Truly Unique

Chapter Nine: Christmas break

REWRITTEN AND REVAMPED!

3'rd person's POV:
Lyra rushed beside Ron, Hermione and Harry as her friends went looking for Hagrid. He wasn't difficult to find, given his size, and Harry was quick to jump into his questions. It wasn't until Harry mentioned the three headed dog, Hagrid's eyes got wide, turning towards the children. "Who told you about Fluffy?" Lyra's eyes widened, surprised at the name. Fluffy gives off the impression that he's a friendly dog, but from what she gathered from her friends, that wasn't the case. "Fluffy?" Ron questioned in disbelief. "That thing has a name?" Hermione joined in, looking up at the man. "Well of course he does, he's mine. Got him off of an Irish fellow I met down in a pub last year. I lent him to Dumbledore to protect the..." All the kids started leaning closer to him, waiting for him to continue. The poor man looked like he swallowed his tongue, looking around nervously. "I should not have said that. No more questions. Don't ask anymore questions! That's top secret, that is."

"But Hagrid, whatever Fluffy is guarding, Snape wants to steal it!" Lyra quickly shook her head and looked at Hagrid. "Supposedly! I think it's Quirrell, but nobody listens to me." Hermione rolled her eyes sarcastically. Hagrid looked dumbfounded at the children. "Codswallop. Professor Snape is a Hogwarts teacher." Hermione shook her head stubbornly. "Hogwarts teacher or not, I know a spell when I see one. I read all about them. You've got to keep eye contact, and Snape wasn't blinking."

"But the broom-" Lyra got cut off by Harry, who agreed with Hermione's words. Hagrid sighed to himself. "Now you listen to me, all four of ya." He said, his tone full of patience. "You're 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." All four kids turned to look at each other, thrilled to at least get a name. "Nicholas Flamel?" Harry asked for clarification. Hagrid, for the second time throughout the conversation, swallowed his tongue. His eyes grew wide when he realized his mistake. "I shouldn't have said that. I should not have said that." Hagrid turned and walked away, leaving the kids standing in the yard, their heads spinning with questions. "Who's Nicholas Flamel?" Harry asked, looking at Hermione. With a gentle shake of her head, she quietly uttered the words, "I don't know", feeling disappointed. Lyra leaned an arm on Hermione's shoulder, looking towards the boys'. "We have plenty of time to figure it out, okay? Maybe we should start in the library." She offered.

For weeks, the children visited the library, revisiting old Hogwarts yearbooks, looking into anything that could give them an inkling as to who Nicholas Flamel was. None would admit it, but they were all slowly losing hope, and that feeling only got worse when Christmas vacation finally came around. The castle was sprung to life with christmas cheer as kids wandered the freshly decorated halls, dodging the ghosts that floated around aimlessly singing christmas carols. Some kids carried their owls with them as they waited for the right time to head to the trains. It seemed like everyone was excited to go home, exempt for some kids that chose to stay at Hogwarts for the holidays. Lyra was one of those children, choosing to stay as far away from the orphanage as she could. The holidays were never her favorite time of year, and for the first time, she was able to spend it outside of the chilly attic she's grown accustomed to. To her delight, Harry chose to stay at Hogwarts as well, knowing that the school was better than the Dursley's.

Ron and Harry sat at the Gryffindor table in the common room, smirking in Lyra's direction as she helped Flitwick decorate the ginormous tree. Her magic was getting better, and Harry noticed the glint of happiness in her eyes as Flitwick praised her, handing her another ornament. "For someone who hates Christmas, she seems rather festive." Ron mentioned, gesturing towards her. Harry nodded, smirking as she began talking to McGonagall. "Maybe she'll come around to liking it."