The Child of the Seventh Month

9. Invisible Bounds

 Winter had arrived and covered the world in a suffocating, colourless shroud. The cold forced the students inside the castle, making the festive season one of the very best for academic results. It had made the race between Harry and Hermione all the more entertaining as they were head to head in almost all the subjects.

Their shared secret lay deep in their trunks, unmentioned and falsely forgotten, awaiting an opportune moment to be returned to the library. Despite the knowing looks they exchanged and the hesitant smiles Hermione greeted him with, Harry kept his distance. The girl could not be trusted, especially as her very existence — the fact that she was noisy and already knew too much about Harry — was a danger in itself.

And so, as Christmas approached, Harry didn't think much of giving away any gifts. The muggle celebration was of no interest to him as it hadn't been celebrated at the Manor. The only good thing that came out of it was that thanks to the break he had more time to study, and that he could do so in peace as most of his housemates were going to leave for home.

On Christmas Eve, Harry went to sleep as if it were any different day, not expecting the small pile of packages that would lay at the foot of his bed when he woke up. He scrambled out of bed at the sight, and threw a couple of pillows at the presents to make sure it was not an ugly prank played on him by Malfoy. It wouldn’t surprise him, since even if absent, Malfoy would never miss a day to torment him.

When he was certain the gifts were not charmed to harm him, he began to hesitantly unwrap the paper.

'To Harry, from Hagrid' the scribble on the top parcel stated. Inside was a roughly cut wooden flute that sounded like an owl. Harry briefly wondered whether the snakes would like the sound of it – he had read about snake charmers recently and it'd made him wonder whether he had found his calling. 

The second gift was from Neville – it was a box of chocolate frogs – and how the boy had got the money to buy it would remain a mystery to Harry. The third one, to his great surprise, was from Hermione Granger. Covered in a glittery silver paper, was a thick book.

'The Dark Arises' was the title, and the first page explained briefly the content; The Dark Arises is an introduction to the defense against the dark arts you will not learn at Hogwarts. The complex and detailed chapters serve as a gateway to the darkest kinds of magic; an auror-worthy knowledge of the most wicked spells explained in a way that will guarantee instant results.

Feeling oddly touched, Harry put the book away and eyed the last present, a soft to the touch parcel in a gray wrapping. He tore the paper to reveal a thin, silvery material. It was a robe—a dress robe, perhaps. He couldn't tell. He looked it all over in search for any clue as to who might have gifted it to him – but to no avail. His heart skipped a beat when he let himself entertain a mad idea that it had been the Lord—but it was silly. The Lord would never bow to those muggle traditions. 

Still, a flick of curiosity prompted Harry to try putting it on, but as soon as he slid it out of the wrapping paper, his stomach rumbled. He let the robe slip to the floor and moved to his trunk to get out of his pajamas and into some fresh clothes.

Breakfast couldn't wait.

. . .

When he entered the Great Hall, his first thought was that maybe he should have worn something elegant instead of his casual robes. But the thought quickly dispelled when his gaze fell on Neville.

Neville was wearing a hand-knitted, yellow sweater with the letter N engraved across the chest. He was sitting around the only table in the hall as it seemed that nobody had bothered to set up any more when only a handful of students and teachers were left at Hogwarts. Sharing a meal with Dumbledore was far from how Harry would envision his ideal breakfast to go, but he decided not to make his feelings about the headmaster known on this occasion.