Light November Library

-A/N: For these next two chapters and the corresponding ones on my other thread, I started playing around with the divergence. Both sets of chapters cover the same events but due to Gaunt's relationships with certain characters, certain events play out in a different way and in a different order.-

The common room was empty when you emerged early the next morning. Even the most ambitious Slytherins tended to have a bit of a lie-in on Sunday mornings. Slytherin House as a whole was still reeling from the loss to Gryffindor. The Quidditch defeat and Harry Potter’s jinxed broomstick were all anyone had been talking about yesterday. If only they knew what had really happened. You hadn’t told anyone what you'd seen in the stands. You had no wish to draw Quirrell’s wrath towards yourself.

Marcus Flint seemed to take the unfavorable outcome to the Quidditch match the most personally and had already scheduled a practice for that night. Slytherin wouldn’t actually be playing again until the match against Ravenclaw in February so you suspected that ‘practice’ would mainly be serving as an excuse for Flint to yell at and berate everyone.

The looming practice was the reason you had braved the empty common room and woken up so early. You didn’t know how long Flint intended to keep you but you still had homework that you needed to finish before class on Monday and you wanted to have it done before you left for practice just in case your Quidditch Captain decided to keep you all night. It was bad enough having a frustrated Marcus Flint on your case. You didn’t want to aggravate your professors by failing to complete your assignments.

You exited the common room and made your way out of the dungeons. You briefly thought about stopping off in the Great Hall for breakfast but decided against it and instead continued up the stairs towards the library. You had three essays due tomorrow that you needed to finish before dinner. The sooner you started the sooner you’d finish.

Upon rounding the corner, you spotted Madam Pince unlocking the library doors. There were no other students in sight. You were the first one there! You smiled to yourself as you hurried to catch up with the librarian before she went inside.

“Mr. Gaunt,” Madam Pince greeted you when she turned and saw you hurrying up behind her. You worked hard to maintain your place in the top five of all your classes so you were no stranger to the Hogwarts library. “I don’t often see students here this early the Sunday after a Quidditch match.”

“I’ve got three essays due tomorrow and Quidditch practice after dinner,” you explained.

The librarian narrowed her eyes at you, “And you decided to put them off to the last minute?”

“Er… I started the essays for Transfiguration and Charms on Thursday,” you defended yourself. “And the Herbology essay was just assigned on Friday afternoon.”

Madam Pince opened the door and beckoned you inside. “Get to it then. Since you’re alone, I trust I won’t have to deal with any noise coming from your general direction.”

“Of course, ma’am,” you quickly agreed. “I’ll be silent as the grave.”

“That may turn out to be literal if any harm should befall my books while you’re here,” Madam Pince warned you before she stalked off into the library.

“Such a pleasant woman,” you muttered to yourself. Rather than help students find the books they were looking for like a helpful librarian might Madam Pince seemed to think it was her duty to defend the books from the students and to keep the library as silent as a tomb. You shuddered as you remembered the time back in September when you went to take a book off a shelf without noticing the fresh ink stain on your index finger. Madam Pince’s rage sent you running out of the library like a pack of werewolves was chasing you. It took you three whole days to work up the nerve to enter the library again.

You had your choice of any table in the library so you set your school bag on top of one and took a seat that gave you a view of the entrance. This way you’d be able to spot any of your fellow Slytherin first years when they arrived. They had the same three essays due on Monday so they were bound to show up eventually.

“Hmm…” you hummed to yourself as you took a moment to decide which of the three essays to start on. Eventually, you chose Herbology. You already started the Charms and Transfiguration essays which made Herbology the biggest impending project. You reasoned that there should be enough time until lunch for you to complete Professor Sprout’s two-foot requirement. The Herbology essay was also technically the first essay due since Herbology was your first lesson on Monday and, if you were being perfectly honest, it was the one you were most excited about.

During Friday’s Herbology lesson, Professor Sprout had introduced your class to Dittany - a plant known for its healing properties. She assigned an essay on the uses of Dittany before you got your first-hand experience working with the plant during Monday’s double lesson. You already knew that Dittany was the active ingredient in a number of healing potions. One of which was the Topical Bruise Remover you had already gotten plenty of experience brewing. But the Dittany you used in your Potions kit was already diced and prepared for brewing, as was the replacement supply you’d owl-ordered back at the end of October when you ran out due to brewing so many extra healing potions. It also appeared to be a very rare plant because, even in small quantities, it was very expensive. You were eager to finally get some first-hand experience working with the helpful little plant.

Normally, you’d refer to your textbooks - One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi and Magical Drafts and Potions but you were looking for something that went into more detail for this assignment. The Herbology textbook mainly focused on the qualities, appearance, and care of the plants while the Potions textbook listed the directions for brewing the potions but didn’t really explain what the potions themselves did or what each of the ingredients in the potions did. You left your table and headed for the Potions and Herbology sections of the library which were conveniently located next to each other since both subjects were interrelated. You frequented these sections often in order to maintain your top spot in Potions so it didn’t take you very long to find books on Healing Plants and Healing Potions.

You returned to your table and had just opened the book on healing plants when the library door opened and four familiar Gryffindors entered.

“You see, Ronald,” Hermione Granger chided your least favorite redhead as she let the quartet into the library, “I told you we took too long at breakfast. Marvolo’s already here.”

“Are the books going to go bad?” said redhead retorted crossly. “I need breakfast if I’m gonna be stuck in the library all day. I didn’t get to have my usual because you kept rushing me.” You got the strong sense that Weasley’s presence in the library was extremely ****.

“What’re you staring at, Gaunt?” Harry Potter asked as the library door closed behind them.

“If I’m being honest... you,” you admitted, “The sight of you, Weasley, and Longbottom in the library is a rare one indeed. Not Granger, of course, she practically lives here. But you three slackers seem to have a strong aversion to books and learning.”

“We’re willing to brave the library for a subject that’s important enough,” Harry replied.

“Is that so?” you replied. “Well, the last time I saw you and Weasley in here… it was September and you were looking for jinxes to use on me and Malfoy. Longbottom, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you in here. Normally, I’d commend Granger for finally getting you three to take your studies seriously. But I suspect I’d have to retract that since I doubt you’re here to read up on anything school related.”

“It’s about something that’s in the school,” Longbottom spoke up. “Does that count?”

“Watch it, Neville,” Weasley warned him. “Don’t tell the snake anything. Slytherins will take anything you say to them and use it against you.”

You felt obligated to defend your house, “Well, Weasley, when someone puts their foot in their mouth as often as you do, it becomes remarkably easy. More often than not, you say something to make yourself look stupid. I just happen to be the one who points it out.”

“Quiet, everyone quiet!” Hermione called out in warning. But it was too late. You looked to the side and saw Madam Pince bearing down on the four Gryffindors like a charging Erumphant.

“Granger!” Madam Pince hissed. “Gaunt has been quiet since he arrived. You and your friends are disturbing the library. You know the rules. If you can’t keep quiet… you’ll have to leave.”

“Right, I’m sorry, Madam Pince,” Hermione hastily apologized. “Come on.” She led the other three away and you idly noted that they went into the History section.

Madam Pince scowled and followed after them. Not to help them find the books they were looking for, no, that would actually be helpful. She watched the quartet to ensure that they didn’t damage any of her precious books.

You were admittedly a little curious what ‘important subject’ had motivated the four Gryffindors to visit the library. But you had more pressing, personal matters to concern yourself with and turned your attention to your reading and completing your assignments.

Dittany, sometimes known as the Burning Bush, was a highly magical plant. In fact, it was so powerful that it was sometimes used as a wand core. Dittany core wands were extremely rare and the witches and wizard who used them tended to be healers or have healing-oriented magic.

One of the most common Dittany-based healing potions was known as Essence of Dittany. You quickly cross-referenced the Essence of Dittany potion in the Healing Potion book. The potion’s ingredients were four pickled shrake spines, copper and, of course, three ounces of blended Dittany extract - which was made from a combined mix of white and cretan Dittany oils. Due to the rarity of Dittany, some potioneers made their own extract by crushing six sprigs of both white and cretan Dittany and then mixing them together. Essence of Dittany was an extremely potent potion and a few drops administered to an open wound could heal it over and make it look like it was several days old. Essence of Dittany could be used to heal injuries that ranged from deep cuts and gashes, splinching, burns and even in one instance - a bite from a werewolf.

Obviously, the Topical Bruise Remover was another potion that used Dittany. But because it was only for bruises, which could be considered the most minor of minor injuries, it only included trace amounts of diced Dittany. A much more interesting healing potion that used Dittany was the Wiggenweld Potion. Unlike Essence of Dittany, which was meant to be applied directly to wounds, the Wiggenweld Potion was supposed to be ingested in order to magically heal injuries from the inside. It was also known to wake people from enchanted sleep, such as ones caused by the powerful Draught of the Living **** that Professor Snape mentioned during your first Potions class. The Wiggenweld Potion was on the curriculum for first years but because Professor Snape skipped around and introduced Healing Potions early (likely for your benefit) you honestly had no idea when you would be brewing it in class. Since it was on the curriculum, you brought out your Potions textbook to research the Wiggenweld Potion’s ingredients. For this potion, Dittany was part of the initial base mixture that also that consisted of Wiggentree bark, moly, and one pint of horklump juice. The ingredients that needed to be added over the course of the brewing process were salamander blood, lionfish spines, flobberworm mucus, honey water, and boom berry juice. It didn’t seem like a very difficult potion, at least not by your standards. The key seemed to be getting the timing right. Adding an ingredient too early or too late could result in a tainted brew and there was really no use for a dodgy healing potion.

Other students began to trickle in while you were reading and you also occasionally peeked over at the four Gryffindors. They had claimed a table within view of yours and were all reading through the books they’d gotten from the History section. You still weren’t sure what they were researching but you had correctly guessed that it wasn’t school work. Neville had dropped a hint that it was related to something in the school but that left a lot of ground. Ron Weasley’s expression was the most priceless of the four. He was scowling and holding his head up with his hand and was practically glaring at the book he was reading. You could clearly tell that reading in the library was the last thing he wanted to be doing on a Sunday. But the fact that he was willing to put up with it and suffer through a long morning of reading told you that the topic the four Gryffindors were researching was incredibly important to all of them.

You shook your head. You couldn’t afford to get distracted by whatever Potter and his gang were working on. The whole point of attending Hogwarts was to learn magic. The best way to do that was to attend class, finish your assignments, and get passing marks. You had three assignments to finish before a looming deadline. Looking in on Potter’s mysterious investigation would have to wait. Now that you had finished your background reading, you began writing your essay. You needed two feet. Thankfully, this essay on the uses of Dittany relied heavily on Potions which was your best - and favorite - subject. It was fairly simple to draw on your Potions knowledge in order to properly increase the length of your essay. It took you nearly two hours but you managed to complete your essay. One down and two to go.

A cursory glance around the library showed you that it had filled up even further while you were caught up in writing your assignment. Most of the tables were taken by this point. You felt your stomach rumble and regretted skipping breakfast. Meals went longer on weekends so you could possibly go to lunch. The mid-day meal was likely just starting. The prospect of food was nice but instead, you decided to reward yourself with a break so you could satisfy your nagging curiosity. The subject of Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Neville’s mysterious research had piqued your curiosity and you decided to see if you could find anything out.

You strode over to the four Gryffindors who looked up from their books as you approached. “Still at it, I see. I’ll admit, you’ve caught my curiosity. Anything that can motivate Weasley to spend the day in the library must be interesting. What are you looking for exactly?”

“None of your business, Gaunt,” Weasley bit back as he covered his book with his arms in order to keep you from peeking at it. “This is a private investigation.”

Hermione stared at you for a moment then looked at the others, “Maybe he’ll know something? He probably knows more about Wizarding culture than all of us.”

Harry looked thoughtful then nodded, “Alright, you’re on, Gaunt. Does the name ‘Nicholas Flamel’ mean anything to you?”

“Flamel… Flamel…” you repeated to yourself. The name sounded familiar but you couldn’t think of where or when you’d heard it. “I’ve heard the name before…” The four Gryffindors all stared at you with hopeful expressions… your stomach twisted because you’d have to let them down, “...but I can’t remember where…”

“See, I knew he’d be no help,” Ron grumbled.

Your eyes narrowed and you felt the urge to defend your honor, “Oh, I’m sorry I couldn’t instantly recall a name you’ve been researching all morning off the top of my head. Let’s see how you like it, who was Herpo the Foul?”

Ron’s expression told you that he had no idea but his Gryffindor courage and Wesley temper compelled him to answer anyway. “Well… based on the name and knowing you, I’d guess that he’s a Dark Wizard.”

“Not just any Dark Wizard,” you replied. “He’s a Dark Wizard from ancient Greece who was one of the first recorded Parselmouths and is credited with the creation of the first Basilisk.”

“Er… what’s a Parselmouth?” Harry asked. Hermione seemed curious too.

Neville quietly spoke up, “It’s the ability to talk to snakes.”

Harry opened his mouth to say something but Ron cut him off, “It’s a trait that identifies the darkest of Dark Wizards. You-Know-Who was one. Salazar Slytherin was one. And according to Gaunt, so was Herpo the Foul.”

Harry paled, “Oh…”

“Watch it, Weasley,” you retorted. “I’m a Parselmouth. It’s a trait that Salazar Slytherin passed down to his descendants. Most members of the Gaunt family were Parselmouths.” You didn’t like the direction this subject was going so you shifted it back to the original one. “Anyway, Flamel isn’t one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight. I’m not even sure it’s an English name. Maybe he’s French?”

“French?” Hermione repeated as her eyes went wide. “We’ve only been looking through books on famous English wizards! No wonder we never found him.” The muggleborn girl closed her book and stood up, “I’m going to see if I can find anything on French history. Thank you, Marvolo.”

Neville nodded, “Well… it’s a start, I guess…”

“...” Harry didn’t say anything. He still looked pale and concerned about something.

“Anyway, I finished my Herbology essay so I’m taking a break for lunch,” you announced. You pretended not to hear Ron's stomach grumble as a result of your statement. “Good luck with your search.”

“How much longer are we going to be searching for?” Neville asked as you left the table. “I still need to finish that essay too…”

“And I’m starting to get hungry again,” Ron admitted.

You packed up your things and shook your head as you gave up your table. It was in a prime location and you doubted you’d be able to get it back after lunch. But you had skipped breakfast and now that it was approaching lunch-time you were very hungry.

It didn’t take long for you to reach the Great Hall which was practically deserted. Only a handful of students were seated at each of the house tables so you had no trouble finding a spot at the Slytherin table. The serving dishes around you were magically filled and you wasted no time in helping yourself to a generous lunch.

You just started eating when the rest of the Slytherin first years showed up. Draco looked especially proud of himself as he led the group into the Great Hall. They spotted you sitting at the Slytherin table and made their way over. Soon you were surrounded by Draco, Vincent, Gregory, Pansy, Daphne, Tracey, Millicent, Theodore, and Blaise.

“Where have you been all morning?” Draco asked while the newcomers served themselves lunch.

“Library,” you answered. “I finished Professor Sprout’s essay on Dittany.”

“Tracey and I finished that one yesterday,” Daphne - your group’s best Herbology student - stated.

“Good, then you can help me on mine,” Pansy said. “I was busy finishing the Transfiguration and Charms essays so I haven’t started it yet.”

“Great…” Daphne replied. You could clearly see how ‘thrilled’ she was to still be stuck helping Parkinson with Herbology.

“I still have plenty to time to finish that,” Draco decided.

“You sure?” you asked. “We’ve got Quidditch practice tonight. After Slytherin’s loss to Gryffindor, who knows how late Flint will keep us.”

“That wasn’t our fault!” Malfoy insisted. “We weren’t even playing!”

“That’s not going to stop Flint from yelling at us,” you pointed out. “I’m headed back to the library once I’m done here. I need to finish my Charms and Transfiguration essays before dinner. Otherwise, I might never get them done on time.”

“Can I join you?” Millicent inquired. “I haven’t even started mine yet.”

“...” you also saw that Theodore was looking extra attentive. While the quiet boy would never actually come out and say it, it looked like he wanted to join you in the library as well.

“Of course you can,” you told both of them, “The only problem will be finding a table when we go back. I was the first one there this morning so I got first pick. I gave up a great table when I left and, considering how the library filled up while I was there, the chances of us getting a table nearly as good as that one are slim to none.”

“We’ll just have to wait people out,” Blaise resolved with a casual shrug. “Someone will leave to go to lunch eventually. We can take their table. In the meantime, we might as well get a full meal in before heading to the library.”

“I suppose that’s a good a plan as any,” you reasoned.

Your group of Slytherins settled in to eat lunch. During the meal, the Great Hall slowly began to fill up with students. When you were nearly done a group of owls bearing an assortment of packages and letters came flying into the Great Hall. Your ashy-feathered barred owl was absent but Draco’s regal eagle owl flew straight for him with a large package.

“It’s here!” Draco crowed as he pushed his plate aside to make a space for his owl to land. Draco’s eagle owl swooped down and set its package on the table in front of Draco then perched on top of it.

“How does a five-pound bird carry a box that’s bigger than its whole body?” Millicent wondered. “That box looks like it weighs at least ten pounds.”

“It could be the Feather-Light Charm,” Tracey suggested. “It’s designed to make things lighter and easier to carry.”

“Any idea why they don’t let us cast that on our trunks?” you asked. “It’d make them a great deal easier to carry. I asked the Auror who took me school shopping but he said it wasn’t allowed.”

“...” Theodore looked up from his meal and silently voiced a question very similar to yours.

“I think it’s something to do with the Statute of Secrecy,” Blaise suggested. “The muggles might get suspicious if they see kids carrying around huge, heavy trunks with one hand.”

“Oh, of course, the muggles just have to ruin everything for us,” Pansy complained.

“Eh-hem!” Draco cleared his throat in an attempt to draw everyone’s attention away from the discussion on the feather-light charm and back to his mysterious package.

“Oh! What did you get, Draco?” Pansy quickly changed the subject and looked at the package Draco’s owl had delivered like it contained the greatest secrets in the universe. “Another care package from home?”

“Something like that,” Draco said with a knowing smirk as he opened the package. He opened the lid and pulled out a set of Omnioculars which he then proceeded to wave in your face. “I wrote father after the match yesterday and he bought me a set of Omnioculars like Marvolo’s. But unlike Marvolo, my father spared no expense and got me a set that can record five scenes.” You noted that the stored scene knob on Draco’s new Omnioculars was shaped like a pentagon as opposed to the triangular knob on your set. “That’s the most any set can store at the moment.”

“Good for you, Draco,” you replied. “With those, you’ll be able to record the Snitch catch in all the remaining games. That’ll give you plenty of time to study them until next year.”

Draco smiled smugly and was all too happy to answer any questions the others had about his new Omnioculars.

“Did you get anything else?” Vincent eventually asked. Judging from his hungry expression, you knew that he was hoping that Draco had received some candy in his care package.

Draco looked back in the box and pulled out three Chocolate Frogs and a bag of Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans. He tossed the bag of beans across the table to Crabbe and Goyle.

“Remember to save any that look like they might be chocolate, blueberry, or strawberry for me,” Draco ordered his bodyguards. “Those are my favorites.” Then he turned and offered the three Chocolate Frogs to you. “Work your magic on these.”

This had become something of a tradition over the last few months. Whenever Draco got Chocolate Frogs in one of his numerous care packages from home, he’d have you open them. And it never failed that when you opened the boxes one of the contained Chocolate Frog Cards was one that someone within earshot needed for their collection. You still didn’t have much of a collection yourself and had only kept a few of the more interesting cards.

“Remember the rules,” Draco needlessly reminded you, “They’re still my Chocolate Frogs so I get first pick out of the cards.”

“Of course,” you agreed. “Let’s see what we’ve got here…” You opened the first Chocolate Frog and were surprised at the wizard depicted on the card. “Herpo the Foul? I just had a conversation about him in the library.” You opened the other two. “Let’s see… Circe and... N-Nicholas Flamel...”

“What’s with you?” Draco asked as he snatched the three cards. “I’ll keep Herpo. I’ve already got one of him but he’s a Gold-level card so I could always trade it for one I need.”

“...” Draco either completely missed or completely ignored Theodore’s interested expression.

“Then do you mind if I take Flamel?” you requested. You made an effort to keep your tone calm and neutral so as not to show your interest in that particular card.

Draco nodded and handed over the card, “I already have him. Plus he’s only a Silver-level.”

“Uhh… I think I need Flamel…” Goyle spoke up.

“Sorry, Gregory, this is one I’m actually interested in,” you replied. You stared down at the oldest man you had ever seen. He had white hair and looked like he was centuries old. You read the description on the card. ‘Nicholas Flamel is a French, thirteenth-century alchemist who is credited with the creation of the Philosopher’s Stone. Thanks to the Philosopher’s Stone and the Elixir of Life that it can be used to create - Flamel still lives to this day.’ You looked up from the card and smiled at Goyle, “Besides, last month I found that ‘Andros the Invincible’ card you’ve been after for years.”

Goyle nodded then quickly found something to console himself with, “I’ll take the chocolate then.”

“Hey! I want some too,” Crabbe insisted before he took one of the Chocolate Frogs for himself and then proceeded to bite it’s head off.

“Ugh, gross,” Pansy complained. “Learn some manners!”

“Well, if no one minds, I’ll take the Circe card,” Blaise said.

Draco looked at him curiously, “But you don’t actually have a Chocolate Frog Card collection.”

“No,” Blaise admitted, “But Circe is the witch that my mum was named after. So I thought I might keep that one.”

“Isn’t Circe that Greek witch who turned muggle sailors into pigs?” Daphne asked.

“Greek?” Malfoy repeated as he handed Zabini the card. “I thought you were Italian?”

“My father was Italian,” Blaise replied. “My mother’s Greek. But since I was born in England... I’m obviously English.”

You slipped the Flamel card into your pocket and smirked at a sudden thought. Circe Zabini’s numerous ex-husbands and their untimely deaths were a favorite conversation topic of your morbid friend. You could see where a comparison could be drawn between her and her infamous namesake. “You know, that name makes almost too much sense.”

The conversation eventually shifted away from Blaise’s mother and you finished your meal shortly after.

“Right, I’m off to the library,” you announced. “Who’s coming with?”

Millicent, Blaise, Theodore, and Tracey all got up with you. Daphne made to get up too but Pansy stopped her. “Hold on! You still need to help me with my Herbology essay.”

“Oh… right,” Daphne let out a soft sigh as she sat back down. Tracey nodded and sat down beside her. “I suppose we’re heading back to the common room, then?”

Crabbe and Goyle didn’t even bother answering and helped themselves to seconds. They were probably the only students in Hogwarts who hated the library more than Potter, Weasley, and Longbottom.

“There’s no sense in rushing off to the library just to wait for a table,” Draco said petulantly.

“Suit yourself,” you replied. You knew of four Gryffindors who would likely be willing to give up their own table when you shared the information on the card in your pocket with them.

You led the other three out of the Great Hall and up to the library. As expected, there wasn’t a single free table when you arrived.

“You weren’t kidding,” Blaise noted, “This place is packed.”

“Should we start looking for books while we wait?” Millicent suggested.

“No need,” you told them. “I think I can get us a table. Wait here.”

You made your way across the library and stopped next to the table occupied by the four familiar first year Gryffindors. All four were still dutifully reading but Weasley looked even moodier than when you had left. You stuck your hands in your pockets and waited for one of them to acknowledge you.

“What do you want, Gaunt?” Harry eventually asked.

“I’m solving your problem, of course,” you answered as you pulled your hand out of your pocket and tossed the Chocolate Frog Card onto the open book in front of him.

“This is… Nicholas Flamel!” Harry exclaimed. The other three were suddenly much more interested. “‘Nicholas Flamel is a French, thirteenth-century alchemist who is credited with the creation of the Philosopher’s Stone. Thanks to the Philosopher’s Stone and the Elixir of Life that it can be used to create - Flamel still lives to this day.’”

“No wonder we couldn’t find him,” Hermione realized. “I had us looking the wrong section! We’ve been looking at modern history. If Flamel is six hundred years old then there’s nothing modern about him.”

“The Philosopher’s Stone…” Neville repeated, “Do you think that’s what F-Fluffy’s guarding?”

You weren’t sure who or what Fluffy was. But now you were curious.

“What do you want, Gaunt?” Ron asked. He seemed more suspicious than grateful. “You snakes don’t do anything without an ulterior motive.”

“Well, now that you mention it, I’ve got one-no, two things,” you responded. “One, since I’ve no doubt just saved you four from months of research and you’re likely hungry enough to eat a Hippogriff… I was hoping you would give me your table. I’ve still got to finish my Charms and Transfiguration homework.”

“Done!” Ron agreed. He slammed his book closed with a flourish and shot to his feet. He clearly didn’t want to be stuck in the library a second longer. Not when there was food waiting in the Great Hall.

“And what’s the second thing?” Harry inquired as he closed his own book.

“Well... when I came up here, I only wanted the one thing,” you admitted, “But now I’m curious… who’s Fluffy?”

“F-Fluffy… is the name of the terrifying, monstrous three-headed dog in the Forbidden Corridor,” Neville answered. The chubby boy shuddered, likely from the memory. Encountering a Cerberus would do that to some people.

Harry took a cautious glance around them then turned to you and nearly whispered, “We think Fluffy’s guarding the Philosopher’s Stone… and that someone’s trying to steal it. They likely let in the troll on Halloween as a diversion.” The remaining three Gryffindors stood up along with Ron.

“You three go ahead to lunch,” Hermione instructed. “I’ll put the books back and see if I can find anything else about the stone.”

“Thanks, Hermione,” Harry said as he, Ron and Neville hurried out of the library to lunch.

The muggleborn girl turned to you, “And thank you for helping us find what we were looking for.”

You gave a casual shrug as you slipped into one of the abandoned seats. “I tend to get really lucky when it comes to Chocolate Frog Cards. But the funny thing is, I don’t really even have a collection of my own.”

Hermione gathered up the books that she and her friends had been reading then gave you one last grateful nod before she carried them off to the History section. You looked across the library and saw your own friends still waiting by the entrance and waved them over.

“What was that all about?” Blaise asked as he sat down across from you.

“They were in here all morning researching Nicholas Flamel,” you explained. “They were even **** enough to ask me who he was but I couldn’t remember off the top of my head. But then I found the answer in that last Chocolate Frog that I opened and so I traded it for their table. You’re welcome.”

“...” You turned and saw Theodore looking at you with a clear question in his eyes. Something along the lines of, ‘Why were they researching Nicholas Flamel?’

“You’ll have to ask them that,” you answered the unasked question knowing full well that he would never actually do that.

“...” You received an irritated glare in response.

“What do you want, Granger?” Millicent suddenly asked.

You looked up and saw Hermione standing next to you. She was eying your three friends nervously while she stood there hugging two books to her chest. “Yes?”

The muggleborn took a second to gather her courage then spoke, “You… you said you came back to do your Charms and Transfiguration homework. Did Professor Flitwick assign your class the essay on the Mending Charm?”

“It’s the Repairing Charm, Granger,” Blaise curtly informed her.

“It’s sometimes called that… but the proper name is the Mending Charm,” Hermione countered. She placed a black book on the table in front of you. “I used this to write my essay. You’re welcome to it. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to see Madam Pince about checking this book out…”

You glanced down at the book which was titled The Mending Charm and Its Variants. It was exactly what you needed to write your essay. You turned and called after the muggleborn girl, knowing full well that everyone was likely watching you, “Hey, Granger… thanks.”

Three sets of eyes were practically drilling into your back.

“Here’s the deal,” you said to your three companions without turning around. “I’m going to count to three and then I’m going to turn around. If I see any of you judging me on being cordial with Granger and her Gryffindor friends… then that person won’t get to use the book she gave me.” You took a deep breath and counted. “One… two… three…”

You turned back and found Blaise pointedly looking away from you, Millicent using her hand to hide a frown, and Theodore wearing an expression that was almost too neutral - even for him.

“That’s what I thought,” you said with a grin as you drew your unfinished Charms essay out of your school bag and set about completing your homework.