Chapter Thirteen: The Sorcerer's Stone

Harry's parents managed to fix his house back up again and before he knew it Christmas vacation was over, and he was back on the Hogwarts Express to go back to school. Although he had gotten wonderful presents for Christmas (he even admired Mrs. Weasley's sweater for him) his favorite gift was James Potter's old invisibility cloak. After classes that first afternoon back at Hogwarts Harry, Ron, and Hermione went down to Hagrid's hut to ask him a question that had been on their minds since before the break.

"Oh Hullo Harry, Ron, and Hermione." Hagrid began. "How was your Christmas?" He inquired with a grin.

"It was fantastic Hagrid but we were just wondering, why does Dumbledore have a three-headed dog locked up in a school?" Hermione asked him and that's when suddenly Hagrid grew a really suspicious look on his face.

"Who told you about Fluffy?" He questioned her.

"Fluffy!? That thing has a name?" She questioned him back and Harry instantly thought of his cat and now that it was a horrid name for such a docile creature even when he wasn't in the greatest of moods.

"Of course he has a name he's mine!" He cried as all three Gryffindors just simply exchanged glances with each other. "I lent him to Dumbledore to help guard the_" he began.

"Guard the what!?" Harry cried.

"No more questions! Don't ask anymore questions! That's top secret that is! What that dog is guarding is between me, Dumbledore, and Nicholas Flamel!" he exclaimed.

"Nicholas Flamel?" Harry inquired and that's when suddenly Hagrid realized that he wound up putting his foot inside his mouth again and started walking away muttering to himself that he shouldn't have said that over and over again. "Who's Nicholas Flamel?" He wondered as Hermione just simply shook her head at him.

"I dunno." She replied so later that night when everybody else was asleep Harry decided to use his invisibility cloak for the first time and headed towards the restriction section in the library. However, when he opened up one of the books it started screaming at him and he was almost caught by Argus Filch and his cat Mrs. Norris and he would have too if Harry had not found another door that led him into a secret room that he had never been before.

Once he was inside, he shut the door tightly behind him and he saw an old mirror about ten to fifteen feet in front of him and he slowly began to walk towards it with curiosity and interest. When he got closer he saw that there was unusual writing upon it that read " erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi." However when Harry looked closer into the mirror not only did he see his reflection, but he also saw his biological father James, his grandparents, and what appeared to be a dragon sanctuary.

Harry's whole entire face lit up, and with excitement and enthusiasm he went to go get his best friend Ron so that he could show it to him, but Harry was left feeling extremely confused about the whole entire thing when Ron saw himself being the head boy and Qudditch captain instead so both boys decided to forget the whole entire thing and headed back to bed before they would be in even more trouble.

The next afternoon when Harry, Ron, and Hermione started working on their homework together Hermione set a gigantic book down on top of the table. "Wow, just exactly how much homework have ya got anyways?" Ron questioned her with uncertainty.

"It's nothing to do with homework." She replied as she opened it up and ignored the shocked looks on both of Harry's and Ron's faces. "I checked this out weeks ago, it has information about Nicholas Flamel." She began when she finally found the page that she had been looking for and pointed at it. "Ah, there it is! Nicholas Flamel is the only known maker of The Sorcerer's Stone." She read.

"The what!?" Harry and Ron chorused together but Hermione just simply had a look of utter and sheer annoyance on her face.

"Honestly don't you two read?" She questioned the impatiently. "The Sorcerer's Stone is capable of turning metal into pure gold and contains the Elixir of Life which makes the drinker immortal." She explained.

"Immortal?" Ron questioned her back completely flabbergasted by the whole entire thing.

"It means that you'll never die." Hermione told him.

"I know what it means!" He cried indignantly but Harry hushed him and quickly put his finger to his lips and hushed him secretly wondering why anybody would want that when they could live forever in Heaven, but he didn't ask because he wanted to hear more.

"It also says here that even Nicholas Flamel has been drinking it to stay alive and that he celebrated his six hundredth and fifty-fifth birthday last year." Hermione said.

"So then you're saying_" Harry began as he started fitting the puzzle pieces all together inside his mind.

"That's what's underneath the trap door, that's what Fluffy is guarding. The Sorcerer's Stone." Hermione replied as Harry and Ron just simply looked at her.

..

That night Harry, Ron, and Hermione decided to venture down to Hagrid's hut underneath the invisibility cloak and then they knocked on the door together and instantly pulled it off as soon as he answered them.

"Hullo, I'm a bit preoccupied at the moment so I'm not in the mood to entertain tonight." He began before he started closing the door but that's when all of a sudden Harry, Ron, and Hermione all spoke up.

"We know about The Sorcerer's Stone!" They all chimed together.

"Oh? Who told you about it?" He questioned them.

"Uh actually you sort of did when you mentioned Nicholas Flamel and then Hermione looked it up." Ron explained.

"I was afraid of that." Hagrid began before heaving a sigh. "Well considering that I don't have much choice in the matter come on in." He told them before he let all three of them inside and then shut the door behind them.