Me: Merry Christmas, everyone! I hope you have a wonderful one!
Well, my right arm is sort of back to normal, but not as much. There's a limit on how long I can type and write now, so sorry. But I would like to thank all of you for supporting me and wishing me well. And don't worry, I'm virus free…minus my allergies as normal.
Well, shall we get going? I know you guys have been waiting for quite some time for this update and I hope you all enjoy it.
-Potter Manor, Jan. 3, 1992-
Iris and Ron were dashing through the halls on their way to the Quidditch field when they heard shouting coming from Iris' uncle's office. The two looked at each other before they quietly walked over to the door and slightly opened it. Inside, there was Severus, Sirius, Remus and her uncle.
"I'm really questioning that old man's insanity," murmured Alex. "Who in their right minds places a valuable stone in a place with children?!"
"The same old coot that send an invisibility cloak to two eleven-year olds," replied Severus. "I know Harry would never misuse it, but it's a different story for Iris…she's too much like her father."
Sirius chuckled, "I remember using that cloak with James after we finished a prank to avoid old Filch so we wouldn't get caught."
Alex glared, "I don't want Iris to follow in James' footsteps of pranking. I'm fine with harmless pranks but humiliating someone is never good! It's horrible! Do you remember that huge prank you played on Severus in your fifth year?"
Sirius winced, remembering the spanking he had received from his aunt. After he was sorted into Gryffindor, his mother kicked him out of Grimmauld Place and disowned him from the family. It was his great Aunt Dorea that took him in and cared for him as a second son.
"Alright, alright, I see what you mean," murmured Sirius.
"Can you talk to Dumbledore about moving the stone somewhere else?" asked Remus, putting the conversation back on track.
"I make no promises," said Severus. "However, before I left for the holidays, he was hoping that the twins would stay in Hogwarts with the Weasley's."
"Well, if he did send the cloak, then he was hoping that one of the twins will wander around Hogwarts after curfew," enlightened Remus, tapping his chin. "Question is, why?"
Just before anyone could answer, the door slides open causing Iris and Ron to fall to the floor. Alex stood above them tapping his foot, with his arms crossed over his chest, "Young lady, were you eavesdropping again?"
Iris and Ron got to their feet slowly, eyes downcast to the floor. With a sigh Iris bit her lip, "…sort of. But I wouldn't have been interested if you guys hadn't been so loud."
Severus and Alex glared over at Sirius who was sinking into his chair.
Alex sighed, "Forgive us Iris. I forget that you inherited your parent's curiosity."
Iris smiled sheepishly, before frowning, "So, what's in the castle and why does Dumbledore have it?"
"Take a seat please, both of you," said Alex, pointing to the couch beside his desk. Ron and Iris took a seat quickly as Alex leaned over the edge of his desk. "First, what do you know about Nicholas Flamel?"
Iris and Ron gained a confused look on their faces.
Severus shook his head, "This is why you two were sorted into Gryffindor. Nicholas Flamel is a famous alchemist who created the Philosopher's stone, a legendary substance with astonishing powers. The stone will transform any metal into pure gold and can produce the Elixir of Life, which will make the drinker immortal."
Ron whistled, "Bloody hell, that stone is like a gold mine!"
Remus nodded, with a light chuckle, "Exactly. This has caused many wizards and witches to try to steal the stone for centuries. However, Nicholas lives somewhere that is completely untraceable. Despite this he still felt the stone was unsafe, so he asked Dumbledore to keep it safe for the time being."
"Is that why the third-floor corridor is off limits? The Philosopher's stone is hidden there, yes?" said Iris.
"Indeed," replied Severus. He narrowed his eyes, "Don't do anything reckless with this information. If you hear or see something that does not sound right, notify me – immediately! Understand?"
"Yes, sir!" stated Iris and Ron before dashing out of the study.
Once they were out of view, Iris dragged Ron to her room where she found her brother working on fixing her charms essay. She let go of Ron and ran over to her twin, "We need to talk – now! Ron, get your brothers!"
The redhead nodded before dashing out of the room.
"What is this about Lils?" asked Harry, his voice sounding irked.
"Dumbledore," Iris hissed.
-Hogwarts, Jan. 5-
The Potter siblings and the Weasley's returns to Hogwarts with Severus as it would be easier than going to the train. The children waited for their friends by the entrance hall where they greeted everyone before walking into the Great hall.
Surprisingly, Draco greeted the Weasley's before handing them some brownies that his mother made during the holidays.
"Some sort of peace offering," murmured Draco. "Mother and father agreed that it was high time to end the feud between our families. My father is working on how to get your family manor back."
Ron's eyes widened, "Really? Um…then I'll send an owl to your dad to thank him for the assistance – oh, and your mum for making the brownies."
Draco nodded and was about to head to the Slytherin table when Iris stopped him. She smiled, "And where do you think you're going? Sit with us, Dray. You can ask Hermione more about muggles."
Draco looked unsure before taking a seat across from the brushy brunette. As the pale boy was asking questions about the muggle world, the Potter twins looked up at the Head table to see Dumbledore glaring at them.
'What is he so angry about?' thought Iris.
'No clue, Lils, but we better keep an eye on him,' thought Harry.
As the month passed and a Quidditch match between Gryffindor vs. Hufflepuff was completed; Iris, Ron and Draco were walking about the grounds while Harry, Daphne and Hermione were at the library.
During the walk, Iris spots Hagrid walking to his hut rather fast.
"Weird," murmured Iris.
"What is?" Draco asked.
"Hagrid is walking fast to his hut," replied Iris before grinning, "Let's go see why!"
Before the boys could say anything, she dashed towards Hagrid's hut. The two boys caught up with Iris at the hut as she knocked on the door. The door opened suddenly, and Hagrid let them in before shutting the door quickly behind them.
"What the – bloody hell! It's bloody hot in here!" whined Ron. "Hagrid, can we open a window? I'm boiling in here."
"Can't, Ron, sorry."
Iris glanced at the fire, "Hagrid – what's that?"
The three children leaned over the kettle and inside was a huge, black egg. Ron gasped, "Where did you get that, Hagrid? It must've cost you a fortune."
"Won it," grinned Hagrid. "I was down in the village having a few drinks and got into a game of cards with a stranger. Think he was quite glad to get rid of it to be honest."
"But what are you going to do once it's hatched?" inquired Draco with a frown, "You live in a wooden hut. Dragons grow quite fast and their bites are poisonous when they are babies, until they learn how to use fire."
"Don't worry, young Draco," assured Hagrid, happily. "I've been doing some reading. Got this out of the library – Dragon Breeding for Pleasure and Profit! I have to keep the egg in the fire, 'cause their mothers breathe on them, and when it hatches, feed it a bucket of brandy mixed with chicken blood every half hour. And see here – how to recognize different eggs – what I got there is a Norwegian Ridgeback; quite rare they are!"
"But you can't keep a dragon," said Iris. "You can get sacked or sent to Azkaban for hiding an illegal baby dragon!"
Hagrid bit his lip, "But…I can't just dump the baby once they hatch, I can't."
Iris suddenly turned to Ron, "Your brother, Charlie! He can help us! You said that he studies dragons in Romania. We could send the baby dragon to him. Charlie can take care of the baby and then put him back in the wild!"
"Brilliant! How about it, Hagrid?" Ron asked.
The half giant looked uncertain, but ultimately agreed. The three children headed back to the castle and Ron sent an owl message to his older brother, while Iris and Draco informed the others of what happened. Harry thought it was best to at least tell one trustworthy professor aka his godfather in case something went wrong.
A few weeks later, during breakfast, Hedwig brought Iris a note from Hagrid. At the same time, Ron got a letter from his brother with the reply.
"Let's head over to Hagrid's after lessons this evening," Ron whispered to Iris, making her nod in agreement.
Once Herbology ended, the Potter siblings, Ron, and Draco hurried through the grounds to Hagrid's hut. The half giant greeted them, looking flushed and excited.
"It's nearly hatched!" said Hagrid, ushering them inside.
The egg was lying on the table. They could see deep cracks all along the sides and something could be seen moving inside; a funny clicking noise was heard coming from the egg. They all drew chairs up to the table and watched.
There was a sudden clacking noise before the egg broke open causing the baby dragon to flop onto the table. It wasn't exactly the prettiest site as it looked like a rumpled, black umbrella. Its spiny wings were huge compared to its skinny jet-black body. They could see that it had a long snout with wide nostrils, the stubs of horns and bulging, orange eyes. It sneezed and a couple of sparks flew out of its snout.
"Isn' 'e beautiful?" murmured Hagrid, happily. He slowly reached his hand to stroke the dragon's head. As he stroked its head a sort of purring sound was heard from the dragon. "Bless 'im! 'e knows his mummy! I think I'll call ya Norbert. What d' ya 'ay, little guy? Do you like the name Norbert? Do yer?"
Ron and Draco made of face, while Iris and Azalea giggled.
"Right, now that… Norbert, has hatched, we can notify your brother," said Harry, remembering Charlie's reply. "Just be careful when you feed him Hagrid. His bites are poisonous."
"Don' worry 'bout me, 'arry," Hagrid assured him, happily. "Just send tha' message ter Charlie an' le' me know when 'e can pick 'im up. A' leas' I will know 'e is alrigh' if I owl Charlie, time ter time."
They all nodded before heading back to the castle.
The following week seemed to drag by. Wednesday night, Iris and Hermione were sitting alone in the common room after everyone else had gone to bed. The clock on the wall had just chimed midnight when the portrait hole burst open.
Ron rushed in before slamming the door shut. He had been down at Hagrid's hut with Harry, helping the half giant feed Norbert, who was now eating dead rats by the crate.
"That bloody thing was close to biting me!" Ron said, sitting down next to Iris. "If it wasn't for your brother, I wouldn't have been able to hold a quill for a week!"
Suddenly, there was a tap on the dark window. Iris smiled, knowing it had to be Charlie's letter and let her familiar in quickly. She took the parchment and opened it so that the three of them could read the letter together.
Dear Ron,
I'd be glad to take the Norwegian Ridgeback, but it won't be easy getting him here. I think the best thing will be to send him over with some friends of mine who are coming to visit me next week. Trouble is they mustn't be seen carrying an illegal dragon.
Could you get the Ridgeback up to the tallest tower at midnight on Saturday? They can meet you there and take him away while it's still dark. Send me an answer as soon as possible.
Love,
Charlie
The three Gryffindors looked at one another once they finished.
"Um… let me ask my brother for his input," said Iris. "He's good at sneaking around. He may have an idea on how to sneak Norbert into the castle without being seen."
Hermione and Ron quickly agreed.
In the morning, Harry advised his sister that they should speak with Professor Snape about the meeting. He could get the dragon during his patrol time and cast an invisibility charm on the dragon.
Hermione agreed; however, Iris and Ron protested the idea but when Azalea gave them the look, they quickly changed their minds. After breakfast, Harry and Draco went to the dungeons and notified Snape about the meeting place so that he could meet with Charlie's friends on Saturday.
The week flew by and it came time for Severus to pick up the baby dragon from Hagrid. The children felt sorry for the half giant, but it had to be done.
-Break Line-
What you guys think?
Next Chapter: The Stone