Brave [Harry Potter OC]

Chapter 10

Burning Ember

In the next few weeks, not much changed. Alice hadn't overheard anything from the minds of Snape or Quirrell, only the occasional odd whisper she couldn't make out. However, they all noticed Quirrell growing thinner and paler. Alice figured that was due to stress. Every day, one of the four would check if Fluffy was still in the room on the third floor. Hermione had been pressing the others to begin preparing for final exams. However, they were many weeks away, so no one really cared.

The teachers began to pile work onto their students, making their lives miserable. The four had spent countless hours in the library, goofing off while Hermione read and took notes.

Currently in the library, Alice flips through a beast book. She didn't even need to be studying it but she found it far more interesting than her other classes. Ron was attempting to take notes on a potions book Snape had assigned.

He lies his head down on his book and groans. "I'll never remember this."

They all ignore his fit. "Hagrid! What are you doing in the library?" Ron says suddenly.

They all look up from their books to see Hagrid standing there with something hidden behind his back. He smiles nervously at them. "Jus' lookin'," he tells them. "An' what're you lot up ter? Yer not still looking for Flamel, are yeh?"

"Oh, we found out who he is ages ago," Ron boasts. "And we know what that dog's guarding, it's a Sorcerer's St —"

"Shhhh!" Hagrid looks around quickly to see if anyone was listening. "Don' go shoutin' about it, what's the matter with yeh?"

"There are a few things we wanted to ask you, as a matter of fact," Harry starts, "about what's guarding the Stone apart from Fluffy —"

"SHHHH!" Hagrid shushes them again.

"Listen — come an' see me later, I'm not promisin' I'll tell yeh anythin', mind, but don' go rabbitin' about it in here, students aren' s'pposed ter know. They'll think I've told yeh —"

"See you later, then," Harry replies.

Hagrid shuffles off hurriedly. "What was he hiding behind his back?" Hermione ponders. "Do you think it had anything to do with the Stone?"

"Could be," Alice shrugs.

"I'm going to see what section he was in," Ron suggests, tired enough of working. He returns a minute later with a pile of books in his arms and slams them down on the table.

"Dragons!" he whispers. "Hagrid was looking up stuff about dragons! Look at these: Dragon Species of Great Britain and Ireland; From Egg to Inferno, A Dragon Keeper's Guide."

A smile crosses Alice's face. "Do you think Hagrid's got one? What if it's guarding the stone."

"Hagrid's always wanted a dragon, he told me so the first time I ever met him," Harry replies.