Harry, Ron and Hermione were now the best of friends. Normally, this should be a good thing, but now they were all keeping secrets from me. Hermione was obsessed with the idea of Snape trying to kill Harry and I.
I began to avoid Harry and Ron. Not because I hated them, but because they were stressing me out. Hermione was stressed, too, with exams and this secret, she was always ten minutes away from ripping her hair out.
But neither of those things were bothering me. It was the fact that Hermione was always distracted when we were together. We couldn't even study because she was too busy looking up other things that should be unimportant, but were relevant to her.
“Come on, Hermione,” I tried to contain my whining. We were at breakfast, attemtping to study, but she kept glancing worriedly at Snape. “Focus!”
She nodded quickly, squinting her eyes in determination. “Okay! I can do this...” She looked at me guiltily. “What was the question?”
“I repeated it three times!” I complained angrily.
She glanced at Snape again.
“Hermione! Stop it! You're acting like Ron,” I scowled.
Unable to help herself, Hermione glanced down the table to where the red-headed boy was sitting, stuffing his face with eggs. She wrinkled her nose. “Gross... but you're right, I am acting different... holy cricket, we're going to be late!” she gasped, glancing at her wristwatch.
I scooped up my parchment and quills, then we both made our way to the dungeons.
As we got there, the temperature went down, getting colder and colder. I could even see my breath in front of me, escaping my lips in little white mists. This was reasonable, since it was mid-December and almost Christmas.
Hermione and I linked arms and opened the door to Snape's class. We sat in our usual seats at the front because no matter how much we might despise Snape, we still wanted to learn.
Unfortunately, Draco Malfoy sat in the table next to us. “I do feel so sorry,” he said, in a loud, obnoxious voice, “for all those people who have to stay at Hogwarts for Christmas because they're not wanted at home.” He glanced not-so-subtly at Harry and I.
“Its a wonder how anyone would want Malfoy near them on a holiday,” I said just as loudly, “it must be terrible.”
Malfoy turned a little pink, glaring coldly at me. He had been even more unpleasant after the Quidditch match. Disgusted that the Slytherins had lost, he tried to get back at us by making everyone laugh at how wide-mouthed tree frogs would be replacing Harry and I as Chaser and Seeker. Then he realized that nobody found this funny, because they were all so impressed that we managed to stay on our bucking brooms. So Malfoy, jealous and angry, had went back to taunting Harry and I about our proper family.
It was true that we weren't going back to Private Drive for Christmas, but not one complaint escaped Harry nor my own lips.
Professor McGonagall had come by a week before, making a list of students who would be staying at Hogwarts for the holidays; Harry and I were the firsts to sign up. I didn't feel sorry for myself at all; just being away from the Dursleys was a gift enough. Ron and his brothers were staying too, to Harry's delight, but Hermione was leaving, which would leave me time for myself. I was quite happy with this; I had never had time for myself before. Not ever.
Hermione had pleaded me to look up a wizard named Nicolas Flamel when she left, and at first I refused to play along with her paranoia, but I finally agreed to to humor her.
When Harry, Ron, Hermione, and I left potions, we found a large fur tree blocking our path. Two enormous feet were sticking out of the bottom and a loud puffing sound told us that it was Hagrid behind there.
“Hi, Hagrid, want any help?” Ron asked, sticking his head through the branches.
“Nah, I'm alright, thanks, Ron,” Hagrid huffed.
“Would you mind moving out of the way?” came Malfoy's cold drawl from behind us.
“Wow, you even make polite words sound cruel,” I said evenly.
Malfoy ignored this, however. “Trying to earn extra money, Weasley? Hoping to become gamekeeper yourself when you leave Hogwarts? I suppose that hut of Hagrid's might seem like a palace of what your family is used to.”
Ron dived at Malfoy just as Snape came downstairs.
“WEASLEY!” Ron let go of the front of Malfoy's robes.
“He was provoked, Professor Snape,” said Hagrid, sticking his large and bushy head out from behind the tree, “Malfoy was insultin' his family.”
“Be that as it may,” Snape said icily, “fighting is against Hogwarts' rules, Hagrid. Five points from Gryffindor, Weasley, and be grateful it isn't more. Move along, all of you.”
Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle pushed roughly past the tree, scattering needles everywhere and smirking.
“I'll get him,” said Ron through gritted teeth, glaring daggers at Malfoy's back, “one of these days, I'll get him-”
“I hate them both,” Harry said, “Malfoy and Snape.”
“Cheer up, you two!” I said, brushing the incident aside. “Its going to be the best Christmas ever away from the Dursleys!”
“Nixie's right,” Hagrid said, nodding his bushy head up and down. “Tell yeh what, come with me and see the Great Hall. It looks a real treat.”
I stopped smiling. “Oh, no thanks, Hagrid. I only enter the Great Hall when I'm hungry. I think I'll go to the Common Room and... look things up.”
“Oh,” Harry said, catching on, “yeah, I'll see you later, then. Bye.”
“Bye, Harry, Ron,” I said, and waved bye to Hagrid, who couldn't wave back because he was trying to carry the tree. “See you, Hagrid.”
*~*
“Bolderdash,” I said to the Fat Lady and she swung the door open. I climbed through the portrait hole and made my way up to the girls' dormitory.
Hermione was packing the last of her possessions when I came in, and even though I was eager to be alone for a while, a small empty pit ached in my stomach. She was my only true friend, and she would be leaving for an entire holiday. I've never missed someone in my life before; Harry and I were always together, and I hated the Dursleys, so the feeling was foreign.
“Oh, Hermione,” I said with a dramatic sigh, and she looked up. “I'm going to miss you.”
She smiled – beamed, actually, and I was once again reminded how I had been her very first friend. She hugged me as tightly as her thin arms would allow, and I returned the favor. “I'm going to miss you, too!”
I smiled into her shoulder, and as I did so, I heard gagging. Hermione and I broke apart. Lavender Brown was laying on her bed, staring at us with her mouth gaping open and her tongue hanging out.
“Creeper much?” I asked her sarcastically.
Lavender rolled her eyes at me. “Shut up.”
“You're just jealous you don't have a friend that loves you as much as I love Hermione,” I said, smiling at her with a bit of evilness.
Lavender scoffed at me. “I have Padma!”
Padma wasn't much of Lavender's friend, they just talked to each other about random stuff: boys, class, Quidditch, boys, makeup, hair, boys, and – oh, yeah – boys.
I plopped down on my bed and laid back, closing my heavy eyes.
“Oh, no you don't,” Hermione said, and I felt her eyes on me. “You need to do research. Harry, Ron, and I have been doing all the work!”
“That's because I'm not obsessed with-” I stopped dead. Lavender had almost heard. My eyes snapped open, and, not surprisingly, I saw her eying us suspiciously.
“With...” Lavender prompted, as though we were going to tell her.
“None of your business,” I snapped, and dug under my bed for the book Hermione told me to read.
When the holidays came, I did what Hermione asked me to. I researched, looking everywhere for a wizard named Flamel. But it was hard to think about research when there were so many Christmas cookies floating by me in the Common Room.
I spent most of my time in the library or in Hagrid's hut, trying hard to ignore Lavender, Harry, and Ron. Those two have been so caught up in trying to expel Malfoy that it just wasn't fun anymore. Once in a while I would take my Nimbus Two Thousand and fly a few laps around the Quidditch field.
Christmas was a surprise. I woke up earlier than everyone else – nothing new there – and I saw, at the foot of my bed, some wrapped presents.
I froze, completely amazed at the sight of it. I've never gotten real presents before – not the ones that were wrapped in colorful paper and completed with a pretty bow. Harry had given me what he could, and the Dursleys had handed down junk, but never something true. I picked up my presents and ran to the Common Room, which was empty except for Harry and Ron.
“Hey,” I said, trying to act casual.
I slid into the seat beside Harry, even though the couch was only meant to fit one person.
“What are you doing?” I asked cheerfully.
“Waiting for you, actually,” Harry said, to my surprise. Though we were still twins, I sometimes found myself forgetting how it was to only have each other. It was nice to know that he still thought of me.
“Awe,” I said, because even though I was touched, I couldn't resist teasing him. “Did you two miss me? That's cute.”
Harry rolled his eyes and smiled, amused. “No, I just got this present that said it was for me and you, and I guessed we should open it together.”
I scoffed. “It its for me and you, then why did they put it in your dorm?”
“Because I'm older, more responsible... should I go on or do you get the picture?” Harry retorted.
I stared at him blankly for a moment, then smiled. “When did you get a sense of humor? Is this my Christmas present? Because I think its awesome!”
Harry ignored this and handed me a small, neatly wrapped present that said, “To: Nicie and Harry Potter”.
“It doesn't say who its from?” I asked, flipping the card over.
i scoffed. "if its for me and you, then why did they put it in your dorm?"
Harry shook his head.
“We'll open it later,” I picked up a small and round crinkly one, “I still never opened up my other presents.”
“Oh, no,” Ron paled, staring at the wrapper in horror. “She made you a Weasley sweater.”
I looked at him oddly. “Who made me a what?”
“mum made you a Weasley sweater,” Ron explained. “She makes us some every year.”
I ripped open the package and felt soft material. The way Ron had described it, I had imagined something terrible. But it was instead a cute, thick black sweater with loose sleeves that reached my elbow.
“It's so cute,” I complimented, and saw Ron relax somewhat.
I slipped it on over my head. Ron was staring at the sweater in amazement. “Why is yours better?” he asked, pouting.
“What do you mean? Yours is cute, too,” I assured him.
Ron huffed and crossed his arms over his chest. I resisted the urge to tell him to be grateful, then opened up the next present. It was from Hermione.
“Oh, no!” I exclaimed. “I forgot to get a present for Hermione!”
“You forgot my present, too,” Harry said jokingly.
I elbowed him playfully. “Oh, you'll get your present, alright... later.”
Harry and Ron gave me suspicious looks. The truth was, I completely forgot about his present, too. Oh, well, I'll have to think something up with Fred and George. I ripped open Hermione's present; it was a lifetime supply of chocolate frogs.
“Yum!” I hummed, popping one in my mouth and tossing the card to Ron, who collects them. “Now, let's open this one.”
I picked up the parcel that was for Harry and I. Tugging on it lightly, I noticed that Harry was looking at it like it held the secrets of life. I chuckled under my breath and opened it with one rip. Some silvery substance slithered to the floor, and Ron gasped.
“I've heard of those,” Ron said with a stupid longing voice that I instantly hated. “If that's what I think it is – its really rare – really valuable.”
“What is it?” I asked impatiently, snatching it up off the floor. It felt like it was knit by water, so soft and silky.
“Its an invisibility cloak,” he said, too much in awe to think much of my rudeness. “It has to be – try it on.”
The second it was on my body, Harry and Ron gave shouts of surprise that could have woken the entire school, if anyone had stayed.
“It is! Look down,” Ron said, gesturing towards my body.
I looked down at myself and gasped. My body had disappeared, yet I knew that it was still there. “You know how much pranks I could pull with Fred and George with this?”
Harry picked up the card and read the last part out loud. “Use it well,” he read. It was directed towards me.
“Whatever,” I said, and took off the cloak, happy to see my feet again.
Quickly, it was stuffed in my robes. At first, Harry looked at me quizzically, and when he opened his mouth, I covered it. “Fred and George will be coming down in five – four – three – two -”
“MERRY CHRISTMAS!” Fred and George yelled, and realization dawned on Harry's face. He gave me a grateful smile, and we made a silent agreement not to tell anyone but Hermione and Ron.
“Hey, look!” Fred exclaimed, pointing to Harry and I. “Nixie and Harry have a Weasley sweater!”
I gave Fred and George a meaningful look, and they nodded knowingly. Ignoring the weary looks from Harry and Ron, I picked up my box of chocolate frogs and carried it out of the Common Room.
When I got to the Great Hall door, I sat beside it, waiting for Fred and George. A lot of students passed me, either looking longily at my chocolate frogs or completely ignoring me.
After what felt like hours, Fred and George came walking my way, frog marching Percy, who had a Weasley sweater on, but his arms weren't through the sleeves and were instead pinned to his sides by the sweater.
“Oi, Percy,” I said, and the Prefect looked down at me. “Those things on the sides are sleeves, you don't have to walk around like a prisoner if you put your arms through it.”
He blushed, yanked himself out from Fred's and George's grasp, and said, as sharply as his embarrassment would allow, “I know that, Potter.”
“Just trying to help,” I said, holding my hands up in surrender. “I'm giving around Merry Christmas's, so... Merry Christmas!”
Percy went through the door to the Great Hall. The twins and I shared incredibly serious faces.
“Okay, I forgot to spread Christmas cheer to the school so I thought of something,” I said.
The twins beckoned me to the classroom to the right, where Professor McGonagall told the first years how to behave not too long ago. “What's your prank this time, Nixie?” Fred asked with an amused smirk on his face when I passed by him and into the classroom. They followed.
I sat on the only desk in there. “It has something to do with chocolate frogs and bubbles,” I told them.
“Really?” George asked, suddenly disappointed. “What about a bang and fire?”
“How about all?” I asked, giving him a mischievous grin that he and his brother returned.
Our planning took longer than we had expected. We had to skip breakfast, much to my misery, but it would be worth it in the end.
Fred and George came up with it all, but I gave them ideas to make it better, and that's what made us a perfect team. They thought up the basics while I gave it an extra flare.
“You two should really own a joke shop one day,” I complimented them.
“Really?” Fred said, smiling at me with a charming smile. “We never really thought about it.”
“We've always assumed we'de just get a job in the Ministry,” George admitted.
I blinked at them. “Why? It would be kind of weird, don't you think? Breaking rules now and enforcing them in the future?”
They nodded. “We never really thought of it,” Fred repeated. “But when you put it like that, it sounds...”
“Boring,” George finished.
I felt an uncomfortable feeling settle in my gut, and shook my head quickly. “No! Don't listen to me! It's your future – I always thought you two would be into something more prank-related, that's all, but if you want to work in the Ministry, I think that's awesome.”
Fred and George laughed. “I don't think so. We always thought we'd end up in the Ministry because of our father, but I think a prank shop will be much better...” George smiled, thinking of what his prank shop would look like. The boys were really excited about the idea, and they started to tell me their new found visions of this wonder place run by Weasleys. A smile found it's way up my lips as they spoke enthusiastically.
“What about you, Nixie?” George asked finally. “Would you help us in our pranks?”
I never really thought of what I would do, but I shook my head. The thought of living a long life in a joke shop wasn't as appealing to me if I thought of it seriously. “No me... I never really thought about it but...”
“What?” They prompted, while waving their wands at a couple of bubble blowing sticks.
I blushed. “Annnorr,” I mumbled.
They both leaned forward. “A what?”
“An Auror,” I said slowly.
Shock flitted across their face, but they smiled. “That's bloody brilliant,” Fred told me, and I grinned at him. “Why would you want to be an Auror?”
I shrugged. “I like beating people up.”
We laughed, and before we knew it, we finished. It was about supper time, and this left us wondering how we lasted this long without food.
“Oooh!” I groaned, clutched my stomach. “I'm hungry!”
“Its halfway through supper,” Fred told me. “Now go ask Dumbledore.”
I pouted. We had debated on who would ask Dumbledore if we could do the prank, and, as it turned out, Fred and George were the biggest wimps, so the job was left to me. I pushed the doors open and made my way between the table. The smell of Christmas food hit me along with a wave of dizziness. When I passed Harry, I took some of his Christmas cookies, and he shouted in protest, but I kept walking. I stopped walking when I reached Dumbledore.
“Yes, Ms. Potter?” he asked me politely.
“I just wanted to know if the Weasley twins and I could spread a little Christmas joy right now,” I smiled. “I promise no one will get hurt.”
Dumbledore thought for a moment, before nodding in acceptance. “By all means.”
“Thank you,” I said. Professor Snape sneered at me, but instead of dignifying that with a response, I turned around and ran to the double doors, and thrust them open.
Fred and George were talking casually, leaning against the wall.
“He said yes,” I informed them, and grabbed one of the bubble blowing sticks, glad that they weren't as heavy as the box of chocolate frogs.
“Yes!” Fred and George cheered, they held their own bubble blowing sticks. We all stood before the Great Hall doors, which were still closed.
The boys helped me push them open.
“MERRY CHRISTMAS!” Fred, George, and I yelled. We each held the bubble blowing sticks to our lips as the students and teacher watched us curiously. We blew softly into them and out came a silvery white mist that wasn't gas but wasn't water, either; it was more like a color in the air. When we stopped blowing, the mist became fiery red like fire and they all connexted high about the students' heads, forming the words “Merry Christmas.”
Every student looked up in awe, not knowing what was foing to happen next. Fred, George and I exchanged evil looks, and that's when the fun part started. The fiery words exploded, and it was raining chocolate frogs. The frogs didn't hit anyone, but instead landing on plates and in open palms. Students were cheering happily, catching the candy. Every time a frog would land, it would sing, in a squeaky voice, “Merry Christmas!”
I smiled at the Hall. Even the teachers were excited about the candy, though Professor Snape flicked them off his plate.
“That was bloody brilliant!” Ron exclaimed when we sat down.
“Awe, shucks, Ron, you're making me blush,” I said jokingly. “What do you think, Harry? Was that an amazing Christmas present or what?”
Harry grinned at me. “What was my Christmas present?”
“Having an amazing sister,” I said it like it should have been obvious, but the boys just laughed at me.
When everyone had gone to bed, Harry and I stood in the Common Room by ourselves, admiring our invisibility cloak.
“I think we should try it out, Harry,” I urged. “Come on, we can have an adventure!”
Harry thought about it for a moment, then nodded. “We should bring Ron, right?”
“No!” I said, “This is ours and we should be the firsts to use it.”
Harry agreed. Maybe it was my imagination but he kind of looked relieved at what I just said. “Come on, Nixie.”
He threw the cloak over us both, and we made our way out of the Common Room. Harry pushed the portrait open and we both clambered out of the hole together.
“Who's there?” the Fat Lady squeaked. At first I was confused, but then I realized that we were under the cloak. Slightly embarrassed, Harry and I kept walking.
“So, where are we going?” I asked him.
“The library,” Harry told me, and I scoffed.
“We can go anywhere with this, and you want to go to the library?”
“The restricted section, Nixie,” he said impatiently.
“Oh, now we're going in the restricted section, scary,” I oohed like a ghost.
Harry was annoyed now. “I mean, we can go find Nicolas Flamel in the restricted section,” he hissed.
I sighed, a little annoyed that we were risking detention to nurse his paranoia, but followed.
The library was pitch black, the silence eerie. A small buzzing noise took place in my ear, taking the place of the silence, but it didn't make anything better. The room looked bigger than it did with all the lights off, and the corners seemed to hold a dark secret that would pop out at us when we walked by. Uneasily, I lit up a lamp, partly to see what was around us, and partly because I was spooked. I had to stick the lamp out of the cloak so that we could see the light spilling from it, but it looked like it was floating in midair, and the sight caused goosebumps to raise on my arms.
The restricted section was at the back of the library. Harry and I both stepped carefully over the rope that separated these books from the rest. Harry took the lamp from me and held it up to read the titles of the books.
We read the titles, and grimaced at the foreign, scraped words.
“Is that blood?” I whispered to Harry, pointing at a big black on that had a dark red stain on it. I shivered at how loud my voice was, and hugged the cloak tighter around myself. No wonder these books were off limits.
“Ssh,” Harry said to me, his emerald green eyes wide, looking strangely bright in the dark. “Are these books whispering?” I was about to call him mad, and punch him for saying such creepy things in a creepy place, but then I heard it too.
The books sounded strange, as if they were having a conversation with one another.
I gulped, but shrugged, trying to act brave. I wanted to run out of this place as fast as I could, but Harry beckoned me to follow him, so I did. He took me to the end of the bookshelf and knelt down. He took out the last book there and opened it. What happened next was the most scariest thing I've ever experienced – even more so than my bucking broom.
The book let out a piercing, blood curdling scream. The sound filled every corner of the library, tearing through my ears. Harry closed the book quickly, but the shrieks went on and on. It was one of those high-pitched screeches that could brake a glass – or my eardrums. Harry stumbled backwards, dropping the lamp while I clapped my hands over my sore ears. We heard footsteps and panicked. Harry quickly shoved the book back into its place and we both ran for it. We ran right past Filch, who was pale and wide eyed, his arms outstretched as though he knew that someone invisible would try to slip past him.
I'm ashamed to admit that I wasn't paying attention to where we were running, instead thinking about what we had left behind. When we were too tired to run without breathing heavily, we slowed to a quick pace, and found outself in a dark corridor.
Relieved, we smiled at each other. I felt a small, irrational burst of hilarity, and had to stop myself from laughing when we heard footsteps. Harry pointed to the first classroom door he could find, and we burst inside of it. Luckily, there was no hardworking teacher still grading papers. Nothing was in it, really, but a couple of desks, hastily pushed to the side, and a giant mirror in the middle. I thought it was off to have a mirror in the middle of a classroom, but then I remembered that Hogwarts kept a dangerous, three-headed dog in the reach of eleven year olds.
“That was...” I struggled for the right words. “Fun.”
Harry stared at me like I was crazy. “Fun?”
“Yeah,” I blushed a little. “I mean, I understand why you and Ron were so excited about meeting Fluffy.”
Harry shook his head at me. “Did you catch something in the restricted section?”
“Oh, ha ha,” I tugged the invisibility cloak away from him. “You're very funny, Harry, you know that?”
I went to look at myself in the mirror, wanting to see my own head floating without a body.
When I looked at the mirror, I almost jumped out of my own skin. I stepped closer to the mirror, only half conscious of Harry staring at me oddly.
But, if he had been standing with me, he wouldn't find my reaction so strange. Standing with my reflection, I could see a group of people. They couldn't have actually been behind me, since Harry would have said something and I would have noticed, but they were standing there, with warm smiles and affectionate crinkles around their eyes.
The woman to my left had dark red hair, exactly like mine, and green almond-shaped eyes, similar to Harry's and my own. To my right was someone who could have been an older version of Harry with untidy, jet-black hair and narrow face, but the man had glinting hazel eyes. The people in the back were old, old enough to be my grandparents, if they were still alive.
I knew who these people were, I've seen the man and the woman before every day whenever I looked at my locket. But this was different, these people were aware of me. When I smiled, their smiles widened.
My fingers clasped my locket. The man and woman weren't waving at me over and over, they weren't endlessly winking; they reacted to me just the way I wanted them to. They looked at me with the same expression I had on me right now; wonder, happiness, fascination. I could feel the sting of tears at the back of my eyes.
“Nixie, are you okay?” Harry's voice broke through my fantasy.
“Sure, sure,” I said impatiently, backing away from the mirror. The Mirror-Me copied my movement, and my mum and dad sidestepped me so that I wouldn't bump into them. “Harry, come look.”
Harry hesitated for a moment, glancing anxiously at the door. Either he wanted to leave little crazy me as soon as possible, or he was worried someone would stumble in on us. I hoped it was the latter.
With obvious reluctance, he stepped in front of the mirror and stared at himself. Mum and dad were both gone.
Harry looked at me, worried, and I laughed in exasperation as the realization dawned on me. Life had to be so unfair; we couldn't see the people we loved at the same time. I moved so that Harry stood in front of the mirror by himself.
He sucked in a great breath of air, too huge to be a simple gasp. His expression was bewildered and full of pure joy. I giggled.
“See them now?” I asked gently. I knew he missed them more, but that was only because he always tried to think of them more, he always wondered what life would have been like with parents. I didn't, though, I didn't see the point in thinking about your own misfortunes, when so many good things could happen in the future. They would never come back, but that didn't mean no one else could fill the gap they left behind. Harry, however, carried around a shred of hope, and that hope will one day be crushed, leaving him devastated.
Harry gave a stiff nod and walked so close to the mirror that his nose was almost touching it.
“Mum?” Harry asked in barely a whisper. “Dad?”
He sat down, and I had a feeling he was going to stay there for a while, so I sighed in exasperation and laid down on the cool stone floor, letting my mind drift back to what I saw. Why would the mirror show my parents? How did it know how I longed to see them react to me? Did the mirror show dead relatives to anyone who looked into it? That was a sad, depressing thought, but one realization came to my mind as I watched Harry stare at mum and dad: I missed them.