4-05
"I'm curious," I said, five minutes through our walk and the silence between all of us was getting awkward. Every time I glanced at Davina she seemed to shift, as though my gaze somehow irritated her. "How will the stone help? I mean, I know Voldemort wanted it to build a body but it's the how of it that eludes me."
She took a moment, unsure of herself before she gave Lily a glance. The girl gave the minutest of nods before Davina said, "You know about the stone, right? The basics of it at least? It's a staple in most of our universes that you were somehow involved with the stone in your first year so it's more likely that it's true for you too."
"Yeah, it is," I said. It was small but I could see the relief on both her and Lily. "Like I said, Voldemort wanted it."
"Right," she said. "Well it's because the stone can do something that's long been though impossible by the most knowledgeable witches and wizards. It can make transfigurations permanent."
"So you'll transfigure your body and then use the body to make the stone to make it permanent?" She gave a nod. "I feel it worth mentioning that sort of transfiguration is the stuff McGonagall warned us about the first day of her class."
"It is," said Davina, her tone short, "and I know that. I've wanted this for a long time. I think it would be remiss of me if I didn't do the necessary research beforehand."
I raised my hands in surrender, continued to walk. "So how will it work after that?" I asked. "Everyone remembers you as Davie. And with how we're being watched it'll be pretty easy for people, especially the Flamels, to think that we had something to do with the stone."
"Again," she said, "something I know and have planned out. I've been planning this out for most of my late life, Mr Potter, what I could have been able to achieve if I'd been more knowledgeable at a younger age. Rest assured that all this has been thought out."
"And I'm guessing I'm not going to be told about this particular plan?"
"I can see where this is headed," said Lily, "and I'm not liking it. Harry, tell me more about this army of yours."
"First off, it's not an army," I said to her. "It's more a collective. I was thinking about the Society and what they must be like, a group of likeminded people sharing and revelling in their superiority and knowledge."
"Wow," Lily muttered. "Makes me really resent the others for not inviting me. I mean I can revel in my own superiority."
"That's my estimation of them," I told her. "I don't think that's what they think of themselves, but…" I shrugged. "Anyway, similar idea with our collective. But instead of the things that they would be working on, we share ideas on combat and combat strategies. That sort of things."
"Learn from each other's awesomeness," she said with a series of short nods.
"In essence," I said. "You thinking about accepting?"
"After this I really have nothing better to do," she said. "Except worrying about the thing we have in the basement."
"Please tell me there was a plan where that's concerned," said Davina. "Because I really don't want to get involved in that."
"Which is why I've been telling you to work with the Society," said Lily and from the long suffering look Davina shot her, I got the image they'd had this discussion before. "With that particular piece of magic it would mean a layer of security. If not indefinitely then at least until we can get strong enough that one of us might be able to hold our own against one of them."
"But that would mean getting embroiled in it all," said Davina. "Right now I at least have a little deniability."
"I'm sorry to say this," I said. "But I don't think that will matter where they're concerned. Did you tell her what happened in the basement?" Lily nodded. "What they did makes me think they mean business."
"Major paranoia fuel," said Lily. "Especially with that damned Society doing Morgana knows what. You know, I had this inkling that you'd be all over them, not bloody attack the upper years."
I let out a sigh at that. Right now, thinking without the flood of anger rushing through me, it all seemed stupid. But since I didn't have a Time Turner, the best thing was to think on what I could do from now.
"There'll be push back," said Davina. "You might get expelled."
"Detention, not expelled," I said. "Even with Dumbledore gone I still have an amount of goodwill even if it's not directed at me. My mum and dad were war heroes after all."
"Why to whore out your parents," Lily muttered.
I didn't respond to that, continuing with my thread. "And I doubt they'll say anything. He might win the battle but he'd lose the war. They would all have lost a little of their status with being taken down by a first year."
"A first year trained by Dumbledore," said Davina.
"But from what Flint said earlier in the day I don't think he knows that. Maybe they don't have any influence in the Wizengamot as most Slytherin families."
"The system needs grunts," Lily commented. "People to do the work, curry the favours while the rich and powerful sit and around and languish in their sense of importance."
"All the while making decisions that affect us all," said Davina. "My family's one of those. Dad's not too good but Mum." She grinned. "You have no idea that stuff she's been doing."
"You're doing it again," said Lily. "Enticing me with the mystery that is your family while telling me absolutely nothing."
"Without any mystery I know you'd get bored," said Davina.
"You're most likely right," said Lily with a shrug. "Got bored with Potter once I found out he wasn't running the Herald."
"I never said I ran the thing in the first place," I said.
"But you let me believe it," she said. "Even got your heart to play in the entire deception. Kudos for that, by the way, I was impressed during my nightly review."
"Nightly review?" I asked.
"I have a mental journal," she said. "I review everything I saw and did during the day, hoping for a shift in perspective and maybe more understanding over certain scenes. How scents fit into the greater image, that sort of thing."
"See," I said, exaggerating the word with hand motions. "This is why I think we need the Collective. Imagine how much better we'd all be if we could do what the others could do. If I'd gotten the idea to do that at the end of each day."
"Sort of defeats the prospect of having special skills, though, doesn't it," said Davina. "Puts us all in an even positioning? Not exactly the thing you want in a fight."
"You're talking like you want to join the Collective," said Lily.
"I don't," she said. "I'm just making an observation."
Lily shrugged. "True enough," she said. "But it also shows us what the others have. I mean, I know that Potter's good with his transfigurations, now I know that if he ever turned bad I just have to watch out for birds slamming into me while I'm distracted."
"And I have to watch for your claws," I said. If she was giving my secrets to the possible tails, then I would be kind enough to return the favour. She must have thought along the same lines because she gave me a pout I couldn't quite read.
We reached the third floor, the door open in front of us.
I pulled out my wand, the others following my lead but I gestured for them to stop. I waved my wand and a flute appeared from thin air. I was a little rusty, but I thought it would be enough to put Fluffy beyond down.
"There'll be a dog," I said. "Be careful but don't attack it. It'll go to sleep at the sound of my tune."
They both nodded: A sweep of the wand and the door opened, closing when we entered. At the disturbance Fluffy was up, growling and lunging towards us before being stopped by a heavy chain. The tune was horrible, but it got to work, putting Fluffy to sleep.
The other challenges were much easier, the hardest of which was the chess but Davina outplayed the board without much trouble. We traversed through the room, the only trouble coming when we had to pass through Snape's fire.
"We won't all be able to pass through," said Davina after she'd completed the potion.
"You and Harry should go," said Lily. "He knows what's in there."
"It won't take more than a few hours," said Davina. Lily gave a short and the two hugged before Davina took a gulp of the potion. I did the same with my own potion and walked through the fire. We scaled down a flight of stairs before walking into a large room with a mirror in the centre.
"What now?" asked Davina.
"I stand in front of the mirror," I said and did just that. The me in the picture reached into his pocket and pulled out the stone before putting it in my pocket. I reached in my physical pocket and pulled out the stone.
"That was ridiculously easy," she said.
"Because I didn't want the stone," said Harry. "Not really. Dumbledore loves complex magic." I sighed and gave her the stone. "Do you need privacy or something?"
"Yes," she said. "But I need you here. I'll need you to look over the new form, the face at least and tell me if you sense something wrong with the greater picture. Even if you can't tell me why, just tell me."
I gave her a nod and she started, sitting on the floor and closed her eyes. Five minutes and nothing happened, ten and then I noticed that her hair was starting to grow in length, her face getting smoother and eyebrows starting to get thinner.
The effect became more pronounced as time went on, moving onto more of her body and I guessed the changes stretched further than I could see. I pulled out my watch and thirty minutes had passed with the form of a boy having slipped away.
"You're too symmetrical," I said. She gave a small nod and her nose moved a little, going slightly off centre. It didn't detract too much from her but it gave her a more human feel.
She let out a breath and opened her eyes. "I'll need a little privacy for the next part," she said. She pulled out her wand and gave it a twirl; a curtain appeared in the air, moved around her and hid her from my sight.
She spent another twenty minutes in there before a shaft of golden light escaped and hit the ceiling. I expected the light to fade but it didn't, instead I spent another hour just standing there before the curtain fell and Davina stood beyond.
"Thanks for this, Harry," she said with a bright smile.
"Sure," I said, confusion hitting me. "But I'll take the stone now. I don't know what your spell did, but thanks. I don't think Dumbledore would have allowed this to happen."
"Um…sure?" she said, confusion appearing on her expression.
I took the stone, smiling a little. I'd owe her and Lily a lot for this, helping me get the stone and perhaps preserving Dumbledore's life. It was a little confusing that I'd asked her and Lily to come along instead of Dudley, but they would have wanted this as much I would and the mirror wouldn't have given it to them or me.
"Really, thanks for this," I said, feeling a sadness I hadn't even realised was there going away.
"No, thank you, Harry," she said and we left.
There was something entirely strong about all this, but I didn't want to expand the mental effort to figure it out.