Author's Notes:
*I DO NOT OWN OR HAVE THE COPYRIGHTS OR TRADEMARKS TO ANY OF THE HARRY POTTER CHARACTERS, PLOTS, THEMES, OR DEVELOPMENTS. I DO NOT HAVE THE RIGHTS TO ANY PORTIONS OF THE BOOKS. ANY SIMILARITIES OR USAGES OF PORTIONS OF THE BOOKS ARE USED SIMPLY FOR FANFICTION PURPOSES.*
Hi everyone! Sorry this update is so late—I started a new job at that law firm and I've been getting used to my new sleep schedule and when I have down time to write. I think I've got it figured out now though!
Reviews: Midnitewanderer: I'm so sorry for the cliffhanger! I didn't want to, I swear! It just felt right to leave it there. But I address all of your questions about James and Harry in this chapter! And, I promise, no cliffhanger today. As for the house—well, that will come into play around year three. Iwik: You'll have to read and see! I hope you like how I decided to twist this chapter. Lol You're the only one who caught on to my monthlies joke! Yes, Remus does have a way of getting information since he's so used to gathering it for his own research. It will be helpful with the horcrux hunt. ProfessorBowties: I love your name. Bowties are cool. As for Matthew Smith—that definitely may or may not have been a subtle nod to the connection between Doctor Who and Harry Potter. I love Matt Smith but Tennant is my favorite Doctor by far. I'm glad you caught my little Easter Egg! WinkingSkeever: Ask and you shall receive ;).
Beer Of The Week: Decadent Double Blueberry Pancake from Tire Hands Brewing Company. This double IPA is brewed with blueberries, vanilla, and milk sugar to bring to your pallet an exact replication of a stack of blueberry pancakes, complete with maple syrup and whipped cream, in beer form. If you're looking for a crazy beer (with a decent ABV) give this one a try! It is, in my opinion, the ultimate *breakfast* beer. (Excuse my pun!)
Posting Schedule: Once a week.
Thank you for reading everyone! I'm so excited to reach FIFTY CHAPTERS next week! This is a huge milestone and I literally can't wait to share it with all of you!
Chapter Forty-Nine: Fiendfyre
"Why is it," Poppy said as she fussed over James, "that when something happens it's always you three at the center of it?"
"Sorry, Poppy," James said as he smiled wistfully as he felt the influence of the pain-deafening potion, "We don't mean to. S'not our fault."
"Oh, hush now," she said, "I won't be able to regrow the fingers, but he'll live. That was quick thinking, Sirius. And probably the only thing you could have done, if I'm honest. I'm not sure he'll ever play quidditch again, though. Not professionally at least. Three fingers, gone. Honestly."
Sirius frowned, "I was afraid of that. I had hoped that, by using Diffindo you would be able to regrow the fingers. Is it because of the nature of the curse that was on the ring?"
"Exactly that. Because the curse had already killed the muscle and flesh in those three fingers, I wouldn't have been able to grow them back regardless of the charm used to remove them. I actually had to take a bit more than you did to be sure that there were no remnants of the curse. It was quick thinking, Sirius. You saved his life."
"I s'pose I owe you one, S'rus," James slurred and giggled.
"Yeah, you do," Sirius said, "You owe me bigtime, Prongs. I won't ever let you forget that. Poppy, I need to go up and meet Remus and Albus. Let me know if anything changes? And has anyone told Harry?"
"No, we haven't informed Mr. Potter yet. It's late as it is and we will inform him in the morning."
Just then there was a loud bang as the doors to the Hospital Wing slammed open and an irate and fear-fueled Minerva strode through the entrance, her eyes scanning the room until she found the boys. Her eyes widened as she rushed over to them; her mouth set in a tight line.
"What happened? You two graduated—I shouldn't still be finding you in the hospital wing!"
"Chill, Minnie. We were doing a thing for Dumbledore."
"A thing? A thing? What thing could have resulted in James losing three fingers?" Minerva stressed the last three words as she spoke.
Sirius flashed an award winning smile and held up his hands, "You know we can't talk about that, Minnie. Unless you know about it—which I don't think you do."
Minerva frowned and looked at James, "He'll be alright, right?"
"He'll be fine," Sirius assured her.
Minerva nodded before turning on her heel and heading toward the door. Before she left, she turned back and looked at Sirius, "Don't let yourselves get killed because of Albus' fantasies. His projects and endeavors are important and groundbreaking but that doesn't mean you should die for them."
"Minnie, the thing you need to understand is that, sometimes, some things are worth dying for."
~ID~
Later that evening Sirius and Remus found themselves seated in front of Dumbledore's desk, the ring they found at the Gaunt house sitting between all of them. Remus was staring down at it with disdain as he attempted to make out what the marking on the stone was. He knew James had recognized it, that was the only reason he would have been possessed to pick the ring up before making sure there were no curses or traps attached to it. But, the longer he looked the more frustrated he became.
What Remus found even more frustrating, however, was how Dumbledore was almost reveling in the sight of the ring in front of them. Remus was concerned that the usually calm and reserved headmaster was staring at the ring with greed and lust. Sirius must have noticed this unusual demeanor as well because he cleared his throat and looked at Dumbledore expectantly.
Dumbledore looked up at the two men with glazed, far away, eyes, "Yes, right. Now that everything is settled and James is resting comfortably, why don't you two tell me about what happened?"
Sirius and Remus nodded, their faces solemn, as Sirius quickly recounted their adventures. He explained what they found out about the ownership of the Riddle House and the proximity of the graves as well as the rumors from the little town. It didn't take him long to explain everything while watching Dumbledore's face for any signs of surprise or intrigue.
"And then James—he just—he picked up the ring. The sodding git picked the damn thing up after I told him it would be cursed. I have no idea what was going through his head."
"Sirius," Dumbledore started as he leaned back in his chair, "let's not be too harsh on James. Better men than he have fallen pray to Lord Voldemort's traps and schemes."
"Yes," Sirius said slowly, "but those people were unaware of his traps and schemes. James knew because I had just told him about the danger but he picked it up anyway. And now he's lost three fingers and, basically, his career."
"I would have done the same thing had I been in his position," Dumbledore admitted, "This ring is alluring and the power it possesses is unlike any other."
"What sort of power does it hold?" Remus asked, "I've been trying to figure out what the rune or insignia or, whatever, says but I've never seen it."
Dumbledore smiled, "I'll have to test it. But if this is the object I believe it may be, it is certainly extremely powerful and shouldn't fall into the wrong hands."
Sirius crossed his arms, "You're being intentionally vague, Albus. I thought we had all come to an agreement to be honest with each other, for Harry's sake."
Albus nodded, "And I will maintain that promise, I assure you. I need to conduct some thorough testing on this object before I can give any information. Until then, we need to work on destroying the horcrux."
Remus frowned, "And how are we doing that? From my reading, there aren't many ways we can do that."
"Fiendfyre, basilisk venom," Sirius listed, "two extremely rare poisons that, quite honestly, probably can't be made any more, and a few spells that are even more dangerous than Fiendfyre. How exactly are we going to get any of that? As for making Fiendfyre—I don't think I could control that curse even if I could summon it."
"Do we even know a safe place to use the curse?" Remus asked, "I mean, we could accidently burn the entire castle down if we aren't careful."
"That is true, Remus. However, I think if we emptied a classroom, and both of you were on standby with the counter-charm, we would be safe in attempting to utilize the curse."
Remus paled, "In the castle? What about the students?"
"We will be able to keep everything under control, have no fear. We managed to control an outbreak of Fiendfyre several years ago when a young Slytherin student accidently lost control of the curse; we'll be able to manage it this time."
"And if we can't? People could die."
"But when we succeed—yes, when, Remus, not if, we would be destroying Lord Voldemort forever."
Despite Remus' objections the four men ended up in an unused classroom devoid of all furniture and people in a secluded area of the castle. They had waited for James to recover enough to be able to stand, without fainting, so that he could watch the demise of the man who had hunted his son and murdered his wife. And, though he was pale, James looked determined and energized.
"Are we absolutely sure about doing this?" Remus asked cautiously, "Once we start the curse, there's no telling how out of control it can get."
"Do you have a basilisk handy, Moony? Because I sure don't," Sirius replied.
"Well, no. But there are other options. Certain poisons and objects—"
"We wouldn't be able to make those poisons," Sirius said darkly, "I know all about them. The ingredients—we can't."
"What do you mean? I'm sure we could find any kind of rare ingre—"
"It's not an issue of them being rare," Dumbledore assured Remus.
Sirius nodded, "It's a mater of morality. Sure, we could easily make those poisons. But at the cost of innocent lives," Remus paled, "One of them requires a full, human brain taken from a live victim. Another—I can't even go into detail about that one."
"A human—from a live person? I—how did anyone discover this poison?"
"The Mayans were well known for their—off color experimentation during their height of power."
"And the Black Family vault doesn't have any?" James asked curiously.
Sirius shook his head, "I destroyed all of that stuff before I knew what use it could be put to."
"In all of the vaults?" Remus asked, stalling for time.
"What do you mean all of them? There's only one and then my personal vault."
"Wouldn't you have inherited Bellatrix Lestrange's vault since she had no heirs since she's imprisoned for life?"
Sirius hesitated for a moment, "I'm not sure. I honestly didn't look into it."
"Look," James said wearily, "even if Sirius has control and ownership over her account, it would take weeks to clear that bureaucratic red tape. I don't know about you three, but after reading what can happen when you're around a horcrux too much I'm in kind of a hurry to get rid of it and be done. I'm not sure I want to do it here at Hogwarts where kids can get injured though."
Remus turned to Dumbledore and asked, "Are we sure there isn't a safer place we can go? A field somewhere? A forest?"
"We could go to a desert," Sirius supplied helpfully, "I'm also not keen to release a rampaging magical fire on unsuspecting students. Plus, Harry's here. What if he gets hurt?"
Somehow, James paled more than he already was, "We're not doing it here. We can't. Absolutely not."
After much debate, the men agreed that performing the curse in a room at Hogwarts was too dangerous. After an even longer debate, they agreed to move to a deserted island off the coast. Once they had warded the island from muggles and checked to be absolutely sure that it was devoid of life.
They quickly magically cleared a large area on the island, moving trees and rocks away from them so they had space to work. In the center of the clearing, Dumbledore placed the small, golden object, while Remus, James, and Sirius stood on the outskirts, their wands ready.
"Ready?" Dumbledore asked as he walked back towards the men. They nodded and gripped their wands tighter.
Dumbledore lifted his wand and cried out the curse and the effect was immediate. A cone of fire swirled out of his wand like a whip, white hot and billowing. With great effort, Dumbledore moved his wand down and pointed it towards where the horcrux laid. From the cone of fire shot out a blazing chimera which charged straight toward the ring. Suddenly, another animal leapt from the wand—a fiery dragon burst forth and flew through the air, banking right and turning back towards the men.
"Hold your positions!" Sirius yelled over the roar of the fire, the light from the dragon singeing their hair and heating their skin.
The chimera ran over the horcrux, kicking it up into the air before tearing off toward the trees, setting the ground ablaze behind it. The dragon overhead roared in annoyance, a burst of fire spitting from its mouth just as Dumbledore fell to his knees, another animal forming out of his wand.
It seemed to James that everything was on fire. The heat of the animals was causing him to sweat perversely as he quickly thought about what to do next. From somewhere next to him in the blinding light a shield charm was erected between Dumbledore's prone form and the animals in an attempt to protect him from the scalding fire. The dragon dove toward the shimmering shield, hitting it hard and causing cracks to form in its seemingly impenetrable surface.
"Did we get the horcrux?" Sirius shouted to the other men as he struggled to keep the shield charm going.
"Who cares?" Remus shouted back, "End it! End it now!"
James and Remus raised their wands as jets of frozen air burst from the tips, blowing on the fires closest to them, causing them to grow exponentially in size.
"What the fuck!" James shouted as he dove away from the growing fire, "That should have stopped the flames, not made them worse!"
"Damn it! We didn't do it right! Again!" Remus coughed and choked over the black ash and smoke.
It was difficult to see now; the ash the fire was spitting out was clogging the air and blocking out the sky above them. James coughed on the congealed air as he pointed his wand towards the closest fiery animal and shouted the spell, causing what looked like white hot fire to shoot out of his wand and collide with the orange body of the flaming chimera. But it wasn't white fire—the jet of flames erupting from his wand were so ice cold that his wand was cold to the touch. James gripped his wand tighter and forced more of the white, flaming ice towards the Fiendfyre and watched in elation as the chimera dissipated in a puff of black ash. A burst of hope shot through James as he turned his wand toward the Dragon and obliterated it. He carefully and methodically used the ice to extinguish every last flame from the Fiendfyre, taking care to be sure that none was left to wreak havoc on any unsuspecting people or animals before he collapsed on the ground.
~ID~
"I told you that mirror was no good," Draco commented. Harry had just finished telling Draco, Ron, and Hermione about his experiences the other night. Hermione had been none too pleased to discover that both Harry and Draco had been sneaking around the school. Ron hadn't said anything at all in response—Harry suspected that he was upset that Harry hadn't also invited him to go look at the mirror. But, really, three people would have been hard to sneak to the classroom and Harry had figured that Draco would enjoy the experience better than Ron would.
"Honestly, you're lucky you didn't lose Gryffindor and Ravenclaw more points being out of bed after hours," Hermione scalded them.
Harry rolled his eyes, "It was fine. Dumbledore didn't seem mad—he just didn't want me going back again. And, besides, I couldn't even if I wanted to. He said the mirror was being moved."
"Well, good. You shouldn't be out that late."
"Give it a rest, Hermione. It's not like he got in trouble or anything. He was looking at a mirror," Ron said exasperatedly.
As term got underway, the group once again found themselves in the library for the few spare minutes they had between classes in an attempt to figure out why Dumbledore would have the mirror of Erised and what purpose it served in guarding the stone. Harry and Draco had even less time than the other two to do research because of quidditch practices. Both teams were aiming to make it to the quidditch finales and their captains seemed to be working them even harder than before.
It was at Harry's next practice that Wood dropped the bombshell on their team. Fred and George had been dive-bombing each other during practice, setting Wood off when he made the announcement.
"Would you two stop messing around!" he yelled, "That's exactly the sort of thing that'll lose us the match! Snape's refereeing this time, and he'll be looking for any excuse to knock points off Gryffindor!"
This time, George really did fall off his broom. Luckily, he was only a few feet off the ground and wasn't injured in the fall.
"Snape's refereeing?" he spluttered through a mouthful of mud, "When's he ever refereed a quidditch match? He's not going to be fair if we might overtake Slytherin in the cup!"
The rest of the team landed next to George to complain, too.
"It's not my fault," he said, "We've just got to make sure we play a clean game, so Snape hasn't got an excuse to pick on us.
After practice, most of the team held back in the locker rooms to talk to one another—mostly to contemplate what Snape was going to do to them during the next match—but Harry left as soon as he was changed and clean. He quickly made his way to the castle and found an empty classroom to hide in.
Once the door was safely shut, Harry pulled out his mirror and called for his father. He frowned when James didn't answer. Harry quickly utilized the messaging system and wrote on the frosted glass for James to call him back when he had time.
Harry sighed and let his hands drop to his lap. He stared at the empty mirror for what seemed like ages before lifting it again. And when her face appeared in the glass he let out a small, relieved sigh.
"Harry! Is everything ok? You've only been back at school for a few days now."
"Hey Ginny," Harry said with a small smile, "Mostly—well, no, not really. I just found out that Snape is going to referee our next quidditch match and my dad isn't answering my calls. I'm worried—he's never ignored me before."
"I'm sure he's just busy. Quidditch is in full season now so he's probably training. Why is Snape refereeing your next match? Doesn't Madam Hooch normally do that?"
"She does but I guess Dumbledore is worried about what happened during my last match or something. Quidditch is the one thing I have at this school that I'm free. And now he's going to ruin it."
Ginny frowned, "Maybe it won't be that bad?"
"I don't know, Gin. The last time he thought my potion wasn't up to snuff he accidentally knocked my cauldron off of my work table and, since I didn't have anything to turn in, I got zero marks for the day."
"He does that on purpose?"
"All the time. There isn't a class where he doesn't try to goad me."
"Will James be at your match?"
"Of course—dad comes to all of my matches," Harry replied, unsure of what she was getting at.
"Well, I doubt Snape would try anything while your dad was in the stands. From what you've told me, he and Snape don't get along well, do they? James is probably looking for an excuse to ream Snape out and maybe this will give him the opportunity."
"I suppose," Harry said slowly, "But that doesn't mean Snape won't make it easy on Gryffindor."
"No, it doesn't. But that also doesn't mean you have to give up, either," Ginny replied with a mischievous glint in her eye.
Harry smiled at the prospect of winning their upcoming match and overtaking Slytherin for the house cup right in front of Snape—and he couldn't do anything about it. After talking to Ginny for nearly a half an hour Harry felt significantly better about his decision to play in the upcoming match. If anything, he hoped to be able to steal the win from right under Snape's greasy nose.
~ID~
James once again awoke to find himself nestled into a warm bed in the infirmary. He glanced around, blurry eyed, until he found his glasses sitting on the table next to him. He quickly put them on and found Remus and Sirius sitting by his bed side, both of them engrossed in reading the Daily Prophet and a muggle magazine respectively. He slowly sat up, taking care not to jostle his body too much, unsure of what damage he had done to it this time. But, as he wiggled them, he was pleased to find out that he didn't lose any more fingers during their latest endeavor.
At the rustling of his sheets, Remus and Sirius both looked over to the bed, surprised to see James moving. He suspected that they had anticipated him being asleep for longer than he ended up being.
Remus carefully folded his newspaper and set it aside, "How are you feeling, Prongs?"
James shrugged and stretched his limbs, "Sore, I suppose. What happened?"
"What's the last thing you remember?" Sirius asked.
"Uh, well, I had just figured out how the charm worked and had cleared the last of the fire and then—nothing."
"Right. So that's pretty much all of it. Madam Pomfrey says you overexerted your magic by using such a complex and powerful spell for so long. You shouldn't have put out all of the Fiendfyre by yourself. You've been sleeping for a few days now—it's Friday."
James quickly pulled himself into a sitting position, his eyes bulging, "I've been asleep for three days?"
"Yeah, well, we expected you to be out for a full week, mate. So we're a little surprised you're awake," Sirius interjected.
"We've been giving you replenishing potions and all that, but, still. Like Sirius said, we didn't expect you to wake up so soon."
"Well it's a good thing I did because Harry's match is tomorrow, isn't it?"
"Yeah. And you'll never believe what's happened," Sirius added, the anger plain on his face, "Ol' Snivelly is refereeing the game. Apparently Dumbledore thinks having Snape referee will deter anything from happening to Harry again. I don't see how."
"That git is refereeing the match? As if he'll be fair or reasonable. If he so much as lays a finger—no so much as looks at Harry for anything other than quidditch purposes, he'll have me to deal with."
"You'll be in no fit state," Remus said.
"There wasn't any one else fit for the post?" James asked angrily.
"Apparently not."
"Bloody hell," he raked his fingers through his tousled hair, "Did we at least destroy it?"
Remus and Sirius beamed at James, nodding, "Turned it into a puddle of gold."
"That's it? He's gone?"
"He's gone," Remus assured James, "Gone, gone, gone!"
"Without the horcrux, there's nothing else tethering Voldemort to life. He's gone," Sirius affirmed.
~ID~
Harry knew, when they wished him good luck outside the locker rooms that weekend, that Ron, Draco, and Hermione were wondering whether they'd ever see him alive again. Though this didn't help him feel any better, Harry was still confident that he would be able to win todays match and rub it in the nose of that greasy git.
As Harry was getting ready in the locker rooms, Wood pulled him aside, "Don't want to pressure you, Potter, but if we ever need an early capture of the snitch, it's now. Finish the game before Snape can favor Hufflepuff too much."
"The whole school's out there!" Fred exclaimed, "Even—blimey—Dumbledore's come to watch! Harry, did you know he was coming? He's sitting with your dad and uncles."
"Dumbledore?" Harry frowned and moved quickly to the exit of the changing rooms that looked out onto the pitch. Sure enough, Harry saw in the top box the silver-haired, lanky form of Albus Dumbledore seated next to a pale looking James and a concerned Sirius and Remus. As he caught sight of James, Harry briefly wondered why he'd failed to return Harry's call from the other day. It was unlike his father and, now that he could see James was at least alive, it concerned him.
Then the realization dawned on him and he let out a barking, almost crazed laugh. He was safe. There was simply no way that Snape would try to hurt him while Dumbledore was in the stands. Perhaps this was the reason that Snape looked so angry when the teams finally took the field.
Back in the stands, Hermione moved her omnioculors around as she scanned the crowd. She nudged Ron and Draco in the stomachs with her elbows as she caught sight of the headmaster in the stands, "Look! Dumbledore came!"
Surprise flickered across their faces as they registered this fact. Then Ron smiled, "Of course. That's why Snape looks so pissed—he won't try anything too bad if Dumbledore is watching. And look, James, Remus, and Sirius came, too. Harry's going to be fine. Ouch!"
The trio watched the match unfold, listening intently to Lee Jordan announcing for the spectators.
"And it's Hufflepuff with the quaffle. Speeding down the pitch and she aims and—a nice steal from Johnson! And—oh no! Weasley, whichever one it is, just hit a bludger that nearly missed hitting Professor Snape and—Come off it! You prejudiced—"
"Jordan!" Minerva shouted.
"Sorry professor! I meant to say, that conniving, Gryffindor hating—"
"Jordan! I'm warning you!"
"Right, professor. Professor Snape unjustly awarded Hufflepuff a penalty shot. And—they missed. That's good luck for Gryffindor."
Just then, the three friends saw Harry go into a spectacular dive, which drew gasps and cheers from the large crowd. Harry streaked toward the ground like a bullet, directly at Snape's oblivious form. As Snape turned his broomstick he barely caught the glimpse of scarlet careen past him, missing him by inches. Then, the next second, Harry pulled out of his dive, his arm raised in triumph, the snitch clasped firmly in his raised hand. The stands erupted; it had to be a record, no one could remember the snitch ever being caught so quickly.
As he flew to the ground Harry jumped off his broom with a few feet left to go. He could hardly believe it—the game was over. It had barely lasted five minutes but he had come out unscathed. And now Gryffindor was in the lead for the house cup and his housemates flooded the field. Nearby, Harry saw Snape, white-faced and tight-lipped, leaving the field, his cloak billowing behind him. Then he felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up into Dumbledore's smiling face, his father and uncles racing to catch up to him in the background.
"Well done," Dumbledore said quietly, so that only Harry could hear, "Nice to see you haven't been brooding about that mirror…been keeping busy…excellent…"
"Harry!" James called as he ran up, huffing and puffing from the run. Somehow, he looked even more pale than he had been when he was sitting in the stands, "Harry that was brilliant! A spectacular catch!" James quickly engulfed Harry in a large hug, squeezing him tightly against his chest.
When James let go of him, Harry frowned, "Why didn't you return my call?"
"What call?"
"I called you the other day and you didn't answer. I left you a message."
"I didn't get a message," James said slowly as he began searching his pockets for his mirror. He frowned in confusion when he came up empty, "I—I don't know where my mirror is. Moony, padfoot, do you have it?"
They both shook their heads, "You might have lost it over the last week. It was quite chaotic," Remus supplied, "We can make you a new one, though. It'll take a day or so before it's up and running."
"Yeah," James said, concerned. Hopefully no one found the mirror just lying around. The good news is that, if anyone did find it, they probably wouldn't know how to use it.
As James pulled his hands back out of his pockets Harry cried out, "Dad! What happened to your hand?"
Taken aback, James asked, "What do you mean?" he looked down at his hands briefly before remembering, "Oh, right. I was trying out a new spell and, well, it didn't go as expected. I—lost three fingers. A healer tried to regrow them but, well, I guess that serves as a warning to not perform spells if you don't know what they do," James lied.
"What about quidditch?" Harry asked, concerned.
"I won't be able to play anymore. It's not a big deal—I make enough that I don't have to worry about working until I find something I like to do, so I'm not worried too much."
"Yeah, but you loved playing."
"I'm just happy it was only some fingers, kiddo. It could have been a lot worse. I mean, at least I'm alive."
"Yeah, I guess that's true," Harry agreed.
"Anyway, why don't you call me in a few days to catch up? Moony, Padfoot, and I have some stuff to take care of. We'll talk to you soon, ok?"
"Sure. See you guys soon."
As they walked away Harry shook his head. He knew there was more to the story than they were letting on. He tended to be unobservant and a bit oblivious, but even he knew something bigger was going on. He sighed, hopefully they would trust him enough to tell him soon. He wasn't sure he liked having secrets in the family.
~ID~
Some time later Harry left the locker room. He had been the last person to finish up due to his long conversation with his parents, but it had been worth the extra time. He missed his dad and uncles while he was at school. Things weren't the same without having them all around every day. Sure, Uncle Moony was a professor and Harry could visit him any time he pleased, but it wasn't the same when his father and Uncle Padfoot weren't around, too. He loves Remus, but there's just a different dynamic when they were all together.
As he thought about his family Harry made his way to the broom shed to lock up his Nimbus before heading back to the castle. He quickly walked over the damp grass, the cold wetness encroaching on his warm socks, making his toes squish in his trainers. Just as he reached the shed he looked up and noticed a hooded figure coming swiftly out of the castle, sweeping down the grand staircase and onto the front lawns.
Harry could tell the figure didn't want to be seen as it walked as quickly as possible toward the forbidden forest. Then, Harry recognized the long striding prowl of the cloaked figure. Snape. Snape was sneaking into the forest while the entire school was at dinner, undetected. What was he up to?
Harry quickly grabbed his Nimbus and swung his leg over the handle before kicking off the ground. He glided silently over the castle, keeping an eye on Snape's cloaked form entering the forest at a run. Harry hesitated for a moment—was this something he should do alone? He shook his head, he wouldn't have this opportunity again and he had to know what was so important to cause Snape to sneak out during dinner.
He glided over the trees, trying to catch a glimpse of Snape but the forest was so thick it was nearly impenetrable. As he circled lower, he caught wind of voices in the trees. He glided toward them and landed noiselessly in a towering beech tree and climbed nimbly along one of the branches, trying to see through the leaves.
In the shadowy clearing Harry could see Snape standing, but he wasn't alone. Quirrell was there, too. Harry couldn't make out the look on his face, but he was stuttering worse than ever. Harry strained to catch what they were saying.
"…d-don't know why you wanted t-t-to meet here of all p-places, Severus…"
"Oh, I thought we'd keep this private," Snape said, his voice icy, "Students aren't supposed to know about the Philosopher's Stone after all."
Harry leaned forward and nearly fell out of the tree at the mention of the Stone, a few leaves falling off of the branch he was perched on. Luckily, neither man noticed this.
"Have you found out how to get past that beast of Hagrid's yet?" Snape inquired cooly.
"B-b-but Severus, I—"
"You don't want me as your enemy, Quirrell," Snape said, taking a step toward him.
"I-I don't know what you—"
An owl hooted loudly, causing Harry to nearly fall out of the tree again. he steadied himself and heard Snape continuing, oblivious to the interruption, "—your little bit of hocus-pocus. I'm waiting."
"B-but I d-d-don't—"
"Very well," Snape cut in, "We'll have another little chat soon, when you've had time to think things over and decided where your loyalties lie."
He threw his cloak over his head and strode out of the clearing. It was almost dark now, but Harry could see Quirrell, standing quite still as though he was petrified.
~ID~
"Harry! Where have you been?" Hermione squeaked as Harry took a seat between her and Draco at the Gryffindor table.
"We won! You won! We won!" Ron chanted from across the table as he put his silverware down.
"Never mind that now, come with me," Harry said as he grabbed a sandwich off of a platter and stood back up again, "I have something to tell you."
They all frowned but followed him from the room. They wandered the castle for a few minutes before finding an empty classroom and shutting the door behind them. Once they were settled, Harry quickly told them about what happened in the forest. When he was done, he was met with open mouths of shock from all of them.
"You went into the forest?" Hermione asked, incredulated, "You could have gotten hurt! Or worse, in so much trouble!"
"Hermione," Ron said exasperatedly, "You're missing the point."
Draco nodded, "Yeah, Harry shouldn't have done that but now we know that it is the Philosopher's Stone that's being guarded and that Snape is trying to force Quirrell to help him get to it."
"Yes, that's right," Hermione conceded, "And now we know that there's more guarding the stone than that cerberus. It sounds like there are several wards in place to prevent theft but that Snape has figured out how to bypass most of them already. This isn't good."
"So the stone is only safe so long as Quirrell stands up to Snape," Draco added solemnly.
"It'll be gone by next Tuesday," Ron said in a hollow voice and Harry couldn't help but agree with him.
End Notes:
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