Until The End

Until the End

Chapter 10: Christmas

"The poetry of the Earth is immortal..."

Xavier Desmond's P.O.V:

The flying Ford Anglia touched the ground with a bump and Mr. Weasley smoothly slowed down the car as it drove itself through the doors of a rusty, old shed.

"We're home," Mr. Weasley announced with a smile. Mrs. Weasley and Ginny already disappeared into the house, while the twins and Percy rushed into the house, no doubt ready to retire their things and themselves in their rooms.

"Come on, Xavier, let me show you around mate," Ron suggested, and Xavier nodded without a word.

As Mr. Weasley got their trunks and vanished into the house, Xavier looked around in wonder; land seemed to stretch out everywhere, with hills curved out in the distance and a long pathway that probably led to some small town nearby.

The shed that was near the house had different plants and ponds surrounding it and Xavier could also see a chicken coop as he walked around The Burrow.

Ron then led Xavier into the house itself and all Xavier could do was stare in awe; dishes were getting scrubbed magically, the fireplace was crackling away, and a very intriguing ancient clock stood out on one of the walls near the kitchen. Instead of numbers, it had faces and names of the Weasley family and different statuses' for where each one of them was located.

Ron's voice was inaudible, only because Xavier felt like he was transfixed. So, this is how a home of wizards and witches is like? Amazing…

"It's not much, you know, but it's home," Ron said, and Xavier turned around and looked at his best mate. Ron had a slight blush on his face and Xavier knew why; throughout living in Slytherin, Ron had been faced with many insults of his family's wealth and Xavier knew that hurt Ron a lot.

"Well, I think this place is brilliant, mate," Xavier responded firmly and before Ron could say anything, Xavier marched to him and hugged his best mate tightly and this surprised even Xavier. Since when he did start hugging boys too?

Ron was instantly caught off guard, especially the fact that someone like Xavier would hug him, but nonetheless, Ron returned the hug back, feeling much more eased at Xavier's response.

"You really are too kind, dear," came Mrs. Weasley's voice and the boys broke their hug to see the Weasley parents staring at them fondly.

"I'm serious, Mrs. Weasley," Xavier replied strongly. "This place is more beautiful than I imagined and those who insult this place really have no idea what they're missing out on,"

Mr. Weasley smiled proudly at Xavier and Mrs. Weasley even wiped away a few tears. I really don't know what I did to deserve this family's kindness…

"Boys, I put your trunks are up in Ron's room, so you can go unwind for a bit," Mr. Weasley informed, and the boys nodded.

Ron and Xavier then traveled up the long staircase until the last level where Ron's bedroom was situated.

As they passed Ginny's room, Ron turned around to Xavier and smiled nervously.

"Thank you… you know, for saying those things. I don't think I've heard of someone talk of The Burrow as you did," Ron admitted, and Xavier nodded firmly. Then, people are too arrogant or stupid to see the true beauty of this place…

Ron then continued to his room and opened the door and as Xavier stepped in, a burst of orange filled his sight; the wallpapers, the bed covers, and even the desk were in orange.

"So, this is where my best mate grew up," Xavier started with a grin and Ron just shrugged with a smile.

Xavier walked up the window and gazed outside, taking in the fields that were covered in snow and the distant hills. It was truly heavenly, and it gave Xavier a nostalgic feeling for some reason.

For the next ten minutes, the two Slytherin boys chatted away happily, with Ron discussing his favourite team, the Chudley Cannons, and Xavier just watching Ron's toy figured fly around in action.

"Ron! Xavier!" came Mrs. Weasley's call. "Come down for lunch!"

The boys rushed downstairs, laughing as they tried to beat each other in their 'race' and once they were at the dining table, they sat down next to each other.

Mr. Weasley sat at the head of the table, which was on the other side of Xavier, while the twins and Percy sat across Ron, Xavier, and Ginny.

Mrs. Weasley then came in with an assortment of food, ranging from pastries to salads, and Xavier could feel the mouth-watering aroma fill his nostrils.

"Get ready, Xavier," Fred started with a grin.

"Because once you taste mum's cooking," George added.

"You'll never want to go back," they finished together.

"Oh, stop it you two," Mrs. Weasley hushed, but she was smiling.

Xavier took a bite into his food and he felt like he had ascended into Heaven. What in the… this is incredible!

"Are you alright, Xavier? Is the food not good, dear?" Mrs. Weasley asked, slight worry in her voice.

"No, Mrs. Weasley, this is incredible. I'm just shocked…" Xavier's voice trailed off when he took another bite, and everyone smiled at him.

Ten minutes of eating, wait no, ten minutes of paradise later, Mr. Weasley was constantly asking questions of the Muggle world from Xavier, the twins and Ron were laughing at something, and Percy, Ginny, and Mrs. Weasley were all talking away.

"So, how is school going?" Mrs. Weasley asked as she smiled at Ron and Xavier, and they all turned to Ron and Xavier.

"It's going great, Mrs. Weasley," Xavier replied truthfully, and Ron nodded fervently.

"Yeah, we've gotten so many House points and the mid-term exams were really easy!" Ron exclaimed and Percy shot them a wide smile, while the twins scowled.

"Yes, it would be nice if you two weren't getting so many points," Fred stated, irritation easily noticeable in his voice.

"Yeah, thanks to you two, Slytherin is all high up there," George said with a frown and Ron grinned childishly at them. The twins frowned even wider, which got a giggle from Ginny.

"It is what it is," Xavier shrugged with a small smirk.

Lunch had ended a few minutes later and, to be honest, Xavier knew he had never eaten so much in his life.

For the rest of the day, Xavier had the time of his life, playing prank wars with the twins, Ron, and Ginny, talking to Percy about everything that included facts or history, and finally learning to fly around on a broomstick.

Once the day was over, Ron and Xavier stayed up all night joking and laughing their heads off, once again, it was something that Xavier had never done before and he wished that he had only done it sooner. It was a great feeling...

Tracey Davis' P.O.V:

Tracey put her warm gloves on and stepped outside of her Manor and strolled through her backyard, her eyes fixed on the ice layers that covered the plants. The snow crunched under Tracey's feet as she walked around peacefully.

She really loved this place, and even though she missed her home back in the Muggle World, the one right here in the Magical World tended to her personality a bit more.

It had been three years since Tracey's parents decided to move back into the Magical World, as her father was a Pure-Blood wizard who had to deal with many business inquires here and also the fact that they knew their Tracey would be attending Hogwarts.

Once Tracey had met Daphne, Blaise, Theo, Millie, Pansy, and Malfoy, she had realized something; each of them had a strong prejudice against Muggle-Borns and Half-Bloods. Of course, Malfoy was most definitely influencing them as he was the biggest bigot, while Millie and Daphne were much less bigotry.

And that's when Tracey had played her part, and slowly shifted their views on Muggles, Muggle-Borns, and Half-Bloods. Only Malfoy, along with his cronies Crabbe and Goyle, stayed heavily against the idea of accepting and associating with those of other blood-status and it had caused many arguments, swaying, and hard times.

By the end, Theo and Blaise were done acting like servants for Malfoy, Millie was fed up with always being the punching-bag of the group, Daphne wanted to follow the beliefs that her own parents did, which was to accept all types of beings and Pansy wanted to escape the life of always trying to impress Malfoy when he clearly didn't give two shits about her.

And that's when the group arrived at Hogwarts and met two entirely different and unique students: Ron Weasley and Xavier Desmond.

Ron Weasley, coming from a family filled with Gryffindors and a family that was known as Blood-Traitors, was sent right to Slytherin, where his values and beliefs didn't change one bit.

And as for Xavier Desmond, everyone, including Tracey, had heard of the heroic tales of Xavier's parents defeating the dark witch, Lady Dysnomia, and as everyone believed that he and his parents were dead, Xavier had shown up to the school, a cold and distant, yet resolute look on his face.

Tracey felt her heart swell for a moment, but it came crashing down like a huge wave. These kinds of moments always occurred for Tracey.

Tracey had genuinely hated Daphne for when she called Hermione Granger a mud-blood, but after talking to her, Tracey only realised it was Daphne's jealousy that got the better of her and Daphne had felt extremely terrible for saying such a word. And Tracey could see the heavy regret in Daphne's eyes.

Tracey didn't really care for Granger and nor did the others. Granger was noisy, overly confident, and a know-it-all, but she didn't deserve to get called out for her blood-status, no one did!

But Xavier and Ron had taken it the wrong way when Tracey and her friends had sniggered when Granger had run off that day after Charms class had finished. That day…

Tracey shuddered; that day of the Halloween Feast could have been a day where she might have lost two friends… Friends, ex-friends, acquaintances, or whatever they were. She really didn't know.

And since that day, the group had digressed into a bubble of melancholy and it was weird since the group had each other before meeting Ron and Xavier and then once they meeting the two boys, the group had forever changed.

Once Ron and Xavier had both left the group, Theo and Blaise had both spiraled into colder, quieter, and distant versions of themselves. They didn't even talk to each other as much.

Millie had gotten much quieter as well, while Pansy had tried to busy herself with her interests, but that failed miserably.

Daphne was always on the verge of tears and as for Tracey, all she could do was to hold the group together before it could all fall apart.

Malfoy had tried to make many attempts of reaching out to the group and extending a hand of 'friendship', but each time he would just get declined and it had even led to a point where Malfoy had tried to fight Theo and Blaise.

Tracey traced her glove over a frosted Petunia flower and then walked over to a large Sycamore Maple tree. She sat on the swing and sighed heavily.

On two occasions, Ron had given a nod to Tracey and before boarding the train, he had given her a small smile. This made Tracey wonder if he wanted to be friends with her and that small hope still lived deep in her heart.

Tracey knew that she and her friends couldn't keep going like this. No, they needed to be reunited with Ron and Xavier as a group and Tracey wanted that more than anything else. Tracey and her friends missed that Prodigy duo, and she had a feeling that those two did too.

So, Tracey stood up, and with her decision set in the right place, she strolled back into her home and ran upstairs into her bedroom.

She then sat down by her desk, pulled out a spare piece of parchment and a purple feather quill, and began to write.

Xavier Desmond's P.O.V:

Xavier walked down the stairs of The Burrow and he could the rustling of wrapping paper, happy chatter, and a sweet aroma of Christmas Turkey wafting around the house. It was Christmas and Xavier smiled to himself. Xavier never got presents from anyone, but he was excited to show the Weasleys what he had gotten them.

Xavier entered the living room and a mass of gift-wrapping was all over the ground.

The Weasleys were all wearing hand-knitted sweaters, each with a specific colour and initial for the one who got it. Ron had a dark green one, Fred and George had matching light blue ones, Percy wore a purple one and Ginny had a sparkly, pink one.

Mrs. Weasley spotted Xavier and smiled at him. "Good morning, dear, your presents are under the tree over there,"

Mrs. Weasley then pointed over to a small pile of gifts left in the corner of the tree and Xavier felt confusion grow his head. Who in Merlin's head would get Xavier gifts?

As if Mrs. Weasley read his mind, she laughed and said, "Well, you really didn't think that we wouldn't get you something, now would you?"

They had gotten him gifts… Xavier felt another rush of love towards these people, but he also felt bad that they had spent their own money on him.

Xavier opened the first gift which felt soft, and it turned out to be another sweater, just like what the Weasleys were wearing. It was dark-blue, and it had 'XD' knitted in white since those were Xavier's initials.

Xavier gripped it closely and he put the sweater on instantly. It fitted him just perfectly and Xavier's emotions were running all over the place. They really saw him as part of their family…

Once Xavier had returned to his presents, he had gotten various sweets from Harry and Neville, a book on Quidditch on the Chudley Canons from Ron, more sweets from Fred and George, and a book on different herbs for Potions from Percy. Xavier had even got a beautiful ring and a book on magical animals from the Lovegood's.

"How do you like your presents, mate?" Ron asked and Xavier turned around to face Ron and his family with a sly grin.

"I love them, guys, and I have some things for all of you," Xavier started, and they all looked curious.

"Ooh, what is it, Xavier?" Ginny asked with excitement and Xavier ran all the back upstairs to gets his gifts from his trunk.

When he brought them back down, the Weasleys were shocked and Mr. Weasley asked, "Son, when did you get all this?"

Xavier looked and replied, "Oh, I got them all yesterday. When you took me to get an Owl, I decided to buy gifts for all of you,"

The Weasleys all said nothing as Xavier passed the gifts to each of them.

Ginny quickly opened hers and she let out a happy squeal. Xavier had brought her a Pygmy Puff and the little, fluffy thing stared at Ginny and then snugged up as she pressed her face against it.

"Merlin…" Mrs. Weasley muttered.

"Take good care of it, Ginny," Xavier said, and the little girl smiled so widely at him, that he was afraid she might break her own face.

"Thank you, Xavier!" Ginny cried and she gave Xavier a tight hug. Xavier just chuckled and patted her back and he watched as the girl ran upstairs, already trying to come up with names for her new pet.

Fred and George had then opened their present and they grinned excitedly when they looked at the expensive prank and goofy items Xavier had brought got them.

"You're officially part of our brotherhood," Fred said with a teary salute.

"You will always have us backing you," George added with a bow and Mrs. Weasley frowned at the twins.

"If I hear that anyone got hurt, you two will be in big trouble!" Mrs. Weasley claimed sternly. The twins just winked at Xavier and ran off.

Percy had gotten a fancy quill, a calendar, and a diary from Xavier, something that made the bespectacled boy smile widely and he thanked Xavier for the gift profusely.

Ron had then opened his and he was awed by the wand holster and wand-polishing kit that Xavier had gotten for him. Ron just hugged his best mate and Xavier could feel the happiness flow freely in him; seeing these guys all love their gifts had pleased Xavier heavily.

Mrs. Weasley had been met with shock when Xavier handed her a silver necklace and she immediately teared up and squeezed the boy with her hug.

And lastly, Xavier passed a gift to Mr. Weasley and when the man opened it, he gave a gratified smile. It was a fancy watch and Mr. Wealsey clapped Xavier on the back. 

"Absolutely brilliant. Thank you very much, Xavier," Mr. Weasley praised, and Xavier just nodded.

"Dear, you really didn't have to buy all of these gifts for us," Mrs. Weasley started, but Xavier shook his head.

"You all deserved it," Xavier stated firmly, and he got another clap on the back from Mr. Weasley.

Xavier and Ron both then looked over to their pile of presents near the Christmas tree and the duo still had one more gift each waiting for them.

"I reckon those are the ones that Hermione's parents sent us," Ron whispered to Xavier and Xavier nodded back firmly.

"Let's open them in your room," Xavier suggested, and the two boys took their last remaining gifts back up to Ron's room.

Xavier sat on Ron's bed, while Ron shut the door behind him and seated himself next to Xavier.

Ron then opened the package that he had in his hands, and a letter fell out of the package. The letter was addressed to both Ron and Xavier. Ron then cleared his voice and began to read it.

Dear Ronald Weasley and Xavier Desmond,

Firstly, Jean and I, Hermione's parents, would like to say that we can not express our extreme gratitude for you two boys, as you two have not only saved our only child's life, but chose to be her friend.

Hermione was never the social one and because of you two, she is much happier and from the bottom of our hearts, we thank you and welcome you to stay at our place whenever you want.

We have been invited to the home of another one of Hermione's friends and we have heard that you two will be there and thus, we will be there to think you two in person.

In this package, there is a football and two ball-point pens.

I hope you enjoy these gifts and once more, thank you for everything, Ronald and Xavier.

Sincerely,

Robert Granger

P.S. Hermione says that misses you two very much and she can't wait to see you two.

Ron put down the letter and Xavier took out the gifts one by one.

"What is a football?" Ron asked in amusement as Xavier passed it over to him.

"It's a ball that is used in the muggle sport called 'Football' or 'Soccer," Xavier explained, and Ron kicked the ball, which bounced off a wall.

"You should open the other gift that was left for you, mate," Ron advised as he inspected the watched and the ball-point pens, and Xavier nodded.

Xavier then opened the gift in his hands and a small piece of paper flew out of the package.

Xavier took it and when he read it, shock and disbelief flooded Xavier's mind.

"What is it, mate?" Ron asked and Xavier just passed the small letter over to Ron. Ron took it with a furrowed brow and read it out loud.

Dear Xavier Desmond,

The item that is in this package once belonged to your father, Caesarius Desmond.

Wear it proudly and never forget where and who it once came from.

Ron slowly put down the letter, his own expression showing shock and Xavier just looked inside the package, where a jet, black box laid.

Within the small box, there was a gleaming, diamond chain and it had a weird symbol made of a platinum material. It was shaped like a lotus and there were runic markings around it. The chain shone brightly, as if it was brought yesterday and when Xavier put it on, a cold, yet warm feeling enticed his body. This was my father's…

"It looks wicked, mate," Ron complimented with an awed grin and Xavier's brow furrowed.

"I wonder who sent it…" Xavier muttered, and Ron knew that he had no answer for that.

Daphne Greengrass' P.O.V:

"A good haul of presents this year, darling," Daphne's mother, Julia Greengrass, spoke lightly, and Daphne nodded with a soft smile as her eyes examined a sparkling violet ring Theo had given her and the silver earrings Tracey had brought for her.

"They're so pretty!" Astoria exclaimed from beside Daphne and the older girl nodded with a chuckle.

"I must admit, it has been a while since I've seen your friends, sweetheart," Daphne's father, Anton Greengrass, said at the head of the table. "But they'll be here for the Christmas party we are hosting, so I'll see them there. How's school going, Daphne?"

"Oh, it's going fine, father," Daphne responded respectfully. In full honesty, however, school wasn't going great at all…

Everything had fallen to the ground the second that Daphne's jealousy had overtaken her composure. She didn't know why or when but studying, talking, and laughing with Xavier had brewed a crush towards him.

Daphne knew it stupid and out of line to already like someone in the first term of her schooling life at Hogwarts, but she couldn't help it. And then seeing Xavier hang around Granger had easily disturbed her.

Daphne didn't like to be prejudiced. Her family, though from Slytherin and wealthy like many Pure-Blood families that supported the Dark Lord, were neutral in the last war.

Her father had always urged her daughter to believe what was right and to treat others the way she wanted to be treated. Hanging around Malfoy for too long in her younger youth had definitely influenced her a bit, but the day she had met her best friend, Tracey Davis, things changed. Daphne realised how wrong it was to call out someone or look down on someone who was classified for a different blood status.

What would her parents say if they found out she had called Granger a mudblood? Daphne didn't even want to imagine that feeling, as she had already gone through the time where Tracey had slapped her in front of everyone.

At that moment, Daphne had realised what she had done and how careless she was. Tracey was scared that Daphne viewed her like the way Daphne had viewed Granger in that second. And that sickened Daphne to the core. She would never think less of Tracey, as Tracey was much more courageous and braver than her. Tracey was the main reason that Daphne and the others had decided to change. Tracey even helped Theo, who had developed a deep, permanent hate for Muggles, but only due to the fact that his own mother was killed by one.

And there was Ron Weasley and Xavier Desmond.

Ron, a Pure-Blood who came from a family that were known as Blood-Traitors, had somehow ended up in Slytherin, separated from his siblings, and yet, the red-haired boy had more knowledge than any first year, and possibly second years two.

Xavier, someone Daphne had thought was dead, had come to Hogwarts and landed in Slytherin. The dark-skinned boy had an intimidating attitude and he seemed to face fear in its face. He could somehow do some Wandless Magic and his name was constantly thrown all over the castle, along with the names of Ron and Harry Potter.

These two boys had single-handedly boosted Slytherin's chances to win the seventh year in a row, and they had helped Daphne and her friends when it came to studies. Even Millie, who was always impatient and unsuccessful in her wand work, had succeeded due to the duo's help.

"Daphne," Daphne's father called out and Daphne's mother patted Daphne's back. She was snapped out of her thoughts and quickly looked to her father.

"You zoned out on us, Daph!" Astoria stated with a giggle.

"Sorry, I was just thinking about something," Daphne apologised, and her parents just nodded.

"Now, Daphne, tell me something," her father started with a curious expression and she leaned in to listen. "Is it true that Xavier Desmond is at Hogwarts?"

"Yes, father," Daphne replied genuinely. "He and Ronald Weasley are really popular due to shocking the professors with their knowledge and their skill, and for earning a huge amount of House points. And also, for the Halloween incident…"

Daphne had trailed off as she shuddered. She didn't even acknowledge the comforting hands of her mother running down her shoulders.

"I see…" her father muttered, and he had an impressed look on his clean-shaven face. Daphne suddenly had a question, and she cleared her voice.

"Father," Daphne started, and her father leaned in. "Do you… have any idea where the Desmond Manor is located?"

Her father paused for a moment, a deep expression planted on his face and he then sighed.

"No, darling, the Desmonds changed locations of their home like it was a custom and the Desmonds had their own spells and charms of hiding their locations from anyone," her father replied, and Daphne just sighed.

"Why did you have an interest in such a question, dear?" her mother asked, studying her daughter's expression.

"Oh, no, Xavier wanted to find out his parents' Manor was, that's all," Daphne recalled.

"Poor boy," Her mother sympathised, and Daphne agreed.

"Wait, so you two are allies then?" her father questioned, and Daphne just looked away. Allies? She didn't know. All she wanted was for Xavier and Ron to be a part of the group and pull everyone out of their misery, including hers.

Ron Weasley's P.O.V:

"Bet you can't throw further than this," Fred teased as he chucked a Garden Gnome as far as he could. It landed at least 40 meters away and Fred grinned arrogantly.

"We'll see about that!" Xavier exclaimed with a challenging smirk and he picked up another Garden Gnome and threw it as far as he could. It ended up landing right next to Fred's one and Xavier just scowled, while Fred laughed. George then began to throw his Gnome, but Ron didn't watch.

Instead, his eyes were fixated on an owl that was flying towards him. What the…

The owl then flew right to Ron and dropped a letter in Ron's hands and perched itself on Ron's shoulder. Ron glanced at the owl, before looking at the letter.

"I'll be back in a second, guys," Ron called out and he then turned around and rushed up to his room and locked the door.

Ron made sure to feed some treats to the owl from Apollo's cage. (Apollo was the owl that Xavier brought yesterday.)

Once that was done, Ron sat on his bed and opened the letter, and began to read it.

Dear Ron,

First of all, I would like to wish you a Merry Christmas. I hope you're enjoying your holidays so far!

Now, I just wanted to say that the others and I are extremely sorry for everything that has happened between us and you and Xavier. I feel like it was all our fault, but I promise you, I've never been prejudiced towards those that had other blood status and the others don't like to be prejudice either.

I was hoping that you and I could meet when we get back to Hogwarts and that we can talk about everything that has happened between us all.

Love,

Tracey Davis.

Ron slowly put down the letter and all of a sudden, he felt those emotions of guilt and melancholy fill him.

It wasn't long before Ron realised that he was crying softly and no matter how hard he tried to stop the bitter tears, he couldn't help it.

Out of all the people he missed, Tracey was number one and she had the courage to speak to him. Maybe, if they talked and tried once more, the whole group would be back together, alive, and as one.

"Ron, are you there?" came Xavier's voice from outside and Ron quickly wiped away his tears before opening the door.

"Hey mate, are you alright?" Xavier asked softly as he closed the door behind him.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Ron sniffed. Come on now, Ron, stop crying!

"So, what happened?" Xavier questioned and Ron paused for a second, figuring if he should show the letter or not, but in the end, Ron did.

By the time Xavier had read it, Ron had gathered himself and he stared out his window, waiting for Xavier's response.

"Are you going to meet her?" Xavier asked slowly and there was no emotion detected in his tone. Ron turned around and he nodded, and Xavier sighed.

"Then that is your choice," Xavier concluded, and Ron just blinked.

"You aren't… angry?" Ron asked and Xavier sighed heavily.

"I miss them too, you know," was all Xavier replied, but Ron understood; Xavier didn't easily forgive people, but Xavier might have understood that things might have been misunderstood and twisted and Xavier did miss his Slytherin ex-friends heavily.

Draco Malfoy's P.O.V:

Draco stared out his bedroom window as snow fell to the ground, covering the Malfoy Manor and its large estate in thick white blankets of freezing snow. If it hadn't been so cold or snowy outside, Draco would have definitely gone off to fly around on his Nimbus 2000.

The Greengrass's were hosting a Christmas party in four days as a Pure-Blood family would take a turn in doing so every Christmas and for the first time, Draco felt nervous and reluctant to attend the party.

Nothing was the same anymore. He didn't have his friends, leadership, or popularity that he imagined he would get as he stepped inside the castle of Hogwarts.

No, instead, he was overshadowed by two other Slytherin students, one who was a filthy blood-traitor who had no right staying in the pure House of Slytherin and the other being someone who Malfoy had believed to be dead.

The same two who had become friends with HIS ones and had shifted them all to their side. How dare they?! They were my friends, not theirs!

Draco only had Crabbe and Goyle, but even then, they weren't like the others. They just ate a lot, stared, lazed about, and ate some more.

The only thing that Draco was able to obtain was his studies as he knew that his father would be even more irritated that Draco wasn't doing good enough for that either, considering that Draco had a private tutor for his studies.

Draco felt anger bubble in his stomach, and he clenched his teeth; he had gotten punched and hurt several times by Desmond, Weasley, and now even Theo and Blaise.

Draco had swallowed his pride when he held out his arm for his former friends to join him after he noticed a split between them and the Slytherin Prodigy duo.

And yet, they had all rejected his offers with upright confidence and that's when Draco had snapped. How could they do this to him? Where was the loyalty? Why were one blood-traitor and one cold maniac better than him? HOW?!

Draco had ended up insulting Theo, something that Draco had immensely regretted from the moment the words left his mouth, and Theo, who was normally level-headed, had gone into a rage and tackled Draco to the ground.

Blaise had jumped in trying to pull off Theo while Draco was frozen in shock, but Crabbe and Goyle had tried to retaliate by going at Blaise. Millicent had defended Blaise and before the situation had gotten more ferocious, Draco's Godfather, Snape, had heard the commotion and ended up giving them all detentions for a week.

But Draco knew that he needed to do something about it all. Even though many of the older students were happy and proud with Weasley and Desmond, there were still in the second, third, and fourth years that respected Malfoy's name and had a thing or two against the Slytherin duo, especially Weasley.

Draco could regain control and his rightful place over Slytherin with these advantages backing him; there were still many fellow Slytherins that sneered at Weasley for even stepping foot in the Slytherin Common Room and as for Desmond, Draco knew that the dark-skinned boy didn't give a damn about fame or status. All that boy cared about was expanding his knowledge and defending his friends. And there was also the fact that both of them hung out with three Gryffindors, specifically Potter, Longbottom, and that mudblood Granger.

Draco didn't care of what he had to do; he would get his rightful place, his former friends, respect, and honour, and mostly, he would put Weasley and Desmond in their place. Draco didn't care how long it would take. It only mattered how he was going to do it.

Xavier Desmond's P.O.V:

Xavier and Ron both stepped through the blazing green fire and were met with a large hall room where Neville, Harry, and Neville's grandmother were standing by.

"Xavier! Ron!" Neville called and the two Slytherin boys grinned at the two Gryffindor boys.

"Hey guys," Ron said with a smile as he fist-bumped Harry.

"How have your holidays been so far?" Harry asked as he fist-bumped Xavier.

"Fantastic, mate, and I hope you liked my presents," Xavier replied with a grin as he fist-bumped Neville.

"Neville, dear, will you and Harry wait here? Your friend, Hermione Granger, and her parents will be here any minute. I would like to have a minute with Ronald and Xavier," Neville's gran requested, and her son nodded fervently.

"Follow me, boys," Neville's gran instructed and the two Slytherin boys followed suit.

She led them into another room, most likely her study and she closed the door behind her. Lady Longbottom was tall and had a slight aura of intimidation. She was an expensive, thick scarf around her shoulders, and she was wearing dark, silky robes which complimented her light blue eyes.

Before she addressed them, Xavier stepped forward and said with the utmost respect, "It is an honour to meet the Lady of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Longbottom,"

Ron stepped forward and copied Xavier, and Lady Longbottom was thrown off guard.

"I'm very pleased to see that both of you respect the old customs," Lady Longbottom spoke with a smile and the two boys nodded.

"Now," Lady Longbottom started, and she cleared her voice. "I would like to say that I can never repay my gratitude for you two risking your own young lives to save my boy and his two friends. From this day forth, you two will always be welcomed to the Most Ancient and Noble home of the Longbottom's as allies and friends,"

"Thank you very much, my lady," Xavier responded solemnly.

"It's a true honour," Ron added and the two boys both smiled inwardly; last night of practising their customs had paid off.

"Tell me, what spells did you use to take out those Trolls?" Lady Longbottom inquired.

"Ron used the Confringo spell, and I used Expulso, my lady," Xavier answered truthfully, and Lady Longbottom looked truly impressed. However before she could say anything, there was a knock at the door, and it was Neville.

"Gran, Hermione, and her family are here," Neville informed, and Lady Longbottom smiled at the two Slytherin boys.

"Let's go meet your other friend," Lady Longbottom suggested and the three left her study.

The second Xavier stepped outside, he was met with Hermione crashing into him and hugging him tightly.

"Merlin, Hermione!" Xavier exclaimed, and his other three friends laughed.

"Xavier, I've missed you so much!" Hermione said and Xavier just hugged her back.

"Me too, Hermione," Xavier whispered, and she then let go of him and smiled. As she turned to Ron and engulfed him in a hug too, Xavier looked over two adults dressed in muggle clothing.

"You've got some dust on you, honey," Mr. Granger told Mrs. Granger as Xavier approached them. The two parents noticed him and instantly smiled at the boy.

"Hello there, I'm Xavier, a friend of Hermione," Xavier greeted, and Mr. Granger chuckled.

"You can call me Robert or Rob for short," Mr. Granger said, and Xavier shook his hand.

"I'm Jean, Hermione's mother," Mrs. Granger introduced herself and she hugged Xavier tightly.

At the same time, Ron had wandered over to the spot and the two Grangers faced him and smiled at him as they did with Xavier.

"Ah, and you must be Ronald," Robert presumed, and the red-haired boy nodded.

"This is Robert and I'm jean," Jean added, and she hugged Ron tightly as well.

"Look, boys, what I wrote to you in that letter is all true," Robert started with a serious expression.

"You two are always welcome to our home and we thank you so much for saving our daughter's life," Jean spoke, and a few tears leaked out of her innocent blue eyes.

"Thank you for your kindness, Rob and Jean," Ron replied respectfully.

"Hermione is intelligent, kind-hearted and most of all, she is our friend. We would never let her die to the hands of a Troll," Xavier added in firmly and Jean broke into tears.

"Come, Jean, I have some food in the kitchen," Lady Longbottom said as she pulled Mrs. Granger to a side and gently led her to the kitchens.

"Bloody hell, you've even made my wife cry!" Robert remarked and the two boys smiled sheepishly.

"Sorry about that-" Xavier started, but Robert just gave him a look of 'not to worry'.

"It's fine, boys, I mean you should have seen the time my wife and my daughter were crying when Hermione had to go on a school field trip," Robert mentioned with a grin, and the two Slytherin boys, along with Harry and Neville, all stifled their laughter when Hermione pouted widely.

"Dad! I thought that was something we wouldn't ever talk about," Hermione accused with a frown.

"What? It's funny," Robert responded with an amused tone.

Harry Potter's P.O.V:

"Found you, bro," Xavier's voice said from behind Harry and Harry frowned.

"You're too good at finding," Harry whined, and Xavier just grinned with a shrug.

"Fine, let's just give the others more time to hide properly, so it'll be more fun," Xavier suggested, and Harry agreed.

The two passed through one of the halls of the warm Manor and as they did, the large, framed painting of Neville's parents hung proudly on the wall.

"Harry, are those Neville's parents?" Xavier asked with interest and Harry stared at the painting with sorrow.

"Yes," Harry replied back softly, and Xavier's eyes widened slightly.

"Their fate was horrible, wasn't it?" Xavier said quietly and Harry turned to him with a confused expression.

"Neville told me," Xavier stated, clearing up Harry's confusion. "He opened up to me about them in Potions class,"

Harry nodded softly. When Neville had told Harry and Hermione about his parents and how they were tortured into insanity, Harry had been left feeling hollow and distant for the whole day, while Hermione almost burst into tears from that revelation.

Poor Neville. Such an innocent boy like him didn't deserve such pain and it only made Harry gather more hatred towards the evil side.

And it was also something Harry, Neville, and Xavier had in common… all their parents were all gone and even though Neville could actually touch, speak, and see his parents in St. Mungo's, there was no point as both of them were lost souls for the rest of eternity.

Instead, Neville luckily had his loving, strong, and respected Grandmother, while Harry was unfortunately sent to three unloving family members and Xavier…

"Xavier," Harry said as he turned to his friend.

"Where… where did you live, you know, since your parents died when you were young?" Harry asked slowly and Xavier just let out a sigh.

"I was raised in an Orphanage. It was a special one though because the Orphanage itself was an institute where kids would get trained for highly special jobs in the future," Xavier provided and Harry just nodded, slightly intrigued.

There was a pause between the two as they just studied the beautiful painting of Neville's parents. Then, Harry turned to Xavier and he asked something that he was reluctant of asking.

"How do you deal with it? You know, since your parents are dead too… Do you have any photos of them?" Harry asked and Xavier shook his head.

"I wish I could see my mum and dad," Harry whispered, and Harry tried hard not to tear.

"Well, maybe you can," Xavier said and as soon as those four words entered Harry's ears, the boy-who-lived turned around and blinked at Xavier.

"What… what do you mean?" Harry started and Xavier turned to face him with a serious expression.

"Harry, what do you desire the most in this world?" Xavier inquired and Harry just went silent. Harry thought hard, but the answer came easily.

"I wish that I still had my parents," Harry answered, and he went a bit red at how silly that answer sounded. Harry knew that not even magic could bring back his parents from the dead.

"There is a mirror located in a spare room in Hogwarts," Xavier informed, and Harry listened desperately. "It's a mirror that shows you your deepest desires and if your desire has anything to do with your parents, then you will see them in the mirror,"

"Are you… are you serious?" Harry asked, his eyes widened, and his mouth slightly opened with shock. There's no way!

"Yes, believe me, I'm being serious," Xavier responded firmly as he began to walk away, and Harry was just shell-shocked.

"What… what did you see in the mirror?" Harry asked and Xavier stopped in his tracks, and it almost felt like Xavier was frozen in time. He then turned around and looked at Harry with an emotionless expression.

"All I saw was another mystery waiting to be answered. Something that I will need to find, even if it kills me," was all Xavier said and the dark-skinned boy continued down the hall, leaving Harry with a series of new emotions. Ones like puzzlement, bewilderment, and hope.

Xavier Desmond's P.O.V:

Time really did fly. The past two weeks had been probably the most fun Xavier had ever had in his whole 11 years of life on Earth and now, it was only a day left until Xavier would be back at Hogwarts.

Xavier stroked Apollo's beak and the smoky-black feathered owl hooted loudly.

Xavier felt a chill go down his spine when he remembered what had happened back at the day when he and Ron had visited Longbottom Manor.

Xavier had told Harry about the Mirror of Erised and as soon as his friend had asked Xavier of what HE saw in the mirror… that voice… that utterly disgusting and inhumane voice whispered 'puppet' in Xavier's ears.

Whatever that thing was back in the Mirror of Erised was no figment of imagination. In all honesty, Xavier had totally forgotten about it, but now he just couldn't stop thinking about it.

Was he going crazy? What was this demon that Xavier heard? The Omen of Death? What was that even supposed to mean?

Xavier just kept those questions aside and he strolled down the long stairs and entered Mr. Weasley's study.

"Oh, hey there, Xavier," Mr. Weasley greeted, his eyes traveling throughout various paperwork.

"Mr. Weasley, can I ask you a question?" Xavier asked as he shut the door.

"Of course, my boy, go ahead," Mr. Weasley said with a nod and Xavier sat down on a stool.

"Do you or anyone you might know, have an idea of where my parent's Manor is located?" Xavier questioned and Mr. Weasley just sighed deeply, while thinking deeply about it.

"No, I'm sorry son, but your parents were extremely secretive and had the best ways of hiding their locations or properties," Mr. Weasley answered, and Xavier just sighed. Why does no one know? Surely someone…

"However," Mr. Weasley started. "If you really want to find the secret Desmond Manor, maybe you must find associates who would have worked with your father. He was an extremely powerful and capable wizard, and I'm pretty sure he was a part of many groups and organisations of taking down dark wizards and witches,"

"Really? Can you tell me one?" Xavier pressed on and Mr. Weasley paused for a moment, before snapping his fingers.

"I remember now. A few years back, there was a wizard who went by the nickname Spite. He was an assassin, who was on the good side, but for some reason, he backstabbed the good side and was revealed to be a traitor," Mr. Weasley informed, and Xavier felt very intrigued by where this was going.

"When he was captured and had a trial in court, he had spilled out information on an organisation called 'The Black Lotus Society'. One that your father was a part of," Mr. Weasley stated, and Xavier felt shock form in his body. The Black Lotus Society? Lotus…

The chain that he got for Christmas! It had a lotus-shaped pendant, so that meant that a member of this society had sent it to him!

"There were elite assassins, made to stop the Dark Lord and when they were questioned in court, Dumbledore stepped in and had told everyone that he was the one who had initially made the group. The group was let off, while Spite was sent to Azkaban for numerous crimes," Mr. Weasley added, and Xavier just felt awed. Damn, times back then must have been hectic...

Xavier then left Mr. Weasley to his work and he came to a solution: if he could find one of the members, maybe they could be the next step in leading him to his parent's secret Manor.