Ch70. Philosopher's stone

The next morning Hadrian and Narcissa ate their breakfast.

"Hear this..." Hadrian told her and took the Daily Prophet into his hands. "Yesterday in the evening hours the house of Headmaster Dumbledore mysteriously burned down. No possession was recovered."

"Or this..."

"Yesterday, a mysterious fire destroyed the Headmaster's office at Hogwarts. The entire room was burned to the ground and it is suspected someone is targeting Dumbledore."

"Or..."

"Yesterday, on the Ministry sanctioned New Year's Ball, Headmaster Dumbledore was attacked by his OWN Phoenix! Does this mean the man we believed to be the greatest light wizard, the second coming of Merlin is actually a Dark Wizard!? This reporter doesn't know. But what this reporter knows is that Headmaster Dumbledore lost his bond with Phoenix. A being that is rumored to only be with light wizards..."

"Well, that one is Skeeter, alright." Narcissa snorted.

"Yup. So, tell me, how did you enjoy the show yesterday?" Hadrian asked in glee.

"Oh, it was certainly entertaining!" Narcissa giddily stated. "At first..."

She started explaining how her evening went.

In short... Dumbledore scheming. Boring. Idiots. Boring. Andromeda. Susan Bones. Interesting. Dumbledore. Phoenix. Fire. Cooking.

"It is such a pity Dumbledore survived too!" Narcissa sighed.

"Well, that's given. He had a bond with Fawkes. The chicken can't kill him. Even hurting him so much was already pushing it." Hadrian sadly noted.

"But... wait." He read the next article. "... the suspected time until Headmaster Dumbledore wakes up from his coma is five days..."

Narcissa watched as Hadrian lit up like a Christmas tree. He stood up in pure happiness.

"Go and fetch Bellatrix!"

Bellatrix was still recuperating in her own room because her malnourishment was quite serious. Unfortunately, while there are nutrition potions, Narcissa explained to Hadrian they are bad in the long run. They limit the body's potential which is a big no-no for a battle witch such as Bellatrix.

Narcissa looked at her half-unfinished cereals and gave her excited husband a deadpan glare which promptly sent his posterior back onto the chair.

"On the second thought, it can wait until you finish eating." Hadrian dryly chuckled.

"Good." Narcissa smirked. "I will have to reward you later." She murmured more to herself, making Hadrian blush.

...

Hadrian and Narcissa were watching an excited Bellatrix with blank faces.

The witch was changing the Room of Requirement faster than they could perceive what exactly it was changed to.

Hadrian glanced at Narcissa and nodded in Bellatrix's direction.

Narcissa shook her head and looked at him, gesturing with her eyes to Bella.

They had a stare off for a few seconds until Hadrian sighed and approached Bellatrix.

"Bella, could you please stop messing with the room?"

Bellatrix spun and started bobbing her head up and down.

"What are we gonna do?" She asked, her entire body itching for some action.

"You are going to wait and be quiet."

Bellatrix winced but with a sad expression nodded. Hadrian sighed to himself in exasperation and patted the downtrodden woman on her head and smiled when she leaned into his touch.

"Just wait for a second, kay?" He softly whispered to her.

She got more enthusiastic and nodded to him in agreement. Hadrian turned towards the door leading out of the Room of Requirements.

Narcissa and Bellatrix watched as he took a deep breath, obviously wished where they should open and opened them only to instantly side-step.

A mirror flew into the room and Hadrian barely managed to catch it with his telekinesis as he quickly closed the door.

"And that ladies," He smugly turned to Bellatrix and Narcissa. "is how you steal without even having to leave your room."

Narcissa rolled her eyes but Bellatrix hopped towards the mirror and started poking it with her wand.

"That's the Mirror of Erised."

Bellatrix blanched at that and quickly turned around. There were various tales of powerful wizards who slowly wasted away after they became addicted to the mirror. Anyone who placed that thing in the school full of children was clearly several wands out of the whole collection.

Narcissa on the other hand curiously peered at it and started beaming. Her Mind Arts expertise instantly recognized what the mirror did and how she could exploit it.

"This will be an immense help in perfecting your Occlumency, Hadrian!"

Hadrian nodded but then grinned.

"But the best part is that no one will be able to find it here. This room is kind of a sub-dimension therefore tracking charms won't work. And now that Dumbles don't have phoenix and is in a coma, I doubt anyone will be informed their precious thing is missing!"

Narcissa snickered. Yes. Hiding the stolen good here is a very good way to hide it. Especially since the mirror had so many tracking charms on it, it was not even funny.

"So, what is the thing you want? You certainly did not steal this mirror for its nice reflection."

"You know me so well!" Hadrian exclaimed. "The uber super bestest part? There is an enchantment that allows one, Harry Potter, to withdraw the thing stored inside!"

Hadrian reached his hand towards his pocket as he stared into the mirror and took out a red gem. Narcissa almost fainted.

"I-is tha-that a Philosopher's Stone!?" She shrieked.

"Yes. Yes, dear. That's exactly what this is!"

It didn't take long until both Bella and Narcissa sported two conjured goblets full of water of life, making the stone unusable for a week. What a broken tool. A week of cooldown to become young again...

Shaky Narcissa slowly put the edge of the goblet to her lips.

"Finally." She whispered and with closed eyes drank it all at once.

The change was almost instantaneous.

Her skin smothered, her bones cracked, and her muscles gained strength. She could feel her organs pulsing with life as she was completely refreshed and full of energy.

"This is great!" She quickly hugged Hadrian.

"I am glad, Cissy." Hadrian softly told her. "I quite like how it made you look twenty."

"Wait! I look even younger!?" She squealed and quickly pulled her own mirror to inspect her face.

Hadrian turned to Bella.

"Your turn." He told the bewildered girl.

Bellatrix also drank it at once and the change was much more visible.

Her gaunt figure filled up. Her sunken pale cheeks gained rosy tint and her eyes brightened. Her dull black hair with some gray strands completely changed. Bellatrix's chest gained a nice increase as her posterior also became much more curvaceous. Her forty years old haunted look of Azkaban resident changed to a young woman of twenty with vibrant curly black hair and shining black eyes. She was... beautiful.

Hadrian could only stare at her.

"Well, sister dearest." Bellatrix quipped to Narcissa, the tip of her wand scratching her temple. "I think it is time to double-team our dear husband." She purred in excitement.

"Oh, yes, dear Bella. You are completely correct!" Narcissa put away her mirror and skipped quickly towards the still bewildered Hadrian.

And with that, poor Hadrian was dragged into the Ravenclaw Chambers by two over-enthusiastic eager women.