Chapter 35 - Cloak

"Explain yourselves, all of you this instant!" McGonagall said, sternly.

"I went to the bathroom during the feast, and as I left the bathroom this fellow here attacked me, so I knocked him out." I said, pointing at the downed troll.

"That's obviously a lie." Snape said, with a sneer on his big-nosed face.

"I could share the memory with the Headmaster later. If that would prove I'm being truthful." I said.

"Yes, I'll speak to the Headmaster in a moment." McGonagall said, as she turned her sights on the trio of girls. "Why are you out of the Great Hall? Did you accompany Mr. Potter to the bathroom?" She asked.

"No, Harry was sitting with us before going to the bathroom, but he didn't know about the troll, so we snuck out to warm him." Hermione said, and looked away unable to look McGonagall in the eye.

"Be that as it may... it was an extremely foolish thing to do. I would have expected more rational behavior from you girls. You three should have told a prefect, or let us know before we left the Great hall. Two points will be taken from each of you for your serious lack of judgment. As for you Mr. Potter I just hope you realize how fortunate you are. Not many students could take on a fully grown mountain troll and live to tell the tale. Ten points will be awarded to you, for either sheer dumb luck or skill. Now, return to your dormitories." McGonagall said.

"Alright, if the Headmaster needs to speak with me just let me know. Goodnight, Professors." I said as we left.

The next day, no one knew what happened to the troll, as there was no announcement of what happened. I was called to meet with Dumbledore and showed him the memory. I don't like being called a liar, so I might as well prove myself otherwise. After the meeting with Dumbles, I went to class as usual. Hermione was in a horrible mood all day because not everyone believed her when she said that I defeated the troll. When it's only a rumor with no proof, how could everyone believe her? As we left class, I decided to address the problem.

"Hermione, if you're so annoyed about this, why don't you owl the memory of that night to the daily prophet. They'd make a story about it, and everyone would read it tomorrow morning. Problem solved." I said.

"Why don't you do that?" Padma asked.

"Because I don't really mind if people don't believe that I fought a troll." I lied. I just don't want Dumbledore to think I'm going against him. Dumbles obviously wants to keep this under wraps, but I want to use this for good publicity.

"Alright, I'll do it! People need to know what happened." Hermione said, with a look of determination, as she stormed off.

"Does she know how to take a memory from her mind?" Padma asked.

"Probably not, but I'm sure she'll come and ask once she simmers down." I said.

Later that day, Gryffindor and Slytherin had their first quidditch game of the year. Slytherin won by a short margin, but they played dirty like they always do apparently. Time passed and the Christmas season came along. The majority of students went back to there homes to spend the holiday break with their family. I, on the other hand, decided to stay at Hogwarts for one reason, the invisibility cloak. I don't know if Dumbledore will give it to me if I left, so I decided to just spend the winter break at school.

I could probably find a way to steal it, but I'd rather not risk my relationship with Dumbles. He's known as the strongest wizard alive, and his political backing will help me immensely in my plans. When Christmas morning came, I went to the common room to see what presents I got. Below the tree in the corner of the room was filled with different shaped boxes. The twins sent me a wizarding chess set, and I got a book from Hermione that I already have, but I won't tell her that. After going through all of the other presents, I found the cloak with a vague letter and no name given.

[Your father left this in my possession before he died. It is time it was returned to you. Use it well.]

I now have my second deathly hollow, and all that's left is the wand. Putting the cloak on, I disappear from sight completely. A cloak is better than the invisibility spell because the spell can be countered by the Revelio charm, but the cloak, on the other hand, has no counter. I did a quick check on the cloak to make sure there's no tracking charms, or anything that Dumble could've done to it. After finding a simple tracking spell, I transferred it onto a sock and placed it in my trunk for now. That night I decided to go and look for the Mirror of Erised, so I can see my heart's deepest d.e.s.i.r.e. After two nights of looking, I finally found the mirror.

This school is like a maze of abandoned classrooms, so it wasn't easy to find the room. Walking up to the mirror, I saw myself sitting on a throne in a beautiful Great Hall surrounded by subordinates. I was entranced by the reflection of my d.e.s.i.r.e and stood there for about ten minutes. Then I remembered Dumbledore's speech in the movie. 'This mirror gives us neither knowledge or truth.' Meaning this mirror will not fulfill my d.e.s.i.r.e, but show it to me. I don't have time to waste sitting here watching what could be when I can make it happen myself. Hagrid should get Norbert soon, so I should visit him after the winter break.

(Thanks for reading!)