Chapter 16: Grand Plans

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Bioshock, I'm just making a small little sandcastle in the play pit of creativity.

The tour of the Manor had been interesting. To be honest it left Elizabeth's head spinning at the sheer size of it. She just did not see the need for someone to live like this, the rooms were all clean and dust free but Narcissa had explained the elves maintained it, they enjoyed their work, but she also admitted that a lot of the rooms were no longer used, just down to the fact that the family was not big enough to take full advantage of the house and with the ease of use for the Floo Network and Portkeys along with Apparation, there was just no need for people to stay in the guest rooms unless they really needed to or they were like Elizabeth and visiting specifically for the next couple of days, but that rarely happened anymore, social circles were smaller now and each had their secrets to hide, to prevent material and blackmail that could be used against them in future parts.

The last bit wasn't said to Elizabeth but she knew that it was there in the back of her mind, she could almost hear the hidden undertones being spoken.

Maybe because they were.

Or they would be?

She cleared her mind, dismissing the tangents that they were already travelling along as Narcissa lead her towards the Garden, carefully maintained by several Elves specifically for their gardening skills. It was well maintained, the grass cut, flowers and plants along the edges of the path that ran through the middle towards a water fountain display. In Elizabeth's mind, it was very elegant but again, she just felt it was too much for her tastes. Maybe it had been because of Columbia, living trapped away in the Tower, yes, she had access to pretty much anything she wanted. It had been a cage, but a gilded cage that had held her. At the same time, now that she was free she didn't see the need for half the things that she had and that many had been a product of necessity, Puzzle Books and Lock picking skills, both had been in her attempt to escape. She enjoyed what she had learnt and they had proven infinitely useful to her but the question remained, if circumstances had been different would she have learnt those skills? The art had been to capture some of the imagination and snippets of other times that she had seen, to remind herself of the world that was waiting just outside the walls that held her, both a dream of what she could see and do and a nightmare, things just out of reach constantly tantalizing her. As her powers had diminished the books had become more of a way to understand both what she had been doing through those written by the Lutece Twins and the fantasy books.

It had always surprised her that Comstock had kept those books in the library that was in her tower. Perhaps it was because he thought that she would be less likely to try to escape if her nose was buried in a good book? It didn't matter now though, here she was walking around a huge manor and all she could think of was the past. "How much time do they spend tending the gardens?" Elizabeth asked out of curiosity as she crouched down looking at a small collection of flowers.

"The Elves work nearly all day to maintain it, there are a few plants that we have that are also more accustomed to the dark, they alternate and work both day and night."

"That must be tiring, do they get time off?" Elizabeth asked in slight concern, even though she knew of the House Elves after spending time at Hogwarts she hadn't spent much time trying to learn about them as a species.

Narcissa chuckled at that, "Time off? They have no wish for time off or pay or anything like that. Their one enjoyment is to work." Narcissa explained calmly drawing a confused look from Elizabeth. "You haven't learnt anything about them yet, have you?"

"Not yet, I keep meaning to but something always comes up." In a way, it was the truth. When she first learnt about them it was during the first few days of School and she had been more distracted with learning her way around and working on the subjects and then as time passed by her, she forgot about them and then all the chaos that happened, it had just slipped her mind, light curiosity over powered by the magnitude of chaos going on in the world.

"They don't want time off, they don't want pay, in their own minds, the work is their reward for the bond they have with a wizarding family." Narcissa started to explain as Elizabeth stood up, the two walking along the path towards the fountain at the centre of this part of the garden. In the distance, she could see a paddock set up for several horses and a table which already had several cups and a pot of tea waiting for them.

"What can I expect from Lucius?" Elizabeth asked as the two women were sat at a table overlooking a field that had several Abraxan grazing in it. "I know you'll have told him something about me."

"He knows you can see but not to what extent." Narcissa admitted, lifting her cup to her lips, taking a sip of the tea that had been delivered, potion free she had assured Elizabeth so as not to have a repeat of the Three Broomsticks incident. "He'll fish for information, try to see what you're willing to divulge in regards to his decisions, I hope you've paid attention to the politics that have been happening recently."

"To an extent, there isn't much to talk about in the mornings with everyone half asleep, I have taken to reading the Prophet every now and again." She admitted though she didn't comment about how biased it was, another comparison she felt towards Columbia and how they acted towards those they felt were beneath them. The articles generally held promotional aspects towards whoever was in charge and didn't hesitate to tear down anyone who did not follow the party line, the current trend focusing on the current Non-Human and Dark Creature Employment Act that was being pushed in the Wizengamot, to prevent people with certain conditions and non-humans getting work without being held under severe restrictions and preventing them from accessing certain aspects of the Wizarding World. "I don't need to see multiple variations to know what the best course of action here is going to be." Elizabeth said almost dismissively. Perhaps it was over confidence, perhaps it was arrogance or perhaps it was something else but she felt ready for whatever Lucius planned to bring up for conversation when she inevitably ran into him again. "But you're the bigger puzzle for me." Elizabeth admitted calmly, holding her cup to her lips, studying the woman that just kept raising questions.

"Oh?"

"Of the Malfoy's it's you who I am warned about the most, Lucius is considered transparent in his actions and Draco is too young though from what I've been told, he's taking after his father... when I'm not around." She said pointedly, making it clear that she knew that part of what Draco was doing was an act, not sure as to whether the actions he took when she wasn't around or when she was around being the act. "My talks and letters with you have been the most confusing though, you have plans, I can see them ticking away in the back of your mind even through the mask that you hide everything with but I've also seen you willing to throw it all away at a potential risk of danger to your son and almost immediately after you see that I'm not trying to be a threat, you're back to planning." Elizabeth explained and Narcissa didn't respond, the only indication that she was listening properly being a raised eyebrow as she thought about what Elizabeth said.

"So, what is my plan then?" She asked after several moments of silence. Elizabeth looked at her and shrugged.

"To be honest, I don't know, survival would be the main part, you know the world is changing and changing quite dramatically and you want to make sure both the Malfoy family and the Black Legacy survive and at a guess with the way the Pureblood Society holds such a focus on legacy and history of families, being able to stand there and claim that you are the direct legacy of the Ancient House of Black would be a big stepping stone in all the fields of Magical Britain. But you have siblings... and you're not the head of House Black..." She trailed off again thoughtfully.

"You've done your research." Narcissa said, a slight hint in her voice showing she was impressed.

"I was caught off guard once, it won't happen again."

"Are you so certain, confidence like that can blind you to what you don't want to see." Narcissa practically taunted, placing her cup gently back on the table that they sat at. "You are still young and have much to learn, you think you know what you're getting into but your knowledge is books." Narcissa spoke calmly, not attempting to be demeaning to her but she was slightly dismissive in the tone that she took.

Inwardly Elizabeth smirked, her knowledge wasn't just books anymore, it hadn't been for years. Her knowledge was forged in fire, in the conflicts of Columbia, in her workings in Rapture, she had seen the seedy underside of the world, she had seen the darkness that hid in plain sight. This was just another facet of that, but the words Narcissa spoke held a clear warning, she was still an amateur in the game that was politics and manipulation. "I'll take your words as they're intended." Elizabeth spoke just as calmly. "Another surprise I had while talking to you, the overtures to Harry, related distantly I understand but all things considering I did not expect you to want to associate with him in that regards. I assumed that you'd want to distance yourself from that connection with the assumption that he was firmly sided with Dumbledore." Elizabeth started another topic, focusing on the questions that Narcissa had asked about Harry when he was injured and Draco taking the time to make friends with Harry even when their views differed greatly.

"The meeting at Diagon Alley." Narcissa said simply, to her it had changed a lot of things that she had been ready to see as already set in stone. His diminished form, the uncertainty at which he held himself and the sheer ignorance that he had to the world that he was about to enter had struck a nerve with her. That the Last of a Noble and Ancient House like the Potters would be that ignorant and unknowing about the world around him was something that had troubled her, more than she had realised. "It changed a lot of things that I had already taken for granted when I saw him and spoke to you."

"And that set everything in motion, your plans in regards to myself and Harry, your endgame shifting as well." Elizabeth added getting a small nod from Narcissa. "It takes a strong person to admit that their plans may need to change and adapt." Elizabeth mused more to herself than anything else. Though in the back of her mind she couldn't help but add a small little jab: Or a weak mind to cave in on and feel their plans would fail so easily. But she didn't voice those thoughts for obvious reasons. The conversation was developing in the way that had subtle but polite jabs at each other, there was no need to be truly rude when they were learning a lot more about each other than either truly realised at the time. Elizabeth glanced around at the fields again, looking at the Abraxan and letting her mind wander a little bit, thinking about things completely unrelated to the topics at hand. Part of her wondered if she would ever find a bit of peace and quiet, away from adventure and away from drama that seemed to keep creeping into her life.

But at the same time, she wondered about something else... How bored would she be if her life was that uninteresting?

HPCVHPCVHPCV

"You have a Dragon Egg?" Harry repeated in amazement and Hagrid smiled, "Why? Actually, more important question How?" Harry questioned still unable to tear his eyes away from the egg.

"I won it."

"You won it?" Already alarm bells were going off in Harry's mind, who the heck carries a dragon egg around in their pocket to lose it in a game of some sorts.

"I won it off a chap down the pup, always wanted a dragon."

"Aren't there laws regarding this?" Harry asked in confusion Honestly, he had no idea as to whether or not there were but considering he had never heard any of the other students talking about their pet dragons he could safely assume that there was a valid reason behind that. Besides of course, the fact that they grow to be bigger than a small house, breathe fire, razor sharp claws and teeth.

The perfectly child friendly pet.

"Well... there are..." Hagrid trailed off nervously.

"It's illegal, isn't it?" Harry asked and noticed the hesitance in Hagrid's voice. "Hagrid..."

"Yes, it is, I knew I wouldn't be able to keep him forever but even for a little while." Hagrid said almost pleadingly, a man the size of a giant with the heart as caring as a child.

"Have you at least spoken to anyone about it?" Harry asked, fishing for more information.

"Not yet, you're the first, thought you'd like to see it." Hagrid replied honestly.

"Including Professor Dumbledore?" Harry asked getting a shake of Hagrid's head in response, though to be honest with himself, Harry thought that Dumbledore already knew about it. There was nothing that went on in this school that He didn't know about to some extent and it probably didn't escape notice that Hagrid had checked out several books on Dragon care from the Library if the books on the counter at the side of the room were any indication to go by. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what was going on when you added the pieces together. "You could get him in a lot of trouble for this."

That stopped Hagrid in his tracks, he didn't so much mind if he got in trouble for it but Dumbledore had helped him time and time again over the years. "They wouldn't... I got the egg, he doesn't know anything about it." Hagrid protested.

"But think about it, he's the Headmaster, everything that happens on the grounds is his responsibility." Harry quickly pointed out. "Besides there was a much smoother way you could have done this after winning the egg." Harry said, his mind racing with ideas and possibilities. Was this what Elizabeth meant when she said about being able to see anything with the power? Or was this just because he was looking at things from a different aspect than he realised. "The School has a Care of Magical Creatures lesson, what better way to keep hold of the dragon than with a lesson that could involve the students in taking care of it. It grows up surrounded by them and grows as they do. That way it will less likely see them as food." Harry paused for a moment thinking about the situation "and it could be organised as a long-time project for the students, them each doing something to help care and raise it... at least I'm pretty sure that Professor Dumbledore could arrange something like that."

"You think so?" Hagrid asked hesitantly, this had the potential to be better than he could possibly ever have thought it would be. He knew that owning a Dragon was illegal, he also knew that he wouldn't be able to keep the dragon a secret for very long with how fast they grew. He didn't think that anyone would get in trouble other than himself but even then, it would most likely have been a fine and in all honesty, even though his house didn't show it, he had money saved away that could cover it. But thinking about it, it would have torn him up if Dumbledore had been blamed and punished for his actions. "Harry, can you keep an eye on the egg for a moment, I think I better go speak to Professor Dumbledore quickly." Hagrid said sharply and after receiving a nod in response from the boy in question, Hagrid quickly made his way out of the hut.

"Well... that went better than I thought it would." Harry said in amusement, walking over to the pile of books, and picking one of them up. "May as well know what I'm going to be looking at soon." Harry muttered as he picked up a book about Raising Dragons. "Egg varieties by breed." He muttered aloud and started flicking through the pages, trying to find the picture that closely matched the egg sitting in the fireplace... "It'd be a lot easier if the egg pictures were in colour." Harry muttered dryly looking at the egg closely before returning his attention back to the book in question trying to find similarities to it.

Time passed and Harry was still in Hagrid's awaiting the return of the giant, it had been about an hour but there was still no sign of the giant, was he getting a lecture from Dumbledore in regards to what he had done? Were they trying to sort out all the paperwork to get things rushed through? Or had there been something else that had come up that had kept him held up a little bit longer.

The door behind him opened, Harry spun around from where he was standing, instinctively stepping in front of the egg to shield it from view. Hagrid entered the hut and Harry relaxed slightly. "Hagrid, I didn't expect you to take so long." He said and Hagrid shrugged slightly as he closed the door.

"Sorry bout that Harry, Professor Dumbledore wasn't in his office." Hagrid commented, "tried to find him but he was nowhere to be found."

The words echoed in Harry's head for several moments, nowhere to be found, Dumbledore couldn't be gone... Why would he suddenly be gone? "Do you... do you know where he went?" Harry asked and Hagrid shook his head.

"Spoke to Professor McGonagall about it, apparently, he received an owl and left quickly after breakfast." Hagrid explained. "Not like him to rush but he does have a lot of jobs to take care of. Course it could be related to the problem in the forest."

"Problem in the forest?" Harry repeated in confusion, he thought with his connections to the other houses that he had started to make, he was well informed with the goings on with the School.

"I shouldn't really be talking about it, don't want word to spread around the School, but you don't seem to be the gossipy type Harry." Hagrid said confidently and Harry nodded in agreement. He talked about things but he also knew how to keep his mouth shut. "Somethings been attacking the Unicorns in the Forest. One's dead, a few have been injured but nothing to bad... I've been heading in there at nights to try and track it down but it's quick, whatever it is."

"Somethings attacking the Unicorns?"

"And not just that... I think they're feeding on the Unicorn as well." Hagrid explained sadly and that drew more confusion from Harry, they were just magical horses, weren't they?"

"I don't understand."

"A Unicorn is a creature of Purity and goodness Harry, no one should ever want to harm them, their horn and their tail hair used in potions ingredients and wands are freely given to wand makers but no one should ever want to harm them." Hagrid started to explain, taking a seat at the table. "But there's something else, their blood has healing properties, it can save you even if you're close to death, but it's a cursed life, you've killed something so innocent, so pure to save your own life, whoever has done it is planning something big." Hagrid said seriously and Harry nodded his head, another piece clicking into place.

"They're after the stone." Harry muttered, more to himself but Hagrid picked up on it.

"Now, don't you go getting involved with that Harry, it's too dangerous. Leave it to the other Professors." Hagrid said sternly.

But Harry, sitting there at the table didn't respond, he looked at the fire, the egg shifting ever so slightly every now and again as he thought about what he had been told, there was still something missing. He just couldn't quite put his finger on it. "I need to go Hagrid." He said suddenly getting a look of confusion from the giant as he stood up, making his way to the door.

"What? but the Egg is almost ready to hatch." Hagrid responded in confusion as Harry opened the door and turned back to Hagrid with a small smile.

"I know I'll miss it but there's something I need to sort out..." He trailed off and before Hagrid could comment again he stepped through and shut the door. He made his way out of the garden area around the hut and back up to Hogwarts. There were still no classes and a lot of the students had gone home, the school was about a quarter full in total, the main group that had stayed behind were the seventh years. "School is almost empty, no Dumbledore and Hagrid gets a dragon egg." He muttered to himself as he thought about it some more making his way up to the Ravenclaw Dorm. "It's too much happening at the same time for it to be a coincidence. Somethings going on here..."

HPCVHPCVHPCV

Evening came around and Elizabeth had been escorted by Draco to the Dining Room where they would be sitting for dinner. Again, it was a situation where the table was much larger than it needed to be for the amount of people who were currently at the table, but part of Elizabeth realised that this was largely an attempt by Lucius to show off. Admittedly it was working, while the grandeur of it all was not necessary she did have to admit she felt flattered that he was doing something like this and that they were attempting to go all out with it in an attempt to sway her.

"How has your term been at Hogwarts?" Lucius asked as the first course arrived in front of them, delivered through the House Elf magic like the way the food was delivered to the plates in Hogwarts.

"It's been a... unique experience to say the least." She said, diplomatically at first, not knowing in what way to phrase the answer at first. she knew he was 'evil' at least in the views of others and that he had plans regarding Hogwarts, but she also didn't know what he was involved in and what he was planning at this point in time.

"An interesting description. I heard about the Quidditch Match with Mr Potter, he was lucky to survive that incident." Lucius commented, getting a small nod from Elizabeth in acknowledgement.

"I'm still not sure what happened both with the broom and his ability to survive the landing but I'm glad he did."

"As we all are." Lucius said with a slight nod. In the back of her mind, Elizabeth was already trying to decide whether his comment was legitimate, that the change in actions had shifted his opinion towards Harry slightly but she doubted it, no doubt he had some plans in place that his sudden death would throw into disarray. "And how is Draco's studying going?" He asked, with a slight glance towards Draco.

"Overall, he's doing well, one of the top ten in the year easily." Elizabeth complimented him and saw the slight smile that he gave, years of having schooled his reaction to be the proper Pureblood cracking to show the child underneath. "But..." She continued pointedly, the smile disappearing from Draco at this, knowing what was about to happen. "He could be doing better, he's a smart boy but doesn't put all his effort into the work." Elizabeth explained simply, not going into detail but giving enough to tell them that she had noticed his lack of action in his work and how it could be improved. A compliment then some criticism, from the look that Lucius shared with Draco, she knew the conversation would continue after dinner, away from her eyes and ears. They continued eating in silence for a little while, every now and again Elizabeth would see a glance to the side, from Lucius to Narcissa or Narcissa to Lucius, a silent conversation that she pretended not to notice going on.

"You are still relatively new to this world, aren't you?" Lucius asked, feigning curiosity, it was another question he already knew the answer to.

"I am, I'm essentially at a similar level of magical education as Draco and the other First Years." She admitted knowing that there was no point in hiding what was already common knowledge.

"Have you been paying attention to the political side of things or just working in the school?" It was blunt and to the point but Elizabeth was ready for what was about to happen. Time for him to fish for ideas.

"I admit I'm probably not as knowledgeable as I could be on the subjects but I have been keeping up with the reports in the Daily Prophet."

"The Prophet? a rag that prints whatever the paying opinion wants." Lucius muttered in disdain and Elizabeth quirked an eyebrow at that. He held a dislike for something knowing full well that it was something that he could easily take advantage of it if he wanted too. Was it a ploy or was it the truth?

"Even so, there were a few bits that can be learnt from it." Elizabeth pointed out getting a nod of approval from Narcissa. "I know there is going to be a vote soon on the Magical Creature Employment Act soon." Elizabeth explained getting another small nod.

"And your thoughts on it?"

"Anyone who votes to let it pass in the shape it's in..." She paused, wondering whether to go with the blunt or tactful approach. "Anyone who votes it through is an idiot, plain and simple." She said getting looks of surprise from the three others at the table, along with a small snort of amusement from Draco who did his best to try and cover it up.

"And how do you come to that conclusion?" Lucius asked after several moments of stunned silence.

"Financially or socially?" Elizabeth asked slightly sarcastically. "From what I've read about Werewolves, both magical and legends about them in the muggle world, they're stronger than the average person when in human form with the only downside being run down after the full moon? Am I correct?" She asked and saw a small nod from Narcissa before she continued. "Now take what you have there a stronger workforce physically with the addition of magic and you have a potential work base that is currently neglected and in some aspects starved for acceptance." Elizabeth explained with a calm gesture. "The policy in action would alienate them, push them towards lashing out at being marginalized and isolated, society cannot survive if they remove aspects of it. Because if you remove them, who are the next to be blamed for things? who is chosen next for the restrictive regulations?" Elizabeth asked, pausing again at the look of intrigue that crossed Lucius's face. "You have a chance here to shape things and gain a potentially fanatically loyal workforce."

Here it was, her gambit, If the Werewolves were forced to be outsiders, unable to get work from any sources in the magical world they'd grow to become resentful, it would make it easier for them to tempt them to join Voldemort in that situation as all he would have to do is make a few simple promises to give them a better life then they could possibly have and then they would be left with only one option to take. This one however, this option gave them several windows of opportunity in which to take advantage of. If they could get employment, even if the pay wasn't the same level as a Pureblood or a Halfblood would get it would still be more acceptable than if they had nothing, it was a stepping stone for them to potentially get to where they wanted to be and it would be up to the employer to give them that to gain their effectiveness in both work and loyalty outside of it. This ran the risk of Lucius taking the ball and running with it, making himself look like the true saviour to the Werewolves in an attempt to rally them around him to form his own power base but it was a risk worth taking. "The other families wouldn't agree to it." Narcissa commented, the brief conversation that they had in regards to this earlier already allowing her to guide the conversation slightly as Lucius listened, his mind ticking away with the formation of a plan.

"How could they not? A strong Labour force for them to use?" Elizabeth asked bluntly.

"Do you know how the rich, stay rich?" Narcissa asked Elizabeth who slowly shook her head, the obvious answer had been to say through their investments and work that they do but she already assumed that isn't what Narcissa was going for "They don't like to spend money. The majority of the Noble family's wealth comes from old money, Family money that has built up over generations, why would they willingly advocate a policy that would mean they spend more money on people when they can cut them off?" Narcissa asked simply.

"It's a stepping stone." Elizabeth started and Lucius cut her off.

"A stepping stone, not blocking their way into the work but not showing equality either." He said with a thoughtful look, missing Elizabeth frowning at the blatant comment on segregation in the work force. "Something that could be fixed over time though, we start with allowing them to work, albeit at a reduced rate than the others but it's a start, tempt the families with a cheaper labour force and then over time increase the pay."

Lucius smiled, he could work with this, no one, light or dark truly wanted the Werewolves around, they were dangerous and a risk to all who would be involved but at the same time, the Light Side would not be keen to reject a policy that could be the start of unity amongst the people of the wizarding world. And through it all, he would be seen as a champion of the downtrodden. A fix to his shady image and the potential power base in which he could start his own agenda.

With the look on Lucius's face, Elizabeth was suddenly not so sure of herself or her plan.

HPCVHPCVHPCV

"Harry what's going on, you've been lost in thought all afternoon and haven't spoken to anyone." Susan questioned, taking a seat opposite him in the library. Ever since he had come back from Hagrid's in the morning he had entered the library and not come out. Albeit that wasn't completely unusual for him but he had barely spoken two words to the others that he normally spoke to. Even now he hadn't looked up from the bit of parchment that he was scribbling something on. "Harry," Susan called again, leaning forward to look at him. "Harry." She said again, a bit more forcefully reaching over and grabbing his shoulder, shaking him out of his thoughts.

"He's going to try to steal the stone!" Harry suddenly called out looking up in surprise at Susan. "What? Susan, how long have you been there?" Harry asked in confusion, looking around at where he was. "When did I come here?" He asked, looking down at his notes. "That's right... I was at Hagrid's, he said something and I just couldn't think of the final piece of the puzzle." Harry muttered to himself getting a confused look from Susan.

"Harry, you're not talking any sense, what's going on?"

"Hagrid received an egg from a person at the pub, apparently, he won it in a card game..." He paused for a moment, wondering how to not throw Hagrid under the bus so to speak with the Niece of the Head of Magical Law Enforcement before deciding to just roll with it, they could cross that bridge when they came to it. "That wasn't the only thing that worried me though, it was something else that Hagrid said, about something attacking the Unicorns in the Forbidden Forest." He paused as he looked down at some of the things he had written in his half-puzzled daze. "They're not just attacking the Unicorns but apparently, they're also drinking their blood." Harry explained to her.

Susan gasped, not just at the monstrous actions of attacking a Unicorn but drinking their blood? Even vampires wouldn't stoop so low to attack Unicorns like that even in the blood frenzy if they hadn't fed in a long time... Mainly because it would kill them instantly but the comparison worked in her mind. "And now Dumbledore is gone, he's not expected to be back for a couple of days." Harry started shuffling the papers away into his bag at a hurry, grabbing another piece of blank parchment and grabbing his quill to write a note, cursing as he saw its broken state. "Too many coincidences, maybe I'm being paranoid and looking for something but don't you see the connections?" He asked Susan who stared at him in confusion, her mind also trying to place the pieces together. Unicorns being attacked and killed in the forest, their blood being drained. Dumbledore called away for a Wizengamot session, the only reason she knew that is where he had gone was because her Aunt was there as well. A trial in a murder case was happening and as Chief Warlock he had to preside over it. It was expected to last several days as all the evidence was being brought forwards. Then there was Hagrid receiving something in a card game, that alone wouldn't be suspicious but the way both Harry avoided saying what it was and combined with Dumbledore departing and now the Unicorn Attacks. Too many coincidences that could only lead to one thing.

"They're going to make a move on the stone?" Susan asked though it was less of a question more of a confirmation to what she had concluded. He nodded his head as he scribbled a note down on the parchment that he had in front of him. I need to call Auntie." Susan muttered to herself. "But I can't... she's one of the judges their secluded during the trial, to prevent outside tampering..." She trailed off again, cursing her luck. "Who can we tell?"

"I'm going to speak to Professor Babbling, then I'm going to go to the Owlery and send this off to Elizabeth." Harry said as he folded the parchment, slipping it into his pocket. "Then I don't know, I think I'm going to keep an eye on the Third-Floor Corridor." Harry muttered in resignation. "I had no intention of going there after I found out what was in there." Harry muttered in frustration.

"You found out what was in there?" Susan asked, over the last couple of weeks she had been distracted and hadn't had the chance to keep up with the little study group they had going and so hadn't been kept in the loop in regards to the mystery going on.

"Didn't I tell you?" Harry asked in confusion as he racked his brain, he could have sworn he did. He shook his head letting out a sigh as he removed his glasses and rubbed at the bridge of his nose. "I could have sworn I did. I found out what was in there, there's a series of traps that lead to the item. It's the Philosophers Stone."

Susan knew what the stone was, her aunt had even spoken to the Flamels several years back after information had come up about a potential plot to steal the stone but they had dismissed the concern shown. They had everything under control they had said. There was nothing to fear in regards to the stone it was perfectly protected and there was no way that anyone could steal it.

So why was it here?

She tried to think of a reason, several came to mind but each time they were equally outlandish Surely, they wouldn't just give up the stone to be placed in a School, yes Hogwarts was praised as one of the safest places in the world but even if that was the case why wouldn't they have done it before when there was a previous attempt on it. "It doesn't make sense." She said in exasperation.

"What?"

"It doesn't make sense, why is the stone here?" Susan asked him and Harry shrugged, sure he knew what the other Dumbledore had said about the stone being here, but he couldn't exactly say that was the reason without going into more details. "They've protected it for hundreds of years, why would they suddenly decide to give it away to be protected now?" She asked and he frowned, it did make sense. Why would they give away their source of immortality? Even more so why would they give it away at the risk of losing it for bait in a trap? To them, with their long lives Voldemort would be a footnote surely? Another grain of sand in the hourglass that passes by? At least that's how he'd picture it.

Perhaps something had changed? "It doesn't matter now, someone is going to try and steal what they believe is the stone, that means they're going to possibly be a threat to other Students and Staff, it'd be wrong to do nothing." Harry explained and Susan after a moment nodded her head.

"You can't send the letter to Elizabeth." Susan said, catching him off guard and drawing another look of confusion from Harry. "She's at the Malfoy Manor, isn't she? Do you want them to know what is going on? That the Stone is here? That Dumbledore put students at risk by putting it here? Though I think Auntie is going to have some words with him when she hears about this." She deadpanned and Harry frowned. "I know Draco has been helping us but think about it, his father was involved with the Dark Lord and the circumstances that cleared him were suspicious at best. Do you want to take the risk that a potential follower of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named could swoop in and steal the stone?"

Frowning, Harry nodded his head in understanding, "fine I won't send the letter to her." Harry agreed, taking it out and tapping it with his wand, the piece of parchment turning to ash in seconds. "But we still need to inform the other professors." He explained before smiling, "I can't believe I didn't think of Professor Flitwick." He said more with disappointment at himself at overlooking his head of house but he knew that he would listen if Harry spoke.

"You find Professor Babbling and Professor Flitwick, I'll tell Professor Sprout and if I see Professor McGonagall I'll tell her." Three of the Four House Heads would be good enough to get the ball rolling to protect the stone. "I'll meet you back here, if we see any of our group, tell them to meet here." She said adding the instruction to Harry who nodded his head in understanding, they had all been involved in some form and they'd probably be offended if they had been left out. They calmly walked out of the Library so as not to draw attention before quickly separating, heading in different directions, Harry towards the Charms Classroom and Flitwick's Office and Susan heading in the direction of the Greenhouses where Professor Sprout tended to spend much of her time.

Darting through the corridors, he ducked past a couple of students and almost barrelled over Blaize... who he probably could have avoided but was feeling slightly petty towards the Slytherin at this time before hitting the stairs, taking them two at a time. He exited onto the next floor and ran down the corridor, ignoring many a portraits attempt to get him to slow down with their complaints. Turning the corner, he jumped, narrowly missing Mrs Norris, the cat meowing in aggravation as Harry skidded to a halt, took a moment to catch his breath and knocked on the door.

"Enter."

Harry pushed open the door and stepped in, letting it shut behind him as he looks at Professor Flitwick. "Professor, I have something important to tell you." Harry started seriously and Flitwick, who had been catching up on a bit of paperwork looked up at him before gesturing to a chair for Harry to take a seat.

"What's wrong Mr Potter?"

"Someone is going to try and steal the Philosophers Stone." He said simply and Flitwick looked at him in shock, not expecting that to be which he spoke about. "I know I shouldn't know about it but I do and there's things going on that just point to someone making an attempt on it and very soon." Harry said trying to make sure Flitwick would listen to him.

"I think you need to start from the beginning." Flitwick said with all traces of joking and cheerfulness replaced by a level of seriousness that Harry had never witnessed from the man before.

HPCVHPCVHPCV

"Isn't it interesting."

"Isn't what interesting?"

"The more things change, the more they stay the same. New house, different social circles, different attitude and yet things are playing out so similar as to what they were before."

"Interesting but not completely unpredictable, it takes time for changes to truly take effect, like ripples in the water after a stone is thrown in, they start small but eventually increase in size. Somehow I think we have only just begun to see the changes that are yet to come."

TBC

Chapter 16 all done and dusted. I'm most probably going to come back to this one at a later date and tidy it up. Some of the chapter still doesn't feel right.

The idea i have in regards to Lucius and the Non Human angle thats going here is that he's balancing both his reputation and his role to form a force that would be loyal to him over loyalty to Voldemort. With the way it originally went, the Werewolfs and others were persecuted for being what they were which led them towards Voldemort who while evil and spouting the Pureblood philosophy was also turning around to Werewolfs and going "yep, do what i say and you'll get a better deal." which we all know he was essentially going to throw out the window at the first opportunity after he had full control. In this situation, Narcissa knows what will happen if Voldemort comes to full power, albeit only one of the variations but she's been led to believe that it is what will happen if he wins so she's working and guiding Lucius to take a different angle on it.

More of this will be developed in later chapters... and this brings me on to my next point

I'm going to be honest with you guys and girls, I still haven't started Chapter 17. The joy of covering work shifts and ordinary shifts in general, I've been working every day for the past eleven days and I've pretty much been dead on my feet.

But, my goal is still to get the next chapter out for next Saturday, though it may end up getting pushed back a bit depending on how things go. If I'm not going to make it in time I'll update my profile to let people know.