Flames of Purity

A/N: Well here's the full chapter as promised. Enjoy!

'Text' – Thoughts/Mind speaking


The room was near pitch black. A lone candle was the only source of light in the room. Its soft glow illuminated a piece of parchment that lay on the table. A lone figure sat in front of it with its head bowed down and eyebrows furrowed deep in thought. There was a flash of light a few feet behind the figure. The figure, however, didn't even twitch a muscle and one may assume that it was not even aware of the incident.

'What's troubling you my friend?'

'He has returned and much sooner than I expected.'

There was a brief silence. 'Is Harry ready?'

'I don't know. But it doesn't matter anymore. Harry will have to face him soon enough.'

'What about your contingency plan?'

'The Flames of Purity works. It saved Harry in the Forbidden Forest and hopefully it will do so again. But you as well as I know its limits. I am not willing to bet everything on it. Keep watch over him, my friend.'

A soothing reassuring melodious trill was all the answer the figure got before there was another flash of light, leaving the figure alone and returning the room to its previous state of darkness.


What does a person feel prior to meeting an associate of the man who had murdered his parents? What does he feel knowing that that only he stands between that associate and the Philosopher's Stone, a stone that is capable of producing the Elixir of Immortality? What does he feel knowing that his parent's murderer may also be present and he may himself die at his hands just like his parents?

Fear

That was exactly what 11 year old Harry Potter was feeling as he stared at the flames that barred the entrance to the last chamber. Yet mixed with the said emotion was a sense of determination, determination to not allow Voldemort or his accomplice to get their hands on the stone, no matter the cost. Also for some reason, Harry felt morbid amusement as he stared at the tiny vial in his hand, the vial that held the potion he needed to consume to safely traverse through the flames. He couldn't help but chuckle darkly as he recalled the so called protections that Dumbledore and his staff had implemented to prevent Voldemort from reaching the stone. A Cerberus that is unimaginatively named Fluffy, Devil's Snare, a plant that is coincidentally part of the first year curriculum, flying keys, a troll that was already unconscious by the time he, Ron, Hermione and Neville had reached it, a giant chess set and a potion puzzle; Harry couldn't help but wonder that if a couple of first years can beat the protections, how the hell were they supposed to have stopped Voldemort.

Harry shook his head in an effort to clear it. He had more pressing concerns than to ponder about Dumbledore's foolishness. He took a deep breath and downed the contents of the vial in one gulp. He shuddered at the icy sensation that spread throughout his body.

"Well here goes nothing!" Harry muttered and stepped into the flames. He tensed up and closed his eyes, preparing himself to feel the scorching heat of the flames. But it never came. He cracked open one of his eyes and saw the black flames gently licking his body but not harming him in any way.

Stepping out of the flames, he got the first glimpse of the chamber. It looked like a miniature version of the Roman Colosseum. In the middle of the room stood a familiar looking mirror. It was the same mirror that had showed him his parents; the Mirror of Erised. Only problem was that there was already someone standing in front of it.

"Quirrell!" Harry breathed.

"How nice of you to join me! Master was sure that you would be coming." Quirrell replied not looking at Harry, his focus solely on the mirror.

"Master? You mean Voldemort? Is he with you?" Harry asked, looking around warily.

"Master is always with me."

'That's odd! I don't see anyone else here and as far as I remember I've never seen anyone with Quirrell before' Harry thought, perplexed.

"So you were the one that cursed my broom." Harry asked in an effort to distract Quirrell and buy more time for Dumbledore to arrive. He had sent Hermione and Neville along with an injured and unconscious Ron to send a letter to Dumbledore who was away on business.

"Yes" Quirrell muttered absently while slowly running his fingers along the frame of the mirror.

"And you were the one that was… drinking unicorn blood in the Forbidden Forest!"

"Yes. Now be quiet!" Quirrell muttered irritably, waving his hand. "I need to examine this interesting mirror. It seems to be the key to getting to the stone. I can see myself presenting it to my Master. But how do I reach it? Should I break the glass? Help me Master!"

Harry wondered if Quirrell had gone mad. He tried to speak in an effort to distract Quirrell but found himself unable to speak. 'Damn it!' He was busy thinking of his next move when he heard the most chilling and terrifying voice in his life. It was high-pitched and as cold as ice.

"Use the boy!"

"Come here boy!" Quirrell shouted, rounding on Harry.

Quirrell's voice snapped Harry out of his horror-struck trance. He jumped back a few paces and pointed his wand at Quirrell. Inwardly he was shaking with fear since he had absolutely no idea how to cast spells non-verbally. Quirrell laughed at his bravado and snapped his fingers. Harry felt himself going rigid and floated helplessly toward Quirrell. He was made to stand in front of the mirror and with his eyes wide open and his body not responding to his commands, he was unable to look away from the mirror. He saw his parents standing behind him as usual but then his father held up his hand and Harry saw that he was holding a blood red stone. His father smiled and put the stone in the jeans pocket of his image. At the same moment Harry felt something heavy drop into his real pocket. Somehow, miraculously, he had got the stone!

"What do you see?" Quirrell asked impatiently.

"I see myself holding the Quidditch Cup." Harry invented wildly. He realized that he was able to speak. Quirrell must have removed the Silencing spell from him.

Quirrell snarled in frustration and roughly pushed Harry out of the way. Harry, who was still under full body bind, crashed painfully on to the cold hard floor. He winced from the pain and was desperately looking for a way out of his predicament when that cold high-pitched voice spoke again.

"He lies!"

Quirrell snarled and reached out towards Harry intending to search his clothes. Harry tried in vain to free himself. However the moment Quirrell's hand came within a few centimeters of Harry's body, bluish-white flames erupted around Harry and enveloped him. Quirrell jumped back howling in pain. Harry saw with morbid fascination that Quirrell's right hand was severely burnt and was sporting several angry blisters.

Normally when strange flames suddenly erupt around a person, that person panics but to Harry the entire situation felt like déjà vu. The same flames had appeared when he was serving detention in the Forbidden Forest after the incident involving Hagrid's pet dragon, Norbert. At that time he had thought that he was imagining things. He was already panicked by the blood drinking monster bearing down upon him and therefore he had believed that the flames were a figment his imagination. He was further confused and puzzled by the words of Firenze, the centaur.

"You are a lucky one, young Harry, to be blessed by the Eternal Beings."

He and Hermione had scoured the library for information regarding the Eternal Beings but had found nothing. Hermione had taken it as a personal insult. He had even asked Drake but even he didn't know anything about them.

"I wish to speak to him." The cold voice brought Harry out of his thoughts.

"Master, you are not strong enough!" Quirrell sobbed while cradling his arm.

"Quiet!"

Quirrell nodded but looked afraid. 'What's the hell is going on here?' Harry thought. Harry flinched as Quirrell let out a blood-curling scream and fell down on the floor clutching his turbaned head. Harry tried to scramble as far away from Quirrell as possible and found that he was able to move. It seemed that the flames had not only burnt Quirrell's hand but also neutralized all the spells put on him.

He could escape. He had the stone and Quirrell was kneeling on the floor and screaming his head off. He was also free of the body bind. Nothing would prevent his escape, yet for some unknown reason, Harry stood rooted to his spot watching Quirrell with horrified fascination.

Ultimately Quirrell's screams ceased and he stood up panting. He raised his head and Harry jumped back in fear and shock. Staring at him were not Quirrell's eyes but eyes which he had only seen glimpses of in his nightmares. They were blood red and the most disturbing part was that there were no whites in those eyes nor any irises. Everything was just red.

Quirrell smiled a terrible smile. "Hello Harry Potter, I am Lord Voldemort."

Staring into the eyes of his parent's murderer, Harry couldn't do a thing. He was paralysed with fear. His mind screamed at him to do something, to move, to flee, to attack, anything, but his body wasn't responding to its commands.

"I think you have something that I need. Why don't you hand over the stone in your pocket."

'So he knew, but how?' Harry thought and then cursed himself for the lapse of his Occlumency shields. He snapped them back up and took a step back.

Voldemort looked momentarily surprised but then sneered, "Don't be foolish boy. You don't want to die like your parents, do you? Did you know that they died begging at my feet for mercy?"

"YOU LIE!" Harry yelled.

Voldemort sneered. "How touching! Yes, they were very brave. They died fighting like true warriors. I always liked such people. You are also brave… and powerful. You are already an Occlumens and I especially liked that nifty trick you performed at the match. You have so much potential. Join me Harry and together we will rule the world. Let us not dwell in the past. Give me the stone and together we will find a way to bring your parents back to life."

Harry stared at Voldemort, deep in thought. Was it possible to get his parents back? All the answers lay in his pocket. Momentarily the faces of his parents flashed before his eyes. He knew what he had to do.

Slowly Harry took out the stone. "Fine, you can have the stone… and I will join you." He tossed the stone towards Voldemort.

Voldemort watched greedily as the stone sailed towards him. 'Foolish boy!' he thought.

"Then again… maybe not!" Harry smirked. He raised his wand and pointed it, not at Voldemort but at the stone and shouted, "REDUCTO!"

"NOOOOOO!" Voldemort cried out in anger as the curse reduced the stone to dust. Enraged beyond measure, Voldemort raised his wand and pointed it at Harry who was clutching his scar in agony but at the same time smirking mockingly at him. "YOU INSOLENT BRAT! HOW DARE YOU? NOW DIE! AVADA KE…"

He never got to finish the curse because at that moment there was a bright flash of light above them and from it emerged the most magnificent bird Harry had ever laid his eyes on. It was a beautiful pure white bird with blue highlights on its wings and head. It was writhed in bluish-white flames. Overall the bird looked both magnificent as well as deadly.

Voldemort's eyes widened as the bird swooped down on him. He dodged it and sent a curse towards it but the bird simply disappeared in a flash of flames. It reappeared on the other side of the room and repeated its earlier routine.

In the haze of pain from his scar, Harry thought that he may have imagined it when he felt that that for the briefest second the bird had looked directly at him and jerked its head towards Voldemort. He would later wonder how he knew what needed to be done but at that moment he got up and lunged at Voldemort. The moment his hands came in contact with Voldemort, his scar exploded in pain while at the same time the flames reemerged and enveloped both him and Voldemort. Voldemort screamed and writhed in pain and tried to throw him off but Harry held on. In the haze of pain, Voldemort's screams and the strangely soothing trill of the mysterious bird, Harry felt a burning sensation on his forehead. He felt the edges of his vision blacking out and the last thing he heard before darkness consumed him was the voice of someone calling his name.


KNOCK! KNOCK!

Silence

KNOCK! "Drake, are you alright?" Tonks yelled.

Silence

Tonks stood outside Drake's room wondering what to do next. She had been knocking on his door and calling his name for the past 10 minutes with no response and she was starting to get a little worried. She knew that something was wrong the moment he had failed to show up at her house at the usual time for their morning jogging and exercise routine. Drake was anything but lazy and hadn't missed the agreed upon time even by a minute during the last four months, something which her mother had been extremely impressed with, and she herself, less than pleased. She still wondered how Drake had managed to convince her to undergo the fitness regime. Getting up at 4:00 in the morning! She mused if she had ever got up before 8 in her life!

Tonks debated with herself whether she should call Tom or leave. Then a rather mischievous idea popped into her head. She was still a bit hesitant on following up on the idea but she suppressed it thinking that he would surely appreciate a good prank. Moreover, she argued, that as a good friend it was her duty to at least check on him. After all, he may be ill. Coming to a decision, Tonks pointed her wand at the door-knob and muttered,

"Alohomora!"

The inside of the room was dark since it was barely dawn and the curtains were drawn. With a flick of her wand the curtains parted and light, a mixture of the light from the streetlights and the soft early morning light, flooded the room. That sight that met her eyes, though somewhat expected, nevertheless made her blush heavily. Drake was absolutely fine and fast asleep on his bed. He was lying on his stomach and sometime during the night the blanket had slipped his muscled and well toned torso. Tonks was of course well aware of the fact that Drake had a figure of an athlete due to the number of times she had discreetly checked him out during the exercise sessions, and all those times a rosy blush had never failed to grace her cheeks.

Tonks shook her head and mentally chastised herself for ogling at him at such a time. Her eyes twinkled with mischief and she slowly closed the door and silently crept up to Drake's bed. She stifled a giggle and brought her mouth very close to his ears and said loudly, "GET UP DRAKE!"

The effect was instantaneous. Drake sat up on his bed, his hands over his ears and shouted wildly, "Bloody hell Eli! Not so loud!" He looked around wildly and spotted Tonks who was rolling on the floor in laughter.

"What are you doing in my room Tonks?" Drake asked bemusedly.

Getting her laughter under control, Tonks said while gasping for breath, "I.. came to… check up on you… after you failed to show up."

Drake was still a bit dazed and asked dumbly, "Show up where?"

"At my house… for our morning run."

"Oh shit! What time is it?"

"Fivish."

"Oh good! There's still time." Drake exclaimed and made to get up from the bed when he realized his state of undress and blushed. "Umm… Tonks, can you wait outside while I get ready?"

Tonks grinned mischievously as she watched Drake squirm uncomfortably while pulling the blanket upto his chin.

"Nope! Not until you say who's Eli? Tonks asked, plopping herself down on a nearby chair.

Drake looked at Tonks sharply, "How did you know about Eli?"

Tonks looked a bit taken aback. "Well you woke up screaming 'Bloody hell Eli! Not so loud!'" Drake relaxed visibly at that. "So, who is she? Your secret girlfriend?" Tonks smirked, surprising herself when she felt a slight twinge of jealousy inside her.

Drake's eyes got a faraway look and he smiled fondly. "Eli is my big sister in all but blood. For as long as I remember, I had only her and my teacher for company."

"What about your parents?" Tonks asked curiously. She had told Drake many stories about her childhood but never once had he said anything about his. He had been most reluctant to discuss it and always actively avoided that line of discussion. She always wondered why. Maybe now she would finally get some answers.

Drake smiled sadly. "I never knew them or maybe I just don't remember them. They died very early on in my life. I remember absolutely nothing about my father and the only thing I remember about my mother is the color of her hair. It was as dark as the midnight sky."

"I am sorry Drake"

"It's ok. I don't exactly miss them since I never knew them properly. My teacher or Master as I liked to call him took me in when I was around…six, I think. Eli or Elizabeth was a maid servant in his house. She was around your age at that time and we immediately clicked. I was like her little brother. She later told me that she had no siblings and had always wanted a little brother on whom she can fuss over and I conveniently filled that role." Drake chuckled.

"Master took over my education and whatever I know today is because of him. But he was never a parental figure… I think he never strived to become one either. So it was all up to Eli. She took over every parental task and performed them with aplomb. At that time I was extremely lazy… seriously!" Drake added, noticing Tonks' disbelieving expression. "So Eli used to do what you did a while ago. Then she used to take me outside to the gardens or the nearby forest. She used to teach me the names and uses of various plants and enjoyed telling tales of the forests. She loved the wilds. She used to say that the trees called to her. Maybe they did because she always became more… lively when she was in the wilds. Not that she was less lively outside. In fact to me she always seemed to be brimming with energy and she usually expended them by pulling elaborate pranks on the other inhabitants of the house. And I was always her willing accomplice."

"Looks like I have her to thank for your pranking skills!" Tonks grinned.

Drake chuckled. "Yeah!" Then he sighed, "I miss her Tonks! I liked everything about her. Still do. The way she talked, the way she walked… everything. She had an unnatural grace. She was graceful in everything she did. Hell, she even pranked gracefully!" Drake paused for a moment. "You know, she also has dark black hair. Whenever I tried to picture how my mother used to look, her image always came to my mind. I think a part of me believed that Eli really was my mother." A few tears were rolling down Drake's eyes and even Tonks felt the corners of her eyes stinging.

Suddenly Drake gave a watery chuckle. Tonks looked questioningly at him. Drake gave a small laugh. "When I was around 14… and had just started to… umm… appreciate girls…" Drake blushed while Tonks grinned teasingly, "Eli asked me one day what sort of girls I liked. After hearing my answer her eyes watered. You know that was the first and last time that I ever saw her cry. She was always so strong!"

"What did you tell her?" Tonks asked softly.

Drake smiled. "Someone like you."

Silence fell among the two friends, each lost in their own thoughts. For Tonks it was an illuminating piece of information, something which shed some light on Drake's overall personality. No wonder he was so thoughtful and kind hearted. With a guardian like that who wouldn't be? It also somewhat explained Drake's lack of interest in the numerous girls that fawned over him. They didn't even come close to fulfilling the standard he had set for himself. Piggybacking this particular line of thought a question popped unbidden into her mind: did she matched his standards? Tonks shook her head; she didn't like Drake that way, did she? No, Drake was just her best friend! Those thoughts will ruin her friendship with him.

Meanwhile Drake was reminiscing about the good old days. He wondered what Eli was doing at present; probably she was tending to the flowers. Last he heard from her, she was seeing someone. He wondered if she had been proposed yet!

"I think we will skip the jogging today and only do some light exercises." Drake said, breaking the silence.

Tonks , who was still deep in thought, started at his voice. "What? Oh, yeah!"

Ten minutes later, Tonks and Drake, now fully dressed in a black muscled t-shirt and training pants, Apparated to a deserted park and began warming up.

"So, Mr. Puntual, what's the matter with the sleeping in?" Tonks asked, grinning mischievously.

Drake scoffed. "As if you don't know! It was after all your fault."

"My fault!" Tonks exclaimed indignantly.

"Who was it that wanted to learn to cook? Who blew up half the kitchen while preparing a cup of coffee?" Drake glared at Tonks.

"Umm, sorry about that!" Tonks grinned sheepishly while scratching the back of her neck. "But I had to learn how to cook. " Tonks exclaimed, an edge of desperation creeping into her voice. "You know that mother won't let me move in to my own apartment until I at least learnt how to cook breakfast."

"And with good reason! By the way, why doesn't she herself teach you?"

"She said that she didn't have enough money to rebuild our house." Tonks mumbled quietly, blushing embarrassedly.

Drake burst out laughing much to Tonks' chagrin. "Yeah, I can certainly attest to that. Tom almost banned you from the bar. I had to do a lot of smooth talking to make him change his mind."

Tonks let out a sigh of relief. She would have hated to have been banned from the bar. "But you will still teach me, right?" Tonks asked, puppy dog eyes on full blast.

Drake nodded thoughtfully. "We have to find a secluded spot far away from civilization. I would really hate to bring Judgment Day on London!" Drake teased.

"Ha ha ha! Very funny!"

"You know you can try to learn the Muggle way of cooking. I remember seeing a microwave at your house. So you must be familiar with such appliances."

"Yeah, but magical way is so much faster!"

"Not necessarily! Besides Muggle methods are less risky and they come with manuals, so you can learn yourself if necessary."

Tonks looked thoughtful. Then she smiled. "That's not a bad idea at all! I may do just that. Thanks Drake!"

"My pleasure!"

After exercising for another hour, they Apparated back to the bar where Drake cooked breakfast for both of them while Tonks apologized profusely to Tom.

They ate in silence for a while before Drake broke it. "So, ready for tomorrow?"

Tonks, who was taking a sip of water, put her glass down. "I think so, or at least I hope so." She stated nervously. "If the pre-tests were any indication, the finals are going to be bloody torturous!"

"Relax Tonks, give your hundred percent and you are going to be fine. I believe in you! And when you pass with flying colors, it will be my pleasure to address you as Auror Tonks." Drake said, smiling encouragingly.

Tonks smiled at his words. She didn't know why but Drake always inspired her in a way no one had ever been able to. A simple word of encouragement, a small smile sent her heart racing and filled her with warmth and confidence.

"Thanks. It means a lot… coming from you. But even if I passed, I will still be a Junior Auror. Although…." she trailed off. "You remember I mentioned Moody coming to the Academy as a guest?"

"The paranoid ex-auror, right?"

"Yeah, that one! It seems that I caught his eye somehow. I received a letter from him yesterday expressing his desire to take me under his wing."

"That's great news, Tonks!"

"Yeah, it is, isn't it? I mean he was the best in the business and after the six month apprenticeship, I will be qualified to become a full Auror! That's six month before the rest of my batch will qualify!" Tonks rambled excitedly.

They celebrated the news over a few glass of wine. Soon thereafter Tonks returned home and Drake busied himself with his duties.

Later that night :

It was almost midnight when Drake retired to his room. He had just closed the door when there was a flash of light behind him.

'It has happened!'

Drake whirled around and addressed the magnificent white phoenix perched on the bedpost. 'When?'

'Just now.'

'How's Harry?'

'Unconscious but fine!'

'And the stone? And Quirrell?'

'The stone's been destroyed. Harry himself did it. He is a brave one! And Quirrell's been reduced to a pile of ash.'

Drake let out a relieved sigh. 'So, the plan worked after all!'

'Perfectly! Although…'

'Although what Liara?'Drake asked worriedly.

'The flames seemed to affect Harry also, although to a much lesser extent. I also sensed the presence of evil within him.'

Drake looked thoughtful. 'That's impossible… unless…' Now Drake looked positively alarmed.

Liara picked up his thoughts and said, 'You may be right.'

'This will complicate things… but maybe we can use it to our advantage.'

Liara bobbed her head and trilled beautifully. 'Now with that out of the way, I think I could do with some attention. You haven't stroked my feathers for quite some time.'

Drake rolled his eyes and chuckled at her antics. 'Yes ma'am!'


Three days. That's how long he had been unconscious. He had woken up to the smell of potions and had panicked at a rather wild notion that he was in some lab where Voldemort was performing some sick experiment on him. He had slightly calmed down at the sight of Madam Pomfrey but his panic returned with full force as the memories of that night came flooding back to his mind. Madam Pomfrey had assured him that whatever trouble he had gotten himself into has been solved and that he had emerged from it mostly unscathed. The skin around his scar had been badly burnt but the matron had assured him that it had almost healed completely and when healed, would leave no blemishes behind, much to his relief.

A few moments later Dumbledore had walked in and informed him that the stone had been completely destroyed. 'Yeah right! As if I didn't already know that!' Then he had been interrogated by Dumbledore about the events of that day. He had noticed with particular curiosity that Dumbledore seemed troubled by the appearance of the strange flames and the mystery bird or rather a phoenix as Dumbledore had informed him when he first told him about it. Dumbledore had later claimed that the flames were the protection his mother had given him by sacrificing herself, something about the power of love, but he had got the distinct feeling that Dumbledore himself was not quite sure of it.

He had been most anxious to meet his fellow adventurers and when they had finally dropped by he had been extremely relieved and happy. He had however immediately noted with some concern that Neville's eyes had a haunted look in them. He had felt guilty about dragging Neville into the mess but with the Fat Lady away on some nighttime excursion, he couldn't just leave Neville behind when he had found him asleep outside the portrait hole, having forgotten the password… again. But seeing the haunted look he had wondered that maybe leaving him behind would have been the wise decision. He had however been impressed when he had seen Neville, whom everybody considered as a nervous, forgetful fool, had held his own against the various odds. He had let Neville know this and saw that he looked slightly happy and even a little proud.

Ron had looked concerned and quite proud of himself. Well one did not beat a giant magical chess set every day, did one? Ron had also been injured during the process. He came to the conclusion that it was definitely something to be proud of. Ron had informed him that the whole school was buzzing with the rumor that Harry had his hands in the sudden disappearance of Prof. Quirrell and that he had faced Voldemort himself. He had wondered how much hand Ron had in spreading those rumors.

He had watched fondly as Hermione, being her usual bossy self, fussed about his health and threatened to hex him if he so much as thought of leaving the bed before being fully healed. She had then informed him how worried she had been for the past three days. Among Ron and Hermione, he had always considered Hermione as a better friend. She was bossy and had blind faith in authority figures but her heart was in the right place.

Harry was roused from his thoughts by the sound of the opening of the Hospital wing's door. He squinted a bit in the darkness since it was almost curfew time and brightened up when he saw a familiar figure walking towards him. Daphne walked over to his bedside and greeted him in her usual manner.

"What have you gotten yourself into this time, Potter?"

"The usual!" Harry did not elaborate further.

"Have you been taking your potions properly?"

"My, my, is the great Daphne Greengrass, the infamous Queen of Ice, actually worried about me?" Harry teased.

"In your dreams, Potter. I just want you back at the school and put a stopper in the mouth of Weasley. He is busy spreading some of the most ridiculous rumors; some tripe about you killing You-Know-Who!" Daphne scowled.

"I wish it was true." Harry muttered quietly.

"What did you say?" Daphne asked, not having caught what he had said.

"Nothing, nothing." Harry sighed.

Daphne opened her mouth as if to say something but then closed it. Finally she said, "Well it's almost curfew time and I don't want to get punished. See you around Potter."

"Bye Daphne… and thanks for coming by!"


Days passed by quickly and soon Harry found himself on the Hogwarts Express. He was in a jovial mood since the previous night Gryffindor had won the House Cup, thanks to the 300 points won by him and his fellow adventurers. He chuckled at the thought that the rest of the school hardly had any idea about the reasons behind winning those points since Dumbledore had been quite vague in his explainations. The sight of Malfoy looking as if he had tasted something foul on hearing the announcement had been precious.

Soon Harry and his friends reached Platform 9 ¾ and Harry found his jovial mood vanishing when he caught sight of his Uncle after crossing the barrier. Ron, Hermione and Neville's assurance that they would write to him had lifted his mood somewhat. As he took his seat at the back of his Uncle's car with his Uncle seating in the front seat and looking as if he was going to burst a vein at any moment, Harry couldn't help but think that it was going to be a long summer. He only hoped that Drake would drop by later that day.

A/N2: That ends year 1! Phew! Hope you have enjoyed it. I hope you like the name I had chosen for the phoenix. I couldn't help myself. I just love that character from the Mass Effect series. It's my way of giving her a tribute.

If you have time, please leave a review, the more detailed the better!