"Granger, congratulations. You're my new partner," I said as dryly as I could manage upon walking into Potions, walking directly to the Gryffindors. Seamus Finnegan, the boy who'd accidentally gotten Neville to ruin that cure for boils weeks ago, scowled, stepping closer.
"You've already got a partner," he growled. I rolled my eyes.
"Blaise is out for the next few days with a severe concussion and Professor Snape has already approved my choice given that there's no one else capable enough in this class."
"That stings, Cor," Daphne, sitting next to Draco, drawled.
"Let me rephrase. Granger is the only one who doesn't have a regular partner that isn't a complete mess at Potions."
"Better," Daphne hummed, unconcerned. "Careful you don't catch fleas or something from them. We're sleeping in the same room till end of term."
Hermione, having seen Daphne often enough in the library, knew better than to take her words to heart but Ron and Harry bristled angrily. Hermione waved them off and followed me back to an empty lab table.
It wasn't until after Snape had appeared, taken a few points off of Gryffindor, and started the class on the Forgetfulness Potion that we would be making today that I had an opportunity to really talk to Hermione.
"Don't crush the mistletoe berries too finely," I warned before dropping my voice. "What are you doing over the holidays?"
"I know," Hermione chirped before replying quietly. "Probably just going to spend it with my parents. Nothing big, why?"
"Aside from a Christmas gala we always attend, my family is spending most of the holiday at our home in the States and I'm allowed to invite a couple of friends."
"So you're inviting me? What about Daphne or Blaise?" Hermione asked in a murmur. I shrugged.
"They'll both be at the Malfoy's Christmas Masque, not to mention that I see plenty of them here. I thought I would ask you and Harry to come with me."
"Not Ron?" Hermione didn't seem too disappointed. I shook my head.
"If I invite Ron, his family will know. I might as well announce it at tomorrow's breakfast. The only reason I'm even considering this is because Damien already decided that he has better things than be part of the family."
"It can't be that bad," Hermione frowned. I grimaced.
"Trust me on this, Hermione... It can be and it is... So what do you say? The grand library is one of the largest in the States," I prodded. Hermione smiled brightly.
"You know me well, Cor. I'll write my parents," she whispered before returning her attention back to the potion in front of us.
After potions, I already had an excuse to walk with Hermione thanks to Snape who had assigned, to nobody's surprise, an essay on the properties of mistletoe in the forgetfulness potion.
Our way to dinner, however, had a rather significant snag in the shape of a very large fir tree taking up much of the entrance hall. Hagrid was doing his best to tug the tree into the Great Hall but wasn't getting much success.
"Hi, Hagrid. Want any help?" Ron offered. I wasn't sure what he thought he could do to help. The fir was almost massive; I wondered if the tree had come from the Forbidden Forest since I hadn't seen any so large anywhere else on the grounds.
"Nah, I'm alright. Thanks, Ron," Hagrid replied, his voice a little breathy from exertion. I tensed slightly at a familiar scoff behind us.
"Would you mind moving out of the way?" Draco drawled in exasperation. "Are you trying to earn some extra money, Weasley? Hoping to be gameskeeper yourself when you leave Hogwarts, I suppose. That hut of Hagrid's must seem like a palace compared to-"
United front.
"Oh, Draco, don't even bother with them," I said, rolling my eyes as I walked over to him, linking arms. "There are some cases even we can't help, sad though they are. Best to leave Weasley to his own sad little life."
Draco looked pleased and didn't do much more than nod. He failed to see the strained smile I sent to the trio of Gryffindors. As we passed Snape on our way out, I was glad Ron hadn't had an opportunity to do anything. His hot head was going to get him in real trouble if he wasn't careful.
I separated myself from Draco in the small crowd of Slytherins milling about our common room and darted back upstairs. Hermione had mentioned going to the library earlier and I wasn't going to miss an opportunity to talk to my friends.
By the time I'd gotten to the library, the three were already at the door, preparing to leave for lunch.
"Very safe, seeing as they're both dentists," Hermione was saying. When she caught sight of me, her eyes brightened as if she'd had a brilliant idea. Then, as I got closer, she lightly smacked her own forehead in exasperation. "Of course!"
"Easy there, Granger. No need for head trauma," I teased lightly. "What's going on?"
"You know a lot about the wizarding world, right, Cor?" I was immediately on my guard. We didn't often talk about the outside world for good reason. She was a muggleborn, I was next in line to a generous fortune. Our friendship's days could be numbered and that was a fact neither of us liked to admit.
"I have to," I acknowledged. "Dad made sure all of us- Bass, Damien, and I- knew how to handle ourselves."
"So is the name Nicolas Flamel familiar?" Hermione asked excitedly. I raised an eyebrow, wondering how she'd stumbled upon that name.
"Of course it is. Any potions student worth their salt knows that name. Flamel and his wife revolutionized potioneering and alchemy. Without them, we wouldn't know half of what we do about potions."
"So he was a potions master?" Harry frowned.
"That doesn't help us," Ron grumbled. "And I thought we would keep this to ourselves, Hermione?"
"I trust Corinne," Hermione said sternly. "She won't tell her housemates... But it's not safe for us to talk about it here."
"Abandoned classroom?" I asked, gesturing down the hall. At a nod from the muggleborn, I led the trio down the hall, stopping at a partially open door. Knocking quietly, I opened the door to discover that the room, as I suspected, was abandoned. I ushered the three inside before closing the door behind me. "So what's this about?"
"Do you remember what I told you about the Cerberus?" Hermione asked, ignoring Ron's grumbled protests. Uneasy friendship or not, Ron clearly didn't trust me as far as he could throw me.
"Of course I do."
"Well, we went to talk to Hagrid about it and he said that what Fluffy- the Cerberus- was guarding was between Dumbledore and Nicolas Flamel," Hermione summarized quickly. I frowned.
"The only... Wait. Dumbledore and Flamel? Then it's got to be- No way they're keeping it here," I muttered to myself, eyes drifting away as my thoughts raced ahead of me. "They couldn't have- Flamel and his wife need to keep it close to them or else-"
"What are you going on about?" Ron asked impatiently and I honed in on him, eyes not leaving his face until he shifted uncomfortably.
"I'm going on about the Philosopher's Stone, Weasley. Flamel revolutionized alchemy and potioneering through his creation of the world's first true Philosopher's Stone. Imagine a little rock, probably about the size of your fist, with the power to turn any metal to gold and create an elixir so strong it can heal any wound and prolong life indefinitely."
"Long life," Hermione was muttering before she stared up at me in realization. "That's why we couldn't find him! We've been looking at recent discoveries."
"That wouldn't get you anywhere. Flamel and his wife have been around for centuries," I said, shaking my head before freezing. "How come you three are going so deep into this? If the Stone is here at the school, then Dumbledore is keeping it under lock and key. That Cerberus won't be the only thing keeping it safe, especially since they're all bark and no bite with the proper handling. There'll be traps and failsafes no one but Dumbledore would be able to get through."
"What about a professor, though?" Harry said. Or, as I studied him, let slip.
"You think a professor's trying to steal it? Who?"
"It's gotta be Snape," Ron said under his breath. I shook my head at him.
"You might not like him, but he's not a bad guy... There's got to be something else involved, a facet to the story we can't see yet."
Neither Ron nor Harry looked convinced.
