oooOOOoooOOOooo
The next few weeks went by in a flurry of studying, flying, spending time together as friends, and schmoozing with the other students. Vernon had impressed on both Dudley and Harry how important it was to dole out your attention in small doses to other people. It kept them wanting more and made everyone like you.
The entire group of children had their own special groups to schmooze with. They were all future Lords and Ladies, so they of course mingled with others in their position. There were only 10 or so more students with noble blood in the school. The group held a tea with them every other Sunday when everyone had more time. Harry and Dudley spent time with Anthony Goldstein and Terry Boot every other Tuesday evening. They took a round of golf out on the greens or practiced their putting in the hallway on the 7th floor. Hermione and Daphne had lunch with the other girls of Ravenclaw every Saturday. They would gossip and trade stories of what they'd learned during the week. Padma Patil enjoyed the luncheons so much, she was glad to take over organizing the topics of conversation.
Neville spent time with Hannah Abbot and a gent named Michael Corner every Saturday afternoon to work on extra credit assignments for Herbology. Hermione and Daphne often joined them, as did Susan Bones. Blaise and Tracy spent time with the other future business leaders in the school. Those who came from families with businesses or who wanted to be in business themselves. Harry and Dudley often joined them as did Daphne. They mixed and mingled when they had time, keeping plenty of time open for their personal pursuits.
They continued their Saturday lessons with Professor Flitwick and after six weeks of meditation, he said they were ready to try the spell.
"Alright, stand in a line, here. That's the ticket. Ms. Greengrass, you're first. Can everyone see me?"
The children all agreed they could.
"Here is the wand movement," he said. The students saw the professor's wrist twist to the right while he jabbed his wand forward. He did the motion again a few more times.
"The incantation is Ex-pect-o Pa-tro-num," he said, slowly saying the words. The students repeated after him a few times.
"Good. Now, Ms. Greengrass, I want you to drop into your meditative state. Allow the feeling of happiness to combine with your magic. When you feel that, perform the spell. Begin," he said. Daphne took a few deep breaths. Everyone noticed she glowed slightly.
She suddenly opened her eyes and jabbed her wand forward, shouting the spell. A silver mist shot out of the end of her wand. Professor Flitwick clapped.
"Very good! That is quite the reaction for your first time. Next time you meditate, see if any animal images come to you. If one animal stands out, try to envision it when you cast the spell next. Ms. Granger, you're up," said the Professor.
The students went one by one, some getting a thick, silver mist and some getting a wispy silver mist. None manifested an animal.
"We shall continue next time. This was a very good first effort. Excellent work," said Flitwick, beaming at the children. "I believe with proper meditation, you will get the spell completely within the next few weeks. It will be simple to teach you the communication portion after that," he said, cheerily.
Harry and his friends were enjoying a Sunday afternoon, using borrowed school brooms to fly out over the lake.
They landed somewhat close to the Forbidden Forest, taking the time to relax before they continued the journey back to the school. They were basking in the sun quietly when they suddenly heard voices.
"I know what you've been trying to do, Quirrell. If our master is in need, let me help you," said a silky, dark voice. It was Snape.
"I-I-I don't kn-kn-know what you're talking about, S-s-s-severus. I ha-ha-have no ma-ma-master," said a voice, not even a little convincingly.
Harry put his finger to his mouth. The other children remained quiet.
"I know you went after the stone. Do you know how to get past the three headed dog? Tell me?!" bellowed Snape. Quirrell whimpered but did not relent.
"I-I-I don't kn-kn-know what you me-me-mean," said Quirrell. Snape threatened and cajoled the man for a few more minutes but he didn't give in. They finally moved away.
"What do you think that's about?" asked Blaise.
"I don't know but Dudley and I saw that three headed dog. It's a monster," he said, shivering at the memory. He told the others the tale of their nighttime wandering before their epic prank.
"That is suspicious. What is this stone they're after?" wondered Hermione. Harry remembered the small stone Hagrid had picked up at Gringotts. He told the others about it.
"Nicholas Flamel? That name sounds familiar," said Hermione.
"It's a French name," said Blaise.
"I don't know of any living Flamels, so I doubt they are still around," said Tracy. Her mother was part of the French aristocracy. She made her children learn the French families as well as the English.
"What famous stones do we know of? Hagrid acted like this should be a person I knew," said Harry.
"Well, there's the stone of destiny," said Hermione slowly. "It's one of the four treasures of the Tuatha de Danann."
"And the Resurrection Stone from the Tale of the Three Brothers," said Tracy.
"There's the philosopher's stone," said Dudley.
"What's that?" asked Neville.
"It's a mythical stone created through alchemy. It can turn any metal to gold and heal any wound except death and do some other stuff, too. I was obsessed with learning ways to make gold when I was young," said Dudley, with a grin on his face. The other children smirked back. It was a subject they were all interested in to some degree. "Actually, it was supposedly created by some flame guy. I don't remember his name but I bet Harry has it in his library."
They all moved down into Harry's trunk. They searched the library index and found a reference to Nicholas Flamel in a book entitled Famous Alchemists of Ancient History. Hermione read the paragraph aloud.
"Nicholas Flamel, along with his wife Perenelle Flamel, are the infamous creators of the philosopher's stone. The stone grants eternal life, amongst other things. The Flamels, born in the 1600's (exact year unknown) are still alive to this day. While they do not engage often with the magical world in the current day, they are known for living as various aliases in the muggle world. The stone can turn any metal to gold, can cause a torch to burn for eternity and is said to be the source of the lighting at Hogwarts castle, and can heal all but mortal wounds. Though the stone has been under guard at Gringotts for centuries, there have been unsuccessful attempts at theft but they have been thwarted every time."
"That sounds like an amazing stone!" said Blaise, impressed. Harry got excited.
"Wait! I saw the stone in Hagrid's hands and wondered what it was. I chipped off a tiny piece to see if I could figure out what type of stone it was. It looked highly unusual. Let me get it!" Harry ran and got the piece of stone he had chipped off from the whole. He brought it to the others along with his microscope and a few pieces of tin.
Everyone took a turn examining the piece of stone under the microscope and not under it. It looked highly unusual. It burned with a golden flame from the inside. It looked like living blood or burning flame under the exterior of the stone. It was fascinating.
"Here, let's test it. Harry examined the tin under the microscope, allowing the others to do the same. Then, he scratched the metal with the stone. It was amazing! The metal turned instantly into pure gold. Magical gold because only magical gold was that pure.
Harry shared the microscope and allowed the others to each scratch a tiny tin disk with the stone.
When it was Neville's turn, he hesitated. "Harry, instead of testing it this way, can we try to test it another way?" Neville asked in quiet dread.
"Sure, Neville. How do you want to test it?" Harry asked. Neville swallowed.
"I want to test it on my parents. Can we? Nothing else has been able to heal them," Neville said, tears entering his eyes but not falling.
The jovial mood of the others sobered instantly. Everyone knew the terrible fate of the Longbottoms. Driven into insanity by Bellatrix LeStrange, the LeStrange brothers, and Barty Crouch, Jr.. The foursome were loathed by all wizardkind for the brutal attack that left the two Aurors mentally incapacitated.
"Of course, Neville. We'll do everything we can to try. Do you want to sneak out tonight and do it?" Harry asked, looking determined.
"No, no!" Neville exclaimed. "Let's sneak out next Sunday. We'll have the whole day to go."
"We're coming with you," said Hermione, Daphne, and Dudley.
"We'll run interference if anyone starts looking for you," said Blaise, gesturing to himself and Tracy.
"Wonderful. We'll leave after breakfast and return before dinner. Should be a piece of cake," said Harry. It wasn't a piece of cake.
oooOOOoooOOOooo