HARRY

"Oh, come on! Loss, again? I don't want to play this damned thing anymore, I say, we play Mythomagic." Iro hissed at Ron who just rolled his eyes.

"But we played that all day yesterday, so no! We play my wizard's chess and nothing else." Iro then releases a frustrated sigh. He looked at me with his rounded sea green and dark brown eyes.

"No Iro! I'm done playing with your myths!" I exclaimed to him, "Honestly! You've been playing that since we were little, you even forced me to play it with you. Aren't you getting bored with that?" I continued.

"What!? It's fun! Plus, I didn't force you Harry, you asked me first how to play it!"

"Yeah, I do, but I was just curious that time!"

"Oh, come on Harry! I know you love me, so let's play it!" I just rolled my eyes and pushed him from his seat to play the wizard chess with Ron.

The next morning, I woke up with a start as I felt a pair of cold hands over my shoulder, shaking me aggressively. I snapped my eyes open and saw the owner of the hands smiling like a kid.

"What the Bloody Hell Iro! Can't I have a proper sleep without you interrupting me every morning?"

"Come on mate, just get up there, it's Christmas!" I heard Ron say. Upon my realization of what day is today, I jolted up from my bed and looked around me and the first thing I saw was the small pile of packages at the foot of my bed. I then heard Iro and Ron spoke in unison "Merry Christmas Harry!" I smiled and greeted them back. Suddenly our door room barged open and there stood Hermione Granger with a warm smile on her face, and holding small packages in her hands.

"Merry Christmas!" we all said at the same time.

"Uhm Hermione, how did you get here?" Iro asked, which made me also curious. She just rolled her eyes and sat at the bed across me.

"Only the girls room have a restriction spell against boys you know, so I could freely go here"

"What!? That's not fair!" Ron shouted, which made me and Iro nodded.

"Whatever!"

"Let's open our presents!" I intervened, which made all of them agree. I got myself a roughly cut wooden flute from Hagrid, fifty-pence-piece from Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia, a Weasley sweater from Mrs. Weasley, Ron's mother, a jar of blue chocolate cookies from Mrs. Figg, a large box of candies and frog chocolates from Hermione, then a broomstick servicing kit from Iro.

"Hey Harry open your last parcel!" Ron excitedly asked while eating the foods Hermione gave to her.

"Oh, poor Ron, If I know better, you're just hoping that it's food." Iro said which made us all laugh. I picked up the package and carefully tore the wrap. Upon opening, something fluid and silvery gray went slithering to the floor where it lay in gleaming folds, and it made Ron gasp from his bed.

"I've heard of those, - if that's what I think it is – they're really rare, and really valuable."

"What is that?" Iro and Hermione asked in unison. We all look at Ron's anticipation.

"It's an invisibility cloak! – I'm sure it is, try it on" we all gasped to what he just said to the cloak I'm holding, they all urged me to test it. I threw the cloak around my shoulders and they all gave a yell.

"Look at yourself Harry!" Hermione shouted between her gasps. I looked down at where my body is, or where my body was. I looked at them with so much amusement in my expression.

"My body's gone!"

"Damned, it is Harry!" Iro excitedly said.

"Who gave it to you?" they asked. I looked at the note indicated in the package.

'Your father left this in my possession before he died.

It is time it was returned to you.

Use it well.

A Very Merry Christmas to you.'

"There was no signature,"

Later that day, we went down to the common room and sat on the stuffed armchairs with the great view from the open windows. Feeling the warmth of the blazing fire that adds up to the coziness of the room. Plus, the now new scent of Christmas and the soothing smell of freshly baked pastries. The room sports several shades of red and gold. The fireplace mantle is adorned with a portrait of a lion. We could all feel the leisure time that we have and the calming silence until Iro decided to speak.

"Hey Harry, I just remembered something," we all looked at him, curious, "You remember the incident from the zoo on Dudley's birthday? – So, does that mean you're the one who let the snake escape?"

"You what!?" Hermione and Ron exclaimed.

"Oh, Harry just freed a snake from the zoo by vanishing its mirror slash barrier." He panted between his laughs.

"Hey! How do you know it's me and not you?" I asked Iro.

"Well I certainly do not have a strong emotion that day, I saw your expression and you look like you're ready to murder someone." I covered my face with my palm in embarrassment as they all laughed at what I accidentally did back then.

"It's normal you know, for someone like us, at least, if we're in an influence of too much emotion" I looked at Hermione with gratitude.

"Thanks Hermione, and she has a point Iro! Didn't ever that happen to you" I jokingly said, most of me believe it didn't happen to him, I mean he'd tell me if it did. I was about to change the topic when Iro suddenly spoke, earning all of our attention.

"Actually... it did" He began, "Harry do you remember what happened last year to me? About the incident I got into?" I searched my own memory, looking for what he was talking about.

"You mean about you almost being killed?"

"What!?" Ron and Hermione both shouted to us.

"Well, this boy here has a serious hero complex; he sneaks out from his house one night, then while walking towards my place, he runs into an unpleasant situation. He saw a girl getting rubbed by a man, and he stupidly tried to save her but he didn't know the guy had a knife, from what I've heard, the robber almost stabbed Iro – oh shocks! – you did something to him, didn't you? That's why he was calling you a monster?"

"I didn't do anything to him Harry!" he assured me, which made me, Hermione and Ron really curious about what happened, "But something really did happened that night" he continued. The three of us looked at him, impatiently waiting for him to start his story.

"You see, the guy did actually try to stab me, and he didn't just do that once – he tried to do it many times that I lost at count" we gasped to what he just said.

"How come you're still alive!?" Ron asked, not minding the rudeness in his question. I then noticed Hermione rolled her eyes and punched Ron's shoulder.

"You're not listening, aren't you? He said ''tried, Ron, tried!" and that statement of her just made us all look at Iro again, indicating for him to continue.

"Well, before his knife reached me, a shadow immediately flew up straight between us, blocking the knife. The guy continued and tried to stab me, as if he didn't see the shadow that kept blocking his attacks and shielding me. I guess it's really dark there that's why he didn't notice. No lights and very secluded, that place. No one would notice anything there.

"But Iro, if it's dark there, how come you saw them?" Hermione asked

"Err... also about that, when I was passing the area, I heard someone screaming. At first, I didn't see anything but then I felt my eyes suddenly go cold, as in really literally cold, and I could suddenly see through the dark. As if, the scream just triggered something in my eyes and I instantly have a night vision. That is how I saw the girl being rubbed by the guy." After Iro explained that, silence banged in the entire common room. Then Hermione decided to break it.

"What Harry did to the mirror is a vanishing spell, I accidentally did that once... But Iro, I don't know any spells or enchantments that could make what you just did. I mean a shadow, acting as a shield? That's impossible." Iro just sat on the couch, puzzled like all of us.

"Hermione, he just did that. How is that impossible?" Ron taunted. But was just ignored by the girl.

"I don't know Hermione, it just happened. That time all I wish is for something to save me from dying and poof, the shadow shield happened"

"How about the night vision? Certainly, you're not in some kind of dramatic emotion or life-threatening situation that time." I asked.

"As I've said, the scream must have acted as a trigger."

"Well, could you still see clearly in the dark?" Ron asked. And it made me and Hermione really curious. Iro then bit his lower lip.

"Yes"

"How about the shadow shield?" Ron immediately asked.

"Ron, are you telling me to walk around the street and find someone to stab me and see if it still works? That's rubbish!"

"Err... sorry, I didn't mean that. I'm just... curious. Aren't you? I mean if your night vision stayed, what makes you think the shadow shield didn't?" We all stayed silent, agreeing to what Ron had just stated, even the logical Hermione does.

"So, what do you suggest? Stab me? – cause if you do, I think I need a shadow, at least" Iro sarcastically asked.

"Yeah it makes sense, after all, the shield is out of shadows. And we're definitely not going to stab you. But I don't think it's the right time to see that. We still need to search for Nicholas Flamel" I said. In which they all nodded in agreement, and off went to the library once again.