Books and Scales

A couple more weeks passed before Irlynn and Harry began to work on finding her mother in earnest. They had gotten caught up in their respective workloads. Harry was also busy with spring Quidditch practices. Wood had gotten more aggressive with the training since they'd come back from Christmas holiday. Presently, Harry was walking back from the pitch with Fred and George.

"Wood's gone a bit nutty," Harry wheezed.

"He's just afraid Slytherin might be training harder," George said.

"We beat them last time we played so he shouldn't worry," Fred added.

"I nearly got killed the last time we played Slytherin," Harry reminded them.

"But you made it through, Harry," the twins said in unison and slapped him on the back before heading off in another direction. Harry reached the castle and dropped his broom off in the dorm before wandering in the direction of the kitchen for a snack. He'd learned recently thanks to Fred and George that the house elves liked to hand out food and were very willing to accommodate any student's needs.

"Thank you," he said a short time later after receiving a plate of food from an elf. He sat at a table and downed the meal quickly. He'd woken up late and had to skip breakfast that morning.

Once he'd finished, he went in search of his friends. He saw Hermione coming out of the library.

"Hermione," he called. She stopped walking and waited for him to catch up.

"Did you do Flitwick's essay yet?" he asked.

"I'm doing it today. And I'm not going to write it for you," she answered, starting to walk again.

"I don't want you to write it. Just…edit it when I finish it," he replied.

"Oh ok fine. Just give it to me when you are done," Hermione said. Harry smiled as he spotted Irlynn. She was talking to a couple of Hufflepuff girls.

"I have to go," he mumbled to Hermione. He headed over towards the Ravenclaw.

"Hi Harry," she said, waving goodbye to the other students.

"Hi…I was wondering…if you wanted to go to the library later," he said.

"Ok…we can now if you want," she responded. With that they headed back in the other direction until they found a secluded table.

"Here are all the papers my parents gave me," Irlynn said, pushing the folders towards him. He opened them and jumped a little. He tried to read them but got lost in the wording.

"I…I don't understand what it says," he finally admitted.

"Me neither. Maybe Madam Pince can help," she sighed and stood up. She went in search of the librarian.

"What can I help you with?" the woman asked.

"We're trying to find a person and we don't understand any of this," Irlynn explained. Madam Pince donned her glasses and looked at the papers in front of Harry.

"Well I'm not a doctor but it looks like this says that the baby up for adoption was born at St Mungo's," the librarian explained.

"Would they know where the mother is?" Irlynn pressed.

"Perhaps but it looks like a while ago. You might want to look in the Dailey Prophet," she suggested.

"Thank you," Harry said and the woman walked away.

"That's a lot of Dailey Prophets to look through…and what are we even looking for?" Irlynn groaned.

"Maybe…maybe we should see if there is anyone with that name that is dead?" Harry suggested. It sounded much more morbid after being said.

"Just…to check," he mumbled.

"It's ok…I think you're right. But where are we going to get that many Dailey Prophets?" she replied.

"We can ask Professor McGonagall," he said and stood up. He sprinted out of the library, leaving Irlynn to gather her things and follow after him. He reached Professor McGonagall's office and waited for his friend to catch up. Once she'd arrived, severely out of breath, Harry knocked.

"Come in," Minerva's voice called. Harry pushed open the door and the pair walked in.

"Mr. Potter, Miss McQuillen, how may I help you?" she asked, showing them to seats across from her.

"We…we were wondering if you could help us with a…project," Irlynn began.

"What type of project?" the professor inquired.

"We're trying to find someone and we wanted to look at the Daily Prophet…but papers that already came out. We thought you might know how to get them," Harry added.

"I can send an owl for you. How far back are you looking?" she answered, reaching for a quill and piece of parchment. The two students shared a look. They hadn't figured that part out yet. In fact they weren't sure how many issues they would need.

"Um…we hadn't figured that out yet," Irlynn admitted. McGonagall sat back in her chair.

"I see. Well why don't I get you're the last five years to begin with," she offered. The pair shared another look.

"Thank you, Professor," they said in unison and stood up.

"Oh…don't let this interfere with your studies," she called. It was really only a half-hearted comment.

Harry and Irlynn walked out of the office feeling pretty satisfied with themselves. They would have to wait a few days before the papers came in but they could start looking when they did. Just as they turned out of the Transfiguration corridor, Ron and Hermione appeared.

"Harry, you've got to come quickly," Hermione said.

"Why?" he asked.

"We think that Hagrid might be willing to talk about…you know," Ron said.

"I will let you go," Irlynn said and started to leave but Harry stopped her.

"No…come with us. We think Hagrid knows something about what was taken from Gringotts and where it's being kept. I overheard him and Dumbledore talking….about something called Fluffy," Harry said in one large breath. Irlynn just nodded her head as they exited the castle and ran down the hill to Hagrid's hut. They reached it and knocked on the large door. Moments later there was a loud 'woof' and Hagrid's large form appeared in the doorway.

"What brings you four by?" he asked, letting them in.

"We just wanted to stop by," Harry answered, taking a seat at the table. There was a pot over the fireplace and something inside of it was crackling and hissing.

"What are you making?" Hermione asked, noting the pot.

"Oh uh…it's nothing," Hagrid lied. None of the four students in front of him believed him and he could tell.

"Oh alright…" he sighed and turned to the pot. The contents seemed to be ready and he picked it up with oven mitts.

"Is that…a dragon egg?" Ron gulped.

"How do you know what kind of egg it is?" Irlynn asked.

"My brother Charlie works with them in Romania," Ron answered. Just then the egg began to shake violently and shards of shell went in all directions as a small creature appeared.

"Oh…isn't he cute," Hagrid gushed. The tiny dragon gave a hiccup of fire, singing the half-giant's beard. Hagrid put it out with the mitt but didn't seem to mind.

"Look…he knows who his Mummy is," he laughed, tickling the creature beneath the chin.

"Hagrid…I didn't think you could keep pets on grounds except for owls," Hermione said.

"Well…Norbert here is a secret. Just between us. He's got nowhere else to go you know…just me," Hagrid said, picking the dragon up and holding it tightly.

"We won't tell anyone," Harry promised.

"Thank you," he said and watched as Norbert hiccupped a ring of smoke.

"Hagrid…what is Fluffy?" Harry blurted. Hagrid looked at him.

"How do you know about Fluffy?" the half-giant asked defensively.

"I…sort of overheard you and Dumbledore talking…" he admitted.

"You shouldn't eavesdrop," he scolded.

"But…Fluffy is my three-headed dog. Very rare you know. Bought him off a dealer in the village…got Norbert here from a stranger in a pub as well," Hagrid answered.

"A three-headed dog?" Hermione gulped.

"Oh he wouldn't hurt a fly, honest. Less you upset him of course. But you just got to know how to calm him…that's all you really need to know for any kind of beast," Hagrid rambled.

"How do you calm him?" Ron asked in a whisper.

"He loves music…puts him right to sleep," Hagrid answered and immediately clapped a hand over hiss mouth.

"I shouldn't have told you that…" he groaned.

"We won't tell anyone," Irlynn said.

"You four better get on out of here before you get in trouble. Go on," he said, shooing them out the front door. The quartet stood and filed out of the hut. As they walked back up to the castle, Harry looked at his friends.

"Well…we know Fluffy is guarding whatever was taken from the vault. And Dumbledore said that Professors are guarding it too somehow…" he began.

"Who do you think is after it?" Irlynn asked.

"I bet it's Snape," Ron interrupted.

"We don't even know what it is that Fluffy is guarding," Harry reminded him.

"So…I just bet it's Snape…whatever it is," Ron countered.

"I've been doing some reading…light reading really before bed and I might have come across something…it's not definite but it would certainly be worth guarding," Hermione interjected.

"What is it?" Ron and Harry asked in unison.

"It's called the sorcerer's stone. It is used to create an elixir that gives immortality," she answered as they reached the front doors of the castle.

"So…what…we need to get it before Snape does?" Irlynn asked.

"I think that's exactly what we need to do," Harry answered.