A/N: Hello everybody! It's been a while, but I'm not apologizing. I had very important reasons.

All right, I'm sorry I haven't written anything for some time.

I have a slight problem. If you look back at the A/N for my last chapter, I mention two ideas that I plan on working on, and I specifically mention writing them down so I don't forget.
The problem is, I didn't write them down. And now I've forgotten one of them. It's like , the most splendiferous idea ever, and it's hovering just out of reach. Sigh.

Today we have my Christmas Special (in May. If Iron Man 3 can do it so can I.) Quite short, not much in terms of plot, but a fair bit of character development for our favorite Detective-not-dunce. If I was a Twitter person, you can guarantee that #DetectiveNotDunce would be trending right now.

Italics are from Goyle's Journal, Bold Italics are written by Crabbe.

Christmas was coming. Crabbe had been looking forward to it for a very long time. Not the Holiday itself, he actually had a great deal to say on that matter, and not much of it was positive. No, what he looked forward to was the silence of a nearly empty Castle.

Everyone was expecting him to go home for Christmas, so he devised a plan to get out of it.

He realised it wouldn't work.

He then devised another plan to make everyone believe he had left.

He realised it really wouldn't work.

And so he resigned himself to 2 weeks away from the Castle he was so desperate to explore properly.

There really isn't much to tell here. Christmas with family was great, and for the first time in months I was able to clear my head.

It got a bit boring by the end. And if I was pining for Hogwarts, I could only imagine how bored Crabbe was.

The common room was deserted. Crabbe pulled out a piece of parchment and quill and began to jot down everything he had learned so far. He did not believe he would have trouble remembering it, but it was important to have everything organized.

Philosopher's/Sorcerer's Stone - Created by Nicolas Flamel in 13xx (FIND EXACT DATE & CIRCUMSTANCE)
Significance - Elixir of life, manufacture of gold. Possible inspiration for Hallows (RESEARCH).

It hadn't been easy getting back to Hoqwarts for the holidays. He had to lie to his parents about not leaving, he had to lie to Snape about leaving, he had to order his House Elf to lie to anyone who wanted to see him and withhold the information from his parents.

Stored in Gringotts from ? to 31st July 1991. Extracted by Dumbledore (or assistant) after suggesting it to Flamel. On the same day, the Vault is broken into (by V?). Moved to Hogwarts as bait (for V?).
Protections - possibly provided by Dumbledore and inner circle.
Dumbledore - Wards? Enchantments?
McGonagall - ?
Flitwick - ?
Sprout - Most probably dangerous plant(s). (Venomous tentacula? Devil's Snare? Mandrakes?)
Snape - Potions? (How?)
Quirrell - ?

It hadn't been easy to double back to the train Disillusioned after saying farewell, but before it departed, and it hadn't been easy to sneak on board and stay hidden. When it reached Hogsmeade, he had to walk the rest of the way to Hogwarts in the cold and snow. Was it worth it?

Suspects:
- V?
- V's inside man/main suspect could be
- Quirrell (82%)
- Snape (9%)
- Student (4%)
- Dumbledore? (1%)
- Other (or none) (4%)

Possible Agendas:
- V trying to get Stone to return, kill HP, using Quirrell (VOLUNTARILY OR NOT?)
- Dumbledore using Stone and HP as bait to stop V
- Snape (with Dumbledore?) trying to stop Quirrell

The hardest part had been fooling Goyle. Not the procedure itself, that had been simple. Make him believe he had tried and failed to stay, say goodbye at King's Cross, and then ensure he was on the train when Goyle boarded again in two weeks.
No, the difficult part was doing it. Allowing Goyle in on the plan meant he would have to be included, significantly decreasing the success factor. The risks outweighed the benefits, making Goyle a liability. It made sense, and yet the nagging feeling of guilt would not leave him.

Unknowns:
- Potter (w/Weasley and Granger). How much does he know, what is he doing and how powerful is he?
- If V is not involved (20%), who is trying to kill HP?
- Weasley's rat. Something strange.
- Hagrid. Half Giant with mysterious past. (FIND OUT WHY EXPELLED)
- Mirror of Desire

It had always been him and Goyle against the world, and the two of them trusted only each other. But this case was important, and it would be illogical to let thing like guilt getting in the way of finding a thief and possible murderer. Would Goyle feel that way if he knew?

"And that's why he won't know." Crabbe muttered under his breath. He read through the parchment a few time, made a few annotations, memorized it, and threw it into the fire.

He sat back in his armchair and watched as it crumbled into ashes, alone at Christmas.

I'm really sorry. My creative juices are at a minimum right now, and I've been incredibly busy lately. But I had to write, as much for myself as for you guys. TC. (Which means Take Care and/or Take (some time to leave a) Comment.
 TwentyRings