Exams, trials and Confrontations, the end of the year: Chapter 11
All thoughts and worries of Voldemort or losing more points were quickly forgotten as the school entered the dreaded examination period. For Harry and his friends, the last few days consisted of mainly Hermione either stressing herself over exams or scolding them for not studying more before forcing them to study. Harry was quietly confident that he would do well in the coming exams, but he still worried if the different conditions would affect him and cause him to fail. The only prior experience of exams was the end of year tests he had back in the late days of primary school. Back then, Harry had to make sure he did poorly or at least worst then Dudley, otherwise Vernon was more than happy to instil some discipline and humbleness into Harry. Rose had no such qualms, quite happy to outdo Dudley as Vernon always dismissed looking at her results, his sexist views believing that Rose could never outdo his precious son Dudley.
"Hermione, come on! We've been studying since before dinner, lets at least have a break." Shoving his book down onto his lab with a thud, Ron pleaded with their tormentor with the best puppy dog eyes he could muster.
"Ronald! You obviously want to fail don't you!"
How can I possibly fail when you ride us harder than McGonagall!" Over in another corner of the common room, a group of fifth years sniggered at Ron's comment, "What are you lot laughing about eh!"
The group waved their hands in dismissal as they covered their mouths with their hands, their bodies still shuddering from laughter. Ron looked around for help from his friends, finding no help at all. Harry was just as confused as he was and Alec had a stupid little grin on him. Hermione was still fuming over Ron's lack of studying, and refused to look at him.
"Blimey, you lot are no help at all."
Harry chuckled as he too laid his work aside. "Come on Hermione, let's have a night off, we've still got the weekend and the rest of the week to study."
Hermione looked up from her work and frowned lightly. "That's exactly the kind of attitude that will get you in trouble Harry!"
"Maybe." Harry shrugged, "Or maybe we'll just burn out from all the study. Besides, it's no where near the amount of trouble we had to go through to get rid of that poxy dragon."
Alec and Ron let out a chuckle. "I swear, if he decides to get another bloody dragon, I'm not helping get rid of it. It can burn down his house for all I care." Ron exclaimed.
"I think we can all agree on that!" Alec added with a laugh.
"Well if you lot refuse to study I guess I'll just have to go to the library!" Hermione chided them all as she packed up her work and headed out of the portrait hole.
Ron shook his head. "Mental that one."
The group of friends continued to study well up to the examination week, even Ron studied hard as Hermione continued to refuse helping him. As the days got closer to the exam dates, Harry began to notice that Dumbledore had been paying much closer attention to his actions, sometimes pulling him aside to ask him how things were going with him.
"Everything's fine Professor."
"That's good Harry, that's good." Dumbledore would tell him, "Please though, should anything arise, do not be afraid to let me know."
Harry was reassured by the old wizards smile and sparkling eyes. However, Harry was yet to find anything of concern for the old headmaster. In fact, Harry passed through his examinations without a single event occurring, not a single disturbance or interruption occurred during the 5 days of exams. Harry walked out with his group of friends that Friday after finishing their last practical exam, Defence against the dark arts. It was a joke really; Harry and all the other students had been asked to perform a number of simple jinx's that they had read about. Luckily Harry and his group of friends had practiced them a number of times back at the Burrow during the Christmas holidays and in the common room at night.
"Well, that was a lot easier than I expected!" Hermione sounded relieved, a far cry from her attitude that she had the last few weeks.
"Easy?!" Ron exclaimed, "I don't know what you think is easy but that exam was definitely not easy!"
Harry rolled his eyes. "Relax Ron, I'm sure we all passed."
"Oh, I don't know, that leg-locker curse of Ron's was pretty weak." Alec teased.
"Oh bugger off you stuffed up emu chaser."
Alec had the decency to act offended. "Now that's quite uncalled for. I'll have you know that we chase Kangaroos and Emus."
"Enough you two, give it a rest." Harry chided, "Now, what should we do with the rest of the day? Maybe head down to Hagrid's?"
"That Sounds like a nice idea Harry. I'm sure he'd love the company. He's been especially lonely since Norbet left." Hermione answered.
Ron couldn't help but snort. "At least he's got the majority of his house back and he doesn't have the looming threat of a house fire."
Ron's comment made the group laugh, even Hermione. Chatting amongst themselves as they headed down to Hagrid's, the summer sun warming their backs as they walked through the courtyard.
"How'd yeh do Harry?" Seamus called out to him as they walked past him and Dean Thomas.
"Yeah not to bad Seamus, what about you?"
Seamus shrugged a little as he responded. "Not bad, thought my potions could have gone better."
"I think we all can agree there." Dean Thomas chuckled, "You ended up smoking out the exam room. Snape was not pleased. If looks could kill he'd be in for life."
Harry and his friends bayed the two boys farewell as they continued on through the school. Most of the students were now out and about on the school grounds, enjoying the warm weather that had blanketed the country. There were students out enjoying the black lake, playing with the giant squid who would occasionally pop out to tickle the student's feet as they dangled them in the water. Hagrid was out front of his hut, playing his little flute, as the group of students made their way across the lawn to him. "'Ello you lot! All done then aye?"
Harry and his friends nodded. "All done, almost time to head home soon."
Hagrid made a move to stand up as he made his way to the front door. "Already through yeh firs' year, blimey how the time flies. You lot wan' a cuppa then?"
They all nodded as they followed him inside of his hut. "Thanks Hagrid, so how have you been?" Hermione asked as they walked in.
"Oh, yeh kno' not bad I 'spose." He turned around to face them, "I do miss Norbet though mind."
They all pretended to look solemn as they each took a seat at the table. "Don't worry Hagrid, we miss the fella too." Alec mustered as much emotion as he could to express sympathy.
"Yeah, right old treasure he was." Ron added sarcastically under his breath.
Coughing to cover up Ron's comment, Harry looked up at the giant of a man. "Hagrid, I've been meaning to ask you actually, where did you get the dragon egg in the first place?"
Hagrid took a sip of his tea before answering. "Well, I won it in a game of cards yeh see, mind, the fello' certainly seemed keen to give it away."
"Do you remember what this man looked like?"
"Funnily 'nough I can't." Hagrid shook his head, "But he was rather interested in wha' other creatures I've looked after."
The group of friends began to get nervous. "Hagrid, you didn't tell him about fluffy…did you?" Hermione fidgeted with the hem of her skirt.
Hagrid looked around nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. "Well…I um…mighta let slip tha' after handlin' fluffy, I could handle a dragon."
"And you didn't tell him anything else…right?" Alec asked.
"Well I did say that all you had teh do was play some music for 'im." Hagrid told them, before realising what he had said, "I shouldna' said tha'."
"No Hagrid, you really shouldn't have." The group of friends looked at each other as they all nervously fiddled with their uniforms.
After finishing their cups of tea in tensioned silence, the group left Hagrid's, leaving with their bellies taut and full of butterfly's in nervous fear. The rest of the day was spent relaxing, trying to calm themselves from the news they'd received. Playing around the lake with their friends, playing wizarding games and occasionally joining in with playing with the giant squid were all brilliant distractions to keep their mind away from the real concerns. Fred and George were taking the lead on playing with the gentle giant squid, hopping straight into the shallows to tickle the creature's long tentacles. Percy was nowhere to be seen, as usual, most likely hiding up in his dorm working on an assignment or just work in general.
Later that night, once the majority of the student body had gone to bed, Harry and his friends stayed up late to discuss the consequences of Hagrid's actions. "So, what's the plan then." Ron asked, "We can't just sit on our arses and do nothin'."
Hermione whacked his arm lightly. "Ron! Language!" Ron rubbed his arm in reflex as he glared at Hermione, "I however do agree with you, we must do something about the stone."
"Well, do we know when someone will try and snatch it?" Alec asked,
Harry nodded his head. "It's going to be soon, maybe even tomorrow night."
His friends looked shocked at Harry's revelation. "Are you sure Harry?" Hermione's lip quivered in anxiety.
"I'm sure, I've just got this…feeling…that's it's going to happen. Plus, my scar is hurting, it's warning me that something's going to happen."
His friends all nodded in understanding. "So, it's settled then, tomorrow night we stop whoever wants the stone from grabbing it." Ron told them.
"We should tell professor Dumbledore or Professor McGonagall first though." Hermione added.
"Really Hermione, you really think they'll believe us!"
"We have to at least try and tell them Ron!" Hermione scolded, "Otherwise we could get in serious trouble, and we all know we can't afford to lose more points."
They all nodded in agreement at that last statement. "So, it's settled then, tell the professors and then if they don't do anything, go down there and stop whoever wants it ourselves." Harry concluded.
"That sounds fair, I think we need to be careful though." Alec added.
"Agreed, we must all stick together if we want this to work." Hermione said.
"Well, that's a given, no way I'm going anywhere without you lot!" Ron told them.
They all chuckled at Ron's reaction before finally deciding that tonight's meeting had gone on long enough. Silently making their way up to their respective dorms, the group of friends dived into their beds with desperation as tiredness began to claim its young victims. The next morning brought about the last weekend of the year. On the Monday, they would all head off back home for summer holidays. Sunday would be the end of year feast where this year's house cup winners would be announced which, thanks to the Norbet incident, was starting to look like Slytherin.
As they had all agreed upon, Harry and his friends would seek out their Professors to tell them about their worry about the Philosophers Stone. Hence, that's how they found themselves walking up to Professor McGonagall's office just after breakfast that morning.
"Hermione, are you sure about this?" Ron asked her.
Hermione looked behind her and shot Ron a scathing look. "Of course I am, besides, better safe than sorry."
Walking in, they found the professor beginning to pack up her books, ready for the summer where she would spend her days working on lesson plans for the following school year. Approaching her desk, the Gryffindor head was surprised to see four of her students approach her on such a sunny and marvellous day. She had to stop herself from smiling at Harry, the spitting image of his father, except for those curious and loving eyes that Minerva was so fond of.
"Shouldn't you four be outside enjoying the sunshine?" She asked them.
"Professor, is there any way we can talk to professor Dumbledore? Its urgent." Harry stepped up to her desk, the other three behind him.
McGonagall looked down her nose at them from behind her glasses, her classic stern expression plastered onto her face. "And why exactly do you need to see the headmaster?"
Harry looked around nervously at his friends. "It's about…the Philosophers Stone."
In a moment of shock, the old professor dropped the books she was carrying, letting them fall to the ground. "How…How do you know about the stone?!"
"Please professor, we need to speak to Professor Dumbledore!" Hermione begged.
McGonagall pursed her lips as she stared at four of her brightest students. "I'm afraid the headmaster is currently away from the castle; he's been called into the ministry for important business."
"But professor, the stones in danger! Somebody is trying to steal it!"
"Whatever you may believe Mr Potter, I can assure you and your friends that the stone is under the upmost protection. Now, I do believe you four should head outside and enjoy the sunshine." Summoning her discarded books back into her hands, McGonagall gave the group one last stern look, "And there shall be no more talk of the stone, do I make myself clear?"
Nodding their heads in understanding, the group watched as McGonagall departed swiftly, their hearts now deflated as fear took over. Turning to his friends, Harry shared a look that they all mimicked on each-others faces. "Well…what now?" Ron broke the silence.
"We continue as planned; we go and protect the stone tonight." Harry told them, "It's obvious that someone has drawn Dumbledore away from the school to grab the stone."
Hermione nodded in agreement. "I think you're right Harry, we need to go tonight."
Nodding in agreement, the four friends made their way down to the black lake once more, trying to enjoy the day as much as they could. Hermione had decided to begin writing a journal of their adventures at Hogwarts, starting from their first day.
"How can you remember that far back?" Ron asked her.
Hermione shrugged as she looked up from where she was laying. "I can't honestly tell you Ron, I just remember these things."
"That brain of yours is like a giant book you know."
"I'll take that as a compliment, thank you Ron."
Flustering, Ron sat up on his elbows as he tried to get a response out. "But..I..not what I meant!"
"It's alright Ron, I'm just teasing." The cheeky smirk that Hermione gave Ron was enough to give him an aneurism, but he soaked it up nonetheless and rolled his eyes in response as he laid back down on the ground.
Harry himself was also lying flat on his back, watching as the clouds rolled by through the summer sky. His mind was elsewhere as it thought about who it could be who was threatening the stone. They had discussed that it may in fact be Professor Snape, but Harry had his doubts, the man was too civil with Harry to try and hurt him as suggested after his broom was jinxed. Harry doubted it was McGonagall or Flitwick or Sprout, and the possibility that it was anyone else seemed slim. However, one thought kept creeping into his head, could it be Professor Quirrell? Rose had written to him a number of times now telling him of the dreams she was having involving himself and Quirrell. It made Harry wonder for sure, however he had no real proof, only assumption.
His thoughts were soon interrupted as Ron complained once again that his stomach was empty and that they should head for lunch. "Ron, you've only just had breakfast." Hermione scolded, "Besides, it's not even lunch time yet."
Ron groaned as he rolled onto his stomach. "Blimey, I feel like I could eat a whole cow right about now."
Harry and Alec chuckled at their friend. "Knowing you mate, I'm bloody sure you could." Alec joked.
The rest of the day was spent in as much relaxation as possible. Most of the student body was quite happy to just enjoy the last two days of school before heading back. However, for the four first years, the day couldn't have gone any slower. Time seemed to tease them as the sun slowly drifted across the sky before giving way to the darkness of the star filled Scottish night. Dinner was subdued for the four friends no matter how hard their other friends tried to cheer them up; even Seamus, trying to turn water into rum once again, failed to lighten their spirits. Of all the people on the Gryffindor table, it was Neville who suspected something was wrong.
That night, as everyone headed off to bed, Hermione, Ron, Alec and Harry planned to meet up with each other in an hour. By that time of night, they hoped that everyone would either be in bed or out of the common-room at least. Harry, Ron and Alec settled themselves in the boys Room, not noticing that they were missing one of their normal dorm mates. Shortly before midnight, Harry stirred himself awake before making his way silently to Ron and Alec, stirring them from their light sleep.
Grabbing his father's invisibility cloak, Harry and his friends made their way quietly down the stairs, before finally slipping the cloak off. "Right, now we just have to wait for Hermione." Harry said.
Ron looked nervously around the room. "She's never late, where is she?!"
"Right here Ron, calm yourself would you." Hermione's voiced called from the bottom of the stairs.
Harry nodded to her before speaking. "Right, everyone, are we all sure we want to do this?" Harry asked them, "There's no shame in backing out now."
Looking around, his friends all shook their heads before he nodded his in understanding. Before they could head off however, a voice called from the now dwindling fireplace. "I knew you four were up to something!"
The four friends spun around to where the voice had come from, before seeing just who had cast it. "Neville!" Hermione yelped in surprise, "It's not what it looks like!"
"You're sneaking out again aren't you." Neville accused them in his soft voice.
Harry stepped towards his friend. "Neville, we have to do something really important, please, let us go."
Neville shook his head as he clenched his fists in front of him. "I won't let you lose us anymore points…I-I'll fight you if I have to!"
All four of them looked at each other with a face of pity at the poor attempt by Neville to stop them. "I'm really sorry about this Neville…Petrificus totalus!" Hermione's now raised wand shot out a full body bind jinx, causing Neville's limbs to snap flush against his body before his whole body rocked forward to land flat on his face.
"Far out Hermione, bit much isn't it?" Ron told her.
Hermione shot him a look before making her way over to Neville. "Oh, I'm so sorry Neville, but it's for your own good." Rolling Neville right side up, Hermione flashed him an apologetic look.
Neville continued to mumble through his now sealed lips, his eyes frantically moving from side to side. Ron, Harry and Alec all passed the boy, muttering their apologies as they made their way out of the portrait hole and towards the third-floor corridor, under the cover of Harry's cloak. It was eerily quiet along the corridors of Hogwarts; the foursome didn't come across a single teacher patrol during their short walk to their destination. Not even Mrs Norris or Filch were spotted in their journey.
"I don't like this." Harry whispered to his friends, "Where are all the teachers?"
"Normally Quirrell patrols this area, though I don't know why he's not here now." Hermione told him.
Harry sighed in frustration as his suspicions started to make sense. "I think I know where he is."
It was obvious then that Quirrell was indeed the culprit behind the threat to the Stone, Harry just feared that he and his friends weren't too late to stop him. Making their way into the third-floor corridor, the group of friends stopped outside the door leading into the antechamber that held the trap door. Taking the cloak off him and his friends, Harry turned around to his fellow Gryffindors.
"None of you have to follow me tonight, if you want, you can turn around and head back to the tower. Otherwise, as soon as we go through this door, there's no turning back."
Ron shook his head at Harry. "There's no way we're letting you do this on your own."
"Yeah mate, we're with you all the way." Alec added his consent.
Hermione looked at Harry with determination. "You know I have to be there to save you boys."
Hermione's comment made the group chuckle as the anxiousness left the atmosphere. Harry -nodded to his friends one last time before turning around and opening the door to the room. Over in the corner of the room was a harp, playing automatically a light harmonic tune. Fluffy was not immune to the conjured harp, and was wistfully asleep, its three heads laying lopsided on the floor, a tongue hanging out of each as drool slid down its chin. Slowly making their way towards the trap door, Harry lifted it up and motioned for his friends to go through. Alec went first, silently nodding his head as he jumped down into the dark hole. Next was Hermione, who gave Harry a nervous look before she too jumped down the hole. Lastly, Ron put his hand on his friend's shoulder and looked him in the eye.
"let's do this together, aye?"
Harry nodded his head, a grim smile on his face. "Sounds like a plan mate."
Before either of them could jump however, the conjured harp stopped playing mid-tune. Harry and Ron snapped their heads over to where the harp was, before looking above themselves where a suddenly alert Fluffy was growling over them. Letting out a scream, the two boys jumped straight into the hole without a second to spare as Fluffy closed its jaws down on the spot where they just were. The boys fell for a good few seconds before they landed on something soft and fleshy. Feeling around him, Harry noticed that whatever they had landed on was organic. Looking around for his friends, Harry only spotted Ron who landed not too far from his own landing spot. However, before he could call out to his friend, a thick vine started to make its way around his body, tightening around him.
"Bloody hell! What is this thing!" Ron cried out in fright.
Suddenly a voice called from below. "IT'S DEVILS SNARE! DON'T MOVE YOU TWO!" Hermione shouted from below them.
Harry complied with Hermione request and tried to stay as still as possible. Ron on the other-hand was struggling as much as he could. "Ron! Stop moving!"
Ron shot him a frantic look as Harry sunk below into the plant life, before emerging on the other side where Alec and Hermione greeted them. "He's still struggling! We have to do something!" Alec cried.
Pushing the boys out the way, Hermione whipped out her wand, pointing it up at the plant before muttering an incantation. Suddenly, a ball of bluebells fire erupted from her wand, causing the plant to roar with pain before dropping a very bewildered Ron.
"Bloody hell…I'm never getting a Venus Fly-trap!"
Hauling Ron up to his feet, Harry gave his friend a once over look, checking for any injuries before they continued on into the deep cavern, they had landed in. "We must be miles underneath the school!" Hermione thought out loud.
"Wherever we are, it's well protected." Harry added.
As they proceeded along, the group of friends started to hear the soft fluttering of wings ahead of them. "Can anyone here that? It sounds like…wings?". Alec voiced.
The groups questions were soon answered as they entered the next room, where they were greeted by hundreds of flapping wings. "Bloody hell! What are those things?" Ron exclaimed.
"I think they're…keys?" Hermione answered.
Sure enough, on closer inspection, the wings were attached to large keys of all sizes and make, some iron, some copper, and even some gold or silver. Looking around the room, Harry spotted a door on the other side of the door, along with a broomstick perched against the wall next to it. Making their way over, the group of friends tried in vain to open the door, even Hermione's attempts at Alohomora failed to open the old wooden door.
"It's no use, we're going to have to find the key!" Hermione lamented.
"But there's hundreds of them, how are we going to catch the right one hey?" Ron quipped.
All eyes turned to Harry, who stood there watching his friends. "What?"
"Well, you are a seeker Harry, you've got the best chance of catching it out of all of us." Alec explained.
Harry understood now what they needed him to do. Nodding his head in agreement, he strode over to where the broom was perched, picking it up in his hands to get a feel for the broom. It certainly wasn't the best, but it certainly wasn't the worst either. Mounting the broom, Harry nodded to his friends before kicking off the ground. "Wish me luck guys."
Zooming around the large room, Harry started to put his seeker skills to use, examining each of the flying keys in rapid succession. "HARRY! YOU'RE LOOKING FOR AN OLD WROUGHT IRON KEY!" Hermione shouted up to him.
"THANKS HERMIONE!"
Were Wood there with Harry, he would of more than likely been shouting at him to pay closer attention. Harry chastised himself for not pushing his senses further, and wondered if he was losing his touch already. However, just as Harry was beginning to lose hope, he spotted a large flying wrought iron door key with a bent wing, flying haphazardly through the flock of other keys. Speeding towards the key, Harry reached out with his hand to catch the large flying hunk of metal. Zooming past, Harry managed to take a grip on the key, pulling it into his body as it tried to take flight away from its capturer. As if by sensing its brother's danger, the other keys of the room began to fly towards the flying Gryffindor, striking him a number of times with their blunt but still hard metal edges. Cursing to himself, Harry flew as fast as he could towards where his friends where, dropping the key off with his friends as he continued to distract the keys flying after him.
Catching his meaning, Hermione shoved the key into the door and let the boys through. "Hurry! Come on get through!"
Harry spotted his friends going through the door and shot straight towards it. Hermione, sensing what he was about to do, stepped behind the door, allowing Harry to fly straight into the next room, just as she shut the door with a thud as the sounds of hundreds of flying keys impacting the door came through.
"Far out, that was mental, I hope Wood doesn't get any ideas from this." Harry joked as he hopped off his broom.
Ron gave his friend a pat on the back as he came over to him, a bright beaming smile plastered on his face. "That was brilliant, bloody brilliant!"
"Yeah, well done Hazza" Alec added.
"Brilliant flying Harry!" Hermione congratulated.
"It was nothing, really." Harry blushed as he smiled bashfully, "What's next anyway?"
Standing in front of them was a large chess set, with life-size pieces spread across the room size board. Ron stared on in wonder, loving the setup. Harry couldn't help but remember the fond memories he had of versing Ron at wizard's chess in the Gryffindor common room during their spare nights. This set however looked much more imposing, and dangerous.
"Blimey, this is brilliant." Ron said, "Look at this set up, I wish we could have something like this at home!"
"So, what exactly do we have to do here?" Alec asked, "Just cross it or something?"
Walking onto the board and heading straight for the other side, Alec was quickly stopped as two large pawns unsheathed their weapons and held them at guard against the young Gryffindor. "Well, guess we're not going that way."
"It's obvious, isn't it?" Hermione said, "We have to play the game and win in order to cross!"
Harry looked around at his friends. "Are you sure?" he asked, "I mean, wizards' chess is brutal at the best of times. I don't exactly want to be hit by a flying stone sword."
Ron nodded his head in agreement. "That probably would be quite painful if I'm honest." Looking around the board, the group noticed that a number of pieces were missing. "Look, I think we have to be the pieces!" Ron exclaimed,
"Harry, you go be that Bishop over there! Alec, replace that Rook over there, Hermione, you take the other!" Ron dished out orders like a general, "And I'll…be a knight!"
Ron, ever the strategist, embarked on a great battle between their chosen black army against their opposing white army. Ordering his troops around like any general would, he tried hard not to lose any of his friends, knowing full well that they would be in serious pain were they too be taken. 10 minutes into the game and half of the white army's pieces had already been taken, however the black army had also lost their fair share of troops. Ron knew that he needed to wrap things up quickly in order for them to grab the stone in time.
In his rush to finish, Ron started to make mistakes. His first mistake came when Alec became the target of the white army's queen, who took Alec off of the field by throwing him out of the board, his chest impacting with the ground.
"ALEC!" Harry called out, "Are you alright!"
Alec let out a low moan as he propped himself up against the chamber wall. "All good mate." He called back, "Just a few broken rips…I think."
"Sorry about that!" Ron called out rather sheepishly.
Waving his hand in dismissal, Alec shut his eyes to try and block out the pain. Continuing on with the game, Ron decided it best not to sacrifice his friends again, in fear that they would suffer any other injuries. However, in his attempt to protect his friends, Ron forget about himself, and on his final move before he could get Harry to checkmate the king, he realised his dilemma.
"Harry…if you move diagonally four spaces, you'll be able to checkmate the king." Ron told his friend.
Hermione, examining the board, let out a gasp. "But Ron, that will leave you open to the queen!"
"That's chess Hermione, we have to win this! Otherwise the stone is lost!" Ron said, "Do it Harry, checkmate the king!"
Harry nodded to his friend as he moved to his position, ready to set up the final blow. As expected, the white queen made her way over to Ron before smashing his horse which he was riding, into tiny little bits, sending the young Gryffindor flying. Ron landed with a thump near the edge of the board, before the queen dragged him all the way off next to Alec before returning to her own position.
"RON! RON!" Hermione shouted out, "ARE YOU OKAY!"
Ron made no answer as he laid on his back next to Alec. "He's breathing guys, don't worry!" Alec called back to reassure his friends.
Hermione let out a sigh of relief as she focused back onto the game. Turning and facing Harry, she gave him an affirmative nod as Harry made his way over to his second position, checkmating the white king. The sword which the king held fell with an almighty thump as the game ended and the pieces collapsed in on themselves. Without wasting anytime, Harry grabbed Hermione's hand and dragged her through to the next room.
"Supposedly these were all set up by the teachers." Hermione said, "So we've had Sprouts, Flitwick's and McGonagall's, now we just have Quirrell and Snape."
They guessed that the next room they entered had to be Quirrell's, as an unconscious but still very much alive…and stench intensive…troll 'guarded' the doorway to the next room. "Well, that takes care of Quirrell's." Harry quipped.
Making their way into the next room, flames suddenly sprouted out of the floor from the door they just entered and the doorway to the front of them, black in front of them, purple behind. Set in the middle of the room was a large wooden table, with a number of full potion vials scattered in order on top of it. As the bottom of the table was a small piece of paper, which Hermione picked up and read aloud.
"Danger lies before you, while safety lies behind. Two of us will help you, whichever you would find, one among us seven will let you move ahead, another will transport the drinker back instead, two among our number hold only nettle wine, three of us are killers, waiting hidden in line. Choose, unless you wish to stay here for evermore, to help you in your choice, we give you these clues four: First, however slyly the poison tries to hide, you will always find some on nettle wine's left side; Second, different are those who stand at either end, But if you would move onwards, neither is your friend; Third, as you see clearly, all are different size, neither dwarf nor giant holds death in their insides; fourth, the second left and the second on the right are twins once you taste them, though different at first sight."
"I suck at puzzles at the best of times." Harry sighed.
Hermione let out a chuckle. "Good thing I'm here then hey."
"I'd say the brain to my brawn but I'm not exactly Jack Broughton now am I."
"No." Hermione smiled, "But you're the bravest person I've met."
Blushing bright red, Harry found the floor much more interesting then the situation they were in. With Harry distracted, Hermione read over the note again, looking amongst the vials of potions and poisons that laid in wait.
Eventually, she picked a small bottle from the table. "This one, this will get you through the black flames."
Harry looked at the tiny bottle. "There's only enough for one of us, and we both know there's no way I'm letting you go alone."
"And why should you go alone then!" Hermione scolded him nervously.
"Because, you need to go and grab those two dunderheads back there and go grab help." Harry said, "If Voldemort is really in there, I can't win that battle, I'll need help."
Hermione nodded her head. "This one, this will take the drinker back through the flames" She told him, "Are you sure about this?"
"Positive."
Nodding her head, Hermione dashed forward and wrapped Harry in a hug. "You're brilliant Harry, don't ever forget that."
"Coming from the brightest witch of our age, I'll take that as a compliment." Harry chuckled as he returned the hug.
"Ha! Books and knowledge, not bravery and courage like you Harry." Hermione told him, "Be safe, whatever you do."
Smiling one last time, Harry took the potion that would get the drinker through the purple flames and gave it to Hermione. "You first."
Reluctantly taking the vial, Hermione gulped the potion down in one swig, shuddering as it went down her throat. "It's like ice, it's freezing."
"Go on now, go and grab help!"
"I will, be safe Harry!" Running back through the purple flames, Hermione disappeared out of sight, leaving Harry alone to face the final task.
Taking the other small vial of potion, Harry gulped his down with one swig as well, shuddering as Hermione did at the ice-cold feeling. Knowing full well that there was nothing left to do but to face the thief, Harry marched his way through the black flames to face the culprit. Harry's fears and suspicions had been proven the very moment he stepped into the next chamber. Standing in front of a mirror, was the turban wrapped head of one Professor Quirrell, he sat there in front of the Mirror, muttering to himself. Noticing Harry in the Mirror, the Professor swiftly turned around, wand in hand, to face the boy.
"Harry Potter, come to be a hero have you." Quirrell japed.
"So, it was you all along, I had my suspicions you know." Harry said, "Never thought it would really be the useless defence teacher however."
Quirrell's eye twitched at the insult but stood steadfast nonetheless. "Ah yes, the useless, poor s-stuttering p-professor Quirrell. The worst ruse I've ever had to play."
"So why do you want the stone professor, looking for long life."
"Wouldn't you like to know boy!"
"Suppose I do, don't I?" Harry shot back, "Call me curious."
Quirrell sneered at the boy. "Always ever the attention seeker, first there was your little stunt with the troll at Halloween, then you had to go and get your friends to stop me from throwing you off your broom."
"Guess I'm lucky I have good friends then hey."
"Luck!" Quirrell sneered, "You think luck is what stopped my master and I from ending you! Oh no, there are greater powers at play here."
"What other powers?" Harry demanded, "What are you on about?"
"Never you mind boy, what matters now is the stone!"
Harry chuckled a little. "So, go grab it then." He took a step forward, "Or maybe you're not smart enough to actually figure out how to."
Quirrell flared with anger before a disembodied voice came from the back of his turban. "The boy, use the boy!"
Following the instructions of the voice, Quirrell grabbed Harry and pushed him in front of the mirror in the middle of the room. As he got closer, Harry realised that the mirror was in fact the mirror of Esired.
"Where is it!" Quirrell snarled, "Where is the stone!"
Harry looked closely at the mirror image of himself, who smiled at him and placed a finger to his lips to silence him, before his hand went down to his pocket where it was revealed the stone was hiding inside. Frantically, Harry carefully felt the pocket the stone had come from, surprised to find that the stone was in fact in his pocket. Unable to understand why, Harry knew he had to lie.
"What do you see boy! What do you see!" Quirrell shook Harry's shoulders roughly.
"I see my parents…and I've become head boy, winner of the house cup and Quidditch cup! Blimey!"
Quirrell, angered by this response, pushed Harry aside. "Out of the way boy! Where is it! Where is it!"
Harry tumbled back, landing on the steps leading back to the chamber behind him. The voice from behind the turban spoke once more as Quirrell desperately searched for the stone. "He is lying! The boy is lying!"
Quirrell turned to face Harry, anger in his eyes as he glared straight towards him. "Where is it! Where is the stone!"
"Leave the boy to me." The voice from the turban hissed again.
Quirrell looked to his side, as if talking to another figure. "But master, you are not strong enough yet!"
"I have strength enough for this."
Harry watched on in terror as Quirrell reached up into his turban and slowly began to unwind it from around his head. A small silent scream of terror came out of his mouth as a face was revealed reflecting off the mirror from the back of Quirrell's head. The face was snake like, with slits instead of a nose and piercing hate filled, Blood red eyes. Harry's scar burned in fury, realisation dawning on him that this was the man, thing, that murdered his parents and almost killed Rose and himself all those years ago.
"So, Harry Potter, we meet again." The face spoke.
Fear was soon replaced by fury as Harry felt his heart beat against his chest, a haze clouding and numbing his senses. "Voldemort, I presume?"
Quirrell snapped his head towards the boy. "You have no right to call the dark lord by his name!"
"I've got every right to call him whatever I bloody well want after what he did to my parents!"
The face hissed once more. "Your parents were nothing but worthless ants on a playing field much too large for them both!"
"DON'T YOU TALK ABOUT MY PARENTS LIKE THAT!"
"Quirrell! Grab the boy, he was the stone, I can sense it."
Following his master's orders once more, Quirrell moved to attack Harry physically. Harry, in a desperate defence, shot off red sparks in Quirrell's path, who merely covered his face as the sparks flew past. Getting more desperate, Harry shot off a leg locker jinx, only to have Quirrell deflect it with a well-placed shield charm.
"This is where you die Harry Potter!" Quirrell sneered as he grabbed Harry by the wrist.
Almost instantly, Quirrell's hand began to burn bright red, forcing Quirrell to retreat, screaming in agony as his hand inflamed and even began to smoke. A look of terror crossed Quirrell's face as he looked back at Harry.
"You fool! Grab the boy!" The face hissed.
Quirrell's face turned back to rage once more as he lunged at Harry, knocking him once more to the ground. The professor wrapped his hands around Harry's throat, squeezing the life from the boy even though his hands burnt like flesh in a pot of boiling water. Harry was frightened of dying for the first time in his life, and he knew then that he had to act, lest he die alone in this chamber. Reaching up, Harry placed his hands on Quirrell's face, holding on as tight as possible. Quirrell screamed out in agony and fright as Harry's hands dug themselves into his face, turning his face bright red with burns. Eventually, the professor could take the pain no more, and backed away from Harry, who watched on in terror and curiosity as the professor disintegrated before his very eyes.
Harry stood up as the last ashes of his former defence teacher piled onto the ground. Examining the pile, Harry felt a pang of sadness over the life that had just been lost. He couldn't help but feel pity for the poor man, who was obviously under duress. Before Harry could ponder anymore however, a deep black shade sprang forth from the pile of ashes, circling the room before ploughing straight through the middle of Harry. Harry felt the life drain from him that instant, falling to the ground in pain, not even realising the scream that was coming from his own mouth. That last thing Harry saw, was a billowing cloak of purple float over him as he felt himself lift off from the ground.
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The blood curdling scream was the first thing that woke Sirius Black that night, the second was the sobbing not a moment later. Jumping out of bed in one fluid motion, Sirius sprung out the door, almost ploughing into Alexander.
"Rose!" They both said in unison.
Dashing into her room, Rose's grandfather and godfather were at her bedside in an instant, their hands holding down Rose's thrashing body.
"Rose sweetheart, you need to wake up!" Alex half pleaded half ordered.
As if a spell was broken, Rose's body seized moving, her eyes splitting open the next moment as a gut-wrenching sob escaped her lips. "H-Harry! He's hurt!"
"What Happened Pup, was it a nightmare?"
Rose shook her head at Sirius. "N-no…it was…something else. It seemed so r-real."
As the two men comforted their little girl, Juni came running into the room, a dressing gown wrapped around her as she went for her granddaughter. "Rose sweetie, are you okay?"
"No…no I'm not. I think Harry's hurt…badly."
Sirius looked grim as he stood up from the bed. "I'll go contact Dumbledore, perhaps we can get some answers."
Leaving Rose in the care of her grandparents, Sirius ran back downstairs to the sitting room where the dwindling fire was. Stoking it with the poker, Sirius threw in some floo powder just as the fire roared back to life. "Hogwarts headmasters office!"
Sticking his head into the fire, Sirius was surprised to see Professor McGonagall pacing around the room. "Minnie! What are you doing here?"
"Sirius? Oh Godric, it's been years. I'm so sorry I didn't come to your trial."
"It's alright, really. I need to know if Harry's okay, Rose had a…well I'm pretty sure it was a nightmare but I'm not sure. She saw Harry was hurt."
A worried expression crossed McGonagall's face. "There's been an…incident, here at the castle. We've been housing a very powerful artefact and it appears as though we've been betrayed from the inside. Harry…Harry tried to warn me that the object was in danger but I did not head his warnings. And now he and his friends are possibly fighting whoever is trying to take it."
"Minnie…where's Dumbledore?"
"He was called away to London this evening but he returned a few moments ago. He's gone to get the students."
Gritting his teeth in both anger and worry, Sirius had to take a deep breath to steady his heart. "I'm so sorry Sirius, If I had only listened…"
"It's not your fault Minnie, you were betrayed, you said so yourself. Why Dumbledore wished to house an object worth stealing in Hogwarts is beyond me, but I intend to find out."
"Come through if you must, I'll keep the floo connection going."
"Thanks Minnie, I'll be back." Pulling his head from the fire, Sirius quickly sprinted back up the stairs to his temporary lodgings, digging around for some clothes before dashing into Rose's room, "Harry and his friends have been involved in an incident at School, Dumbledore has gone to get them."
"What sort of incident." Alex asked, a deadly glint in his eyes.
"I'm not sure, but I intent to go over there now and find out."
Rose tried to spring up onto her feet, only to be held down by her grandmother. "I want to come to! I need to know if Harry's okay!"
"Sweetheart, you're in no condition to go anywhere. You're drenched in sweat and shaking like a leaf."
"B-But!"
Juni silenced her granddaughter with a kiss to her forehead. "We'll stay up and wait for everyone. I'll brew us a cup of tea okay?"
Nodding in submission, Rose curled herself into her grandmothers' side. "I'll come with you if you don't mind Sirius. I'd like to find out what's going on as well." Alex said.
"Are you sure? Can you even see Hogwarts?"
Alex gave Sirius a strange look. "Of course, I can, why wouldn't I be able to? Juniper and I went to Lily's graduation Afterall."
"Muggles shouldn't be able to see Hogwarts…"
"Does it matter? We need to go get some answers!"
Snapping out of his train of thought, Sirius bobbed his head up and down as he made to head back downstairs. "I'll see you down there. We'll be back Rose, I promise."
The little girl was still curled up in her grandmothers' arms, tiny sobs and hiccups still escaping every now and then. Dismayed by Rose's state, Sirius felt his throat tighten, forcing him to clear it. Needing to escape the room before he decided to stay, Sirius headed back downstairs to the fireplace. Alex arrived not long after, dressed in a muggle button up and slacks.
"Alright, lead on." The older man instructed.
Nodding his head, Sirius stepped through, whirling away to Hogwarts. Stumbling out, Sirius spotted McGonagall still pacing up and down across the office floor. "Minnie."
"Sirius!" Hurrying over, McGonagall wrapped her arms around Sirius.
"Has there been anyword?" Sirius asked.
Breaking the embrace, McGonagall composed herself as she watched Alex come through the floo. "Mr Evan. No, there hasn't been any news yet. I'm not sure how long it'll take."
Just as McGonagall stopped talking, a silvering Phoenix flew into the room, the soft voice of Albus Dumbledore filling it. "Minerva, Mr Potter and his companions have been recovered, as has the stone. I've taken Messers Potter, Weasley and Henderson to the Infirmary. Miss Grangers is with them."
As the Phoenix disappeared, Sirius looked over at McGonagall. "Well, what are we waiting for."
Drawing back on his school years memories, Sirius navigated through the halls of Hogwarts, Alex and McGonagall hot on his trail. Arriving at the Infirmary, Madam Pomfrey jumped at the sudden entrance. "Mr Black! What are you doing here?"
"I'm here to see Harry, where is he."
"Mr Potter is resting; he's been very badly injured. I must insist that you let him rest…"
"It's alright Poppy, let them through." Dumbledore's voice carried from inside the room.
Needing no further invitation, the group pushed passed Madam Pomfrey, quickly striding over to where Harry lay unconscious, opposite the sleeping forms of Ron and Alec. Dumbledore and Hermione sat by Harry's bedside, both looking worried.
"What the fuck is going on Albus!" Sirius all but yelled.
"Language Sirius!" McGonagall chastised, "You're in the presence of a student."
Sirius had the decency to flush as he looked apologetically at Hermione. "Sorry Hermione, do as I say and not as I do."
"Words to live by Mister Black." Hermione gave a small smile.
Taking the moment of silence to interrupt, Alex stepped forward. "What happened here Dumbledore. Why is my grandson unconscious?"
Although his voice was calm, Dumbledore could tell there was anger in Alexanders voice. "For months now, the school has played host to the Philosophers Stone, an artefact created by my dear friend Nicolas Flamel."
"The Philosophers Stone? That medieval mythical stone that could apparently turn lead into gold?" Alex asked a little sceptically.
"The very same, although it's real power lays in its use in the creation of the elixir of life, a potion that may grant never ending life if consumed."
Sirius snorted as he shook his head. "And you thought it was a good idea to hide it here in the school!"
"I did…and I stand by that action. The vault at Gringotts that held the Stone was robbed not a day after I had Hagrid retrieve it. But ultimately, the stone has been threatened twice now…perhaps it is time to reconsider its existence."
"That's not your decision to make Albus." McGonagall cut in, "It is, after all, Nicolas Flamels."
Nodding his head solemnly, Dumbledore agreed with his deputy headmistress. "But that still doesn't explain why Harry's or his friends are hurt!" Alexander raised the question they all wanted to know.
"It seemed that one of my teachers had been…possessed by the wraith of Voldemort. It slipped by me through a clever combination of jinxes and charms that I never thought to try, although it is obvious now that it has all been revealed."
"Who was the teacher, Albus?" McGonagall asked, a little afraid of the answer.
"It was Quirinus, Minvera."
"Oh…Poor Quirrell…is he…?"
Dumbledore nodded solemnly. "Dead? Yes. The protection that Harry's mother passed on to him through her sacrifice allowed Harry to defeat Voldemort, but at the cost of Quirrell, who was the host body."
Alex shook his head as he looked down at his grandson, stroking a stray hair back into place. "11 years old and he's already seen death more times then he should've." Turning back to face Dumbledore, Alexander looked at the headmaster with accusatory eyes, "This is all on you Dumbledore! That professors' blood is on your hands…and so are the injuries of these children, Harry especially!"
"Alex, there was nothing anyone could do for Quirrell…once your body is possessed to that point, there's nothing you can do short of killing them and putting them out of their misery."
"Alright…I can accept that. But still…the children…"
"Made this decision by themselves!" Hermione spoke up, "We all knew the risks. Harry even made sure to repeatedly ask if we were okay going in. None of us backed down."
"True Gryffindors through and through." Sirius Grinned, "I'd be proud if I was you Minnie."
McGonagall forced a smile at Sirius and then Hermione. "I will be, once my heart has calmed down."
"Is Harry going to be okay?" Alex cut in.
"He will, but I recommend that he stay here for the night, per Poppy's instructions. If I may make a request, even in my disgraced state…perhaps Harry may stay for the end of year feast. I think you'll find he will enjoy it considerably more than going home early."
Alex shared a look with Sirius, understanding passing between them. "Alright, but I hope this serves as a reminder Professor, that no one is perfect."
"Oh, don't worry Mr Evan, no one knows that more then myself." Dumbledore smiled ruefully, "I am perhaps the biggest fool of them all…but I do care deeply for every single one of my students, no matter their allegiance or who their parents are."
Seemingly satisfied with the answer, Alex bent down to kiss Harry's forehead, moving aside to let Sirius do the same. "We'll see you soon Pup, just get better."
Departing with subdued farewells, Sirius and Alex headed back to the headmaster's office, McGonagall trailing close behind. "You know, I don't think you've told me off for calling you Minnie yet." Sirius called back to McGonagall.
"That's because I tolerate it from you, Black. Only you and Potter could get away with being the most cheekily and yet most lovable boys."
Sirius shot a cheeky grin back at the professor as they headed up the headmasters revolving stairs. "What can I say, Jamie and I had a certain flare for being devilishly charming."
"Devilishly annoying you mean." Alex grinned.
"Alex! You wound me!"
The group chuckled heartily, the much-needed lightness alleviating the heavy feeling of despair. Saying farewell to McGonagall, Alex and Sirius departed back through the floo, finding Juniper and Rose tucked into each other on the couch in the sitting room. "Is Harry okay?" Juni asked.
Rose had fallen back to sleep against her grandmothers' side, a discarded cup of tea sitting on the floor beneath her. "Yes…for the most part. There was an incident involving some magical artefact and someone trying to steal it. Harry and his friends stopped them from succeeding." Alex explained, tiredness laced in his voice, "I'll tell you more in a minute. Firstly, lets get madam back upstairs and into bed."
Sirius happily volunteered to move Rose back upstairs to her room, carrying in his arms, her head against his shoulder as Sirius' movements made her head lull from side to side. Sliding her back into her own bed, Sirius pressed a gentle kiss to Rose's cheek, brushing her long auburn hair behind her ear and out of her face.
"Makes you want to do anything to protect her, doesn't it…looking at them like this."
Sirius turned to look at Alex, who was standing in the doorway. "It does. While I was in prison…I always thought about them. Sometimes I'd think about my own kids but…I don't know. I don't think I'd ever be able to love anyone as much as I love Harry and Rose."
"I know what you mean. I love Petunia, don't get me wrong…but…she's not the same little girl I raised, Vernon made sure of that. So, when I see Rose and Harry…all I can think of is my little Lily petal."
Humming in agreement, Sirius wiped at his eyes as water began to pool in the sides. "We'll protect them…that's our job after all, isn't it?"
"Too fucking right…too fucking right."
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The first thing Harry felt when he finally woke up was a splitting headache that was tearing through his head, radiating from his scar and going all the way to the back of his head. Slowly opening his eyes, Harry looked around at his surroundings, realising then that he was in the hospital wing, a room he had visited many times during his Quidditch season. Looking around, the first face that greeted him was that of Professor Dumbledore, who smiled at him through his half-moon glasses.
"Ah, you're awake. You just missed Messer's George and Fred Weasley; they came by to see if you were up to 'practising some practical magic'. How are you feeling, Harry?"
Trying to sit up, only to wince in pain, Harry elected to look up at the headmaster from his laying position. "I've felt better. What exactly happened?"
Dumbledore smiled at the young Gryffindor. "I do believe, that in short terms, you have now defeated Voldemort twice in your short life."
"Really?" Harry said, "The last thing I remember was passing out as some…spirit…flew through me."
"Interesting, can you tell me Harry, what happened down there?"
Harry nodded his head as he started to tell the headmaster everything that had happened in the last few days. He recalled the trials they went through, which impressed the headmaster that a group of first years succeeded in overcoming the defences set up by the staff. However, when Harry revealed that it was Professor Quirrell who was to blame, Dumbledore merely nodded.
"I was…deceived by some rather plain tricks that I'm sure even Messer's Weasley's would be able to produce. I was beginning to suspect him; however, I was called away last night by a fake report sent to my office."
"Professor, when I touched Quirrell, it…it burned him." Harry said, "I think that's what killed him."
The last part brought Harry into a melancholy mood as he remembered he has just taken a life. Sensing his troubles, Dumbledore placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Harry, what happened last night was not your fault" Dumbledore said, "However, I do believe that the reason Professor Quirrell could not touch you is because the night your parents were murdered by Voldemort, as he tried to destroy both you and your sister, your mother sacrificed herself trying to save you, and in the process created a magical bond which serves as a protection for both you and your sister."
Harry nodded his head as he listened to his headmaster. "So, he couldn't touch me because Voldemort was part of him, and my mum gave me and Rose protection against him?"
"I do believe you are correct Mr Potter." Dumbledore said, "Quirrell was burned because he could never touch something so pure as yourself."
"Thank you, Professor, for explaining everything." Harry said, "Do you think Voldemort is really gone?"
Dumbledore shook his head, "I do not believe he is gone, no." he said, "However, I believe that for now…Voldemort is indeed not a threat."
"Sir, one last thing, if you don't mind?" Harry asked.
"Of course, I do not mind, ask away Harry."
Harry smiled at his headmaster. "Why are people afraid to say his name? Voldemort that is."
"Ah, therein lies the questions Harry, to fear a name is to fear the man himself." Dumbledore said, "If we do not fear the name, we do not give the wearer the power over of fear over yourself. People were afraid of Voldemort all through his time of power. In fact, Voldemort himself put a taboo on the name, revealing the person who uttered his name to Voldemort, thus dooming themselves to confrontation with either his followers or himself. That fear has carried on, even now, when he is gone from our society."
"Thank you, Professor, for answering my question" Harry said, "Uhm, are my friends okay by the way?"
Dumbledore nodded his head, "Indeed they are, I do believe that they are very excited to see you. Your Godfather and Grandfather came by last night as well. Your sister had a dream about the incident last night, alerting them to your condition."
"Rose had a dream? Is she okay?"
"I do believe so. They are all very much looking forward to seeing you when you come home." Dumbledore smiled, "Now, I do believe I should leave you to your friends now. I shall see you tonight. Rest Well Harry."
Getting up from Harry's bed, Dumbledore turned from the room, shooting Harry a smile before he left the room, opening the door to allow Harry's friends to run, or limp in Ron's case, over to Harry's bed. Hermione was the first to reach Harry, wrapping her arms around him in a crushing hug as her bushy brown hair smothering him.
"Her-mion-e…can't…breath!" Harry tried to breath.
Hermione let go with a sheepish smile. "I'm so glad you're okay Harry! We were so worried."
"Yeah mate, glad you're okay. Heard you gave old Voldy an arse kicking as well." Alec said as he came over and slapped his friend on the back, making him wince, "Sorry…"
"Careful with him Alec! He's still fragile."
Ron was the next to make it over to Harry, budging past Hermione and Alec. "How you feelin' mate?"
Harry smirked at his best mate. "Not too bad, how about you, you took a fair knockin' back there."
"Madam Pomfey reckons I'll be limping for a bit, but apart from that I'm all good to go." Ron smiled at his mate, "I'll be good to go for Quidditch this summer."
"So, what happened to the stone?" Harry asked.
"Professor Dumbledore took it and destroyed it with Nicolas Flamel, after he made enough elixir to finish up whatever they need to." Hermione explained, "Flamel and his wife were quite happy to finally destroy the stone."
Harry nodded his head. "That's good, at least we won't have to worry about anyone stealing it again."
The tension in the room finally cracked as the realisation of their success dawned on them. One by one, the group of friends began to laugh hysterically as relief flooded their minds. Their activities made Pomfey clear Harry out to leave the hospital wing Sunday afternoon. This meant that Harry could go off to the end of year feast with his friends. Word had already spread around the school like wildfire that Harry and his friends had been involved with saving the school from Quirrell, who was said to be acting alone to steal the stone.
Harry and his friends enjoyed the spring sunshine as they sat outside underneath the trees, chatting amongst themselves, Harry and Ron enjoying a game of wizard's chess as Alec and Hermione sat and read books. Alec had recently taken to reading books on the history of magic and the wizarding world. Hermione on the other hand was busy reading a book on advanced charms which she had gotten from the library. That night, the group of friends made their way to the Great Hall, where the end of year feast and the house cup would be awarded. Currently, Gryffindor sat at last place, with Slytherin leading, hence why the hall was decked with emerald and silver, along with the Slytherin snake banners that hung from the ceiling. Harry couldn't help but scrawl at the banners as the jeers came from the Slytherin table, mainly directed towards the Lions on the other side. Harry's house had still not forgiven them for Ron and himself losing the 100 points for being caught out of bed. Sitting down next to Seamus, Dean and Neville, the group of friends started talking amongst themselves, Neville still rather cautious to talk to Hermione after she jinxed him the night before.
The student body came to silence as Dumbledore stood up and silenced the room by raising his hands. "Once again, we come to another end of year at Hogwarts, I hope you have all learnt as much as you could, and are ready to leave us tomorrow, only to come back with empty heads for us teachers to fill again!'
"As we can see, Slytherin is currently in the lead, and is set to win the house cup."
A cheer erupted from the Slytherin table and Professor Snape smirked towards McGonagall. "Yes, yes, congratulations Slytherin, you have worked well this year, however, recent events must be taken into account!"
Harry and his friends perked up at hearing this. "To Alexander Henderson, 30 Points, for determined friendship and dedication to his friends!" The Gryffindor's erupted into cheer.
"To Ronald Weasley, 30 points, for the best game of Wizard's chess I have seen in decades!" Again, the Lions erupted into in cheer. The Slytherin's began to sneer and jeer at the Gryffindor's.
"To Hermione Granger, 30 points, for cool, collected reasoning and wisdom in the face of danger and threat." The cheers from the Gryffindor's were getting louder now, as they almost surpassed the points lost by Harry and Ron, however they still needed another 55 points to beat the points accumulated by Slytherin.
"To Harry Potter, 50 points, for bravery and courage in the face of evil itself." The walls of the Great Hall shook as the cheers from the Gryffindor's grew even louder.
"And lastly, it takes great courage to stand up to your enemies, but even more courage to stand up to your friends. 10 points, to Neville Longbottom."
The Gryffindor table erupted into cheer, along with the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff table as they all realised that Slytherin's winning streak was finally broken. The Slytherin's could only sneer and shout in outrage as the house cup was taken from them.
"I do believe that means we need a change in decoration!" Dumbledore called out, and with a flick of his wand, the emerald and silver turned into Burgundy and gold, and the snake banners turned into lion banners.
McGonagall smirked at Snape as he scrawled at her as Dumbledore handed the cup to the head of Gryffindor. "Now, without further ado, please! Dig in and enjoy yourself!" And with that, the tables were magically piled with mountains of food for the hungry student body to enjoy. Alec, Ron, Hermione, Harry, and most importantly Neville, were cheered and congratulated by their fellow Gryffindor's, who shouted their names in praise.
"Well done Potter!"
"Nice one Weasley!"
"Way to go Neville!"
"You're the best Alec!"
"Brightest witch of our age that Hermione!"
These comments were a stark comparison to those that were being thrown around just after Harry and Ron had lost the 100 points earlier in the term. Harry couldn't help but think that it was all rather superficial though, as the people who were calling these words of congratulations were the same who had thrown the insults. Smirking to himself, Harry was glad that at least his friends were the better of the house, and the school for that matter, and that they hadn't judged them on their actions like the others.
That night, Harry let his head hit his pillow of his bed with a thud as tiredness overtook him. He mused that this was a very exciting year for his first year, however he hoped that not every year was like this. He wondered what Rose's first year would be like when they returned in September, and if her year would be just as hectic. Smiling to himself, Harry was glad that his life had turned out for the better, that everything had turned out better than ever before for him and his sister. He had a family, friends, his godfather, and a school and world to explore and learn in for the rest of his life. Harry thought that right now, he could face Voldemort as many times as needed, so long as the world he had come to love was protected and safe.