Devil of A Wizard

Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Mirror of Erised

It was a mid-Demeber morning and Christmas was coming. Snow covered the castle and school grounds with a thick layer. This was the first time Harry had ever seen snow before, which made sense because he grew up in Hell and it was always mild or hot. Just to keep himself warm, Harry received some thick layers of clothing from his family, including a thick cloak lined with fur. During the start of the winter season, Harry was glad to not have many classes due to the upcoming holidays. As such, he was able to be the 11-year-old boy he was and played around in the snow. Several other students agreed and some used magic to animate the snow into igloos, snowmen, and even have a snowball war.

During one match, Harry noticed that Fred and George charmed some of their snowballs to pelt Professor Quirrell in the back of the head, making Harry laugh at how the DADA teacher was covered by a flurry of snow. Of course, the twins got detention, but they declared it was worth it. Even with detention, the Weasley brothers all decided to have fun with Harry as they showed him all the fun that wizards could have during their first winter at Hogwarts.

As the week of Christmas came close, Harry saw Hagrid marching through the castle grounds, effortlessly pulling a large pine tree into the castle. The Prince of Hell watched as the half-giant helped set the tree up, but chuckled at the amount of snow on Hagrid's beard turned it white. "You look like Santa Claus," Harry told his first wizard friend.

"Ho ho ho," Hagrid laughed as he brushed off the snow and Professor Flitwick started to levitate ornaments onto the Great Hall's Christmas tree.

While many students were leaving for the holiday to visit families, several opted to stay at Hogwarts for a variety of reasons. As the students were dressed in their winter uniforms and began to leave for Hogsmeade Station, Hermione saw Harry was having a friendly game of chess with Ron. "Knight to E5," Harry commanded the chess piece as the knight moved to the new position on its own.

Thinking about what to do on his turn, the youngest Weasley brother smiled as he declared his move. "Queen to E5," Ron commanded his piece, which made the Queen move before standing up and smashing the knight with her throne.

"That's totally barbaric," Hermione voiced as she saw the game.

"That's wizard's chess," Ron stated before he saw her luggage. "I see you've packed."

"I see you haven't."

"Change of plans. My parents are going to Romania to visit my brother, Charlie. He's studying dragons there," he told the girl before he turned to Harry. "Maybe your sister and him could get along since they share the same name."

"As I said, she's not interested in dating anyone right now," Harry told his red-haired friend.

"That's alright, you two can look for any information on Nicolas Flamel in the library," Hermione said.

"You're not going home, Harry," Ron asked his friend.

"My dad's always had this issue with family on Christmas. Plus, my mom's told me that he and Charlie are having a bit of an argument," Harry answered, remembering a phone call he made when he was alone. "They said I should stay here for now. Luckily I have Hedwig and Samael."

"How is it that your snake isn't bothered by the cold," Ron questioned.

"Special breed," Harry reminded, not telling his friends that Sam had taken to sleeping in the fireplace recently.

"Now that's some snake," Ron commented. "But we looked through the library a hundred times already."

"Not in the restricted area," Hermione told them both. "There has to be information about him there. Happy Christmas," she said before leaving.