Nicolas Flamel
Sherlock was in the Gryffindor common room again and was sulking by the window, having been banned from playing chess because he never played by the rules. John was trying not to fall asleep in by the fire while Ron played a game against Castiel. Hermione was watching John closely, scrutinising the dark shadows under his eyes and looking as if she was about to say something.
'Spit it out, Hermione,' John said tiredly.
'You really ought to see Madam Pomfrey,' she said. John sighed.
'She's right, you know,' Castiel said, looking up from their game.
'Don't tell her that, it'll make her head even bigger,' said Ron without looking up. It was his move and he was currently losing. At that moment Harry walked in looking pale and John was glad for the distraction.
'What's up? You look awful,' John asked. Harry threw himself down in another chair.
'Snape's refereeing the next match,' he said. Sherlock glanced over at them from the window.
'No way!' Ron said loudly, his head snapping up from the game.
'That's terrible!' Hermione squeaked.
'Checkmate!' Castiel said triumphantly, causing Ron to groan in frustration.
'You have to get out of it,' said John.
'Pretend to break your leg,' suggested Hermione.
'Really break your leg,' said Ron. Castiel frowned disapprovingly.
'Don't be ridiculous,' Sherlock snorted from the corner.
'Butt out, Sherlock,' Ron scowled. Sherlock sniffed and turned away. John gave him a reproachful look but he had already gone back to his chess set to start a new game with Castiel.
'I can't drop out anyway, there's no reserve Seeker, I'll have to play,' said Harry. Hermione looked terrified at the thought and John had finally fallen asleep. They sat in silence, with the occasional frustrated outburst from Ron, who couldn't seem to beat Castiel, until they were distracted by Neville falling through the portrait hole with his legs stuck together. Everyone fell about laughing except Castiel and Hermione, who both jumped up to perform the counter to the Leg-Locker curse.
'What happened?' Harry asked him.
'Malfoy,' Neville replied shakily. 'I met him and his cronies outside the library.'
'Tell Professor McGonagall!' Hermione cried. 'Report him!'
'I don't want more trouble,' he mumbled.
'You have to tell someone! Malfoy's used to walking all over people but you shouldn't lie down and make it easier for him! You have to stand up to him,' said Ron. Castiel was staring at Neville, who shuffled awkwardly under his gaze.
'You're worth twelve of Malfoy,' he said quietly. Harry fished his last Chocolate Frog out of his pocket and handed it to Neville, who looked like he might cry. He pulled out the card and handed it back to Harry.
'Thanks. You collect these, right?' he said before walking away miserably.
'Hey, it's Dumbledore, you know he was the first one I ever…' Harry read the back. 'It's him, I've found Flamel!' he said. Sherlock came over to see what was going on, climbing over an armchair and waking John in the process. He looked over Harry's shoulder at the card.
'"Professor Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945, for the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's blood and his work o alchemy with his partner, Nicolas Flamel!"' Harry read aloud. Sherlock slapped a hand to his forehead.
'Of course!' he said. 'Why didn't I pay more attention?'
'You were probably sulking,' John chuckled sleepily. Hermione dashed up to her dormitory and came back with the thickest book any of them had ever seen.
'I never thought to look in here; I checked it out weeks ago for some light reading.'
'Light?' Ron said. Hermione glared at him. She flipped through the book until she found what she was looking for.
'Here we are. Nicolas Flamel is famed for his work in alchemy and is the only known maker of the Philosopher's Stone.'
Sherlock gasped loudly and Castiel dropped the pawn he was about to move.
'The what?' said Harry and Ron.
'Oh, honestly, don't you two read? Here, read that there.'
Hermione turned the book towards them and pointed at the passage she was referring to.
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 Nicolas 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,
Perenelle (six hundred and fifty-eight).
'See?' said Hermione. 'That's what that dog's guarding!'
'And Flamel asked Dumbledore to keep it safe for him, because they're friends and he knew someone was after it,' Sherlock said, pacing around by the fireplace.
'That's why he wanted the Stone moved out of Gringotts!' exclaimed Hermione.
'A stone that makes gold and stops you ever dying!' said Harry. 'No wonder Snape's after it!'
'Anyone would want it,' Castiel said, frowning at the game he'd accidentally ruined when he dropped his pawn.
John had long since gone back to sleep, which no one noticed until he let out a small whimper at a particularly vivid dream. They all looked over at him.
'This can't be good for him,' Hermione frowned.
'I know. I asked Madam Pomfrey and she gave me some potions to try. I slipped them to him during the course of the week but they don't seem to be doing anything. The only thing left to try is the Draught of Living Death, but that would be highly dangerous,' Castiel said, concentrating on the chess game that he was now losing.
'There must be something,' Sherlock muttered just as Ron shouted 'Checkmate!'
During Defence Against the Dark Arts the next day, the four Gryffindors were still discussing what they'd do with their own Philosopher's Stone. It was only when Ron said that he'd buy his own Quidditch team that Harry remembered the upcoming match. He gulped but was determined to participate in the match, so he carried on studying different ways of treating werewolf bites. By the end of the lesson Hermione had memorised every way of treating werewolf bites and John had gotten in trouble for falling asleep at his desk.
The match between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff was growing nearer and everyone was starting to feel tense, even Sherlock, though he didn't show it. Snape had taken to popping up all over the castle, convincing John that he was trying to put Harry off of the game. Meanwhile, Castiel was putting most of his efforts into practicing, just in case. Although he couldn't heal much more than a bruise, he was still making good progress. Hermione had also begun to fuss over John whenever he so much as yawned and it was really beginning to get on his nerves.
Sherlock and Castiel met the Gryffindors and they proceeded down to the Quidditch pitch, saying goodbye to Harry at the changing rooms.
'Now remember, it's Locomotor Mortis,' Hermione whispered. They had all been secretly practicing the Leg-Locker on Snape in case he tried anything. Sherlock, however, was planning something a lot less friendly.
'I know what it is, don't nag,' Ron grumbled. John, who had had the best night's sleep he'd had in a while, was very excited about the match. He'd heard that Slytherin had won the House Championship for the last seven years running and Gryffindor finally had a chance to overtake them. They all slipped into their seats, John, Hermione and Ron in front with Neville with Sherlock and Castiel behind them, leaning on their friends' seats and cast their eyes about the pitch as the players and Snape marched on.
'It's Dumbledore!' Hermione squealed, pointing at a place in the stands, and so it was.
'Fantastic! Now Snape can't try anything,' John exclaimed.
'Blimey, he doesn't look too happy, does he?'' said Ron. 'Ouch!'
Malfoy had appeared behind them and poked Ron in the back of the head.
'Oh, sorry, Weasley, didn't see you there,' he sneered, grinning at Crabbe and Goyle. 'Wonder how long Potter's going to stay on his broom for. Bets? How about you, Weasley?' he said loudly. Ron, however, wasn't listening, and this annoyed Malfoy, who was used to being the centre of attention. Sherlock was just about to enjoy the fireworks that would surely ensue with Malfoy's taunting, when another boy with dark hair and the sort of face that one would consider covering up with a bag sidled up to John.
'Hey, heard you've been hanging out with the freak' he said.
'Shut up, Anderson,' Sherlock snapped.
'Why should I? Freak.'
John looked up and took in the Slytherin robes and thick bushy eyebrows. A Ravenclaw girl with springy curls stood behind him wearing an amused smirk.
'I'm sorry, is there a problem?' John asked coolly.
'No, not at all, just him pretending he knows everything,' Anderson replied, equally as cool. His voice had that slow, monotonous quality that would either put a person to sleep or irritate them to no end, and John was getting more irritated with every word he spoke.
'I told you to shut up, Sylvia,' Sherlock growled, however he didn't sound nearly as irritated as he'd hoped and John noticed the uncertainty and worry in his eyes.
'It's Sullivan,' the girl spluttered.
'It's all right Sally, I can handle the freak and his pet friend. Did you know he collects turnips and experiments on them?'
John jumped up angrily.
'He could collect eyeballs for all I care, he's still a million times better than you'll ever be. How do you even know he collects turnips anyway?' John said heatedly.
'I've known him for years, right, Sherly? He used to want to be a pirate, but now he fancies himself a detective,' Anderson laughed. That was it, John thought. Afterwards, he couldn't quite pinpoint exactly what it was that made him do it. Perhaps it was Anderson's stupid face or his annoying voice, or maybe it was that Sally girl laughing behind him. Maybe it was his frayed nerves from his recent exhaustion. Most likely it was the hollow look on Sherlock's face that said all too well how much he'd endured in the past. Before Anderson had the chance to react, John was on him, jamming his fists into all the places he knew it would hurt, getting himself a satisfying grunt of pain whenever he landed a blow. Suddenly Anderson threw John off and started throwing punches of his own. Castiel, seeing this, stood on his chair and jumped in him in a very Sherlock-like fashion. Hermione did not notice any of this, nor the scuffle that was happening between Ron, Neville, Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle. She had her fingers crossed desperately and on her feet as Harry streaked towards the ground. Suddenly, he jumped off his broom a foot from the ground, the fluttering Snitch clutched triumphantly in his hand. The stands erupted and Hermione jumped up and down on her seat.
'He won, we won, he won!' she shouted. Everyone immediately stopped throwing punches and aiming kicks to look down at the pitch. It was quite something to behold. On Hermione's left side Castiel was perched on Anderson's shoulders, a fist full of hair, while Anderson had hold of the front of John's robes with a fist drawn and John had a heel jammed down on Anderson's foot. On Hermione's other side, Ron had Malfoy in a headlock, dripping blood from his nose, Crabbe was lying on the ground clutching his shin and Goyle had Neville's arm twisted behind his back. Sherlock had melted into the crowd and disappeared. Then everyone came to their senses. Castiel jumped off of Anderson, who fixed his robes in an attempt to retain his dignity (not quite possible with a swollen lip and a scrape to the eyebrow) and slunk off with Sally. Goyle dropped Neville to the ground, where he lay unconscious, and shuffled off with Malfoy and a limping Crabbe.
While the students all spilled out of the stadium, they began to realise that they were all a bit worse for wear. Ron's nose was still dripping, a bruise was beginning to form above Castiel's left eye and John had a nice long scratch along his jaw, accompanied by a tingling sensation in his leg that wasn't particularly painful, but he was sure it couldn't be a good sign. By far the worst off was Neville, who was still out cold and had to be carried up to the hospital wing. There was no sign of Sherlock anywhere. Ron decided to go straight up to the after-party, but John thought that he'd quite like Madam Pomfrey to take a look at his leg, so Castiel went with him.
'You know, you're pretty handy in a fight,' John said to Castiel as they, once again, climbed the stairs to the hospital wing.
'I had a good teacher,' he replied. John grimaced as pain shot up his leg.
'Oh yeah? Who?'
'Gabriel.'
'Gabriel?' John exclaimed in surprise. Gabriel did not seem the type to get in a fight with anyone, let alone his little brother.
'Oh yes. He used to play tricks on me all the time,' Castiel smiled. 'I learned some great moves from him.'
It was an agonising process getting to the hospital wing, by which time, John had to drag his leg along the corridor, leaning heavily on Castiel.
'I wonder where Sherlock got to,' John puffed.
'I don't know. Last time I saw him was just before you attacked Anderson,' said Castiel.
'You mean when we attacked him,' John corrected
'Yes, when we attacked him.'
They pushed their way through the doors, where the first thing they saw was Neville laying sprawled out on a bed, snoring softly. Madam Pomfrey bustled over.
'Dear, oh dear, another one? Goodness, what happened to your eye?' she asked Castiel
'I'm fine, it's John you should take a look at,' he replied. Madam Pomfrey looked at the scrape on his face and frowned.
'I'd have thought you could take care of this yourself, Castiel,' she said.
'No, not that, his leg.'
'Oh! Well, what's wrong with it?'
John hobbled over and sat down on the edge of one of the bds.
'Erm, I'm not really sure. At first it was all tingly, then it starting hurting a bit, but now it's sort of stiff and I can't put any weight on it,' he explained.
'I see. You'd better lay back- that's it- now lie on your good side so I can get a good look at it.'
He rolled over painfully slowly until he was in a comfortable position. Castiel grabbed a book and pretended to read it, when he was actually watching Madam Pomfrey carefully running her hands up and down John's hip and thigh, checking for abnormalities.
'I think I know what the problem is,' she muttered before grabbing her wand and prodding at a spot half way down his thigh.
'Ah yes, you've managed to get the nerves all twisted up, this'll only take a moment- Castiel, I hope you're watching this.'
She pointed her wand at John's leg and waved it in a small circle and said 'Release'. Immediately, John felt his leg regaining normal feeling.
'You ought to be careful, Watson, that can become a recurring problem,' she said before turning her attention to Neville. John moved up so that Castiel could sit cross-legged on the end of the bed while they waited for John's pins and needles to subside.
'Haven't been seeing you around much lately, how've you been?' John asked kindly.
'Oh, um, not bad. Can't complain. I have been around, you've just been asleep,' he replied.
That's true. So, erm, any- letters?' he asked hesitantly. Castiel's smile dropped and he fidgeted uncomfortably.
'A few,' he mumbled. At that moment the door creaked open and in crept Sherlock.
Sherlock!' John cried. 'Where the bloody hell have you been?'
He ducked his head in shame and shuffled over to them. He left the question unanswered but John could see slight red blotches around his eyes.
'Are you all right?' Sherlock asked warily.
'Yeah, I'm fantastic. Got Anderson right in the face- what's wrong?'
Sherlock's lip wobbled and he sniffed slightly. All at once his whole demeanour broke down into the frightened little boy he was, stripped of the biting sarcasm and the list of insults waiting to be thrown. John gaped at him until he collected himself a little better.
'Sherlock, what-?'
Castiel was staring at Sherlock worriedly, glancing at John as if to say 'what do we do?' Then it clicked in John's head.
'Is this because of what Anderson said?' he asked. Sherlock nodded.
'Oh, you giant doughnut!'
Sherlock and Castiel looked at him in surprise.
'Did you really think I'd listen to a word that slime ball Anderson says? I meant it when I said I don't care about your stupid turnips!'
Sherlock's eyes started watering again and John took pity on him.
'You daft sod,' he said before throwing his arms around his neck. Sherlock's bony shoulders stiffened in his embrace but then began to sob uncontrollably while Castiel patted him awkwardly on the back.
'Don't pay attention to what that foul git says. You're a million times better than him and you know it,' John said fiercely. Sherlock merely hiccoughed in a feeble attempt to stop himself from soaking John's robes.
'You shouldn't let other people choose who you are just because they don't understand you, Sherlock,' Castiel said. 'If you want to be a pirate, then you be a pirate, although I wouldn't recommend it as it is slightly illegal. I'd advise you go down the detective route.'
Sherlock extricated himself from John at last to laugh weakly at Castiel.
'Now then, who wants to come to the after-party with me?' John grinned. Both Castiel and Sherlock looked doubtful, but John just rolled his eyes.
'Come on, it'll be fun,' he urged. Finally, Castiel relented and shrugged his shoulders. John clapped his hands together, jumped off the bed and made for the door, followed by Castiel and, slightly hesitantly by, Sherlock.
'You know, we should really try not to get sent to the hospital wing so much,' John commented as they exited.
Just as they got back to Gryffindor Tower, three figures came hurtling out and crashing straight into them.
'Oh, hey! We were just coming to find you,' said Ron. 'Nice eye,' he said appreciatively to Castiel.
'What's going on?' John asked.
'Dunno, ask Harry,' he replied.
'I'll tell you as soon as we find somewhere quiet,' said Harry. They checked that Peeves wasn't in the room before closing the door firmly.
'Ok, so we were right, it is the Philosopher's Stone that Fluffy's guarding-'
'Of course we were right,' said Sherlock.
'Right. And Snape's trying to steal it.'
'How do you know?' John asked.
'Well I followed Snape and Quirrell into the Forest-'
'You followed them?'
'Into the Forest!'
'Will you all just shut up and let me finish!' Harry cried exasperatedly. 'Thank you! As I was saying, I followed them and heard them talking and Snape's definitely trying to force Quirrell into helping him get it. I heard him ask Quirrell if he knew how to get past Fluffy, then he said something about Quirrell's "hocus pocus", that must mean that there's other things besides Fluffy guarding it.'
'Ooh, how many do you think there are?' Hermione squealed, excited at the prospect of complicated spellwork and defences.
'My best estimate would be seven,' said Castiel.
'Oh yeah, how'd you work that one out?' Ron asked sceptically.
'Well, first of all, the teachers will have all done something, then you have to assume that they've only added one obstacle each so that all of their efforts and concentration will be concentrated for maximum effect. Then you narrow it down to the subjects that are likely to be most effective, for example, Defence Against the Dark Arts would be useful, while Muggle Studies would not, so that would mean there would be one obstacle designed each by Professors Sprout, McGonagall, Flitwick, Quirrell and Snape, although I suppose Snape's wouldn't be very effective if he's trying to steal the Stone. Then, obviously, there's Fluffy and Dumbledore will have done something impressive, no doubt.'
When he finished his explanation everyone, including Sherlock, gaped at him in amazement, which he mistook for confusion.
'I could write it down in a series of equations if you'd like,' he said.
'Nah, you're all right, thanks,' said Ron.
'So Quirrell's probably done some sort of anti-Dark Arts spell that Snape needs to break through-'
'So you're saying that the Stone's safe as long as Quirrell stands up to Snape,' said Hermione in alarm.
'It'll be gone by next Tuesday,' Ron groaned.
Hey guys, how's it going? College is almost over so my workload will be a lot lighter and I'll have more chances to write. Thanks to hogwartsmockingjaysilvertounge, Coral Eyes, WolfTotem64 and Bookslover21 for the reviews :3 I really appreciate it