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SIYE Time:0:42 on 29th March 2024
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Red Is The Heart
By St Margarets

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Category: Post-OotP, Buried Gems
Characters:All
Genres: Action/Adventure, Fluff
Warnings: None
Story is Complete
Rating: PG-13
Reviews: 423
Summary: "In the end, it mattered not that you could not close your mind. It was your heart that saved you." Harry begins to understand the truth of this statement as he learns valuable lessons in love, friendship, and choices during his sixth year. A fluffy H/G tale of adventure. A sequel to the "Wallpaper" trilogy. (Read that first.)


Hitcount: Story Total: 109323; Chapter Total: 7053







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A/N: Thanks to Jo Wickaninnish and to everyone who has been reading and reviewing! I really appreciate the encouragement.

Chapter Eleven: Christmas

The two days before Christmas were tense ones for the wizarding world. The Death Eater's escape was discovered at the same time the Hogwarts Express was leaving Hogsmeade. There were many relieved parents when the train pulled into Kings Cross Station unscathed.

Ron and Ginny could not rest easy until each and every Weasley was accounted for. Even though it was illogical to think that the Death Eaters would make a beeline for the Burrow or Diagon Alley or Gringotts, that didn't stop them from worrying.

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley sent word first. They were going to spend Christmas with Percy and his girlfriend, Penelope. Harry was glad to hear that Percy had patched up his differences with his parents, but thought it was going to take longer for him to reconcile with his siblings. Ron said that Percy was on speaking terms with Bill and Charlie, but had hit a snag with the twins.

Fred and George owled them from an undisclosed location. A member of the Order had a manor house and was opening it for the holidays. Tonks and Lupin were to be there as well - unless they were needed elsewhere, the twins added on an ominous note.

They didn't need to worry about Charlie, since they could look out the window and see him with Norbert or the any of the other three dragons, his hair a bright companion to their colorful scales.

The final letter trickled in the morning of the twenty-fourth as they ate breakfast together in the echoing Great Hall.

"It's from Bill," Ron said, prying off the seal. Another letter tumbled out. "Oh good, he must have contacted your parents, Hermione," he added, handing her the Muggle envelope.

"My parents?" Hermione questioned, slitting open the letter. "But they're in the French Alps skiing."

"Bill's in France too - meeting Fleur's family. I asked him to check on your mum and dad."

"You did? Oh, Ron!" She clutched the letter tightly and gave him a tremulous smile. "Thank you - I was so worried and didn't know how I was going to contact them."

"Thank Bill," he said, trying to sound nonchalant, even though his ears gave him away.

Harry doubted that the Death Eaters would bother showing up at Privet Drive when they knew that he would be at Hogwarts. After a day wrestling with his conscience, he sent the Dursleys a note anyway, thinking that Aunt Petunia would at least know what he was talking about.

Aunt Petunia sent a reply reminding Harry that as long as he didn't come near them, they were safe enough. While he wasn't surprised at Aunt Petunia's message, Harry wondered why he had bothered in the first place. He wished he could be more like Theodore Nott, who seemed to be quite clear about his loyalties.

Harry wondered if he could walk away from his family so easily. Probably not, he admitted to himself. Why did he have this weakness of spirit, which caused him to let Wormtail go and moved him to save Dudley from the Dementors? Theodore Nott wasn't worried about his father's safety; why was he worried about Uncle Vernon's?

"They're having a lovely holiday." Hermione was reading bits of the letter out loud. "They really liked Bill. Hmm, Mum says good looks seem to run in the Weasley family." She looked up and smiled impishly at Ron. "That's right, they've seen Ginny loads of times."

"Ha, ha," Ron said mockingly. Patches of red appeared on his cheekbones.

Ginny was laughing too. Harry sensed her relief in hearing from Bill, and now she could enjoy Christmas knowing everyone was safe.

*

Christmas morning Harry woke to the sound of sleet skittering on the windows. It was quite early, judging by the bitter cold and the blue-black darkness. He burrowed under the covers hoping to go back to sleep. But he couldn't - because he was thinking about Sirius and how he was gone, never to return. The pain of it left him breathless. There wouldn't be a present from him this year. He had had thirteen years worth of presents from his godfather when he received his Firebolt and then there were two more Christmases - and that was all. There would be no more - ever. Maybe it was that number: fifteen. It was so surgically precise. All this and nothing more.

He heard Ron stir in his sleep. For some reason that sound comforted him. He wasn't alone; he was safe in his bed, surrounded by friendly castle walls and guardian dragons. Sirius had slept in Gryffindor tower too. For seven years he had his friends by his side in a place of light and magic. Thinking of Sirius happy and young soothed the ache, and Harry fell back to sleep.

"Oy - sleeping beauty! Wake up!" Ron pulled the covers off of him in one startling motion.

"Ok," he said, over the rapid beating of his heart. "I'm up." He groped for his glasses.

Ron threw him some clothes. "Get dressed. We have presents in the common room."

Hermione and Ginny were waiting in the grouping of squishy chairs by the fireplace. Ginny was wearing his old sweatshirt and the new gold clasps in her hair. They had obviously been up for a while.

"Merry Christmas, Harry! Open your presents!" Ginny exclaimed in an excited voice. Now that he was waking up, he felt a surge of happiness too. The first gift he opened, he was relieved to find, was a Weasley jumper. Mrs. Weasley must have forgiven him. He made a great show of putting it out of sight of Ginny's covetous stare. She laughed and sent him a smug look, which clearly told him that it wouldn't be his for long.

Hermione's present was a binder with pages of pockets. "So you can organize your Chocolate Frog cards," she explained. There was a master list of all the Chocolate Frog cards ever made as well. When he went to examine it, Ron pulled it away and gave him another box to open. "Mine next."

Harry tore off the wrappings to find a very large box of . . . Chocolate Frogs. They must have coordinated their gifts, Harry thought, with a smile.

"Open it," Ron demanded.

"Oh, I don't think I want chocolate for breakfast."

"Just open it. There's more inside."

Mystified, Harry broke the seal and inside found an array of Chocolate Frogs neat in their wrappers - and a bunch of cards. These were no ordinary cards - they were handmade and were of all the people in his life.

The first one he picked up said: "Sirius Back 1958-1996. Godfather to Harry Potter and best friend to James and Lily Potter. Mr. Black was skilled at Transfiguration and became an unregistered Animagus to assist his friend, Remus Lupin, during his monthly transformation. Escaped from Azkaban prison to protect his godson. Provided headquarters for the secret order fighting You-Know-Who. Mr. Black enjoyed playing pranks on his friends and watching his godson grow into a fine young man."

Swallowing hard, he turned the card over to view the moving drawing. It was of Sirius, laughing with his head thrown back, like Harry had seen him laugh a hundred times before. It was so realistically done; he could almost hear the bark.

Ginny was watching him anxiously. "You made these?" he asked in a voice not quite his own.

"Yes." She moved to sit on the arm of his chair. "But Ron and Hermione helped. I drew the portraits when we couldn't find photographs. Ron tracked down the photographs and gave me ideas about what to write. And Hermione helped to charm the pictures." She hesitated. "Do you like them?"

He nodded, not trusting his voice. He shuffled through them. There was a photo of Ron, sprawled on a settee. "Sacrificed himself in a chess game on the way to the Philosopher's Stone . . .Stood on his broken leg to defend his friend . . . Mr. Weasley enjoys wizard chess . . .eating . . .predicting the future . . .eating some more . . .the Chudley Cannons . . ."

Harry smiled and picked out another.

There was Hermione waving. "An ardent defender of house-elf rights . . . Used the Time-Turner to rescue Sirius Black . . . Has consistently earned top marks in her class . . .Ms. Granger enjoys reading . . . knitting . . ."

Harry moved on to a breath-taking photograph of Ginny. She was looking over her shoulder and smiling slightly, with the wind blowing her bright hair straight out, covering the side of her face a bit. He scanned the back. " . . .Enjoys drawing. Playing Quidditch. . Days of Destiny . . . collecting jumpers. . "

All the Weasleys were there - and Lupin and Tonks and his dorm mates.

Then he came to his own card. Ginny had drawn a picture of him in profile, with an intent look of concentration, like he was listening to someone talk. On the back he saw his biography with some interesting details thrown in. "Mr. Potter enjoys home-improvement projects. . . Playing Quidditch . . .secretly listening to Days of Destiny . . . Was one of the youngest Seekers ever to play for Hogwarts . . . Killed the Basilisk in the Chamber . . . Saved Arthur Weasley's life . . . Never runs away when Ginny shouts or cries . . .has the most beautiful eyes . . ."

He felt her hand on his shoulder and he covered it with his own. Ron and Hermione were smiling at him. He knew he had to say something. "Um . . . It's a great present - thanks."

"It's certainly a better present than what you gave Ginny," Ron said. "What possessed you to give her that tatty sweatshirt? When you bought the new one, I thought we were done looking at it."

"Because I wanted it," Ginny said. "And you have room to talk - nice orange and pink socks you gave Hermione. They'll burn a hole through your retinas if you look at them too long."

"I like them," Hermione said firmly. "They're warm and cozy. And besides - they're unusual - not your ordinary socks."

"So I reckon we all had a great Christmas," Harry interrupted.

No one could argue with that.

*

They spent the morning going through Harry's huge pile of Chocolate Frog cards. It was fun to read about the achievements, and sometimes the tribulations, of famous witches and wizards. They even discovered that Harry had some rare, limited edition cards. Ron was quite enthusiastic about these, but Harry felt the real treasures were the ones Ginny had made for him.

In the afternoon Ron and Harry decided to brave the bad weather and call on Hagrid. Hermione and Ginny opted to stay behind and get ready for the feast, since this year it was a formal affair.

"You don't think Hermione's going to do that thing with her hair, so I don't even know her - do you?" Ron demanded as they made their way through the driving wind to Hagrid's hut.

Harry had no idea what Ron was talking about. "I'm sure you'll know her. You've been best friends for almost six years now."

"Yeah, but she keeps surprising me."

"Girls have a way of doing that," Harry replied, thinking of all the ways he had been caught off balance by Ginny this year.

They found Hagrid with Charlie, ministering to a purple dragon lying on the ground. "It must be a new one," Harry speculated.

"No - it's Norbert!" Ron cried, speeding up.

Charlie had one hand on Norbert's neck and was checking his watch. "Pulse is fast, Hagrid."

"I knew it! I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw him lay'n on ter ground. What's wrong with 'im?"

"He hasn't been close to the lake by any chance has he?" Charlie asked with narrowed eyes.

Hagrid looked uncomfortable. "Might of bin. This morn'n he had his snout under that thin ice by ter shore."

Charlie sighed. "We have to keep him away from the lake. He's eaten a Mackled Malaclaw - or several by the looks of him. He's going to have that purple rash for a while and the fever."

"Poor Norbert! And fer Christmas too!"

Norbert let out a pathetic sigh accompanied by a thin pink flame.

"Mummy will stay with you until you're all better," Hagrid crooned. Norbert gazed feverishly at Hagrid and then closed his eyes.

"This near 'ter break my heart."

"He'll be all right, Hagrid. I'll stay too. By evening we'll see an improvement."

"I'd breathe easier, know'n you was here, Charlie," Hagrid said.

"Charlie, you're going to miss the big feast!" Ron protested.

"Oh, I'll get plenty to eat." Charlie waved that away. "Besides I don't care for these formal affairs."

"I'm going to give Norbert his Christmas present, that might cheer him up," Hagrid said.

"You're both daft!" Ron shook his head. "You're going to sit outside in terrible weather with a dragon who had an allergic reaction to shell-fish?"

"It's not technically a fish," Charlie said. "Brother with the heart-of-stone."

"At least I'm not the brother with the head-of-stone."

"There you go, Norbert!" Hagrid said brightly, putting a huge pink teddy bear in front of Norbert's face.

Norbert feebly tried to rip its leg off.

"Isn't that 'ter saddest thing?" Hagrid said tearfully.

Ron groaned. "I give up. Come on, Harry. Even sitting in dress robes trying to make polite conversation is more fun than this."

*

Harry had fun just watching Ron preen in front of the mirror wearing the dress robes that the twins had bought him last year. Since Fred and George had the foresight to buy a self-adjusting size, they still fit.

All thoughts of Ron's pride in his appearance fled when he saw Ginny. She had twisted her hair into a knot at the back of her head, which set off the fine bone structure of her face and the lovely lines of her neck and shoulders. Harry had never really noticed that she had the Weasley nose. On Ron it just looked . . . long. On Ginny, it looked regal. In fact, her entire appearance reminded him of one of the grand ladies in the portraits at Hogwarts - and he was a little intimidated by her. Then she smiled and she was Ginny again.

"Mum didn't pick out those robes did she?" Ginny asked, her eyes dancing.

"How did you know?"

"They don't match your eyes, for one," she replied. "You look nice," she added a bit shyly.

"So do you," he answered just as shyly. He couldn't think of anything else to say because all he could think about was how very kissable that spot looked right where her neck met her shoulders . . .

"Are you going to talk tonight?"

He laughed. "No, I'm just going to drink in your beauty."

"You have been listening to Days of Destiny."

"Nah, I talk like this all the time, don't I, Ron?"

Ron wasn't listening and he wasn't talking either. He was staring at Hermione, who hadn't done anything out of the ordinary with her hair as far as Harry could tell. Her pink robes made her complexion a bit rosier, or maybe it was all the blushing she was doing under Ron's stare.

"You look nice too, Ron," Ginny said. "Mum wanted me to take a few snaps of all of us dressed up. Colin let me borrow his camera."

They went to the Great Hall and took some photos in front of the Christmas tree. That seemed to break the tension for Ron and Hermione. All was back to normal as they began their meal with a starter of smoked salmon. From where he was seated, Harry couldn't hear what they were saying until Hermione spoke up.

"Ron! The elves have been working for days on this meal," Hermione scolded. "The least you can do to show your appreciation is to slow down and examine what you're putting in your mouth before you inhale it."

"This is how I show my appreciation. I have a hearty appetite," Ron mumbled through his food.

"It's rude to talk with your mouth full." Hermione glared.

"And it's rude to correct people's table manners," Ron pointed out in an undertone.

Hermione had the grace to look abashed since they were seated with several professors and some interested Hufflepuffs who had never seen Ron and Hermione in action. The Ravenclaws and Slytherins were at another table with Dumbledore and Snape. Harry noted with amusement that Nott and Snape had identical looks of boredom. He wondered if they ever spoke to one another, or if Nott knew which side Snape was really on.

A joint of beef and Yorkshire pudding appeared on each table along with bowls of vegetables. Ron slowed down for this course, since he, Professor McGonagall and Hermione were in a lively discussion about Quidditch. Hermione had certainly done her homework since she was dropping references to obscure plays and players Harry had never heard of.

Ginny was being monopolized by two chatty Hufflepuff girls, so Harry concentrated on the excellent food and watching everyone - especially Ginny. He didn't have a chance to do that very often - to just watch her.

After huge slices of Christmas cake, the feast was finally over. On their way out they met Hagrid hovering outside the door.

"Hagrid! Why didn't you come in?" Hermione asked.

"I'm not dressed for it, and I'm not feel'n particularly Christmassy-if you know what I mean. Charlie wants this potion fer Norbert. I'd ask Professor Snape myself, but he's still a little sore about Norbert setting his robes on fire the first day." Hagrid noted their looks of surprise. "He scared Norbert-he wouldn't hurt a flea otherwise."

"You'd better not spread that around, Hagrid," Ron said. "Norbert supposed to be a guard dragon."

"Will you two get the potion from Professor Snape? Right now? Norbert is really sick."

Ron sighed and looked at Harry. How could they say no? The dragon was purple. "Sure."

They dragged their feet on the way to the dungeons; somehow they didn't think Snape was going to enthusiastically mix up an elixir for a dragon that had tried to fry him. Theodore Nott was also tarrying in the corridor outside of the Slytherin common room. Harry wasn't sure if he wanted to talk to Nott-or even what they would say in an ordinary conversation. Somehow he didn't think Quidditch would take them too far.

Nott heard them coming and looked up just as several very loud cracks echoed off the stone walls of the corridor. A half dozen elves, arranged in a circle, had just Apparated in - with Draco Malfoy in the center.

*

"You!" Nott cried, reaching for his wand.

Draco Malfoy shot a jet of orange at Nott which appeared to do little or no damage. Harry and Ron both raised their wands to retaliate when they were blasted off of their feet. "No hurt Mr. Draco," said a squeaky voice. Three house-elves were standing over them, fingers pointed.

Malfoy was taunting his former housemate. "Thought you were safe didn't you? Hogwarts isn't as impregnable as everyone thought. You made the wrong choice, Nott. That little trick you pulled on Parkinson was the last straw. The Dark Lord may think you're not worth going after, but I think that disloyalty to blood should be punished."

"You and what army, Draco?" Nott sneered. "The wee ones are going to short-sheet my bed?"

"Don't underestimate the house-elves, Nott - with them I have powers you never dreamed of."

"Keep dreaming Malfoy - even though your daddy dear is out of prison, it doesn't mean the Dark Lord has the people or the supporters to pull off any sort of victory." Nott's dark eyes glowed with enmity. "Go back to that school where you sleep in the snow and eat raw meat. See what following that loser has done for you."

"Don't you dare speak of the Dark Lord that way!" Draco's pale skin was a livid red. "You have no respect for the ways of the magical world and neither does this school. Wait until you see what we have planned for Hogwarts - it will rock the very foundations of this place." He held up a vial of clear liquid and poured it on the floor. It immediately thickened and puddled into a rounded gelatinous mass, about the size of a saucer. "Here's your clue."

He glanced back at Harry and Ron. "The Dark Lord will take care of you, Potter. And don't worry Weasel King - the Malfoys will not rest until the blood-traitors that you call a family are wiped out. We'll start with - "

Harry had heard enough. It was time to get rid of Draco in mid-speech before he let the elves loose on them or tried some more foreign hexes. Since he and Ron were sprawled on the floor, but still had their wands, it seemed a good time to try a maneuver they had learned only a few weeks ago in the Auror's class. He caught Ron's eye and then nodded.

They each rolled in the opposite direction, catching the house-elves off guard. Then they shouted Stupefy and added the homing suffix. The tragectory of the hex went over the elve's heads and turned toward Draco. Both stunners hit their target in the chest.

With their leader unconscious the elves had no one to issue orders. Frightened, they quickly circled Malfoy and each grabbed a handful of his clothing. With another enormous bang, they Disapparated.

Theodore Nott had sunk to the floor, clutching his knee. "What did Malfoy hit you with?" Ron asked urgently.

"Just took out my knee cap," Nott gasped.

"How did you stand the pain so long?"

"He put a delay on the spell-that's the orange glow," Nott bit out. He was very white around the lips.

"We'll get you to the hospital wing," Harry said, starting to lift him under one arm.

"No - have to see Dumbledore first. Don't know what this means for Hogwarts."

"I'll get Snape, he's closer," said Harry.

"No!" Theodore Nott grabbed the front of Harry's robes, a look of terror in his eyes. "You can't tell him. You don't know . . . about him."

Then Harry realized that Nott thought that Snape was a Death Eater. He really had to hand it to Nott to be attending Hogwarts when he thought a colleague of his fathers was the head of his house.

"We know - " Ron started to say, but stopped when he saw Harry's expression. "Ok - let's get you to Dumbledore."

"Potter! Weasley! Unhand him immediately!" Professor Snape hurried up the corridor, his wand out. "I heard several Apparition cracks." He looked at Theodore Nott's ashen face. "What have you two done to him?"

"Nothing!" Harry bellowed.

"Potter, you will address me in a respectful manner," Snape hissed. "I thought the Headmaster was teaching you some manners." He knelt in front of Nott and examined his knee.

Harry took a deep breath and watched Snape conjure a splint and some wrappings. He didn't trust himself to say anything.

Ron took the intiative. "Nott needs to talk to Professor Dumbledore, sir. He doesn't understand how there is a certain Order of things here at Hogwarts."

Snape stared at Ron, and then he smirked. "My goodness Weasley, we're going to have you writing secret codes next."

Ron's face burned.

"What's that on the floor?" Snape asked sharply.

The clear mass looked like a thick soap bubble, except it was rippling slightly.

"Dunno," Harry said and then casually dropped his bombshell, "Malfoy left it."

Theodore Nott sucked in his breath.

Snape turned abruptly. "Which Malfoy? And how?"

"Draco - with house-elves."

Snape looked at Harry, thinking hard. "Nott, can you walk?"

He struggled to his feet and gingerly put his weight on one leg. "Yeah, I think so."

"Go directly to Dumbledore's office. Do not tell this to anyone but him, you understand? I will be there shortly."

Theodore Nott resisted any overtures of help, so it was a slow procession to Dumbledore's tower. Harry turned to see Snape nudging the goo with his wand. It expanded and stretched but stuck firmly to the floor.

He wondered what else they were to be stuck with, now that the Death Eaters had escaped.

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