(1) Lux Brumalis (R. Weasley)

Chapter Thirty-Nine

DADA class always drags on. Quirrell is a difficult teacher to understand and follow. But thankfully understanding how to treat werewolf bites doesn't require too much intelligence, their class task is nothing more than copying what is written on the blackboard. Pixie finished doing that a while ago and instead took to writing a note to Hermione before folding it up into bird. Pansy sits next to her, chewing on the chain of her necklace, a piece of red and gold metal hangs from the end of the chain. She'd been especially happy about her Christmas gift from Pixie. A piece of Tony's Iron Man suit, she's not sure which Mark it came off, it's just a piece of scrap but Pansy likes it anyway. Pixie pulls her fingers over one of the folds of the bird to sharpen it before she rests it on the top of her book. She then stares at the bird. She just has to do what she did to the teddy bear. Only more precise. More controlled. Just from her table to Hermione's table. Move. Move.

"Move" She whispers at the bird as she glares at it. It just happened with the bear, why can't she get it to work with a bit of paper? She lets out a breath and then takes a deep one, scrunching up her nose as she glares harder at it. Something tinged orange wraps around the paper bird before it flutters across the classroom. Pixie lets out a breath and watches as it drops onto Hermione's desk. She frowns and looks at it and then around the room. Pixie wiggles her fingers in a wave from her seat then motions with her own hands that Hermione should open the bird. Hermione turns to the bird and then opens it up to read it. Pixie wants to meet with them after class, because she's figured out what they want to know regarding Nicholas Flamel. Hermione looks up surprised, Pixie nods at her and then motions for them to talk after class. Hermione nods and then carefully reaches back and sets the note on Harry and Ron's desk behind her.

..........

Pixie draws her fingers down the spines of books in the library as she moves through the stacks. Waiting on Harry, Ron, and Hermione to join her. Her skirt and robes swish with her as she moves. She's taken her shoes off, pinned her hair back with her wand.

"Wait, wait, go back" Pixie sighs and looks down at the pocket of her robes as two slithery heads poke out, reading the books as passes them. "Mating rituals in serpents" He reads from the spine of a book and Pixie smirks a little.

"How would that work?" She whispers to them. "Would you have one or need two?" The two snake heads share a look as if actually considering her question. "What about Daphne's green snake, Chelo?" She asks. "I could talk to her for you..."

"Pix" Hermione whispers from the end of the stack, Pixie snaps her head around, pushing Kaa's head back into her pocket. Hermione sets her bag down onto the table as Pixie pulls an enormous old book from the shelves and moves towards them as Ron sits at the desk, sinking into his chair. Harry leans on the back of the chair next to him. Pixie moves to the end of the table.

"So when Hagrid let slip that whole Nicholas Flamel thing" She starts as she sets the book down. "I brushed it off, I was mad about...well, you guys know" She shrugs a little. "But then...curiosity got the better of me....so I came here weeks ago, way before the holidays, for a bit of light reading."

"Light?" Ron asks, Pixie smirks a little and nods before she opens up the book and starts flicking through the pages, her eyes scanning over the pages.

"Ah, here" She turns the book towards the three of them and taps on the page. "Nicolas Flamel is the only known maker of the Philosopher's Stone!" Hermione gasps with recognition but neither of the boys gave anything away.

"The what?" Harry and Ron asks them.

"Oh, honestly, don't you two read?" Hermione asks and then motions to a section on the page. "Look, read that, there" Pixie pushes the book forward, towards the two of them so they can read it. Pixie read the book, she knows what it says.

"What does he have to do with Dumbledore?" Harry asks. Pixie reaches into her bag and pulls out a small tin, which she opens to reveal chocolate frog cards.

"Remember that first day on the train," She tells them as she goes through the cards and then holds out a Dumbledore one to Harry. "You didn't read your card, did you?" She asks him. Harry takes it from her and turns it over to read the back.

"Professor Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945" Harry reads. "For the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's blood and his work on alchemy with his partner, Nicolas Flamel!" He looks at Pixie who smirks back at him.

"The dog must be guarding Flamel's Philosopher's Stone" She points out. "I bet he asked Dumbledore to keep it safe for him, because they're friends and he knew someone was after it. That's why he wanted the Stone moved out of Gringotts!" Pixie gives a little side shrug. "It's okay, you can say it" She teases. "I'm the best"

"Pix" Harry starts. "You're the best"

"I know" She agrees. "It's just nice hearing it every now and then" Harry chuckles and smirks at her, she shrugs and lets out a breath. Ron is staring at Pixie's hair.

"Why is your wand in your hair?" He asks.

"Oh, it keeps my hair up" She answers, Ron frowns a little. "I'm not using it for anything else right now" He then nods a little. Behind them, Dumbledore almost glides into the library and moves towards them.

"Ah, Miss Stark" Dumbledore calls of her, Pixie jumps a little, the book closing with a flash of orange, Harry and Ron jump with the noise it makes. "Would you join me?" Pixie lets out a nervous breath and then turns to Hermione.

"I'll put the book back" Hermione assures her, Pixie nods and then joins Dumbledore as he walks away. Her initial feelings revolve around panic. Trying to think of anything she's done wrong but they have literally been back a day and she doesn't think she's done anything bad. Not even before Christmas. Not trouble that they don't know about. She can't figure out what she might have done. She hasn't done anything. She knows that. This can't be about her doing something wrong. Maybe Severus spoke to Dumbledore about the teddy bear.