Hagrid's Hut

Harry was tossed high into the air by the enthusiastic fans, and his joy made him feel as though he were floating on clouds.

In the end, Hagrid grabbed Harry as he waved his arms in midair and brought him back to the hut.

Kano, Hermione, and Ron were waiting for him inside. When they saw Harry enter, they raised their cups of hot tea in greeting.

Harry, too, now felt the bone-deep chill. He hurried over to Hagrid's small stove and took a cup of hot tea.

"Congratulations, Harry," Ron offered his congratulations. "Today's match is going to become legendary."

Harry was still feeling lightheaded, but Hermione's words immediately sobered him up.

"Your broom didn't malfunction—it was cursed," Hermione said seriously. "I saw Snape staring at you the whole time, chanting a spell under his breath."

"But Kano shouted Quirrell unconscious behind him, and then your broom went back to normal."

Hermione wore a troubled expression. "From the looks of it, Quirrell was the one cursing you, while Snape was trying to break the curse."

Harry simply could not imagine that Snape, who made things difficult for him every day in Potions and constantly invented excuses to deduct his points, would help him.

"But Snape has always had it in for me, and Professor Quirrell... it's hard to imagine him hurting anyone."

Then Harry suddenly thought of something, and Ron seemed to have reached the same conclusion.

"Kano, Snape confiscated that book, Fantastic Quidditch Balls, yesterday morning. I went to his office this morning to get it back." Harry slapped his thigh. "I saw that one of his legs had been bitten, and Filch was treating it."

"So, on Halloween, Snape tried to get through the trapdoor guarded by the three-headed dog to take whatever was inside, only to be bitten by it."

Hagrid interrupted Harry's deduction. "You mean Fluffy?"

"Fluffy?"

"Ah, I bought him from some Greek bloke in a bar last year. This year, I lent him to Dumbledore to guard..."

"What?"

"Nothing," Hagrid said, realizing he had let something slip. "Forget about that dog. It's between Dumbledore and Nicolas Flamel."

"Who's Nicolas Flamel? Is that thing his?" Harry had caught another crucial piece of information.

Kano kept his mouth tightly shut and said nothing. He had originally thought that Hagrid had been ordered by Dumbledore to reveal some information to Harry.

However, after watching carefully, he realized Hagrid truly had no filter whatsoever. Hagrid realized it too and hurriedly ushered the little troublemakers out.

"All right, children! Snape won't hurt students, I guarantee it! Go back and get some rest!"

As they headed toward the castle, Kano could not help reminding them, "Harry, the prime suspect in your attack is still Quirrell. Stop focusing only on Snape."

Harry was a little irritated. "It's not that I'm focusing on Snape. Snape is always targeting me."

"And even if Snape helped me this time, how do you explain his injured leg? If he hadn't provoked Fluffy, he wouldn't have been bitten."

"Snape did at least one of those two things—maybe even both."

Harry reached his conclusion, and Kano had no intention of defending Snape.

As the saying went, one should avoid even the appearance of impropriety. Snape's image among the students was terrible to begin with, so it was no wonder Harry suspected him so firmly.

Hermione stepped in to smooth things over, suggesting that they focus their energy on finding out Nicolas Flamel's identity.

"Next, we need to spend our free time in the library looking into Nicolas Flamel," Hermione said after a pause. "And we can't ask the teachers, or Snape might become suspicious."

As Hermione spoke, she rattled off title after title. Harry and Ron looked as though they were about to suffocate, channeling all their helplessness into complaints about Snape.

Before long, the serious investigation had become mixed with a great deal of personal resentment, and the search for the truth eventually turned into a condemnation of Snape himself.

Kano shook his head. He no longer tried to correct their thinking, nor did he intend to tell them Nicolas Flamel's identity outright.

Let the children investigate it themselves. Their boundless energy needed a challenging activity to occupy it.

At the very least, they would read because of it. That was always a good thing.

Two weeks passed quickly, and Kano watched the three youngsters' enthusiasm gradually wear away.

Harry resumed Quidditch training, Ron's mind began wandering the moment he opened a book, and though Hermione's hands never slowed, she had clearly begun to lose hope.

Christmas was approaching. Kano planned to return to the house on Privet Drive and spend the holiday with Kreacher.

Harry naturally had no desire to return to 4 Privet Drive and face the Dursley Family, so he chose to remain at Hogwarts.

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were going to Romania to visit their eldest son, Charlie, so Ron and his brothers also stayed at school.

"Don't forget to look into Nicolas Flamel," Hermione said. She was going home to be with her parents, and before leaving, she reminded Harry and Ron with little expectation.

The two agreed in an equally halfhearted manner.

Wearing a wool overcoat and a thick felt hat, Kano calmly bid the two farewell.

"Enjoy your holiday. You can look forward to the Christmas presents I'll give you."

With that, he followed the crowd out of the castle and vanished into the wind and snow.

"Young Master, welcome home!"

Dressed in spotless white cloth, Kreacher came running over from far away.

"It's been a long time, Kreacher."

Master and servant met in Hogsmeade, then borrowed the fireplace at The Three Broomsticks and used Floo Powder to return to the Privet Drive residence.

When Kano woke on Christmas morning, he was startled to discover that the tip of a sturdy fir tree had pierced through the floor of his room.

"Kreacher?"

"Yes, young master? What do you require?"

Kreacher appeared before him, dressed as Santa Claus. His two pointed ears stuck out from beneath his hat, making him look utterly ridiculous.

Kano could not help laughing. "Nothing. I was just worried the house might collapse after all these renovations. But judging by your outfit, you've got everything ready, haven't you?"

Kreacher bowed so deeply that his long nose nearly touched the floor.

"Young master, everything has been arranged."

Kano stepped out of his room. Golden translucent bubbles and little silver pom-poms floated through the hallway. In the center of the first-floor living room stood a sturdy fir tree, wrapped in countless red-and-gold ribbons and strings of lights.

A small pile of brightly colored presents sat beneath the tree. Kano eagerly sat down under it and began unwrapping them.

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