Author's Note: Here is the conclusion of Harry's first year. Just want to say that I thoroughly enjoy writing this, but I have very little time at the moment and what looks to be the next few months so I will update when I can. Buying a house does take up a rather large amount of time, and I am a lowly Muggle with no wand to shortcut the process.
Here is my disclaimer that says I do not own anything Harry Potter related. Everything belongs to JK Rowling, except in universe 47837. Probably.
The end-of-the-year exams were finally done with. As expected, Harry had found the questions to be ridiculously easy and far below what he was capable of.
However, that wasn't a bad thing as it allowed him to perfectly answer every question in the exact style and manner that he had become accustomed to without revealing the considerable breadth that he actually knew about the topics.
Nor would he ever stray so far as to answer anything incorrectly.
Throughout the school year, he had slowly been adding a little more detail and nuance to his assignments to highlight the expected growth of a first-year student. For Harry knew that as long as he played the role of an average Muggleborn – well, in his case Muggle-raised – that no one would pay any attention to his genius until much later in his Hogwarts career. Even then, the faculty would be hard-pressed to think it being any more than a case of a hard-working individual growing into their own.
As such, Harry was confident that he had earned himself at least an Exceeds Expectations, if not an Outstanding, on everything while not being too memorable with his responses. During his previous education he had learned that it wasn't necessarily the students who knew the correct answer that excited the teachers and caused them to remember certain students more than the others.
It didn't matter that those teachers had taught Muggles and Hogwarts' were teaching magic; they were still trying to get students to learn and connect the dots for themselves. If anything, Harry thought that his professors at Hogwarts had been there considerably longer and therefore were even more easily swayed by his game.
Therefore, all of Harry's answers had been carefully constructed to ensure that his responses were so straightforward and non-showy so as not to cause anyone to give them a second glance.
Also, there was a certain Ravenclaw who had a penchant for regurgitating every fact that she had ever read about a particular topic in her answers that Harry was sure would further cause his own responses to go unnoticed.
Her over-the-top and bookish attitude was sure to make Harry's eventual progress even more unremarkable, since he would have bet a fair bit of his gold that she would never be one to let someone steal her spotlight of teacher's pet.
Not that he would ever want to add another title to his collection.
So he was quite content with the knowledge that very few people would cotton onto his genius until he wanted them to.
Of course, he wasn't ready to reveal that yet, but it made it far easier for him to play in the background as a novice wizard who was slowly and gradually absorbing what the teachers taught.
It was also a boon to his strategy that Draco had taken affront that a Muggle-anything would outperform him and had narrowly secured the soon-to-be second-year Slytherin the highest grade in the class. Which Harry would forever swear had caused smoke to come out of Hermione's ears.
Though, in truth, Draco's triumph probably had more to do with the fact that Severus Snape often awarded his snakes with higher grades for the same work than he gave to other houses that ultimately tipped the scales in Draco's favor.
Speaking of Potions – that was the one class that had brought Harry down in the class rankings. Even though everything had been working quite well for him in his other classes, Snape continued to loathe him and refused to award Harry anything higher than an Acceptable – even if his practical work was as perfect as one could get by following the instructions.
However, because of Snape's incessant questioning at the start of every class and Harry's rapid digestion of material that left him somewhere in sixth-year material, Harry soon came to realize that most potion instructions could and should be tweaked. The reasoning and nuances to the slight modifications fascinated Harry to no end and gave him something else to focus on when Snape was being too much of a git.
Still, he was sitting in a comfortable fifth in the class rankings and Neville had even risen to number seven in their year while Justin rounded out the top ten.
Not that Harry was the type to speak his mind out loud, but he was very happy indeed with the success of his friends and knew that his little group had big things awaiting them in the future. Especially with some of the tutelage that he was already planning to let slip during their second year as Harry had just accepted that they would no doubt continue to get inexplicably closer to him.
At any rate, all of that was behind him now as he walked into the Great Hall a few days before the students were to leave Hogwarts for the summer holidays. As usual Justin and Neville were walking at his side and it pleased Harry to see the expectant look that they had on their faces. His excitement for what was about to take place must have been contagious.
Because this was the night that Harry had been waiting for as patiently as he could ever since Dumbledore had announced it before the start of Christmas break.
Harry's heart was beating very quickly indeed as he allowed himself to indulge in his excitement at the thought of both hearing and seeing someone as distinguished as Nicolas Flamel speak in person. In fact Harry was beyond excited, more so than he could ever remember being in his young life.
Save perhaps for finding out that he was magical and capable of even more extraordinary things than he had once thought.
Though Harry's anticipated expression on his face was lost in the crowd of students, who were talking excitedly among their friends about exams being finished and the chance to meet someone over six hundred years old.
The Great Hall had even been rearranged to provide for better seating for the occasion. The four house tables that normally ran the length of the hall were gone and had been replaced by many rows of chairs that were parallel with a single row of more comfortable-looking chairs that had replaced the head table where the teachers always sat.
Just one look and Harry knew that all of Hogwarts' professors were accounted for, and most were sitting with their backs against the wall; no doubt tired from the year and then having to grade the recent exams before everyone went home.
However, Harry's attention was quickly drawn to the addition of a new face who was standing next to Dumbledore and Professors McGonagall and Snape. He watched as they interacted in a friendly manner, with Albus resting his hand on Nicolas' shoulder, and took note of the invited speaker's appearance.
Nicolas Flamel had gray hair, but it was still peppered with enough black that said that he wasn't over the hill yet. In fact, the man could even be considered handsome.
However, Harry thought that even without the context clues as to this man's identify that he would have known at once that he was looking upon the celebrated alchemist who had come to give them a lecture about his Philosopher's Stone.
The man may not have looked his age – if being six hundred and change had a corresponding look to it – but he just had that air about him. It was more than just how he held himself and interacted with the faculty that were surrounding him as Harry took his seat between Justin and Neville; it was his eyes. They were captivating and had something else to them that Harry couldn't really put his finger on that told him who this man was.
The feeling drew him in and Harry only wanted to know more. What Harry wouldn't have given to have seen and experienced all of the things that Mr. Flamel had over the course of his lifetime.
But Harry wasn't the only one that was more keyed into their surroundings.
"Harry, you think that is Flamel?" Neville asked in a low voice that only Harry and Justin could hear.
Harry nodded with a single shake of his head while Justin leaned forward in his seat to trade whispers back and forth with Neville who sat on Harry's other side.
Harry meanwhile was still considering his previous thoughts about Nicolas.
While Harry may have envied having all of those years in which to achieve whatever would someday become his heart's greatest desire, he knew that immortality was a double-edged sword. For he had already given this topic some thought and had come to the conclusion that for someone like him, a concept like living forever would be a very bad thing.
For one thing, Harry knew that not having the external pressure of time would limit his creativity. He was at his best when he was working under a deadline and every part of his mind was unified for one or several pursuits that drove his passion onwards to completion.
Having too much time to get something done would ultimately lead him down the road of never feeling like the one thing that he was currently working on was ever finished, and therefore would result in nothing ever getting done.
Of course that wasn't to say that Harry would have objected to having an increased lifespan – just as long as it wasn't forever.
But Harry's musings about the perils of never dying were put on hold when Neville and Justin simultaneously elbowed him.
His brow furrowed slightly as he pushed aside his instant annoyance at someone touching him, something that had become much easier as Justin and Neville were slowly being accepted into his inner circle.
"There's the Stone!" they breathed in awe together.
Sure enough, Harry caught a glimpse of a red, shiny rock out of the corner of his eye as it was placed on a stone pedestal in the front of the Great Hall. It was situated right next to the podium enshrined with a golden griffin from which Dumbledore made most of his well-meaning but seemingly cryptic announcements; likely what Nicolas Flamel was also going to use to speak to all of the assembled students that were gathered.
Right on cue the noise died down as the students took in such a powerful and legendary, magical object.
The silence only made Harry wish that he were sitting closer to the Stone as he desperately wanted to reach out and feel it with his own magic.
Thankfully, however, Dumbledore chose that particular moment in which the usually loud room was at a lull to speak, and it distracted Harry from his wishful but foolish thought of setting his magic free.
"Good evening," Dumbledore's rich and wizened voice sounded throughout the hall.
"I trust that you are all in very good spirits after having finished with your examinations," he then said.
His statement was met with a smattering of applause from the younger years, who were quite honestly just relieved that the whole thing was over and that they had made it through mostly unscathed. Although, their content but polite response was lost in the near riotous noises coming what Harry thought were the fifth and seventh years who had just completed their Ordinary Wizarding Levels and Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests, respectively.
They were much more vocal about being finished with the hellish few months that they had just endured.
"Yes, yes," Dumbledore settled everyone down again with a gentle wave.
"Now, I trust that you all know why you are here, and will join me in welcoming our guest of honor this evening with the very best that Hogwarts has to offer."
Again, the Headmaster's eyes briefly scanned the entire hall before coming to rest towards where the Weasley twins were sitting. Harry had learned over the course of the year, but mainly due to the sudden arrival of bloody noses that peaked at the start of exams, that Fred and George seemed to consider mischief as a badge of honor.
Harry thought it was amusing to watch the twins push out their chests in a preening display that Dumbledore's comment had more or less been directed straight at them.
Though, that sense of pride was short-lived as the rest of the students soon stood to welcome their speaker for the evening.
"It brings me great joy," Dumbledore started, "to welcome an extraordinary wizard who I have been fortunate enough to work with and see his genius at work first-hand."
With that, Nicolas Flamel rose from his chair and sauntered up to stand to the right and just behind Dumbledore as the Headmaster continued to lavish praise upon him.
"Yes, it was quite advantageous that our paths managed to cross when they did, all those years ago. Though, I'm sure his sense of time is somewhat different than my own…," Dumbledore finished with a chuckle.
Clearly it was meant to be a joke, but not everyone got it and so there was an awkward few seconds before the Headmaster got back on track.
"As I was saying, and something that each of you should be mindful of as you move forward through life, is that you will never quite know the significance that someone else may play in your life. Sometimes years will pass before you are even aware of the importance of that interaction, however brief it might have been."
At this Dumbledore paused and briefly looked backwards to where Nicolas was standing.
"In my youth I was fortunate to study Alchemy under Mr. Flamel, and though I certainly appreciated the opportunity to discover the twelve uses of Dragon blood with him, many years would pass before I realized the lasting consequence of his tutelage in other areas."
Harry saw that look of solemn praise wash over Nicolas' face, and he noted how genuine and touched the man was to hear these words. Still, he couldn't help but note how unusual this display from Dumbledore was and begin to wonder just what the man's motivation behind it was. For after Dumbledore's announcement before Christmas, Harry had done some digging and had discovered that Hogwarts hadn't invited a speaker to come and talk to the students in over fifty years.
Which meant that Harry was paying very close attention to every word that Dumbledore was saying so that he could analyze the potential significance of every little detail later.
"You see," Dumbledore continued, "as the years went by I became less enamored with learning how to one day make a Philosopher's Stone for myself and began to appreciate the time that had been given to me and to make the most use of it. Not to make a slight on your long life and what you have accomplished, my old friend."
Dumbledore turned to Flamel and Harry caught the man wave him off with a good-natured flip of his hand.
"In fact, over the years this topic has become somewhat of a main theme in our conversations, which brings us to the reason that we are all together this evening. And for that I will pass it over to Mr. Flamel, so that he may share some of his vast wisdom with all of you."
With that Dumbledore stepped aside and the maker of the Philosopher's Stone took to the podium while Harry digested the intriguing opening of Albus Dumbledore.
If he had thought that things were unusual before, he was certain that there was some ulterior motive behind this whole event now. For one thing, the introduction had focused entirely on the life-giving properties of the Stone and nothing had been said about its ability to turn things into gold. Considering the group of young people, Harry was sure that that little ability would have at least been touched upon had he not already become convinced that there truly was a hidden meaning to Flamel's visit.
But Harry didn't have that much time to tease the introduction apart as Flamel began speaking to the assembled students as soon as he stepped in front of the podium.
"I want you all to know," Nicolas started, "that you are all very lucky to have such an esteemed Headmaster to guide you during these most formative years."
Nicolas returned the favor to Dumbledore who was now seated very close to where the Stone had been placed on its raised pedestal.
"And I thank you old friend for that heartfelt introduction."
Then Flamel turned and gazed out over the students that were of various ages and from various houses.
"I truly am honored to be here tonight and hope that I can impart some of the things that I have learned over the course of my many years on this earth," the man opened and for the briefest of moments locked eyes with Harry and nodded his head in the slightest of motions.
Which Harry noted but struggled to hide his shock and recognition that it was perhaps possible that this entire evening somehow had something to do with him.
'No,' he told himself when Nicolas' attention soon became directed at his Stone once more.
'You are reading too much into things; most likely it is because you were … are… the Boy Who Lived.'
Harry shook his head to rid himself of that fleeting and ridiculous notion that Flamel had tried to indicate that the words that he was about to say were meant for him.
"My story starts out very similar to yours," he again broke the silence that had settled while he was looking at his Stone.
"In my youth I attended Beauxbatons Academy of Magic in the Pyrenees Mountains of France. Of course seeing as how this was centuries ago our classes were slightly different, and I became fascinated with the subject of Alchemy – and we all know how that turned out."
The students were mesmerized by the way the man spoke and even the Slytherins let loose a few chuckles at his well-received joke. Here was a man that knew how to be warm and engaging.
"But it wasn't until after I graduated and stayed on as an apprentice that I decided to dedicate my life in pursuit of becoming a Master of Alchemy; however, I was momentarily distracted by the beauty and intellect of my now-wife Perenelle, who was several years younger than I was but graduated soon enough. I think I was most fortunate that she decided to follow me, and it is to her that I give credit for achieving everything that I have in my long life."
The hall was hooked onto his every word and even some of the faculty seemed enthralled by his tale. No one dared to move in their chairs lest they miss the next part of his story.
"Upon her graduation we traveled to as many places as we could as I tracked down as much information as I could about Alchemy in my pursuit of greatness. I must confess though that if it wasn't for her sharp mind and skill at putting together incomplete information that we may never have made it to the Americas where we were able to piece together the final and most important clue that allowed us to finally make the Stone."
Harry had been so sure that something else was the reason for them being assembled here tonight, but Nicolas' behavior was now throwing him off. The man was now talking about the strength of his marriage and obvious love for his wife, and very little about the science of Alchemy.
He was at a loss for why any of this would have been directed at himself; he was eleven for crying out loud!
Harry instead got the sense that the man was acting very similar to the way grandfathers tended to act when they were at the end of their life and most concerned with passing along their most important lessons before they died.
'But the man is immortal…' Harry trailed off as he finally connected Dumbledore's mysterious introduction with Nicolas' current behavior. His eyes widened as he processed the impossible thoughts that had to be associated with ridding oneself of immortality.
Just because Harry wasn't actively seeking how to make himself live forever didn't necessarily mean that he would have been able to part with something that ensured his own survival indefinitely. Those were two very separate and distinct things.
But Nicolas' sage words continued to flow over everyone present and Harry couldn't help but become one of the enthralled and lose his train of thought to hear the next bit.
"I succeeded in creating the Philosopher's Stone when I was in my mid-fifties, and I will let you all in on a little secret. Most people do not notice me when I walk by because I simply do not look like I am well into my six hundreds, and the secret to that is that the elixir completely stops the aging process. So I hate to inform you all that there are simply no glamours being used to mask my old and wrinkly skin."
The man smiled and Harry saw a small commotion to his right where gold was exchanged between the infamous Weasley Twins.
Harry couldn't help but wonder why they would bet on that and if the twins had a habit of this sort of thing.
"Which means that should my wife and I stop taking the Elixir of Life, we would simply begin to age at a normal rate. And in fact that is exactly what we have come to decide upon," he finished with his head bent slightly forward.
A gasp rang throughout the crowd and Nicolas had to raise his hands to contain the rising noise and prevent it from turning into something more tumultuous.
"As Dumbledore told you earlier this evening, he came to appreciate the time that had been given to him without needing to find more of it. So much of my life happened in the years after discovering the Stone when my sense of time was different that it took me longer to realize the crutch that my wife and I had been relying on. It is now our opinion that one is not meant to live forever, and after many discussions with my dear friend we have decided to destroy the Stone and live how we were meant to."
At this point people in the Great Hall were too stunned to make any noise and kept looking between Flamel and his Stone. Since Harry had arrived at this conclusion a few moments prior, he was now able to more clearly think about why this announcement was being made in front of all of them. And where he fit into everything if it was the case that he was reading into things correctly.
To make matters worse though, Flamel again managed to have his gaze linger for a few moments longer on Harry as he took in the sights of the hall before him.
"Some of you may be wondering why I choose tonight to make this announcement, but the truth is that young witches and wizards truly are the most important part of our society. For you all carry our traditions into the future, and as someone who has lived through several generations, I think that is the most important thing to ensure continues."
The man took another slight pause as he rubbed at his eyes and Harry's attention moved to the faculty sitting behind Flamel. Many of them were wiping tears away from their own cheeks as well; the exceptions being Snape who looked as uninterested as he always did and Quirinus Quirrell. The Defense Against the Dark Arts' Professor looked uneasy and his eyes kept dancing between the Stone and Flamel in a curious manner.
Harry had no idea why that stuttering mess was so seemingly bothered by the announcement but something was having an effect on that man and it was also causing Quirrell's fingers to fidget incessantly on his lap.
"So if I could have your attention for a final time," Flamel spoke using the same charming tone that he had been speaking in all along, "I want to give each of you a bit of advice to take with you as you live your own lives."
With those words Harry swore that the Hall dimmed and everyone unconsciously leaned forward in their chairs.
"Life is precious and we each have this tremendous opportunity to make the most of it; however, I would strongly caution against the notion of immortality. Over my six-hundred years on this earth I have seen and done a great deal – and it is true that the elixir allowed me and my wife all of that extra time – however, I now see how the greatest years of my life were before my wife and I had succeeded with our endeavor. I am not saying that it is wrong to fear death and extend one's life, but it is something that we all must face at some point. Otherwise, and please take it from me, life becomes a blur and I can't tell you how many years passed my family by since Perenelle and I always knew that we had another day ahead of us. Living had lost that special quality that makes each moment so precious and I have to credit Albus for the many chats in which I recently came to recognize what we had been living without. So please, make the most of each of your lives and never take tomorrow for granted. It may be scary at times but it truly is the best way to live."
Once again, even though that the topic of conversation was about giving up immortality and facing death – which is a difficult prospect for most people, let alone school-aged children to process – the entire room was once again waiting with baited breath for what his next words would be.
"I wanted to share this with all of you in the hopes that when you face death, hopefully many, many years from now, that you will know that you will have lived your best life. In fact, many of you will know of the Tale of The Three Brothers and it is my sincere hope, and parting wish, that each of you will be like the youngest brother and live a happy and full life. For Death is and should be like an old friend that welcomes you into the unknown, which I have since come to see as the next great adventure that my lovely wife and I shall take many years from now."
If Harry had been paying attention to Albus at this particular moment he would have seen an uncharacteristic gleam in his eye that was accompanied by a minute upturn of the edges of his mouth. Unbeknownst to anyone else in the entire world – even Nicolas Flamel – Albus had planned this event a decade ago, right after the fall of the Dark Lord.
For Albus had known of the prophecy and had begun to formulate his plan for shaping Harry into the person that he wanted while making sure that Harry didn't go down the same route that Tom Riddle had with notions of living forever.
Albus may not have been sure how Voldemort had prolonged his life – the options were too numerous to count – but he knew from the prophecy that the man would someday return.
In Albus' mind, he was justified in convincing Nicolas and Perenelle to give up their lives so that Harry might learn something that could end up saving millions of lives in the future. And if this little show with a near-perfect replica of the Stone also happened to lure a weakened Voldemort out – since he was certain that Tom had survived that night with the Boy Who Lived – than so be it. Albus was often fond of killing two birds with one stone, no pun intended.
But Harry wasn't paying attention to Albus; he was too focused on watching a man erase his life's achievement.
And then Nicolas stepped a few inches away from the podium, indicating that he was indeed finished.
"Thank you for your attention," he said as he made to turn and give the floor back to a very happy Dumbledore– but not before catching Harry's eyes for a final time.
After Nicolas' speech, the students stuck around for a few more minutes before the majority of them headed outside to enjoy the last few rays of the sun with their friends. They would soon be saying goodbye to each other, after all.
A few students returned to their dorms and even less stayed around the Great Hall to take Nicolas up on his offer to chat should anyone be so inclined. Even some of the faculty had left but Harry was sure that had to do with them being exhausted from all of the grading, and that they likely had had a chance to interact with Flamel before the assembly.
Harry of course hung around, as did Justin and Neville, and together the three of them watched the Weasley Twins try and make a half-hearted attempt at stealing the Stone. They didn't touch it, thankfully, but had made a good show and actually lifted everyone's spirits given the serious announcement that had just preceded it.
It was an amusing thing to watch and even McGonagall had a small smile on her lips.
Though the Headmaster did feel inclined to try and tell them off, but Nicolas waved him off and soon Fred and George exited to go and join another boy. Harry thought his name was Lee something-or-other.
In only a matter of minutes all that remained were a small handful of faculty and four Hufflepuffs that included Cedric Diggory and Harry and his friends.
Without even having to tell them what Harry wanted, Harry knew that Justin and Neville both understood that they were waiting for Harry to speak with the man before they too headed outside. Once Cedric finished speaking with the man – no doubt about how Charms were a natural branching off point for Alchemy since practically everyone in the castle knew how much of a natural Cedric was considered at Charms – Harry knew that it would soon be his turn.
Cedric waved in a friendly manner towards his 'little sibling,' and Harry waved back with almost the same enthusiasm. Outside of Neville and Justin, Cedric was the person that Harry had gotten to know and tolerate the best because of Hufflepuff's buddy system.
While most of those big-little relationships tended to fade over time, Harry could say that their relationship had been getting stronger and was itching to see if the older boy's core felt similar in response to his magic as it did with his friends.
But that was for another day and Harry soon began to approach Flamel, who seemed to have been expecting that Harry would be one of the students to take him up on his offer.
Neville and Justin followed Harry as he passed the slightly raised platform on which the teachers' table usually sat and had just walked past the Stone when Quirrell appeared at the rightmost edge of Harry's visual field.
He would have been inclined to simply disregard it except that the man had gone directly for the Stone and had reached out for it with his wand.
Time seemed to slow, but what happened next Harry would only ever be able to piece together after the fact as a bright light blinded him and a force knocked him off his feet. He never even knew when he had lost consciousness.
The first thing that Harry was aware of when thought returned to him was that there was a pounding in his head that made him feel like he was about to be sick. He felt week and lost and had no idea what was going on.
The next thing that he was barely able to process with the ringing inside of his skull was that he was being tightly held and that there was a piece of wood jabbing into his throat. He didn't even have the strength to fight against the person who was holding him; his head hurt too badly.
Resigned to his current situation, Harry put in a very week attempt to try and see what was going on around him but his field of vision was blurry and the Great Hall was spinning before him.
He wasn't used to feeling so helpless, and his mind just wasn't able to process things very quickly. It was a side effect of having had his head smash into the ground from the resulting explosion of Quirrell trying to take the fake Stone that had been protected by one of Dumbledore's most powerful charms.
But Harry didn't know that, and he couldn't hear the muffled shouts going on around him as Quirrell put Harry between himself and those who had their wands raised against him.
Though with each passing minute things were beginning to come into focus and he began to see the forms of Dumbledore and Minerva, who were among those fighting for his release.
That sight forced his mind to work faster and he was able to piece together that it was Quirrell who held him. It angered him that he was in this position but he had just the barest of awareness available to him to know that it would be unwise to let his magic teach the man a lesson.
Except that Harry wasn't in full control of his faculties and the pounding in his head was increasing to the point where all of his thoughts were being overwhelmed with the pain.
As a last resort to stem the pressure inside of his skull he directed as much of his magic as he could to help him. Even if he wasn't at full strength, enough of his magic was available to him that the sudden surge of magic was able to gradually lesson the intense pain that had been on the verge of becoming paralyzing.
Slowly his magic corrected the trauma done that would have resulted in an epidural hematoma. His magic was able to repair the torn meningeal artery and thus lesson the swelling between his dura mater and skull.
With the immediate danger over with, a weakened and magically-drained Harry – since using one's own magic in that manner is always extremely taxing - was finally able to concentrate on the events around him and managed to hear the tail end of the conversation.
"I will say this one more time Dumbledore: WHERE IS THE STONE!" The voice of Professor Quirrell roared past and over Harry's right ear.
Harry had little time to process why Quirrell was after the Stone as his senses were being over stimulated and over worked as he caught up with his surroundings after his magic had healed him. Like how his improved vision finally allowed him to fully see for the first time since he had regained consciousness, and how he tried to take in as much as he could.
"Tell me why you want it?" Dumbledore posed while Harry saw that Severus Snape also had his wand aimed at Quirrell.
Which Harry found to be so singularly odd and out of character for the man who had strived all year in making Potions an exercise in testing Harry's patience. But Snape looked to be every bit of serious in freeing Harry as the man was with driving him up the wall.
"My master wants it!" Quirrell cried, twisting his grip on Harry's neck so that it turned to the side where he saw that both Neville and Justin also had there wands drawn and pointed at him.
Neville looked downright fearful but Harry saw the underlying look of sheer anger in his eyes. The loyalty that Neville gave him further helped Harry not unleash his magic at Quirrell.
Only as a last resort would Harry unveil his secrets before those assembled.
However, the exchange between Quirrell and Dumbledore was now finally gaining his full attention, and the word master seemed to unnerve the others present.
"Your master?" Dumbledore said slowly while nodding his head forward ever so slightly as if he were coming to terms with something that he already knew, but had been hoping against.
"Yes! And he desires that Stone and it is imperative that I be the one to give it to him!"
Harry could feel the man shaking and knew that his trembling was a sign of desperation, though it didn't help him to feel any better. Desperate people often did desperate things that didn't always make the most sense. Like being so open with what they were after and tending to disregard how many people might get injured or killed.
In response, he gathered his magic very close to him so that it was ready should he have need of it.
"So Voldemort is still alive?" Dumbledore boldly clarified.
Harry saw the brief look of shock pass through those that faced him, and if he was being honest, it matched how he felt on the inside.
It was all just a bit surreal to think about the Dark Lord still being out there, but Harry had other things to worry about. Like the wand that was pressing deeper into his neck.
"But he did not come here himself for the Stone," Dumbledore stated, gathering his full height as his suspicions had been confirmed.
Without the possibility of dealing with the Dark Lord, now all Dumbledore desired was to free Harry and get this over with as soon as possible; his little plan had worked well enough.
"Of c-c-course he did not come, not in the state that he is in," Quirrell said stupidly, more concerned with the impossible task still before him if he hoped to continue living.
"Give me the Stone or I will take Harry to him," Quirrell then said as he tightened his hold upon the boy.
Harry's eyes widened, but it was more due to him realizing just how exhausted he was. For the first time in a long while he felt fear and willed every muscle that he could command to stay alert until the threat to his person was over.
He began to doubt that his magic would be able to save him given the state that he was in.
"You won't be taking the boy… anywhere," the unique tone and voice of Severus Snape practically commanded.
The shock of Snape doing anything to help Harry was almost enough to make him lose his last remaining bit of focus to stay awake.
"And the Stone has already been destroyed," Flamel then added, who was looking at Quirrell to see when the realization would hit that he had already given up his immortality.
But those words by Snape and Flamel were meant to be a distraction so that McGonagall and Dumbledore could work on freeing Harry unharmed. The only glitch in Dumbledore's plan was that Harry had been taken hostage.
However, no rescue was needed after Flamel's announcement.
The Dark Lord had ensured that Quirrell would try to get the Stone as if his life depended on it, which it did.
Unbreakable Vows were useful if you had a specific task in mind, and Quirrell knew the minute that his life was forfeit when it clicked that his task of returning the Stone and the subsequent Elixir of Life to speed his master's recovery hadn't even had a chance.
The Defense Professor's hands immediately seized and Harry reacted as soon as the man's wand had fallen to the ground and used all of his might to stumble forward, where Snape's arms were there to catch him.
As the fatigue finally took over, and even though Harry didn't feel that much better in Snape's arms, his body couldn't fight the exhaustion that his healing magic had caused in saving in his life.
The last thing that Harry remembered before his eyes closed was the inhuman scream of a man who was, quite literally, melting away.
The bed was soft and Harry was thankful to awake in a much less stressful situation. Though, he had no sense of how much time had passed and his eyes fluttered open, blinking against the bright light that streamed into the almost vacant hospital wing.
Except that Harry wasn't alone, Albus Dumbledore was sitting in a chair next to him and smiling in a most unusual way.
His Occlumency shields were quickly and hastily thrown up as Albus acknowledged his return to consciousness, "Good Morning, Harry."
The man's eyes were twinkling madly.
Harry paused, buying himself some more time to work out his response to the situation that he found himself in. So much had happened, too quickly for an appropriate analysis, that he knew that he couldn't hope to handle this current predicament as well as he would have liked to.
Therefore Harry took the easier, and more expected approach, of simply being in shock from everything that had happened.
"The Stone! Quirrell! My friends!" Harry added for good measure.
"Relax , my dear boy," Dumbledore soothed, doing his best to sound comforting and grandfatherly.
"I expect that you are quite confused with recent events, and let me just tell you that no one besides Quirrell was hurt."
Harry let what he had only recently concluded had happened to the man sink in. It was the whys and hows of it all that he had yet to figure out.
But now wasn't the time to do that.
He swallowed, and sat up in his bed. He knew where he was and that he had passed out, but he didn't quite know why he had done so. Had the magic that he had used to stop the pounding in his head taken that much out of him?
Also, he wondered what Dumbledore would tell him about what had happened. Perhaps he would be able to glean something that would help him put the pieces together later. At any rate, it didn't hurt to ask, shocked people were often very direct in what they said.
"Sir, I don't really remember all that happened. One minute I was waving to Cedric who had just finished speaking with Flamel and the next I was so confused that I only remember bits and pieces of the Stone and Quirrell… and shouting… so much shouting. My head hurt so bad and then it stopped, but that was when I became so tired that I could barely stay awake as Quirrell held me. Why was he holding me, and what happened to him? How long have I been here?"
It was calculated, but Harry wasn't worried about the man thinking it anything more than an appropriately curious response given the circumstances.
"Easy, Harry, though I will tell you what I can. The first is that you have been here for a day and a half – but don't worry, I'm sure that Madam Pomfrey will discharge you later today so that you may catch the Hogwarts Express bright and early tomorrow."
Harry acted the part and nodded along to what the man said to him.
"As for what happened, well, it would seem that Voldemort is still out there, Harry, and wanted the Stone to help him return to power. He must have been too weak to try and get it for himself, and sent Quirrell in his place. I think that he may have placed Quirrell under a powerful, and likely forced, magical vow that demanded Quirrell get the Stone to him if he wanted to survive. Except that Flamel had already destroyed the Stone before he had arrived to tell you all what he learned… what did you think about his speech by the way?"
It was an expert move in directing Harry's attention elsewhere since Dumbledore didn't want anyone to really think too much about the Stone being a trap.
"O-oh," Harry stuttered as he played along to Dumbledore's theatrics.
He looked to the window, thinking about what his response would be. Normally he would have liked more time to weigh the pros and cons of each route that he had before him, but a part of him was just too tired and he knew that he simply didn't have the time. So he went for a straight response instead.
"I thought it must have been a hard decision for him to make and think he did a good job of explaining it in terms that even a first year could understand," Harry replied softly.
"Sir?" Harry asked before Dumbledore could reply.
The older man's expectant face told him to go on.
"How could he still be out there… since that night with my parents," Harry said with a look of far-off longing in his green eyes.
Two could play that game.
The truth was that Harry likely knew that Dumbledore had guessed that he was still out there since the longer that he sat there in that hospital bed, the more certain he was that some part of Flamel's visit with the Stone had to do with tempting Voldemort – or one of his agents – out of hiding. Why else would the man have brought the Stone with him?
But he wasn't going to ask Dumbledore that directly.
Harry was just unsure why it had been done in a room full of students. Couldn't there just have been some rumor started that it was being stored in Gringotts or in some protected cavern - wouldn't that have been easier? And why had the man kept looking at him during his announcement?
"Alas, a very good question. I think the short answer is that he knew a lot about magic and that there are things that he could have done to keep on living."
"Oh," Harry crossed his arms across his stomach.
He had to at least make it convincing that he was slightly terrified of the man who had murdered his parents still being out there.
"Don't worry, Harry," Dumbledore then said, doing his best to look reassuring.
"You are safe from the man," he lied, knowing that Voldemort and Harry's future were destined to cross.
And Harry let him believe that his words had worked and in a few minutes changed the subject to food and other lighter topics.
They spent a little more time chatting before Albus left just as Madam Pomfrey arrived with his breakfast and allowed Harry to eat while making sure that he was good to go.
Aside from an explanation that his core was a little low – and to get plenty of rest – she sent him on his way.
Harry left the hospital wing with a great deal to think about but he had the entire summer to put everything together that he had just learned.
"Neville I'm fine, I promise," Harry said while in a compartment with Justin and Neville as the train careened towards London the next day.
Though, he was only slightly annoyed with how concerned Longbottom was being. In truth, Harry was oddly touched with how much the other boys thought of him and how they had stood with their wands raised, ready to go against someone who could have ended their lives so very quickly.
They were loyal to him, and it wasn't just Neville that Harry thought belonged to him, to protect and lead; because after his little chat with Phineas and Icarus, Harry had come to think of Justin in the same manner.
Of course, Harry would always favor Neville above any of the others who would join him in time – even if he couldn't quite explain it at the time.
"I've just never been so worried, Harry. I mean to think that Quirrell would do that, and then what happened to him!" Neville's face scrunched up at the thought of the man melting to death because of his failure to uphold his vow – which they couldn't have known and had assumed to be a protection of the Stone.
Although, Neville thought the bastard had deserved what had happened to him for harming his Harry.
"Serves him right!" Justin verbally agreed.
The tone of Justin's voice caused a pulse from Harry's core to ripple through his body.
"To think that a teacher would ever physically harm a student," he went onto explain quickly to soften his previous venomous statement.
The passion in his voice had startled him, and he had momentarily worried that it had been too much for the other too, but he needn't have worried with Neville's response.
"No, you're right, Justin, he had it coming. I mean Dumbledore said that you could have died Harry, and that if it wasn't for your magic likely reversing some of the trauma to your head…" he trailed off.
"I know," Harry confirmed, having had Madam Pomfrey explain how some people's magic respond differently in traumatic and life-threatening situations than others.
Though, Harry let her and everyone else think that it had been accidental when it had been anything but.
And with Neville's statement, the pulse radiating from his core only grew stronger.
A few seconds later, Harry broke the silence. He wanted to settle a few things before they separated for the summer. While he would spend the majority of his time at Privet Drive breaking down everything that had recently happened and preparing for the new year, he had decided to give his friends a suggested course to follow that would make it easier for some of what he planned to teach them in the future.
While it had been unexpected for Harry to think so much about helping others when he had first arrived at Hogwarts, the feeling that his magic had in their presence demanded that he invest in their future if he wanted to reach his full potential.
"But I wanted to thank you two," Harry said, in the softest voice that he had ever used with them.
"Even though a lot had been going on at the time, I saw that you both had your wands out. I just wanted you to know how much I appreciate having both of you in my life and willing to do that for me."
What Harry hadn't planned on was that a small part of his magic had decided to intertwine with his words and it further captivated Neville. For Justin, the words and the magic caused his core to shift just slightly towards the dark and his loyalty towards Harry was now forever permanent.
"Of course," both boys responded almost instantly and in unison.
"I think it would be wise for all of us to study as much magic that we can this summer. I for one never want to be in that situation again."
Justin and Neville nodded in agreement, intent on doing just that.
After that, they spent the last hour playing Exploding Snap. Harry would have the entire summer to reflect on his first year and thoroughly plan for what his next moves would me in response to the changed landscape.
However, one thing in his mind was certain, and that was that he had some new spells to work out against the Dursleys.
Can't believe his first year is over. I am very happy with it has turned out – even though the last chapter took longer to write.
Now we move onto the summer, and I don't know how much I will focus on that before getting the second year started so that Tom can come out and play a little before his grand arrival.
Hope you liked this and I would love to know your thoughts!