Disclaimer: Yup, still don't own Harry Potter. Darn it.

Chapter Twenty-Six: Flamel's Folly

Hermione stared at the back of the trading card with her mouth agape. "Ronald, I can't believe it. You actually found it!"

Ron shrugged but blushed furiously, his ears going as red as his ear. "Bit of luck really. Almost hit me in the face. What do you reckon this Flamel has got to do with that ruddy dog?"

Shaking her bushy head furiously Hermione pocketed the card and turned on her heel, heading for the library. "I don't know. But I'm sure to find out. Come get me for dinner will you? We can all look together after but I'm sure neither of you did your assignments over break and you should do it now before it gets any later."

The two watched her until she turned a corner. Hermione was right of course, and Sprout's three-foot long essay wouldn't write itself. Harry and Ron set off for Gryffindor tower, whispering to each excitedly.

"I wonder what Flamel did that was so important." Ron asked as they walked side-by-side down the corridor.

"I wonder how he knows Dumbledore." Harry mused.

The fat lady let them in, tsking at Ron's skewed tie. Inside the dormitory students were hollering and leaping over furniture, greeting back friends they hadn't seen for two weeks. Many, like Harry and Ron were about to do, were scribbling frantically on parchment trying to get their homework done by nightfall.

Harry stopped by his room to grab some books, said hello to Dean and Seamus who were playing a card game, and went back down to join Ron at a table the red-head had saved for them. Fred and George were too, as was Neville who kept glancing anxiously at the twins as he was trying to do his Transfiguration assignment.

The atmosphere was warm and friendly, Harry found he wasn't getting a lot of work done what with the twins distracting him constantly, seeing who could shoot rubber bands farther across the room and his mind just wasn't staying on track, it kept wandering off to Flamel.

Eventually after what seemed like an eternity of smudged ink marks and mumbled swears, Ron's grumbling stomach alerted them all that it was almost time for dinner.

Harry and Ron put aay their things and parted ways with their housemates as they headed for the library to pull Hermione from her books. Surprisingly enough, Hermione was sprinting down the hallway towards them, waving her hands excitedly and grinning madly. "I've found it and it's incredible. Draco, over here!" Hermione called behind her, still grinning widely.

Draco staggered around the corner, holding perhaps the largest book Harry had ever seen. It looked like it weighed as much as a fifth year. Draco fell to his knees to get the behemoth-sized book onto a bench. The blond gasped for breath and jumped up, throwing a wary glance at Hermione and a quick wave to the two boys. "Off to dinner, I'm not going a step further with that thing."

"What…?" Ron started.

Hermione waved her hand dismissively. "I saw him in the library and I very well couldn't carry the book all the way here by myself could I? It's against the rules to levitate school property."

"You made him carry that thing up three flights?" Harry exclaimed.

"Never mind that Harry, look." Hermione flipped open the book to a bookmarked page. It was a description about a stone with an accompanying picture for reference. It was ruby red and looked as though it would fit snugly in Harry's palm; it glinted innocently in the photograph.

"The Sorcerer's Stone." Ron read off the page, bending low to see in the dim light of the torches. "Never heard of it."

Hermione rolled her eyes and pointed out some text. "The Sorcerer's Stone was created by Nicholas Flamel, his most famous accomplishment as an alchemist. Assumedly, the stone grants its owner immortality. It says here Flamel is 666 years old, but that could be wrong. The book is outdated as it is." Hermione explained proudly.

"Immortality." Harry breathed out. An impossible goal surely, even for a famed alchemist. How could a stone grant someone immortality?

Hermione nodded. "It's surreal isn't it? Of course, why would the Sorcerer's Stone be at Hogwarts in the first place?"

Neither Ron nor Harry could answer. After a few moments, Hermione had them carry the book into the dormitory and they headed down for dinner.

The next few days were spent falling back into the routine of school life. There was the weekly encounter with Nott and his cronies Crabbe and Goyle, Snape hollered at them all, and Hermione got straight O's on all three of McGonagall's pop quizzes.

The only difference was that now the trio's night were not spent in the library looking for information about Nicholas Flamel, they were now looking for any information about the Sorcerer's Stone. They couldn't ask Madam Pince for help because they weren't supposed to know about Flamel to begin with. Just imagining the trouble they could get in made Hermione shiver.

However, there was a thought nagging at the back of Harry's mind. A thought that made his scar tingle.

There was really only one person h could think of who would crave immortality enough to break into Hogwarts and steal the Stone. The only thing was, that person was dead…or supposed to be at any rate. Harry shook the thought away and flipped through another tome Hermione had given him.

Hermione burst into the library, looking excited and again, Harry though she must have found the answer. Ron was close behind, holding a yellowed Daily Prophet before him like a treasure.

"What is that?" Harry asked, setting the book aside as his two friends slid into chairs on either side of him.

Hermione nodded to Ron and the red-head flipped open the paper to one of the last few pages. This area was reserved for blurbs of small news and things people were trying to sell. Hermione pointed to on of the small articles, not more than a paragraph long. "Break-in at Gringotts Foiled." She read proudly.

Harry shook his head in confusion. "So?"

"Look mate, the break-in was the day before school started in September. It says the criminal was after a small item that had been removed the day before that by a very large man and moved to a different location." Ron explained.

"If the thing was the Stone, then the large man must be…" Harry started.

"Hagrid." Hermione and Ron answered in unison.

"We've got to talk to him." Harry stood up. Hermione caught his sleeve and pulled him back into his seat.

"And how would you start that conversation Harry? Hagrid's already suspicious of us since he spilled Flamel's name. We shouldn't bring it up again because he might talk to Dumbledore." Hermione hissed urgently.

"Right, right. Sorry." Harry mumbled. "But, we do have detention with him tonight. D'you think I could drop a few subtle hints?"

Ron looked nervous. "I dunno mate. It's risky."

"Okay, I'll let it go." Harry looked glum.

That night, Harry, and Hermione threw on dark cloaks and trudged out to Hagrid's hut, leaving Ron behind in the common room and feeling miserable, probably looking it too.

There was a fire going and Draco, along with Nott, were already sitting there as far away from each other as they could get. Hagrid beamed. "Hullo you three. Ready ter go then?" The huge man looked behind him into the forest.

"Wait, you don't mean we're going in there, do you?" Nott stood, face going ashy in the firelight.

"Er, yeah. I do. Something's been huntin' the unicorn herd and now one of the bucks is hurt. We need to find him before the poor fella bleeds ter death." Hagrid explained, slinging a crossbow across his back.

"B-but the forest is off limits to students." Nott stammered.

"I got permission from the headmaster hisself." Hagrid replied smugly. "Let's get moving. Don't want ter be out here too long."

Nott didn't look happy. Harry couldn't blame him, he wasn't exactly thrilled himself.

Trying to stare ahead of him in the pressing dark, Harry remained as close to Hagrid's broad frame as he could. No one talked, not even Hagrid's bloodhound Fang uttered a sound. Once or twice Harry felt the hairs on the back of his neck prickle and he would look out into the trees, straining to see what had disturbed the peace but there was a thick fog laying heavy on the ground and visibility was near zero.

Suddenly, Hagrid stopped. Harry bumped into his back and jumped away, catching Hermione as she stumbled as the abrupt halt.

Hagrid knelt and fingered a leaf on the side of the thin trail. He held his fingers into the light, sliding them together as he marveled at the luminescent silver liquid on his hand. "Know what that is?"

"Unicorn blood." Draco answered from the back of the line, one hand on Fang's head and squinting to see.

"That's right." Hagrid grinned, wiping his hand on his trousers. "We're going the right way at least. C'mon, let's keep moving."

They set off again and within no time at all, they came to a fork in the trail. Hagrid sighed and scratched his head thoughtfully. "We should split up then, I'll take Hermione and Nott."

Harry gulped and looked at Draco. "What about us?"

"If you see anything, shoot red spark into the air. You both know how to do that don't you?"

Harry and Draco nodded. "We'll take Fang then." Draco said, rubbing Fang behind the ears.

Hagrid shrugged. "Fine, but just to warn you he's a bloody coward."

"That's alright." Draco smiled. "Left or right then Harry?"

Harry glanced over his shoulder as he and Draco took the left path as the barely visible outline of Hagrid and one of his best friends vanished into the mist.

Draco and Harry stumbled along, tripping over tree roots and slicing through their clothing on sharp thorns. Draco stopped, one hand holding a lantern in the air and an odd look on his face. "Did you hear that?"

Harry had. He'd been hearing it all night. Something was shuffling through the undergrowth very nearby, it was panting heavily. Harry shivered. "Let's head back."

The sound stopped, Harry could swear the thin, whatever it was, was looking at them. Harry pulled at Draco. "C'mon!"

Draco thrust the light out into the mist and screamed. It was dark hooded figure; crouched low on the ground not ten feet from the two, head bent low over the carcass of an animal. And not just any animal, the very unicorn they had spent all night looking for. There was silvery blood on its face, obscured by the hood. At Draco's yell it reared up and glided at them impossibly fast.

Draco slipped as it brushed him aside, tripping over a root and stumbling down a small hill and landing with a dull thud in a pile of fallen leaves and snow. Fang growled, running a bit away and barking madly.

The thing made straight for Harry and he backed up, hand fumbling for his wand. Suddenly, another figure leapt out of the mist, driving back the creature with a bow and arrow. The thing shrank away and fled into the night. Within seconds it was out of sight.

The armed creature turned and Harry saw it was centaur. He had only ever seen pictures of centaurs in childish books and in real life, the illustrations did them no justice.

The centaur looked at Harry with such a calm expression that Harry instantly felt soothed, his heart falling back into its normal rhythm. "Harry Potter." The centaur said, his voice velvety. "The forest is not safe for you tonight."

"O-okay.' Harry stammered. "Thanks for, um, saving me. Do you…have a name?"

"Yes, my name is Firenze. I was watching you tonight, hoping you would not encounter that horrible beats." Firenze looked sadly at the unicorn's body. "To kill a unicorn is truly a sin. Drinking the blood grants temporary well-being but the drinker is reliant on the unicorn's blood from then on. It is a terrible price to pay for so small a reward."

Harry looked at the unicorn with new eyes, seeing the sadness in its murder.

Draco climbed back up the hill, sputtering and pulling leaves out of his shirt. He was dirty and wet and looked more confused than Harry had ever seen anybody. "What was that?"

"Draco Malfoy." Firenze inclined his head slightly in greeting. "Fear not, you and your friends are safe now. Look, here comes Hagrid."

Indeed, as Harry and Draco turned, Hagrid's massive body appeared from the mist, his crossbow drawn and looking vicious. Nott and Hermione were behind him, looking frightened and confused.

"Oh, hullo Firenze." Hagrid grinned and dropped the crossbow to his side. "Any trouble?"

"Not as of now, no." Firenze smiled in return.

Fang ran to Hagrid happily, still shaking slightly. Firenze placed a hand on Harry's shoulder. "Promise you will not return to the forest Harry Potter, and be careful. Things are not always as they appear."

Harry nodded and Firenze smiled again, nodded to Hagrid, and trotted away into the dark.

"That's it, I'm going up there." Sirius clenched Harry's latest letter in a tight fist, standing up in his cubicle and heading for the elevator.

Remus caught his robe and pulled him back in, stepping in front of the entrance to barricade it. "Sirius, no. We talked about overreacting. Hagrid and this centaur Harry wrote about had the situation completely under control."

Sirius pouted. Remus knew full well the auror would rather be marching into Hogwarts and yanking Hagrid around by his bushy beard until he apologized for even taking Harry into the Forbidden Forest in the first place. "I suppose."

Remus grinned at his friend's child-like expression. "Besides Pads, Kingsley would never give you the day off. Aren't you supposed to be Manchester in half an hour for a conference?"

Sirius nodded, and then yelped. "Bloody hell I forgot all about that. I'm going to be late; I hope the floo line is short."

"I wouldn't count on it." Kingsley muttered walking past Sirius' office, flipping through files.

Sirius swore and handed the crumpled letter to Remus. "Then its apparition, I just need to get to the nearest designated location. Palmero!"

Reuben Palmero, several years older than his trainee years and sporting a goatee, stepped into his boss' office. He had been promoted to Sirius' apprentice last year and was proving very good at his job. Sirius was already asking for his prodigy to have another promotion soon. "Yeah Sirius?"

"I need a map to the nearest apparition location and floo ahead to make sure they hold my place. I need to get to conference in Manchester or else Bones will have my head." Sirius ordered, sweeping some papers into a briefcase for him to bring along.

Palmero nodded and ducked out of the office.

"So will you be running late tonight?" Remus asked casually, watching Sirius frantically gathering his things.

"Huh, yeah. Reckon so. Why?" Sirius coming home late was not a rare occurrence; he was constantly being shipped out all over the country for meetings with aurors.

Remus flushed slightly and looked away from Sirius' inquiring gaze, running a hand anxiously through his shaggy hair. "I um…I might go out to dinner then."

Sirius stopped what he was doing and stared at Remus. "Excuse me? With whom may I ask are you going to dinner with Mr. Moony?"

Remus went even redder, looking intently out one of the fake windows in Sirius' office. It was sunny outside apparently. "Hestiajones."

"What? You'll have to repeat that." Sirius leaned forward, cupping a hand over his ear. "And remember to pronunciate."

"Hestia Jones. Happy?" Remus said with a look daring Sirius to make fun of him.

On the contrary, Sirius grinned and clapped Remus soundly on the back, pulling him into a one-armed hug. "I'm so proud of you Moony. Going out on a date. I'm going to really need to find myself a girl soon if you're snagging dames before me."

Remus stirred his water idly with a spoon, staring out the window at the half-moon. Hestia sat opposite him, fiddling with her hair and looking around for the waiter. "Well, this is...nice." Hestia started awkwardly.

Remus turned to her and smiled softly. "Yes it is. You ah, you got a haircut?" Hestia nodded. "I thought so. It looks good."

Hestia blushed faintly. "Thank you. What do you think you'll order?"

Menu in hand, Remus glanced down the lists with no clue of what he wanted. He would probably get something bland like chicken but it seemed a waste at a restuarant like this. He had made reservations a week in advance, it was one of the fanciest restuarants in all of wizarding London and he and Hesia were both looking their best. "I'm not sure yet. You?"

"The salmon sounds tasty...with a lemon sauce." Hestia pointed out an entree.

Remus looked. It was one of the priciest items on the menu. "Of course, the pasta looks good also." Hestia added hastily at Remus' look and blushing bright red and nodding to a less expensive dish.

"Nonsense." Remus pulled her menu from her hands and leaned them against his chair, out of her reach so she couldn't reconsider. "I'll get the salmon myself. How does an ice cream sound for dessert, there's a lovely place we can walk to that is just down the block."

Hestia giggled. "Ice cream? In the winter?"

"No better time love." Remus winked...grimacing inside. It was like he was channeling Sirius. At least it was working. Hestia finally looked as though she was having a good time, they had spent several minutes in awkward silence when they had first arrived, interrupted only by the waiter to give them their menus.

"Alright then, but only if there's hot fudge." Hestia warned.

"Is there any other way to eat ice cream?" Remus grinned.

The waiter aprroached them, notepad out and pen poised for their orders. The two ate, occasionally cracking a joke and making the other laugh and afterwards they walked the short distance to the ice cream parlour. Predictably, there were very people there and they ate quickly, pouring massive amounts of hot fudge onto each others' ice cream.

As they walked to a designated apparition point, Hestia clung to Remus in the cold air. It made Remus warm enough and he tried to act nonchalant, but grinning like a fool inside. It felt good to have a girl on his arm.

They said good-bye on Hestia's doorstep, whispering so as not to wake the other tenants on her floor. "I had a really lovely time Remus." Hestia whispered.

"Me too. We should do it again soon."

Hestia nodded. "Of course. Send me a message at work though, sometimes owls have trouble getting through the traffic around here. And Remus...?"

"Hmm?"

"It was really good to see you having a good time too. I was worried about you but these last few years, you've really changed and I like the person you've become." Hestia grinned and giggled. "I remember once at school, you almost fainted when I winked at you."

Remus flushed, grateful for the dim lighting. "Yes well, I was rather shy I suppose."

"Remus?"

"Yes?"

"You could kiss me if you wanted."

So he did.

When Sirius came home that night he found Remus on the couch, still in his good clothes and with an absolutely ridiculous grin on his face.

Author's Note:

Awww...ended it with some warm fluffies. I realized that the last few chapters I hadn't switched points of view like I had planned to, so I did this time. Now I only have to find a girl for Sirius and they'd all be happy.

Drama continues at Hogwarts. Dun dun duuuuuuunnnnn...!

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