmauld Place. He sprawled himself out on the floor, his breathing sporadic, his grief threatening him once again.

He heard a whine coming from the entrance; it was Moony, trotting up to him to nuzzle himself against Harry, rub his leonine student's back with his paw. Getting his breathing under control, he got up and looked Lupin straight in the eye and put a paw on his professor's shoulder while purring, as if thanking him.

Trying to cheer him up, Lupin playfully tackled Harry, catching him off guard. With a sort of happy expression, the wolf ducked out of the cave, with the lion quickly after him. The two of them chased each other up and down, around the mountain in a game of tag. After about an hour, the rest of them spent their night wandering around the area, the older wolf showing the younger lion more deserted Marauder trails that hadn't been taken in two decades.

~*~*~*~

In the early December weather, everyone was looking forward to Christmas, and lots of students often spent their free time outdoors, skating on the frozen lake and having snowball fights. Everyday, Harry would follow a certain routine: get up, have breakfast, go to classes, see if Cho found the dress she wanted yet, have lunch, go to classes again, care for the egg, have dinner, do homework, practice dancing with Cho, and go to sleep.

Harry was also doing Christmas shopping for his friends. For Ron and Ginny, he got each of them a Broomstick Tracker (a device that looked like a Muggle Game Boy; it identified the user's broomstick, and it case it was lost or stolen, it would locate the broomstick with the "Locate" button, having its location read out on the screen, along with a map that could be shown, and when the "Retrieve" button was pressed, it would fly to its owner); for Hermione, a 200 Galleon gift certificate to Flourish and Blotts (he was running out of ideas for what kinds of books to get her); an encyclopedia called "The Top 1000 Rarest Magical Plants and Fungi" for Neville; 20 assorted pairs of socks for Dobby to mismatch properly; a swan- shaped bracelet for Cho, whose marble-white wings stretched around the wrist and its head faced down the arm towards the hand; a Muggle book on UFOs and other such mysterious things for Luna; a copy of the Muggle book "The Way Things Work" for Mr. Weasley, and a complete list of Hogwarts food recipes (courtesy of Dobby) for Mrs. Weasley; a whole collection of Defense books for Draco, the same kind that Sirius and Lupin gave him for Christmas last year; a pair of thick socks for Dumbledore which he enchanted to flash the words, "World's Best Headmaster"; a copy of "White Fang," for Lupin; a Nimbus 2000 for Tonks; and a whole assortment of Honeydukes' best chocolate for the Dursleys (he was sure to include a note saying that it wasn't trick sweets, and that chocolate helped undo the after-effects of dementors).

However, by the last week of the term, he didn't know what to get Snape; for some reason, it only seemed right. He was still pondering this as he walked into the last Potions class before the holidays. As everyone sat down, Snape announced, "Today, you will be finishing the Blood Replenishing Potions you started last week. Be warned; the last two stages are the trickiest and the most treacherous. Take my word for it; You do not want to mess this up. Begin."

Harry worked by himself, occasionally helping out other classmates in case they needed the help. Throughout the whole period, Snape was flicking through a whole bunch of books from his office. About halfway through the period, he kept muttering things like, "This can't be right... I know it's here somewhere... where in Nicolas Flamel's name is it?"

The class kept exchanging looks at each other; none of them other than Harry could recall seeing him this tense in class before. Harry shrugged, and reaching for the packet of iron chips, he accidentally knocked over an empty beaker, sending it smashing to the floor.

Snape leapt out his chair in surprise, reflexively pushing his book straight off his desk, where it closed itself and landed on the floor with a huge thud. A terrible silence lingered over the class as Snape looked Harry directly in the eye, an angry expression forming on the Potion Master's face. Finding his voice, the boy said, "Um, sorry, sir. Reparo." The beaker repaired itself and returned to its place on the table.

"Potter," he said, quietly yet oh so dangerously, "You just helped me lose my spot in a very advanced Potions tome. Thanks to you, I just got set back a lot in my crucial research."

Harry felt unable to move; the rest of the class held its collective breath. Snape noted that he looked as nervous as though he was looking a poisonous snake straight in the eye. 'Oh wait, he's a Parselmouth, bad comparison,' he thought to himself, 'More like dangling over a vat of boiling oil, and the rope suspending him is falling apart. Yeah, that's better.'

"Er, if it's any help, Professor, you were about a third of the way through that tome, I think around two hundred and fifty-six." Harry tried to remain as calm as best he could, but thoughts like "I'm dead," and "He's gonna kill me" echoed throughout his mind.

Snape noted the boy's efforts to correct his mistake, but recently, both lives he was leading, as Death Eater and Potions Master, were taking their toll on him. Lately, he was losing sleep, spying on Voldemort, brewing potions for both the Order and Death Eaters, confronting personal issues, and dealing with students eager to get started on the holidays. In short, he was a walking bomb with a short fuse.

"You know, Potter," he growled like some savage reptile from a distant jungle, his fists tightly clenched, "I am really starting to wonder how much un-like your trouble-making father you really are."

"With all due respect, sir, I think we've established already that I'm not my father?" Harry said very politely, remaining as calm as possible.

"SILENCE!" Snape thundered, causing everyone to flinch and duck for cover; they were also covering their ears, since the dungeon walls echoed his voice, adding to the terrifying effect. Taking deep breaths, he opened up a drawer in his desk, took out a vial full of what Harry recognized as a Draught of Peace, uncorked it, took a swig, and closed his eyes, letting it take effect.

Harry went over to where the tome lay on the floor, bent down, picked it up, and flipped back to where Snape was before the incident. Setting the book on the professor's desk, he asked, "Was this where you were?"

Opening his dark eyes and glancing down at it, Snape saw the same exact information he had been reading at the time of the incident. With what passed for a calm, neutral voice, he said, "Yes, that was exactly where it was. Thank you for correcting your mistake, Potter; please don't let that happen again."

"Yes, sir," Harry said, nodding and returning to his seat and getting back to work. As the teacher went back to poring over the tomes and the student went back to getting started on the final stage of his potion, the other nine students got the hint and went back to their own potions, although it was much quieter now, if possible.

Two minutes before the bell rang, they all corked their samples, placed them on Snape's desk, put their spare ingredients and books away, and sat down, waiting to leave. Just before the bell rang, Snape said, "Over the holidays, I want you to write at least one roll of parchment on the differences in ingredients needed in potions that restore different body fluids. That will be all."

As the bell rang, nearly everyone ran out like prisoners during a jailbreak. Only Harry remained. Summoning up as much bravery as he could, he asked, "Is there anything I can help with?"

Snape looked up at him, those dark eyes boring into emerald ones. "Not unless you can supply me with ingredients that not even most seventh years have ever heard of."

"Didn't Professor Dumbledore tell you about the Room of Requirement?" Snape shook his head. "I thought he would have told the other teachers. Anyway, it's the room on the seventh floor that I used for D.A. meetings last year. The Headmaster and I are practicing Occlumency there next period. I could show you right now, if you want."

Snape instantly got up, waved his wand so instructions appeared on the board for his next class in case he came back late, and followed Harry up to the seventh floor landing. Once they reached the tapestry, Harry explained, "Now, you need to pass this stretch of wall three times, concentrating hard on what you're looking for." Sure enough, the familiar door appeared.

Harry smiled. "After you, Professor." Snape imperiously strode forward, opened it, and looked inside. "Well, Potter, this is certainly an amazing discovery. I think I just found what I was looking for. Thank you, and fifty points to Gryffindor," he added, awe leaking through his normally silky voice.

"Glad to help. Is there anything you need me to carry back?"

"No, I will commandeer the house elves for this." Snapping his fingers, a dozen unfamiliar house elves appeared. "How can we assistant Professor Snape?" one of them squeaked.

"Please take back to my office everything I point out." The elves moved in closer as Snape pointed out various objects all around the enchanted room. Harry moved in to take a look; it was filled with crates, cauldrons, a whole wall of books, jars and vials, some full while others empty.

Harry was looking closer at all this when his foot landed on something making a crunching sound. Lifting his foot, he saw a scroll made out of what looked like Egyptian papyrus. He picked it up and unrolled it; unfamiliar hieroglyphs stood in front of his eyes. Harry contemplated the moving wizard picture A god who he recognized as Osiris by his crook and flail (he remembered some of this ancient Egyptian stuff from his primary school days), was commanding a servant to do something.

Turning to Snape, who was still directing the traffic of scurrying house elves, he asked, "Professor, do you know what this is?" He swept over, took it into his own hands, and looked down at it. The Slytherin's eyes widened, but he was unable to say anything. Supplying something, Harry said, "I guess I just found something else that's rare and valuable?"

Finding his voice at last, Snape said, "Oh yes, Potter, very rare indeed. A hundred points to Gryffindor for this."

"Thanks again. So, what is it?"

"This, Potter, is a very rare Egyptian poison recipe. It is known as the Command of Osiris."

"Since he was the god of the Afterlife, I'm guessing this is sort of a death Potion?"

"Indeed. According to Egyptian mythology, he returned to his realm of the dead every evening after the sun had set. This particular poison was designed so that the person would simply 'drop dead' at the next sunset after it was administered, hence the name. Throughout their last day, the victim would 'feel a great sense of euphoria and happiness, only to suffer terrible pain during the sunset, and finally die as the last rays vanished,' or so we are told."

Harry shuddered at this thought. "What a horrible way to go. Why is this recipe so rare?"

"Because hardly any copies of this existed to begin with, and most of them got destroyed during Grindelwald's era during a battle, in which fire was set to his library, so these 'Dark' books and scrolls of knowledge wouldn't fall into the wrong hands. In case you're wondering, it was at the same stronghold you and your friends fought at last month. How this copy got into this school, I don't know."

"Is there any sort of way to prevent the poison from killing a person, even after it's been administered?"

"Old scrolls found in the tombs of ancient Egyptian wizards claim that there was an antidote called 'The Mercy of Isis,' named after Osiris' wife, which would work even if the sun was already most of the way below the horizon. However, to date, no such copies have been found."

"Hello, Harry, Severus." Both of them whipped around to find Dumbledore walking in, trying not to bump into any of the house elves. "Next time, you shouldn't leave the door open, because anyone could see."

"Sorry, sir," Harry said, "I was just showing Professor Snape this room. I also found the scroll that he's holding."

Dumbledore came over and observed it. The old man's eyes also widened, but he didn't look all that happy. "Amazing discovery, although how it got here, I don't know if I want to know."

Snape frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I have a shrewd idea who could have bought this back to Hogwarts, and I imagine that he might want it again soon."

Harry blurted out, "You mean Voldemort?"

"That is merely a hypothesis, Harry. A year after his graduation, he traveled far and wide, sinking lower and lower into the Dark Arts. This was also during the year before I defeated Grindelwald; I had heard rumors afterwards about not all of the contents of his library had been destroyed, and that someone, though neither ally or enemy, had gotten away with some of its knowledge."

Snape put the scroll into his robes. "I'll have Bill Weasley look at this later," he said, "I can't identify all of these hieroglyphs." With the last remaining house elves, the Potions Master swept out with an unfamiliar happy expression on his face, looking as though a huge mansion had just fallen out of the sky in front of him.

Dumbledore looked around and said, "Well, now all we need are the right tools for our Occlumency and fencing lessons." Instantly, all the Potions items had vanished, to be replaced a moment later with Occlumency and fencing tools. In the rush of battle, Harry's thoughts about this rare poison were eventually forgotten.

~*~*~*~

After his classes were over for the day, Harry went straight down to Hagrid's cabin to tend for the egg. He kept it warm using his wand and made sure that nothing happened to it. After dinner, he and Cho went up to the Room of Requirement to practice their dancing one last time before the holidays; she said that Harry was almost done with all the practicing, and that she needed to find the right dress while she wasn't doing her homework or Christmas shopping.

About half an hour later, they were dancing towards the end of the song "Herd of Hippogriffs," when suddenly Harry tripped and fell head first into a huge cauldron.

Cauldron?

"Potter? Chang? What's going on here?" It was Snape; apparently he was back to do a little more research.

"Cho was showing me how to dance," Harry explained as he extricated himself from the cauldron. Half of the room's contents were now Potions-related items. Just then, a heavy encyclopedia fell on the record player, effectively smashing it.

"It's okay, Harry, you've pretty much learned what you needed to know," Cho reassured him, helping him up. Turning to Snape, Harry asked, "Back for more information on that scroll I helped you find earlier, Professor?"

"Precisely, Potter, because I'm not one to dance," Snape sneered.

'Yeah, you'd just rather blast kids out of bushes,' Harry thought, thinking back to the Yule Ball during the Triwizard Tournament. "So, any luck yet with those hieroglyphs?"

"I already contacted Bill Weasley, and he said he'd look into it. Have a nice evening, Potter and Chang."

Taking the hint, the two of them left. Cho asked, "What did you help him find?"

Wanting to keep this potentially Dark secret, he shrugged and said, "Something I found when I showed him the Room of Requirement. It seemed to be exceedingly rare and valuable. Oh, and speaking of valuable items," he added, changing the subject and pulling the wrapped gift out of his robes (he was going to mail it out later), "I have this early Christmas gift for you. I hope it goes well with your dress, if and when you find one you like."

Cho looked excited as she opened it up. She gasped when she looked into it to find the swan-shaped bracelet. "Oh, Harry, it's so beautiful," she gasped. "Thank you so very much!"

"I knew you'd like it." Just then, she conjured up some mistletoe to hover above their heads as she wrapped her arms around Harry and kissed him so lovingly that they didn't stop until a minute later. As they separated, she gazed into those bright green eyes, which were almost glowing with happiness. "I hope you'll like my gift when you get it on Christmas morning, Harry. It's not jewelry, but I'm sure you'll like it."

"I'm sure I will."

After she laughed and vanished the conjured mistletoe, she put the bracelet back in its box, saying "No one else will see this until the Ball. Good night, Harry," she said before sauntering off.

"Good night."

~*~*~*~

On his way back to Gryffindor Tower, he thought he heard some boy- girl giggles from a different classroom; however, something told him that it wasn't Draco and Ginny again. Sneaking closer, he heard their voices.

"...your blue eyes are like sapphires, which are my birthstone, you know, and your red hair is like the indicator of your body heat which makes you so warm, my red-headed giant."

"And you are so lovely, with your caresses of brown hair and those beautiful eyes which have graced so many books, my lovely scholar."

There was female giggling, and she asked, "Where did you come up with that?"

"I dunno, I think I may have heard someone say it once somewhere..."

The male voice trailed off, and Harry ducked his head in just in time to see Ron and Hermione kiss each other on the lips. For the second time in a month, his jaw dropped upon seeing a romantic scene like this.

After the two separated, gazing into each other's eyes, Harry said, "You forgot the mistletoe." Hermione screamed and jumped while Ron fell backwards.

"Harry!" the brunette exclaimed, looking offended. "How long were you there?"

Still smiling, Harry answered, "From the part where you described Ron's eyes. So, when were you going to tell me this?"

Ron was steadily growing redder in the face. Harry added, "Careful, you red-headed giant, before your body heat causes you to burst into flames like a phoenix!" Hermione giggled while Ron looked away from embarrassment.

"Well, I'd better get going, although I'm starting to wonder how Professor McGonagall might react when she finds out that her two beloved sixth year prefects are using their duties to snog each other! Have fun!" He quickly ran back to the common room as Ron and Hermione raised their wands and tried to hex him.

Once he was back in the common room, he collapsed into a chair towards the back of the room, laughing. Ginny came up to him and asked him, "What's so funny?"

He quietly said to her, "Don't tell anyone, or I'll spill the beans that you and Draco have the something for each other."

Blushing a little, she said, "Okay, fine, I agree." Harry told her about the dialogue he overheard with Ron and Hermione, and at the end of it, she fell over laughing herself sick. "That's rich! Finally, I have something to tease Ron about!"

"Let's just hope they don't find out about you and-"

"That's enough, Harry," Ginny cut him off rather seriously, though she smirked a little. "It's an act, just for the sake of it. Maybe to rile Ron or something, I dunno. Actually, Draco can be quite clever, humorous and friendly once he drops the act he's been doing all these years."

Harry could only nod in understanding. Once he was able to push aside all the immature things that he and Draco had done over the years, he was actually able to have a small amount of respect for his former rival, and it was starting to grow, little by little. He could also see part of why Ginny might seek out some of Draco's company; she had proven last year just how much of a wily prankster she could be herself.

"Well, good night, Harry."

"Good night, Ginny."

~*~*~*~

On Saturday, there was one last Hogsmeade weekend before winter break. Everyone with a signed permission form was excited to go. Harry and Cho agreed to go on a date that day. It was a cloudy day, with two feet of snow, making the tiny village streets look like avenues with the snow plowed up against either side. The couple strolled through the streets, bundled up and sharing a bag of Honeydukes' rich milk chocolate. As they passed Gladrags', Harry remembered and asked her, "Did you find the dress you were looking for yet?"

"Yes, but it's a surprise for Christmas night," she teased him.

"How is it that you always get all these gifts first?" he asked her.

"I dunno, I guess that's the way it happens."

They went to the Three Broomsticks, where they spent the rest of their time there talking to each other, and Cho told him that she would visit him at Grimmauld Place during Christmas before the Ball. Harry didn't mind at all the possibility of going to the Ball with Cho, since he really had no one else to go with anyway.

Once they were back at Hogwarts, they spent the last hours of daylight having a snowball fight. Their friends spotted them, and soon, it became a huge snowball fight where Harry, Ron, Hermione, Neville and Ginny were having a huge battle with Luna, Cho, Blaise, Susan and Draco. After ten minutes, both sides resorted to using magic; five minutes after that, the Gryffindors found themselves entrapped in a cage of ice and the other five were half-buried under a huge mound of snow, struggling to get out. Fortunately, Hagrid walked by, and he snapped the ice cage and dragged the others out of the snow, all ten students eager to get back to their common rooms and warm up.

On their way down to dinner, Harry and Cho ducked into a private corner and kissed before they went to their tables for dinner, where the house elves had cooked up an extravagant meal for the end of the term.

~*~*~*~

The next morning after breakfast, Harry, Ron and Ginny went back to Grimmauld Place with their trunks after taking a Portkey from Professor Dumbledore's office. The other seven would be with their families but meet up at Grimmauld Place on Christmas afternoon. The same decorations had been put up as last year, while there was more of a somber note this year, because of the one person who should have been there, but wasn't: Sirius.

The time crawled away with wizard's chess or dueling, while Harry still had that grief to contend with over Sirius' death, although it was starting to go away. The thoughts of a happy Sirius kept haunting him from time to time, and it was Kreacher that lead to Sirius' death. Harry tried to remind himself of the better times he had with Sirius, but this tactic only worked for so long. The Weasleys, however, did the best to comfort their surrogate son, for which he was extremely grateful.

On Christmas Eve, more people showed up for a party before the following morning, including the aforementioned seven other friends. Also active were Fleur and Viktor; it turned out that Fleur had managed to became the DADA teacher at Beauxbatons to help the cause, and Viktor was also doing the same for Durmstrang. Eventually, talk turned to what they were up to. There were only a couple of Voldemort sympathizers at Beauxbatons, and surprisingly few at Durmstrang. However, it later was revealed that the French maiden was also working as a diplomat to influence other major wizarding schools, academies and institutes across Europe, will the Bulgarian athlete was working to develop a sort of "air force" that could be used against the Dark army.

All of the Order welcomed their foreign friends back (although Ron's gaze lingered a little on Viktor as he welcomed Hermione again). To everyone's immense surprise, Fleur went straight for Bill and kissed him in front of everybody, while Bill looked content, although Harry was sure that he had some immunity to the Veela charms. It turned out that both of them had contributed to the battle at Grindelwald's stronghold; Fleur was able to gain information out of a couple of spies ("A smile here, a wink there, and as soon as they leak the information, I stun them and hand them over" she said to the amusement of everyone else), and Viktor had stolen as much equipment, supplies, and ingredients as possible from the place before it went down, which were currently being held in a secure place at Durmstrang for further analysis.

Viktor shook Harry's hand and congratulated him on the Wronksi Feint, which he claimed to have heard through the grapevine. (Some time after the party, Draco confessed to Harry that it was he who told Viktor.) Later, while he was walking over to get a bottle of butterbeer, he saw Fleur and Cho talking in a corner, looking rather giggly. As they spotted Harry, Fleur said, "Well, Cho, you certainly seem to have found yourself a strong, handsome young man!" Both of them giggled even more. Harry smiled, and then walked away, rolling his eyes. It was about half past ten when the party finally broke up. Full of good spirits at seeing so many friends, both old and new, he went to bed, dreaming dreams free of evil taint.

~*~*~*~

Harry awoke on Christmas morning, feeling so comfortable. It was a few moments before he remembered what holiday it was. Looking at the foot of his bed, he saw a huge mound of presents.

On top of the pile was a painting done by Dobby of Harry as a lion, which he liked, in spite of its basic style.

He got a red sweater with a golden lion from Mrs. Weasley, along with a box of homemade peanut butter brittle.

To Harry's surprise, there was a box of Mars Bars from the Dursleys, along with a sincere thank-you note for the "considerate gift."

He found Cho's gift, which was a practice Snitch that came with a bracelet that could track it to avoid having it get lost.

The twins gave him new samples of their latest inventions. Tonks gave him a spying and concealment kit. Dumbledore gave him a pair of foot-warming socks.

Hermione gave him a history of Dark Wizards and their atrocities, which went in-depth into their psychological profiles, their rises to power, and their downfalls.

Susan gave him a book full of wizarding laws, which would be useful when he was an Auror.

Luna gave him what looked like black Jello in a bowl, but the instructions that came with it said that you had to tap the substance twice, name the magical or non-magical animal you had in mind, and it would become a miniature model of that animal.

Neville sent a copy of the photo he found, where it showed both the Potters and the Longbottoms when Lily and Alice were about eight months pregnant with Harry and Neville respectively (this reminded Harry of the prophecy).

Hagrid sent a moving model of a Sphinx, which new literally more than a thousand riddles to challenge Harry, and could even learn new riddles.

Ron and Ginny together sent him one of those same Broomstick Trackers (he briefly laughed at the irony).

Bill gave him a special lens like a magnifying glass then when placed over a text in a different language (whether a different writing system or verbal language), the words would appear translated on the lens.

From Lupin, he got a red leather belt with a golden buckle on it shaped like a lion.

From Malfoy, he received a strange dark egg, but he nearly fell over when the note that came with it read that it was a Runespoor egg (Harry decided to ask Dumbledore for his advice on this), which said that it would hatch sometime on Boxing Day, anywhere from the early afternoon or late evening.

Harry was just putting all this stuff away when he noticed a small box, wrapped in a package, from... Snape!? Opening it up, he saw a silver ring in the shape of a serpent with a pointed emerald sticking out of its mouth, which would point parallel to Harry's finger. Enclosed was a note that read: "We will discuss this later, DO NOT TELL ANYONE ABOUT THIS, NOT EVEN PROFESSOR DUMBLEDORE. Thank you for the secret of the Room of Requirement. Merry Christmas. Sincerely, Professor Snape."

'Okay,' Harry thought, 'this is definitely weirder than normal, even by the newest standards of my life.'

There was a knock on the door, and Harry quickly put the note back in and hid it under his pillow, and said, "Who is it?"

"Professor Dumbledore."

"Come in."

The Headmaster walked in, wearing slippers so that the socks Harry gave him were on display. "Thank you for the socks, and Merry Christmas, Harry."

"Merry Christmas, sir, and thank you for the socks."

"Well, everyone's thinking about breakfast right now, so you should hurry."

"Yes, sir. By the way," he added before he forgot, "Draco sent me this." He held up the Runespoor egg. "What should I do? I heard these were illegal."

"Technically, the law says that only Parselmouths may own them, because that way, they can be kept in control. For the most part, Parselmouths in history were Dark wizards, and everyone assumed that owning one would be illegal. However, since you are the only known decent Parselmouth in history, it is perfectly legal for you to own one. Likewise, the rule at Hogwarts about owning an owl OR a cat OR a toad can be circumvented, as long as the Runespoor's owner is a Parselmouth, although I ask you to keep it under control, Harry. Besides, while not necessarily Dark, it could be kept in your classroom or office as a valid reason for you to have it."

Harry grinned. "Thanks, sir, that's excellent! Don't worry, you can trust me."

Dumbledore smiled. "Of course I can, Harry. Anyway, Mrs. Weasley is undoubtedly preparing breakfast at this very moment. I'll see you in a few minutes."

After his mentor left, he put the gift from Snape in the most secure part of his trunk he could find. Then he got dressed.

~*~*~*~

Harry enjoyed this Christmas day with his friends as they came later, and he thanked everyone for their gifts. Even with the occasion that night staring him in the face, he relaxed, and even drank hot chocolate with Cho in front of the fireplace in his room. "Thanks so much for the practice Snitch," he told her.

"I knew you would like it," she said.

"So, you found a dress you liked, right?"

"It's just perfect. It's so beautiful, but not revealing or outrageous or anything."

"That's perfectly fine, Cho, you don't have to wear anything of the sort for my sake."

"I know, Harry." Gently putting her hands on his face, he pulled him forward and kissed him lovingly.

Later that evening, Harry got changed into his dress robes and combed his hair as best as he could. There was a knock on the door, and the other boys came in. Ron was wearing deep blue robes that matched his eyes, Neville was wearing turquoise, Blaise wore deep red robes, and Draco was wearing a silvery-gray robe that looked as though it had been woven out of steel.

"Nice robes, Harry," Draco said, "It screams Gryffindor."

"Thank you. I found them. Your robe is certainly interesting though; with your glacial facial features, it makes you look as though you've been carved out of a mountain."

"Thank you. Shall we depart?"

"Yes, let's."

Everyone else was waiting in the kitchen. Harry got a load of compliments on his robes, and the girls came up to their dates. Hermione strode up to Ron, her hair in a ponytail, wearing periwinkle blue robes like those she wore at the Yule Ball at Hogwarts, except this was a slightly bigger size, since she had filled out a lot; Ron just gazed at her, looking as though he had won an award. Susan came up to Neville, looking glamorous in canary yellow robes, which when combined with her hair and complexion, gave the impression that she was glowing; Neville gulped. Luna was wearing a light blue dress with little circles of bronze evenly spaced around her cuffs, waist, hem, and neck; Blaise raised an interested eyebrow at her choice of House colors (Harry once heard that Ravenclaw was the House that Slytherin got along with the best in general). Ginny was wearing cream-colored robes, which hugged her form, making her look so elegant; she strode right up to Draco and took his arm. Harry was just going to see where Cho was when he heard Ron's voice: "Ginny, what in blazes do you think you're doing!?"

Ginny looked Ron straight in the eye and said, "What does it look like I'm doing, Ron? I'm going with Draco."

Ron's ears went violent red. "But, but-"

"He saved me from the dementors during the battle, and he's on our side. I can trust him."

"Ron," Draco added, addressing Ginny's brother as his equal, "I understand the over-protective thing, and I'm sure if I had a younger sister, I'd feel the same way, but she can't constantly be under your watchful eye. Or is it because you're so wound up over the past five years of our arguments at school that you can't just let it go?"

"He's got a point, Ron," Mrs. Weasley kindly added.

"Besides, it's his parents, or at least his father, we have to be wary of," Mr. Weasley chipped in. "No offense, Draco."

"None taken, Mr. Weasley."

Ron's entire face flushed red. "Malfoy," and Draco's facial muscles tensed at the mention of his last name, "If I see you kiss Ginny, let alone look at her like you love her or something-"

At that moment, just to spite Ron, or so it seemed, Ginny grabbed Draco and kissed him on the lips in front of everybody. As they parted, Draco looked shocked, Ron's mouth fell open, and Ginny turned to Ron, glaring. "I just kissed him for being heroic and helpful. So, Ron, what will you do about it now?"

Ron tried to say something, but all that came out was a strange gagging sound. Just in the nick of time, a voice came down the stairs. "Harry? Sorry about that, but I was just putting on bracelet you gave me."

"That's okay, Cho. Why don't you come on down and show me already? The suspense is killing me," he added sarcastically. And with that, Cho appeared, causing Harry to gaze at her, etching this scene in his memory forever.

Cho's dress was a combination of light blue and silver, with a band of gold around the waist. Beneath the golden band down, however, the color scheme of the dress went from light blue to cerulean, from waist to foot. The thin shoulder straps were made of a wavy pattern, drawing some attention to her shoulders and arms. Her earrings were made of small spheres of jade, and she had a couple of sky blue ribbons in her hair. Her dress only showed a few inches below the neck, so it wasn't revealing, although she had certainly filled out more over the past couple of years, making her, in Harry's opinion, more beautiful since the Yule Ball at Hogwarts. And, of course, she had the bracelet on her right wrist. Smiling, Cho said, "Well, how do I look?"

Finding his voice, Harry said, "I'd say 'drop-dead gorgeous,' except I'm not sure about the first two words, given recent events."

She giggled and said, "Very funny. C'mon, let's go."

Outside, there were limousines waiting for them. All ten students shared the same one. Looking out the window, Harry asked Cho, "Er, where is this place, wherever it's being held?"

"A mansion about fifteen minutes outside of London," she told him, "which also includes a beautiful garden which is enchanted to be warm. Also plenty of bushes to hide in," she added, causing the others to snicker and laugh.

"Okay, even if I were to do something like what you're implying, don't you think I'd choose a place more comfortable and much more private?" This bought some giggles from Hermione and Ginny.

"It was a joke, Harry."

"I know. I'm just nervous."

"Why?"

"Because normally, I don't like the press, and for the most part, I wasn't always such a good dancer."

"That's why I helped you out."

"I know, and thank you once again."

Soon enough, they arrived, with the adults already waiting for them. The others got out first, making Harry all the more nervous. As he and Cho were left, he moaned quietly, "I know I should have bought a few Skiving Snackboxes with me."

Rolling her eyes, Cho grabbed him and said, "C'mon, Harry, for a person who looks like Gryffindor's representative, you're not acting it."

"Sorry."

As they got out, a flash of cameras went off, all of them temporarily blinding Harry. Deciding to go with it, he gave a small smile, walking arm in arm with Cho. Through the gaggle of reporters, he could make out what looked like a castle half the size of Hogwarts. Being with this wise girlfriend to point him in the right direction seemed to give him new confidence, or at least enough to bear a few questions from the press.

"Mister Potter, who is this lovely young woman you're with?"

"Cho Chang, seventh-year Ravenclaw, who's also their Seeker and newest captain; her parents were also the Chinese ambassadors," he calmly answered, smiling.

"Miss Chang, how does it feel to be with this handsome hero tonight?"

Giggling a little, she said, "I'm just so excited to be with him tonight!"

"Mister Potter, where did you get those robes?"

"I found them at school," he responded sort of cryptically. "Unfortunately, that's all I can say, since that's my little secret."

"How do you feel to know that you will be the youngest recipient ever of the Order of the Merlin, Second Class tonight?"

"Well, I don't have a problem with it, but then again, it's not the most important thing in my life either, you know what I mean? I do what I have to because it needs to be done, not because I care about the reward."

"Quite the young gentlemen, isn't he?" Cho added, implying Harry, causing the others to laugh while he looked down at the ground, blushing a little.

Harry and Cho went up a couple of flights of stairs, up to the main hall of this magnificent mansion. When they reached it, his jaw dropped. It was without a doubt one of the most magnificent places he had ever been inside of. The dimensions of the hall itself were nearly those of the Great Hall at Hogwarts. There were sweeping staircases, plus a ceiling just like the one at Hogwarts, which imitated the three-quarters moon, stairs, and few scudding clouds. Lanterns hovered in mid-air at eye- level with the upper-views and balconies, and there was a huge fountain against the back wall, at the back of a stage with a podium, with the water moving up in down through the air in impossible patterns.

"This is amazing," he gasped.

"Hello, everyone, thank you so much for coming!" Fudge was now standing at the podium, with a woman behind him as the Minister's guest and dance partner. "Dinner will be starting shortly, followed by awards. Until then, just socialize and enjoy the appetizers."

House-elves immediately appeared with huge trays, which they carried less like servants and more like pizza deliverymen. Harry sampled a few tapas until Cho took his hand and lead him up one of the flights of stairs and onto the balcony, which was a little more than five feet in radius, with a couple of stone benches for two people. It was a wonderful night, and while the enchanted ceiling mirrored it perfectly, the rest of the hall only ruined the illusion. Here, he could see over the horizon, and he could even spot the distant London skyline, a hive of lights. His eyes also scanned the darkened gardens, which looked peaceful rather than menacing.

Turning to Cho, he said, "Well, Cho, there is obviously something bothering you, even on such a wonderful night." Looking closer into her eyes, he asked, "So, what's wrong?"

After taking out her wand, closing and securely locking the doors, and putting it away again, she took his hands and asked him, "Tell me, Harry, do you ever question your life? Please be honest with me."

"As if I would lie to you," he innocently answered. "Really, Cho, what's bothering you that you would ask me such a question?"

"I don't know. I was just thinking earlier how it was exactly two years ago that-" she suddenly gasped, her tears moistening.

Hugging her, he said, "Cho, please don't be upset."

"You don't like seeing me cry, do you?"

Harry sighed. "No, I don't, because not only does it hurt me to see you like this, but because-" he paused, wondering how he should say this "-it makes me feel helpless."

That bought her up short. "What? What do you mean by that?"

"Imagine that. I'm capable of thwarting evil wizards, slaying Dark creatures, destroying dangerous objects, and surviving against sickeningly stacked odds, and yet I have absolutely no idea how to comfort someone I love who's feeling like this. In other words, I'm the kind of person who hates being unable to do anything while other people suffer."

She looked up at him, wiping away her half-formed tears. "Actually, going back to my original question, do you question your life?"

"Yes, I suppose I do. What I wouldn't give for a normal life. My life is constantly being manipulated by different forces; some trying to help me, others trying to defeat me. Everyone is supposed to be in charge of their own destiny, and yet that power is one thing I don't have. Just to have my parents, some privacy, things that most other people take for granted, would be a blessing lots of times, compared to this."

"Harry, if you don't mind me asking, how do you feel regarding your parents?"

"Well, I don't feel like crying or anything, just by thinking of them, although obviously I don't like the fact that they're dead. I never knew them, so I never felt the pain of losing them. I felt that for the first time after what happened to- Sirius-" his voice broke when he felt that obstruction in his throat. "Do you see what I'm trying to say here?"

"I understand perfectly well, Harry. Believe me, we have so much in common. Not just the basic things for friendship, like common interests, or those for relationships, like love for each other, but also the common experience, like pain of loss. I lost Cedric, who was a mix of brother and boyfriend, and you've tried to handle your grief over Sirius, who, from what I've heard, was a mixture of father and brother."

"If you don't mind me asking," he paused, then continued, "You didn't blame me for what happened to Cedric, did you?"

"Maybe I felt a bit irrational at times for the first couple of days afterwards, but no, I never blamed you, Harry."

Harry broke off eye contact and looked at the ground; he could see the lions prowling around the bottom of his robes, as though they were pacing impatiently, waiting for this issue to be settled. "If you had, I might not have been all that surprised. Sometimes trouble just follows me like goblins after Galleons. It feels too much like people get killed, harmed, or put in danger just by being near me."

"As long as you aren't responsible, Harry, then it's not your fault. You can't control those things any more than you can control the seasons, and it's certainly not your fault that a certain Dark wizard hates you."

"Although if I had that sort of control, my friends would be safe and he wouldn't exist, end of story."

"Wishful thinking, Harry. Although I'm not one to judge your life and situation, the best I can offer you is to be realistic and try to resolve your problem, however easy or hard that may be."

"Cho, please be honest with me about this question: You don't think that by being close to me, you're putting yourself in danger, are you?"

Placing her hands on his face and making him look her straight in the eye, she said, "Of course not. What happened in the Ravenclaw common room, for instance-" (and lately, Harry noticed that she found it much easier to talk about it, given the circumstances and what had nearly happened to her) "-had nothing to do with you whatsoever. Besides, I know what you're feeling right now, Harry. After someone close to you dies, you're afraid to love anyone else, in any sense, for fear that they might die too. It's simple psychology, and you shouldn't let yourself fall into that trap. Believe me, the last thing you want to do when grieving is push your friends away. I'm sure that Sirius isn't angry with you over what happened. I can tell that the boggart only made things harder; it was only a nasty shapeshifter, Harry, not his spokesperson."

Taking her hands into his now, he said, "Thank you so very much, Cho. You're being something of the hero to me right now; you're the one helping me out in a tough situation."

She giggled and blushed a little. "Thank you, Harry; that means a lot to me."

"You're certainly welcome."

Suddenly, both her hands were around the wrist of Harry's right hand, and it was pressed against her chest, in the few inches between her neck and the top of her dress; he could feel her heart beating, somewhat quickly too, he noticed. Still looking him straight in the eye, she said, "I think there's also a fourth reason we're so compatible, Harry; because we're both so good-hearted and well-meaning. Human kindness flows through both our veins like the blood alongside it. I know you'll never fall from nobility into evil. Your well being needs love and kindness the same way you need food and water. I've felt your heart beating with love for me, and mine does the same for you. You will always be there to help and protect people as long as there's life in your body; and the same holds true for me as well."

Quickly getting over the brief shock of the physical contact and feeling compelled by her wise and intelligent speech that only a Ravenclaw could think up, he wrapped his arms around her and engaged her in undoubtedly one of their longest-lasting kisses yet.

When they parted, Cho said, "We'd better go back inside, Harry, and thank you so very much."

"Thank you too, Cho," he said quietly, as she took out her wand and undid the spells on the door. As they went back down to the hall, the house elves were scurrying away, and several dozen fancy tables were being conjured, which could seat eight people each. Fudge spotted them and called out, "Ah, Harry, where were you?"

"Enjoying the view and discussing a few things."

"Which you could also discuss over dinner. Bon appetite!" Clapping his hands, the house elves returned, serving soup, salad, and rolls, also lighting the candles on the tables. Harry and Cho found themselves seated with Ron, Hermione, Dumbledore, McGonagall, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. A few tables over, Harry could see Hagrid and Madame Maxime seated with Bill, Fleur, Viktor, and Gabrielle, plus the Delacour and Krum couples (this table was made a bit bigger for the larger couple). Fudge, his wife, and several other foreign Ministers were at the "High Table."

Harry and Cho enjoyed dinner together, through the juicy steaks and potatoes. Dessert was sumptuous cheesecake. The two of them discussed each other's plans for life after Hogwarts; it turned out that Cho wanted to be a professional Quidditch player, and she had won most of her matches against Hufflepuff and Slytherin, and even the match against Gryffindor in her second year (Harry's first year, which was the one he was absent during). Making her smile, Harry said that he would even give her an excellent yet honest recommendation.

When the last bits of food had vanished, Fudge got up and said, "Well, now, it's time for several awards to be handed out." Getting out his list, he ticked off the names for those who received an Order of Merlin, Third Class: Hagrid, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, the twins, Ron, Ginny, Hermione, Neville, Luna, Susan, Blaise, and even in a bit of a surprise, Draco (he had told Harry earlier that it would help him maintain a respectable face for his spy duties), and Cho. At all of their names, Harry clapped fiercely.

Suddenly, Fudge mentioned, "One note to Albus Dumbledore: We thank you so very much for leading the attack, and we would also give you an Order of Merlin, Third Class, except you already have a First Class, so hopefully you'll forgive us."

Everyone including Dumbledore laughed, and then he called out in a tone of mock outrage, "It's because I'm a senior citizen, isn't it?" This made everyone laugh more. Regaining control of himself, Fudge said, "No, of course not, Albus. We've also procured a year's worth of lemon drops for you, since we know how much you like them, although with your weakness for them, we're still trying to define 'a year's worth.'" More laughing ensued.

"And, of course, I would like to award the Order of Merlin, Second Class, to a very noble and powerful young man. I call upon Harry Potter."

With a deafening round of applause, a whole slew of cameras and a wonderful smile from Cho, Harry got up and made his way to the High Table, where Fudge was holding a wooden box. As he stepped up, the Minister took out the award, whose silver medallion was the size of a jar lid; engraved onto it was Merlin's visage. (2) Harry bowed slightly, allowing Fudge to place it on him. Another round of cameras went off as the Minister and Boy Who Lived shook hands, the former saying quietly, "Congratulations, Harry," and the latter replying, "Thank you, Minister."

As he returned to his table, the reporters immediately descended upon him.

"How does it feel to be the youngest recipient of the Order of Merlin, Second Class?" "Nerve-racking."

"What are your other plans?" "Try to get my education, what do you think?"

"Looking forward to tonight's entertainment?" "Well, I'm not dreading it, so that's a good sign."

Within the ten minutes to get the music group (the Weird Sisters) set up, Harry retreated to the bathroom ('I know I shouldn't have loaded up on the soup, but nooooooo, I just had to have thirds,' he thought to himself). No sooner than he had shut the bathroom door behind him them then a bunch of girls and young women mobbed him, screaming and cheering as though he were a rock star. After a few minutes of trying to fight his way through, Lupin and Tonks (who were going with each other) helped extricate him from the wild crowd.

"Well, Harry, you're certainly quite the lady's man," Lupin teased his student, striding alongside him in robes of navy blue, "or maybe your glasses just make you look intelligent."

"You'd better watch your back, Harry, because at this rate, every witch in Britain will want to mother you or shag you," Tonks chimed in, elegantly dressed in neon purple to match her hair, "and they'll probably start sending you their knickers, too."

"WHAT!?" he exclaimed, whipping his head around and looking at the two of them as though they were crazy. Both of them were clearly cracking up. "And exactly how would you know about them doing that sort of thing, Dory?" he countered, shortening her much-loathed first name.

Lupin leaned against the wall to support himself from laughing so hard, while Tonks looked thoroughly embarrassed. "Never you mind," she answered evasively.

"He's got you there, Tonks!" Lupin managed to get out, nearly howling with laughter now.

Up ahead, Cho was waiting by the dance floor, in all her majesty. As Harry took her hand, the music began with "Sending the Aurors After You." Everyone else also got into the action; Dumbledore was with McGonagall; Hagrid and Maxime were starting to cut a wide path; Fred, George and Lee were respectively with Alicia, Katie, and Angelina; Krum was dancing with the Hogwarts flying instructor, Madam Hooch, who was obviously enjoying the experience; and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were ready to go.

'Now this would have been nice at the Yule Ball two years ago,' Harry thought to himself. His feet instinctively took him among the path he had practiced so many times in the past month, with Cho also enjoying the experience. 'Don't be angry with me, Cedric,' she silently thought, 'I am happy, and I am honoring you.'

Dancing was an activity that required much energy, and Harry had lots of it. A few songs later, during one that he didn't particularly like, he was looking down at the ground. This is, until Cho's melodic voice bought him back to reality. "Harry?"

His head snapped back up. "Huh, what is it?"

"Why are you looking down?"

"Well, I..."

Giving him one of those piercing smiles, Cho whispered in his ear, "You weren't looking down my dress, were you?"

Harry felt as though a tiny jolt ran through him. Sounding a little scandalized, he said "What!? No, of course not. I was just trying to make sure I didn't step on your feet; I never did get the hang of this song. Although I won't deny that you look extremely beautiful in that dress."

Giggling a little, she said, "Don't worry, Harry, I believe you. Like I said, you're the perfect gentleman. Of course, if you want me, I certainly wouldn't object."

Gulping, he whispered to her, "I didn't think you'd appreciate if I ogled at you, no matter how beautiful you are. You're a person too, not some beautiful painting or work of art to be won at an auction."

"Wisely said, and believe me, under more appropriate circumstances, I would have no problem whatsoever."

Now that hit home. Steeling himself, he told her, "I know perfectly well what you're implying, Cho, and under more appropriate circumstances, maybe, but not just now, okay?" Harry knew that Cho was smitten with him, but he wanted to hold off on relationships for the time being. After all, his relationship with Cho the previous year was mainly trial and error.

With another one of those innocent smiles, she said, "Of course, Harry." (3)

"You've been taking lessons from Fleur, haven't you?" he playfully accused her.

"Oh no, I only watch her go after Bill Weasley; she wants him so badly, she's always Fleur-ting with him." They both laughed heartily at the joke.

"I wonder what song they'll play next?" she added, changing the subject as the current song ended.

"Uh-oh," Harry said, "'Herd of Hippogriffs.' I mean, it is a good song, but something tells me that I want to steer clear of Hagrid during this one."

Laughing even more, the two of them continued to dance the night away. Every now and then, some girls looked at Cho jealously at being paired with the handsome young hero. A couple of times, Harry and his date stopped at the bar on the side to get something to drink as well as to sit down for a few moments. One of these times, it was while they were playing the last few songs right before midnight; Harry was just trying a strawberry daqueri (4) when Rita Skeeter came up to him. "Harry, Cho, how's everything going?"

"If you want to interview me, you have to do it without the Quick- Quote Quills; I hate those things," Harry said flatly without even looking at her.

"Actually, working for the Daily Prophet is the least of my concern at the moment."

"Really?"

"Yup, just enjoying the party, although I'm still interviewing everyone and mingling with the guests every now and then."

"Hm, somehow I imagined you playing fly on the wall," he said casually. (5)

Rita, evidently, got the joke. "Very funny, Harry. I do have a couple of questions that no one's asked yet, though."

"Shoot, but preferably without a wand."

"Har har," the reporter said dryly. "What are your concerns regarding You-Know-Who?"

"Let's see, Voldemort is dangerous, sadistic, psychotic, and manipulative, but I don't just rush in to fight him off every single time; I don't always like 'playing the hero.'"

"If that's true, Harry, then why are you always the one doing the job?"

He sighed. "Because I have no control over the matter, and because I'm the only one who can stop him. I have advantages that no one else has, not even him. In other words, the task of defeating him got dropped into my hands."

"One other question before I join the party: Is it true that you and Cho are a couple?"

"No comment. Oh, and Rita?"

"Yes?"

"You twist my words again, and I'll have Hermione squash you like a bug, so to speak; she's been wanting to do that ever since you, er, speculated that she was my girlfriend."

A flicker of some unrecognizable emotion flashed across her face, but switched it back to a smile again. "Yes, well, I get the idea." As Harry downed his drink, she turned to Cho and asked her, "So, Miss Chang, how is your night?"

"Excellent!" she said. "I am so lucky to have Harry as my boyfriend and as my date tonight."

Harry spat his drink back into his glass. "What?" he gasped, causing everyone in the bar to look at them.

Cho turned to the bespectacled boy and said, "Harry, I know how much you want to keep it quiet to avoid attracting the Death Eaters' attention, and I thank you for trying to protect me, and I admire your selflessness for wanting to keep me from being harmed, but one way or another, I'm sure they'll have found out by now. You might be shy and nervous most of the time; unfortunately for you, however, I'm not." Just to add the icing onto the cake, she grabbed him and kissed him right on the lips in front of everybody at the bar, causing all of them to gasp and mutter excitedly, while Harry turned red enough to match his robes.

Rita looked as excited as though a huge mountain of gold had just been handed to her. Quickly scribbling onto her note pad ('At least it's not a Quick-Quote Quill,' Harry thought), she said, "Well, time to mingle with the guests again. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, you to two turtledoves!" With that, she quickly exited from the bar, fairly running out of sight.

"Go running to 'Teen Witch Weekly,' more like," Harry snorted as people continued to mutter excitedly. He buried his face in his hands, thinking, 'Oh God, why me?'

"Harry?" Cho asked, putting her hand on his shoulder.

"You just had to go do that, right?" he mumbled. "Tonight was going so well until did that."

"Harry, if this is about her writing those articles that make people look bad, that's not the problem, since she's stopped doing that."

"No, not the potential article, more like the potential feedback." Looking her straight in the eye, with his green eyes about as hard as chips of jade, he asked, "Tell me, Cho, do you want to be the envy of practically every witch in the country? I've heard stories about crazy people and celebrity stalkers who would do the wildest and most unbelievable things just to fulfill their twisted fantasies. I certainly don't want any crazy females trying to do anything to you."

"I thought of that too, actually, and you taught me defense, remember? Besides, anyone who does anything to me in order to get you will have to suffer my wrath." This bought on some snickering from the bystanders.

"Assuming that I don't find them first," Harry added, bringing on some more laughing. "You know, Cho, for the analytical and logical young woman you are, you can be quite the risk-taker sometimes."

"Thank you," she said, grinning sort of mischievously.

"By the way," Harry whispered in her ear, remembering something else, "why did you say I was your boyfriend?"

"Think about it," Cho whispered back, still grinning, "People think you're taken. That way, you won't end up being on Witch Weekly's or Teen Witch Weekly's top list of bachelors."

Harry never considered such a thing, truth be told. "Thanks," he whispered with an equally sly grin.

It was five minutes before midnight, and the group struck up their last song, a slow song called, "The Magic of My Heart." Taking Cho's hand, Harry led her out to try to savor their last bit of entertainment for the night. The two of them gracefully moved with the others. As the song ended, there was a large smattering of applause. Meeting up with their friends, who were looking as though they had had the time of their lives, they went back outside to the limousines; thankfully, the reporters looked as though they were falling asleep on their feet.

Back at Grimmauld Place, the boys and girls went back to their separate rooms (they were all too tired to return to their own separate homes), and Harry collapsed on his bed, engraving those memories into his head for all eternity. There was a knock on his door, and he said, "Come in."

Cho walked in, removing her earrings and ribbons. She tossed her head, letting her hair fall down. "Thank you for the wonderful night, Harry."

"My pleasure, Cho."

"Tired, are we?"

"It's past midnight, and I spent nearly four hours dancing; yes, I'm tired."

"You're forgetting something."

"What did I forget?"

"Kiss me goodnight?"

"Whoops. That I'll do."

Getting up, Harry went over to Cho, and gently hugging her and running his hands down her back, he gave her one of the best kisses ever. As they separated, he ran his hands down her lovely arms towards her delicate hands.

"Merry Christmas, Cho."

"Merry Christmas, Harry, although it's Boxing Day now."

"That too."

Giggling, she swept out, her hair trailing behind her, giving him a wink that made his legs go weak. Securely shutting the door behind her, he got changed into his pajamas and carefully put his dress robe away. As Harry put his glasses on his bedside table and turned off the lights, he smiled, dozing off into a world of gentle sleep.

~*~*~*~

As he woke up late the next morning, Harry felt someone lying in bed next to him.

Next to him?

Opening his bleary eyes, he saw Cho, her arms over him, hugging him like he was a stuffed animal, looking so peaceful in her sleep.

His head exploded with the noise of firetrucks leaving the station; what was she doing here? Looking closer, Harry could see that her clothes were still on, and she wasn't under the blanket with him, which were good signs that they hadn't... he didn't want to think about it.

Suddenly, the door opened, and Lupin walked into the room, evidently to wake Harry up. After shutting the door, the werewolf turned to face them, and his eyes bulged at the sight.

Deciding to break the ice, he asked, "Er, Remus? Do you have any idea what she's doing here? Because in case you're wondering, it's not like we... well, you know."

Reaching over to his bedside table, putting on his glasses and getting out of bed, he looked just in time to see Lupin grinning devilishly at him. "I'm sorry, Harry, just the sight of it..." he broke off to lock the door and put a Silencing Charm on the room, then burst out laughing. Cho woke up startled, yawned, and when she saw a very confused Harry, she remembered.

"Oh! I'm sorry, Harry! I meant to be up before you were!"

Trying to give her a stern look, Harry asked, "Could you please explain what's going on here?"

Looking somewhat guilty and a little upset, she got up and said (sobbing a little), "I'm sorry, Harry. I just had this horrible nightmare last night! I was trying to make sure you were okay! I saw you asleep and I wanted to be close to you, just to make sure nothing would happen to you!"

Softening up, Harry said, "I'm sorry, Cho. I wake up, feel someone lying next to me, I see you asleep, and I didn't know what to think! You certainly surprised me though." Suddenly suspicious, he lowered his voice and asked, "Er, you didn't do anything to me apart from hugging me, did you?"

"Apart from feeling your scar and messing around with your hair... NO! Of course not!" she blurted out after getting an offended look from Harry, causing Lupin to hang onto the wall for support from laughing too hard.

"Does this mean I won't be made an uncle in nine months?" Lupin snorted.

"LUPIN!" both of them fairly screamed, each of them blushing a little.

Calming down, the professor said, "Okay, okay, I'm sorry. Still, the two of you look so cute together-" he broke off again, hoping to avoid any more trouble.

Turning back to her, Harry hugged her and said, "It's okay, Cho. Obviously I'm fine; why don't you borrow my invisibility cloak to get back to your room, just to avoid any awkward questions?"

As he opened his trunk to get her the cloak, she said, "Thank you, Harry. By the way, this might make us even for the time in the hospital wing, don't you agree?"

"Uh, right. Anyway, why don't the two of you go now?" As she put on the cloak, both of them departed.

Harry shook his head. 'That was unbelievable,' he thought. After he got dressed, he went down to breakfast.

~*~*~*~

Thankfully, no rumors circulated through the house regarding Cho in Harry's bed. However, he was reminded of it when Ginny came rushing in shortly before lunch, just as he took back his cloak from Cho.

"Omigosh, omigosh, omigosh," Ginny breathed. She was waving around a brand-new issue of Teen Witch Weekly. Harry's stomach gave a sudden lurch.

In a flash, Hermione, Luna, Cho, and Susan all darted over to see what the commotion was all about. As they were reading, Mrs. Weasley and Tonks strolled over to see over the girls' shoulders. Harry backed into a corner, then seven pairs of eyes swiveled onto him, and seven smiles suddenly formed.

"I don't want to know, do I?" he asked to no one in particular.

Ginny tossed it over in his direction, and Harry caught it. On the cover was him walking up to the mansion with Cho, both of them exchanging smiles. In small lettering on the top, it read, "Look out, young witches! Its..." then it was covered in big lettering at the bottom, "...A HOTTER HARRY POTTER!"

The boy gulped as he turned to the main article. Almost a whole page was of him dancing to the first song with Cho, along with the caption: "Harry Potter, 16, starts to dance the night away with confirmed girlfriend, Cho Chang, 17, Ravenclaw Quidditch Captain and Seeker."

On the next page was a headline: HARRY AT THE YULE BALL. With that, Harry read the article:

Rarely seen in public, and often described as shy, nervous, modest, and polite, Harry Potter appeared last night to celebrate Christmas, along with his victory in the first battle of the Second War against the Dark Lord. Along with him was his girlfriend Cho Chang, who's in her seventh and final year at Hogwarts, and whose parents were the Chinese ambassadors that Harry helped rescue. He was also awarded the Order of Merlin, Second Class, by the Minister himself. Miss Chang even describes him as "quite the gentleman." Rita Skeeter testifies that she even saw her kiss him on the lips in front of everybody at the bar towards the end of the ball. (We'd have a shot of that, except nobody had a camera.)

At least every few minutes, some girl or witch would look at him longingly, wishing they were with him. Quite frankly, we see their point: Rather tall now, with a handsome face (the famous scar aside), slightly untidy jet black hair (which his friends say won't stay down, no matter what's been tried), neat glasses, and dazzling green eyes ("like emeralds"), almost no female can resist his smile. From what we've heard, he got mobbed just by returning to the bathroom.

There is also another side to Harry we haven't seen, let alone thought about, before: The one outside public attention. The handsome Boy-Who- Lived is far from the attention seeker; he is quoted saying, "I do what I have to because it needs to be done, not because I care about the reward."

His friends also back him up, saying that he is selfless, brave, noble, and would never do anything to harm anyone (except for You-Know-Who, Death Eaters, Umbridge, and anybody along those lines). Harry is also the kind who would risk his own life to help out others; Ginny Weasley, 15, younger sister of his best friend, Ron Weasley, recounts when he saved her from a basilisk after she was trapped in the once-fabled Chamber of Secrets: "Harry is one of the bravest, sweetest boys I know; I was stuck down there, knocked out, and when I wake up, he's standing there, covered in who-knows- what, holding a sword he found, the monster's dead body halfway down the room, helping me get back to safety."...

It went on for about ten pages, and also included other pictures of him, like when he was receiving his award; he was stunned to say the least. Apparently, Hermione, Susan, Luna, Mrs. Weasley and a whole lot of other people had contributed to the reporters. Eventually, he remembered the seven ladies that were there, watching him. Stunned, he croaked out, "Er, very interesting." Putting it on the kitchen table, he went back up to his room to find someone waiting there for him.

Professor Snape stood there in a corner of his room, in all his dark glory with a neutral expression on his face. After using his wand to securely lock the door and cast a Silencing Charm on the room, he said, "Hello, Potter. I trust you had a decent holiday?"

"Yes, sir, thank you for asking. It was also better, due to the lack of dangerous snakes."

Sneering, the Potions Master went on. "You got my gift, I hope?"

"Yes, sir. What was it, and why wouldn't you want anyone else to know of it?"

With an almost proud sneer on his face this time, Snape continued, "The ring, Potter, is an invention of mine for when I was still working as a Death Eater for the Dark Lord, which I like to call Death's Venom. Like I said, Potions are often favored by Dark wizards because they're harder to trace than spells from wands. Its function is like this: the user wearing it touches their enemy with it, and the ring kills them instantly one the user says a specific password. It isn't as flashy as the Killing Curse, so even if other people are watching, you could still put on a convincing act. It also works only once, making it even harder to trace. Even after the only round is used up, I can 'reload it,' using a particular spell; that's what makes it my own invention, because the original version of this weapon never had that kind of function. The reason this should be kept secret is because it's illegal, owing mainly to the fact it was never approved to the Ministry, let alone ever shown to them; I doubt that even Professor Dumbledore would approve if he knew of it. Whether you realize it or not, Potter, the Headmaster has often bent or broken rules for your sake, mainly to save the school from disaster or to teach you how to think on your feet in crises, I know; I'm doing this because it's essential that the Dark Lord is vanquished."

"Thank you, sir. So, any luck with the Command of Osiris?"

"I've deciphered most of the hieroglyphs with the help of Bill Weasley; a few, however, still remain a mystery. They seem to be missing from my experience, and that's saying something; having to know the extent of all the different ingredients and potions around the world, I've even had to learn the Greek, Hebrew, Cyrillic, Chinese and Japanese writing systems, in addition to ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, when I was working to get my various degrees."

"Amazing," Harry breathed, after being hit by the full impact of this knowledge.

"Thank you, Potter. If you're wearing the ring and anyone asks what it is, say it was a gift from Draco Malfoy; since I'm guiding him through working on both sides of this war, he knows about this too, and I have even done the same with him."

"Of course. By the way, what's the password?"

"Nekhisah Shel Nakhash."

"Sorry?"

"I picked up my own supplies to create one of these when I was traveling through the Middle East at one point, and I had to purchase those supplies in Jerusalem. Some Dark wizards in that part of the world have items like this ring; the incantation is supposed to mean 'Bite of the Serpent,' in Hebrew."

"Nekhisah Shel Nakhash," Harry kept repeating under his breath, memorizing it.

"Put it on your ring finger on your left hand; once you wear it, it will be accustomed to fit you only."

Taking it out of his trunk, he put on. It instantly flashed green three times, and even changed its own size to fit perfectly on his finger. "Another thing you should know, Potter, is that all you have to do is say it quietly so no one will hear you and be suspicious, just in case."

"Got it," he said, taking it off and putting it back in his box, then in his trunk. "I was wondering: Wouldn't the Dark Lord also know about this sort of thing?"

"For one thing, he has never been one for foreign and unheard of antiquities; for another thing, he never had any use for this, so I never had to show him it, let alone ever mention it to him. I will see you again at the start of the new term, Potter. Good day," Snape concluded, sweeping out of the room.

"Good-bye." (6)

~*~*~*~

Later that afternoon, Harry was just settling down to read the final few chapters of "The Fellowship of the Ring" when a strange cracking sound seemed to come from the inside of the trunk. Carefully putting the book aside, he carefully crawled on his bed towards the foot of it, where his trunk lay. With sudden understanding, he got his keys and unlocked his compartment for his most private things and took out the Runespoor egg to confirm his suspicions: it was hatching at last. A few cracks were at the top already.

Carefully setting it down on his bed, he found his copy of "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" and looked it up. "Red Cap... Re'em... ah, here we go, Runespoor. 'The Runespoor is a magical three- headed, six-foot-long snake which is found in Burkina Faso. The Runespoor was once a favorite pet of Dark Wizards, mostly because of its intimidating appearence. Each head of the serpent has a specific function. The right head is the planner, the middle head is the dreamer, and the left head is the critic. Often, the two other heads will gang up on the left head and bite it off; two-headed Runespoors are not uncommon. The eggs of the Runespoor, produced through the mouth of the beast, are used for making potions which enhance mental ability.' Cool." (7)

Quickly setting that book down too, he ran from the room and found Draco. "Hey, Draco, come quick!" Without any questions, his Slytherin ex-rival dashed back with him up to his room. By now, cracks had appeared all over the egg. A moment later, the shell crumbled, and a foot- long, three-headed orange snake appeared. All three heads hissed curiously.

"Ah, we can use this surface to rest later," the right head said.

"I wish we were back in the egg, it was actually rather cozy in there," the middle head fantasized.

"Well, since we've been born, time to live, right?" the left head inquired.

"Hello, little ones," Harry hissed.

All three heads turned to him at once. "Who are you?" the left head asked.

"My name is Harry Potter, and this is Draco Malfoy; he gave me your egg as a gift. I am looking forward to taking care of you."

"Ah, our mentor, friend and guardian; a human who speaks our language, no less! We could get used to this!" the right head exclaimed!

"Yeah, we could get used to names, too," the middle head added hopefully.

"What are they saying?" Draco interrupted.

"Sorry," he said, turning to the blond boy, "I was about to name them. How about I name them Nemesis, the goddess who planned people's fates, for the right head, who's the planner; Morpheus, the god of dreams, for the middle head, who's the dreamer; and Momus, the judge among the gods, for the left head, who's the critic?" (8)

Draco shrugged. "Sounds good to me," he said at last. "I mean, it's your Runespoor."

After conferring with the Runespoor, all three heads agreed.

"I'm Nemesis!" exclaimed Nemesis.

"I'm Morpheus!" sighed Morpheus.

"I'm Momus!" hissed Momus.

Harry was about to sweep the egg shells of the bed when Draco stopped him. "Wait, I've heard that Runespoor eggs can make good Potions ingredients."

"Thank you, Draco." Taking out a spare vial, he swept the egg bits into it and put it with his Potions supplies. Turning back to his new three-headed pet, "Now, where to put you, especially when you'll grow to be six feet in length..." Then it occurred to him. "Dobby!"

CRACK! "How may I assist Harry Potter?"

"Could you please find a basket about two feet in diameter with a lid for my new Runespoor?"

"Yes sir, Harry Potter sir!" Doing a double take, Dobby squeaked, "RUNESPOOR!?"

"Yeah, why, what's wrong?"

"Old masters kept lots of them... threatened to feed Dobby to them. BAD DOBBY!" he squeaked, slapping himself in the forehead.

'Well, at least he's not hurting himself so much now.' "I'm not going Dark or anything, Dobby, trust me. Besides, Dumbledore told me about a loophole in the law which allows me to legally own one."

"Yes sir!"

"Hang on," Draco interrupted, "Where have you been, Dobby?"

Harry suddenly remembered; the Malfoys were the former masters. "Dobby has been working at Hogwarts and helping out Harry Potter, sir! Dobby liked Master Draco too, but Dobby was always having to clean Master Draco's sheets after he wet-"

"HEY!" Draco interrupted, while Harry fell over laughing, barely missing his brand new Runespoor. "I'm sorry Draco," he said, sniggering.

"Hey, I couldn't help it!" Draco protested. "My parents were always serving up this wine that my digestive system couldn't handle, trying to teach me 'proper wizarding etiquette!'"

"Sorry," Harry apologized, getting back up. "Anyway, Dobby, that basket, please?"

"Yes, Harry Potter, sir!" A few moments later, Dobby returned with the basket, which was a few feet in diameter, and held it out to the Runespoor, who slithered happily into it, eager to test it out.

"Well, thanks again for the egg, Draco. Where did you get it, anyway?"

Draco shrugged. "My father's basement. I doubt he'll notice."

"Interesting."

Suddenly, Ron's voice floated upstairs. "Hey Malfoy, where are you? I thought we were going to play chess!"

"Coming," he shouted back down through the house. "'Bye, Harry."

"'Bye." And with that, Harry got back to his book.

He had to admit, perhaps a friendship with Draco Malfoy (or at least the one that he truly was and not how he was often painted as being) could be very interesting indeed...

(End of Chapter 20.)

A/N: Like with all my other chappies, this was something of an improvement over the original... what do you think?

(1) This is a paraphrased quote I picked up somewhere out of "Ender's Game," by Orson Scott Card. It's really true, though, isn't it?

(2) I tried to imagine this award as best as I could.

(3) Don't worry, this is as close to HPCC romance as the story will get!

(4) I love those things!

(5) Personally, I love how Harry "bugged" Rita with this kind of James Bond-like wit. What do you guys think of this?

(6) By the way, the ring and the poison won't play any kinds of important rules in this fic... I'm hoping that they will in the sequel, though.

(7) It's true; I got this from the "Bestiary" section at the online HP Lexicon.

(8) I know it would probably be unlike Harry to name them after lesser Greco-Roman gods, except they were the best I could think of. (Actually, if he could name his owl after a charitable German saint, why couldn't he know other names like that?)

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