hpml11-20

Chapter 011

"Harry," Hermione whispered from beside him. The Common Room was still

celebrating their win so he had to strain to hear her. "We think you were being

cursed." Neville nodded from his other side.

"What?" Harry stared back and forth between the two of them.

"Neville saw Professor Snape muttering something and staring at you during the

match when your broom started to go crazy."

"You have to maintain eye contact for some persistent jinxes and curses," Neville

said, wringing his hands. "And not many things affect brooms beyond those types.

Brooms have to be pretty resistant to that kind of stuff otherwise the professional

games would be a joke."

"So it's not enough the bastard hates me, he's actively trying to kill me now too?

Just perfect," Harry glared at the fireplace. He needed his rune notebook. "So why

did he stop then? He almost had me, I was starting to lose my grip by the time I

finally got control back."

"Well..." Hermione said blushing while Neville's face went beat red. "I um...may

have set fire to his robes."

Harry's mouth dropped open and all thoughts of runes went out of his head.

"You...you...you what?"

"I set fire to his robes," she muttered. "Neville said we had to break his eye contact

so we ran over. Neville knocked over Professor Quirrell – who was sitting next to

Professor Snape – to try and distract him but I was already casting the Incendio

charm."

Harry goggled at her then at Neville. "You guys – you guys are amazing!" Hermione

snapped her head up and stared at him and Neville went started shuffling a bit.

"Neville, you knocked over a teacher to help me! And, Hermione! You set another's

robes on fire! You guys are the best friends someone could ask for!" Harry laughed

out loud and pulled them both into a quick hug.

"Well, um, you're welcome?" Hermione whimpered. She really didn't feel like she

should be praised for attacking a teacher. It was so wrong!

"No problem, Harry," Neville said with a deep breath. "We look out for each other,

right?"

"Yeah. We do," Harry beamed at his two friends. "So do you think this was in

retaliation for hearing about Nicolas Flamel and the three headed dog from Hagrid

the other night?"

"How would Professor Snape even know that Hagrid mentioned that? I mean –

completely discounting the fact that we don't even know who that Flamel man is –

and that I would think the dragon egg Hagrid is hiding would be a far more

important detail from overhearing that conversation – I can't see why Professor

Snape would try to kill you over hearing about a name."

"Remember to breath, Hermione," Harry said with a laugh. "And this is Hagrid

we're talking about. I love the man, but we all know he can't keep secrets for more

than five minutes."

"Yeah, Hermione, I'm with Harry on this one," Neville said. "Hagrid's nice but he's

not a – how did Gran put it – not a 'player of the game'. And what are we going to

do about that dragon anyway? It's going to hatch soon and then it's going to grow

up and then it's either going to eat him or eat one of us!"

"I don't suppose we can convince him to get rid of it, can we?" Hermione

commented flopping back into her seat. "That man seriously needs someone to

explain what the word dangerous mean. Honestly, three headed dogs, pet dragons,

what's next? Giant man eating spiders?"

"I actually could see the dog being cute," Harry said. The others turned to stare at

him. "What? If the thing wasn't snarling and trying to eat me but was just

slobbering on me and wagging its tail it could be cute."

"It could squash you under its paw like a bug." Neville said with his face completely

blank.

"It could tear you literally into thirds." Hermione added.

"Well I was just saying," Harry grumbled. "Fang's cute."

"Fang is not the size of a small house," Hermione commented dryly.

"Moving on!" Harry said holding his hands up in surrender. "Didn't the twins say

their one of their brothers worked with dragons? Could we ask them to contact

him maybe?"

"They'd probably ask why," Hermione said.

"Well, we might as well tell them," Neville shrugged. "They'd probably be able to

get the dragon out easier than we could anyway."

"We're going to help them if they agree." Harry nodded. "Hagrid's our friend. We

can't just let him get in trouble. Until then though let's see if we can find anything

about whoever Flamel is." The others nodded before the trio split up and headed

off to bed.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

---------------------------

Chapter 012

Christmas had come to Hogwarts Castle. Harry hadn't originally cared too much

about it since both Neville and Hermione had headed home to spend the holidays

with their families but his opinion changed when he woke up to see actual real

presents by his bed. It was the first time anyone had gotten him anything besides

worn out socks or maybe a fifty pence piece if he had been very good and very

quiet. It was a shame his new friends weren't here to share the experience with

him...

Neville had given him a broom polishing kit while the twins had left him with a

package of Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans – along with a note that promised they

were untampered with. Hermione had given him a new etching kit that had a lot

finer tools than the one he had been using. Shiva had sent him a small box with a

note describing it as a spell resistant, tamper-proof, lockbox that was designed to

hold volatile rune clusters. Unfortunately, Harry's final two gifts had caused some

problems in the dorm room.

"How am I supposed to know why your mother sent me a Weasley sweater, Ron?"

Harry scowled. "I've never even met the woman!"

"Well obviously you did something! Those are family sweaters! You have no

business wearing one!" the redhead yelled back snarling at Harry.

"Well it's not my fault that your mother sent me something!"

"Well it's certainly not mine!"

"You're both right, it's our fault Mum sent something," Fred said walking into the

room with a frown.

"At least, we think it's our fault," George agreed coming in behind his twin.

"What the bloody hell did you two do?!" Ron yelled turning his rage on his

brothers.

"We may have mentioned in a letter that Harry had said he wasn't expecting to get

any presents." Fred winced. "Sorry, mate. We didn't think she'd end up making you

a sweater because of it."

"Honestly, it's a little weird," Harry said looking at the sweater. "But I really do

appreciate the thought and it was a nice gesture. She could've sent a note with it

too though. That would've probably made it less awkward."

"Mum, can be a bit much sometimes," George sighed.

"How are you okay with this?" Ron growled. "He's not a Weasley!"

"Ron," Fred said his voice amazingly serious for the twin, "just because Harry isn't a

Weasley doesn't mean he isn't a friend."

"Lee Jordan is a friend and he doesn't get sweaters!"

"Lee gets presents." Fred shook his head as Ron just growled incoherently. "Thanks

for the gift by the way, Harry."

Harry nodded. He had sent them some Muggle fireworks with instructions on how

to use them safely. "No problem guys. Just don't set them off inside or we'll have

another Troll Incident. Thanks for the beans!"

"Enjoy them. So what's your last gift?"

Harry opened up his final package and as the silvery material slipped down to the

floor Ron gave an incoherent yell. "You got a bloody Invisibility Cloak?! Funny how

the guy who supposedly doesn't get any presents at all gets a bloody fortune right

there!" he said scornfully.

"What's an Invisibility Cloak?" Harry asked the twins ignoring Ron. He picked up

the Cloak and started examining it closer. Granted the name was pretty

self-explanatory but if Ron wanted to get angry for no reason he might as well poke

the boy a bit and satisfy his curiosity at the same time.

"Blimey mate, they are amazing," George breathed out. "Really expensive too.

They make you invisible while you wear it. Darn useful for pranksters like us. Who's

it from?"

"Don't know; all the note says is that it used to belong to my dad and that he left

with whoever sent it when he died."

Fred's brow furrowed. "Well if they had it for 10 years you'd think they could have

returned it before now."

"Agreed." Harry sighed. "At least they did give it back. I probably never would have

known about it otherwise."

"How come you aren't jumping and down in joy?" Ron asked in disgust. "That thing

is probably worth more than everything else combined."

The three others in the room glared at Ron. "It's nice to have a memento of my

father, Ron, but it's not like I need it. I could probably make a rune cluster that

would do the same thing as this but better and it would be smaller and more

portable too."

"Well if you don't want it then just give it to me." Ron held out his hand for the

Cloak. Harry snorted and before he could respond Fred and George moved to

either side of Ron and grabbed an arm.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

---------------------------

Chapter 013

"Dear, Brother, I believe it is time for breakfast. Shall we be going?"

"We'll see you later, Harry. Merry Christmas!"

Despite planning his new Ninja rune cluster, Harry did end up wandering the castle

after dark with his father's Cloak on during the break – more from curiosity than

anything else. On one such nocturnal excursion he ended up finding an amazing

mirror. A mirror that he had trouble walking away from. A mirror that showed him

his family.

"Mirror of Erised?" Harry asked Professor Dumbledore. He didn't want to look

away from the Mirror but he did eventually turn to glance at the Headmaster.

"Yes, Harry. The Mirror shows one their heart's deepest desire. It is quite the

amazing artifact. It is also dangerous. Many have wasted away completely simply

sitting and staring at it longing for that which they have never had instead of

seeking to attain their desire in reality."

"Yeah well unless you happen to know how to bring back the dead, my necklace,

my mum's notebooks my dad's Cloak and this Mirror are the closest I'm ever going

to get to my family so excuse me for spending some time here. Sir." Harry twisted

back around to the Mirror. He hadn't forgotten what McGonagall had said about

why he was with the people his mother had hated.

"My boy, no magic can bring back the dead." Dumbledore sighed. He reached

forward to lay a hand on Harry's shoulder. Harry scowled and threw it off.

"I know that, Professor. I'm not an idiot. Maybe I could come up with a cluster that

would give a nice imitation of life but it wouldn't be real." Harry was still staring at

the Mirror so he missed the flash of fear and desire that passed through

Dumbledore's eyes. "Did you have my dad's Cloak?"

"I did."

Harry ground his teeth trying very hard not to lash out. "Why wait a decade to

return it then? Sir."

"I knew your relatives would not appreciate such a treasure. I simply wished to

ensure its safety until you rejoined us." Harry huffed, conceding the old man had a

point there.

"Well thank you for making sure I got it back. I would have preferred it as soon as I

got to Hogwarts but thanks for not just keeping it, Professor." Dumbledore gave a

slight nod. "You're taking the Mirror away aren't you?"

"I am."

"Fine..." Harry slowly climbed to his feet and touched the Mirror's surface with a

sad smile. "Bye, Mum. Bye Dad. Bye guys." He turned and walked past Dumbledore.

"Thank you for giving me some time with them, Professor."

"Have a pleasant evening, Harry." Dumbledore watched Harry walk away and

turned to the Mirror himself. An image of Harry – cloaked completely in black with

yellow eyes wide open – stared lifelessly back at him from the phantom's position

slumped on the floor. A phantom Dumbledore was standing over the boy holding a

rune cluster that he held to Arianna's chest. Dumbledore started crying as the

phantom version of his sister slowly started to breathe again.

When Neville and Hermione returned from their holidays Harry showed them the

Invisibility Cloak as well as his initial plans for the Ninja cluster that would be an

improved version of it incorporating sound dampening effects as well. Both were

extremely impressed.

"Did you have any luck in the Restricted Section searching for Flamel?" Hermione

asked after correctly guessing he'd have checked the book out from under the

Cloak.

"No, none of them had anything." Harry shook his head. He knew he remembered

the name from somewhere but it just kept eluding him.

"My Gran said it didn't ring any bells," Neville said. "She said he might be from out

of the country."

"Well that would certainly make a bit more sense I suppose," Hermione said. She

sighed. "That would also make this far more difficult."

"It's a shame he didn't do anything famous. Then he would've been in more books

even if he was – " Neville cut off as Harry slapped his forehead. "Harry?"

"I am such an idiot!"

Hermione shook her head and snorted. "Harry, you are not an idiot. You are a

savant. It's pretty much the exact opposite of idiot in the magical world."

"Exactly, Hermione!" Harry yelled looking between the two of them. "A savant!"

"Um, Harry," Neville said, "you're going to have to explain it better than that."

"Nicolas Flamel. Is. A. Savant! An alchemical savant!"

"He's what?" Neville asked frowning. Hermione's eyes widened and she nearly

jumped out of her seat murmuring how she'd be right back.

"He's an alchemical savant, Nev! After my first talk with Shiva I got a book out from

the library on previous magical savants and he was in there as one from the

1300s." Hermione came flying back down the stairs with a giant tome in her arms.

"I think he's on a chocolate frog card too. He was a French savant who specialized

in alchemy though he also may have helped found one of the schools there or at

least make it into more a world renowned one."

"Beauxbatons, yes," Hermione said as she dropped the giant book onto the table in

front of the two boys. "I checked this out for a bit of light reading – "

Neville gaped. "That's light?" Harry just laughed. Hermione glared.

"Yes. Anyway look! 'Nicolas Flamel – along with his wife Perenelle – is famous for

being the only known inventor of the Philosopher's Stone.' Do you know what this

means?"

"Philosopher's Stone?" Harry asked.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

---------------------------

Chapter 014

"Honestly, Harry!" Hermione huffed. "You remember that he helped with

Beauxbatons but not that he created the Philosopher's Stone? It's an incredibly

complex alchemical creation that can supposedly turn lead into gold as well as

create the Elixir of Life!"

"Oh."

"Bit of understatement there, Harry," Neville chuckled. "I don't suppose you could

make a rune cluster to do that huh."

"Well, the lead to gold thing, probably." The other two stared at Harry while he

was lost in the intertwining rune structures testing and discarding possible

combinations. "Yeah. I could do that. Not the Elixir thing though. I'd need at least

four different prime runes that I don't think even exist to do that. Direct

manipulation of a Soul or variant rune most likely."

Hermione's mouth closed with a snap. "Yes, well. Impossible things and eternal

riches aside, at least now we know what – and most likely why – Professor Snape is

looking to steal it."

"Yeah," Harry nodded. "Now we just need proof."

"It makes no sense that the Headmaster's office is hidden away behind a locked

gargoyle!" Harry yelled fists clenched. "How the bloody hell are people supposed

to reach him in an emergency if they can't even knock on his stupid door?"

"Language, Harry," Hermione absently chastised her friend. She tugged on his arm

to pull him away from the recalcitrant stone guardian. "Though I do have to agree –

Magicals seem rather short on common sense at times don't they? Come on.

Neville you too. There's no point arguing with this thing. Let's go try talking to

Professor McGonagall instead."

"Good idea, Hermione, she'll definitely help." Neville said nodding with

confidence.

"Well, at least she'll probably be able to get in to talk to Dumbledore," Harry

grumbled. He stopped fighting Hermione, casting a dark glance back at the

gargoyle before turning and quickly stalking ahead of the other two. Their hurried

pace had them knocking on McGonagall's office within only a few minutes.

The Deputy Headmistress blinked in surprise at the trio of students standing

outside her door as she answered the knock door. "Yes? Mr.'s Potter and

Longbottom, Miss Granger? It is quite close to curfew. How can I help you at this

time of evening?"

"Professor we – " Hermione began but was cut off as Harry started speaking over

her.

"Snape is going to try to steal the Philosopher's Stone!"

McGonagall blinked again. She turned to stare at each student in turn before

twisting to Hermione. "Miss Granger, you…you believe this as well?"

"I know it seems far-fetched, Professor," Hermione said nodding, "but we are

almost certain of it. Most of our evidence is hearsay and extrapolation but it is the

only conclusion that makes any sense."

"I do not know how you three found out about the Stone," McGonagall sighed. "I

assure you however that it is perfectly safe. Several different members of the staff

have added their own unique protections and no one save the Headmaster has

knowledge of the entire scheme. There is no need to worry."

Harry gave a low growl. 'Ignored yet again. How typical,' he thought.

"Please, Professor," Neville said quietly, "if we could at least speak with the

Headmaster…"

"The Headmaster was called away to an emergency meeting at the Ministry. He left

via broom and is unreachable for the next several hours." She frowned, thinking.

'Could it be possible? Would someone really be daring enough to attempt a theft in

the middle of Hogwarts with dozens of adult wizards and witches right there? No,

no one was that daring! Not for over a decade.'

"But – "

"Please, I understand your concerns but again, I assure you, the Stone is perfectly

safe in Hogwarts and that Professor Snape has no intention to attempt a theft. If

you still feel this strongly about it then we can discuss this in the morning when the

Headmaster returns. For now, please return to your dormitory before curfew."

"But – " Hermione said.

"Hermione, forget it," Harry muttered. He grabbed her arm and started pulling her

away. "Let's just go." Neville narrowed his eyes at Harry before nodding and

hurrying along to follow.

"Alright, Harry, what gives?" Neville asked the other boy after they had moved far

enough away to avoid being overheard.

"Yes, it's not like you to just give up like that, Harry," Hermione added with her

brow drawn in worry.

"There's no way she's going to believe us. I'm telling Shiva instead. Should've gone

to her first," Harry said hurrying towards the Ancient Runes classroom.

"You really think she'll believe us when Professor McGonagall won't?" Neville

asked with a slight quaver to his voice. McGonagall had evidently sapped at least

part of his confidence.

"Worth a try. But yeah I do." Harry pulled up outside his mentor's door and quickly

knocked.

"One sec!" came the muffled reply from beyond the threshold. "Just give me a – "

Shiva huffed pulling open the door, "minute. Harry?" The young teacher was

dressed in a too large T-Shirt and had on a tousled pair of pajama pants. "You know

what time it is? What's going on you three?"

"Shiva we need your help!" Harry said with his fists clenched.

Shiva frowned and glared at him. "Harry…"

He waved the rebuke off impatiently. "I know, I know, private! So not important at

the moment! We've already been to McGonagall – she ignored us! And

Dumbledore is gone which means that Snape's going to try to steal it tonight!"

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

---------------------------

Chapter 015

The older woman opened her mouth to say something before floundering and

trying again. "Maybe you three better come inside." She sighed. The trio walking in

and collapsed into the nearby chairs as Shiva sat down in front of them with her

arms crossed. "Let's try this again. Start from the beginning this time, yeah?"

Harry took a deep breath before leaning forward and starting to speak. "Snape has

been acting shifty all year, more so than just his grudge against me. We've noticed

a lot of little things and we know that the Philosopher's Stone is hidden in the

school underneath Fluffy."

"Fluffy?" Shiva asked, her arms spreading wide for more information.

"Hagrid's Cerberus," Neville supplied.

"Why does it not surprise me he named his monster dog, Fluffy…" Shiva muttered.

"Alright, go on."

"I like Hagrid," Harry continued, "he's really, really nice. But everyone knows he's

not exactly all that good at keeping a secret, and we just found out that he

accidentally mentioned to someone shady how to get past Fluffy, and with the

attempt earlier this year with the troll, and now with Dumbledore gone for the

night the thief has got to be planning to try again tonight!"

"Breathe, Harry," Hermione muttered from beside him.

Shiva frowned and stared between all three of them. "And you told this to

Professor McGonagall as well?"

Hermione nodded. "Yes, ma'am. But she just said that the Stone was safe and told

us to go back to bed and discuss it in the morning."

"Well, I was assured that the protections were sufficient when I offered to add

some wards to it…but this does sound a bit suspicious." Harry's heart fluttered a

bit. Would she really help them? "Okay. Here's what we're going to do. I'll go get

Dumbledore and we'll check the defenses to make sure that everything is still

secure while you three – "

"I thought Dumbledore was gone?" Hermione asked.

"He is, but he should be arriving at the Ministry by the time I get to the ward line to

Apparate over there. We should be able to get back within a half hour tops." Shiva

replied. "Now I want you three to go back to Gryffindor Common Room. Wait for

me there, after Dumbledore and I check it out, I'll come and let you know what

happened okay?"

"I…" Harry floundered. She was helping yes, but...shouldn't someone be watching

the door until they get back?

"Harry…" the teacher shot Harry a glare. He wilted.

"Okay," he finished with a grunt.

"Great. Now go on you guys, I'm just going to grab a pair of jeans and head out. If

I'm not up to talk to you in two hours then go to McGonagall again, and this time

don't let her out of your sight until she comes with reinforcements, yeah?"

"We can do that," Neville nodded.

"Yeah, sure. Come on guys. Thanks, Shiva," Harry said as he led the others back out

into the corridor.

Harry stopped on the landing to the third floor twisting to look down the corridor.

"Harry?" Hermione said from behind him. She pulled on his sleeve. "We have to

keep going. It's past curfew now and we don't want to get caught by Filch even if

Professor Babbling gave us permission." She shuddered a little. That caretaker was

almost as bad as Professor Snape.

"What if he's already there?" Harry asked so low the other two could barely hear

him.

"What?" Hermione asked.

"What if Snape is already trying to steal the Stone right now?" Harry asked again

louder. He was still staring down the empty hallway in front of him. "What if by the

time Shiva and Dumbledore get back it's too late?"

"I think we should listen to what Professional Babbling said to do..."

"He might be right, Hermione," Neville said. He stepped up beside Harry. "Maybe

we could just go and guard the door? You know, just to be safe?"

Hermione's mouth snapped shut. "But – we're – oh for Heaven's sake! Fine!" The

girl threw her hands up in the air and glared at the two boys. "If either of you get

me expelled I will kill you, dig up your grave to spit on your corpse and eat your

soul. You understand that, yes?" She got two fearful, hurried nods in reply.

"Excellent. Well let's not dally then." She stalked off leading the way to the door

with Fluffy and the Stone beyond. "Stupid boys," she muttered.

When the trio reached the door Hermione stopped so suddenly that Harry nearly

ran into her back. "Ugh oh…" he said as he noticed the door was slightly open.

"He's probably still down there," Neville said, a small quaver creeping into his voice.

"Should we stay up here and try to slow him down when he comes back up or

should be try to run to McGonagall?"

Hermione shook her head. "She's not likely to believe us quickly enough to make a

difference. Not after earlier."

"We go down after him," Harry declared squaring his shoulders.

"We what?" Neville squeaked.

"Harry," Hermione stopped, steeled herself and started again. "Harry, do you have

any more of your…volatile…runes on you?" He shook his head. "Damn. Well, we'll

just have to figure it out as we go. Come on, boys." She strode towards the door

without looking back.

Neville turned to stare at Harry mouthing a silent "wow" at him. Harry just snorted

and turned to follow his friend.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

---------------------------

Chapter 016

Fluffy was loudly snoring inside the threshold. An enchanted harp strumming along

in the corner of the room appeared to be the piece of music that had lulled the

beast. Harry pointed towards the trap door laying open near the great dog's paw

and the trio carefully walked towards it.

"Looks pretty far…" Neville whispered.

"There's likely a cushioning charm or something at the bottom," Hermione

whispered back. "Are we sure we want to do this?"

Harry moved up to the edge. "I'll go first. Hermione, you follow behind me and

Neville you're after her." And then he jumped into the darkness of the trapdoor.

Harry had just enough time to worry about whether or not there really was a

cushioning charm before he landed on something soft and squishy. A few seconds

later he heard soft thuds as Hermione and Neville also landed near him. "Well,"

Harry said, "that wasn't so bad."

"Shite!" Neville suddenly yelled causing Harry to jerk his head around towards the

sound. "It's Devil's Snare!"

Harry squinted into the darkness before squeezing the spongy material under him.

His eyes widened and he gasped in shock as he realized just what his Herbology

inclined friend had said. Devil's Snare. A nasty carnivorous plant that enjoyed

strangling its victims and slowly digesting the corpses. "What do we do?!"

"Fire! It doesn't like fire!" Neville yelled back.

"But we don't have any wood!" Hermione moaned from nearby.

"Are you a witch or not?!" Harry screamed at her. He jerked his wand towards the

plant curling around his legs and yelled out, "Incendio!" A small flame burst from

his wand followed shortly by two others from his friends nearby. The reaction from

the plant was nearly immediate as it uncoiled everything around the three and

pulled back towards the wall. Harry, Neville and Hermione hurriedly ran to the

door into the next room pulling it closed behind them and letting the flames die

out. This room was thankfully perfectly well lit.

"Well," Hermione puffed, "that was certainly interesting. Good job, Neville."

" 'We don't have any wood.' That's a good one, Hermione," Harry chuckled.

The girl glowered at him. "Well excuse me for panicking a little. It's the first time

I've been almost strangled by a plant."

"At least we didn't land on a troll," Neville snorted beside her.

"Ugh, let's just keep going. Anybody see a way out of this room?" Hermione

glanced around the large room they had found themselves in. It was completely

empty with the exception of a large set of doors opposite where they had come in

and a flock of small flying creatures above them. "You don't think those things are

going to attack us if we step out into the center do you?"

"Those – They're keys…" Harry said looking up at the flying items in shock.

"Keys?" Neville squinted upwards. "Wow. Guess you're the Seeker for a reason. I

guess we have to pick the right key then."

"There are brooms here." Hermione pointed to the side where two brooms lay

against the wall hidden near the door in.

"I got this," Harry said striding over to the brooms. "You guys go wait by the door

out in case they attack and we have to run." His friends nodded and hurried over.

When they were in position, Harry swung a leg over the broom and pushed into

the air.

Nearly immediately the flying keys turned towards Harry and started trying to dive

bomb the boy. Harry put his Quidditch practice to the test and dodged, ducked,

dived and dipped between the attacking keys until he managed to pick out the one

with a bent wing reaching out to pluck it from the air just like a Snitch. Barreling

towards the door with his prize Harry threw the key to Neville before performing

some aerial acrobatics to dodge the attacking keys and follow his friends through

the opening. As soon as he skimmed through, Hermione and Neville slammed the

door shut again behind him and a staccato series of thumps sounded through the

wood accompanied by tips of keys poking through to their side.

"I don't like how we've almost died twice in five minutes," Hermione said with a

shudder.

Harry just shrugged and let out a nervous chuckle. "Did you expect it to be easy?"

Neville just shook his head and sighed. "You know sometimes I hate you guys. So,

chess this time?" he said jerking his head to what lay ahead of them.

"Looks that way." Harry nodded. "Anyone have a preference for the King and

Queen?"

Hermione walked over towards the board. "Harry you should be the King. You're

the one who really has to make it across all this." Before Harry could even begin to

protest Hermione held up a hand. "You're the one who can quickly talk to Professor

Babbling, Harry. So, ergo, you're the important one here."

"You guys are important too, Hermione!" Harry scowled.

"All the same, you're the King, Harry. Now stop arguing!" Harry glared at Hermione

as she finished yelling at him, but nodded agreement all the same. She really could

be bossy when she felt like it!

"Hermione, you be the Queen," Neville said. "I was always better with Knights

anyway."

The three pieces the friends had claimed bowed and walked to the side of board

while the group took the empty places. Using input from Hermione and Neville,

Harry directed the chess pieces in their game. Considering how awful at chess he

was it was definitely a good thing that Neville stepped up and took charge of the

strategy of the movements. Within less than ten minutes the other side had been

checkmated and the trio was walking through the open doors into the next room.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

---------------------------

Chapter 017

"Ugh, someone mentioned another troll?" Harry asked holding his hand over his

nose.

"This one looks even bigger than the last," Neville said in a soft voice. Thankfully

this troll was quite dead seeing as a large section of its head was caved in.

Harry honestly couldn't bring himself to care much this time. It didn't help his

compassion that Hermione was wrapped tightly around his arm, shaking and

making quiet whimpering noises. "Come on, guys. We've got to be catching up."

As soon as the trio passed over the threshold into the next room, flames sprang up

covering both the way in and the way out. One set of flames burned purple and the

other was jet black.

"Well," Neville said swallowing nervously and staring between the two walls of fire,

"this could be a problem."

"Look," Hermione unwrapped herself from Harry's arm and strode over to a small

table in the middle of the room. "Harry, Neville, come here. This looks like a riddle

of some sort."

"Hermione, is this a logic puzzle?" Harry asked looking over her shoulder at a note

placed in front of the series of potion bottles.

"I believe so," Hermione commented absently reading over the list of clues several

times. "Give me a minute."

Neville ran a hand through his hair. "That's a really good idea actually…we wizards

aren't exactly known for our logical abilities are we?"

"Not from what I've seen," Harry muttered. His eyes widened and he looked at

Neville stricken. "S-sorry, Neville! I, um, I didn't – "

"It's fine, Harry. I've been hanging around you two long enough to figure out that

much at least," his friend replied with a sad chuckle. "I'm trying to work on it."

"Got it!" Hermione crowed. She pointed out several of the bottles. "This bottle will

take us back the way we came. These three are poison. These two are the wine,

and this one," she held up the smallest bottle, "will take us forward."

"It looks like only one dose…" Harry said taking the bottle from Hermione.

"Well considering none of the bottles appear to have been used already, they likely

refill after several minutes." She paused and chewed her lip. "Or…Professor Snape

used a flame freezing charm."

"Okay." Harry nodded. "You two take the one the other one and head back to meet

up with Shiva and Dumbledore. I'll keep going and try to delay Snape."

"Maybe we should all just wait here," Neville said with a frown. "I don't like the

idea of you going ahead alone."

Hermione's lips were quivering and her eyes were watering. "There's nothing we

can say that will make you wait is t-there?" Harry shook his head with his mouth

set in thin line. Hermione threw her arms around him and crushed him in a huge

hug. "You come back you h-hear me! You come back!"

"I'll do my best, Hermione," Harry said squeezing her back. "Nev, make sure she

stays safe."

"I will, Harry." Neville clapped a hand onto Harry's back and gently pulled

Hermione off him. "Be careful, mate." Harry nodded in reply, tipped back the

potion bottle and strode through the flames into the next room.

"Professor Quirrell?" Harry blurted out incredulously as he saw the man standing in

the middle of the final room. Quirrell was scowling at a mirror set up dead center

in the small room and barely even took notice of Harry entering behind him.

"Potter. I really shouldn't be surprised about this. You and your little friends have

been rather annoying this year," Quirrell sneered, all traces of the usual stuttering

gone from his voice.

"But – but – no! This isn't right, Snape is the one who's trying to steal the Stone!"

"Yes, he really does seem to fit the mold doesn't he? Who would ever suspect poor

traumatized Quirrell when the sneering bat is making himself such a tempting

target? I would've probably thanked him had he not made this so difficult!"

Harry had his wand on Quirrell but he had no idea what he should be doing at this

point. While Professor Flitwick had taught him the basics of the disarming and

stunning spell Harry still wasn't particularly good with them and he knew he would

stand no chance against a fully qualified adult wizard. 'Shiva is coming soon,' Harry

thought. 'All you have to do is stall!'

"But…Snape was trying to kill me at the Quidditch game!" Harry managed to yell

out.

"Oh no, I was the one trying to kill you, boy," Quirrell laughed. The sound was

hollow and it sent chills down Harry's spine. "Severus was trying to save you.

Muttering his annoying little counter-curse. He certainly hates you just like your

father before you. I don't expect he wishes you dead though. Or at the very least

he wishes to do it himself."

'Neville knocked Quirrell over to try and distract Snape.' Harry's mind was spinning.

He cast about trying to find something else, anything else, something to keep him

distracted.

"What about the troll? Did you let that in the castle too then?"

"Oh course. I even managed to place some bait near that foolish little girl. Shame

the Muggle-born survived. I surely would've had more than enough time to

retrieve the Stone before this addition had she been a good little girl and died like

she was supposed to."

Harry's vision tinged with red and his hand clenched on his wand. This…man…had

deliberately tried to kill Hermione! Harry's rage built and with a roar he yelled out,

"Expelliarmus! Stupefy!" Two jets of red light burst from Harry's wand in quick

succession. Quirrell twirled as Harry first opened his mouth and erected a shield.

His face jerked in surprise as Harry's second spell shattered the shield but he flicked

his wand at the student before Harry could take advantage of the opening. Ropes

wrapped around him and Harry snarled incoherently at Quirrell.

"Let…me…speak with…the boy," a hissing voice sounded throughout the small

room. Harry stopped struggling and felt his scar start to burn.

"But, Master, you – "

"Silence, Quirinus!" Quirrell immediately shut his mouth and turned his back to

Harry. With a muttered, "Yes, Master," the man began unwrapping his turban. As

the cloth fell away, Harry recoiled in horror and pain as his scar beat a drumbeat of

pain through his skull.

Protruding from the back of Quirrell's head was a face from a nightmare. Narrow,

red eyes. Slits for a nose, a too wide mouth. It was vaguely snake-like and a name

drifted up through Harry's memory. "Voldemort," he breathed out.

"Very good…boy. I admit…you are…stronger than I had…expected."

"How is this…?"

"My servant has failed me…one too many times…he needed to be watched…more

closely…after his failure at…Gringotts. Too long have I…remained weak…thanks to

you and…your mother. But now…with the Elixir…I will regain my body.

Quirinus…use him."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

---------------------------

Chapter 018

"Come here, boy!" Quirrell shouted flicking his wand at Harry. Harry flew towards

Quirrell and stopped directly in front of the mirror. "Tell me what you see!"

'Lie! Lie!' Harry thought desperately as he looked into the mirror. A quick glance up

and he found the familiar markings of the Mirror of Erised stenciled into the frame.

'How does this help? I couldn't get the Stone from this thing even if I wanted to!'

Harry hadn't even finished the thought before his gaze from drawn back down to

the Mirror by a quick movement. His phantom self in the reflection was unbound

and holding up a hand. That hand was clenched around a blood red stone that

almost seemed to pulse from within. The Phantom-Harry smiled at him and

dropped his hand into his pocket before vanishing. Harry felt a weight settle against

his leg as the images of his dead family again floated into view in the reflection.

"Well! What do you see, Potter!"

"I see…my family," Harry whispered. "I see my mum and my dad and sisters and

grandparents."

"Too…easy. He…lies!" Voldemort hissed.

"Tell me where the Stone is, Potter!" Quirrell yelled and flicked him around to stare

at the older man again.

"Come…Potter. Tell me where it is. Do not be like…your mother," Voldemort

breathed out. "I gave her the chance…to stand aside. All I wanted…was you. I

would have spared her then. I will spare you now. Just tell me…where is the

Stone!"

"Bullshite! I'll never tell you!"

"He has it on him! Seize him, Quirinus!"

Quirrell lunged at Harry. As soon as the man's hands touched Harry's skin, the

ropes dissolved, an acrid burning smell spilt into the air and both Harry and Quirrell

screamed in pain. Quirrell fell back, holding up his hands in shock as his skin was

burnt black. Harry collapsed to his knees and dropped his wand but, thankfully his

own skin was unmarred. "Master, I cannot touch him!" Quirrell whimpered.

"Then kill him you fool and take the Stone from his corpse!"

"No!" Harry snarled at Quirrell and Voldemort. He didn't have time to lunge for his

wand – it had rolled too far away. Instead he jumped forward and wrapped his

hands around Quirrell's throat. Both screamed in pain and this time Voldemort's

shriek joined in as well. Harry felt Quirrell's skin under his hands boil and his scar

felt like it was almost going to split in two but he held on. He held on as the man

beneath him flailed. He held on as his vision darkened.

The last thing Harry heard as his hands finally slackened were three distinct cries of,

"HARRY!"

Harry awoke to bright sunlight streaming in through a nearby window and a sterile

smell. Groaning he shifted in the bed he was lying in noticing most of the decor

was a stark white. Fumbling for his glasses from the table beside him, Harry finally

figured out he was in the hospital wing and stretched out on one of the beds near

the corner. Hermione was sleeping curled up on a chair nearby and there were a

pile of cards and snacks on the nearby table. Harry smiled down at his friend but

before he could try to move Madame Pomfrey, the Mediwitch, bustled out and

shook her head at him.

"Well it's good to see you awake, Mr. Potter. How are you feeling?"

"Actually," Harry paused to take stock, "really good. My head is still a little sore but

I feel fine, ma'am. What happened?"

"You'll have to ask either Professor Babbling or the Headmaster that question. All I

know is they came bursting in here with Miss Granger and Mr. Longbottom in tow.

You were already out and quite poor off." Pomfrey fixed him with a hard stare. "I

don't like students visiting me like this, Mr. Potter. I hope we will not be having a

repeat performance?" she said with an arched eyebrow.

Harry gulped. "No, ma'am. I certainly have no intention of doing that again."

"Good," Pomfrey took out her wand and began casting several diagnostic charms

over his body. "You appear well enough off that you may leave after the

Headmaster comes to speak with you. Take this potion for your headache." She

nodded at him and, leaving a potion by his bed, walked off back to her office.

Harry drank the potion with a grimace at the horrid taste. He had twisted to wake

Hermione when there was a quiet throat clearing behind him. Turning back, Harry

saw Professor Dumbledore taking a seat beside his bed. "Professor."

"Good morning, Harry. I trust you are feeling refreshed?"

"I've been better, Sir, but…yes."

"Excellent." The teacher's eyes twinkled and he gave a grandfatherly smile.

"Professor, what happened? The last thing I remember is burning Professor Quirrell

and blacking out."

"Well, Harry, it appears that dear Quirinus was…unable to abide your touch. You

see, your mother's sacrifice left a lingering…protection…within your blood. Her

pure love saved you as a child, that leftover mark on your forehead from

Voldemort's curse is proof of that. Her love watches over you even now. Someone

like Professor Quirrell, whose heart was filled with hate and envy and who allowed

himself to be possessed by Voldemort, was unable to withstand your touch. That is

why he was injured so badly."

Harry frowned. That was wrong. His mother's love may have helped jumpstart a

ritual or something but the 'mark' on his forehead was a Protection rune. It was

definitely not a remnant of a curse gone wrong. It was some sort of focus of what

his mother had accomplished when he was a baby. Harry may not fully understand

what she had done but he had recognized the rune component right off. Professor

Dumbledore was over a hundred years old and supposedly well versed in many

arcane branches of magic…there was no way he had missed something like that.

Harry shook his head. He could worry about that later; there were more important

questions for the moment.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

---------------------------

Chapter 019

"So, did I kill him?"

Dumbledore sighed and laid a hand on Harry's arm. "What happened to Professor

Quirrell was not your fault, my boy. He killed himself when he allowed Voldemort

to possess him. His body lasted but a few moments when the wraith deserted

him."

"So Voldemort got away then?" Harry scowled. Of course the monster got away. If

he could survive being killed once then he could probably survive being semi-killed.

"Yes. Voldemort is no kinder to his servants than to his enemies. He abandoned

Quirinus as soon as he was no longer a viable host."

"And the Stone, Sir?" Harry asked with a sigh. "How did I get it out? What

happened to it after?"

"Ah, a clever bit of enchanted if I do say so myself," Dumbledore said, the twinkle

back in his eyes. "Only someone who wished to find the Stone but not use it could

retrieve it. I daresay not many would fit that description and certainly not

Professor Quirrell or Voldemort."

"And after?"

"I have spoken with Nicolas and he has agreed that the Stone had to be destroyed.

The danger of another attempt was simply too great. Nicolas and his wife Perenelle

have enough Elixir remaining to set their affairs in order before the end."

"That doesn't seem very fair," Harry frowned.

"Life, unfortunately, is rarely fair, my boy." Dumbledore sighed and the twinkle left

his eyes before he looked back up with a soft smile. "Now, do you have any other

questions, Harry?"

Harry considered for a moment. "Voldemort said that Snape hated my father while

they were in school together…"

"Professor Snape, Harry," Dumbledore corrected. "And yes, your father and

Severus severely disliked each other. Then, to make matters even worse your father

saved Severus' life. I do not believe he could ever forgive James for that event."

Harry frowned. That made no sense whatsoever. "Can you at least tell me why he

hates me then?"

"I am sure you over exaggerate, Harry. Professor Snape may not favor you, but he

certainly does not hate you."

"Could've fooled me." Harry muttered with a snort.

"Yes, well, I believe I should be off, Harry. It was good to – "

"Wait! Professor Dumbledore, I need to know one more thing." The older man

nodded down at Harry. "Voldemort said that he was only there that night for me.

That he gave my mother a chance to leave and let him have me. Why was he

coming after me? Why did he care about a baby?"

A grimace crossed Dumbledore's face but he hid it quickly and merely sighed. "Alas,

my boy, I cannot answer that question at the moment. You are far too young, far

too innocent for me to answer that. I know you do not like to hear this, but when

you are older I will inform you what he meant by that."

Harry scowled at the man. "I've lived with the Dursleys for ten years, Professor. I

haven't been innocent since I was five."

Dumbledore simply gave him a patronizing smile and stared at him with that

damnable twinkle. "Be that as it may, I will not burden you with this. Have pleasant

day, Harry."

As Dumbledore left the hospital wing Harry snorted and flopped back into his

pillow. "Typical adult," he muttered. Continuing in a slightly louder voice, "You can

stop pretending now, Hermione."

Barely a second later a bushy brown bullet had engulfed him in a hug so tight he

could barely breathe. "I – was – so – scared!" The girl sobbed into his chest. "You –

were – screaming – and – you've – been – out – for – two – days!"

"Shh," Harry patted her head and pushed her back slightly, trying to both get some

air and to look her in the eyes. "I'm fine now. See?" Hermione's head bobbed

slowly. "Did you guys meet Shiva and Dumbledore on the way out?"

"No," Hermione shook her head wiping her eyes and finally calming enough that

she wasn't choking out sobs. "No, Neville and I waited in the potion room. We

were hoping the vial would refill and then one of us was going to go after you. But

after a few minutes Professor Babbling ran into the room with Dumbledore on her

heels. When she saw us she started cursing…well cursing you really…and she

launched a flame freezing charm at the other doorway. She ran through it with the

rest of us following and that's when we saw you – we saw you – " She gave another

sob before taking a deep breath and continuing. "You collapsed and Professor

Babbling and Professor Dumbledore took you back up here. Neville and the twins

along with the other members of the Quidditch team have been in a few times.

Some of the others from the tower stopped by as well. I think Lavender was the

one who left the hair charms book…I might actually borrow that one if you don't

mind."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

---------------------------

Chapter 020

Harry chuckled at that. Hermione may be babbling but at least she wasn't crying

anymore. "I don't think you need it but sure, go ahead. Your hair is part of what

makes you, you after all." Hermione's eyes widened as Harry rubbed the back of

his neck. "So, what do you think the odds are that the Flamels pop up again in a

few decades after this whole thing is over?" Harry asked with a smirk.

Hermione snorted. "I don't know if Professor Dumbledore actually believes he truly

did destroy the Stone or if he just wanted you to believe that, but I would certainly

never take that bet. You don't survive for six centuries without having some

backups and dealing with attempted thieves every now and then."

"My thoughts exactly," Harry laughed.

"Harry," Hermione sat back, suddenly very hesitant. "About what you said about

your family…"

"My relatives," Harry stated tonelessly. "The Dursleys are my relatives. Not my

family."

"Yes, your…relatives…"

"I don't really want to talk about it, Hermione. Please," he pleaded, "please,

just…let it go?"

"I…" Hermione frowned but nodded jerkily. "Okay. But we really are going to have

to talk about it at some point, Harry."

"Just not now." Harry turned to look at the tower of sweets nearby. "Soo…you

want to help me eat some of these?"

"Minerva," Shiva said as she slipped into her colleague's office, "we have to talk."

"Shiva," McGonagall greeted her young friend. "Please take a seat. How can I help

you?"

"It's about Harry." Shiva said crossing her arms and sinking into the seat.

"Ah. I suppose I should have expected this. Tea?"

"I think this is more of a whiskey conversation, Min."

Minerva grimaced but moved to her special cabinet. "Have I really acted that

terribly?"

"I think it's more that a lot of little things have piled up but…yeah, Min. You kinda

screwed the pooch on this one." Shiva sighed and accepted the glass, taking a sip.

"Look, have you noticed that I seem to be one of the only members of the faculty

he comes to talk with?"

"He did speak with Filius and me shortly after Halloween…" Minerva trailed off as

her brow furrowed trying to think of any other time the boy had stopped in to

speak with the staff outside of classes. "And I know that Harry has taken several

after class instructions on basic dueling spells…"

"But that's it. Min," Shiva leaned forward and stared into McGonagall's eyes, "he

doesn't trust any of you. He barely trusts me and I think half that is because I

practically beat him over the head to think of me as someone his age instead of a

teacher."

The older woman narrowed her eyes at Shiva. "That is – "

"Not appropriate. Yeah, yeah I know. I don't care, Min! That kid could've blown up

half a classroom because he didn't have anyone to tell him the dangers of what he

was working on for fun. You were there when I almost killed Hestia and myself! I

was working on something downright tame in comparison! If I have to lose some

professional respect to make sure the same thing doesn't happen to Harry then I

damn well will!" Shiva downed her drink and poured herself another glass. "But

that's not what I'm here to talk about. I got that handled. He's consulting me on

stuff and I already got him some of the basic equipment to safeguard any

experiments months ago. I'm here to talk about his trust issues." She blew out a

breath of smoke from the firewhiskey and leaned back. "I think he was a bit better

about it before his talk with you after Halloween sent his trust into a downward

spiral. And from some flippant comments throughout the year...I'm guessing

whatever you two talked about had to do with his relatives?"

"His family?" Minerva rubbed her chin. "Yes. I believe I mentioned that Albus and I

were the ones who brought him to his family."

Shiva scowled. "Relatives, Min. Not family. Relatives. Harry is always exceedingly

careful to correct anyone who says differently. I don't know what is going on at the

Dursleys but whatever it is it's not good. And he blames you and Dumbledore for

it."

Minerva's mouth dropped open. She tried to say something several times before

giving up and tossing back another glass. "Just how bad do you think it is?"

"I don't know. I won't push him on it because if I do I'll lose him. My money right

now is on Granger eventually finding out first and then coming to one of us. I don't

think they are actively beating him but I imagine they might as well be. I already

spoke with Albus about moving him to a wizarding family or perhaps letting him

stay with the Grangers for a few weeks, but he was…rather insistent that Harry stay

where he is." Shiva practically growled. "I swear, if that boy comes back with any

injuries I am going to tear that old man a new hole."