Dumbledore had convinced Aleena not to go looking for the Mirror of Erised again and for the rest of the Christmas holiday the Invisibility Cloak stayed folded at the bottom of her trunk. In a way, she's kind of glad that Dumbledore caught her that night, because she knew that she would have driven herself mad by keep going back.
Ron and Draco was also glad that Dumbledore caught Aleena, because the nightmares she was having were getting so bad that Aleena would often wake up screaming in her sleep, which caused the boys to panic so much that they went to Snape to ask for a potion to help her sleep at night. Luckily he had a vial of sleeping draught, which helped a lot.
Sarah-Jane, who came back the day before term started, was upset that the others didn't manage to find out anything about Nicolas Flamel. Even she didn't have any luck. Her parents had never heard of him, so she went to the local library, thinking that he might be Muggle-Born or something, but there was nothing about him.
As soon as term started, so did Quidditch practice, something that Aleena was excited about, but is wasn't all fun and games. Oliver was working the team harder than ever. Even the endless rain that had replaced the snow couldn't dampen his spirits.
During one particularly wet and muddy practice session, Oliver gave the team a bit of bed news. He has just told them that Snape will be refereeing their next match and everyone is not very happy about it, especially Aleena. She was still unsure about Snape hexing her broom last time, but if it was him, then he could do it again, and this time, Sarah-Jane won't be able to set him on fire.
"It's not my fault" Oliver snapped, when everyone started to complain to him. "I'm just as angry as you lot, but we need to make sure that we play fair so that Snape hasn't got an excuse to pick on us."
"He doesn't need an excuse, Ollie" Aleena said, making everyone nod in agreement. Oliver felt himself blushing when Aleena called him by his nickname. No one has called him Ollie before, so he kind of liked it.
After they had a good practice game, Aleena headed straight back to the Gryffindor common room, where she found Ron and Draco teaching Sarah-Jane how to play chess. Aleena let him finish their games before she told them about Snape refereeing Gryffindor's next Quidditch match.
"Don't play!" Sarah-Jane said at once.
"Say you're ill" Ron said.
"Pretended to break your leg" Draco suggested.
"I can't" Aleena sighed. "There's no reserve Seeker, so if I back out, then Gryffindor can't play."
At that moment Neville toppled into the common room. How he had managed to climb through the portrait was anyone's guess, because his legs has been stuck together with the Leg-Locker Curse. Aleena gasped and rushed over to him when he fell onto the floor.
"Did - did my brother do this to you?" she asked, feeling a little nervous about the answer, knowing that Harry would do something like this just to make his friends laugh. She sighed a little when Neville shook his head.
"No, it was Ethan, but your brother was there. He just stood there laughing, so did Hermione" he explained, as Aleena performed the counter-curse. Neville's legs sprang apart and he, and Aleena, got to their feet.
"Oh, I'm sorry about my brother and his friends."
"You don't need to say sorry for them" Neville said, as they sit with Ron, Draco and Sarah-Jane on the chairs.
"He's right, Aleena" Ron said. "You don't need to say sorry for everything your brother and his friends do."
"I feel like I need to though."
"You really don't, Lee" Draco smiled. "We understand what they are like by now."
"Beside, what Harry and his friends do to us, has nothing to do with, so you shouldn't be sorry saying for them" Sarah-Jane added, before turning to Neville, "but I think you should go to Professor McGonagall about this."
Neville shook his head. "I don't want more trouble" he mumbled.
"I don't blame you for not wanting trouble" Aleena said. "Things don't end well when you grass on Harry, I should know."
"But you really should stand up to him, Neville. You too, Lee" Ron said. Aleena really wanted to scoff at that, but she held it back. Standing up to Harry was easier said than done. She knew all too well how nasty Harry can get if you tell on him.
Plus, he now has a wand with a whole rang of different spells. God knows which ones he has already learnt, and there's Ethan and Hermione to think about too. Aleena doesn't think that they would be very happy about her and her friends getting Harry into trouble.
"If you don't want to report him, Neville, then I can do it for you" Sarah-Jane offered. "Vega needs to be taken down a peg or two anyway."
"Taken down a peg or two?" Ron frowned. He's never heard of that saying before.
"Yeah, it means to make someone realise they're not as important as they think they are" she explained, making his mouth fell into a 'o' shape.
Neville shook his head to Sarah-Janes offer. "No, it's fine. It would only give them another reason to pick on me if they find out. Vega's already told me that I'm not brave enough to be in Gryffindor, and this would just prove it if you fight my battles for me."
"You are brave enough to be in Gryffindor, Neville" Aleena said. "The Sorting Hat wouldn't have put you here if it didn't see bravely in you, and just because you don't feel brave all the time, it doesn't mean it's not there."
"Aleena's right, Neville" Draco said, pulling a Chocolate Frog out of his pocket. "You're worth twelve of Vega" he smiled, hanging Neville his last Chocolate Frog from the box Sarah-Jane had given him for Christmas.
Neville's lips twitched into a weak smile as he unwrapped the Frog. "Thanks, Dray ... I think I'll go to bed ... Do you want the card? You collect them, don't you?"
"Yeah" he grinned. "Thanks, mate."
As Neville walked away Draco looked at the Famous Wizard card. He sighed when he saw which card he got. "I got Dumbledore again. I've already got ten of him" he sighed, putting it down on the table in front of him.
Aleena looked at the card and saw Dumbledore smiling at her. She was about to look away when a name on the card caught her eye. She grabbed the card, which made Draco, Ron and Sarah-Jane look at her confused. She quickly read the card and grinned.
"I've found Nicolas Flamel. I knew I'd seen his name somewhere before, only I couldn't remember where. I didn't think it was on a Chocolate Frog card though - Anyway, listen to this: 'Professor Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945, for the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's blood and his work on alchemy with his partner, Nicolas Flamel!'"
Sarah-Jane excitedly jumped to her feet, which made the others flinch from her suddenly movement. "Wait here" she said, and she sprinted up the stairs to the girl dormitories. Aleena, Ron and Draco glanced at each other with confused looks, but before any of them could say anything, Sarah-Jane was back with an enormous book in her arms.
"I never thought to look in here!" she whispered breathlessly. "I got this out of the library weeks ago for a bit of light reading."
The others didn't say anything as they watched Sarah-Jane flick through the pages of the book, as she muttered something to herself. At last she found what she was looking for. "Yes! Here he is. Nicolas Flamel is the only known maker of the Philosopher's Stone."
"The what Stone?" Draco frowned.
"The Philosopher's Stone" she said, before looking at the book. "It says here that the Stone has astonishing powers. Oh my - the Stone can transform any metal into pure gold. It can also produces the Elixir of Life, which will makes the drinker immortal - Woah! Nicolas Flamel is six hundred and sixty-fifth old, and his wife is six hundred and fifty-eight. Damn, that's old."
"That is old" Aleena muttered, taking in what Sarah-Jane has just said.
"A stone that makes gold and stops you from dying" Draco said. "No wonder Snape's after it. Anyone would want it."
"Looks like we have finally found out what that dog is guarding" Ron grinned, "and thank god for that because it was driving me crazy."
"Same" Aleena, Sarah-Jane and Draco muttered.
Next morning in Defence Against the Dark Arts, while copying down different ways of treating werewolf bits, Aleen, Ron and Draco were still discussing what they'd do with the Philosopher's Stone if they had one. It wasn't until Ron said he'd buy his own Quidditch team that Aleena remembered about Snape and the coming match.
"I'm going to play" she told Draco, Ron and Sarah-Jane. "I can't let the team down. Plus Harry would never let me live it down if I don't play, and that's something I really don't need."
"Just as long as we're not wiping you off the pitch" Sarah-Jane said.
"Sarah-Jane!" Ron and Draco hissed.
As the match drew nearer and nearer, Aleena become more and more nervous about playing, especially since she keeps having dreams about Snape hexing her off her broom, but before she hits the ground, she always jumps awake. Aleena didn't know whether she was imagining it or not, but she seemed to keep running into Snape wherever she went.
She also seemed to be running into Harry and his friends a lot too. Ethan and Hermione have been teasing her about falling off her broom. Harry, on the other hand, looks almost nervous about the up coming match, but that didn't stop him from laughing when Ethan and Hermione picked on his sister.
Today is the day of the Quidditch match and Aleena feels like she's about to faint and throw up at the same time. Ron, Draco and Sarah-Jane wished her luck before the match and told her that everything will be ok, but that didn't really calm her nerves.
Little did Aleena know that they had been secretly practising the Leg-Lockers Curse. They got the idea from Ethan using it on Neville, and were ready to use it on Snape if he showed any signs of wanting to hurt Aleena.
"Now, don't forget, it's Locomotor Morits" Sarah-Jane muttered as Ron and Draco slipped their wands up their sleeve.
"We know, Sarah-Jane" Ron snapped.
"So stop nagging us" Draco added.
"Right, sorry. I'm just nervous, that's all."
Meanwhile in the changing room, Oliver had taken Aleena aside. "Don't want to pressure you, Aleena, but if we ever need an early capture of the Snitch it's now. Finish the game before Snape can favour Hufflepuff too much."
"I'll try my best, Ollie."
"Good girl" he smiled.
"Woah! Even Dumbledore has came to watch the match" Aleena heard Fred say. She turned around and saw him peering out of the door. She rushed over there and saw him sitting right next to McGonagall. Aleena felt a little less nervous as the team walked onto the pitch.
She glanced over to Snape and he didn't look very happy about seeing Dumbledore sitting in the crowd. Was that because he couldn't hurt Aleena without Dumbledore seeing him? Or was he angry for another reason?
Up in the stands, Ron also noticed how angry Snape was looking. "I've never seen Snape look so mean" he told Draco and Sarah-Jane. "Look - they're off - ouch!"
Someone had pocked Ron in the back of the head. It was Ethan. "Oh, sorry, Weasley, didn't see you there" Ethan grinned broadly at Harry and Hermione. "Wonder how long pretty Potter is going to stay on her room this time?"
Draco glared at Ethan when he called Aleena pretty Potter. Ethan saw this and smirked at him. He loved how easy he could make Draco jealous or angry by calling Aleena pretty or beautiful. Hence why he does it more whenever Draco is around.
"Anyone want to bet on how long she can stay on her broom?" Hermione asked. "What about you, Weasley? Or you, Malfoy? What about you, Smith?"
Ron, Draco and Sarah-Jane didn't answer him and kept their eyes on Aleena, who was circling the game like a hawk, looking for the Snitch.
"You know how I think they choose people for the Gryffindor team?" Ethan said loudly a few minutes later, as Snape awarded Hufflepuff a penalty for no reason at all. "It's people they feel sorry for. See, there's pretty Potter, who's got no parents - no offence, Harry" he added, when Harry smacked his arm.
"Then there's the Weasleys, who've got no money - you should be on the team, Longbottom, you've got no brains."
Neville went bright red but turned in his seat to face Ethan. "I'm worth twelve of you, Vega" he stammered.
Ethan, Harry and Hermione howled with laugher, but Ron, still not daring to take his eyes off the game, said, "You tell him, Neville."
"Longbottom, if brains were gold you'd be poorer than the Weasleys, and that's saying something" Harry joined in.
"I'm warning you, Potter - one more word -"
"Aleena" Sarah-Jane suddenly gasped. Ron and Draco looked up and saw that Aleena had gone into a spectacular dive, which drew gasps and cheers from the crowd. Sarah-Jane stoop up, as Aleena streaked towards the ground like a bullet.
"You're in luck, Weasley, looks like pretty Potter has spotter some money on the ground for you and your poor family" Ethan said, making Hermione snigger.
Ron snapped. Before Ethan knew what was happening, Ron was on top of him, wrestling him to the ground. Draco didn't think twice about helping Ron. Neville hesitated a little, before he climbed over the back of his seat to help them. Hermione was shouting at them to stop, but they didn't listen to her. She looked at Harry for help, but he was too busy looking at his sister.
"Come on, Aleena!" Sarah-Jane screamed, leaping on to her seat to watch as Aleena sped straight at Snape. She didn't even notice Ron, Draco, Neville and Ethan rolling around under her seat.
Up in the air, Snape turned on his broomstick just in time to see something scarlet shoot past him, missing him by inches - next seconds, Aleena had pulled out of the dive, her arm raised in triumph, the Snitch clasped in her hand.
The stands erupted; it had to be a record, no one could ever remember the Snitch being caught so quickly. Aleena jumped off her broom, stared at the Snitch in her hand, before grinning and doing an excited little dance, which made a lot of people smile.
She done it - the game was over and it had barely lasted five minutes. As the Gryffindor's came spilling on to the pitch, Aleena saw Snape land nearby, white-faced and tight-lipped. He glanced at Aleena, give her a dirty look, then walked off.
Aleena didn't know what to make of that. Was he angry because Gryffindor won? Or was he angry because he didn't manage to hurt her? She had no idea and she was getting headache thinking about.
Aleena jumped when she felt an hand on her shoulder. She looked up and saw Dumbledore smiling down at her. "Well done" he whispered, so that only she could hear. "Nice to see you haven't been brooding about that mirror ... been keeping busy ... excellent ..."
Aleena smiled at him and watching him walk off. She left the changing room alone some time later, to take her Nimbus Two Thousand back to the broom-shed. She's hasn't felt this happy in a long time. She really did something to be proud of tonight.
She walked over the damp grass, reliving the last hour in her head, which was a happy blur; Gryffindor running to lift Aleena on to their shoulders; Ron, Draco and Sarah-Jane in the distance, jumping up and down. Aleena frowned when she saw that Ron had a bloody nose and Draco had a cut lip. They waved at her before they started walking up to the school.
Aleena had made it to the broom-shed, but before she could put her broom away, someone grabbed her arm, which made her gasp in surprise. She turned around and came face to face with Ethan. Well, not really face to face since Aleena only came up to his chin.
She looked up at him and saw that he had a cup lip and black eye, which made her frown, but then she remembered seeing Ron and Draco looking pretty beaten up too. It didn't take Aleena long to put two and two together. They had been fighting.
"You're little boyfriends are going to regret hitting me" Ethan growled, pushing Aleena against the shed, which made her drop her broom. She went to grab her wand, only to remember that she left it in her bedroom since she didn't need it because of Quidditch. She looked at Ethan and saw that he had his wand in his hand.
"You know" Ethan said, making Aleena look away from his wand and into his eye instead, "I was going to go after Malfoy and Weasley for hitting me, but then I thought about what my father once told me. He told me to never go after the person who has wronged you, instead, go after someone they care about because that will hurt them more."
Before Aleena could even register what Ethan had just said, she heard someone walking towards them. Ethan must have heard it too, because he put his hand over Aleena's mouth and stuck his wand into her neck, probably warning her to be quiet. Aleena looked around and saw a hooded figure walking into the Forbidden Forest.
"Shit, it's Snape" Ethan whispered, looking at the hooded figure. He looked at Aleena and smirked. "I'll get you next time, beautiful" he let her go and quickly rushed off up the hill towards the school.
"What the hell just happened?" Aleena mumbled, picking up her broom. She went to walk over to the broom-shed, when she remembered that Snape was sneaking into the forest while everyone else was at dinner. Aleena looked around for a few seconds, before making the decision to follow him.
She jumper on her broomstick and took off. Aleena saw Snape enter the forest at a run, something that she found odd. Why was Snape going into the forest for? What was he up for? Aleena thought that she has lost him for a second, but then she heard someone talking. She flew lower and landed in a near by tree.
Aleena climbed carefully along one of the branches, holding tight to her broomstick, trying to see through the leave. Below, in a shadowy clearing, stood Snape, but he wasn't along. Quirrell was there, too. Aleena couldn't make out the look on his face, but he was stuttering worse than ever.
"... d-don't know why you wanted t-t-to meet here of all p-places, Severus …"
"Oh, I thought we'd keep this private" Snape said, his voice icy. "Students aren't supposed to know about the Philosopher's Stone, after all."
Aleena learnt forward. Quirrell was mumbling something. Snape interrupted him. "Have you found out how to get past that beast of Hagrid's yet?"
"B-b-but Severus, I -"
"You don't want me as your enemy, Quirrell" Snape said, taking a step towards him.
"I-I don't know what you -"
"You know perfectly well what I mean."
An owl hooted loudly and Aleena nearly fell out of the tree. She steadied herself in time to hear Snape say "- your little bit of hocus pocus. I'm waiting."
"B-but I d-don't -"
"Very well," Snape cut in. "We'll have another little chat soon, when you've had time to think things over and decided where your loyalties lie."
He threw his cloak over his head and strode out of the clearing. It was almost dark now, but Aleena could see Quirrell, standing quite still as though he was petrified. After a few minutes of just standing there, Quirrell walked out of the clearing too.
Aleena carefully climbed onto her broom and flew back to the broom-shed. As soon as her broom was locked away, Aleena ran up to the school. She was rushing down the corridor when she bumped into her friends.
"Aleena, where have you been?" Sarah-Jane squeaked. Aleena blinked a few times, trying to think how she could word what just happened, but before she could say anything, Ron spoke up.
"We won! You won!" he said excitedly, giving Aleena a side hug. "You were amazing, Lee."
"What's wrong?" Draco asked, when he saw the look in Aleena's face.
"I have something to tell you all" she said.
"Ok" Sarah-Jane said, looking around. "Look, we can talk in here" she said, pointing to an old classroom that no one goes in anymore. They nodded and walked into the classroom, Aleena made sure that Peeves wasn't inside before shutting the door behind them, then she told them what she'd seen and heard, but she didn't tell them what happened with Ethan.
"So we were right, it is the Philosopher's Stone, and Snape's trying to force Quirrell to help him get it. He asked if he knew how to get past Fluffy - and he said something about Quirrell's 'hocus pocus' - I reckon there are other things guarding the Stone past from Fluffy, loads of enchantments, probably, and Quirrell would have done some anti-Dark Arts spell which Snape needs to break through."
"So you mean the Stone's only safe as long as Quirrell stand up to Snape?" Sarah-Jane said in alarm.
"It'll be gone by next Tuesday" Ron said.
"Where did that red mark come from?" Draco suddenly asked, pointing at Aleena's neck where Ethan stuck his wand into her neck.
"Nowhere" Aleena mumbled, moving her hair to try and cover it up, but Sarah-Jane, being the smart arse that she is, pulled out her wand, looked at the tip, then looked at Aleena's neck.
"Who put their wand in your neck?" she demanded.
"What?" Ron and Draco growled.
Aleena looked up and saw Sarah-Jane, Ron and Draco staring at her. She really didn't want them to know what happened with Ethan because she didn't want Ron and Draco to go after him again, but seeing the worried looks on their faces, changed her mind.
"It was Ethan" she said, before explaining what he said to her, then she explained that Ethan didn't do anything to her because Snape turned up.
"I can imagine his father saying something like that" Ron hissed. "He seems sick enough."
"Definitely sick" Draco agreed, "but he's true in a way though, isn't he? Hurting Aleena would hurt us more."
"He wasn't going to hurt me" Aleena said, trying to convince herself more than the others. She really didn't want to think about what he would have done if Snape didn't turn up when he did, especially since she had no idea what sort of hexes he knew.
"He had his wand out, Lee, what do you think he was going to do with it?" Sarah-Jane snapped.
"I dunno, to make me think he was going to do something, I guess."
"Vega isn't like that" Draco said. "If he says he's going to do something, then he will do it."
"Well, if he tries anything, then I'll go straight to McGonagall and get him into trouble" Aleena said, knowing that McGonagall would actually believe her and punish him.
"Ok, but from now on, you're not leaving our side" Ron said. Draco and Sarah-Jane nodded in agreement.