Chapter 1

Flamel's Secret

.:SIX YEARS LATER:.

"What is it you need me for, sir?" Harry asked as he took a seat infront of his ex-headmaster. The man looked so worn..not from age, but from strain. Harry remembered the small note that he'd recieved only moments before his arrival.

Harry

Meet me in my office as soon as possible

Albus Dumbledore

This wasn't like him, to just ask him to come out as soon as he could. No, Dumbledore made appointments, never the type to plan some spontaneous meeting. Harry anticipated the moment when the man would speak. He looked as if he were searching for the right way to say what was plaguing his mind.

"Harry" He began, cleaning his spectacles on his robes, "I have something very important to tell you."

"Ofcourse" Harry replied, wishing he'd get to the point.

He took an aged envelope out of his desk drawer and passed it to Harry. It was addressed to one Albus Dumbledore. The purple seal was broken. Harry gave his headmaster a look of confusion before removing its contents.

"Don't worry about that one, my boy" Dumbledore smiled as he took the first parchment from Harry. "That was his letter to me"

A raven eyebrow arched behind round spectacles. "Who?"

Dumbledore sighed. "Nicholas Flamel. Yes, I know," He held up a hand to silence Harry, "He died six years ago. He told me only to open this when I felt I sincerely had to. Don't ask me why, but I have my reasonings for opening this document. Now please, read it. Then we can discuss what it's all about."

Harry looked down at the neatly scrawled writing before him. It seemed to be a short poem. He read aloud,

"In the realm which dark wizards play

It waits for the light to come its way

Venture to the place that men most fear

Find the place where the trees are cleared

Follow the direction where four men lie

Their knowledge lives on even after they've died

Legends of this have been fortold

Turns any metal into gold.

I hope you have a clever mind

For I tell the secret that could save your life."

Harry finished and looked up into Dumbledore's waiting eyes. "This doesn't make any sense."

"Ah, but it does. Look into it more, Harry. Read over each line, each detail...What do you think my dear friend Nicholas is talking about?"

"The Philosopher's Stone!" Ginny shrieked, almost falling out of her chair.

"SHH!" Harry hissed, causing the redhead to sit back down. "Keep your voice down, will you? Yes, that's what Dumbledore and I concluded. Look," He slid the riddle across the table. After reading it over, she looked up at him.

"Turns any metal into gold, could save your life...this has to be it!" She beamed, "I've been trying to figure out how to duplicate the original all these years, and now all I have to do is just find it! This is wonderful! but there's just one problem. how will we find it?"

"We figured that one out too," Harry whispered, pointing to the first line of the riddle, "In the realm in which Dark Wizards play...Everyone knows that Bulgaria is famous for practicing the Dark Arts! It's going to be there somewhere."

"No," Ginny smirked, "Only an Auror would know that. Why did Dumbledore want you to find it anyway? Can't he find it himself?"

"Dumbledore's an old man, Gin." Harry shook his head, "He said that I was the only other person he felt he could trust with such a task. Told me not to tell anyone about my doings."

"So why are you telling me?"

"You've been on this case for years now. Plus, I think I'll need an Alchemists' help in finding the stone. What if I find a faulty one? I wouldn't be able to tell the difference."

Ginny gave a timid smile. "You really think I'll be much help?"

"You'll be all the help in the world" he winked at her.

There was a flash of red and she was upon Harry, siezing him in a bear hug. "Oh thank you thank you thank you, Harry! I can't believe I'm finally going to find the Philosopher's Stone!"

"The Philosopher's Stone, you say?" hissed a greasy voice.

"Yes, my Lord, I heard it with my very ears today in Hogsmeade." replied a strong baritone voice, "They think it's hidden in Bulgaria."

The Dark Lord seemed very pleased at this news. "Good work, Zabini, your information is highly useful. I guess I'll have to send someone to follow them, use them..."

"I'll-"

"Silence!" he shouted over the other, his red eyes cut into slits, "I know just who I'll use..."

"Father, wake up" Draco Malfoy hissed. "Wake up!"

A blonde haired man in his mid 50's grunted before opening weary eyes. He saw who was there and immediately got up.

"Draco" he said hoarsly before going over to him. He wished he could actually stand face to face with his son. He hadn't done that in a long, long time. He pressed his face against the cool bars of his Azkaban Cell. It was surprising how much his son had grown up in 9 years without a father. He was definately proud of Draco, he'd picked up precisely where he'd left off. and Draco never failed to come and visit his father. He was definately a disgrace to Witches and Wizards everywhere, but in the eyes of his son, he was still taken into high priority and respect.

Draco sighed. His father looked horrible, as always. Not the clean-shaven aristocrat he used to be. His hair was nearly down to his elbows. His beard was growing out of control. His robes were reduced to rags. It saddened the young Malfoy. Ofcourse, his father barely had a heart or a soul, but come to think of it, he didn't have those either. They were the same, despicable men. Maybe that's how Lucius wanted it.

"I'm being sent away" He stated. "I won't be back for awhile. It's undetermined for how long"

"Is he?"

"Yes, he's the one sending me out. Direct orders." Draco cut him off. "Tell mum about it next time she visits, I won't have time to speak to her. I have to be going."

"Draco" He held a hand through the bars, in attempt to grab his son's attention as he walked away. He turned around.

"I really am proud of you" He reminded him. He always said this before Draco left, hoping it would mean something to him.

Draco only nodded at him before exiting the prison, feeling as if he'd never be happy again.

Three totally different people were going to Bulgaria.

One was an Auror, the richest and most famous Auror in a century. He was still best friends with a certain Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, and had made many more on his journeys. He knows almost anything about everything. He is The Boy Who Lived. He is exactly what everyone expected him to be.

Another was an Alchemist, widely known for her brilliant discoveries, among the largest being her cure for Werewolf bites, The new wand core(Sphinx Hair), and the recent discovery of a potion that can transform the drinker into any animal they desire for one hour. Her life was her work, her work was her life. She'd spent all her years in Alchemy searching desparately for the way to create a second Philosopher's Stone, but she'd never succeeded. It was like trying to find holes in the dark. Needless to say, Nicholas Flamel was her idol.

And the last of the trio, well, he is still a mystery to anyone who knows him. He's not exactly liked by the Auror and the Alchemist, but his role in the Ministry has a high influence upon both of them. Yet it is not his job that he cares about at all. It is his destiny. The role he was meant to play since he'd been born. And now, he was on a mission to prove himself, to prove that he is the best in his ranks. To make his father proud..

Three different people. One Mission. One thought..

I have to get the stone.

High Ho Silver, Awayy-

A/N: AmY: well, I hope y'all like it! We're up and off the ground now, a-workin on gettin' to Bulgaria! Idk what TiFF thinks, but I have a feeling that the story's going to be mostly, if not just, about Draco, Ginny, and Harry. OH, and did you like our Riddle! I hope so, we spent FOREVER thinking it up! Actually, we spent forever just thinking up the PLOT! ((Hehe)) So yes, I hope you like it, and I'll give the A/N over to TiFF!

TiFF:Well, like she said, took us forever just to think of this damn plot, so ya'll better love the story ;) J/K. So, that was chapter 1... hit the little button in the corner and review. Let us know whatcha think of our joint fic! Hmm... well, we'll update as soon as we can, and hope you liked it!