A Search for Love - Chapter 7 - A Christmas of Discoveries (Patreon)

As Professor Flitwick had predicted, Harry awoke the next morning to a whirlwind of attention that he was entirely unprepared for. When he stepped out of his dormitory and into the Ravenclaw common room, a chorus of whispers followed him. Heads turned in his direction, and eyes widened in excitement as students caught sight of him and stared. It seemed that overnight the news of his encounter with the troll had spread like wildfire, and by the time he got up, the entire school was buzzing with the story.

The moment Harry entered the Great Hall, all eyes were on him. Whispers echoed across the long tables, and he could feel the weight of countless stares as he made his way to the Ravenclaw table. He tried to ignore the murmurs and curious glances, focusing instead on finding a seat next to Hermione, who was already eating breakfast.

"Morning, Harry," Hermione said, her voice tinged with amusement as she paused and looked around them. "It sure looks like word has gotten out."

Harry sighed as he sat down, reaching for a slice of toast. "Yeah, sure looks that way," he muttered, trying to keep his voice low and head down.

Before he could take a bite, a fellow first-year Ravenclaw, Sue Li, leaned over the table, eyes wide with excitement. "Is it true, Harry? Did you really fight a troll last night?"

Harry hesitated, his mind racing for a way to downplay the event. "Well, I didn't really fight it, exactly. I just ... distracted it before running for my life until it was knocked out by its own club."

Sue Li nodded eagerly, eyes wide, not entirely listening to his modest account. "Still, that's amazing! Everyone's been talking about it all morning!"

Harry forced a smile and tried to return to his breakfast, but it was clear that the conversation was far from over. Throughout the meal, students from all four houses, including some Slytherins, approached him, eager to hear his version of the story. Even some of the older students, who Harry had never spoken to before, seemed interested in what had happened. Despite his best efforts to discourage the attention, by the end of the day he eventually found himself recounting the events over and over again, each time trying to keep the story as simple and unremarkable as possible.

But no matter how much Harry tried to minimize his role in the incident or the excitment, the stories only grew more elaborate with each retelling. By the time lunch rolled around the next day, he overheard a group of Gryffindors in the hallway claiming that he had fought off the troll with his bare hands after losing his wand. And by supper time, in another version, he heard Sue Li herself telling one of the second year girls that it had actually been three trolls that he had taken down all by himself.

Harry couldn't help but chuckle at the absurdity of it all, though the attention was starting to wear on him. Every time he passed a group of students, he could feel their eyes on him, and he heard his name whispered more times than he could count. Even his classes were disrupted by students sneaking glances at him or trying to ask him questions about the troll. Thankfully at least most of the professors seemed pretty quick to shut this down and eventually Harry found that classes were one of the safe places for him to escape the whispers, though not the stares.

The most ridiculous rumor by far was one that Harry overheard at dinner several days after it had happened, where a group of Hufflepuffs were excitedly discussing how he had heroically rescued Professor McGonagall from the troll, who had supposedly been trapped under a pile of rubble. The thought of McGonagall needing rescuing from a troll, let alone by a first year was laughable and Harry could barely contain his amusement when he tried to imagine the stern professor in such a situation. But any thoughts of sharing that story with any of his classmates quickly dissipated when he saw Terry recounting the story to a group of third years in the hallway, only to be interrupted by McGonagall herself appearing out of nowhere.

The look on McGonagall's face had silenced the group instantly, and Harry watched with a mixture of dread and amusement as she assigned Terry a detention for spreading ridiculous rumors. Harry made a mental note never to repeat that particular story to anyone. Although he did hear that Fred and George had been telling that version of the event to anyone they could get to listen.

Over the next two weeks, the buzz around Harry’s encounter with the troll refused to die down. The more Harry tried to avoid the topic, the more exaggerated the rumors became. He did his best to deflect or minimize the attention, but no matter how hard he tried to keep a low profile, someone always seemed to be eager to bring up the subject.

However, there was one person who seemed just as disinterested in the attention as he was—Daphne Greengrass. The day after the incident, Harry had tried to talk to her during Herbology, hoping to thank her properly and perhaps discuss what had happened. But when he approached her and offered his gratitude, she had simply nodded and said, "You're welcome," before turning her attention back to her work, effectively ending the conversation.

In the days that followed, Harry made several more attempts to speak with her, but each time, Daphne seemed determined to avoid the topic. During class, she focused intently on her assignments, and when he tried to catch her in the hallways, she always managed to slip away or change the subject. Her aloofness puzzled Harry, and he couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed. After all, they had both been through a harrowing experience together, and he had hoped to at least talk to her about it and actually thank her.

Eventually, Harry gave up trying to talk to her about the troll. He figured that she, like him, probably didn't enjoy being in the spotlight and was hoping to avoid drawing any attention to herself by talking to him for an extended period of time. As most of the stories circulating around the school didn’t even mention her name, Harry suspected that she was relieved to be spared the attention.

Life at Hogwarts slowly returned to normal as the rumors about the troll incident began to die down. The excitement of the event was eventually overshadowed by the daily routine of classes, homework, and Quidditch, which Harry was greatly enjoying watching as Flitwick had been unable or unwilling to get him a spot on the Ravenclaw Quidditch team. The students slowly moved on to other topics of interest, and Harry was grateful to fade back into relative obscurity.

Yet, even as the attention decreased, Harry found himself reflecting on what had happened. Despite his initial impulse to charge in and help, Harry realized that Flitwick’s advice had been good. There was value in thinking things through, in taking a moment to assess the situation before acting and being prepared. He didn’t regret saving Daphne, but he understood that he had been incredibly lucky that things had turned out the way they had. It could have easily gone the other way.

As the days passed, Harry settled back into the rhythm of his studies. He focused on his classes, particularly on improving his skills in Charms and Transfiguration, areas that he felt could greatly help him out if he ever ended up in another dangerous situation. He spent more time practicing spells, determined to be better prepared for any future challenges.

On top of his increased interest in those classes, he made a greater effort to learn about Defense Against the Dark Arts as the seriousness of the situation he found himself in was a little bit of a wake-up although he certainly hoped to never end up in a situation like that again. However, most of his effort with Defense Against the Dark Arts was made outside the classroom as the day after the event Professor Quirrel seemed to upset with him before he seemed to shake his head and hide it under a mask. But after that event Professor Quirrel seemed less and less likely to help him or spend any time helping him, even within class.

One evening, in the beginning of December, as Harry was working on practicing one of the spells he had found in one of the extra Charms books he had gotten, in the corner of the common room, Hermione joined him. She sat down across from him, her eyes scanning the notes in front of him before she looked up at him with a curious expression.

"How are you doing, Harry?" she asked, her tone gentle.

Harry looked up from his work and hesitantly smiled. "I’m okay. But it’s been nice that people have finally moved on from the whole troll thing."

“The whole troll thing?” Hermione said with a small laugh before nodding and looking at him, her gaze thoughtful. "I’ve noticed that you’ve been working really hard lately, even harder than usual. Are you sure everything is alright?"

Harry hesitated, wondering whether to share. But Hermione was his friend, and he knew she genuinely cared about him. "Yeah, I just … I realized how close I came to getting hurt—or worse. I know I’m new to magic but I want to be better prepared, you know? I don’t want to rely on luck if something like that happens again."

Hermione smiled softly, understanding in her eyes. "That’s very wise, Harry. I’m glad you’re taking this seriously. But remember, you don’t have to do everything on your own. I’m here to help you when, although I hope you don’t run off and do something like that again."

Harry nodded, smiling at her. "Thanks, Hermione. I know you are and for what its worth, I sure don’t want to either."

She smiled and went back to her own work, and Harry felt a sense of contentment settle over him. He knew that he had a lot to learn, but he also knew that he wasn’t alone in his journey.

The weeks leading up to Christmas had been filled with excitement, but as the day of Hermione’s departure drew closer, Harry couldn’t help but feel a pang of disappointment. He was thrilled for her to be spending time with her family, but the fact that she was leaving and he was sad about it had caught him unprepared. Still, their parting had been warm, and Harry was grateful for the gift she’d given him when they were saying goodbye—hope for next year.

"I’ll ask my parents if you can come visit us next year, Harry. They’d love to meet you," Hermione had said with a bright smile as they exchanged gifts in the common room. Her words brought a flutter of excitement, and the possibility of spending Christmas with a family that wanted him there felt like a dream to Harry.

"That would be amazing," Harry had replied, smiling back at her. "I hope they say yes, but no need to get too far ahead, I hope you enjoy your holidays this year."

They shared a brief hug, and Hermione handed him a neatly wrapped gift before picking up her bag. "And don’t forget to write," she added with a teasing smile. "I expect at least one detailed letter on all the books that you’ve managed to read without the distraction of having to go to class."

Harry chuckled. "I will. But I still can’t believe you managed to get me something without me noticing." He said holding the gift she gave him.

Hermione raised an eyebrow, clearly pleased with herself. "Well, I did have help but I hope you enjoy it. Have a good break, Harry."

"Enjoy your holidays, Hermione," he responded, watching her leave with a mixture of happiness and sadness.

Once Hermione was gone, Harry spent the next few days as Hermione had predicted, immersing himself in a variety of books, with the occasional break to hang out with Ron and his brothers, Fred and George. As almost all of the lower year Ravenclaws had head home for the break, he was glad that the Weasleys were also staying at Hogwarts over the break, as Harry found their company to be a welcome distraction. He was surprised just how much he enjoyed spending time with them, sharing laughs and jokes, and letting himself get talked into mischief, though if Ron’s stories were even halfway accurate nothing quite as daring as what the twins usually got up to.

He even bumped into Hagrid a few times as the half-giant lugged enormous Christmas trees into the castle to decorate the Great Hall. One of those times, Hagrid had been so focused on dragging in a pair of towering fir trees that he hadn’t even noticed Harry walking by, until Harry called out to him.

“Blimey, Harry! Didn’t see yeh there!” Hagrid said, his booming voice echoing in the snowy courtyard.

Harry grinned. “Those trees are massive! Need any help?”

Hagrid laughed as he looked behind him to the trees that were at least three times the actual size of Harry. “Nah, I’m good. But come by fer tea and cakes later if yeh fancy it! Would be good to catch up, before classes start back up.”

Harry agreed he try to pop by and visit Hagrid soon and watched as the groundskeeper disappeared into the castle, the trees trailing behind him like enormous broomsticks.

As Christmas Eve approached, the atmosphere at Hogwarts transformed into something magical. The entire castle had been decorated in shimmering garlands and twinkling lights, and there was a crispness in the air that made everything feel fresh and new. Even without Hermione, for the first time in his life, Harry felt excited about Christmas.

That excitement only grew when he awoke early on Christmas morning, his room filled with a cool winter light coming in from the window. His breath caught in his throat as he sat up in bed, staring in disbelief at the small pile of presents scattered on the foot of his bed. He blinked, half-expecting the gifts to disappear, but they remained, waiting for him to tear them open.

Harry's heart raced with joy as he reached for the first package, which was the one Hermione had given him before she had headed off to spend the break with her family. He eagerly ripped away the wrapping paper, revealing a pristine book on Arithmancy for Beginners, the very one he had been eyeing in the book catalogue he'd borrowed from the library. His jaw dropped in amazement—he hadn’t even realized Hermione knew he had been looking at it.

Inside the front cover was a neatly folded note. He unfolded it and read:

Dear Harry,

I hope you have a wonderful Christmas! I know you’ve been eyeing this book, so I thought I’d get it for you. Can’t wait to come back and see how far along you’ve gotten in it … though, you better a start reading, as I look forward to borrowing it! Enjoy your break and see you soon!

Love, Hermione.

Harry grinned at her thoughtfulness and set the book aside, feeling a warmth spread through his chest. She always seemed to know just the right thing to say.

Next, he grabbed a large package wrapped in mismatched paper and knew instantly it was from Ron and his brothers. Tearing it open, he found a massive bag of various wizarding candies: Chocolate Frogs, Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans, Licorice Wands, and an assortment of other sweets. Harry laughed, feeling grateful that he had picked out something for Ron as well—a book on advanced wizarding chess strategies, knowing how much he loved the game.

As he worked his way through the rest of the presents, Harry was surprised to find even a gift from the Dursleys—a plain shirt and a book that looked suspiciously like something they had grabbed without much thought. But the fact that they had sent him anything at all was a shock, and Harry decided to leave it at that.

However, one gift caught his eye. It sat on his desk, unwrapped, with no name attached to it. Harry stared at the note placed beside it, his curiosity piqued. The note was short and to the point:

This belonged to your father. I hope it serves you as well as it did him. Try not to get into as much trouble as he did.

Intrigued, Harry tore off the wrapping paper, revealing a long, silken cloak. He held it up, admiring the smooth texture before draping it over his shoulders. As he looked in the mirror, his breath hitched. His body had vanished. Completely.

Harry stared at the empty space where his body should have been, his heart racing with excitement, knowing exactly what this was. An invisibility cloak. But not just any invisibility cloak—apparently his father’s.

He had read about Invisibility Cloaks before, but they were rare, and this one was unlike any he had ever heard of. Most cloaks wore out over time, losing their magic, but this one was still flawless. If it had belonged to his father, as the note suggested, then it had to be decades old, yet the magic was as strong as ever.

Harry wore the cloak for another few moments, reveling in the magic of it before carefully folding it and placing it in his trunk. He felt a deep sense of gratitude for whoever had sent it, but there was also a new thrill buzzing in his mind. With an invisibility cloak, he could explore the castle in ways he had never imagined.

The day flew by in a blur of happiness and excitement. Although he missed Hermione and would have loved to spend the day with her, Harry couldn’t deny that this had been his best Christmas yet. After spending the morning with Sue Li, the only Ravenclaw from his year who had stayed in the castle. He spent the afternoon with Ron, Fred, and George, enjoying the endless supply of sweets they had between them and laughing at Fred and George’s attempts to out-prank one another.

It wasn’t until supper that Harry heard something that piqued his curiosity. The Great Hall was alive with chatter as students and staff gathered for the Christmas feast. Harry was seated between Fred and George, who were swapping stories of their latest escapades.

"By the way, Harry," Fred began with a mischievous grin, "you’ll never guess where we were earlier today."

"Opening gifts?" Harry asked, taking a bite of turkey. “Trying to prank Percy?”

“No … we thought we’d give him the day off. That was our gift to him.” Fred said with a smile as he shook his head.

“We snuck up to the third floor—you know, the one that’s supposed to be off-limits?” George said, lowering his voice. "We’ve been trying to get in there since the start of the year. There’s definitely something hidden there."

Harry’s ears perked up. “Did you find anything?”

Fred nodded, eyes twinkling. "We couldn’t find any reason that it was off limits until we found a door at the end of the hall that was locked.”

George smiled as he looked around before looking back to Harry, “Which is basically an invitation to find a way to open it.”

Fred chuckled quietly and nodded. “When we jiggled the door a bit, we heard this barking. Really deep barking. Whatever’s behind that door, it’s not friendly.”"

"A dog?" Harry asked, intrigued.

"Yeah, a big one, if I had to guess," George said with a grin. "Sounded nasty. We were about to unlock the door and take a peek when Mrs. Norris showed up."

Fred shuddered dramatically. "That cat’s got the worst timing. So, we legged it before she could catch us. But we’re going back. There’s something important hidden behind that door. Something big and not just that dog, I’d imagine."

Harry’s heart raced. Barking? What could possibly be behind that door? He thought back to Dumbledore’s warning at the start of the school year about staying away from the third floor. Whatever was up there, it was clearly something dangerous.

"You’re not thinking about going back tonight, are you?" Harry asked, though his own curiosity was already stirring.

Fred and George exchanged glances, then smirked. "Not tonight," Fred said. "But soon. We’re still working on another project, something we found last year. We’ll keep you posted."

Harry nodded, though his thoughts had already drifted back to the third floor. With the invisibility cloak, he could go alone, unnoticed, and see what was hidden behind that door before even the twins had a chance to. The excitement of it made his pulse quicken. But for now, he kept that thought to himself, and let himself go back to enjoying the feast.

That night, after the meal and once he had made his way back to his room, Harry found himself unable to stop thinking about the door the twins had mentioned. The image of a locked room kept running through his mind, making it impossible for him to sleep. He lay in bed, rolling around for at least two hours, unable to shake the feeling that he needed to see what was behind that door for himself.

Finally, with a resigned sigh, Harry rolled out of bed realizing he wouldn’t be able to fall asleep until he found out what was behind the door. He moved silently across the floor, grabbing his wand and the invisibility cloak. Harry hesitated for a moment before slipping it over his shoulders. He glanced in the mirror and smiled briefly at his now invisible form before heading out through the Ravenclaw common room.

The castle was quiet, almost eerily so, as he sneaked through the halls. The silence was only broken by the occasional creak of the floor beneath his feet. Harry moved cautiously, taking extra care not to make noise as he snuck down to the third-floor corridor.

Once he made it to the third floor, he worked his way down the corridor but each door he tried was the same. Empty classrooms, coated in dust, with broken chairs and cobweb-covered desks. He quietly closed each door behind him, growing more anxious with every step. Finally, he came to the locked door the twins had mentioned. His heart raced as he pulled out his wand, casting Alohomora. The lock clicked softly. He stood there for several seconds, his heart pounding in his chest, waiting for something to happen. When nothing stirred, he exhaled deeply, feeling his heartbeat slow just a fraction.

Taking a deep breath, Harry pushed the door open.

The room was dimly lit, but his eyes immediately caught sight of a large trap door in the center of the room. It was strange, sitting there so blatantly, as if it was daring him to investigate. He took a step forward unconsciously.

And then … he froze.

His eyes widened as he saw it, lying against the back wall—massive, furry, and monstrous. A giant three-headed dog. Its middle head was fast asleep, but one of the heads was sniffing the air. Harry’s heart leapt into his throat. He knew he had to get out of there, now. Slowly, he began backing up, but his foot brushed against the door. The quiet creak made the dog’s ears perk up, and the middle head jolted awake.

Panic surged through him. Without thinking, Harry slammed the door shut and took off running down the corridor. He could hear the faint growling through the door behind him as he sprinted, his heart pounding in his ears. The only thought in his mind was to put as much distance as possible between himself and that monstrous creature.

In his haste, Harry nearly ran headfirst into Filch and Mrs. Norris. He skidded to a stop, barely managing to avoid stepping on the cat. Breathing heavily, he pressed himself against the nearest wall, his cloak fluttering slightly as he pulled it tighter around himself. Filch, with his seemingly sixth sense when it came to rule-breaking, paused and sniffed the air suspiciously. Mrs. Norris’ yellow eyes gleamed in the dim light, staring intently in his direction as if she could see through the cloak.

Harry’s heart raced as he stood frozen, hoping they wouldn’t notice him. For what felt like hours, Filch and Mrs. Norris hovered in the hallway, the caretaker muttering something under his breath about students sneaking around. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, they moved on, leaving Harry alone in the corridor.

Breathing a sigh of relief, he started running again. His lungs screamed for air as he sprinted through the maze-like corridors of the castle, only slowing down when he was sure he was far enough away from both Filch and the three-headed dog. He came to a halt, leaning against a cold stone wall to catch his breath.

Just as Harry was starting to feel somewhat safe, he heard footsteps approaching again. His heart skipped a beat. He looked around frantically and spotted a door beside him. Without hesitation, he ducked into the room, shutting the door softly behind him.

Leaning against the door, Harry pressed his ear to the wood, listening for the approaching person. The footsteps grew louder, and he held his breath, willing them to pass by. After a few tense moments, the sound of the footsteps faded, and Harry relaxed.

He let out a deep breath and turned to survey the room he’d hidden in. It was another abandoned classroom, covered in dust like the others, but there was something unusual about this one. In the center of the room stood an ornately decorated, gold-framed mirror.

Kind Regards,

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Story Note 1 – For anyone wondering about the Weasleys, Harry will be on friendly terms but at least for now will not be good friends with them. But certainly friendly enough to hang out with them if all his other friends actually left.

Story Note 2 – Now finding out about the dog and the Mirror of Erised were obviously important things that I felt needed to be included for the story but rather than just rewrite the scenes, I thought I’d put my own spin on it and thought it turned out pretty well. Looking forward to the feedback. Thanks in advance!

A large thanks to those of you out there who enjoy my stories, I promise to keep updating the stories as long as you all are enjoying them, and a special thanks to those of you who have taken the time to leave feedback or have reached out to me directly.

Disclaimer – It has come to my attention recently that I unfortunately do not own Harry Potter. Who knew.