Chapter Twelve
"But that wasn't it," Harry continued as he retold the story to Ron and Hermione, "Firenze told me that it might be Voldemort underneath that cloak."
"Oh, but Harry! You could've been killed right there if he had caught you."
"Which means," Harry interrupted Hermione, "Voldemort must be the one after the stone and Snape must be helping him."
Hannah had told Harry and Ron of her conversation with Hermione. They seemed to have solved the puzzle.
"But where could the 'something' be hidden?" Ron asked, thinking.
"Oh my goodness! You really are hopeless aren't you?" Hermione asked exasperated.
"Oh sorry, I seemed to have missed something," Ron commented annoyed.
"Don't you remember the three-headed dog when we saw it in October?" Hermione continued.
"Yeah," Ron shuddered.
"Well, didn't you see what it was standing on?"
"Not exactly, the heads got me a little preoccupied Hermione."
"Well, if you used your eyes with your brain, you would see that Fluffy was standing on a trapdoor."
"Yeah, so?"
Hermione gave him a look. "Hello? That's where that secret thing must be hidden. Fluffy is guarding it."
Hannah's eyes widened as if a light suddenly clicked on in her brain.
"I remember that!" she exclaimed.
"At least someone does," Hermione sighed.
"We're going to have to keep a close eye on that Snape."
Weeks passed and nothing happened. There were a few quidditch games and Hannah finally understood the concept of the game. Winter turned into spring and Easter vacation passed with the planting of new flowers in the Today Road and the Tomorrow Road. The Yesterday Road was blooming all over with color. Hannah's favorite Mojave roses were brought to the Gryffindor dorm room, filling it with a flowery scent. Hannah explained admiringly to Hermione that Mojave roses showed every color of the sunrise from the lightest of golds to the brightest of pinks. Hannah kept on the lookout for anything suspicious when Snape was around, but nothing out-of-the-ordinary occurred, save the daily reprimands of the slimy teacher.
One evening in mid June, Hannah was down with Harry at the quidditch field and he was teaching her how to be Keeper in quidditch and how to save the quaffles from going through the hoop.
"Wow, you're getting pretty good at this," Harry threw another, which Hannah dived and caught.
"I happen to have a certain knack for sports myself from my friend, Melanie," Hannah tossed the quaffle back to him.
"Who's Melanie?"
"A muggle I lived with in a foster care home."
"Oh, I'm sorry."
"Sorry for what?"
"You don't have any parents either."
"Oh, I have a mother, but my father is dead."
"Then why were you in foster care?"
"My mother couldn't take care of me."
Harry was silent for a moment, then looked at the sky.
"We should probably go in now, it's getting dark."
"Ok."
They lowered to the ground, leaving the quaffle and the brooms in the locker room. As they walked over the grounds past the Forbidden Forest, Hannah suddenly heard voices.
"Wait, stop," she hissed, putting a hand on Harry's shoulder.
"What?"
"Sshh! I heard voices."
They tiptoed to the edge of the forest and climbed onto Harry's Nimbus Two Thousand, sliding into the hiding of the trees, listening and trying not to breathe.
"…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, Quirrel," Snape interrupted. Hannah held her breath.
"I-I don't know what you—
"You know perfectly well what I mean."
Hannah's foot slipped and she bit her lip to stop herself from gasping. Once she steadied herself, she listened in again.
"…your little bit of hocus-pocus. I'm waiting."
"B-b-but I d-don't—
"Very well," Snape cut Quirrel off, "We'll have another chat soon, when you have time to think things over and decided where your loyalties lie."
Hannah looked at Harry, shocked and waited for Snape and Quirrel to leave. As soon as they heard the entrance doors close, they leaped down from the tree and hurried up to the common room.
"So does this mean that as long Quirrel doesn't tell Snape where the thing is, it's safe?" Hermione asked after Hannah had told them breathlessly what had happened.
"It'll be gone by next Tuesday," Ron slipped into a chair.
The next day they made their discovery.
"I'm so sick of looking for this stupid guy Nicholas Flamel. I'll bet he's not even real." Ron complained, slamming another book down on one of the tables in the common room.
They were sitting amongst a pile of books and they hadn't found one thing. Suddenly Hermione gasped.
"What? Have you found it?" Hannah asked.
Hermione ran to the girl's dorm door and disappeared up the stairs.
"Probably forgot to do a piece of homework," Ron muttered, putting his feet on the table. A couple minutes later Hermione came down, holding a huge book in her hands.
"I can't believe I forgot this. I took this out weeks ago for a bit of light reading!" Hermione flopped onto a chair.
"That's light?" Hannah asked. Hermione gave her a look.
She flipped through pages until she stopped and ran a finger down the text.
"Ah ha! Here it is!" Hermione pointed dramatically at the page. Hannah moved over and read it aloud animatedly.
"The ancient study of alchemy is concerned with making the Sorcerer's Stone, a legendary substance with astonishing powers. This stone will transform any metal into pure gold. It also produces the Elixir of Life, which will make the drinker immortal. There have been many reports of the Sorcerer's Stone over the centuries, but the only Stone currently in existence belongs to Mr. Nicholas Flamel, who celebrated his six hundred and sixty-fifth birthday last year, enjoys a quiet life in Devon with his wife, Perenelle (six hundred and fifty-eight)."
Hannah looked up thoughtfully.
"No, wait! Let me read it again! I can do it with more drama! The ancient study of--!"
"It's OK Hannah!" Harry nudged her and she stopped, "Remember, we're the only ones who know about this Sorcerer's Stone and students aren't supposed to know about it."
"Sorry."
"Well, it's no wonder You-Know-Who is after it. Anyone would want something that would turn any metal into gold and make you immortal," Hermione thought aloud.
"Yeah. That would be so neat to have!" Hannah propped her chin in her hand, daydreaming.
Final exams passed and on the last day, Hannah was found under a big tree in the cool shade. She was weaving all kinds of things through her mind, finally getting off the subject of the Sorcerer's Stone. The Tomorrow Road didn't seem any closer at all, but the Today Road sure was looking well. She was surrounded by the most interesting lifestyle she could possibly want. She had good friends and she was right the middle of her adventure and she was sure it was going to get exciting soon.
Suddenly Harry, Ron and Hermione came running up to her.
"Hannah! Come on, we have to talk to Dumbledore!"
"Why?"
"Voldemort's gonna steal the Stone soon!"
"How do you know?"
"We were talking to Hagrid, but there's no time to explain. Come on!"
Hannah was pulled to her feet and yanked to the castle. In the entrance hall they met Professor McGonagall.
"Professor! We need to talk to Professor Dumbledore right away!"
The teacher looked startled.
"He's gone to London just a few hours ago. Why?"
"We…we know about the Sorcerer's Stone!"
McGonagall dropped all her books.
"Look, I don't know how you found out, but I insist you go outside and stop nosing into businesses that are not your own."
The teacher walked away.
Hannah looked after her, panting. Harry turned to face the three others.
"Now that Dumbledore's gone, Snape will have a perfect chance at trying to get past Fluffy! There's only one thing to do! We have to go down that trapdoor…tonight."
"But that wasn't it," Harry continued as he retold the story to Ron and Hermione, "Firenze told me that it might be Voldemort underneath that cloak."
"Oh, but Harry! You could've been killed right there if he had caught you."
"Which means," Harry interrupted Hermione, "Voldemort must be the one after the stone and Snape must be helping him."
Hannah had told Harry and Ron of her conversation with Hermione. They seemed to have solved the puzzle.
"But where could the 'something' be hidden?" Ron asked, thinking.
"Oh my goodness! You really are hopeless aren't you?" Hermione asked exasperated.
"Oh sorry, I seemed to have missed something," Ron commented annoyed.
"Don't you remember the three-headed dog when we saw it in October?" Hermione continued.
"Yeah," Ron shuddered.
"Well, didn't you see what it was standing on?"
"Not exactly, the heads got me a little preoccupied Hermione."
"Well, if you used your eyes with your brain, you would see that Fluffy was standing on a trapdoor."
"Yeah, so?"
Hermione gave him a look. "Hello? That's where that secret thing must be hidden. Fluffy is guarding it."
Hannah's eyes widened as if a light suddenly clicked on in her brain.
"I remember that!" she exclaimed.
"At least someone does," Hermione sighed.
"We're going to have to keep a close eye on that Snape."
Weeks passed and nothing happened. There were a few quidditch games and Hannah finally understood the concept of the game. Winter turned into spring and Easter vacation passed with the planting of new flowers in the Today Road and the Tomorrow Road. The Yesterday Road was blooming all over with color. Hannah's favorite Mojave roses were brought to the Gryffindor dorm room, filling it with a flowery scent. Hannah explained admiringly to Hermione that Mojave roses showed every color of the sunrise from the lightest of golds to the brightest of pinks. Hannah kept on the lookout for anything suspicious when Snape was around, but nothing out-of-the-ordinary occurred, save the daily reprimands of the slimy teacher.
One evening in mid June, Hannah was down with Harry at the quidditch field and he was teaching her how to be Keeper in quidditch and how to save the quaffles from going through the hoop.
"Wow, you're getting pretty good at this," Harry threw another, which Hannah dived and caught.
"I happen to have a certain knack for sports myself from my friend, Melanie," Hannah tossed the quaffle back to him.
"Who's Melanie?"
"A muggle I lived with in a foster care home."
"Oh, I'm sorry."
"Sorry for what?"
"You don't have any parents either."
"Oh, I have a mother, but my father is dead."
"Then why were you in foster care?"
"My mother couldn't take care of me."
Harry was silent for a moment, then looked at the sky.
"We should probably go in now, it's getting dark."
"Ok."
They lowered to the ground, leaving the quaffle and the brooms in the locker room. As they walked over the grounds past the Forbidden Forest, Hannah suddenly heard voices.
"Wait, stop," she hissed, putting a hand on Harry's shoulder.
"What?"
"Sshh! I heard voices."
They tiptoed to the edge of the forest and climbed onto Harry's Nimbus Two Thousand, sliding into the hiding of the trees, listening and trying not to breathe.
"…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, Quirrel," Snape interrupted. Hannah held her breath.
"I-I don't know what you—
"You know perfectly well what I mean."
Hannah's foot slipped and she bit her lip to stop herself from gasping. Once she steadied herself, she listened in again.
"…your little bit of hocus-pocus. I'm waiting."
"B-b-but I d-don't—
"Very well," Snape cut Quirrel off, "We'll have another chat soon, when you have time to think things over and decided where your loyalties lie."
Hannah looked at Harry, shocked and waited for Snape and Quirrel to leave. As soon as they heard the entrance doors close, they leaped down from the tree and hurried up to the common room.
"So does this mean that as long Quirrel doesn't tell Snape where the thing is, it's safe?" Hermione asked after Hannah had told them breathlessly what had happened.
"It'll be gone by next Tuesday," Ron slipped into a chair.
The next day they made their discovery.
"I'm so sick of looking for this stupid guy Nicholas Flamel. I'll bet he's not even real." Ron complained, slamming another book down on one of the tables in the common room.
They were sitting amongst a pile of books and they hadn't found one thing. Suddenly Hermione gasped.
"What? Have you found it?" Hannah asked.
Hermione ran to the girl's dorm door and disappeared up the stairs.
"Probably forgot to do a piece of homework," Ron muttered, putting his feet on the table. A couple minutes later Hermione came down, holding a huge book in her hands.
"I can't believe I forgot this. I took this out weeks ago for a bit of light reading!" Hermione flopped onto a chair.
"That's light?" Hannah asked. Hermione gave her a look.
She flipped through pages until she stopped and ran a finger down the text.
"Ah ha! Here it is!" Hermione pointed dramatically at the page. Hannah moved over and read it aloud animatedly.
"The ancient study of alchemy is concerned with making the Sorcerer's Stone, a legendary substance with astonishing powers. This stone will transform any metal into pure gold. It also produces the Elixir of Life, which will make the drinker immortal. There have been many reports of the Sorcerer's Stone over the centuries, but the only Stone currently in existence belongs to Mr. Nicholas Flamel, who celebrated his six hundred and sixty-fifth birthday last year, enjoys a quiet life in Devon with his wife, Perenelle (six hundred and fifty-eight)."
Hannah looked up thoughtfully.
"No, wait! Let me read it again! I can do it with more drama! The ancient study of--!"
"It's OK Hannah!" Harry nudged her and she stopped, "Remember, we're the only ones who know about this Sorcerer's Stone and students aren't supposed to know about it."
"Sorry."
"Well, it's no wonder You-Know-Who is after it. Anyone would want something that would turn any metal into gold and make you immortal," Hermione thought aloud.
"Yeah. That would be so neat to have!" Hannah propped her chin in her hand, daydreaming.
Final exams passed and on the last day, Hannah was found under a big tree in the cool shade. She was weaving all kinds of things through her mind, finally getting off the subject of the Sorcerer's Stone. The Tomorrow Road didn't seem any closer at all, but the Today Road sure was looking well. She was surrounded by the most interesting lifestyle she could possibly want. She had good friends and she was right the middle of her adventure and she was sure it was going to get exciting soon.
Suddenly Harry, Ron and Hermione came running up to her.
"Hannah! Come on, we have to talk to Dumbledore!"
"Why?"
"Voldemort's gonna steal the Stone soon!"
"How do you know?"
"We were talking to Hagrid, but there's no time to explain. Come on!"
Hannah was pulled to her feet and yanked to the castle. In the entrance hall they met Professor McGonagall.
"Professor! We need to talk to Professor Dumbledore right away!"
The teacher looked startled.
"He's gone to London just a few hours ago. Why?"
"We…we know about the Sorcerer's Stone!"
McGonagall dropped all her books.
"Look, I don't know how you found out, but I insist you go outside and stop nosing into businesses that are not your own."
The teacher walked away.
Hannah looked after her, panting. Harry turned to face the three others.
"Now that Dumbledore's gone, Snape will have a perfect chance at trying to get past Fluffy! There's only one thing to do! We have to go down that trapdoor…tonight."
