"Would you mind moving out of the way?" Came Malfoy half-aristocrat half-moron's drawl from behind them. Alexandra sighed. Here we go again, she thought.
"Are you trying to earn some extra money, Weasley? Hoping to be gamekeeper yourself when you leave Hogwarts, I suppose – that hut of Hagrid's must seem like a palace compared to what your family's lives into."
The face of Ron Weasley changed in a figure of hate, and the red-haired Gryffindor charged at Malfoy just as Snape came up the stairs. Bad timing.
"WEASLEY!"
Ron let go of the front of Malfoy's robes, just as he was about to beat him to a pulp. Pity.
"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. The Potions Master voice was so happy compared to his normal voice it easily revealed its previous sentence was a lie. The Slytherin Head would have been happy to remove points to the Lions for anything. "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 in a manner the three Slytherin believed they had won some kind of competition. Alexandra wondered what Snape thought by giving free reign for Malfoy to antagonise the rest of the school. According to Hermione and Nigel, half the accidents at the very minimum in Potions class were due to Malfoy throwing volatile ingredients in other cauldrons and Snape refusing to intervene. But that wasn't all. Draco Malfoy also delighted in insulting the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs, calling them "bookish buffoons" and "puff rejects." At the rate things were going, someone was going to murder the blonde bully long before he was an adult. Personally, Alexandra was more and more tempted to throw Malfoy from the top of the Gryffindor tower, and blame Weasley or Black for the murder.
"I'll get him," whispered Ronal Weasley in a loathing tone, grinding his teeth at Malfoy's back with hate in his eyes, "one of these days, I'll get him –"
"We will have them all," said Black, a malicious expression on his visage, "Malfoy, Snape, and the rest of Slytherin."
"Come on, cheer up, it's nearly Christmas," said Hagrid to the Golden Trio, unaware of the last sentences pronounced by the Gryffindors. "Tell yeh what, come with me an' see the Great Hall. Looks a treat."
Neville, Leo and Ron followed Hagrid and his tree off to the Great Hall, and Alexandra discreetly followed them. In the great Hall, Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick were busy with the Christmas decorations.
"Ah, Hagrid, the last tree – put it in the far corner, would you?"
Alexandra had to recognise, the Hall looked like a marvel of Christmas. Festoons of holly and mistletoe hung all around the walls and no fewer than twelve towering Christmas trees stood around the room, some sparkling with tiny icicles, some glittering with hundreds of candles. Christmas decorations were everywhere on the four House tables. It was a very festive atmosphere.
"How many days you got left until yer holidays?" Hagrid asked to the three first-years in the distance.
"Just one," said Neville. "And that reminds me – Leo, Ron, we've got half an hour before lunch, we should be in the library."
Alexandra frowned. In the last month, the Golden Trio's time in the library had exponentially grown. At first she like the rest of Ravenclaw House had supposed Longbottom, Black and Weasley had finally recognised being at Hogwarts required a work ethic, but her hypotheses had been for naught: the Trio was still displaying the same attitude of "doing homework in time and hour is for the bookworms" in front of the teachers. Their grades were still average too. Seeing them walk randomly in the library, Alexandra had deduced they were searching something. The only question was what.
"Oh yeah, you're right," said Ron. Now that was definitely suspicious for Alexandra. Ron Weasley had established himself in four months a reputation of laziness and gluttony few dared to contest. For him to be motivated to visit the library, something was definitely going on.
"The library?" She heard the giant man grumbling , walking with them out of the Hall and unknowingly echoing her thoughts. "Just before the holidays? Bit keen, aren't yeh?"
"Oh, we're not working," Longbottom told him in a smirking tone. "Ever since you mentioned Nicolas Flamel we've been trying to find out who he is."
"You what?" Hagrid looking 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 the Black Heir, in his best "I'm innocent" tone. Few Professors were fooled by it these days, and Hagrid was no exception watching his large visage covered by a hirsute beard.
"Unless you'd like to tell us and save us the trouble?" Longbottom 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, in a cold tone that was not his usual one.
"Just have to find out for ourselves, then," said Ron, and the Golden Trio left the disgruntled Keeper of the Keys and hurried off to the library.
"Asking someone also could have worked idiot." Whispered Alexandra, walking through to the Hall to sit at the Ravenclaw table.
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