Approaching Holidays

7th Nov 1992

Hogwarts

The first Quidditch match of the season saw the entire school in attendance. The Gryffindor stand was decked out in red and gold scarves, banners and streamers. At the opposite side of the pitch, silver and green dominated. Whistles, cat-calls and jeers came from the snakes, directed not only at the Gryffindors but also at the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff stands, both of which seemed dominated by Lions' supporters.

"Bin' wonderin' when yer lot were gonna show up," said Hagrid as Hermione, Luna and I entered the Gryffindor stand. He was sitting beside Rachel, Ginny and Neville, looking at the pitch in excitement. "Sit down, sit down... they're abou' ter start."

"Aaand, here they come, ladies and gentlemen, the Quidditch teams for this match," the commentator Lee Jordan, one of Gryffindor's fourth year's announced as the teams emerged from the tunnel.

"First up is Slytherin," commented Led. "Captained once again by Marcus Flint, the big news for this year's team are the Nimbus 2001s that each member was bribed with to let Draco Malfoy join the team."

"Jordan!" Professor McGonagall warned the announcer.

"Oops. Sorry, professor," Lee said, sounding incredibly unapologetic. "Did I say 'bribed'? I meant 'gifted'. The Slytherin team was gifted with brand new racing brooms. A present from the father of their new seeker, Draco Malfoy."

"Aaaand here come the Gryffindors! Led by Keeper extraordinaire, Oliver Wood; ably assisted by their three beautiful Chasers, Johnson, Spinnet and Bell; those two unbeatable Beaters, the Weasley twins; and, of course, last but certainly not least, the Seeker to end all Seekers, Haaarrry Potter!"

The crowd roared in excitement as the Gryffindor and Slytherin teams met in the center of the pitch to shake hands before the start of the first game of the season. Beside us, Colin was furiously clicking his camera, trying to get individual shots of the players as they flew by. With a sharp whistle, Madam Hooch sent the quaffle high into the air to start the game.

The play was thick and fast. The six chasers, three red and three green, zoomed across the sky, the red quaffle zipping from one to another almost too fast for the eye to see. Up ahead, Fred (or George) spectacularly swung his bat, hitting a black bludger and sending it on its merry way. The Slytherin chasers took possession of the quaffle and threw it at the goal posts; but were prevented from scoring by Oliver Wood, who whacked away the ball with the tail end of his broom.

Meanwhile, Harry had flown higher above all the other players and began surveying the field in search of the illusive snitch; followed by Malfoy, who maintained his stalking habits and kept pestering Harry.

"It's going to be a tough match for the Gryffindors," Hermione said, as Adrian Pucey scored another goal, bringing Slytherin to 20:0.

"Yep. Those 2001s are clearly worth the price," I agreed, watching the superior speed and manoeuvrability of the Slytherin brooms. "Only reason the score isn't higher is because of the impeccable teamwork of the lions."

"So who's going to win today?" she asked, looking at me.

"How am I supposed to know that?" I asked blankly.

"Well, didn't you see all this being played out already?" she enquired suggestively.

"I did. But there was a big difference back then," I said.

"Which was?" she asked.

"There was a rouge bludger that kept trying to knock Harry off his broom," I said.

Hermione looked at me disbelievingly. She opened her mouth to speak, but her words were drowned by a huge explosion that took place above our heads.

Apparently, someone had decided to let off enchanted fireworks to boost morale. The entire quidditch pitch, including the players turned their heads to look at the giant lion materialising over the Gryffindor stand, formed entirely of red and gold sparks.

"ROAR!"

The charmed pyrotechnic rumbled with a jubilant cry that shook the stands, before devolving into further explosions. But instead of fizzling out into nothingness, the sparks assembled themselves to spell -

GRYFFINDORS RULE

SLYTHERINS DROOL

"Really?" Hermione said in a deadpan voice. "Gryffindors Rule, Slytherins Drool? What kind of immature idiot would..."

"GO HARRY!" rang out a strong, clear voice from the upper corner of the stands.

I turned around to see who was responsible for this commotion. If it wasn't for the fact that Remus was standing right beside him wearing an exasperated smile, there was no way I'd have recognised Harry's Godfather. Obviously the weeks Sirius had spent in St Mungo's had done him a world of good.

Gone were the stooped shoulders and the thin, emaciated look. In their place stood a man who looked strong and proud. The long, straggly beard and hair had also been tamed until they were clean and shiny, although the small goatee that he'd left gave him a roguish sort of air. And lastly, the rags that he'd been wearing to his trial had been replaced by a black, muggle three-piece suit. His undershirt was a rich purple and gold buttons and there was a chain that looked like it belonged to a fob watch crossed on his stomach.

Sirius' sonorous powered voice had carried over to the field and alerted Harry about his Godfather's presence. A look of pure joy surfaced on the boy's face on seeing the closest equivalent to his family there to watch him play. He chanced a glance at Malfoy and seeing the blonde had no clue regarding the snitch's whereabouts, flew close to the Gryffindor stands.

"You made it!" he yelled with a huge smile.

"Of course! I told you I'd be here, didn't I?" shouted Sirius. "The entire staff of St Mungo's couldn't hold me down if they tried!" he said with a roguish grin.

Harry smiled, then looked back at the pitch.

"I gotta get back in there," he said.

"Go. We'll talk after the game," Sirius waved him away. "Have a good one!"

Harry smiled and went back to join his teammates.

"Sirius! Remus! Over here!" I waved them over to come sit with us.

"Ben! How're you doing?" Sirius came over and shook my hand.

"I'm good, thanks," I said, shaking hands with Remus next. "It's great to see you both again. Welcome to Hogwarts!"

"Thanks!" he said with a big smile. He looked clearly happy being back here.

"Sirius!" Hagrid called out.

"Hey, Hagrid," Sirius nodded with a smile.

Hagrid stood up and gave the man a big hug. "It's ruddy good ter see yer again, mate," he said in a voice filled with emotions.

"You too, Hagrid," said Sirius, returning the hug.

I introduced the two Marauders to our friends, before we sat down and started watching the match. About an hour into the game, a murmur went through the crowd. The snitch had been spotted. Harry must also have seen it because he dived straight down with Malfoy hot on his heels. All the chasers seemed to have forgotten what they were supposed to be doing as they hung in mid-air to watch.

"Come on, Harry! You can do it!" Sirius muttered, watching his godson gain in on the streak of gold.

In a move reminiscent of last year's match, Flint tried to block Harry again. But this year, the Gryffindor team seemed prepared for Slytherin cunning. Before he could move into position, one of the Weasley twins sent a black ball from hell screaming towards the Slytherin captain. It connected with a nice Wham! to the side of his head, knocking Flint off his broom. Thankfully, he was only a few feet above the ground and didn't sustain any life-threatening injuries.

Up in the air, the two seekers raced side-by-side for the snitch. Malfoy tried to knock Harry off course by body slamming him twice. On the third try, Harry lowered his broom and used a sloth-grip roll, sending Malfoy skidding away. Righting himself, Harry stretched out his hand and managed to close his fingers over the small struggling snitch.

The crowd went wild with exhilaration as Madam Hooch's whistle sounded one last time, signalling the end of the match. With a final score of 180:70, the match ended in Gryffindor's favour. The Gryffindor team converged on their seeker, huddling together and congratulating each other on a game well won.

"That's my boy!" Sirius kept yelling from the stands, where Gryffindors roared in celebration. Moments later, Harry extricated himself from his teammates and flew into the stand to meet his Godfather.

"See?" I gestured to Harry and Sirius locked in a tight hug. "That didn't happen before either." I told Hermione with a smile.

////////////////////////////////

Gryffindor Common Room

"Boy, this takes me back," Sirius said with a nostalgic smile, looking around at the after-party. "Remember when we used to throw parties like this, Remus?"

"All too well," Remus chuckled, taking a sip from his butterbeer. Harry and I sat with the two Marauders in a corner of the common room, watching the festivities.

"Yeah, those were the days," he reminisced. "We used to take the secret passageway behind the statue of the One-eyed witch to sneak into Hogsmeade all the time." Sirius confided in Harry.

"Now, don't go giving them ideas," Remus warned his friend. "They're not supposed to visit Hogsmeade until next year."

"Oh, pish-posh. Like that ever stopped us," Sirius scoffed. "And we never got caught." He boasted.

"We never got caught after we made the map," Remus corrected him.

"Right, right," Sirius agreed.

"Map? What are you talking about?" Harry asked curiously.

"Oh, you're gonna love this," Sirius started, leaning forward eagerly. "When we were in school, we made a map that showed every room, every corridor, every corner of the castle, and its surrounding grounds. We named it the Marauder's map, after its creators." He said in a proud voice.

"But what made the map special is that we used the Homunculus Charm on it to track the movements of every person in the castle," explained Remus.

"Everyone?" Harry asked, incredulous.

"Everyone....even Dumbledore," confirmed Sirius. "And it was not fooled by invisibility cloaks, Polyjuice potion or animagi. Even the ghosts and Peeves showed up on it, as did animals like Filch's cat."

"Blimey, do you still have it?" Harry asked excitedly.

"Unfortunately not," said Sirius with a bitter smile. "Filch confiscated it from us in our final year, and we never managed to get it back. It might still be in his office. Unless someone's nicked it, of course."

After a while, Remus looked at his watch. "We should get going," he said. "The school gates will be closing soon."

"Yeah," Sirius sighed, looking around the room once more.

"Where are you guys staying now?" I asked.

"Oh, I just got discharged from St Mungo's the other day," said Sirius. "Moony and I will probably be staying in hotels until we find somewhere more permanent."

"Speaking of which," he turned to Harry, "do you have any plans for the Christmas holidays?"

"Um, yeah. Ben's parents invited me to spend the holidays at their place." He said hesitantly.

"Oh." Sirius sounded surprised. "Okay... that's good. I suppose I'll see you when I come by to bring you your present on Christmas morning." He said, slightly disappointed.

"Actually, why don't you and Remus come over and spend the holidays in our place as well?" I proposed.

"Oh no. We wouldn't want to impose." He declined with a light smile.

"That's just it. You wouldn't be," I said. "I bought a multi-room tent a couple of months back. You could just pitch it in our lawn and stay there. Our house-elf Dobby is an excellent cook, so food's not a problem. And I'm sure mom and dad wouldn't mind having two more people at the dining table for the holidays."

The two old friends exchanged glances.

"I don't know, Ben. Are you sure your parents wouldn't mind?" said Remus.

"Trust me, they won't," I assured him. "And this way, you guys will get to spend more time with Harry."

One look at Harry's expectant face was enough for them to make their decision.

"Well, as long as you're sure," smiled Sirius. They both stood up. Remus hugged Harry goodbye while Sirius enveloped me in another.

"Thanks for looking out for Harry," he whispered in my ear. "You're a good friend, Ben."

I gave him a nod as he released me and said goodbye to his godson. We accompanied them to school gates and watched as they disapparated with two loud cracks.

///////////////////////////////////

21st December 1992

Arcane Club

I held the energy transference coil close and examined the alternating rune circuits running along its length. Infusing a significant amount of magical energy into it, I was pleased to find that it barely warmed at all. Nodding to myself, I attached it to my Anywhere Door (named after a beloved childhood robot). It was coming along nicely. I snapped my fingers and a nearby tarp flew up and covered it.

Moving to another table, I picked up something just as important, if not even more so than the door. Even if you have an artifact that can traverse dimensions, finding the one universe that you specifically wanted to go to, in an infinite sea of parallel and alternate universes is a virtual impossibility. It's like looking for one particular drop of water in an entire ocean full of it.

That's why I created an artifact - a compass - to aid me. It uses Spirit Magic to surmise what the user is looking for, then by using Evolution Magic it supplements the information on the target, and finally using Spatial Magic, it searches for the target ignoring the spatial gap and distance. I have been working on this Compass of Infinity in tandem with the Anywhere Door, and they would both be ready for testing in a couple of months.

I stored the Compass and took one more look around the lab to make sure nothing was out of place, before walking out of the room. The door sealed shut behind me, turning into an inconspicuous glass wall once more.

Walking into the library section of the club, I found all my friends there. But today no one was in the mood for studying. Instead, they were all sitting there with their trunks around them.

"Done with your lab?" asked Harry.

"Yep, everything's taken care of," I said.

"Remind me again why we didn't take the train to London, like everyone else in the school?" said Daphne irritably.

"Because unlike everyone else in the school, you have the good fortune of being friends with me; which means you get to travel in style." I smiled. "Unless of course, you miss the beloved school tradition of being cooped up in tiny compartments for eight long hours."

Today marked the beginning of the Christmas holidays. The weeks leading up to end of the year have been dreadfully dull. No basilisk means no petrifications, no Lockhart meant no Duelling Club. It was an utterly normal, completely boring schooling experience. I don't think I've ever looked so forward to the holidays.

"Relax, Daphne. I'm sure Ben had a good reason." Tracey placated her friend.

"Thank you for that vote of confidence, Tracey. Is everyone ready?" I asked.

All of them gave me nods. Harry, Neville, Hermione and Rachel looked completely at ease, having experienced portal travel before. Ginny, Astoria and Luna were excited while Daphne and Tracey looked hopeful.

"Okay, now you need to know that this form of travel will be very fast, but it might get very bumpy," I explained. "So, first of all, I need you all to stand forming a semicircle."

They did as I asked, feeling uncertain.

"Now, grab your trunk with one hand and with the other, grab the person closest to you. Do it in the same direction so as to form a human chain. That's it."

Once again, they did as they were told, looking even more dubious.

"Now, remember, if you lose your trunk while in transit, forget it. It's already gone." They looked at me incredulously. "But whatever happens, don't let go of the person you're holding! If you break the chain, there's a good chance you might get sucked off into the void." I said in a dead serious tone.

"Sucked off into the void?! What are you talking about?!" Daphne exclaimed, looking at me as if I were crazy. "You know what? I don't want any part of this madness. I'm out of here!"

"Too late!" I yelled with a manic smile. "Everyone, brace yourselves! 3, 2, 1... Kablooey!" I gestured dramatically to the center of the group.

Everyone turned their faces away from the possible manifestation of chaos. They waited with baited breaths, but when nothing dramatic happened; they chanced a look back, only to see a blue smokey portal sitting innocently in their midst.

"Is that Platform 9 3/4?" said Luna, looking interestedly at the view displayed on the other side of the portal.

Daphne looked suspiciously at the glowing portal, as if expecting it to explode and warp us off to who knows where. Her expression changed when she looked at me and saw me trying to hold in my laughter.

"YOU JERK!" She screamed. Launching herself at me, she started hitting me on the shoulders and back.

"Sorry, sorry, sorry," I laughingly apologized. "I'm sorry," I repeated, once she calmed down. "I just couldn't resist." I smiled, and she whacked me on the back of my head one last time.

"Alright. All jokes aside, this is a portal." I pointed to the hole in space-time. "I came up with this after diving deep into apparation theory. It has significant advantages over apparation, such as - greater range, no danger of splinching, no discomfort while travelling and its invulnerable to anti-apparation wards."

"How soon can we learn this?" asked Hermione eagerly.

"Not for another year atleast, I'm afraid. This is quite advanced magic," I explained. "Now, I can see the Hogwarts Express approaching the station. Get ready to mingle with your peers so they'll have no idea that you spent the last six hours playing videogames with a full belly, while they kept chanting "Are we there yet?""

We chuckled at the mental picture. Grabbing our trunks, we started on our way home for the holidays.