Lightning in a House of Serpents

Excuse me, mirrors aren't supposed to do that.

Christmas was coming soon and the warm, joyous feeling of the holiday was already upon them. The grounds of Hogwarts school were covered in several feet of snow and the windows of the building displayed frost. The lake was frozen solid and the Weasley twins were punished for bewitching several snowballs so that they followed Quirrell around, bouncing off the back of his turban.

No one could wait for the holidays to start. The Slytherins were especially excited to return from the freezing dungeons and the chilly classrooms to their warm beds at home.

Harry felt sorry for himself when he signed his name on the sheet for students who would be staying at Hogwarts during the holidays. He was the only Slytherin, besides two upper year students, staying to study for NEWTS, who wouldn't be returning home. Draco had offered him to stay at his family's manor during the break, saying his father would be honored to allow him into their home, but Harry turned down the offer, insisting that it was too much of a hassle to get his guardians' permission in order to come with them. Hermione and Neville would also be returning home so he wouldn't be able to look forward to study group during the break.

When they left the dungeons at the end of Potions, they found a large fir tree blocking the corridor ahead. Two enormous feet sticking out at the bottom and a loud puffing sound told them that Hagrid was behind it.

"Uh, that's a nice tree you got there, Hagrid," Harry said, gesturing at the tree.

"Thanks, Harry. Picked it myself down in the forest. Some o' the branches fell off on the way here, but it's still a beauty," Hagrid said, looking proud of himself.

"Yeah, uh, it's spectacular, now come on Harry," Draco said, pulling Harry in the direction towards the library.

Ever since Hagrid had blurted out some suspicious information regarding Nicolas Flamel the night they last visited, Harry and Draco had been curiously seeking out information about the man. Draco swore that the name sounded far too familiar and was getting frustrated that he couldn't think of where he'd heard it before. When Harry last saw Hermione, surrounded by a mountain of books and notes, she suggested that they search the library for any books that could give them the answers they need.

Draco and Harry entered the library and Draco dragged him through each aisle, muttering to himself and shaking his head while he scanned the shelves of books. They had already looked through a good majority of the books on famous wizards and books on great developmental discovery in Wizardry, but they found no answers to the nagging question of who the man was. Harry suggested that they'd have Hermione help them look, but Draco refused to be with her saying she was too bossy and nagging. Fortunately, Draco didn't catch Harry mumbling under his breath of who else that sounded like.

They came out of the library fourty-five minutes later with no information regarding who Nicolas Flamel was, but they did learn some interesting facts about Newt Scamander and the evolution of Transfiguration. Draco told Harry that he'd search for books in his home library, bragging about how large it is and how many more books it held compared to the school's library. Harry just rolled his eyes and chuckled, suggesting they head to lunch and discuss more there.

~le time skip~

The day came for the students of Hogwarts to go back home and spend their holidays with family if they weren't staying behind. Harry was disappointed when he woke up and saw all his dorm mates packing their things. He hadn't realized how happy he was with his new friends and was just getting hit with the realization that he'd have to fall back into the pit of loneliness during the break. He hadn't realized how attached he'd become to the feeling of being wanted and liked. He would miss them greatly.