Hello lovelies, here again with another update. This is a little shorter than my usual, but it's a good place to stop. For those who read A Thing with Feathers and Magic Postulate, I'm having some horrid writer's bloc for them. So there hasn't been an update yet. I also want to warn you all, since I have seen the 3rd season of OUAT, I know that I'm sort of changing Peter Pan a lot, but I don't want to give spoilers and I think this will work well with my story; so consider yourselves warned. Ta
Chapter 4—The beginning
Hogwarts—Beneath the trap door, February
Harry walked down the steps towards the ornate mirror of Erised. Draco, Henry and Hermione were waiting back at Snape's task. The group had first come together when the boys had saved Hermione from the troll on Halloween. Draco and Hermione still fought often, but Henry and Harry kept the peace, and the two were tolerant of each other now.
Harry and Henry had determined that professor Quirrell was the one who had let the troll loose, and that led to Draco theorising that the strange package Harry had seen Hagrid take from Gringotts was the prize hidden in the forbidden corridor. The group had gained valuable information from Hagrid.
The four first years were in Hagrid's Hut. Draco was doing his utmost to not sneer at the state of the place while Hermione was looking at the fireplace with suspicion.
"Hagrid, you must know about that package," Henry reasoned with the half giant. The groundskeeper shook his head.
"I can' tell ya. Dumbledore told me ta keep it a secret," he said and poured tea. Harry saw the pot in the fire move.
"Hagrid, what's in the pot?" Hermione asked, even though she had a suspicion.
"OH, it's done!" he cried and got out a large egg from the copper pot. The eyes of the four students popped wide open.
"Why do you have a dragon's egg?" Hermione asked as said egg was placed on the table.
"It doesn't really matter why, the question is how did you manage to get your hands on it," Draco asked. "That is not a tradable material. You could potentially go to Azkaban for it if you're caught."
"Draco's right, this is a highly dangerous creature, and it's illegal to have one without the proper paperwork," Henry said as they watched the egg hatch. Hagrid's eyes brimmed as he listened to the students. Harry saw an opportunity.
"Of course, that's only if you're caught. Why don't we make a deal, Hagrid. None of us will tell anyone about your dragon, if you tell us the story of how you got the egg, and what was in that vault," Harry said. "None of us will say anything, and when the dragon gets too big for the hut, we'll help you find somewhere else to keep him."
His friends looked at his but the glint in his eyes made them quiet, especially when Hagrid began talking.
"I don' know wha was in the vault, 'Arry. Alls I know is that Dumbledore took it for safe keeping, as a favour to his friend Nicholas Flemmel," Hagrid said. The three other students blinked in shock. How had Harry managed to get Hagrid to tell them?
"That's alright, we were just wondering since someone tried to steal it. What about the egg, though? What's the story," Harry said in the silence.
"Won 'em off a wizard in the Hog's Head last night, round super time. Never saw the bloke's face, kept his dark hood up. Anyway, he was lookin' to get rid of it, and I've always wanted one. He wanted to know if I've looked after anythin' like a dragon before, tole 'em a dragon can't be any harder than Fluffy."
"What's a Fluffy?" Draco asked.
"He's a Cerberus, three headed dog. Dumbledore had 'em guarding the third floor against intruders," Hagrid said. The baby dragon snorted and embers flew into Hagrid's hair. "You won' tell anyone about this, right?"
"I keep my deals, Hagrid. Not a whisper about the baby dragon. Let me know when it's getting too big and I'll help you hide him," Harry said. "Come one, we'd better get back."
It had been easy after that, to find out about Flemmel. Some simple questions to the professors and the group found out that Quirrell had been gone all evening the night Hagrid had won Norbert, as the dragon was named. The first years had decided right before winter break to steal the stone.
"Really, even if quirrell is trying to steal the stone, why would he?" asked Hermione as they sat in the library.
"The same reason why he seems to want Harry dead, you saw as well as Draco and I that he was trying to kill Harry during that match," Henry said. Draco nodded.
"For whatever reason, Quirrell wants Harry dead, the Sorcerer's Stone, and to hide himself behind a bumbling persona," said the blond. Harry sat quiet for a moment.
"He may be working for Voldemort," Harry said as the others flinched slightly. "No body was discovered, nor was there any evidence of his death. He just vanished. The stone has power beyond even it's creator's knowledge; it wouldn't be too much of a jump to say that Voldemort wanted the stone to regain his power."
"So what, does that really change much?" Draco asked, he had given up on his friend calling the dark lord anything besides Voldemort.
"That wizard murdered hundreds of people! He even killed Harry's parents, he prosecuted muggleborns," Hermione said and slapped Draco's arm hard.
"I know, I didn't say it was a good thing if he regained his power, but what are we going to do about it? It'd be suicide to face him, or Quirrell," Draco said. He personally didn't really want the dark lord back. Certainly he wanted a dark lord in power, someone to revive magic to her rightful power and height; but the dark lord Voldemort had not done a proper job. The wizard had only made things worse, not what Draco thought good.
"We could get it first," Henry said. "We know the professors won't listen to us, so why not steal it first?"
"Then what, keep it until the end of the year, give it back and explain why we committed a crime?" Hermione asked. The sarcasm was heavy in her tone. Henry huffed.
"We could make a replica," Harry said. "It wouldn't be too difficult to make a rune stone with similar properties and appearance as the stone. Whoever used it wouldn't realise it was a fake until it was too late."
"That could work," Draco said in wonder. His fellow snake was a genius.
"There's so many logistics we'll have to work out; I'll find some books that could be relevant and we'll all read one over break," Hermione said before disappearing into the selves.
"Do you ever get the feeling like she's in charge?" Henry asked. Harry snorted.
"It makes her feel better, don't worry. In a couple of years she'll be calmer; do remember that she's the only muggleborn of us four."
So now here Harry was. Standing before a magical mirror. He recognised it from some historical texts from Slytherin's room. Sal and the Baron had assisted Harry in creating the fake stone, which now was snug in Harry's robe pocket. Harry walked to the mirror, thinking about his parents. Oh, he knew he should be thinking about the stone, but the possibility of seeing his parents was too much temptation.
A strange man was sitting at a spinning wheel. He wore brocade and leather and silk; his hands and skin were scaled green and gold. His dark hair kinked and wild, much like Harry's. From the view Harry could see they shared the same nose and lips. They were both built wiry and thin. The man was spinning straw but the thread was pure gold. The man's eyes were a dark green that glowed softly.
A woman entered the scene; she had Harry's pale skin, his bone structure and ears. Her brown hair was pulled back to keep the soft curls out of her face. She wore a blue dress that was warm in the window's light. The woman came and knelt by the strange spinner, she rested her head on his knee.
The scene stayed like that until Harry looked away. I thought I was supposed to look like my father and have my mother's eyes; wasn't my mother supposed to have red hair too? Harry thought as he turned back to the mirror, this time thinking about the stone. He could think on his parents later. His reflection appeared, this time, pulling the stone out of his pocket, winking, and replacing it. Harry felt his empty pocket fill and pulled out the stone. He smiled before replacing it in his pocket and taking out the fake.
Now how do I put this in its place? He wondered to himself before his reflection moved again. This time it tossed the fake into the air and clicked his fingers, the fake disappeared from both the reflection and his hand. Harry blinked before turning around to return to his friends. Well, that's my job done I suppose.
Never Land—Lost Boy's camp
Peter Pan sat on a rock playing his pipes as the boys danced around the bonfire. His large cheeks puffed out as he blew his tune and thought about another little boy; one with dark hair and eyes who had fallen into darkness. His blue eyes closed as he pushed the little boy away. He focused on Henry, the truest believer. The boy would lead him to the one he sought, and he had already begun.
His shadow had allowed the boy to slip into the portal but that blasted girl had gotten away again. No matter, she wouldn't last much longer, but first the shadow needed to locate Henry. The mermaids had told him that Hook's ship had returned and was anchored out at sea. They must have come for Henry, he thought as he played. Rumple must be on the ship too.
Peter stopped playing his pipes. He summoned a straw doll out of the air and caught it as it fell. The doll was dressed in blue wool and bound with black string. He remembered making it, long ago, and then he pushed the thoughts away again.
"Peter?" asked one of the boys. Peter vanished the doll and picked up his pipes again.
"Sorry 'bout that lads, let's resume the party," he said and began to play again. The island wanted a very specific person; someone who could change everything. Peter was determined to give it that person. If he did, the isle promised him eternal life and youth. He'd never have to grow up. He smiled as he played, the shadow would find Henry and the person. Then, Peter wouldn't have to worry anymore. Everything was going to plan.