PLEASE READ END OF LAST CHAPTER, I HAVE ONLY JUST REALISED THAT SOMEHOW PART OF THE LAST CHAPTER WAS LOST, OR PART OF THIS ONE, AND I CAN'T REMEMBER WHERE IT WENT. PROBABLY GOT LOST IN ALL OF THE MOVING AROUND OF THINGS I DO WHEN I'M WRITING. ANYWAY, THE BATTLE SCENE WITH QUIRRELL AND HARRY IS AT THE END OF THE LAST CHAPTER – PLEASE READ!

After the Dawn: The Philosopher's Stone

Chapter Thirty: The End of the Year

Harry felt himself surrounded by what felt like a warm, fuzzy blanket, and there was a comfortable weight resting against his left leg. It was a nice change from the blackness he'd been floating in for what seemed like forever.

His whole body felt heavy, and he didn't want to move ... but he had to move. Voldemort was going to steal the stone, and Harry had to stop him! He had to warn someone that Voldemort was in Hogwarts!

With some difficulty he managed to open his eyes, and saw above him the Golden Snitch. He had to catch that – if you caught the Snitch... well, you would win the game! He just had to reach out and enclose it within his grasp...

He tried to move, but found once more that he couldn't – that's right, Quirrell had tied him up ... but if that was the case, what was a Snitch doing in the hiding place of the Philosopher's Stone...?

Harry blinked, and suddenly the small golden Quidditch ball became a pair of gold spectacles. How very odd. They were even less likely to be here, with him now. Harry's eyes flickered again, and the gently smiling face of Albus Dumbledore swam into view.

It was then that Harry realised, he wasn't lying on hard stone, but rather on a soft bed. Instead of being confined by ropes, he was very firmly tucked in white silk sheets. Though everything was a little blurry, it dawned on the eleven-year-old that he was in the Hogwarts Hospital Wing.

"Ah, Nemo! Delightful to see you awake at long last," Dumbledore beamed at him.

Something about that sentence bugged Harry, but he pushed that to the back of his mind as he remembered where he had been moments ago. "Sir! Professor Quirrell! He's after the Philosopher's Stone! He wants to give it to Voldemort so that the Dark Lord can regain his power!" Harry said, all in one breath, his voice rusty through disuse.

"Relax, Nemo. The Stone is safe and Quirrell is no more an issue for anyone," Dumbledore said, laying one hand on Harry's shoulder. "You are, I think, a little behind the times, though that is only to be expected. You have, after all, been unconscious for just over two weeks."

Harry blinked once, "Two weeks?" he repeated.

Dumbledore smiled slightly at that. "Yes, Nemo, two weeks. It was an admirable thing that you did, down in the dungeons, and I must say, for an eleven year old, your actions were ... both unusual and remarkable. Though they have left you rather drained, I'm afraid."

"What happened? After I passed out, I mean?"

"Well, there's something remarkable in itself," Dumbledore murmured. "But before I get there, I think I'd better start at the beginning ... or the beginning of that day, at least.

"As Professor McGonagall has told me you're aware of, I was summoned to the Ministry of Magic, however, when I reached the Headquarters, I quickly realised that the place I should have been was here, so I came racing back, not sure what might have occurred in my absence.

"Your friends, Miss Zabini and Miss Granger, sent me an owl the moment they could, and we met mid air, not far out of Hogwarts, in fact. I raced to find you, and arrived just in time to see you go limp. I was amazed, however, to note that Professor Quirrell did not try to harm you. He looked up and saw me and then said, 'What have I done', sounding more than a little mystified.

"Then, to my astonishment, I heard a second voice, saying 'Fool! Kill the boy!' and then Professor Quirrell started muttering that he couldn't, that he couldn't bring himself to harm you. Suddenly he gave a scream, and fell over you, dead. A black shadow left his body and fled the room ... I then brought you, and him, up into the hospital wing. Professor Quirrell has since been buried."

"The black shadow was Voldemort," Harry said softly, thinking of something else entirely. "He was partially possessing Quirrell, I think."

His mind, however, was on what he knew of the House Elf Kreacher. He knew that Kreacher absolutely hated Sirius, and that Sirius had told him many times of the first time that Kreacher had seen him.

Kreacher had looked into Harry's eyes and from that moment forward had seemed to be Harry's devoted servant, seeing to his every need, though still hating Sirius. He also remembered the feeling of his magic starting do something that he hadn't told it to do.

"Can you tell me anything?" Dumbledore inquired of him suddenly. "There are a lot of unsolved mysteries at the moment, one of the most important of which is that the Stone was gone from the mirror when I checked, and not much longer after I got you up here, I received an owl from my good friend Nicholas, informing me that the Stone had appeared on his dinner table when he and his wife sat down for their meal."

Harry smiled slightly, "Well, that was me," he said, "I can use Wandless magic, you see. When Quirrell made me look in the mirror, the Stone turned up in my pocket, and I knew that I had to get it away from here, since Quirrell wanted it for Voldemort. I used my magic to send it to its owner, Nicholas. I'm glad that it got there. What's he going to do now? Since both Hogwarts and Gringotts have failed to protect it?"

"What gives you the idea that it was in Gringotts?" Dumbledore asked.

"I was there the day that a vault was robbed, and I remember seeing Hagrid there, talking about the 'you know what'. I put two and two together," Harry replied.

"Oh, well done!" Dumbledore said, seemingly elated that Harry had figured out so much. "But back to your own question ... Nicholas and his wife have destroyed the Stone. They have enough of the Elixir of Life to set their affairs in order, before death finally takes them, as it will us all."

Harry nodded slightly. "I see," he said, softly. "The end of term is nearly here, I suppose?"

"Yes, actually, the end of term feast is tonight. I will make sure that Poppy releases you in time to attend... by the way, your friend Ardeo turned up about a week after all this happened, and has not left your side since ..." Dumbledore said. "Your friends will doubtless come and tell you more of what has been happening around Hogwarts while you've been out of it."

With that, the Headmaster stood up and left the room. The moment he was gone, Harry felt the weight against his legs move, and Sirius was suddenly standing next to him, hugging him gently. Harry hugged him back.

"Promise me you'll never do something like that again," Sirius whispered into Harry's hair. "You scared me silly! Why couldn't you have just left all of that to the teachers?"

"Because I'm my father's son," Harry replied smartly. "Besides, Voldemort was involved, and I couldn't turn aside."

Sirius sighed, "I suppose you're right. I would have done the same in your place," he told Harry. "Still, you scared me."

"Sorry," Harry replied contritely, not really meaning it, but going through the forms anyway.

Sirius smiled, pulling away from Harry. "Well, you aren't seriously hurt, so I suppose it's alright, especially considering that you did what you needed to. Lily and James would have been proud, and I am proud, in their place."

Suddenly, he transformed back to a dog, and thumped his tail on the floor, just as Madam Pomfrey came out of her office and bustled over to Harry to check up on him, giving Sirius a stern look as she passed. It was obvious that she had tried to get of the dog often enough, and had failed every time.

She fussed over Harry for a little while, but when Neville, Blaise and Hermione turned up, she gave them twenty minutes to visit. Harry's friends told him how the entire school thought he was brilliant, and how he'd been out for the Quidditch game, in which they'd been steamrolled by Ravenclaw.

They told him how Ardeo had been getting under Madam Pomfrey's feet, and refusing to stay out when she put him out. No one was sure how he'd managed to keep getting into the Hospital wing, and Harry kept silent, knowing that Sirius would have merely transformed into a human and slipped in before resuming his canine form.

Finally, however, his friends left, and Harry closed his eyes, falling asleep, only to be woken up by Sirius. "Pomfrey was going to let to you sleep through the feast, unless you woke up on your own. I didn't think you'd want to miss it. It starts in half an hour."

Harry nodded, and Sirius returned to his dog form, while Harry noisily went through the process of 'waking up', and Madam Pomfrey came over with a look of distaste. She stared at him for a moment, before shaking her head and helping him get ready for the feast, muttering things about how he shouldn't be leaving her care so soon.

Finally, however, Harry escaped her attentions and made his way through the silent halls of Hogwarts. Everyone was already in the Great Hall, he figured, as the feast was supposed to have started five minutes ago.

At his side, Sirius padded lightly, a welcome support.

Harry reached the doors to the Great Hall, and could hear the happy talk and laughter coming from within. The moment he pushed the doors open, everyone fell silent and turned to stare at him. The Hall, Harry noted absently, was decked out in green and silver, and the silver snake of Slytherin was hanging behind the teacher's table.

In the dead silence that followed his arrival, Harry looked at his own housemates, and suddenly the Gryffindor table started clapping, and the rest of the school followed suit and the entire Hall was filled to the rafters with applause.

Harry ducked his head in embarrassment, which provoked some good-natured laughing from most of the students, as he made his way across the hall to sit between Neville and Hermione.

"Well, now that our last student has joined us," Professor Dumbledore said, standing up and instantly commanding the attention of the student body. "Before you get befuddled by food and drink, I have a few announcements to make."

The students stared at him expectantly, waiting for the announcements to be over so that they could eat and go back to talking.

"Firstly, the House Cup ... in forth place, we have Hufflepuff, with three hundred and fifty two points, in third place, we have Gryffindor, with four hundred and nineteen points, in second place, Ravenclaw, with four hundred and twenty six points, and in first place, Slytherin, with four hundred and seventy two points!" Slytherin burst into applause, and Harry sighed softly. It might have been nice to win the House Cup, but ...

"Yes, well done Slytherin," Dumbledore smiled, "But ... recent events must be taken into account, and I have a few ... last minute points to dish out. Firstly, to Neville Longbottom – it is hard to go on an adventure, knowing that you might get hurt, but it is harder still to offer to stay behind and miss out, but keep your friends safe. I award Gryffindor ten points for Neville's thoughtfulness."

The Gryffindors cheered happily – at least now they were coming in second place! That wasn't nearly as bad as third. "Then also, to Miss Hermione Granger, for use of logic and knowledge of magical things in general, I give Gryffindor a further fifty points!"

Gryffindor students cheered even harder – many students could be heard saying that Gryffindor was now in the lead, with the seven points more than Slytherin had. The Slytherins were looking sulky – they'd realised what had just happened too.

"Also, Miss Blaise Zabini, who sacrificed herself so her companions might go forward, and who gave a well, thought out game of chess – fifty points to Slytherin!" It was once, once again, Slytherin's turn to cheer, but Harry, Neville and Hermione all clapped politely for their friend, even if their housemates glared at them.

"But ... last but not least, we have Mr. Nemo Protectium," Dumbledore said, and everyone fell silent, turning to stare at Harry, wondering how many points Harry would get. The Slytherins were obviously hoping that Harry would only get forty or so points, but everyone else was hoping that Harry would get at least fifty.

"For outstanding courage in the face of almost certain death, and cool thinking – I award Gryffindor ... sixty points."

The Gryffindors screamed themselves hoarse, as did the rest of the schools, though Blaise was pretty much the only person on the Slytherin table who was clapping, and her housemates were giving her the same glare that her friends in Gryffindor had gotten only moments before.

"So, I believe we need a little change of scenery," Dumbledore remarked, and clapped his hands. Immediately the decorations changed to red and gold, and the Slytherin snake was replaced with the roaring Gryffindor lion.

---

The feast past quickly and soon enough the students were making their exhausted way to bed. Harry's back was starting to hurt from all the patting that the older students had done in congratulations.

The night passed quickly, and the next morning they all woke up early and prepared their things, getting ready to catch the train home to their parents for the summer holidays.

On the train, Harry, Neville, Hermione and Blaise took over the compartment at the very back of the train and passed the ride in quiet conversation. Harry told his friends to send their owls to a holiday house that Sirius had bought while he wasn't at Hogwarts, so that Harry could get letters from his friends without placing either of them in risk of discovery.

When the train pulled into the stations, everyone exchanged hugs and promises of correspondence, before they took off to find their parents.

Side by side, Harry and Sirius walked off the platform...

There is a further chapter of this story, which will be for tying up the loose ends (I hope) and explaining what's happening next. When I update that chapter (probably very soon) please check my bio for further details.

In other news, the lack of updates recently stems from the fact that I've been in New Zealand for what was supposed to be a ten day holiday (our plane turned back half an hour out with engine failure, or something like that, so the holiday ended up being eleven days ...) the new chapter of Shines A Light will be out shortly, for those of you who read that.

Thanks emensely, all of you who reviewed my story! I love you all, and appreciate everything you've given me in the way of support, constructive criticism and all that sort of thing. You do not know how much I value your reviews!

WolfMoon