Harry Potter and the Philospher's Stone

Prologue

November 4, 1981

Nicolas Flamel had seen many things in his six hundred sixty-seven years; however, the chaos that had struck the Wizarding World was like none he had ever known.

Everyone was talking about how the Dark Lord had been defeated by a toddler. The man who slaughtered hundreds of men, women, and children was vanquished by a boy who was still teething. Everyone had their own theories as to how it happened. Some thought the child must have been a very powerful dark wizard. Others thought that karma had finally caught up with him. No matter the reason, the Dark Lord Voldemort had met his end in front of a one year-old.

"Minerva, I can feel your eyes boring holes into the back of my head. I know I'm handsome, but do you think you could tone your obvious attraction to me? Perenelle might get suspicious. And then she'll kill you. And then I'll have to find another woman to amuse me as she glares at young children."

Professor Minerva McGonagall just glared harder at him. "How can you joke at a time like this?"

"'He who can find no light in darkness is truly doomed.' I said that."

Against her better judgment, the strict looking women smiled at the seemingly young man in front of her. Of course, looks were nothing to go by when it came to this man. Nicolas Flamel, although he looked to be in his thirties, was well over the age of six hundred.

"So the rumors are true then? Lily and James are dead, and little Harry defeated Voldemort?"

Minerva shuddered. "I really wish you wouldn't use that name!"

"..." He stared at her.

"Fine! Yes, the rumors are true."

"Sirius must be devastated."

She scoffed. "Black has been arrested and sentenced to Azkaban."

"Really? You'd think that trial would have been all over the papers"

"There was no trial. It wasn't needed. Black sold the Potters out."

"Oh?"

Nothing about Flamel would have reflected his having an opinion in the matter. In fact, it seemed as if his entire face had shut down, letting nothing escape.

She looked at him searchingly. "I was very surprised. He and James were so close."

"And the boy? Who's taking care of Harry if his godfather is in jail? I heard about the Longbottoms; Alice is obviously in no condition to take him in. They wouldn't let a werewolf near him, so Remus is out of the question. Who's left?"

"Albus left him with Lily's sister."

"You mean the sister she hadn't talked to in damn near seven years? The sister that hates Lily and magic?"

"Albus thought it best," Minerva said as if that should end any argument although her face showed faint traces of hesitation.

"If Albus thought it best you jump off a bridge after killing all the students in your class, would you do it?" he snapped. "Albus Dumbledore is not exactly an expert when it comes to familial matters. Or young children."

Minerva was silent. She'd never seen Nicolas so incensed.

"Sorry. It just...It just angers to me that everyone hangs on the man's words without knowing if he has any experience in a matter. I mean, he's a damn good alchemist, and a bloody good Transfiguration master. However, he has very little experience with children. He got that job at Hogwarts because he defeated Grindelwald, and you saw how that affected him. And let's not forget that he and his own brother are barely on speaking terms at the moment."

She sighed. "I understand where you are coming from, but I disagree. What could possibly go wrong?"

Nicolas shook his head. "I hope you're right. For Harry's sake."

AN: This was originally an interlude in my last Harry Potter story, After reviewing it and editing bits, I thought it made a fairly good prologue. Now, as to why Nicolas is here, he'll be playing a much bigger part in this story than he did in canon. Because he is so unmentioned in canon, it was weird trying to figure out what I wanted him to do. But after the first few sentences, he practically wrote himself.