"Okay so, let me get this straight... You three went into a locked room in the third floor, found a three-headed dog, saw that it was standing on a trap door, and now you think that Snape is trying to steal whatever is under the trap door?"

"Yes."

"Exactly."

"That's right."

"You guys are nuts." Katie raised her arms and leaned back in her seat.

"Maybe, but it makes sense. He was limping the other day, right?" Harry said.

"So?" Katie quizzed.

"So, he snook off on Halloween. We think that he let the troll in to cause a diversion, allowing him time to get to the three-headed dog and try to pass it. However, he was bitten, and that's why his leg it hurt." Harry explained, tapping his finger on the table, Ron and Hermione nodding along as he spoke. Katie scrunched her face up as she tried to piece together the puzzle.

"I suppose it makes sense." she reluctantly agreed and Harry sighed in relief.

"When we asked him about the dog and what it was guarding, Hagrid mentioned something about a wizard named Nicholas Flamel," Harry continued, "We've been searching the library for anything on Nicholas Flamel, but we've found nothing."

"Why didn't you guys tell me this before?" Katie asked, sounding a little hurt. Harry, Ron and Hermione glanced between each other with guilty expressions on their faces.

"We didn't want to drag you into it only for you to you to get in trouble." Hermione reasoned. Katie rolled her eyes at the dumb excuse. She stood up, her chair squeaking as she done so.

"Look, I have to go pack for the holidays. I'm going home tomorrow for Christmas. You have fun searching for you Nicholas Flamel, or whatever." she said with a hint of venom in her voice before dashing out of the library.

***

Katie hopped off the Hogwarts Express, the crisp December air wrapping around her and engulfing her in a blanket of cold. She shivered as her nose, ears and hands turned pink. Looking around, Katie spotted her parents and her little brother Leo standing a few feet further up the platform. She noticed Leo raise his gaze, before his eyes lit up and he begun pulling on his mother's long, grey coat, squealing with delight.

He ran to Katie and jumped into her arms, the pair letting out giggles of glee as the girl spun her little brother around before placing him back on his feet. She knelt down to his level.

"I've missed you so much." Leo smiled with tears in his eyes.

"I've missed you too." Katie smiled back. Suddenly, Katie felt a light slap on the back of her head and she let out a gasp of shock. Looking up, she saw Chris smirking down at her. He patted Leo on the head.

"Twat." Katie muttered jokingly to Chris.

"All right, Leo?" Chris ignored her.

"Chris!"

As Chris and Leo we're having their reunion, Katie rushed over to her parents and they melted into a group hug.

"Hello, honey. How is Hogwarts?" Mrs Blair asked merrily. Katie thought back to her friends' accusations about Snape trying to steal whatever lay underneath the trapdoor, and how they completely left her out of the whole situation. She unintentionally let out a deep sigh.

"It's good." she faked a smile, but her mother had heard her sigh.

"Katerina, what's the matter?" she quizzed softly, placing a tender hand on her daughter's shoulder. Katie had just opened her mouth to speak when her older brother cut across her.

"Mum, you won't believe what happened the other day!" Chris yelled in excitement, and suddenly, Mrs Blair was completely distracted from the original topic at hand. Katie sighed once more.

***

Katie awoke on Christmas day to the sound of her brother Leo's joyful shout from the next room.

"It's Christmas! It's Christmas!" he announced. Katie rolled over onto her back as a smile split across her face.

"It's Christmas," she giggled to herself.

As soon as Katie climbed out of bed, she was struck with the cold of her vacant room. Quickly, she wrapped a red robe around herself and slid her feet into a pair of matching slippers. She didn't bother to brush out her hair or tidy herself up before stepping out into the hallway. She just caught a glimpse of Leo dashing into her parents' room. He was screaming with glee, making Katie and Chris, who had exited his bedroom only seconds after Katie, laugh loudly. Chris gave his sister a hug before the entire family went downstairs to open presents together.

Christmas for the Blairs consisted of laughter, burnt Turkey, singing carols by the fire and playing chess. From the outside, it may not have seemed like a very special day, but Chris had first gone off to Hogwarts about three years previous, so Christmas was really the only day that the entire family were together for hours of fun and relaxation.

By nine o'clock that night, Leo had fallen asleep on the couch by the fire, Chris was reading a book about Quidditch and Mr and Mrs Blair were having their own cheery conversation. Katie excused herself and made her way upstairs to her bedroom. Upon opening the door, she saw a package wrapped in brown paper and tied with a gold ribbon sat on her bed. There was a small note attached to it.

Raising an eyebrow, Katie stepped towards her bed and picked up the package. She decided to read the note first. It read:

Dear Katie,

I can't sleep knowing that you are angry with me. I wanted apologise before you left, but you were already gone when I went to find you. I hope you can forgive me, and Ron, and Hermione. When you get back I will fill you in on all the details and what we are planning on doing next.

Merry Christmas,

Harry.

Katie smiled as she read the note. She folded it up and placed it inside the top drawer of her locker before carefully unwrapping the present. Inside the brown paper there was a box of Bertie Botts and a book titled Quidditch Through The Ages. The girl let out a small laugh of glee as she looked down at the present.

Although she had already sent her gifts to Harry, Ron and Hermione a few days previous, Katie quickly pulled out a quill and notebook and scribbled something down on a piece of paper. She placed the note in a small envelope. Stepping towards her bedroom window, Katie swung it open. The cold winter wind hit her with a gust right in her face and she gasped at the sudden chill that ran through her body. However, the witch quickly regained herself and called out fot the family owl.

Mere seconds later, a tawny owl fluttered down and perched itself on Katie's windowsill. The young girl tied the note to the owls leg, stroked it once on the head, and sent it off. Katie leaned on her palm and gazed out into the night. She watched her owl soar through the air, before he became a mere speck in the shadow of the falling snow.