Once again: The plot of this story is based on JKR's Harry Potter series. Our plot weaves in 2 new characters: David Murray and Elizabeth Fawkes. While Lizzy is an addition, Dave replaces Seamus Finnigan. It also incorporates ideas borrowed from the White Wolf storyteller game system. Many new characters will appear in following chapters which are our characters based on the game system we played. Our plot weaves around the original plot of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone). We own only our own characters and our plot. All other characters and the original plot belong to JK Rowling. Please don't sue us! :) Part 2 of the disclaimer: All gaming terms, references, settings and characters relating to Werewolf: The Apocalypse are owned by White Wolf (Martyn, Macha, Dave, and Lizzy are our own characters however), no copyright infringement is intended. BTW, we are not making a penny off this.

We also want to take this opportunity to acknowledge our good friend, Jason. He created Amadeus and the Werewolf chronicle from which our characters, Martyn and Macha, were based. Without his creative input, Martyn and Macha, and their subsequent development, would never have existed.

Kudos to our Beta Reader RemusisMine: aka JAX

Note to all our readers: If you read chapter 2 before the new year, please re-read it. When we originally uploaded it, for some strange reason, part of it was cut off. We've fixed the problem, the chapter's end should make a little more sense now. (If you started reading our story after Jan 1st, please disregard this.) Thanks!

The Lord, the Lady, and Luna

Chapter 22: The Gathering Storm

Elizabeth sat despondently on one of the beds in the Hospital Wing, tears streaming silently down her face. Some time later that night, she heard Dave's voice from behind her.

"Cheers, lass," Dave said, sitting down next to her and putting an arm around her shoulder. "How are you feeling?"

"How'd you know I was here?" Lizzy asked. "I didn't tell the others I was coming down here."

"Unicorn told me," Dave replied. "He said he knew you'd share his sorrow over the loss of one of his children. He also told me to go back to the forest and get something for you." Lizzy, tears still rolling down her face, looked questioningly at him. Dave withdrew a canvas-wrapped parcel from his robes and handed it to her. Lizzy burst into fresh tears and threw her arms around Dave when she unwrapped the parcel to reveal the horn of the unicorn. Dave, knowing that she was better off staying in the Hospital Wing for the night, eased her back to lay on the pillow, but found it impossible to move away. Lizzy had grabbed his arm and pulled his hand close to her for comfort. With the unicorn horn in one hand and Dave's hand in the other, Lizzy was finally able to relax and soon fell asleep. Dave, unwilling to risk waking her by moving his hand away, sat for most of the night in a chair by the bed, one hand held tightly by Lizzy.

The next morning, Lizzy woke, somewhat reluctantly, to Dave shaking her shoulder gently. Unable to recapture his hand, she was forced to wake entirely.

"Wake up, Elizabeth," Dave said. "Our exams are coming soon, we need to go revise. Are you feeling better?"

"A bit better," Lizzy replied, fingering the horn that was still clasped in one hand. "Thanks, Dave," she continued, giving him a hug. Dave smiled at her and helped her up. As she sat up, she noticed a tray on the table next to her. Her nose twitched as she recognised the smell of sausages and eggs, along with toast. She smiled gratefully at Dave, knowing this was his doing. After they had eaten, Lizzy and Dave went up to Gryffindor tower to study for their exams.

Exam week arrived, much too soon in Ron's opinion. It was very hot in the room where they took the written part of their exams. For their practical Potions exam, Snape instructed them to brew a Forgetfulness potion. Dave managed to inject a bit of humour into the otherwise tense atmosphere. After quaffing a vial of light blue liquid, he announced that his potion was a success because he had instantly forgotten how he made it. Professor Snape, although he did not explode in anger, did not appreciate Dave's trick and insisted that he brew the potion properly. Elizabeth chuckled lightly at Dave's antics and went about brewing her own potion. While Dave's actual potion was only just presentable, hers was entirely correct, as well as enough to knock out the memories of several people.

Their next practical exam was in Charms. Professor Flitwick asked each student to make a pineapple tap-dance across his desk. Lizzy managed to make her pineapple dance, but it was more of a soft-shoe, rather than tap. Dave on the other hand, not only made his pineapple tap-dance, its routine would have put Fred Astaire to shame. Lizzy did fairly well in Defence Against the Dark Arts, while Dave startled everyone by going in for the second years' Defence Against the Dark Arts exam. While most people knew that Dave didn't take the regular class, they hadn't realised that he'd already written the first year exam. As it was, he managed to wreck the second years' grade curve.

In Transfiguration, Professor McGonagall requested that each student change a mouse into a snuff-box. Dave's snuff-box turned out to be a fancy, jewel-encrusted, gold piece, with snuff in it. Lizzy's attempt yielded a silver snuff-box, with the mouse still evident as carvings around the box. They both did fairly well in all their other exams. Their final exam was History of Magic. Even Lizzy, who tended to be somewhat like Hermione when it came to revision and proper answers, fudged things a bit. She and Dave took a leaf out of Ron's book and some of their answers were purely made-up. They had names like 'Ugluk the Unclean' and 'Gorbag the Grimy', which were merely orc names Lizzy could remember from Lord of the Rings.

After exams, they had a week left of school, and most of the students were taking the time to relax in the June sunshine. On the afternoon that they finished their exams, Harry, Ron, and Hermione relaxed by the lake, while Lizzy stayed inside to chat with Madam Pomfrey. Dave, who had just been getting ready to go for a bit of a walk, received a summons to go see Professor Dumbledore. Dave poked his head out of the spirit world in Dumbledore's office, looked cautiously around, and stepped out when he saw no one other than the Headmaster.

"You wanted to see me, sir?" Dave asked.

"Yes David," Dumbledore replied. "I have just received an urgent owl from the Ministry of Magic, requesting my presence immediately."

"You're not actually falling for that, are you, sir?" Dave asked incredulously.

"Of course not," Dumbledore replied with a slight smile, "But it must appear as if I have. I will leave the school for a short while, enabling events to move forward."

"And you'd like me to keep an eye on the Gryffindor Trio?" Dave asked.

"Yes indeed," Dumbledore replied. "But, keep an eye on them only...do not interfere with anything unless their lives are in danger. This, I think, should be Harry's fight."

"Yes, sir," Dave said. "When are you leaving?"

"Right now," Dumbledore replied, and with that, grabbed hold of Fawkes' tail feathers. Fawkes vanished in a puff of flame and feathers, taking the Headmaster with him. Dave left the office and headed down to the Hospital Wing.