Third Place - Action/Adventure

Christmas was finally coming.

The snow started to fall around mid-December and the lake froze solid. Perhaps the most amusing thing that had happened in the last couple of weeks was when the Weasley twins bewitched several snowballs so that they followed Quirrell around and bounced off the back of his turban. That had been quite hilarious but everything else had just been routine as normal and quickly got boring.

They went down to Hagrid�s hut every other day to see the half-giant and quickly found a good friend in him and never a boring conversation (unless they mentioned the forbidden forest of course). Harry personally couldn�t wait for the holidays to start, he couldn�t wait to return to Corvus manor and spend some time with his fathers again, and his Aunt�s and Uncles, of course.

The fact that the closer the holidays came, the quieter Terry became was something that had not gone unnoticed by Harry. Hermione would be going home for the holidays, and Blaise would be coming back to Corvus Manor... but Terry would have to stay here alone. His parents were off doing something or other and had asked him to remain behind this once.

So, it was with delight when Harry read over the latest letter from his two fathers. He had written to them asking if Terry could come home with him, if it would be safe, and had finally received a reply after two full days of waiting. He tore the envelope open quickly and scanned down the letter before he forced himself to calm down and start at the beginning.

My son

It would be a pleasure for you to bring your friend home, from what I have seen of the shapeshifter, and from what Blaise has reported, he is loyal and trustworthy. He should be perfectly safe here, considering his species. Even the smaller, stupider, clans in the vampire world would go out of their way to avoid another war with said shapeshifters.

Do make sure you tell him he must be on his guard at all times when outside on the manor grounds though, just to be on the safe side. There is only a week until you arrive, and your Da and I will pick you both up from Kingscross Station. I know you are excited about coming home Har, but don�t let your defences fall even in the slightest, there have been enough close calls to your life this term already... no need to add more.

We won�t see you again now until you come home as, it appears, we have another assassin tailing our every move. The fool actually believes he�s stealthy! We would have stopped him by now, but your Da wants to wait and find out which clan he belongs too.

Take care and enjoy yourself.

(Don�t forget to prank)

Your Pa
Dante Delgardo

Harry�s grin widened and he literally dragged Blaise out of the common room as he went in search of their other friend. Unsurprisingly, they found the shapeshifter in the library with Hermione and Harry watched the two of them with amusement for a minute before he shook his head and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Terry, are you doing anything exciting this Christmas?" he asked lazily and he quirked an eyebrow when said friend looked up with a glare.

"Yes, of course I will. I�ll be swapping stories with Professor Binns and, if I�m lucky, perhaps I�ll get to play a game of chess with McGonagall," he sneered with mock excitement. Harry laughed openly at that and rolled his eyes when the glare didn�t lessen any. Did Terry really believe he would tease him so?

Well, actually, he did have reason to believe that.

"Well, I was going to invite you to the Corvus Manor for the duration of the holiday, but if you have better things to do..." he trailed off and turned to leave, a smirk playing across his lips as he heard Blaise snort in amusement.

"Wait! Are you serious?" Terry asked, jumping to his feet and jarring against the table. Harry turned back to look at him and he smirked again before nodding.

"Aye, I asked my fathers days ago and they just replied now. Don�t worry; they�ll understand if you�d rather swap ghost stories with a ghost," he teased once more and Terry attempted to glare again, but the grin on his face rather spoiled the effect.

"You do realise how close you are to being strangled, don�t you?"

"Now really! Is that anyway to speak to your host?" Harry asked in mock horror as he finally walked further into the room and sat back in the chair. "No, seriously though, my Pa said its fine as long as you tell your parents where you�re going, and as long as you be on your guard when on the grounds of the manor. He doesn�t want to start a war, or something like that anyway."

"I�d love to! My parents wont mind, as long as I�m careful and don�t come away with a broken neck or something," Terry replied, his grin widening and he looked over at his friend with gratitude in his eyes. He really hadn�t looked forward to staying in the castle on his own, especially considering nearly everyone in his own house thought him a traitor.

"What are you doing for Christmas Hermione?" Blaise asked the Gryffindor and almost groaned at his stupidity when he saw her eyes light up and her mouth open to explain just exactly what she was going to be doing over Christmas. He was luckily saved from having to listen to her monologue just yet, by Harry rising to his feet and stretching out his muscles as though he were a bloody feline.

"Why don�t you explain it to us on the way to the Great Hall? I can hear both of your stomach�s rumbling." Both Terry and Hermione flushed but they both nodded their agreement and packed away their things. With a nod to the librarian, Harry led the group of four from the library and down the corridor in the direction of the Great Hall.

The only girl of their group had just finished talking excitedly about the trip her parents had arranged to France when Harry and Blaise stopped suddenly, each motioning for her to be quiet for a moment before rushing off quickly, leaving their friends to try and keep up with them. Luckily for Hermione, Terry was still there and he still had his Shapeshifting abilities to aid their pursuit.

"Stupid little Hufflepuff all alone. Thought you were too scared to walk about in packs no less than four." Draco Malfoy sneered at one of the Hufflepuff first years. When Harry came into visual range, he recognised the girl to be Susan Bones. She looked petrified by the Slytherin taunting her and was steadily backing herself into a corner while Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle and a girl Harry had seen around Slytherin but never spoke to, continued to advance on her.

"What? Cat got your tongue?" The girl sneered nastily.

"I... I..." The Hufflepuff stammered. Harry sighed inwardly as the Slytherins took another step towards her.

"Take another step Malfoy and you�ll be in the Hospital Wing five minutes later." Harry called out as he lazily strode towards the now pale group. The Malfoy heir however, decided to test his luck with his cronies behind him to back him up. Harry just rolled his eyes.

"Potter!" The boy snarled. "This has nothing to do with you." It wasn�t the most creative come back in the world... in fact; Harry was disappointed in the annoying thorn in his side�s lack of imagination.

"How many times must I repeat myself to the imbeciles in this blasted school?" He muttered, aiming his question quite pointedly, at Blaise. The other Vampire shrugged in mocking helplessness. "My name, Malfoy, is Corvus." Malfoy paled another shade. "I�m sure you�ve heard of it. My Father�s put your father into hospital? After he tried to have me killed? Any of this, ringing a bell?" The Hufflepuff seemed to be watching in a sort of morbid fascination as the Slytherin�s verbally sparred with one another.

"My Father did not try to kill you Potter." The blonde spat out Harry�s first surname as if it were dirt. Harry rolled his eyes in mild exasperation.

"You really are just too much, Malfoy. You don�t know when to shut up, do you?" He saw the other first year open his mouth to reply but Harry shook his head and held a hand up, forestalling any comments that might have come from the blonde. "I�ve got an idea Malfoy," Harry said in mock delight, "you go, with your little fan club over there, and don�t cross me, or my friends... including Miss Bones here," He gestured towards the Hufflepuff who blanched at the sudden attention, "and I won�t report you for bullying another student."

Malfoy looked like Christmas had come early. Why he looked like this, Harry wasn�t quite sure, but it annoyed him none the less. The smirk on the blonde�s face seemed born of pure arrogance and superiority... and all Harry wanted to do was wipe it off... harshly.

"That all you got to threaten me with Potter?" The Malfoy heir laughed mockingly. Harry just smiled. Blaise recognised the smile his charge was wearing as the same one he�d worn when he had approached the Weasley first year a number of weeks before.

"I could kill you." The Corvus youngling said flatly. "And get away with it too." His smiling expression didn�t change as Malfoy and his fan club paled a number of shades. "I suggest you leave. Know when you�ve been bested Malfoy. It will become the only admirable trait you�ll possess in the future if you don�t buck up your ideas." It seemed, one Mister Draco Malfoy either didn�t have a decent enough come back to Harry�s words, or he took them to heart, because he didn�t say another word to the young Corvus. He simply turned on his heel and stalked off, his confused yet pale fan club right on his heels.

When he was sure Malfoy was gone and wasn�t planning on returning any time soon, Harry turned to face the lone Hufflepuff. "They didn�t hurt you did they?" The Vampire asked, concern lining his tone. The girl looked at him curiously before shaking her head a negative.

"N-no... they didn�t." She stammered, not entirely sure of Harry�s motive for well, saving her. The Slytherin seemed to pick up on this because he smiled reassuringly at her and held out his hand.

"Harry Potter-Corvus, at your service." He grinned as she eyed the hand suspiciously before taking a hold of it.

"Susan Bones." She started to say, but it turned into an embarrassed squeak as Harry leaned down to kiss her knuckles.

Behind him, Hermione rolled her eyes and hit him on the back of the head. He released Susan and glared at his friend. The Gryffindor ignored him however and smiled brightly at Susan, holding out her own hand as she spoke, "Hermione Granger." The Hufflepuff managed a shaky nod and cast a shy smile in return.

"Terry Boot." Terry stepped forward; shaking the girls hand after Hermione had released her. He was followed closely by the last member of their party, who also introduced himself.

"We are the outcast four." Harry said dramatically, causing his friends to roll their eyes and Susan to eye him in slight apprehension. "But we�re lacking a Hufflepuff. Fancy joining our band of merry on our quest of life in general?" Deciding to play along, Susan made a show of thinking on the decision, much to Terry, Hermione and Blaise�s amusement as well as Harry�s mock offence.

Finally, Susan heaved a great �put upon� sigh and nodded her head an affirmative. "I guess one more girl to the group would start to even things out a bit." Hermione grinned brightly. "Oh fine. I accept your offer graciously." She bowed mockingly to the Corvus heir who in turn, reached for her quickly and hoisted her up and over his shoulder earning him a startled cry from the girl. He motioned for Blaise to �get� Hermione and then the three males walked towards the Great Hall, their two female charges demanding to be let down the entire way.

Harry wandered around the corridors as he lost himself in his thoughts, Blaise was fast asleep in the dormitory now, but Harry had made sure that his shadow guards knew he was out of the dungeons. He didn�t want to upset his Da. He could feel their eyes on him as they followed at a respectable distance and he knew that they were trying to give him the space he wanted and yet not get too far away at the same time.

He would have to thank them for that later

His thoughts went to the newest addition to his group of friends. Susan Bones, first year Hufflepuff. There was something about her that caught his attention; she seemed a little dreamier than the other mortals... as if she wasn�t exactly in the same world as he was. He had done it now; he had completed his breech of house rivalries... as if something like that was going to stop a Corvus.

He wrapped the shadows tighter around him as he walked, making sure he wouldn�t be seen by any of the professors; he wasn�t in the mood for more detentions now. He passed the library and then paused, trying to decide whether he wanted to go and read for a while but then shook his head and carried on.

He didn�t know how long he had been walking for, before a door creaked open to his left on its own. He stopped and turned to look at it slowly and curiously and then he pulled out his dagger and turned to face it completely. He stood out of view with his back pressed flat against the wall on the side where the door hinges were and he reached around to push the door the rest of the way open.

He peered into the darkness at the bit of the room he could see but there was no sound or movement and so he crawled out with his senses instead. When he could find nothing, he moved further inside and glared around the entire room. There was nobody in here at all. From what he could see, he was in a disused classroom. He could see the desks and chairs that were piled up against the walls but there was something that definitely didn�t look like it belonged there.

A mirror that reached up as high as the ceiling with an ornate gold frame and had two clawed feet stood in the centre. There were words engraved around the top that said "Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi." Harry frowned and tried to see what language that was, but none came to mind. He threw caution to the wind for the minute and he stepped in front of the glass.

He arched an eyebrow when his reflection showed. It wasn�t supposed to unless he willed it too, and he hadn�t done that yet. He stopped thinking about that when he noticed he wasn�t alone and he paused before looking over his shoulder. But no, he knew there was nobody else in the room with him anyway.

Standing behind his reflection, Harry could see his Da and his Pa and they were laughing and joking, they looked more carefree than Harry had ever seen either of them. Then, next to the two vampires, were two more people... a man and a woman. The woman was extremely attractive with dark red hair and her eyes were bright green... just like Harry�s. She was smiling but crying at the same time and Dante had his hand around her shoulders while the other man had his arm around her waist.

Said man looked a little like Harry, he was tall and thin with black hair and he wore glasses and his hair looked like he had rolled out of bed without brushing it. Harry placed his palm flat against the glass of the mirror as he realised what he was seeing. That man � that was James Potter and the woman was his mother, Lily.

His breath caught in his throat as he stared at them in disbelief. He had never seen his birth parents before, not in a picture and so he hadn�t a clue how they had looked... until now. A lone tear trickled down his cheek as he saw his four parents, the four people he loved more than everything in the world, smile up at him and wave... and get along.

He looked at the reflection of himself then and chuckled as he saw that he looked exactly the same as he did now, but there were no weapons on him at all. He obviously didn�t need them in this little fantasy world. Behind the four parents, Harry saw his four friends, Blaise, Terry, Hermione and Susan... they were all just grinning at him from where they stood.

Harry didn�t know how long he stood there until he felt a hand on his shoulder and he jumped before turning sharply, just in time to see one of his shadow guards melt back into the shadows. It was getting lighter now, and with a start, he realised why he had been distracted. He nodded his thanks and wrenched his attention away from the mirror before he turned and left the room. Each step he took was like a tug at his heart... as if he was leaving part of himself behind.

Harry didn�t speak to any of his friends about that mirror during the next day, he didn�t know why exactly, but he just wanted to keep it to himself. He was already planning to return that night and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn�t stop thinking about it. He had guessed that what it showed him was what he wanted, but that didn�t make it any less interesting.

He felt a sharp poke in his side and he blinked before he turned to look at Blaise blankly, apparently his friends had been trying to get his attention for some time. He offered them a sheepish grin and forced himself to focus on what they were saying. It wasn�t natural for something like this to grab his attention so; maybe... maybe he shouldn�t go back.

"Right... sorry... what...?"

"Honestly Harry!" Hermione snapped but Harry just rolled his eyes and waited patiently for one of them to explain it again. "If you don�t want to do this, then just say so! Why should we work it all out?" she asked and Harry sighed, there was nothing to work out, it wasn�t exactly hard to think of something to prank Malfoy with.

"What about a song?" Susan ventured hesitantly but Harry shook his head

"No, we�ve already done that... with Quirrell remember. We�ve done the school girl thing; just turn him into a snake or something?" He suggested as he sat back in his chair and crossed his legs. Then he thought of something and a wicked smirk crossed his lips as he leant forward and whispered the plan.

Harry found the room with the mirror in with no trouble that night. He had tried to get his mind off it all day, but his heart wasn�t in it. The planning for the prank against Malfoy went okay though, and would take place tomorrow at breakfast... perhaps if he just saw them together one last time... he could leave it at that. He had already adamantly refused to come back here again after this night, he didn�t like how it distracted him and if needs be, he would make his shadow guards stop him.

Again, he didn�t meet anyone on his way as he had the shadows around him, hiding him from view. He slipped into the classroom once more and gave it a brief scan with his eyes before he crossed the room and stood once more in front of the mirror. And there they were, his four parents happy and accepted, his four friends there for him...

He saw a movement out of the corner of his eye and before he could so much as blink, he had his dagger out and pointing at the intruder, shifting into a defensive stance. He was rather surprised to see the headmaster of Hogwarts and he quickly sheathed his weapon before straightening out and eyeing him warily.

He knew he shouldn�t be here, but even so, when the old man didn�t say anything and just looked at him with a patient smile, Harry turned his gaze back to the mirror. He sat down on the floor before it and pressed his hand against the glass once more, barely noticing when Dumbledore sat beside him.

"So," he said eventually, grabbing Harry�s attention back to himself. "You, like hundreds before you, have discovered the delights of the Mirror of Erised." He stated and Harry looked at him. He pointedly turned away from the image he longed for, if just to prove to himself and to the old man that he could.

"So that�s what it�s called," he replied mildly and Dumbledore nodded.

"Have you realised what it does yet?" he asked and Harry nodded but then shook his head.

"I � sort of... I know it must show us what we want somehow... when I look into it, I see my fathers but then my birth parents are there too and they�re all smiling and laughing at getting along. My friends are behind them and I look exactly the same as I do now... but my birth parents accept me for what and who I am..." he trailed off, realising that he hadn�t necessarily wanted to tell him all that but Dumbledore merely nodded and reached over to squeeze his arm gently.

"It shows us nothing more or less than the deepest, most desperate desire of out hearts. Men have wasted away before this mirror, entranced by what they have seen, or been driven mad, not knowing if what it shows is real or even possible." Dumbledore explained softly and Harry nodded, he glanced back up at the engraved writing at then smiled.

"�I show not your face but your hearts desire� of course, I can�t believe I didn�t realise that before,"

"The Mirror will be moved to a new home tomorrow, Harry, and I ask you not to go looking for it again. If you ever do run across it, you will now be prepared. It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live, remember that. Now, why don�t you get off to bed, you must be exhausted," Dumbledore said after a long silence and then he stood and straightened out his robes.

"Professor? What do you see when you look in the Mirror?" Harry asked as he stood as well, it was only when the words were out of his mouth that Harry realised it was perhaps a little too personal. Dumbledore smiled, seeing the realization in Harry�s eyes and then he beamed.

"I? I see myself holding a pair of thick, woollen socks." He said and then grinned as Harry stared at him openly. "One can never have enough socks, another Christmas is approaching and as per usual, everyone will insist on giving me books."

Harry snorted

"You would get along well with my fathers, should the occasion arise," he muttered and then paused. "Sir, why could I see those attackers at the quidditch pitch when no one else could?" he asked, finally voicing the question he had been dying to ask for days now.

"I wasn�t sure at first, but tonight has confirmed my suspicions. Somehow, invisibility charms have no effect on you... you can see through them. I don�t know how this is so, as your fathers obviously didn�t see, it�s not a vampire trait... I�ll look into it my boy," Dumbledore replied thoughtfully and Harry nodded as he began to gather the shadows again.

"Thank you headmaster, goodnight."

"Harry?" Dumbledore called and Harry stopped to look at him for a minute, "Lily and James were close friends of mine. Believe me when I say that they would have accepted you without a problem, they loved � love � you and would be happy that you are happy," he offered and Harry smiled, his emerald eyes alight with gratitude as they locked with the blue ones of the headmaster and then with one final nod, Harry was gone.



The Heir of Corvus I: The Philosopher�s Stone - Chapter 15

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