The Philosopher's Stone

Today was Valentines Day, a day Harry had only learned to cope with by simply ignoring everything and everyone that even tried to initiate any form of communications with him, whether it be in the form of conversations, mail or 'googly eyes'.

He honestly wouldn't complain if the stupid day was destroyed all together, then perhaps he could avoid situations like the one he was in now. Sitting in a pile in front of him would literally have to be fifty letters, all from various females from the school no doubt.

Archie sat beside him with a broad smile as he too had received his own stack of around twenty valentines, causing Harry to remind himself that even though Archie acted like a moron sometimes...

Most of the time…

Ok, perhaps all the time…

Even given that fact, he was still, from what gossip dictated, one of the 'hottest' guys in school. He did no such thing to dissuade such a rumour or public opinion; in fact, he did everything to encourage it. Harry had almost busted his gut from holding in his laughter a couple of weeks previous when Archie had continuously, and purposefully, dropped his quill in front of some first and second year girls and made a show of bending over while sticking out his posterior as much as possible in a pair of rather tight sweat pants.

It was rather ridiculous, he was thirteen years old, and he seriously doubted that they would appreciate the view of a bony and skinny ass such as Archie's.

He was wrong.

Harry had been dumbstruck when two of the girls, Cho Chang and Marietta Edgecombe had just blushed and giggle squealed. That last part probably wouldn't make much sense if he explained what he heard to a third party, but it is the only way to explain the sound he heard.

It was a combination of a high pitch giggle and a squeal that he was positive only female members of the human species had the ability to replicate.

"Oh mate, check it out, I'm a regular chick magnet!" Archie gushed with excitement as he read through all his letters.

Harry looked at him in amusement as he practically dive bombed into his little pile and read through the letters.

"Enjoying yourself then?" Harry asked the energetic boy.

"Now, now Harry, just because the females are beginning to notice that I am by far a better specimen of the male species, that's no reason to turn all sour – take your loss like a man" he cooed in an annoying tone, completely ignoring Harry's pile of valentines day cards the owls had so graciously dumped on him that was currently dwarfing Archie's own.

Harry grinned before responding, a rather ingenious idea coming to mind "I guess that means Stephanie is no longer off the market – as it were – seeing as you're having a rather fun time with all your new secret admirers…" he enjoyed the look of horror that dawned on Archie's features, it would only get better "which is just as well, she did ask me to Hogsmeade after all, I should probably take her up on that offer…"

"SHE WHAT?!" Archie bellowed in the middle of the great hall, drawing everyone's attention – the boy didn't seem to care though.

Harry sent a smirk over to Stephanie who had snapped her head in their direction with a look of horror on her face – her 'Archie is about to do something incredibly embarrassing to her' senses had been fine tuned over the years they had grown up together, so naturally, they must be currently 'tingling' in overdrive.

Harry would later recall how amusing it was that Stephanie face contorted into different degrees of shock and horror the closer Archie came to her, finally finishing on downright frantic when he kneeled in front of her and grabbed her hands in his own while giving her the 'kicked puppy' look.

"Stephanie, my sweet, you can't take Harry to Hogsmeade, he's no good for you!"

Stephanie sent a frosty glare over at Harry who was humming merrily while snacking on his breakfast; oh she would make him pay for this.

"But he didn't…"

"NO!" Archie interrupted "I don't want to hear it! I know he's real good at Quidditch, and school, and that he's the number one student in our year level, and he's, I say this objectively of course, a fairly good looking bloke, and he's somewhat funny in a real messed up and cruel sort of way…" Archie trailed off in horror at what he was saying "DON'T LISTEN TO WHAT I JUST SAID! HE'S BAD! HE KICKS BABIES FOR FUN! BABIES STEPHY! INNOCENT LITTLE BABIES THAT NEVER HURT NOBODY!"

Harry was starting to get annoyed; a guy can't make one comment about kicking a baby Snape in the face and enjoying it without it coming around to bite him in the ass!

Stephanie, noticing they literally had the entire hall's attention, most of whom were thoroughly enjoying her blight and snigger in their direction – the most embarrassing of all though was Professor Dumbledore, whose beard kept twitching in an effort to still his laughter.

"Archie" she said, after taking a few deep breaths and resisting the urge to go find a fire poker and stab it in a rather uncomfortable place in Archie, his urethra spring to mind… "Let go of me and go back to your table please, you're embarrassing me" she all but pleaded in a calm yet desperate voice.

Archie would have none of that however, the boy was bordering on hysteria now as he broke out into exaggerated sobs in her lap, still holding her hands in his "He doesn't care about you like I do!" he wailed, adding more sobs into his little display, Harry resisted the urge to palm his face "he won't treat you right! Look at him, cheating on Professor Vector already! That poor yet extremely sexy in an 'I'll crush your balls if you even glance in my behind's general direction' woman!" he paused in his little rant to mutter out 'Lucky Bastard', a sentiment that seemed to be shared by every male in the room, who nodded sagely upon hearing that.

Harry was sure said woman was glaring holes in the back of his head, deciding that if he was going to get punished again, he may as well do something to earn it. Harry turned to the professor who was glaring down at him with her lips thinned out and gave her an exaggerated wink. She physically recoiled at the action while students who had swivelled in his direction when Archie mentioned his name sniggered.

"Archie…I'm warning you…" Stephanie tried feebly to quell this rant but it was to no avail. Harry on the other hand was interested to see a boy from Slytherin he had never really seen around before with brown hair and a face similar to Archie's scowling in his friend's direction.

"Steph" he sobbed, amazingly though, his eyes were devoid of tears "oh Stephanie Zabini" he now had his face in her lap with his arms wrapped around her midsection "mm Steph…you smell good" he mumbled, loud enough for some of the Slytherins around her to hear and laugh openly at.

Stephanie's face had gone completely red; Harry wasn't sure whether it was because she was just that pissed or just embarrassed "Are you using a new body wash? It's real nice" he mumbled, his voice muffled by her school robes. Harry was surprised the teachers hadn't intervened yet, though he supposed they just let the scene play out because of what day it was. He was, however, a little concerned with the looks some of the Slytherins were giving both Archie and Stephanie.

Very few of the girls were looking jealous of Stephanie, which wasn't as much of a surprise as Malfoy and his band of ferret followers looking livid at the scene. Was Stephanie in danger in her own house? He resolved to solve that problem somehow, because if something happened to his best friend's love interest while she was supposed to be safe, Harry wasn't sure if he'd be able to stop the boy from killing Snape and whoever was responsible – and that was saying something given Archie's views on the man.

He also wasn't sure if he'd want to try and stop him…

To solve that problem though, he'd need to deal with a Slytherin, and to deal with a Slytherin you need to think like a Slytherin…

Harry filed that thought away for a later date.

Seeing Archie's hands wander towards dangerous grounds, for him at least, Harry figured he'd put a stop to it before Stephanie rendered little Archie black and blue…again…

Whipping out his wand, Harry sent a weak Incarcerous curse at Archie, much to the shock of the knowledgeable students and teachers in the great hall (it was after all a fifth year spell), wrapping his arms and torso up in conjured ropes and began to drag him out of the hall unceremoniously.

"You see this Stephanie?!" he shrieked from his position on the floor "he, even now, continues to try and interfere in our love! I won't have it!" his indignant shouts died out as Harry eventually took him out of the hall and away from the masses of laughing students.

"Ah, yes, Valentines Day always brings us marvellous displays of affection and love" Dumbledore yelled to the hall "I wish you all a happy day and hope that Mr. Montague and Ms. Zabini can come to terms with their feelings sooner rather then later" he said merrily, Stephanie was trying and failing to sink into the ground and run away.

The first boy, who tried their luck with her after that display, thinking they had a chance now that Archie was turned down, was almost castrated.

Thus Stephanie Zabini earned the reputation of 'Ice Queen' of the Slytherin house.

A few days had passed since Valentines Day and things were finally starting to get back to a semblance of normality. Archie had admitted to possibly overreacting a little bit during that morning, much to Harry's amusement, and had even asked what he was doing wrong in winning the gorgeous Slytherin's affection.

Harry had promptly told him that he was probably the worst person in the world to ask for advice about in regards to women. Of course, Archie didn't believe him until he badgered Harry enough to get an answer out of him.

Harry had just told him to stop trying so hard, it was then that Archie believed that he knew nothing about women and stopped asking, ironic how Harry was the one who had been asked to Hogsmeade by the girl and not Archie…

Harry had also had to wait a few days after Valentines before venturing anywhere on his own, less he get cornered by a sobbing fan-girl who would profess their love for him in many ways and ask what they had done wrong to not earn said love.

It was rather annoying; whoever said girls mature quicker then boys did must have had a screw loose. Is it so wrong to want to go to school to learn and not worry about dating and gossip? When he had proposed said question to Archie he had been on the receiving end of a look that clearly portrayed Archie's disbelief and amusement. Maybe he was just the weird one and everyone else was normal…

Learning was so much simpler when he did it on his own at home with Remus as a guide; there were never any complications…oh well…

Wanting to escape the noisy Ravenclaw party in honour of their latest win against Slytherin in Quidditch, Harry had slipped into his Animagus form and simply walked out the front portrait of the common room, not even once drawing anyone's suspicion. Who would want to look at a black cat when pervs had people shagging to spy on, girls had music to dance to and underage students had alcohol to consume anyway?

It took a good few minutes to actually get far enough away from the Ravenclaw Tower to not hear the beating of the loud Wizarding music anymore, but once he did, it became eerily silent as per usual for the barren Hogwarts corridors at night. This wouldn't be the first time Harry had taken advantage of his ability to travel around unseen to get some fresh air or some quiet time, and it certainly wouldn't be the last. There was just something about the dark and quiet halls that Harry found peaceful and it was his desire to feel at peace that urged him to make repeat performances.

Keeping to the shadows made by the moon shining through the windows and hitting the armoured suits, Harry walked aimlessly for what seemed like hours, searching every nook and cranny throughout the castle to pass the time. He had found several fairly easy to find hidden passages this way, and he was certain – given the school's ancient history and mystique - that there were many more.

His search eventually led him to a room with its door slightly ajar – quite odd considering the caretaker usually locked all doors leading to classrooms and pretty much any room in general at night to stop adventurous teenagers causing trouble.

Sneaking through the cracked open door, Harry was met with a sight that, if he was honest with himself, probably surprised him to a fair bit.

Neville Longbottom's head floating in mid air, sans his body, while peering into a mirror intently. Was the boy's ego and self-worth so high that he would be so enthralled by his own reflection? And what was with his body? It looked like he was being covered by an invisibility cloak, and if that were the case, he shouldn't be using such a rare and powerful magical artefact so trivially – but who was he to tell people what to do with their things?

Fully entering the room, Harry was about to get a closer look in the mirror when his enhanced cat senses picked up another presence heading towards the room. As quickly and silently as possible, Harry ran to the opposite side of the room and hid in a shadowed corner, his pitch black fur and small body making him almost impossible to see unless you were staring right at him and were only a few feet away.

Somebody had indeed entered the room, and if the horrendously coloured wardrobe didn't give his identity away, his long silver beard and gold rimmed spectacles did. Albus Dumbledore snuck in without obtaining the 'Boy-Who-Lived's attention and sat at the desk beside the door, watching the first year boy stare at the mirrored with a sense of wonder with a concerned frown on his face.

"Back again, Neville?" he asked gently, causing said boy to jump in fright and spin around to see the aged headmaster smiling at him.

"I…I didn't hear you come in sir…" the boy stammered nervously.

"Strange how short sighted being invisible can make you" Dumbledore joked while getting up from the desk and taking a seat beside Neville on the floor before the mirror "So, you, like hundreds before you, have discovered the wonders of the Mirror of Erised" he stated, and it was then that Harry spotted an inscription on the mirror itself, realizing that it might not just be a regular mirror:

Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi

Harry stared at the queer message intently, wondering if it was in some foreign language until he realised the first word spelt desire backwards. Thinking it may be a riddle, Harry read the message backwards, or mirrored, as it were, while ignoring the breaks:

I show not your face but your hearts desire

Interesting, could it be that Longbottom wasn't in fact enthralled by his own image, but that the mirror was charmed to show him something his heart desires most?

"I…I didn't know it was called that sir" Neville responded after several moments of silence.

"But I expect you've realized by now what exactly it does?" Dumbledore prompted, seemingly deflating when the boy answered in the negative.

"It…err…it shows me being cheered on by lots of people…" he said quietly "it shows me being a Quidditch star and…and famous" the boy said with a blush on his pudgy cheeks.

"And it showed your friend Ron himself as head boy" Dumbledore urged, Harry was surprised to see that he was slightly disappointed at Neville's apparent desire, he couldn't see why however, it seemed fairly normal for a regular eleven year old, even if he was the 'Boy-who-lived'.

"How did you…?" Neville began only to be cut off gently by Dumbledore.

"I don't need a cloak to become invisible Neville" he stole a glance at the mirror before turning back to the boy "Now; can you tell me what you think it shows us all?"

Neville shook his head, looking ashamed that he didn't know what Dumbledore was asking him.

"Let me try and explain it – the happiest man on earth would look into the mirror and only see himself, as he is, does that help?"

Neville frowned and looked to the ground for a few moments before answering "It shows us what we want, whatever we want…"

"Yes and no" Dumbledore said slowly "It shows us nothing more and nothing less then the deepest desire of our hearts – you, who want nothing more then to please others who have high expectations of you see yourself doing just that in a role that you could do that most easily" Harry resisted the urge to snort; no, it showed that Neville was an attention seeking little prat "Ronald Weasley, who has always been overshadowed by his brothers, sees himself standing alone and the best of them all. However, this mirror neither shows us knowledge or truth. Men have wasted away before it, entranced by what they've seen, or been driven mad, not knowing if what they see is even real or possible."

Neville looked at the mirror in a new light as Dumbledore paused to let the information sink in "The mirror will be moved to a new home tomorrow and I ask that you not go looking for it again. If by some chance you do come across it though, you will now be prepared. Now before you use that impressive cloak of your father's to head off to bed, I shall impart on you one last piece of advice; It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live – remember that" Harry's feline eyes widened slightly when the elderly headmaster's eyes flickered over to his direction ever so briefly before returning to Neville just as soon as they had changed focus. He had been spotted, it seemed.

"Sir, can I ask you one quick question" Neville asked, as he stood up and adjusted his cloak around him.

"You already have, but I can allow just one more if you must" he said with a smile.

Neville smiled back before asking "What is it you see when you look in the mirror?"

"I? I see myself holding a pair of thick, woollen socks."

Neville just stared at him incredulously but Harry didn't believe the venerable headmaster for a second.

"One can never have enough pairs of socks" he defended himself "another Christmas has come and gone and I didn't get a single pair – people insist on giving me books."

Dazed by the slightly unexpected answer, Neville left the room and closed the door behind him with a soft click and heavy groan. Harry and Dumbledore stood in the room together in silence, both knowing that Dumbledore knew of Harry's presence.

"An Animagus at such a young age is a feat not even I, a master of the art of Transfiguration, had been able to achieve Mister Potter."

Harry's cat form came out of the shadows as he gradually changed back into his human form, clad in a pair of jeans, shirt and a cardigan.

"So I've been told, I trust you can keep such information to yourself then?" Harry replied coolly earning a chuckle from the old headmaster.

"I seem to find myself forgetting how you came to be in this room Mister Potter" he jokes, earning a nod of gratitude from Harry.

Despite himself, Harry spared a glance at the mirror and had to resist the urge to gasp. Looking right back at him with flowing red hair and emerald green eyes very much like his own dancing with mirth was none other then his mother with her arms wrapped around his neck as she laughed joyously. Harry almost yelped when the image of his mother hopped on the image of his mirror self and forced him to give her a piggy back, his mirror self was smiling back at him too, looking happier then he had ever remembered himself looking.

Suddenly, Harry felt a rage towards the mirror of the likes he had never felt before. Was this mirror mocking him? This ruddy piece of glass bordered with golden trim? Harry resisted the urge to simply launch a cannon ball at the bloody mirror and end its existence.

He suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder, snapping him out of his thoughts "What do you see?" Dumbledore asked gently. Harry shook his head to clear them of the dark thoughts before clearing his mind and looking at the headmaster with an indifferent expression.

"I see a very naked Professor Vector and I locked in a broom closet and engaged in activities I'm not even sure one such as you are old enough to hear about" he answered with a straight face. Dumbledore stared at Harry in the very same way Neville had just stared him when he had been asked the very same question before bursting out in laughter.

"My, my, I'm sure Septima would be overjoyed to hear such things are what her favourite student desires most of all" he said through chuckles as Harry looked to the headmaster with amusement.

"Be sure to be very far away from her if you do decide to tell her, she has quite the wicked temper and can be quite vindictive, yet, I suppose most women I've met are" he said with a shrug as Dumbledore wiped a tear of mirth from his eye.

"I'll take that advice under consideration" he said, his beard twitching as he smiled "I believe the Ravenclaw party is over though however and that you should be heading back yourself, it was nice having this very insightful discussion, I must say, and I insist upon you the same warning I gave to young Neville."

Harry nodded and headed for the door, opening it enough so that his Animagus form could fit through when he transformed before pausing "Professor" he said seriously, his back to Albus "you best hide that accursed mirror well, because if I see it again it will be nothing more then a pile of broken glass…"

With that ominous threat, Harry quickly departed in his Animagus form and headed back to the Ravenclaw tower, leaving a melancholy old man looking to the mirror sadly.

"What an interesting young man, wouldn't you say Ariana, Gellert?" a young girl, fourteen or so years of age with a heart shaped face and large crystal blue eyes nodded at him with a large smile, while a young man, looking around eighteen or so, with blonde, curly, shoulder length hair with an overall mischievous look about him grinned at him with a gleeful expression, the boy had his arm wrapped around the girl' shoulder in a show of brotherly affection.

With a sigh, Dumbledore covered the mirror with a conjured piece of cloth and began to relocate it, trying his hardest to banish the latest image he had seen from his mind. It would not do to dwell on the past, after all…

Harry, after calming down enough to begin his trek back to Ravenclaw tower was fully content to do so, that is until he spotted a cloaked figure scurry out of the front doors at top speed towards the Forbidden Forest.

If it weren't for the fact that it was just about four o'clock in the morning, and that no one was around or awake to follow the figure, he would have just ignored it and gone straight to bed. As it were, it was and no one was, so he, ignoring the little voice in his head calling him an idiot, kept to the shadows the trees and other objects provided and followed a good distance behind the figure straight into the forest, keeping out of eyesight and relying on his senses to keep on the trail.

His little trip took him a few miles into the forest and when he finally stopped and found his target, he almost threw up from the site.

On the floor with a large gaping wound in its belly was a young Unicorn, its silvery blood was flowing out of the wound in torrents. The figure he had been following had its lips attached to the gaping hold and was sucking the creature dry.

Harry felt the urge to try and save the pure creature from its grizzly fate but rushing into the situation would only get them both killed, besides, the foul person doing such a vile act to the unicorn could very well be stronger then him, so caution had to be advised. The reason why Harry was so intent on helping the creature was simply because of the nature of what was occurring. To such the blood of a creature like a Unicorn, especially a young one unable to defend itself, is something not unlike raping a defenceless child, it was sick, perverse and downright evil. Harry couldn't find a reason someone would do such a thing – he had heard the Unicorn's blood had immense healing properties…

Harry silently changed out of his Animagus form and hit in the shadows, whipping out his wand while devising a plan of attack.

Seeing a few heavy set branches hanging loosely above the figure and the unicorn and inspecting his surroundings, Harry immediately launched into his plan with a series of silent spells as to not give away his location or the fact that he was even there.

The cloaked figure's head snapped up when he heard the branches creaking and then leapt out of the way when said branches fell upon the space he had just been occupying. As soon as the figure took its eyes off the creature and began to clear the area, thinking it had been spotted most likely, Harry summoned the baby, dog-sized, Unicorn over to him and quickly hid it behind a large tree. Hoping his next plan wouldn't get him killed; Harry fired a cutting curse at the base of a rather large tree in the clearing, causing it to groan loudly before collapsing on the dirt floor with a huge bang. That ought to alert the centaurs that someone had invaded their territory, but it also meant that he had to move quickly.

Turning back to the Unicorn whose single visible eye was trained on him with a look of fear, distrust and apprehension, Harry worked quickly to conjure some bandages and wrap the wound up tightly. By the time he had successfully bound the wound, his hands were covered in the beast's silvery blood and it was breathing in ragged breaths.

Scraping the Unicorn's blood off his hands, Harry placed as much of it as he could in a conjured glass and hefted the Unicorn's head in its lap.

"I know you don't trust me, but this is your blood and if you want to survive through the night, you'll need to drink it so you can be healed" Harry said softly. The Unicorn – Harry thought it might be a female – whined pitifully, not wanting to do as Harry has instructed, but as it felt its body grow weaker, it opened its mouth and allowed Harry to tip the silvery substance down its throat.

Harry waited with the Unicorn foal as he heard the distinct sound of hoofs thumping against the dirt ground closing in on his position, several dozen hoofs at that. Seeing the Unicorn look at him fearfully, Harry tried its best to reassure it.

"Don't worry, as long as you're quiet they won't find us and I'll stay here until you're able to take care of yourself" Harry reassured. The unicorn seemed to understand him as it rubbed its snout affectionately against his arm and did as told.

The centaurs came and left, not having spotted Harry or the Unicorn, and said beast in the mean time slowly started to regain its health and energy. Eventually, it was able to stand up on its own, which was when Harry thought it safe for the beast on its own.

"Do you know where your pack is?" Harry asked gently as the white horse like creature neighed in the affirmative, rubbing his thigh affectionately again, its behaviour and general tender personality led Harry to believe it a female.

"I don't want to have to call you 'Unicorn' if I see you again, now that we're friends right?" Harry asked, stroking its snout as the Unicorn's eyes closed, enjoying the feeling of Harry's hands "how about I call you…" as Harry raked his brain for a name, the unicorn's eyes met his and suddenly a name was on the tip of his tongue "Starbreeze?" he said with question, he figured the little beast liked it as she stomped her hooves and puffed out her chest when he said so.

"Okay Starbreeze, I think you should get back to your family else they get worried, hmm?" the Unicorn twirled around on the spot and rubbed her head against his again with affection, but before leaving she swayed her tail at him weirdly before a single, silvery strand fell from it at his feet, the hair glowing in the moonlight with ethereal power.

As soon as Harry picked up the discarded tail hare, the horde was off like a silver blue back into the depths of the forest leaving a dumbstruck Harry in its wake. Starbreeze had just willingly given him one of her tail hairs, a willingly given piece of any magical creature is always a powerful ingredient in any potion or ritual, especially one of a Unicorn.

Shaking his head one more time and seeing how the sun was slowly starting to peek out over the horizon, Harry changed back into his Animagus form and quickly headed back to Hogwarts, he needed sleep and a shower.

Harry woke up quite late the next morning, however he wasn't the only one, which was probably a good thing all things considered – he didn't want people asking unnecessary questions about his whereabouts last night.

Unfortunately however, being his best friend, Archie easily noticed his absence, especially when the boy had tried to find him himself.

"So" Archie began conversationally, after everyone but the two of them had left the dorm room "you going to tell me where you went last night, or are you going to pretend like I didn't realize?" he asked casually, while discreetly eyeing Harry for his reaction.

Harry didn't so much as bat an eyelash at the question, though he did wonder about how he should answer "I obviously wasn't here, too much noise you see?"

"Obviously" Archie agreed sarcastically "you plan on sharing the details of your latest wacky adventure or am I going to have to beat it out of you?"

Harry looked at his quite scrawny friend with amusement.

"Okay, fine, I can send a legion of fan girls the likes of which this world has never seen if you keep being a prat and not tell me where you went last night!" he practically whined, though Harry knew, without a doubt, that his friend could probably come good on that threat.

"Justprowling" he supplied, not feeling the need to explain further.

"I figured that much, it has to be more if you were so unwilling to share the gritty details" Harry looked over the book he was reading – Arithmetic's Anonymous – with an annoyed glare.

"And what exactly were you doing last night?" he countered.

Archie immediately began explaining "Well, first, I spent a good portion of the evening dancing with a few of the girls that were my valentines, much to their pleasure" Harry grinned behind his book at the ammunition he was just given "and then Davis, Goldstein, Matthews and I went to all the boy's dorms to try and find couples snogging or better, you won't believe what we found!" he gushed "Smith and Johansen were shagging, so were Benson and Jeffers, though the latter were doing so quite vigorously!"

Harry put down his book with a frown on his face "Why is it that the older girls of Ravenclaw become easy when you get a few glasses of alcohol in them?"

Archie just shrugged "You know what they say about the quiet ones – hey, don't try and change the subject! Oh, that was clever…" he praised as Harry rolled his eyes.

"I spotted Longbottom looking at himself in a mirror quite intently and hit when I smelt someone approaching. Said someone happened to be professor Dumbledore who then went on to explain the properties of said mirror, apparently it is a magical artefact that shows you your heart's deepest desires. After Longbottom left with the use of his father's invisibility cloak, Dumbledore and I had a good chat in which we learnt a lot about each other before I was sent off to bed. Naturally I did no such thing and went on a romp in the forbidden forest only to find a mysterious cloaked figure sucking a young Unicorn – her name is Starbreeze – dry, naturally, I bandaged her up and garnered her favour all after scaring off said cloaked figure earlier. I had figured that I had enough adventure for one night after that and promptly came back here" he finally finished, leaving a frowning Archie looking at him.

"Right…if you didn't want to tell me where you were, all you had to do was say so…"

Harry kept his amusement easily hidden by the cover of his book.

It was the time of another exam period that found Archie and Harry studying alone in their dorm room with a pile of books surrounding them. Harry had, naturally, continued to dominate in all his classes with a little more effort now that he had picked up Ancient Runes and Arithmancy as subjects. In these two classes he had finally found some semblance of a challenge for his academically enriched mind. Archie, expectantly, was knee deep in NEWT level and above Potions texts – it truly amazed Harry how skilled he was in the subject.

"You ever considered studying Alchemy? With your skill in Potions already so high and the amount of time you seem to always have on your hands, it just seems like the natural course of action" Harry prompted, taking a break from the studying.

"I have actually, I even sent a request for an apprenticeship under professor Dumbledore – he is quite the Alchemist himself you know, he discovered the twelve uses for Dragon's blood" Harry nodded, having read something to that effect "but he denied me with an apology saying that being the headmaster of a school and the chief warlock of the Wizengamot doesn't give him the luxury of taking on apprentices in any subject" he sighed "Professor Snape also turned down the request for an apprenticeship too, saying that while I may be knowledgeable, he had no time to teach 'imbeciles'."

Harry snorted at that "You mean the 'Great Potions Master Snape' did such a thing? Surely you jest!"

Archie only seemed to become gloomier at that, mumbling something about the man having his reasons before returning to his books.

Harry stretched before looking out of the window, seeing it was a rather beautiful sunny day, he got up and donned his cardigan "I'm going for a walk, get some fresh air" Harry announced. Archie nodded absentmindedly from his book and waved Harry off.

As soon as he exited the common room, Harry began to walk with no destination in mind, going over various Arithmetic formulae in his head and reciting several of his class's key theory points as a means for revision. Even during his break time he didn't really relax…

Eventually, Harry found himself wondering dangerously near the Hufflepuff common room when he heard the sound of a group of girls giggling not too far from his position. This wasn't good, he couldn't allow himself to be caught by the likes of them, how annoying would that be!

Swiftly changing into his Animagus form, Harry bolted in the other direction while keeping in what little shadows he could find during this time of day.

He practically froze mid leap when a familiar scent assaulted his senses. A scent he knew he remembered, but had a hard time placing there. It reminded him of garlic and mothballs. As Harry continued to try and place the scent, it continued to get stronger and stronger until from around the corner came Professor Quirrel, looking to be quite agitated about something – a rather unusual look for the usually cowardly man to have now that he thought about it. It wasn't until Quirrel was almost exactly beside him as he hid behind a stone statue that he remembered the scent.

It was the scent of the cloaked figure he had been tailing in the forbidden forest that night…

Just as Harry was heading back to the Ravenclaw common room to relay what he had learned to Archie, he heard an argument from around the corner.

"Professor Dumbledore left ten minutes ago" came the cold voice that was unmistakeably McGonagall "He received an urgent owl from the Ministry of Magic and flew off for London at once."

"He's gone?" came the shocked voice of Neville Longbottom as Harry pressed his back to the wall he was hiding behind "Now?"

"Professor Dumbledore is a very great and powerful wizard…"

"But this is important!" the voice of Ron Weasley urged frantically.

"Something you have to say is more important then the Ministry of Magic?" she asked frostily.

"Look" Neville began slowly "Professor, it's about the Philosopher's stone Fluffy's guarding…"

"How do you three…?" McGonagall asked, shocked, which surprised Harry. The Philosopher's stone was being held in Hogwarts, why in the world would you hide something of that import in a school and not in one of Gringotts' most secure vaults?

"Professor, I think, no, I know that Professor Sn…that someone is going to try and steal the stone. I need to talk to Professor Dumbledore!"

"Professor Dumbledore will be back tomorrow, you can speak to him then. I don't know how you found out about the stone, but I assure you nothing will happen to it, it's too well protected."

"But Professor…" surprisingly, the voice of Hermione Granger tried to interrupt.

"Miss Granger, I know what I'm talking about" she replied shortly "now I suggest you three go outside and enjoy the sun."

There was the sound of three sets of feet scurrying off before McGonagall rounded the corner and almost ran straight into him. Her face changed into an expression of shock when she realized what she must have overheard.

"Potter! How much did you…"

"That's not important professor" Harry interrupted.

"What do you mean it's not…"

"I mean that the importance of that question is not very paramount."

Her nostrils flared in annoyance at once again having her questions answered before she could ask them and how he so casually talked about such an important issue.

"I think you need…"

"I think you need to listen to Longbottom professor" he countered, all traces of suspicion gone "It just so happens that I may or may not have been frolicking in the Forbidden forest several weeks ago where a cloaked figure attacked a defenceless unicorn, drinking its blood…"

Any ideas McGonagall had of reprimanding him completely flew out the window as she paled at the implications of what he had just said "Yes, I thought as much too, imagine my surprise when I recognized said cloaked figure's scent today only to find out it was the scent of Professor Quirrel…"

McGonagall's eyes narrowed this time, instead of being shocked "Hardly Potter…"

"An odd thing to do, wouldn't you say? Drinking a Unicorn's blood that is?" Harry prompted, interrupting her yet again "Why would someone curse themselves like that, drinking the blood of a creature so pure…" he paused "unless of course, they had the means to negate such a curse…with…let's say…the elixir of life?"

McGonagall's eyes widened a fraction before narrowing once again "I said before Potter, the stone has more then adequate protections…"

Harry's annoyance finally caught up to him and he snapped "Goddamn it you stubborn old bat! How hard could it be to check on the damn stone's defences tonight with Professor Flitwick to prove me wrong" he shouted "not only have I given you undeniable proof, but I have given you a motive! Do you not also find it a coincidence that Professor Dumbledore is coincidently called away from the school during such an important time?!"

"How dare you…" she was however, much to her undying annoyance, interrupted yet again.

"If I'm wrong, I, Harry James Potter, do hereby swear to mark all of next years Transfiguration assignments for you from first to seventh year, and you know damn well I can do it!" he said hotly, a blue glow surrounding him binding him to said agreement as he had used a wizard's oath.

That proclamation made McGonagall stop mid tirade. She really had nothing to lose if Potter was right other then a single evening of guarding the stone with Filius…

"But if I'm right, you have to turn up to every Ravenclaw Quidditch game next season dressed in the blue and bronze" he said with a self satisfied smirk.

"I most certainly…" unsurprisingly, she was interrupted again.

"Lacking confidence in your earlier claims regarding the stone's safety are we professor?" he asked, sounding quite pleased with himself.

"Fine, but be prepared to keep your end…" as soon as Harry saw the blue glow surrounding her, he knew the stone was safe.

"Wonderful" he interrupted before turning on his heal and walking away, leaving a fuming McGonagall in his wake.

Harry sat, quite pleased with himself at the end of year feast as McGonagall was glaring down at him heatedly from the head table; a table which was unsurprisingly missing one of their staff, Professor Quirrel.

Flitwick had brought an injured McGonagall to his office and called him late at night to inform him of what had happened with the stone, as he was instrumental in securing it. Apparently, as they were about to trek down to the stone's location, they had bumped into Ron, Hermione and Neville, who were, much to their dismay, sent packing back to their common rooms.

To their surprise however, the two professors found evidence of someone having passed through each defence not so long before them, causing them to proceed with caution. What they found in the final chamber, much to McGonagall's chagrin, was indeed Professor Quirrel standing before the mirror of Erised trying to get the stone. The two professors were reluctant to share much more information after that except for the fact that the trio had a furious two on one duel which the two professors won quite easily, resulting in Quirrel's death and the stone's safety.

As Ravenclaw was awarded the House and Quidditch up yet again, Harry couldn't help but be annoyed at Dumbledore's incessant twinkling as he looked upon him with a proud smile. Damn old codger could be downright creepy at times.

It was at King's Cross station with Remus that one could find Harry relaying all the important details of the year to – despite the marauder's shock. As they were speaking however, the Zabinis and Archie approached them, much to Harry's confusion as they had already bid the family goodbye.

"Ah, Antonio, Bianca, good to see you so soon, I take it young Archie has relayed to you his request and my approval for his summer plans then?"

With an amused look on his face, Antonio nodded "Indeed, it's never too early for someone to join the workforce; I think it would be a splendid idea for Archie to work at Moony Nights during his summers."

"What?" came two shocked explanations, the Zabinis and Remus looked to the offenders with amusement. Harry because Archie was now wrapping him in a one armed 'manly' hug and Stephanie because she was blushing in embarrassment.

"Is there a problem Stephy-dear?" Archie cooed, as he tried and failed to give Harry a noogie.

"N-no, it's just, you know…summer, and…we usually… no, it's nothing" she said, her earlier embarrassment being hidden well behind a mask of indifference. The Zabinis looked to their daughter with concern while Archie only grinned wider.

"Don't worry Stephy, you can still visit me whenever you want, but you'll have to wait until I'm off work until we can make out" this time Archie was not only kneed in the groin, but he received a slap on the head from Bianca too causing a rather humorous sound to come from the downed boy.

"Bianca, my love, you wound me!"

Blaise made sure to give him a soft kick in the chest for good measure as Antonio chuckled.

"Aren't you excited Harry?" Remus asked, his eyes twinkling merrily.

Harry looked to his downed friend with a frown "Ecstatic…"