After the Dawn: The Philosopher's Stone

Chapter Eighteen: Nicholas Flamel

The last days of the Christmas holidays passed enjoyably. Harry and Ron even managed a rare moment of peace when the twins called for a snowball war with everyone from the Gryffindor tower.

Harry and Neville stuck together, and Harry used the exercise both as an excuse to have a whole lot of fun, as well as to show Neville how to avoid objects and how to land without hurting yourself too badly when you had to dive to avoid them.

He didn't see much of Blaise, who had retreated to the Slytherin common room because she wasn't comfortable with joining Harry when he was around other Gryffindors, even Neville.

Then the holidays ended and Hermione turned up again. She was very jealous that Harry had been teaching Neville something new, and to placate her, Harry ended up offering to teach her how to fight as well.

"I've also met a really nice Slytherin girl from our year," Harry told her, "I've made friends with her, sort of … she's going to meet me in the library this afternoon after classes, do you and Neville want to come?"

"A Slytherin?" Hermione repeated slowly.

"Yeah," Harry said, "You two really taught me that I need to have friends in my life again … and Blaise is nice."

"I've seen her in Potions classes," Hermione said, "She's pretty quiet, isn't she?"

"Yeah," Harry replied.

"Well, the teachers are always telling us that we should make friends outside of our houses as well as in them, and I think it's a really good idea to try and make friends with a Slytherin … I mean, the rivalry has been going on for ages, and I don't think anyone even remembers why any more," Hermione said.

Harry smiled slightly, well at least Hermione was willing to try. Maybe he wouldn't have to have two groups of friends after all – that was probably a fairly good thing.

"Did you find anything about Nicholas Flamel?" Hermione asked, lowering her voice. They were in the Gryffindor common room, it was getting late at night, the day before classes.

"Mum wouldn't tell me much – she's a big fan of making me figure things out majority on my own. But she gave us a hint – she said try Alchemy, and that we need to look at the past."

"Oh my god!" Hermione exclaimed softly, "I'm so stupid! Wait here!" she took off up the stairs to the girls dormitory. Neville half rose as if to follow her.

"I wouldn't try it," Harry advised, "The girls stairs don't let males up there. Remember, this castle was made one thousand years ago – there were quite different feelings about relationships."

Neville nodded and sat back down. Harry knew this rule very well, Sirius had often jokingly complained about having to do all kinds of things to manage to get into the girls dormitory. At least, Harry hoped it was jokingly.

A moment later Hermione came racing back downstairs, a huge book clutched to her chest. "What's that?" Neville asked.

"I got it out ages ago for some light reading – it has a very different view of history to the one that Professor Binns is teaching us," Hermione replied.

"Light reading? Hermione, I read a lot, but even I wouldn't call that light," Harry told his friend with a smile. Hermione gave him a rather stern glare, then starting flicking through the pages as fast as she could.

"I knew I'd read his name somewhere, but I couldn't remember where – it was in the contents page of this book!" she told them excitedly as she worked.

"So who is he?" Neville asked, somewhat impatient after having spent months trying to find out who this person was.

Hermione reached a point in the book and smiled triumphantly. "Here it is!" she whispered at them, "Nicholas Flamel is the only known maker of the Philosopher's Stone!"

Neville looked confused and asked, "What?" But Harry's eyes widened in amazement. He didn't now much about Alchemy, but he had heard of the legendary Philosopher's Stone.

"The Philosopher's Stone will turn any metal into pure gold, and produce the Elixir of Life, which makes the drinker immortal," he said before Hermione could.

"Here, read this," Hermione said, pushing the book towards them.

The ancient study of alchemy is concerned with making the legendary Philosopher's Stone, a legendary substance with astonishing powers. The 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 Philosopher's Stone over the centuries, but the only stone currently in existence belongs to Mr. Nicholas Flamel, the noted alchemist and opera lover. Mr. Flamel, who celebrated his six hundred and fifty sixth birthday last year, enjoys a quiet life in Devon with his wife, Perenelle (six hundred and fifty eight).

"Wow," Neville remarked, "How cool would it be to have a Philosopher's Stone?"

"In some ways I guess it would," Harry remarked, "But in others it wouldn't be. Look at what Flamel has to do in order to protect his? He has it hidden behind some gigantic three-headed dog in one of the safest places on the Earth, and there are still people trying to find it!"

Hermione and Neville both nodded at that. "I guess you're right," Neville agreed, "But it would be nice to have as much money as you liked, and to live forever."

"Yeah," Harry said quietly, "That could be nice."

"So we know what the dog is guarding, now we just have to find out if there is anything else guarding the stone, and how far Snape's got in trying to steal it," Harry said.

"Only?" Hermione asked. "That sounds like a lot to me – and don't forget, you have to prepare for a Quidditch match and all of us have to prepare for the upcoming tests."

"Hermione, there are still two terms between us and the tests," Harry told her gently. "We don't need that long."

"Yes we do," Hermione said firmly, "We have to make sure that we know all of the spells that the Professors have taught us, and all of the theory behind them!"

Neville groaned, "I'm going to need more than two terms to get that done."

"We'll help you Nev," Harry told him firmly, "I've said that already."

"I know you will, Nemo, and you too Hermione, but I still don't think it will help that much."

"Nev, you know how I told you about some people gaining magical powers as they grow older? If you learn all that you can now, especially the theory, but the time you're fourteen or fifteen you'll be on par with the rest of us. You'll be able to get through the tests if you have the theory done right, that way you won't lose too many marks on the practical bit to fail," Harry said practically.

"I've heard of that condition," Hermione said slowly, nodding her head, "Nemo's right, as long as you learn the theory now, in a couple of years you'll be able to do the practical."

Neville smiled, "Well, I hope you two are right," he said.

"Of course we are," Harry replied. "I'll see if I can find the book that describes the condition next holidays – I know I have it somewhere."

Neville nodded.

"I'd like to read it too," Hermione put in, "I only read a small passage about it in a book of magical abilities."

Harry laughed, "Right guys, let's head down to breakfast – we can talk about all of this later, but classes will be starting soon, and I want to eat before they do."

Neville and Hermione nodded, "I'll just take this back upstairs," Hermione said, lifting the book they had been reading from before and hurrying up the stairs to the girls dormitory.

Harry and Neville waited until she returned, then they all headed down to breakfast.

"Blaise, hi," Harry greeted his newest friend as he walked into the library after classes that day. Neville and Hermione were hanging around in the background, looking as though they felt more than a little out of place.

Blaise didn't look all that much better. "Hi Nemo," she said.

"This is Neville, and this is Hermione, Neville, Hermione, this is Blaise," Harry ran through the introductions.

"Hi," the three of them muttered to each other, then it lapsed into an unhealthy silence.

"So, shall we sit down?" Harry asked, feeling a little uncomfortable, but too well trained in martial arts to fidget like his friends were doing.

"I guess," the general mutter went around, and the small group headed to one of the back tables.

"So, Blaise, how was your day?" Harry asked, trying to get something of a conversation going.

"Alright," Blaise shrugged, "Flitwick gave us a load of homework, which was really unfair. He took two points from Malfoy for protesting about it."

"So Malfoy isn't every teachers pet?" Neville asked, somewhat surprised. The only class that the Gryffindors had with the Slytherins was Potions.

"Of course not," Blaise replied, "He's always getting in trouble for talking in any class but Potions. He has something to say about everything, and most of the teachers don't appreciate it."

Neville and Hermione both grinned. They hated Malfoy – he had made both of their lives hell before they had become friends with 'Nemo', and still did whenever he thought he could get away with it.

Suddenly the conversation took off like wild fire. Blaise did not like Malfoy either, and had tales to tell of times he had gotten into trouble from teachers for just about every day of school so far.

Harry smiled – it looked like Blaise was a success with his other friends, which was a good thing. He too was interested in Blaise's stories, for Malfoy was no friend of his.

After awhile, Harry regretfully took his leave of his friends. He had Quidditch training, and it would be starting any time soon. "That's OK, if Blaise doesn't mind, we'll stay and do our Charms homework with her," Hermione replied, smiling at the Slytherin girl.

Blaise beamed back, "I don't mind at all!" she replied.

Harry nodded and hurried away as his friends took out their books and quills and prepared to start work. A part of him wished to remain, but the longing for the freedom of flying was a stronger part, and he did not wish to disappoint Wood in any case.

"Nemo, there you are!" Oliver Wood called out as Harry entered the Pitch. "Hurry up and get changed, we really need to get in training for the next match!"

Harry nodded and ran to do as he was bid.

A moment later he was back outside, swinging onto his Nimbus 2000 and joining the team hovering in the air. "I'll let the Snitch out Nemo!" Wood called from down below him, the only one still on the ground.

Harry gestured his OK, then raced up into the air, climbing as fast as he could, not looking down at where the Snitch was. He wanted no advantage on the Snitch.

He did a few swift loop-the-loops, then settled into the search for the only ball he had to pay any attention to. He wove between the other players, danced across pitch to avoid the Bludgers, his keen eyes searching always for a glint of gold.

He saw the ball and tumbled from the sky like a thunderbolt, catching the ball neatly, and hearing his team cheer happily in triumph. Harry released the Snitch and raced a Bludger up the pitch, before going in search of the other ball again. He loved flying more than almost anything else.

Practice ended and Harry drifted back up to the castle, showered and got ready to give Neville and Hermione a lesson in Tae-Kwon-Do.

The next two weeks passed without much incident. Harry kept an ear out for anything to do with the Philosopher's Stone, but heard nothing more. He also continued with Quidditch training, and training his friends. Blaise decided that she also wanted to learn Tae-Kwon-Do, which made Harry's job even harder still.

But he found that he didn't mind the added work load. He enjoyed teaching his new friends his art, and they seemed to enjoy learning it, though progress was slow with Neville and Hermione, who weren't well co-ordinated yet.

Blaise was a little better, but not tremendously, so they all moved at relatively the same pace. Classes went on, getting just a little bit harder, and Harry began to have some difficulty in keeping up with class work at times, since he was doing so much else. He decided it was a good thing that he was ahead.

Life was settling down, he realised, and he was happy that it was settling down, since he was enjoying himself as he had not for a long time.

Sirius owled him every second or third day to check up with him and make sure everything was going well, and send notes from Lily and James also, which Harry looked forward to, as well as tips on studying, which he paid strictest attention to.

Then, one Quidditch practice, Harry heard that Snape would be refereeing the next Quidditch match, and it looked like life was going to turn upside down on him again.

Well, there's another chapter, way less than a week since the last one I put out – I'm getting better at this! I have the next chapter almost written, despite the fact that I only finished this chapter today, and I guess you can expect to read it tomorrow afternoon, or the day after.

Thanks to:

Katepotter13, Romulan Empress, kraeg001, Xyverz, TopQuark, Jeanne2, Nerwen Elendil, grand admiral chelli, cantfindagoodname, Empress Sarah-sama, gaul1, athenakitty, azntgr01, kittyelah, Nphipps, I Have Sirius Problems, Nasser Himura, Angels of Fae, Surarrin, Musicstarlover, RP Weasley, Motif, Lord of Darkness13, Wytil, Cyblade Silver, cyress, jbfritz, Samara-Morgan-101, Curious, torifire126, IceSugarHigh, JeanieBeanie33, dark-chan/fight, Wynjara, PuckStar, vicky123, Shadowface.

Cantfindagoodname: Dumbledore wasn't watching the Mirror until the third night, or at least, that's when he confronted Harry about it … I don't think he would have come to see if anyone turned up on the first night. If Harry felt the need to return to the Mirror, he might find Dumbledore waiting for him, but he isn't going to … at this stage anyway.

WolfMoon