Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. I am not J. K. Rowling. I'm just playing around in that world.

Chapter Eleven: Flamel and Confusion

"What do you mean, Snape's refereeing the next match?" Ron yelped.

Harry shrugged. "Just what it sounds like, Ron."

As Ron and Hermione started thinking of ways to knock Harry out of playing and reasons why Snape would suddenly decide to referee, Emmalee-Grace walked over and stood behind her foster cousin.

"We both know the real reason, don't we?" She whispered in his ear. "He's that much closer to protect you if something happens again."

Harry gave a barely perceptible nod.

The laughter from a bunch of students drew their attention. Neville was moving towards them, barely able to stay upright. A Leg-Locker Curse had obviously been performed on him.

Hermione moved faster than Emmalee-Grace and Neville was soon freed.

"Thanks," breathed Neville. "Malfoy wanted some practice."

"You need to report him to McGonagall!" Hermione exclaimed.

"That'd only make things worse," muttered Neville.

Ron glared at him. "Stand up for yourself, mate! Don't let him walk all over you by just falling over! That's what he wants! That's what he's used to!"

"Malfoy already told me I'm too much of a coward for Gryffindor,"

Harry shook his head, handing Neville the last of his Chocolate Frogs.

"The Sorting Hat's far smarter than Malfoy. It saw you have courage, after all. And it knew Malfoy belonged in lowly, smelly Slytherin, now didn't it?" Harry declared.

"Absolutely," added Emmalee-Grace. "Besides, how many friends does Malfoy have? None, really. Crabbe and Goyle don't count as friends. You've got all four of us. And you're worth more to us than any number of Malfoys could ever be."

Neville gave a weak smile. "Thanks, Harry, Emmalee-Grace. I'm going to go up to bed, now. Did you want to keep the card, Harry? I know you've started collecting them."

Harry looked down at the card, flipping it to the back.

"I knew I'd read Flamel's name before!" Harry whispered. "He was Dumbledore's partner in his work on alchemy!"

Hermione was gone from her seat before anyone could blink. Within moments, she came back, a large book in her arms.

"Of course!" Emmalee-Grace smacked herself on the forehead. "Why didn't I think of checking that one?"

"And I only got this for a bit of light reading," remarked Hermione.

Ron was shocked. "That's light?"

Harry smirked. He remembered some of the books Emmalee-Grace had borrowed from Sev's library over the summer. One of them had easily been four times the size of the one Hermione had brought down.

"While Hermione's looking for the page, Nicholas Flamel is the most famous alchemist," explained Emmalee-Grace.

Hermione nodded, still flipping through the pages. "He made the Sorcerer's Stone. It can turn metal into gold and it can make a person immortal."

"That is, if they drink the Elixir of Life," added the raven-haired girl. "Isn't Flamel over six hundred? Now that I've made the connection."

"Six hundred and sixty-five, and his wife is six hundred and fifty-eight," remarked Hermione, scanning the page.

Ron snorted. "Not exactly recent, is he?"


Harry felt worse and worse as the Quidditch match got closer. It seemed he was running into Sev everywhere he went. It was like his guardian didn't trust him to stay out of trouble. And his attitude in Potions class had gotten worse. Could Sev read his mind and see what Harry's new friends were thinking about him?


"Hey, look!" Emmalee-Grace smiled. "Dumbledore came to watch, too!"

She felt relieved, but she still kept her eyes on her foster cousin.

"No wonder Snape looks ready to punish the Gryffindors," remarked Ron. "Ouch!"

Malfoy had walked up behind Ron, hitting him in the back of the head.

Emmalee-Grace blocked out the resulting fight, focusing solely on Harry. Later, she would be unable to explain how she had done it. With Ron, Neville and Malfoy throwing insults and then punches, she was, herself, surprised to learn that they had fought at all. Hermione was much the same in the situation. Emmalee-Grace bit the nails on her right hand, the left one clinging tightly to Hermione's own hand, as Harry dove towards the ground.

"He's got it," she yelled. "Come on!"

Harry streaked past Sev, missing his guardian by mere inches. The Snitch was in his hand as he pulled out of the dive.

"Harry's got the Snitch!" Hermione yelled, throwing her arms around Emmalee-Grace. "Gryffindor has the lead!"

Only Harry saw the fleeting look of relief that crossed Sev's face. However, before he could contemplate what it meant, hew was being congratulated by Dumbledore, of all people.


An hour later, Harry perched his Nimbus on one shoulder, carrying it towards the broom shed. Now he had a chance to think about why Sev had been so relieved at the end of the match. Surely he hadn't really expected anyone to try and kill him while Dumbledore was watching, had he?

He was about to open the broom shed when he saw his guardian descending form the castle. Black robes billowed behind him as he strode into the Forbidden Forest. Curious, Harry climbed back onto his broom and took off.

He hovered over the trees, searching. A pair of voices drew his attention. Carefully, he landed in a tree and crawled closer to listen better.

He couldn't make out everything, but it sounded like his guardian was threatening the Defense Professor, Quirrell. The question was, why? That wasn't like Sev at all, to threaten someone.


Harry had waited until both professors had left the forest before returning his broom to the shed. He practically flew, without the broom, back to the castle, himself, to find Hermione, Ron, and Emmalee-Grace. Quickly, he told them what he had heard in the forest.

Hermione started rambling on about how there must be loads more protecting the stone than Fluffy, and that Quirrell must surely be standing up to Snape.

Harry and Emmalee-Grace weren't so sure.

"There's something about Quirrell that creeps me out, Harry," she confided, as they walked back to Gryffindor Tower.

Harry nodded. "I know exactly what you mean."


Okay, so another short chapter, but the next one should be longer. I apologize. I already have these written out, but it's taking me a while to get them typed. Partially because I have to keep writing ahead to make a friend of mine happy, so she knows the story ahead of everyone else, but also because another friend of mine is insisting that I get all caught up on Supernatural. I hadn't even seen one episode, and she has the first five all on DVD. So, I've been on a time limit to get them all watched. That doesn't mean I don't appreciate your reviews! Keep them coming! Please?