Ron dived at Malfoy just as Snape came up the stairs.
“WEASLEY!”
Ron let go of the front of Malfoy’s robes.
“He was provoked, Professor Snape,” said Hagrid, sticking his huge hairy face out from behind
the tree. “Malfoy was insultin’ his family.”
“Be that as it may, fighting is against Hogwarts rules, Hagrid,” said Snape silkily. “Five points
from Gryffindor, Weasley, and be grateful it isn’t more. Move along, all of you.”
Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle
pushed roughly past the tree, scattering needles everywhere and
smirking.
“I’ll get him,”
said Ron, grinding his teeth at Malfoy’s back, “one of these days, I’ll get him —”
“I hate them both,” said Harry, “Malfoy and Snape.”
“Come on, cheer up, it’s nearly Christmas,” said Hagrid. “Tell yeh what, come with me an’ see
the
Great Hall, looks a treat.”
So the three of them followed Hagrid and his tree off to the Great Hall, where Professor
McGonagall and Professor Flitwick were busy with the Christmas decorations.
“Ah, Hagrid, the last tree — put it in the far corner, would you?”
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.
“How many days you got left until yer holidays?” Hagrid asked.
“Just one,” said Hermione. “And that reminds me — Harry, Ron, we’ve got half an hour before
lunch, we should be in the library.”
“Oh yeah, you’re right,” said Ron, tearing his eyes away from Professor Flitwick, who 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. “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.
They had indeed been searching books for Flamel’s name ever since Hagrid had let it slip,
because how else were they going to find out what Snape was trying to steal? The trouble was, it
was very hard to know where to begin, not knowing what Flamel might have done to get himself
into a book. He wasn’t in
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