Hairy Potter-Addams and the Philosopher's Stone: An Altogether Ooky Tale

The Mirror of Erised

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 Professor Quirrell around, bouncing off the back of his turban. When owls battled their way through the stormy winter sky to deliver mail, they had to be nursed back to Hagrid before they could go back out. Hairy didn't expect any letters or correspondence from his family during this time; he couldn't ask that of Hedwig.

The holidays were imminent, and appropriate cheer pervaded the atmosphere. Unfortunately, not even the best attitude could make up for Hogwarts's age. Common rooms and the Great Hall had endless fires in their hearths, but most of the classrooms and the stone corridors were scarcely any warmer than the blustery snow flurries outside. Most miserable of all were the dungeons and Potions lessons. More than one cloak got singed as the children huddled close to their cauldrons. Shivery hands resulted in an epidemic of minor cuts to fingertips. Professor Snape's frosty demeanor didn't help.

Neither did Malfoy's superiority. "I do feel so sorry for everyone staying at Hogwarts for Christmas," he said loudly as the mixed Potions class took their leave one day. He was walking right behind Harry and Ron. "How unfortunate they're not wanted at home."

Hairy set his jaw. Due to the short two weeks and the bad weather predicted, the Addamses decided Hairy shouldn't come home until summer break. (At first, they thought Aunt Ophelia would be available to house Hairy, but she already had a vacation planned in Turkmenistan.) Of course Malfoy was aware of Hairy's situation and twisted it. Hairy did his best to ignore him. But after the way Malfoy treated his family after the baseball game, it was slowly getting tougher to keep his cool.

Slytherin's loss at Quidditch didn't help matters; Malfoy had been increasingly nasty since then. His jokes about replacing Harry with a bullfrog as Seeker fell flat; Harry managed to impress plenty of Slytherins when he kept his seat on the bucking broom. A few of them even talked to him about what it would take to learn baseball come spring. Jealous Malfoy had returned to teasing Hairy about his familial situation and American upbringing.

Harry wasn't upset about staying at Hogwarts over Christmas break. Professor McGonagall had been in constant communication with the Addamses, and Harry planned to talk to her about his other family--his aunt, uncle, and cousin whom he knew lived in Surrey. The Weasley brothers were all staying, too; Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were going to visit Charlie in Romania. It promised to be a rambunctious holiday. Harry only wished Pugsley could be there.

Pugsley was getting on well in No-Maj school. A couple of boys from the archery team invited him to go bow hunting in early November. The Addamses had venison to last them through Valentine's Day and Pugsley had the heads mounted as a matching his-and-hers set to give to Morticia and Gomez for Christmas. He excelled in history and language arts and even received a commendation from his history teacher...though the boy's detailed knowledge of trench warfare and the diseases common to World War One soldiers had the teacher a little uneasy. He was sad Hairy couldn't come home for Christmas, but the brothers looked forward to being reunited come summertime.

Harry and Ron turned out of the dungeons and Harry began to whistle "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas." His choice of tune was well timed; a huge fir tree obstructed the corridor ahead. A pair of boots and labored puffing told the boys Hagrid was responsible for moving the tree.

"Do you want help, Hagrid?" offered Ron.

"Nah, I'm gettin' on, thanks, Ron."

"What's taking so long? Is it really that hard to move out of the way?" came Malfoy's bored drawl. "Maybe you should help, Weasley. You probably need the money. Besides, a gamekeeper would be a dream for someone like you, if you ever get through Hogwarts. That rickety hut must be a palace, compared to whatever your family considers a house."