Harry Potter and the Cataclysm

The morning sunlight shone on Carnie's face as he opened his eyes and took a deep breath. Today was going to be another energetic day.

Xiao Hei emerged from its meditative state, slithering onto Carnie's wrist and coiling itself there.

During breakfast, Carnie tried offering Xiao Hei some vegetarian food from the table, but it showed no interest in eating. He was starting to worry it might starve, or maybe it was some kind of celestial snake that didn't need food from this world.

In Snape's morning Potions class, Ron and Harry kept their eyes locked on Snape, trying to pick up on any suspicious behavior. As always, Snape's sharp tongue spared no one, including Carnie. Only Hermione remained untouched by his usual sarcasm.

After lunch, Carnie, Harry, and Ron made their way to Hagrid's hut. Xiao Hei still hadn't eaten, and thinking back, it had never had a single meal since it hatched. The once lively little snake now seemed sluggish and weak.

"Hagrid, good afternoon!"

"Hey there, afternoon, Harry! And you too, Carnie, Ron." Hagrid was outside testing his massive bow.

"Hagrid, could you take a look at my pet? It won't eat…" Carnie, clearly worried, handed Xiao Hei over to him.

"Oh? The egg hatched already?" Hagrid carefully took Xiao Hei, lifting it to eye level and examining it closely. "She's a beauty. Smooth, cool scales… but she looks starving!"

"Yeah, since last night, she hasn't eaten anything. I've tried feeding her, but she refuses." Carnie frowned.

"Obsidian snake. Eats mice and insects. What did you try feeding her?" Hagrid asked.

"Pork, bread, chicken, even candy…"

"Didn't take pork?" Hagrid rubbed his chin.

"Maybe it drinks milk!" Harry suggested.

"Nope, snakes don't drink milk. You lot go inside and wait, I'll sort something out." Hagrid handed Xiao Hei back to Carnie, waved them toward his hut, and walked off.

The group had long since gotten used to hanging out at Hagrid's place. Fang wasn't around—probably out running around somewhere. Most magical creatures around Hogwarts were afraid of Fang, probably because of Hagrid.

They sat down inside, made themselves some porridge with hot water, but no one dared to touch the rock-hard biscuits on the table.

"Did I keep you waiting?" Hagrid walked in, carrying a plate filled with small chunks of meat.

Water droplets clung to the meat, as if it had been freshly washed.

"Try this," Hagrid said, setting the plate down and gesturing at Carnie.

Carnie placed Xiao Hei onto the table. He wasn't sure if snakes even had a sense of smell, but Xiao Hei instantly perked up like a hungry wolf. Its head lifted slightly, flicking its tongue before locking onto the plate of meat.

With surprising agility, it slithered over and dove straight into its meal.

"What kind of meat is this?" Carnie asked, watching Xiao Hei devour the food.

"Chicken," Hagrid said with a proud grin. "Fresh chicken." He emphasized the first word.

"Fresh?" Carnie thought for a moment. The pork he had tried feeding Xiao Hei earlier had been left out overnight, assuming the snake would hatch sooner.

"Yup. Looks like your pet's a picky eater. What's her name?" Hagrid asked.

"Xiao Hei."

"Good name."

"How do you know she's a female?" Carnie was curious.

"That's easy. Males have short, thick tails. Females have long, thin ones." Hagrid was an expert in magical creatures—he wouldn't be Hogwarts' future Care of Magical Creatures professor for nothing.

"Alright, Harry. What's on your mind?" Hagrid finally turned to Harry, noticing his serious expression. Normally, Harry was quite talkative whenever he came over.

"Someone tried to steal the thing Fluffy is guarding. I saw Snape sneaking into that room last night," Harry said.

"That thing again? Snape stealing? Don't be ridiculous. He's a professor, he wouldn't do that." Hagrid waved it off.

"Exactly because he's a professor, he has access! He even threatened Professor Quirrell when he found out!" Harry argued.

"Quirrell? Nah, you've got it wrong. Snape helped set up the protections for that thing. There's no way he'd try to steal it." Hagrid dismissed the idea outright.

"Then can you at least tell us what it is?" Ron pressed.

"You kids aren't supposed to know about that. It's something Dumbledore is keeping safe for Nicolas Flamel." Hagrid responded, visibly irritated.

"Nicolas?"

"Flamel?"

Harry and Ron exchanged glances, clearly recognizing the name. Hagrid realized he had let something slip.

"Oh, blast it! I shouldn't have said that. You've heard enough already." He smacked his forehead, clearly regretting his words. Before they could push him further, he hurriedly shoved them out the door. He had made a promise to Dumbledore, and he wasn't about to break it.

Carnie followed them out, making sure to grab the plate before leaving—Xiao Hei hadn't finished eating yet.

"We've got a name. That's all we need! We can look him up ourselves." Harry grabbed Ron and Carnie, leading the charge back to the library.

Carnie already knew everything, and he had even pre-claimed the Philosopher's Stone for himself. But he wasn't about to spoil the fun. Seeing them this excited about research was rare, and it was a good opportunity for them to get used to studying.

Plus, there was no telling what kind of schemes Dumbledore might be planning. Things could diverge from the original timeline.

Carnie randomly picked a few books to flip through. Before long, someone sat down beside him.

"Hermione?" He had expected Ron or Harry, but when he looked up, it was Hermione. Not surprising—besides class and the dorms, the library was practically her second home.

"You didn't see me?" Hermione kept her eyes on her book, flipping a page without looking up.

"I rushed in too fast to notice." Carnie had been caught up in the moment, following Harry and Ron in a hurry. There hadn't been time to look around.

"We've got a lead on what Fluffy is guarding. Someone named Nicolas Flamel."

"Nicolas Flamel? I think I've read about him somewhere…" Hermione muttered, flipping through the books she had brought.

Harry and Ron arrived, each carrying a stack of books. The four of them fell silent, completely focused on searching for the name. Only Carnie remained somewhat relaxed, flipping through a book titled Fantastic Beasts out of interest.

They searched all afternoon but found nothing. Eventually, they checked out a few books to continue reading back in the dorm.

Carnie found their enthusiasm amusing. It wasn't often they were this invested in research.

Since he didn't want to fall behind either, he borrowed a higher-year textbook, Intermediate Spells, and started studying Ice-Freezing Charms and Fire-Making Charms. Those were his current priorities.

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