Chapter 139: "The Philosopher Stone"

While the Golden trio continued to face tough days at Hogwarts, things got a bit better when the Weasley twins decided to step in. They began pranking those who were too harsh on the trio, adding some justice to the school atmosphere. Harry was ready to step in himself if necessary. Despite his differences with Charles, he strongly disliked bullying and would not tolerate it at the school.

As the days quickly passed and final exams approached, Harry's thoughts wandered to the third-floor corridor. Hidden there was the Philosopher's Stone, placed behind obstacles as bait for Quirrelmort.

Harry knew Quirrelmort had already discovered how to get past Fluffy, the giant three-headed dog guarding the Stone, having bartered a dragon egg with Hagrid for the information. With the knowledge that Quirrelmort was biding his time, just waiting for Dumbledore to leave Hogwarts before acting, Harry felt a growing urgency. He couldn't afford to sit back and risk Quirrelmort seizing the Stone prematurely. The possibility of Quirrelmort obtaining the Stone and disappearing while leaving him empty-handed was unacceptable.

On a carefully chosen night, after thorough preparation, Harry ventured toward the third-floor corridor. The castle was unusually quiet, with only the distant echoes of the night's stillness filling the hallways.

Approaching the corridor was a bold move, given the dangers of entering an area so heavily guarded by Dumbledore's strong wards and surveillance. Yet, as Harry grew stronger, his confidence in his abilities increased, reducing his fears of being caught during such adventures.

No longer intimidated by the prospect of authority's reprimand, Harry felt almost immune to potential consequences. Harry had a simple plan in case he encountered Dumbledore or any other professor: he would claim his curiosity got the better of him. He wanted to see for himself what was so fiercely protected on the forbidden third floor. He would make the Professors believe that the intrusion was a harmless way to have some fun during the demanding school days. 

With the Marauder's Map in hand, Harry stealthily navigated Hogwarts' corridors late at night. He kept a vigilant eye on the positions of Dumbledore, Snape, and Quirrell, ensuring none were near as he approached his target. When he reached the third-floor corridor, he skillfully bypassed the minor wards on the door, ensuring he left no evidence of his passage.

The massive form of Fluffy, the three-headed dog, loomed in the shadows inside the cramped room. Despite its intimidating size, Fluffy wasn't as fearsome as Harry had expected. It resembled more a large, albeit extraordinary, dog than the mythical Cerberus he had imagined.

Upon entering the room, Fluffy gazed at Harry with an almost expectant look, as if hoping for some affection or treats. Under different circumstances, Harry might have spent time playing with the creature, but tonight was not for leisure. He quickly conjured an enchanted harp that filled the room with soothing melodies. Soon enough, all three of Fluffy's heads nodded off into a deep slumber. Harry gently patted each head as he moved towards the trapdoor, opened it, and descended into the unknown.

Below, Harry faced a series of challenges set by the professors to protect the Philosopher's Stone. These obstacles were familiar to him, almost textbook, as they had not been made more difficult than described in the canon.

His first task was the Devil's Snare. Harry illuminated the area with a bright burst from his wand, casting 'Lumos Solem'. The light caused the plant to recoil and shrink away, allowing him to pass without harming it. Next was the room with the flying keys, where a simple 'Accio' summoned the special old key to him, which unlocked the door to the next obstacle.

Stealth was Harry's ally as he approached the giant chessboard and the lurking troll. With a series of stealth charms and his trusty invisibility cloak, he moved undetected, ensuring neither chess pieces nor the troll had a reason to stir.

The final challenge, Snape's riddle, required careful handling to avoid leaving any evidence of tampering. Harry opted not to solve the riddle directly; instead, he used his charms to bypass the potion challenge, maintaining his cover.

Throughout his journey, Harry remained meticulous, careful not to trigger any wards or leave signs of his intrusion. Each step was calculated, with Harry ensuring that no trace of his passage remained, maintaining the secrecy of his mission.

After navigating the not-so-challenging five-minute obstacle course, Harry arrived at the large room where the familiar Mirror of Erised stood in the center. Standing before it, Harry hoped to see if, like in the books, the Philosopher's Stone would magically appear in his pocket. Unfortunately, he wasn't that lucky. The reflection in the mirror was just as he had seen before and no stone appeared.

Harry speculated that perhaps because he was not like the canon Harry—who purely wanted the stone without the desire to use it—the mirror's enchantment did not reveal the stone to him. He realized he would need to find another way to bypass the mirror's tricky enchantment.

Upon closer examination of the enchantment, Harry discovered that the stone wasn't actually inside the mirror. Instead, it was hidden elsewhere in the room, revealed only under specific conditions. The mirror was designed to detect if someone wanted the stone but did not intend to use it for themselves. If the conditions were met, the stone would then magically appear in the seeker's pocket. This was just another of Dumbledore's dumb games.

Harry decided not to play Dumbledore's game, so he began searching for the stone's hiding place within the room. After a few minutes of careful examination, he discovered a cleverly hidden compartment in one of the walls, secured by powerful protective wards. Harry meticulously studied these wards, made notes, and started to dismantle them carefully to avoid triggering any alarms. Once he disabled the wards, the compartment opened, revealing a red-colored stone inside.

Harry put on dragon-hide gloves to safely handle the stone. It looked genuine and emitted a strong aura, suggesting it was a powerful artifact.

However, when Harry tested it right there, he found that it wasn't the real Philosopher's Stone. It wasn't a complete fake either; it seemed to be a failed replication of the legendary stone. It was a smart move by the Flamels to give Dumbledore a fake, or maybe it was one of Dumbledore's own failed experiments to make a stone to live longer. Who knew?

Even though it wasn't real and probably couldn't help make the Elixir of Life, Harry thought it could still be useful to figure out how the real stone was made. So, he wasn't too disappointed. He hadn't expected much anyway, since he didn't think the Flamels were scared of Voldemort and would give this important artifact of their life to Dumbledore to guard.

After creating a duplicate of the stone using a Gemino spell, Harry carefully placed the replica back in the hidden compartment within the wall. He then set about restoring the complex wards to their original state, ensuring everything was as he had found it.

With the warding done and the imitation stone in place, Harry started his journey back through the obstacle course. He kept checking the Marauder's Map to make sure that no one had noticed what he was doing. He wanted to be certain that his secret mission had been a success.

As he made his way back, Harry carefully checked the stone for any tracking spells or wards but found none. Despite this, Harry decided not to take any risks regarding Dumbledore or the Flamels possibly having some unknown method of tracking the stone. So, he planned to store the stone in the Room of Hidden Things at Hogwarts for the time being.

Harry made sure to erase any signs of his presence and put everything back to its original state as he left the third floor. His path led him to the Room of Hidden Things, where he intended to securely hide the stone. The in-depth study of the stone would have to wait until he had sufficient knowledge in alchemy to handle the potentially volatile artifact without causing damage.

That night, as Harry lay in his bed, a grin spread across his face. He thought about how Dumbledore would react when he discovered the switch at the end of the year. Imagining the bafflement and surprise that would follow brought him a rare moment of amusement amid the tension of his secret activities.

As the days went by without any sign that Dumbledore or Quirrelmort had noticed the swap, Harry felt a quiet pride in his success. He had managed to exchange the stone, and no one was the wiser.

Now, his thoughts turned towards preparing for an inevitable encounter with Quirrelmort. Harry knew of an upcoming opportunity when he would almost certainly cross paths with him in the Forbidden Forest. This was scheduled during the detention that Charles and his friends would serve with Filch in the forest.

The date of the detention was drawing near, and Harry felt a surge of anticipation for what was to come.