Hey y'all! How's everyone doing? This is it! The final stretch before the epilogue, the climax to everything that's been building up. The first "final showdown" in the epic story of Harry Potter! I'm not going to spoil anything that I've set up for you guys so I'm just let you all jump right into it without further ado. Cheers and I hope you enjoy the chapter!
Like always, I enjoy comments, in fact I thrive off of positive comments and love constructive critique ones cause it shows an author that their readers are actually paying attention and enjoying their work. Thanks for reading this story! Virtual hugs and cuddles to y'all.
Disclaimer: I do not own anything except any OC's that may come up, any world building that has not yet been officially stated by the books and any plot points/structures that have not been used in the books.
Warning: No beta, we die like Stingbulbs.
Chapter 11: Showdown at Sundown
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The excitement from the aftermath of detention wore off real fast when the quartet was rudely reminded of the yearly exams that were to take place only a week from now. Life quickly returned to its pre-detention state full of endless studying and frantic cramming as exams loomed closer and closer with each passing day.
Hermione especially was in a studying craze, always surrounded by books and papers with ink staining her fingers from her frantic writing. Harry and Ron were helplessly dragged into her pace as they needed to study more than she did. They were frantically cramming everything they could in a short amount of time, pouring over their illegible notes with a fervor only a dehydrated man in the middle of the Sahara desert would have when he's finally found water.
Seth had already gone through his tried and true paces for studying. He was all set and thus spent his time divided between the occasional review and making sure his friends didn't pass out from studying too hard.
Finally, exams were here and it felt like every single student, regardless of their year and confidence levels, held their breath as time seemed to both speed up and slow down to maddening degrees.
Their exams were divided into two portions - a written and a practical depending on which subject they were being tested on.
For the written exams, they were all given special anti-cheating quills that Seth knew his sister would've bought in bulk if she'd known they existed back when she was student council president for her high school.
By the end of each exam, Hermione would insist on regrouping in order to check the answers of each question that she somehow managed to remember in startling detail. Ron would always grow green at the gills whenever she feverishly compared her answers to theirs.
Harry was constantly irritated, whether it was because of her nonstop fretting or how his scar seemed to itch all the time was unclear. However, he did keep insisting that the irritation from his scar had to be an omen or warning for danger. Proof that he was right about his theory about Voldemort coming back to finish the job.
Ron sarcastically remarked that unless You-Know-Who burst through the doors during their exams, he could go stuff it because he did not need any more of this talk during the most stressful period of his young life. Harry reluctantly conceded to his point and used large amounts of Seth's anti-itch cream, given to him by Vanessa so you know it's the good stuff, to at least try and get some relief.
The other first years weren't helpful in any regard as they too were anxious about their results. Seth just wanted everyone to chill but saying so aloud almost got him hexed so he wisely kept his mouth shut for the rest of the exam period.
Once the written portion concluded, things began to settle down a bit for the practical portion. At the very least, Seth was able to breathe a bit more easily now that the atmosphere wasn't completely choked with the nervous energy of angsty teenagers and prepubescent kids one wrong comment away from a mental breakdown.
Flitwick had them come to his desk one by one and make a pineapple tap dance, with a silencing charm set around his desk to prevent cheating of course.
McGonagall observed them as they all did their best to turn a mouse into a snuff box and back again.
Snape scowled darkly as they all nervously did their best to remember the process of brewing a forgetfulness potion which was ironic and definitely intentional on the Slytherin professor's part and no one was going to tell Seth otherwise.
Sprout encouraged them as she watched while they carefully harvested puffapods and prepared them as potion ingredients.
By the end of it all, no one knew how the hell they managed to get through it but they thanked every higher power in existence that they did.
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The quartet slowly meandered their way over to the lake, having been drained of all energy and motivation after finishing their final exam of the year.
Ron flopped down under the shade of a large tree as Hermione and Seth sat down beside him with heavy sighs of anxiety and contentment respectively. Harry kept rubbing at his forehead in irritation as he leaned back where he sat against the tree.
"No more studying!" Ron let out an ecstatic cheer with fists pumped up into the air in celebration.
However, Hermione continued to fret over her exam responses, asking her friends what they wrote down for comparison.
"Seriously Hermione, you need to calm down," Seth said as he gently removed the pile of notes that were clenched tightly in her hands. She made weak grabbing motions for them as he shook his head in disapproval. "You're going to pass out or give yourself a heart attack at this rate."
Ron nodded lazily in agreement as he closed his eyes and enjoyed the soft breeze that swept by them. "Yeah. We've only got a week left before we find out how badly we did. There's no need to worry right at this moment."
But that only served to make Hermione fret even more, now tossing around and searching through her books like a madwoman. Seth looked over to Ron, unimpressed by his remark to which the ginger haired boy smiled sheepishly in response.
"Oops?"
Harry muttered unintelligibly as he continued to rub at his scar.
"You good there, Harry? You've been rubbing at your head for a while now," Ron said, pushing himself up to a seated position as he eyed the bespectacled boy in concern.
"My scar keeps acting up and I just wish I knew why," Harry grumbled, the spot where he was rubbing now slowly turning red from irritation, "I mean, it's happened before but never as often as this."
"Did the cream not help?" Seth asked, brow furrowing in confusion since now that he was paying close attention to it, there did seem to be something dark emanating from the thin scar tissue again.
"Oh no, it did," Harry rushed to reassure, "It doesn't hurt much any more but it still keeps irritating me. Like an itch that won't go away no matter how much I scratch even if it doesn't actually feel itchy."
"You should go to Madame Pomfrey," Hermione suggested.
"I don't know if she'll be able to help much considering it's a scar made by magical means," Ron helpfully remarked, "Though now I'm curious about this cream if it can actually work on magic scars like that. Who'd you get it from Seth?"
"Just from a family friend who dabbles in alchemy and medicine," Seth responded nonchalantly.
"Is it the same friend who allowed you to be acquainted with Nicholas Flamel?" Hermione dryly asked, glaring at him in accusation.
Seth sighed. "Oh come on. When are you going to let that go?"
"Never," Hermione said before returning her attention to Harry who was still rubbing at his scar. "I still feel like it couldn't hurt to go see her just in case."
"But I'm not ill and the cream works well, just not as well as I thought it would," Harry sullenly rebuked. Then he sighed heavily. "I still think it's a warning. That danger's coming."
"Well that's a little over dramatic isn't it?" Hermione said.
"Harry, relax," Ron said, waving off Harry's concerns, "Hermione's right that the stone's safe as long as Dumbledore's around. Anyway, we've never even had any proof that Snape found out how to get past Fluffy. He nearly had his leg ripped off once, remember? He's not going to try it again in a hurry and Neville'll play Quidditch for England before Hagrid let's Dumbledore down."
Harry nodded reluctantly but he couldn't quite shake off the feeling that he'd forgotten something very important and voiced as much.
"That's just the exams," Hermione said reassuringly though her hands began to fidget as an indication she was going to start fretting again, "I woke up last night and was halfway through my transfiguration notes before I remembered we'd already done that one."
Seth sighed. "Hermione, chill. Seriously, you did fine. We all did fine."
"How can you be so confident? You mind sharing some of it with me?" Ron jokingly asked. "If I was half as confident as you, I'd breeze through my exams like you two seemed to."
"Is this overconfidence an American thing?" Harry sarcastically asked though he did look genuinely curious about the answer.
Seth shrugged. "I don't know. I just know that I'm confident I did well on my exams and that's all there is to it really."
"How can you say that when I know you didn't study as much as we did?" Hermione asked as if she were accusing him of a crime.
"Hermione, no one studied as much as you did," Seth deadpanned.
Ron shook his head in exasperation. "Honestly, I don't think I've ever met someone as enthusiastic for school as you. Even Percy isn't as much of an academic prat and he is the king of academic prats."
"Who are you calling an academic prat, Ronald?" Hermione shouted angrily at him as he scowled at her for using his full name.
Then Ron, Seth, and Hermione got into a loud conversation where Hermione scolded Ron who vehemently defended himself against her nagging accusations and Seth played for both sides with a gleeful smile. Harry was happy to watch them if only for the distraction it provided in regards to his still irritated scar.
Then he chanced a look up and saw an owl flying off while carrying a letter. He idly thought about how he'd never gotten letters until he was accepted at Hogwarts. Then Hagrid was the only one to ever send them to him since what was the point of his friends sending them when they were always together. Then he thought about how Ron was right in that Hagrid would never betray Dumbledore. Hagrid would never tell anyone how to get past Fluffy. He would never do anything like that but…
The sudden realization struck him like lightning and he jumped to his feet, startling the other three out of their spirited debate.
"What's going on now?" Ron asked in bewilderment.
"I just thought of something, something really important," Harry spoke in a rush as he slung his bag around his shoulder, "We've got to go and see Hagrid now."
"Why?" Hermione asked as she quickly gathered her things with Ron and Seth following her example.
The quartet swiftly walked across the grounds towards where Hagrid's hut was as Harry explained his train of thought.
"Don't you think it's a bit odd that what Hagrid wanted more than anything was a dragon and a stranger suddenly turned up and happened to have an egg in his pocket? How many people wander around with dragon eggs if it's against wizard law?"
"Not that many I don't think," Ron said, still not cluing into what he was trying to say.
"Exactly!" Harry exclaimed, "So it's lucky they found Hagrid don't you think? Why didn't I see it before?"
"It was a trick!" Seth blurted out as he smacked himself on the head. "Why didn't I think about that before?"
Then he actually thought about it for a bit and realized, oh wait. Back in Fablehaven, getting random and rare magic objects that you shouldn't be able to get otherwise was just the norm, not the exception.
"What're you two talking about?" Ron said, scrutinizing the two of them as he still tried to puzzle out what they were getting at.
Hermione gasped as it all finally clicked in her mind. "We've got to go speak with Hagrid! Quickly!"
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Hagrid whistled a jaunty little tune as he methodically shelled peas into a large bucket. He looked up upon hearing the ruckus the quartet caused as they rushed over to him in a panic.
"Hullo there! Finished yer exams, yeah? Though yeh don't look like yeh did," he said as he eyed them in question, "Got time for a drink?"
"Please," Ron said as he gasped weakly to try and catch his breath from the impromptu exercise.
Seth gave Ron a look as if he could not believe he'd ask that right now given the urgency of the situation. Ron shrugged helplessly because what else did he expect?
"No, we're in a hurry," Harry said in a rush before diving straight into the point, "Hagrid. I've got something really important to ask you. You know that night you won Norbert? What did the stranger you played cards with look like?"
Hagrid put down his peas and shelling tool as he hummed in thought. "Dunno, he wouldn't take his cloak off."
Harry and Hermione looked stunned by the admission as if they couldn't believe what Hagrid was saying. Seth shook his head, not at all surprised considering his own experiences dealing with hooded folk. Ron just really wanted a drink, preferably butter beer.
Hagrid looked at them all strangely for their reactions. "It's not that unusual, yeh know. Get a lot o' funny folk in the Hog's Head. That's the pub down in the village."
"And that didn't raise any red flags at all?" Seth asked, "I mean, I know there are some magical folks who are super sensitive about their appearances but you couldn't see anything? Not even the guy's mouth or chin?"
Hagrid shook his head and shrugged. "He was a dragon dealer and yer know how folks dealin wit things like that can be."
"Fair enough," Seth conceded with a sigh.
"But what did you talk to him about, Hagrid?" Harry asked, insistently pushing as much as he could, "Did you mention Hogwarts at all?"
Hagridd crossed his arms as he thought back to that night. "Mighta come up." Then he nodded to himself. "Yeah, he asked what I did an I told him I was Gamekeeper here. He asked a bit about the sorta creatures I look after so I told him though I can't remember too well cause he kept buyin' me drinks. Let's see…Then he said he had the dragon egg an we could play cards fer it if I wanted but he had ter be sure I could handle it cause he didn't want it ter go ter any old home. So I told him after Fluffy, a dragon would be easy."
Seth bit back a groan of disbelief while Harry didn't show any restraint at all and facepalmed.
"And did he seem interested in Fluffy?" Hermione asked, glaring at Harry to at least practice some sort of subtly.
Hagrid nodded. "Well yeah. I mean, how many three headed dogs do yeh meet even around Hogwarts? So I told him Fluffy's a piece o' cake if yeh know how to calm him down. Just play him a bit of music an he'll go straight off ter sleep."
Then he clamped his mouth shut with an audible click, looking horrified at himself. "I shouldn'ta told yeh that. Forget I said it. Hey! Where're yeh going?"
But his words fell on deaf ears as the four students rushed off towards the castle.
"We've got to go to Dumbledore," Harry said in between harsh breaths from all the sprinting he'd been doing. "Hagrid told that stranger how to get past Fluffy and it was either Snape or Voldemort under that cloak. It must've been easy once he'd gotten Hagrid drunk enough."
"Oh, I just hope Dumbledore believes us," Hermione said, fretting nervously as they drew closer to the castle.
"Are you seriously still saying Snape's a suspect?" Seth asked, unable to keep his incredulity in check at how stubborn the bespectacled boy was towards the potion professor. "By this point, how in the world does that make any sense? He could've gotten the stone any time during the year, hell, he could've gotten it while it was still in transit. He's a teacher who's worked with Hagrid and the other professors for years so do you really think he wouldn't have already figured out a way to bypass all the enchantments the professors put up?"
"Even if you're right, Seth, that still means someone else is after the stone," Ron quickly said before Harry could go off on another spectacular blow up.
"It doesn't matter who's the culprit, we still need to tell Dumbledore," Hermione said, "Now where's his office?"
The quartet rushed back into Hogwarts where Seth proceeded to guide them towards where the Headmaster's office was. However, just as they stepped in front of the gargoyle guarding the entrance of Dumbledore's office, a sharp 'ahem' stopped them in their tracks.
"What are you four doing here?"
The quartet all turned their heads in unison to see Professor McGonagall looking down upon them with a stern eyebrow raised in question and her arms loaded with rolls of paper.
"We want to see Professor Dumbledore," Hermione said, voice trembling slightly as she fought to keep a neutral expression.
McGonagall's eyebrow rose even higher. "And why is that, Miss Granger?"
"It's sort of a secret," Harry blurted out, which caused McGonagall to frown severely at them.
Seth bit back a groan at his response and quickly stepped forward to salvage the deteriorating situation. "It's actually a little bit of a magical emergency, Professor." He leaned in to whisper conspiratorially to her. "You know, that kind."
McGonagall's frown grew less severe but it was still firmly set. "If that is the case, I'm sorry to inform you that Professor Dumbledore left ten minutes ago. He received an urgent owl from the Ministry of Magic and flew off to London at once. If it's an emergency, perhaps it's something I can assist you with?"
"No!" Harry exclaimed, shocking everyone with his sudden outburst. He blushed under the attention and shuffled sheepishly. "I mean, we really need him specifically to help handle it. Are you sure you can't call him back?"
McGonagall narrowed her eyes in suspicion. "Professor Dumbledore is a very great wizard, Mr. Potter. He has many demands on his time."
"But this is important," Harry pleaded with great insistence that was slowly edging towards desperate.
"Something you refuse to elaborate on is more important than the Ministry of Magic?" McGonagall asked incredulously.
Seth stepped in front of Harry, hoping the boy would take a hint and stop talking. "Actually, about that emergency-"
"It's about the sorcerer's stone!" Harry blurted out impatiently.
Seth face palmed. "Dude! Seriously?"
Harry had the decency to look apologetic as McGonagall paled and dropped the papers in her arms in shock. She expected all sorts of different excuses to come out of their mouths but she certainly wasn't expecting that.
"How do you know about the stone?"
"We know that someone's going to try and steal it. We've got to talk to Professor Dumbledore!" Harry desperately pleaded.
McGonagall frowned as she waved her wand to gather her things from the floor. "Professor Dumbledore will be back tomorrow. I don't know how you found out about the stone but rest assured that no one could possibly steal it. It's too well protected."
"But Professor-" Harry tried to protest.
"Mr. Potter," McGonagall said in a no nonsense manner that shut him up real quick, "I know what I'm talking about. Now I suggest you all go back outside and enjoy the sunshine. Good day."
McGonagall stormed off after that, muttering indignantly under her breath about troublesome students and how she wasn't paid enough to deal with every single crisis that seemed to crop up in Hogwarts' vast halls.
Seth glared at Harry as soon as she was out of ear shot. "Next time, let me do the talking."
"You seriously think you could've gotten anything out of her?" Ron asked incredulously.
"I don't think, I know," he stated matter of fact.
"So what now?" Hermione asked.
"We've got to do something," Harry said fervently, "The stone is going to be stolen tonight. Snape's found out everything he needs to know and now he's managed to get Dumbledore out of the way. He sent that note. I bet the Ministry of Magic will get a real shock when Dumbledore turns up."
"It's not freaking Snape!" Seth snapped at him, irritated by how stubborn and headstrong the boy was and pointedly ignoring how much of a hypocrite he was being right now.
Harry waved at him dismissively. "That's not important. Right now, we need to-"
Hermione gasped and they all turned to see Snape rounding the corner and immediately zeroing in on them. He swept over to where they stood, his usual sneering nature subdued in favor of a severely stern expression.
"Good afternoon," he casually drawled, "You shouldn't be inside on a day like this."
Harry scrambled to come up with a good enough excuse to throw Snape off their scent. "We were-"
"You need to be more careful, hanging around like this. People will think you're up to something or worse," Snape interrupted, sounding unnaturally vehement with his warning and not hostile at all. His eyes kept darting back to Harry as he spoke. " Certainly Gryffindor can't afford to lose so many points again. You all best stay out of trouble lest you wish to get hurt. Good day to you."
Then Snape turned away with his robes sweeping around him and he went back down the hall where he came from. Before the others could register that Snape of all people had given them a genuine warning to take caution, Harry got down to business and instantly took the warning the wrong way.
"One of us has to keep an eye on Snape by waiting outside the staff room and following him if he leaves it," he said before looking pointedly at Hermione, "Hermione, you better do it."
"Why me?" Hermione asked indignantly.
Ron rolled his eyes at her stupid question. "It's obvious. You can pretend to be waiting for Professor Flitwick, you know." Then, in a really poor imitation of Hermione's voice, he gushed, "Oh! Professor Flitwick! I'm so worried. I think I got question fourteen B wrong."
"Oh shut up," Hermione grumbled, crossing her arms with a pout.
Then Harry gestured to Ron and Seth. "And we'd better stay outside the third floor corridor. Come on!"
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It goes without saying that the plan of a hot-headed 11 year old boy wasn't going to work. The three boys hadn't even placed a foot down on the staircase leading to the third corridor when they were suddenly accosted by McGonagall who looked ready to curse them on the spot.
"I suppose you think you're harder to get past than an entire system of complex enchantments," she said with a severe frown cutting across her face. "I will have no more of this nonsense. If I hear you've come anywhere near here again, I will take another thirty points each from you."
Then she banished them back to the common room where Harry and Ron sulked by the fireplace with the hope that at least Hermione would be successful on her mission. Unfortunately, they spoke too soon as the portrait door swung open and she stumbled into the common room in a flustered mess.
"I'm sorry Harry," she glumly apologized, "Snape came out and asked me what I was doing so I said I was waiting for Flitwick. But then Snape went to get him and I had to get away so I don't know where he went."
"Well that's it then isn't it?" Ron asked, sinking into the couch dejectedly.
"I'm going out tonight and I'm going to try and get to the stone first," Harry boldly declared, eyes burning with determination.
Hermione, Ron, and Seth jerked in surprise at his bold declaration. They looked at him as if he'd gone mad.
"You're mad!" Ron exclaimed.
"You can't, Harry. Not after what McGonagall and Snape said," Hermione said as her eyes darted about, searching for any eavesdroppers.
"She's right. After all the trouble you've already gotten into with the professors, what makes you think they won't be on the lookout for you after all the snooping around you've done," Seth said half-heartedly because he knew he wasn't going to change the boy's mind but still needed to at least try to talk some sense into him. 'Hypocrite' his mind whispered back at him.
"So what! Don't you understand?" Harry said, springing up to his feet as he began to pace back and forth, growing increasingly agitated as he continued to speak, "If Snape gets ahold of the stone, Voldemort's coming back. Haven't you heard what it was like when he was trying to take over? There won't be any Hogwarts to get expelled from! He'll flatten it or turn it into a school for the dark arts.
He stopped pacing to face them with a desperately pleading expression. "Losing points doesn't matter anymore can't you see? You think he'll leave you and your families alone if Gryffindor wins the house cup? Who even cares about the house cup? Why do we even care about the house cup?"
"You're preaching to the choir, kid," Seth muttered irritably under his breath. Hermione shot him a strange look at his words.
"If I get caught before I can get to the stone, well I'll have to go back to the Dursleys and wait for Voldemort to find me there. It's only dying a bit later than I would've because I'm never going over to the dark side-"
Seth rolled his eyes at how Harry was slowly turning red in the face as he rambled on like a lunatic. He stood up, walked over to where the bespectacled boy continued to rant, then slapped him upside the head to get him to stop.
"Ow!" Harry cried out, grabbing at the back of his head in pain. He glared indignantly at Seth. "What was that for?"
"To calm you down," Seth sarcastically responded. "Are you calm now? Will you stop talking like a complete lunatic?"
Harry glared defiantly at him. "Look Seth, nothing you three say is going to stop me. I'm going through that trap door."
"Not alone you're not," Seth said as he crossed his arms with a smirk.
The 180 change in the conversation startled Harry into speechlessness. He gaped wordlessly at him in shock before he finally croaked out, "W-What?"
"Oh come off it," Ron said, rolling his eyes at Harry, "You seriously didn't think we'd let you go alone right? You could've at least let us finish speaking before you went off on us."
"Do you think the invisibility cloak is big enough for the four of us?" Hermione asked as she started digging through her bag for her books and notes. "I should look through my books and see if there's something useful."
"But if we get caught, you three will be expelled too," Harry tried to object though the effect was ruined by his bewildered expression.
Seth shrugged as if it were no big deal. "Then I guess we'll be expelled. It's better than sitting around and doing nothing when we know we can be doing something. Plus, given how dismissive the professors' were, they'll be more on the lookout for us rather than whoever's stealing the stone who I still think is not Snape by the way."
"Really?" Ron asked as if he could not believe Seth was still doing this right now.
Seth stared back, firm and unmoving. "This is my hill and I will gladly die on it if I have to."
Ron shook his head in disbelief. "Americans. Bloody yankees the lot of you."
Seth smirked and tossed in a cheeky wink at the red head for good measure.
"And we're not going to be expelled if I can help it," Hermione said as she dropped a tall stack of books that somehow managed to fit into her bag onto the common room table. "Flitwick told me in secret that I got a hundred and twelve percent on his exam. They're not throwing me out after that."
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The quartet separated for the night with plans to meet up in the common room after everyone had fallen asleep. Seth managed to convince the other three that staying in the common room itself until everyone left would be a terrible plan considering the boys in their room would get suspicious if they didn't turn up to turn in.
Hermione would have no trouble being left alone and sneaking out as all she needed to do was spread her books across her bed and close the curtains. Everyone in Gryffindor learned the hard way not to mess with her when she was in one of her personal studying sessions.
By the time everyone finally turned in for bed, the fireplace had dimmed significantly enough for the shadows to stretch ominously across the room as if in warning. Harry wordlessly unfolded the invisibility cloak while Seth poked his head out from around the portrait door.
Once he gave the all clear, the four of them huddled closely together with the cloak thrown over them. Somehow they all managed to fit and move around somewhat comfortably but considering it's a magical invisibility cloak, no one decided to question it.
They quickly and quietly made their way to the third floor corridor, just barely stepping foot off the staircase when a meow stopped them in their tracks. Mrs. Norris soon appeared from around the corner and they collectively held their breaths as she wandered towards them. She sniffed the ground and the air around her, getting closer and closer and closer.
But the magic of the invisibility cloak must've also included some sort of sense shielding as Mrs. Norris completely bypassed them in favor of sniffing out the mouse that was squeaking nearby.
"Can I kick her?" Ron quietly asked, glaring darkly at the demonic tabby cat.
Hermione gave him a disapproving look in response.
"Oh come on, just one little kick?" Ron pleaded insistently.
"As much as I want you to, the answer's no," Harry said with a reluctant sigh, "Now let's go. We don't have a lot of time."
"Oh fine," Ron grumbled petulantly.
The four of them swiftly shuffled down the corridor until they arrived at the forbidden door. Harry threw the invisibility cloak off of them with a huff, shaking his head like a dog shaking off water. Hermione frowned at him as she folded up the cloak while Ron chuckled in amusement. Harry tried to pat down his stubbornly messy hair but paused in his actions to gawk at the door instead when he saw it was ajar. The others followed his line of sight and paled in realization.
"Snapes already gone through!" Ron whispered out in a panic.
"It's not Snape!" Seth quietly snapped at him.
"And now is not the time!" Hermione snapped back in irritation.
"Come on guys, let's go," Harry urged them as he bodily shoved them towards the door.
The quartet entered the room, closing the door behind them as quietly as possible, and prepared to put Fluffy to sleep. But instead of a three headed dog growling at them with his sharp teeth, they were met with the sight of Fluffy gently snoozing away to soft melody from a nearby enchanted harp.
Not wanting to look a gift horse in the mouth, they quickly tip-toed their way over to the exposed trap door. Through a united effort, they managed to lift the heavy door open revealing a pitch black hole with no indication for how deep it went.
"Alright, how do we want to do this?" Harry asked, eyeing the black pit with understandable trepidation.
"We could toss something down there and see how long it takes to hit the ground?" Hermione hesitantly suggested.
"But what if there's no ground or the ground's made of something that doesn't make noise upon impact?" Seth asked with a common sense that came from having traversed through a few too many magical dungeons full of the strangest shit he'd ever come across as an adventurer and magical caretaker.
"Well then what do you suggest?" Ron asked, "I don't want to jump straight in without knowing what's at the bottom."
Seth tapped his chin in thought. "Well there has to be something down there considering it's the only other entry way in this room."
"But what if there's another door and it was just hidden with magic and this trap door's actually a diversion?" Hermione asked, fretting over the possibility of the whole being a trap. It was much too early for her to die after all. There were still too many books left in the library for her to read, too many things she still wanted to learn.
Before anyone could answer her, the harp music suddenly came to an end. As the last of the notes faded out, Fluffy's three heads snorted and twitched as he began to wake up. He huffed and growled once he caught the scent of the four intruders.
"What do we do?" Ron whispered out frantically.
"We don't have a choice," Harry said as Fluffy blinked into awareness and slowly stood up. "Jump through the door!"
And with that, Harry immediately jumped down with a shout as he disappeared into the darkness. Seth sighed and shrugged as if this might as well happen…again. Then he followed after, jumping down into the hole as Hermione and Ron watched the darkness overtake his form.
The two remaining Gryffindors shared nervous looks before looking back down at the hole. A low growl prompted them to slowly turn and see Fluffy snarling angrily at them. They both let out a scream before throwing all caution into the wind and jumping down themselves just as Fluffy reached out to snap his jaws at them.
Hermione and Ron continued to scream loudly even as they landed on something soft and squishy.
Seth let out a chuckle once the two of them realized they were fine and finally stopped blowing out his ear drums. "At least we landed on something," he jokingly remarked while looking at the vine-covered ground in confusion. This trap must've been Professor Sprout's doing which begs the question as to what kind of plant she possibly used for it.
"I'm not dead," Ron said in sheer relief as he patted himself down to make sure all his limbs were still intact and in the right places, "I'm not dead!"
"But what did we land on?" Harry asked as he tried to puzzle out their surroundings through touch as it was dark enough that everyone, barring Seth, couldn't see anything at all.
"Hold on, let me get a light," Hermione said as she fumbled for her wand, "Lumos!"
A brilliant light appeared at the tip of her wand and illuminated the room they were in.
It appeared that their soft landing was all thanks to the vines that wove around and crept along the room, covering every single inch with squishy greenery. However, the light seemed to aggravate the vines as they began to slowly wrap themselves around each of the students.
Hermione gasped in horrified realization. "This is Devil's Snare! It's a magical plant with the ability to constrict or strangle anything within its surroundings or whatever happens to be touching it."
"What do we do?" Harry said in growing panic as he struggled to pull himself out of the tight grasp of the snake like tendrils. However, his meager 11-year-old strength was no match for the magical plant and the fight against his constrictions was a quickly losing one.
"Ummm, ummm," Hermione frantically tried to think of a solution, mind racing back to the description that she read in a book, "Well it likes the damp and cold…"
"So then light a fire!" Harry shouted as the vines managed to completely restrict his limbs and were slowly wrapping themselves around his torso in a suffocating manner.
"I can't help there. It's all on you Hermione," Seth said as he focused all his attention on influencing the shadows of the vines to direct them away from his person and only somewhat succeeding. There was no way he'd be able to help since it was all he could do not to get strangled at the moment. Plus, his abilities as a shadow charmer were more inclined to the cold and of no help in this particular situation.
"And do it fast!" Harry cried out as the vines began to wrap around the rest of his body.
"But there's no wood!" Hermione shouted as she frantically looked around for anything that looked remotely flammable.
"Have you gone mad?!" Ron roared as he continued to struggle against the vines that wrapped themselves around his torso. "Are you or are you not a witch?!"
"Oh right!" Hermione said, mentally slapping herself on the forehead as she wriggled about until she managed to free her wand hand from the confines of the vines. "Incendio!"
Fire shot out from the tip of her wand and the devil's snare immediately recoiled upon contact. The vines simultaneously released their hold on each of the students and they all fell onto the stone ground below, landing on their backs with a painful thud.
"Owww…" Ron weakly groaned.
"10 out of 10, let's never do that again," Seth dryly remarked.
After taking a moment to recover from their terrifying confinement and painful escape, the quartet walked out of the room where the devil's snare hung ominously above them. They all paused when they heard a faint sound coming from down the hallway.
"Do you guys hear something?" Harry asked with an ear strained out to listen.
Seth nodded, pointing at the room that was at the end of the hall. "Yeah, it's coming from down there."
They continued forward and cautiously approached the door to the next room where they could hear multiple somethings flitting about, like numerous hummingbirds confined in a large cage. Harry carefully opened the door and they slowly entered a room filled with multiple flying objects that glinted in the dim light.
"What are those?" Ron asked, eyeing the flying objects apprehensively.
"I don't know," Hermione mumbled in response.
"They look like…keys?" Seth carefully remarked, "Do you think they're for the door over there?"
They all looked at where he was pointing and saw a large door on the other side of the room with a rather conspicuous key hole. There was also no other way out of the room besides the door they'd just come through.
"One of the keys must fit into the lock on the door then," Hermione deduced.
"But how do we know which one fits?" Ron asked, waving at the hundreds of keys flying in the air above them, "There must be a million keys here."
"There!" Harry exclaimed, pointing at the key that fluttered weakly with slightly crumpled wings, "That one must be it."
Ron nodded eagerly but his expression fell when he realized, "But how are we going to get it?"
"What about the brooms over there?" Seth asked, pointing to a nearby wall with a bunch of brooms propped up against it.
"Alright then Harry, go work your seeker magic," Ron said as he slapped Harry encouragingly on the back.
Harry resignedly sighed and nodded. "Wish me luck."
Then he went over to take a broom and mounted it. Without further delay, he kicked off into the air and rushed towards the key with the crumpled wings. Within moments, he managed to grab the key and made his way back down towards the ground. However, the other keys began to vibrate violently before simultaneously turning towards Harry in threat. Then they all rushed towards him as a single mass with the sole purpose of pinning him to the ground in a bloody and gory mess. Harry immediately reacted, racing around the room as he was chased by hundreds of sharply glinting keys.
"Harry!" Hermione cried out in concern.
"I'll be fine!" Harry shouted out as he took a sharp turn away from a wall that a few keys managed to slam into and get stuck in. "Get to the door and get ready!"
There was no choice but to follow his instructions so the three grounded lions rushed to the door while Harry continued during the large horde of keys. When he passed by them, he tossed the crumpled wing key to them and they used it to open the door.
"Come on!" Hermione shouted, waving Harry to the open door as Ron and Seth rushed past her.
Harry took another large turn to get some distance between him and the keys. Then he leaned forward to gain more speed and raced towards the door. Once he managed to pass the threshold, Seth, Ron, and Hermione slammed the door shut. Not even a moment later, they all heard a thousand keys embedding themselves against the surface of the door.
"I think I just saw my life flash before my eyes," Ron weakly muttered.
"You think?" Harry tiredly remarked with a shake of his head, "I know I saw it flash before my eyes. Glad Quidditch only has the bludger, at least that's easier to spot and dodge."
They continued on to the next room where they were immediately greeted with the sight of a fully-grown adult dragon standing proudly before them. The dragon was three times the size of Fluffy, easily reaching the ceiling with its head if it cared to fully extend its neck. Its royal blue scales shone brilliantly in the torchlight, like well polished sapphires. Its body was sleek and well toned with muscle. Overall, the dragon held a majestic, almost royal appearance. But its eyes were what captivated the quartet, for its two navy eyes seemed to hold all of the wisdom in the world within them.
"Dr-Dr-Dr-" Ron stuttered out in terrified awe.
"Dragon!" Harry finished for him, breathing the word out with wonder shining in his eyes but fear slowly paralyzing his limbs.
"Hello there, little ones," the dragon said, bowing her head in greeting.
"It can talk?" Hermione asked incredulously.
Seth stiffened in the realization that this dragon was nothing like the ones they were teaching about in Hogwarts but was exactly like the ones he knew from the sanctuaries. He quickly dropped his gaze before he could meet her eyes. "Don't look into her eyes!"
But the warning was too little, too late as Harry, Ron, and Hermione were paralyzed in the magical fear that exuded from the dragon's presence when they made eye contact with her.
'Shit!' Seth thought as he looked to his friends in concern, 'This dragon must be one of the older ones that can control how much magical fear they release. The kind that's old and powerful enough to have a human form!'
"Apologies but I must insist that you not advance," the dragon said apologetically, "I cannot allow it after already failing once."
"I-I c-c-can't m-" Harry stuttered out before fear overwhelmed him and clamped his mouth shut.
"Wh-What do we d-d-do?" Hermione managed to force out in question.
Seth sighed and saw no other choice to escape this except take one for the team. "It's alright guys. I got this."
Ron gazed at him as much as he could in question for what he could possibly do to get them out of this terrifying situation.
Seth walked to each of them, using his abilities to break them out of the magical fear that entranced them in paralysis. Once they were all free, albeit still trembling from the lingering effects of magical fear, the dragon growled quietly in frustration. She tried to make eye contact with her freed prisoners but Seth stepped forward, making eye contact with her as he placed a foot on her shadow. Both of them stiffened as they paralyzed each other with their own unique methods.
"Go on without me," Seth insisted once he was sure the dragon wasn't going to be moving her head anytime soon, "I'll be fine."
Ron and Harry didn't need to be told twice though they did hesitate as they slowly made their way to the room's exit. They switched their gaze between warily eyeing the dragon and watching Seth in concern.
Hermione was downright reluctant to move from her spot as she protested, "But-"
Seth sighed, shaking his head as much as he could shake it which wasn't much but still more than the other three were able to accomplish. "I said go. We already know the thief's made it past this point so if you wanna catch up you gotta go now."
"But-"
"I said go!" Seth shouted.
That prompted Hermione to finally move from her spot and she joined the other two boys by the exit. The three of them all gave Seth one final glance before he shooed them away and they finally left. He shook his head in fond exasperation. Friendship and loyalty were great traits to have but when there was a disaster to avert, trust was also an important quality that was needed in these situations.
"Interesting," the dragon said, highly intrigued by the boy that stood before her, "You seem to not be so intimidated by my presence."
Seth shrugged nonchalantly. "That's me. I'm just full of tricks."
The dragon gave a miniscule nod. "Considering you were able to hold me in place just by stepping on my shadow…are you perhaps a shadow charmer?"
"Yup," he chirped at her with a goofy grin, "Seth Sorenson, shadow charmer, at your service."
"Fascinating," she breathed out in awe. "Well it is a pleasure to meet you, young Sorenson. I am Yeshe, a resident of the Tibetan Dragon Sanctuary of Frosted Peaks. I never thought I would have a chance to meet someone who is both a shadow charmer and a dragon tamer."
"Weeell, I'm not exactly a dragon tamer, just one half of one. My sister's the other half and she's fairy kind," he politely rebutted.
"Fascinating, fascinating…"
"Yeah, though I'm a bit annoyed cause I used to be able to move around whenever dragons would do their usual magical intimidation thing," he admitted as his brow twitched in irritation.
Yeshe cocked her head slightly in question. "Oh?"
"Let's just say that I had an unfortunate encounter with enchanted lake water and leave it at that," he dryly elaborated.
She hummed thoughtfully. "Would this lake happen to have been the famed lake of Avalon?"
He looked at her in surprise. "Yeah. How'd you know?"
"Based on what I'm sensing of your magic, your encounter with the lake of Avalon makes the most sense," she explained.
"But what do you mean by that?"
"You were de-aged were you not?" She asked and he nodded in surprise at how she was able to infer such a conclusion, "De-aging is one of the many side effects of encountering the water of the enchanted lake."
"Do I wanna know the others?" He tentatively asked with morbid curiosity.
She laughed. "I would suggest not."
Seth nodded, albeit a bit reluctantly as he kind of did want to know. "Fair enough. So what's this weird thing you're seeing about my magic?"
"Hmmm, how do I put this…" Yeshe lightly tapped the ground with a singular claw in thought. Then she perked up slightly with a figurative light bulb moment. "Alright then, say you are like an oil well and your magic is the oil that comes out. The older you grow and the more you train, the more pipes you build to get more oil out."
He looked at her in surprise for the analogy. "Okay," he nodded in understanding, "A little surprised a dragon would know how oil mining works but okay."
"Well one day, the oil well magically shrinks and now the oil that's been dug no longer has a vessel suitable for holding it without exploding all over the place. So it's got to find an alternative to prevent that from happening."
"So is that why I'm not as strong as I used to be?" He asked, glancing down as much as he could at his body in newfound realization.
She nodded in confirmation. "Precisely. It's also likely why you've gained the affinity to use the blessing of Hecate. Some of the oil was blocked but the rest decided to go somewhere else."
"Interesting…" Seth said before he frowned in confusion, "Wait, blessing of Hecate? What's that all about?"
"Well I would assume you didn't know much about the wizarding world before now and haven't used magic such as this before," she said, looking at him strangely for asking such questions.
Seth shook his head as he couldn't quite shake his hands at her for a time out. "Wait, wait, wait. So you're saying that the reason I got this magic is because I got magically de-aged? But how does that work? Why did the figurative oil decide to give me wizard magic? I am so confused."
Yeshe shrugged. "I suppose that's one way to put it. There could also be another possible explanation but this is the only one I can think of at the moment as I don't think anyone holds a clear cut understanding for the way magic works in the world."
"Alright, fair enough," he said as he shook his head again, "But now I gotta ask Kendra about this later or else it's gonna bug me forever…"
She chuckled at his irritated grumbling. "It's been a while since I've met someone fascinating like you. Though I suppose I shouldn't be surprised considering your relation to Patton Burgess."
Seth did a double take at that unexpected info drop. "You knew my great, great uncle?" Then he squinted at her suspiciously. "More importantly, how did you know we were related? We've got different last names."
"I've had the pleasure of his company when he needed my help in searching for a long thought extinct flower he was hoping to present to his wife as a gift for their tenth anniversary," she explained with a nostalgic smile, "As for how I know, I still keep myself appraised of the going ons of the mortal world. I'm not like most of my brethren after all."
"Understatement of the century right there," he said with a shudder as he thought of all the encounters he'd had with dragons and how all of them were nowhere near as pleasant as this one.
"Besides, the British magic community holds a somewhat better relationship with the mortal world than the United States which is most likely why you're attending Hogwarts instead of Ilvermorny," Yeshe continued unprompted, "In fact, I, myself, am only here due to a favor I owe to Albus Dumbledore for the assistance he provided during a particularly nasty spat between the dragons of Southern China and Northern India."
"Huh, I was wondering about that. Guess that answers that question then," Seth nodded in understanding.
Yeshe smiled as she peered deeply into his eyes in a way that began to greatly unnerve him. Before he could ask her what she was looking for, she asked, "But there's another question you wish to ask, do you not?"
Seth sighed and shook his head as much as he was able to. "Sometimes I forget you guys are actually really wise when most of you just wanna kill us for no apparent reason…" He tried to unsuccessfully deflect if the unimpressed look she was giving him was any indication. "But yeah, I guess I do," he reluctantly admitted.
"And pray tell what is your question?" She asked before immediately guessing, "Does it perhaps have something to do with the Mirror of Erised?"
He was completely taken aback by her very correct assumption. "Woah. Okay. How did you know that? Do you also have telepathy or something?"
She smiled at him in amusement. "Not exactly. I am quite familiar with the mirror as it does have a terrible habit of traveling around the world. Those who have seen into the mirror are left with a faint imprint of its magic on their soul."
"Oh…" Seth weakly remarked.
"While I will not ask you what you've seen, I feel it's important to let you know that the Mirror of Erised is flawed," she said as she eyed him sympathetically.
"What do you mean by that?" He asked in confusion, "It's supposed to show what you really desire right? That's why it's dangerous magic."
"True," she conceded, "But it's not only dangerous because of that."
Upon his questioning look, she responded, "Compare it to the sorting hat. It can read your thoughts to best sort you into the house it believes you will thrive in. But, unlike the hat, it cannot read your heart. The mirror shows what you think you desire rather than what you actually desire, like seeing the tip of an iceberg and not taking into account the rest of its bulk that's hidden underneath the water. "
"For example, your dark haired friend believes he desires to see the family he has never known. But what he may actually desire is a family of his own for the love and connection such a relationship provides. Your red haired friend wishes to stand head and shoulder above the accomplished members of his family. But what he may actually want is to stand out from them and be known not by his family name but rather himself as an individual. Does that make sense?"
"I guess…" Seth hesitantly nodded before mustering up the courage to ask, "Then what about me?"
Yeshe took a moment to think before opening her mouth to respond. But before she could say a single word, a flurry of noise coming from down the hall interrupted her.
"Ah," she said in realization, "It seems the professors have arrived. I suppose we'll have to table this discussion for later."
"But-"
"This is not something that I can impart on you within mere moments, young Sorenson," she gently cut off his protests, "So my only advice to you is to take heart and not allow the vision you saw in the mirror stop you from living your life the way you desire."
Seth could only nod quietly in acceptance of her words of wisdom even though he felt slightly disturbed by the conversation.
Yeshe sighed as if she knew exactly what he was thinking which she most likely did. But she still smiled encouragingly at him as she spoke. "I hope you'll be willing to stop by Frosted Peaks to say hello. We may even finish this discussion over a nice cooked meal as well. The caretaker makes quite the mean yak meat curry."
"Uh yeah, sure, I'll try to do that," he said lamely, "It was nice talking with you too…"
Yeshe blinked and retracted the oppressive aura of magical fear that had held him in place. Seth in turn, lifted his foot off her shadow and stepped back with his head bowed so as to not mistakenly make eye contact with her again.
Just then, Professors McGonagall, Flitwick, Sprout, Snape, and Sinistra with Hagrid taking the rear and Professor Dumebldore taking the front, barged into the room. They all did a double take at seeing Seth and Yeshe standing around casually as if it were no big deal.
"Mr Sorenson!" McGonagall exclaimed in shock, "What in the name of Merlin's soggy pajama pants are you doing here? Did I not tell you and your friends what the consequences would be for breaking the rules?"
The other professors were taken aback in surprise by her use of profanity while Dumbledore smiled in amusement.
"Minerva?" Flitwick cried out to which McGonagall shushed him in response before she pinned Seth down with a glare of disappointment that could rival his grandmother's.
"Sorry professor," Seth said unapologetically, "But we had a legit reason for being here. Someone's stealing the stone and they tricked Professor Dumbledore into leaving so they'd be able to do it."
Dumbledore nodded. "I had a notion something like this would occur considering how surprised the Ministry was upon my rather sudden appearance."
"I bid you to hurry, Albus," Yeshe urged, breaking the other professors out of their shock, "Three of his friends have already made their way past my territory."
Dumbledore eyed Seth as he hummed thoughtfully. "Is that so?" Then he turned back to Yeshe. "Very well then. Let us make haste. Aurora, Pomona, do you mind escorting Mr. Sorenson to the hospital wing?"
"With all due respect professor, I'm fine," Seth politely argued, waving his arms about and jumping up and down to show he was physically fine. "I need to see if my friends are alright so take me with you."
Dumbledore's eyes twinkled with amusement as he shared a look with McGonagall who sighed in exasperation.
"Very well then. Come along now, quickly."
The group made their way into the next room that was twice as large as the previous one Yeshe was in. In the middle of the sizable hall was a giant chess board that was most likely an enlarged version of wizard's chess given the multiple stone fragments of destroyed chess pieces strewn on and around the board.
On the other side of the room, a frazzled Hermione rushed in and made a beeline straight for Ron who laid unconscious with a few visible scrapes and bruises on his person. She fretted worriedly over him while the professors and Seth made their way over to her.
She looked up upon hearing them approach and paled when she saw them standing before her. "Professors!" She cried out, completely mortified, "I…umm…I can explain."
Dumbledore shook his head and smiled reassuringly. "There's no need, Miss Granger. Rest assured that you and your friends will not be punished for tonight as I'm sure the ordeal itself can be considered punishment enough."
With those initial concerns out of the way, other more pressing concerns arose in Hermione's mind. "Harry's gone on to the last room!" She blurted out in a rush, pointing frantically at the door that she just came through, "We didn't see the thief as we passed by so he must be in there with him. You need to help him, Professor Dumbledore!"
Dumbledore nodded gravely. "And we shall Miss Granger. Come along Severus, Rubeus. Can I trouble the rest of you to help Mr. Weasley?"
The other professors who weren't called nodded. Dumbledore, Snape, and Hagrid immediately rushed out of the room while the other professors checked and fussed over the remaining through students. Hermione watched in fascination as Flitwick performed a few spells that allowed Ron's injuries to heal without trouble.
Soon Dumbledore, Snape, and Hagrid returned with an unconscious Harry in Hagrid's arms. The sorcerer's stone, and the main cause of this entire fiasco, was held in a grimacing Snape's hand. He was holding the stone in a handkerchief as far away from his body as he could as if it were cursed.
"Harry!" Hermione cried out in concern when she laid eyes on the unconscious boy with a sizable scrap that lightly bled on his forehead.
"Is he alright?" Seth asked, ready to throw caution in the wind and use his abilities just to make sure his friend wasn't suffering from any unpleasant aftereffects from dark magic.
"He's fine," Hagrid rushed to reassure them, "Only a small scratch when he took a light tumble, nothin' ter serious. The thief on the other hand-"
Snape sneered darkly. "It was that sniveling coward, Quirrell."
"Ha! I knew it!" Seth quietly cheered as he gave the unconscious Ron a smug smirk of triumph, "Just you wait Ron, cause when you wake up, you're in for the most epic 'I told you so' ever."
"Seriously Seth?" Hermione harshly whispered at him in disapproval.
Seth deadpanned. "Let me have this alright. It's not like I've only been telling you all it wasn't Snape but Quirrell since last year."
Hermione at least had the decency to look sheepishly apologetic. "Fine. I suppose I'll gracefully concede just this once."
"And you're certain of this?" McGonagall asked with a severe frown.
Dumbledore nodded. "It seems he was possessed by a shade of Voldemort," he remarked gravely.
All of the professors gasped in horror or paled at the mention of He Who Must Not Be Named.
"And what has become of him?" McGonagall managed to ask with a slightly trembling voice.
"Let me just say that he is now, quite literally, gone with the wind," Dumbledore responded with an almost whimsical tone despite the severity of the situation.
Seth couldn't help but snort at the joke. Hermione glared at him in disapproval again but he shrugged helplessly since he's always been into morbid humor. And how was he to know that Dumbledore had that strange sense of humor as well.
"Now I believe that's quite enough excitement for tonight," Dumbledore declared, "Let us make our way to the hospital wing. I'm sure our students would appreciate a good night's rest before being lectured for a job well done."
And scene! We did it folks! We've finally reached the near end after *checks notes* sheesh, quite a while now. Sorry about that. Anyways, I hope you guys liked what I've done with this part of the story. Make sure to keep the convo Seth had with Yeshe the Tibetan Dragon in mind because his vision in the mirror will end up playing a significant role in the Chamber of Secrets and the talk about his wizards magic will start to have an effect sometime around Order of the Phoenix. Yes, I have already thought that far into the overall plot and oh boy, are you guys in for a journey. *wink wink*
Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter and are looking forward to the epilogue and conclusion of the first part of this seven part story. Until next time!
