Chapter 18

• A Christmas Story •

Outside snow flakes floated aimlessly on the chilling breeze. Vacation started today, which meant Christmas was right around the corner.

"Do you think we could sneak to Hogsmeade tomorrow?" Virginia asked quietly as they walked between classes. She had pulled Harry back from the rest of the group before asking. "I need one more thing for Christmas. They didn't have it at Diagon Alley."

The passages were there, but Harry wasn't sure which he could use. "There are a ways, but I don't know which passages Mr. Darnel knows."

The whole school was now empty of Aurors; Dumbledore had made sure of it the instant Remus was out of the infirmary. Since they had served as a replacement for Filch, no one had been called to fill the position while they were present. After they were gone the teachers and Prefects checked the halls nightly. That was until, two nights ago at dinner; Dumbledore has introduced Mr. Darnel as the new caretaker of Hogwarts. From a distance Harry didn't like him, he seemed spotty.

"Maybe we could make a deal with him." Virginia suggested.

Making a deal, it had a strange ring to it. Before this year Harry would have not even thought twice about it, he didn't enjoy being held to anything. But now... now, for some reason making a deal didn't seem so ridiculous.

His head flashed an image or two, a glimpse of the past. He was making a deal with Bill, but he wasn't himself, he was a little girl. Harry shook it away, wondering if Virginia had ever made a deal with Bill to get the twins stuck in a set of boxes for their birthday.

Yes, he would see what Mr. Darnell though, later, after class. Maybe they could make a deal with him. For now they had to listen to Professor Shamis who prattled on. History of Magic was by far the most boring of all the classes.

"We can go to his office after class and talk about it..." Harry said to Virginia, being caught up by what was happening ahead of them. Blaise, Ron, Neville and Hermione had stopped. Hermione bent over and picked up something. "What do you suppose Hermione's doing?"

Harry stepped forward, but when he saw what Hermione was picking up he faltered. It wasn't because he was afraid, rather he suddenly became cautious. Seeing the cat had given him a second flashback, and he remembered this one well.

Looking closer it seemed the cat wasn't Mrs. Norris. it was a much younger cat, that looked remarkably similar. It had all of its fur and was clean, but still somehow reminded Harry of Mrs. Norris. It didn't have many of the traits: the evil eyes, the patchy and mangled fur and the age. But somehow...

Hermione offered the kitten to him. "Harry look. They finally brought Mrs. Norris back. Do you think I should keep her?"

The collar was the same, and the ID tag read Norris. Harry shivered and looked. The doctors must have tried to cure her and not been able to get it quite right. Now she seemed so much more cat like, not angry and wicked as she had seemed before. He shrugged, it was her choice and it was better than having kept the old Mrs. Norris.

Smiling she rubbed Mrs. Norris. "You know what I will. I'll give her a new name too, so no one teases her." And she removed the collar.

Hermione took her into the classroom and hid her in her lap, where Professor Shamis wouldn't directly see her. It wasn't as if it mattered, she rarely saw half the things that happened in her class anyway. Harry sat and slipped down in his chair, this was going to be boring as usual.

"Muggles at the time did know that magic existed, but they believed it to be..." Professor Shamis droned on in the class. Harry felt his eyelids dropping further and further. Hermione wasn't paying any attention at all; she was playing with Mrs. Norris and giggling silently. Neville was watching her, laughing silently as well. The only person that was even paying attention was Samantha Wardons and she always paid attention. Harry thought she should have been put into Ravenclaw instead of Hufflepuff.

"Yes Ms..." Professor Shamis stopped and thought for a second; Harry opened his eyes wider and looked around to see who was disturbing his peace. Virginia was putting down her hand. "Weasley. Yes that's it. Ms. Weasley, how can I help you?"

"Professor Shamis, I was wondering if you might be able to tell us some history related to Christmas? This is the last day before Vacation and the Gararian Witches don't have anything to do with Christmas."

Professor Shamis looked stunned and Harry almost laughed out loud. Virginia had a knack for disrupting things without putting herself in a bad position. "Well, that is not part of the lesson plan..."

"But professor..." Virginia started to complain.

"But..." She held up her hand, stopping Virginias comment. "Given that it is the Christmas season I don't see any reason why I can't change the lesson a little. It's not as if anyone was paying attention anyway." Out of the corner of his eye Harry could see that Samantha Wardons was quite put off by the comment.

For a moment she paced the front of the classroom, trying to think of something. "Alright, a Christmas story, I have just the one. You're all first years so this might appeal to you. How many out there celebrate Christmas here?"

A few people, who had somehow managed to stay awake, raised their hands. Harry half raised his as well. "Come on, come on." said Professor Shamis. "I know more of you do." More hands were raised as people came alert again. Susan Bones was prodded by the person next to her and fell out of her seat, waking most of the other students. After a few laughs nearly everyone had their hands raised.

"Hogwarts was built nearly a thousand years ago. At this time Christmas was not celebrated, even few muggles celebrated it. There was vacation of course and some wizards celebrated winters solstice. Mostly it was just to break up the year." Harry sat up and listened intently, he hadn't ever thought about it, but Christmas wasn't a normal celebration for magical people.

"The school was built for two reasons, to teach and to protect. Magic was feared and hated at the time so many times to find students you would have to go to great lengths before they would believe you. This also could result in a witch or wizard being caught and tortured by some horrendous muggle machine."

She looked around the class. "It was several years after the initial founding of Hogwarts that two children, just about your ages, appeared on his estate. They were lost, lonely and scared, but they were magical, Godric sensed it right away. They told him they had been driven out of their homes and their parents murdered and so he gave them board. When they spoke of magic he was puzzled, their candor regarding magic was fearless. Godric took a liking to them and brought them to Hogwarts with him when the school year started."

Samantha raised her hand and the professor nodded. "Yes?"

"What does this have to do with History of Magic?" Samantha asked she didn't seem to like the Christmas story.

Professor Shamis looked Samantha in the eyes. "This story involves every person in this room, especially you Samantha." Her voice was demeaning, as if she was trying to put Samantha down. It was odd, she never did that.

Samantha's hand dropped and she nodded, looking down at her papers. Harry wondered why Professor Shamis had acted so, and why she had called Samantha by her first name, she called every student by their last names like most of the professors did.

"Here and now we all live a luxurious life, we buy our school supplies and come to school prepared. In those times school supplies were provided and used over and over and over again. Wands were passed down rather than bought, and few students actually had one. For a student to have there own wand they had to be incredibly well off or have made one themselves."

Hermione raised her hand, ignoring Mrs. Norris for a minute. "What about staffs?"

Professor Shamis nodded towards her with a smile. "Yes, there were more than wands at that time, wizards did carry staffs, but even fewer. The art of making a wand was wide spread then but you must have certain talents to do it. Some tried and failed, others made wands that were somewhat crude but as powerful as the wands we have today. Being that we are on the subject does anyone know how to make a wand?"

The whole class was stumped. Hermione and Samantha even and they both always knew the answers. "No? Alright then, does anyone know why we no longer use staffs?"

Hermione and Samantha's hands both shot up. The professor chose Samantha. "Staffs were outlawed in 1236 because Simeon the Sorcerer was able to use his staff to take control over Hogwarts and Hogsmeade with a curse. No one was able to counter it because it was too strong. It was only released after he died in a struggle with a werewolf he was trying to take control of."

Now that was interesting, Harry would have never guessed one man could do such a thing. Had he used an unforgivable curse? Or had he done something else?

"Yes, soon after the production of wands and staffs was outlawed for common wizards, wizards did not want such an event to happen again. Texts that outlined the steps were either destroyed or erased and having texts without permission will get a person fifteen years in Azkaban. That is why so few people make wands now. Every person that makes one is tested and approved by the Ministry of Magic before they receive a license. Five points to Hufflepuff." Amanda gave Hermione a snotty look, which the professor saw.

"...and five points to Gryffindor for the intelligent question." The professor added. Hermione smiled to herself, but didn't rub it in, she wasn't the sort that did. Samantha fumed and gave Hermione a dirty look.

Professor Shamis moved over to the wall and pulled an ancient wooden box. "This wand is no longer a functioning wand so the ministry has given permission for it. This wand has been passed down from the time that Hogwarts was built. My father's father's father's father's father's created it– you get the idea. It has been passed down through our family for almost a thousand years. He created it himself and it is a perfect example of what a wand was like in their time."

She passed the wand to the person in the farthest corner from Harry. He regretted choosing the back seat today, for some reason he wanted to get a good look at that wand. Those around it peered in and slowly it moved around the class.

When it had started its rounds she continued with her story. "These children displayed no magical talent at all except they seemed to move within the castle without bounds. They could disappear and reappear at will, giving the impression that they were ghosts of some sort. When winter came they asked for something peculiar." Again she made her way to the shelf, selecting on of the thick leather-bound volumes from it.

Taking his eyes from the professor for a moment he glanced over to the wand, he wanted to see it. It still had not made it very far; other students seemed to find it fascinating. "Here..." muttered the professor, pointing to a spot in the book. "Let me read this for you."

"The siblings approached the staff today, asking that we celebrate the Christian holiday that is celebrated soon. Salazar of course made note of this immediately. Elizabeth told us that it was not just a Christian holiday, but also a time to show appreciation, and to give to others. Godric subdued both arguments by allowing the siblings to celebrate their Christian holiday amongst themselves."

"There, you see, these children, as young as they were understood Christmas better than we do." She said as she flipped the pages forward again, searching for another entry. Upon finding it she looked up, every student in the classroom was listening intently; this lesson was by far the best lesson they had learned. "The children did celebrate Christmas, but at the same time something else happened. Let me read it."

"The dreams have been unbearable since Winters Solstice. Since that day I have been at the top of the towers, watching the land waiting for it to return. This morning after three days wait I saw it, walking proudly along the outline of the forest giving me only a taste of its beauty and then daring me to follow. I neared it once, before it plunged me further into the forest. It was taunting me, and I wished it had allowed me a single touch that I could pluck a hair and finish my task."

Shamis stopped, looking around. She nodded towards the wand. "He was young and still did not have his own wand, but wanted one. Seeking out the core was part of the creation of the wand, and he was seeking a unicorn for his." She looked down and read again.

"My plight came soon afterwards. I followed it with more vigor then before, knowing I would soon be able to obtain what I needed. Again I beheld the unicorn, this time it paid me no mind and it was in a battle for its life. I only watched for a moment to understand that he was loosing against the monstrous beast that had attacked it. Against all sense I interceded, trying to spare its life from death. I had borrowed a wand so I was not without defense or ability to defeat the creature. But he was by far too strong and I found myself in the same predicament as the unicorn, only barely alive. I lay next to it, wondering if I would draw my next breath while it still lived."

"Then something extraordinary happened. The siblings appeared. The approached the boast and touched him, doing something which I would not have imagined. Elizabeth sung a song tune and Henry stroked his head. The beast, the great beast which had nearly slain both the unicorn and I closed his eyes and became docile to the point that they used him to carry us back to the castle. Laying me at the door the called for help. Before anyone came they disappeared in the forest with both the beast and the unicorn. Godric and Rowena treated my wounds and heard my story but would not believe it."

Blaise raised her hand and Professor Shamis nodded to her. "Professor, the beast it talked about... what was it?"

"It has no explanation of the creature. This journal was often times very vague. Another description from the time leads me to believe that it is unlike anything we know of today." Blaise nodded.

The professor sat the journal on the table and sat down in front of the class. "The children asked nothing in return, only saying it was a gift they had given of themselves. Forfeiting the debt they were owed was a great thing, during this time period to save one's life was to indenture them to you until they could repay the debt. Gustav, who is the person whose journals I have read this from, still felt indebted to them and so when he was healed he sought them out again. But they disappeared. The unicorn hairs he had been so desperately seeking were given to him, as a second present and a not saying so. He never saw either the beast or the unicorn again."

Harry saw that the wand had finally come around to him. Virginia was directly in front of him and examining it. Harry took the box when it was offered and looked at it carefully. The wand was crude compared to the wand he carried; it had a knot a few inches from the bottom and several smaller ones that had been smoothed out along the shaft. Harry picked it up and examined it.

Something happened. It twitched. Harry dropped it, utterly surprised that a wand would move by itself but it did not fall. "Wha..." It shivered in mid-air. Then, as Harry pushed himself farther away from it, it shattered in front of him, spraying him with splinters of wood. "Aahhhh!" screamed Harry as splinters embedded themselves in his face. His vision became instantly blurry and when he tried to close his eyes he could not.

It took a lot of self-will to ignore the pain but was able to and he did not cry. His eyes and face hurt tremendously for a long few moments and then, the pain started to diminish. What was left of the wand, a single thin rod, glowed brightly and slowly the pieces of the wand pulled themselves from Harry's face and eyes. His sores were healed somewhat and the wand became whole again, and then dropped back into Harry's hands.

"My... it's never done that before, it hasn't done anything magical since..." Professor Shamis stammered. She caught herself and focused. "Infirmary! Now."

Harry pulled himself up from his desk and behind him he could hear Virginia stand. "Yes. You, make sure he reaches the infirmary."

Just outside Harry stopped and waited for Virginia who closed the door behind her. He stopped for another reason as well, he felt fine now and he really wanted to hear the rest of the story.

"Class! I want you to calm down, he'll be fine." Professor Shamis yelled and did something, which quieted the class's fussing a little. Harry waited, he wasn't sure if the story was over but he wanted to hear the rest of it.

It took a moment; the professor must have been doing something because the voices died until it was quiet. She started again. "As I said, the children disappeared. This brought even more question as to whether they were some other sort of that no one had encountered until now. Of course as always, life went on without them. The following year, however, Gustav asked the staff to celebrate Christmas for the children's sake. His wishes were respected and a small Christmas was planned with the help of some of the children. On Christmas Eve the two reappeared at Hogwarts and asked to stay the night. Of course Gustav was overjoyed and told them of their Christmas. They were given rooms and when the next day came they were again gone, but they left presents. Every student at Hogwarts awoke to find a small box at the end of their beds, each received their very own wand."

"Professor... did they ever appear again?" Someone asked from inside the room. Harry could tell that the professor had finished the story now.

"Yes, they came again. Not every Christmas, but they came many times, leaving gifts. Sometimes they were less serious than they should have been but the always left a smile on student's faces."

Someone else asked a question. "Professor, how do you know it was them?"

"When they left presents they always left a calling card of sorts. It would be difficult to replicate it unless you knew how they did it. They've also been seen occasionally, wandering through the halls, talking to one another. They are by no means ghosts, I've had the chance to see them once or twice."

"The wands. How many did they have to make?" Hermione asked.

"They made a total of sixty-three. Some wands were left for the staff to distribute later with a letter saying so."

"How did they produce that many in that short of time?"

The professor took a moment to answer, "Some of the witches and wizards of the time wondered as well. A few who knew of Christianity suggested that it was possible that they were angels." She said. "Though of course, that is nonsense, but it is the most accepted of the theories. Now that you've heard the story maybe you can answer some questions about..."

Virginia and Harry walked down the corridor; the story was over. "Do you think they were angels Virginia?"

"Don't know. Maybe, I don't really know what an angel is."

Harry thought about trying to explain it to her, but it would involve more time than it would take to reach the infirmary and it would be confusing anyway. He had learned all about religions when he was with Sirius, they had gone to different churches on occasion to seem a part of the community. Harry had never much liked it.

"Why do you think that wand exploded?" Harry asked as the walked down the halls. He felt perfectly all right now and was thinking of using this as a chance to pull a prank on someone. His mind was distracted by the thoughts of the wand however. He'd never heard of a wand exploding before.

Virginia shrugged. "You were playing with it, did you say any spells?"

"No."

"Try one then, see if it does anything."

It was then that Harry remembered that the wand he had in his hand was not his own, that was in the pocket of his cloak; he was still holding the wand which had exploded. He held it up and looked at it again, it didn't seem to be any different than when he examined it before. "Are you sure?"

"Well it didn't work when Neville tried it. I saw him trying to use the lumos charm with it."

Of course Neville had to see if he could use it, he always tried something just to see if perhaps the adults were wrong. "Alright then." Harry said and held the wand up, he didn't think it would work, but held it above his head incase it did explode again. "Lumos."

The hallway lit up so brightly that Harry had to close his eyes. "Nox."

When Harry opened his eyes he saw large dark spots glowing all over, it had half blinded him. "Harry?" Virginia said, her voice trembling. "I can't see."

Harry moved around and gripped her hand, dropping the wand in his other pocket. "Well it's a good thing we were headed to the infirmary. Just let me lead, I can see enough to know where to go."

They moved through the halls quietly but Harry could see that Virginia was becoming uneasy. He tried to imagine what might make her feel better and he had an idea. "Virginia. Remember what the professor said? That the two children left less-than-serious gifts sometimes." Virginia nodded, calmer than she had been. Harry opened a secret passage; it would make the trip easier if they didn't have to deal with other students or teachers. "What do you say about giving everyone our own less-that-serious gift? I can get into every common room."

In the flickering light of the magical torches that lit the passage revealed that Virginia had lost her uneasiness and was smiling. Harry knew she loved pulling practical jokes as much as he did; only she was the idea person while he made sure everything worked out. "I have a really good idea. We'll have to get into the common rooms at least once soon so we can make sure it will work. If we can do..." She continued on, explaining in detail what she was thinking about.

"A wand exploding. Pish-posh! You've both been blinded by light. What did you two decide to see who could stare at the sun longer?" Madam Pomfrey hadn't let Harry explain everything; he had only just gotten to the part where the wand exploded. "Alright, come here, well get you fixed up.

Virginia lay down and Madam Pomfrey bustled about getting some things while Harry wondered about the wand. He should return it as soon as he got out, he didn't like it much. Would Professor Shamis believe it was working without him trying to do something? Should he even tell her that it was? That would mean she would have to tell the ministry and if it were a working wand they would have to take it away. Harry debated the telling her as Madam Pomfrey examined him. "You'll both have to were special glasses for a week, they'll help your eyes adjust. Ms. Weasley won't be able to see for another hour or so until the potion takes effect.

Returning to the classroom they found it had been emptied of students, classes were over for the night. "Are you alright Ms. Weasley?" asked Professor Shamis who was sitting in the far corner of the classroom, being extremely quiet until that moment.

"Yes, I just can't see very well at the moment. Terrible headache, Madam Pomfrey gave me something for it though it'll go away."

They had talked about telling the Professor about the incident and decided not to, it was better to keep a family treasure within the family and not let the ministry take it away. Harry pulled out the wand and started to hand it to Professor Shamis who shook her head. "It's not mine anymore."

"What are you talking about? It's a family heirloom." Harry insisted she take it.

Again she shook her head. "Not anymore, it wasn't my choice."

"I don't want it." Harry dropped it on the table in front of the professor and went to collect his things.

The professor laughed heartily. "You think you have a choice? I don't want to give it up and you don't want to take it, but it isn't our choice now is it?" Harry looked up at her confused. Wands chose their owners when they were bought, and they really had no magical powers without a witch or wizard controlling them did they?

"Look." Harry had been keeping an eye on Professor Shamis, but not on the wand, when he looked to the desk he had set it on it was gone.

"Where did it go?"

The professor moved across the room to the bookshelf and took no notice of the question. She pulled out a parchment. "Here. It's proof that this wand has been purged of any and all magic. You'll need it if the ministry ever confiscates it."

"But I haven't even got the wand."

She pulled down the box it had been in. "Keep it in this, it's charmed to keep the wand from aging like they usually do, that's how it's still in as good of shape as it is."

She slipped the parchment into the box and handed them both to Harry. "I know you may not be used to having something like this but keep it put away, it is worth a great deal to our family."

"But I..."

The professor shushed him. "Did you enjoy the rest of the story?"

"Yeah." Said Harry.

"Why didn't anyone believe they were real?" Virginia asked.

Professor Shamis placed the leather-bound volume she had read from earlier back on the shelf. "They didn't know how to explain how the children moved through the castle or could stop terrible creatures from killing. Some of the things they did made them seem as if they could do more than just magic. They were real though. We have a painting of them at home sitting with Gustav."

"Why did they give wands to everyone like they did?"

"Virginia, you asked for the story. Do you think that perhaps they knew the true meaning of Christmas the thing that is so hard to grasp even now? Have you ever given it all for someone?" Professor Shamis asked.

Virginia looked over to Harry and then back to the professor. "I think we've all given something up to help someone else." She said and then added. "Harry does it all the time."

Harry shook his head and slipped his hands into his pockets nonchalantly and noticed that both pockets contained wands. Someone the other wand had slipped into his pocket. He pulled it out and set it on the desk beside him while the Professor wasn't looking, he would just conveniently forget to take them and hope she didn't force them upon him. He didn't want to take something of her families, it didn't matter if she thought it was not hers anymore, it wasn't his.

"Alright, why don't you two get going, class is over and I have some things to take care of."

Virginia started to ask something else but Harry wanted to get out of there before the wand was noticed. "Later." He whispered.

Outside he headed away from the towers. If Professor Shamis should see it and want to return it she would head that direction. Besides, they still had to talk to Mr. Darnel.

He wasn't old like Filch, but he had the same sour look. "What do you want?" he asked Harry when they entered the office. He almost turned around but Virginia kept a tight grip on him.

"We want to make a trade." Virginia told him.

Mr. Darnell sat up in his chair and stared at the two. "What do you 'ave that I need?" He asked gruffly.

Harry was beginning to wonder if this was such a good idea, telling Mr. Darnell that they knew the passages was a big mistake. "We know things about the school that most people don't. Things Filch doesn't even know."

For the first time since Harry had seen him, Mr. Darnell smiled. The whole outward appearance seemed to change, giving him a much nicer look, a completely different look than Filch now. "You know the passages don't yeah?" he asked, smiling even broader. "What do you want to trade for 'em?"

"Well, we don't want to get prevented from using them. Nor do we want to get in trouble for things we showed you." She paused briefly, seeing what he thought of it. His look didn't change at all, he simply continued smiling. "There are other things also. Filch has confiscated some of our things..."

Mr. Darnell laughed. "Yes. You two must be 'arry and Ginny. I've heard about you. Argus didn't much like you two."

Argus? Did he know Filch?

"He caught you sneaking into the school first day didn't 'e?" He asked Harry.

Harry nodded.

"Yes, well I think the deal is acceptable, 'e never showed me many of the passages when I was here and I doubt he knew them all anyway."

Virginia wasn't about to let him off; he seemed not to mind agreeing with that so she was going to push it further. "My brothers are also to be considered, they use the passages as well."

"Of course. My brother wasn't fond of many people, but I don't want to be like 'em."

"Brother?" Harry asked.

"Well 'alf-brother, different father. He didn't much like me because I 'ad the talent and he didn't."

"He was a squib?"

"'Fraid so, made him resentful to the rest of the world especially because of me. My mother was a muggle and I was still born with magic." Darnell pulled out a parchment from his desk. "You two know the passages, what else do ye know? Secret rooms and such?"

Harry and Virginia looked between each other. "Some." Harry said, not trying to give away how much they actually knew.

"Good, well we can go exploring tonight, I'll show you what I know first and ye can show me the others."

"Then you will let us use the passages as we please?" Virginia asked.

Darnell nodded. "But I don't want it coming back that I gave ye permission for such. And I don't want you to go and get yourselves harmed sneaking around. I don't want you hurting others either, you must be more careful when you pull any stunts. As for your item's you've lost I'll have to go through everything first, but then you can come and see what he's built up in his vault. I suppose you might be able to help me clear it out."

This was by far better than Harry had expected, he was almost going to let them do whatever they wanted.

"Of course, should someone else catch you you'll be punished accordingly, I can't make it seem as if I favor anyone."

•

Darnell met them at precisely 9 o'clock, the time that all students were supposed to be in their common rooms. Some of course were still out, serving detentions or in the library finishing some last minute homework assignments.

"Cleared the halls, no teachers'll be out tonight, made sure of that 'for I came. Can't be seen getting moving through the school with you two." He told them quietly. "The professor's 'ave already retired for the night so we'd best be moving along, got a lot of things I need to see 'for the night is over."

Three Passages and almost an hour later they were staring down into the Slytherin common room. The vent shaft that was above it was easily accessible and though a bit small for Darnell, still easy enough to crawl in. It went further, but neither Darnell nor Virginia could see that, it looked as if stopped here and that's what Harry intended to make Darnell think. Sneaking into a common room was one thing, but sneaking into the dorms and bathrooms was private.

Virginia could see now and examined the rooms; they might as well make full use of the privilege while they had it. She nodded to Harry signaling she thought it would work well with the plan.

The whole night disappeared in a maze of passages; they walked through the school 5 times thoroughly, giving him passage after passage. Then, to top it off they led him to Hogsmeade and back twice. Harry kept a few passages quiet, the ones that he wanted to use without even Darnell knowing about them. Even then they didn't show Darnell some,

When Darnell had had enough there was still more, but Harry had saved them for last, there were still a few places he wanted to keep secret. "This night 'as been very enlightenin' I 'ave to get back and get some sleep now. You two 'ad best be getting back."

Virginia had other plans and she pulled Harry in to one of the other passages leading to Hogsmeade. The came out in the gardens and walked along the path for a while. Virginia was trying to figure out what to buy for Bill, she said it had to be special because he had saved Harry from the fire. Ron's present was special as well; she had spent a great deal of money getting him a Quidditch outfit, an official Chudley Cannons uniform.

Harry remembered Ron spouting about them two weeks ago, right before the first Quidditch match at the school. He had not been able to go because he had gotten caught putting spells on the Slytherins shoes in class so that they bonded together after three steps. Snape had immediately taken the chance to give him detention during the Quidditch match.

Slytherin had won, they were said to be good even if they didn't cheat. Harry wished he were flying against them; he might be able to fight them off.

"I think something like this." Virginia pulled a necklace from the stand they were in front of. It was a very small necklace, to be worn around the neck itself. "He has earrings that would match it perfectly. He just got them after vacation, mum hated it when he did it but I think she's getting used to the idea." Harry examined it and flipped it over. It was a charmed necklace, suppose to help the wearer when he was attacked physically. The price tag was much more than Virginia had so Harry kept it in his hands. It looked good, and Bill would probably like it, he would just pitch in a little extra so that Virginia could get it.

"Then let's get it. Here, give me your money and I'll go get it. Be right back alright?" Virginia dug in her pockets and fished out the money, dropping the few coins into Harry's pocket. When Harry reached the counter he pulled out his money and paid for the necklace.

Hogsmeade wasn't particularly busy, but people were still bustling around shopping for whatever it was they needed. Virginia liked to watch, so they sat on a bench, eating some ice cream and watched as every variety of witch a wizard past by.

"Do you want to go for a run in the woods Harry? I really want to go fly." Changing over didn't sound like a bad idea. Sirius could do it all over, he could wander around a town as a dog and few people would even pay attention to him, while if Harry went bounding around he was almost always chased after or yelled at. Flying would be even easier; it wasn't that uncommon to see an eagle or a falcon flying around a town. He envied Virginia for that.

If they transformed Virginia could hold the bag with the necklace in it in her talons while Harry followed her bellow, and they would bother get to play for a while with no one watching. Besides, Harry wanted to try something that had been nagging him for a while.

"Try transforming into a wildcat like me. You told me you could do it before, so I want to know if you can do it now."

The challenge was something he had been curious about since she had changed. Sirius had once told him that a person could not become two animagus because you were only one person, to be something else would require a second body physically, so no one would ever be able to do it.

Virginia smiled; she knew something that Harry didn't. She pulled off her glasses and dropped them in the bag. Closing her eyes she concentrated. Harry didn't concentrate anymore, he had done it so many times that it was natural, he didn't even hardly think about it. At first it was slow, she turned a golden color and leaned forward, her hands becoming paws. Then, her hair formed and a mouth, sharp teeth protruding.

Did he look like this? He wondered. It wasn't any sort of wildcat he knew of.

She changed back. Faster than before, but not as quick as Harry did normally, "You did it!" Harry was overjoyed, now he could tell Sirius that he was wrong, someday.

Virginia nodded, smiling. "I've been practicing. Now you try it, you become a bird."

The impulse to try it made Harry shiver. He had felt the same pain she had gone through, maybe he was also an eagle. He closed his eyes and almost transformed, but he stopped, he was doing what was natural and become a wildcat. He slowed himself, trying to take each step slowly. There must be something else. At first it was the Thought, he forced himself to think of becoming an eagle first. Then, when he changed he saw each part of him as a part of the eagle; his feet tingled, becoming clawed. His skin slowly became feathers, his arm to wings. It hurt, and it was hard, it didn't feel as natural as when he had become a wildcat. Now, he had experience, he remembered how the change became natural, and how hard it had been to force himself to become an animal.

He was unsuccessful, but he knew what he had done wrong. "You almost..." Virginia said, but he ignored her. He closed his eyes again, this time starting with more concentration. It started from the inside; it felt as if he was going to be sick, as if his innards were being punched. His legs dissolved into tiny noodles then became hard. His skin tingled and burner, stretching itself out and become feathers. He closed his eyes, not used to the unusual feeling of such a change. He felt his face form, his mouth becoming small and pointed, his alertness doubled, becoming even more aware of everything around him.

He flapped his wings, feeling the power he had. He did it again and again, until he felt himself lifted off the ground. A wind gust slammed against him, lifting him further into the air. It felt natural to ride the wind, and he felt it ripple his feathers and he smiled inwardly. This was completely different from flying on a broom, it was like floating.

Behind him someone screeched. Harry understood her. Virginia had changed and was following him with the bag in her hands. Harry screeched back it her. Sirius had once told him he could understand dogs, but couldn't take back very well. He seemed to have no difficulties talking to Virginia.

• Edited 2004.09.18 •