Another Potter

eleven

chapter eleven
the philosophers stone

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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 around, bouncing off the back of his turban. The few owls that managed to battle their way through the stormy sky to deliver mail had to be nursed back to health by Hagrid before they could fly off again.

No one could wait for the holidays to start. While the Slytherin common room and the Great Hall had roaring fires, the drafty corridors had become icy and a bitter wind rattled the windows in the classrooms. 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.

"Are you sure you don't want me to stay?" said Draco to Amelia one Potions class.

"I'm sure," Amelia said as she measured out powdered spine of lionfish. "Go with your family. I'm sure your mother misses you."

Amelia wasn't going back to Privet Drive for Christmas. Professor Snape had come around the week before, making a list of students who would be staying for the holidays, and Amelia had signed up at once. This would probably be the best Christmas she'd ever had. Daphne was staying because her parents and sister were visiting her uncle and aunt in Australia.

When they left the dungeons at the end of Potions, Amelia and Daphne looked at each other and began racing each other to the Great Hall. Amelia  arrived secodns before, out of breath as she Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick were busy with the Christmas decorations. 

The hall looked 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. As the two best friends looked around the Great Hall, they heard voices behind them.

". . . .Harry, Ron, we've got half an hour before lunch, we should be in the library." It was Hermione Granger. The two best friends looked at each other and hid behind the Great Hall doors, hoping to hear more of the conversation.

"Oh yeah, you're right," said Ron. Amelia looked up and saw Professor Flitwick had golden bubbles blossoming out of his wand and was trailing them over the branches of the new tree.

"The library?" said Hagrid, following them out of the hall. Amelia and Daphne looked at each other and followed them out of the hall, making sure they wouldn't see them. "Just before the holidays? Bit keen, aren't yeh?"

"Oh, we're not working," Harry told him brightly. "Ever since you mentioned Nicolas Flamel we've been trying to find out who he is."

"You what ?" Hagrid looked 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?" Harry added. "We must've been through hundreds of books already and we can't find him anywhere. Just give us a hint, I know I've read his name somewhere."

"I'm sayin' nothin', said Hagrid flatly.

"Just have to find out for ourselves, then," said Ron, and they left Hagrid looking disgruntled and hurried off to the library. The two best friends looked at each other. Once Hagrid had left, they followed the others to the library. Harry was standing outside while Amelia assumed Ron and Hermione were still inside. The two best friends walked to Harry and stood in front of him.