Draco's eyes narrowed suspiciously as he watched his fellow student wander around with a semi-terrified look on his face. What was a Gryffindor doing in the dungeons so late at night? And Neville Longbottom, no less.

"Longbottom, what are you doing down here?" The pudgy boy, who had already appeared wary even before Draco spoke in his usual drawl, jumped at the sudden question. Draco was forced to hide a smile at the sight, instead adopting a slight frown which was far more fitting for the situation. Longbottom, who was now looking like he might scurry at the slightest movement, turned slowly to Draco before squeaking out an answer.

"I-I was just coming back from detention." Draco's frown twisted even further as he regarded his fellow first year. There was only one teacher whose offices were located in the dungeons, and with the Gryffindor's current demeanor…

"Snape?" Longbottom appeared confused by the question, but still nodded in acquiescence, his expression of terror growing even more pronounced as the boy glanced around, like the mere mention of his name would bring the Slytherin head of house down upon them. "That seems to happen a lot, doesn't it?" Draco mused aloud, not really meaning for the other by to answer. While Draco respected his godfather, the man did seem to be unreasonably harsh on Gryffindors, and Longbottom in particular. He seemed to take a perverse pleasure in terrifying children, or at least those who weren't within his own house.

"Yeah, i mess up a lot in class. I'm horrible at potions." The gryffindor's terror seemed to subside a bit at his own admission, being replaced with a look of shame as he hung his head. Again, Draco frowned down at him, a sudden thought crossing his mind.

"Why is that, do you think?" Longbottom appeared to be surprised by the question, his head shooting up to give Draco a questioning look. It wasn't unexpected, really. He'd done his duty in ascertaining the reason for Longbottom's presence in the dungeons, so there was no particular reason for continuing the conversation, especially since they were both in different houses. Already, Draco was mentally beating himself for letting his mouth run and getting him stuck in a conversation he didn't particularly want or need, but social conventions, not to mention the fact that they were both from Pureblood houses, demanded he continue. Perhaps, if he was careful, he may be able to create some sort of beneficial connection to the Longbottom heir that he could use at a later time.

"Well, you're good herbology yeah? So you probably know all the different properties of most of our ingredients, and I'd reckon you would do well in Care of Magical Creatures as well. I've noticed how good you seem to be with animals on the grounds." Already the larger boy was flushing brightly with this praise, but Draco ignored that, continuing. "So if you're so could working with the things while they're alive, how hard can it be when they're dead?" Okay, so maybe that wasn't particularly the best argument, but it was something Draco had been wondering about fo a while. Neville was really good with plants and animals, and seemed to know all sorts of things about the various magical substances that could be found at Hogwarts, so why couldn't he simply apply that to Potions?

"I, er, don't know. Yeah, i do know what all the ingredients are and all, and what they're used for, but for some reason whenever Snape's around i just sort of… forget, you know. He's just so… creepy, that i'm too terrified to really think about what I'm doing." Draco nodded at this, remembering the many times that the boy had destroyed both potions and the cauldrons holding them through an act of sheer clumsiness. Most of them did seem to occur whenever the Potions Master was nearby. Thinking back though, he noticed something about the few Herbology classes that the first year Hufflepuff and Slytherins had shared.

"What about in Herbology? You never even seemed to notice Professor Sprout, and just did your own thing." Longbottom paused, seeming to think for a moment.

"Well, I just sort of… tune her out, you know. Follow my instincts, it always seems to work better." Draco nodded, a spark of inspiration appearing in his eyes. Somehow, he had suddenly become invested in this problem and a thought had occurred that might just let him solve it.

" Why don't you do that for Potions?" At Longbottom's confused look, Draco went on, elaborating his rather simple, yet brilliant idea. "Look, next time you're in Potions, don't think about Professor Snape, or how he might be breathing down your neck. He's quiet enough that if you don't bother looking at him, you could probably forget he was there at all. Just focus on your your potion and… follow your instincts, I guess. It couldn't hurt, really."

"But, he's so terrifying!" The boy whimpered, his fear starting to mount again.

"You're a Gryffindor, right? The house of the brave, and all that. So be brave."

"But i'm always afraid. I don't think i deserve to be in Gryffindor." Draco let out a frustrated sigh, one hand reaching up to pinch his nose.

"Bravery doesn't mean not being afraid." Longbottom paused, a curious look crossing his face.

"What do you mean?" Draco sighed again, shaking his head.

"Bravery, true bravery, is not a lack of fear, but acting in the face of it. Think about it, if you weren't afraid of something, what sort of accomplishment would it be to face it anyways? Nothing, since there's nothing stopping you if you don't fear for something."

For a moment, Longbottom just gaped at him, a sort of incredulous look on his , slowly, it slid into a thoughtful pose, one Draco hadn't been entirely certain the boy could wear outside of a greenhouse.

"Yeah, I guess it wouldn't hurt. I mean, what's the worst that could happen, I blow up another potion?" Draco was surprised to find himself laughing at the joke. It was true enough, and the somewhat jovial tone in Longbottom's voice was quite amusing, but he was more worried about the sheer fact that he was laughing. With a Gryffindor, no less. Still, Draco couldn't find it in himself to stop, taking several moments to recollect himself, albeit with a smile still playing about his lips.

"I suppose you're right at that. Now go on, before any other snakes come along to find a little lion cub in their nest. Most of them wouldn't hesitate to bite." Oddly, the other boy didn't drop his smile at the thought, despite the fact that he was normally terrified of most Slytherin's, as could be evidenced by his previous fear when Draco originally stopped him.

"I guess. Before I go though, I want to say thanks. I'll try to use your advice." With a stately nod that looked very out of place on his babyish face, Longbottom turned and left, presumably moving towards Gryffindor tower. Draco watched him go quietly, an odd sensation he couldn't quite describe lumping in his throat. In that moment, although Draco wasn't aware of it at the time, he had somehow made his first friend.

XXX

Neville Longbottom drew in a deep breath as he glanced around the cold dungeon, watching his classmates start to brew the potion they were working on that day. It had only been a few days since his unexpected conversation with Malfoy, but already his confidence in the advice he had received was starting to waver. Sure, at the time it had seemed like a good idea, and even possible to pull off, but now, as he noticed Snape glaring at him from the corner of his eye, the Gryffindor was starting to wonder if perhaps he had been a fool to entertain the notion that he might be able to do good at Potions.

No, you mustn't think like that, came a tiny voice in his head. Then, the words of Malfoy started to play in his head. Bravery is acting in the face of fear. At the memory, Neville's resolve suddenly hardened, and he turned back to his cauldron with a determined face. If Malfoy, a Slytherin, could understand courage, then so could he. Closing his eyes, Neville took a moment to muster up every last ounce of courage he could, digging deep within himself. A moment later, they snapped open, burning with certainty, and he moved forward.

As he worked, neville allowed himself to slip into the sort of fugue state he normally adopted in Herbology, tuning out the world. Every time Snape came near, or another of his classmates made some sort of disruption, he pushed it away, continuing to focus solely on his potion. He was in no mood to be distracted.

And then he was done. It came so suddenly, Neville barely even realized he was reaching into his cauldron until he was holding a vial filled with a liquid that was almost the exact shade of the example potion sitting on Snape's desk. The boy was so surprised by the sudden appearance of a complete potion that he nearly dropped the thing, having to jump forward and land on his stomach to catch it just barely an inch above the ground.

"Mr. Longbottom, I do not believe the recipe calls for any idiotic displays of amateurish acrobatics to be performed in front of your cauldron. Get up." At the greasy-haired professor's favored drawl, Neville quickly scrambled up to a standing position, just barely having the presence of mind not to accidentally smash the vial of potion in his hands.

"Sorry Professor, i was trying to keep my potion from breaking." Neville tried, but all he recieved was Snape's trademark nasty sneer.

"Potion? What are your talking about? You- where'd you get that?" The sudden shift in questioning appeared to have attracted the attention of the rest of the class, and there was the sound of a few cracks, as everyone's heads whipped around to watch the face-off. As he looked at the faces all around, Neville's stomach suddenly did a little flop.

"I-I made it sir."Neville tried not to quail under the glare that the Potions Master was sending his way, but it was too much, and his answer had come out in a , perhaps luckily, didn't seem to notice.

"Oh? And who was it you cheated off of to get this result?" There was a chorus of gasps around the room, and not all of them came from the side with red-trimmed robes. Neville was well known for his blatant honest and hard-working nature, almost as much so as Snape's blatant favoritism. Accusing him of cheating was like declaring the sky was green. Neville, for his own part, took a deep breath. Here it was, the final test for his newfound courage. If he could face Snape, just once, then he could do it again, and now would be the best time. He knew he was in the right here, and even if it wasn't for his new-found Gryffindor courage that allowed him to shoot his eyes up and meet the coal-black orbs of Snape, then justice would have stood him well in its place.

"No one sir. I made it all by myself." Neville's voice was surprisingly strong and clear as he spoke, even to himself, and Snape seemed taken aback by it. Never before had Neville even looked the man in the eye, let alone actually talked back to him, and it slowly reached out to take the vial, pulling it close to examine it. As he did so, however, he was interrupted by yet another voice.

"He's right, Professor. I was with him the whole time, and he didn't even answer me when I called for him. I was actually afraid he'd gone a bit deaf from too many exploded potions." Neville turned to look at who was defending him, and was forced to hold in a gasp when he finally saw. Golden eyes, sparkling with mischief, were focused on Snape, who had also glanced up from his examination of the rotund boy couldn't quite believe his eyes and ears, because there was no way that Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, was defending him, even with his propensity for annoying this particular Professor. It just wasn't possible.

"Yes, well. Since I can not prove that you cheated to create this position, I suppose I will have no choice to accept it. Who knows, it may even scrape a passing grade." Came Snape's eventual reply, before the giant bat swirled around and stalked off to his desk, leaving half the class to gape in disbelief at his passing, the other half to do so in awe, only directed towards Neville instead. Those had been perhaps the most civil words Snape had ever said to him, or even a Gryffindor in particular, and to hear them directed at Neville, whose constant mishaps and failures in Potions class were legendary, was beyond comprehension for most. There was one other student, however, whose mouth wasn't hanging open. Draco, from his lone table on the far side of the room, was instead throwing Neville a smug smirk, which was understandable, really. It was his advice that allowed such a fiasco, after all.

XXX

Luna, who was currently walking through the dungeons with a dreamy smile on her face, paused at a rather curious sight.

"Ooh, Neville, there you are. I've been looking for you." Neville, who had previously been slumped against a wall outside of the Potions class where he had finally collapsed after escaping, glanced up at the odd girl looking down at him.

"Oh, hi Luna. What are you doing here?" Luna's smile widened just a bit.

"Oh, I was just going to class, but the usual way was filled with Nargles. Still, I think it was for the best."Neville, ignoring the Nargles comment for a moment, answered with a wry grin, too emotionally drained at the moment ot offer anything else..

"Oh, why?" It was actually rather comforting to talk to the girl. As soon as neville had escaped the dungeon, and Snape's oversight, he had nearly collapsed entirely, his nerves finally catching up to him. It had been so terrifying, looking the Professor in the eye and standing up to him. The boy had spoken with far more confidence than he truly possessed, but by some miracle it had had actually turned in a decent potion.

"Oh, I was just supposed to give you something, but I'm going to need the card back. Cardboard isn't as good for your soul as chocolate." Neville, drawn out of his thoughts once again by the dreamy voice, glanced up, only to see the blonde offering him what appeared to be a chocolate toad. Reaching out slowly, he took the offered sweet, all the while wondering why the hell she was giving him chocolate. A glance at her bronze eyes, however, revealed nothing, so with a shrug, the boy surrendered any curiosity he had and unwrapped the chocolate. After the first bite, a warmth he hadn't noticed he was missing returned to his bones, and suddenly he wasn't all that worried anymore about any consequences that may come about from his actions in the classroom.

"Thanks, Luna, this is really good." She nodded, the smile that still hadn't left her face widening.

"Yes, a birdy told me that chocolate was good for the soul. I'm glad I could help. Could you give me the card, though? Harry's going to need it soon." Neville frowned at the comment about Harry, but decided not to respond. It wasn't really any of his deal.

"Uh, sure, I guess. I don't really collect them either way."

"I know." Again, Neville refused to comment on the eccentricity of the blond, but as she walked away, card in hand and humming an odd tujne quietly, Neville couldn't help but wonder that if she knew that random fact as she claimed, what other sorts of things might she know? After a few moments of contemplation, however, Neville shook the thoughts away. It didn't really matter, and right now he had to get to his next class.

XXX

Harry glanced up in annoyance to see Luna bouncing through the library towards him, Susan, and Hermione. It was about time she showed up.

"There you are Luna. You're a bit late." Luna, not looking even the least bit repentant,l reached the table and dropped down, her usual dreamy smile stretched across her face.

"Yes, I'm sorry. I was just having a rather important nap, and lost track of time." The entire table looked at the girl dubiously, but she didn't react, instead pulling out a sheaf of parchment and starting to doodle.

"Did you say you had an important nap, Luna?" The blonde nodded, not taking her eyes off the doodle.

"Yes, I was talking to a nice bird. He told me to give you this." Luna's hand disappeared into her bag for a moment, before reappearing holding a rather curious card. It was somewhat familiar to Harry, so he reached out and grabbed it from her hands, meeting no resistance as he did so. Just as he suspected, it was a chocolate frog card, the first one he had ever received, in fact. There was even a little Dumbledore sitting in the portrait, that rather annoying looking sparkle in his eyes.

"Okay… would you care to fill us in on what this is for?"

"Turn it around." Harry, still feeling uncertain, did as she asked. There were the normal bits of information there, but nothing else that he could see. A moment later, however, he let out a gasp, nearly dropping the card.

"Nicholas Flamel!" The effect of those two words was stunning. Susan, who had been in the midst of writing a Charms essay, veered her quill across the parchment, drawing a great huge line across her work. Hermione, who was performing the action of turning a page in a very heavy tome, jerked as well, nearly tearing out the page in the process. Luna… kept being Luna.

"What did you say?" Hermione was the first to respond, after taking a moment to ensure the book in her hands wasn't too badly damaged for a quick repairo. Harry grinned back, handing over the card in his hands wordlessly. A moment later, She squeaked and jumped up, running off and leaving everyone else in the dust.

"What was that all about?" Asked Susan, earning an exasperated smile from Harry.

"I believe she's run off to find a book of some sort, likely in her dorm rooms. We'll have to wait a while." His prediction turned out to be somewhat true, for it was nearly twenty minutes later when a breathless Hermione reappeared in front of them, an absolutely massive book underneath one arm, which she slammed down onto the desk.

"I knew I'd seen the name before! Merlin, I'm so stupid." Harry, frowning slightly, reached up and pat the girl on the head, earning a deep blush.

"Stop that, Hermione, you're not stupid. A bit scatterbrained at times, sure, but never stupid. In fact, you're one of the smartest witches I know." This earned him a smack from Susan, and a shouted "Hey!" but he just tossed the other brunette a lopsided grin. "I did say one of, didn't I?"This seemed to pacify Susan somewhat, but the Hufflepuff retained a mock glower as she crossed her arms. After this, Hermione, who seemed to have regathered herself, cleared her throat.

"Yes, well, be that as it may, I still can't believe I didn't think of looking in here before. I checked it out weeks ago, for a bit of light reading." Harry raised an eyebrow at the girl, before glancing back down at the monstrous tome.

"I can see that." His dry tone earned him yet another smack, from Hermione this time, but it was lacking in effectiveness due to the heavy blush that had consumed her cheeks.

Anyways," The bushy haired witch continued, opening the book and flipping through to a certain page. "Here, read this." Harry quickly grabbed the book and complied, speaking the words as he went.

"The ancient study of Alchemy is concerned with making the Philosopher's Stone, a legendary substance with astonishing powers. The stone will transform any metal into pure gold. It also produces the Elixir of Life, which will make the drinker immortal. There have been many reports of the Philosopher's stone over the centuries, but the only stone currently in existence belongs to Mr. Nicholas Flamel, the noted alchemist and opera lover. Mr. Flamel, who celebrated his six hundred and sixty-fifth birthday last year, enjoys a quiet life in Devon with his wife Penelope (Six hundred and fifty eight)." The entire group was silent for a few moments after he finished, mulling over what they had just heard and read.

"That's what's under the trapdoor. It's a Philosopher's stone." Whispered Susan, in an awed voice. She had heard of Flamel, being a pureblood, but only in passing. Her aunt had never cared for the whole thing, only mentioning it when she mused over how certain laws might apply to one with such a long lifespan.

"Not just a Philosopher's stone, but the Stone, from the sound of it." Susan nodded, but still a frown curled her lips.

"Okay, sure, but why? Why put such a thing in a castle full of students, and who are they guarding it from, anyways?" They all took another moment to think, contemplating the question, before Hermione finally spoke up.

"Maybe it has something to do with Quirrell." Instantly, every head snapped towards her, even the previously preoccupied Luna. "Well, it makes sense, doesn't it? If you're right, and he's got that… thing in him, maybe it's killing him. That's why he would want the stone, to cure himself." The other three nodded along, but Harry still saw something that didn't quite fit with her answer.

"Sure, I can see that, but why does he keep attacking me? I'm not really important to the Stone."

"Yes, but you are Harry Potter, the boy who lived. The whole wizarding world looks up to you. If you're in trouble, it would draw people's attention away from the Stone." Harry was forced to agree with that logic. It did make sense.

"Alright, so what are we going to do about it?" Harry looked around the group, hoping for an answer, but all he got was blank looks, until Susan shook her head.

"Well, there's not very much we can do about it, is there? I guess we just keep an eye out, both for the Stone and you." Harry tried not to look too disappointed with the lack of action in that plan, but it was difficult. Luckily, he was distracted by the sight of something far more welcoming than a psychotic teacher out to kill him.

"Hagrid! What are you doing here?" The large man, who seemed to be perusing the shelves, oddly enough, startled at the sudden call, turning quickly and hiding something behind his back.

"Oh, Harry! What are yeh lot doing here?" Hagrid parroted, a somewhat terrified look crossing what little of his face was visible.

"We're just doing homework. What about you?" Well, technically it was self-assigned homework, but still. It counted. Hagrid, however, seemed to have barely heard him, glancing around frantically.

"Yeah, tha's nice, but, er, I can't really stay ter chat, and all. Places ter be, you know." Harry didn't even have a chance to call out a question before the large man scampered off like a giant rabbit, moving surprisingly quickly for his girth. Harry frowned and turned back to his friends, who were still staring in confusion at the path Hagrid had taken.

"Huh, wonder what that's all about."Susan and Luna turned to look at him dazedly, likely wondering the same thing, but hermione seemed to shake off the confusion first, rising to go over to the section of books Hagrid had been going through.

"Weird, these are all a bunch of books on dragons, like how to take care of them and raise them. You don't think-?" Her question was cut off by Harry shaking his head vigorously.

"Nah, even Hagrid wouldn't be that insane. Right?" The knowing looks were all the answer needed to tell him just how wrong he was.

XXX

Yay, and that's another chapter done. Nearly on time, too, if I remember correctly. Yeah, I know, I'm awesome.

Alright, down to business. Now, I'm sure most of you are wondering what's with Neville being good at potions, and why there was only a short showing of the current main four. Well, i suppose I should answer the latter first, since it's easier, Essentially, we haven't really had much of a chance to see what's been going on with other characters recently, so i thought I'd give them a bit of a chance to shine, especially Draco. I don't think I've even given him a perspective before, except his sorting and that short bit where he pranked Nott. As such, i figured I could give him some love, and even Neville got a bit of a spotlight.

And that brings me to the former question. Alright, to be honest, i never really understood Rowling's portrayal of neville as being utterly useless at Potions whil being so BAMF at Herbology and even Care of Magical Creatures. I mean, if he knows all the properties of all the ingredients, he should be at least semi decent, even with Snape terrorizing him. Thus, here he is, actually being a good Potioneer, as long as he ignores Snape. Now don't worry, he won't just suddenly turn into an awesome Potions Master, but he does at least have a chance. In my eyes, he's somewhat of a natural, his skill just needs to be nurtured.

So, that's that. I think Im going to start letting you guys try to ask more question, rather than preemptively answering them, so I'll leave it there. Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it! Don't forget to Review!