𝐈. 𝐄𝐋𝐘𝐒𝐈𝐀𝐍 | 𝐏𝐉𝐎 𝐗 𝐇𝐏

eleven

"It was Snape," Ron was explaining, "Hermione, Lilith and I saw him. He was cursing your broomstick, muttering, he wouldn't take his eyes off you."

"Rubbish," said Hagrid, who hadn't heard a word of what had gone on next to him in the stands. "Why would Snape do somethin' like that?"

Lilith, Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked at one another, wondering what to tell him. Harry decided on the truth. "I found out something about him," he told Hagrid.

"He tried to get past that three-headed dog on Halloween. It bit him. We think he was trying to steal whatever it's guarding." Hagrid dropped the teapot.

"How do you know about Fluffy?" he said.

"Fluffy?"

"Yeah — he's mine — bought him off a Greek chappie I met in the pub las' year — I lent him to Dumbledore to guard the —"

"Yes?" said Harry eagerly. "Now, don't ask me anymore," said Hagrid gruffly.

"Fluffy." Lilith started. "He's a three-headed dog, isn't he? Like Cerberus, the three headed dog who guards the Underworld." She tilted her head questioningly.

"Yeh. But that's all in the Greek Myths, as y'eh all can see, Fluffy's real." Hagrid waved it off.

Lilith frowned slightly at his words about her heritage, it certainly wasn't a Myth.

"But magic used to be a myth too. Hecate created this world. You know, Hecate? Goddess of Magic?" She gaped at their confused looks. "Nevermind." She sighed.

"Anyways, that's top secret, that is."

"But Snape's trying to steal it." "Rubbish," said Hagrid again.

"Snape's a Hogwarts teacher, he'd do nothin' of the sort."

"So why did he just try and kill Harry?" cried Hermione. The afternoon's events certainly seemed to have changed her mind about Snape. "I know a jinx when I see one, Hagrid, I've read all about them! You've got to keep eye contact, and Snape wasn't blinking at all, I saw him!"

"Yeah, and he's very mean to students who aren't in Slytherin too. But he seems to have a grudge against Harry for some reason." Lilith pondered.

"I'm tellin' yeh, yer wrong!" said Hagrid hotly. "I don' know why Harry's broom acted like that, but Snape wouldn' try an' kill a student! Now, listen to me, all three of yeh — yer meddlin' in things that don' concern yeh. It's dangerous. You forget that dog, an' you forget what it's guardin', that's between Professor Dumbledore an' Nicolas Flamel —"

"Aha!" said Harry, "so there's someone called Nicolas Flamel involved, is there?" Hagrid looked furious with himself.

----

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 be-witching several snowballs so that they followed Quirrell around, bouncing off the back of his turban. Of course, with Lilith tailing them around, giggling occasionally.

The few owls that managed to battle their way through the stormy sky to deliver mail had to be nursed back to health by Hagrid before they could fly off again. No one could wait for the holidays to start. While the Gryffindor common room and the Great Hall had roaring fires, the drafty corridors had become icy and a bitter wind rattled the windows in the classrooms.