The tournament
Minerva McGonagall was going to retire early when there was a knock on her door. Now it was pretty common for people to knock of her door but not so at night. Almost all the faculties at Hogwarts knew better than to interfere with her rest. When she retired for the night, it usually meant that she was not going to respond to anyone until it was life and death scenario.
Some had learnt the lesson that hard way when she had transfigured them into animals or things due to sheer irritation. It was only during the war that she had to dispense with the rule but otherwise it always held firm. It would be only an idiot who would knock on her door at night or may be someone brave who could handle her and there were not that many people in the world.
She opened the door, dressed in her night gown and her hair still in a tight bun and her wand in hand. She saw Albus Dumbledore who was standing on the door, sucking that ridiculous muggle candy that he was so fond of and dressed in one of those purple gowns with the moon and stars drawn on it.
She asked tersely, "What can I do for you, Albus?"
"Professor McGonagall, I was hoping that maybe I could interest you in a game of night Quidditch?" he asked jovially.
"Night Quidditch? What is night Quidditch?" she asked him.
"You see Minerva; some of the students have come up with the idea of playing a Quidditch match at night. The innovative thing about it is that they have dispensed with some of the rules. Firstly, the teams are made up of students of different houses together, second there is no seeker in the game and thirdly, there are only four players to a team."
"Who are these students, Albus? And if you knew about them then why you didn't put a stop to it?" Minerva asked tersely.
"You see Minerva, I have figured out Lord Black's plan", Albus said happily.
"What plan?"
"You see Lord Black just didn't raise Hadrian Potter-Black", Dumbledore said, "He has made the boy into his likeliness. Now Lord Black was a bit older than you so you wouldn't know but Arcturus Black is nothing if not resourceful, cunning and ambitious. He has given the same traits to Harry who is trying to become an undisputed leader of the students. Have you not wondered about all that Harry has been doing since coming to Hogwarts? He has been trying to become friends with everyone; his friend circle has everyone who would be heir to the Ancient and Most Noble Houses. Then he is trying to foster unity between the houses. The chess tournament, these quidditch competitions are just some of the things. He is a show-off just like his father and god father but not without good reason. They used to flaunt their skills for people to see, he employs his skills to gain things."
"Why don't you try to stop him?" Minerva asked him.
"Why would I do that?" he asked.
"What do you mean? You are the headmaster."
He chuckled good naturedly, "I am the headmaster and that is all the more reason for me to not to interfere. I am the head master but I am also the Chief Warlock and it is my duty to see that our society is progressing. We have been stuck in the 20th century but our neighbors have been advancing. I want them to advance yet my hands were tied. However, Lord Black has been making such waves that we are moving fast in the direction of progress. Since the Lord is doing so much for our world, can you imagine what the heir can do for us when he comes into his own? I won't be the one who would obstruct him or stop his progress. The school will be his training ground and from here he will move ahead and become the leader that he is destined to be."
She gritted her teeth, "As noble as you may sound yet it does not excuse the fact that these students are breaking the rules and they need to be punished."
Dumbledore chuckled, "Think of it as an experiment, Minerva. If this proves to be successful, we can launch an official version of Night Quidditch from next year. And students from different houses are working together. Also, there is the fact that entertainment is very hard to come by for a person like me so when it comes my way, I should grab it by its tail. Now, I am going to ask you for last time if you are coming with me or not."
She nodded and they proceeded to the Quidditch pitch. McGonagall was also surprised that the students could go out of the castle without being noticed. She didn't want to admit it but the idea also had her curiosity piqued. If night quid ditch proved to be as entertaining as it promised to be then she would find ways to improve it and introduce it as a supervised activity next year. The change in rules also caught her off guard. A quid ditch match without a seeker was bound to be boring but how they could expect to decide a winner in that case? Also, if there were any seekers playing then they would be playing in different roles and that would be interesting to see.
"Alright Albus, we are going to see this match but later, they won't escape punishment", she said firmly.
Dumbledore shrugged, "I don't care what happens as long as you are not going to interfere with what they have planned."
On the quidditch pitch, the first match was about to start. Harry was there with the captains and the referee and was speaking, "I am going to do the honours of reading the riot act to you all before the match starts. I don't want to see those bats used on anyone except a Bludger. I want a fair match which is being played for entertainment and I would be disappointed if I find anyone lacking in sportsmanship. The match will start when the referee will toss the quaffle and will end when one hour has passed since start of the match. There will be no seeker in the game but a keeper, two beaters and a chaser. Any questions?"
When none were forthcoming, he produced his broom, mounted it and said, "Good luck then. I will watch from a distance."
The match was intense to say the least. From the first shot, the chasers had their work cut for they had to dodge two bludgers at once instead of the normal and then none of them had ever played in the night. The bludgers were coated with some silvery substance and they could be seen in the night but they moved too fast for their liking and almost unseated many of them. The quaffle however was easy to see and that was the only mercy. The keepers were having hard time to dodge the bludgers which would come their way and to catch the quaffle, which if thrown too fast was like a blur. It was a test of skills and reflexes for the keepers.
The first match was very low scoring but fiercely competitive. As the match ended, Harry Potter joined them, "I hope you all have liked the match. I would like to hear your views."
Wood was grinning like a maniac, "That was brilliant, Harry! It is the kind of thrill that this sports should have. I am thinking of holding practice sessions like this for the Gryffindor Quidditch team."
_ said, "Well I really liked this. It was so thrilling but the abrupt end to the game felt me wanting for more. If we played this in front of the school, it will keep people on the edge of their seats."
Harry rubbed his hands in excitement, "Excellent, truly excellent. Now we will meet tomorrow. First let me send this box to storage", he said pointing to the crate which contained the balls.
As soon as he finished speaking, the crate has disappeared.
"Now let's fly back to the castle before the prefects can find that we are breaking curfew", said Harry to them and they all flew away in perfect formation.
McGonagall watched them go, thrilled with the match, waiting for the next and vowing to punish them for rule breaking as she could.
Whispers again
Hadrian Potter-Black was walking towards the owlery intent on visiting Hedwig. He had ignored his pretty owl for the last month for he had no letter to send. Lord Black always sent his letter by Zeus and expected him to answer promptly. Besides, Zeus always waited for Harry to finish writing the letter and would only return when he had an answer. Remus and Sirius would talk to him on the mirrors and had no use of sending letters to him. In that way, there was really no one that Harry would write letters to. The last time he had used Hedwig was to write a letter to Augusta Longbottom for he had not heard from her since the winter vacations now that he wasn't talking to her.
"I. I. not f. fail y. you", he heard someone whisper from the nearby room.
Now, Harry has been taught to not to eavesdrop generally but he knew otherwise. Lord Black was not someone that one would call morally upright and the man had taught him that the means does not matter but the end. He had outright told Harry had that he if he could not earn someone's loyalty, he should buy it. To Lord Black, power was the ultimate thing that mattered and the old wizard could employ anything to get it. The same thing he had hammered into Harry. The other person whose influence was profound on his life was Remus Lupin and the man himself was honourable but told Harry that his father and godfather didn't earn the reputation for them by being unscrupulous. Sirius and James often any means to achieve the end that they vied for.
Whatever was happening in that room certainly demanded attention from Harry and decided to try to listen whatever was happening in the room. He edged closer, his wand in hand and trying hard to listen to the voices that were coming from the room.
"You have disappointed me a lot of times. It is unfortunate that Lord Voldemort has to depend on you", someone was speaking inside the room, his voice filled with fury and it felt grating to Harry.
Harry went into shock hearing the cold cruel voice of his arch nemesis. Voldemort here in the castle! It was a thought which scared him because he knew he was nowhere powerful enough to face Voldemort and win. Even if defeated, he was still a formidable enemy. Then there was the other person in the room who was clearly Voldemort's servant and there was no telling what the servant would do. Assuming it was Severus Snape inside the room, Harry knew the danger was double for him. Snape, by Moony's own admissions was a very formidable wizard and a daft hand at dark magic. It would be easy for him to disarm Harry in a second. Then a thought arose in his mind. He could clear his doubts regarding the involvement of Snape in the entire affair. He just would have to throw the gate open and run after taking a peek inside the room.
"I know I have failed you, Lord ", said the man inside the room and Harry thought it was Snape as he would speak if he were not drawling, "I will make sure that it does not happen again."
"You better would ensure that this won't happen again for we are very close to our target now or that would be…" suddenly Voldemort (or Harry assumed it was) stopped speaking and shouted, "There is someone on the other side of the door. Catch him."
As soon as Harry heard it, he ran back the way he had come with his tail tucked between his legs. He had to get away. He heard the lock turning in the door and turned a corner. A group of students was going towards the greenhouses and he mixed in with them. He went with them to a distance before ducking into another corridor and waiting to see if someone went by.
As he had apprehended, Severus Snape passed that corridor soon and Harry's worst suspicions were confirmed. Severus Snape was working to bring Voldemort back into a body. He had to tell someone.
Oh Daph!
Harry went into the library and found Daphne on a corner chair with Tracy. He pulled the ward meter from his pocket, activated it and kept it on the table.
"What are you doing here, Potter-Black?", asked Tracy.
"Miss Davis, will you please excuse me with heiress Greengrass for a minute?", he asked, "I have some urgent matters to discuss with her."
Tracy left without speaking a word but Daphne looked at his distastefully, "What do you want, Harry? You know I am not going to talk to you until you both idiots come together and talk to me."
Harry sighed, "Well then I guess I will have to talk to someone else about what I have found."
As he started to leave Daphne caught his wrist, "No, you are not leaving. Tell me what you have found."
He sat again and gave her his best lopsided grin, "I guess you want to hear it now."
Then Harry told her everything that he had heard and that had happened. After he was done, Daphne sat quietly for a long while, "Who told you to try to eavesdrop on them, prat? Have you lost your mind? Could you not be more careful? What if something had happened to you?"
"I was an idiot to think I could find out and run, Daphne", he said, "but I could not resist the temptation."
She said furiously, "Next time, remember that I will complain about you to Lord Black, if I find you doing anything stupid."
He nodded, "I only wanted you to know about it, Daphne. I will take care."
"Now what is going with that Night Quidditch?", she asked.
"That is going great. We are enjoying it and Wood's team is leading at the moment and the final match today is between Pucey's and Wood's team."
"I wish we could watch the match", she said.
He grinned, "Well, you are going to get to watch the inter house quidditch competition, don't you?"
She swatted him on the arm, "You prat!"
And the winner is!
That night was the final of the night quidditch tournament. The students were excited with the prospect and really had been enjoying the tournament so far. They were looking forward to the conclusion tonight and then may be a repeat of the same next year.
Apart from them, McGonagall was excited too. She may not approve their nightly excursions but she was really enjoying the thrill that the tournament was brining to otherwise mundane nights. Then the high intensity matches which were played and lasted only for an hour charged her with adrenaline. In fact, she got excited that she could have hopped on a broom and played with the students. In these matches, the students were giving their all for the match. Since there was no snitch and they knew that the win depended on their scores within a restricted time space therefore they did their best and resultantly the game was equally vicious. Many of them sported bruised ribs and may be a few of them were busted.
This evening, she had already arrived before Dumbledore and waited for the match to begin. When Dumbledore did arrive, he was amused to find her there, "Professor McGonagall, I would have thought that you didn't like these activities and wanted to punish these students but you have arrived early today!"
She said with a hint of mischief in her voice, "Well, I am most certainly going to punish them for breaking rules but that does not mean that I can't have some fun. As you said the other day 'entertainment' is hard to be found in the castle."
He chuckled good naturedly, "Let's see what they have it in store for us today".
When the teams arrived on the field, Adrian conferred with his team, "So today is the last match. We are comfortably close to Wood's team and we can defeat them. They are leading the table by a margin of 40 points over Gwen's team and we can take them down if we do our best today."
Harry nodded, "Adrian, when I thought about it, it was supposed to be only a friendly competition aimed at cultivating friendships between all of us and not about winning or losing. What I am going to do out there is to enjoy the match. As a seeker I don't get too many chances to enjoy the match as I would like to."
"Winning means nothing to you, Potter Black?", Adrian asked.
"It does matter to me, Adrian but not here. This is for us to purely enjoy", he said, "And try to know people from other houses."
Pucey nodded, "Alright."
When the match started, it proved to the most intense match that they had played by that time. Weasley twin in Wood's team accounted for half the bruises that Pucey's team suffered which included a nasty hit on Harry's rib cage which made breathing difficult for him for a few minutes. Oliver showed top performance and saved many goals. There were too many close saves though and when the game ended, Adrian's team was behind 50 points from Wood's team. Wood's team had won the tournament.
As the teams descended, Harry addressed them, "It was a great experience and I learnt a lot from it. Now, let's scatter and regroup at our usual spot tomorrow evening to discuss the last event. Rest assured that the last event will not collide with our Quidditch matches."
The aftermath of the tournament was reflected in the points that those students lost at the hands of McGonagall. They knew what was happening but they could do nothing to stop it. The only consolation that they had out of entire episode was that the Lions were losing the most. She was particularly harsh on her own house in dealing with them.
The next evening, they met on the Astronomy tower when it was empty.
"Welcome my friends. We have had a good year and the tournament was amazing. However, I feel that we need something to put the icing on the cake, as the muggles say. I also remember that I had promised that there will be four events and so far we have had three. The next shall be after the Quidditch tournament is over and it will be a race to the end. We will fly through the castle at a given time and evade notice and meet at a specific point. Each player who safely makes it will receive 10 points and a team can score 40 in total. With the tournament over, Wood's team is now leading with a margin of 5 marks over Adrian's team. The last race can be the deal breaker."
Snape, a referee?
The Gryffindor team was practicing for the next match and Fred and George were playing around on the field. They were trying to disturb the practice as best as they can and just goofing around. Generally they just created disturbance in the team disturbance and Oliver would overlook it but this time, he snapped at them, "Pay attention here, you two or Snape will find reasons to take points off us."
Fred said, "You are talking as if he is going to be our referee in the match."
Wood snapped, "Yes, he is going to be the referee for the next match."
Fred almost fell off his broom, "tell me you are joking."
"No, Professor McGonagall just told me", said Wood dejectedly.
"But he has never ridden a broom in his life. How can he be a referee?", asked George.
While the team debated it, Harry was thinking what it would mean for him.
Later in the common room, Harry was thinking over the same, sitting by the fire when Ron asked him, "What happened mate? How was practice?"
"Practice was fine, Ron. Snape is going to be the referee in the next match", Harry told them.
Ron almost fell out of his chair, "You are not joking, right?"
"No. He is going to be referee for next match", Harry told him.
"That is just barmy, mate", said Ron, "Snape doesn't know a thing about Quidditch.'
"Still he will be the referee", said Harry.
"You will have to be very careful, Harry", said Hermione, "Snape has already tried to kill you on Voldemort's order. He will get a good chance again."
"That is what has me worried, Hermione", he replied.
"What are you going to do, Harry?", Hermione asked.
"I will play the match. There is no other way", said Harry.
"Pretend that you have broken your leg", said Hermione.
"Really break your leg", added Ron.
"I wish I could but Madam Pomfrey would mend it with a spell", Harry said, "besides Gryffindor has no other seeker."
"What reason has he given to be the referee?", Ron asked.
"Wood told me that he is thinking that I can be attacked again", Harry told him, "Since no one knows that he is helping Voldemort, they would believe him."
"Harry, if you-know-who is alive then why he hasn't tried to attack you here?", Ron asked him.
"Because he is weak, Ron", said Harry, "Remember I told you both that he was killing and drinking Unicorn blood to stay alive?"
"I think he is scared of Dumbledore", said Hermione, "I have heard that you-know-who only ever feared Dumbledore back when he was powerful. Till Dumbledore is there, he can't harm you."
Harry nodded, "Yes. That can be one of the reasons but the match is still there to think about."
"Maybe you can finish the match early before Snape can cause more harm?", Ron suggested.
Harry started to grin, "Brilliant Ron! That would be brilliant."
Hufflepuff Vs Gryffindor
Before the Gryffindor Hufflepuff match had been the match of Ravenclaw Slytherin where the Claws had defeated Slytherin by a narrow margin. Higgs had been having a bad day and he was a few seconds behind the Ravenclaw seeker in getting the snitch.
For the next couple of days, the Gryffindors were treated with sympathy by other houses for everyone knew that Snape was going to be the referee and he definitely would make things difficult for them.
The Slytherins were however gleeful because Snape would take points off Gryffindor and push them far from the Quidditch cup. In fact, all the trash talk had started to grate on their nerves and Harry was feeling the pressure for first time.
When the team was in the lockers, Wood was giving his prep talk to the team while George was looking around in the stadium.
Suddenly he turned and yelled in triumph, "Now the dungeon bat can't take points off you, Harry and no one will attack you today."
"What do you mean?", Harry asked him.
"Dumbledore has come to see the match", George said gleefully and Harry rushed to see the stands and could see Dumbledore's silvery beard in the stands. That was a problem solved. Snape won't attack on him with Dumbledore looking. As he was returning to his seat from the window, he did a double take as he recognised the man beside the headmaster. He couldn't believe his eyes. Lord Black had come to see the match! This was extra ordinary. Lord Black, the recluse who never did anything without a reason was here.
"Welcome to the Gryffindor Hufflepuff match of the season", Lee was saying, "In this match, our very own Professor Snape is going to be referee".
There was a loud boo from three quarters of the stands.
"You have made that death eater the referee?", Lord Black asked sternly.
"Lord Black, Professor Snape is a teacher and no more a death eater than I is", said Dumbledore, "So please, don't insult him."
"If something happens to Harry during the match, I am going to drag the death eater before the Wizengamot and will get him the Dementor's kiss", he growled.
Lee was continuing, "Professor Snape tells the rules to the candidates who are shaking hands."
"And they are off! The quaffle is released and grabbed by Angelina Johnson who is rushing to the other end and… that's a foul… WHAT! Are you kidding me? That was a foul you…"
"Jordon", admonished Professor McGonagall.
"But Professor", Lee protested.
"Enough", she snapped.
"The teams are back in position and the quaffle is grabbed by Alicia and…. Harry rushes past Professor Snape and does a sharp dive and he has got it! Harry Potter has caught the snitch. Gryffindor wins 150-0."
Snape looked like he had tasted a sour lemon and Harry was grinning from ear to ear as the team descended to the ground and they were mobbed by the Gryffindors.
After Harry extricated himself from the Gryffindors, he walked towards Lord Black who hugged him, "That was some splendid flying, my boy!"
Then Lord Black noticed the Weasley children standing near him, "How are you all Percival, Gred, Forge and Ronald?"
They all dutifully bowed to him and then he turned to Harry again, "I will take your leave, lad. I had just come to watch this match which was supposed to be fun."
As Lord Black was leaving, Harry could see that the old Lord had stopped and talked with Neville who was talking to the old lord like nothing was amiss between him and Harry. The hypocrite!
The prank of pranks
The lions were leading in the prank battle but it was getting stale. They needed to something that would push others out of the water. Something enormous.
Harry had a few ideas that he had brought from the Marauders in person and was constantly polishing it. It was going to be spectacular and would require lot of preparation. And he would need lots of help with it. It was at moments like these that he missed the chubby Gryffindor. Neville was handy with planning and resourcefulness. Being brought up in pureblood house and having the resources at your disposal which could get you out of a situation was always useful.
Finally, they had decided the time and place for the spectacle but how this was going to be done was something that only Harry and the twins understood. They employed their resourcefulness and creativity skilfully, asked for some help from Mr. Gambol and Zonko's and they were set to let loose upon the school.
On a fine morning, when the students started coming in the Great Hall none realised that something was amiss. In fact, breakfast was well underway when it began. First the hangings in the Great Hall changed to the Gryffindor colours. Then suddenly the tables vanished and what replaced them were small tables and around the students, there was an enormous beach! The ceiling above was changed to show a sunny day with the sun shining bright in the sky and the staff table too had disappeared. The dresses of the students transfigured into beach clothes! It went on and on until it looked like they had brought the sea into the Great Hall of Hogwarts!
Many students looked flabbergasted, some looked surprised and others simply accommodated to the change which had come over the school. Dumbledore himself was sitting in a recliner, dressed in his robes, a crooked cap on his head and a tropical drink in his hands.
Minerva looked at him, "Are you going to do something about it, Albus?"
He shook his head, "We can't find the perpetrators of the crime, Minerva. This is the work of a master and as far as I know, there is none except me and you who can put so much detail in something. I have tried to undo it but it is not worth the effort. I would rather that you sit back and relax."
She pursed her lips in a straight line and glared at the students but that was all she could do. Snape was sneering and glaring at where the Gryffindor table used to be. Harry and his friends dressed in beach clothes were busy building sand castles!
Snape himself was dressed in a shorts and sleeveless t-shirt. His greasy hair was pulled back in a bun and made him look different.
Dumbledore finally stood from his chair, "Since a disturbance has been caused which has disturbed our daily routine, it has been decided that class will remain suspended for the day."
The announcement was welcomed with a lot of cheers.
Harry's friends who were with him were trying to get the secret out of him.
Isobel asked him, "Is that your doing, Harry?"
Harry looked at her incredulously, "I am grieved, Isobel. You think I am already a master of such complicated magic?"
Isobel huffed but she was interrupted by Susan Bones, "I don't think Harry did it. I mean he was right with us when it happened."
"He can do things without being there", said Ron, "Won't it past him to have done it."
"I am sure that it was work of some Gryffindors", said Hermione.
"And why do you think so, Hermione?", asked Pucey who had joined them.
"The hangings of the Great Hall are showing the Gyrffindor colours", she pointed out.
The Reveal
The students were done with exams and they were in the grounds. Harry was sitting with Hermione and Ron discussing the exams and the only thing on his mind was a stone. It was canny how he had got to thinking about the stone suddenly. Last night he had a dream that Voldemort had got the stone and was back in a body. He was taunting Harry and telling him that he was coming for him.
Harry had woke up with a start and then realised that it was a dream and went back to sleep.
This morning as the students were done with the exams, Harry had started to revisit everything that he knew about the stone and suddenly he sat up.
Hermione asked him, "What happened, Harry?"
Harry pointed to Hagrid who was peeling potatoes outside his hut, "Hermione, don't you think it is strange that Hagrid got a dragon's egg when he wanted it? Isn't it convenient that he had a run in with a person who had a dragon's egg with him? How many people you know who keep a dragon's egg with themselves?"
"What do you mean, Harry?", asked Isobel.
"I need to ask Hagrid who gave him the dragon's egg", said Harry and walked towards the giant.
At the same time, he saw an owl winging towards the Headmaster's office. A sense of dread settled in Harry's stomach.
"Hagrid, who gave you the dragon's egg?", Harry asked him.
"Didn't see his face", Hagrid said, "his face was covered with a hood."
"Did he ask you anything else?", Harry asked apprehensively.
"Why?", Hagrid asked.
"Hagrid, tell us."
"Let me remember. He asked me if I could handle a dragon or if I had handled big beasts before? I told him that after Fluffy, nothing scares me."
Harry's breath caught in his throat, "What did he ask about Fluffy?"
"He said that controlling a three headed dog is not easy no matter how professional you are but I told him that Fluffy goes to sleep if you place some music near him."
Harry turned on his heels running towards the castle with his friends on his heels.
Isobel finally caught hold of him, "What happened?"
"Voldemort knows a way past the three headed dog. He will try today to get the stone. We have to warn someone."
"Dumbledore", said Hermione.
"Right idea", he said and took off with his friends behind him.
In their haste, they almost ran into Professor McGonagall, "What are you all doing inside?"
"Professor, we are going to see Professor Dumbledore", Harry panted.
"I am afraid Professor Dumbledore is on his way to ministry", she said, "You can tell me whatever you want to tell him."
Harry decided to ask for her help, "Professor, someone is going to steal the Sorcerer's stone."
She was surprised for a minute before she controlled herself, "Who told you about the stone? Never mind, you don't need to worry about it. It is safe wherever it is."
"But Professor…"
"Enough Mr. Potter- Black. I don't know how you know about the stone but it is well protected", she said tersely, "Now get going."
As they were returning, Harry turned to Isobel, "We have to stop Snape from getting his hands on the stone."
"How?", she asked.
"We will try to get it for ourselves", said Harry.
McGonagall had brushed aside their concerns but suspicion had taken root in her mind. What if the students were correct and the stone was stolen? What if their protections fail? Something in Potter-Black's voice made her cautious. Firstly, first year students were not at all supposed to know about the stone at all. If somehow Harry knew about it then how did he know if someone was going to steal it. She decided to increase the security of the castle for the night. Whoever may try, they will not get to the stone at any costs. Dumbledore had trusted the security of the castle in her hands and she was not going to fail him.
Planning
Harry knew it was time to test his friends. A few of his tested friends he had made in the last few months. As Remus had told him, the marauders used to plan everything beforehand so they won't have to deal with last minute rush or things would go wrong for them.
He met the twins first who were sitting with their heads joined together thinking over something, "Guys, I need your help."
"What is it Harrikins?", they asked.
Harry told them everything about the stone and how Voldemort was going to try and steal it. Then he told them about his intention to steal the stone.
"Wow, you have been busy all the year", whistled Gred.
"Why you want to take the stone?", asked Forge, "I mean it is safe wherever it is. Why risk going to remove it?"
"Because I know that whoever is behind the stone would try to steal it in Dumbledore's absence. If we take the stone, we can stop them from getting to it", Harry explained patiently.
"What do we do with it once we got it?", asked Fred.
"We are not going to use it", said Harry, "It is a dangerous thing and it should not have been made in the first place. Wherever it goes, it will bring sorrow. Now will you both help me?"
"We will help you, Harrikins", said Forge.
"Remember that Snape is going to try and steal the stone for Voldemort and he was a death eater", said Harry, "We don't know what he is capable of but from what we understand, he is very adept at dark magic and he would stop at nothing to get his hands on the stone."
They nodded in grim determination, "We will remember it, Harry."
Lee who was coming in the common room just then said, "Did you guys hear it?"
"What?", Harry asked him.
"McGonagall has gone mad", he said, "I just overheard her talking to Professor Flitwick. She was telling him something about putting all the Prefects on duty. There are going to be about 26 people on duty not including about 5 teachers and Filch."
The twins shared a look with Harry, "It looks like we have our work cut for us, Harry. We will make sure that you have a safe run to wherever you want to go tonight."
Harry nodded. It was time to use the trust old invisibility cloak.
The stone
That night Harry, Hermione and Ronald just sat and watched while everyone went about their business as usual. They watched as all the Gryffindor prefects left the common room one by one.
They watched until the last student walked upwards to their dormitory including Neville Longbottom. About 10 minutes after Neville was gone upstairs, Harry sent Ron to check on the chubby Gryffindor.
Ron returned about a minute later, "everyone in the dorm is asleep, Harry. The coast is clear as of now."
Harry nodded, "Now let us go."
Hidden under the cloak, they walked slowly towards the third floor and in the way, they saw everything that was done.
The twins hadn't dealt with every prefect but only those who could be in the way of the trio who were going to retrieve the stone. Percy was knocked out cold in one of the corridors. They could hear banging from one of the nearby broom cupboard and realised that perhaps some of them were locked in that cupboard. They found Mrs. Norris licking a catnip plant and not paying attention to anything at all. Then there were the head boy and the head girl who were stuck in their places, unable to move.
As they kept walking, they heard a distant bang and then hell broke loose. Harry knew it was the twins who had done something spectacular. There were shouts throughout the castle and Harry for a moment was stumped at what had caused this chaos. It sounded like more than two students had created commotion so bad that it was getting hard to get in under control.
Severus Snape was furious. First Minerva had put him on guard duty for the night and then assigned him with a couple of Ravenclaws on the second floor when he really wanted to be on the third floor. Dumbledore had told him how important it was for him to be on the third floor on his absence but he just couldn't explain those things to Minerva McGonagall.
He was waiting for time to give a slip and to go check on the third floor when he heard the commotion.
"You two stay here and stay alert. I will go and check what it is about", he said briskly and walked towards the commotion when he heard the shrill "Reet" and had to jump aside. A fire cracker in the shape of a pig ran by where he had been.
He roared, "Weasleys" and ran to where the pig had come from. To his surprise, it was Lucian Bole who was there with a few of his Slytherins!
"What are you doing here?", he growled.
"Professor, as the term is over we thought we would have some fun", said Lucian innocently.
"Go to your dorms and stay there. I will deal with you all later", he said gritting his teeth.
As the Slytherins ran to their common rooms in the dungeons, Snape decided to walk towards the third floor. He knew that Aurora Sinistra was supposed to be on the floor but he could not risk the safety of the stone to anything.
When he reached the third floor, it was deserted! He looked into the left wing first and saw no one patrolling the corridors. Inside one of the rooms, there was Professor Sinistra, knocked out cold and she had an injury on head which was bleeding. The students were trussed up like turkeys and shoved unceremoniously in a corner. Panicked, he checked all of them and heaved a sigh of relief when he realised that there was nothing to worry about and they all would be fine.
He staunched the bleeding on the wound on Sinistra's head which was caused by a common cutting curse and could be cured by a simple flick of wand. He treated her wound and then freed the students of the ropes which had bound them. Knowing what lies ahead, Severus put them into deep sleep with the deep sleep charm so that they would be out of harm's way. He left the room, put an imperturbable charm on the door and then walked towards the door on the right side of the third floor.
Dumbledore's woe
Dumbledore was regretting. He had received a letter from the ICW in the morning about this urgent session being called to discuss the issue of giants and he had rushed into make his voice heard. He had been advocating for giving some more rights and protection to the giants but he was heavily opposed by his peers. In fact recently, some of them at the ICW had even started asking to get more provocative against the giants. There were talks of even eliminating them.
He had come to attend this session because he had feared that they would be taking such steps but his fears were in vain. More than half of the members of the ICW believed that getting into a direct confrontation with the giants was not a wise idea. He had left a lot of things unattended back home and he needed to return swiftly. The status quo here would be maintained without needing for his interference.
"Supreme Mugwump", said an orderly who was coming towards him with haste, "This letter has come from Hogwarts for you."
Albus took the letter read it, his facial expressions changing. He hastily walked towards his friend and long time confidante on the ICW, Mr. Brooks."
"Brooks, I need a favour from you", said Dumbledore.
"What happened, Albus?"
"Something important has come up at Hogwarts and I have to be there at the earliest. Can I impress upon you to prevail in this session and maintain the status quo?"
"You can trust me, Albus", said his friend.
It took almost two hours for Albus to leave the conference because of the security protocols and it was nearly midnight when he was finally able to return to the castle. As soon as he got inside the castle, nearly headless Nick came floating over to him, "Headmaster, Quirrell has gone to steal the stone."
He smirked in satisfaction, "Today, I will get him."
"A lot many people have gone in after him, Head Master", said Sir Nick.
Dumbledore looked at him in surprise, "What do you mean?"
"Hadrian Potter-Black for one, Ronald Weasley for another and Hermione Granger. There have been a few more but I don't know what happened after they went in through the door."
He nodded, "Let me also go after them then."
Into the trap door
The trio had come to the door which was always locked. They had encountered no one between here to the Gryffindor Common Room but they knew everyone in between was removed or was kept busy by the twins. Harry touched the door and it opened as if it was already open.
He said to them, "I guess Snape is already inside."
"What should be we do?", Hermione asked.
"We will try to stop him. It is possible that he has not yet reached the stone",
They silently opened the door and Harry saw the cerebrus dozing off to a sleep and there was a lyre near him playing itself. Snape had found a solution to the problem!
"We are going to open the trap door and jump inside before the lyre stops playing itself", said Harry.
He and Ron took off the heavy paw of the dog from the trap door while Hermione opened it.
Harry was about to jump in when she said, "What do we know about what is inside it?"
"Hermione it is not a time to stay and talk", he said, "Snape has already gone this way and we have to go too."