Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. That would violate anti-slavery laws.
Harry ran to the Great Hall, and found Fleur guarding the students. Harry quickly walked up to Fleur and said, "What happened this morning?"
Fleur looked at him a little confused before answering, "We cancelled the Defense Against the Dark Arts classes so I could guard the Great Hall, but nothing really out of the ordinary."
Harry sighed and said, "I mean, what happened at the meeting? Dumbledore said he had to tell us something else about the attack."
"Ah. The meeting for that was delayed until tonight," Fleur explained.
"Ok. Well, I can relieve you. I'm feeling much better now," Harry offered.
Fleur sighed and whispered, "Thanks! Anyway, what was it like, guarding the entire castle?"
Harry thought a minute and said, "It was like the first day, only a hundred times worse. To tell you the truth, I just woke up."
Professor Delacour smiled and patted him on the shoulder. Harry nodded, and Fleur left the Great Hall.
Harry watched as time slowly passed before the meeting. Finally, Dumbledore, Fleur, McGonagall, Flitwick, and Snape entered the Great Hall, and the six of them entered the adjoining room.
McGonagall, showing a bit of impatience, asked, "So what happened that you didn't tell us before during the attack?"
Dumbledore, Harry noticed, was not smiling. Whatever was going on, it couldn't be good. "Something," Dumbledore spoke gravely, "was stolen during the attack. One of my artifacts, Copulo's Stave, has disappeared."
Harry didn't know exactly what this meant, but felt slightly better when he saw the rest of the staff was confused as well. Flitwick finally asked, "What does the stave do? What powers does it have?"
Dumbledore slowly said, "By itself, none. However, legend states that when Copulo's Stave is combined with the Jewel of Compago, it will form the Conventus Orb – the Orb of Convergence. It would most likely enable Voldemort to permanently merge with a willing host."
At Dumbledore's announcement, everyone drew a sharp breath. "Where," Snape asked, "is the Jewel of Compago?"
"Nobody knows," Dumbledore said softly.
Harry knew Hermione would be proud. Ever since Dumbledore filled him in, Harry spent every available minute at the library, looking for any reference to the Jewel of Compago. Unfortunately, the gem didn't seem to be very noteworthy, and Harry hadn't even found anything about it yet.
"Here it is! Finally!" exclaimed Harry, deep into a book entitled 'Noteworthy Gems of Eurasia'.
The Jewel of Compago was a gem coveted by muggle European kings during the early medieval period. However, the gem found its way to Bucharest, where it was supposedly hidden by Mircea cel Batran to prevent it from entering the Ottoman Empire's hands. However, in the early 20th century, Romania was completely scoured and no trace of the jewel was found.
The last known record for the Jewel of Compago was in 1389, where Batran noted the stone's particular properties. The most notable observation is that the stone appeared to sparkle even when in the dimmest of lights. Of course, this observation is highly dubious, as the jewel most likely does not have any magical properties at all.
However, fanciful legends of the combination of the jewel with the Stave of Copulos have garnered the gem a place with in the magical community. However, almost every scholar believes the stone is in fact, just that: a stone, which doesn't have any special powers whatsoever.
Harry grunted and thought Well, I guess I found it. Harry shut the book, and began looking through books regarding Romanian history, hoping to find some more details about the gem. Four hours later, Harry shut the third book he had skimmed through. "Nothing but complete dead ends! It's like the stone just disappeared off the planet!" Harry disgustedly remarked, as he left the library to go back to the Gyrffindor commons.
The next day, Harry entered the Great Hall and heard McGonagall whisper to Flitwick, "I don't get it. I looked up the entire history section, and I can't find a single reference to the gem after 1389! It can't have just disappeared!"
Harry realized that the rest of the staff was also looking for records of the stone. "Professor, you were researching about what happened to the Jewel of Compago after Batran as well?" Harry hesitantly asked.
Before McGonagall could answer, Dumbledore walked up to them as well. "I imagine you have all scoured the library by now. I trust you have not found anything?" the headmaster asked.
Nobody answered, but Harry could tell from the looks on everyone's faces that no one had a clue where the jewel was. Dumbledore quietly said, "I checked into the Ministry's records. They do not show anything beyond Batran's rule, either."
"That's good! That means Voldemort will not be able to find the stone, so Copulo's Stave won't do him any good," cheered Flitwick. Dumbledore looked a little troubled by the logic, but didn't say anything.
Harry didn't know why he kept going back to the library, looking for something on the stone. If Dumbledore, McGonagall, Snape, Flitwick, and Delacour couldn't find anything, what could he hope to accomplish? Never the less, Harry spent over three hours a day browsing the books in the history section.
Harry opened the door to the library, about to start another nightly research session, when he was assailed by a dark smoke. Harry squinted and managed to see flames through the cloud. "The history section!" Harry coughed. "Pluvailis!" he yelled, and soon the library was caught in a mild rain which put out the fire. Harry then cast a spell to fan the smoke out of the library, so he could take stock of what the fire destroyed.
"What happened here!" demanded McGonagall, now running through the door.
Harry answered, "Someone torched the library." Dumbledore, who always seemed to know exactly what was happening in the castle, entered the library as well.
"Most of the history section is ruined!" cried McGonagall.
"That is not our biggest concern," Dumbledore softly said, "The library was under the protection of the wards."
McGonagall gasped and said, "So Voldemort can again break through them?"
Dumbledore shook his head no, and Harry whispered, "So there's a traitor at Hogwarts?"
Almost every book in the history section was ruined beyond repair. A few were burnt but still legible, and Harry now spent his time looking through the blackened tomes. "This is hopeless!" Harry sighed, hitting another dead end within the half-burned 'Romanian Gemstones throughout History'. Harry said to himself, "Why can't Hermione be here? This is her specialty. If anyone could find the jewel, she could."
Harry stopped and asked himself, "Ok, what would Hermione do? Well, what would she do short of reading every book in the library…" Harry let a low chuckle, and continued, "Ok, we know the stone was in Romania. And no records exist past 1389. Romania was scoured, so it's not likely to be there anymore. So the jewel must have moved somewhere else. Wait a minute! The stone was said to sparkle, even in the dimmest of lights! Surely someone must have noticed that – it was highly unlikely such a stone could escape notice for long!"
Harry grew a little excited, seeing he was onto something. "So, even if the gem managed to escape written records, there must be stories or legends about a stone that sparkled in the dark! And the stone wouldn't have gone far, probably just to a nearby country!" Harry tore off out of the History wing of the library and entered the subsection dedicated to local lore.
Several hours later Harry came up for air. He had covered Bulgarian, Serbian, and Hungarian lore, and had not found a single reference to a glowing stone. Harry sighed and opened up 'Ukrainian Lore Throughout the Ages'. Harry's mood rapidly improved, however, when he reached page 45.
The Stone of Preparation has been surrounded by mystery, and even its origins are questionable. Legend states that a cursed trader, with death on his shoulders, pawned the stone off for a meager loaf of bread. Other more believable theories have been proposed, but the Ukrainian lower class has perpetuated the myth of the doomed merchant.
Other aspects of the stone are better known, however. The stone is believed to be magical in nature, as it is marked with a light diffuse glow which is most notable in the dark.
This could be it! Harry thought, It glows in the dark, and nobody really knows where it came from. The 'Stone of Preparation'? Harry racked his brain, thinking of the latin word for Preparation. Adorno, Paro, or… Comparo! So the Jewel of Compago found its way to Ukraine, but the name must have changed gradually over the years from Compago to Comparo, and was then referred to as the Stone of Preparation! Harry read on.
The Stone of Preparation was eventually used symbolically as the cornerstone for the construction of the Durmstrang School of Magic in the early 1600's. It is currently believed to be located deep within the bowels of the school, within the very first room constructed of the institute.
Harry tore the page out of the book and raced to find Dumbledore.
"Harry, what is the problem?" Dumbledore asked as Harry ran into him. Harry simply handed him the page, panting. Dumbledore quickly read the parchment, and took off for McGonagall's office, Harry trying to keep up.
"Minerva," Dumbledore spoke, with an urgent tone.
"Headmaster, what is it?" McGonagall asked, emerging from her office.
"You, along with the other professors, must guard the castle tonight," Dumbledore spoke gravely.
"But what of the attacks? If we fail, another student will be attacked!"
Dumbledore slowly said, "I think if we fail, Voldemort will have a more direct way of attacking the students," and hurried off, Harry close behind.
Dumbledore abruptly stopped as soon as he exited the castle, causing Harry to run into his back. Harry gasped as he saw a large blue shape fly alarmingly fast towards them. Harry drew back in alarm as he saw what exactly it was.
"A dragon?" Harry stammered, "But, I thought that dragon's couldn't be tamed."
Once the dragon had landed, Dumbledore climbed upon his back and offered his hand to Harry. "That's true," Dumbledore said as Harry mounted the beast as well. "But this dragon isn't giving us a ride as a servant, but as an equal. She owes me a favor, to be exact."
The dragon beat its giant wings, and Harry soon found himself airborne, with Dumbledore's white hair flapping in his face and the dragon's wings beating uncomfortably next to him. Harry had other things to worry about, and barely even noticed as they flew silently over the channel and around tiny villages dotting the landscape.
An hour later, the dragon descended in a pristine landscape filled with rolling hills. Harry's sharp eyes noted a small castle lying in the distance with towers that seemed to be jutting at impossible angles.
"Durmstrang?" Harry asked. Dumbledore didn't even turn around, merely nodding. Harry gasped as they flew over the Durmstrang Quidditch field, where a large number of people were gathering in the stands. The third task! Harry's mind provided, and absently noted that it didn't seem to have started yet.
The dragon didn't seem beyond notice of the crowd below, and Harry heard several cries of "Stupefy". Harry yelped in alarm as the dragon banked sharply, and swerved to avoid the spells. Before anymore spells could be shot, Dumbledore jumped off, 10 feet off the ground. Harry gamely followed and managed to roll when he hit the ground. Dumbledore was already up and running into the castle, and Harry tried to follow him, amazed at the headmaster's persistence.
Harry didn't know how, but the headmaster seemed to know exactly where he was heading. Even as the light grew faint as they descended into the dungeons, Dumbledore swiftly made his way, Harry doing his best to see even the headmaster. Harry and Dumbledore finally made out a faint glow ahead of them.
As they approached the glow, a hissing voice called out, "Welcome."
"Voldemort!" Harry involuntarily shuddered.
"Not yet…" came the hiss again, and suddenly a bright light came into being a few feet away from the stone. Harry's jaw fell as soon as he saw who it was.
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I told you it would be a cliffhanger. Worse still, I will purposely not update until at least the night of 12/7, possibly as late as 12/9. The reason I'm doing this: I'm holding a 'Name-The-Villian' contest. I want all of you (even if you've never reviewed this before) to post who you think the traitor at Hogwarts is. Don't worry, the clues are pretty weak, so even if someone posted the right answer and every reason, it still wouldn't be that obvious. I just want to see who everyone thinks is the culprit.
Oh, a piece of news. I'm starting to hash out the final story of this trilogy (5th, 6th, and 7th years). It will be entitled Harry Potter and the Obsidian Tome. I will have at least chapter 1 up when I post the final chapter. And as Ariel asked, I will try to have the whole frickin thing done by the 21st. shudder…
Fire Mistress: Glad you like the latin!
Ariel: No, I wouldn't want thousands of people screaming at me for the release of book 5.
AllAboutMe: Hopefully you caught the email about this chapter…
Review and 'Name-The-Villain'!