As the winter break drew close, Eric discretely moved a number of items from his room and shop down to the Chamber of Secrets. Being a chamber that was off of the school plans, it would hopefully prove to be the last place that Dolores would look for a secret lair. It had been discovered and dismantled two years ago; hopefully that was time enough for the ministry to forget.

Eric took no chances, though. He sealed off the traditional entrance to the chamber. If Professor Umbridge sought to use it, she would find that it wouldn't open. All spells cast upon it would indicate that access had been sealed off; which was true, for Eric took brick and mortar to the back side of the entrance, filling it in with cement and using a triomaigh spell to dry it. To all appearances, the entrance was physically sealed years ago.

When the other students left for the season, he found himself at the school alone. Hagrid was still very much involved with the giant in the forest. Willy was involved with the winter cleaning crew, polishing and cleaning everything while the students are away. The Christmas decorations reflected the flickering candlelight; appearing surreal in the relative emptiness of the great hall. Eric especially liked to sneak back to the hall late at night to take in the sight in the darkened room. The beauty and quiet offered him a few moments of delightful tranquility.

Eric had dispatched a letter to Adeline Hawkin a week before. The broom was ready for final fitting, since if it was going to be a real custom job it would have to be fit to her. He arranged to meet her outside of Hogsmeade, since he didn't want anyone to see him working as a broomsmith. Dolores Umbridge was far too clever to be fooled, and she was the first to accuse him after the World Cup incident.

Seeing Adeline's face after trying out the broom, however, made it worthwhile. Based on the first set of measurements, it almost fit perfectly. He only had to adjust the pillowing spell slightly ( she liked a firmer seat ). "It's perfect!" She gave Eric a quick hug. "I can't thank you enough – I'll be a star for sure this year."

She could quickly see that she made Eric uneasy. "Hey, don't be like that. Most teams ride custom brooms. I simply found one that would make one that I could afford. It's still skill against skill, in the end."

Eric nodded, not sure that he accepted her story. However, it was a good fee that would keep him out of debt to the Peals for the rest of his stay at Hogwarts. He could hardly refuse the opportunity.

As the winter break progressed and the staff milled about, Eric decided to help out a bit. Realistically, he had nothing better to do. This changed one day while he unloaded supplies that were sledded in from Hogsmeade, and he was noticed by the driver. "Excuse me; you're Eric Sable, aren't you?"

He turned to the driver uncertainly. "Um, do I know you?" The driver did look familiar, but he couldn't place the face.

The driver smiled. "Robert Banges, of Dervish & Banges; Hogsmeade's quality magic supply store."

Then Eric remembered. "Oh, yes. I commandeered a broom from your shop. Sorry."

Robert smiled. "Not at all. That was quite a rescue, if I understand the tale correctly." He hopped off the sled. "Actually, you have a bit of a reputation around town as a very capable student. I wonder if you'd be willing to do a job for us."

Eric was feeling uneasy about this. "What kind of job, exactly?"

He leaned against the sled, looking to see if anyone was watching. "Well, Hogsmeade has been plagued with a series of problems recently. Everything points to some kind of magical creature causing trouble, but no one can find it. Now; you've assisted both the Magical Creatures instructors the school's had, and have been a resident for your whole life, right? We figure whatever it is probably isn't too much, so you should be able to handle it. What do you say?"

Eric thought for a moment. "Why wouldn't you ask one of the instructors, or the school headmaster?"

"Honestly, the new deputy headmaster has the town in a bit of a fuss. We'd rather not have anything official to do with Hogwarts at the moment; aside from the usual, that is."

Eric could understand that. "I'll come with you when you leave. If anyone asks, I'm helping with the supplies."

Robert grinned widely. "Thank you so much!"

Before leaving, Eric called his owls. He hadn't been doing so much with them lately, and they needed the exercise. Midget was the first to arrive, though Widget followed almost immediately after. They both settled into his cloak without a fuss. Eric was extremely pleased, as they would be indispensable in tracking down a magical beast.

Truth be told, Eric was looking forward to seeing Hogsmeade decorated for Christmas. He wasn't disappointed. Lights, garland and tinsel was everywhere. Everyone was trying a bit harder to be pleasant to others, even the goblins. All the shops were decorated in red and green with candles burning in every color imaginable. It was impossible to look onto this scene without feeling festive.

However, Eric wasn't there for the festival. He followed Robert into his shop, setting himself by a crate. "Now, what kind of problems are you having?"

"Well, they're not serious – rather petty, in fact. That's why we don't think it's the work of wizards or goblins. They'd do worse." He drew a simple map. "First it was Madam Puddifoot's, then Scrivenshaft's, then Gladrags, then Zonko's."

Eric nodded. "It'll be after Honeydukes next. It's working it's way from building to building." He gathered his owls and a spool of binding yarn. "This should be quick."

As he went over to the sweet shop, a chill struck his spine. There was a chance – a small but very real chance – that he was responsible for the town's problem. In a way he hoped it was true, for that meant that the problem was indeed small.

Entering the sweet shop, he immediately walked to the counter. "Sir, can we clear the shop for a minute?"

The storekeeper was confused. "Excuse me?"

Eric bent forward and whispered. "Sir, I think you have a pest. I'm here to get rid of it." He straightened back up. "Should take no more than three minutes."

The shopkeeper quickly ushered his customers out the door, then locked it so that he could watch Eric as he released his owls. The two darted quickly about the shop before focusing in on one particular corner. Stepping towards it, he found himself facing a familiar figure who was nervously sucking on a candy cane.

Eric couldn't help but be relieved. "Hi Blue."

The Cornish Pixie looked up, then smiled, waving his prize.

Eric shook his head. "You can't stay here. You need to stay in the forest."

The pixie stuck his tongue out as he made a bitter face.

"Boring, huh?"

It looked up and nodded.

Eric sighed. "Ok, I'll find you a place in the school, but you have to behave – or at least keep your mischief to a minimum. We've got a deputy headmaster, and she's a real monster."

The pixie nodded in agreement.

Eric drew out the yarn. "Ok, now I'm going to wrap you up with this."

The pixie shook his head violently.

"It's the only way to get you out of here. If I don't, a dozen shopkeepers will try to bash you to bits."

The pixie resigned itself to be wrapped securely. Eric took the bundle to show to the shopkeeper. "Somebody must have lost track of this one. I'll see about getting him home." He returned to the school with the pixie in his pocket, before releasing it in the dungeons. "Now, stay out of trouble, and I'll see what we can do about keeping you entertained." As the pixie smiled and flew off, Eric couldn't help but grow more anxious about the possibilities.

Eric remembered a poem he had heard. It was a Muggle rhyme that began, "Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house...". Even with magic, though, he couldn't bring himself to believe in a fat saint flying around in a sleigh pulled by eight diminutive deer. There were, after all, so many more direct methods to accomplish the task.

The rhyme, though, was accurate in describing the stillness that fell on everything on Christmas Eve. This was why it was the perfect time for him to descend into the Chamber of Secrets. A quick scrying found the Deputy Headmistress pouring over student records, but most everyone else was tucked in and asleep. Eric decided on the 3rd floor to dungeon access in order to reach the school's foundation. It was the long way, but the best for avoiding detection.

Within the ancient dungeon lay the class areas that Eric and his friends made of the trap rooms which held the Philosopher's Stone and Salazar Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets. Over the last couple of months Eric had moved most of his property, especially the most incriminating items, down to the Chamber for storage. As he looked about it now, a thought struck him. This was the Chamber of Secrets; how could it be called that if all it held was the basilisk?

It took three hours of diligent searching, but at length he found what he was looking for. The first side room he found was an extensive library on topics that would largely be considered restricted, if not banned outright. There were tomes on mind control, invisibility, and a variety of subjects steeped in dark magic. The second held a variety of strange components. While most of them were rotten or spoiled, the indicators of what the bottles once held were clear enough.

The last room was right where he expected it – with entrances at either side of the great statue. Taking great care to avoid any traps, Eric examined the laboratory of Salazar Slytherin with intense interest. Before him was every last instrument of magical study that he could ever hope for. At the far side of the room was a cage; at the bottom rested the fossilized remains of an egg and the scattered bones of a large toad. This was where the curse of Salazar Slytherin, and who knows how many other diabolical plots, was literally hatched.

As Eric looked about, he heard a small buzzing. Over his shoulder hung Blue, looking at all the gleaming instruments with glee. "Christmas came early for us, buddy! Careful for the traps." Eric quickly made his way out of the room while the pixie dashed about. The damage that he was going to cause was unfortunate, but there was little that could hurt him. Within a few days the room would be safe to enter.