As tired as they felt, Hermione woke him up even earlier than usual. "It's Christmas! We have presents!"
She practically dragged him out of bed and down to the living room, where her parents were already yawning on the sofa.
When the children started taking the presents from under the Christmas tree, Harry was first surprised to get any present. He then remembered that he was no longer with the Dursleys and these people were now his family and actually loved him. It was then no surprise that he got some presents from Jean and Dave and, of course, from Hermione. Harry was slightly surprised to find a present from Neville. He was even more surprised to find a present from Lady Malfoy and another from Mrs Weasley. There was also an unidentified one that made them all frown.
"How did they even get here?" Harry asked.
Hermione gave it some thought. "Probably some house-elves brought them here. Longbottom and Malfoy have a few and Hogwarts has many. I only wonder about the Weasley. I don't think they have any, or Ron would have surely mentioned them."
Harry gave it a thought. "It looks like Dumbledore wanted me to befriend Ron, so he may have intervened in this."
"Why do you think so?" Jean asked.
"Well, Bill told me about it and then we saw Mrs Weasley mentioning this when she failed to find me waiting near the barrier. Ron also tries to stay close to me and make me trust Dumbledore completely. And now this…" Harry was unsure what to do about it.
Jean smiled, reminding Harry of a predator ready to strike. "Well, I suggest you send it back to her, stating that you don't accept presents from strangers, and since you don't know her and Ron isn't your friend, it's inappropriate for you to accept her gift. Remember to also thank her for thinking of you, but be firm in your refusal."
Harry nodded and smiled. He put that package aside.
The gift from Lady Malfoy was somewhat expected. They still used whatever ways they knew to check it first and then opened it cautiously. The package contained three books, all about the etiquette in the higher echelons of the magical society. She explained in the attached letter. "I've heard that both you and your friend grew up among muggles. While you acted perfectly until now, honouring your position in accordance with your age, you may need to learn some more in order to keep to that standard. The books I could find at Diagon Alley are not good enough for someone in your position, so I looked for some better books you could learn from and found these. Please make sure to thoroughly read at least the upper book before the summer vacation, preferably all three. Judging by my own experience, it may take some time until what you read can be fully understood and some more until you can act accordingly. I may be wrong, but I believe you may find this information very useful even before the next school year."
Hermione felt quite glad to see these books. She also had a suggestion for what to give in return. "There are similar books about the etiquette of the muggle nobility. I don't think she may need them, but it could be interesting to compare the two sets and find what's similar and what largely differs."
Harry smiled at that. He wasn't sure if this would work so well, but he had another day or two to think of it.
Neville's gift was only one book, although quite thick. It was about some common magical plants and where they can be found, not necessarily only near magical dwellings. Harry thought this would make an interesting reading although he couldn't see much practical use for it.
The last package was quite suspicious, bearing no identification of the sender. Hermione then noticed the corner of a small parchment peeking out of the package. After checking it as much as they could, she let Harry pull that note out. He couldn't recognize the handwriting but he got a certain suspicion which got stronger after reading the note.
"Your father left this in my possession before he died.
It is time it was returned to you.
Use it well.
A Very Merry Christmas to you."
There was no signature. Harry took the package in his hand. It was very light. He unwrapped it. Something fluid and silvery grey went slithering to the floor where it lay in gleaming folds.
"Do you know who sent it?" Hermione asked him.
Harry sighed. "No, but I have a feeling it's from Dumbledore. It probably also has some tracking and other spying charms on it, I'm sure, but nothing harmful. He still shows too much interest in me."
"Leave it aside, then. We don't know what it is and we suspect it would spy on us. I think we should take it to Gringotts next time we go there. Sharpclaw may know what it is or find someone who knows," Hermione suggested.
Harry wrapped it back and put it aside. He knew better than to trust anonymous presents.
The rest of the morning was spent leisurely with all four family members talking and also playing some games. Harry finally felt like he had a real family, something that his relatives never let him feel. Although he was sure that her parents loved Hermione much more than they loved him, they didn't treat him any differently. Well, a bit. She was a girl and he was a boy, so they couldn't be treated exactly the same.
They had an early lunch and then they retired to their own bedrooms to catch up on missed sleep. The Potters still enjoyed some private entertainment before falling asleep again. Harry felt sure that the adults were doing the same.
–..–
That evening, after dinner, Jean asked them, "So, what are your plans for tomorrow? You know that we need to go to the clinic. We already had a few calls from clients, as usual after big feasts. They seem to uncover all kinds of dental problems."
Harry glanced at Hermione before answering, "I think we should visit Gringotts again. We have that suspect present to check, and we may have some more business to tackle. Besides, the weather forecast is nice, so we may just walk around and enjoy the festively decorated shop windows."
Dave smiled. "As good a plan as any. Do you need me to drive you to the train station? I may be able to do that if you're ready early enough."
Hermione answered this time. "That will be appreciated."
–..–
This time, Sharpclaw didn't seem surprised to see them. He only noted, "You came early."
Harry shrugged. "It's still too cold to roam the street this early. It may get a bit warmer later."
Sharpclaw tried to keep his serious expression. "Yes, that sounds like a good holiday occupation. Now, I believe you had a reason for coming, aside from getting away from the cold."
Harry nodded and signed Hermione to take the suspicious present out of her bag. "I got this package for Christmas. The note is unsigned, but I feel quite sure it's from Dumbledore. Then, that cloth, we're not sure what it is, but we're sure he cast on it some spying charms, so even if the present is legitimate – well, it's supposed to be mine anyhow – the delivery isn't quite trustworthy. Can you have it checked?"
Sharpclaw could already sense the myriad of spells cast on that cloth. "I'll have them all removed." He then looked a bit closer at it. "I think he added some threads to hold the spells. The cloth as is seems to be immune to most spells."
He stood up. "Please wait for a short while. I think this can be done in a matter of minutes if you like."
Both children nodded.
Sharpclaw returned empty-handed a few minutes later. "I had to leave it to remove all the additional threads, or he'll be able to cast his spells again. What do you know about that cloth?"
"Nothing, really, except for what was written on the note," Harry replied.
"It's an invisibility cloak, one that is considered the best there is. I wonder why he even got it. James should have kept it near him, as it could probably help him escape an attack or better protect his family, at least. I can see no legitimate reason for him to give it to Dumbledore at such times. Well, unless the old man used some of his tricks, of course."
"What does it do, really?" Harry asked.
Sharpclaw explained. "When one wears it, whatever it covers can't be seen by others; can't even be detected by any known spells. I suppose you can think of how it can be used under different conditions. Then, it's also one of your heirlooms, as the heir of Peverell. It should have never been given to the old man, certainly not for more than a few minutes."
He took a few breaths to calm himself down before speaking again in a calmer, more professional tone. "You may be glad to know that the DMLE accepted your offer for a loan. It was a tough negotiation, as expected, but it may turn even more profitable than initially planned. You see, Madam Bones, the head of the DMLE wanted to make sure that the loan wouldn't become a burden, especially if the confiscations would not yield enough assets to cover the loan. If that happens, the loan would be returned with no interest over a period of ten years.
On the other hand, if the assets confiscated cover more than twice the loan, you'll get ten per cent of the rest. The date of decision is when the last of the Death Eater trials is finished. Judging by the ones arrested since they have much more than enough to cover the loan even thrice."
The vindictive smile on the goblin's face could be terrifying, had it been directed to them. As it wasn't, they could smile in agreement.
Other than that, there wasn't much to discuss that morning. They got the cloak back about half an hour later. Harry checked it, standing in front of a mirror and was delighted to see how it worked. Hermione joined him a moment later. The cloak was large enough to cover them both. It wouldn't suffice after they reached their adult sizes. They also liked the way it could be folded so tightly that it could fit in the jeans pocket. Harry thought that this was also a kind of magic.
–..–
With their business at Gringotts finished, they swiftly left Diagon Alley and went to Oxford Street, where they had quite a few shop windows to admire. It was a mostly sunny day with almost no wind, making it ideal for just strolling the streets and enjoying the company of each other. They stopped at a shop that showed some electronic games. Hermione didn't quite like them since they were most of the "shoot them" type. Harry thought that they had some potential, but only when they could have better screens than the dim dark-grey on light-grey they had. Some colour could make them very attractive, he was sure. Shouldn't he mention investing in technology at their next meeting with Sharpclaw? That was something to think about.
They had lunch in London and also visited the library, just to wish happy holidays to the librarians, who seemed quite surprised at that and very delighted, of course.
They still returned to the Granger house just in time, before the wind picked up, bringing some rain, and later – some snow too.
–..–
Quirrell didn't enjoy Christmas at all. Since his arrest, he had been getting weaker each day, despite getting enough food and some medical care. Without the unicorn blood, he had no chance to live more than a few more weeks, he was sure. Voldemort, who was still lodged in his head, was not a pleasant company either, nagging him to do something, not quite suggesting any particular way of action, not that he could do much. He also dreaded the trial. Even without his "guest," an attempted assassination of a head of house, as the Potter brat was, or even the last scion of a noble house, as he had believed him to be, carried a mandatory punishment by death. Despite his bravado during the interrogations, he didn't want to die, not even for… He dared not bring that thought to its conclusion since his "guest" could still punish him for even thinking inappropriately. Why had he agreed to that?
Voldemort was also unhappy. He knew that the body he was now possessing could not keep on going for long, and the idiot kept moaning about feeling weaker each day and feeling he was going to die soon, one way or another. What worried him more was the fact that he couldn't leave that body, as he had done with other possessed bodies before, although all others were animals. The DOM had probably done something to him. If he couldn't leave this body, what would happen when that body died? Would his Horcruxes save him? He wasn't sure about that, which made him even more irritated. Why wouldn't Quirrell just shut up?