Chapter 84: Chapter 84: Christmas
Christmas morning dawned cold and white. Harry, the only one left in the boys' dormitory as his roommates left over Christmas, was woken up very early by Daphne and Ginny, the only other people remaining over Christmas in Ravenclaw. They burst in, fully dressed and carrying presents for him.
"Wake up!" said Daphne loudly, pulling back the curtains at the window, while Ginny looked around the room with a blush. Although she had some fangirl and stalker tendencies, she became much better over the year thanks to the close influence of Luna. He had nothing against her, spending time with them during the holidays as Luna had left over Christmas to travel to Germany with her father in order to look for the Crumple-Horned Snorkack.
Since Percy also stayed over Christmas, Ginny wasn't allowed into the Gryffindor Common Room very often since the dunce was such a stickler for the rules. So especially during the mornings, the redheaded girl spent time with them instead of her brothers.
"Daphne, Ginny — I don't think you are supposed to be in here," yawned Harry sleepily, as he spent his time deep into the night practicing magic with his Sacred Gear while also maintaining a clone on the outside, pretending to be in his bed.
"Merry Christmas to you, too," said Daphne cheekily, throwing him his present, while Ginny also muttered a Merry Christmas. "You shouldn't spend so much of the sunlight sleeping!"
At that moment, Hedwig swooped into the room, carrying a package in her beak. "Hello, Hedwig!" said Harry happily as she landed on his bed. She nibbled his ear in an affectionate sort of way.
The package she brought was from Serafall. He had asked her if it was possible to find something about the first time the Chamber of Secrets was opened. With this package, she sent him a full stack of copies from the Daily Prophet, from 1942-1943 when the Chamber was opened the first time, alongside a letter where she still referred to him as male So-tan.
"Who sends you the Daily Prophet for Christmas?" asked Daphne curiously as her eyes fell on the stack of newspapers.
"I actually requested them. They are from the first time the Chamber was opened," explained Harry while reading through the gist of the paper. "It seems a student was expelled back then for opening the Chamber," 'They must be talking about Hagrid.' "While someone named Tom Riddle got a Trophy for Special Services to the School because he discovered this true Corridor. Does the name Tom Riddle ring any bells?" asked Harry of the two other occupants of the room.
"Never heard of it. It isn't a pureblood family, or I would have heard of them," said Daphne thoughtfully.
"Me neither," muttered Ginny shyly.
'At least I have another name to look into. In the worst case, I could ask Hagrid. He should know more about this Tom Riddle. But this will probably then be known to Dumbledore if I ask him,' mused Harry before he turned towards the collection of Christmas presents on his bed.
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The Great Hall looked magnificent. Not only were there a dozen frost-covered Christmas trees and thick streamers of holly and mistletoe crisscrossing the ceiling, but enchanted snow was falling, warm and dry, from the ceiling.
Although the Christmas feast was even emptier than last year, it didn't harm the festive atmosphere of the people present. Dumbledore led them in a few of his favorite carols, Hagrid booming more and more loudly with every goblet of eggnog he consumed. Ginny laughed with her brothers Fred and George about Percy's prefect badge. Percy, who didn't notice that they had transfigured it so that it now read "Pin-head," kept asking them all what they were sniggering at.
It was a very enjoyable feast. The only person a bit distant was Ronald, who was very quiet. But most people attributed that to him cutting off Malfoy's hand a few weeks prior.
Harry had barely finished his third portion of Christmas pudding when he noticed that while he chatted with George about a business idea the twins had for their own joke shop, Daphne had disappeared from the Hall without a word.
Since Ginny would spend time with her brothers, Harry decided to leave the Great Hall in order to look for his friend. The Castle was big, and he had no idea where she could be, so his first target was the Common Room. Daphne knew that it was empty, so maybe she went there. She could also have just gone to the bath, but Harry didn't believe this was the case.
During the whole Christmas feast, he felt like the smile that Daphne was putting on was practiced and fake. It was like Rias's smile when she had to attend some kind of public event with all these stuffy nobles around. Harry, who had been living with the Gremorys for a while, had accompanied her a few times and had seen it multiple times.
And his hunch was right. After answering the riddle of the bronze door knocker, the door opened, and he entered the familiar and comfy common room of the Ravenclaw tower. There she sat, looking lonely, on a sofa in front of the burning fireplace. Her long blond hair moved up and down as she sobbed, a blanket pulled around her to keep herself warm. Her back was turned towards the entrance, and Daphne clearly didn't realize that Harry had entered the room.
"Daphne?" asked Harry with a steady voice, announcing his presence.
She trembled and froze when she heard him, stopping herself from sobbing. She quickly used the blanket to dry her eyes before she turned around, looking at Harry with her reddened eyes.
"Harry, what are you doing here? Why are you not at the feast?" she asked, trying to sound normal, but it wasn't working at all. Her voice was frail and hurt, her red eyes giving away the sadness she was feeling.
"I was looking for you. There is no way I could enjoy the feast while my best friend is somewhere in the Castle alone, clearly something bothering her. What is going on, Daphne? Why are you crying?" asked Harry, his voice laced with worry, as he approached the blond-haired girl with those beautiful crystal blue eyes, currently marred by the redness from her tears.
"It doesn't matter. I am fine. I just need a bit to calm down," she stammered, trying once again to deflect.
But Harry didn't care. He wouldn't let her overplay her troubles this time. He sat down beside her and put his arms around her thin frame, pulling the smaller girl into his embrace. He comforted her with the warmth of his body.
"That's clearly not true. Something is bothering you. I am here for you! Whatever it is, I will help you. I am your friend, Daphne! You are important to me. You can tell me what's wrong!"
Hearing his words, she leaned into him, her own arms trembling as she hugged him back before her tears began to fall again, sobbing into his body. "Oh Harry, it's so bad. I don't know what I should do…" she began, tears streaming down her face, seeking comfort in his embrace.
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