AS NOVEMBER CAME around, the weather turned very cold. The mountains around the school became icy grey and the lake like chilled steel. Every morning, the ground was covered in frost.

Hagrid could be seen, from the upstairs windows, defrosting the many broomsticks on the Quidditch field, bundled up in a long moleskin overcoat, rabbit fur gloves, and enormous beaverskin boots.

The Quidditch season had begun. On Saturday, Chloe would be playing in her first match after weeks of training: Gryffindor versus Slytherin.

If Gryffindor managed to win, they would move up into second place in the house championship.

Hardly anybody had seen Chloe play because Wood had wisely decided that, as their secret weapon, Chloe should be kept, well, secret.

But the news that Chloe was playing Seeker had leaked out somehow, and the Potter girl couldn't tell which was worse - people telling her she'd be brilliant or people telling her they'd be running around underneath her holding a mattress.

Chloe was glad to have Hermione as a friend. She didn't know how she'd have gotten through all her homework without her, what with all the last-minute Quidditch practice Wood planned.

Hermione also lent Chloe what turned out to be a very interesting read - Quidditch Through the Ages.

From the book, Chloe learned there were seven hundred ways of committing a Quidditch foul and that all of them had happened during a World Cup match in 1473; that Seekers were usually the smallest and the fastest players, and that most serious Quidditch accidents seemed to happen to them; that although people rarely died playing Quidditch, referees had been known to vanish and turn up months later in the Sahara Desert.

Hermione had become a bit more relaxed about breaking the rules since Chloe and Ron had saved her from the troll, and she was much nicer for it.

Daniel Page, the auburn-haired boy who could relate to Hermione's reluctance to go against the rules, was understandably surprised by Hermione's change of heart. "Keep it up, and you'll become Filch's VIP." He had told her, Chloe and Ron.

It was breakfast, on the morning of Chloe's Quidditch match, when the Golden Trio, Chloe, Hermione and Ron, sat amongst the other Gryffindor first-years at their table. Whilst Ron was feeling hungry, like always, his best friend wasn't.

"Take a bit of toast, mate, go on," said Ron, to Chloe. She shook her head, in response. She had gotten used to the traditional British slang term Ron often referred to her as, and had come to love it since she was delighted to be assured that Ron considered her his best friend. That still wasn't enough to encourage her to eat, unfortunately.

"Chloe, you need your strength," said Seamus Finnigan, who looked at Chloe. "Seekers are always the ones who get clobbered by the other team."

Chloe nodded, with a friendly smile. "Thanks, Seamus, but I'm not very hungry." She replied, as she watched Seamus pile ketchup on his sausages.

But then, a shadow was seen, all of a sudden, over their table. The Potter girl hesitantly turned around to see Professor Snape stood behind them.

"Good luck today, Potter. Then again, now that you've proven yourself against a troll, a little game of Quidditch should be easy work for you. Even if it is against Slytherin," said Snape, who then walked away from the Gryffindor table. He limped slightly.

"That explains the blood," murmured Chloe, thoughtfully. "Blood?" Hermione questioned.

Chloe glanced between Hermione and Ron, then said, "Last night, Ron and I saw Professor Snape head up to the third floor. And, in the girls' bathroom, I noticed blood on his leg. What if he went to that three-headed dog? A bite from it would explain why he is also limping."

Hermione's eyes went wide. "But why would anyone go near that dog?" She wondered. "Well, on the day that I was at Gringotts, Hagrid took something out of one of the vaults. He said it was Hogwarts business, very secret." Chloe recalled.

"So you're saying..?" Hermione asked. "Perhaps that's what the dog is guarding. And Snape clearly knows. He might even want it," said Chloe.

"No, he wouldn't." Hermione objected. "I know he's not very nice, but he wouldn't try and steal something Dumbledore was keeping safe."

Chloe shrugged - Snape did give Gryffindor points when she correctly answered his questions, but she wasn't sure any teacher would do such a thing.

"Honestly, Hermione, you think all teachers are saints or something," snapped Ron. "I'm with Chloe. I wouldn't put anything past Snape. He might've even let that troll in as a diversion."

By eleven o'clock, the whole school seemed to be out in the stands around the Quidditch pitch.

Many students had binoculars. The seats were raised high in the air, but it was still difficult to see what was going on sometimes. Ron and Hermione joined Daniel, Dean, Neville and Seamus in the top row. As a surprise for Chloe, they painted a large banner on one sheet Scabbers had ruined.

The slightly torn up sheet said Potter for President, and Dean, who was good at drawing, had done a large Gryffindor lion underneath. Then Hermione had performed a tricky little charm so that the paint on it flashed different colors.

Meanwhile, in the locker room, Chloe and the rest of the team were changing into their scarlet Quidditch robes (Slytherin would play in green).

Once everybody was ready, Wood cleared his throat for silence. "Okay, men." He spoke up. "And women," said Chaser Angelina Johnson, with a playful nudge for Chloe - she giggled in response. "And women." Wood agreed. "This is it."

"The big one," said Fred Weasley. "The one we've all been waiting for," added George, automatically. "We know Oliver's speech by heart," Fred told Chloe, "we were on the team last year."

"Shut up, you two," said Wood, which silenced the Weasley twins. "This is the best team Gryffindor's had in years. We're going to win. I know it."

As if Chloe didn't already feel enough pressure, Wood glared at them all as if to say "Or else", then said, "Right. It's time. Good luck, all of you."

Chloe followed Fred and George out of the locker room, hoping her knees weren't going to give way.

"Scared, Chloe?" Wood asked, on the way onto the field. "Uh-huh," hummed Chloe, with a nod.

"That's all right." Wood tried to assure the Potter girl. "I felt the same way before my first game."

"What happened?" Chloe questioned, hopefully. "Er, I don't really remember. I took a Bludger to the head two minutes in. Woke up in the hospital a week later," said Wood. Chloe gulped, before the Gryffindor Quidditch team walked onto the field.

"Hello! And welcome to Hogwarts' first Quidditch game of the season! Today's game, Slytherin vs. Gryffindor," said Lee Jordan, a friend of Fred and George's who was the Quidditch commentator.

Chloe could hear her Gryffindor friends cheering from their tower. "Gryffindor!" She heard Neville scream, which caused her to stifle a giggle.

Madam Hooch was refereeing the Quidditch match. She stood in the middle of the field waiting for the two teams, with her broomstick in her hand.

"Now, I want a nice, clean game," said Madam Hooch, once the players came, "from all of you,"

Chloe noticed that Madam Hooch seemed to be speaking particularly to the Slytherin captain, Marcus Flint, a sixth-year. He didn't look too nice.

Madam Hooch kicked the wooden crate beside her, and the Bludgers swiftly zoomed out from inside. "The Bludgers are up, followed by the Golden Snitch. Remember, the Snitch is worth a hundred and fifty points. The Seeker who catches the Snitch ends the game." Lee Jordan commented.

The Snitch zooms around each Seeker's head, then disappeared. Chloe watched its every move as did the blonde Slytherin Seeker, Terence Higgs.

Just out of the corner of the Potter girl's eye, she noticed the fluttering banner high above, flashing Potter for President, over the crowd. Her heart skipped. She felt a little braver. "Mount your broomsticks, please," said Madam Hooch.

Chloe clambered onto her Nimbus Two Thousand, whilst Madam Hooch grabbed the Quaffle. "The Quaffle is released," said Lee Jordan, once Madam Hooch tossed it in the air, "and the game begins!"

Madam Hooch gave her silver whistle a loud blast. Fifteen broomsticks rose up, right away, high into the air. They were off. "And the Quaffle is taken immediately by Angelina Johnson of Gryffindor. What an excellent Chaser that girl is, and rather attractive, too-" Lee Jordan commented, without shame. "JORDAN," snapped McGonagall. "Sorry, Professor." The commentator replied. Throughout, he was being closely watched by McGonagall.

"And she's really belting along up there, a neat pass to Alicia Spinnet, a good find of Oliver Wood's, last year only a reserve. Back to Johnson and nice dive around Flint, off up the field and- OUCH! That must have hurt, hit in the back of the head by a Bludger. Quaffle taken by the Slytherins- that's Adrian Pucey speeding off toward the goal posts, but he's blocked by a second Bludger. Sent his way by Fred or George Weasley, can't tell which. Nice play by the Gryffindor Beater, anyway, and Johnson back in possession of the Quaffle, a clear field ahead and off she goes- she's really flying, dodges a speeding Bludger, the goal posts are ahead. Come on, now, Angelina! Keeper Bletchley dives.. misses - ANGELINA JOHNSON SCORES!! Ten points for Gryffindor!!" Lee Jordan cheered.

Gryffindor cheers filled the cold air, as Angelina zoomed over to Fred and high fived him, with groans and complaints from a variety of Slytherins.

"Budge up there, move along," said Hagrid, to a few Gryffindor students upon their tower, as he shuffled by. "Hagrid!" Ron beamed, delighted to see him again. He and Hermione squeezed together to give Hagrid enough space to join them.

"Bin watchin' from me hut," said Hagrid, who then patted quite a large pair of binoculars around his neck, "But it isn't the same as bein' in the crowd. No sign of the Snitch yet, eh?" He asked.

Ron shook his head at Hagrid. "Nope, Chloe hasn't had much to do yet." He pointed out. "Kept outta trouble, though, that's somethin'," said Hagrid, before the gamekeeper raised his binoculars and peered skyward at the speck that was Chloe.

Way up above everybody, Chloe was gliding over the game, squinting about for the Snitch. It was part of Wood's game plan. "Keep out of the way until you catch sight of the Snitch. We don't want you attacked before you have to be." He told her.

Chloe haf caught sight of a flash of gold, whilst Angelina scored, but it just turned out to be a reflection from one of the Weasleys' wristwatches.

A Bludger decided to come pelting Chloe's way, however, almost like a cannonball, but the Potter girl dodged it and Fred Weasley came chasing after it. "All right there, Chloe?" He had time to yell, as he beat the Bludger furiously toward Marcus Flint.

"Slytherin takes possession of the Quaffle. Bletchley passes to Captain Marcus Flint," said Lee Jordan, before Flint managed to dodge a Bludger and kick Angelina's broomstick away all at once.

"Off he goes. Flint flying like an eagle up there. he's going to sc- no, stopped by an excellent move by Gryffindor Keeper Wood!" Lee Jordan praised, as soon as Wood impressively knocked the Quaffle away from the goalpost with a backflip on his broomstick. Chloe let out a gasp, and smiled.

Flint glared at Wood, but the unfazed Gryffindor captain simply responded with a smug smirk.

"Slytherin in possession. Chaser Pucey ducks two Bludgers, two Weasleys, and Chaser Katie Bell, and speeds toward the- wait a moment - was that the Snitch?" Lee Jordan questioned, suddenly.

A murmur ran through the crowd, as Adrian Pucey dropped the Quaffle, too busy looking over his shoulder at the flash of gold that had passed his left ear. Chloe saw it. In a great rush of excitement, she dived downward after the streak of gold. But the Slytherin Seeker, Terence Higgs, also saw it.

Neck and neck, the two Seekers hurtled toward the Snitch. In the process, Angelina Johnson managed to earn Gryffindor another ten points.

Right away, Adrian Pucey knocked Alicia Spinnet's broomstick away before he attempted to score for Slytherin - Wood flew over to the goalpost, caught the Quaffle, just in time, and threw it to Angelina.

Flint was no longer angry by Slytherin's lack of Quidditch points - he was pissed off. "Give me that!" He snapped, then grabbed a bat from one of the Beaters. The cocky Slytherin captain whacked a Bludger right at Wood. It hit his stomach directly and he plummeted to the ground, knocked out.

Whilst everybody in most of the towers all booed, Millicent Bulstrode, Draco Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, Theodore Nott and a variety of equally amused Slytherins just snickered at Gryffindors misfortune.

Chloe, meanwhile, was still on the search for the Snitch. She was faster than Higgs, and she could see the wings fluttering, as it darted up ahead. Chloe put on an extra spurt of speed- *WHAM*

A roar of rage immediately echoed from the Gryffindors below. Through the momentary confusion, Chloe could hear Ron's infuriated yells of protest - Marcus Flint had violently blocked the Potter girl on purpose. Her broomstick spun off course, and she was holding on for dear life.

"Foul," screamed the Gryffindors, as more booing was heard whilst Neville was covering his eyes.

Madam Hooch spoke angrily to Flint and then ordered a free shot at the goal posts for Gryffindor. But in all the confusion, of course, the Golden Snitch had disappeared from sight once again.

In the Gryffindor stands, Dean Thomas was heard angry yelling, "Send him off, ref! Red card!"

"What are you going on about, Dean?" Ron asked, clearly baffled by Dean's yelling. "If you get shown the red card in football, a Muggle sport, you're out of the game." Daniel Page stated, matter-of-factly.

Daniel Page, the auburn-haired boy, didn't have his Potions book in his hands, for once, since Hermione, who shared his desire to get as much studying done as possible, made him leave it behind to come and support Chloe in the Quidditch match. Attending it was a requirement, after all.

"But this isn't football." Ron pointed out, but Hagrid was on Dean's side. "They oughta change the rules. Flint coulda knocked Chloe outta the air."

Lee Jordan was finding it difficult not to take sides, as shown when he bluntly said, "So, after that obvious and disgusting bit of cheating-"

"Jordan," growled McGonagall. "I mean, after that open and revolting foul-" Lee Jordan corrected. "Jordan, I'm warning you-" McGonagall stated.

"All right, all right. Flint nearly kills the Gryffindor Seeker, which could happen to anyone, I'm sure(!) So a penalty to Gryffindor, taken by Spinnet, who puts it away, no trouble, and we continue play, Gryffindor still in possession." Lee Jordan said.

It was as Chloe dodged another Bludger, which went spinning dangerously past her head, that her broomstick gave a sudden, frightening lurch.

For a split second, the girl who lived thought she was about to fall. She gripped the broomstick tightly with both her hands and knees. She'd never felt anything like that. But then, it happened again.

It was as though Chloe's broomstick was trying to throw her off. But Nimbus Two Thousands could not decide to throw their riders off. It was unusual.

In a desperate panic, Chloe tried to turn back toward the Gryffindor goal posts. The redhead had half a mind to go and ask Wood to call time-out.

But then, Chloe realised her broomstick was completely out of her control. She couldn't turn it, or direct it at all. It was zigzagging through the air, and every now and then making violent swishing movements that almost unseated the girl twice.

"Slytherin in possession- Flint with the Quaffle.. passes Spinnet.. passes Bell- hit hard in the face by a Bludger, hope it broke his nose. Only joking, Professor. Slytherins score- oh, no," said Lee Jordan. The Slytherins were cheering right away.

Nobody seemed to have noticed that Chloe's broomstick was behaving so strangely. It carried her slowly higher, away from the game, jerking and twitching as she went. "What's going on with Chloe's broomstick?" Hagrid wondered, as soon as people gradually began to notice. They were pointing up at the Potter girl all over the stands.

Chloe's broomstick started to roll over, with the first-year girl only just managing to hold onto it.

But then, all of a sudden, the whole crowd gasped. Chloe's broomstick had given a wild jerk and she swung off of it with a sharp gasp. She was now dangling from it, holding on with only one hand.

"Did something happen to it when Flint blocked her?" Seamus whispered. "Can't have. Can't nothing interfere with a broomstick except powerful Dark magic. No kid could do that to a Nimbus Two Thousand." Hagrid informed him.

With binoculars of his own, not unlike many of students around him, Daniel wasn't paying attention to Chloe at the moment. His eyes were fixed upon the row of teachers across the stadium.

One of the teachers, who was staring straight up at Chloe and muttering incoherently, looked understandably suspicious to the Potions-obsessed first-year boy. He nudged Hermione, who had been one of the closest first-year Gryffindor students he could almost call a friend, before he said, "Have a look over there. It's quite clear why her broomstick's acting odd."

At these words, Hermione seized Daniel's binoculars. "What are you doing?" Ron asked, grey-faced. "Holy cricket," gasped Hermione, with a shocked expression, "he's right! Snape - look."

Ron grabbed the binoculars. Snape was in the middle of the stands opposite them. He had his eyes fixed on Chloe, and was muttering nonstop under his breath. "What? No, I meant look-" Daniel argued, with a puzzled look. "It's Snape! He's jinxing the broom!" Hermione quietly insisted.

"Jinxing the broom? What do we do?" Ron asked. "Leave it to me," whispered Hermione.

Before Ron could say another word, Hermione had immediately disappeared. Daniel sighed, whilst Ron turned the binoculars back on Chloe.

The Potter girl's broom was vibrating so hard, that it was almost impossible for her to hang on much longer. The whole crowd was on its feet, watching, terrified, as the Weasley twins flew up to try and pull Chloe safely onto one of their broomsticks.

But it was no good. Every time Fred or George managed to get near Chloe, her broomstick would instantly jerk up higher. The Weasleys dropped lower and circled beneath her instead, hoping to catch her if she fell. Marcus Flint seized the Quaffle and scored five times without anybody noticing.

Gasps were heard, as Chloe tried her hardest to keep hold of her broomstick - her arms and hands were beginning to hurt and get tired. Whilst Hagrid, Ron and the other Gryffindors looked terrified, many Slytherins were laughing and pointing.

Chloe had often refused to believe that Slytherin was only dedicated to the unkind students. After all, there must've been unpleasant students in some of the other houses. Chloe hoped that not all the students from Slytherin house were so cruel.

Perhaps the confusion and shock on some of the Slytherins faces proved the Potter girl's point without her knowing. The broomstick almost made her let go, but Draco Malfoy wasn't laughing. There was still a slight smirk upon his pale face, though.

"Come on, Hermione," Ron muttered, desperately. Hermione had fought her way across to the stand where Snape stood, and was now racing along the row behind him; she didn't even stop to say sorry as she knocked Quirrell headfirst into the front row. Reaching Snape, she crouched down, pulled out her wand and whispered, "Lacarnum Inflamarae."

Bright flames instantly shot from Hermione's wand, and onto the hem of Snape's robes.

It took perhaps thirty seconds for Snape to realise that he was on fire. A sudden yelp told Hermione she had done her job. Scooping the fire off him into a little jar in her pocket, she scrambled back along the row - Snape would never know what had happened. It was enough. Up in the air, Chloe was suddenly able to get back on her broomstick.. with the help of Fred and George, of course.

"Neville, you can look!" Ron assured Neville, who had been sobbing into Hagrid's jacket for the last five minutes. Chloe took notice of the Slytherin Seeker, Higgs, zooming after the Golden Snitch.

The Potter girl swiftly flew after the Snitch, but was rammed into by the Slytherin Seeker. After she returned it, the Snitch dove down to the grass field below. Both Seekers followed, and were approaching the ground quickly. Higgs backed out, but Chloe wasn't about to surrender so easily.

Once she pulled up her broomstick, with the crowd gasping, Chloe was right behind the Snitch and just a few feet above the ground. The Potter girl stood up, gradually letting go of her broomstick, and was leaning forward to try and grab the Golden Snitch.

Chloe thought about how risky the idea was, since she was just hanging from her broomstick just moments ago, but she was aware that wouldn't happen again. She went too far, however, and toppled off the broomstick, with a squeal, tumbling on the grass. The crowd groaned and gasped when Chloe got up, with both hands over her stomach. Her cheeks began to bulge a little, as she lurched.

"Looks like she's gonna be sick," said Hagrid, who was still stood amongst the Gryffindors. But he was wrong. With a small pop, something left Chloe's mouth and was caught in her gloved hands. It was the Golden Snitch! She did it.. in a unique way.

"She's got the Snitch," said Lee Jordan, sounding incredibly ecstatic, "Chloe Potter receives one hundred and fifty points for catching the Snitch!"

Madam Hooch, on a broomstick herself, blew her whistle before she yelled, "Gryffindor wins!"

The Gryffindors immediately stood up and burst into triumphant cheers, whilst Chloe smiled up at her friends. But Draco Malfoy hid his face in his hands in dismay. "Oh, no." He murmured.

"Yes!!" Hagrid cheered, waving his fists proudly. "Whoo-hoo!" Hermione cheered, as she clapped.

Chloe scanned up at the Gryffindor crowd, in search of Ron. Once his eyes met hers, the Potter girl raised up the Snitch for her best friend to see. "Wicked!" The first-year Seeker clearly saw the Weasley boy say, as he beamed in ecstasy.

McGonagall giggled happily, since it had been so long since Gryffindor won against Slytherin in Quidditch. She smiled down at Chloe, which the Potter girl eventually noticed as she scanned around everybody. It was certainly one of the greatest moments of the red-haired girl's life, and she'd never forget her first ever Quidditch match.

Even much later, Flint was still infuriated. "She didn't catch it, she nearly swallowed it!" He argued, but it made no difference. Chloe hadn't broken any rules and Lee Jordan was still happily shouting the results. Gryffindor had won by one hundred and seventy points to sixty. Chloe heard none of this, though. She was being made a cup of strong tea back in Hagrid's hut, with Ron and Hermione.

"It was Snape," explained Ron, "Hermione and I saw him. He was cursing your broomstick, muttering, he wouldn't take his eyes off you."

Chloe found the sudden information understandably confusing. She never thought the often cold Potions teacher would have anything against her, even before the events of Halloween. Especially not wanting her hurt or dead! She didn't want to believe it, but she also didn't want to call her friends liars. If they saw it, it had to be true.

"Nonsense," said Hagrid, who hadn't heard a word of what went on next to him in the stands. "Why would Snape put a curse on Chloe's broom?"

Chloe, Ron and Hermione looked at one another, wondering what to tell Hagrid. "Who knows? That depends on if he trying to get past that three-headed dog on Halloween," said Chloe.

Hagrid dropped the teapot, and turned to the Golden Trio. "Who told you about Fluffy?"

Chloe's eyes widened. "Fluffy?" Ron questioned. "That thing has a name?" Hermione asked.

"Well, o' course he's got a name. He's mine. I bought him off an Irish feller I met down at the pub last year. Then I lent him to Dumbledore to guard the-" Hagrid explained. "Yes?" Chloe asked.

"Shouldn't have said that. No more questions! Don't ask any more questions. That's top secret, that is," said Hagrid, firmly. "But, Hagrid, whatever Fluffy's guarding, Snape clearly wants it. We think he might even be trying to steal it," said Chloe.

"Codswallop. Professor Snape is a Hogwarts teacher." Hagrid pointed out. "So why did he just try and kill Chloe?" Hermione cried. The afternoon's events certainly seemed to have changed her mind about Snape. "Hogwarts teacher or not, I know a spell when I see one. I've read all about them. You've got to keep eye contact and Snape wasn't blinking." She said, emphatically.

Hagrid sighed. "Now, you listen to me, all three of yeh. Yer meddling in things that ought not to be meddled in. It's dangerous. What that dog is guarding is strictly between Professor Dumbledore and Nicholas Flamel." He informed the Golden Trio.

Chloe hesitated at the name Hagrid had just blurted out. "Nicholas Flamel?" She repeated.

"I shouldn't have said that. I should not have said that. I shouldn't have said that," murmured Hagrid, as he turned around and walked away.

"Nicholas Flamel," said Chloe, before she turned to Hermione and Ron. "Who's Nicholas Flamel?"

Ron shrugged. "I don't know." Hermione added, whilst she shook her head. Chloe frowned, then jokingly said, "That's an unfortunate first."

Christmas was coming. One morning in mid-December, Hogwarts woke to find itself covered in several feet of snow. The lake froze solid and the Weasley twins were punished for bewitching several snowballs so that they followed Quirrell and bounced off the back of his turban.

The few owls that battled their way through the stormy sky to deliver the post were nursed back to health by Hagrid before they could fly off again.

Nobody could wait for the holidays to start. The common rooms and the Great Hall had roaring fires, but the drafty corridors became icy and a bitter wind rattled the classroom windows.

Worst of all were Professor Snape's classes down in the dungeons, where their breath rose in a mist before them and they kept as close as possible to their hot cauldrons. "I do feel so sorry," said Draco Malfoy, during one Potions class, "for all those people who have to stay at Hogwarts for Christmas because they're not wanted at home."

Draco was looking straight at Chloe as he spoke. Crabbe and Goyle chuckled. Whilst she measured out powdered spine of lionfish, Chloe just ignored them all. Ron was furiously glaring at them, before he rubbed his best friend's arm comfortingly.

Draco had been even more unpleasant than usual since the Quidditch match. Disgusted that the Slytherins had lost, he had attempted to get everyone laughing at how a wide-mouthed tree frog would soon be replacing Chloe as Seeker.

But Draco realised that nobody found it funny, because they were all so impressed at the way Chloe had managed to stay on her bucking broomstick. So Draco, jealous and angry, returned to taunting Chloe about her lack of a proper family.

It was true that Chloe wasn't going back to Privet Drive for Christmas. Professor McGonagall had come around the week before, making a list of students who would be staying for the holidays and Chloe had signed up without hesitation.

Chloe didn't feel at all sorry for herself - it would probably be the greatest Christmas she'd ever had.

Ron and his brothers were staying, since their parents were going to Romania to visit Charlie.

When the first-year students left the dungeons at the end of Potions, Daniel Page was busy answering Chloe's question on if he was staying at Hogwarts for Christmas. He wasn't, because his sister's birthday was on the twenty fifth of December and he wanted to be with her.

"It'll be her birthday then, and I want to get home and show her I-" Daniel had explained, as he walked with Chloe, Dean, Hermione, Ron, Neville and Seamus. But he paused, when they saw a large fir tree blocking the corridor ahead. Two enormous feet stuck out at the bottom and a large puffing sound told them that Hagrid was behind it.

"Hi, Hagrid," said Ron, who stuck his head through the branches - Chloe and Seamus thought it looked funny. "Want any help?" Ron asked. Hagrid shook his head and said, "Nah, I'm all right, thanks, Ron."

"Would you mind moving out of the way?"

Ron rolled his eyes, as soon as he recognised the drawling voice behind him. As expected, Draco Malfoy approached the Golden Trio with his two large imbecilic henchmen at either side of him.

"Are you trying to earn some extra money, Weasley? Hoping to become gamekeeper yourself when you leave Hogwarts, I suppose. That hut of Hagrid's must seem like a palace compared to what your family's used to." Draco told Ron, with a sneer.

Chloe reached for Ron's arm a split second too late. Ron dived at Draco, just as Snape came up the stairs. "WEASLEY!" The Potions teacher snapped.

Ron reluctantly let go of the front of Draco's robes, and stood by Chloe's side as she said, "Malfoy made him, sir. He was insulting Ron's family."

Draco shot the Potter girl a glare, whilst Snape turned to her. "Be that as it may, Miss Potter, fighting is against Hogwarts rules." He pointed out, then faced Ron and said, "Five points from Gryffindor, Weasley, and be grateful it isn't more."

With Ron glaring at Draco, Snape turned around and walked away. "Tattletale." Draco sneered at Chloe, under his breath. His smirk faded, as soon as he was glared down at and told, "And five points from Slytherin, Mr. Malfoy, for your insolence."

The students and Hagrid were stunned. Neither could recall when Snape had ever taken points from his own house. Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle angrily shoved past the tree, scattering needles everywhere. "I'll get him," said Ron, albeit through gritted teeth, "one of these days, I'll get him-"

"Nevermind that," said Seamus Finnigan eagerly, "Snape just took five points from Slytherin!"

"That won't change much, though," said Chloe, with a shrug, "Draco'll just try and get us back somehow. He won't apologise or just leave us."

"Come on, cheer up, it's nearly Christmas. Tell yeh what, come with me an' see the Great Hall, looks a treat." Hagrid told the Golden Trio, with a smile.

So the three Gryffindors followed Hagrid and his tree off to the Great Hall, where McGonagall and Flitwick were busy with the Christmas decorations.

"Ah, Hagrid, the last tree. Put it in the far corner, would you?" Flitwick asked. The hall looked so spectacular. Festoons of holly and mistletoe hung all around the walls, and no less than twelve towering Christmas trees stood around the room, some sparkling with tiny icicles, some glittering with hundreds of candles. "How many days you got left until yer holidays?" Hagrid asked, curiously.

"Just one left, right?" Chloe asked Hermione, since she was going home for Christmas. She nodded. "And that reminds me. Chloe, Ron, we've got half an hour before lunch, we should be in the library."

"Oh yeah, you're right," said Ron, tearing his eyes away from Professor Flitwick, who had golden bubbles blossoming out of his wand and was trailing them over the branches of the new tree.

"The library?" Hagrid asked, following the trio out. "Just before the holidays? Bit keen, aren't yeh?"

"Oh, we're not working, Hagrid," said Chloe, brightly. "Ever since you mentioned Nicolas Flamel, we've been curious to try and find out who he is."

"You what?" Hagrid questioned. He looked quite shocked. "Listen here - I've told yeh - drop it. It's nothin' to you what that dog's guardin'."

"We just want to know who Nicolas Flamel is, that's all," said Hermione. "Unless you'd like to tell us and save us the trouble? We must have checked dozens of books already and received nothing. Just a hint, please, Hagrid, I know I've read his name somewhere." Chloe replied, with a hopeful smile.

"I'm sayin' nothin'," said Hagrid, flatly. "Just have to find out for ourselves, then," said Ron, before he, Chloe and Hermione left a disgruntled-looking Hagrid and speedily hurried off to the library.

The Golden Trio had, indeed, been searching books for Flamel's name ever since Hagrid had let it slip, because how else were the three of them going to find out what Snape was trying to steal?

The trouble was, it was very hard for the trio to know where to begin, not knowing what Flamel might have done to get himself into a book. He wasn't in Great Wizards of the Twentieth Century, nor was he in Notable Magical Names of Our Time.

Additionally, Nicholas Flamel was missing from Important Magical Modern Discoveries, along with A Study of Recent Development in Wizardry.

And then, of course, there was the sheer size of the library; tens of thousands of books; thousands of shelves; hundreds of narrow rows. Hermione took out a list of subjects and titles she had decided to search whilst Ron went down the rows of books and started pulling them off the shelves at random.

Chloe wandered over to the Restricted Section. She had been wondering for a while if Flamel wasn't somewhere in there. Unfortunately, you needed a specially signed note from one of the teachers to look in any of the restricted books, and she knew she'd never get one. They were the books containing powerful Dark Magic never taught at Hogwarts, and only read by older students studying advanced Defense Against the Dark Arts.

"What are you looking for, girl?"

Chloe turned around to face the strict Hogwarts librarian, Irma Pince, shrugged and said, "I just.. thought my friends were here. Sorry, ma'am."

Madam Pince brandished a feather duster at Chloe and asked, "Balderdash! What friends of yours would go anywhere near the Restricted Section?"

Thinking quick, Chloe came up with a likely answer. "Fred and George Weasley, ma'am." She lied, casually - they thankfully weren't there.

"Oh, rotten pair, those two!" Madam Pince grumbled, then shook her head. Before Chloe got the Weasley twins into trouble, she walked off to find Ron or Hermione. They had already agreed they'd better not ask Madam Pince where they could find Flamel. They were sure she'd be able to help them, but Ron pointed out that they shouldn't risk Snape hearing what they were up to.

Together, Chloe and Ron browsed the bookshelves, but neither of them were very hopeful. They had been looking for two weeks, after all, but as they only had odd moments between lessons it wasn't surprising they'd found nothing. What they really needed was a nice long search without Madam Pince constantly breathing down their necks.

After five minutes of unsuccessful searching, Chloe and Ron went off to lunch whilst Hermione had to go pack. As they waited, Ron took the opportunity to teach his best friend how to play wizard's chess. Witch's and wizard's chess, more like.

It was exactly like Muggle chess except that the figures were alive, which made it a lot like directing troops in battle. Ron's set was very old and battered. Like everything else he owned, it had once belonged to someone else in his family. In this case, his grandfather. They were still splendid to use, however. Ron knew them so well he never had trouble getting them to do what he wanted.

"Knight to E5," said Chloe, as Hermione walked over. The knight moved to its destination, at once.

Ron didn't look too worried about losing, since, with quite a smug smirk, he said, "Queen to E5."

Hermione watched as Ron's queen went over to Chloe's knight and whacked it with her chair.

Ron grinned proudly, but Hermione looked incensed. "That's totally barbaric!" She chastised.

"That's wizard's chess," said Ron, who looked at Hermione and added, "I see you've packed."

"I see you haven't." Hermione quipped, matter-of-factly. "Change of plans. My parents decided to go to Romania to visit my brother, Charlie. He's studying dragons there." Ron stated.

"Good. You can help Chloe, then. She's going to go and look in the library for information on Nicholas Flamel," said Hermione, much to the frustration of Ron. "We were just at the library, and we've looked a hundred times!" He protested, with his arms out.

Hermione leaned over the table, closer to Chloe and Ron, and said, "Not in the Restricted Section."

"But we can't get in there without permission from a teacher." Chloe reminded Hermione. "You will keep looking while I'm away, won't you? And send me an owl if you find anything." She replied.

"And you could ask your parents if they know who Flamel is," said Ron. "It'd be safe to ask them."

"Very safe, as they're both dentists(!)" Hermione said, with sarcasm and an eye roll of disbelief. "Happy Christmas." She added, before she left.

Ron turned to Chloe. "I think we've had a bad influence on her." He murmured. Chloe shrugged.

Once the holidays had started, Chloe and Ron were having too good a time to think much about Nicholas Flamel. They had their dormitories to themselves and the common room was far emptier than usual, so they were able to get the good armchairs by the fire. Chloe sat with Ron, eating anything they could spear on a toasting fork: bread, English muffins, marshmallow.

Afterwards, Chloe found herself paying attention to Ron's detailed ideas of how to get Draco Malfoy expelled. Chloe, to each and every idea, had to explain to her best friend why they wouldn't work.

Whilst Ron always showed clear interest in getting Draco Malfoy back for every time he wronged them, Chloe was always reluctant to retaliate. But Draco's stubborn refusal to do anything other than be mean to them often had her wondering why.

On Christmas Eve, Chloe went to bed looking forward to the next day for the food, the presents and the fun. And the next morning, the Potter girl was woken up by an excited Ron Weasley yelling, "Chloe, wake up! Come on, Chloe, wake up!"

Chloe gave a small murmur, whilst she tiredly rubbed her eyes. Sitting up, and wiping the saliva from her cheek, she put on her glasses, stumbled out of bed and ran to the Gryffindor common room.

"Happy Christmas, Chloe," said Ron. After Chloe let out a yawn, she replied, "Happy Christmas, Ron."

After she rubbed her eyes, Chloe took notice of the presents in the common room by the small Christmas tree beside the fireplace. "Wow, look at all those presents." She said, then hurried down.

"Yeah! You've got some as well, Chloe," said Ron. "I have?" Chloe questioned. Ron chuckled. "What did you expect, turnips?" He asked, then turned to his own pile and said, "Come on, let's open them."

Sat by the tree with Ron in the Gryffindor common room, Chloe picked up her top parcel. It was wrapped in thick brown paper and scrawled across it was "To Chloe, from Hagrid". Inside was a roughly cut wooden flute. Hagrid had obviously whittled it himself. Chloe blew it - it sounded a bit like an owl.

A second, very small, parcel contained a note.

Sellotaped to the note was a fifty pence piece. "That's friendly," said Chloe, as she looked at it.

Ron was fascinated by the fifty pence coin. "Weird! What a shape! This is money?" He questioned.

"Muggle money," said Chloe, with a nod. "You can keep it." She told Ron, smiling at his pleasure.

"Who sent these, then?" Chloe asked, when she looked at the other presents. "I think I know who that one's from." Ron told her, turning a bit pink and pointing to a very lumpy parcel. "My mum. I told her you didn't expect any presents and- oh, no. She's made you a Weasley jumper." He groaned.

Chloe curiously opened up the parcel to discover a thick hand-knitted sweater in navy blue and a large box of delicious-looking homemade fudge.

"Every year she makes us a sweater," said Ron, who unwrapped his own, "and mine's always maroon."

"That's really nice of her," said Chloe, as she tried the homemade fudge, "mm.. this tastes amazing!"

Ron nodded, whilst his best friend smiled smugly. "And if I've got my jumper on.." She realised.

"Oy!" Ron exclaimed, when Chloe playfully put his maroon jumper over him. "..then you have to wear yours, too. Come on, Ron, wear yours!" She teased.

"Geroff," muffled Ron, as he tried to wriggle free. It was a humourous moment between the two red-haired best friends, until Ron immediately gave in and said, "All right, I'm putting it on, look!"

"Yay, there you go. Show off your new jumper, Ronnie," said Chloe, who remembered the Weasley twins' playful nickname for their youngest brother.

"I hate this," grumbled Ron, as he pulled the jumper over his head and got his arms through the sleeves, "I wish I got a different colour, at least."

After a lot of playful interaction, one of which involved Ron pranking Chloe with a dirt-flavoured jelly bean, there was only one parcel left for the Potter girl. She picked it up and felt it. It was very light. She unwrapped it. Something silvery grey fell to the floor, where it just laid in gleaming folds.

"I've heard of those," Ron whispered. "If that's what I think it is. They're really rare, and really valuable."

"What is it?" Chloe wondered, whilst she picked the shining, silvery cloth off the floor. It was strange to the touch, like water woven into material.

"It's an invisibility cloak," said Ron, a look of awe on his face. "I'm sure it is - put it on." He urged.

Chloe threw the cloak around her shoulders, and Ron's eyes widened in astonishment. "Whoa! It is! Look down!" He urged, putting down the box of Every Flavor Beans he'd gotten from Hermione.

Chloe looked down at her feet, but they were both gone. She dashed to the mirror. Her reflection looked back at her, but her head was suspended in midair and her body completely invisible. She pulled the cloak over her head and her reflection vanished completely. "Wow!" She gasped.

"There's a note," said Ron, to Chloe, all of a sudden. "Huh?" She asked. "A note fell out of it!" Ron said. Chloe pulled off the cloak and picked up the letter.

There was no signature. Whilst Chloe stared at the note. Ron was admiring the cloak. "I'd give anything for one of these. Anything." He gushed, before he noticed a lack of a smile on his best friend's face. "What's the matter?" He asked.

"I'm just, I don't know, curious to know who sent it to me, that's all," said Chloe, with a small shrug. Had the cloak really once belonged to her father?

Before Ron could respond, Fred and George Weasley bounded into the common room. Chloe swiftly stuffed the cloak out of sight. She didn't feel like sharing the new gift with anybody else just yet.

"Merry Christmas," said Fred. "Hey, look! Chloe's got a Weasley jumper, too," added George.

The Weasley twins were wearing green jumpers, one with a large F on it, and a large G on the other.

"Chloe's is better than ours, though," said Fred, once he gestured to Chloe's jumper. "She obviously makes more of an effort if you're not family."

"Nice to see you wearing yours, Ron," said George, with a smug grin, "They're lovely and warm."

"I made him." Chloe teased. Ron crossed his arms whilst George nodded, proudly. "I almost thought you didn't have a letter on yours. Almost as if you don't forget your name. But we're not stupid, we know we're called Gred and Forge." He stated.

"What's all this noise?"

Percy Weasley walked into the common room, looking disapproving. He had clearly gotten halfway through unwrapping his presents as he, too, carried a lumpy sweater over his arm, which Fred seized. "P for prefect! Get it on, Percy, come on, we're all wearing ours, even Chloe got one."

"I - don't - want-" said Percy, thickly, as Fred and George forced the jumper over his head. "And you're not sitting with the prefects today, either. Christmas is a time for family." George told Percy.

The Weasley twins frog-marched Percy from the room, his arms pinned to his side by his jumper.

Chloe had always enjoyed Christmas dinner, but never so much as at Hogwarts. A hundred fat, roasted turkeys; mountains of roast and boiled potatoes; platters of chipolatas; tureens of buttered peas, silver boats of thick, rich gravy and cranberry sauce and stacks of wizard crackers every few feet along every table in the Great Hall.

The magically fantastic crackers were nothing like the Muggle ones the Dursleys usually bought, with little plastic toys and flimsy paper hats inside.

Chloe pulled a wizard cracker with Fred, but it didn't just bang. It went off with a blast, like a cannon, and engulfed them all in a cloud of blue smoke, whilst, from the inside, exploded a rear admiral's hat and several live white mice.

Up at the High Table, Dumbledore had swapped his pointed wizard's hat for a flowered bonnet, and was chuckling merrily at a joke Professor Flitwick had just read him. Flaming Christmas puddings soon followed the turkey, and Percy nearly broke his teeth on a silver sickle embedded in his slice.

Chloe watched Hagrid get redder in the face as he called for more wine, finally kissing McGonagall on the cheek, who, to the amazement of the Potter girl, giggled and blushed, her top hat lopsided.

When Chloe finally left the Gryffindor table, she was laden down with a stack of things out of the crackers, including a pack of non-explodable, luminous balloons, a grow-your-own-warts kit, and her own new magical chess set. The white mice had disappeared and Chloe had a nasty feeling they would end up as Mrs. Norris' Christmas dinner.

Outside, in the afternoon, Chloe was building a snow owl, that looked almost like Hedwig, as the Weasleys were engaged in a furious snowball fight.

Just as Chloe was almost finished her owl made of snow, she quickly paused at the sudden cold feeling of being struck in the back of her head.

As she opened her eyes, which were screwed shut from the unexpected impact, Chloe looked over her shoulders and noticed bits of snow there. Then, the Potter girl felt the cold substance on the back of her head. Somebody had thrown a snowball at her.

Right away, Chloe turned around to Ron, whose face was as red as their hair, whilst he awkwardly lowered his arm. Fred, who was standing in front of Chloe, stifled a snigger. Ron had tried to hit Fred, but accidentally threw a snowball at his best friend.

Nevertheless, a cheeky smile quickly formed on Chloe's face. The playful Potter girl bent down, scooped up a handful of snow, balled it up and tossed it over at her flushing best friend.

The snowball hit Ron right in his scarlet face, and he almost stumbled back. Chloe couldn't help but let out a giggle, whilst Fred and George lost all control of their laughter. The silly snowball fight promptly turned into a war, with George and Ron on one team and Chloe and Fred on the other.

It was incredibly bizarre, for Ron, to see Fred and George on opposite sides for once. Although, he was very aware that the Weasley twins did tend to argue, or even fight, on the rare occasions.

It was an enjoyable moment for Chloe, from the four sets of snowballs being flung back and forth, the witty remarks and Fred and George eventually tackling each other upon the snowy ground which caused Chloe and Ron to stop, at once, and almost fall over with snorting and wheezing laughter.

Eventually, cold, wet and gasping for breath, the Gryffindors returned to the fire in the Gryffindor common room, where Chloe broke her new chess set by losing spectacularly to Ron. The youngest Weasley boy suspected Chloe wouldn't have lost so badly if Percy hadn't tried to help her so much.

After a meal of turkey sandwiches, crumpets, trifle, and Christmas cake, and after Dumbledore had the bright idea to end the festive night with a plethora of Christmas carols, which Chloe certainly enjoyed, everybody felt too full and sleepy to do much before bed except sit and watch Percy chase Fred and George all over Gryffindor tower because they had gleefully stolen his prized prefect badge.

It had been one of Chloe's best Christmas' ever, although something had been nagging at the back of her mind throughout the day. Not until she climbed into bed was she free to think all about it: the invisibility cloak and whoever had sent it to her.

Ron, full of turkey and cake and with nothing mysterious to bother him, went to bed and fell asleep right away. Chloe, meanwhile, in the girls' dormitory, leaned over the side of her bed and pulled the invisibility cloak out from under it.

The cloak had been her father's. Chloe let the material flow through her fingers, smoother than silk, light as air. Use it well, the note had said.

Chloe had to try on her cloak. She slipped out of bed and wrapped the cloak around herself. Looking down at her legs, she saw only moonlight and shadows. It was a funny feeling - use it well.

Suddenly, Chloe felt wide-awake. The whole of Hogwarts was open to her in the cloak. Excitement flooded through her as she stood there in the dark and silence. She could go anywhere in the cloak, anywhere, and Mr. Filch would never know.

Chloe thought about what Ron thought about the invisibility cloak. Should she wake him? Something held her back - her father's cloak. She wanted to use it alone, for the first time. If it was her first week, she never would have done it. But, after everything else she had done, the temptation was just far too difficult for the Potter girl to ignore.

Hermione did tell Chloe, before Christmas, to check, the Restricted Section for any information on Nicholas Flamel - the Potter girl had a chance to do so without being spied on by Madam Pince.

As quietly as she could, Chloe crept out of the dormitory, down the stairs, across the common room, and climbed through the portrait hole.

"Who's there?" The Fat Lady yawned. Chloe said nothing. She tiptoed quickly down the corridor.

Right away, Chloe quietly set off to the library, drawing the invisibility cloak tight around her as she walked. The library was pitch-black and very eerie. Chloe lit a lamp to see her way along the rows of books. The lamp looked as if it was floating along in midair, and even though Chloe felt her arm supporting it, the sight still gave her the creeps.

The Restricted Section was right at the back of the library. Stepping carefully over the rope that separated these books from the rest of the library, Chloe held up her lamp to read the various titles.

The book titles didn't tell Chloe much. Their peeling, faded golden letters spelled words in languages she couldn't understand, and some had no title at all. One book had a dark stain on it that looked horribly like blood. Chloe felt goosebumps rise on her skin. Maybe she was imagining it, maybe not, but she thought a faint whisper was coming from the books, as though they knew somebody was there who shouldn't be.

Chloe had to start somewhere. Setting the lamp down carefully on the floor, she looked along the bottom shelf for an interesting-looking book.

A large black and silver volume caught Chloe's eye. She pulled it out with difficulty, because it was very heavy, and, balancing it on her knee, let it fall open.

A piercing, bloodcurdling shriek split the silence: the book was screaming! Chloe instantly snapped it shut, with a sharp gasp, but the shriek went on and on in one high, unbroken, earsplitting note.

The Potter girl stumbled backward and knocked over her lamp, which fell to the ground. She tried to grab it, but it was no use. It went out and smashed!

Panicking, Chloe heard footsteps coming down the corridor outside - stuffing the shrieking book back on the shelf, she ran for it. She passed Mr. Filch in the doorway. The caretaker's pale, wild eyes looked straight through her as she slipped under Mr. Filch's outstretched arm and streaked off up the corridor, the book's shrieks still ringing in her ears.

Chloe came to a sudden halt in front of a tall suit of armor. She had been so busy getting away from the library, she hadn't paid attention to where she was going. Perhaps because it was dark, she didn't recognise where she was at all. There was a suit of armor near the kitchens, the Potter girl was aware of that, but she must be five floors above there.

Before she had time to figure it out, Chloe was startled by Quirrell being forcibly interrogated by Snape. "Severus.. I-I thought-" Quirrell stuttered, more anxious than usual. "You don't want me as your enemy, Quirrell." Snape threatened.

"W-What do you.. m-mean?" Quirrell questioned. "You know perfectly well what I mean." Snape said, then paused. When he turned his head away from Quirrell, Chloe held her hand over her mouth.

Snape reached his hand out, presumably to catch the eavesdropper, but the Potter girl backed away in time. Snape whipped back to Quirrell, pointed at him and said, "We'll have another chat soon.. when you've had time to decide where your loyalties lie."

"You asked me to come directly to you, Professor, if anyone was wandering around at night, and somebody's been in the library - I found this in the Restricted Section. It's still hot. That means there's a student out of bed," said Mr. Filch, once the caretaker approached Snape and Quirrell.

Chloe felt the blood drain out of her face. Wherever she was, Mr. Filch must know a shortcut. "The Restricted Section? Well, they can't be far, we'll catch them." Snape informed him. Chloe stood rooted to the spot as the adults disappeared.

They didn't see Chloe, of course, but it was a narrow corridor and if they came much nearer they'd knock right into her - the cloak didn't stop her from being solid. She quietly backed away. A door stood ajar to her left. It was her only hope.

Chloe squeezed through the door, holding her breath and trying not to move it. To her relief, she managed to get inside the room without anybody noticing anything. The Potter girl leaned against the wall, breathing deeply, listening to the footsteps dying away. That had been close, very close. It was a few seconds before she noticed anything about the room she had hidden in.

It looked like Chloe had just hidden inside an unused classroom. The dark shapes of various desks and chairs were piled against the walls, and there was a small upturned wastepaper basket.

Propped against the wall and facing the mesmerised Potter girl, however, was something that didn't look as if it belonged in the room at all.

Something that looked as though somebody had just put it there to keep it out of the way - a mirror.

It was a magnificent mirror, as high as the ceiling, with an ornate gold frame, stood on two clawed feet. There was an inscription around the top of it: Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi.

Chloe's panic faded, since there was no sound of Mr. Filch and Snape, and she moved nearer to the mirror. She stepped in front of it, and had to clap her hands to her mouth to stop herself from screaming. She whirled around, and her heart was pounding far more furiously than when the book had screamed. For she saw not just herself in the mirror, but two adults stood right behind her.

But the room was almost empty. Breathing very fast, Chloe turned slowly back to the mirror.

There the Potter girl was, in the mirror's reflection, white and scared-looking. But reflected behind her, was a man and a woman. Chloe, still silent, looked over her shoulder - but still, nobody was there.

Or was Chloe in a room with two invisible people and the mirror's trick was that it reflected them, whether they were invisible or not?

Chloe looked in the mirror again. The woman behind her reflection was smiling at her. The Potter girl reached out a hand and felt the air behind her.

If the woman was really there, Chloe would touch her. Their reflections were so close, but Chloe just felt air - the woman existed only in the mirror.

The woman was so beautiful. She had dark red hair and brown eyes. Just like me, Chloe thought, as she edged closer to the glass and looked at the woman's eyes. Then, the Potter girl noticed the woman smiling at her with tears in her eyes.

Beside the teary-eyed red-haired woman was a tall and thin brown-haired man, with his arm around her. He wore round glasses, almost exactly like Chloe's, and his hair was very untidy.

Chloe was so close to the mirror that her nose almost touched her reflection. She had two guesses of whom the red-haired woman was. She went with her first guess. "Mum?" The Potter girl whispered. The woman smiled and nodded to her.

Of course it was Chloe's mother, Lily. The first-year girl thought the woman was far too pretty to be her as an adult. Then she turned to the man, who still had his arm around her mother. "Dad?" She whispered, to receive the same nod and smile.

Chloe wanted to cry - for the first time in her life, except, perhaps, when she was just an infant, she was looking at her parents. But she was quite aware it wasn't truly them - they are dead.

The tears gradually began to pool in Chloe's eyes, as she looked at the reflections of her deceased parents in the mirror. It was cruel they were taken away from her when she was just a little baby.

For years, Chloe had always dreamed and wondered about her parents - what they looked like, what kinds of people they were like and she had always wished the one thing most orphaned children wish for - the chance to be with them just one time. Yet there they were, just out of her reach.

Lily's smile faded, as she frowned at her daughter sympathetically. Chloe's hands were pressed flat against the glass, as the Potter girl was hoping to fall right through it and reach her parents.

Whilst James Potter, her father, rested a hand on her shoulder, Chloe had such an ache growing inside of her. She was partly pleased to see her parents, but, overall, her heart was breaking with the acknowledgment that all she could ever do is look at them. She wished they were both alive.

Chloe wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her pyjama top, as James' smile had also faded. The Potters both looked comfortingly at their melancholy daughter. How long she stood there, Chloe had no idea. Nor did she care in the slightest, however.

"I love you," whispered the Potter girl, to her parents' reflection, after a teary-eyed sniffle. She knew it wasn't really them, but it felt like it was.

Even so, upon hearing the whisper of love from their only daughter, the smiles of James and Lily returned. Through her choked-up tears, the small redhead let out a soft giggle. It certainly felt much better to her than not seeing her parents at all.

The reflections of Chloe's parents did not fade and she looked and looked, until a distant noise brought her back to her senses. She couldn't stay.

With the utmost reluctance, Chloe turned away from the mirror and listened to the noise. She then wiped her eyes, turned back to the reflections of her parents and whispered, "I'll come back."

It felt almost impossible for Chloe to eventually leave the mirror. On the way back to the common room, under her invisibility cloak, of course, the Potter girl was rightfully worried it would be the last time she would see her parents' reflections.

Chloe couldn't just go to bed - she had to tell Ron. Luckily, he was the only boy in his dormitory since everybody else went home for Christmas.

"Ron," exclaimed Chloe, as she rushed into his dormitory. Since her best friend was the only one in there, she felt relieved about doing so. "you've really got to see this! Ron, you've got to see this!"

After Chloe pulled back Ron's covers, he began to wake up. "Ron, come on, get up," said the Potter girl, eagerly. "Why?" Ron asked, tiredly. He was clearly too tired to even question why his best friend - a girl - had just burst into his dormitory.

"There's something you've got to see. I promise, it'll be worth it. Come on, please." Chloe answered.

Ron knew it must've been important, and he was rather eager when Chloe whispered an explanation to him on the way. With both of them under the invisibility cloak, Chloe feared she might not be able to find the mirror room again. "It's here.. just here- yes! Here it is, where I saw my parents!"

Together, Chloe and Ron pushed the door open. Chloe dropped the cloak from around her shoulders and ran to the mirror. There James and Lily were, and they beamed at their daughter.

"See?" Chloe whispered, with a little smile. But Ron, who looked confused, said, "I only see us."

"Er, stand where I am." Chloe suggested, before she stepped aside. Ron stepped forward, but with Ron in front of the mirror, Chloe couldn't see her family anymore, just Ron in his blue stripey pyjamas.

Once she noticed Ron's eyes widen, Chloe smiled. "There. You see them, don't you?" She asked.

"That's me! Only I'm head boy," said Ron, amazed. "Huh?" Chloe asked, puzzled. "I am! I'm wearing the badge, like Bill used to. And I'm holding the Quidditch cup. And bloody hell! I'm Quidditch Captain too!" Ron gushed, with a smile.

Chloe was taken aback, but not just by what Ron saw in the mirror. She had never heard him swear before. At least, she thought "bloody" was a swear word. She wasn't one hundred percent certain.

"I look good," said Ron, which almost caused Chloe to giggle until the boy tore his eyes away from this splendid sight to look at his best friend and ask, "Chloe, fo you think this mirror shows the future?"

Chloe shook her head. "How can it? Both my parents are dead." She reminded Ron, with a frown.

Ron patted Chloe's arm comfortingly. "Let me have another look, Ron." She pleaded. "You had it to yourself earlier, give me a bit more time." Ron justified. "We'll take turns. One-" Chloe replied.

A sudden noise outside the corridor put an end to Chloe and Ron's discussion. They hadn't realised how loudly they had been talking. "Quick!" Ron said. He threw the cloak back over them, as the luminous eyes of Mrs. Norris came round the door.

Chloe and Ron stood quite still, and both thought the same thing - did the cloak work on cats? Eventually, Mrs. Norris turned and left.

"This isn't safe - she might have gone for Mr. Filch. I bet she heard us. Come on," said Chloe, with a nod, just before she and Ron darted out of the room.

The snow still hadn't melted the next morning. In the Great Hall, the next morning, the Weasleys were sat at the Gryffindor table eating breakfast.

"Do you like yours, Ron?" George asked Ron. But the youngest Weasley boy wasn't focused on his food, at the moment. He was looking at Chloe, who was sitting by herself and staring into the fireplace.

"Ron? Ro-" Fred spoke up, once he noticed Ron wasn't paying attention. Ron turned to the twins, then stood up. "I'll be right back." He told them, before he left his breakfast and walked over to the fireplace to sit beside, and comfort, his best friend.

"Want to play chess?" Ron asked Chloe, as he sat down with her. "No, thanks." She responded.

"Want to go and visit Hagrid?" Ron asked Chloe, with a friendly smile. Her eyes were still fixed on the beautifully lit fireplace in front of her. She shook her head and said, "Tomorrow, perhaps."

Ron looked down a little, whilst Chloe didn't move an inch. Her best friend knew what she was thinking about, and he was understandably reluctant to shut down the idea. But since he couldn't change the subject, he had no choice.

Ron looked back up at Chloe and said, "Chloe, I know what you're thinking, but don't. There's something not right about that mirror."

Chloe finally turned to Ron, and away from the fireplace. "It's my parents, Ron. The ones I barely got to meet. I could hardly remember what they even looked like. I'd go with you just once more, if you wanted to see yours again." The Potter girl justified. Her tone was scarcely above a whisper and a little shaky, as if to hide her distress.

Ron said nothing, but he scooted a little closer to his best friend and slowly put an arm around her in an attempt to console her. Chloe slowly nodded, to silently assure him she didn't mind the gesture.

With his arm around Chloe and rubbing her arm comfortingly, Ron also faced the Great Hall's soothing fireplace. The two of them sat together as the Potter girl rested her head on Ron's shoulder, which he also silently assured her didn't mind.

Ron Weasley was much more than Chloe Potter's best friend. He was quickly becoming the brother Chloe never knew she needed until she met him.

Chloe just had to get back in front of the mirror, and Ron wasn't going to stop her. That night, she found his way more quickly than before. She was walking so fast she knew she was making more noise than was wise, but she didn't meet anybody. And there were her father and mother smiling at her again.

But Chloe's eyes weren't just focused on the reflections of her parents. After a few minutes of silently gazing at them, she couldn't help but observe the words above the mysterious mirror: Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi.

Chloe repeated the words to herself quietly, jotting them down on some parchment. The Potter girl knew how funny the words sounded forewords, and she didn't think they were written in another language, so she wrote the letters last to first: ishow no tyo urfac ebu tyo urhe arts desirE.

As soon as she wrote the mirror's words in backwards order, Chloe noticed they tried to form real words, but the spaces were in the wrong places. The first words obviously said, "I show", whereas the final word was, of course, "desire".

The mirror's other words needed fixing. After a few seconds of observation, and after gazing up at her proud parents a few times, Chloe had jotted down an understandable translation. "I show not your face but your heart's desire." She read, quietly.

"Quite observant, Chloe."

Chloe felt as though her insides had turned to ice. She looked behind her, with a gulp. Standing by the wall was none other than Albus Dumbledore. Chloe must have walked straight past him, so desperate to get to the mirror. She hadn't noticed him.

"I.. I didn't see you, sir." Chloe shyly mumbled, as she stood to her feet. "Strange how short-sighted being invisible can make you," said Dumbledore.

Chloe was promptly relieved, as soon as she saw that Dumbledore was smiling. "I see that you, like so many before you have discovered the delights of the Mirror of Erised." He gently told the Potter girl.

"I didn't know it was called that, sir." Chloe admitted, with a small shrug. Dumbledore nodded, in response. "But I trust, by your sharp intellect, you realise what it does." He acknowledged.

"Well, it shows me my parents. And-" Chloe said, then looked at the mirror. "And it showed your friend Ron himself as head boy," said Dumbledore.

"How did you know?" Chloe asked, taken aback. Dumbledore chuckled. "I don't need a cloak to become invisible. Now, can you think what the Mirror of Erised shows us all?" He asked.

Chloe thought about the mirror's phrase, as Dumbledore walked over to her. "Let me give you a clue. The happiest man on earth would look into the mirror and see only himself, exactly as he is."

"It shows us all.." Chloe replied, as she glanced up at the words at the top of the mirror. "..our biggest desires, sir. The things that we want the most."

Dumbledore nodded. He looked subtly impressed with the first-year girl. "Exactly." He confirmed, which encouraged Chloe to smile a little.

"Now you, Chloe, who have never known your family, you see them standing beside you. Ronald Weasley, who has always been overshadowed by his brothers, sees himself standing alone, the best of all of them." Dumbledore pointed out.

Chloe felt bad for Ron. "Everyone expects me to do as well as the others, but if I do, it's no big deal, because they did it first." He had told her, when they had first met, on the Hogwarts Express.

"But remember this, Chloe," said Dumbledore, which caused Chloe to snap out of her thoughts, "This mirror gives us neither knowledge or truth. Men have wasted away in front of it. Even gone mad. That is why tomorrow it will be moved to a new home. And I must ask you not to go looking for it again. It does not do to dwell on dreams, Chloe, and forget to live. Now, why don't you put that admirable cloak back on and get off to bed?"

Chloe nodded, with a small smile, then asked, "Sir- Professor Dumbledore? Can I ask you something?"

"Obviously, you've just done so," said Dumbledore. "You may ask me one more thing, however."

Dumbledore's brief joke earned a genuine giggle from the Potter girl, before she curiously asked, "What do you see when you look in the mirror?"

"I?" Dumbledore asked, subtly surprised. Chloe nodded. "I see myself holding a pair of thick, woolen socks." Dumbledore answered.

Chloe just blinked, although she didn't have an expected answer from Dumbledore. "One can never have enough socks. Another Christmas has come and gone and I didn't get a single pair. People will insist on giving me books." He explained.

Perhaps I'll try and remember socks for Dumbledore next Christmas, Chloe thought to herself on the way back to her dormitory. She wondered if he was telling the truth, although, to be fair, it had been quite a personal question.

Question Of The Chapter!
Which Dumbledore actor did you prefer?
My Answer: I loved Michael Gambon (R.I.P), however I did wish Richard Harris lived long enough to last until the series ended.
Your Answer?

Author's note:
I wanted this chapter to truly emphasise the friendship between Chloe and Ron - whereas Harry and Hermione get their chances, I feel like Ron needs more recognition. Hope you liked it! :)