Chapter 26

"There's a perfectly rational explanation," Hermione said. "McGonagall took Harry to Diagon Alley, remember? She must have seen it there."

Milo laughed.

"Of course there's a rational explanation, if you look closely enough. Still bears thinking about. Which is why we need to worry about this Philosopher's Stone. It just keeps popping up."

"When I was in Diagon Alley," Harry said excitedly. "Hagrid took us to a mysterious vault in Gringott's — and all that was in it was a tiny package! I bet it was the Stone!"

"Oh, come on," Hermione said. "That's just ridiculous — if it were the Stone, Dumbledore would have gone himself, surely. He's the only one Voldemort was ever scared of."

"But Gringott's was broken into that same day, but they didn't find what they were looking for!" Harry continued. "Remember, it was all over the news? They didn't find it — because Hagrid took it to Hogwarts!"

"Or, maybe they just couldn't find it — or they were after something else — or Gringott's vault security, famed in the world, it employs dragons after all, was too good for them," said Hermione with growing frustration.

"Wait, wait, wait — is Gringott's some sort of bank?" Milo asked.

All three of them gave him the usual look.

"If the security is so good, why is it overrun with goblins?" Milo asked.

"The goblins are the security, duffer," Ron said. "They run the bank. It's their bank. A goblin bank."

Milo couldn't take it anymore.

"This world is insane!" he shouted. "GOBLINS running a bank? Dragonhide gloves? TWELVE uses of dragon's blood? What are they, raised in farms? Elves — cooking, as servants? Wands? There's only one person in the entire country who makes your wands and he's just allowed to wander about! What if he trips and dies, or some evil git — what the Hells is a git, anyways — comes by and knifes him? What will you all do then? Also, broomsticks? If you're all wizards, why don't you just cast Fly? By Bigby, why don't you just cast Fly? You have infinite spells per day and you let goblins guard your gold! With dragons! More dragons! You have centaurs living in your forest — Centaurs. The only possible reason having four legs with hooves would be an advantage is if you were in the open plains! It's like... it's like someone who had only vaguely heard of real magic got all the words right but their meanings completely wrong!"

"You about done, mate?" Ron asked. "'Cause our magic is just as real. You see us using it every day, it's just a bit different from what you're used to."

"Yeah, I'm done. So. Your resident Dark Wizard is trying to get the Philosopher's Stone. The Stone is in Hogwarts. Dumbledore is guarding the stone, apparently, but just being in Hogwarts isn't guarding — guarding is guarding. He'd have to be sitting next to the thing, all day, every day, for it to be really safe. Seeing as how the other professors, perhaps with the exception of McGonagall, are either completely useless, dead, or downright evil, that leaves us."

"Leaves us for what?" Ron asked.

"When Voldemort — oh, shut up, Ron, it's just a name — makes his move, we have to stop him," Harry said quietly. "He killed my parents. He killed a lot of people's parents. We need a plan, though."

"I'd just like everyone to realize you have nothing remotely concrete," Hermione said. "The world doesn't work that way. You-Know-Who is dead. Flamel has the Philosopher's Stone. Professor Snape is stern and sometimes maybe a little unfair, but he's not evil. Until you can prove even one of those statements is wrong, you can do this without me. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have Transfiguration homework — as do you, in point of fact." With that, she stood up and strode out of the room.

"You know, she has a point," Ron said. "What we've got is a bit thin. Mind, Snape's evilness is pretty self-evident."

"Right, well, I think someone tried to kill me the other night," Milo said. "And even if I can't remember it happening, I'll find out how. Tomorrow, when I've got my spells back, I'm going back to the Forbidden Forest. Something's not right."

"The forest with the giant spiders, the werewolves — and I know it's not a full moon — the human-hating centaurs, the... that's actually all that I can remember, but I'm sure it's just the beginning," Ron said.

"Unicorns," Harry said. "What's killing the unicorns? And why?"

"Uh," Milo said. "I don't know, yet." Even Scholar's Touch had limitations — each one allowed him to read one book per level (so, four books, for those keeping score back home) but he could only cast so many per day. He resolved that from here on out, whenever he had extra spells remaining before going to bed, he was going to burn them on Scholar's Touch until he'd learned everything there was to know about this zany campaign setting. Seriously, he thought. This place makes Eberron look as familiar as Faerun. "But I can find out tomorrow — or maybe the day after."

"Right. Once you can prove it was Snape who tried to kill you — and come on, it totally was — then Hermione can help, and she probably already knows loads about unicorns and things we don't even know to look for," Harry said. "Meanwhile, Ron and I are going to try to find out everything we can about the Philosopher's Stone and Nicolas Flamel. He's a seven-hundred year-old wizard, right? I bet he's really famous. "

"Yeah," Ron said. "He was like, the Dumbledore of his day. I heard he's the one who trained Dumbledore — he might well be the most powerful wizard alive, really, if he hadn't retired. That kind of takes you out of the running, retirement".

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