Chapter 31: The Holidays End

A single drop from the slender vial could be mixed into a spray bottle. A few sprays would wake it up. At that rate, the little vial would last... practically forever.

With his work done, Luo Bin decided to give himself a day off. No reading, no homework, no observing or studying the Giant Gray-Ridged Flying Squirrel. He simply stood at the window with a telescope, watching everything he could see.

In the distance, the Weasley twins were skating with Harry and Ron on the frozen Black Lake. Perhaps they tripped over a pebble, or perhaps the ice was too slippery, but all four toppled into a heap like dominoes, drawing peals of laughter.

On the great lawn, Dumbledore led the professors in building snowmen. Quirrell's was hideous, with a crooked nose, lopsided eyes, and limbs that looked entirely wrong on its body. After McGonagall sternly scolded the students who laughed at him, she helped Quirrell build a more normal one.

At the Quidditch Pitch, Marcus Flint and Oliver Wood were dueling one-on-one on Broomsticks. A ring of spectators surrounded the pitch, occasionally erupting into screams and cheers.

Outside the little stone hut by the Forbidden Forest, a tipsy Hagrid held Fang's front paws and danced a little jig while humming a tune.

Even the Whomping Willow, so hated by the students, waved its ribbon-decked branches in celebration of Christmas. That cheerful, peaceful holiday spirit lasted until the break was over.

On January 5, the day before classes resumed, the students returned to school by train.

At eight that evening, Luo Bin handed in his five-thousand-word observation and research report on the Giant Gray-Ridged Flying Squirrel at the Potions Storage Room. After promising Snape he would attend Quidditch practice on time and repeatedly assuring him he would catch the Golden Snitch, he finally got his hands on Fantastic Insects: Monarch Butterfly.

On his way back to the dormitory, he ran into Little Pepper outside the library. Her cheeks were puffed up like a pufferfish's.

"Hermione, who made you angry?"

"Who else but Harry and Ron? I can't believe it. They had two whole weeks off, and they didn't review their lessons or find out who Nicolas Flamel was. They even put on... um, I mean, they spent the whole holiday playing around and didn't do a single useful thing!"

Though she caught herself in time, Luo Bin knew Harry had received an Invisibility Cloak as a Christmas present from a mysterious person. Harry had worn it into the Restricted Section in the middle of the night, where a noise he accidentally made had drawn Filch and Snape.

After a hair-raising escape, Harry had fled into an abandoned classroom and discovered the Mirror of Erised. Entranced by the happy family reunion he saw in it, he had returned every night. In the end, Dumbledore had stepped in and persuaded him to face reality.

"Don't be angry. Holidays are meant for having fun. Maybe all that searching won't help, but one day, someone might mention something in passing, and suddenly you'll know who Nicolas Flamel was and what he did."

"I hope you're right. Oh, goodness, it's almost half past eight! I have to go. There's still time to look through a few more books before the library closes!"

With that, she hurried off toward the rows of shelves. Luo Bin peered inside and happened to meet Ron's furious glare.

Tsk. What's got into him this time? Luo Bin had no intention of squabbling with a child. Holding his books, he continued down the corridor.

Once the new term began, Luo Bin was busy again. Besides his required classes and private lessons with Snape, he had Quidditch practice three times a week, with no excuses allowed.

By late January, the weather had turned foul. Yet even days of rain could not stop Marcus Flint and Oliver Wood. The two were locked in a quiet contest over the intensity and length of their practices, and their teammates were the ones who suffered.

"Flint, we're playing Hufflepuff next month. Do we really need to compete with them?"

Sweat streaming down his forehead, Bletchley panted as he asked.

"What the hell do you know? Slytherin should have Gryffindor under its heel, no matter the occasion. Break's over. Up, all of you. Get on your brooms and fly. Luo Bin, what are you looking at?"

"A couple of clowns!"

Seated on the ground, Luo Bin pointed into the distant sky.

"Clowns? Who's—oh, George and Fred Weasley. Only those two would be stupid enough to dive at each other and try to knock each other off their brooms."

In Luo Bin's view, Oliver Wood flew up, gave the pair a stern telling-off, then landed and went to speak to Harry.

Something he said must have set the twins off. George Weasley fell from his broom and landed face-first in the mud. He spat it out as he talked back to Wood; clearly, he was not badly hurt.

"What are you looking at? Snape's refereeing the match in February, and he's bound to favor you lot. I'm telling Hufflepuff the bad news!"

Fred shouted and ran straight toward the castle despite Wood's attempt to stop him.

"Woo!"

"Woo!"

"Woo!"

The Slytherin players erupted in excitement when they heard Snape would be the referee. Adrian Pucey even did a somersault on his broom.

"Captain, everyone knows the professor favors his own. We've got the Hufflepuff match in the bag. Why the hell are we still practicing? Let's go back to the castle and enjoy a feast!" one player called out, eager to shirk practice.

"No. That's exactly why we need to train harder. We'll show the other three houses that Slytherin wins because we're good enough, not because our head of house is the referee," Luo Bin said, getting to his feet.

"I agree with Luo Bin. Everyone, mount your brooms. Practice continues."

Practice had barely ended when Luo Bin saw Harry shoot into the castle like a bullet. He knew Harry was eager to tell Hermione and Ron that Snape would be refereeing.

In the original story, Neville had appeared while the three were talking quietly, his legs bound by the Leg-Locker Curse. Hermione had broken the curse, and Harry had given Neville a Chocolate Frog to comfort him.

The Wizard Card inside had reminded Harry of what he had heard about Dumbledore on the train: in 1945, he had led wizards to victory over Grindelwald, discovered twelve uses for Dragon Blood, and made extraordinary advances in Alchemy with his friend and partner Nicolas Flamel.

It had clicked for Hermione, too. She had rushed to the girls' dormitory and returned with a huge, heavy book. Turning to its section on Alchemy, she had found an entry on the Alchemist Nicolas Flamel. From then on, the Golden Trio had suspected that the world's only surviving Philosopher's Stone was hidden beneath the Living Wood.

Luo Bin drew his thoughts back to the present and shook his head. Then he changed out of his Quidditch robes and returned to the dormitory to study.

The days passed. An outstanding student, Luo Bin excelled in every class. Even Professor Quirrell, who had once tried to harm him, had to award him five points for his excellent Defense Against the Dark Arts assessment, if only to keep up appearances.

Compared with the points other professors awarded him, those five were nothing. But they frustrated Quirrell, and that made Luo Bin happy.

On the night before the Quidditch match, Hermione came to Luo Bin carrying a pile of Chocolate Frogs.

"How long have you been collecting Chocolate Frogs?"

Chocolate made in the wizarding world was smoother and richer than Muggle chocolate. It was also... a little more expensive. But the Wizard Cards tucked inside were the most popular collectibles around.