Chapter Eleven: Return
Madam Hooch escorted the six strangers to the teachers lounge after she had a quick word with Professor Flitwick. Then she watched them. The lady in the group, the Duchess, was acting friendly and all of them seemed relaxed, except the short skinny man. The tubby little man and the priest kept staring at everything in the room, and engaging the portraits in conversation.
"Excuse me, Goodwoman," the tall thin man, Lord Darcy, said, after a brief conversation with his associates. "You seem to be having a problem at your school, which we have unintentionally added to."
"Don't worry," Madam Hooch said. "You won't be going anywhere for awhile."
The man smiled. "You should understand that we are staying here by our choice and not by yours. I am telling you this in advance so that you should not be surprised, because one of our number does need to leave."
Madam Hooch smiled in as friendly a fashion as she could. "That isn't possible. The door's been charmed to open only when the headmaster arrives. I can't even leave."
"Goodwoman, we were not planning on using the door."
"You can't apparate in Hogwarts. There are wards in place."
"To apparate is to leave in what way?"
"Milord," Master Sean said suddenly as he walked up. "I've been talking to the portraits and one of them mentioned that. Apparently, these people have developed a form of spatial displacement."
Lord Darcy nodded, then had a thought. "Master Sean, I was told that a spell was cast on the door so that it can only be opened by a specific person."
"Such a spell is common enough, Milord. I would not be concerned. But . . ." he turned to Madam Hooch, "would you mind if I examined how the spell was cast?"
Madam Hooch smirked. "Do you think you can break the spell? You're welcome to try."
Master Sean looked at her with complete seriousness. "Goodwoman, I assure you that I am capable of breaking any spell. The only question would be how much time it would take. A sloppy spell would take perhaps fifteen minutes. I once removed a spell by a Grand Master. It took me three days. That was a task."
"Is that your specialty?" Madam Hooch asked in curiosity.
Master Sean gave her a curious look, then admitted. "I am a Forensic Sorcerer. Knowing how to break spells is one of the tools of the trade." He turned to Lord Darcy and whispered, "that was an odd statement, Milord. No apprentice can become a journeyman without knowing such fundamentals. One of the final exams is to do that very thing."
"They appear to use magic in a different form than we do, Master Sean. I would surmise that the differences could be cultural. They are more advanced in some areas than we are but perhaps they are behind in others. Please examine the lock. How they form their spells will tell us a great deal about their world."
"It was my thought as well, Milord."
As Master Sean bent over the lock, the Duchess of Cumberland came up. "My Lord, Professor Quirrell has returned to the staging area. He has assured us that he will return to this room shortly. It was time to make his report."
Madam Hooch heard what was said and began looking around the room. Satisfied that the man had left, yet extremely unsatisfied by that very fact, she had to ask how.
"Question for Question," Her Grace said with a smile, noting Madam Hooch's momentary doubt. "We both have things to tell and things we want to know."
Madam Hooch hesitated. Somehow, she was no longer in charge of the situation. "Who starts?"
"We are the guests. We will begin. We have learned how to move from one place to another," she looked at Master Sean, "without casting a spell. Professor Quirrell left only to let our friends know that we are safe. He will return to this room as soon as possible but it will be at least an hour." Her Grace smiled. "Now it is my turn, but I am going to cheat and ask two questions, principally because we have already introduced ourselves, yet you have not. May I ask who you are and what your relationship is to the school, and what can you tell me about 'Charlie', again as far as his attendance at this school?"
"Fair enough. I'm Madam Hooch, the flying instructor. I also referee the Quidditch matches but you know that."
"To be honest, Madam Hooch, we did not. And Charlie?"
Madam Hooch smiled. "My next question will be what do you know about him. Here's the basics. He was found the first weekend of school severely hurt. He recovered physically but he had lost his memory. Only recently has it started to come back."
"He was badly injured?"
"It was plain luck that his brother that found him when he did."
"His brother found him?"
Madam Hooch was surprised. "Yes, Charlie Potter was found by his twin brother, Harry." She added thoughtfully, "no one even knew that Harry had a brother."
Her Grace nodded with an equally thoughtful countenance, "I can assure you the same is true of Charlie."
Master Sean walked up. "I decided to take your offer and I have removed the spell, Goodwoman Hooch. It was very sloppy. Extremely powerful but with little cohesion. It took a mere ten minutes."
"Master Sean," Lord Darcy said to interrupt. (Madam Hooch was getting red in the face.) "Did you know that Charlie has a twin brother?"
"And who is Charlie, Milord?"
"The Late Lord Robert Cahill," Sir Mortimer said, speaking for the first time.
Master Sean nodded and gave a whimsical smile. "No wonder it was such a problem finding him. We were looking for two boys. Shall we go, Milord?"
Madam Hooch realized that she had now completely lost control of the situation. One of her charges had disappeared. And another had removed an unbreakable charm and called it sloppy. Professor Flitwick would be highly insulted by the remark, but that was the least of her problems.
"I can't allow you to leave."
"Madam Hooch, I fear I must take advantage of you once more. We have no desire to create any more problems but we have our own agenda that we must see to. We do intend to leave this room and make our way to the hospital wing, with or without your help. It is paramount that we determine the medical status of Lord . . . of Charlie as quickly as possible. We would sincerely like to explain the matter to you but this is not the time. You yourself mentioned that the school is not safe."
It was Captain Sir Mortimer Sheffield who decided the issue. "Madam, I assure you that we do not in any way intend to do you or anyone at this school harm. I give you my oath as the King's Man. But this must need be done. It is my sworn task to protect and defend the boy you refer to as Charlie and I can not do my duty in this room."
Madam Hooch was grateful that no one from the school witnessed her moment of indecision. She had a reputation for bringing hard-nosed as a teacher, but these people did make sense in a strange sort of way. "I'll take you to the infirmary, but I can't guarantee anything."
"With all due respect," Father Maurice said. "I will wait here for Professor Quirrell. If you could, my good lady, send someone to escort us, it would be appreciated."
Madam Hooch nodded, then led the way out of the room.
Harry and Ron were dismayed by the sight. Hermione had been petrified, as was Penelope Clearwater. It happened as they came out of the library. They were also concerned by Charlie and his reaction to the strangers that had appeared. Madam Pomfrey was examining him and they were sitting by, anxious about the results.
"Charlie?" Harry asked when Madam Pomfrey let him stand up.
"He's fine," Madam Pomfrey told them. "He had a bit of a shock."
"I remembered too much, too fast," Charlie explained. "I needed time to adjust."
Harry nodded. "That man, you said he was an Armsman, he called you Lord Robert?"
Charlie nodded. "It seems I came from much further away than I thought."
Ron interrupted. "LORD Robert?"
"My full title would be Lord Robert Lyon James de Somerset, Earl of Cahill, heir to the Duchy of Cambridge and to the Marquisate of London."
"That's a mouthful," Ron replied trying to sound lighthearted. "What's a Marquisate?"
"It means that my father," he looked at Harry, "our father is the Marquis de London and I am his eldest son. But I must tell you that I honestly do not understand how that is possible and yet I find myself here."
Albus Dumbledore walked up as Charlie finished. "It appears that the time has come to be completely honest with you, Charles, or should I call you Robert."
"You heard me, Professor?"
"I did. My only wish is that this moment had come much sooner. I have waited for so long for you to remember and now I am pressed for time. But there is no help for it. First, before I begin, how should I address you?"
The boy stumbled in his thoughts. "Uh, Charlie, I would guess. Until I understand better what has happened."
Albus smiled in reassurance. "First, Charlie, don't worry about any seeming conflict in your memories. They are most likely correct." He paused and looked at both Harry and Charlie. "I have to tell this to both of you. Harry, your brother was not raised in this world. I understood very soon after his arrival that he came here by somehow crossing the barrier that separates us from the parallel world in which he was raised."
Harry was clearly confused, and looking at Ron did not help. "Sir, how is that possible?"
"There are ways to travel to a different world, an earth that might have been, an alternate dimension, however you want to phrase it. All of these ways are dangerous and are rarely used because of the unknown factors involved."
"Then how did Charlie end up here?"
"Isn't it obvious, Harry? There is a bond that connects the two of you. Charlie was drawn to you. That is why he appeared directly in your path. Had he appeared a few seconds earlier, you would have found him in the common room instead of the hallway."
Charlie frowned. "He is not telling you everything, Harry. He does not want to shock you."
Albus turned to look at him. "It seems that you know enough to understand what has happened, Charlie, and you have already been through the shock. Perhaps you should tell him, if you think that would be best."
Charlie nodded. "Harry is my brother. It would be best."
Albus Dumbledore looked deep into Charlie's eyes and saw a sparkle in them and a determination. The two boys were brothers. More closely bound than any normal pair of twins, these two had developed and cemented a relationship with each other and it would not break.
"Charlie?" Harry asked.
"Harry, Dumbledore lied when he said I was born three minutes later than you were."
"You mentioned that you were the older brother." Harry laughed. "I can live with that."
"I am not older than you, Harry, nor am I younger. I was born at the same time as you were, by the same parents, but in a different world. You were named after your mother's father, Harry, as was I, but in my world his name was Robert."
"Then the two of you aren't really brothers?" Ron asked.
"Yes we are," Harry and Charlie answered simultaneously, and laughed when they did.
"Father will be surprised when we go home," Charlie told Harry.
"Our parents are alive? In your world, that is."
Charlie shook his head. "Our mother died in childbirth when I was five. She is gone but Roger has her face. It is as though she left a part of herself behind."
Harry nodded and grinned. "You mentioned we had a brother. I can't wait to meet him." He turned to Dumbledore. "Professor, is that who those people are? Are they here to take Charlie home?"
"To take us home?" Charlie quickly added, and was relieved to see Harry smile at the thought.
"We shall see," the headmaster told them. "We know that they came here, and that they know you, Charlie. I think it is time that we ask them why they came. If the three of you are up for it?"
"The three of us?" Ron asked.
"Mister Weasley, I would not leave you out of this group for any reason. Your input as a friend is always important."
"It's because of Hermione," Ron said. "Thanks, Professor. I couldn't handle being alone right now."
Albus led the way out of the infirmary only to be accosted by two Quidditch teams. As the outbreak died down, Cedric Diggory chose to ask his question in the moment of quiet.
"Sir, I think I speak for all of us when I say we are afraid. Are those people related to the attacks in any way?"
"Mister Diggory, they are not. They are here because of your Keeper. Their timing was a cruel coincidence. The teachers are patrolling the corridors but I must ask that you return to your common rooms at this time."
Amid the comments, several students tried to ask about finishing the match but were turned down. Susan Bones felt Cedric prod her and followed his gaze. "Excuse me, Professor, are you," (she glanced as Cedric mouthed some words), "are you going to talk to the strangers, now?"
"We are, Miss Bones, and no, you may not join us."
"But, Sir, Charlie is our friend, and if he's going to leave for any reason, we'll want to know why."
"I am sorry, Miss Bones, but even with Mister Diggory coaching you, you will not convince me to change my mind. If Charlie is going to leave, he will tell you the reason himself."
Reluctantly, they began to walk away when another group of people began to approach, led by Madam Hooch. She began to apologize, but Albus raised his hand to let her know it was not necessary.
"I will blame Professor Flitwick. He assured me he would put a charm on the door."
"He did, Albus. This man here who calls himself a Master Sorcerer said it was a sloppy piece of work."
Everyone looked at whom Madam Hooch was pointing to, and Charlie shouted, "MASTER SEAN." Then he nudged Harry. "He is the one who taught me that spell I cast on Malfoy."
Both boys looked at the tubby Irishman and grinned.
Everyone was seated in the headmaster's office, and most were holding a cup of tea.
"I suppose the question is how do we begin?" Albus Dumbledore stated, after introductions were made.
Captain Sir Mortimer Sheffield spoke up. "Professor, I am commanded by His Majesty to retrieve My Lord Robert Cahill and return him to our world, but the first order of business must be that Lord Robert and his Godmother be given privacy for their own discussion of family matters. Then we will begin."
Albus nodded. "Your Grace, there is a room through the door to the right of the staircase. Will that fulfill your requirements?"
Mary, Duchess of Cumberland, arose from her seat. "Thank you, Professor. Lord Robert, will you follow me please."
"Harry should come," said Lord Robert, formerly Charlie Potter. "He is family."
Her Grace hesitated, then nodded, and led both boys to the room. When the door closed, Albus Dumbledore looked to Captain Sheffield for an explanation.
"The Marquis de London, Lord Robert's father, passed away on the morning that his son was kidnaped. The only mercy was that he died not knowing that anything had happened to his son."
"Cor," Ron whispered to himself from his seat in the corner.
Dumbledore frowned at the news. "It appears that Lord Robert and Harry Potter had more in common than they realized."
"There is another matter," Lord Darcy said. "These two have styled themselves as brothers. We must mutually determine what is to be done with both of them. There will be difficulties if both of them remain together, regardless of which world it is."
"Am I to understand," Albus replied, "that there is a possibility that they will remain in this world?"
"Lord Robert is going to school here. If he were to return to our world he would still be going to school. It is a possibility that we discussed when we realized that Hogwarts Castle was still standing in your world. This is compounded by the fact that you were aware of Lord Robert's origins yet continued to treat him as though he belonged. On behalf of his family, we are grateful to you for that."
Albus smiled in appreciation. "You should know that I didn't have much of a choice in the matter. Either I kept him here as a student or I sent him away to who knew what. The difficult part was convincing everyone that there was a logical reason for him being here. That's why I promoted the idea that he and Harry were twins."
"There is one other matter that must be cleared up," Lord Darcy said, his face completely serious. "We need everything that Lord Robert had with him when he arrived."
Dumbledore nodded and waved his wand. A wrapped bundle appeared in front of him and he handed it to Lord Darcy. "I had thought the clothes might be important someday, if only as proof of his condition when he arrived. I made a point to preserve them, although I cleaned them first. They are still in frightful shape."
"There are only clothes here?" Lord Darcy asked. "Did he have personal effects with him as well?"
"Nothing. He only had with him the clothes that he was wearing. Was he supposed to have something?"
Lord Darcy paused and looked to Master Sean who nodded his head. He then looked to Captain Sheffield, who said, "he has cared for Lord Robert these past eight months as though he were his own kin. In this I would trust him, but . . ." The Captain nodded in the direction of Ron Weasley.
Ron was at a loss. He had lost Hermione without warning, and now Charlie might leave and take Harry with him. In half a day, all of his close friends would be gone.
Lord Darcy looked at Ron with knowing eyes. "Are you very close to Lord Robert?"
"Well," Ron said slowly, "He's Harry's brother, at least I thought he was, and Harry's my best mate at school. But he is in a different house."
Lord Darcy noted the tinge of fear in the boy's words, and assumed the proper reason. "I think you should stay then. As they have not returned yet, you might prove helpful. Professor Dumbledore, what we are looking for is a small stone, smooth, that glows faintly with an inner light."
"Are you referring to the Traveler Stone?" Dumbledore asked, smiling. He understood one of his guesses was correct. In view of where Lord Robert had appeared, he surmised that the Stone was involved in some way.
"That stone would glow with a red color, if I am correct? This stone is similar except that it glows with a blue color. It would have come with Lord Robert when he changed physical planes."
"I haven't seen or heard anything about a blue stone," Albus told him. "Mister Weasley, it appears that your presence actually is useful. Have you heard anything about this?"
Ron was honestly surprised. "No, Sir. No one said anything about finding anything like that. The house elves cleaned everything up. They would have been the ones to ask."
"And Harry never said anything?"
"No, Sir. And Colin didn't either. If he found something like that he would have told everyone."
Dumbledore turned back to Lord Darcy. "I assume this stone is the means by which you control the Traveler Stone."
Captain Sheffield snorted. "My Lord, I am amazed at the brilliance I find around me. Professor, you made that remark as a statement. A lesser man would have asked it as a question."
"Excuse me," Ron asked after the men stopped laughing. "Professor, what is the Traveler Stone?"
"It is a curious artifact, Mister Weasley. To touch it sends you to another world, a parallel world where things may have happened differently. Also, the person who is you in that world is brought here. The purpose is to learn about yourself. In Lord Robert's case, he used a control stone which placed him in our world with Harry Potter instead of replacing him."
Ron suddenly understood. "So Charlie isn't Harry's brother, he's actually Harry, but with a different life."
"Exactly, Mister Weasley."
Harry felt that he was lucky in one respect. His parents had died when he was young. He never had the chance to know them. But Robert did. He knew their mother until he was five, then lost her. Now he had discovered that their father had died. The irony was that Harry felt no irony of thinking of his parents as their parents.
Mary, as she insisted they call her in private, was supposed to be there for support, but it was Harry that Robert turned to. Now Robert was cradled in his arms, racked with sobs. It was all Harry could do to hold on to him and not take a hand away to wipe his own tears.
"Harry," Mary asked. "Can you take care of him for a short while?"
Harry nodded, and Mary left the room.
Lord Darcy turned around when he heard the door open and Her Grace came out of the room. She closed the door behind her. "It did not go well," She told everyone. "Does your school healer have something to help him sleep? Robert will have a hard night."
"I will send Madam Pomfrey a message," Dumbledore said.
"Thank you, Professor. My Lord Darcy, you were more right than you thought. The two boys have a strong bond between them. We will have to bring both of them when we return if we want either of them to cooperate."
"We were discussing that very point, Your Grace. We are only waiting for Professor Quirrell to return." Lord Darcy paused. "And our young Mister Weasley has walked in to console his friends. Perhaps we should wait as well before fetching them."
Remus Lupin walked into the teachers lounge and introduced himself to the priest who was waiting there. "I will be your escort," he explained. "Everyone is now in the headmasters office discussing the current, um, mess."
"Thank you for coming," Father Maurice said, "but we will have to wait until Professor Quirrell returns."
"Quirrell?" Remus asked. "We had a Professor here last year by that name, and I know that you . . ."
Father Maurice grinned. "That was commented on as we were led here, but I have been assured that it is a coincidence of name. Our professor does not fit the description of yours by any stretch of the imagination. But may I ask you, there was mention of an attack?"
Lupin nodded. "There is something in the school. We don't know what it is but it has attacked several people. No one's been killed but they are petrified. There were no attacks for months, then there were two today, shortly before you arrived."
"And the status of the school."
"I'll be honest with you. It is shaky. As I've said, no one has been killed, but if another attack occurs without any results, the school may be closed."
Father Maurice nodded. "I do appreciate your honesty, Goodman Lupin. I presume your headmaster has informed my companions about this."
"If he hasn't, it's because he hasn't had a chance, but he will make sure they know." Remus paused. "Will you be taking Charlie with you when you leave?"
The priest paused, then decided not to correct the Groundskeeper. "You have an affection for him."
Remus laughed lightly. "I was an old friend of his parents . . . in this world. He made me an honorary uncle."
"We will be taking him with us when we return, but I have the feeling that he will not be leaving permanently. He has too many associations in your world."
"Who does?" Professor Quirrell asked as he suddenly returned.
"Gabriel!" Father Maurice smiled and made the introductions. "We were discussing what to do with Lord Robert. He is known here as Charlie Potter." He turned to Remus. "We will have a problem keeping his name straight."
Ron opened the door and walked in to see Harry and Robert sitting there. When Robert finally looked up, Ron said, "I heard what happened. I'm sorry."
Robert nodded, his eyes red with tears. Ron couldn't help himself. It only seemed proper to ask another question. "What was he like?"
"What?" Robert asked in a hoarse voice.
"Well, Harry never knew his Dad. He died when Harry was just a baby. None of us ever had a chance to meet him. But you did."
"He was wonderful," Robert said softly then added bitterly, "He knew better. He should have taken care of himself." He stopped. "That was not fair."
"You may be right," Harry said. "I wouldn't know."
"Thank you, Harry, for taking my side. Before Mother died, Father was very much like he appeared in the photographs you have. I remember when I was four he picked me up and carried me through the house. He stopped at every portrait and told me who that person was and how they were related to me. Then he listed all of their accomplishments. But that was before Mother died. After that he became quiet. He began to eat a great amount and he never did much of anything. He was always there for me, to talk or to explain, but we never went anywhere again."
"He must have loved our mother very much." Harry was still cradling Robert, and hugged him to show he understood. Robert gave him a faint smile, then sat up on his own.
"I loved and hated my father. But that was why I grew so close to Roger. I was five when he was born, a scant week after my own birthday. When I was eight, I realized he would never have the chance to do any of those things Father did with me. I picked him up, and I carried him through the house, stopping at every portrait. I told him the same things that Father told me."
Neither Ron nor Harry said anything at this confession.
"We should be going back," Robert said suddenly. "There are things to decide, things about us, Harry."
As Harry watched, Robert stood up and dried the tears from his eyes with a handkerchief. He took a deep breath and in an instant transformed from the tear-stained boy, to the young Lord. Only the redness of his eyes would give him away. Harry stood up and took a deep breath as well. In one second he had gone from the strong brother giving help to the brother in need. When he walked out of this room, his entire future would change.
As they walked out, Ron opened the door for them. Robert paused and put his hand on the other boy's shoulder. "Thanks Ron. You have been a good friend."
"You too, Charlie."
Ron grinned, and Robert smiled as well. A genuine smile. Then he stepped out of the room and became Lord Robert again.
"My Lord," Captain Sheffield said as he turned toward the doorway. "We have discussed the arrangements, should you have no objections."
"I am in no position to object to anything," Lord Robert said.
Father Maurice stood before the boy. "You are in a position to object to everything, Lord Robert. In this realm you have a legal guardian who has left it for you to decide your future."
Lord Robert looked around and saw his uncle (honorary), Remus Lupin, who gave him an encouraging smile. "First tell me what you have decided. If I have difficulty with anything you propose I will inform you."
"You will make a wonderful diplomat one day," Father Maurice said with a smile. "Professor Dumbledore?"
Albus smiled and walked up to the three boys, approving of the way Ron and Harry stood by in support. "We have all agreed that you should not be taken from the school without proper measures to place you and your brother elsewhere."
Lord Robert looked at Harry and they both smiled. They would not be separated.
Albus continued. "However, it is obvious that you should return to your own world. We have agreed that you and Harry will visit with your brother, and make such arrangements as are necessary for your futures. In two weeks, both of you will return here, circumstances permitting, to complete the school year. Do either of you have any difficulties with this?"
Instinctively, both boys looked at Ron, who grinned back at them. "Go ahead. I'll muck about with Fred and George while you're gone."
"Lord Robert, you will need to make your goodbyes. You will be accompanied by your Godmother and Captain Sheffield. When you are ready, please meet with everyone else in front of the Gryffindor common room. Harry, if you will show everyone else the way to Gryffindor." Albus paused. "I want all of you boys to know that Miss Granger and the others are in no danger. The mandrake roots are almost ready. Everyone should be recovered by this time next month."
"We understand, Professor," Harry answered.
Susan Bones was the last person to be worried when she found out that Charlie had a different name. She was the first person to be concerned when she discovered he was leaving.
"I will be coming back, Susan. You need not worry on my account."
"But this is so sudden. Why can't you explain it more? At least tell me where you're going."
"To London." Lord Robert smiled as Susan misunderstood.
"Owl me, then."
"I can not."
"Then I'll send you a letter and you can send a response back with my owl."
"Owls will not be able to reach me where I am going."
"But London's not that far away."
"Where I am going is a world away," Lord Robert said.
"But you will be coming back?"
"I promise."
"I'll hold you to that promise," Susan Bones said, then she suddenly grabbed his head in both hands and kissed him. The next moment, as though surprised by what she had done, she began to blush and ran from the dorm room.
"Your Grace," Captain Sheffield said, "It seems that Lord Robert has made quite an impression on that young lady."
Ernie MacMillan and Wayne Hopkins, sitting on their beds, smirked. Ernie added helpfully, "All the girls act like that when he's around."
"That does not help, Ernie," Lord Robert said, but everyone else was laughing.
"Here we are," Harry said as he showed Lord Darcy the portrait of the Fat Lady. "You asked where I found him. It was on this very spot." He then gave the password and the portrait opened.
"Harry," Lord Darcy said as he eyed the entranceway, "before we go in, could you show us, in detail, what happened on that day?"
"In detail?"
Master Sean grinned at the boy. "My Lord Darcy is a Criminal Investigator. If it helps you, consider this as humoring him."
Lord Darcy smiled at the boy's grin then watched Harry carefully as he waited for the portrait to close before going through the motions.
"There isn't much to tell," Harry explained, "I stepped out from behind the portrait, then I tripped and fell on top of, um, Lord Robert."
"You tripped? What did you trip on?"
"His hand, I guess. Because when I fell, I landed right on his back, where he was wounded."
"Milord," Master Sean said, "I recognize that look."
"Am I that obvious, Master Sean? I have simply determined what happened to the missing control stone."
"Is that like the stone you used to come here, Sir, excuse me, My Lord?"
"Yes it is, Harry. It is the stone that your brother used to come to this world." Lord Darcy noted how Harry seemed to relax because of that word. "Are you good at logic problems?"
"I'm terrible," Harry admitted.
"But you think like Lord Robert," Lord Darcy pointed out. "Imagine you were in his place and, somehow, you managed to gain control of the stone. Where would you hide it?"
"How big is it?"
"Lord Darcy made a measurement with his hand to show an inch at most in any direction."
Harry started to think. "I couldn't have hidden it in my clothes. I had no pockets or anything. But I would have to keep it on me." He looked up at Lord Darcy. "I could hide it in my mouth."
"Very good, Harry. Now picture this. Lord Robert is falling. He has the stone, and he is falling face forward. He hits the ground as you are stepping out from behind the portrait. The air is forced from his lungs and the stone by necessity is expelled from his mouth. You step forward, tripping not on his hand but on the stone, falling forward and propelling the stone backward behind the portrait which then closes."
Harry nodded. "But someone would have seen the stone when they went to go in."
"Not if the stone moved out of the way." Lord Darcy was grinning. "Harry, could you give the password again, and ask the portrait to remain open."
Harry did as instructed, then watched as Lord Darcy knelt on the ground outside the entrance and felt underneath the framework of the picture. With a grunt, Lord Darcy pried something from the soft wood and stood up, holding the missing stone. "The portrait makes a close fit as it comes up to the entrance. I also noticed the slight lip. The stone was imbedded in the soft wood so that when the portrait opened the stone went with it, enough under the lip that it would not be noticed. Had Lord Robert known of this, he could have returned home at any time."
Professor Quirrell took the proffered stone from Lord Darcy and put it in the pouch with its sister. Then they entered the common room and entertained the students while Harry gathered his personal things. After the goodbyes had been said, the small group gathered outside the common room. When Lord Robert and the remainder of the group arrived, they formed hands, as Professor Quirrell brought out the control stone. An equally small group of onlookers watched as they faded from sight.
"I'm surprised that they let us know what was going on," George said.
"I'd be surprised if they tried to keep something like that a secret," Fred responded.
"I suppose you're right. They did appear at the Quidditch match, and everyone saw them. Right, Ron."
Ron looked up at his brothers. "You two are good at figuring things out. Aren't you?"
