His Green Eyes:: Book 1 (Harry Potter love story)

Chp21:Nicolas Flamel

"It was Snape," Ron was explaining, "Hermione, Cathy and I saw him. He was cursing your broomstick, muttering, he wouldn't take his eyes off you." He told Harry.

　　"Rubbish," said Hagrid, who hadn't heard a word of what had gone on next to him in the stands. "Why would Snape do somethin' like that?"

　　We looked at one another, wondering what to tell him. Harry decided on the truth.

　　"I found out something about him," he told Hagrid. "He tried to get past that three-headed dog on Halloween. It bit him. We think he was trying to steal whatever it's guarding."

　　Hagrid dropped the teapot.

　　"How do you know about Fluffy?" he said.

　　"Fluffy?" I asked.

　　"Yeah -- he's mine -- bought him off a Greek chappie I met in the pub las' year -- I lent him to Dumbledore to guard the.."

　　"Yes?" said Harry eagerly.

　　"Now, don't ask me anymore," said Hagrid gruffly. "That's top secret, that is."

　　"But Snape's trying to steal it." Said Ron.

　　"Rubbish," said Hagrid again. "Snape's a Hogwarts teacher, he'd do nothin' of the sort."

　　"So why did he just try and kill Harry?" cried Hermione.

　　The afternoon's events certainly seemed to have changed Hermione's and my mind about Snape.

　　"I know a jinx when I see one, Hagrid, I've read all about them! You've got to keep eye contact, and Snape wasn't blinking at all, I saw him!"

　　"I'm tellin' yeh, yer wrong!" said Hagrid hotly. "I don' know why Harry's broom acted like that, but Snape wouldn' try an' kill a student! Now, listen to me, all three of yeh -- yer meddlin' in things that don' concern yeh. It's dangerous. You forget that dog, an' you forget what it's guardin', that's between Professor Dumbledore an' Nicolas Flamel --"

　　"Aha!" said Harry, "so there's someone called Nicolas Flamel involved, is there?"

　　Hagrid looked furious with himself.

　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 Gryffindor 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 our breath rose in a mist before them and they kept as close as possible to their hot cauldrons.

　"I do feel so sorry," said Draco Malfoy, one Potions class, "for all those people who have to stay at Hogwarts for Christmas because they're not wanted at home."

　　He was looking over at Harry as he spoke. Crabbe and Goyle chuckled. Harry, who was measuring out powdered spine of lionfish, ignored them. Malfoy had been even more unpleasant than usual since the Quidditch match. Disgusted that the Slytherins had lost, he had tried to get everyone laughing at how a wide-mouthed tree frog would be replacing Harry as Seeker next. Then he'd realized that nobody found this funny, because they were all so impressed at the way Harry had managed to stay on his bucking broomstick. So Malfoy, jealous and angry, had gone back to taunting Harry about having no proper family.