Chaser 2 of the Appleby Arrows - uflesh940

QLCF Season 9 Round 3

Prompt: Write about someone having a change of heart, for better or worse.

3. [season] winter

5. [word] greed

7. [word] monster

Nicolas Flamel chuckled. "After managing to escape the Floo network, he then tried flying away, only to get tangled up in the insect repelling ward. I probably would've caught him, if my attack ward hadn't blown him over the property line."

Dumbledore sipped on his tea, hearing his old mentor's latest battle with a dark wizard.

"Well," he said, "if you ever need a break from the thieves, I can store the stone at Hogwarts for a year or two."

Nicolas waved him off. "Nonsense! They add a sense of excitement to my life! I haven't been doing much lately, and they keep me from growing bored!"

Dumbledore nodded. "Frankly, I find it mildly disappointing that you haven't done anything new over the years. The contributions you could make to transfiguration or magical theory…"

"I help the world in other ways," said Nicolas dismissively. "There would be a much larger number of dark wizards in this world if I weren't constantly killing the ones that came looking to take my stone."

Dumbledore laughed. "Ah, if only Riddle had been a bit bolder in his youth - the world would be a much better place. Well, no use thinking about what could've been. Although, it does sound like you've killed enough wizards to horrify a couple of the softer dark lords - you monster!"

Both laughed.

Nicolas and Perenelle frowned at each other, tension filling the richly decorated bedroom.

"We could have saved him!" cried Perenelle. "We could've saved him, with the stone. Dragon pox might be a difficult disease to cure normally, but with the stone, we could've restored him to peak condition in an instant!"

"Enough," said Nicolas. "If we went around saving everyone we could, we would never get a moment's rest."

"Our grandson dies, and all you can think about is a moment's rest!" yelled Perenelle. "Does any of this even matter to you? He was our great-great-grandson! You let him die!"

"Perenelle!" shouted Nicolas. "Enough of this!" He clutched the stone in his pocket, just to reassure himself that it was still there. Dumbledore, innumerable others, and now Perenelle. They all wanted to use his stone. Never!

"What if we used it for good? We could fund research! Preserve the greatest minds for eternity! Preserve every mind for eternity! No person would need to die ever again!"

Suddenly, Perenelle's body began to shift, slowly acquiring a metallic gleam, all colors shifting to yellow. Nicolas cursed, and let go of the stone, dropping it onto the floor. The thing was way too reactive to his desires.

"You… monster!" was all Perenelle was able to say, before her vocal chords became too heavy to use.

Of course, Nicolas wasn't looking at Perenelle in her final moments. He was picking up his stone.

Nicolas stared at the heap of wrapped gifts. They had all been sent for Perenelle. His wife had always been rather well-liked. Unfortunately, she wouldn't be around to open the Christmas presents meant for her.

He sighed and sunk into his bed. There didn't seem to be anything he could do. People often noted that he had done very little over the past few centuries. He rarely minded, and they rarely pressed the issue. But it meant that now, when he wanted to do something, the amount of things he could do was rather lacking.

Suddenly, Dumbledore appeared, in a pillar of flames, holding that phoenix of his. Nicolas blinked. "Albus, what are you doing here?"

"Nicolas, my old friend," said Dumbledore. "I find myself about to fight a basilisk, and thought that your aid might be appreciated."

Nicolas blinked. "Very well."

Several minutes later, he was standing next to several professors, and whatever other acquaintances Dumbledore could call together on short notice. Several Aurors were also present.

"What I do know," said Dumbledore, continuing his debriefing, "is that arithmetical triangulation has revealed the entrance to the chamber of secrets to be somewhere in this bathroom, and that we are likely to be facing a basilisk, although that is not certain. Now, I'm hoping that, together, we can find the entrance to the chamber of secrets.

An Auror with a synthetic blue eye immediately layered the room in explosive curses.

"Moody!" protested Dumbledore.

The newly identified Moody gestured to a large opening on the ground, which had previously been concealed by an ornate sink, which he had blasted away moments ago.

"Bloody Aurors," muttered one of the professors unhappily, before continuing under his breath about historical value.

They gathered themselves, and headed down the passage, which soon led to a massive stone chamber, decorated with various statues, and snake memorabilia. A spectral-looking boy was hunched over an unconscious body. "Hello, Potter. I've been expecting-"

His gaze fell upon the group which had entered, latching onto Dumbledore. His monologue ceased, and his face grew especially pale. He hissed at a statue, and took off, levitating the student away with him, as spellfire impacted the ground around him.

The statue had finished opening its mouth, and an enormous snake flowed into the chamber. The spectral entity hissed a command, and the Basilisk turned its attention on the newcomers, hissing, while slithering towards them.

Suddenly, the hissing stopped, replaced with whimpering. The basilisk's body stiffened, and it was clear that moving anywhere was a struggle for it. The basilisk died, several seconds later. It wasn't until the gold, which had been spreading through the basilisk's innards began showing on its surface, that everyone understood what happened. A golden tone spread across its skin, and soon, a new statue of a snake had been added to the chamber.

The student had taken his eyes off Dumbledore, and was not staring at Nicolas Flamel in undisguised fear. "You're a monster," he stated quietly. Dumbledore fired a blue spell at the spirit, causing it to disintegrate on the spot.

Once the dead had been removed from the chamber, Nicolas gave a thoughtful sigh.

"You know," said Dumbledore, "it may seem rather insensitive of me, given his recent death, but we do need a new professor to teach the defense against the dark arts."